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Draco had a good first part of the summer. His mother had taken him to their French beach house for a fortnight. She wanted some mother son bonding time. He enjoyed it but after a few weeks back home, he was getting bored.

He hadn't seen his friends in a whole month. They had all sent him birthday presents and written, but he hadn't seen them yet.

Draco almost jumped out of his skin when a pop indicated one of the house elves had appeared in his room. He really wished the house elves would use doors, or at least do something like knocking.

"Master Draco, Dobby is sorry. Dobby did not mean to scare Master Draco." Dobby was about to say more but Draco cut him off.

"What is it, Dobby?"

"Yes. Master Draco. There is a girl downstairs. She claims to be your friend." The house elf explained.

"What does she look like, Dobby?"

"She had skin darker than Mr Harry Potter and lots of hair. It's very big." The elf explained again moving his hands to imitate her hair.

"Thanks Dobby." Draco abandoned his letter writing and was greeted at the door by a very sad looking Hermione Granger. She usually -well since the beginning of last school year- had a small amount of make up just around her eyes. Draco had no idea what it was called but today she did not wear it.

"Hey?"

"Hey Draco. Sorry for barging in like this." She smiled at him but looked sad still.

"Its fine, come in." He closed the door behind her. "What happened?"

"I just got back from Bulgaria." She told him following him into the house.

"Did Viktor do something?"

"Not really." She had an angry look on her face and the bottom of her eyes looked like they were growing tears.

"Do you want to talk?" Draco Malfoy Black wasn't as clueless about girls as Ronald Weasley. Not quite anyway.

She nodded slowly. "I thought you would understand the best I guess. I mean, maybe Harry might, but I don't know where he moved to." She looked down at her shoes and tapped the toe on the wooden floor. "I don't think Ron would understand at all."

"Come on." Draco had been taught a lot by his mother; or at least more than from his father. Of course she wasn't around a lot. She was always very busy with her work. But she did teach him how to take care of someone that was sick.

Sadness was a type of sickness, right?

Hermione was quite dazed when she was almost physically placed on an armchair. Draco awkwardly placed a blanket on her, despite it being the middle of summer. He had his house elf place a tray with a glass of water a glass of orange juice, a cup of tea and dry biscuits beside her. She became extremely confused when the boy went on to placed a warm towel on her forehead.

She looked at him the confusion plane on his face.

"Honestly I don't think I'm doing this right. Do you feel better yet?"

Hermione looked up at the younger boy. He looked ever so confused. "Yeah thanks Dray." She told him with a kind smile. He was acting much like she would expect a brother to. She took the towel from her head and put it on the arm of the chair.

Draco sat opposite her holding his own juice "So what happened then? Did Viktor do something?"

She took a deep breath and folded her hands together. "You know what happened in the tournament. I think it shook him up a bit."

"Right?" Draco took a breath trying to retain all the pieces of information as his mother had taught him to.

"Well, I went with my mom. Dad couldn't get off work as well, so mum came with me. We had to get a hotel, 'cause his parents wouldn't let me in the house at all. I didn't like it, but Bulgaria is a bit elitist, isn't it."

"Yeah, my father wanted me to go to school there." Draco agreed to show he was listening. Narcissa always told her son that girls needed to be listened to.

Hermione nodded. "He took me all kinds of places, across the whole country. Monuments and museums; that kind of thing." Draco nodded. "It was great actually, he introduced me to his Quidditch team. They were great actually; nice enough, anyway. I got to watch them practice; not that different from school practice actually."

"Right, so I'm guessing something went wrong."

"Well he was a gentlemen and stuff, but well, he asked me to move to Bulgaria."

"Woah. Why? That seems a bit sudden."

"He doesn't want me to fight." She explained the little look of anger on her face. "Bulgaria is sort of in for dark magic, isn't it? But they're all neutral in this tension. He wants to keep me out of the fighting. But-"

Draco waited when it looked like Hermione wasn't going to speak any more he offered her a biscuit from the tray. She took it in her hand but didn't start eating.

"I almost agreed with him, Draco." She admitted.

The next thing that came out of his mouth reminded her of Harry. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"I can't sit on the side-lines. This is my home, and my fight, as much as anyone else's. It was nice that he doesn't want me to get hurt, but this 'argument'; it's about who I am. I am a muggle born; I can't change that. They're after me just as much as Harry. I should fight for what's right. I could never leave you guys."

Draco nodded slowly. "Well I see your point. Harry has done his best to end it before it began right. Well you-know-who is back. That likely means we're at war."

"Exactly."

"I'm a blood traitor; as much as you are. Part of me wants to run away like he did. But my beliefs. I just couldn't do it. Same as you. I agree with you."

"It's just I couldn't leave; not to Bulgaria." She looked down at the biscuit and sighed. "He didn't take me to see his family. He stayed at the same hotel as me and Mom." She bit her lip. "Did you know his father's a part of the Bulgarian ministry?"

"No, never really looked into it."

"They saw me and Viktor together. His father and grandmother. They were horrible. Those kids at school have nothing on what they called me." This was what she had been wanting to talk about; Draco could tell.

"Either way, they're idiots."

Hermione nodded her head; a very soft amusement. "Kind of. He defended me afterwards. I know I shouldn't expect him to stand up to his father, but they called me some absolutely horrible names."

"I'm sorry, Hermione."

"I couldn't-" She rubbed her eyes. He back straightened and she snapped the biscuit in half ready to eat. "Yes well, anyway, it was nice whilst it lasted. He wasn't really that smart anyway."

"You really liked him?" Hermione needed more female friends.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe, he was nice to me. Really nice. Maybe." She dipped her biscuit into her tea. "Draco, how was your holiday?"

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