AN: See? Told you! Okay, so, fun bit for this chapter is that I HAVE A SONG FOR DRACO! There is going to be a scene in this that I want you all to listen to a certain song while you read- just trust me, okay? Now, I'm going to mark this scene with this: ###. Now, when you see that symbol, I need you all to go to YouTube or something and put on this song: Mayday by The Icarus Account.

It is the song that I attribute to Draco for basically my entire fic, but namely that one particular scene. Trust me. I mean you don't really have to listen to it while you read, just know that the song fits that scene.

Right.

I should start typing now.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot, dears.

*TIME JUMP*

OCTOBER 31st

Bathroom, Before the Masque, Hermione:

Ginny had decided to get ready up in Gryffindor with Daphne so that she could walk down with them and attempt to ease a bit of the awkwardness that had formed within their little group since Daphne and Neville had stopped talking. Not that she didn't trust Pansy to help her get ready, that wasn't it at all. The other girl was merely a bit… overwhelming was all.

When normally Pansy didn't talk all that much, now it seemed as if her mouth never stopped moving- going on about different ways to do their hair, make-up, what they were going to use for masks, and not a word of it made any bit of sense to Hermione.

Apparently it was tradition not to use something physical for a mask, but rather a glamour spell. One that incorporates the hair, face, and according to Pansy there were even some that could go onto the dress, too! Of course Hermione had been thinking about what she would go as, but the only thing that she seemed to go with the gown that both Ginny and Pansy had forced her to purchase (those two really ought not to be on the same side for things, as the result was rather frightening) was mermaid, and since she knew for a fact the magical version did not coincide with the muggle version that was absolutely not an option.

Normally she would consider just changing the color of the gown, but it really was just too beautiful to consider.

The design was simple; a strapless corset top with a bell skirt that flowed from it- what made it special was the colors. Dancing over it was a myriad of shades- all ranging from a deep turquoise to a midnight blue. The colors moved and flowed and sparkled so that it looked as if the dress was attempting to mirror itself to the depths of the ocean. It was a beautiful dress, one that could be admired not only for the vain aspects that had enthralled Ginny and Pansy enough they purchased the same style but in different colors (Daphne had instead gone for a plain dark gown) but also for the amazing spell work! As a matter of fact as soon as she had laid her eyes upon the dress her first reaction was to race over to the store owner to discuss the process with them, leaving only when dragged by physical force.

"… a peacock."

Oh dear, apparently she had zoned out for a tad too long.

"I beg your pardon?" Hermione asked.

A devilish smirk lit up her friend's face, as though she knew a secret that she was refusing to share. "You, my darling Hermione, are going to be a peacock."

And not another word was said before Pansy began attacking Hermione with her wand and an armada of beauty spells that not even Hermione knew the names of.

Head's Dorm, Before the Mask, Draco:

"Sounds like a bloody battle is being fought in there mate," Fred Weasley said as he floated through Draco's closed bedroom door.

It was a mark of how often this happened that Draco didn't even start, merely snorted and nodded his agreement.

"Yes, well, your charming sister left Granger to Pansy's mercy. You'll be lucky if you can even recognize her when she pops out of there now," he said. There was no need to ask where the live one was- he had been forced to attend to his business for the night but would undoubtedly be returning to the castle soon. According to Fred there was talk of getting the live one a job or something at Hogwarts so that he wouldn't have to keep sneaking onto the grounds.

The other day Draco could have sworn he'd heard the Headmistress muttering something about irritating and interfering portraits that thought too well of themselves who had no right to go gallivanting off a creating positions- so he reckoned Fred might actually be onto something.

"Yes, well, Hermione a big girl she can take care of-"

A scream escaped the bathroom then, followed by a shout from Pansy, "Oh Granger you big baby, get back over here!"

With wide eyes and a snort of amusement fighting to break free, Draco cast a silencing spell on the bathroom and raised an eyebrow at the ghost who was currently lounging on his bed.

"Well then. What're you going as, anyway? Blokes have it a mite easier than the ladies but I see you still haven't made your mask yet."

It was obviously going to be too much to ask, yet again, why it was the ghost was determined to hang around and make conversation since he'd refused to answer every other time. One Fred got settled it was really best to just answer his questions until he got bored, otherwise he could prove to be quite an annoyance.

Draco gestured down at his dusky white robes, smiled, and then waved his wand to his face to cast his glamour- his grey eyes merged with an icy blue, white hair and ears sprouted in all of the appropriate places, and the glamour itself extended down to the tip of his nose but no farther, doing just enough to give the illusion of being…

"A white wolf, very nice. Somehow despite the robes I suppose I was expecting you to be a dragon or something," Fred commented.

The responding eye roll couldn't be helped. "Yes, Draco the Dragon. Come on then Weasley I thought you had a bit more originality than that!"

This earned Draco a glare and a raspberry, before the ghost had vanished and left Draco on his own to finish up.

The Masque, Pansy:

It was a good job that Hermione wasn't in charge of the Masque because by the time the type of hem arrived it had already begun, but it had been worth it. Even Hermione had agreed, once she saw what she looked like in the end.

Pansy had slicked all of her hair back into a tight, neat little bun that was placed low on her neck. Since Hermione was already quite pale, Pansy had decided to do naturalist make-up and made it so that the only color to be found on the girls face was the glamour of a peacock. Male, of course, because those were the gorgeous ones, but that wasn't the point. The illusion sprouted gorgeous feathers to frame her face, altered her eyes to that of the bird, and even Hermione shimmering lipstick to match that of her dress.

Not all that much had been done, in the end, but in Pansy's opinion the effect was stunning.

But as they entered the great hall, Pansy's eyes did not seek out the crowd's response to her beautiful handiwork. No, instead she was busily scanning the crowd for a certain panther… and when their eyes met she couldn't help the grin that dominated her face.

Oh if only he parents could see her now…

With a nod to Hermione, Pansy floated, or at least it looked as if she floated, over to where Dean was standing by an empty table.

"Hello," she said, hating the breathy way her voice sounded. Dean looked handsome, and she wanted nothing more than to leap onto the dance floor with him, but he seemed to be enjoying taking his time to examine her costume.

Her dress was the same as Hermione's and Little Red's, although her colors were a million different shades of gold. She'd glamoured herself to glow and had veiled the top portion of her face with a golden mist and even went so far as to add a golden fog at her feet and a pair of wings onto her back.

"A fairy?" he asked, the smile reaching all the way to his eyes. It was a smile that made Pansy very thankful no one could see her blush behind her veil.

At the Masque, Hermione:

Everything was going perfectly. The decorations were stunning, the costumes were enthralling, and Hermione couldn't remember the last time she had allowed herself to relax as much as she was.

Ginny, whose dress was like hers though in varying shades of red, had become a vixen for the night, tying her hair up, glamouring it to be siren red and, of course, her mask. Daphne, in her black dress had become a raven, while Theo, Harry and Neville were a Sphinx, an owl, and an eagle, respectively.

Birds seem to be quite the theme for the night, though; of course, there was enough variety that the effect was enchanting rather than boring.

There had been no sign of either Malfoy or Ron, Hermione had danced several times each with Ginny, Pansy, Harry, Dean, Seamus (a Phoenix), and Neville. Before she knew it hours had passed and she was so full of Butterbeer and good cheer that she had begun to believe that, for once, nothing was going to go wrong. Even McGonagall, who had been rather stiff all evening, was beginning to loosen up with relief.

How foolish they both had been.

Hermione was considering going to join in on a group dance with Daphne and Theo, in an effort to try and get to know them better, when someone grabbed her elbow and spun her around to face the opposite direction.

For a moment it was almost as though she had been blinded- everything had gone white. But then she allowed her gaze to travel up the lean figure in front of her and she had to fight to contain a small gasp. Even though they had been altered rather expertly to become those of a wolf, Hermione would know those eyes anywhere. Thankfully, before she started stammering for no bloody reason at all, he decided to speak and save her any embarrassment.

"I do hope you managed to save a dance for me, Granger," he said softly, though it was impossible for her to read his tone.

Back to 'Granger' again, was it? And what was he playing at, asking her for a dance? Was he being serious? She could feel the eyes of her friends at her back and decided she better act quickly before anything happened or some tactless individual who shall remain unnamed decided to be noble and think that Malfoy was bothering her.

"I believe I can still fit you in, Malfoy. Since you did such a wonderful job on your costume, that is," she replied lightly, hoping with each passing breath that no one could tell how fast her heart was beating. Because, honestly, no one had the right to still look attractive while they were disguised as a wolf, but unfortunately all it did was remind Hermione how Malfoy had looked that night when he had turned up wearing nothing but a towel and had confronted both she and Ginny.

He smiled at her, actually smiled, "You look pretty good yourself there, Granger."

And then he did the oddest thing, Malfoy reached out and grabbed her hand, bowed a complicated bow that Hermione had never seen before, and then vanished into the crowd.

All of a sudden her friends were at her side, some were laughing but Harry was demanding to know what had just happened. It was Pansy who answered.

"She's just promised him the last dance of the night, Potter." At both Hermione and Harry's confused faces, Pansy rolled her eyes and continued. "It's a pureblood tradition. That's what the bow meant. Asking to save a dance, exchange of a compliment, accepting of a dance, and the bow. I knew he would like your costume…"

For a moment Hermione battled within herself between demanding an explanation from Pansy and making a quick escape so that she didn't have to get an explanation from the girl. Oh she would eventually get answers from her, that was certain, but she'd prefer not to do it with quite so many people around them.

In the crowd, Hermione spotted the Patil twins and decided to make for the quick escape. While Harry attempted to make the same bow to Ginny, Hermione slipped out of their group and moved towards the twins, who had recently been cleared of all of their boils and blemishes much to most everyone's disappointment. And, although she did not like the girls they had been the ones in charge of the Masque. Since it had turned out so beautifully Hermione felt that, as head Girl, she really ought to congratulate them and offer her thanks.

She was right in front of them, when she was intercepted by a figure dressed as tiger. A figure that, after inspection, turned out to be none other than Ron who had decided to do away with his glamour altogether once he had her attention. She braced herself for whatever vile thing he had planned to say, but it didn't come.

"Y-you look really good Hermione," was what he stammered out instead, leaving Hermione in a state of shock. She had known Ron for a long time, and one thing that she had learned early on when they were fighting was that whenever it came to be time for him to get over himself and apologize, awkward compliments were how he did it. The most famous of which had to be the one he had given Harry after the first Tri-Wizard task. She could hardly dare to hope.

"Thank you, Ron. No lace on the robes this time, then?" she said tentatively. From there it would go either one of two ways. He'd either laugh at the small joke and their family could get put back together again, or he would take offense and it would be another few weeks of anger and resentment before he was ready to try again.

She had just caught a glimpse of a self-deprecating smile on his face and her heart had begun to soar, before the Patil twin's stomped over and ruined absolutely everything with one simple question.

"Is it true that you promised your last dance to Malfoy?!" they asked in unison.

Damn.

Her eyes flew to Ron's, and any trace of that smile she had seen was gone, replaced instead by blank eyes that turned an odd shade of blue at the mention of Malfoy's name. Followed by anger.

"Well, is that true, Hermione?" he demanded.

Hermione gulped before answering, "Yes, I have actually. He asked not long ago."

Ron had now turned an angry purple, and the Patil twin's tittered at her, disgusted. A crowd was beginning to clear around them and Hermione knew it wasn't long before this whole scene was the center of attention.

"Bloody Hell Hermione! And here we thought that you could sink no lower! Consorting with the likes of him?! Do you realize how many people are dead because of that filth? That disgrace?" Padma shouted at her.

She seemed to have run out of breath in her indignation, but her sister hadn't and Ron still seemed to be too angry to even form words, though the expression on his face promised trouble. People had gathered while Padma had shouted, Lisa Turpin and several others had gone to stand with Ron and the twin's, and Hermione no idea if there was anyone standing behind her at all.

"We had wondered whether or not it had been a mistake that you were sorted into Slytherin but it seems not. I would even go so far as to wonder what side you were really on in the war, if it weren't for your blood. It was always said that there had to have been a traitor high up, otherwise the other side wouldn't have been able to get past the Hogwarts shields as quickly as they did," Parvati spat at her. Hermione could hear the blood rushing through her ears, and she felt her glamour drop from her face.

How dare she?!

But they weren't done. They had one last parting dig, as the crowd of supporters behind them kept growing larger.

"Not good enough for Gryffindor, just a stupid piece of filthy, slimy, Slytherin trash- WHO KNOWS WHAT MATTER OF NASTY THINGS WHO HAD TO HAVE DONE TO LAND YOURSELF THERE?"

Perhaps it had only done so in Hermione's ears, but it had seemed as if that last line had been magnified by one thousand. And she had had enough. She wanted nothing more to curse them, but she was so full of anger that she felt tears forming in her eyes and damned if she would give them the bloody satisfaction!

"YES!" she screamed, "I am a Slytherin and I am BLOODY WELL PROUD TO BE ONE!"

And before she did something she could regret later, or allow them to see the tears stream down her face, Hermione fled from the hall, using her wand to force people out of her way. She was quick, but not quick enough to miss hearing what Ron had shouted.

"Go ahead and run you cowardly Slytherin whore!"

At the Masque, Draco:

His wand was out and about to hex Weasley within an inch of his life, but Potter had gotten there first. His fist connected with Weasley's snarling face with enough force to send the bloke flying backwards and land with a rather satisfying crunch on the floor.

Potter stood panting but sounded quite calm when he addressed the redheaded monstrosity, "I warned you to stay away from her."

When Potter turned around he looked downright dangerous, and Draco fleetingly wondered just where in the name of Salazar all of the professor's had suddenly disappeared to, for there seemed to be absolutely no adults anywhere in the Hall.

"Now listen up, all of you! Because I am sick and tired of the lot of you damning someone whom you all owe your bloody lives too! Hermione Granger is the reason that each and every one of you is standing here, alive." No one seemed to be breathing, though he noticed that several people had their wand's aimed at certain individual's- Little Red was mere seconds away from murdering her brother, it looked like.

Draco felt as though someone was scratching at his mind.

"You all want to know what she did to land herself in Slytherin?! She did what she fucking had to! She killed, and she tricked, and she schemed, and she outsmarted Voldemort himself several times over! You all have known me for how long now? Is there a single soul in here who honestly believes that I, or Ron, would have lived long enough to even see the Final Battle if it weren't for her? And don't even get me started on you, mate," Potter snarled at Weasley, who had groaned at the sound of his name.

"She did the things that no one else could, she-"

Draco was unable to listen to any more of Potter's rather impressive angry lecture because once again there was a scratching at his mind, although this time it was followed by a voice.

I thought that we had a deal, Mr. Malfoy.

He knew that voice… could it possibly… but no…

He was so distracted that he hadn't even noticed that Potter had gone on from listing what all Granger had done in the war to how Draco himself had saved them all.

Yes, Mr. Malfoy, it is I, the Sorting Hat. You see, it is a rather well-kept secret that once an individual places me upon their head just once I will forever be able to reach them. Now, as I said, I thought we'd had a bargain, Mr. Malfoy. You've been skirting the line all year, don't think I haven't noticed.

Draco shook himself. Was he honestly being lectured by the Sorting Hat? Was he imagining all of this? He shook himself, finally returning to the area around him to notice that Finnegan was now confronting the chits in front of him.

"- she's dead. Lavender's dead and there is not a damn thing you can do about it, but you think this is what she died for? You're supposed to have been her friends. You knew her better than that. You're a disgrace to her-"

DRACO ABRAXAS MALFOY IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO DO YOUR JOB!

And then Draco mind was filled with knowledge, and he shouted a curse into the air, gaining the attention of those around him. Draco reached forward, grabbed Potter, and pushed him into a run out of the Hall, grabbing others as he went.

"Were needed elsewhere," Draco said at they all ran, slipping and tripping in their costumes through the maze of halls.

Running, Ginny:

It should have been odd, the way that they were all sprinting after Malfoy through the hallways without even asking for so much and explanation. Part of it could have been because they were all so full of angry adrenaline that their bodies were operating quicker than their minds were, and mostly, Ginny thought, it was because they already knew.

She would have to ask, eventually, how it was Malfoy knew where to go, but when they heard shouts up ahead, Ginny's thoughts had been confirmed. How could they all have been so stupid?

Nicolai and his little gang had to have been waiting ages in the halls leading towards Slytherin, hoping for one of them to make a mistake- and they had. Hermione had stormed out of the Hall alone and they had all been too angry to even register the fact properly in their heads. Some corner or her mind wondered if this had been planned by Nicolai and the Patil twins- but as she drew level with the fight, Ginny had no more room for such thoughts.

In the center of the corridor stood Hermione, moving so fast and spinning in circle after circle as she fought off all seven of them at once, the colors of her dress making her looks like a cyclone amid a sea of flying spells.

It was impossible to tell whether or not she had been injured, as Ginny threw herself into the fray.

The whole thing was madness, chaos, but since she, Harry, Pansy, Dean, Neville, Daphne, Theo and Blaise had all followed after Malfoy, the others were outnumbered and the fight was over rather quickly. But not before injuries were sustained, Nicolai and the others had been fighting with Dark magic, that much was obvious.

Harry was down, so were Neville and Hermione. Dean was bleeding but at least he was still on his feet. For a moment Ginny was torn between whom to run to, but then Harry got to his feet and the decision was made for her. Unfortunately, she wasn't the first one to get to when Hermione was down on the ground.

Malfoy was hovering over her, holding her up and talking to her, Ginny could only just make out what it was he was whispering down at her.

"Come on, Granger, you still owe me a dance," he murmured softly, and after casting enervate several times, Hermione woke and was helped to her feet.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny could see Daph holding Neville's hand as she cleaned him up, and Harry's reached out to grab hers.

Holding his fingers between her own, Ginny bound all seven of Hermione's attackers with rope.

Hospital Wing, Hermione:

She was livid.

Not only had she been attacked twice that night, once verbally and once physically, but she had been silly enough to get herself knocked unconscious as well. To make matters worse Madam Pomfrey was tittering over her shoulder like a bird, trying to get her to take some sleeping potion or another and force her to stay overnight.

What was she, a child? She was too filled with fury and adrenaline that she had no room to be devastated or sad or afraid- all she wanted to do was go back to the dungeons and sleep in her own bed with Crookshanks curled up at her feet. He'd rejoined her at Hogwarts when her parents had gone into hiding at Pansy's, and she was loathe to go even one more night sleeping without him if she didn't have to.

Hermione had been arguing with the nurse for a few moments, refusing to do any of what the nurse suggested. Finally she snapped, causing the unsuspecting nurse to jump about a foot into the air.

"FINE! I will take the potion but I am not sleeping here. Send me with an escort if you must, but I refuse to do it!"

In the end, both Pansy and Malfoy had to agree to escort Hermione back to the dungeons, but not before she gulped down a sleeping potion where Madam Pomfrey could witness her doing it.

On the long, eerily silent walk to the dungeons, Hermione's rage was slowly being replaced by exhaustion. She knew that she should really thank Malfoy and Pansy for coming to her, unfortunately much needed, rescue, but when she opened her mouth to do so, all that came out was a yawn. She could barely remember entering her rooms and didn't bother with getting out of her dress before collapsing onto her mattress.

It was all she could do to kick off her shoes before Hermione had fallen fast asleep.

###Head's Dorm, Draco:

Did Little Red not know that Granger had been given a potion to make her fall asleep almost instantly? Pansy had come and gone, off to make sure that Dean was doing alright, though since the lad was with that Irish atrocity in Ravenclaw he wasn't too sure how she would work that one out. His mind was unable to give that his full thought, however because Draco's eyes were glued to Granger's door- and how long had it been since he'd blinked?

He was sitting at the top of the stairs on the little walkway that separated their two rooms, and he was sweating.

After all that had happened Draco's nerves were strung so tightly that he honestly had no idea how they would handle it if Granger started screaming again. Maybe the potion was Dreamless Sleep? If that was the case it might explain why Little Red hadn't shown up, obviously she wouldn't be needed and then she could remain at Scarhead's side in the Hospital without another worry. His heartbeat eased as he realized that this must be the case.

But as Draco stood to enter his own room, he heard it. A scream.

Frozen in his tracks, his heart pounded with fear and adrenaline. The Hat's words echoed inside his head over and over and over again, slowly driving him insane. Or quickly. He couldn't really tell the passage of time very well at the moment.

Now he could hear her crying.

Where the fuck was Weasley?

Draco began pacing back and forth; running his fingers through his hair and pulling at it as he muttered utter nonsense to himself. At this point he couldn't figure out whether or not he was trying to convince himself to stay where he was or if he was bracing himself to charge into her room and wake her up.

Merlin, but everything was all mixed up in his head. It was as though all of the conflicting emotions and thoughts and morals that had been warring themselves out inside his mind had finally come to a head in this very moment- he was lost, and drowning, and how long had it been since he'd last taken a breath?

Draco had no idea who he was anymore, what he was- had he ever been his own man…? He had no idea what he believed in or didn't believe in and his emotions were in complete and utter chaos because honestly, every emotion he felt he doubted to his very core to the point that it was almost as if he were afraid of himself, but no. He would have to know who he was and what he stood for in order for that to happen, and the only thing Draco was certain of was that he wasn't certain of anything. He was being crushed, crushed by his own foolishness and confusion and he just didn't understand.

He didn't understand how someone could go from being a lesser being, to a person, to an individual who seemed to stand at the crux of every single problem that Draco was having within himself. Things he once hated and disbelieved in were attempting to break through the surface and claim him as their champion, while notions he'd had since he was a child had begun to make less sense each and every day- but where did that leave him?

Granger was sobbing now, and so was Draco, and where the fuck was Weasley?!

Fear was clouding everything now, fear laced with self-hatred and insecurity and he couldn't understand why he was even afraid! It's not as if he was the trapped inside their worst memory, forced to face it and relive it, night after night, wondering what you could have done to stop it and why you deserved it at all and when would the pain ever just stop-

But that's just it, he realized as his hands began to shake. The night that Granger was trapped in, her greatest nightmare was his too. Something broke in him, then. Like a great wave crashing down and overwhelming everything around it.

This realization hadn't had very long to sink in before Granger let loose her loudest scream yet, and Draco was flying. He raced to Granger's door and shoved it open, too gone in his thoughts to close it, and moved to the side of the bed where Granger was thrashing and sobbing and deep somewhere within it was as if another wave had broken, though he didn't notice it then.

Draco reached out to her shoulders and shook her awake, frantic and completely out of his mind at this point.

When she woke she fought, screaming, "No! No! I didn't take- I didn't take it I swear!"

Draco sat down next to her calling, "Granger, it's me, Granger you're fine, HERMIONE!" he shouted.

The use of her first name shocked her enough to get her to pay attention to her surroundings, to realize that she was no longer trapped within her nightmare, to notice that Draco Malfoy was in her bed with one hand placed on her shoulder and the other cupping her face and wiping away her tears even though his own still flowed freely.

What she thought of this scene, he didn't know, but the relief on her face was enough to remove nearly all of the weight that had been crushing Draco to bits only just moments before. Before he knew what was happening, His arms were full of a crying girl as she held onto him as though her life depended on it. Closing his eyes, Draco held Hermione close and, when it became apparent that she had no intention of letting him go at any point this century, he gently shifted tem so that they could both lie down comfortably. As soon as he settled, most of Hermione's weight found itself on top of Draco, with her head on his chest, to fall asleep.

Head's Dorm, Ginny:

She'd made it there in time to see an utterly distraught Draco Malfoy charge into Hermione's room, and, on a hunch, allowed the scene to play out. The results were… interesting, and Ginny was once again thankful that she had Harry's cloak.

Ginny bit her lip, debating.

It was time for Malfoy to answer for certain things and she had no intention of waiting much longer, but somehow it just didn't seem fair to rip them apart right now. So, instead, Ginny closed Hermione's door behind her and crossed over to Malfoy's room to sleep for the night.

What Harry didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

AN: This was the longest chapter yet, and I am exhausted so please excuse me if there were more typo's than usual.

So.

Hope you enjoyed :]