Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N:

This story takes place during Hermione and Draco's sixth year. The story will be following canon, however I'm adjusting the timeline of the year a bit for the sake of my story. I believe the Harry/Draco fight in the bathroom occurs in May in canon, however I will be making this scene between Hermione/Draco occur in March so the two have more time to progress their relationship before the end of the year.

Rated M for smut.

Chapter 1 - March 1997

Hermione walked briskly down the corridor, desperately looking to get away from everything and everyone. Once again, Lavender Brown seemed to be rubbing her new found relationship with Ron in Hermione's face, something Lavender liked to do. It had been awhile since Ron and Lavender had gotten together following Gryffindor's big Quidditch win. Hermione was upset -betrayed even, by Ron's enthusiastic response to Lavender's advances. She knew deep down she didn't really have a right to be upset… her and Ron weren't technically dating. But surely their brewing romance these last few years was not one sided? Surely he felt it too? How could he not?

Of course he doesn't. She thought miserably. I'm just his bushy haired best friend who helps him with his homework.

Lost in her thoughts, Hermione jumped slightly as she heard a door slam shut ahead. Glancing up, her caramel brown eyes fell on the sixth floor boy's bathroom, where the source of the noise came from. She furrowed her brow, unsure as to whether or not she should investigate the noise. She sped up in her steps as she pulled out her wand, pausing outside the door and pressing her ear to it cautiously. Was that… crying? She gnawed on her lip, slightly uncomfortable with the idea of comforting a strange boy who might be crying in the bathroom. She mentally scolding herself at her thoughts.

You're a prefect. She thought to herself, shaking her head. This is your duty. Check on your fellow students, make sure they're okay. It could be a first year having a hard time for all you know.

Placing a small hand on the door, Hermione slowly pushed it open, silently stepping into the bathroom as she carefully shut the door behind her. She kept herself hidden behind a pillar as she listened closely. Yes, someone was definitely crying. She could hear the deep, choked out sobs of a male up ahead. It didn't sound like a first year though. The sounds seemed to be coming from a deep voice, definitely belonging to an older student.

"No one can help me," she heard the voice say. "I can't do it… I can't… It won't work… and unless I do it soon… he says he'll kill me…".

Hermione stifled a gasp, pressing her free hand to her lips and clutching her wand a bit tighter in the other. That voice… it was familiar… where did she know that voice? Her brain desperately searched itself, trying to pinpoint the voice, however it was a bit difficult given the fact that this person was speaking between choked out sobs. Swallowing thickly, Hermione tucked her wand away and stepped out from behind the pillar. Her eyes fell on the unmistakable bowed head of silver blonde hair ahead. His tall form was standing there, back facing her and his hands clutching either side of the sink in front of him so tightly that his pale knuckles seemed to grow impossibly paler. She vaguely heard the cooing voice of Moaning Myrtle somewhere in the room, however she was too shocked to acknowledge it. Why in the world was Draco Malfoy sobbing into the bathroom sink?

She had never seen the usually aristocratic form of Malfoy look so dishevelled. His hair was messy, sticking up in all directions as if he had run his hands through the silver strands repeatedly. His shoulders were slumped under his white shirt which was untucked from his trousers, the top few buttons undone. His bag and wand were carelessly dropped to the floor next to his feet. The most shocking part of his appearance however, were his eyes. Her heart unwillingly tightened as she stared at his red rimmed, tear filled eyes. They looked purely, and utterly broken. Like a man who had lost his final battle and accepted defeat. Just then, his glossy silver orbs locked with her caramel ones through the mirror and her breath hitched as he whipped around to face her, furiously wiping his tears away. Gone was his defeated expression, and on was his mask.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" he hissed, bending swiftly to pick up his wand before pointing it directly at her.

"I-" Hermione wracked her mind for what to say, however she was still frozen in shock at the situation. She was brought back to reality just in time to sidestep the red curse he threw her way. "Stop!" she yelled, pulling her own wand out as she brought up a protective shield in front of her, deflecting his next curse.

"Going to run back to Potter and tell him what you saw, Granger?" he spat, advancing towards her. Once he realized she was not going to curse him back, he lowered his wand slightly.

"No… I.. I'm not going to tell anyone," she said softly, nervously watching him approach her. "I heard someone crying and I wanted to see if everything was okay," she whispered, just as he stopped a foot away from her. She didn't know why she couldn't curse him back, perhaps it was because of the sadness she saw behind his eyes before he realized she was there.

"You wanted to see if everything was okay? Well it is, so fuck off." he snarled, looking down at her.

"Why are you crying?" she blurted out before she could stop herself, peering up at him through her lashes. A small part of her was terrified as his expression looked deadly, however she forced her Gryffindor courage on to keep her from backing down.

Malfoy's jaw twitched slightly at her question. "I'm not." he said through gritted teeth.

"You were… you said you had something to do… something no one could help you with. What were you talking about?" she asked.

Hermione immediately regretted her probing as she saw Malfoy's eyes flash in anger. His hand shot out before she could stop him and he ripped her wand from her hand and tossed it far over his shoulder before pushing her back into the pillar behind her. She gasped in pain as her back hit the stone behind her and her eyes watered slightly at the pressure of his wand digging into her neck. She reached up to push him away from her, but his quick reflexes stopped her. His free hand grabbed both of her small wrists in his hand and he tightly held her hands down between them. She let out a small whimper in pain at his tight grip.

"Did your filthy muggle parents never teach you to mind your own business?" he asked in a low voice, lip curled in anger. "What else did you hear?" he demanded, his grip on her wrists tightening painfully.

"N-nothing!" she let out, struggling in his hold. She felt a flare of anger burn in her stomach at his insult towards her parents. "I swear, that was it. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop," she defended, eyes falling on her wand which was laying on the floor across the bathroom where he had tossed it.

Malfoy stared down at her for a few seconds, eyes darting around her face almost as if he were trying to detect a lie. It felt like hours had passed in silence before he released his grip on her wrists, dropped his wand from her throat and shoved her further into the pillar behind her. He ignored her cry of pain and stepped away, heading back to his sink.

Hermione blinked away her tears as she rubbed her now free wrists. She was shocked that he had let her go. She thought he'd have hexed her and left her bleeding out in the bathroom before fleeing back to the dungeons. Cautiously, she took a few steps forwards towards her wand, unsure as to whether or not he would whip around and attack her again. Sensing that he was not going to, Hermione rushed to her wand, snatching it up. She stood in her spot, staring at him. He was once again gripping the sides of the sink, staring at himself in the mirror though he was no longer crying.

You idiot. Hermione thought as she headed towards him. He just let you go and you're going back in for more? Go back to the common room and tell Harry everything you heard!

Hermione shook away her thoughts, her gut feeling telling her that she should not run off and tell Harry. She knew Malfoy didn't deserve her sympathy, however Hermione Granger was not one to ignore a someone who so desperately needed help. She stopped behind him and cautiously lifted a hand up to touch his shoulder. She fully expected him to shove her off, call her names and curse her, however she continued until her hand touched his clothed shoulder. He flinched slightly at her touch, however didn't push her off.

"Whatever it is... " she said quietly, feeling encouraged by his lack of hostility. "Whatever it is, you'll get through it Malfoy. You're the male top of our class… you can figure it out.".

She felt silly at her words, they seemed pointless given the fact that she had no context around what was going on. She blinked in surprise when he turned around towards her, his silver eyes once again glossy. "He's going to kill me…" he breathed, a lone tear falling from his eye. "He's going to kill them."

Hermione stared up at him in shock. Who was going to kill him? He couldn't mean Voldemort, could he? Had Harry been right? Was Draco Malfoy now a Death Eater? Hermione shook her head. There was no way. This broken form of a teenage boy was not a Death Eater. Not knowing what else to do, Hermione nervously reached up on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. When words failed her, Hermione found that physical touch was the best way to provide comfort. She felt Malfoy grow still under her before he twitched slightly. She fully expected him to pull back in anger and so she began to withdraw her arms before she felt him drop his head into the crook of her neck. Now it was her turn to grow still in shock. Her mouth fell open as she felt his shoulders shake once more and wet tears fall onto the skin on her neck and collarbones. Was she really standing in the middle of the bathroom, comforting her school tormentor as he cried into her neck? Perhaps Malfoy had felt her go still, because a few seconds later he had pushed her roughly away from him, causing her to fall back on her arse. She stared up at him from the cold ground in shock, unsure of what to say.

"I don't need your pity, you filthy little Mudblood." he hissed, snatching his bag from the ground before he turned and left the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

Draco stormed down the corridor, making his way down to the dungeons. He cursed under his breath at his moment of weakness in the bathroom with Granger. How could he have fallen for her trick? She was surely trying to play the nice girl card, get him to open up to her and then run off back to Potter to tell him everything she had learned of his task.

"Pureblood." he muttered the password to the common room, heading inside and towards his dorm.

"Draco! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you," said Pansy Parkinson, batting her dark lashes at him as she jumped up from the couch she was sitting on.

Draco had been using Pansy since the beginning of the year to let off some steam anytime his task did not go according to plan. She was an easy fuck, good enough in bed and she practically worshipped the ground he walked on. She was too dimwitted and floozy for him to take her the least bit seriously. Her too-short skirts and unbuttoned blouses were stimulating enough for his sexual needs, but he considered himself to be a man who needed some mental stimulation as well when taking a girl seriously. Besides, Pansy was known to be the Slytherin slag.

"The best women are the ones who are untouched, Draco." he recalled his father saying to him in his second year. "Innocence, wits, and blood are what Malfoy men need to consider when choosing a woman. You can run around and fuck whomever you please son, but never will you bring home a woman any less than I have taught you."

Draco brushed Pansy off him as she reached him and began smoothing down his dishevelled hair. "Fuck off, Pansy. I'm not in the mood for you right now." he muttered, heading up the stairs towards his dorm without a backwards glance.

Tossing his bag onto the floor, his mind wandered back to Granger as he entered his dorm. Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini both seemed to be asleep, judging by their closed curtains around their beds. He had to admit, he was a bit worried about what had happened. He had actually cried to her. Snarling in shame, Draco ripped off his shirt, sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands. What the fuck was he going to do now? He was already having trouble figuring out how to fix the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement. He didn't need this Granger fuck up stressing him out as well. Hearing the dormitory door creak open, Draco glanced up, eyes falling on Pansy who smiled suggestively as she shut the door behind her.

Merlin, can she take a hint? he thought, raising a brow at her. He could treat the girl like complete shit and she would come running back to him like it was nothing.

"Draco, I know somethings bothering you," she said quietly, tip toeing to his bed, careful not to wake his dorm mates. She climbed onto the bed behind him, reaching her manicured fingers up and around his neck. She began kissing along his neck from behind him, her dainty fingers tracing circles on his chest. "Let me help you take you mind off things," she whispered in his ear, nipping his ear lobe lightly with her teeth.

He growled, shoving her back on the bed and lifting his wand to close the curtains around them. If she was this willing to give herself to him, why not? He did need the something to let out his anger at what had happened earlier. He ignored her giggling voice as he pulled apart the buttons of her shirt, watching the them fly off. Palming her breast in one hand, he reached under her skirt to pull off her panties, not bothering with her skirt.

"Mmm Draco, I've missed you," she moaned lightly as he pulled down her bra, circling her nipple with his tongue while his other hand slipped between her legs, rubbing her clit.

"Just shut the fuck up Pansy," he muttered, unbuttoning his trousers and kicking them off along with his boxers before he slid his hard cock into her warm opening. He lifted a hand to press against her mouth, muffling her moans as he began thrusting into her. He didn't particularly give a fuck if the boys in his dorm heard them, he mostly just didn't want to hear Pansy right then.

He groaned as he picked up his pace until he was relentlessly slamming into her, one hand pressed hard against her mouth and the other lifting one of her legs until it was slung over his shoulder, allowing him deeper access. "Fuck," he muttered. Sure Pansy had gotten around with a fair share of the Slytherin boys, but she was a great fuck. She was open to whatever he wanted to do with her and she didn't mind his cold demeanour.

After a few more thrusts, Draco felt the pressure in his lower abdomen increase and with a final groan he emptied his load into her, head thrown back in pleasure. He pulled out of her soon after, rolling over to lay on his back next to her. Picking up her panties from next to him, he tossed them onto her naked stomach. "Get out." he muttered, throwing his forearm over his eyes as he listened to her scrambling to redress and scurry out of the room.

He laid in his bed for the next hour, replaying the Granger situation in his head over and over. The way she had hugged him... no one had held him in such a manner in his life. Sure, his mother hugged and kissed him every time he parted ways with her, but he had never felt a hug full of... kindness? Care? Sympathy? She had made it so easy for him to lose control for a minute and let out his tears and worries onto her. It was so different from the usual method he took on to let out his stress -fucking Pansy or anyone else willing.

He cursed himself at his thoughts. Shes a Mudblood. You don't want her to touch you. You don't want her near you. he told himself. As he drifted off to sleep, he knew that he was lying to himself. A part of him craved to feel the warmth of Hermione Granger once more.

A/N:

Please review! Let me know what you think! Should I continue?