Here we go, here we go! On a roll, on a roll!

Chapter 7

The following week went by in a blur of days spent in classes and evenings spent in the Room of Hidden Things with Malfoy. Hermione was able to spend every evening that week working on the Vanishing Cabinet with Malfoy, thanks to the fact that the coming weekend would be the ever-anticipated match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Harry had scheduled practices for every evening that week to prepare, leaving him and Ron on the Quidditch pitch until late and Hermione to her own devices. On the other hand, Slytherin team's practices had been taking place before dinner each evening, which left Hermione and Malfoy with hours every night that they had taken advantage of, pouring over every book they could get their hands on and trying to mend the cabinet.

Since their fight, and subsequent make up, they had actually begun to form what Hermione considered to be a very tentative friendship. It had started small, just a random joke here and a casual conversation there between all of their researching and attempts at different spells and enchantments to mend the cabinet. At first Malfoy had been stiff and overly formal but he had slowly begun to loosen up around her; now he would even joke back with her. It was a whole new side of him that she had never seen before and, if she was being honest with herself, she liked that side.

Today was Friday and Hermione had known that Harry and Ron would be at the Quidditch pitch practicing right up until curfew, as tomorrow was the big match. Ron had been worrying incessantly about how he would perform in the match and to be honest, as minimal as her interest had always been in the magical sport, Hermione had been more than just a bit concerned, as well. She knew from his stint on the team last year that Ron was better than just fair at playing the Keeper position, but he always got so nervous when people watched him that he just slipped up, making silly blunders here and there.

To be fair, he would have aced tryouts had it not been for that pompous git Cormac McLaggen talking him down the entire way to the pitch on the morning of tryouts. Then the immature wizard continued his psychological assault on her friend by mocking Ron every time he missed a save. Hermione had finally had enough and, after making sure that no one was paying her any attention and ignoring her own guilty conscience, she had cast a nonverbal Confundus, causing McLaggen to miss his last goal and giving Ron the opportunity to pull ahead of him, allowing Harry to make his friend the team's Keeper instead. And I don't feel bad about it at all, she thought to herself whenever her guilty conscience reared its head. However, due to Ron's nerves, he and Harry and the rest of the team had been practicing like mad every chance they got, and she knew that no one would be missing her tonight.

She was currently sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the Vanishing Cabinet, books opened to various pages and spread out all around her in body in a wide semi-circle. She'd had an idea while sitting at dinner that evening and had immediately jumped up and raced off to the library to check out several more books. Harry and Ron, used to her frequent bouts of academic mania by this point, barely even batted an eye when she had blurted out that "I need to go to the library!" and dashed from the Great Hall. She was now surrounded by the books she had checked out from Madam Pince that evening and was practically vibrating with excitement.

"I found it, Malfoy! I think I found it!"

She grabbed the book that sat beside her left need and unfolded herself from her position in the floor. After sitting in the same position for so long, she promptly lost her balance and staggered forward slightly. Malfoy's arm shot out to grab her, helping her to steady herself. She nodded at him in thanks before holding out the book in her hand so that he could see it. He promptly released her elbow, then reached out for the book that she held in her hand. She watched his mercurial eyes as they darted back and forth across the page, absorbing the information printed there with a speed that she couldn't help but admire. Then he looked up at her.

"Yes," he agreed. "I think that would do it."

His voice seemed thoughtful, but he did not seem to be nearly as excited about a possible end to their thus-far pointless research as Hermione would have expected him to be. She watched as he re-read the charm that she had found a few more times before looking up at her, nodding firmly. One platinum lock fell forward into his eye, which he promptly brushed away with a quick flick of his wrist.

"I think that should work to mend it. It looks straightforward as well, shouldn't be too hard to perform."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. She had thought so, too. The spell really was very obvious now that she knew it, and she felt a bit silly that she hadn't thought of it, or at least something similar, before now. Magic was tricky in that way, though. She pulled out her wand, taking a moment to relish the familiar shape and comforting weight in her hand before pointing it at the cabinet that always seemed to loom over them in the cavernous room.

Suddenly, Malfoy's hand reached out, pushing her own hand down until her wand pointed at the floor below them. She looked up at him, confused.

"Malfoy? What's wrong?"

He looked at her for a moment, seeming to weigh his words carefully before finally speaking up.

"I'm not ready," he murmured, the melodic voice that she had grown so accustomed to hearing replaced by something huskier and scratchy. He cleared his throat once and turned away from her to stare at the tall black cabinet; his normally proud posture was gone and he stood slouched, hands shoved into his trouser pockets. He seemed…vulnerable. After a moment of silence, during which he stared at the cabinet and she stared at him, he continued.

"I'm not ready to let them in yet. I think…I think I can hold him off; I can hold it off until the end of the year."

"Do you think that's safe?" she asked him, worry evident in her voice. "Don't you think that will put you in danger?"

Of course, Hermione did not want the Death Eaters here now, but to put it off longer than necessary would risk Voldemort turning his wrath onto Malfoy, and the dangers that would come along with any delay seemed almost too great a risk to take. He looked back at her, a hint of his familiar Malfoy smirk teasing at his lips, although it seemed forced and was certainly more self-deprecating than anything she'd ever seen on his face before.

"It's not like he's actually expecting me to succeed, anyway. He expects me to fail at my task, at both tasks, so any delay isn't a true delay at all."

He didn't tell her of the punishment that would be awaiting him when he next saw the Dark Lord. It would serve no purpose for her to know that. He had already decided that any punishment the Dark Lord doled out would be worth it to keep this place free of his grasp, even if just for a little while longer. He would just lock Hermione's spell, along with her involvement in his task, tightly behind his occlumency shields so that the Dark Lord would never find out.

Hermione smiled at him, and it lit up her entire face.

"I always knew you had good inside of you Malfoy. Even if you've kept it buried down deep," she said, and then she hugged him.

She felt him stiffen in shock for several seconds before his arms wrapped tentatively around her waist and he hugged her back, his cheek resting on the top of her head. The smell of him filled her nose; green apples, fresh parchment, and something else clean, almost earthy. For some reason his scent was familiar, and she would swear that she had smelled it before although she couldn't place where that might have been. Mentally shaking herself to bring her mind back to the moment, she found herself grateful once again that, in spite of his upbringing and the influence of Voldemort, she could see him growing into a better, kinder person with each day that passed.

Song Inspiration: Iris – Goo Goo Dolls

I mentioned it at the beginning of this story, but I wanted to put it out there again. I have had a lot of this story written for quite a while so I may have several days of no posts, followed by several chapters at a time. I just want to get it out there ASAP so that life doesn't keep me from finishing it!

Hopefully you are all enjoying the story so far!

sbz