A/n:

Hi guys~~ hope you are all enjoying my story. As mentioned before, I will try to keep the biweekly update schedule (plus or minus a few days). The next chapter is almost done but still needs fine-tuning. I can't wait for you guys to read it.

Tuesday

Hermione went to the library again the next day.

No one would be surprised if she went there every single day. Even Harry and Ron were used to her disappearance after lessons and meeting her again in the Great Hall for supper with new books in her hands, and just to see her disappear again right after dinner.

The Polyjuice Potion was complicated, and Hermione figured it was best to learn more about each ingredient before preparation. Also, there was an essay for History of Magic, due after Christmas. She needed more in-depth research to complete it. Then there were a few more things she needed to read about.

I need to go to the library. It's necessary.

She kept repeating it in her head as she stepped into the library. She took some time searching for the related aisles and picked up a few books from the shelves.

The library was not as crowded as she thought. It should be a good thing since fewer people meant fewer disturbances. She would choose a spot with fewer students around but today, everywhere seemed to fit the description.

She looked at the empty chairs in front of her, hesitating whether to sit down or not. Normally, she would be sitting and reading by now.

Any seat would work.

She tried to convince herself but her jumpy heart and curious consciousness said otherwise. To put it simply, she didn't go there with the purest intentions.

She was pacing back and forth until a group of older students asked for the empty chairs, forcing her to go somewhere else. She looked around the library trying to search for a quiet spot, and her gaze eventually fell upon the familiar corner.

To be fair, it was the best corner in the library. Hardly anyone ever visited that section. It was not spacious, only two seats were available in that corner, with one completely blocked by a bookshelf. It almost felt like the world had forgotten your existence the moment you settled in that corner. It was so isolated that even the lone wolves stayed away from those seats.

Hermione sometimes enjoyed the feeling of being forgotten. Behind all the brilliance and wits, she was only a girl. She didn't need people screaming 'brightest witch' and praising her all the time everywhere. Sometimes she just wanted to escape into her personal space, but being in a boarding school every day made things difficult, especially for someone like her being in a magical world for only the second year. Going to the library already served the purpose of isolating herself from the crowd, but the corner seat was just the cherry on top.

But Draco Malfoy was never the odd man out. Or so she thought. He was always the centre of attention, perhaps only second to Harry. He was often surrounded by his loud and noisy friends, but he would always stand out from the group. From his strong features to his stately posture, you could tell he was the one who called the shots.

So why did Draco Malfoy 'claim' an unwanted seat? It just didn't make any sense.

This question had been lingering in her mind since her departure yesterday. She couldn't come up with any sensible answer, and as an inquisitive person, she couldn't stand any unanswered question.

The only way to know what was in his head was to talk… to him.

Hermione didn't particularly like this idea. They were not on the best of terms. Despite their mutual apologies, he had shown her again and again that he loathed her, her blood to be exact. If he was never going to look past her blood status, they could never truly get along.

The conversation with Draco Malfoy in the library was unexpected, to say the least. Sometimes she even wondered if she had imagined the whole encounter in her head, but when she read her Polyjuice Potion notes and saw the tidy, cursive handwriting, she knew it was more than just a dream.

To be honest, Hermione sometimes wondered what it would feel like spending time with Draco Malfoy like two normal kids. They were so different yet somehow so similar. In her mind, that's what she envisioned as a perfect friend, who could complement you with their differences while sharing common interests and goals.

At the same time, Hermione weirded herself out for having the idea of being friends with Draco Malfoy. He was mean and self-centred. Some might even consider him as a bully. Trying to get close to him was basically asking for trouble. Perhaps that was what people regarded as Gryffindor's stupid bravery.

As her troubled mind was playing tricks on her, her legs had brought her to the small corner.

She took a deep breath and sighed. Sometimes she really wished she could turn off her brain and stop overthinking.

She placed herself in the seat behind the bookshelf and lowered the heavy books.

She could've chosen the other seat but she didn't. It wasn't because he had 'claimed' the seat, nor because she thought hiding herself away from sight would be less likely to drive him away.

No. There wasn't any particular reason, or so she told herself.

As time went by, Hermione immersed herself in the complex books about potions and history, finally able to withdraw herself from her crazy twisted thoughts. But the moment didn't last, much to her dismay. When curfew time approached and students were leaving the library, her attention shifted to the empty seat.

Maybe it was just a one-time thing.

She packed her things and took some time to return the books to the shelves. Before she left the library, she took one last glance at the empty seat. She didn't know what to think, but the hollowness in her heart sank in.

Wednesday

"I'll go with you." Pansy stood up and walked towards Draco. Her food was still on her plate, unfinished.

"What?" That was unexpected from Pansy. "I am going to the library," Draco explained again, putting stress on every word. Pansy was not the kind of person who could survive in a quiet place, so he was absolutely positive that he would get kicked out because of her.

"I know," she nodded. Crabbe and Goyle were still digging at their plates, and filling them again with another round of dessert. It was no wonder why they were as chubby as they were. Blaise and Theo on the other hand stopped chatting and looked over to Draco and Pansy. They didn't mind studying, it just wasn't important enough for them to go to the library. The slightly crowded study hall was just right, giving them a bit of incentive to study and a perfect place to eavesdrop on stories and gossip. Right now, they were enjoying the drama playing out in front of them.

"And you want to go to the library? You're serious?" Draco started to get annoyed. He might not be the greatest in socialising, but he definitely wasn't so dumb that he didn't notice Pansy's intention. And since he didn't feel the same way, he was not thrilled about the idea of being with her alone.

"Well, I…" The words didn't come out as Pansy planned. After all, the library was actually the last place she wanted to go. She looked away embarrassed, trying to find the right words.

Great, now she's upset.

Draco looked over to Blaise and Theo desperately for help, but the two only returned the most mischievous, triggering smiles.

Draco sighed. He was not good at comforting people, especially girls.

"Look, my father has high expectations, and I need some alone time to work on my stuff. I'll be back at the dormitory before curfew. I'll… see you around?"

He could already imagine what Blaise and Theo would say to him at night and definitely tease him until the end of the world.

Draco never thought comforting Pansy would be an actual problem. As much as having a girl in their friends' group provided a different kind of laugh, sometimes it just got annoying, especially when feelings were involved. More importantly, she was a pure-blood. It meant if she was serious about it and told her parents, it would no longer be a teenage matter but a family matter. It wouldn't guarantee anything, but his father would make sure taking care of her feelings became another one of Draco's duties. And having one more person reporting to his father, would be the worst.

Before his burdened thoughts brought him too far ahead of the future, his legs had led him to his favourite spot.

As per usual, no one was using his seat, not even the tiny spot behind the bookshelf. Somehow, a bit of disappointment started to settle in.

There's nothing to be disappointed about.

At least that's what he told himself, but he couldn't stop the image of Hermione from appearing in his head.

He could imagine her completely burying herself in the books, with her curls hanging over on the sides to cover the surrounding vision. She would be writing so intensely that all she could hear was the sound of her quill dragging aggressively across the parchments. She would be so focused to not notice if he had walked up behind her, and get jumpscared when he called her out, just like the previous day. She would be so pissed with blood rushing to her cheeks, and filling her tiny body with fumes.

That's a scene he could laugh about all day, and he would pay to see it all over again.

As he proceeded to sit down and start studying, he noticed something different. Someone else had been using this corner, leaving a strange yet familiar scent. But with the heavy workload, he didn't put much thought into it.

An hour passed by and Draco started to get tired. Usually, he would be up for another hour of reading alone, but today, the quiet and lonesome library hit differently. He quickly packed up his belongings and returned to his dormitory.

As he passed through the school courtyard, he saw three familiar shadows entering the school halls. Draco distanced himself from the group, not wanting to be spotted alone by them.

"I really love Hargrid's, but I just wish for one week he wouldn't have some weird creatures lying around. It's terrifying," said Ron, with his usual exaggerated tone. His two friends laughed along as they disappeared together through the courtyard gate.

Draco followed the same track as he left the courtyard. As he walked through the gate, he swore there was a hint of lavender and old parchment, reminding him of the small corner in the library.

Thursday

Draco didn't show up today either.

Hermione left the library earlier today. Not that she had nothing else to read or study, but the longer she sat in that little corner, the more disappointed she felt. After two days' worth of thinking, she decided that she indeed wanted to know him better.

She completely understood the fact that it was impossible to please every person in the world, and so she was utterly sure that she was not trying to make peace with him just to make her school life more comfortable.

She recalled having puppy love towards a classmate before Hogwarts. He had the most golden hair she had ever seen. Of course, nothing happened as she realised it was no more than a stupid crash. As for Lockhart, she was certainly most disappointed with herself that she once found him attractive in any way. It was obvious that he was not the person he claimed to be. For someone who allegedly fought against Banshees and Trolls, and couldn't even handle a bunch of pixies and had students clean up his mess, was simply absurd. His inability had made her question why Professor Dumbledore had hired him as their teacher.

Then there was Draco Malfoy, a complete mystery. He was definitely not the nicest person. He was mean and arrogant since the first day they met, and he was probably whom muggles considered as a racist. But despite his obvious disgust for muggle-borns, she strongly believed that there was another side to him. She was also astonished by how he sounded so passionate and confident when he talked about potions, which she couldn't help but find charming. He also didn't come across as the kind of person who would usually apologise, but when he did apologise on Monday, she knew there was something else hiding underneath the mask that he wore.

Draco Malfoy was more than a mean bully, and she was determined to uncover the other side of him.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as she wanted. She almost wondered if he had abandoned his spot just because of her.

"I swear on Merlin's beard, that was not a bloody friendly!" Ron's voice echoed through the whole common room, making sure everyone could hear his anger when they stepped into the dormitory and Hermione was no exception.

She moved towards the common room and saw the Quidditch team with a few others sitting around the fireplace, having a heated discussion.

"They were all bloody aiming at you!" Ron shouted.

Hermione didn't understand what was happening but judging from the direction of Ron's words, he was referring to Harry. "What's wrong? Something happened?" she asked worriedly as she sat next to Harry.

"It's Quidditch Game all over again, just this time they don't have a tampered Bludger." The memory of Harry being knocked off the broom and breaking his arm flashed through her mind, making her shiver. "I am telling you, it was the Slytherins' doing," said Ron.

Hermione looked over to Harry, wide-eyed, giving him the look that was asking him if he had told Ron the truth. Harry shrugged and returned the look that reminded her it was a decision made by the two of them.

Although the three of them had only known each other a bit over a year, Hermione and Harry were definite that Ron held a serious grudge against all Slytherins, especially Draco Malfoy. They hadn't had a chance to ask for any reason, since Ron immediately got frustrated whenever Draco's name came up. It didn't seem possible to tell Ron that the Quidditch incident had nothing to do with Draco without having an argument. Eventually, they decided not to say anything, and let things play out naturally.

While Ron continued to rant about how despicable the Slytherin team was with others watching him in amusement, Hermione instead had her attention on something else.

"So… you guys have friendly matches? I thought the house teams only play against each other during the Quidditch Game." She turned to Harry.

"Oh yeah, we have friendlies every Thursday. It's actually quite fun to play with the other teams. Maybe not so much with the Slytherin," he replied.

So Draco was in Quidditch practice today.

"I see. But you do have separate training, right?" Hermione tried to sound less curious than she actually was.

"Yeah, we do. Our regular training is on Mondays," said Harry while Ron still wouldn't let go of his argument. "You know, sometimes I do relate to Ron."

Hermione looked over to Harry with a bit of surprise.

"The Slytherin's training is on Tuesdays, but they always try to take over the court on other days as well. It takes us so much time to scoot them out, wasting our practice time. Maybe that's their plan of ruining our training."

Usually, Hermione would get a bit annoyed when she heard such nonsense, but she had her mind set on something else.

She would go to the library again.

Friday

Draco quickly finished his meal and left the dining hall before Pansy could even say a word. He didn't want to waste any energy or time to persuade Pansy not to follow him. He just hoped she would someday be self-conscious enough to stop bothering him on this matter.

As he approached the library corner, he could tell someone was sitting behind the bookshelf, and as he got closer, the familiar scent hit him again.

There she was, Hermione Granger, sitting behind the bookshelf.

As predicted, she was too focused to notice him.

With his books in his hands, he slammed them on the desk with a bit of force, not too loud to cause any attention, but just enough to make her jump.

"I see that you've learnt not to take someone's seat," Draco said with a hint of smirk.

Hermione gave him a side eye before returning her focus to her assignment. "Still, I don't see your name on it."

Draco chuckled. She never backed down on anything.

They didn't speak much, as they both were working on different subjects, Hermione on the Herbology assignment and Draco on the History of Magic essay. Occasionally, Hermione would look over when Draco started to get frustrated and aggressively flipping the pages of his reference book.

"What?" Draco asked impatiently when he realised he was being watched.

"Nothing," Hermione whispered, and quickly switched her gaze back to her own notes.

"You know, it's not polite to stare." His words made Hermione squint at him. He could tell she was a proactive person so even though he had never seen her work on the essay, he knew that she had completed it already. "And being helpful is actually a good virtue," he added.

Hermione rolled her eyes at his obvious smirk. Draco however, found teasing her quite entertaining, which temporarily lifted away his stress. He watched her little hand scribble on the long parchment for a while before returning to his task.

Hermione could feel his stare shifting away and she pondered a moment. Recalling his advice on the Polyjuice Potion, she casually returned the favour, "Page 215. You might find something useful."

When the other students were leaving as it was almost curfew, Draco started to pack his things as well. It would be better if they left separately, since the last thing he wanted was to be seen with a muggle-born. He decided to be the first to leave, after all, he was the one in the outer seat.

Hermione was still concentrating on her work when he stood up. Even though they didn't have much interaction, Draco still enjoyed the short period of company. It was a nice moment, and he didn't want it to end. He wondered if this could happen again or if it was just another one-time thing, so he plucked up the courage and asked, "I'll see you around?"

Hermione didn't look up or reply, but he knew he caught her attention when she stopped writing. Just in the slightest shift, she nodded once before continuing to scribble.

She stayed for a few more minutes after Draco left, just to make sure no one could see them together. She quickly tidied her things and went back to the dormitory. She kept her head down all the way back and avoided her friends with the excuse of being tired. She took a quick shower and tugged herself into bed. When she was finally underneath her blanket, she stopped holding back and fell asleep grinning from ear to ear.

That night, Draco had a great time with his friends. He was more talkative than usual and shared a few happy memories. The boys were overly excited by his stories, with only Pansy feeling left out and bittered.

He talked about meeting a girl in Flourish and Blotts. She had the largest glasses hanging on the bridge of her nose and the craziest hair tied into a ponytail. They never talked, but he could tell she was the intelligent kind. When the boys asked if she attended Hogwarts, Draco replied no, adding that if she did attend Hogwarts, he would have recognised her immediately.

Hermione's name was never once mentioned. But Draco did imagine if she were to wear glasses, a nice pair of big round glasses would suit her well.