Hey all,

this is kinda angsty and all in Hermione's POV. Just a short two-shot, or maybe three, depends...anyways, Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I own only the plot

Plagued in Darkness - Part One

Ironic isn't it, how the one you had always thought you hated was actually one you truly loved? It was sickeningly cliché, but the phrase 'it's a thin line between love and hate' was the perfect description for what happened between me and my love. Who was my love you ask? Why it was none other than Draco Malfoy, my arch rival. Yet somehow, somewhere along the way, my opinion of him changed. Mainly it was the War. War has a way of changing people, some for the better, some for the worse. For Draco the war had a unique effect on him. In many ways he became a better person, he showed his true self, yet simultaneously he deteriorated. He became cold and dangerous, with a fierce determination to destroy Voldemort's followers. Then again, perhaps it was not the war in itself, but the cost of the war that changed him. Whatever the reason, I am eternally grateful, for it was his change that allowed me to know true love.

It was in the summer between our sixth and seventh year that the change started to occur within him. Granted I did not know it at the time as I was too busy hating him with every fibre of my being. But it was in this summer that he lost the only person he had ever loved, his mother. She did not just die, for that would be somewhat bearable, no…she was murdered. She was tortured, beaten and murdered by none other than Lucius Malfoy, her husband…consequently Draco's father. It was this final act by Lucius that pushed Draco over the proverbial cliff. And Draco had nothing left to do but fall, and fall he did, into the dark world of hate and revenge. It was that summer that Draco Malfoy vowed to destroy all those who followed Voldemort, starting with his father.

It was with this resolution that he returned to Hogwarts for his final year. It was clear to everyone that he had changed, for what was once an arrogant young boy, suddenly transformed into a cold, menacing, dangerous man. He was withdrawn from all his former friends, and even the other Slytherins seemed wary of him. However, by some miracle he was chosen as head boy, due to his stellar marks which were second only to mine. It was this position that lead to our eventual truce as we were required to share a common room, and plan events together. The first months of school passed in the usual dull manner, but there was an underlying tension that surrounded most of the student body as the War progressed in the outside world. Daily news would arrive of more killings, yet nothing hit me as hard as the death of my beloved parents. It was a cold day in December, only a few weeks from Christmas when I received the news of their demise. I was summoned to the Headmasters' office and was given the news that I had dreaded since the start of the War. I left his office in a daze, and somehow made my way to the Head rooms. I was in such a state of denial and shock that I failed to notice Draco's presence not to mention the ceaseless shaking of my hands. I did not even notice that I had been crying, yet nonetheless there was a steady stream of silent tears that cascaded down my cheeks, yet I paid them no heed for I still could not contemplate the reality that I was suddenly faced with.

Perhaps that was the turning point in our relationship, for it was my dazed, distraught appearance that struck a chord within Draco's soul. In that moment, he understood my pain, for it was the same pain he felt merely months earlier. So in a strange act of compassion, he comforted me in my time of desperate need. He did not whisper false assurances, nor did he conjure lies to ease my pain as others might have done. No, he silently gathered me in his arms and spent the night sitting on the couch holding me, letting me revel in my pain, loss, and suffering. It was his silent presence that gave me a strange sense of strength and comfort. I still do not understand the emotion, but I do know that his constant, honest support in those first horrible few hours, gave me the strength to cope with the deaths of my loved ones.

The days following that night were strange, for in that single moment of kindness a chasm was created between us, one that was not based on hate, rivalry, or prejudice. Those next few days I grasped desperately for some semblance of normalcy, the painstaking oversensitivity of my peers was aggravating. How was I supposed to cope, heal, recover when those around me, friends, peers, teachers were all treating me as though I was a piece of fragile glass? No, I wanted, no needed constancy. I was sick of being thrown between the two extremes. On one hand most tip-toed around me, afraid to say the wrong thing, while others, namely Slytherins, taunted and tormented me by constantly reminding me of my recent loss. So it was to Draco Malfoy, my arch enemy I turned to in this desperate time to find a constant. And so began our tentative friendship.

I returned to the common room one night in a fit of rage, partially towards my friends for coddling me, and partially towards the Slytherins for tormenting me. Nevertheless, I returned to find Draco staring mindlessly into the fire, and it was on him, that I took out my rage, anger and pain. It was unprovoked and unfair, but I was in such a state of emotional turmoil that I paid my conscience no heed. Yet he took it. He allowed me the luxury of releasing my anger unimpeded. He sat silently watching as I hurled items across the room, and when I turned on him, and directed my rage toward his person, he calmly took it. He allowed me the freedom to rage till exhaustion hit me, and I yet again fell into a tired sleep in his arms.

After this night there was no awkwardness however, for it seemed in all that occurred the previous night, we had come to a silent understanding. I knew he felt my pain, for it was common knowledge what happened to his mother. And he, just like myself, had felt the same fiery, uncontrollable rage burning within him. It was on this basis of understanding that we formed a bond. Every night from then on, we would spend on the couch, simply sitting together watching the flames die out. Soon however, the holiday season was upon us, and with it brought a deep sorrow in my soul, for it would be the first Christmas without my family, yet I refused the Weasley's offer for me to join them. I was not yet ready to replace my family with that of another. I knew that was not their intention, but I felt as though the simple act of being with another family at that time would be dark betrayal. So that was how I came to spend my holidays at Hogwarts, along with all the other orphaned students and none other than Draco Malfoy.

The two week reprieve from classes was pleasant, and the cold emptiness of the castle was oddly comforting. In those precious two weeks of isolation, Draco and I solidified our bond. Each day was spent in each others' company from the time we awoke, often until after we were asleep. So the days slipped by, as we slowly started to open up to each other, learned to confide in one another. In those two weeks, I learned and understood more about Draco than any other living soul ever would. Granted that same courtesy went both ways, as for every secret divulged to me, was reciprocated back. Yet like all things enjoyable, it too must come to an end, and soon enough the school was once again teeming with students.

The first few days of the new term were trying. I found myself no longer able to appreciate the simple, carefree nature of the other students. Perhaps I had changed just as much as Draco, if not more? I was still close with Harry and Ron, but on a different level. I no longer connected with them, at least not in the way I did with Draco, and it was then that I knew that Draco was something special.

Yet time has that unexpected way of passing by, without you realizing it. So as the days of the school year drew to an end, I took the plunge and asked Draco to declare his true loyalties. It was no easy feat, for he protested against the idea most violently, but with my persistent and persuasive arguments, he finally relented. It was on the last week of classes that he finally approached Headmaster Dumbledore about his wish to fight against Voldemort. The headmaster needed proof of his loyalty, and so with great trepidation, Draco entered into an Unbreakable Vow. Yet it was the terms of his Vow that puzzled me at the time. For Draco clearly did not feel any loyalty towards Dumbledore or Harry, but merely wanted to destroy Voldemort's followers, so the original basis of the Vow was rejected. Instead, Draco offered Dumbledore a counter Vow, and it was one that was accepted immediately though not without a certain degree of mistrust. You see, Draco did not Vow his loyalty to the Order, or even to the destruction of Voldemort. No, he offered his sole Vow to me. He Vowed that he would remain true and loyal to me and me alone, and in order to do so, he must fight for the light. And so he became a secret member of the Order of the Phoenix.

The final week passed like any other, yet this time it was with a vague sense of nostalgia for it would be the last time we walk the grounds and corridors of this school as students. It was also a time of sadness, as it was the place that united us all. It was a place that had seen our moments of greatest pleasure, and greatest pain, moments of highest achievement and worst failure. It was a constant. It was a haven, for no matter what turmoil the world was drenched in, Hogwarts would remain impervious to it all. Yet now, we were leaving…abandoning it's safe confines, and venturing out into a world plagued in darkness.

Review Please!! Thanks!