Chapter Three

Hermione woke up the next morning her heart racing. She looked around wildly, having no recollection of where she was, or how she got there.

She scanned her surroundings, realizing that she was in a bedroom, and that someone must have brought her here. Or, she was losing her mind completely and pieces of her memory were blanking. Either way, Hermione didn't like it.

She liked being in control. She planned out pretty much every aspect of her life, her every move. And she always had a back up plan. She was always prepared. It's what kept her ahead of everyone else.

Hermione slowly eased out of bed, and went to grab her wand out of her pocket, which is where she always kept it. Panic set in when she came back empty handed. She took a minute to process this, and strained her mind to try and remember where it would be.

A memory hit her like a ton of bricks, and she remembered going to Hogsmeade to try and find a wand after breaking hers in a battle, and then being spotted and chased by Death Eaters.

She froze. Had she been captured? She scanned the room again, and figured that no, she hadn't been. The Death Eaters wouldn't have been so accommodating. But, where was she? This wasn't a room that she recognized.

She tiptoed towards the door and placed her ear against it, listening for a sign of movement. She just about screamed when she heard a door shut across from hers. Her heart pounding, she took a few deep breaths to calm down enough so she could listen again.

She heard someone walking down what she assumed was a hallway. Their footsteps were light. A female maybe?

Hermione heard cupboards being opened and closed quietly, and a few minutes later smelled the oh so delicious scent of coffee, something that she had been deprived of for way too long. Her mouth started watering at the possibility of having a dose of caffeine. Her veins craved it.

Her internal debate of staying in her room where she was safe was overruled, as she found herself opening the door and practically, but not actually, running to the kitchen to get herself a coffee.

However, what she was not expecting was to see Draco Malfoy of all people standing in the kitchen.

She stopped walking, her body automatically tensing up in anticipation of a fight.

Draco had heard Hermione open her door and start down the hallway, listening to her footsteps as she got closer and closer. As soon as she stopped, he could feel the tension in the air, but continued to move slowly and calmly so he didn't end up being karate kicked in the back of the head, or cursed from behind.

He added a scoop of sugar into his coffee, his back still to her.

"Help yourself to some coffee Granger."

"What the hell are you doing here Malfoy?" Hermione hissed.

Draco let out a deep breath. He had a feeling this was going to happen.

"I'm going to turn around, and I'd appreciate if you don't curse me or punch me in the face, considering I did save your life last night."

He turned around to face her, his coffee cup still in his hand. He took a sip, watching her.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out how to read the situation. To say she was mildly confused at his somewhat hospitable behaviour was an understatement.

"Where am I?"

"My apartment," Draco answered simply.

"What?"

Draco took another sip of his coffee and waited for her to go on, as he knew she would.

"And what do you mean you saved my life? What the hell is going on?"

"All I know, is that you came to Hogsmeade and the Death Eaters found you. I tracked and followed your movement unawares to them, and ended up catching you as you turned down an alleyway. I disguised you as someone they wouldn't recognize, and then sent them away to go and find you, then, when they were all gone I had you come here."

"You sent them away? What the hell? How high up in the Death Eaters are you Malfoy?"

"High enough that they have to listen to me."

"Well isn't that just cute. I always knew you were going to be evil, but even I never imagined you being Voldemort's right hand man," she hissed venomously.

"You think you'd have a little bit more respect for the person who saved your god damn life," Draco snapped angrily.

"How do I know you saved my life? How do I know this isn't all a set up? I can't remember anything! And I wouldn't put it past you to do something like that to gain your daddy's respect."

Draco whipped the coffee mug across the room, reaching for his wand and pointing it directly at Hermione.

"You stupid, stubborn witch!" Draco growled. "The reason you don't remember anything is because you were hit with a curse that was toxic. If I hadn't healed your ungrateful ass you wouldn't even be here right now! And if you took three fucking seconds to take a deep breath and relax, your memories will come back to you. If you're going to continue to disrespect me in my home, then you are more than welcome to leave and take your chances on Death Eater patrolled streets. You have no idea how much jeopardy I put myself in even saving you! A simple thank you would have sufficed."

"Reparo!"

Hermione watched dumbfounded and speechless as Draco cleaned up the mess of his broken cup and coffee all over the floor.

She watched as he grabbed the now repaired mug off of the floor and put it into his sink, which he then put both hands and leaned on heavily. He took deep breaths trying to calm himself down, and Hermione was absolutely lost and confused.

She did what he said, and relaxed herself so her memories would come back, which they did. Just like Draco had said they would. She recalled him pushing her up against the wall and kissing her in a way she would never associate with him, and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She had kissed Draco Malfoy! And hadn't even remembered it, and he had. How embarrassing.

Draco turned around to look at Hermione, as she hadn't started screaming at him or throwing things at him like he had expected. In fact, she had gone completely silent. When he turned, he saw that her face was flushed, and he couldn't tell whether it was because she was angry or not.

Without meaning to, he reached out to her mind and saw her remembering what had transpired between them in the alleyway, and he pulled back realizing that he was invading her privacy and he hadn't meant to. He had become so skilled in Legilimency that sometimes he didn't even mean to read peoples minds, it just happened.

He waited until she shifted through her memories, and when she reached over to her shoulder and pulled down her shirt to look at the spot she had been hit with a curse and found nothing but a faint pink line, she looked over at him in confusion.

"I don't understand..?"

"There's nothing to understand Granger."

"But why would you save me? If you're as high up in the Death Eaters as you're portraying, then why let me get away? Why help me get away?"

Draco avoided answering, not wanting to spill his heart out to this girl who used to be one of his worst enemies. And instead shot a question back at her.

"What were you doing in Hogsmeade? I'm sure you knew it was run by Death Eaters."

"I needed a wand," Hermione answered, her hands twiddling together in anxiety.

"What happened to yours?"

"It broke when I was fighting against a group of Snatchers... Wait, Harry and Ron, did they...?"

"They haven't been caught if that's what you're asking."

"Thank Merlin," Hermione said letting out a deep breath.

"What the hell have you three been doing? You've been completely off the map."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "None of your business."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to learn to trust me at some point."

"And why's that?"

"Who else do you have?"

"I trust Harry and Ron with my life."

"And do you see them here currently?"

"I don't trust you Malfoy," Hermione stated simply.

"And I don't blame you. I haven't exactly been the nicest person throughout our childhood."

"You were a downright prat."

Draco smirked. "Well deserved."

Hermione got serious again. "I don't know what game you're playing Malfoy, but I'm not falling for it. You can't change the past and what you've done. You've been absolutely horrendous towards myself and my friends for as long as I have known you, and here you are playing all nice and 'saving my life?' What about Dumbledore's life? Where were you when he needed your help? You let the Death Eaters into the school that inevitably lead to his death, leaving Harry, Ron, and myself to pick up the pieces. You and I? We're on different sides, fighting for different things. So whatever it is you have planned for me, just get to it already. I'm not going to sit here and play nice with you in this makeshift reality that you're trying to create."

Draco let out a frustrated growl.

"You don't think I know what I've done? I have to live with the decisions that I've made for the rest of my life. I don't need some goody two shoes who can't even begin to understand or comprehend the position I was put in reminding me of it. I KNOW."

"And what exactly am I not supposed to understand? I would NEVER have let the Death Eaters into the school."

"They didn't give me any other choice! My life was on the line!"

"Then I would have died!"

Draco laughed humorlessly. "You don't know how much easier that would have been. But it wasn't just my own life on the line Granger, it was my parents too. What would you do in that position huh? Just let them die?"

Hermione's eyes widened.

"You have no idea the pain and suffering I endured. I didn't give a damn about my own life. Hell, I would have greeted Death with open arms instead of having to do what I was forced to do. You think I enjoyed those students getting hurt because of me? I was given an almost impossible task as revenge against my fathers fuck up in the Ministry of Magic and losing the prophecy. Did I know that at first? No. I thought I had been chosen because I was finally being recognized for my talents and smarts. It didn't take me long to realize that it had absolutely nothing to do with that, and instead Voldemort gave me a task that he figured would end up costing me my life. My life meant nothing to him, and neither did my parents'. So yes Granger, I would have died too, had I not been accountable for the lives of both of my parents as well. My mother is and was completely innocent and didn't deserve that. I was just a means to an end, a game piece in his master plan of getting rid of Dumbledore no matter the cost of others involved."

Draco could feel his heart racing, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides, his anger radiating off of him. Never in a million years would he forget or forgive what Voldemort had put him through. It was because of this, that Draco no longer respected or wanted to help the Dark side win the war. He wanted the downfall of Voldemort as much as Harry Potter himself probably.

Draco couldn't control himself, after opening up that vault of suppressed feelings and emotions that he bottled up daily, he found himself continuing onwards.

"And that's why I saved you Granger, and why I am going to continue to keep you hidden and safe. Because I will never again do anything to give Voldemort and his followers the upper hand, to go out of my way to put MY life on the line, or the life of anybody else just for their own personal gain. I'm not allowing them to take another innocent person and corrupt and warp them into whatever they want just for their own uses. We are people, we aren't game pieces. Hell, we're barely adults. We're seventeen years old for Merlin's sake!"

"I hate him. I hate him with every fiber of my being, and if Potter wasn't the chosen one, then I would try and end his life myself."

Hermione stared at Draco in dumbfounded awe. She pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. She has absolutely no idea what to say.

Draco's arm twitched and he laughed. "Speaking of, I'm being summoned."

He turned towards Hermione. "Do what you want, believe whatever you want, but I'm warning you, if you leave here, you're pretty much throwing yourself right to them. They've got eyes everywhere."

Before Hermione could respond, Draco apparated out of the apartment, leaving her standing there in a whirlwind of emotions.

A/N: Well, it's Wednesday so here's another chapter! Since I haven't stated it before, this story is taking place in the seventh book, which is why Hermione, Harry, and Ron have been off the map, and also why the story isn't taking place in Hogwarts. As always, your reviews are appreciated, and I would like to hear your thoughts so far, so don't be shy!

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to give this story a chance so far! I hope you continue to stick with me till the end.