Author's Notes: I am almost finished with chapter three and will probably have it up today or tommorow. Please remember to review!

-Stephanie

November 28, 2006

Grey Eye's and Second Chances.

He sat up, his eyes wide and looked around, taking in his surroundings. Her room was small and impeccably neat. She had a small desk and a bookshelf packed to bursting with every novel and imaginable and there were various pictures of her and friends everywhere. How the hell did he wind up in Hermione Grangers bed? He thought, panicking.

He scrambled up and was just about climb over her quietly when he heard a soft yawn and then a muffled scream. Before he knew it he was on the floor and she was standing over him with her wand pointed at his face, her brown orbs opened wide in shock and fear.

She was stunned into silence for a second before…. "Draco Malfoy!? What the hell are you doing? Get out of my house!" She screamed at him, her face livid.

He yanked himself up from the ground and glared at her gingerly rubbing his back. "I don't know how I wound up in your room. I just woke up and……I was here." Even to him the story sounded lame and he knew she wouldn't believe it so he elaborated. "Look I know you don't believe me but I am telling the truth. I got a diary for Christmas from an anonymous source and it said "use it well". I wrote in it yesterday, went to sleep and wound up here. Listen Granger, its not like I wanted to be here but now I can't go home. I defied my father yesterday by refusing to take the dark mark. I was punished and he told me he would come for me later. I'm sure he has noticed my absence and is looking for me at this very moment. I can't go back….." He winced as he stretched his back.

She looked at him suspiciously and asked "What's wrong with your back? Turn around."

He did so and heard her softly gasp and when he turned around he thought he saw a slight flicker of pity flash in her eyes. This made him angrier than anything else. He was Draco Malfoy and he would not be pitied. He would have left right then and left the mudblood standing there but he knew he couldn't go home. He would not go back home and be subjected to the dark mark. He would somehow convince Granger that he wasn't evil and maybe she would let him stay there until school started again in two weeks. Draco stiffened and shrugged his shoulders.

Hermione couldn't believe she was doing this but she said "Lie down."

"What?" Draco said, bewildered.

"I said lie down. Unless you want to leave those huge wounds on your back. I'm going to heal you, you idiot. Unless you're too good for that." She snapped.

"How are you going to do that? You can't use magic outside of Hogwarts." He snapped back just as nastily.

He could have sworn she looked guilty for a second before she switched right back to her blank haughty stare. "There are ways around that. I read about a spell that can be performed on your wand to make your magic undetectable. Now lie down."

He looked at her in surprise before lying down obediently. That simple movement sent stinging waves of pain across his raw back.

"Who did this?" Hermione asked, her voice holding no emotion as she tended to his wounds. She pitied him but she would not let him know that. No one deserved this, not even Draco Malfoy.

"My father. He was not very pleased that I would not accept the dark mark. Like I said before…..he punished me" Draco said, his words tainted with a bitter tinge.

"And why would you refuse the dark mark Malfoy? I thought you and your father were very close to Voldemort? Hermione said in conversational voice, even though her words suggested otherwise.

Draco sat up and glared at her, anger coursing through him. She had no idea. She had no idea what it was like for him. "I am not my father! Just because he serves the dark lord doesn't mean I do. I am not like him." He said the last words with conviction blazing in his grey eyes.

Hermione eyed him. He had changed from the obnoxious boy he used to be. Sure, he was still haughty, rude and incredibly annoying but even she had to admit that he wasn't who she thought he was. She looked at his shirtless chest and defined features and found herself blushing before quickly turning away before he noticed. He really was incredibly good looking even though she hated to admit it. "Okay, I never said you were. I was just wondering. And you might want to put a shirt on." She said added coolly, throwing him a plain white tee-shirt that was lying, wrinkled on her floor.

He looked at it distastefully before slipping it on and then laughed a mirthlessly. "Yes I know what you think about me Granger. You think all those rumors about me replacing my father as the dark lord's second man are true don't you?"

"Well you haven't done much to disprove them, but if say they aren't true then I believe you." She said

He snorted but said nothing.

"Well what are we going to do then if you can't go home?" Hermione said, pacing around her room. She was not looking forward to a stint with Draco Malfoy in her house.

"Well I don't know. Haven't exactly figured that out yet." He said to her sarcastically. He was watching her body as she paced and was pleased to see that she was wearing some very short shorts that revealed her long shapely legs.

Hermione noticed his gaze and blushed furiously before she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "You know Malfoy, if you are tying to suggest you want to stay here, you might want to be a little nicer to me. Considering I could just throw you out for your father to find you."

He rolled his eyes and laughed. "Yeah right. You're too nice for that. You'll let me stay, I know it." He then lay down on her bed and lazily stretched out.

She made an angry noise and yanked him back off. "Oh believe me Malfoy I am capable of it. So you better learn to be a little more pleasant and you better keep quiet so my parents don't find out there is a snake staying in there daughters bedroom."

Draco just smirked "So that's a yes?"

She looked at him furiously and without a word opened up one of her drawers and grabbed out a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. She then walked to her bathroom and slammed the door shut. Hermione was fuming. She couldn't believe the nerve of him. Showing up at her house, expecting to stay there and still acting like an obnoxious git. Ugh she sighed. But she couldn't just make him leave. A small part of her felt sympathy towards him because of his father. It wasn't his choice to be in Voldemort's service, he was being forced. She didn't want that to happen so she would tolerate him until the end of Christmas break. Two miserable weeks in his company and she also had to contend with the large problem of hiding him from her parents. How was she going to keep a loud, cocky Slytherin a secret? Well she thought He'll just have to learn to keep his mouth shut for a change. She changed into her clothes, brushed her teeth and then walked out of the room and downstairs without giving him a glance.

She groaned as she sat down in her favorite plush green reading chair and put her head in her hands. What am I going to do? She thought desperately. The logical side of Hermione Granger wanted to kick him out right now before he caused trouble like he was bound to, but the emotional side of her just couldn't do it. She didn't want him to have to face his father and be forced into the servitude of that monster. No she thought firmly. Fighting Voldemort was more important than a school grudge. Oh but still, he was Malfoy for heavens sake!

She needed time to cool down, and cooking always helped. Her parents, thankfully, were out for the day. They wanted to catch the after Christmas sales at the mall. She went into the small kitchen and made breakfast for her and Draco. She couldn't believe she was being so nice, but she was starving as well. She made pancakes and poured two glasses of orange juice.

Hermione walked back up the stairs and gave Draco a glance before saying "I made breakfast if you want some."

She didn't wait for him to respond before she disappeared down the stairs again.

Draco stared at her retreating figure before getting gracefully to his feet to follow her downstairs. Draco had been sitting on her bed, mulling the situation over in his mind. He hated being stuck here with her but had no other choice. It was better than the chilly hallways and foreboding corners of Malfoy manor but still……he couldn't believe he was in Grangers house and getting ready to eat breakfast with her. He still wasn't exactly sure how he had wound up there in the first place but he knew it was somehow connected to that mysterious diary. He couldn't decide if he was grateful for the diary or angry, he supposed a mixture of both. He just didn't like being thrown into situations he had no control over. Why did he have to put up with this?

When he arrived at the bottom of the stairs he looked around found her in the kitchen, seated at a small wooden table and already eating her pancakes. Her house was so much simpler than his, yet much more like a real home. Personal touches were everywhere, like pictures of Hermione as a baby on the refrigerator and novels with bookmarks sticking out lying on the coffee table. He sat down beside her and eyed his blueberry pancakes before picking up his fork and cutting a small bite. Surprisingly, they were delicious. So she could cook he thought to himself.

She watched him eat for a while before voicing her question "What are you going to do about your father? He can still find you at Hogwarts."

"By then I will be seventeen and of age. He will no longer have any legal rights over me. He may try to force me into something but I can defy without legal repercussions." Draco knew him being of legal age meant nothing to his father but it would to the ministry. He could press charges against his father if he tried anything.

"Oh, but do you think Voldemort will try and find you for refusing to take the dark mark?" She said quietly.

Draco actually laughed at this "I doubt it. Apparently my father has been building my character up into this small sickly child who would make Neville Longbottom look like an expert at wizardry. He has been making up these lies as excuses to Voldemort for my absence at the last three deatheater initiations. I doubt Voldemort will think I am worthy of pursuit, unless father talks to him…..which I wouldn't be surprised of."

"Why were you absent at the last three? I thought your father was very intent on you becoming a deatheater?" Said Hermione. Despite herself, she was interested to know about him.

"My mother mostly. She made excuses for me and for some reason my father listens to her. The little bit of human emotion that is left inside of him is devoted to her. The one that is to come was going to be unavoidable though. Voldemort specifically requested that I be there and even my mother's lies couldn't get me out of this one. If I hadn't of ended up here……then that's where I would be going. My father would see to that." He finished with a self loathing look on his face and Hermione felt sympathy and compassion once again briefly stirring inside of her.

"Well, be thankful for that diary and whoever sent it. It sounds like it may have saved your life." She said tartly, getting up to clear away the dished. She leaned over Draco to get his empty plate and her arm brushed up against his. Shivers went through her body and she pulled away, taken aback by her body's reaction. Was she finding herself attracted to Malfoy? He may be physically appealing but beyond that he was still a selfish brat.

She turned away from him and put those thoughts out of her mind as she went to put the dishes in the sink. "Okay Malfoy we need to talk about my parents. They can't know your staying here because they definitely will not approve, so you're going to have to lie low. That means no being loud, rude and obnoxious. You'll have to stay in my room if they aren't here or I'll have to sneak you out."

"Fine." He shrugged. "What am I going to wear though? I can't wear this for two weeks. I can get money from my bank account."

"We can go shopping tomorrow if you like. We'll have to go to muggle shops though. So try and not do anything stupid like hexing someone."

Draco smirked. "Believe me I am accustomed to muggle shops and clothing. My father was rather fond of Prada and Gucci."

"Really? That surprised me, I would have thought you father would have despised all things muggle."

"No, he enjoyed bragging that the only useful thing a muggle could do was make his clothes."

"Your father sounds like a class act, now if you don't mind me, I'm going to go and read. You can do whatever you like." She stood up, picked her book up from the coffee table and sat back down in the plush green chair to read contently. Normally, reading was her way of escape but today, the only thing that kept coming to mind was thoughts of Draco. She couldn't deny the strange attraction she felt towards him. Even though she despised him for the way he had treated her and her friends over the years, she felt herself drawn to him. Well he has been better lately she thought, remember how his behavior had improved over the past year. He never openly insulted for no reason anymore and for some reason she had missed the attention. Though he had been cruel to her before, it was better than being ignored. She snapped up from her reverie as Draco sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, lazily flipping through the channels.

"Excuse me?" She sputtered. "You didn't even ask and I was reading."

"I'm your guest and I'm bored. You should be entertaining me, not ignoring me."

She gave him a withering look before saying "Guest is normally the term someone uses when they invite someone over, not when someone shows up invited in their bed."

Draco shrugged and then smirked, his lips curving up aristocratically. "Either way, I'm still your guest and I want to watch TV. I never get to at home and I'm curious to know what muggles use for entertainment besides throwing footballs and running around like buffoons." He then propped his feet up on her coffee table and made himself at home.

Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation, opened her mouth to say something and then shut it, she wasn't going to bother arguing with him. She leaned back in her chair and propped the book up on her knees to read again, unconsciously watching him out of the corner of her eye.

After a while Hermione heard a low buzz and jumped up. She recognized that as the sound of the garage door opening. "Get up and go to my room now. Don't make a sound, my parents are home." She hissed at him.

He looked around as if expecting them to pop out of thin air before getting up and slowly walking up the steps.

Hermione heard the door open and the happy chatter of her parents. She sat down as they walked in, pretending to have been reading the whole time.

"Hey sweetheart, what have you been doing all day?" Her mother asked her, swinging her multiple shopping bags on her arm.

"Oh…nothing really. Just reading and watching some TV." She said.

Her father smiled at her. "You should have come with us it would have been fun."

"Oh we bought you something!" Her mother said, opening up one of the shopping bags to reveal a soft ivory colored cashmere sweater. Mrs. Granger handed it to her and Hermione took admiring how soft the fabric was. She gave her mother a hug and said "Thanks mom, its beautiful."

"You're welcome sweetheart." Mrs. Granger said, walking into the kitchen. "I'm going to start making dinner; it will be ready in about an hour. I'm making your favorite, lasagna and Caeser salad."

"Thanks mom" Hermione said. "I'll be upstairs if you need me."

When Hermione opened the door she found Draco sitting at her desk and reading…..

"Give me my diary!" She yelled indignantly. "That's none of your business! I can't believe you're reading my personal stuff."

Draco held it out of her reach and said mockingly "Seems like you used to have a little crush on Weasel face."

Hands on her hips Hermione said "Give me that Malfoy."

"Come and get it" He said.

She would have loved to smack that smirk off of his handsome face as she lunged for the book. She found her body responding to his touch again as her chest brushed up against his arm when she leaned over him and grabbed the book from his grip. She quickly pulled away from him and straightened her shirt, a blush creeping up into her cheeks against his will.

Draco noticed her blushing and smirked at her. "So, what's for dinner?" He said.

Hermione rolled her eyes again. "Lasagna and Caesar salad. I'll bring you some up when it's ready."

"I'll take the lasagna but that's a no on the Caesar salad. I'm not a vegetable eating kind of guy."

"Fine" She said. Not really caring what he did at the moment.

Hermione heard her father call her name up the stairs to tell her dinner was ready a little while later. She told him she was coming and then turned to Draco "Please try and not mess with my stuff again while I'm gone."

Hermione went downstairs and ate her dinner quickly and then got another plate of food and changed forks without her parents noticing. Her mother looked at her, surprised and said "Wow you must be really hungry."

Hermione blushed and said. "Umm yeah I skipped lunch today. Well I think I'm going to eat this plate upstairs. I really need to start on some of my homework I had over Christmas."

"Alright, but I still think they shouldn't be giving you homework over the holidays…." Mrs. Granger grumbled.

Hermione set Draco's food down in front of him at the desk and looked at him, waiting for a thank you that she didn't receive and should not have expected.

Draco picked up the fork and his mouth started to water at the enticing smell of the lasagna. He ate all of it greedily and then turned to Hermione, a mocking smile playing about his artistically defined features. "So where am I going to sleep tonight? I think your bed might do, it was moderately comfortable last night."

She looked at him in disbelief. How dare he ask to sleep in her bed. "And where am I supposed to sleep Malfoy?"

"The floor" He said to her in a tone that suggested it had been a dumb question with a very simple answer.

"No way" Hermione said. "I am not sleeping on the floor. You're the one who barged into my house. You can make yourself comfortable on the floor because I'm sleeping on the bed."

"You expect me to sleep on the floor?" Draco said as if this was an unthinkable crime. "Fine, we can share the bed. It might even be fun." He raised his eyebrows at her as he spoke the last line.

Hermione looked at him in shock before words finally came to her mouth. "Yeah right! If you think I am sharing a bed with you, then you've got another thing coming!"

"Well" He said simply. "I don't see another solution as we both refuse to sleep on the floor and there is only one available bed. Most girls would give an arm and a leg to spend a night with me. You should feel honored."

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but could think of nothing to say so she finally snapped angrily. "Fine. FINE, but I'm enlarging the bed. There is no way I am sharing this small bed with you."

She took out her wand and enlarged the bed to that of a king size one and looked back to admire her work "There. Now we can both have our own sides and you better stay on yours."

"I will if you do." He said, his grey eyes sparkling at her.

"You are impossible" She said huffily and walked out to go downstairs and have some peace from him.

Several hours later she came back up to her room and found Draco again sitting at the desk but this time reading one of her muggle novels called The Flames of Rome. It was a book her mother had given her about the Romans and there battles with the Christians. It didn't seem like the type of book Draco would read but from the look upon his face, he looked immersed in it.

She gave a small cough and he looked up. "Nice book you have here. I guess muggles are capable of one other thing as well and that's somewhat decent literature."

"I'm glad to know of your opinion. I'm going to bed now." She said acidly, picking up her pajamas and going to the bathroom to change.

She washed her face in warm water and brushed her teeth before slipping on her pajama shorts and tee-shirt. Feeling somewhat awkward and embarrassed she walked out to where Malfoy was seated.

Malfoy raised his eyebrows in appreciation but said nothing. Granger was attractive; he had to admit to himself. She had subtle curves and long honey brown hair that fell down her back curls. He watched her crawl into bed and was pleased to see that she was blushing under his gaze.

"I guess I'll get ready for bed as well." He said and without any warning or even the slightest hint of embarrassment, he stripped right down to his black silky boxers.

"What are you doing?" She asked, trying not to admire his leanly muscled body.

"Getting ready for bed. What does it look like I'm doing? I'm not sleeping in that suit if that's what you think. Anyways, I always sleep in boxers. I find anything else too confining." He walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth and found no tooth brush so instead he used some mouthwash he saw on the counter and decided to test out Hermione's face wash. It felt surprisingly tingly on his face and smelled like fresh peppermint. Feeling a bit cleaner, he stepped out of the bathroom and crawled into her bed.

"I really would rather you sleep in something else, like maybe a shirt for instance?" She grumbled to him, scooting as far away from as she could until she was met by the wall.

"And I would rather not." He said simply, pulling the covers over his body.

Hermione groaned as she remembered she had forgotten to lock the door. She got up and tried to ignore Draco's eyes, that felt like they were boring into her as she walked across the room. Once she was back in bed she flipped over so she wasn't facing him and tried to get to sleep.

Draco again appreciated how soft and comfortable her bed was. He actually felt safe here, unlike home and as much as he didn't want to admit to himself, he liked the sleeping form of Granger being beside him. He rolled over and looked at the curly hair lying across her back. The moonlight was filtering through the blinds on the window and casting tiny speckles of light all across her. He closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly, something he had not achieved in long time.