Just a short little write. Idea just popped into my head. Enjoy. No flames

Chapter 1: Protection From the Enemy, By The Enemy

"Well, is this the mudblood or isn't it, Draco?" His aunt demanded, young girl pinned beneath her as she jammed her wand against her throat.

"No!" he screamed in response, taking a step out of the group of death eaters to stand alone before Bellatrix. "That isn't the one we are looking for. The Golden Trio girl is much uglier then this, I can assure you." he spoke with forced disgust, knowing full well that the girl the snatchers had brought to the manor was his former classmate.

"Well, then I suppose we will have to let this one go. So she can spread the word that we are looking for that little bookworm girlfriend of Harry Potters." the grown witch spat into Hermiones face. "I know just how to send the message." she sneered, a twisted grin played across her mouth.

Bellatrix Lestrange pressed down harder on the dark haired girl below her, her foot holding down her wrist. She pressed her wand to Hermiones arm, blood immediately flowing strong down to the stone ground beneath them.

Draco wasn't prepared for what he heard next. He forgot all about the death eaters that stood behind him, one of which included his father. He tuned out everything that was being spoken in hushed whispers as they watched the scene in front of them as if they were an audience watching a play. In the 7 years that Draco had attended school with Hermione Granger, he had never seen her cry. He had never seen her scream or show terror in the face of anything. He knew she had faced many monsters in her years; battles she fought to protect her generation from the likes of death eaters like him. But even as he watched from the towers as she was attacked by beasts, wizards, and even stood before Voldemort himself, she never once backed down. She always had a way about herself; standing tall and fearless in the face of danger that could easily kill her.

But as her scream pierced through the room, her body writhing underneath his aunts, he knew this time was different.

"What are you doing, aunt Bella?" he asked, trying to keep any emotion from his voice. He could be killed on the spot for caring about the well being of anyone who stood against the dark side.

"Making sure this little mudblood doesn't forget that she will never be worth anything to anyone. Your blood is filthy and you shouldn't even be given magic." she sneered through gritted teeth, carving more into the girls arm.

She let out one more shattered scream as Bellatrix carved the last letter into her forearm. It was only then, when she was finished, that Draco could make out what she had done. The rest of the death eaters had followed his aunt out of the room, most likely heading back to the forest to begin another sweep. But Draco stood where he was, watching the polyjuice potion fade completely from her body as her hair turned back to the dark curls he recognized anywhere. But that wasn't what caught his eye.

Soft sobs escaped her red lips as she stood on shaky legs, her bleeding arm against her chest. He couldn't see the cut but before she could turn around, he reached out for her.

"Granger, wait." he said carefully, not knowing how he was suppose to be around her anymore. His faith was fading and his loyalty to the dark was barely there. How could he still fight for this side after everything he had seen.

"I have to get out of here, Malfoy." she whispered, her eyes dark and glassy from her tears. Tears he had never seen her shed before. "If they come back they will see that it was me."

"They wont be back. They are out in the forest looking for Potter and the other one." he explained, his voice uncaring.

"Why did you lie to them? I saw you stare at my eyes. You knew it was me, Malfoy. I know you did." she whispered, blood following in droplets to the floor between them, her arm still hidden beneath her hand.

"You should go. It's not safe for you to be here." he said, ignoring her question and pressing his palm against her back, ushering her towards the large black door leading to her freedom.

"Come with me." she said, her eyes widening as if she had surprised herself.

"You've lost a lot of blood. You don't know what you're saying." he brushed her off, shoving her outside onto the front steps as he stayed in the doorway.

"You don't belong with them." she whispered, her eyes fluttering as her arm fell to her side, blood still streaming evenly down to her wrist. And then he saw it.

Mudblood

Carved into her arm were long, angry red cuts from his aunts famous Cursed Quill. She would have that word up her entire arm until the day she died. And then even after that until her body turned to dust. Because his aunt hated mudbloods. And she made sure each one she came in contact with knew that fact.

"Bloody hell." he muttered, looking at her entire form as her strength emptied out of her body. Even her face looked to have lost all hope; her usual dark eyes now an empty, haunted hazel.

"Come with me, Malfoy. Please." her voice pleading as her knees gave way and her body crumpled to the pavement in front of the manor.

"Why would you even say that?" he asked, now walking outside and grabbing her uninjured arm tightly. She was fading and she had to get out of here. "I'm a death eater." he whispered, ashamed of it more then he ever was in the beginning.

"Look at me." she muttered, letting him pull her body against his side for the support to merely stand.

And he did. He stared right into her cold, dead eyes and saw what had made him lie for her in the first place. He saw her light.

"I can save you. You know I can." she whispered, drawing her wand weakly, ready to apperate back to her friends.

His mind was racing. The moment of truth was here. Stick with what he knew; what was easy. Or go with what he knew was right. He had seen enough blood and the red running down her arm looked exactly like what ran through his veins. He knew there was no difference.

"You could save anyone, Granger. That's what you have always done. But trust me when I say that you don't want to save me. I'm a tragedy." he said with a shrug, helping her steady her wrist and straighten the hold she had on her wand.

"I see you, Malfoy. Not dark, death eater, evil you. I see the real thing. And the real thing, is what's making me stand on your porch bloody and beaten, asking you to come with me." she said, wrapping her other arm around his neck as they stood face to face. "Please."

"Ok." he gave in, knowing that if she didn't get to a mediwitch soon, she would bleed out. "Merlin, you're stubborn and bloody stupid sometimes." he smirked, trying to keep her calm as her time ran thin. "Now where do you need to go to get fixed up? "

"Hogwarts." she cried, tears falling from her eyes as fire burned up her arm, her nails scratching at the pain. "The Order made it their base. Madam Pomfrey." she said quickly.

"That's the effects of the quill she used, ok? It'll pass, just push through it, Granger." he pressed, grabbing his own wand and apperating them both to the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.