A/N: I don't own anything.

Chapter title and song lyrics belong to Snow Patrol Somewhere a Clock is Ticking.

Well hello there friends! Sorry it's been too long I felt terrible considering I got such a nice review about how I update so frequently, only to respond with a lack of updates! :P (So TuiYLa I hope you don't hate me now!)

I'll get on with the story, and we'll talk afterwords, deal?

"I've got this feeling, that there's something that I missed

(I could do most anything to you)

Don't you breathe"

Hermione wasn't sure if she was having another nightmare, or if it was real. It couldn't be a nightmare, since she hadn't had one since her incident in the hospital. Dreamless sleep potion will do that to you. But she was pretty sure it couldn't be real.

It just couldn't.

"No one like to sleep alone."

His words rang in her ears, confusing and frightening her as his pale eyes chilled her to the bone.

'Run, run, run, run, run' her mind screamed at her, but her body would not, could not obey.

Malfoy grabbed her swiftly, swinging her into his arms bridal style. She almost wished he would throw her over his back. At least then she didn't have to look at him.

He seemed intent however to keep menacing eye contact the entire climb up the stairs. Everything in her body fought to break whatever spell bound her, but she failed to break through. She wanted to hit and kick at him, perhaps bite him, but she couldn't move a single muscle. He smirked at her, sensing her inner struggle as he opened the door to his room. If the spell hadn't immobilized her, the fear would have. He shut the door with his foot and made for his bed, throwing her upon it roughly. She heard her heart pounding and thought she may throw up. Nothing happened though. He disappeared from the room for a moment.

'What is he doing?' she thought desperately, still trying to mentally free herself from his magic. She thought she could hear the faint sound of running tap water. 'Really? He's taking a shower?' her panic slowly turned into a wary confusion as she waited what seemed like hours. It must have only been ten minutes, but they were the longest of her life.

At last he returned looking more awake, his hair slightly tidier than when he left. He wore green silk boxers and a tight-fitting white undershirt.. He sneered at her.

"Sorry you couldn't join me love. I wanted it to be a quick shower." he said, approaching again.

The panic was back. He seemed to move slowly, as if deliberately trying to drag the whole thing out. He reached the foot of the bed as Hermione eyed him warily. She was still flat on her back as he'd left her, staring up at him in dreadful curiosity and fear. He never took his eyes off her as he peeled of his top revealing his muscular body. He looked positively beautiful with the morning light reflecting off his chest, and Hermione was sure in that moment, that had he been someone else, anyone else, she might have thought herself lucky for attracting him. But not Malfoy. She couldn't figure out his motives and it was slowly driving her into madness. She kicked herself mentally for not sucking it up and telling someone. Now it was too late. She didn't know what was happening, but she tried something fierce not to let her mind travel to the worst places.

With a flick of his wrist, the curtains flew shut, and left the room in near total darkness. The curtain let in no outside light through its layer of thick black velvet, and if she hadn't known better she would have thought it the middle of the night. She could only just make out his form as he crawled next to her. She inhaled sharply as he laid down sideways next to her, propped up on his elbow. Even through the dark she felt his eyes taking her in, violating her as she lay there facing the ceiling, trying hard to avoid his gaze.

"What would Weasel say if he knew about this?" taunted Malfoy.

Hermione felt the magic shift and change. She knew the spell was still there, but something was different. She could move her head back and forth now, and wriggle slightly, but her arms felt too heavy to lift in defense, and her legs still felt like lead. She knew she could now speak.

"He wouldn't say anything, he'd kill you." she said firmly. Malfoy snickered.

"Right. I wonder how that would work out for him if second year when he tried to get me to eat slugs is any indication?" he chuckled. Hermione just glowered.

"You're nothing but a piece of filth ferret. You think I'm the dirty one, but you are the lowest of the low, you're disgusting." she spat viciously. Malfoy stopped laughing and inched closer, bringing his face to her and looking her straight in the eye. Even in the dark, they shone like cold gray moons in the night.

"Brave words for someone in your... predicament. I could do anything to you right now you know that?" he asked, cupping her neck gently and sending shivers down her spine. "Anything."

He began to run his slender fingers across her collarbone, dipping dangerously lower, than back up, teasing her.

"And it wouldn't matter if you ran to tell your boyfriends then, because I'd still be with you every second. You would feel me in your sleep, fear me everywhere you go, and see me in your dreams. Though you already do that don't you? Is that why you like your dreamless sleep potion so much? Don't think I don't know, or that I can't see that I've haunted your dreams. I can read you like a book. And those people who are supposed to know you the best can't even tell. They don't even care."

Hermione's voice came out a whisper, cracking with fear and uncertainty. "You're w-wrong. They have their own problems. It's not that they don't care, they just have other things to w-worry a-about."

"Like Lavender Brown?" he retorted. "What do you think they do when they're lying in his bed like this, hmm?"

Hermione closed her eyes and tried to wake herself from her living nightmare. It was no use.

"Do you think they lay there and think about you?" he asked cruelly. "Probably not pet. I know you're pretty... inexperienced, but I think you can guess. Those two can barely keep their faces detached in public, I'm sure behind closed doors it's much worse."

He took her silence as an invitation to continue.

"Do you think they're thinking about you when they do this?" he breathed at her and placed a slow kiss to the hollow of her throat, gliding his hand down her arm. She shuddered as a desperate whimper escaped her throat.

"Or this?" he tugged on her ear as his hand traveled to her leg, stroking the outside of her thigh.

"Or this?" he brought his hand back up to her side, grazing her skin lightly, as her shirt rose a tad with the movement. He brought it to rest against her ribs, as he captured her lips in his own violently. She felt like all the air was being sucked from her like a soul by a dementor. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as he claimed her lips, biting down and using her gasp of pain to steal entrance to her mouth. She tried to retch as his tongue invaded her mouth, but she stopped as he dug his fingernails into her flesh, sending sharp waves of pain to her ribs.

Finally he pulled back to look at her. She tried to turn away, embarrassed, frustrated, and not wanting to look at him any longer. Her grabbed her by the chin and forced her head back to him to take note of her flushed skin, and tear-stained cheeks glinting in the dark. His eyes grew darker as he wiped the tracks of moisture free from her face, breathing heavily.

She wanted to scream, or fight, or plead. But nothing worked so far, and she felt empty of ideas. She was supposed to be the resourceful one, and yet Malfoy was draining even that from her. How much more would she have to take?

"Do you see now pet? They don't care. They probably never did. I don't know how you didn't see it honestly." his voice came out a cruel whisper. "I'd bet they wanted you around to help them. Think about it love. Who helped them with their homework? Who helped Potter solve all his bloody missions all these years? They used you, and you are a fool to mistake that for love or friendship. To still follow blindly like an abused puppy. It's rather pathetic. And they didn't even find you desirable enough to at least use for something fun" he spat at her.

"I.." she started weakly, a lump forming in her throat.

"Not now mudblood." he said, placing his finger to her lips. "It's not the time for that. I wasn't kidding when I said I fancied a nap."

He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her possessively, and pressing himself against her back. His arm rested snugly across her belly, trapping her arms down. She went rigid as he snuggled his head into the pillow they now shared, letting his breath graze the back of her neck, making the hairs stand on end.

"Sweet dreams pet." he sighed into her hair as he drifted off. And, as if by magic, sleep took her as well. Took her into the familiar land of nightmares she'd avoided for a week, wrapped in the arms of her enemy.

"Something happened, that I never understood

(I could do most anything to you)
You can't leave.

Every second, dripping off my fingertips

(I could do most anything to you)
Wage your war

In slow motion, the blast is beautiful

(I could do most anything to you)
Doors slam shut"

Ok ya'll, how did you like it? (Short I know, but I liked the start and end)

How did your New Years go? Mine was epic and awesome.

About the lack of updates. I'm so sorry again. I've opened my computer to write at least 6 times the last week but just didn't feel it. I dunno if that makes sense, but I have some pretty down moments sometimes. Part of me feels like maybe it's depression, but the other part of me thinks it's maybe a product of laziness. I tend to veg, and after a while I get pretty irritable and I think a lot about life and things I want to accomplish and it seems pretty daunting. I have a pretty good life, but I let myself dwell too much sometimes on silly things. Maybe they aren't silly, but I just wish I could be happy all the time. I want to be one of those totally confident people, but it's harder to fake then I thought so I'm an over thinker. Also I've been having some major political differences from my family lately, and it's opened up some old wounds. I'm sorry I'm laying this all out on you, but I trust you. Which may sound strange since you are all strangers, but it's nice to think someone is there who can just listen and not judge me based on my looks, or my views, or intelligence, or something like that. You've been there for me with this, and responded positively and it means a lot. Sometimes I feel like I don't ever have anything of value to say in my family, but it's different here. And you guys like what I have to say. No one in my real life knows I want to write. But I think it's better this way. You guys mean a lot, and I hope you continue to follow this story. So thank you for letting me vent and I will try to update as soon as I can.

PS thanks for all the Ch. 20 reviews! Keep em coming!