Blossom's Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to us! Rowling stole it from us! (How dare she!) And I'm also the Easter bunny! And Ekaterina's a gopher-artichoke-towel-berry-sushi-viciousprincess-parrot(Squak!)! Plus the street light outside Mimiona's house is the MOOON!

Ekaterina's Disclaimer: If we owned Harry Potter, would we be writing fanfiction? Thought so.

Blossom's Note: A round of applause to our reviewers: TamoraPierceAddict and DutchyGirl! And of course, to all those who favorited or story-alerted! I have a history test tomorrow, and should be studying, but then again, this story is also very important to me, so...

Ekaterina's Note: Hello y'all! I'm sooooooo so so tired :P Haha, anyhow, I am sooooo glad that our traffic for this story has gotten better~ thank you to everyone reading this, to everyone who favorited and alerted, and of course, our reviewers: TamoraPierceAddict and DutchyGirl! I mean, seriously, it really makes an author happy to get feedback on their story~ like it or hate it, tell us so we can improve! 3 much love!

Mimiona's Note: Bonjouir, ca va? Heehee, I'm taking French classes :) Boy, it's really hard. I cannot get the accent for the life of me. Jeez! Soooo, thank you soooo much to all you people (you know who you are!) and let me tell you, on several occasions have people mistaken the streetlight outside my house is the moon. It's depressing when I have to say, "No, that's just a lamp"... :D

ChApTeR 5: HiDe AnD sEeK

Crack!

Hermione looked around curiously. All she could see were books, books, and more books. "Where are we, Pansy?" she asked. Naturally, she was still rather uncertain about the happenings of the past day, well, Pansy wasn't helping much either.

"I would expect for you to know, my bookworm." answered Pansy, "We're in the library of this house!"

Well so he wasn't lying about the thousands of books, thought Hermione, secretly very glad to have access to so many pieces of literature. "Ahhh, I see," she said aloud, looking around. "Well, it's kind of dark in here, isn't it..." With a flick of her wand, all the curtains were drawn, letting in the sunshine from outside. The snow outside glistened.

"Alright, Granger," Pansy said, squinting from the sudden brightness. "This is your new home. Apparently I need to show you to your rooms. You have a choice of a couple, you know..."

Hermione was busily looking through the first books she could get her hands on. "What?" she said distractedly. "Huh...? Rooms?"

"GRANGER!"

Hermione jumped ten feet.

"Come on! Let's get the heck out of this place, okay?" Pansy scowled.

"Oh, alright. I can take this book, though, right?"

"Yes, yes, whatever. I have a Christmas after-party in twenty minutes, so let's get this over with," Pansy huffed impatiently.

"Sure thing...Let me just get this book...and this one...Oh, and this one sounds interesting..." She continued sorting through books. "Merlin, I've always wanted to read this...This one! Is this the one by Jenna Kindles? And this one, too..."

"Let's get going, please?" Pansy said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, okay," Hermione muttered, grabbing one last book. She appeared from some corner of the library carrying a stack of about twenty or so books.

"Hey, you're really gonna read all that?" There was an exasperated Pansy waiting for her.

Hermione nodded. "Okay, let's go!"

"Yes, we'd better before you start getting more books..." muttered Pansy.

"What?"

"Oh, never mind. Let's get out of here, to your first room..."

Twenty or so minutes later, Hermione was lying on her new, comfortable bed. The room was pretty large and had four windows with flowered curtains. The curtains actually matched her bed covers and was a fireplace and a rocking chair next to it; the fire was glowing cozily.

An empty shelf stood against one wall for her picture frames and books; there were two closets and a set of drawers with a bedside lamp next to the bed. The floor had a fluffy rug and the walls were a pearly white. Beanbags were in one corner, not too far from the fireplace; a perfect place for reading, and a dresser on one side. There was also a desk and a rolling chair. Some quills and ink were on it, but other than that it was empty.

The room was, in short, very nice. Hermione was pleased. Well, of course some of the other rooms had been ridiculous. There was one with a princess-pink-fairy-I'm-a-six-year-old-girl theme... And another that was so big it was like a house in itself. Yet another had been the dullish bedroom ever. This one was perfect.

Humming softly, Hermione made her way to the desk. She dumped her newly acquired books onto it, and opened the top drawer to find a piece of parchment in it.

She opened the folded parchment to find a handwritten note in it...the writing was familiar.

Granger:

How do you like your room? I do hope it pleases you.

I'd like to let you know of a couple things. The library is next door, the bathroom is across the hall, and the kitchen is downstairs. There should be plenty of food in the kitchen, but should you want something else, please leave a note on the table. Other opened rooms may be visited. If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ask. Simply leave a note.

~Mr. X.

It was weird that he left a note instead of telling her in person. Perhaps he was out, or busy...She looked again at the parchment. Well, no. He asked to leave a note for everything! Aghh, this was so confusing. She didn't even know his NAME!

Hermione decided to think about it later. She grabbed a book and brought it to the bed with her. Soon she was absorbed in the pages about the history of Hogsmeade.

Pansy apparated into Draco's room.

"Well?" he demanded.

"She went into the room you thought she would, the one next door to the library. She seems pretty happy about everything," answered Pansy.

Draco nodded. "Good, thanks."

"Draco, wasn't Hermione tortured in the drawing room of this place?"

"Yeah...Gotta make sure she doesn't get in there."

Pansy shrugged. "Not my problem. Good luck with it. Oh, and you are planning to correspond with her through letters?"

"Yeah...There's no other way to hide the fact I'm Draco Malfoy. She'd probably run out of the house at the fact...no, she'd set the house on fire...rather, set me on fire, then run out. What other chance would I have of charming her?" He sighed. "Stupid Blaise..." he muttered.

"Well, Draco, I've got a date with my hubby, after-Christmas party, you know?" Pansy smiled. "Care to join the party?"

"Nah..."

"Alright then, bye!" With that, Pansy apparated out of the room.

Hermione woke up the next morning after a deep, restful sleep. Sitting up, she looked around confusedly at her surroundings before she remembered. She got out of bed, made it with a flick of her wand, and opened her closet. After dressing in a semi-formal skirt with a jacket, she went downstairs for her breakfast.

Opening the refrigerator, she found a variety of fruits, vegetables, and juices. The cupboards held her dishes, bread, spices, pots, and pans, all spic and span and neatly organized. It was obvious there were house elves in this place, thought Hermione in disapproval.

She grabbed a shiny red apple from the fridge and sat down at the dining table to eat. To her surprise, she found another letter on the table.

Hermione gazed at it thoughtfully while biting into the oddly crunchy apple. Hmm.. Odd, she still didn't know who her house mate was...But she was eating and sleeping at this place as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. She wasn't quite alarmed...yet. She would be if she wasn't able to get out of the house later, to go and meet her new quidditch team.

Hermione,

I really must apologize for not meeting you immediately, I sent out one of my friends to retrieve you, I hope the two of you got on well. Pansy has really changed since the war. Everyone has, extreme trauma and reality finally hit, I think. I fear that we will not be able to meet for a bit; please treat the house as your own and settle in. Don't mind me at all! When the time is right we will meet. For now, I fear we shall have to correspond through letters.

Is there anything in particular that you need, please don't hesitate to leave a note. I'll try my best to get it to you by the next day, I assure you.

~Mr. X.

PS: Did you sleep well? I hope the room suited you.

Hermione gazed thoughtfully at the letter while biting into a particularly crunchy apple. This note had been in the kitchen the morning after her arrival, so she assumed it had been there since last night. Mr. X. What kind of name was that? Perhaps his name started with X. Xavier? Hermione shook her head. He certainly didn't write like a Xavier. And Pansy. Pansy...He knew Pansy. And knew of her change after the war, too, which Hermione herself had not failed to catch. Perhaps he had went to Hogwarts, that seemed quite likely. Who could it be? She simply could not think of anyone who would do such a thing... it was really a mystery.

"Accio quill and parchment," Hermione muttered, and a quill came zooming into the room, followed by a piece of parchment. Smiling slightly, she began to write.

This correspondence through letters seemed to be working, thought Draco as he looked through the letters that he had kept for the last couple days. Except for the fact that he really hadn't been trying to charm her or anything; the conversations were a bit... not ro

House mate:

I did sleep well, thank you very much. It was a pleasant bed and a nice room. Oddly enough, the apple that I'm eating right now is super crunchy. And juicy. It's wierd. Would there be a reason for that? For the time being, I have no request of anything. This house seems to be very large, so I think I shall take some time to venture through some of the open rooms, if you don't mind of course.

~Hermione Granger

Hermione:

You are very welcome to look through the open rooms of this place, should it entertain you. As for the apple, it is not the apple that you were eating that is crunchy, it is simply that you are used to less classy, less proper apples.

I find it rather curious that you should not ask of who I am. Are you not curious of my identity?

~Mr. X.

Person Unknown:

Xavier. Is that your name? I hope it is not, for it doesn't sound like you AT ALL. But if it is, oh well. Well, I can't deny the fact that I want to know who you are, but then I also know that you would not tell me, should I ask, anyway. So I won't even bother pestering you about it.

About the apples... I don't know who you are, but you sure have your head in the clouds. I don't know for sure, but this peach I am eating right now seems a lot sweeter than usual, too. Do you prefer sweet things?

~Hermione

Hermione:

I shall tell you one thing about myself. I am NOT Xavier. Where did you get that idea from?

Oh, and are you eating every time you reply to my letters?

~I am NOT Xavier

The person who is not Xavier:

The only reason I guessed Xavier was because it started with X. And yes, I happen to be eating every time I reply because you always leave it on the dining table.

~You know who I am

Hermione:

Are you eating as you read this?

Oh. I see about the X/Xavier thing. Well, I meant it more as a mysterious variable, but I suppose it did sound rather ominous.

If you like exploring, there's a rather lovely botanical garden by the east wing, right near the outdoor swimming pool.

As a matter of fact, I do like sweet things. I never quite liked them until the end of the war when I realized that life was not worth depriving oneself of things that they like. Please, whatever you do, do not tell me that that was "soooo deep!" That's what Pansy said when she found out and one airhead is enough for me.

~X.

Secret House mate:

No, I am not eating as I write this, you may be assured. This one was pinned on the window that faces my room door. (I would expect you to know; didn't you put it here?)I have one quick question. How do you manage to hide from me, when we're living in the same house? Yes, this house is large, but... I don't know if you realized that I've explored practically the whole place by now! Do you live in the garage? (That's where I'll be looking through next.) Why are you hiding from me? Are you my worst enemy or something? Well, it is a rather interesting viewpoint of life... I like spicy, I think I developed some sort of liking while I was on the run and we had very little variety in food.

~Hermione Granger

Here, Draco had laughed. She actually wasn't too far off the mark... her worst enemy... yeah, that suited him...He was probably only beaten by Voldemort, or perhaps Rita Skeeter, but he doubted about the latter. And one question? That was four questions, to be exact.

Hermione:

One question? More like four! And I'm sorry, but I can't really answer many of them; only, I think I may say that I do NOT live in the garage. And sorry, love, but you only finished the middle. The east wing, west wing, and back yard still remain. Do try not to get lost, but if you do, just call for a house elf, her name is Momo. (I realize you don't like using house elves, but if you get lost, it might be helpful.)

Ah, spices make me sneeze!

~Mr.X

Hermione woke up feeling excited, her winter holidays were almost over and her new job would start soon. She had not looked much into her new workplace due to her time restraint and emotional stress, it was a sincere hope that the team was good that made her agree. Two days until new years, a fresh start on her life. She downed a shot of apple juice with the happy sentiment.

Dear X:

Well, two days before the new year, new life, and new job. I have yet to meet you. Seriously, where are you? I know that this is really quite selfish of me after all that you have done, but I really want to meet you. It's sort of lonely since I moved here, I mean, it's wonderful and everything, but everyone is still shocked so they don't know how to respond to me. I haven't been out of the house because of unpacking, settling, and exploring.

Lonely,

Hermione.

Draco reread the letter. Well, there was certainly an improvement there. Dear X. Dear X. Now if that was Dear Draco...

Lonely. She was lonely... Draco realized that, he was, in a sense, lonely, too. But he was rather used to being alone, on the otherhand, Hermione probably was used to being with a bunch of people. Sighing, he brought out his quill and started to write. Now was the right time to reveal himself. And not just, oh by the way, I'm Draco Malfoy, that would obviously not work. He had an idea, though, that would get her interested.

Hermione found her next letter in the book she was reading. Grinning, she read through the script on the parchment.

Dear Hermione:

Lonely, are you? Yes, I'd expect you to be used to having many people around you. Seclusion might not work with you; on the other hand, it works quite well with me... I'm rather used to being alone. To tell you a bit more about myself, my parents weren't exactly the ones to be loving and kind, even to their son. I'm an only child, you see. I'm related to just about everyone of my house, though I guess that made up for it. How about a new years present- if you can solve it?

~ Dearest X

Huh? What New Year's present? Confused, Hermione looked down to her book again to find another piece of parchment that she hadn't noticed before.

"I like apples."

Oh. She was supposed to solve the clues to find her mysterious house-mate. And that was obviously the first clue.

Hermione shrugged and decided to try it out. New Year's eve was that very evening and she had nothing planned. Hence her time would be spent on her new scavenger hunt to find her unknown benefactor.

Hermione reread the clue: "I like apples."

What sort of clue was that? She glared at the paper. Apples. Apples? Smiling, she headed down to the kitchens.

"You can't bloody apparate in or out of Hogwarts!"

That one had been under the fruit bowl. At least she had a slight start. But what did apparation and Hogwarts have to do with her house mate? Thinking of the clue made her think of her days at Hogwarts. All those days with Harry and Ron (ugghhh him)... Of course, as Hermione remembered with some smugness, she had been the one that supplied the knowledge a lot of the time. How many times had she said that to the two boys? "You can't bloody apparate in or out of Hogwarts!" It was funny, really, how they didn't know that, all you had to do was read Hogwarts, A History...

Hogwarts, A History? Chuckling, Hermione quickened her steps to the library.

"So far, so good. But, how about this. I'm where you'd never think to check." As she had suspected, Hermione found it in the pages of Hogwarts, A History.

"Right, in this city of a house, I'm supposed to think of where you might be...or should not be" she muttered savagely. But then a small underlined word caught her eye. "Sunlight." Sunlight? Sunlight!

Panting slightly, Hermione stared at the door leading to her room uncertainly for a moment before closing her eyes and swinging the door open.

"Bloody hell, Granger, I thought you would never get here," drawled a voice. Shrieking, Hermione slammed the door shut and stood staring at her door, wide eyed, before opening it again. No, no, it couldn't be...that voice...no... But yep, there was a bored-looking, blonde, dubbed ferret, sitting on her bed, examining his nails.

"M-Malfoy!" she managed to squeak out.

"No shit, Sherlock," was the dry response. He jumped off the bed and tossed a paper wrapped package with a silver ribbon (just like the letters) at her as he looked at her with interest.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione was terribly confused.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe I live here?"

"WHAT?" she gaped at him in horror. Then she glanced down at the package in confusion. "And what's this? It's not going to explode, is it?"

"No, that won't explode, most unfortunately," said Draco with a smile. "And, since you still don't seem to grasp it, I'm Mr. X."

"Oh. OH. I... live here? With you?" she blurted out.

Draco gave a backwards glance as he started to walk out of her room, "Open the package. Downstairs by the main entrance and ready in half an hour."

Hermione fumbled with the package to reveal a silver dress; it was quite lovely with a deeper neck than what she was accustomed to, but lovely all the same.

"What is with that guy and silver?" she muttered in exasperation.

Without even knowing why she was bothering to do so, she hurried to dress- there was a new beginning waiting for her.

(A/N general: Phew, one loooooong chapter... Anyhow, more letters cause people seemed to like them! Ummm... Thanks for reading! OH. For the dress, check our profile, mk?)