Hermione has to make a choice if she wants to save her life, but what she discovers could change everything.

Draco makes a surprising request, and gets an even more surprising response.

Hermione freaks out, Draco comes to her rescue in the dark of the night.

She reached tentatively out to him, and took his pale, pointed face in her hands, turning it towards her. He stared at her in fear of what she would do next, but she simply looked at him, still holding his face gingerly.

She let her eyes run over his pale, pointed features as she held him. Neither of them moved as she looked at first his grey eyes, the moved her gaze down his regal nose, then down to his pale pink lips. They were perfect – not too thin, not too thick, but smooth and pearly pink.

“Well, I typically don’t like that sort of thing.”

Her face fell just the tiniest fraction.  “Oh.  Then you don’t like the plan?”

Draco scrambled for a way to assure her that he did without making it obvious that he had liked being in bed with her.  “No, no, I mean, the plan’s fine… I mean, it’s a hell of a lot better than having nightmares every night.”