It was half past one and while everyone was fast asleep in their beds, Hermione Granger was still wide awake in her room as she stared accusingly at the screen of her laptop. She stopped typing hours ago and had not laid a finger on the keypads since. At intervals, she would rubbed her chin in a pointless attempt that somehow or someway she would be able to think of something but to no avail. Funny how she could choose a vast range of words that were readily invented in the English-speaking world since ages ago but it seemed she just couldn't make use of it properly or preferably the right fit. Who would've known writing or typing in this case would be this difficult? She sighed in resign and for the first time since two hours ago, she touched the mouse and read the document right from the beginning.

"Only in death, I will find peace." She read aloud at the last sentence and she frowned deeply. "And then what?" she wondered to herself. For months now, she had been working on this story by taking a risk in using a male persona. She had vigilantly made drafts and plotted the storyline as impeccable as she could but towards the end, she infested writer's block. Since the past few weeks, she had drafted five different kinds of deaths to kill the main character but none of it seemed right to her. Groaning in frustration, she lolled her head back and looked up at the low ceiling of her apartment. "This is such a hopeless cause." She said decidedly. It was in fact the truth. She was not exactly a writer and why she started doing it in the first place she had no clue. Sometimes, she wondered how did she became the most outstanding witch in Hogwarts to becoming a manager of a mere bookshop. When old Jameson Blotts, the former manager, vanished without a word a year ago she was only a part-timer and was in fact the only employee. Till she knew it, she was running the business but was it in her best interest? A blunt no would be the answer.

What happened to me, she thought angrily. I could've been an auror alongside Ginny and Harry by now! Or I could've been married to Ron if I wasn't too damn stubborn in the past by asking him to only be friends. Look at me now, living alone in a cold dingy apartment in London and writing a novel unworthy for any publishing company. I might as well adopt another cat to keep me and Crookshanks occupied.

A loud crack shattered the silence. Someone had apparated in her living room she noted. Odd, she thought. Who could be visiting at this late hour and as far she was concerned the only people who knew about her current resident in London were Harry and the Weasleys. Instinctively, she took her wand and noiselessly walked towards the said room. "Lumos" she whispered as the only source of light emitted at the tip of her wand. She strained her ears for any sort of sound and darted her eyes as if expecting someone would jump out at her without warning.

"Hermione?" a hoarse voice of Harry's was heard. She let out a huge sigh of relief and was glad that it was only Harry who came but it didn't answer her question of the reason of his visit. Instantly, she rushed to the living room.

"Harry! What brings you—" she stopped mid-sentence when she realized Harry wasn't alone. Streetlights through the window behind her illuminated the two figures that were in front of the sofa. Harry rose from the floor and in doing so inadvertently revealed an unconscious man in platinum blonde locks sprawling on the hard wooden floor. She didn't have to second guessed on who the blonde was as she recognized that hair all too well even if she had not seen a glimpse of him since the war. "What is he doing here?" she spluttered. "Harry, what were you thinking bringing him here?"

Harry looked utterly exhausted and it was evident as he spoke wearily, "Hermione, let's not do this now. I need your help."

She was not satisfied by Harry's reply but nevertheless she inquired, "What sort of help?"

"This might be a bit too sudden but I promise you I will explain later. I need to keep Malfoy in your place for the night. Actually I need him to stay here until I get back so, I'm asking you now to not let him out of your apartment. Cast this area with Anti-Apparition and Anti-Disapparition spells. If he attempts to run once he wakes up, curse him if you have to." Harry said hastily and without waiting for a say from Hermione, he went towards the kitchen.

"And you're saying this is a bit too sudden?" Hermione said incredulously as she followed him from behind. "Harry, what is the meaning of this? Why the need of all the protection? Harry!" she was practically screaming now but Harry didn't bother to answer her. Instead, he was too busy rummaging her cupboard full of herbs and potions. Angrily, she stepped in front of him preventing him from making any further mess in toppling the neatly arranged flasks and thermoses. "Harry James Potter, what the bloody hell is going on?"

Even in darkness, Harry could see the fiery brown eyes staring steely at him which were determined to fork an answer out of him and after years of knowing Hermione, he knew all too well that he could not evade from giving her the answer she wanted. He dropped his one stretched arm back to his side and sighed tiredly, "As much as I want to tell you now, I'm afraid I can't. But I will tell you. Just not right at this moment."

Of course, it wasn't what she expected to hear but seeing Harry in a disheveled demeanor, she decided not to probe him and hoped he will keep his promise. Hence, she instead asked, "Well, could you at least tell me what happened to Malfoy?"

"His head bashed and it knocked him out when I tried to save him just now."

"Save him? From what?"

He hesitated as the events from less than a few minutes ago reeled back in his mind. It was fate, he thought. Fate brought him to Malfoy that night. If he hadn't been at that rooftop, Draco Malfoy would be as good as dead. Sighing for the second time, he said,

"From killing himself."

Faint sounds of rumbling motor vehicles was heard and it slowly woke Draco from his slumber. He opened one eye expecting to witness his room but instead he found himself in a foreign place which promptly snapped his eyes open widely. Sharply, he rose from the sofa he slept and propped himself into a sitting position but instantly regretted it as a blunt pain of hangover overtook him. Draco groaned as he clutched his head in a futile attempt to ease the pulsating agony. His entire body reeked with alcohol and it didn't help him to lessen the discomfort he was feeling. What happened to me, he thought wildly. But more importantly, where am I?

"You're awake," a woman stated out of the blue. Draco didn't get the chance to look at her as she suddenly shoved him a small flask containing a purplish dark liquid which he knew very well it was a Relieving Potion. "Take this." She instructed. Draco took the flask with his free hand. He scrutinized the liquid as it swirled sluggishly and immediately his face taut in disgust.

"I need coffee." He croaked, putting the flask aside.

"No, you're not," She retorted, "Coffee would only worsen your condition."

That voice. It seemed familiar to him now. He looked up to confirm his speculation and there stood the once bushy haired girl – now a woman – he knew back in Hogwarts. Since the last time he saw her, she looked fairly different. Her hair was more tamed and her figure was less shapeless although he could still identify her even as much as she had grown.

"Granger?" he furrowed his brows as he uttered her name. He wandered his gaze to fully take in the whole room. He was in an apartment he realized. The coffee table in front of him was completely crowded with stack of papers and most of them were either accounts papers or illegible scrawls. Books were lying around on the floor and one which entitled 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' was under his right foot. To be succinct, the place was a mess. Strange, he had always thought Hermione Granger as a high maintenance person but he never really knew her so he couldn't exactly judge. Ignoring this, he asked, "Why am I here?"

"Harry brought you here."

"Who?"

"Harry as in Harry Potter." She rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you only know one Harry in your life."

Now, Draco was more confused. Why Potter is in the picture? Rubbing his temples, he tried to relieve the events that happened to him last night. He remembered going to Leaky Cauldron and got pissed drunk. He faintly remembered that he was at the edge of a rooftop but then everything else was blurred. The throbbing pain in his head stopped him from pondering. Hermione seemed to realize the puzzlement Draco was in as she said,

"You didn't remember anything did you?"

"As a matter of fact, no." He said. I need to get out of here, Draco thought. I need to think clearly. Without hesitation, he stood up whilst forcing himself to withstand the pounding in his head. He searched for his wand in his robes but realized that it wasn't there. He searched around the sofa and on the floor but to no avail. Then, he sharply turned to Hermione and hissed, "Where's my wand?"

"Harry took it." She said nonchalantly as if it was a normal thing to do. "And if you're thinking to apparate, forget it. This apartment is charmed."

"What?" he seethed. Suddenly, he apprehended the whole situation. Potter knew. He knew what happened 5 months ago. Even if he might not have found out what I had done but he was suspecting me. At the thought of it, panic struck Draco. His eyes sought for the door to escape. When he finally laid his eyes upon it, he ran for it. Before he could wrench it open, he heard a loud cry from Hermione.

"Stupefy!"

Instantly, he once again got swallowed into the realm of nothingness.

Hermione had left him in the spare room and locked the door from the outside. Her body still shook from the aftermath of stunning him. It had been awhile since she cursed anyone. On top of that, she had never cursed a person without an absolute reason before even as much as she loathes him. This was all Harry's fault, she thought grimly. I know I'm doing this as a favor for him but he could at least give me a hint about what was going on.

It had been hours since she sent a letter to Harry, demanding an explanation at this instant. While waiting for his reply, she paced in front of the opened window and would at times sit down but would continue her pointless pacing again seconds after that. Every now and then, her eyes would land on the locked room where Draco was in expecting he would break the door open but nothing happened.

Is he still unconscious? Did I stunned him too hard? Fleetingly, she looked at her wrist watch. It was already half past five. He should have awoke by now. As if on cue, a loud thud was heard and it came from the inside of the room. Hermione quickly broke into strides and stopped directly in front of the door. She strained her ears for any other sound but there was none. She frowned. What is he doing in there?

"Malfoy?" she called, knocking the door lightly. No response. "Malfoy!" she called louder but again there was no response. Gulping, she decided to unlock the door as suspicion started to creep inside her. She gripped her wand tightly and swiftly flung the door open. What was she about to witness was not what she expected. On the floor by the bedside was Draco. The colour on his face was a lot paler than before and his body looked rigid like a log. Loads of questions streamed through Hermione's mind when she noticed his hand gripped a small bottle. She crouched down to look closely and to her utter surprise it was an empty bottle of aspirin.

"Oh my god."

When Harry told her that Draco Malfoy attempted suicide, she barely could believe it. She had thought that Harry might have been mistaken since Malfoy was extremely drunk the other night and it was possible that he only acted foolishly like any other drunken man. He even didn't have the guts to kill Dumbledore back in their sixth year. But apparently, she was wrong. Draco may be a coward in using a killing curse towards other people but it is evident now that he wouldn't hesitate to end his life.

But whatever for?

Author's note: Okay, so I decided to stick on with the title. Since English is not my mother tongue language (as mentioned before), it took me quite awhile to write this chapter. Anyway, do review and enjoy reading! :)