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Chapter Eight.

Honor

It took Draco a moment to figure out what had woke him up. He ran his hand over his face and tried to shake the feeling that something was wrong. He had had a difficult time getting to sleep, knowing that she Hermione was right on the other side of the wall, asleep in a pair of his favorite plaid pajamas and one of his t-shirts made it difficult. He had tossed and turned for a long time before eventually dozing off. The sound of footsteps running up the sidewalk and a man yelling outside pulled him out of his thought grabbing his full attention. He was already out of bed, peeking out the window by the time the door to his room opened softly behind him.

"There's someone out there," Hermione whispered as she tiptoed across the room to him. She got so close to him that he could feel the slight shiver that ran through her as she tried to see what was causing the commotion outside.

"Is Jane home yet?" he whispered back, shifting his gaze to her. Her hair was wild, and he could tell by the imprint of the sheet on her cheek that she had been sleeping hard before the interruption.

"I'm not sure." He could hear the worry in her voice.

"Wait here." He started to the door before turning back to her. "You have your wand?"

She gave a tight nod but didn't turn her attention back to him. He hurried down the hall towards Jane's room. He had never been in there, just peeked in the first day he was here, but tonight he didn't even pause as he turned the knob and stormed into the room. It was empty. Suddenly, the sounds from outside seemed to erupt, leaving him with no doubt where Jane was.

He didn't linger, he just turned and started running up the hallway. Hermione was standing in the door of his room as he passed. "Jane." Is all that he could get out and he could hear her thundering down the stairs behind him as he made it to the front door and snatched it open.

The sounds hit him first. The sound of yelling, the sound of crying, the sound of sirens, people yelling, and then it was the light. Neighbors were outside with flashlights, Jane was in the middle of the small front yard, tears streaming down her face as she tried to stammer out complete sentences. He couldn't make out what she was trying to say, but his gaze was already off of her, falling instead on Garrit's hulking form that was bowed up at her. His yells overpowered anything that the small woman was trying to say, and his body language told him enough to know that if he didn't get her away from him immediately, that he was going to have cause to kill him.

Hermione watched the scene unfold from the doorway. She gripped her wand, knowing that if she did anything with magic that it would have repercussions for Draco more than herself. She felt her heart drop as Gerrit advanced in on Jane's shaking form. Jane herself seemed glued to the spot, unable to move. Neighbors were all around yelling at Gerrit, but no one was coming to her aid. Except for Draco.

"Draco!" Hermione heard herself yell his name, but didn't remember giving herself the command to do it. He was all ready to Jane before she made two steps out the door. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her behind him, putting himself between Gerrit and her. Hermione had never seen the steel that shone out of his grey eyes as he stood tall, shielding Jane behind him. Him moving her away from Gerrit seemed to give her enough courage to start yelling too. She grabbed Draco's arm and tried to pull him away from Gerrit, but Draco stood firm. Hermione stood frozen as the man that had stood by and watched her torture, protected a muggle.

Draco didn't advance on the man but instead stared him down while the larger man glared at him laughing a maniacal laugh that made images of Bellatrix Lestrange flash in her head. With one swift movement, faster than anyone could comprehend, Gerrit's fist was connecting with Draco's jaw. His whole body snapped to the side, but he didn't go down. Hermione felt her stomach turn at the sickening sound of contact. She kept expecting him to fall to his knees, but instead, his own fist brushed the top of the grass as he swung from behind himself to punch Gerrit back. Jane's screaming seemed to stop the second Gerrit hit the ground, not moving. Hermione's legs moved as if of their own accord and she grabbed Draco by the arm and turned him towards her. His lip and nose were bleeding, and he seemed just as shocked at the fact he had knocked Garrit out as everyone else was.

All the noise around them faded out as he looked her in the eyes. There was some sort of underlying emotion that she couldn't read behind those grey eyes that told her that his mind wasn't completely here with what was happening.

"Are you okay?" Her voice was hoarse, and she could hear the tears in her own voice.

He nodded his head and reached up to brush away the tears she didn't know she was shedding with the hand that he didn't just punch Gerrit with. The moment was over in a heartbeat, and his attention was behind him to where Jane was standing. She hugged herself with her arms and tears streaked her cheeks as she looked down at Gerrit with a mixture of fear and revulsion.

Hermione allowed her attention to turn to all the crowd of neighbors around them, and to the flashing lights coming up the road towards them. She could hear Draco muttering and fussing over Jane as she sat on the grass, letting him hold her. Hermione forced herself to look at the two of them. His arms were around her, and she was crying into his shoulder, but even though it was an intimate gesture, she could tell that it wasn't a romantic one. He rested his chin on the top of her head and looked back over at Hermione. He gave her a small smile and nodded his head slightly. She would be alright.

Hermione steeled herself as she turned to the officers that already approaching them.

Kingsley had been pacing the room for the past hour. Hermione wanted nothing more than to be at home; she was mentally and physically exhausted. She had explained what had happened at the house to the muggle police, and Jane explained everything that had happened before they made it back to the house. Apparently, Garrit wasn't a very nice drunk, and he had followed her home when she left him at the club. They didn't show any remorse as Gerrit, who had eventually come to, was handcuffed and put into the back of the officer's vehicle. An ambulance came and Draco was treated for his injuries. A couple broken fingers busted knuckles and busted lip and nose. She had overheard one of them telling the other that they were shocked his jaw was still in one piece.

"He protected the muggle?" Kingsley repeated again. He had said the same statement several times, to which she replied the same answer every time.

"Yes. He did."

Kingsley shook his head and looked at her in shock. "He protected a muggle. Hermione, this is major. He protected a muggle!"

She let a small smile touch her lips, she understood his shock and amazement, but something in Draco's expression when their eyes locked told her that there was so much more to it than just him protecting Jane.

"He's changed." She said simply.

Kingsley stopped his pacing and looked at her. The tenderness in her voice wasn't missed by him as he took in her appearance. She was obviously exhausted, it was the wee hours of the morning. She was sitting in his office in plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt that was way too large for her.

"Why were you there so late?" he kept his voice nonchalant as possible. He knew that what was a curiosity for him would be a weapon against the Malfoy boy for others in the ministry.

Her cheeks reddened. "I had gone to talk to Jane, but she wasn't there. Draco told me that I could stay there to wait for her if I wanted."

Kingsley nodded his head and started pacing again.

"They have a spare room." She added quickly, her cheeks turning a brighter shade of red.

He smiled over at her as she watched him pace. "I don't think Draco Malfoy is the only one that's changed."

Jane felt like she was the one on the receiving end of that blow. Draco set a cup of tea down on the counter in front of her. She had tried to help him, but he kept waving her off. So she was forced to sit and watch him clumsily make tea with his nondominant hand. The other hand was wrapped tightly in gauze. With every fumble he made, the worse she felt.

"I should've seen what a jerk he was." She said again.

He nodded his head and gave her a smirk. "Yeah, he was a jerk."

She looked down at her tea and tried to ignore him watching her.

"I was a jerk once." He said thoughtfully.

"Just once?" she allowed herself to look back up at him. The bruise erupting on the left side of his face looked painful, but he gave her a Cheshire smile anyways.

He let out a low laugh. "More than once…. Maybe."

"Thank you." There was so much that she wanted to tell him, but she couldn't find the words for it. He had done something that few had ever done for her, stood up for her and protected her when she needed someone.

He nodded at her and opened his mouth to say something else to her when a loud pop sounded from the study. They both turned as Hermione came rushing into the kitchen and didn't stop until she had her arms wrapped tightly around Draco, her face buried in his chest. He looked shocked, and it took him a few heartbeats before he wrapped his own arms around her. Jane could tell that she was crying, but she didn't say anything as she stood, taking her tea with her as she tiptoed out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.

Draco didn't know what to say, so he just held her close to him and stroked her hair. He waited for her sobs to subside so that she could tell him what was wrong. He couldn't stop himself from noticing how good it felt to have her against him, despite the wet spot that he could feel growing on his shirt.

"Hermione…" he said quietly. She stiffened slightly in his arms before pulling out of his embrace.

"I'm sorry." She stood in front of him looking embarrassed and uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"Stop." The gentleness in his voice took even him by surprise, but he didn't show it. He closed the space she created between them and took her chin in his good hand, wiping her tears away with his thumb. She closed her eyes at his touch.

"What you did today…." She started, but he cut her off.

"Is what I should've done when Bellatrix had you." He said. She looked up at him, and saw the torment behind his gaze and recognized it as the unidentified expression from earlier. "I should've torn down the whole manor around us before I allowed her to do what she did you to and I'm…. I'm so sorry Hermione."

Hermione knew that she was gaping at him. He had apologized, and he looked both sincere and… haunted. The torture session with Bellatrix haunted her dreams almost every night, but she had never really thought about what haunted Draco. But with him standing here in front of her, the pain so visible in his eyes she knew, without a doubt, that it was a burden that she didn't carry alone.

"I forgive you." Her voice cracked slightly as a sob tried to escape, but she didn't take her eyes off of him as she said it again. "I forgive you Draco Malfoy."

It was like a weight had been lifted off of him. She could see his eyes lighten some and his shoulders seemed to straighten as the weight of his guilt released some of its hold on him.

"I don't deserve it." he said quietly, "But thank you." He pulled her back to him, holding her close. She ran her hand up and down his back, sending a shiver down his spine. She allowed him to hold her for a few minutes before she finally spoke again.

"Kingsley gave me permission to heal you." She said quietly.

"Really?" He felt her nod into his chest. "I didn't think that he liked me that much."

"I think you're growing on him," she said pulling out of his embrace again and pulling her wand out of the pajama bottoms pocket. Did she go to talk to the Minister of Magic in his pajamas?

She made fast work of it and he was back to normal in seconds. He flexed his hand for her as he watched her watch the movement. She reached up and took his hand in hers and smiled at it. She traced the lines in his palms with a thin finger and ran her thumb over his knuckles. "It seems to be in working order then."

He saw her flit her gaze towards the stairs before looking back at him.

"It is." He said, "You can still stay tonight if you want." He held his breath as he hoped that he wasn't misreading her.

She smiled up at him. "Good. The bed here is so much more comfortable than the one at my apartment." Her voice was so light-hearted, that it was hard to believe that she was crying so recently.

He let out a laugh as he laced his fingers in hers and led her up the stairs. She went back to the room that she was in earlier and stood in front of the door.

"Goodnight Draco." She whispered back up the hall to him, before she went into the room closed the door behind her.

Draco smirked as he went into his own room. "Goodnight Hermione." He said as he laid down in his own bed and went right to sleep.