Chapter 1- The Rescue

If Hermione had known how her life would radically change because of the rescue, she probably would've refused to be saved from her watery grave.

Of course, she didn't know about the drastic direction that her life would follow. All she knew was that the icy water was closing in around her, seemingly crushing her lungs from the freezing temperature, dragging her farther and farther away from salvation.

All she had wanted to do was go ice skating. It was one of the few pastimes that truly relieved her of stress. When she was on the ice, dancing in the pure white winter landscape, all of her troubles left her mind. Harry had mentioned something about a revival of Voldemort's followers, although proof was still nonexistent. Hermione had gone out skating to clear her mind, and soon realized that the ice wasn't as firm as she'd assumed it was.

Hermione struggled against the raging current beneath the ice, fighting for her life like she had never fought before. The frigid water numbed her limbs, making them slow and groggy. All of the strength within her seeped out into the cold, leaving her, as her lungs screamed for oxygen. Her heavy skates weighed her down, dragging her to the bottom of the deep lake and farther away from the salvation of land.

No, not like this!! She thought desperately. She had been in far worse situations than her current one, there had to be a way out of this. She refused to give in.

However, as she glanced around, she began to realize that her chances of survival were growing smaller with every moment. Her wand had fallen out of her robes when she had been engulfed by the icy water, and must be laying somewhere at the bottom of the lake. She couldn't scream out for help, and she couldn't swim to the top to save herself. She felt despair overtake her as she resigned herself to her fate.

Black fog began to claim the edges of her vision. Her lungs ached with a need for air, but she knew that none would come. Slowly the dark abyss grew across her vision, until she could only see black. Her heart beat very slowly in her chest, attempting to survive off of reserves of oxygen that had long ago been depleted. Finally, unconsciousness overtook her, and she fell into oblivion.

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She awoke some time later coughing violently, emptying gallons of water out of her lungs. She shook viciously from the biting cold, taking deep breaths to try and ward off the chill and to restore all the oxygen that had been lost. The air stung as it went down into her parched lungs, but it was so sweet to be breathing again that she barely noticed. Wearily she sat up, and gazed out over the ice. She could see the gaping hole through which she had fallen, now taking up more than half of the lake. The brightness of the outside world had seemed so far away from the bottom of that lake, but now it was close again. She reveled in the comfort of being on dry land again, knowing that someone must have pulled her out of the lake.

Hermione straightened very suddenly. How had she escaped her watery doom? She knew she couldn't have done it herself, someone must have saved her. But who was it? She was pretty sure that no one had seen her fall, and she'd told Ron and Harry that she wouldn't be back for a few hours at least. Someone was watching her.

True to her suspicions, she heard a voice not very far away. "Hell, Granger, why did you go and pull a stunt like that?" It asked in a cold monotony that Hermione was all too familiar with.

Refusing to believe her ears, she whirled around to face her rescuer. Draco stood not three feet away, soaking wet from head to toe, his pale complexion beginning to show a tint of blue as the freezing weather set in.

"Malfoy?" She asked, astounded. "Why did you-? What could possibly make you want to-? I thought we decided long ago that we hated each other. Why would you go and save me like that?"

Draco seemed taken aback by her stiff words. "I had thought you would be kinder to your savior, but I suppose not." The familiar rage entered his eyes once more, Hermione recognized this version of Draco instantly. "Get yourself to Madame Pomfrey and get warm, otherwise I might have to save you from hypothermia. Believe me, Granger, I don't think either one of us would enjoy that."

"I'll do whatever I want, thank you very much!" Hermione spat. Her pride refused to do what Draco told her, although she could feel from the numbness in her limbs that he spoke the truth. "You might want to warm yourself too, you know. Why didn't you just use magic to save me instead of jumping in yourself, you could have s-s-saved yourself a lot of tr-tr-trouble." A slight shiver escaped her lips before she could hide how cold she was.

Hermione ignored her state of deadly cold, but Draco persisted. "Well, if you won't go, I'll just have to bring Madame Pomfrey down herself." He turned to leave, and Hermione decided that this was the time to give up. A warm bed and hot cocoa sounded much better than waiting out here for help to come to her.

"Fine, fine, I'll go." Hermione said dejectedly, refusing to let Draco see that he had won.

"Do you… need help?" Draco asked rather awkwardly. As he said the words, he looked as if he had swallowed a particularly nasty bug. She could tell that he hadn't had very much practice in offering assistance. Hermione looked at him in shock.

"No… thanks." Hermione said, skeptical of his sudden show of kindness. She proved her own statement by rising to stand on her own two feet. She swayed a couple of times, threatening to fall, but she eventually managed without Draco's help. She strode past him towards the massive front gate of the school, beginning the long journey to Madame Pomfrey. People gaped at her appearance as she passed, but Draco's actions were the only thing in her mind.

Maybe he likes you, her romantic side said. She was surprised to find herself smiling at the thought. Although he was a despicable person and she would never like him, it was nice to know that one was likable. Maybe he has changed, said her optimistic side. This theory, too, was quickly disposed of. Draco Malfoy would never change, she knew that much. Hermione shook her head at her own thoughts. None of them were realistic. She shivered violently, as if trying to rid herself of these ridiculous ideas.

He was probably just in the right place at the right time, Hermione thought to herself. Surely even Draco Malfoy couldn't watch a human being die.

It was a shame she didn't realize sooner how wrong she was.

As Hermione was being fussed over by a very hysterical Madame Pomfrey, Draco entered Snape's office with a furious expression on his face.

"Tell me you have some sort of potion that makes the drinker warmer. You were the one that told me to do this whole ridiculous episode, you should have some way to make up for it." Draco said angrily as he paced the room with his arms wrapped around himself, trying to keep warm.

Snape searched through his endless cabinets until he found what he was looking for. "Ah, this should do." He said as he tossed the bottle to Draco, who had changed into warmer, dry clothes since the incident but despite the warmth was still turning a pale shade of blue.

Draco hurriedly swallowed the ingredients, a look of recognition crossing his face. He finally cracked a smirk at his mentor. "You would use that, wouldn't you?" He asked knowingly.

Snape shrugged. "You know me too well, Draco."

Draco set the empty bottle on the potion master's dusty desk. It resounded through the smoky room with an ominous clang.

Draco sighed, still shivering with cold from the lake. "Severus, I don't doubt your impeccable strategizing skills, but did I really have to jump in after her? Magic would have been much more practical." Draco whined, slightly uncharacteristic of him, but considering the circumstances he felt that he had a right to raise a little complaint.

Severus chuckled quietly to himself. Draco was just a child, after all. "Draco, you do not understand everything yet. But soon you will. You just have to trust that your father and I have a flawless plan in mind, and all you have to do is execute our orders. Just be patient, Draco. All will make sense in time."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You don't make any sense sometimes, but I trust you. What orders do I have now?" He asked, hoping the next task would be less involved than the first.

A slight smirk crept onto Snape's face. Draco saw that smile beginning, and a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature swept through him.

Snape looked at Draco with fire in his eyes. Draco knew that his hope for a less ridiculous task was going to be quickly exterminated.

"Fall in love with Granger."