Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Everything belongs to the rightful owner. I just made up this story and am making no profit out of it.

AN: I'm so sorry for the long holdup. But here it finally is. I also have some news.

Sarah Liz B will be from now on my beta for this story. She has already corrected the previously five chapters (and the corrected versions are already put up) and she has corrected this chapter already for me.

So if you want to read the previously chapters with correct grammar and other correct things go ahead! Or you can just read this one. Have fun! ^^

Chapter 6

Hermione clasps her hand over her open mouth in shock. "That's why I needed to be found so quickly!" Her voice is a notch higher than it usually is, due to shock.

Draco slides from the armrest onto the sofa and lounges back. "I'm in high ranks with the Dark Lord and he needs me so he wasn't really against our union."

Hermione lets her hand fall from her mouth, finally closing it. Her eyes are still wide, staring at him. Draco stares right back. As he is about to take her hand and pull her to him, she throws them up, frustrated. Walking away from him and to the fire place she mumbles to herself. Turning around again and seeing him watching her with an amused smirk on his lips, she screams a frustrated yell.

"And I guess there's no way out of this?" The question is asked rhetorically - she does not really need an answer.

Finally the shock is gone, but it now seems like tears might leak from her eyes. Hermione feels like crying but doesn't want to in front of Malfoy. She takes a deep breath and tries to push her tears back.

The smirk is gone from Draco's features in an instant. It doesn't take long before he is standing with her, rubbing her back but not taking her into his arms.

She pushes him away again and walks to a sofa, this time a double one, and sits down, her head in her hands.

"Oh Sophia," Draco sighs. "Please don't cry." He goes to sit next to her, rubbing her back and watching her closely.

"Why do you even think you can consol me?" she speaks through her hands. "You're the reason why…" She pauses and looks up at him, her eyes red from the few tears that had already leaked. "I don't even know how to feel," she confesses.

Draco slowly wipes away a few remaining tears. "I don't think I'm the right person right now to consol you. But I simply can't stand that you're upset and I know that there's nobody in this house who can possibly consol you. Frankly, I want to be the person who consoles you, because I love you and I always will."

A sob escapes from Hermione and before she knows it more tears, the ones she doesn't want to show him escape her. She throws her head in her hands again and lets him pull her to him, too tired to fight him and his comfort. If she is honest with herself, she feels safe and comforted with him.

Draco lies back in the sofa pulling her with him, holding her close and rubbing circles on her back. Occasionally giving a kiss on the top of her head.

When her tears have dried, she finds herself being soothed by the steady beat of his heart, by his even breathing. She feels herself falling asleep. Having known that she was tired when she'd entered the room, she knows it is useless to fight sleep now. She lets the darkness take her and pull her away into unconsciousness.

A small smile is playing on Draco's lips while he strokes her hair. She is finally asleep and getting the rest she so desperately wants. He cares for her and blames himself that he didn't even try to find her, also believing with everyone else that she had been dead. That she isn't dead is a huge relief for him. He can feel the happiness thudding inside of him. While he watches her sleep, his Veela-inner self content, he begins to wonder who she really was. Where had she been all these years? It seems like she doesn't remember anything but she does know him. There are a lot of questions she needs to answer but for now he is just happy to hold her. He'd thought she was beautiful before and she still is now. She is a tall girl and skinny, just like her mother. She was, in fact, the exact image of her mother, except for the blonde hair. While her mother's hair had been a dark brown, Sophia's is a golden blonde. Her eyes are also the same bright blue as her mother. Draco does remember Aunt Catherina and Sophia. She had been his best girlfriend. They had always been together, like best friends. After the murder of her parents, and believing she had died too, Draco'd had a hard time getting over it. His parents had been grieving as well, but they'd also been concerned about him. Sophia had been his mate; if she had died his symptoms would probably never appear. But still they let his godfather teach him everything.

The symptoms had appeared a month ago, and not like the seer had predicted. Draco had kept seeing Sophia and slowly suffered away. After a while he'd even stopped sleeping, scared of seeing her in his dreams and believing it was only fate teasing and playing with him. He thought he would never find her. But Blaise had and she lives, sleeping so sweetly on his chest. Draco thinks he has never felt more alive in his life.

He strokes her hair again and watches her sleep, the smile still gracing his lips. Blaise and Pansy also have some vague memories of Sophia and of her parents. When they had found out she must, in some way, still be alive they had revealed memories they had of her to each other. Pansy had thought that it would in some way help Draco through his pain, but it only turned worse so they had stopped. He had heard enough of them to know they had missed her too. Sophia had been Pansy's best friend. Pansy is not a girl who easily gets along with other females, but with Sophia she always had a sisterly bond. To Blaise they had been like brother and sister too.

From when they were little, Draco and Sophia had been told that they were meant for each other. When they got older, however, this turned Draco into becoming possessive of her and calling her 'My girl'. His parents never tried to stop him because it is a Veela trait and for them it was normal, but he can remember a lot of arguments with his parents and her parents over that.

"Draco? Are you in here, mate?" The voice of Blaise speaks up behind him.

Their sofa was its back against the entrance.

"No, I'm not," he answers, the smile still not leaving his lips.

"I have something to tell you."

He hears how Blaise walks into the library. His friend can't see Sophia because she is lying with her head on Draco's chest.

"Tell me." Draco looks down at Sophia again, lightly brushing lost hairs from her face.

"I'm sorry, mate." Blaise is still a few feet away from Draco and Draco has yet to look behind him.

"For what?" he asks, now intrigued and looking behind him for the first time.

Blaise looks at him, surprised. "You look better," he says.

"Why are you sorry? I should be thanking you." Draco ignores Blaise's comment.

"No, you shouldn't. I had Sophia and I even brought her here, but she escaped and we've looked everywhere but we can't find her anymore." Blaise casts his eyes down, ashamed to inform his best friend of his failure.

Draco smiles and looks back at Sophia, stroking her hair again.

"Hmm… Did you really look everywhere?" Draco can't help himself, he loves teasing Blaise. If Blaise were in Draco's position, he would do the same. They have, after all, been best friends since they were babies.

Blaise looks up, surprised, hearing the teasing in Draco's voice. "She's here. Isn't she?" He takes a few long strides to the sofa, looking down from the back and seeing Sophia there, sleeping.

"You couldn't have told me, could you? We have been looking everywhere and all this time she has been with you!" Blaise wants to slap Draco across the head but Draco is making a silencing gesture, pointing at Sophia.

"She has been." He smiles and takes Sophia in his arms while he stands. She stirs a bit but sleeps on.

"How did you find her?" Blaise is now speaking softly too, not wanting to wake Sophia up.

"I was flying on my broom, needing to shake every thought out of me after not sleeping again for the whole night."

They are now walking out of the library, towards the east wing.

Blaise sighs. "That's really no cure for not sleeping, Draco."

"I know." Draco doesn't put up a fight with Blaise, as he would have if anyone else had tried to tell him what or what not to do. "When I was flying back, I suddenly saw a girl jump out of a window and make her way to the garden. I was flying high and couldn't see who it was so I was intrigued. Landing, I realized it was Sophia."

They are now walking in the main hall of the east wing. It's wide, with paintings hanging on walls made of white marble. A long blue carpet muffles their footsteps.

"It was so stupid of me, leaving the windows unlocked. I just never really thought she would escape through the window," Blaise confesses. He really feels guilty about her almost escaping.

"You just didn't think about her escaping. I know it is hard but she still sees us as the enemy, though I don't know why. It will take time to convince her otherwise." Draco comforts Blaise. He is too harsh on himself. Blaise is the one who brought her here and because of that reason alone Draco owes him his life.

They halt at a door, which Blaise opens, allowing Draco to enter first. Blaise lingers at the door while Draco places Sophia on the bed. He gives her one more soft kiss and they leave the room.

Closing the door, Draco looks at him and claps him on the shoulder. "Don't be hard on yourself. I owe you my life for bringing her here."

Blaise smiles and then remembers something.

"Here's her wand."

Draco looks at it before he sighs and hides it in his sleeve, next to his own. He feels really bad for keeping her wand with him, but it is the only thing he can do for now.

Turning around, they walk out the hall together. While descending the stairs, Blaise speaks again. "She told me why she sees us as the enemy."

Draco halts mid-step. "Really?"

Blaise keeps descending, not looking up at Draco. "Yes, and it's quite simple actually."

"Well, if it's simple don't you think you can tell me?" Draco snaps, getting annoyed and descending the last stairs. Blaise turns around and looks Draco in the eye, an amused smile forming on his face. "She's Hermione Granger."

Suddenly the marble hallway becomes eerily silent.

XXXXX

Hermione wakes up with her head on a green silk pillow, so it doesn't take long before realization hits her. The things that she has so hoped where dreams are in fact real. A frustrated kick on a pillow doesn't really solve any problems but it still makes her feel better. Looking around the room, she is again struck with awe.

She is lying on a large bed with silken green blankets. The bed itself is made of dark oak and the two nightstands are the same. On her right, is a large window giving a view of treetops and a hill in the distance. In the corner not far from the window was a vanity table. Turning her head to the other side, she notices a door and not far next to it another door, slightly open.

Getting of the bed, she goes to take a look. Inside is a huge walk-in closet with rows of clothes. Looking a little closer, she notices woman clothes. She is afraid they are for her and doesn't dare to look any closer.

Walking out of the closet, she walks straight to the other door, trying not to notice the green in the room. Malfoy is such a typical Slytherin, she thinks. Opening door door she discovers a bathroom with a huge white tub, two sinks and a grand shower. It all seems fit for two people, she notices with growing horror. The bathroom is finely decorated with some red flowers that seem to be growing out of the wall.

The red might be a touch for me, she thinks bitterly, thinking of all the green in the bedroom.

Then she remembers that he doesn't even know who she truly is. Zabini will have probably told him by now.

Going back to the bedroom, where the overall colors are green and black, she finds a place where Draco's Quidditch gear is proudly placed.

She feels her feet walking straight to the vanity, which is made of the same wood as the bed. On it are a few perfume bottles, possibly the fragrances he likes. There are different kinds of hair pins, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and a small make-up set. It is all either neatly tucked away in two drawers or placed on top of the vanity. With shaking hands, she closes the last drawer. Taking a look in the mirror she sees that her color has come back to her and the dark circles under her eyes are almost gone. Not feeling very comfortable with looking at herself and the room, she opens the door and finds herself lost in a huge white hall.