"I close my eyes and bleed this empty heart of all that longs to die. When faces lie and love will falter. I'm left with only time and time will break the dreams that take the pain away. Ever after never came and I'm still waiting for a love that never was. And all the dreams that I laid to rest are ghosts that keep me." - I Am Only One ~ We Are the Fallen

Cracked Amor

Chapter 4: Eden So Far from Reach


Hermione wiped the sweat from her brow as she finished hanging up the last article of clothing on the clothesline. Damn Malfoy and owning so many damn clothes. She bet they all weren't even his. Just as she was about to turn around to sit for a little while before Draco came badgering her again, she felt a light tap against her temple. Annoyed, Hermione glanced up, eyes widening in surprise when she saw a floating goblet of water. It was a finely crafted crystal goblet in an near hour-glass shape. Dragon wings were spread out from either side of it with a long scaly tail wrapped around the stem of the goblet. It was all so finely detailed as was the rest of the faceted goblet.

"Are you gonna take it or not, mudblood? I know it's completely wasted on you but you'd better appreciate it. Can't have you fainting on me again so soon," a voice drawled.

Hermione cast a dry look over her shoulder at Draco before grabbing the glass, drinking half of it in one swallow. Both of her hands carefully held the goblet below its crystal wings, watching the sun light cast its myriad of colors against her skin with fascination.

"This is beautiful," she breathed, unable to look away.

"Of course. Malfoys have only the best."

"The artisan must have really been something to have created something like this. You can tell he put a lot of love into his work." Hermione said, ignoring his arrogance. She took light sips from the goblet, slightly startled when she glanced up to find Draco giving her the most peculiar stare. "W-what?"

Draco crossed his arms over his chest, looking slightly uncomfortable. "...My father made it. All the crystal wine glasses and figurines you see within the villa...my father made."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Your...father?" she asked incredulously.

"You think me a liar?" Draco scowled.

"No, no I believe you," Hermione said, focusing at the goblet in her hands. "I can tell by your voice. You speak so fondly of your father." She wouldn't look at him, suddenly feeling embarrassed but she couldn't stop herself now. "It's a remarkable hobby he picked up."

Draco stared intently at her. "...You don't know anything, Granger. In the eyes of you and society, my father wouldn't have seemed capable of doing anything remotely close to human."

Hermione nodded slowly, hesitantly raising her eyes to meet his as she raised the goblet to her lips once more. "I suppose I deserved that. I really didn't know your father...I never cared to just as he never cared to know me for obvious reasons." She sighed heavily, shutting her eyes briefly. "I really am sorry, though about your-

"Don't," Draco said, eyes flashing dangerously as he raised his hand up in warning. "Just don't. First Potter now you. I don't want sympathy from anyone. To hell with you, Granger." He took the goblet from her and tossed out the remaining water onto a nearby rosebush. "Time to get back to work." He walked across the expanse of the patio, and set the goblet down on a glass picnic table. He jerked his thumb at a large straw-woven basket sitting by the railing of the short stairs. "See that? I want you to fill it to the brim with apples from my orchard."

"What're you going to do with them? I remember Goyle saying something about you being able to cook?" Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and smiled sardonically. "Going to make apple pies for us? My, how generous of you."

Draco tossed the basket at her, nearly hitting her in the face. "Quit yapping and get to work."

"Fine. But someday you'll owe me an apple pie," Hermione said breezily, walking by him. She went down the small marble steps, casting a dirty look at the serpent fountain as she headed toward the orchard.

She could hear Draco following behind her silently and rolled her eyes at his absurdity. Hermione shifted the basket under her arm so that it rested against her hip bone. She neared the first row of the apple orchard. There were red, yellow and green apples all around her, permeating a sweet candy-like fragrance . Hermione went from tree to tree picking them and gently depositing them into her basket. A yellow apple she held slipped from her hands and upon contact with the ground, it split in two and Hermione watched as something brown oozed from its center.

"Is that...chocolate?" Hermione uttered in disbelief, crouching down for a better look.

"Of course." Draco snorted as he strolled over to her and studied the fallen apple. "They're Dulcis apples. A creation of my mother's."

"Are they all like this?" Hermione asked, side-stepping the mess as she continued placing one apple after another in her basket. "Do they all contain chocolate?"

Draco shrugged. "Some have chocolate, some caramel while others vanilla filling," he said, looking quite bored. "It all depends on what lucky or unlucky surprise you get hence its name."

"Depending on which is ripe and which is under ripe I'm guessing," Hermione quipped. "They all look ripe to me. How can you even tell?"

"Why don't you take a bite out of that one you're holding? Seems ripe enough."

Hermione looked stunned, her cheeks pink with delight. "Are- are you serious?"

Draco blinked, taken aback by the joy on her face. "Go...ahead?"

Hermione grinned widely before she sank her teeth into the apple, her mouth instantly twisting in disgust as she spat it out. Draco laughed mirthfully at her, crossing his arms in satisifaction as he watched her spit it out and hastily wipe her mouth.

"That is the fowlest thing I've ever tasted!" Hermione shouted. "Malfoy, you tosser! That caramel tastes years old!"

"You're just too guillible," Draco said, rolling his eyes as sauntered over toward her. He reached a hand out toward Hermione and she backed up a step anxiously, prepared to engage in some sort of violence, only to realize his hand moved right by her head where a green apple was hanging. "You judge if it's ripe or not depending on the softness of the apple at it's crown. This one is perfect." He placed it into Hermione's basket. "Choose the ripe ones from now on."

"I never knew you were such a gardener," Hermione said, bewildered as she added two red apples into her basket.

Draco scoffed. "I'd help my mother out in her orchard once in a while so yeah, surprise, surprise that I picked up on a thing or two from her. She's recently made a contract with Honeydukes. The apples should be released to the public not too long from now. I expect they'll be quite a hit. My mother has a talent for turning anything she touches into gold."

"I wonder-

"Less talking, more work."

Hermione chewed the inside of her mouth. "I was just going to say that I was wondering who takes care of the orchards when no one comes here...elves?" Her mouth turned down at the thought.

"And if they are, Granger?" Draco smirked. "Don't tell me you're still into your spew crap? It was all absolute bollocks."

"First of all, it was S.P.E.W. and how exactly was it bollocks?" She retained a calm indifference as she inspected a shiny yellow apple. "You can hardly make fun of someone for being so passionate about a job or hobby they have. At least I couldn't."

Draco couldn't seem to find a way to respond to this, honestly stumped that there was nothing ridiculous about that statement to taunt her with. He frowned softly as he stared at the moist golden-brown earth in front of him.

"Are these enough?" Hermione asked, showing him the full basket of apples.

"...Go take them to the patio. Another basket will be waiting there for you," Draco said curtly.

Hermione didn't say a word, just hefted the basket more sturdily with both arms as she walked back toward the villa's patio. Draco stared after her with a mixture of confusion and hate. Why was she being so compliant? Surely, she didn't think he'd go easy on her just because she was being a little obedient. He snorted as he snatched a perfectly ripe green apple hanging beside him. With a quick Scourgify, he bit into the apple soundly, tasting dark chocolate. Hermione appeared a few minutes later with another large basket balanced against her hip and arm around it. She had moved onto the second row of apples, inspecting each of them as carefully as she could.

Draco silently walked beside her each time she finished one small section, the row of the small trees dividing them as he silently ate his apple. Through small spaces in between the trees, pieces of Hermione were revealed to him; the flesh of her hand, sometimes a piece her shoulder or an eye. For an instant, their eyes met through the leaves. Hermione's tawny orbs widened briefly before quickly averting them, stopping in front of a certain tree. She placed the basket on the ground as she placed several red apples in it.

"You know it's not like I can run off somewhere. I get that, you know? This island could be anywhere. It's not as if I can just jump the next cruise ship that sails by here," Hermione said conversationally, meticulously inspecting a green apple . "Just go back to work already. I'll get the work done just fine by myself."

"As it happens, my business from yesterday has been taken care of for now. At this moment, you are my work."

"Do whatever you want, Malfoy." Hermione sighed. "I really don't care."

"I will, thank you." Draco sounded nauseatingly smug. "Care for an apple?"

"No, thanks I've had enough bitter apples for one day. I'll just have to try one myself the next time I visit Honeydukes. A sweet one this time." Hermione smiled, the breeze softly blowing her curls against her cheeks. "The best things are worth waiting for so I'll be looking forward to it."

Draco laughed. "The next time?" he taunted. "Pet, there isn't going to be a next time. Not while I'm here, anyway." He matched her strides easily. "And how do I know you won't try to filch one of my mother's apples when I'm not looking, anyway?"

"I'm not a thief," Hermione scoffed.

"No, no not a thief at all," Draco said mockingly. "Just a seductress. A harlot. A whore." Despite Hermione ignoring him, Draco saw her visibly bristle at each insult. Draco stared at the half remainder of his apple, popping the solid core of dark chocolate into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Looking at it, an apple brings you back to the beginning when there were only two people existing in the world."

"Adam and Eve," Hermione murmured.

"Yes, such paradise they lived in until like all good things, they must come to an end. It seems that since the beginning of time, women have been quite the persuasive, manipulative creatures."

"What?"

"You know how the story goes, Granger," Draco said flatly, stopping just a couple feet behind her when she paused to stand at yet another tree for picking. "The Devil in the guise of a snake approached Adam and Eve, telling them to defy God and go right on ahead and taste the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Who convinced Adam to take a bite from the apple of the tree? None other than Eve herself."

Hermione sighed tiredly. "You can't define every woman as manipulative, Malfoy. Take a tall oak tree filled with apples for instance. All the ones closest to the ground might be rotten but then you'd find that all the sweetest ones are the ones that go beyond your reach." She stared at one red apple, the surface so smooth that she could see her own reflection. "It sounds like you've mostly come across rotten apples."

"This isn't about me." Draco turned to face her through the trees, making out small parts of her face staring back at him. "This is about Alaric. He loved you and you let him die." A slight smile twitched on one side of his mouth. "You have a nice way with words. I wonder if maybe this is what Alaric liked about you. Perhaps he mistook you for a sweet apple when really you're just rotten to the core."

"Stop it, Malfoy," Hermione said tartly. "The only rotten one here is you. Merlin's beard, you were hard to stand at Hogwarts and now you're just downright unbearable. You just won't listen to reason." She stared at him reproachfully through the open spaces between the tree's leaves.

Draco matched her gaze. "...Your look is so direct. Why is that?"

"In old tales, it's believed that when you find yourself face to face against a person or beast, you are to look them right in the eye and not turn away."

Draco stepped closer to the tree. "To you I must not be a person at all, more like a beast if anything. And what happens if they look away?"

"It means they have something to fear or hide."

Draco matched her gaze, not blinking once. "Delicate matters like this cannot be solved with a staring match, Granger," he said wryly. "If they were, Ministry cases would be much easier. My own father could have prevented himself from being sent to Azkaban during my fourth year if that was the case."

"Then you're gonna have to learn to trust me," Hermione pleaded, her eyes remaining firmly locked on his.

"Not likely..." Draco said silkily, bringing his face even closer to hers until their noses were almost touching through the trees. "We're going now. I'll have you clean my kitchen next."

That signaled the end of the conversation. Draco turned on his heel to head back to the villa, hands shoved deep inside his pockets.

"May I know what you plan on doing with so many apples?" Hermione asked sourly, following after him.

"That is none of your business. And watch it! You're dropping some!"

Hermione glanced behind her to see that she had indeed dropped a few apples. A few had split open, leaving puddles of chocolate in their wake but one remained unharmed.

"Forget them," Draco said, walking briskly, finding her presence too stifling to stand any longer. "Hurry up, mudblood!"

A dirty glare was shot his way as Hermione walked a bit faster as she balanced the basket in her arms. They both walked in silence back to the villa, Hermione making sure to walk at least three steps behind him, always cautious and guarding herself against this man.


It was a rare day off from the Ministry and Harry was not gonna waste a perfectly free day without seeing Ginny. He slipped on a dark blue blazer and turned to the mirror for a brief perusal of his appearance. As always, he could not ignore his very obvious scar on his forehead. Harry self-consiously reached out to touch it, fingering his short bangs. He knew he shouldn't have let Ginny talk him into cutting his hair. Harry pulled his drawer open to grab his wand when a knock sounded at his door.

"Come in," Harry said.

Ron entered wearing a bedhead and sweat pants. He rubbed his eyes before lifting an eyebrow at his appearance. "You going out?" he mumbled groggily.

"Yeah, I made reservations with Ginny somewhere nice." Harry frowned softly. "Did you...wake up just now?"

"Yeah," Ron said non-chalantly as he took a seat on the edge of Harry's bed.

Harry's eyes bulged out slightly. "It's three in the afternoon."

"So I noticed," Ron murmured. "And how could you be going out like normal as if nothing happened with Hermione, anyway?" he asked, disgruntled.

Harry's eyes softened at the mention of Hermione. "We've done all that we can. All we can do is wait until the next full moon. The last two weeks, I haven't been able to spend any time with Ginny at all." He gave Ron a half-smile and a shrug. "I don't exactly wanna get dumped, do I?"

Ron snorted. "As if she'd dump you."

"Well, it's certainly not gonna be the other way around," Harry murmured, reaching up to touch his scar again.

"Your scar hurting you?"

"Huh?" Harry quickly dropped his hand down to his side the second he was caught. "Oh, no. It's nothing." He walked over to Ron until he stood just a few feet from him and laid a calming hand on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine. Hermione will return to us."

Ron frowned deeply at the ground and shook his head in confusion. "How do you do it, Harry? How do you live like this everyday, thinking that everything is gonna turn out right as rain?"

Harry rose an eyebrow. "I don't," he said simply. "I just hope for the best. And you should too. Hermione wouldn't want you to lose sleep over this. Step out of the house for a while. Take a long walk and clear your head. It might help."

"...I just can't stop thinking about her." Ron leaned forward and held his head in his hands. "The last conversation I had with her was of me breaking up with her."

Harry stared at his wand and toyed with it in between his fingers. "And do you regret it- breaking up with her, I mean?"

Ron sighed. "I don't know, exactly. I mean, I was getting so frustrated at never getting to see Hermione- thinking that her work mattered more than I did and then Ginny tells me the whole reason Hermione was taking on so many jobs was to help her sick mum pay off some debts from a loan shark." He ran a hand through his hair and growled. "I'm such an arse!"

"I'm sorry for not telling you. Ginny and I found out purely by accident one day and Hermione made us promise we wouldn't tell you. Molly knew of course because she was the one providing Hermione with those special packets of herbs for her mother."

"But how could she not tell me?" Ron asked incredulously, standing up sharply. "I was her boyfriend, wasn't I?"

Harry narrowed his eyes slightly. "And that's the precise reason she didn't tell you. She didn't want the most important person in her world to worry about her. And believe me, I tried to help her pay off her debts so many times but she's stubborn. A lot like you in that department." He shoved his hands into his pocket as he leaned against his dresser. "So don't think about how long it will take to bring Hermione back, think about where you want your relationship to be at once we bring her back."

There was a long pause of silence and Ron sighed once again. "A girl like Hermione would want to focus on her career and that's what I should give her...but maybe we really aren't right for each other. We're too different. We're not the same people we were six years ago. At one point, I thought, this is the girl I wanna marry- this is the girl I will never share with anyone else. But now the few times out of each month we're together, it feels like I'm not even trying to hold up much of a conversation anymore and I find myself wishing I could be doing my own thing while she does hers."

Harry nodded. "You did the right thing. It was better to end things rather stringing her along."

Ron arched an eyebrow. "Why are you so OK with this? Ginny wanted to strangle me when she found out I broke up with Hermione."

"Yeah, Ginny would have killed you but I..." Harry stepped closer to Ron and gave him a leveled look. "I wouldn't have been able to forgive you if I found out you were making her believe that you loved her when you obviously didn't."

"I do- I do love her," Ron said quickly, balling his hands into fists at his side as he glared at the floor.

"That I have no doubts about but we both know you couldn't love her the way she wanted you to," Harry retorted. He patted Ron's shoulder before turning around to rifle through his drawer. "Look, I'm not trying to piss you off but I can't sugarcoat everything for you. Figure out what it is you really want, mate. You say you ended things with Hermione but by the looks of it, neither of you have gotten any closure from it so it seems...it's still not over." He lifted a white silk box from his drawer and lifted it so Ron could see it.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Why, Harry, this is all too sudden."

Harry chuckled and smirked. "It's for your sister...I'm asking her to marry me."

"And you're telling me...why? I'm not her keeper, you know," Ron said, crossing his arms and snorting.

"I know. But you're her brother and my best mate. The only ones who know are you and Hermione now...and I have a sneaking suspicious that Luna does too. She keeps giving me these coy looks every time we're in the same room as Ginny." Harry grinned. "Nothing gets by her, I suppose but I'd rather it be a surprise for Ginny."

"When are you asking her?"

"Well, the plan was originally to propose to her the night of her birthday but with everything that's happening with Hermione, it should wait until we get her back besides I know she'd murder me if I proposed when she wasn't here to witness it." Harrry laughed lightly, running s hand through his shaggy hair. "But before that of course, I have to ask her parents for permission."

"Permission?" Ron asked incredulously. "Harry, my mum already considers you apart of the family. I think she'd find it odd if you didn't propose to Ginny at some point."

Harry shrugged with a half-smiled. "Call me old-fashioned but that's the way I think things should go," he said.

"Yes, quite the noble gentleman you are," Ron said sarcastically but he couldn't help but smile. "I wish you both the best. Hey, can I see the ring for a sec?"

"Sure."

Ron opened the box to reveal a flawless round canary diamond encircled with smaller canary diamonds. The thin gold band had tiny regular diamond sidestones lined up all around it.

"Hermione helped me pick it out. Honestly, we must have gone through six different shops before I knew this was the perfect one for Ginny."

"It's nice. I'm sure she'll like it." Ron closed the box and handed it back to Harry. "Heh...I would have given anything to see how ruffled you got your feathers over buying my sister an engagement ring."

Harry groaned as he turned to put the ring back in his drawer. "I was a total wreck. Hermione enjoyed teasing me just as well as you would have."

Ron glanced at Harry's alarm clock by the side of his bed. "You should probably get going."

Harry's eyes bugged out at the time. "Shit, this is the third time I'm late for a date." He scooped his wand and held it at the ready. "Anything you want me to bring home?"

"I liked those chinese noodles you brought last time."

"Alright, done. Anything else?"

Ron snorted. "Yeah, quit being Ginny's little whipped boy already."

Harry made a face. "Shut it, you wanker."

With that, he had Disapparated, leaving Ron alone in his room. Just as Ron was about to leave the room, his eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the picture of him, Harry and Hermione sitting in a picture frame at the center of Harry's bureau. Why couldn't things just go back to the way they once were? When things were simpler and they hadn't complicated anything by dating? Or by Hermione working so much. Yes, he was a selfish bastard but he was a selfish bastard that wanted Hermione back home.


Draco sat down at the dinner table. "Well...? I'm waiting."

"Just wait a second!"

Hermione came dashing through the kitchen holding two scalding plates on each hand, looking fairly disgruntled with her hair was a mess and flour caked on her face and apron. She set the plates down in front of him with a clank, walking off to go get the rest. Soon the whole table was covered with the food Hermione had prepared for Draco. He stared from it to Hermione.

"What's wrong?" Hermione sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Other than the fact that it was cooked by a mudblood?"

"Finally, you say it outloud." Draco smirked. "That's good. Denying it never did any good for anyone." He glanced down at his food again. "I suppose it will have to do." He stuck a fork into a scallop and proceeded to eat quietly.

Hermione turned around to leave when Draco's voice halted her.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Hermione glanced over her shoulder at him and gave him an odd look. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to wash the dishes."

"Did I say you could leave? I want you to stand right here." Draco pointed to a spot two feet away from him with his fork. "Stay right there until I finish eating."

Hermione swallowed down a remark, counting to three slowly inside her head before doing as he said. During the whole time she stood there, she never once looked at him.

"Granger?"

"What now?"

"Feed me."

"What?" Hermione turned to him wide-eyed. She placed her hand on her hip and stared him down warily. "Really? What are you, a toddler? I'm sure someone as great as you can manage to feed themselves well enough."

"My hand's cramping up," Draco said off-handedly, leaning back in his chair with both arms crossed behind his head.

"Then use the other one," Hermione said dryly.

"What am I, an acrobat?" Draco snorted. "Hop to it, Granger."

Hermione snatched the spoon from him, and roughly shoved an abundant amount of rice into his mouth.

"Watch it! Are you trying to choke me, woman?" Draco shouted, spewing some of the rice out.

Hermione looked at him innocently. "If I did and you died, it wouldn't be the most terrible thing in the world."

"Feed me correctly or..." Draco smirked suddenly. "I'll just have you feed me mouth-to-mouth? How do ya like that?"

Hermione's face flushed with anger. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?"

"Well, how's this, Malfoy? I kill you and make it look like an accident," Hermione said in a saccharine voice.

"Ah, the murderess strikes again? Oh, when will it end?" He rolled his eyes. "First of all, I'd never give you an advantage to kill me."

"And second?"

"You'll only be proving me right about what you've done to Alaric. I have no wish to continue discussing that matter now feed me correctly or I'll tie you to the pier!"

Just as a pissed Hermione was raising another spoonful of rice, Draco stopped her with his hand on her wrist.

"Kneel down beside me."

"No."

Draco's eyes flashed angrily. "Granger," he said warningly.

"I told you, I refuse to let you degrade me. There's only so far you can push me. I warn you now, when you push me far enough over the edge, guess what?" Hermione slapped her hand on the table and leaned close to him. "I'll push back just as hard."

Draco stared back at her with a blank expression. "You mean like this?" He grabbed her shoulder and shoved her hard enough to hit the wall, making her drop the spoon and rice scattered all over the floor. Hermione eyes widened in shock before a look of anger quickly replaced it. Draco threw down his napkin and stood up sharply. "You're terrible dining conversation, Granger. Eat my leftovers, throw them away. I really don't care. I'm going to take a nap. Try anything funny and-

"You're starting to sound like a broken record, I get it. Just go already," Hermione said through grit teeth.

Draco shouldered past her roughly as he gave her one last dark look. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief once he disappeared behind the swinging doors. She stared down at the food left behind. Draco had still left a lot of food despite how much he had eaten. She took his seat and cut herself a piece of fried fish, popping it into the mouth. The taste had her tongue buzzing and her mood perked up a bit. She would gladly finish as much as she could. Who knew when Draco would suddenly decide to stop feeding her. Hermione consumed the entire fish, shoving forkful after forkful into her mouth. It was such a relief to just sit and eat in blissful silence. Be grateful for the simple things in life indeed as her mother always said.

After she finished, she put the food away in containers and diligently washed the dishes, humming a song she couldn't quite remember the words to. Hermione stood undecidedly outside the doors, her hand poised just over the wood. After a long moment of indecision, she stepped through them and into the lavish living room. Draco was sprawled across the couch with an open book on his chest. Hermione looked at the cover: The Legend of all Legends by...Her eyes widened and they quickly started tearing up at the name she read. It was by Alaric Ashwood. The cover demonstrated a stone wall with a hidden face among the rocks. There were thorny vines growing on it, partly hiding the face from view. A pair of jeweled swords lay against either side of the wall. As if sensing her prescence, Draco shot straight up and glared at her as he snapped his book shut.

"Alaric really wrote that? What's it about?" Hermione asked, anxious to know.

"Why would I tell you?"

"He was my friend, of course I'd be interested. Please tell me," Hermione said, looking down at him earnestly.

Draco arched an eyebrow at her. "What do I look like, a storyteller?"

"Give me something. Anything. I knew he was a painter and a photographer but I had no idea he was also a writer."

"No, of course you wouldn't," Draco scoffed, walking across the room to put the book back on the shelf. "It was a complete failure in the Wizarding World. Only about two hundred were out in print. But surprisingly, it did much better when he published it in your muggle world. Muggles went crazy over it," he said, trailing his finger along the spine of the book. He went back to lie down on the couch, his long legs crossed at the ankle. "Muggles certainly do love their fantasy, don't they?"

Hermione stayed quiet, praying against hope that he would tell her more about Alaric and his book. "Was it just that one that he published?"

"Yes. Although, I found an unfinished manuscript in his closet. Brilliant. Couldn't expect anything less from my brother."

"Please tell me a little about his book," Hermione said, hating how she was practically begging him to tell her.

"I didn't expect you to care so much about something so mundane. Or maybe you're just a better actress than I thought." Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "It's none of your business, Granger. You severed all ties with Alaric the moment you left him. You've killed him. He was my brother and a part of me. It was like you killed me right along with him."

Hermione shook her head. "I didn't, I didn't," she said brokenly.

"Merlin, how you make me wish I could just drink myself into a stupor." Draco stood up sharply with a smile. "You know what? I think I'll do just that. Go bring me a bottle of Sherry and a glass. Now, Granger," he stressed when she didn't do it immediately.

Hermione sighed as she walked away slowly. A minute later, she entered the room with the wine and glass in each hand and presented them both to him.

Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "Well...? Pour it for me."

Hermione bit the inside of her cheek as she poured the blood red liquid into the glass and held it out for him. He took it from her, his fingers briefly brushing against hers. Hermione watched with horror as he downed the whole glass in one gulp and offered the glass for her to pour him more. She poured him more and once again offered it to him, never once slowing down on swallowing.

Draco chuckled. "Do you know that with every pleasure there comes a sweet pain?" He took a long drag of his wine. "I wonder where I could find the sweetest pain of all." Hermione bit her lip as she watched him but remained all too quiet and uncomfortable. "Do you know where I could find it? It evades me so well."

"Malfoy," Hermione started carefully. "Maybe you should slow down on the drinking."

"Nonsense, I'm just getting started. Help yourself if you want. I think I can stomach a conversation with you and maybe tell you about Alaric's story if I'm hammered."

Hermione shook her head. "I do want to hear about his book but I think at least one of us should stay sober."

Draco snorted. "Same old boring Granger. Well, then, have it your way." He extended his glass out to her yet again. "Just keep my mind off Alaric for a while. Do you think you can manage that at least?"

Hermione wondered if she looked as uncomfortable as she felt. "...What do you want to talk about?"

"Tell me about your family."

Hermione gave him a withering look. "We've already established they're muggles. Get over it."

"No, I mean tell me about them, Granger. I'd genuinely like to know more about the sloven environment you were raised in." Draco arched one delicate eyebrow as he briefly studied her unkept appearance. "I wanna know exactly what makes you you."

"Alright, just because I didn't live in a mansion with hundreds of servants at my disposal does not mean my environment was by any means sloven as you arrogantly put," Hermione huffed. "I lived in a two storee house with my parents in a charming neighborhood. They're dentists." At the blank look she received from, she patiently explained, "They're paid to professionally look after people's teeth. They made a fair living from it. Before I started Hogwarts, I went to a local muggle school."

Draco closed his eyes as he listened to her, a smirk making its way onto his lips. "I bet those filthy muggle children tortured you about your buck teeth."

"Relentlessly," Hermione agreed, heaving a small sigh. "Children are brutal but honest." She shrugged. "I knew I was no beauty. I didn't pretend I was."

"So no money, no social status or good looks. What did you have then, Granger?"

Hermione smiled knowingly. "Trust me, I had everything I needed."

"What about want? Was there ever anything you desired like that sweet pain I spoke of earlier?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "OK, first of all, I'm not a masochist like you and second, of course there were things I wanted. Everybody wants something."

"What did you want? Come on, I won't laugh." Draco chuckled. "Alright, I'll try not to. Doesn't mean I'll succeed but by all means go ahead."

Hermione frowned at the floor before her. "Well, I..." She shifted from foot to foot uncertainly.

"Come over here, Granger. Sit in front of me. I'm hardly going to bite you."

After a moment of hesitation, Hermione kneeled down in front of him with her hands clasped in her lap.

"Continue," Draco said, slurring his words a bit. "The silence is more deafening than any noise imaginable."

"Wouldn't you rather have me sweep and mop up the kitchen and the rest of the house?" Hermione asked, trying to reason with him. Draco really wasn't himself when he was drunk.

"You already did that earlier. And what makes you think I'd let you off so easy? You told me you're used to chores so I'll just have you sit there for a bit and tell me things that will keep my mind off of everything even if it winds up putting me to sleep in the process. Actually, that might make it a little better." Draco leaned further back into the sofa with a sly smile. "Don't worry, I'll come up with even harder things for you tomorrow."

Hermione gave him a flat look. "Thanks for the heads up," she deadpanned. She glanced around the room as if the answer would present itself to her and finally heaved a long heavy sigh. "Well, I wanted to have more friends that were girls."

"What?" Draco looked at her strangely.

Hermione shrugged. "I mostly hung out with Harry and Ron. I was close with Ginny but she was a year younger than me so of course I didn't have her for classes. And Luna and I didn't start hanging out until fifth year."

"What else?"

"For you to bugger off." Hermione couldn't help but grin cheekily.

Draco looked kind of irritated for a moment, but started chuckling much to Hermione's surprise. "Go on."

"I wanted to become a doctor. I don't know if your file on me said anything about that," Hermione said snidely.

"No, it didn't. Is there a specific reason why you wanted to be a healer?"

Hermione looked away from him and stared at the pristine white wall. "My mom. She's terminally ill."

Draco didn't open his eyes. "That's life. Everyone's damned anyway."

"How cheerful," Hermione said dryly. She glanced anxiously at the kitchen door. "Can I please just go clean up?"

"No, you mudblood. I want you right where I can see you."

"We see far too much of each other as it is, Malfoy. You realize you've taken so many things of importance to me, right?"

Draco stared lazily at her. "Not everything." He slowly looked her up and down with a bored expression. "...Tell me about your first time."

Hermione blushed. "That's really none of your business, Malfoy."

"Never mind." Draco scrunched up his face in disgust and shook his head. "The one who deflowered you was more than likely Weasley, right? I don't need that mental image. Honestly, even you can do better than that."

"Shut your mouth!" Hermione rose to her feet, fists clenched tightly at her sides. "Don't you speak that way of Ron. He's twice the man you'll ever be. And just for the record, I think any girl can do better than you."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "You're actually comparing the Weasel to me?"

"There's nothing to compare. Ron is the most caring, most selfless person I've ever met. Two qualities you could never possess."

"Oh, please," Draco scoffed, sitting up sharply. "Granger, I've never tried to be either of those things. I'm going to tell you a little secret about men." He smirked at her. "It's the nice ones you really have to watch out for. You let your guard down around them, let yourself believe they're a hero and paint a pretty picture of roses with you both in it and they take advantage of that. Don't give me that look, everyone cheats at least once in their lives and Weasley is no different. He'll get tired of you and move onto the next pair of legs that walk by."

"Shut up!"

Hermione was about to walk out of the room when she felt a strong pull on her body, making her turn around and face Draco. She watched in horror as a smirk spread across his face, his wand raised in her direction. Her own body betrayed her and forcefully made her walk back to Draco.

"I have not dismissed you. You need to hear everything."

Hermione clenched her teeth together as she stared down at him. "I hate you."

"Good. Because you have no idea how much I hate you."

"I'm beginning to understand," Hermione murmured. "Just so you know, I've never doubted Ron once."

"And that's where you made your first mistake. It's either you wouldn't put out for him, you were lousy in the sack or he will simply just get bored of you over time."

"Just because Ron isn't programed the way you are that does not make him a man whore! He's a good man! He's- he's"

Draco rolled his eyes and waved his hand in dismissal. "Yes, yes. The wind beneath your wings and so on and so forth as so many so-called love songs go. I don't care. I can tell your future just by looking at you." He looked her up and down. "You're going to die a lonely, bitter old hag with no one to love you. Who could love someone as filthy, as easy, as plain as you?"

Hermione felt tears of anger well up in her eyes. Felt her blood boil just beneath the surface. Without thinking, she grabbed the wine glass from him and tossed the wine in his face. Draco's eyebrows shot up in alarm before anger registered and he leaped straight to his feet. He took a deadly step toward her, wobbling slightly before his eyes closed and he fell forward without warning. Hermione shrieked as his much larger body brought hers' down along with him. It knocked the wind out of her so hard she was fighting for breath. She flinched when she felt Draco's breath against her neck. He was fast asleep. Hermione tried to wiggle out from under him but all she could manage was lifting her head up.

"Malfoy, wake up," Hermione hissed.

There was no response from Draco other than a deep sigh in his sleep. Hermione growled in irritation. This would have been the perfect time to steal Draco's wand- whether it scorched her or not thanks to his anti-theft spell- it was a chance at the least. After several minutes of struggling to get out from under him, Hermione gave up and dropped her head back against the hardwood floor. She stared at the ceiling that had a skylight- a faceted crystal globe. The sun light made Draco's hair shine, the red droplets of wine that clung to his strands of hair eerily resembling blood. Hermione looked away uneasily.

'Seriously, you have to be born with that kind of hair. Honestly, that's probably Draco's only redeeming quality...and then again it's not even a quality, it's a feature!'

She sighed heavily. She froze when she suddenly thought of someone. Goyle. Hermione wondered if he was currently nearby. She took a huge breath before she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Goyle! Goyle! Get in here! Your master is incapacitated! On, me no less! Goyle!" She was greeted back with silence. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Come over here, Goyle! Goyle! Goyle!' Hermione felt very close to screaming.

When she tried to move around under Draco again, his hands planted themselves firmly by her head. Hermione froze, staring at his face fearfully. His face was turned in her direction but his eyes remained closed.

"Stay still...Alaric. You can't go off again and leave me like this," Draco whispered.

Hermione stared at Draco with a mix of pity and frustration. Did he think he was the only one who missed Alaric? Hermione moved her head forward so that her chin was now on his shoulder and managed to wiggle her fingers out from under him, her fingers brushing his upper back in a slight embrace. It made no difference. Right now he thought he was hugging his brother. His face right now was serene without any cruel intent to be found. He looked about as vulnerable as a little boy. It made Hermione think that maybe Draco hadn't entirely lost his humanity yet if he was still able to make such a face.

"Granger? I could hear you shouting all the way across the stream." Greg said, wiping his hands on his trousers as he entered the living room. He looked aghast and jumped back when he saw Hermione lying on the floor with Draco on top of her. "...Am I interrupting something?"

Hermione glared at him, wiggling her shoulders. "Get him off. He's incredibly drunk right now and fyi, he weights a ton if you catch my drift."

Greg raced over to her side and easily turned Draco over so that he was now lying beside Hermione.

"How did he get covered in Sherry?" Greg asked incredulously.

Hermione bit her lip indecisively and turned away. "...I was cleaning the kitchen. I walked in on him like this. As he stumbled over to me, he lost his balance and fell on me. Then just knocked out."

Greg furrowed his eyebrows as he reached past Hermione for a throw pillow, raised Draco's head and placed the pillow beneath it. Hermione's eyes softened at the tenderness of it all. So even a former thug like Greg had some compassion in him. He turned to Hermione somberly.

"Know how to fix up a hang-over potion?"

"Why don't we just toss him into the stream? That oughtta sober him up," Hermione said, rising to her feet.

Greg whipped out his wand and faced her with a feral look. "Do as I say if you don't want me to burn off all that bushy hair."

Hermione stared him down for a moment before looking over at Draco's sleeping form. She walked out of the room and started into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she appeared with a mug in hand.

"What is that?" Greg asked suspiciously. "Doesn't smell anything like a hang-over potion. So help me, Granger if you're trying to poison him."

"Relax. It's just coffee. I refuse to make him a potion. This is my own little revenge for how he's treated me. THIS is how people in the muggle world get sober."

Just then Draco opened his eyes, glancing from Greg to Hermione to the empty glass lying beside him.

"The fuck happened to my wine? Pour me some more, Granger," he demanded.

Hermione gave him a level look and placed her hands on her hips. "I think you've had quite enough, Malfoy."

"I'll fucking tell you when I've had enough," Draco said, getting to his feet.

Hermione was surprised he was even able to keep his balance with all the Sherry he had drank.

Greg placed a hesitant hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm gonna have to agree with her." He grinned. "Honestly, you look like shit, mate."

Draco frowned and glanced down at his soaked shirt and snorted. "Guess I'll take a shower."

He started unbuttoning his shirt and he shrugged it off. Hermione instantly looked away. This did not escape Draco's attention. One side of his mouth lifted up in amusement.

"What's with you? You act like you've never seen a man's body before."

"You reek, Malfoy," Hermione said, meeting his eyes. "Seriously."

Draco half-smirked. "You're not fooling anyone with this little cute virginal act of yours. Come scrub my back, Granger."

"I'd sooner gag. Get Goyle to do it for you."

Greg gave her a strange look but merely watched their exchange silently.

"You should probably have this first," Hermione said, holding out a mug of coffee. "I added a bit of caramel and whipped cream for extra flavor. It's the way I always like it."

Draco glanced from Hermione to the drink. "Poison?"

"Awfully tempted to but no. Drink up, Ferret."

Draco scoffed and drank up without a fuss. He made a face. "Why do I have to put up with this? I want a hang-over potion?"

"She refuses, Draco and you know I suck at potions," Greg said with a sheepish grin.

"Whatever. Granger, come with me," Draco said, drinking some more of the coffee as he walked down the hall.

"I'm not washing your back."

"You're right. You might end up throwing yourself at me shamelessly and try to seduce me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself."

"Just come with me before I drag you. I'm gonna have you clean my room."

Hermione followed him without complaint. Draco entered his room, instantly walking over to his wardrobe to pick out a random pair of trousers and a shirt. She frowned. What exactly did he want her to clean? It looked spick and span. She sat down on the edge of his bed in thought as she glanced around her surroundings.

"What're you doing?"

"Nothing. There's absolutely nothing to clean."

"Oh really? Because right now it's being tainted by your filthy mudblood air."

"Fuck you, Malfoy."

"No, thanks. I don't like my women as easy as you."

Hermione growled. "I hate that you have to cheapen me by talking about me as if I was some common whore."

"Well, you're no high class prositute that's for sure." Draco snorted.

Hermione grabbed a nearby vase and hurled it at his head. Draco stepped out of the way in time and turned around to face Hermione with a lazy arch of his eyebrow.

"You're cleaning that up." He waved his wand around, causing the bed to unmake itself, scattering books all over the floor and opened the window, causing a whole bunch of leaves to spill in. "Along with all of that."

He shut the bathroom door behind, leaving a fuming Hermione in his wake.


After Draco had taken a quick shower, he saw it was getting dark and started dragging Hermione back to the clearing. He pushed her into the restroom that clearing had and tossed some clothes at her so that she could shower as well. The instant Hermione had finished showering, Draco grabbed her arm and started hauling her toward the hut-like house. He pushed herself inside, watching her stumble and fall back against the bed. As Draco turned to leave, he watching her bow her head out of the corner of his eye.

"What no smart comeback?"

"It's been a long day, Malfoy." Hermione sighed. "I'm tired."

Just as Hermione tried to scoot up the bed to go to sleep, Draco lashed out and grabbed her elbow.

"I haven't dismissed you yet," Draco hissed.

"You were already on your way out. What more could you want from me this late, anyway?"

"I want so much more from you, Hermione Granger. I want my brother back."

"I won't argue over that matter with you anymore, Malfoy," Hermione said firmly.

"Because you're finally ready to admit what you've done?"

"I won't argue with you because I'm tired. I don't care what comes tomorrow, right now I just want some sleep."

"Rest assured it will get worse with each day."

"I'll deal with it when the sun rises. I have nine short hours I'm away from you. For now, it's enough."

"Not entirely." Draco leaned into her slightly and Hermione just had to turn her head away in disgust. "I'll invade your dreams and I promise I'll invade them often," he whispered into her ear. He relished in Hermione's discomfort as she jerked away from him. His face returned to a cold indifferent mask before kneeling down to chain her iron anklet to the bed.

Depositing his key back into his pocket, he surprisingly left without a fuss. Hermione was able to sigh with relief once she heard his footsteps disappear, She kneeled down in front of the nightstand and tugged on the drawer for the little box of matches tucked in the corner and palm-sized oil lamp she had found under the bed. She wondered just who had stayed in this room before her. Hermione retreated quickly under the bed, safely hidden under the covers. She lit the lamp and placed it at a safe distance away from her. Catching sight of the belladonna she had hidden under the bed a few days ago, Hermione smiled widely.

She wouldn't miss another opportunity to use it on Draco and Greg. She grabbed the notepad and pen she had stowed away along with the belladonna. Hermione found herself wishing she had a journal instead. It seemed she had so much to say. She had to write in tiny words on each page as if writing a palm-sized letter. Each and every letter was always addressed to Ron.

Dear Ron,
Here's another letter I wish I could send you. There's so many things I wish I could tell like how I wish I hadn't taken our relationship for granted and for you to know much I love you so. With each day that passes, I find myself yearning for you more and more. I miss your blue eyes, the freckles on your nose and most of all, your endearing smile. I feel like a Hogwarts school girl again, writing my feelings for you like this. I would always incinerate everything I ever wrote about you in case my mom, dad or nosy visiting cousins ever got a hold of them. But every word is etched right in my heart. How incredible it felt the first time I realized I was in love with you. In the beginning, I thought loving you was enough but of course it never is. I remember thinking I wanted to show you how much better the being in love is even better than the falling. I love you so much, Ronald Bilius Weasley. I'll love you now and I'll love you always. I'll come back to you soon and when I do, I'll be able to tell you all of these things and I don't care how long it takes but I'll win you back.

Hermione stared down at her letter and smiled. The first few days of logs, she could barely stop crying long enough to finish a letter but she knew that as long as she carried Ron in her mind and heart, that it would be the greatest strength she could survive off of and cling to.


Hermione woke up the next day, full of energy, ready to start the day despite Draco's taunting from the night before. She climbed out of bed and made it with quick precision, shaking out the sheets and delicately fixing them. She fluffed the pillow laid them out at the head of the bed with a smile before going to her glass cabinet and grabbed a navy blue and white striped tank top and wore a light blue capris. As always, she always constantly had to be glancing behind her in case someone walked in without knocking. She hastily got dressed and went to go open the door and saw Goyle poised to knock on it.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're awake already?"

"Good morning, Goyle," Hermione said with a disarming smile. "Just give me a few minutes to wash up."

Greg was so startled he didn't answer back. Hermione finished quickly and started walking toward the outdoor dining room and kitchenette. Draco sat brooding at the picnic bench with his chin resting in his palm.

"Will I be fixing breakfast?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it's not gonna make itself now is it?"

Hermione bit back a retort and walked into the kitchenette. "How about some blueberry pancakes? They're my specialty."

Greg smiled eagerly. "I sure could go for some."

Draco glared at him before directing it at Hermione. "Make a little bit of everything. We're working up quite an appetite."

"Alright then." Hermione moved about the kitchenetter, getting all the ingredients ready. "Will you tell me what your plans are for today?"

"You mean my plans for you? You'll just have to wait and see."

Hermione rolled her eyes and continued to quietly fix up food for them. Honestly, she should just purposely burn their food but then she'd be forced to remake them so there really was no point. A short time later, she placed a stack of pancakes, bacon and buttered toast with jelly.

"Granger, do you really expect me to eat this toast without strawberry jelly?"

"You're like a little boy with your jelly, Malfoy," Hermione said with barely contained amusement. She went back to the cabinet and started moving cans aside until she found the strawberry jelly in the far back. She started scraping strawberry jam onto it. "There. I'll fix myself something quick while you both eat."

"That will waste time. I won't wait for you. Sit down," Draco ordered.

Hermione eyed him warily before sitting down beside Greg. He glanced at her for a milisecond before returning to his rapid consumption.

Draco smirked. "I don't bite, Granger. Well, not if you're not into that kind of thing. You probably are, little sluts like you get off on things like that."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she served herself a pancake and a few strips of bacon. "Must you talk about such vulgar things first thing in the morning?"

"Oh, I'm sorry does that offend your fake ladylike demeanor? She's quite an actress isn't she, Greg?"

Greg who had only been half-listening, nodded quickly before swallowing. "Yeah, yeah. Definitely."

"Malfoy?"

Hermione turned to him in all seriousness.

"What?"

"I love you."

Draco spit out his food and started choking as he guffawed at her.

"Now THAT is acting, Malfoy." Hermione said with a smug look. "Learn to tell the difference. Rest assured that's something you'll never hear from me. I pity the poor girl who loves you."

"Yeah, I feel bad about Astoria," Greg said glumly, momentarily forgetting his food. "You know she still loves you, right Draco?"

Draco glared at Greg. "...I'm aware, yes. What do you expect me to do about it?"

"Well, nothing I guess." Greg scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It's just that I think Blaise is becoming suspicious."

"Suspicious?" Draco snorted. "I'd never touch her. I won't even let myself be alone with her. Don't make it sound like I'm having an affair with her."

"Well, he's told me that he's caught Astoria staring at you one too many times and that he found an old bracelet you once gave her tucked away in one of her drawers."

Draco sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "She's ruining her and Blaise's chance at happiness. I'll just avoid them until they finally get married. Even Astoria has some sense of how to behave once she's married."

"You're gonna ignore them for five months?" Goyle asked dubiously. "Good luck with that. You know Blaise wants you as best man."

"So all I have to do is show up at the wedding. Not a day sooner. Enough talk of her."

Greg cleared his throat nervously. "I guess this means it's a bad time to tell you that Astoria owled you a letter."

"Oh, for Merlin's- " Draco cut himself off as he dragged a hand down his face. "Just toss it, Goyle. This is the last thing I need right now."

"Well, if you want I can read it and if there's any romantic implications, I'll throw it away," Greg offered, tossing another forkful of bacon into his mouth before taking a hearty bite from his toast.

"I don't care. I won't read it either way. Just toss it."

"Alright."

Hermione had kept her eyes down the entire time they had had their conversation about Astoria. She felt so awkward being in the middle of Draco's talk of past loves. She tried to focus on finishing up her food quickly, waiting for the men to finish as well. Greg was an incredibly slow eater. Once he finished, Hermione took his and Draco's plates.

"Seconds?" she asked dryly.

Greg nodded and quirked his head in a way as if saying 'duh' but Draco answered for him. "No. We should get you started on work."

"Whatever you say," Hermione muttered.

"I'll have you chop some firewood today but before we get to the heavy stuff I want you to tend to our garden."

"Excuse me, but it's my sweat and effort going into it. It's the one thing I think I can actually call my own so it's my garden," Hermione said matter-of-factly, placing her hands on her hips as she stood up from the table.

Draco stood up sharply and leaned into her ear. "You forget that what's yours is mine as well," Draco whispered roughly.

Hermione jerked away from him and grabbed the plates from the table to go wash them. As soon as she had put the last dry dish away in the cabinet, she was being hauled off the small staircase by Draco toward the direction of the vegetable garden. As Hermione went about the task at hand, she calculated her next opportunity of escaping. She had never actually used belladonna on anyone before. She wondered how long it would be before it took affect on Draco and Greg. While she had had her back turned on them, she had poured some belladonna into the pancake batter. Hermione tried to focus on watering the vegetables but she just couldn't help but wish the belladonna could kick in soon.

Everytime Hermione began watering a different row of vegetables, she would glance back as subtly as she could at Draco. He was perched in his white ash tree, taking large swigs from his flask. One time, Draco caught her staring at him. She jumped slightly and quickly turned away, trying to focus on her work. Hermione groaned internally when she heard his booted footsteps making their way toward her. Hermione stiffened when he paused just beside her. Her eyes bulged out and a shiver crawled down her spine as something wet fell on her head, drenching her hair and her shoulders. She glanced up sharply in shock only to find Draco staring back aloofly, his flask turned downward.

"You looked like you needed to cool off a bit."

'Don't give him the pleasure of seeing you pissed. Like dad always says, ignore the ones who wish you misfortunate.'

She turned away from him and resumed working, hoping the belladonna would just kick in already.

"Why so quiet, Granger? I know you. You always have something to say," Draco mocked.

Hermione stood up, allowing herself a moment to stretch her legs before moving onto the next row of vegetables. She remained silent as she kept herself busy.

"You know, one of the things I loathe almost as much as lying backstabbing whores, it's to be ignored." Draco kneeled down next to her and jerked her chin up with two fingers. He narrowed his eyes. "I'm taking another stab at why Alaric loved you." He felt Hermione's jaw clench tightly, eyes boring into his. "Just what was it about you?" he asked as if he thought Hermione might know the answer. "What kind of spell did you have him under for him to fall so madly for you?"

"I can assure you the only one I've ever loved and the only one who has ever loved me back is Ron," Hermione said simply. Her eyes were downcast as she said this.

Draco scoffed. "One of many I'm sure. Let me ask you one thing, why Weasley?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

Hermione thought about it for a moment. "...It was inevitable. We were best friends. I've loved him since fourth year, probably."

"But why? That's the part you're not answering."

"We balanced each other out. We brought the best out in each other. Ron may be a slacker and insensitive but he is extremely loyal and kind and brave and so funny. He can make me laugh like no one else." Hermione smiled softly at this as she tucked a curl behind her ear. "He's just...it for me," Hermione said, shrugging.

She couldn't believe she was actually having this sort of conversation with Draco Malfoy of all people. She hoped- prayed he never found out about her break up with Ron. The thought of him was one of the only things keeping her strong about going home. Hermione wouldn't let him take that away from her.

"I'm sure you wouldn't think he's so perfect after what I've read about him."

Hermione briefly looked at him out of the corner of her eye, considering what he said for a moment before dismissing it altogether. "I'm sure."

"You don't believe me?" Draco snorted. "Well, then I'll let you be the judge." He waved his wand and stack of newspapers appeared in front of Hermione. "Take a look."

Hermione stared blankly at the large pile of Witch Weekly issues and The Daily Prophet that lay before her. "Those articles are written by Rita Skeeter."

"Not all of them." Draco randomly pulled one out and read it aloud. "The headline reads Ron Weasley Getting Tired of Hermione Granger? The once thought ideal couple besides Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley might be calling it quits. Ronald Weasley has been reportedly seen no longer wearing his engagement/promise ring. Sources say that he is rethinking his relationship with Hermione Granger in exchange of better company. Seen exiting quite a few gentleman's clubs in the past week, a different woman on his arm each time. A close source-

"Stop," Hermione said, unable to stop her voice from shaking. "Just...stop."

"What's wrong, Granger? Can't handle the truth?"

"I'll never believe those articles. I'll know it's real if I see the truth for myself."

"Speaking of Weasley, I notice you're not wearing your engagement ring either."

"Promise ring," Hermione corrected, though she wasn't sure why she felt the need to. She kept her eyes on the soil in front of her as she watered it thoroughly lest she give herself away somehow about her current relationship or lack thereof with Ron. "...I don't wear it out for fear I'll lose it. Ron does the same."

"So confident," Draco mocked. "So trusting. So...pathetic," he finished with an evil grin.

Hermione whipped around to face him. "You're absolutely vile. I suspect you were never loved and now you feel like you have to take it out on everyone else because of it."

Draco glared at her. "I'd watch it if I were you. Don't try to psychoanalyze me."

"I'm right, aren't I?" Hermione had finished the last row and stood up, facing him passively. "It doesn't matter if I end up leaving this island or not. I will not die without getting under your skin when this is all over."

Draco crossed his arms over his chest as he studied her carefully. "I've already gotten under yours and you won't be able to escape me. Not in this life time or in the next."

Hermione gasped lightly at the rawness and determination in his stone gray orbs. "...I'm done with the garden. What's the next assignment?"

Draco remained silent, watching her dryly. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, Hermione watched as Draco's eyes fell shut and his body hit the ground audibly. A slow smile started at her face as she stepped closer to him, reaching into his pocket but came out with nothing. She leaned over his body and reached into the other pocket. Hermione let out a sigh of relief as her hand came into contact with it, letting out a sharp cry when she felt a scorching pain course through her hand. She flicked a glance at Draco, fearful that all the noise she made would awaken him but no, he was heavily sedated. Probably would be another good half hour or so. Her scorched hand was clutched tightly to her chest, her eyes tearing up slightly from the pain.

Gritting her teeth, she ripped up the hem of her tank top and curled it around her hand tightly. Hermione tried once more to reach into pocket. This time, she still felt a great deal of heat emanating from the wand but it didn't hurt as much. Grasping the wand, she quickly made a break for it. Stumbling along the way, Hermione realized she had no idea where she was going- she just knew the further distance between her and Draco the better. She came across two different paths. The sound of water could be heard on the left one. Hermione chose it and started running through it at a desperate dash. The ground started getting steeper and steeper until the point where she had to nearly climb up on her hands and knees. She safely lifted herself up to solid ground. Her eyes widened at the large bend of dewy grass in front of a large waterfall.

She was literally standing a few feet from the top of the waterfall. Hermione kicked off her sandles as she put one leg firmly into the water as she grabbed hold of the bend. The pull was strong. She walked forward barely two steps before she found herself being pulled away. Hermione yelped, scrambling to grab onto a plant. She tugged on it harshly, nearly pulling it out of its roots. She glanced at a medium sized rock ahead of her and managed to grab hold of it before she could get pulled away again. Hermione climbed up onto of the stone and gave one large leap onto the other side of the bend. Her clothes hung heavily off her, the coolness of the water refreshing compared to the sweltering heat.

Hermione took a moment to wringe the water from her clothes and started walking at a more relaxed pace through the jungle now that she had put a great deal of distance between herself and the former Slytherins. She squinted slightly when she saw a large structure ahead of her. Did Draco own two villas? As she neared it, she saw that she was wrong. It was an old cottage made entirely of white stone that was now in ruins. A thick dark blue wooden fence surrounded it. Hermione undid the rusted latch up the waist-high door and entered the area. She could see a silver bird bath in the center of the courtyard with blue roses skirting the edges of it. Vines had scaled the small house, sporting bright purple flowers from it.

Now that Hermione got a good look at the place, she was pretty sure this must have been some sort of playhouse for a rich wizard child. Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes at the thought of Draco as a child. He was half as slimey then and twice as horrid now. She approached the door and pulled on the handle and just as expected, the door was locked. Still clutching Draco's wand in her hand, she swiftly waved it over the keyhole.

"Alohamora."

The door swung open, revealing flames that instantly shot up from the fireplace. Hermione stepped inside as she studied her surroundings, distractedly kicking the door closed. She held the wand cautiously in front of her in case of any strange surprises. The walls were painted with exquisite landscapes of detailed swords, snakes, skulls and green, blue, black and white dragons wrapped around medieval castles. There were shelves upon shelves of books skirting the edges of the room and on the other, and on both sides of the room there was a large cabinet with jars of candy and Zonko products inside. An eisle and empty parchment rested against it.

A large empty birdcage hung over Hermione head, narrowly missing it as she crossed the sand-colored, velvet-soft carpeted room. One corner of the room had a large golden chest full of what Hermione imagined to be toys beside two small beds. Still dripping and trembling from the cold, Hermione waved Draco's wand at her clothes and murmured 'Scourgify'. She sat a few feet from the fire and raised her knee up to inspect the iron anklet.

"Diffindo."

Hermione frowned when nothing happened.

"Engorgio."

Still nothing.

"Confringo!"

Getting more desperate, Hermione thought of the one spell that had to work when nothing else would. "Finite Incantetem."

Hermione groaned as she slumped forward, allowing herself to lie across the velvety-soft carpet, staring blankly into the crackling flames. She tossed the wand aside considering it was useless to her at the moment. Alright...so maybe she couldn't use the wand on the anklet but what about on other objects? Hermione lifted her wand toward the flame, dimming them until it was just a light simmer among the coal, murmuring an incantation. Through the glowing coals she could make out out the fiery image of Harry and Ron's apartment. Her heart sank when she saw the living room was empty and the light was turned off.

"Harry, Ron," she called out. "I'm here! Come to the fire place!"

She groaned when no face appeared in the coals looking back at her.

"You guys! It's Hermione! I don't have a lot of time! Just- just come here a moment! I need help getting out of here!"

Hermione let out a deep sigh and shot up when she heard the doorknob rattling. No! Draco couldn't have possibly found her just yet but then Hermione briefly thought about the time she spent running through the jungle and going across the waterfall and winding up here. About half an hour had already past. Hermione could only sit still as she watched the door slam open to reveal Draco staring menacingly at her from the doorway.

"What're you doing here?" Draco demanded.

Hermione looked up at him frightfully. "I-I..." She looked anxiously across the room at the wand she had discarded. She made a dive for it. Draco lashed forward and quickly seized her forearms, effectively pinning her to the ground as she rose a shaky hand to inch toward the wand. Draco snatched it up easily as he straddled her and pointed it at her throat.

"You are going to slowly get up and walk in front of me," Draco spat threw grit teeth. "You are going to keep your arms behind you. Then walk to the clearing so that I can decide what I'm going to do with you."

Hermione glared at him, despite the wand pressing into her skin. "No."

"Get up, Granger or so help me."

"You get up!" Hermione jerked her knee up, causing Draco to groan and jerk himself painfully off to one side.

Hermione instantaneously got to her feet and started darting through the trees as if the devil were on her heels. And she had a feeling, that wasn't very far off from the truth. She ducked branches, leaped over logs, never once looking back, hoping the beating of her heart would drown out the footsteps so she wouldn't have to think anymore. She finally had the right opportunity to leave and it just had to be her luck that no one had been home at Harry and Ron's apartment. Hermione shrieked when she narrowly avoided a large spiderwide with a tarantula at it's center. She pounded from tree to tree, stopping when she got to a particularly large one and pressed her back against. She quickly tried to catch her breath as she cautiously looked around the corner to see if Draco was following her.

There appeared to be no sign of him anywhere. Just as Hermione took her first step from the tree, Draco landed in front of her, straightening up quickly and standing practically nose to nose with her. Hermione shrieked as she took a step back and fell over a fallen log. Her head fell back against the ground, causing some leaves to jump up. Draco gave her a menacing look as approached her. Hermione quickly flipped her body around so that she was on her knees and kicked off from the ground, getting ready to sprint forward when Draco's hand lashed out and dragged her back to him.

"Let go of me, you tosser!"

"I don't think so."

Hermione glanced over her shoulder and glared at him as she used her other foot to kick Draco's jaw. He fell back from the shock, giving Hermione the chance to run for it. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, climbing over a huge rock at one point before resuming to hide tree to tree- never allowing herself more than five seconds to stay hidden before running forward once more, the crunching of the rocks and leaves under her bare feet defeaning her ears. She glanced behind her quickly to check for any sign of Draco, and was startled when she heard a noise to her left, skidding to a stop behind a boulder.

A long sigh of relief escaped her as she saw it was just a deer. Hermione pressed her hand to her chest as she allowed herself a bit of time to catch her breath before she had to run again. She had no plan- maybe not even enough time to think of a plan. Hermione cradled her head in her hands in deep thought and frustration. 'Think, Hermione, think.' After a long moment of debating, a lightbulb clicked inside her mind. Of course. It was so obvious. She could go back to the clearing, knock out Greg and steal his wand...that is if she made out of this jungle without Draco finding her first.

She smothered a gasp when she heard some footsteps nearby. Hermione pressed her back much more firmly against the boulder, and slid against it as she slowly walked around the curve of it. She risked a peek and saw Draco running in her direction. She quickly whipped around and hid herself well behind the rock. Glancing around her surroundings in desperation, she saw there was no way to go but up. Best climber was definitely something Hermione wasn't but she managed to find a few footholds and shakily pulled herself up. She let out the tiniest sigh of relief when Draco bolted right past the rock.

Hermione crouched down below a low branch that covered her on all sides with its heavy curtain of leaves. She waited with bated breath as the footsteps approached. That was when she heard Draco's running past the boulder. The witch peered between the leaves to see Draco already nearing out of her sight and allowed herself another small sigh of relief. Wasting no time, Hermione quickly jumped off of the rock and started running through the brush once more. Soon, she came to a familiar trail and a bright smile lit up her face. If she kept going this way, she would soon make it to the waterfall. The faster Hermione ran, the closer the sound of water carried toward her. Hermione screeched to a stop at the bend.

Before she could so much as dip her toe in, a burst of powerful energy surrounded the area in ripples of green. Hermione stumbled back as the energy flowed right into her. She touched the spot on her chest she had felt it enter, taking deep ragged breaths before looking into the stream to find anything out of the ordinary. Her hair albeit was frizzing up like crazy but other than that she looked the same as always. That was when she suddenly felt that energy that had entered her, leave her and embody itself into a ball of green energy in front of her. It swirled around her before bursting toward the sky like fireworks.

Hermione groaned to herself. Of course. The bastard had used the Homenum Revelio tracking spell. It was time she had better get moving. There were no stepping stones so she would have to actually get into the water. Hermione gave a shuddering breath before placing one firm foot in the water, quickly grasping the edge of the bend when she felt it starting to pull her away. Kicking off hard from the bend, she leaped halfway, fighting against the current when she landed. There was the medium-sized rock from earlier, and her fingertips just barely managed to brush against it. She took a step forward and slipped, shrieking when her ankle twisted painfully. She started doing frontstrokes like crazy as the current effortless tugged her backward. Hermione shut her eyes and screamed as she fell off the side of the waterfall.

"Moblicorpus!"

Hermione slowly opened her eyes to find Draco on the other side of the bend she had been trying to reach, pointing his wand at her. He had a fierce glare as he slowly, carefully levitated her back up the waterfall...before uncercemoniously dumping her beside him. He instantly grabbed her wrist in a painful grip so as to force her to look at him.

"You idiot! Why would you walk across the top of the fucking waterfall?! Are you fucking stupid?!"

Hermione glared back at him as she tried to tug her wrist back. "It's better than spending another day with you!"

Giving her a dark look, Draco scooped her up quickly, ignoring her kicking and flaying as he stalked through the trees.

"Let go of me!"

"You shouldn't have tried to run a second time," Draco murmured darkly. "I warned you."

Hermione stilled in his arms at his words, eyes widening in horror. She didn't dare ask what he would do with her. They reached the clearing and Draco unceremoniously dropped Hermione at the base of a tree. She let out a cry when her twisted ankle made impact with the ground. She gaped up at Draco as her hand flew to her ankle.

"I'm hurt, you idiot!"

"No one told you to run away. You have no one to blame but yourself." Draco pointed his wand at Hermione. She froze up, flinching fearfully and snapped her eyes shut. "Incarcerous."

Hermione struggled against the invisible hold that held her unbearably tight against the tree. She glowered at Draco.

"Just how long are you going to leave me like this?" Hermione asked in exasperation, wiggling her shoulders around.

"Day...days...weeks. Depends on what kind of mood I'm in at the end of the day." Draco smirked at her. "I'll keep you hydrated, don't worry, but this time I'll keep you hydrated my way." He pulled out his flask of Fire Whiskey.

"I refuse," Hermione said without hesitation.

"You don't really have much of a choice given your current circumstances. Drink it, mudblood."

"No."

"I said drink it," Draco stressed.

"Never."

"Fine then. You just love doing things the hard way, don't you? I didn't think I'd have to use this again on you so soon."

"...Use what?" Hermione asked suspiciously, not sure if she even wanted to know.

Draco crouched down in front of her. "Imperio."

Hermione looked on in horror as her body suddenly went taut, awaiting whatever order Draco would give her.

"Take a sip of my Fire Whiskey."

Hermione lifted her quivery hands out and took the flask from him, taking the demanded sip forced upon her. She quickly tried to return the flask by pushing it against his chest. Draco revealed a half-smile and curled her hand more tightly around it with his own.

"Good. Now take a large swallow from it."

Hermione fought the urge but in the end she ended up taking a pretty big swallow from the flask.

"Don't make me drink anymore. It's vile," Hermione sputtered.

"Now drink the entire flask," Draco said, completely ignoring her.

Hermione began downing the whole drink in a frenzied manner, before dropping the flask at Draco's feet. She literally choked on the liquid as it burned its way down her throat. Her hands flew to her throat as if to try to lessen the burning sensation.

"Brilliant. Now I won't have to worry about having you run away. I can just get you drunk each day," Draco said decidedly.

Hermione's head lawled forward, smacking her lips together, unable to get rid of that strong alcoholic taste in her mouth.

"I'm going to chop the firewood. I was originally going to have you do that earlier right after you finished watering the vegetables but you're in no state to be chopping firewood, now are you?"

Draco grabbed a log from a pile beside Hermione. He set it on top of a tree stump and swung the ax down, slicing it cleanly in half. Hermione watched him, seeing as how she had no other choice, glaring daggers at his back. If only he'd miss and accidentally chop off his own fingers. Then he'd know that karma was a bitch. Hermione struggled against the invisible binds holding her against the rough bark of the tree but to no avail. She was stuck on this island with two idiot wizards. She reeked of Fire Whiskey and she had a twisted ankle. Things just couldn't get any better if they tried.

"You know, I quite like you like this Granger. You make excellent company when you're not opening that big mouth of yours."

"Imagine how much more delightful it would be for you if you let me go," Hermione said with bittersweet-coated words.

"Oh, trust me, Granger, I've had worse company. As for letting you go, dream on it." Draco glanced up from his work and smiled. Hermione was taken aback by the very abrupt, genuine smile. "Greg! There you are, mate!"

Greg ran up to Draco, holding a long branch with lots of trout speared through it. "I caught a lot. Using a make-shift spear was too much trouble so I just used my bare hands and afterwards just grabbed a random branch to carry them back here.

"Nice job," Draco said, clearly impressed. "You're starting to get the hang of this survival thing." He smirked. "You must have a tough digestive system if you managed to fight off the belladonna this witch tried to knock us out with."

"Belladonna?" Greg stared at him a moment before laughing. "Is that what it was? I thought the aftertaste was kind of odd after I finished eating."

Greg grinned but it waned somewhat when he saw Hermione pinned to the tree. He jerked his chin in her direction.

"Umm...are we going to feed her too?"

"No, don't trouble yourself over her. More for us." Draco glanced over his shoulder at Hermione with a wicked grin before turning back to his work. "My first mistake was letting her get dehydrated. I think she's hydrated enough with all the Fire Whiskey she drank. She doesn't need to eat tonight. That's her punishment for drugging me and running away with my wand."


As soon as Draco had finished chopping firewood, he had set up a small campfire a few yards away from Hermione. Greg was busy gorging himself on trout after trout. Draco was sitting on a log across from Greg, in deep thought with his chin resting against his caged hands. The flames reflected off of his gray orbs, making them appear silver at times. He had been enthralled by the sight of humiliating Hermione Granger. He knew revenge would feel great but now that he was actually getting some satisfaction out of it, he wondered just how creative he could he get with his punishments with her- just how far could he push her before she would finally break. Draco turned to glance up in time to find Greg striding over to Hermione.

He watched as his best mate grabbed the back of Hermione's limp head and forced some more alcohol down her throat. Every once in a while after her gagging and coughing would subside, Draco would order Greg to give her some more. A slow smirk started at the sight of Hermione struggling between fighting off Greg and drinking it, lest she choke from all of her struggling. The longer Draco stared at her, the more familiar the scene was becoming. When Greg finished pouring all of his alcohol down her throat, Hermione bent over to spew it out. Draco's smirk waned as he fixed his gaze on the long curls now curtaining Hermione's face from view.

Draco watched in amusement as his brother puked his guts into the toilet. It was the middle of the night and his younger brother had snuck back into the manor after joining some kids from Durmstrung at a party. Draco could barely fathom how any fourteen-year could party as hard as Alaric apparently had. Then again a few of the kids he had seen arriving at the manor had looked a few years older than Alaric.

"I told you you couldn't handle it. Don't consume more alcohol than you can handle," Draco reminded him, rolling his eyes.

"No need to rub it in," Alaric rasped out as he shakily rose to his feet. He grabbed the glass of water Draco had provided, took a swig and spit it into the sink. "It's not like any of this should surprise you. I am the family screw up, after all."

Draco rose an eyebrow. "You've been listening to my mother again. I've already told you to ignore her. Fuck what anybody thinks. You're fourteen. Your life's goal is to make mistakes over and over again until you can figure out what you want."

"Sounds like you're the one that's been listening to your mother." Alaric pushed past him roughly. "I don't need the same recycled lecture passed down to me."

Draco arched an eyebrow as he followed him back into Alaric's room. Alaric sat at his window nook where dim rays of light shone through dark clouds. It seemed rare that light dared to touch the Malfoy Manor. The light highlighted the slight blue tint in Alaric's dark locks and once again Draco was reminded of just how different they looked. If it had been revealed to the public that Alaric was Draco's brother, no one would have believed it. Although, Lucius had said that there were times when he thought he saw a little something in Alaric's face that reminded him of Draco. He sat on a leather sofa chair near the nook, facing away from Alaric and stared intently into the flames of the fireplace.

"My mother coddles me as our father says. And I guess it's true. Our father on the other hand is another story altogether. Do you really think you're the family screw-up? Honestly, can't you remember all the times father chewed me out for coming in second to that filthy mudblood from school?"

Alaric gave a begrudging slight nod as he stared out the window in deep thought. "...That Granger girl, right?" He turned his head in Draco's direction, a small smile curving his lips. "You talk about her a lot."

"No shit. Gets on my bloody nerves, that she does," Draco grumbled.

Alaric almost grinned. "The way you talk about her so much...people would almost assume you liked her if they didn't know you better."

Draco gave him a dry look. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'd like to meet her someday, given the opportunity," Alaric said thoughtfully, leaning the back of his head against the window and twisted around to drape his legs over the side of the nook.

"What in Merlin's name for?" Draco guffawed at him, turning nearly all the way around in his seat to face him.

"Because you and father seem to hate her so much. And I've learned from experience anyone you guys hate turns out to be a rather nice person."

Draco groaned. "Whatever you do do not let father hear you say that."

Alaric glanced out the window. "I'm gonna get out of here someday, Draco."

"And do what?"

"There's no place for me here. You will inherit the Malfoy estate along with your fortune and marry some beautiful pureblood. Where will that leave me?"

"You're beginning to really annoy me with this talk, you know?" Draco narrowed his eyes at him. "You'll always have a place to call home."

"Draco, what kind of girl do you think you'll end up with?"

Draco blinked. "I don't know. Whoever my parents decide to match me up with I suppose."

"But if you could choose, what kind of girl would you want?"

"I don't know." Draco smirked suddenly. "I guess someone who is obedient, quiet and doesn't bother me."

Alaric gave him a deadpanned expression. "Where's the challenge in that? Don't you want a girl with more spirit...more passion?"

Draco stared at his brother incredulously. "Why are we even having this conversation?"

"Because I hear the way you talk about your girlfriend Patty and it doesn't really sound like you're happy."

"It's Pansy, actually." Draco looked pensive for a moment. "Well...I am happy. Not incandescently so but I'm happy none-the-less. Pansy's pretty fun. Hell, and she practically worships me. If I do end up marrying her someday, it wouldn't be the worst thing ever."

"Alright?" Alaric gaped at him. "And you're fine with that? With just being...alright? As my brother, you have always been the one to tell me why go for ordinary when you can have extraordinary?"

Draco shrugged. "...I'm being marked next year, Alaric. Such a girl...doesn't exist for me."

Alaric crossed the room to join his brother, stopping a few feet from him. "Brother, you don't have to go through with this. Even Narcissa doesn't want you to get the Dark Mark."

"It's already been decided," Draco said snidely. "As a Death Eater, I won't have to worry about who my parents are gonna set me up with because I'll be too busy killing for the Dark Lord anyway."

Draco blinked. He hadn't thought of that conversation in so long. It was one of the last ones he and Alaric had had before Draco started his Death Eater training with his Aunt Bella. It was strange that he hadn't remembered up until now that they had actually had had a conversation about Hermione Granger at one point.

"Something wrong, Draco?"

Draco blinked out of his reverie and shook his head, giving a reassuring quirk of his mouth and shrug of his shoulders. "Just thinking about my mother. I'm sure she's lonely."

"So owl her," Greg said simply, taking a hearty bite out of his fish. "Speaking of which, you got another letter from Astoria."

Draco closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Please don't hesitate from now on, Goyle. You know what to do with it."

"I know but I just feel bad about ignoring her. Astoria's a really nice girl." Greg chuckled. "Makes me wonder how she ever got sorted into Slytherin."

"She told me the Sorting Hat had considered putting her in Ravenclaw but she decided on Slytherin to continue the family tradition." Draco looked pensively into the fire. "Please toss it, Greg. The last thing I need is for Blaise to have suspicions that I have designs on his fiancee."

"Alright, if you really insist."

Greg took the roll of parchment out of his cloak and threw it into the fire without further adieu. Draco silently watched the fire eat away at the parchment, as it blackened and sparks shot up from the flames.

"My mother wants me to start courting again."

Greg looked up from mid-bite and blinked. "Hmm...well, maybe you should. It's been a little more than two years since you last courted a woman. Could be a good distraction for you."

"I want to focus on more important things. No matter what I can't let this business between me, Alaric and Hermione just die."

"It's so strange..." Greg said pensively, setting his plate aside. "We grew up hating the ground Hermione walked on and now we're holding her captive on an island. It all feels..I dunno surreal, I guess."

"She's in her rightful place," Draco said, taking a swig from his flask. "And they say good karma doesn't come to the wicked." He glanced over his shoulder and smirked at Hermione's weak form lawling forward, still magically bound to the tree. "I'd say we've gotten very lucky in this case."

"I'm worried, Draco. What if the Ministry finds out?"

"You forget who you're talking to."

"But what if-

"Not buts." Draco gave Greg a stern look beneath hooded eyes. "Have I ever steered you wrong before?"

"Well, I can't think of any at the moment but I'm sure there was at least one time." Greg rolled his eyes.

Draco chuckled darkly. "You can quit whenever you like. Just remember that I honor my promises."

"I'm not backing out," Greg insisted, holding his hands up in defense. "Believe me, I'm more afraid for you and your mum than my sorry arse."

"I intend to keep my mother out of this. If and only if all of this blows up in my face, only I will take the heat. Even if they find some evidence you worked with me, I'll take care of everything. I haven't been planning my revenge for months for nothing, Greg. I planned everything down to the last detail."

Greg felt a bit more relaxed but was unable to conceal his uneasiness that was clear as day on his face. "But I can't just let you be blamed for everything if something like that were to happen."

"You should only worry about yourself, Greg. That's how one gets ahead. Look what happened to Alaric. He let a woman make him weak." Draco glanced up at the night sky, feeling a sudden change in the climate. "It's going to rain soon. Let's head back to my villa. Aguamenti." Draco pointed his wand at the fire and immediately extinguished it as a fountain of water spit out from the tip.

Greg rested his hands against his thighs as he got up, taking his empty plate with it and collected Draco's. He jerked his head in Hermione's direction.

"Do I untie her?"

"No." Draco smirked. "Let her sit and reflect on her actions for the rest of the night."

They both walked past the tree Hermione was bound to. For a brief instant, Draco's eyes met Hermione's; an unwavering light and determination in them. He scoffed and turned away. When they had gone half way toward the creek that led to his villa, he stopped walking all of a sudden as something occurred to him that he should have realized sooner.

Greg glanced over his shoulder and stared curiously at Draco. "What's wrong?"

"...There's something I have to do. You go on ahead."

Greg arched an eyebrow and looked like he wanted to inquire about it but decided against it. He gave a nod of his head.

"Alright, then."

"I'll be back soon."

"OK."

Greg kept moving on ahead toward the stream. As soon as he was out of sight, Draco started walking back toward the clearing. He glanced up at the nightsky to see heavy dark clouds rolling in and there was a full moon lighting his way. He realized it really would be incredibly stupid to leave her out during a thunderstorm. Lightning could strike near her for all he knew and then his revenge plan would have all gone to waste. He stopped at a tree about three yards away from the one Hermione was tied to. Draco climbed up the tree, effortlessly pulling himself up to sit on a high branch. From up there, he got a good view overlooking the entire clearing. He relaxed comfortably against the tree, arms crossed over his chest just as the first drop of water fell to earth. A light drizzle soon turned into a heavy downpour. Draco had quickly whipped up a barrier to keep himself from getting wet.

From his spot, he got a very good view of Hermione. Not only did he have to make sure she didn't get zapped by lightning, he had to make sure she didn't have anything clever up her sleeve to help her escape his binding. He watched as Hermione sat slumped against the tree, curling her bare feet under her as she shivered miserably in the cold rain. Draco smirked. It's just what she deserved. She was lucky he didn't hit women or else he could have given her a much worse punishment than this. Hermione suddenly tried to lunge forward, a cry of pain and frustration filling the clearing. Draco couldn't see her face since her wet curls matted her cheeks. He could see her mouth move but couldn't catch anything she said at first.

"Ron..." Hermione murmured. "Ron..."

Draco turned all the way around to face her, his long legs dangling over the thick branch as he stared intensely at her struggling form. Hermione had shakily bent her knees and pressed the balls of her feet against the roots of the tree, trying to stand up as far as the charm would allow her to. She tried lunging forward over and over again, her hands braced against the trunk for extra leverage. Lightning flashed across the sky and for an instant, Hermione had revealed a pair of hard eyes beneath her bangs.

"Ron!" she cried out.

Draco scoffed. Just what use was there in calling out to her boyfriend on an island thousands of miles away from civilization. He watched as she continued to fight against the binds.

"I never gave up on you!" she shouted. "So don't give up on me!"

Draco's eyes widened at her words. She seemed so sure that the Weasley would come for her. Impossible, though. He would kill him before he could so much as step one foot on the island. Not just that but this island wasn't trackable by any spell so long as the Occultus Captus anklet remained on Hermione. His eyes narrowed as she struggled with all her might. She would only exhaust and hurt herself if she kept it up. He arched an eyebrow when he saw a snake slither toward Hermione. She stopped struggling when she felt the cold scaly skin against her own. Hermione yelped and tried to scramble away. She had seemed to have come to her senses a moment later and pressed her back hard against the trunk, twisting her neck away slowly and closed her eyes.

That was Draco's cue to jump down from the tree. He quickly scooped up a rock and tossed it at the snake. It hit its head and after a moment or two, it slithered away in the opposite direction. Hermione stared bewildered from the snake to the rock before twisting her head around quickly to try to catch a glimpse of who had thrown it. Draco quickly hid behind the large trunk of a tree. Hermione squinted through the rain and darkness, the only light showing through was a sliver of moon, partly hidden by the clouds.

"Whose out there?" Hermione called out. She drew her knees up, trying to find a more comfortable position. Silence. "Goyle? Malfoy? Please let me go. What if lightning strikes?"

'Then you would have gotten what you deserved,' Draco thought, nodding his head smugly.

When Hermione saw it was a lost cause, she turned away and sighed. "...Thank you for throwing that rock. It's okay if you lie and say it was intended for me. I'm still grateful." She chuckled weakly. "You know, for a second there, I almost thought that Ron had somehow heard my call and had Apparated to me. How foolish of me. How could he possibly have heard me?"

Draco risked it by slowly peeking out from behind the tree to see Hermione's exposed neck and part of her shivering profile.

"I thought I heard his voice," Hermione whispered so low Draco almost didn't catch it. "You could've lied to me and pretended." She laughed lightly. "Now I know the liquor really must be getting to me. Your voices are distinctly different. Ron has a very warm, sweet voice. Goyle sounds like a confused man trying to sound gruff and Malfoy...well, like the cold, artistocrat he is. But there's a lot of...unspoken sadness in his voice at times. The scar in his heart is a deep one- one that I have no business comparing myself with."

Draco stared expressionlessly at the young woman speaking to the rain. His feet began moving forward out of their own accord as she spoke. It reminded him of a similar manner Alaric would speak- the way his brother had been able to read him so well without even trying. He stopped walking just as he reached behind the tree Hermione was at. It was a wide tree trunk- so wide, two people would barely be able to wrap their arms entirely around it. Reluctantly, he sat behind it, arms resting against his drawn up knees. This time he hadn't bothered with a barrier for the rain.

"It's not fair the things that happened to Malfoy. He lost his father and then his younger brother so soon after. I tried telling him about my ill mother and though he didn't scoff at her for being a weak muggle the way I figured he would have, he thinks that everyone is damned anyway. I don't see it that way. He makes it sound like we're all cursed." Hermione sighed. "I can't return what he's lost, but I can be his friend...if he'd let me. I can't imagine someone actually wanting to be alone. They say it's either because you have to be alone or you want to be. Rarely, if ever, is it the latter."

Draco leaned his head against the trunk, closing his eyes as he listened to the rain patter around him.

'First Potter, now Granger. Do I have a a fucking sign on my forehead welcoming a sympathy party? The last person I'd like to seek a friend in is in Hermione Granger. Mudblood. Friend of Harry Potter. War hero. And all around do-gooder. But of course, it turns out she's not so good. And though it excited me at the thought of getting the chance to torment Granger again, some part of me was also kind of...disappointed in her. It sounds strange...I don't even understand it myself. It's like...I lived thinking she was the only exception in a world of wickedness only to find out that she's just like everyone else.'

"No matter how alone I feel on this island...I never stop thinking about Ron. He's what keeps me going...but it's painful knowing that I can't see him. It seems like everything reminds me of Ron and all the memories come rushing back at me. I even dream about him sometimes and there's no escaping it. It just makes me miss him more." Hermione sighed. "You must be wondering why I'm even telling you this. I guess it's just sort of comforting having someone to talk to this about. I just wonder...was it fate that brought me here? Were me, Alaric and Malfoy somehow destined to be thrust together somehow?"

The young Malfoy digested her words. He was never one to believe in fate or destiny. As far as he concerned, he was the one in charge of his path in life and nothing was ever set in stone.

"There's a lot of things in life I had to give up; furthering my education in my muggle world, my career in the Wizarding World, spending time with my friends and family...I don't intend to let go of Ron as well. Malfoy should know that."

'Your determination is admirable...I'll give you that but it won't save you from me. You think of Weasley as some sort of fucking prince who is going to come rescue you. You're living in a fantasy and it's sad that you cling onto such hopes. I've learned since long ago to not hope for anything. You won't find yourself disappointed in the end if you don't allow yourself to hope at all.'

"The rain...it's finally letting up," Hermione murmured.

Draco glanced up and noticed that indeed it had stopped pouring. He got to his feet after a moment and quietly started retreating to the tree he had occupied earlier. He glanced back at Hermione only to find her sound asleep, the only signs of life in her was the subtle rise of her chest and her eyelashes fluttering. Draco quickly Scourgified her and himself lest either of them fall ill. He could hardly afford to let Hermione take another break from work. He climbed back up his tree, swinging himself expertly from branch to branch until he settled back in his spot. He glanced up at the night sky to be greeted by the sight of the clear sky with a moon so large and looming one could almost reach out and touch it.

'I covet the moon while you, Alaric wish for the sun. Remember not to stand too long in your 'sun', it might blind you...'

Draco recalled that conversation as if it were just yesterday. It was the last piece of advice he had given his little brother the night Lucius has beaten him nearly to an inch of his life when he found out Alaric was in love with a half-blood. Narcissa had never once glanced Alaric's way or gave any indication of caring. Draco, while physically shaken and ill, forced himself to lock eyes with Alaric's dull ones as he took every hit Lucius gave him, visibly trying hard to swallow his pain down. Draco leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes. He would have liked to have encountered Alaric at least one more time before he had passed on.

It angered him to no end that Hermione had gotten to spend a entire summer with him. He stared down at Hermione's figure with a hard expression. He had died for her. It wasn't fair that she was still alive while his brother was six feet under. Draco was going to make her life a living hell. He would not be weak like Alaric. He would make Hermione Granger feel the same pain his brother felt ten fold. And he would draw the torture out slowly, agonizingly until he finally did the deed and took Hermione's life just as he had planned.


A/N: I extremely enjoyed writing the apple orchard scene. This is one scene I'd really like to see turned into a fanart- that and the rain scene. All of you please be sure to let me know if someone decides to draw these scenes or any others from my story. :) I'd really like to see my scenes drawn out. The row of apple trees represents the barrier that is literally and figuratively dividing them in case no one got that. Also, it's not supposed to be something alluring or tantalizing but more like they're each no looking "at the whole landscape, only pieces of it"- of each other.