The first time he saw her again, it was either under the worst of circumstances, or the best of circumstances. He hasn't quite made up his mind yet.
She looked scared yet defiant and he was so shocked by the Gryffindor trio's presence in his own home that he hadn't even been able to lie convincingly to protect her.
Bellatrix caught on anyway.
The second time he glanced at her she was already separated from her friends. Her wide, honey-colored eyes looked petrified.
"NO! TAKE ME! TAKE ME INSTEAD!" Weasley shouted. But it was not the shout that startled Draco.
It was that, for a moment, Draco Malfoy had been about yell out those exact same words.
He knew better though.
Instead, his hands inched toward his wand, but as his grey eyes met her's, Hermione Granger shook her head.
He wonders how long she has known.
Then her pale lips and tortured face under the Crucio forced him to turn away, and all he could do was hope for the best. For the both of them.
He doesn't have to hope though, because she never opens her lips.
Long after the trio escape, Draco sits by himself in his room, staring at his bandaged hands. He can see a trace of his blood underneath the white linen.
It is pure blood. Malfoy blood. It was a curse. If he had been born with her blood, or Potter's blood, or even Weasley's blood, he would not be trapped in the Manor, away from the girl he loved.
A/N: So here it is! Both Draco and Hermione's view of Malfoy Manor in HBP is complete. Of course, I have taken some artistic liberties. Though if anyone is wondering, Hermione's chapter does not mention Draco for a reason. That will be clear later on.