Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews. I hope you got the replies. Once again, just so we're all clear if people are getting antsy with the lack of Draco, it WILL come along. Please be patient and keep reading, because this is a Draco/Hermione story. But, I'm trying to build a bit, before I get there. I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter, though! This one is a tad longer, which I'm extremely proud of.

Chapter 3

August 20th, 1996

The next day Hermione's breakfast and lunch resumed with Pansy in tow. But, dinner become a whole new thing when Blaise Zabini joined them, sitting next to Pansy. And this time their side of the table wasn't so quiet as it had always been. Pansy's book sat aside, while the two Slytherin's talked about everything under the sun. Hermione just listened in, and noticed that the two of them were almost normal. They talked about much of the same things as her Harry and Ron did, aside from Quidditch. Hermione wasn't a Quidditch fan and it seemed Pansy wasn't either, because she had shot Blaise a look when he began to get into that subject.

When dessert came Blaise went back over to the other two Slytherin boys. Most likely to get some testosterone time and to talk of all things Quidditch. When Hermione looked up from her slice of pie, Pansy smiled at her and grabbed her book while she forked some cinnamon apples onto her utensil, flipping through the pages to find her spot.

After her pie dish had disappeared, Hermione headed for the library. Where else would she go? It was a Hogwarts summer. No curfew. No other students besides those four Slytherins. So, the library was the perfect place to lose her head for a while. Maybe this time, she could find herself stuck in a novel rather than a textbook.

It wasn't easy prying herself away from self-defense against the Dark Arts books, and before she new it the vampire novel was thrown aside and her head was stuck in all the defensive spells and the right wand movements in which to perform them correctly. Her empty hand raised every so often to demonstrate for herself, before turning the page.

She had been so focused, she didn't notice when the older wizard had come near her table and taken a seat before her. Jumping at the sound of his voice clearing, but the fear in her eyes hadn't stayed long when she caught sight of his long silver beard and those twinkling eyes behind the half-moon spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose.

"Professor Dumbledore?" she asked, her heavy breaths from the surprise of his just miraculously showing up slowing, as she sat up straighter and took in the wizard before her.

"Hello, Miss Granger," he said, and she looked away when she detected the pity in his eyes. It was mortifying knowing that he knew what happened to her. "How have you been feeling, my dear?"

She was quiet for a long while, clearing her throat before she looked at him. "Fine, Professor," she told him. "I'm... I'm doing well, considering..."

A silence fell over them and Hermione gingerly leafed throughout the book in front of her. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley have asked of you," he spoke gently and Hermione glanced up quickly, her eyes almost scrutinizing him. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't know what to tell them about you not being at the Burrow so, I have told them that with the times it was safer for you to come to Hogwarts early, as you are a-"

"Mudblood?" Hermione asked with a small frown on her features, and acid in her tone.

"-Muggleborn, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, and looked at her, disapproving on her choice of word. "And it's not my place to tell them of anything that has happened to you. When the school year starts and they arrive, it is your choice whether or not you would like to divulge the events of your summer."

Her teeth were grit tightly together, as she shook her head. She didn't want Harry or Ron to know. They couldn't find out. They would both lose their minds and run straight into something that's only outcome would be their deaths. And then who would she have to live for? She looked away from the table top, before she felt a hand rest over hers. She flinched, but didn't pull away. "You are the brightest witch I've ever known, Miss Granger. The strongest, too. You've willingly helped a boy whose destiny may be as dark as the days to come, and you have been through the most horrific situation, I cannot even fathom. I admire you greatly for your strength and your heart. And it would sadden me to see you spiral into the darkness of your own mind."

Those words had a greater impact than Hermione would have thought, sniffling a little and trying to control the tremble of her lip as she looked up to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. "Some things are not what they seem. But, there is always a light to triumph the dark," he told her, patting her hand lightly, before he stood and walked away, leaving Hermione there speechless as silent comforting tears ran down her cheeks.

/-/-/-/

August 21st, 1996

Once again it was breakfast and Hermione was enjoying some eggs and toast with a bit of jam to spice things up. She hadn't been able to get Dumbledore's words out of her mind and had spent most of her night sitting in the library thinking about them, once she'd stopped crying anyway.

Again Pansy and Blaise sat with her and talked about nonsense. They were thinking of going out to the lake the day after next, and planned to get Draco in the murky shores. But, Blaise was sure he would be a 'right ponce' and stay far from the water. It was when Blaise stood and placed a kiss on Pansy's cheek that Hermione actually made an expression. Her eyebrows raised slowly as she chewed up a bite of toast and watched the raven haired girls cheeks blush crimson. Then the boy looked to her and smiled with a "See you at lunch, Granger."

Hermione was quiet for a long time, eying the other girl as she immediately threw herself into her book. It was something that she noted, because it was something Hermione would have done. It seemed like hours later when Hermione finally spoke, words actually formed and came out of her mouth. "He seems nice," she said as she poked at her eggs.

Pansy's head snapped up in surprise to hear Hermione actually speak and she noticed the other girls voice seemed kinda hoarse. "Blaise is a very nice boy- man, um boy," she said stumbling for the right word.

At this Hermione's eyes shined a little in humor, though her mouth stayed in a straight line. She was quiet for a while longer. Turning to watched the Slytherin boys leave the Great Hall. "Everyone's being nice," she said, once again out of the blue. "It's odd. You Slytherin's being nice. No insults, no threats, it's nice," she spoke, her face looking off in a daze and she knew she probably resembled Luna Lovegood in that moment. She looked to Pansy then, questioningly. "Why?"

Pansy frowned when Hermione spoke again and she looked down to her book, closing it after she saved her page. "We are how we are," she spoke, and looked to the Gryffindor. "It's confusing, to explain why we are... as you say, nice. One could say we've changed."

Hermione looked skeptical. "All of you?" she asked, although she hadn't heard any seething remarks or insults from Nott and Malfoy, she wasn't quite sure they'd changed for the better.

Pansy looked a little hurt at that and she nodded. "Yes," she said and then stood, her plate disappearing as she took her book and made to leave, but before she did she looked back to Hermione. "We never meant to hurt you. We never meant to hurt anyone," she said quietly, before she left the Great Hall, with Hermione staring after her.

Dumbledore's words once again rang in her ears.

/-/-/-/

At lunch time, Hermione was in the library once again. Gazing over a textbook, only this time she was finishing her Transfiguration work that had been appointed over the summer. A two-foot long parchment on how to transfigure a inanimate object into an animate object. It wasn't that bad of a piece, as Transfiguration was one of Hermione's best subjects and it kept her mind off of other things. The beginning of summer, Pansy, Dumbledore, Harry and Ron... Her mind was actually wondering if a person who had seemed to be so spiteful with hate could truly reform...She also wondered what Harry and Ron would think of this little piece of thought. Her mind didn't over exaggerate when she saw her two best friends faces turn red with anger at the prospect.

A throat being cleared brought her out of her studies and she looked up, quirking a nicely shaped, bushy eyebrow. What does he want? The sight of Theodore Nott standing before her was a little unnerving and her shoulders tensed.

His dirty blonde hair stringy and his lanky form shifting slightly, almost like he was uncomfortable. "You're good in Transfiguration, right?" he asked, his cheeks flushing pink as he quickly looked to his shoes, obviously feeling the warmth flood to his cheeks and trying to hide it. He was embarrassed?

"Are you asking me for help?" Hermione asked, and she sat up a little. She hadn't been social lately, she knew that. But, was she really to turn down someone who needed help with school work?

"Well," he chuckled shyly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm bloody awful. And McGonagall keeps asking me if I've done the summer work. I've got charms down, and potions with Draco's help and Pansy and Blaise have helped with the rest, but they refuse to with Transfiguration and I was just wondering-"

"Okay," Hermione said simply, interrupting the boys babbling. He started to sound a little like Ron when he waited until the last minuted to do the work and asked for her help and usually just copied off of her... The little little redheaded ponce.

"Okay?" Theo asked, looking up in surprise. He didn't think she would agree to help him. But, she had hadn't she? "Really?" he asked, a little skeptical.

"Yes," Hermione said, slowly with a small nod of her help. "You need help. And Transfiguration is one of my best subjects, I have no objections with helping you, as long as you listen and actually do the work."

She watched as he nodded his head vigorously, and for a moment she wondered if it would pop off at the rate he was going, but he just clapped his hands together once. "Thank you!" he told her, and then after a moment he blushed again. "I really should get going. Uh, when should we study?"

"Tomorrow?" Hermione asked. "Um, maybe after lunch. That would probably be best, I'm busy after breakfast. Meet me here in the library," she told him, still watching him carefully.

"Sure, I can do that," he told her and then turned around to leave, but paused near a book case, his head turned towards her. "Thanks, Granger," he said and his voice sounded so sincere.