Under the Stars

| Chapter 8 |

The next morning, Hermione found herself with a free period and so she skipped to the library, hoping to find a certain blonde Slytherin. She knew it was a loss cause since he wouldn't spend a lot of time in the library since he thought himself so high and mighty, but that wasn't the case. She found him, in a corner, a muggle pencil in his hand and he moved it across a piece of parchment with the ferocity of an artist. She walked over to him silently, but he didn't look up. She cocked her head to the side and looked down at the parchment. He was drawing a single eye, the detail absolutely incredible. Her jaw dropped as she stared at it wonder.

"I'd close that mouth, Granger, before you catch anymore flies," Draco Malfoy suddenly said and Hermione snapped it shut, a loud click from her teeth sounding out. Draco looked up at her, his face calm, "Now that you're done staring, what do you want?"

Hermione's brown eyes hardened as she stared down at him, "I was hoping we could work on our Potion's assignment."

Draco rolled his eyes and motioned to the chair in front of him, "Sit down, then," Hermione took her seat and the two began to pull their Potion's material together. Hermione watched as he placed his Potion's things on top of the drawing, she glanced up at him, but he wasn't paying attention to her.

"Can I ask whose eye it was you were drawing?" Hermione asked carefully.

Draco went wide eyed for a second before he grasped his things and moved them off the picture, "Thetis. It's her eye."

Hermione smiled down at her mermaid form's eye, "It's beautiful," she looked up at Draco, "You're very good."

Hermione expected him to smile, but he didn't. He glared at her, "Watch it, Granger. Just because we share a common friendship doesn't mean we do to."

Hermione's smile changed to a smirk, "Of course not, Malfoy," and she turned to her Potion's assignment, "So, what do you know about Aqua Spiritus?" she asked about the potion and they got to work on the essay.

An hour later, their conversation over the potion changed to talking about mermaids and then to Thetis. Hermione liked talking to Draco about these things and, since, she didn't have anyone to talk to about it, it was refreshing.

"What do you know about mermaids, Granger?" Malfoy suddenly asked, placing his drawing pencil down next to his sketch. He was doodling in the corners of it as she spoke about their project. A snake, scribbled quickly, and then there was a skull.

Hermione looked up, wide eyed, from the essay, "What do you want to know?" She tried to ignore the feeling the quick sketches gave her. Harry would have wanted to know every single thing that he did, but wasn't the sketch just a simple drawing? She shook her head of those thoughts; they were driving her into insanity.

"Everything," Malfoy said and Hermione sighed, placing her quill down on the library table.

"Mermaids vary depending on what water they live in," Hermione recited from the book she had read a long time ago.

"There are some who can live in both," Malfoy said.

Hermione nodded, "Correct," she paused, "Why are you asking me about them if you know so much about them?"

Malfoy shrugged, "You are the Gryffindor Book Worm. Figured you would know and I don't want to go through all these dusty books."

"Lazy prat," Hermione murmured under her breath which Malfoy heard, but he didn't respond, "Okay, what do you not know?"

"What kind is Thetis?" Malfoy asked.

"She's of both sea and fresh water and is probably a first born," Hermione said, though she already knew what kind of mermaid she was. Malfoy didn't know.

"How do you know?" Malfoy leaned forward on his desk toward Hermione.

"Second born mermaids live in delta's for one and the Black Lake, as far as I know, is not a delta. Unless, you see otherwise?" Hermione said sarcastically. Malfoy frowned and sat back in his chair, "They also lay eggs similar to shark and ray casings and so are much more physically different."

"Where did you read all of this?" Malfoy growled softly.

"Why do you want to know? Don't trust my sources?" Hermione teased.

"No," Malfoy replied, "I just have never read anything like that before."

Hermione realized her mistake and that her information came from her mother, who wasn't even sure that the information was true. She quickly covered it up, "I wouldn't imagine. It's a very rare book that I came across in the second hand bookshop in Diagon Alley."

"What was it called?" To Malfoy, this seemed like the perfect book to find out more about Thetis, not that he didn't like the book he had.

"I don't remember," Hermione said in fake sadness.

Malfoy gave her a skeptic look, "So, she would be a first born?" Malfoy decided to change the subject; she was clearly hiding something about that book.

"Yes," Hermione nodded.

"Does she know?" Malfoy asked that question carefully.

Hermione froze for a moment, "I... I don't believe so."

"I'll tell her," Malfoy suddenly said, a triumphant smile on his face at besting Hermione Granger to telling Thetis.

"Whatever," Hermione rolled her eyes and she began to write their essay again, "What else did you want to know?"

"What do you know about her, like personality?" Malfoy asked.

Hermione froze midsentence before continuing again, "Why do you want to know that? Why don't you just ask her? She's very friendly, I'm sure she'll open up to you immediately."

"I don't think so," Malfoy said, "About two nights ago, something happened between us and I don't know if she'll want to see me again."

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"We were talking and... something...in me made me...want to dive in with her and... be...with her," Malfoy chose his words carefully and said them so.

Hermione looked up at him, realizing what he meant, "You like her."

Malfoy paused, letting her words sink in, and then spoke, "Maybe even more."