Chapter 10

Coexisting

The following day Hermione found herself heading for the Room of Requirement, books in hand. She needed a place to study and anywhere in Gryffindor Tower was completely out of the question. Besides, she had grown rather fond of the chair she spent hours in the previous day.

A sense of relief fell over her as she walked through the door. She quickly made her way to the old brown chair and placed her books down on its arm. She decided that she needed a table near her chair. At the moment she only had books, but if she planned to continue working here, she would need space for all of her supplies. Glancing around, she found nothing in the immediate area. With a "humph" of determination, the studious witch strayed from what she deemed her spot to look for a suitable table. After exploring several paths, Hermione finally found a small table that looked to be about a meter long and a meter wide. Casting a levitation charm, she directed it back to her area and placed it expertly in front of her chair.

"Making yourself comfortable, are you?"

The new voice caused Hermione to yelp in surprise. "Merlin Malfoy, you scared me half to death!"

The Slytherin smirked at her and lifted an eyebrow in a questioning manner. "I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave?"

"I wouldn't have been so afraid if you weren't so bloody quiet. But I guess it's in your nature to sneak," she commented as she moved her books from the chair onto her newly-acquired table. Satisfied with her arrangement, she plopped herself down on her seat with a book in hand. She started to leaf through her book when she noticed the blonde boy was watching her. "Find it interesting watching me study?"

"What are you doing in here, Granger?"

"I believe I just said I was studying. I know snakes don't have ears that look like yours and mine, but they're far from deaf, Malfoy." That didn't sound like a jab directed toward him. Did she just make a joke? Did she just joke with him?

"Funny, Granger. I meant why are you studying here? Won't your precious library feel betrayed by your leaving it behind for an old frayed chair?" There was no bite in that. Did he just joke with her?

She heaved a sigh. "I can't go to the library. I can't be anywhere where there are people. You probably didn't notice at breakfast this morning, but I was subjected to a ridiculous amount of pitiful glances, concerned touches that were meant to be comforting, and a few words that were meant to be consoling. The whole school knows Ron and Lavender are an item, therefore they know how pathetic I am."

"I did notice that actually. You were getting so much attention I thought maybe you were dying."

"Disappointed?"

He shrugged. "It'll happen eventually I suppose." It wasn't said in a cruel or threatening manner. The blonde boy was very nonchalant about it.

Watching him stand made Hermione feel uncomfortable, so she levitated a small stool and placed it at his foot.

He simply looked at it. "You get a large chair and I get a small wooden stool?"

It was her turn to shrug. "I don't see anything else nearby, do you? Of course, you're welcome to keep standing." The young wizard muttered something she didn't catch, but took a seat anyway. When he said nothing else, she cocked an eyebrow. "You weren't really planning to watch me study, were you?"

"I might as well. I've been working on something and needed a rest."

"You could go get your work and we could work on it together," she suggested. Why she made the offer, she wasn't sure.

He snorted. "I don't need your help, Granger. I am perfectly capable of doing my own work."

"Is that so? Because I've noticed you getting scolded by our professors for never turning anything in," she shot back. "Besides, I never said you couldn't do your own work. I just think having two people work on something might make it easier to deal with. After we've gotten some work done, then you can take a rest."

He gestured to her pile of books. "Don't you have your own work to complete?"

"Actually, all of my assignments we've been given so far are completed. I was just hoping to get ahead in some of our books. I needed a rest from everything else going on."

Deliberating for a moment, he nodded. "Fine. I'll go get my work."

"Good!" she said triumphantly. If only it were half as easy to persuade Ron and Harry to do their work.

He stood, nearly knocking over the tiny stool he'd been sitting on. She stifled a laugh as she watched him walk away.

After he had left her alone the previous day, Hermione spent a long time in her spot. She had spent most of her time wallowing in her heartbreak. After calming herself down, she then considered another issue which she had to deal with – Malfoy.

After a lot of consideration, she decided that she didn't understand what was happening. She then decided that she didn't care. The two had spent years hating each other and now… now they weren't acting like it. It wasn't as if they were friends. No, not by a long shot. But he wasn't on the attack during any of their exchanges. Malfoy was closer to the Dark Lord than any other person at the school, save for Harry. Malfoy's father was a Death Eater. Hermione was certain that Malfoy was as affected just as much as anyone else was by Voldemort's return. Everyone was preparing for war and Malfoy was no exception. She wasn't certain which side of the war he was preparing to stand for, but she kept a small hope that he would be able to stay out of it altogether. The fewer people at risk, the better.

Hermione couldn't worry about what everyone else would choose. She knew that war changed people. It made people uncertain and it blurred lines. War was far too unpredictable, so she chose not to consider it. The only things she was sure about were herself and the Order. She had trusted friends who she knew would take a stand, but she hoped their involvement wouldn't be necessary.

For now she came to the conclusion that interacting with Malfoy wouldn't cause any harm, so long as none of the malice returned.

She didn't believe it would. She was still learning to trust her instincts, and they were telling her that Draco Malfoy was no threat to her.

She trusted her intuition when it came to Professor Snape and it earned her five points. Perhaps trusting it when it came to Malfoy would earn her something else. At the very least, perhaps some company. She was certain she wouldn't be getting any pitying looks or not-so-comforting touches from him. Isolation would get lonely eventually, so it might actually be nice to have him around.

A loud thump yanked her from her thoughts and she jumped at the noise. "Was that absolutely necessary?" she hissed. Malfoy had brought over another old chair. It was slightly bigger than hers and had grey suede fabric.

"Not my fault you don't pay attention to your surroundings. I wasn't about to sit on that stupid stool to work."

She huffed in annoyance. "What do you want to begin with, Malfoy?"

The following week Hermione spent all of her free time in the Room of Requirement. Harry and Ginny had both tried to broker peace, but Hermione insisted she was fine. She just needed alone time. When they would ask where she went she usually told her friends she was out by the lake. With it being mid-November not many students ventured outside anymore so no one could refute her story. When asked how she could tolerate the miserable weather, she demonstrated a simple warming charm.

Usually Draco beat her to the room and she would find him seated across from her chair. Sometimes they worked. Sometimes they had meaningless conversations. Sometimes they sat in silence, each working on a different activity.

She knew the reason he typically beat her was because he had taken to skipping a few classes. She never questioned him about it. That wasn't what this was. It was none of her concern if he didn't want to share with her. He didn't push her to talk about Ron or wanting to hide instead of facing her peers.

A week after their first encounter, however, her curiosity got the best of her.

"Malfoy, what is happening here?"

"I was looking over the notes you lent me from the class I missed. You, unbelievably, were reading for fun."

"That's not what I meant. You and I…" she trailed off, unsure of what she wanted to say.

"You and I are coexisting, Granger. That's all. I'm sick of my normal company and you're sick of everyone."

"Zabini isn't that bad. Doesn't say much. He can't be terribly annoying."

The blonde Slytherin snorted at the thought of his Italian friend. "You're right, he doesn't always say much. But when he does speak, he's probably the most irritating out of them all."

"Why is that?" she asked curiously.

"He's smarter than the others. He's persistent when he's decided on an argument. And he's observant."

"Sounds a bit like me," Hermione commented.

"Yeah and you're a pain in the arse too, Granger."

They both laughed.

Fiddling with the book she'd been reading, the witch looked over her companion as he pored over her notes. "You're different."

He glanced up at her. "Because we're coexisting."

She shook her head. "It's more than that. You've been different since we arrived back this term. You're quieter. You skip out of your prefect duties and classes. You're not working to your full potential when we get assigned work."

"Are you trying to lecture me?" his voice becoming defensive.

"No, not at all. Just observing."

"Good. Because you haven't been perfect either, Granger. You're much more passive aggressive. I've seen the dark looks you throw and the way you snap. Normally you're so much more collected."

She sighed and looked down, fingering the title embossed on her book. "Trust me, I know very well I've been a little too intense. It's just been harder controlling my emotions. There's just so much swirling around inside of me. It's hard to keep everything in check."

She looked up at him again. His expression seemed to say that he understood. Their gaze held for just a moment before they looked away simultaneously, redirecting their focus to the activities from earlier.

Hermione couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her lips.

"Stop it, Granger."

"I'm sorry, it's just really funny."

"Well, better to be stuck on patrol with you than Weasley. Merlin knows what I would do if was stuck with him."

"I think it would have been a rather fitting punishment for skipping all the previous prefect meetings and your patrols. Having someone you've hated for years babysit you while you do your rounds."

"To them that's exactly what is happening," the blonde commented.

He was right. No one knew about their blossoming coexistence. She hadn't told Harry or Ginny. She was pretty sure none of his friends knew what was going on since they were the ones he was trying to escape.

"Yes, I suppose that's exactly what it seems like to them." She wasn't sure why, but the thought almost made her sad. It had been easy to forget how much they had hated each other when they were in the Room of Requirement together. They hadn't interacted outside of their shared room, so to everyone else in the school their relationship had not changed at all. It was probably a good idea to keep it that way.

If he noticed the change in her mood, the Slytherin made no comment about it. They walked in silence until they heard a squeak and footsteps round the corner they had been approaching. The both rushed toward the noise, coming upon a girl who was attempting to hide in the shadows and failing miserably.

"Romilda Vane?" Hermione recognized the young Gryffindor holding a bag of treats. "It's nearly midnight, what are you doing out of bed?"

"Well look at this," Malfoy said as he snatched an envelope she had been trying to conceal behind the bag. "So you've got a thing for Potter?"

Hermione let out an involuntary groan which elicited a glare from the younger witch. "And just what was that about?" she asked indignantly.

Hermione's patience was wearing thin. She knew Romilda had been trying to get Harry's attention and that he had made it very clear that he was not interested in the younger girl. She had also been informed of how Romilda insulted Luna and Neville on the Hogwarts Express. Though Hermione had not actually interacted with the younger witch much, she was tired of her actions. "Look Romilda, I think it would be in your best interest to stop pursuing Harry. He isn't interested in you, and I wouldn't want you to waste your time."

Romilda flushed and then snorted. "Don't think you can discourage me just because your life is terrible. You're just angry because Ron chose Lavender and left you all alone. I'm not the blind one here. At least I actually have a shot with the man I love!"

Hermione was dumbstruck. She opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out.

"That's enough!" The boy interrupted the two witches. He began tearing the letter into shreds. "Now Vane, that'll be thirty points from your house for being out after curfew and ten for talking back to a prefect."

"Forty points? But that's not fair!" she complained.

"And you'll be serving detention with Professor Snape next Saturday. I heard he has a group of first year boys who were causing a commotion. I'm sure he won't mind you joining them. Now get back to your dormitory before you cost your house any more points and I tell everyone that you lost them over a boy."

The young girl's eyes widened, knowing full well that was something Draco Malfoy would do. She turned and quickly scampered off in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

The Slytherin let a smirk grace his lips. "I've missed that. Should have confiscated the bag also, I could go for a snack right about now."

When his companion said nothing, he turned to face her.

Silent tears were trailing down Hermione's cheeks. It had been days since she cried over Ron and she had been proud of it. She couldn't believe someone she hardly knew would dare say such a thing to her. She couldn't believe she let the just-turned-fifteen year-old's words affect her so much. She usually had much thicker skin.

"Granger?"

A small sob escaped her throat as she pulled her hands up to cover her face. She began to tremble as more sobs escaped.

She felt an arm wrap around her as a hand guided her head to rest against a sturdy shoulder.

A small laugh escaped between her sobs.

Draco Malfoy was holding Hermione Granger as she cried her eyes out.

This was no longer just coexisting.

A/N: So classes start back up tomorrow and I felt the need to get one more chapter in. So ta-da!

Guys, I so don't want to go to class and work. Someone save me!

Anyway, we finally get some more of their interaction! And yes, we will get some Severus next chapter. He will notice that his two students are acting a bit off and he has some things to say about it!

Thank you guys for taking the time to read/review/fave/and follow. I never expected this story to get as much attention as it has. (Or any attention, really.) I love you all so much! You're the best!