Disclaimer: I own jack.

A/N Huzzah! another chapter up, and I feel on a roll so chapter five might be up soon! Happy Christmas all!

"Here we are," Draco said as the carpet came to rest outside of a large portrait of a proper looking witch who was busy looking through a telescope and scribbling measurements on a sheet of parchment. "Over here!" Draco ordered. The witch dropped her quill and looked up surprised.

"Terribly sorry Master Draco sir," she said as she attempted to get the many scattered papers and charts into order.

"Right, right," he responded waving his hand. "Parchus Nilus," he said firmly.

Upon the password incantation, the painting swung open to reveal an open doorway into Hermione's chambers.

"I had no idea that all castles had portrait entrances," Hermione said as they entered.

"Just the older ones," Draco replied, "It's more of an older custom. When castles such as ours were built thousands of years ago there were many reasons to have all your doors hidden."

"And I'm sure there are still many reasons today as well," Hermione said softly. Draco turned to her and frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, I just figured, with some of the business your father conducts, well, wouldn't you want it behind hidden doors?" Hermione asked defensively.

Draco stared at her with no facial expression. "Whatever business my father conducts, it has nothing to do with you or me, what he wants done out of sight is his right."

"Out of sight, out of mind," Hermione snapped.

"Enough!" Draco yelled. His voice resonated off the stone corridor and echoed down the hall. Hermione gaped at him in surprise, but quickly regathered herself and placed a proud look across her face.

"No pureblood supremacist will find sympathy in my eyes," she thought passionately as she pictured Lucius. She looked back at Draco and saw the emotion in his eyes turn from frustration to reassurance.

"Listen, Hermione," he began, placing her hands in his, "What my father does is his business and is none of our concern, he'll do it either way, you just have to learn to live with it. We should just be happy now that he has finally dedicated himself to something that will ultimately benefit wizardkind in the end." He gave her a deep look of honesty. "He's changed Hermione...and so have I. The Malfoy's may not be the most accepting family, but we have learned that accepting mudb... muggle borns is a way of life for the time being and in time, not a factor at all. It's all for the greater good."

"Greater good, what is this greater good everyone always goes on about, but has never been explained to me!?" Hermione yelled in aggravation. Draco sighed, and then gave her a small smile. He even let a small chuckle escape from his lips. "What?" Hermione pleaded, almost angry.

"Your mouth, when you get angry you bite your upper lip over your lower lip, you looked like a fish," he said grinning.

"Well, I wasn't going to mention it, but your nostrils flared when you were angry," Hermione huffed back. Draco's smile changed to a smirk as he led the way into her chambers.

"I promise all your questions will be answered, but for now you just need to settle in and get some rest," Draco said as they entered the well-lit room.

Hermione gasped. "Oh my God! Look at this!" she squealed in glee. She whirred around and took in every corner of the circular room. Every wall was filled with shelves upon shelves of books. "Oh my God!" she squealed again.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like it," Draco said smiling as she ran to the nearest shelf and began reading the titles.

"Some of these books are older than the ones even in the Hogwart's library! I bet some of them even date back to before the Ministry was established!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I promise you many of them do, my ancestors left all their books into the many libraries of the Manor. There are probably scrolls and notes from before the Golden Age began, right when magic began to be harnessed," Draco said calmly.

Hermione turned to him astonished and overjoyed, "MANY libraries? You mean there are more?"

"Yeah, several more. We have one on each floor, and probably a few unused storerooms full of unread ones too," He said nodding. Hermione's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of her skull.

Draco didn't let her open any of the books; however, and began to lead her into the adjoining room. Hermione had an urge to push him away and begin to leaf through every book, until every page was memorized and known by her, she had to read them all! But, alas, she did not fight and Draco led her away from the aromatic musty scent of the library into a den. A large feather canopy bed was set against the center of the far wall, with a large roaring fire in the hearth in front of it. Hermione couldn't help but feel the siren call of the toasty down comforter and warm fur throws.

Draco slipped his hand off her shoulder and bent down to her ear. "I'll see you when you are fully rested," he said softly. With that said, he turned and left the room. Hermione heard his footsteps down the short stone entrance and then felt the soft breeze as the painting closed. She sighed happily and ran her fingers through her tumbling hair; only so many bobby pins can hold her lengthy hair for so long. She was so exhausted she did not even bother to go through her bags for a nightgown. She simply slipped her jeans and sweater off and tumbled into the snuggly folds of her bed. The velvet curtains of the canopy swayed gently back and forth as the fire cracked comfortably and Hermione drifted off into sleep.

Hermione let out a huge yawn as she awoke again.

"What time is it? I feel like I've slept for hours and hours, but it's still pitch black outside," Hermione thought as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes, "Oh well, at least I can sleep peacefully without the sound of falling bombs screaming through the air." She rolled over and closed her eyes. She exhaled deeply and inhaled the scent of the pillows. They smelled clean, with a small odor of the cedar wood that was still burning in the fireplace. The fire had died long ago, but a servant must have come in and added more logs. At the moment, the wood was almost gone and just the glowing embers were left. Hermione fell asleep once again.

She awoke again after what seemed like a few hours later. The room was still dark and silent.

"Okay, this is strange. Why is it still dark? I'm just going to get up and go take a look around in the hallways," Hermione thought. She pushed back the covers and felt around for the hanging curtains. She found them and pulled the apart, revealing the dimly lit room. Hermione stepped down and walked over to her bag. The floor was covered with a thick furry carpet that helped keep the heat in the wonderfully cozy room. She reached into her bag and took out a pair of slippers she had bought in the gift shop at St. Mungo's a few weeks earlier. She reached out and picked up a candlestick. She looked around for a match to light it with, but as soon as she picked it up, all seven candles lit magically by themselves. Hermione smiled at this. Sometimes the conveniences of the wizard world were ten times better than those of the muggle world.

She turned and headed through the library. Hermione resisted the extreme urge to snatch the nearest book and headed down the stone hallway to the portrait. It swung open as she neared it and stepped out into the vacant corridor.

"Have a good sleep miss?" the astronomy witch asked her as she glanced around the echoic rock hall.

"Oh, fine thanks," Hermione said with a small nod, "Is there anyway I could change the password? I'd like something a little easier to remember than a Latin phrase."

"Oh, of course, but you must make sure the Masters are informed, it is their castle after all," the astronomy witch replied.

"Okay, I'll make sure they're told," Hermione said honestly.

"Well, what password do you choose?" the painting's occupant asked, "But dear, you must respect the Malfoy's beliefs, they do prefer to have traditional sounding passwords for all their paintings. It kinda goes with the whole setting of the Manor."

"All right then, how about..." Hermione began, "Can't be cinnamon sticks like I wanted. Oh, make it Georgio Armani." Hermione smiled at this. No one here would even know what that meant and every time someone would say it it would make her smile.

"Sure, sounds great, what does that mean anyway? Is it some incantation?" the witch asked.

"Let's just say it's a very distinguished phrase," Hermione said knowingly.

"As you wish madam," the astronomy witch said as she looked back down at her scattered parchments full of measurements. Hermione turned and took a few steps down the hallway. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. The dank damp corridors were much colder and less inviting than the snuggly warmth of her rooms.

"I wonder how you find anyone in this place, it's just so... vast," Hermione said, her voice resonating off the walls."

"You develop a way of sensing people after awhile," a soothing soprano voice said behind her. Hermione whipped around to see the speaker. It was Draco's mother.

"Oh, Mrs. Malfoy, I was just, I was," Hermione stuttered as she realized she didn't even know where she was going and it wasn't very polite to go wandering around someone else's castle.

"Please love, call my Persephone," she said as she came and stood next to Hermione. "Are you feeling any stronger after your rest?" she asked courteously.

"Yes mam," Hermione answered as they began to walk down the hallway. Hermione just let Persephone lead the way, she knew her way much better than Hermione.

"I'm sure, you've slept for quite a long time," she said indifferently.

"Do you know the time?" Hermione asked, trying to sound as civil as possible.

"Well, dinner was finished a few hours ago, so I'd assume it's probably about 10:30 or so," Persephone said silkily.

"Oh my goodness, I can't believe I slept all through the day," Hermione said, shocked.

"The day? My dear, you've been asleep for a little over three days," Persephone said with an enchanting smile. Hermione just stared in astonishment. "Love, I'm glad you have come here, I believe that if you'd stayed in that hospital, you'd have collapsed by now."

"You used to be a nurse didn't you?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I did actually, at a small private recovery hospital. I was a nurse for those who had severe flesh wounds from spell damage. But what made you think I used to be in the medical field?" Persephone asked, looking inquisitively into Hermione's eyes.

"I don't know, I just get vibes from people," Hermione said softly, "Have you ever felt that you can read people? See what they do, what their family is like, how they feel at that time, stuff like that."

"No, I've never really felt that," Persephone said. She placed a hand on Hermione's cheek and said, "But we all have our unique gifts don't we?" She smiled and stopped at a painting of two warriors roasting a flying boar on a spit.

The two oil painted men turned and looked at the two women. "Hola, SeƱora Malfoy," one fighter said as the other gave a small subservient nod.

Persephone nodded back and said, "Omnivorus Entruce." The painting did not swing, but floated off the wall and up toward the ceiling to reveal a square white marble entrance. Hermione followed Draco's mother into the room, and realized it was something like a small restaurant. A few low to the ground tables were littered neatly around the room with large cushy poufs and pillows surrounding them. A black square was at the center of each one, as well as a red hawk quill.

"Oh Blitzen, you're here," Persephone said merrily as they both realized Draco was seated at one of the tables against the far wall.

"Hello mother," Draco said as he sifted his fork through his small plate of rice pudding.

"Hermione, this is the 'nibble room' as it's come to be called," Persephone said with a small laugh, "You can come here anytime you wish to get a snack, and order as much as you want. I'm sure you're famished after not eating for so long. Draco, I'll trust you to show Hermione around when you're finished. I'm going to bed now though, and remember, you're portkey is at 9 am sharp tomorrow, make sure you both are ready."

"Of course mother, thank you," Draco said politely as Hermione came and sat by him.

Persephone turned to leave the room, but turned and added just as she left and said, "Draco, you never told your father and I that your friend was an empath." She left the room and the portrait returned to its spot over the doorway. A tapestry of a great feast fell over the opening to conceal the back of the painting.

"Awake I see," Draco said as he ate a bite of his pudding.

"Empath, what on earth is an empath?" Hermione asked.

Draco smirked and said, "Well, apparently you are."

Hermione glared at him and said sternly, "Well, explain it to me already."

Draco cocked his head to the side, enjoying her annoyance and said, "Well, it seems there's a lot I've got to explain to you. Order some food, we could be here all night."

Hermione glowered at him.