WHAT? WHAT? AN UPDATE? Yes, this story is back and hopefully for good this time. I had the absolute worse case of writer's block where this story and Tainted are concerned. Everything should be fine now, though. I will try my best to update Tainted within the next week.


"Space? What do you mean by that, Mione?"

Hermione sighed as she looked down the empty corridor, avoiding the accusatory looks from Ron. She had known that he wouldn't take it well. She rubbed her forehead. She had hoped that this would be a quick conversation and then they could just head on to breakfast. It looked like that wasn't going to be the case.

"I think that speaks for itself, Ronald. I just need some time to myself for a bit, some time to think," she explained.

Ron's shoulders suddenly slumped, face crumbling. Merlin, she hated doing this…

"I scared you off, didn't I?"

"No! No, of course not. I-"

"Then what is it? I feel like a month or so ago you would have had a completely different reaction. What changed," he demanded.

Everything.

"Nothing!"

"You're lying," he snapped.

She flinched as she took a step back. This was not going as she had hoped.

"There's someone else, isn't there?"

Hermione looked up in shock. Where on earth had he gotten that idea? It couldn't be farther from the truth.

"What? Why would you say that," she asked, slightly offended.

She gasped in shock as she was jerked forward. The look in Ron's eyes terrified her to death. She couldn't remember a time where she had seen him so angry. She immediately began to fight against him as his hair took on a fairer color before going back to red.

"Let go of me," she hissed as Ron tightened his grip on her arm.

"I'm not an idiot. What-"

"Oi! Ron, what the bloody hell are you doing?"

Ron let her go just as Harry came running up to them. He looked at Ron as if he had lost his mind, waiting for an explanation. Ron shook his head, seemingly confused, before turning around and walking away.

"Are you alright, Hermione?"

She nodded, ignoring the throbbing pain in her arm.

"I'm fine," she whispered, rubbing her arm.

"What was that about," he questioned.

"I…I don't know."

And that was the truth. She shook her head in confusion. Ron had a short fuse, everyone knew that, but this was different. It was almost as if he hadn't been himself.

"Hermione-"

"Let's go eat," she said, cutting him off, before heading towards the Great Hall.


Hermione's back was straight and her head was held high as she correctly answered every question he threw out into the air. She ignored the looks of disdain from Slytherin. She knew what they were thinking; she had been gone for almost a month and now she acted as if she hadn't been. She didn't care because this wasn't about them, this was bigger than them. This was about her.

Upon walking into the classroom with her best friend in tow -Ronald was Merlin knows where- she had sharply inhaled upon seeing him. His back was towards the class as something on his desk captured his attention, a lot like that first day. She had stopped walking, flashes of that night playing on repeat inside of her head. It was enough to make her light headed and almost forced her to turn around and run, tail between her legs. Almost. Instead, she had answered Harry, telling him that she was fine, and proceeded to sit in the front row.

She had to admit that she had been looking forward to the startled look on his face upon finding her back in class, seated in the very front row at that. However, instead she found that her blood had ran cold as he evenly gazed back at her for a brief moment with that haughty smirk on his lips before turning his attention to the rest of the class. She had frowned down at her desk, puzzled. The look on his face…it was if he had expected no less of her, as if he had not expected her to crumble and fall. She had quickly been brought out of her confusion upon hearing him ask a question. She had answered on instinct and the rest had been history.

Throughout the entire time they were in class Draco had not looked in her direction once. She didn't know how she felt about that if she were being honest with herself and that confused her more than anything. They were not friends in the slightest, or at least that was what she kept telling herself. He had seen her at her lowest point though, he had seen a part of her even her friends had not. She should be grateful that he was showing her absolutely zero attention. You think I don't notice the way he glances at you during class? She closed her eyes and suppressed a shudder. Yes, she was extremely grateful that Draco was acting like his normal self.

She still couldn't help herself though as she brushed her hair away from her face, briefly glancing in his direction as she did so. She scrunched her nose up and stared at the wall at the sight of Greengrass digging her cherry colored nails into his shoulder with her lips in his ear. She crossed her arms over her chest, digging her nails into her skin.

"Are you alright," Harry whispered in her ear.

"Peachy," she responded through clenched teeth.

She sighed in relief as they were all dismissed from class. She stood alongside Harry and reached down to grab her bag when…

"Ms. Granger, a word?"

She turned her head so fast she was sure that she had given herself whiplash. Her face heated and her heart sped up as she stared at him with wide eyes. What did he want? She noted that Harry was still beside her as all of the other students exited the classroom. However, she didn't notice that it had taken Draco longer to leave than normal, his eyes lingering on the trio. Mr. Malfoy rested his eyes on Harry with a look of exasperation.

"Don't you have somewhere you need to be, Mr. Potter," he said through clenched teeth.

Harry glanced at her before looking back at their teacher.

"I'm waiting for Hermione…sir."

"There is such a thing called academic confidentiality. If Ms. Granger wants to share with you what we discussed, then she may do so later. However, I choose not to risk my job because you decided to attach yourself to Ms. Granger at the hip," he said as he gestured to the door.

Hermione didn't know what had come over her, but she forced her hand into Harry's, squeezing with all of her might, begging him to stay. She was practically shaking as Harry glanced down at her before swallowing. He slowly returned his eyes to Draco's father.

"I won't tell if you won't, Professor," Harry steadily answered.

They both stared at him as he evenly gazed back at the two of them. Why didn't he just give up? It was clear that Harry wasn't going anywhere. Her eyes widened as she saw him reach for his wand, but it was already too late before she could do anything.

"Imperio."

She watched as a glazed look fell over Harry's eyes before he turned and began walking out of the classroom. She tugged on his arm and called his name, hoping to get through to him, but he kept walking. He exited the room, the doors slamming shut before she could even get a foot out. Hermione stared at the door for what felt like a painful amount of time. In reality, it may have only been half a minute. She tightened her hand around her wand before spinning around, the curse already on her lips.

She watched in satisfaction as Mr. Malfoy flew back, crashing into his desk. She clenched her jaw as she glared at him. She would be damned if he caught her off guard ever again. She reached behind her and pulled on the door, but it wouldn't budge. She held her wand in front of her as he stood, rising to his full height. If she said she wasn't afraid…she'd be lying. She stepped through the desks, away from him, as he turned around.

"What do you want from me," she hissed.

"To chat," was his simple response.

She said nothing, simply kept her eyes on him as she backed up.

"I thought you above this, Ms. Granger…"

Her skin prickled at the husky tone in his voice as he walked towards her.

"What are you on about?"

"You're supposed to be the Brightest Witch of your Age. You're supposed to be a rather strong witch, yet you can't even fight your own battles," he snarled.

Her eyes widened as she stumbled past a chair and had just opened her mouth to respond when the door burst open. Hermione almost cried in relief as Draco walked into the classroom, his face void of any and all emotion. He glanced at her before resting his eyes on his father with an expression she couldn't place.

"Professor McGonagall has called an emergency Prefect's meeting," he said.

Mr. Malfoy's lips curved into a sneer as he glared at his son.

"I'm sure she won't mind if Ms. Granger were a few minutes late-"

"It can't wait. I'm sure you know how Professor McGonagall can get," Draco said, evenly staring at the older Malfoy.

They glared at one another for a painfully long amount of time before Mr. Malfoy reluctantly nodded.

"Very well."

Hermione didn't need to be told twice as she ran to grab her bag before walking out of the classroom, Draco hot on her tail.

"What meeting-"

"Just shut up and hurry up," Draco interrupted as he pressed his hand into her back, pushing her along.

She found that she was practically running as she fought to keep up with Draco's speedy pace. She was thankful that the corridors were empty with students already in their next class. Draco didn't even begin to slow down until they were around the corner. He didn't stop, however, until they were way up on the seventh floor.

"There is no meeting, is there," she asked as she turned to face him.

"Sure there is…just none that we need to be at," he answered.

She stared at him in confusion for a long period of time before shaking her head. She didn't understand him at all and that was completely new territory for her. This was Draco Malfoy; he was vile, selfish, and a complete tosser. However, that was then, now…she didn't know what to make of him. The Draco she knew –well, thought she knew- would have taken delight in the fact that his father had "put her in her place". He would not have taken care of her and looked after her for weeks. The Draco she knew would have jumped at the opportunity to see her hurt in any way. This wasn't the Draco she thought she knew though.

"Thank you," she said.

"It was nothing," he shrugged.

Neither one of them said anything else for a while until Hermione remembered what he had said.

"Did you say something to him," she asked.

She watched his face, looking for something that would give him away, but his expression remained neutral.

"What do you mean?"

"He said something about me not fighting my own battles…"

She watched as Draco ran his hand down his face and exhaled.

"I…shit, Granger. I didn't think he'd-"

"Oh my Gods! You're right; you didn't think. When," she demanded.

"Last night."

"Last night? Why…why would you do that-"

"I was angry, okay? I didn't think it through, I just acted-"

"I can't believe this! Now he knows that you know. I don't understand this at all. Why would you do that," she demanded.

This didn't make any sense to her. Why would Draco threaten his fatherover her?

"Because he hurt you!"

Hermione took a step back at his outburst, looking up at him curiously. He appeared to be distressed as he gazed at her through troubled eyes, running his fingers through his hair. He exhaled, breathing like an angry bull.

"Draco…," she quietly trailed off.

He exhaled before resting his hands on his hips.

"Look, I get it, okay? The two of us have been at odds for years. This situation…it's turned both of our worlds upside down. I shouldn't have said anything to him, I know that and I'm sorry. I just…," he trailed off, swallowing with a frown.

"You just what," she questioned.

"I just find…I find myself…a bit protective of you," he slowly said.

He glanced up at her for her reaction. She stared at him, not exactly knowing how to respond.

"Protective of me?"

"Maybe it's because I'm the one who found you broken and bleeding…I don't know. I was angry. You…you're not exactly the average girl…"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. What did he just say?

"Seeing you like that kind of put things into perspective for me, okay? It really emphasized the fact that you're not invincible and it really messed me up."

Hermione blinked.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Draco Malfoy," she questioned.

He turned to look at her in exasperation.

"Merlin, Granger, we've been over this. I'm not some evil Death Eater okay? After what happened these past few weeks I am allowed to…to have concerns about your wellbeing," he slowly stated that last part.

"You mean care about me-"

"No, no. I have concerns about your wellbeing," he repeated.

Hermione simply shook her head.

"Okay. Okay, I understand. I shouldn't be so surprised that you feel the way you do after what you've seen. Just…please, no more confrontations," she pleaded.

Draco reluctantly nodded in agreement.


Hermione was on her way to the hall for dinner which she wasn't exactly looking forward to. She hadn't seen Ron since earlier that day when he'd reacted rather horridly to her proposal of space. Not only that, but she wasn't exactly keen on seeing her new professor either. Just what was Draco thinking, confronting his father like that? Hermione didn't know the senior Malfoy very well, but he seemed like the type to rise to a challenge and his son had most definitely proposed a challenge. She still didn't understand any of this though.

Yeah, sure, Draco found himself having some concern for her. After what had happened, that was normal, expected even. However, going against Lucius Malfoy? His father? Over her? She shook her head. That was what didn't make any sense. Draco hardly went up against anyone and she was sure that his father was at the very bottom of that list. Speaking of, Hermione still didn't understand why he had…why he had done this to her. He's a demented Death Eater who works for an even more demented dark wizard. Does he need a reason?

Hermione supposed that he didn't, but the thought of him practically ruining her life because he could rubbed her the wrong way. There was more to this, there had to be. Just as Hermione rounded the corner a hand gripped her arm and pulled her back into the corridor. She shrieked, immediately flailing and punching. Her attacker let go immediately.

"Christ, Granger!"

Hermione turned to face none other than Blaise Zabini. She forced herself to calm her breathing, placing her hand onto her chest as she backed up, leaning against the jagged stones of the wall.

"W-what do you think you are doing," she demanded.

Zabini smirked before shoving his hands into his pocket. He tilted his head, gazing at her with an expression that she did not like. She shrunk under his scrutinizing gaze.

"What," she demanded, suddenly uncomfortable.

"I wanted to talk to you."

She blinked, looking at him with caution.

"About…?"

He crossed his arms over his chest, smirk widening.

"You and Draco must be shoo-ins for Heads next year…"

She watched him, uncertain and uneasy about where this was headed.

"Why do you say that," she cautiously asked.

His grin was predatory as he took a step towards her.

"Because the two of you must be the best Prefects in this school. You're so dedicated to doing Prefect business, after all…even at night."

Hermione's heart skipped a beat as he raised an eyebrow.

"What-what are you-"

"I saw the two of you, Granger."

She opened her mouth, trying to come up with a response.

"Last night. I saw you going into his room. I'm not even going to inquire about the Invisibility Cloak because that's not important. What's important is that little Miss Hermione Granger, one-third of the Golden Trio and Harry Potter's best friend was seen sneaking into Draco Malfoy's room. Draco Malfoy, Death Eater in training," he explained with a smile.

Hermione shuffled her feet.

"It's not-"

"What it seems? Do you really think that your friends will believe that? Say, don't you have a boyfriend," he mockingly inquired.

Hermione swallowed, anger flaring within her. Great, this was exactly what she needed. She couldn't even give Zabini a plausible explanation aside from the one he had already concocted. It's not like she could tell him the truth. Hermione huffed.

"Zabini, you cannot say anything-"

"I wonder how our new teacher would feel about this," he wondered, stroking his chin.

Hermione's heart froze within her chest as her eyes widened. He wouldn't! He stared at her for a while before shrugging with a small smile.

"Alright, I cave. I won't say anything," he sweetly said.

Hermione's jaw clenched. He wanted something.

"What do you want," she whispered.

"I knew you were smart enough to realize that this must come with a price."


Please review guys! I need to know how I'm doing and please give suggestions! I have struggled with this story for months now and it's so easy to know where you want a story to go. Getting there is the hard part.