It was the Saturday after Draco and Hermione's afternoon in the library, and the world had become a brighter and better place; the fall air seemed crisper, the colours more defined, the classes shorter and the evenings longer. Draco and Hermione spent nearly all their time in one another's company, not necessarily seeking time alone together but always welcoming the chances they had. At any point when the two could share a private moment, Hermione would brush her fingertips across the back of Draco's hand, or Draco would place his lips lightly on the shell of Hermione's ear. Whenever they came into contact, both would thrill at the new electricity between them that could barely be suppressed in public. It was like a current running just beneath their skin, replacing their blood, filling their veins with sparks and light.

In short, they were blissfully wrapped up in one another. Every evening they'd sit together on the couch in the common room and do homework until everyone else had gone to sleep. Then, when they were finally alone, they'd lean on each other and talk until they both fell asleep. The second night this happened, Hermione commented that she wasn't having nightmares anymore, and Draco said the same thing.

Harry was the first to notice their growing closeness, but that was because he was trying so incredibly hard to be Draco's friend. After spending enough time with Draco and Hermione, he started noticing the secret touches, the long looks, and the vast amounts of homework that they apparently needed to complete with one another. Just after Transfiguration on Wednesday, Harry tapped Draco on the shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Hermione stopped and stood by Draco. Coughing awkwardly, Harry looked down at his shoes. "Alone?"

Raising a blonde eyebrow, Draco quirked his head. "It's ok Hermione," he said slowly, "I'll meet up with you outside for break."

Hermione nodded reluctantly, sensing that Draco wanted to talk to Harry too. "I'll be out by the lake," she said, brushing her hand over his shoulder before walking off down the hallway.

Draco watched her until she disappeared around the corner, a strange far-away look on his face. When he turned to face Harry again, the black-haired boy was grinning impishly. "Congratulations on your relationship," he drawled. "I hope you two are very happy together."

Blushing furiously, Draco dragged Harry out of the hallway and into an empty classroom. "Keep your voice down!" he hissed. "I've been trying to keep a low profile, I don't need you blowing it."

Then it was Harry's turn to arch his eyebrows. "A low profile?" he asked, his voice heavy with skepticism. "Well, you'd be keeping a low profile if you were surrounded by blind people, but last time I checked Hogwarts was full of people who still had full control over their sight."

Draco grimaced. "Is it that obvious?" he asked, shutting his eyes tightly.

"Yes." Harry rolled his eyes. "Everyone in eighth year knows that something's up, it's just that no one wants to do anything about it."

"Shit," Draco said loudly, running a hand through his hair and starting to pace. "I didn't want to do this to her! The press will have a field day if anyone finds out, and it'll destroy her reputation, and -"

"Wait, wait, wait," Harry interrupted, looking cross. "You think 'Mione gives a damn about her reputation? I thought that you two were together, but obviously you don't know the first thing about her, let alone care for her. Sorry, my mistake."

As Harry turned to leave the classroom, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. "I care about her more than anything in the world," Draco said lowly, resisting the urge to whip Harry around and slam him into the wall. "She is everything to me, so I'd appreciate it if you took your last comment back."

Turning around, Harry kept his face completely neutral. "Alright Draco, I'll take the last bit of that remark back, but I honestly wonder how you can say that you know her. She doesn't care about how the world sees her, anyone who's met her understands that."

"I know that she doesn't care, but I do!" Draco insisted, letting Harry's shoulder go. Confused, Harry moved his hand in a circling motion, urging Draco to go on. The blonde sighed and resumed his pacing. "It's complicated….see, the media had a bloody field day with me after the war, and I thought that I could handle it. But there were just so many lies, and everyone I saw was judging me, and….I just couldn't stand to see her go through that."

Harry was silent for a moment, drinking in Draco's words. Finally he said, "She could handle it though, you know. She's strong like that."

"She's strong because she has to be strong," Draco said softly. "If someone gave her the opportunity to relax, to calm down, she'd be happy with that too – it's just that right now the world needs her to be tough, solid. She could deal with it, but it wouldn't be easy."

Harry nodded slowly, a smile creeping up his face. "Maybe you do know her," he admitted, hands on his hips. "Treat her well, ok? If you screw with her, I am the Boy Who Lived – don't think that I won't come bust your ass."

Draco nodded, putting Harry's jest aside. "I swear I will, P – Harry. I don't need your threats as an incentive to treat her with the utmost respect and dignity."

Harry grinned. "I'm impressed, Mal – Draco. She's done quite the number on you."

Draco's eyes went wide. "Ex – excuse me?" he sputtered, outraged.

"Well, I assumed that she'd change you a little bit, but now you're a full-on teddy bear!" Harry drawled, pushing the classroom door open and walking out into the hallway. A furious Draco followed him, still at a loss for words. Laughing, Harry wondered aloud "I wonder if this happened to Viktor Krum when he dated her, or if it's just you…."

Draco was about to deliver a particularly cutting remark when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He instantly recognized the hand's shape and weight, so he didn't even need to turn around to know it was Hermione. Taking in a deep breath through his nose, Draco closed his eyes; parchment, vanilla, cinnamon….. Immediately he felt his blood pressure drop and his temper cool down. How is it that she has this effect on me?

"Hey, did you want to take a quick walk around the grounds before lunch is over?" she asked when Draco turned to face her. Suddenly seeing Harry, the witch blushed, wishing her hair was still bushy so that she could hide behind it. "I mean, uh, that is if you two were, um, done…."

"We were done," Harry said casually. "It was a useful discussion. Thanks Dray – I'll talk to you later."

And with that, Harry waved his wand and transfigured his uniform into jogging clothes. Without pausing so much as to laugh at Draco's incredulous expression, the young man dashed off towards the Black Lake. Not capable of really speaking properly, Draco just turned to Hermione and said "Don't you dare ever call me Dray."

Unable to contain herself, Hermione doubled over and burst into a fit of giggles. Loving the way that her cheeks tinged pink and her grin revealed new dimples, Draco smiled as well, the insult forgotten. When Hermione finally caught her breath she managed to gasp out, "I wouldn't dream of it," before grabbing Draco's hand and heading off towards the quidditch pitch.

"I thought we were going to the lake?" Draco wondered aloud, hitching his bag onto his shoulder with his free hand.

"We could," Hermione conceded, "but Harry went that way, and I wanted to talk."

Uh oh, Draco thought, his mind freezing. That's not good. "Talk about what?" he asked cautiously, not letting go of Hermione's hand.

"I don't know," she said lightly, brushing an errant curl out of her face. "Anything."

Relaxing instantly, Draco's smile returned to his face. "Why don't you start then?" Draco suggested, releasing her hand and throwing his arm around her shoulders now that they were out of sight of the hallway.

Sighing, Hermione gave Draco a disappointed look. "Ok," she huffed, tightening her Harrod's scarf. (Trying to eliminate house-discrimination, all the eighth years had been wearing non-Hogwarts scarves in the cold weather; Draco's was a red-and-white striped one, a knock-off of the famous scarf on the Beatles album cover.) "I guess I'll start with a totally random statement about myself, then. Umm…I'm afraid of rats. Ta da, I know, so profound."

Draco ruffled the top of Hermione's head. "Why on earth are you afraid of rats, crazy?" he asked, running his fingers through her hair, loving it when she leaned into his touch.

"I don't know," she said, sounding a bit far away. "Maybe it was Pettigrew in third year, or maybe I was just always grossed out by rats. I think it all kind-of blurred together."

There was a break where everything was silent as Hermione and Draco continued walking, Draco still holding her close to his side. "Well, that's justified," he finally said. "I'm scared of snakes, I bet you can guess why."

Hermione laugh-snorted. "I'm surprised that all of England isn't terrified of snakes."

"Is Harry still a Parselmouth?" Draco randomly wondered out loud.

Shaking her head, Hermione said "Nope. He lost it when snake-face died. He doesn't mind, honestly – he says it's a bit of a relief really, the snake thing always freaked him out." Silence. "Was your father a Parselmouth? I read a while ago that the Malfoys used to be able to talk to snakes."

Draco worked very hard to keep his body relaxed. It was easier to talk about his father to Hermione, but it still wasn't easy. He doubted it would ever be. "No," he said shortly. "He wasn't."

"What do you think of all this stuff happening with your dad now? I mean, if you don't want to answer, or anything, that's ok…"

Suddenly Hermione's desire for a private walk made so much more sense. "You sneaky little devil," Draco teased, flicking her head gently. "You should've been in Slytherin, you know. Was there another article in the paper about him this morning, or something?"

Hermione sighed. "Yes," she admitted reluctantly. "I was just wondering, you know, since he is your dad, and what not…."

Draco was silent for a while, thinking about how to answer Hermione's question. "I don't really think about it too much," he finally said. "I mean, yeah he's my dad, but he was never really a father figure. Severus was the one who was always there for me, and my mum died in the summer, so in a way I've already mourned the passing of my real family."

Looking off into the distance, Hermione nodded. "But you got so irritated when that little Fairfax git showed you the article, and I was just thinking…."

"It's not so much that he was my dad," Draco interjected, not letting Hermione continue. "It was just what he did, and how he did it, and the fact that Voldemort's influence still lives on….it's hard to explain."

Hermione was silent, her brow furrowed. "But, he's your dad!" she finally spluttered, obviously confused. "Like, if my dad did half of the things Lucius did, I'd…I don't know…hate his guts, that's for sure."

Trying to think of how to explain his feelings for Lucius, Draco closed his eyes. "My dad was rarely home, and whenever he was he wasn't a very engaged father." Sighing, he continued. "So, whenever he'd come home and place unrealistic expectations on me, I'd run away to my Uncle Sev's house and get lost in the world of muggle books and learning. I spent most of my life away from Hogwarts in that little house in Spinner's End – I basically owe Snape my sanity. In blood, Lucius was my father; in spirit and mind, Severus Snape was my father. I used to hate Lucius, but eventually Severus helped me deal with it. Thanks to that, I'm relatively detached from anything that Lucius Malfoy does now."

Draco looked down at Hermione who was fiddling with the tassels on her scarf. Obviously he still hadn't managed to reach her. "I don't love Lucius Malfoy anymore," Draco continued, "nor do I idolize him like I did when I was younger….but because he is technically my father, I just can't bring myself to hate him. I've tried, trust me, but I can't do it…I just….can't. I know that apathy is horrible, but it's just…it worked out that way."

Hermione was looking up at Draco with a strange expression, her nose red from the cold. "That makes sense," she finally said. "I get that."

Nuzzling into Draco's chest, Hermione threaded her fingers between his. Her happy sigh made Draco smile, and the blonde closed his eyes. I'd be happy if this moment froze, he thought suddenly. If time would just stop now, I'd be good with that. Everything feels so right….

"Hey! Draco, 'Mione!"

…and the moment's broken. Draco lifted up his head and opened his eyes to see a red-faced and satisfied looking Harry running up on their left. "Yes, Harry?" Hermione said, her tone indicating that she wasn't too happy to be interrupted.

The black-haired wizard grinned, purposefully ignoring Hermione's unimpressed look. "I saw that you were heading towards the quidditch pitch, and wondered if the old Slytherin seeker would be up for a pick-up game?" Harry elbowed Draco in the ribs lightly, still smiling. "C'mon, I doubt you've managed to keep your skills after all these years anyways. It'd just be you and me, a quick round of catch-the-snitch."

Not really needing her consent but still feeling that it was important, Draco looked down at Hermione. Arching his eyebrows as if asking a question, Draco smiled when Hermione winked. The witch turned to face Harry again, Draco admiring the way that her neck turned gracefully, still leaving her body in his arms. "What, you don't want me to play with you?" she asked Harry jokingly.

He seemed a bit taken aback. "Well, erm, you could, I guess….if you wanted…"

Laughing her light spun-sugar laugh, Hermione threw her head back so that her scarf revealed more of her skin and the filtered autumn sunlight hit her face perfectly. Draco caught himself staring, but couldn't quite manage to look away; it was too beautiful and too precious a moment to miss. "I was only kidding, crazy!" Hermione said to Harry, his relieved look re-inciting her laughter. "Would you mind if I watched though?"

Harry looked to Draco quickly before shaking his head. "No, I don't think we'd mind at all. That is, if you don't mind watching me smoke Malfoy into oblivion."

"You wish, Potter!" Draco said, his voice loaded with false competitiveness.

Harry fell in-step beside the couple, carrying on a jovial and light conversation during the next few hundred meters that it took to get to the quidditch pitch. "When did they add these trees?" Hermione wondered, tilting her head as she noticed new evergreens planted around the exterior of the stadium.

"When the rebuilt the field they planted the trees," Harry supplied. "Apparently they're special trees, or something….I don't think that they add too much to the décor, but I'm not the Headmaster."

Draco laughed quietly, his eye catching a glimpse of something reflecting light towards them. Pausing, Draco stopped and squinted at the foliage. Hermione stopped beside him as Harry slowed down just in front. "Did you see something?" Hermione asked, peering into the trees.

His eyes lingering for just a moment longer, Draco shook his head and looked away. "I must've just imagined it," he said, shrugging.

Hermione, however, kept her eyes on the bushes and what she saw made her breath freeze in her lungs; a glint of platinum blonde hair, the unique reflection of sunlight on cloak fabric, a glint of silver. Immediately putting her arm out in front of Draco, Hermione watched as a pair of icy blue eyes locked on Harry. "NO!" she shrieked, leaping and throwing herself in front of her best friend.

"Hermione!" Draco cried out, his hand catching the tassels of her scarf and pulling the useless fabric off from around her neck.

Before the blonde's eyes, Hermione was surrounded by a strange blue light. Her expression frozen into one of shock, her eyes met Draco's briefly and the two shared a stare filled with terror, surprise, and – from Hermione – determination. Then, just as suddenly as the light had appeared, it faded, taking Hermione with it and leaving an empty space in front of Harry where the Golden Girl had once been.

Stock still, Harry and Draco both stared at the void where their most precious friend had just vanished. "She…she jumped in front of me," Harry finally stuttered, his green eyes flicking back and forth, looking at nothing.

Harry's words snapped Draco out of his trance and the blonde rushed forward to the bushes, drawing his wand. "Who's there?!" he shouted, casting a homunum revelio, not entirely surprised when the spell came back entirely negative. Obviously the caster had apparated, somehow bypassing the apparition barrier.

Frantically crashing through the brush, Draco kept his wand out in front of him until he arrived at a patch of grass that had been flattened considerably. The branches around it had been snapped, and from this angle Draco had a perfect view of where Harry was casting preservation charms on the area where Hermione had disappeared. Looking around, Draco searched for any hint as to who Hermione's attacker could have been. Harry's attacker, his brain corrected instantly. He was going after Harry, Hermione just stepped in his way. Stupid Gryffindor, how could she do that to herself?! To me?!

With a start, Draco realized that he was clutching Hermione's battered Harrod's scarf in a death-grip. He immediately felt a sharp pain in his chest, and Draco smoothed out the scarf over his arm, checking to make sure he hadn't damaged it. On a whim, the blonde lifted it to his nose. It smells like her, he thought, his heart growing heavy. He closed his eyes, drinking in her smell, her essence, her vitality. I promise, I will find you, Draco vowed, squeezing his eyes to hold back the tears that he felt threatening to come.

Giving the scarf a final squeeze, Draco opened his eyes. Directly in front of his face, a single hair hung from a branch that was just at head level. Draco lifted the strand of hair off of the darkened branch with his wand, carefully holding it up to the light. His heart sank when he saw that it matched his hair colour exactly, only it was several inches longer and smelt strongly of spearmint hair gel.

Luicus.

Dad.

….oh Merlin, no. Please no. Not you. Anyone but you.

A/N: Here it is, darling readers. Thanks so much for your feedback on the last chapter, I love every single letter you type, particularly when those letters come together to form syllables, then words, then sentences. :) :) Hopefully the next chapter should be out by next Saturday (November 3rd), but this is kind-of a busy week so we'll see. Around then. :) Please R&R! ~sneakyslytherin