A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to drop a review and the bottom there and let me know what you think. Much love! xx-Kitten.

Stripped Bare

By Kittenshift17

Chapter 11

Hermione was in a state of shock when the battle was finally over. It had been a long, hard fight and the fear and the loss she had suffered had drained her terribly. She'd felt her spirit begin to break when Hagrid had carried Harry's body back to the castle and she'd been furious when despite having helped them to kill Nagini, Malfoy had swapped sides at the insistence of his mother.

She'd been overjoyed when Harry had rolled out of Hagrid's grip and begun fighting again.

Now, everything seemed so distant. She sat in the Great Hall with the others, all quiet in their grief over the loss of Fred, Remus and Tonks. Hermione didn't know what to say. She knew Ron was upset with her and so was unable to offer him much comfort over the death of his brother. He'd been angry with her for allowing Malfoy to help them, and even more furious when, despite everything, Malfoy had snatched hold of her and twisted them both out of the way when Nagini had tried to bite them, his wand firing out the Fiendfyre and destroying the terrible creature.

Ron was furious because despite what Malfoy had done to her at the Manor, he'd also saved her life tonight.

"Miss Granger, are you alright?" a voice intruded on Hermione's thoughts and she blinked away the memory of how Malfoy had protected her as they both fell off the crashing broom and how he'd again protected her from Nagini's bite. When she focused her gaze, her eyes met the concerned pair of Professor McGonagall.

"I'm alright Professor," Hermione assured her, "Are you okay?"

"Just a few bumps and bruises," Professor McGonagall nodded, "You're bleeding there, Hermione."

Hermione looked to where the woman pointed and she noticed that her bared left leg was indeed bloodied where she'd scraped her knee in the fall from Malfoy's rescue. She still didn't understand how it was that she'd ended up with next to no fabric left of her jeans on that leg and yet not a burn on her body. She narrowed her eyes in confusion when she recalled that Malfoy had been in a similar state, and yet Harry, Ron and Goyle had all suffered terrible burns as they escaped the fire.

"It's just a scrape, Professor," Hermione assured her, "Is there anything I can do to help get things cleaned up here?"

"Actually, yes," McGonagall told her, "Madam Pomfrey has just informed me that she is running low on several of the potions she needs to get people healed up. With Severus dead and Horace badly injured… Well I was hoping you might be up to the task of brewing some of those that she needs replenished."

"Of course Professor," Hermione nodded, grateful to have been given something useful to do. She felt so useless in the face of such grief and she'd felt almost like she was imposing on the Weasleys as they mourned Fred's loss.

"I'll go and speak to Madame Pomfrey and find out what she needs," Hermione continued, getting stiffly to her feet and wincing slightly at the pain in her limbs from the rough night she'd spent duelling.

"Thank you, Hermione," McGonagall said, shooting her a grateful smile.

Hermione nodded as she made her way across the hall. She was shaken when across the expanse of people gathered in the hall, she spotted a shock of white-blonde hair. She'd been surprised when, as Harry had rolled free of Hagrid's grip and proved that he had once again survived the Killing Curse at the hands of Voldemort, Malfoy had showed that he truly was on their side. She'd seen the way he'd spun in the chaos and she could still recall the intense look of concentration on his face as he'd met her gaze.

She didn't know why he'd been looking at her that way, but she knew she hadn't been alone in her surprise and her fear when many among the Death Eater ranks had begun to scream and cry out in terror as they were all simultaneously tortured. She knew she wasn't the only one to realise how powerful he'd become when several more of the Death Eaters who were trying to flee at the sight of Harry still living had suddenly burst into flames, doing even more damage when they staggered and ran into others of their brethren.

The ground beneath their feet had begun to shake as Hermione had stared back at Malfoy across the courtyard, and she knew that just as it had at Malfoy Manor when the room exploded, their magic melded together intensely, causing a blast of raw magic to unleash. Hermione knew that between them they'd killed at least one hundred Death Eaters in that moment as the explosion rocked the whole castle. She had no explanation for how it had focused only on those Death Eaters that were trying to escape and yet missed Malfoy's parents and missed all those who'd fought for the light. She had no explanation that made any kind of sense anyway, and she didn't have the mental willpower right then to examine it.

She chose to look away when she saw Malfoy's head lift as though he could feel her gaze. She didn't have the strength to try and deal with him anymore today and she wasn't about to try. Not when she had a more important task to complete. Turning away from him, Hermione sought out the frazzled medi-witch. Madam Pomfrey glanced up at her as she was trying to heal a nasty looking wound across the chest of Terry Boot.

"Miss Granger?" Madam Pomfrey asked and Hermione could tell she was exhausted despite there still being so much left to do.

"Professor McGonagall said you needed some of your healing potions replenished," Hermione told the woman, "Which ones do you need? I'll get started on them right away."

"Oh thank goodness for Minerva," Madam Pomfrey sighed, "Hold this here for a moment will you? We need to get these potions into him one at a time while keeping pressure on the wound."

Hermione did as she was told, taking the wad of padded gauze from the matron and pressing it firmly against Terry's chest.

"Alright there Hermione?" Terry coughed weakly, trying to muster a smile but only managing a pained grimace.

"I'm just fine," Hermione smiled gently, "Try not to talk. You need to drink those potions from Madam Pomfrey."

"Glad you…" he began, "Glad you made it through…"

"I'm glad you did too, Terry. Now just relax and take your medicine so that Madam Pomfrey can make sure you make it through the night."

Madam Pomfrey prevented him from talking further when she began feeding him potions one at a time until all seven of them were gone.

"Thank you for your help Miss Granger. Let me get you a list of the potions I need the most right now. Are you sure you'll be okay to brew them? You look exhausted," the matron said sympathetically.

"Just a little fraught," Hermione tried to smile, "Too many lives were lost today and it's getting to me. It will do me good to get out of the hall for a bit."

"Alright then, well I'd like you to take this anyway," Madam Pomfrey told her, pressing a phial labelled Calming Draught into Hermione's hand, "It won't do any of us any good if you're too fraught to correctly brew these potions we need."

Hermione nodded again slowly, unstoppering the potion and drinking it down when she realised the medi-witch wasn't going to tell her the names of the potions she needed until she'd made sure Hermione would be at a proper mental balance to be able to safely brew them. Hermione made a face at the less than pleasant taste, but she drank it just the same. Maybe it would help her forget about the fact that thanks to her many people were dead. Maybe it would help her forget the intense stare Malfoy had fixed on her before their magic exploded and killed so many people. Maybe it would help her forget the fear and pain she'd felt when she thought Harry had been killed. Maybe it would help with the despair she suffered over the deaths of Fred, Remus and Tonks.

"Wonderful, now most importantly I need more Pepper-Up potion, as it's very good for assisting victims of the Cruciatus curse at recovering. I also need Calming Draught desperately. Draught of Peace would be wonderful if you've got the time, and some Dreamless Sleep potion is a must. There is also a potion we use for pain relief called Opioid Draught. I also need antidotes but not as pressingly," Madam Pomfrey told her seriously, sounding as tired as she looked but soldiering on and healing the wounded.

Hermione noted down the ones she wanted dutifully, realising she would need to spend several long hours brewing all these potions and wondering if she would be able to cope.

"Anything else?" she asked softly.

"No I think that will be all for now. Be careful in the dungeons dear, you never know who might be lurking down there. Thank you for offering to make these for me, Miss Granger. I know you've had a long hard year."

Hermione merely nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak. As she left the matron to her tasks Hermione spotted Harry over by the Weasleys and many of their friends and she walked slowly towards them all. The Weasleys were all lost to their grief over Fred and Hermione could see from Harry's expression that the loss of Remus and Tonks had hit him hard.

"Hermione?" he asked softly, looking up when she rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright Harry?" Hermione asked him quietly.

"I was worried when we couldn't find you," he nodded as he got to his feet and pulled her into his arms to hug her.

"Professor McGonagall has asked me to help Madam Pomfrey by brewing some of the healing potions she's running low on, so I'm going to be in the dungeons for a little while, alright?" Hermione told him, hugging him back and feeling the urge to cry.

"Do you need some help?" Harry asked her.

"No that's alright. If you're looking for something to do maybe see if you can get some people together to start tidying this place up. The whole castle is in desperate need of repair and we're all going to need places to sleep tonight. Not to mention there could still be some Death Eaters lurking in forgotten rooms, waiting for a chance to slip away unnoticed. Madam Pomfrey needs some sterile space to heal everyone as well and I think the Hospital Wing was destroyed in the blast."

Harry nodded as he slowly released her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. Hermione bit her lip to keep it from trembling.

"I thought we'd lost you," Hermione whispered to him, tears filling her eyes, "I don't know what I'd have done…."

Harry gave her a little smile.

"You'll never lose me, Hermione. I promise."

Hermione nodded, blinking away the tears.

"Tell Ron where I'll be, would you? He doesn't need me interrupting them all right now."

"I will. Send your patronus to me if you need anything, alright? I'll see if we can get some of this mess cleaned up. Might stop in and ask the elves if they can put on a bit of food for everyone too. Food and rest is what we all need now."

Hermione smiled weakly at him before she slowly made her way out of the hall, stepping around the fallen bodies of friend and foe alike, and over the rubble left in the wake of the fighting. The Calming Draught that Madam Pomfrey had given her was slowly taking effect, but Hermione knew she was overwrought and she desperately needed to get out of the hall. She made her way down into the dungeons, her wand clutched in her hand lest she run across anyone unfriendly, but as she made her way into the potions storeroom she found not a soul and for that she was grateful.

Hermione found one of the brewing books in Slughorn's office, knowing that it was part of his job at Hogwarts to ensure the Hospital Wing was kept stocked. He had a book filled with important and useful healing potions and despite the list she had from Madam Pomfrey, Hermione decided to also brew some of the additional ones in the book too, suspecting they would also come in handy in the coming days.

She did her best to lose herself in the brewing. She focused her energy entirely on the slicing of arrow root, the crushing of soporophous beans and the dicing of nettle leaves. She fixated on getting the temperature for each potion exactly right, being sure to scuttle between each one as she brewed two or three at a time to ensure there was no down-time at all where she might be distracted by other things.

Hermione had no idea how long she'd spent brewing and bottling potions, and the lack of light in the dungeon classroom gave her no indication of what was happening in the outside world. She enjoyed the distraction and the simplicity of brewing a potion in the wake of such a long and complicated year. It felt nice to have only one thing to focus on. It made her think that after all they had lived through, she wouldn't mind returning to Hogwarts when everything was settled so she could focus on completing her education and just on doing what she liked to do; learn.

She was so lost in her potion making that Hermione didn't notice the faint click of the door as it opened and closed. She didn't notice the soft scuff of footsteps as someone approached her from behind. In fact, she didn't notice she wasn't alone until she felt a pair of arms looping around her torso and someone's body pressed intimately against her back.

Hermione gasped in shock and fear at being grabbed and she hissed in pain when she spilled scorching potion down her still bared leg, scalding the skin.

"Jumpy, aren't you?" a voice she was becoming entirely too familiar with drawled into her ear and Hermione immediately began to wriggle in his hold, lashing out with magic before she could think better of it.

Draco Malfoy hissed in surprise and dropped his hold on her to stumble back as she hit him with a non-verbal spell. Hermione spun to face him, drawing her wand quickly before she paused at the sight of him. His whole body was covered in a fine film of ice, his pale eyebrows glittering with ice crystals.

"Well that's a new take on giving someone the cold shoulder," he muttered and Hermione was annoyed that he looked mildly amused.

"What are you doing down here? Sneaking up on me?" Hermione demanded, her wand still aimed at him as she watched his lips turn blue with the cold of the spell she'd used before the ice began to melt.

"We need to talk," he told her, not looking all that concerned by her threatening stance.

"No we don't. In fact if we never see each other again, it will be too soon," Hermione retorted.

"That's how it's going to be then?" he asked and Hermione caught the expression of annoyance on his face and the glitter of malice in his grey eyes.

"Yeah Malfoy, that's how it's going to be. We hate each other, remember? Just because you switched sides at the end and helped us win doesn't mean we're suddenly friends. Not after everything you've done," Hermione told him, "So just leave me alone. If these potions get ruined because of you, I'm going to stab you with something."

With that said, Hermione turned her attention back to the potions before aiming her wand at the scald on her leg and healing it slowly.

"It's not that simple, Granger," Malfoy retorted and Hermione tensed when he came up behind her again. He didn't touch her, but Hermione could feel the heat coming off his body from directly behind her just the same.

"It is that simple. So either help me brew these potions and shut up, or get the hell away from me," Hermione spat through her teeth, feeling the all-too-familiar rage bubble up inside her at his presence.

"Our magic is melded together, Granger," he replied quietly, though Hermione noticed that he stepped to the side and began stirring one of the cauldrons of Calming Draught she'd been brewing.

"Don't be ridiculous Malfoy, that's practically impossible. The only way for that to even occur is…." Hermione began before he cut in.

"Is if we have the same core-magic type and it is unleashed at the same time whilst we're touching," he finished her sentence for her, "You know, kind of like the way we caused that explosion at the Manor whilst shagging."

"Don't," Hermione warned, closing her eyes against the memory.

"What? You think that explosion we caused during the battle was something normal people can do?" he scoffed, shooting her a sideways glare, "You think that we'd have been able to selectively kill that many people at once if our magic wasn't melded together?"

"Malfoy, leave it alone," Hermione snapped in annoyance, "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to think about it. Just leave it alone!"

"I can't leave it alone," he snapped, "Because until it unmelds we're both completely out of control. For example everywhere you go, you're leaving scorched footprints because you're emotionally unstable and your magic is reacting to it."

Hermione stopped and stared at him in confusion. He pointed towards the floor of the classroom where she'd walked in and Hermione noticed that there were indeed footprints scorched into the stone floor in just her size. She frowned at the sight, and at the idea that she hadn't even noticed it was happening.

"And now you're making it snow," he pointed out quietly when she didn't say anything else and Hermione looked up to see a tiny flurry lingering above her, dropping tiny snowflakes down upon her head.

Hermione sighed in annoyance.

"It's going to keep happening until we untangle our magic," he pointed out seriously as he began siphoning the Calming Draught into phials and labelling them with his wand.

Hermione hadn't had a chance to research what it meant to have her magic melded with someone else's. She'd known it was possible under certain circumstances, but she couldn't recall what needed to be done to disentangle magic once it was tangled. She suspected she wasn't going to like it, and that it would most likely hurt.

"What do you want from me Malfoy?" Hermione demanded, turning to glare at him, "Why are you seeking me out like this? Given how powerful this meld has made you, I don't imagine you care all that much about untangling the magic. So what do you want?"

He didn't answer for a long time, but Hermione could tell from his expression that he wanted the same thing she was currently craving. Release. The type she hadn't found since she'd escaped capture at Malfoy Manor.

"Forget it," she hissed as he opened his mouth, clearly about to say something along the lines of them shagging, "Never again."

"It's the only way to untangle our magic," he pointed out, "You've not been able to get there since, have you?" he asked and Hermione felt a blush crawl up her cheeks, "Didn't think so. You won't be able to ever again unless our magic is un-melded. And the only way to unmeld it is to recommit the act that melded it in the first place."

"It's not happening, Malfoy. Maybe you missed the part where I was protesting, but I don't ever want you to lay a finger on me again," Hermione snapped at him furiously. She knew she was lying. She did want him to. Not specifically because it was him, but simply because she knew he would do all the things that he'd done before and that he would force the release on her whether she wanted it or not.

"I don't want to touch you anymore than you want it either Granger, but until the magic untangles neither of us have a fucking choice. And trust me when I say I've tried everything else," he growled. Hermione knew there was a problem when a wave of possessiveness smacked into her at the idea of him fucking others the way he'd fucked her.

She knew too that it was the same possessiveness he must've been dealing with upstairs when he'd caused all those flares of the flames as Ron claimed her as his girlfriend. Hermione felt dread consume her at the feeling. She didn't want to feel possessive over Draco Malfoy. She didn't want to feel anything but hatred about Draco Malfoy.

"Stop it," he snapped at her and Hermione blinked before she realised that the rage that swept through her had caused a blizzard inside the classroom, most of it directed right at Malfoy, whose robes where once again crusted with ice and who now had snow in his hair.

"This is ridiculous," Hermione groaned in frustration as she tried to control the magic pouring out of her without her conscious intent.

"It's worse when we're close to one another," he informed her, '"That's why it hasn't been such a problem until today. But it's not going to stop unless we…"

Hermione stared at him hatefully. Merlin she hated him.

"So?" he asked when she didn't say anything for a long time.

"We're not having sex again, Malfoy," Hermione hissed at him, "I have a boyfriend. A grieving boyfriend who wants you dead even more than I do after what you did. I'm not going to make him feel even worse by…"

"What I did?" Malfoy growled, his eyes narrowing on her with just as much hatred as Hermione felt, "I didn't want to do that anymore than you did, Granger!"

"Liar," Hermione hissed at him, narrowing her own eyes right back at him.

"If I'm a liar then so are you," he snapped coldly, "Or have you forgotten which one of us was moaning and whimpering in pleasure?"

Hermione slapped him.

She regretted it immediately when Malfoy seized hold of her wrists in a bruising grip, his grey eyes flashing dangerously at her.

"If you keep hitting me," he threatened darkly, "I'm going to shove you against the nearest flat surface and fuck you until you pass out. Got it?"

"Let go of me, you bastard," Hermione hissed, twisting her wrist in his tight grip and trying to fight free of him. The touch of his skin on hers immediately made her blood boil and her whole body throbbed with impossible heat. This wasn't like the warmth that spread through her when she and Ron had made love the previous night. This was an all-encompassing, searing heat that made her feel like she whole body was on fire. Hermione hated him even more for the fact that he was the cause of it.

She'd never reacted to anyone else the way she did to him and it made her furious. How dare he be the one who could make her feel so hot and bothered with just a touch? When he dropped one wrist and instead caught hold of her hair, Hermione saw the intent in his eyes. His grip was tight enough to sting, but not to truly hurt and she knew he intended to use it to hold her still while he had his way with her.

"Don't you dare!" Hermione warned him moments before he closed the distance between them, his lips colliding with hers. Hermione hated the fact that her whole body throbbed with need as his tongue swept into her mouth, sparring with hers for dominance. She hated the way he nipped her lips harshly when she tried to pull away from him.

Desire and hatred bubbled stickily in her blood and Hermione felt the way her whole body reacted as he forced her backwards until she collided with one of the benches, pressing her against it as he snogged her furiously. His actions were rough and harsh, making Hermione angry when, despite her hatred, she felt the throbbing need to be ravaged sweep through her. How could it be fair that she was desperately in love with Ron but could no longer enjoy his touch? How could it be fair that this boy she hated more than anyone else in the world could drive her so wild with pleasure and desire?

It had to be a sick twist of fate, Hermione decided, that there could be such explosive sparks between them.

When she felt his hands trailing over her waist and towards her breasts even as he snogged her skilfully, Hermione's eyes flew open. She shoved her hands hard against his chest, forcing him back and away from her. He hissed when she struck out with magic again, trying to freeze him in place before he could make a grab for her again.

"Granger," he growled warningly, his voice thick and husky with need and his eyes dancing wildly. Hermione's own breath was ragged as she aimed her wand at him to keep him at any.

"Don't touch me," she commanded.

"Do you want to be stuck like this forever?" he snarled, looking like he was having trouble moving, his teeth beginning to chatter slightly thanks to the magic she was using on him. Hermione suspected that if he really wanted to, he could break the hold very easily. With their magic melded together hers wasn't overly effective on him and vice versa.

"No," Hermione snapped, "But I also don't want to betray my currently devastated boyfriend more than I already have because of you. So stay the hell away from me Malfoy."

Hermione whimpered as he broke the hold of her magic over him, lashing out with some ice of his own.

"Mention that git to me one more time, I dare you!" he growled and Hermione caught the possessive gleam in his eyes. She hated herself when she felt a sick thrill at seeing him so angry.

"Look Malfoy, this is obviously a problem and it needs to be dealt with, but not right now. I have no idea about the effects of magical melds, other than the increase in power, and there are more important things to deal with right now. Exercise a little self-control and this rubbish can be sorted out some other time."

"I hate you," he growled in a low voice and Hermione could see the conflicting emotions dancing across his face. She knew that much like she did, he was probably feeling the all-consuming hatred and desire that sparked between them. She knew too that she was furious that of all people, it was the two of them stuck in this tangled web of magic and hate and need.

"I know," Hermione sighed, "I hate you even more."

"I can't live like this," he admitted bluntly, and Hermione nodded slowly.

"Neither can I. But we're both going to have to until there's time to sort this crap out."

"I've already told you how it can be sorted out, and I've got time now," Malfoy retorted taking another step towards her and making Hermione's body tingle.

"You don't know that will work," Hermione replied, "For all we know shagging right now will only meld it even more. So just…. Don't touch me. Don't even look at me. Just shut your mouth and help me bring all these to Madam Pomfrey."