Disclaimer–J.K. Rowling's world, not mine.

"Did you hear something?" Draco whispered.

"No, it's probably Crookshanks somewhere causing mischief," she said lightly. Draco didn't move. "I think you've been reading too many mysteries, Draco. I'll find that book of fairy tales before I leave tomorrow," she told him. "Draco, what's the mat–" she started to ask.

Before Hermione could finish Draco pushed her down to the floor and covered her body with his, holding her tightly. Hermione couldn't see, as Draco had her head covered with his arm and facing the floor, but she did hear more than one set of footsteps entering the room. Hermione tried not to panic, though she would have felt better had she been able to reach her wand. She could feel Draco's heart racing on her back. How did they find them at Mariner's Cove?

"HERMIONE, DON'T MOVE!"

"Harry!" Hermione yelled out, still facing the floor. Why she yelled, she wasn't quite sure, but it seemed appropriate. Draco was still on top of her and didn't move. "Draco, it's okay," she whispered to him. He got the message and started to get up off of Hermione, until he fell back on her. He seemed heavier this time and his whole body was stiff.

"Help me move him off her, Ron." Harry and Ron (both glaring daggers at Draco, who had also been glaring at the pair) pulled Draco off Hermione and she got up, trying to collect herself. When she was up, they let Draco fall back to the floor.

"Harry! Ron!" she said, startled at the way they treated Draco.

"Hermione–" Harry said through clenched teeth. He stopped and took a few deep breaths at first. Ron took the opportunity to speak up.

"Are you okay, Hermione? Did he hurt you?" Hermione's stomach dropped. Of course Harry and Ron would think Draco had hurt her.

"No, Ron. I'm fine, I promise," she assured him. The two boys looked to Draco who was lying stiff as a board on the floor.

"You wanna break his nose?" Ron asked Harry, as they both looked down at Draco's stiff body.

"Don't!" Hermione yelled. They gave her a funny look and rushed over, forgetting about Draco.

"What do you reckon?" Ron asked Harry quietly, as they both gave her the once over.

"I am NOT under the Imperius Curse!" she told them.

"You're not, are you?" Harry said, more to himself than anyone else. "Well, good then, that's really good. In that case, Hermione," Harry seemed to have found his voice, "perhaps you can explain THAT!" He pointed to Draco who was still on the floor and currently rolling his eyes.

"Yes, Hermione do tell. What in the bloody hell is he doing here!" Ron added. Hermione could feel a migraine coming on.

"I can explain everything. Just sit down and let's all be calm about this."

"Calm? Calm!"

"Ronald, please." She was in no mood for one of Ron's tantrums. Ron's ears went pink and he and Harry both sat down very slowly as Hermione went over to Draco with her wand.

"Hermione, what in the hell do you think you're doing?" Ron asked, as he and Harry started to get up.

"Sit back down, both of you," she said in her bossiest voice that still intimidated them, as they did what she said. "Draco, please," she whispered to him, "behave." With that, Hermione lifted the spell and they both made their way towards Harry and Ron, who were both visibly livid. Hermione sat down in a chair across from the sofa Harry and Ron occupied while Draco was content standing next to her. Harry and Ron still didn't trust Draco of course, and held their wands up to him. Draco refused to back down and gave Harry and Ron that, "just try me" look.

"Put those wands away," Hermione told them.

"Hermione, don't," Harry said with venom.

"How dare you speak to her that way, Potter!" Draco spat back

"STOP IT! All of you!" Hermione shouted. She'd be hoarse tomorrow, that's for sure. Harry and Ron wouldn't put down their wands however, so Hermione nonverbally Accio'd them. "Now we're going to sit here and I'm going to explain what's going on, but I can't do that if you two keep on interrupting me. And as for you, Draco,"

"Draco is it, now?" Ron sneered. Hermione cast Ron a warning, and then told Draco not to bait Harry and Ron.

"Now all of you just sit down and shut up!" she said. Hermione gave Draco her best "puppy dog eyes" which made him pull up another chair so that they were all sitting and facing one another.

"About three months ago..."

"Three months!" Harry and Ron yelled angrily.

"Hermione this's been going on for three months! How could you! Shacking up with Malfoy!"

"Harry!" Hermione yelled back.

"He's probably just jealous cause he thinks you're getting more than he is, Hermione," Draco snarked.

"I am not! I don't have anything to be jealous of," Harry shouted back

"You better not be!" Ron said to Harry, rather angry.

"What!" Harry asked Ron.

"My little sister, Harry! I swear!" Ron yelled

"I didn't mean it like that!" Harry tried to explain to Ron.

"Oh my God, will you two just stop and listen to me!" Hermione snapped back and nonverbally cast a Silencio on both Harry and Ron.

"If you two are going to behave like children, then that's how I'm going to treat you. Now let me get this straight; I love you both dearly," this prompted an eye roll from Draco but Hermione ignored it, "but you will not come into my house, yes Ron, this is my house," she explained to the confused looking red head, "and condescend to me like this. There is a perfectly logical explanation as to why Draco is here. Yes, I can assure you both that the three of us are no way, shape, or form, in any danger whilst in his presence. Now, if I lift the spell do you two promise to hear me out?" They both shook their heads.

"Thank you," Ron said. "Now go on, Hermione." She took a deep breath.

"About, three months ago," she paused but neither Harry nor Ron looked like they were going to interject, "I was out for a walk when it started to storm and I ran into a Muggle Pub, The Paradise Lost. I sat down at the bar and intended to wait out the storm when Draco came up to me. When I asked him what he was doing there he eventually told me that he was just waiting to die. There was no place in the Wizarding world for him anymore, and he didn't really belong in the Muggle world either," she explained to Harry and Ron.

"I never thought I'd feel compassion for Draco Malfoy, but there it was. So he asked me to meet him again the next day for a drink. At that point, I was still unsure and so I asked him how did I know it wasn't a trap. How did I know he wouldn't have a gang of Death Eaters waiting there tomorrow. Then Draco asked me how did he know that I wouldn't show up tomorrow with the Order. When I went home that night I decided to take my chances and meet him again the next day.

"That was the day we had lunch and you Harry, you kept on saying how distracted I was. And you also asked me where I was when you had floo'd the night before. Now you know the truth. That night when I went back, yes, I made sure there were no Death Eaters around. At that point I still didn't trust Draco completely." That was a mistake. Hermione just admitted, not only to Harry, Ron, and Draco that she trusted him completely, she admitted it to herself. How should she feel about this? She didn't have the time to sort it out yet. Perhaps none of them caught it.

"When I met up with him again, there was a drink waiting for me. No Ron," she said looking at him, "he didn't poison it. So we just sat there and talked," she paused.

"You just talked?" Harry asked.

"Yes. You see, I asked Draco what it was he did all day. I assumed he just sat there, drinking himself to an early death. But he got upset when I asked him that," she said, glancing over to Draco who was showing no emotion. "He thought that I suspected him of Death Eater activity. He kept on saying, 'Do you really think I could go back after what they did?' The way he reacted, I knew that he was done with them.

"Then one night not too long ago I was leaving the pub when I saw Death Eaters outside. I ran back in and got Draco. We Aparated to my flat and then here. And now you're pretty much all caught up," she finished. "How did you find us here, by the way?" she asked.

"I slipped a tracking device on you at lunch," Harry told her. So that explains his awkward behavior that afternoon. "I told you I had a feeling something more was going on with you. Based on your behavior at the meet–er, Sunday night," he said catching himself, "I knew there was something about the attack you weren't letting on. And it was no coincidence that the night they attack near your flat you decide to take a holiday at the shore."

"We needed to make sure you were alright, Hermione," Ron told her. His voice sounded like he was somewhat hurt that she felt the need to hide all of this from them.

"What did the Death Eaters do?" Harry asked Draco flatly.

"They killed my parents," Draco said in the same tone as Harry's.

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

"I was there." Hermione looked over to Harry. He had to have been having some inner struggle. Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter, both orphans because of Voldemort.

"You said it yourself, Harry," Hermione said, "he lowered his wand that night. I know in the past you both have thought Draco to be evil, but listen to me. 'Evil' is not a word to use lightly. It's only the darkest end of a broad spectrum. Nobody's born in total darkness. You only get absolute evil by doing one thing after another until eventually you're transformed. Almost everybody has some light somewhere. And light is worth fighting for."

"Hermione," Harry said looking slightly exhausted, "you realize we can't just ignore this. The entire Order is looking for Malfoy."

"Well don't I feel loved," Draco said sarcastically. Harry sighed and put his head in his hands.

"It's going to be a long night, isn't it?" he said to no one in particular. Then Draco got up.

"Where're you going, Malfoy?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"I'm going to make coffee, Weasel," Draco said and left the room. Both Harry and Ron looked at Hermione curiously.

"He makes really good coffee," Hermione assured them. It was the best thing she could come up with. A long night indeed.

Author's Note – You all knew it was coming, and based on the reviews, I can't get anything past you guys! I don't know how I feel about this chapter. I'm kind of ambivalent. Anyways, as school will be starting next week, updates will probably be slower. I really thought I'd have this done by the end of the summer actually; it was only supposed to last for a few chapters but you guys responded so well I just kept on going. After this chapter though, there isn't too much more left. I know where I need to go, it's just a matter of sitting down and doing it. I'd like to end it at 20 chapters, that's a good number I think. Alright, I'll shoot for 20 chapters, how does that sound?

Oh, and thanks to everyone who responded about the renaming of my story! I have decided not to rename it after all, "Rendevous at the Paradise Lost"shall remain as it is. Actually, I'm glad no one really wanted me to change it. I liked StarArrow's explanation best; "The way you talk about the house they are at it almost seems like a lost paradise anyway. Lost meaning no one should know where it is." So there ya go. Thanks for reading everyone! Let me know what you guys think.