A/n: So… I'm going back to being a bad author again. We had a foreclosure on our house and sold a ton of things, including my laptop. Therefore, I can only write at school when there's time and my boyfriend's house. This story is nearly over so hopefully I can finish it up soon, but we'll have to see. ALL my stories will be slower, but they will continue to be written! Thanks again to my beta Tessa Cresswell!

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belong to J. K Rowling.

Disclaimer: You've probably seen plots similar to this in multiple books. Hopefully this story will be just a tad different :)

Part 1: Dark Side of the Moon, 1999 (Life Six)

Draco Abraxas Malfoy and Hermione Jean Granger

The moon may have been out that night, but it did nothing to help Draco as he hurried down some stairs to the outside world. Snape was taking her to the forest, but why? There were too many awful scenarios popping into existence in his mind for the blonde to allow himself to think about it, but he knew he had to find her. The man got ahold of her somehow, and whatever his final plan was, it couldn't be good. Now if he could just pursue her without her bloody Gryffindor friends following him, life would be better.

"Malfoy," one of the dolts cried, finally convincing him to stop at the forest's edge. If Weasley didn't stop screaming his fucking head off Draco planned to rip it off himself. He only stopped because the idiot was making far too much noise, and he couldn't allow Snape to know how nearby he was.

"Would you shut up," he growled eyes livid. "I don't have the patience today to tolerate you Weasley, nor you Potter. This is my problem, so go away and quit being a bother." He turned away from the duo after they had finally gotten to his side.

Potter grabbed his arm. "Not so fast Malfoy; you owe us an explanation."

He scoffed, turning back again. "I owe you nothing. You're the ones that followed me, not the other way around. Shove off Potter, you're wasting valuable time."

The raven-haired boy narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean I'm wasting time? This has something to do with Hermione! So stop wasting our time, and just tell us what's going on. She's our friend-"

"Don't," he said, shaking his head at the pair. "I don't have time for your lectures. This doesn't even concern you!"

"No, it shouldn't concern you, Ferret," Ron growled in return, bawling up his fists. "This has something to do with you, I know it! Hermione's our friend, and we are coming with you whether or not you like it."

He pursed his lips. Having two Gryffindors along for this trip would only complicate things, and he was certain Snape had no intentions for anyone to be around except for the three of them. Potter and Weasley were additional bodies, and with additional bodies would come additional danger. He wasn't sure how the Professor would react to their presence, but it was unlikely to be good. Putting her in more danger was something he could not tolerate under any circumstances, so what would he do? Having them follow would almost certainly mean bad things.

But what if something goes wrong between us? What if Snape takes Hermione down, or me? They could prove their worth by being here if only one of us escapes, but having them stalk me to wherever Snape has gone could be deadly. As helpers however…

Draco turned to Potter, whom he was sure was saner than his ginger haired friend. "Wait here; if something goes wrong, you'll be retrieved. Otherwise, you probably won't even remember."

The boys tensed, tightening up their stances. "What do you-" Harry began.

"Stupefy," the blonde cried, knocking Harry with the spell first. Weasley screamed something behind him that he deflected, and a few simple spells had him on the ground frozen as well. A flick of his wand and ropes bound themselves around the boys lower bodies.

"Nothing personal," he said, casting the final silenco spell on the pair. Picking up Potter's wand, Weasley's still nestled in his pocket, he set them just behind a tree where they could be easily retrieved if the idiots were needed. "You just pose as too much of an inconvenience. Or maybe it is personal- I never did like either of you." Slitted eyes glared back at him, but he didn't give the pair a second thought. Turning, he bolted into the forest, insistent on finding her before anything bad happened.

Lighting his wand, he looked around the entrance to the dark forest. Immediately, he found himself at a disadvantage; he had no way of knowing where they had gone. Spinning in circles just inside the dark enclosure, he felt at a loss. Now what was he going to do?

You have to calm down and really think. Snape took her; even let you see them through a window- but is that convenience or fate? Did he want me to see them, or was it all by accident? If he does expect me to find them, he has to have left something behind in his wake for me to do so.

He glanced around furiously, searching for something. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help thinking how marvelous it was to take the Wonder Duo down with perfect ease. Had they really been taken that off guard? But he couldn't let himself focus on that small victory, when he still had a battle to face.

Where are they?!

Then his eyes caught it, the single clue that he continued to overlook. In the shadows it was nearly a ghost- invisible to him until he looked closer. Reaching out, he tore the small square of fabric off the branch. In the light, it was all too obvious that it was part of the school uniform- part of the shirt in fact.

It was cut perfectly, shaped into an even square like something on a muggle quilt. The piece had not been left behind by accident obviously, and it sparked something in his mind.

It's not a shred of fabric, it's a square. I doubt Hermione has much of an ability to move, if any at all. If she left it, it would be shredded. This had to be Snape.

And he's leaving a path for me to follow.

He took down the path the fabric indicated to, hurrying along. At the next crossroad, he searched frantically again. He was leaving a path, so he had to believe he had everything figured out, and probably believed he was going to win at a twisted game.

Draco just couldn't let him. Victory would likely mean death for one of them, and that would be the end of his short bliss. He didn't spend an eternity searching for her just to have it all end so quickly.

He needed to hurry.

Snape was by far the quietest person Hermione had ever met. The sleeve on one side of her body had been torn off and made into squares which he had scattered along the forest as they walked, and by now her feet hurt. She didn't know where they were going, but if they walked much longer she was going to collapse, again. It would make him mad, but at one point he cast her shoes and socks off into the bushes when she tried to escape and accidently broke his nose. Walking along with bare feet was exceptionally painful, and she knew her feet were bleeding by then.

What was the point of making this long walk? If he intended to kill them both, wouldn't it have been easier at the forest's edge? All this walking seemed like a waste of time, and she just wanted it over with. She needed Draco to come find her, and if he didn't she was going to try and take Snape's wand. Draco was taking forever to locate them, and she feared that by the time he did it would be too late.

Don't let it be too late.

She squirmed in Snape's grip as he dragged her along, wincing at the cruelty of his grip. Surely there would be bruises later, and that would require many long shirts to cover. What was she saying? She should be focused on escaping!

The dense trees broke apart a moment later, revealing a large clearing within the forest that possessed a small pond. As he pulled her into the hidden space, her eyes widened in realization. When the dementors came to Hogwarts's, this had been the place where Harry found Sirius and deflected the cruel beings from giving him the Kiss of death. It had been years since she came here, and how Snape knew of this place was beyond her.

He shoved her as they wandered towards the lake, and she caught herself on her bare knees, wincing as they were cut on impact. Whipping her head up, she expected to find him leering over her, but that was not the case. Continuing on, he walked to a barren patch of earth that seemed relatively uninteresting, yet she watched him with open eyes. What was he doing?

"Do you remember this place?" His voice broke the grim silence that had set over them since her fruitless escape, and with his back turned away she could breathe easily, even at his words. That broken nose of his gave him the true impression of a madman, and she couldn't fathom why he wouldn't fix it as they walked. The spell wasn't overly complicated, and she knew he could cast it.

"I suppose you wouldn't," he continued when she gave no response. Glancing back, he grinned. "Silly me Miss Granger, I forgot you can't speak."

She glared at him, thinking of the many things she would do if she only had a wand. But if she could Accio his to her, she might be able to fight him off and get away. Wandless magic wasn't her thing, but hopefully he would be a fool and give her back her voice as he continued speaking. He couldn't want a one sided conversation, could he?

The man shook his head at her. "You weren't even there, I forgot. You were home with your beloved, probably watching those sweet children of yours while your husband drank to his heart's content, like usual." She didn't make a move at his words, and he continued on like she cared. "Alexander was always so careless with you."

Hermione shifted her position, ignoring the irritation on her knees as they scraped the ground again. He only chuckled at her, turning his back again. She had half a mind to stand up, but thought better of it when she saw him crouch down, back still to her.

What is he doing?

The answer came barely a second later, sending chills down her spine. He was ever so slightly angled to her, and in her position she could see him softly brushing the dirt.

"My sweet Sofia, do not worry anymore. They shall pay." At this, he glanced back at her in the moonlight, eyes surely as black as his heart. "And you will pay Hermione, on Draco's behalf. As I have said, the both of you took away my happiness, now I shall take you away from each other."

She scrambled to her feet, thankful that somewhere along the way he had been stupid enough to give her back her own ability to move. If he were still dragging her along like a rag doll, she would be completely helpless against moving. But she feared that was the point; he wanted a game of this, something to appease his twisted head.

Draco, get here already.

Although the paths were winding, he found his way along due to those helpful pieces of fabric. What Snape was playing at with them went beyond the blonde's mind, but he knew it wasn't good. When he began hearing a voice, his heart sped up. All that stumbling through the damned forest really did pay off.

He slowed his steps as he drew closer; reminding himself that Snape likely expected a big show of his arrival. If he snuck in while the man was speaking, he would have a slight advantage. Carefully placing his steps, he walked along the path, hearing the man's voice better with each step. Light caught his attention ahead, and as he got to it he realized it was far too dim to be a spell. Glancing up, he realized what it was.

A clearing in the middle of the bloody forest? How did he ever find one of those?

Immediately he found a spot between the leaves away from the scarce shrubbery where he could peer through. It appeared that he had somehow made his way to the opposite side they had entered through- the shrubs on the opposite side looking crushed- and had a view across a large lake. Prowling along the edge of this clearing, he hadn't even noticed how far he had walked. However seeing the pair apart got his mind swirling. If Snape brought her so far, didn't that mean he meant to hurt her, not speak to the dirt?

He caught the end of what he was saying, crawling out of his own thoughts. "-pay. And you will pay Hermione, on Draco's behalf. As I have said, the both of you took away my happiness, now I shall take you away from each other."

He watched her scramble immediately to her feet and nearly jumped through the trees to send a spell at Snape but at the last moment he hesitated. Hermione was on edge- and possibly scared- but Snape was collected. In fact, it almost didn't appear that he was watching her at all anymore but looking towards his side of the forest. But why?

Malfoy stood without a sound, watching him pace the same circle twice. As he began to walk away from her, Draco began walking quietly along the perimeter again, always keeping one eye on Hermione. He was playing at something, and it was quite obvious that he had something sneaky up his sleeve.

And then it happened, and Draco immediately regretted trying to one up the Professor. Snape spun quickly, aimed his wand, and called out a spell. "Sectumsempra!"

Draco was in the clearing in a moment, hardly able to watch the quick, long gashes appearing across her torso. Getting the wand out of Snape's hand proved ill quickly, and the man was smiling maliciously as they finally faced off.

Looks like she at least did some damage. But where did that spell come from?

"I wondered when you would join us Draco," he said, shielding himself from the blonde's second curse. "I will admit, you are sneaky. Walking the perimeter? Quite clever, though your hair was easy to pick out between the small Lumos spell and the moon. Perhaps if you had walked the forest without any sight, I wouldn't have noticed you."

He bit his lip, fighting down any response. He tried to keep his mind on the opponent before him, the very man that continued to cause so much trouble. He just couldn't. The blonde continued to let his mind- and eyes- drift to the girl across from them between every other word Snape had been saying. That cruel attack was nothing more than something that drew him from the trees. If he had jumped out to begin with, that might've been prevented, and the reality of his thoughts weighed heavily in his mind as he watched Snape study him. It was his fault she was now bleeding.

"What do you want?" he asked at length, when it became apparent that the man had nothing more to say. To this he grinned, and it made his stomach do flips. Snape still had something cooking in his mind, and the need to divert his attention from Hermione for just a bit longer outweighed the urge to hex him. If they started fighting and he turned his wand on her, well, Draco would never forgive himself for being the cause of her pain.

Snape chuckled. "You heard what I want Mr. Malfoy. I want my revenge."

"Revenge for what?" He already knew all the answers just as she did, but he needed time. And he needed a plan before she bled too much. Having been on the receiving end of the Sectumsempra curse reminded him that it was exceptionally painful and could be deadly if the marks were right. He glanced at her again; it didn't look like they were fatal, but the girl had sat up again, and he could tell her hands were bound. It bothered him how the bastard could treat her so… roughly.

Snape waved his wand at Draco, as though the answer were very clear. "You want to know why Mr. Malfoy? You wish to know why I seek my revenge?" The wand stopped bouncing, fixating on him again. "You heard me speaking. As I've said, you took something away from me, and now I shall return the favor."

"What did I take away?" He was quick to interject the question when he saw the man's eyes sliding to Hermione.

Immediately, a glossy look overtook the man's eyes. It was different from the look one has when they are about to shed tears, but nonetheless he looked far away suddenly. Draco tightened his grip, ready to take the man's wand the moment he was distracted enough. Trying now though would only get his spell deflected, and again remind Snape that he was an excellent fighter.

He pointed at Hermione, thankfully using the hand that did not hold a wand. "You have followed her for more than one lifetime Draco Malfoy. You have gone through hell, and pain, to be with someone you cared about. Some unknown force gave you the ability to pursue the girl you loved, which is not something that a lot of people are given the chance to do." He switched directions, strangely enough indicating to the dirt he had been petting earlier. "I will never have that chance, not one I can remember."

Draco stiffened as the man began moving, but his eyebrows shot up as he moved towards the dirt instead of Hermione. With all his bullshit about revenge, he expected an immediate attack. With the bastard's back turned, he really chanced a glance at her and his eyes widened in alarm. War had trained the girl's body to endure pain apparently, and despite the bound arms, she had gotten to her feet and was slowly making her way to him. He moved to hurry to her.

"Not another step," Snape called, spinning back. As the blonde expected, the wand was not pointed at him but the wounded girl. Leave it to Snape to take the easy route and attack the wounded.

Glancing at the girl, he nodded his consent to Snape. He refused to risk getting her hurt, and motioned for her to stay. It was only about a ten foot difference now, and the blood leaking down her front infuriated him. As soon as his back was turned…

"That's how Sofia looked," he said sadly, drawing the blonde's ears but not his eyes. He focused on the distance between Hermione and Snape ready to step between if anything when wrong. "Just before she died."

"What happened to her?" Draco played on his story, hoping he would turn back. Snape was insane, and now that the distance was so short he felt a bit better about trying to curse him.

"I killed her," he remarked sadly, stopping any train of thought Draco possessed. He whipped his head back to stare at the man, who was looking sadly down at the ground again. "She just did not listen."

Silence took over. For once, Snape didn't turn back, and Draco feared he really had snapped. Even when he moved to walk closer to her, the man made no move to acknowledge that he knew they were moving. It took no time at all to have her at his side, his next move already in mind. Their Professor continued to stroke the dirt in the same odd way, and he was quick to stupefy him. It was the first spell that same to mind, and he cast the same strong ropes around Snape's form that he had Potter and Weasley's.

And then Snape became nothing to him, and all his attention focused on the bleeding girl at his side. Grabbing her as softly as he could, he looked straight into her eyes. "You have to lie down; I have to heal those wounds before you lose any more blood!"

She nodded and sat back down, though he wondered why she wouldn't speak. Realization dawned on him as she opened her mouth to speak, and no words came out. She had been cursed to not speak, and it only heated his blood. If Snape though things would end so easily after all this time, he was sourly mistaken.

Hermione gasped quietly as he healed the gashes, crouching between her and Snape as he lifted her shirt to heal the gashes. It took two tries to heal the cuts, and a third to make sure any lasting effects were terminated in that moment. As soon as he believed she was alright, he grabbed her and pulled her into a suffocating hug.

"Are you alright?" He spoke into her hair, nearly eating the disjointed curls, but he didn't care. He could feel her, feel that she was whole and alive, and that was all he needed.

"I'm fine," she said back slowly. Pulling back, she met his eyes, "Draco, he brought me here for a reason."

"To kill you," he snapped, glancing back at the man. He looked furious, but the blonde didn't care. "We can't linger here; whatever the plan was it didn't follow through- and thank Merlin for that- but we have to get back to the school. I have no idea how to explain this yet, but we can't just expect him to be civil when classes begin tomorrow."

She met his eyes briefly before standing, dragging the blonde with her. He half expected her to look afraid of her captor, but nothing but irritation and anger lay beneath her eyes. Apparently dealing with a mad man could not deter this girl's courage, and he blamed that fully on the house she represented as a student. Fucking Gryffindor courage.

"There's something here," she whispered, glancing back at the dirt. The message did not mean the same to him, and he pulled out his wand before pulling her to him, glancing around.

"Where?"

"Nothing dangerous," she commended, watching Snape. "Not anymore. There just seems to be something here that drew him to this place, specifically the earth."

Draco shrugged. "So what? It's dirt, and it's irrelevant. We have to get out of here-"

"It's something," she argued, glancing up at open space to the moon. "Something that might be important."

He tugged her arm. "Then we'll figure it out later. Come on-"

And then it happened, the one thing they had both been dreading during their banter. There was no time from the moment he had Hermione next to him to that moment to really get anything in order. They were both on edge, panicked over what might've happened if he had succeeded. Yet both teens, so advanced in skill and intellect, overlooked an important aspect of dueling. They had Snape bound, but they never grabbed his wand. They had been so caught up in seeing one another and ensuring that they were alright, that neither wanted to think about Snape too much. They thought about what to do later after they escaped, not in the present.

And that would be their downfall. They seemingly knew how to do everything with a wand in the world, except take Snape's when they needed to the most. It could prove to be a fatal mistake.

With their backs turned to him for that split moment, the attacker saw his chance. His mind was twisted between remorse and revenge, and that indecisive moment when he let memories cloud his mind had given Draco the opportunity to take him down, even though his attack was diluted. If anything, Snape expected a series of terrifying curses, not simple spells. He did after all cause many problems, and dare to harm her.

Now though, he had the upper hand. Having used wandless and wordless magic before, getting out of the two spells was easy. And with the duo distracted, he saw a chance.

He talked about getting revenge, and he would have it. But when he cried out the spell and it hit its target, it was not what was expected.

Draco hit the ground gasping. For a moment after his fall Hermione was in shock, before she twisted around to see the man standing again. He was supposed to be attacking her, right?

"What are you doing? What did you do?!" She glanced at Draco, watching the blood leaking through his shirt. "What kind of spell was that!?"

She took a step back as he walked forward, reclaiming his original place. "It's an older curse my dear, one that has long since been forgotten. I will not tell you the name, for then your pretty little head will go searching through too many books. It simply works like a gunshot, with the spell entering from a central point. From there, the body will shut down as the wound seeps blood and the spell works like a poison, shutting the body from the inside out. Now, what were we discussing?"

Hermione shook her head, watching the man pat the ground. He really was mad, and what he was doing to Draco would likely leave little time for her to think. The spell sounded like it worked fast, and glancing at him she could see the blood dripping through the material. Did he feel the same sort of panic moments ago when she was in the same state or pain? His looked even worse…

"I was telling you about my revenge," Snape continued as her eyes locked on the blonde's wand. She turned back to him and held her hand behind her back, ready to call it to her in a moment. "I was going to make Draco suffer like I have, but things change. Looks like you'll be suffering now."

"Why must we suffer," she asked quietly, his eyes fixed on her. If he got another attack in and they were both hurt, she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

"Because, you took Sofia away from me," he muttered, glancing for a split second at the ground. She got a funny feeling about that look. "She went to another."

In her mind, something clicked together slowly. Blood… away… She let her mouth fall open a moment.

"You killed her," she muttered quietly. "You said so yourself. You say we took her away from you, but it sounds like you took her away from yourself. I remember you left England shortly after her death, despite how you felt." She took another step back. "You're blaming us for what you did yourself."

"You convinced her to go," he spat, pointing at her. "You and him! The two of you worked against me and took away the only person I have ever felt anything for."

Vaguely, she recalled a story about Snape and Harry's mother Lilly, but discarded the thought. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to bring that up now. If he was so painstakingly stuck on revenge, then bringing up other issues wouldn't help her. But she was getting an idea of what hid beneath the dirt now, and it made her stomach turn almost as much as the idea of Draco bleeding did.

She gulped. "Then I only have one more question for you Snape."

He sneered, looking back up at her. "Ask away Miss Granger, for your time is almost up." He pointed his wand up at her, and she flexed her fingers. She knew exactly what she had to do.

"How did you remember? I didn't remember my past, not until Draco showed it to me. If you're going to kill me, there's no harm in telling me."

"There's no harm in telling you anyway Miss Granger, for it would be irrelevant to you if you remember already." His expression darkened further, though she didn't believe it was possible until that moment. "During the war, Voldemort tried to end my life. I had used the Elder Wand, meaning I must die before it would work properly for him. We were in a room with a mirror behind me. When he killed me, my soul tried to leave my body but hit the mirror and bounced back into my fallen body. I didn't wake up for a long time, and when I did I was so confused I no longer understood who I was, so I hid. It was only after the war that I made it known that I was still alive. By then, I already knew who I needed to find, and who I needed to kill. I was able to recall a time in my life when someone returned my affections, even if it was only for a little while. But it was the two of you that took her away, and I knew from the moment that school began that I had to repay you for that deed."

I guess you can't die if a mirror is nearby? She didn't fully understand, but didn't linger on it. There would be time to talk to Draco about that curiosity later- there had to be.

Hermione nodded her head once. "Thank you then Snape, for enlightening me," she said. "Accio!" With his wand in her hand, she saw the Professor's eyes ignite. Wasting no time, she quickly disarmed him and threw as many spells as she could at him, until she saw him fall to the ground unconscious. Unlike Draco who was far too concerned with getting her away above all else, she picked up his wand before rushing back to the blonde's side, whose shirt was stained in blood.

"Draco!" She fell to her knees beside him, looking from his face to his back and back again. She shook his shoulder, half trying to revive him and half attempting to heal the wounds. "Draco!"

"HM?"

"Get up!" She shook him harder, forcing him to open his eyes. "Just like that! Keep your eyes open. Don't shut them again, or you might slip into a concussion or… worse! Stay awake!"

"Hermione," he grumbled as she used a slicing spell to tear open his shirt. She didn't want to roll him at all, though she did wonder if he could breathe well lying on his front.

"Shh," she said, continuing with her work. She healed the gash immediately, but it was the internal work that scared her. How would she fix that? "I need help," she muttered, glancing at his eyes again. They were watching her every move.

"Weasley… Potter…" Now she knew he was delusional if he was muttering her friends' names. "They're at the… edge of the forest."

"They are?" She could only imagine why they were there, much less why they were staying there. "I'll send some red sparks up, and hopefully they'll see them soon."

"Hopefully… they got out of the ropes." She didn't ask what that meant, too concerned and shaky to be funny. She stood and in her panic sent three jets of red sparks towards the sky, hoping desperately that someone would see them. Harry and Ron were ideal, but she would take anyone's help at that point. As soon as she was done, she collapsed back at his side.

"I'm going to try to start pulling the magic out," she said, trying to recall the exact process. She could visibly see her hands shaking, and swallowed her nerves. She needed to help him, but she was pretty sure she was more nervous about doing something wrong than anything. Doing something wrong might be fatal, and although she was smart she was not a trained Healer.

"Don't," he muttered, his eyes dancing shut and then open again. "People… will come."

"Stay awake," she demanded, patting his cheek. "You're not allowed to sleep!"

"It's ok… Hermione."

"No it's not! You need to rest, but not yet, not until we can be sure you'll wake back up. Don't worry, okay? Don't worry, when people get here everything will be fine-"

She cut off her rambling when he reached up and pat her knee softly, and the action looked like it hurt. She wondered how far along the poison was, and it only worried her more. "It's ok. If I die… I die happy."

"Don't say that," she screamed, glaring at him. "Don't ever say that! You're not going to die-"

"It's okay," he said, dropping his hand. "It's… revenge for letting you die, once. It's my… immortal punishment. If I die, I die… happy."

"Stay awake," she cried, feeling the tears want to leak down her face. He was fading in and out, and even as she grabbed his wand again and began chanting spells she knew it was beyond her skill level. Snape had said this was an old forgotten spell, and apparently it was one she had never seen before. Her magic did not help.

Minutes passed quietly until she began to hear footsteps. She didn't look up when the people breeched the clearing, nor when she was pulled away from him, kicking and screaming. She didn't open her eyes.

She didn't know what she would do if he died, and she had been there the whole time unable to stop it.

A/n: So, I'm torn on this chapter. It has all the ideas I wanted in it, but I think it comes off a bit… weird. The chapter is rough, and I'll have to go back in at some point and rewrite this. But since updates on all my stories will be weird for a while I at least wanted to get this up, even if I'm not totally satisfied. I'll rewrite this one when I have time, but for now here's the chapter. There's one more, so don't start panicking about the outcome of this story yet. They are wizards, and happy things could come…

How do you think the final chapter will go? Happy, or sad?