I swear that I will eventually get to updating this around every week to two weeks rather than a month. Now that I'm getting into this more and not focusing on making my word counts long, it's helped a lot!

Chapter Four - in which Lisa Tupin, Draco Malfoy, and Hermione Granger are my favorite trio.

Lisa was lovely, Hermione thought. A good head on her shoulders, driven to further her life, and her brother's in the aftermath of the war. It was something Hermione could relate to, and admire even. It didn't hurt that she seemed to have already worked her way through her prejudice if she'd had any to begin with.

Not having many female friends - she was so unlike Parvati, and Lavender - throughout her years of Hogwarts, she was thrilled to share laughter as they worked their way through the muggle shop. Lisa tossed marshmallows into the trolley, her nose wrinkling when Hermione suggested they could use sticks to roast marshmallows.

"While I agree it wouldn't kill anyone, we should pick up some actual utensils for it. Just in case," she added, and the silent statement of how some wouldn't understand lingered between them.

They bought marshmallows - too many bags of it, really - chocolate bars, and graham crackers. Lisa insisted on buying a box of cinnamon crackers just because she liked them.

Her beaded bag on her hip, still charmed with the undetectable expanding charm, Hermione pulled muggle currency from it. The clerk made a joke of how she must have a lot of change in the little thing, and Lisa snorted.

Actually, Hermione had an ungodly amount of knuts that she'd claimed for herself over the summer when she cleaned out the sofa at the Burrow. "Something like that," Hermione smiled, taking the change the boy handed her, and carried half of the sacks. "Let's Apparate from where we landed."

Lisa nodded.

The two of them touched the ground just outside of the wards, surrounded by lush trees, and the earth beneath them. Twigs crunching beneath her feet, Hermione passed through the wards first, nodding to Lisa to come through after she had created the opening. "Well, no one is screaming." She mused, smirking to herself.

"They wouldn't be screaming if they drowned, so perhaps we shouldn't be so hopeful yet," Lisa replied, stumbling over a log.

Hermione caught her with a quick levitation charm, continuing down the path. "Do you think telling scary stories is silly?" she asked, finally breaking into the clearing where the cabins were housed.

Leanne sat at the furthest table, her legs neatly tucked beneath her, and her chin resting on her knuckles as she whispered with Hannah. Once she saw Hermione, she glared, letting the cold stare settle on her for several moments before turning back to the Hufflepuff counsellor.

While it wasn't unexpected it was still infuriating to see the girl. Hermione hadn't once thought since the beginning of the planning stages that she'd wish to revoke an invite. When it came to Smith and her temper, Hermione wanted to throw her out of the wards herself. She'd done worse. Marietta Edgecombe came to mind, and she pushed the thought away.

It wasn't that she regretted it, fully at least, but it was a heartless thing to do. To leave the girl permanently maimed, and forced to wear bangs for the rest of her life lest she wanted to reveal the scar.

Lisa elbowed her in the ribs, nodding her head to a site just off the side of the tables. Beneath a large oak, the sun beginning to set behind them, three children played Exploding Snap. More shocking, it's two Slytherins and a Gryffindor.

Grinning ear to ear, Hermione stopped in place to watch as Olivia Warbeck thumped Henry on the back of the head, a loud, "Cheater!" echoing across the grounds.

"Merlin." Lisa snorted, muffling her laugh behind her hand. "You think that hurt?"

"I don't think he'll admit it, but would you look at them smiling?" Hermione whispered back. Adelaide set across from Olivia, clearly staying out of the way as she didn't want to be next one to be walloped.

Hermione turned to make her way to the kitchen, a small wooden building crafted by magic and recycled materials - she was still proud of that fact, thank you. Whatever question Lisa was going to ask next, the words died in her throat as a voice came from behind him. Rather to say that she shrieked, tripping over another branch. "Bollocks." The witch hissed, watching as still wrapped, luckily, chocolate bars slid across the grass.

Malfoy so rarely laughed, or she hadn't heard it before, which would make more sense. There was a low chuckle as he stuck his hand out, long, pale fingers wrapping around Lisa's wrist as he pulled her to her feet. "Apologies." Malfoy bent to grab what had fallen, slipping back into the respective brown, paper bags.

The question of why he hadn't just used magic was on the tip of her tongue, but Hermione said nothing. "In the future, you probably shouldn't sneak up on others," Hermione said not unkindly as she brushed past him. She could feel a glare settled on the three of them while so spoke freely.

He arched an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better, I would think you were worried about my wellbeing, Granger." There was no animosity in his words, and there was almost, almost a teasing lilt to them.

Certain it was only her overactive imagination that would have her look for something that wasn't there, she led the two of them into the kitchens. On Headmistress McGonagall's insistence, there would be house elves to help them later this summer. So she'd been expecting the topic to crop up. "Did you ban house elves from helping us this summer?" Malfoy drawled, setting the bags on an island in the middle.

Hermione stood across from him, predictably putting her hands on her hips. "Ha ha. You're incredibly funny." She rolled her eyes.

He agreed with a shrug and peered in the bag. While her back was turned and he'd done it on purpose, he peeled the wrapper back of the chocolate bar. "Is this muggle chocolate?" He asked.

"Those are for everyone." Hermione scolded.

Lisa stayed silent, casting a small healing spell on her knee where she had skinned it, and dabbed the blood.

"Then I'm allowed to eat one as well, aren't I? If they're for everyone as you say."

Hermione glared at him. "Only since you helped us carry this." She finally said.

"Despite scaring me," Lisa called. She was pointing her wand to her skinned knee, murmuring a healing charm. "Oi, Malfoy, toss me a chocolate bar."

He obliged, but only breaking off a piece of his and popping it into his mouth. Malfoy rummaged around the bag, throwing one at her rather than to her. "Whoops." he sniggered.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She unpacked the bags, stacking the boxes of graham crackers and the bags of marshmallows. "Do save some for the other campers."

Malfoy shrugged, smirking from behind his treat. "Counselor privileges. I have to inspect it for safety reasons first, don't I?"

"That's a shite reason. I'm eating one too." Lisa carefully unwrapped hers, and yelped when it was snatched from her hands. "What are you doing?"

Never breaking eye contact, Malfoy bit off a chunk with a grin. "Like I said, safety reasons."

Lisa stood, the groceries nearly falling as she swept past them. "I think I liked you better when you were a little prick." she hissed, flicking his ear. "Give that back," she yanked her treat back, "and this." Lisa laughed as his brows nearly shot into his hairline.

"That was mine," Malfoy grumbled.

Hermione was stunned. In all of her years in Hogwarts, not once had she seen him act playful. Obviously, there weren't many chances for her to see it even if he was. They were in opposing houses that had a long history of rivalries. Then they were on opposing sides of a war that split the Wizarding World in half. Chewing her lips, she kept her mouth shut before she could ask him what had changed. He loathed her questions; Malfoy was more likely to shut down if she brought it up.

The small moment of peace was shattered when the door slammed open, followed by a sneer. "Oliver wants you to meet him by the lake." Leanna spat, her fingers turning white as she gripped the door. "Lisa, I would be careful if I were you. Wouldn't want your only surviving family member to be left alone with a Death Eater."

His head whipped around when Lisa laughed, airy and light. She stood in place, innocently eating the chocolate she'd just nicked. "How kind of you to worry, Leanne. I don't have anything to worry about. Draco was a shite Death Eater anyway. Besides if Oli was annoying him, I would tell him the charm I use to make him behave at home."

Leanne's mouth fell open. "You -"

"Why be ignorant when you could just be quiet?" Lisa cut her off, giving her a grin that was anything but polite.

Hermione couldn't cover her laugh, nor could the man in the room. While Hermione's eyes shot open, his jaw went slack at the sight of anyone defending him.

"Turpin, you don't need to -" he started.

Leanne only turned her nose up and turned away. "If you want to befriend the same sort that murdered your family, that's,"

Lisa hadn't reached for her wand once, but when she did it was to throw a hex that blasted the trim off the door. "Get out of my sight or you'll sporting boils until the new term."

There was a muttered "Barmy bitch," and the door swung shut the best it could.

Her new found friend hopped onto the island, crossing her legs. "I'll fix the door in a minute. Should you discipline me for hexing another camper?" she asked over her shoulder.

Malfoy's reply was swift, his eyes bright with amusement. "If you even think of giving her one of those little disciplinary cards you made, I swear, Granger."

Hermione leaned on the counter, pulling a bar of chocolate for herself. "I'm not planning to. It's not quite self-defense, but Leanne had it coming. She's lucky Lisa missed."

"Oh, I didn't miss." Lisa laughed. "Do you know why Oliver wants to meet you at the lake?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I offered to teach him how to swim, not that I expected him to take it. It's what we were working on, but his calf cramped up and I told him to take a break. I told him we could start again whenever."

Lisa's features softened. "You're kind of sweet, you know that?"

Hermione snorted.

Pink rose in his cheeks, and he dipped his head to hide it. Malfoy's hand darted out, snatching half of Hermione's chocolate. "Safety," he cited with a smirk. "I'm not always a prat," Malfoy said.

"Seeing is believing," Hermione said softly.

"Yeah," he muttered, "but don't tell anyone."

Focusing on the countertop in front of her, no one could see her eyes widen. He was almost playful, and she wondered how much of their hatred was forced by his upbringing. Hermione pushed the thoughts away, knowing that she shouldn't analyze him. Still, his light-hearted demeanour - save for Leanne bursting into the kitchen - and soft-spoken humour left her feeling as if there was something there.

Not quite friends, but far from enemies, Hermione reasoned as she leaned forward and took her chocolate back.

Night fell, thousands of stars becoming visible in the sky and Hermione froze in place on the outskirts of the lake. Malfoy and Oliver had left a half hour prior, and following the owl delivery, she'd told Lisa she would meet them back at the camp.

There wasn't much time to take for herself, and she knew it was silly for the envelope in her hands to feel like such a heavy weight. Her name was scrawled across the front in Ron's clumsy handwriting. Lowering to the end of the dock, she pulled her shoes off and set them beside her. The surface of the water was inky beneath the darkness and cold against her toes.

She blew out a breath, opening the letter, her heart immediately falling.

Dear Hermione,

I hope all is well for the summer camp. Auror training is going well.

Ron.

She let the parchment slip from her fingers and fall into the murky depths before she sighed and summoned it back to her grasp. Not that she cared about keeping the pathetic note. She could just leave trash in the lake either.

Hermione crumpled the note before hanging her head. One sentence. That was it. She'd received Harry's letter the day before, a full page of questions for her about the camp and another detailing their training. Harry, at least, thought to tell her he missed her and was worried about how her summer was going. He commented how they often spent summers apart, but this was after the war.

Everything was different.

The thought of whether or not she should have broken things off before leaving the Burrow was still lingering. As it was, even before they went separate ways, Ron and Hermione didn't talk. They might have snogged, but she admitted it was the need for human contact more than anything else. She wanted to feel alive, and being wanted..that was enough for a time.

She grumbled under her breath, sliding her sandals back on as she made her way up the dock. If this was any indication of how their correspondence would be for the summer months, she knew they would never get through a three-year auror training. It wouldn't matter if he had reprieves to visit.

The parchment was balled up in her hand as she hurried to the camp.

Everyone was already seated. Leanne and Hannah were still huddled in their own small clique. Michael sat to the right of them. The campers were mostly sorted by houses, but Olivia had sandwiched herself between Adelaide and Henry.

Hermione took a seat beside Lisa. Malfoy sat on the other side of the Ravenclaw, and Oliver looked pleased to talk to Malfoy about swimming techniques.

"How was - okay, that tells me how that went," Lisa said, watching the parchment leave Hermione's hand and catch fire in the crackling flames.

Hermione only nodded, biting her lip. "I'll tell you later." She wasn't sure she would, not with how embarrassed she was to be wrong about giving the relationship a go. Hermione gave a small smile as she watched the younger kids lean forward and roast their marshmallows, their chocolate and graham crackers already in front of them. "Thank you for getting them started."

Lisa shook her head. "Thank Malfoy."

"Don't thank me." he rumbled from the other side of her.

"So humble." Padma laughed, catching Hermione's eye from across the fire. "These are delicious though. We should do this again."

Unfortunately, it also explained why Leanne, and Hannah, weren't participating. Hermione frowned. She would need to talk to Hannah soon. Even if her friend wanted to be a negative influence, it didn't mean she could do the same.

"Alright," Michael clapped his hands, frowning as they stuck together from the melted marshmallows. "Scary stories, I'll start."

Lisa leaned her head on Hermione's shoulder. "I can't wait for Oli to say he's not scared and then wet his bed tonight."

Hermione sniggered, hands flying up to muffle her laughter. "Merlin, you're terrible."

The embers popped and crackled while Michael trained his features. "This is the story about the Girl Who Stood on a Grave." he began, leaning forward on his crossed legs. "One night, there was a little Gryffindor, rash and stupidly brave, and three other students, one from each house," Hermione wanted to snort at his forced display of house unity, but it was a start. "The Hufflepuff began to tell the legend of a witch that had been buried in the graveyard, presumably burned at the stake by muggles."

She winced, but leaned forward curiously anyway, reaching out to take a smore from Lisa.

"They said if you stood on her grave at midnight, she would grab," his hand shot out, gripping Padma and a wicked grin crossed his face with she shrieked, "your ankle and drag you through the earth, while you clawed at the dirt to free yourself, all the way to hell.

"I would never go near that graveyard after dark, the Ravenclaw said. He was the most likely to use self-preservation of the bunch."

Merlin, he's laying it on thick.

"You're all a bunch of morons, the Gryffindor laughed. It's just a silly superstition, I can't believe you'd take it seriously." Michael continued, his voice high pitched and sounded too much like an imitation of her.

Malfoy picked up on it. "That sounds a lot like you, Granger."

She bristled, quietly eating.

"The Slytherin turned to her and sneered 'It's different when you're safe and warm in your own home. I think you'd have a different opinion if you went to the graveyard.' To which she replied," Godric help her if she truly did ever sound that haughty. "'It wouldn't make a difference! I'll do it right now!'"

Her stomach sank. Surely...the story was going nowhere good. She wasn't scared of course. Only the younger ones were frightened.

"The Slytherin tells her how she'll have to prove she did it by sticking a knife in the grave and she marches to the graveyard, the others trailing behind them. Of course, they wait at the entrance, not wanting the old witch to catch them." Michael took a deep, unneeded breath. "The Gryffindor carried on through the gates, clutching the knife close to her chest, whispering," his voice dropped, "'there's nothing to be afraid of.' She came upon the headstone, and crouched on top of the grave, muttering that she wasn't afraid, not at all.

"She'd been trembling since passing the iron gates, and there was a creaking that bellowed around her, echoing against the headstones. Desperate to hurry home, the Gryffindor stabbed the knife into the grave and turned to leave. Chuckling to herself, she said 'Take that, you old witch.' But as she turned to leave, she was caught!"

Isobel whimpered, hiding her face in her hands. Creevey reached out to rub her shoulder.

Michael's high pitched scream pierced the air. "'Help!' She cries out but she knows no one is coming. They knew the legend and they tried to warn her.

"In the morning, the three remaining go to check her, worried they'll find nothing as proof of her demise. The girl had mistakenly stabbed the knife through her dress. Believing the witch had caught her, she collapsed and died of fright."

Hermione exhaled, wringing her shaking fingers. That wasn't so bad. "Well, that wasn't scary at all." she murmured.

Malfoy glanced at her, a wide smirk plastered to his face. "You weren't scared at all?"

With everyone watching her, she scoffed. "Of course not. It was just a legend."

Bony fingers grabbed her sides, squeezing roughly as a low "Boo!" was muttered in her ear.

Hermione screamed, lunging into Lisa and throwing her arms around her neck. The two fell into Malfoy, whose only response was to not move. Hermione's head knocked against hers.

"Watch that bushy head of yours, Granger," he grumbled. "Your hair might suffocate me."

Hermione glanced, her arms still tightly wound around Lisa's neck, to see Adelaide grinning in the darkness.

The fire illuminated her features, the embers sparking in front of her shadowed stare. "Still think it's not scary?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Maybe..a little," she admitted.

Malfoy snorted. "I could do better."

Hermione didn't let anyone see how she clutched Lisa's hand.

She wasn't asleep when a scream floated through the camp.

Hermione grabbed her wand, clutching it tightly as she threw the blankets off of the bed, and Crooks as well. Not bothering with prosperity, she didn't stop to tug her shorts up her legs.

Cool air met her as she wrenched her door open and jumped down the three stairs.

"Granger," Malfoy hissed, nodding his head to the end of the cabins. "Be quiet. I think Padma has already taken care of it." His hard stare dropped to her bare legs. "Were you planning to fight partially nude?" he laughed.

Her face flushed, her blush crawling down her neck. "I just reacted." Hermione shrugged.

Creeping up behind him, she leaned out from their point to see MacDougal on her hands and knees in the dirt. She was dry heaving while Padma held her hair back. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe."

Malfoy cleared his throat. "I don't know if it was the scary stories, or what."

She shook her head, her thoughts revisiting a small file that sat on her dresser. "It's not the stories. You didn't cause this."

They stood silently, watching from their hiding place as the child sobbed, her mouth forming words that wouldn't come out.

"Do you think she'll ever talk again?" he asked.

She didn't know. "I hope so." Hermione murmured.

Due the the delay in updates, I'm going to post a reminder right here. It was implied, but Isobel doesn't speak. Hermione doesn't know if it's her choice to remain mute, or if it was caused by a curse.

I hope you'll let me know what you think. I will *hopefully* see you in a week or so with a new installment.