After some time spent in the library, Hermione finished out the rest of her classes. Figuring it would do her no good having her fellow classmates catch her moping on her first day. Which made her realize she shared two more classes with Ginny, Harry, Neville, Luna and oddly enough even Blaise, who honestly wasn't so bad. She had one more class with Draco though, who thankfully, ignored her for most of Astrology. Except for the few times she caught him staring at her, he would glance away just as quickly as she caught him.

She realized, unfortunately, that those particular classes ran a bit late. As of course, the only proper time of night to view those stars were in the middle of the night.

The rest of the day carried on about as well as it began. She found herself breaking up three more fights between students, not just Gryffindor and Slytherins it would seem, and had taken more points then she could count.

Hermione was just ready to collect her calming drought from Madam Pompfrey and try to get some rest.

After doing some light reading, having plucked a few books from the library about conflict resolution and the History of Hogwarts, just in case.

She just arrived to the hospital wing, when Madame Pompfrey spotted her from the across the room. Hermione could see she was still tending to the student who was stupifed earlier that day and quite a few other beds occupied as well.

"Ah, Miss Granger. What can I do for you?" She asked, dusting off her hands on her apron and briskly making her way towards the pantry where some of the potions were stored.

"Just came to pick up my calming draft you mentioned was ready for me?" She said a bit shyly, and Madame looked over at her in surprise.

"I already gave it to Mr. Malfoy for you my dear. You must've just missed him. He mentioned that you hadn't felt well after the long day, and requested for him to acquire it for you..." She drifted off and turned to Hermione fully, taking stock of the look on the witches face, Madame put one hand on her hip and the other rubbed her forehead.

"I take it you didn't send him then?"

"Of course not!" Hermione said with indignation. She felt her emotions roiling inside her. Anger, frustration, confusion and bitterness all swirling around her almost making her hair crackle. Why the hell would Malfoy take her potions? What did he want to gain from this? What did he want with them?

Hermione sighed, and shook her head rubbing her temples. Didn't matter now, she still needed the potions.

"I am sorry my dear, he was quite convincing. Considering you're prefects together and all..."

"It's alright Madame. Do you have a spare I could still have?"

Madame clucked her tongue and turned back to the pantry.

"I'm sorry Hermione, truly I am, but he took all that I had brewed for you."

Hermione almost started to cry right then, but Madame pulled something from the shelves and walked over to her with a small dark blue and silver vial in her hand.

"Dreamless Sleeping Draught for you my dear. The most potent I have. It's the best I can do before I can whip you up a new batch."

Hermione took it and thanked her profusely, looking forward to sleeping well for once and on the promise she would have a new batch of Calming drought by the next fortnight, she left to make her way to the Great Hall to grab a bite before she tucked into her books.

She had just rounded the corner to one of the corridors off the main hall, when she viewed Malfoy casually leaning against the wall, a small chest at his feet, and a sky blue potion bottle he happened to make dance between his palms.

Looking up at the sound of her steps coming to an abrupt stop, Hermione wanted to smack the smirk right off his stupidly perfect angular ferret face.

Instead she stomped right up to him, seeing red, and poked her finger into his chest.

"Why did you take my potions?!"

He shrugged, "Cause I wanted info, and I got it."

She poked him again, "You had no right."

Draco looked down at her finger in boredom and slowly plucked her finger away from his chest. Holding on to it tightly.

"I had every right."

Hermione's eyes widened as she tried to jerk her finger away.

"Say's WHO?!" She screeched, and Malfoy's eyes narrowed.

"Says me. I had to know if there was something actually wrong with you. I'm supposed to be working with you in this house unity bullshit for the rest of the fucking year. Stuck with playing the sodding gatekeeper against anyone who might want to hurt you because of who and what you are."

Hermione flinched, and Draco lowered his tone just slightly but dangerously.

"I had to know if you could go crazy on me at any moment, or any of the other students for that matter. You froze like a deer in wandlight, and I could see you wanted to flee faster than a Dementor from a patronus. I just wanted to make sure you weren't gunna snap anytime soon." Malfoy looked her over a few seconds before rolling his eyes and dropping her finger. "Though it may seem you might snap entirely on your own now."

Hermione pulled her hand back and flexed her fingers. She took a couple of breaths to calm the inferno of rage Draco had set ablaze in her chest. How dare he think she was crazy, how could he even think for a second she could harm—

Hermione closed her eyes and counted to ten, breathing in through her nose and out her mouth.

Then she opened her eyes.

"You, are a prick. I want my potions back, now." Hermione said with a forced calm, and Malfoy shrugged.

"You can have them. I don't need them. Seems we might be a little more similar than you think, Granger. Quest for knowledge and all that."

He passed her the potion bottle he was fiddling with and Hermione snatched it out of his hand before bending down to retrieve the small chest.

"Hardly. I study for facts, and history. Possibly the occasional legend or two. But not diving into someone's personal life just cause they feel like it's for their greater good."

Hermione straightened up while carrying the chest in her arms, the light sound of glass tinkling from within and gave him a haughty glare.

Malfoy smirked, and narrowed his gaze once more. "Careful Princess. If I remember a certain year correctly. You and your merry band of idiots polyjuiced yourselves to do exactly that."

He leaned forward closer to Hermione as she instinctively leaned back.

"And if my memory serves me correct, that turned into somewhat of a cat-tastrophe for you." He said watching her face turn red, and he laughed.

Hermione glared for a few more seconds before turning on her heel and leaving him leaning against the wall, not giving him the satisfaction of responding. She had only gotten a few steps before he called out after her.

"If you ever run out, I keep a stock in my dorms in the dungeons. You need only ask."

Hermione's steps stuttered, her thoughts reeling, wanting to turn and snap that she couldn't possibly and wouldn't ever want anything from him ever, but instead continued on even more quickly than before to the Great Hall.

She needed her friends and to get away from him.

—

It seemed the Great Hall had stocked all her favorite food when she practically plopped next to Pansy with a sigh and a dull thud of the chest onto the table.

She had saw Ginny next to her, with mild surprise. But hadn't noticed Harry sitting across from her until she looked up. With Neville and Luna next to him.

"I see you might have had a rather difficult time. Are you feeling alright?" She inquired and gave Hermione a sympathetic look.

"Yes." Hermione groaned, filling her goblet with pumpkin juice and taking a long drink. She wasn't going to flatter herself for a moment where she wished she could have a shot of smuggled fire whiskey like the nights her and Harry would try to wallow in their misery together when Ron abandoned her, them really. She missed the feeling of letting go.

"Well if it was anything like ours, I'm sure you saw how we have our work cut out for us." Neville said with a sigh. "I tried to break up all the arguments, but it just seemed like two more sprouted before I could end the first. This is a mess."

"It's not even like they're arguing about blood purity only." Ginny spoke up. "Some the arguments are very personal. People's families were murdered by other people's families. They're personal vendettas. Or grudges. How to you stop that?"

Ginny asked her eyes tightening as she stared at her plate. "So many years of morals that have to be unlearned. It's maddening."

Hermione sighed and looked over at Pansy who was picking at her food, but then surprisingly she opened her mouth.

"I know it seems...difficult now. Everyone is still so hostile cause, I mean, some of our parents are currently in Azkaban. I mean, not that they don't deserve to, to answer for what they've done, but it's still— it's still something that matters. To some." Pansy sighed and seemed to deflate as the air left her.

"I dunno. I reckon people might just have a lot of anger that they might have to get through. Or sadness, or mostly even regret." Pansy looked up at Hermione and her eyes were earnest and sad.

"They have come to realize that what they've been raised to believe isn't the absolute truth." Pansy said and Hermione rested her hand over the other witchs' that was currently resting on the table.

"Well, things can be relearned and friendships rebuilt, I think. They just have to want to try. Like it seems some have been willing to do."

Hermione smiles at the Slytherin girl next to her and received a small grin in return.

Harry then spoke up, "We should do something to get people to I dunno...express their feelings maybe?"

Hermione let out a mocking sound of incredulity, and gaped at her friend. "You? Talking about expressing our feelings?" She teased, and Harry made a face at her.

"Ron's the one with the emotional range of a teaspoon, remember? Not me."

Hermione, Ginny and even Pansy laughed, lightening the mood and Hermione finally realized she was famished. Slightly startled to realize she had slowly loaded up her plate with food while they had been talking.

Guess she was hungry.

"But I'm serious," Harry continued. "Maybe we could start some sort of unity project with everyone. Get all the houses involved instead of dividing them up."

Hermione agreed, but wondered what could possible catalyst this idea. She doubted people would jump on the idea so quickly, but if relationships we built, slowly over time. Things might have a chance...Hermione almost chocked on her slice of Sheppard's pie as a thought came to her.

"I could also speak to McGonnagal about maybe having the professors pair up students from different houses for group essays and projects."

Harry perked up at the idea but Ginny groaned, "Oh people will not like that one."

"Yes but sometimes people act a little differently when their grade is involved maybe." Hermione said wiping her mouth with a napkin.

Pansy let out a small laugh.

"Actually I'm pretty sure that's only you, Granger. But I still think that might be a good idea, and Harry's, but yours is a good start. Ginny is right though, some are not going to like this idea at all. It may get worse before it gets better."

Neville piped up then, "Well I guess we'll just have to prepare ourselves for battle again now won't we?"

Hermione grimaced and looked down at her food. Suddenly loosing her appetite.

—

While walking back to the dungeons with Pansy, a couple of pumpkin pasty's stashed away into her bag, knowing she would be hungry later and with her chest of potions shrunken and also hidden away into her bag, Hermione felt tired, and her feet dragging. But perked up slightly at the sound of Pansy's soft voice.

"Hermione, I know I never actually...apologized to you. I want you to know...I am– I'm genuinely sorry for any torment I may have put you through. And I would like you to know, I don't have the same views as I once did. My family—" She choked slightly, on her words, and Hermione our a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, you don't have too—"

"But I would like too." Pansy stayed and they paused before the entrance to the dungeons.

"I need too." She sighed and looked her directly in the eyes.

"My family has taught me many things while I was raised. Nasty, horrid, twisted things. That I knew, in my heart of hearts, just wasn't true. Couldn't be true." She shuffled her feet, but never broke eye contact.

"Emotions are seen as a weakness in pure blooded households. An unwanted and unnecessary trait, my mother called it. Nothing had room besides hatred and fear inside my mother. She never could understand how I could feel everything."

Hermione felt herself shedding tears for the girl, now woman before her.

"But I still felt guilt, and regret. Shame." Pansy cried. Tears falling fat against her cheeks.

"So I would just like you to know, that I am truly, genuinely sorry. And I will do everything within my power to help you see that."

Hermione gathered the witch into her arms, and hugged her tightly, crying into her shoulder.

"There's honestly nothing to for you to make me see that haven't already Pansy. I've felt nothing but welcomed by you since I've arrived, you've even defended me against someone who once was you're greatest friend." Hermione felt her clutch her tighter. "So I believe you, and I accept your apology." She said, and hugged her back.

The girls stood together a moment, offering comfort and friendship, before Pansy gently pulled away, wiping the tear stains from her face.

"Right, well. Can't have them catching me crying in the hallway now can I? How could I ever protect you then?" She asked teasingly, straightening her uniform and hair.

Hermione laughed and also wiped at her face, and fixing her robes.

"Right of course. Reputation and all that."

"Of course." She replied with a brilliant grin, and Hermione couldn't help but smile in return.

Pansy murmured the password and they both traveled through into the common room together.

—

A/N;; hi yes, wow. know its been years but i had an itch to scratch. I may not update it again for awhile. But who knows. I kinda wanted to see if I still had it. Whatever *it* is I suppose. Lmaooooo.

Please forgive any typos, stupidity or misunderstanding as this was written half sober.

Feel free to point out my fuckups.

Nicely tho pls. I'm sensitive.

Anyways yeah, some shit. And Pansy. And dramione shit.

Tbh Draco only said those parting words cause he felt bad teasing her about the cat thing. He wouldn't want to spend any moment as an *actual* pussy tyvm.

Anyways~ toodles for now~

Leave shit if you wanna. Or not. I dunno if anyone even still gives a shit about this anymore but whoops my finger slipped.

Bye.