Hermione and Draco finished their patrol of the castle without any more excitement. When they reached their Common Room, Hermione stifled a yawn, then turned to Draco. "Goodnight."

He smiled back. "Goodnight."

She wanted to thank him for standing up to Pansy for, but stopped herself. This friendship of theirs seemed too good to be true, and Hermione couldn't bring herself to do anything that might jinx it.

In the morning, Hermione awoke late; Draco was already in the Great Hall when Hermione arrived. She sat between Ginny and Ron as the schedules for classes were passed out, quickly buttering a piece of toast. Hermione laughed gleefully when she received her schedule.

"I got all the classes I wanted!"

Ron rolled his eyes and shoved his schedule roughly into his pocket. Harry grinned, and folded his neatly before tucking his into his robes.

"At least we have Potions together, even if it is with the Slytherins."

Hermione glanced over at the Slytherin table. Blaise and Draco were looking over their schedules and Pansy was hanging on Theo's arm as he talked to a pretty blonde. Hermione looked at Draco again. "It won't be that bad."

When breakfast ended, all the Gryfindor and Slytherin seventh years headed to the potions classroom. Draco sat with Blaise, Harry with Ron, Pansy with Theo, and Hermione with Dean Thomas, another Gryfindor seventh year. Draco glanced at Hermione and smiled. She smiled back, and then looked away quickly.

Professor Slughorn entered the room then, and greeted them all. "Welcome back students, to your seventh year! I'm so excited to see all your smiling faces!"

He paused and looked around, beaming at everyone. "Now, for your first assignment, I will ask you to turn to page four of your textbook and attempt the creation of the potion listed. It's complex, so you will work in groups of four. I will assign the groups, and then you may begin."

After Harry and Ron left to work with Draco and Blaise, Hermione and Dean were joined by Theo and Pansy. Neither one were very happy with Hermione after taking points from their house the night before, or for stopping them from having their fun. They glared at the Gryfindors while no one spoke.

Well, this is going to be a fun class… Hermione thought.

Dean cleared his throat. "Guess we should get started, eh?"

Theo and Pansy didn't speak much They followed Dean's instructions, even if they glared at Hermione while doing it. Dean kept people busy and commented on what they did well. Hermione was thankful that Dean was with her; Theo wouldn't start anything with Hermione while Dean was there. He was a few inches taller and a Gryfindor Quidditch player. With the class half full of Gryfindors, Theo didn't think it was smart.

He also preferred to settle disputes one on one, and Dean wasn't the one he had a problem with.

When Professor Slughorn finally collected samples of the potion, Dean went to hand the flask to him, and Pansy went to wash her hands after spilling half a vile of Squids Eyes. Hermione was cleaning up the station, and it took her a while to realize that she was alone with Theo. She glanced up to see him staring at her. She took a deep breath.

"What do you want?"

He shrugged. "I'm not completely sure yet. I know I want to make you pay for last night, I just haven't decided how."

She put a hand on her hip. "Are you threatening me?"

"It's not a threat, Mudblood, it's a warning."

He walked away after that, leaving Hermione confused and angry, but not scared. Theo Nott was all talk. She knew he wouldn't dare to try anything, especially to the Head Girl. She took a deep breath when she saw Harry and Ron approaching, then smiled at them.

"How did it go? Did Malfoy and Blaise behave?"

Harry looked a little confused as he answered. "They were surprisingly nice. I mean, Blaise has always been decent, but Malfoy was actually polite."

Ron glared over his shoulder at Draco. "I still don't trust the git."

"Oh Ron, relax. He's being nice; you should really try and do the same."

After dinner, Hermione made her way slowly to her Common Room. She was exauhsted, and ready to sleep. She thought of the warm couch in front of the fireplace and smiled, but that smile faded when she saw that it was already occupied. She sighed, and he looked up from his book.

"Everything ok?" Draco asked.

Hermione nodded. "Fine. I'm just tired."

Draco scooted to one end of the couch. "You can sit if you want."

"Sure." Hermione sat down and smiled.

"Feel good?" Draco asked with a chuckle. Hermione nodded.

After a few seconds of silence, Hermione couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "Malfoy...can I ask you something?"

He looked over and nodded.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Are you happy with the way the war ended?"

"Yes, I suppose." His gray eyes glinted in the firelight, and Hermione leaned towards him. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I was curious."

He sat up straighter and leaned toward her, his arm resting over the back of the sofa. A smile was barely visible on his lips. "Curious about what, exactly?"

"Can I be honest with you?"

Draco shook his head. "No, I would prefer it if you lied to me."

She smiled, and then turned serious. She looked down and played with the hem of her skirt while she spoke. "I'm not naive; there are still people that believe in what Voldemort preached. Even though he's gone, his ideas still exist. I was wondering if...you were one of them." She took another breath and looked up, expecting him to be angry. However, he was smiling.

"I knew you were dying to ask that question since yesterday. You're very easy to read." Hermione grimaced at that comment, but she didn't think that he had meant it as an insult.

"Yes, I'm happy about the outcome of the war. Voldemort is gone, and I'm glad. I'm glad Potter was able to finish him off, glad my parents are alive, glad Blaise is alive. I never realized how important those people were in my life until there was a chance I could lose them. And no, I don't follow the dark arts; I honestly never did."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

After a few seconds, he yawned and stood up. "I'm heading to bed, Granger. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight." He turned to go to his room, when Hermione made a snap decision. He had shared something personal with her. She could return the favor. "Malfoy, wait."

"What is it?"

"...thanks, for standing up to Pansy yesterday when she called me that name. You didn't have to, but you did, and that means a lot."

He shrugged humbly. "My pleasure."

Theodore Nott grabbed Pansy's hand and kissed it. She giggled, and the sound made him want to punch something. He hated her giggles and, well, everything about her. He didn't think that he had ever met someone as annoying as her. But he thought of his plan, and decided to kick it up a notch. He took her hand and led her to the couch in the Slytherin Common Room.

She kissed his cheek, and then blushed. He looked deep into her eyes, thinking that it was now or never. He ran his hand through his dark hair, and then spoke.

"Pansy, can I ask you something?"

"Anything." She said as she batted her eyelashes.

Theo smiled. He counted on that.