A/N Okay, the whole Clarice/Ignatious thing was totally not how I wanted to go, but I felt like having a little fun in this chapter. Maybe later I'll have them have to do something with the ending. I don't know, I might just delete it and redo the first and this chapter.

Chapter Seven: Out For A Run

Draco put his hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling. Hermione had convinced him to stay the night so that she could think of something to get him to stay period. The truth was, though, that all he needed was her.

"No," he heard her mumble from the bed she had conjoured up beside him. "Please. I love you." Draco's head shot up. "Don't leave me."

'Who is she talking about?' He wondered.

"I'll do it. Anything. No, not that. Please, don't leave me. No. Don't take him away." She began to toss around in the bed. Her face was scrunched up and began to become drenched in sweat.

Under any circumstances, Draco would have naughty thoughts and wait until she woke up to comment on in, but instead he rushed over to her side on the bed and took her gently by the shoulders and pulled her up into his arms. She calmed down a bit and nuzzled into his chest. She put her hand to his chest, from inside his arms, and sighed.

"I love you Iggy."

I was in the woods, waiting for my beloved Ignatious. My blue, satin gown was torn and covered with mud. The school dance was being ransacked by a group of men. I had fought back with all my might along with my classmates and teachers, but the cops came to the scene and brought everyone out, and before I could say a word, I was brought to an ambulance with several of the other students.

As soon as I was sure no one was paying attention, I ran towards the woods. Ignatious would always show up there whenever he knew I was in danger, upset, or just wanted to talk to him, which all seemed to be more often than usual lately.

All of a sudden, I heard voices coming toward me. With my gown in my hands, I ran as fast as I could to the lake where Ignatious and I first met. My shoe suddeny got caught in a tree's root that had been sticking out from the ground.

As much as I tried to pull it out, my foot would not budge.

"Clarice!" It was Ignatious! He began running toward me. He kicked the root and broke it before sliding my foot from it's prison. He picked me up bridal style and took me behind the largest tree in the area before setting me down.

We looked at each other longingly as I swept him into a deep embrace.

"Reese, no." He pulled us apart and took my hands in his. "Those men were after you."

"How did you know about them?" I asked as I rubbed my sore ankle.

"My family. They do not want us together. They want you dead." His voice was grave.

I shot up, all pain forgotten. "But I love you. They can't take you away from me. I won't let them!" I stomped my other foot onto the ground, not caring that I looked or sounded like a five year old.

"Do you think that I don't love you? I don't want you to get hurt."

"No! Please, I love you." My eyes filled with hot tears. "Don't leave me!" I began to cry.

"Please Reese," Tears began to form in his beautiful blue eyes, "please don't cry. I would die if anything happened to you. Especially that I could prevent. And you know what you can do to save your life."

"I'll do it. Anything." He looked away from me, up towards the sky. He was saying what I was hoping he would never say. "No! Not that! Please don't leave me!"

All of a sudden, a group of men, dressed similarly as the ones who were at my school grabbed each of Iggy's arms as they pulled him back onto the tree.

"NO! DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY!" They each disappeared with a pop. One at a time, until the only ones remaining were the three holding Ignatious and Iggy himself. As soon as everyone was gone, I knew that I would never see my love again. I felt as though a meteor had come crashing and destroyed my world. With the feeling of a ton of bricks in my stomach, I slowly whispered, "I love you Iggy". I refused to let a tear fall as the words came from my mouth.

"Hermione?" I heard, "Wake up Hermione."

I opened my eyes and looked up. Draco was holding me in his arms. My whle body felt cold and damp.

We looked at each other for a long time. He looked familiar, like I had seen him before, but not from school. I was so tired, though, I could barely think.

"Hermione, are you okay?" He whispered as I began to drift off.

"I am now," I replied as I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

I woke up with a start. Hermione was still in my arms! I must have fallen asleep right after her.

As carefully as I could, I placed the still sleeping Hermione under the covers. Her soft brown hair fell flowed behind her head on her pillow. She was like a sleeping angel.

Yawning, I went back into the bed I had been sleeping in before and crept under the covers so get a bit more sleep in before Potter came in to interrogate me.

I looked over t the clock on the nightstand. It was six in the morning. I should be able to get at least another hour and a half.

Wierd, three weeks ago today my mother was killed. Two weeks, six days, twelve and a half hours. My face began to tingle and I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Tears began to fill my eyes. My mother was dead, my father was in prison, I had no family, no friends, and the only person I had ever cared for as more than a friend hated my guts.

I'm pissed cause you came around

Why don't you just go home

Cause you channel al your pain

and I can't help you fix yourself

Your making me insane

All I can say is

I tear my heart open

I sew myself shut

My weakness is

That I care too much

Our scars remind us

That the past is real

I tear my heart

Open just to feel

Loud music began to come from the clock beside me. Damn muggle music. At least it distracted me from my pain.

Hermione began to stir. I heard her get up out of bed and shuffle to the bathroom. Not a minute after she closed the door, I heard it slam open as she rushed over to turn the music off.

"Sorry, did it wake you?" She asked as soon as the music stopped.

"Oh, uh, no. I was up before. Couldn't sleep." I tried to convince her, turning my face away so she could not see how upset I was. After all, it was true.

"Oh, well, why don't you get some sleep. I usually go for a run around this time with Harry and Ron, but I'm letting them sleep in."

"Would you like me to come?" I asked. I needed to get out in the fresh air. Maybe then I could get her to listen.

"No. You regain your strength. You should have seen how worn out you were yesterday." She was so careing.

"Are you sure?" Why was I asking? I was exhausted.

"It's fine. Besides, I tihnk we both know that I have some stuff to think about." She let out a small, nervous smile.

I forced a smile back at her and fell back into the sheets as soon as I saw her close the door.

As she neared the end of her second mile, Hermione changed the song on her iPod to "Photograph" by Nickelback. She needed a calmer song than The Black Eyed Peas's "My Humps".

She felt the cool breeze against her exposed legs. She had chosen short black Soffee shorts with a red sports bra and her hair in a high ponytail to wear this morning.

'Why did he have to come here?' Hermione thought to herself.

Throughout her whole run so far, from even before she left the house, Draco Malfoy would not leave her mind. Yes, they used to be friends, but everything's different now. She was supposed to help Harry fulfill his destiny and defeat Voldemort. Maybe it was Draco's destiny to help too? No! That can't be. But what if, oh shit.

Hermione looked ahead of her and found herself not ten feet away from Jerry.

"Why Hello Granger." He said when he was only a few feet away from her. "Enjoying a little run?"

"Oh, hello Jerry." Hermione took the earpieces out of her ears and paused the music. She did not know what was up with him, but something didn't seem right.

"So, interesting day yesterday. You'll never believe what happened after I finally got the taste of worm out of my mouth." Jerry looked down at her petite figure.

"You went out and got more mouthwash?"

"No, dad's a dentist, had plenty. Dudley told me, though, that that wasn't your first time making an ass out of one of their friends." Hermione felt a blush come on, but fought it. "Then he told me that you were his, and made me eat a whole bucket of worms."

Hermione didn't know what was going on. Was he going to get mad? Was he turned on by a bad girl? What was he going to do?

"So what are you gonna do about it?" She asked as she looked him suqare in the eyes.

"Nothing. Just wanted to tell you that I am impressed." Hermione was surprised, to say the least.

"Um, okay. Well I have to finish my run." Hermione tried to get around him, but he moved to be in front of her. Hermione sighed. "Don't you have to be getting ready for some second grade class that you failed for the tenth time?"

"Actually, I was thinking of playing sick today. Maybe hanging out with a very hot girl from down the block." Jerry winked at her.

"Well then why don't you go find her, 'cause I have to go." He was beginning to get on her nerves.

Jerry looked down at her with a knowing face and smiled. "I do enjoy a challenge now and again, yet helping you to understand me is becoming a little irritating."

"Y'know, you'd think that I would be the one saying this considering that I'm not the one who has to retake classes because of failure. Have a nice day." Before anything else could be said, she put the earpieces back into her ears and ran around him.

"What a loser." She said to herself after running a few yards.

"I couldn't agree more." Hermione whipped her head around to see Draco standing with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a muggle shirt and jeans that Hermione had conjoured up before leaving with a pair of flip flops. His face was pale save the dark curcles under his eyes. His cheeks seemed a bit shallow and his hair was still a bit lank.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed, turning off her music and pushing him into the bushes so that no one would see them.

Draco smirked at her, or attempted a smirk. He had almost no energy. He didn't even know how he had walked this distance without collapsing. She was so cute when she was angry, though, and he could not help but want to smile. "How do muggles actually walk in these things? They are bloody annoying and keep flip flopping all abount under my feet."

"That's why they're caled flip flops and I find them to be very comfortable. Now I have answered your question, so answer mine." Hermione had to admit that when he was calm, collective, and naive, he was adorable.

"When you left, I heard Potter and Weasley say that they were excited that they didn't have to go run in the park, then Potter asked Weasley why he did something with a clock, so I came here to see if you needed a runnng buddy." His voice was almost robotic, empty, quick.

"I can run on my own, thank you. I'm not six years old or anytihng." Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"Well, I know that seeing how you took care of yourself from that loser muggle. How he was unable to tell that you did not want his company was beyond me." Draco shoved his hands into his pockets.

Truth be told, Draco was in his room, sobbing. Memories of his mother and her death seemed to flood the place. He knew that if he stayed there he would probably go into a state of depression or possibly worse. He had no energy or strength, but knew that he had to go somewhere. After changing into the clothes Hermione had conjoured up for him, he began walking, not even knowing where until he saw Hermione and that filthy muggle. Wanting nothing more than to hex the vermin, he watched at Hermione turned him down and ran away. When he heard her say "What a loser", he couldn't help but agree, though he did not mean for it to be out loud. When he was with her, he knew that he could not show any weakness, or let her on to how empty he felt inside and wanted nothing more than to just cry in her arms.

"Yes, it is annoying." Draco knew what Hermione was saying. He knew it all along, but he just wanted to be with her more than anything at that moment. Well, other than for his mother ot be alive.

"Hermione," He took a step forward, "I know you don't want me here, but please, I just can't be alone." Damn! He did not just let her see any weakness. Now she will think that he is nothing but a pansy.

Hermione looked into his pained eyes. How could she have been so cruel to him? She slid her arms around his torso and placed her, sweaty, head onto his chest.

"I'm so sorry about your mother Draco." She whispered.

Memories began to flood her. Everywhere she looked she saw an image of the two of them. She closed her eyes and told herself not to cry. She had to be the strong one. Draco needed her to be. This wasn't about her.

"When I was six, I was out with my nanny in some shopping village. Mother was sick, otherwise she would have taken me, or been there, she was always by my side whenever possible." Hermione looked up. His face was hard as he stared into the distance. What was he talking about? "Nanny was sweet, but young, so when we ran into her friends from school, she began talking to them. I wandered off into the street and saw a colorful store. Inside, there were shelves upon shelves of books. I ran over to the closest section and grabbed the highest book I could reach, knowing that the best stuff is always on the top shelf, or, well, knowing at that time. The book had a blue cover and in black writing said 'To Live, Love, and Fly. Stories By Children Ages 7-17'. I was so excited that I brought it to the back corner where big, purple chairs were set up, jumped into one and began reading it. A lot of the words were hard, but ater a while I got through the first story. By that time. I am sure that my nanny noticed I was gone because a few minutes later she came running into the store. She tried to yell at me, but the clerk shushed her. She wanted to leave right away, but I refused to leave until I finished the book. After a while, she got sick of my crying and bought it. She didn't realize until afterwards that it was a muggle book and made me throw it out. When she wasn't looking, I took it out of the trash can and wrapped it in one of my new robes." He was opening up to her! "Up until then, I had never come in contact with muggles. I hadn't even noticed one when I was there."

"Draco, are you opening up to me?" She had to be sure. When they spoke durung school, he would never speak this openly, scary as he was behaving.

"There was a story," he looked down at her, "written by a sixteen year old. She wrote about how her father would abuse her emotionally, her mother gone, and torment in school. She would always run away to a little garden and cry. One day when she was crying, a boy came over and just let her cry. The next day she went back, hoping to see the boy again, but he didn't come." He put his strong arms around her slim waist.

Hermione began to wonder why he was telling her such a depressing story. "She went there every day for a week." He continued. "On the seventh day that he didn't show up, she asked around. It turns out that the boy died the day she had met him. She wrote that he was the closest thing she had ever had to a friend and that she loved him with all her heart. One day was all it took." Hermione wondered what that meant. "She had gone to the lake to kill herself."

Hermione tightened her hold on Draco. She never wanted to let go. She hever wanted him to let her go. She only wanted to stay that way forever. Unfortunately though, forever would have to wait.

"No," she slowly pushed him away. "Draco, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry about your mother. I'm sorry about everything that's ever happened to you, but right now we need to destroy Voldemort and you need to rest." How did she know? "Don't think that I don't see the weariness in your eyes. Come on." She took his hand and led him back to the house, taking the not-so scenic route.

"Hermione, what is that?" Draco asked as he walked into the kitchen.

Hermione had totally forgotten about leaving Dudley on the refrigerator last night.

"Shit, haha. Wait right here, I'm going to go get my wand." Hermione ran out of the room.

"You left your wand here?" Draco exclaimed as soon as the door opened.

"What?" Potter mumbled as he came walking in, rubbing his eyes and half-asleep. He shuffled his feet and yawned as he reached for the refrigerator door. It was obvious that all his motions were subconsious and that he wasn't paying attention.

Hermione then walked into the room, disturbing Draco's enjoyment of Harry's idiocy. She walked up beside him and put her hads on her hips, knowing what he was smiling at.

"Oh Harry." She giggled. Harry shot his head up. "Good morning."

"Hermione? Wha-WOAH! What's Dudley doing there?"

"Oh, he was annoying me last night. So I-"

"You stuck him to the door?" Harry shook his head. "And I was already afraid to get on your bad side from first year with Neville."

Draco couldn't hold it in anymore. He began to burst out in a weak laughter.

"Stop it." Hermione hissed, slapping his arm. Draco looked down at her and noticed that she had thrown on a lime-green tank top.

"Only if you tell me what you did to Longbottom." He looked down into her chocolate brown eyes.

"Up, now." Draco turned around and left the kitchen.

"What was he doing outside of your room?" Harry demanded quietly.

Hermione said the spell to detatch Dudley and said a spell to send him up to his bed.

"I was out for my run and he just showed up." Hermione tried to shrug it off as she reached into the refrigerator for the eggs.

"Hermione, you can't just shrug this off. It's serious." Harry said as he grabbed the spatulas, pans and cutlery.

"What's serious?" Ron asked as he walked into the kitchen scratching his head.

"I came in here and found Malfoy waiting for Hermione." Harry was pissed and he let it show. "I know that you feel sorry for him 'Mione, but we still can not trust him."

"Harry, shut up. Please for once. I know you know that, and I know that we shouldn't, but please, just this once?" Hermione didn't want to have to take it anymore.

"Hermione, even I've noticed that he has too much energy that he should. One night's sleep and meal can't do that. Think about it!" Ron urged.

"Guys, just give him a break. I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower. I will be back in a few minutes to help out with breakfast." Before Harry or Ron could respond, Hermione left the kitchen.

When she got up the stairs near her room she heard noises. Putting her ear to the door, she was able to hear Draco wail out in pain.