Summary: In 6th year when Hermione discovers that Harry's baseless acusations about Malfoy are more true than she had anticipated, she goes to Dumbledore who stages Draco's death and sends him into hiding. But thats not where her part ends. Dumbledore expects her to tutor him on the 6th year material. Left with more time together alone then ever before, they begin to see things differently, in this, the prelude to their end.

Chapter 1: Two Years Earlier

Two Years Earlier

Hermione woke with a start as her heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest. She couldn't remember where she was or even who she was, until her foggy mind regained full conciousness. She was Hermione Granger, sixth year Hogwarts student and top of her class.

It took her body quite a bit longer, however, to remember that she was safe and sound in her four-poster bed in her dormitory in the Gryffindor tower. It was times like these she was grateful for her silencing charms.

She'd begun having these dreams some time ago, and both she and her dormmates had thought it best to put them up. After all, they needed their sleep too. Aside from the few times she had been roused by her (at first concerned and later annoyed) dormmates, even Harry and Ron were none the wiser.

Harry had so much on his plate this year she would feel guilty burdening him with her problems. A problem she somehow couldn't put a finger on. She'd been having these dreams at least three times a week for months, and each time she could never remember much.

The only thing she could remember was her paralyzing fear for something worth more than her own life, and the words "For Aurora" whispered with a nameless voice. Something so vague would only serve to worry her friends unneccesarily, since there wasn't really anything she could do about it.

She let out a tired sigh and sat up. The sky outside of her window was lit with the dim predawn. She was glad she'd almost gotten a full night of sleep. Smiling at her luck, she quickly dressed and tiptoed out of the quiet dorm, down the stairs, through the common room and out of the portrait hole.

Her feet took her, out of habit, up to the astronomy tower. As she reached the top she realized how cold it was outside. Her breath turned to fog as she huffed quietly from her ascent.

Apart from the mild epiphany of the cold, her mind was elsewhere. Facing eastward, she let her mind wander. Her thoughts took her to mystical places she never had a hope of going to, playing events in her mind she never had a hope of experiencing, saying things she never had the gall to say.

The sudden breaking of the dawn blinded her and caused her to gasp. When her sight returned, she nearly gasped again at the beautiful sight before her. The sunlight bore down on the grounds alighting the world as though it were made of diamonds. The world was truly a wonderous place if something so cold could make one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.

Little did she know that a pair of grey eyes watching her from afar had had the same thought. Though, the subject of admiration was different entirely.

While the day dawned bright and clear for her (albeit with a rocky start), she couldn't help but notice that things were quite a bit different for her strangely quiet redhead friend.

"Come on, Ron. You'll be fine today." Harry nudged Ron with his elbow. "You won the tryout fair and square, didn't he Hermione?" Harry eyed her.

"Umm, yeah. Fair and square." Hermione said uncomfortably. Ron was just acting weird today. "Ronald, you're a great keeper. You'll show them up today."

If it was possible he looked slightly more put out at the tone of her voice.

"We're gonna lose!" he bellowed putting his head on the table.

Hermione decided to let her friend stew about it on his own. She picked up a conversation with Ginny. They hadn't gotten much farther than pleasantries when Hermione noticed a quick flash of gold and Harry's hand dart back under the table.

"Harry, what are you doing?" she questioned

"Nothing." He shifted his eyes to his uneaten toast.

"Harry!" she asked quietly, "Did you just put the Felix Felicis potion into Ron's pumpkin juice?"

"Not at all, Hermione. I don't know what you're talking about." He continued to shift his gaze to anything but her eyes.

"Harry! Thats cheating!" she said, aghast.

"Its not like I used a confundus charm." He said, looking pointedly at her.

Point taken.

Ron had obviously heard despite her whispers because he took one large swig of his pumpkin juice and smirked, clapping Harry on the back.

"Come on, mate. Lets go play us some quidditch."

Harry grinned at her as he stood to go with Ron. Hermione just rolled her eyes and huffed. She'd made her bed, now she would just have to lie in it.

Given that her friends had left and she'd lost her appetite, she stood and bade her other Gryffindors farewell and made her way out of the great hall. Despite her mysterious dreams and quidditch, life goes on and she still had homework to think about and grades to keep up.

The match was yet still two hours distant, and no doubt the library would be empty, those who normally use it otherwise occupied. She relished the empitness of it, though seldom had the opportunity.

As she walked briskly towards the library, she decided to take a shortcut past Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, which she normally avoided. However, she only had a limited amount of time with the library to herself so she decided to walk by just this once, for whatever discomfort running into Myrtle would cause, having more time would be worth it.

Definitely worth it.

She subconciously steeled herself against any sounds of crying she might have heard from Myrtle. Whatever crying she might have expected did not prepare her for what she really heard. For indeed crying she did hear, but the sort of crying that instantly breaks ones heart, regardless of who's it is. It was also unmistakably male.

Sympathy for this nameless person welled up inside her and her breathing hitched in her throat. She stepped closer to the door and listened more carefully. She heard that he was speaking in between bouts of sobbing, and a female voice, which she recognized as Myrtle's, speaking softly in reply.

If she didn't know better she would almost say that Myrtle was consoling him. She would have chuckled at the irony if she didn't feel as though her heart was breaking right along with this mysterious boys'.

She stepped closer and listened even further.

"...will kill me and my parents. How does he expect me to do this?"

"Oh, Drakey, there there, it will be okay." Myrtle was almost unrecognizable.

"Thats the thing! It wont be okay! I'm not a murderer! I can't...I can't do this!" He broke down into another bout of sobbing.

Hermione felt like she recognized the voice, however she couldn't put a face or name to it. Just a few more steps and she would be able to see...she stopped her thoughts right there. It would be a terrible invasion of privacy. Obviously they didn't want anyone living to be privy to their inner shame.

Too wrapped up in her struggle with her curiosity, she didn't know she was about to get her wish. She didn't hear when he bade Myrtle farewell and stepped into the doorway...where Hermione happened to be eavesdropping. She was met with the shocked and tearstained face of none other than Draco Malfoy.

In the course of a milisecond his shocked face mutated into a scowl and he clenched his fists. "How much did you hear?" he growled, his voice still thick with recent crying.

A silent tear made it way down her face at his hollow looking eyes.

"Enough." she whispered.

"I don't need the pity of a filthy mudblood like you." He hissed at her, glaring. Niether paid mind to an indignant 'I'm muggle-born too!' from Myrtle. His eyes betrayed his fear.

He was afraid she would tell someone, tell Harry, she realized. No doubt Harry would find this to be proof of his wild claims, and give him reason to mock Draco. But Hermione was not childish in this manner. Not when the sobs broke her heart too.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, if thats what you're afraid of." She said evenly, refusing to allow his comments to hurt her.

Malfoy eyed her uncomfortably, and nodded sharply once before pivoting on his heel and stalking away. Hermione just watched him go. When he was gone she leaned heavily against the stone wall and let out a deep sigh.

Definitely not worth it.

"No one knows what it's like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies
But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be"

Behind Blue Eyes, The Who