She woke late, the house elves helping her to dress. Normally she would have begrudged using them like that, especially since they were Malfoy's, but she was so stiff and tired she couldn't help but warmly welcome their assistance.

Malfoy Manor looked much different in the light. The foyer she'd walked through the night before was a palace all to its own, cast in obsidian. She hadn't even noticed how many massive pillars were spread out across the hall. Despite the awning windows that let in the bright morning sunlight, it still didn't feel warmer to her.

A house elf led her down through the sprawling hallways to a relatively smaller dining room elegantly set for lunch. Malfoy was already there, and he gave her a half-hearted smirk at the sight of her being led by the hand of a house elf. And though he didn't say anything as she sat down, there was little doubt that he noticed how out of place she felt. She saw him shake his head at one point due to her awkwardness, but he remained distant.

She hadn't realized just how hungry she'd been. The food consisted of dainty arrangements of sandwiches, but that didn't slow her down. When she had mostly satisfied herself, she looked up, expecting to find him watching her. Instead, he was gazing off to the side, one hand idly thumbing his food.

"I don't mean to be rude," she started hesitantly, unable to take the silence any longer, "This is your manor, correct?" She continued when he nodded. "But it doesn't seem like the best idea to wait around here after—what's happened, does it?"

"What 'happened' probably wasn't the best idea either," he countered easily, hardly bothering to look at her.

"But won't they be looking for you?" She persisted, frustrated at how easily he had sidestepped the question.

"Of course they will," Malfoy lazily rubbed at a spot on the table, "Even though it's painfully obvious, I imagine they'll think to show up here fairly soon."

"And?" She raised her eyebrows, but he didn't catch it as he was still staring sullenly down at his food.

"You don't have to worry your pretty little head about that. You'll be a long ways away from here by then," he leaned back in his chair, pushing the rest of his food away, "It would be best if you left now."

"Are you just going to wait for them?" she asked, her stomach sinking at the thought.

"It's none of your concern what I do," Malfoy said coldly.

"Of course it is!" Hermione had blurted the words before she thought to hold them. "I mean—after what you did? We got away didn't we? You can't do something stupid now."

"Granger," Malfoy said slowly, "As much fun as it has been, none of this should have ever happened. Now the best thing—the only thing you are going to do now—is go away. I'll have a house elf show you where you can leave and apparate."

"Malfoy, listen to me," Hermione was on her feet again, leaning forward onto the table and doing her best to catch his eye, "You said last night that there was nothing for me to be ashamed about. And it's the same for you—"

"Oh, would you drop it already," he rolled his head back in exasperation.

"No! It's the same for you, Malfoy. If you think that what happened to Dumbledore was your fault, it isn't. It's the same—"

"What are you talking about?" Malfoy looked disbelievingly at her, "This has nothing to do with that."

"And it's the same thing here," Hermione insisted, wishing her face wasn't so hot, "There was nothing else you could have done—"

"Nothing?" Malfoy leapt to his feet. "The only thing in common those two things have is that they're probably going to get me killed! As soon as Leach showed up I should've walked away, or laughed, or maybe even helped the right side for a change! What does it matter what happens to a filthy Mudblood anyway? I should've never done that. Ever."

But he did. He did. Hermione clenched her eyes shut as she fought back her reflexive anger and the wrenching of her stomach, desperately repeating that fact over and over to herself.

"Where are you going now, Malfoy?" she asked instead, having to shout, as he was still raging. "Malfoy! Where are you going?"

"Just go away!"

"Why do you always have to shout?" she screamed back at him.

"Just get out, Granger! Go now!"

"NO!"

For a long second they both froze, and she dimly wondered which of them was more surprised by her vehemence. She watched his mouth fumble for words, and she realized that she had left him speechless for one of the few times she could remember.

"Why?" he finally asked her weakly, as though he had wanted to say something else.

She could have answered any number of ways, truthful or not. She all but expected herself to say that she owed him, and that much was true. But that wasn't the real reason.

"Because I have nowhere else to go."

------------------------------------------------------------

After concluding breakfast—or perhaps lunch, she still wasn't quite sure—in a much quieter way, Draco promptly fell back into his brooding silence. He then walked through what seemed like half the manor, and she knew without asking that she should follow. He may have been surprised that she did this, but eventually he came to two massive doors. Swinging them open, he wordlessly gestured inside.

Warily circling around him, the contents of the room came into view and she couldn't help but catch her breath. Even from where she stood she could easily make out a gaping stretch of the room, crammed with shelves that were brimming with books.

Realizing that he was looking back at her, she steadily held his gaze and carefully walked by him through the doors. His expression was neutral enough that she had to guess, but she thought she caught a trace of smugness.

She moved slowly to the center of the room, spinning around and taking in every detail she could. She was impressed despite herself, and she felt a burning desire just to look over the seemingly endless lines of titles to see what was there that she hadn't seen before.

As an afterthought she glanced back to find that Malfoy had already gone, and she had a fleeting pang of disappointment. It was foolish though for her to assume that he had any interest in a library he'd had in his house his entire life. It was obvious that he was merely distracting her. There was scarce else to do at the manor. Their discourse so far had been many things, but entertaining was hardly one of them.

For a long time she wandered, one finger trailing along the rows as she examined each book in turn. They were rigidly sorted and many were probably there for appearances more than for the actual material. But she found herself quickly accumulating a considerable armload as she grabbed any that happened to strike her fancy. About halfway through the first clump of rows on the bottom level she gave up and retraced her steps, weeding out the titles that didn't sound as interesting at second glance. She carefully brought them back to their original places, though she gave serious consideration to mixing them up on a childish impulse. She might have just for kicks, but she knew Malfoy wouldn't care. For all she knew it could be decades before anyone would notice.

Once she had mostly satisfied herself for the moment, she made her way back to one of the chairs arranged near the entrance. The chairs themselves turned out to be exceptionally comfortable, and that caused Hermione to wonder just how much the Malfoys actually used this library. It seemed stupid to her that one family could have so many books that they could never possibly read.

And then she settled in, skimming each of the volumes she had selected before settling on one text in particular that recounted alternate views on important historical events.

She didn't need to get very far along to know that she missed this terribly. It had been far too long since she had the time or reason to sit down and just read or relax, much less both at the same time. She had taken it for granted that she would return to Hogwarts this year. Under different circumstances, she might have found herself sitting in a different common room, struggling to ignore the loud but cheerful conversation around them as she helped Harry and Ron struggle through their homework.

Shaking her head, she pushed those bittersweet thoughts from her mind. She needed no extra incentive, but nevertheless she dove into her new book with a passion.

Hours stretched by. She had no way of marking time, apart from how the sunlight streaming in through the library's broad windows moved across the floor.

The books she alternated through did not disappoint, and she found herself finding no room or desire for other thoughts.

Except Malfoy.

She didn't know how many times he passed before she noticed, but soon she started to watch for his irregular passings. After the second time she caught a glimpse of him, she grudgingly extracted herself, rose and opened the doors as wide as they would go.

As though in a trance Malfoy wandered the halls. Only once when he passed did he spare the slightest glance at her, as though merely to confirm she was still there. It was haunting to see him like that. Hermione found her thoughts following whenever she noticed him, and she had to repeatedly struggle to bring her mind back to what she had been reading.

Whether it was curiosity or the restless feeling as evening drew closer, she eventually closed her book forcibly. After stretching indolently and rubbing at her sore eyes, she sorted out a neat pile of books and sat back to wait.

When Malfoy finally came again, still no apparent timing in his passing but inevitable all the same, she watched for any sign of recognition that he was passing the library. What she thought she saw was fleeting and he quickly passed back out of sight. She rose uncertainly to her feet, looking around her again. Reluctantly she left, examining Malfoy's retreating gait to see if it changed at all when he wasn't visible to her. But faithfully he showed no change, even as he aimlessly wandered around a corner.

Biting her lip, she jogged after him as quietly as she could until they were side by side. He made no effort to acknowledge her, still staring off at the ceiling as he walked. But after a moment he spoke, more to her than himself.

"I sent the house elves away."

"What?" she asked, startled out of her own considerations. "Why?"

"They would've been a liability once our friends show up." Draco's gaze fell down to the floor. "They can't know when we leave or where we're going."

"So we are leaving together?" Hermione pressed.

"Unless you've changed your mind." He murmured, his tone indicating he didn't care either way.

"You could've left already," Hermione pointed out, fishing for some kind of response. This listless version of Malfoy was starting to bother her. "You could sneak away without me. It wouldn't be hard. Why haven't you?"

"I don't know." Draco shrugged. "I've been thinking … about everything. The idea has occurred to me."

Hermione waited for a long moment, looking off to the side. "And?"

"And I just said I don't know." Malfoy said, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.