"That's it!" Hermione shut the book in front of her loudly, her eyes wide and excited, biting back laughter as she watched Draco jump and look up from his own volume tiredly.

"What is?"

"I have an idea." She stood, unable to stay seated while her mind worked overtime.

"If it's anything remotely to do with libraries, I'm out, I've have more than a lifetime's worth of studying under my belt." Hermione rolled her eyes ignoring the Slytherins complaints, she did want to point out to him the worth of studying any subject in such detail but feared that it would have about the same effect as when she tried to point it out to Harry and Ron. The boys were far more alike than they realised.

"We should go to Masarvas Manor…or Arden." Hermione hadn't understood the name change, but from what she gathered it was misinformed magic users renaming a great place after someone they deemed to be a great wizard. The fact that so many people could be so wrong for so many years worried her a little.

"What," Draco stared at her for a moment before referring to his book, "even if it has fallen to rack and ruin since the Great Wizard left its walls?" Hermione found herself suppressing a smile at Draco's mockery. It was infuriating that the Slytherin made her smile so easily, even when she was trying so serious.

"Yes, it's perfect. We are trying to find everything we need to know from books we already know more than. If we go there, find the vault, we can find what Arden and Sornious were up to."

"If he kept the scrolls." Draco pointed out

"Yes, I suppose if, but…but what about our theory of obliviating all the witches and wizards." Draco sat back putting his hands behind his head.

"I already told you, that much history, that much stuff, how in Merlin's name would they hide it all?"

"The Masarvas Charm," Hermione stated with triumph.

"Yeah, what about it," he shrugged, Hermione had told him about the special family charm to hide things away, but several lifetimes worth of magical artefacts and history, just gone? It all seemed just a bit too far-fetched to believe, even my old magic's standards.

"Well, if Arden hid things using the family's charm, where do think he'd hide it?"

"You can't be serious?"

"As dragon pox," Hermione stated smugly, using Draco's own catch-phrase against him. Draco raised one eyebrow at her before leaning forward, tapping the table with his fingertips.

"So, if I'm understanding you correctly, your plan is to go to the ruins of the Manor and what, find ancient scrolls and artefacts?"

"Yes, I want to know what Sornious and Arden were doing, what if there are people that need our help?"

"Even after all the time that's passed?" Hermione nodded, while the chances were that there was nothing left at the Manor but ruin, there was always a possibility and that was more than enough.

"Wow, the Gryffindor need to stick their noses into everything know's no bounds."

"It's not about that, look, are you with me on this or not."

"I would, but I feel like you're overlooking a few teensy details," he indicated the amount with his thumb and forefinger, standing up and making his way around the small table.

"Try me." Hermione crossed her arms, meeting his gaze. Draco paused a moment caught slightly off guard by how good Hermione looked when she challenged him. He tapped his foot and looked away, running his hand over his face.

"How do you suppose we get there, don't know about you but I haven't apparated any time soon and I doubt Masarvas Manor is hooked into the floo network."

"You don't know that I'm sure it's popular amongst witches and wizards why wouldn't they have it in floo network."

"so popular that most people don't even know it exists." Hermione's smug smile faltered a little. "Trust me, Granger I can almost guarantee that it's not, plus bursting through the fireplace in a puff of green flames is not the best way to sneak into anywhere, that stuff is recorded. So, pretty much Granger, unless you're planning on magicking your way there using a spell I've never heard of, then you're going to have to rethink your plan a little, there' no way we can get there from here, especially not in one night." Hermione thought for a moment, tapping her foot and biting her bottom lip. He was right of course, the Manor was too far to travel to from Hogwarts, they needed another option, another way.

"What if we didn't go from Hogwarts, we could go from somewhere else, you know during a holiday." The nearest holiday was Christmas which already proved a problem. She was supposed to be skiing with her parents over the holidays which, if she was honest, was not her favourite way to spend Christmas. It was her father's idea to try something new and while Hermione wanted to make him happy she had to admit that skiing really wasn't her thing.

"We still have the problem of getting there, Granger, even during a holiday." Hermione gulped, as much as she wanted to prove him wrong she did not really want to suggest what she had in mind. Taking a deep breath, she met his amused stare.

"You have a broomstick, don't you?"

"That's a bit of a personal question." Hermione blushed but managed to scowl at him.

"You know what I mean, Malfoy."

"You want to fly there?" He muttered, stifling laughter.

"Not want but…but in light of no other options..." Draco nodded once.

"I think there might be one more problem that you haven't thought of."

"Oh, really and what's that?"
"We aren't allowed to use magic outside of school." Hermione felt all her energy leaving her at once, she couldn't believe that she'd forgotten about something so important.

"Oh, I hadn't…I hadn't thought of that." She stepped round Malfoy slumping into her chair, the plan she'd gotten into her head slowly fading in front of her.

Draco felt bad as he watched her deflate, clearing his throat and stepping closer to her, resting his weight against the table.

"I suppose it's a good thing that I happen to know that rule doesn't apply to old magic."

"What?" Hermione's eyes widened as she looked up at him, happiness overwhelmed by the need to find out just how exactly Draco Malfoy had found out the little snippet of information. "But…but how?"

"How do you think?" He reeled back slightly almost knocking over the huge pile of books as Hermione stood up began hitting him.

"You used magic outside of school?"

"Ow…Granger, ow, yes…will you stop." He snatched her wrist from the air before she could hit him again.

"You could have been expelled."

"Yeah well, I'm not. Besides," he shrugged, "it was Cantiaer, so other than being supremely titillated I'm not sure what they could have expelled me for."

"Ugh, do you take anything seriously?"

"Careful, Granger, I might mistake all this abuse for you being worried about me." Hermione blushed at his words, though they were mocking she could hear the question in them. She also knew the answer was that she was worried about him. The thought of not seeing him anymore actually filled her with far more dread than she wanted to admit.

"You just...you took a huge risk, I don't know how you can be so casual about it."

"Well, at least you know that your plan could still work." He smiled at her and she let out a sigh, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Yes, well just because it works this time doesn't mean you should go around taking such tremendous risks."

"Says one of the Golden Trio, honestly Granger, for all your love of rules how many of the things have you broken since you've been here?"

"That's not relevant, they were different circumstances, certain things had to be done."

"Wow, sometimes I wonder if you hear yourself." Hermione scowled at him, turning her gaze towards the shelves of books that hid their table from view.

"Excuse me for caring, I just think it's a little daft that you would risk getting expelled for something so…so stupid. Why were you even practising that spell outside of school anyway?" Draco wondered whether he should tell her that he was practising the spell to impress her, that somehow, he'd made up the scenario where he would ask her dance. He decided against it, realising how pathetic it made him sound.

"I had my reasons." Hermione gulped at his words, his voice deeper, like he was whispering a secret, his eyes gazing into hers, so serious and so wonderfully grey. It was the way he'd looked at her the night before by the lake when he'd assured her he wasn't a good person. She'd told him that he could be, but she wasn't sure she was in a position to tell him such things, not when she felt so far from being a good person herself.

"What reasons?" She could have cursed herself when her own voice sounded breathless to her ears. She knew he heard it because his eyes flared with a myriad of emotions that she just wanted to unpack, all the while he ran his fingers through her hair and pressed open-mouthed kisses along her neck.

Hermione shook her head at her own treacherous imaginings, focusing on her breathing in order to steady herself in the real world, where she was Hermione Granger, a clever witch who didn't simply swoon at anyone that showed her the slightest bit of attention and he was Draco Malfoy who very much was a Slytherin who had a girlfriend. It had to stop happening, she agreed with Ginny on that much.

Her red-headed friend had been full of warnings that morning, telling her to stay away, admonishing Hermione for not realising that feelings would only get worse. She hadn't wanted to believe it, but she found herself seeing Ginny's words come to life as being within a certain proximity to him left her feeling dizzy and unable to think straight. She noticed that he seemed to be having the same problem, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the table behind him. Suddenly he was sucking in a breath and turning away, flipping through the large tome Hermione had been reading previously with shaking fingers.

"You know," he shrugged, hoping his words would sound nonchalant, "I figured I could eventually use the spell to annoy people."

"You're such a Slytherin." Hermione scoffed, and he glanced at her from over his shoulder, smiling cheekily.

"Guilty." Hermione couldn't help the sigh of relief that left her when the atmosphere stopped being so stifling.

"So that's settled then, we visit the Manor during a holiday."

Draco made his way around the table, falling into his chair.

"When do you suggest?"

"Well, Christmas is out of the question." Hermione watched Draco's shoulders drop, sadness shimmering in his eyes before being quickly pushed behind the Malfoy mask he liked to wear.

"Right O. Got major plans with the family?" Hermione tried her best to at least look a little excited about spending the holiday with her mom and dad, but she couldn't quite work up the enthusiasm when thoughts of skiing came to mind.

"Wow, Granger at least pretend to look happy."

"I know, gosh I'm sorry, I mean, I love Christmas and I want to me with my family it's just the thought of skiing."

"Skiing? Sounds painful." Hermione chuckled lightly. The Slytherin had no idea how close to the truth he actually was.

"It is a bit, you go down a big snowy slope on these two sticks, it's not my idea of fun."

"Doesn't sound like most people's idea of fun."

"You'd be surprised," Hermione sighed, thinking of the huge grin that had taken over her father's face as he'd booked the tickets, "I just like the quiet family Christmas', just me, mom and dad. We go to the Tall Man Inn every Christmas eve we can, there's always live music and mulled wine and we dance well into the early hours. Then Christmas day is opening presents, eating mom's famous turkey pasta and watching terrible films." Hermione realised that Draco was staring at her, his head rested on his hand and a small smile on his face. She blushed deeply, shaking her head and picking at the pages of the book gently.

"Anyway, that's what Christmas usually looks like…not sure…I don't know why I told you that."

"It sounds nice in a really muggle way." Draco mumbled, and Hermione laughed.

"Yes, I suppose it is."

Hermione watched Draco as he flicked through another tome, a sadness sitting on his shoulders that she didn't know the origin of. She thought of what a Malfoy family Christmas must be like, she guessed a rather muted affair, everything in its place with not much laughter and joy.

"What about you?" Draco glanced up at her confused.

"What about me?"

"What's Christmas in the Malfoy household like?"

"Well, leading up to Christmas father likes to give speeches every night on the dangers of muggles, we drink to their ill health and then we talk about how wonderful it is to be purebloods, laughing evilly well into the new year. It's quite an affair really."

"Ugh, forget I asked." Hermione focused on the book in front of her. she wasn't sure what she was looking for anymore, just any distraction from how idiotic she was to think that Draco Malfoy would ever open up about something so personal.

"My mom," the words were so quiet Hermione thought she'd imagined them, but then he carried on and Hermione felt like she daren't move in case she scared him into silence, "she, she makes this amazing chocolate drink every Christmas eve and we drink it by the fire. Not the house-elves or extended family, just me, my mom and my dad. It's…it's nice I guess. Christmas day is when everyone who's anyone gets invited round and I find a relatively nice corner to hide in." He finished bitterly, his gaze far away.

"Sounds lovely, the chocolate I mean, just spending time with them." Draco looked so vulnerable she felt like she should hold him again.

"Yeah, it is, this year isn't going to be quite the same, but…you can't have everything I guess."

"Why?"

Draco considered telling her that his Christmas would be ruined by the fact that the Dark Lord would be taking over his home and all the people he cared about. He considered telling her that instead of presents he would be surrounded by witches and wizards just like his father plotting the demise of the wizarding world as it was, plotting the demise of people just like Hermione Granger. Instead, he gave her a withering look and she bit her lip, muttering a sorry for nosing too much into his business. If he was honest he couldn't believe he told her about his family Christmas tradition, that was information that he very much liked to keep under lock and key.

"I have to admit that isn't what I expected." Hermione smiled up at him and he grinned back.

"Oh, did I forget to mention the game of curse the muggle we play every Christmas." He mocked, laughing when Hermione's head snapped up, her eyes like saucers.

"Oh, haha, very funny."

"You believed it a little." Hermione lifted her nose into the air, refusing to answer him either way and it made him smile all the more. He realised how much he would miss her over the holidays, how much he would crave spending time with her. it was a fact that no one made him feel quite the way Hermione Granger did.

"Maybe we should have a think about which holiday works best for us and go from there."

"As you wish, Granger." She rolled her eyes at him again as she began packing her stuff away, sighing rather tiredly as she realised the number of books she would have to see back to their rightful place.

"Hey, sit down, I'll do this." Draco placed his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back into her seat firmly.

"You know sometimes, you almost seem a little kind." She sighed as she watched him gather up the books, muttering a quick spell to make them levitate.

"Simmer down, Granger, wouldn't want to compliment me too much." He muttered sarcastically, and Hermione snorted.

"Forgive me for finding it difficult, it's not exactly easy." Draco nodded at her words, shrugging in agreement.

"I understand, I imagine it can be quite intimidating facing such charm and magnetism." Hermione found herself laughing again, covering her mouth when she realised it was echoing all throughout the library. It was worrying how easily she forgot where and when she was, they weren't supposed to be in the library that late and if they were caught it would obviously lead to punishment and questions neither of them would be able to answer.

"You find my charm and magnetism funny?"

"No, just the fact that you think you have them."

"Ouch, Granger, don't hold, back do you?"

"Never."

Once all the books were put away they headed out of the library, their shoulders bumping every few steps. Hermione was sure that Draco's fingers were deliberately brushing hers, and she shamelessly let hers brush his in return, her heart racing with the possibility of them holding hands. She once again thought of Ginny and realised how ridiculous she was being, but for some reason, even that couldn't get her to stop, the tiny sparks of magic that burst between them at each connection were somehow addictive.

She was pulled to a stop when Draco's hand was on her arm, pointing towards the corridor where steps could be heard. Without saying a word, he pulled her down another corridor, hastily moving in the darkness. The shortcut meant they reached the portrait to the Gryffindor common room a lot quicker. Hermione couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, wanting to extend their time together for as long as possible.

"You better go, we don't know who that was just now, could be looking for either one of us." Hermione wanted to tell him that he was being a paranoid idiot, but she knew that he wasn't. If Ginny had woken up then she would be incredibly suspicious about what was taking so long, and no doubt come to check that her friend wasn't making anymore potentially disastrous mistakes and his friends, well his friends had proved that they liked to stick their noses into matters that really didn't concern them. Added to that was the apparent issue of Snape that she was no closer to understanding, except that she now noticed the dark wizard watching her closely, his eyes black and cold.

Hermione nodded, heading into the common room quickly and making sure that she didn't look back. She remembered that Ginny had told her to focus on all the bad and terrible things that Draco had ever done to her, and the red-head was right, there was a great number of them. The only problem was that every she tried to think of them all that came to mind was the vulnerable look he had shown her as he spoke of Christmas, of his mom's famous chocolate drink, of the way he smiled at her. Hermione felt herself slipping down the door, falling into a helpless heap on the floor and burying her head in her hands.

"You know, you'll reach a point where you won't be able to go back." Ginny spoke with authority as she pointed at Hermione from over the table, leaning close so that no one could pick up on what they were talking about.

"I don't know what you mean."

"There'll be this point, this one point where…where these will be your feelings and that's it."

"You're not making any sense." Hermione tried to appear distracted by her breakfast, but her friend stared at her levelly, her one eyebrow raised.

"The point of no return, Mione. I don't want you to reach a point with him where you can't come back, look at how much he changes." Hermione knew it was right and promised herself it wouldn't happen, promised Ginny it wouldn't happen.

Hermione buried her head further into her hands, shaking her head from side to side.

"I'm sorry." She whispered it in the dark to herself and to Ginny, because she couldn't keep the promise, not even for one stupid day.