Prologue

They won. They actually, truly won. There was nothing we could do as Hagrid showed the crowd Harry's very much dead body. His eyes were unblinking, lifeless. Hagrid was sobbing. Nevil was seething with Ron at his side, showing the anger and loss in his eyes. We were defeated, lost, and broken. We had lost all spirit.

"Your savour is dead. The one you poured all your hope into." His cold voice rang through the air, vibrating the area around us.

We were still, but shaking in fear.

Voldemort shot a killing curse at Hagrid and we watched in still horror as the half-giant tipped back and dropped Harry's body to the side as his body crumpled to the ground. It was at this point, hell broke loose.

I stood still in the flurry of spells and curses being shot before me. I found the fight before me pointless. There was nothing we could do. There was no way we could win. A bright purple curse missed me by mere centimetres of my ear.

I felt someone grab my hand, pulling me out of my daze. I looked at the hand holding mine and held it tighter. Their grip was like a lifeline, something that would save me if I never let go. So I ran in whatever direction it pulled me in. I only looked up when I felt the familiar presence of the Room of Requirement.

"Through here, Granger. Hurry."

The voice was smooth and light despite the battle outside. It was a male voice, rich and aristocratic, melodic and soft. It was the voice I would never forget. It belonged to one Draco Malfoy.

I whipped around and drew my wand. "Malfoy!" I yelled before shooting off three disarming spells, all of which he dodged.

"Granger! Just stop and hurry through the cabinet and call for Loopy."

"Why should I trust a Death Eater Scumbag, idiotic, half-the-wizard-Harry-could-have-ever-been like you?"

"He's dead, Hermione. Okay? Dead. There's no point in fighting that fact. I'm trying to help you stay alive, so do as I say and go." He pushed me roughly towards the vanishing cabinet and closed the door behind me. I took a deep breath. As I heard Draco begin chanting the spell, I closed my eyes and did my best to remain calm.

It didn't work.

I felt like I was being sucked through a straw. And when the feeling finally stopped, I was panting. I wanted to cry as everything stilled around me.

"Loopy," I gasped out, remembering Draco's orders.

"Lady Hermione?" The elf asked.

"Yes," I responded at the elf's stern expression.

"Good, good. Please do follow me. The young master asked me to prepare you in the instance that Harry Potter has failed to defeat the Dark Lord."

There was a pop and Draco was standing there a few feet away. "Oh thank god, I thought I had failed to say it right. Okay, Loopy, make her look like a pureblood. Make her look like she's anything but a Mudblood."

The house elf nodded and pulled me towards the door.

"Wait!" I shrieked. "I want some answers, Malfoy!"

Draco sighed. "Sit down then," He said as he transfigured a pile of stones into a comfortable looking chair. "It started when Harry Bloody Potter asked me to save you."

Chapter 1

"Harry… asked you to save me… You? Why? When?" Hermione said as she tried to make sense of the words he assaulted her with. She was trying to fathom why her beloved friend would come to their school rival for help.

"It was a while back, Granger. At the end of our sixth year. He knew Dumbledore's plan about his death. So, he trusted in Snape and told him this. I had gone to him that night, to Snape I mean, and I overheard it. Him begging to save you. He knew that purebloods would destroy the Mudbloods. He knew that you would be sold off like an animal in the event that Voldemort won the war. Snape heard me outside the room and revealed my presence… Harry was surprised, to say the least. He was eager to take up my status. He begged me to make sure in the event he failed, you would be safe."

Hermione stayed in silence. It was common belief that Harry considered Hermione to be the only person he cared for. He had broken up with Ginny at the start of his journey for the Horcruxes and he and Hermione had grown close, but that would have been after his conversation with Draco. She was so confused.

"Why do you look so shocked, Granger?" Draco drawled. "You had to have known about his feelings."

Tears begun to well up in her eyes as she tried her best to calm herself down. "You're saying he cared for me so much that he chose between me and Ron…Even over Ginny..."

"That's exactly was I am saying, Granger." He drawled as he gestured for Loopy to dress Hermione. "Get her ready. Hell is going to break loose."

It was mere hours later, as she looked in the mirror that she had never felt so ornate in her life, completely knocking her Yule Ball appearance out of the water. She wore a long, strapless forest green ball gown with silver heels. Around her neck was a silver chain with a silver serpent with emerald eyes. Her hair was straitened only the ends remained curly. Despite her Slytherin appearance, she felt beautiful.

It was only when Draco pulled her attention away from her reflection did she sigh.

"You look absolutely stunning."

"This won't fool anyone. I'm still a muggleborn. All the surviving students know that."

"I am aware."

Suddenly it occurred to her. "There were survivors, right?" Her heart clenched tightly as he ran a hand through his unusually unkempt hair.

He sighed. "Not many. Mostly Slytherins. A few dozen Ravenclaw. No Hufflepuff. And the Gryffindors, well, those who didn't fight are okay, but the ones who survived are in camps..."

She wanted to cry. She wanted to know the fate of Ron and Ginny and the others. She was terrified to ask. She almost didn't want the answers.

As if knowing what she was thinking, he laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her a sad smile. "Ginny was freed."

"And Ron?"

"In the camps. He is being held in an investigation chamber. "

"You can say he's being tortured..."

"We try not to."

It was then that there was a knock on the door and entered Nacrissa Malfoy. There was a soft smile on her face as her eyes landed on her son, gratitude in her eyes at his survival. As her eyes shifted over to Hermione, her smile grew a sadder tone, one with pity and understanding.

"Are you ready?" She asked gently, as if she could sense the nervousness coming off in waves.

She shrugged and looped her arm through Draco's extended elbow while biting her bottom lip. She dreaded to walk through that door. She held his arm tightly, fearing the people behind the door she confronted months earlier. As Nacrissa pushed open the door she so desperately wanted to remain closed, Draco smiled reassuringly at her and mouthed that it was going to be okay.

She didn't believe him, but nodded anyway. He led her into the drawing room where the bodies of Harry Potter, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Lucius Malfoy. She let go of Draco and approached Harry. She caressed his cold, bloodied face and brushed the rebellious black hair from his eyes. Tears welled in her eyes as she gripped his hand and realised it failed to hold hers back like it had so many times before.

"Oh, Harry..." She whispered. She longed to see his emerald green eyes shine with determination once more.

She felt Draco come up behind her and once again lay a hand on her shoulder. "We were tasked with his disposal, and regardless of which side he was on, he was, is a person. Enemy or not, he deserves a proper burial." His words were well chosen, rehearsed over and over again.

"Thank you." She said quietly as her eyes moved to the other two fallen in the room. "I must ask though, why am I being so... I don't know... welcomed here?"

It was Nacrissa's turn to smile at her. "If it weren't for Lucius's demise, you wouldn't be. He wouldn't allow it. However, you're a valuable asset that cannot be lost. The Brightest Witch of her Age simply cannot be allowed to hovel in some prisoner of war camp to be tortured-"

"Mother." Draco interrupted. "She is also a person."

"My point was," She shot an annoyed look at her son. "That though I am not a blood purity supremacist, I do believe that some witches and wizards are simply better than others and I will, how you Gryffindors say, look out for my own."

Hermione looked at her, eyes shimmering with confusion and loss. Draco took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't stress the details, Hermione. For now, mourn."

She nodded, deciding to do just that. Her hands shook as she moved to touch the hand on her shoulder, silently letting the tears fall.

Draco held her when she began to wail with loss. He had hope it would never come to this. Harry was supposed to do this. He wasn't able to do this, comfort her. He didn't have that right. His aunt made sure of that with the mudblood on her arm. He ran his hand up and down her back, switching to patting when the hiccups came. He soothed her with half truths that everything would be okay. He watched her movements carefully. She reached up to wipe the trails of tears away from her cheeks.

"Why?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to add some detail, Hermione."

She looked up at him, noticing how his grey eyes shone with confusion. His hair was still dishevelled and she noticed there was a bloodstain on his robes. She shook her head and lifted her wand, muttering a few spells to fix his appearance. "It's hard to take you seriously when you don't look like yourself."

He gave her a half smile and pulled her to her feet and led her from the room. He kept walking as he let out a sigh. "You asked why. Why what?"

"Why didn't you identify us, months ago?" She asked. "You knew who we all were."

He let out another sigh. "I'm not ready to give that answer."

She pulled at his arm, forcing him to stop walking and look at her. "You just watched as I-" Her voice choked in a sob as she clutched her forearm where the dastardly name was carved.

He looked past her and at the wall instead. He wasn't ready to give these answers and he knew she wasn't ready to hear them. He began walking again leading her back to the room she dressed in. In silence, he walked to the bathroom connecting to the bedroom. He pulled her with him, forcing her in front of the mirror. He admired how well she had filled out. She was beautiful and he would be satisfied with that. He knew he could bring her to see that this was the only way to keep her safe. Over time, of course.

"You're going to have to marry me."