I had so much inspiration these past few days and I literally popped this out like a mom giving birth lol. Few things first: obviously things have been changed for the sake of this story, remember that and yes I did borrow some of the dialogue from the book but I added my own stuff as well. Also I tried to write Voldemort to the best of my ability. So forgive me if you think it is lacking.

AND PLEASE PLEASE REMEMBER THAT NO MATTER WHAT DRAMIONE IS END GAME.

OOC WARNING(?)- not really sure to be honest, but yeah I guess this needs to be here.

!NON CONSENSUAL WARNING!

Disclaimer: I Don't Own A Damn Thing

The following weeks were tense to put it lightly. Not just with her and Harry, but with Ron and Harry as well. Ron had made it very clear that he didn't like what Harry had said to Hermione nor how he had been treating her as of late. She could tell that Harry didn't exactly appreciate Ron standing by her instead of him for once. She had to admit that she was mildly surprised as well. For as long as she could remember Harry and Ron had always sided with each other and against her whenever an argument had arisen between the three. She was…relieved, but also a little weirded out.

In all honesty she just wanted things to go back to how they were. She didn't know how to handle the fact that Ron was on her side instead of Harry's. She didn't know how to deal with Harry's increasing protectiveness and suspicions concerning her. She didn't know how to face this new reality. Harry was her best friend. He had always made her feel safe and no matter what, she always trusted him. She knew that all of this was because of the damned locket, she knew that, but the locket didn't force people to do its bidding like an Imperius curse.

It twisted your mind and played on your worst fears until you were nothing but a strung out mess. It forced your deepest and darkest desires to the forefront of your mind. It made you say things that you regularly thought, but wouldn't normally say, in fear of hurting one's feelings. So essentially, it hurt, a lot, to know that this was what Harry really thought. Now she knew that Harry knew what Draco was capable of, but to think that he could turn her into a traitor? That was downright insulting. Then again, Draco had managed to make her do things she never would have thought about doing in a million years. She closed her eyes. Harry would never understand what kind of torment Draco had put her through, still continued to put her through.

It was impressive really, how he could slither his way in, completely undetected until it was too late. How he could lay the ground work and set up residence while you were none the wiser. Draco had a way of making her question everything she had ever believed in. He knew what to say and what to do to keep her hooked. She was afraid of him, but she craved him. He was able to instill fear in her body like no other all the while beckoning for her to come closer like a moth to a flame. Draco was a walking contradiction. He had the appearance of an angel with his fair features and alluring smile. Merlin, that smile. Hermione had rarely ever seen it. She could probably count the number of times he had smiled on one hand, but when he did it was a sight to behold. Everything about his appearance invited you in. Everything but his eyes.

No matter how much of a friendly expression he had upon his face, Draco's eyes always told a different tale. They always sparkled with a sick humor as if he were a wolf in sheep's' clothing surrounded by nothing but unsuspecting prey. They glowed with intensity and no matter if they were still it always seemed as if they were moving, swirling with sinful intentions. They had the ability to hold you in place, to captivate you even when all you wanted to do was flee. His eyes could seduce her own with silent promises of ecstasy and eroticism. Those twirling pools, the color of liquid silver, gave her visions of silk sheets and skin on skin. They held secrets of a world a girl could only dream of experiencing. His eyes alone could cast a shadow over the most attractive males out there.

Hermione shuddered as she pressed her hands into the earth beneath her, her back digging into the bark of the tree she was sitting at. She released a sigh as she leaned her head back. How was he able to still have this hold on her? Here she was, out in the middle of nowhere searching for Horcruxes and of all the things she could be thinking about, she was thinking of him. She suddenly jerked up, her eyes searching for the footsteps she began to hear. She slowly rose to her feet, taking cautious and quiet steps towards the barrier. Her eyes trailed across the expanse of trees before hearing a twig snap to her right. She turned her head, her eyes widening. She sharply inhaled and held her breath as they neared.

Snatchers, her mind immediately recognized. Her heart beat erratically as Fenrir Greyback walked past her, a limp body swinging from his arms. The snatcher beside him also had a body thrown over his shoulder. Hermione swallowed, her throat dry and stomach swirling as she gazed at the pale body. Her heart finally began to slow as the last snatcher walked right past her. Her shoulders sagged in relief as their footsteps began to grow lighter.

"Was that?"

Her head jerked to the left as he paused, her shoulders trembling as she heard him sniffing. She watched as he retraced his steps before stopping directly in front of her, his nose turning up as he continued to sniff. She leaned back as he slightly leaned in, a hairs width away from where she had set up the enchantments.

"Was that…smell?"

Her lips partially parted as her mind span. Her perfume! How could she possibly be so stupid? She could do nothing but stand as still as a statue as he stared directly at her, searching for the source of the scent. It felt like hours as he stared at her and she him. In reality, it may not have even been a minute. She flexed her hands and let out a breath as he turned away, distracted by the snatcher dropping the body. She didn't release all tension though until he walked away, scolding the other snatcher before they all headed off. She let out short, choppy breaths, feeling as if she had just escaped a heart attack.

Could she have been any thicker? She had almost just risked everything simply because she didn't enjoy smelling like dirt and leaves. She scoffed. Imagine, they lose the war all because she had been such a girl and worn perfume in the bloody forest. She stood there, staring after them in…shock? No, it was fear, definitely fear. She had made such a harmless mistake that could have had catastrophic results. She was slipping. Her eyebrows furrowed as she attempted to process this information.

"Snatchers…it's good to know that your enchantments work…"

She barely acknowledged that it was Harry who had spoken. She breathed.

"He could smell it…my perfume," she quietly replied.

She was shaken out of her trance as Harry's fingers connected with the sleeve of her coat. She stared at him with unfocused eyes before frowning.

"Wait…," he said as she turned to walk away "…please."

She remained quiet, but stopped nonetheless.

"I'm really sorry, Hermione."

"You know…I feel like I've been hearing that from you a lot this past year," she breathed.

"I know. I've been a real tosser, haven't I?"

She shrugged.

"I guess," she whispered.

She didn't know what to think of Harry anymore.

"You just…you have to understand that you make me crazy sometimes. You have no idea what you do to me," he said.

Do you have any idea what you do to me? Hermione shuddered and took a step back, recalling Draco's words that night of the Winter Ball. Harry either didn't notice this or chose to ignore it as he reached out and grabbed her hand.

"I just think about how much easier things would be right now if you and I…," he trailed off.

"But we're not. Can't you just accept that? For me," she pleaded as she threw herself away from him.

Harry opened his mouth before snapping it shut with a huff.

"Only if you answer one question," he proposed.

She let out a humorless chuckle.

"He kissed me and I kissed him back. There," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

She didn't lie, she just didn't tell him the whole truth. He didn't need to know everything that had happened that night. Harry frowned.

"That's it?"

"See! You hound me and hound me and hound me and you didn't even know what for. You have been on my case demanding to know what happened that night and now you have the nerve to act all offended that that's it. You wanted to know so badly, remember?"

She was praying that he couldn't see right through her. She was hoping that he would accept this answer and be on his way.

"It's just…well, the way you've been acting-"

"Look, Harry…I just felt guilty and disgusted with myself for it. It wasn't like before where I was completely in the dark about everything. This was after everything had happened, after he had murdered our Headmaster and let Death Eaters into the school. I felt sick to my stomach that I even allowed him to touch me. I was afraid of what the two of you would think of me," she said.

Harry sighed before looking down at his feet.

"I feel like such a jerk."

"You should. You accused me of sleeping with him and turning spy for his cause. That hurt…a lot," she whispered.

"I was angry. That's no excuse, but I was. I'd had these thoughts in my head for weeks about what could have happened and you refusing to even consider discussing it had me thinking the worst."

Hermione looked away.

"Forgive me, Hermione…"

She inhaled before looking at him.

"I don't know if I can right now. I don't even know if I can trust you-"

"You can!"

"Can I? I feel like…I feel like you're mad at me for not returning your feelings and you're punishing me for it," she said.

"That's not…okay. Maybe I am a bit upset about that, but it's only because I know that if he hadn't have screwed everything up we would be together," he replied.

"You don't know that. Are you forgetting the part where you knew that Ron had feelings for me and you just decided that his feelings weren't as important as yours? Or how about the fact that you used my best friend and then broke her heart just to get to me."

"I didn't break her heart," he scoffed.

"You did! You did. She would never admit it to you, she would never tell you in a million years, but yes you broke her heart. She has been crazy about you for years. She looked at you like you hung the moon and you completely shattered her view of you. She loved you," she said.

Harry shoved his hands into his pockets with a shrug.

"I know what I did was wrong and I've apologized for it, but I won't apologize for my feelings for you," he snapped.

"Maybe you should," she snapped back.

He closed his eyes with a sigh. Hermione immediately regretted the words as soon as they had slipped from her lips. She opened her mouth but soon snapped it shut. She could see that she had hurt him.

"I'll take the next watch," was all he said as he walked back towards the tent.

Hermione looked down at her feet before looking up at the sky. The moon stared down at her, its light casting a spotlight on her as she heaved a tired sigh. Tensions would only continue to rise. She could feel it in the air; trouble was brewing.

Draco watched the long serpent slowly slither along the table, its body moving like a wave as she approached her master. Said master continued on with his speech, his spine-chilling voice descending over the room like a dark fog. Draco's lips turned upwards into a smirk as he watched the other occupants squirm in their seats. Draco stared Nagini down as she briefly turned to look at him, her eyes boring into his own before turning away and continuing on her path, tongue flicking out to taste the air.

Draco's nails dragged against the arm of the chair, making a soft scraping sound. He had done everything he could to not think about the boy-who-couldn't-keep-his-hands-to-himself, but it was proving difficult. As the weeks went by his imagination kept running rampant with all of the possibilities that could be happening at this very moment. He feared that by the time he actually had her in his grasp again he would have to start from scratch. Bloody Potter…

Draco had to keep himself from snickering as many of them almost fought to get out of the door first as they were dismissed. However, before Draco even had time to move…

"Draco."

He straightened his shoulders and stayed put as his aunt turned back to look over her shoulder, she being the last one out. Her eyes held his as she snaked her way through the exit. The darkest wizard to have ever lived slowly rose from his chair, causing Draco to do the same.

"My Lord," Draco responded with a slight bow of his head.

Ruby colored eyes bore into stormy ones before the fair haired boy found himself hunched over with a flick his Master's wrist. Draco shut his eyes and bit his tongue, anticipating this as spasms rocked his body. He knew exactly what this was for. Soon it was over and he straightened himself, flicking his hair out of his eye with a jerk of his head. He rolled his shoulders as a cold laugh rang throughout the room.

"You never disappoint, do you?"

"No, my Lord," Draco immediately responded.

"That is a lie," this came out as a hiss.

Draco held eye contact with Voldemort as he sneered and approached him, seeming to glide across the floor. Draco indifferently glanced down at the snake moving past his feet before raising his eyes once again.

"I see that the…mudblood," the disgust was evident "…still plagues your thoughts. Does she not?"

"She does, my Lord."

"You have potential. I cannot have you distracted by such... filth. If you want a pet so badly go out and get one," he spat.

"I only want her, my Lord," Draco firmly responded.

Neither one of them spoke as Draco's words lingered in the air. Draco suddenly smirked as Voldemort turned his back to him.

"After all, if she is here with me then she cannot help him. I happen to know for a fact that he fancies himself in love with her…," Draco scoffed out "…I'm willing to bet that he would lose his mind if he lost her."

"Of course it does not hurt that she would be here with you, no? I see right through you, young Malfoy, but your statement does hold truth nonetheless," he spoke as he turned back around.

"Very well. After all, you have proven your loyalty time and time again…," he continued as he stroked the wand in his bony fingers.

...

"…But I face an unfortunate complication; that my wand and Potter's share the same core. They are in some ways…twins. We can wound, but not fatally harm one another."

Draco watched as he set his wand down on the table and stared around the room. His eyes falling on each and every one of his followers.

"If I am to kill him I must do it with another's wand. Come, surely one of you would like the honor…"

Draco looked over his shoulder as Voldemort's fingers brushed over his chair before moving onto the next. He was testing every single one of them and Draco was never one to fail. Draco reached inside of his suit jacket, the movement drawing attention to him. It wasn't easy, but he figured it would earn him favor and get him what he wanted. He was all for seeing Potter dead.

"Ah, Draco," he laughed, the icy sound sending a chill throughout the room as Draco pulled out his wand.

He watched as Voldemort weighed the wand in his skeletal hand with a hum.

"Hawthorn wood. And the core…"

"Unicorn hair, my Lord," Draco answered.

"Unicorn hair," he said appreciatively with a nod.

He made another humming sound.

"It will do. Since, after all, it seems as if Draco is the only one who wants to see his master prevail," Voldemort said with a sneer, his eyes blazing as they fell over the other occupants of the room.

Draco's lips curved into a smirk as many began to shift in their seats.

"For those of you who do not know we are joined tonight by Ms. Charity Burbage…"

Draco watched with narrowed eyes as Ms. Burbage floated through the air, her body taut.

"…who until recently taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her specialty was Muggle Studies…"

Soft chuckles rang throughout the room.

"It is Ms. Burbage's belief that Muggles…are not so different from us. She would, given her way, have us mate with them…"

Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes as his aunt made a disgusted sound, like a five year old, while loud laughter filled the room.

"To her the mixture of magical and Muggle blood is not an abomination…"

Draco's eyes focused on Voldemort as he said this, his lips curved into a judgment filled smirk.

"…but something to be encouraged."

Draco's eyes followed Ms. Burbage's line of sight and landed on Professor Snape.

"S-S-Severus. S-Severus please…we're friends…"

Draco's eyes remained on his Head of House's expression that gave nothing away. They narrowed as Snape said nothing, did nothing that would indicate his thoughts. Although, Draco supposed that his silence said enough. Draco's eyes flickered to Ms. Burbage's lifeless body as she collapsed onto the table before looking at his mother out of the corner of his eye. He saw an expression that he knew all too well and rested his hand over her own, giving it a soft squeeze.

"Nagini…dinner."

Draco watched the giant pet make her way towards Ms. Burbage, her blank eyes seeing nothing. He quickly looked away. Watching a snake swallow a woman whole wasn't exactly stimulating to say the least. Besides, he had never liked Muggle Studies anyway; she had always given him a hard time.

...

"…And loyalty must be rewarded."

Draco cleared his throat. He rested his hands behind his back as he took a step forward.

"My Lord, it was brought to my attention some time ago that you and Potter are connected somehow. That you have allowed him to see certain things in your mind and through your eyes, things you wanted him to see…"

Voldemort said nothing, but Draco knew that he had his attention.

"I was just…wondering, curious really, to see if it worked the other way around," Draco slowly proposed, allowing his words to linger in the air.

"We thought we knew what you were doing! We thought Dumbledore had told you what to do, we thought you had a plan!"

Hermione opened her mouth to interrupt, but she was foiled again.

"Well sorry to let you down, I've been straight with you from the start, I told you everything Dumbledore told me. And in case you haven't noticed, we've found one Horcrux-"

"Yea and we're about as near to getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them - nowhere effing near, in other words!"

Hermione had never seen Ron this mad before. Of course, she should have guessed that this fight was long overdue. She reached for him, desperate.

"Take off the locket Ron. Please take it off. You wouldn't be talking like this if you hadn't been wearing it all day," she pleaded.

"Yeah, he would. D'you think I haven't noticed the two of you whispering behind my back? D'you think I didn't guess you were thinking this stuff," Harry demanded, snapping at her.

She spun around to face him.

"Harry, we weren't-"

She turned to face Ron as he spoke.

"Don't lie! You said it too, you said you were disappointed, you said you'd thought he had a bit more to go on than-"

She faced Harry again.

"I didn't say it like that - Harry I didn't!"

"So why are you still here," he asked.

"Search me," Ron spat.

"Go home then," Harry said.

"Yeah, maybe I will! Didn't you hear what they said about my sister? But you don't give a rats fart, do you, it's only the Forbidden Forest, Harry I've-Faced-Worse Potter doesn't care about what happens to her in there, well I do, all right, giant spiders and mental stuff-"

"I was only saying, she was with the others, they were with Hagrid-"

"Yeah, I get it, you don't care! And what about the rest of my family, "the Weasley's don't need another kid injured", did you hear that? Not bothered what it meant though?"

Hermione spoke up.

"Ron! I don't think means anything new has happened, anything we don't know about; think, Ron, Bill's already scarred, plenty of people must have seen that George has lost an ear by now and you're supposed to be on your death bed with spattergroit, I'm sure that's all he meant-"

"Oh you're sure, are you? Right then, I won't bother myself about them. It's alright for you two isn't it, with your parent's safely out of the way-"

"My parents are DEAD," was Harry's harsh reply.

"And mine could be going the same way!"

"Then GO! Go back to them, pretend you've got over your spattergroit and Mummy'll be able to feed you up and-"

"Protego," Hermione called out, seeing the two of them moving closer.

"Leave the Horcrux," Harry said.

Ron yanked the locket off as he turned to face her.

"What are you doing?"

Hermione frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you staying, or what," he demanded.

Hermione opened her mouth in shock and stared at him in disbelief. No, she didn't want to stay here alone with Harry, that was the last thing she wanted to do, but they couldn't leave him. Not now. Ron couldn't really be asking this of her.

"I…Ron I- we said we'd help. We can't-"

"Yeah, I get it. You couldn't possibly leave The Chosen One by himself. Merlin forbid he get himself killed," he spat.

"Ron!"

She caught the necklace as he threw it at her.

"I get it. You choose him."

"Ron, no - please - come back, come back!"

She ran after him as he exited the tent, but she was too late. Hermione stared out into the forest as if that would will him to return. The cold bit into her skin, but she paid no mind. He was gone. Her shoulders trembled as she felt the heat of his body before he rested his hands on her arms. She put her hand over her mouth to hold in her sobs.

"He's g-g-gone! Dissaparated!"

Her feet allowed him to lead her back into the tent. Harry wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder. Ron had left. He had actually left.

Hermione finished setting up the enchantments with taut shoulders. She slowly lowered her hands before reaching up to finger her neck where her scarf had once been. It was stupid, really, but she had wanted Ron to know that they had left in case he came back. She heaved a sigh before turning around and heading back into the tent.

She stopped in her tracks at the sight of Harry's hunched back as he sat down at the table. She had to keep reminding herself that she wasn't the only one hurting. She sat down beside him.

"I feel like this is all my fault…"

"It's not…," she trailed off.

What she really wanted to say was that it wasn't all his fault. Yes, part of her did believe that he was partially at fault. His behavior as of late hadn't made things any easier for any of them, especially Ron. However, she said none of this because one could say that she had a hand in this as well. She rubbed his back in comfort.

"He'll be back. I know it," she reassured even though she hardly believed this herself.

Harry straightened up to look at her. The light caught his eyes and they glinted, forcing Hermione to focus on them, but he looked away.

"You don't know that," he whispered.

"I do," Hermione replied.

She had just reached out to grab his hand when he spun around and dove in. She pressed the palm of her hand against his chest as she leaned back.

"Harry I- no! Merlin, no," she snapped as she stood.

He stood with her, his expression dark.

"Why not? Ron is gone, it's just us," he said.

"Gods, I don't believe this! Your best friend, someone who is like a brother to you is gone, and this is all you can think about. He is Merlin knows where and all you can say is 'he's gone now so that means it's okay'."

Hermione shook her head in disgust as she took a step back.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go find him. I can't stay here. I'm so sorry," she whispered before she began to collect her things.

She had to get out of here and fast. She honestly had no idea as to where she would first start searching for Ron, but she knew that she had to bring him back. She couldn't handle this, not anymore.

"Hermione, wait…"

"I can't Harry. You just won't leave me be. You won't take no for an answer."

"But-"

"No, I'm leaving!"

Her back suddenly went rigid before relaxing as she dropped her bag, it landed on the floor with a soft thud. She slowly stood as an unfamiliar feeling washed over her like a fog. She blinked as her mind momentarily went blank.

Harry, Harry, Harry… She looked over her shoulder as Harry ran his fingers down her arm, dancing like spider legs as they descended. A shiver went down her spine as he sunk his head into the crook of her neck, his lips connecting with her skin. There was a nagging voice in the back of her head that kept telling her that something was wrong, that she didn't want this. She pulled away to voice these thoughts, but Harry snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her back flush against his chest. She let out a breathless sigh as he nipped at her skin.

"Harry," she breathed.

He spun her around to face him before his lips covered her own. She closed her eyes, but not before briefly noting that his wand was clutched in his hand. She shook her head and leaned back with a frown.

"Harry-"

"Ssh," he said as he pulled her back to him, the sound coming out like a hiss.

Her words were swallowed by his mouth as he leaned her back, her pelvis pressing against his own. Everything from that moment on was a blur. Before she knew what was happening, her back had connected with her bed. Her naked chest was flush with Harry's equally naked one and her bare legs were wrapped around his waist.

Thinking back, she couldn't remember much. She remembered that there was a brief moment of pain that was quickly over shadowed by pleasure. She could remember her back arching off of the bed as Harry dipped his head down. She could remember the sounds they made and the ecstasy filled haze she seemed to be in. Overall, she could remember a nagging voice telling her that she didn't want this and bright eyes where Harry's green ones should have been.

It's necessary to the plot, so once again, sorry Harry lovers. Don't forget to review!