A/N: I couldn't do it without all of you reading and favoriting! Thanks so much.
.::Chapter 3 -- Pain::.
Hermione had cried herself to sleep, lying on the dark, uncomfortable bed. There was nothing she could do at all, nothing she could do to save Harry or herself. Soon, though, she fell into a dreamless, wonderful sleep, her only escape from the horrible reality that awaited her.
Soon a sharp knock at the door awoke her with a start. She sat up in bed, doing her best to wipe away the tears that still rested in her eyes. Draco Malfoy strode through the door, not paying any attention to the fact that she had just woken up. Trotting behind him was a small, bony house-elf, with big brown eyes, carrying a tray full of food. Hermione sat up in disgust.
"I'm not eating that!" she said hoarsely, her throat dry from crying. "You made those poor house-elves cook all that, I'm not eating it!" Draco merely glanced at her.
"You'll eat it or you'll starve," he said simply, pointing to the side table where the elf was to put the tray. Hermione simply sat there. Draco turned around with the house-elf at his heels, and made to leave, but Hermione suddenly had an idea.
"Draco," she said softly, in a low voice. Draco turned around curiously.
"What?" he said irritably. Hermione did her best to make a concerned look.
"Well, look…I was wondering. About…about your father. Maybe you were right…about…right about Harry. Maybe I don't know everything about him."
Draco sneered at her. "You think?" His pace quickened, and he reached the door and wrenched it open.
"Draco…" Hermione said, even more pleadingly. "You're going to kill me anyway, just please tell me about Harry!" Tears glistened in her brown eyes, tears of worry that he wouldn't listen to her, worry that she wouldn't be able to carry up her plan.
Slowly, furiously, yet calmly, Draco shut the door with a click. He turned around slowly, and looked Hermione straight in the eye.
"Fine, Mudblood. But you're lucky I'm even speaking to you."
Hermione nodded, trying not to look too eager, but relieved Draco was listening to her. The house-elf scurried out the door, not looking at Hermione.
"During the last battle, when Harry had finally destroyed the last horcrux, Voldemort attacked the castle. You remember how Harry ran up to the top of the tower after my father? Well, I ran up with everyone else, but I got there before you all. I saw Harry's wand pointing straight at my father, and my father's limp body falling off the tower, just like Dumbledore's."
Hermione let out a gasp, real tears coming to her eyes. "No.." she said, "how could he…he never told me this…"
Draco walked heavily toward Hermione. "I swear, Granger," he said, his eyes glistening, "I would have killed him right then, but I couldn't. Everyone else arrived there before I could say or do anything. And to this day, I swore I would find Harry and kill him."
"You loved your father, didn't you, Draco?" said Hermione tenderly. Draco stared at her.
"Yes, I did," he said slowly. "Sometimes I hated him, but he taught me so many valuable lessons, so many things I remembered…"
"My parents were like that too, you know. Before they were killed my last year at Hogwarts. They really taught me so many things."
"But at least their killers aren't still alive," said Draco in a low voice. Hermione nodded, her eyes burning with tears.
"But they are both dead, Draco. They can never come back."
"You wanted to kill the Death Eaters who killed your parents when you found out about their death, didn't you?" Draco asked sharply. Hermione nodded.
"Yes…but Draco, you can't…"
Draco grabbed a vase sitting on a dresser near him and hurled it across the room. It hit the opposite wall with a ear-shattering crash.
"I hate him, Hermione…" He sat weakly on the bed next to her, tears filling his eyes.
Hermione hesitantly laid her hand softly on his. Suddenly, he broke down entirely, tears streaming down his cheeks, and he dropped his wand. It hit the floor with a loud clatter, but Draco did not notice. Hermione wrapped her arms around him as he began to sob, dreading what she had to do. But it had to be done in order to save herself, to save Harry. Slowly, she pulled the wand toward her, using the toe of her shoe. Her arm still around Draco's shoulder, she reached down and snatched it up.
"I'm sorry, Draco," she said, her fingers tightening around the wand. Draco glanced up.
"Stupify!," exclaimed Hermione, but Draco was too fast, even when crying. He dove out of the way, and the jet of red light hit a statue of some ancient Malfoy ancestor, shattering it into a million pieces. Hermione let out a scream as Draco leapt toward her, grabbing her by the wrist.
"You liar! You filthy Mudblood liar!" he hissed, his nails digging into her wrist in an attempt to keep her from pointing the wand at him. "You don't care!"
Hermione spouted off every spell in her head, the light harmless hitting the ceiling. She fell over onto the bed, Draco still groping for the wand. In the wild struggle for the wand that ensued, Hermione felt a strange, new strength inside her soul, the strength to fight back like she never had before.
Suddenly, she fell onto the wooden floor with a crash, the wand flying from her hand and across the room. Draco instantly dove for it, and so did Hermione. Draco reached it first and aimed it at Hermione. She flew back violently, hitting the wall. As she slid onto the floor, she felt the breath knocked out of her, and was temporarily unable to move.
Draco walked up to her, his eyes gleaming maliciously, and kicked her sharply in the ribs. She let out a scream and rolled over to protect herself, but Draco raised his foot again for another blow. Hermione closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come, but it never did. She glanced up at Draco, a strange look on his face.
"I can't do it." He said in a voice barely above a whisper. "You'll be sorry you did this, you filthy Mudblood." He hissed, walking from the room and slamming the door behind him. Hermione pulled herself up, too shocked to cry. She had just discovered something about Draco that she had never seen before. He truly had a tender side.