Disclaimer: Yeah, not mine, we get it.

A/N: Dedicated to Love2Love whose birthday is today :D Happy Birthday!!!


Chapter Twenty-Four

Draco stared at Hermione. He had just come back from doing the opposite of whatever it was that he was supposed to be doing as Lord which consisted of something along the lines of doing important cruel crap and creating devious plans. In reality, he just sat around bored all day while people complained their arse's off detailing Merlin knows what as he'd never been one to pay much attention to them.

At the moment, he was standing in his living room. Well, not his house per say, this was just one of the many houses the Malfoy's owned and one that his parents didn't mind he called his own as it was the smallest property they owned but that was beside the point. There she was, Granger, on his couch, knitting what looked like a small sock.

Now, unless she was impregnated and having a child -– in which case Draco would like to clearly state that it was not his –- her knitting a small sock would not be an odd thing, but he was sure that it was being made for a certain elf that roamed around this very home.

She sat happily humming to herself, unaware of his presence. "Granger!"

"What?!" she jumped, surprised. "Oh, um, how was your day?" Hermione asked casually as she tried to hide what she held in her hands as she crossed her arms and tucked her hands under her underarms.

Draco scowled, "Like you would care."

"True."

"What are you doing?" he glared.

"Honestly Malfoy, don't you have eyes? I'm sitting on your couch."

"Just sitting?" he raised an eyebrow. There was no way in hell that he was going to buy that.

"Just sitting."

"Really? Then what's that behind your back?"

Hermione glanced behind her and said simply, "A pillow."

"Don't play dumb with me Granger, I know what you're up to."

Hermione decided to keep playing innocent, "Up to? Up where?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about!" he pried her arms apart and in her hands were knitting needles, some light turquoise yarn and a tiny sock. "Aha!".

Darn it, she was caught. Just then an idea popped into Hermione's head, "Can't anyone keep anything a secret anymore, here I am trying to surprise you and you have to go ruin it!"

"Ruin what? The thought of me me coming home to find that a house elf was freed?" he asked incredulously.

"I was trying to surprise you for your birthday!" Hermione declaired.

"My birthday was three months ago!" Draco cried out.

"And... I felt bad." Hermione continued, "Here you are, as Lord, working hard and I didn't acknowledge your birthday." she nodded sadly.

"This," Draco held up the small sock "Is not my size."

"So I miss calculated." she shrugged.

They stared at each other, glared was more like it. Each was trying to force the other to give up. "Dang it!" Hermione yelled and looked away, "Stupid intense glare." she muttered.

"So you admit it! You were trying to free my elf!"

"I admit nothing." she said stubbornly. "I will tell you though, Malfoy," Hermione gave him a dirty look, "That elf will get her equal rights. S.P.E.W.!" she raised her fist up in the air.

"You... are one hell of a weird chic, Granger." Draco shook his head.

"You will be on my side, you will support S.P.E.W.!" she yelled.

"What, when hell freezes over?"

"I will get you on my side." she pointed threateningly.

Draco took a small step backwards, "Okay, that weird crazy look in your eyes is really starting to creep me out."

Hermione backed away slowly without turning, "You will free that elf."

"What are you trying to do? Mind control? Because if you are, I thought I would let you know that it's not working."

"Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, Malfoy."

"Yeah, and it includes just you and that sock!" he yelled.

"We'll see who's laughing after I finish hiding this sock for a certain elf to find!" she yelled running upstairs to find her previously mentioned sock hiding spot.

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair "She'll be the end of me." he shook his head.

As dusk began to settle, Draco decided that tonight was going to be a little different. Tonight, he was going to do something nice. After all, this was what he was trying to prove. That he could be a nice guy, that even through all those stunts he pulled back at Hogwarts, all those hurtful words and nasty names he would call people, somewhere inside Draco Malfoy, there was good.

The thing is, it isn't somewhere deep down that you have to search forever to try and find. It's just below the surface, only not many people decided to look beyond the exterior. Maybe not even anyone at all. They took him as they saw him. Cold, cruel and heartless. Because after all, it was what was expected.

When night finally fell he knocked on Hermione's bedroom door and called out, "Meet me downstairs!" not even bothering to open the door, simply shouting it through the wood of the door and walking away.

Inside the room Hermione had been reading, what else would she have been doing? Curious, she did as she was told and went down the steps. Draco patiently awaited by the door with a leather jacket on. Hermione smiled to herself, he really did look quite... bad arse.

"Are we going somewhere?" she asked.

"Well since you keep pestering me," he gritted "Yes. We are going out to dinner and giving whatever that house elf's name is, a break for the night."

Hermione gave him a cold look for not knowing the elf's name but was glad none the less. "Malfoy, I'm... surprised."

"Let's not talk about this, okay? It hurts my ego enough as it is." Draco said, doing something nice was... weird. Especially something nice for an elf. Stupid Granger and her spew- S.P.E.W. Crap. He fixed automatically as he thought to himself.

"I'm sure it's very much appreciated by--" Hermione stopped as she too didn't know the elf's name. "Your house elf." she filled in. "And I think it's rather nice of you." she smiled.

Damn smile. Draco thought to himself, as somehow it made his good deed not so, for lack of a better word, painful. "Yeah, well don't get used to it." he spoke with an icy tone as he fixed his collar.

"Wasn't planning on it." she smirked.

A/N: Still trying to think of where to send the lovely couple so if you have any ideas on where to send them or what you want them to do, let me know :)