AN- Howdy ya'll. So Chapter 10 is finally up. Excited? I am. :D And don't worry, the story is almost over, you won't have to wait for much longer (I hope).

This one goes out to Dakota, who's been waiting forever for this. :) I hope you like it.

As always, any questions/comments/concerns, let me know.

-MH-

Draco POV

The sun rose slowly over the frozen property of Malfoy Manor. I stood, gazing out of the window of the bedroom that had been mine since birth. Old robes that no longer fit me still hung in one of the three closets. My first broomstick, that I had received as a birthday gift when I turned five years old was still displayed above my bed.

The entire room showcased the grandeur that was the Malfoy name. The dark wooden floors were polished and had a slight, wicked greet tint about them. Heavy silver drapery framed the windows, taking the appearance of a mystical waterfall while they were closed. The bed was made with fine black linen, framed ever-so-subtly with green and silver embroidery. The pillows were arranged neatly, not having been touched since the night before I left for school on the train.

I hadn't slept a wink last night, especially not after the meeting with the Death Eaters. It seemed that the Dark Lord knew much more than I though he did, but far less than there was to be known.

I thought back on his words:

"So, my dear Draco," he greeted me with a malicious smile. "You haven't been much of a worker, have you?"

I lowered my head, letting my eyes trace the pattern in the floor. "No, sir."

"You look at me when I'm speaking to you!" he suddenly burst.

I snapped my eyes back up to me his leering, snake-like gaze. He paused, sneering down at me.

"Would you mind to explain why it took you so long to fix the cabinet? Or perhaps you would like to explain why it is suddenly broken again? I assure you, we would all like to know."

There was a short silence that followed, during which I could feel the eyes of many of the Death Eaters trained on my back.

"No?" continued the Dark Lord before he began to pace about me. "Well then, do allow me to fill in. I believe you have been dawdling your time by playing with a little muggle instrument. Now, Draco, would I be incorrect in assuming so?"

My jaw clenched before I answered in a strained voice. "No, my lord."

"Then would I also be correct for assuming that you've been using that muggle instrument to fraternize with the mud blood that I resent the very most?"

I quickly searched my panicked mind for a suitable response. "I was only trying to get close to her, my lord, so that we might use her to get close to Potter."

The Dark Lord looked taken aback at this, as though I wasn't capable of such logical thought. Even through my fear, my ego took a blow. He withdrew from her predatory stance, straightening his spine and boring down into my eyes as thought he were looking for something important. I quickly shut part of my mind down, only allowing him to see what would fit within my story. I hoped against all hope that he couldn't tell that I was resisting in part to his Legilimens.

After a few moments, he retreated from my mind. "Very well, then, Draco, very well. But don't you agree that the best way to toy with Potter emotions is to destroy that which he holds most dear?"

I didn't like where this was going. "M-my lord?"

"Kill the girl, Draco. Kill both her and the old fool Dumbeldore. And let Potter watch."

With the order to return to the school the next day and to finish the job within the month, I was sent away.

I sighed, and turned from the window as the door to my bedroom creaked open, and my eyes met those of my mother. She said nothing for a moment, but stared at me, as though she would never see me again. And so she might not, if I didn't kill not one but two people; one of which I had recently admitted to loving, and it wasn't the old man I was talking about.

She suddenly rushed toward me, and pulled me into a motherly embrace. Her voice filled with signs of tears as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Draco. I'm so sorry." over and over again.

I quietly shushed her. "We'll get through this. We always do, don't we?"

This seemed to appease her, and after another few moments, she pulled away.

"Is it time for me to go?"

She nodded, and suddenly wasn't able to meet my eyes as I started for the door.

"Just come back to me, Draco." she called quietly after me before I retreated down the stairs to where my father stood, intending to escort me back to the school.

Hermione POV

The sun arose, leaking through the cracks of the curtains of my four-poster bed in the silent dormitory. The other girls would all still be asleep. This was especially true of Lavender, who continued to snore - rather loudly, I might add - in the bed a few feet away from mine.

I hadn't slept much last night. Every time I began to doze off, my subconscious was filled with the reoccurring vision of a disappearing Draco, only for me to see him reappear in Malfoy Mansion, along with You-Know-Who and a group of masked Death Eaters. I couldn't hear the spoken words, but after a twisted smile, there was a flash of green light and Draco's body crumpled to the floor.

After screaming myself - and everyone else - awake, I decided to not let myself sleep for the rest of the night. Instead, I merely lay in my bed, staring upward without a sound or movement besides my steady breathing.

Occasionally I would wonder how I was to get through classes during the day without having slept. I stopped before I could convince myself to go to sleep. I didn't want to see him d- like that again. I couldn't even bring myself to think the word "die", especially not in relation to Draco.

When I was sure that it was late enough to begin dressing for the day, I drew back the curtains and stood up. Pulling a fresh set of robes from my trunk, I proceeded to change and head for the loo to clean up.

It wasn't long before I was joining Ginny, Harry and Ron at breakfast in the Great Hall. I had silently pulled apart two slices of toast before Harry brought up exactly what was troubling me.

"I wonder what's happened to Malfoy."

I tried to act as though I continued to pay no attention, though the muscles in my stomach clenched and I felt as though I was about to burst into tears.

"Just as bloody well," Ron responded. "I'd be glad if that arrogant git disappeared."

I clenched my fist and fought the urge to punch him.

Ginny gave me an odd, calculating look, but said nothing. This was especially a good thing because I don't think I had the ability to speak without crying in that moment.

"Not that I don't agreed with you, Ron," continued Harry, "but aren't you the least bit curious as to why he's not here? I mean, considering there's a war on the horizon, it's things like these that should worry us."

Ron considered this for a moment, and then nodded his head. "You're probably right."

At this, I dropped the bits of toast back onto my plate and stood to leave. When they all gave me questionable looks, I quickly thought up an excuse. "I want to get a head start to class. I have a question that I want to ask Professor McGonagall."

They nodded and turned back to my meals before I was off and out the door. I, in fact, had no question to ask Professor McGonagall, so now there was the small issue of determining just where to go in the spare time I had before class. I supposed I could go to the library, but it just didn't feel right. Instead, I settled on taking a walk about the grounds. The fresh air would hopefully help me clear my head, and now that the weather had begun to warm up, I could do so without the risk of hypothermia.

I passed through the large doors with ease and started down the sloping grass, still damp with morning dew. I wasn't thinking so much; I just let my feet carry me. But soon, I found myself at the shore of the Black Lake, mere feet away from where I had saved Draco's life. I simply gazed at the ground, reliving the moment in my head: the smile that shined like the sun, the way he had said my name…

It was the day that had changed everything between us, because from then on, he knew that he owed me. But now it was much more than that. Two people can never be the same once they have saved each other's lives. If once enemies, they could never return.

I suddenly turned away from the lake and began trudging away, wiping away a stray tear that I hadn't realized had fallen.

It must have been nearly time for class, and so I headed back towards the entrance, dragging my feet and suppressing all emotions. I accio'd my bag on my way to the Transfiguration classroom, and it came flying to me just as I reached the door. I was only a few minutes early now, and the seats were slowly beginning to fill with other students of my year. I took one towards the front with the intension of ignoring Harry and Ron for the time-being, but of course, they thwarted that effort by taking the pair of seats to my right, but didn't acknowledge me any farther than a "Hey, Hermione" when they first sat down.

I was glad to be ignored; I wasn't much in the mood for talking. When a throat cleared and the class settled down, I dug in my bag for my quill, ink, and parchment and prepared to take notes on the day's lesson. Professor McGonagall started reviewing with us the material we had gone over last week, and I opted to stop thinking for a while. I had already taken notes and studied this topic a billion times.

I started paying attention again when her steady voice had paused, and the door creaked open. I turned, only for my eyes to meet what I assumed to be a hallucination. The familiar white blond hair could not be there. The pale complexion and bright gray eyes were simply a creation of what my mind wished dearly that it had seen.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Professor McGonagall questioned him.

He made his way to a seat in the back as he answered. "Sorry, Professor. I've only just got back." He met no one's eyes, though all were on him.

There was another silence, and then Professor McGonagall continued with her lecture. I didn't hear any more of it, of course. My thoughts were elsewhere. I gazed at Draco for several more moments, before finally determining that he was not a creation of my imagination. He was really here. But that, of course, proposed several more questions. Why was he back? What had happened to him? What went wrong?

Unfortunately, I had to wait until the end of the class period to ask him. The minutes went by slowly, until eventually, the time came, and she dismissed the class. I took one look at Harry and Ron, and rushed out of the door before they could question me further. I hid from them as they walked in the opposite direction toward Charms class, and waited for Draco to come out.

He stepped out behind Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, took one look at me with sad, tired eyes, and walked away without a word.