Disclaimer: I do not own anything, JK Rowling does.

Author's Note

Chapter 2 is here with more insight to Draco. It's been somewhat challenging to write him but I am basing a lot off the movies and his actions in them. He's still very much a boy. Anyways. Let me know what you think! This is going to be a slow burn, with a lot of angst and emotion. These kids are in the middle of a War and going through a lot of different feelings. I have a ton of ideas on how to play out the rest of the story. I don't think we will stay in 6th year.

Enjoy.

Chapter 2

Draco walked slowly down the moving staircase waiting for it to connect with the next one. He had a little bit of time to contemplate if he really wanted to venture out towards the forest and Granger. His tongue moved slightly inside his mouth as he rolled her name around in his head. It tasted bitter. It should taste bitter, he thought crossly. His fingers tapped rapidly against the railing as the staircase connected with the next, his thoughts moving just as fast.

Initiating his next steps he moved swiftly his mind suddenly made up. Long legs descended the stairs two at a time. Draco stopped sharply right before he hit the last step, almost giving himself whiplash. His long sturdy fingers tightened on the railing and his teeth bit into his tongue.

What was he doing?

Entertaining thoughts of a mudblood, that's what he was doing.

Entertaining thoughts of a distraction.

Draco shook his head his silky platinum hair shading his eyes. He needed to focus. Focus on his mission, on what would bring his family into the Dark Lord's good graces, on what would ensure his own position in the inner circle. He should be heading back up to the room of requirement right now, like he had been before he felt Granger's presence. Like he had been before he had leaned against that window high up in the castle and watched as she lay mere inches away from the Forbidden Forest. It was like she had a death wish.

A soft hiss of annoyance left his mouth, his steel eyes seeking the ceiling of the castle as he tried to center his mind. It was like he wanted to do anything other than what he had been ordered to do. Even now he could feel the phantom pain on his left forearm and resisted the urge to sink his fingernails into it. All he could see were those tell tale circles under her eyes, her eyes that had always been so animated and full of emotion. He groaned and turned so his back was against the railing his hands coming up to rest on either side of him. The staircase started moving again.

She could freeze out there for all he cared. Whatever this little thing with her was about would disappear soon. He was just needing something, anything else to think about other than his impending doom. Draco had a feeling he was going to fail his mission. It was already tearing him apart, his sanity crumbling piece by piece, and he had barely started.

Killing Dumbledore. Draco scoffed as he whispered the name to himself. He wasn't fond of the headmaster and could care less what happened to him but a tiny part of himself, a part he had shoved deep down and locked away in himself, did care. It was the same part that made him curious about Granger and why he was starting to see all the same things about himself on her. Draco knew Dumbledore was a beacon of light for the Order, a piece that once brought down would surely kick start the beginning of the war between good and evil.

He swallowed uncomfortably. Was he evil? He had taken the dark mark, although it was more a punishment to his father for failing at the department of mysteries. He had sworn to kill Dumbledore and fix the vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement to let death eaters into Hogwarts. Did that make him evil?

Draco was jostled out of his thoughts as the staircase connected with the landing above him. He needed to stop thinking so bloody much. He glanced down the staircase his ears straining and eyes narrowed, paranoid that Potter could be following him. He almost preferred Granger as she was much more quiet and her scent had calmed him. It was the bloody lavender, not bloody Granger that smelled good he growled in his head.

Granger.

The cycle started up again as he stalked towards the empty hallway, and he needed to clear his thoughts to open the room he required. Walking back and forth between the empty wall he chanted one sentence.

I need the room with the vanishing cabinet. I need the room with the vanishing cabinet. I need the room with the -

Ornate dark metal started sprouting out of nowhere on the wall, twining together until a decent sized door was formed. Draco glanced around the quiet hallway once more before deciding it was safe enough to continue in. He really didn't need Potter botching this mission before it really even began.

The room was filled with anything and everything, seemingly endless and providing him with multiple tiny hallways leading to who knew where. Luckily the past few times he had been here the room hadn't changed and he made quick work of finding the vanishing cabinet, removing the blanket he had taken to throwing over it.

It stood tall and imposing, Draco could feel the dark magic oozing off of it. He supposed that could be because it's twin sister resided at Borgin and Burkes. A chill shot through him thinking of the other cabinet. It would provide the way into the castle for a handful of Death Eaters and Draco wasn't certain what level of havoc would be reached with them there.

Rolling his shoulders his wand fell into his left hand, the smooth wood sending a shock of magic through his body. He was getting stronger. His thoughts flashed back to the summer when he had taken the dark mark and the subsequent training he had went through. The cabinet seemed to call out to him, whispering nothing good. He swore he could feel the heavy magic in the eerily silent room.

Draco was nervous of that newfound strength of his magic and yet as he twirled his wand he couldn't help the sigh that escaped.

It felt good.

Long gone we're the days of petty bullying and pushing his classmates around for fun. Taking the mark, realizing his potential in the Dark Lord's inner circle, understanding his life as it was now had hardened him. Draco thought back to his sixteenth birthday he had celebrated in June. It was his first without many gifts and luxury and was instead spent screaming on the cold marble floor of the sitting room in his house. He shuddered, leaning a hand against the vanishing cabinet to steady himself.

His gifts were receiving the mark, the mission, the glory that would one day come from being a Death Eater. His luxury was being allowed to live for his Father's shortcomings.

Life had changed for Draco.

Feeling strong enough again he pushed off the cabinet and started muttering the series of spells and incantations he had been taught to help fix it. His laugh filled the room, echoing, as he thought of the prophecy that had been in the department of mysteries. Harry Potter's prophecy.

Much like Potter, Draco had his own prophecy to live up to. His life had been planned out long before he was ever conceived or thought of. Living up to the Malfoy name. Serving the Dark Lord as his father and grandfather had.

He carded a pale hand through his equally pale hair which almost glowed in the darkness of the room. He preferred it that way, low lit and just enough light to see what he was doing. His heart was pounding steadily and his breathing was relaxed. It was contradicting but working up here brought him to a certain state of tranquility. Draco was focused here, certain of his part in all of this here, safe in here. As soon as he left this room it was back to always feeling watched, seeing his classmates laughing and living their lives not any smarter to what was going on in the world.

Protected and safe here in Hogwarts. His fingers tightened on his wand. He didn't know if he wanted to laugh at that ironic thought or stoke the growing pit of fire in his stomach over being the one to end those feelings.

Deciding to smother the fire, he muttered a few more spells before taking a step back from the cabinet. It would be enough for today. His concentration was slowly slipping away into nothing. Schooling his sharp features into a mask of indifference he started back towards the door, feeling the lines in his forehead smooth and his jaw unclench leaving a perfect school boy expression behind.

Being a prefect this year also helped with his sneaking around and he only slightly glanced over the hallway before stepping out of the slowly shrinking door. His quicksilver gaze found the clock on the wall and he realized it was almost dinner time. Draco debated even going. His appetite these days was lacking. Although, he rationalized, he needed to keep up his strength

When Hermione woke, her body feeling stiff and chilled, she realized the sunlight was waning and it had to be almost time for dinner. She groaned, throwing an arm over her face. Even though she was chilled and could feel the light of the day being sucked into the forest behind her, she was content to lay there a few more minutes. She didn't think she had slept that good since arriving at Hogwarts.

Deciding she had things to do and feeling more energized she quickly got up and gathered her book bag, vanishing the blue blanket on the ground with a wave of her wand.

When she arrived at the entrance of the Great Hall she heard the volumes of laughter and talking. So she was slightly late. It wasn't all that much unlike her to be rushing into the hall, usually having been caught up in a book or writing an essay. Hermione suddenly wished for a mirror as she knew she probably looked crazy, and knew Ron would already be sitting at the table.

Pushing aside her thoughts of vanity she opened the giant door and started striding towards the Gryffindor table, her ochre eyes fixed on the spot across from Harry and Ron. Ginny was there too she noted, Dean sitting further down away from here. Hermione wouldn't be surprised if they were fighting again. She nodded to Neville, who was also sat at the bench, with a warm smile before swinging one leg over the seat and settling down between him and Ginny.

"Hermione! You look as if you've just woken from an ice bath." Ginny admonished, her blue eyes sweeping over Hermione's crumpled skirt and pale heart shaped face.

Hermione angled her body towards Ginny, her eyes catching Harry's as she talked. "It was abnormally chilly in the Library, I wondered if perhaps Peeves had been floating around." She mentioned.

Ron sighed loudly around a mouthful of food, "You really ought to not spend so much time cooped up in there this year. I think it got to your head last year." His blue eyes danced happily as he spun one finger around in circles near his head.

She laughed, deciding she was in a terrific mood and wasn't going to let his teasing get to her as it normally would. Harry and Ginny laughed too, with Neville trying to hide his smile. Her grin stayed on her face as she realized this feeling was what she had been missing since school had started up again. She put her arm up on the table and let her face rest in her hand, just gazing at her friends as they talked about Quidditch and the upcoming Hogsmeade trip.

"Are you going to come watch tryouts, Mione?" Ron was speaking to her again, his cheeks flushed from all the laughing.

Hermione let out a small breath as she felt her chest tighten slightly. She swallowed a little too obviously and rolled her eyes, biting the inside of her cheek as she pretended to think about her answer.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world." She answered truthfully a slight blush bringing life to her otherwise pale face.

She didn't miss the glance that Harry and Ginny shared, their eyes slight with mischief and faces with barely suppressed smirks. Hermione supposed it wasn't a secret she and Ron had started feeling something for one another. She peeked up at Ron from where she had tilted her head to inspect her dinner a little too closely. He was happily munching on his food, his eyes seemingly thoughtful as he gazed around the room catching on her every few seconds.

Hermione sighed in relief. Dinner was going great, talking with her friends was going great, everything felt great. Yet it all felt off too, almost like practiced happiness and fake laughter echoed off the walls of the Great Hall. She felt the weight of her anguish slip across her shoulders, enveloping her small frame in billowing waves of shadows. Her food tasted bland and cold, and a shiver racked her body as she reached for her pumpkin juice.

She glanced around at her friends wondering if anyone had noticed her fall into her pit of shadows. Everything was as it should be though, Harry and Ron arguing over quidditch players and Ginny heading down the table to sit by Dean who looked slightly nervous at her arrival. Neville was beside her humming as he thumbed through a herbology book.

Hermione grasped at the table needing something, anything to hold her steady. She felt so out of place amongst her cheerful peers. Did they not feel the darkness too? The waves of panic pushing her down, starting to bleed out to everyone else in the hall. She needed to relax she chided herself.

Relax.

Her eyes closed as though she were thinking about something deeply. She felt the odd niggling presence of another's eyes on her. Her eyes, when they opened, felt tight and burned slightly. And they were clashing with an unreadable silver gaze.

Malfoy.

She didn't react, couldn't seem to tear her golden hues away from him. She searched his face for any emotion, any meaning as to why he was staring at her so intently. Hermione wanted to glance behind her and make sure she wasn't misreading what she saw, but couldn't find the strength to look away from his imposing gaze.

Malfoy looked all the picture of white marble stone, carved to perfection. It was odd to see his face so drawn in when it was typically twisted by his infamous smirk. His lips lay flat though, slightly pressed together as if he were controlling his face. She wondered what lay reflected on her own.

Was it the surprise of having caught him staring, or her features quickly schooling trying to hide the panic she had just felt. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to center her rapidly firing brain. His silver pools dipped downward watching the movement. Hermione stood abruptly, banging her knee on the table top as she did. She cursed, her words drawing Harry's raised gaze. His lifted eyebrows seemed to be asking if she was okay.

She grimaced, feeling that burning stare of Malfoy's on her, rambling out some excuse about a paper needing to be written before she grabbed her bag and turned to walk.

Her body felt on fire as she knew his eyes followed her out the Great Hall. Bits and pieces of his marble face flashed in front of her, the slight crinkles on his forehead as if he had been brooding too much. The way his mouth tilted with a slight downward shadow, the cracks apparent.

He felt it too, then. The weight of the shadows. Maybe he could see her own, too.

She wondered briefly if perhaps his intense gaze was the product of him realizing it had been her out in the hallway earlier that day. She hadn't thought about that at the table. Hermione had been too swept up in the feelings she felt caught in his cold gray depths. He felt like a whirlwind, and she idly questioned when he had stopped looking like a petty bully and started looking like a hardened by life boy.

She sighed coming to rest against a cool expanse of stone wall, her legs burning with the fire that had propelled her from the dining hall.

What was going on with her?

Hermione had always prided herself on having a level head and seeing the logical side to things. No logic could make up for the drought she felt inside herself though. No logic could explain why she felt drawn to Malfoy, why she had had so many run ins with him today of all days when her world felt small and too close.

She started walking again, her body feeling tired and heavy. Her feet led her to the girls dormitory and her soft bed.

Tomorrow was a new day.

He watched her speed out of the dining hall, a tornado of hair and robes. His body felt slightly on edge, vibrating with his nerves after their direct eye contact. The witch's eyes had been like pools of molten gold. He had felt warm gazing into them. On the outside he forced his face into cold neutrality. No one could know how much she actually affected him. He brought a shiny green apple to his mouth and crunched down on it thoughtfully. Beside him Pansy, Theo, and Blaise were murmuring quietly about something or the other. Draco hadn't been paying much attention, too caught up in thinking about visiting the room of requirement again tonight. It was going too slowly, his mission.

Pansy's hand wrapped around his wrist as he brought the apple to his mouth again. He slid his eyes to hers, dropping them to the top of her robes as her necklace caught his gaze. Maybe he could speed up his mission a different way. He shook her hand off with annoyance, not wanting to deal with Pansy's whinging right now. She huffed and glared at him her dark eyes cold, nothing like the emotional whirlpools he had been trapped in moments before. Draco shrugged at her and stood up from the table tugging on the lapels of his fine midnight suit. He didn't bid the table good bye.

A/N

Well there you have it. Hope you enjoyed it.

MIS