Malfoy ignored Hermione's pleas, storming across the grounds as she trailed behind, hindered by her heeled shoes sinking into soft mud. "Please, Malfoy! You're not a monster. There was nothing you could do". Her dress was soaked once again and it weighed her down. "Malfoy," she bellowed desperately. He spun around so suddenly that she crashed into him. "It is too late, Granger! Too late! I cannot change it. All the time turners in the world couldn't change it. I can't take it back. Ever. I can't-" he trailed off despairingly. Water drops were clinging to his eye lashes and dripping from his chin. His expensive tuxedo was sodden and his face was distraught. Despite it all, Hermione was certain he never looked more human, more alive. "You can't change that, but you can make different choices now! You are not a slave to it anymore! I see the remorse in your eyes, Draco, and I forgive you," she yelled over the thunder.

The pale blonde man who was once her childhood nemisis stared at her, into her and she held his gaze, willing him to accept her forgiveness, willing him to forgive himself, for everything. His lip quivered as he blinked water out of his eyes. He did not, however, utter a single word. "We need to get out of the rain now," Hermione urged. He did not move. "Please". Now he atleast allowed her to steer him. They trailed along the edge of the lake, following it in the direction of the castle entrance. Hermione stole glances at him as they walked but his face was once again impassive. "They'll be wondering where we are," she said. He did not reply. A sudden crack of thunder and a flash made Hermione jump. Storms never startled her, but suddenly her senses tingled and the hairs on her neck stood.

Draco threw Hermione away from him quite unexpectedly. Looking up from the muddy earth where she landed, Hermione strained her eyes through the rain. His wand was slashing through the air and what she had though to be lighting was actually curses emitted from his wand and another. She looked for the source of the other wand and saw, to her horror, Ron in dueling stance, firing rapid hexes at Malfoy. She scrambled to her feet and reached for her wand, but it must have fallen from her pocket when she landed. Instead of wasting precious seconds searching, she used her whole voice to cry out. "Ron! Stop it! You mustn't". Neither of the dueling duo seemed to hear her. A jinx missed Ron by a hair and he sent one in return. Hermione bounded forward, hoping to knock Ron's wand from his hand, but she caught his curse instead. Her body froze but her monumentum sent her sailing into the black lake. Icy water pierced her already chilled skin. Her mouth was open and filled with water, her eyes open and arms outstretched as she plunged. The water was not very deep, but the spell had her immobilized so she could not swim. Unable to speak and without her wand, she would surely drown as they battled, if the giant squid or some other creature didn't reach her first.

Hermione had yet to sink the full eight or nine feet to the bottom when someone plunged into the dark water and gathered under their arm. She was being swept up to the surface and when she emerged, all that could be seen were the smoky gray clouds above. The rain was slowing and pockets of stars were peeking through the nimbostratus. Hermione needed to cough the water from her lungs but she still could not move. She was placed on the bank and a voice choked out a spell. It was not Ron's voice as had expected, but she had no time to think about that. With her frigid body no longer paralyzed, Hermione rolled onto her side and heaved mouthfuls of water. Her eyes watered from the force and she sputtered for a minute before gathering herself. She looked up at Draco, who was on his knees beside her and then at Ron, who was apparently stunned laying face up on the ground. "What the hell, Granger," he growled through clenched teeth. "You could have been killed. Death wish, I swear! You hadn't any idea what spell he was casting but obviously that big brain of yours didn't consider that-". He didn't mean to!" Hermione choked, "I didn't mean to, I just thought he'd hurt you! It's hard telling what he thought seeing us together out here".

Hermione shivered violently. Draco stopped fuming and picked up his wand from the ground. He cast the drying spells over her. She was still cold, but not soaked to the bone. "Now you," her voice still quivered a bit. He ignored her. "I only stunned him," Draco admitted. "I know, I can tell," she said as Ron's chest rose and fell. "Thank you," she added, searching for his eyes, but he kept his gaze averted. Hermione grew impatient with him as he continued to neglect his own sodden clothes. She held out her palm which he looked at quizzically. She reached for his wand and surprisingly he surrendered it. After she performed the drying spell over him, his shudders subsided. "Taking a curse for a former death eater, typical Gryffindor," Draco remarked with a hint of dark humor. "We have to get Ron and get back to the castle," Hermione insisted. "Right, because he will wake up and suddenly not feel the urge to curse me to Hades and back," he said with more sarcasm returning to his voice by my the second. "Er, that's a fair point I suppose," Hermione replied, biting her lip. "You best go ahead. I'll handle Ron". She thought Malfoy looked reluctant, but he obeyed, getting to his feet and heading toward the castle.

"I don't even want your explanation, Hermione. It's Malfoy, there are no excuses for that prick," Ron argued as they reached the castle entrance. "Honestly Ron, I can't believe you're acting this way. He could have let me drown," Hermione said. Yesterday she would have thought he'd pay to see it. "I thought he was going to, stunning me like that when I was distracted by you hitting the water," Ron fumed. Hermione thought steam may erupt from his nose. "He only did to stop the duel so he could help-". "Oy! I'm one of your best friends! He is Draco bloody Malfoy! I would have saved you, since when does he-". "Things have changed Ron! The war is over. Fear made people do terrible things, but to not forgive is also a terrible thing. Let it go, Ron. I don't want to fight anymore," Hermione said with finality. She didn't want to fight anymore. Not with Ron, not with Malfoy, not with anyone. She pushed through the entrance, leaving Ron alone with his anger.

Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was always vacant so Hermione used it to gather herself, attempting to look as though she hadn't gone for a moonlight swim. When the lavatory's ghostly occupant returned, Hermione hastily finished up and turned to leave. In the past, Myrtle did not favor Hermione much, so it caught her off guard when the the ghost spoke. "I'm glad to see Draco found a friend". Hermione turned to look at the girl's transparent face as she continued speaking. "I could tell he wanted to give up. If he had, we might have been together, but the thought made me sad. I didn't want that for him. I hoped he would find a friend, and it looks like he has". Hermione was baffled, finding it odd that the ghost spoke as if she cared for Draco Malfoy. Was it possible he had befriended the spirit of a muggleborn girl? Hermione walked slowly back toward the Great Hall, letting the strangeness of the evening sink in.

Hagrid was shuffling the younger students out, instructing prefects to return first and second years to their dormitory while he escorted third and fourth years to their late night film. Music rang through the room from an amplified victrola. Hermione found Harry and Ginny leaning against a wall, laughing about nothing at all. Ginny stole the Acid Pop out of Harry's mouth and took it for herself, grinning wickedly and daring him to retrieve it. Harry did not dare. In fact, he beamed, looking pleased to give her anything, everything. Hermione smiled and kept walking. She had spent so much time with Harry it almost seemed unfair to Ginny and there was so much more time to come for all of them to share, that for now she would leave them to enjoy each other.

The room was much less crowded now the last of the younger years had left. Luna appeared at Hermione's side with a shining red mouth, holding a half-eaten candied apple. "These are delicious, would you like a bite?" she offered. Hermione declined politely. "It was kind of you to keep Draco Malfoy company, he looks less lonely when next to you," Luna chimed, surveying the dance floor. Hermione had no reply for this. "He shouldn't be outcast by the others. If they looked at him, they would see," Luna continued. "See what?" Hermione asked. "Him," Luna said, rather unhelpful. There was a pause before Luna spoke again. "I wasn't sure if I would get out of the cellar in the manor. Sometimes I would sit on the steps near the door when I couldn't sleep. Mr. Ollivander was great company, but I may not have survived it without Draco".

The surprise this gave her went unnoticed by Luna. She was staring past Hermione. "He would talk to me, through the door sometimes. At first I found it curious that we were unable to sleep on the same nights, but then I realized he rarely slept at all. Strange, how we were locked in a cellar, but Draco was more imprisoned that all of us". Luna was still transfixed on something, Hermione followed her eyes. Draco stood alone again, goblet in hand. "He's sees you. I don't expect you've noticed, because when you look he turns away". "Probably because I'm the only one that's spoke to him tonight," Hermione dismissed. Luna smiled. "I didn't mean tonight. I meant always, he always sees you." Hermione faltered, she had no words, but Luna didn't seem to require any. She drifted away, so light and airy she rivaled the ghosts.

Hermione looked back at Draco, who was suddenly interested in his cuff link. The thought of it was strange. She and Draco Malfoy, it wasn't something she ever imagined, but she never imagined being a witch either. Suddenly, the idea of a bond with Draco Malfoy didn't seem quite so strange at all. Hermione had limited so many things, deeming them impossible or illogical and it was now laughable. She had grown up in a world, hoping, wishing the magic she felt in her veins was real, tangible, that a storybook world actually existed and that she belonged to it, but it had all seemed so impossible. The war was over, things were changing everyday. Perhaps she and Draco couldn't have existed in a world under Voldemort's influence, but what would stop them now? She found that her feet were movng on their own accord. Being called a mudblood by Draco had hurt more than it being carved into her arm by Bellatrix, because she expected more from him, wanted more from him. To know Draco felt remorse, that he was a boy raised to uphold certain appearances and had been too afraid to defy his family, to allow herself to feel it all at last was indescribable. He didn't have to say he was sorry, his eyes spoke more than words could. They had melted and the icy grey turned to a pool of raw feeling, something she at one time thought him incapable of. Hermione shuddered slightly from nerves as she approached him, but she didn't let it stop her.

Draco didn't look up until they were toe to toe. It was that moment Hermione realized she had not thought of what to say. The band had queued up to play their encore. It was a slower tune Hermione recognized. The corner of her mouth hitched up slightly. Draco's eyes pierced her as if he were trying to read her mind, but neither of them spoke. Instead, Hermione extended her hand. His eyes flickered to it, then back up again, perplexed. Taking the initiative a step further, she took his free hand in her own and backed away, pulling him along. "What are you doing, Granger?" He asked in a low voice. "Showing you who is willing to dance with a former death eater," she smiled. "Are you mad?" He hissed, half heartedly trying to extract his hand. "Possibly," Hermione replied, leading them to the center of the floor. People had already began to stare, but it did not phase her. Draco planted his feet and clenched her hand. "Granger," he started, but it appeared he lost his ability to speak once Hermione draped her arms around his neck. The room was buzzing now as nearly everyone had noticed them. "Draco," Hermione whispered, nearly inaudible beneath all the other noise, but it did the trick anyway. His Adam's apple bounced and his eyes lowered, but Draco snaked one arm around her waist and removed one of her hands from his neck to hold. Her breath hitched as he pressed against her. "As you wish".

It became obvious during the first few steps that he was classically trained in ballroom dancing, certainly thanks to his prestigious upbringing. Her mind briefly flickered to a memory of him gracefully sweeping cross the room at the Yule Ball. Hermione had abruptly lost her nerve and decided to focus on the music as she watched the lavender fog swirl around their feet. "In starlit nights I saw you, so cruelly you kissed me, your lips a magic world, your sky all hung with jewels," they sang. Draco led effortlessly. Gathering her lost courage, she glanced up at him. The hovering jack-o-lanterns cast a warm glow, illuminating his face so that it seemed softer than usual. Maybe it was softer than usual. Draco peered into her eyes and she felt both the urge to look away and the inability to. "Congratulations, Granger," he teased, "you've officially captured the attention of every person in here, both living and not". She peeked over his shoulder. Draco was right, even Myrtle's opaque eyes were transfixed on them. Through the ghost's transparency, Hermione could make out Ron who stood rigidly and even through his mask she could tell he was glaring, but Luna was at his side and the effect seemed to sooth him a bit. He hadn't stormed over at least. Automatically, Hermione scanned the room till she found Harry. He and Ginny were dancing near by. The pair exchanged curious glances with one another, but seemed otherwise unfazed.

Draco's finger caught her cheek, making her turn away from the onlookers. "You've made a spectacle of me, Granger, now I at least require your attention in exchange for my pride," he smirked. She mimicked his expression. "Do you regret it?" she asked, feeling the blood creep up beneath her cheeks. Draco lowered his head, "I regret countless things," he trailed his hand over her wrist and up her inner arm, caressing the faded white lines etched into her skin, "but tonight isn't one of them," he uttered softly. His hand continued upward until it was entwined in her charmed, red tresses. "This hair truly is unnerving, Granger. Even compared to your natural locks". Hermione could hear the smirk in his voice. The melody began to fade and their movements stilled. Draco relinquished his hold on her. "I expect we only have a few seconds before you are bombarded and I'm certain Weasel has selected a few more choice jinxes for me," Draco said with an air of humor that only masked the faint sadness laced in his voice, but Hermione knew he was right. "Shall we disappear for a bit? I mean, you know, until the aftershock settles." She suggested tentatively. "Seeing as you've steered this ship all evening, I believe it is my turn to choose a course," he insisted, guiding them to the exit.

Draco had instructed Hermione to wait for him at the top of the Astronomy Tower. They had parted ways and he headed for the Slytherin dungeons. She gazed at the stars that had become visible, letting her mind roam freely over the strange course the evening had took and pondering the reality that was the new bond between Draco and herself. Even if nobody accepted it, even if their friendship lasted only for this one night, if he acts as if it never happened, she was happy it did. "Is it still called daydreaming if it's after dark?" Draco's voice interrupted her thoughts. Hermione straightened up, searching the direction she heard his voice. It sounded as though he had called to her from the Heavens. Draco descended into her line of vision aboard his broomstick, wearing a thick black cloak. "Couldn't you have just walked here through the castle?" She inquired. "Why would I carry my broom all that way when I could fly?" He retorted. "Why even bring your broom at all?" She felt her stomach squirm a bit as if it already knew the answer.

Draco touched down onto the stone balcony. "I nearly caught pneumonia traipsing through the storm with you-" and diving in an icy lake to save me, Hermione thought to herself. "Now you can do this for me," he said, looking up and down his broom. Hermione hated flying, but she found it difficult to refuse Draco. He slipped the expensive looking cloak off his shoulders and wrapping around Hermione. "You'll need this," he assured her. She bit her lip nervously, unsure if it was really the prospect of flying that had her stomach fluttering. "I do have a request," he smirked. "Put your hair back to normal, Granger. I've grown accustom to your lion's mane after sitting behind you in class all these years". Hermione felt her cheeks burn in the chilling wind. She located her wand that she'd tucked, once found, salfely into her high heeled boot and muttered the charm, feeling her hair expand a bit. Draco smiled, a real smile like she had never before seen grace his face. It was enlightening. He reached out and tucked an unruly lock behind her ear. "Come on, Granger, give it a go," Draco persuaded. Hermione laughed at his indignation but stopped abruptly when her eyes once again fell upon the broomstick. "Trust me," he whispered, "I won't let you fall". Hermione believed him. It suddenly dawned on her where they were standing. She thought of Dumbledore and how Harry had told her that the Headmaster had reached out to Draco, offered him a saving grace, a second chance and how nobody else had done that for him since.

She stepped forward. "I have a request as well," Hermione stated. Draco only hesitated a second. "Anything, Granger". Hermione took a deep breath and lifted her hand to his face, letting her fingers graze his chin before she captured his lips. Draco appeared to be paralyzed, but for the first time, Hermione had no room in her mind to analyze it. The feeling that had engulfed her entire being was only amplified when Draco wound an arm around her, returning the kiss with need, letting his free hand slide down her throat and trail over her collarbone. It was alarming how magnetic he was in such close proximity. Hermione was unsure how long it lasted. She felt as if she were in a dream, but somehow more alive than ever.

Hermione summoned the will power to pull away and lifted her eyes to find Draco's liquid metal ones transfixed on her lips. "My request," she said slowly, "remember the tower this way". He trembled under the weight of her words, she could almost see them sinking in. Hermione led him to where the broomstick waited. His actions seemed delayed, but he composed himself and mounted his broom with precision and elegance. Hermione settled behind him, feeling safe and warm draped in his cloak and she wrapped her arms securely around him. "Where to, Granger?" He asked softly. She stifled her laugh, he had set it up so perfectly that she couldn't resist. Hermione leaned close to his ear and whispered "to the stars".

Well, this concludes the four part short story, BUT stick around for one more chapter that covers in chronological order the next 17 Halloween's where you can see what became of our duo.

Also I need to give credit to the lyrics I used in chapters three and four.

"Halloween" by the Misfits and "Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnyman

And again, these characters, setting and so on are the propert of J.K. Rowling

Thanks for reading my first published work! Please leave some feedback! xoxo