I can not ask for forgiveness! Thank you all for patiently waiting. I'm not sure how frequently I will be updating from now on, but I shall try to write whenever I can. Life of a college student I guess!

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Chapter

A week passed and Draco Malfoy was not a happy boy. It was the last day of midterms and the last day before the winter holidays. One would think he'd be overjoyed, and he would be, except for one thing: Hermione Fucking Gra--Angelus.

Oh, he didn't realize it the first day, or the second, but by the time the third day rolled around he started to suspect something. So he tried hunting her out. The result? He couldn't find her anywhere.

He tried to search her out, only to never find her again, and again, and again. To say the least it was slightly irritating.

He let out a rather uncharacteristic sigh as he walked the halls of Hogwarts. He thought back to their last encounter. He hadn't met to be upset with her. Truly. He still couldn't figure out why he was so upset at her late arrival. It was nothing, really. Ten, fifteen minutes was nothing. Yet, when he thought about her that day, he was so frustrated, and to some extent, worried.

He had denied at the beginning of the week that he could possibly be worried or even care about the well fare of Hermione Granger, but by the time Thursday rolled around he was ready to face the truth: He, Draco Malfoy, was worried about Hermione Granger.

He felt the first pangs of worry that day of her duel. He felt his heart stop as she fought an amazing duel. He couldn't remember the number of times he forgot to breathe, forgot to think as he watched her. Any hex could have hit her, just one could have ended her life, well, were it not for the protection spells placed upon everyone, but still, that was all beside the point.

She was breath taking. She was dangerous and lovely all at the same time. She moved with such grace and precision, not letting the number or the odds deter her in anyway.

He knew that's why he was so on the edge that day she came to their meeting fifteen minutes late. He didn't care that she was late. He actually thought it rather Hermione to be so engrossed in her work that she forgot the time. During those fifteen minutes his mind told her that she was fine and that she was probably absorbed in a new text she had found, but his heart, no, his soul, panicked. He began to wonder if there were any nasty after affects to any of the hexes she had been hit with in the duel. He began to worry, and thus, in his worry, he let out his emotional build up, his frustration and his fear to be taken out on her.

This did not, by any means, mean that he was becoming sentimental, soft towards her. On the contrary, he just felt that she was now someone he had to take care of. She was now his responsibility. She was his ward after all and he her guardian. This is what he told himself. He told himself that it was only natural to care about the well-being of someone whom is in your care. She was like a child: someone you care for due to their dependence upon you, whether she be your child or someone else's.

So he decided to inform her about their plans tonight when he popped in on her patrol unexpectedly. That part was quite easy. He switched with Daniel McMaster of Ravenclaw so he 

could be with his girlfriend instead of out doing patrols. He couldn't say it was brilliant, but it was rather convenient.

It wasn't hard to find her. She stood in the hall by the library clearly waiting for McMaster so they could begin their rounds. The look on her face made his efforts worth while as he stood next to her.

Hermione looked over when she heard the approaching footsteps thinking it was McMaster. When she saw it was actually Malfoy, the Malfoy she had been successfully avoiding all week, she was rather startled and surprised. She was not avoiding him like a coward, she refused to be a coward, rather, she felt there was no longer a need to put up with his snotty attitude. Thus, in a school that large, there was no need for her to see Malfoy out of class. She simply took different routes, ate her meals at different times, and hid away in the dark corners of the library when Malfoy was in their common room. She knew it was too good to be true when he stopped searching for her two days ago.

She stiffened. She refused to show how startled she was. "Malfoy."

"Granger," he replied back coolly.

She bristled. His tone was all too familiar with her. It was a clear sign that he had something else up his sleeve. "Well, now that we've gotten over formalities you'd best be on your way."

She looked at him and saw that he was looking rather casually at the wall. He looked over and their eyes met. He grinned.

Inside she panicked, knowing that look all too well. "Malfoy, where's McMaster?"

His grin simply grew and that's when Hermione knew she needed a way out. Screw it all, she thought. She couldn't run, couldn't fake ill, couldn't do anything without it being blatantly obvious to Malfoy that she was trying to escape, and her ego would not allow him that satisfaction.

"Oh him? I traded so he could be with his girlfriend tonight. It is their three month anniversary after all. It wouldn't do for them to be apart," he causally replied as he looked at his fingernails.

She glared at him as if to say this was entirely his fault. At that moment, he was happy that he wasn't McMaster. He knew once she got her hands on him…well, he was done for to say the least.

She didn't say any more. After one last glare she turned and led the way. They walked. He exactly three steps behind her, but it seemed more out of formality than mockery. He was simply allowing her her space. Click Click Click. The sound of their footsteps echoed down the dark corridors of the school. When she paused, he paused too and they continued in this fashion until they reached the astronomy tower.

"Granger," Draco finally said breaking the rather calm silence. "You'll be attending Malfoy Manor this winter holiday."

She stopped and turned around to face him for the first time since rounds began. She stared at him. Before fury, a quiet shock settled into her. "You must be mistaken," she quietly replied, unable to form the proper words to tell him off.

She didn't want to go to Malfoy Manor. She wanted to go to the Burrow, like she did last holidays. She couldn't go home and face her parents. She would feel like a lie. She would look at them and realize that her life was no longer a part of the muggle world and that hurt.

She realized that the Burrrow was a lost cause. She would be surrounded by people who would soon become her enemies as Harry and Ron had become. Still, she longed for the warmth 

she had felt there last holidays. She longed for the warm embrace of Mrs. Weasley. She longed for the aroma of deliciousness that filled the house on Christmas day. She missed the opening of presents, the rambunctious affair it became with that many children, not to mention the twins. She longed for a place to call home.

Besides, she was tired, tired of listening to Malofy. She was tired of his antics, his mixed signals. She was tired of obeying his every command, following him around like a lost puppy.

Draco ignored her. "While at Malfoy Manor you shall be re-educated on your etiquette. I'll be damned if the only Angelus daughter knows nothing about pureblooded etiquette because Merlin knows I'll burn in hell for it."

"You must be mistaken," she repeated quietly with a firm edge in her voice. "I'm staying here for the holidays." She met his gaze. Her eyes were quiet, but firm. His bright eyes full of mirth slowly turned to confusion and then to anger as she slowly turned around and began to walk way.

He took two steps and grabbed her wrist, turning her around. "What makes you think you can just walk away Granger?"

She stared at him as though the answer was obvious. "I'm my own person."

"You're Angelus," he replied coldly. "You are ours."

There was a moment of cold silence. With one last look at him, she looked down at her wrist. She stared at his fingers as though they were burning her and slowly she began to pry them off one by one. There was a cold, silent fury surrounding them. So much so, that Draco dared not argue with her. He knew he had pushed too far. To push her further would only be madness. She finally pried the last finger off and allowed her arm to fall by her side.

She met his gaze once more. No one would have noticed the small amount a fear that rose in him were they only looking at his face. Outwardly, he looked as calm as possible. He looked cold, indifferent. Only his eyes betrayed him, the flash of fear, surprise and awe all gone in a second. She was beautiful.

"I have played your games," she began simply. "I have listened and learned your ways, but hear me, I will never believe in them. While my blood may be pure, my mind and my heart are not. I am not a killer, I am not a murderer, and I am not about to take my place within your pureblooded society as a little princess."

Another pause of silence. They stood not a foot from each other. The moon was high and the night cold. They could feel the winter air chill their cool skin. She looked every inch the killer she was meant to be, and he looked every inch the guardian of this beautiful angel of death.

"I expect to see you at twelve o'clock sharp tomorrow. We leave then."

With those words he left her. The only sound being his shoes echoing upon the hard marble floor.

She packed. It took only an hour really. She didn't pack much of anything. She knew she couldn't bring any of her muggle clothing. They'd probably burn it. It was such a shame too. She was rather fond of her clothing. So, besides her school bag, all she had was one small bag of robes, all standard issue, none even close to designer, toiletries, other small things, and she was set.

She sighed as she sat on her bed. Malfoy Manor, mansion to the richest pureblood family in Great Britain and home to the Dark Lord's most faithful follower. What would it be like residing within a home who has seen various dark arts come and go?

She knew it was likely that her birth parents resided there at one point in time. Still, as she sat on her bed, she couldn't understand why she decided to obediently go. She was still furious with Draco. She knew for a fact that she had never despised, hated a person so much before in her life. She wanted nothing more than to kill him in the most slow, painful way possible.

She loathed him because he was her only connection to her true identity besides her name. She couldn't change her name, but she could change her person. She could forever live on as Hermione Jane Granger and allow the Angelus name to die along with her. It would deliver a blow to the Dark Lord and would benefit the wizarding community.

Nevertheless, a part of her wouldn't allow that either. She was never one to run away from her problems, and another part of her, somewhere deep inside wanted to know who this person, Hermione Angelus really truly was. She wanted to know who Hermione Angelus, who she, could become. She wanted to discover more about her hidden past, her lost identity, this person she should have been and could still be, which was probably why she silently agreed to attend Malfoy Manor over their winter holiday despite her continuing feelings of bitterness against Draco Malfoy.

She met him in their common room. He was already there with his bags when she arrived. She didn't greet him when she arrived, nor did he greet her. They simply exchanged looks and left. Without a word he levitated his bags and began to walk toward the entrance. She followed behind him carrying her lone bag.

They walked in relative silence down the stone hall. The hall was filled only with the sounds of their shoes clicking on the black-grey stone. There was no one else save for them. Everyone had already gone downstairs, eager to begin their holidays.

There was no need for a façade, a spoken lie. After the scandal, it would not be surprising that Hermione Granger would be spending her holidays with Draco Malfoy, especially when she had no where else to go. At least, that's what people whispered in the halls. It was rather scorned and looked down upon though by those of his own house, the thought that a Malfoy would bring something, well, someone, so dirty to so prestigious of a house, but no one was about to say anything to a Malfoy. At least, not to his face. Those of the other houses simply wanted nothing to do with the likes of Hermione Granger. She was too far gone, too deep in the darkness to be saved. They saw her as a lost cause and often spoke of her regretfully, as though they had lost her already, her brilliance, her talent. She was dead to them.

Thus, Hermione's popularity plummeted even further as she walked out into the sunlight of the courtyard. She held up her arm to shield herself from the brightness of the sun overhead. Malfoy had already made a point to take her bag from her before they exited the school and was currently flaunting his mannerisms in front of the entire student body.

Hermione could only plaster a smile to her face as she faced the crowds of people who halted their conversations to turn their heads and simply gaze at the rather odd couple. Hermione Granger, previous golden girl of Hogwarts, ex-best friend of the Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, the pride of the residing teachers and friend to underprivileged peoples, was walking with her lover, Draco Malfoy, prick and headmaster killer extraordinaire.

Again, it did nothing for Hermione's standing in the Hogwarts community.

They entered the Hogwarts Express together and shared an apartment. Everyone knew which apartment they were in and the older students would guide the first and second years away from the said compartment so that there would be no unfortunate incidences on this train ride 

home. It would have been an unfortunate incident to explain to the child's parents why the said child could not speak or was currently spewing up slugs.

To say the least, Hermione felt like the Plague. She felt like a disease no one wanted to contract. She felt like she was the muddy puddle people swore about when they happened to accidentally step in one. Simply put, Hermione felt like shit. Worse than shit. She felt like the container that held the shit and that had to be a pretty shitty state.

Her, what guardian? Captor? Master? Prison guard? Spoke not a word to her the whole journey back to platform eleven and three quarters. He did not look at her. She did not exist to him. Oddly, to her this stung even more than his insults, his fury and anger. At least with his fury she knew she had his attention and in an odd sense, his care. His indifference though frustrated her. She was a living, breathing human being. She was not something to be ignored like an object lying on one's desk. She demanded if not respect, attention in the least.

She wanted to see his eyes look at her with something other than indifference. She closed her eyes as she paused from gazing at the passing scenery on this bright, sunny winter day. She began to conjure images, images of the past month. She saw the look he gave her that day after the duel. She saw the look he gave her that day of her lesson, when she met Bellatrix Lestrange. That look that was not quite warmth, but it was not the indifference he gave her now, she longed for it despite all reason because she knew it was the closest thing she'd ever see to a smile from him.

She opened her eyes once more as the train came to a halt. Malfoy took their bags and began to exit the apartment with Hermione following closely behind him. To those who saw, they looked close, in love. She followed closely by him as he held out his arm to guide her to the awaiting carriage. To her, she had never felt further from him.

Thus, when they finally entered their awaiting carriage of silver, she began to speak.

"What do you want from me Malfoy?" she cried in the softest of whispers. "You have taken everything away from me. You've taken from me my family, my friends, my name, my life. You make me feel nothing and everything all without a word. What more could you want from me?"

It was at this moment he looked at her. For the first time that day, he looked at her. He looked at her with a contemplative look upon his porcelain face. Had he truly taken so much from her he wondered. It was obvious that he took her friends away. He purposely alienated her from them to bring her closer to their side and closer to him, her only ally in this strange web of human interaction. He had taken her name. He knew the name Granger no longer held any meaning to her. However, had he taken away her life?

In a sense, he supposed that he did. That in itself would be devastating, so he was rather surprised to find she had held up so well. However, he was giving her a new one in exchange, one that held many more possiblities and "what ifs." He knew Granger would eat it up. Still, he wasn't sure whether to be proud or disgusted that she was even asking him this question.

"I want nothing more, Angelus, than for you to open your eyes and see yourself for who you truly are," he finally replied after minutes had pasted. He figured being civil would have much more of an impact than anger. Besides, he wasn't going to give her the fight she wanted.

She was rather irritated, she found, that he had been so civil. However, what he said intrigued her. To see herself for whom she truly was. It should be a simple task, and yet, she felt it to be impossible. She could not open her eyes to what was happening around her because to do so would mean that everything she had learned, everything she had believed and her whole life 

that she had lived to this point would have been a lie. She would have to face the fact that she was living a lie. She was a lie.

She kept her eyes closed. She wanted to hear nothing more of what he said.

Thus, the rest of the ride back to Malfoy Manor was spent in silence and quiet, rather sobering, sorrow.

"We'll be arriving at Malfoy Manor in approximately fifteen minutes. My parents will already know of your arrival. They know not of who you are, but I am to assume that they have guessed," Malfoy explained as they passed by fields of snow. She could imagine that in the spring they would be filled with wild flowers. Miles and miles of them. Yellow, black and purple.

"You are to show your abilities and make it so I do not regret my lack of discipline upon you. You will be humble for they are your superiors for now, your mentors and guides in this world of purebloods. You can be assured of their loyalty to your name as you are of mine."

She looked at him when he said this and she saw that he was gazing at her with a look of judgment, as if he were assessing how well she would respond to his words and how much she would take to heart.

His loyalty. Was it truly worth so much? She had never thought of him a loyal before, but it made sense when one thought of it in an "I'm saving my own neck" context. Of course he could be nothing but loyal to her. This brought a rather crude smile to her lips, as though the thought was both amusing and grotesque to her at the same time.

He said nothing further to her as Malfoy Manor came into view. It was every inch the gorgeous mansion she had imagined it to be. It was ancient, but not unkempt. The pillars and stone reflected their antiquity while they reflected a type of majesty of the present time.

It was also unsurprising to her that Narcassia and Lucius Malfoy were standing at the entrance of the ancient home.

They stood together like the pillars of the regal mansion and reminded her of one solid unit. She almost envied them for their unity and sense of togetherness. She longed for what she had once more, her past.

The carriage stopped and she waited as Draco exited the carriage to greet his parents. She watched through the tainted windows as he approached his mother and father with such warmth. There were no open arms. There were no tears and no laughter, but she could see the warmth and love in such a reunion spoken with eyes and small gestures. She had to turn away from its brightness.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged between mother and son as Hermione waited. She closed her eyes. She wanted nothing to do with it. So when the carriage door opened, she was unprepared.

She opened her eyes to see an expectant Draco hold out his hand for her to take. Something about his hand seemed so warm to her. She had nothing. She was without a purpose in life. She was without an identity. She could not live a lie anymore. She could not return to her previous life, her past. She saw this hand as not an offering of assistance, but as a spark of hope, a hope of warmth in this cold new world she had entered. She saw that extended hand as his offer to aid her in the coming months, years. She saw his hand as warmth and she took it.

She exited the carriage every inch the pureblood princess she should be. Even in her standard issue school robes, even in her everyday hair and face, she looked like the Angelus she was.

Thus, when she exited she saw both Malfoys bow to her.

"Welcome home Angelus."

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