-1AN: I'm such an idiot. I deleted chapter two of the story on accident so I'm just going to post it with chapter three. Oh well. But yes, I hope you enjoy and to all the people that posted a review or added my story to their favorites, Thanks so much! Encouragement, constructive criticism, and ego-stroking are always appreciated. Lol.

DISCLAIMER!: I don't own anything except my original plot and the characters I make along the way!

……………………Now On With The Story…………………..

Monday, March 22, 2003

People filed into St. Mungos, talking loudly and completely filling the small waiting room of the magic hospital. Hermione squirmed her way past the huge crowds of patients, families, and visitors.

After bumping into, swerving, and nearly knocking over many people in the waiting room, Hermione finally made it to her locker, where she quickly put on her hospital uniform and threw her hair up in a high pony tail.

Sighing Hermione put on her name tag, and looked in the mirror.

She narrowed her eyes and said repeatedly to herself, "I love My Job, I love My Job" as she mentally prepared herself for a very, very long day of healing.

………………………………

Hermione checked her watch.

5:00 P.M. Only another seven hours. Joy. She thought to herself, narrowing her eyes in fatigue. "They don't pay me enough", she muttered bitterly.

And as she continued to mutter about the insanely long hours and low wages of her job, Hermione suddenly felt a vibration in her pocket, and reached down and pulled out her beeper. The magically maneuvered device read in big red letters, "EMERGENCY!", and soon Hermione was dashing down the hallway, to the intensive care unit.

When Hermione finally reached the area she was looking for, she saw a gigantic crowd, all seemingly staring down at one of the hospital beds. Pushing people politely out of the way, she looked down to see the bruised and very unconscious face of one Pansy Parkinson.

Hermione Gasped inwardly, not daring to do it in front of all these people. Pansy was here, at St. Mungos, lying unconscious apparently covered in her own blood, and seemingly beaten to within an inch of life? Hermione couldn't believe it. Who would do such a thing. Yes, Pansy was a prissy snob with no dignity or morals, but still, this. This was just inhumane.

As Hermione continued to dwell on the state of the incapacitated young woman sitting before her, she barely noticed the tall blond standing right next to her.

"Ahem!" Said Draco Malfoy, son of infamous Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy, and one royal pain in the arse!

Hermione whipped to the side and gasped as she acknowledged her former school mate, then quickly crossed her arms and threw him a glare as he eyed up the already annoyed muggleborn witch.

"Malfoy", she spat venomously, "What are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be in prison, with the rest of your Death Eater pals?"

The smirk on Draco's face fell for a moment, but he quickly recovered straitening his posture, and standing quite a few feet above the petite Hermione

"Why Granger, its called 'Not Guilty'. Really, haven't you been watching the news?" purred Draco, thoroughly enjoying her displeasure at seeing him here.

Hermione opened her mouth to snap out a angry retort, but quickly shut it. She was 25 years old and a healer. She was not at Hogwarts any longer.

"Really Draco. don't you think its time we grew up?", she said in a professionally calm voice, and just as Draco was ready to speak a comeback, Hermione continued. "So what has happened to Ms. Parkinson?"

"Well, Granger,", said Draco snidely, feeling the need to go back to a last-name basis, "I really have no clue. I went over to her house, and found the door open. So I decided to just walk in, and there she was, lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood."

"So you just found her there? You didn't see anyone or anything?" questioned Hermione skeptically.

"Why yes, Granger, its not that hard to believe, really!" sneered Draco.

"Ok, well, your going to have to leave for a while so I can look her over and assess all the damage done. Does she have anyone you could call for her? Family? Friends?" asked Hermione as people began filing out of the room, leaving only Hermione and Draco.

"No." Draco choked out "No, I'm all she has."

He looked almost sad for a moment, but Draco quickly covered it up with a look of indifference and a frown. Hermione gave him a questioning glance, but quickly shook her head, and told him to wait out in the waiting room.

Hermione wrapped the final layer of bandage around Pansy's arm. Most of the cuts and bruises she had been able to fix with charms, but it seemed like some of the deeper cuts were made with a type of dark magic, and didn't respond to the healing spells. Hermione came to the conclusion that her old Hogwarts schoolmate was tortured. Another hour of this kind of pain and Pansy would have surely died from shock and blood loss. Well, Pansy was on her way to recovery, but there are many things that didn't and wont heal. Like a huge slash across her stomach. Although it was properly bandaged and disinfected by Hermione, the magic that created it will insure that she carries the scar with her forever.

Hermione was still unsure of who or what might have caused this. She did know, however, that it was a magical being, someone who has immense power, and knows a lot of dark spells. Hermione would bet a galleon that it was a Death Eater, but she couldn't know for certain. Even after the fall of Voldemort, there were still many old followers and Blood-Purity freaks who were more than willing to take the place of the fallen dark lord.

But, Hermione questioned herself, Wasn't Pansy in that whole Death Eater Club? Why would someone from her own side attack her?

"Who did this to you Pansy" Hermione whispered more to herself then to the broken young woman lying unconscious on the hospital bed.

"That's what I'd like to know" said Draco, leaning on the door frame. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Yes, she should be. There were some wounds that will never heal though, due to the magic performed. I've come to the conclusion that she was tortured, almost to near death, and surely would have died if you had not found her" concluded Hermione, turning around slowly to look at Draco.

"I cant figure out the spells used though, they're some form of Dar-"

"It was a spell called Senna Satenya. Its very familiar to Sectumsempra, but not as deep." Cut in Draco. "Surprising really. Why not use Sectumsempra and just finish her off?" spat Draco angrily.

He was looking directly looking at Pansy. Then he turned around to face Hermione. She almost gasped at the state of him. His face was wrought with concern, but it was his eyes. His steely silver eyes that really scared Hermione. They were filled with such anger she had to subdue a flinch.

"Probably wanted to make her suffer" sneered Draco. Hermione had never seen him display such emotions. And she was both amazed and a little scared. Perhaps there was more to Draco Malfoy then meets the eye.

………………………………

Friday, March 26, 2007

It had been four days since Pansy had come into St. Mungos battered and injured, and the former Slytherin had yet to wake up leaving Draco in a state of utter chaos, and Hermione with more than just a little worry. Normally, patients after an accident like this needed time to heal, of course, but Pansy was a different story. She had yet to waken up at all, almost as if she was in some kind of deep slumber. Hermione, though, had other patients that she needed to worry about, so sadly Pansy's mystery was going to have to wait.

Hermione walked in to room 207 on the accidental Jinx and Curse floor, and said hello to her patient, Ms. Weatherly. Ms. Weatherly had accidentally jinxed her legs so she had to skip everywhere she went. It wasn't a very serious injury, but Hermione wanted to make sure that her legs where put back to normal, and that Ms. Weatherly didn't have to continue skipping around town.

"Well, Ms. Weatherly, Your legs should be back to normal now!" chirped Hermione happily.

"Why thank you so much dear, you really are a fantastic healer, and not to mention quite a pretty girl. You should meet my son, ah, he's such a dear boy, you two would really hit it off…" prattled Ms. Weatherly as Hermione, with a light blush spread across her face, gently shooed her out of the hospital room.

"Really, Ms. Weatherly, I am quite content with being single, but I do thank you for your offer and your compliments" said Hermione smiling sweetly at the kind elderly old lady waving at her as she walked through the word doors. Once she was gone, Hermione however did have to consider that a boyfriend would be nice.

"Ah, come now Granger, why pass up a chance like that. They must come by once in a blue moon for you!" exclaimed an arrogant voice behind Hermione.

Hermione sucked in a breath, her face turning red in both embarrassment and anger. She whipped around to snap out a retort at the rude Draco Malfoy, who was laughing behind her at his own cruel joke.

"Malfoy why don't you just go crawl back into the hole you came out of, and spare us your over-arrogance. Really, all this pride and egotism must be an act to cover something you're obviously lacking in, hmm… I wonder what that could be" spat Hermione with a big smirk on her face.

Malfoy had a look of pure contempt as Hermione continued smirking at him, mirth in her eyes he had never seen, well, at least not directed at him. He was more likely to catch looks of utter hate, then ones of amusement. His hand itched to grab his wand and shoot a rather nasty jinx at her to wipe that stupid smirk off her face, but he fought back the urge. Why not be creative, and have a bit of fun at the Mudblood's expense, he thought? So he quickly putting on a sexy smirk, and stalked over to Hermione, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her tight against his chest, taut muscles flexing as Hermione let out a surprised gasp. She squirmed trying to get out of Malfoy's intimate and rather suffocating grip but found her body completely and easily restrained by his.

"Oh Granger, let me assure you my 'egotism' as you put it is well deserved. They didn't call me the Slytherin sex god at Hogwarts for nothing," he whispered, his hot breath tickling Hermione's neck causing her to let out a shudder. From disgust or pleasure, she wasn't quite sure, but hoped it wasn't the latter. Malfoy, satisfied with the effect he was having on her, decided to let her go , a condescending smirk on his handsome face.

Hermione scrambled away, and made a face of utter disgust and loathing while she straightened out her robes, still looking positively peeved at Malfoy's insinuation. But before she could respond, he continued on with his speech.

"But anyways, before you acted so childishly" he tauntingly said at Hermione, whose face was almost turning maroon by now, "I had came to tell you that you need to see Pansy. She keeps mumbling and I think she may be waking up soon."

Hermione's face jolted up at the mention of Pansy waking up, and before Malfoy could continue talking, she raced down the hall and down to Pansy's hospital room.

Hermione walked in and sure enough Pansy was lying on the hospital bed, covered in sweat and muttering things that neither Malfoy nor Hermione could understand. Hermione walked right beside the edge of Pansy's bed, and felt her forehead; it was burning hot. Hermione began whispering some incantations to lower Pansy's fever, but nothing seemed to work. She grabbed a potion from her pouch and grabbed a needle off one of the cupboards, filled the need up with the potion and administered it to Pansy. Pansy's fever began to slowly fall, but only a little.

Hermione couldn't think of what else to do, but then she remembered another potion that might be of some use. She stuck her hands in her pouch feeling around for a diamond shape bottle, but soon realized that she had left it in her office.

"Shit" she muttered under her breath. "Malfoy, I will be right back, I am going to run to my office to retrieve a potion that will reduce pansy's fever and calm her down." said Hermione calmly as she registered the look of worry on Malfoy's face. Hermione stood for a moment waiting for a "yes", a nod, or something acknowledging that he had understood, but decided to just leave it, and soon she was dashing down the hall to her office. She ran past some of her colleagues, and nearly ran over one of the patients but was soon just outside her office, hand ready to grasp the door handle when she heard someone shout her name down the hall in a voice clearly of panic.

Hermione raced into her office, grabbed the vial she was looking for and quickly took off in a sprint back down the hallway, cursing her stupidity as she ran for even leaving in the first place. Hermione just hoped that nothing too terrible had happened in her absence.

Hermione ran as fast as her legs would take her down the narrow hallway at St. Mungos Hospital, praying that Pansy was alright. She had finally gotten down to the end of the hallway. The lights were dimmer down here and it was practically deserted except one room, the room of Pansy Parkinson.

Hermione skidded to a halt outside the patients room then ran through the door way and rushed in to see Pansy convulsing in her bed, her eyes open wide, pupils dilated. Her mouth was slightly ajar, and Hermione could hear her gasping for breath as her whole body shook and twist on the bed. Beside Pansy, trying to restrain her body and to calm her down was Draco. He was saying something to Pansy, trying desperately to calm her and keep her still, but his attempts were futile. Hermione shoved past him to get to Pansy, and soon she began doing complex spells and charms to relax the young witch thrashing on the bed, but nothing seemed to help. Then Hermione shouted one last spell, and soon Pansy was glowing with a golden light and suddenly she stopped convulsing. She looked quite peaceful and Hermione breathed out a sigh of relief along with Draco. But the quietness was disturbed once more when Pansy let out a ragged breath as her eyes shot open, all glossy and misted.

Then she said in a deep, rumbling voice, "The Hour of death is nearly here. The fallen will take back what was lost. Only one can stop the damage, but they must face great strife. The world is at the brink of destruction, balanced on a sword beginning to tip." rasped Pansy as the golden light continued to cast eerie shadows along the walls of the hospital room, "Old foes must reunite to save all that is good, or forever perish!" Then the light dimmed and faded, and soon Pansy's eyes closed and her breathing slowed, until it finally stopped. Draco sat stunned at the words spoken by Pansy, while Hermione tried furiously to resuscitate her, but she was gone.

Hermione finally realized that there was nothing she could do and soon, lowered her head in defeat. Draco and Hermione sat in silence for a moment before Draco let out a pained cry, shaking Pansy. Hermione just watched quietly thinking of what Pansy had said and wondering what she had gotten herself into.

……………………………

Well, that was chapter 2 (and 3), I hope you enjoyed! I promise the romance will come up, just give it time! I will be sure to continue to update, and please any suggestions, comments, questions, and concerns you have are appreciated! Shameless Plug also check out my other story, Finding Forever. Ok, the shameless plug is over. Lol. Hope you enjoyed, Do come back, and as always, thanks for reading!

With Love,

DeterminedGryfindor

"The glory of a good tale is that it is limitless and fluid; a

good tale belongs to each reader in its own particular way."

--Stephen King