All those demons are closing in and I don't want you to burn. Never mind what I said before; I don't want any less anymore. You are carbon and I am flame. I will rise and you will remain…I'm gonna love you. You never have to ask…

Sara Bareilles

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Unable to catch his center, Draco had to reach out and grab Hermione's shoulder as they landed. He had to reach out for her because he couldn't see where she was. They were submerged in darkness. Wherever they had landed, it was cold, silent, and definitely mysterious.

"Where are we?" He felt the need to whisper due to the eerie surroundings.

"Somewhere we can't be disturbed," Hermione pulled out her wand and with a simple flick of the wrist a few dim lights illuminated around them in the form of tiny little balls that floated above their heads. They shone just enough light that managed to see each other.

"Will you please explain to me what the hell is happening?"

Hermione took a deep breath, then looked him square in the eyes, "I did something for you Draco. I can't go back now and I don't want to."

"What did you do?" Draco found himself beginning to speak in a more calm and patient voice. The situation he was in was highly unusual and he didn't want to jump to conclusions or walk into a situation he wouldn't be able to get out of.

"I need to tell you that I don't want to forget what happened between us, and I don't want to pretend that I don't have feelings for you. I don't care if this has all been fake for you, or if you hate me for being muggle-born. I fell for you and I can't just pretend that I don't still love you. I may have looked like someone else but it was always me…on the inside."

Draco opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off, "Just let me finish, please? It broke my heart to see what those men did to you, truly. I have seen the people I love being hurt before, but it has never affected me like this before. It wasn't just what they did to you either, it was solely because it was you. It was like watching a piece of me being torn apart and I have to get that back for me, back for the both of us."

Hermione waved her wand again and this time the balls of light grew so that Draco could see the glass box-like room they were standing in. He peered out and was able to see that they were standing in a protective cage placed in the center of larger, and strangely dark room. The darkness seemed thick, as if the lack of light held substance. The only light was contained with them in that restricted space. Hermione swished her wand a third time and one ball of light passed through the box and back out to the other side of the room, so that they could make out what was waiting out in the darkness.

Hunched over and leaning on each other were Draco's three attackers, still passed out.

Draco's jaw dropped open. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Hermione…"

"I wanted to kill them for what they did to you, I really did." Hermione was glaring in their direction and her voice was shaking with rage, as an angry tear slowly slid down her cheek.

Draco didn't know what to say. He reached out and gently wiped her tear away. She looked at him with passionate tears brimming her eyes. "That wouldn't have been good enough. They deserve far worse than death for what they did to you."

Draco silently nodded, refusing to tear his eyes away from her contact even for a second. It was as if he was really seeing her for the first time.

Hermione frantically shook her head. "I don't want to be anything like them. I don't want to be grouped amongst those people in the world who have hurt you, Draco. I don't." Hermione sounded like she was going to cry. "I'm doing this for you."

It was in that moment Draco sensed something moving in the darkness, a billowing figure looming in the corner of the room, silently watching them.

Hermione turned around towards the figure and nodded her head affirmatively. The lights dimmed around them, remaining just bright enough so that they could watch the creature complete its purpose.

A large dementor glided its way towards the three men, who were still knocked out. The entire room grew colder as the dementor grew closer to them.

Draco felt a cold shiver fall down his back, like someone had dunked him into freezing-cold ice water. He watched obsessively as the creature started to hover above the three men who had tried to destroy him.

The intense cold air given off by the dementor's presence was enough to force them back into consciousness. Still drunk and sifting through an intoxicated haze, one by one, they lifted their heads up to see what was happening. The moment their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they let out a blood curdling scream.

Draco couldn't help but reached out and hold onto Hermione protectively as the dementor opened its wide, endless mouth and began to give them each the kiss. She took hold of his arm tightly and allowed him to hold her. She leaned her back against him, and they watched together as the joy left every one of their drunken glazed eyes.

The dementor appeared to be satisfied as Simon, his last victim, slumped down to the floor in a soundless heap; his curved smirk forever removed from his face. The dementor seemed to savor the moment as it hovered above them a little while longer, before turning towards the box they were standing in, as if waiting for further instruction.

Hermione nodded to the dementor again and it glided to the other end of the room where it seemed to blend in then disappear into the darkness.

Draco was speechless.

Nerves fluttered through Hermione as she waited for his reaction. She was too nervous to turn around and look him in the face. What expression would his eyes hold? Would he be angry with her? Proud of her? Did he think she was absolutely crazy? Was he happy or was he disgusted?

She shut her eyes and wished he would say something. His grip around her remained strong but he didn't have to hold her so tightly, she wouldn't dare move away from him. The feel of his body pressed up behind hers felt especially warm and comforting, partially because a dementor had just been in the room.

Hermione was jolted by surprise as Draco suddenly forced her to turn around and look at him.

Her eyes were still shut. Dare she open them and look into his eyes?

She knew she would have to face his reaction eventually. She had done this for him and she wouldn't regret it. She wanted to know what he thought, she just didn't want to mess things up again.

Slowly she cracked one eye, and then the other and looked into his ever-piercing grey eyes.

There was no way she could decipher what he was thinking from the look he had on his face. His expression was too complex. His lips were slightly parted, as if he was about to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. His brow was slightly furrowed as if he were upset, but almost like he was contemplating something at the same time. His hands were tightly holding onto her arms and she couldn't tell if he was going to shake her or hold her again. The emotions passing through his eyes seemed to swirl by so quickly it nearly made her dizzy.

Without warning, he leaned in and kissed her with more passion than Hermione could hope to experience within a lifetime of kisses. Hermione's exhausted body fell limp into his arms as she surrendered to his being, wrapping her arms needingly around his neck. He responded by lowering his hands to the lower part of her back and pushed her closer into his body, deepening their kiss as he did so.

Her heartbeat was a symphony of drums performing against the breast of his chest. Every firm beat testifying to the rush of passion that was coursing through her body in honor of the love she felt for him. She hoped he could feel it. She hoped he understood that not only did she want to love him, she had to; through their experiences they had corrupted each other. They had found a love sheltered in darkness and kindled it until it grew into a fire that neither knew how, nor wanted, to extinguish or control.

Draco leaned his lips in close to her ear and whispered, "I love you, Hermione Granger," and she felt her heart burst into flames.

"I love you too, Draco Malfoy," she eagerly pulled him back down into another kiss and poured all of her desire into his lips.

/

"That should do it," Hermione clapped her hands together to signal a job well done.

Draco had helped her position the three men in the middle of the alley they had left him to rot in. All three were leaned against the wall with syringes in their arms, containing toxic muggle drugs.

"Now when someone finds them, they'll assume their odd behavior is because of an overdose," Hermione explained. She had acquired the drugs from a high-security storage unit in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.

"Won't it look suspicious that they all did that at the same time, in such a dingy place?" Draco questioned.

Hermione shrugged, "Yeah, but that doesn't really matter. Muggles just need to have some kind of explanation when weird things happen. Most don't feel comfortable admitting the strangeness that comes along with the truth. Trust me, they'll accept the scenario and move on with their lives. If they don't buy it, that doesn't really matter because it'll never get traced back to us."

"You don' think the ministry will recognized their side effects as being kiss related?"

"I've already taken care of all that. Let's just say it pays to have ties with the Department of Mysteries."

Draco watched her with a grin-like smile on his face, "I can't even explain to you how hot you are right now."

"What do you mean?" Hermione laughed as she walked away from their crime scene.

"I never thought you had it in you."

"Had what in me?"

"This side of you! You're…you're kind of demented to be honest." Draco teased.

"I'm brilliant. That's what you meant to say."

"Brilliantly evil, perhaps-but productive!" He blocked her attack as she smacked him in the arm.

"I am not evil, Malfoy!" she scolded as she hit him.

Draco grabbed her arm and pressed her against the side of the building. "Don't worry, evil looks hot on you my love…and it's Draco." He crushed his lips against hers, enticing her with the swift practiced stroke of his tongue caressing hers. Hermione could feel their need rapidly growing and yearned to get away from the dingy alley they were making out in.

"My old flat is only a little ways away. We should go…" Draco suggested, his breath was full of lust.

Hermione hated to, but she shook her head no, "We don't have time."

"What do you mean we don't have time? We have forever." He kissed her again and Hermione once again lost her focus in the taste of his mouth.

It took all of her self-control, but eventually she pushed herself away from his arms. "I have to get you back before six or they're going to wonder where you are. Your file is suspicious enough as it is. I basically faked your release request, so I don't need anyone asking questions about you."

"What do you mean you faked it?" Draco laughed, the perfect little witch he knew was truly as tainted and mischievous as he was.

Hermione couldn't think straight, he was so dreamy when he smiled at her. "Ah, you know…I exaggerated a lot. Like I said, you have to show exceptional progress to be pushed forward in the program so I went on about how you were doing charity work and such. Things you never actually did, so I don't need anyone at the ministry to have an unnecessary focus on you."

Draco couldn't help but laugh, "Okay fine, but the second I get you to myself again, you're going to be in serious trouble."

Hermione's knees went weak. What she wouldn't give for a time turner in that moment.

"C'mon, stop tempting me," she took hold of his hand and apparated him back to the halfway house.

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A/N: I don't want to go to work! I'm nearly done writing this story and I just want to stay home and keep writing. Wahhhh! Hope you approve of the way I managed the three morons. See you next chapter! Thank you again to everyone who takes the time to review!