Hermione was taking a walk around the lake on brisk, Fall day. As a gust of wind goes by, Hermione scrunches into her coat for more warmth. She starts to daydream. Leaves crunching pull her out her little trance. She turns around and sees Malfoy walking towards where she is.
"What are you doing out here Granger?" he snarled although he didn't seem to put much effort into it.
"I was about to ask you the same, Malfoy," Hermione hissed back.
"I…I…never mind you probably wouldn't understand." Malfoy said with a haunted look on his face.
He walked the rest of the way around the lake. For some reason Hermione had the urge to go after him and see what was wrong with him. After some time of thinking about Malfoy, the young witch went back into the school.
At dinner, as Harry and Ron talked about Quidditch, Hermione looked around the Great Hall. When her gaze landed on the Slytherin table, she noticed Malfoy right away. He looked different, defeated in a way. He had a soft expression on his face as he played with the food on his plate. Suddenly he looked up and their gazes interlocked.