"Who are you trying to save?"

Hermione heard someone say to her, looking around she recognized this room. The dirt for floors, weak walls, dripping ceiling, she knew this place all to well. "Answer me, who are you trying to save?" The voice asked again, a little more violently. Hermione opened her mouth to answer but couldn't speak. She tried to pull her hands to her mouth to try and find out why, but found it increasingly difficult to move them, looking down she saw her legs bound together by sharp rope, then tied to the legs of a chair, looking for her arms she could now see why they wouldn't move, they were tied behind her. "Her." She heard someone say from behind her, turning her head she saw Draco step out of the shadows. "Why save such filth? A woman of dirt in her blood. She's not even a human but not a witch." She heard the voice saying. Shaking her head she kept trying to argue. "She went through pain. She finally thought what she should have in the beginning, Potter wasn't a hero, nor her friend. The same could be said for Weasley, looking right past her. Everyone could see who she was but the one who supposedly loved her. I did save her." She heard Draco say.

How could he? She wanted to hurt him. He didn't save her. How could he even possibly think she thought those things about her friends? She knew Harry went through trouble, and it wasn't Ron's fault he looked right past her, she was bruised and cut, thin and dirty.

"Do tell, how did you save her, Malfoy" She heard another voice say, but she didn't need to look. It was Ron. He spoke in a rather angry tone, but still calm at the same time.

"I saved her by changing her. No longer did she hide behind you and Potter, she was able to come out into the open into her own. Honestly, what do you think she was doing with me that night in the hall?"

"Don't listen, Ron! I loved you, I still love you!" She heard a voice exactly like hers choke out, as if it were dying. . Turning she saw herself locked in a cage, chained to the end of it. "Look at whose saying it, someone whose unable to move, unable to breath."

She watched Ron looked at her with a depressed stare. He moved his hand down to his pocket and pulled out his wand facing it towards the caged and chained Hermione Granger. "She needs to die" She heard another voice of hers say. "Kill her, it's the only way she can be put to peace, Ronald," she heard herself say again. She shook her head as she watched herself and Draco step behind him. Ron shook his head mocking her, and dropped his wand, as soon as he did so a long green light went into his back. She watched in horror as he fell to the floor immobile. Looking up she saw her free self holding the wand that killed him. Looking back towards her chained self she watched it die. Only then did someone address her, her free self walked over to her and dropped the wand in her lap, smirking. "You killed your own true love." They said. "No, I didn't!" She heard herself yell, clasping her hands over her mouth she realized she was free. "No-no I was locked up. Tied!" She yelled, and watched herself smirk even wider. "You were completely free, how else could he have died? Your blood is now pure, Draco made your blood pure. Ron was only keeping it of mud," they said then disappeared.

"I didn't kill him! I love him, I didn't kill him! No Please!" Hermione woke up being shaken by someone. Looking up she saw Draco in immediate reaction she screamed and rolled over, falling off the bed. "Hermione! Hermione calm down, it was only a dream!" Draco yelled picking her up off the floor and laying her back down on the bed. "No! No, Ron was dead! I killed him! I killed someone!" Hermione yelled back at Draco starting to cry. She looked up at him with pleading eyes hopping he'd tell her Ron was alive. Draco studied her then pulled her into his arms. "Weasley is fine, Hermione. In fact him, potter, and the other Weasley's are down stairs right now, we've all got a surprise for you." Draco said in a reassuring voice, still cradling her in his arms. Hermione looked up at him and shook her head.

She didn't want to see Ron or the others, she still wanted to be left alone. She wanted to go back to sleep in the cold room and stay there, but Draco forced her up out of the bed and eventually after much arguing down the stairs. Hermione forced a half-assed smile as she spotted the Weasley Family. Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny all lined up. Then Mrs. and Mr. Weasley next to them. After a long, drawn out hugging and "you look so different" session they all retired to the living room, to where Hermione forced herself to sit as far away from them all as possible. "Well, Hermione. I said we all had a surprise and we do. I have a business trip around Christmas, and it looks like I won't be home in time to celebrate, so Mrs. Weasley and her family have agreed to come and stay here with you." Draco announced gleefully. Hermione eyed him, then narrowed her eyes at him. "Excuse me?" Hermione asked sharply, dropping her fake smile and persona. "What's wrong, dear? I thought you'd be happy." Draco asked innocently. Hermione forced another tight-grip smile and nodded. "Oh, of course! I couldn't be happier!" Hermione said pushing herself up out of the chair and walking out of the room, flinging the back of her hand against a tea setting Lerita had been bringing. The reaction caused a sudden crash of dishes and shattering of glass.

Ron watched Hermione leave then, rolling his eyes forced himself up. "Excuse me, everyone. I think I should talk to her." He said storming after her, heading her off at the staircase. Ron had already been angry about Draco's proposal and the fact he now had to spend Christmas with the woman he liked least of all right now, but for Hermione to storm out on his family and the closest people she had to them, pushed him too far. Getting in front of her, he grabbed her just above the elbows tightly and forced her to look him in the eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Hermione looked up at him wiggling her arms trying to get out of his grip, refusing to answer she stomped on his foot which only seemed to make him dig his fingers into her arm deeper. "I'm tired of this fit you're having, Hermione! I don't want to be here now, and I don't want to be here then, but my family wanted to see you!" Ron yelled at her. Still refusing to answer, she just kept wiggling almost as if she couldn't hear him. Letting out a low growl, Ron pulled her up the stairs until he reached a long grand hall way. "Which room is yours?" He asked stubbornly still maintaining his grip on her arm. Hermione wiggled even more, finally realizing she was not going to get out of his grip she nodded towards her door and was dragged into the room. Ron shut and locked the door and then let her go. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" He asked again. Hermione sat herself down on the bed and looked up at him.

She couldn't figure out what to say or how to say it. She wanted to cry but knew she couldn't. Finally Hermione looked down and began to speak. "I want my life with Draco, I love him and I want to marry him and have a family with him, well that's what I'm trying to convince myself I want." She said finally. Ron looked at her in shock then made his way to a chair next to the bed. "So what do you really want?"

That was the exact question Hermione didn't want to answer, looking back up at him with tears in her eyes she was trying hard to force herself to just say the one word, only one word she kept reminding herself. "You." She finally said, but now felt even worse then before. "When I left after our seventh year, I went with Draco. He knew what I was going through, at least, more then you could. He lost his parents too, Ron. He was comforting, he was loyal, but as soon as you touched me I wanted you again. Do you know what that did to me? Wanting so much to be able to come home to Draco and become happy about our wedding plans, but then I couldn't, I couldn't even bring myself to be nice to him after we almost kissed. You ruined everything!" She started yelling but then calmed down again. "And I actually am glad about it..." she finished, everything seemed to stun Ron. She wasn't even sure he heard her until he got up from the chair, moved right in front of her then pulled her tightly too him and kissed her. Like the very words she said was everything he wanted to hear. Unwilling to pull away, Hermione kissed him back wrapping her arms around his neck. They were both melting into each other, into the feelings they'd both tried hard to forget, and only one thing could prevent the feelings and hopes from coming true.

Suddenly a loud knock came from the wood, and the handles started to jiggle.