A/N: Once again amazed by the feedback. Your reviews mean so much to me! A few of you were upset about Hermione and Ron falling out again, yes Hermione overreacted but she just escaped the most horrible thing she's ever been through. She feels like Ron abandoned her. She's upset. She said things she might not have meant. We won't get to Hermione and Ron in this chapter, but they'll both have to confront each other eventually…but prepare for a ton of Draco and Hermione and some questions answered.

When Hermione entered her common room on Halloween, after narrowly escaping torture and death, it was eleven at night. She had spent approximately two and a half hours in the Malfoy Manor searching for a horcrux she did not find. After returning to Hogwarts, Hermione frantically searched the layout of the common room, as well as her own room, and Draco's room. After the small search confirmed that she was alone, she had flung herself on the couch and cried in a panicked state for a good twenty minutes. When she had no more tears left to cry, she was still the only living person in the room. Draco had still not come back.

Hermione looked up at the large grandfather clock lying on the wall next to the fireplace. It read two in the morning. Draco had now been gone from Hogwarts for five and a half hours, and Hermione paced in front of the fire place in worry, as she had been doing for the past hour. She could not sit still, and she had no tears left to burst into. She could not explain the sudden urgency in her to make sure Draco was okay.

Maybe it was due to the face that Draco Malfoy had saved her life twice now. He risked himself again and again to keep her from harm. It hadn't made sense to her at first, but he had said something to her tonight in his room, that brought her some clarity. He had asked her why she did 'this' to him. She could only assume 'this' meant constantly being in danger, but that's what it was like being Harry Potter's best friend, and besides why was it suddenly any of his business? She never asked for him to save her both of those times, in fact she assumed he would harm her. But then he said that she was making his life extremely difficult and she didn't even know it. Now that she was moving across the living space frantically, she tried to keep herself calm by pondering his words.

Hermione Granger was doing something to Draco Malfoy. She was someone he couldn't have cared less about during this time last year. But suddenly he was risking his life to save her, and in turn save Harry Potter. He was deliberately disobeying everything Voldemort stood for. Hermione doubted that this was due to a change of heart about old prejudice ways. No, something else was going on. The idea was so bizarre to her, but it pulled at something in the back of her mind. Something Draco had said before….about his eyes.

Before she could ponder any further, the common room door burst open and Draco Malfoy threw himself inside. He made it two steps before he collapsed onto the floor in front of the door, staining the silver carpet in a pool of his own blood.

"Oh my God, Draco!" Hermione said suddenly, throwing herself down on the floor and lifting his head onto her lap.

Draco Malfoy looked inches from death. His breathing was deep and ragged. The blood that was pouring out of his mouth made each breath sound wheezy and unsure, as if he might not take another. He could only open one eye, as the other had been swollen so badly it seemed sewn shut. She thought he might be dead, but the other eye was moving frantically, as if searching for her face, trying to keep it in focus. His eye was colored a dark gray, no longer the bright silver he said they became during intense moments of emotion. This called for an intense moment, and therefore Hermione could only assume Draco Malfoy was slowly losing life.

She quickly tore herself away from his eyes to examine the rest of his body. Hermione had thought that Harry was bad off lying on her parent's couch only a few hours ago. Now that Draco Malfoy was in front of her, he made Harry look like he got a slap on the wrist. Cuts covered Draco's pale skin, tracing over his muscles. Blood was pouring out of every opening he seemed to have. Hermione cursed herself for using all her potion on Harry.

"Left. Drawer. Bed." Draco managed to sputter out with a generous amount of blood from his mouth.

Hermione stared for a few seconds in shock before leaping into action and running into Draco's room. She ran straight for the bed side table knocking off a framed picture, Draco's jeweled goblet, and scrolls of parchment to the floor in the process. But it didn't matter now, Draco was moments from death and she needed to find something of importance in here.

Hermione pawed her way through useless junk shoved in the draws until she found a vile similar to the one she had brought with her to the manor, but much larger. The label on the side read "BRP" which she could only hope meant blood replenishing potion. She didn't bother shutting the drawer as she ran back into the common room where Draco seemed surrounded in a dark stain beneath him. Hermione could only imagine the amount of blood he had lost.

She looked down at his ghostly pale face. His eyes were both closed now, and Hermione knew he had lost consciousness. She quickly pulled the stopper off the bottle and used her hands to part his lips. The liquid poured down Draco's throat, and Hermione massaged the muscles there to coax the liquid in. The process took under a minute, but Hermione felt as if it lasted ages. Once the vile was empty, she could hear soft steady breathing coming from Draco. She collapsed backwards in relief and allowed herself a few disbelieving victory laughs. She could not explain the overwhelming relief that coursed through her.

In the next thirty minutes, Hermione managed to carefully clean Draco with various spells, wiping his skin free of blood. She closed all this wounds and grabbed a standard healing potion from her room which would treat all minor symptoms to any injuries. The rest would take a few days to heal him completely, but she was sure he would survive the night, and that was all that mattered. Draco was still knocked out cold through the entire process, but his breathing was steady.

She used a simple levitation spell and carefully guided him through the common room and onto his bed. She lit a fire in the crate in his room and searched for clean clothes for him. This was the part she was not looking forward to. His clothing was stained with dried blood and it needed to be removed. Thankfully at that moment, Draco groaned slightly and regained a small bit of consciousness. It took him a minute to gauge his surroundings, but he smirked slightly when he realized he was in his room.

"I'm not dead then?" He croaked out to no one in particular.

"No." Hermione said quietly from the other side of the room.

Draco slowly lifted his head to see her in full, in the glow of the fire. He stared at her for awhile, but was too weak to move any more than he already had. After a long awkward silence, he threw his head back down onto the comforter.

"That's too bad." Draco sighed.

Another long silence followed. Hermione decided it might be best to leave him alone to himself now that he was no longer in immediate danger.

She took a step toward the door but was interrupted by his voice.

"If you could leave the clothes by the bed…I could probably undress and dress myself from this position."

"Oh…okay." She walked over and set them down by his left side. "Um…I'll just…go outside."

Hermione turned, walking across the room to open the doors that led to the balcony. The night felt crisp and cool on her shoulders. She looked down at herself and laughed quietly, realizing she was still in her black spandex and white tank top which made up her cat costume.

"Ridiculous." She muttered to herself.

The tank top was a dark crimson where a wound was still producing small amounts of blood. She really needed to fix that. It wasn't anything serious, but if she kept letting it bleed out like that, it might turn into something more. She was sure Draco had shielded her entire body from their act of play violence, but he must have missed a small spot. It was scary to think of the damage someone like him could have done if he was unwilling to save or shield her.

Hermione could no longer hear shuffling from the bed, so she assumed it was safe to go back inside. Sure enough, Draco's bloodied clothes were laying in a pile on the floor and he was now lying in a pair of black pajama pants, discarding the shirt she had picked for him to put on. Normally she would protest to his being shirtless in front of her, but quite frankly he looked handsome even with the now sealed gashes across his torso, and she reasoned that his wounds would heal better if a shirt wasn't confining them.

"Now that Potter and I are healed thanks to your expertise, will you please take care of yourself? You're bleeding on the left side of your stomach." Draco said concerned.

"I was just about to do that, I promise." Hermione said, shielding her eyes from his half naked form and rushing out of his bedroom, wand in hand. She quickly went into her room and changed into simple shorts and a t-shirt. She healed her wound, although she knew from examining it, that she'd always have a small scar there from now on.

She was unsure now if she was dismissed from her Draco healing duties or if she was to go back in and check on him. She was about to head to her own bed in exhaustion, when she heard him coughing violently from his room. She grabbed her wand and made the small trek from her own room to his.

He was still lying on top of the covers, but in a more natural position now, with his head against the pillows. His floor was still covered in the contents from his drawer which Hermione emptied in a frantic rush to find the potion earlier.

Hermione was going to ask if he was okay, but he spoke before she could.

"You made it back okay." He said, developing a fit of coughs after speaking. He hadn't said it in a condescending way or in a certain tone. Hermione could only hear genuine relief in his voice at her having made it back safely.

"Do you want me to get you some water?" She asked, unsure of what else to say.

Draco nodded, and Hermione went back into the common room to grab a small glass and fill it with water. She brought it back inside and put in on the bedside table so he could access it. She was about to leave again, but his voice stopped her once more.

"Don't go." He said, and Hermione could hear a desperation in him that glued her to the spot.

"Okay." She said simply, walking over to an arm chair which sat across from his bed. "You should really sleep Draco. You've lost too much blood."

"Did I hurt you?"

"What? Oh…no. I think we just didn't shield everything properly so something in my side cut during our act."

"So I did do that." Draco said darkly.

"No, no. It wasn't your fault. Really. This is minor compared to all of your injuries. You shouldn't be upset about a cut on me. I escaped with my life because of you."

"You should sleep as well." He said simply, scooting over to the right side of his own bed and slowly managing to slip in between the sheets. He threw back the left side of the covers and motioned for her to come over.

"Oh…um…" Hermione was tired, but she wasn't sure if that was the best idea. Then again, the idea of going back to sleep alone in her own bed frightened her, just as she sure it did Malfoy. Tonight was not the night to be alone after what they'd been through.

"I promise I won't touch you." Draco said quietly.

"Okay." She said, quietly coming over to the side of the bed and slipping inside. They did not touch, but Draco and Hermione both laid down with their faces toward each other.

"Thank you." Hermione whispered to him.

"Thank you." Draco said back, and a ghost of a smirk played at his lips.

"Goodnight Hermione Granger." Draco said quietly, his eyes closing right before her.

Hermione could not say anything back. She was at a loss for words. The night had been a roller coaster, and now Draco Malfoy was being kind to her, and saving her life. It was a far stretch from only a month prior when he had hit her across the face in some kind of mad rage. Hermione had an inkling feeling she knew what was going on with him and the idea frightened her and caused some sort of other emotion deep within her to stir.

But the anger, and the hitting. Hermione was sure those were not characteristics of her theory. She'd have to ask him about that, maybe there was something about it all that Hermione didn't know. Maybe each one had their own personalities during this time, although she was sure from what she had read in the past that this was not the case. Either way, Hermione made a note to ask him about it later. After all, he couldn't ignore it forever, and she would not be able to either.

Hermione's mouth twitched into a small smile as she watched Draco Malfoy fall into a deep sleep inches from her. She could feel exhaustion whipping through her own body, and she quietly fell asleep face to face with Draco Malfoy.

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Hermione woke to muted day light playing across her eye lids. A dark overcast of clouds was blocking the sunlight that was trying to break into Draco's bedroom. Hermione fluttered her eyes open and found Draco watching her quietly from a few feet away on the other side of the bed. They must have fallen asleep facing each other. Both seemed unconcerned with the time of day, given that it was a Saturday and no classes were to be held. It was really perfect timing in that now they all had the entire weekend to heal from their mission.

Draco's face looked less swollen and he could now open both his eyes, but his face was more pale than normal from his loss of blood and he looked weaker than ever.

Hermione simply stared back at him for awhile, neither making a move to speak. She watched as his eyes slowly turned from a dark gray to a light silver shade. Hermione blushed inwardly knowing that she was the cause of this. It reminded her of the theory she had been formulating before Draco had burst in last night. She decided that now was a good time to bring up her idea, which she of course thought was correct.

"Are you disappointed that it's me?" She asked him quietly, still examining his face from the other side of the bed.

"What?" Draco asked, failing to look too confused.

Hermione wasn't going to push further, and anyway, she had a feeling Draco knew exactly what she was asking.

After a long silence, Draco sighed and turned over on his back to stare at the ceiling.

"Yes. I mean, no. Well, I was disappointed. And angry, furious actually. But not at you, more at myself. I felt like I allowed myself for it to be you and it made me felt weak."

Hermione tried not to feel hurt at his words. It made sense after all. If she had his affliction, and she suddenly felt about him the way he now felt about her, she'd think something was seriously wrong with her too. Still, it did hurt to hear it.

Draco seemed to sense this, and he turned back around slowly wincing in a minor pain as he did, to face her.

"I didn't mean it like that." He said seriously, gazing at her with a slight intensity.

"I know." Hermione said truthfully.

"I don't feel that way anymore. I think it's progressed now, past shock and disappointment. Now I think instincts are kicking in and it's becoming impossible to resist. Normally this process wouldn't involve so much physical pain, but you tend to just throw yourself into danger recently that you're really making this extremely hard for me. But I'd do it again, no questions asked."

Hermione contemplated his words for a moment.

"I assume he blamed you then?"

"Of course. I was tortured for hours, right in your backyard. I felt as if it was punishment enough just to be near a place that caused you so much pain. I don't know. All these feelings are really new to me. I mean, I don't even like you. But I do. You know?"

Hermione nodded, again trying hard not to feel hurt.

"I didn't even know it was possible." Draco said after some time. "I mean I guess there was always a chance, but my bloods been so diluted with Veela genes that I swore I only retained the wicked awesome effects, like changing eye color and being aware of heightened emotions. That's how I knew you were leaving Hogwarts tonight. I could sense it. I sense your emotions more clearly than I have anyone else's. "

"That doesn't surprise me." Hermione said; glad to finally have her suspicions confirmed. "You're supposed to have all those characteristics with the person who is your…well anyway. It makes sense that you can sense me the best."

Draco made a small noise of acknowledgement at her words, and just by looking at his face Hermione could tell he was embarrassed at his admission.

"Can I ask you something?" Hermione said quietly.

"Anything." Draco said staring at her.

"This new…thing you've got going…" Hermione started, unsure of how to phrase it.

"We just call it 'coming of age'." Draco offered the term for her to use.

"Right, well. It doesn't make you…angry does it? I mean I haven't read anything on heightened feelings of anger or aggression, and I've read quite a bit on the subject."

"I'm sure you have." Draco said smirking in her direction.

She reached up a hand from the covers and hit him playfully on the shoulder. He winced in pain.

"Oh! Sorry! I forgot…injuries."

"No, you're fine." Draco said, although he did move himself further to the edge of the bed. "I was wondering that too actually, about the anger. I mean ever since I…well ever since I hurt you. See, we're supposed to do anything and everything in our power to protect you, not harm you. But I don't think this coming of age thing is causing it. I think it's something else. I mean, I'm a prideful person Hermione. You know this better than anyone. And even though I still find you a lowly muggle born seeing as old habits and opinions die hard, I'm still willing to risk every bone in my body for you. Although I request that you slow down a bit and stop trying to get yourself killed. It's really playing at my expense here."

"Oh…yes. I'll try. I promise." Hermione blushed, feeling reckless for the first time in years. It was unfair to drag Draco Malfoy down with her, although he was still a death eater, and the enemy. He couldn't help what was happening to him.

"Again, I'm prideful, but I've never been so angry in my life. I'm not even angry all the time. I just get these flashes. Usually at the oddest times, when I'm just sitting down relaxing, enjoying a hot drink by the fire or something. It's like something dark passes over me, and I get this overwhelming anger that falls over me. Everything begins to upset me, everything feels hopeless. It's unlike anything I've experienced before. So again, I'm sorry I hit you. I…I have no idea why I did or how I managed it. It was like watching someone else commit the act."

Hermione nodded, but something pulling at her brain, wanting her to connect the dots with Draco's words, but she was too exhausted to do so.

"Can we sleep more?" She asked him, already closing her eyes and resting her head back on the pillow.

"We can do anything you want." Draco said from next to her.

Hermione smiled slightly at those words and began to drift into sleep once more.

A/N: What did you guys think? Did I explain stuff well enough for you? I hope this makes things more clear. Although it's still hopefully a bit unclear as to why Draco is feeling angry lately. But I put two huge clues in this chapter on that so I hope you got them. If you didn't, it will be revealed very soon. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! It really gives me motivation to update. Even if it's just a small anonymous thing saying you're reading it. Thanks guys!