The Plays The Thing

The Play's the Thing

by Shakespearechick

***

CHAPTER X

***

Hermione looked at Ron in surprise.

"You want to talk?"

Ron suddenly looked like he'd rather be anywhere else at this moment. He avoided making eye contact with her and stared straight ahead.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Talk." Hermione reached out and tentatively touched his chin, turning his face towards her. "But look at me. We're friends."

Ron still looked uncomfortable. "Obviously, this is about Malfoy."

"I'm shocked," Hermione replied sarcastically before she caught Ron's expression. Something in the back of her head pointed out that her reply would have gone over better with Malfoy. Surely Ginny hadn't been right. Was Malfoy having that much of an impact on something as simple as how she talked? "I mean..." She didn't know what she meant so she paused, hoping Ron would speak again.

"Yeah, well, er-"

Well, at least Ron was as inarticulate as always, Hermione thought dryly.

"Ron, I just want to say you're upset over absolutely nothing."

"You think I've blown all of this out of proportion, don't you?" he said.

"Just a bit." Hermione attempted a small smile.

"Hermione, I realize this was all about the play at first."

"At first?"

"Yeah. That's why you were thrown with Malfoy."

"Uh-huh..." Hermione didn't like where this was going.

"And that was fine. It was like something Snape would do."

"But..."

"But... I don't know. Suddenly you were having conversations with him. And you met him at Hogsmeade. Alone."

"Okay..."

"Hermione, don't you see it?"

"See what?" she asked, fighting down her exasperation. How many times were they going to go over this?

"Malfoy's toying with you - using you. Why else would he want to-"

"Why else would he want to be around me?" Hermione snapped in annoyance. Ron's face faltered.

"No, that's not what I mean. It's just - we can't trust Malfoy. And for some reason you do now."

"I never said I trusted him."

"Well, you certainly act like it. And has he even given you a reason to? I mean, this is the guy who said he hoped the Heir of Slytherin killed you. He's constantly insulted you and the fact that you are a Muggle-born."

"I know, Ron. But most of that happened a few years ago. When we're rehearsing he's... different. For some reason."

"Exactly," Ron said, emphasizing his point with his finger. "And why would that be? Because he's trying to win your trust only to turn on you and use you."

Hermione shifted in her seat. This was not going the way she had hoped when Ron first said he wanted to talk. The same old argument... over nothing... again and again...

"I'm not going to argue about this again. I've told you before - I'm being careful - I can handle myself."

"You're going out of your way to be with him!" Ron exclaimed and then lowered his voice as some of their house mates looked over.

"I am not," Hermione snapped back, wondering if now would be the time to mention the Arithmancy project.

No. That would be something Malfoy would have done.

"Ron, I feel like there's something you're not saying. What do you think is going on? What are you insinuating?"

She actually had a good idea of what he was insinuating but she couldn't believe he would actually be thinking that...

I mean, why would he have that idea? And why did he care? Was he jealous?

Ron was silent and looked away uncomfortably. He didn't have to say it.

"People aren't always what they appear to be. Things aren't always what they appear to be," Hermione stated. "I know you loathe Malfoy. I did too... but for some reason he's become tolerable. So, I'm going to go with it. If I have to meet up with him, I'd rather not waste my time rehashing all the reasons we never got along before."

Ron was silent.

"And, I already told Harry, but... Professor Vector assigned Malfoy as my partner for my Arithmancy project," Hermione continued quickly. "So I'll be working on that with him too."

Ron's eyes caught hers and they flashed for a moment. "Really. Then I'm sure you two will be very happy together."

He started to get up but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him down on the couch.

"Ronald Weasley! I don't know where you got the idea that there's something going on between Malfoy and me, and I don't know why you suddenly decided that I had picked him over you and Harry but - well - it's not true. Can we at least agree to disagree? For now?"

Ron hesitated. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Hermione pulled back and gave him a disbelieving smile. "Honestly, Ron, last time I checked rehearsing a play or doing Arithmancy was not deadly." She paused. "Unlike Divination."

She attempted a smile and tried to coax one out of Ron. It didn't work. Exactly.

 

"I can't believe you are fine with all of this."

Hermione shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is." There was another moment of silence and then she remembered the rehearsal that was planned. "Are you at least going to be civil during the rehearsal? Personally, I think it's a terrible idea, but Seamus assured me that you agreed to be... civil..."

"Unless I'm provoked," Ron answered before she even finished.

Hermione couldn't hide her disappointment and frustration anymore.

"Well, that's just great Ron - so very mature of you."

"If you don't like it here maybe you should go hang out with Malfoy," he spat back. The expression on his face after the words flew out of his mouth showed Hermione he hadn't meant it. Not really, anyway.

But it was too late.

"I'm glad we talked Ron," she replied icily and got up from the couch. She passed Harry on the way to the stairs to her dorm and he touched her on the arm.

"Hermione, I'll talk to him again," he whispered in her ear. "He doesn't mean half the things he said."

Hermione looked at him skeptically. "All of what he said was... ridiculous." Of course, with one look at Harry's earnest face she had to repent. "But... thanks Harry. It means a lot to me that you're... trying to understand."

Harry nodded and released her arm. She went up the stairs and shut the door to her dorm room. Tossing the script down on her bedside table Hermione jumped onto her bed with a sigh. She lay down and stared at the ceiling for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts.

She gave up after a moment, refusing to dwell on her most recent argument with Ron after an otherwise decent day. Sitting back up she rummaged through the stacks of books piled around her bed..

Of course, they were neat and organized piles.

Finally she found her Arithmancy text and she slid it out from under another book. The one on top slid off and she reached down further to retrieve it. She recognized it instantly. The Oscar Wilde book. Malfoy's Oscar Wilde book. No - wait - he had given it to her. She stared at it for a moment until the blood began to rush her head, after which she sat back up with only the Arithmancy text in tow. She flipped through the table of contents restlessly, trying to come up with a project idea.

None were exactly forthcoming.

She thought back to the books she and Malfoy had both glanced through at Morgana's Book Shoppe.: Wizards and Numbers, Magical Math, Steganographia... Most of them were related to the early practitioners of Arithmancy and Mathematicians. That was something of interest. Perhaps.

Hermione gave up for now and lay the book to the side. She didn't have to figure out all of this now. In fact, Malfoy could come up with some ideas on his own. She did, however, need to find a way to tell Malfoy about the rehearsal. Without him laughing her out of Hogwarts and back into Muggle London permanently.

*** 

"There were many wizards who moved in powerful Muggle circles during the sixteenth century," Professor Flitwick was saying. "Especially in Royal courts in Europe." 

Hermione jotted down some notes for the class and then glanced over at Malfoy. He was preoccupied with his own notes and didn't glance her way once. This was frustrating because she wanted to indicate to him that she needed to talk after class.

And that was the only reason she wanted him to look over at her.

She did not even realize she was tapping her quill pen tip on the table until Harry stilled it with his hand. He gave her a small smile and she couldn't help but smile sheepishly back. She was more distracted than she had first thought.

"Next class I would like you all to be able to discuss the ways in which some of these wizards used their magical powers anyway and what the stigma was both in Muggle society and in the burgeoning wizard community. Also, read the chapter on the timeline leading up to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1692."

The minute Professor Flitwick stopped speaking Hermione shuffled her notes into her book bag and stood up.

"I'll catch up with you in a minute," Hermione told Harry as she passed him. "I'm going to go tell Malfoy about tomorrow's rehearsal."

"Okay, good luck," Harry called after her. She slipped by Seamus and Dean, whom Ron had added to the human buffer between them. Hermione was glad Ron was already walking through the door because she did not want him to witness her cornering Malfoy.

Malfoy.

Hermione glanced towards his desk anxiously and saw that he too had already left. She glanced towards the door in time to see his blond head leaving. With another spurt of energy she pushed past some of her classmates in an effort to catch up with him.

Once out in the hallway she called his name.

"Malfoy! Malfoy, wait up!"

He paused and turned around. She tried not to pay attention to the smug look that flashed across his face when he say who was flagging him down.

"Why, Granger, what's the rush to catch up with me?"

"Malfoy," she replied, a little breathless. "I need to tell you something."

He looked at her curiously. "Sounds exciting - but I have to go to Quidditch practice now. I have to set up, so I can't talk now."

Hermione frowned. "Well..."

"Fine. If it's that important meet me right inside the entrance hall in about an hour and a half - after practice."

 Hermione eyed him for a moment. "Okay, I'll... uh... see you then."

Malfoy smiled knowingly at her and then walked off, without another word.

Hermione found herself biting her lip as she watched him go. She decided to hang out in the library and do some research to kill some time. But first, she would catch up with Harry so he didn't wonder where she was.

***

An hour and forty-five minutes later Hermione was pacing around the front entrance hall. Neither Malfoy, nor any other Slytherin Quidditch players, were in sight. She was about to give up and return to the library when Malcolm Baddock and Blaise Zabini walked by her. They were talking and laughing among themselves and didn't notice her hovering by the staircase. Graham Pritchard and a few other Slytherins passed by as well, again without noticing her.

And then she saw him.

He was bringing up the rear, carrying the set of Quaffles, Bludgers and the box containing the Snitch. She found herself staring at him as he approached until she realized that he had noticed.

"Uh, Malfoy, there you are. Late again," she joked. When he got up close she noted he was still sweaty from practice. He was breathing heavily as he paused and pushed his hair off of his slightly damp forehead. She had never noticed how alluring this could be.

I mean, not alluring, uh...

"Well, there are some things you don't want to be early at," he said with a lascivious wink. Hermione was horrified to find herself blushing, as opposed to scolding him for his remark. "What did you need to urgently tell me? Is it about our project?"

"Uh, sure," she replied, still thrown off and unsure of how to bring up the subject.

This was ridiculous, she thought to herself. I asked him to meet me in Hogsmeade back when we could barely stand to speak to each other. This was nothing compared to that.

"Well...?" He was looking rather amused at her silence.

"Oh, well, about that... I was thinking we could do something on the early arithmancy problems and how they developed along with the study of mathematics. You know, stuff that people like John Dee were interested in."

"John Dee? The Elizabethan?"

"Yeah."

Malfoy shrugged and set down the case of Quidditch equipment. "Okay. But why was this so urgent?"

"Actually, there's something else..." Hermione began.

"About what?"

"A rehearsal for Act Three, Scene Two."

Malfoy seemed to be recalling the scene mentally. "Ah, yes." He paused. "What rehearsal?"

Hermione looked down at her shoes and mumbled.

"ThereisgoingtobearehearsaltomorrowintheGryffindorcommonroomandyoushouldcome."

Malfoy gave a startled laugh and then tipped her chin upwards with his forefinger. Hermione flinched in surprise at his touch, but tried to cover it up.

"I think you're going to have to repeat that. I didn't quite... catch all of it."

Hermione sighed in defeat as Malfoy removed his hand. "Everyone in the scene is going to rehearse it tomorrow. In the Gryffindor common room. And you're suppose to, uh, come too, seeing as, uh, you're in the scene..."

Malfoy paused, stared at her, and then gave an incredulous shake of his head. "Not. Bloody. Likely."

"Malfoy, I know-"

"No way," Malfoy said, cutting her off. "I am not going to walk into the Gryffindor common room to participate in some rehearsal."

"Everyone else in the scene is a Gryffindor. They all decided it would be easier."

Malfoy nodded. "Yes. Easier to hex me into oblivion with no non-Gryffindor witnesses. I'm not going."

"I'm not so keen on the idea myself, but they all assured me they can put up with you for one rehearsal."

"Why would they want me in the common room to begin with?" Malfoy asked. "Do you know how many Gryffindors have been in the Slytherin common room since I've been here?" Hermione took this as a rhetorical question. "None. None. And for good reason."

Hermione looked at him and considered telling him differently. After all, it wasn't her fault she needed to mention this to convince Malfoy to attend her house mates foolishly planned rehearsal...

"Actually..." she began. "That's not exactly true."

"What?" Malfoy asked, genuinely startled.

"The Slytherin common room..." Hermione mused. "Let's see... leather couches... high-backed chairs. Oh, and those green-lit lamps illuminating the stone walls."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "How do you know all that?"

Hermione shrugged. "Lucky guess?" Her tone was a little more than mischievous.

"Let me guess: you'll tell me if I go." 

"Maybe."

"I don't want to know."

This was not going well.

"Come on Malfoy, since when were you afraid of a few Gryffindors? It's a fun scene. It won't be that bad."

"Easy for you to say," Malfoy snorted. "You're not in it."

"I'll be there," she declared firmly.

"You're not in it," he repeated.

"I'll be there."

Malfoy smirked at her. "It appears we are at an impasse."

Hermione was trying to think fast. Then an idea struck her.

"Okay, how about this: we meet tomorrow after classes to work on Arithmancy project. And then, we'll go together to the rehearsal. That way you can come in with me and you don't have to do the whole, silly knocking-on-the-portrait-hole thing and what have you."

Malfoy was looking at her with renewed bemusement.

"Are you offering to escort me to this intolerable thing?"

Hermione smiled smugly at him. "Yes. Well, not as an escort..."

"Not a chance in hell."

"I promise, Malfoy, I'll keep my house mates in check personally if need be."

Malfoy appeared to be ignoring her, suddenly interested in the state of his nails. Nevertheless, Hermione had a sneaking suspicion he was finally considering her offer. He glanced back up at her.

"Fine. But I make no promises in regards to my behavior."

"I didn't expect you too," Hermione replied easily. Malfoy grinned as he picked up the case of Quidditch equipment.

"Ah, you're learning - most impressive."

"Actually, I'm arranging a disturbing number of meetings with you," Hermione observed.

"Many women dream about it," Malfoy remarked.

"You're quite delusional, you do know that, right?" Hermione replied.

"Don't be jealous, Granger. Our futures are still unwritten." He gave her a wink and then began to walk away. "Our little rendez-vous will take place after Arithmancy class tomorrow. Until then, adieu."

Hermione watched him go, trying to stay focused on the conversation she had just had. Instead she kept picturing him in his Quidditch gear, fresh from practice... the smell of grass and heat around him, the sheen on his skin, a flush in his cheeks...

She stopped herself. It was definitely time to return to the library.

***

The quiet, scholarly atmosphere of the library was definitely what Hermione required to regain her senses. After all, why else would she suddenly be musing about how alluring Malfoy was after Quidditch practice? Momentary insanity was her only defense.

Shaking her head in disbelief over her own actions she began to look up some books that might be of help to her and Malfoy for their project. She pulled off a select few from the shelves and read their titles under her breath.

A History of Arithmancy... Wizardry and Mathematics... Divination, Arithmancy and Mathematics in the Sixteenth Century...

She flipped through the introduction of a book on the life of Dr. John Dee, a famous wizard who had posed as a Muggle in the Elizabethan court and had knowledge of alchemy, mathematics, arithmancy, divination, astrology and mysticism.

Hermione had never lost her skepticism of the whole range of divination studies - from the tea leaf readings and visions of Professor Trelawney's class to the more scientific and ‘sophisticated' branches of astrology, numerology and arithmancy. When she had dropped Divination she chose to take Arithmancy to continue her understanding of the field. Given the credence most wizards put in real Seers and Diviners, she thought it important not to completely neglect the subject.

Some of her number equations had proven to be marginally true, but that could of been a coincidence. Of course, every now and then there is someone like John Dee who had an uncanny ability to make accurate predictions. His sixty-two page nativity of Sir Philip Sidney - the horoscope at Sidney's birth - had proven quite accurate. He was very good with astronomy and mathematics in the age when math was considered black magic and a dark art. At the time many people were wary of him, suspecting him of witchcraft. Somehow he managed to survive into his early eighties without anyone discovering that he truly was a wizard. He died about eighty years before the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

Hermione thought that looking into the history of people like Dee and the evolution of arithmancy through the new advances in science and math would make an excellent project. Or, at least, the best she could think of. Malfoy had not objected, so he must have figured it would be interesting and a good topic as well.  

She copied down a few notes and took the rest of the books up to Madame Pince to check them out. Once done she headed back to the common room. She wanted to have time to flip through the sources enough to have something to present to Malfoy tomorrow. Another part of her also wanted to re-read Act Three, Scene Two... just to see what they would all be dealing with tomorrow.

***

"He is coming then?" Seamus asked across the breakfast table with a mouth full of muffin.

Hermione nodded back and glanced at Harry and Ron.

"Yes. He agreed, though he's not very happy about it."

"He's not the only one," grumbled Ron.

"It was our idea," Ginny pointed out to her brother mildly.

"Eh, there's no way to get around that scene and who's in it," Harry shrugged. "No matter where we rehearsed there would be... issues."

Hermione gave him a doubtful look. Somewhere less biased towards the Gryffindors would obviously have resulted in a reduction of certain... issues.

"The first part of the scene is humorous," Seamus mused aloud. "If we all start fighting it's going to be useless."

"Then don't fight," Ginny retorted smugly. She gave Hermione an exasperated look. Boys.

Hermione smiled back gratefully. She was glad someone else was there to point out the logical answers. And... Ginny had yet to make a snide comment about the time she was spending with Malfoy.  

"Some things are easier said then done," Fred chimed in, in a mock voice of wisdom.

"Just stick to the script," Hermione said softly. "Keep in mind it's just another play rehearsal."

"Professor Trelawney keeps talking about problems that will cause trouble and delay practices and things," Seamus mentioned. "Maybe she's talking about our rehearsal."

"A dead Malfoy would certainly hinder things a bit," Fred grinned.

"Doubtful. We'd be better off," said Ron.

Hermione regarded them all as if they were insane. With a shake of her head she pushed her plate away, grabbed her bag and stood up from the table. "Just remember that this was all your idea." She gave a long look to each Gryffindor in her vicinity. "You can hardly complain about anything that happens."

Ron refused to meet her eye and Harry frowned thoughtfully. Fred gave her a sheepish look, Ginny rolled her eyes at all the boys and Seamus alone smiled up at Hermione.

"I pledge to be on my best behavior, Hermione," he said declared. "I believe I've been cast as Malfoy's... best friend... Merlin help us all..."

Hermione flashed a smile at Seamus and then turned to leave. Harry stood up quickly to leave with her. Hermione caught his surreptitious glance over at Ron to see if the redhead would join them. Ron didn't move and Harry picked up his own things with a dejected sigh that only Hermione heard.

Not for the first time, she felt guilty for the strain she was putting on Harry and Ron's friendship by being on bad terms with Ron. But, of course, that was silly. It was clearly Ron's doing and Ron's fault.

If he would just grow up and-

"Hermione, I talked to Ron last night."

"Oh?" Hermione looked at Harry in surprise as they made their way down the hallway. "And...?"

"And, he hates the idea of this rehearsal, but he's coming around to the current situation."

"The current situation?" Hermione found herself straining not to laugh, but Harry looked very serious.

"Yeah. I mean, when it comes down to it he's been meeting up with Slytherins too. And without us."

It took her a moment to realize he was referring to Ron rehearsing with Graham Pritchard and Malcolm Baddock. But of course.

"True... perhaps I should insinuate to him that he's becoming better friends with them then us," Hermione muttered sarcastically.

"Heh." Harry looked uncomfortable. "You sound really bitter, Hermione."

She sighed. "Maybe. I'm just annoyed that he's misinterpreting practically everything I've done in the last few weeks."

"Maybe he's jealous," Harry said suddenly.

"What?" Hermione shrieked. Several other students paused to look at them so she lowered her voice. "Jealous? Jealous of what? And why jealous??"

Harry looked shifty. "Er."

"Harry?"

Now Harry was musing over the possibility that Ron was jealous of a relationship Hermione had with Malfoy, the inference being that it was a romantic relationship, which was really quite ridiculous and such thoughts and ideas and theories needed to be stopped before they continued to circulate because rumors and gossip flew around here in double-time and there was no reason for anyone to think anything was going on between the Muggle-born Hermione Granger and the Pureblood heir Draco Malfoy so Ron had nothing to be jealous of unless it was friendship because that was all there was between Hermione and Ron unless he thought... or felt... or...

Crap.

"Never mind."

Maybe Ron's jealousy wasn't rooted in romantic feelings. He had been jealous of Harry's fame, fortune and natural luck during the start of the Triwizard Tournament...

But then, what else was enviable in Hermione's situation with Malfoy?

"Okay..." Hermione said, glad the subject was being dropped. They needed something else to talk about, something that had nothing to do with Ron. "Uh, have you managed to memorize all your lines?"

"Oh - uh - yeah. Mostly. Of course, I don't have as many as you." He gave her an encouraging smile. "But you've always been the one among us who could memorize anything."

Hermione beamed under his smile. "It's a talent."

"After all, I am entirely convinced that you have Hogwarts: A History memorized."

She laughed and shrugged. "It's very useful to have all that information on hand."

"Uh-huh."

"Come now, Harry, I bet you have Quidditch Through the Ages memorized. Confess."

Harry looked at her sheepishly and grinned. "Okay, maybe. But that's stuff important."

"Yes, of course. I'll remember that when you and Ron start suggesting we Apparate onto the grounds or something."

Harry rolled his eyes and opened the classroom door for Hermione. She stepped through and waited for him to follow. For the first time in several weeks it felt like the old days. Walking to class with her best friends, laughing, joking. Except Ron was missing. And Malfoy was the one with whom she would be entering the common room in a few hours.

***

Professor Vector shuffled the rest of his notes into a pile and paused his lecture.

"That's all I have for today, but I want to discuss your projects briefly. By now I have informed you all who your partners are to be. I tried to assign students who had similar interests and similar skills. The projects will be due in three weeks. For the last few minutes of class today I would like you to get together with your partner. Until the projects are complete I suggest you sit by them because periodically I will give you time to work on your assignments."

He nodded his head, and the students began gathering their items and searching for their partners. Hermione glanced over at the other side of the room where Malfoy sat, the seat next to him now vacant. He didn't appear to be getting ready to move anywhere so Hermione grabbed her book bag and made her way over to his desk.

"And the comedy continues," he said, looking up at her. "Weasley would love this."

"What? Me sitting next to you in class for a few weeks?" Hermione asked lightly as she took her seat.

Malfoy shrugged. "It must be an evil plot."

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him, unsure of where he was going with this.

"An evil plot?"

Malfoy nodded. "Yes. Why, isn't that the conclusion you Gryffindors always come to?" He paused. "Oh, no, wait. That only applies to Potter. I guess this is just bad luck."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and didn't respond for a minute. Then she realized what he had said. "Bad luck?" For some reason she started to feel worried. "Do you mean bad luck for you?"

For once Malfoy didn't have a quick retort. "Uh, actually, I meant... oh forget it." He shuffled some notes together and placed them in his bag before speaking again. "Is the rehearsal still on for this afternoon?"

Hermione watched his face carefully. "Unfortunately."

"A pity," he commented.

"Are you still going?"

"Oh, did I have a choice then?"

Hermione gave a nervous laugh. "No. Not really."

Malfoy cleared his throat. "Well then, I guess I'm still going."

"And... that's time," Professor announced from his desk. "Class dismissed."

Hermione looked up at him and then over at Malfoy who was smiling to himself.

"We did it again, didn't we?"

His smile widened as he nodded. "Yes. We seem to do a great job of never getting around to the topic at hand."

"Well, now's the chance to work on that," Hermione said, rising from her seat at the same time as Malfoy. "I believe we agreed to work on our project before the rehearsal."

"Yes, we did," he agreed as they exited the classroom. "I suggest we work in the library."

Hermione couldn't help but grin. "Fine by me."

They made their way down the hall and to the library without speaking much. Hermione noticed a few of the other students looking on in surprise, but it didn't last. She also couldn't help but glance over at Malfoy as he walked beside her. In fact, she realized she was doing it so often it was a wonder she had not given herself whiplash.

From what she could tell, Malfoy's silence seemed partly due to fatigue. He looked rather tired and she caught him stifling a yawn once.

"You're not going to fall asleep on me, are you?"

He turned and looked at her in surprise, almost as if he had forgotten she was there.

"Why do you say that?"

"You're just so... quiet. And you look tired."

Malfoy shrugged as they reached the library. He held the door open for her and she stepped through cautiously.

"And you just opened the door for me."

"Fine. I'm a little tired. After Quidditch practice yesterday I was up for a while reading and working on homework."

Hermione gave an understanding nod. The only reason she ever missed out on sleep was to read or study.

"Let's work over here," Malfoy continued, heading for one of the study rooms off the main library hall. Hermione liked to work here if she was doing a group project because there was more room and they could shut the door so Madam Pince was not constantly shushing them.

Malfoy lead the way to one of the vacant ones and shut the door after her. Hermione walked casually over to the couch and sat down on the far end, setting her bag down next to it. She looked up and realized Malfoy was watching her intently, his back to the now closed door.

"Do we need to get any books or are they all in your bag as we speak?" he asked her.

"The latter," she answered, trying to ignore her fluttering stomach. Working together with Malfoy in the library was one thing. Doing it all alone in one of the closed off rooms was something entirely different.

"Well then, why don't we start out by you telling me what you've come up with. So far." He strode over to the couch and sat down on the opposite end. As Hermione bent over to retrieve the books from her bag she caught a glance of him flicking his wrist and heard him whisper, "Lectum dilatetur!"

Surprised, she watched as the couch itself widened. Without meeting her look or offering an explanation, Malfoy leaned back against the arm of the couch and stretched out his legs. She frowned at him for a moment before realizing that he had widened the couch so she could to the same.

Shrugging away her doubts she stretched out her own legs and carefully scooted them until they touched the back of the couch. This way she and Malfoy were face to face, both stretched out on the couch, but their legs were not touching. Hermione wondered if Malfoy was staring off into space or if he was, in fact, staring at her legs.

She shifted the books from her hands into her lap and cleared her throat nervously.

"Okay. Um, I started by reading up on John Dee and his work with mathematics and that general area."

"Uh-huh," Malfoy nodded but lay his head back against the arm rest, his eyes closed. Hermione took advantage of the opportunity to stare at his composed face unabashedly for a moment. Then she gave a very Malfoy-esque scoff.

"You don't expect me work on this while you lay there and sleep, do you?"

His eyes still closed, a satisfied smile spread across Malfoy's lips.

"Relax. I'm not sleeping. My ears are working quite well. Go on."

Hermione frowned at him and gave a resigned sigh. Of course, she followed his advice and opened one of the books, flipping through some of the passages she had marked.

"There's information in here on divination, numerology and mathematics. The books say Dee did not believe he had magical powers that others did not, but that he merely had an understanding of the forces of nature, and therefore the ability to manipulate and exploit them. Of course, some of that was him merely rationalizing to his peers, since he was secretly a wizard. Nevertheless, he wrote a letter to William Cecil where he cited several textual authorities for the idea of divination that demonstrated that it could be done in the ‘manner of Philosophers and Mathematicians'. That last part was a direct quote, which could be really useful. He essentially links divination to mathematics and science, which is the basics of arithmancy."

Hermione looked across at Malfoy. "Honestly, you're not listening to a word I'm saying."

Keeping his eyes closed, Malfoy smirked and shifted in his seat. "Yes I am. Dee was a wizard in hiding, he wrote a letter to Cecil connecting divination to mathematics. Presto: Arithmancy. Please, continue..."

 She smiled grudgingly as he recited off his summary and she returned to the book in front of her.

"Fine. It goes on to discuss his interest in the teachings of the Cabala - that's Jewish mysticism - and Gematria. Gematria involved searching for numbers that could be substituted for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet and then performing arithmetical operations with these numbers. For example, by adding two numbers together it was hoped that a mathematical relationship would be found that was underlying the language that would show how one phrase related to another."

Malfoy seemed to sense her pause. "I heard that too - it sounds just like arithmancy, with numbers assigned to letters," he supplied.

Hermione nodded and kept reading. "During this period people believed magic was the way that people could be connected with an alienated cosmos. Dee had hoped that science, and in particular mathematics, would reveal the mechanism of this strange participation. Math would, he thought, correct the cosmic misalignment, restore the divine order."

Malfoy did not comment on this but Hermione decided to continue. "Dee's work, entitled Propaedeumata, had established him as one of the country's leading natural philosophers and revived interest in mathematically based astrology - as opposed to the sort of divination practiced by Nostradamus. Hmmmm... that points to the beginnings of arithmancy as well, right Malfoy?"

Hermione glanced over at him when there was no immediate response. His eyes were still closed and his chest was rising and falling in relaxed breaths. This could not be what she thought it was.

Draco Malfoy had fallen asleep on the couch with her.

Hermione's mind raced. Her first instinct was to wake him, and quickly. It was unnerving to have him sleeping across from her, not to mention they weren't getting any more work done. Or, at least, he wasn't helping.

But on second thought he did look awfully peaceful. In fact, closing her eyes for a moment just to get a few minutes of rest sounded quite nice. She had been staying up so late reading or thinking about everything that was going on... Not to mention, it was that perfect time of day, after class, when suddenly past fatigues hit you all at once. Arguing with Ron was always exhausting.

Perhaps she could benefit from taking a few moments to rest and collect her thoughts. Tonight's rehearsal would probably be exhausting and draining. Optimism was failing her there and she figured the whole thing would end in a fight.

Hermione set down the book and leaned back onto the arm rest. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself. It felt nice just to rest and not think for a minute or two. Breathing in deeply she let her mind drift off, if only for a short spell...

***

"Granger. Granger. Granger!"

Hermione felt someone tugging at her sleeve and opened up her eyes slowly.

Malfoy was staring back at her, a look of bemusement written across his features.

She sat up with a jolt and pushed her hair back self-consciously.

"Oh God! How long have I been asleep?"

Malfoy, who had been kneeling beside her, stood up and shrugged. "Maybe half an hour or so."

She eyed him guardedly. "You can't say anything. This is all your fault - you fell asleep first."

Malfoy's only answer was to continue smirking at her. Hermione frowned at him and rubbed her cheek where it had been resting against the couch. Suddenly a thought struck her and she looked at Malfoy's face more closely. There were no sleep lines, no red marks, not even a hair out of place. There was no evidence that he had fallen asleep against the couch.

Her eyes narrowed. "How long have you been up?"

Malfoy quirked his lips slightly and shrugged. "A few minutes. Does it matter?"

Hermione was suddenly filled with pictures of Malfoy simply staring at her as she lay sleeping. She turned crimson. "Uh - no." She swung her legs over and stood up, now looking at Malfoy at eye level. It was then she remembered about the rehearsal. "Oh no! What time is it? Have we missed the rehearsal?"

"I wish," he replied drolly. "Unfortunately we appear to have about ten minutes to make it to the Gryffindor Tower."

She gave a sigh of relief. How would she have explained it if they were late? "Sorry, we fell asleep on the couch. Yes, Malfoy and I."

Glancing down she noticed the book had fallen from her lap to the floor and she quickly shoved it into her book bag. Hoisting the bag over her shoulder she looked back at Malfoy expectantly.

"Well then, should we head out?"

Once again his only answer was a shrug.

Hermione lead the way, first out of the room in the library and then through the hallways towards the Gryffindor common room. Malfoy stayed about half a step behind her and she couldn't help but continually look over her shoulder at him.

"So, uh, do you have this scene memorized yet?" she asked, trying to start some sort of conversation.

"You could say that," Malfoy replied.

More silence. Hermione shifted the book bag on her shoulders slightly.

"You've never been in the Gryffindor common room, I guess..." Hermione said lamely, desperate to end the silence. Malfoy eyed her carefully.

"No. I doubt any Slytherin has in quite some time."

Hermione slowed down her pace just enough for her to be in step with Malfoy. She looked over at him. "I suppose it's only fair that you see it now, considering..."

"Granger, don't bother to be so obviously cryptic. I am well aware you have some knowledge of the Slytherin common room. I haven't forgotten."

Hermione smiled at him, unfazed. "You're doing a good job of masking your curiosity. I bet it's killing you."

Malfoy shrugged. "I can't help it if you Gryffindor women feel compelled to sneak around in my dorm at night. I'm always having to fend off admirers."

Hermione flashed him a razor-sharp smile - another Malfoy specialty. "Oh, I never said I was the one who had been inside your common room..."

She saw the surprise flicker across his face, but he recovered quickly. "Oh. Really?"

 

"Really." Her grin widened. "It was friends of mine, you know." She winked at him.

He grabbed her arm and stopped her in mid-step. "I would know if Potter or Weasel entered the common room."

"Of course you would," Hermione smirked. "Nothing gets passed you." She was surprised by how much she was enjoyed knowing something Malfoy didn't. Something he was desperately curious about. Now she knew how he must have felt all the times he dropped his coy hints about Sirius Black or Lord Voldemort - anytime he became the smug know-it-all in the face of the Gryffindors.

Malfoy stared at her suspiciously for another moment and then dropped her arm. "Whatever. Lead on."

Hermione tried not to laugh as she continued leading them towards the Gryffindor portrait hole.

A few minutes later the Fat Lady was directly in front of them, eying Malfoy uneasily.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get this over with," Malfoy said when Hermione did not immediately say the password.

She glanced at him. "I hope you're well rested after that nap, because I have a feeling this whole thing is going to be draining."

"I couldn't agree more," he replied blandly.

"Sweetie, surely he's not coming in here," the Fat Lady piped up, trying to look at Hermione while keeping an eye on Malfoy.

Hermione smiled at the portrait hole. "Actually, he is. As my guest." She took a deep breath and said, quite clearly, "Abracadabrant."

Now Malfoy was looking a little startled. "You let me hear the password," he said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's getting changed in the morning, so make sure you get all your tricks in tonight."

The Fat Lady seemed reluctant to open up and Hermione had to stare her down.

"Come on, open up. We don't want to be late."

"I think it is too late," the Fat Lady mumbled as she uncovered the portrait hole. Hermione ignored her as she stepped into the Gryffindor common room with Draco Malfoy following right behind.