Here it is! Chapter 4. Thanks again for reading, and also thanks for all the reviews. I love getting them! They definitely encourage me to write more. Anyways, hope you like chapter 4!

Chapter 4-Hogsmeade

Hermione looked at herself in her mirror, contemplating whether or not makeup was necessary for this little outing. Her experience with makeup was sorely limited, but she had to wonder if this little adventure that Draco was planning was technically a date. She figured it was, considering the unusual way that he was treating her lately. Maybe, just this once, a little makeup wouldn't hurt…

Ginny strode through the room on her way to her own bunk. "Hermione, what have you done to yourself?!?!" she shrieked as she dropped the book that she was carrying.

Hermione turned to face Ginny. "What? I just wanted to look nice…"

Ginny hurried over to her, immediately reaching for a damp washcloth. "Well, Hermione, you should have come to one of us for help before you attempted this on your own. You never wear makeup, you should leave the finer points of girlhood to us." She lectured as she scrubbed away the makeup that Hermione had so atrociously put on. "Until you get used to wearing makeup, you'll just have to let us do it for you. I know you don't like that idea, Hermione, but sometimes you have to admit that you need help."

Hermione was slightly taken aback at the realization that she had done such a poor job, but she was grateful for the help nonetheless. She had wanted to look nice, and although Ginny's comments hurt a little, she was thankful that they saved her from going out and being embarrassed.

"So," Ginny spoke as she applied a layer of foundation to Hermione's face, much more sparingly this time, "why are you so intent on becoming beautiful, all of a sudden? You know you're gorgeous without all this stuff."

Hermione smiled at the compliment. "Well, there's this boy…"

Ginny's eyes shot open. The makeup brush faltered a little and her mouth dropped open. The effect was one of shock, but then it turned to excitement as a smile spread across her face. "Hermione Granger! A boy? Which boy? When did this happen? Why didn't I know? Come on, spill!"

Hermione smiled at her friend's excitement. She would never understand why girls got so excited over trivial matters such as romance, but she decided to indulge her friend with details nevertheless. "Well, he's a boy that you know…"

"I know lots of boys. That doesn't help at all. Is it Ron, please don't say it's Ron. That would be too awkward. Is it Harry? Actually, come to think of it, don't say if it's Harry either."

Hermione laughed. She had known about Ginny's crush on Harry since her second year, she wouldn't dare make a move on Ginny's man. "No, Ginny, it's not Harry or Ron."

Ginny whined impatiently as she added eye shadow to Hermione's lids, "Well, who is it then?"

Hermione took a deep breath. She hoped Ginny's reaction wouldn't be disastrous for her own appearance. "Draco. Draco Malfoy," she said as the breath escaped her lips.

Ginny looked at her in slight surprise, but otherwise her reaction was not too theatrical. "Oh," she shrugged, "Draco, huh? He's pretty attractive, except for the whole Death Eater thing. But I guess if you like him, what can you do? Attraction is the most powerful force in the world, not even the strongest witch or wizard can stand in its wake."

Hermione interjected, "Saying that I like him that much might be taking it a bit far…"

Ginny asked confused, "What? But you're going on a date with him, aren't you? That's what all the makeup is for, right?"

Hermione sighed, "Yeah, it is, but… Ginny, this is Draco Malfoy we're talking about. We've been sworn enemies ever since I can remember. Don't you remember how he treated us, how he treated me? Not to mention his undeniable connection to Voldemort. With rumors of uprisings of Voldemort's followers, I just don't know if a relationship with him is the best idea."

Ginny sighed, overlooking Hermione's unorthodox use of the Dark Lord's name. "Hermione, dear, you have a lot to learn about love." Hermione looked confused, her eyes asking a million questions with the burning desire to learn. "First of all, you don't get to pick who you like. It just happens. And when it does, you have no power to stop once it has started. Second, affection is not based on good or evil. Your mind may realize that Draco is evil, but that will not stop you from liking him, no matter how hard you try. Hermione, you might be the top girl academically at our school, but you sure have a lot left to learn about life."

Hermione argued, "But, Ginny, I really don't think I like him. I mean, yes, he is attractive, but… I just don't know if I could ever truly trust him."

Ginny asked, "Then why did you agree to go on this date?"

Hermione shrugged, "Well, uh…"

Ginny exclaimed, "Oh, I know! It's to spy on him, isn't it? You're going to watch him, and through watching him, you watch the Dark Lord!"

A look of shock entered Hermoine's eyes. "What? Uh… um… uh, why would I do that?" She had a hard time meeting Ginny's eyes.

Ginny looked a little surprised as well. She hadn't expected her answer to be right. "What? Hermione, you're playing with his feelings just to spy on him?"

Hermione defended herself, "Well, it's Malfoy!! He doesn't have feelings. Besides, Dumbledore asked me to. He told me that I was to get close to Malfoy through whatever means possible, and report any suspicious activity. That's what all this is for." She suddenly couldn't keep their plan a secret anymore. Somebody had to know, and Ginny was probably the most trustworthy person that she could tell.

A look of pity came into Ginny's eyes. "Hermione, listen to me. I know you're real smart and everything, but don't underestimate the power that your feelings can hold. Don't let them get involved with someone as dark as him. I know from experience that they are merciless once they have you in their grasp. Whatever you do, Hermione, you cannot develop feelings for Draco Malfoy. I don't care if he is the most suave individual on the earth and buys you a rock for your finger just for the hell of it, you must remember that this is nothing more than a mission. Don't let your feelings surface, as soon as you feel them beginning, snuff them out. Please, Hermione," a gentler tone entered her voice, "don't make the same mistake that I made."

Hermione knew there was a reason she told Ginny about all of this. Ginny was mature enough to handle the information, and also to give her well thought out advice. She took her words to heart, knowing the truth of every one of them.

No matter what her feelings told her, she could never fall for Draco Malfoy.

XXXXXXX

Hermione was waiting for him at the entrance to Hogwarts. She sat on the stone steps, hunched over something, probably a book. She wore a regular t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Draco couldn't help but be a little disappointed that she didn't dress up a bit for the occasion, but he didn't take it to heart. This was, after all, nothing more than a mission.

"Reading again, are we?" Draco commented as he reached her side.

Startled, Hermione slammed the book shut and hurriedly stowed away her quill. "Just… a bit of journaling." She covered up her actions suspiciously as she put the journal back into her bag. She could never let Draco see the contents of that journal, their entire plan would be ruined.

"Right, journaling." Draco mused.

"So, are you ready?" Hermione asked, her chocolate brown eyes penetrating his own masked ones.

Draco was surprised to see eyeliner around the usually bare brown orbs. She also had on eyeshadow, mascara, and all sorts of other female beauty ritual products on her face. He had to admit, he was pleased with the result. Contrary to his initial impression, she had put forth effort after all.

"Only if you are." He replied as he offered her his hand. The words sounded more like an invitation to dive off of a cliff than a simple trip to Hogsmeade.

She met his challenge, recognizing it instantly in his riveting eyes. Without breaking eye contact, she took his hand. He held it for just a moment before pulling her to a standing position, dragging her once again into their unspoken battle.

What would prevail? Feelings and emotions, or loyalty and duty?

Hermione abruptly let go of his hand as they plunged into their silent war.

XXXXXXXX

Moments later, or was it hours later? Hermione couldn't tell anymore. Something about spending time with Draco made the time itself seem irrelevant. Something about him made everything else that ruled the universe fall away beneath his feet. Something about him was magnetic.

Despite how much time had gone by, Hermione found herself standing near the old abandoned graveyard that she had passed many times before without truly seeing it. So many times she had ignored it in her eagerness to catch up with friends, or hit the next shop. She had never stopped to look at the names, never thought twice about it. She regretted it now, being so caught up in herself that she didn't have time to pay respects, even if she had no connection to the people lost below.

She gazed at the newest headstone, wondering if she would be in such a hurry to pass next time she was here.

September 15, 1989-August 23, 1997. Unwanted.

Beneath the original inscription Hermione could see that an addition had been made to the stone. It was less faded than the words above, showing that it had been added more recently.

But never unloved.

"Draco, what is this? Do you know this place?" Hermione asked, not understanding any of this.

Draco sighed. He couldn't believe that he had to confront his ghosts, and with Granger of all people. She was the last person he wanted to tell, but Snape thought it necessary to their plan. If she accepted him, well, then maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Draco began his story. "I wasn't always an only child, you know."

"What?" Hermione answered, surprise evident in her eyes, "Really?"

Draco was encouraged by the fact that she already seemed interested in his story. He hoped that his darkest moment of despair would be enough for her. It had to be enough for her, nothing else would do.

"I had a younger brother. He was my best friend. We did everything together, ever since the day we were born. We learned magic together, fantasized about Hogwarts together, played outside together, we did all the things that brothers do. We also… we also bore the brunt of our father's punishments together. If one was to be punished, then… we would beg him to split the punishment between us, so that one didn't have to suffer alone."

Draco took a second to compose himself. This felt so, so very wrong. Telling Granger all of these things, only to take advantage of her sympathy in the end. He could kill a human with a quick flick of his wand without thinking twice about it, but somehow he had trouble talking to her, knowing that it was all a lie. You can't ever love me, Hermione. Please, please, save yourself before they take you too, He thought to himself. This was wrong, and he knew it. However, he had to keep going. He only hoped at this point that maybe, just maybe Hermione would distance herself from him. Maybe she was bright enough to recognize his plan, and draw away.

However, oblivious to his thoughts, Hermione actually linked her arm through his, holding him close as an act of comfort. No, no, he thought desperately, you will only hurt yourself. You can't love me.

He had to push her away, keep her far away from him for her own good. But it had been long, so agonizingly long since he had been close to another person like this. He forgot what it had felt like. No matter how much he wanted to save her from the cruel fate that he was going to inflict upon her, he couldn't pull away. Her arm through his felt too natural to break away from.

"What happened to him?" Hermione asked innocently, dreading the answer that she knew was coming. She could tell from the way the grave was marked "Unwanted" that it was not a happy ending.

Draco relished in the warmth of her closeness before continuing, drawing strength from it. "Nine months before my brother was born, my mother was seen at a bar with another man. The witness reported seeing them leave together, although what happened after, none could ever know. The matter resurfaced several years later, after her child, my brother, had been born. My father found out, and… he was very angry."

Draco's usual solid face of composure was crumbling before her eyes, Hermione could see that. She was getting to see the real Draco, the one that only a few people were ever privileged enough to see. She felt like she should be writing all of this down, soaking in every detail to report later. Somehow, though, with her arm through his, she couldn't bring herself to do it. For now, she would just be his friend, comforting him in a time of need. When they went back to Hogwarts and the war resumed, everything would change, but for now… this was enough.

"What did he do?" Hermione asked in a voice that was more gentle than most that Draco had ever heard.

"I was only a child at the time, so of course my brother and I ran. We hid under the massive staircase, we were terrified. He stormed through the house, screaming our mother's name with a fierce hatred that was only reserved for his family. He found her eventually, although I don't know where. We could hear her screams, her cries for help, her pleads for mercy… it was so hard to be so powerless." Draco stopped for just a minute, his eyes lost in the memory. "Finally, he got the information that he wanted. My brother was not the son of my father, he was the son of another man."

"Oh, no," Hermione breathed, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"He found me and my brother. I still remember the look on my father's face, something that I hope I never have to see again. He dragged him out from under the staircase, screaming accusations at him. He said he wasn't his son, he never would be, he was a disgrace to this family and had to be… eliminated."

"What?" Hermione asked breathlessly. "He would do that? Why?"

Draco sighed, unable to meet her eyes. The concern he knew he would find there was too much for his tainted soul to accept. "Not only was he illegitimate and from another man, but he wasn't a pureblood. My father always said that a Malfoy who is not a pureblood doesn't have the right to exist. That is what my grandfather had always taught him, and what his father before had always taught him. I had never questioned his words, until that day.

"He took him into the dungeons, a place that no son should ever be forced to go to by his own father. I followed them, fearing for my own life but fearing for his more. My brother was crying for me to save myself, to get myself out before I was caught up in his punishment." Draco chuckled a little, but there was no happiness in the sound. "But… we always shared the punishments, and I wasn't about to turn back.

"My father threw him to the ground, he lay there, defenseless against his wrath. He recited the laws that governed the pureblood Malfoys, and explained that he was going to kill him. He didn't even try to soften the blow, he didn't even give him a chance to escape. He pointed his wand at him, but then thought better of it. He turned back to me, noticing me for the first time. He then tossed his wand to me."

"He wouldn't. He couldn't! Draco, I knew that Lucius was harsh, but… that is going too far." Hermione wanted to believe that Lucius Malfoy had an ounce of humanity in him, but deep down she knew better. Lucius was capable of anything, even the murder of his own child at the hands of the other. Draco drank in the sight of her concern-filled eyes, never before had someone looked at him with so much emotion in their eyes. It had been so long since someone had directed those feelings towards him.

"He had instructed me in the killing curse long ago. Almost before a Malfoy learns to walk, they learn to kill. He told me that if I didn't… if I didn't kill my own brother, then I wasn't a true Malfoy. I would be just as bad as my brother was, disowned by the purebloods. I wanted to be accepted by my father, I wanted my family to love me. But I didn't want to have to earn that by killing the one person who had ever unconditionally shown me what family truly was. I fought it for a while, I fought his words and his lies. But he was stronger than me. He would get me to do what he wanted, despite how long it took. Under the approving gaze of my father, I exterminated the 'tainted' Malfoy."

Hermione was speechless. She had never imagined that behind his cool, calm composure he hid a world of guilt and despair. Such a tormented soul, with no one to turn to for comfort. It was no wonder he drew away from others, a recluse in his own despair. With a story like that, she knew that it was hard for him to ever truly trust friendship again.

"They at least had the decency to give him a grave. Of course, since no one could know of his existence, they refused to leave even his own name to him. Now he's just another marker on another grave, another life cut off too quickly, another name that the world forgot. All for the sake of the pride of a pureblood bastard." Draco spat the last sentence.

"Draco, I'm sorry," Hermione offered. She didn't know what else to say, for the first time in her life her intellect failed her. She couldn't think of an appropriate response. All she could think about were her feelings, growing stronger and stronger every minute against her better judgment. Ginny's words bounced through her head, warning her not to fall for him, don't love him, don't make yourself so vulnerable to one so evil as Draco. It would only hurt her in the end.

But, she wondered… would it hurt her more than he was already hurting?

She wanted to comfort him. She wanted to take him in her arms and tell him that everything would be alright, and then, if only for a few minutes, they could be friends. They could enjoy each other's company and make the other stronger. Then they would return to Hogwarts, and it would all be over. It would never last. Hermione knew, more than anything, that if any feelings developed into a relationship, it would mean disaster for all of them. She would act like she loved him, and continue to watch him, taking advantage of his trust.

But she would never love him. She couldn't, her duty didn't allow her to.

For now, however, duty could be pushed aside, if only for a moment.

She squeezed his arm tighter, resting her head on his shoulder. Feelings of guilt flew through her, as she knew that within only a few hours she would betray his trust and report everything. However, that would be dealt with later. For now, a hurting soul was crying out for comfort. Even if it was all a lie, Hermione didn't care anymore. She wanted to comfort him, only for a minute.

A spell of time passed, and Hermione judged that it was time to leave this place behind. "Are you… ready to go?" She asked quietly.

Draco answered in a voice that was entirely unlike his usual one, "Yes. Yes, let's go." He felt Hermione loosen her grip on his arm, and eventually it fell away completely as they turned. A sudden cold overtook him at the absence of her touch. He suddenly found that he wanted it, needed it more than he had ever needed anything. He was hurting, he needed something to hold onto before he fell away completely.

Against his rational thinking, he reached out and took her hand in his. She complied, wrapping her warm fingers through his chilled ones. Her warmth soared through him, melting his frozen heart.

Draco knew that at the end of the day, however, they would still be enemies, fighting each other relentlessly, until one of them gave out.

For now, though, he needed some sort of comfort. He needed someone to reassure him, someone to be close to him.

Although he would never admit it to himself, he needed Hermione more than he had ever needed anything.