A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back, and this time I'm working on a story with a friend of mine, Cheerfully Blue. You can choose to either read just my (Draco's) side or just her (Hermione's) side, but to get the full effect I'd check out both of them. We should each be posting once a week, starting with tonight, and it will alternate between the characters. After this "prologue" of sorts, everything else will be written in letters…

Wow, that was really confusing. I'm sorry. Once you read it, it will make so much more sense! I promise!

Remember to check out Cheerfully Blue's side of the story!

Dear Hermione, That Which Went Unsaid

Draco made his way to the predetermined spot by the Black Lake. He had sent her the letter the day before, hoping their burgeoning friendship would be motivation enough for her to meet him one last time.

Ah, there she was.

She stood by the birch tree, their birch tree, hair blowing in the soft breeze. She was hugging herself, not because she was cold – how could she be, it was June – but because that was her defense mechanism. He'd come to understand it in the time that they had been… acquaintances? He wasn't quite sure how to define their relationship, but they had met enough that he knew her mannerisms and what they meant. For example, she was thinking hard, shown by the way her face was scrunched up as she looked out at the water. Her eyebrows were pulled down; that meant she was angry. She was biting her lip; that meant she was confused.

Draco sighed as he closed the last ten metres between them.

"Hello, Hermione," he said. She whirled around, wand pointed at him. Draco didn't react; he knew this would happen. After all he had done, he was honestly surprised she hadn't hexed him yet.

"Draco," she said, contempt dripping from her tongue. He would have been scared had it not been for the fact that there was no hate in her eyes, only confusion and uncertainty.

"I want to explain," Draco said, hoping she would drop her wand. It didn't even waver.

"Explain what? Explain why you let Death Eaters into the castle? Explain why you betrayed my trust? Explain why you killed Dumbledore?" Draco barely managed to not roll his eyes. He knew the situation was much more serious than that, and that she couldn't have been aware that he didn't kill Dumbledore, but he was so sick of everyone thinking he was evil. She was supposed to be different.

Then again, he did do all those things… Well, except the one…

"Why did you do it? Just tell me that." Draco sighed. He didn't know how to explain it. Everything about this was so messed up and he couldn't find the words. He looked down at his feet, not wanting her to see the raw emotion on his face. If he looked her in the eye… Everything would collapse.

"Tell me, Malfoy," she said. Oh, that hurt. He had gone from Draco to Malfoy… Nothing was going right for him, and he was quickly losing control of his emotions.

"I just… I can't… I don't know how to explain it," he answered. Hermione froze; now he could see the hate in her eyes. He glanced at her wand, then back at her, preparing himself for one of her curses. It made him angry that she wasn't giving him the opportunity to think of what to say.

"Are you saying Mudbloods can't understand the actions of such a prestigious wizard as yourself?" she spat. He flinched at the words. How could she think that low of him?

Remember what you did, Draco, he reminded himself.

His anger was building. She didn't trust him anymore, that much was clear, but now she was bringing up blood status? They'd had countless conversations about how much his ideals had changed, and how he didn't care about purity of blood, only purity of heart.

"No, Hermione, that's not what I—"

"Then what are you trying to say?" she yelled, taking a step closer to him.

He snapped.

"I DON'T KNOW!" he bellowed, throwing up his arms. Hermione flinched, staring up at him. Then he felt her fist impact with his jaw and he fell to his knees.

He sat there, holding his throbbing face and breathing heavily, while he fought to gain control of his emotions. He knew why she was acting this way; she didn't know his side of the story.

Then again, she wasn't exactly giving him an opportunity to explain.

He slowly got to his feet and looked up at her, determination on his face. She'd had her words; it was his turn.

"I'm sorry I yelled, but you weren't exactly letting me speak," he said. Her eyes softened. Good, she knew she was in the wrong.

"I'm sorry I… punched you…" she said, her lips pulled up into a tiny smile that didn't give an impression of remorse.

Draco chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "You don't sound very sorry, but I suppose I deserved it."

"Yeah, you really did." There's a silence, and then Hermione laughs. It's such a happy noise that Draco can't help but join in for a moment, before remembering why he's here.

"I really want to explain myself…" he hesitated, hoping this wouldn't set her off.

"Alright, go ahead." She waved her arm, gesturing for him to continue.

He paused. "I don't want you to punch me again." Hermione laughed again, and Draco joined her, feeling the anger and tension dissipate around them.

Hermione smiled. "I promise not to punch you again… Unless you make me," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well then, I will watch my words… But I'm not quite sure where to begin." He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Then why don't you try the beginning, Draco?" He smiled slightly at this. She was back to calling him Draco; this was good.

"Understand this, Hermione," he sighed. "I love my family very much. You know that. Surely you can understand why I made the choices that I did," he said looking down at his hands. He studiously picked at his nails.

"I know you said that he was threatening your family and forcing you… I don't know what I thought he was forcing you to do, but I never thought it was this." He looked up at her pleadingly. The frown on her face looked so out of place and he regretted that it was his fault it was there. But he had to make her understand.

"How would you feel if you were faced with killing your family or your morals, Hermione? That's not a choice most seventeen-year-olds want to make, myself included." Draco couldn't move but her with his eyes to understand.

"I can't…"

Draco threw up his arms. "I don't expect you to accept it and move on, Hermione. I just need to you understand that I had no choice. He would have killed my parents. And me. You can't deny that you wouldn't have done the same thing if you were in my place. I regret it, but my family is alive because of my sacrifices. "

"… But you betrayed me." He couldn't help the lump that appeared in his throat at this. She was right; he had betrayed her. But he had also saved hundreds of lives.

"I know, but you have to think about the bigger picture, Hermione. I kept him happy. I kept him from waltzing in and destroying the entire school," Draco said, gesturing at Hogwarts, the place in which he had felt safe for five glorious years. Until this year, when everything had gone downhill. When his whole life had been turned upside down.

"You may as well have destroyed it. You killed Dumbledore." Her voice broke at the end, and her eyes were full of so much sadness that Draco almost reached out to touch her. Almost. Then he remembered the situation and thought better of it.

"No, Hermione. He offered me help. I was going to take it, but the rest of the bloody Death Eaters arrived and then Snape took over and… Well, you know," he looked down again, feeling so ashamed. He had aided in the murder of the one person who could have helped him, and now he was alone… Again…

"Why are you telling me this, Draco? Why did you ask me to come here?"

"Because harder times are ahead, and it's only going to get worse. You… You're all I've got. Mother and Father are catering to his every need and…" Draco looked up at Hermione. "I need you. You're the only friend I've got." Well, he supposed friend wasn't the right word, but there really was no word to describe their relationship. All he knew was that she was the only person he could somewhat trust, and he didn't want to go through this alone.

"But we're on two different sides, Draco. We can't be friends." He knew she was right, but he desperately wished she wasn't. There was a rough path in front of him and if he didn't have her, he didn't have anyone.

He couldn't help it, he began to pace. It was a nervous habit of his. Gesturing with his arms, he yelled, "Dammit, Hermione, I've got no one else but you. I can't do this alone!" The truth of that statement made his heart heavy. He gave her a pleading look.

"But sometimes we have to," she said, walking to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

What did she know about being alone? He pulled away from her. "What are you on about? You have Potter and Weasley! You don't know what it's like to be alone." Not the kind of alone he knew. Not the kind of alone where you knew no one would help you even if you screamed.

"Yes I do, Draco. I can't talk to Ron about everything, he's too thick to understand some things. And Harry has so much else to worry about…" He returned to his pacing as she shrugged. Maybe she did know some of what it was like to be him. He knew how it felt to have no one to talk to about your problems. He knew how it felt to have to keep everything inside.

"This is why I need you. And you need me," he said softly. He stopped pacing and begged her to understand that it was true. They may not have been friends, but they did need each other.

"But I'm not coming back next year, Draco. It will be too dangerous. We're on our own now."

"But we don't have to be," Draco pleaded, taking a step forward. He had an idea…

"What do you mean?" she asked, frowning.

"We can write letters to each other."

Hermione shook her head, but Draco was determined to make her see the logic. "It's too dangerous, Draco. They'll be looking for the three of us, I know it. If we write letters back and forth, I'll be giving away our location and I refuse to sacrifice Ron and Harry just to make you feel better. I won't do it."

"We won't actually send them," Draco said, rolling his eyes. He understood how dangerous it would be. Merlin's balls, he was living with the most evil wizard of all time; he knew the dangers! "It will just be a cathartic way of purging our feelings when we're in over our heads. We can just address the letters to each other so that we won't feel alone, but we won't send them."

"What if someone finds them?"

Raising an eyebrow, Draco answered, "Simple concealment charm, works every time. Honestly, Granger." He smiled at her, knowing that she would appreciate his light teasing after what had happened earlier.

She rolled her eyes but gave him a small smile. "Alright, we can write letters… How did you get in here?" she suddenly said, shooting him a wary look.

"I, uh, I Apparated into Hogsmeade and then just sort of hoped…" he trailed off, shifting uncomfortably.

"Draco, someone could come out here and see us at any moment. You could have upset the wards. They'll send you to Azkaban, you need to leave!" Draco hesitated. He didn't want to go back. He was there.

"Draco, you need to go!" she said, pushing him towards the gates.

"I suppose you're right. Don't forget about me, eh, Granger?" he said, sadly, giving her a look.

"Just be careful." Draco snorted. Neither one of them could promise the other that they would be careful, considering the tasks ahead.

"You, too." Draco turned and walked away, not glancing back because if he did, he would never leave. He knew he should get back to Malfoy manor as quickly as possible, but… Oh, he couldn't help it. Once he was out of gates, he turned around. She was already inside, but still he whispered to her, "I'll try."