A/N: Oh my goodness guys, I am so sorry. So many things happened in the last month, and I just had absolutely no time to write anything other than the stuff I needed to do for my Quidditch League. I only lost like one follower though, so thank you! I really appreciate you all, and for not giving up on me.

So, this chapter is a little bit shorter, and isn't as good as I wanted it to be :/ But I found it difficult to get back into the story after a month away, so hopefully you still enjoy it, and I promise the next chapter will be better! I will do my best to have the next chapter ready as soon as possible, but I can't say anything for sure as I have so many other things on the go.

Anyways, thanks again for reading and reviewing! Enjoy! :)

Draco began walking to McGonagall's office a few minutes before he normally would have, hoping to catch Granger before the others got there. He still had no idea how he would go about talking with her, but he'd come to the conclusion that it needed to happen.

Merlin, why did I have to be put with the most aggravating girl in the school? He wondered.

He had spent the entire day wandering the corridors, except for a quick break to grab food from the kitchens. Draco had figured out the entrance in his sixth year, and had quite enjoyed that knowledge since. Initially he had planned on going to the Great Hall, but had seen Theo on his way, and the other boy had entirely avoided him. After that, Draco knew he couldn't stand to face him or any of his friends. He wondered how much Theo had already told the others – assuming he had – Theo had never seemed like one to break a confidence, but Draco had never asked him to keep the information a secret.

Inwardly, Draco kicked himself. He still couldn't figure out exactly what had come over him. Draco Malfoy, having a heart-to-heart with anyone, wasn't exactly a normality. He felt entirely exposed to the world, even though for all he knew it was only Theo who had the information. But even he shouldn't have it. Draco was starting to wish that he had used his little Obliviate trick, and wiped Theo's memories. It would have been far easier than this.

What, for Salazar's sake, were you thinking? Draco asked himself for the infinite time that day, and again he had no concrete answer. He knew he had been feeling terrible, causing him to let his guard, and then somehow he had ended up saying – well – everything. The strange thing was – at the time – it had seemed as though the pressure he was carrying had been lifted, however slightly. Now he felt worse than ever, and of course, his idiotic conversation with Granger hadn't exactly helped. He hadn't at all expected to feel bad about that one.

Now, Draco was trying to figure out a way to talk to Theo again, and sort everything out. Only the way his 'friend' had avoided him earlier would potentially make that difficult. At the moment then, Draco's only goal was to make sure that nothing like that ever happened again. If he had changed, and he was still going on the if assumption, he certainly hadn't changed that much. Draco's mask was the only thing that kept him safe – when that left – he wouldn't have anything.

Wandering into McGonagall's office ten minutes to seven, when the note she had sent said to meet, he realized that nobody else was there. Not even McGonagall. Well, this is interesting, he thought, I'm not generally the first one to show up for anything. Of course, he had ulterior motives here, but it seemed as though they were going to get him nowhere.

"Draco Malfoy, early?" Came a voice from behind him. Draco turned quickly to see Ernie leaning against the doorframe, studying him, "I thought you'd come in late, not willing to face us after getting all of us in trouble."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Draco said without thinking. Inwardly he kicked himself. Sorry? Since when does Draco Malfoy say sorry? He thought. Ernie seemed just as stunned, giving him a curious glance before entering the room and taking a seat. Neither spoke again.

A few minutes later Luna flounced in the door, looking entirely unperturbed. She took a seat beside Ernie and glanced in between the two boys curiously. Just as she was about to say something Hermione walked in, followed by McGonagall. The former made a point of not looking in Draco's direction at all, and the blond realized that this was probably going to be a lot harder than he had thought.

"Alright," McGonagall stated, standing in the entrance to her office and clearing her throat loudly. All four students turned to face her. She began: "I spent a lot of time thinking about what exactly your detention should entail. And then it came to me. The whole point of this exercise was to promote unity among the houses, and you four apparently could not make this work. Therefore…" McGonagall waved her wand and a floating timer appeared over their heads, "You will spend this time becoming – unified – shall we say," McGonagall finished. She eyed the students over her glasses. Draco had absolutely no idea what she was getting at, but his mind was racing as he attempted to figure out the meaning of the floating timer.

"So, what are we doing, Professor?" Hermione asked.

Typical Granger, always needing to stick out as the know-it-all, Draco thought, before catching himself. It was those thoughts that would lead to comments that would lead to him getting into even more trouble than he already was.

"Good question, Ms. Granger," McGonagall stated coolly. Draco couldn't tell if she was annoyed with Hermione or with all of them, "The task is simple. You must all be civil – may I say, friendly – with each other for half an hour," McGonagall waved her wand once again and the timer showed 30.00, "Every time that anyone makes an untimely remark, the timer will reset. The door will be locked, and will only unlock when the time has run out."

The four students sat in silence for a moment, none of them fully comprehending the task at first. Then, after a moment:

"So, we just need to sit here and not make rude comments to each other?" Ernie asked.

A sly smile tugged on McGonagall's lips, and Draco immediately knew that there would somehow be more to it than that: "I will let you four figure that out for yourselves."

Turning, McGonagall left the room, closing the door behind her. Draco heard it click into place as it shut.

The timer sat still at thirty minutes, unmoving. For a moment, no one spoke. Then Ernie jumped in:

"So – " as soon as the words left his mouth the timer began to tick down, "would you like to tell us why we're here, Malfoy?" The last word left his lips as a sneer, which sounded strange coming from a Hufflepuff. The timer returned to thirty.

"Look, I really don't think that's the best idea right now," Draco responded, attempting to keep his voice calm. Apparently it worked, because the timer once again began its slow downward ticking. Ernie noticed this, and bit his lip. Then he nodded:

"Fine."

All four of them studied the clock, but it kept ticking downwards.

"What should we talk about?" Luna questioned airily, having put down her Quibbler. She was looking at Draco, her gentle eyes seeming to bore right into his soul. She smiled.

"I don't really think it matters, we just have to talk and we have to be civil," Hermione responded. She was still avoiding Draco's gaze, sitting in a chair to his right.

"It does matter," Luna responded simply, "Because if we talk about some things then I don't think we will be able to be civil." She cocked her head slightly to the right, giving them all a look that seemed to say this is entirely obvious to anyone with half a brain, and I would rather be reading my magazine.

Ernie scoffed, "Well, we three would be fine, it's – " he cut off as the timer reset to thirty minutes. Everyone glared at him and he sighed, "Sorry."

Finally, Hermione turned around to look at them, but she still avoided Draco's direct gaze, "Why don't we all tell another story, like we did yesterday? Even if it didn't turn out wonderful, it worked for a moment."

The three others considered this, and the timer paused. Apparently it only ticked down when they were actually engaged in a conversation.

"I don't have any more stories to tell you," Draco stated, voice slightly cool. The timer was still ticking down though, not seeing his comment as a direct attack to the others.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake Malfoy, can't you stop being a big-headed git for even one moment?" The words spewed out of Hermione's mouth like a bullet, taking Draco entirely aback. She was now glaring at him, and he knew he must look stunned because a confused expression came over her face, "Don't give me that innocent look," she stated coldly. Then she crossed her arms and turned away again. The timer was unmoving at thirty once more.

The four of them sat in silence for a while before Ernie finally spoke up, "Look, I think you do have a story, Malfoy. The one about why exactly we are sitting here."

"That's not – " Draco began, but Ernie gestured to the timer, which was ticking down again.

"See, it's still moving," Ernie stated.

Draco sighed. He knew that he technically owed them an explanation, and perhaps they wouldn't hate him as much if they knew that his forgetfulness hadn't been intentional.

"Fine," he stated. Hermione looked up, confusion etched on her face. Good, he thought, she must not entirely hate me. Maybe there's still a chance that I will get to talk to her.

"So, there really isn't much to tell," Draco stated honestly, doing his best to keep his voice even and not sarcastic or however his regular voice sounded, "I really was listening in the carriage – " Ernie looked like he was about to roll his eyes and make a sarcastic comment, but thought better of it as the timer was still ticking downwards " – but when I got to the door I couldn't remember the name of that creature that Lovegood was talking about. So I ended up landing us here."

Chewing on her bottom lip, Hermione looked at Draco. He turned and made eye contact with her, and a slight wave of heat rushed through him. Oh, for Salazar's sake what is wrong with me? He wondered. He was letting this whole working with Granger thing get to his head.

"Is that actually what happened?" Hermione questioned, surprising Draco. He had assumed that she would just shrug it off as being entirely untruthful. Especially after what had happened earlier; he couldn't even have blamed her.

"Yes," he responded simply. He didn't know why he was being so calm, but he assumed that it was simply because of the timer that was still slowly ticking down. Only twenty-three more minutes of this torture.

Not that it was technically torture, or anything close. But for Draco this was one of the worst detentions that he could have possibly imagined.

Then again, Granger was talking to him. Which he certainly wouldn't have seen as a positive a few days ago, but now that this Honorary Head Boy thing was on the line…

"So, if you were really listening then, which is entirely different from the Draco Malfoy we all know, what happened earlier today?" Hermione cut into his thoughts, her voice betraying her frustration ad hurt but still surprisingly measured. The timer didn't reset itself, and while Draco would have preferred to get her alone, he knew that now might be his only chance.

He took a deep breath. "Honestly, I didn't mean that. I just – needed to see something."

"You needed to see something," Hermione questioned, a tinge of sarcasm running through her words. Draco's eyes narrowed. He'd said enough, more than he needed to. Especially in front of the other witnesses.

"Yes, I needed to see something," Draco responded, glaring at her. They locked eyes before Ernie rapidly jumped up and waved a hand in between them.

"Stop!" he stated in a short whisper, gesturing hurriedly to the timer. Draco didn't know how it was still ticking down, but it was. Perhaps it was because they technically hadn't gotten angry or uncivil with each other, which was entirely surprising. Taking yet another deep breath, Draco forced himself to remain calm, though he also shot another glare at Hermione. She returned the look.

"It was a Crumple Horned Snorkack," Luna stated slowly when there had been silence for a few seconds. Everybody turned to look at her, "The creature that my father thinks is real, but I'm not so certain about anymore. A Crumple Horned Snorkack."

Draco caught what she was doing – they had to keep the conversation going in order to get out of here. Eighteen minutes left. They could not let the timer reset.

But he wasn't exactly feeling like making conversation.

"Oh, yeah," Ernie responded lamely, eyeing both Hermione and Draco with annoyance. Neither made any move to join the conversation. Then again, they had talked for a good five minutes. That made it Ernie and Luna's turn.

Draco turned and studied Granger, who was very obviously not looking anywhere near him now. He scowled. If he wasn't certain that McGonagall had likely sent his father an owl about the position, he would have cared less about it. Cared less about making up with bloody Granger. She was the most annoying prick this side of –

"What about you, Malfoy?"

Turning quickly, Draco realized that they must have been talking, and he had actually missed it this time.

"What?" he questioned, voice betraying his aggravation. He thought he saw the timer pause for a moment, before beginning it's slow ticking downwards once again.

"You know, it's really easy to believe that you were indeed listening yesterday," Ernie stated sarcastically, before turning quickly to look at the timer. Draco was entirely confused as to why it was still going down, but it was. He wasn't about to complain, "Well," Ernie continued, "Luna asked me if there was anyone special, and I said that I may or may not have a thing for that Hannah Abbott. She – "

"Wait a minute," Draco cut in, "You are not asking me who I like, while we are sitting in detention, with three people who I– " he cut out before saying what he was thinking. It would most certainly have brought the timer back up to half an hour.

Ernie sighed, "Told you," he muttered, turning to eye Luna. She smiled softly, her bright eyes turning to plunge deep into Draco. She always made him feel uncomfortable, and also terrible. He wished he never had to see her ever again.

Twelve minutes.

"I like Ron," Hermione piped up, causing Luna and Ernie to laugh. Her statement caught Draco slightly off guard – she was both joking and yet entirely serious, which was a side of her that he hadn't seen before.

"Well, we all know that," Ernie responded with a smile. Draco watched Granger's face, and saw something strange pass through her eyes. He couldn't place the emotion, but was entirely sure that he hadn't seen her carry it before. Then he turned away quickly. What was he thinking? Why did he care?

You don't care, you're just doing what you need to do, that's all, he told himself. And this was entirely true.

Or was it?

Hermione watched Draco out of the corner of her eye, entirely confused. She had spent all day hating him, but now she didn't know what to think. The blond was being surprisingly…civil. If that was even possible with a Malfoy. It was odd, but she felt once again like she had judged him too quickly.

Stop being an idiot, Hermione. Look what happened the last time you gave Draco Malfoy a chance. He showed you that he is incapable of change. And he always will be.

Tilting her head slightly to catch a glimpse of the clock, Hermione saw that they only had nine more minutes of this torture. Assuming, of course, that nobody did something stupid. Which, if she was honest with herself, was bound to happen.

"Oh, yeah, of course you all know that," Hermione stated, catching Ernie's eye and realizing that all three of them were still staring at her. The words had come naturally: I like Ron. She did, after all.

Right?

Dropping her gaze to the floor, Hermione mentally kicked herself for this thought. Of course she liked Ron. She'd just kissed him – yesterday, was it? – though it seemed like forever ago. And she still felt that strange annoyance every time she thought of him. She hadn't been able to entirely pinpoint where it was coming from, but she assumed that she was still aggravated with him and Harry for leaving her here this year all by herself.

Though, in some deeper part of her, she knew this wasn't entirely the truth either. This annoyance with Ron hadn't simply started yesterday, like she tried to tell herself. It had started soon after they had become an "official" couple. Ron made a great friend, and she absolutely loved him, but it felt different being with him. As though there was a hole in her that she had thought he would be able to fill, but it had remained empty.

"Hermione!"

Jumping slightly, Hermione shook her head to clear it and looked up. The timer had stopped and Ernie was gesturing frantically as though doing so would keep it going.

"Say something!" He hissed at her, keeping his voice low. She looked at him in confusion:

"What?" The moment the words left her lips, the timer started its downward ticking again.

Five more minutes.

"I think the clock needs to hear something from all of us every few minutes," Draco told her, and then cut off, as though realizing that he had just civilly explained something to Hermione Granger. She was so stunned by this that she entirely forgot what she had been thinking of and just stared at the blond for a moment.

"What?" he asked defensively, and she simply shook her head, "What did I say?"

"It isn't what you said, it's what you didn't say," Hermione responded, keeping her voice cool. Draco's eyes hardened at her tone, understanding the implications of her words. To his credit, he didn't respond. Hermione knew it was probably because whatever he wanted to say would certainly turn the time back to half an hour. And none of them wanted that.

"Well, we've done quite well," Luna stated airily, smiling gently at the three of them, "Only four more minutes."

Ernie nodded, "I thought we'd be here for hours, honestly," he stated, with a sideways glance at Draco. Hermione watched as Draco's hands clenched into fists at his side.

Uh-oh, she thought, this might not turn out well.

But Draco didn't say anything, surprising Hermione for a second time. She had never known him to be able to keep his cool before, no matter the situation.

"Let's talk about something else," he stated finally, teeth gritted. Hermione could tell it was simply to get his voice out there. None of them wanted to risk the timer stalling again – perhaps the first time it had stopped as a warning and if it happened again it would reset itself.

"I agree," Hermione responded, before she totally realized what she was saying. She had, as she knew was the case with Malfoy, spoken only to have the timer catch her voice. Agreement with Draco was not what she had meant. The blond turned and gave her a questioning look, but not an unkind one. Hermione simply shrugged.

"Only one minutes left!" Ernie stated excitedly a few moments later.

"Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven, fifty-" Hermione began with a silly smile.

"Will you shut up?" Draco questioned, his voice strangely humorous instead of cruel. Hermione's breath caught in her throat and she turned to stare at him. The two locked eyes and for a second Hermione felt a wave of heat rush through her. Then she broke his gaze and once more stared at the floor.

Good Godric, what is happening to me? She asked herself. She didn't look up again, instead listening to Ernie and Luna chat about meaningless things until the time ran out. As soon as it did, a small beeping went off, and the sound of the office door unlocking rang clearly throughout the small space.

"Well, I wish I could say it has been a pleasure, but it really hasn't, so – " Ernie stated, standing up, "Night, all." Without another word, he headed out of the office. Luna followed close on his heels, having gone back to reading her upside down Quibbler.

"What exactly was that?" Hermione finally asked, turning to glare at Malfoy once she was sure the others were out of range.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," the blond answered coolly, meeting her gaze. His eyes were once again icy, and the tingling she had last felt did not reoccur.

"You were actually being – well – not a total arse," Hermione spit out.

Draco's gaze hardened, "Oh, well, thank you. I appreciate someone noticing that I'm not always a complete git," he responded sarcastically.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione stood up, "No, that's not what I was trying to say. I was pointing out that you are always a complete git, and I was wondering what you were up to by pretending to be nice."

For a moment, Hermione thought she saw hurt pass through Malfoy's eyes, but if it had been there he concealed it well, "For your information, I simply wanted the time to run out so that I could get out of your aggravating presence faster. Really, I have no idea why I'm still here," Draco told her, also standing.

"Well, feel free to leave. It's not like I'm enjoying being in your presence. But I do have to talk to McGonagall, so sadly I have to stay," Hermione replied, shoving as much hatred behind her voice as she could.

"About what?" Draco asked, before he could help himself.

Hermione laughed coolly, "Because that's your business."

"It's about the Head Girl/Head Boy thing, I'm guessing. Which makes it my business."

"Oh, right. Because you've been so helpful and excited about that position," Hermione responded quickly. It was taking everything she had to keep from punching Malfoy in the face. She could only imagine McGonagall's face if she gave into that urge.

Draco swallowed hard, knowing that he had to make a decision. He didn't know why he had once again let himself fight with Granger, but he assumed that it must be because it was a normal thing. He and Granger didn't do much that didn't involve fighting. Did he want that to change?

The simple answer was no.

The complicated answer was still no.

The mature answer was yes. This was also the only answer that would allow him to keep the Head Boy position and please his father. So this was the answer that he needed to choose. It wasn't really a choice, of course, but it was what he needed to do.

"No, I wasn't. At first," Draco responded honestly, "But now that I've thought about it, I do want the position. And – " he caught his breath " – I'm willing to work with you for it."

Confusion passed through Hermione's eyes, "What?"

"You heard me," Draco responded aggravatedly.

"You're lieing," Hermione told him, "You really expect me to believe that after what happened earlier?"

Biting his tongue, Draco inwardly cursed himself for that mistake. It would be absolutely impossible to explain, and he didn't want to do so anyways, "Look – that was – complicated. Alright?"

Hermione studied him, and Draco found himself holding in a breath. He had never expected himself to be worried about anything that Granger had to say. But here he was.

"And you promise to be civil?"

"I didn't say that," Draco responded, attempting to sound light hearted.

Chewing on her lip, Hermione was silent for another moment, before: "Well, I guess I don't have much choice then. McGonagall wouldn't let me drop you if you told her you wanted the position."

Draco flashed a sly smile, "See, I'm not a complete idiot."

"I never said you were. I said you were a total arse."

"Ouch."

"You deserved that," Hermione stated, though somehow in the span of a few moments her voice had become playful. Draco stared at her for a moment, wondering how he had missed this side of Granger. He assumed it must have been his strong prejudice against muggleborns, the one he didn't hold quite so highly anymore.

"Fair enough," Draco replied after a few seconds. Then he took a deep breath, "So, you going to tell me about that Hippogriff?"

Hermione smacked him hard with her book bag.

To be continued...

A/N: Thanks again for reading! Reviews are always appreciated and keep me motivated...which I need right now :)