A/N: I posted two chapters today. Make sure you read 24 first, otherwise you'll be very confused.

Chapter 25 - Broken

After Granger released the Legilimency spell Draco broke down. Reliving those events again, especially with her, was more than he'd been ready for. After a time he finally calmed down, then looked warily up at Granger. She was mimicking his pose, knees pulled up to her chest, and looking back at him with a blank expression. He wondered how much work it was taking her to keep it blank since she'd always been terrible at hiding her emotions. But he was grateful to her for masking the revulsion she must be feeling.

"Draco-" she started to speak but he cut in and she looked relieved, maybe she was not sure what she was going to say.

"Hermione," she flinched when he said her name and his heart broke slightly, "I was selfish to pursue this, given, everything. I'm – I'm so sorry." She didn't respond, just continued to look back at him with her unreadable expression.

"I'm going to go home," he stood then and she watched him rise but didn't move. He wanted so badly to touch her, just a hand on the shoulder, or a brush of the cheek, but he knew she'd recoil, and that memory would haunt him just as bad as the rest. "I uh – have an appointment with a healer this weekend and will be back Sunday. I'll – well goodbye, Granger."

It took all of his strength to leave her on the bed and not rush back to her and beg her to keep him. Try to explain, anything, but he managed to get outside, then rushed to McGonagall's office to Floo home.

His mother waited until he was home a full day before bringing up Granger. They were eating alone at their large dining room table when she said out of nowhere, "It's a terrible idea."

He cocked his eyebrow at her, hoping she'd go on to talk about bathroom fixtures or tapestries, but instead she continued, "Putting aside all of my personal thoughts on the matter of you dating a Mud- Muggle-born. Practically, the world is not ready for a pairing like that. You have to see that. And what could you possibly see in her, you are the Malfoy heir-"

Draco's blood started to boil. How dare she speak against Granger and suggest he might be too good for her, "She makes me happy, mother," he snapped, and she narrowed her eyes at his insolence, then responded, "You don't look very happy, Draco."

He sighed. Well that was the understatement of the year, no fucking shit. But his mother didn't know what he'd been going through this past week, she only knew he'd been having bad headaches and was heading to St. Mungo's today to see if any healers there could help. He responded curtly, "It doesn't matter, we're not together anymore."

She looked way too pleased by that, then lifted her eyebrow questioningly. He saw her making the same expression to her sister, it was the night after Draco had blown up the bridge and Bellatrix was bragging about their success and the role Draco had played. Draco let the memory roll in front of his eyes and looked away so his mother wouldn't see the shadows on his irises. When he came to she was looking at him oddly, but said nothing.

He changed the subject then, "Tell me about the plans for the garden you mentioned in your letter." She looked at him awhile longer, then started speaking about some exotic flower he didn't give two shits about.

His mind drifted back to Granger as his mother talked. The memory of her flinching when he'd said her name hurt worse than the pain from any hex, and he'd taken some bad ones. Before then Draco had thought the lowest point in his life was when he was bleeding in the dungeon, waiting for Bellatrix to come throw more curses at him. He'd thought back to those days many times since, thinking to himself, I survived, and nothing can be worse than that. But he'd been wrong, this was worse.

Granger finally saw him and the evil he was capable of, and she'd let him go. She hadn't even breathed a sigh of protest as he left. But he'd wanted her to let him go, hadn't he? The guilt of staying with her was getting to be too much. But a small part of him had hoped, that impossibly, she'd find it in her giant heart to forgive him. But he knew now that was a fantasy, just as fake as the images he made with the dream come true spell. In reality, Draco was a monster, and Granger was finally done with him.

Harry had just spent breakfast with Neville and Hannah and was on his way back home to change before heading to the Burrow for the rest of the day. As soon as he arrived in the entryway of Grimmauld Place he knew there was something wrong. Then he saw what had tipped him off, a skinny vase that usually sat on the side table in the foyer was toppled over. He performed a quick Hominum Revelio charm and saw there was someone upstairs.

Harry crept up the stairs slowly with his wand raised, running through the list of people who were able to get through his wards in his head. He stopped when he got to the landing and saw the person was in the room Hermione and Ginny used to stay in, then he knew who it was. He lowered his wand and pushed the door open and found Hermione sobbing on the bed. Malfoy had done this, he was sure of it.

Harry moved back into the hall and sent a quick Patronus to Ginny, telling her not to expect him today and to keep Ron away from the house, then he entered the room. Harry spoke her name, but she didn't respond, so he sat down on the bed she was laying on and started stroking her back. She turned her head to look at him, then nodded quickly in greeting before resuming her crying. He kicked his shoes off and laid on the bed next to her and she turned toward him and cried into his shirt. He rubbed her back comfortingly and waited until she was calm enough to speak. Eventually she mumbled into his chest, "Draco showed me his memories from the war."

Harry's hand, which was absently rubbing the back of her head, froze. He hitched his breath, then hissed, "Why?"

She shrugged and mumbled, "It's hard to explain."

Harry pulled back so he could see her face, and she wasn't sobbing anymore, but tears where still streaming out of her swollen eyes. "Tell me everything Hermione, once you're ready," he entreated, then laid his head on the pillow and waited for her to start talking.

She nodded back at him, but instead of facing him, she moved onto her back so she was looking up at the ceiling. He stayed laying on his side and watched her breathe in and out a few times before finally starting to speak.

She told him about problems Malfoy was having with Occlumency, and how she'd tried to bring it up with him but failed, which wasn't surprising. Then she said how he'd suddenly gotten worse the day of the Anniversary and Harry remembered thinking Malfoy had looked terrible. She said he disappeared for a few days and then had shown up in her room completely broken and incoherent and insisted they needed to end it.

Hermione had fought him, because she was Hermione, and Draco had agreed to show her his memories, so she could see exactly why they couldn't be together. Hermione stopped then and Harry sighed inwardly. Poor Hermione, he guessed what had happened then. Then she'd crossed the line he'd been forced to cross when he was seventeen, when he'd been made to face the true evils that existed in their world.

It was the difference between hearing about a murder and seeing the mutilated body. Between knowing about torture and watching someone get ripped apart by countless severing charms. Or the difference between a casual mention of rescued hostages in the paper and the sight of those hostages chained up after several days of brutal torture and rape. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and squeezed it, then urged, "Go ahead, tell me what you saw."

She worked her way through Draco's memories then, starting with him taking the Dark Mark. Then his first task as a Death Eater, igniting the explosives on a Muggle bridge. Harry remembered that one, it had been written off as structural failure by the Muggles, but in the Wizarding World everyone had known it was Death Eaters. He hadn't known it had been Draco to light the fuse. Did it really matter though? Those people were dead as soon as Voldemort got that idea in his head. Apparently there had been a baby involved too, but Hermione was rushing through her story and Harry didn't understand that part.

Then she moved on to explaining how Voldemort's snake had looked killing Professor Burbage, who Hermione had adored at school. She mentioned how knowing about the murder and seeing it where entirely different, and Harry could emphasize. He'd seen that snake kill many times in Voldemort's mind, and those images were gruesome and hard to shake.

She started to explain a raid on a muggle town then, but stopped, tears were streaming down her cheeks again and he cupped her face in his hand but urged her to continue, knowing that sharing these would be the best way for her to move past them and cursing Malfoy for showing this to her.

"They raped them, Harry. Crabbe and well, all of them, I'm not sure how many. They raped them then wiped their memories," she started sobbing again and Harry's stomach dropped.

"Malfoy-"

She shook her head, but it took awhile for her to speak, "He didn't – he was hiding, he hated it. But he – he didn't help them."

Harry let out a breath, thank Godric. He never liked Malfoy, but he never thought he'd be capable of something like that. "Do you think they did that a lot?" Hermione asked and he wished he could lie to her, she looked so innocent. He just nodded and she nodded back, like she hadn't really been expecting him to deny it.

"Was that it?" he prodded and she shook her head again.

She took a deep breath and when she exhaled it was shaky, then she continued. She explained a scene where Bellatrix was torturing Draco, apparently on orders from Voldemort to break him. Then she spoke of a very gruesome scene following the massacre of the Gringotts Goblins. Harry didn't need her to describe that one, he'd seen it in his mind as it was happening.

Hermione stopped before going into the next memory and Harry waited patiently for her to continue. She explained a day where Draco had been threatened to hand over a muggle child to Greyback and had obliged, but apparently tried to use a spell to keep the boy from knowing what was going on. Then Hermione stopped and looked back at Harry horrified, he could guess what she was thinking, he'd seen Greyback's work. He watched her silently, waiting for her to continue. She gulped then and said, "Then Draco watched him die and did nothing."

She began sobbing again and turned back to look at the ceiling and Harry watched her as she cried. Why had Malfoy done this? Harry could kill him right now. Hermione shouldn't have to be exposed to these details, she'd seen enough death from the war already, but then Malfoy went and showed her the worst parts. Hadn't he known the burden he'd be transferring to her? What a selfish prick.

"I didn't know," Hermione admitted softly and Harry saw she had turned to face him again. "You did though, didn't you?" Harry nodded again. He hadn't known about Malfoy's role in everything, but he didn't think that's what she was talking about. She was talking about the details of the war, the evil and unspeakable acts. That part he'd known well.

"Since when?" she asked, and Harry closed his eyes then before responding, "When we were camping, I – I shared his mind, Hermione."

He could feel tears coming to his eyes then and opened them to look at Hermione. "You could have told me," she said softly.

Harry felt a few tears escape then nodded, "I know."

"I'm sorry you went through that alone."

He smiled at her, then said, "I wasn't alone, you were there. Cooking, keeping us alive, and pushing me forward. I never would have managed without you."

She gave him a soft smile, then asked, "Does Ron know?"

Harry nodded, "You kind of, find all of this out when you become an Auror. Remember Mulciber's capture from last year?" Hermione nodded, "The papers said he kept muggle prisoners. That was true, but the reality, seeing them, it's – well, unspeakable, frankly. Unfortunately, in our profession, we have the see the worst things wizards can come up with."

They were both silent for a long time while Hermione considered his words. "Is this the real reason, you think, that we've been so distant this year? You, me, and Ron? You've been trying to grapple with the horrors of the world while I've been complaining about N.E.W.T.s." She pulled her hands up to cover her face then, but Harry caught her wrist and pulled one hand down.

"That might be true, about the distance, but don't for a second think I don't appreciate hearing about mundane things like N.E.W.T.s. It's not like I want to talk about terrible methods of torture all of the time."

Hermione was quiet for a long while and he played with one of her curls while her big brain worked through everything he'd said. After a time, she said, "It's embarrassing, really, having all of my friends know this truth that I've been too naïve to face. I mean, I was at the battle, I've seen people die, I've even been tortured, but this – it's different somehow." Harry nodded back at her and she continued, "I feel like I did in sixth year when I found out everyone around me was having sex. You included," she added with an accusing stare, then added too, "But, well, this is loads worse than that."

Harry laughed out loud then, and it felt really good. Hermione looked back at him and laughed too, then when they both recovered he said, "You are so cute, Hermione," and pinched her cheek playfully.

She kicked him with her top leg, "Shut up."

They both looked up at the ceiling then and were quiet for a few more minutes before she said, "I always assumed Draco was just an onlooker, but he did things. He killed that boy, and all of the muggles on the bridge. How can I possibly be with him after that?"

Harry looked over at her and saw a tear fall from her eye. He lifted a finger to catch it, then asked, "Do you still want to be with him?" he tried to keep as much judgement out of his question as possible.

She closed her eyes tight, then whispered, "I was falling in love with him Harry, before, well, this."

Harry's heart dropped. Then he thought how he owed Ginny five galleons. He looked back at Hermione but she still had her eyes screwed shut, like she was afraid to look back at him. "What is wrong with me Harry? How could I fall for a – a – a Death Eater? I knew that's what he was, it wasn't a big secret," she opened her eyes then and he saw they were pleading, but he didn't know what she was looking for from him. She turned away from him and started crying again, burying her face in her hands.

Harry sighed and started stroking her back, then said, "Herimone, I've seen enough dark wizards to spot one when I come across them, and I can tell you, Draco Malfoy is not a dark wizard. He was a victim just like the rest of us."

"Are you sticking up for him?" her voice was muffled since she still had her face in her hands. Harry bit his tongue then. What the hell was he doing? He hated Draco Malfoy, especially since he was the reason Hermione was so depressed right now. But a part of him, the part that knew Hermione extremely well, knew that this wasn't the right way for Hermione and Malfoy to break up. If she left him for what she'd seen in his memories, the doubt and guilt would niggle at her for months and she'd probably ultimately end up going back to him, especially if she really did love him. Harry didn't think they should be together, but Hermione had to arrive there on her own, otherwise she'd never stop fighting for that undeserving git.

"Not exactly," Harry said eventually, "But I've been thinking more about his role in the war, especially since you started dating him, and I can't condemn him so readily. I mean, my parents were dead. What would I have done if they were alive and constantly being threatened?" she turned back to him then and he continued, "When I thought Sirius was captured I put all of you in danger to go on a wild, suicidal hunt to save him. Every one of you could have easily died, and that was for Sirius, who I had only known for two years. What if it was my parents? Or you or Ron? Would I have killed innocent people for all of you? I – I can't say. I'm glad I was never put in the position to have to find out."

Hermione nodded back at him and looked thoroughly confused, which was a rare expression for her. "I can't believe you're defending Draco Malfoy."

Harry shrugged, then said, "Yeah, I think the two of us are way too nice sometimes. That's why we need Ron, to balance us out." Hermione laughed, then asked, "Where is he today?"

"He's at the Burrow but will probably be back soon."

She nodded then asked, "Can I stay with you two this weekend? I don't want to go back to the castle."

"Of course, but – uh – what are you going to tell Ron? He may not be the most intuitive wizard, but I don't think you'll be able to hide – uh – this," he motioned toward her, unable to find the right word to describe her melancholy.

"The truth- well, not the Malfoy part, I, maybe I'll say some student confided details of the war and I was horrified and have been grappling with this newfound knowledge of how truly evil and disgusting people can be. I'd like to get his thoughts, on that part of it all at least."

Harry nodded, and really wished his two best friends could work through the obstacles between them and start dating, but he knew it would come with time. They were meant to be together, that much was clear. First Hermione had to get through this Draco Malfoy chapter of her life, then she'd be ready for Ron and thank Godric he'd dumped that Clara witch and was finally ready for Hermione.

As if she sensed his thoughts, Hermione asked, "Did Ron tell you, uh- what he talked to me about at the Anniversary?"

Harry nodded and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," she said honestly, then she made an impossible request, "Tell me what to do, Harry."

Easy, dump Draco Malfoy and start dating Ron. But he didn't say that, since he knew it wouldn't be helpful for her. "You're drawn to Malfoy for whatever reason, but – honestly I don't think it can work between you two. Even if you are perfectly compatible and love each other deeply, I don't think it will be enough, the war will always stand between you. But – you need to resolve that, with him, before moving on to Ron. If you go to Ron now, with this Malfoy thing still lingering, it won't be fair to him, or to you. So, well I guess that's my advice."

"Stay with Draco?"

"Well, figure out this Malfoy thing, hopefully come to terms with the fact that you two are wrong for each other, get your closure with him, then date Ron."

"That's very confusing advice."

Harry sighed, "Well, it's a very confusing situation Hermione."

"And what if I find Draco and I can get past the war?" she asked in a soft voice.

Harry sighed, then said begrudgingly, "I'll support you no matter what Hermione, I just want you to be happy."

She smiled back at him, then said, "This is all Ron's fault, you know."

Harry didn't respond, since he tried not to take sides when the two of them fought, but on this one, he secretly agreed with Hermione. Though in Ron's defense, there was no way he could have guessed who Hermione would run to once he started dating other witches. Harry sighed, then said, "No comment," and was answered by another kick.

Just then the door behind them opened and they both jumped up to find the subject of their conversation in the doorway. Harry and Hermione pulled themselves up so they were sitting on the bed and Harry wondered absently if Ron would take offense to this in some way, but he thought he'd gotten past the jealously thing when it came to Harry and Hermione a while ago. It seemed liked Harry was right, because there wasn't any bitterness in Ron's tone when he asked, "What's going on?"

Harry looked over at Hermione then, but she just shrugged back at him, then moved closer to Harry and patted the spot on her other side, "You may as well sit, it's kind of a long story."

Ron looked confused, but crossed the room, kicked off his shoes, then sat on the bed next to Hermione. Harry stood then, remembering he'd asked Ginny to come over tonight. "I'm going to get us some food, and I'll be right back. You can start without me Hermione, since well, I've already heard it all." She gave him a quick smile and Ron look back at him questioningly, but Harry merely shrugged, he'd find out soon enough.

When Harry got to the bottom of the stairs he saw Ginny coming through the front door. "What's going on?" she asked, "Why couldn't you come to the Burrow? And what was with the request to keep Ron away?"

Harry sighed, then took off his glasses and started cleaning them with his shirt. "It's Hermione," he stopped. How could he possibly explain? He didn't want to tell Ginny everything, that was Hermione's story to tell, if she wanted to.

Ginny's expression turned dark and she said, "It's Malfoy, isn't it? He did something. I'm going to hex him so thoroughly when I get back to the castle…" she trailed off, then focused back on Harry, who had just put his glasses back on, "What's wrong?"

She grazed her knuckles against the side of his face and stared intently into his eyes. "You have that haunted look you get after work sometimes," she whispered, "but you said you were with Hermione all day?"

Sensing correctly that Harry didn't want to talk about it further, she looped her arms around his waist and pulled him into a tight hug instead of asking more questions. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head, savoring the comfort of her warmth. He loved Ginny so much, she was always able to give him just what he needed, like now. He had no idea how he would have made it through the aftermath of the war without her.

He thought back to Hermione, who had had to spend the summer alone with her parents in the muggle world, then had to go back to Hogwarts without her two best friends. Is that why she'd sought out a friendship with Malfoy? Was it due to loneliness? Or did Malfoy give her the type of comfort Ginny gave Harry? If he did, who was Harry to try to stand between them?

"Please tell me Malfoy didn't do anything terrible to Hermione," Ginny muttered into his chest. He pulled back and shook his head, "No, he, was indirectly involved, but he didn't do anything to her. And she – she's going to be fine."

Ginny cocked her head and Harry could tell she was disappointed that he wasn't saying more, but he knew she wouldn't press him. She was used to him keeping things to himself. How had Malfoy found the courage to confide his darkest secrets to Hermione? Harry had never been able to tell Ginny the worst of his thoughts. Had Malfoy really done it to push her away, as he'd claimed? Or was he finally getting close enough to Hermione that he no longer wanted the secrets standing between them. Maybe he was falling for her too.

"Hermione told me she thought she was falling in love with Malfoy," Harry said eventually. Ginny's eyes widened, then she smirked, "You owe me five galleons."

He shook his head, then raised his hand to massage the bridge of his nose. "Harry," Ginny said gently, placing a hand on his arm, "I know you're in denial about this, but we all may need to come to terms with the fact that this thing between the two of them is more than just a – fling."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've seen them together, and once you get over the initial shock of it all, they kind of – well, work."

Harry shook his head again, he didn't want to think about this right now. Hermione still didn't know if she wanted to go back to Malfoy after the memories she saw, so he'd cling to that hope for a while longer, "Ginny, I'm really sorry about this, but you can't stay here this weekend."

She looked angry then and crossed her arms, "What? Why?"

Harry sighed, then wrapped his arms around her, but she kept her arms crossed. "Hermione is having a rough time and she needs me and Ron. And I think it will be good for us to get some time alone. Like old times."

Ginny humphed in response and when he tried to kiss her on the cheek she pulled away from him and stuck her tongue out. He couldn't help but laugh, "Oh come on," he teased, poking her side where he knew she was ticklish, "You know I still love you the most."

She wiggled out of his grasp, then gave him a peck on the cheek, "Fine, I'll go." Ginny picked up the bag she'd dropped on the floor earlier, then turned to the door.

"Hey Ginny, thanks," Harry called to her before she left. He knew she'd be upset, but he also knew that what he, Hermione, and Ron needed most now was a weekend alone together.

Ginny stopped in the doorway on her way out, like she'd forgotten something, then turned back and asked, "So when you say Malfoy was indirectly involved in whatever's going on with Hermione, does that mean I can hit him with an indirect hex? Maybe bounce it off a wall first or something?" the way she cocked her eyebrow reminded Harry of Fred and George and he laughed out loud.

"I don't have a problem with that," he said honestly and she gave him an evil smirk before finally closing the door.

Hermione returned to the castle Sunday night, immediately following dinner with Ron and Harry. They'd had a lot of heavy conversations about good and evil, what makes a dark wizard, and the blurry line between guilt and innocence. She still wasn't sure how she felt about Draco, but felt closer to Harry and Ron than she had all year.

Hermione had sent Draco an owl earlier in the day asking him to come by her room that night, but she wasn't sure if he would. Now she was sitting in her room watching her door. It was almost completely dark, with the only light coming from the fireplace. Hermione was sipping on a mug of tea and Crookshanks was pacing in front of the door. She watched the cat while she considered Draco. She wanted someone to tell her what to do, but Harry had said she needed to sort through her feeling for Draco on her own, and it made sense intellectually, but she had no idea how to go about it.

The last time she'd seen him she'd been sure they were through, how could they possibly continue after what she'd seen? How could she ever look at him and not see him killing that boy, or destroying the bridge? But she couldn't dismiss the threats that had led to his actions, the dream spell he'd used to help the boy, and his utter despair when he saw the dead baby in the pram. Those recollections made her ache for the Draco she'd come to care for and the great wizard she hoped he could become one day.

Crookshanks started pawing at the door then and she saw the light from the crack underneath go dark and figured it was Draco, standing outside, probably trying to work up the courage to knock. He stood there for a full ten minutes and she briefly wondered if he was using a Disillusionment charm, then passed it off. Being discovered was the least of their worries right now. Eventually, he knocked softly and she said back, "Come in," not trusting her legs to work properly right now.

She put her mug on the table and looked back at the door and watched as he let himself inside. He walked a few paces into the room, just enough to close the door behind him, then dropped his Disillusionment charm. She could see that he looked better than last time. But then again, he had looked like an absolute madman then, so there really had been nowhere to go but up.

They watched each other for a moment, each unsure what to say, then Draco pulled two items out of his robes and placed them on the side table. She recognized Harry's map and the extra-omnioculars.

"Granger-" he began, but she cut him off, "The omnioculars were a gift, you don't have to return them. Plus, I really have no use for them, you know I hate Quidditch."

He looked back at her confused, probably wondering why she was going on about Quidditch when they had more important things to discuss, but he picked them up anyway and put them back into his robes. He stood there awkwardly, and she saw him open his mouth to speak again, but cut in, "You can sit."

He cocked his head, then said, "I wasn't planning on staying."

"Sit Draco," she said, and she wasn't sure why, she just knew she wasn't ready for him to leave yet. He huffed, annoyed, but crossed the room quickly and sat in his usual spot on the middle of the other couch, then glared back in a way that said, Satisfied Granger?

Hermione pulled her knees into her chest then and watched him, and he stayed silent and watched her in turn. She saw the fire light flick patterns across his face then watched his eyes, which were boring into her own. After a few minutes she saw the shadows float across his irises and he flinched, but after a moment his eyes were clear again. She wondered what he'd seen and thought to ask him, but decided against it.

"What do you want from me Granger?" He said eventually, and the mask he'd been holding dropped and his face filled with pain and she almost reached out to him, but kept her spot on the couch. Crookshanks, as if sensing Draco's suffering, jumped onto his lap and she could hear him purring all the way from her spot and watched Draco lift his hand reflexively and begin to pet the cat.

"I need to know," she started, hesitated, then started again, "Was that the only time you," she gulped, then said, "killed?" The word hung heavy between them and Draco looked away from her, then nodded and hissed, "Yes."

"And the dream spell, you didn't make it for your mother over the summer…" her voice trailed off, but he finished for her, "I made it for myself," he said it disgusted, like he'd wished he'd made it for someone else, "The boy, that was the first time I used it for that purpose."

That purpose. Making someone's death less painful. "How many times did you use it like that during the war?"

"Six," he answered quickly, and she guessed this number was always at the front of his mind. Well, now at least, now that he wasn't able to push his memories aside anymore.

She watched him for longer then. Draco had killed those people on the bridge. But if he hadn't lit the fuse, his aunt or uncle would have. And the boy, he'd brought him to Greyback and watched him die. But the boy was probably dead once Greyback had spotted him.

Draco Malfoy is not a dark wizard. He was a victim just like the rest of us.

And looking at him now, she saw that. He was scared and misguided and so so young. When Draco spoke again Hermione could hear tears behind his words, but she didn't see any in his eyes, not yet at least, "Can I go Hermione? Let me go."

That was the question, really. Could she let him go? She expected the answer to come from somewhere in her head, but when she heard the response it was pumping loudly from her heart, No no no no no. Not yet.

"Two months is an impossibly short time to be together before having to share your darkest secrets, would you say?" Hermione asked in a soft voice.

Draco gulped and said roughly, "I would have to agree."

"But you know what?" she continued, and tears started streaming down her face then. She saw him twitch, like he was going to stand and come comfort her, but he stayed in place. "Two months is an impossibly short time, period. I want longer." She choked on the last words and was surprised by them, since she hadn't even thought them to herself before saying them aloud.

Draco looked back at her, stunned, then said very carefully, "You want longer, or you wanted longer? Before – well, you know." He was watching her intently and she rose then and slowly made her way to his couch. Crookshanks jumped out of Draco's lap then and she took the spot on his right, but still avoided touching him. She looked back at him then and studied his face. He looked tired, the lines around his eyes and mouth were deep and his eyes were sunken in. But the rest of his face was the same, the same Draco she'd come to care for. But also the same Draco who had done terrible things, all the while hating himself more and more and trying desperately to keep his family safe.

Harry's words came into her mind then. Would I have killed innocent people for all of you? I'm glad I was never put in the position to have to find out.

She placed a hand on Draco's leg then and he flinched, then after a time he placed his hand on top of hers and asked, "What the hell are you doing, Hermione?"

She pulled her hand up and touched his cheeks softly with her finger tips while he looked back longingly into her eyes. She traced her fingers along his jaw and when she reached the opposite cheek she flattened her palm and cupped his face. He leaned against her palm and a single tear fell into her hand. "You aren't your past Draco," she whispered, "Do you believe that?"

He shook his head and buried his face his in hands and she placed her hand back in her lap and watched him. "I don't think so, I hope not. But – I'm not sure. If a new danger appeared, if someone threatened my family again, would I do it all over? Maybe. Look what I did to you last term. I – I can never unlearn the terribly acts I'm capable of."

"Well, if there is a second dark wizard who approaches you and asks you to do terrible things, can you at least promise not to join up willingly this time?"

He let out a breath that was almost a laugh, but quickly turned into sobs. She embraced him this time. He dipped his head and cried into her shoulder. When he was calm enough to speak, he looked up at her and said, "Hermione – this is a terrible idea. You need to let me go and move on with your life. Go be with Weasley, or even fucking Goldstein."

Hermione propped her hands on his shoulders and started rubbing his neck with her fingers as she thought about what he'd said. She hadn't intended to get back with him tonight, she hadn't known before he'd arrived what she was going to do. But now that she'd seen him, she'd decided that she wanted to be with him, for now. Like Harry had said, she needed to figure out what this was, on her own time, and sort through it before she could move on. And right now, for whatever reason, her heart was telling her to stay.

"I want to stay," she said eventually, and Draco stared back at her intently, like he was making sure she meant it, then she saw the figures come across his eyes again and they shifted out of focus. She watched them move, fascinated, and Draco's breathing quickened as he was forced to re-watch the memory.

A full two minutes later his eyes cleared and he closed them and single tear fell down his face. He bent his head then and rested his forehead against hers before he said, "I'm a fucking mess, completely shattered. But every broken piece, every shard, every fragment belongs to you." He opened his eyes and looked back into hers and she could see tears streaming down his face again, "I'm yours Hermione, for as long as you'll have me."

Nearly a week had past since that night, as Draco had come to calling the day Hermione had decided to stay with him, and they were slowly returning to normal (well as much as possible). There were two notable differences, the first was that he now called her Hermione. This hadn't been a big, thought-out decision, it just felt right after all they'd shared. And the other change was now he spent every night in her room. Blaise had been giving him odd looks ever since, but hadn't confronted Draco about it yet. Draco was sure Blaise knew about Hermione, but he didn't really care anymore.

The school's negative response to the article had died down, as far as he could tell. But he knew Hermione was still getting hate mail. She was trying to hide it from Draco though, so he didn't bring it up. He wondered where his hate mail was. He hadn't been going to the Great Hall for meals so the owls should be delivering mail to his dormitory. But he didn't see any letters on his bed when he stopped by to get clean clothes. Maybe Blaise was getting rid of them for him, or Astoria, she'd do something nice like that.

Draco was still having occasional flashbacks but they were only happening every fifteen or twenty minutes now instead of every two or three, so that was certainly an improvement. His healer thought he'd be completely cured in a few months. The only activity Draco couldn't partake in until he was cured was flying, which was a blow, but at least the Quidditch season was over. Plus he didn't have much time for flying since he had a pile of work to catch-up on from all of the classes he'd missed while he'd been ill.

He'd just finished his Potions assignment and was rolling it up when he looked back at Hermione. She was completely occupied reading an official looking parchment. They were alone, and Draco noticed that they'd been alone every day since that night and he wondered if she'd told her friends to stay away. Fine by him, he wasn't about to complain.

He went to join her on the couch and sat next to her, then looked at what she was studying, "What is this?"

Hermione jumped at his voice. Had she really not felt him sit down next to her? She was so easy to sneak up on, especially when she was reading.

"You scared me," she was holding her hand dramatically to her heart and he searched her eyes. Was she scared of him? Was she remembering what she'd seen in him memories? No, she was just startled about being crept up on, good. "It's a petition to limit Peeves' access around the castle," she explained, motioning back toward the parchment, "I'm reading the arguments for and again the action right now, then Anthony and I need to make an official recommendation to McGonagall."

Draco groaned.

"What?" she put the parchment down on her lap and looked at him curiously. He was about to start an argument, then second-guessed himself. But then he remembered her rather harsh words from the previous night.

"You need to stop acting like a wounded animal around me," she'd stated. "I know it's only been a few days and it will take months, well years maybe, to fully heal, but you can't be this pathetic that whole time, that's not why I fell for you."

Her words had hurt, but she was right, no witch wanted to be with a blubbering loser (well, Hannah Abbot was dating Longbottom, so one witch did). No witch like Hermione, he amended then. Hermione was looking back at him confused and he crossed his arms and said, "Don't do that thing you always do."

There was a flash of amusement in her eyes, "What thing?"

"You do a small amount of research, then pick one absolute right position, then you fight to the death for your view without considering alternatives."

She rolled her eyes and put the parchment on the table, "I don't do that."

"You do."

"Name one time I've ever-"

"House elves," he said quickly.

She crossed her arms and looked back at him angrily.

"You decided their entire existence was offensive based on your interactions with one mistreated, odd elf."

"His name was Dobby and he saved my life-"

"That's not the point here, stop trying to change the subject. You never considered all of the elves who love work and love the families they serve before you set your mind against the whole thing," he cocked an eyebrow at her and she was just glaring back at him, but didn't respond.

Instead she changed the subject, "Well I don't see the good side of this Peeves argument," she pointed to the parchment on the table.

Draco was surprised she hadn't fought him on the house elves more. He hoped she wasn't holding back because of the wounded animal thing. He considered the poltergeist, then asked, "Do you know his history?"

"Yes, I've read Hogwarts, a Hist-"

"No, not that one," Draco cut in, "That's just specific to Peeves. I mean the real history of poltergeists and how they came to be the way they are."

"Oh, no."

"Well look it up, I promise you'll reconsider. You need to remember there are multiple sides to every argument."

"And I assume that's what you're here for?" she teased.

"Of course," he shrugged. Mission accomplished, that hadn't been so bad. He'd successfully challenged her and hadn't completely broken down, and she still wanted to be with him.

Then Hermione turned to face him and asked, "If I had picked the other side of the Peeves debate, would you have still argued against me?"

Draco considered, then nodded, "Yes."

"You're awful." Before Draco could control it, his face fell. He really was awful.

Hermione grabbed his arm and said, "Don't do that, don't shut down every time I say something like that, you know I'm not referring to any of the memories you showed me."

He nodded, trying to fight back to the light mood. So much for not acting pathetic.

"I'm amending my statement from 'You're awful' to 'You are so annoying.'"

He shook his head, "So are you."

He kissed her then and she fell back on the couch, pulling him with her. This was the first time he'd properly snogged her since that night and he wondered why he'd stop. That had been stupid, he wouldn't make that mistake again. After a few minutes she pushed on his chest and he propped himself up on his hand and looked down at her.

"We were fighting, then you distracted me with your gloominess, now this. Were you pretending before? That your feelings were hurt?"

Draco smirked, then lied, "Of course," he started kissing her again.

"I'm retracting my amendment, you truly are awful Draco."

"I know," he whispered into her ear before placing a kiss on her neck.

"And you can't just make me feel sorry for you or kiss me every time you want to get out of a fight," she added.

"Noted," Draco mumbled, barely listening to her. She said a few more words of protest, which he didn't hear, before finally giving in.

A/N: First of all, whoa. Writing this chapter and the one before it completely wrecked me and I was kind of in a dark mood that whole week. Every part was extremely hard for me to write and I re-tooled each scene countless times. I lost a ton of followers after posting my last chapter, but oh well, I get that. Thanks to my remaining readers for sticking with it.

Second of all, I adore Harry in this chapter. I hope all of you do too.

Lastly, well, Hermione forgave him. Too unbelievable? I'm not sure on this one. I definitely flip flopped back and forth on how realistic I think this is. We can forgive a lot of things for the people we love, and I do think intent matters. But having never met an actual killer in real life who was forced to do so in an impossible circumstance, I can't really say what I'd do, that's why this is just a story...

I finally have the rest of the story written and will be posting the last 3 chapters this weekend (maybe earlier if I can get them edited sooner).