By the time Hermione went to the Gryffindor dormitories, splashed some cool water on her face, and then told Harry and Ron (who weren’t quite paying attention due to their game of exploding snap) she was going back to the library it was almost seven.

The library was fairly quiet, the students who were in there were obviously focusing on preparing for their end of year exams.

Heart beating so hard it felt like it was in her throat, she turned the last corner to her favorite spot in the library to see the Slytherins at every seat but one.

They were all talking quietly but as she approached, Daphne looked up with a bright smile.

“Hermione! You made it!” She jumped out of her seat, throwing her arms around Hermione and pulling her into a hug.

Startled, it took Hermione a moment to return the unexpected affection.

“Daph, you’ll scare her away if you keep that up,” Blaise drawled not unkindly. “Sorry about that, Granger.”

Daphne pulled away, cheeks red.

“No need to be sorry,” Hermione said hastily. “I’m so happy to meet you officially, Daphne.”

Daphne smiled again, looping her arm through Hermione’s and pulling her to the table to sit in the one vacant seat between her and Draco.

As she took her seat, Hermione was painfully aware of Draco’s presence beside her. She swallowed, hoping it wasn’t too obvious, and gave Pansy across from her a small, tentative smile. Pansy returned it with a warmth she had never seen before on the girl.

“How are you, Granger?” Theo asked, his dark brown curls swinging as he leaned towards her.

She smiled, the movement feeling odd after not doing it for so long. The stress of this year – her extra lessons, rows with the boys, and the realization that Hogwarts wasn’t exactly how it seemed – had all been weighing on her.

Theo was the first person in… she didn’t know how long to actually… to ask her how she was. Tears pricked her eyes as she blinked rapidly and from the horrified look on Theo’s face, she was sure he could see.

“Sorry,” she laughed, wiping at her face with the sleeve of her robe. “It’s just… no one’s asked me that in a while.”

Theo let out a soft chuckle, pushing his curls back from his face.

“Well, I’m honored to be the first.”

Pansy leaned forward then, her eyes sharp.

“But really, how are you, Granger? I don’t understand how you’re taking so many subjects and still have your head on straight.” Her nails tapped the table.

Hermione grimaced.

“I’m… okay,” she answered honestly. “It’s better now that Harry and Ron are talking to me again.”

“Prats,” Draco muttered under his breath.

“Hear, hear,” Blaise agreed quietly as well.

Hermione’s cheeks darkened.

“I know… but they’re my best friends.”

Draco shifted beside her, placing one arm on the table and turning to her completely. His white blonde hair shimmered in the light from the candles and his eyes were like molten silver.

“I feel you may need a refresh on the definition of best friends , Granger. Those dunces are so stupid they might as well have nifflers for brains. They treat you like absolute shite and they’re only decent to you when they need something. Would you consider that a good friend?”

Hermione paused, looking away from Draco to stare at the table top. Her index finger traced the grooves of the wood grain as she said in a small voice, “no… I suppose not.”

Daphne’s hand covered hers.

“It’s just a stressful time,” Hermione said, trying to make an excuse for them. “All with Sirius Black on the loose and exams coming up.”

When she looked at Daphne, the girl nodded kindly but one look into her eyes and Hermione knew she wasn’t convinced. She felt like a fool, sitting here with these Slytherins having it pointed out to her that her best friends weren’t particularly… well… the best .

Hermione shook her head, trying to smile.

“Anyway, enough about me.” She turned towards Draco. “Did you all need help with something? Is that why you wanted to meet?”

All five Slytherin’s frowned slightly at her assumption that the only reason she would want to meet would be for help on homework.

“No… We don’t need help with anything,” Pansy scoffed. “We wanted to meet with you to say thank you, Granger.”

Her eyes widened and she slipped her hand from Daphne’s as she turned to look at each of them.

“I already told you Pansy… You don’t have to thank me.”

Theo shook his head.

“You’re the only one who seems to care what happens to us. I’ve seen the way you watch out for us, how you don’t gossip with the other Gryffindors.”

Hermione blushed.

“It’s not right what’s happening,” she said softly.

“You helped Draco,” Blaise said. “When most would’ve kicked him while he’s down or left him to suffer.”

“And you saved Pansy,” Daphne added.

Pansy wrinkled her nose. “Usually, people join in instead of stopping it.”

“So… In honor of what you’ve done for us, Granger,” Theo said proudly as if he were the mayor in the middle of a town hall speech. “We have decided to make you an honorary Slytherin.”

Hermione blinked, her mind whirring trying to understand what that could possibly mean. Draco leaned forward and she felt his arm brush hers.

“Slytherins look after their own. We watch out for each other. So now, we’ll look out for you too.” His voice was low, smooth and dripping with some emotion Hermione couldn’t understand.

Her throat felt thick as she thought of what it might mean to have people looking out for her. Certainly that was never the case with Harry and Ron – she was always looking out for them.

“Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice. “That’s… so kind of you.”

Pansy’s smile was soft, almost affectionate.

“We know that it will cause problems, being seen with us..” Pansy tried to keep the frustration out of her voice. “But maybe we can meet like this one or two times a week?”

“We want to get to know you better, become better friends,” Daphne beamed, throwing a lock of golden hair over her shoulder.

Hermione’s brows pulled together.

“I’m not ashamed of you all,” she said firmly.

At those words all the Slytherin’s smiles dropped from their faces. There was a look of deep feeling behind their eyes. Blaise cleared his throat a few times.

“Thank you, Granger,” he said.

Draco seemed to hesitate for a moment, then covered her hand with his. Hermione’s breath caught in her throat. Without thinking, she flipped her palm over and he squeezed her hand tightly.

“All the same, we don’t want to cause problems for you, especially considering the company you keep. I’m sure scarhead and the weasel would have a lot to say about being seen with us.” Hermione grimaced and she wasn’t sure which made her angrier – Draco’s derogatory nicknames or the fact that he was right. “We’ll have you however we can get you.”

She was sure, in that moment, Draco was speaking more for himself than the other four at the table. So she looked right into his grey eyes and ran her thumb once against his.

“I’d like that.”