Sorry that this took so long to get up, when I originally posted it there must have been a glitch because it just reposted chapter 6 and I hadn't noticed-sorry! Thanks to EbonyIvory to pointing out this error to me :) So here's the real chapter 7

Chapter 7-Breakdowns

Draco's POV:

Slouching absently in my chair, I stared down at the ancient wooden desk and drummed my fingers harshly against it; the dull thudding noise echoed around the large empty room. The library was almost deserted today. A cluster of Ravenclaw students were studying casually on the long middle table. There was also a small group of Hufflepuffs trying desperately to contain their giggles as Madame Pince glared heatedly in their direction. And in the corner-towards the back of the dimly lit library-sat Granger and her two idiot pets, Potter and Weasley. I had been ignoring their presence for around half an hour now. Apart from them, only the books filled the room. Beams of sunlight crawled in through the windows from outdoors and thick dust swirled around in the room, clustering up my nose. The eerie silence swarmed around us, cloaking us, only being broken by the rhythmic tapping of my fingers.

"Will you stop that?!" Blaise hissed under his breath. I glanced up at him to see that he had lifted his head slightly and was staring up at me with seemingly irritated brown eyes. He sat across from me at the aging table; his hand paused over the paper as he watched me and his fingers clutching tightly around his quill in frustration. I could see the slight bumps to his hands where his bones protruded due to the pressure he applied to holding the quill. With a shrug, I leant back into my chair, removing my fidgeting hands from the surface of the table. I wasn't looking at him anymore but I heard the scratching of his quill against the piece of parchment when he returned to his work.

Bored, I pushed myself forward again to rest my elbow on the table and my chin on my hand. Then I released a sigh. At this, the quiet scraping of Blaise's quill halted for a moment. I thought that he was going to scold me again so I gave him a fleeting glance. But he was staring determinedly down at his work, his jaw clenched. Choosing to ignore Blaise, I watched the fluffy clouds roll along the sky as I stared out of the window. It was a circular window and placed high on the stoned wall. Because of this, I could barely see anything other than the sky and the tops of the castle walls. But soon enough, the clouds drifted from my thoughts just like they drifted through the sky and my mind was preoccupied by shifting through other things. Much more pressing matters. By now, most of the students would have gotten over Cedric's death at the end of the last summer-or at least the people that never knew him would have. It was true that I wasn't friendly with Diggory at all during his years at Hogwarts-so that should have been me. I was supposed to have recovered from the instant shock of his tragic death. I acted as if it was that way. But in truth it wasn't. His pale face still haunted me from behind my eyelids. His cold, hollow stare still bore holes into me when I closed my eyes. I had only glimpsed his lifeless body for a second when Potter had brought him back but it was enough to burn it into my memory forever.

In that moment I had had an epiphany. I had known that Voldemort would be returning before that night. But seeing the proof of his rising had made it all too real for me. Before then it had been something rather insignificant at the back of my mind. I hadn't had to face it. Now I did. Throughout the entire summer, I watched my father scramble-almost in fear-around the house. His every move took planning and thought. My whole family was on edge. Returning home for the holidays would be unpleasant. Since my realisation about the depth and shear danger of Voldemort, I yearned to stay away from it. It would have helped if I began searching for a way out of this chaos but I was too afraid. And it was too risky. So I had to just except that my peaceful lifestyle would be smashed to pieces soon enough. It shouldn't bother me. Everything is made to be broken.

I knew that my father expected me to discard my soul-like he had. He wanted me to become numb. He wanted my body to become nothing but an empty shell with my mind and emotions lost in the chasm.

Agitation crashed over me in a sudden thick wave, making me shudder. I began tapping my index finger nervously against my chin.

"Seriously?" Blaise spat. "Can't you keep still or quiet for five fucking minutes?"

I looked at him then. His brow was wrinkled with stress and his mouth was set into a hard line. Raising an eyebrow, I let out a light chuckle.

"Why are you so irritable today?"

"Because I already don't think that I'm going to be able to get this essay finished in time and you're distracting me constantly. Snape will murder me if I don't give it to him in time." He began gnawing his bottom lip.

"It's not my fault that I'm so attractive. Just don't look at me and the distractions will probably stop." I smirked as I sat back against my chair again. He rolled his eyes lazily and continued writing.

"You don't have to stay here."

"You asked me to come with you!" I exclaimed, almost outraged that I had wasted half an hour in this library for no particular reason. Then I heard Madame Pince shush me harshly from across the room. Ignoring her, I watched Blaise. He stopped writing to look at me again. His expression seemed tired-or fed up.

"I thought you were going to help me to do this essay. But all you've done in fidget." He said flatly. "So if you want to, just leave."

Deciding that there wasn't anything else to do without Blaise anyway, I crossed my arms over my chest and sat back. He returned to his writing, barely even acknowledging my remaining presence.

Casting my gaze carelessly around the room, I stopped on the Gryffindor trio. A candle flickered dimly above their heads as they sat. Potter and Weasley were watching Granger intently-almost worriedly. Remotely interested, I twisted in my chair to get a better view of them whilst remaining subtle.

Even though the two idiot Gryffindor boys weren't doing any work, Granger's eyes didn't once leave the book in front of her; which was unusual. From the select few times that I had been in here at the same time as the three Gryffindors, I had noticed that Granger wasn't one to let Potter and Weasley slack off. Surely she would start shouting at them soon? But as I continued to watch, she did nothing.

After ten more minutes, I had almost completely lost interest when finally something happened. Weasley opened his mouth and said something to Granger-I couldn't decipher it from this distance but she appeared to be quite upset by it. Slamming her book shut so that dust swirled up from the table and the few heads in the room turned to her, she shot the pair of bewildered Gryffindor boys a scowl and jumped up. She grabbed her bag and roughly stuffed stray pieces of parchment into it before spinning to place the thick leather bound book onto the bookshelf behind her and storming towards the exit. Potter and Weasley swivelled in their chairs to watch her retreat with stunned expressions. I had to hide my smirk by lowering my head and looking at Granger from underneath my hair as she neared me. But as she swept past, I noticed that her slim hands were desperately pawing at the skin under her eyes and swiping sideways. Was she crying?

Curiosity overtook me. Rising as casually as I could from my seat, I lifted my bag onto my shoulder. Blaise's eyes darted up to me for a second before they returned to the parchment to watch his hand race across it as he wrote.

"Are you leaving then?" He asked nonchalantly, still whizzing his quill around to write.

"Yeah, I'm too bored in here and sick of your whining."

"Pity, it seemed like you were just starting to settle down." A tiny grin crept up his face. "You're so typical; stay in here to wind me up and then leave when I'm getting used to it."

I forgot to acknowledge what he had said with a reply because I was too busy staring at the doorway of the library, hoping that Granger hadn't gone too far to follow by now. She was behaving stranger than usual and I had to admit that even I wanted to unravel this mystery. It wasn't like her to cry this much-at least not in public and definitely not around me. Hitching my bag further up my shoulder and resting it there securely, I stalked towards to door. My quick footsteps bounced off the stone walls and echoed around the room as I left-acting as a signal to tell people that I had been there.

I didn't hesitate as I stepped into the corridor; she could have only gone right-as there was nothing but a brick wall to the left-so I immediately turned in that direction and walked briskly forward. Soon enough my eyes found her and locked on as I made my way further down the corridor behind her. I didn't know what I was hoping to achieve by following her but hopefully I would gain an answer or two. I almost missed it when she turned briskly to her left and walked through a set of double doors. But my gaze caught her bushy curls flying behind her just in time. Quickening my pace-so I didn't lose track of her-I slipped through the doorway after her and into the next corridor.

Stepping through the doorway, I almost had to shield my eyes from the light that was pouring in through the many windows along the corridor. It had been far too dark inside the library and my eyes needed to adjust. After blinking a few times, I searched my surroundings for Granger. The hallway was empty but I could hear the gentle tapping of feet against stone that probably belonged to Granger. I eventually spotted her to my right, heading into the charms classroom. I couldn't follow her in there-it would be too obvious. Spinning on my foot, I looked desperately up and down the hallway. I needed to find a place to wait for her without arousing suspicion. It only took a second for my eyes to land on it. The perfect spot. With a grin, I walked rapidly towards it.

Hermione's POV:

Hurrying out of the Charms classroom and away from Professor Flitwick calmed me slightly. After dropping off my extracurricular essay with him, I knew that now I could let my tears fall freely. I would try to safely reach my dormitory before the real floods began-if not then I would have to find a quiet corner in the hallway and settle down for some sobbing. Either way it was going to happen so I why not let it start now? I kept my hands firmly by my sides and allowed the salty liquid to stream from my eyes as I tried to scurry down the corridor. This was Harry and Ron's fault. They had once again been pushing me to talk about my issues. Why couldn't they understand that it hurt to do that? From the moment that I had returned to school-over a week ago-I had been determined to remain focused on my schoolwork. It may have seemed stupid to some people that I had been attempting to force the problem into the back of my mind but that was how I wanted it; as far away from my consciousness as possible. Hogwarts was my happy place. This was where I was supposed to be safe and I wasn't going to let anything invade that peace. So I had worked hard on burying my troubles deep within me. Unfortunately, Harry and Ron thought that this wasn't at all a brilliant idea. But instead of calmly trying to persuade me to talk to them about it, they were diving in head first and asking me questions-forcing me to think about it when I didn't want to.

I was so wrapped up in my head that I didn't know how to react when a pair of strong hands seized me by the waist and pulled me backwards. So I stupidly did nothing.

I didn't even think to wipe my eyes dry so when I was engulfed by darkness my face was still soaked with the clear liquid of my silent sobs. The only slither of light that was in the space surrounding me was suddenly cut off as the thud of a closing door echoed in my ears. My eyes were completely unadjusted and I began to panic. My chest tightened and my breathing came in rasping gasps. The hands that had dragged me in here were no longer placed on my waist but I could feel the presence of someone stood behind me. I felt violated as their breath lightly crawled along the back of my head, bringing me back into my mind and enabling me to react. I leapt forward with my arms outstretched and whacked my palms against a wall. Spinning on my heel to face my kidnapper, I trailed my hands along the walls that were beside me. I soon discovered that I was in a very enclosed space and there was no visible way out at the moment. I was trapped. I continued to weep as I stared into the sinister darkness in front of me, my eyes desperately scanning for the signs of another person. A sniffle escaped me as I cried in the dark.

"Are you crying Granger? Actually crying?" His snide voice cut through my sobs like a knife. "I knew that I could be scary but I didn't think that I would make you cry."

Draco's POV:

Chuckling to myself, I raised my wand and muttered 'Lumos' to light up the small cupboard that I had yanked her in to. An orb of light encircled the tip of my wand and allowed me to examine my surroundings. The cupboard was windowless and filled with assorted mops and brooms. The shelves above my head held nothing but thick layers of dust and cobwebs. I stared at Granger as a smirk spread across my face. With the ghostly white beams illuminating her face, I saw the extent of her sorrow. Instantly, the smirk fell into a shocked frown as if my lips had literally dropped off my face.

Her face was set in a scowl but raw emotion lingered in her features, the effects of the cruel torment rising to the surface after probably days of hiding it after it appeared to have chewed away at her. A thin blotchy line trailed down her cheeks from each brown eye and tears still glided downwards. The look in her distant gaze was haunting; beautifully broken and reminiscent of a corpse's empty stare. Just like Diggory's had been. Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she stared back at me. I had never seen her like this. Even at the Yule Ball she had been more contained. I gaped into her seemingly dead eyes and saw through them like doors. The very core of her seemed drained of all emotion because she was displaying it on her outside; allowing it to leak out of her to be disposed of before she became a hard shell once again. But on the inside she was already numb. I could tell. It was the look that my mother had worn since the day Voldemort had returned. I watched her as she eyed the door behind me-I was securely blocking the path to make sure that I was completely in control of the situation.

"Granger what are you doing?" I muttered, for once unsure of what I should say.

"What am I doing?" She spat. "You're the one that kidnapped me and dragged me into a broom cupboard! Why in the name of Merlin was this necessary?"

Granger's voice was strained and shaky-apparently still trying to fight off the tears. I set my hard gaze on her.

"Why are you trying to stop crying? I've already seen that you are so there's no point in hiding it."

She scowled as her gaze dropped to the floor.

"We both know why. If I just allow myself to cry in front of you, then as soon as we get out of here you'll run off to your gullible friends and tell them all about how I 'sobbed uncontrollably' and then you'll make up some idiotic story about how it was 'the fear that you caused in me that made me start crying in the first place.' I'm not a simpleton Malfoy."

I forced out a shrill laugh, the glowing orb of light from my wand bobbed as my hand shook with the action.

"Do you really think I'll be telling anyone that I was in a broom cupboard with you? I have a reputation you know." I continued to smirk down at her, although the action didn't feel right considering that tears were still trailing down her glistening cheeks.

"Then why are you in here in the first place?" Granger almost groaned as she threw her hands upwards and glared at me. Shock stole my face but I quickly covered it with a nonchalant expression as I pretended to examine my wand. I couldn't quite understand why I was here myself. Continuing to twirl my wand between my fingers with my eyes fixed upon it, I was aware of Granger still glaring at me. Finally I lowered my wand slightly and rested my eyes back on her.

"What Granger?"

"Either tell me why you pulled me in here or move so I can get out." Her voice seemed steadier now but that didn't stop the tears from escaping; it was almost as if they couldn't stop. Now that they had tasted freedom they couldn't get enough. I rolled my eyes lazily at her.

"I just wanted to find out why in the name of Merlin you've been acting so...odd." I sneered without my full force as I watched her sharp intake of breath. Granger's eyes widened for a split second before they narrowed into slits and she stared fiercely at me in the dark. The menacing shadows sprawled across her face as I lowered my wand to hide my admittedly worried expression.

"You mean to tell me that after all these years of tormenting me; you're concerned about my behaviour? What has it got to do with you anyway?"

I raised both of my thin blonde eyebrows into arcs on my forehead.

"Well I thought that something is definitely wrong when the nerd starts to emotionally break down in public all the time. I want to know if the rest of us should be worried. Is it some kind of disease? I hope it's not catching." Smirking, I watched her-waiting for her to grow tired of arguing and try to push past me. She did not. Granger had flinched once during my comments but she hadn't reacted any other way.

"So what the hell is wrong with you Granger?" I pressed.

"It's none of your business." She said flatly.

"Yeah but I'm curious and you have no way to get out."

"You wouldn't understand."

"What wouldn't I understand? I'm a smart guy."

She released a faint chuckle at this, shaking her head and looking down.

"That's highly debatable." Her tone had lost any false friendliness that had been present in her chuckle. Now she was being frosty again.

"You're trying to divert the conversation." I observed with a suspicious look at her.

"So what if I am?"

I could sense a challenge in that which only encouraged me. Straightening my posture, I puffed out my chest and peered down at her.

"Well it's made me even more interested to be honest. Now tell me." I slowly leant down so that I was now at eye level with her. Brown met grey. Her aggravated breaths hurtled towards my face and burst across my skin but I remained where I was.

"I said that you wouldn't understand!"

"And I don't care!" I shouted back. Our voices echoed faintly around the small stone room. She was no longer crying but her slim hands trembled by her sides and her eyes seemed to hold a murderous glint as she watched me. I drew back from her, suddenly too aware of our close proximity, and massaged my temple with my pale hand.

"For Salazar's sake Granger, will you just tell me what is going on with you so that we can both go back to our lives?"

Thinking that she wouldn't tell me, I rested my body against the door and stared up at the low ceiling. Why did I even do this? She caused more trouble than she was worth.

"My mum has a muggle disease." I heard her mutter softly. Surprised, my gaze darted down to rest on her again. The usually fiery Gryffindor was slouching and her eyes appeared broken-as if the flood gates were ready to open once more. With an inward groan, I pushed myself forward off the door. If she cried again then I would probably scream.

"That's not surprising; she is a muggle. Didn't you know that muggles tend to get muggle diseases? What does she have?" I slurred irritably. She was stirring all of this trouble over something as insignificant as a cold? And a muggle with a cold at that. I watched her, permitting the boredom to blatantly splash across my face as I waited to make an exit.

Granger seemed almost reluctant yet again. Gnawing on her lip, she glanced up at me.

"Cancer. She has cancer." Her tone was unsure; almost as if she wasn't certain that she had pronounced it right. My heart almost stopped as I heard that word. I didn't know many muggle illnesses but I knew about that one. It was one of the worst. Without allowing myself any proper thoughts, I instantly felt almost sorry for Granger. She observed me closely as I turned over this situation in my head. I must've forgotten to cover my expressions because she seemed to register the slight grief that I felt for her.

"You know about it? I didn't think you would have."

I understood now that her uncertain tone earlier was because she didn't think that the words would mean much to me at all.

"Of course I know of it. I took muggle studies." It came out harsher than I meant it to, biting through the almost relaxed air and turning it into frosty tension for the thousandth time. She recoiled slightly at my lack of sympathy, her bushy hair bouncing.

"So...was that everything Malfoy? Are you satisfied now?" Granger spat. Her soft interior had retreated after appearing at the false sense of security only to be replaced by her tough shell again. Shields back up and posture straight with pride, Granger stared me down-willing me to say more. Instead, I nodded curtly once before whipping around and wrenching open the door. Then I strode down the corridor, longing to get far away from Granger.

Hermione's POV:

As soon as the heavy door clicked shut and he had vanished, I dropped my tough facade. He had simply swept from the room. Nothing remained with me to suggest that he was ever here. It was too silent. Everything is always broken up by silence; punctuated by it. Silence is nothing, but it's everything, because we hunt for words in silence. We think in silence. Our minds work hard in silence. And yet it's awful. It's empty. It's lonely. Necessary nothingness. With a dazed expression, I slid down the cold wall and dropped to the floor. Then I dragged my knees up to my face to rest my chin on them. I was shaking but no sobs began having used them all up before-in front of Draco Malfoy. I groaned as the realisation sunk in. I had cried in front of him; basically had a mental breakdown while he watched.

My hand slid down to my pocket automatically as I yearned for light, searching for something-my wand. I could have used that to get past him and I would have escaped without him learning a single thing about my mother. I hadn't wanted him to know. But the irrational part of me had deemed it interesting to find out how he would react. So in an idle moment of vulnerability, it had blurted out. Now I felt nothing but contempt for my supposedly smart self. Slipping a hand into my pocket, my fingers clasped around the soothingly familiar shape of my wand. I pulled it out to mutter 'Lumos' just as he had done earlier. Then I proceeded to twirl it around in between my thumb and index finger, admiring the leafy patterns that adorned it. The light emitting from the thin tip of it glowed happily. But I didn't feel happy. I wanted to curl up here and sleep away my stress but the dust had begun to clog my nose from the moment I had been pulled in here against my will. So I just sat, allowing myself a few simple minutes of reflection time. I ran the argument-or heated discussion-through my mind once again. I couldn't figure out why he had been so interested in my problems. But that was irrelevant for now as I had noticed something else.

There had been many moments in this tiny broom cupboard that I had irked him greatly. But not once had he used the word 'Mudblood' when referring to me.

Reviews are much appreciated :)