One second she was rapidly on her way to painfully plant her face flat on the floor smeared with dragon blood, the next she found herself tightly wrapped in Draco Malfoy's arms. He looked about as shocked as she felt when she'd discovered who her saviour was, and Hermione concluded that the world had officially gone mad.

"For goodness sake, Mr Nott, clean up this mess and be quick about it!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed. "What a waste, what a waste... Ms Granger, are you alright? No harm done?"

"I'm fine," Hermione squeaked uncertainly. Malfoy was still holding her, and she was quite certain that he was paralysed and probably mentally cursing himself for what he'd just done. She tried to move out of his grip, but his arms had gone rigid. "Um — Malfoy?" she muttered hesitantly, not sure if she wanted him to snap out of his trance.

He let go of her instantly and turned his back to her, something she'd expected. Professor Slughorn asked them to put away their potions and leave early, seeing as how this class had quickly become quite a disaster. Hermione moved back to her table where Ernie was cleaning up. She put the potion in the cabinet where the seventh-years kept the potions in progress and grabbed her bag. She quickly apologised to Ernie and hurried out of the classroom.

Once she was back on the ground floor, she made for the Marble Staircase with the intention to go up to the Head's Tower and hide in her dormitory for a little while, but she was so plunged in thought that she didn't pay attention to the world around her and walked straight into someone.

"Ow! I'm so sorry, I wasn't—oh my god, Harry?!"

She immediately abandoned her book bag and threw herself at the bespectacled boy in front of her. Hugging him tightly with her face buried in his shoulder, she started crying. Seeing her very best friend after all this time was like coming home after a long journey.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry Potter murmured into her hair, hugging her back just as tightly. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," she answered as she let go of him slowly. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and stared at her friend. "What are you doing here? I know you said you'd be visiting soon, but I didn't expect to see you this soon."

Harry brushed his messy black hair out of his face. "McGonagall owled me yesterday and said she had time for me today. I wanted to let you know but I thought it'd be a nice surprise." They had starting ascending the stairs and moved through the corridors to the Headmistress' office. Hermione noticed that Harry hadn't answered her question about why he was here, but she didn't ask again.

When they reached the gargoyle Hermione felt a little awkward. "Do you want me to wait here?"

"No, don't be ridiculous!" Harry answered, taking her arm. "When did I ever keep something from you?" She smiled at him as he said the password and together they made their way up. Harry knocked on one of the double doors and at Professor McGonagall's request, they entered the office.

"Mr Potter — Harry — it's good to see you again." The Headmistress smiled as she rose from her seat. "And Ms Granger, why am I not surprised to see you here?"

Harry smiled as he and Hermione both sat down on the chairs in front of the desk. "It wasn't planned, actually, she just literally ran into me downstairs." He looked at her and narrowed his eyes a little. "What was going on, actually? You seemed a bit upset, now that I think about it..."

"Oh, it was nothing," she reassured him quickly. "I just had a near-death experience during Potions. Theodore Nott spilled dragon's blood on the floor and I slipped and nearly set my hair on fire." Harry's words from earlier echoed through her mind. When did I ever keep something from you? She dismissed the brief hit of guilt she felt. There were probably more important matters at hand right now; she would tell him afterwards.

They discussed Harry's work at the Ministry of Magic and the developments that were being made, as well as the Aurors' progress in catching Death Eaters that were still on the run. Professor McGonagall also asked about Neville Longbottom, who was, according to Harry, quickly becoming as good as his parents had been, even though he had already mentioned during the early stages of their training that he didn't want to be an Auror forever.

"Well," Professor McGonagall said eventually, "let's move on to the reason for your visit, Harry. What can I do for you? I was under the impression that all Auror-related communications would go through Head Auror Robards."

"They do, Professor. That's not why I'm here." The-Boy-Who-Lived sat up a little straighter and cleared his throat. "You may not like this, but I've done a lot of thinking the past few months, and I want to make a suggestion about something I feel strongly about." He glanced up at the empty portrait behind the large desk. "I had hoped Professor Dumbledore would be here, I could have used his support," he muttered.

"I'm sorry, Harry," the Headmistress said apologetically. "His presence was requested at the International Confederation of Wizards for the election and eventual appointment of a new Supreme Mugwump. His input is still greatly valued. But do go on," she frowned, getting back on-topic.

"It hasn't escaped my attention that the last time I was here, a portrait of the most recent Headmaster was missing, and still is."

"Mr Potter, you're not actually proposing what I think you're proposing, are you?" Professor McGonagall barked after a moment of silence, sounding rather shocked.

"I think it's a good idea."

Both Harry and Professor McGonagall turned their attention to her the second she spoke. "Ms Granger..." the Headmistress said weakly. "Why would you think that?"

Hermione shifted in her seat. "Well, we know what he did, and why. He spied on Voldemort for Professor Dumbledore, which must have been incredibly difficult, not to mention dangerous. Voldemort was one of the most skilled Legilimens of all time; it can't have been easy to keep his true intentions from him. A single moment of weakness and he would have been discovered. I think it was rather courageous."

"You'll be defending Snape until the very end, won't you, Hermione?" Harry asked teasingly as she shook his head, referring to all the times she had been sceptical and dismissive about their many theories on where Snape's true loyalty laid.

"But she's right," he said, turning his attention back to Professor McGonagall. "What he did was very brave and he has proven himself to be, in fact, on our side. He has protected me for so long, without him I probably would have been dead seven years ago."

Professor McGonagall sighed and took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes with her index finger and thumb. "It's not that I don't see your point, Harry, it's just... I think you're right, it may have been better if Albus were here." She put her glasses back on. "I will not make promises today, but I will discuss it with Albus once he returns, and I will let you know my decision."

"Okay," Harry said, nodding his head. "I would like to visit Hagrid, is that okay?"

"But of course. However, I must ask you to stay away from the students as much as you can. It's been hard enough to keep them at bay around Ms Granger; you may not make it out alive once the younger students see you here in the flesh. You're quite a hero for most of them."

"Thank you, Professor," he muttered, blushing uncomfortably.

The Headmistress smiled and nodded. "Please give my warmest regards to Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbotom. I will owl you about my decision regarding your request. You may stay until dinner, as I'm sure you'd like to see your friends, but once dinner is being served in the Great Hall I must ask you to leave." She shook his hand and Hermione followed her best friend out the office.

"You did the right thing, Harry," Hermione told him as they made their way through the corridors. "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will agree with you."

"I know he will." The dark-haired boy smiled. They rounded a corner and sat down on one of the window sills near the Marble Staircase, and Harry grinned at her with pride. "So, Hermione, tell me, how are you? Enjoy being the Head Girl?"

She shot a weak smile back at him, knowing this was the moment where she would have to tell him everything. "I suppose I do, yes."

"Which blessed soul is it you have the pleasure of working with?"

Hermione looked down at her hands and sighed. "Draco Malfoy."

She heard her friend inhale sharply and decided to continue now that she had begun. "Professor Dumbledore appointed him and Professor McGonagall has given me the task of monitoring him to see how well he behaves. To do so, she has arranged for us to stay in a separate Head's Tower." Harry remained silent for a while, and after a good minute Hermione dared to look up at him. He was staring out of the window, his eyes were dark and his jaw set.

"Harry?" she murmured carefully. Her best friend returned his gaze to her, anger flickering in his eyes.

"How could they do this to you? After everything that has happened? What he's done? After you've been tortured in his home?!"

"I have asked them that myself, Harry, and I'm not happy about it either. But it is what it is and believe it or not, Malfoy has actually shown some effort to act civil."

"The coward," Harry spat angrily, and she wasn't sure whether he had even listened to her. "Receiving bloody honours but instead they're sold to him as punishment. Merlin, it just makes no sense!"

"I know, Harry," Hermione muttered. "I told them it should've been Anthony Goldstein, but Professor Dumbledore felt that he owed Malfoy for not protecting him the way he should have."

"I can't believe this," Harry growled in response. "And I actually wanted to see him, to give him this." He took a wand out of his robes; the wand Hermione knew was used to kill Voldemort. Draco Malfoy's wand.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Hermione, what the hell was that for?"

Hermione skilfully caught the wand and put it away. "Considering your current mood I don't think it'll be wise for you to confront him, and a confrontation is needed because you've won his wand's loyalty, which he'll now have to earn back through me."

Harry stared at her with unflattering disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? You're not actually thinking about duelling Malfoy, are you?"

"I just might propose that, yes," Hermione snorted. "After all, I have to spend every day in his presence; this might be just what I need to blow off some steam."

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Harry exclaimed, but he couldn't fight back a smile. They sat next to each other in comfortable silence for a while, grinning. It was so good to have him around again, even just for a little while. She had missed Harry so much; it honestly felt as though he hadn't seen her brother for months.

"How's Ron?" she eventually asked softly.

The dark-haired boy next to her sighed sadly. "Still not great, but it gets better little by little every day. I've managed to get him out of his room, so that's a start. I think I'll be able to get him to join me at the Ministry quite soon. I think he's ready." He glanced at her. "You haven't seen him at all this summer, have you?"

She shook her head, blinking away the tears that were fighting their way to the surface. "No... Not since Fred's funeral. He wasn't even at King's Cross to see Ginny off..."

"He'll get better, Hermione," Harry murmured, grabbing her hand.

"I know," she whispered, wiping away the tears that had managed to escape. "It's just hard... I really needed him after returning from Australia and he kept avoiding me. I needed him, Harry," she sniffed. "We were finally making progress, after all these years we were finally heading in the right direction, and now..." A loud sob escaped her and she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.

Harry pulled her into an embrace, hugging her tightly as Hermione released all the tears she had been holding in and all the sorrow she had felt. She sobbed into his shoulder, not caring about being strong anymore. She had been strong for long enough now, it was her turn to be sad. She knew Harry understood; he understood better than anyone else how she felt.

"It'll be okay, Hermione," Harry soothed softly. "You and Ron will find your way back to each other. It might not be next week, it might not even be this year, but you will. You've loved each other for so long and we've all been through this together, he knows that you understand how he feels. He will allow you back in eventually, but he needs time. And perhaps you do too."

"What do you mean?" she sniffed quietly as Harry pulled away and wiped away some tears from her cheeks.

"Ron needs to get through his with his family, he'll need some time. You sent off your parents to keep them safe, and I'm pretty sure that terrifies them in ways we may not even understand. You need to be there for them, and allow them to be there for you. Talk to them, Hermione."

"I... I can't possibly tell them everything."

"You have to tell them as much as you can. They have a right to know, Hermione. You have spent so much time in the Wizarding World, they should know who their daughter is and what she's done."

His green eyes expressed concern, and Hermione knew he had a point. She had been keeping so much from her parents to keep their minds at ease, but that meant that she had also kept a lot of her personal development from them. They were not fully aware of who she was right now, and it wasn't fair. "You're right," she conceded softly. "I suppose I should start telling them during the Christmas holidays."

"Aren't you spending the holidays at the Burrow?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Yes, I am," Hermione replied quickly. "But only a few days during the second week. I haven't seen my parents in over a year. I want to spend Christmas and Easter with them."

Harry nodded. "Of course. But seriously, how are things between you and Malfoy? Will you be able to handle him?"

She huffed and shot him a mock glare. "You're asking me whether I can handle Malfoy? You haven't been very observant over the past few years, have you? Because I'd say I've handled him better than you and Ron together ever have."

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Harry exclaimed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Of course you can handle him, how dare I even ask?"

They laughed and Hermione rested her head against Harry's arm. "I wish you could stay," she murmured. "Ginny's great, but she can't replace you and Ron."

"You should have tried harder to make us love all your activities." Harry grinned. "Things like homework, and S.P.E.W... We might have stayed."

A knot in her stomach tightened, a knot of which she wasn't even aware it had been there in the first place. She instantly zoned out and thought of her blunders again. "Oh, Harry..." Harry immediately snapped his mouth shut and stared at her with a concerned expression on his face.

"What's the matter, what did I say?"

"It's just... Malfoy and I had a fight the other day... And he shoved a book under my nose with information about the house-elves at Hogwarts..." Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I've been so stupid, Harry. Apparently, Helga Hufflepuff herself arranged for the elves to have work here, to give them a safe place where they wouldn't be abused by wizards, and I ruined everything with my stupid hats."

For some reason Harry had begun to smile with relief, a reaction she didn't understand. "Oh, Hermione, please don't worry about that! We caught Dobby in the common room once, and he told me that the other house-elves refused to clean the Gryffindor Tower anymore because of your hats, so Dobby did it by himself. You haven't freed any elves against their will, Hermione, I promise you. We just... we didn't have the heart to tell you at the time, you were so enthusiastic about it..."

Hermione stared at him. "Really? You're not making this up to make me feel better, right?"

"You're not seriously asking me that, are you?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows.

She sighed with relief and rested her head against the cold stone wall behind her. So she hadn't ruined lives; she wasn't a horrible person. Hermione vowed on the spot that she would research everything thoroughly before launching herself into some new genius plan with nothing but a determination to do the right thing.

Harry looked down at his wristwatch and sighed. "Only thirty minutes left, I should head down to Hagrid's. Could you do me a favour?" he asked, looking up. "Could you find Ginny for me? I think she'll kill me if she finds out I was here without seeing her."

"Of course." Hermione smiled. "When I find her we'll come down to Hagrid's as well, okay?"

After Harry nodded in confirmation, they parted ways.

~ X ~

Ginny was uncharacteristically quiet during dinner. She stared at her plate with sad eyes and poked around her food. Hermione knew that it was because she had tried to make up for two months of lost time in only twenty minutes, and it hadn't nearly been enough. Ginny missed Harry just as much as she did — probably even more. Hermione didn't try to keep up a conversation as she didn't want to force anything, but she was grateful when Seamus and Dean decided to sit across from her and Ginny.

After having made a bit of small talk about their homework and other meaningless pleasantries, Dean put down his goblet and glanced at her with glinting eyes. "I discovered who my father was," he said, a broad grin on his face. "I'm now officially a half-blood wizard."

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed with excitement, having hastily swallowed her food. "How did you find out?"

"Harry helped me; he asked around at the departments within the Ministry and found someone, a professional detective of sorts, who was willing to help." He took a bite of his pork chop and washed it away with some pumpkin juice. "He was able to determine who my father was and what happened to him. Apparently, he refused to join the Death Eaters and he abandoned me and my mother to protect us. Unfortunately, he was killed soon after."

Hermione put down her fork. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Dean."

The dark-skinned boy gave her a half-hearted smile. "Yeah... It's fine, really. I've never known him, right? It'd be silly to grieve now. Besides, my Dad will always be my Dad; he raised me as his own. It's just... nice to know that my father didn't leave my mother without good reason, that he was trying to protect us."

"All in all, that's great news, Dean," said Ginny softly.

"Thanks, Ginny," smiled Dean. "It's nice to finally have some closure, I suppose."

He focused on his meal as Seamus started a conversation about Muggle football while Ginny grabbed a large chunk of chocolate cake. "Are you okay?" muttered Hermione. Ginny merely nodded in response and subsequently proved to be family of Ronald Weasley by shoving half of the cake into her mouth at once. Hermione momentarily stared at her with wide eyes, a bit shocked at her friend's sudden lack of table manners, but decided to keep her mouth shut about it. After all, she knew Ginny was upset, which was proven by her apparent desperate need for chocolate.

The boys eventually managed to have her engage in their conversation about the 423rd World Cup, which had been held a month prior in Japan. Bulgaria had been beaten by New Zealand in the semi-finals, a grumpy Viktor Krum had informed her through one of his most recent letters, and Japan had lost to Argentina. The finale between New Zealand and Argentina had been exceptionally long: the game had lasted for thirty-two hours until Claire Mulligan, the Seeker for the New Zealand team, had finally caught the Golden Snitch. She had refused to be substituted during the game and passed out from exhaustion immediately afterwards.

Hermione excused herself and left the Great Hall, making her way up to the Head's Tower with the intention of finishing up her research homework for Arithmancy, but the second she entered the common room through the portrait hole and noticed Malfoy sitting on the couch, she knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

The look on his face startled her. At first glance, he seemed to be positively livid, but after having stared at him for a moment, she saw that anger was not all he was feeling, there was some anxiety as well. He stood up and walked up to her, and for the first time, Hermione fully realised how tall Malfoy was and how intimidating he could be, staring down at her with those cold, grey eyes.

"Who did you tell, and what did you say?!" he demanded through gritted teeth.

Hermione stared up at him with genuine confusion. "What are you talking about? Who should I have told what?"

"Don't answer a question with another question! You know perfectly well what I'm talking about!" Malfoy snapped.

Potions. He was talking about the incident during Potions, a little voice in her head informed her. Of course he was; she should have expected as much, but Harry's brief visit had completely distracted her from it. "I haven't told anyone anything," she said softly, "but I don't see why it would matter if I had."

Malfoy took another step in her direction and she could actually feel his breath on her face. The way he was glaring down at her unnerved her but she tried not to show him. She prayed that he could not hear the way her heart furiously pounded in her chest. "Don't lie to me," he hissed. "I don't believe for a moment that you wouldn't spread the story of how the oh-so-horrible Draco Malfoy was actually kind enough to save you, and how there might actually still be hope for him."

"Believe what you want, I haven't said anything," Hermione scoffed. "I actually had something better to do this afternoon." With those words, she reached inside her robes and took out his wand. Malfoy instantly tried to snatch it out of her hands but she was too quick for him, and with a flick of the wand she threw him backwards onto the couch.

"How dare you!" he snarled angrily, glaring at her with disgust. "How dare you attack me with my own wand, you filthy Mudblood!"

"Self-defence," Hermione answered sharply. "And I will keep this until you stop behaving like this! I gave you a two-week trial for something you desperately want, but it doesn't look like you're going to pass." She folded her arms, keeping the wand tightly in her hand.

"That's theft, Granger," Malfoy hissed softly. "This is the second time I catch you with something you've taken without the owner's permission."

"Well actually, Malfoy," Hermione started slowly, "you are not the owner of this wand anymore. It is loyal to someone else at the moment, meaning it's mine right now."

His eyes widened in disbelief and Hermione walked over to the armchair across from Malfoy and sat down. She was confused about her feelings at the moment. One part of her was angry at Malfoy for behaving like some spoiled child; another part of her felt sympathetic towards his determination. He was clearly struggling between pleasing the people that expected things from him and staying true to the image he had built for himself over the years.

"I wish you would tell me why you're so determined to be the bad guy," Hermione said softly.

"And I just wish you would stop prying into my life," Malfoy answered, suddenly sounding tired. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Malfoy..."

"No!" he persisted tiredly. "I told you to stop! What I do, how I feel, it's my business, and I'll share it when I feel like sharing, with whomever I choose to share it with!" He rose from the couch and walked around it, moving away from her.

"You're not evil, you know. You made a mistake, we all make mistakes. That doesn't mean you should give up on kindness," she pleaded.

Malfoy stopped moving towards the door that led to his dormitory but didn't turn around. "You know nothing about me," he said softly, every trace of hostility vanished from his voice.

"I know you refused to confirm our identities when we were taken to your Manor. I know that may have saved our lives," she whispered. He whirled around so fast that Hermione realised too late that he had his wand pointed in her direction. She gasped as he Disarmed her, and the wand she had held tightly was now flying across the room, making its way towards its rightful owner.

"It's like you said, Granger," Malfoy said softly after having caught his wand, "we all make mistakes." With those cold words he turned on his heel and marched up to his dorm. Hermione remained seated, replaying his last sentence over and over, feeling as though she had just taken a blow to the stomach.