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Hermione quietly excused herself from the train compartment but she wasn't entirely sure anyone heard her leave. Ron and Neville were busy trying to make everyone, especially Harry, laugh. But Hermione had a feeling that not even the Weasley twins, if they were to suddenly return from their self induced expulsion, would be able to lift Harry's mood. Not after what had happened during the battle at the Ministry of Magic.

She sighed as she walked through the train hoping Draco would see her. She hadn't responded to his last letter, unsure as to whether or not she wanted to meet with him. Actually she was still unsure but had decided to hear him out anyways.

Just as Hermione was about to give up a compartment door nearby opened up but no one emerged. Taking it as a sign she pulled her wand out and held it tightly as she slowly crept towards the apartartment. She looked inside, frowning when she saw no sign of Draco, or anyone else for that matter, inside.

She turned to leave when a voice called out from the emptiness. "Were you planning on attacking me? I understand why you might but I was hoping you'd hear me out first."

Hermione spun back into the compartment and slammed the door shut. "Stop hiding and show yourself Malfoy. I don't have all day."

Seconds later Draco appeared before her, lounging on one of the seats. She was shocked to see how disheveled he looked. His hair was unstyled and his face showed some facial hair growth. "I put myself under a Disillusionment Charm. Even if I wasn't trying to meet with you in private I think I would have."

"I assumed your housemates would be sympathetic to your feelings right now," Hermione spoke as she gently sat down on the seat across from him.

"There are two types of Slytherins and their families. Those that honestly don't give a damn about blood status because they know there is no such thing as a true Pureblood. They will likely have nothing to do with the upcoming war and though they aren't being overtly rude to me they aren't exactly friendly either.'

'And then there are most of my friends if "friend" is what we need to call them. The ones who want nothing more than to follow in their parents footsteps either because they believe in the idea of blood purity or because they just don't want to disappoint their families."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow. "I understand that but it doesn't explain why you're hiding. Aren't most of them in the same position as you? A parent in Azkaban after that disaster in the Ministry."

Draco refused to meet her stare, turning to look out the window instead. "In a way I'm relieved that he's locked up. Life should be better without his prejudices poisoning the manor. But it won't be better. The Dark Lord blames my father for the capture at the Ministry. I can only imagine how he'll take it out on Mother and me."

"Convince her to flee the country with you or ask Dumbledore to help. There must be something that can be done."

"I plan on asking her but it won't work. She may not love the Dark Lord's plans and ideologies but she loves my father and her sister. She won't want to be too far away from them. And I wouldn't leave her to deal with the Dark Lord alone. She may not be a Death Eater but that doesn't mean he won't make her pay for my father's mistakes."

"That explains why you can't easily leave but it doesn't explain why you won't ask Dumbledore for help," Hermione pointed out.

"Do you really think he'd trust anything I had to say?" Draco scoffed. "He's probably too noble to use Veritaserum or look into my mind so he'll always have a lingering doubt as to my motives. And no one else would believe him if I asked for help. One man can't ensure the safety of my whole family. Not against the Dark Lord."

"Maybe it would help people to believe you if you stopped calling him the Dark Lord. Only Death Eaters really do that." Hermione slowly stood up. "I better get back to the boys so they don't worry. Let me know if you change your mind about asking for help."

Draco jumped up and blocked her hand from sliding the door open. "The apology was only part of the reason I wished to speak with you. I also wanted to tell you that we need to stop with the letters and meeting like this."

Hermione froze in place, not bothering to turn and face Draco because she could see his torn expression in the reflection of the glass door. "Why not? Did speaking to me in our letters make you realize we have no reason to speak at all?"

"Just the opposite," Draco quietly admitted. "I think I told you more truthful things than I've ever told anyone else. But now that everyone knows Vol…Voldemort is really alive and my father's mistake helped blow his cover? I'm sure to be watched closer and it will be too dangerous for me to communicate with you."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "I'm a Muggleborn witch and my best friend is Harry Potter. I don't think there's anything that could make me a bigger target than I already am."

Then suddenly Draco slid his arms around her waist, spinning her so that he could pull her against her chest, her head cradled against his neck. A hand slid up to cup her cheek and gently force her to meet his eyes. "I don't want to make it even worse for you than it already will be. If the Death Eaters get a hold of you it will end badly. If they found out we've been friendly? You'll be wishing for a quick death."

Hermione didn't even flinch. "If they catch me I won't die without a fight."

Draco sighed. "I had a feeling you'd say that. But I know why you've been so focused on me and I want you to know not to worry about saving me. I don't deserve to be saved."

Before Hermione could respond Draco gently kissed her on the forehead and slipped out the door.

"But you don't really know why I want to save you," she whispered to herself before leaving the compartment to go back to her friends. As she stepped out she saw Draco surrounded by members of Dumbledore's Army. Her heart started to pound as she wondered whether or not they had seen her emerge from the compartment the Slytherin had just vacated.

Draco casually leaned against a wall. "I was just asking your Mudblood friend if she left your compartment because you were all being crybabies. The dried tears on your face suggest I was right."

Hermione stepped up to join her friends just as Crabbe and Goyle flanked Draco.

"How can you be so heartless?" Ginny cried out. "A man lost his life and several of us nearly did too!"

"And our fathers are in Azkaban because of you," Draco spat. "It's nowhere near even."

Hermione felt Harry tense up beside her and knew what was about to happen. Arms rose, wands in hand, and spells went wild. She cast a silent one of her own to cushion Draco's fall. After everyone passed over the three cursed boys she shot another spell behind her, a spell that would reverse the effects of all the others after a few minutes. It didn't seem right to leave them like that when Draco had only been covering for her.

At least I think that was what he was doing. Hermione was knocked out of her reverie when Neville's hand fell on her shoulder. "You okay, Hermione?"

She nodded as Ron led them back to their compartment for the last few minutes of the ride back to King's Cross. "What were you doing in that compartment anyways?" he asked.

"I was afraid the Slytherin's would take their anger out on members of other houses so I figured I'd patrol a little. I thought I heard a First Year crying in that compartment but it was just a trap so Malfoy could tease me about Sirius." Her stomach churned in protest at her lie but she knew it was the wrong time to reveal her friendship with Draco.

Harry searched her face as though he doubted the validity of her words but then he turned to help her pull down her trunk. "Well after the battle at the Ministry we know you can handle yourself."

Hermione suddenly wasn't quite sure that she could.

Hermione paced around her room at the Burrow the evening before the start of her sixth year. Her heart kept telling her to send a letter to Draco to make sure he'd survived the summer while her brain told her that was the worst possible thing she could do. She was just about to join Harry and the rest of the Weasley's when a rapping at the window changed her mind.

When she turned her heart leapt in her throat. Draco Malfoy's eagle owl was staring at her, a rolled parchment attached to its leg. She quickly rushed forward, knowing she had very little time before someone started looking for her.

She quietly slipped the window open and retrieved the roll of parchment. The owl stood steady while she worked but flew away the second it was relieved of its burden. Clearly it hadn't been told to wait for her response.

Even though she was running out of the time (she had told the others she needed to triple check her packing when in reality she was just trying to calm her thoughts) she curled up on the foot of her cot and unrolled the letter.

To H-

I know this is stupid and dangerous and that I wanted to end all communications between us but I can't. You are the only bright spot in a world that only got darker this past summer.

Something has happened, something that has already left a blemish on my skin that will never fade. But I don't want it, I never wanted it, and I don't want the assignment I was given either.

You offered to help me once and I can only hope that the offer is still open. Involve anyone you wish even if it's the headmaster.

-From D

Hermione slid out her wand and set the parchment on fire the moment she read the last word. It would have been nice to take the letter to Dumbledore when she requested his help but it was too dangerous. If someone were to find the note and read between the lines they would come to the same conclusion she had. Draco Malfoy had become a Death Eater.

A knock on the door signaled the end of her musings and she knew she'd have little time to put her plan into action. "Just a minute! Crookshanks has my favorite quill and I'm afraid he'll escape if I open the door!" she called out. She was suddenly very grateful that her cat had snuck into the room and that his part Kneazle blood meant spells cast on him didn't always work. If he really did have something he shouldn't they would have had to catch him by hand and not with magic. It bought her a few minutes of precious time.

She quickly jotted a letter to the Headmaster, asking if it were at all possible for her and Draco Malfoy to meet with him once they reached school.

When she opened the door Ginny was patiently standing on the other side. "You weren't really chasing after a quill, were you?"

Hermione forced herself to laugh. "Well once I found the quill I realized I had to send my parents a letter. You know I always do that right before we leave for Hogwarts." She casually slipped past her friend, clutching the letter tight. "Harry's still in the living room, right? I need to see if I can borrow Hedwig."