don't close your eyes to deceive

[honestlyrubbish]

When Hermione first noticed her name once more on the bulletin board as a nominee for Council, she stopped to ask herself a few questions. Wondering, first, if she was prepared to once more give up a good portion of every day to the work that being on such a committee required. Asking, second, if she had ideas that made her the right person for the

Comments

[of_badfaith]

It was mid-afternoon, but with no pressing obligations, Draco had been lounging in the bedroom with a book. With a heavy sigh, he put the volume aside, pushing a hand through hair that was more mussed than usual and padding barefoot to the door.

Swinging it open, his pale eyes landed on Hermione and he calmly arched a brow. "Granger. Have you gone and gotten yourself lost?"

[honestlyrubbish]

It had been weeks since they'd spoken last, and frankly, Hemrione wasn't very much inclined to change the status quo. For all that she recognized that Draco wasn't as malicious as he'd once been, and that he'd always paled in comparison to many of the Death Eaters who continued to follow Voldemort's every step, he still wasn't her first pick in terms of company. Far from it. But it took encounters such as these to remind her of the fact that, even beyond that realization, things had changed for him. And that, frankly, perhaps she could stand to talk to him a bit more on the whole, if for no other reason than to, at least, look after Luna's well-being.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes at the greeting. "I'd rather skip past the pleasantries," she said frankly, folding her hands neatly. "Do you have a few minutes? I thought that the both of us should talk about the Council, perhaps, seeing as how you've signed in support of my candidacy two terms in a row, now."

[of_badfaith]

"You're looking for advice?" he asked, doing nothing to hide his surprise, nor his amusement. "From a former Death Eater? Tell me, just how desperate are you?"

He couldn't imagine getting anything useful or coherent from Weasley, and Potter was too hot-headed for politics, but he would've thought she would've preferred taking hot pokers to her own eyes before asking him his opinions on such matters.

[honestlyrubbish]

"Still wearing that title proudly, are we?" Hermione immediately returned, her voice lightly cutting before she heaved a deep sigh. There was some amount of pride that she was swallowing, after all, by coming to ask for his help at all. Some admission on her part that she trusted some facet of what he had to offer, possibly even more than she trusted her two best friends. The ability to be objective, to be honest- to push her beyond her limits in a way that the two never really bothered to at all. But insulting him at will didn't seem to be the best way about asking him for the favor. Her hand rose to circle lightly around her temple.

"Look, I have other people I could turn to," she began, tilting her head carefully. "But I thought that... you might be the most critical of the people I know. And constructive criticism can be one of the most effective tools in pushing for progress."