It was almost midnight when Malfoy Apparated into Hermione’s apartment. The lock was open, as if she was expecting him. As he slipped inside, he was shocked to see how small and bare her apartment was. There were no pictures in the wall, nothing personal spread across the room. If he hadn’t spotted Hermione sitting at the table, he might have mistaken where he was. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see, but this was not it. He had always gotten the idea that Hermione came from a warm, close family, unlike his. So then, why did the entire place reek of emptiness and solitude?