Authors' Note: Thank you for all of your reviews! It's really fun reading them! Well, since you guys were so eager to find out the answer as to who was holding Hermione, the answer is right here. So, we hope that you all like this chapter, we know we do! Also, as a note, it's your reviews that make us write and think about instances concerning this story a whole lot faster! Thank you for being the inspiration! Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Someone worth Fighting For

It took a few moments for Hermione to realize that he was doing nothing to hurt her. She stilled and tried to make sense of it all. He was still holding her to him, but it was no more than an arm around her waist. Suddenly, a light illuminated the room.

"Ron?" Her captor spoke. And Hermione could have died right then and there. She knew that voice... there was no mistaking it. The tone was calm and cool... and deep and almost menacing.

"Draco..." She breathed. And he instantly let her go. She stood shocked for a moment before she whirled around on him, tears were streaming down her face, but she didn't mind. By the looks of it, neither did he. Then, she snapped out of it and defiance blazed in her eyes. She slapped him... hard.

"What's the meaning of this, Malfoy?" She spat. Her whole body was shaking in anger and rage while he was merely looking at her, ignoring the stinging pain on the left side of his face.

"Just an experiment, Granger." Draco answered nonchalantly. He then bent down and picked up her wand and placed it inside his robes. "We have to talk." He said, looking back at her.

"No we don't!" She retorted and tried to walk away from him. She stopped at the locked door, but did not turn around and look at him or even demand her wand back. "Open the door, Malfoy, and let me out."

"No." Was his smooth reply.

This time, she did turn around. She was about to say something when he quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her to the wall. She reacted the way she usually did when cornered and started thrashing about.

"Stop squirming, Granger. I'm not going to rape you... not like that fucking bastard Ron did." Draco said. Hermione instantly stopped and just stared at him. Draco raised an eyebrow and took his hands away from her shoulders and came to rest on the wall behind her.

"Why are you doing this, then?" Hermione asked in a small voice. Her hands were crossed protectively over her chest and she looked apprehensive.

"What did he do to you?" Draco asked. His voice was cold, unfeeling. He looked straight into her brown eyes in that way that almost looked into her soul. Hermione started to cry.

"Nothing..." She finally choked out. "He did nothing."

"Nothing?" Draco echoed. "Then why do you act like this whenever some guy gets close to you? You don't think I've noticed?"

Hermione played it dumb. She didn't want him meddling in her life... not when he already knew so much. "Noticed what?"

"Don't play dumb, Granger." Draco answered. Anger was threatening and he was having a hard time controlling it. "You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't!" Hermione shot back. She looked angrily at him.

"You very well do, Granger." Draco insisted. "But since your memory seems to be dislodged. I'll tell you what I already know." With that, he pushed himself off the wall and leaned on a desk a few feet away from her. Hermione's eyes were still trained on him. In the dim light of a solitary lantern somewhere behind him, Draco's features were hard and unyielding. He was not intending to let the opportunity pass.

"So what do you know?" Hermione asked, wiping away her tears.

"I know that something happened to you that makes you jumpy and scared every time someone gets close to you." Draco started, looking at her face closely if she recognized what he was saying. "Do you remember the time when I slammed into you in the prefects' common room?" He asked.

Hermione nodded slowly.

"Well, that alone made me think and wonder what happened to you." Draco replied. "That's when I started to observe you."

"But a girl has every right to be jumpy when someone slams her into a bookcase." Hermione countered.

"True. But, there were also those few words that you uttered when you started to thrash about. Do you remember those?" He asked.

"No." Hermione lied.

"You're lying." Draco remarked then shook his head. "We're not going to get anywhere if you don't cooperate."

"Who said I wanted to get anywhere in the first place, Malfoy?"

Draco's eyebrows lifted for a moment before he spoke again. "I have a perfectly good answer to that, Granger. But I think I'll let that pass and focus on what really matters. I believe that you said 'I won't let you do it again.' Am I right?"

Hermione's sharp intake of breath was an answer enough for him. Draco continued.

"Then, I noticed the bruises. Of course, I could've made them when I held your wrists to prevent you from hitting me; but then I realized something. The bruises were at least two weeks old..."

"How would you know?" Hermione interjected.

"I have an extensive knowledge of medicine, Granger, even if it is a muggle practice." Draco answered coolly. "Those bruises were healing, but my grip on your wrists alone could not have made that kind of damage if it hadn't been for a previous encounter."

Hermione looked down.

"Then, when our topic for the research on Defense Against the Dark Arts was given... you reacted like it happened to you. Like you recognized the feeling and the pain of having been raped." Draco said in a tone that was not at all accusing, simply stating. As if he had been talking about the weather.

Hermione's head snapped up and she looked at him with shock in her face. Tears were flowing again. "How can you talk about this? How can you talk about this as if you were merely an unfeeling... thing hell-bent on making my life miserable?!"

"How would you rather I put it then?" Draco asked. "Would you rather I accuse you of something that wasn't your fault? Or would you rather I laugh at you for what that bastard did to you?"

"For the last time, he did nothing!" Hermione screamed at him.

"Then what in the bloody hell is this?!?" Draco roared, showing her the piece of parchment she'd written in Transfiguration.

Hermione stared at it for what seemed to be the longest time. She recognized the writing, the doodles she'd made on the sides of the page, the 'Hermione' written in her invented script. She recognized the name she'd written in bold, heavy lines... as well as the things written beneath it.

'RON... HATE...'

"Where did you find this?" Hermione asked in a soft voice, not looking up from the page. But she didn't take it either, almost as if holding the paper would send her back to the incident.

"Transfiguration room. Under your desk." Draco replied. "You wrote the same thing when we were at the library a week ago."

This time, Hermione did look up in confusion. "How did you-"

"I saw it. I saw you, writing subconsciously on that piece of parchment I tried to take away." Draco explained, giving her a small smile when he remembered how the whole thing actually went. "I didn't know who wrote the first note in the first place... but when I saw you... it clicked."

Draco then folded the piece of paper and pocketed it.

"So you knew then?" Hermione asked helplessly.

"I knew that he did something bad to you. But when we finally worked on the research, I realized why you were so averse to study that topic." Draco said. "Because it happened to you."

"No..." Hermione said, shaking her head. "Nothing happened to me."

"Granger, quit it already." Draco said in a tone that should be harsh, but her state caused him to gentle his tone. "I know what happened to you..."

"No, you don't!" Hermione said feebly.

"Ron fucking Weasley assaulted you." Draco stated. "And you've been trying to keep it a secret. But you know what it's doing to you?"

"There is no secret to hide-"

"It's making you weak and vulnerable." Draco said, ignoring her protests. Hermione leaned on the wall for support. What Draco said was true, there was no point in denying it.

"So what are you going to do now?" Hermione asked after a few minutes of silence.

"What do you think I'm going to do?"

"Tell a professor?" Hermione offered sarcastically.

Draco smirked. "No. I want to help you."

"Help me?" Hermione repeated. "What else can you do? It happened, okay? It's done! Nothing can make it alright again!"

"You don't think what I'm doing right now is helping you?"

"What?"

"I just made you admit what happened. Don't you think that's making progress?" Draco said. "A few minutes ago, you were denying it ever happened."

Hermione fell silent. Curse him for being so insightful! She thought.

"It's not what I want to do..." Draco continued. "It's what you want me to do about it."

She looked up at him and saw that he was looking at her intently. She looked into his blue eyes which exuded nothing but concern. She almost gave in. Almost.

"Why are you even doing this?" Hermione asked, all anger coming back in full force. "Why do you even care about me?! You never cared about me before... you don't care about anyone!"

Draco was stunned. He did not expect this to happen, nor did he expect her to ask this. Hell, he never even asked himself. He looked at her... and tried to dredge up his own reasons for helping her. She was a Muggle-born and his family did not help Muggle-born witches. But she was also hurt by someone she thought was her friend... The internal battle waged on in Draco's mind. But Hermione was still waiting for an answer.

"I thought you were a Gryffindor." Draco finally said, shaking his head.

"What?" Hermione said, irritated that he was swaying from the question. "Malfoy, are you going to give me a good answer or-"

"Gryffindors are well-known for their courage and nerve. Am I right?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hermione did not even try to get back at her question. She was too tired for anything else. "Yes." She finally answered, giving in to him once again. It was better off, she assured herself for she was too tired to fight.

"Where's your courage, Hermione?" Draco asked.

Hermione quickly snapped to attention when Draco said her name. But then she shook it off. "What do you mean?"

"Where's your courage to go up to McGonagall or Dumbledore and tell them what happened to you?" Draco asked smoothly.

"I-"

"Wait, before you answer that, let me ask you another question." Draco didn't wait for her to acknowledge his statement, he continued. "Weren't you the one who always said to fight for your rights?"

Hermione nodded.

"You even formed this organization in fourth year, right?" Draco continued. "S.P.E.W., right? For the House-elves?"

Again, all Hermione could do was nod her head.

"So, if you can fight for House-elf rights and other people's rights, why can't you fight for your own?"

Hermione stayed completely still. He was right yet again!

"You know why I teased and insulted you before?" Draco asked all of a sudden.

By this time, all his questions were making her head spin. But she answered his question anyway.

"No."

"Because you surprised me." Draco confessed. "I never knew anyone who would fight for House-elf rights or fight for what she believed in during such an early age. You got me thinking... and competing against you." He let out a half-laugh.

Hermione fell silent once again. She looked up at Draco and saw something in his eyes that she never saw before... on anyone. Admiration.

"Where's the girl I once knew who would fight for something she believed in? Where's the girl who would do what's right? Where's the girl I looked up to and tried to beat?" Draco asked. He did not even let her answer before he gave a remark. "Or was her courage and loyalty sucked away by that fucking bastard?"

Her eyes widened... she tried to protest yet again but then she realized that it was futile. "I guess he did."

"No, he didn't" Draco argued.

Hermione glared at him. "What's the big deal, Malfoy? First you convince me that he did do something wrong and that I should admit it, then you say that I've lost my courage, then when I agree... you say that he didn't remove my courage?! What is up with you?!?!"

Draco chuckled.

"And then you suddenly laugh at me?!" Hermione asked incredulous.

Draco held up a hand. "Okay, okay, chill and let me explain..." He looked back at her. "Weasley didn't remove your Gryffindor courage... you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're still standing here." Draco said simply. "Courage comes in different forms. The fact that you're trying to cover up what happened to you and trying to live life as normal as possible is one form of courage. But the courage I'm talking about is the way you feel about yourself and others."

"What do you mean?"

"Weasley hurt a part of you, emotionally. It makes you scared when you're alone... but your courage is not gone. It's still there. And you can still bring it out and make everything all right again. Even fight back."

"How?"

"By letting others help you. If you keep this to yourself... it would kill you." Draco replied.

Hermione let it all sink in. Was he... no! He couldn't be... He can't be offering to help her...

"You asked a while ago why I even care, right?" Draco snapped her out of her thoughts.

Hermione nodded.

"I don't even know if it's care..." Draco said, giving her a small laugh. Then he became serious... "What I do know is; for all the years I've known you, Hermione, I've come to a single conclusion."

"Which is?" Hermione asked, watching him as he pushed himself off his leaning position and take a couple of steps towards her. She had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes as he was so tall and only about a foot away from her.

"That you're someone worth fighting for." Draco said simply. His voice had dropped to just above a whisper and it gave Hermione the shivers. Draco closed the gap between them and held her left arm, cradling it with his own.

He continued. "You're someone I want to fight for."

Draco looked into Hermione's brown eyes. His eyes were almost pleading... almost asking her for permission. Hermione's breath became shaky and uneasy. Neither broke eye contact.

Then, Draco's free hand slowly made its way up to touch and hold her face. Hermione gasped softly at the feel of his hand holding her as if she was made of porcelain. Slowly, as if he was hesitating, he bent down. He looked into her eyes when he was just a couple of inches from her face, silently asking if it was okay. She didn't know how to react and so she simply closed her eyes and lifted her face towards his. Without any further thought, Draco closed the space between his lips and hers.

He kissed her softly, gently, not probing, not demanding anything. He was merely longing to feel his lips on hers. He pulled away and looked into her eyes for any sign that she did not like it. There was none. And so, he continued. This time, he opened his mouth slightly and let the tip of his tongue graze the line of her lips. She responded, complying what he was gently asking her to do and deepened the kiss. Hermione's heart almost caught in her chest. She had never known Draco to be so gentle... even the hand that held her face was trembling slightly, as if he was thinking that holding her would hurt her.

After a few moments, Draco slowly and gently pulled away from the kiss. Hermione was gasping for air and Draco's heart was beating furiously against his chest. Slowly he let her go, looking at her uncertainly if she didn't think of the whole situation as inappropriate. She gave him a small smile.

That was enough for him.

"Come with me, I know a way from here to the Prefects' rooms." Draco said, reaching for her wand as well as his own. He gave her back her wand. After he had unlocked the door to the Potions classroom, put off the light and removed the silencing charm, he took her hand and led her through a hole in the wall. In a few minutes, they were in the Prefects' common room.

* * *

By the third week of November, which was almost two weeks after their talk in the Potions classroom, Hermione's life seemed to get better and better. Draco never attempted to do the repeat of the heart-pounding experience that had happened after their little talk, but it was nice for Hermione to know that he was still keeping a very watchful eye on her.

It felt wonderful to have someone go out of their way just for you.

It felt even better when you knew that someone thought you worth fighting for.

To make matters even better, Draco had publicly announced (well, to Joanna and Shawn anyway) that he and Hermione would try to work together for the remainder of the school year. Little did the other prefects know that Draco was merely saying that to let Hermione know that he was making the effort to be her friend. She kept it to memory.

Reluctantly admitted or not, Hermione was beginning to develop feelings for him. And she wasn't sure if she was at all hesitant to try and become something more than friends to him.

Anyhow, no one was prepared for the announcement the Headmaster had in store for them that Friday evening at dinner.

"If I may have your attention please..." Professor McGonagall said just before dinner ended that Friday. All students stopped their chatter and looked at the Deputy Headmistress expectantly. "Thank you. Well, Professor Dumbledore has an important announcement to make for the sixth and seventh years. So, when you are done with dinner, the lower years may go to their dormitories and the sixth and seventh years, please stay. The announcement won't take long. Thank you."

The noise level resumed with wonderings of what could this announcement held. Hermione was looking at the professors in confusion. She looked over at the Ravenclaw table and caught Joanna's eye. Joanna shrugged, saying that she didn't know either. Hermione then looked at the Slytherin table and Draco looked at her as well. It seemed that no one had any idea what the professors were talking about.

After dinner, all the other years left the Great Hall, leaving only the said years still in their respective tables.

"Good, good. Now, I am sure that everyone in here has absolutely no idea what I am talking about..." Headmaster Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. Everyone nodded and affirmed his statement, much to the joy of the Professor. "Now, if everyone is listening... The professors and I have decided that this Christmas break, we would be giving you all a surprise...!"