"No amount of guilt can change the past, and no amount of worrying can change the future." - Author Unknown

Hermione's P.O.V

I awoke in bed after a dreamless night, the windows showing gray clouds circling in the sky, trapping the sun behind them. The weather seemed to reflect my mood. My head was throbbing and my body felt numb. As for the inside, I felt hollow. No feeling ran through me. I felt like a machine that had to be wound up.

On my bedside table lay a book which I picked up and almost had the urge to smile. Almost. Halfway through the book I saw a silhouette appear in the doorway. Blond hair sat on top of his pale face, dark purple rings surrounding his eyes. The grace with which he walked would have never given him away, but the look on his face betrayed him. I had become way too good at reading emotions and at hiding them. Wordlessly, he sat down on the ugly wooden brown chair beside the bed.

"Did you like the book?" his voice asked innocently and I resisted the urge to flinch. The tone of his voice was not familiar, after what happened in my very mind last night . Hogwarts A History lay face down on my lap. I nodded, not able to bear looking into his deep eyes, scared of what I might come across, scared to see the watery weakness that he tried so very hard to hide behind his cool demeanor but so clearly evident in his eyes. The silence dragged on, no one daring to move or make noise. Next to me, I saw his head bow down and come in contact with his hands and ruffle his hair back.

My gaze lay directly out the over-sized windows. The misty water rippled lightly as the Giant Squid skimmed across the top and descended gracefully back down into the dark waters. Leaves were gently swaying in the breeze. Out of the corner of my eye I risked a peek at Draco. His face was deep in thought but his thoughts were unclear to me. He ran his hands lightly through his fine blond hair.

I found my voice and whispered a quick "thank you". He looked up to meet my gaze and nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. They became like a black hole in which I got sucked into with no way out. Flickers of light passed through me as I floated around aimlessly. A string that was attached to the back of me tugged me back into reality. My vision blurred for a moment but then refocused itself. The door creaked open and Madame Pomfrey walked in.

"Mister Malfoy, Miss. Granger here has suffered quite a fall and needs her rest. You can speak to her when she leaves here but for now you must go." My head snapped up to hers as last night started replaying itself in my mind. The corridors, the fall, then the dream. My voice cracked as I spoke.

"What exactly happened?" She seemed to just have noticed that I was awake; her eyes and voice changed from hard and concentrated to soft and soothing.

"Oh darling, you ran blindly to the staircases but they were moving. You fell two floors. One of the Prefects found you unconscious when patrolling the halls." I nodded, understanding now why my head throbbed so much. Madame Pomfrey's eyes went back to Draco, indicating that he still had to leave.

"When I come back with her medicine you had better be out that door already," she said somewhat harshly, then gave me a soft smile before disappearing into her office.

"I thought you would want your work and something to do, in your case it's probably reading, while you're stuck in here. All your class work and notes are on the bedside table," he said pointing to paperwork that lay in a neat pile next to him. Draco looked at me cautiously; that's when I realized I was openly staring at him. I softened my gaze. He turned and started walking to the large wooden doors. My brain seemed to be processing what was happening before I finally found my voice.

"Draco!" I cried out before he reached the door. His body turned towards me and for the first time I got a good look at him after what happened in my mind. Draco's robes were gone, just leaving behind a white button down shirt that showed his Quidditch abs. His arms hung lazily down, his hands in his pants pockets. He looked normal. The Draco I saw in my dream still filled my mind. I saw him switch his weight to the other leg, making me realize that he was expecting me to say something.

"Thank you, for the, ummm, work . It's my favorite book," I said, somewhat flustered. Draco seemed shocked for a moment before it was replaced by comprehension. He nodded and shrugged nonchalantly before disappearing beyond the doors.

Madame Pomfrey then appeared from her office with a potion in her hand. She handed me the small tube and I drank it whilst trying not to taste it.

"How much longer do I have to stay here?" I asked.

"Oh dear, mhmm. You can leave tomorrow morning." She said some other things but I wasn't listening just nodding until she left. I picked up my homework and started reading it. Somewhere in between doing my three foot essay for Potions , I dozed off.

I awoke to the sound of pouring rain. Splashes of water ricocheted off the windows, leaving behind rivulets of rain falling down the glass panes. The Hospital Wing was deserted, the only sound was the pitter-patter of the rain. Feeling well, I got up and out of bed, relieved that I had my clothes on. I grabbed all my stuff and put it in my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. I quickly grabbed a quill from the table and scribbled down a note explaining that I was perfectly fine and that I was leaving. Hoping to make a quick retreat before I was hassled into staying longer, I opened the large mahogany doors and stepped into the hallway. Nobody was in the hall so I took it as my chance to leave without being bothered.

Just as I was rounding the corner, a large figure lay in my path causing me to fall back onto the cold floor. Looking up, I saw Draco standing with his hand outstretched. I was a little hesitant to take his hand so he grabbed me by my upper arms and pulled me up in a swift motion. He bent down to retrieve my stuff that lay strewn carelessly on the floor of the hallway.

A dark blush crept its way onto my face as I noticed an item sitting on the floor. I felt my face grow even hotter when Draco went to retrieve it. A smirk the size of Hogwarts lined his face. It was still a smirk, but it was more goofy and carefree.

"So it's that time of the month?" he asked, half seriously, half playfully. The blush deepened further as I snatched the item from his hand, mumbling under my breath.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch that," he asked innocently, the smirk still plastered on his face.

"It's none of your business," I mumbled again, looking down at the floor.

"Can you speak up, I really can't hear you, " Draco repeated, cupping a hand over his ear and leaning in slightly over dramatically. I sighed, trying to hide the smile that was valiantly trying to make itself visible.

"It's none of your business," I said rather loudly. He just nodded and continued to smirk.

The way I felt that moment was indescribable. I just came out of the hospital, embarrassed myself, yet Draco still seemed able to make me smile. An ache passed through my chest. At that moment I realized how much I missed having a friend. Throughout life I always had a friend I could count on, who I would go to in order to feel better, but I didn't have that anymore. The look on my face probably gave me away since the smirk Draco was proudly wearing disappeared slowly. We walked in awkward silence until I finally found my Gryffindor courage and spoke.

"I really appreciate you bringing my class work," I told him, my words echoing slightly in the empty hall. Our footsteps and the sound of the rain added to the combination.

He shrugged casually before speaking. "No problem." I nodded and we continued walking

.

"Why?"

He stopped in his tracks to focus on me, his eyes full of confusion.

"Why help me?"

"Your sure ask a lot of those 'why' questions. I wanted you to know I'm not a bad person. I'm not my father," he said simply, his eyes darkening in disgust at the word father.

"I know you're not."

"You don't know. I have a dead weight on my shoulders, always feeling guilty. Malfoy's shouldn't feel guilty, but I do. I shouldn't be talking to you at the moment, but I am. I'm a disgrace to my family. All my family wanted me to be like my father, be the Malfoy man. I'm not wanted in my family. I'm not wanted in the world. Who gives a damn about the Malfoy's anymore?"

"But you are talking to me now, and you went out of your way to help me. I appreciate it, I really do. I'm sorry that you feel that way, but I give a damn about who you are."

His eyes wandered over me in shock before composing himself and masking expression. Footsteps were heard at the hallway. Two girls passed us, both giggling and I felt an ache in my heart. Not only will I never have family, I will never be able to share something like that with anybody. No best friend to talk to, to hang out with, to deal with her stubbornness. Tears began forming in my eyes, but I blinked them back. I didn't like seeming weak. Draco had already seen me weak and I didn't need to repeat the experience.

I kept walking, giving myself a few seconds to get my act together before Draco caught up. Once he was by my side, he could tell something was off but he ignored it.

"You've changed," I blurted out, not sure where it came from. He didn't turn his head, he just kept on walking and asked me how. I pondered his question for a moment, and shrugged. "You're not that attention-seeking, thinking he was superior to everybody else, arrogant prick you were in the last six years of school."

"Some call it arrogance, I call it confidence," he stated, smirking at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. Something about it was contagious. Recently, his whole demeanor had changed visibly.

"Why did you change?" I asked.

"You sure are very curious, aren't you?"

"It comes with being a Gryffindor," I replied, puffing my chest out in pride, my hands on my hips with a smile playing on my lips. A raspy noise made its way up Draco's chest and it took me a moment to realize it was a laugh.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

"Satisfaction brought him back," I retorted, feeling at ease with him.

"You and your bloody Gryffindors," I heard him mutter under his breath. A smug smile lined my face, and I watched as his own facial expression twisted up into a smile. "You've changed too."

"Have I?"

"Yes, you used to be the bushy-haired know-it-all."

"You're forgetting about me being a mudblood," I said flatly, memories of our earlier years haunting my mind. I noticed Draco's eyes darken.

"I told you I was sorry."

"I know. And I told you I forgive you. It's true but we can't deny the past."

"That doesn't mean that I want it brought up as another reminder that my family was wrong about something. Malfoy's don't like feeling guilty. We can't deny the past, but we can't dwell on it either. What's done is done. Mistakes were mistakes and there's nothing I can do about it now." His jaw was set, and his muscles were tense. His response was flat.

I didn't feel the need to respond to that.

We arrived at a portrait of the two original Heads. They were smiling and waving. I told them the password and the portrait swung open, revealing the Common Room. The large windows, stood from floor to ceiling on the right side, revealing the Quidditch Pitch. On the left side, the wall was taken up by bookcases filled with books on all topics. Four portraits were in front of me, each one leading to a different common room. To the sides of those portraits were the stairs leading to our rooms. I headed up the left staircase. Behind me, I heard Draco plop down on one of the couches that stood in the middle.

My room was large and similar to the common room. Instead of the portraits, there was a bed and a desk. The room was decorated in Gryffindor colours with the bathroom door located next to the bookcases. I opened the bathroom door slightly, ready to get in when a loud bang startled me. Wand already in hand, I rushed out of my room to see Draco already heading towards the portrait. My eyes were set, my jaw rigid as I tried to keep my breathing calm and headed towards the door.

Gray smoke met me when I stepped outside, screams screeching through the air. I felt as though my arm was numb but the grip on my wand tightened as my eyes narrowed, trying to see through the thick fog. My ears were ringing with the screams, my nose filled with smoke and my eyes started to water but I blinked them back. With one step in front of the other, I made my way through the halls, my senses on full alert.

A black shadow became clearer as I stepped closer. Spells raced through my mind as I focused all my attention on the shadow, but I still heard approaching footsteps behind me. I spun around and fired a non verbal spell and watched as the person fell to the ground. I stalked to where he was and saw his face. Stormy gray eyes that matched the fog stared into mine, his silvery hair matching his eyes. I stuck my hand out to reach for his and he just stared at it. Hesitation and determination filled the eyes that had laughed only minutes ago. Ignoring my hand, he got up, both of us realizing that we had to be quiet. He glanced at me warily and offered his hand but I ignored it.

I hated being the girl that couldn't fight for herself. The girl that needed to be told what to do. The girl that let fear overwhelm her. I just wanted to prove that I was not that girl.

Determined, I stepped out of the fog as my vision become clearer. The figure still had their back to me but its presence alone was enough to send shivers up and down anybody's spine. Except mine. Before I could think of a spell it twirled around and I got a good view of their face. My body went numb and a small gasp flew from my lips before my body crashed down onto the cold floor.

Red and gray filled my eyes, and I heard somebody screaming my name before blackness took over.

Almost like a friend, inviting me back.

A/N: Ahh ! So that was a bitt of a cliffhanger and we had a lighter mood going on (: Yay! Pleasee review to keep me inspired , pretty pretty please with triple cherries on top ! :D

Love ,

HarryPotterLover1014