Authors Note!
(Just letting you know that flashbacks are in bold italics, thoughts are in plain italics, and actions and diaglogue are just in regular text. if that confuses anyone let me know and i'll change it. ) this is my first DMHG, and only my second fanfic so go easy on me all you hardened authors!)
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Hermione Granger was seriously depressed. The war had been over for nearly a year, and instead of her life really starting, it completely ended. The task of defeating Voldemort no longer loomed over there heads, hindering any thoughts of a happy, whole future. After the war she should have gotten her fairytale ending. She should have gotten Ron.
"I just don't feel it anymore, Hermione. After all of that, I just don't think I could love anyone properly again. It hurts too much to think about being happy now. It wouldn't be fair to you if I pretended otherwise. I'm too messed up right now to be in a relationship… I'm sorry"
That was what he said to her, three days after the Battle of Hogwarts. She left that night, hadn't seen anyone of her school friends since. She wasn't even completely sure of who had died in the battle, and she didn't want to know. Hiding was the easiest thing she could have done. She went to Australia and found her parents, and insisted that they stay off the continent for a while. It had been bliss. Her parents got to marvel at the wonders of magic, and she basked in the glory of being free. For once it didn't matter where, or when, or why she was doing something. There were no double motives, no deceit, and no danger. She was finally living for herself and not "the greater good" like the senile old man had trained them all to do. All in all, she was wounded, depressed, jaded and angry at the world. She became a terribly vain person, no longer worried about some plan or another that she had to accomplish. She now kept her hair soft and sleek like at the Yule Ball, and her robes were now more form fitting and elegant. She now definitely looked the part of an 18 year old vixen.
When she finally returned to Britain, she traveled mostly under glamours and Polyjuice so that when she ran into people she knew, she didn't have to deal with them. She didn't feel guilty at all, letting everyone worry about her disappearance. She gave up most of her adolescence to fight a war that wasn't hers. She could have easily just transferred to Beauxbatons, where there was no war. Her parents probably would have preferred it.
She fought numerous life threatening battles, gave up a year of her life (not to mention sacrificing yet another year in order to get caught up with her studies because there was no way she'd ever be able to do anything meaningful without her NEWTs). But all of her hard work had gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Her blood, sweat and tears forgotten in the grand scheme of things. No one seemed to realize that without Hermione Granger, Harry Potter never would have made it as far as he did. Voldemort would probably have returned in her first year; Harry never would have made it through the potions riddle! Not that she blamed Harry; he gave credit where credit was due. It was the rest of the world she blamed.
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'It looks as if I'm going to have to venture out into the real world again. I'm all out of powdered asphodel and frog spawn. I should get new robes as well. Might as well go on a full out shopping spree, lord knows I deserve it.' Hermione thought to herself as she applied a few glamours. She actually looked forward to going to Diagon Alley this time, and she might actually talk to some of her old friends if she met the right ones. Certainly not Ron, but Harry, Luna or Ginny would be nice.
She left her cottage on the outskirts of London. She apparated to an alley that was about a block away from the Leaky Cauldron. She never used the alley next to it, the only time she had Harry and Ron had apparated right after her. She had been Polyjuiced to look like a young woman with red hair and blue eyes, but when she saw then she nearly cried with fright.
She began to walk, aware of the strange looks muggles were giving her. 'That's right, keep looking at my cloak. How many of you know I'm a witch, and how many think I'm some weird cultist? International Statute of Secrecy be damned, I dress how I like nowadays.' She made it to the Leaky Cauldron and in to Diagon Alley. She visited Eeylops for owl treats for the owl her parents had given her, Donato and Magical Menagerie for cat food for Crookshanks. After discreetly visiting Madam Malkin's, and then Twilfitt and Tattings (they had gorgeous blue silk robes, that she could not live without.) she visited the apothecary for potions supplies, Flourish and Blott's to get a few (dozen) books to occupy her time.
She then went to Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes, as she always did. Not because she liked to check up on her favorite wizarding family, or because Ron had been working there for a while now but because she genuinely enjoyed the products. Even though she knew her days as a sleuth trying to bring down the dark side were over, she still kept her kits prepared, because she was still in hiding. Decoy Detonators, Skiving Snack boxes of all kinds, Shield Hats, Instant Peruvian Darkness Powder, and a number of other in genius products that Fred and George had conceived. She always smiled and said hello to Fred's portrait when she went to the store, because he was the only person who knew it was her.
"Mr. Weasley, good morning." She had said one morning, her third time in the shop since the war had ended. She had just come back from Australia and was running dreadfully low on supplies. "Good morning to you too, miss. Is there anything I can help you with? I assure you, I know these products better than anyone, save perhaps George." He had said to her. She knew his voice was off, his smile a little too understanding. She'd thought it was just the way he was painted. "No, I know what I want; I've been a big Weasley fan for years. Some of this is really impressive magic, and it's very practical." She said smiling. She enjoyed talking to Fred. Even though they were at odds most of their Hogwarts years together, she truly enjoyed his company and missed him terribly. "Alright, whatever you say... Hermione." He added in a near whisper. She stopped dead in shock. Then a smile crept on her face. "How'd you know it was me?" "I know you to well for your own good Hermione. I assume you'd like me to keep your secret for you?" "That would be highly appreciated. I'm not ready to face them all yet. Good bye Fred, I miss you." She said with a sad smile, as she continued her shopping, careful to dodge the rest of the Weasleys that littered the store. She flashed one more smile at Fred as she slipped out the door.
She walked into the well lit store, packed with Hogwarts kids. It was here that she ran into the most people she knew. She smiled at Fred, who winked back at her, and beckoned her over. "Harry and Ron are in the back and my mum's in the alley somewhere as well. Thought I'd warn you." She thanked him and went about her shopping. She picked up all of her regular supplies, plus a few WonderWitch products that she adored, including a Ten Second Pimple Vanisher and Forever Glossy Lip Gloss. She also added a few Patented Day Dream Charms in to her basket. She also decided that it would be a good idea to pick up one of the special first aid kits (they had to design their own, tailored to ease ailments cause by Weasley products; needless to say it was one of their biggest sellers because it worked well on other injuries as well.). After she paid for her purchases, she gave Fred a small smile as she shrank the last of her packages and left.
After leaving the Leaky Cauldron, she stopped by a muggle supermarket, to get the tea and bread her mother had requested. She decided that the alley next to the supermarket was suitable for apparating back home, but as soon as she entered it she saw a half dozen figures in black cloaks and masks torturing a man with disheveled blonde hair. 'Death Eaters, for sure. I've got to help that man though!' and without another moments thought (expect for the nonverbal Summoning Charm she preformed) she summoned him and apparated to the cottage she lived in on her parents estate.
She looked down and nearly fainted. She came extremely close to apparating him back to that alley and leaving him for the Death Eaters. She had rescued Draco Malfoy.
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'Oh My Goodness! I can't believe I just rescued Draco Malfoy, the Slimy Slytherin! What was I thinking! He looks horrible! I wonder why they were torturing him, is he still one of their own? Well I've got him now, so I suppose I can ask him where he wants me to take him to and I can drop him off with Pansy or Narcissa or some one who will want to take care of him. Oh god, he shaking so badly. I suppose I better give him a Cruciatus Draught to cut the effects of the Cruciatus curse.' Hermione was in shock. She could not believe she hadn't recognized Draco at once, especially since he had been one of her childhood tormentors. She levitated him onto her bed, and grabbed the first aid kit that she had (conveniently) just bought. After Summoning a Cruciatus Draught, she turned to him.
"Malfoy, where do you want me to take you? I'm sure you don't want to stay here. Do you want me to apparate you to Malfoy Manor, or St. Mungo's or Pansy's or wherever?" She asked quickly, after handing him the potion. He shuddered as he drank it, and she smiled knowing all too well how horrible it tasted.
"I have nowhere to go. I'm a blood-traitor now; I've turned my back on my family and friends. That was them telling me to have a nice day." He said bitterly, his voice shaky and his eyes downcast. He looks were no longer sleek and elegant. He had a rugged, dangerous look about him and his body had changed in the year since she had last seen him. He was no longer thin and wiry; he was now tall and muscled, and instead of pale skin, he now had the lightest of tans and rosy patches over his cheeks. "And sorry to ask, but do I know you? You're talking as if we know each other. And you know Pansy?" he asked with genuine curiosity. 'Stupid Girl! Stupid STUPID Girl! Why would you act like you know him, you are in HIDING!' she berated herself in her head. She supposed there was no choice but to tell him. After all, he didn't appear dangerous, and if he was a blood-traitor he probably wouldn't hate her as much. She envisioned him working for the Light Side, and found the thought made her happier than she would have thought possible.
"Accio Polyjuice Antidote." She said with more confidence and conviction than she felt. She was still a bit afraid that he would hurt her when he found out who she was. She still hadn't forgotten her only trip to Malfoy Manor, which also happened to be her first time being tortured. She caught the bottle in her hands and faced away from him as she drank it. She felt it burn her throat and writhe in her stomach but she was careful to put a cocky smile on her face before she turned to face him in her true self.
"Hermione Granger? You are by far the last person I would have expected to rescue me. Not that I'm complaining though. Believe me, I'm grateful." He said in an astonished, but weak voice.
"Yes well I didn't realize just who I was rescuing, not that it matters. So you're a blood traitor now? How in the hell did that happen?" she asked, eager to change the subject. She gently pushed him down and started to treat the gashes along his arms and she was pleasantly surprised when he didn't shrink away form the touch of a "filthy mudblood".
"I wasn't cut out to be a Death Eater. I mean for all the grooming I'd had my whole life, you'd think my parents would actually have been able to really instill Death Eater beliefs in me. I thought I'd do well in the Dark Lords service, but when he died my loyalty wavered. He was supposed to be invincible and all that rubbish, but Potter killed him with expelliarmus. After that I just didn't see eye to eye with them. I mean I thought my parents and all of them tortured muggles because he told them too. What excuse did they have after he fell to continue such vulgar things? I didn't think that all of the Death Eaters were that sick. I never enjoyed torturing muggles. I may not have liked them but I only ever hurt them when he commanded me to, and not anymore than was believable. I thought that's what they were all doing. I was wrong, wrong about everything." He said quietly. She was massaging Essence of Dittany into the deeper cuts cause by the Torture Curse. He closed his eyes in relief, as his pain was slowly eased away by her gentle touch. She smiled at the look of ecstasy that flitted across his face before he opened his eyes reluctantly and continued his story.
"I didn't believe in all that, but I was afraid to speak out against it. Then they captured Niamh Morgan, she was a muggleborn Ravenclaw in the year behind us. I didn't know her well, but I she was in an advance class with me, and she was always decent to me, even though she knew I was a Death Eater's son. She was one of the only people who wasn't in Slytherin who knew there was more to our House than Junior Death Eaters. My father told me to rape and kill her. I went into the room, and she looked at me with tears in her eyes and I knew I could never do that to her. So I told her my views on the whole situation and what I was going to do to help her escape. I cast a Disillusionment Charm and helped her flee the Manor. Then I went back to my father study and joined in the rest of them, saying how good it was to rape innocent little girls simply because they don't like their parents." He talked in a quiet, weary voice and would not make eye contact with Hermione. She had now removed his shirt and was massaging Dittany into his chest wounds. He also had several burns and bruises all over his body, and she knew it would take her a while to heal him, but she was actually enjoying running her hands over his muscled chest and rock hard stomach. 'Maybe Draco's change has been more than just physical. I hope he is as good on the inside as he looks on the Out. I'm rather happy that I'm living for my own enjoyment now, he could prove very enjoyable.' She thought with amusement.
"So I started to help as many of their captives escape as I could, and the ones I couldn't help escape, I would get them more food, or water, or potions to help with the pain. And Dreamless Sleep, because the things they experienced, they would haunt their dreams. I helped more than 100 muggleborns, half-bloods and blood-traitors escape before they caught me. I was helping a Hufflepuff girl; she'll be in her second year in a few months. Right as I was taking her out of the Manor, an alarm went off. I guess they were starting to get suspicious of all the muggleborns that were escaping. But I was surrounded just before the anti-appartion wards end, so there was no way out. I hit Rosier and Mulciber with a few hexes, and ran past then, but I got hit a few times myself. That's how I got most of these cuts and bruises. Then I finally apparated to London, where the girl lived, and found her house. Her parents were still alive; apparently the girl had been on her own when she was taken. I told them to go into hiding. And then I was on my way back to the Leaky Cauldron, when I guess they spotted me. Father dragged me down that alley, and they tortured me for about an hour before you came. Thank you, by the way. I was about to crack." He said softly, eyes closed.
"Your welcome, Draco. No one deserves that." She whispered to him as she continued to treat him. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, rubbing bruise paste onto some of the really bad bruises on his stomach when his hand drifted to the small of her back, which he was gently stroking. She was reluctant to admit that she was enjoying the touch of the man that she had hated from the moment she met him, up until the moment she rescued him. She thought he was on the verge of sleep when he opened his eyes and looked into her eyes.
"Where have you been the past year? They were looking for you especially. I didn't want them to find you because I knew I would not be able to save you, and I don't think I could handle that. Even before this I knew I could never hurt you, I owe you too much. They truely wanted your blood. Where were you?" He said softly, still stroking her back, eyes slowly closing again.
"Hiding, now its time for you to rest. Here's some Dreamless Sleep and Skelegro. You've broken a few ribs and a finger and I believe you've fractured your collarbone. But you should be fine when you wake up. Sleep well Draco..." She whispered softly. Just as she got up to go he grabbed her hand, and looked at her.
"Don't leave me yet, stay with me for a little bit." He said, with a touch of fear in his voice. She sat back down on the bed, and he resumed stroking her back as she held his other hand in both of hers. After a while like this she rested her head on his stomach and they fell asleep; each happy that the other one was there.