A/N: To quote solfire: Hi, I'm back! Did you miss me? (By the way yes, solfire, I did miss you.)

I believe this chapter is appropriately named because me putting it online before Christmas (or the announced date of January) is – in short – a miracle. I was very lucky to eventually have my pc fixed and returned to me (and it only cost me roughly 200 Euros, yay!) so quickly. I mean it only took them 3 months. Mind the sarcasm.

So here we are with a new chapter and I think you will like it. Personally, I am happy with how this one turned out with the exception of a few minor scenes/lines (but if I tinkered around with that until I think its perfect I'd never get to upload anything so I'm willing to let these 'problems' slide).

You will notice (if you have this story or me on any of your alert lists) that there are several alert mails in your inbox. That is because I exchanged the old chapters with revised ones. The contents didn't change (with the exception of a few lines here and there that irked me because they interrupted the flow of the story), but I fixed the separators in the other chapters as well so if you ever feel you want to go back and read the story from the start you won't have to deal with my (more than) confusing jumps in scenery.

The attentive reader will also note that the rating for this story has been increased from T to M for language. This is a precautionary measure on my part since I can never tell where minor language ends and strong language begins. There will most likely be more language but also some innuendo in this story as well as some implied sexual actions. I am not sure whether this warrants the higher rating (in my opinion an average Britney Spears song or Shakira video implies more than what I have planned for this story) but I firmly believe that its better to be safe than sorry.

That's all I wanted to say so you may now proceed to read the story and (perhaps) leave some constructive criticism behind for me to cherish.

Insanely yours,

Pace

PS – Authors can now respond to their signed reviewers directly! Yay! As for my unsigned reviewers, you will find my responses on my profile page until I can think of a better solution.

Chapter published: 2005-12-04

Inspiration: 'The Miracle' by Queen

This chapter was beta-read by Vor Tirla Laime. Thank you so much for your help.

Matchmaker

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match.
Find me a find; Catch me a catch.
Matchmaker, matchmaker, look through your book
and make me the perfect match.

- From "Fiddler on the Roof" (musical)

Chapter 5 – The Miracle

The first week back at Hogwarts was pure intellectual bliss, at least for Hermione Granger, who had missed school probably even more than Harry had while he had been staying with his relatives. Walking down to the Great Hall for breakfast, making her way to the cold and damp dungeons to be sneered at by Professor Snape, even hitting her pinkie toe against the sturdy four-poster she slept in was wonderful. Hermione found that after this summer, she appreciated Hogwarts so much more; not that she hadn't appreciated it properly before, but it was just as her grandparents always said: absence indeed made the heart grow fonder and you really don't know what you've got until it's (almost) gone.

Only very few things penetrated Hermione's educational-induced haze of happiness, like sugar quills and vivid discussions of Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons and their new instructor, Professor Bontemps. Defence lessons this year were quite different from those of the year prior simply for the fact that they had been asked questions and were expected to answer them. Even Ron agreed that this was an improvement, although he still wouldn't participate as actively as Hermione would like him to.

"Well I don't know about you but I really enjoyed this lesson," Hermione said, turning to Harry and Ron as they walked down the Defence-corridor after another lesson on repelling Dementors.

"I could be wrong but I think she's already said that today for … 3 or 4 times?" Ron pondered aloud.

"Well let's see… she said it right after Charms and when she got back from Ancient Runes, too," Harry said, ticking the subjects off.

"Not to forget Transfiguration," Ron said.

"And Herbology," Harry added.

"And… ugh… Double Potions," both boys said disgustedly.

"Potions was yesterday, though," Hermione replied bemusedly.

"So? You still claimed it was an enjoyable lesson."

"But it was!"

"I don't know which Double Potions lesson with Slytherin you attended, Hermione, but the one Ron and I went to was quite horrible actually. I don't recall Snape having ever been so particularly nasty so early into the term that he actually send someone out; he's threatened us with it often enough, but he's never actually thrown anyone out before, no matter how much he hated us." Harry said thoughtfully.

"You're not disappointed that it wasn't you who got kicked out, are you?" Hermione asked somewhat incredulous, to which Harry and Ron only responded with wry grins.

They separated at the portrait of the witch Lorelei, who gave Harry and Ron a radiant smile but tutted at Hermione's hair, the boys heading towards the Gryffindor Tower on their own for some studying during their free period (one of the 'perks' of having dropped Divination was the increase of study time) while Hermione made her way to Advanced Arithmancy. Halfway there, she met Mandy Brocklehurst, who was one of the remaining Arithmancy students, and they discussed their expectations for the new term when Kate Moon walked by.

"Moon's getting bolder and bolder each year," Mandy remarked distastefully, her eyes following the red-haired witch.

The girl in question was turning quite some heads while she walked away; over the years Kate had grown from an unimpressive chubby girl into a voluptuous, slightly more impressive young woman. It was the transformation of the ugly duckling all over, only that at the end this duckling didn't turn into a beautiful swan but rather an appealing duck (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a duck as opposed to a swan, let me tell you that). Kate's hair was neither the lush, vibrant red that Ginny Weasley had been favoured with, nor was it like the shiny golden-blonde curls of Sally-Ann Perkins, but rather a shabby shade of copper and brass. Her eyes were a rather uninspiring dull shade of blue and her face was – to put it nicely – quite plain. However, Kate had been blessed with long, shapely legs, an almost perfect hour-glass figure and an absolutely flawless peach-coloured skin for which Eloise Midgen would have killed in her fourth year.

Hermione turned her head slightly to watch the red-haired girl walk away. Ever since Kate had hit puberty she had toyed with her appearance, trying to use her "assets" to her advantage. With every year that passed her blouses would become a little tighter and her skirts a little shorter; not tight or short enough to be violating the school's dress code, but still noticeably different. Every boy would fantasize about Kate Moon and her uniform at one point or another and although Hermione found it admirably how Kate managed to accomplish her goals she heavily resented the girl's methods. She made a face at the boys in the hallway, who were leering quite openly at Kate.

Draco Malfoy found this shameless display of male appreciation equally nauseating. Unlike some people he had enough decorum to fully appreciate the beauty of Kate Moon's body without staring at her as if he were a starving man and she a free meal. Still the quick, hidden glances he shot the girl were of a high entertainment factor, for which he was grateful. His eyes trailed the length of Kate's legs and Draco found himself wondering whether there was perhaps a chance to spend some quality time with those legs and the body attached to them.

He found this concept highly demanding as well as highly distracting. The lesson started without Draco noticing. When Professor Vector opened the classroom, Draco trotted behind Blaise Zabini and slipped into a seat in the back of the room, eyes still trained on Kate Moon, who sat down a few rows away. He missed the introduction of the new apprentice (Aurora McCarthy, an American witch) as he pulled out his parchment and abacus, mentally running through his repertoire of compliments and pick-up lines while Professor Vector welcomed the class and began her lecture about the Ziffer paradox.

Had Draco been with at least half of his mind on the lesson (and not on the few things still covered by the school uniform of a certain Hufflepuff witch) he would have never ended up in front of the class looking like a fool. But as it were, he failed to do so and the whole class was able to bear witness to it.

It was common knowledge that Professor Vector firmly believed that the key to successful studying was in fact success: if students worked out themselves how to solve a problem they were less likely to forget it; as opposed to simply learning by heart what she told them. Therefore daydreaming in Emma Vector's class was an incredibly dangerous thing to do. It wasn't that the witch recognized daydreaming as such very often – most of the time she confused it with a look of puzzlement – but the result, whether she recognized it or not, was always the same.

The class quieted in apprehension when Professor Vector began to compose a problem on the black board; quick glances were shot through the room in search of the unlucky victim – who would be called to the board by the Arithmancy professor to solve the problem? Who had forgotten the most crucial rule of survival in Arithmancy (never show your mind is wandering unless you want the professor to 'help' you) this time?

"The Ziffer paradox is of course quite challenging to explain, as you have undoubtedly noticed already. In fact, I believe it is best experienced. Would you kindly solve this problem at the black board for us… Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco's head snapped up. Had that been his n… he didn't even finish that thought. Mentally cursing the professor's unfortunate timing the blond Slytherin rose from his seat and strode towards the board, picking up the proffered piece of chalk and began to work. At first the formula Professor Vector had written gave him no trouble; he solved the first parameters easy enough. The fourth parameter was a bit more complicated and Draco had to resort to writing side notes on the board to work this one out – his actions were greeted by the affirmative grunts of his teacher and a soft 'excellent', so he didn't think about it too much when he solved the last two parameters of the first line and proceeded to work on the second line of the problem. This was when he found himself struggling because although every single parameter made perfectly sense, their combination didn't.

The blond wizard mentally berated himself for his hesitation and then set on solving these parts of the formula as well, although he doubted the validity of his results. He was half-way through when suddenly, he halted. He could tell, without a doubt, that this was entirely wrong and that he had violated at least a 5 basic arithmantic rules. Draco was about to turn to Professor Vector and (grudgingly) ask for a recap, when someone exclaimed softly: "I can't believe you made that mistake! You can't solve this problem like that you need to…"

The voice trailed off as he turned around, icy eyes fixed on the offensive witch. Hermione Granger flushed in embarrassment.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry."

Professor Vector took the piece of chalk from the Slytherin and sent him to his seat, too fixated on Draco's calculations to notice more than Hermione's outburst.

"Miss Granger is indeed right, this is wrong. I assume you know that you have violated quite a collection of arithmantic laws and rules, although, to your credit, I have to say that as of yet you are unaware of most of them. As you all can see, Mister Malfoy's calculation starts out absolutely correct – excellent side notes, by the way, for a moment I thought you'd be able to solve this without a flaw. This here is very good, although you could have had this one here easier if only you had applied Di Vincenzo's 4th law. But beyond this point I am afraid that there isn't much that can be done about your calculation. You have neglected to isolate the paradox, which would have shown you that this problem can be solved only partially."

Professor Vector scribbled the correct calculation onto the board while talking, but again Draco's attention wasn't on the lesson; it wasn't on Kate Moon's legs either. There was only one thought occupying his mind:

How dare she.

ooo

Meeting in the library for a make-out session was a debatably risky thing to do, not only because it was a public place but because there would be hell to pay if Madam Pince caught you in a lip lock with your sweetheart while using the bookshelves for leverage. You don't even want to know what she did to those unfortunate souls she caught in a state of partial undress, or what happened when the books' protective spells kicked into overdrive should you manage to knock one of them over while indulging in the language of love. Nothing killed the mood more than a swarm of books hitting you on the head or Madam Pince breathing down your neck and asking you what precisely you thought you were doing.

Terry Boot knew this and later on, he would swear to everyone that would listen that he really hadn't intended to end up with Allison Pearson on his lap and his hand under her skirt; that the original plan had indeed been to study for Ancient Runes, but no one wanted to hear that. What people did want to hear was what Terry and Allison had witnessed by accident and unlike Terry, who was more or less a friend of one of the involved parties Allison had absolutely no qualms whatsoever to tell the story over and over again. When asked, she would start like this:

"Well I was sitting with Terry at a secluded table in the library, nearby section M-1. We were studying… alright, trying to study Ancient Runes but somehow ended up making out on his chair. Let me tell you that Terry Boot has the most magnificent hands on all of Hogwarts and he can kiss…"

Here Allison would trail off and look dreamily into a middle-distance, a slight blush colouring her cheeks. She would sigh deeply, lost in what could have happened had they remained uninterrupted and then clear her voice to continue.

"Anyway, suddenly, we heard someone approach. We sprang apart and straightened our uniforms when Draco Malfoy swept past us. Boy was he angry. You could have cut out a piece of that anger and take it home with you, I tell you.

So Malfoy sweeps towards section M-2, drops his book bag and grabs a book from the shelf. He opens it at a random page and begins to read, looking quite satisfied with himself. Terry and I looked at each other and resumed studying when someone else approaches and then Hermione Granger turns around the corner. She nods to us in greeting and we nod back. Terry waves her over and they say hello. He asks her what she's doing at the library so shortly before her potions lesson and I would really like to know why Terry knows when Hermione Granger has her potions lesson, you know that? I find it slightly disconcerting if the boy I've been coveting since term started can't remember when we're supposed to meet for studying but knows another girl's time table by heart. Is there something going on between Granger and Terry, do you know that? Are they an item? Or worse: were they an item last year and I didn't know? Is she his ex-girlfriend and he's been secretly pining for her? Ohmigod, is Granger pining for Terry? Do you know!"

At which point it would be wise for you to interrupt Allison and tell her jokingly that no, you don't find it that odd that Terry knows Hermione's time table – after all you know Harry Potter's and that doesn't make you an item (although you wish) and that as far as you know there was never anything more between Boot and Granger than patrolling the halls together once a month and would she please get on with the story now?

"Alright if you say so… so, Granger begins to blab about her last Arithmancy lesson and she tells Terry about something called 'Ziffer paradox' and some guy… Levi Ziffer and that he wrote a book about this paradox and then they go all intellectual on me and begin to discuss that paradox. I tuned them out because I really didn't care and I'll drop Arithmancy next year anyways. So I turn my head and think 'Seeing as he is up so close, why don't you check out Malfoy for a moment or two?' and so I did.

Malfoy's an ass, you know, but one can't deny that he has flair. You know the moment he enters a room – it's like the whole attention suddenly focuses on him. He's handsome in an almost-too-perfect, ice-cold way. Well if you ignore that chin, anyways. And he's got a body… Merlin what wouldn't I give to see that body up close… really close, I mean. Don't get me wrong… I adore Terry but Malfoy, that's an entirely different league.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, I was checking out Malfoy – doesn't hurt to look, does it – and I notice his hands on the book and they are just perfect. Alright so I might have a teensy little crush on Malfoy but come on, which straight girl in Hogwarts doesn't? Then I raised my head a little to study his face and I realize Malfoy is looking my way. And I think 'Oh my sweet Merlin… don't mess this one up, Allie' and I smile at him but he doesn't react, not even frown or sneer at me and then Granger takes a few steps away and you know what? He was watching her! What is it with Granger! First Terry and then Malfoy… and everyone knows what's going on in Gryffindor Tower between her, Potter and Weasley, don't they? I wonder how she does it… yes, yes the story. So, Malfoy watches Granger and I am slightly disappointed in his obvious bad taste and I dropped my gaze and accidentally read the title of the book in his hand just as Granger tells Terry that she'd better be looking for Levi Ziffer's 'Oddities and paradoxes of Arithmancy' now if she wanted to make it to potions on time – which is the book Malfoy is reading!

I had a bad feeling about this whole thing right then and there and I knew I ought to pack up, grab Terry and leave but … I couldn't. I wanted to know what would happen and so I remained seated and braced myself.

Granger turns around and finally notices Malfoy, who appears to be totally engrossed into that book. She looks at him rather warily and then walks towards the bookshelves. Before she reaches the shelves she stops suddenly and I guess that that was the moment she realized which book Malfoy was reading. You know how the M section is structured, don't you? From the tables near M-1 you have a perfect look into every aisle, so I could see their faces.

Anyway, Granger looks slightly incredulous at first, but then her face is suddenly blank. Malfoy turns a page.

"Excuse me," Granger said softly, "is that Levi Ziffer's 'Oddities and Paradoxes of Arithmancy', by any chance?" No response from Malfoy. Granger waited for a while then spoke again.

"I was wondering whether you would let me have a look at it. Unless of course you've decided to borrow it," she said.

Again no response from Malfoy, but he raised his head to look at the library clock and then said softly:

"Potions' starting in 5 minutes."

He dropped his gaze again to the book in his hand and then suddenly he began to talk quite conversationally with Granger. His voice was loud enough to carry over to where Terry and I sat. I'm fairly certain he did that on purpose.

"This book is fascinating, you know," Malfoy said. "Levi Ziffer's one of the leading arithmancers of modern wizarding society. His theories are in short amazing."

"I know," Granger ground out through bit teeth. I swear Malfoy was talking to her as if she had the mental capabilities of a flobberworm! Anyway, Malfoy ignored Granger's statement completely.

"Ziffer's discovered what we now call the 'Ziffer Paradox'… you know, that thing we've discussed in Arithmancy today," he continued conversationally. Realization dawns on Granger's face. I'm afraid I had no clue what they were talking about. Malfoy pauses for a moment, as if contemplating, and then says:

"Ziffer does have a horrible writing style, though. Well, primarily he's a supreme arithmancer, after all, not an author. I've read the bit where he reviewed Rosamund O'Leary's theory about the flow of magic in artificially generated energy fields of equal polarity – she means wands with that – and it was kind of trying my patience. Ziffer's explanations and objections are quite intriguing but he can't hold a candle to O'Leary in my opinion when it comes to writing. Ziffer does have a tendency to beat around the bush, though. If he thinks O'Leary's theory is crap, he should simply say so and not write 'Ms O'Leary's theory is based on the irrational believe that the wand chooses the wizard or witch, however, she neglects to deliver sufficient proof to this vital part of her theory' – I guess she didn't have him convinced."

Malfoy looked thoughtful and I noticed his eyes sweeping towards the library clock again. I followed his gaze: the next class would start in 1 minute precisely. You know where the problem lies, don't you?

If Slytherins are late for Potions class, the worst Snape will do is take points from another house (preferably Gryffindor, thank Merlin) because it must have been their fault. If someone else comes in late, they can expect a massive loss of house points and a really nasty detention with either Snape himself or Filch. So Malfoy, being a Slytherin, could very well afford being late for Potions, but Granger, who's in Gryffindor (but who am I telling that, you probably knew that already), could not. I was pretty certain that Malfoy's intentions were to keep Granger long enough so she wouldn't be able to make it to class on time. If that were the case, this little show should be over soon. Malfoy sighed heavily.

"You know, I am undecided whether I ought to take this book out or not," he finally said. "Ziffer's style is really tiring, but this is the only copy of 'Oddities and Parodoxes of Arithmancy' the library has. On the one hand, if I leave it here and decide that I do want to read it it'll be gone when I come back and to be quite frankly with you, that would really annoy me." Malfoy shook his head as if this had the potential to be the greatest tragedy of his young life, which I sincerely doubt.

"On the other hand should I take it with me now I might decide not to read it at all and it'll lie around my dorm for three complete weeks before I can return it without looking as if I hadn't studied it thoroughly enough – and I'd really like to avoid that because it would make me look like a fool. And Malfoys don't enjoy looking like fools," he added harshly.

I noticed the way he looked at Granger and if looks could kill there wouldn't have been enough left of her to bury it.

"Listen, I am sorry for what I said in Arithmancy. I got carried away with the whole paradox thing. I didn't mean to insult you, alright?"

What was that? Hermione Granger was apologizing to Draco Malfoy? Is the world coming to an end?

Malfoy closed the book with a loud 'clap' just as the bell rang. His eyes were fixed on Granger's.

"You didn't mean to insult me, Granger? You are sorry? Well if you are, you should have no problems making it up to me, or do you?" Malfoy asked in a dangerously silky voice. It sent shivers down my spine and I got all… well, you know.

Granger looked at him cautiously. I guess she knew something bad was coming. What am I saying: I am absolutely certain she did. Malfoy looked at her, disgust and contempt clearly visible on his face as he spoke. Give me a second... what was it again he said? Oh yes, he said:

"Your presence in these sacred halls of magical education insults me, Granger. Your very existence is offensive to me. I am willing to overlook your unfortunate appearance – after all, the world needs its ugly ducklings – but your scandalous heritage I cannot. You sully this great institution. You and your kind lead astray pliable minds by bringing your worthless muggle morals into a world that is far beyond such pettiness, unlike the one you originate from. You flaunt your supposed superiority into the faces of people you are not even worth looking at. Make it up to me, why don't you? Go for a swim with the giant squid. Jump off your precious Gryffindor Tower and while you're at it, take Potty and Weasel King with you; no need for brooms. Have Longbottom try to brew that Shrinking Solution again – mind, on his own, this time – and then drink to my health and superiority. In short: why don't you do us all a favour and die?"

I felt like I had been slapped quite forcefully. That was way over the top as well as under the belt. I tried to see Hermione Granger's face but she had it lowered to her chest and her hair fell forward like a curtain. Terry began to rise but I tugged him back onto his chair. It wouldn't do for either of us to get caught in their line of fire.

So, as I said, I couldn't see Granger's face but I could see her hands and right now, her hands where clenched so tightly, that it must have hurt. I hoped she wouldn't hit Malfoy but I could understand if she did. I snuck another quick glance at the clock. We were all already 4 minutes overdue. I wondered how I should make it on time to divination or whether it would pay off to skip class today in favour of watching the showdown between Granger and Malfoy. I decided on the latter, needless to say.

"You are one to talk about offence, Malfoy," Granger said softly and her voice was eerily calm. She lifted her head and I could see her face, which was just as calm as her voice but let me tell you that I was never so scared of Hermione Granger than in that moment when she made eye-contact with Malfoy right after he insulted her.

"Just who do you think you are that you can command me around?" she asked. It was a rhetorical question, but Malfoy answered it nevertheless.

"I'm a true wizard, unlike you, you wanna-be witch."

"True wizard? Ha! True coward is more like it. Why don't you crawl back down to your dungeons and hide behind your cronies, huh?"

"I'm missing something here, I'm really missing something… what's wrong with this picture?"

"That's a no-brainer. You inside the library, that's what's wrong."

"No-brainer? Now I know: Potty and Weasel King! Tell me, where are your two souteneurs, mudblood?"

Malfoy's eyes roamed over Granger's form in the most obscene fashion while he said that.

"Say… how much is an hour in your… ah… pleasurable company?" he leered at her and that was the moment I could literally see Granger snap.

I heard the slap before I actually saw it, seriously. If she wants to, Hermione Granger can move damn fast. One moment she stood there, hands balled tightly into shaking fists, the next she had her right hand raised. The force of her slap had thrown Malfoy's head to the side and a shiny red handprint formed rapidly on his cheek. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd be keeping a nice shiner from that one.

There was a moment of stunned silence, the only audible sound being Granger's heavy breathing and Malfoy grounding his teeth. Neither Terry nor I moved. Then Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Hermione Granger and I knew something bad, something really bad, was about to happen.

"That's it… that's the last time you've touched me, mudblood," he hissed and his hand moved to his waist, as if to grab his wand, but then he pulled up in a sudden movement. I closed my eyes, waiting for the sound of flesh hitting flesh again but it never came.

Blinking, I slowly opened my eyes. Madam Pince, in all her flowered robed glory, stood right next to Malfoy, holding his left hand so tightly that the blood flow in it was starting to recede.

"Mister Malfoy," she said, sounding even scarier than Snape on a bad day. "Explain yourself."

ooo

Severus Snape had meant to keep Draco Malfoy behind after today's lesson to talk to him in private. Not about his plans for the boy's future (he'd sooner check himself into St. Mungo's), but to see how his godson was coping not only with the loss of his father but also his school work, his prefect duties and the family affairs. He had planned it as a nice afternoon tea with some candied fruits (a personal favourite of his) and gingerbread.

He hadn't planned for it to be a pre-detention talk and he most certainly hadn't expected to see Irma Pince barrelling through his classroom door as if the Dark Lord himself where after her, making a face that would have probably worried said lord, if not scared him.

Madame Pince's angry tirade was delivered too quickly even for him to follow, but he picked up the key-phrases 'despicable behaviour', 'mudblood', 'never in my entire career' and 'appropriate punishment' (more than once, not in that order), thus concluding that the librarian – a muggle-born witch herself – had probably witnessed Draco delivering his favourite insult to a fellow student; he was not at all surprised to find out who that student was. While the librarian continued to unleash her anger about Draco's behaviour at a volume that put every howler to shame, Snape's mind kicked into overdrive. Somehow he managed to get a couple of sentences out that managed to calm Madame Pince down a little while he promised to take appropriate measures and thanked her for bringing this matter to his attention. Assured of his compliance the librarian swept out of the room in an impressive swirl of flowered robes (which had never seemed more threatening than in that moment), leaving behind a collective feeling of 'what was that' and 'whew, glad that's over'. Snape was relieved when finally the lesson ended and he could dismiss his class.

"So if I understood you correctly, it all comes down to Miss Granger being her usual, insufferable self and you picking the worst possible moment and the worst possible place to toss around the worst possible insult… a second time," the Head of Slytherin said, eyeing his cup of tea as if daring it to object.

Draco was standing by the hearth, his head raised to the third enchanted portrait of a clearing Severus Snape possessed in which right now, there was no overly curious nymph trying to overhear their conversation. But even if there would have been the blond wizard wouldn't have noticed her, his mind on other things.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Snape said a little more loudly, rising from his chair when his inquiry failed to draw a reaction from his student. "Draco."

The boys hand twitched as he tilted his head to the side, staring at the landscape forever caught in oil with a look of contemplation.

"This may sound disturbing now," he said quietly. "But would you believe I was enjoying myself up until the point where Pince interrupted?"

Severus watched Draco closely. He seemed calm and relatively relaxed.

"You insulted a fellow student in the library, calling her a prostitute to her face and defiling her heritage," here Draco snorted, "twice. The way I know Madam Pince, a detailed story of what has happened and whatever she supposes must have happened before that will have spread throughout the school by dinnertime, possibly even sooner. That leaves you with roughly 2 hours to contemplate what to do now."

"Pardon?" Snape's charge asked, turning around.

"You are a grown man, Draco. You are currently acting as the head of your clan. Surely you are aware of the fact that insulting Miss Granger the way you did puts you, your family and all your efforts to keep the ministry off your back into a less than favourable light. If I were you, I'd try to limit the damages quickly; before this unfortunate affair leaves the castle."

Draco frowned. "And what do you suppose I should do?" he asked cautiously.

"I happen to have an idea but I am absolutely certain that you won't like it…"

ooo

"I am what!" Hermione Granger wailed.

"I am sorry, Miss Granger, there is nothing I can do to help you. The library is Madam Pince's responsibility and if she feels it necessary to ban you and Mr Malfoy from it, she's perfectly at right to do so. Think of it as part of your punishment."

"Punishment? Why punishment? Hermione is the bloody injured party here! Why is she being punished for Malfoy being the bastard he is?" Ron exclaimed.

"Language, Mr Weasley."

Minerva McGonagall never believed in discussing misbehaviour behind closed doors – with few notable exceptions. Usually, Hermione Granger was one of the students that warranted such an exception, but when she had come to the Gryffindor common room to talk to the girl, Professor McGonagall found it empty, save for her three most prominent students. There were very few things kept secret between them; unfortunate encounters with Draco Malfoy were most probably not on that list.

"I agree with Ron, professor. Malfoy had it coming. He uses every chance to antagonize and provoke us. Hermione was merely standing up for herself. I don't see how that warrants a two-month-ban from the library," Harry said. The brunette witch shot him a grateful look.

"Be that as it may, resorting to violence is never the answer, Mr Potter. If Mr Malfoy tries to provoke you, ignore him. Don't react to his taunts by retaliating. That's what he wants. If you refuse to react, you take away his reward. As for you, I had expected better of you, Miss Granger. I am severely disappointed that one of my students, you above all others, would resort to physical means in order to win an argument over something as mundane as a book. As for the length of the ban, I trust you are familiar enough with the library rules to know that a two-month-ban is the usual punishment for attacking fellow students in the library. Your punishment is therefore most appropriate." Professor McGonagall said in a stern voice.

It was then that the Fat Lady saw fit to interrupt, saying that Professor Snape and a student of his were standing outside, waiting. Of course Snape knew the password for Gryffindor Tower, but he knew better than to use it in front of Draco Malfoy, who would, undoubtedly, get himself into more trouble once he knew the pass.

The portrait swung open and the two wizards climbed into the common room. Malfoy's disgust was clearly evident and he mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'undignified'.

"Mr Malfoy has something he would like to say to Miss Granger," Professor Snape said, nodding towards his fellow head of house and then turned his gaze onto the blond wizard next to him.

Draco Malfoy on his part drew in a deep breath. He shot the black-clad man a questioning look ('Do I really have to?') and pulled his shoulders back, standing even straighter.

"Miss Granger," he said in a clear voice, "I should like to apologize to you." Dumbfounded and amazed silence met Draco's hesitant voice (Was Draco Malfoy actually apologizing to Hermione Granger?) as he continued: "My behaviour and my words were most unacceptable and uncalled for. Your comment in Arithmancy riled me up and although you apologized to me twice, I couldn't let it go. I can only excuse my actions by saying that my family and I are going through a very trying time and that it has taken its toll on me. This doesn't make what I said and did any better, but I hope it helps you understand that my actions were not meant to be malevolent towards you. I am appalled at what I let myself say and do and I assure you that it won't happen again. Kindly accept my apology." He ended, looking as immaculately careless as he always did, his nonchalance belying his words of regret.

Schooling her face into equally nonchalant features, Hermione nodded her head.

"I accept your apology, Mr Malfoy, but only on the condition that you accept mine as well. It was wrong of me to lash out at you like that," she said.

"That settles that then," Professor McGonagall said, smiling proudly. "I shall talk to Madam Pince and see what we can do about that ban – although I can't make any promise. However, we can't have the two of you lagging behind in your studies, now can we? As for the offensive book…" she trailed off and drew Levi Ziffer's 'Oddities and paradoxes of Arithmancy' out of her robes, "I suppose it would be only fair to let Mr Malfoy read it first, since he was also first to pick it up at the library, don't you agree, Miss Granger?"

To Draco's delight, the brunette witch seemed very reluctant to give her consent. Knowing she couldn't accept, he shook his head and held his hands up defensively.

"No, no, Professor. Granger should have it – ladies first. Besides, I wouldn't have known which book to pick up if she hadn't asked Professor Vector for further reading material at the end of the lesson," he said quickly.

The head of Gryffindor shot her star-pupil a questioning look.

"No, you take it. I insist. You got it first, so you should read it first, too. You can pass it on to me once you're through with it," Hermione replied softly, her eyes sweeping over the floor. Professor McGonagall smiled even wider and handed the book over.

"If you excuse us now," Snape said with a curt nod, "Mr Malfoy and I have things to discuss."

And with that he pushed open the portrait hole and motioned for his student to exit through it, following behind closely. They left Gryffindor Tower, neither saying a word until they had reached the dungeons.

"Apologize! You made me apologize to her!" Draco suddenly burst out, the book held tightly in his left hand.

"Indeed I did."

"Merlin, what will my father say when he hears of this," Draco groaned, covering his face with his other hand. "Malfoys don't apologize… not to scum, anyway."

"Your father will be proud that you took the appropriate measures to avoid further trouble after you let your self-control slip."

The blond wizard snorted.

"Listen, Draco, I couldn't care less about whether you have a personal vendetta against Miss Granger or not. Just make sure it doesn't become one of my concerns."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean: make sure you don't get caught. There is very little your lawyers can do for you once it becomes public that Draco Malfoy, who was oh so charming in that Teen Magic interview – yes, I know about it – throws around the worst possible insult our society knows as if he hadn't a care in the world. There is also very little I can do for you if you are caught in flagrante. I don't want to have to punish you, so kindly ensure that I won't have to."

The young wizard nodded his head to show he had understood and Severus Snape allowed himself the luxury of a tiny smile. Miracles did happen after all… every now and then.

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