I guess I should start adding a disclaimer. Haha…as much as I wish I was J.K.R., I'm not. Aside from the enormous wealth I would have, I would more importantly know what will happen in the seventh book. But alas, I do not own these characters and I would be very, very sued if I tried to…sigh

000

Hermione didn't get much sleep in the hours after she thanked Draco Malfoy for saving her life. She'd done it because she'd known it was the right thing to do. More than that she'd done it because she knew she'd never have a clear conscience if she didn't. A load of good that was doing her now…

She drifted in and out of consciousness for about six hours, never quite able to organize herself into sleep. At 6:00AM her alarm went off and she pulled herself out of bed. The sheets were twisted everywhere and most of her pillows were on the floor. She grabbed her wand of her nightstand and cast the spell to make the bed. Emendo.

She could see the early stages of morning through the window. Birds were twittering. Blue light glowed on the tops of the mountains. It was beautiful, but Hermione didn't notice. She wandered into the bathroom and turned the shower on.

She felt an annoying pang as she locked her side of Malfoy's door, but she ignored it.

It never took Hermione long to shower – she wasn't the type to fritter away time doing needless things. But today, Hermione stood under the hot water for a long time, letting the water warm her and awaken her exhausted mind and body.

When she stepped out she stood in front of the large mirror and stared at herself. This was something she hadn't done in a long time. She didn't really like mirrors to begin with, but more than that, she didn't have the time for them. But today was different.

She felt as though she barely knew her own reflection. Her appearance was normal. The same long and unshorn coffee-colored hair. The same brown eyes and creamy pale skin. But as she looked closer she saw more.

She felt uncomfortable looking at her naked body this way, as though the things that were tearing her apart inside were apparent on her skin, mocking her, saying, 'This is what you are, Hermione."

She wanted to look away or break the mirror but she forced herself to keep looking. If she stopped, if she walked away, it would mean her reflection had won. So she looked harder. She walked closer and stared hard at her own face. When she saw tears rolling down it she didn't even blink. She noticed the familiar light freckles on the bridge of her nose and hated them. They too were an outward manifestation of the imperfection she felt inside.

Finally the mirror won. She picked up the bar of soap from next to the sink and threw it as hard as she could at the mirror. It made a shattering noise and a line of splinters ran out from the point of impact. Hermione picked up her clothes off the floor and walked out of the bathroom without a backward glance.

-

Draco hadn't slept at all. After Hermione had gone into her room Draco had closed to door of his and turned on the light. He was still fully clothed from the day before. His pants and hands were stained in Hermione's blood and her felt dirty. Dirty for having her blood all over him and even dirtier for what it meant, that he had saved her. He had willingly, no fearfully carried her body to the Hospital Wing.

If Lucius could see me now…He though bitterly.

He stripped down to nothing, wanting all the thoughts that were disgracing him to vanish with his clothes. He turned out the light and got into bed again. But he was far from sleep. He watched the moon's progression as it arched through the sky until it was gone behind the mountain and Draco was left only with his thoughts.

At about five after six he heard the water turn on in the room next to his. Hermione was taking a shower. He turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Draco put a silencing charm on the room while he was in there. When he heard the shower door open and close nearly twenty minutes later he wondered why she hadn't done the same.

It didn't matter, in a few moments she would be gone and he could take her place. He waited for several minutes to hear her leave, but she didn't. He would have heard her door if she had. Maybe she had and he hadn't noticed. Just as he was rolling over to stare back out the window he heard a noise like glass breaking from the bathroom.

What the hell…?

He got out of bed and walked over to the door expecting it to be locked but it opened easily and he looked inside. The room was empty and completely normal except for the mirror. There was a circular shatter right in the middle.

Draco frowned. Why the hell was Granger destroying school property? He retrieved his wand from his room and repaired it. He looked at her closed door and wondered what was going on behind it. But he didn't have much time to dwell on it. Hermione had said that Dumbledore wanted to see them before breakfast and that didn't leave him much time.

If Granger hadn't spent forty-five bleeding minutes in the bathroom…girls.

Draco washed himself distractedly, his mind on the events of the night before. Aside from the confusion he felt surrounding his behavior, none of it made sense. Why would anyone want to kill Granger? Okay, bad question…

Why would anyone want to shoot Granger…with a gun? Why not use a wand? And why did they miss? The whole thing was crazy. Maybe Dumbledore would explain it…

With that thought to encourage him, Draco sped himself up. In a few short minutes he was dressed in his school robes and heading down to Dumbledore's office.

He arrived at the Headmaster's Gargoyle and uttered the password, snickers bar. Whatever that was… He knocked on the door and heard Dumbledore's voice tell him to enter. He expected to find Hermione already there with an annoyingly impatient expression on her face, but she wasn't. There were two chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk and both were empty until the old man motioned for Draco to sit in one of them and he obeyed.

"Where is Miss Gra-?"

"I don't know." Draco said shortly. He wasn't the mudblood's keeper.

"I see…" Said Dumbledore calmly. "Well I trust she's on her way. Our Head Girl isn't one to keep others waiting, is she?"

Draco grunted in response. He couldn't remember feeling this supremely uneasy in a long time.

"While we're waiting, Draco, I would like to address the issue of-"

A quiet knock on the door announced Hermione's arrival.

"Ah. Well we can address the issue later."

If it was possible, Draco began to feel even more supremely uneasy. He wondered what the atmosphere between them would be. He was exceptionally apprehensive as Dumbledore crossed the room to let the Head Girl in.

Draco suddenly didn't know what to do with his hands. His neck felt itchy and he grimaced uncomfortably as he reached up to scratch it, tilting his head down.

Within moments Hermione was walking across the room. She looked solemn and blank. Her face was expressionless as she sat down in the chair next to Draco. She didn't so much as look at him.

Draco realized she was determinedly avoiding him, refusing to acknowledge his presence. So he followed her lead. If that was the way it was going to be it was fine with him. He relaxed his body and sat up straight, matching her aloof mannerism. To think he had let him self be unsettled. To think he had let himself appear unsettled…it was not behavior befitting a Malfoy.

"Miss Granger. I trust I find you well, considering last night's events." Said Dumbledore.

"I'm fine." Said Hermione the same toneless voice that he'd heard her use once before, when McGonagall asked her if she was all right and she responded with the same two words. "I'm fine." She'd said.

Judging by the mirror he'd just repaired and the emptiness in her voice, Hermione clearly wasn't fine. But Draco wasn't about to push the issue. Dumbledore would have to have been blind and deaf not to make the same conclusion, but he didn't seem to think this was the time or place to question Hermione about her feelings.

Draco expected this was more out of respect for Hermione's dignity than any enjoyment in seeing Hermione suffer, which was a large part of what kept Draco from playing the concerned Head Boy.

Still, she'd said thank you. But that wasn't enough. It almost made it worse. I was like rubbing in the fact that he'd betrayed himself. Granger could fret about it. It would do her some good. Know-it-all bitty…

"I'm glad to hear you haven't suffered any lasting damage then." Said the old man kindly.

-

Let's not go that far…thought Hermione bitterly. The bullet wound may have disappeared without a trace, but the damage, the real damage, was permanent. She owed Draco a debt. And as much as she wanted for it to be, the simple 'thank you' she'd offered last night just wasn't going to cut it. There was no way around it. She owed Draco Malfoy her life, and that was a very frightening thought.

She didn't know what to say or do now. She hadn't asked to be shot and she hadn't asked Malfoy for help. She didn't know why he'd chosen to help her and she wasn't sure she really wanted to know. But she did want to know who'd attacked her and why. She assumed that Dumbledore had called her here to tell her something about it. Though why he'd invited Malfoy…

"Miss Granger, have any other details come to you since we last spoke about the matter?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, Professor." She answered.

"Forgive an old man's impertinence, but I must ask you to recount everything that you remember, from leaving the Great Hall to waking up in the Hospital Wing, just one more time."

Hermione was silent for a long moment. If she recounted everything, that would include everything that had happened with Malfoy. Hermione wasn't particularly keen on reliving that scene, but she knew she couldn't lie to Dumbledore, nor leave anything out when he'd specifically asked her for every detail.

She sighed deeply through her nose, her lips pursed tightly, then began.

-

Draco's interest was roused in spite of himself when Dumbledore asked Hermione to give an account of what had happened to her, as he was not even sure of the details. He tilted his head toward her enough so that he could see her when she spoke but still maintain a safe appearance of disinterest.

"I left the Great Hall and was walked to my room." She began. "I was almost there, in the corridor outside my common room-"

Her common room?

"I heard voices around a corner near by. I didn't think much of it because it was early. Then I felt the pain in my leg." She paused, as though not sure what to say next.

"Please go on." Said Dumbledore, removing his fingers from his chin in an encouraging gesture.

"I looked down and realized I was bleeding. It hurt. A lot."

"I should imagine so." He said softly.

"Then I walked into the common room-"

Fell, more like.

"And I, tripped on the carpet."

Collapsed in agony, Granger. Don't pretty it up.

"Then Malfoy-"

Draco looked forward again.

"Offered to help me up."

Yeah, and you told me to stay away from you.

"I made it to the bathroom. I wanted to get a closer look at my leg."

You forgot to mention how you slammed the door in my face…

"I was bleeding pretty heavily by then, so I when I tried to lift my skirt of my leg it was sort of stuck to the wound. The harder I pulled the worse the pain got."

So that's why she screamed.

"Then Malfoy came in to the bathroom and pulled my skirt of the wound for me."

Draco's neck was itching uncomfortably again…

"I think the bleeding got worse after that…"

Oh you noticed too? Very astute of you, genius…

"That's really all I remember." She said tentatively. "I think I blacked out and then…I woke up in the Hospital Wing."

"Thank you, Hermione. That was helpful." Said Dumbledore with a smile.

Was it? I figured that much out on my own. She didn't even say anything.

"Mr. Malfoy, would you pick up where she left off? I'm assuming of course that you remember what happened after Miss Granger lost consciousness."

You assume correctly. Draco though with an inward smirk.

"Uhhh, yeah." He said, clearing his throat a little. "Miss Granger lost consciousness and I escorted her to the Hospital Wing."

You carried her. She bled all over you and you carried her anyway, remember?

"That's all."

This was pointless in Draco's opinion. They were getting nowhere. This was not new information. It was very obvious to everyone involved what had happened after Granger fainted. Draco got the feeling that Dumbledore knew all this and was deliberately making he and Granger state the obvious in front of each other for some twisted reason. This annoyed him greatly.

"Thank you." Said Dumbledore, nodding. "Now I must pose a few questions, first to you, Hermione"

Hermione nodded.

"Do you remember if the voices you heard were male of female?"

Hermione thought for a moment then said, "No. I suppose I wasn't er…paying attention." She flushed pink and Draco snorted.

Leave it to Granger to be embarrassed about not paying attention when her life was in jeopardy.

"Naturally." Said Dumbledore, ignoring Draco's snort. "And do you think it was more than one voice you heard?"

"It must have been." She said. "Yes. I think there were at least two voices."

Finally! That's the first bit of useful information we've heard…

Dumbledore nodded and then turned his attention to Draco again. "And did you notice anything out of the ordinary as you were, escorting your partner to the Hospital wing?"

Partner? Let's not say things we can't take back…

"Were there any other people? Did you see anything odd as you went?"

Draco was able to say truthfully that he did not, as he had reluctantly replayed the scene over and over in his mind looking for some detail that might have shed some light on the situation.

"No, Professor." He said quietly. This was so inane…

"Very well." Said Dumbledore in a tone of finality. "Then I must share with you both what I can."

He had both students' full attention.

"I'm afraid I know nothing more about the circumstances surrounding the attack than you do-"

Figures.

"But there is one thing I can give you that will help."

Dumbledore reached down and pulled an item out of a drawer and placed it simply on his desk front of Hermione and Draco. They were staring at a small silver bullet.

Hermione gave a small shiver of recognition. The thing had been lodged in her leg only several hours before. She stared fixedly at it for a long moment then looked up at Dumbledore.

"Professor, I don't want to seem impolite, but how does this help us?" She asked timidly.

Draco was wondering the same thing himself.

Dumbledore smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked. You'll be happy to know that I spent a good while speaking to Arthur Weasley on this very matter last night, as it falls under it exact area of expertise. This is a muggle weapon, Hermione. Muggle weapons, much like curses, leave traces of themselves when used improperly."

Hermione nodded and Dumbledore continued. "And often when used properly." He added fairly. "In this case, when this bullet was fired from the gun that was used, it was imprinted with the gun's signature, so to speak."

When Hermione and Draco continued to stare blankly, Dumbledore went on.

"Let me be more specific. When a bulled travels through the barrel of a gun, it receives an imprint of the barrel itself. The shell is marked with whatever it traveled past."

"Ooooh." Said Hermione, comprehending. Draco understood but didn't say anything.

"Quite." Dumbledore said, nodding. Arthur informed me that a normal bullet when fired would receive spiral markings from the barrel of the gun-"

"But how does that-?"

"Look closely at the bullet." Dumbledore

Hermione and Draco leaned forward eagerly, not even noticing how close they were to each other. Hermione gasped.

"There's nothing there!"

"Exactly." Said Dumbledore nodding. "Clearly, this was fired from an unusual gun. Whether it has been magically tampered with has yet to be determined. There's more though. Look at the bullet again."

This time Hermione and Draco knocked heads painfully as they leaned forward.

"Ouch!" Said Hermione, messaging the lump forming on her head and scowling at Draco.

"Damn it Granger, watch where your head is!" Draco said, doing the same thing with his hand.

"Watch where my head is?" She said, outraged by his nerve. "You are such a-"

Dumbledore cleared his throat patiently.

"Sorry, Professor." Mumbled Hermione.

Draco grumbled something incomprehensible, which was actually a cross between, "I'm sorry too," and "You should be."

"We all forget ourselves sometimes." Said Dumbledore simply. "Now look at the bullet again."

This time Draco was more careful as he leaned forward to inspect the bullet. He squinted his eyes and say what Dumbledore was speaking of.

"C.E.S." Draco said, perplexed.

"Initials." Said Hermione, sounding equally baffled. "But who-?"

"Wait." Said Draco. "Arthur Weasley said that there should be spiral markings on the bullet. Why would there be initials, but no markings?"

"That, Mr. Malfoy, is what I would like Miss Granger to find out."

"What?" Said Hermione and Draco together in an equally sharp voice.

"Hermione, I would like you to leave school for a little while. I want you to go find out whose initials are C.E.S."

"But-but…" She stuttered desperately. "I wouldn't even know where to start, Professor." Her eyes were wide in shock and anxiety. "Why?"

"Because this happened to you, Hermione. You are of age now. As much as I want to solve this for you, it is up to you to get to the bottom of it."

Draco got the feeling there was more to Dumbledore's reasons than he was saying. "Professor." Draco said, not knowing why he was saying it, but unable to stop himself. "How can she possibly figure it out on her own?"

"She won't be on her own." Said Dumbledore.

The two students were stone silent.

"I want you to go with her, Mr. Malfoy."

"WHAT?" Draco and Hermione shouted together in equally outraged voices. They turned and glared at each other for a brief moment before turning back to glare at Dumbledore.

Hermione recovered first. "Professor, I don't know why you are asking me to do this. But I can do it by myself." She said stubbornly.

Draco snorted and Hermione glowered at him.

"You are a magnificently brilliant individual, Hermione, and your talent as a witch in unmatched, but even the best of us need help sometimes."

Draco rolled his eyes. He knew that Dumbledore was right, and he knew that Hermione would probably need help, but he was at a loss as to why it had to be him that gave it.

"Why me?" He demanded.

"I'm afraid I can't give you my reasons, Mr. Malfoy. I must ask you to trust me."

Draco glared.

"But were Heads." Hermione almost pleaded.

"Oh, not to worry." Dumbledore said brightly. "I don't think you will be gone more than a few weeks, if that. I trust in you intelligence. In the meanwhile, there are more than enough prefects to take over your duties."

Draco was screaming inside but his pride stopped him for pitching a fit. Sharing a dorm was one thing, but leaving school and traveling together, working on a mystery together, that was just too much to ask. Draco pondered all the things they would have to do together and began to feel queasy. He could flat out refuse to go, but somehow he knew that wasn't an option.

Hermione must have known it too. "What do you want us to do?" She said in a resigned voice.

Draco looked at her and found the familiar determined glance he had come to associate with her on her face. He scowled yet again.

"I will leave that up to you." Dumbledore said. "I want the two of you to go back to your quarters and discuss what you want to do next."

Hermione nodded slowly and Draco shook his head slowly, rolling his eyes and glaring at the ceiling.

You've got to be kidding me…

"Fine." He said shortly. He stood up quickly and walked out of Dumbledore's office. He'd do it. He'd play by the rules. But there were a few things he would make perfectly clear to Granger first.

He stalked back to the common room and plopped himself down in his armchair to wait for the Head Girl.

-

Hermione was still in shock at what was being asked of her, but she trusted the Head Master. As she stood to leave the office, she turned to Dumbledore and said, "Professor, is there any specific place you think I should start looking?"

Dumbledore thought for a moment before speaking.

"I think you should go home first, Hermione. Your parents are muggles, and very wise at that. They may be able to help you along."

Hermione nodded wordlessly and tried to smile. Then another though occurred to her and she spoke quickly.

"Can I tell my friends what's happened and where I'm going? I'll leave that to you also. You may tell your friends whatever you trust them to know. Although I think the fewer details you give, the better."

Hermione nodded again. "Thank you, Professor, for your help."

"You're welcome, Miss Granger. Good luck."

000

A/N-

Okay, this chapter took me a while to write because I had to do quite a bit off in depth research to make sure what I'm planning for the story is plausible. I'm happy to say that it is and I hope to take you all for a wild ride…

The first part of the chapter came easily and I really enjoyed writing it, the scenes in the bathroom, but I had a horrible case of writer's block when they got to Dumbledore's office. I finally just had to sit down and play spider solitaire until I recovered. I hope the scene turned out okay. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for the reviews, I love to read them!

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