Over the past six days there had been too many sighs, and too-long pauses, half-spoken sentences that the speaker thought better of. For the most part, they were ignored, not addressed except by a kiss designed to distract, or perhaps a faux-bright change in topic – it was safer that way. Draco curled one of her hands up in his, her fingers warm and strong, and he could feel the weight of reality begin to creep back onto his shoulders as thoughts of Pansy stripped away the fragile barriers he and Hermione had built up between them and the world.