Author's Note: So, here's the first one-shot inspired by a track on a song from The Cab's Symphony Soldier album for this series. It's inspired by the first song on the album, Angel With A Shotgun. I did my best to let the song inspire the flow of this one-shot. I hope you enjoy it!

Additional Note: This is a rewritten version of this one-shot, and all the other previously posted chapters for this collection have also been taken down for rewriting. I hope you enjoy my corrected versions better! Don't forget to leave reviews! Thanks dearies. :)

Rating: K+

Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama/Hurt/Comfort

Disclaimer: The song and the characters are not mine.

The war had been raging on for months. The atmosphere in #12 Grimmauld Place had gone from heavy to downright insufferable in such a short time. Members of the Order came and went, sometimes never to return again. Doors constantly opened and closed, indicating the departure and arrival of Order members. The number of casualties increased with each passing day until no one could bear to talk about it anymore. Friends and family grieved, but they'd rather their loved ones be dead on the battlefield than at the mercy of the Death Eaters where they will be tortured for information then killed. Some days they caught prisoners of their own.

It was one of those days.

Hermione Granger had been in her room poring over some of the information the imprisoned Gregory Goyle had told them under the influence of Veritaserum a few weeks back when she caught word that Harry Potter and his group had just arrived with a handful of prisoners in tow. She clambered down the stairs to ensure that her best friends were safe when a familiar flash of red caught her eye. Ron Weasley was firmly pushing one of the prisoners, who, like the others, had his (or her?) head covered with a dirty cloth bag to keep them from seeing where they were, towards the kitchen where the rest of the Order was.

While the other prisoners were led into the small room that was previously Kreacher's before Harry had him move into Regulus' old room, the one with Ron was pushed into a chair in the middle of the kitchen. Hermione followed the others in there and gave Harry a questioning look. He gave her a grim smile which never really reached his eyes in return before lifting the bag to uncover the unknown prisoner's face.

Draco Malfoy.

"Draco Malfoy had willingly surrendered and handed over those other men to us. He has vowed to provide us with information about the other side. He has decided to work for the Order."

Various reactions to this piece of information exploded over the place, some shook their heads and waved their hands vehemently, others frowned and looked doubtful, and a few stood stock-still, shocked. Hermione had barely processed what Harry just announced before she saw Snape walk over to the young Malfoy and give him a gentle pat on the back and a nod.

Draco Malfoy had decided to work for the light.

"Granger."

Hermione gave a start when she opened one of the cupboards late one night and a voice called her name before she could peek inside. She turned abruptly and looked at the owner of the voice.

He was leaning on the doorframe, gazing back at her with a weary expression.

"Malfoy." She acknowledged, and he gave her a small smile. It wasn't the smirk he wore all those years in Hogwarts, but it wasn't a heartfelt smile either. It was the smile of one who has been in a war. Of one who's seen too much death and was simply tired of it all. Hermione knew that, because everyone around her had that smile.

She had that smile.

It had been three weeks since Draco was brought into the headquarters, and he had proven his sincerity and loyalty to the Order since then. Death Eaters have been caught thanks to the information he gave them. Barely anyone gave him any dirty looks anymore when he appeared at the kitchen during meals under Molly's insistence.

"What brings you here to the kitchen in the middle of the night?" Hermione asked casually. She still wasn't used to interacting with the boy who had teased and bullied them for years like this, but she did it anyway. If Harry and Ron can talk with Draco Malfoy without remotely wanting to punch him, then she can too.

He stared at her for a second before he shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

She nodded slowly and turned again, looking at the contents of the cupboard, well aware of the fact that she had just turned her back on the former Death Eater, knowing he could strike her if he intended to, if that was his purpose for being there. But she trusted him. He was one of them now.

This gesture was not lost to Draco, whose eyes widened a bit when he saw her turn and tiptoe to look in the cupboard. She trusted him. He didn't know why, but that realization made something in his chest lighten.

When she faced him again, she had two mugs in her hand. She set them down on the table and rummaged in another cupboard until she found the items she was looking for. She put the tea bags in the mugs. With a wave of her wand, hot water filled both mugs to the brim. Grabbing two teaspoons from a drawer, she pushed the other mug across the table. "Tea?" she offered, already grabbing the sugar container from the middle of the table.

He approached the table and sat across her with a mumble of thanks.

He doesn't know what started them talking, but soon they find themselves with empty mugs and chuckling and bantering over something they were discussing. Then her expression turned grim as she recounts a story about Mad-Eye, and he sees her grasp on the mug tighten. "I don't just want to survive this war, you know. I don't want to be alive afterwards but see no difference with just dying in the process of all of it. I want to live." Then she started to cry, and the tears she's held in for such a long time began to spill over. She met his sympathetic gaze across the table and started to apologize before he stood up and approached her. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and doesn't speak. She stared at him in wonder before she burst into tears again, burying her face in her hands.

They find themselves in the kitchen during a lot of late nights when no amount of tossing and turning could get them to sleep. One night they were sitting in silence before he spoke up, his voice low and steady, and started to tell her what had pushed him to switch sides. He told her how he saw his father and the other Death Eaters capture muggle-borns and torture them in the dungeons of his own home. When he reached the part where he was telling her about the screams that haunted his every waking moment in the Manor, he began to tremble.

Hermione took his hands with hers across the table and whispered softly. "You don't have to talk about it, Draco." She had learned to call him by his given name. Calling him Malfoy was a painful reminder of his connection to his father, the ruthless Death Eater.

He shook his head, tears starting to form in his own eyes. "I couldn't bear it. They were so young. They didn't deserve that. No one deserves to be in such pain." He shuddered as flashbacks of blood and screams haunted his thoughts.

"Sometimes…" he began. He looked up at her warm brown eyes and gulped, wondering if he had the courage to tell her.

Hermione saw something in his steel eyes that made her heart clench. She squeezed his hands to reassure him.

"Sometimes I saw you in their place." He exhaled slowly. Her breath hitched. "And those were the worst nights. It was then that I knew, that I couldn't care less if he disowned me, I had to keep… to keep you safe. Hermione, I'm so sorry. For everything." He gasped, and the silent sobs wracked his body.

He saw her lip tremble at his confession before she leaned over the table and kissed him lightly, telling him of the unspoken forgiveness she gave him for all those years of calling her a Mudblood.

Harry and Ron noticed the change immediately. Hermione started to direct affectionate looks at Draco, and he returned these looks with equally warm ones.

Ron was pissed. "He's delusional if he thinks she'll love him after what he's done to her. Let's say we forget what he and his family did to our friends before he jumped ship. How could she possibly forgive him after all he'd done to her at Hogwarts?"

Harry was quiet, but his jaw was clenched as Ron continued his rant.

Molly Weasley just shook her head at them and murmured, "Let them have that happiness during these times. Draco's a changed young man, and I'm sure the both of you had seen that too. Hermione's a smart girl. She knows what she's doing."

They nodded slowly, but it took a few days before they could shake the anger out of their systems. It took time, but Draco apologized to them for all his wrongdoings to them during their time at Hogwarts, and told them how much he loved Hermione. He unwittingly proved this one day while they were on a raid.

He shielded her just as his own father was going to inflict the Cruciatus on her while she fended off Greyback. He writhed in pain on the ground before miraculously finding the strength to clutch his wand and hit Lucius Malfoy with the Killing Curse. The shock of what had just occurred shocks all of them for a moment before the Death Eaters flee.

Hermione looked at Draco with stricken eyes. "Draco." She croaked as she ran to him.

He caught her and hugged her tight. He buried his face into her hair and inhaled her scent. "You're safe." It was as if he was affirming the fact more to himself than to her. "You're alive. You're safe." She nodded, shifting their position so he wasn't facing the unmoving body of his father.

"Draco, are you all right?" she asked in a worried tone.

He continues mumbling into her hair and she tightens her grasp on him. "You're all I have, Hermione. I'd die for you. I love you, Hermione Granger."

"I love you too, Draco."

He pushes her away for a split second before pulling her back to him in a passionate kiss.

They won the war. As those who fought on their side whooped and cheered around them, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger exchanged relieved looks. "It's over."

"You're my angel, you know that?" she asked him as they kissed. Fred and George pass by them, laughing and playfully patting Ron's head as he looked adoringly into the eyes of Lavender Brown. Ginny and Harry were not so far off, caught in their own post-war hugging and kissing.

He snorted. "Why would you say that?"

"You saved my life that day, and all the other times after that."

They parted, and he put his forehead on hers, staring at their entwined hands.

"You're worth fighting and dying for."

"Mhmmm…"

"And I told you, you're everything I have."

She stepped back from him and cocked her head to the side. "That, I'm not so sure about."

He looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

She nudged her head in the direction of the grounds. He turned to look, and saw his mother talking to Tonks and Remus. She glanced at them and gave them a small, relieved smile. His mother, who had lied to Voldemort about Harry being dead. He felt a surge in his heart and smiled at the woman beside him.

"Come on, I want to introduce you to my mother."

Author's Note: Yep, I let them live. Anyway, how was it? I know it's kinda cliché, as so many people have repeatedly used this plot over and over again, I guess you could just say that this is my take on it. Review, please? Reviews are my crack… and driving force to write. :D Next one-shot will be inspired by the next track on the list, Temporary Bliss. Any guesses on how it will go? :D