A/N: thank you for your reviews! I hop the main plot will surprise you, it is after all, the goal of this story. I know that's it's not very romantic yet, I have worked something up to live up to that expectation... Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review!

Leaving the Malfoy Manor with the cape in his pocket – which he had enchanted with an undetectable extendable charm, Draco thought of looking at Hermione's parchment. He had decided to call it like that. Since it was from her, it made it feel like she was still alive and perfectly sane.

For a second, nothing appeared.

''Granger, come on. Be nice for once. ''

Slowly, as if responding to his prayers, the cursive letter appeared again.

''You shall trust no one.

- HG. ''

''Ugh!'' He threw the piece of paper away, in a sudden rage.

You shall trust no one?!

A bloody name would have been nice!

He was tempted to leave the piece of her – well, of parchment - where it laid, on the grass and far, far away from him.

But it was his only connection with Granger. He couldn't just abandon her behind like that, she would have never done this to him.

''Damn it Granger, you owe me.'' He muttered more for himself.

He walked to the piece of parchment and picked it up the ground. He noticed something different from the last message was written on the cover.

''You wish,

- HG.''

He smirked; there she was. He could practically hear her speak to him. Her eyes would have been sparkling, they always were, and she would have tried not to smile, but she would have smiled to him anyway; a smile completely honest and sincere, without any harm whatsoever. As the day flew by, he felt this strange sensation in his chest, as if they were connected. It felt strange, to have a contact with her but not to really talk with her. He wished he could talk to her. No one deserved to be treated like she was treated like that. But who was he to speak of her in that way? He had mocked her all their studies. He was going to make it up to her. Because he owed her, of course, not for any other reasons.

XX

Before heading to his next destination, he made a quick appearance at his office to see if anything new could help him. To his surprise, Zabini was sat at his bureau. His friend didn't seem to notice that the master of the office was back in his own territory, he was too busy searching for something in drawers.

''Zabini? What are you doing here?''

''Ouch!'' Surprised, Zabini had shut the drawer on his fingers. '' Oi mate! You should think about not giving me a heart attack next time you interrupt my thoughts! ''

''Yeah yeah, whatever. So what you doing?'' Draco asked again, summoning an apple from the fruit basket laying on his desk to him. He took a big bite of it, looking at his fellow Slytherin who was still looking through the sheets on his desk.

''I was looking for Hermione's personnal case, you know, the one she was working on before her kidnapping. I made a copy of the report I sent you last night, I was trying to find a correlation between them.'' He walked to the wall of clues, which had not been updated for a while.

''Good idea, though the file was robbed when the ministry got attacked. It was the only copy.'' Draco took another bite. He didn't know why he was lying. Maybe it was because of the message Granger had wrote on her journal. He was becoming paranoid, Zabini could never do... whatever she was implying. He was bound to the ministry as well, but Weasley had been the one teaching him being an auror.

''Oh well, ain't gonna waste more time on that! Thanks mate, take care!'' He walked in direction of the door, not looking back.

''Oi Zabini, is that a black eye?'' The black bruised caught Draco's attention.

Zabini finally turned to him, with a reluctant smile, he nodded eagerly, as if the shake away the throbbing pain. '' Souvenir from the attack, ain't I lucky? It makes me look rough and tough, the ladies dig it.''

A laugh timidly escaped the blond's lips.

''Anyway, got to head back. See you! '' His friend finally exited his office.

To his dismay, nothing new was on his desk. He decided to check at his wall of clues. Since the attack, he hadn't been alone in his office. Therefore, he didn't have the occasion to update his wall. It had been untouched for days.

Untouched? No, someone had moved the strings around. Plus, a tiny piece of paper had been added to the masterpiece.

''Be careful who you trust.''

That must've happen during the attack at the ministry. Someone used the attack as a distraction to come into his office. How could he have not noticed before? Again, there was that warning about trust.

Draco didn't know what to do about it. He had to keep everything to himself.

There was only one thing left to do.

Use that bloody cape.

XX

It was weighting in his pocket as if he had put all Granger's book in it.

Maybe that's how she trains, he thought, by lifting all those books.

How could he even be thinking about Hermione when she was not there?

He put the cape over his clothing and marched in the Dark Alley in direction of Borgin & Burkes. At each step he was making, he could feel his breath increasing and his heart beating fast in his chest. The alley was shadowed and weird people were walking slowly. He even walked passed a woman who was muttering to herself. He put a silent charm on the door bell through the door, and then pushed it to enter the building.

What he saw almost made his through the cape away.

XX

The floor above her head cracked. She stopped moving. The room above her remained dead silent. Which could only mean one thing: her kidnapper was coming to see her.

What was it going be today? She had to escape before he was back. She had to.

Would he try to rape her like yesterday? She didn't think she could try to bite him again, he's going to watch out for her teeth, or worse: put tape on her mouth.

The ropes were burning her skin, after days of chafing them together. Because obviously, years of learning magic couldn't save her right now. She would have needed muggle school skills, how ironic. Wait, did they learn how to escape a psychopath in muggle school?

She could feel Draco collecting the clues, which meant the spell was working. She could hear his thoughts sometimes. She was surprised he couldn't hear hers. She felt the feeling of intrusion he had when he walked in her room. It was the only thing she could hold on to.

She was incredibly cold, she had been craving for heat. Yet it had only come from his dirty hands. She could remember the way his hands had undressed him the first time, she was half conscious. He had shivered at the sight of her in panties and bra. He had kissed her, from the nape of her neck to between her breasts. All that time, she couldn't move. She was forced to suffer his aggressive assault. After his doings, he had put on a pearly nightgown to cover her body.

There were only tears silently streaming down her face. When he left, she had been able to move. Sobbing, she had tried to cover her body with the tiny piece of clothe he had dressed her with. At the thought of everything he had done to her, she wanted to puke.

She was physically bruised and had cuts, on her arms, on her thighs, even on her belly. She was mentally close to a break down. Draco was her only hope.

It's only been...4 days? More? Or less? I don't even know anymore.

Why did she, Hermione Jean Granger, war hero, have to suffer this?

The door pushed open, revealing a tall, built and familiar silhouette.

''Tss, tss Granger, trying to escape are we? '' He stepped in the room. ''You're not going anywhere, darling.'' He shut the door behind him.

Please Malfoy, please, be fast.

XX

''Whoa!'' He bent to avoid an alarm clock thrown in his direction. In ended smashed on the streets in an awful noise. ''What the - ? '' He remembered he had to stay silent. The throwing stopped for a moment, and then it started all over again, without any warning whatsoever.

Draco stepped as in direction of the fuss as silently as he could.

Cormac McLaggen was furiously throwing piles of enchanted object to the ground, well, not only on the ground. He was just throwing everything, everywhere.

Draco had to be incredibly flexible to avoid every object that was thrown in his direction.

McLaggen seemed crazy, his eyes were bloodshot and he was pulling pieces of his hair.

The door bell rang as someone else entered Berjow & Beurk.

Probably the highest amount of clients they'd had in years, Malfoy thought to himself.

''Where is it, where is it?'' He repeated to himself, unaware there was a witness to his madness. ''I need it! I need it! Free, I want to be – '' McLaggen suddenly straighten up, a green puff of hair surrounding his head.

''Mc Laggen,'' the voice hissed. ''You shall not leave the room without my permission! How come the Imperio even washed out?''

Draco observed the silhouette still standing at the entry of the shop. It was wearing a cloak covering its head. Plus the voice seemed oddly familiar.

McLaggen silently left the shop, following the hooded man. In normal times, Draco would have followed the criminal, but now he was on a more urgent case. He had to end this as fast as possible. Granger was being raped, for Merlin sakes!

The single thought of her being touched by a being so nasty, so dark, something who could really spoil her purity, made him want to puke. He was not better, he had been a part of the darkness too, but he was seeking for redemption.

He finally reached the door of the vanishing cabinet, and what he found left him really satisfied.