Hermione had her beaded bag ready by five. Luna had filled it with vials of her nasty potion as well as new magical bandages. The scarring was ugly and purplish, like raw burnt skin, and even if it would never go away, since dark magic never really did, applying those might help so Luna had insisted.

Harry came pick her up at six o'clock, a huge grin on his face, stating that Kreature was preparing dinner.

"Did you order him not to poison me?"

"Err, Godric's … He won't. I'll check though. Are you ready?"

"As much as I can be." She answered, showing him her cane. She felt like a granny with it and even if she could walk a little steadier now, her leg was still very stiff and she still relied on the ageing piece of wood.

"You won't have that for long Mione. Let's go."

Harry apparated her to the threshold of 12 Grimmaud place, safely inside the wards. She smiled, even if they were a little safer now, he kept his precautions. They entered the hall quietly and he helped her slowly to the kitchen.

"Maybe you should apparate to your room, it's the one facing mine. I don't see you taking the stairs with that cane." He grimaced. She nodded and did as bid. She wondered when he would tell her that they weren't alone in there.

She entered her new room, and just as she put her beaded bag down on the dresser he joined her, having run up the stairs. He'd moved all her books along the right wall of the room, neatly stacked on new bookshelves. They weren't alphabetically ordered though, which would keep her busy at least one afternoon. Her dresser seemed full too and he'd stacked her stationery on the little desk by the window. Her favourite blanket had also been carelessly thrown on the bed which made her smile.

"You have the floor bathroom to yourself, Ginny and I will use the one from my room."

"Thanks Harry."

"Oh, and I told creature to bring your chair back, so you can read over there." He grinned, showing his work on the bookshelves.

"Thank you, very sweet of you actually." He winked in response and started shifting his weight from foot to foot awkwardly, his grin still in place but the lines on his forehead a bit tensed. Hermione sensed his inward battle and almost chuckled at his ordeal. She knew perfectly well what he'd planned on not telling her and the current debate occurring in his little boy head. By the state of things it appeared that he still had doubts on his omission. He'd probably forgotten that she could read him like an open book, so she decided to push him in his lie.

"Anything else?" She watched his reaction attentively. He kept his smile while answering a bit to fast:

"No, no, except dinner's in an hour tops. Should leave you enough time to settle." There, the twitch on the right corner of his mouth. Or maybe she'd imagined it. She pleated her eyes but he just stormed out without waiting for an answer. He'd gotten good at lying. Too much hanging out with the Slytherins.

She started emptying some of the content of her beaded bag, she'd have to sort it through, some things in there were only for auror work. She'd lost herself in it a bit when a soft knock interrupted her.

"Yes?"

"Err … Granger?" It was just above a whisper but she couldn't be mistaken, Malfoy. Suddenly it felt all too real. She froze in her move of putting a book on the night stand like a puppet. Then she realised she was being stupid and shook her head to put herself back together.

"Come in." The door opened slowly, warily, as if he was uncomfortable, which he surely was anyway, it was her bedroom after all. He didn't quite look at her but seemed determined. Something was strange though. Different. Oh, he wasn't wearing any robes. Of course, he lived there, he'd take off the auror's robes once home. But still, seeing him wearing only a crisp white shirt with the sleeves wrinkled, the collar one button unclasped, and smart black pants, was unexpected, alien. Not in a bad way though, actually he was indeed lean, and not skinny. She frowned at that thought.

"Err … sorry to come in here but …" He didn't lift his face to her and resolutely kept his gaze to his hands.

"But?"

"But Blaise is home and keeps telling me to come down for dinner, to have a chat and a drink with him and Saint … Err and Potter …" She chuckled, Saint Potter? Seriously? He lifted his face, an eyebrow up to his hair line.

"Saint Potter?" She asked.

"Well, you guys keep calling me ferret all the time …" She chuckled some more until he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Sorry, you were saying?" She tried.

"I was saying that my best friend is a manipulative idiot and that yours is even worse because he was annoying even before."

"So you came here because they annoy you?"

"Yes." He cocked his head on the side, as if waiting for her to understand. A smirk crept up his mouth the longer she stayed silent. She finally got it.

"And you want to plan your revenge before we get down."

"Took you long enough. What do we do?"

"I don't know. Make them confess?"

"Too quick. Hex them?" She huffed.

"Nope. Pretend to have a huge row? I think it's the opposite of what they were trying to achieve …" He seemed to think about it a moment.

"Not too bad but Potter would just kick me out."

"Ah right. Oh! Silent treatment!"

"That's lame." He droned.

"Not if it's the real one. The childish one we played when we were kids. The annoying one." He frowned but seemed interested nonetheless.

"Go on." He said.

"We don't speak to them, we don't acknowledge them, we even pretend that we don't see them."

"I don't think Potter would like that very much …"

"Can't throw you out if you don't hear him." She tried.

"Could alter his wards to keep me out …" It was Hermione's turn to cock her head to a side and wait for him to see the enormity of what he'd just said. She even retrieved her wand and started rolling it in her hand for emphasis.

"Oh right …"

"Took you long enough." He smirked, his previous nervousness had vanished, his determination grown, and he looked positively dangerous. A sight Hermione found herself enjoying much more that his nervous shifting.

"You realise this is utterly moronic right?" He didn't seem to find it stupid at all though, it was like he was trying to establish grounds or something, like to make sure they were in this idiotic thing together.

"Because putting their big fat noses in our business is not moronic?" She countered. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, but then his smirk grew to his ears.

"I'd say it's the stupidest move they've done so far. Have you met us?"

"Exactly. And they have no idea what's coming at them, I say until we get a proper apology?"

"Deal." He seemed about to lift his hand to her to seal it but apparently thought better of it and added: "Come downstairs in a few minutes, I'm going down right now." She nodded and did as bid.

Going down the stairs Draco wondered how he could have thought that meeting her again would be awkward. It hadn't been. At all. It'd just been as it had once been, before he'd found her …

She always made things right. He'd only come in, feeling determined but close to a pile of crap, because Blaise had been an insufferable lying little mingling bastard all evening, and he'd expected things to be uncomfortable.

What an idiot. It was Granger, and as odd as it would have felt for his old self, they just clicked. Something worked between them and whenever they talked they forgot the rest. He'd been the stupidest man ever trying to stay away. If it was only friendship she wanted then so be it, it was still better than nothing. And it was fucking great.

If only she could consider … No, no false hopes. For now, it would be a friendship, starting where they'd left things before. And he would enjoy it, as well as their big stupid revenge on the two bastards currently drinking in the kitchen.

Speaking of whom Draco found sitting at the table when he opened the door. Obviously he'd cut them in some conversation, as Potty still had his mouth open, and Blaise looked exasperated. The table was set, full of food and four plates were settled. Draco pretended not to see it and went around Potter, that sat at the end of the table, next to Blaise, and started in the cupboards for something to drink.

He was actually waiting for Granger to come down, so that they could start the revenge together. She apparated in the room, making him, as well as the others, startle. Ah, the cane.

He'd turned abruptly and she was steadying herself. Potter half stood to help but she was already standing straight and Draco knew the game had started.

She watched him a second and, with a fake theatrical surprised expression on her face, said:

"Oh my, Draco! What are you doing here?" He would have burst out laughing if it hadn't been for the first name calling. So they played this hard? Right then, let's play.

"Oh! Hermione! But I live here!" He saw it, the way the corner of her upper lip had curled up a fraction of a second before she'd caught herself.

"Oh really? But I thought you had moved out?" This fake drama play almost sounded as if they were trying to speak with a very bad posh accent. It was really hard to refrain the smiles.

"Oh but I haven't. And what are you doing here yourself?"

"But I just moved in! You didn't know?" She said probing her free hand on her hip. The next sentence had trouble finding his lips in false surprise. She was really good at that game.

"I had no idea!"

"What a strange coincidence." It was a lot. A lot to take in and look at without giggling like a complete nutjob. But he managed, even if he had to bite the inside of his cheeks senseless. Granger was already pinching her lips, hard.

Draco shrugged, not trusting himself to add anything and Potter reacted. Both he and Granger kept looking at each other, as if no one was there. They sat silently while the others started arguing.

"I told you it was a bad idea!" Potter said.

"Well, obviously they've talked …"

"Oh my, Hermione don't be angry, it was his stupid idea …"

"Hey Potter! You agreed to it!"

"Yes well, I also told you I wasn't too keen on lying too …" Draco had gathered enough of himself to interrupt by then, so he did, and it was as childish as their revenge:

"Don't you hear anything Hermione? This noise …" She took a deep breath before answering.

"Yes Draco. It's like a buzzing. It's irritating."

"Yes, very, maybe we should …"

"Oh for Godric's sake the silent treatment? Seriously?" Potter sounded more defeated that angry, but Draco couldn't be sure, he wasn't seeing him.

"Maybe we should what? I'm sorry I didn't catch what you said, this buzzing …" He almost chuckled and had to cough loudly.

"Right, I was saying maybe we should get out of here. Too much noise."

"Agree." She smirked and it was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. He'd seen her smirk before, but it'd been against him. Now it was with him. And those damn freckles! He couldn't repress a grin of his own. She caught the change and winked.

"Let's eat in the dining room then." He nodded, unable to speak, as she readied her cane.

"Mione come on this is stupid …"

"Yeah mate come on …"

He stood and took a step, purposely ignoring the two idiots as they started panicking a bit. Granger played her role perfectly but she still stumbled a bit on her feet as she stood too, so Draco, wanting to avoid her Potter's help, or so he told himself, jumped in to take her arm. He regretted it the instant but as he pushed the door open for them to walk out, their back to the others, she gave him a thankful smile he was glad to be at the receiving end of. They took two careful steps in the hall and were at the staircase.

Draco realised he hadn't closed the door to the kitchen and when they heard shouting they both stared at the other in surprise.

"What a great fucking idea Zabini!"

"Oh come on it won't last! They played a bit! At least they talked!"

"Yeah right. Have you met them you moron? I can't be sure about Malfoy but Hermione's never going to let this go!"

Blaise laughed and even Draco knew it was an idiotic move.

"Come on Potter you're overreacting."

"I'm fucking not!" Granger's eyes widened at Potter's swearing. Suddenly their little game didn't feel so smart. Well, it hadn't been smart. But as the shouting kept going in the kitchen, something else woke up.

"IN THE DARK LORD'S NAME I SWEAR I'LL BANISH YOU FROM MY HOME YOU BLOOD TRAITORS! FILTH INVADING MY ANCESTRAL INHERITANCE!" They were saved. Granger's cheeks inflated and she covered her mouth with her free hand. Still gripping her elbow tightly, Draco whispered as Potter and Blaise passed them to close the curtains of the Black monster.

"Lounge?"

She nodded and he let go of her arm. They landed in the lounge at about the same time and he watched her sit slowly on the closest couch. Then she lifted her grinning face to him.

That day had been a raging battle against smiles, and he'd just lost this one. As another bout of shouting and a profusion of swearing from both downstairs parties resounded, they both let it out. They burst out laughing, hard. By the time the shouting ended and both of them had calmed down, he'd fallen on the nearest armchair without even realising it. And she was leaning against the back of the couch, her face all rosy and teary, the biggest grin ever playing on her lips. Her wild curls were a gigantic mass around her face, and wiping her eyes with a sleeve of her grey sweater, she turned to him. Her whiskey eyes scanned his face a moment.

Her freckles, he could count them. This time he knew for sure that he wasn't close enough to, just that he knew them. There was one just at the right corner of her nose, that moved every time she smiled. She didn't say anything, just kept looking at him as if searching for something and for the first time, Draco didn't mind. He held her gaze, and her eyes weren't empty, they were swirling, a mix of examination and the remains of her laugh.

Hermione watched him catch his breath as he'd let himself fall on the armchair facing her. She wiped her laughing tears from her face with a sleeve and he crossed her gaze. Usually he would just lower his face or look somewhere above her shoulder, but something was different then. He kept her gaze and smiled. Hermione was sure he had no idea he was smiling, for his eyes scanned her face, and pleated slightly atop his growing grin. He was grinning. Draco Malfoy was grinning at her. Unknowingly, in a moment where they'd let everything go. As she returned his smile, she knew. For his grew the more and his grey eyes lit with something she'd never seen in them before. It was affection. He really liked her.

As her insides twisted at the very thought she knew something else. Something so unexpected and odd that she refrained the very thought of it. She'd been asking herself the question for days now, but was nowhere near ready to hear the answer. He cut her thoughts then.

"You didn't change your hair." He said, frowning. Then she saw it creep up his neck, discomfort. She suddenly felt the urge to crawl out the room to hide in a hole. It's not ugly. If she was honest with herself she'd mostly kept it because of that comment. She just shrugged and even if he started glancing around nervously he kept his smile.

She took a decision at that moment and it was that there would be no awkwardness between them. Whether he liked her or not, he'd renewed the friendship and she was glad. They weren't ruining it with silly feelings. She flicked her wand and summoned two plates of stew from the kitchen. Both settled on the coffee table and he nodded his thanks before starting eating. After a moment she tried for conversation.

"So, taking my position?" He lifted his face from his plate and considered something before answering, his mouth not quite in his usual smirk yet.

"Apparently."

"Be careful, the precedent owner of the position has given certain standards." There, a smirk.

"Yes, I heard. But she's retired, too old for the job." He eyed her cane for emphasis.

"Ah, maybe. But I think she gave you her personal notes. Thing she doesn't do that often. If you're not careful she might just take them back." He laughed softly, lowering his face to his plate, and then murmured:

"Bitch."

Hermione couldn't help herself, she grinned. She grinned at being called a bitch. Which made her scowl, it wasn't even the first time! Apparently he'd caught the changing expression on her face and smirked again:

"Did you just realise you were enjoying being called a bitch, Granger?" Oh, so he would play that game? Trying to embarrass her? Right then.

"No Malfoy, I just realised I enjoyed having your sarcastic insults back." Now, let him get all embarrassed. She smirked for emphasis, twisting her mouth into something she was sure to be really ugly. His face went from amused, to blank, to red in a fair second. Hermione chuckled behind a hand.

"You're still such the Hufflepuff." She said shaking her head. That gave him his wit back.

"And you're a manipulative cow." He stated, redness vanished from his cheeks.

"Just playing your game Malfoy."

Oh, his game? She'd embarrassed him, she'd see.

"Oh so I'm back to Malfoy now? No more Draco?" He asked, waiting for the blush that he hoped would creep up on her face. Effective, for half a second only.

"Well, I was back to Granger too." Shit. Right back at him.

"Oh but I'm sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." He sneered.

"Keep calling me Hermione then. Please."He froze, she looked genuine. Salazar did she really want him to call her that? Downstairs earlier had just been to play around with the others, he'd never thought she'd really want to skip the last name calling. But then, she'd called him Draco on her hospital bed hadn't she?

He was about to answer awkwardly when she smirked. She'd still been playing with him. And she'd bloody won. He pouted, and she laughed at his face.

"I think I won that one." He rolled his eyes just because he couldn't look right at her just yet. Instead he busied himself with the remains of a carrot at the tip of his fork when she added: "Draco."

His face jolted up on its own and now she was just smiling.

"I'm glad that thing … you know … I'm glad it's back." He could feel her mental ordeal from his armchair. Apparently she hadn't been planning on saying it. But she had nonetheless. He swallowed, hard and, examining again the uninteresting bit of carrot, answered quietly:

"I'm glad too." He didn't see it, but he knew she was smiling. She shuffled, apparently trying to stand. Once she'd managed she stayed still and he finally dared looking up. She was smiling, he'd been right. As she opened her mouth, words blurted out of his unexpectedly:

"I'm sorry I ended it."

She sensed, as she used to before, that acknowledging his apologies would only make him feel worse, for she just looked down, retrieving her wand.

"Good night Draco." She said, and he answered as she spun around to disapparate to her room.

"Good night Hermione."

Blaise went back to Grimmaud place the following night, expecting a scowling Draco and a forgiving Granger to have dinner with him and a regretful Potter. He hadn't seen Draco all day, the lad being busy with wards or whatever while he'd worked with the weasel.

The only one in the kitchen was Potter and even if he did look regretful, he still managed to give Blaise an angry frown as soon as he saw him.

"I take it she's still not speaking to you?"

"She's even avoiding me."

"As Draco I."

"We fucked up. They didn't need us to talk!" He said, silently accioing an almost empty bottle of firewhiskey from the nearest cabinet. At the sight Blaise went to sit in front of him.

"Obviously not. Though I don't think they would be this friendly if we hadn't given them a reason to ally."

"Yes, against us. Look Zabini, I almost lost her, not just once. I can't have her angry at me now that things are getting better." Potter really looked worried and Blaise realised he was taking this really seriously.

"She'll come around Potter. Once she sees we did this for them."

"She might not like him you know." Potter said unconvincingly, as if expressing an impossible wish.

"You still believe that? You've heard them laugh their faces out too last night. Come on … I don't laugh like that with her but I'm positive we're becoming good friends. It's not that between them."

"Err …" He seemed to resign before adding with an ugly face: "Wait until Ron finds out …"

"We're not there yet, they haven't found out themselves."

"Right. Maybe I should prepare the ground though. You know … have him over or something."

Blaise frowned disapprovingly and the other sighed:

"Right, bad idea."

"Not our business either. Let them take care of that later." There was no way Blaise was going to deal with an angry and purple weasel.

"Oh so now you mind your own business?"

Blaise only chuckled.

Hermione had spent the day doing researches in the Black library. The collection was extensive and opulent. She'd lost herself among the shelves for hours, even skipping lunch.

At seven in the evening she realised so as her stomach growled furiously. Frowning for herself, she decided that since she no longer was an auror, and thus no longer had to work 24/7 she wouldn't skip meals any longer. She'd set an alarm if need be, but from now on, she'd have proper meals and proper nights of sleep.

As she was trying for the second time to descend the stairs with her cane, and about to give up for the second time, she heard the front door click and saw Zabini walk in. She scowled, shitty timing. She waited quietly for him to pass the staircase and by luck he went for the kitchen. She was about to apparate to the lounge and simply summon some dinner when the door clicked again.

Ginny wasn't expected until after dinner, she'd insisted on putting Teddy in bed before coming. Hermione waited as a quiet set of foot made its way to the kitchen too. She caught a glimpse of white blond hair and:

"Psst." He stopped, jumping a bit, making her stifle a laugh.

"Gr … Hermione?" He pricked his face forward to see her in the dim light.

"Come up Blaise's in there."

"Shit but I'm hungry."

"I'll summon dinner, Kreature's made roast beef I think." He flashed her a smile and climbed up the few first stairs. Then he shot her a confused glance:

"Are you stuck?" She scowled.

"I'll just apparate."She said rolling her eyes, and as she did, heard him chuckle.

He came in the lounge quickly after she'd landed, stumbled furiously before letting herself fall on the couch, and just as she was throwing her cane away angrily.

"That damn thing!" He didn't comment right away and sat opposite her, in the armchair he'd occupied the night before.

"Does it hurt?" He asked warily, his eyes firmly fixed on his knuckles.

"Yes, but it's supposed to." His confused face snapped up.

"What do you mean?"

"It will always hurt. A bit. Dark magic does that, it never really heals …" She explained. She hadn't expected his resigned answer:

"Right, I know. Guess I got used to it." He shrugged, like if it was nothing.

He'd been hurt too then. Hermione had always suspected so, but never heard confirmation, she realised she'd have preferred for him to deny it. But with all she'd seen since the war, she was well aware that things had been hard on both sides. Having Voldemort under one's roof couldn't have been a pleasant holiday, the monster had been as cruel to his followers than with the ones he had wanted gone. Hermione wondered if the worse had happened to him under Voldemort's own hand, or if he had tasted of Bellatrix' too. Maybe it'd even been Lucius …

"Does …" Hermione snapped out of her trance. Draco hesitated but finally finished his sentence. "Does it hurt too?" He asked, his eyes darting briefly to her left fore-arm. She didn't need to think about it.

"A little, sometimes. Scratches mostly, but it's all right. I guess I'm used to it too." He nodded and returned his attention to his knuckles, his eyes growing sombre.

They'd forgotten why they came up there so, feeling as if the mood had been ruined suddenly, Hermione decided to summon dinner and change the subject.

"How's the research going?" She asked once the plates had filled up. "Are you ready to replace the old lady?"

"Err … No." She chuckled and he added. "I need a place to practice. Potter's started on seizing the houses you've visited but as you already broke the wards …"

"Ah. So you're waiting for a case then. Did you try some in the training rooms?"

"Yes, and I manage just fine but the extent of the wards is limited. It's easier to break through them. On a manor though …"

"Depends on how strong the wards are. Sometimes the extent of them doesn't really matter, you only need a breech."

"I guess you're right. But I've only been practising on my own wards for now."

Hermione hummed thoughtfully. She could probably help. She knew a lot of intricate wards she could cast somewhere for him to break. Plus, she'd need to practice passing them on too. Maybe he could try and break them after she attempted to pass them.

"I could ward one of the guests rooms for you. During the day, I'd try to pass them on to Ginny if she agrees and then you could try and break through them after work."

"Oh, you'd do that?" He lifted his considering frown to her.

"Of course. It's a win-win. I could even help you."

"Well … That'd be nice. Thanks." She just smiled in response, having learnt he preferred his thanking or apologies to be left ignored.

"Shall I make a list of the ones I need to practice then?" He asked after a moment of pause during which they'd both taken a bite.

"Yes. We could start with one or two, and add more as we're going."

"Sounds good."

"I still need some time for research before but …"

"I haven't gone through all your notes anyway. Oh! By the way …" He turned on his seat to grab his cloak he'd put at the back of the armchair, and retrieved shrunken scrolls from one of the pockets.

"The copy you asked for."

"Thanks." She put them in her own pants pocket, as the pile was really small, smaller than her parchment that laid in there too actually.

"Shall we start next week then?" He asked.

"Yes, Minerva's agreed for me to visit Hogwarts anytime, I'll just go this week so we can start Monday."

"The book-worm returns to Hogwarts Library." He taunted, his smirk well returned.

"It's its natural habitat. Where do ferrets live anyway?"

"Grimmaud." He growled. She couldn't repress a chuckle.

They finished their plate of roast beef in companionable silence. Then Hermione cleaned the plates and sent them back to the kitchen. She was about to summon dessert when something tapped at the window. An small chestnut owl was tapping its beak on the glass. Draco stood to open it and the owl lifted his clawed paw to Draco's hand. She caught the Mungo's stamp as he untied it from the bird. When he saw it, he completely turned his back on her.