It could be argued that it did not technically take up her entire night. She showered, washed her teeth and changed into her pyjamas just fine, which did amount to at least one percent. It had to. Otherwise, she'd have to admit that she spent her whole night thinking about Malfoy and that was utterly unacceptable.

The blond prat was still irritating, with his constant mood flings, the smirks, and the uncanny ability to show up exactly where he's not wanted. But something has changed. Hermione did a mental list of every single one of their interactions - a surprisingly small amount, really, if you considered the span of eight years - and she carefully catalogued the differences between then and now. A guarded glance here, a restrained word there.

He was like a de-fanged snake. Less dangerous, yet not entirely non-threatening. She guessed that being holed up for months in the manor while he waited each day for his sentencing to Azkaban did nothing good for his psyche, so him being distraught and cautious made sense.

What did not make absolutely any bloody sense was that cheeky grin he gave her. She'd expect it from Harry, or Ron, or the twins, after a nasty trick went right, but not Draco I'm-Better-Than-Anyone Malfoy.

He really started acting strange once her brother (sweet Morgana, she has a brother) made his surprise appearance.

Suddenly a revelation crashed down on her, making her nearly jump from her seat. Of course, Theo! Just as she wished he'd get along with her friends, he must have told Malfoy to be more civil to her. It felt like a fog lifted from her mind. He was just acting polite out of necessity this whole time. Honestly, he did overdo it with that smile, but it is a Malfoy trait to do everything to excess.

Now someone should just tell all of this to the damn butterflies in her stomach and everything will be fine.

"Earth to Hermione, can you hear me?" Ginny poked at her side, and it made Hermione snap back to reality. She was halfway done with her breakfast, pushing around some bits of sausage she could not remember cutting up.

"Sorry Gin, I'm a bit preoccupied today. It must be the weather," she said.

"Weather my arse." She rolled her eyes. "Just tell us what happened with the snake. Please?" The witch begged Hermione, who let out a small sigh.

"Well, Zabini told me that the lesson should be held in the common room so all students can participate. It was surprising at first, but nothing I couldn't handle."

"Blimey. How many of them listened?" Harry asked.

"About three dozen, I guess. I wasn't counting heads."

"That's a lot of snakes, 'Mi. Are you sure we can't go with you next time?" He said worriedly.

"I want to build bridges, Harry. Showing up with bodyguards does not help." She dismissed the thought, but gave her friend a smile, to show that she was grateful.

"I can't believe they just let you in," Ron interjected, and she had to clean her throat.

"There was some… resistance, but not enough to stop me."

Ron's eyes widened. "Please tell me you hexed someone!"

"I did not hex anyone, Ronald." She snapped, but in a much quieter voice, she added "I may have charmed Parkinson mute."

"Nice!" he grinned.

Hermione was about to detail her experience when the owls arrived. They swooped down, each seeking its destination.

Hermione felt her stomach sink as a great eagle owl dived towards her, then perched on her shoulder, careful not to tangle its talons in her curls. It was undisturbed by Ginny's loud gasp and Harry's cautious glare. Ron tried to poke it, forgetting about the piece of bacon still in his hand. The bird snatched it with blinding speed, making him pull back and curse.

"Merlin's beard, 'Mione, isn't this the ferret's owl? What's it doing here?"

That was a very apt question.

"Maybe it got lost." Harry theorized.

"How bloody lost does it have to be to mistake her for that git?"

"Leave the owl alone, Ron. It's not like it chose to work for him." Ginny chided her brother.

At this point, the entire Gryffindor table was looking at her, like she pulled a Fluffy and sprouted some extra heads. This day was just getting better and better.

"I will go and give it back. Don't wait for me, I need to talk to the Headmistress." She silenced her friends and stood as quickly as she could with the extra weight. The owl casually balanced itself, like it was used to grand theatrical gestures.

The way to the Slytherin table was the most excruciating forty-two steps she ever had to take. She felt the glares coming from her own house on her back, and facing the green and silver crowd was hard enough from a distance, let alone getting closer and closer.

It was apparently one thing, to teach them in the privacy of their common room, and another matter completely to approach them in the wild, so to speak.

The smarter ones just turned their heads, trying their best to dismiss the disturbing red and gold menace. Others stared with mouths open. Some, especially from the younger years, glared at her, scandalized.

With the best poker face she could muster, she plopped down next to Theo, just across Malfoy and Zabini.

"I think you lost something." She said to Malfoy, whose stoic mask was held firmly in place.

"Come, Altais!" he commanded, and the bird obeyed, jumping to his shoulder instead, but ruffling its feathers in silent dissent.

He examined the letter the owl carried, then proffered it to Hermione.

"It's addressed to you."

And truly, it was addressed to 'Hermione Granger', in a beautiful, flowing script. She opened it, and after reading the contents - twice - she took a deep breath, and wandlessly conjured a privacy barrier around the four of them.

"Narcissa Malfoy invited me for tea at my earliest convenience to discuss the Cultural Exchange Lessons." Her words were measured, like she was still debating whether it would be worth it to set this whole table on fire, making the little telltales rethink their entire misguided, prejudiced lives.

Both Theo and Malfoy stilled, the latter blanching to ghost-like levels. Zabini, however, grinned at her foxily. He opened his mouth, probably to goad her, but Hermione was seemingly at the end of her tether.

"I am going to kill you, Zabini." At her words, the mischief in Zabini's chocolate eyes vanished, and his smile froze. "I do not know when, or how, but it will be slow and painful."

"Come on, coure mio, it can't be that bad. Tea with the nice lady, maybe some biscuits? The Malfoy house-elves are quite the revered bakers."

It was the entirely wrong thing to say to her at that moment, and it must have shown on her face, as the man retreated a bit.

"Statistically, women prefer poisoning." She stated, then pointed at his plate. "I'd be careful with my pancakes if I were you."

Before the sneak could utter a word, Hermione pulled on the privacy barrier, pushing him outside.

Then she broke into laughter.

"Am I a good Slytherin yet?" she asked cheerfully, rendering both remaining snakes speechless.

"You are absolutely terrifying," Theo confirmed after some moments, making her grin, and him furrow his brows even further. "You are happy about it?"

"I think I will need every bit of slyness to survive your dog-eat-dog world. I'm practising." She shrugged. "Plus, I must've done something right to get Narcissa's attention so quickly."

"You planned this?" Draco finally found his voice.

"Maybe?" She said mysteriously, before leaving the two stunned snakes to their thoughts.

—

Hermione waited outside Minerva's office, nearly bouncing in excitement. With a single lesson, she stirred up the Purebloods and secured herself the best source about their culture she could think of.

Honestly, the thought of going to Malfoy Manor was paralysing. Her wound still itched like it was fresh, and she could've sworn she heard Bellatrix's cackle from one of the shadows, but she had already decided.

She knew that changing her name and embracing her heritage would come with many complications, but she reasoned, that as long as she learned everything she could, things would work out in the end. The address on the letter proved that Malfoy did not tell his parents about her bloodline. She would use this to finagle as much information out of the witch as possible.

Somewhere, deep down, in the darkest corners of her heart, Hermione was thrilled about this new and dangerous challenge.

The Gargoyle moved from the way, but no one exited the Headmistress's office. She hesitated for a bit, before hearing the old witch call for her.

She entered and was surprised to see their new Muggle Studies teacher, the Ministry-appointed Miss Cassandra Hyde. She was a lanky woman, her black hair always pulled into a messy bun. Her unfortunate proportions combined with the teacher's robes made her look like a Dementor.

"Please, Miss Granger, have a seat." Minerva offered warmly, so she did just that. "We were just discussing your proposal with Professor Hyde."

Hermione snapped to attention immediately.

The Dementor smiled at her warmly, and it threw Hermione for a loop. "Yes, I must say it is extraordinary. No one had ever dived this deep into Muggle studies, and most certainly not for a self-study group. You are brilliant, Miss Granger."

Hermione felt herself blush. "Thank you, Professor."

"We are happy to allow you the requested… freedoms, as long as it only involves adult students. Of course, the other parts can be held for all ages." McGonagall announced. Hermione's grin reached ear to ear. She was ready to leave and jump into action immediately, but Professor Hyde's voice stopped her.

"I only regret that you must start with such a… shameful class," she mused.

"What do you mean, Professor?" she asked.

"They are beyond hope if you ask me. For example, the Malfoy heir could not get a single acceptable on any of his papers this year. If this keeps up, he will be getting very familiar with his father's old cell in Azkaban next summer."

Hermione felt her heart skip two beats as she stared at the professor and the nonchalant way she handled the possible incarceration of one of her students. She looked at Minerva, but the witch's face was unreadable.

Physically shaking herself back to functional, she looked the new professor in the eyes.

"I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't-"

"Don't bother, Miss Granger," she cut her off. "Honestly, your talents are wasted on these… deviants."

She ushered Hermione from McGonagall's office, whispering in her ear just before she left the Gargoyle.

"Sometimes you have to let them rot."

—

Hermione dashed through the corridors, pushing through students and taking shortcuts where she could. Thankfully, the two men were still at the table, no doubt discussing her supposed plans. They both looked at her at the same time, and with similar expressions of worry, but she ignored it all.

"Malfoy," she barked. "Grab your coat. We're going on an adventure."

A/N: Thank you for reading! Next time… adventure? ;)

Let me know what you think!

Love,

LydieBerry