After leaving the common room, Hermione pulled a smooth white disk from her pocket and peered at it in the dim light. On one side it held the work "library".
"Perfect." She murmured to herself, slipping the disk back into her pocket and making her way briskly towards the library. She was still proud of that little piece of magic. It was a nice little search charm, which helped Malfoy and herself keep tabs on each other so they could keep in contact over head student issues.
Upon reaching the library, she picked up the disk again and wandered around the library. As she reached the back, the disk started to get hot, signaling she was close. "Malfoy?" she whispered loudly, hoping for a reply.
There was none, but after a couple of minutes, she found him at a table, asleep on top of his books. She poked him gently. "Malfoy, time to wake up…"
Groaning, he opened an eye and looked up at her. "Hermione?" he asked sleepily. "What do you want?"
Hermione stared at him in surprise. It was the first time he had ever called her by her first name unless absolutely necessary.
In the meantime, Malfoy had woken up somewhat. "I hope you didn't wake me up for nothing." He yawned, stretching.
"I promised Professor McGonagall I'd have this to her tonight, so I need you to look over it, if you don't mind." Hermione informed him, her manner turning businesslike.
"OK" He took the offered paper and started to read. After a few minutes he looked up at her. "Sit down, this will take me a little while."
Hermione sat, staring off into space while Malfoy finished reading.
"It looks fine, Granger." He slid the paper across the table to her. "Thanks for waking me up."
"No problem, Malfoy." She got to her feet. "I'll see you later."
"OK"
And with that, Hermione headed up to McGonagall's office and then back to the Gryffindor common room.
Two hours later, Malfoy sat by the fire in the small, two bedroom apartment set aside for the Head Boy and Girl. Staring at his potions paper, he willed the next sentence to form itself in his mind, but it wouldn't. After a while, the door opened and Hermione came in carrying a large stack of books.
"Hi Malfoy." She greeted him, plonking the books down on the small table next to the entrance.
"Hi. Lots of work?" He gestured to the stack of books. Hermione shook her head.
"I finished it." Picking up a novel from the top of the pile, she made her way over to the other armchair and sat down, opened the book to the bookmark, and began to read.
Malfoy stared and his potions paper for a few minutes longer before setting it down with a sigh. He wasn't getting anything else done tonight. Looking over at Hermione, and how peaceful she looked, Malfoy realized suddenly how much she'd changed over the last couple of years. She'd gone from being a bossy know-it-all with buck teeth and fluffy hair, to being knowledgeable, self-assured, and, well, pretty.
Maybe it isn't just her who's changed. He thought to himself gently, staring into the fire. His real personality had been allowed to surface a lot more since his father had been put in Azkaban 2 years before. He didn't have anyone to be afraid of now. With that thought, he smiled to himself.
"What are you thinking about?" Hermione asked, seeing him smile.
"How much better things are with my father gone."
"Oh." Hermione felt suddenly awkward. She had to admit she'd noticed the changes in Malfoy's manner since his father had been gone. He no longer spent time with Crabbe and Goyle, and, while he didn't go out of his way to be friendly, he certainly couldn't be called unpleasant any more. He spent all his time studying now, and had become her only rival for top marks in the year.
As the silence lengthened between them, Malfoy turned back to his essay and tried to concentrate. After a few minutes, he heard Hermione put down her book on the table. "Night, Malfoy."
"Night."