A/N: Just so you know, at this point of the story, Pansy will be there a shitload more times than before. So warning if you don't like the idea of her and Malfoy being best pals, idc, I really like the idea of him having a really good friend actually capable of writing. Anyway. Thank you all for your kind words, you're really sweet, I hope you will enjoy what will come next. :)

Pansy,

My time in this dreadful castle is better than I thought it would be, even if I'd rather be at home. The week went by fast and I hope it is the same for you. Having the common room almost all for myself is great, even if I'm starting to get bored. It would be funnier if you were here to make fun of Potter with me, since I'm stuck here with him, the Weasel and Miss Know-It-All.

Are you having a good time with your family? You ought to tell me what you think of the Christmas gift I sent you. Lie if you don't like it but don't hurt my feelings, I'm sad enough being all alone.

And to answer your question, yes, my arm still hurts. Pretty badly if you need to know. In his last letter, Father told me that the bloody chicken is as good as dead. I can't wait to hear the official statement.

Have a nice Christmas,

Draco

P.S: Send me an answer as soon as you can or I'll end up dying of loneliness.

.

This was the last letter he had sent to Pansy, a week after the beginning of the holidays and before going to see Snape to take the last potion for this cycle. It was probably the nicest things he had said to her since the beginning of the year. Maybe with that, she would see that he was back to being himself with her but if not, knowing that he was very very lonely would help her to accept this disguised apology. He was exhausted and he knocked on Snape's door, which was rather unusual; he was often bursting in. The door opened in front of him and he walked in, his envelope with the letter in his hand.

"Right on time," he heard Snape's cold voice say. Draco raised his eyebrows for half a second, obviously annoyed to be there.

"Well, I wouldn't miss this, would I?" He said sarcastically as he approached his professor. This one gave him the cup and they heard someone approaching. Draco looked behind him but Snape wasn't hiding the cup he had in his hands.

"Never mind him," he said coolly as he handed Draco his cup. Lupin walked in and Draco rolled his eyes as he turned around, taking his smoky cup. He hadn't talked to Lupin since the day he had faced the Boggart, he actually conscientiously avoided to cross his path. He watched Snape as he filled another cup to give it to his other teacher before he drank his own. It was disgusting and he felt his stomach knotting as he swallowed. He then made a face as he gave Snape the cup back. "You shouldn't waste any more time."

"I know, I just need to post something," He said, briefly showing the envelope to Snape. Lupin came next to him to give the cup back too.

"Thank you, Severus," he said before he looked at Draco. This one turned right away to leave under Lupin and Snape's gaze. "Well, I should go too," he said, not expecting any answer from Snape. He walked towards the open door but stopped before he left the room, turning around. "Did you discuss the matter with him?" Lupin asked.

"I certainly tried," Snape answered coldly before he pursed his lips, making clear that Draco hadn't been inclined to have this conversation. Lupin barely nodded before he walked out, closing the door behind him.

.

When Draco came back near the castle after having sent his letters to Pansy and his parents, he found Snape waiting for him. They directly took off to walk towards the Whomping Willow. They stayed silent until they arrived in front of the huge tree.

"Well, Merry Christmas, sir," Draco said, the next day being the 25th. He only looked at Snape who was staring at him. Their eyes met and Draco gave him a weak smile before he walked towards the passage.

Draco would have loved to take his time to walk to the Shrieking Shack but he couldn't. He wanted to be sure he was there in time before his transformation. He just wanted to avoid Lupin, he really didn't want to talk to him. He didn't actually looked at him when he finally walked in the very damaged house. Lupin was sitting on the mattress and he got up at once when Draco arrived. The boy couldn't stand that his teacher had apparently been waiting for him.

"Draco-" Lupin began.

"Look, I don't know what gave you the impression that I want to be friend with you or talk to you or wathever," Draco said a bit aggressively as he turned around to finally face Lupin, "I really don't know. I've never tried to avoid someone so bad. So if you think that having me cornered in here will change anything, you're wrong!" Lupin sighed as Draco walked towards the corner he was now always going in since Lupin was in the school. It had made Lupin feel really awkward but Draco apparently didn't care about having the mattress to sleep. "Best Christmas ever..." Draco mumbled, annoyed.

"Is it the first time you're spending Christmas here?" Lupin asked as he sat down again. Draco knew that he wasn't asking if it was the first time he was spending it in the school. He was asking if he had ever transformed there on Christmas day. He got a glare from Draco and he simply smiled to him, determined to talk to him eventually. "I remember my first one here, it was in my second year. Pretty boring."

"Yeah, well-" Draco said as he looked away. "Whatever."

Lupin was still staring at him, seeing him shrug and cross his arms. It was a few long minutes before Draco talked again.

"Did your friends know?" He asked his professor. "Did you have friends?" He added quickly. Lupin smiled as he looked down.

"I had friends, yes, thank you," he said, thinking about Sirius, James and Peter. "Some of them were really smart, too. I didn't tell anyone, they just figured it out. I actually wonder how no one around you knows for you," he explained. Draco shrugged, thinking at how thick Crabbe and Goyle were. He didn't know if Pansy had ever wondered if he was a werewolf. "I thought they would abandon me. Who would be friend with a monster? Who would like... something like me, when I didn't even like myself? Still, they stayed, they supported me... I had some great times," Lupin said. "Anyway, we were separated eventually some time after the end of our school days. Still, I know how it is to feel like you have no one, I know how it feels to be afraid your secret might be discovered."

"I'm not afraid of that!" Draco suddenly said, frowning.

"Right," Lupin said, still staring at Draco. "You are a bit too sensitive, in my opinion."

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Draco said coldly, making Lupin sightly smile. It just annoyed Draco even more. What was he smiling about? Was it amusing him?

"I'm just saying, Draco, if you were a bit more-"

"I don't have to be anything else than what I am! Even if I was, it wouldn't change anything, would it?" He suddenly said, his temper and his voice rising. He was so much more susceptible when the cycle was approaching. Lupin had the same frustration and it was hard for him to be patient with Draco. Still, he was a bit taken aback and he stared at the young man in front of him.

"No, it wouldn't," he said quietly after a few seconds.

"Nothing can change what I am so I might as well act however I want to act, that's the only thing remaining in my control!" Draco said, taking a step towards Lupin but obviously keeping some distance between them. "Nothing will ever change what we are, no stupid potion, no stupid house to hide in, no friends telling us it's fine, we will always be monsters!"

Lupin kept looking at him without saying anything. He knew that Draco had to get all of this out of his chest. He didn't mind being shouted at this way if it was helping him in any way. He had lived the same situation, he knew what it was like. He remembered talking with Lily about it, how understanding and kind she had been. Draco didn't seem to have anyone like that. He had close friends but no one was aware of what was going on and he wouldn't tell anyone. He wondered what would happen in Draco's head if anyone happened to find out the truth without him intending it.

"And don't you dare tell me you don't feel like that anymore, don't tell me that you're used to it or that you're not letting it take the upper hand, you're still afraid of yourself, I saw it, I saw your Boggart!" Draco kept on going. It looked like now that he had started to shout everything he had to say, he couldn't stop. Everything he had on his mind was coming out at once and that, he couldn't control either. Lupin met his eyes, a bit impatient but letting him talk. "You're afraid of what the moon does to you, so how could I not be afrai-" He didn't want to say that out loud. He really didn't want to. Instead, and after a second, he talked again. "Just- Stop lying to me! Do you think it's funny? You're saying that you want to help me but... you're just making the matter worse," he finally said before he sighed heavily, looking at Lupin. He felt a bit better.

"That's not what I want, trust me," Lupin said, still sounding weirdly calm. And again, it annoyed Draco.

"I don't care, I don't give a damn about what you want," Draco said, feeling his cheeks boiling and his hands shaking. He was so angry, he could hardly believe it himself. That was the price he had to pay for keeping everything inside, probably.

"Draco, you need to let me explain something. You caring or not is not a factor here, because it's not going to stop me. I lived, still live and will always live the life you're living. You know what I don't care about? I don't care about you making fun of me every single day because you're frustrated. I don't care about you avoiding me, glaring at me, I don't care about what you and Severus think of me. Because I know that I am doing the right thing. And because I know that you're smart and that you will come around eventually. I didn't want to hurt you on purpose during our last class as I am sure you know. I was... so sure that your Boggart would be the same as me, I just wanted you to realize that you can face it, like you can face your fate. Because it doesn't matter what you think of it, you will have to deal with it and I'd rather have you facing those difficulties now than end up learning one day that you... Gave up," Lupin said before he sighed. He was actually surprised that Draco was listening quietly. "You need to learn to accept it."

He heard Draco snort as he shook his head.

"Believe me," Lupin said, "I didn't know that your fear would present itself like that. And before you say anything," he said as Draco opened his mouth to say that he didn't want to talk about his Boggart, "I know what it meant. It wasn't ridiculous, on the contrary. And I don't think less of you because you couldn't act on your fear, I actually found this normal. The contrary would have been surprising."

"It's not! It's not normal that I can't do something even Longbottom can do, just leave me alone with that!" Draco yelled and Lupin stood up, walking towards Draco.

"Stop shouting at me," he articulated shortly, approaching Draco who took a step backwards. "Stop blaming me for everything, grow up!"

"I-"

"I will not talk to you about it ever again if that's what you want, but one day Draco, and I hope it will come soon enough, you will realize that you have an opportunity here," Lupin said and again, Draco opened his mouth but Lupin waved his hand to tell him to shut it. "The opportunity to talk to somebody who understands. Maybe you should seize it instead of acting like a prick."

There was a moment of silence, during which Draco and Lupin stared at each other. Draco didn't have any strength left in his legs and after a few seconds, he slowly let his body slide against the wall. Lupin took a deep breath as he heard Draco sobbing. He saw him hiding his face in his hands. Lupin crouched in front of him and put his hands on Draco's shoulders, feeling his body shaking.

"It's fine, let it go," he said more calmly. He didn't receive any answer and he knew that he wouldn't have any, Draco would probably hate himself for allowing himself to be "weak" in front of somebody. Lupin didn't really move until he sat next to Draco after a while, resting his back against the wall. His legs stretched in front of him and his hands joined, he looked at Draco who was still crying. He didn't exactly know for how long he had cried before he had slowly started to calm down. Lupin watched him wipe his tears with the sleeves of his shirt. He was looking in front of him, his chin shaking. Lupin could see how panicky he must have been. His cheeks were red, his eyes were still filled with tears, the hair on his forehead were wet and he was taking fast and short breaths. Again, Lupin put one hand on his shoulder, repeating himself. "It's fine. Just... Try to breathe properly," he said, not sure of the way he could interact with Draco without bothering him and make his temper rise again. But to Lupin's great surprise, Draco listened to him. The boy closed his eyes and let his head rest against the wall behind him as he tried to take deep breaths.

After a while, Draco stopped staring at the ceiling and turned his head a little to glance at Lupin who was still looking at him. This time, his smile didn't bother Draco, on the contrary, it made him feel safer. It felt like they were living their first transformation together all over again. Maybe he really had to grow up? Draco looked down as he tried to take another long breath. Lupin moved closer to him, his hands moving towards Draco's tie. He slightly loosened it.

"Here," he just said before he stood up. It kind of worked, Draco had the impression more air was filling his lungs and he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. "Look, it should happen any minute now..."

"I know," Draco said, barely audible.

.

When Lupin woke up, the light was filling the room already. He blinked a few times before he slowly straightened up, noticing Draco in one corner of the room, already dressed but sitting like the night before, almost as if they hadn't turned. He didn't look at Lupin and this one quietly put his clothes back on, sometimes glancing at Draco. Once dressed, he approached the student who finally glanced at him.

"How are you?" Lupin asked and Draco gave him the smallest smile he could give anyone, not feeling so well. "Well... I don't have any chocolate this time," Lupin said and again, he saw Draco smile. This time, though, it was because of his amusement. Lupin was really tired, he just wanted to sleep forever. Still, he put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head. "What about we head to the hospital? Madam Pomfrey will give you something and you will rest," he said and after a few seconds, Draco nodded. Lupin hold out his hand and Draco took it. He got up with great difficulties and Lupin's grip wasn't really strong either. They both thought that they were a weird pair at that precise moment before they headed to the passage.

"Are you going to join the others for Christmas?" Lupin asked after a few minutes in the long passage. Draco firstly shrugged before he finally spoke for the first time.

"I don't think so, I'm good in the hospital," he said. He had had a rough evening and night already, he didn't need to share a meal with people he didn't like.

"Make sure you eat something, alright?" Lupin said, having noticed that Draco wasn't showing up at every feasts. Draco glanced at him and met his eyes, understanding his worries. He nodded, feeling awkward. He was distractedly playing with the tie he had in his hands and he looked at it for a while before he cleared his throat.

"I'm not skipping meals to avoid you," Draco muttered, still not looking at Lupin who chuckled, even though it was more of less confirming what he had thought about Draco's mood. "It's just, you know, I need to catch up with the lessons," he said a bit louder and Lupin didn't feel like sharing what he was thinking about this excuse. It was like Draco was saying it out loud to convince himself that it had nothing to do with him feeling depressed.

"As a matter of fact, I have been meaning to ask you if you could keep up properly this year? I know that you have more work than before," Lupin said, trying to start a proper conversation. Clearly, there was already way less tension between them, which pleased the teacher, but they were still very awkward with each other.

"I'm doing all right, I'm not that bad of a student," Draco said without an ounce of modesty.

"So I've heard, and so you've proven in my class," Lupin said. Draco, if you really didn't mind his behavior, was actually a very good student. Lupin had asked about him when he had learned that he was a werewolf and even Minerva McGonagall had told him that he was making progress faster than most of the other students. And also that he was already pretty talented when he came in the school. Having to admit those things seemed to slightly annoy her and Lupin had found that quite funny. She had explained that in his second year, he had been able to conjure a snake during a duel, something students weren't learning before their sixth year, showing a high level in Transfiguration already. Lupin hadn't be surprised for two reasons. Firstly, Draco's parents were great wizards already, no matter the way they were using their powers. But Draco's wand was also a proof of his level. You wouldn't give a wand made of hawthorn to any wizard. "You must be really good to compete with Miss Granger the way you do," Lupin said before he chuckled once again. Draco bit his lower lip, still looking in front of him.

He wasn't usually modest, not at all, but this time, he didn't say anything to those words. They were, for his relief, arriving at the end of the passage anyway and it distracted them from the conversation. Lupin took care of the knot and they both got out of there. It was freezing outside, there was a lot of snow but neither of them liked to have too much layers on them when going down the tree. So, they walked in the snow, both with their hands in their pockets, Draco having simply put his tie around his neck without tying it. They were slow. Tired and cold, they just stayed silent until they reached the castle. No one was around, they probably weren't up yet. They started to climb the first set of stairs and apparently, Draco hadn't finished to surprise Lupin.

"So... about that bloody Boggart," he said quietly before he cleared his throat again, clearly embarrassed. "You... You told Professor Snape about it," Draco mumbled.

"Well," Lupin began, taken aback. "I knew you wouldn't talk to me about it, I just thought that maybe to him you would talk. Did it bother you?"

"Nah... He would have heard about it anyway. I mean, everyone did," Draco said, looking at his feet as they kept walking. For a second, Lupin wondered if he was talking about the teachers or the students, and he figured it was about both. "But do you, like... talk about me a lot?" Draco asked as he wrinkled his nose. Lupin smiled a little, looking in front of him.

"I think you are well aware that your Professor doesn't like me very much," he said and even without looking at him, he could have sworn Draco was smirking at that remark. "I told you, I was worried, I just wanted to make sure you had someone around that you could trust, since you don't trust me."

"I trust you," Draco said directly before he closed his mouth, apparently finding the portraits on the wall fascinating.

"You're just not fond of having me around you , is that it?" Lupin asked with a smile.

Very fascinating, indeed.

They walked in the hospital wing to find Madam Pomfrey who gave Draco something to eat right away before pressing him to get into a bed. When she wanted Lupin to eat too, this one shook his head.

"I'm fine, thank you," he said politely, "I will eat in my office."

"You're not staying?" Draco asked, sounding quite rude next to his teacher. Lupin gave him a smile and tilted his head.

"I thought I could rest in my office instead," he told Draco. This one tried to act like it didn't matter, trying to give him his smile back but he only ended up grimacing.

"Come on, go to bed now!" Madam Pomfrey said impatiently. Draco glanced at her before he looked at Lupin again, who was already turning around. Draco took a step towards him.

"Merry Christmas, Professor," Draco said quite suddenly. Lupin turned his head to look at him and gave him a smile warmer than ever.

"Merry Christmas, Draco."

.

For lunch, Harry, Ron and Hermione were surprised to discover the Great Hall. There was so little left of them that they were going to eat at the same table as the teachers, in the middle of the room. They went to sit down and Hermione noticed directly that something was off. Draco and Lupin weren't there. Hermione knew why, obviously, but it was still really weird to think about the reason they weren't there. A few hours before, they had been both in another form, a very dangerous one, wandering who knew were. Probably in the Forest? She didn't know and it wasn't reassuring in any way. And now, where were they?

To Hermione's surprise, it wasn't Harry who brought up the subject of Lupin's whereabouts but Professor Trelawney. Hermione stared at her plate when she heard Dumbledore say that he was sick. She held a sigh when he said that it was unfortunate for it to happen on Christmas Day.

"So, is Malfoy sick too?" Harry asked. Hermione glanced at him only to catch a glimpse of Snape who was staring at her friend.

"Yes, Potter, he obviously is," Snape said rather coldly, instead of letting Dumbledore answer. "I didn't know you cared about your... classmate," he said. Of course, Harry didn't correct Snape, he wouldn't say that he didn't care at all in front of his other teachers. He was just really curious. All he knew was that Snape was apparently defensive when it came to Draco.

After Trelawney had talked about Lupin's dark future, Dumbledore asked Snape if he had made his potion again.

"Yes, Headmaster," he had answered, not looking very pleased. He looked at Harry again before he noticed Hermione's gaze on him. Their eyes met and Hermione quickly looked away, feeling her cheeks becoming warmer. She was probably turning pink as she could still feel Snape's stare on her.

.

When Draco woke up later that day because of his owl knocking on one window of the hospital with its beak, he stretched before he yawned loudly. He heard voices on the other side of the big room but he didn't really pay any particular attention to them. He sat up as he stretched his arms again, feeling slightly better but still looking ill. He glanced at the window, not really wanting to get up. He had no idea what time it was and he slowly lay down on the mattress again, hoping his owl would suddenly know how to open a window. He closed his eyes again, trying to ignore the noise and felt like it would be easy to fall asleep again, he was so tired. If only the noise on the window wasn't growing louder... He opened his eyes, startled. He hadn't fallen asleep but almost, and he had realized that the noise was different, which had made him "wake up". It wasn't his owl but footsteps. He turned his head to see Madam Pomfrey walking towards his bed with someone apparently following her. He frowned and he straightened up, resting on his elbows.

"Would you look at this, Mr. Malfoy, it looks like somebody wanted to see you for Christmas," Madam Pomfrey said as Draco recognized Hermione. He felt his stomach twitch when he looked at her face as his eyebrows shot up and his eyes opened widely. He was totally awake, now.

"What the-" He began to say because of the surprise but he didn't finish his sentence when he saw Madam Pomfrey's face. Hermione looked rather embarrassed herself and finally, Madam Pomfrey left the two of them alone. Still very surprised, he stared at Hermione. "What are you doing here?" He asked and Hermione gave him a weird smile. At least, Draco couldn't tell what expression that was, he had never seen it on her face.

"Well, Professor Dumbledore said you were here during lunch and since it was for Christmas... I thought I'd bring you some," Hermione said, showing the plate she had in her hands. Draco frowned when he saw the chipolatas and he looked at her again. "Dumbledore says they are excellent and I have to say, I agr-"

"I already told you, Granger, I don't need pity from you," Draco said shortly before he looked away. Hermione looked down at her plate as she pursed her lips and restrained a sigh before she glanced at Draco.

"It's not pity, get over yourself, Malfoy. I just thought it'd be nice," Hermione said coldly as Draco looked at her again, even more surprised. That's it, she had said it. Nice. She couldn't bring herself to say it back in the library when she had asked him if he wanted a parchment but this time, she did. And Merlin, was it weird.

Draco narrowed his eyes, not convinced.

"Right... Since when are you nice to me, Granger?" He asked, still cold. He glanced at the plate again. "And where are your boyfriends, do they know you're here?"

"Of course they don't," Hermione said quickly and she met Draco's eyes again, totally disregarding the "boyfriends" part.

"Of course, they don't," Draco repeated slowly with a little smile and sounding a bit sarcastic. Hermione tilted her head, looking at him like she was totally done. Then, she glanced at the window and put the plate on Draco's bedside table. His owl was still waiting to enter, knocking again on the window. Hermione walked towards it. "Maybe you shouldn't..." Draco began. Hermione didn't listen and went to open the window. The owl directly flew in, almost hitting her in the head with the package and it went directly next to Draco.

"It's even bigger when you're closer," Hermione said as she looked at the owl, walking towards the bed again.

"Yeah, well, don't approach him," Draco said, not paying attention to her anymore. He was busy trying to take the package but his owl was moving a lot. "Come on now, stop that," he mumbled and his owl seemed to listen.

"Why shouldn't I approach?" Hermione asked and Draco smirked as he put his package on his lap. He was busy opening it as he answered.

"He's trained," he said as he sniggered and Hermione rolled his eyes, more or less understanding that it was probably trained against Muggle-borns and Muggles. So, she walked towards the other side of the bed and glanced at the owl who was still waiting next to Draco. He had opened his mom's package and gave his owl something to eat before it finally flew out of the window. As Draco was looking through his package, Hermione sat almost at the end of the bed as she looked at Draco. "But you know, if you still want to touch it, you would give me a good laugh."

"Nice pajamas," she said in response with a little smile. You probably would never see Draco in pale blue clothes outside this place.

"Shut up," he said quickly, feeling his cheeks becoming warmer. He kept staring at his sweets and Hermione glanced at him, getting a glimpse of some Acid Pops and Assorted Sour Strips.

"Is this what you got for Christmas?" Hermione asked as she raised an eyebrow, trying to look at the package.

"You're kidding? Of course not," Draco said as he shook his head. He had always nice presents, but they were probably near his bed in his dormitory. He hadn't got any answer to his letters yet so his mother had probably sent it before they had arrived at his place, just because she wanted to send him something she'd be sure he would have directly, knowing he had turned the night before. "I just... Slept here so I haven't got the chance to see my gifts yet, but Mother always sends me sweets," Draco explained. Knowing that he was lying about the sleeping part, Hermione looked down at the box again, seeing a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Then, she looked around.

"Lupin's not here?" She asked. The other beds were empty and none seemed to have been used.

"What?" Draco asked directly, looking up at her and stopping the opening of a small packet of Fizzy Wizzy as he did so. Suddenly, he felt his heart beating really fast as he looked at Hermione, incredulous. Hermione looked at him again, noticing his expression. She felt her heart skipping a beat and her cheeks took another shade of pink.

"Dumbledore said he was here too," she quickly explained. Draco cleared his throat and looked at his packet again to avoid meeting Hermione's eyes. Merlin, was he obvious.

"He left before I woke up, then," he said as he shrugged. "Why do you care anyway?"

"Well, he also spent Christmas day here, I mean... I would have liked seeing him," she said.

"Yeah, alright," Draco said shortly. Weirdly enough, the thought that she came to see the both of them was bothering him. In his opinion, she was suddenly being way too nice with people she didn't talk to on a daily basis. "He's probably back in his office, you can go," he said, opening his packet again.

"But I came to see you, not him, I was just surprised not to find him here," Hermione said as she shrugged, still looking at the different packets Draco was taking out of the box as he was sucking the Fizzy Wizzy that was in his mouth. There were a few apple-flavored sweets in there. Green Apple Strips, Apple Rings, Sour Apple Bites and Sour Strawberry Apple Strips. Draco looked up at Hermione for a few seconds before he narrowed his eyes again. He glanced at the plate on the bedside table and ended up taking it as he broke his Fizzy Wizzy with his teeth.

"Alright, I believe you," he said after he had swallowed his candy, staring at the meat on the plate. He was looking suspicious.

"I told you, they don't know I'm here, they're not trying to poison you," Hermione said with a little smile.

"Well, even if they wanted to, I doubt they would be able to, they're disasters in Potions," Draco said as he raised an eyebrow, still examining the sausages. "But you, you're... Better than them."

"I'm not trying to kill you, Malfoy, do you think you're really worth the effort?" Hermione said coolly. Draco glared at her.

He was starving anyway. He knew that he could simply ask Madam Pomfrey for something to eat and he would have whatever he'd choose, however, the meat in front of his eyes was really tempting and he started to eat it after he had put his package next to his legs. Hermione slowly reached it with her fingers to pull it towards her, just to see what else was in it; Chocolate Frogs, Chocoballs, Jelly Buttons and some sweets with special effects like the Fizzing Whizzbees or the Pepper Imps. Again, she had that weird feeling that Malfoy was actually a real thirteen year old boy who might have fun eating those things with his friends like hers and that he was not just a mean jerk.

"What did you tell them you were doing, then?" He asked distractedly. Dumbledore was right, those chipolatas were excellent.

"Studying," Hermione said as she shrugged. Draco looked up at her.

"On Christmas Day? What if they don't believe you and go look for you in the library?"

"On Christmas Day?" Hermione asked with a cute little smile that made Draco's stomach twitch again. He ignored this unknown feeling and he listened to her. "Trust me, they wouldn't set a foot near that place today," she said and that made Draco smirk.

"Still, I don't get why you wanted to see me," he said, still eating.

"I told you, I thought it'd be nice for you to have some company for Christmas," she said.

"You don't get it, do you?" Draco asked like she was a child. "My real question is: since when are you nice to me, Granger?" She hadn't answered him before. But that's when Draco realized that it wasn't the first time, actually. Did she just wanted to be nice when she gave him her notebook? He had thought it was pity too. And when she had asked if he was sick in the beginning of the year, he had wondered if she was really worried. Was she? Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know. We talked a bit and I thought you were able to behave," Hermione said, actually not really capable to explain it herself. She just liked to see the best in people and with their conversations, she had hoped that maybe Draco would start to change his behavior.

"So you thought that we were... becoming friends or something? Because we had two civilized conversations?" He had said those two last words with a high-pitched voice to impersonate Hermione. "You're pretty naive, then. Probably because you're still a kid," Draco said dismissively.

"We're the same age, Malfoy," Hermione said, not impressed at all. "Actually, I'm older than you."

"Doesn't mean we don't see things differently," he said shortly. Hermione chuckled and shook her head as Draco glanced at her. "What's the matter?"

"You're... funny," she said as she looked at him putting the plate back on his bedside table.

"How is it that you laugh when I'm serious but don't when I'm actually joking?" He asked, looking a bit perplexed.

"Because what you think is funny is usually mean, if you hadn't your friends, you'd be the only one to laugh," Hermione explained, thinking about the moment she had seen him throw snowballs at a first year with Crabbe and Goyle, before they had fun pushing him around.

"Then what's funny now?" Draco asked.

"You acting all tough and mature," she said.

"Oh, so I am the joke, is that it?" He asked and now, Hermione was sure that she had hurt his feelings, which was even funnier. She kept smiling as she nodded. "Well, at least I, you see, I am not-"

"A Mudblood?" Hermione asked and Draco frowned when he saw that she was still amused, even though she hated having to use this word. "Come on now, you can do better than that. This one's getting old."

"Stop taunting me, I'm sick, I need to rest. Go away," he said with a pout of annoyance on his face as he took the package on his lap again.

"I thought you weren't sick?" Hermione said sarcastically.

What was her problem anyway? Why wouldn't she stop making fun of him? He was allowed to be mean with her because she was filthy and it was fun, but she couldn't speak to him like that. And it really wasn't funny. He was too tired to find anything to say to her remarks and he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of her.

"Well, as you can see I'm in a hospital bed. Out, now," he said, pointing at the door at the end of the room. Hermione let out a heavy sigh.

"Well, Merry Christmas, jerk," she said as she stood up, satisfied with herself. Draco gave her the death stare, which only made her smile and she started to walk away.

"Granger," Draco called and she turned just in time to catch what Draco had thrown in her direction. She was sure that he had wanted to hit her head but she just looked at it without saying anything. "I hate those," he said, which wasn't true. And as Hermione examined the pack of Sour Apple Bites, she was sure that he actually liked them. "Merry Christmas."