She blinked up at the distant, ebony sky. Her head pounded, swirling in pain and confusion. The cold, damp grass beneath her seemed to melt away reality as she lay motionless in the fridge air. How did I get here? She pleaded with her memory. The angry murmurs of the men around her suffocated in the humid, dense air. But the hand in her palm never let go.
             "…stay with me…you can do it," He stuttered over and over again, as if to reassure himself.

             She raised her tired eyes to his face, illuminated by the corrupted moonlight. His icy blue eyes were brighter than stars and sadder than the first pale frost. Hot tears poured down his cheeks and his breath jolted from his mouth, only inches from her own. Her arms ached to pull him into her heart forever, but her body rebelled even to lift a finger.

            "Hold on…" his voice echoed into eternity, "please…"

            And then it was cold.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

            She was sitting alone at home with her little sister on her lap singing a song to the piano in the background. Victoria clapped her little hands and smiled up at her sister. Her parents stood in the door talking about everything and nothing at once. They were so happy…
             " …and Hermione Granger…?" Snape's constant droll came to a halting stop.

            "Bloody hell!" Hermione mumbled jumping in her seat. She raised her brown eyes to the front of the room, nodding in acknowledgement at the annoyed, nefarious teacher. The whole room seemed to pause as he stared down at her.
            "You are excused…" His eyes grinned at her vilely and he returned to reading the announcements.
            It took her a few seconds to understand what he was talking about but then everything returned her to. She wasn't at home, but living at Hogwarts in her 7th year and she had dozed off in her first prefects meeting of the year. Confused and embarrassed to be caught in such a state, she gathered her things and walked to the door.

            Her memory blurred: the night before she had tossed and turn in a mix of anticipation and dread. Of course she was excited: she was Head Girl! She had secretly desired this the very first moment she had heard about the position. But there was one thing that she had worried about all the night before: the Head Boy. She closed the door slowly behind her, balancing her books in her over arm. She had to admit, it was an odd meeting. First of all, Snape was there, which in and of itself was random. Has he ever supervised a prefects meeting? But what was most peculiar was that the Head Boy hadn't shown up at all–

             "Well if it isn't little mudblood Granger." her thoughts were interrupted suddenly with an all too familiar voice. "…Haven't we grown up nicely" His blood red lips curled up into a classic smirk.

            "Malfoy." Hermione said through her teeth, looking him up and down. He was leaning just across the corridor on the cold, stone walls, as if hew as waiting for her. His icy eyes, his broad chin: all the same, but she couldn't help but stare. Summer's been good to him, she heard herself think, immediately banishing the thought. His robes new, his blonde hair catching the dim light in an almost un-earthly shine…and a Head Boy Badge glistening on his toned chest. "H-head boy?" she stuttered, annoyed at her lack in character.

            "I am." Smiling to reveal those pearly whites. He leaned off of the wall and took a step towards her. "H-head girl?" He mimicked.

            She rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here, snake?" she redeemed herself, straightening up.

            "Waiting for you, Lion." He laughed, shaking his head from side to side. "Come on, Dumbledore's waiting for us." He paused, looked at her and then with a wave of his wand her books were gone, saying with superior knowledge "They'll be in your room. You don't need them right now."

            They walked side by side down the long corridors in almost complete silence. Hermione almost had to jog to keep up with his long strides. Topping off at 5"6, he surpassed her height by nearly 7 inches. Although the harsh hatred of past years seemed to have settled in place of words in their conversation she couldn't help but stare.

            Something is different. Something good, why is he so happy? She wondered. Dare she ask?

            "So, Malfoy-" she chickened out, they weren't even friends! Who is she to care why he's happy. "What's up with skipping meetings? That's not Head Boy material."

            "I wasn't skipping." He looked down at her condescendingly, talking as if to a child. "If someone hadn't been falling asleep at breakfast, they might have seen letter from Dumbledore under their plate too. He sent me to get you when we saw you weren't there." He smirked and slowed his pace.

            "Oh…" She blushed. Blushing?! Stop it, Hermione.  She reminded herself.

            They stopped talking for a few minutes, observing the silence, each trying to read the others mind. She could hear him humming under his breath to some unknown tune. It sounded old, not old like what your parents listen to but Old. From the years Before Light. As she listened, she could feel the ancient words forming in her head:

                        A life unlived

                        A song unsung

                        A love to live for

                        For Her, for Her.

             "Excited?" She was thrown from her thoughts: they were at the door to Dumbledore's office.

            "Huh?" Hermione responded intelligently.

             "Aren't you excited? We get to be mates, mudblood!" He smirked and said "Lemon Pixies" almost inaudibly. Hermione blinked at him, still dumbfounded.

            He grinned broadly as they stepped onto the winding, spiral staircase. She looked over at him skeptically. Stepping lightly up the stairs, hands in his robe pocket, he could have been going for a walk in the park without a care in the world. It was very un-Malfoy of him.

            "Oh, by the way, Gra–" Draco stopped himself as they stepped into the large, brightly lit room. Before them was a desk stacked three feet above the surface with books and gadgets of all shapes and sizes. A wise, old man's capped head, barely visible above the mess, was bent over some unseen object.

            "Ah, Miss Granger. So kind of you to join us," Dumbledore smiled, not raising his eyes from his work. "I trust you understand the situation, seeing as Mr. Malfoy was so kind to escort you here."

            "Actually…" Draco's voice trailed off. Dumbledore raised his eyes, looking over the half moon spectacles resting on his nose.

            Nodding, he replied. "Please take a seat." With a wave of his hand a plush red and green couch appeared in front of them. Hermione and Draco sat awkwardly at either end, staring determinedly at the man in front of them. "I've asked you to come here on account of the Order –"

            "Professor!" Hermione squeaked, nodding her head suggestively in Draco's direction, who looked particularly annoyed.

            "Miss Granger, please." He insisted and his desk cleared off with a *pop*, leaving room for his folded hands on top of the remaining papers. "I'm very happy to inform you that Mr. Malfoy has 'woken up,' as he put it," he added with a smile as Draco re-adjusted himself on the seat, "and will be working against Voldemort for the Order. He has rejected his roots and become a loyal to us. He will forever be in the service of good…"

             "'Til death do us part," Draco added, almost seriously.

            His and Dumbledore's eyes met in mutual understanding, an understanding Hermione knew she would never be able to grasp. As this new information set in, her shock was replaced by worry and fear.

            He cannot be trusted. She searched Draco's face for the man she hated more than anything, but he wasn't there. Where hate once lay in his heart, there was now a smile. Hermione shook her head, people don't change…

            The three sat in silence for a moment: Hermione staring with vice at Draco, who had found something terribly funny near his feet. Dumbledore gazed at each of them in turn, a smile creeping to his lips. "You will be working together very closely," Hermione's eyes shot towards Dumbledore's stern glare. "I strongly suggest you work out any problems you have…"

            They stared down at the red carpet beneath them.

            "Well that is all. You may return to your dormitory. The password is 'Faulkes,' and you can find the main entrance on the third floor near the charms classroom (you should be able to find it easily)."

            "Main entrance?" Hermione questioned, but Draco was already on his way to the door. She retreated, puzzled and followed the quickly disappearing green robes.

            "Malfoy!" she shouted as they reached an immense stone sculpture of a lion and a snake intertwined.

            "Faulkes." Draco mumbled. On cue, the lion lifted its paws slowly from the ground. Hermione watched from a distance as an entire portion of the wall rotated began to rotate. She squealed and jumped up to his side, her body pressed to his in the small amount of space.

             After a fleeting moment darkness, the stone churned to a stop inside a warm room. The fire crackled in the hearth as Hermione took in the room in its entirety. "Wow" they said in unison. The room was draped in thick red and gold and silver and green threads. Thick curtains hung over enormous windows stretching from floor to 20-foot ceiling. Plush couches were piled high with pillows and blankets with a cozy black coffee table to finish the affect.

            "Bloody enjoyed the new entrance didn't we, Granger?" Malfoy questioned, raising his brow.

            Hermione stopped and looked at him. She was still clinging to his robe, her head pressed into his shoulder. She tore away from him immediately, her cheeks burning with rage.

             "Go to hell, Malfoy." She replied ruthlessly, turning on her heel towards to room marked "Miss Granger" in a swirl of colors and scripts.

            "You'd like that wouldn't you, mudblood?" He threw back at her, resting his arm on the lion's head next to him smirking as she stopped in the door frame.

            She paused and looked over her shoulder through her curls. "A serpent does not lose his venom." And she slammed the door behind her, leaving Draco alone with the Snake and the Lion.