Hermione tried desperately to wake Draco, who was lying slumped against the bedroom wall, his chin touching his chest. His arms laid limply by his side, palms facing upward.

"Draco?" she asked, shaking his arm. "Please, wake up!" Draco's body moved, but he did not wake. Hermione wondered why it was always him who ended up injured, and her who was left to take care of him. She wondered if that was how it had been before.

"Dammit, Draco!" Hermione yelled, pounding his chest with the side of her fist. He coughed and slowly opened his eyes into slits. His hand instantly went to the spot on his chest where she had hit. Hermione hoped desperately that she hadn't put him in a worse condition than he already was.

"Draco?" Hermione asked softly. She sounded as if she was speaking to a child. Draco coughed again and muttered something incoherent.

"Sorry?" Hermione asked, wondering if his mutterings had been intended for her ears.

"Didn't think you had it in you, Granger," Draco said, and a weak smirk graced his lips. His eyes opened fully and he was able to focus on her. No concussion, Hermione deduced. She smiled and rolled her eyes at his comment. Draco pushed himself up slightly so that his back was pressed against the wall. Hermione mimicked his position on the left side of him. They were in such close proximity to each other that Hermione could feel the heat radiating from his body, though they weren't even touching.

"Where's Leo?" Draco asked, obviously fearing the answer. Hermione looked down at the floor and hugged her knees tightly to her chest.

"I don't know," she whispered. Draco dropped his gaze as well and after a moment of silence, Hermione spoke again. "How did you find me?"

Draco lifted up his left sleeve and turned his arm over. "They summoned me," he told her and Hermione looked down through the darkness of the room and saw the outline of a pulsating Dark Mark.

"It looks painful," she told him. Draco pulled his sleeve back down and relaxed his arm beside him. However, he said nothing. "You shouldn't have come," Hermione said. "You should've known it was a trap." She thought it was lunacy to obey the Death Eaters call. Especially when Draco knew they were looking to kill—or at least capture—him.

"I did know," Draco answered simply, turning his head to look at her.

"Oh," Hermione replied sheepishly.

"I had to try, didn't I?" Draco asked in a mixture of anger and exhaustion. "I'd be a coward if I hadn't."

Hermione bit her lip and locked her fingers together.

"I'm glad you did," she said softly, staring at the door ahead of her.

"Don't wish it had been Weasel or Saint Potter?" Draco asked, scoffing. His anger, however, was weak. Hermione had the strangest feeling that he was just putting on an act; afraid to show any sign of weakness. Instead of coming up with a retort, Hermione simply sat there staring at the door. The white paint seemed to glow in the darkness. It was currently the only thing besides Draco that she could make out clearly.

"Do you think they're going to kill us?" she asked softly, her voice shaking slightly.

"No," Draco replied emotionless. "If they wanted to kill us, we'd already be dead."

Hermione had to admit that the words he spoke were the truth. Death Eaters weren't exactly known for their mercy.

"What about Leo?" she asked, her eyes brimming with tears. "He's just a baby…"

The mention of Leo caused Draco's expression to soften. He turned towards her just in time to see a tear fall down her cheek.

"Hey," he said, nudging her softly. "He's a Malfoy, remember?" he asked, attempting to lighten the mood. "He'll be fine."

Hermione laughed weakly and wiped the tears from her eyes. She nodded, hoping that he was right. She didn't know what she would do if she found out the son she just met had been murdered.

"Besides," Draco said. "If they hurt him, I'll kill them." His tone was completely serious, menacing even.

"I know," Hermione told him and she had no doubt that he would. Hermione pushed herself up off the floor and moved over to sit on the edge of the bed facing Draco. She maneuvered around the room quite easily now, for her eyes had had plenty of time to grow accustomed to the light.

Draco watched her as she got up, his eyes following her every move.

"Draco?" she asked quietly, as if she was afraid he would hex her for simply speaking his name. Draco didn't say anything, but raised his eyebrows questioningly at her tone of voice. "Tell me about us."

Draco was taken aback; that was the last thing he expected her to ask. And he wasn't so sure he wanted to tell her. It brought back way too many memories that he had been working hard to repress.

"It's just…" Hermione continued, "I want to know," she swallowed loudly. "In case something happens to one of us."

Draco stood up, but kept his back leaning the wall.

"It wasn't some fairytale romance if that's what you're wondering," Draco said. "I'm not the weasel."

"I didn't—" Hermione began to protest, but Draco held his hand up to stop her. She instantly closed her mouth and sat patiently, waiting for him to speak.

"My first day of teaching, you stormed out of the classroom," he told her. "I gave you detention for leaving without permission. It was quite enjoyable, really, watching you clean the inside of cauldrons. And then when I realized I could keep you there every day, well, I just couldn't pass up the chance."

"You hated me, but the feeling was mutual. So the first couple of weeks were spent hurling insults at each other."

Hermione smiled. That sounded like them.

"Then one day you started being nice. You wanted to know everything there was to know about me. It threw me off guard," he paused. "No one had ever really cared before. Especially not enough to ask."

Hermione dropped her head and stared at her knees.

"We became friends—if that's what you could call it—and you came to detention everyday whether I gave it to you or not. Then one day I had this insane notion to snog you, so I did." He smirked. "You hexed me."

Hermione looked up and laughed.

"Sorry," she said feebly, apologizing for something she didn't even remember doing. Draco shook his head, telling her wordlessly that it didn't matter.

"But then the next day, you snogged me while we were in the middle of a conversation. After that, much of our relationship is a blur."

"But you loved me?" Hermione asked, as quietly as she could while still allowing him to hear.

"Annoying quirks and all," Draco replied.

Hermione raised her legs up on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest.

"Then you shouldn't have left," she told him.

Draco finally moved from his position against the wall and walked over to the bed and sat beside her.

"I didn't have a choice, Hermione." Like always, his voice saying her name caused everything to stop. It was as if he had the power to freeze time—or at least her heartbeat. "My father would've killed you if he found out about us—if I didn't go back."

"We could've found a way," Hermione told him. She refused to believe that that was the only answer. It was part of her stubborn personality.

"No," Draco said. "We couldn't have."

Hermione sighed, giving up. It was pointless arguing with him. She began rocking back and forth, her hands still clasped across her knees.

They sat there is silence for a while; her rocking, and him staring straight ahead. Finally, Draco's voice broke Hermione out of her trance.

"I'm sorry that I left you," he said. "I never wanted to."

"I know," Hermione answered, and she did. She had no doubt that he had loved her and never wished to leave her. She could see it in his eyes. With the exception of a few wizards, she had always been good at reading people.

"What happened to you?" Hermione asked. Draco turned toward her, a questioning look on his face. "I mean, you've changed is all," Hermione explained. "You're not the same boy I knew at Hogwarts."

Draco scoffed. That was for sure.

"You really have to ask?" Draco questioned, as if the answer was completely obvious. Hermione thought that it wasn't in the slightest. She stared at him, waiting for him to explain. "You," Draco said simply. "You happened."

Hermione felt herself blush and was glad the room was dark so that Draco couldn't see.

"You give me an awful lot of credit," she muttered, embarrassed, but Draco shook his head.

"You've never once, in all the time I've known you, received credit that wasn't deserved."


Little action in this chapter, but lots of Draco/Hermione interaction. I hope I didn't disappoint.

I know it took me a little longer than usual to update, but I'm on vacation so I've had little chance to get on the computer.

Review, please. It brings a smile to my face :)