A/N: Okay, I tried to get this chapter up quickly. I hope you like it and review! Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed. Thanks to the people who have offered critism. I really do want my story to be the best it can be so if there is anything you notice, feel free to let me know in a review. And once again, sorry that the chapters are so short. It is a fast-paced action story so I do try to pack a lot into a little chapter! And yes, you're going to have to wait a chapter to find out what's happening to Ron and Harry. Sorry!

.::Chapter 7 -- Secrets::.

Hermione sat on the bed of the dim room were she had been left, watching the remaining flame of a candle slowly wane and leave her in total darkness. She had already given up on getting out, as the door was locked securely, and metal bars had been placed over all the windows. She had ripped away the dusty curtains and attempted to see out the window as much as possible in the thick fog, but hadn't been able to figure out where she was or even how she had gotten there, but only that she was in the countryside, far away from other houses.

Slowly, the door creaked open behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Draco entering the room, his side still bandaged heavily. She shifted around in the bed, facing him warily. She wasn't afraid of him, really, but she still felt slightly uncomfortable. Maybe he had changed his mind about her. Perhaps he thought he had made a mistake when he told Zabini to keep her alive.

"Look, Granger," Draco started off, closing the door behind him, "You realize if you want to live, you're going to have to help Zabini with this horcrux. You know more about that type of magic than any of us, if that's all your filthy Mudblood mind is good for." Hermione's face darkened.

"That's a great way to start off the conversation, Malfoy!" she snapped. "Because now I really want to help you and your Death Eater cronies out. You really have a way with words!"

Draco turned red. "Shut up!" he spat. Hermione opened her mouth in disgust.

"Shut up? Why didn't you just have Zabini kill me and shut me up for good? Or would that have left you with nobody to insult for fun? Tell me, why exactly didn't you let him kill me? Was there a reason or not?"

Draco sighed and walked closer.

"Look," he said in a lower tone, ". I don't want to bring the Dark Lord back any more than you. He's hidden the box containing the horcrux, and only he could tell someone where it is."

"You could find it!" exclaimed Hermione. "I'm sure Zabini isn't all that clever-"

"This time he was," said Draco. "He's the secret keeper – only he knows where this house is, and only he knows where the box is hidden. You couldn't tell anyone where it is, and neither could I."

Hermione turned pale. "Has he written it down?" Draco nodded.

"He's given a scrap of paper to me with the address of this house and the location of the box so I could get it if I needed to. In a few days, he's going to try to force you to help him free the horcrux from the box and bring…bring the Dark Lord back."

"I have to get Harry!" exclaimed Hermione. Draco grabbed her arms tightly.

"You will not get Potter!" he hissed. Hermione wrenched herself free and leapt up.

"But we have to! He can destroy the horcrux if he only could find the box! Please, let me find Harry and tell him about this! You know it's the only way you can stop this from happening! I swear, Draco, I won't betray you. I owe you something at least for saving me."

Draco froze, considering what Hermione had just said. Then he nodded.

"All right." He said simply.

Hermione stood up and looked at him. "What do I do?" she questioned quickly.

"Quickly," said Draco, "while everyone else is asleep, sneak downstairs and let yourself out the door. Just be quiet. I'll make up some excuse about how you got out this door. Just go and get Potter. But don't think this is the end. I still want him. I want him to know the pain of what he caused to my father."

Hermione stared at him, disgusted, but decided at the last moment not to say anything. She and Draco ran downstairs quietly, running lightly past Zabini's bedroom. Finally, they reached the bottom of the staircase and ran into the kitchen to slip out the backdoor. Hermione pulled it open slowly but stood there, looking at Draco. He stared back at her. The moonlight poured down on them both.

"Be careful," he said, looking worried for the first time. Hermione nodded. Then, without warning, Draco leaned in closer to her. Hermione felt it coming – she felt his warm breath on her cheek, and yet she didn't move. Something felt perfectly right about it. She felt a thrill she had never felt when Ron kissed her, and as much as she loathed to admit it, she liked it. She felt his lips press onto her own and suddenly her mind began to work again. She turned her head quickly and looked away. Draco pulled away angrily. He looked at a loss for words.

Hermione looked back at him. "I'm sorry," she said sadly. "I really am. I just can't. I can't. Ron."

Draco stared at her. "Just go," he whispered in a unsteady voice. Hermione stuttered on.

"I really don't mean…it's just…what would he think, and I'm going…"

"Shut up and get out, mudblood," sneered Draco. "Come back with Harry or I'll never trust you again." A lone tear trickled down Hermione's check, but she blinked the rest back and nodded, taking several steps back. Suddenly a voice called from behind her.

"Oh, I don't think so. We still need you."

It was Zabini. Without a moment's hesitation, Hermione flew out the door. She a sickening crunch of glass as Zabini knocked Draco into a glass cabinet behind him and ran on toward Hermione. She ran as fast as she could.

Suddenly a bolt of lightening lit the sky and she saw a deep ravine directly in front of her. She looked back and saw Zabini only a few feet away. He grabbed her by her hair and flung her to the ground, pinning her down with his foot.

"Don't kill me," she whimpered up at him, feeling horribly helpless. He grinned in a frightening way.

"Don't worry," he hissed, yanking her up. "We still need you. Obliviate!" Before the beam of light hit Hermione and she fell to the ground, she saw, as in slow motion, a bolt of lightening hit Zabini. He let out a scream of pain and fell to the ground, writhing. Then everything went dark.