Disclaimer: Not mine, never was, never shall be.

Author's Note: I've had a few comments that my chapters are short. blushes That is true. Unfortunately, the reason for this is because I usually most feel like writing when I have the most work to do. Therefore, updates are fast and chapters are short. I'm trying to make it a bit different with this chapter though, because I do know how frustrating it gets when an author updates…only to offer up crumbs. So hope this is good for you guys!

Chapter 12

He stared at her, not knowing what to do. She was breathing deeply, her head occasionally moving side to side, rubbing into the blankets (and inadvertently his legs) to find the best niche in his lap to rest on. Asleep, she looked so…peaceful, calm and gentle. Not at all like that avenging hellion he had seen briefly during the fight with the Dementors.

How…different. He did not know which he preferred better, a peaceful Hermione, or a Hermione who had such fire in her eyes.

Though…hmm…this Hermione drooled. He could feel his bare legs under the blanket becoming slightly damp.

She was still beautiful.

Before the whole incident at the Parkinson Mansion, he had not had many opportunities to examine her while she was unawares. Her bodyguards Potter and Weasley were always there, constantly looking out for her…and looking out for where he was too. Potter had probably suspected how he had felt for Hermione, and ever since that night at the Gryffindor common room, had tried all ways and means to keep Hermione out of Draco's way. The git.

Now Draco was not a bad man, but he was nevertheless a selfish one. To be honest, he had not felt one jot for the deaths of Potter and Weasley. Dumbledore, he had felt regret; for Snape there was a slight twinge in his heart that was probably sorrow, but that he liked to pretend was just premature heartburn. The two Gryffindor clowns? A petty, mean part of him that he had tried to suppress ever since his induction into the Order was even slightly happy that their deaths had given him this chance with Hermione, had allowed him to watch over her night after night while she slept, as lovely and as exquisite as fresh-fallen snow.

His legs jerked involuntarily as she mumbled in her sleep, causing her to wake up, brown lashed eyes opening and gazing at him. Her hair was sleep-mussed, and her eyes were bleary, but when she smiled gently at him he felt the last remnants of his dream finally drift away.

"Draco…" and for a moment, for just one tiny miniscule moment, Draco thought that he could see concern, love, and trust in her eyes. And just for that one moment, he decided that everything was worth it. All the hurt, tears, blood, crucio…everything that had brought him up to this one moment, was all worth it. But then that moment passed and she tried to school her features into one of business-like concern, "How are you Draco?"

He chuckled nervously, "As well as can be. I see that it is now my turn to be the patient, and yours to be the nursemaid. Thank you."

She blushed slightly, "It was the least I could do."

The Ferret and the Know-It-All had a brief moment of awkward silence as each thought furiously of humorous, meaningful, and memorable things to say. Their professors would have been so happy if only they could have been struck dumb like this more often during their school days.

"Um…"

"Well…"

Draco winced as a lance of pain shot through him as he shifted on his bed.

"What's wrong Draco?" asked Hermione worriedly.

"It's nothing," said Draco, trying to brush it off, "Just some bad dream, causing a bit of pain. It's gone now, don't worry about it."

"Was it caused by the Fervefacio?" she asked softly.

Draco gave a grim smile, "Yes. Well, sort of. It was about when…my mother was murdered."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No…well…ahh…it's so…it's so stupid! I was so stupid!" He looked at her mournfully, "I am a coward, Hermione."

She looked at him sternly, putting her hands on his shoulders, "Draco Malfoy! Don't be ridiculous! I have seen you fight Death Eaters and face Voldemort; you have protected Hogwarts from doom; heck, you were even the only one reckless enough to stand up to the Dementors the way you did! Don't tell me you are a coward!"

"But I am." He said quietly. "Do you know, I had a chance to kill him, to avenge my mother's death. His back was turned to me, and the overconfident bastard had left me my wand. But I could not even aim my wand properly at him before I gave up."

To his surprise and slight consternation, she laughed. "Oh, by Merlin Malfoy! You silly boy. You were what, fifteen years old? Did you really think that a greenhorn like you who'd probably never attempted the Unforgivables could actually inflict any kind of harm on Voldemort?"

"But…" He did not know whether to feel mollified or insulted. He grumbled petulantly, "Yes, yes, make fun of the man who's been taking care of you for more than a month."

She smiled placatingly, "You know what I mean. Don't blame yourself. In fact, you did the right thing. He probably would've killed you. Better to live to fight another day."

"Potter would've done it." He murmured bitterly.

Hermione sighed. "Draco, Harry would've been dead." Then, chuckling hollowly, she continued, "Gryffindor bravery is not always the solution to every problem."

She placed her hand over his, and the feel of her skin on his, even in such an innocent location, sent a tingly feeling up his spine. "Don't beat yourself up over this. I'm sure your mother would not have wanted to you to risk your life in that manner. I'm sure she would've wanted you to live."

He tried not to cry.

His eyes were just itchy. Probably the unwashed sheets causing his allergies to act up.

Yes, that was it.

"You always know what to say huh Granger?"

She winked cheekily, "I learn from the best."

"You know…" he stared down at his sheets, "You really were magnificent at that last battle. I mean, I've never seen anyone blast away Dementors like that."

"Honestly, I don't really even know what happened. I just…tapped into my emotions. And as you probably know, I have been suppressing these emotions for a very long time." She laughed nervously, "It was probably a very lucky fluke."

"No…" said Draco slowly, "No, I really don't think it was a fluke. You were…really awe-inspiring. Powerful."

"Oh please Malfoy!" snorted Hermione, "You speak of me as if I were the next Harry, or Dumbledore. Which I am not."

He gave her a shrewd look, "What did the others say then?"

"What others?" She in turn looked at him defiantly.

"Oh Granger stop playing around! I meant Neville, Professor Sinistra and Flitwick, Charlie Weasley, Angelina Johnson, heck, even Dean Thomas. What did they say? What exactly happened after I was knocked out by the combined prowess of a hundred Dementors? Oh and how long have I been knocked out for anyway?"

"Oh, so it's Granger now, is it?"

He resisted the urge to strangle her pretty neck. That would definitely not help his chances with her. Instead, he decided to go for the Malfoy eyebrow lift.

"Oh…all right! They have been kind of in awe of me." She admitted reluctantly. "And you've only been knocked out for a night. I've been here the entire time so you needn't worry about Madam Pomfrey purposely spiking your medicines to make you sleep."

Realization dawned upon Draco like the sun coming out from the clouds, he grinned like a Cheshire cat, "So…you've been here the entire night?"

"Well don't flatter yourself! I just didn't want to have to face the screaming hordes outside!"

"You mean the Ministry and the aurors? Our friends and professors?"

She stood, wringing her hands together, "Cornelius Fudge and his cronies are coming at any time! And they want me to handle them! Me! I mean, I don't know anything about this!"

"Hermione! Are you even listening to yourself!" said Draco exasperatedly, "You're Hermione Granger! You do know everything! You're the Know-It-All! And even if you don't, you will somehow. I've suffered losing to you grades-wise for years, I know what I'm talking about."

"But...arrghh…"

"Come on Granger," he gave a truly scintillating smile, "You know you love it. All the nagging, all the scolding, ordering people about, showing off how much you know and how everyone else around you is an idiot…"

She was speechless for a moment and he took the opportunity to herd her out the door. He paused and looked her over, feeling very oddly like a parent about to send his child off to Hogwarts for the very first time. "You all right?"

"I am all right. Finally." And she looked as if she really meant it. "But this…ooh Draco you're going to get it from me when you finally get well!"

He looked at her behind lidded eyes, murmuring "And I shall be looking forward to that Granger."

She got slightly scarlet and pushed past him out the portrait door, muttering under her breath about evil ferrets and their innuendoes.

00000

In truth, she had not told Draco the whole story of the events after the attack because she did not want him to worry. The actual casting of the Patronus though…it had just felt so right. Like the blessings of Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, McGonagall and even Snape for goodness sakes were behind her. She did not think, just reacted. Quite a first for Hermione Granger, who tended to research everything to death before coming to a decision. And to be honest, the feeling had been…glorious. As if everything were finally coming together, as if this was what she was meant to do. To fight. To win.

After that of course she had fainted dead away, causing everyone around her who was still conscious to scream and panic. She had only woken up again because Neville had stuffed the largest piece of chocolate she had ever seen into her open mouth, nearly choking her in the process. Professor Sinistra was of course absolutely livid. She vaguely remembered her screaming that if Hermione were not done in by the Dementors, then she would surely be by that ridiculous Longbottom and his blasted Honeydukes chocolate.

Death by chocolate. She smiled. Not entirely a bad way to go.

Everything after that of course was a big mess. The younger students kept looking at her with stars in their eyes and getting in her way, there were so many people needing Madam Pomfrey's attention that they had to create another makeshift Infirmary out of an abandoned classroom, and as usual no one had took notice of Draco lying forlornly on the stone floors until Hermione had screamed at some Gryffindors to go get Pomfrey while she levitated him to the Slytherin dungeons.

And now she was suddenly elected leader of them all, shoved into the responsibility of meeting the Ministry and dealing with this mess.

She proceeded to the Great Hall and gave a slight start at the number of people already assembled there.

"Miss Granger! Finally you are here! Now can we start?" Fudge gave an exasperated eye roll at Flitwick, who ignored him, giving an eye roll of his own.

"Minister, I…" she started to apologize for being late to the meeting before Fudge waved her away with a flick of his hand and cut in pompously,

"Now Miss Granger! I feel that I am being reasonable when I say that this whole situation has been a disaster!"

She arched her brow and asked, "What do you mean 'disaster'? We did destroy the Dementors, making another problem of your own making go away."

"Well…" he was slightly flustered for a moment before regaining his wind, "Well the fact that they actually penetrated your defenses prove that Hogwarts is not prepared to deal with an invasion! This castle is unsafe! Unsafe and vulnerable! I order all of you to leave at once. For Merlin's sake you lot are mere children! Time to stop playing at being little soldiers and leave the real fighting to those who are actually equipped to do it! I tell you…"

Hermione felt her blood start to boil. Figuratively of course. She had been perfectly willing to be polite and balanced about this until that idiot Fudge had started on his little tirade, not listening to everyone as usual and making the most ridiculous decisions, again without anyone's consent. He prattled on, making Hermione distinctly more and more irritated as the minutes passed. Finally, she could stand it no longer, and said loudly, "And what makes you think we'll consent to do any of that?"

"Because I am the Minister of Magic and I command you to!"

She sneered at him. "With all respect Minister Fudge, that does not mean anything to us here. We will not agree, and we will not leave Hogwarts!"

Fudge blustered ineffectually, astounded that a mere girl actually dared to stand up to him! The Minister of Wizarding Britain! "Wha…this is preposterous! This…this is treason!"

"I hardly think this qualifies as treason Minister. We of the Order are merely doing what we feel is the best for Britain, what we feel will be the most effective in defeating Voldemort.

Fudge flinched at the mention of his name. After a moment he straightened up and looked at her scornfully, "And do you really think that this is the best way to defeat You-Know-Who?" He gestured at the Great Hall disdainfully, "This plan did not really work out for Dumbledore or Harry Potter, now did it?"

Hermione fumed inwardly, "Hogwarts is the best place to be! Divided, we are individually vulnerable to attacks from the Death Eaters. Together as a group, we will be protected by each other. The students in here have been safe from attacks for years! Other wizards, especially muggleborns have been flocking here for refuge! In any case the Ministry is not so safe now, is it? Haven't your headquarters been attacked many times in the past, with considerable damage to its infrastructure? I still remember when it was breached in my 5th year at Hogwarts!" She glared at Fudge, all the while thanking Bill Weasley silently for giving her updates on what was going on in the War after the attack by the Dementors.

Fudge was turning redder and redder, and now resembled an over-ripe tomato. "What is going on at the Ministry is inconsequential to the situation in Hogwarts!" he barked. "The point is, you lot are leaderless, stranded, and pathetic! You think you're so great?" He walked closer to Hermione, "Oh, I know what you lot think missy. You think you're better than us, don't you? You would want to take over the Ministry, don't you? Well you've had your chance. Dumbledore had his chance! And where is he now? Six foot below the ground, that's where!"

"Minister Fudge," said Hermione coolly, "can I ask you a question? Have you ever actually met with Voldemort? Have you and your aurors been able to find him?"

She was met with stony silence.

She narrowed her eyes, "You cannot even bear to say his name."

Looking around at the students and various other Order members ranged around her, she said with obvious pride, "We may have lost ground in the battle against Voldemort, but these students are more battle-hardened then ten of your aurors combined. They have faced Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and more horrors then you or you lot could ever imagine. They have earned their place here, and they are our best bet of survival, our best bet for winning. We will continue to stay here, and we will give Voldemort and his Death Eaters a hell of a fight."

Fudge's mouth gaped open and close like a fish gasping for breath. "You…you can't do this!"

"Oh yes I can!" said Hermione viciously. "I can and I will."

"Oh no you won't!" He looked around wildly at his aurors. "Seize her!"

A few of the aurors moved towards Hermione hesitantly and cautiously, they had after all heard about Hermione Granger's great win over the Dementors. However, before they could do so much as to touch her person, Arthur Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped forward smoothly in front of her, blocking her off from the other aurors. Two or three other aurors she soon recognized as being members of the Order moved briskly towards her to stand with her as well. Fudge was stunned speechless, staring disbelievingly at his traitorous men.

Hermione stared piercingly at him, "Minister Fudge, I had hoped to join forces with the Ministry and the aurors, but I can see now that that was wishful thinking on my part. I have no choice presently but to throw you out. Rest assured though, that Hogwarts looks after its own. Magic is ingrained deeply in the very stones of this castle. Do not worry, we will be safe."

She turned to walk out the door, leaving the other Order members to deal with the raging Minister and his entourage. "Come back when you have changed your mind. But for now, get out of our way." She pushed open the large wooden doors and strode out, leaving everyone else even more in awe of her, and leaving a very amazed Neville thinking that she was becoming more and more like Draco with each passing day.

00000

At night at the shower stalls.

Lavender was just minding her own business, sitting on a stool at the entrance to the shower stalls and filing her nails, getting ready for yet another long and boring night of shower duty when Hermione Granger came striding towards her like an avenging angel, dressed in a fluffy white bathrobe, towel in one hand, and soaps and shampoos in the other. She looked down at the list of names on her parchment and smirked. Ah, someone trying to flout the rules again, eh? She might be the brand new heroine of the day, but she still had to follow the rules and regulations. Lavender steeled herself resolutely. She shall not pass.

"Hello Lavender, shower for one please."

"Oh, I'm sooo sorry Hermione," replied Lavender gleefully and insincerely, "but you've used up your shower ration for the week. No shower for you till the next, I'm afraid." She went back to filing her nails, purposefully ignoring Granger and laughing silently on the inside at the expression on her face.

Lavender had expected Hermione to start pleading or complaining, but what she did next was totally unexpected. Putting one hand on Lavender's shoulder and leaning in uncomfortably near, she hissed, "Lavender? Go stuff it." While Lavender was still recovering from the shock, Hermione breezed past her into the showers, slammed the doors of one of the empty stalls, and went ahead to start her shower, singing a horrible muggle tune at the top of her voice.

Inside the shower, Hermione Granger grinned. It felt good to be back.

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Author's Note: I apologize for having to do the corny 'seize her!' thing, but rest assured that it was necessary! Anyway, it does kind of give a nice ring, doesn't it? Haha.

Also this is totally out of the point but since I've finished writing this I just discovered that I lost my wallet. This is miserable.