A/N: Hey it's been a long time (and a whole new account) since I've posted anything! I'm super excited to get back into writing. Please leave constructive criticism where needed, and let me know what you think!

Hermione stood frozen on the battlefield as the green light of a killing curse raced towards her. In between the beats of her heart she couldn't think of any way to escape the curse without exposing one of the Order fighting behind her.

Deep breath.

Swallow.

The bounding blood in her ears deafened the carnage around her and she turned to find any familiar face. Any peace before she died. Brown eyes met grey across the battlefield. He was racing towards her, and then she was falling.

The sound of battle returned when she landed on the ground. An invisible force had knocked into her at the last moment, and now she was panicking, pinned beneath its weight. She shoved against it until it gave, rolling off of her. The invisibility cloak fell to the side, and she screamed in horror as she stared at the dead body of her best friend.

No!

She turned on the death eater who'd done it and uttered the killing curse without a pause. She didn't wait for his body to drop. She was already on her knees beside Harry. Everything in her screamed to to CPR, to cast healing charms, to do anything. But the logical part of her knew she'd never see those green eyes filled with life again. So she cried, clinging to him.

That idiot! He should have let her die.

Someone was grabbing her, pulling her away from him. She grasped at him one last time, and then Hogwarts was gone. All she had was Harry's cloak slipping from her grasp as they arrived in some unknown room. She whirled on her kidnapper, wand against Malfoy's throat without hesitation.

"How did you-" Her voice was low and rough, her eyes hard. Draco only held up his hands in surrender. "You can't apparate on school grounds."

"There's no headmaster." He said softly.

"And so you just took me from the battle?" Her voice rose in volume, echoing around the empty room. "Take. Me. Back."

"No." He said it quietly. She dropped her wand and tried to apparate out, only to feel a push back. Anti-apparition wards.

"What the hell Draco?"

"This is my house now, and only I can apparate in and out." He stepped towards her and she stepped back. He sighed.

"Take me back! Right now!"

"No." He stepped forward. She stepped back.

"They're dying out there! Draco I cannot lose them!"

"And if you'd stop yelling at me I could get to saving whoever I can. But you're not going anywhere." He stepped forward. She stepped back- meeting a solid wall behind her.

"And why the hell not!" She screeched.

She didn't expect his hands to grasp her face, dragging her across the small space between them to kiss her roughly. She gasped, and he took the opportunity to take her mouth for his own. He kissed her with bruising force. Her wand clattered to the floor. He took her now-free hand and slammed her into the wall behind her, pinning her hand to the wall. His other hand dropped to her hip, gripping at the skin that her raised sweater had exposed.

She whimpered into his mouth, reaching up with her other hand to knot in his hair. She held him to her as she kissed him back with equal force. These were not stolen kisses in alcoves and "accidental" touches in class. This was hot and demanding. Begging.

And then he was gone from her space, staring at her. Their breaths were heavy and Hermione could feel a blush rising in her cheeks. She stared at him for a moment that seemed to drag on.

"Draco-"

"I'll be back." And then he was gone.

It started during the Yule Ball their fourth year. Or rather, outside the ball. While she'd cried in her favorite alcove over stupid Ron Weasley being stupid.

Fraternizing!

With the enemy!

As if he hadn't spent the last several weeks swooning over Viktor just like everyone else. The poor guy had sought the solace of the library just to get away from his fans.

Fans just like Ron bloody Weasley!

She heard someone approach and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, thankful for the spells that Lavender had put on her make-up. When she raised her misty eyes she was startled to see Malfoy. She could see the sneer freeze halfway on his face before it dropped entirely. She watched curiously as he glanced around, before he finally approached her, offering a handkerchief from his pocket. She hesitated before she carefully accepted the offer.

"He doesn't deserve your tears." He said, his voice rough and quiet. She barely heard him but for the echo of the alcove. She didn't respond. How could she? How does one respond to the boy who'd bullied her as recently as a few days before?

"You're too smart for him." He said, stepping into her alcove, into the shadows that hid them from passers by. "And too pretty."

"I'm only pretty because-" She motioned lazily to her face and hair and gown. It was all rather fabulous, but it had taken hours and the help of her dorm-mates. "-All this. I couldn't even do it on my own."

"You're pretty without all that." He said the words the same way one would say the sky was blue. "You're pretty all the time. I'm sorry I made you feel like you had to change yourself."

She covered her mouth self-consciously. She'd let Madam Pomfrey shrink them a little further than necessary after he'd enlarged them. Reminded of the incident, she turned away from him. He sighed quietly, but didn't move, as she expected him to.

Why was he doing this? Just a set up for some grand joke at her expense? It wouldn't work! She waited for him to give up. The moments ticked by, but he still sat next to her.

"You're pretty in potions. When you've got your sleeves rolled up and your hair sticking out every which way." He spoke slowly, like the words were difficult to speak. "And in the library, when your nose is in a book and you don't know it but you've gone kind of cross eyed."

She sputtered indignantly, turning to face him. He offered a nervous smile, but she only narrowed his eyes until he deflated again. He stared at his fidgeting hands as he continued.

"You're pretty in the sun, when it makes your skin glow. And when you're on a tangent in class. And when you're indignant." He chanced a glance at her. "And you're bloody brilliant, Granger."

"I- well-" She fidgeted, glancing away from him again as a blush rose on her cheeks.

"And you're too brilliant to be crying in a corner. During a ball. Over a who is nothing and will be nothing. Over a boy who can barely keep up with the class, let alone with you." She felt the heat in her cheeks but chanced a look at him, gasping quietly when he was closer than she'd expected. She wanted to defend Ron. He wasn't nothing! He was brilliant in his own way. But in that moment, with dried tears still on her face and the gentle hiccoughing that came with crying too hard, she couldn't. And she certainly couldn't with Draco Malfoy in front of her saying the nicest things she'd ever heard.

"Why're you being nice to me?" She couldn't stop the words from tumbling out. As much as she enjoyed finally being noticed as a girl, this was still Malfoy.

"Because I'm an idiot. I saw you before all this." He motioned to her gown before pausing. "And all I've done is be a fucking monster."

"Because I'm a mud-"

She hadn't expected him to cut her off with his lips. Warm and soft against her own. He swallowed her gasp of surprise, took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. And then suddenly he pulled away. And Hermione couldn't help but follow for just a moment, a blush blooming across her skin when she opened her eyes.

For a moment they stared at each other. Heavy breaths and parted lips. When he spoke again his voice was dark and gravelly, it scraped at something inside her.

"Krum is looking for you." He moved away from her, but she surged forward, pulling him into another kiss by his robes. He gasped against her mouth, and she took a page from his book, taking the chance to explore his mouth with fervor. He groaned into her, knotted his fingers in her tamed curls and held her to him.

When at last they separated, he had her pinned to the wall of her alcove. Her hair had loosened in his hands and her dress was crumpled up to her knees. His bow tie had come loose and hung low on his neck. And for the first time in her life, Hermione Granger saw a version of Draco Malfoy that was messy and emotional, and begging for more.

A/N: So let me know what you think so far! :3