A/N: Hi Guys! Long time no see... So this is a dramoine fic, and is very much AU, so no magic. I hope you like it, and PLEASE REVIEW, cuz they mean the world to me... This fic also came on beacouse of emie the bookworm's constant push to ask me to write a Dramoine fic, so you better like this, understood?

well, I won't keep you any longer, so please go on and read :)

I walked out of her small apartment yet once again, the night almost as dark as the thoughts I often had, mostly about her.

She had entrapped me. Made me break all my rules, just for that one more night with her. Her warm brown eyes, filled with hope and love, seemed to attract me to her like a magnet.

So every night, without fail, I would have her writhing beneath me, screaming for all to hear, that she loved me, right before she came.

And every night, without fail, I would leave her alone in the bed as she slept, breaking her heart yet once again.

It had been drilled in my head— love was for pussies. For the weak people. My father, and the leader of my gang, Vold- I mean the Dark Lord, had told this to me enough times.

I was an asset, a soldier in their army, incapable of having any feelings. Not permitted to have any feelings. I had to do the job and follow their order. Even a slight deviation would result in punishment.

My mother had tried to shield me from father's nasty truth, and from my ultimate future. But after her death by the Dark Lord hands, I was suddenly naked. Naked in front of the death eaters, the gang I had been forced to be in. Naked for tem to eat me up, and mould me into the heartless killer.

I wasn't told much, except for the fact that the Dark Lord had to take revenge from a boy my age, whose name was Harry Potter.

And that was how I met her.

Hermione Jean Granger was the best friend and one of the main supporters of Harry Potter. And while trying to assassinate Potter, she was suddenly in front of me, her loyalty to her friend clear as day on her face. She had punched me on the face, and I was too startled to do anything.

That 'being startled' had resulted me in twenty lashes across my back.

And, apparently, Dumbledore's Army had a spy in the midst of the Death Eaters. And after knowing what had happened to me (through the spy. Duh.), Granger felt sad and wanted to meet me in secret.

That secret meeting ended with me in her bed, and a night I couldn't forget. Trust me, I tried.

That continued for a year, me in her bed every night. Soon, because of our little 'arrangement', I became acquainted with Potter, the Weasleys, Snape (who was the spy), Longbottom, Lovegood, and many others.

And after Snape's death, I became the spy.

Our arrangement, on the other hand, continued. And then one day, she told me that she loved me.

After that day, I started to leave her, and her heart started to break. Because of me.

And for once, I felt. I felt sad.

It was a normal day. I woke up at the crack of dawn, in my own bed, after a long night with Granger. After training with some other members and a conference, it was our 'free time', or the time when you could do some mundane activities without getting reprimanded.

So it was a surprise when Auntie Bella gleefully decided that there was treat for everyone. Curious, like all the others, I went, seeing something that made a jolt of pain go straight to my non-existent heart.

Granger, shackled to a wall, her body bare for all to see.

Her eyes lifted when she heard people come inside, and when they met mine, I had to physically restrain myself from not rushing towards her, and covering her body with my larger one, to hide the treasure that was mine, the treasure that was only for me to see. Her. Yet all I could do was stand there, and look into her eyes, which were full of shame and humiliation.

She was curled into a fetal position, hiding as much as possible with her hands inaccessible to her when Auntie Bella started talking.

"So…" She drawled. Her smirk widened as she looked at Granger, and said, "Who wants to have some entertainment?"

Then, she pulled a dirty spiked whip from the wall beside her, and with a nasty look, started whipping her.

The whip bit into her soft skin, drawing out the blood easily. In under a minute, her back was stained with the deep red liquid, and the large room suddenly became stuffy ad claustrophobic, full of shouts of encouragement from the other Death Eaters, as I tried hard not to lose the little food I had in the morning.

I had to get her out, save her from this torment somehow. All I wanted to do was to stop the tears leaking out of her eyes and the small whimpers she let out every time the whip struck her.

Finally, after having enough I yelled, "STOP!"

Everyone's heads, including hers, moved towards me at a lightening speed, and I knew I had to make some excuse, that would save not just her, but me too.

"I think I want her in my room, Auntie Bella." My voice was stern and unwavering, just like it was supposed to be. "I think I want her torture to be more personal." I want to take care of her. "And trust me, she won't be ale to sleep for her lifetime because of the nightmares I'm going to give her." I want her to sleep peacefully and never have a nightmare.

The hollering began again, and Auntie Bella gave me a smile. "Of Course, Draco. Just one last detail…" She pulled a knife from her waist, and grabbed one of Granger's restrained hands, and then with great detail, she carved that one word into her hand.

Mudblood.

Every slice on her hand hurt me. I knew that I couldn't stop it without breaking cover, so I waited. I waited for it to be over, so I could give her the care that she deserved.

As soon as it was over, I tried my best not to look at Granger's limp body, and unshackled her shackles from the walls. Then, I pulled her from one end of the room to the other, dragging her lithe body across the floor, because that was what was expected of me. As soon as we were out of the torture room and the door was securely closed, I picked up her frail body, minding her injuries, and carried her through the short distance to my room.

We weren't even inside the room properly as I started to make sure that the doors were bolted, and rushed her to my bed to lie her down on her stomach.

Her back was shredded, the sight gruesome to the untrained eye, but in this war, I would be surprised to meet children without the trained eye— eyes that had seen too much. It was necessary, and even though I wanted to, I couldn't do anything about it.

I quickly cleaned her back as gently as I could, not looking at her body once, shushing her whimpers, and stroking her hair softly.

I knew that she trusted me, for some fucked up reason, and like hell was I going to break that trust.

She was, thankfully, in deep slumber now, unable to feel the painful stings of the alcohol I had used to clean her wounds, and after making sure that the bandages on her back and arm were secure, I dressed her in some of my old clothes (which were still too big for her) and with practiced expertise, sneaked out of the manor, which was our headquarters.

The mansion was once known as the 'Malfoy Manor', but after my father became infatuated with the Dark Lord, everything that was his became his lord's.

Including his baby boy. His only son.

Anyway, with a quick trip to Potter's house and a chaste kiss to Hermione's forehead, I left.

That was the day I realized that I loved Hermione Granger.

The war was over.

Potter had finally done it. He had killed V-vol-Voldermort.

I hissed in pain as I grasped my dislocated shoulder. I was sitting on some rubble, and in the distance, I could see people trying to find their loved ones, crying over lost friends and family, and reuniting with the ones they were searching for. It was a bittersweet sight, but this was it.

It was over. Finally over.

Then, my mind drifted to her again.

I hadn't seen her for seven months, eight days, and about three hours. Not that I was counting.

After leaving her at Potter's that night, I had decided that I was bad for her. I was tainting her pure soul with my pitch black one, and I didn't want that for her.

I wanted her to be with someone who made her smile instead of breaking her heart. I wanted her eyes to crinkle with joy all the time, instead of being swollen because of crying. Basically, I wanted her to be happy.

And I wasn't the one who would do that for her.

I wanted her more than I wanted anything in my life, but alas, she was the one thing I couldn't have.

It was then I felt it. It was a light touch, feather light, to be honest. For a very long time, the only touch I had felt was hard. Either from my father (his regular beatings), from Voldermort (his not so regular beatings), or members of the DA (Tight hugs with hard slaps on my back). While the latter was much preferable, it was the light touch I wanted, the touch I felt from her, when she would trace patterns on my skin, just before falling slave to sleep, or when she would grasp my hands when we were kissing, giving me the reassurance that she was there.

So when her hand cupped my cheek after seven months, eight days and three hours, I leaned into it, for once accepting the comfort.

She looked straight into my eyes, her brown eyes meeting my pale, gray ones, ad I tried to say it to her, for the I didn't know how to put it to words, never saying it to anyone, not even to my mother before.

By some miracle, she understood, and placed her forehead on mine. We stayed like that, until her lips finally found mine for a small second, before she said, in a soft voice, meant only for me, something I had literally been dying to hear.

"I love you too, Draco."

And after a long, long time, I felt.

I was finally Happy.

And, That's it. I got this idea after listening to Ansel Elgort's "Thief" (Damn, this guy can sing), and completely abandoned the other stuff I was writing..

Anyway, guys, constructive criticism, as usual, is welcomed with open arms, and trust me when I say I LOVE when you guys review. Doesn't mean you can't fav and follow though. I hope you liked this fic, and this was completely dedicated to 'emie the bookworm'. Hope u liked this, Asmi-chan :)

Well, see ya, guys!

love,

Em.