Author's Note: I don't own Harry Potter, if it isn't apparent as of yet, I'm only a teenager.

Chapter Six

A Darker Side

Hermione felt an ill wind to the castle grounds that day; something was wrong – a heavy, ominous feeling of doom and despair between the walls of the building. She was worried that such a feeling could only predict a miserable day for her.

She was just about ready to leave the library, the day nearing an end, when she heard the clatter of footsteps running down the hallway. She stood up and her chair clattered to the floor noisily.

" Honestly, Granger! You'd think there were four of you in here," Draco exclaimed, standing in the doorway.

" You scared me!" She shouted. The urgency in Draco's footsteps got her worried that there was something bad coming.

" Listen, Granger," Draco said, an unnaturally kind smile plastered on his face, " Potter's coming. He's been listening to all those rumors about you. I told you I'm on your side, right? Well, listen me out. He's going to ask you if you like him and garbage like that. I just heard him talking to Weasley about it. They were ridiculing you!"

" Harry wouldn't…" Hermione whispered, then remembered how Harry had poked fun of Ron when they had gotten into an argument. Harry was certainly capable of being cruel, if the situation called for him to be.

" Just don't say anything that you'll regret later," Draco told her, patting her hand, " Since Potter's got his vegetables steamed because of you anyway. He really did like that Ginny. I still think you're prettier than her."

" Get away from me," Hermione hissed, pushing him aside, " I need to talk to Harry and clear this all up. This is the perfect occasion!"

" They're all laughing at you!"

She stopped, frozen in place. This was her worst fear. It hurt her most, the idea that people out there were laughing at her. Hermione had built a little kingdom for herself, where she was a bit separated from everyone else. She wasn't as close to Harry and Ron as they were to one another, there was always a wall of mystery between them. It wasn't entirely gender-based, it was more of an intellectual and social barrier. Hermione loved her books and her studious nature above the playful, adventurous life that Harry and Ron presented her. This divided them quite obviously before, but now it seemed doubly obvious to her. Perhaps it was laughable to them, the way she was.

Hermione shuddered and looked at Draco, her eyes glossy with tears, " If you're lying to me, I'll never forgive you!"

Draco sighed, " Would I lie to you? I told you, I'm trying to do the best in your interest."

" If there's one good thing about putting a spell on you, this would be it," Hermione said with a smile.

" Trust me, you're the laughingstock of the school. Everyone thinks you're a bitch."

Hermione shuddered at the profanity and replied, " And… and Harry?"

" He's especially making fun of you. I've never seen Potter acting this low. He laid the cards out on the table and showed who he really is – a back stabber. He doesn't even respect you for who you are," Draco whispered in her ear, his fingers running through her hair delectably.

Hermione shrank away from his touch, afraid of whatever it was that was beginning to grow between them. She could almost see a wall of tension, a column of fire, slowly surrounding her and Draco. She frowned and said, " I don't know whether I believe you."

" Potter chose Ginny, didn't he?" Draco's sultry voice persisted in her ear. The voice of immorality, the voice of unrest and darkness, " You need to understand that Harry's not who you thought he was. You didn't really see the real him, you were always in the shadow of Potter and Weasley's friendship anyway."

Hermione nodded breathlessly.

" Potter's twisted. He turned his back on you over a girl – Ginny, no less! Doesn't this show how important you really are to him?" Draco demanded.

Tears spilled from Hermione's eyes.

Draco hugged her lightly and whispered, " Don't you even cry…" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry appear in the doorway of the library. Draco tilted Hermione's chin up and whispered, " I agree, you don't need Harry," And with that, he kissed her. Hermione didn't pull away, she melted into it.

Draco brought his head back and then glanced at the doorway again. Harry was gone. He smirked to himself and said, " If you see Potter, show him what you really think of how he stabbed you in the back. Snob him off. You're too good for him."

" I am too good for him, aren't I?" Hermione whispered to herself. Perhaps having Draco fall for her wasn't that bad after all. There seemed to be some good in him in the end!

Draco patted her hair and then said, " I've got to be going. If you need to talk to anyone, talk to me. I know what it's like to have people push you away just because they think you're different."

Hermione nodded. " Thank you," She called after Draco, " I don't know what I'd do without your help," Then she listened to her own words. It seemed as if this whole idea of Draco being her hero was forced into her, tricked into her mind somehow. Talking to Draco seemed wrong!

And yet, Hermione didn't quite realize what was going on.

*

Harry punched the pillow on his bed one last time, exasperated. " I hate you, Malfoy!" He shouted into the pillow, and then collapsed down onto the bed, his eyebrows drawn in a frown. Now the bar has been raised. Seems Hermione was different than he thought. Perhaps she was simply jealous of Ginny; why else was she collaborating with Malfoy? Malfoy, who was the anti-Weasley? It would be very opportune for Hermione to befriend someone who'd help her destroy the Weasley's happiness!

Harry stopped his train of thoughts.

What am I thinking? He thought, this is Hermione, my Hermione! She wouldn't do anything like this!

Then came the memory of Colin and Ginny cooing love songs in the dining hall to one another, feeding each other, and kissing passionately. Harry balled his hands into fists and punched the pillow again, feeling tears springing from his eyes.

I hate you, Hermione, for doing this!

*

Draco sat in the Slytherin common room, his breath drawing ragged, frosty clouds on the window. He was looking outside at the snow as it spiraled from the sky and to the ground. He didn't understand some of the drives in him anymore.

Was it indeed the spell Hermione spoke of?

But when he looked at her, he saw the evil that she held within her grasp, how powerful she could be! And he knew that her intellect and her great magical abilities would be a surefire asset for the Dark Lord. Yet – she was a Mudblood.

The word, Mudblood, gritty between his teeth like sand, stripped of any elegance or beauty. It was a pockmark to be a Mudblood, and he knew that Hermione would never be accepted into the Dark Lord's reign. Unless, of course, she did something to prove her loyalty.

And all Draco wanted was to never let her slip away. Something inside of him made him feel that if he let Hermione and Harry reunite in a friendship, he would never live through it. There was something unbearably heavy inside of him, like chains around his heart, and he couldn't work past it.

Was it the spell? Was it his real feelings? Where did the magic end and where did he begin?

He was so confused.

What would Hermione have to do to be accepted into the Dark Lord's majesty?

Draco knew.

She'd have to kill the Muggles that forced her blood to be unclean in the first place.

Her parents.

Author's Note: Will Draco succeed, through power of persuasion and incorporating some black magic, in brainwashing Hermione? Will Harry figure things out in time before it's too late? Is Ron hiding something from Harry? All this and more, next chapter… so review!

Oh, and to Anonymous that emailed me asking me for a picture of me, it's in my fan fiction profile.

Please Review!