Began: July 12, 2017
Published: July 15, 2017
Edited: -

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Hermione usually took pride in always knowing exactly what to do in a messy situation.

Unfortunately, nothing about this situation was usual.

Instead, she was stuck with a silently sulking boy who had skin so pale, Edward Cullen would seem tan in comparison.

And therein laid the problem.

No, not the fact that he was pale, but the fact that he was silent. After he had stormed into the guest bedroom, Hermione was relieved and simply said "good riddance" to his back before calling it a night.

The next morning, she woke up, ate breakfast, and left for work believing in God, because obviously a higher power had to exist in order to somehow intervene and give her a peaceful, Malfoy-free morning.

And even after she returned from work, exhausted after another day of trying to draft a law that would guarantee free Wolfsbane potions to all werewolves, she simply took it as more divine intervention, cooked a quick dinner, took a long deserved bath, and crashed on top of her bed, still fully dressed.

A small part of her was ashamed at the fact that it took her three days to finally check up on Malfoy. Another (much larger) part of her was simply glad she had three days to let the fact that she had to live with him for a year to sink in some more before she actually faced him.

But the (very) small part of her (slowly) grew until it was only a somewhat small part of her that she could no longer ignore.

Which led to the current predicament that is a huffy Hermione Granger sitting across from a mute Draco Malfoy.

After all, if he had spoken, there would be two (pleasant) scenarios that would occur:

One- He would be rude, get three strikes, and Hermione would ship him off to Azkaban and be done with it all; or

Two- He would be pleasant, try to get through the year with as little trouble as possible, and Hermione would find her (unwanted) flatmate that much easier to ignore.

Or perhaps even a third option, where he would be sarcastic, but not enough to deserve Azkaban, and Hermione would have fun retorting and putting him back into his place.

But silence?

An indignant feeling builds up inside of her as Hermione taps her fingers against the table impatiently, waiting for Malfoy to break his self-imposed mutism. She was still too prideful to speak first, knowing full well he would just ignore her and thus make her even more angry.

She glances at her watch—a Muggle contraption she had noticed Malfoy eyeing when she first barged into his room, grabbed him, and forced him to sit in the kitchen chair all without either party uttering a word—and sighs to herself. Even waking an extra hour early to hold this intervention of sorts wasn't enough, and if he didn't break soon, she would be late.

(She doesn't notice her nails begin to tap against the hardwood table more violently)

(That is, until Draco Malfoy slams down his empty coffee mug)

(She didn't even notice him drinking it, which makes her think about how much she seems to be zoning out recently)

"Dammit woman!" Malfoy groans, running a hand through his hair out of exasperation.

(Hermione would have been distracted by his hair and its gel-less state if he hadn't continued talking)

Malfoy gives her a withering glare, but it seems to have lost its sharpness, because Hermione just blinks, confused. He gives a pointed look at her left hand, and it is only then that she realizes that she is still tapping on the table with extreme vigor.

"Damn," she murmurs, placing her hand on her lap instead, "And I had just gotten a manicure yesterday. Now it's probably chipped."

Another groan cuts her from her thoughts, and Hermione glances back up at him. Malfoy—she should probably start calling him Draco now, but she isn't mentally ready for that yet—gives her another hard look.

"Really? Really? You're driving me nearly insane and your only comment is how your nail polish might have chipped?" His gaze turns into one of disbelief. "Granger, did you just drag me out my room to sit there staring into space and then to mourn the state of your nails?"

"Well," she replies distractedly, noticing that she had to leave in five minutes or she'd be late, "Harry and Ginny's wedding is this weekend, and I don't know when I'll have time to get it done again."

Malfoy blinks at her once, twice, before finally slumping in his seat in such a fashion, Hermione could almost hear Narcissa Malfoy scolding him.

When Hermione doesn't make any further comments, he stands up. "Well, if that's all, I'm just going to go back to my room." And leaves.

It takes another couple minutes for Hermione to realize that he has gone and finally leaves for work, still in a daze.

(She is, indeed, at work on time, although she might not be able to say the same about her mental state)

(That is made clear when she accidentally writes something about ferrets instead of werewolves in her draft)

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(A/N): Yes, there is a reason why Hermione is having trouble focusing, and it isn't just because she's still trying to settle into the fact that Draco's staying with her. I know, I know, "brightest witch of this age" and all, but everything will be explained with time.

If you hadn't noticed, each chapter sort of alternates between the perspectives of the two characters, while still remaining in third person. It's written in the present tense, although sometimes the tenses will switch as they think about past events. Sorry if the switches are confusing, or if I use the wrong one by accident here and there.

Tell me what you think~

-Elizabeth