Disclaimer: Same old story, I'm not J.K. Rowling, so I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: Several people have been asking me how many chapters are left in this fic, so, including this chapter, I think there are only three left. Sad I know, I'll miss working on this fic, but it will also be cool to see it finished, so hopefully everyone will like the rest of it. A couple people also asked if I was going to make this a trilogy and, the thought has crossed my mind a few times. So, if I can organize my ideas into a decent and unique plot (I wouldn't want it to be too clichéd), then perhaps there will be another sequel. However, right now I am working on a separate fic (also HG/DM), so since I've already kinda started that one, I will be posting that before anything else, but I'll tell you more about that later.

Now it's time to thank all the lovely people who reviewed chapter 25!

huga, stranger who loves your story, dracosgirl2007– that's so cool that you alllike my stories so much! So thank you for the reviews, and I hope you all like this chapter!
Scorpiogrrll – I hope you had fun on vacation! And no worries, I've been having plenty of fun this summer, playing tennis and stuff :o) Anyway, thank you for the review, and I hope you like this chapter!
Sayaku-chan – lol I don't think it's giving anything away to say that yes, he does look in the yearbook, and I hope you like what happens when he does (although it won't happen this chapter.) Thanks for the review!
Sissified – yeah, it is really sad for Draco, he's very lonely. And I think I would have to die of embarrassment if my headmaster interfered with my love life lol. Of course, none of my headmasters were ever as cool as Dumbledore . . . . Anyway, thanks for the review!
Lee – nope, no fight from Ron, now that he's got another girlfriend, he doesn't care so much anymore, so there doesn't seem to be much need for a fight with him. Sorry if that disappoints you, but still, thanks for the review.
Zuvalupa, Chantal J, jesska-14, Sunflower18, melia, openhearted– Thank you for the reviews, I'm so glad you liked the chapter, and I hope you all like this chapter too!
comedy gal – lol like I said in the A/N I'll do what I can about making a trilogy, but in the meantime, I'm so happy that you like my story so much! I like the challenge of making a DM/HG romance seem possible, even if it will never happen, so I'm glad you think I've pulled it off. Thanks for the review!
Steelo – lol I hope the update didn't keep you waiting too long! And I think you'll find them slightly less stupid in this chapter (emphasis on the slightly). Thanks for the review!
Cappuccino and Kittens – I just have to say, I think your penname is awesome. lol thank you very much for the review, and I hope you like this chapter!

elektra30 – holiday homework, what torture! I'm glad you liked the chapter, and thanks for the review. And I hope you get a chance to update your fic soon, cause I'm looking forward to more! ;o)
dancerfreak1991 – why thank you:o) it's so nice to hear that you like both the stories. I hope you like this chapter as well, and thanks for the review!

And now, for your reading pleasure, here's chapter 26!

Chapter 26: By the Lake

Draco awoke very late the next morning. It took him a good couple of minutes to fully emerge from his sleep. He pulled open the bed hangings to see the sun pouring into the dormitory which, with the exception of Aries, was completely empty. He had never thought it would feel so good to get a proper nights' sleep. For the first time in months he was actually in a relatively good mood. He felt like he should get out and do something today. Maybe he'd go flying, or just walk around the lake. It was such a nice day; he was definitely planning on going outside. He couldn't remember the last time he wanted to go outside and do any of the things he used to love to do.

He smiled at Aries and stroked his feathers, "good morning" he said. Then as he stroked the bird a thought came to him, "think you can deliver a quick note for me?" he asked.

Aries hooted eagerly. Draco pulled out a piece of parchment and ink, and scribbled a quick note. He didn't address or sign it, but he figured that he didn't need to. He handed the note to Aries, who took it in his beak, awaiting instructions. "Drop this off with Hermione," Draco said simply.

Aries ruffled his feathers to indicate that he understood. He then spread his wings, and took off out the window. Draco watched him until he turned and flew out of sight around the castle. He then prepared for a long hot shower, looking forward to a day where he might actually enjoy himself.

- - - - - -

Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny were in the Great Hall eating breakfast. Ginny was cramming last minute for her transfiguration final, which was taking place that morning. Harry and Ron were planning on going to play some quidditch later, and Hermione was going to go watch them since it was such a nice day out, then after that the three of them were walking down to Hogsmeade to have lunch at Three Broomsticks. They all looked up when the post owls arrived. Hedwig landed in front of Harry, just for a visit. She gladly nibbled on the scraps of breakfast he offered her.

Hermione was watching Hedwig when a letter fell right in front of her. She looked up and around for the owl that had delivered it, but she could not determine which owl it had been since there were so many of them flying around. There was no addressee on the letter, and Hermione wondered if it had even been meant for her. With a shrug, she unfolded it. There was no name in it, but there didn't need to be, Hermione knew exactly who it was from, and even in its simplicity, it brought a smile to Hermione's face.

Thanks for the advice, last night was the first decent sleep I've had in months.

She reread the letter, and then quickly looked up at the Slytherin table. He wasn't there, but that didn't surprise her. With or without sleep, she figured that he probably still wasn't keen to be around this many people yet. 'Baby steps' she thought. 'First we'll make sure that he's recovering well, get him to sleep well without the potion, then we'll work on integrating him into larger groups again.' Hermione found herself already planning steps for Draco's recovery, and she didn't even know if he would be willing to talk to her again, let alone follow any plan of hers.

But he had taken her advice, and he had thanked her, so he couldn't be completely opposed to it. 'Maybe I'll take another visit to the library room later today,' she decided, 'he'll probably be awake this time if he really did sleep well.' With the idea of perhaps finally talking to Draco again later in the day to occupy her mind, she left with Harry and Ron to the quidditch pitch with a smile on her face.

- - - - - -

Once his shower was finished, Draco decided to skip breakfast, and instead go straight down to the quidditch pitch. He was unusually eager to fly considering the mood he'd been in recently, so he slung his broom over his shoulder, and purposefully made his way through the common room. A few people watched him curiously as he passed, but no one said anything, instead they simply looked up and then returned their attention to their studies.

Thankfully, the quidditch pitch was empty when Draco arrived. He mounted his broom and kicked off. The exhilaration flowed through his veins as his broom carried him higher into the sky. At first he flew smoothly, with his eyes closed, concentrating on the warmth of the sun on his pale skin and the feel of the wind through his hair. He felt almost as if he were being reborn, as if the flight was taking him away from one life and into another, one where he could be whatever he wanted to be. It was an awesome feeling. He opened his eyes, and sped up, so that he was flying as fast as his Nimbus 2001 would take him. All he could hear was the rush of wind speeding past his ears; he could barely keep his eyes open the wind was hitting him so hard in the face. He shifted his broom so that he was speeding up a vertical incline, high above the highest quidditch stands. He leveled off, and took a look around.

He could see everything from here, and if he'd been in the proper mood it would have been time for reflection. However, he was not in the mood for that, he wanted thrills, to feel his blood pumping through him and rejuvenating his body. He went into a dive, pulling out only feet from the ground. It provided a much needed rush of adrenaline, and he even smiled for the first time in a long time. He moved to climb up into the air again, but his enjoyment was quickly put on pause.

As he began to climb, before he had gotten to a decent speed, he heard voices. Three of them, and he didn't need to see them to know who they were. Potter, Weasley . . . and Hermione. Draco's heart suddenly began racing. He didn't know what do to if he saw her again. And though he wanted to see her, he definitely did not want to see Potter or Weasley again, he had to get away.

"I'll just go up into the stands while you guys get the balls," Draco heard Hermione say.

'Shit,' he thought. He couldn't get out on foot, they might see him; he'd have to fly over the stands. He sped up, heading away from the Gryffindors. He flew over the stands and landed outside the pitch on the edge of the Forest. Once he landed he took the time to slow his breathing. 'So much for a day outside alone' he thought angrily. He should have known that the Gryffindors would somehow manage to ruin it for him.

He turned back to the pitch, by now he could hear Potter and Weasley were tossing the quaffle to each other, and having what should have been his good time. He sighed dejectedly, and carried his broom over his shoulder. He stomped over to the lake, and took a seat on one of the rocks by the edge of the water. The giant squid was waving its tentacles lazily along the surface causing gentle ripples to disrupt the smooth surface of the water. It should have been a very peaceful and relaxing scene, but Draco's disrupted thoughts were miles away.

- - - - - -

Hermione had skipped up the steps with, what else, but a book in her hand. Before coming to the pitch, she had gone back to the common room with Harry. He retrieved his firebolt, and she picked up a book, and Crookshanks. She decided that since it was such a nice day, she would let him run around outside for a change. And the book, well she got that because she figured that at least she could read a bit while the boys were flying. It wasn't like it was a textbook; it was just the book Draco had given her for Christmas. She was really glad that she had decided against throwing it away after all, because she really liked a lot of the stories in it, and she was only halfway through.

At the quidditch pitch, she sat down in one of the benches, but before she got to open her book, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It looked like something, or more likely someone, flying over the stands on the side of the pitch. She blinked and shook her head, wondering if she were just seeing things. She saw Harry and Ron enter the pitch, but she didn't pay them any attention, instead she headed up to the top of the benches so she could see if anyone was on the grounds.

She scanned the grounds for a moment with a curious frown; but did not see anyone, she had been so sure that she had seen something. Hermione was staring blankly towards the lake when he came walking into her field of vision. She gasped, so she had seen someone, and amazingly enough, that person was Draco. She couldn't believe it. 'Maybe this means he's feeling better,' she thought hopefully. She watched him walk all the way to the lake, and settle himself at the water's edge. She had to talk to him, she turned, dropped her book on the bench, and without even telling Harry or Ron, she flew down the stairs.

Once on the ground, Hermione slowed, she still didn't know exactly what she was going to say, but that didn't seem to matter so much as long as she said something. She moved as quietly as possible, she didn't want to startle him by approaching too fast or too loudly. Whether or not Draco heard her approaching footsteps, she could not be sure, but he seemed not to have as he made no movement to turn around. She was a couple yards behind him when she decided to speak. Her heart was pounding, and her nerves were almost making her shake visibly. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and spoke in just above a whisper, "Draco?"

He jumped as if she had shouted his name. He jerked around, clearly very startled. Hermione took a frightful step back; she didn't want him to be mad at her. She was looking at him with an expression half filled with caution and half filled with eagerness.

Draco stared at her, his expression was unreadable. He had not yet lost the haunted look that Azkaban brought about in its prisoners. "Hermione," he breathed, trying to calm himself from the shock of seeing her, "what are you doing here?"

His tone allowed her to relax a little. He was did not seem angry with her for interrupting his alone time, surprised yes, but angry no. She took a few careful steps towards him as she spoke, "I saw you fly out of the quidditch pitch," Draco turned his head away, and Hermione bit her lower lip, "I'm sorry we interrupted your flying."

"Thanks," he muttered, he was now facing the lake again, and Hermione didn't know whether to move closer, or if he just wanted her to leave. She opted for the moving closer option, so she took a few more steps until she was to the side and slightly behind Draco. "I got your letter," she said. But Draco made no response, "So does that mean that you took the dreamless sleep potion?"

Draco nodded wordlessly.

Hermione took a seat next to Draco. She was sure to leave adequate space in between them because she did not want to scare him away or make them both uncomfortable. All she wanted at the moment was for him to know that he had a friend. "I'm really glad to see you outside. I was really worrying about you."

"You were?" Draco asked, finally turning his gaze to her.

Hermione looked into his eyes, "yeah," she said earnestly. "I almost thought . . ." she trailed off, for some reason unable to complete her sentence.

Draco frowned, "almost thought what?"

She looked down at the water, and spoke quietly, "I almost thought I would never get to see you again."

Draco's heart sped up a bit, and he was stunned, "you wanted to see me?"

Hermione whipped her head up so that it was again facing him, "Of course I did."

Draco slowly looked away so that now he was looking at the water, "I would have thought . . . after everything . . ." He paused to take a breath, "I would have though that you would want nothing more to do with me."

Hermione could hear the despair in his voice even if the wall blocking his emotions didn't allow it to show through, she shifted a bit closer to him and rested her hand on his, "Draco, I know now that it wasn't you. I know you were under imperius, I'm only sorry I didn't believe you after the initiation or during the trial." She said guiltily.

She could feel Draco tense at mention of the initiation and the trial, and she quickly removed her hand. It wasn't an angry tension, but it did close him off further. And it nevertheless frightened Hermione a little. "Draco I know you must be feeling like you're completely alone right now. So I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you when you need a friend. I will always be there for you."

Draco's insides both swelled and shrunk at the same time. She wanted to be his friend. It was both a happy and sad thought to him. Happy because he needed a friend, even though he would never in his life admit it. Sad because he wondered if that was all they would ever be able to be without driving each other mad and endangering each others lives. He looked at her, and despite the sadness deep inside, he attempted to smile. He only managed a small grin for barely a second, but that small gesture caused her to beam at him, her chocolate eyes were sparkling.

Hermione now felt brave enough to make a stab at having a somewhat normal conversation. "So, what have you been doing since the N.E.W.T.s ended?"

Draco was very relieved to get off the subject of the trial and Azkaban. "You pretty much saw what I've been doing most of the time yesterday."

Hermione frowned, "well then I'm definitely glad to see you outside. Did you have fun flying . . . You know, before we came and ruined it for you?"

Draco let out an empty sort of laugh, "yeah, yeah I did." he looked out over the lake, "it felt like I was just flying away from everything, to an entirely different place away from my life."

"Sounds like an amazing feeling," said Hermione thoughtfully, she was watching him even though he wasn't looking at her. It felt so good to be talking to him again, even if that's all that they were going to do for a while, it was worth it.

"It was," he answered, directing his gaze on the quidditch pitch. Hermione followed it, and saw the small figures of Harry and Ron zooming around obliviously.

They sat for a long time in silence. It was a comfortable sort of silence. The kind of silence you can have with a close friend and still feel like you spent a meaningful time together. It was comforting for them both, to know that they still felt relatively at ease around each other. Hermione closed her eyes, and held her head up to the sun with a smile. Draco meanwhile, had taken to lying down on the ground; he had his hands over his eyes, because the sun was bright even with his eyes closed. The warmth around him comforted him, although he wasn't sure if it was more due to the sun, or because of Hermione's close proximity.

After a while, Hermione began to hear a strange thumping sound. At first she thought it may have been her heart, but it was definitely something else, and it was getting steadily louder. She opened her eyes and looked around, and along the water's edge, she saw what could have been a small tiger charging towards them. "Crookshanks no!" she shouted. But Crookshanks did not stop. He took a huge leap and landed square on Draco's chest.

Draco opened his eyes when Hermione shouted, but did not have time to look around before the wind got knocked out of him by Crookshanks the feline cannonball. Draco sat up and lifted the cat off his chest, coughing and sputtering in an attempt to regain his breath. Crookshanks meanwhile, rubbed his head against Draco, and then settled contentedly in Draco's lap, seemingly prepared for a long cat nap while basking in the sun.

Hermione was smiling wide at the sight. Crookshanks' approval was definitely good enough for her. Draco, after catching his breath, stroked Crookshanks' fur with the back of his hand. "I seem to remember being mauled and nearly ripped to shreds by this thing the last time I saw it," he recollected. The memory was much more lighthearted now that the incident was in the past.

Crookshanks looked up innocently at him, Hermione laughed, "he seems to think you're back to yourself now."

"Well," said Draco with playful sarcasm, "I'm glad to know I finally got the damn cats approval again." He grinned, and Crookshanks rested his head on Draco's knee.

Hermione scratched Crookshanks' head and he began purring happily. For a moment, the wall had disappeared, and she had seen the same Draco she had fallen in love with, 'he is still in there' she thought hopefully. Draco turned and saw the way Hermione was looking at him. He was immediately put on guard again; he gave her a wary look, "what?"

"Nothing," she assured calmly. She directed her gaze back towards the lake, she was a bit disappointed that Draco had so quickly shut himself away again, just when he had been opening up to her. Inwardly she sighed; she supposed it would take quite a lot of patience to get him to open up to her again.

After a few more moments of silence, Draco lifted Crookshanks off his lap and stood up stretching. "Are you leaving?" Hermione asked, as she quickly stood up as well.

"No, I just need to stretch out or something, I haven't been moving around too much lately," answered Draco.

"Oh, well, do you want to walk around the lake or something?"

"Yeah, sure."

One would think that a long walk would provide ample time for thinking about things that needed to be thought about in one's life. However, with Hermione walking next to him, all Draco could to was try to force himself not to think about her. The grounds were so quiet and peaceful, she was so close to him that occasionally their arms would brush up against each other. Several times he thought about capturing her hand in his, and begging her to forgive him. But something was stopping him, something inside him was making it impossible for him to be honest with her, and he hated it.

He had taken to watching Crookshanks, who had decided to join them on their walk, in an effort to distract himself from the amazing girl walking next to him. The cat was pouncing at birds, sniffing strange flowers, and otherwise just romping round the waters edge.

Draco snuck a side glance at Hermione; she was gazing out across the water, with a peaceful look on her face. The wind was blowing her hair in her face, and the sun was bringing out all the colors in her eyes, she was so beautiful he could hardly stand it. They sometimes chatted as they walked, usually talking about something they saw, or something Crookshanks did. It seemed as if both of them were nervous about speaking about anything other than the present. However, most of the walk was spent in silence. Draco had retreated too far behind his protective shield to venture into much conversation. Hermione on the other hand, would have loved to talk, but she saw that it would only push Draco further away if she tried to draw him out too quickly. If she wanted him to come out from behind his wall, she would have to be patient and let him decide when he was ready to be the old Draco again.

When they returned back to their starting point, Hermione sighed happily, "that was fun. I love taking walks like that, especially around here where everything's so beautiful."

"Yeah, it's nice," agreed Draco.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak again, but was interrupted before she could.

"Hermione!" Harry called from the entrance to the quidditch pitch. He and Ron had found her book in the stands, but saw no sign of her, and it was time to leave for Hogsmeade.

"Hermione where are you?" shouted Ron.

"Oh," gasped Hermione, blushing slightly and avoiding Draco's eyes, "I forgot, Harry, Ron and I are going to Three Broomsticks."

Draco nodded.

"It was really nice seeing you again Draco."

"It was nice seeing you again to." Draco answered, looking directly at her eyes, which were still trying to avoid him.

"Do you think, we could get together again tomorrow? Maybe take another walk or something?" Hermione finally looked at him, and instantly got lost in the pools of silver staring back at her.

Draco smiled, "I'd like that."

"Hermione! What are you doing? It's time to go!" Harry and Ron had finally spotted Hermione's bushy hair and they were now walking towards her.

Hermione didn't acknowledge them just yet, instead she said to Draco, "Good, I'll see you then sometime tomorrow afternoon alright?"

"Sure," Draco agreed, and then looked up at her incoming bodyguards.

Hermione turned back, and saw them incoming rather quickly, "tomorrow then," she said to Draco, before turning and running away to head off Harry and Ron.

Draco turned away as Hermione left with her friends. He bent down to pick up his broomstick, and found Crookshanks sitting next to it. "Do you think you're spending all day with me or something?"

Crookshanks stood up and meowed. Draco rolled his eyes, and decided to let the cat do whatever it pleased, even if it involved stalking him all day.

Draco skipped lunch and spent the entire day outside, wandering around rather aimlessly. He spent a lot of time flying his broomstick around the outskirts of the castle grounds. A couple times his mind urged him to fly over to Hogsmeade, but he knew that even if he found Hermione there, nothing good could come of any interaction with her friends, so in the end, he resisted the urge. He had only been joking when he asked the cat if it was going to follow him around all day, but Crookshanks did in fact seem to stalk him the entire time. However, rather than be annoyed as he usually might have been, Draco found he enjoyed the company. Sure, it was just a cat, but it was Hermione's cat, and if he couldn't spend the day with her, spending it with her cat wasn't so bad (at least that's what he told himself.)

Draco went inside rather early for dinner, Crookshanks followed and sat at his feet while he ate. Draco wasn't entirely sure that cats were allowed in the Great Hall, but since no one said anything, and Crookshanks wasn't bothering anyone, he didn't stress over it. The energy he'd spent walking and flying around all day had encouraged him to eat a much larger dinner than he had been recently (although skipping lunch may have had something to do with it as well.) He passed scraps to Crookshanks as he ate, and then when he was finished, the two retreated to the library room.

Once there, Draco lay down on the couch and allowed Crookshanks to jump up onto his stomach and lie down. For a long time he lay there, thinking hard and stroking Crookshanks' ginger fur. Finally, he stopped petting the cat. He lifted his left arm so that the sleeve of his robes dropped down to reveal the Mark, he then voiced the question that had been plaguing him all day, "Do you think she could ever like me again?"

He looked at Crookshanks as if expecting an answer, but the cat just looked blankly back at him, and swatted at his hand, demanding that Draco continue petting him. "How could she as long as I'm branded with this?" Draco demanded, again seeming to expect an answer from Crookshanks.

But the cat, just rubbed his head against Draco's arm and meowed as if giving a command. He looked at Draco more sternly than should be allowed from a cat, and meowed again.

"Bloody cat," Draco huffed, and rolled his eyes, "fine, make me figure it out for myself then," he said as he resumed stroking Crookshanks, who closed his eyes and purred happily.

- - - - - -

"What were you doing over there?" Ron asked after Hermione had raced towards them.

Hermione took a moment to catch her breath and began leading them towards Hogsmeade before she answered, "just talking."

"To who? You could have asked them to come with us." Suggested Harry, since neither of them had seen who Hermione was talking to.

"I doubt you would have liked that. And I'm sure he wouldn't have come anyway."

"Who?" asked Ron.

"Draco," Hermione answered simply, not bothering to beat around the bush, and not looking at either of her friends when she spoke.

The two boys were stunned silent. Hermione kept walking as if it was no big thing, and in a moment, they both jogged to catch up to her. They all seemed to agree that Draco was not the topic of conversation that they were interested in pursuing, so no one said anything more on the subject.

"You guys mind if we go to Honeydukes after lunch? I've still got some gold left and could do with some sweets," said Ron

"Sounds good to me," agreed Harry.

"Sure," nodded Hermione.

Hermione turned back before they left the grounds, but could no longer see Draco, she smiled nevertheless. They had spent the whole morning together, and while it had felt rather restrained, it hadn't felt entirely awkward. At least that's what she felt; she still couldn't decipher what he was thinking. Although, when she remembered the look in his eyes when Harry and Ron had shouted for her, she had definitely felt something there. It looked as if he didn't want her to go. Even though he hadn't said anything, or made a move to stop her, she couldn't erase the feeling that his eyes had been pleading with her to stay.

If she hadn't already made plans with her friends, she would have stayed with him. But still they had made plans to meet up again tomorrow, and the thought made her heart feel light. No longer did she have to worry herself with 'what if's', instead she could enjoy the day with her friends, and look forward to an afternoon with Draco the next day. And hopefully, tomorrow she would make more progress in getting the real Draco to come out from behind his wall. If she could somehow get him to do that, then maybe there could be a hope that they would someday be able to get back together again.

Hermione had fun at Hogsmeade with her friends, although she felt they had both went a bit overboard buying sweets. Perhaps it was just because she was eager to get back to school, or it could have been that the boys' pockets were so heavily crammed with sweets, but for whatever reason, it took much longer to get back from Hogsmeade than it had taken to get there.

By the time they got back, they had time for the boys to bring their broomsticks, and for Hermione to bring her book back to their dormitories before they went to dinner. Hermione stepped into the Gryffindor changing room, where they had left all their stuff, and picked up her book. It was only then that she realized she had forgotten about Crookshanks. "Oh no!"

"What?" asked Harry.

"I forgot to bring Crookshanks back in before we left! I have no idea where he is!"

"I'm sure he'll be alright, he can take care of himself," reasoned Ron.

"True, but still, I just want to look for him before it gets too dark."

"Alright, we'll help," Harry volunteered.

The three searched until the sun had touched the horizon, but there was no sign of Crookshanks. "I don't like this" said Hermione in a worried tone, "He always comes when I call him, what if he's hurt or lost or something?" Horrible images of Crookshanks in danger began flashing through her mind.

"Hermione, calm down, why don't we go ask Hagrid if he's seen him on the grounds?" suggested Harry.

"Yeah, god idea."

Hermione ran over to Hagrid's hut while the boys continued searching and calling Crookshanks' name. As soon as she reached the door, she pounded on it, "Hagrid! Hagrid are you there?"

"One minute!" came Hagrid's booming voice. There was the sound of large footsteps, and then the door opened revealing the half-giant. "'ermione? Is somethin' wrong?"

"Yes, I've lost Crookshanks! You haven't seen him on the grounds today have you?"

"Actually, I did see 'im round earlier. You should watch out fer 'im 'ermione, I saw 'im go with Malfoy in ter the castle."

"Really?" Hermione breathed a surprised sigh of relief. "Thanks Hagrid!"

"No problem 'ermione!" Hagrid called as Hermione jogged back to Harry and Ron.

"That's ok guys, you don't have to look anymore," she said once she got there, a bit out of breath. "Hagrid let him back in, so he's probably just wandering the castle hunting for mice or something." Hermione decided it best to continue avoiding the subject of Draco around her friends, so she lied a little, but figured it didn't matter.

Once Hermione was back in her room after dinner, and had still seen no sign of Crookshanks, she decided to write Draco a little note;

Dear Cat-napper,

It seems as though you have stolen my cat. I will grant you permission to keep him for now, but tomorrow I demand to have him back. Two o'clock by the lake, I will not accept tardiness or excuses. See you then.

Hermione

She reread her letter, and smiled hoping that Draco would find it humorous. He seemed like he could use a laugh. Plus, as much as she wanted to make Draco laugh (or at least smile) the letter had an ulterior motive. By demanding a time to retrieve Crookshanks, she assured herself that they would in fact meet the next day. Although she had little doubt Draco would break the plan they had made earlier, now she was sure he would be there at the same time she was.

As quietly as she could, she slipped out of her room, and then out of the common room. She didn't want Harry knowing she had left, because she didn't want him to know she was writing to Draco. As quickly as possible, she treaded to the owlry, and enlisted the help of a small school owl to deliver the letter. It took it grudgingly, as it would rather spend the night hunting with the other owls.

Once the owl had flown away, Hermione walked slowly back to the common room with a slight smile on her face. All in all, today had been a very good day, but still, she couldn't wait for tomorrow. For some reason, she had a feeling that it was going to be a very good day.

I know everyone was looking forward to them talking again, so I hope you liked it! I'm pretty sure there are only two chapters left, so we're almost at the end (bittersweet I know). Just so you know, the next chapter may take a bit longer to post and this one did because I've got a lot of stuff to do this weekend, but I'll try not to make the wait too long. Anyway, as always, I absolutely love hearing from everyone, so please send a review.