You're all welcome. Lol.

Chapter 13

:Draco:

He was sitting in the common room proofreading an essay when he was interrupted by an urgent sounding bang on the portrait. He strode over purposefully and stepped through the portrait hole. The Weasel was pacing just outside, grumbling about psychos and women.

"What now, Weasley?" Draco rolled his eyes.

"I'll tell YOU what now!" Ron spit at him. "Hermione is fucking batty. She's a right head case I tell ya!"

"What are you going on about Weasel?" Draco spoke quietly, his tone sharp with worry.

"Hermione is throwing some kind of hissy fit in the Charms classroom! Raving like a loon!" Ron yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "Harry told me to get you so i did. I'm going to dinner now. I don't have time for this. Good luck."

Draco didn't bother saying anything else. 'What a fucking tool', he thought to himself as he set off at a brisk pace for the Charms room. He could only imagine what would greet him when he got there. He assumed the idiot twins had cornered her after class to hug and talk about their feelings or some such nonsense. He picked up his pace to a light jog and got to the classroom in no time. He paused to take a couple of deep breaths before opening the door. No need for Potter to think he had run all the way here to save the distressed damsel, even if that was EXACTLY what he had done.

He threw the door open and strolled in confidently. His step faltered slightly when he saw Hermione rocking in a ball near Potter's feet who had a very worried look on his face. They made eye contact, Draco looked at him with indifference, while Potter wore a look of shame and contempt. Shame that he had caused this mess, and contempt that it should be Draco and not he to clean it up. Or at least that's what Draco gathered from it.

He stopped a few feet from Hermione and hunched down with her.

He shot Potter a pointed look before speaking softly, "Weasley went to dinner and Potter is leaving now. Just you and me Granger."

He heard the door shut softly right after. He dropped onto his rear with his legs stretched out in from of him and they spent a while just sitting quietly. She stopped rocking and just sat with her head resting on her knees and her arms wrapped protectively around her legs.

"I wish I was still normal," she whispered finally.

Draco was silent for a moment. "What IS normal?" he answered.

And they were quiet for a while longer. Draco thought about how she was the first person he had ever spent so much time not talking with. It was strange how the silence didn't feel awkward or foreboding. It wasn't exactly a comfortable silence, but still bearable. Once more he found himself wondering weekday had happened to her to break her so completely. He had spent the better part of six years tormenting her with verbal harassment and it had never seemed to faze her. Whatever this was, he knew it was something huge. He was dying to just come right out and ask her, but he knew that would be a terrible move on his part. It would undoubtedly shatter their developing... Friendship? Bond? Understanding? Hee didn't know what to call it, but he was loathe to ruin whatever this tentative thing was that they seemed to be building together. That in itself was slightly unsettling to him. Did he WANT to be building a "thing" with Granger? He knew the answer was yes. Whatever they were doing, he wouldn't necessarily go so far as to say he was ENJOYING their strange encounters lately, but he didn't mind it either. And that was slightly unsettling too.

Eventually, Hermione moved, stretching her legs out in front of herself, rousing Draco from his musings. He stood and brushed his pants with one hand and absentmindedly held his other out to help her up. He had done it unconsciously, so it startled him when he felt a small hand take his and shocked, his eyes flew to meet hers. She held eye contact as she used his weight to pull herself up on shaky legs. Once standing, Hermione made no attempt to pull her hand from his, holding his gaze all the while. After a long moment, she looked down at their joined hands. She brought her other hand up and placed it gently on top of his, looking up into his eyes again.

"Your hands are very soft," she said quietly. "They're very different from..." she trailed off. "Nevermind."

Draco could only stare. This was so unexpected, he wasn't really sure what to do, or say.

"Thank you," she whispered earnestly. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. Thank you for not asking questions. Just... Thank you," and she squeezed his hand briefly between both of hers before finally letting go and bending to grab her bag from the floor. "Do you know how to get to the kitchens from here?" she asked, changing the subject completely.

"Uhhh..." Draco cleared his throat, which was suddenly rather tight. He cleared it once more before he was able to speak again. "Yes I do. I've been there quite a lot the last couple weeks." he was thinking about all of the food he had brought her in their dorm that she hadn't touched.

"Will you take me, please? I think I'm quite hungry and I'm not ready for a meal in the great hall just yet."

He smiled at her, REALLY smiled, and bent his elbow in invitation. She hesitated only a second before giving him a very small smile and tentatively placing her hand in the crook of his elbow.

"Let's see what we can find you," Draco laughed. He felt a little lighter than he had since that night in the hospital wing.

They set off for the kitchens and out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw her smile a little bigger, and felt her squeeze his elbow slightly.