A/N: Hey people! Here is another chapter for ya. Thanks to all the reviewers and their great ability to press the cute button (being a follower can be fun sometimes hehe) you guys were so nice even though my last chapter was light years beyond crap. You guys are sooooooo cool and if I were wearing socks right now instead of flip-flops, you guys would be rocking those things. Well I hope you like this chapter; I know my last crap-ter (hehe) might have been a bit confusing so I will try to answer as many questions that could be floating around right now. Have fun!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: if I was making money for this, I wouldn't be broke so leave me alone (unless you wanna review)
Madam Pomfrey walked back to Hermione's bed to give her more medicine before she went to sleep. Just as the nurse had left and Hermione snuggled deeper into her bed, Hermione heard creaking sounds coming from one of the beds closer to the entrance of the wing.
"Hello?" Hermione shouted into the darkness. No answer. "Is anybody there?" No answer. Because of Hermione's bravery, she wasn't scared right away, but she was worried about the fact that someone might be watching her. After a couple minutes of silence, Hermione decided that she was just being silly and tried to go to sleep. She rolled on to her side so that her back was facing the Hospital Wing entrance. Not two minutes after she did so, she felt a cold hand clamp over her closed mouth. Her first instinct being to scream, only caused the intruder to tighten their hold on her mouth and hold her body down. She struggled against the man's grasp, she realized it must have been a man because she had never met a girl with such big hands, but she still didn't have all of her strength back, so her struggling didn't free her.
"Stop struggling and I'll let go" a familiar voice hissed, getting Hermione to finally stop struggling
"Malfoy?" Hermione asked breathlessly, turning around to see if it was really her arch nemesis.
"Very good, Granger" Draco said sarcastically, as usual.
"What do you think you're doing, going into Hospital Wings and attacking girls in their beds?" Hermione said, trying her best to keep her voice from rising in anger.
"I would hardly call it attacking, Granger. And I just wanted to talk; I thought that would be obvious."
"You seem to be wanting to talk a lot lately, Malfoy. You should be careful, someone might see you. They might suspect something. Wouldn't want to foil your 'I'm a bad-ass-pureblood-who-hates-all-mudbloods' rep now would we?"
"Relax, Granger. I don't give a damn what other people think, as you can tell. I came here to see if you were okay."
"Yeah, okay Malfoy. How long have you been in here anyway?
"Long enough."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"I was here when the stupider parts of the trio were here"
"Why? So you could try to find something to blackmail one of us with?"
"Granger, for all that reading you do, you're very imperceptive."
"Malfoy, go away. I feel like whenever I am talking to you, you speak in riddles. I never have any idea what you're saying or what you're talking about. I especially am confused because if you haven't noticed, I'm still recovering from hexing your sorry arse into a wall. I can't even try to understand you at the moment."
"Exactly, you are very imperceptive" Draco said triumphantly.
"Whatever, Malfoy."
"Look, remember when I told you that the Dark Mark was just on my skin?"
"Yes" Hermione answered exasperatedly; she just wanted some sleep.
"Well, do you know what I meant?"
"Malfoy, I am sick of this. If you want me to know something, tell me. But I do not have the strength nor the patience to answer your questions and decipher your riddles. So unless you're going to tell me whatever it is you want to tell me, I'd like to get some sleep. And I'm not sure I like sleeping with a deatheater in the room."
"Granger, it wasn't a choice to become a deatheater."
"What?! Of course it was. You call me mudblood and you harass my friends and you act like a deatheater. Of course it was a choice. A choice that you made. It's been long coming, and you know that"
"Granger, for once, just shut up and listen. I told you that the dark mark didn't go deeper than my skin; I wasn't lying. I was going to be a deatheater before my first birthday, whether I liked it or not. My father knew before he knew what color my eyes were."
"Why are you telling me this?" Hermione asked, still not understanding why Malfoy would be telling part of his life story to his enemy.
"Because, Granger. You said all those things in potions, and it got me thinking. I realized all the things you were saying were true when they shouldn't have been."
"Is Malfoy suddenly having an attack of conscience? Never thought I would see the day" Hermione said sarcastically.
"Granger, shut up. Look, when you didn't wake up for two days, there were rumors going around that you might die. No one knew what was wrong with you. Your parents were here, Granger.
"They were?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. I would have hated if the last thing I said to you was 'Mudblood, shut the hell up.'"
"Wow."
"That's all you have to say?! 'Wow'?"
"No, it's just that this is the first time this year you've actually acted seventeen. I don't think I've ever seen you act your age before."
"Thanks, Granger."
"No, I mean that in a good way. But Malfoy, does that mean you don't hate me? Or muggles in general?"
Draco thought for a minute. He couldn't say yes, because it wasn't entirely true; but he couldn't say no because he couldn't have her thinking they were friends. He opted for the better of the two.
"No, Granger. I still hate you and all the other mudbloods that rot in the school. I would have hated you anyway."
"I don't understand you, Malfoy. You just said some pretty nice things to me, but then two seconds later you go right back to your disgusting, deatheater ways. I can't believe I had started to believe you didn't really want to be a deatheater. Here I am in the Hospital Wing, and you come and upset me even more than you did in the dungeons in half the time. Congratulations, Malfoy. You are by far the biggest bastard this school has to offer."
"Language, Granger."
"Malfoy, don't push me."
"Or what? You'll glow again?"
"In case you have forgotten, I didn't just glow, Malfoy. Or did you hit your head harder than I thought and don't remember being hexed?"
"How did you do that?" Draco asked, all attempts to bother Hermione forgotten in the wave of curiosity.
"I…I don't know if I can tell you. I haven't even told Ron and Harry."
"Well, I'm Head Boy. I'll find out anyway."
"I don't know, Malfoy. Dumbledore didn't say I could tell anybody."
"But did he say you couldn't tell anybody?"
"It's just…the information is important and…"
"And in the hands of a deatheater it could be dangerous" Draco finished for her.
"I don't know. Dumbledore didn't really explain it all to me."
"Oh" Draco said simply.
"Malfoy, why did you really come down here? I know you didn't come down here to apologize to me, you would never do that, and you didn't come down here to bother me, you're not that much of a prat, so why are you down here?"
"Look…" Draco trailed off. He didn't really know why he came down here. He had heard that she had woken up and he just wanted to see for himself. He felt bad…he didn't know why; Malfoy's never feel bad or regret anything. It makes you weak. But he had the sudden urge to be at peace with the lovely brunette. He had never killed before, and he felt as if she had died, that it would have been his fault. He realized that with the war going on, the people around him might not be there for much longer. Their time was limited, and he didn't want to be responsible for the death of someone when they didn't even have to fight the war yet.
"Malfoy? What is it?" Hermione asked. She was so confused, and Draco just standing there with his eyes glazed over from so much thought was a little unnerving.
"Nothing. It's nothing" Draco said quickly.
"You still haven't answered my question."
"Can't we just call a truce? We have to work together and everything, and I just don't want to make you so angry that you could kill me and end up in a coma and die, yourself, ok?"
"Malfoy, you're confusing me. Never once have you tried to be friends with me and now after five years of absolute torture, you all of a sudden want to be nice to me?" Hermione said, raising her voice.
"Granger, keep it down!" Draco whispered harshly, looking around to see if Madame Pomfrey had heard them.
"Malfoy, you are such a prat. Now after you have made my life a living hell for years, you only want to have a truce because I can curse you up the wall and not get in trouble for it!"
"Granger, please calm down, your eyes are turning red again and you're starting to glow" Draco said, hoping the small light that was emanating from Hermione's body would extinguish.
"What?" Hermione asked, her eyes going back to their original brown, and the glow leaving her skin.
"Good, you're better now."
"Malfoy, you're making me angry."
"I know, but this time, I'm really trying to make peace. We can still hate each other around school and be mean or whatever, but when we're in the dorms working on Head-stuff, can we just be civil? I'm not saying we have to be nice to each other, just courteous enough so that you don't kill me with that glowing thing you do."
"I don't really know why you're doing this Malfoy. But if you think it's for the best then fine; but if you're just playing another one of your sick games, there will be hell to pay. But this just means we'll be civil, this doesn't mean we're going to be friends or anything."
"I wouldn't have it any other way" Draco said, leaving the Hospital Wing. He didn't want to be friends. He just didn't want her death on his hands, or even have it be a possibility. He didn't know why he couldn't bare the possibility of him hurting her physically. He had hurt her mentally time and time again and she responded, verbally and physically. But seeing her fall to the ground unconscious was disturbing to Draco. He told himself he only called for the truce for his own benefits. He didn't like having to be conscientious of a know-it-all mudblood dying.
The next day, Hermione woke rather early and was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing. She felt much stronger and she didn't feel nearly as drained as she had the day before. She walked the halls aimlessly after she left the Hospital Wing, in just her pajamas, robe, and slippers. She didn't care if any students saw her, it was Sunday and she had just gotten out of a hospital bed. Hermione was still confused about many things. Questions had been running through her mind all morning, and she knew of only one way to get them answered. She ran back to her room and got changed before she set out to speak to Professor Dumbledore. She walked to the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office and gave the password. She knew the password because she was Head Girl and she desperately needed to talk to Professor Dumbledore, otherwise she never would have bothered the headmaster in his office. She made her way up the ancient stone steps and as soon as she got to the top, she heard raised voices coming from behind the headmaster's door.
"Albus, I just don't think she's ready!"
"I know, my boy, but she must know. We've kept this from her long enough."
"I agree, Albus" Professor MacGonagall interjected.
"Albus! Are you even hearing what I'm saying?! You said so yourself, she was shocked when she found just a little bit about what she was. How do you think she will handle the rest of the information? She's just a silly little girl who isn't ready for it."
"Severus, that young woman is no longer a girl and I know for a fact that she is not silly."
"Albus, I understand that you have faith in the girl. But you also had faith in Professor Quirrel and Lockhart."
"Are you saying that Miss Granger is a traitor and a phony?"
"Albus…"
"No, Severus. She is 17; she is of age. She has the right to know. We cannot doubt her abilities as a witch. But I am afraid that she already knows you doubt her, Severus, for she stands outside this office at this very moment." Hermione froze. Dumbledore had known all along that she was there. 'Does he always know everything' she thought as she knocked on the door.
"Ah, Miss Granger, what a pleasant surprise" Dumbledore said, opening the door and bidding her to come in.
"Thank you, Professor" Hermione said quietly, sitting in one of the many chairs in the Headmaster's office.
"Now, Miss Granger, there's no need for me to ask what has brought you here. You are still confused, yes?" Dumbledore asked sweetly.
"Yes, Professor. You said the situation was serious. Don't see how this situation is serious." After saying this, Hermione was graced with a very obvious snicker from Profess Snape.
"I told you, Albus; she's not ready. She doesn't even see how this is a serious situation. She's young and naïve."
"Severus, I would appreciate it if you would try to hold you tongue. She doesn't see the seriousness of the situation because I didn't explain it to her; I only mentioned the fact that it was serious. And, if you haven't noticed, I can detect a faint glow coming from her skin. Be careful, Severus, you don't want her to practice her new found power on you, do you?" Immediately, Hermione calmed down. Yes, she had been angry that Snape had called her naïve, and she did want to hex him into oblivion, but the thought of her subconsciously cursing people still frightened her.
"Professor Snape?" Hermione started meekly, looking at her feet.
"Yes" Snape snapped, not even trying to hide his exasperation.
"What am I not ready for, exactly?"
"I thought that would have been obvious. The truth."
"What is the truth? I've only heard bits and pieces and it hasn't completely thrown me off course. I want the whole story, the complete truth. I don't care if everyone in here doesn't think I am ready. I need to know either way."
"You are absolutely right, Miss Granger" Professor MacGonagall said, before Snape could say something to upset the young Gryffindor. "Albus, I believe you should explain this."
"Very well, Minerva. Miss Granger, your job as Gryffindor's heir is to rid the world of Slytherin's heir. Godric Gryffindor couldn't let Slytherin's heir use the basilisk to kill all the muggles of the school. This of course, you know."
"Yes, but I still don't see the problem."
"Miss Granger, we had all assumed, because of the Prophecy, that it was Mr. Potter's job to kill Voldemort. Now, we have discovered that it is your job also."
"So? It was a mistake. Is that what you all think I'm not ready for? Do you think I am not as capable as Harry to fight Voldemort?" Hermione could feel the anger rise within her. For the first time, she could feel the glow shining off her body. She tried to calm herself before things got too out of hand. "Professor? I keep on glowing. Anytime something bothers me in the slightest, I just light up. You said only a powerful emotion could cause the glow. I am not passionately anything right now."
"Miss Granger, now that you have released your power for the first time, it is rather fragile. Any sudden changes in your sentiments could lead to red eyes and glowing skin. You must try and remain calm. It will get stronger eventually, and only respond when you want it to." Hermione nodded and let the headmaster continue. "And no one thinks you are any less capable of handling Voldemort. We are just trying to fit together the missing pieces in the Prophecy with Gryffindor's journal. We have come to the conclusion that you and Mr. Potter will be involved in the downfall of Voldemort."
"So what's the problem?" Hermione asked getting exasperated. 'Maybe they should stop being secretive and cryptic and explain to me what's really going on' Hermione thought.
"In order for one side to be defeated, you must make a choice. Gryffindor, when making you heir..." Dumbledore started, only to be interrupted by Hermione. A rare occurrence, indeed, but she couldn't help not knowing.
"Forgive me, Professor, but I was meaning to ask you about that. How did he choose an heir. You said he had to make a spell. What type of spell?"
"It is quite alright, Miss Granger. When choosing an heir, you must make a spell where the maker sets what one could call guidelines. When Gryffindor chose you, he had to say what he wanted his heir to look like, what personality traits he wanted her to have, he even decided your name."
"My name?!" Hermione said in disbelief. "But, my parents chose my name."
"Have you ever wondered where they got the name Hermione?" Dumbledore asked.
"Whenever I asked, they said it just felt right. They didn't know where it came from."
"Exactly. It felt right, because you were destined to have the name Hermione Granger. Does that satisfy you?"
"Yes" Hermione said sweetly. 'For now' she thought inwardly.
"Very well, now when Gryffindor made you his heir, he couldn't make you be for the good side or the bad side. He could give you certain traits that would most likely lead you to the good, but there were no guarantees. That's one thing the spell cannot do. It cannot take away your free agency. You are given the choice. You choose, out of Mr. Potter and Voldemort, who will live. Only you can fulfill the spell, and only Mr. Potter can fulfill the Prophecy."
"Well, I still don't see a problem. I will obviously choose Harry. This war will be easier than we thought." There was still a flash of worry in the headmaster's eyes, telling Hermione that wasn't all he had to say on the matter.
"What is it?"
"Voldemort knows" Dumbledore said gravely.
"He d…does?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Unfortunately, yes. It seems that Salazar Slytherin had a journal of his own. He left to his heir, Tom Riddle. It informed his heir of Gryffindor's plans. Slytherin knew that you would be Gryffindor's heir. Hermione," Dumbledore started, using her name for the first time in the meeting, "You are in grave danger."
"But…do his deatheaters know?"
"Yes" Snape answered from his corner. "Most of them do anyway. They all know of the heir's existence, but only a select few know that you are the one Voldemort wants. The ones who do know are all under one specific order."
"And that is?" Hermione asked, afraid of what his answer might be.
"To take you for Voldemort. They will either force you to switch to the dark side or kill you if you refuse." Hermione couldn't believe she was hearing this. The first thing that popped into her mind was Malfoy. She thought it odd, that now, after showing signs of her power, he wanted a truce. 'Of course' she thought. 'He is a deatheater. All his 'I don't want you to die because of me' talk had been rubbish. He was just following orders'
"Miss Granger?" Professor MacGonagall said, looking at Hermione's changed expression. The old woman could tell her star pupil was in deep thought.
"Yes, Professor?" Hermione answered, coming back to the real world.
"I think it would be best if you rested. You have the rest of the day to think about this, but I think you should try to have a relaxing day."
"I think you're right, Professor. This is a lot to think about."
"Indeed" Dumbledore interjected. "And I'm sure there are two boys somewhere in this castle who you're dying to talk to." Hermione smiled gratefully at her headmaster, for he had just given her permission to tell all she had just learned to Ron and Harry.
"Thank you, Professor" Hermione said as she left his office and made her way down the steps.
After running into Ron, and Harry after Quidditch practice, Hermione told them everything she had found out in the Hospital Wing and Dumbledore's office. Ron and Harry could barely speak. They had just found out that their childhood friend was the most powerful witch in their school, and Voldemort wanted her for himself, evil or dead.
"Wow" Ron said after a few moments of silence that followed Hermione's tale.
"I know. At first I thought it was ridiculous. You would think Harry would the heir of Gryffindor, even if he isn't a girl or completely muggle (A/N: props to Soon2BeDirector). Who would expect plain, boring Hermione Granger?" Hermione said thoughtfully.
"Hey, hey, you are not plain or boring. You are the prettiest, sweetest girl I know" Ron said, turning slightly red.
"Thanks, Ron" Hermione said, giving Ron a quick squeeze. Harry had remained silent through all this.
"Harry? What is it?" Hermione seeing how uncomfortable Harry was.
"Nothing. I just…you're so good and Voldemort wants to kill you for it and I did…" he trailed off.
"You did what, Harry?" Hermione asked nervously, seeing the guilt again.
"Nothing. I need to go. I'll see you later Ron." Harry left, with a confused Ron and a hurt Hermione staring after him.
'He doesn't want to see me later' Hermione thought sadly. Ron seemed to notice this, and quickly took her hand.
"It's okay, 'Mione. He's just worried" Ron said reassuringly.
"I know, it's just…oh I don't know."
"I know, sweets, but you've had to go through a lot in a really short period of time. It's okay if your brain doesn't work properly for one day" Ron said, barely hiding his smirk.
"Thanks, Ron" Hermione said sarcastically. "Come on, I'm hungry."
Ron and Hermione walked to lunch together and were very caught up in a discussion about Hermione being the heir to Gryffindor. Only when they came to their table, did they realize that Harry wasn't there.
"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked Ginny, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table.
"I…I don't know" Ginny answered. "I haven't seen him since practice this morning."
"Oh" Hermione said slightly disappointed. She had hoped that he would come to lunch so she could spend some more time with him. She hadn't had any alone time with him for days and it was starting to take its toll on her. She would never tell Harry, but Hermione was starting to fall in love with him. He was so sweet, and understanding, and his looks were just a bonus. But now that he was worried, and distancing himself from her in the process, only made her heart ache for him more. She didn't want to lose Harry. She had been so happy when they had started dating, she knew then that she was in love with him. The way he would look at her, the way he would talk to her, how he made her laugh…In her mind, this list could go on forever. She even imagined sometimes, that they might get married after school. She knew it was rather soon, but love had changed Hermione. About halfway through lunch, the very man Hermione had been thinking about slowly walked into the hall.
"Harry!" Hermione said, happy that he had finally shown up. "Where have you been?"
"Around" Harry said simply sitting on the opposite side of Ron.
"Oh, I see" Hermione replied, unable to hide the sadness in her voice. Harry was ignoring her and she didn't know why. "I have to go, I'll see you all later" Hermione said hurriedly as she left the Hall, obviously upset.
"Harry?! What the bloody hell is the matter with you?" Ron asked his best friend as Hermione ran from the hall.
"What are you talking about, Ron? I came here for some lunch, so I'm going to eat some lunch."
"Well, you didn't have to be so mean to 'Mione."
"I wasn't being mean to her. She just wants to do work, probably."
"Did you see the same Hermione that I saw leave this hall? She was clearly upset that you were basically ignoring her!"
"I wasn't ignoring her, I was just thinking, alright? But if that's such a problem, then I'll just go!" Harry yelled, drawing the attention of most of the halls. He stood up and stalked off, slamming the doors behind him.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked his little sister.
"I don't know, Ron. I think Harry just has a lot on his mind." 'Too much' the young red head thought to herself.
Hermione didn't stop walking until she got to the lake. It was one the only places where she could just think, not counting the library. But for this situation, she needed fresh air.
'Why is Harry separating himself from me?" the brunette thought to herself. 'Everything was going fine until I had to go and hex Malfoy with my mind. Now he can barely look at me!' Hermione could feel the tears coming on, but she didn't know when she had become so emotional. Yes, Harry barely talking to her was upsetting, but not enough to start crying over. She guessed it was because of her new power. 'It must be making my emotions unstable' Hermione reasoned with herself. She walked back inside after she remembered she had work to catch up on. She went to all her teachers and got her assignments. By the time dinner had ended she had finished the two days of work she had missed. Sick or not, Hermione Granger did her work. Right after she got snug in her bed, she remembered that it was her and Malfoy's night to do the rounds of the school.
"Crap!" she yelled as she put a robe and slippers on and left her room. She ran down the stairs to find Malfoy asleep on the couch. She slowly walked up to him, and noticed that he didn't look half bad when he was asleep. Since his eyes were closed, she couldn't see the hate and evil that had possessed him for so many years. She just saw a very good looking seventeen year old. 'Oh get a grip on your hormones, Granger' she mentally slapped herself. She blamed her sudden soft spot for Draco Malfoy on her 'insecure' emotions. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that her power had nothing to do with it.
"Malfoy" Hermione whispered shaking him gently. "Malfoy, wake up." He didn't move for a minute, but after she shook him again, he began to stir. Once he had opened his eyes and he realized he wasn't alone, he grabbed Hermione and flew her to the ground. He was grasping her neck and holding her down.
"Malfoy, what the hell are you doing?" Hermione shrieked, trying to pry his hands from her neck the second time that year.
"Granger? What the hell are you doing in my room?"
"Look around you, you prat, I'm not in your room and neither are you. Now would you kindly let go of me, I can scarcely breathe."
"Oh" Draco said, realizing he was strangling the beautiful Gryffindor. "What were you doing, waking me up anyway
"We have rounds tonight, you airhead. Now get up and shut up" Hermione said bitterly; her sadness about Harry had now turned to slight anger.
"What's got your knickers in a twist, Granger? Am I just so dashing that you can't stand the fact that you can't have me?" Draco asked as they walked out of their common room.
"Don't for one minute think you had any effect on my knickers, Malfoy."
"Whatever, Granger. So, are you allowed to tell me why you were glowing?"
"You are so random. First, you're talking about my knickers, now about how I sent you flying on your arse."
"You still haven't answered my question, Granger" Draco said, ignoring her last comment.
"I…don't want to tell you."
"Oh, so have you still not told Scarhead and Weasel?"
"No…they know" Hermione said. She desperately wanted to avoid this conversation.
"So, why can't I know?"
"Because, Malfoy. Ron and Harry are my friends; you're a deatheater. I now know how dangerous it would be for you to know. In fact, I think you might already know."
"Wait, I heard my father talking about another heir who would have a lot of strange power, but you couldn't possibly be…"
"And why is that?" Hermione asked, starting to get angry…again.
"Well, let's face it, you're a mudblood. Even though Gryffindor was a muggle lover, he would never hand over the task of defeating Voldemort to a mudblood, let alone a girl mudblood. He would give it to a real wizard, who would be capable of the task."
"Malfoy, you do remember what happened the last time you made me angry, don't you?"
"Point taken" Draco said, putting his hands up once he noticed the soft glow coming from Hermione's body. "So you are the heir of Gryffindor, then?"
"Malfoy…"
"I know, I know. But Granger, even though you are a mud…muggle, you aren't nearly as bad as Potter and Weasley. I wouldn't hand you over to Voldemort or any other deatheaters." When she heard this, Hermione stopped walking, and turned to look at Draco.
"You wouldn't? Not even if your father asked you?" she asked, completely astonished.
"No. Now start walking."
"I don't get you, Malfoy" said once she started walking again. "You've told me that you hated me, you've threatened me to no end, harassed me and my friends, and now you are seriously telling me that you wouldn't hand me over to your father and his Master."
"Yeah, well in some cases, blood isn't thicker than water."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing."
"Malfoy…"
"Look I just don't really want to talk about it, ok?"
"Fine." Hermione decided to drop it; it was obviously a touchy subject, and now that she and who she thought to be her worst enemy were getting along, she didn't want to screw that up. Especially since Harry was barely speaking to her.
"You know, when I found out that the Deatheaters wanted to give me to Voldemort, I immediately thought that was why you wanted the truce."
"Yeah, I would probably think the same thing if I were in your position. But I seriously didn't know the heir was you. I knew about the heir and that she was in Hogwarts, but I didn't know she was muggle or she was a she, for that matter."
"Malfoy, why are you being nice to me all of a sudden? Not that I mind, it's just that you have hated me forever and now you are being pretty agreeable; one could even say pleasant. And don't give me that 'I couldn't live with myself if you died because of me' rubbish."
"Well, that was actually the truth."
"But you're a deatheater. Isn't killing what you do best?" Even Hermione knew how bitchy that sounded. "Sorry, that didn't come out right. I'm just confused."
"Yeah, I know. It's just that…never mind."
"No, tell me."
"Well, if I tell you, it could put you in even more danger, and I would be in jeopardy too. At the right time, you'll know. Think about how you didn't want me to know about you being the heir because you thought it might be dangerous? Well this is kind of like that, only I know for a fact that it would be dangerous."
"Malfoy, what's going on?"
"Well, Granger, our rounds are finished. I think I'm going to go down to the kitchens and get a late snack. You should probably go back to your dorm. Good night, Granger." Before Hermione could even fully digest what Malfoy had just said, he was out of sight.
'Why would his being nice to me put me and himself and danger?' Hermione thought as she laid down in her bed. When she was too tired to think about it anymore, she just figured that she should accept that fact that he had changed somewhat, and she shouldn't be complaining. After all, she had changed from being like Harry's sister to his girlfriend. Change can be good, right?
A/N: well there is another chapter. I hope this one cleared up any confusion about my last miserable attempt at a chapter and I hope this one wasn't too bad. If you think I am going too fast with Draco being nice please tell me and if you think I am going to slow please don't hesitate to tell me that either. I am guessing that you have gotten into the habit of pressing what I have now dubbed the 'pretty button' and I don't have to remind you. Reviews really help and its always nice to see a review alert in my mailbox so do the right thing. In this case the right thing is easy to do because NEWS FLASH the stinking button is stinking right under this note. I mean… the very pretty button is right under this note, smelling very nice I might add. I'm gonna stop my rambling and write another chapter. So long!