A/N: Hi everyone! Guess who's power has returned? That's right, mine! Thank you to all of you who sent me encouraging messages, that was so sweet of all of you. Before this chapter begins, I just want to clear something up. I hope you all realize that I wasn't looking for sympathy by posting my "Update". I did receive one very nasty PM saying that I was looking for attention :(The "Update" was just for you guys in case you were wondering why no chapter had posted that weekend. I know a lot of people have it much worse than I had it this past week, people lost their lives in Sandy, and now I feel kind of bad for complaining about the cold and the lack of power. And I am writing this as an apology if anyone felt offended or felt that I was complaining too much.

Also, a while ago I had somebody send a PM and they had the nerve to make fun of my dyslexia :( I tried not to take it to heart, but words hurt sometimes.

My PM is always open. I always love to hear if you want something changed or explained. Review if you want, there is no sense in trying to make you review, but if you do, I love you.


Draco was running late, as usual.

The lack of sleep this past week was actually killing him. He couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, but he knew it was killing him. At breakfast he would eat very little and he spoke to no one. In class he would struggle to stay awake, most of the time he would fail miserably and would lose house points. At lunch he would continue to stare at his plate, willing the food to go away.

By the time dinner would roll around, he would nibble on some mashed potatoes and drink water. His homework was piling up in almost all of his classes and now he was just accepting zeros on essays and projects. At night he would lay awake, praying to whatever being above that it would allow him just a few hours of sleep.

But every night was the same. He stared at his ceiling until the sun rose the next morning. Then he would get up, bags under his eyes, and start the cycle all over again.

He was starting to crack.

Draco opened the door of the broom closet. Hermione was sitting in her usual spot, only today something was different. Actually, everything was different.

Hermione had a plate of food in front of her. Hidden behind her back, he could see two pillows and two blankets.

"Granger, what are you doing?" he asked annoyed. Hermione looked up at him.

"Just because we can't talk outside of these lessons doesn't mean I haven't noticed what is going on," she said with worry laced in her voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"You have barely eaten in the last 5 days, Malfoy. You don't hand in your assignments, you haven't been sleeping—."

"How do you know that?" he spat.

"You look horrible! Do you even sleep?" she shrieked.

Draco looked at his hands.

"Please, Malfoy, I'm worried about you. You need to eat and you need to sleep. It's Saturday morning, no classes tomorrow, so it wouldn't matter that you sleep here."

Draco looked at the plate of food.

"Where did you get that? It's two o'clock in the morning," he asked.

"The kitchen. The House Elves didn't mind and they have promised not to mention my visit to Dumbledore. Please eat it," she begged.

Draco picked up the fork. He knew he had to eat, with her brown eyes begging, and his stomach begging, he knew he had been defeated.

He scooped up some peas and ate them. Hermione smiled.

It didn't take him very long to finish the meal, and suddenly he was very grateful that she had brought it for him. Hermione vanished the remaining plate and fork back to the kitchen.

"So why haven't you been sleeping?" she asked. Draco shook his head.

"I don't know, I just can't do it. I've tried everything and it just won't happen," he explained. He was just so tired. He felt his voice cracking from the stress.

"Do you want to try to sleep?" Hermione asked. Draco nodded his head like a child. Hermione pulled out the pillows and the blankets. She moved to the corner of the closet and put a pillow behind her back. Then she wrapped a blanket around herself. "Come here, Malfoy," she said gently.

Draco moved toward her. She helped him maneuver into a laying position and she placed his head in her lap. She reached down and pulled his slippers off. Then she placed a blanket on his curled up form.

How odd, he thought, who ever thought that I would feel most comfortable curled up in a broom closet?

"You don't want to lay down?" he asked sleepily, his eyelid already starting to sag.

"You and I both know that this closet is not big enough for the both of us," she said. "And besides, this is about you getting a goodnight sleep."

Her words were just a blur, a fog in his mind. Sleep was almost taking him over, and Hermione was softly running her nimble fingers threw his blonde hair.

Just as he was about to fall into the realm of dreams, he felt her pant an innocent kiss on his cheek.

And then, he went numb.

XXX

Draco's eyes fluttered open.

He was staring at a wall. Where am I?

He moved his hands to his eyes and rubbed them a few times before letting out a yawn. He started to stretch out his cramped legs but his feet quickly hit a wall.

Oh that's right, I'm in a closet with Granger, he thought. Even though he had slept in a closet, he felt as though he has slept in the most comfortable bed in the whole Wizarding World.

Draco turned his head and looked up at Hermione. Her hand was still in his hair, the realization making his heart beat faster. She was awake and staring at him sweetly.

Draco flashed her a smile, which she returned weakly before her eyes focused on something else rather than his face. His eyes followed her gaze.

His pants were tenting and sporting a rather large morning erection.

He quickly rolled over to try to hide what was already noticed, and he ended up hitting his head rather hard on the wall of the closet. Draco moaned in embarrassment and pain.

"Oh! Malfoy! Are you okay?" she asked.

"I—I'm sorry," he stuttered. His hand was on his head where he hit it. "That happens sometimes—it—it doesn't mean anything." He wasn't facing her and he couldn't tell what she was doing.

"It's perfectly fine," she said awkwardly. "How did you sleep?"

Draco looked quickly at his groin and realized the erection was gone. Then he turned toward her and answered. "Very well actually, how about you?"

"Just fine, just in need of a good stretch," she replied. He noticed that she glanced at his groin for a quick second.

"I should go…" he thought out loud. Draco sat up and reached for his slippers. "Same time, next week?" Hermione nodded.

Draco opened the door and stepped out of the closet. Just before shutting it, he turned his head to look at her.

"Thank you, Granger."

XXX

That morning at breakfast, Draco walked into the Great Hall in a good mood. He walked over to the Slytherin table with the suave confidence he usually had.

"Damn, Drake," Pansy said. "I haven't seen you like this in a long time."

"Yeah, what happened to you? Did you bed some poor girl?" Blaise joked. Pansy glared at him.

"No, I did not, I merely got some sleep," Draco said. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to eat."

"Wow! Now he's even eating! Ladies and gentleman, Draco Malfoy is eating," Blaise mocked. Draco shoved him with his elbow. Then he loaded his plate with more food than he had ever eaten before.

He glanced over at the Gryffindor table and noticed that Hermione was trying very hard to hide that she was watching him. When their eyes met, she flashed him a very quickly smile and looked back down at her plate. When she looked up again, Draco returned the grin.

XXX

Draco was running late, as usual.

He ran to the broom closet and opened it. Hermione was inside, of course, waiting patiently for him to arrive.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Pansy almost caught me sneaking out. She has been on my case lately and I can't shake her," he explained before sitting down.

"Ron has been on my case too," Hermione said. Draco's face twisted slightly.

"Please don't tell me you still have a thing for him."

Hermione's face turned red.

"No, I do not like Ronald." Draco's stomach flipped. "We need to get started. What are we working on today?"

Draco sat quietly for a few moments.

"Pain."

"What do you mean by pain?" Hermione asked. Draco let out a sigh.

"In the memory, it has to seem like I hurt you," he explained. "Death eaters are dark and sadistic, they like to make people hurt. It has to look like I'm hurting you." Hermione nodded. "We will go slowly, if it's too much to handle, just let me know and I'll pull out of your mind." Again, she nodded. "And I want to try something. I want to see if I can do the spell wandlessly and wordlessly. It will be tough, but it may be useful."

"Just be careful, okay?" Hermione said.

"I will try. I'm going to try just wandlessly first. Are you ready?" Hermione nodded. He put his hand up.

"Legilimens."

The power blasted out from his hand. It sent them both opposite each other and into the wall of the tiny closet.

Draco's back went flying into the wall and he moaned in pain. The force from the spell knocked the air right out of their lungs. When they caught their breath they moved back to their spots.

"I'm sorry," he said. "That was absolutely horrible."

"Just try again," Hermione encouraged. Draco put his hand up.

"Legilimens."

Again, they went flying back harshly. The wind was knock from them and they both hit their heads on the wall. They crawled back to their spots.

"Maybe this isn't a good idea after all," he said.

"Just one more time," Hermione said. "Make it forceful, direct it right at my head." He put his hand up.

"Legilimens."

They went flying back again, this time Draco was sure he would vomit from the blow.

"Come on, Draco! Try harder!" Hermione yelled. She was already in her spot, waiting for him to crawl back. He got up and inched toward the center.

"Legilimens."

Again they flew back, this time they both yelped from the pain in their backs. Draco winced and opened his eyes. Hermione was already in her spot.

"You aren't even trying," she mumbled. The annoyance was clear on her face.

"I am trying my best," he said threw gritted teeth. Hermione turned red.

"Well, your best isn't good enough," she huffed. "Keep trying." Draco crawled back to his spot.

"Legilimens," he croaked, almost in a whisper. The forced threw them back again; Draco hit his head hard on the wall.

"Come on, Malfoy!" Hermione yelled. "Focus!"

"Legilimens!" he yelled before she could move toward the center.

The power hit them again in the chest. They both cried out in pain.

"This isn't working!" he yelled.

"KEEP! TRYING!" Hermione demanded.

"Legilimens!"

They were thrown back again. Draco roared in frustration.

"LEGILIMENS!"

XXX

He stumbled into her mind with great force. He felt dizzy and disoriented.

Hermione presented him with a memory immediately. It was blurry at first, but then it slowly became visible. Hermione was sitting in the girls' bathroom crying.

"Hermione," a voice called. It was the Weasley girl. "Are you alright?" Hermione wiped her face.

"I'm just in pain, that's all," she said. She was clutching her stomach.

"We can go see Madame Pomfrey if you want," Ginny said.

Hermione cried out as a wave of pain rushed threw her body. Draco shuttered when he felt it. Ginny dropped to her knees to rub her back. Hermione wiped her eyes again.

"The pain will pass, it always does."

"But you have a Potions essay to finish and you never will if this continues," Ginny pointed out. Hermione cried out again.

Draco realized what was going on now: female problems.

"Okay, let's go see Madame Pomfrey," Hermione complied. With the help of Ginny, Hermione stood on thin, shaky legs.

Draco pulled out of her mind.

"Malfoy! You did it!"

Draco felt her arms go around his neck. He shuttered at the sudden contact.

"I can't believe you did it! You got it so quickly! You just need to work on entering smoother," Hermione praised. She was beaming at him.

"I—I can't believe I actually did it," he said breathlessly. "Can I try again?"

"Sure! Merlin, this is exciting!"

They sat in the center of the closet again, facing each other. Draco put his hand up.

"Legilimens!" he said firmly.

XXX

He stumbled into her mind, but a lot smoother than last time. Draco quickly straightened himself and entered a passing by memory.

He felt a nudge keeping him out. He pressed forward. He felt a stronger push backwards.

Why won't she let me in?

He pushed harder. She resisted. He pushed again and her wall crumbled.

Draco saw the memory forming in front of him. It was visible now. Hermione sat in the corner of the tiny broom closet and he was passed out in her lap.

Her hands were still in his hair, even though he appeared to be asleep for a while. She was being so gentle, that Draco ached at the sight of her touching him.

Then her hands moved to his face. Her soft fingers were rubbing circles on his pale cheeks. Draco shivered. He wished he could remember her touch, her feel.

Her thumb rubbed over his lips once, then twice. He could feel himself burning from the inside out. Hermione then bent over slightly, bringing her face close to his. Draco's heart jumped.

Please do it, he thought. Please, please do it.

The burning inside of him was making him crazy, but he had to see it. His hand went to his lips. Maybe if he saw it, he could remember the feeling.

Please, please.

Suddenly, he was expelled out of her mind.

He was sitting in the tiny broom closet, panting and gasping for air. Hermione sat opposite him.

Hermione.

"You-I-we," he choked. Draco could feel himself turning 50 shades of Gryffindor red. "Did you kiss me?" Hermione sat quietly, but he could tell she was fuming. "You didn't even let me see!"

Hermione lunged at him. In the blink of an eye she was inches away from him. Oh Merlin, she's going to—.

Hermione slapped him. The kind of slap that made the inside of your mouth bleed. When he looked up after the initial shock, she was right back opposite him.

"It wasn't for you to see."

"Wasn't for me to see? It was about me! I think I have a right to know if you kissed me," Draco countered. Hermione turned red with anger.

"Fine! You want to know? I DIDN'T kiss you. Do you want to know why, Malfoy? Because you are a lowlife Death eater," she spat.

"If I'm such a lowlife, then why were you about to kiss me?" He was furious now.

"Out of pity!" she shrieked. "You had been walking around like a zombie all week and I felt bad for you."

Draco sat quietly now.

"And here I thought we were actually friends," he finally muttered. With that he got up and left the tiny broom closet.