Disclaimer: Gözəl wizarding dünya və (ayrı orijinal olan qədər) simvol J.K. aid Rowling.

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."- Steve Kloves, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hermione hurried to Ancient Runes, eager to see Draco. After leaving him in a considerably better mood yesterday afternoon, she had not seen him during dinner, and she had not seen him that morning either as he had evidently skipped breakfast and was no longer in her Potions class, which had been her only class so far that day.

During dinner the previous night, she had filled Ron and Harry in on what she and Draco had done yesterday, leaving out the details for the sake of the Slytherin's privacy, of course. They had both nodded in sympathy, though she could tell that Ron was still a little skeptical of the Malfoy heir.

Draco was, as she had become accustomed to, already in class when she arrived. He was seated alone, but was not in his usual place at the back of the class – instead, he was seated next to where she usually sat. It was a small class, with them and two other Ravenclaw students being the only eighth year students taking Ancient Runes, so both of them usually sat alone as there were so many choices of seats available. His choice to sit with her was testament to their budding friendship, she thought.

She smiled and went to sit next to him, intending to inquire about how he was feeling that day. But as she did, Professor Babbling entered behind her, cloak sweeping in behind her as she strode into class. As the professor surveyed the room, Hermione knew that she was in trouble. She had half expected it, really, given her truancy the previous day. Professor Babbling was known for giving lenient but frequent detentions, but Hermione had never gotten one from her before. Still, she thought, it was worth it – Draco really had needed the support yesterday.

'Ahh Ms Granger, there you are,' the professor said, peering over her glasses. 'I don't remember seeing you in class yesterday. Detention here, tonight.' Hermione frowned, but merely nodded, looking down at her desk.

Beside her, there was some movement, and Draco lazily raised his hand. Hermione looked at him quizzically, but he refused to meet her eyes. When the professor did not acknowledge his hand, he cleared his throat, and the eyes of the class and the professor turned to look at him.

'Yes, Mr Malfoy?'

'I was not in class either, Professor,' he said, his expression unreadable. 'I believe that means I have a detention tonight as well?'

The professor looked slightly befuddled, and furrowed her eyebrows. 'Ah, Mr Malfoy – I am aware of the circumstances –'

She stopped abruptly as Draco raised an eyebrow and tilted his chin upwards slightly, as if challenging her to pity him. The professor sighed, and relented.

'Yes, Mr Malfoy, I'm sure Ms Granger here will appreciate the company.'

Draco nodded, turning to Hermione with a smirk. She wrinkled her nose, confused.

'What was that all about?' She whispered when the professor began the lecture about translating Naledi Dwarf Runes. He responded with another smirk.

'I hate being pitied.'

Hermione rolled her eyes at him before turning her attention to the lesson, a small smile gracing her face.

Draco sighed as he levitated some of his clothes into his trunk. Most of the folded garments were black and formal, perfect for what he intended to do that weekend. He would be returning to the Manor to bury his father's body, and to discuss matters of the dwindled Malfoy estate with the family lawyers. Narcissa being in Azkaban, he was the one who had to handle all of the administrative details now. But he would be fine – after all, he had spent many an afternoon when he was younger listening in on meetings, his father giving him a light reprimand whenever he was distracted or his mind wandered. That training would be useful, now.

It was dinner time now, and most of the boys in the dormitory were leaving for the Great Hall. Draco furrowed his eyebrows as he felt someone watching him, and turned around. It was Potter, standing there like a fool, hesitating at the door, with Weasley hovering at his shoulder. What in heaven's name did they want? He wasn't in the mood to deal with this at the moment.

'Can I help you, Potter?' he scowled, raising an eyebrow. The black-haired boy simply gaped at him for a moment, as if surprised that he was being addressed, then flushed slightly, his cheeks colouring.

'Oh, errrr,' Harry said, 'we were wondering if you'd like to join us for dinner? I mean, you hardly ever go down to eat, so we thought maybe you needed someone to sit with –'

'Are you out of your bloody mind?' replied Draco, surprised more than anything. He couldn't believe his ears. He was half sure that the Golden Boy had gone mental – and Ron looked like he might agree with him on that.

'Uhh, alright then,' stuttered Harry, always the very picture of eloquence. 'We'll see you around?'

Draco raised an eyebrow in disbelief at the Gryffindor's apparent lack of brain. 'Yes, Potter, that's very likely, considering that we attend the same school.'

Harry looked quite flustered, then was dragged out by his ginger side-kick, leaving Draco in blessed peace. He furrowed his eyebrows, confused, then shrugged and resumed packing.

As the clock neared seven, Draco closed his trunk and headed for the kitchens. He had been avoiding the Great Hall – not because he was not hungry, but because the bustle was often too much stimulation for him to deal with. And, if he was honest with himself, it probably had something to do with his lack of friends at the Slytherin table.

Being the only Slytherin in eighth year to come back to school had been hard, but most of his peers were either dead, in jail, or had graduated already, having been treated well enough by the Death Eaters in Hogwarts during their final year. But he had a friend now, Hermione Granger, someone who had been nice and actually looked out for him – a refreshing change from what he was used to!

The House-Elves had come to expect him, and as he climbed through the portrait hole of the kitchens, he found that they had made him a sandwich, and placed it by the entrance. They were busy cooking and cleaning for the Great Hall, though, so he tried not to bother them as he took it.

'Thank you,' he said quietly, and evidently they heard him, because they all looked up with a smile. Some of them had served him in the Manor in previous years – he had had to get some employed elsewhere, keeping only a couple to take care of and manage the rooms and the vast grounds.

Sandwich in hand, he made his way to the Ancient Runes classroom for detention, something he had pretty much demanded in a moment that had been a mixture of defiance and madness, to accompany Granger. Perhaps, he was getting soft, he thought, or senile. No, too young for that yet – though he sometimes felt peculiarly old.

'Hey, Draco!' Hermione called, coming up from behind him. He slowed to wait for her, quickly swallowing the last bite of his sandwich and dusting the crumbs off of his hands on his pants.

'Hello,' he said, smiling slightly.

'I heard from Ron that you had a little chat with Harry and him!' Draco shrugged, smirking a bit.

'It confuses me how Potter managed to defeat the Dark Lord, sometimes,' he joked lightly, and Hermione snorted, amused.

'He's more clever than he seems,' she said, but her tone was more playful than aggressively defensive. They walked into the classroom together, where Professor Babbling was waiting for them.

'Ahh, good, you two are here,' she said, looking up as they entered. 'I'll have you both mark third year essays, according to this criteria here. I will be in my office if you need me.' She passed them both a criteria sheet, and then gestured to two neat piles of parchment on the front desks, next to two quills and red ink.

'Have fun!' she said brightly, turning and walking back into her adjacent office.

The two students took a seat and glanced over the criteria sheet. Draco looked over the first essay, and groaned.

'I got Hufflepuff,' he said, 'this is going to be torture.'

Hermione laughed. 'Well, I got Ravenclaw, so they might actually make sense!'

'Runes are called Ancient Runes because they are very old, and were probably discovered by some architect – I think he meant archeologist there – called Mr Rune,' Draco read aloud as he squinted over the first essay, furrowing his eyebrows. 'What is this? I doubt I was ever this foolish in third year.'

Hermione shot him a look and giggled. 'Well, actually –'

'Okay, fine,' he cut her off, the corners of his mouth turning up in amusement. 'So maybe I was – but not in my academic work, at least!'

They marked in relative quiet for a while, the only sound being Draco's grunts of disbelief and frustration. After a while, Hermione broke the silence.

'So, how are you holding up?' Draco seemed to pause and consider her question, then responded with a shrug as he continued marking.

'Alright, I suppose,' he replied. 'I'm returning to the Manor this weekend for the burial.'

'Oh,' she said, unsure of how to reply. 'Hang in there.'

Draco smirked at her in reply, causing her cheeks to colour. Seeing this, he smiled in earnest, then looked down again.

'Thank you,' he said. 'Really, thanks.'

Hermione smiled, and they lapsed into silence once again. Draco finished his pile much faster than she did, and spent the remaining time translating one of his comments on a student's essay into the Naledic Dwarf Runes they had been introduced to in class earlier that day, much to the amusement of Hermione.

When she finished, Hermione looked at the grades they had both given them, and was shocked to find that Draco had given most of the students a 'Troll', with the exception of one 'Exceeds Expectations'.

'There wasn't much expectation to exceed,' he said as a way of explanation.

'You're such a harsh marker!' she said, shaking her head. 'Far too harsh! Bump up their grades up by two so that they more or less match mine.'

'Why don't you bring yours down by two instead?' he asked, smirking again.

'Because we don't want them to give up on Ancient Runes just yet,' she retorted, laughing. 'Do it!'

To her surprise, he did as she said, though very reluctantly. Hermione nodded in approval, smiling, and patted him on the shoulder lightly as she stood. As she went to tell Professor Babbling that they were done, he smiled to himself. Perhaps he was getting a little soft, but perhaps that wasn't an entirely bad thing.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in the update – the exams are getting nearer and nearer, and the workload has really taken its toll on my ability and time to be creative – plus I kept getting called away from writing by my adorable cat. That said, thank you again for all the reviews, favourites and follows – they mean so much to me and remind me that my life should be more than just boring and stressful academic work!