Hey everyone! The mystery is finally solved. Sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed, but after I started it I had way too many ideas for my own good. I can't wait for the next few. Your jaws are gonna drop! Please review with any suggestions or comments. Thanks.

Chapter 8 Returning Favors

Hermione returned to Hogwarts late in the afternoon. She had hidden away in a vacant compartment and locked the door. A blissful two hours of undisturbed sleep followed. She squinted towards the castle brining her arm up to her eyes to shield the icy rays of sun. She hurried through the crowds of students hoping to be left alone.

She scrambled up the front stairs at a gallop, wanting nothing more then to continue her dreamless sleep. At that very moment Hermione felt like she could sleep forever. She was confused and scared, and feeling extremely guilty for leaving her father behind. She was also furious with him. She could understand grief, she too had lost the same person, but she couldn't understand rolling over and giving up. She was lost in fervent thought as she walked up to the two statues.

"Unity" she said firmly. She immediately looked up and smiled, not meaning to be harsh. The statues barely regarded her and slid to the side. She walked into the common room and slung her bag onto one of the couches. She felt like breaking things. She felt like making a horrible mess. 'After all, I did just spend the last week scrubbing and cleaning up for my father.'

Hermione looked around the room and her eyes zeroed in on an unsuspecting paper weight. She picked it up and hurled it against the wall. She stood with a shocked look in her eyes, and then slowly a smile spread across her face. 'Yes, that felt good, it didn't shatter, probably didn't even crack, but good nonetheless.' She said with satisfaction. After rummaging through her bag she looked up nervously at wall and where the paper weight had landed. She walked over to where it rested and replaced it on the table. It just wasn't in her nature to be destructive.

Hermione continued on to her own bedroom and slept through the entire day. When she woke up she couldn't tell what time it was. She rolled out of bed and planted both her feet firmly on the floor. She was filled with frustration, she knew there were a thousand things she should be doing instead of lying in bed like a great lump. She attempted to straighten her mussed hair but gave up when she realized the only one who could be in the common room was Malfoy. She slowly walked back out into the lounge and surveyed the area. Her eyes caught on a piece of paper, held down by the innocent paper weight. She moved closer, apprehensively. She reasoned that it wouldn't be below Malfoy to buy trick exploding paper as a welcome back surprise.

She hovered directly above the sheet of parchment she narrowed her eyes to read what was scribbled across the top:

"We have a perfect/head meeting tonight at 8. Tried to tell you but you snore too loud." Malfoy

Hermione grimaced. 'Do I really snore?' she thought frantically. Then the important thing hit her. She had a meeting at 8 o'clock that night, and she wasn't even sure if it was still the same day. She raced up to the mantel and read the clock. She sighed in relief it was only 6:45, she had plenty of time.

She walked leisurely to the bathroom and indulged in a scented bath. After that she laid around her room and started to unpack some of her things. Her mind drifted back to the note. She stood up and her jaw dropped. She raced out of her room and dove for the note on the table. She recognized his handwriting, she had seen it somewhere else, she just couldn't put her finger on it. Then she screamed. She ran back to her room with the note clenched tightly in her fist. She opened the drawer in her nightstand and pulled out the little gold box. She held Malfoy's crumpled note next to the perfect one attached to the box. The writing was identical.

'What a jerk!' Hermione whined, 'Why wouldn't he just tell me that he fixed it, I wasn't going to make a scene or anything.' Then it hit her. That was probably the first nice thing Draco had ever done for someone and he didn't know how to handle appreciation. Hermione smiled despite herself. She knew she had to do something nice for him in return so he wouldn't feel like it wasn't worth it.

She toyed with her locket as she replayed the days they had spent together. She searched her memory for anything he might have said he liked. Then it hit her like a lightning bolt. Draco had a secret love of a certain kind of muggle candy bar that he could only get when his parents weren't looking. She smiled broadly and reached for a sheet of parchment.

She quickly scrawled a note to her father naming the candy bar with directions to buy her an entire case. She dressed quickly and hurried up to the owlery. By time she was finished with that she headed toward the meeting room. She walked in a few minutes late, which seemed to be a new habit with her. The perfects gawked at her momentarily before she took the nearest seat. She looked around and noticed that McGonagall was not there yet. Her eyes continued to wander until they locked on to Malfoy. He was staring directly at her. Hermione ripped her gaze away and felt a rush of self conscienceness spread over her body. She fidgeted nervously with the ends of her hair and refused to look up. She didn't have to, she already knew he was smirking.

The meeting passed relatively fast, and was mainly about the success of the Winter Festival and about upcoming plans for the perfects. Hermione paid little attention to the proceedings. Her attention was spent musing how she would act when Malfoy discovered her present and realized it was her. 'Oh I can't wait to throw it all back in his face' she said to herself, smiling.

The next morning at breakfast three school owls dropped a large box into Hermione's lap. She new her father wouldn't let her down because he felt miserable about the way the visit went. She beamed widely when several Gryffindors gathered around her asking what she got. She shrugged the crowd off and said it was a gift for someone. Ron and Harry exchanged knowing glances, and both said "Ah Hermione! How sweet." with out stretched hands. She swatted at their greedy paws and stood up from her meal.

"This is not for you two naughty little boys." She smiled at the two and walked out of the common room. Hermione hurried to her dorm hoping that Draco was still incredibly occupied with his stupid girlfriend. She stated the password at the entrance and then walked nervously toward the male Celtic warrior.

"Persephone" she whispered. the statue just shook his head slightly and slid open. She took the package out of the box and set it neatly on his pillow. There were 24 candy bars in the container. 'Enough to give Malfoy and upset stomach for a week.' She thought cheerfully. She placed a bow on the top and turned to leave. Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turned fully around a saw the movement of a photograph. She timidly stepped closer, almost expecting Draco to leap from the closet. She could only make out a corner of the picture. Hermione slowly pushed her hand into his nightstand drawer and withdrew the photograph. She stared at it wide eyed. It was a picture of her and Draco dancing at the Winter Festival.

She searched her brain and couldn't remember having her picture taken. She grimaced. 'Why would Malfoy have this, especially in his nightstand?' she wondered. She looked again at the picture, neither of them looked very happy, but they did make a rather stunning pair in those costumes. She looked over he shoulder and stole one last quick glance at the photo before storing it back in it's hiding place.

Hermione walked out of Draco's dorm and moved distractedly to her own room. 'No, really, it makes no sense. Why would Draco keep a picture of us? Seriously this doesn't add up. If everyone got a picture of who they were paired up with, why didn't I get one?' she pondered. This was going to be a very long night. Hermione laid on her bed and stretched out. 'Thank goodness tomorrow is Sunday, I'll have a whole day to make myself sick wondering about this.' With that she fell asleep.

Draco entered the common room relatively early that evening. He had just had a fight with Pansy. She had complained about him never inviting her to the head dormitory, and he had shrugged her off with some lie about the rules. She was fuming and had stormed away. Draco ignored her dramatic outburst, but her words lingered in his mind. 'Why didn't he invite his girlfriend into his dorm, at least the common room?' Then it clicked. Hermione never invited anyone there, and out of mutual respect he refrained from doing it also. 'I would snap if I walked in and saw Potter or Weasley sitting on my couch.' The thought sat uneasily with him. He never went out of his was to respect someone, especially not Granger, but he had to admit that since their confessions a few weeks ago he had a new understanding of her.

Draco paced around the common room bored out of his mind. He almost hoped Hermione would walk in just so he would have something to do, even if it was dodging hexes. Finally after about an hour of moping around he went to his own room. As he walked through the door he pulled his robes and his shirt up over his head. He tossed them into a heap on the floor and he began running his hands through his own hair. He was frustrated and that was all there was to it.

He glanced around the room and noticed the object on his pillow. He walked cautiously up to it. He reached out an removed the enormous bow, and underneath was a box of his favorite muggle candy. 'Who the... Pansy must have felt bad... but wait! She doesn't know I like this junk.' After a moment of deliberation Malfoy's face lost it's color. 'Granger, I told her I liked these... oh the note! Damn!' he swore, hitting himself on the forehead. He never meant for her to find out, he didn't do it because he liked her, or because he felt pity, he did it because he understood how she felt. He used to wear a ring on his finger, he lost it last summer. He never felt the same without it.

Before he even knew what he was doing he charged across the common room and began screaming through the closed statue.

"Granger, get out here. NOW!" he yelled, hitting the stone walls with his fists. This continued for about five minutes, until he heard the statue sliding to the side. He jumped out of the way.

"What do you want Malfoy?" She asked bitterly, rubbing her eyes.

"Why did you do it?" He demanded.

"Do what?" She said loudly removing her hands from her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Draco standing in front of her half naked. She couldn't stop staring, and her eyes continued no higher than his well defined chest.

"You know, the damn candy." He spat angrily.

"Have you gone daft?" She asked coldly, mimicking his tone from the dance.

"Granger, stop, I know you did it. Why?" He said firmly, but a bit quieter.

"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about." She said whipping back around heading for her bedroom. Draco grabbed her arm and squeezed a little harder than he intended. He felt her flinch. He relaxed his hold and spun her around. He searched her face and saw a tiny bit of fear in her eyes. He dropped his hand and stepped back.

"I just want to know why you did that." He pleaded softly staring at the ground.

"Well, Malfoy, in a civilized society, when someone does something nice it is often reciprocated. I didn't know you would freak out like this. Don't worry, it will never happen again." She said angrily turning and walking back into the darkness.

Draco stared at the opening for a long time, hoping that maybe she would re-emerge and throw an insult at him. He could easily deal with those, but not with kindness. He slowly walked back to his own room and looked at the box on his pillow. He felt terrible, and he couldn't explain why. This was the first time someone had done something nice for him, aside from his mother. The feelings were all new to Draco.

He reached into his nightstand and pulled out the picture of himself and Hermione. He didn't know why he asked Colin to take it. He had lied and told him it was for a scrap book. Draco stared at the picture and then threw it to the ground. He refused to think about it. He stuffed the candy bars under his bed and jumped under the blankets. 'I'll deal with her tomorrow.' He said to himself before falling asleep.