Recap:

"I'm sorry, ok. I had no right to use an Unforgivable on you and...I need you to forgive me." She continued to stare. "Damn it, Muggle, say something!!" She bit her lip.

"I don't know what to say," she whispered. He nodded and pulled out the key card.

"Let me show you my Christmas present to you."

"Draco-" She was cut off as her eyes widened. "Draco, where are we?" They were no longer standing in the living room but on a sand dune. Draco smirked.

"Welcome, Hermione, to the Great Pyrimids of Giza!"

She gasped, taking a step back into him. Her foot sunk into the sand but she some how managed not to sink into the dune. But she wasn't paying attention to the sands around her. She was paying attention to the towering Pyrimids in front of her.

"Draco, how did we get here?" she murmured. He held up the key card.

"Had some arrangements made so that we could visit some of the sights."

"Draco. These are the Great Pyrimids. These aren't just some of the sights. These are the sights!!" He nodded and waved his wand over a smallish hump in the sand. A pole appeared, with a small box at the end. The only thing on the box was a slot, in which Draco stuck the card. Suddenly, they were wisked away from the Pyrimids and touched down somewhere less hot, and sandy.

"Wow..." Hermione looked around herself as several other 'tourist' merely glanced at the newly arrived couple. They stood on the steps of the Taj Mahal, staring up at the granduer of the massive building. The white stone shone in the sunlight as several wizarding vendors walked by, yelling out of different items. Draco watched as Hermione turned around and stared out at the reflecting pool. She turned to look at him.

"Where else can you take us?" she asked eagerly. "Do you know how much history are in these places?! They're hundred, maybe thousands of years old. Did you know that this building was constructed by the an emperor for his favorite wi-"

"Hermione, stop!" His head was starting to hurt. "I brought you here so that we could see it, not have a history lesson. Do you want me to take you home?"

"That would defeat the purpose of bringing me out here, then wouldn't it?" she shot back and he scowled. She was really getting snippy. He found the key slot and slid in the card. Immediately, the Taj Mahal melted away and they now stood on the battlements of the Great Wall of China. Hermione squealed, looking over.

"It's over 6000 kilometers long, did you know that?" she told him, running her hand over the old stone. He looked around at the landscape, smiling.

"No, I didn't, Hermione. What else?" She glared at him but continued.

"It was built in about 200 BC as a fortification for dynasties against enemies, like the Huns. It's probably the largest man-made structure around!!" Draco fixed her with a raised eyebrow.

"Hermione, how do you possibly know all this?" She shrugged.

"When you're stuck in the Malfoy Manor all summer, you tell me what you're going to do all day except read and get chased around by the insane spouse?" He smiled at her.

"Time to go," he said, looking around for the slot. She pointed over to where a wizarding couple was making out on the battlements. Curling his lip in distaste, he entered the key and the Wall drifted away, taken over by the wonderful view of Machu Picchu from where they now stood on the cliff above. She glanced at him.

"I don't recall this one," she told him, waiting expectantly.

"It's called Machu Picchu, Muggle," he told her with a self-suffering sigh. "It's pre-comlumbian Incan ruin. Nice view, isn't it?" She nodded.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm actally going to all these places!! Seven Wonders of the world!!" He smiled.

"Ok, Hermione, close your eyes." She stared at him.

"What?"

"Close your eyes or I'll do it for you."

"Why?" He growled and handed her a blindfold.

"Put it on, Hermione." She eyed him suspiciously but nevertheless took it, putting it on.

"I don't see the need," she muttered as she listened to him search for the key slot. "I've read up on every other Wonder of the world. Why are you blind folding me?" She felt a pull and stumbled slightly as they came to a halt. There was a slight chill around her as Draco steadied her. He was behind her as he pushed her forward a bit.

"Ok, take it off," he told her. She undid the knot and let it drop. She hands came to her mouth in absolute shock.

"Oh, Draco..."

They stood, completely alone, at the top of Mt. Everest. There was no other place this could possibly be. The breathtaking beauty and majesty of the surrounding mountains jutting up through the pillow like clouds rushed through her veins as she stood there, tears in her eyes. Draco smiled as she turned to him finally.

"Why?" she asked, barely able to speak. "I...Dr..." He reached up and caressed her cheek, stepping closer to her.

"Because I can," he whispered, their lips a hairsbreadth away from each other. "Because...because you don't deserve this life. You were forced to do something you didn't want and forced to give up the things you love. That's why I did this. Because you're worth it. You're worth this...oh shit."

"What?"

"I think I've fallen for you..." She gasped and he kissed her. For a moment, she couldn't respond. There she was, on the very top of Mt.Everest, kissing Draco Malfoy on Christmas Day. Tentatively, than with assurance, she kissed him back, moving into his arms with tears running down her face. His arms wrapped around her as he deepened the kiss.

Nothing was supposed to change... He smiled, kissing her forehead.

"Nothing has changed. Nothing will change."

They returned to the Manor after five minutes, because a tour of fifty people showed up and started 'aww'-ing at the couple. Upon returning, Hermione took Draco's hand and started walking out of the living room.

"Where are we going?" he asked. She glanced at him and laughed.

"We're going to go have some sex," she told him and he stopped, pulling her to a halt. She turned back to him, hands on hips.

"What did you say?" She smiled, pulling him into her. She teased his lips with hers.

"You don't always have to be the one to make the invitation, Draco," she whispered into them. "I can still have control." He shivered slightly and followed her up to the room.

Ginny got up the next morning, putting on a robe and sneaking out of bed. She made her way into Blaise's room and sat on the edge of his bed, smiling down at his sleeping form. Leaning down, she kissed his nose.

"Wake up, love," she whispered into his ear. He rolled over onto his back and slowly opened his eyes. Staring up at her, he shuddered.

"Out of one nightmare, into another," he muttered and she hit his arm. He sat up, eyeing her carefully. "So what are you here for?" She shrugged, looking around the room.

"Do you come here often?" she asked him, looking at some of the pictures.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I hate going home." She didn't push the conversation and instead stood, motioning for him to do the same.

"Come on," she urged.

"Why?" She rolled her eyes.

"Because I want to, not hurry up!" He grumbled something and got out of bed. She giggled, eyeing his toned body with smiles. He rolled his eyes at her and grabbed a robe. They headed out and down to the kitchen. Draco was sitting there, Hermione looking around in the refrigerator. Ginny sat down at the island.

"When did you get back?" Blaise asked, sitting down next to Draco, who was hovering over a cup of coffee. He shrugged, running his hand through his hair sleepily. "Did you even get to bed?" Draco snorted.

"We got in the bed, if that's what you mean," he muttered. Hermione sat down next to Ginny.

"Don't mind him, he's just sore is all." Ginny frowned.

"Why's that?" Hermione shrugged.

"Tell them why you're sore, Draco," she said. He glared at her.

"Bloody woman nearly killed me," he snapped, looking back to his coffee. "Slamming me into the wall, what the hell were you thinking..." Blaise began laughing while Ginny merely shook her head.

"You two are a mystery to me," she told them.

"Don't feel bad, Ginny," Hermione assured her. "We're a mystery to ourselves."

"Amen," Draco growled, downing the rest of the coffee. He was standing to put the cup in the sink when he dropped it, clutching his arm as a low hiss of pain escaped his mouth. Hermione stood, eyes wide with concern. Blaise held him up as he stumbled slightly. "He's angry..." Draco shoved Blaise off and reached for his wand. Hermione rushed around the island, taking hold of his arm.

"Draco-"

"Not now, Hermione," he snarled, shrugging her off and storming over to the fireplace. They errupted around him and he soon found himself in a dark circular room. There was only two candles in the room.

"Crucio," came a high-pitched voice from the shadows and Draco fell to his knees, gritting his teeth together to keep from crying out as overwhelming pain coursed through his body. "You have kept secrets from me, Draco. You have been keeping things from your Master and I am very upset." At the flick of the wand, the curse was lifted and left Draco on his hands and knees, panting for breath.

"I have kept nothing from you, my lord," he said.

"Then you will have no problem in telling me why I have just now found out that you were married during the summer?" A chill went through Draco's bones. How did he know?

"I thought Lucius told you, my lord," he said.

"You did, did you? Crucio!" Again, pain hit him like a sledgehammer, almost knocking him onto his face. "Don't LIE TO ME!!" The curse was lifted. "I do not tolerate liars." Suddenly, Draco felt a pressure inside his head. The Dark Lord was probing into his mind. Instant mental blocks went up. "So you hide your thoughts from me, Draco? Do you have something to hide about this marriage?"

"There is nothing to tell, my lord."

"Then there should be nothing to hide." Again, a pressure, stronger this time. The mental blocks held, not letting the Dark Lord in. "CRUCIO!!!" Draco clutched his hair in pain, biting his lip until blood dripped. The pressure came back and Draco could not fight it. Images flashed before his eyes, of the Taj Mahal, of the Great Hall incident, and of him kissing Hermione, pushing her onto the bed-

"GET OUT!!" he roared. The pressure stopped and so did the curse. There was a silence and then a figure appeared in the dim light. Red eyes gleamed out at Draco.

"So this is what my heir has married. A mudblood. Sleeping with dirt, it's disgraceful. I remember saying, you were to marry a pureblood when you turned seventeen. You were to keep the line. I have made you my heir and this is how you repay me."

"I never asked for it," Draco spat.

"So you didn't...I do not tolerate insubordination..." The door opened and in stepped two Death Eaters. "Come here." They stepped forward and one pulled his wand out. The Dark Lord pulled out his wand. "I know how to fix this. An Unbreakable Vow." The other Death Eater grabbed Draco, forcing him to stay where he was. He struggled but the Dark Lord held his hand firmly. "You, Draco Malfoy, will murder your wife, the mudblood, within one week under pain of watching your mother and father killed slowly. Do you agree to these terms?" Draco shook his head.

"I would never make a deal with you," he snarled. The Dark Lord nodded and pulled out his wand.

"Imperio," he hissed and Draco stopped moving. Inside his head, he could hear a voice. You will agree to the terms of the Unbreakable Vow... He tried to throw it off but it wasn't working. He felt his mouth opened and his mind blanked.

"I agree." A grin that would freeze blood appeared on the face of the creature. The Death Eater tapped the hands and a rope wrapped itself around it, disappearing in a flash. Draco was released and fell back, eyes closed as horror filled him.

"Now go back to your Manor, Draco. And remember what happened here."