Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!

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Draco stomped down the ornate hallway of Malfoy manor as he went to learn the identity of his late visitor. When he reached the foyer, Draco stuck a hand out and wrenched the front door open, narrowing his eyes at who he found standing outside.

"Potter!" Draco spat with a very displeased scowl.

Harry loitered outside the grand Malfoy estate, with his hands shoved casually into his jacket pockets. He certainly didn't look happy to see his enemy either, but since he was there on Hermione's behalf, he was willing to put their differences aside for the moment.

"Malfoy, I've come to ask for your help." Harry humbly explained.

Before he could go on, Draco's scowl changed into a look of surprised confusion.

"Hermione isn't well….." Harry began.

Before Harry could go on, Draco grit his teeth.

Oh no.

No, surely Potter hadn't come to ask about that.

"There's been an….occurrence tonight, at Hogwarts….and I understand that only you can lend a hand, you know, with the current situation." Harry finished with a shrug.

"I don't know what you're rambling on about, Potter." Draco sneered, "Now get off my property before I call-"

"-I know you've never liked her!" Harry shouted, his voice ringing with desperate frustration, "Or Ron, or me, or any of us! But Malfoy, come on, surely you must have a heart somewhere in your body?! Will you really let Hermione die because of your foolish pride?! Because of what she is?!"

Never liked her.

Heart.

Die.

What she is.

Draco visibly bristled at Harry's words. The Malfoy heir clenched his jaw as he hissed viciously, "What do you know of hearts, Potter?"

Before Harry could say another word, Draco rudely slammed the heavy front door right in his face. With a sigh, Harry apparated back to Hogwarts hoping that Snape could do a better job than he had at convincing Draco to cooperate.

Back at Malfoy manor, on the other side of the door, Draco frowned to himself. He slunk back to his bedroom, guilt-ridden, and took the little sack doll out of his pocket with a deep scowl. Careful not to drop her, Draco held her up close to his face.

Draco was deeply offended by Harry's assumptions.

Not to mention incredibly worried.

Hermione's little sack doll made a small, sad noise at the frown of despair she saw on Draco's face. In an attempt to comfort him, she raised a tiny, handless arm and patted his cheek.

Draco flashed her a wry smile as she did and held her lovingly in his hands for an extended moment.

When they went to bed an hour later, Draco stayed awake for a long time, unable to sleep. Lying on his side facing the little sack doll, who slumbered beside him on his pillow using his pale, blonde hair as a blanket, he carefully stroked her mass of fluffy, brown curls.

Draco's mind was clouded by selfishness.

No, he didn't want to return Hermione's doll.

His doll.

How many years had he spent wishing for her?

Now he finally had a tiny piece of what he wanted, all to himself!

Growing up a spoiled, wealthy, only child, Draco didn't enjoy losing or sharing.

On the other hand though, what if Potter was telling the truth?

What if, without the doll's return, Hermione really would……..die?

Draco's grey eyes watched the moon as he contemplated what he should do.

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Even after Draco finally allowed himself to give in to his body's demands and sleep, he tossed and turned fitfully. Greeted only by nightmares during his few hours of troubled rest, he rose from his bed before sunrise.

Careful not to disturb the little sack doll who was still snoozing peacefully, Draco deftly carried her in his hands as he apparated straight to Hogwarts.

When they arrived, the little sack doll grumbled in her sleep at the motion and curled up cutely against Draco's fingers, using his body heat as her personal incubator to shield herself from the morning cold.

Before he actually went into the castle, Draco walked to the abandoned courtyard and sat on the stone, looking out over the grounds as the sun slowly climbed in the sky.

"...I see that you've come to your senses. How wise." A low, slow voice remarked beside him.

Using his peripheral vision, Draco realized that his godfather had come and sat down next to him.

Draco hadn't even heard headmaster Snape approach.

"Don't be so sure about that." Draco scoffed, "I just came here to think, that's all."

Snape sensed that Draco had more to say and so he remained silent, giving the Malfoy heir some time to speak his mind.

"Is it really so terrible if I hold onto just this little piece? A tiny shred of her? Is that so awful?" Draco asked in irritated exasperation.

Both Snape and Draco kept their eyes fixed on the horizon.

"It may be, if you would prefer Miss Granger to live….." Snape replied slowly, "I've thought for quite some time that perhaps you felt a certain way towards the girl. I see now that was a foolish conclusion."

Draco looked over at Snape with genuine hurt in his gaze. He answered the accusation with a rebuttal, but he never denied Snape's suspicion.

"How dare you say such things!" Draco exclaimed, "Would I be so anxious to keep this little….thing….if my feelings weren't genuine?! What would it benefit me, then?! What do you know of love anyway?!"

Snape gave Draco a smirk of silent, internalized pain before he replied calmly, "Love, Draco? If you truly love the Granger girl, then you will divest yourself of your own selfish whims. To love is to put another's happiness before your own. That much, you have failed to do so far……..Will you change my mind? Or will you continue to be unsuccessful?"

Draco stared at Severu.

Severus stared back.

The two men blinked at each other before Draco stood from his seat in the courtyard and asked Snape, "Where is she?"

"I believe the correct question is... where are they?" Snape replied.

Draco blinked as Snape stood as well, with one elegant sweep of his black robes, "Come, I'll show you what's become of Miss Granger myself."

Without another word, Draco followed the headmaster to his office.

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When they arrived and Draco saw the cage filled with miniature little Hermione sack dolls just like the one in his hand, his eyes widened.

"W-what's happened?!? What's happened to her?!?!" Draco asked, gasping as his gaze moved from the dolls to Snape.

"That is her." Snape said, gesturing to the caged dolls, "At least for now. Go on, Draco. Make your choice. Please yourself with your own follies or give your beloved a chance to live…..I'm not sure how much longer we have until this becomes permanent. As you can see, things have already deteriorated."

"Alright….alright! Just give me a moment!" Draco snapped.

Snape nodded and turned around.

"Privacy would be ideal right now." Draco scowled.

As his cape flowed behind him, Snape strode out of the room and left Draco alone in his office to say goodbye to his little Hermione.

Urging her awake with a gentle brush of his thumb, Draco watched for the last time as his adorable little sack doll yawned languidly in his hand and rubbed sleepily at her large, brown eyes. As she became aware, she glanced around and noticed that she was no longer in her usual home but she didn't understand why. With a frightened squeak, she looked at Draco for an answer.

"I'll always remember you." Draco said with a smile.

At his words, the little sack doll frowned sadly.

"I'll always think of you." Draco said as his smile became more and more bitter.

The little sack doll's bottom lip trembled and fat tears gathered in her huge eyes.

"And I'll always…….I'll always love you. Remember that, alright?" Draco asked with a tense smile.

The little sack doll gave a sharp chirp, clearly distraught as she realized what was about to happen.

As she started to whimper and wail, Draco decided to move quickly and spare her from anymore pain.

Pressing a kiss directly onto her little, round face, he closed his eyes and prepared to reunite her with her sisters in the nearby cage.

But it was Draco himself who was spared from anymore pain.

Draco felt the little sack doll vanish against his lips.

There was bright flash………

And the next thing that Draco realized was that his empty hands were once again full.

His lips were meeting something else….

Daring to open his eyes, Draco found himself holding Hermione by her waist, pressing a kiss directly to her lips.

Draco was so startled that he pulled away at such a speed he nearly dropped her. Recovering his senses, Draco kept a respectful grip on his brown-haired love, catching her with one hand around her waist still and one around her side.

"Draco…..?" Hermione asked, blinking as she slowly became aware of what was going on, "W-What are you doing here? Where am I? What time is it?"

"You've been out for a bit." Draco explained, "We're in the headmaster's office. See? Recognize that? Don't try so hard to stand on your own, yet. I've got you." He added as Hermione stumbled blindly, trying to regain her independence as much as her balance.

The entire thing was strange to Hermione but Draco's words were what she found to be the most bizarre.

"...Why?" Hermione asked, looking up into Draco's face incredulously.

"Why what, Granger?" Draco replied, blinking down at her.

"...Why do you have me?" Hermione asked, her eyes still half-lidded from her grogginess.

Draco felt a surge of courage. He decided that then was as good a time as ever.

Why not?

What did he have to lose?

"I've always wanted to have you." Draco said with a sad smile.

Though she was still in a haze, Hermione's freckled cheeks blushed a deep shade of pink as she gazed up at Draco.

Outside the door, Snape stood listening to the couple with a knowing smirk.