A month had passed since Draco and Hermione moved in together. The days after Blaise's visit had gone by uneventfully, that is if you ignore Hermione banging at Draco's door every morning and evening, trying to force him out of his room and give him his treatment potions. Eventually she'd given up on that. She decided to leave the tray with the bottle of potions in front of Draco's door, without knocking or saying anything.

Draco, on the other hand, found it very annoying when she kept pestering him with the banging and yelling at his door. He was therefore very glad of the change in Hermione's behavior. Every day he waited for the right hour to open his door. After making sure she was gone, he would grab the tray, pull it inside his room and snapped the door closed quickly.

Hermione believed he was acting like a spoiled brat, but decided it was good enough he took his treatment. Therefore, she decided not to press the matter further. After all, she wasn't very keen on interacting with him much either. The rest of the time, they mostly kept to their own rooms, conjuring food whenever they were hungry.

Draco never got out of the flat. Not because Hermione or someone else forced him not to, but because he never felt the urge to do so. He felt safe inside, protected from the world and the people out there. That way he wouldn't have to deal with their whispering, pointing fingers at him or worse even, their look of disgust whenever they would turn their eyes at him.

Meanwhile Hermione, who had decided to take some time off from her work at St. Mungo's, was trying to keep a schedule, much like she'd always done even before she became Draco's sober companion. Every Friday evening, she would go out for two hours. She always left the flat and came back at the same hours, every Friday, without fail. She never told Draco where she was going, but he always heard her leaving.

That Friday though, something unexpected happened.

Hermione had left at the same hour she always did, leaving Draco alone. The sound of her Apparating away from the flat made him let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. He wasn't sure whether it was because he was relieved to be alone again or because of something else, but the fact remained that suddenly, he felt lighter in the chest. He decided to step out of his room and walk around the house for a little while, maybe even go out on the balcony and enjoy a bit of fresh air.

Unfortunately, outside was raining pretty badly and the open balcony was now out of the question. With a frustrated huff, Draco looked around the kitchen, checking it more thoroughly than he did the day he moved. Opening the cupboards one by one, he discovered everything one needed for brewing potions. He made a mental note to do just that next time Hermione left him alone. After finishing in the kitchen, he realized there wasn't anything interesting he could do, so he returned to his room.

Nothing very interesting waited for him there either.

After he spent an hour pacing around the room, picking up things and putting them back down, without realizing what he was doing, he finally worked himself tired. He threw himself on the bed and closed his eyes, laying there breathing slowly.

Even though his form looked peaceful, inside he was feeling a storm of emotions. Draco felt like a caged animal: annoyed, weak and powerless. All those days being cooped up in the flat were starting to take their toll on his psych. He was starting to feel suffocated.

Is this how the dragons from Gringotts felt? Poor creatures...

The thought came to his mind so suddenly that his eyes snapped open and his body almost jerked upward. Bad slump he was finding himself in if he was starting to pity creatures he'd never even given a thought to before. But now, the image of a big, white, half-blind and cowering dragon gave him a bunch of emotions he was finding hard to keep at bay.

Feeling powerless and scared was something Draco never wanted to experience again. It reminded him of his sixth year at Hogwarts and how everything changed for him afterwards. It had been very hard to maintain the apparent calm and cold façade in the years after Dumbledore's death and he wasn't going to let all his hard work go to hell. He had to be strong, to keep himself in control at all cost...

Draco's silent rambles got interrupted by a loud popping noise coming from the common room. Apparition sound. Hermione came back. Draco glanced at his watch and frowned. Barely an hour and fifteen minutes had past since Hermione left. It was too early for her to come back. Something just didn't seem right.

Did something happen?

Immediately after the thought crossed his mind, Draco distinguished other noises that made his frown grow deeper. Two loud consecutive thumps, like someone dropped something heavy on the wooden floor, followed by wheezes. Draco was instantly alert, jumping out of bed, taking out his wand as he was approaching the door. He listened intently. Years of living amongst Death Eaters made his ears get used to the sounds of pain brought on by torture. Even so, for some reason that wheezing was making his blood run cold.

He opened the door quietly and stepped into the hallway, taking a few steps until he reached the edge of the common room. Just as he was considering casting a silence charm on his feet, he saw who was making those blood curling sounds and was slightly taken by surprise.

,,Granger!" he exclaimed, lowering his wand slightly but still keeping a firm grip on it.

Relief crawled into his mind for a second, but it disappeared again in an instant. The sight of Hermione made him feel even more nervous than before. She was sitting on the floor, in a kneeling position, a big brown paper bag in front of her. Her breathing was erratic, as though she had run for miles.

Draco approached her slowly, still holding his wand tightly and glancing around to see if anything else was out of the ordinary. He also cast a few wordless spells, waving his wand in different directions. After he was done it was apparent that the only strange thing in the room was Hermione's state.

When he was two steps away from her, Draco lowered his wand and, as his alertness subsided considerably, his sarcastic and mean demeanor started showing on his face. He felt annoyed at her.

Scaring me like that for no good reason... Who does she think she is?!

,,What happened Granger? Did you steal a book and ran away from the angry librarian?" he drawled, leaning against a nearby wall.

He was watching with a cold and uninterested expression as Hermione was struggling to get up, pulling the brown paper bag along with her. Hermione looked up at him and frowned. It took her a few moments, but she had finally managed to catch her breath and she was now staring into his cold grey eyes, as she felt fire rising in hers. His snide comments were the last thing she needed at that moment. All she wanted to do was go to her room, away from him and think.

,,Mind your own business, Malfoy" she breathed out at him, a warning tint to her tone.

Draco started slightly. He didn't remember seeing Hermione Granger look at him that way before, not even in school. Behind all the emotions she contained, he could almost make out a small flicker of hate. He wasn't sure why, but he believed she herself wasn't aware of it being there.

,,Are you alright, Granger?" he asked, surprising even himself.

Hermione was also taken aback by his question but tried hard not to let it show on her face. She steeled herself against gravity and, hoping against hope she wouldn't collapse, she started walking towards her room, ignoring Draco completely.

Without thinking what he was doing, Draco pushed against the wall and went after her, trying to hold her steady. Hermione turned and slapped his hand away, making him flinch.

,,Civility doesn't suit you Malfoy" she threw at him mockingly.

A moment later she reached her room and closed the door shut, leaving Draco alone, looking more confused than ever.

Draco remained still for a full minute until his brain finally started sending signals to his muscles again. He slowly turned towards his own room, dragging his feet, feeling more baffled by the minute.

What was that all about? he thought.

As he reached the door to his room, he stopped to throw another look at the hallway that took to Hermione's room. Finally, after a moment, Draco shook his head and pushed the door open. When inside, he slid into one of the armchairs, head leaned back, and eyes closed. Mixed feelings of confusion and annoyance were battling inside him.

First, he was wondering what had gotten into Hermione, why had she acted the way she did. The state he'd just seen her in was no ordinary one and he was sure something happened but what? Had she been in a dangerous situation or simply exercised too much?

Another thing that was bothering him was the look she gave him. He could swear he saw that tiny shadow of hate behind everything else. Was it addressed to him? Did she indeed hate him, or did she simply hate the situation they were both in?

Dammit! Why so many questions?

His mind then showed him a scene that made his breath catch in his throat. The moment he leaned closer to her, trying to help her walk appeared in his mind just as uncalled for as the actual deed itself.

What the hell was I thinking? Nothing that's for sure. I must have been crazy thinking she would accept my help, especially after that snide remark.

Draco opened his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. His feelings of frustration slowly transformed into something else: confusion and worry. He stared at the fireplace, mind racing. Was he feeling concern about Hermione or was he simply confused?

Or perhaps I'm growing stark crazy due to boredom he snorted inwardly, pressing his hands against his eyes and forehead, trying to clear his mind.

***

Meanwhile, Hermione was pacing her room, thinking fervently, Crookshanks following her trail. She had hurried back feeling, knowing in her gut someone was following her. But who was it and why?

She kept trying to run by every possible idea, but her mind stubbornly kept showing Draco Malfoy, first sneering like a prat, then trying to help her. She huffed, stopping dead in her pacing, making Crookshanks bump into her leg.

What is he playing at? First laughs at me like a git, then he comes to my rescue. Has he gone mad?

Hermione shook her head and tried to ignore any idea relating Draco and his strange behavior, but for some annoying reason she couldn't. She was sure that for a short instant she saw real concern in his eyes and felt his actions to be sincere. Not used to Draco Malfoy being nice, she had acted brashly and pushed him away, but she felt slightly guilty about it now. What if he meant it? Doesn't he deserve a chance to show his sincerity without being grilled for it?

Hermione was starting to feel tired. She let out a loud sigh and bent down to pet Crookshanks, who was pressing against her legs, purring.

I should really stop thinking about it. It's not even important right now, why Malfoy decided to act like that. It was probably just a whim.

***

Half an hour later, Draco heard Hermione leave again, this time through the door. He clearly heard the door opening and closing; therefore, he had no doubt about it.

Where the bloody hell is she going?

He looked at the watch and frowned. She'd never gone out that late and he hadn't heard her at his door. Brows furrowed, Draco opened his door and peered outside. Right in front of his door there was a tray with his treatment potions and a glass of something that looked like orange juice. Draco grimaced. He had never liked orange juice. He remembered how his mother always tried to make him drink it and he always fought her over it.

,,It's too sour, mum" he told his mother, grimacing at the sight of the orange liquid.

,,But it's healthy Draco" she said with a smile, pushing the glass towards him.

,,I'd rather drink any kind of slimy, gross potion than having to drink THAT", he said angrily, pointing at the glass.

Draco shook his head, making the memories fade from his mind. Looking through the hallway and into the common room, he realized he was alone again. Hermione had indeed left.

He went back, picking up the tray and placing it on the small table in front of the fireplace. With one gulp he took the first potion. It tasted foul, like something bitter that met sour along the way. The second potion wasn't any better, but at least it was more bearable. After finishing with them, Draco eyes the glass with the orange juice as if it was poison. He wasn't sure what to do with it. Drink it or throw it into the fire?

He took a moment, before he finally decided to get it over with quickly. He grabbed the glass and took it just like the first potion, in one swift gulp, clicking his tongue in disgust at the end.

,,Yuck" he said, whipping his mouth with the back of his hand.

No sooner had he said it, that he felt an interestingly nice taste in his mouth. He was surprised to realize that the juice actually tasted better after the two horrible potions he just took. It cleared his mouth and tasted almost sweet in comparison.

Bloody know-it-all he thought grudgingly, placing the glass back on the table. Where the heck did she go again? She's never gone out like this in a whole month.

He gasped, realizing what he just said, the thought making him scowl at the empty glass. He was thinking of her, almost worrying over her, like he cared.

But I don't. I don't give a damn about what happens with her he told himself.

Then, the image of Hermione kneeling on the floor, gasping for air flashed in his mind, making Draco groan loudly.

,,Damn it all!" he shouted, clenching his fists. ,, I always thought she was annoying, how she always put herself in all those situations back in school, but living with the woman proves to be far more annoying than anything she's done while at Hogwarts.

Draco tried hard to convince himself it's nothing he should concern himself with, that it's Hermione's business, but soon his curiosity and an acute feeling of boredom, got the better of him. He grabbed his wand and without thinking much about what he was about to do, in two seconds he was out of the flat as well.

Even after all his pondering and hesitation he still managed to catch up with her. Draco soon spotted her walking along the street, a few feet in front of him.

Of course, she's walking. She's bloody Hermione Granger and she has nothing to worry about.

The fact that he was now outside, walking on a street full of people, shook him to the core. He suddenly remembered, rather grudgingly, how difficult has been for him to show his face in public after the war, how people pointed at him, the looks they gave him, how they avoided him.

Trying hard not to go down that trail of thought, Draco clenched his fists hard and ignored everything else except for Hermione's back. She just reached an intersection and turned right on a small, clustered street, where she disappeared into a building. Draco reached the stop soon after and looked up.

,,Leaky Cauldron" he read, his eyes widening in surprise.