Draco Malfoy got up from dinner first, leaving with that elegant stroll that his father had perfected. Years of training in looking and seeming just like his father had laid a primrose path for him, and he stuck to it, confident that no one would notice a damn thing while he was acting so usual.

He registered, out of the corner of his eye, Hermione Granger springing to her feet, and then grinding her teeth as she slowed herself to an amble - a gait that was significantly out of character for her. Gryffindors were like that, though? Never thinking outside the box. Draco would have told her (had he been consulted), that she should simply leave after he had vanished from the Great Hall. Then she could use her normal gait, that sort of bustling "I've got bigger things to do than you do" arrogant walk she had perfected - not out of any sense of purpose, but sheer lack of it. That gait had a truth in it that Draco's never did. Not when he ran, not when he ambled, not when he strutted.

Still, Draco Malfoy needed to get the first word in. So, at first opportunity, he took the long way to the alcove they'd been in earlier. He knew that Granger, with her congential impatience, would head there directly. And there she'd sit, wondering if he wasn't coming, wondering... well, a lot of things. He wasn't sure the exact content of her thoughts (he didn't read minds, after all, just expressions), but he knew that she'd be fairly full of questions, and not willing to leave the room to find him.

Two minutes after Granger had entered the room, Draco Malfoy entered, slipping smoothly inside. "I just wanted to say I'm not crazy, Granger." He said, before he was actually in the room, practically.

Hermione Granger looked at him, her entire motion arrested by the oddball comment. She nodded absentmindedly, and drew her wand. Draco held his breath a moment (despite knowing that she'd hardly murder him, she was the type that'd want answers first).

She began casting a wall of secrecy spells, to which Draco hastily added his own, some taken from his father (or godfather), and some simply tweaked versions of the textbook spells. He laid his behind hers, forming a second, more potent layer, in case the first failed to dissuade.

[a/n: Feel free to start guessing about the spells! As there's a Potter around, you can expect them to come up.

Leave a review!

And yes, Malfoy does overthink things. Chapter title is a preview of upcoming events.]