Hermione had passed out sometime during the car ride to the safe house. When she woke up Harry and Ron were at the side of her bed, talking quietly to each other. It looked like a normal room in Muggle London, possibly a flat. She smelled bacon and eggs and then the feeling of floating from the pain potions instead of a slam of aches and pains. She looked down on her bandaged arm, from wrist to shoulder. She also had bandages around her ribs and she could feel the bandages on her face.

"How are you feeling dear?" Molly bustled in with a hearty plate of breakfast food and a cold glass of orange juice which she sat down on a conjured bed tray.

"Like I've been hit by a train," Hermione grumbled as she tried to sit up but most of her body refused to cooperate. Harry gingerly helped her and patted the pillows behind her to keep her upright.

"The healer said you'll be able to walk around later today," Ron spoke up, she nodded.

"Did everyone make it here alright?" Hermione asked as she dug into her breakfast. Not realizing till just then that she hadn't eaten a thing for at least two days.

"Blaise and Draco got a little beaten up but they're fine. One of the Aurors is still in critical condition at St. Mungo's. You two were the lucky ones, the rest of us sustained minor injuries but we didn't have a car waiting," Ron glared at his mother, apparently he hadn't known his mother could drive either.

"We only had one shot with the car," Harry spoke up, Ron nodded and let it go.

"I heard something about Horcruxes from Bellatrix, what are they?" Hermione asked, looking to Harry. Actually she had picked it out of Bellatrix's brain when they connected over the Imperious Curse but she didn't want to go into her torture just yet. Harry sat down and started the long explanation of what he had been doing in the past few months.

"We'll figure out how to destroy them, don't worry Harry," Hermione patted his hand.

"So what about this Pureblood Annual?" Harry looked between Hermione and Ron who looked surprised that he would bring up something so trivial as a ball in the middle of a war.

"What? There's more to life than this awful war and I'm tired of thinking about it. Do you think they'll still hold it even in the midst of it?" Harry asked curiously.

"They always hold it. For at least a thousand years, it's not an option. Attendance might be low but it'll still happen," Ron answered.

"Oh! The Annual, I had plum forgot about it, I met your father there you know," Molly spoke up from the doorway. "My date was Alexander Cornfoot of all people but Arthur just stole me away," Molly laughed as Ron looked slightly sick.

"I think I'll go check on Blaise now, feel better 'Mione," Ron pecked Hermione's forehead and hurried off as Molly started to explain who Alexander Cornfoot is and the whole romantic story. Harry looked amused as Ron escaped.

***!***

Later that night Hermione peeled away the bandage covering her arm and took in the word carved there. She felt tears well up in her eyes but they wouldn't fall. She knew that Bellatrix was cruel but this branding told her all she needed to know about the pureblood world. They were ignorant bigots that destroyed lives based on what they could carve out of those they thought were less than them in any way. The whole joke was that Hermione might very well be more "pureblood" than Bellatrix herself.

"Hermione? I saw your light," Draco lightly knocked on her door.

"Come in," Hermione called, he opened the door, she smiled at his appearance. He looked endearing in pj bottoms and a t-shirt with disheveled hair. He looked almost like a teenage muggle than an adult wizard in the middle of a war.

"I'm sorry we couldn't get there in time," Draco looked down on her mutilated arm, she covered it with her other hand. The healer had told her that she could keep the bandage on for as long as she wished even though it was healed, since Bellatrix had used a cursed blade, she couldn't do anything about the scarring.

"I don't understand something," Hermione looked up at him, he sat down on the chair by her bed, his telepathy telling him that something dangerous was lurking inside the girl but he forced himself to close out her thoughts, he had a feeling she needed her privacy. It helped that he was getting better at controlling his abilities.

"What is it?" He asked, she took a deep breath and dived into her feelings.

"Malfoy, why are you different than the people you were raised by? You were raised by horrible people who taught you to hate me but you obviously don't now. In fact you've risked your life for me twice now which is strange. It's contradictory to everything that you were. To the pureblood prick that used to make our lives hell as recently as last year, what changed?" Hermione asked, her eyes bore into him, testing his expression for anything that might indicate to her that he was lying in any way. He felt like the next thing out of his mouth would change the rest of his life.

"I know we've talked about this before and I get it, I was a horrible person before Dumbledore died and no his death isn't what changed me directly. It helped but a person doesn't change unless deep down inside they were already a certain way. Dumbledore's death afforded me a chance to get out from under the Dark Lord without the death of my mother. I know that sounds selfish and horrible in itself. I know you probably hate me for even saying that bu-" Draco felt like he was rambling.

"You didn't kill Dumbledore, I think you just saw the silver lining and made the best out of a bad situation. I don't fault you for that," Hermione interrupted him, he looked up at her neutral expression and breathed a sigh of relief. She seemed to be open to what he was trying to explain.

"So you can understand that I've seen the error in my ways and maybe did some growing up?" Draco asked, she smiled slightly.

"I guess we're all growing up really fast in this war," she told him softly, he nodded and looked away from her very open and vulnerable expression. It was strange seeing her like that.

"We have to," he murmured, looking down on his hands.

"Well we have a big day tomorrow. We should get some sleep," Hermione told him awkwardly, he nodded and got up.

"Good night Hermione," he told her before leaving.

"Good night…Draco," she replied to the empty room.

TBC