Disclaimer: I'm once again floored by the fact that I don't own them.

A/N: Oops! It took me over a month to update! Sorry for the delay, I've hopefully make it up with extra words. I don't know what to say, I've entered the section where I slowly, or maybe not so slowly, build towards -that- point of the story. I hope I'll finish it before the end of next school year. But that's just me and my thinking. I hope you like this chapter...Try to spot the underlying re-budding emotions.

Grimmauld Place

The hall was oddly quiet, with only their resonating footsteps clicking on the stone floor.

The clicking made her nervous. Already, more than once, she'd wanted to look over her shoulder just to make sure everything was as Harry and she choreographed. She had to, at the very last moments, remind herself to stay focus. All students were in classes; Harry was a great wizard and nothing would go wrong.

Hermione looked down at the Marauders' Map for the section in Hogwarts they were in, making sure that there really weren't any students wondering about. She released that breath she didn't know she was holding when she saw no names on the map. There wouldn't be anyone about, she told herself with slight satisfaction, not with the new regime of teachers patrolling during their free lessons and not with the route they've chosen. They were far away from any classrooms or any nosy portraits, and they were taking as many secret passages as possible. And they were on the last corridor before Dumbledore's gargoyle.

With their destination so close, she dared to turn around just once to look at the two men behind her. Harry met her gaze and gave her a smile. Malfoy raised his eyebrows with a questioning look when she looked back.

Upon meeting his eyes for the first time since the last couple of weeks, the question that she had been dying to ask – 'Why the hell are you still alive?' – spun wildly in her head. She glared fiercely at the blond man as if it was all his fault – which it was – that the question was in her head.

Suddenly, she felt like she'd walked through a veil of coolness. Hermione's head swung around and then back, only to see Harry's frozen face and Malfoy's nonchalant expression through a veil of whiteness. She blinked. Of all things possible; they'd walked through a ghost, who had had to appear from out of nowhere, less than twenty meters away from Dumbledore's office.

"Good day, Bloody Baron." Hermione greeted stiffly, drawing the attention of the ghost to her.

"Ah, Good day, Professor Granger," said Bloody Baron before turning back to the other two. "Good day to you too, Harry Potter. And why…young Malfoy, I thought I would never see you again. What are you doing here?"

"Your Lordship-" began Hermione. She had to stop the Baron from telling the other ghosts, or the news of the war criminal would be out of Hogwarts before they can stop it. She was, however, silenced by a hand from the Baron.

She glared and Malfoy smirked. Of course, Malfoy would want the news of his capture out of the castle! Then, Voldemort would come and get him and then the students would be put under danger! Oh, Merlin; what should-

"Hello, Blood Baron. I'm here to accompany Potter and Granger for a little session." Drawled Malfoy, "It's good to see you again. I hope Slytherin is thriving."

"Ah," sighed the Baron, "It hasn't been the same since you've graduated, Young Malfoy. No one has made Head students."

"I'm sure-" Draco tried to continue before Harry gave him a firm tug on his rope.

Hermione saw the Baron frowned at the action.

"Well, I see that you are in a great hurry." The Baron said as he floated away, "I will be on my way to talk to some of my house."

Her eyes widened in horror. There was no way they could stop the news of Malfoy's capture from staying quiet now!

"Oh, Your Lordship, thank you for your graciousness." Draco nodded his head at the ghost, ready to go again. When he saw her stricken face, he smirked and turned around and said, "Your Lordship, would it be possible if I ask you to keep our chanced meeting a personal affair?"

The ghost of Slytherin house turned about. And after a moment of what seemed to be consideration, he nodded. "Farewell, young Malfoy. And you too, Professor Granger and Harry Potter."

She sighed in relief when the ghost disappeared through another wall. Without another word, she continued walking. The faster they entered the stairwell to Professor's Dumbledore's office, the better.

When they'd finally entered the stairwell, Harry and Malfoy first, then herself, after muttering the password, Malfoy turned around with a somewhat smug expression that she used to know.

"Aren't you going to thank me?" He asked.

"For what?" Harry snapped at him, clearly impatient to haul him into the Head office as well.

"Well, for making sure, that the news that I'm here didn't spread." Malfoy said, as if explaining the most obvious fact to a young child, as they entered the Head Office.

Hermione saw the tensing of Harry's shoulders and could already anticipate an outburst. She gave Harry a pat on the arm and shook her head, warning him not to take Malfoy's words too seriously. Malfoy after all was only trying to rile them up. And he was obviously not worth it.

"I must thank you then, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Dumbledore's airy voice sounded from across them, "for such a kind act." The old Headmaster moved away from his desk and invited them to the two settees in the center of the room.

Immediately, Hermione noted somewhat absently, the air around Malfoy changed from condescending to something akin to respect. He straightened up, like an aristocrat would, as Harry untied him and sat himself down on a sofa, back straight and face calm. His posture clearly stated that he meant business; his poise was exactly like the days when he was Head Boy. She'd always found that confidence he radiated was highly attractive.

Hermione shook her head to clear her thoughts. She seemed to be so distracted lately. It must be the stress of teaching. Harry gave her a look of concern, which she waved away carelessly with a smile, and stood herself behind Professor Dumbledore. Harry positioned himself behind Malfoy.

"Tea, Mr. Malfoy?" The Professor offered with a genial smile.

Malfoy nodded with an equal cordial smile on his face.

With a wave of his wand, Professor Dumbledore poured the tea. Had this happened to anyone besides the occupants in that very room, it would be a rather amiable meeting between two wizards, probably finalizing some business plan; not an interrogation session.

Draco Malfoy sipped his tea slowly; Hermione once again admired his ability to remain calm even knowing what was ahead. She thanked the Headmaster as he offered her a cup too and drank slowly, still quietly observing the war criminal who should have been dead but still managed to find his way into the fortress with the tightest security.

The two sitting men made idle talk about the weather, his injuries and rather general things before the chitchat died with the impending questions. The room fell silent.

"Now, Mr. Malfoy, I'm sure you've already guessed that the tea I gave you was drugged-" Professor Dumbledore started. Malfoy tipped his head slightly to affirm. "But to elevate your concerns, we've drunk it too. So you may be assured that the drug has no harm to the body."

"A Truth Serum, then, Professor?" Malfoy asked.

"Yes. May we start with asking the full name of Professor Granger here?" Professor Dumbledore said.

"Of course. I do believe Professor Granger's full name is…"

Hermione watched as Harry's eyebrow rose in astonishment. Although her full name wasn't a secret, there was surprisingly little people who knew her full name. Only a couple of people were close enough to ever bother finding it out, others had just assumed that it was 'Jane'. Draco Malfoy had been one of them, even if it'd probably been a misjudgment. She still remembered how it had been a silly bickering session that had led to her revealing her full name.

"Interesting," remarked Professor Dumbledore then he glanced over at Hermione. "I didn't think you would know."

"I'd informed him in one of the Head meetings." She lied through her teeth. It was probably not the most effective lie; but it seemed to pacify Harry who immediately relaxed.

"Very well. Another question then. Who sent you here?" Dumbledore asked.

"No one."

"So, you came here on your own free will?" Dumbledore sat back with a pensive look upon his face. Malfoy gave them a nod. "Then, Mr. Malfoy, what is your purpose here?"

"I-" he began and paused quickly, he was showing uncertainty for the first time he entered the room. "I'm no longer a servant of the Dark Lord. I want to strike a deal."

"Is that so, Mr. Malfoy? What do you know?" Professor Dumbledore summoned the bowl which he kept his Pensieve in.

"Lord Voldemort plans to strengthen his body by adding another bone into his body…I don't understand why he needs a bone though, there are so many strengthening spells…" Malfoy drifted off slowly.

"His father's bones." Harry said tersely. "He wants to use his father's bones. As if digging into his grave once wasn't enough already, that sick bastard."

"What should we do, Professor? If the Dark Lord…" Hermione asked the elderly man whose face had changed from a rather passive interest to one of keen concern. She had many theories of what they could, ranging from the blowing up of his father's grave to inventing a powerful countering charm; however, she didn't think that any of them were going to bring about much affect on Lord Voldemort's general plan.

"Mr. Malfoy, are you familiar with the arts of semi-resurrection?" the Headmaster asked.

"I am no expert; but I've touched upon them once or twice." Malfoy said.

"Very well, we've got no time to lose." The Professor clapped his hands together, clearly signaling the end of this particular meeting.

"But, Professor," began Hermione, "What are we going to do with Malfoy here?"

"As according to plan, of course." Professor Dumbledore answered. "Mr. Malfoy, we'll take you to a place where you can stay and I hope that you can begin a research on the different possible spells that Lord Voldemort may use. I'm sure that is not too much to ask?"

"I am supposing that our bargain is a deal?" the blond man before them asked.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. We have a deal." The older man nodded.

"But Professor!" Harry protested. He was clearly not happy about the arrangement because after all, Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be an ex-Death Eater, was going to stay with him in Grimmauld Place. "I'm sure Hermione can handle the research part just fine."

"I'm teaching now." Hermione reminded her friend quietly. "I don't have enough time to do the all the research now. We could use his help. Correct, Malfoy?"

Hermione turned to face Malfoy. He smirked at her, just like the way he used to. "Of course. I look forward to working with you again, Granger. Maybe you can bring some books from the Library here. Just like old times."

Hermione gave him a rather icy smile. "It will be my pleasure, Malfoy."

"Now, Harry," began Professor Dumbledore as he strolled towards his desk dug out a rather old and broken vase from beneath it. "I will accompany you to Mr. Malfoy's new resting place."

Harry nodded as he straightened up from the position he'd slouched into during the questioning. He walked over to her and gave her a hug and told her to take care. Harry turned to Malfoy and gave a jerk of his head in Dumbledore's direction to indicate that he was going after him.

With the three men's hands on the vase, Hermione asked, "May I leave now, Professor?"

"Oh, Hermione," Dumbledore said cheerily. "Do stay around until we've left! I'm rather fond of this vase; would you please repair it if it shatters when we disappear?"

"Of course, Professor." She smiled at the Headmaster. The older man had always had a liking for odd little things and she supposed the vase was another from his collection.

"Oi, Granger." Hermione turned to spare Malfoy a glance.

"What?"

"Remember what I've said. I'll be seeing you." He smirked. The smugness was back and Hermione wasn't exactly sure whether she liked it or not. The attitude he was displaying now was very…Malfoy, and to a certain extent, not what she expected from this mass murderer.

Instead of giving a response, Hermione graced him with a glare. She continued glaring until the three men were sucked into the vacuum created above the vase. She tried levitating the vase before it crashed down, but it seemed like gravity won the race. She sighed and walked across the room to repair the shattered vase. Then, she placed the vase on the desk before making her way out.

The sun was already setting when she walked out from behind the gargoyle. The orange and red and pink rays were casting long, long shadows on the stone tiles. The corridor was empty and quiet. She wondered where the students were and what were they doing. The hallway seemed so empty and quiet after this tiring day. The silence made her rather jumpy but she told herself she was being paranoid and with one of the biggest threats in Hogwarts removed, she should be more relaxed.

Hermione returned to her private room after deciding that she'd already missed dinner and she could ask Dobby or Winky to bring her some food if she felt hungry. She changed into clothing that was more comfortable and sat down at her desk where a pile of marking awaited her. She yawned and then smiled as she dipped her quill into the red ink and began. This was her comfort zone. She knew what she was doing. Nothing could go wrong…

"I meant what I said…I'll be seeing you."

She jerked up violently, pushing her chair far back. She breathed heavily and looked around in panic. Looking up, she only found herself in her own room and Crookshanks was on the couch giving her a curious look as his own sleep was disturbed by his mistress. Sagging with relief when she finally noticed that she'd only fallen asleep and was only dreaming. She looked down at the pile of marking before her. Upon deciding that she had done enough to ensure that the students would get their work back in the next two days, she went over to Crookshanks and picked him up.

"Oh, Crookshanks, it must be the stress of teaching that made me have that dream…" she told him and went into the bedroom.

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A/N: So, can anyone spot anything? I hope you've enjoyed it...and please review. Often your reviews point me at the right direction to write the next chapter.