A Fine Line between Love and Hate

.Elmo.

•Chapter One•

Hey There, Again, Mr. Ferret

Hermione sat alone by the window in her apartment. Rain dripped delicately across the smooth glass as she drifted into a spaced out daze. Her hand, which rested ever so slightly on the cool glass, slid down slowly and then came to rest on her other, which was lying limply in her lap. Her curtain of curly/bushy brown hair lay limply over her shoulders and her chocolate eyes were devoid of all life. Her skin, which had once been a rich, healthy tanned peach, was sallow and blotchy and dark circles had formed beneath her eyes. She had become nothing but a fragile stick of a girl beneath her skin. She looked morbid sitting by the window on a rainy day, her black robes draped over her small, frail shoulders.

The war, which had ended not but a few weeks before, had left Hermione docile and melancholic. She liked to think, sometimes, that not everything had been a complete waste. After all, the Dark Lord had been destroyed and peace was returning to the Muggle and Wizarding world. It was a time of great reconstruction but Hermione found that she didn't much care or want to be a part of it. She supposed that was how a person felt when they had nothing left to lose. Harry was dead. Ron was dead. Both her parents were dead. Dumbledore was dead. There was no reason for her to care anymore.

She closed her eyes tightly, letting the tears leak out from underneath her eyelids. The small droplets of water trickled down onto the floor and she clenched her fists. Two vases shattered and a windowpane cracked down the center. She pushed out of her seat roughly and heard the kitchen chair she had been sitting in clatter to the floor. She pulled off her robes, slid her coat onto her shoulders and left the apartment, stepping out into the pouring rain.

Meanwhile…

'Oh bloody hell!' thought Draco Malfoy, as he felt the cage shifting suddenly. 'How did I ever manage to get into the mess?' One of his pure white paws reached up and he scratched himself behind the ears.

He let out a startled squeak as the shop owner slammed the cage down in the pet shop window. Draco turned and saw that rain was splashing violently upon the sidewalk as a few habitants of the quiet Bristol lane walked beneath umbrellas. He curled up in a corner and shot a cat, who was eyeing him rather hungrily, a confrontation look before settling into a lazy daze. His head perked up ever so slightly when he heard the bell to the shop door ring, signaling a customer. He turned to see a rather thin brunette character entering the shop. Their face was hidden beneath the hood of their raincoat.

"It's a nasty one out their, isn't it, Miss?" inquired the shopkeeper. The girl shook out her umbrella halfheartedly. And pushed the her hood away from her head to allow the rest of her chestnut curls to cascade down her shoulders and back.

"I suppose," she murmured, her voice monotonous and lifeless. Draco's ears twitched slightly and his eyes sharpened with interest.

"What can I do for you?" persisted the shop owner. "Just looking again, Miss…erm…?"

"Granger," she replied. "Hermione Granger." Draco jumped up from his corner of the cage and turned so that he was in the opposite corner. "And, actually, I was just wondering how you came into possession of that rather arrogant looking albino ferret over there."

"Oh, him? He was shipped in from London. A cousin of mine had him in the shop for a few months but every time he sold him, the buyer brought him back complaining of biting and such. He gave him to me and said that maybe I'd have better luck," the shop owner explained. "Thinking about purchasing him?"

"Actually, I think I'll take him with me right now," Hermione replied, pulling out her wallet. She paid him, waited at the shopkeeper put a plastic case over Draco's cage and exited the shop out into the rain once more, after thanking the shopkeeper.

Draco heard the rain splashing against the plastic cover of his cage as Hermione walked on. He couldn't suppress the feeling of foreboding that was washing over him. Something about what was happening was a little bit more than innocent coincidence. He kept telling himself, however, that Hermione had just genuinely been interested in a furry companion and he simply caught her eye by chance.

'It's just a coincidence,' he thought to himself as he let out a squeak of protest when the cage was jarred slightly. 'Nothing unusual about it…'

He heard the jangle of keys and a door creaking open slowly. He looked around in distress as the sound of rain pelting the cover of his cage ceased almost immediately. The door clicked shut and he felt his cage being set down on a counter or a table of some kind. The cover was pulled off and he met a pair of curious, yet dull, brown eyes. He returned her stare with his pink eyes and shuffled back to the bars opposite her. Her brow furrowed and she reached into the robes dangling over the back of the chair. She pulled her wand out and held it out cautiously.

"No use playing stupid," she said in her robotic voice. "I know it's you, Malfoy. I'm surprised that you're still a ferret. I suppose I did cast the spell a little overzealously." She smirked slightly and then cleared her voice. "Now, I'm going to open the cage's door and allow you to crawl out. Either you do it, or I'll make you. Once you're out, don't try to run for it. You know very well that I'm smarter than that."

She waved her wand slightly. The cage door fell open and Draco crawled out cautiously. She narrowed her eyes at him and watched as he curled up warily near a corner of the table. His eyes followed her wand as she raised it above her head.

"Okay," Hermione ventured. "I'm going to lock and ward the doors and windows. Then, I will change you back. If you try to kill me, don't think there aren't ways of me protecting myself from anything you throw at me." She waved her wand around her and then pointed it at Draco, taking a deep breath.

"Finite incantatum," she breathed and watched as the white ferret jumped from the counter and landed on the floor just as its body began to morph.

The fur began to disappear and the arms and legs began to stretch. The body regained its mass as the tail faded and the ears shrunk and returned to the sides of the head that was becoming more human like by the second. Within a few long seconds, a pale, blonde, wholly naked Draco Malfoy sat crouched on the floor.

"What, you couldn't transform me back into my clothes, Granger?" he snapped, covering his privates as he stood up. He turned to see she was clutching onto the counter for dear life and panting heavily. He smirked and pounced forward, reaching for her wand.

She turned on her heel, pointed her wand fiercely at him and yelled "Stupefy!" Draco stopped mid-step and his eyes became slightly perturbed. He watched as Hermione tumbled onto the floor, clinging to a nearby chair for support.

She looked up from her spot and felt her knees buckling beneath her and she hit the floor. Her magic had been weak for sometime ever since the nightmares had begun. At night, her dreams were filled with gruesome images from the war. Her tossing and turning caused magic bursts to radiate from her body. Books flew from bookshelves. Lights and appliances blinked on and off. Glass objects shattered. Her house was always a mess in the mornings and she was drained and couldn't clean it up with magic.

She turned to Draco and, with as much strength as she could muster, pushed herself up into the chair. She cleared her throat and forced her face into a sweet, understanding smile.

"Look, Malfoy," she began in a strained voice. "There's no need to panic…I know everything. I know what side you're on and what really happened in the Department of Mysteries the last year of the war. I wasn't sure when I first saw you after it was over. Before I could change you back into a human, you had gone. I don't understand, though. Why? Why did you choose to help us when Voldemort was at such an advantage?" Draco made to tell her just what he wanted, but his mouth was frozen, as was most of his body. "I'm going to unfreeze you…but I don't want you to run, because all I want is to understand. I also think you should know that the Ministry has cleared you of all charges. I saw to that myself. Harry would have wanted it that way…" Her voice cracked and she wiped away her tears. When she raised her hand to reverse her spell, she flashed a set of small, pink scars that were on her wrist.

With a flick of her wand, he fell to the floor. He looked up in confusion as she shakily got to her feet and headed off to her room. He watched as she re-emerged with a rather large black robe. She gave an outstretched hand to help him up, while looking away. He stared at her suspiciously before taking the proffered hand. She pulled as hard as he could, but when he got to his feet, she stumbled backward and would have fallen if Draco hadn't swung her around and curled his free hand around her waist.

"Er—thank you…" breathed Hermione, managing to gain her balance. She cleared her throat and gestured to the small den on the opposite side of the apartment. "Please, have a seat."

Draco obeyed and took a seat on the edge of a dark green sofa. She hugged the robe around his barren body and took in the undersized living room. Hermione practically fell into the large, crimson armchair opposite Draco. She took in a deep breath and looked up, forcing the sweet smile once more.

"So," said Hermione, her voice a little stronger than before. "What happened? If it wasn't for you, the Dark Lord would be ruling, you would be one of the ruling powers, and Harry, Ron, and I would be at your mercy. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Draco inhaled deeply, ran a pale hand through his equally pale hair, and then turned his resolute silver eyes on the brunette across the room from him. "Power isn't everything, Granger," he began. "I once said that I would do anything to have power, anything to follow in my father's footsteps. Well, I realized that anything is a lot to give up." He paused and folded his hands in front of himself. "I'm not sure if you know, Granger, but I have always loved my mother, no matter how badly I treated her or how unfeeling I may have ever seemed. When the Dark Lord had my own father kill her, in cold blood, as a sign of loyalty, I suppose you could say that was my breaking point.

"I was, am, and always will be a skilled Occlumens, as I'm sure you know—"

"I see your ego hasn't deflated much, even after all of the little girls you must have entertained as a pet," Hermione interjected.

"—and so I managed to play it off as if her death hadn't phased me. The Dark Lord had conveniently fallen for my ploy and had dismissed the revel. I had retreated home, as I had taken up residency away from my father for the sole reason that the Dark Lord thought that it would be harder for him to lose supporters if we all lived separate to prevent large scores of us from being captured in raids.

"I returned to my home and began to devise a plan. I wasn't sure how I was going to get revenge. I thought about murdering my father several times and put it on as if he had attacked me and I was merely defending myself, but I thought that it hadn't just been my father. It had, after all, been the Dark Lord who had given the order. He had to be punished as well. Then it hit me. The only way to get rid of the Dark Lord is through Potter. The only problem was…well…the obvious. I had made Potter an enemy through the years." Hermione scoffed. "I was determined to make Potter an ally and that meant being civil to him. So, I bit the bullet and did what helps me clear my mind. I made a list of all the things about potter that I considered decent.

"Soon, I had managed to accept that Potter was someone I could consider a friend, given time. Next, I had to gain Potter's, Weasley's, and your trust. Not so that I could betray it, like I later told the Dark Lord. I laid several clues about useful hints for the order. I searched for the Horcruxes and led Potter to several of the last. When the time came and Potter became curious of whom it was that was leaving such obvious clues, I decided it was the time for me to reveal myself. Trust me, Granger; Potter's reaction was no better than yours was. I'm sure he contemplated killing me.

"After quite a bit convincing and explaining, Potter seemed to believe me somewhat. He did put me under surveillance, however. I couldn't go anywhere without the little Weaselette coming along. Quite irritating I admit but I did grow somewhat fond of the little pest. I almost miss having her around. Whatever happened to her?"

"She's back at the burrow," Hermione replied. "With her mum and what's left of her family. The size of the Weasley household had decreased immensely." She bowed her head slightly. "You had better thank her when you see her. If it hadn't been for her, you might still be a ferret and I could have passed you by without a second glance." There was a slightly awkward silence. Hermione finally cleared her throat and, having regained most of her strength, got to her feet. "Well, I'm glad that you cleared that up. I'll fetch you some clothes and some money, and then you can leave. My door is open, though, if you need a place to stay. Harry and Ron would have wanted me to welcome you with open arms, as odd as it would seem."

Draco watched her as she moved over to a coat closet near the front door and opened the door.

"Granger," he ventured, seeing another glimpse of the white scars on her wrists. "What really happened…after Potter and Weasley…erm…passed on?" Hermione's hand, which had been reaching for a large button-up shirt in the closet, halted. It dropped to her side and she looked toward him.

"As you can imagine, many of the Death Eaters, including Lucius, were sentenced to life Azkaban for high treason and murder in the first degree. Their wands were snapped. The Wizarding world underwent a month-long mourning period for Harry and Ron and all those who died in the war. People began rebuilding the Wizarding world and Muggle community and…then everything went back to the way it was. That's it." Her voice was wavering slightly. "Here." She held out a white button-up shirt and black slacks to him.

"These are good in a pinch," he said, rather sarcastically. "Why do you have these?"

"I have a Requirement Closet," she told him and he cocked a brow. "If I need something, clothing related, I just open the door and it's usually waiting for me."

"Well, what about underpants?" he questioned. Hermione smirked and closed the closet.

"Get them yourself," she said. "Your legs and arms aren't broken. Then get dressed and I'll gladly provide you with a few galleons to get you by in Malfoy Manor. I'm sure that's where you'd like to be headed?"

A few minutes passed and Draco emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed and pulling the robes onto his arms. Hermione had a small sack in her hand, it was open and she seemed to be counting the gold pieces inside of it. After a few moments, she nodded, closed the bag and held it out to him. He took it, admiring just how heavy it felt in his hand. He then looked up just as she was crossing the threshold over to the fireplace. She picked up a flowerpot from the mantle and tossed a pinch of the powder from within it into the fireplace. The flames init shot up ferociously and turned emerald green.

"Malfoy Manor has been on the floo network for a while now and you should be able to get in without trouble. Once you're there, feel free to re-erect the wards," Hermione explained, plopping down into the armchair. "It was a pleasure seeing you again, Malfoy. I hope we can be on good terms in the future." He looked at her as her voice became slightly weaker. "Perhaps, sometime in the near future, you might visit Harry and Ron's grave. Oddly enough, Harry left you something in his will. It should be waiting for you at the manor." She looked up at him with her dull brown eyes and managed a genuinely relief smile. "Farewell."

Draco looked down at the green flames for a moment before turning back to Hermione. He cleared his throat and she looked up. "Granger," he began, taking a deep breath. "What you said about me being welcome at your house a while ago…the same to you. If you ever find yourself on the run, I will gladly take you up." He smirked.

Hermione nodded, also smirking, and watched as Draco stepped into the fireplace and cleared his throat. "Malfoy Manor," he called and was swallowed up in the green flames. They licked his body and he closed his eyes in rapture at the very welcome feeling of having his own body once again. He was not prepared to take in the dark and dusty lobby of the Malfoy Manor.

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