A/N: Ahh. Chapter Nine… I do hope that you enjoy it. I know it didn't come as quickly as the last one, but that's because I only got about half the amount of reviews for Chapter Eight that I received for Chapter Seven. See, the amount of reviews I receive indicates how long you will have to wait for a chapter. If I receive a lot of reviews (namely, more than 35 or so), then I am so excited that I end up writing whenever I can. Usually, as soon as I find out how many reviews I have. I know that people hate it when authors ask for reviews, but I'm not asking. I'm just explaining how my mind works, and what you have to do to get what you want.

Oh, and if you He/Dr people want a short fic to read, I posted one on the 14th—Forgive Me. It's got some, ah, sex in it. I needed practice. I also needed to write it, 'cause I got an idea, and once I've got an idea…well…I have to write it. So I did.

And I'm sorry that this chapter isn't as long as they have been. When I wrote it I messed up, and completely forgot to put something in here. So I put it in here, and then I moved the other thing to chapter ten, and… Well, it just got rather complicated. Actually, I've already started chapter eleven.

Oh, yeah… Spring Break is here!! *dances around* Meaning I have more time to write and less homework to worry about!

Rating: R

Pairings: Hermione/Harry, Hermione/Draco

Disclaimer: I own it! (I am living in a dream-world. Please do not wake me up.)

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Chapter 9

"Hermione is in a coma," Madam Pomfrey explained gravely to Voldemort and Draco. "I believe that she suffered a nervous breakdown from all the stress that has been piled on her. It no doubt started when you," she looked pointedly at Voldemort, "took over Hogwarts and she was forced to slave away with the other students. It intensified when she discovered her identity, not only as your daughter but also as the great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Albus Dumbledore.

"I have no doubt that a great strain was put on her shoulders when young Amanda Madley was raped by Marcus Flint… She was very distraught over the entire incident, I'm afraid." The witch paused before continuing. "Something had to have happened to cause her to break. Hermione is a strong witch, but no one is strong enough to stop something like this from happening. And something happened to make her go into a coma. It was, to coin a Muggle phrase, 'the straw that broke the camel's back.'

"Hermione's breakdown has caused her to go into a coma, as I told you. I do not believe that she will suffer any permanent damage, although that cannot be completely determined until she wakes up. And that will only be if she wakes up."

"What," Voldemort said silkily, "do you mean by that?"

The witch sniffed delicately. "Hermione's condition is unstable at best. I cannot do anything to ensure that she wakes from her coma, as I could as easily hurt or harm her as I could help her. It is really now up to the Fates to decide."

Half an hour later, Draco decided that he didn't like the Fates all that much. They were bloody annoying, in his opinion. Voldemort was pacing the hallway outside the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey having banished him there after he wouldn't stop pestering her. Draco had been the only one there to see the man's outrage, Lucius having been released an hour earlier after being pronounced to be in perfect health. Well, perfect physical health that is. Many most likely doubted his mental health, but Madam Pomfrey had no experience dealing with that, so no one mentioned it.

Draco had a feeling that Voldemort was suspecting his father. Hell, he was suspecting his father! The man had been found just five feet from Hermione… What else but Lucius Malfoy trying to force himself on her would have caused her to have a breakdown? It had to have been big, that was all he knew. It was all anyone knew. They wouldn't know anything else until she woke up.

…If she woke up.

***

"You have to be kidding!" Lavender whispered to her friend.

"Nope," Parvati smirked, "I'm completely serious."

Harry rolled his eyes and leaned back against the couch, wondering what had gotten the two in a tizzy. Honestly. The two would be like this for anything. They were pretty much, ah, not there in the head. Well, perhaps that was a bit harsh. It wasn't as though they were stupid—they wouldn't have gotten this far in school if they had been—but they were just a tiny bit air-headed.

That was one of the reasons he missed Hermione so much. With all of his heart, he wished that the past few months had never happened. That Ron was still alive, that they didn't know Hermione was Voldemort's daughter, that the seventh and fifth year Gryffindors were with the rest of the school, that none of this had ever happened…

Harry wasn't usually helpless. He was usually in the thick of things. First year, he had been the one to get the Philosopher's Stone away from Quirrell; second year, he had been the one to defeat Tom Riddle; third year, he (okay, with Hermione's help that time) had helped Sirius Black and Buckbeak escape; fourth year, he had been the one to duel with Voldemort; fifth year, he had been the one to capture Nott.

He had done everything, been in the middle of things, for so long that he was feeling very lost now that he wasn't.

"Harry!"

The lost wizard looked up into the face of a bright young witch who was looking…almost, well, evil with that gleam in her eyes. "Yes?" he questioned.

"You'll never believe what just happened…"

"What?" he asked, exasperated.

"Okay, it's kind of complicated." She sat down next to him. "See, I was walking to the library to get a book for Professor Snape when, suddenly, Lucius Malfoy comes out of the shadows and attacks me. Then Granger comes out and Stupefies him before coming over to me, and—"

"Wait a minute," Harry interrupted her, "doesn't that make her a good person? I mean, she save you from Lucius—"

"No, Harry, that's the brilliant part." If Harry had thought that her eyes were gleaming before, they were shining now. "See, Granger is smart, that's the problem. She didn't just come across me accidentally; she set the whole thing up! She got Lucius to attack me, and then saved me. She was trying to get back on my good side, see?"

Harry stared at her, the blood pounding in his ears. Her lips were still moving, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. He couldn't hear anything except the thoughts in his head.

When Hermione had told him that she was Voldemort's daughter, he'd been shocked. Oh, he'd heard the rumors of course—he'd been on kitchen duty that night—but he hadn't been able to believe that they were true. His initial instinct had been to pull away and never speak to her again. But he'd already lost Ron. He really hadn't wanted to lose Hermione.

And besides, what had really changed? She hadn't done anything. She was still the same Hermione. She had helped him for six years fighting against the Dark Lord. Whose daughter she was didn't matter. Her actions had proved that she was a true Gryffindor, and not the descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Well, she was still his descendant of course, but her actions proved that she was not a Slytherin. She was a Gryffindor.

But now…if what Parvati had said was true… Then she was different. She had taken an action that had completely gotten rid of anything he or anyone else felt for her. She truly was…

"…an evil, manipulative, calculating bitch," Parvati finished.

***

Voldemort walked towards the dungeons with purpose in his step… Not that he had a purpose, but the Dark Lord probably should not be seen dazed and walking in circles. It might give people ideas. He shook his head. It was so very hard to get rid of the Death Eaters. All they wanted was power…and he was still in a place to give it to them. He would probably always be able to give it to them. But the fact was that now he didn't want to.

He had been seriously thinking about abandoning the whole thing when Hermione had been a baby, but something had stopped him. He had a feeling it was the Fates. There was something he had to do. He had no idea what it was, he still didn't. He really wondered if he ever would…

Voldemort shook his head. Now was not the time for such musings. He should concentrate on Hermione. She was in a coma and there was nothing he could do. It was tearing him up. There had never not been anything he could do. Well… Then again, Rhianna had introduced him to a lot of things he couldn't do. Or at least that he hadn't been able to do until he'd met her.

Laugh.

Cry.

Love…

It was the last one that had brought him the most happiness and grief. He had loved her so much, and he had lost her. Now he wondered whether young Draco would experience the same thing, or if he, perhaps, would be the lucky one.

That was, of course, if Hermione agreed to marry him. He knew very well of the two's past history. Lucius had been very eloquent in his praise of his son, how he terrorized Potter and his two friends, the Weasley and the Muggleborn.

A slow smile appeared on his face. Except… She wasn't a Muggleborn, was she? No, she was a Pureblood, her blood almost purer than the Malfoys… After all, not everyone was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin and Merlin. All the Malfoys had behind them were generations of Pureblooded witches and wizards, and although that wasn't necessarily a bad thing… Well, they didn't have any truly important ones.

Voldemort rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Would she agree to marry Draco? After all, even with all their past history, he knew that Draco loved his daughter. And Hermione didn't seem the sort to bear a grudge for that long. Then again, she most likely took after her mother…meaning that one couldn't hope to predict her actions before she took them.

He shook his head exasperatedly. It had driven him so insane, especially before when she had still been trying to escape. It was almost impossible to predict what she would do. She would seem to be going in a schedule, and then she would do something that threw it off. She had been a very smart witch.

Voldemort was so involved in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice the 17-year-old wizard in his path until it was too late. Then again, the younger man didn't notice the Dark Lord in his path either, so involved with his anger as he was. "Well, well, well…" Voldemort said, placing a smirk on his face, staring at Harry Potter.

He was extremely shocked when Potter looked up at him and growled.

"My, my, my, do we have a temper today."

"Oh, like you don't know?" Potter scowled at him.

Voldemort said nothing, just stared at him, an eyebrow raised, a look of disinterest on his face.

"Maybe it's the fact that your daughter," he nearly spat the word out, "told Lucius Malfoy to attack Parvati Patil so that she could save her and look like a hero."

Voldemort stared at the boy, covering his complete shock with disdain. "Oh?"

"Yes, you bastard."

Voldemort sighed, shaking his head. He brought up his wand and petrified the boy before levitating him into Hermione's chambers. She would no doubt want to talk with him when she woke up. After all, it was clear that the boy was mistaken. Although his story did clear Lucius Malfoy, the part about Hermione enlisting his help was a fabrication. He knew, without a doubt, that Hermione would never ask Lucius for anything. She hated him that much.

He wondered very much what had happened. He supposed that the Patil girl had spread the stories, but what had Hermione done to deserve that much hatred?

Of course, they would have to wait until she woke up to be sure of anything.

…If she woke up.

***************

A/N: Well, I don't have anything else to say, so I'll just get to the thanking you individually thing…

kiki-0303: Yes, I agree. I'm still working on it. I think I have an idea as to how to get rid of Lucius… But it won't come into play until the fifteenth chapter—at the earliest.

avri: *grin* Yup, that was a fast update, wasn't it? Sorry this one wasn't as fast. If you want a really good explanation of why, then you should read the A/N at the top, if you haven't already.

Isa: Don't worry, my lips are sealed and my fingers are broken. :)

delta rocks: I've got you addicted? That's awesome.

rise hoshiba: *grin* Yes, that was a very fast update. Glad you liked the chapter.

Percy: Well I'm very glad of that!

Leara Malfoy: Hope you did well on your exam. I hate those things…

Reversing mirror: Well thank you!

Alexandra Trent: Yes, Draco/Hermione is fun to read…and to write. Glad you're enjoying it. ^^

estella_jayne: Ah. Ginny is not dead. She escaped with the others. She probably won't come into this story at all, although she might appear in the sequel. Pansy…to be honest I sorta forgot about her. But she's in the next chapter, scheming as usual.

Crystalline Lily: *grins* Glad you enjoyed the fluff. I certainly enjoyed writing it. I'm afraid there wasn't that much fluff in here, but there it wasn't anywhere near as dark as the others have been. There will be some Voldemort/Rhianna fluff in the next one I think.

cathy: Er, Snape? He hasn't been in here, has he? Ooops. Darn it. I think he'll make some appearances in future chapters. His whole situation will be made clearer soon, don't worry. Oh, and thanks for reading my other stuff!

Midnight Rain: Glad you think it's unique. ^^ And as for the whole Son of the Light thing…Well, I can't reveal anything, but you're not the only one who has that idea… :)

Japanese Goth: Glad you liked the whole 'caring Draco' thing. And yes, Voldemort is being a very smart person there… He's only gonna get smarter. At least, I like to think so.

MistressDeDraco: Oh, I hate it when ff.net doesn't work! It's so annoying… I love my Voldemort as well. When I started it, I had no idea it was going to turn out this way. I've changed the plot so many times it's not even funny anymore. Yes, the whole 'disbanding the Death Eaters' thing is going to be rather difficult, but I have no doubt that Voldemort is going to succeed with it. Of course, I'll have to think of the ideas before he does… Oh well. Yes, I believe that Draco's engagement with Pansy is pretty much over. No one—except for her, of course—even wants it anymore. I'm going to be getting rid of Lucius soon… Well, relatively soon. I'm going to start setting the framework to get rid of him very soon. And you gave me an idea! Thanks. I'm not going to tell you what it was until I actually do it. Wouldn't want you all to figure out what I'm doing! Thanks for all your wonderful comments. :)

surfngurl: So very glad that you took the time to review and that you love my characters and my portrayal of them. That's one of the most important things to a writer.

Ysanna: Yes, but I wouldn't expect all of them to be that fast. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long, however.

Bitchy Little Pixy: Yes, it is very safe to say that this would never happen in the books. For one thing, Rowling would be making Harry a much larger part in the story. And I'm working on the Draco thing. I really agree that he's too nice. When I have time I'm going to shift his character a bit in the earlier chapters. And with Lucius, do you mean that you hate him, or you hate my portrayal of him?

tommygurl: *grins* So glad you're loving the whole thing. I like Voldemort as well. :)

Dark Dragon: You're on the updates list, and I will definitely attempt to keep up what I'm doing.

Mimi: I will send you updates; glad you like it so much.

Gryffindor Chik: Really? Why thank you!

Forever Faith: *bows* Thank you very much!