A New Kind of Enemy

Summary- The gang is seventeen now and in their seventh year at Hogwarts.  Voldemort is gone, along with the majority of the deatheaters, including Lucius Malfoy.  Hermione has been dating Victor Krum ever since the Yule Ball in their fourth year, and has fallen deeply in love with him.  But sometimes people surprise you, and arnt who you though they were.  Hermione discovers this about two people, two people she has known for the greater part of her life, and two people who will be working on two opposite extriemes, one trying to save her, and one trying to destroy her. 

Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, or anything related to the Harry Potter world.  Ms. Rowling has the pleasure of that.

Spoilers- Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone,

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Pairing- Hermione Granger / Victor Krum at first, but will be a Hermione Granger / Draco Malfoy

~

"Granger! Grander! Wake up! What the hell are you doing? Wake up!"

 Hermione stirred and felt very cold. When she opened her eyes she wished she hadn't. She was staring right into the ice-grey eyes of Draco Malfoy!

 "Malfoy!" Hermione sputtered and shot up onto her feet, but didn't stay up long, as she felt her knees go week and fell again. "What had Victor done to her? She never felt this weak before.

 "Granger? Are you OK?" Draco's voice wasn't that of deep concern, more like just curiosity.

"I-I don't know." She then looked at Malfoy, she had a smirk on his face, and he wasn't exactly looking at her face.

"Oh My Lord!" Hermione had passed out before she could get her shirt on; Malfoy had a full view of her black bra! "Stop staring at me!" Hermione tried to sound threatening, but instead she broke down and started crying. This surprised Malfoy so much that he stopped smirking, and handed Hermione her shirt. He hated to see Women cry. "Thanks." Hermione said, looking down at the floor, feeling ashamed at being to exposed.

"It's alright Granger." Malfoy said, with more concern creeping into his voice. "Want to tell me what happened?" "No." Hermione said bluntly.

"But Granger, you looked like you got-"He gulped kind of nervously, "like you got raped."

 "And what if I did Malfoy?" Hermione said, anger and despair creeping into her voice, her eyes ready to spill over at the word 'rape'.

"Well, I was just going to say, you might want to tell your boyfriends about it, you know, scarhead and weasel."

"No!" Hermione said this violently, and made Malfoy back away a few steps, it was well known that Hermione was a very smart, and very powerful witch, when she wanted it be.

"Oh, alright Granger."

"Malfoy, you can't tell them or anyone about this!" Her eyes looked at him pleadingly and Malfoy, sensing a weakness, smirked again and said

"What are you going to do to stop me?"

Hermione looked at him, and then stared down at her hand, tears overflowing onto her cheeks and her hair falling around her face.

"There's nothing I can do." She said in a barely audible whisper. "I'm powerless, a filthy mudblood." her voice trailed off, and she put her hands to her face and started crying. Now Malfoy felt a twinge of guilt grab his heart and he said-

"Are your upset because of all the things I have called you?"

Hermione looked at him with an unreadable expression in her eyes. "Don't be so conceded Malfoy, you could never hurt me the way he has." Her eyes suddenly went wide with fear they quickly darted around the room and realized she had mentioned 'him'. Not by name, but she had just given Draco Malfoy more of her secret then Ron or Harry.

"Who?" Draco said, almost angrily.

"No one." Hermione said, with an edge in her voice.

Then she looked at him and remembered just where she was. "Malfoy, why are you in Knockturn Ally? In a filthy broom store?"

"Knockturn Ally?" He scoffed and waved it aside. "I'm always here, and as for this store, it wasn't always this run down, just last week it was brand new, it was stores for top of the line brooms that have been magically upgraded for Quidditch, mind you it's very much against the rules."

"Should have known you would cheat at anything."

 "Hey." He said, almost indigently. "I have yet to cheat at quiddich, thank you."

Hermione looked at him with disbelief in her eyes, but she decided not to comment on it. "Well," she said, not really sure what to do. "Thanks for waking me up." With that, she tried to stand again, but her legs gave out again, and to her amazement (and to his as well) Malfoy caught her around her waist and helped her to steady herself.

"You must have been through something awful, Granger." He said quietly as he let her go.

Hermione looked at him with tears in her eyes and he said "You might want to get back to potter and Weasly now, they'll be wondering where you where."

"I don't know my way." Another tear ran down her cheek. Malfoy couldn't help but feel pain for the helpless girl in front of him.

"I do."

After cleaning herself up a little, Hermione and Malfoy made their way through the dirty looking witches and wizards, and soon stepped onto a brightly lit street.

"Well Granger, this is where I'll leave you." "Malfoy said, staring down at his expensive looking shoes.

"Thank you Malfoy." Hermione said, truly meaning it.

"One thing though, before you go-" Draco Malfoy looked at her, with a serious face.

" What's that? Hermione asked.

"Call me Draco."

~


After saying goodbye to Mal- I mean, Draco, Hermione calmed herself a little and went off searching for her friends. And soon she found them, in the potions store.

"Hermione!" Both Ron and Harry said in perfect unison. "Where have you been? We where worried sick!"

Hermione almost broke down in tears again from the looks of concern on their faces. So she lied again. "Er, well that's just it, I WAS sick, as in, I suddenly felt nauseous and needed o get out of there, so I ran to a bathroom, and unfortunately, it was a bathroom on the other end of Diagon Ally, and I got lost. I'm really sorry I worried you guys.

"Well, are you ok now?" Harry asked, looking slightly relieved. "Yes Harry, I'm fine now, I had some help." "Oh really?" Quipped up Ginny, "Who?" "Um," Hermione was stalling. "Draco Malfoy."

The looks on her friends faces was astonishing, a mixture of disbelief and anger. "Why did he help you, Mione?" Ron said, very protectively. "That slime didn't hurt you did he?"

"No Ron." Hermione said definitely. "He was very, and surprisingly nice. I think his fathers' death had a good effect on him."

Harry and Ron snorted and mumbled some things under their breathe, but Hermione still needed all her school things, so they went back and started again at Flourish and Blots.



Back at the burrow everyone was in a frenzy. Running around and getting their trunks packed for the trip to Hogwarts the following day. Hermione, also in a rush, ran into her bathroom door and yelped in pain. She rolled up her sleeve to expose a very black and blue mark on her arm.  Courtesy of Victor the previous day.

Hermione was glad she owned a lot of long sleeved shirts, they where the things that where keeping her secret. Today she dressed in a pair of comfy black velvet pants and a long sleeved shirt from the muggle store, American eagle. She thought she looked pretty good, as she studied herself in the mirror. The shirt was simple enough, with a dark green solid background and light gold and green writing 'American Eagle." Hermione had forgotten she owned this shirt, because she never really wore American clothes.

Ron walked past the open door and saw Hermione looking at herself.

"Hey there beautiful, you look so good you can't help but check yourself out!"

Hermione blushed and looked at Ron. Then she got serious. "Ron, have I really changed that much this summer? I mean, not just my appearance?"

Ron looked slightly confused, but then said, "Well Herm, You have definitely changed your look A LOT, and it really suites you, Harry and I are going to have to be beating up half the male population when we get there, and I mean that too." Ron looked at her sincerely, and continued. "As for personality, yea, you have kinda changed. You're not as outspoken as you where a few months ago, you have adopted kind of a quiet dignity around you, and I have to say, it's very attractive." He flashed Hermione an embarrassed smile, and Hermione smiled back.

"Thanks Ron, I really appreciate it."

"Anytime Mione, anytime."

~


The next day everyone sprang out of bed, they where going back to (although no one but Hermione would admit it) their favorite place in the world. Hermione and Ginny crammed into the small bathroom, applying their makeup. Hermione almost didn't want to, incase she ran into Victor, but this was Hogwarts! He graduated; there was no way he would be there.

Rolling all of their trolleys onto platform 9 セ was a bit difficult, considering they looked so weird. They needed to get through the barrier without drawing attention; Ron went first, then Ginny, then Hermione, then Harry. And there they all stood, looking at the bright fire-engine red train, and Hermione felt tears come to her eyes.

"Mione?" Ginny looked at her, with tears in her eyes as well "Are you going to cry about your last year? Because if you are, I'm going to cry too, you guys are going to be leaving me!" Tears where in fact, slowly falling down the two girls faces. Hermione was in fact, crying because this was the last time she would take the train to the magical school, and the last year she would have a place of sanctuary from Victor.

"Oh come on!" The boys said, looking a little cautious, they didn't want to have to bawling girls to comfort.

After getting settled into their regular compartment, the friends started to talk, but yet again, Hermione simple listened, instead of adding all her opinions.

"Herm?" Ron said, "Are you ok?"

 "Yea, I'm fine Ron, I'm just a little sad, ya know? This is our last train ride to Hogwarts! Our last! What are we going to do when this year is over? Guys I don't even know what I want to do! I'm scared!"

Hermione looked close to tears again, and Harry slipped a comforting arm around her. "Shhh Hermione, it's alright, we don't really know what we want to do either."

"Hermione?" Ginny started. "Have you thought about what you wanted to do?"

 "Well," Hermione said, somewhat cautiously, "A little. I want to do something magically, obviously. Not a muggle job. But I don't know. Maybe something in the ministry of magic would be nice. I'd like to do something that requires talent, ha-ha." Hermione giggled. "I wouldn't mind owning a magic shop, like on diagon ally, or in Hogsmeade, or even teaching at Hogwarts! Oh I would love to be a transfiguration teacher!"

"Wow Herm." Ron said, sounding impressed, "You have thought about this! You would make a great teacher!"

"Hermione smiled at that compliment." "You really think so Ron?"

 "Yes I do, Mione." Ginny looked at her older brother and saw something that startled her. She saw the way Ron was looking at Hermione, and the way Hermione was looking at Ron.

"What is that look?" Ginny wondered to herself. "Surly they can't like each other, that would ruin their friendship!" Hermione noticed her friend looking at her and asked Ginny what was up.

"Oh-oh nothing Herm, I just thought you had something on your face, but it was just a shadow."

"Oh ok Gin."

The rest of the train ride continued in the same way, the friends teasing each other, and Ron and Harry become immersed in a serious conversation about Quiddich.

 "Honestly." Hermione said to Ginny, "You would think that topic would become boring after awhile, wouldn't you say?"

Ginny agreed, but having lived with 6 older brothers, she was used to it.

"Come on guys!" Hermione said, sounding like her old self. "We will be at Hogwarts any moment! Put your robes on!" Harry and Ron grinned, glad to have Know-It-All Hermione back.

As the whistle blew, the great red engine came to a halt. The older students left on magical carriages to Hogwarts, while the younger ones rode on boats with Hagrid.

"Shhh!" Hermione said in a whisper, "The sorting is about to begin!"

 The four friends had been seated at their usual places at the Gryffindor table. Ron looked over at Hermione and smiled. "This is our last sorting, Mione." He said with a sad smile.

"Yea." Hermione looked around the room, taking it all in. Her eyes stopped at a certain spot, namely the Slytherin table. Her eyes met with a steel grey gaze, but there was something about it. The look wasn't one of the cold, heartless shivery kinds of stares; it was more of a concern look. Hermione couldn't understand it, but she couldn't break the gaze that they where sharing, and Draco looked just as powerless. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Harry's voice broke the calm.

"Wow, we got 6 new Gryfindors' this year!"

"what??" Hermione said to herself in shock. "I missed the whole sorting? How long could I have been looking at him?"

As Hermione was thinking this, Dumbledore rose from his seat, ah he did for the yearly announcements. Hermione knew what was coming, and she crossed her fingers, he was about to announce the Head boy and Head girl! She was sure Harry would win head boy, he had good grades, and was well liked, and of course saved the school whenever the need arose.

"First of all," Dumbledor started, "I would like to welcome you all back to Hogwarts for another year of learning! As the older students know, we have a few rules to give out. Number one, No one, I do stress no one, is permitted in the Forbidden forest.." Hermione was finding it hard to concentrate, why couldn't he get on with it? she needed to know if all her efforts from the past six years had paid off! "..and the last prefect is Michael O'Christy. Now for the head boy and head girl." Hermione straightened up in her seat, this was it! "The Head girl, for this year, is.Hermione Granger! And the head boy is.."

 He was drowned out by a cheering so loud it hurt Hermione's ears, but she didn't care, she did it! She was the Head girl! The highest honor (to her) that there was!

"The Head boy and Head girl, will you please meet with me after the feast in the foyer? We need to discuss new rules for the year and where your dormitories are. Thank you. Let the feast begin!"

Hermione sighed, and then thought of something.

"Who made Head boy?" She asked the question to Ron and Harry.

"Wasn't me." Harry said somewhat glumly.

"I didn't hear." Ron said. "I was too busy cheering for you!"

 "Did anyone hear who it was?" She asked the Gryffindor table, but they all said the same as Ron.

"Well then." Hermione said brightly. "Guess I'll just have to be surprised!"