"Hello, ma'am." Hermione said to the portrait of the Fat Lady as she approached the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Oh, Hermione! How are you, my dear?"

"I'm holding up alright, thank you. I'm so glad this is all over. But I'm leaving for the summer, going back home. I need to get a few things from my room."

"Yes, alright. Go ahead. But be careful, sweet child. The Gryffindor Tower had the most damage done." The Fat Lady said with a frown a she opened the door. "And, Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"You do know that there is a Draco Malfoy standing behind you, yes?" The Fat Lady scowled at Draco. Hermione didn't expect her to understand.

"Yes, I am aware."

"Very well then. Come in, come in."

As the door opening, dust rained down on Draco and Hermione.

"Oh my God..." Hermione placed her hand up to her mouth in shock. The place was a wreck, as if a tornado had just torn through it. "I don't think I'll ever find my belongings in here..." But she continued on, in true Hermione spirit. She climbed down the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Draco stayed behind. Moments later, he heard a shriek and an "ow!"

"Hermione?" He yelled for her nervously as he raced down the steps.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just tripped over...well, a piece of the ceiling."

After a few minutes, Hermione surfaced with her school trunk and packed a few dusty items in it. She gave Draco a look that said "I need help with this." He grabbed the trunk for her, and when he did, he noticed something curled up in Hermione's left arm. A furball.

"What in Merlin's name is that creature?"

Hermione smiled and pet the furball. "I was so worried about her. But she was hiding under the bed the whole time. Draco, meet Crookshanks. Crookshanks, meet Draco."

Crookshanks hissed in Draco's direction.

Draco flinched. "Let's get out of here."

Draco didn't take long in the Slytherin Common Room, but Hermione didn't want to go in there. And from what she saw of the inside, it was barely destroyed compared to the Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady was right; Gryffindor got the worst. Hermione sighed.

"You ready?" Draco asked as he appeared in the doorway, carrying a simple black briefcase.

"As ready as I'll ever be." But Hermione had tears in her eyes. She didn't want to leave Hogwarts. Not like this. The castle didn't deserve to be destroyed like it had been. As they left the castle, Hermione took one last look and waved.

Draco must've though she was bloody crazy, waving at a castle.

But Draco understood. And he didn't say anything.

...

They soon boarded their train and were on their way. It was a relief to Hermione to have finally boarded, to finally be headed home to see her parents. She knew she could see them again. She could release the memory charm she had performed on them earlier in the year, and slowly, everything would go back to normal. The only thing different was...Draco. Hermione somewhat regretted saying yes to his request. Yes, she felt bad for him and about the fact that he didn't feel safe in his own home. But how awkward would this be?

"I know, you regret saying yes. You're just too polite to say it." Draco said hastily.

"Draco, no, I-"

"Why can't you just admit it? You know I'm right."

"But—"

"Really, Granger? Just stop."

"I thought you were going to call me Hermione."

Draco didn't say anything.

Hermione moaned. "Draco, you have worse mood swings than any girl I know. One minute you're all happy and sincere and nice, and the next you're all crabby and moany-"

"Are you calling me a girl?" Draco squinted his eyes at here, looking for an answer.

"Well, maybe I am."

"People underestimate you, Granger. But me? I've known from the moment you punched me in our third year that you're nothing short of feisty."

"Should I be taking that as a compliment or an insult?"

"Neither. Both. You decide."

"Fine. And you know what you are, Draco? You are a stubborn, spoiled, cocky, ungrateful brat! You just happen to be incredibly handsome...all you have going for you is your looks. I mean, did you even thank me for letting you stay at my home?" Hermione scolded, without taking a breath.

Draco didn't know what to think of what she'd just said. After all, she called him incredibly handsome. "Finally you let it out. Why don't you just say those things in the first place?"

Hermione sighed, trying to calm herself down. "Because unlike you, Draco, I tend to avoid saying something to someone when I know it will hurt them!"

"Oh, please, don't act all innocent."

"Draco Malfoy, you-"

"Granger, you-"

"Draco-"

"You never even think of—"

"DRACO!"

Draco finally shut up, looking at her.

"Why do we always have to fight?" Hermione asked, exhausted of yelling at him.

"Because that's what we do best."

"Aren't we supposed to be friends now? We shouldn't be screaming at each other every other second. But no matter what, we always fight."

"You're the genius, you figure it out."

"I could do without your sarcastic comments, Draco."

"And I could do without you telling me what to do, Hermione."

Hermione laughed angrily. "God, you're impossible!"

"No I'm not. You just always want to have your way."

"Shut. Up. Malfoy."

"Back to last names, are we?"

"I said shut up."

"I don't feel like it." Draco said, and then began to smirk. "I think I know why we fight so much."

"And why is that?" Hermione asked.

"It's probably the sexual tension."

Hermione sighed and leaned her head against the train window. She pretended to be fascinated by it, but she was too involved with her own thoughts to actually take notice of anything.

What if he's right? What if this is sexual tension? What about Ron?

Draco could tell Hermione was still upset about the incident with Ron. It wasn't time for jokes. "Hermione, it'll be fine. You two will be back together and in love in no time."

"The funny thing is, I'm not that upset." She said, turning to face him. "That's what's bothering me. I mean, what does that mean?"

"It means you did the right thing. You don't truly love him...not in that way."

"If I did the right thing...why do I feel like I'm cheating on him?"

Draco took this in. "Why would you feel like you're cheating on him?"

"I...I don't know..." Hermione stammered, looking into his eyes for an answer.

"Uh, well, I'm sorry about before. I was rude."

"It's okay."

The two of them were quiet the rest of the short ride. Hermione looked out the window to whole time. What she didn't notice was Draco staring at her.