A/n The story starts in Harry Potter and the Half-blood prince, when Ron is off with Lavender and Hermione is alone. The scene is based on the movie scene, but this time Harry doesn't come after Hermione, and Ron and Lavender have found somewhere else to make out. The story will mostly follow the original story line, but with changes.

I plan on following the books the best I can, but with some occasional input from the movies, as you see in this first chapter. However, much of the story will probably change. Please leave your opinions and constructive criticism's!:) Thanks for reading, and remember:

"It is our choices that show what we really are, far more than our abilities."

-Albus Dumbledore

Hermione squeezed her eyes tightly together, trying fiercely to wash away the image that was now engraved in her mind. Ron and Lavender. Lavender and Ron. Kissing, cuddling, holding one another. It pained her to think about it. Yes, she had never proclaimed her love for that idiot of a boy, or showed that she liked him, or even given him a sign, (not that he'd notice it, oblivious as he was), but she'd always thought, always assumed… maybe she was stupid to think like that. Maybe there never had been a future for her and Ron. But that look he'd had in his eye when she'd appeared on the steps at the Yule ball, and how jealous he'd acted that night, so long ago… she'd thought that things had changed since then, but obviously not. She wrapped herself in a ball and burrowed her head into her arms, letting the tears fall, and the sobs rack her body. No, she couldn't do this to herself; she couldn't dwell on the past. Ron was with Lavender now, they were happy. And she was alone. Desperately alone.

Her quiet whimpers continued, echoing through the silence of the small tower in which she sat. She came here sometimes when she was sad, or when she had a puzzle she just couldn't solve, but the room no longer reminded her of the tranquility she'd felt when she first found it in her second year. No, now it only reminded her of the ghosts that had haunted her past. Of every memory that had torn a little away from her heart: being called a 'mudblood' again and again and seeing the hateful looks thrown at her by the slytherin's; seeing the pain in Harry's eyes nearly every day, and seeing Ron's too when his Father was in danger. She was reminded of Sirius and his charming smile, which had never ceased to calm her nerves, of the thousands of tears that had been shed by herself, and her friends. Harry, Ron, Luna, Ginny, Neville, Fred, George, Remus. There was too much heartbreak in the world and she always seemed to be the girl that had to sit and watch everyone go through it. And now Voldemort was back, and they were all in danger. And Hermione wasn't sure what she could do to help.

Suddenly, the sound of a rock scattering across the stone floor echoed around the tower,interrupting the dark torrent of thoughts in her head. Hermione's heart jumped into her throat. Usually, with her strong mind and good sense, she would have heard the intruder a long time before, but her guard had been down, and her sobs had covered up the sound of their footsteps. Slowly, she lifted her head.

There he stood. A flash of blonde hair, glowing blue eyes. He was standing close to the wall, his eyes guarded with uncertainty, his body basked in shadow. She couldn't read his expression, and bewilderment rose up inside of her, tinged with fear. There was a pause as a heavy silence weighed in the air. Until, finally, she spoke, her voice still choked. "Draco?" She whispered. She sounded quiet and unsure even to her own ears. She didn't know how to act around him. He had, after all, been the one who had tormented her over the years, who had led to her crying herself to sleep, feeling dirty and disgusting. Feeling like she didn't belong. And she knew something was going on with him, that he was up to something dangerous.

He hesitated, before stepping out of the shadows. He wore dark jeans and a dark jacket, and contrary to the powerful clothing, he looked… broken. For a moment, they just started at each other. "What… what are you doing here?" Asked Hermione finally, her eyebrows creased together in a frown.

"I…" He seemed at a loss for words, and looked as confused as she felt. "I heard you crying." He answered simply, avoiding looking her in the eye.

"Oh." There was another pause as she looked up at him, trying to understand the boy that had been such a mystery to her all these years.

"Why were you- crying that is?" He asked, still avoiding her gaze. He looked uncomfortable, and she felt sympathetic towards him, despite everything.

"Do you want to sit down?" She asked, her heart trembling in her chest as she spoke the words; she'd never spoken more than a sentence or two to Malfoy, let alone invited him to sit with her. She prepared herself for the insult that was sure to follow; Draco Malfoy didn't sit with mudbloods like her. But to her surprise, relief filled his face and he smiled.

"Yeah sure. Thanks." He replied, settling himself next to her. He left a small space so as not to seem overbearing and leant against the cold wall behind him. There was a pause whilst he waited patiently for her to speak.

"Well, to answer your question- I, I was crying because…" She faltered.

"You don't have to talk about it." He reassured, leaning forward. "Not if you don't want to." His voice was softer than she had ever heard it, and surprise and warmth filled her chest as he spoke. Who knew Malfoy could be so… kind?

"It's not that, it's just embarrassing," She admitted, flashing him an abashed smile. "It's… Ron."

"Ah. I see." Something seemed to harden in Malfoy's eyes, and it felt like he had shut himself off from her somehow- but she was reading to much into it, she decided.

"Your turn." Hermione continued, turning towards him. "Why are you here? ... Apart from hearing me crying, like you said." She paused to look at him quizzically, as though he was a complicated maths problem she couldn't solve. "There's got to be a reason you're roaming the castle this late, you can't just be looking for despairing girls." The last bit was spoken with a sprinkle of laughter in her voice and he smiled, running a hand through his disheveled blonde hair.

"Ah yes, well there's always that. You know, I see why they call you a bright witch. You don't miss anything, do you?" He marveled and she started. Had Draco Malfoy just complimented her?

"I, well…" She stuttered, until realization dawned upon her and her eyes narrowed. "You're avoiding the issue." It wasn't a question, but a statement, and his face broke into a grin.

"See what I mean? You should be a detective." She folded her arms stubbornly and raised her eyebrows, forcing him to hold up his hands in surrender and laugh. It was a nice sound, she noted. Gentle and boyish and warm. "Okay, okay, if you must know, I guess I was looking for someone to talk to- subconsciously that is. I didn't even realize what I was doing until I saw you here."

"Oh." Hermione paused for a moment as she digested the information, swallowing. Finally, she looked up at Draco, surveying him intensely with closely narrowed eyes. When she spoke, her voice was slow and deliberate. "But when you saw me… why didn't you leave? I'm a-" She took a deep breath, preparing herself to say the word that would change everything. His reaction would show wether he really was the boy she'd known him to be all these years. And she knew she desperately didn't want that to be the case. "I'm a mudblood to you." Draco winced, and if she could describe the way he looked in that moment with just one word, she would have said tired. Just incredibly, abundantly tired.

"I'm trying not to think like that Hermione. Not anymore." His voice was low and serious, and he looked pained. But his words just confused her more.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you see me before? Didn't you see how I was? I was… evil, I was a bully. That's not how I want to be all my life. God, I wish I could take back these years- go back to being a kid. I was just an innocent little kid." She then realised that he had left her there in the tower, and she could see in his eyes that he'd drifted into another time, long ago. A time where there was no pain. And then, as quickly as he'd gone, he returned. His head snapped back and his eyes bored into hers with such an intensity, she swore she could feel them burning her soul. "I don't want to be dark Hermione; I didn't ask for this- I didn't ask for any of this. I want to be good, like you, I don't want to belong to this war. I just want to be innocent again." Tears had started to form in his big blue eyes, and her heart ached for him. She wanted to run her hand through his hair and whisper to him that everything was going to be alright, but the truth was that she wasn't sure it would. Eventually, he trailed off, muttering something about his parents. He shook his head, unable to put his thoughts into words. Once again, there was a long pause whilst Hermione waited for him to speak. She was lost for words herself, caught up in his pain. A few minutes passed, until he eventually spoke. Sowly, he turned to look at her and a harsh, sarcastic laugh escaped his lips. His smile didn't reach his eyes. "I'm messed up, aren't I Granger?" Not bothering to wait for her to reply, he turned his head away. His obvious pain forced her to speak, and she did so urgently, in a hushed tone.

"No Draco. You're not. You can't let the mistakes you or your parents have made define you. I can see you're better than that." She placed her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look into her eyes. She was shocked to see the severity of the pain scorching his, and the desperation that lurked there, sparkling in the form of tears.

"You don't know, you don't know what they want me to do." He said, his voice cracking. For a moment she was at a loss for words, and she could see he was too- and then he fell apart in her arms, sobbing into her as she held him tighter than she'd ever held anyone before.

"Whatever it is Draco, we'll get through it. I promise, we'll get through it." She soothed, determination lining the words, as realization hit her. Draco Malfoy needed her, and she was going to help him in every way she could.

Eventually, he'd calmed down, and the tower was silent apart from their quiet breaths. Hermione still held him in her arms and she closed her eyes, just listening to the sound their breaths made, mingled together. After a long while, she spoke, her voice calm and serious.

"What do they want you to do, Draco?"

He shifted in her hold and sat up, his eyes searching hers. They were laced with remorse, but she could see the relief there- the relief of sharing his burden with another being. "They want me to kill Dumbledore." He admitted.

"They... they what?!" Cried Hermione, her eyes wide with horror. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I really don't know. If I don't, they might kill my family, and they'll definitely kill me. But how am I meant to take a life?"

"Theres no question about that Draco, you just can't do it." She bit her lip as she thought hard, already trying to think of a plan. "But we've got to figure out a way to make it look like an accident, or a way for you to escape. I suppose we could..." She trailed off as she saw the small smile traced into his face. "What?" She asked, frowning in confusion.

"You said 'we'." He replied, his expression almost childlike with happiness. But he wasn't just happy and surprised that she was helping him. He was in awe of her. He was in awe of the way she could have one conversation with someone who'd treated her so badly, and be so completely loyal to their cause; he was in awe of how incredibly kind she was, how intelligent, how trusting. And he wondered at himself. How could he ever have treated this girl with such malice and hatred? How could he have even insulted someone so... so good? Of course, Malfoy didn't say all this. He still had his dignity and his brooding image to maintain. He'd let that image slip the most it ever had tonight, but it still remained. He wasn't completely changed in every way.

Hermione smiled softly, holding his cold hand with her gentle, warm one. "We're in this together now, Draco. You don't need to struggle on your own any more."

Those words meant more than he could ever explain. "Thank you." He whispered. And then, impulsively, he reached up to brush a bushy curl away from her face. He'd wanted to do that for so long, he realised. She took in a sharp intake if breath, and then rested her cheek in his hand. They were close now, and she could feel his warm breath tickling her lips. They spoke no words, for there were no words to describe the way they were both feeling- how their hearts beat fast in their chest, and their skin felt so incredibly sensitive to eachothers touch. He leant closer to her, so there was only a centimetre between their lips, now. "Draco." She whispered, closing her eyes, getting lost in the moment. But then, suddenly, she remembered where she was and how incredibly complicated this would make things. Her eyes opened, taking in every piece of him- his beautiful eyes, his angel-like hair- with regret. As gently as she could, she pulled his hand from her cheek. "I can't Draco." She whispered, and he nodded curtly, standing up.

"I understand." He turned to leave.

"Wait, Draco." He span back around, and she looked at his face, now void of emotion. "We... we need to meet soon- we need to plan." He nodded once again, his empty eyes surveying her beautiful eyes and ruffled hair with no hint of pain, although she knew it was there.

"Meet me tomorrow, at the entrance to the library." She was hurt by his abruptness, he could see that, and it pained him to see what he was doing to her. But, once again, he turned to leave. It was only at the door that he hesitated. Sighing, he turned to face her once more. "Look Granger. I just want to apologise for how I've treated you all these years. I regret it. A lot." She nodded, her eyes full of that wise understanding.

"I know you do Draco, I know. I'll see you tomorrow." He paused once more, and then left, his quiet footsteps disappearing into the depths if the castle. Hermione closed her eyes, it had been a long night.