Weeks seemed to pass in blur, Hermione helped Harry with the first task. Ron and Harry made up and Hermione was invited to dine with Krum in the Durmstrang ship where he asked her to the yule ball. In the middle of all of this Hermione had found no time to even open the package that Draco had given her. He hadn't event asked her for it back. She didn't know what to make of her last conversation with him. He seemed sane enough until, he wasn't. Since that day, they had not even spoken in potions unless it was absolutely necessary and thankfully Snape had not assigned any group projects.
In the middle of all of this insanity the only thing that kept her sane was her weekend ritual
—
Draco did not know what came over him. He never lost control the way he did with her that day. He was so angry, she needed a logical, rational explanation to everything all the time. Somethings never made sense in the first go, you had to mull over them. Just like in potions, sometimes you didn't get the potion ready in just a day! Why couldn't she see that. Impatient, impertinent little minx!
That however didn't stop him from taking his weekend flying trips and even checking out his favourite window.
—
The stress from the Yule Ball was mounting on the entire male population and that resulted in Ron and Hermione had a nasty row about him accusing her of turning down Neville
"Oh did I? Just because it's taken you 3 years to notice Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"
And just like that everything was sour again. Hermione had taken to spending more time in the library with the tome. Malfoy seemed to pop up from time to time sitting quietly across her and doing his own substantial homework load.
They never spoke, but they communicated in their own way. He handed her his self inking quill when her ink pot was running low. She would pass him blotting paper or just pull a relevant reference book and hand it to him. Not a word was said until one day while doing her transfiguration homework, she looked up at him and said "What moody did to you, was not right. I think it's as wrong as people asking elves to punish themselves…"
He just looked at her grimly, nodded and went back to his arithmancy paper.
—
Ron had taking to asking her at random times who she's going to the ball with. They were in the entrance hall when he popped the question again but before she had a chance to answer
"You're Joking Weasley? You're not telling me someone's asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared mudblood?" Malfoy regretted the slur as soon as it left him, he hoped she'd sense the the jest in his tone…
She whirled around with fire in her eyes and said "Oh hello professor moody!"
Draco went pale and spun around looking for him.
"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you Darco…" She said it scathingly and walked away
It wasn't until later that night that he would realise she had used his given name. With that thought Draco drifted off into sleep with a smile
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