Three weeks pass and it seems like everything has finally settled into how it was.

Hermione hasn't heard anything from Ron, though there have been pictures of him in the Daily Prophet and headlines proclaimingThe Golden Trio is Finally Reunited that always spark a pain in her heart. Her and Draco still seemingly despise each other just as much as before. Christmas was only a few days away now but, though Hermione has made plans to go to her aunts home for the holiday, it doesn't mean that she stopped teaching Draco. It was, after all, his punishment.

So that's where they were that cold December morning, seated at a table in the warm library surrounded by mountainous piles of books. "Tell me who Sir Issac Newton was and what he did." Hermione says, not looking up from the book that was in front of her.

"He was an English physicist and mathematician who was a key figure in the scientific revolution. He formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation." Draco responds in a bored tone, flipping through the pages of the book that he is supposed to be reading. "Look Granger, let's go back home. I clearly know all of this and I see no reason to be here any longer."

"Galileo Galilei? Do you know who he was? Albert Einstein? James Clerk Maxwell? Charles Darwin? James Watt? Do you know all of them and what they have done to benefit the scientific world?" She asks all in one breath, turning to the next page in her book and continuing to read.

He narrows his eyes, pushing away the thoughts of how compelling she looks, and snaps his book closed. "Yes I know who they are, you've been drilling it into my head for the past three days. I could give you a list of over a hundred of the muggle scientists and tell you exactly who they are and what they have done. Does that satisfy you, professor?" He grounds out through clenched teeth, doing his best to maintain a calm composure so he wouldn't start yet another argument with the infuriating witch.

Every time they fought, he gets farther and farther from being able to tell her how he feels and he doesn't want to dig himself any deeper than he already is.

"I suppose so, let me finish this chapter then we can go." She says, turning the page and never looking away from the book.

Draco tries to fight it, the sudden swell he feels in his chest that comes everytime he's about to say something nasty, like the words are being dragged out of him, but the taunt slips out anyways.

"That's right, the precious bookworm doesn't keep books in her house anymore, she doesn't want to seem to boring for any other of her gentleman callers, so you have to do all your reading out of the house," he sneers, face twisting up in shame rather than the disgust she interprets it as.

She doesn't respond and Draco is torn between two separate sides of himself. One wanted to stop speaking horribly and to apologize to the witch who had captured his heart but the other wanted to keep going, to see how long it would take to get her riled up and angry with him. Much to his heartache, the latter won.

"I don't see why you try though, no man will ever want you anyway. You aren't exactly the prettiest fish in the sea." What a lie that is.

He watches her closely and could see her fingers twitching with controlled rage while her cheeks flame to an angry crimson. Just one more would certainly send her over the edge. Draco bites his tongue and pinches his leg, but the words spill out.

"You were lucky to catch the Weasel, with his stupidity it was no surprise that he turned a blind eye to your lack of beauty, but even he left when he found out how boring you really are." And that was all it took. The dark shadow of hurt in her eyes as they snap up to him is enough to send a crack right through his heart. He has caused her pain, yet again, because he simply can't control himself. He's no better than the weasel.

With as much skill as Draco himself possessed, Hermione throws on a mask of utter indifference for the rest of the world to see.

With cold steel in her voice, Hermione says, "we can leave now. I'd like to speak with you when we get home, though, so don't run off to your room."

He doesn't talk, only nods and stands up as she closes the book and leaves it on the table. Without so much as a glance his way, she marches out of the building and into the cold air. He has to jog to catch up, nearly slipping on the icy stairs that lead down to the sidewalk, and follows behind he as she walks to a nearby alley. She looks around for any one that might see them then, after deeming it safe to use magic, she pulls out her wand and grabs his arm. They disappear with a pop.

They have barely been in the house for a minute before she rounded on him with her eyes blazing and cold words spilling from her lips. "I want you to know something, you prat. If you ever bring up Ronald again, I will curse you so terribly even the greatest healer wouldn't know how to fix you. I didn't give you some special privilege when I told you about my past, so you have no right to mock me for it. I've done plenty of that on my own."

Draco's so startled he stumbles back a step, colliding with the wall. She's already darting through the house and out the back door before he can recover. The door slams closed behind her and Draco can see through the kitchen window as she disappears into the forest behind her house.

"When will she come back this time?" he wonders aloud, moving to the sofa and dropping down with a long-suffering sigh.

Hermione has been running into the forest a lot, and not returning for hours at at time with only a mumbled apology as explanation. He hasn't a clue what she does out there or where she might go, but he figures she must apparate away to somewhere nice. She always returns with a happy light in her eyes and a glow about her that is near irresistable. Wherever it is, he's glas she has it to make her feel better after he treats her so poorly.