A/N: Thank you for your reviews! They've made me very happy. I'm sorry for the delay for this chapter. A lot of things have been going on lately. I hope to answer your questions eventually in here! Keep reviewing and make me happy!

Chapter Four: Secrets

As Hermione slept for the first time in weeks beside Ginny, Draco took this time to call for his backup. He reluctantly dialed Ron Weasley's number first. He knew that they never had gotten along in school but he needed backup in case Cormac decided to show up at his door with guns, or wands, blazing.

"Hello?"

Draco sighed and thought about hanging the phone up but gathered up the courage to talk to him. "Hello, Weasley. It's Draco."

"Malfoy? What the bloody hell are you doing calling me?"

Draco leaned against the wall, watching Ginny and Hermione lie still on the couch. "I'm calling on behalf of your sister. She's in trouble, and I'm thinking I might need someone to help me protect her."

"What are you getting at? What happened to her?"

"You obviously never visited her often at Cormac's house, did you?" Draco asked knowingly. When there was silence on the other end, he went on. "Cormac's been beating her up and Hermione brought her to my apartment to get her away from him."

"Why didn't she bring Ginny to my place?"

Draco already regretted calling Ron. He didn't have time for all his questions. "That doesn't matter right now. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Of course not! Why would I help you? You gave Hermione hell in school and now you're calling me for help. Do you honestly think I'm going to help you?"

Draco tongued his cheek in frustration. "I was thinking you might since your sister is involved! I don't care if you don't do it for me, but damn it, do it for her! She needs your help."

Draco heard a long pause and almost thought Ron had hung up until he heard him sigh.

"Come on, Weasley. You shouldn't have to think about this! This is your fucking sister we're talking about here," Draco said in a hushed voice. "You owe it to her!"

"Piss off, Malfoy; I'm not going to help anyone. She doesn't deserve my help with the way she is! She got herself into this mess with Cormac and her starving herself to death. She needs to figure out a way to help herself."

Draco gritted his teeth and tried to keep his voice down. "You're a real nice big brother, Weasley. I'm sure she'll look back on this one day and be so grateful that you decided to help her!" He slammed the phone down and grabbed at his hair with his hands, feeling so angry at Ron.

He took several deep breaths to try to calm himself and walked into the living room to check on the girls, who were still sleeping soundly. Draco relaxed a little and then walked back into the kitchen to call Blaise, wanting to make sure that he had at least one person that would help him with Cormac. After a few minutes of talking, he hung up the phone gentler this time and heard footsteps behind him.

"What did my brother say?" A soft, timid voice asked.

Draco turned around to see Ginny and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Ginny. He doesn't want any part of this."

He watched as terror filled her eyes now and continued to speak. "It's alright. Blaise said he's all in. He's going to help us. Neither of us will let Cormac get near you. Okay?"

Ginny nodded but still looked uneasy. "O-Okay… umm… can I have some water?"

"Yeah, of course. Have a seat," Draco invited, pulling out a chair for her as he grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with tap water from the sink. He set the glass in front of her

then sat down in the chair next to her. He watched her intently as she drank the water and eyed her thin arms. "Are you feeling dizzy, Ginny?"

She set the glass in front of her and looked at Draco. "What do you want me to say, Draco?"

"The truth would be nice. I just want to know how you're feeling right now."

Ginny finished off her glass of water and then sighed inwardly. "Scared, dizzy, anxious. I don't know… I guess just fucked up in general."

"Ginny, I can help you to not be all of those things if you just let me. You could help Hermione at the same time. If she sees you eating, she might eat too."

She bit her lip and folded her arms on top of each other across her chest. "Do you really think it's that easy? That's not how it works."

"Isn't it worth a shot if it means you could save her life and yours? Just… stop this bullshit… it's so… stupid and unnecessary."

Ginny stood up now and started back over to Hermione who was still sleeping on the couch. She kneeled down and gently shook her arm. "Hermione, wake up…"

"Mmmhmm? Just five more minutes, Gin…."

Ginny sat back on her knees and just looked down at the rug in defeat, feeling so alone right now. Draco watched them and felt uneasy until he heard a knock at the door. He stood up and walked towards the door before opening it.

"Hey, come on in, Blaise."

Blaise, almost timidly walked inside the apartment, looking tired and almost fearful. He glanced down at the girls and then back up at Draco. "Has he come here yet?"

Draco shook his head as he walked over to Blaise. "No, not yet. Her brother wouldn't come though. He's being a prick about the whole thing. I need your help with something else though," Draco said in a whisper so Ginny and Hermione wouldn't be able to hear.

Blaise raised his eyebrows now. "Oh really? What now?"

Draco nodded over to the two pencil thin women who were starting to look all too well like walking skeletons. "We need to get them to eat something or else they're going to die. You obviously can't encourage them to eat and you support their damn illness!"

Blaise looked away now, running a nervous hand through his hair. He heard Hermione begin to stir and open her eyes to look at the two of them but he didn't turn to face her. "Draco, I'm sorry but I can't force them to eat anything!"

Draco looked at him sternly now, anger laced in his emerald eyes. "If you don't do it, then I'm going to put the both of them in hospital to get better."

"Don't threaten me, Malfoy! You can't give me an ultimatum like that! That's shit… I am not going to force them to choke down food when they don't want to!"

Draco looked at Hermione and saw that she had sat up now and was looking between the two of them wearily. "You need help! I can't stand seeing you and Ginny look like this any longer!"

Blaise watched as Draco started for the telephone and he suddenly raced over and blocked the phone. "Stop this! We need to protect Ginny from Cormac first! Once we know that she's safe, then we can worry about getting them help!"

Draco shook his head and shoved Blaise hard, knocking him into the counters hard. "No! Screw that plan, Blaise! It'll be too late! They'll be dead by then!"

Blaise felt like he was being pulled into two different directions. On one hand, he wanted to let them have their control as long as possible, but on the other hand, he knew Draco was right. He didn't want the girls to die, and knew it was a grim possibility that it could happen as long as they kept starving themselves like they were.

"You know I'm right, Blaise! I'm fucking calling!"

Blaise grabbed the phone from Draco's hand and then looked at Draco. "What if Cormac hurts Ginny while she's in hospital? It'd be so easy. Blaise felt like he was being pulled into two different directions. On one hand, he wanted to let them have their control as long as possible, but on the other hand, he knew Draco was right. He didn't want the girls to die, and knew it was a grim possibility that it could happen as long as they kept starving themselves like they were.

"You know I'm right, Blaise! I'm fucking calling!"

Blaise grabbed the phone from Draco's hand and then looked at Draco. "What if Cormac hurts Ginny while she's in hospital? It'd be so easy when they're hooked up to IV bags and tubes. It'll be easier for him to hurt her there than if he hurts her here."

"Don't be thick, Blaise. We'll both be there with them! We'll protect them!"

"For how long? How long until the hospital throws us out?"

Draco looked at Blaise darkly, threat in his eyes. "Move. Give me the phone. Now."

"No! Listen, Draco. These girls need to feel some kind of control in all this chaos. Not eating is their control. It gives them some sense of accomplishment. If they don't have this control, then they're going to get even more ill from this disease. It's going to eat them alive but we can stop that from happening before it's too late."

"They're going to die either way? That's an even better plan, Blaise! Let's just let them starve themselves to death! I don't mind digging another grave!"

Hermione bit her lip, listening to them argue. She squeezing Ginny's hand and then looked over at the two boys, afraid of the outcome of their decision. She felt Ginny squeeze her hand back and bit her lip, afraid to speak up. Blaise seemed to cower a little now, but he knew his attempt to reason with Draco was useless. He was just as stubborn as Hermione, and Blaise had always known they'd make a great couple. He looked over at the two girls and then back at his friend.

"Just let them do their thing. You're not their brother, and they're not your sister. Just protect them from Cormac," Blaise said, his voice serious and talking to Draco in almost an ordering tone. "After we deal with Cormac, they're going into hospital to get better. I can't deal with this happening all over again," Draco replied in a sad voice.

His friend nodded in agreement and then gently patted Draco's shoulder before he walked over to Hermione and Ginny. He knelt down and smiled reassuringly between the two.

He heard footsteps behind him walk down the hallway and into a bedroom. "Come on, it's getting late. You girls should get some sleep."

Hermione searched Blaise's face nervously before looking down. "I'm scared."

Blaise nodded in understanding before he arranged them so they had enough space to lie down before he laid down on the floor. He felt Hermione's hand gently touch his back and then felt her curl into him. He was afraid to cross the line with Draco, and he knew that Draco had some kind of feelings for her. Blaise was afraid to get involved with what Draco assumed already was his, and he knew that if his friend even saw them, there might be hell to pay later on. Her gentle touch felt nice though, right now; It felt soothing and soft. He decided he wasn't going to dwell on what could happen. He wasn't going to dwell on the future. For now, it felt safe in all of the chaos that was happening around them.

\ \ \ \ \

Hermione woke up the next morning, beads of cold sweat matting her hair. She saw the sun peaking through the curtains and knew it was still somewhat early. She carefully unhooked her arm from Ginny's and stood up before tiptoeing into the kitchen. It was quiet although she could hear a shower running somewhere down the hall, signaling Draco was awake. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water before she grabbed the pill that was in her pocket, swallowed it, and then drank the rest of the water.

"Do you have one for me?"

Hermione took out one of the white round pills from the baggie and handed it to Ginny. She knew it had been Ginny. She knew it was her because she understood. Ginny understood what it was like to feel like she did.

"What do we do now? Are we just going to stay here until things blow over?"

Hermione looked over at her and smiled softly. "I don't know. I think I might hurt Draco if I have to stay here with the way he's being. We need to get you the restraining order against Cormac or else he's going to think it's okay for him to come get you back."

Ginny was quiet now and Hermione thought she had wandered back into the living room when she finally spoke. "Where do we get a restraining order?"

"I'm not sure, Gin. We'll ask Draco when he comes out."

She nodded and sat down in one of the chairs as Draco came out. "Good morning, girls."

"Morning, Draco. Erm, we have a question. Where and when are we going to get the order against Cormac?"

Draco glanced at the clock and then looked at his watch. "Umm… well, it's just going to be me going to get the restraining order against him. You two and Blaise are going to stay here."

Hermione sighed stood up, walking over to him. "Why can't we go with you?"

Draco leaned into Hermione so Ginny wouldn't hear. "Because after I get the order, I'm going to pay Cormac a visit to tell him about it."

"Wait, Draco! At least take Blaise with you."

"I should take him with me? And who exactly is going to watch over you and Ginny?"

"Cormac's not going to come here if you're over there with him! We'll be fine!"

"I don't want to take the chance of that asshole coming here while I'm at the Ministry getting the restraining order!"

Hermione sighed and shook her head. "Please, just take Blaise. We'll be alright. I won't let him hurt her."

"Yeah, of course you won't. You'll just get hurt by him."

"Damn it, Draco! Stop worrying about what could happen. Just take Blaise and go."

He almost glared at her in frustration and growled before he walked over to the living room to wake Blaise up. He told him the situation and he waited for him to get ready before going over to Hermione.

"There. Are you happy now? Are you happy that you have control over something other than your starvation?"

She felt hurt fill her eyes now and she looked down before walking down the hall and slammed the bathroom door shut behind her.

"Are you happy that you hurt her?"

Draco now looked guilty as he heard Ginny's voice but he tried to push it down before glancing at Blaise who had gotten his sweatshirt on. "Are you almost ready, Blaise?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Draco gave an apologetic look at Ginny and then walked out of the apartment with Blaise, closing the door behind them before hearing Ginny lock it. He looked at Blaise and then apparated them to the Ministry. After speaking to several people about the situation, he was finally given a piece of parchment with the necessary information on it. Draco then apparated with Blaise on Cormac's front step. When he opened the door, Draco smirked and shoved the parchment in his face.

"This says you are not allowed within 200 feet of Ginny!"

Cormac grabbed the bottom of the parchment and looked at them. "She's my wife! I have the right to see her! You can't do this. She's still mine!"

"Not for long, Cormac. Not after we get divorce papers signed."

Cormac laughed now. "Divorce papers? The other party, being me, has to sign those as well in order for a divorce to happen, and I'm telling you right now, it's not going to ever happen!"

Draco remained calm and collected as he shook his head and folded the piece of paper his pocket. "No, you don't, not in this case. The other party, being you, doesn't have to sign the papers if he has been physically abusive to the other party, being Ginny. So sorry, Golden Boy, but your reasoning is fucked."

The color drained out of Cormac's face now and he had anger and rage filling his entire being up. He suddenly punched Draco so hard, it almost sent him to the floor. Blaise tackled Cormac and started to punch him before Cormac got in a few good punches as well. Draco hurried over to them and grabbed his friend's arm before pulling him up and off of Cormac. "Come on, Blaise! He's not worth it."

He obeyed Draco and followed him out of the house before he spit out the blood from his mouth following Cormac's hard punches to his face. Draco patted his back and apparated them back to Draco's apartment.

He knocked on the door. "Gin! Let us in!"

Ginny hurried over to the door and unlocked it before opening it for the two of them. "Did you get it? Oh my god… what happened?"

Draco sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We're fine, Ginny. We got the restraining order," he said, pulling the piece of parchment out of his pocket before handing it to her. "Is Granger still in the bathroom?"

Ginny bit her lip and nodded. "I tried to talk to her. She's just crying and she won't come out."

Draco sighed heavily and walked past her, down the hall. Once he made it to the bathroom, he knocked. "Granger! Come out!"

Hermione jumped when Draco knocked, which really sounded like he was pounding on the door with his fist. She quickly wiped away her tears from her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Go to hell, Draco! You've obviously shown how much you care if I starve myself to death! I bet you just can't wait for that to happen!"

Draco tried the doorknob but already knew it was locked. He placed his hand against the door. "Please let me in, Granger. We should… we should just talk."

"I have nothing to say!"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Granger. Just open the door…"

Hermione huffed and then Alohorma'd the locked door from inside the bathtub, behind the shower curtain. She wrapped her arms around her small legs as she pulled them into her chest and rested her chin on her knees.

Draco walked slowly over to the bathtub and kneeled down on the floor before pulling back the curtain.

"Hey… are you in here just because of what I said earlier?"

Hermione shook her head now and finally looked at him. "N-No… it's not just that."

Draco searched her sad eyes. "What else is it?"

"Why do you call Ginny by her first name but you still call me by my last?"

This question took Draco aback, but knew she would ask him it sooner or later. He leaned against the bathtub and tried to think about how he was going to answer it. "Ginny and I have a better relationship than you and I have."

"A better relationship? Like how?"

Draco looked down, feeling guilty again. "We… went out, in school. For six months…"

Hermione looked at him in disbelief and shook her head, tears in her eyes. "If you did go out with her, it was just for your own selfish needs."

"I went out with her because I wanted you, and I couldn't have you."

Hermione felt tears escape her eyes and shook her head. "N-No… y-you hate me! You can't stand me! You hated me in school because… I-I wasn't like you. I wasn't a pureblood!"

"I hated you in school because my father wanted me to hate you! I hated him for that. I… I fell in love with you in school, but I couldn't do anything about it," Draco said, almost in a whisper. "So.. I went behind my father's back and… I started going out with Ginny. It was a secret though. No… No one else knew about it besides Blaise. I told Ginny to tell you that she had to study for classes if you ever asked where she was going. We stayed at The Hog's Head Inn, and we became close. It was the closest I could get to being with you. We b-became friends and then we couldn't be together anymore because my father was becoming suspicious. So we called it off. We were always friends though after that."

Hermione wasn't really sure how to feel after all of that. A part of her felt hurt, another part felt confused. "D-Did you sleep w-with her?"

Draco was afraid this question was going to come up eventually in the conversation but he didn't want to lie anymore. "Yes. We slept together a few times."

"Were… you just using her for sex?"

Draco looked her in the eye now and shook his head sincerely. "No. I would never. I slept with her because I felt really close to her, and that brought me close to you."

"She was still a Gryffindor. She was the same as me… your father would've disapproved you going out with her just as much as he'd disapprove of you going out with me."

"Yes, he would've but… to him, blood makes all the difference."

"Why should blood matter? Why should it matter if someone's pureblood or half-blood or even a Muggle?"

Draco took a deep breath and let it out. "I don't know, but it did matter to him."

Hermione caught the past tense and her curiousity became engaged. "D-Did?"

"My father's dead now, Granger. He killed himself after my sister died about five months ago."

Hermione was silent in thought, unsure what the proper thing to say now was. She looked at Draco again and then spoke softly. "Do you still love her? Do you feel anything for me now?"

"I love her only as a friend. My feelings for you haven't changed since school. I feel a lot of things for you now. I'm just scared that you're going to die before you get the chance to tell me you love me too, if you do."

Hermione swallowed hard, feeling an ache in her stomach. "T-This is a lot to try to figure out… I-I'm sorry, Draco… I-I don't know if I can say that to you just yet. A lot of…"

"Shit is happening," Draco finished for her, nodding. "I understand. It's alright. I'll try to have more patience with you. I'll try to support you and help you as much as I can, okay?"

Hermione nodded and wiped away her tears once again. "Okay."

Draco held out his hand. "Do you want to go back out there?"

She took his hand, nodding as he helped her out of the bathtub. "Will you call me by my first name?"

Draco chuckled now but saw she was serious. "I'll try to. I'll try my hardest. It's become a habit to call you by your last though. But, I'll try my best to call you Hermione."

She smiled gentle and stepped on the rug. "Thank you."

Draco smiled back, kissed her on the forehead and he lead her out of the bathroom.