A/N Hey guys! Big thanks to everyone who's read this and followed/favourite/reviewed this. Just for clarity's sake, it's fairly safe to assume that when him is in italics like so in Hermione's POV it's usually referring to Draco and when Draco says her he's referring to Hermione and him is referring to Voldemort. Love you all! :)

Draco

He felt sick throughout all of his lessons. If he did what he had to tonight there was a chance Hermione would be hurt. He knew he shouldn't care, should be glad even, but he was scared. Last time a girl was killed. He couldn't bear it if she was hurt because he was too scared to fight.

A couple of times she caught him staring at her. She always glanced away quickly, a look of hurt and disgust on her face. He knew he was treating her badly-they had been friendly at the end of last year while Harry recovered but now he insulted her at every opportunity. But he was doing it for her. If anyone even suspected that he had feelings for her... no. Of course he couldn't-didn't- care about Hermione Granger.

Harry seemed concerned for Draco which was nice, but it would make this evening more difficult. Draco hated what he was doing but he couldn't fight his father. Besides, Harry wouldn't be hurt- the Dark Lord wanted Harry on his side.

Harry

Draco had seemed agitated all day but he assured Harry that he was fine. Harry was a little worried but he thought Draco would cheer up at the feast. They were getting ready now. The uniform rules were relaxed a little for the feast so Harry was trying to look good. He was hopelessly attempting to smooth down his hair when Draco came into the dormitory.

"Dressing to impress Harry?" Draco asked with a smirk.
"Anyone in particular on your mind?"

Harry blushed furiously. Of course he wasn't trying to impress anyone. But if Pansy happened to notice that he'd made an effort...

"Ah young love" sighed Draco with an air of experience. Harry chucked his History of Magic textbook at Draco and they headed downstairs.

Blaise and Pansy were already sitting at the Slytherin table and Harry felt a flush of jealousy. Perhaps Pansy liked Blaise? He noticed Pansy was wearing a very low dress with a thin, cobwebby back and she looked very pretty.

Harry noticed Draco's reluctance to join in a conversation and saw that he was staring into space. Sometimes he did go into funny moods and Harry knew he preferred not to be distracted.

A while later, after they had finished the first course, Draco got up and left the hall. Harry was a little distracted by Pansy so he wasn't too concerned.

Draco

He checked the Gryffindor table, catching her eye as he went, but this time he wasn't looking for her. He carried on out of the hall, past Filch. The caretaker's cat followed him. Good, no-one really liked Mrs Norris and finding a... victim had been worrying him.

He met Ginny in the upstairs corridor. Under his instructions she had begun painting the Dark Lord's message. The corridor was flooded for some reason. He heard a rushing sound from within the wall and dashed towards the nearest classroom. He realised that the Weasley girl was still standing out in the corridor. He ran back and pulled her into the classroom. They heard the cat mew desperately and then everything went quiet. Draco waited a few minutes and then left the classroom. He saw the cat, stiff, but not dead. Clearly the water had reflected the image and the cat had only been petrified. Conscious of the lack of time before the end of the feast he strung the cat up. He finished painting the message and turned to Ginny who looked dazed.

"What are we doing? What have I done?"

Draco roughly grabbed her arm and dragged her away. He pulled her, fighting all the way, until they were a sufficient distance away. He pulled out his wand, she reached for hers, but it wasn't there as Draco had taken it earlier. He pointed his wand at her and muttered obliviate.

Ginny

Where was she? She looked around- realised she was near the Gryffindor common room. She wasn't alone- she saw Draco Malfoy standing beside her.

"What- why- how did I get here?" She gasped.

"You don't remember?" Malfoy asked. "You saw me in the corridor and sent some kind of hex at me, I disarmed you and then you fainted." He handed Ginny her wand.

How come Malfoy was being so nice? Hermione complained about him all the time but he didn't seem too bad. He'd obviously wanted to make sure she was okay after she'd attacked him. What was more worrying was how she had forgotten everything. She remembered leaving the feast but nothing else. Maybe Tom could help.

"Maybe I should go to Madam Pomfrey" she said.

Draco looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Ginny was instantly suspicious. "Why?"

"Fighting's against the rules and I'm sure we could both do without a detention."

Slimy Slytherin just didn't want to get in trouble for making her faint. But... she really didn't want a detention and if Malfoy was right, she had attacked him. Besides, Malfoy was Harry Potter's best friend and she had a teeny crush on Harry.

"Fine" she said and awkwardly smiled and went through the portrait.

Draco

Once the Weasley was out of sight Draco headed back to the Slytherin common room. A few minutes later the rest of the Slytherins came in. Most were pale and hurried through to the dormitories, whispering in tight groups. Some whooped jubilantly and Draco felt sick, that they would rejoice at evil. He knew almost everyone must have seen the cat as the corridor was on the way to all the common rooms from the Great Hall. Harry and Blaise and Pansy came in and ran over to Draco. Draco spent the rest of the evening playing innocent and lying to his friends. He felt sickened by how many lies he was telling.

Having assured everyone that he was fine, and that Ginny would confirm his alibi, Draco went to sleep, tired, and knowing that this was only the beginning of the opening of the Chamber of Secrets.