AN: Hello! I'm going to go ahead and warn you now that this chapter sucks. I don't like it, but maybe you will! I think I may have made it too long, so sorry about that! Also, it may be a bit choppy; I wrote it in chunks instead of all in one go!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters; J.K. Rowling does!

After Draco and I made the truce, things began to slowly change between us. I would sit Draco at the library, or we would make small talk as we headed down to the Great Hall during the morning. Needless to say, our new friendship caused quite the backlash. Gryffindors would look at me as if I were a traitor. I tried to tell them that their line of thinking is what caused the war that we had all just been involved in, but they wouldn't listen. Being the outcast again made memories of my first year resurface. Ginny was the only Gryffindor that would still speak to me, and I was thankful for that.

Surprisingly, the Slytherins were much less hostile. Probably because they're scared to act out against a Malfoy. At least Ginny, Pansy, and Blaise are on our side. Once the novelty wears off, everyone will go back to minding his or her own business. I hope. The Ravenclaws seemed to be indifferent, while the Hufflepuffs gave me sympathetic looks.

At the moment, Draco and I were heading towards the DADA classroom on the third floor. We were running late, and had decided to take a shortcut through a rarely used corridor. Draco turned a corner and immediately spun around and blocked me from something. "Draco what are you doing?" I began to worry as I looked at his scrunched up face.

Before he could stop me, I spun out of his arms and looked down the hallway. My eyes widened as I took in the sight in front of me. I spun back around and stuck my face into Draco's chest before I could become violently ill.

Down the hallway, there was a dismembered owl with its body parts strewn all around it, suspended in midair. There was a message written in the owl's blood on the wall beside it.

Mudblood, your interactions with those higher than you are disgusting and disgraceful. You will be punished most severely for your transgressions.

I shuddered at the threatening tone of the message, and then steeled myself. I looked up at Draco and noticed the look of pain on his face. He must think that I'm about give up on him. "Draco." I smiled sadly when he flinched. "Draco, I don't know what's going through your head right now, but I can assure you that it's wrong. I'm not going to abandon you over a single threat."

I felt the rigidity leave his body at once. He glanced down at me for the first time since finding the owl. "You're not going to run off screaming bloody murder just yet, then?"

I chuckled weakly. "Not just yet." I saddened at the thought of the poor creature that had been mutilated. I stepped away from Draco and began thinking out loud as I paced back and forth. "We need to block off this hallway and get the Headmistress." As soon as I said that I raised my wand and sent my patronus to get the Headmistress.

Draco and I set out casting barriers so that no one could stumble into the hallway like we did. Finally, Professor McGonagall came bustling towards us. "Miss Granger, you sent for me?" Noticing the distressed look on my face, she asked in a worried tone, "Hermione, dear, what has happened?"

I shook my head and let down a small part of our barrier before leading the professor on. I heard her shocked gasp seconds after she came through the barrier, along with an "Oh, my."

I turned to Professor McGonagall when something just occurred to me. I paled. "Professor… no one ever comes into this hallway; the only reason Draco and I were here was so we could get to DADA faster. There is no way that whoever did this could've known that I would walk through this hallway, unless they were watching me."

Draco's face was clouded in anger, and McGonagall's in apprehension at my suggestion. Finally, the professor spoke up. "It would seem to be that way. Hermione, can you think of anything that has been odd lately? Have there been any other threats of this nature?"

I looked down. "Everyone has been upset with Draco and I, but I didn't think it would bother anyone this much that we were friends. Apparently, I was wrong."

Professor McGonagall sent an apologetic look towards Draco. "The message focuses on blood status, which would incline me to believe that this would have come from someone in the Slytherin house. Possibly Ravenclaw, but I'm doubtful of that. We'll need to bring Aurors into the school to investigate this." I opened my mouth to argue, but the professor sent me a heated glare. "Your life has been threatened by someone, and I do not take kindly to anyone threatening my students. I will take care of everything; I want both of you to head to my office and wait for me there."

Just as we turned to leave, Professor McGonagall spoke to Draco. "Mister Malfoy, please stay with Miss Granger at all times; until this person is apprehended, I do not want to take any chances. There is safety in numbers." I wanted to argue that I didn't need protection, but Draco just nodded and pulled me along the corridor towards Professor McGonagall's office.

Twelve hours later, Draco and I trudged through the portrait to our common room. We had just come back from the kitchens since we missed dinner, and felt as if we would fall over from exhaustion any second now.

Draco had gone into an over-protective mode after finding the owl, and had become my shadow. I felt conflicted; I hated that he seemed to think that I couldn't fend for myself, but then I felt ashamed that I liked that he cares so much for my wellbeing. The only time that he left me alone was for me to use the lavatory!

I bade him a goodnight before heading upstairs and into my room. I lay down on my bed, cast a silencing charm on my bedroom, lay down on my bed, and finally fell asleep.

I woke up with a scream dying on my lips. I could feel the tears pouring down my face and wiped them off before standing up and heading into the bathroom.

I stood in front of the large mirror that stood in front of the sinks and washed my face until it wasn't red and splotchy any more. I tried to stay as quiet as possible, so I wouldn't wake Draco in the room over. Ever since the first threat had been found, my nightmares had returned. I didn't tell Draco about them. Who wants to be told that a friend is having nightmares about being tortured? Especially when you were tortured in that friend's home, in front of his whole family.

I sighed as I thought about the latest, and last, threat that had come. We found the owl just over two months ago, during October. Now it was December, and there had been a few more messages, but none written in blood like the first. I would just find slips of paper with nasty things written on them, take them to McGonagall, and try to forget about them. I didn't tell Draco about these notes either; he was already being over-protective as it was. He'd be furious if he found out about them. I shuddered when I thought about Draco getting angry with me. Yeah, he's not going to be finding out about them any time soon.

Thankfully, we found who had been acting out against me after the last act. I didn't try to keep this one from Draco, though. I'm honestly surprised that he didn't have an aneurysm when he saw all of that blood on me. I felt violated when I found poor Crookshanks, injured, in my own bedroom.

Draco and I had just come back from classes for the day, and since it was early, I decided that I wanted to get started on the Transfiguration essay that was assigned to us yesterday. I heard Draco's scoff when I turned around to head upstairs. Well, just because it isn't due for two weeks doesn't mean that I can't get a head start.

I headed up to my room to change into something more comfortable, and entered absentmindedly as I thought about my essay. I pulled the large red sweater that Mrs. Weasley made for me last Christmas over my head when I caught sight of my bed in my mirror.

I let out a bloodcurdling scream as I turned around to see my sheets covered in blood. Crookshanks was lying in the middle of it and seemed to be injured, but not badly enough to cause that much blood. I heard Draco curse loudly and stomp up the stairs yelling my name. I paid him no mind as I scooped Crookshanks up and ran towards the door with the bloody kneazle in my arms. Just as I reached it, Draco came barging in and blanched at the sight of me covered in blood.

I ran right past his stunned figure and down the stairs to the portrait. I don't care if he isn't human, Madam Pomfrey can do something for Crookshanks, I'm sure of it! I could hear Draco calling after me, but I ignored him and ran as fast as I could towards the Hospital Wing. A few people gasped when they saw me running as fast as I could with the bloodied animal in my arms. I could hear feet slapping behind me and could only hope that it was Draco.

I finally reached the Hospital Wing and barged in loudly. "Madam Pomfrey! I need your help, please!"

The kindly old woman bustled out of her office and blanched at the sight of all of the blood. "Miss Granger! What has happened to you?"

I shook my head and held out Crookshanks. I began trembling. "H-he's hurt! Please help me! I don't know what happened, I c-came back to our common room and found him like this!" She nodded and made me lay Crookshanks down on one of the beds. Madam Pomfrey immediately pushed me to the side and began casting diagnostic spells on him. A few parts of his body began glowing red, causing Madam Pomfrey to slightly wince.

The kindly nurse turned to me. "Dear, your cat has been seriously injured. He has some internal bleeding and a few broken bones. I should be able to heal him, but you need to get Professor McGonagall down here if someone did this to your cat." I let out a heavy breath of relief and nodded. Then I realized that I was covered in blood and immediately pulled out my wand. "Scourgify."

The blood vanished and put my clothes back to their spotless condition. I turned around to head to Professor McGonagall's office, only to come face to face with an angry and huffing Draco Malfoy. He is eerily similar to an angry bull, at the moment. I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to tell him that.

Draco pointed a long finger at me while gasping for breath. "You," gasp, "just," huff, "ran," pant, "off," sigh, "on," gasp, "me!" He stopped to catch his breath. "I heard you scream, so I ran up to your bedroom, only to find you covered in blood! You didn't even stop to tell me what was wrong when you ran out! I thought something had happened to you! Professor McGonagall told you not to leave me, but you did anyways! Do not do that to me again!"

Then, he surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug. After getting over my shock, I hugged him back. I could get use—what is wrong with me?! My cat has just been attacked and I'm sitting here lusting after Draco! I've got to get a grip! I pulled out of Draco's embrace and sent a patronus to Professor McGonagall telling her what happened.

Surprisingly, Professor McGonagall seemed excited when she arrived a few minutes later. Draco and I stared at her in confusion. Draco leaned down towards me. "Has she gone off her rocker?" I just grabbed his hand instead of replying.

Professor McGonagall walked right past us and up to Crookshanks. She immediately grabbed a paw and cast a spell on it. A few drops of blood came out from under his claw, causing me to gasp. "Professor! That's brilliant!"

Draco, who still hadn't figured out what was going on, finally voiced his confusion. "Does anybody mind explaining to me what exactly is brilliant?"

I turned to him excitedly. "Draco! Crookshanks would've scratched his attacker! Their blood would be underneath his claws! We'll be able to find out who did this to him!"

I watched in excitement as the professor put the blood into a vial and beckoned for us to follow her. I smiled at Draco. "It's finally going to be okay again!" Draco returned my smile and took hold of my hand as we began walking towards the Headmistress's office. I looked at our conjoined hands and began to wonder when the lines of friendship and love had blended. Hopefully, we can end this nightmare today. Then I can think about what's going on between Draco and I.

I stared into the mirror and sighed, thankful that the culprit had been found. Astoria Greengrass had been arrested later that day after admitting to issuing the threats. Her motivation had been to "get Draco away from the filthy Mudblood whore before it was too late." Draco had been incensed when he learned that it was Astoria, but I made Blaise and Pansy promise to keep an eye on him until Astoria had been taken away from the school.

Astoria didn't regret what she had done. As a matter of fact, she attempted to curse me when we found her in the Slytherin common room and told her that we knew she had been the one issuing the threats. At first she tried to deny it; then we told her that we had proof, because we found her blood underneath Crookshanks' claw. Then she went ballistic and started firing curses. Draco stunned her before even the Aurors could step in.

I breathed out a sigh as I stared at myself in the mirror. I had dark bruises underneath my eyes from the nightmares that had been plaguing me again. I cast glamour charms on them every day so Draco wouldn't ask questions about why I looked like I was dead. I heaved a sigh as I headed back to my bed. Before I could even think of casting a silencing charm like I usually did before sleeping, I was out like a light.

"Where did you get it? Answer me, girl! Where you in my vault?" The wild-haired witch was livid.

I whimpered. "We weren't in your vault! Please! I'm telling the tru—" I was cut off by a searing pain licking through my body like flames. My throat was burning; only a raspy wheeze was coming from me now. I couldn't scream any longer. I began thrashing around on the cold marble floor trying to get away from my tormentor.

The demented witch cut off her spell. "Liar! You were in my vault! Now tell me, how did you get in my vault? Who let you in, Mudblood?"

I could feel tears running down my face, and felt ashamed that I was crying. "N-no! P-p-please! W-we didn't g-go into your v-vault! We f-found the swo—" I heard an angry scream before the searing pain returned. I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness.

Moments before I was completely engulfed in darkness, the curse stopped. "Rennervate." A brilliant flash of red flashed, and I came back to reality immediately. Tears continued seeping down my face. "You didn't think that I would let you slip out of this so easily, did you? Now, where did you get the sword?! Who gave it to you?"

Instead of replying, I just waited for the coming pain. Bellatrix wouldn't allow me to respond anyways. I just stared into her wild eyes, causing her to become even angrier than before. "You don't want to play anymore, Mudblood? Well, I'm not finished." The witch cast a spell to hold me down, before moving to my left arm and pulling out a knife.

At the sight of the knife, I began thrashing around again. I was making pitiful whimpering noises, as the knife got closer to my skin. When the cool metal touched my arm, my thrashing reached a new level; I managed to shriek as the sharp point broke my skin.

It felt like hours before the witch sat back on her heels in satisfaction. I stared at her with a blank expression before turning my head slightly. I looked at the Malfoy family, huddled into the corner; Narcissa had tear tracks running down her face, while Draco and Lucius looked as if they would be ill.

I finally turned my eyes down to my arm. Jaggedly written across my forearm was the word "Mudblood." Tears began leaking down my face again as I saw Bellatrix rise up from her place beside me.

The foul witch turned her disgusted glare towards me. "Filth like you shouldn't exist. There is no excuse for it; honestly, I'm doing you a favor by getting rid of you before the Dark Lord arrives."

I wanted to feel terrified at the prospect of death, but all I could think of was the impending relief that it would bring. Bellatrix raised her slightly curved wand towards my mangled body. A final tear slid down my face as a green jet of light made contact with my body. I could hear faint screaming coming from the family in the room with us. Then, there was nothing.

I shot up screaming until I realized where I was. Then I noticed a booming sound coming from my bedroom door. Before I could grab my wand, the door swung open with a loud bang before a distressed Draco Malfoy charged into the room with his wand held high. At the sight of him, I burst into tears again.

He looked confused when he saw that I was sitting in my bed, perfectly fine, with tears running down my face. Slowly, he made his way towards me and sat on the side of my bed. His silver eyes looked extremely confused, but relieved. "Granger, what is wrong with you?"

I looked towards the boy that had tormented me for six years of my life, but now had turned into an unlikely friend. He's become more than a friend to me. What am I going to say to Ron? At that realization, my tears came down even harder.

I thought that I had buried my intrigue with Draco after third year, but it had come back in full force after our truce and new friendship. It had been four months ago when we first made the truce; Draco had spent every moment of this time trying to make up for his horrid actions towards me through the years. It feels nice to have someone to talk to; I love Harry and Ron, but they can't keep up with me like Draco does.

Draco looked even more worried at my lack of response. "Hermione, talk to me. You're worrying me."

Before I even thought about what I was doing, I flung myself into his arms. I felt him stiffen in shock at the sudden contact, but couldn't bring myself to care as I began to sob. "I-it w-was B-Bellatrix. She k-killed me this t-time."

I felt him stiffen, and then let out an aggravated sigh. Why did I say that? Now he is never going to stop apologizing. I felt him take a deep breath before I cut him off. "No! Do not apologize again for what that vile woman did! It wasn't your fault! I don't know what it's going to take to make you realize that, but I won't stop until you understand. It was not your fault."

He immediately pushed me back so I could look into his eyes. I was surprised to see anger there. "Are you daft? I could've stopped her, and I didn't! None of us did! The three of us were cowards! The three of us could've handled her, but we didn't! Hell, Father could've handled her without Mother and I!"

I stared slack-jawed as Draco stood up from my bed and began pacing and pulling at his hair. "How can you even look at me every day? How do I not make you sick? I'm a bloody coward; I stood by while you were being tortured! Every day, I wonder when you are going to realize what a screw up I am and leave me. I can't even believe that you would even willingly speak to me. Then again, you've always been too forgiving for your own good. All of these threats were because of me; you would be better off if you would just forget about me, truce be damned." Finally, he stopped pacing and turned to me with a wild look in his eyes. My heart clenched as I realized how much he loathed himself for what has happened to me.

At that moment, I had just realized he was in nothing but a pair of boxers, in my bedroom. There are more important things than ogling a mostly-naked Draco Malfoy at the moment. I stood up from my bed with an unreadable face and slowly walked towards Draco, as if he were a feral animal. I tried to catch his eye, but he immediately looked down. "Draco Malfoy, look at me." He continued staring at the ground, and my eyes filled with tears. This time, though, they were from anger.

I had tears in my eyes, and could barely see him. "D-Draco! Look at me, r-right now!" Slowly, he lifted his head towards me. It took everything I had to not flinch at the sadness in his eyes. "Do n-not ever let me hear you s-speak about yourself t-that way again. I will b-be the one who d-decides what is g-good for me! Do you u-understand m-me?" When he didn't reply, I became angrier and stepped right up to him and poked a finger into his chest. "Answer me!"

Before I could blink, Draco had me pinned against the wall with his lips covering mine. My brain went numb at the wonderful feelings that Draco was invoking within me. I shut my brain off and melted into the kiss. We broke apart when the need for air became too great. I stared into those beautiful silver eyes of his before I gave Draco a watery smile before speaking. "If you think that I'm leaving now, you are in for the biggest shock of your life."

I could feel the shock radiating off of him. He sucked in a shaky breath. "You don't hate me?" The small voice he spoke in made me realize that we were both teenagers that were dealing with things that no one should endure. I let out a watery laugh and put my head on his chest before picking it up again and staring into his eyes.

I gave him a mock glare. "If I hated you, I wouldn't have kissed you back." I reached up and hugged him around the neck. I looked over his shoulder and saw the remains of my door hanging on pitifully. "Thank you, by the way. You completely took my mind off of that nightmare. It's a shame my door didn't survive, though."

At the mention of the door, Draco's face turned into a fierce glare. "Don't lock the door again. I heard you screaming, and ran up to your room, only to find myself locked out. I thought someone or something was in there with you. After all of those threats, I just imagined the worst. I know she's gone, but still. I would apologize, but I'm not sorry." Realizing how mushy he sounded, Draco scrunched up his nose. "The door was bloody ugly anyways. I helped you out."

I chuckled and turned to look at the alarm clock by my bed and sighed. Twenty minutes until we need to be in the Great Hall for breakfast. I turned back to Draco. "We need to get dressed. Breakfast is in twenty minutes, and I don't know about you, but I'm starv—" I stopped when I noticed the dark look in his eyes.

Draco was staring at me hard. I thought back at what I had said, and flinched. "Nightmares?" His cool voice made me feel small.

I lowered my eyes. "It's nothing. They don't happen often, and they don't usually affect me like this one did." It sounded as if I had rehearsed that excuse after I finished talking. I frowned.

From the look on his face, Draco thought so to. "You're lying to me. Tell me the truth." He could see that I was going to protest, so he interjected in a quieter voice. "Please, Hermione, talk to me. How long have you been having nightmares, and why haven't you told me?"

At his gentle tone, I deflated. "I… They started after the first threat. You know why I didn't tell you. There is no reason for me to bring up the past, when it is just that: the past."

Draco had a pained look on his face. "Hermione. Please stop shutting me out. Do you not trust me?"

My eyes widened as I stared at him in shock. I vehemently shook my head, sending curls every way. "You know that I trust you. I just don't want to bother you with them when I can handle them on my own."

I saw relief in his eyes as he chuckled sadly. "You stubborn Gryffindor. You are not going to bother me with your nightmares. You were tortured for Merlin's sake! It's normal for you to have nightmares, and it's normal for you to talk about them to someone. Promise me that, even if you don't speak about them with me, that you will talk with someone."

A warm feeling filled my chest at his words. I launched myself back into Draco's arms and nodded my head. "I promise. You know, it's really nice to have someone worry about me for once. For the past seven years, I've been the one taking care of everyone. That's what I like about you Draco; I don't have to take care of you like I do the others."

Draco and I stayed in that position for a few minutes before I finally sent him away so I could get dressed for breakfast. I stared at the mangled door and tried to repair it as best as I could. "Reparo." The shattered door mended back into one piece and attached back to the wall quickly.

I could hear Draco calling my name from the common room, so I threw on my school robes as quickly as I could. One thought flittered through my mind: What is going on between the two of us?

AN: I had a huge AN typed, but then Word crashed, and it was lost. I don't really care, but didn't feel like typing it again! Tell me what you think; I don't particularly like this chapter, but whatever! By the way, a spider jumped on my laptop and I almost died while writing this. :)