A.N: Ok, Hey. Sorry for such a long wait. And I warn you, Draco's a bit.. er, OOC in this one.. Hermione may be too, but not so much as Draco.. Haha. And thanks to all my reviewers, I love you all MUAHZ! Lol. Haha, yeah. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Dont own anything you recognize.

xx-Mione-Fan-xx

Intense Amount of Pain and Love

Chapter 8: Secrets Be Told

Hermione was still shocked at what Malfoy had said to her a few hours earlier. It had sounded like he – The Draco Malfoy, ex-Slytherin, and pureblooded deatheater- actually cared about Alyssa, and what he did for Alyssa – giving her the healing potion- did absolutely nothing to quell the suspicions that Draco Malfoy cared for someone other than himself.

Also, she was rather startled to find herself thinking about their conversation earlier, in which, sure there had been a number of glares – mostly from her and directed to him- had actually been rather civil. She had thought that was nearly impossible; now she certainly believed in miracles.

She wondered what sort of powers Alyssa held; how could a simple daughter of an auror hold powers besides her regular witch power? Malfoy had said something else that also puzzled her. 'She could be your way outta here.'

How could Alyssa help them to escape? She was only a girl. A nine year old girl.

But she has powers.

Does that matter? She probably doesn't know how to use them.

Don't underestimate the girl.

Hermione's mind was arguing with her, shouting thoughts at her until she couldn't separate the different thoughts. She was confused, all because of Malfoy.

"HERMIONE! Hello? Earth to Mione!" Hermione was snapped out of her screaming mind when Ron yelled to her.

"What is it?" She cried, irritated.

"Oh, nothing, just I tried to get your attention for the past five minutes but you appeared to be off in your own world or something. Rather annoying, actually. I just wanted to ask you what happened with Malfoy. He didn't hurt you did he?" Ron asked. She didn't want to lie to her best friend but she remembered Malfoy's warning. Would he know if she told? Probably, and besides there were probably reasons for not wanting her to tell.

"N-nothing just teased and taunted me." Hermione lied. Ron nodded.

"Nothing too bad, then?" He asked. She shook her head. She saw Alyssa look at her, puzzlement in her hazel eyes, and then she slowly shook her head. Odd, Hermione thought.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened over the next few days and Hermione vaguely wondered how long they had been here since being taken from Grimmauld Place. She wanted badly to talk with Malfoy, and ask him questions to sort through her jumbled thoughts, but he never came to the cell, until one day. But he wasn't alone; he was with Zabini and Nott again. Merlin, not again, Nott can't take Ginny this time. I won't let him. Hermione thought, determinedly.

"Well, hello there prisoners." Nott drawled, looking them all over. Hermione imagined they had probably gotten a lot worse since Nott last saw them, with the lack of food and water; they had probably lost quite the bit of weight.

"Bugger off, Nott." Ron muttered, immediately putting his arm around his sister.

"Nope, I don't believe I will." Nott said, smirking. He opened the cell and stepped in, Malfoy and Zabini following, though Malfoy had a sour look on his face and was glaring at Nott.

Nott reached over and pulled Ginny to her feet, running his hand along her slender arms and face. Ginny paled considerably, and shivered disgustedly. Hermione rose to her feet again, but this time, she saw Fred and George at her side.

"Not this time, Nott." Fred said.

"You won't be taking our sister anywhere." George finished.

"Oh? And what are you two going to do to stop me in your current state, with no wands and weak from lack of food?" Nott challenged, glaring at the Weasley twins. Hermione winced at the truth in his words, they were unarmed. Or so she thought.

"This," The twins replied in unison, identical grins on their faces that Hermione recognized all too well. They chucked a small red ball at Nott, which hit him in the face and fell to the floor, doing absolutely nothing. Hermione knew better than do assume it was a fake joke, this was Fred and George.

The small ball exploded and a spray of green string shot up and struck Nott in the face, blinding him.

"What the bloody hell is this?" He yelled, as the sticky green stuff spread all over his face, and when he raised his hands to get it off him, his hands immediately stuck to his face. Hermione suppressed a giggle. Fred grabbed Ginny and passed her back to Ron. George pulled another red ball out and chucked it at Zabini, who never managed to duck in time and the ball hit him. He thought he could move away from the string of green as he knew it was coming, but he didn't know it would still get him as it goes after the victim who unfortunately got hit with it. Poor Zabini never knew that and was soon covered in the same sticky mess that Nott was.

Malfoy stood off to the side, chuckling amusedly at Zabini and Nott's predicament. Fred and George looked to him next, narrowing their eyes and daring him to take a step near Hermione.

"That, Nott, would apparently be a new joke of Fred and George Weasley. Very clever, if you ask me." Malfoy said, answering Nott's earlier question when the green stuff was first flung onto him. "I must admit we made a mistake in assuming the Weasley twins who we knew all to well in school, would be unarmed. Quite the contrary. Tell me boys, how did you manage to get past the deatheater's search?"

"Your fellow deatheaters weren't looking for anything other than wands or daggers. So when they pulled out our trick and asked what it was, we simply said our bouncy balls. The deatheaters believed us and also believed they were harmless so they let us keep them. I do believe we had Crabbe and Goyle search us, right Fred?" George replied, grinning.

"Right George. So we were just saving these for an emergency when we would need them." Fred said. Hermione pulled them both into a hug.

"I never thought your tricks, which I always found rather dumb, would come in handy boys. You're both so clever." Hermione said. Ginny nodded.

"Thanks." She said, smiling.

"Anything for our little sis. You think we'd sit by and let Nott take you again?" George said, and laughed as Zabini fell and started rolling around on the ground.

"Sorry to interrupt this precious little moment, but is everyone forgetting that Malfoy is still in the cell?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Actually Weasel, I'm here for a reason, and no it is not to hurt Granger. We really didn't come down here to torture, but Nott and Zabini deserved it anyway." Malfoy mumbled the last part, however only Hermione heard it. She smiled. "I'm taking Granger, but I won't be hurting her, and she knows this so there won't be the need for any more," Malfoy paused, his eyes sweeping over Fred and George. "Jokes."

"Is what he said true, Mione?" Ron asked her. Hermione was watching Malfoy intently. Maybe he'd answer her questions now.

"Yes, it's true Ron. Malfoy has no intent on hurting me." She said at last, turning her gaze to Ron.

Malfoy started walking toward her when Alyssa stepped in front of him, looking at him. He stopped and glanced down at her curiously. They stood staring at each other for a while before Alyssa said something.

"She'll be alright Mr. Malfoy. Danika will come out of it soon."

Malfoy stiffened at her words and his face went even paler then it already was. He whispered something to Alyssa that Hermione didn't hear.

"I just know." Alyssa replied smiling, and Hermione figured Malfoy had asked the girl how she knew whatever it was she said. Finally, Malfoy nodded, and regained his composure. He gently moved the girl out of his way and grabbed Hermione by the arm.

"By the way, I will need to send a couple deatheaters down to take any more 'jokes' of yours." Malfoy said, glancing over his shoulder at the twins.

"HEY! Drake! Draco, come back! Aren't you going to get this shit off of us?" Hermione laughed as Zabini said that and Malfoy ignored him.

"The deatheaters that I send down will help him, I suppose." Malfoy mumbled under his breath. He led her to a room full of a dozen or more deatheaters.

"Parkinson, take Goyle and Flint down to the dungeons to help get the mess off of Nott and Zabini. You'll know what I mean when you go down there." Malfoy ordered, and Hermione saw the pug-faced girl that she had hated back in school, look up at Malfoy and nod. "Also, search the Weasley twins and take their little 'jokes' away from them before they cause any more damage." Malfoy added, rather reluctantly Hermione noticed.

Hermione followed as Malfoy took her back up the stairs and led her to what she now knew was his bedroom and let go of her arm. Then he turned and locked his door, casting a 'silencio' charm on the room, so that anybody passing by wouldn't be able to hear anything said in the bedroom. Hermione raised her eyebrow.

"Okay, I don't care if you don't answer me, but I have about a dozen questions to ask you, and I won't stop until I get the answers." Hermione said, looking determinedly at him.

"Shoot." He said and she stared at him, taken aback. She hadn't expected him to say that, she expected him to argue and say he wasn't answering anything.

"Right then, er- okay, why were you being so caring towards Alyssa? Who's Danika? What sort of powers does Alyssa hold? Why did you sound reluctant to tell Parkinson to take away Fred and George's jokes? And why did you bring me here?" Hermione asked, all in almost one breath, maybe two breaths.

"Whoa, I knew you were the bookworm from school that we all loved, and I expected you to have a lot of questions, but could you have said it any faster?" Malfoy said, rolling eyes, but not completely unkindly. "But, I'll answer what I can. I already answered why I was being 'kind' to Penner, and that was because she reminds me of someone. Danika happens to be my twin sister. I can't tell you what sort of powers Penner has. I found the Weasley twin's jokes to be amusing; I brought you here to tell you something that I feel I can trust to tell you."

"Wait, you have a sister?" Hermione cried, stunned. That was news to her; she had always thought Malfoy was an only child. If he had a twin sister, why hadn't she been at Hogwarts and how come no one knew about her?

"Yes, her name is Danika Malfoy." Malfoy said. His voice was cool and calm and yet Hermione had the feeling that he was just hiding his true feelings. Judging by how he reacted when Alyssa mentioned Danika, she figured something bad happened to his sister and he cared for her a lot.

"Why doesn't anyone know about her?" Hermione asked.

"Because I didn't tell anyone." He replied, simply.

"Well, why not? What happened to her?" Hermione pressed. He was sure stubborn. Then again, he was a Malfoy. Wait, if he hadn't told anyone, then how did Alyssa know?

"She's in a coma." Malfoy replied. "She- she was abused by my father when she was only eight. She's been in a coma since." Hermione gasped. That's horrible! She thought.

"I watched him. I watched him do it, Granger. It was bloody horrible. Then he said a spell and she hasn't woken up since. The healers don't think she'll ever wake up, but my mother doesn't want to let her go." Malfoy continued, his voice was still cool and emotionless, but she saw tears glistening in his eyes.

"And that's who Alyssa reminds you of? Your sister?" Hermione probed, tentatively. People who were like Malfoy and didn't open up their feelings very much, tended to get angry often.

"Yes, that's who Penner reminds me of." Malfoy said softly. Poor Malfoy, Hermione thought. She couldn't believe he would have had to witness his father beat his sister, and so young too. I guess that explains why he's so cold all the time.

"Not that I don't want you to tell me, Malfoy, but I have a feeling there's a reason why you're telling me this." Hermione said.

"Yes Granger. You're the smartest witch in Hogwarts for a reason." He said, smirking for a moment and then dropping it back to his neutral look. "My sister has been in a coma for a little over ten years now. I haven't been able to visit her since I became a bloody deatheater. But you want to know why I did it, Granger? Why I became what I am? Because of him. My father. He threatened to attack mother and put her in a coma like he did Danni. And he threatened to pull the plug on Danika. End her life for good. And I didn't want that. Father knows I don't want to be like him. Deep down, he knows it. He knows I hate following that bloody prejudice bastard who happens to be a bloody half-blood himself. I don't agree with what they do, especially child abuse. Whenever they abuse a child, it pisses me off." Malfoy said, smiling slightly. "I can't believe I just told you that. You, whose supposed to be my worst enemy. Wow, I surprise myself everyday."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. She saw a flicker of a genuine smile on Malfoy's face when she laughed but then it was gone.

"Why are you telling me all this, Malfoy?" She asked.

"Because I want to help you." He replied and she gasped.

A.N: See? A lil OOC. I tried to keep in character as best I could but that's kinda hard when I just had him offer his help to them. But he's a bit.. desperate. I'm sorry for adding another character, but still it doesn't make it a mary sue, as Danika Malfoy doesn't come in for a while, and besides it's not that hard to believe that he had a sister, as JKR never said otherwise. Danika plays an important part for the reasons in why Dracos such the bastard he was in school, as well as why he hates child abuse and cares for Alyssa Penner. So please, spare me the flames. -hopeful smile- And review please. x-) Hehe.

xx-Mione-Fan-xx