Word Count: 1,185/?

Day Five

"I sees Sneverus" Hermione blurts out by way of greeting when Draco sits down across the table from her.

"I keep seeing Snape" is what she meant to say, of course, but the new anti-psychotic potion slurs her speech more than ten Firewhiskeys. It also messes with her priorities and ability to not say everything on the tip of her tongue. However, she is no longer catatonic when drugged, so small victories. Very small. Microscopic, really.

One day they'll get it right, or so they keep reassuring her.

Hopefully, she'll be sane first.

"What are you on?" Draco asked, eyes wide, worry leaking out of every pore. She can practically see it floating around his head in a urine yellow haze. Blinking hard, the haze is gone. Yet another fun side effect to add to the ever growing list - ability to 'see' emotional auras.

Shaking her head makes her brain slosh around unpleasantly, so she settles on shrugging one shoulder, "don't know. It stops the dead from visiting though."

"But you keep seeing Snape," the blonde says after a blink. Sighing, Draco moves to the bench she is sitting on, holding her close. Through the heavy jumper, he can feel the sharp jab of her shoulders, more prominent then they were before this whole mess with Ron started. "Honey, Severus is dead, too."

"How do we know he's dead?" she asked in a horse whisper, "We never saw his body!"

"Harry told us what happened that night, you remember," he told her, "do you really think he would lie about something like that?"

"I don't know if he would or not," she said slowly, forcing the words out, "A couple weeks ago, I would've said he wasn't capable of a lot of things that he did."

"I know, Hermione, I know," Draco sighs, his voice weary.

"I think he lied about more then we know, but that's not the point. The point is I'm still seeing Snape, so he must be alive, not a hallucination, because if he was a hallucination, I wouldn't be seeing him anymore." she insisted, her hair falling in clumps over her eyes. Pushing the curls away, she glared at him.

Crossing his arms, Draco glared right back, "Don't glare at me, Hermione, I'm not the one who put you here in the first place!"

"But you do think it's possible he's still alive, don't you?"

"I don't know what to believe, anymore!" Draco shouted, frustration etched in every line of his body, "This whole mess has turned everything on it's head!"

"If you can't be quiet, Mister Malfoy, you'll have to leave," the sister supervising the visitor's room scolded Draco sternly, "excitement is not good for the healing process."

"I'm sorry, Sister," he oozed the trademark Malfoy charm, "It won't happen again, I promise."

"See that you do, sir," she bristled, unimpressed, before leaving the two in relative privacy.

"I think Ron and I broke up," Draco told Hermione after the silence stretched between them awkwardly. For good measure, he produced two bars of Honeydukes famous chocolate - chilies and cherries in dark chocolate for him, and toffee almond crunch in milk chocolate for her.

Hermione snorted and sat up, crossing her legs on the bench, as she pealed the foil apart carefully. At least Draco had taken the hint and steered the conversation away from the dangerous waters, "That's hardly a surprise, Dray."

"I thought you said that we were good for each other!" he asked, mock offended, "and if you don't knock it off with that silly uni nickname, I'll start calling you 'Hermy', like that girl who's attached herself to your hip."

"I did, but Ron's been my friend longer then you have," Hermione commented, overlooking the halfhearted threat, "he's always been terrified of commitment. I think Lavender was his longest relationship."

"It's not like it's a piece of cake for me either," he retorted, "I just have enough money and not enough family for anyone to make an issue out of it!"

"Honestly, Draco, stop being so dense," she scolded him, inhaling the heavenly scent of the candy, "the last time he told anyone in the magical community he liked boys more than he ought to, they bound his magic in an archaic ritual!"

The conversation paused as they both put chunks of chocolate in their mouths, letting it melt over the tongue.

"It's hardly my fault that his father had to be weirdly old-school on that count. Mostly people don't care now-a-days, as long as you marry and produce an heir."

Hermione rolled her eyes animatedly, breaking off another bite, "And I'm sure that's why you're an only child."

"My father and mother may have never shared a bed after I was conceived," he said, while reaching over to pilfer the piece of chocolate she had broken off, "but that had more to do with my mother's vanity then my father's preference for woman half his age."

"And there goes the Gryffindor pool of Lucius and Severus shacking up," she sighed dramatically, taking a bite of his in turn, "Why must you always get the most disgusting flavour they make?"

"Really? There was a pool?" Draco batted his eyelashes innocently, "and the white chocolate banana is by far the most disgusting flavour, not the classic goodness that is chillies and cherries in dark chocolate."

Hermione smacked his arm playfully, "Don't you know that's what we Gryffs get up to between all the duels and rule breaking?"

"Are you going to get in trouble for spilling House secrets?" Draco asked, disbelievingly, "Anyway, Ron."

"If you want to be in a relationship with him, you're going to have to deal with his freak outs."

"I'd rather deal with yours."

"Really?" she blinked, surprised.

"Your freak outs are easier. I can hug you, feed you contraband chocolate, give you dusty tombs from the manor that no one but you will find interesting. With Ron, I have no idea how to help him. I spent most of my time knowing him provoking him."

"Just get to know him, Draco," Hermione sighed with the weariness of a girl who has spent too much time explaining matters of the heart to dense boys, "Pretend that you never knew him, and just get to know him."

"On the up side, he does seem keen on continuing to 'shag like bunnies'," he said with false cheer.

"Well, that's all you need, then," she tried for seriousness, but then gave into the giggles threatening.

Laughter was good for the soul, after all. Chocolate just happened to be even better.