Author's Note: I know that the time between chapters has suddenly become really long. I apologize for that, but I have recently become a full-time employee along with being a full-time student. This makes it harder to find time to write, however, I will never abandon one of my stories. I just will take more time to post between chapters. With that being said, on to the show.


"All night long in my secret dreams

You tell me I'm the one

When I'm next to you, next to you.

All I want in my secret dreams

Is you here with me.

I got to get to you, get to you, get to you.

There's a thrill, in the chase

We won't lose when we meet face to lace.

Love, games a means without an end.

I go down but I'll be back again"

"Secret Dreams"-Bon Jovi


Chapter Three: Secrets


Dearest Draco,

How are you doing? Your father and I are well. I was amazed that you asked about the Marriage Arrangement Vow. I have not heard of anyone using that particular vow in many years. It was not popular. As for your questions, I cannot answer them. I do not know much about it. However, I sent some books from the library. They all mention it. I hope they help you for your essay.

Love,

Mother

Draco read the letter that his mother had sent this morning. He was not surprised that his mother did not know much more than he did. The Marriage Vow was not used in the Malfoy family for some reason. He was grateful she sent some books no matter how useless they would turn out to be.

"Let me guess, your mother does not know much about it?" Gwen asked from across the table. Draco nodded his head. "Maybe I should just get it into my head that I have to marry him." She said as she glared at the staff table. Draco watched as her plate remained untouched. The most she had was two sips of her pumpkin juice.

"Don't worry. She sent me some books. There could be something. In the meantime, eat something. You don't look well," he commented. She nodded, took a bite of her toast, and went back to glaring at the staff table. "Also, I talked to the Headmistress she said that we are of-age so we can look for information in the Restricted section of the library for any project. She said that we must be responsible about what we use."

"We could actually find something in there because of the link between Vows and Dark Arts," Gwen responded with hope.

"Yes, and we do have a free morning because neither of us is in Divination or History of Magic," Draco implied.

"We should go," she agreed.

After breakfast, once the plates had cleared, little notes appeared in front of the returning seventh years' places at their House tables. Gwen picked hers up and read it.

Gwendolyn,

The Headmistress has granted you and the others from your year a Hogsmeade visit this weekend. This is a privilege that can be revoked if not taken responsibly. I hope that you have a pleasant evening

Sincerely,

Headmistress McGonagall

Gwen read the note silently and could feel eyes watching her. She looked up and saw Minos giving her a wide grin. She threw the note down and stomped from the Slytherin table. Draco shot Minos a scathing look as well before following her, his apple in hand.

"That good for nothing brute! I almost wish I was Mudblood Granger! She would not have to deal with such a distasteful situation!" Gwen was muttering harshly when Draco finally caught up to her outside of the library.

"That might be taking it too far. I don't think anyone wants to be that big-haired know-it-all. She's intolerable," Draco drawled as he took a bite from the apple. Gwen found herself enticed by the scent even though she knew she hated the fruit. She didn't know what was going on with her these days.

Draco watched as Gwen breathed in deeply. He knew how she felt because every time he entered the lavatory after her bath, he stopped to take-in the scent. It was intoxicating for him.

"We should go see if we can find anything," he finally said as he nudged her into the library.

Gwen stood patiently in Minos's office. Her previous experiences making her feel sick. This was the third time this week he had requested her presence. As it was Friday night, Draco was going to be on his rounds and told her he'd go by to help her back. She had been getting sicker with every encounter. Minos made her skin crawl.

"Hello my bride-to-be," he greeted as he descended the stairs to the main part of the office. Gwen hated when he called her that. She knew he did it to remind her that she belonged to him in some way.

"You know I really dislike it when you call me that," Gwen practically spat.

"Yes, but you are my bride-to-be. I'm only speaking the truth," he replied cheerily. He was so happy because he placed his hand on the small of her back and felt her shudder.

"Is this all you ever want from me?" Gwen asked frustrated. She couldn't believe he kept pulling her from homework to force her into snogging.

There was a knock at the door, and Gwen could see Hermione through the window. This had to look bad. Minos released Gwen.

"You may leave," was all he said to Gwen as he went to the door to greet the brightest witch of their age.

He let Hermione in and she glared at Gwen. Gwen breathed a sigh of relief. She was free one night. She had Hermione Granger to thank for one night of freedom from Minos's groping.

She stumbled to the corridor where her common room was.

"Gwendolyn!" Hermione accused before Gwen had made it to Snape's portrait.

"What Granger?"Gwen asked with venom in her voice.

"Do you actually do your Potions or was that scene I just witnessed your daily homework?" Hermione spat.

"Merlin Granger! I wish I were doing homework. And to what you're implying, no, that isn't my bloody homework!" Gwen shouted. She was tired and she still had work to do. Her argument with Princess Gryffindor was taking up time she needed. Gwen could start to feel her heart race as she tired to think of an excuse to get away.

"Then what was that?! I'll go to McGonagall,' she threatened.

"I can't tell you," Gwen answered defeated.

"I will tell her," Hermione prodded.

Gwen thought about the Headmistress interfering and she started to lose color. Her heart was already beating so fast it could not take more stress.

As Gwen collapsed, Draco rounded the corner. He saw her fall lifelessly and stared accusingly at Hermione.

"What did you do to her, Granger?" He asked as he rushed to Gwen. She was still in her robes and Draco could see how they swallowed her tiny form.

"I caught her being inappropriate with Professor Flint," Hermione answered disapprovingly.

"Granger, you are a dolt! She was not being inappropriate with him! He was being inappropriate with her!" Draco shouted. He was livid because he was scared. Lifting her was incredibly easy. Her weight loss was concerning.

"If that's true, then why hasn't she told someone?" Hermione questioned.

"She hasn't told anyone because he is allowed to be inappropriate with her. Merlin, Granger, for someone so bright you're incredibly daft," Draco started on her. His voice got louder every moment in worry, "The war may be over, but some Pureblood traditions are still out there. One of them is a Marriage Arrangement Vow. Her father bound her to him. She can't do anything about it!"

He had started moving toward the hospital wing during his rant. Hermione had followed because he was yelling at her.

"That sounds impossible," Hermione gasped. They had reached the infirmary and Madam Pomfrey immediately went to Draco.

"What is the matter Mr. Malfoy?" She asked concerned.

"My friend fainted while speaking with Granger. I think it may be from stress," Draco tried to be vague.

"Set her here and I'll have a look at her," the older woman instructed. Draco did as she said. He watched as Madam Pomfrey assessed Gwen's condition.

"Stress?" Hermione whispered.

"Granger, it's none of your bushy-headed business. Go somewhere else," Draco lashed. Hermione let out a frustrated sigh, but left the room.

"Mr. Malfoy is she a good friend of yours because I need answers from someone who can give them to me," Madam Pomfrey said.

"I'm her friend and dorm-mate I should be able to answer your questions," Draco replied.

"What has she been eating? To me, it seems like nothing," she said to him.

"She hasn't been eating much. Her stress over school and schoolwork makes her forget. I try to remind her often, but she doesn't really listen," Draco said with shame. He knew how bad she was getting, yet he had not done anything about it.

Outside the hospital wing, Hermione listened as Malfoy effectively avoided any real truth. She waited a few moments more before leaving for the library. She needed to know if Malfoy was lying.

An hour later, Hermione sat engrossed in a book about Pureblood customs that have been rarely used in their time. One of these customs was indeed the Marriage Arrangement Vow. Hermione read all of the details and was actually mortified. She was so glad that she was a Muggle-born. She could not understand how anyone could arrange their child's life the way some of the pure-bloods did.

Saturday morning was awful for Gwen. She woke up in the hospital wing and she was not sure how she got there. The last thing she remembered was leaving Minos's office. She could remember her words with Granger, but nothing after that.

"You're awake," Draco whispered from his seat next to her bed. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, I think, what happened?" She asked.

"You fainted while you were talking to Granger. Madam Pomfrey says you haven't been eating enough. I told you that you needed to eat more," he said with authority.

"I was too stressed. I can't eat with all the bloody stress," she told him.

"Miss Malkin-Pryce, you're awake," Madam Pomfrey stated as she entered the room from her office.

"So I seem to be," Gwen answered.

"Yes, well, Mr. Malfoy has been here since five this morning. He was very anxious about your state," the medi-witch said as she pattered about Gwen's bed.

Gwen stared in disbelief at the blonde teenager. No one had ever shown that much worry for her, and that included her parents.

"I thought we were friends," he drawled to her.

"Well you can see that she is well Mr. Malfoy. Come back in three hours and you can take her to Hogsmeade for the last half of the day," Madam Pomfrey instructed. Draco did as he was told because she was not a woman you wanted to have mad at you. Your health solely depended on her.

"Now, deary, I need to know why you have not been eating," she asked Gwen sternly, but with concern.

"I just keep forgetting. I have so much on my mind that eating is not the first thing," Gwen answered almost truthfully.

"Well I suggest that you start eating better. I did not think I was going to have you up and better so quickly, but even I amaze myself sometimes," she answered cheerfully. Gwen nodded and Madam Pomfrey added, "Now get some rest. I'm sure that boy will be back here in exactly two hours and fifty-seven minutes to take you to Hogsmeade." She laughed before heading back to her office.

Hermione had been in the library for the better part of the previous night. She had found three books that mentioned the Marriage Arrangement Vow and all three were useless. She read about what the Vow did and how it affected each person involved, but nothing else. When she finally had crawled back to the separate Gryffindor common room she shared with the others in her year, she had decided that old prejudices had to be put to rest. The wizarding world was not going to change if they kept those prejudices after the war.

The first thing she was going to do was seek out Draco Malfoy. She wanted to talk to him about helping Gwendolyn. It was her first step to improving relationships.

Hermione had gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast and found Draco Malfoy sitting at the Slytherin table by himself. She cautiously approached him.

"Malfoy?" She asked softly.

"Yes, Granger?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I want to help," she practically whispered. Draco shot his head up and then glanced at the staff table. He hoped that Flint hadn't heard her.

"Help with what?" He snarled meaningfully. He wondered how she could be so daft as to say something like that in the open.

"I meant…"she stammered as she realized her mistake, "I would like you to help me with Potions." She had decided to see if she could carry on the conversation with him in code.

"Granger, why would I want to help you?" He demanded.

"You want to help me because you are better at Potions," she said simply.

"We'll talk about it in the library in an hour," he agreed. He went back to his breakfast when she left the table.

In the library, Draco sat with a green apple in a chair toward the back. He stared at the entrance as he replayed Granger's conversation with him in his mind. When she had switched to Potions Draco had known right away that she understood to speak cryptically. She had said she wanted to help Gwendolyn and he had no idea why (which was why he was waiting here to talk to her).

Hermione entered the library and scanned quickly for the distinct blonde locks that belonged to Draco Malfoy. She found him in a chair in the back staring at the entrance. He nodded to her.

She walked to him with her head up and her face set defiantly. Hermione would convince him that she could help.

"Now why do you want to help Gwendolyn?" Draco asked immediately.

"Oh good, you understood!" Hermione remarked without asking his question.

"Of course I understood! I'm not a bloody git Granger!" Draco scolded. "Now answer my question."

"I want to help because it's what I do. So you happen to be ex-Death Eaters, I don't care. I was there when you didn't really give my identity in the Manor. And I was there when Gwendolyn stopped herself from killing an Auror in the castle. They're not things I will forget easily because we were kids. We still are kids! We can't help what we were taught was right, but we can choose the right actions. That is something you both did. So I'm doing it to prove that prejudice can be removed from both sides. I won't hate either of you because you're pure-blooded ex-Death Eaters. Just like I hope you don't hate me because I'm a Mudblood," she explained in a voice that resembled McGonagall's.

"Well to make things clear, I don't hate you because you're a Mudblood," Draco clarified without adding 'it is really because you are an insufferable know-it-all.'

"Does that mean you'll accept my help?"

"You have some conditions. The first one being that you can tell no one. I mean no one. This is hard enough on her as it is. You bloody well saw how she looked. The second condition is you must tell us any suggestions before you try to do them," he responded.

"I can do that," she agreed. She held out her hand for him to shake. He hesitated about half of a minute before shaking her hand.

"What? Afraid you were going to get Mudblood germs?" She joked with him.

"No, I was just wondering where that hand has been on Weasel. Actually, no I don't wonder. I don't want that mental image," he retorted. It was as if the whole world tilted the wrong way on its axis because he was agreeing to help from Hermione Granger. Nevertheless, she would probably be beneficial to finding information on breaking the Vow.

"How is she?" Hermione inquired, breaking Draco's thoughts.

"She will be fine. I was in there earlier. I couldn't sleep past five this morning so I went to see her. She woke up at eight, and I'm to pick her up to go to Hogsmeade in twenty minutes."

"What was really wrong with her?"

"She really was stressed. She doesn't have time for homework with Flint constantly calling her to his office for visits. It's simply rubbish and I stay up as late as I can to help her with homework, but it isn't enough. Gwendolyn is a reactionary person. She has stopped eating because she is ill from the situation," Draco replied heatedly. Hermione could see his eyes become a steel gray in response to his mood. She thought about how she had never seen them together until this year. His response was one that a boyfriend would have, not just a friend.

"Do you think he has noticed that she has lost a lot of weight and seems sickly?" Hermione wondered.

"If he has, he does not care," Draco spat. Hermione took his response as a cue to change the subject.

"What are you going to do in Hogsmeade?"

"I'm going to take her somewhere to eat," he said simply. They had left the library and were walking to the infirmary. She nodded.

"Maybe I'll see you in Hogsmeade," she said as she left him at the door to the hospital wing. He nodded as she left, and entered to see Gwendolyn looking upset.

"What's the matter?" He immediately asked.

"Here," she said thrusting a piece of parchment at him.

Gwendolyn,

I require your presence in Hogsmeade this afternoon. I would say around four in the evening for an early dinner.

-Minos

"What a slimy prat!" Draco growled as he rolled the parchment into a ball to throw into the waste bin.

Gwen agreed with his sentiment. She suddenly was not feeling well, again. Madam Pomfrey entered the room as Gwen had gone pale.

"Miss Malkin-Pryce, are you feeling alright?" The elderly woman asked.

"No, I think I may skip Hogsmeade. Can I stay here again?" Gwen asked.

"Of course!" Madam Pomfrey answered as she examined Gwen.

"Can I have dinner with Draco here?"

"As long as you will eat it," she answered the younger girl's question.

"I'll see to it that she does Madam Pomfrey," Draco assured the medi-witch.

"I'll see that the House Elves bring you both something," Madam Pomfrey mentioned as she left the two of them.

"We have someone to help find a way out of this," Draco started to tell Gwen.