"Get off me!" Hermione shouted after the brief suffocation from Side-Along Apparition. Furious, and slightly frightened, she backed away from him as quickly as she could. The disgusted, distraught expression on her face was one that Draco could not not smirk at, which made her rage grow even further.

"Granger, look, I couldn't just let you go like that. Did you see that look on my mother's face? I swear on my-"

"Oh, these are all just words!" She wanted to yell back in his face, but she was still out of breath. "How dare you say that!"

They had wound up in a garden of some sort full of rose bushes and flowersthe pinkest of which had the same colouring as Hermione's recovering complexion. The sun was blurred against clouds that passed overhead. Strangely, no snow had fallen, for a chilly winter's day.

"You don't think I've been through what you have? Being locked up for weeks on end without knowing what could happen?" Draco tried to say calmly but failed as his voice became louder. He balled his hands into fists by his side.

Hermione didn't want to look at him, or admit it was her fault for that matter. She just wanted to go home. But where is home now?

"Oh really? How would you feel being frowned upon since you were eleven by almost every pureblood supremacist you met? Oh, sorry, this little Death Eater here wouldn't understand."

She let all her emotion out as she sat down against a hedge, several more tears streaking down her pink cheeks. Draco was not entirely sure what to do. He had expected, at first, as was stereotypical of a stubborn witch like Hermione to hit him or curse him. This was to much for him to bear.

"What do you want from me?" He said in a frustrated tone, making her look up.

"I want all this to end."

"I know a curse but I'd never dare use it on you." He sat beside her, constantly unsure whether or not he should comfort her.

"But you tried to. Once. At the battle. Yet you're such a coward, you couldn't even use it on Dumbledore."

Draco couldn't understand what was going through his or her head right now. He wanted to be angry, a small nagging feeling of fury at least, but it wouldn't come. He realised Hermione had to sort this out once and for all. And it was all his fault. Not wanting to make her upset again, he sat down next to her, but Hermione shifted a few inches away from him.

A sudden thought made Hermione blink. Dumbledore. He would know what to do. She made a sudden swift movement towards her wand before Draco grabbed her wrist again. She turned her wrist and grabbed his forearm. Draco gasped in pain and flinched back, glancing at her with fear in his cold silver eyes.

"What did I-"

"The Dark Mark?" Draco snapped.

"Didn't you try to get rid of it?" She gently moved her arm away from his, as if it was contagious. "I thought..."

"I tried."

Hermione tried to see Draco's face properly, but he had hidden it under the shadow of the tree overhead.

"Let me see."

"No, you won't like it."

Against what he said, he slid back his shirt sleeve and there on his arm was the Dark Mark. It was deeply scarred with pink slashes, as if from a Sectumsempra jinx. Draco was right, Hermione didn't like it at all. She tried to speak without letting her disgust show in her voice.

"This wasn't you, was it?"

"No. My father. See, it's just as bad for me as it is for you. I couldn't change from believing all this stuff about blood status. Whenever I did something wrong he'd use it on me."

Hermione gasped. He wasn't what she'd said or thought at all. He was broken. She felt utterly repulsed at the thought that Lucius had used Sectumsempra on his own son, and yet stunned because she'd never seen the Dark Mark properly before.

"That's just disgusting. How could he?"

"That's who he was. He's never been any different."

He anxiously smiled at her for a moment and then looked around suspiciously. He sighed and held his other arm out to help Hermione off the ground.

"We're at Zabini's. Somewhere in the south of France."

"You mean Blaise lives here?"

"No, not just here, he's got another house in the Yorkshire moors."

"Wow, you Slytherins never fail to amaze me." Hermione replied sarcastically. She looked up at the house properly to see large stained glass windows depicting dragons and famous wizards. She had to admit she was impressed.

"I used to come here during the summer holidays if I had any major arguments with my parents, so this is like a second home to me."

Draco was about to walk to the door when he stupidly realised that Hermione couldn't go in the way she was.

"Hello? Me, I can't go in looking like this. He'll recognise me! And before you say it, I am not having a single drop of any more Polyjuice potion. It's vile."

"Thank you for stating the obvious. Look, you're probably better than me at disguises after the whole of last year. You work it out for yourself, for once."

Finding Draco was being rather rude, but not wanting to retort, Hermione started to cast some advanced difficult spells upon her hair. Tired of dark colours she went for a copper red shade. She knew this would annoy Draco because she'd look like a Weasley. She also tried several more charms upon her clothes so the only think recognisable were her eyes and pink beestung lips. She smiled as Draco had the decency to leave her be while she did these spells.

"You did the hair just to frustrate me, didn't you?" Draco said, reappearing behind a tall flowered hedge.

"Like it?" She laughed.

They headed up to the cream front door. Hermione tried to think over good names for when she met Zabini.

"I'll get it! Merlin, never get peace around here- oh, hi Drake!"

Blaise Zabini, much taller and happier than they'd both seen him for a while, was wearing an Appleby Arrows shirt and jeans, and was momentarily surprised to see the two of them on his doorstep... on Christmas Day, of all days.

"Blaise, you don't mind if I stay for today do you? It's just-"

"-the usual, I get it. Oh, no, I'm so glad you're here actually. It's a nightmare with the folks right now."

He then saw Hermione behind him and stared at her before the next few awkward seconds passed; she introduced herself.

"Hi, you must be a friend of Draco's I guess." He smiled, in a typical Slytherin manner.

"Distant cousin. Hello, I'm Rosa... Malfoy. Draco's told me about you."

"Good, I hope?" Blaise took her coat, giving a quick glance at Draco as he said this. "Come in. My family would love to meet you."

He led Draco and Hermione through the long hallway to the large sitting room, where there were several chaise lounges around a huge Christmas tree with a miniature Santa flying around on a broomstick. Around ten people were sitting there with green and silver paper strewn across the fine carpet.

"Oh, there will be room for all of us. May I welcome you to my family. This is my mother and step-father. Mum, Dad, meet Rosa. She's Draco's cousin."

The people in the room were extremely welcoming and friendly. From young to old, they were all happy to see them. Hermione began talking with the small children who were somehow transfixed by her red hair; meanwhile, Blaise led Draco aside and started talking.

"You never told me about Rosie?"

"It's... Rosa. Didn't I? Hmm, I take it you like her then?" Draco made no inclination that there was anything going on between them.

"What are you talking about, she's gorgeous! I mean, she's not with anyone at the moment, is she?"

Draco had a sudden pang of jealousy which quickly passed, due to his ignorance towards it. Of course, it wouldn't hurt if Hermione got to know his friends better. But what was she to him? A friend? Or more?

"No, 'course not. Just go easy on her though, she's been in some tough relationships."

If you could count ours. Well, at least he won't be all over her too quickly.