Author's Note: I realize some of you may not understand the DADA class procedure I have created for the students, but hopefully this chapter will help you all out. I'm sorry this took a little while to get out to you readers. My job is running me hectic.

Also, thank you all so much for reviewing! It inspires me to keep writing this!

Disclaimer: I own nothing J.K. Rowling created with her brilliant mind. I only own the plot and characters I have created.

A Hope for Renewed Love

Chapter Four

Hermione woke up feeling better rested than she'd felt in the past few weeks. She looked at the magical clock in her room, telling her that she had two hours until breakfast started. 'Curse my parents for being early birds. It must run in the genes.' She went to her bathroom and took a nice hot shower. After getting dressed and mild to barely primping, Hermione went down the common room to find no one. Seeing as she had time, she decided to go the private Head dorms.

She wandered the halls quietly until she came to the entrance portrait. She looked at the portrait for a few minutes taking in the details. A beautiful, young woman with flowing golden hair held the hand of a little girl. The two were smiling and laughing as they skipped around lightly. Hermione cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Good morning, Miss Granger. My name is Trina, and this here is Jillian. Password?" asked the woman. Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it shut. Malfoy never told her. She swore to herself as she stood there quietly.

"Well, actually I was feeling very well our first night here, and I don't seem to remember. Would it be possible for you to wake the Head Boy and get him to open the portrait?"

"I suppose I could," Trina answered. "Just make sure little Jillian doesn't leave and get lost again. I'll be back in a moment." A few minutes later, a grumpy Draco opened the portrait. Before he could make any rude comments, Hermione spoke up.

"I'm really sorry for waking you this early Malfoy, but you never told me the password yesterday, so it is your fault." He narrowed his eyes at her as she walked into the common room.

"Well, now that I'm up, I won't be able to fall back asleep. Thanks a lot, Granger," Draco said. He headed back to his room, and Hermione could faintly make out the sound of running water. 'He must be taking a shower.' Hermione walked up to her room and over to her desk. She noticed the papers McGonagall had giver her and Malfoy on the train. They still had a few things to do. She grabbed the papers and headed back down to the common room just as Draco was walking out of his room.

"That was fast," Hermione commented. Draco just gave her a look that clearly said 'Why are you talking to me?' Hermione rolled her eyes and continued. "Look, we still have forty-five minutes until breakfast starts. Maybe we should work on this list of Head duties. He plopped down on the couch, while Hermione took a seat in a chair.

"Whatever."

After a half hour of squabbles, Hermione and Draco had made several agreements. They had decided to meet with the prefects every third Sunday afternoon of each month. Then they would meet with the Headmaster and Professors every third Sunday evening to report new schedules and partners and whatnot. The patrol partners and areas would be rotated every month so as not to be repetitious. They had each written down additional goals for the school year. The spring dance could be put off for now, seeing as how school had just started.

"There. We're done. I'll just drop this off to Dumbledore before breakfast." Hermione might as well have been speaking to herself, for Draco looked as if he didn't know Hermione was in the room. She made her way to the portrait and was about to leave, but she was stopped by the voice of Draco.

"Sidus."

"Excuse me?"

"The password. It's Sidus."

"And what exactly does it mean?"

"Figure it out." He smirked even though he refused to look at her. He heard her walk out of the common room, and relaxed a bit more. He knew that to figure out what had happened to her, he would either have to force it out of her, or gain her trust and have her tell him. Being the challenger he was, he decided to gain her trust. It might take a while, and he'd have to make sacrifices, but the year just started. It wasn't like he had anything better to do. He got off the couch and headed down to breakfast with his new decision picking at his brain.

Hermione was already in the Great Hall by the time Draco sat down. She had started eating her breakfast when Harry and Ron came in with Ginny right behind. Harry and Ginny sat down across from Hermione. Ron, being in a good mood, came behind Hermione and grabbed her in a friendly hug.

Draco's head shot up as he heard a soft scream. Hermione's eyes were wide with fear and Ron was sitting next to her apologizing profusely.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry. I didn't think it would scare you like that."

"It's ok Ron. You just really caught me by surprise. Don't worry about it."

The breakfast was pretty silent after that. There was some idle chatter about Quidditch and classes. Soon all the students were heading off to their first classes. For the Golden Trio, it was to Potions.

Snape was in an especially bad mood this particular morning, and seeing how there were only Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were in the class, points were being taken left and right. Snape didn't even bother to explain the procedure. He simply put in on a blackboard with the swish of his wand, and set to grading papers.

The class was long and agonizing, but Hermione was too concentrated on her potion to notice Ron and Harry quietly whispering and throwing concerned glances her way.

As soon as the bell rang, Hermione hurried out of the dungeons and started towards her Ancient Runes class. The class went by quickly as Hermione thoroughly enjoyed the content.

Hermione didn't eat very much at lunch, and left early to change for DADA. She would never admit it, but she was nervous out of her mind. Her stomach was doing somersaults, and she could already feel herself shaking with anxiousness. She changed into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and white sneakers. She then grabbed her wand and headed for class.

When she walked into the room, she saw everyone staring at her with excitement. Draco was looking at her as well, more like observing really. She went over to the boys who asked if she was ready and is she sure she wants to go through with this. She told the she'd be fine and not to worry.

When Livvi walked from the stimulation room, the class went dead silent and sat down, except for Hermione and Draco. They remained standing. Hermione noticed that Draco also was in jeans and a t-shirt, but with black sneakers.

"Are you two ready?" Livvi asked, looking at her two students. They both nodded, unable to say a word. "Good. Let's get you two started then."

Hermione and Draco followed Livvi into the room. It was large and empty except for a few obstacles. It was all made of stone. There was no definite shape to the room either.

"Alright, who wants to be blindfolded first?" Before Hermione had a chance to speak, Draco volunteered.

"Ok. So Hermione, Draco will be blindfolded. Your role in this first part is to make Draco use his other senses. Try not to make too much noise, and walk around the room. Keep him guessing as to where you are. If you find the chance, reach out and grab him. This will help him us to find out how sneaky you are. Draco, trust your instincts, and follow your gut feelings. During this first part, we will find out how responsive your other senses are, and how much you rely on sight during a special circumstance." Both students just nodded their heads. Livvi removed a blindfold from her pocket and handed it to Hermione.

"A bell will ding when it's time to switch roles. Good luck to you both." As soon as she left, Hermione dared to look at Draco. He was just standing there, looking back at her.

"Well," Draco started, "Let's get this thing going." He turned his back to Hermione and she slowly brought the blindfold over his eyes. While he was tying it, she noticed that his hair was extremely soft and delicate. After tying it, Hermione started moving away.

The first half hour proved hopeless for Hermione. She had only managed to grab Draco once, and that was because he had told her to stand still. He had come right by her, and she grabbed onto him making him jump and swear softly. Hermione was on her last try for she knew the bell would ding soon. For five minutes she made her way around the room, trying to avoid being heard.

"Granger, you're breathing too loud. You need to relax and focus. Your steps are light and soundless. At least you have that going for you." Hermione had to bite her tongue to keep from making a remark. She took his advice nonetheless, and took a moment to calm herself down. "Ok Granger, try again."

Hermione quietly made a path around the room, twisting in and out of the area around Draco until she was right behind him. She leaned towards his left ear and whispered one word.

"Boo."

"Holy shit," Draco swore again. At this point the bell chimed, and Draco ripped the blindfold from his head. He slowly untied it and waited for Hermione to turn around. As he was tying it about her face, he commented on her work.

"You're pretty sneaky for a Gryffindor Granger. You did alright." She didn't respond to his compliment as her nerves started building up again. She could feel Draco's presence fading away from her, and immediately knew he would be very good at this sneaking around procedure.

"You're starting to breathe loud again. I'll give you a minute to collect yourself before we begin."

Hermione just closed her eyes (it wasn't like she could see anyways), and took a few deep breaths. She just nodded her head as a sign of preparation.

She had been very right. Draco was tremendously sneaky. He had caught her a few times, just grabbing her hand, or lightly touching her shoulder. She got better as the time went on. She started following her gut feelings and usually found that she was correct in where Draco was.

That was when Draco decided to challenge her. He quickly moved through the room. As he moved, quiet as a mouse, he would say short phrases. Hermione stood in the center of the room, getting more confused by the moment.

Draco's voice came from her left. No it came from the right. No, he was in front of her. She remained still, quietly concentrating.

Suddenly there were arms around her, constraining her from moving, and Draco whispered the words 'got you' in her ear. A flashback hit Hermione like an iceberg.

She had just arrived at the front of her house after lunch with her neighbor Kelly. She unlocked the front door, and stepped into her house, heading up towards her room. She was going to change so she could go running, and then she would shower.

While changing, she thought she heard the front door open, and figured it was just her parents. She stood in her room in shorts and a sports bra and was about to put her tank top on when strong arms surrounded her.

She knew who it was when he whispered 'got you' into her ear. He started kissing the back of her neck, but Hermione slowly pushed him away.

"Not now. I'm about to work out. I'm going to see you tonight anyways." But he wouldn't listen to her. He held onto her tighter, and slowly forced her to lie on her back on the bed. She squirmed underneath him, and kept trying to push him off of her.

He made a move to reach into her shorts, and she got tears in her eyes.

"Please don't do this. Please just stop it."

"What's wrong with you, Hermione? Most girls love this. Don't worry. You'll get used to it." He made another move, and she brought her knee up to hit him in the groin. His rage overtook him and he slapped her in the face twice. "Don't you ever try to hurt me again. Do you understand me?"

The now crying Hermione nodded her head slowly and watched him leave her room. She openly sobbed on her bed. That was when it had all begun.

Hermione forgot everything. She forgot where she was and whom she was with. All she could remember was the flashback. Before she knew it, she was speaking the secret she had kept hidden so well.

"Please Darian. Please don't do this." Draco could feel her struggling and heard the fear in her voice. She let go of Hermione, and she quickly backed away. She pushed the blindfold off her eyes and was shocked by what she saw. There was no short, spiked brown hair. No pale green eyes. No tan skin.

There was Draco with his blond hair and pale skin. She met his eyes, and quickly looked away from the intense gaze Draco held. She dared to take another look at him, and kept his gaze as long as she could hold it. Draco finally broke the silence with a question Hermione dreaded hearing.

"Hermione, who is Darian and what did he do to you?"

Please Review! I'm sure you're all wondering about Darian. You'll find out more about him next chapter. Don't forget to review!