Why was he here? She clearly didn't want him to follow her, but he still did. He didn't understand where this sudden curiosity came from. He wanted to turn back, but he felt compelled to find her.

He started strolling around the library. He didn't think she could've gone too far since he had departed nothing more than a minute after her, but finding her proved itself quite difficult. One place that he would've considered his life revolving around during his sixth year came to mind, which was no other than the restricted section. He checked around to see if there was anyone looking at him, before walking over there.

And voilà! She was sitting on the floor with a couple of rather large books stacked next to her while she skimmed through a book. The view was awfully familiar as if she was back in her third year rummaging through books to save Potter's ass. What was it this time?

Was he back? He surely couldn't have been. He would've felt it through his arm. He would've tried to summon him, no? Maybe he was preparing for something and he would be summoned in the next few minutes. That's why she didn't want him to come with her.

He couldn't do this. Not again. The mere thought of enduring it once more was unbearable. He felt his breath get heavy and his heart began to stutter erratically within his chest. A sensation of vertigo overcame him.

The haunting memories surged back into his mind like a relentless tide– a deluge of darkness, chaos, and horrifying images that clawed at his sanity. The word "No" echoed through his thoughts, feeling as though the world was about to swallow him whole.

He held onto the shelf to not lose his balance, "Granger!" he cried out, his voice increasing in an octave unfamiliar to her ears. Worry filled her eyes as she rushed towards him.

"Malfoy?" her voice rang in concern, "What's going on?" She gingerly placed his arm around her shoulder and helped him sit down. She tore a piece of paper from a book and transfigured it into a cup before filling it up with water.

"Here drink this," she offered, meeting his gaze, which seemed to glisten with unshed tears.

"What is this?" His question almost elicited a laugh from her. His state of being was never greater than his precaution. It was sad really, but she understood him. It was always the people closest to you that remained the biggest threats. Not that she thought he considered her as someone close to him, but they had undeniably grown closer over the past month.

"It's poison," she smiled. A dim twitch appeared at the corner of Draco's lips before he sipped the water. Her hand holding the back of his head as he drank comforted him, "Thanks," he sighed, before looking away to start compartmentalizing.

"Stop!" Hermione exclaimed. She knew exactly what he was doing, and she wasn't going to let him this time. He needed to let go and talk about whatever was bothering him rather than constantly shove away any negative thoughts.

It wasn't a sustainable way to live, because they would always resurface eventually and there was so much a person could fill inside before they would get triggered by the smallest thing and lash their darkness into the world or onto themselves. She didn't care much about the former, but she couldn't let the latter happen.

Draco didn't register her words. He had compartmentalized way too often during these past couple of years where simply concentrating had lost its effectiveness; his resilience had grown to a point where it no longer sufficed. The only way around it was to enter an almost trance-like state where he felt like he was floating amid his surroundings.

Hermione held him by his arms, and shook him aggressively, "Malfoy! Stop it!" His eyes were locked in on the shelf behind her, he couldn't hear anything. The memories were slowly storing themselves onto where they belonged, one by one, until the image of that fucking man slowly drifted away.

She slapped him across the face. Once. Nothing. Twice. His unresponsiveness scarred her. She didn't think he could handle doing this anymore. He had to stop and she had to elicit something in her that was greater than fear, his disgust.

"You idiot!" her fiery voice proclaimed before she seized his jaw and pressed her lips against his. The icy chill of his lips felt like she was kissing a corpse, it frightened her. She brought her hands onto his heart and the overwrought beat of his heart beneath her touch, pounding faster than her own, calmed her down. He was still there. As she deepened their kiss, advancing further with her probing tongue, the blistering heat of his mouth coursed through her until she felt her divine feminine tingle wildly.

She wanted more and her determination powered the kiss as she urged her lips more firmly, refusing to let him destroy himself. Slowly, she could feel him regain his senses, his eyes locking with her closed ones.

Her furrowed brows carried profound concern, and he hated causing her such distress, so without further thought he pulled her into him–something he'd been longing to do for weeks–and matched her flow. Their tongues engaged in a vehement dance, each battling for dominance—one striving to revive, the other longing to apologize.

She was burning inside, a desire that made it impossible to stifle a moan against his yearning lips. Her voice, sweet as honey, elicited a loud grow out of him, and he drew her even closer. He wanted to feel every part of her touching against him and melt into her. His longing hands roamed around until he reached her thighs, the cool touch of his signet ring sending electric shivers down her spine.

She wanted his hands to venture upwards, to feel him inside of her until a flicker of conscience surfaced and her therapy partner came to mind, the one who had finally started opening up to her. She couldn't allow herself to succumb to the moment no matter how tempting before she explored the depths of what could be instead of what is, "I can't," she tried to pull herself away, but he refused to release her, still trapped in the alluring pull of their kiss.

Malfoy studied her intently, trying to understand the true meaning of her reluctance before releasing her and listening to the echo of her steps as she walked away. He hadn't foreseen the kiss, but the end had played out just as he had predicted.

But just because he knew how things would play out didn't mean he would accept it. He wanted her and he knew that he wasn't being completely delusional by thinking that she wanted him too.

But again, she had proved his calculations wrong, Hermione Granger tasted far sweeter than he had imagined.

Fuck…

Theo couldn't help but cringe at himself throughout the whole weekend. His thoughts constantly retracted to how he ran away from Potter like an infant. He couldn't understand why seeing him half-naked like that had such a grip on him. Yeah, sure, he had found some men attractive in his life, but it wasn't anything serious—more like some sort of admiration for their features—but he never wanted to feel their... anyways.

He was never really the type to be against liking men or having some sort of intimacy with them, but he was sure Potter was straighter than a needle. But Theo recently felt as straight as a drunk person's attempt at walking a straight line could get. Or at least when it came to Harry. He didn't really feel like that when he would gaze at students during boring lectures or the ones who would walk past him in the halls.

Except for that one guy from Durmstrang who had accompanied a girl from Beauxatons to the Yule Ball. He didn't know if it was the suit and the hairstyle or if he was actually attracted to him. That man had appeared in his dreams quite a few times, and his being in the school during the Triwizard Tournament had created a messy period in Theo's life. Since he was dating Amanda from Slytherin at the time, and during meal times, the guy would sit next to the girl from Beauxbaton along with her other classmates, and Theo would constantly look over at their table to admire him, while Amanda thought he was crushing on the Beauxbatons girls until she eventually dumped him.

He wasn't upset about it because he wanted only something temporary with her anyway, but still, he truly despised how much turmoil the godlike features of a person could create in someone's life and the fact that the guy probably didn't even know the indirect effect of his pure existence. But what can you do? Attraction serves as a double-edged sword; it infuses purpose into one's dull existence while robbing their peace and comfort.

"Hey, Nott! Wait up!" Harry called from behind.

How, fucking lovely.

Theo turned around, trying to hide the residual embarrassment that clung to his face. "Hey. Where are you headed?"

"We have the same class," Harry pointed out in an obvious tone.

"Oh, right," they started walking.

"Why did you take off like that the other way?"

Just the question Theo wanted to hear. Fantastic...

"Oh, I forgot to return a paper and had just remembered the deadline was in five minutes." Even though Harry knew Hogwarts professors never assigned students assignments on the weekends, he trusted Theo enough to know he would have a good reason to lie.

"I wanted to ask you about the cookies. They tasted exactly like the ones Luna made me a while ago," Harry said, and Theo waited for him to continue.

"Are you accusing me of stealing Lovegood's recipe?" Theo blinked twice.

Harry truly couldn't tell if he was serious or not, also with the fact that he didn't look himself today. "No, I–"

"Wow, Potter. I baked an entire wedding cake from scratch, of which you devoured nearly three slices, might I remind you. And yet, you think so low of my abilities that you think I couldn't even come up with a cookie recipe on my own?" He tsked after delivering his lines with a blatant passion.

"No–Theo–Nott. I didn't," Theo began to retreat before a strong grab on his wrist yanked him backward until he collided with Harry's chest. For a moment, their heartbeats aligned, and Theo found himself lost in Harry's eyes. Neither tore their eyes away.

Stop feeding my delusions, Potter.

Harry let him go before he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, a habit he had picked up to soothe the consequences arising after his sudden reactions created unbearable silences. "No. I know you are perfectly capable of coming up with a cookie recipe on your own, but I guess your taste buds are similar to Luna's," he averted his eyes downwards, a brief apology crossing his features.

"Well good because we did make them together," Theo pursed his lips looking up at the ceilings, fighting the smile trying to tear its way up on his lips.

"You–"

"I what?" Theo teased.

Harry shook his head. "For a moment there, I-"

"I know. How do you rate my acting skills?" Theo wondered playfully before they entered the classroom.

"Do I really have to say it?"

"Yes. I need to be spoiled from time to time, you know."

"And my words suffice that need?" Harry asked, his voice deep. Theo swiftly turned around in an attempt to conceal the boundless blush that had crept onto his face, muttering "Fuck" under his breath.

"Oh, don't flatter yourself. I have high standards," Theo said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Good. Let's keep them that way."

Were they flirting? He couldn't tell, but there was definitely something with him today. He even considered the possibility that Luna slipped some Amortentia into those cookies.

Draco walked into their first class, and she was already there, the seat next to her empty. He made his way to fill it. It was the first step to show her how he felt, until, of course, his plan was ruined by fucking Potter. Out of all the fucking days in the year, he had to sit next to her today. Hermione sent an uneasy yet almost apologetic glance his way before resuming talking to Harry. Draco felt confused as to why she seemed sorry. She was the one to leave him there, but also the circumstances of their kiss had been bizarre. Why was she feeling uneasy? Was kissing someone like him really such a horror? Who was he kidding? Of course, he was, and his delusions weren't serving him.

He looked around and noticed no one had their parchments and belongings on their table except for quills and ink.

"Everyone please be seated now. I will start distributing your exams now," announced Fickle.

Ah, Fuck. He had forgotten, but it didn't really matter since he had already learned all the material during last summer while he awaited his trial's outcome. It gave him hope that he might have the chance to return back for the eighth year.

Now it made sense why Potter sat next to her. The man who was praised constantly for saving the world couldn't study for a damn exam. How ironic.

As the exam began, Draco noticed the girl next to him trying to copy off his sheet. "What are you doing?" Normally he wouldn't have intervened, but he knew that once Fickle saw the similarities in their answers, he'd be labeled as the culprit and end up with a one-way ticket to Azkaban.

"No talking!" Fickle exclaimed, and he caught Granger looking over at his table before gazing towards the girl next to him. "Mr. Malfoy cheating is not tolerated in Hogwarts. You shall receive a zero."

For fuck's sake, "I didn't cheat," his voice was firm.

"Yeah, right. You're accusing Miss. Wiltshire of cheating, then?" Her tone awfully resembled Umbridge's.

Her questions didn't evoke anger in him. He knew he deserved such treatment, but he hated being constantly picked on in front of Granger. Since defending himself was out of the question, he had to just sit there like a loser, and even though he had accepted it, his ego would find it quite difficult to stay calm sometimes.

"Feel free to use Veritaserum," he offered, his tone was ice-cold before resuming working on his exam.

Fickle sneered at him before transfiguring her desk wider, "Sit here," she ordered for him to sit at her desk.

Hermione shoved her chair back, its legs emitting a grating screech that reverberated throughout the room before she rose from her seat and started walking towards the door.

"Miss Granger, where are you going? If you step out of this room, you'll receive a zero too," she proclaimed fiercely.

"So be it," the class erupted in gasps.

Theo, who sat next to Luna, leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "That was badass, but I'm also worried about her."

"Love evokes all types of strange behavior," Luna spoke. Theo's gaze followed Luna's intent stare until it settled upon Malfoy.

"By the way, do you have any underlying interests with Amortentia?" Theo had to make sure.

"Harry doesn't spend most of his time with someone unless they're very important to him," Luna replied in a soft voice. Theo was about to ask her why she answered like that until Fickle's voice cut through the air, "Quickly, now! Sit here!" Fickle commanded once more as if she were giving orders to an animal.

Draco clenched his jaw so hard that he could feel his residual ego palpitate in his veins as he started getting up.

"Isn't this a bit unnecessary?" Theo stepped up.

"Quiet, Mr. Nott. This is none of your business!"

"It is!" Theo stood his ground. Normally he would've spoken up, but he was sick of seeing Draco being treated this way. "I don't know what issues you may have with his mere existence, but he didn't do anything and even allowed himself to be put under Veritaserum. So if you really suspect him of cheating, then either give him the—"

"Theo, It's fine," Draco gave him a look.

"No, it's not fine. I'm sick of—"

"Mr. Nott, I must remind you that this is not your weekly therapy session, and, to be perfectly candid, your current emotional state holds little interest for anyone present."

"I care," Harry declared, his tone wasn't loud, but it was enough to stop Fickle's speech. A look of betrayal crossed Fickle's features at Harry's intervention. Everyone turned to face the golden boy, "With all due respect, everyone's feelings are valid and no one should have to go through such poor treatment from a professor for an accusation without proof."

"You are correct," McGonagall stepped into the classroom with Hermione standing a couple of steps behind her, "Mr. Malfoy, you may return back to your seat, and Mrs. Fickle, please come with me."

"But—but, they have an exam."

"The exam is canceled. You'll have to retake it, next class," The headmistress sent a quick glance Malfoy's way, "Class is dismissed," McGonagall's tone was firm as she waited for Fickle to walk out of the classroom.

Draco's eyes were glued to Granger, his thoughts consumed by the fact that she had saved him twice today. She briefly met his eyes before walking away once again. The impulse to follow her into the unknown resurfaced but he managed to tame himself down to give her space, but deep down he knew he didn't possess the strength to do it next time.