A/N: Yap, it's me again. Today I kinda missed Dramione. So I decided I should write something that would really show how Draco truthfully is, you know? (and maybe give him a little humility) LOOL anyway, go ahead, read it, and tell me if you like it, hate it or love it, yap?

P.S. I know all my fics with Dramione are kinda angsty, but hey, so are they, right? They have got to have drama in their lives! lool

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Characters not mine, story probably already thought by someone else first, bla bla

He had been smirking. Those few minutes leaning against one of the Forbidden Forest's humungous trees had gone by painfully slowly. The smell of dead rats infested the already pestilent air, and he furrowed his brows with disgust when he realized his feet had almost touched the grayish fluid that rested on the muddy ground.

He had been watching. His year's Slytherins and Gryffindors had been abnormally physically close to each other, and he could only guess it to be due to the threatening atmosphere that surrounded them. The Red girls, their faces flushed from the cold and their eyes widened in silent fear, stood behind all the boys, and so did the Green. His fellow Housemates were shuddering inwardly; Draco could see their fingers subtly trembling against their cloaks. Not even one of them would admit they had an unsettling feeling getting a hold of their usually tamed minds, but Draco knew it.

He had been thinking. Apart from him, only three other students had separated themselves from the heavy crowd. The Golden Trio. With trees as their borders, the safest and most natural thing to do would be for everyone to be gathered in the middle of the glade, and practically every single student's instincts told them to do so. But not his, nor The Golden Trio's. They were, instead, squatting, a considerable distance away from everyone else, their eyes fixed on something on the mud, and two of them wore alarmed expressions on their faces.

He found himself smirking, watching, and thinking about how he was going to break the news to his father. He recognized the glance the girl had shot Potter. It meant Danger. Weasley never noticed, clueless as he was about pretty much everything. But the main thing was he knew something was wrong. And so, there he was, leaning against an old tree, in the middle of the afternoon, far from the drove, figuring out the best way to make his father end the giant's teaching career. Because there was no way on Earth he would get away with leaving his students unprotected in the Forbidden Forest. No, there was not. Not when Draco himself was starting to feel edgy.

And Draco would have kept thinking – daydreaming was more like it – had it not been for the scream.

"NO!"

And the loud, heavy steps that followed it.

He was oblivious as to why, but his whole world started to move in slow motion, his eyes mechanically drifting to the place the scream had come from. The scream that carried a tremendously agonizing pain, despair, confusion, shock. The crowd had split and was running in basically every direction but the Danger's. A few of his friends strolled past him without even looking back once, but there were some to whom the idea of leaving Lucius Malfoy's son behind did not feel quite right.

"Run, Malfoy!" He heard Goyle yell.

"You go ahead." Draco calmly stated. In truth, he was far from calm. His inner self had panicked long before he had seen the threat. But he was not afraid to die. And he had to do something first; for some ulterior reason his brain refused to tell him, he could not go back to the castle without seeing the screamer first.

Goyle looked as if he was going to argue, but then the fear took the best of him. He disappeared in mere seconds.

Draco glanced around. The group of Gryffindors that had not initially fled from the Forest had just been told to go. The Threat was gone. The Golden Trio had stayed. He felt oddly apprehensive and bewildered when his feet started marching towards the two boys without any previous order. And the Mudblood. He gasped, finally realizing.

He was getting closer and closer to them by the second, and something was definitely wrong with the picture. Potter and Weasley were kneeling down on the ground. Draco got to them and his heart skipped a beat.

Ron Weasley had a strong grasp on the Mudblood's arm, his face livid. Harry Potter had tears in his eyes and kept shaking her motionless body softly, mumbling her name and some incoherent sentences. Hermione Granger was fallen on the nearly unique grassy spot in the whole forest, her head the only thing in contact with dirt, blood all over her chest. An arrow stood a few inches away from her body.

Draco was speechless. His foot stepped on a broken branch, and the noise startled both boys, breaking the silence that had been installed since the departure of the centaurs.

Harry rotated his head faintly. He did not react when his eyes fell on Draco. A low, harsh whisper left his mouth.

"They… they always do this. Kill first…" He stopped, trying to control a sob. "And ask later. After feeling… endangered, I mean."

Draco gradually approached the girl. Her skin was not white as he had expected. A subtle flush still graced her features. He let out a breath of relief he did not even know he had been holding in the first place.

"Potter." He murmured.

Neither one of them looked up.

"Potter, Weasley." He called, this time a little stronger. "She's not dead."

Their heads suddenly rose to face him.

"She's… she's not?" Ron asked, as miserable as Draco had ever seen him.

"No. Not yet, anyway." He silently asked them for permission to kneel down, he himself did not know why. His eyes wandered by her injured body. "May I?"

Harry eyed him as suspiciously as he could manage. Draco could tell he was attempting to think rationally, and do what would be best for her. He could tell he did not want to let him near her. He could tell he was measuring up the pros and the cons. He only hoped he would decide in his behalf. There was something about the whole situation that made him feel a kind of despair he had not felt in a long time. The girl lying on the mud… It could not be Granger. Either that… or he had never really looked at her. Never really seen her.

His fingers suddenly brushed hers as he unconsciously sat down. He fought a gasp, and smiled. They were still warm. She was a fighter, a survivor. But not for long. He eyed Harry urgently.

"Save her." Ron finally spoke. "Please. Dumbledore doesn't even know we're here. And… we don't…" He inhaled deeply. "We don't know how to."

He needn't be told twice. His hand lifted her head and carefully placed it on his lap. She winced.

"It'll be over soon." His tone was reassuring. Both watching boys held a breath in anticipation. "Paramatus kleveo" His wand caressed her wound, and a blue light lit her body. He sighed, thankful for something he failed to comprehend. It still confused how innocent, fragile she looked. And how he wanted to protect her. Because minutes before, he would not have been able to care less. "She should wake up soon. She'll need you two then."

Hermione Granger was out of danger, but still had two torturing long hours ahead.

Harry and Ron were at a loss for words. They soundlessly thanked him, and Draco nodded in understanding.

He was about to get up when Hermione started wincing once more, this time more violently. Her eyebrows were furrowed in pain, and her fists were clutched. She screamed.

Draco blinked rapidly, suddenly thrown away by how hopeless her scream felt. "No, don't do that." He begged, and looked helplessly at the two boys sitting in front of him. Harry ran a hand through his hair in despair. "Please, she has to stop. The spell might not work if she rejects it." He wanted to believe that was why she had to stop screaming. He ignored how horrible it felt to hear her scream, and focused on getting her to stop.

"Why would she do that?" Ron asked, his eyes widening in horror.

"She has to calm down." He stated, his eyes facing the grass.

"Please, Draco." Harry supplicated, talking at last. "We can't lose her. I know you don't care about us. Me, that is." He sighed. "But she has done nothing wrong."

The Slytherin considered his options. For some unknown reason – the same that had him moving before -, he could not even bear to think about seeing her suffer. He stroked her hair. His surroundings disappeared; it was only Hermione and him.

"Everything will be fine. I am not lying, Hermione," He was surprised at how good it felt to say her name out loud. "You really are going to be fine. You are going to wake up, and you are going to see everything is just fine. I will be here, and I won't let anybody hurt you ever again. Please, you have to believe me. I am not lying. I would not lie to you."

She stopped moving, and the frown on her face relaxed and was turned into a small smile. He exhaled, his eyes smiling back at her.

The sense of relief was short-lived, though. A new wave of pain washed over her, and she screamed.

Draco did not know what else to say. He hummed to the song that always calmed him down, instead.

He stayed there, humming. He never stopped.

And she never screamed again.

"Po- Harry, replace me." He demanded suddenly.

Harry just raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Please. She can't know I saved her. It's just…" He felt his own voice tremble and cleared his throat. "It will be better for all of us if she doesn't know. What she doesn't know, can't hurt her, right?" He smiled sadly.

"I don't th-" Harry argued quietly.

"Just promise me that. She can never know."

Harry looked at Ron. He nodded.

"If that's what you want." Harry assured him.

"Yes. She deserves someone better." Draco glanced at Hermione one last time, and then carefully picked her up in her arms, as he stood up himself. "Here, take her."

Harry grabbed her. "Thank you, Draco." He whispered to the boy whose lines were fading against the Forest's.

Hermione stirred and opened her eyes.

"Harry? Ron?" She murmured.

She lifted her head from its pillow, and soon realized she had been sleeping on Harry's lap. "Harry wake up." She shook him. He was fast asleep, leaning against a tree. "Why are we in the Forbidden Forest"

Ron heard her and his eyes shot open at once.

"Hermione!" He smiled contentedly. "How are you feeling?"

The girl just stared at him, a smile of wonder gracing her lips. "Just fine, thanks. I had this dream, you know? The most beautiful voice was singing to me..." She rubbed her eyes sleepily. "I would give everything to hear him again."

Ron fought hard not to smile.

A/N: So, once again, how was it? Bad, good, not good nor bad? Tell me, pleeease

P.S. Ron doesn't fancy her in this fic – I don't really like that ship (not particularly, anyway)

I hope you enjoyed reading! I don't know if I should make a two-shot out of this one-shot. I'll see. You can tell me what you think about it, if you want to! I would LOVE to hear your opinions!

Kisses,

Febya