This chapter is very intense, I hope it's worth the wait.

It may need a TW. No spoilers, so if you want to know more about it go to the end of the chapter.

Chapter Nine

Reconnecting

When the three of them stepped through the green flames they found Draco on the armchair in the corner of the room, waiting for them. He had a glass of firewhisky in his hand and his eyes narrowed at the sight of them.

"Since when do you eat that for breakfast?" Pansy asked, taking a few steps towards him.

Theo and Blaise exchanged a glance before following her.

Draco gulped down what was left in his glass, setting it down on the small table to his left.

"Since I'm fucked up," he replied quietly, watching Pansy as she sat down next to him.

"Where is Granger?" Theo asked in a shaky voice, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Draco stared at him, giving him a dark smile that sent shivers down his spine.

"Granger comes in the afternoons. She's not here to save you today."

Pansy snorted, rolling her eyes.

"We don't need her to save us, Draco. You're not going to hurt us."

He turned his head to her with a frown.

"Are you sure of that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Pansy sighed.

"Stop trying to scare us."

Blaise cleared his throat.

"Yes, stop it. It's not going to work," he added, staring at his blond friend unblinkingly.

Draco ran his tongue over his teeth, crossing his arms and clenching his fists.

"If you're going to abandon me again, I'd rather you did it now."

Pansy shook her head, shifting in her chair until she was able to take one of Draco's hands in hers.

"We're not going to leave you, we won't do it again. We're here and we want to help you."

He wrinkled his nose and pulled his hand away from hers roughly, snorting.

"I don't believe you."

Theo and Blaise sat down on the sofa to his right and the latter sighed.

"We deserve it, though Pansy is not lying. We just came to be with you and see if there's anything we can do for you."

Draco scanned their three faces before speaking.

"Start by treating Granger with respect from now on."

All three nodded firmly.

"What are you going to do, Draco? She hasn't accepted you yet... has she?" Theo asked in a whisper.

He let out a sigh, leaning his back against the velvet armchair.

"No... and I'm starting to think she never will."

"And why not? She should consider herself lucky, you are a Malfoy after all. You're part of one of the oldest families in the whole..."

Pansy paused when she saw the icy stare Draco was shooting her.

"Do you think she cares about that? I'm just the boy who humiliated her for years, mocking her just because her parents were different. You think she's going to consider being with me after everything that happened between us?"

"Nothing's impossible, mate," Blaise said quietly.

Draco clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

"This is. She doesn't even like coming to this house, it brings back memories of... of what my aunt did to her. But she's doing it for me, trying to help me and make me feel better. Granger is trying to save everyone, as usual," he growled through his teeth, dropping his head back and fixing his gaze on the ceiling.

"You're wrong."

Draco glanced at Theo again, arching an eyebrow.

"What am I wrong about?"

"A lot of things. Haven't you seen the way she looks at you? I've never seen her look at those two idiots, Weasley and Potter, like that."

"And she's very protective of you, too," Blaise commented, nodding.

Draco pursed his lips, remembering when Granger had come between him and his friends when she'd seen him so angry. And then she rushed to his side when she knew he was in pain.

"I'm protective of her, too. It's normal, I'm just her new project, a magical creature who needs her. Granger is used to protecting the weak," he muttered with a shrug.

"You're wrong again, Draco. That girl protects the people she loves tooth and nail."

He furrowed his brow. The people she loves?

'Does that mean Granger...? No, it can't be. Impossible.'

"You're the ones who are wrong, but it doesn't matter. You'll find out soon enough," he replied, getting to his feet.

It was getting harder and harder to stand up, and walking was exhausting. He was tired, really tired. Getting up in the mornings was getting hard and there were dark circles under his grey eyes again.

A few days later, Draco was sitting in one of his mother's favourite rooms.

It had wooden beams in the ceiling and bookshelves full of books and family mementoes. Narcissa had always liked to buy something from every country they visited, and there were dozens of items from every trip the three of them had taken together on the shelves.

Every year they went somewhere different until Lucius ended up in Azkaban and the Dark Lord forced Draco to accept his mark. That summer after his fifth year at Hogwarts had been a nightmare.

Pansy was sitting not far away, reading a book and watching him out of the corner of her eye. His three friends went to see him every day, though that morning only she had shown up.

Sighing, Draco stood up and walked over to a dark wooden cabinet. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a piece of parchment, taking a quill in his other hand. He wrote a couple of sentences as his friend watched silently.

"Dark," he whispered, glancing at the window in front of him.

Only seconds later, a huge eagle owl flew in through the window and perched on his shoulder.

"Take this to her," Draco asked, tying the parchment to one of its legs.

The owl pecked at his fingers affectionately before taking flight, flying back out the open window.

"Who are you writing to?" Pansy asked curiously.

He sat back down and closed his eyes.

"Granger."

"And what did you say to her?" she insisted.

"I asked her not to come today."

"Why not?"

"I need to rest. I haven't slept well these last few days."

Pansy narrowed her eyes, arching an eyebrow. She knew Draco too well and he was lying.

"I'm going to sleep, Pansy. I'll see you tomorrow," he waved goodbye, slowly standing up and leaving the room.

Pansy noticed that he clenched his jaw with every step he took as if it was painful to walk. As soon as Draco was out of sight, she huffed and clenched her fists.

He was giving up but she wasn't about to. If nothing changed, she would go talk to Granger herself and tell her the truth.

Two soft knocks sounded on her bedroom door.

"Come in."

Hermione turned and saw Ginny entering her room with a tray in her hands.

The red-haired girl smiled as she saw her friend sitting at her desk. Hermione had a muggle pen tangled in her curls, holding her hair in a sort of bun, and a mountain of parchments on one side of the table. Her bookshelf had been full of books on magical creatures since she started working at the Ministry, and even more so since the Malfoy thing had happened.

"I've made tea, Hermione. Would you like some? You've been locked up in your room since you got here, so take a break and talk to me."

Hermione smiled, leaving the paper she was reading on the table and making room among her things and folders for the tray. Ginny smiled back, leaving the tea there and pouring two cups.

"Didn't you go to spend some time with Malfoy today?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed with a mug in her hands.

Hermione shook her head, taking the other mug and closing her eyes to enjoy the sweet smell of the floral tea Ginny always made.

"What about Harry? Is he here?"

"No. He's gone to talk to Narcissa," Ginny mumbled, taking a sip from her cup.

"It's rare the week he doesn't go to see her," Hermione commented with a sigh.

"I know. It's a strange relationship but it makes them feel better. What I haven't come to terms with yet is that she is getting on so well with my mother now."

Hermione laughed softly, shaking her head.

"A lot has changed since the war ended."

Ginny nodded.

"It's a relief to see that everyone's trying to move on and forget all the stupid things that drove us apart."

"It's a good way to make sure something like that doesn't happen again."

"I don't know, Hermione... At any moment another madman could come along, get some followers and start trying to take power again."

"If it ever happens, the Ministry will be ready. It's got all of us now," Hermione murmured, smiling at the thought of Harry and Ron standing out more and more among the Aurors of their rank.

Ginny smiled too, setting her mug down and lying on the bed with her hands outstretched.

"I can't believe I have to go back to Hogwarts next week without all of you."

Hermione chuckled, standing up and walking over to her.

"You'll be fine, Ginny. And you'll be with Luna."

"Better than nothing," she muttered, wrinkling her nose.

Hermione stifled a laugh and walked over to the door of her room, opening it.

"Would you like a different kind of dinner today?"

Ginny's eyes lit up.

"That Indian place we went to last month? But they don't have delivery service, Hermione... and I don't know how long it'll take Harry to get back here."

"I'll get the food, I need to stretch my legs. There's an apparition point close by so I won't be long."

"Okay. I'll set the table in the meantime," Ginny commented, jumping to her feet.

The two of them descended the stairs of Grimmauld Place and Hermione went out the front door, putting on a brown jacket and losing herself in the dark streets of London.

Draco opened one eye. He had just heard a noise as if someone was knocking on his door.

He closed it again and rolled over onto his side, hugging his pillow. He didn't plan on getting up until it was daylight.

"Malfoy?"

Draco growled at the sound of the voice of bloody Potter. The door creaked slightly as it opened.

"May I come in?"

He sighed.

"Whatever, Potter."

Harry entered his gigantic room, observing everything with curious eyes. He had always imagined there would be a great display of Slytherin colours in that room, but almost everything was white. Even the furniture.

He circled the huge bed until he could see his face, stopping right in front of him.

Draco's eyes opened, glaring at Harry, who was frowning at him.

"What do you want?"

"Your mother says you've been stuck in here since Parkinson came to see you this morning."

"Yes, and I'm going to keep sleeping, so piss off."

Harry snorted.

"What's the matter, Malfoy? Are you feeling worse again?"

A low growl echoed in Draco's chest and Harry rolled his eyes.

"You need to talk to her for once, tell her how you feel. Hermione has changed these past few months, she talks about you a lot and..."

Harry fell silent as Draco sat up suddenly with wide eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Draco didn't answer. He stood up on the mattress and looked away at the balcony of his room, gasping for breath. Harry noticed that his fingernails were getting longer and took a few steps back until his back hit the wall.

"What the hell is going on, Malfoy?"

Draco clenched his fists and closed his eyes, panting. His huge silver wings shot out from his back, shredding his pyjama top.

"She's in danger," he muttered in a husky voice, jumping to the floor.

He didn't have time to assimilate his words. Draco flapped his giant wings and shot out, smashing through the glass.

Harry ran to the window, stepping over the shards of glass and out onto the small stone balcony. He looked up, where his winged figure disappeared into the clouds.

He pulled out his wand and closed his eyes, thinking of a happy memory. His Patronus came out of the tip and the huge stag of light floated before him, awaiting his instructions.

"Ron, something seems to have happened to Hermione. See you at Grimmauld Place, don't be long."

The stag sped away, flying off in the direction of the Burrow. Harry gritted his teeth and hurried out of the dormitory in search of Narcissa.

He hoped Malfoy was mistaken and Hermione was all right.

Besides... How could he know that? Was he able to read her mind?

Hermione put the change in her pocket and smiled, waving goodbye to the waiter. She walked back out into the street, the bag full of Indian food in her hand, and started walking to what had been her home for months.

The city was very lonely that night, although it was not exactly the centre of London. The Black house was a little far from there, on the outskirts of the city.

As she walked down an alley, she had the impression that someone was following her. She reached into her pocket with her right hand, clutching her wand tightly, and stopped with a jolt.

No one was there when she turned around. She was completely alone, just as she had been on her way to the restaurant. She hadn't come across another human being, only a couple of cats that lived on the next street.

Hermione sighed, shaking her head. Her mind was still on constant alert and it was going to be hard to stop living like this, watching her back every moment.

She released her wand and kept walking. She would be sharing a delicious dinner with Ginny in less than ten minutes.

As she turned a corner, she felt a very strange sensation run through her body. Suddenly, it was as if time froze. Her legs were unresponsive and Hermione was unable to move them.

She gasped, trying to move her arms. She couldn't do it either.

"Lucky us, Jack. She's the golden girl herself."

Hermione flinched at the mocking voice and looked up.

In front of her stood two men, one with a wicked grin on his face and the other staring at her.

"What have you done to me?" she asked quietly, surprised that she was able to speak.

"Do you like it? It's a new curse we've invented. It paralyses all your limbs but you can still move your head. It's very useful for assaulting Muggles."

"We should silence her too, Matthew," commented the other, frowning and raising his wand.

"No, not her. I want to hear her voice."

Hermione gritted her teeth as the smirking man approached her, shoving his hands in her pockets.

"Let's see what you've got here... Hmm, a wallet with some galleons in it that we can use, some keys and... your wand," he said, pulling it out and tossing it as far away as he could.

Hermione opened her mouth, ready to scream.

"You won't get out of this alive if you make a sound," the man warned her, putting a finger to her lips.

She felt a wave of panic sweep through her.

She was completely helpless, and all because she had relaxed for a moment.

"What are you thinking about?" asked the one called Jack, moving to his friend's side.

Matthew looked down at her body, raising an eyebrow as he met her eyes again.

"You seem to have a nice body, Miss Perfect. I don't know why you hide it behind those Muggle clothes," he murmured, unzipping her jacket.

Hermione closed her eyes tightly, trying to control her breathing. She had to convince them to let her go.

"If you let me go now, I won't tell anyone what happened."

"Let you go?" Matthew repeated with a chuckle. "I never thought I'd get my hands on Britain's most famous Muggleborn, and I don't want to waste such an opportunity."

"I bet you she's still a virgin," commented the other, stepping up behind Hermione and removing her jacket.

"Let go of me!"

"I warned you. Silencius."

Hermione gasped as she felt her voice trail off and Matthew grinned again. She heard her bag full of Indian food drop to the floor and felt hands on her waist, lifting her clothes.

"It's not going to be quick, Mudblood. We like to take our time with this," the man at her back whispered, holding her throat with both hands so she couldn't move.

Hermione blinked and several tears fell down her cheeks.

She didn't want to cry, but she felt so weak. She had only been so helpless once, when Bellatrix tortured her.

The man's hands ran up her back, reaching for the clasp of her bra, and Hermione closed her eyes, begging for it to be over as quickly as possible.

She heard something rip through the air and the four hands disappeared from her body. The two men screamed and she opened her eyes.

They were lying on the floor and wincing in pain.

"Fucking sons of bitches," growled someone beside her, his voice oozing with hatred.

Hermione turned her head and her eyes widened as she saw Draco. He was in his Veela form, holding both of the men's wands in his hand.

He used one to free Hermione from the curse and then snapped them in half, throwing the pieces of wood at the feet of the one called Matthew.

He flapped his wings, rising three feet into the air with his silver eyes fixed on them. They were so bright they seemed to be made of liquid mercury, no human had eyes like that.

Hermione wiped away her tears, relieved that she could move again. She looked up again and gasped.

His hands seemed to have a light of their own. Flames were erupting from his skin until he had a ball of fire in each palm of his hand.

Draco snarled and raised one, ready to hurl it at the two men. Hermione reacted, stepping in front of him.

"Draco! Wait, don't do it. Let me handle this," she demanded, looking him in the eye.

His silver irises fixed on her and he seemed to grow even angrier.

"Get out of the way, Hermione. They're going to die," he snarled in a heavy voice.

TW: attempted non-con