Chapter one

"Draco Malfoy?" The nurse called
Draco looked up and the nurse said,
"Come with me please."
He stood and followed her out of the room. Her name was Ms. McCane and he had grown rather fond of her over the last two days. She was tall, thin and dark with kindness glowing all around her. She stopped out side a room on the left of a brightly lit hallway and opened the door beckoning him inside. The room he entered was darker then the hallway. The lights were off but the blinds were open and a fan was blowing on the ceiling. The rooms wall color was white with odd painting on them, The floor was wood and on one side of the room, the side near the door was a black leather couch. On the opposite wall was a large light brown desk with a ton of papers and a stapler on it. Seated behind the desk with a smooth trusting and patient face was a young lady of about 32. She had almond shaped eyes complemented by glasses perched a tad lower then the bridge of her nose. She had neat dark blue robes and her hair was in a tight bun in the back of her head. When Draco entered the room she was tapping a pen on the top or her desk with her left hand and studying Draco as he made his way to the right an sat on the couch.
When he sat she stopped tapping her pen and bought her free hand to her chin. She looked in to his eyes and he glared back. When he did this, she dropped the pen lightly to the desk and looked down with a small frown. She folded her arms in front of her and sighed.
Now Draco's eyes left her and scanned the room stopping at the plaque in back of her. It was a good size and with out a doubt the most handsome object in the room. It said,

The order of Merlin first class is presented to Miss,
Dr. Virginia Weasley
For her services in helping those tortured by the Dark Lord.

A slight hint of amusement danced in Draco's eyes and a smirk played at his lips. Ginny (Virginia) again picked up her pen and held it upside down on her desk. Draco leaned back on the coach, crossing his arms and legs smirking at the lady in front of him. A daring eyebrow of his was raised in a disdainful way and he was strumming her fingers on his arm.
It was now that Ginny decided to speak. Opening her sentence with a breath she said,
"Well... Draco Malfoy..." She let the word hang for a minute then continued. "I must say I never thought I'd see you again let alone in a mental institution."
Malfoy let out a chuckle.
"Well you never were very good in Divination from what I hear."
Ginny rose her eyebrows. "I understand you entered yourself in to the institution... yet you gave no reason."
Draco rose his eyebrows and nodded once "That's true." he answered.
"I don't suppose your going to tell me why?"
"Not unless you give me a very potent truth potion." Malfoy said comely.

"I won't do that." Ginny answered matching his calmness. She then sat up and picked up a pen then rose from her seat grabbing a notebook before walking to where Malfoy was sitting. "I'd like you to answer one question. And I'd like you to answer in writing but beware, before you agree, I should tell you... this pen tells no lies. I- however promise not to ask you WHY you came here."
Draco thought for a moment then answered "fine"
She handed him the pen and notebook and asked "What is the word that you have been thinking about lately more then any other?"
With out pausing Draco scribbled something on the paper. He stared at it for a while before handing the notebook and pen back to Ginny.
She looked at the word and said, "I see do you care to tell me anything?"
Draco looked down at his hands and said, "no"
"Very well" Ginny said returning to her desk. "You may go. Ms. McCane!" She called
The nurse came and ushered Draco out of the room. It took him a couple seconds to adjust his eyes to the brightly lit hallway and Ms. McCane waited patiently. "Would you like to go to the main room or your room?"
"My room" he answered. "I'm quite tired"
"Yes Mr. Malfoy" She led Draco to his room, aloud him in and locked the door behind him with a soft click. He gazed around his dark room. It looked like a jail cell he thought. Only perhaps slightly more white. He laid down on the pathetic excuse for a bed that he had and thought of the word he had scribbled down on the paper until he drifted off in to peaceful slumber.

The next time he saw Dr. Weasley was a week later. He again sat on the couch and she again was at the desk.
"Well Malfoy" Ginny said sitting up. "Last week I had you write down a word. And unless I am much mistaken you wrote down... Hermione."
"So what's it to you?" Draco rose his eye brows.
"Nothing... I just want to know, what ABOUT Hermione?"
Draco turned his head away.
Ginny sighed. "Hermione's dead is she not?"
"Yeah" Draco snapped at her "Why? You think I did it?"
"I didn't say that Draco." She answered.
He shook his head, "It doesn't matter."
"Doesn't it?" Ginny asked
"What are you getting at?" He asked.
"Tell me a story Draco."
Draco looked back at her confused. "What?"
"Tell me something I don't know... No one knows."
"Are you feeling OK?" Malfoy asked standing.
"Of coarse. And are you?"
"Perfect. Never better." Malfoy said walking towards the door.
"What are you doing?" Ginny asked
"I have nothing more to say and I'm leaving." Draco said and reached for the door handle. He turned it and cursed drawing his hand from it when he found it locked.
"But Draco I'm not ready for you to leave yet" Ginny said calmly.
Draco took his fists and struck the wall in front of him and then he backed away from it and his back still towards Ginny. She from her desk heard him chuckle.
"May I ask WHAT is so funny?" Ginny asked.
He turned and walked back to the couch sitting down. "The walls are padded" he said
Ginny rose her eye brows. "yes. They are"
Draco nodded, obviously thinking about something. After a while he whispered.
"I loved her." Her started shaking his head in disbelief. "Hermione... I really did. I loved her.
"You may go." Ginny said to him.
He quickly got up to leave closing the door behind him.
That night he got no sleep.

Next week found Draco Malfoy again walking in to Dr. Weasley's office. When he entered he sat on the couch and looked disdainfully at Ginny who took no notice seeing as she was writing in a folder. Finally she put down her pen and looked at him.
"So" She said.
"It started when Granger and I got locked behind Hogwarts, our only was to freedom being walking all the way around the school...

~~~

"Malfoy! What the HELL did you do!"
"I didn't do anything GRANGER why are you blaming this on me!?"
"Because I didn't do it and you were the only other one around!" Hermione said ecstatically waving her hand about.
"WELL I DIDN'T DO IT GRANGER" Draco stood panting staring at Hermione after yelling this and Hermione was staring wide eyed and mouth open back at him. After a moment though, she closed her mouth and looked down nodding her head.
"That killed the conversation." She mumbled. She turned and looked at their surroundings then turned back and asked "You didn't do this?"
"No." Draco answered
"Fine." Hermione answered shortly nodding rapidly then asking, "Where are we?" Draco looked up and around then said,
"I wish I wasn't saying this but I think... we're in the forbidden forest."
"But..." Hermione started, "but it's forbidden!" Draco looked around at her like she was crazy before saying,
"You're quick, I must say." Hermione shook her head a little, rolled her eyes and replied,
"Well what are we going to do?"
"I don't know what your going to do, but I'm going back to the castle." Draco answered while taking out his wand. He put it on his palm and whispered 'point me', then put it back in his pocket and pointed, "It's that way." He started walking and Hermione started talking once again,
"Do you really expect me to follow you? After all the things you tried to pull, you have got to be kidding."
Draco sighed, "I didn't ask you to follow me you know."
"Well I'm going to." Hermione said in a way that made it sound like it was her idea in the first place. "But what are you planing to do when we meet up with the terrors of the forbidden forest, huh? You know there's a reason it's forbidden."
"Yeah I realized. And I think I've also realized something a poor Mudblood that's scared of forest elves and fairy toads would use her common knowledge to realize right now." He stopped walking and lower his voice in a disdainful manner and said, "we have wands." He then smirked and took up walking again. Hermione stood blushing and trying to conceive how she just let Malfoy win an argument but she couldn't come up with anything so she followed after him. After jogging to catch up, she took on a normal pace and said to Malfoy,
"You have no right to tell me what I'm scared of. It seems that I'm the one who not only beats you in every single class but has gone on far more crazy adventures then you could ever dream of, you pathetic excuse for a pure blood."
Draco spun around and grabbed her forcefully by her wrists, spun her and pushed her against a tree, also making sure that he had her hands caught behind her back, he whispered fiercely to her,
"You had better not start with me Mudblood. Not when there's nobody around for kilos to save you."
Hermione's breath caught in her chest and she suddenly felt very frightened. "Get off me" she whispered barley audibly.
"Seems your not as brave as before Miss Granger. What's wrong? You scared?" Malfoy hissed sending a shiver up Hermione's spine.
"Get off." She repeated.
"I don't follow order Granger" Malfoy said loosening his grip only a tad. "But I will grant requests."
"WILL you get off of me?" Hermione asked softly.
"Your forgetting the magic word Granger."
"WILL YOU PLEASE GET OFF OF ME!" She yelled causing Draco to raise his eyebrows. And shortly after, her let her go. He kept walking and she kept following him and soon she asked,
"How do you think we got here?"
"I don't really know."
"Do you think it was like, a prank or something?"
Draco rolled his eyes and answered with, "Yes Granger I'm sure it was a prank, or something. I do believe that we can rule out the possibility of it being nothing." Hermione sighed slightly aggravated. they walked on and after ten minutes or so Draco jumped when from behind him he heard a scream. It was in fact a whole scream either. It was cut off. He turned to find Hermione gone and the ground moving slightly from her sinking beneath it. Draco sighed and muttered "Brilliant" Before transfiguring himself in to a male forest elf and diving in to the ground. Seconds later, which to Hermione no doubt seemed like hours, they were both back above ground. While Hermione was catching her breath, Draco transfigured himself back and helped her to her feet.
"Sinking sand. You should really watch out for it. You should be thankful I remembered it's like regular old water to forest elves. And thankful I went after you at all." Draco said then continued walking. Hermione, stumbling after him.
It was growing dark before either of them talked again. Which could've been because they had nothing to say to each other. Or it could have been that they didn't want their presence to go noticed. Never the less, around seven that night Hermione moved up along side of Draco instead of her trailing position she had been at before and she said,
"Thank you"
Draco winced a little but kept walking and answered,
"No problem" Hermione exhaled with disgust.
"There's no need to be so smug about it. Just drop the freaking act." Draco stopped and turned towards her asking
"What act?"
"Oh come on the whole, 'I'm a tough guy, I care about nobody' act."
Draco laughed, "sorry to break it to you but that's not an act."
"Your lying." Hermione shook her head. "I just know your lying."
"And how do you know that?"
Hermione paused, "I just know."
"OK and... why would I be acting?"
"Because your scared that if you stop acting someone might actually think you're a good person." Draco had nothing to say. He started walking again but slower this time. And that was all that was said for a time. They rested for a little while and when the sun came up the next morning they were off.
"So if you took off the 'act' for one day, who would you want to see the real you?" Hermione asked in the late morning.
Draco closed his eyes for a moment and said,
"I'm not telling."
"fine" Hermione said.
"What about you?" Draco asked her.
"Excuse me?"
"Come on now, miss perfect? That screams acting."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Alright, Alright, so I'm not EXACTLY being true to myself."
Draco smiled at this, "So? anyone in particular you'd want to know?"
Hermione grinned. "I'm not telling."
"Why? You got something to hide?" Draco asked.
"Have you got something to hide?"
Draco smirked and kept walking. Around an hour later the trees became thinner and further apart and Hermione was caught by surprise when she heard Draco say,
"Your welcome" in a sincere tone.
"For what?" She asked.
"pulling you out of the quick sand." he replied. Hermione, a little confused turned around and was about to ask why he was bringing that back up when she saw him smiling at her. He wasn't being smug this time. He had let down the facade that was the him she knew and was for once in his life being himself. She nodded and smiled back, then took the lead again.
"Don't tell one about that." He said after a moment.
"I don't obey orders Malfoy. But I will grant requests." her spun around and said,
"Then please Hermione, don't tell anyone." She smiled he said her name.
"HERMIONE!" The two of them jumped in fright and looked over to Hagrid who was now running in to the thin wood on the edge of the forest.
"What is gods name are ya doin' out here?" He dragged them up to Dumbledores office and they told him the story of how they just 'ended up in the forest' and he said you wasn't in the least bit surprised that there was some sort of transport devise on the Hogwarts grounds and sent them to their dorms to get some rest. When they reached the hall where Draco would turn left and Hermione right, they paused and Draco looked at Hermione.
"I won't tell." She assured him and he smiled
"Thanks." they were about to go when Hermione asked,
"Nothings going to change right? We're like we were before this happened?"
Draco smirked and said, "Get outta my sight Mudblood."
Hermione nodded and began walking towards the Gryffindor common room. When she was nearly out of earshot though she faintly heard,
"Good-bye Hermione." She turned and Draco waved
"Bye" She answered.

~~~