An Innocence Restored

Author's Note: So sorry for going on temporary hiatus! I promise it won't happen again. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please keep the feedback coming!

THANK YOU:

suchafangirl8998: Well, I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out ;) Thanks for the review. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Lyrics: I ruled the world with these hands I shook the heavens to the ground.

Chapter Three

The sun shone weakly through the windows of the library, casting the table Hermione sat on into a golden light that looked ready to flicker out at any moment. Hermione supposed that it would get brighter as the day went on. After all, it was still rather early in the morning. There was plenty of time for the day to grow warmer. It was only September. They still had a few weeks of warmth left in store for them.

She flipped the pages through the larger than life textbook she had on the desk, her eyes scanning rapidly over the words, her finger tracing the words as she read each one as one hand scribbled notes about things she already knew about potions onto a piece of spare parchment.

Hermione was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't even hear the chair opposite her scrape across the floor in that wicked way that made that horrific screeching sound that made most people shudder. She didn't notice when someone thumped down into the seat and flicked through a book of similar size to hers. Hell, she didn't even notice when the boy opposite her asked to borrow a quill. She simply stuck her hand in her bag, rummaged around for it and then slid it over the desk at him.

"Make sure you give it back" She said, not taking her eyes off the book in front of her, her hands still scrawling notes at a rapid speed.

…

This was going to be a lot harder than Draco thought it was going to be. How on Earth was he supposed to attract her attention when all that was on her mind was the goddamn book in front of her? He couldn't just sit right next to her and start demanding to talk to her. That would alert her straight away that he was up to something. No, he was going to have to be tactful about this if he was going to make sure it would work. This was going to take carefulness on Draco's part. It would take time. He'd have to befriend her and then she'd realise how brilliant he could truly be. It would only be a matter of time before she fell for him.

Slowly, he leaned over the table to get closer to her. Hmm, she wasn't as bad looking as he used to think. Hey, her hair was a hell of a lot straighter than it was last year. "Granger?" His voice was unusually soft. Surely she'd have to look up at that. Surely she'd recognise his voice. After all, he had shouted insults at her enough times. His voice must be rather familiar to her. That wasn't the case. She had nodded to gesture for him to go on, but still hadn't looked up. She must be so enthralled by that book that she couldn't even tell who it was talking. Wow, could the library really be that fun for her?

"What do you want?" She asked impatiently as Draco stayed in absolute silence. If he was quiet for long enough, she'd have to look up. The conversation would flow from there.

"Granger, I was just wondering if you could help me with my notes" He said with the exact same soft tone he used before. "After all, I know how good at potions you are."

At last she finally looked up. She was probably just going to snap about how she had her own work to deal with, but as soon as she saw Draco sitting opposite her, any comment was lost on her lips. She simply sat in her seat frozen and her mouth wide open.

"Well, what do you say?" Draco asked, feeling the awkwardness sweep through them. You could cut the tension with a knife. "Are you going to help me or not?"

…

"Why would I help you?" Hermione sneered as she folded her arms over her chest defensively. Was this acceptable? After all, Draco had just lost his father. Hermione believed that she should at least try being nice to him if he was already going through so much. She couldn't just add to it. Ron may think that it's perfectly acceptable to go on exactly as normal, but Hermione simply couldn't do that. Her heart wouldn't allow such bitterness to come from it.

"Because you're feeling guilty about everything that happened" He answered omnisciently with a smug grin. "Now that my father's dead, you're thinking about all the horrible things you said to me. Well, you were well within your rights to say those things about me. I was awful to you too."

"Yeah, and how would you know what I feel?" Hermione questioned, making it sound as though she was challenging him, but she was only curious.

"Because it's exactly what everyone is feeling towards me. Only pity is what I get from others. Some make it more obvious than others. Like that girl from Hufflepuff who kissed me on the cheek last night before I even got a chance to move away. She told me everything would be okay if I just believed. Some bullshit like that. You, on the other hand, are making it a lot less obvious…but I know it's there. If it wasn't, you'd have stormed out of the library by now. Or you'd have punched me in the face…again."

Inside she grinned at the memory of hitting Draco in the face during third year. She had always hoped that Draco would bring up the incident at some point. Granted it was so she could brag about it, but she no longer felt that need. At least not at this moment in time. Not after everything he had been through. Once he had returned to normal, she would be able to get her own back on him using this moment. For now, she wanted to know why he was talking so weirdly.

"Malfoy, what are you talking about?" She asked in that impatient manner that she possessed so eloquently. He cocked one head to the side as though he was staring deep into Hermione's soul. She assumed he was only doing it to freak her out. It wouldn't be the first time he had tried to play mind games with her. In fact, it was often his prime form of entertainment.

"You really have no idea, do you?" He questioned finally, his head going to its rightful angle.

"No idea about what?" She asked, growing more irritated over this blonde annoyance. All she wanted to do was read her book and then get some breakfast in the Great Hall. Was he really going to deny her that on the grounds that he wanted to make her feel awkward? This was Draco Malfoy. Of course that's what he wanted to do.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then" Draco laughed. "I've changed, Granger. I honestly don't hate you anymore. Yes, you may be a little irritating at times, but you're really not that bad. You're clearly going places with that magical ability of yours and I guess you're a good person."

That was the closest thing to a compliment Hermione had ever gotten from Draco. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It probably meant nothing, though. Well, nothing ever did mean anything when it came from the mouth of Malfoy.

"So, is this like your new year's resolution?" She asked, looking highly sceptical of the whole situation. If it was, he would last a week if that. Hermione wasn't saying he didn't intend to be nicer. Oh, he could want to be the nicest person in the world, but that doesn't mean he actually will be. No, it's in his nature to be mean and cruel. It's a habit now and we all know that old habits die hard.

"I guess you could call it that" Draco answered with a smile that he had never given anyone apart from Pansy Parkinson and that was only on a good day. "So, are you going to help me with my notes or not?"

"No" Was all Hermione said as she returned to her own book with a firm shake of her head. Was Draco really enjoying teasing her in an almost friendly way? Shouldn't the universe have imploded by now if that was true?

"Please don't be this way, Granger" Draco pleaded with a pout that most Slytherin girls would kill to see. "Come on, I'll take you out on a date if you help me. I'll even start calling you Hermione instead of Granger. Come on, it's not a bad bargain."

"Trust me, Malfoy" Hermione said hotly. "The last thing I want is a date with someone like you. So, you can take your bargain and you can shove it up your arse!" With that said, she slammed her book closed and stormed out of the library, her school shoes stomping off the ground as she went.

"Feisty. I like that about you" Draco called after her, believing the annoyed glare of Madam Pince was worth it for the horrified look on Hermione's face.

…

Draco sat alone in the library once she had left, his face with simply alight with a grin as he replayed the whole encounter in his head once more. He had not expected to get such a satisfying reaction from her, but now that he had he found himself hungry for more.

When he took the bet from Blaise, he hadn't believed that it would be quite as fun as it was. Perhaps this game wouldn't be as boring and humiliating as he had thought it was.

"Well, Draco" A voice laughed from behind one of the bookcases before coming out to sit in the seat that Hermione previously vacated. "You are quite the actor."

"I intend to win this bet, Blaise" Draco grinned, closing the book that he had only used to get closer to Hermione. "I'm pulling out all the stops on this one. She refused to go on a date with me this time, but it won't be long before she cracks. Next time she gets into an argument with Ron, I'll swoop in and that'll be when she falls for me."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were quite enjoying this" Blaise accused, his eyebrow rising in mild amusement.

"Can you blame me?" Draco asked as he looked on at the door that Hermione had recently barged out of. "It's rather interesting to do this. You'd be intrigued if you were in my position too."

"As long as you doing actually get any feelings for the girl then I'm happy" Blaise sighed, leaning back in his chair as though he owned the place. "There's no way I'm admitting that I was responsible for getting a Slytherin and a Gryffindor together. That would completely ruin my reputation. Your happiness isn't worth that."

Ah, nothing really mattered to Blaise apart from getting some laughs at someone else's expense. Well, who was Draco to rectify his friend's behaviour? After all, he had done it enough times.

"Don't worry, Blaise" Draco assured, tearing his eyes away from the doorway. "There's no way in hell that that will ever happen. She's a Mudblood."

Again, I'm so sorry for going on temporary hiatus! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this long-awaited chapter and please leave some feedback. Thank you all so much for reading! It means a lot!