Hermione felt tears prick her eyes and quickly tried to blink them away. Her gaze was locked on the horrid image of the skull and snake branded on Draco's arm and all she wanted to do was rip it off. It disgusted her on more levels than she cared to think about and the fact that her husband now had it permanently on his arm, she just wanted to cry out of frustration for him.

After he had left her, Hermione stayed in the bed mulling over everything that had happened, trying to figure out what was going on. There was fear in his eyes as he left that much was certain. Wherever he had been summoned to, he didn't want to go.

When he kissed her goodbye, she knew he was trying to let her know something. She had no idea what at the time, but she had tried desperately to understand. Gone was the arrogant boy that had tormented her since they started school and in his place was a man that realized he couldn't be saved from everything by his money and name.

Quite honestly, it terrified her to see him so scared. He had always had a cool demeanor, unless of course he was dealing with Gryffindors, but ever since they had found out their fate he was the one that kept her strong. His courage, ironic coming from a Gryffindor such as herself, is what kept her strong this whole time. She would be damned if the mark on his arm caused her to not stay strong for him, just as he had for her.

He hadn't wanted it, that much she was almost absolutely positive, she just didn't know why. It didn't matter right now though. His skin was raised from the mark and she knew he had to be in great pain from the looks of it.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her eyes to meet his. "Do you have any balms or potions to help with the swelling?"

His eyes narrowed for a moment before he answered her. "Snape gave me some balm and said I had to make sure to apply it every hour," he said while reaching into his robes for the jar, handing it to her.

"Snape? You know what, never mind, it's not important right now. Sit down where I can put this on for you."

She gently pulled him to the bed and sat down beside him unscrewing the lid. She noticed out of the corner of her eye he was giving her a strange look, but decided to ignore it at the moment. Instead, she eyed the paste in the jar and wafted it to try to figure out just what Snape had given Draco. Either it was beyond her knowledge or unknown to anyone else, because she had no clue what it could be. It certainly wasn't anything they had learned how to make in class.

Gently, she rested Draco's arm in her lap and dipped her fingers into the clear balm. When she touched the mark, he let out a low hiss and guilt ran through her even though she knew the pain he was in was not her fault.

"Just give me a second and I'll be done."

"Aren't you terrified of me? Repulsed, even?"

He spat out the words like they were venom and Hermione felt a pang of sympathy run through her but refused to let it show on her face. Instead, she calmly screwed the lid back on the jar as she finished up before responding.

"You didn't want to get the mark."

She looked up and met his gaze, noticing he seemed to be reassessing her. Before she could say anything, he looked back down at the mark on his arm.

"That doesn't matter. I have it now. I have to have this symbol that means I despise people simply because of their blood. It says that I believe that children and innocent people should be tortured and murdered because they weren't born into the right family. It means that my own wife should not have the right to live or even breathe the same air as me."

Hermione was shocked to see him shaking and slowly turned to face him. Gently, she lifted her hand to his face and brushed a loose hair back into place.

"No, it doesn't. It means you are incredibly brave and selfless. It means you would do anything for those you love. To keep them safe, you are risking your own life. You didn't want this, Draco, I know you didn't. Maybe a year ago or so you did, but not now."

He pulled her hand away from his face, but didn't let it go. The look in his face betrayed anger and his grip tightened on her hand. She almost flinched away, but she knew the anger he held wasn't directed towards her, but his inevitable fate that was out of his control.

"How are you so sure?"

"When we found out about our fate that we were, are, soul mates, Dumbledore mentioned that to step away from your father's footsteps you would have to play two sides. Well, this is what he meant, isn't it? You are being a spy for the light."

She noticed he seemed to hesitate a second before letting go of her hand and clenching his fists abruptly. She stared at him confused. Why was he angry at what she said? She only said the truth and surely that should have made him feel better.

"He forbid me to tell you anything."

Well, that answered that. "Who did?"

"Dumbledore. I was supposed to keep you in the dark. Allow you to believe I wished you dead, that you disgusted me. I'm not quite sure why. I guess he was worried you would run and tell Potter. I argued you weren't a bloody idiot, but it did no good."

"Why would he think I'd risk your cover like that? I love Harry to death, but we all know how rash he can be. It would be stupid to tell him."

"So you love Potter, eh?"

Hermione looked up at him, annoyed that he was getting angry, or was he jealous, over Harry when there were more important matters at hand until she saw a smirk on his face and that damn spark in his eye. She chastised herself inwardly. Since when did her subconscious develop such bad language? Draco was a bad influence on her it seemed.

"Oh, do shutup Draco, you know it's nothing like that." She playfully shoved his chest and let out a squeal when she lost her balance knocking them both onto the bed. She sighed as she felt his arms wrap around her waist and laid her head onto his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Hermione?" His fingers gently lifted her chin up where he could look into her eyes.

"Yes?"

"You really believe that what I'm doing is right? That I'm not actually on the Dark Lord's side?"

"Yes, Draco, I really believe that. You are a good person, even if you don't show it to everyone else. This past week you've turned what could have been a nightmare, into something really nice. If I'm honest, I'm glad this happened. It allowed me to see my own prejudices against pure-bloods and Slytherins and realize that there is more than just Death Eaters having screwed up views on things. The side of the light does as well."

It only took a moment after she finished speaking to feel his lips descend upon hers. His kisses were passionate and deep, like she was his only anchor to reality. The thought made her heart flutter and warmness spread in her abdomen.

When she felt his hand grab the hem of her shirt, she moaned and deepened the kiss even more. She felt as if she were being drawn to him quicker than she ever thought possible. Surely, she shouldn't want someone so badly it had turned into a need that she previously hated.

Before she could realize what he was doing, she found herself pinned under him with him pressing kisses to her neck and chest. When his hand slipped under her shirt, she forgot all logical thought about whether she should need him so badly or not and found herself pressing her own kisses to his neck as he lifted her up and pulled her shirt over her head.

He pulled back and seemed to drink in the sight of her bare abdomen and collar bone before deciding it wasn't enough and pushing the straps of her bra off of her should and unhooking the back, throwing it away from the bed.

As his head lowered to her now exposed breast, Hermione let out a sigh and ran her fingers through his hair, messing up the perfection he always kept it in. When his lips wrapped around her nipple, she let out a loud moan and let her head fall back, clutching his hair in her fists.

Vaguely, she questioned why she didn't feel nervous at all. It was the first time they were doing anything since their wedding night, but the thought was quickly interrupted when he started tweaking and rolling her other nipple with his fingers.

She was beginning to feel like she might die if she didn't closer to him and realized that, once again, he had more clothes on than she did. Pulling her head back up she made his stop what he was doing where she would be able to take his shirt off.

She fumbled with his tie and quickly divested of it and then started on the buttons that seemed never ending on his black shirt. One would think that black would clash with his pale skin horribly, but it was the sexiest thing she had ever seen at the moment and she quickly thanked the gods for giving her such an attractive husband.

When she finished unbuttoning the shirt, she pushed it off, taking care it didn't hit the mark on his arm before kissing him passionately and grinding her hips against his. She moaned when she felt the thickness of his length pressed against her through their clothes.

It seemed they both needed each other desperately because as she went to unbuckle his belt, his hands lowered to unbutton her own pants and she vaguely heard his shoes hitting the floor as he kicked them off.

Once again, Draco rolled them over and, after kicking his own pants off, pulled hers off leaving them both only in their underwear. He started kissing her stomach and Hermione found she absolutely couldn't wait any longer. She didn't know what had gotten into her, but she needed him and she needed him now.

Quickly she pulled his shoulders so he was back eye level to her and gave him a deep kiss as she tugged his boxers down. It proved trickier than she thought it would be to get them over his length, but finally she had them off.

He looked into her eyes a moment and seemed to realize what she was wanting because quicker than she could blink he pulled her own underwear off and lined himself up at her entrance, hesitating slightly.

"Draco, please."

That was all it took. He plunged into her, causing her to wince slightly from the sensation of being stretched. It didn't take but a second for pleasure to completely override the discomfort and once again she was shocked at how brazen she was being.

His name, along with other words and noises all left her lips as she clutched the pillow behind her in one hand and him with the other.

He pumped in and out of her, quicker and harder each time. Soon, she felt her abdomen tighten and with a scream she fell over the edge. She could feel him kissing and sucking at her neck as she screamed and clamped down around him.

So this was sex. Complete ecstasy beyond compare. Their first time was great, but the sensations running through her body now was far from anything she had ever came close to imagining. Gone were rational thoughts. She found she couldn't care that he was probably leaving marks on her skin, that he was once her enemy, or that he was branded by Voldermort himself. At the moment it was just him and her as one.

Her thoughts were broken when she felt Draco pull his head back from her neck and his eyes widen. "Fuck, Hermione!"

He let out a grunt as she felt him come inside her and the feeling almost sent her over the edge once again. It was her name he was yelling, her body that gave him such pleasure, and her arms that he collapsed in. She normally wasn't one for such pettiness, but as she held him in her arms with him still inside of her, she felt a smugness towards the other girls he had been with that she wasn't used to experiencing.

Her new smugness was interrupted when she felt Draco lift his head off of her chest. As she looked up into his gray eyes she felt her heart flip a bit.

"You're amazing," he whispered as he kissed her gently.

"How?"

"Most girls would run as fast as they could."

"I'm not most girls."

"No, no you're not."

Slowly and gently, he rolled over onto his back, pulling out of her and pulling her into his arms.

Her eyes stayed on him as he fell asleep and she found herself thinking it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. Quietly, she pressed a light kiss to his forehead and gently unwrapped his arms from her waist.

His arm needed medicine on it again and she figured it was best to let him sleep while she did it. She hated to see him in any type of pain, so if it was avoidable she would do her best to avoid it. She quickly grabbed the balm and then got back in to the bed pulling the covers back over her.

After she made sure the sheet was modestly tucked around her, she carefully laid his arm onto her lap like she had earlier. If possible the mark looked more painful than it had before. The red was blazing against his skin and when her fingers touched it, she yanked them back painfully.

His skin was literally burning to the touch. Was that a side effect of the dark magic or the balm Snape had given Draco? She eyed the clear medicine warily. No, Draco obviously knew Snape better than she did and if he trusted him then she would as well.

She scooped a generous amount of the balm into her fingers and rubbed it into his arm, ignoring the pain in her own fingers. It was probably something Voldemort had created to keep his followers from trying to heal it quicker than it naturally did. The more pain the better.

Anger flooded through Hermione once again as she screwed the lid back on the balm and placed it on the nightstand, her eyes never leaving the horrid mark. What was Dumbledore thinking? Draco was only 16 years old, he wouldn't be 17 until June, and he not only had a wife to worry about, but now he was a double agent, as well.

The reality of it all was almost overwhelming. Hermione felt tears prick her eyes and rapidly blinked them away, making sure Draco was still asleep. It wouldn't do to let him know how worried she was. It would only add more stress to him, which in his situation was not a good idea.

How would they get through this? What about them would bring an end to this awful war? Hermione tried to turn the questions off in her head unsuccessfully. It wouldn't do to fret. They would just have to wait and see what the future would hold. She certainly wasn't about to ask Trelawney for a reading. More than likely, she'd just predict they ended up dead.

Snuggling down into the covers next to Draco, Hermione resolved herself to go to sleep and try not to worry when Draco let out a muffled scream. She jerked up about to ask him what was wrong when she realized he was still asleep.

Snape must have given him something beforehand to make him stay asleep for him not to be waking up. It was obvious he was in pain. Sweat was beading up on his brow and jaw was clenched as he twisted the sheet in his fist.

She didn't know what to do. How do you comfort someone in pain if they are still asleep? She racked her memory until she remembered an article she read on comatose patients. They can still hear the person speaking to them, even though they can't respond.

So leaning over him she did the only thing she could think of. She started talking to him.

"Shh, Draco, it's Hermione. I'm right here. It'll be ok, I've put your medicine on. It should be over soon. Shh."

She felt her heart break as he let out another painful scream and his breathing quickened. She allowed her hand to stroke his face, pushing his hair back, as she continued to talk.

"Snape must have given you something to keep you out once you fell asleep. It's brilliant really, you shouldn't remember anything once you wake up. Just pretend it's all a dream. That's it, a dream and soon it will all be over, I promise."

Would it really be over though or was she promising something she couldn't keep? After a few more minutes of talking quietly to him, the pain seemed to ease off and he relaxed back into a peaceful sleep.

She conjured a damp cloth and rubbed it over his forehead when a thought occurred to her. He had a Quidditch match tomorrow. Would Dumbledore and Snape expect him to play? Surely not. They couldn't expect him to play a sport in the kind of pain he was in. But then, how many other times would he come back to her in pain and have to act as if nothing in the world was wrong to everyone else?

She let out a shudder at the foreboding thought. Deciding it was best she got some rest while she could she cast a tempus charm to wake her up on the hour every hour for his medicine and snuggled back into his arms where she was before he screamed and found herself drifting off.

The next morning, the sun rose to meet an exhausted Hermione Granger. The night had turned into a routine of applying balm, talking him through his pain, and grabbing thirty minutes of sleep, before starting all over again. Before she could flick her wand to close the curtains, she felt Draco stir beside her. She looked up to see gray eyes peering at her.

"Thank you for taking care of me."

"It was nothing, I couldn't just ignore the pain you were in. Wait how do you remember?"

"You don't forget that kind of pain, Hermione, even with sleep, but to be honest it was your voice I remember most. It helped dull everything else going on. So thank you."

She cringed thinking about how severe the pain must have been for him to still have a clear recollection of it. Finding herself at a loss for words she mumbled the most polite thing she could think of. "I'm glad I could be of help."

"Quit putting yourself down. I was in pain and you helped. Now, I'm feeling much better now and that fact that I get to wake up to my beautiful, naked wife this morning helps even more," he winked suggestively at her. "Now, if you aren't too tired, I think I'd like to take advantage of that."

Hermione opened her mouth, shocked at what he just said. She was exhausted, but the thought that he wanted her the minute he woke up caused her own want to override her need for sleep.

"But, but, you have a Quidditch match today. After last night you should be resting."

Her argument was weak and half-hearted, but she figured she should at least remind him of what the day would bring.

"Exactly, I have a Quidditch match and there is nothing that will prepare me more for it than shagging my lovely wife," he answered cockily.

"Are you asking me to help conspire against my own house?" Hermione tried to suppress a laugh, but failed horribly.

"Why, yes, I believe I am."

With that, Draco lowered his mouth onto hers and all talking ceased.

A/N: So sorry for the wait, guys. I have been dealing with midterms, working 2 jobs, and all the other fun of real life lately. Hopefully, you haven't given up on me.

Let me know if this chapter met your expectations and answered any questions you may have had from the previous one in a review! If you reviewed last time and I didn't reply, I'm super sorry. I do try to reply to everyone though!

Also, I can't believe this story has already hit over 100 followers this quickly and is now working on 200! You guys are amazing! Thanks so much!