Disclaimer: You know the drill, this all belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 9

At the time, Hermione had put that incident down as some sort of weird male posturing, as the thought of Malfoy wanting to look out for her had seemed laughable. But now, when placed in light of recent events, she finally realized what all his gestures meant.

She sat on her bed, thinking. If there was one thing Hermione Granger did well, it was to think.

Perhaps she thought too much.

She couldn't get her head around the fact that, of all the unexpected, crazy, weird and magical things to happen in her world, it was the fact that Draco Malfoy, muggle hater and ferret extraordinaire liked her. And not only liked her, but liked her a lot, for a long time. How was that even possible? And why hadn't she seen it earlier?

She had never been very good with boys. Boys as friends, yes, but not boyfriends. Sure there was Viktor and Ron, but she had never really been one of those girls who could summon the attention of boys; who sought it out, and succeeded, like Lavender, or Pavarti. Viktor and Ron had noticed her and appreciated her (though Ron did take a while) in spite of these…well…deficiencies in her inability to be a girl. She could never really be a girl and yet still be comfortable around boys, and it was for that reason that Harry and Ron, along with all the boys in Hogwarts had seen her as kind of a non-female. Not male, but not a girl either.

And then there was Malfoy. And despite the fact that he had insulted her and made life difficult for her for at least five years, despite the fact that he was a narrow-minded bigot and seemed to hate her for no reason other than that she was born, despite all of this, one part of her was oddly, and impossibly excited. She felt like a bubble just wanting and yearning to burst. She felt special, and grateful that somewhere out there, there was someone who thought about her, who genuinely cared. Something had…lifted, somehow. Something that was there since the deaths of Harry and Ron. She felt infinitely lighter, as if there was champagne in her blood. She could run forever if she had to. Almost wanted to in fact. Up mountains and past streams; to run and shriek and feel the wind against her skin. She really could not stop smiling.

And then another part of her felt horribly guilty. Another part of her that hissed at her to stop her foolish grinning, another part that whispered, but how about Ron?

She squared her jaw. Ron was dead.

And you're happy about it, aren't you? Forgot about him pretty quickly, didn't you?

No! No of course not!

But then…didn't you already have feelings for Draco, long before Ron died? Remember the shower? Your thoughts inside the shower? Isn't it convenient that Ron is now dead, leaving you free with Draco?

No. No, that's not true. I loved him. I loved him so much. I still do.

Then you know what to do, don't you?

She stared up at the stone ceiling of her room till she drifted off to sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Her eyes immediately sought his bed the moment they opened. He was not there. It did not look like he had even slept in his bed last night.

That's…that's good. She thought faintly. Less awkward that way.

She found her way to the Great Hall, and settled in for some pumpkin juice and hot toast. Other students and members of the Order were chattering obliviously around her, and she felt a slight shock at the sight of Malfoy eating breakfast on his own at the Slytherin table. His blond hair covered his face, and he studiously ignored the sounds around him, concentrating a bit too much on his buttered scone. He looked so alone.

After the shock had worn off, Hermione reflected that it really was silly, this adherence to the house tables, even when any vestige of the houses no longer existed. He was their leader, had saved them all from an attack on Hogwarts, and yet, no one was willing to even have breakfast with him! She was about to move towards him, ignoring the voice in her head censuring her for her traitorous feelings, when the doors to the hall opened with a loud bang.

It was Hannah Abbot. She had been on Tower Lookout duty this morning. Her face was white and she was panting from the exertion of her obviously frenzied dash to the hall. All eyes were on her, and yet she did not say a thing. And then…

"De…Dementors! Dementors! They're coming! From the forbidden forest!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Great Hall erupted in shouts of fear, confusion and panic. Benches were scraped back and goblets knocked over in everyone's haste to get up, get ready, to run.

Hermione sat rooted to the spot, oddly calm and collected.

They're coming. They're coming for us. Finally, they're here, as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and as Ginny had promised. She thought faintly, as if she were far away and observing the ensuing scene all around her clinically, detachedly.

That's it then. This is it, this is the end. What a pity, she thought, that she had only found out about Draco's love yesterday. What a waste. They were all going to die. She only hoped that it was not too horribly. Closing her eyes and barely trembling, she prepared herself for the inevitable, when she heard a strong voice give a great shout.

"Stop! Everyone stop panicking and running around like little insects! This is not the way to defeat Voldemort!"

The hall went silent at the use of the Dark Lord's name.

Draco Malfoy had climbed onto a table, surveying his troops.

"Now, they will take a while to breach the wards, but these are Dementors, so I am pretty sure they will succeed. So…Longbottom! Patil! Johnson! Bell! Smith! Bones! Chang! Bill and Charlie Weasley! Corner! Macmillan! Lovegood! All of you follow me, we will be the first line of defense for Hogwarts, aren't you all so honoured?" He finished sarcastically, giving a slight sneer.

Hermione was amazed that he could still sneer at a time like this.

"Professor Sinistra," he continued, looking at her, "Could you please lead the second line? Choose as many students as you want."

Sinistra have a terse nod.

"Professor Flitwick, could I bother you to floo the Ministry, get help from the aurors, we're going to need it." said Draco grimly.

Flitwick immediately turned and ran out of the hall to do Draco's bidding.

"Pomfrey, take charge of the infirmary, kill anyone who tries to go through."

Pomfrey saluted savagely, surprising Hermione with her fire and respect for Draco.

"The rest of you, sit tight. We may need you later. If anything goes wrong, remember the escape routes we have practiced."

His eyes gleamed strangely. "We go now."

He trooped out with the chosen first line, leaving the Great Hall in a buzz of activity as the rest of the students and the Order busied themselves with getting ready for the battle ahead.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------