Hermione could tell that Draco was on edge the next morning. She met him for breakfast in the small café in the hotel lobby, but he barely touched a bite. He listened to whatever she wanted to talk about, but didn't offer much commentary of his own. She wasn't totally certain, but she would venture to say that Draco Malfoy was nervous. Actually nervous! That was something she didn't see from him often, if ever.

He held out his arm without a word, and she took it, feeling the squeezing sensation of Apparation the moment her fingers grazed his skin. She hesitated to let go when they arrived at their destination. His sleeves were rolled up and she'd only just realized she was holding onto his Dark Mark. Hermione released his arm and he gave her an absent kiss on her temple before joining the other fighters.

They were in an enormous arena with ceilings that were the tallest of any Hermione had ever seen, even taller than the soaring atrium in the Ministry of Magic. Draco's instructor was there, and they clasped hands briefly. She watched the instructor nod in her direction, and Draco let a small smile escape. Hermione felt a bit bubbly inside. Then, she watched Draco introduce himself to the three other candidates for the Dragon level test. One was an older man, probably in his mid fifties, with greying hair and a strong build. The second was a wiry blonde, though next to Draco the man's hair looked practically brown, with shifty eyes. The third was a black-haired man with a cocky but friendly smile, a man who reminded Hermione very much of Sirius Black. She was surprised to see a fading Dark Mark on the third man's arm, and she noticed that Draco spent a bit longer chatting with him.

A tall, imposing man with dark skin and hair walked up to the group. The man took his wand out of his robes, and Hermione could see its dragon engraving. Even Draco's instructor didn't have that. Hermione was already impressed. The group talked quietly for a few minutes, and then Draco turned and headed back in her direction.

"I've drawn fourth," said Draco as they made their way to the spectators' benches.

"That's good, right?"

"It's very bad," replied Draco, shaking his head. "The tests get progressively more difficult. They don't want you to watch everyone else and figure out what's coming."

The first man, the older candidate, disappeared into a back room. Hermione watched as the dark skinned man joined three other wizards and one witch. They encircled the room and grasped their wands, and Hermione noticed a dragon engraving on each.

"They do the judging," said Draco, nodding in their direction. "And make sure things don't get out of hand."

Hermione looked at Draco, suddenly feeling quite concerned.

"These tests aren't for play or pretend," continued Draco. "Once, a Dragon level candidate faced a live dragon. Sort of a pun, right?"

"Like Harry did in Fourth year?"

Draco scoffed.

"Nesting mothers," he said with disdain. "Those were child's play. For this test, they brought in a young male Vipertooth during mating season. The candidate got bitten and spent six months in St. Mungo's due to the venom."

Hermione blanched. Just then, she felt a strange tingle and noticed that the Dragon level wizards and witch were casting protective spells over the audience. The room filled with fog and she saw the first candidate step out, wand ready and poised in a perfect fighting position.

The test moved extremely quickly, and it made the Tri-Wizard tournament look like a petting zoo. The candidate first faced six boggarts at once, but it was only after casting multiple spells that they realized the sixth boggart was a real spitting cobra the size of a full grown horse. The man was almost hit in the face with venom, making the entire audience gasp, but was able to stun the snake with a series of spells that he aimed underneath the snake's thick scales. There were also magical trip-wires that sent curses at the man, and part of his test was to locate each trip-wire and disable it.

"How many are there?" Hermione asked.

"No idea," said Draco. "And it's unlikely they told him either, but that light there should illuminate when they're all gone."

The man was extremely good. At one point, he was ambushed by four Manticore level wizards at once and after a feverish duel, the four wizards lay stunned on the ground. The man continued on with the test while medics immediately worked on reviving the stunned wizards.

It took almost an hour, but when the candidate used a complex curse-breaking spell to disarm a trip-wire, the light illuminated. The candidate visibly relaxed, knowing his trial was finished. Draco was tense beside her. The man headed back for the door, the finish line.

Just then, he stepped over another trip-wire and a bright jet of red light hit the man square in the chest. He collapsed immediately, the room lit up and the fog cleared, and the medics and Dragon level wizards all rushed to the candidate to make sure he was all right.

"That's not fair!" cried Hermione. "The light was illuminated! The test was over!"

"The test is never over," said Draco with a smirk. "A Dragon level master never lets his guard down."

"But that was a cheap shot!"

"They'll pull any cheap shot they can," said Draco. "We've all been warned. This exam is intended to push the candidates as close to breaking as possible, and whoever is still standing at the end gets the honor of the Dragon engraving."

"What happens if you fail?" she asked.

Draco shrugged.

"You're a Manticore level fighter forever," he said. "Nothing to laugh at. Our club leader is Manticore. It's an extremely difficult level to achieve."

"You can't have another chance?" she asked.

Draco shook his head.

The second candidate's test lasted much less time. The shifty blonde was facing two dozen witches and wizards on broomsticks while he was standing on the ground. His feet had gotten trapped early on by a Devil's Snare, but he did surprisingly well holding the flying attackers at bay.

"He's focusing too much on the attackers in the air," said Draco quietly.

Draco was right. It only took one wizard on the ground to walk up behind the candidate with a Stunning spell, and the test was over.

The third candidate came the closest, in Hermione's uneducated opinion, to passing the test. Every move the man made reminded her so much of Sirius. His attitude was cavalier, jumping and sprinting and even laughing as he faced the obstacles in the gymnasium.

"That man is something like my 4th cousin," said Draco softly. "My mother's side."

"Oh," said Hermione. "So he's a Black?"

"Sort of," responded Draco. "Not in name."

They paused their conversation as they watched the candidate dodge a particularly nasty hex. This man was much more willing to go on the offensive than the other two had been. He seemed to believe it was better to attack first and ask questions later. Hermione watched a couple of the Dragon level judges converse while Draco's fourth cousin shot a few Stunners at hazy figures approaching him in the darkness.

"What is his name?" Hermione asked.

"Carrow," said Draco. "Richard Carrow."

Hermione made a face, horrified. Two members of the Carrow family had terrorized Hogwarts during what would have been her Seventh year. Draco looked at her, seeing her reaction.

"He's not a bad man," Draco added.

"He was a Death Eater, wasn't he?" she spat.

"So was I," he said.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Hermione took a deep breath and grasped his hand before turning her attention back to the battle. Just then, she watched as Richard Carrow sent a Dark spell at a partially hidden figure, and at that moment, the lights in the gymnasium went up and the protective spells lifted. The test was over.

"What happened?" asked Hermione, confused. Carrow was still standing, wasn't he?

"Ah," said Draco. "Look."

It turned out that the figure Carrow had cursed was a unicorn. Carrow's aggressive tactics backfired and led him to harm an innocent, not acceptable for a Dragon level fighter. The unicorn was quickly revived by a team, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Carrow looked humbled.

Finally, it was time for Draco's test. The judges called him back, and he gave her a quick kiss before disappearing into the back room. Hermione watched them reset the testing room, wondering what obstacles he would have to face.

Suddenly, she began to hear whispers all around. "Is that Harry Potter? It looks like him. Is he taking the test? Mum, look, Harry Potter!"

Hermione looked around, and sure enough, Harry was heading her direction. She grinned and waved. Harry plopped down next to her and she gave him a hug.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I heard Malfoy was taking the test. Thought I'd stop by to rub it in his face when he fails," said Harry with a lopsided grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes and slapped his arm.

"Besides, Ginny told me you'd come to watch," he added.

Hermione was glad to have Harry nearby. He offered to go grab a couple of drinks for them, but before she could respond, one of the Dragon level judges approached her.

((()))

Draco's heart was racing. This was why he had been training for years. He couldn't disappoint himself, his instructor, or Hermione. He gripped his wand and waited for the doors to open, and when they finally did, when the anticipation was through and the main event was here, he felt surprisingly calm.

The floor of the arena was wobbly and shaking, as if he was in a perpetual earthquake, and he learned quickly that segments of the floor decided to switch places at random. This meant that he could find himself in a heated battle with an automated spell-caster and then, without a moment's rest, be face to face with a live Manticore. A pair of centaurs was standing on a balcony above and rained arrows down on him whenever they felt he needed an extra challenge, and though he was tempted to take them out with a few spells, he had a feeling the test's punishment for that easy way out would be severe.

But Draco felt perfectly at home. Spells were effortless, he was focused and quick. Even when he lost his wand during a heated battle against twelve wizards, he was able to use many of the hand fighting techniques he'd learned from his instructor to keep his attackers occupied until he could summon it back with a wandless spell.

Everything was progressing smoothly, and although there was really no way to keep track of time while in the arena, he had a feeling the test was close to being over. As long as he could keep his focus . . .

A loud, shrill, piercing scream filled the air; the sound of a woman being tortured. Without thought or hesitation, Draco's eyes flickered over to the spectator's benches where he scanned for Hermione, but instead of seeing her seated on the front row, he saw Potter. Worry surged through him, and that moment's distraction almost cost him his Dragon level exam when a trap exploded in front of him, sending spells and shards of debris in his direction.

The woman screamed again, and this time he heard her voice.

"Please!" she shrieked. "Please stop!"

Draco felt his chest tighten. It was Hermione's voice, without a doubt. They wouldn't torture someone for the purposes of the test, would they? Logic and reason somehow seemed fuzzy while in the arena. They had said they would take any cheap shot they could . . .

But if they were seeking to distract him with the sound of her torture, they failed miserably, because he was suddenly filled with courage and resolve as he never had. Draco barreled through obstacle after obstacle in his quest to follow the direction of the screams and find her. The ground shifted beneath him and he found himself shaking off disorientation as he fired spells at two wizards in Death Eater masks. Oh, they were playing dirty.

Draco continued in the direction of her screams and sobs, desperate to find her and stop them from torturing her. For a moment he considered shouting his surrender if they would only stop, but then he heard her voice again.

"Help me!" she sobbed.

When he had almost reached her, Draco found himself surrounded by ten witches, or perhaps only one, because each witch was identical. His task now was to determine which one was the real opponent and which were copies. Hermione's screams filled his ears and tormented him. He felt his heart rip every time she shrieked.

All ten witches were firing spells at him, leaving him with absolutely no time to do anything but defend himself. Finally, he was able to cast one spell.

"Ostendo sum!"

The ten witches collapsed into one, and he ran toward her, throwing a shoulder to knock her to the ground and casting a Body Bind to keep her out of the way.

The last obstacle was a door, and he could hear Hermione crying on the other side. Draco slammed his shoulder into the door three times but it didn't budge. He cast as many unlocking charms and curse breaking spells he could think of, at the same time dodging hexes from automated spell-casters and casting protective charms to keep the dangerous magical creatures away.

Fed up, exhausted, and desperate to save Hermione, Draco cast a Blasting curse at the now-weakened door.

"Reducto!"

The door was blown into smithereens. Draco ran inside, expecting to find a Death Eater with a Cruciatus curse on Hermione, but he just saw her there, sitting in a chair with an apologetic expression. Draco was breathing heavily.

"You passed," she said sheepishly.

Draco collapsed onto his knees. He swallowed thickly.

"Are you all right?" he said hoarsely.

Hermione nodded, biting her lip as she tried to keep herself from grinning. Draco was still panting, glancing around the room, still waiting for something or someone to jump out at him. When it seemed nothing would happen, he looked at her again.

"I passed?" he said.

Hermione's grin escaped her control and spread across her face. She nodded. Then, all of a sudden, the room filled with four wizards and one witch. Draco lifted his wand in an instant, getting to his feet in a fighting stance, but it was unnecessary. It was the team of Dragon level wizards, all smiling broadly and laughing. The dark-skinned wizard clasped his arm and congratulated him. The whole thing felt surreal. He looked back to Hermione, who suddenly leapt to her feet and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine!" she said, pulling back to look at him. She had tears in her eyes. "They made me do it, Draco! They listed all of the alternatives, vile things they could have sent after you, so I agreed. I had to sit in here and scream like I was being tortured! They said if you made it through this door, you'd have passed. I felt absolutely awful doing that to you, I know how distracting it must have been and-"

Draco silenced her with a long, passionate kiss, attacking her mouth with his and letting his tongue graze hers, not caring how many Dragon level wizards were watching. His hands were wrapped around her waist and hers were threaded through his blond hair. Draco vaguely noticed the walls of the small room lifting and the lights brightening, and he could hear the cheers of the crowd, but for just a moment, he focused on her.

When she finally pulled away from the kiss, she looked around at all the spectators and flushed. Draco saw Potter sitting on the front row with a bit of a grudging expression. Draco sent a smirk Potter's way before shaking hands with all of the Dragon level masters once again. He saw his instructor shoulder his way through the crowd.

"Malfoy!" said the instructor. "When those centaurs shot those arrows at your back as you were facing the Manticore- when that trap exploded- and when that spell caster sent an Unforgivable, are they even allowed to do that? And then they told me they were having Granger locked in a room screaming . . ."

The instructor paused, taking a breath. Draco smiled.

"Merlin, boy, there were two dozen times I thought you'd be done for," he said, clasping Draco's hand. "I'm proud of you."

"First one to pass the exam in almost a decade," added the dark-skinned wizard.

Draco nodded. Even Potter found him to shake his hand and congratulate him, and to apologize for what Hermione's screaming put him through.

"I heard them ask her to participate in your exam," said Potter. "I had flashbacks to the Tri-Wizard Tournament. But those shrieks! She should go into acting. Even my stomach was turning at the sound of them."

After the crowd had died down, and dark-skinned wizard took Draco aside and asked him to take out his wand. With a murmured spell, the Manticore on Draco's wand was transformed into a dragon.

"Thank you," said Draco.

"You've earned it," said the wizard. "Now, go and take your lovely wife out to dinner."

"Oh, we're just-" Draco began, but he didn't really know what they were just doing, and by the time he'd come up with an answer, the wizard had already walked away.

Draco was exhausted beyond belief. Hermione appeared at his side, and he took her hand, amazed at how easily the gesture came to him. He was ecstatic to have actually passed the Dragon level test, but mostly, he was relieved that it was over and eager to be naked and wrapped in her arms.

"I've made us reservations tonight," Hermione whispered. "Go to your room, get showered, take a nap if you'd like. I'll meet you in the hotel lobby at 8."

He nodded and watched her walk away. She gave Potter a quick hug and Disapparated.