AN: Thank you to me readers and reviewers, you make me continue. I would like to thank I was BOTWP, Guest, Don'tForgetILoveYou, and Guest in particular; for your reviews.

I'd also like to address the review by Guest, as I appreciate your thoughts and I feel I should clear things up for all my readers who have probably shared your thoughts, so thank you for highlighting these things. Firstly, you are correct, Draco does say 'Voldemort'. My rational for this is that athe taboo won't apply to Death Eaters, as the taboo is used to track enemies of Voldemort, and as Draco possesses the Dark Mark, he technically isn't an enemy.

Secondly, I know this story focuses a lot on emotions and internal matters, but I feel this war is about that. It's about breaking indoctrinated discrimination and a lot of these characters must deal with that. Also, war has a profound psychological effect on everyone, and I really wanted to explore that.

The third thing I took from your review was your comment on Draco and Pansy being ex-lovers and now having a more sibling relationship. I understand, it sounds incredibly weird. But please hear me out; Pansy and Draco have grown up together and had a very close relationship as children, almost like siblings. But, I believe that when they were teenagers, they were probably aware that they may end up as a couple as Purebloods like to breed within themselves and there's not many options, so they explored that. However, it obviously didn't work out for the;, their experimentation with their confusing feelings was gotten over with, and they settled back into being close friends.

Your fourth point about Draco acting like a trained healer is valid. He isn't a trained healer, but obviously with the war, a lot of people have trained themselves in enhanced healing skills. Also, remember Hermione has been cursed with Dark Magic, which Draco is probably more familiar with. Lupin and Bill know of these spells, but Draco has more knowledge of the cure (think about his unlimited access to Malfoy Manor's library). So, that's why he's the main healer in this situation.

You mentioned also about Hermione's trust in Draco. In the books, while they do argue and disagree, she does seem to a tiny soft spot for him (E.G: Not believing Draco was a Death Eater initially). Also, she recognises his competence as a Wizard (Second to her own grades) and acknowledges his knowledge of Dark Magic. When she's in and out of consciousness, I don't think she'd have had the capacity to really think about trusting him, all she knew was he was healing her. That's obviously going to help things between them. But you'll just have to continue reading to see the full picture…

And finally, (sorry for such a long AN, but I felt these needed to be addressed) the war is going on around them, but Draco and Hermione spend all their time in the Infirmary, so they're currently quite isolated. All I can say is, keep reading to find out more. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts, you really help me when I'm writing and plotting, so thank you so much for your reviews, and keep sending them in.

Read and Review Please!

Chapter Thirty Six: Rehabilitation Revelations.

"Come on, Granger." Malfoy coaxed, gripping Hermione's elbows. Over the past few days, she'd made incredible progress. She could almost stand unaided for three seconds before the weight and pain in her legs caused her to collapse. But she would not be deterred and Draco continued to encourage her.

At this moment in time, she stood, sweat beading around her hairline and her legs shaking in pressure, as she leaned into Malfoy. Her face was pinched with concentration and her back was poker straight with determination to stand. Biting into her bottom lip sharply, she leaned back from him. As her weight transferred down her legs, blood tinged tears gathered at the seam of her scarred eyelids.

"Okay, let go." She slid her hands off his arms. Slowly, he moved his hands to hover by her sides, ready to catch her if she fell. Struggling to battle against the pain, she stubbornly fought to stand. She wobbled, but ground her teeth with determination. Draco's hands inched closer, ready for her to fall, but she remained steady, her posture finally poised.

"Congrats, Granger, you can stand." Draco found himself smiling at her in pride, not that she could see, and she nodded at him. Impatience creased features further and her fists curled. He knew that move all too well. Taking a half step backwards, he readied himself for her. He knew better than to try to stop her now.

Agonisingly slowly, she shuffled one foot forward. It barely moved half a centimetre away from its original position, but her mouth twitched in victory. She was moving. She was healing. Her breath came quicker in excitement and pain and she tried to drag the other foot forward too. But it was too much for her already strained body and she fell clumsily forward.

Malfoy quickly slipped his hands around her and held her upright. It caused far more agony to move her from the floor than from his arms into the bed, as they had discovered the first time Hermione had stepped out of the infirmary bed. Curling his hands to fit her slim waist, he held her close, as tears began to escape her eyes.

Hermione felt his strong arms taking her weight and allowed herself a few seconds to rest. The pain was excruciating and it took all of her will power not to cry out. She'd made so much progress with Draco over the past week, but she wanted more. She wanted to skip over her rehabilitation and be healed. But she knew that wasn't possible. After years in the Wizarding World, she was used to quick fixes and instant results from Magic. But not this time, Dark Magic was cruel and unlike anything she had ever practiced. Frustration burned her mind with the pain, but she stubbornly pressed it away and tried to stand again.

"Hermione!" Ron's voice exclaimed from behind her and she looked guiltily over her shoulder in his direction, "You can stand?" A blush covered her cheeks at getting caught, but pride in herself kept her from blabbering unnecessary excuses.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Harry gasped from a closer distance. Suddenly, a second pair of hands grabbed her waist and tugged her away from Malfoy. She lurched into Harry and pressed her lips together to prevent a painful scream from deafening him. Trying to ignore the pain and weight of her legs pulling at her, she looked up at him.

"I have to keep moving or I'll never fight again." She explained patiently, recovering her composure.

"You need to go back to bed." Harry held her clumsily, unsure how to keep her steady and not cause her further pain. Strangely, she missed Draco's arms around her. His muscles felt strong and stable wrapped around her, and warm. Since they had returned to the Order's Safe House, he had slowly become a comfort to her, a source of wit and healing. He never treated her like she was vulnerable, as if she needed to be handled with child's gloves. He made her feel strong and capable again, like she was still Granger, Gryffindor's Princess. Not Hermione, the invalid. In Harry's arms, she was suddenly aware of their different perspectives.

"I need to get better. I'm a walking target. Harry, I know you care, but I need to fight this, I need to be ready."

"What are you going to do, Hermione?" He sighed. It destroyed her friends to know she was cooped up in the infirmary, weak and defenceless, but they didn't know what else they could do. They'd mourned their friend's newfound disabilities; losing their best warrior and strategist.

"I'm not going to stop fighting. I'm not going to let them win." She leaned out of his arms and forced herself to stand tall and steady. Seeing her standing, they couldn't believe their eyes. They should have known so much better than to underestimate her determination and independence. Pride swelled in their chest at seeing her. While they wanted to protect her, they admired her courage to defy her disabilities. They didn't want to berate her and Malfoy for going behind all their backs and starting her rehabilitation in secret, as now they wanted to celebrate her success. There wasn't much to toast to during this war, so they celebrated the small things, the little good things that they treasured.

"I know you're not." Harry smiled at her in understanding.

"They won't win. Not as long as we're fighting." Ron placed an arm around her as she began to waver, "Gryffindors until the end." The three shared a smile and Draco wanted to roll his eyes at their nauseous actions. What a cliché they were, standing there grinning like fools. He almost feared their exaggerated optimism would be infectious. But he wouldn't step away from the space between Hermione's bed and another infirmary bed; he didn't trust the dim-witted duo not to drop her. He'd worked so hard to rehabilitate her so far, he would not let them ruin their progress.