Hermione had no idea where she was. That was the first thing to come to mind as the feeling in her body returned. She supposed that was a relative statement, because as the seconds ticked by, she realized that she could barely feel much of anything. Her entire form felt somewhat numb. Not in the sense that she couldn't feel anything, at all, but kind of like when she'd sit on her leg for too long.

She felt so tired, but not just that. Hermione felt so incredibly weak, the weakest she'd ever felt in her life. It was worse than the time she'd gotten the flu as a child. The weakness she'd felt then didn't even compare. She even attempted to move her arm, but it felt like trying to lift a bag of sand with one hand. Her throat felt so dry and thick, desperately aching for a glass of water. It took everything in her to open her eyes, and even then it took a few tries before she was finally successful.

Her head was lolled to the left, and as the colors finally started to separate, she could piece together that she was in the infirmary. Her vision shook, but she recognized the figure standing next to her bed as it settled. She blinked, lips parting as everything came back to her.

Draco's eyes widened as he straightened, a myriad of emotions crossing his features. He seemed tense, but his posture eased a bit as she awakened. His own lips parted, and although it was barely audible, she could both hear and physically see his sigh of relief. He moved to take a step towards her, but seemed to think better of it as he suddenly clenched his jaw, eyes hardening.

She wasn't the only one to notice his change in demeanor.

"Hermione? Are you awake?"

She struggled to turn her head, but there was no need to even try, because there were suddenly three more figures in her line of vision. Harry, Ron, and Ginny all looked at her with looks filled with simultaneous concern and relief.

"Oh, thank Merlin!" Ginny cried. "I'll go get Dumbledore."

Hermione barely had time to register the words before Ginny was flying out of the infirmary.

"Hermione, are you alright?"

She licked her lips and swallowed before opening her mouth.

"Yeah…I think so," she whispered, pretty sure that she couldn't speak any louder than that.

Both Harry and Ron seemed to visibly relax at that, and Ron took a step forward.

"Hermione, what happened? Madam Pomfrey said you'd gotten cursed… That it was a cursed text-."

Ron cut himself, preventing himself from getting worked up all over again. Hermione didn't miss the way his eyes angrily cut to Draco who was still standing there. Harry, on the other hand, had no desire for decorum.

"What the bloody hell are you even still doing here?" the dark haired boy spat, facing her dorm mate, now.

Before Hermione could speak up for Draco, he responded.

"I was the one who found her, remember?" he reminded Harry, eyebrow raised.

Draco's voice was just as harsh, and the tension in the room told Hermione that she may have missed quite a bit while she was out. Harry's fists were clenched at his side.

"So you said. How convenient," Harry sneered through clenched teeth. "That doesn't explain why you're still here."

Draco didn't respond, his eyes flitting away from Harry with so much dismissal that Hermione was almost sure she heard her housemate snarl in response. His gaze met her own, softening a bit.

"I just wanted to make sure that you're alright. I'll see you back at the dorm when they release you," he said, his tone conveying nothing.

She knew why he was leaving, but Hermione's heart sank, nonetheless. Did he feel guilty, like it was his fault? Did he think that she was mad at him? She needed to speak with him about what had happened, and she knew that wasn't going to be possible with her friends around. As he passed behind them, his eyes caught hers again, a meaningful look in them as he exited the infirmary.

As soon as he was gone, Ron and Harry wasted no time getting straight to the point.

"Hermione, what really happened? Snape said he confiscated the book, but what were you doing with a book like that, anyway?" Ron frantically asked, both of them standing beside her now.

"I…"

"It was Malfoy wasn't it? You can tell us the truth. He's gone, now," Harry said, eyes hard.

Hermione started to shake her head, but he continued.

"Heh. Malfoy is the one to find you, and he just happens to run into Snape along the way who is conveniently able to stabilize you enough to bring you here? Not only that, but Snape supposedly confiscates and disposes of the text? How foolish do they think we are?"

"Harry…it wasn't Draco," she mumbled.

Harry's eyebrows rose at her casual use of his name, but he didn't comment on it. He seemed to deem it insignificant, for the time being.

"Are you lying for him, Hermione? Protecting him? You don't need to-."

"Harry," she sternly said, the sudden strength in her voice startling all of them.

She definitely regretted that, panting with weakness as she briefly closed her eyes. Ron reached for her, worried that she would pass out at any moment.

"Harry, now isn't the time. She needs to-."

"No," she breathed, glaring at Harry as she cut Ron off. "You either trust me, or you don't. I won't continue this stupid game with you, anymore."

There was something different in her voice, something that made Harry's eyes widen with shame.

"I won't keep doing this. I told you that it wasn't him. Do you think I'm lying?"

"No, no," Harry hurried to disagree, shaking his head. "I just…"

"I know what you just. I told you that it wasn't him, and you either believe me, or you think I'm lying. Which is it?"

"I believe you, Hermione," he relented, although his eyes didn't particularly agree. "I do. You say it wasn't him, and I'll believe you, but that doesn't… What were you doing with a book like that?"

"Research," the lie came easily to her. "You know how I get, Harry. When I want to know something, really educate myself on something not within my grasp, I'll go to great lengths for it. I didn't think it'd do that to me. I knew that there was a possibility of the text being cursed, but… I foolishly thought I could handle it."

Both Harry and Ron accepted her lie, similar looks of disappointment and annoyance on their faces as their shoulders sagged.

"Merlin, Hermione. Nothing is worth that. They said you could've died," Ron breathed, gripping her hand.

She cringed away from him, and Ron frowned, dropping her hand in the process.

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. I feel like…like…"

"Like the life has been sucked out of you? I would imagine so, because apparently, that's exactly what the text was cursed to do, or…something along those lines," Harry explained.

Hermione exhaled, body wracked with fatigue when Dumbledore suddenly flew into the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey, Ginny, and none other than Snape himself behind the headmaster. It wasn't long before she spent the next thirty minutes or so telling Dumbledore what had happened. It was a lie, of course, but with Professor Snape there to confirm her story, it was believed. When Dumbledore had asked where she'd gotten the text, she told him that she'd acquired it deep within the restricted section of the library.

"It seems a text like that has nestled within these walls all these years without us realizing the true danger it posed. I thought it best to dispose of such a book, lest it fall into another student's hands," Snape drawled.

Dumbledore nodded at this, pleased with how Snape handled the situation. Soon after, they all bid her goodbye, Dumbledore wishing her a speedy recovery with a promise to check in. Her friends were reluctant to leave, but Madam Pomfrey assured them that she would be fine. Hermione didn't hesitate to do the same, honestly not wanting them around. She was left alone again, the infirmary empty of any other students, and the fatigue that wracked her body eventually won.

Hermione awoke to the feel of a feather light touch brushing her hair away from her face. She frowned, a small groan in the back of her throat. Her eyes fluttered open, fair skin and equally pale hair filling her vision. Her eyes finally remained open, brown and silver clashing and holding. His face was hard, jaw clenched as he gazed down at her with a frown, his form hovering over her own.

"Draco," she breathed, struggling to reach for him.

He stopped her, placing his hands on her arms as he shushed her.

"Sit still," he gently ordered, but she wasn't having it.

She attempted to sit up, and Draco sighed, opting to sit beside her as he wrapped his arms around her. That placated her, for the moment, and she leaned her head into his chest, breathing him in.

"Draco-."

"Are you alright? Really…," he pressed, gaze meeting her own as she looked up at him.

"Tired, but…I'm okay," she slowly answered.

The worry in his features seeped away, only a little bit, but the tension in him diminished immensely. Even in the low lighting, she could see that the skin beneath his eyes were sunken in, and Hermione not only wondered how long she'd been out, but how much sleep he'd gotten as well. He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against her own as he exhaled.

"I thought for sure you were going to die. Thank Salazar I was able to get you to Snape in time," he breathed, resting his chin on top of her head.

"How long was I…? What day is it?"

"You've been in here for a week," he whispered.

"A week?" she repeated, shocked.

She knew that they said the text almost killed her, but it really hit her then that she'd almost died.

"Draco… What…?"

The question lingered in the air, unspoken, but understood nonetheless.

"It's a family book, passed down through the generations. It curses anyone who isn't a Malfoy by blood or by marriage. It was incredibly foolish to bring it here…around you…"

His voice was low as he explained, arms tightening around her.

"It was safely in your bag. This isn't your fault," she responded.

Draco chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest and sending vibrations through her frame.

"Merlin, you're too good for me," he whispered into her hair.

She closed her eyes, content to rest in his arms, his heartbeat pounding rhythms into his chest.

"Harry thinks I lied to protect you. I don't think he really believes me, despite what he said," she confessed.

"Fuck Potter," was his only response.

Hermione chuckled, and she winced at the action.

"I should go," he sighed, the words reluctantly leaving his lips as he went to pull away.

"Stay," she suggested. "At least until before Madam Pomfrey comes to check on me."

Hermione wondered how the woman hadn't heard him, sure that she would burst in at any moment. Draco seemed to read the confusion on her face.

"I put a silencing charm on her office…after putting her into a Bewitched Sleep," he shamelessly admitted.

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes, to which he brushed his thumb along her lip.

"She'll be fine. I didn't want to chance getting caught. I'll wake her-."

"All the more reason to stay," she proposed.

Draco grinned, shaking his head as he settled himself back against her, long legs intertwining with her own. She struggled to rest on her side, Draco helping her to face him.

"Do you have a lot of books like that in your library?" she suddenly asked.

"Why, you want to borrow some?"

She could tell that he was teasing, but she didn't laugh, only stared at him, and Draco frowned.

"Hermione, you almost died because of one of my cursed family books…"

"…but I didn't. You made sure that I was okay," she reassured.

"I was the reason you weren't okay, to begin with," he argued.

"This isn't how I imagined this conversation to go," she mumbled. "I was supposed to use my feminine charm to get access to your impressive book collection."

Draco rolled his eyes, leaning forward to brush his lips against her own.

"Only you would risk your life for a book," he sneered the word like it was offensive. "Willing to even seduce me for it…"

"Would it have worked?" she questioned.

"Without a doubt," he whispered, pulling her closer.

He raked his eyes over her again, and she frowned at what she saw there, scooting closer. He began to protest when she lifted her arms, but she paid him no mind. She rested her hands on his face, gazing into his eyes.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"That's not important-."

"It is to me," she interrupted.

"A few days ago," he sighed. "The first couple of days, it was so hard to sleep, and then eventually I just gave up."

"Draco…I'm okay. Really," she reassured. "Magic can only heal so much, so they did say I'll be weak for a while, but I will get better."

He swallowed, and she pressed a kiss to his nose.

"You were in so much pain…I could see it…"

"I was," she confirmed, recalling the memories.

Hermione sincerely thought that she was going to die. Draco had thought so too. She remembered the genuine fear in his voice right before she'd grabbed the book. He wouldn't voice it, but she could still see the fear and paranoia in his eyes. She smoothed a finger over his brows, attempting to even them out.

He closed his eyes, fatigue weighing his body down, sleep within his grasp. Hermione did the same, forehead pressed against his own as they both gave in to much needed rest.

"I'm fine, Mum," Hermione teased.

Ginny scowled at Hermione, but backed away from her bed, nonetheless.

"I know they say that you'll be fine, but I…"

"You're worried. I get it, but I will be fine. It's just going to take a minute. To be honest, I don't think it's going to take as much time as they said it will. I feel loads better, already," she replied.

It was the truth. She'd stayed in the infirmary for a few more days, and she was finally back in her dorm, but she felt incredibly stronger. Miraculously stronger, even. Ginny eyed her, reluctantly nodding as she had no choice but to agree with Hermione.

"That's true. You look better, too! I don't know what they've been giving you in the infirmary, but it seems to be working," she commented.

"Nothing much, honestly. Just rest," Hermione said with a shrug.

It was…strange how much better she felt in such a short amount of time.

"Well, if you need anything, send a Patronus or something. Maybe even send your roommate if you're desperate," Ginny joked before leaving her room.

It seemed that as soon as Ginny was gone, the portrait slamming shut behind her, Draco was there in her doorway, arms crossed over his chest as he looked her over. His hair was pushed back away from his face as if he'd been running his hands through it.

"You look better," he commented, pleased. "Feel any better?"

"Tons," she breathed, glad that she could move without feeling winded.

"Good," he said as he approached, brushing his lips against her forehead. "Blaise and Teddy will be by in a little bit. Hold onto your knickers, because…they're coming to check on you."

Her eyes widened.

"Me? Has hell frozen over while I was asleep?"

She moved to push her covers away, swinging her legs over her bed with ease.

"I don't want them in my bedroom," she said in response to the questioning look he gave her.

His hand rested on her back as he guided her into the common area.

"I don't want them in your bedroom either," he murmured.

She elbowed him in the side, sitting on the couch just as the portrait door opened. She opened her mouth to greet them with some snarky remark, but it died in her throat. They looked ghastly, Zabini more so than Nott. The blue eyed boy had returned to classes while she was recovering. He'd had nothing to offer up about his father's death, and after the funeral, he was back like nothing had happened. Of course, Hermione knew his circumstances, and she surmised that to him, nothing bad had happened. He was probably much happier, now.

And he did look happy, underneath the sickly look on his face, that is.

"Merlin, Zabini! Did some deserving girl finally suck the life out of you? I need to know her name, because she's my hero."

Nott and Draco chuckled while Zabini rolled his eyes, not amused by her quip in the slightest.

"No. I've just got a bad cold, is all," he replied.

"Did you share it with Nott?"

Zabini smirked as he sat down, throwing his arm over the back of the couch as he eyed her.

"Wouldn't you like to know…?"

"I'm just saying…you look terrible. Both of you," she worriedly replied, looking between them.

Draco's hands rested on her shoulders as he stood behind her, chin finding a place on top of her head. Zabini's eyes briefly met his before returning to her.

"Thank you for the concern, Granger, but we'll be fine. Colds go away. How are you?"

"You know, when Draco said you were coming by to check on me, I didn't quite believe it."

"You're our best mate's girl. What kind of friends would we be if we didn't check on you?" Nott threw in.

Hermione looked over her shoulder, eyebrow raised as she smirked at her dorm mate.

"I'm your girl, am I?"

Her tone was teasing, and Draco rolled his eyes, reaching out to turn her head back around as she chuckled.

"We just wanted to make sure you were fairing okay," Nott said.

"I am. I'm much better, actually. Even Madam Pomfrey commented on my incredible rate of recovery," she said with a laugh.

"Good," Zabini replied, eyes unreadable as he gazed at her. "That's good."

He and Nott stood, prepared to make their leave.

"You lot know where to find us," Nott said.

"Yes, and maybe now you'll take a breather from the books, Granger," Zabini commented. "After all, one did almost kill you."

"Never," was Hermione's reply and he shook his head, Nott chuckling behind him as they left.

"They are okay, right?" Hermione questioned as soon as they were gone.

"It really is nothing more than a cold, Hermione," Draco said, sitting beside her.

Hermione nodded, accepting that, but she still frowned.

"If you say so…"

A sinister thought was making its way into her mind, but she shook it off.

It was only a day later when she was back in classes, and the sinister thought returned.

"Oi, you think some nasty bug has found its way into the dungeons?" Ron chuckled as he sat down beside her.

"What do you mean?" she questioned with a frown.

"Look," he pointed out, and Hermione did, turning her head. "They've got a nice little handful missing. Maybe whatever it is will finish them off."

Hermione didn't laugh along with Ron as he opened his book to prepare for class. Hermione's thoughts were somewhere else entirely. It wasn't exactly a nice little handful of students missing, but four students missing to be exact. Zabini, Parkinson, Greengrass, and Nott were all absent. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to dwell on that as their professor strolled inside. Her eyes briefly caught Draco's from across the room, and her frown deepened.

All throughout class, her thoughts were running wild with possibilities. It seemed…preposterous at first, but the more she dwelled on it, the more sense it made. She was unusually quiet throughout the rest of class, and throughout dinner too. Her friends had convinced her to sit with them, and she'd relented, too preoccupied to care. She'd missed their disappointed looks when she didn't even interact with them, at all, but she had far more pressing matters to be concerned with.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur, and when night came, she entered her dorm, biting her lip at the sight of Draco. She didn't greet him, at first, simply frowning.

"What is it…? Are you feeling faint?" he asked, approaching her.

"Zabini and Nott weren't in class, today…"

"Well, you know they're sick, Hermione," Draco responded.

She tilted her head at him.

"Greengrass and Parkinson too?"

Draco blinked, a small smirk making its way onto his lips.

"Blaise and Pansy have been fooling around for the longest, so-."

"I'm not stupid," she cut him off. "All four of them just happened to get sick around the same time."

Draco's smirk grew, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Not only that, but they all suddenly get sick just as soon as my recovery miraculously sky rockets. According to Madam Pomfrey, I shouldn't have been able to return to classes for another few days."

"What are you trying to say?"

"My health mysteriously improved and they all mysteriously get weaker…the same people whose blood I drank in a ceremonial binding ritual."

Draco didn't respond, and her eyes widened. Merlin, she was right.

"What did you do?"

"You're asking for answers that you're not ready for. Besides, what does it matter? They all consented to it. They knew exactly what they were agreeing to," Draco replied so casually.

"What? That's…insane! Why would they agree to such a thing? They could die, right?"

Draco rested his hands on her arms in a soothing manner.

"No, they won't. They're going to be just fine. Sure, they'll be sick for a few days, experiencing what you should be, but they'll recover," he explained.

"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head. "Why would they do that? How did such a thing even come up in conversation? For Merlin's sake, Greengrass is completely indifferent towards me! It doesn't make any sense."

"Hermione…"

"I want answers…now," she pressed as she glared at him.

"I'm asking you to trust me until-."

"Trust you? You don't even trust me," Hermione cried.

She huffed, visibly upset, now. It really bothered her that Draco didn't trust her as much as she would have liked, but yet, he was asking for her trust? Four of their classmates were sick in order to fuel her own recovery, and he was just expecting her to accept that with ease?

"Why don't you trust me?" she whispered, voice trembling as she fought off her emotions.

Draco frowned, reaching for her face, but she backed away.

"Hermione…"

"I lied for you. I told them that the book was mine, that I was the reason I'd almost died. I protected you," she whispered.

Draco's gaze was unreadable as he stared her down.

"Let me in…please," she begged. "You let me in…or this will be over just as quickly as it started."

The threat was not an empty one, and Draco seemed to know that as he straightened, jaw clenching. It was a shame, really. Hermione had really grown to enjoy his company, and she enjoyed sleeping with him even more, but she was determined to get what she wanted. And what she wanted was answers.

"Threatening me, Granger?"

Draco's voice was low, gruff with poorly concealed anger at having been backed into a corner. They both knew how much he wanted her for he never hid it.

"Yes."

He stepped towards her, and Hermione mirrored his movements, only stopping when her back hit the portrait door. He ran his eyes over her as he leaned in, heat traveling through her frame. She swallowed and tilted her head back to keep her gaze on him, simultaneously afraid and aroused.

His lips were on hers before she knew it, rough and angry, but she kissed him back, nonetheless. His teeth nipped at her skin, pulling a hiss from within her throat. She didn't have time to catch her breath, gasping into his mouth as he gripped her hand, tongue slipping past her lips.

She moaned, arching into him as she felt him place her hand on his left forearm. Her head banged against the door as he pinned her against it, allowing Draco to sink his teeth into her neck, nipping and pulling at the skin there. He slid their hands up his arm, pushing the sleeve of his school shirt up in the process.

"Afraid of me, Hermione?" he breathed against her skin, lips covering her own again.

She pressed her chest against his own as he held her hand to his arm.

"No," she gasped, jerking when his leg settled in between her own, grazing in between her thighs.

"No?" he purred.

She shook her head, using her free hand to dig into his back, fighting to yank his shirt out of his pants.

"What if I told you…" his mouth traveled to her ear, his lips grazing the skin there as he caged her against the door. "…that Potter was right about me?"

All of her movements halted, and she swallowed as he pulled away. She looked at him with a flushed face and wide eyes as he stared her down, the look there freezing her in place. Confusion clouded her features before she eventually dragged her gaze down, eyes landing on their hands.

Beneath their hands, and on his left forearm, marked into his otherwise unblemished skin, was none other than the Dark Mark.

~ SD ~