AN: I changed the summary of this story! I think this one is better, and I had an idea of where/what I wanted to do with this story; hopefully it's a good idea. I changed the genres too (don't worry, it's still Dramione); I changed the secondary genre from humor to adventure. I'm not that funny, but I hope that I can still manage to insert a bit of comedic relief into the story! Enough of my blabbering, though!

Disclaimer: Check the first two chapters; I still don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does, and whoever published the books!

I was on a warpath. I had seen a few people scramble out of my way already, and I had only just reached the Great Hall. As I entered the room, I immediately looked towards Malfoy. He and a few other Slytherins were staring at me and laughing; I sent a scorching glare and felt a bit of satisfaction as they looked away from me quickly. When I reached the Gryffindor table, I slammed my books down onto the table and flopped onto the bench. I propped my elbows onto the table, ignoring the fact that my parents would be scolding me for having such bad manners, and rested my head into my hands. I could feel Malfoy's posse's eyes on my back, and gritted my teeth in aggravation.

Ginny was the only one at the table brave enough to talk to me. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

I snorted. "Take a guess. I'll even give you a clue: I live with the prat."

Ginny nodded her head slowly in understanding. "Well, what exactly did Malfoy do? I think the last time he riled you up to this point you punched him. Maybe you should remind him?"

My cheeks lightly blushed. That punch did feel good. "It started last night while I was bathing…" I told Ginny all about Malfoy barging in on me while I was in nothing but a towel, and how he got me to leave. "That was nothing, though. This morning, I woke up only to find all of my books enchanted to fly around the common room and attack me on sight. I managed to stop all of them, but I damaged some of the last pages in my potions book." I let out a miserable sigh. "I should have just left him under that pile of rubble when I had the chance."

I heard Ginny snort at my last comment. I looked across the table and saw her eyes twinkling; I knew that she was trying her best to not laugh at my whining. "Hermione, you aren't going to take all of this lying down, are you? I've never seen you just accept defeat like this. You're Hermione Granger; Draco Malfoy is an idiot that you can definitely handle. Buck up." At the end of her little motivational speech, Ginny began to slather a piece of toast with jelly. Definitely a Weasley; she can't even speak to me properly when there is food around!

I smiled towards Ginny with renewed confidence. "You're right. I'm Hermione Granger! He isn't going to get the best of me; I refuse to let him win this little game any longer!" Again, Ginny looked on at me amusedly, but then her eyes focused on something behind me.

Before I knew what was happening, Ginny had her wand up. "Protego!" I spun around and watched as oatmeal slowly slid down the magical shield. My eyes widened. Malfoy.

Sure enough, a cackling group of Slytherins surrounded Malfoy. Ginny was getting ready to send a Bat-Bogey Hex their way before I stopped her. "No! He'll take points from you if you retaliate." Ginny looked at me angrily, until I continued. "He can't take points from me, though." A smirk replaced the angry look on her face.

I pulled my wand out underneath the table and began to focus on the Slytherin table on the other side of the room. I had never done nonverbal magic on something behind me. Hopefully I'll get this right. I began thinking of what spell I would use. My face slowly morphed into a malicious smile. Bombarda Maxima!

Immediately, I heard an explosion followed by shrieking coming from the other side of the room. I spun around and grinned widely at the sight of the food-covered Slytherins. All of the plates on the table had exploded, sending food flying. It worked! I looked towards Malfoy's food-coated countenance and gave him a serene smile. The heated glare he sent me only made me widen my smile.

I tucked my wand back into my sleeve and turned back around to look at Ginny. She seemed to be torn between laughing at staring at me in shock. "Did you… Did you do that? Oh my Merlin. Hermione Granger just acted childishly; someone call the Prophet!"

I rolled my eyes, but nodded. "I'm actually kind of surprised that worked. I've never done nonverbal magic that far away; it was behind me, too. I'm actually kind of proud of myself, even if I only succeeded in embarrassing a few Slytherins!" I could still feel Malfoy's seething glare on my back. "I think I may have just kicked the hornets' nest, so to speak."

The red head raised her eyebrow at me. "Well, on the bright side we'll be together all day, so I'll have your back." I nodded, and felt thankful that Professor McGonagall put the returning students from my year into the year below us. Ginny and I were both in the N.E.W.T level classes, so we had everything together. Too bad Malfoy, Parkinson, and Zabini are in most of those classes, though.

A few minutes later, Ginny and I were headed down a flight of stairs and into the dungeons for our first class of the day: double Potions with the other N.E.W.T level students. There are so few of us on this level that there would be students from all houses in this class. I frowned as I thought about having multiple classes with Malfoy and his posse. I wasn't too worried though; the majority of the class would likely be Ravenclaws, as most N.E.W.T level classes were. Hopefully, Malfoy will just ignore me and let me enjoy the classes.

Ginny and I reached the classroom to see the front desks filled with early Ravenclaws, and Hannah Abbott, the only Hufflepuff in the class. We took a seat behind Michael Corner and Terry Boot moments before a loud group came into the room. Here we go. I groaned as I heard the familiar shrieking of Astoria giving Malfoy a… farewell. I could hear the Ravenclaws grumbling at the loud antics of Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson as they came into the room. Great. There are more Slytherins in here than Gryffindors. My frown deepened at that thought.

The Slytherin's took the seat behind Ginny and I. Seconds after the three of them took a seat, I felt something poking my hair. I whipped around to see Pansy Parkinson's wand in my face. I gave her a hot glare. "What are you doing?"

The pug-faced witch gave me a sugary sweet smile. "Well, I was hoping that I would be able to poke your bushy hair down a bit. I can't exactly see anything except for your mane. I knew you were a Gryffindor, but trying to actually be the mascot is taking it a bit far, isn't it, Granger?" I began to splutter when Malfoy and Zabini began laughing. My hair isn't that bushy anymore! Is it? I spun back around in a huff just as Professor Slughorn came waddling in.

I tried my best to pay attention, but the temptation of spinning around and hexing the Slytherins behind me was beginning to grow. The three snakes continued heckling Ginny and I throughout the class; Blaise repeatedly changed Ginny's hair color when Professor Slughorn wasn't looking, while telling her that the vivid shade of red did her no favors. Pansy continued poking my hair with her wand as Slughorn wrote on his chalkboard. For once, Malfoy didn't do anything; he just sat back and enjoyed the show while peacefully working on his potion.

A final poke broke my resolve. I pulled my wand out of my sleeve underneath my desk and focused on the doxy wings sitting on my table. Since she isn't paying attention to her cauldron, this should be easy. I slowly levitated the wings to Pansy's cauldron and dropped them in. The reaction was immediate. A gray sludge exploded out of Pansy's cauldron, covering her and Zabini. Malfoy casted a shield charm before any sludge could get on him. Ginny instantly began laughing at the slime-coated Slytherins' shocked faces.

Before any of the Slytherins could speak, Professor Slughorn came to the back of the classroom. "Well, I didn't think we would have to worry about exploding cauldrons in a N.E.W.T level potion class. From my own house as well! I'm taking ten points from Slytherin, and giving you detention Ms. Parkinson. You'll be cleaning this mess up tonight." I could hear the Slytherin's sputtering, but Professor Slughorn ignored her and went back to the front of the classroom.

The Ravenclaws didn't look impressed with the interruption, and immediately went back to work on their potions, as did Hannah. Am I that snooty when it comes to schoolwork? I guess it was no wonder people disliked me in first year.

The rest of the class went on in silence, only broken by the occasional question. When class ended, the Slytherins were the first to leave. Ginny and I followed behind them; we began laughing as we heard Parkinson saying that she was sure she didn't do anything wrong with her potion, and that it just exploded.

The day continued on while the rest of our classes were spent feuding with the three Slytherins. Professor Sinistra had moved to take over DADA, as barely any students signed up for astronomy, and she had always had a passion for the subject. I had been looking forward to this class all day for one reason: I won't have to discreetly hex Pansy. Again, Ginny and I sat behind Michael and Terry; the Slytherins sat behind us.

Professor Sinistra was a tall and willowy woman with dark hair, skin, and eyes. She was wearing her usual shimmering olive-drab robes and pointed hat. "Hello, class. I recognize everyone in here, so we aren't going to need any introductions. I've decided that instead of boring you, we would just jump right into it. I want to refresh an old lesson: the boggart." I felt my heartbeat speed up at the mention of the creature.

The professor didn't seem to notice the classes' anticipation and continued talking. "A boggart takes the form of its victim's worst fear. Do any of you remember the correct way of disarming a boggart?"

My arm was in the air immediately. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

I sucked in a breath and began reciting the DADA textbook from year three, verbatim. "The charm that combats a boggart is Riddikulus. The charm requires a strong mind and good concentration. The incantation and wand movement alone will not affect a boggart. The correct way to perform the charm is to push past the fear, and concentrate on something that will make the boggart look amusing. The charm does not, in fact, repel a boggart; it just forces it to assume a shape that the caster will find comical, inspiring laughter, which will defeat a boggart."

I heard snickering behind me. Malfoy's drawling voice spoke to his friends. "Of course the know-it-all has the book memorized." I sunk in my seat at the taunting.

Professor Sinistra, unaware of Malfoy's taunting, continued on. "That's correct. Five points to Gryffindor. As Miss Granger said, push through your fear, think of something amusing that will cause laughter, and then use the charm Riddikulus. Now, everyone stand up." The tables vanished as we stood, and a large wardrobe was brought to the front of the room. "Get into a single file line. Who would like to go first?"

A few Ravenclaws were eager to prove themselves. Naturally, the majority of their fears were that of failure. I shuddered as I remembered the fear I felt at failing, which is what form the boggart took the last time I encountered it. The Ravenclaws managed to turn the failed papers into lists of jokes. Finally, it was my turn. I stepped up to the wardrobe and braced myself for the failure that the boggart would become. After giving the professor the okay, the wardrobe slowly swung open.

I froze. A small pale woman with dark and wild hair came sauntering out of wardrobe like a lioness looking for her prey. Bellatrix LeStrange. I could feel myself begin to shake; my body wouldn't listen as I tried to raise my wand. All I could do was focus on the witch that was advancing on me. No. Not again, please! Please! Help me! Somebody help me! Bellatrix raised her wand and began cackling. "Ready for round two, Mudblood?"

"Ridikulus!" I watched as Bellatrix's dark robes were replaced with whimsical robes, similar to the ones that Dumbledore used to wear. A pair of rose-colored glasses completed the look. I turned around to see Draco Malfoy with his wand in the air and the class staring at both of us. Not only was I mentally exhausted from the harassment of the three Slytherins all day, but also old wounds had been reopened by the appearance of Bellatrix. I could feel tears begin to prick at my eyes and immediately ran out of the room.

I ran through the corridors of Hogwarts with tears running down my face, uncaring that I was getting lots of weird looks. I finally reached the painting of the gaunt lady playing the piano. "R-requiem." The woman gave me an odd look, but still opened the passageway for me.

I threw myself down on the couch and began to cry. The memories that I had tried so hard to bury were coming back to the surface, and I could do nothing to stop them. I pulled my left sleeve back to my elbow and began crying harder as I saw the ugly scar that Bellatrix had left me with. Mudblood. I lay back onto the couch, curled up, and cried until I fell asleep.

Boggarts. Hmph. I don't see why Sinistra is making us go back over something we did during third year. I snorted when the Ravenclaws continued having to defeat a pile of paper. Bloody swots.

I perked up when I noticed that it was Granger's turn. It'll probably be another wad of papers, knowing her. That's what it was during third year, anyway.

My breath caught when, instead of a wad of papers, the boggart turned into my deranged and very dead aunt. I heard shocked gasps around the room, and noticed that Granger had locked up. What are you doing, you bloody idiot? Why are you just standing there? Bellatrix raised her wand at Granger. "Ready for round two, Mudblood?"

I'm not about to watch this again. I looked towards Sinistra and saw that she wasn't going to intervene; I stood out of line with my wand raised and headed towards the boggart. "Riddikulus!"

The boggart was immediately changed, and Granger snapped out of her trance. I could feel eyes all over me, causing me to bristle. I looked towards Granger and saw her shaking and her eyes began to fill with tears before she brushed past me and ran out of the room crying. There was a shocked silence; finally Michael Corner broke it. "What in Merlin's name was that?"

Before I could snap at him, Sinistra spoke. "Well, I think that is enough for today. You all are dismissed." I grabbed my stuff and headed towards the door. Blaise and Pansy sidled up next to me.

Pansy spoke first. "Draco, what was that? Why did you help her?" Blaise was looking at me questioningly as well.

I sighed before speaking. "She was, obviously, not moving any time soon; I didn't feel like waiting for her to get over her issues, and went ahead and did the spell myself."

Pansy accepted my answer, even though she didn't look like she believed it. She knew it would be a waste of time trying to force an answer out of me.

Blaise didn't accept either of those things, though, and began questioning me. "What I want to know is why her boggart was your aunt. I mean, she was a terrifying woman and everything, but why is that Granger's biggest and deepest fear? I figured it would've been something like an enslaved house elf, or some such nonsense. I know you're lying about why you helped her, too. When Bellatrix came out of that cabinet, something about her and Granger being together made you tense up. What did the boggart mean by "ready for round two," exactly?"

I cursed in my head. Why does he have to notice every little thing? I stopped walking and turned around. I need to get this off of my chest; it's been eating me up since it happened. They're my best friends; they'll understand. I grabbed their arms and pulled them both into an empty classroom near the Great Hall. Pansy was asking what I was doing, but Blaise just let me pull him along. I let go of the two of them, spun around, and began speaking immediately. "Around last Easter, Potter, Weasley, and Granger were brought to the Manor by snatchers. They had something with them that was supposed to be in Aunt Bella's vault in Gringotts. She threw Potter and Weasley into the cellar, and but kept Granger. She knew that Granger was the brains of the group, so Aunt Bella tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse until Granger had screamed her voice raw. Then she started on Granger with a knife. She carved the word "mudblood" into her arm; the intent was to scar, which I'm sure it did. Even then, Granger didn't break. After that, Potter and Weasley got out of the cellar and managed to disapparate away with Granger. By then, my whole family had fallen from grace; the three of us were forced to watch as Aunt Bella tortured Granger. She made an example out of her; that would be us being tortured if we failed again."

When I finished, I looked at Blaise and Pansy's faces. Pansy looked as if she would be violently ill all over the floor; Blaise's nose was scrunched up in distaste. Pansy spoke first. "How is Granger just going about as if everything is fine? Has she gone insane? You can't even tell anything is wrong with her, other than the bit of crazy that she's always had!"

Blaise turned and stopped Pansy's rant. "Well, you wouldn't exactly want to broadcast that you were tortured, would you? No." The dark-skinned wizard turned angrily to me. "Draco why didn't you tell us about this sooner? We didn't know that you were in immediate danger; we would have tried to get you out of there!"

I rolled my eyes. "That's exactly why I didn't tell either of you. You would've just been killed the moment you came to the Manor uninvited. I wouldn't have left my parents at any rate, either."

I was surprised when Pansy stepped towards me and hit me on the chest. Hard. "So that's why you haven't really done anything to her! I just thought about the fact that you have let me tort… harass Granger all day! What is wrong with you?!"

The shock must've been evident on my face at Pansy's outburst. "What? I may not like her very much, but do you think that I would wish what she has gone through on anyone? No! Draco Malfoy, you leave that girl alone! It's the least we can do, after everything we've done through the years to her!" At that, Pansy turned on her heel and left the room in a swish of black robes.

Blaise and I stared in shock at the place that Pansy had just been standing. Blaise broke the silence. "Bloody hell. Who was that, and what have they done with Pansy?" All I could do was nod my head in agreement.

Dinner was uneventful, especially without Granger there to explode any tables. News of Gryffindor's Princess having a meltdown in DADA had spread quickly; anywhere you looked, you could hear someone talking about it.

I could hear some sixth years further down the table laughing about the Head Girl's panic attack; I balled my fist up tightly and clenched my jaw. I loosened both when I realized what I was doing. Why am I getting angry with them for doing what I've done for the past seven years of my life?

I decided that I couldn't listen to all of the ignorant gossipers any longer. I put some food into a napkin before I could stop myself, told Blaise and Pansy that I was heading to the common room, and left. Just as I stepped onto the staircase, I heard someone yell my name.

I was surprised to find the Weasley girl walking towards me. "Malfoy! I know you dislike Hermione and I, at the very least, but will you please take this to her?" She motioned to the bag in her hands. "It's Hermione's, and she left it in DADA when she… Just please. Take it for me? I don't know where the Heads' common room is. She never told me."

I was going to protest, but the glare the redhead sent me stopped me. With a sigh, I took the bag from her. "Fine. Don't expect me to help you out again."

The Weaslette looked like she wanted to retort, but held her tongue. She ground out a thanks and left. I shook my head at the weird encounter, and made my way back towards the common room.

When I got to the portrait, I muttered the password quietly. The portrait swung open and I stepped into the common room.

I set the bag down by the entrance, and then looked around the room. At first, I thought I was alone. Then I heard a quiet sniffling coming from the couch in front of the fire, causing me to flinch. I crept towards the couch quietly and saw Granger curled up and staring into the flames. Dammit. Why couldn't she just be asleep already?

Deciding that I would do better to make myself known, I let out a cough. I was expecting her to jump up and scream; instead, she just continued staring into the fire. Huh. That's… different. Should I be worried?

She noticed that I hadn't left yet and turned to look at me with tears in her eyes. "Please, Malfoy. I can't deal with you right now. Please just leave me be."

My heart clenched at her pitiful pleading. Again, why do I care? Instead of listening to her, and leaving, I took a seat in one of the armchairs near the fire and handed her the napkin full of food. She took it and looked confused after seeing what was inside of it. "What… Why did you bring me food?"

I was glad that she wouldn't see the light reddening of my face. Damn pale complexion. "You weren't at dinner. By the way, you should probably prepare yourself; everyone was talking about the way you ran out of class today."

She pulled her knees up to her chest when she turned back to stare into the fire. "Great. That's just what I wanted to hear. Thank you for the food; I know you didn't have to do that." Just then she caught sight of the bag that I brought back for her.

I cut her off before she could ask. "Weaslette cornered me. She forced me to bring it up here, seeing as she didn't know where to go with it." Hermione nodded and thanked me again.

There was an awkward silence after that. I decided to break it with the question I had wanted to know all day. "Why did you freeze up like that?" At the outraged, and slightly surprised, look she was giving me, I clarified. "I understand why you froze up, but I meant why did Hermione Granger, of all people, freeze up? I remember seeing you fight Bellatrix during the final battle; what kept you from freezing up then?"

Granger looked down at the floor at my questions. I didn't think she was going to answer me, so I went to get up. Just before I was out of the seat, I heard her suck in a shaky breath. "I guess that I had just been trying to lie to myself that it never happened. It's been months since the final battle; maybe if I just kept pretending that none of it ever happened, it would go away. Obviously, I had been doing well at forgetting about her existence, at least until today. Then the memories of my time at your home started coming back. During the battle, I was still so angry with her. I was running off fear and adrenaline that night. The boggart took me totally by surprise, and I guess it just caught me off-guard. Did you know that after she tortured me, I had nightmares almost every night for two solid months?"

I sat in stunned silence. So she's been trying to pretend that none of it ever happened? To hear her so flippantly speak of being tortured was heart-wrenching. This girl has been through so much, and didn't deserve any of it. "Granger… I…" I lowered my head. "I'm sorry."

At my apology, her head snapped up. "What? Why are you apologizing?"

I continued looking down at the ground in shame. "My entire family just watched as she did that," I gestured towards the scar on her arm, "to you. I could have stopped her, but I didn't. I had seen her torture people before, but never anyone that I knew. I mean it was horrible to watch her torture people, but when you actually know the person… Mother and Father have sealed off the drawing room in the Manor. We don't go in there anymore."

When she didn't reply, I picked my head back up to look at her. She had tears in her eyes as she spoke. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have done anything; you were smart not to do anything. She would've tortured you if you tried. I could tell that none of you wanted to be in that room while she did that to me. Don't blame yourself. I don't blame you. You're a git, and a prat, yeah, but I know that you didn't want that to happen to me."

It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of me. So she doesn't hold a grudge? "I'm not just apologizing for then, either. I'm sorry for what I've done to you through the years. I mean, look where it has gotten me. I was a slave in my own home, my whole family has become social outcasts, and the Malfoy name might as well be mud. No, the irony hasn't been lost on me, either." I saw a fleeting smile on her face at that last remark. Feeling braver than I have in a long time, I spoke again. "Granger, let's start over. A truce, if you please. I'll get Pansy and Blaise to back off as well."

The flickering light coming from the fireplace made her eyes a warm chocolate color. She had an unsure look on her face, but I could tell that she was considering my offer. I stuck out my hand towards her, in hopes that she would see that I was serious. "I'm Draco Malfoy; what's your name?"

A small smile blossomed on her face as she decided to play along. She reached out and put her smaller hand into mine. "I'm Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you, Draco."

I smiled at the feeling of her hand in mine. I nodded at her before standing up. "Well, Hermione, it was nice speaking with you, but I must be going to bed. It's getting late, and we have classes tomorrow. Good night." I nodded to her and headed upstairs to my room.

As I lay in bed awaiting sleep, all I could think about was my truce with Hermione. She forgave me, and is willing to have a truce. At least I don't have to worry about her killing me in my sleep now, right?

AN: This wasn't too cheesy or fast was it? I don't really plan for this to be a massive fic like the last multi-chaptered story I wrote, so I'll have to make stuff play out a bit faster than I would like. Tell me if you like to have shorter chapters with more updates, or if you like the chapters long like these, but not as often. I generally make big chapters, so I'm okay writing them, but I know some people don't like to read them!

There is something else I want to ask about: did you like me going into Draco's POV? Tell me why or why not, and tell me if I kept him in character enough. Don't be scared to tell me if I do something wrong or badly!

Thanks, and don't forget to FAVORITE and REVIEW!