A/N: Happy New Year! Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter 14: The Call for Help

Draco awoke on the first day of the new year with his face pressed up against a smelly, dusty old book in the Hogwarts library. He reached a cold hand up to his face and felt the deep marks the book had imprinted into his skin there. Draco rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his tousled hair. He was so tired. He had spent all night poring over stacks of books, looking for the right spell. He slumped in his chair and sat there for a few minutes, trying to fully wake himself up. A few minutes later, he heaved himself up and walked to the Great Hall, his feet making almost no noise. He had mastered this skill while he had been prowling the library these past few weeks.

Once he had passed through the doors of the Hall, he headed for the Slytherin table, grabbed a plate of eggs and bacon, and walked right back out. Draco entered the Room of Requirement a few minutes later and sat there, eating his breakfast. He couldn't bear sitting in the Great Hall, where people stared at him, commenting on his miserable state and his father's imprisonment.

Why this subject was coming up now, Draco had no idea. But over the break, people had suddenly become very interested in the Death Eaters locked up in Azkaban. Draco figured there must have been something in the Prophet about it, but he didn't bother to find out.

After a while, Draco left the Room of Requirement. As he was heading down to his dormitory to take a nap, he ran straight into Hermione Granger.

"Sorry!" She exclaimed, evidently not realizing who she had just run into. In fact, just as she saw Draco's face, a small frown etched itself on her face. "Malfoy," she said simply. Her tone was not cold, but concerned. She looked at him curiously. "Are you okay?"

"What?" Asked Draco.

"You look...ill."

"So?"

"Are you okay?" She repeated.

There it was again. The concern. The...care. From Granger? Draco hated it. He glared at Granger, whose expression hardened. She seemed...angry.

"Forget it," she spat, then stormed off.

Draco continued to the dormitories, and sat there on his bed, reading another book on magical objects. He still couldn't find anything on a spell to activate the Vanishing Cabinet. It was driving him mad. He had gone through every single book in the library. And still, nothing.

Draco didn't know what to do. For the next two weeks, he continued reading and rereading books. He felt like a ghost. He didn't do anything except go to class, eat, sleep, and read books in the Room of Requirement. He didn't talk to anyone. He started hearing people talking about Katie Bell's condition in St. Mungo's. A dark mist seemed to be engulfing him. As he read more and more books, he began realizing what he was doing. If he managed to find the spell, he would have to let the Death Eaters into the castle. He would have to kill Dumbledore. Why?

And then, a few days later, Rosmerta sent him a message.

BORGIN SAYS THE DARK LORDS WANTS THE TASK TO BE COMPLETED FASTER. OR YOUR FAMILY...

Draco didn't bother reading the whole message. He knew what would happen to him, and his family, if he didn't get the job done soon,

He sat in the library that day, trying to figure out what to do. He wouldn't ask Snape for help. He wouldn't ask Theo or Blaise; they wouldn't know what to do. Neither, apparently, did Borgin.

Draco sat at the table with his hands pressed against his temples. He hated to admit it, but he needed help.

After a few moments, Draco spied a pair of brown eyes watching him from behind a bookshelf. Granger.

Draco didn't want to have to ask her. But what choice did he have? She was the smartest person in their year. Usually, this fact annoyed Draco, but now he saw how this could be useful to him. But would she agree to help? Probably not. But at this point, Draco's pride couldn't be hurt anymore. He stood up and approached Hermione.

"Granger?" He asked her. She looked up at him.

"What, Malfoy?" She asked, a bit stiffly.

"I need your help."

"Excuse me?"

Draco sighed. "I need your help," he repeated.

Hermione blinked. "You," she said slowly. "Need my help?"

"Yes."

Hermione laughed out loud. "The great Draco Malfoy needs help from Hermione Granger, the mudblood?"

"Yes," Draco said again.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"No."

Hermione looked into Draco's face, then said, "You're being serious, aren't you?"

"Of course I am!" Draco exclaimed.

"And why would I help you?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I don't know!" Cried Draco. "Just forget I asked." He turned on his heel and stormed off.

Stupid! It had been stupid to ask Granger for help! Now she would go tell Potter and Weasley. And then, people would make more fun of him than ever. He was already being mocked about his father, and that wasn't even his fault. He couldn't imagine how much worse his life could get.

He waited for a week for the taunting to begin. But it never did. He was spending time in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, listening to her tell him about how people has teased her when she was still alive. He didn't know why he kept talking to Moaning Myrtle. Maybe because she was the only person speaking to him at the moment. Even Crabbe and Goyle had cut him off.

At the end of that week, something unexpected happened. On Sunday evening, as Draco was leaving the Room of Requirement, Hermione Granger walked right up to him and said, "What do you need help with?"

Draco was completely taken aback. "What?"

"You needed help. With what?"

"Wait, you'll actually help me?"

"Depends on what you need help with."

Draco stared at her. "Are you being serious?"

"Yes, I am, Malfoy," Hermione said, a bit annoyed. "Now what do you need help with?"

"Well..." Draco began, but then he stopped. He couldn't tell her what he was doing. And he was sure that if he gave her a vague answer, she would press for more information. His best option was to make something up.

"Well," he continued. "Er, Snape asked me to fix the Vanishing Cabinet, you know, the one that Montague got stuck in last year?"

Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, well, to activate the Cabinet's magic, there's a spell. And I need help figuring out what that spell is."

Hermione thought for a moment, then asked, "Well, couldn't you ask Snape?"

"No!" Draco said quickly. "I can't ask him!"

"Well," said Hermione. "Have you checked the library?"

Draco glared at her. "Of course I've checked the bloody library, Granger. I'm not stupid."

"Well, no, you're not. But you can be a bit...ignorant."

"Pardon?"

"Never mind," Hermione said quickly. "Okay, I think I can help you."

"Good," said Draco in relief. "But you can't tell Potter and Weasley about this. Or anybody."

"Well, not telling Ron won't be a problem," Hermione replied crossly. "But, okay."

Draco was astonished at how willingly Hermione had agreed to help him, but he decided not to question his luck.

"Great," he said. "Meet you in the library tomorrow at six?"

"Okay," replied Hermione. Then she headed away down the corridor.