Disclaimer: If you think I own the characters from the Harry Potter series, you have got to be kidding yourself. All I do is make the characters gnaw at each other and kiss. You get the idea.

Title of Story: When Darkness Catches the Light

Summary: Can two sworn enemies ever find true love in each other? What happens when a seductive mission comes along to prod them in the right direction? Draco/Hermione

Rated: PG-13 for language, angst descriptions and some sexual connotations.

Chapter Six: Conspiracy

I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
--She Will Be Loved, Maroon 5

Hermione woke up that morning in the library.

The sun had crept stealthily through the windows and its rays had landed directly onto her. The trees were swaying steadily with the cool breeze, their leaves making crackling noises as they crunched and collided with each other.

Hermione yawned and rubbed her eyes. They had not prickled in a while, and she was grateful for that fact. The prickling had ached her so much, and it was not only a physical pain she felt but also an emotional and internal pain. Like an implosion.

Hermione scanned the room and it only then dawned on her that she was in the library. She widened her eyes as she alarmingly looked for Madam Pince. Yet Hermione had established a good rapport with Madam Pince over the past six years, so even if she was found in the library in its closing hours, she was confident of not having to cope with too much punishment.

Hermione looked down at the table on which she had been sleeping. She had apparently been sleeping on a large book, open to the pages marked "Permanent Hexes with Seemingly No Antidote". Hermione smiled grimly as she pondered the subconscious reasoning as to why she had picked this particular book off the shelf.

Malfoy. That stupid prick.

Hermione sighed.

Malfoy had yet again called her a muggle last night. But she was not a muggle. She was a witch.

I am a witch, Hermione reminded herself firmly.

Hermione remembered the way Draco had mercilessly sneered at her. But why had it hurt her so much now, after all these years? I should be immune to his abuse, she mused.

Nevertheless, Draco had not called her a Mudblood. She was surprised at this display of... thoughtfulness? Hermione knew for a fact that he had indeed intentionally not used the word... but what was his purpose? That is to say, did he deliberately avoid using the word to stop her from getting upset?

Hermione shook her head angrily at her own folly. This is Malfoy we're talking about here! she reprimanded emphatically.

Yet Hermione's thoughts were forced to disseminate as she saw Ginny Weasley come bouncing up to her, carrying pieces of toast spread generously with marmalade.

"Your favourite," Ginny announced pompously, sitting down opposite Hermione on the long table.

Hermione grinned appreciatively and began eating the sweet bread. It seemed to pacify her anxiety slightly.

"Where were you last night, Hermione?" Ginny blurted out, her tone of voice mildly critical.

Hermione surveyed her. Ginny's hair was not as a red as it used to be. It had lightened to a strawberry-blonde colour. Her freckles were still prominent but they only exemplified her natural beauty. Hermione opened her mouth to answer her, but stopped. Could Ginny be trusted?

"Oh... I was just putting my stuff away in the common room, you know, making it feel like home," she lied, a fake smile on her face.

Ginny raised an eyebrow mechanically. "Oh okay... I thought you were with Ron, but then he came to the Great Hall alone..."

It was obvious to Hermione that Ginny was hoping to extract answers from her. Hermione sighed and stared intently at the grains of her toast.

"He looked kind of upset," Ginny implored gently. "Do you know anything about that, Hermione?"

Hermione turned away from Ginny's beady eye. She was not expecting this sort of interrogation so early in the morning.

So what were you expecting Hermione, the monster who scares all her friends away? a voice in her head accused.

She shook her head, forgetting for an instance that Ginny was in the room. She chanced a glance back at Ginny, only to find evident lines of worry embedded on her face. Hermione felt her heart dip slightly, and the skin all over her body began prickling. She couldn't bare to see Ginny so vulnerable.

"Well... er... um Ginny, I'm sorry I just have a really bad headache at the moment," Hermione murmured, rubbing her temples.

Ginny's eyes widened and she placed a reassuring hand on Hermione's arm. Hermione looked up at Ginny, and found she had a weak smile on her face. The lines of worry were still prominent. Hermione returned the smile reluctantly. Her skin was still tingling uncomfortably.

"So... what's happening between you and Harry anyway?"

Hermione's skin immediately stopped prickling and she audibly sighed in relief.

"Well," Ginny said, her face starting to redden, "that's actually what I came here to talk about."

Draco woke up that morning, dread running through his very veins. Today was the day of the conference.

He pulled the covers over himself stubbornly, trying to block out the sun from blinding him. He had stayed up late the previous night.

Draco yawned and glanced at his watch. 8.28am?!

"SHIT!" he bellowed hoarsely.

He was twenty-eight minutes late for the meeting and he knew the Lord would show him no mercy. Draco trembled.
"You're late, Draco."

Draco had just stepped into the isolated shack situated on the Hogwarts grounds. It was a mirage to all those not meant to see it, so there was a negligible likelihood of it being discovered.

It was very dark on the inside, yet very spacious. The walls were constructed of a simple timber. He knew the Lord valued simplicity, for it was within simplicity and innocence that one could disguise extravagance. And indeed, conspirations.

As soon as Draco entered the room, he realised he could not see a thing. It gave him a queasy and vulnerable feeling that he did not like at all. He hugged his robes fiercely.

Draco shivered as the voice reached his ears. It made the hairs on his neck stand erect.

"Forgive me, my Lord," he whispered, leaning in to kiss the pallid feet that protruded from the otherwise blackness of the room. "I request permission to cast the Lumos spell."

"Permission denied," the voice hissed. It was very much akin to a snake's voice. "You know I am not fond of the light, Draco."

Draco nodded, despite knowing the Lord was unable to see his assent. But he was very wrong.

"I assume you have received my correspondence," the voice spoke. It was not a question.

Draco felt a lump grow steadily in his throat. "Of course, my Lord," he responded submissively. "What do you require of me?"

The voice mangled into a harsh, cacophonous laugh. Draco raised his eyebrow slightly.

"There is no hurry, Draco," the voice whispered quietly, causing Draco to strain his ears to catch every word. "Though I suppose your tardiness elicits some summarising of the mission. And you know what I mean by summarising," the voice added coolly,

Draco did indeed know the meaning of the phrase. It meant he had to listen to everything the Lord said and he would not be allowed any defiance of the assignment. He would be coerced into accepting it, no matter what.

"I congratulate you first on becoming Head Boy," the voice murmured, its tone devoid of any happy emotion. "It will be helpful to have you in such high standing when it comes to your mission."

Draco nodded, finding yet again the same lump in his throat.

"The target of your mission is the Head Girl, dear Draco," the voice spoke, amusement evident in its manner.

Draco's eyes widened. "Why the hell would you want my mission to be about a Mudblood? It's not like I don't have enough to do this year alrea-"

Draco sensed swift movement in the room and suddenly felt a stick poking into the nape of his neck.

"Draco," the voice whispered menacingly. "I do not value insolence in my clique. And if you wish to speak, remember to first ask permission-"the voice hissed this word.

Draco nodded again. He felt a distinct coldness sweep his body, and the stick then withdrew.

"There is some inaccuracy in your last statement, dear Draco, but I wish not to speak of it now. Your target is one Hermione Anne Granger. You must see to it that you get close to the girl, so that she trusts you. It will not be easy, Draco, I am informing you now. Yet I solemnly believe you have the necessary talent and foresight to successfully complete this mission. And what I believe is always right," the voice ended threateningly.

"Why- I request permission to speak, my Lord," Draco said hastily.

The voice laughed again, in the same dissonant fashion. "Permission granted."

Draco nodded slowly. "Why is she the target of our mission? Surely she is just another stupid mudblood hardly worthy of your eminent attention?"

The flattery did not seem to have the effect that Draco had desired.

"Draco," the voice hissed, "perhaps it has slipped your memory, so I will tell you once more, though I shall not tolerate this kind of folly from you again. Everything I do, every move I make, has a reason behind it. Granger could be a valuable addition to our order, if her talents are nurtured appropriately. She will be coming of age soon. So for now, you must obey my orders. Is that understood?"

Draco nodded. "Request permission to speak."

"Draco, you will regret it if you waste my time. Permission granted."

"I'm sorry my Lord," Draco muttered, "but by what means am I to follow to complete this mission?"

The voice was then tinted with hilarity. "I have been often told of your... legendary seductive skills. Put them to some good use. Yet be careful, Granger may not respond to them at first. I would suggest a more gentle approach, if only at the beginning."

Draco inwardly snorted. As if Granger would even resist his lustrous hair, beautiful eyes, pouty lips...

They all gave in, in the end. And Granger would be no exception.

Draco bowed to show his obedience.

"Do not fail me, Draco. The Heir of Slytherin does not tolerate mishaps or treason. You may go."
Draco stumbled out of the room, furiously rubbing his right upper arm.

He was not looking forward to his mission.

He had to seduce a... thing... like Granger?! Why the hell couldn't the bloody "Heir of Slytherin"have chosen Patil or Hawthorn or some other stupid-yet-good-looking chick like that for him to make his moves on? They would just fall like dominoes into his lap! But Granger... she was one heck of a domino.

She was too frigid and icy! The Dark Lord might as well have asked me to nail jelly to a tree - at least it would have been more likely to go in my favour!

But getting Hermione to trust him? They were like water and oil – things that just would not go well together.

Draco felt some of his confidence leave him as he entered the castle, walking toward the Head common room. It was not going to be easy, and the Lord knew it. Draco knew He knew it.

Draco shook his head vigorously. This has got to be a dream... it has to be a dream...

But it wasn't a dream, Draco realised, as he painfully collided into his enemy.
"Spill," Hermione said gently, patting Ginny comfortingly on the arm.

Ginny looked up from her robes and smiled faintly at Hermione. She looked like a guilty schoolgirl who had just broken the pottery vase in the art classroom.

"Ginny, come on, it's not like you should be embarrassed about anything!" Hermione murmured.

"Yeah, I know," Ginny muttered inaudibly, a smile coming to her face. "But it's just hard to explain Hermione..."

"How about you start from the beginning then? That's normally a good place to start," Hermione winked.

Ginny gave a nervous laugh. "Oh all right. I asked Harry out over the summer. He accepted. The end."

Hermione raised her eyebrow at Ginny, but then shook her head.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it Gi-"

"Oh Hermione, Harry is just wonderful!" Ginny gushed, interrupting Hermione's sentence. "We did so much fun stuff on vacation, when he came over to The Burrow. And to think I finally got together with my ultimate crush in the end! I think I'm in love! It's almost like a fairytale, isn't it Hermione?"

Hermione started laughing at Ginny's enthusiasm. It was a great release for all her anxiety and anger. Ginny's eyes were glistening with happiness and Hermione felt so happy for her.

"Yes, Ginny, it's fantastic news," Hermione said, and she meant it.

Ginny smiled broadly at Hermione. "I knew you would understand Hermione."

Hermione stared at her. "What do you mean, understand? Everything seems understandable enough to me."

Ginny again looked down at her robes. She began twisting the frayed ends of her sleeve in her fingers. Hermione patiently waited for her to answer.

"Well, Ron has actually been, um, quite angry me about me and Harry going out," Ginny mumbled. "I mean, it all kind of disappeared when he saw you, which is such a relief, but when Harry came over to The Burrow, he looked so lonely and irritable. That's why he sent a letter asking you to come over, but I guess you had too much going on eh?"

Hermione looked up at Ginny in momentary surprise.

"Yeah, I did," Hermione muttered softly, turning away from Ginny's innocent eyes.

Ginny seemed to note Hermione's embarrassment. "Hermione," she murmured.

"What?" Hermione answered sharply, turning back to face Ginny.

Ginny had those same lines of worry on her face. "I'm worried about you, Hermione. You're not acting like your usual self. If you need advice or someone to listen to, then why don't you just talk to me?"

Hermione felt her eyes begin to faintly prickle. She felt an odd sense of rage begin to well up inside her.

"Ginny!" she yelled. "I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, okay, I don't need people policing me around or spying on me or insulting my intelligence or anything like that!"

Ginny's eyes widened in shock, but then her face went red with anger.

"I was only trying to help, Hermione, and geez, I never even said you were incapable of looking after yourself, I mean, you're the last person in the world I would have thought to have problems that they couldn't deal with!"

Hermione stood up from her chair, her eyes glinting. "See, it's people like you who think I'm perfect and I don't have feelings that can get hurt! Or there are also people that think I am so delicate that I can't bloody fend for myself!"

"Don't talk about my brother like that, Hermione!" Ginny shouted, her tone of voice hinted with menace. "He loves you okay! We all do! So stop acting like all of the world's problems are on your shoulders!"

Hermione sat back down and buried her face in her hands. Her eyes were prickling violently. She began to sob audibly.

"I'm... s-s-sorry... Ginny," she managed to stutter, looking up at Ginny.

Ginny's eyes widened benevolently and she ran over to Hermione's side of the table and hugged her. "I know you are, Hermione. And never forget what I told you – we all love and care about you, and the most one of us all being my brother. Remember that."
"Well, well... look who it is," a voice came from above Draco's head.

Draco was sprawled on the floor, having fallen from the impact of the collision. He looked up to acknowledge the person who had spoken, and the ends of his mouth began curling into a smirk.

"Weasley," he snarled, getting up from the floor. "What a surprise to find you here, at the Head common room. Looking for your girlfriend or did you just come to steal some robes to out fit your poor family? I'm sorry, but I don't buy robes in giant size." His eyes flickered over Weasley's tall frame.

Weasley's eyes widened in anger, but he shook his head, evidently trying to calm himself.

"Where is Hermione, Malfoy?"

Draco leaned casually against the cement column in front of the common room.

"What is it to you, Weasley? You know I could give you a detention for being here, it is strictly out of bounds to commoners."

Weasley twisted his lips into an uncharacteristic scowl. "I'm warning you Draco, if you lay so much as one finger on my girl, I will see to it that you die a slow and painful death."

Draco raised his eyebrow in mild amusement. "Surely you jest, Weasley? You suspect that a pureblood like me would touch something as nauseating as Granger? Yet the conditions you lay are tempting... I would love to witness how you plan to kill me... but it will have to wait for some other poor sap desperate enough to touch your slug."

Weasley tactlessly shoved his hand into his robes and pulled out his wand. Draco's eyes flickered to it.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor, Weasley, for threatening the Heady Boy," Draco snapped, a smirk playing on his face.

Weasley's eyes widened in fury and he jabbed his wand on the pulse on Draco's neck.

"Don't tempt me, Malfoy," he growled brusquely.

Draco pushed the wand away carelessly and smoothed his hand over his hair.

"That will be one hundred points from Gryffindor and a detention if you do not move along," Draco whispered dangerously. "And don't tempt me either, Weasley."

And with that, Draco turned around and walked away, his robes fluttering gracefully behind him.
A/N: Hi everyone! Another chapter is up up up! I'm sorry this took me a few days to actually put on the website but I've been busy with school work and work and everything etc, but I hope that doesn't mean the quality of my story has gone down in any way coz that would be unfair to you ppls! thanks for telling me the rating was okay, I appreciate it! God you all are so nice,! Hehehe shameful flattery from me... no but I'm serious! Is Hermione a bit too OOC? Well if she is then can I just say its necesaary. For plot reasons, of course. Okay so, Next chapter will see Draco commencing his little mission smirk, against his will, of course. Please remember to review and thanks for reading so far!