A/N: Thank you SOOO much for the positive reviews! Definitely boosting my ego :P

I've decided that I'm going to start asking questions for you all to respond to in reviews. That way it's easier for me to see how I'm doing, and it's easier for me to respond to you guys! Remember - I won't update until I get a certain amount of reviews!

Qs: So what do you guys think of D&H's new friendship? What about whole thing with Ron and Lav? Leave a reply as a review!

Love you all! Happy Reading!

Chapter 9:

Draco watched as Hermione laughed. She tossed her head back, mouth open, eyes closed, genuinely happy. Ever since the night Weasley had left and he had comforted the young witch, they had developed a civil – friendly even – relationship. They had eaten every meal together, having long conversations into the night. They would sit and read silently in the reading room, enjoying each other's company. He liked this; he hadn't a friend like this since before the War.

"You really did that! The five of you sent Pansy roses pretending to be from Harry?" she laughed even harder.

"Yeah! You should have seen the way she looks at Potter these days. Remember when she said that we should get him before the war?" he watched as Hermione nodded, remembering the incident after Voldemort had addressed the students of Hogwarts, "Word got around that she was worried sick the entire time she was in the dungeons. She kept asking if people knew the whereabouts of Potter and what was going on. The boys and I would have a good laugh if they knew" He smiled as nostalgia overtook him once more, he and his friends had certainly had some great times.

"Tell me about them" said Hermione, noticing that he was reminiscing on his closest friends from Hogwarts. Only a few days early would Draco have questioned this inquiry, wondering why she wanted to know so much about his friends. "Tell me about your friends" she asked again.

"Well, we all shared a room in the Slytherin dormitories. There was Blaise, my best mate at Hogwarts. He was cunning and clever like me; he was always with me on my little schemes. Actually, most of the schemes were his ideas. Seventh year he and his mother fled Voldemort and went to Morocco. Then there was Nott. He was always the quiet one. But the best thing about Nott was that he always listened, and when he did say something, he was usually always right. He laid low during the war – didn't take the Mark and got away as soon as there was word of an attack. His father is already going to rot in Azkaban and his mother has been dead since he was young. I think he just stays at home. Goyle is in Azkaban already…for the Room of Requirement, and some other things he did during the war. Then Crabbe…well, you know what happened to Crabbe." He sighed, remembering his friends that he would probably never see again. "And you, what of your friends? There's got to be more than Potter and Weasley."

She looked down at the table, suddenly looking sad, "Well I've lost touch with most of them, but you're right, there was more than Harry and Ron. I wasn't really that close with the girls that I shared a dormitory with Lavender and Parvati, and usually spent my time in Ron and Harry's room or the library. There's Ginny, she's probably my best girlfriend. She just understands me, and is a great distraction sometimes. She takes me out, and we do girl things. I never really had any opportunities to mess around like that in Hogwarts. Then there's Harry, he's probably my best friend there is…like the brother I never had. The whole Weasley family is fantastic. There's Fred and George" she paused, "well George now, but they're hysterical. They always knew how to lighten a dark situation. Molly and Arthur are like my second parents." She paused again, and Draco sensed that she was leaving something out, but he didn't press her, "I just love that family so much" she exhaled, "I had friends at Hogwarts but none like Harry and Ron. I don't know, I guess I never had time for better friends. I think that's one of my biggest regrets of Hogwarts." Her voice trailed off, "but onto happier things…hmm, like birthdays, favourite colours, things I wouldn't know about you, that sort of stuff."

Draco chuckled, "Hello my name is Draco Malfoy, my favourite colour is green and I am born on the 16th of August. Some thing you wouldn't know about me is…" he paused in thought, "this whole house arrest thing is the first time that I have ever worn anything my mother did not chose for me. Now you."

She laughed, "My name is Hermione Granger, my favourite colour is purple and I am born on the 24th of January. What you wouldn't know about me is that I have one of Harry's jumpers, and when I'm scared or sad I wear it. And Malfoy, I didn't know your birthday was coming up! Why didn't you say anything?" He suddenly felt uncomfortable. She was going to do the typical female thing and ask him all these questions and organize celebration, and so on. This was something he didn't necessarily want considering the doom of Azkaban was quickly approaching. He had wanted to quietly live out the remainder of his free days.

"Ugh, I guess I just didn't think about it." He answered, "but I really don't want to think about it now. Lets talk about…." He smirked, "Granger, who was your first kiss?"

Hermione smiled. He loved her smile, it was so full of life and joy, "I'll tell you if you tell me." She answered returning his interest.

"It's quite the tale actually. I first kissed Pansy Parkinson second year. She had totally lured me into it, and I had almost passed out when she started snogging me. She left a rather nasty love bite on my neck. I still get shit about it, especially from the boys." He chuckled, remembering the laughs, "Now you. Spill, Granger!"

Hermione blushed, "The first boy I kissed was a Muggle, the summer after our first year. His name was Patrick and he was my first boyfriend. We had met at the park the summer before. We would hold hands and walk around our small neighbourhood. One day, when he walked me back to my house, he kissed me. It was nothing special. I expected fireworks to go off, but it was just a normal peck. I can't say that I wasn't disappointed."

Draco scowled jokingly, "Ugh, you're boring! Kissing Muggles, booringgg," he made a face, "How about your first kiss with a wizard!" He smirked, as Hermione blushed even redder.

"You're going to laugh, but I guess I owe it to you. My first real snog and kiss with a wizard was with Seamus Finnegan second year. Not even Ron and Harry know about this…they always assumed Viktor had been my first kiss." Draco snorted, "He had approached me after Defence Against the Dark Arts, and told me he had to show me something. She showed me an empty broom closet, and the rest is history."

"God Granger, I would have never pinned you as such a sex fiend!" he teased. Hermione giggled and shook her head at him. A quiet scratching at the window turned their attention to the window. Hermione saw Poppy patiently waiting at the window, with a small piece of parchment attached to her thin, bony leg. It was a letter from Harry,

"Hermione,

I need to speak with both you and Malfoy. I'll be by later tonight.. Ginny says sorry she can't come but she has Quidditch practice. See you at 7.

Harry"

He watched Hermione look from the letter, a hint of fear in her eyes. "Harry is visiting tonight…" Draco felt his stomach drop as the reality hit him: Azkaban was steadily approaching.

ooooooooooo

Harry watched from the hallway as Kinglsey as he finished his conversation with Xenophilius Lovegood. It had been a while since Harry had seen Mr. Lovegood, not since he had sold them out to the Snatchers. His hair was starting to grey significantly and untamed as ever. The man still looked crazy, Harry thought to himself. After the war, Mr. Lovegood – the esteemed editor of The Quibbler – had been offered a post at the Ministry, specifically working with the Winzegamot. Because of this the Quibbler had become one of the most up-to-date and reliable news sources in Wizarding England. Mr. Lovegood shifted his gaze, looking out of Kinglsey's door to glance at Harry. Harry was still wary of the frail-looking wizard. Something had never been right with him, and still wasn't. Harry changed his attention to the Minsiter of Magic. He was a tall and broad man, clearly a trained Auror. He watched as the Minister of Magic nodded at Xenophilius once more, opening the door and escorting the old, blonde wizard out. Harry's stomach dropped; it was time.

"Come in Harry, I'm sorry I've kept you waiting." The Minister said beckoning Harry into his large office.

"It's really not a problem Minister," he looked down awkwardly, dreading what was coming next, "I suppose this meeting is discuss Malfoy's trial then?"

"Quite right Harry! I've just talked to Xenophilius, who has confirmed that it will appear in the Quibbler tomorrow. We need to start planning, I need to know where you stand." Kingsley gave Harry a questioning look. Harry felt uncomfortable. Kingsley knew something – he had put two and two together. "I understand that you did not want Mr. Malfoy imprisoned just yet, and I have noticed that he has received different treatment than other Death Eaters may have received. I'm not trying to pry Harry, but for the fate of his trial, I must know what you know."

Harry cleared his throat nervously, "I don't think that Malfoy ever wanted to be a Death Eater. I never saw in him the pure hate and evil that I saw in the others. You weren't with us there in the Room of Requirement Kingsley, he tried to stop Crabbe from setting the fiendfyre." Harry swallowed, "I know somewhere in there he is good, and I guess I was hoping to find it by not throwing him in Azkaban just yet."

Harry looked up to see Kingsley's reaction. Kingsley looked down at him with a toothy grin, "You will never stop being a good person Harry. Even to those who have not been that kind to you in the past. It is really a quite admirable quality."

Harry blushed; it was not everyday that the Minister of Magic told you that you had admirable qualities. He cleared his throat once more, "Well I really must be going, I owe a visit to Malfoy anyway." Kinglsey muttered something that sounded like 'Yes, go ahead' and read through paperwork once more. Harry said goodbye to the Minister of Magic and apparated back to his apartment in Muggle London.

Once home, he wrote to Hermione, letting her know that he would stop by, and more importantly that he would need to speak with Malfoy. He thought about Hermione and Malfoy living in the same house for a while. He would have never thought he would ever hear Hermione say that Draco Malfoy – the boy who had tormented her all throughout Hogwarts – was good company. After all the drama that had happened with Ron, Harry was starting to think that he would not need to start looking for an Order member to take her place; she seemed willing to stay. Harry made a mental note to ask Hermione about her plans.

He then thought about Malfoy, especially about what he had just told Kinglsey. He thought back to Malfoy's face in the Room of Requirement as he had confronted them. His mind flashed then to his dark face as he looked blindly in the direction of his mother's corpse. Draco had never wanted this. Harry thought of his face once more – that day: in the Great Hall and in the Room of Requirement – had been one of the only times he had seen the blonde wizard portray any type of emotion. He remembered the face of George and Ron, their sorrow. He remembered his feelings as he turned away from the Mirror of Erised his first year at Hogwarts, how much it hurt to look away from his parents. Malfoy had suffered enough with the loss of his mother.

Harry worked diligently for the rest of the afternoon, filing paperwork, making plans, and organizing his calendar to maintain his busy schedule. He glanced at his watch – nearly time to go to Grimmauld Place. He swallowed dryly and thought of the potential hurt that Malfoy would feel once he told him his trial date would be announced soon. Malfoy would have to endure the feeling that his impending doom was approaching quickly. He tidied his desk and glared at the fireplace…it was time to go.

Harry stepped out of the fireplace and into the kitchen to see Malfoy and Hermione deep in conversation. Draco looked completely at ease, his usual scowl or sneer unapparent. Hermione's brow was furrowed – she was deep in thought. Harry cleared his throat to let his presence be known, "Hey there" he started.

Hermione snapped out of her thoughts and got up to greet him, "Harry! How are you? I've missed you so much!" She hugged him quickly, and showed him to the kitchen table where a steaming plate of her cooking awaited.

"Potter" Draco said nonchalantly.

"Malfoy" Harry returned in the same tone.

Dinner had little conversation. Harry noticed that Malfoy seemed tense; he must have sensed what was coming. Hermione tried to make simple conversation: asking what Harry had done that week, how Ginny was doing, and other one-word-answer questions. They finished dinner and Draco stood to leave. Harry cleared his throat, "Uhh, Malfoy, before you go I need to talk to you for a second," he glanced at Hermione, "alone. Sorry Hermione, Ministry business."

"Oh that's perfectly fine Harry!" Hermione said sweetly, "I'll just clean the kitchen while you talk, just head into the reading room."

Harry and Draco awkwardly walked into the reading room, Harry sitting on the longer couch and the blonde wizard sitting in a chair across from him. Harry felt as though he was in a meeting, "As I'm sure you've guessed, information about your trial has been brought to my attention and I just wanted to let you know about it," Malfoy stared at him not showing a single hint of emotion so Harry continued, "No date has been decided on yet, but the Minister is looking into it, and I just wanted to let you know that the announcement will be made soon." Harry watched nervously as Malfoy absorbed the information.

His brow furrowed, "Thanks, Potter. I appreciate you keeping me in the loop." He then stood up and walked out of the room. Harry heard him mutter something to Hermione and the stairs start to creak. He figured it was safe to walk back into the kitchen. Hermione was waiting for him at the kitchen table with a hot chocolate.

"I know it's your favourite," she said smiling up at him, "So, how did he take it?"

"Surprisingly well. I don't think Malfoy has ever been that nice to me before." Harry took an indulgent gulp of his hot chocolate. His muscles instantly relaxed and the tension he had been holding this entire week eased.

"Yeah, he's actually a pretty nice guy once you get to know him…and get over all that Death Eater and Hogwarts stuff," she looked down into her mug and Harry noticed a pink shade creep over her cheeks, "We've been talking a lot. I think we might be becoming friends. He's been really nice to me since Ron and everything…" she trailed off and stared back into her mug.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that 'Mione. Ron is being a right git…" Harry felt extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden. He was talking to one best friend about his other best friend. It just didn't feel right.

"It's really alright Harry. I'm just glad I got out when I did. He's so stubborn and childish sometimes." Her eyes flashed with sadness and Harry knew it was time to change the subject.

"Yeah, like I said, he's being a git right now." Harry said. Hermione noticed the end of the conversation and looked up at him, "Hermione…I need to know what you plan on doing for the rest of your time here. You've been here for a month. I need to know if I should start looking for another a replacement or not."

Hermione's face visibly relaxed, "I want to live here Harry – if it's not too much to ask. I've come to like Malfoy, and I don't think I'm ready to face the Wizarding World just yet. Could I please just stay here until his trial?" Harry looked into her eyes; they were practically pleading him.

"Of course you can stay here, Hermione. This makes everything so much easier for me! I trust you Hermione, and that's what is most important when it comes to who watches Malfoy…It has to be someone I trust."

She smiled widely, stood, and hugged him, "Oh thank you, Harry!"

"I should really be thanking you 'Mione!" He said as he wrapped his long arms around her small frame, "Now you go and get your things from your apartment and I'll stay here."

Hermione bounded through the fireplace giddily, Harry knew she would return twenty minutes later with her whole wardrobe and bookcase shrunk in her pocket. He smiled – he had done something right.

oooooooooo

Ron stared at the ceiling above Lavender's bed. The morning light shown through the curtains into the average-sized bedroom, Ron squinted slightly and turned to face a sleeping Lavender. She looked so peaceful and relaxed. He turned to stare back at the plain ceiling. What was he doing? Was he leading her on? What was he going to do? Hermione had completely blind-sided him by breaking it off. Yeah, he had been rash and gotten upset. He always did – she should have expected that. But he couldn't take no for an answer – he had to get her back, and now Malfoy was in the mix. That wanker would ruin everything. According to Harry and Ginny, they were getting along fine, although they still fought. Ron was sure that Malfoy had bad intentions – he always did. Hermione was his, no one else was allowed to touch her! He still loved her damnit! He just had to get her back.

But what about Lavender? His heart fell as she watched her peacefully asleep next to him. She really did like him, and he her. She was different than Hermione. She was caring and gentle, and so different from Hermione. She was also the key to getting Hermione back. Hermione was an insanely jealous and competitive person. He already knew that his stunt with the Daily Prophet had not sat well with her, but he had not anticipated losing his cool. Hermione just drove him crazy. But he couldn't get her out of his head! Flopping back onto his pillow, Ron shook his head, trying to void his mind of any thoughts relating to Hermione. He was with Lavender for the moment, and he had to make the best of it. Everything would fall into place eventually.