But tonight, as Hermione found a free seat and looked around her, she couldn’t just relax and soak up the warmth of the animated interactions that filled the room. She couldn’t stop herself from comparing the bright, cosy atmosphere to the dank, lonely hole in the ground where Malfoy was right now. Just below their feet, but he might as well have been on the other side of the world, so different were their situations right now. Hermione felt bad for him. And this time, she didn’t question the feeling – her eyes instead flicking to where Harry sat, sandwiched between Ginny and Ron, and Hermione promised herself she would have a bloody stern word with him after dinner.