Draco stood and turned to face the landing where Hermione was emerging from her room, struggling to corral her bushy mane into a messy bun atop her head. An involuntary smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he watched her twisting and pulling, both hands working together to secure the knot in place. Her arms dropped as she reached the top of the stairs and she surveyed the sitting room, her eyes landing on Draco. She paused when she noticed he was so close to Snape's portrait, and that both men were trying to appear nonchalant.

"Oh..." She said, looking between Draco and the frame to his right. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all, Miss Granger." Snape answered coolly. "Draco and I were just finishing up. As a matter of fact, I am due at a meeting with the Headmistress right now." He nodded slightly before exiting the frame to his left.

Hermione made her way down the stairs, and joined Draco in the sitting room. She immediately began to question if leaving her room knowing Harry was in the shower was a good choice. One part of her craved alone time with her blonde roommate, but another didn't trust herself with him. Her anxiety only rose when he strode away from the mantle and met her in front of the couch. "DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT!" Pounded in her head, but it was a second too late. She'd already been snared by his silver pools. Her knees weakened, but she willed herself to stand firm, refusing to allow him to see the effect he was having on her.

"It was nice of you to let Harry shower first," She attempted small talk to break the tension. "But you'll probably regret it. He loses all concept of time when he's in there."

Draco grinned and nodded jovially, making her insides quivered. "It was a concession necessary to keep the peace with Potter." He ran a hand through his hair as he continued, "But I would be lying if I said I wasn't rethinking it about now."

The tousling revealed a stray twig above his right ear. Hermione instinctively reached for it, but froze halfway, realizing the move was borderline intimate. She didn't pull her hand back, but tried to explain, "I... There's... You have..." She could feel her face heating uncontrollably. "There's a twig stuck..." Her voice trailed off as she turned her head and found his intense stare no more than an inch from her. She imagined his lips pressed to hers and had to use every ounce of self control she possessed to keep herself from making that a reality. Instead, she returned her focus to the stick, removed it quickly, stepped back and held it up for him to see. "There, I got it."

"Thank you." His voice was husky and laced with desire. "Now I really feel the need for that shower." As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he'd just implied he needed a shower to cool off from their close encounter, and he immediately tried to clarify. "I mean those pixies certainly got the best of me, and I'm..." His face burned, but he relaxed at the sight of Hermione smirking.

"I know what you meant." She tried to maintain a straight face, but his red cheeks and stammering were too much. "You're welcome to use my bathroom if you'd like. There's no telling when Harry will be done."

"I think I will do that. Thanks." Draco briefly glanced at her, but was still too mortified to maintain eye contact.

"Yeah, of course." She stepped aside as he walked passed. "Oh, Draco..."

He was halfway up the steps, but turned back to face her. "Yes?"

"If Harry asks, could you let him know I went to the owlery? I owe an owl a few treats." She smiled warmly.

"Sure, but only if you'll do something for me while you are there."

"Okay. What do you need?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Could you check for Aria? I usually stop there after Care of Magical Creatures, but obviously didn't get the chance today. She brings me daily updates on my mother. Not that there's every any change." He voice lowered so Hermione could barely make out the last part.

"I'd be happy to, Draco. I'll bring back any messages she has." With that, Hermione exited through the portal.

The owlery was uncharacteristically loud when Hermione arrived. Usually the unused birds spend the daylight hours sleeping, but today it seemed they were all awake, and all upset. Hermione rushed up the stairs, wondering what had gotten the owls so riled up. As she rounded the top corner, she was nearly knocked down by a small, blonde-haired boy who couldn't have possibly been more than a second year, running from the owl chamber. "Excuse me!" Hermione scolded.

"They've all gone mad!" The boy shouted, and Hermione could not be sure if he was addressing his comment to her or simply announcing it to anyone who could hear him.

"Just calm down." Hermione ushered the boy out the door, and placed herself between him and the angry owls. "Tell me what happened."

He kept one eye over her shoulder as he panted, "I came up here to send an owl to my mum. She said I needed to owl her at least once a week. But when I tried to tie the note to that owl over there," he pointed to Aria, "It attacked me. Then all the others joined in."

The chirping had ceased, but the birds were obviously still agitated as they continued to flap and flutter their wings at the boy. "Okay. I think I know what the problem is. You see, that owl you tried to use to send your message isn't a school owl. She actually belongs to a friend of mine, and she is not very fond of strangers."

"She shouldn't be up here with the school owls then!" Hermione didn't blame him for being so upset, but there was something about the way he responded that rubbed her the wrong way. She couldn't be certain, but she felt like he wasn't being completely honest with her, like he was simply putting on a very good show.

Her suspicion led her to answer more harshly than she would have, "Well, that isn't really your place to decide, now is it?" Hermione surprised herself with how McGonagall-like her voice was. "If you still want to send your message, hand it over, and I will do it for you. I don't think you should risk going back in there right now."

The boy shoved his hands into his pockets, and his voice was less self-righteous when he answered, "One of the owls grabbed it out of my hand. I don't know where it ended up."

"Oh, maybe that is for the best. I'd suggest you come back to try again tomorrow. Just make sure you steer clear of my friend's owl." She continued to block the doorway, leaving him no choice but to retreat down the staircase.

Although his story seemed to check out, there was something off about him that Hermione just couldn't put her finger on, but her wonderings were cut short as Aria jumped onto her shoulder. "Hi pretty girl," Hermione cooed, stroking the bird's back. "I've brought treats. Would you like some?" The tawny owl responded by clicking her beak. Hermione scanned the chamber, and quickly found the brown owl she'd sent to message Viktor perched across the way. She whistled and motioned for him to come to her. The two owls ate every treat she'd brought and soon nodded off to sleep. It was only when Hermione went to remove Aria from her shoulder that she remembered Draco's request. She checked both legs, but found no parchment on either one. She went out of her way to settle Aria onto a perch well away from the entrance so no other students would mistake her for a school owl, and headed back to the castle.

Hermione intended to go straight back to the cottage, but was pleasantly surprised when Luna locked arms with her. "Hello, Hermione. I haven't seen you much since school started. Seems you've been spending most of your time locked away in that private eighth years' cottage."

Hermione felt a twinge of guilt shoot through her. Luna was right. She had spent nearly every free moment in the cottage. She'd barely seen Ginny or Luna since they arrived. "I'm sorry, Luna. I should make more of an effort to spend time with you.-"

Luna interrupted her with a laugh. "Hermione... You don't have to apologize. I was simply making an observation, not an accusation. I understand your situation is taking a lot of getting used to. Plus, if I had a private dorm, I'd take advantage of it as much as possible too."

Hermione relaxed, and mentally scolded herself for thinking Luna would be upset by something like that. "Thanks, Luna. You are right. It is taking a lot of getting used to, but overall, everything has been going well." Hermione lowered her voice, and leaned in so only Luna could hear as she continued, "Would you believe Draco and I are actually getting along?"

"Yes, I would. In fact, I'm happy to hear that. Draco is a different person this year. Anyone who is paying attention could see that. He deserves a fresh start, Hermione, and I am glad you are willing to give it to him." Luna's response stunned Hermione. How did she know Draco was different? Luna couldn't have spent much more time with him than she had with Hermione, so how would she have seen the changes? She didn't get time to think it through before the blonde spoke again, and in true Luna fashion, changed the subject, "I've heard there is a nargle infestation in the Hufflepuff common room. Students' belongings are going missing left and right."

"Is that so?" Hermione asked, to humor her friend.

"Uh huh. I've offered to make them all cork necklaces, but no one has taken me up on it." Luna was once again staring into space as she was prone to do.

"Well, it was nice of you to offer." Hermione found herself longing for the comforts and the company of the cottage. "I think I'd better get back to the cottage. Draco and I have Astronomy tonight, and I'd like to sneak in a short nap before."

"Of course, of course." Luna released Hermione's arm and hugged her friend before skipping off down the corridor.

A quick scan of the sitting room and kitchen came up empty. Hermione contemplated turning back through the portal to look for Draco, but realized she would have no clue where to look. Plus, what if she ran into Luna again? Not to mention if she did find him, she'd have to explain that she'd been looking for him. They were friends now, but were they at the seeking-each-other-out-across-the-whole-castle stage? Probably not. Mostly because there isn't a seeking-each-other-out-across-the-whole-castle stage of friendship. That was solely reserved for relationships, and even then it was questionable. No, she'd have to stay and do what she told Luna she was planning to do.

Draco heard the portal door open from his chair on the front porch. A quick peek through the window revealed it was whom he had hoped for. He strode to the doorway and watched her having what appeared to be an internal argument. Her mouth was going, her hands were held out like a scale and she was pacing from side to side. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud at how adorable she was. He leaned against the door frame, and enjoyed the show. Suddenly, her movement stopped. Apparently, she had made up her mind. She made one final turn, and was now directly facing him.

It only took a second for her to recognize him, but it was a second too late to stop the scream from escaping her lips. She clutched her chest and Draco tried to hold back a laugh but was unsuccessful. She feigned annoyance as she asked, "Weren't you the one who told me not too long ago that you shouldn't go around sneaking up on people? But here you are doing that very thing to me."

"It was completely innocent, I assure you." He took several steps into the cottage, a mischievous smile still spread across his face. "I was simply enjoying some tea on the porch, -it is a great spot for that by the way-, when I heard the door open. I got up to see who it was, and there you were talking to yourself." Draco winked at her.

"Well, I..." She knew she'd been caught, and the blood rose to her cheeks. He was still walking towards her which caused it to rise that much faster. "I was just trying to...," he was staring at her so intensely she had a hard time forming the words, "trying to decide if I wanted to eat here or go to the Great Hall for dinner."

He changed course, veering off into the kitchen. "Potter went to the Great Hall with Ginny, I'm sure they'd be happy if you joined them." He glanced sideways at her to see if she reacted to his statement, and was pleased to see her shoulders slump slightly at that idea. "Or," he continued, "I haven't eaten yet either, we could whip something up together." He knew he was coming on strong, but with Ron finally out of the way, he had no reason to hold back. He ramped it up on more notch by tauntingly adding, "That is if you think you can keep up."

"Oh, I can keep up." She retorted, conjuring an apron as she joined him in the kitchen. "So what are we making?"