The next morning, Hermione went down to breakfast before Draco had gotten out of the shower. She had learned to wake up early; if Draco got to the bathroom before she did, she would surely be late. It was a bright, sunny Monday morning, and she eagerly got dressed to enjoy the day with her best friends.

Rushing into the great hall, she smiled warmly at Harry and Ron, sitting next to Ron. "Good morning."

"Morning…" they mumbled, caught up in the smell of breakfast food. An owl came down on Hermione, holding out the Daily Prophet. She snatched it, paid the owl, and began to read. So much was happening within the wizarding community these days, Hermione felt she couldn't afford to miss anything, especially for Harry's sake. Hermione worried about Harry; he didn't take enough interest in his own safety, not nearly. She speed read through the entire paper, looking for key names she knew. Names of friends, members of the Order, and known Death Eaters were all scoured out and these articles examined. Fortunately, it had been a fairly uneventful week. As she folded the paper and stored it in her bag, Hermione felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked up, confused, and then scanned the room, why was someone staring at her? A shiver ran down her spine; Malfoy.

The blond was staring at her from his table, which was not far from where she sat. What worried her most was that she didn't recognize the expression on his face. He seemed distant, yet annoyed. It was a far stretch from the angry, hateful look he often gave her. Suddenly, he seemed to clear up and notice her. His face hardened, and he sneered at her. She scrunched her nose in disgust and looked away. She had no intention to waste her day worrying about such a lowlife.

She noticed. Damn. I get lost in a thought for one minute, and she chooses that time to glance over. I rolled my eyes and focused on what Pansy was telling me. "… So today we have potions first period, a double period of course." She rolled her big black eyes, "Do they do that on purpose? I mean, don't try to tell me that we always have potions with Gryffindors on accident. Come oo-on." I just nodded, too absent minded to really care about the inevitable potions class. "Are you listening???" I looked over at her, feeling annoyed.

"Pansy," She nodded, "I know we have potions with Gryffindor, we always have, always will. Will you pleeease SHUT UP!" a few people turned to stare at me. Fuck them. I found myself in quite a horrid mood, for whatever reason. I really didn't feel like going from class to class, dealing with the idiotic students and witless teachers of the school. That's not fair; I gave the students too much credit. I looked over at Pansy. Great, now she's pissed. "For God's sake, Parkinson, I'm in a bad mood; nothing to do with you. Get over it." Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'm going to go get ready for class." She nodded to Blaise, who followed her out of the Great Hall. Fine, be like that. Sighing, I stood up. Time to go to class...

And time to begin plan B.

I shoved a lock of hair out of my face as I walked down to potions early. I wouldn't help but snort at the look on the boys' faces as when I decided to leave early. That 'why??' look. Well… because what if I want to set up my potions station? I have new materials and ingredients, so wouldn't that make sense? Or, what if I want to see what potion that we're doing, and find it in my book? I couldn't do that? There are an endless amount of reasons. But, whatever. Not like it matters. I don't know why they don't expect these things from me anymore. I was shaken from my inner thoughts when a shoulder slammed into mine; making me drop all the things I carried. Who the hell runs into someone in an empty hallway?!?! As I looked up crossly, the first feature I noticed was a splash of shock blond hair. Of course; it was all so obvious now. "What was that??" Okay, so I'm not too happy with him right now, I mean, gimmie a break!

Malfoy stopped looked back at me. He didn't look angry. No… just… odd. A strange, unrecognizable look crossed his face, and then he grinned crookedly at me. What was wrong with him? "Sorry, Granger," he murmured. I froze, halfway leaning down to get my books. Sorry?? WHAT??? He turned around and took two long, smooth steps towards me. When he reached me, he leaned down and shuffled my books and notes together. He then stood up and held the assortments out to me. Baffled, I reached out and snatched them from his long fingers. His smirk widened at what must have been my alarmed and bewildered look. "Here, let me take that." Before I could react, he had reached over and pulled my book-bag off my shoulder and slung it on to his. At my silence he, he raised an eyebrow, "What do you keep in here, bricks?"

Shock; complete and utter shock was all that I could form. My mouth opened and closed silently. What the hell?? Hugging the books he had handed me to my chest, I coughed, struggling for words. I opened my mouth again, but before I could reply, Malfoy cocked his head in the direction of the potions room and started a leisurely walk in that direction. I narrowed my eyes, suspicious of misconduct, but couldn't think of a response to this behavior that didn't sound dumb or childish. So, unhappily, I trailed after him.

Thankfully, when we reached the classroom, we were still so early, not even Snape had come into the room. I stood uncertainly in the doorway to the dungeon, watching Draco calmly cross the room to my table, and set my book-bag down on the ground next to it. With that, he looked up at me, raised a delicate eyebrow, and sat down in his own seat. I walked slowly over to my table, and stared at my book bag, then back at Draco. His face did not change. Slowly, I sat down. Gathering up my self-consciousness, I took a deep breath, "Why did you do that?" My voice sounded breathy and quite unlike my own. I felt stupid asking, and I knew my cheeks were faintly flushed with red. Draco looked at the clock, seeming to contemplate how much alone time we had. He walked over to me in large, confident strides. Before I could comprehend what he was doing, he was crouching beside my chair, his clear gray eyes searching mine.

"Granger," he whispered huskily. I felt my stomach flutter. "You remember that night that you overheard my father and me?" I nodded stiffly, "So you know don't you? That I'm trying to change? I'm trying, I really am. I just need some help. Please, help me change? I've been one way for so long…" he bowed his head. I tired to read him, tried to find the lie. Could he really mean it? I looked around the room, tying to make a decision, avoiding looking at him. Just as I opened my mouth to respond, Draco jerked up and walked quickly back to his seat, and the door to the room slowly creaked open.

END OF CHAPTER

So, did you miss me? I'm sorry… I've just been so overwhelmed with life lately. I'm sure you all know how that is… Anyway, I should be updating more often. What do you all think, more of this, or more of Lost For So Long? Also, what's better, short chapters with more updates, or longer chapters with less frequent updates? Please review, I really appreciate it.