"Hey, Granger, mind if I sit?"
Hermione glanced up from her book and nodded silently. The chair scraped on the floor as he pulled it back and settled himself down with a quill and parchment. Neither of them said anything for a long while. Draco appeared to genuinely be studying, his head bowed over his work, fair hair falling into his eyes. He could use a haircut, she thought, quickly glancing back to the words on the page in front of her when he sat up.
"Is that any good?" he asked softly.
Hermione placed an old chocolate frog card into the page to act as a bookmark and closed the cover of Hogwarts, A History. "Not many people find it interesting, but I do."
"Isn't it just old legends and stories about the school?"
"Well yes- but… it's silly." She shook her head and felt herself blush.
Draco was still watching her and without thinking it through she blurted, "When I first found out about Hogwarts I… I was worried it was a cruel joke. I mean, I always knew I was different, I had small displays of magic as a child, but when I found out that I was a Witch and I could come here I wanted to make sure it was real. This was the first book I saw when I walked into Florish and Blotts on my first trip to Diagon Alley. It made it all real."
When she finished talking she bit down on his bottom lip, aware she had just overshared a very personal moment with someone who was sure to use it against her, but all Draco said was, "I don't think that's silly."
"You- you don't?"
He shook his head, "You were sensible enough not to get your hopes up before you had proof that it couldn't all be taken away, that's smart not silly."
Hermione laughed a little, "Did you just pay me a compliment?"
"I'm not sure that was really a compliment."
"Well it wasn't an insult."
He pursed his lips, "I do that a lot don't I?"
"Insult me? You're only just realising that?"
"Sometimes I… sometimes I just say and do things without really thinking about why." He frowned and she was struck by his honesty. It didn't excuse his bad behaviour, but she would never have expected a confession like that from Draco.
"Maybe you need to be a little smarter," she said gently.
He didn't meet her eye, "Maybe."
The library was starting to fill with students arriving after dinner. Most people wanted to get their homework finished on a Thursday evening so they had Fridays free, and soon the tables around them were packed with seniors trying desperately to keep on top of their workload. Draco lapsed back into silence and Hermione tried not to notice the odd looks they were getting by sitting together.
He must have noticed too because he murmured, "I won't be offended if you'd prefer to move."
"I'm not the one who tends to judge people based on their House or blood status," she shot back a little too harshly. "Besides, this is my usual table, you're not chasing me away from it."
"I'm not trying to."
He still wasn't looking at her, he was focussed on his essay with a kind of fervent look in his eyes, "What are you working on?"
"This stupid Potions essay for Slughorn- who by the way I hear thinks everything you touch turns to gold."
Hermione decided to ignore the jibe and held out her hand, "Give it here."
"You're going to do my homework for me?"
"I'm going to correct it, I can see three mistakes from here and you look like you're about to start tearing your hair out. Besides, I do this for Harry and Ron all the time."
Draco sighed and handed over the parchment, "Well that explains a lot."
Hermione smirked and began proof read his work, really it wasn't bad at all, only his spelling and grammar were suffering mostly she guessed, due to stress. She worked in silence and when she looked up he was reading the first chapter of Hogwarts, A History.
Wordlessly she handed back the parchment and he glanced over it with a look of profound relief, "You just need to add the conclusion."
"You are… saving my life, quite literally."
"I fixed a few mistakes, it was nothing. You can keep that, by the way, if you want to read it."
"I'm not sure I have time…"
"You know, everyone thinks I'm either taking potions to make myself smarter, or I have some kind of super brain, to take on what I do… but you want to know my secret? I take breaks, I treat myself to ten minutes a day where I can read a book or take a walk or do something that isn't studying. It's how you stay sane." She gave him a serious look and was surprised when he smiled.
"You think I'm crazy, Granger?"
"I think you need a decent night's sleep, and if you can't sleep… read that, I'm not kidding when I say there's a reason I'm the only one who bothers to read it. One chapter and you'll drift right off. At least your homework is done."
A cold feeling settled in Draco's stomach, his homework might be finished for now, but his work was only just starting.