Chapter 10

Draco followed Hermione into their dorm and plopped down onto the couch and picked up Hermione's discarded book. "What are you so happy about?" Hermione asked him as she put on her robe. "Oh, nothing much, I'm just in a good mood," he replied as read the title. It as a muggle book. "Alice in Wonderland," he mumbled. Hermione looked at him. "What?"

"The book. 'Alice in Wonderland'. Where's Wonderland," he asked. "It's not a rea-no, why don't you read the book? It's a really good one," Hermione said, holding back her laughter. "Oh, okay, thanks," Draco said and sat back comfortably to read. Hermione walked to the door and turned around. "I'm going down for dinner. Are you coming?" she asked. He shook his head without looking up from the book. Hermione smiled slightly and headed down to the Great Hall.

"What took you so long?" Ginny asked as Hermione sat down opposite her, beside Harry. Hermione glanced sideways at Ron sitting a few places down, stuffing his face as usual. She shook her head in disappointment and turned back to Ginny. "Malfoy wanted to borrow a book," she said indifferently and poured mashed potatoes on her plate. "Malfoy wanted to borrow your book?" Ginny repeated. "Yes, he did. It's a muggle book," she explained further. "Oh, which one?" Harry asked. "Alice in Wonderland," she said, smiling widely. "Malfoy wants to read 'Alice in Wonderland'?" Harry asked as he burst into laughter. "Yeah, he read the title and asked me where's Wonderland," Hermione spluttered between laughs.

Ginny stared at them trying to figure out why they are laughing. "Mione, what's so funny?" she asked growing irritated. "Oh, Ginny, you haven't read 'Alice in Wonderland'?" Hermione asked, quite shocked. "No!" Ginny said. "It's a story about a girl named Alice who follows a white rabbit down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a magical place where there's talking animals and walking cards, and when you eat a cake, you grow as tall as a palm, and if you drink from a bottle, you become 10 inches small," she explained and looked at Ginny with a bright smile. "Huh. Malfoy reading about talking bunnies? That should be fun," she said as she chugged a goblet full of pumpkin juice. "Yeah, it should. Unless he doesn't get the humour behind it," Harry said. "Well, we need to wait for him to finish the book," Hermione said.

Hermione stopped outside her dorm and turned to look at Harry and Ginny. "Come on," she said, pointing towards her dorm door. "What?" Harry and Ginny said at the same time. "Come on, let's what Malfoy thinks of the book," Hermione said, smiling with her hand on the handle. "Yeah right, Mione there is no way that I am going in there to talk to Malfoy," Harry said, looking at Ginny for support. "Harry, Hermione is living in the same dorm with him. He apologized. We can at least be civil, if not be friends with him," Ginny said as she glanced at Hermione.

"Please, Harry! I'm not asking you to be his friend. Just come and enjoy a good laugh," Hermione said and turned the handle. "Ginny followed her as she entered and dragged Harry behind her. "Malfoy," Hermione said. "Granger. Oh, Potter, Weaslette, I didn't know you were coming," he said looking alarmed. "Malfoy, really? It's been 6 years, and you're still stuck on 'Weaslette'?" Ginny asked. "I don't say that as an insult. There are six of you Weasleys, but you're the only Weaslette. I don't know what else am I supposed to call you!" Draco said, defending himself.

"Huh, that actually makes sense," Ginny said grinning. "See? I told you he doesn't act like a complete prat anymore! He's civil now," Hermione said to Harry. "Gee thanks," Draco muttered and headed to the door. "Wait, where are you going?" Hermione asked. "I'm leaving to give you your privacy," he said, gesturing towards Harry and Ginny. "Oh, wait they're here to see you," Hermione called as he opened the door.

Draco stopped and turned. "Me?" he asked suspiciously. "Yeah, I told them about how you were reading 'Alice in Wonderland', and they wanted to know what you thought about the book," Hermione explained. "Oh, well actually I couldn't stop laughing when I read it. It's really funny and I was quite surprised when she woke up and it was all a dream," he said, smiling brightly. "Wait what? You-you liked it?" Harry asked him sceptically. "Yes, why wouldn't I?" Draco asked him. "Well, for one, it's a muggle book. And second, it's literary nonsense!" Harry said. "Well, literature is literature, and it's great whether or not it was written by a muggle or a wizard," Draco said as he settled into the couch. Harry stared at him with his jaw on the floor while Ginny and Hermione looked amazed.

"What?" Draco chuckled as he looked at their faces. "W-we didn't think you'd like it," Hermione said. "Why not?" asked Draco, growing irritated. Harry looked at him and said, "Well you used to think that muggles are scu-"

"I used to Potter. I used to! I don't anymore. I was taught that since I was born. My father would have killed me if I thought differently," Draco yelled before he could finish.

The Gryffindors stayed stunned in silence for a few minutes before Harry cleared his throat. "We didn't know Malfoy. I'm sorry, but I had no idea why you used to do that," Harry said. "It's okay. I never explained myself. And I'm sorry too. I chose the wrong side," Draco said. "Well, I guess we'll go now," Ginny said and grabbed Harry's hand. "Bye Mione, Malfoy," Harry said and they left to return to their dorm.

"I'm sorry about that," Hermione whispered after they left. "It's okay, Granger. I did owe them an apology," he said. "Okay, I'm going to bed. Goodnight," she said and got up. "Night," Draco replied as he Accioed his blanket and pillow. He snuggled into the couch and involuntarily caressed his fading dark mark. A silent tear fell down his eyes as he drifted off to sleep.

Yayyyyyy! So, Harry, Ginny and Draco are now civil. They are not friends, they are just civil.

BTW, what do you think Draco is crying about? Any guesses? Any suggestions? Send them to me via the reviews or the Private Messages. If I like it, then I'll probably use it. I'll give you full credit, of course, but I'll only use it if it fits into the storyline.

Please review! I didn't get many reviews for the last chapter, and it makes me feel as if it wasn't up to the mark.

scrappy8: Yeah, they are trying their best to convince themselves that there is no way in hell that they will be attracted to each other. How long do you think there's left before they actually fall for each other.

Vision173: Thank you for your opinion! I kinda wanted to show him as adorably scared(if that's a thing), and to show his softer side, because I believe he has one. And in the last chapter's A/N, I didn't mean 3000 reviews, I meant 3000 views, as in it had been read 3000 times. I'm damn sure that it will take a LONG time till I get 3000 reviews. It may even take forever.

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Until Next Time,

Cheerio!