Here's the next chapter! This one and the next one were originally one chapter, but it was almost 4000 words, so I decided to just split them up XD

Also, another important author's note at the bottom. Please read.


Draco's fingers trembled as he put the letter down on the table. It was a sunny day as it had been for the past week, but the light didn't reach his heart. After reading what he just had, he could find no shred of happiness or hope to cling to.

He had received the same note from his mother before, from when he had lived through his sixth year for the first time. It was a shocking reawakening to the fact that this was real, that he did in fact have a mission, that it wasn't just his imagination.

He wished it would just go away. He didn't want to have anything to do with the Death Eaters, didn't want to be associated with the Dark Lord. He didn't want this pressure hanging over his head, didn't want his family to pay any price for his incompetence.

He rested his head on his hands, pressing the palms over his eyes as he sighed. What was he going to do?

Sitting in the almost deserted Great Hall on that Saturday morning, Draco shot a glare at the letter, wishing he could burn it. But he felt that he couldn't do it, that if something went wrong and this was the last letter he got from his mother, then he should hold onto it, no matter what its message was.

Though he wished desperately to be able to forget what it said.

Draco,

I hope that your school year thus far has been living up to your expectations. From past experiences, I know just how busy sixth year can be. Of course, your case is much different than mine, but I know that you are more capable than anyone thinks.

I know you can do this, Draco. Don't believe for a second that you are unable to carry out the task you've been assigned. I know it must seem like a lot, but you can do it. Your father and I are hoping against hope every day that you are away that you are making significant progress. We know how much pressure must be on your shoulders, and for that, I am sorry. But you can do it, I know you can. You are the smartest boy I have ever known; if you can't do it, no one can.

But you can do it. Please, remember that. There is nothing standing in your way, nothing keeping you from succeeding, nothing that you can't handle. Just remember what is at stake and I am confident that you will have the strength to carry out your mission. And I can always offer you my advice whenever you ask for it, though I am not allowed to give you any actual help. I'm sorry. But there is too much on the line as it is for me to dig my own grave already.

I love you, Draco. Remember that every day, if you can. Please, do your best to remember it. Please, make us proud and save us from what is unspoken but nonetheless implied beyond measure.

We know you can do it.

~N. Malfoy

The letter should have made him feel better, but it only heightened Draco's nerves and fear. What was he supposed to do? He knew how to fix the vanishing cabinet, for he had already done it once, but was he supposed to do it again?

Dumbledore said things would be different this time around…Draco thought, swallowing in attempt to moisten his dry throat. Is this supposed to be different? Do I still complete what I've been ordered to do?

The Dark Lord had made it quite obvious that if he failed, his family would be killed, or tortured into insanity at the very least. But that had been the first time, so were things somehow different now?

Draco groaned, shoving the note into his robes and getting up from the table. He wished that he had someone to talk to about this, to express his concerns, to get advice from.

But he was alone and that was how he liked it, apparently. So he'd learn to deal with things on his own and be strong.

He didn't need anyone.

Walking from the hall with the feigned swagger of someone who owned the world, Draco made his way up the stairs, heading to the seventh floor. Maybe spending some time in the Room of Requirement would help him sort out his thoughts.

Not many students were in the halls that morning, the majority of them being out in the autumn air, taking advantage of the last few weeks before it snowed. Draco had shown up late to breakfast, so not many students had been there when he'd arrived, already having had gone outside, going about their Saturdays.

Of course, Draco liked that he was alone. He preferred solitude to large crowds.

Nonetheless, the almost entirely deserted halls of Hogwarts did present him with a single person, whom he ran into on the third floor. He groaned, rolling his eyes as he saw her. Granger.

They seemed to have some sort of uncanny predisposition to see a lot of each other this year.

But she didn't see him in the corridor, for her back was turned to him in the otherwise empty stretch of the castle. She kneeled on the floor, hurriedly picking up a pile of dropped books and parchment, all of which were splayed about around her. Her hair, messy and hiding her face from Draco, was frizzier than normal, looking as if a rat had taken refuge in it.

Draco walked towards her, making sure to make no noise. As he got closer, he saw just how much she'd dropped and wondered why she had such a large amount of books and random papers. Surely they weren't all hers?

But no matter, for he was behind her now. Acting before he could think, he shoved her over, smirking as she dropped all of the books she'd retrieved and fell to the floor, not having been prepared for the rough push.

Draco laughed, walking around her, and headed towards the other end of the corridor. A small part of him asked how he could possibly do something like that to her after she'd looked upon him kindly, but he kicked the thought to the back of his head. He'd apologized and thanked her, so the matter was behind them, right? With the guilt gone from his mind now, he was free to going back to how he treated her before.

But the guilt wasn't gone—not entirely, anyways—and his conscious urged him to turn around as he reached the corner of the hallway. He should at least have the decency to give Granger a backwards glance.

So, sighing as he did so, Draco looked over his shoulder and was surprised to see what greeted his eyes. There was Granger, apparently having given up on bringing order to the chaos around her for the time being. She sat on the floor, hair masking her face, looking downtrodden as she tried to inconspicuously wipe at her face.

Draco paused. Was she…crying?

After further examination, he was confused to see that his first assumption had been correct. Granger was sitting on the floor, sniffing quietly as she attempted to unnoticeably wipe away the tears that were brimming in her eyes and falling down her cheeks. Her head was down so that Draco could only see her face with great difficulty, the top of her head being what was mainly pointed in his direction.

Draco swallowed, immediately feeling bad yet again for what he'd done. God, why was he such as asshole sometimes?

Well it's not like I knew she was crying! he defended himself. And besides, it's not like I could have just walked by her without doing something!

The defense sounded stupid even to his own ears.

Sighing, Draco walked over to her, doing so reluctantly, for it was against his nature to feel pity for anyone, especially a person like her. But he did so nonetheless, feeling he should do something. He did owe her, after all.

Looking around to make sure no one was there to see what he was about to do, Draco kneeled down, gathering the papers and books around him, shuffling them into a neater pile. He stacked the books and organized the papers so that they were at least kind of facing the same direction.

Confusion swept over him as he saw that she'd been carrying three copies of the same few textbooks. Flipping through them, though, it didn't take him long to realize why: the extra two belonged to Pothead and the Weasel.

Grimacing, he looked at the pile of papers and saw that they consisted of a mixture of the three Gryffindors' different scrawls. Granger's stuck out as the neatest, of course, and Potter's was at least legible, but Weaselby's was barely discernable.

Typical.

He sighed angrily as he piled the papers together in a more organized manner, frowning while he did so. He could fully believe that Potter and Weasley were lazy enough to not want to haul around their books all day, but to force someone they thought of as their friend to do it for both of them was just…stupid and mindless.

Not that he was mad for Granger's sake, no. He just was eager to find anything to hate them more for.

And as he piled the girl's stuff together for her, he felt her perplexed gaze watching him the whole time, her person radiating confusion.

With the books and papers under one arm, Draco stood. In an action that surprised both him and Granger, he extended his hand, taking hers and helping her to her feet.

Suddenly embarrassed for reasons unknown to him, he shoved her things at her. "Here," he said roughly.

She sniffed as she took them, eyes still shining with tears. "Thanks."

The following silence was one of the most awkward ones Draco had ever encountered in his entire life. He didn't know what to do next.

Looking away from Granger, eyes frowning, he scoffed. "You shouldn't be their bitch, you know," he growled, gesturing to the books and papers.

Granger looked at her hands, nodding after a second. "I-I know. I just…." She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know. It doesn't matter. Thanks, anyways. And sorry."

She turned away from him, never once meeting his gaze, and walked off in the other direction, discreetly wiping at her eyes again. Draco snorted once she was gone, shaking his head as he himself headed off, moving towards the seventh floor again.

He didn't know why he'd done what he'd just done. Frankly, he didn't care, either. He just wanted to forget that it had happened at all.

And now that he'd done something "nice" for her, maybe that meant that they were even again, that he didn't owe her anything.

Yes, the sarcastic corner of his mind drawled, because helping her pick up some books makes up for her saving your life. You two are totally even now. Completely.

Scowling, Draco pushed the thought away from him like he had been doing so often these days. This was the least of his worries at the moment.


1881 words! Nice!

The next chapter, which I've already written, is basically the same as this one, just from Hermione's perspective, but this scene only takes up about ¼ of the chapter, so it is still mostly different…IDK XD

IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: ok, so again, I'd like to stress the importance of reviews to me. Each time I update, I get a good 200-250 views, but have averaged at about 3 reviews a chapter. so...obviously those numbers don't add up. Please, guys, be sure to review. If I don't get feedback, it seems pointless to write the story at all. So please take like ten seconds to tell me something you liked or even hated about the chapter. Yeah...ok that's it. But please, I really want motivation for this story.

Love you lots!