Five minutes later Hermione and Neville walked in to Cho's restaurant. It was in an old brick building and on the inside, wooden tables and chairs gave the restaurant a homey feel. They spotted Ron, Ginny, and Harry immediately and made their way through the crowded restaurant to them.

"Hermione, I'm so glad you could make it!" Ginny said, popping out of her chair to give her, then Neville a hug. "We were worried when Pigwidgeon couldn't find you."

"I checked myself out of St. Mungo's last night," Hermione told them, as she and Neville sat. "And then I was up early this morning to go to Gringotts with Malfoy."

"Why were you with Malfoy?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"Well, we had a bit of spat yesterday about the money he's given me," Hermione explained. "I thought I was meeting him this morning to give it back."

"You thought?" Harry asked. "What happened instead?"

"We went to Gringotts, he took out 10,000 galleons, and then bought ingredients for my lab," she told them. "Enough to last me a while. Then he got angry and stormed off."

"I thought that was him you were with," Neville said. "But I thought perhaps I was imagining it."

"How's working with him been?" Ron asked. "He hasn't been nasty to you has he?"

"At first, yes," Hermione replied. "But lately, I don't know."

"Oh no," Ginny said, looking closely at Hermione. "I know that tone."

"He's different," Hermione insisted. "Still Malfoy, still an obnoxious prat, but, I don't know, he's just...different."

"You can't help him Hermione," Harry told her. "He's a lost cause."

"But what if he's not?" Hermione insisted. "Maybe there's some good in Draco Malfoy."

"Don't hold your breath," Ron snorted. "He's a Death Eater Hermione, he tortured us in school, don't forget that."

"Pansy tortured Hermione in school," Ginny pointed out. "You expect us to forget that."

"That's different!" Ron sputtered. "Don't tell me you're on her side with this?"

"I still don't like Malfoy," Ginny replied. "But when he was injured after you fools wrongfully arrested him, he said thank you and called me by my name. And he saved Hermione."

"He helped Hermione to save his own skin," Harry argued. "He didn't do it out of the goodness of his heart."

"Regardless," Ginny said. "Maybe all he needs is a second chance."

"Not bloody likely," Ron muttered.

"Ginny's right," Hermione chimed in. "I'm not going to let my guard down but I am going to see where this goes. After all, I do have to work with him for several more months."

When no one objected, she continued. "Now, Neville, tell me what you've been up to."

From there the conversation moved to more pleasant topics. Neville talking about teaching at Hogwarts, Ginny and Harry recounting James' antics, Ron sharing stories about George and the joke shop. Hermione smiled and laughed with her friends but found she couldn't focus completely. Her thoughts kept wandering to Draco. Something had changed with him. She couldn't pinpoint what but she something about him was different. Something of what she felt for him had changed too, she added mentally. She'd see him this afternoon, she thought. They could talk then and she would find out why he was so angry. She tuned back into the conversation at the table and gave her friends her full attention for the rest of lunch.

Draco was pissed. He didn't know why he was pissed. But he was pissed. He'd stormed through The Leaky Cauldron and flooed straight to Blaise's office. When Blaise wasn't there he went into his bottom desk drawer where he knew Blaise kept the Scotch and started drinking. When Blaise arrived back at his office two hours later he found an empty bottle of Scotch and very drunk Draco sitting at his desk waiting for him.

"Didn't save any for me?" he asked, closing his office door behind him and setting down his bag.

"Drank. All," was Draco's response. "Fuck."

"You might telling me why you're in my office, piss drunk at," Blaise looked at his watch. "Noon?"

"Bloooooody Granger-sh," he slurred.

"Ah," Blaise said walking to his friend. "What's she done?"

"Shedidn'tusethemoney," he said indignantly. "Noneofthemoney."

"Does that really surprise you?" Blaise asked, barely able to interpret what Draco was saying. "She's got that Gryffindor sense of right and wrong, taking money from someone who didn't want to give it falls under the wrong category for her."

"Bloody shtupid," he mumbled. "Schmy money, Malfoy money issshhh bad."

"Uh, yes?" Blaise replied, unsure of what Draco was trying to say. "Come on mate, let's get you home. I'm out of Sober Up potions."

"Nohome," Draco said, shaking his head, then grasping the desk as his world began to spin. "Mother re-do."

Blaise took a minute to figure out what he was saying. "Your mother is having the house re-done?" he translated. "Today?"

Draco nodded dumbly and then reached for the empty bottle.

"Alright," Blaise said. "We'll take you to my house. On one condition."

"Schwhat?" Draco asked.

"Gina is there," Blaise told him. "You have to promise me you won't say anything to upset her."

"The blood is the all blood," Draco mumbled. "Bloody blood blood."

"I'll take that as a yes," Blaise said. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

Blaise half carried, half levitated Draco to the Wizengamot floo. A few minutes later, Blaise had him spread out on the couch and Draco was fast asleep.

"He looks so harmless and nice like this," Gina said, tucking a blanket around Draco. "I think I like him this way."

Blaise laughed and pulled his wife into a hug. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"Yes," she said, pulling back from the hug to look at her husband. "I think it'd be good for him, especially hungover him, to spend some time with his best friend's muggle born wife."

"Go easy on him, Gina," Blaise replied, knowing his wife had a nasty streak when it came to people she didn't like. "For me?"

"Fine," she said and gave him a quick kiss.

"Can you floo call Hermione and tell her he won't be in today?" he asked. "Tell her he's sick or something."

"Sure," Gina replied. "I can't tell her he's passed out drunk on our couch?"

"No," Blaise said. "He'd hate you for it."

"If you insist," Gina answered. "Go back to work and save the world."

Blaise reluctantly let go of his wife and walked back to the floo. "Be nice!" he said and disappeared. Gina floo called Hermione but she wasn't there so she sent her an owl with a note that Draco wasn't well and sat down in the recliner across from the couch with a book and waited for him to wake up.

A/N: Draco, Draco, Draco. What a complicated fellow ;) Review, review!