Hermione's POV

  I might have been a bit nervous when Malfoy returned to the common room. Actually no, I was incredibly nervous and looking at him made my breathing grow erratic. It was only until I broke the awkward, everlasting silence to question him if we could start on our project and beamed at me did it make the tension between us much more comfortable.

  Thankfully he agreed and we soon started working on it together. However a strange fleeting but casual thought popped up in my head and once I did, I  instantly froze for a moment as I stood rooted to the ground, ignoring that I was supposed to find the necessary ingredients for brewing Amortentia.

 Had I been too harsh on him for the past few days? I might have been a bit oblivious for the past few days. Maybe, just maybe he didn't really had the heart to try to intimidate me and I was indeed much of a git as he was to us. After all, the war had tormented us all, physically and mentally, especially all the Hogwarts students who participated before and during the battle, regardless of which side they were fighting on.

 Pondering on this, I could not help but feel sorry and sympathetic for Malfoy. He might have fought on the Dark Side but he was misunderstood and abhorred, anathematized, execrated, whatever word could match this, by the public which included most of the teachers and almost the entirety of the school. Yet, he always tried to be optimistic and even when he had his own fair share of trauma from the war, he still stood firm and had his chin up wherever he went.

 Nevertheless, it could not occur to the others that he too, has been downhearted and glum. It was a shame that he was forced to take the Dark Mark by his insane aunt, Bellatrix and because of his father's mistake and obey Lord Voldemort, who was merciless, as a Death Eater.

 As I continued to think about this, I heard someone's voice holler out my name. "Granger, where the fuck are you?" I immediately snapped back to reality and rushed to find the ingredients of the potion as I had no intention of facing an angered Malfoy. As I finally found them, I turned back, only to face a pair of eyes. Stormy grey eyes. They were mesmerizing, that was something I could not help but agree with.

Wait a second. I briefly thought to myself. Was I admiring Malfoy?

"Yes Granger, you need not deny that. I know my eyes are mesmerizing and all, but you really need to get a grip, Granger" I heard someone's voice, which horrified me.

It was not just anyone's voice. It was Malfoy's. Oh Merlin. I really wanted to hide myself at the moment as I felt heat rise up to my cheeks.

"Oooh Granger. Are you blushing?" Malfoy smirked and I huffed as I used my hand to cover up my face.

"Shut up, Malfoy, you git, now you better bring that textbook before I-" I said before I was cut off by him. 

"Did you really think I would spend my time thinking about you like you did? Well, obviously no. And if you are not blind, you would have seen that textbook in my hand by now, but obviously you were admiring me and my eyes." Malfoy answered me by showing the textbook in his right hand and taking two steps ahead, before he added " If you don't mind, we have a project to complete and I don't have all night to work on it. I need to sleep too, if you actually forgot."

  I shot daggers at him before pushing him with my left hand casually and walking past him before smirking at him as I walked to the coffee table and as I did, I saw him grinning again like a madman before I reminded him again as I pointed to the textbook "Well if you really want to sleep, then you better get your arse here to work on it before I make you stay up reading that textbook."

 He immediately came to sit on the couch near the coffee table and so, we read the textbook and noted down the instructions before going to bed, as it was 11:30pm and we had to finish our rounds.

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As I was doing my rounds, I met with two fifth years, one who was from Slytherin and the other from Gryffindor, and by the looks of it, they were snogging each other's faces off. I cleared my throat to make them aware of my presence before I said to them in an impression of an authorative voice "Well, well, well look what we've got here. Now if you two want to get detention, you both better go back to your respective dormitories."

Hearing this, they seemed fearful and at once, scurried back to their dormitories. As I glanced at the clock, I witnessed the clock tick to midnight, and as I finished up with doing rounds, I returned to my bedroom to go to sleep. 

 Not long after, I managed to sleep peacefully knowing that I had made a bit of progress at least, maybe this wasn't going to be that bad after all.