A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am really glad you liked Adrian's inner monologue - he's a bit out of his depth with Hermione, isn't he? You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter ten and be on the lookout for chapter eleven soon!

When Hermione woke up, she wasn't quite sure where she was. In any case, she was certain that she wasn't in her bed in Gryffindor tower. Sitting up cautiously, she saw that she was on a rather comfortable couch, covered with a soft blanket.

Looking around, her eyes narrowed when she saw the census records sitting on the table and the events of the prior evening came flying back to her.

"Oh Merlin!" Hermione whispered to herself. She couldn't believe that she'd actually fallen asleep in Adrian Pucey's private apartments. He must think she was some kind of freak, just making herself at home on his couch and then falling asleep there. It wasn't as if they were friends, and she was certain that this would only make her seem more odd than he already found her.

Standing up, the blanket dropped to the ground. Bending over to pick it up, she was touched that he had thought to make her a little bit more comfortable, even if she was his unwilling guest.

While she was fretting on how she was ever going to face him again, she didn't hear the door opening. Before she'd even realized it, the wizard she was thinking about avoiding for the next three months was walking out of what she presumed was his own room.

"Sleep okay?" he teased, an amused smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, making him look roguish.

Hermione blushed furiously. "I am so sorry Pucey," she said, unsure of what to do other than apologize. "I didn't realize that I was so tired, and-"

He held up his hands, making her hurried apology stop. "It's really not a big deal, Granger," he promised. "So long as you aren't upset with me for not waking you up."

"Well, you could have," she insisted. "I just mean... you wouldn't have upset me if you had. But, thank you for letting me sleep here." It was rather...hospitable that he'd let her stay, and even gotten her a blanket. "Sometimes I get so into research, that I don't really realize how late it's gotten or how tired I am. Harry and Ron used to find me asleep in the library all the time."

She blushed, unsure of why she'd just shared that tidbit with him. Now, he was going to be prowling the library just to make sure that she wasn't sleeping in it. Wasn't it bad enough that Pucey always seemed to know what she was doing there? "I don't know why I told you that," she told him, looking down at her hands.

"It's alright, I understand," Pucey answered, in a rare moment of kindness. "I'll confess that I can get quite obsessed with research myself. My friends never really understood it when we were at school."

"Really?" Hermione asked in surprise. "It's just...it didn't seem that you and your friends were really ever that academically minded. It seemed like you were more interested in Quidditch."

"Didn't realize you spent so much time observing me, Granger," Pucey said, sounding annoyed. "Just because I'm not completely devoted to my studies like you doesn't mean that I can't enjoy learning."

"I wasn't trying to be mean," Hermione answered. "It just always seemed like...the Slytherins had a bit of a leg up in wizarding society, what with their family connections and all."

That only made Pucey more irritated than before. "Are you trying to suggest that I didn't get my job on my own merit?" he asked, thoroughly offended by what she'd insinuated. "Because I'd argue that being a Slytherin is more stigmatized than it's ever been before. Many of my friends can't even get jobs because their fathers donated money to You-Know-Who."

Hermione hadn't known that, but she supposed that it might be true. She was just so sick of being seen as less than because she was muggleborn. Having to prove herself twice over, despite having better marks than her peers. "I didn't mean it like that," she answered weakly, although it was sort of what she meant. "I guess I can let my bitterness cloud my judgement occasionally."

"Bitterness over what?" he asked, obviously curious about what she was trying to say.

"Bitterness that I'm looked over for being muggleborn," Hermione argued, pressing her hands to her hips. "You know, how we talked about how much the Ministry overlooks muggleborns until we are useful to them."

Pucey laughed at her then. "Oh, that's rich, coming from you," he told her. "If anyone in this school gets special treatment, it's you."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione demanded, not thinking that she'd really gotten anything handed to her.

"Oh, you know that you get away with things that Slytherins never would. Dumbledore always had a soft spot for you and Potter and Weasley," he explained. "I'll never forget all the times that our rightful win of the House Cup was snatched away - with Dumbledore awarding house points to you three for breaking the rules!"

"Well, forgive me for trying to save the wizarding world!" Hermione shouted at him. "It's not like I asked for those things to happen. I would have been very happy accepting any punishment that the Headmaster came up with."

"I'm sure," Pucey mused, making it clear that he did not believe her for one second.

"And it's not as if Slytherins aren't favorites either," she added. "You can't pretend that Professor Snape wasn't padding your house with house points. He wouldn't even call on me, and he took points away from me for explaining a concept to Neville one time."

"It was only to offset the mistreatment from other teachers," Adrian argued. "He was acting in his house's best interest."

Hermione scoffed. "Spoken like a true barrister," she quipped.

"I'm actually going to be a solicitor," Adrian rebuffed, though she could see that her assessment stung him a little bit.

"I'm leaving," Hermione said, finally, knowing that absolutely no good would come out of their continued arguing. Especially when she wasn't entirely sure what they were arguing over.

Adrian smirked at her, making her heart skip in annoyance. "You know that means I've won," he told her. "With you running away."

"Please," Hermione scoffed, grabbing her bag and packing it up. She wasn't looking forward to facing Ginny and telling her why she hadn't returned to her lonely room in Gryffindor tower, but she knew that it was better than staying here and arguing with someone so stubborn.

"You know, Malfoy is a Slytherin, too," Pucey said, while he walked her to the door.

Hermione turned to look at him in confusion. "So?" she questioned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, what do you think about Malfoy?" he questioned.

She bit her lower lip, unsure of where he was going with his line of questioning. It felt like a trap - like he was trying to trick her into saying that Slytherins were the best or something. Finally, she shrugged. "I don't know. We aren't friends. He hurt my feelings a lot when we were still children," she said, trying to describe the complicated way she felt about Draco Malfoy. "I do believe him when he said that he never wanted to be a Death Eater, but I don't think he necessarily helped us out of the goodness of his heart either."

"And now?" Pucey prodded a little deeper. "Have your feelings changed?"

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "He apologized to me, for the way he acted when he was younger. I appreciated that and accepted it," she explained, wondering why she was sharing all of this with Adrian Pucey of all people. She hadn't even told Harry and Ron. "But, we keep to ourselves. It's not like we're going to become friends or anything like that."

Pucey seemed to relax at her explanation of her tumultuous interactions with Malfoy. Maybe the other Slytherin had put Pucey up to asking her, just to make sure that she really didn't hold any grudges against her. After all, her lack of remorse for what had happened to Marietta Edgecomb had spread around Hogwarts. Maybe people didn't want to cross Hermione Granger anymore.

Hermione grabbed the door handle and was about to leave when Pucey stopped her once more.

"When do you want to go over the rest of the records?" Pucey questioned, leaning against the wall next to the door.

She rolled her eyes at him. Merlin, only Pucey could argue with her so fiercely one minute - and seem to take issue with her personally - and invite her to research with him the next. "I'll come by tonight after dinner," she responded. "Should we just meet here?"

"Yeah, no need to bother with the library," he agreed. "I think we can get through the rest of them tonight. But then, we might have to accept that there is no record of Max Purney from Kenmare."

"Agreed," Hermione answered. "Now Pucey, I've really got to get to class." Before he could think of anything else to talk to her with, Hermione opened the door and slipped out.

If she hurried, she could make it back to Gryffindor in time to enjoy a shower. If she had enough time, she'd swing by the Great Hall for a slice of toast on her way to Charms.

The whole walk back, she couldn't stop thinking about Adrian Pucey. She had been...pleasantly surprised with how well they had gotten on with one another the night before. He could actually pull his weight when it came to the work, something that couldn't be said for the rest of her friends. He was obviously a hard worker, even if that wasn't something she'd acknowledged before.

He had even been unexpectedly sweet, letting her sleep on the couch when she'd fallen asleep in his room (something she was certain to be embarrassed about for a long time).

But then, Pucey had been absolutely unable to resist picking an argument with her that morning. Old habits really died hard, she supposed. She bristled at the idea that she had gotten any kind of special treatment, but maybe the only reason it had stung so much was because deep down, she knew that he was a little bit right.

And what had been with his questions about Malfoy, she wondered? She was sure she was never going to get any answers to that mystery.

Gryffindor tower was mostly empty by the time that she got back. Hustling up the stairs, Hermione threw down her bag so that she could get ready for the day. A quick shower and a change of uniform was enough to have her feeling better about herself. Switching out the books in her bag, once Hermione was certain she was ready to face the day, she returned to the common room.

Ginny was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, one red eyebrow arched. "And just where were you all evening, Miss Granger?" she asked. "I'm Head Girl. I should really take points away for you being out all night," she teased.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't have a curfew," she answered, feeling like a hypocrite...here she was getting special treatment from the Head Girl herself!

"That doesn't answer my question," Ginny responded, before she let out a tiny gasp. "Hermione Granger, were you out with a boy?" she asked, eager to hear the answer.

Hermione blushed fiercely, wondering if her cheeks would just remain permanently red at this point being embarrassed all the time. "No I was not!" she lied, knowing that she would never live down Ginny's teasing if she knew that Hermione had been with Pucey all night. "It's nothing like that. I just...fell asleep in the library, studying for an exam."

"Hermione, we have nearly all the same classes," Ginny answered, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "There are no exams for at least another month."

"Uh, got to get to class," Hermione said, sidestepping her friend, desperate for the conversation to be over.

"Hey!" Ginny called after her retreating form. "I've got Charms, too, you know?"