Chapter One: Mind Games
"Run!" she heard Harry cry out as the windows of the Great Hall shattered all around them. It was their last year and the feast had just begun when a darkness washed over the room. She looked across the table at Harry, clenching his head as if in blinding pain. She whipped her head to the side to lock eyes with Ron before they both bolted up from the table, the windows shattering only seconds later.
"Get out of here!" Harry screamed again, readying his wand as death eaters swarmed in through the cleared out windows.
Ron squeezed her hand before rushing to Harry's side, the two back to back with their wands drawn.
She looked past the sea of students as they panicked and fled through the door. "I'll make sure everyone gets out safely." Hermione yelled to her friends before pushing past her classmates in an attempt to get to the door. The only way to get everyone secured in one safe haven of the castle was to control the chaos. She made it to the entrance of the Great Hall, watching as people shoved each other to be the first one out.
"Calm down everyone!" she bellowed, shooting her wand in the air as a red spark ignited from it.
"Fred, George." she addressed as the two fought their way to stand beside her. "Take them all. You know where to go." she ordered, breathing a sigh of relief as they quickly took the lead and guided the crowd out of the Hall and up the spiral stairs in as much order as could be expected.
"Hermione, you have to find Ginny and Luna!" Harry yelled as she snapped her head to the side to follow his voice. "And you have to get out! They are here for you, not me! Run!" he insisted, shooting down a Death Eater then had turned on its heels to head in her direction.
"I love you both!" she cried out, turning back towards the doors to find her friends, paralyzing a death eater then managed to appear in front of her path.
"If you think you are going to stay alive by stunning your attackers, you are a bloody fool." a calm voice said from the top of the stair case. She kept her body steady as she raised her wand towards the voice, her mouth opening just barely when her eyes locked on Draco Malfoy, his body dressed in a dark cloak with the hood over his blond locks, a chunk falling over the side of his face making only one of his icy blue eyes visible to her. He leaned against the banister as he twirled his wand between his fingers, looking down at her from the higher level with a smirk across his lips.
"Stunning is all I can do right now. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit too busy to worry about technicalities. Now move out of my way, Malfoy." she snapped, keeping her wand trained on him, ready to strike him down the moment he made a move towards her as she raced up the stairs.
"Stunning is all you will every be able to do." he said, his eyes narrowing as he stepped in front of her at the stop of the steps, blocking the path she desperately needed to be on to find her friends.
"Want to find out just how affective stunning spells can be?" she threatened, jabbing her wand against his chest as she stood toe to toe with him, staring into his eyes from under his hood.
"Even now, with witches and wizards storming the castle in search of you. " he chuckled with disbelief, hardening his body so she couldn't shove him out of the way. That didn't stop her from trying. She slammed her palm against his chest, attempting to move him so she could run but he didn't budge. He pocketed his wand and grabbed her wrist to stop her failed shoving attemps, his other hand slamming down hard on her hip, holding her in place.
"Let go of me, Malfoy." she said, anger flaming in her dark eyes as her wand clattered to the stone floor. She struggled against his grip but he only held her tighter, ignoring her protests as he spoke again.
"Even with death eaters, placing bets this very moment with one another on who shall have you first." he laughed dryly again. "Even now, as they outnumber your precious protectors by the dozen." he continued, moving his from her waist across her back until his arm was snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. He kept her wrist tight in his grasp, holding it between them as he leaned in to speak soft enough so only she could hear as her eyes grew darker by the second.
"Even no, while they tell one another just feet away from where we stand how they will have you. How they will ruin you" he enunciated, disgust in his voice at his own words. "Even now, while they fight your friends to get to you-" he corrected himself with a shake of his head, his eyes locking on the Great Hall doors that would be broken through any moment. Your virtue, your life, your innocence at risk and you still can't kill." he snapped his eyes back to hers as she pulled her over to the side of a pillar that stood beside the landing at the top of the stairs. The second they moved was the moment the doors flew open and she heard Rons voice muffled from inside.
"Don't you dare touch her!" she barely heard him, but his words reached her just enough.
She fought against her captor frantically, pushing on his chest with no avail.
"If you think that makes me weak, then so be it. Now let me go." she spoke firmly, her jaw tight as he pulled her back further into the darkened hall. He pressed her back against the stone wall, light completely absent from the hall where they stood as she watched his head tilt to the side, straining to hear what was happening below. She took the few moments his stare had diverted from her to take in his appearance for the first time. His chest and arms were hard with muscle, that much clear as day as he trapped her within them. His face was what shocked her the most. His usual cocky smirk and cold eyes were gone, looking to have been replaced with a light in his irises that shone a brighter blue then she had ever remembered seeing in them all the years they studied together. And his lips weren't pressed into a thin line of disinterest. They were full and she could tell he was biting the inside of his mouth as he listened with all his senses.
"I do think it makes you weak you bloody idiot." he finally spoke, anger in his voice as footsteps echoed down the hall, growing louder by the second. "But you are weak in ways that do not matter. Because what makes you weak to me-" he grabbed her face in his hands." to them." he stressed, gripping her hips and pushing her into the potions classroom silently as they listened to the footsteps pass them by and echo further down the hall; away from them.
"What makes you weak to us is what makes you so fucking good." he said, his jaw straight as he kept his words steady, more footsteps passing down the hall, taking no interest in the dark classroom where they hid in the shadows.
"It's what makes you hate me." she corrected him, her voice a soft whisper as she stopped her struggle against him when he dropped his tight hold on her wrist and let it fall to her side.
"I found the mudbloods wand!" they heard from outside as heavy steps stopped in front of the door they hid behind.
Hermione let the surprise show in her eyes as she looked Draco up and down, shocked at his actions. He moved his hands higher from her hips up to the sides of the flat stomach, pushing her further into the classroom, against the supply closet door in the far corner as he pressed his finger to his lips.
"I get to have her first, you git. Move out of my way!" another voice said from the hall, fading as the death eater ran past the room.
Hermiones eyes narrowed in confusion and surprise, never realizing this was part of the plan to destroy the Light.
"I told you." Draco whispered from above her, his eyes looking down at the top of her head before she raised it to look up at him, her eyes almost completely black now as her dark hair fell in loose waves over her shoulder, framing her face.
"So what's the plan then?" she asked, her body shaking from the coldness in the room. Or from her nerves, she wasn't quite sure. "You want to win the race? Have me first, is that it?" she asked, putting her hands to his chest as an ineffective barrier.
"You said that you think your goodness, your light, makes me hate you." he said, ignoring her question. "And you're right. It does. But it also makes it impossible for me to watch them strip you of everything I've grown to hate about you the last 7 years of my life. So don't get me wrong, Granger." he explained, running his hands up her stomach until his thumb brushed the bottom of her breast before he pushed her cloak from her shoulders all together. "I do hate you."
Tears shined across her dark eyes as she felt the cold air hit her bare arms as she stood in a pair of tight muggle jeans and a dark red tshirt. She blinked them back before they could fall down her cheeks as his hands moved back to her hips, pressing her harder against the wall beside the storage closet now.
"But I also promised Weasel and Golden Boy Potter that I would keep your innocence in tact." he explained, bringing one hand up to cup her cheek as her eyes widened in surprise.
"They knew you aren't a death eater?" she asked, looking down at his covered arm.
"Oh, I am." he smirked, raising his arm in front of her and pushing the sleeve back, revealing the dark mark without shame. "But I do whatever I want no matter what side I may be one. You should know that." he said, brushing her hair away from her face gently.
"Whatever innocence they all seem to think I have, I don't. So thanks but I can take care of myself." she said firmly, shooing his hand away and slidding to the side against the wall, away from him.
"Not a virgin as everyone seems to think, eh Granger?" he smiled darkly, pushing his hair back and letting the hood fall away from his face.
"Hardly." she said, rolling her eyes as she walked backwards towards the door, her eyes never leaving his, wary of him more then ever before.
"Well, if you wish to be raped then by all means, roll the dice you clever witch." he said, flinging his hand towards the door as he leaned against the wall.
"But you might be interested in knowing that the friends you seek to find are already in my custody." he said, stopping her feet immediately.
"What do you mean?" she asked slowly, her steps moving back towards him without her intention.
"I mean, Loony and the red headed girl are already right here." he smiled as she crossed the room to stand back in front of him, their toes touching on the stone floor.
"You're lying." she whispered in disbelief, ignoring the sounds of explosions and screams coming from the higher levels of the castle through the ceiling above them.
"Surprisingly, no." he said, reaching across the wall to grab the storage closet doorknob. "I told you, I do what I want. And what I want." he started, swinging the door open to reveal her two classmates huddled in the corner. "Is to get the fuck out of here." he said, looking towards the door expecting her to run though it to hug her friends.
And then something happened that has happened only a handful of times in his life. Draco Malfoy was caught off guard as he felt the Gryffindor throw her arms around his neck, her chest slamming against his as she stood up on her tippy toes.
"Thank you." she breathed against his ear before her lips pressed against his neck just barely.
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