Evermore

V.

Hermione gaped at the unbelievable sight before her. Not even during her seven years in Hogwarts had she been treated to a more sumptuous meal than the one awaiting her now.  The variety of foods laid out on the long dining table would surely make Ron's mouth water, she chuckled inside.  Was Malfoy trying to impress her? When she came down here (apparated with the help of Fifi since she'd lost most of her five minute deadline in throwing a fit), she had been expecting derision and antagonism, but Malfoy amazed her by acting the perfect gentleman.  He'd even escorted her to her seat and pulled the chair for her. She'd been truthfully wary of that, anticipating a nasty prank from Malfoy.  Thankfully, he did nothing of the sort.

Hah! For all you know, he's just shoving his wealth and breeding in your face, Hermione! You're nothing but a filthy Mudblood to him after all.

It felt like such a waste, they wouldn't be able to finish even a quarter of this feast!
"I didn't know what you'd like to eat, so I asked Mimsy to tell the kitchen staff to be creative," Draco was saying, "and I must say that they'd outdone themselves this time."

Hermione couldn't be sure, but she detected some humor in his words.  What's he playing at? Had he been so deprived of human contact that he'd even deign to speak amiably to her? She decided to remain silent and concentrate on her food.  The mushroom soup was heavenly! And the rolls!  They tasted like manna from heaven!  Even the butter was to die for...so creamy...so...

"What do you think, Granger?"

Realizing that Draco had just asked her a question, Hermione put down her butter knife and peered up at her host. "I'm...I'm sorry, what did you say?"

His shoulders visibly slumped, in anger or exasperation? She couldn't tell.

"I asked if you'd like to see the rest of the estate considering that you'd be here for well...quite a bit."

"A bit? How long is 'a bit'?" she asked.

Draco laid down his knife and fork to steeple his fingers in front of him.  He seemed to be contemplating his answer.

"I really don't know.  This is the first time that the Manor had done this.  I'm not even sure if it's really the manor or something in the grounds that's doing this - holding you hostage, I mean.  I've been doing some research about the spells woven into the construction of the manor, but it might take some time to figure out which one preventing you from leaving the grounds."

"You speak of the Manor as if it can think for itself," scoffed Hermione, spearing a carrot rather brusquely.

Draco leaned back in his chair, smirking. "Am I hearing this right? The great Bookworm of Hogwarts is unaware of the magic that goes into building ancient wizarding homes?" he snorted.

Hermione ignored him and continued eating her salad.  Of course she would never admit to this pompous arse that he was right. The subject just didn't really interest her before since she had no intention of living in an 'ancient wizarding home', so she only read about it in passing.

"Muggle-borns," she heard Draco mutter.

Casting a deadly glare at her temperamental host, Hermione swallowed the retort that had begun in her throat.  It would only start another round of useless argumentation with the Slytherin prince and she'd rather not spend more time in his presence than absolutely necessary.

As if sensing his guest's animosity, Draco resumed eating his steak in silence. Hermione was quite surprised by his sudden reticence.  She was actually anticipating mockery and ridicule at her ignorance, but nothing came.  It was slightly unnerving.

"Do you have a library?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Draco looked up and nodded.  "Yes, we do.  I'll take you there after dinner, if you like."

What is going on here? If she didn't know better, she'd think that Malfoy was actually trying to be nice to her. She reminded herself that this was Malfoy.  There's surely a more sinister motivation to his actions than just being nice.

Still, she couldn't pass up the chance of being surrounded by books again. So, she smiled and said, "Thanks, I'd really like that."

Draco nodded back stiffly and they resumed with their dinner without another word.  After indulging in every last bit of angelic pudding that she could lay her hands on, Hermione leaned back in her chair and daintily patted her lips with the immaculate white napkin.  Soon after, Draco was on his feet gesturing for her to follow him.
"Come on, I'll show you the library," he said, limping out of the room.

What really happened to this man? Why was his face covered with a mask and why's he limping?

In spite of Draco's present encumbrance, Hermione still had to walk double-time to keep up with him.

Why didn't he just apparate us both to where we're going?

"I could've apparated us there, but I doubt you'd enjoy holding my hand."
Again, there was that hint of humor in his tone. 

Was he enjoying himself? Should I be worried? Is he really taking me to the library?
What if...

Her head snapped to him when she heard him laughing.

"Don't worry, I'm really taking you to the library," he said.

"What? Are you reading my mind?" she retorted.

"No. But you're thinking really loud, Granger.  And when I'm this close to someone, I can hear their thoughts whether I want to or not," he sighed as he lumbered up the stairs.

"You're a Legilimens, aren't you?" she asked.

"And an Occlumens, too, so don't bother trying to read my mind."

"Hey! I wasn't going to.  I'm not that skilled with Legilimency yet.  Not like you, anyway. I can tell that you're a natural."

"Hmm...hearing other people's thoughts is not Legilimency per se. As you very well know, Legilimency is more focused than that.  You can sift through a person's memories using it."

"Why are you telling me all these?" she asked, skipping every two steps to keep up with him.  For a man with a limp, Malfoy could really move fast.

"Just trying to make conversation," he replied.

"And why would you even want to converse with me?"

There was a bitter ring to his laughter this time.

"Well, Granger, in case you haven't noticed, we're the only two people here.  I couldn't really hold a decent conversation with a house elf now, could I?"

He did have a point.  Of course, she wouldn't tell him that, so they walked the rest of the way in companionable silence.  It felt strange...she'd never shared a peaceful minute with Malfoy.  Their every encounter was always riddled with insults and harsh words.  But she found that she didn't dislike this new facet in their relationship.

RELATIONSHIP? Have you gone daft, Hermione? You don't have any form of 'relationship' with the ferret! Not then, not now, not ever!

Malfoy stopped in his tracks and turned to her, his slate-grey eyes boring into hers.

Shite! Did I think too loud again?

"We're here," he simply said, pushing open a large, mahogany door etched with ancient runes.

Hermione nearly fainted at the sight.

The library was far better than she'd expected.  Way, way, waaaaaaay far better!

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A/N: So, what do you guys think? Is there going to be a truce between these two? Let me know and leave a comment. And if you're enjoying the story, please vote. :)