Hermione was heading back to her dorm, the library having being annoyingly and unusually busy for her liking, to put the finishing touches on a particularly viscous Defence against the Dark Arts assignment that Snape has assigned. She hadn't been working very long by the fire before she heard a voice drawl the password Snargaluff and before she knew it a certain blonde haired Slytherin was standing in front of her.
"Oh, you're here." Draco stared down at her, clearly annoyed.
"You're welcome to join me if you want." Hermione didn't even lift her head from her books. "The library was too busy for me too." She continued writing, until she heard rustling next to her, and looked up in disbelief when she realised Draco had actually sat down next to her and was talking out his books.
"What?" Draco grumbled at her irritably. "I thought you said I could sit here."
"I did," Hermione laughed. "I just never in a million years thought you would take me up on the offer."
Draco couldn't help the slight grin on his face. "I would have never thought so in a billion years but yet here we sit."
Hermione shook her head and went back to her Defence Against the Dark Arts homework but after a few minutes she had that unnerving feeling someone was looking at her, and looked up only see the blonde boy staring at her.
"What is it?" She looked back curiously, feeling a little uncomfortable.
"I just can't help but wonder," He responded keeping eye contact. "Why you do this to yourself? I mean, it's not like you could have any pressure from your family, they would have no idea how the wizarding world works."
"Why do I do what to myself?"
"This." He gestured towards to the paper and books spread in front of her. "Why do you work yourself to the bone?"
"Oh," Hermione looked at him perplexed. "I guess part of it is that I'm wired that way I suppose. I've always enjoyed learning, but also..." She trailed off looking at him suspiciously.
"You can tell me, I wouldn't have asked it if I didn't want to know." Draco raised his eyebrows at her.
"I just, want to do some good in the world, and good grades will be the best way to get a position where I can achieve that." She admitted. "I'm sure that it sounds stupid to you of all people."
Draco looked away for the first time to his school books. "I don't think that's stupid..." He said so quietly Hermione thought she may have imagined it. When he began to work on his school work she stared at him for a few minutes before going back to her own, lost in thought. She began to think about what Evon said about him and the last couple of weeks. Now that she thought about it, he had been treating her like perhaps she was actually human which was an enormous improvement. She never really gave her and Evon's talk any real thought, because she thought it was so ridiculous at the time, but now that she was, it was starting to make some sense in her head.
They both sat in fairly comfortable silence for the next half of an hour, both working on their own assignments, the only sounds to be heard were the scratching of quills, the turning of pages and the crackling of the fire.
"Granger." She first noise being made cause Hermione to jump out of her seat.
"What?" She glared across at Draco who was silently laughing at making her jump.
"Surely though, you won't be going to work or studying further next year, I mean with the war that's about to break out and all." He looked at her quizzically once he has recovered. "I'm assuming you will be at Boy Wonder's side next year." His mouth turned downwards at his mention of Harry.
Hermione stared at him perplexed at the sudden continuation of their conversation. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about the war." She began to look uncomfortable. "I mean, given that we won't be on the same side I'm sure."
"Hmm, I never thought that Hermione Granger was one to make assumptions."
"What, you're telling me that you will be on my side of the war?" Hermione raised her eyebrows at him.
Draco ignored her question and shot another back. "It's just, if you are going to have to drop everything for the war anyway, what's the point of working this hard this year?"
"Well, I suppose the most knowledge I have the better of course." Hermione said thoughtfully. "I think that the more that I know, the more I can help. I guess that I can just hope that one day when it is all over, I will get to do what I want to do I guess."
"Doesn't that bother you though? Surely you must feel pretty crap about giving everything up in the vain hope that your side will win."
Hermione thought to herself that this conversation was getting stranger and stranger, and despite herself, couldn't help thinking that Draco Malfoy wasn't so bad looking when he didn't have a sneer painted across his face. "A little I suppose, I hadn't really analysed it too much. I'll have to do what I have to do."
"Ugh, have to do." Draco rolled his eyes. "That is exactly the problem with you Gryffindors. You don't have to do anything. You could go abroad, study or work there, wait out this whole stupid thing. It's probably a lost cause anyway, let's be honest here."
"You're joking right?!" Hermione started laughing. "I could never do that. I mean, I think every death eater in Britain knows that Harry's my best friend, on top of me being a Muggle born, as if I wouldn't get hunted down." She let her eyes trail towards the window. "And even if that wasn't the case, there are more important things then self-preservation. If I can do anything, anything at all to help then it will be worth it, no matter the outcome."
"Hmm, more important things then self-preservation, now there is an interesting concept."
Hermione's eyes snapped back towards Draco to find him staring at her intently. "Maybe to you I suppose, but millions of lives hold more importance then mine does."
"Maybe in most people's eyes yes, but not in all."
Hermione and Draco stared at each other intensely, electricity coursing between them both, Hermione suddenly found herself quite short of breath. Did he mean what she though he meant? Surely not, that to him, her life was more important then millions of others. She shook her head quickly to clear these thoughts and break the eye contact that was making her light headed.
"Why are we even talking about this? As if you would care, what is it to you that a mudblood willing to lay down her life for a lost cause."
A flash of hurt crossed Draco's face before he smoothed it into a an expressionless mask. "Yes well, clearly you know me so well you can tell me what I am thinking." He stood abruptly and started packing away his paper and books. Without another word he gathered everything in to one arm and began to work around the couch towards his dorm. Hermione stared after him in a state of confusion, before feeling his hand trail across her neck as he walked passed. A shiver went down her spine at his touch, and she turned to see the back of his robes as he went up the stairs to his room. She suddenly felt more unsettled than ever, unsure what to make of the conversation, of the touch, of him. She sat there for a while lost in thought, the place he had touched her burning hot the whole time. All of a sudden she realised that another half an hour had passed, and with that she packed her schooling things away and headed to her bed, not that there was any sleep to give her a reprieve from all the crazy thoughts running through her head.