Summary: Throughout his 6th year, Draco has been unsuccessfully trying to follow the Dark Lord's orders. But with all of the pressure, even Draco may be in need of a friend..DMHG.

Author's Note: I just wanted to let you know that this fic takes place during the Half Blood Prince, and that it's a one-shot. The original idea of this fic has changed quite drastically throughout the course of writing this, but I'm happy with how it ended up, which is a rarity in itself. I would love if you took your time to read this, and would appreciate it even more if you reviewed!

A Dragon Needs Time

Yes, Draco Malfoy was on the path to becoming a Death Eater..against his will. His father had failed the Dark Lord, and had gotten himself imprisoned. Now Draco had to pay his father's debt, or else it was death- for his whole family. And while he never really cared about his family, he did care about his own life. And that was enough to do whatever it was that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named asked of him.

But what had been asked of Draco was unreal. Kill Dumbledore, the only one that had ever rivaled the Dark Lord? How could he, Draco, ever be able to do something that even the darkest of all wizards could not?

Yet Draco tackled the impossible anyway. Or at least he had attempted to, several times.

First he had used the Imperius Curse on Rosmerta, in order to give a cursed locket to Dumbledore. But that plan failed..thanks to Scarhead, a.k.a. the "Chosen One." Draco had feared that Dumbledore would figure out the culprit- but luckily, he never had found anything out. At least, he hadn't appeared to. Stupid old man, Draco thought, He doesn't even realize that I'm behind all of this. He probably doesn't even know that Snape is on the Dark Lord's side, either! Must be getting too old in his age. Losing his grip.

Then he had ordered Rosmerta to send poisoned mead to Professor Slughorn, meaning it to be a Christmas present for Dumbledore. But that was also abortive..but at least it had made it to Draco's favorite companion, Ron Weasley. Only, to Draco's increasing frustrations, he was thwarted again by Potter. Not that it mattered though, because Potter would not be able to stop Draco with his other project.

That other project was trying to find a way for the Death Eaters to get into Hogwarts. And that project was going well, at least. Ingeniously, Draco had come to the realization that there was a pair of Vanishing Cabinets- one in Hogwarts, and one in Borgin and Burkes. This would enable the Death Eaters to go from Borgin and Burkes into Hogwarts. Simple, right? All he had to do was fix the one in Hogwarts, and everything would be fine.

But it wasn't quite that easy. He was constantly under the watchful eye of Snape and Potter, and probably under the watch of Dumbledore as well..That is, when the old man was actually at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had left several times throughout the year, but for reasons that Draco could only guess. But at least it gave him time to work on things without worrying that the headmaster was tailing him. But meanwhile, he knew that You-Know-Who was probably getting more impatient by the day, as you must never keep him waiting. With all of this pressure, it made everything ten times harder. He wasn't doing well in his studies, and he had dropped Quidditch. But none of that held any value anymore. Funny how working under the Dark Lord can make you appreciate the things that you only take for granted.

The point was that Draco didn't have any time for anything. So really, what he needed was more time.

And he had found a way for that, too. He'd managed to steal a Time Turner. The Time Turner had turned out to be very useful, especially when he needed some extra hours of sleep. All the while, his past or present self (he didn't really take much time to think about which self it really was) would be working on the Vanishing Cabinet, going to classes, or trying to figure out how to kill Dumbledore. It all worked out quite well..but not well enough.

Despite the fact that the Time Turner did help immensely, he still didn't get enough sleep. While he was physically tired out, he was also emotionally tired out, if that could be possible. He was tired of being frustrated and scared, and anything but what he used to feel like. He felt like he didn't even have time to be himself. And it was awful. All of his natural arrogance and snobbiness was gone, as if he had matured and gotten past that. Well, Draco supposed that he had. But it didn't really matter what he was or wasn't like anymore. All that mattered was that he was alive, and to stay alive, he had to kill Dumbledore. Actually..there was one other thing that did matter to Draco after some time. And we could all guess who that is.

He found comfort in watching her. And luckily enough, some of her brilliant ideas had gotten him far. For instance, the enchanted coins she'd had for Dumbledore's Army in their previous year. Draco had taken a leaf out of Hermione's book and also enchanted some coins, making it able for him to contact Rosmerta.

And there was the time where Draco had overheard Hermione saying that Filch doesn't recognize potions, giving him the idea to send the poisoned mead to Dumbledore. Even though that plan had been unsuccessful, it still had gotten him somewhere, hadn't it? It had almost helped him in succeeding in his task..almost.

Yes, secretly, Hermione had helped Draco in more ways than anyone could've ever thought. Even Draco was surprised at that. It eventually led to him admiring her, and almost wanting to be friends with her. But that would never happen, He thought, wistfully. We're enemies, more or less. And her friends hate me as well.. And just like that, his thoughts would drift on to the next thing. But despite everything, he still longed for an opprotunity to talk to her. For once, he'd have it.

One day, Draco actually had the courage to walk up and talk to her. Or not really courage, but more because of the circumstances they were under. And maybe not in the best of times, but he had found it as an opprotunity. And this opprotunity was when he had caught Hermione in the bathroom that Moaning Myrtle dwelled within, crying.

He was actually quite taken aback to find anyone in this bathroom at all, as its only occupants included Moaning Mytrle herself, and on some occasions, him. These rare occasions consisted of those stressful days where he just needed to vent to someone, anyone- and he had found that Myrtle was all too willing to listen. This particular day had been even worse than usual, as Snape had, yet again tried to interfere with his plans.

Upon entering the bathroom, Myrtle rushed over to him. "Well well- it's quite nice to have more than one person for company for once! But it's always a pleasure to see you, of course."

"What?" Draco asked, confused. But his question was answered as he heard something else in the bathroom- someone else, really, who appeared to be crying. Curious, Draco walked cautiously toward the stall and stopped in front of it. Slowly, he opened the door, to find none other than Hermione Granger behind it, sobbing her heart out.

"What're you doing here, crying for?" Draco asked, stupidly, before he could stop himself.

Hermione looked up at him reproachfully, surprised to find that Malfoy was in the bathroom- let alone a girl's bathroom. "What's it to you?" Hermione said, vehemently. It would've been effective enough in intimidating him, had she not been sniffling from all of the crying.

"Nothing, actually," Draco said quickly, trying to redeem himself. "Just that it's no use to cry, least of all alone.."

"Get out of here," She replied, coldly. "Take a good look around you- this is a girl's bathroom, if you haven't noticed."

Meanwhile, Moaning Myrtle herself had been floating around in the background, looking woefully at the pair. "He doesn't have to leave! Afterall, he makes good company. Misery loves company, afterall."

Hermione was confused. What was all of this about? It sounded as if Draco came here often, and was actually on speaking terms with a ghost- and not just any ghost, but Moaning Myrtle! What was the world coming to?

With a raised eyebrow, Hermione said, "Is that so?"

Draco sighed and said, "Yes, it is. Now if you'd like to start the process of humiliating me, or insulting me in such a way, you could do so now. Or, we could forget all of our past differences, and you could tell me what's wrong. And vice versa."

"Is this some kind of joke? Since when did you start hanging around here? In a girl's bathroom?" Hermione asked, dumbfounded. There was something about him, Hermione thought. He was acting strangely, strangely being that he was acting kindly towards her. Was this the same Draco Malfoy she had always known, or some sort of impostor?

"I could explain that after you tell me what's wrong with you first."

Hermione heaved a sigh, looking at Draco. She was feeling rather miserable..and she knew that her two best mates would never understand what was wrong with her..least of all Ron. She supposed that there were girls she could talk to about it, but then she thought disdainfully of her fellow Gryffindor girl classmates. Somehow, she didn't think that they would take her too seriously, and just end up stupidly giggling themselves mad. And there was one particular Gryffindor girl that was driving her mad..So really, what did she have to lose if she talked to Malfoy about it? He had actually sounded genuinely concerned..And anyhow, she could possibly find out some of the things that Malfoy was up to, and see if Harry's intuition was correct afterall.

Finally she said, "It's only some trivial thing with Ron. Nothing that particularly concerns you, and something that you wouldn't really care much about." She stopped, sure that Draco wouldn't really be interested. Sure that he would say some kind of stupid comment about it. But he didn't, and only continued to look intently at her as if he was waiting to hear the rest of the story.

Reluctantly, Hermione continued. "It might sound strange, but Ron..well what I really meant was that I..er, like him."

Hermione blushed a deep shade of scarlet, but added, "But the bloke's just so clueless, and anyhow, he's now seeing that stupid, horrid girl-" She stopped abruptly, but then said, "Well what I meant to say was that he's seeing Lavender Brown..And I just can't take it! I thought that maybe he would come to his senses..there was a time when I could have been with Victor Krum, of course, and he had seemed quite annoyed about it all, almost jealous- which I was quite pleased about. But since I liked Ron, I didn't go out with Krum. So then I thought that Ron might take the hint, but no, he's much too thick. So he goes with Lavender instead! Honestly, what does he see in her?! And today, I just sort of went over the edge, you know? I just couldn't listen to anymore of how amazing her boyfriend is, or any of her frilly pet names for him..I couldn't take anymore of their little romantic moments, if you could honestly call them romantic- or their snogging. I just couldn't take it!" Hermione's voice cracked, and fresh tears started to leak out of her eyes.

Slightly alarmed and not really knowing what to do, Draco took her in his arms and let her sob on his shoulder. "Don't worry, it'll be alright..everything will be okay.." But was everything really okay? Hermione's problem was indeed trivial compared to his own, but he still couldn't help but feel sorry for her, and even angry at Ron. Not just for being his usual, stupid self, but for turning a blind eye on Hermione. What was wrong with her? She seemed to be someone that could actually be dateable, and much more so than Lavender..But of course, Draco had never gotten a chance to see this side of Hermione before. Just always her bad side, since they had always loathed each other in the past. But this newer, more sensitive side that Draco had just witnessed was a side that Draco found that he had liked. Why, he even dared to think that such a person (namely being Ron) that had the chance to be with her but passed it didn't deserve her! But that was something that he was not about to readily admit, let alone to her.

Eventually, Hermione's crying ceased enough for her to pull away from Draco and actually look at him. If she hadn't been so busy with her own dilemma, she might have noticed the hint of his own caring for her. But when she did get a look at him, she did at least feel a rush of gratitude for him. It wasn't everyday that you could find someone so different from you that would so readily listen. Who knew that he of all people could be..dare she say it- a friend?

Hermione opened her mouth to thank him, but Draco beat her to it.

"You're welcome."

Hermione smiled appreciatively, forgetting all about asking what was troubling him, as she was grateful for his willingness to listen, and even more so for him to not criticize her for her silly dating crisis. If it was ever really a crisis at all..Nonetheless, Hermione knew now that somehow, in the course of an hour, they had become friends.

Draco smiled in return, as listening to her had actually allowed him to forget the past few months' events, and had taken most of the previous stress, tensions, and worries out of him. If all I need to do is just talk to her, or even just listen as I had to feel better, then why don't I just continue to do that? Draco thought.

And so, he did. They quickly became good friends, and both found that they were able to feel more relaxed about everything just being near each other, as there were times when their silence would lapse into time, but a comfortable silence. One that could last forever..but of course, it couldn't.

Both generally knew where they could find each other in times of need, as both needed each other around the same time, as if they had a kind of telepathic connection between each other. They didn't talk to each other much during classes, as it would draw attention to themselves, and their classmates would get the wrong idea. Instead they would at times just exchange looks, or their actions would simply speak louder than words, but no one else around them would be none the wiser. Meanwhile, if they really did need to confide in one another, they could either find the other in a quiet section of the library, or even in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Doubtless, Hermione and Draco became very close to each other. So close that they were walking a very fine line between being the best of friends or what could potentially be something more. But that something more was a forbidden subject, and neither were too willing to speak up about it. So instead they would talk of other things, trying to look on the bright side, instead of their own problems, and the much greater and darker problems out there that were occuring as they were speaking.

Eventually, there came a time that Draco had to wonder if all of this was what he wanted. He was grateful to spend time with her, as she never failed in helping him to be at an ease with everything else that was going on around him, and subdue the harsh light of things. But he knew that as they both continued to grow closer, either their strange relationship would be found out by the whole school, or they would have to choose from being either just friends or that something more. While he would rather want the latter, he feared what she would think if he were to ask her about it, and feared even more about what would happen if what Draco's mission eventually succeeded or failed. Hermione could easily be used as a weapon against him if something ever did happen between them, and he also knew that if Draco did succeed in his quest for the Dark Lord, that nothing would ever be the same. On the other hand, if he failed, Draco would most likely be killed. Also, there was still the matter of Ron, and how Hermione was still somehow infatuated with him. Or was she?

Look, you only really have one chance with her, nothing more, nothing less. And you've only got one life to live..so live it. What's the worst that'll happen, anyway? Draco thought. Well, nothing too bad, just that Hermione could take it badly and never speak to me again..but that's not so bad, is it? But what the hell am I saying, this is a horrible idea! I have no chance with her to speak of. It's too great of a risk..

Regardless, there are still things that can go into effect that are beyond Draco's control..

"I think it's decided that Ron will never harbor feelings for me," Hermione said, gloomily. It was just another weary day for the pair of them, and they had once again ended up in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Of course, it was not the first time that Hermione had despaired over Ron and Lavender.

Meanwhile, Draco was especially irritated today, as Harry had somehow found out that he was working on the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement, but Crabbe and Goyle had alerted his arrival. Mercifully, the room was Unplottable, so Harry could never guess what Draco was doing, and not even know for certain that Draco was in there in the first place, just have his own suspicions..However, it was fortunate that Harry's best friend, Hermione, never asked Draco too much about it, in fact hardly at all. But upon hearing Hermione's worries over Ron for the hundredth time, his irritation only increased.

"Hermione, can't you just give it a rest for once? Complaining about it to me all of the time isn't going to make things better for you. Lavender and Ron are still going to be together, and you're still going to be put out over it and foolishly hope that Ron might suddenly have a dawn of reckoning and actually chase after you instead. Well you can forget it. It's not going to happen!"

Hermione just stood there, feeling as if she had been slapped in the face. What had come over him to say that? And had she actually deserved that? But no one deserved that..she was shocked and slightly angry to find that her chin was quivering, feeling as if she was on the verge of tears. No, she could not let herself get worked up over this. What did it matter what Malfoy thought, anyway? He didn't know nor understand like she thought he had. So instead she angrily wiped a stray tear away and started to abruptly walk past him and get herself out of there- she would have, had Draco not grabbed ahold of her wrist as she was walking past.

"Hermione..I'm very sorry. But you must understand, this thing between you and me...well, it's tearing me apart." Draco said, throatily. How he could so easily kiss those full lips of hers..

"Let go of me!" Hermione shrieked at him, frustrated, while trying to lessen his grip on her. She didn't want to hear this, she didn't want any of this right now. "There is no thing between you and me!"

"But there is," Draco said quietly, while pulling her closer.

Giving up, she said, weakly, "No, there isn't..This can't- we can't.." But even as she was saying this, Draco continued to pull her closer. He looked at her directly into her eyes and then leaned in to kiss her, finding that he was suddenly utterly content.

When their lips met, everything came to him, then and there. He put all of his yearning, his passion, all of his emotion into it, and she returned it to him, completely forgetting everything else that had gone on before, unaware of everything else around them. But the blissful moment was only that- a moment, and the feeling left them both as quickly as it had come, as both of them pulled away at the same time.

They stared at each other for a moment, but as Draco slowly released her, Hermione turned and ran.

Draco couldn't help but feel that his heart was whole, but that his world was lost at the same time. Yes, he was sure that Hermione felt the same things that he was feeling, but that he had ended up scaring her away from him. They had barely spoken to each other since that event, and it was nearly crushing him. However, he was grateful that his all of his work was filling up most of his time, so he didn't have to brood on the subject much. The Vanishing Cabinet was almost completely fixed, so it wouldn't be too long before he could successfully bring in his fellow Death Eaters. Unfortunately though, he had not succeeded with his other project of getting rid of Dumbledore, and found that it was hopeless, as there was nearly no way of getting around Dumbledore.

Finally, it came to the day that Draco was finished and had fixed the Vanishing Cabinet, and was pleased that he had done it right under Snape's and Dumbledore's noses.

Still, Draco couldn't help but feel panicked over it. This was it, the time for him to show his true colors to the rest of the school. Was he really up to it? But it wasn't as if he had much of a choice..it was either this, the betrayal, or death for him and his family. So with a heavy heart, he sent word to Voldemort, miserably waiting to hear what You-Know-Who's new orders would be, and biding his time for the Death Eaters to arrive. But Draco found that he couldn't bide his time. He needed to speak to someone, anyone about this. It didn't matter who he said it to, as what was to happen would be done, and nothing anyone did would be able to stop it.

Of course, that anyone was really a someone in particular. So desperately, Draco left the Slytherin common room in search of Hermione. But she was nowhere to be found. At least not in the usual places- in the library or the bathroom. So then Draco decided to search the rest of the castle, frowning when he didn't find her at the last place he could think of, which was by the lake.

Sighing, he decided that he ought to go to the Room of Requirement to make sure that the Vanishing Cabinet was in proper working order. So he turned around and walked back into the castle, making his way to the room.

Upon reaching it, he stopped directly in front of it, frowning again, thoughts filling his mind. The problem was that the door to the room was not there, meaning that someone was currently inside of it.

Not really wanting anyone to see him standing there or the room's occupant to discover him if they happened to walk out, Draco decided to head back to the common room, still absently wondering where Hermione had gotten to.

Where could she possibly be? I've searched the whole school, and still didn't see her. And just when I'm needing her most..

Suddenly, the Room of Requirement's door was in front of him. Draco froze. He had just said that he needed Hermione, and the door appeared to him. So was this where she was hiding? Heart pounding, Draco slowly grasped the door's handle and turned it, opening the door..

Draco then wished he could instantly scratch his eyes out, or take back what he was seeing. For standing before him was Hermione..and Ron, snogging. His heart sank at the sight, and both continued on snogging away, too engrossed in what they were doing to notice that he was standing there, watching. But he didn't want to watch any longer. So he quickly turned away and slammed the door shut, and started to run off. But before he was out of sight, the door opened and Hermione came out of it.

"Draco? Is that you?"

Defeated, Draco turned around walked back towards her. "Yes..it's me." He could not feel any more betrayed than this, and all due to a girl that didn't really betray him at all, as they were never together in the first place. So she was entitled to do whatever she wanted..

The pair of them stood there, awkwardly for awhile. Finally, Hermione said, embarrassed, "It so turns out that he didn't like Lavender afterall, and that he actually did like me. ..We've been together for awhile now."

"Right," Draco replied, his throat tight.

"Draco, I'm very so-"

"You don't have to say it," Draco interrupted, a painful smile on his face.

There was another awkward pause, until Hermione said, "Well, I've been keeping Ron waiting in there for awhile now, so I should go back in-"

"Wait!" Draco said, quickly. "Look, I don't really know how to say what I want to say.."

Hermione only looked at him, perplexed.

Finally, Draco says, "Just..love Ron like you'll never be able to love me, okay? Could you do that for me?"

Hermione's mouth was now agape, for she was at a loss for words.

Draco says, sadly, "It's just that I did an extremely bad thing, something that even time can't erase. And you'll never be able to forgive me for it. Just, please try to remember who I am, okay? Despite the horrible things that I have done.."

Finally, with a raised eyebrow, Hermione says, "Well, it can't have been that bad. And I don't get where you're even coming from. How could I ever possibly forget who you are? You've proven to be a more worthy person than I ever could've imagined you to be."

Draco sighs, then says, "Well, it was- is a bad thing. I'm not a good person, and I don't think I was ever worthy of you in the first place..but you'll understand. In the near future." He gulped. What would become of his own future? He couldn't help but think that it all could have worked out differently, had he only been a better person. He didn't have to follow Voldemort's orders, or anyone's orders, for that matter. He could have been with Hermione..

"Right," Hermione says, skeptically. "Well, don't worry. I'll be able to forgive you for this bad thing. Someday. I'm quite sure." She still didn't really believe that he had done something that was all that dreadful, not after being so close to him.

Uncomfortable, Draco says, "I just hope that you'll forgive me for what I did and didn't do someday. And that I'm sorry. I've let you and so many others down. I realize that this will not make up for anything..it won't make me any more noble. I've had so much time to decide on what was the right thing, but time had run out. And.." He took a step closer and hugged her. Surprised, Hermione allowed him to and didn't try to pull away.

After releasing her, he said, "Look, I just want to thank you. This whole year, you've been the only constant in my life. The only thing that's kept me going, and made things more bearable for me. I know that you'll never feel the same way..but just know that I love you, and always will." He gave her a sad smile and said, "I'll miss you. I hope that, if we ever get a chance to come across each other again, you'll have had enough time to forgive me, and hope that it'll be enough time to forgive myself, too." That's what he had really been getting at this whole time, he now realized. He knew he would never have enough time in the world to forgive himself, but could only hope that she would someday. Somehow, he knew that after this whole year of angst and events, this was the only right thing that he had done.

Hermione only looked at him, and finally said, "I don't know what to say."

"Only time will tell," Draco replied, with a look of resolution on his face. Then he turned around and took a step into the near future.