Chapter One

Cooperation

When Hermione came home for the summer, she had expected a rather solemn vacation. She was hoping she could help out at her father's practice, to try and bond with him. Lately, she had realized a growing distance between her and her parents. While she was not the least bit interested in dentistry, she wouldn't mind putting on a show for the benefit of her relationship. Of course she would blame their relationship issues on her absence and lack of interest with everything that had been going on with her life at Hogwarts. She was preparing for Voldemort's return, and she needed to be ahead of the game. It seemed as the years went on, it was harder for Hermione to blend her two separate lives together.

Within two weeks of returning home, Hermione began to feel uneasy. She was beginning to have night terrors and panic attacks. While she didn't tell her parents about these incidents, she knew it wouldn't be long until someone found out. She felt as if someone had been watching her from a distance, and he paranoia was peeking to a point that was driving her insane.

One afternoon, Hermione was sitting on her bed looking through a few books she borrowed from the restricted section in the library of Hogwarts. Her mother knocked on the door, making Hermione jump out of her skin. Quickly, she closed the books and stood up. Pressing the door open, her mother entered the room with a gentle smile.

"Hermione, there's someone here to see you."

"Who is it?" Hermione' eyes narrowed, reaching for her wand which was underneath her pillow.

"Oh, I don't remember his name. He says he's your friend from school. He's right here, actually." Her mother opened the door further, as Hermione gripped and raised her wand towards the figure who entered the room.

"Hermione..." Harry put his hands up, showing her that he meant no harm.

"Harry!" Hermione dropped her wand and lunged forward to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt a sudden rush of relief.

Hermione wasn't interested in Harry as more than a friend. He was more like the older brother she never had. Harry always had a way of making Hermione feel safe. So for a split second, she let her guard down. There was an odd sensation that came over her mother's face.

"I'll give you two some privacy." Her mother left the room, sending the odd tension.

"Hermione, what are all these books?" Harry scanned over the pile on her bed.

"They're...just light reading, for summer." Hermione said, trying to cover her tracks, but failing triumphantly.

"These are not just light reading..." He scanned through a few, "Hermione, you haven't spent two weeks cooping yourself up in your room reading about dark magic and such, have you?"

"I just think we need to be prepared. I don't think we fully know what we're up against." Hermione picked up her wand from the ground.

"You don't look well. Have you slept much?" Harry inquired, taking a step towards her, "Your face is hot, do you have a fever?" He gently raised the back of his hand and pressed it to her forehead.

"Harry stop!" Hermione accidentally stated, "I'm sorry...I'm fine. I'm fine, okay?"

"You're restless." Harry took a step away from her and sat on the edge of his bed. "Listen, I came over here to tell you...to tell you something you're not going to like."

"Well spit it out, Harry." Hermione snapped.

He took a slow breath as his gaze fell toward the ground. Harry had came to see her with one intention. And he knew that he would probably be unable to make his desire come true, but he couldn't help himself from at least giving it a shot.

"Hermione, from the time I was a child...Voldemort had targeted me. All my life, this War, this final battle, it's between him and I. You, Ron, and the rest of our friends have been right here battling alongside me for all these years. It's time to put this thing to rest." Harry explained gently to her.

"Yes, Harry. I agree. And we're going to get through this together. We're going to defeat him once and for all." Hermione let a small smile escape from her lips.

"No." Harry firmly said, taking a moment to form his thoughts into words. "No, Hermione, we're not. But I am."

"Wh-what are you saying?" Hermione's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "You think we're just going to stand off to the side?"

"I'm asking you to. Please. I don't want any more deaths, I don't want any more pain, I don't want to cause harm to anyone else. I have asked for so much over the years, I can't possibly ask for this." Harry tried to defend himself the best he could.

"No...no. No!" Hermione shouted at him. "You can't possibly ask us to do that! You can't think that we will just withdraw from this. That won't happen, Harry." Hermione shook her head in dismay.

"I can't see one more person suffer in place of me. If he wants my life, than he can take it!" Harry told her, "I'll fight with every piece inside me, but I'm no longer hiding from him behind other people-it's just not right!" Harry exclaimed, standing from her bed.

And suddenly, there it was. A loud, harsh smack across Harry's face. He became wide eyed, as he put his hand over the fresh wound. Looking at Hermione in awe, his lips parted. Harry attempted to form words, but nothing coherent came to his mind.

"How dare you." Hermione stated lowly in a tone he had never heard from her before. "How dare you come to my house and ask me such a ridiculous thing. You think that just because you're the chosen one, just because you think that you have something to prove, that somehow that makes your battle so much more than the rest of ours?" Hermione questioned, as Harry stood speechless. "You think that you're the only one who is fighting a war raging inside them? You think you're the only one who has lost what's most important to them? You think you're the only one who's suffered, who's been stripped away of dignity? You think you're the only one who's been wronged by Voldemort?" She watched her friend standing silently. "This isn't just your fight, Harry."

It was in that moment that something changed within her. It was as if all of the endless nights of tossing, all the endless tears from panic, all the vivid dreams that filled her nights became worth it. Yes, she was weak, and she felt on guard for her life at every moment. She was plagued with knowing and having seen too much. But she refused to let that define her as an easy target. This was going to make her stronger.

"I'm sorry." Harry hung his head down. "You're right, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Hermione nodded, walking Harry out of her room. "It was good to see you, though. I hope you stop by again soon." They reached her front door.

"Hermione," Harry lowered his voice.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Harry gave her a sincere look and walked out of the house.

When Hermione walked back to her room, she was suddenly pained with a sense of uneasiness. Hermione grabbed her wand and walked to her window which was now open. Slamming it shut, she felt a hand over her mouth, while another wrapped around her waist. She struggled with the person holding her, trying to bite down on the hand over her mouth. Pointing her wand at the person behind her, she tried to mutter a spell. But a different spell was cast, knocking her wand to the ground. In her attempt to break free, she began to have a panic attack. She pushed and pulled harder, feeling a lack of oxygen. A tear escaped from her eyes and suddenly everything was black.

When Hermione awoke, she was lying on the floor of her bedroom. She lifted herself up to a seated position and looked around her groggily. Searching for her wand, Hermione rushed to get up. In her unsuccessful attempts, she lunged towards her bedroom door, hoping to warn her family. But a figure jumped in front of her, blocking her escape route.

"I put a spell on your room. No one in this household can hear us. It's just you and I." A familiar voice said.

"D-Draco?" Hermione's lips parted as she took a step back.

"Don't be so scared, Granger. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be alive right now." Draco looked at her closely.

"I'm not scared of you, Malfoy." Hermione crossed her arms, "What do you want?"

"Your cooperation."