Disclaimer: JK's.

Sorry for the wait, but I'd really like to thank everyone who has stopped by to read or review this story! ok2016, Author2013, NightTeaChoclate, 123iamiko, Ranibow2malfoy, boothaddict77, KWTheWorkd, grelber37, and Inferius1957, I truly appreciate your words and suggestions and you were the motivation behind me completing this chapter.

I've been busy with work and school, but I have a break and will try to update more often with my free time.

Her pride was a big pill to swallow as she walked into the potion's lab. Of course he was there, he was always there, looking completely focused on his work.

Beside from his stupid chuckle he did when she first entered, he made no grand notion to accommodate her presence. Hermione's hair stood on end. She couldn't stand this. It was as if she was walking on a tightrope around him and Malfoy had the nerve to just sit there, undisturbed, nonchalant. For the past week, she's been suppressing the D-Day incident, justifying it mentally with a clear conscious to help her sleep at night. It would've been nice to see an apparent struggle don his features too.

"Staring is rude, you know," he said with a smirk.

"That's rich, because you are the king of propriety," Hermione scoffed.

He stopped what he was doing and folded his arms in front of him, making his impressive shoulders stand out and his biceps strain against his white button down. His eyes hardened and she felt her skin tingle, knowing she was the sole focus of his attentions.

"It's okay to indulge in a bit of indecency, don't you agree, Granger?" he smirked.

Ignore him, Hermione, she mentally reminded. She took a deep breath. "You've promised to help me."

"I remember no sorts of that agreement."

"You told me we'd survey the contaminated potion nearly three weeks ago."

"My mind is a bit wonky." In a few quick strides, he was in front of her, arms still crossed and eyes still hard. "Tell me everything that happened in great detail and I may remember something."

He was challenging her and she knew it.

"I asked for you services, you rejected my initial offer, but after further review, you came to your sense and decided to help. Which brings me here."

Cue stupid chuckle.

"I'm pretty sure I said great detail, Granger," Draco began. "And it seems to me you've glossed over certain facts. But no matter."

He walked causally over to his workstation, his previous focus. He then did a quick stir of whatever potion he was working on, before pouring some of it into a beaker. It was hyper green, the same color of the fated Wiggenweld.

And of course he knew this. While Hermione was beginning to palpitate with nervous ticks, Malfoy wore the biggest smirk.

"Perhaps I shall explain. You see, Granger…I was minding my own business and doing very important work, before you barged in here and ruined everything."

He swiftly grabbed the beaker and walked over to her.

"Need I remind you, you came to me. You approached me. You knocked over my manipulated Wiggenweld potion and assaulted me."

Hermione squeaked in retaliation. His wording was all wrong! It was a mistake, all of it! Hermione had repressed this memory far in her mind; it was simply an after effect of the potion. And Ron! Oh Ron would have a fit; Ron would explode. She had to explain to him that it was scientific. And more importantly Malfoy's fault.

She backed up from his close encounter and walked over towards the counter on the right where all the materials rested.

She sputtered her argument. "You…you have it all wrong, you don't know what you're talking about."

"I do know that you leaned forward, Granger. That it was your lips that wanted to touch mine."

"You're mistaken. It was a mistake. And if this is your way of reneging on our verbal agreement then I won't waste my time or breath scolding you for your allegiance." That was the Hermione she with whom she was familiar! Not this shaking, quivering mess that stuttered whenever she approached Malfoy. She lifted her head in pride and smiled to herself as she awaited Malfoy's reply. She only heard slight shuffling from his workstation, to which he had returned.

He gave her no satisfaction that her heard her response. She huffed in indignation. This was like Malfoy– the spoiled boy who would shut down when things didn't go his way.

"Powdered graphorn horn is an ingredient in the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons," he said, fiddling with some materials at his worktable. "In addition to Billywig stings, and Chizpurtle carapaces. Graphorn horn is expensive due to the aggressive nature of the graphorn and the methods obtaining their horn. It would seem odd that solely that graphorn horn would be affected in almost a transfiguration sense. Perhaps an graphorn animagus…"

Hermione shook her head. "But there aren't any recorded cases of graphorn animagi. There haven't been any recorded cases of magical creature animagi."

Draco rolled his eyes. "The fact that you have people laying in a bed turning purple and sprouting horns makes me think otherwise."

"But there have been no cases…"

"Just because the Ministry hasn't documented it, do you really think it couldn't happen? Anything can happen with magic."

"Well a full scale human transfiguration into a magical creature seems unlikely. A human transfiguration seems more likely in the case of familiars: birds, rabbits…ferrets." Hermione had to laugh at herself as Malfoy gave her a ice cold glare.

"Whenever you're done bringing up petty childhood incidents, I suggest you grab some parchment and take a seat."

Hermione wanted to argue back, but something made her bite her tongue and sit.

After several hours of deliberating and debating and testing the sample of the tainted Antidote Hermione was able to bring, Hermione and Malfoy had reached a viable conclusion towards the process of the graphorn infection. It cross-referenced many sectors of her magical education: transfiguration, runes, magical creatures, herbology, potions…and Hermione enjoyed every second of it. She enjoyed debating the finer facts of the intricacies of the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons and its origins and the properties of antidotes as a whole. She enjoyed dissecting the life of a graphorn from its habitat to its eating habits. She enjoyed talking about the limitations to human transfiguration versus animagi and the capabilities of a witch or wizard to become a magical creature.

But most of all, she enjoyed Draco's company.

She loved having an intelligent partner to verbally spar with. Besides the few quips here and there, the two had a great rapport that kept her on her toes. While she relied on the facts of books, he was a wealth of historic reason from generations of magic that he was able to explain logically.

He would refute her theories with his aristocratic tone that made her second guess her observations in the first place. But each counter only encouraged her to redirect her point, to find claim elsewhere. And she didn't miss his slight smirks whenever she was able to prove his theories wrong.

Hermione had a game plan. She had to collect any samples from Mr. Jacoby, Mr. Constance, or Ms. Morris. Blood work, skin section– scales, or really the horn, Hermione and Malfoy surmised, would yield the most testing results, giving them something to test against. She was excited to have purpose again, to do something that would really have an impact. It was something she was missing from her work. Who thought she would've found it in a potions lab with Draco Malfoy?

"It's getting so late," said Hermione disappointedly. "Mungo's will probably try to kick me out. They've already banned Ernie and I from late night visiting hours."

"Then you're leaving?" Draco asked in a tone she couldn't make out.

"Godric no! We've just started and I don't want this momentum to die down. I'll sneak down to the first floor and collect some samples so we can come up here and test them. Meanwhile, you can think about what we should eat. Not that I'm not fond of Mungo's dining, I just prefer something that won't possibly bite at me." Cue shudders from memories of her trying to eat when she first visited Mr. Jacoby and Mr. Constance.

She purposeful gait lead her towards the elevators and down towards the first floor.

When she returned however, she found the potion's room empty. Wherever did Malfoy go? Perhaps getting food?

She drew closer to his workstation where she saw a box. Her curiosity got the best of her and she lifted the top, revealing a delicious plate of food and a short note.

This won't bite.

But that still didn't explain were Malfoy went. She rushed out the door, thinking he might've been wondering down the corridor.

Still no sign.

She knew he couldn't apparate inside the hospital, so she headed towards the elevator, in case he left. The elevator was taking too long so she headed down the shifting corridor to hopefully catch him at the exit floos or the passage from Purge and Dowse. Why would he leave like this? Was he coming back? It was causing a dread within her; she had to know.

She would've never spotted him if it weren't for his elegant fingers ready to tap the passage into Purge and Dowse Ltd., his long and deft fingers she had taken notice of on occasion when they were alone.

"Malfoy? Are you leaving?" she asked, out of breath from her search.

He lowered his hand, still facing the passage and away from her.

"I must be going."

"Why?" She felt truly worried.

Draco turned around and faced her, his face devoid of emotion. "You're not my keeper, Granger. I've said this before, and I didn't think it needed repeating. Don't mistake this arrangement for what it is not."

Her face dropped, but she recovered quickly. "Well…notification for your arrival and departure would be exceedingly helpful so I can efficiently conduct my experiment to solve my case for the department. I understand you may have a curfew, or some ministry related restrictions…"

"Granger, stop prying." He turned around and resumed his action to leave.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"Thank you."

A silence spread between them. Draco slowly turned around to face Hermione once more. She saw his normally reserved face relax as he looked at her. She wanted to reach out and hug him, hold his hand, something! They had spent hours upon hours talking to each other. Surely it had to mean something for him. Their time meant something for her. She didn't know what exactly.

"Malfoy, I don't know what we're doing will have an actual effect, but you're helping people. You're helping those three people on the first floor whose lives have been changed by this transformation…you're helping me. I…," she hesitated before beginning again, "I want to be on better terms with you. I don't want to look at you and see this tormenter from Hogwarts or…the person you were during the war. We've all changed. And I think I'd like to give you the chance to show me you have too."

Malfoy looked down before clearing his throat and crossing his arms. "And how do you know I have?"

"I can feel it, Malfoy. You're here in front of me, aren't you?" She smiled softly at him to prove the genuineness of her actions.

He nodded. "Good night, Granger." He turned around once more.

But she couldn't stop her mouth or her mind before speaking once more. She had to speak on what's been on the back of her mind since she first saw him today. "Malfoy, about the kiss…"

"Never happened." He said it with no room for argument.

She nodded in understanding. "Right. Good night, Malfoy."

She turned away before she could see him leave and headed back towards the potions' room to collect her belongings and leave.

And maybe it was her loneliness, maybe it was the long period of time between her place and St. Mungos, or maybe it was the silence that crept upon her as the moon filtered through her apartment bedroom, but it seemed to her that 'never happened' had to be the most infuriating phrase to come from the most infuriating man she has ever met.

A/N Again, I promise to update more often now. Reviews are welcome. Thanks y'all!