DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. OH HOW I WISH I DID THOUGH.

Hey everyone. Here's some Harry Potter fiction Looooooong overdue. i jsut love this paring. i got for anything that isn't Ron/Hermione when it comes to Herms becaue that pairing is awkward to me. :) anyways, hope you enjoy! don't forget to read and review! feedback is good. gives me something to work off of. improve with. reviews are love. and you review means i love you. :)

-Flaming Rose

He barged into the dark and dank room, his wand poised in front of him. Nothing. just that weeping he couldn't seem to shake. Where was it coming from? He already thought it was himself until he found his eyes dry and his emotions completely in check. It was someone else. "Lumos", he murmured. His wand lit up at the end and he drug the light along the room slowly so as not to miss a single organism that may be dwelling there. In the corner he sighted a girl his age crying as he had never seen anyone cry before. Her robes were torn and tattered, her hair was unruly and unkempt. She was curled up in fetal position, and risked a look at whoever had entered the dungeon. He gasped. Granger.

He hadn't been the only one to notice the crying. His father had too. All of them had. Before making the rounds, he demanded the weeping cease. His father was a hard man to deal with, but the only way you could stay alive as long as Draco had was to obey his every order and hope he didn't kill you. She wasn't afraid of him. The weeping wasn't because of fear. It was loss. He could tell. There had been quite a lot of crying around lately, and if you had heard it enough like Draco had, it would become it's own language saying different things and conveying different emotions.

"Draco!" his father called impatiently, "Hurry up!"

"er," he said stupidly. What was there to say? Nothing. absolutely nothing.

"Deal with it Draco, we're leaving. We don't have time to wait for you. It's you whose going up the wall because of her bellowing so you will be the one to silence her."

His eyes widened. Silence her. Was he sure his father had used silence? Of course. What other euphemism was there for killing someone?

"er, are you sure?" the words sounded stupid coming out of his mouth.

"Draco!" his father bellowed again. Granger kept crying. Merlin! Why couldn't she just shut up?

"Granger!" he whispered fiercely, "shut up!"

"why should I?" she said fiercely back at him.

"because if you don't my father is going to kill you. Do you understand?"

"go ahead. Let him. Why should I care?" he hastily put his wand away. It was obvious it wasn't going to help him with the stubborn bushy haired witch in front of him.

"Granger, please," he whispered urgently, "just do as I tell you, and shut up!"

"No! there's nothing to live for why shouldn't I die?"

"Don't talk like that!" he said as his brow furrowed in frustration. She kept crying. Louder this time. He heard his father's grumbling as he came down the hall.

"take care of it Draco!" he called, "or I will." He was walking fast. Which meant Draco had to act fast. Think, think, think. How did he usually shut girls up when he didn't want them to talk or cry? Aha! But she would kill him. There was no doubt in his mind. He heard his father's steps coming closer. But it was either that or his father killed her, and, even though he couldn't figure out why, he didn't want that to happen.

"I'm sorry Granger, but you're going to have to excuse me." He muttered to her. before she could ask what for, his lips crashed onto hers with brash urgency. He held her to him, not letting her go. She fought against him struggling to be freed from his grasp, but she was quiet. His father's steps slowed, then stopped. He kept kissing her, bringing his hand up to her face and stroking her cheek to calm her down. It seemed to work. She stopped struggling. He heard his father turn around.

"Excellent work Draco" he called in a bored tone not even bothering to see how well of a job his son had done, "we'll be back soon. Make sure not to make a mess of the place as you usually do." a soft chuckle from all of his father's death eater friends faded as the door closed and he was left alone in the large mansion. The bastard. He hated that man. As he heard their footsteps fade, he released Granger and sat there bewildered. Why did he want to do that again? Don't be ridiculous. Of course he knew why he wanted to do that again. He just wouldn't say it out loud, or he would end up dead, and most likely not by his father. She was sitting against the wall with a bewildered look on her own tear stained face. She looked up at him.

"Draco," she said softly, "so you're on the dark side of this war are you?" she said to the hooded figure in front of her. he nodded. She saw his mask covered his face.

"could you take off your mask," she said, "so that I can see you?" he slowly did what was asked of him. She made her way towards him. He looked up at her and saw pure hatred in her eyes. And he saw it all the way up to when she brought her arm back and slapped him across the face, hard. That would be the second time her hand made it's way to his face. He touched his jaw where the impact had really hit.

"uh huh, okay," he said, " I just saved your life and you decide to slap me. I see the state the world has come to."

"The world was already brought to it's lowest point thanks to you and your band of outlaws you filthy wretch!" she spat in his face. His eyes turned to ice.

"For your information they are not my band of outlaws, they are the Dark Lord's followers, and I didn't choose this to happen. Do you think I had a choice?" he said coldly to her as his eyes bore into hers. Her glance shifted. He had unnerved her. good. She was such a know it all. It felt good to prove her wrong every once in a while.

She looked at him as he rubbed his cheek. She was aware he had saved her life, but she just didn't understand why he had to silence her like that. It made her feel things she didn't like feeling, especially towards him. She scooted closer to him and watched him carefully. His cheek was red, very red.

"You should be proud of yourself Granger," he said bitterly, "you drew blood. Must be that bloody ring you have on your finger." He said as he looked down at his finger and saw the ruby liquid. The cut was shallow, easy to heal. Being a master healer, after all that was what her specialty was, even during this bloody war, she knew she could heal it easily, wand or no wand.

"here, let me help you," she said approaching him carefully. He shied away from her.

"look Granger, I appreciate it and all, but I think you've done enough."

"come on Malfoy don't be such a prick," she said, "just let me help you." He went still and tense as she gently reached up to his face and summoned the cut healed. He eyed her hand on his cheek and felt her healing charm tingle through his skin. He looked up at her, a sad look still present on her face. He touched his hand up to hers, but she pulled away quickly. His hand lingered on his cheek where the cut had been before her hand had been there. It was completely healed.

"er, thank you,' he muttered.

"please, don't mention it." she said as she went back to her place against the wall and settled against it. she hugged her arms around herself tightly. She was obviously cold. He untied his black robes from around him and approached her. she backed up as far against the wall as she could to avoid him. He approached her like a person would approach an injured or trapped wild animal.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said soothingly. He slowly approached her. she eyed him with contempt and fear. He draped the robes over her shoulder and she brought them in closer to her, obviously grateful for the warmth, but not sure what to make of the kind gesture.

"thank you," she mumbled. He nodded. He then sat down in front of her on the cold floor. She looked at him skeptically.

"What's your angle Malfoy?" she asked him suspiciously.

"I want to be in your good graces," he said evenly looking her in the eye.

"Why?" she asked.

"I think we all know who is going to lose this war," he said, " and when they do, I want to be accepted. Not exactly by Weasely and Potter, but definitely by you."

"Why me? Why am I so special?"

"I've hurt you the most. Mud blood isn't exactly a term of endearment now is it?" he asked rhetorically. She looked at her feet.

"And to tell you the truth, I don't like the side I'm on," he continued, "I never have anyone to back me up, no one has faith in me, it's not a nice place to be, but I'll endure it if I know I can do something for my true er, team, I guess you would call it."

"I seem to be sensing an ulterior motive for you coming and seeking me out." she said skeptically.

"Well, no, finding you was pure luck, but I do have plans against the dark side." He had been thinking this over for a while, and he wanted to do it. this bloody war was getting to be ridiculous. He wanted it to stop, and he wanted to help it end. Severus had told him about this one way he could assist the Order, and though at the time he thought he was crazy, he had come to understand his reasons.

:::::::::::::::::::::

"Draco, this isn't going to be the last time I ask you, but.."

"No, I will not become an informant." He said firmly.

"But you have so much access to everything! You are at the center of it all. Your father is the right hand of The Dark Lord and you can observe quietly with little difficulty into what goes on here!"

"No! Do you have any idea how they treat their own kind? If they were to find me out as a traitor, there is no way I would live to tell the tale!"

"That's the price you pay!"

"Well it's a rather large price and I rather not pay it thank you very much!" he stalked away, but Severus wouldn't let it go. He had one more card up his sleeve, and he knew he'd win him with this one.

"Do you love her?" he called after Draco. Draco stopped in his tracks.

"Who?" he asked.

"The Granger girl, do you love her?" Draco's tense form slowly turned to meet Severus.

"No," he said, obviously trying to control his emotions, "I don't love the mud blood. That's a preposterous thought."

"Really?" Severus challenged as he stepped closer to him, advancing, "Because it doesn't seem like it to me."

"Well you need your vision checked then, because I don't feel anything for her."

"Cease this incessant denial Draco. I have taught you for seven years and I have seen the way you look at her when she's not looking. I've seen the way you cringe when Weasley upsets her, and I recognize it all, I've seen it all, and I know how all of them feel. So don't tell me you aren't in love with her when I know you are."

Draco looked down at the ground. He'd been figured out. At least it was Severus and not his father. That would have been worse. Or the worst of all, Granger. There was silence. Who was it Severus had fallen in love with? He didn't know Severus was even capable of that.

"The woman I was in love with died, Draco, by my folly, by my blind anger. She was killed by the Dark Lord, and if you don't do anything now, I am afraid history will repeat itself and you will be going about this miserable life trying to redeem your mistake till the end with no feeling of redemption. Believe me when I say the pain never dies away. You have a chance. Now take it."

He had gone this long without her knowing, he thought he could get away with her or anybody else never knowing, just tossing some hexes here and some use of the word mud blood there, and he would be fine, completely guarded. He was wrong. it didn't matter now. he had a choice to make.

"Where do I begin?" he asked quietly. Severus smiled, or contorted his face into what was considered his smile, and guided him down the hall.

"First you must contact the order. Second, tell them your plans. Be truthful, be genuine, state your intentions plainly. Next they will learn to trust you,. And then you give information to them, just by being where you are supposed to be. Be careful, and don't send owls. They are too easily intercepted. Stay anonymous. Even in person. If you meet someone in person, make sure it's the same person every time, and that they can recognize you somehow. Do you understand?" Draco nodded silently as he turned to leave.

"And Draco," Severus added, "Be sure you tell your information to someone you trust, and someone who can learn to trust you."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Granger, could you ever learn to trust me?" he asked suddenly. She was caught off guard. Her first response would be no, but she was a fast learner. She was sure she could learn a lot of things.

"Why do you ask?" she asked him skeptically.

" I was thinking," he said, "when you get out of here, that I could meet you somewhere. For nothing more than to give you information on the plans and such of the dark side."

"You want to be an informant?" she asked incredulously.

"yes," he said sincerely, not letting her gaze escape his.

"Well then I would probably say yes, as long as you would stay true and honest with me, but there is no way I am getting out of here alive," she said bitterly.

"Don't talk like that Hermione," he said looking at her intently.

"it's true isn't it? have you seen anyone walk out of here alive?" he looked down at his shoes. She was right.

"You're right Hermione. I'm sorry to say it, but no, I haven't." he said quietly.

"well you don't have to agree with me," she mumbled sadly. He wanted to do something for her. anything to make her happier, more comfortable, anything. He came close to her and hesitantly put his arms around her. she crumpled into his chest and sobbed into his robes. After a while, her crying subdued, and she noticed in whose arms she had collapsed in. She hastily pushed away from him. He dropped his arms to his side uselessly.

"Why do you have to be so nice to me?" she asked.

Because I love you, he thought, but he wouldn't dare say so.

"I don't know," he said instead.

"well don't be," she said.

"Why not?"

"it's just another reminder."

"Of what?"

"of how much things have changed." She said honestly, "I just wish it could be as simple as it used to be when we were in school. You know, when bickering was the worst thing that could happen to ruin our day."

"yeah, those were the good old days," he said wryly. He sat there looking down at his shoes. He had been doing that a lot lately it seemed to him.

"Granger," he said, "you will get out of here alive. I'll make sure of it."

"How?" she questioned him.

"Never mind how. I'll get you out by tomorrow." He got up to leave.

"Draco," she said grabbing his arm, "wait," she pleaded. He stopped and looked back at her.

"I er," she said awkwardly, not sure how to go about what she was attempting to say, "thank you, for saving my life. though I would have done it differently, you were affective and er, it- it really means a lot." She hesitantly leaned in and slowly and cautiously wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace. He smiled. Maybe she could end up trusting him after all.

"And one more thing," she said.

"what is it?"

"could you- could you bicker with me?" she asked him timidly, "it's just that I sometimes dream about the good old days, when things weren't as complicated and the worst thing I had to worry about was encountering you in the hallway or in class." She looked down at her feet.

"I'd give anything to have that again," she said quietly. He smiled a bit and nodded.

"of course," he said bringing his signature smirk into place, "Granger. God you're so filthy." The insult used to carry weight, but this time Hermione couldn't help but smile a bit. He really could be kind. She could tell how much he wanted her to feel better, feel safer, and to her surprise he was succeeding.

"How dare you, you cockroach!"

"don't speak like that to me! You should know better than to speak in that tone of voice to your superiors."

"Superior? Maybe of dunces."

"better than queen of beavers!"

'Beaver? Beaver?" she said, hardly able to contain her laughter, "better a queen of beavers then a king of ferrets!" they could no longer hold in their laughter and they both collapsed next to each other in a fit of giggles. Their days at Hogwarts and their mortifying experiences all looked so silly now, and they now understood why so many people laughed at them during their battles in the hallway. They were ridiculous. As they stopped giggling a content smile settled on her face, and a smile formed on his face by seeing he could cause such a content expression.

"So you're coming for me tomorrow?" she asked him.

"I will," he responded. She held his arm and was serious now.

"Do you promise?" he looked at her face full of worry. He leaned towards her and places a soft, slow, and gentle kiss on her cheek.

"I will get you out. I promise." She smiled at him gratefully and he got up from the dungeon floor. She curled up with his robe still around her and drifted off to gain some much needed sleep. He looked down at her and smiled warmly. She would learn to trust him. He would give her no reason not to, and he would give her every reason why she should. He wouldn't disappoint her. He wouldn't hurt her. Not this time.