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

~

Draco's Point of Vision:

Draco woke the next morning looking just as he did when he fell asleep. Hermione was still fast asleep in hi s arms. Everything about the previous night came flooding back to him.

"That bastard is going to pay for what he did to her." Draco thought violently. Hermione stirred, and then opened her eyes.

"Draco!" She said, almost jumping out of his arms, but then thought the better of it. Her eyes where confused. "I-I drept Victor was in the castle. and he threatend you, and hit me.  you, you saved me.." She started crying silently again. "I can't let Ron and Harry see me like this, nonononononono." He started crying harder and harder.

"Shh, shhh, Hermione." Draco said soothingly. "Its alright. Ill tell McGonagall you fell ill. Don't worry, Ill stay with you, he's not going to hurt you again." Hermione stopped crying and looked at him.

"Is this the same Draco Malfoy that taunted and tormented me and my best friends for six years? It can't be." She said to herself. "Something's changed in him.  It's like he grew up, started to really live."

"Listen, Hermione, I need to go to McGonagall and tell her your not feeling well, don't worry, I will be back soon." He gently laid Hermione back into her bed and closed the curtains around her. Hermione whimpered a little, but Draco hushed her "Shh, I'll be back soon." And with that, he left.

"Professor! Professor!" Draco hurried to catch up to the Deputy Headmistress who was walking briskly to breakfast.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy?" "It's Hermione, Ma'am." He said, "She's taken sick and I don't think is really up to her classes, and seeing that the Halloween ball is tomorrow, and that she is mostly responsible for its happening, I think she needs rest."

 Minerva McGonagall looked at Draco, her eyes full of concern for her favorite pupil.

"What is wrong with Miss. Granger?" She asked.

"She has a fever, ma'am, and she wasn't sleeping well, and of course I wasn't sleeping well, she kept waking up and yelling for nightmares." Draco was used to lying, but the last part was half true.

"Shouldn't she go to Madam Pomfrey then?" The professor asked.

"I don't think she needs it, maybe I could just go to Madam Pomfrey for some dreamless sleep potion, I'm sure Hermione will be fine, she just needs sleep, and to let of some of the stress she has been putting herself through, you know how many classes she has been taking this year, It's starting to get to her." Draco looked up at the usually stern Professor, and was relieved to see her nod her head.

 "Very well Mr. Malfoy, and as you where kind enough to tell me, you are excused from your classes too, but please tell Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasly, as I am sure they will be worried. And do see you get her some of that dreamless sleep potion too, I will send Madam Pomfrey a note."

"Thank you professor." And with that, he turned to go find Harry and Ron.

Draco walked quickly to the great hall, and to the surprise of many, he went straight to the Gryffindor table.

"Harry, Ron, I need to talk to you." Draco said. Harry and Ron looked at him with surprise and suspicion written all over their faces. Since when where they on a first name basis.

 "Hermione won't be going to class today, she's sick. Harry looked at him with a stone face then said.

"What's wrong with her? Is she ok?"

"She'll be fine, but she needs some sleep, you know Hermione, she eats and she studies, where is there time to sleep?" Ron chuckled; Draco sounded a lot like Ron himself when he was teasing Hermione. Harry was still glaring at him, but said

"Ok Malfoy, but at least take up some strawberry croissants to her, their her favorite."

Draco smiled, and said, "Ok, thanks you guys, I'll make sure Hermione gets your love."

As Draco walked away, with a napkin full of strawberry croissants, Harry leaned over to Ron and whispered-

"Do you think he did something to her?" "Nah," Ron said, "Do you think he would have told us? No, I think he looked kind of concerned, and well, he's right, Hermione stresses herself out, and she had a ball to go to tomorrow, she needs some sleep.

 "Ok Ron, but I think I know how we can cheer her up." He get up from the table with a grin and beckoned Ron to follow him, He had an idea on how to make Hermione feel a lot better.

"Hermione?" Draco whispered as he pulled back the curtain on Hermione's bed.

"Mione?"

 "Mmmm?" She mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, which looked up at Dracos. For a second, a look of fear passed through her eyes, but that quickly passed. She looked relived to see it was Draco, and not.him.

"Hermione look what I brought for you." Draco presented the croissants proudly.

"Harry Ron said they where you're favorite." Hermione took one to the croissants, and bit into it, and then a smile closed over her lips, after she was done chewing she said,

"So you braved Ron and Harry just for me? I'm honored!" Draco laughed, and set down the pastries on the table beside her bed.

"I'm worried about you, Mione." He said, suddenly very serious.

"You didn't tell them did you?" Hermione said in a panicked voice.

"No, no I didn't tell them, but they are your best friends, they have every right to know. You can't keep this up forever, what are you going to do Mione? Marry that bastard?" Hermione looked at him, and her eyes filled with tears.

"I don't know what to do, Draco, I really don't."

"Here" Draco said, offering Hermione the dreamless sleep potion

"This will let you sleep, without being interupted by Krum." Hermione nodded, and drowned the flask in one gulp. Within minutes she was fast asleep.

Draco walked over to her window seat and got comfortable on it. He had some thinking to do.


"What had made me tell her I love her?" Draco thought to himself miserably. He thought back to the past year, so much had happened. His father, everyone knew, was a death eater, Voldemorts right hand man, and a terrible, power hungry person, to be the nicest. Draco was brought up in a cold house. His father brought him up to be just like himself, rich and stuck-up, evil and kniving. Draco always got what he wanted as well, the Malfoys where very wealthy.

Draco's father had been an abusive husband and father, often hitting his wife and beating Draco until he couldn't move. Maybe that's why Dracos heart stopped a little for the poor girl asleep a few feet from him, she reminded him of the only bright spot in his childhood.his mother.

Narcicssa Malfoy was a warm hearted woman. She loved Draco with all her being, and, unfortunately, she loved Lucius just as much. Lucius, in his own sick and twisted way, loved her as well, but did not treat her with love.

Dracos mind traveled to the beginning of summer after his fourth year, the rise of the dark lord. His father had insisted that Draco become a death eater, as his father was, Draco was reluctant, but he knew no other life, so he went through the initiation and came out with the dark mark engraved into his flesh. He recalled the numerous torturing and killings of muggles, and yes, muggle-borns. The thought of hurting Hermione the way he had hurt so many others just like her sickened him, and he needed time to catch himself.

Draco knew all the dark curses, the evil ones, the illegal ones, the unforgivable ones. He knew the curse that made hundreds of wizards and muggles helpless slaves, he knew the curse that drove Nevil Longbottoms parents insane, he knew the curse that killed Harry Potters parents.. Yes, Draco was quite gifted at curses, he had his first wand when he was 5, and knew the 3 unforgivable curses by the age of 10. Draco was a powerful wizard, by any means,

"There is no good and evil..only power, and those who are too weak to seek it" Draco mumbled the famillier phrase. His father used this statement a lot, to explain to Draco that what they where doing wasn't evil, it was just looking out for their own well being, and killing anyone who stood in their way.

By the end of summer, before his seventh year, the dark lord had been defeated, and taken many of his close followers with him, including Peter Pettigrew, Igor Karkaroff, and, of course, Dracos own father.

Draco had, by no means, felt any sadness for the death of his father. He felt a new since of relief, now Draco could do anything he wanted, but the dreams still haunted him. The faces of the many people he had tortured and killed, with the very wand that was carefully placed in his robes this very moment.

Draco looked over at the sleeping Hermione. "I'm going to make sure she isn't hurt again." He said quietly to himself, the Malfoy determination returning to him.

"Harry and Ron need to know what's going on." He thought to himself, and with that, he walked out of the room, off to find Hermione's best friends.

~

Hermione's Point of Vision

Hours later, Hermione stirred and her eyes flickered open. Draco was no where to be seen. "Just as good, I suppose. I need time to think."

And think she did. Hermione's thought about her first meeting with Draco Malfoy. He was such an arrogant bastard when he was 11. Then in their second year he introduced the new word to her- 'mudblood'.

Hermione knew that Dracos father had been most of the reason that Draco was such an evil git himself. There was no other way to explain it, but Victors haunting voice echoed in her mind.

'He only wants in your pants Hermione...your a good little whore, yes, he knows that.'

Hermione shivered involuntarily. Her mind wandered to Draco...

He had become very hot. There was no possible way around it. When she first saw him in Knockturn ally she saw it. There was nothing that wasn't cute about him, his hair was silky and fell in white-blonde wisps around his face, his arms and legs where toned from years of playing quiddich, hell, he even had a nice ass, and coming from Hermione, the Hogwarts saint, that was saying something.

His heart had changed too. Hermione wondered if Draco was beaten as a child. It would definitely explain a lot, like why he was so cold to everyone, and why he had scars.

Yes, Hermione had seen Draco naked, the very thought made her blush, but she did like what she saw.

It was earlier that week, she had just gotten up and was going to go take a shower, and she opened the door to the bathroom and noticed the shower was already running. She was still groggy when she turned to see who it was, although she should have known, as it was only the two of them, and she saw him through the see through glass shower door.

Smiling to herself, Hermione decided she needed to get up. She was feeling a lot better, but was feeling a bit sore. "ughh." She grumbled sitting up and getting out of bed. "I need a shower."

Hermione trudged her way into the large bathroom and locked herself in, on BOTH sides this time. She stripped down and decided to go with 'peachy keen' this time. No sooner had she turned on the water, did she feel slightly happier. "Must have a mild cheering charm in this stuff." She said to herself happily as she washed.

After washing her hair, she wrapped it up into a towel and wrapped another around her body, and stepped out of the shower. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked at a small brunette looking back at her. She looked at her stomach, and felt positively revolted.

"No dinner tonight." She said firmly, and went to start covering up her new bruises.

"Reparo." She muttered, again and again, pointing her want at various cuts and bruises. Her skin magically 'repaired' itself, and Hermione sighed. She looked at her cheek; it was still red and swollen. She can't charm this one, because threes nothing broken about it, so she got out some of her charmed makeup, and began working with it.

About half an hour later, Hermione stepped out of the bathroom looking like a new witch. She was dressed in a classy mix of casual and dressy. She had on black silk pants with three inch black pumps, and a fitted red silk shirt, that came to a little below her elbows. Her hair was lying in ringlets on her back, she hadn't bothered to dry it the proper way, but she realized it suited her. Her makeup, of course, was very heavy, but unless you watched how much she put on, you never would have noticed it. She has on a lot of charmed cover up, a spell she found in one of Lavenders beauty for the young witch magazines and she just had a little mascara and gloss. She looked in the mirror again, with a small bit of contempt welling up inside of her.

"I wonder why Dracos taking care of me. I'm pathetic." She sighed as she sat on her bed. "Maybe Victor is right; maybe he is just interested in sex. Victor loves me, I know he does, he just doesn't know how to express love." "But then what about those card send flowers he has sent you in the last three years" a small voice in her head demanded. "He knew those things where worthy acts of love, he didn't beat you then." "I just annoy him sometime." Hermione said, "I need to stop making him angry."

"I'm just 17!" She mumbled miserably. "I'm just a girl, a girl who wanted to be loved more then anything. I wanted someone who loved me and I could love them back. I'm only 17! I just want to be a normal girl, bet good grades and date. Now I'm helpless, I need someone here for me all the time now, there's nothing I can do, I have no power over my life. I'm just a girl.

Hermione walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out her costume for the following nights dance. She sighed. "I wonder if Draco will-well if he'll think I'm pretty. It would be nice, being in someone else's arms, besides victor."

Hermione stopped and her mouth dropped open. She had admitted it! She had said in worlds that she liked Draco Malfoy! "Oh Lord." She thought miserably "Victor is going to be so angry with me."

But under the sadness, another thought came through, "Draco will be with you for an entire night, as your date! You're going to look gorgeous and he's going to love you."

Hermione looked around and sighed. She was going to enjoy her night with Draco. After all, she is just a girl.

~

Harry's Point of Vision

Harry and Ron had just gotten back from the owlry, feeling very pleased with themselves. "Lets so back to the common room, we can play some chess before transfiguration." Ron said to Harry. "Alright." Harry and Ron started heading up to Gryffindor tower.

After giving the password (slimy Slytherins) Ron and Harry set up for another game of chess. As the game grew on though, Harry found himself thinking, and thinking a lot.

"Why was Hermione such good friends with Malfoy now?" He wondered. "I don't understand it. I know their the head boy and girl, but Malfoy has been an evil little git to Hermione for ages. What gives? And now she's sick, and Malfoy comes to tell us. She's been acting so strangely too, almost as though she's scared of us. Is she keeping a secret?"

Harry must have had a faraway look in his eyes, because Ron had to snap him out of his thoughts. "You alright Harry?" Ron asked concerned. "Yea, in fine, wondering how Miones doing." "Oh."

Harry continued playing, but it wasn't long before he dazed again.

"Hermione's changed physically too." He thought, with a grin playing at his lips. "Her hair has gotten really gorgeous, and of course, as smart as ever. She had really long legs, when those damned school robes weren't covering them, and boy, those eyes would make any guy a house elf for her. And her lips, and cute little nose, and. SHIT!" Harry just realized something.

"Oh geez, I can't be falling for Hermione, can I? Oh boy, Ron better not find out! I'm falling in love with Hermione, and.oh this isn't good. Well, maybe it is, it would be great to feel my arms around her."

"Checkmate." Ron said grinning, and pulling Harry out of his daze again.

"Damn." Well that was a good game Ron.

 "Like hell Harry." Ron said, still smiling slightly. "You weren't even half trying!"

"Your right just worried about Mione." Harry smiled sadly.

"Your right Harry lets go see her."

"You know where the Head boy and girl dorms are?" Harry asked Ron suspiciously.

"Yea, remember how Alicia was Head girl? Well George would always sneak over to her dorm, and I followed once to see what he was doing. He's made me keep this a secret, but I guess since their engaged its not going to hurt anything." Ron said this all with a mischievous glint in his eyes, and Harry laughed.

 "Ron! Those brothers where a bad influence! Well, we'll just have to go and maybe we can convince whatever is guarding the dorm to let us through."

"Oh I got that covered too." Ron said evilly. "Estella and Phillip owe me a favor." Harry threw a questioned look at Ron, and Ron just shrugged innocently, as they climed out of the portrait hole. But no sooner had they turned the corner, they saw someone running up the stairs to their tower- Malfoy!

~

Ron's Point of Vision



"Playing chess with Harry is always boring." Ron thought. He wasn't being mean, it's just that Ron was much better at chess then Harry was, and today it seemed as though Harry wasn't even playing attention, he was dazing, so Ron decided to daze too.

"Since when did Malfoy and Hermione become such good friends?" Ron thought. "I guess it's all well and good, Malfoys been perfectly civil this year, even calling us by our first names! Amazing what a death can do."

Earlier that summer, soon after the death of Lucious Malfoy, Ron's dad told him the story of Draco's family. Turns out Draco had an excuse for being the prick they grew up with. His dad hitting his mum and him and all that. Ron actually felt bad for him. Sure, Ron still didn't like the guy very much, and when He started to get friendly with Hermione, he was a little protective, but this year Malfoy was better, he wasn't calling her obscene names, but then again, Hermione has changed too.

"Thinking of Hermione." Ron smiled inwardly.

 "Harry seems to be really into her, oh sure, I think she's really hot." Ron blushed a little thinking about the costume incident, but Harry looked too engrossed in what he was thinking about to notice.

"Sure I think she's hot, but she's always been my best friend, she's like a sister to me, even though I have enough siblings, she's like a sister that I can look out for, and in turn she looks out for me." Ron thought about all the homework help she has given him over the last six years.

"I wonder what's been up with her." He thought suddenly. "Sure, Hermione's always been a bit of the lone studious bookworm kinda girl, but this year, it's like she became a completely different person. Maybe she' in love." Surprisingly, Ron became a bit uneasy at the thought, without understanding why. Maybe the Dance tomorrow will calm her down a little, and she'll relax, no, I know it will" Ron was very sure of himself, and a smile played on his lips.

Ron thought many times he should tell Harry about Draco and his family. Harry, in a way, had a right to know, but his father told him it must stay a secret, simply because it wasn't their place to be talking about it in the first place. "Who would have thought?" Ron thought "The hard and mighty Draco Malfoy, not even wanting to become a good little death eater like daddy." But no sooner had he thought it, Ron felt bad. His dad told Ron gruesome stories of what Draco went through, sure, by the age of 16 Draco was a full fledged death eater, and a mark to prove it. But what everyone didn't know was that Draco didn't want to do it. Basically he was forced to. Ron shuddered at the thought. Mr. Wesley told Ron about the initiation ceremony.

First and foremost, you had to prove you where strong enough, and to prove that, you had to go under the crutacious curse for a full hour, that it is enough to kill any average man. Next you had to prove your loyalty to the Lord Voldemort by killing 3 muggles and 3 muggle borns. Ron grew slightly sick. The last thing, and the most horrible, out lasting the crutacious sure by far, was how well you could take pain. This of course, and person in their right mind would think would be the previous crutacious curse, but it wasn't, it was the actual branding of the dark mark on the persons forearm. The details are a well kept secret, but it uses the blood of the 6 victims, snake venom, and a mix of the Avada Kedavra curse with the Crutacious curse. Even if a person where to get this far, they where not likely to survive the deadly mix, but it did make the Wizard very strong, and it left Ron with an almost respect for Malfoy, He may not like the guy, but Ron knew that from a very young age, Draco Malfoy was a mistreated child.

Ron sat there, thinking back to all the times he shared with Hermione. OK, they dated for about 2 hours before her and Victor became in item, and yea, he liked her for about 2 years, but through the years, she just became one of those people Ron could not imagine having to do without.

Ron, physically, had changed, but underneath it all, he was still the same. Still easily angered, still loyal, still the brother to Hermione.

"Checkmate." Ron Grinned at Harry, and He could see Harry's eyes come into focus. "I think we need to pay Hermione a visit"

After disclosing the vital information he had about getting to the head boy and girls dorms, they climbed out of the portrait hall, and ran straight into Draco Malfoy!