My questions abt this chapter, it has Pansy (part of the suspense). I'm including her to see if you want her in the story…should she be in the story? If she shouldn't then tell me and she can just have been there as a side character. You know, just giving the history of a character.

Disclaimer: Because I'm totally JK Rowling right? If I was, Dramione would have happened a LONG time ago...and anyway, wat wu I be doing sittting here writing fanfiction???

Chapter 4: Left In The Dark

Ron walked into his room at the Burrow and sat down depressed and yet, angry. When had Hermione changed so much? And drifted apart from him? It was obvious that everything was fine between her and Harry so what had happened between her and Ron?

The fact was that Ron didn't realize that he was the one to blame, not Hermione. He had been the one to yell at her, to not forgive her when it should have been the other way around, to make that unnecessary comment when she had been thinking about forgiving him.

Ron frowned as he thought of what had happened in the past few months…

'I hate Malfoy. This is definitely all his fault. His and that disturbed Dark Lord's! Now Hermione has to be with that ferret instead of me, who she belongs with!'

Harry and Ron had tried very hard to find the reason for Voldemort's unexpected, uncharacteristic actions. HE MARRIED MALFOY TO A mudblood!!! No matter how much Ron tried, he couldn't stop thinking about that one same thing.

While he was out practicing with the Chudley Cannons, Ron had hoped he would meet another girl…'But there's no one as smart, as pretty…as good as Hermione.' thought Ron as he dwelled upon the past.

Ron really had to stop thinking about her so much.

During the months that had passed since Hermione had gotten married to…to HIM (A/N: Recognize this, someone?), Ron had been having a horrible time trying to play. His teammates had helped him to concentrate during games but there was only so much they could do.

♥

Hanky heard the loud scream of her mistress…it seemed louder than usual…she wondered what had happened.

♥

Pansy Staunton sat on a desk in her library and passed her hand over a black leather cover. It was engraved with gold letters that said "Hogwarts" and Pansy opened the cover to find yellowed pages of photos—photos of the school, the halls, the teachers, the gardens, the houses—the trio, which Pansy scowled at, and then to photos of the Slytherins specifically…

'Blaise Zabini…he could never compare with…no matter what he said or did…but he did remain faithful to the Dark Lord.' Thought Pansy as she reflected on old Slytherins, 'Crab, Goyle…how pathetic were they? And Bullstrong…what a joke…she was weak."

Pansy continued until she finally came upon the person she wanted to see, sighing, she thought…'That awful mudblood, what was Lucius thinking? Draco deserved better…he deserved me! She's probably living it up in some mansion with life that isn't hers and a life that should have been mine. And she's probably complaining about everything too! "

Pansy had managed to survive Azkaban even after the court hearing because while she had served on Voldemort's side, she hadn't murdered anyone (they tested her wand) and charges against her weren't so strong.

She had left London and moved to Newcastle and worked for a short while (keeping up appearances with the Ministry) in a bank. There she had met another group of followers that still believed that there was someone else that had the power of Voldemort and they needed to find that person. It was there she had met Matthew Staunton; an emerging death eater who thought Pansy deserved himas a wife.

Pansy had not told Matthew anything about her life at Hogwarts, nothing about Draco so he had no reason to suspect that she didn't like him. Actually, Pansy really thought that no one would ever match up to Draco. But she did tell Mark everything about Voldemort and Slytherin because, he "unfortunately" had not been part of Voldemort's group of death eaters around the time of the final battle.

So they had moved closer to London and the room she was in right now was part of their estate. Pansy did not work anymore but Matthew worked in a company that had something to do with Portkeys. Not that he cared much for the work or even needed it really.

When Pansy had found out about the Malfoy-Granger union, it's understating to say she was furious because she wasn't furious, she was crazy. She couldn't understand why they would ever EVER eve consider that Granger mudblood to be Drano…who CARED if she had power?? Light bulbs had power!!! And thought that was a very odd comparison, it seemed fair to Pansy because that was how insignificant she considered Hermione.

Pansy narrowed her eyes and stared daggers at nothing in particular. She would get Draco back. Somehow, some way.

♥

The documents slid across the polished table and landed in front of a curious Draco. A look of realization appeared on his face as he saw what they were.

"…It's a file…"

"I realize, Malfoy! But how come the information inside these documents was never told to me? "

Draco rolled his eyes, "We didn't consider it important. You would do what you had to do…and it isn't as if I liked the condition."

"WHO BLOODY CARES? I won't do it, you know. I'd rather die." Hermione spat at an impatient Malfoy.

"You already have anyway…I know you want to Granger, no need to hide your temptation."

Hermione was positively furious, "What temptation? The temptation to hex you to…to…"

"Rich. Very effective. Nice insult."

"Shut up! What are you going on about? That's not what the file is about!"

"I'm sure we could manage to make a file about your inability to insult. It would be a very long file, you know. And we could add in the it about your tacky dress sense and horrible hair too."

"Ugh. The death eater's colors showing?"

Malfoy's glaze darkened, "Don't talk about things you don't know and won't ever know."

"Why? I know enough to know that you will never be anything but one of those demented death eaters who received pleasure from torturing people."

Draco's hands were curling into fists, "Stop Granger."

Hermione knew that what she was doing was dangerous but she couldn't help it. All of her anger at Ron and the frustration of her horrible life were coming out.

"This file, the fact that it's here means you actually agreed to something the Death Eater's wanted. What does that make you? A coward. Never managed to kill anyone did you. Did you have a side? A liar. You couldn't even be a proper death eater! What are you, who are you? I-"

"SHUT UP GRANGER!"

"WHY SHOULD I? I HAVE RIGHT TO SAY THOSE THINGS! After all, I am your wife."

"That's only because that, that…those documents say so. In no other way, no other way are you my wife. Not now, not ever. If you must know, that file is proof of our marriage and the conditions He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had set for us to follow. Didn't know he was going to die at the hands of Potter, did he?"

"Good he didn't. Otherwise you'd still be rampaging around—"

"Why do we have to bring up all of that about me? Why not talk about you? About how, you, the Golden Girl, were missing the moment you had put up with Weasley and Potter for all those years. Or how someone replaced you so easily? Did you like losing all the glory? I'm sure you were used to it…roaming the halls with Pothead and—"

"At least I didn't walk around as if I owned the school!"

"Oh and I did, did I? Guess you never realized just how irritating and…glorified the damn Trio looked."

"At least I didn't spend life following a man who was doomed and a coward himself. You probably learned from him---monkey see, monkey do. Or rather ferret see, ferret do. Isn't it?"

"I'm ending this. I thought we agreed that we would avoid each other in the house?"

"Well, obviously, we can't! Not according to these documents anyway!"

"What are you talking about woman?"

"D-don't you…know?"

"Know what? I thought these were about the marriage…?"

"Um…Malfoy…well, they are but haven't you read the other condition yet?"

Draco glared angrily at Hermione, "Well, get on wit it!"

"Yes, well…here." She opened the file, took out a page, and pointed to the line Draco had to read.

Draco snatched the paper and read what Hermione told him to. She was oddly amused as his face turned pale and then red in order.

"How did you not know about this? Didn't they ever tell you? What were you talking about when you said it wasn't important to tell me?"

"I-I…was talking about some other minute details tat we hadn't explained to you properly, nothing much. I figured you were overreacting as always. But this, this…what is THIS?? I WOULD NEVER…WITH YOU? HOW COULD THEY EXPECT THAT?"

"Voldemort—oh he's dead, for Merlin's sake—most likely thought it would be very powerful or something."

"Bloody hell, Granger, there's a deadline. A deadline…who does that?"

"Why don't we both just kill ourselves? Then we won't have to live with this."

"I'm too young and handsome to suicide! MERLIN, GRANGER…anyone but you!! The pureblood line will be spoilt with you mudblood interference…as if it isn't already."

"AS IF it wasn't spoilt already. What with the deatheaters, the homicidal maniacs, the loons, the loners…"

Malfoy snapped out of the almost nice conversation he was having with Granger, "Why don't you go back t the puddle you came from, mudblood?"

Hermione gritted her teeth, "Because, if you hadn't noticed, I'm suck being your wife in this hellhole."

"Keep reminding me, why don't you?"

"Just remember Malfoy, it will be a cold day in hell when I have any offspring with you. And once a liar, once a coward, always a liar, always a coward."

And with that retort, Hermione walked off.

♥

Hermione sat on her bed…correction, Malfoy's bed. She picked up the framed photo that sat on her side table and ran her hand over the photo of three friends laughing and sticking out their tongues to catch the snowflakes.

Se missed that so much. Hogwarts, the memories, the people, the friendships.

Was Malfoy telling the truth? Had she really mattered that little…could she have been so easy to replace? Of course, Ginny was their next close friend after her but still…

And what about now? She didn't see them everyday; Ginny was always with them. It wasn't jealousy, just remorse. And disappointment. Disappointment at how her life had turned into this. She had planned out her whole life, call it crazy, call it smart but she had. Whatever it was, it wasn't this.

She hadn't planned to have it so that everyday, she would have to deal with some new problem with someone everyday or that everyday, she'd have to bear being called a mudblood, being treated like trash. And now she was expected to procreate with the man who made her life a living hell?

But what help was sulking?

♥

Draco went into his study and sat down, pondering what Hermione had said before she walked away in a way that would have given Snape a run for his money.

'A coward…that's what I am? Isn't it good that I couldn't kill…but then I was a death eater and wasn't that what I was supposed to do? But I didn't which means I was helping the good side, except I had the Dark Mark so where did that leave me? Where DOES that leave me? Who am I…whose side am I one, was I on?'

HE hurt Granger with those mudblood comments? Hadn't she gotten used to it by now? Almost 10 years of those taunts and they still got to her? Didn't she realize it hurt when she called him a liar? A coward?

Of course not, because no one had feelings but her. Because he was completely heartless, right? Because he was a Malfoy? Granger could go die or rot in hell or whatever but what she said still mattered. Was that the opinion people would have had of him if he hadn't married Granger?

♥

Rain poured outside as Draco and Hermione came to sit down for dinner. The lights flickered on the sides of the room as they quietly took their seats and served themselves. As usual, it was a quite dinner until…

"Do you really think that?" said Draco and Hermione in unison. They stared at each other before saying "What?" together again.

Draco talked first, "Think what? Think that you're filth?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "No, I already know that. That Harry and Ron could have replaced me so easily?"

"…I…don't know. It came out of my mouth randomly. This conversation is starting to get civil, you know."

"That was a deliberate change of the subject and anyway, what conversation? We've probably said four sentences to each other. So after our spat this morning, isn't it good and a relief that we're being civil?"

"But I SO enjoy those verbal spars of ours!"

"Well, it's obvious you won't answer my question so what was yours?"

"My question?" Draco asked, looking blank for a second, "Oh, my question…well, do you really think I'm a coward? I'm nothing then aren't I?"

Hermione looked at her food pensively for a minute and replied, "You're not a coward…I guess but you really were, are confused. I can't really help you Malfoy. You have to figure out who you are on your own."

Not that she really wanted to help him anyway.

Draco nodded, "Yeah okay Granger. Thanks for the advice. Let's just finish and go to bed."

Hermione nodded and each finished their dinner. Hermione went up first, changed and was under the covers with a good book when Malfoy came in. He changed and sat in bed writing something when Hermione turned on her side and put the book down. She thought about her day—a fight, that horrible condition, an unusual reconciliation—nothing big for Hermione Granger.

Draco put down the managing sales document and looked at Granger asleep and decided he might as well turn in to…and after a day like that, he needed to get away.

R&R…10 reviews and I'll start writing…20 n I'll update…I don't have a very demanding request. Just click the little button on the left hand corner, choose "review", and say go! It can even be one word! Anyway, I made a C2 in this time so you have to go check out the Draco/Hermione stories in it.