Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters in this story.

.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-. chapter five: Talk To Me .-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.

Hermione returned to her common room to find Draco Malfoy sitting in a corner finishing his homework. She looked at him for a moment, but he was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't notice. Remembering that she had an Arithmancy test to study for, she quickly went to her room, took out her Arithmancy books, and went to the common room where she sat on the couch, studying.

The room was so silent. Hermione remembered when she was still in the Gryffindor common room trying to concentrate, with her two best friends Ron and Harry chatting together, distracting her, and she smiled as she thought of the times she irritably told them to stop fooling around. Now, she missed the noise of the house common room . . . here, it was just too quiet.

She heard a noise, and turned to see that an owl had flown into the room and headed for Draco. "So that's where the draught is coming from," she murmured to herself, and moved to shut the open window.

Malfoy took the letter from his bird, and the owl went flying off to the Owlery. Curious, Hermione pretended to continue studying, holding up her book and watching Malfoy read the letter over the top of the book. Whatever colour he had in his face drained away -- his eyes widened a little. With his mouth slightly open, he reread the letter, then stood up, gathered his things, and went into his room.

After watching this, Hermione suddenly got up and knocked on Malfoy's door.

"What?" Malfoy answered gruffly, opening the door, though he looked a little surprised to see Hermione looking so concerned.

"Are you all right?"

Looking a little confused, Malfoy stammered, "Ex--excuse me?"

Rolling her eyes, Hermione repeated, "Are -- you -- all -- right?"

He stared at her in disbelief for a few seconds, and then, blushing a little bit (which looked odd to Hermione, as he had such a pale complexion), he muttered, "Fine, just fine."

"You sure?"

Trying his best to sound irritable, and as much like the old Malfoy as possible, Malfoy snapped, "Well, I should know, shouldn't I?" However, his voice faltered a little. Cursing himself for blushing, but all the same also feeling rather bashful in her presence, Malfoy turned and pretended to look for something in his bag.

When Hermione did not leave, he felt a little annoyed. "Don't you have some homework to do, Granger?"

"I'll do it later," Hermione said. "I want to make sure you're all right."

"Since when did you care about whether I'm all right or not?" Draco retorted. "Anyway, I'm sure your precious homework means a lot to you, so why don't you just go do it NOW?"

"Well, sorry for trying to be nice, Malfoy!" Hermione turned a little pink, glaring at the pale figure before her, and then she sighed. "I know something's wrong Malfoy, and it's good to talk to people, you know? Get it off your chest . . . you should talk to someone, even if you don't want to talk to me."

"You're right," Malfoy said. "I don't want to talk to you. Please leave me alone."

He turned away, so she wouldn't see his face. He didn't want her to know how he felt. There was an awkward silence, before he heard the door snap shut.

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"Ron?"

Hermione entered the library where she saw Ron sitting at a table. He looked up and smiled when he saw her.

"Why did you want to meet me here?" Beaming, Hermione took a seat beside Ron.

"Well . . . I just . . . wanted to tell you something." At this, Ron's smile wavered a little, and he fiddled with his wand.

She smiled encouragingly. "Out with it Ron, I won't bite. Why are you so nervous?"

And then it hit her. Her lips formed a small 'o' and Ron stared back at her, knowing that she had realised. He looked mortified. His wand clattered to the floor, though they didn't notice it.

"Oh Ron," Hermione finally said. "You brought me out here just to tell me . . . that?" She tried to hold back a laugh as she watched Ron's face.

He nodded slowly, and then muttered, "My wand . . ." He bent over and picked it up, glad for an excuse to avoid looking at Hermione, even if it were just for a second.

When he sat up straight and looked at Hermione, she suddenly moved closer and gave him a small peck on the cheek. Surprised, Ron looked at her, and then he slowly smiled.

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The Dark Lord sat in a cosy armchair before a warm fire, his servant Peter Pettigrew kneeling on the floor nearby, shivering a little, not from cold, but from fear. All was quiet for a moment -- a couple of owl hoots from outside startled Wormtail, and he whimpered a little.

"You do know who is coming, don't you Wormtail?" Voldemort asked of his servant, who started when he was spoken to.

"O--of course, sir," Pettigrew gasped. "Your spy!"

Voldemort laughed at his servant's high-pitched shaky voice. "Yes, my spy is coming tonight. We are to discuss our plans, see what action needs to be taken now. I hear that Dumbledore is worried about Snape, knows that he's probably dead."

"Yeh-Yes Master," Wormtail said, trying to sound sincerely happy for his Master. He paused, and then added, "Th--that st-stupid fool," he stuttered.

At this, the Dark Lord turned to his servant, his eyes flashing angrily. "You are the stupid fool, you ignorant twerp!" he shouted, and watched with satisfaction at Wormtail cowering away in a corner.

"M--may I have permission t-to ask wh-who your sp-p-spy is?"

"You will find out soon," Voldemort replied, smirking. "You will find out soon."

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I hope you found this chapter OK . . . please R&R!