"Granger, you really should stop coming back looking like this." Draco said with a halfhearted sneer.
Draco studied her for a second, then let out a soft gasp at the sight of her. He crossed the room swiftly and was beside her in a moment. He knelt in front of the armchair, placing a hand on each of the armrests, slowly taking in her entire disheveled look. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was untied from the neat bun she always wore it in, and her eyes were wide and glossy.
"Granger, what happened?"
He tried to speak in a casual tone, but Hermione thought she could discern a bit of concern in his voice. Draco's eyes stopped suddenly on her left arm and a sudden searing pain confirmed what Draco's surprised eyes showed her.
She was hurt. She was bleeding profusely from a large cut on her forearm, the blood dripping and soaking her clothes.
"N-nothing" Hermione uttered frailly. "Nothing, I just…"
"This is not nothing, Granger!" Draco snapped at her. "Actually, this is the opposite definition of nothing. I thought you were the brightest witch of our age for Merlin's sake." Draco raised his voice angrily.
He was now staring intensely at her and Hermione could see hot anger in those stormy gray eyes. Hermione looked at him, baffled by his rather explosive reaction, not knowing what to say or do, but before she could come up with anything, Draco sprang to his feet, taking her by surprise.
"I'm going to check the surroundings. Stay here!" Draco said, taking his wand out.
"It's not safe. There could be more of them." Hermione said hastily.
"I can take care of myself, Granger. You should be more worried about them." Draco said in a grim voice.
"Still, it's too dangerous." Hermione insisted. "This wasn't some accident, it was a premeditated attack. The one who attacked me, he knew I would pass by that place."
"All the more reason to…" Draco started to say but was cut off by Hermione.
"No!" Hermione said vehemently, frowning at Draco.
Draco stared at her quietly. After a moment he raised his wand and thin silvery vapor started to form in the tip of his wand.
"Alright, I won't go. Instead I will call Potter here to…"
"No, not Harry!" Hermione exclaimed in a panic-stricken voice.
She jumped to her feet and grabbed Draco by the arm, startling him. the silvery light flickered.
"Granger…" he said but was cut off once again by a very agitated Hermione.
"Don't call Harry." she said, looking imploringly at Draco. "He'll worry and… just… please Draco." she finally said in barely more than a whisper.
Draco opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as soon as he registered Hermione's words.
'Draco?'
His eyes widened and he stared transfixed at Hermione's face. He wondered since when had she felt close enough to him to use his first name. Or perhaps was it due to the shock of the moment, just like it had been for him when he called her by her first name.
Draco lowered his wand slowly, still feeling Hermione's grasp on his arm. The silvery light flickered again, then died out. Hermione pulled her hand away quickly, looking flustered. The place where her cold fingers touched his skin was burning, sending a shiver down Draco's spine.
After a brief moment of inner struggle, Draco's expression changed as he quickly composed himself.
"Fine! I won't call Potter if that's what you want." he said simply, pocketing his wand. "But on one condition." he continued, slowly brushing a hand through his hair.
Hermione looked at him apprehensively. She swallowed hard and nodded, knowing very well nothing good could come of it.
"And what is that?" she asked slowly.
"You let me treat your wound. It's bleeding a lot and it's making quite a mess."
Draco's voice was rather calm, and he seemed almost relaxed, as if they were talking about something as natural as the weather outside.
For the shortest of seconds, Hermione thought she saw a flash of concern in his eyes when he looked down at her limp arm. Her expression, on the other hand, was that of pure shock. She had expected him to say anything but that.
Nevertheless, looking down at her clothes and overall appearance she had to agree with him. She was indeed a mess, with her bloodied skirt, her left sleeve shredded up to the shoulder and her already flushed face.
"S-sure" she stuttered, carefully avoiding his eyes. "Thank you." she added quietly.
Draco nodded stiffly and, without another word, he turned on his heels and headed for the kitchen.
"M-maybe I should go and change first?" Hermione said tentatively, looking unsurely at Draco as he was rummaging through a cupboard, his back turned.
"Just sit down, Granger and shut up!" Draco snarled without turning to look at her.
Hermione flinched and without realizing what she was doing she took a step back and sat on the armchair, careful to keep her bleeding arm from staining the fabric.
'Upon my word! He sounds just like his godfather, Snape. And here I thought only Harry resembled his godfather. Are they both possessed or what? Did Snape and Sirius finally meet in the afterlife and decide to mess around with the living instead of each other?'
As Hermione mused about those things, Draco came back, carrying an armful of vials with potions.
Careful to avoid her stare, he pulled himself a chair and sat across from her. He then proceeded placing two of the vials on the armrest, within Hermione's reach.
"Draught of Peace." Draco said, gesturing towards one of the vials that contained a silvery white potion. "And this one is a strengthening potion." he added, making a small gesture towards the second vial, which contained a potion of a beautiful shade of turquoise.
"Yes, indeed." Hermione said quietly.
She had suspected that's what they were judging by their color and was glad that Draco confirmed her thoughts.
"The Draught of Peace was brewed earlier today so it's quite fresh. I found the strengthening potion in the kitchen earlier when I searched for ingredients. Apparently, there are all sorts of potions and helpful remedies in the cupboards."
Draco was speaking coolly, stubbornly avoiding looking Hermione in the eye. They spent a few more minutes in a rather uncomfortable silence, with Draco cleaning up Hermione's wound and muttering healing spells from time to time, while Hermione watched his every move with an intense stare.
"I never got a chance to properly thank you for what you did the other night." Hermione said after a while, carefully watching Draco.
"It's alright." he said curtly.
"No, it's not." she said, fumbling with her fingers. "I should have done it ages ago."
"I said it's alright. Besides," Draco added in a dismissive tone, "I did myself a good that night. Your ear-splitting screams disturbed my beauty sleep and were in danger of waking up the whole neighborhood."
"All the more reason to…"
"Granger…" Draco snapped but, for the third time that day, he was cut off by Hermione.
"Would you stop being such an annoying prat and just accept the damn thanks? I swear, it's harder to say thanks to you than it is to fight Dementors." she snapped at him angrily.
Draco stopped healing her, and simply stood there, gazing at her dumbfounded. He couldn't understand how she could go from the calmest and softest demeanor to this aggressive and feisty attitude.
'Could she really be mental like the Weasel used to say?'