A/N: here it is, the chapter to make up for yesterday's absence

Draco was walking alone on the grounds, trying not to think. He had always been able to dsitract himself whenever he felt alone. He had always found a way to bear the unbearable. Lately, however, the isolation was eating at his soul. The lies he was forced to tell were eating out his throat. The cruel mask he wore was making it difficult for him to hold his head up right. Worse of all, her eyes were burned into his retinas.

If only she understood, if only he knew that she understood, he was certain all of this would be easier than it had ever been. He wouldn't be surviving anymore, he would be living. Fuck, he was falling for her, and that was only because he refused to admit he had already done so, completely.

Why was it this easy to capture his heart? It wasn't like he knew her or anything. They had spent half an hour together, most of it in silence, and shared a few moments of silent exchange as they looked each other in the eye. How was it bloody possible for him fall for her over that?

Oh, wait, that's right, because he was BLEEDING ALONE IN THIS FUCKING WORLD! Maybe that was it.

He was so lost in his own world and trying so hard to escape it that he didn't notice her sitting on a bench just up the walk.

She was so engrossed in her book that she didn't hear him approaching.

It wasn't until he tripped over her outstretched feet that either of them looked up.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, jumping up and kneeling down next to him. "Are you all right? I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have had my feet in the middle of the path!" She was trying to help him up and see if he was hurt at the same time.

"No," he stood and brushed himself off, "it's my fault. I should have been watching where I was going." He offered his hand to help her up.

She took it.

Once she was standing they just stood there, looking at each other.

He wanted to tell her everything. No one else was around. No one else would see. He wanted to explain, to let her know everything that had gone through his head in the past months, in the past years, in his life. He wanted to tell her so badly.

She wanted to say something, anything encouraging. She wanted to let him know it was safe with her. She wanted to help him with whatever was obviously torturing him. His eyes looked so pained, so desperate. But what could she say?

Her eyes were so sympathetic, so understanding all ready. She deserved to know, didn't she? She was the only one who had ever wanted to, that was for sure. She looked so concerned, so...desperate to help him, he could see it in her eyes. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't make his mouth move.

He looked so tired, so afraid. He looked so small and vulnerable. Draco Malfoy looked vulnerable. She moved her hand to reach out to him, to touch his shoulder reasuringly, but she couldn't bring herself to take that risk and so her fingers just closed reluctantly and her arm lowered again. She opened her mouth to say something but she closed it when she realized she didn't have anything to say.

She wanted to understand so bad. She cared about him. He could see that. If he explained...it would only bring more darkness to her world. If she was worried for him now, details would only make it worse. He had to protect her. She would hate him for it, if she ever found out, that much he knew, but he didn't have a choice. He would just keep her from ever finding out. He smiled ruefully to himself and lowered his eyes. Raising them again he looked as deeply into her eyes as he could, bringing his hand up to cup her face. He ran his thumb along her cheekbone, closing his eyes. Dropping his hand, he walked away from her.

She would never forget that moment for as long as she lived. His stormy grey eyes...that last look...that last touch...the way he had clenched his jaw before dropping his hand... She watched him walk away and out of sight before sitting back down on the bench and staring at the ground.

That was where Hermione found her two hours later, sitting on that bench, staring at the ground. She sat down next to the red-head without a word. After a few minutes, she gently touched the other girl's shoulder. "Gin?"

Ginny looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "He...he's...a fucking moron!" She broke down into tears and Hermione wrapped her arms around the trembling figure beside her.

Once Ginny had calmed down, Hermione asked, "All right. We knew that." Ginny laughed reluctantly between sniffs. "What, precisely, did he do now?" Her tone was so soft and caring.

"He's protecting me. He won't talk to me or tell me what's going on because he doesn't want me to hurt anymore, to worry anymore," Ginny told her shoes.

"Is that what he said?" Hermione reached out and put a few strands of Ginny's hair behind her ear.

"No. He didn't say anything. Well, he said he should have been watching where he was going," she shrugged at the irrelevence of such a remark. "He was walking, I was reading. He tripped over my feet," she explained. "Anyway, I apologized, he said it was his fault, helped me up from where I had knelt beside him, and then we just stood there, staring at each other. All the pain and regret I saw before was so much more intense, with the added weight of desperation. He seemed so lost and so alone, more than ever. He wanted to talk, I know he did, but he never said a thing."

Hermione shifted so she was sitting sideways on the bench with one leg bent and lying in front of her.

Ginny did the same so she was facing the other girl and actually looked at her. "Then something happened, and he made a decision. He looked down at the ground and then back up. When he looked back up his expression had completely changed. It still had the pain and regret and loneliness, but the vulnerability was gone. His eyes were so intense, so deep, so strong and determined. He put his hand on my face as he looked at me," she raised her own hand to where his had been and paused for a moment, eyes clouding over, drifting off into the moment, "and just before he closed his eyes," she continued, "I saw nothing but pure concern and...and...I don't want to...Mi, I swear I saw..."

"Affection?" Hermione supplied, understanding why such and observation would be so hard to make.

Ginny nodded, looking like she felt a bit silly to claim such a thing.

Hermione sighed, "If he reached out to you like that, held your cheek, I think it's a pretty safe assumption," she said gently.

Ginny nodded slightly. "Anyway, after he closed his eyes, he clenched his jaw like he was steeling himself for something, and walked away." She looked up, "He's protecting me, Mi, I know he is."

Hermione put her hand on the back of Ginny's head and pulled her forward for an awkward hug as they both leaned over their own legs. "Well, maybe some day you'll get an opportunity to protect him."