Chapter 14 - Common Ground

It wasn't until the next morning when they'd both calmed down and thought things over that the reality of Ron's departure sunk in—and why it was a bad thing. No matter what disagreements had come between them after all, three wands were better than two, and Harry and Hermione did have to pick up the slack in Ron's share of the work from before, little though it may be. This of course involved taking longer shifts on guard duty, which Hermione agreed to do for that night since Harry would have to be alert for her departure the next day.

During her time pacing back and forth in the barely-warm area around the tent once Harry was up and about getting breakfast ready, Hermione tried to rationalize what had happened and think if maybe there hadn't been a way to prevent it. Was this a long time in coming or had it been some aftereffect of the locket? Or...was it possibly her fault for getting Ron over the edge with her announcement of setting up yet another meeting last night? Granted, neither she nor Harry had said or even tried to insinuate that she would go regardless of what Ron's opinion was—although, when it came down to it, that was the truth—and certainly they hadn't tried to provoke such an angry reaction, but...

Perhaps it was a combination of all these things, coupled with the fact that Ron had adjusted to this life of "roughing it" the hardest, and missed his family the most. Hermione put aside her own aches and Harry had demons of his own to deal with, but perhaps it was Ron who had it the worst because his family was actively being hunted, their lives in jeopardy day by day. His life had been wave after wave of activity, and now, honestly, they were getting nowhere and making no progress. So, his criticisms, though they had been hurtful and unnecessary, were in essence true.

Stop it, Hermione, she reprimanded herself, glancing down at the locket that she had put on as soon as Harry woke up. He'd be wearing it later on when she went to see Malfoy, so it was only fair that she take a turn, even though she was tired from a night of no sleep to begin with. Maybe we'll both show up pale and exhausted, she thought ironically.

Once Harry called her inside, they ate their breakfast in silence and didn't mention Ron's departure, except for when Harry asserted that it was no reason for Hermione not to meet up with "their contact" again. Surprised, Hermione looked up from her mushy milk and cereal, not having thought in the first place that Ron's departure should be enough to stop her. Having Harry assert it was reassuring, though.

"I'll only be gone for half an hour," she promised.

Harry looked up and attempted a small smile, which he only half managed. "Make it an hour. Last time you cut it pretty close so I assume you have a lot to talk about with this person, and besides, I can use the free time to pack."

And we can both use the time away from each other to think things through clearly and put this behind us, Hermione thought. And, for the first time in her life, the prospect of being away from her friends and with Malfoy suddenly seemed much more appealing than the vice-versa situation. Merlin, what times and what circumstances the war brought about!

To pass time the rest of the morning, Hermione helped Harry tidy up the tent, noticeably avoiding Ron's part, which still contained the radio that he had forgotten to bring along. It was their only source of news, but neither of them went near it. To an extent, Hermione realized that they were possibly waiting for Ron to change his mind and come back, and...well, he had until Hermione came back from her meeting with Malfoy, and that was that. Afterwards, they had to leave, having already stayed in their current location for too long.

Focusing on shutting the thoughts of Ron out of her mind, his last words and the way he had looked in particular, coupled with the realization that she indeed no longer had any romantic feelings for him, Hermione thus passed the rest of the morning in silence and didn't have much to say to Harry even when it was time for her to leave. They were both dealing with this in their own way, it was true, and for now that way seemed to be the way of silence.

Hope we can get back on track sooner rather than later, Hermione thought as she slipped the locket around Harry's neck. Then, her bespectacled friend watched as she packed the book in her bag, the only thing she would be bringing along besides her wand, and then disapparated to Whitby Abbey yet again.

Malfoy was waiting for her, having already arrived earlier. This time, Hermione found him near the back of the abbey, next to what could only be an old cemetery. Just like before, he was wearing an all-black suit and had already put up protective wards and a warming charm in place.

Indeed, Draco had spent maybe half an hour by himself prior to the set time to meet with Hermione, both to have some time alone and prepare himself for what he wanted to say—and, of course, also just to be away from Hogwarts. Having decided early on that the safest way to go about it was to just outright ask it as a favour for Hermione to practice occlumency with him and damn the consequences of his "owing her" later on, Draco spent the rest of his time reading the inscriptions on the tombstones, most of them faded away by time and the elements. Hermione cautiously approached him from behind, not wanting to startle him.

"Hello again," Draco greeted her first, not even turning around. He was nervous on the inside now that she was finally here, because, giving an academic reason or not, what he was about to ask of her was still profoundly personal. The gains that he had been weighing in his mind against the odds of exposing himself were too good to pass up though, so he wanted to make the request as soon as possible and just get it over with. Unfortunately, Hermione wasn't ever one to wait to do something that could be done immediately, so as she walked up to stand beside Draco, she had already taken out the book from her bag and was holding it out to him.

Draco glanced down and accepted it, though in truth he could care less. If Hermione hadn't shown up with it, he doubted that he would have even noticed. "Find what you needed?" he asked regardless.

"Mm-hmm." Her reply was thankfully noncommittal enough that Draco could launch into his next request without context.

"I want to ask you a favour in return," he began, adding in that last part more because it wasn't in his nature to take the low ground in a discussion than because she actually still owed him anything. For once, they were on equal terms, so Draco's next request really did put him at a disadvantage, but not one that his natural pride would allow him to acknowledge easily.

"Yes?" Hermione asked, instantly attentive. She expected it to be another thing regarding his list, of course, so what Malfoy said next was more than surprising for her.

"Lately, I've been reviewing what I know and there are areas where I need more practice in my magic," Draco said. "Specifically, in shielding my mind." He finally turned to look at Hermione as well. "You can guess why it's important. I need a good partner at occlumency and legilimency, and obviously there's no one else I can ask. So—"

"I can't."

Rather than be annoyed at being so suddenly interrupted and rejected all at once, Draco was instead taken aback by her wording. Granger meant every word she said and weighed it carefully, he knew, so to say that she "couldn't" was definitely different than saying she "wouldn't". He was just about to make the confirmation in case maybe she had misspoken for once, but what Hermione said next was an explanation in and of itself, and also a bit of a revelation to Draco.

"I've, erm...never actually learned either of those," Hermione confessed. Then, with a shrug, she shifted her weight from foot to foot. "When Harry learned it, he did so out of necessity, but I myself never had the chance to...or really saw the need. After all, it's not You-Know-Who in my head, and back then there were so many other things to focus on..."

Her explanations aside, Draco tuned them out as she continued talking, instead focusing on the bare essentials of what she was telling him: that Hermione Granger, know-it-all ace student who excelled in practically every conceivable area of magic, did not know something. For a small, inflated moment, Draco couldn't help but feel proud of himself, like it was an accomplishment that for once he knew something that she didn't, but then he realized that this also meant that any chances of opening up just flew right out the window with that comment. If Granger couldn't even attempt to penetrate his mind and help him improve, then there was no way he could let her in on what he was really thinking, what he was really like...

Unless you just open your mouth and talk to her about it, you idiot, Draco thought. But, as was often the case with him practically his entire life, the words he wanted to say were locked inside him, buried beneath an exterior of presumed superiority and the desire to appear indifferent and...

"I—I'm sorry that I can't help you."

These last words were barely whispered, but what brought back Draco's focus was when he noticed that Granger...had tears in her eyes?!

What the—

Hermione couldn't help the rush of emotion that came over her all of a sudden. Usually calm and composed, there was no denying that she was at her breaking point right now. Not only these weeks and weeks of keeping it together only to have things come crashing down around her head with Ron's departure, but now also the repeated fact that she wasn't making progress anywhere with anything that the trio had been doing was more than enough to dishearten even her. Add to that the fact that she hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night and now would have to take on added responsibilities in protecting Harry, and that last bit about not even knowing a bit of occlumency and legilimency to help Malfoy of all people was just too much to take!

Turning away, she hurriedly wiped at the tears that had somehow escaped from her eyes, but it was too late: Draco had seen her pain.

It was just for an instant, mind you, and afterwards he turned away awkwardly to give Hermione her privacy in composing herself again, and yet...he couldn't get that briefest instant out of his mind. Her face...it looked absolutely tortured and crippled of all brightness, all hope. It looked entirely unlike Hermione Granger, much like his own reflection nowadays looked nothing what he'd expected his own person, Draco Malfoy, to look like. This entire time, he had wallowed endlessly in a personal hell of self-pity, and yet...here was the first definitive and personal proof Draco had seen that he wasn't the one that this war had affected the worst—not by a long shot.

For the first time in his life, Draco really got an honest glimpse into himself and realized just how selfish he had been. Selfish and...a complete prick in that he was even relying on the excuse of occlumency lessons so as to have someone to vent to, all the while trying to make it seem like that's not what he was doing. It made it doubly worse, quite frankly. And even though Draco hadn't had any way of knowing that it would elicit such a response from Hermione—and he had no idea what the reason behind that was, by the way—he realized now that in any case it had been wrong of him. Wrong and...cowardly.

She's been upfront with you from the beginning, as far as you know, Draco thought. And here you're trying to get your way without reciprocating. Draco, you clearly don't deserve comfort if you're just going to cheat your way to getting it.

And that's what he was after, what they both lacked, and what they both sorely needed: comfort.

Turning back to her, Draco stepped closer until he was right behind her and then, reaching out a careful hand, he placed it on her shoulder in a sort of light touch. But Hermione, whose every sense was doubly sensitive now, felt even that, and stilled completely under it. She hadn't expected for Malfoy to touch her, or even to do anything other than disapparate after her uncharacteristic display of sorrow, but when he did she found that it wasn't wholly unwelcome. Actually, apart from the occasional appreciative handclasp that she had shared with Harry when they had made even a bit of progress before and wanted to express their excitement, Hermione hadn't felt any physical contact for a long time now, and...even from him, it was appreciated.

Even if Malfoy was doing it only out of pity and not genuine comfort right now, Hermione didn't mind it; after all, she pitied him equally as much.

Sniffling, she slowly turned around, careful not to shrug his hand off or anything and give him the wrong idea. Draco, to his credit, held perfectly still but didn't remove his hand. The two faced each other, each blankly unguarded, and for the first time mutually recognized the suffering and hardship that the other was going through. They were of different sorts, of course, but they were both evidently in pain. In just that moment, gone were the facades of indifference, cleverness, and formality of before; now, they were just two young adults who were scared and discouraged with everything that was happening around them, and desperately didn't know what to do. Their past meant nothing and besides which, they couldn't bring themselves to act on it, neither of them. All that was left was the future, ever uncertain...

"I..." Hermione began, and then let out a shuddering breath. "I'm s—"

"If you're going to apologize for that, don't," Draco cut in. Then, at Hermione's curious look, he continued, "I think it's been a long time in coming for both of us to do that, Granger. I've had enough chances to do that myself in the Room of Requirement, but you've never had a moment alone lately, have you?" Seeing her pain was apparently the motivator he needed to finally be upfront and honest about his own, and so Draco pushed himself into making the first move. Waiting to see how she would respond though, now that was the apprehensive part.

Hermione did indeed catch on to it, of course, but right now she had neither the energy nor the heart to encourage him to just talk about himself. From the beginning, when encouraging him to open up and talk to her, she had never thought that it would be a mutual exchange, having assumed that her own mental state was quite stable and balanced; now, though the tables weren't exactly turned on her, it did put them on common ground as far as far as vulnerability went. Oddly enough, Hermione felt that she didn't regret this, but rather welcomed it. All exchanges should be equal, after all, and besides...maybe she also needed someone to listen.

Suggesting that they both go and sit down, Hermione and Draco walked over to the abbey proper, to seat themselves on a ledge just like last time. Draco had removed his hand from Hermione's shoulder, but found that the loss of contact made him feel rather empty and...wanting. Like Hermione, after all, he'd only had minimal physical contact with anyone, and even then the touches had been purposely cold and brief—even on behalf of his mother, who was afraid to show too much affection towards her son lest anyone use it against them. With no one else around though, maybe there wasn't the same risk and Draco could be more open.

Assuming she didn't push him away, of course.

Listen to yourself. Pathetic, he thought, the voice in his head sounding strangely like this father's. Draco felt almost a physical pain as he tried to shut that voice out, put it away. Hermione's voice did much to help in that as she spoke up the next moment.

"It must be good to have something to occupy your time," she said. "That list and now occlumency? Must be tiring."

And although she was hinting at his reasons for always looking so tired, Draco wasn't sure just what to say to that. For one thing, the list was the least of the things making him tired—quite the contrary, as it gave him a spark of life in his otherwise numb existence—but besides that, it was still on his mind how his only intentions had been to talk to Hermione to make himself feel better, and not consider how she felt in general. Seeing her cry, her emotions on the surface like that, brought a new realization to Draco that he had never considered before, and now...

Now he didn't just want to talk about himself and have Granger say...well, just about anything to make him feel better; he wanted to give as well as to take.

"I imagine that whatever it is you're doing is equally as tiring," he said, redirecting the conversation a touch.

Hermione, needless to say, was not prepared for the topic to shift to her as easily as it did, but...for once she didn't press the issue towards Malfoy to learn more about him. Right now, he was encouraging her to take a turn—and, by Merlin, she deserved it!—at relieving herself of all the mental tension and torment she had been carrying inside, and though it meant letting him know certain things, Hermione found that she wanted to.

"The opposite is what's tiring me," she began, looking up at him to gauge his reaction at the disappointing secret she was about to reveal. "Whereas you've had something to do, my problem is that I have nothing. Nothing to work with, nothing to progress on, just...nothing." Then, giving a sigh, she continued: "I've hit a dead end, Malfoy, and that tires me more than anything. Everything I try, even what I did with the book"—she gestured to it vaguely—"it's all been useless. And I'm not used to things being like that; usually they work out if I try hard enough. This time..." She finished with a weak shrug.

There were of course, a lot of blanks to that speech, and Draco didn't know nearly enough of the story to determine just what it was that was frustrating Hermione, but the thought that anything should frustrate her and leave her without answers was...disconcerting. After all, if Hermione Granger couldn't figure something out, then that had to be bad.

But just reasserting what she already knew wouldn't help her, Draco thought. And besides which, it must have taken a lot for her to reveal even that much to someone who, for all intents and purposes, should be her enemy. Draco didn't want to think of the two of them in terms of that, not anymore. So, choosing his next words carefully, he said:

"Whatever it is, it's definitely more than anyone should ask of someone our age."

Hermione blinked uncertainly as she processed his words which, though general, were the truest they could be regarding what she, Harry, and (formerly) Ron had been doing. Hunting horcruxes wasn't something that three young, unexperienced wizards should be expected to handle. Heck, if they weren't doing this and the wizarding world wasn't in the turmoil it was in, then they would be in their final year at Hogwarts and Hermione would be aiming to be Head Girl...

But that wouldn't solve any of the problems regarding Voldemort, whereas this is at least us trying, Hermione reminded herself. Yes, it's unfair, but this is something that was written in Harry's destiny since the beginning, and now it's a part of what I have to do as well. It's what right and just because it's hard doesn't mean that we shouldn't keep trying, searching new sources, finding new clues, and...completing the work that Dumbledore entrusted us to do.

Because the old wizard did have faith in them to do what needed to be done—he wouldn't have started Harry on this path or even included her and Ron in his will otherwise. Heck, he had even tried to will them the Sword of Gryffindor, and if that wasn't a show of faith, then—

Wait a minute...the Sword of Gryffindor? Merlin, could that mean—?

Brilliant realizations happening mid-conversation or even mid-sentence were common for Hermione, but right now she couldn't just blurt out her idea because, obviously, Malfoy had no context to go on. And though his brief statement definitely had no prerequisite to make her feel this encouraged all of a sudden or give her this much of a breakthrough, Hermione appreciated it regardless and ended up smiling.

"You're right," she said, realizing that she'd been silent for too long, "but we've no choice but to press forward."

Though Draco was confused at her sudden smile and why she suddenly seemed...er, spontaneously more cheerful, it wasn't an unwelcome change so he didn't question it. Instead, he gave a shrug of his own and said, "I guess that's what I'm doing too. We've each got our own part to play, whatever it is." And to whatever end it might be...

Significantly revived from her previous temporary moping, Hermione leaned forward slightly in interest. "Speaking of which, how is it going with your list?"

Draco froze, unsure of how much to tell her. Of course, sooner or later they were bound to circle back to the topic of her advice from last time, but...Merlin, he really didn't want to tell her the full story about Hagrid and think less of him because of that. Wait...think less of him? What did he care what Granger thought?!

You do care, Draco, he thought as watched her beside him, all interest and attention. You care a damn lot more than you'll admit.

And, for better or for worse, Granger's opinion did mean something to him. After all, wasn't opening yourself up to someone automatically an inclusion of their opinion into your consideration? There was no denying that now, even if Draco wouldn't ever say so. Right now, he didn't want to think where that would lead him...

"Yeah, I got it—the dragon whistle. It was just where you thought it'd be."

To his surprise, Hermione actually smiled at that, which made him feel a pang of guilt on the inside. Maybe he should burst her bubble before she really got the wrong idea—

"I'm glad I was able to help, then. Of course, I wish I knew what you were going to use it for, but I suppose—"

"I'm not going to use it for anything as far as I know, Granger," Draco cut in. Then, as usual reverting to putting on an attitude so that she wouldn't ask for more details on just how he'd got it and therefore push into what was for him uncomfortable territory, he added, "I think I mentioned that already. The only thing I'm going to do with that whistle is put it in my family's vault, and nothing else." And, as is always the case when speaking based on emotion and not logic, Draco didn't realize the implications of what he'd revealed until after it was out in the open.

Hermione, of course, didn't miss a beat. "Your family's vault? Merlin, why? Is that what you're doing with all the items on the list?"

It was yet another detail out in the open, but since she had already caught on to the hook, there was no dissuading her now. Draco wasn't sure why, but the way she looked at him made him feel rather like a textbook that she was trying to read and he didn't like it.

Much. After all, what guy wouldn't be...even slightly flattered at that amount of attention from someone who usually had an easy time figuring things out?

"As a matter of fact, yes, Granger. That's where all the items will end up—as many of them as I can find, anyway."

Hermione pursed her lips, deep in thought. "But that doesn't make sense. I mean, most of those items are useless, no doubt about it, but then some...Malfoy, could I see the list again?"

Draco, as usual, had it on him; and for once, instead of commenting, he handed it to her freely.

Taking it in her hands, Hermione scanned the items and immediately sought out the ones that, if not the most obviously significant, were at least the hardest to find. One item in particular that she hadn't noted before suddenly seemed to pop out of the page at her.

"Unicorn blood?" She wrinkled her nose. "Malfoy, how do you expect to get ahold of this?"

Having taken the opposite route in trying to find some of the less obviously hard items first, Draco in fact hadn't made any plans for the unicorn blood, so he simply shrugged. "When I get to it, I'll let you know." Assuming they still kept up this contact, that is—which was looking to be increasingly likely.

Hermione shook her head. "And all in your vault. Pardon my saying so, but it's rather useless there, isn't it?" She handed Draco back the list, looking at him imploringly. "Just who is asking you to get these things?" Maybe there were more clues to be had there with what it was about...

Draco cooly tucked the list back into his breast pocket, his face unreadable. "That's something I won't ever answer, Granger. Id' just as soon ask you Potter's location and expect an answer."

"Assuming you're interested in You-Know-Who's cause, you mean." The way she said that as more of a certain statement than a question didn't sit well with Draco. What made it worse was that it was absolutely true—his alliance wasn't to the Dark Lord anymore, not really.

Feeling himself on the verge of a bad mood that he couldn't control, Draco abruptly turned away from her. "Drop the subject of the list, Granger." He said. Then, in quieter voice, he added, "Please."

That one word completely threw Hermione off track. Having maybe made progress on her own mission, however inadvertently and prematurely, she had gone off on that temporary intellectual high of hers, wanting to find out as much information as she could, as quickly as she could. Obviously, the most interesting line of questioning was with regards to Draco's list, and so of course she had gotten ahead of herself and...in the process pushed more than she should have. It was only with that one word that she was certain she had never heard Malfoy say before that she was reminded that he was in fact a wizard with his own set of troubles and his own limits.

And those limits didn't extend to his catering to her every whim and answering all of her questions, much as that was exactly what she wanted him to do.

And you're not telling him anything. Not exactly fair, is it? Hermione thought. Of course, for obvious reasons she couldn't tell him the specifics of what she and Harry were doing, but...it was the first time that she felt guilty about it.

"I'm sorry."

Draco couldn't resist a small smile, even though he still didn't turn to face her. "I never knew you'd say that so much."

"What? I don't say it much!" Hermione gasped.

Now Draco did turn back to her, his smile now a full smirk. "In just this meeting alone, you've apologized for not being able to practice occlumency with me, attempted to apologize for crying, and now you're apologizing for questioning me. That's three times, Granger."

Hermione had no idea that he'd been keeping count, but...Merlin did he look smug at that! And, in spite of herself, Hermione blushed in embarrassment at the truth of his words and how it put her in a rather ridiculous position. Attempt to apologize for crying? Mortifying!

"Next time I'll hex you and then I'll have a reason to apologize," she threatened, not at all serious.

As far as baiting though, of course Draco Malfoy rose up to it. "Then I'd have to hex you back, and I wouldn't apologize."

"No, I don't suppose you would," Hermione said, unable to keep in the giggle that came after.

Draco was surprised to hear it—and even more surprised once he realized that he liked it. It was a sound he had never heard from Hermione Granger...and yet it was already a sound that he thought she should make more often...

"Granger, this may come as a surprise, but—"

"Hermione."

Draco blinked, his face stilling from the smile and joking manner he had been gravitating towards before. "What?"

Hermione sobered as well, glad for the light and easy manner—and also realizing that it being possible changed a few things between her and Malfoy. In a way that perhaps only a good laugh and a smile could confirm, they truly were no longer enemies or even on bad terms with each other. During this entire conversation from start to finish, even when for a moment it almost seemed like she was pushing Malfoy's buttons when she shouldn't, Hermione hadn't felt any of that dislike or antagonizing from before—not at all.

"Call me Hermione, Malfoy. We are the same age, after all, and past that point of formality, don't you think?"

Draco's mouth felt dry, almost as if she had given him a whole chocolate frog to swallow rather than just ask him to call her by her name. If he did so though, Draco knew that there was no going back to considering her simply as "Granger", not even in his own mind. She would be "Hermione", and for some reason that felt like someone entirely different...

But, all other considerations and his own past prejudices aside, Draco felt that was someone he wanted to get to know!

Swallowing back the lump that had somehow formed in his throat, Draco said, "Hermione."

At that, Hermione couldn't help but smile, not having fully expected for Malfoy to take her up on the offer. And hearing her name from his mouth, no matter how awkward and new it sounded, was something that she rather liked.

"Have you anything else to say, Malfoy?"

"...Draco." He shifted his position, his entire body facing her now. "If we're dropping the formalities, you should call me Draco from now on."

Hermione felt her heartbeat pick up as she forced herself to say it: "Draco...". It sounded much more intimate when put like that, and yet...

An awkward but not unwelcome silence passed after that, during which time both Draco and Hermione looked everywhere except at each other, sneaking glances only to check if the other was...what? Still there? Feeling the newness of this moment as well and feeling just as awkward about it? Or, perhaps, they were searching for something else within each other, something to confirm that they themselves weren't the only ones to recognize the significance of this moment. Something that...confirmed this shift between them from mere former classmates to...friends?

Or, in any case, something very like a tentative friendship, though neither could put that name to it just yet. Both were equally inclined towards that direction though...

Clearing his throat, for once it was Draco that finally broke the silence. "So, ah, what did you tell Potter and Weasley about my patronus? I assume they were curious."

"Oh! Right, that. I...actually didn't tell them anything," Hermione said, trying to brush away the remnants of Ron's departure following that and focus on the here-and-now—which was getting to be too good for her to let go of. Not just yet.

"They are curious, of course, but I emphasized the need for your identity to remain a secret. They have no idea and all they know now is that you're a contact that we have inside of Hogwarts." Then, to make things a bit lighter to take, she added, "I think they're convinced that you're a professor helping us out in secret."

"Helping you out?" Draco repeated. "I don't think I've done that, Gra—Hermione."

"What do you mean?" Hermione furrowed her brow. "You've already, er, not turned me in several times, and besides which, you got the book for me."

"Which you've just confirmed earlier on didn't help matters."

"No, not completely, but it did give us a clue. Sort of." Not one that they could follow extensively at the moment, but still, maybe Malf—Draco could help further if he knew some details.

"In this mission of yours?"

Hermione shook her head. "More of a side mission, really," she said, deciding to confide in Draco about this part at least. "You see, Harry's been having visions, and I guess it's no secret by now that he and You-Know-Who's minds are linked. Harry sees where he is sometimes and what he's doing, but that doesn't tell us what he's after. Recently though, there's been a pattern, a trail of sorts..."

Draco leaned forward in interest, carefully listening. Whether they were considered part of the inner circle or not, most of the Dark Lord's plans were kept highly secret from the Malfoys and other Death Eaters; Draco wasn't sure if he confided in anyone, not even Bellatrix or Severus, his closest followers, on what he was doing. But the Dark Lord had been out of Britain for several weeks now, and that was much longer than his usual days-long journeys. Whatever he was looking for, this "trail" that Potter and Hermione had picked up on, Draco wanted to know what it was.

"First, he interrogated Ollivander on something, and then another wandmaker called Gregorovitch," Hermione continued. "From Gregorovitch, he extracted a memory and Harry got to view it as well. In it, he saw a wizard that had taken something from Gregorovitch, something that You-Know-Who is now after. Back when I went to Diagon Alley and we met, I was searching out ingredients to make a temporary pensieve, which I did, and so I got to view the memory as well. There was still no way of telling who that wizard was just based on the image we got though, so the book I asked you for was our reference for that." Hermione sighed as she came to more or less the end of this trail of information which, while not as important as the possible breakthrough on their main mission of hunting horcruxes, was still a disappointment for Hermione, as she was used to having all of the answers.

"And did you find out who the wizard is or was?" Draco asked intently.

"His name is or was Gellert Grindlewald. That's about all I know, unfortunately, as nothing about him was written in any detail." Hermione took a moment to revisit that disappointment before concluding, "Anyway, we think that what You-Know-Who is after is a new wand, as that seems to be the connection between Ollivander and Gregorovitch. After his old wand underwent priori incantatem with Harry's wand, it only makes sense, after all."

The memory of the Dark Lord demanding his father's wand and then promptly snapping it off of his cane came to Draco's mind. Lucius had been reluctant and of course terrified to give up his wand, but what choice did he have? The loss of that wand during Potter's flight to the Burrow had been insult on top of injury, and although Lucius had replaced his wand, there wasn't that same level of familiarity with his new partner in magic. That the Dark Lord should search for a more powerful wand suited to him did indeed make sense, but there were still a lot of pieces to the puzzle that had yet to be revealed...

And all of this was a "side-mission"? Draco thought. No wonder that she looks so tired...

"Now, if I could just get my hands on another book with more specific information on Grindlewald, I may be able to find out what You-Know-Who's after," Hermione went on, unaware of where Draco's thoughts had run. "Do you suppose you could—?"

But Draco had already nodded his compliance. Having felt now that he hadn't done nearly as much to help her as she had to help him, he was determined to even things out. And besides which, for the first time in his life, he found himself wanting to help her out just because. No rewards, no paybacks, no favours; he just wanted to help Hermione.

And Potter, he supposed, but that was less important.

Er...no, obviously it was more important in the grand scheme of things, but to Draco's mind, helping Hermione was just more worthwhile. More satisfying. More...

Enough, Draco. Just say you want to help her and leave it at that.

"I'll see what I can find. I spend most of my time in the library nowadays anyway, so at least it'll give me a reason besides random reading"—and avoiding his "friends"—"to be there."

Hermione blinked at him in surprise. "You...spend your time in the library?" What she really wanted to say was "You read?!" but that sounded a tad too insulting.

"Either that or the Room of Requirement. Anywhere I can to be alone."

"You're not alone now."

Hermione had no idea why she'd said it and was hyper-aware once she did, but this statement brought about a new realization to Draco as well. For the briefest moment, he wanted to reach out and touch her again, just to make sure that she was really there. Instead though, he remained perfectly still, unable to move.

"No, I'm not," he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hermione couldn't help but gaze back at him, her body equally still. "Do you...want to be?"

"Not now," Draco found himself replying in all honestly. "Not when I'm around you."

Hermione wasn't aware that she was blushing and neither of them were aware that they were leaning closer to one another. Draco's words hung over them, creating a tense atmosphere that, though easy to disturb by the slightest movement, was nevertheless very strongly felt. Neither were sure of what else to say or what else to do, but thankfully fate took a rather surprising turn in providing some relief from where the conversation had been going.

From the corner of their vision, prancing about and looking rather natural in the countryside setting, a tall and impressive stag made its way towards them. To Hermione it was a familiar sight, and even Draco had at least heard rumors enough to know what it was: Harry Potter's patronus.

It opened its mouth and spoke in a voice that Harry, thank goodness, had thought to disguise, even though it was unnecessary: "About done? Everything's ready." Just vague enough for no one to be able to interpret, but exact enough for Hermione to know what was meant. She pulled out her wand and checked the time, surprised to find that several minutes over an hour had already passed.

So quick and...leaving her feeling completely bereft for where things had been going. Or was she only imagining things and reading more into everything like she usually did?

"It looks like Potter needs you," Draco spoke up, the detached tone of his voice enough to bring Hermione's attention to him. "You should go now and...I'll contact you once I find a suitable book. What was the name, one more time?"

Hermione, though recognizing the blunt necessity for everything he had said, found herself for once not wanting to review details towards her mission and instead wishing that the conversation could steer towards that other direction. There was neither the time nor the appropriateness for her to pursue it now, though.

"Gellert Grindlewald."

Draco nodded. "Right. I'll get it on it. Stay safe." And although he had the good graces to wait this time until Hermione had stood up and walked a short distance away in an almost-goodbye, she still found herself feeling that same disappointment when she turned around to see that he was already gone.

With no more than a sigh to pull herself together, Hermione Granger also disapparated.

A/N: There! I hope that was as satisfying to read as it was for me to write! And I also added in that little revelation about the Sword of Gryffindor there, eh? Notice that? I figured it was about time for Hermione to get clued in that it was necessary to find it, so I chose to include that here. In the original books, you'll recall that she figured it out herself earlier and that needing to find the sword was the initial reason that Ron decided to leave in the first place—but, obviously, I changed things up here. As for whether or not Draco will be involved in this somehow...mmm...we'll see. Let's just say that I have everything planned out and that all it takes on your part is patience for it to play out. I really hope that you enjoy what I have in mind though.

Also, while I definitely enjoy bringing out the vulnerabilities in Hermione like I did for this chapter, it's not something I'll be doing often, much like I didn't linger on her sadness too much here. I just see Hermione as a really strong character, too strong to be put down for long, so...yeah, it really doesn't take a lot to cheer her up, despite my otherwise fluffy temptation to have Draco actively try to comfort her. Yeah...nope, not yet. *wink wink*

Also, regarding a question I've received about whether Hermione will be helping out with anything else on Draco's list, that's a definitive yes, since of course he'll definitely need more help.

As always, please to follow and favourite if you are a new reader, and, ahem, current readers please do continue with your lovely reviews!