Hermione felt her heart stop for a moment, staring at the approaching man with wide eyes. Malfoy's outburst did nothing to deter him, the smirk on his face spreading the closer he got.

"Is that really the way to greet a friend?" he asked, the expression on his face never wavering. "Didn't think I'd see you here, mate."

"Neither did I," the blonde grunted, narrowing his eyes. "Come back for your pepper-up potion?"

Zabini smirked, eyes briefly skating over her form. She was thankful she'd gotten to clean herself up before coming out tonight. He would know immediately if she was still suffering, and he had a habit of playing that up. Suppressing a shudder, she forced herself to meet his eyes.

Blaise didn't usually bother her on patrols, especially after the one and only time he found her alone in the hallways. Usually she patrolled with the same person who understood that she had no desire to wander around alone. The Ravenclaw never seemed to mind, filling up their time with chatter about books. She enjoyed his company.

Forcing the memory away, she tried to think about something else. She was just lucky her partner that night never found her after her screams.

She didn't like that he'd come looking for her. They were nowhere near either of the dorms, so this didn't happen by accident. The brief look of surprise on his face told her he didn't think Malfoy would be there with her.

Well, at least she one-upped him this time.

"I was looking for you," he replied smoothly, eyes finally shifting away from her. "How can you miss out on tonight for some fucking patrols? We bought-"

"It doesn't matter," Malfoy cut in, his brows creasing. "I got swindled into this. You may as well go back; I'll be at this all night."

Blaise looked unconvinced, looking between the pair. "I couldn't possibly leave you with the likes of her."

"I seriously doubt Granger's going to give me any trouble," he replied coolly, loosely crossing his arms. "After what you've done to her, I don't imagine she can cause any problems."

Hermione flinched, spinning around to glare at him. He didn't know what he was talking about! He barely understood the marks on her body, yet here he was just announcing to Blaise that he knew something was wrong.

Her heart sped up, unable to look away from his relaxed expression. He had no idea the dangerous path he was treading, especially with Zabini's random mood swings and thirst for blood. Friend or not, she had no doubt that Zabini would strike out if he felt like someone was threatening him.

After all, he struck out at her constantly and she couldn't hadn't actually done anything. What was wrong with Malfoy?

Blaise, apparently undeterred by Malfoy's realization, kept his voice even when he spoke again. "Oh, that. Did you finally notice? I was starting to wonder if you even remembered you had a dormmate."

Surprised, she glanced his way. He looked so calm, even giddy. Didn't he threaten to end her life if someone found out? Why would he look so damn excited to have Malfoy in on it? She clenched her hands together, ignoring the dull ache rising in her body. If she needed to, she had to be ready to run, pain or not.

"It's not like she was sharing those marks with me," Malfoy replied, sounding as confused as she felt. "How did you even manage to do cause that much harm?"

Hermione tensed, wondering why he cared. Not even an hour ago he was almost concerned with the bleeding lines on her body, and now he wanted to know how Zabini got them to remain there? Who's side was Malfoy on?

Zabini smirked, drawing his wand. Malfoy didn't tense up, watching the other man carefully as he eyed the Gryffindor. "My own invention, Draco. I had to find a way to make the wounds last, which was incredibly difficult, let me tell you. But I can show-"

"I really don't want a demonstration," he interrupted, holding up one hand. "And I don't have any need to know the details, it was more rhetorical than anything. I really just want to know why you're abusing her."

"I'm not abusing on her," Zabini scoffed, eyes focusing on her again. "Least, I don't have a need to anymore. The magic does all of that for me, right Mudblood?"

She reached for her wand, ignoring the shaking of her hands. She didn't know if she should be more afraid that Malfoy was around, or grateful. So far she couldn't really say he was helping the situation, but at least Zabini was minding his distance now. He hadn't even struck her.

Trying to keep herself in check, she glanced between the two. Malfoy's expression gave nothing away, and she couldn't tell if he was disgusted by Zabini's words or interested in them.

It was so familiar, she almost wanted to be sick.

"Yaxley, make sure no one comes upstairs."

The elder Death Eater snarled as the pair passed by, Zabini dragging her by her hair. Bellatrix was bored of her, and that must've left her up for grabs. He hadn't let up on his backbreaking pace, dragging her painfully up the stairs far too quick, her feet unable to find purchase on the smooth stone floors.

"Why the fuck would I do that?" he snapped, eyeing the girl as they passed. Zabini stopped dragging her, throwing her into the nearest room. She skidded on the ground, random debris left around the space like someone came in and recently tore the place up. Hermione coughed, attempting to get her bearings as she looked around the room. She would not be beaten so easily.

Zabini paused at the door, unconcerned with whatever Hermione was doing. He sure was cocky, thinking he had such a great advantage now that her wand was gone. "If you keep the others out, I'll let you have a go when I'm finished with her."

She momentarily paused, head whipping up to look at the door. A smirk split across Yaxley's face, eyeing her hungrily as he agreed to Zabini's request. Knowing he had the man's full attention the Italian nodded, stepping through the threshold to slam the door closed. In the shadows of the room he smirked, drawing his wand from his coat.

"We're going to have some fun, aren't we Granger? When I'm finished with you, you'll wish I'd just killed your sorry arse."

She blinked, focusing on the present again when she noticed Malfoy shifting beside her, somewhat obscuring her from Zabini's view. The man frowned, perplexed by his longtime friends behavior.

"Why are you hurting her?" he asked again, sounding more curious than angry. Honestly Hermione might be curious about that too if she hadn't had the answer screamed and imbedded into her brain so many times.

"Why not?" Zabini countered, shifting so he could focus on her once more. "Really Draco, you're losing your touch."

She didn't have time to react, her eyes widening when Blaise suddenly struck her with his magic, sending her flying back into the wall. She couldn't help the scream that ripped out of her throat as the cuts on her back connected with the stone, shooting pain throughout her body.

She crumbled into the floor, unable to catch herself on her hands. Her face hit the stone but she didn't really notice, not with the waves of pain dancing up and down her spine. Attempting to take deep breaths she tried to focus on the pair in front of her, vision a little blurry as she stared.

Her fingers were resting in something, was that blood?

She didn't remember him saying a word, but that didn't make sense. Even with her brain a little muddled, she knew she'd recall if he cried out a spell.

Was this wordless magic? It wasn't nearly as advanced as wandless, but complex magic nonetheless. If he was practicing the art then she had even more of a reason to be scared. What was she supposed to do if she didn't even know when he was going to strike her with a spell?

Blinking, she tried to focus once more, noticing that the pair seemed to be in the middle of a fight.

"-fuck! You can't just go around torturing people Blaise. What the fucks gotten into you?"

"Me? How dare you try to defend that bitch! She's a Mudblood Draco, or have you so quickly forgotten? We can't just let them go around thinking we're equals."

"So are you torturing anyone you want in the school then?" he asked, angling his wand towards his darker counterpart. She was surprised to see Malfoy of all people trying to defend her. "Or is this special treatment for Granger?"

"I can't torture everyone," Zabini scoffed, staring at his friend like he was absurd. "Just her, for now. I figured breaking the poster-child for Mudblood's everywhere would send out my message loud and clear."

"What message?"

Grinning, Hermione noticed his teeth were red. If she narrowed her eyes more she could also see the beginning of a bruise on his cheek. Did Malfoy hit him.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Draco, don't play stupid. You haven't so quickly forgotten everything we worked for."

"I'm not working for anything," he argued, stepping closer. If she focused, she could tell that he was blocking her once more. Whether he was doing that on purpose or not she couldn't fathom. "And you shouldn't be either. The war is done Blaise, don't go stirring up another one. Mudblood's aren't in the same position they once more. Like it or not, blood status is unimportant to the majority of the population these days."

"If people like you weren't busy standing by letting these insolent nuances believe they are worth something, we wouldn't have this problem," Zabini replied, shooting daggers at his friend. His eyes flinted back to Hermione for a moment, spurring her into action. She couldn't just lie there and look helpless or he'd believe he was winning.

She had to get up off the floor.

Malfoy said something in return that she missed, pushing up onto her hands. Her body screamed in protest, and she could feel the wounds on her back and arms openly bleeding. Blocking out the pain she forced herself against the wall, biting back a cry.

Unable to focus on whatever the two Slytherin's were discussing, she managed to stand up. Her body was fighting the action, all of her efforts to help herself earlier ruined by one impact with a wall.

She felt stupid, but Zabini shot waves of fear through her that even Voldemort himself couldn't. At least no-nose had an end goal, but the man before her seemed to want nothing more than pain and chaos. She wasn't certain he would stop at simply fighting the muggleborns; if push came to shove, he'd probably torture anyone for the thrill of it.

How do you even reason with someone like that?

Hermione screamed into the darkened corridor when she felt someone touch her arm, the hand retracting half a second later. With her hands pressed into the wall she'd hit, she couldn't see which of the two men approached her, but now she had a pretty good idea.

Looking over her shoulder, she felt her nerves calm down just a hair. "Malfoy?"

"You're bleeding again," he grunted, eyes giving her a once over. She didn't need him to tell her that, she could see the puddle of blood in the dim light of the wand she dropped. "Fucking hell, tonight couldn't possibly get any worse."

Despite herself she smiled a little, thankful that given his history Malfoy didn't join in to kill her. He was surprisingly helpful, even if he was keeping his distance. His hands were stuffed down into his pockets, eyeing her as though he wasn't sure what to do next.

They still had to finish patrols, and she wasn't certain she would last that long. The numbing she felt before was gone, replaced by pain once more. Walking all this way was difficult to begin with, but they still had three floors to cover and at least an hour of wandering. She'd sit down and nap before completing all that.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, the words tumbling out before she could stop them. He looked confused by what she said, eyebrows rising as he watched her. "I wasn't trying to involve anyone."

"Blaise involved me more than you did," he replied, shifting around in front of her. "You should be involving people, make a big deal out of it. He'll be expelled and likely put into Azkaban for his behavior."

"It's not that simple. Even if he is imprisoned, it won't make a difference for the wounds. He doesn't have to be near for them to show. It just kind of happens."

Malfoy frowned, stepping closer to her again. She didn't need to pull back this time, not after he'd helped defend her. She didn't understand his reasoning, but she certainly wouldn't question it.

There were bits of the conversation she didn't understand, like when Zabini suddenly had red teeth from being hit. Instead of questioning him she straightened herself out, trying to force back the pain.

"You have to tell someone Granger, that's not natural."

"No," she agreed, nodding stiffly, "it's not. I can't tell anyone Malfoy, he'll kill me."

"Well, he didn't kill you when he found out I knew."

"He wanted you to know," she sighed, dropping her eyes again. She glanced down at her wand, wishing she had the energy to bring it back to her. With everything going on, even simple summoning spells sapped her energy. "He was ecstatic that you noticed what he's been doing."

Apparently Malfoy was watching her closely, as he knelt down to retrieve her wand from the floor, handing it back to her. She let the wand slip into her grasp, wondering when she became so weak that she needed someone to hand back her most precious item.

How did she let this happen? Zabini was terrifying, not debilitating. He knew she was afraid of him and used it to his advantage. So long as he believed he could control her through torture and memories he'd always have the upper hand.

For crying out loud, she was being saved by Malfoy because he was the only person who knew her condition. If her friends knew, things would be different…

But would it be better or worse that way?

"Granger," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "Cut out early tonight. Most people avoid walking around late when you have patrols anyways, so really no one should be wandering around. Let's just go back; it's a waste of time."

"But-"

"Besides," he continued, cutting her off, "its not like you can wander around bleeding. If we found anyone they would just panic, and then your little secret would be found out."

She relented, seeing the reasoning behind his words. She didn't like them, she didn't even want to listen to them, but she would. He was right, as much as she wanted to disagree. She wouldn't be able to repair the damage out here.

"And when we get back," Malfoy continued, grasping her arm lightly as he magicked away the blood, "you can tell me what the hell is really going on."

Draco sat in the common room, staring at the empty bottle before him. In the time it was taking Granger to shower he'd finished his drink from earlier and the rest of the bottle, his mind a whirlwind. He was glad she was taking her time; he didn't know what to say to her yet.

Seeing Blaise was something else. He knew something was off when the git wanted to leave early from Hogsmeade, and as soon as Granger started literally spilling her guts he had a sickening feeling Blaise was at fault. Why else would she always get so tense when he was in the dorm, or seemingly panic when he approached.

His actions tonight just confirmed his suspicions. Blaise had it out for her, although he couldn't fathom why. Sure, she was a Mudblood, but the word meant so little these days he wasn't convinced that was all it was. The war caused too many casualties, and people would rather begrudgingly accept each other than cause more bloodshed.

Everyone apparently, except Blaise. He was holding onto his prejudice, something even Draco hadn't managed to do. After watching his home be literally destroyed and countless lives lost within its walls he'd had a change of heart. He couldn't change his past, but he didn't plan on pushing for a future that would end the same way.

He just didn't get the connection between Blaise and Granger. She was almost exclusively tied to her friends all hours of the day except when she was hiding in her room. When would the bloke have time to not only strike fear through her, but unleash a spell of his own design? He'd have to get her away from her friends, which was no small feat. No, Draco didn't believe Blaise cast this spell since the beginning of term a couple weeks ago. There was no logical way it could've happened.

But the only other time they would've encountered each other was during the war at the Manor. From what he understood Blaise was supposed to be in the west wing when the army broke in, so he shouldn't have been anywhere near Granger.

Then again, Blaise was questionable during that entire adventure. He was under interrogation longer than anyone else in their year, and his whereabouts were unknown for a large portion of the day leading to the fight. Maybe he did sneak off and find Granger.

No, he didn't think that made total sense either. Wasn't she with Bellatrix at the time?

Sighing, Draco pinched the bridge of his nose. The event timelines didn't add up, and without some insight from one of them he wasn't sure he could put the pieces together. Scowling he thought back to his argument earlier with Blaise, the fire in his eyes stronger than any he'd ever seen.

"Why not?" Zabini countered, shifting so he could focus on her once more. "Really Draco, you're losing your touch."

Draco watched his friend strike Granger without saying a word, sending her flying back into the wall behind them. She screamed when she connected with the stone, and he couldn't say he exactly blamed her. After seeing the wounds decorating her body, he knew she was in pain before this happened.

He wouldn't run to help her, even if he was concerned about her wounds opening up. After knowing Blaise for years, he was certain the prick would find some sort of twisted glee if he thought Draco was going to protect her.

Honestly, he didn't know if he was protecting her or not. He had shifted to block her from Blaise's view, but that didn't work out when he struck her anyway. He just didn't want to react and really get Blaise's blood boiling.

He'd seen how Blaise reacted when challenged. Blowing up this floor of the school didn't seem like a great idea, especially with Granger acting so strangely. Starting a fight with Blaise wouldn't get him any answers.

"You know," he snapped, glaring at his longtime friend, "you're not showing me that you're truly powerful if you just attacked the weakest person in front of you."

"You're not my target," Blaise answered, grinning. "She's never going to fight me, not now. I've broken her spirit."

"All you've done is curse her," Draco argued, wondering what exactly Blaise meant. He was in the dark about most of what was going on, but he didn't need to let on about that. He didn't seem angry that Draco knew things, so he planned on pushing his luck.

"She deserves it," he argued, pointing his wand at her again. "Mudbloods, blood traitors, the scum of the earth. They need to know their place."

"I don't think you're going to teach anyone to mind their place like this," Draco snapped, shifting a little. Granger appeared to be trying to get back up, at least from the noises she was making. "Don't strike her again Blaise, or I will take you down."

Immediately the Italian's expression soured, something dark shifting into his gaze that Draco had never seen. "Don't think you can threaten me, Draco. I could slaughter the both of you without breaking a sweat. This girl is worth nothing, don't let her get to your head."

"Are you insane?" he asked, unable to believe this was the complacent Death Eater he knew months ago. When they got their marks Blaise didn't even seem to want his. Now he was screaming about killing them both without a problem? Blaise rarely fought, and for the first time Draco wondered how much he kept from them. "Killing two people will get you the kiss for sure. They nearly sent you to Azkaban a couple months ago! How can you act like it's not a big deal to be acting this way? Cut the crap, you're not acting like yourself."

Blaise grinned, the expression cutting across his face all too quickly. "How do you know this isn't how I've always been? Maybe I enjoy watching her bleed out."

Draco tried to keep himself in check, but that was the last straw. Blaise was pushing for some sort of reaction out of him, and he couldn't help getting aggravated by his words. "What the fuck! You can't just go around torturing people Blaise. What the fucks gotten into you?"

Blaise's grin widened, glancing behind the blond when Granger whined again. The expression immediately slid off his face, like he didn't want the Gryffindor to see him looking so damn coy. His tone remained the same when he spoke again, but he was starting to drag their topic away from himself. "Me? How dare you try to defend that bitch! She's a Mudblood Draco, or have you so quickly forgotten? We can't just let them go around thinking we're equals."

He just didn't know how to read Blaise anymore. What was going on inside that warped head of his?

Draco was pulled out of his brooding as a door behind him opened, and he heard Granger enter the common room. She looked pretty rotten as she approached, her skin still pale. At least she didn't seem to be bleeding anymore, but he assumed this would be a short-lived reprieve. She sat down beside him on the sofa, leaving as much space as she could between them.

He forced himself to not roll his eyes, reaching towards the glass he'd set aside earlier. It smelled better than the liquor he'd been drinking, so he hoped it didn't taste too godawful. "Drink this."

She frowned, starting at the glass he presented her. They hadn't talked much since returning to the room, and she didn't have any idea why he'd give her a foggy beverage. "Why?"

"Good lord, Granger. It's not like it's poison. It should help take some of the pain away."

Still frowning, she finally took the glass from him and sipped the contents hesitantly, apparently not finding the drink too displeasing. "What is this?"

He shrugged, sinking back into the sofa. His eyes fell closed, and he rubbed his temples as he tried willing the headache away. "Just something I whipped up. I'm decent at potions, so I figured I might make use of the skill. You haven't tried making a salve for yourself when the cuts come?"

She was quiet for a moment, and he couldn't decide if she was simply thinking or just thrown by the question. "Usually the potions I make don't have any effect. Thanks for trying, but this probably won't work. Nothing magical has."

Scoffing, he opened his eyes again to glare at her. "Well give it some time. You've never had a potion made by me. Trust me, it'll work."

He smirked when she gave in, downing the rest of the potion before she set the cup aside. Clasping her hands in her lap she looked around, worrying her lip as she focused anywhere but in his direction.

"You can't avoid telling me, Granger. I will find out one way or another."

The brunette sighed, finally glaring at him through the corners of her eyes. "I don't know what you want me to say, Malfoy. I don't understand what Zabini's done to me, and I don't want to specifically think back on it." She reached up, subconsciously rubbing her neck, eyes moving away from him again.

"So you have absolutely no idea what happened?" he asked, not believing it. The brightest witch of their age didn't simply ignore clues. She had to have an idea. "You didn't hear him say anything, any sort of spell?"

"Malfoy, do you even know when he attacked me?"

He frowned. "Well, no."

"Or why he would bother?"

"Other than his decision to hate anyone not pureblood?" he asked, looking unimpressed. "Blaise always had a bloodlust, but I don't know why he's taking it out on you."

Granger laughed, seeming to find something funny with his words. "Yeah, I'm not sure either. He found me at the Manor, that's when he cursed me with these cuts. Whatever damage he did that day is what reappears at night. I can almost time exactly when they show up. In the morning, they are gone again but the pain remains, almost like an ache or bruising. I don't know what kind of magic that is."

He felt sick, unaware that Granger met Blaise that day. Maybe this is why no one knew where he was just before the attack; he was busy beating her. He cleared his throat, refusing to drop the uncomfortable topic. He didn't think he'd get her to indulge him again. "So they just start bleeding randomly at night?"

"No, timed. It's almost like there's a timer for when the pain should start. I guess my only saving grace is he doesn't seem able to cause my bones to break like he could when we were at your home."

He flinched. Draco never knew what happened to her at his home. He'd been there when Bellatrix tortured her, but he left the room with his mother when his aunt started screaming that she'd destroy her. There was no way to prepare with Bella, and at the time he felt like a coward for leaving when he couldn't handle it. Watching his aunt's mind work was something else altogether.

But he didn't know Blaise showed up at some point. He'd been far away from there by that point, waiting with his mother for the torture to end. Of course they didn't have to wait long before war started, and they gave in rather quickly. Why fight when they just wanted this to end?

"I didn't know it happened at the Manor," he muttered, keeping his voice low. "I didn't actually know you ever encountered him there. You weren't there long, so I didn't even consider it."

"Most people don't consider what happened just before your home was stormed. Besides, he's done a wonderful job evading the law. Even his interrogations didn't turn up the fact that he nearly killed me. He cast an enchantment on himself before anyone arrived in the room, so no one actually thinks he's the one who tortured me."

Draco scoffed, shaking his head at Blaise's ability to prepare. Of course he'd find a way to cover his arse from every angle. That was the true Slytherin in him.

"Is that why you haven't told your goody-two-shoes friends? Because you think they wouldn't believe you, like the bleeding Ministry didn't?"

"I didn't even mention it to the Ministry," she whispered, looking away from him now. "I didn't think it would do any good, and I definitely didn't want to talk about it. Besides, you heard him yourself. He plans to kill me if I tell anyone."

"I doubt you should believe that. He didn't try to kill you really when he found out I knew."

"But he doesn't mind you knowing," she snapped, "he just hopes you will side with him."

"I don't, Granger. And I won't. There's been enough death and bloodshed, I'm not interested in experiencing anymore. Blaise is well aware of that."

"It won't stop him from doing what he wants."

"No, nothing probably will." He sat up straighter on the sofa, fixing her with his gaze. "If you don't tell someone, he might actually succeed in killing you. It's your word against his Granger, and you have plenty of proof that he's done something. I don't understand why you haven't."

She worried her lip, thinking over his words a moment. Keeping her eyes downcast she replied, "I don't know why I haven't either. Why am I letting him win?"

A/n: I apologize for the late update, please know I am not abandoning this, I've just got a lot going on and will be starting a new position next week. Let me know what you think of the progression, I'm curious as to your thoughts.

Now that it's May I feel I need to make an update on my stories so everyone knows what's going on. In October I will be getting married, so the wedding planning is well underway now! The closer we get to the big day, unfortunately the slower updates will become for a while but they will still happen, trust me there.

It's crazy to think I can officially tell my readers I'm getting married. When I first started on the site 9 years ago, I was barely old enough to use it and now I'm getting hitched! Thanks to everyone that's ready along, and don't forget to review!