Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling…

The sound of rustling papers and thumping books brought Harry Potter out of his Transfiguration homework-induced daze. He glanced over to where Hermione was sitting. At least, where she had been sitting. Now he only saw the top of her hair as she muttered from underneath the table.

" – know it was in here earlier…"

"Hermione?" She shot up so quickly she banged the top of her head on the desk. Wincing, she emerged to see Harry trying to hold back a grin. "You okay, Hermione?"

"Yeah. Hey, Harry – have you happened to see my Charms book anywhere? It's not in my bag…" She watched his face grow thoughtful.

"No, I haven't. Maybe Ron?"

"No, I don't think so…" She chewed her lip absentmindedly, trying to remember where on earth she could have left her book. She had had it out during lunch, but she definitely remembered putting it back in her bag. And then they went to Transfiguration, and after that Hermione had…

"The Ancient Runes classroom!" she crowed triumphantly. "I'll be right back, Harry."

"Oh, erm, right. Of course…" he mumbled in confusion as Hermione rushed out of the common room, leaving her notes and papers strewn across the table.

-O-O-O-O-

The hallways were deserted as Hermione clattered through them, her footsteps echoing from the stone ceilings. She didn't fear getting caught by Filch – she was an eight-year after all, and surely old enough to be trusted in the halls after curfew. There was a strange beauty to the empty, silent school at night, she mused, as she turned a corner. It was a little chilly, but as long as she hurried, she would soon be back in front of the common room fire.

Arriving at the Ancient Runes classroom without incident, Hermione lit her wand with a whispered "Lumos." The small light cast eerie shadows on the walls, but she was still grateful for it. After searching around, she found her book on the teacher's desk in the front of the classroom. There were a few other books and small knick-knacks that students had obviously forgotten, which Professor Babbling had thoughtfully placed there for them to find.

She poked through the pile to make sure that she hadn't left anything else behind. There was nothing of interest, so she made her way to the door with a small sigh of relief of having found her book. It was a good thing she would be able to get her work done tonight so she could go watch Harry and Ron play Quidditch the next day, a Sunday.

They had finally rounded up enough people to start their team, and had even unbent their stiff necks enough to let Blaise join in. Well, Ron had unbent, Harry having been willing enough from the beginning. Hermione supposed it would be fun to go watch them, though she would have to find someone to go with. Ginny would probably want to watch the game, but she could always watch and talk with Hermione.

A noise in a nearby corridor brought Hermione's head whipping up. The War, and Moody, had drilled wariness into her that had yet to completely leave. She slowly raised her lit wand so it would cast light into the shadows of the hallway. Suddenly, the castle seemed more menacing and sinister than beautiful and peaceful.

She slowly eased forward as the noise sounded again. Finally, her light shone into the corridor and onto the squashed and disgruntled visage of Crookshanks. He mewed up at her as she let out a chuckle of relief.

"You scared me, Crookshanks," she scolded as she bent to pick him up. He gazed up at her with his great, golden eyes and let out another meow. "What are you doing out here, anyway?" He merely gave her a disdainful look for daring to question his important, feline business. She let out another small chuckle, and planted a kiss on his furry brow.

The two of them began making their way back to the common room. Crookshanks lost some of his loftiness about halfway through the journey and began to purr in her arms, the sound thrumming through her chest. Just as Hermione was approaching the Founder's portrait, he began to squirm in her arms, staring off into another hallway with a rapt look in his eyes.

"Alright, Crookshanks. Just make sure you don't get caught up with Mrs. Norris. I don't want to have to try and put anti-bacterial cream on your scratches again." He gave her one last look of scorn for her concern before trotting off into the echoing, empty hallways.

-O-O-O-O-

It wasn't long before Hermione was curled up with her Charms book as Harry and Ron engaged in a heated chess match. She looked up every once in a while to see Harry's face furrowed in concentration while Ron sported a much more relaxed countenance. She didn't play Ron much, since she had no head for chess tactics and he would awkwardly try to console her, not knowing she didn't much care if she won or not.

Though it was late, the common room was still quite full. The Slytherin girls, Lavender, and Padma all huddled in one of the corners, working on some sort of project. Blaise and the Nott boy were stretched in armchairs by the fire, idly chatting with each other, presumably over Quidditch.

The portrait entrance opened, and Hermione glanced up to see a tired looking Malfoy come into the common room. Still embarrassed by the spectacle that morning, she quickly returned to her book. She felt Ron shift uncomfortably beside her, before he decided to ignore Malfoy's presence and pretend he hadn't punched him in the face only hours before. A few minutes later, she felt Ron freeze beside her.

"Hermione, I don't supposed some sort of… of inbreeding would make Crookshanks go mad, would it?"

"What a silly question, Ron. Crookshanks isn't inbred. And he is very smart. So I don't think insanity is likely." She was still engrossed in her book. "Why do you ask?"

"You could look for yourself." Something in the strangled way he said it made Hermione jerk her chin up to look around the common room. She quickly found the familiar ginger fur on the lap of no other than Draco Malfoy.

He was sitting in one of the armchairs next to Nott, slumped over and staring unfocusedly into the fire. Crookshanks was curled up quite contentedly on his lap, and every few moments he would absentmindedly run an elegant hand over the cat.

Hermione stared in bemusement at the sight before her. Crookshanks was by no means a friendly animal. As a part-Kneazle, he had an innate sense of who to trust, and even the trust-worthy were not always deemed worthy of his attentions. He was friendly with Hermione, but that was after years of being together.

As though sensing someone looking at him, Crookshanks glanced up and gazed calmly across the room at her. Malfoy followed his stare and caught her looking at the two of them. A small quirk of his mouth might have been the beginnings of a smirk, but Hermione quickly returned her attention back to her book.

"How… odd," she managed to observe. Harry, in the meantime, took advantage of Ron's distraction and took out his knight with his own bishop. "Anyway, Ron, what time is Quidditch tomorrow?"

"Humm…" he didn't answer, he attention redirected to the chessboard. Harry helpfully supplied the answer.

"At eleven, so we'll have time to have breakfast and all."

"Alright then. I'm going to head to bed. I want to be rested up for the big game and whatnot." The boys distractedly murmured their good nights, and she made her way upstairs. The dorm was empty, and Hermione gratefully changed into her pyjamas before crawling beneath the covers.

She sighed contentedly at the cool sheets and wiggled around until she was completely comfortable. It was a good day to be over and done with, she decided, and childishly asked her subconscious to scrub the morning's events from her memory. Letting out a small giggle, she closed her eyes and willed herself to drift off into the sweet release of slumber.

…

A/N: I bet you thought Hermione was going to stumble across dear ol' Draco in the hallway, weren't you? Hehehe – I was thinking that too, and then I realized that it would be far too blatant. And, besides, I don't want them to fall in love.

Thank you thank you thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed! It means so much to me to know that people are reading and taking time to comment. All reviews are welcome, but if you have any (constructive) criticism, that is very much appreciated.

Until next time,

- GusGus

p.s. this is still Wednesday, but I usually update in the morning, so I apologize for any dashed hopes that may have occurred today. Hope this cheers you up!