A.N.~ Well first and foremost, thank you to the readers who helped me put a stop to the person who was copy and pasting parts of my story into theirs. The person immediately took the story off the site so I thank you all.

Secondly, this would have been up sooner but my computer crashed and I lost everything so I had to rewrite the entire chapter from memory, and it was not easy.

Third of all I will be reposting the first 13 chapters just because I fixed some mistakes that were pointed out to me. You do not need to reread them nothing major will be changing in the chapters, just spelling and punctuation.

As you all know I am all about trying to keep JK Rowlings characters factual to how she wrote them however in this chapter I have taken a small liberty in making it so that Narcissa and Snape were in the same class at Hogwarts when they were younger. Narcissa was actually a few years ahead of him so I needed to change it for the story.

On a final note, if you have not already read it I posted a one shot Dramione songfic to Taylor Swift's "Back to December" and I will actually be writing a second chapter from Draco's POV so please check it out :)

As you all know I own nothing but the plot and all 6 movies on DVD...lol. Enjoy.


She stood at her bedroom window and stared out at the snow covered grounds below. She felt his presence in the room long before he came up behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her, pulling her into his chest and resting his on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, his words nothing more then a soft whisper grazing her ear. She smiled and nodded, letting the warmth and smell of his body invade her senses. She felt his arms loosen a bit so he could gently turn her around to face him. She looked up at him, her eyes flickering between the deep silvery orbs staring back at her and the soft lips that were descending towards her own. She felt his hand move slowly up to caress her face as his lips met her in a gentle, but still passionate kiss. She felt herself melt into him as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, deepening the kiss and bringing them closer then they had ever been before. She felt safe and warm in his arms, and she hadn't even realized that they had moved across the room to her bed until she found herself being laid back on it and Draco hovering above her. She felt herself tense at the sudden realization of what was going on and he seemed to feel it to, since he pulled away from the kiss and looked down at her with soft eyes. "I would never do anything to hurt you, or force you into anything you didn't want to do. I want to be with you Hermione, I want you more then I've ever wanted anything else, and I'm willing to wait for you, even if it means waiting forever. This is all about you. Your wants, your needs, your pace. I love you Hermione Granger, and I always will."

Hermione woke up with a gasp. She sat up and glanced quickly around her room almost hoping to see Draco standing there. She sighed and laid back down when she saw that it was in fact nothing more then a dream. A gloriously romantic dream, she thought. She smiled as she remembered the events from the day before. When Draco had kissed her last night she had felt things that she had never felt before. It wasn't as if this had been her first kiss, no that honor had gone to Viktor Krum and after that there was that one kiss that she had shared with Ron in the heat of the moment right after Harry defeated Voldemort. Those kisses were nothing compared to the one she and Draco had shared. Viktor's kiss was rough and she was pretty sure he tried to swallow her head at one point, while Ron's was extremely wet and sloppy. Draco's kiss though, was just wow. It was soft, but firm, gentle, yet passionate. It was nothing more then just a simple kiss but at the same time it was so much more. Instead of striking fear in her, it made her feel warm and caused butterflies to flutter around with in her. It was a huge step in their relationship and an even bigger one in her healing process, and her dream proved that much. Hermione sighed as she recalled her dream. It wasn't like she had never had dreams like this before, oh no, she had, had plenty of erotic, sex dreams in the past,after all she was a hormonal teenage girl. While in the real world she was Hermione Granger, the prude, in the dream world she was Hermione Granger, glorified sex kitten. While she had, had no experience with the real thing she had read enough books and magazine articles on the subject to put the naughtiest of fantasies into her head.

"But that was all before," she murmured to herself, as she sat up and pulled back the comforter. Hermione hadn't had any of those dreams since the incident, her dreams now filled with the pain caused by her unknown assailant. When she wasn't having that reoccurring nightmare, she didn't dream about anything at all, or at least nothing she could remember. This dream however had been the first pleasant one she had, had in a long time and it made her almost giddy inside. The thought of her and Draco taking that kind of step in their relationship was both scary and exhilarating all at once. Sure she knew it wasn't something that would happen any time soon, after all she still needed time to fully heal and also neither of them had truly stated just what the extent of their relationship was. Yes they went on a date, and shared a kiss but did he want a full blown relationship with her. Hermione shook her head and headed towards the bathroom. She would need to speak with Draco later and together they would figure this all out.

Draco headed down the stairs to the common room. He had heard the shower start a few minutes before, signaling that Hermione was awake and it made him realize that it wouldn't be long until she followed him down and he would need to tell her everything. He wasn't looking forward to it at all, but after tossing and turning all night with the thought of doing it on his mind, he knew that it had to be done. A knock on the portrait door startled him a bit, as they weren't expecting anyone to come by, especially since all of their friends had gone home for the holiday. To his surprise though, the portrait opened to reveal a smirking Blaise and his travel trunk.

"Surprise!" Blaise said pushing passed Draco and walking into the common room. Draco watched as Blaise set his trunk down next to the sofa before proceeding to lay down on it and start bouncing slightly. Draco shook himself out of the stupor that the odd sight had caused, and walked over to him.

"Blaise, mate. As happy as I am to see you I must ask. What are you doing here and what the bloody hell are you doing to my sofa?" Blaise stopped his bouncing and smiled up at his friend.

"I'm testing it for comfort. After all you know I can't sleep on just anything, I'm much too spoiled." He said with a slight haughtiness in his voice.

"And why exactly would you be sleeping on my sofa?" Draco asked rolling his eyes at his best friend.

"Well I thought you would need me for when you tell Granger everything and honestly my mum was driving me batty at home. I got permission to come back for the rest of the holiday, but there is no way I am staying in the dungeons all by myself, not when you have all this up here." He said, gesturing to his surroundings. Draco shook his head.

"How do you know that I haven't already spoken to Hermione?" Blaise just looked at him with knowing smirk.

"Because I know you mate. You and Granger had too good a time last night for you to ruin it with that information. I figured you would wait until today before possibly destroying all the progress shes made." Draco was about to say something back when a voice came from behind him.

"What do you mean by destroy my progress?" Draco spun around to find a very refreshed looking Hermione standing there staring at them. Blaise jumped off the sofa and walked towards her, a big smile on his face.

"Granger, love! So good to see you. How are you this fine morning?" Hermione released her gaze from his and turned to Blaise.

"I'm well Blaise." She said. "What are you doing here and what did you mean by that statement?" Draco looked over at Blaise angrily. He really was going to tell Hermione today however he didn't want to start the conversation like this. Draco sighed and took her hand, leading her over to the sofa and sitting down with her. He took his hand in hers and watched as Blaise sat in one of the arm chairs next to them before turning to look at her.

"Well you see Hermione. Last night Blaise and I overheard some of the Order members discussing a recent chain of muggle murders." Hermione gasped. "At first the murders looked like your everyday murder but it turns out that the victims had been crucioed to death and then were made to look like a muggle had done it."

"How do they know that they were crucioed?"

"The ministry has a squib named Ella Ashen who works for the muggle law enforcement, she was the one who first realized it and then the ministry sent in someone to make sure." Blaise answered causing Hermione to nod in understanding, before looking at them a little confused.

"What does this have to do with me though?" Draco glanced quickly at Blaise before he spoke.

"It has to do with the victims Hermione."

"Why? Because they were muggles?" She asked.

"Well that and the fact that all seven of the victims were young girls about 5'4", long, curly brown hair, brown eyes, and light skinned. They all resembled you 'Mione" Draco watched as the poor girls eyes filled with tears and her hands started to shake. "Mione ..."

"How were they killed?" Hermione asked, cutting him off. Draco shook his head.

"I don't think ..."

"HOW WERE THEY KILLED?" She yelled at him, tears streaming down her face. Draco just stared at her not able to say anything, so Blaise took that as his cue.

"They were beaten, violated, crucioed, and their throats had been cut." Hermione put a hand over her mouth as she trying to hold in the sobs that were now wracking her body. Draco pulled her into him tightly and let her cry. He knew that this was going to be tough but seeing her like this ripped his heart out.

"Hermione," Draco said as her sobs started to fade, "The Order feels that who ever is doing this is after you and well, Blaise and I thought that maybe it was time you told ... "

"NO! It could just be a coincidence. I'm not telling the Order members what happened." She said pulling out of his arms and backing away from them. Blaise stepped forward and spoke.

"You wouldn't have to tell the whole Order Hermione, just Dumbledore. They need to know before other innocent lives are taken." Hermione shook her head.

"Say I decided to go to the headmaster or even McGonagall. What would be the point, other then to humiliate myself? Its not as if I know who attacked me!" Hermione watched as Blaise looked over at Draco and raised his eyebrows and nudged his head toward her as if telling him to go ahead and say something. Hermione turned her gaze onto Draco who looked, dare she say, scared. "What Draco? What aren't you telling me? She watched Draco take a deep breath and slowly let it out before speaking.

"Please don't be mad at me. Say you won't be mad at me."

"If you are saying that then the odds are I will get mad, so I'm afraid I can't promise you that." She said, crossing her arms in front of her. "Now then. What do you have to tell me?"

"Do you remember how I had to go to my room to get that spell for you that night?" Hermione nodded. "Well it wasn't that spell I needed to look for."

"What spell did you need to find?" She asked.

"The ALIO APERIO spell. I performed it when you headed upstairs." Hermione looked confused.

" ALIO APERIO? I've never heard of that spell."

"Its an advanced spell that is usually only taught to those studying to be an auror. The wand movements are short but complicated." Blaise said stepping forward. "Very few witches and wizards can do the spell properly, which is a good thing."

"Why?"

"Because the spell is used to extract foreign magical essence from a person." Blaise paused a second before trying to explain better. "Its like what you muggles call a DNA test, except the spell pulls out any magical essence that isn't yours. If everyone could do it then people could constantly invade others privacy, using the spell to see who a person had been being sexually active with." The boys watched as the gears in her brain turned taking in all of the information given and piecing it all together. It was obvious when she had realized what they were trying to tell her because she paled quite a bit and started to shake lightly.

"Wait. Are you saying that you used that spell on me?" She watched as Draco closed his eyes and nodded. "Are you telling me that you know who did this to me?" Her voice raised slightly as she felt hurt and anger flooding her. She watched as he nodded again, causing her fury to come alive. "You've known! All this time you've known and couldn't be bothered to tell me!" She screamed at him, running forward and slamming her fists into his chest, hitting him over and over. Draco just stood there and allowed her to assault him, shaking his head at Blaise who was going to try and intervene. "Answer me Draco! Answer me!" Draco grabbed her wrists and held them tightly, stopping their assault.

"I wanted to tell you right away, I really did." He said. Hermione pulled away, tear once again falling down her cheeks.

"Then why didn't you!" Draco looked at her, his eyes filled with pain.

"You were having nightmares! He was terrorizing you in your dreams and you didn't even know who he was. All I could thing about was what were you going to go through if I told you exactly who it was who had cause you all this pain. If you had to actually see him in your nightmares every night! I couldn't do that to you. Instead I've had men out looking for the bastard, unfortunately they have yet to find him." Hermione stared at him for a moment, before turning and going to sit on the sofa. Yes she was angry with him for keeping such a thing from her, but she could in no way argue with his reasoning. She was so vulnerable then that she was sure that if he had told her it would have been the thing that broke her completely.

"Granger?" Hermione looked up to see Blaise sitting next to her. She looked over towards Draco who had moved further away from her and was now staring into the fireplace, an emotionless mask on his face. "He didn't mean any harm. He was just trying to look out for you." He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "He truly cares about you Granger. I know you know that, so don't let this come between you. He just did what he thought was right for you." Hermione nodded and sighed.

"You're right." She said getting up and walking over to Draco, and placing her hand on his arm. He turned his head and stared at her hand for a minute before looking up at her. "Thank you. I know that you were right in your thinking. The information would have most likely broken me completely and I don't think I would have been able to come back from that." Draco turned around completely and pulled her into a hug, resting her head on his chest.

"I am sorry for not telling you once you started to heal but at that point I wasn't sure if it was worth it. I don't want to cause you any more pain Hermione." Hermione pulled back slightly and smiled up at him.

"The Slytherin Prince not wanting to cause the Gryffindor Princess any unnecessary pain. If someone had told me years ago that I would be hearing those words coming out of your mouth mate, I would have thought they were hit in the head with a rogue bludger." Blaise said chuckling. They all laughed a bit, the tension in the room finally breaking. As their laughter died down though Hermione was reminded of what had caused the tension in the first place. She stepped out of Draco's arms and went to sit on the sofa again. She knew that she should probably be sitting for the answer to the question she was about to ask.

"I think I'm ready to know now Draco. Actually, I need to know. Who raped me?"

Draco looked at her a little shocked. This was the first time, other then the night he found her, that she said that word out loud and it made him realize that maybe she had come further in her recovery then he thought. He walked over and sat down on one side of her while Blaise levitated one of the chairs closer so that he could be close enough for emotional support, but not enough to crowd her. Draco looked quickly at Blaise who nodded for him to go on, before grabbing her hand and giving it a slight squeeze.

"It was Antonin Dolohov." Hermione felt her breathing start to quicken as panic and disgust started to settle in. Draco held her hand kissing the back of it and trying to calm her. She tried to slow down her breathing, taking deep breaths and telling herself that it was going to be alright. She felt herself starting to calm and as breathing leveled out she realized that Blaise was rubbing her back, also trying to calm her. Dolohov. The name kept repeating itself in her mind, and even though she was over come by the revelation, deep inside she felt as if she should have known. Antonin Dolohov was no stranger to Hermione. In fact it was Antonin Dolohov who almost killed her in the battle at the Department of Mysteries fifth year. The curse Dolohov had used on her would have killed her had he been able to say the incantation aloud, but Hermione had cast a silencing charm on him as not to alert the others, thus making him have to do it nonverbally. The results however had still been disastrous, placing her in critical condition and resulting in her having to take up to ten different potions daily. As she remembered that night in the ministry she recalled getting a glimpse of Dolohov's mask, the same mask that was covering her rapists face.

"Mione? Are you alright." Hermione looked up at Draco and shook her head.

"I should have recognized him Draco. I've seen him before, when we fought the death eaters, in the Department of Mysteries, two years ago."

"But wasn't he wearing his mask when he attacked you? You couldn't have possibly known it was him, if he was wearing it that night." Blaise said. Draco shook his head in response.

"While every death eater is given a mask when he or she receives the mark, those who were higher up in the Dark Lord's graces were given special masks, each one different, representing the dark follower hidden beneath it. Having a unique mask was a sign of power within the group, it meant that you were to be respected with almost the same respect that the Dark Lord was given. To be disrespectful to them was to be disrespecting the power and position that he gave them and in turn meant you were being disrespectful to him." Draco paused for a moment allowing the knowledge to sink into Blaise's brain. "There were only a few who were given the privilege of a unique mask. My father, Aunt Bellatrix, Snape, and Dolohov were the first to receive such honors, so to speak." He drawled out.

"So you see I should have known. I should have recognized it, I should have done a lot of things that day." She said dropping her eyes to the floor. Draco quickly reached out and lifted her chin up so he could look her in her eyes.

"Don't. You have no reason to doubt your choices from that day. I've said it once and I will repeat it every day if I have to in order for you to fully comprehend it. You. Did. Nothing. Wrong."

"Draco's right. Hell, you could run through the Great Hall completely naked, singing the school song, and that still would not give anyone the right to do what Dolohov did to you." Both Draco and Hermione looked over at Blaise, the thought horrifying one while amusing the other.

"Thought about that one often Blaise?"Draco asked. Blaise smirked at them both.

"I'll never tell." Hermione rolled her eyes at the two as she practically watched the image running through their minds.

"Enough you two. I am already uncomfortable enough with what I have to do next. I don't need to be thinking about your dirty thoughts." Both men looked up at her and smiled. Hey could tell she wasn't truly angry with them but at the same time neither wanted to cross any lines that would cause her painful memories.

"So you will go and tell the headmaster then?" Blaise asked her while starting to stand. "We will accompany you if you like."

"No, not the headmaster and thank you for the offer but I need to do this on my own." She said getting up and heading to the portrait to head out. "I'll be back in a bit." She said and then she was gone. The guys stared at the empty spot that was occupied by her just seconds before, when what she said hit Draco.

"Wait. If she wasn't going to tell Dumbledore, then who was she going to tell?"

Narcissa Malfoy was many things to many people. To the pure-blooded socialites of the wizarding world, she was one of them. Proud, snobby, looking down upon anything or anyone who she didn't feel was worthy. To those closest to her, she was a simple woman who liked the finer things in life. She loved throwing balls, and charity events, and while some thought her galas to be nothing more then her way of showing off the Malfoy's vast fortune, she truly loved the thought of helping others and getting others involved. To those who were family she was entirely different. Narcissa was a loving wife and mother even if she could only show it behind closed doors. Emotions were careless things thrown about by careless people who were not afraid to bare their weaknesses. Always hide behind an emotionless mask was the number one rule in her husbands Malfoy rule book, and because of this her family always came off cold, and distant. It was true that her marriage to Lucius was an arranged one and that in time she did come to love him in her own way, but she was never ever in love with him and part of her regretted the fact that she was forced into her loveless marriage. On the other hand she could never ever regret her Draco. Draco was Narcissa's life and the whole reason why she changed her ways of thinking. When the Dark Lord called forth her son that night over a year ago it almost destroyed her. She had to sit back and listen as her son was informed that he was going to have to atone for his father's failures and it was then and there that she decided once and for all where her loyalties stood. They were not with the Dark Lord and his death eaters, nor were they with Dumbledore and his order. No they were where they should have always been and that was with her son. Draco's well being was all that mattered to her, in fact he was the subject of her thoughts at that very moment.

Narcissa was sitting in her sister's sitting room contemplating the night before. She had never seen her son so free before and it was comforting to know that he was able to let himself go completely and just enjoy himself for a change. She had always secretly hoped that Draco would not turn out like his father and she was quite happy to see that her wish had come true. Watching him with Hermione, seeing how he stared down at her as if she was the only one in the room made Narcissa's heart soar. Her son was in love with his dance partner whether he knew it or not and she could tell that the feeling was mutual by the way Hermione looked back at him. In Narcissa's mind Draco deserved the best and they did not come any better then Miss Hermione Granger. The young witch was beautiful, witty, classy, and intelligent, everything a future Lady Malfoy should be. Oh yes, Narcissa knew she was jumping the wand so to speak in regards to her son's relationship with the muggle-born witch, but she couldn't help but hope that the young lady would one day be her daughter in-law.

"Cissy, dear are you alright?" Narcissa looked up to see her sister standing in the sitting room doorway looking at her. She smiled over at her and gestured for her to join her on the settee.

"I am better then alright Andy. Things are falling into place, just as they should be." Andromeda sat down next to her sister and helped herself to the tea before them.

"And do those things involve a certain nephew of mine and a certain best friend of Harry's." She asked sipping her tea. Narcissa pretended as if she had no idea of what her sister spoke of.

"Perhaps." Andromeda looked at her mischievously.

"Or maybe it has something to do with your escort last evening. How is dear Severus doing?" Andy watched as Narcissa's cheeks flushed lightly and her eyes widened.

"I have no idea of what you speak of. Severus and I are just friends. Acquaintances at best." Andromeda raised her eyebrows a bit.

"So you finally are over your crush then." Narcissa looked up at her in shock.

"Wha ... but how ..." Andromeda shook her head and looked sympathetically at her younger sister.

"Oh Cissy, I have always known. I am your big sister after all, and its practically a written rule for an older sister to notice when their younger sister is suffering from a broken heart." Narcissa gave her sister a small, sad, smile.

"Well if that is so then why did Bella never notice?" She asked. Andromeda chuckled at the question.

"Did I forget to mention that the older sister must have a heart themselves? That was the one thing our "dear" older sister lacked." Narcissa couldn't help but agree with her. Bella was always a cold, hateful person, even as a child. "I had been by the lake that day and I saw you speaking with Severus across the way. He was raging on about something and I could see that you were trying to calm him down. I remember hearing him yell something at you and then watching him stomp his way back up to the castle. When I turned back around you were gone." Andromeda looked at her sister who she could tell was reliving the day deep with in her own memories. "I found you a little while later, curled up on your bed, crying your eyes out. I asked you what was wrong and you said that you had lost grandmother's antique brooch and you were quite distraught about it. Even if I hadn't seen what I had outside, I would have known you were lying. You hated that brooch since the moment it was given to you at your coming out party, said it was the ugliest thing to ever be created and that you wouldn't even give it to a house elf, because even they deserved better then that." Narcissa laughed as she remembered that hideous piece of jewelry but sobered a bit when she recalled what had led to her tears that day.

"I remember that day well. He had gotten into a row with Lily and she wouldn't forgive him. He was asking me for advice on how to get her to forgive him and how to get her see him as more then just a friend. He was very much in love with her and I realized that the feelings that I had grown to have for him were not going to be returned. Not that it really mattered though. By then daddy had already arranged my marriage to Lucius, and even if he hadn't Severus's background, both blood and wealth would have become determining factors in any relationship our father would have allowed me to have." Narcissa chuckled. "I told him to forget about her, that she was not worthy of him, being a filthy little mudblood and all. He raged at me, told me to never speak of her like that to him again, and then told me to also never speak to him again." Narcissa took a deep breath, and continued. "It destroyed me to know that I had hurt the one person outside of the family, that I had ever truly cared about. It hurt even more to know that he chose her, a simple muggle-born, over me, one of the most sought out girls in the school. I was angry and hurt and I just couldn't understand why he couldn't see what was right in front of him. So I did as he asked and did not speak to him again until Lucius insisted that we get along, after all it was only proper that his wife to be and closest mate be friends also." Narcissa sighed. "Little did he know."

"But Lucius is gone now and sadly, so is Lily. I know that the two of you have grown close again over the years, and you were the one who Severus turned to when Lily was killed."

"That was only because I was one of the very few people who knew of his feelings for her. No matter how much I loved Severus back then in away I sort of wish that Lily had seen what I did and was able to return those feelings for him." Andromeda looked at her strangely.

"And why is that?"

"Because then he would have been happy and thats all I ever really wanted for him." Narcissa smiled at the thought of her friend happy for once.

"Well maybe he can still get that chance, in fact ..." Andromeda was cut off by the sudden pop sound of someone apparating into the room. Both women turned to see an unusually small house elf, wearing a yellow and white striped dress, standing there.

"Pixie? What are you doing here dear?" Narcissa asked. Pixie was Narcissa's favorite house elf. She had been acquired while Narcissa was pregnant with Draco and after her son was born the little elf took to him as if he were her own. She doted on Draco as any mother would and Draco found a constant companion in her. Narcissa looked at the little elf who was wearing a panicked look on her face.

"I'm sorry Miss Cissa, but there be a problem with one of the other elves at the manor. He making a right mess of the kitchen and other rooms. We try to stop him miss, but we can't. Hes gone batty, I tell you, batty!" Narcissa stood up and walked over to Pixie.

"Well then I guess we better go and see what is wrong with him. Which elf is it Pixie?"

"Its Stymie, miss. Hes a rotten one he is. Came from a bad place he did, now he wants to start trouble!" Pixie said angrily. Narcissa patted Pixie on her head.

"No need to get worked up Pixie. I will deal with Stymie and explain the rules to him once again." Narcissa turned to Andromeda. "I'm afraid I must go deal with this issue Andy. We recently acquired a new house elf from an abandoned death eater's home and he is not taking to the change as well as I would like." Andromeda nodded in understanding.

"Would you like me to come along?"

"No need. It shouldn't take long at all. I'll be back." She told her sister and then turned to Pixie, and grasped her hand. "Shall we?" With that Pixie apparated the two of them into the manor's kitchen where Narcissa found it to be quite a mess. "Oh my" She said looking around. She headed out into the hallway calling for Stymie as she did. She was so busy looking for the wretched elf who had started to destroy her home that she didn't notice the man lurking in the shadows, until it was too late.

So what did you think? I know some of you are thinking whats up with the whole Narcissa, Andromeda, and Snape thing but it will make itself clear in the next few chapters. Also I had a lot of PMs asking (some begging) for a Snape/Narcissa connection and to be honest it was always going to be there but I was going to determine how much they were going to play into the story by your reactions to them. So please review and I will see you next time.

Also is anyone else having issues with the search engine only showing one story if you try to sort by update date?