Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Depressing, but true.

Well, it's nearly midnight and I can't sleep to save my life. Let's resolve that cliffie a wee bit early, shall we? In this chapter, Draco falls a little deeper, and Blaise starts to notice. Please review like mad and you'll have another shiny new chapter on Tuesday! I don't want to do too much hinting, but things really start to move in this week's instalments (Boy in the Hammock fans... I'm winking suggestively at you).

In other news, my dog is home. He's got some pretty nasty-looking stitches in his neck, he smells like a hospital and he's woozy from drugs, but at least I can lavish him in attention now. Thank you for all your kind wishes for his recovery - it means a lot. xo

The Hermione from ten seconds earlier was gone. When he ran off after hugging her, she was normal. Healthy. Upright.

Now she was still standing, but barely, leaning heavily against the desk. Pained, sharp breaths echoed against the walls, her arms shaking at the effort it took to hold her up, her face pale as a ghost. Her body swayed dangerously, and to Draco's horror, he saw her eyes roll back in her head right as her body began to tip over. He rushed forwards as her hands slid off the desk, managing to grab her before she hit the ground, wrapping his arms around her waist and he pulling her towards him. Right back into the crushing hug he had regretted only moments earlier. This time, though, she was limp in his arms.

"Granger?" he said, panicked. "Are you alright?"

She was gasping for breath, her eyes out of focus, blinking fuzzily. Her entire body was shaking against his. Beads of sweat marked her brow. Goddamnit, this girl was going to kill herself if she wasn't careful.

"Granger! Say something or I'm taking you back to the hospital."

"No!" she gasped. "No, please, I'm fine. I'm just... I'm just tired."

"Bullshit!" he said angrily, tightening his hold. He tried to get her to look him in the eye, but she still couldn't keep her vision straight. "You're ill. You need help." Stop hiding, he wanted to say. I'm onto you. But he didn't. He wasn't ready to bring that down on her. Not yet.

"I didn't sleep well Draco," she mumbled. "I forgot to eat breakfast. I'm just a little lightheaded."

"Do you often lose consciousness from sleeping badly?" he snapped. "This is serious, Granger."

"I know it is," she said, her voice pleading now. "Just let me deal with it, okay? Please. I'm dealing with it." Her eyes were fixed on his now, and they were filling up with tears. "Please don't take me to the hospital," she whispered. "I'm going to be fine. I just need to splash some water on my face."

He glared at her. It was a blatant lie, but he still wasn't ready to call her out on it. If she needed a little more time, he could grant it... But he'd be watching her like a hawk. How often did these episodes happen? How had she been covering them up? Was she back on drugs? Was she dying?

"Draco?" she said, searching his face. "Can I just go to the washroom?"

With a gruff nod, he loosened his hold. She swayed and he tightened his arms again. "I'll walk you there," he muttered. "Apparently you're too tired to stand unassisted." She blushed deeply but didn't resist as he supported her weight and wrapped her arm over his shoulder. They walked together awkwardly until they reached the door. She grabbed the frame and stood on her own, still red with embarrassment.

"Thanks. I'm okay from here."

"Whatever," he said. He knew he sounded angry, but damnit, he was angry. She was jeopardizing her health by keeping everything secret, by trying to deal with it herself. What if she had passed out and hit her head on something? What if this had happened in the woods? What if nobody found her in time?

The washroom door clicked shut, and he stomped back to his desk. The glee from discovering that he was debt free was dulled now, as though it were a distant memory. Once again, Granger was occupying his brain.

"I spend too much time worrying about her," he grumbled to himself.

"Worrying about who?" said Blaise, who was walking in with a bag of food.

"My mother," he covered, quickly.

"Well, you'll have a lot less to worry about now that you've stopped hemorrhaging money. You can sent some proper coin to your folks. Hermione's a fucking angel, I'm telling you."

"Yeah," he said with a weak smile. "Angel. So what'd you get?"

"Scone for me, breakfast sandwich for you," he said. "Figured you'd want some food, but Hermione didn't say she needed anything. Where's the golden girl, by the way?"

"Loo," he said, taking the sandwich. He would give it to Hermione when she got out. Merlin knew when her next meal would be.

"Okay, well we should talk about the press conference after we eat," said Blaise. "You're going to have to announce that because Hermione is too heartbroken to return to her Ministry job, you've decided to hire her because you're such a generous and empathetic gent."

"You must be fucking kidding me!" Draco exclaimed. "Nobody's going to buy that shite!"

Blaise chuckled in response. "Take it up with Granger. She's got it all scripted. Says it's the last step in making the public like you again."

"They like me fine now! She's already taken care of it!"

"She says she wants it cemented," Blaise shrugged. "Like I told you, take it up with her. I'm not going to argue with the girl - you might have noticed that she's a little stubborn."

"My ears are burning," said Hermione strolled into the office, looking like nothing happened. Glowing skin. Glossy hair. Hundred watt smile. This time, however, Draco could see that she was nervous.

"Hello princess," Blaise said with a suave grin.

"Can I speak to you alone, princess?" Draco seethed. Clearly sensing the tension, Blaise held up his hands in surrender and left the office.

Hermione shuffled her feet, looking awkwardly at the ground. Draco glared at her and then said a quick silencing spell to keep Blaise from listening in.

"Okay Granger, here's the deal. You tell me what's going on with you, and I will participate in your farce of a press conference."

"What?" she said, looking up in shock. "You're bribing me with my own private affairs?"

"Your private affairs almost killed you before, and I need to know they're not going to kill you again."

"Draco, please don't - "

"I'm not kidding, Granger," he threatened. "Don't you try and 'Draco please' your way out of this. You're working for me, right? Paying off a life debt?" He felt dirty working her over like this, but he didn't see a lot of options. "Look, you've been a huge help so far. I'd like you to keep working here, and believe me, I never thought I'd utter that phrase. But the thing is, I also need to know that I'm not going to find you half-dead in the woods again. Give me something to ease my mind. I don't need to know every detail, but just talk to me. Is it the pills?"

Hermione looked defeated, her eyes welling up with tears.

"It's the withdrawal," she said, quietly.

Draco frowned. "I thought the hospital gave you something for that."

"It's not strong enough, I guess," she said, wiping her cheeks. "Maybe it takes the edge off, but I'm still not faring all that well. The stress doesn't help either, given that I'm not able to resort to my former... Uh... Coping methods."

"Right," he said, uncomfortably. "How often do those episodes happen?" He was trying to sound understanding, but so far he just sounded impatient.

"Maybe once an hour now?" she ventured a guess. "They've actually been getting worse. Part of the process, I guess."

"What?" Draco said. "That's madness! You should be recovering then, not working!"

"Please don't tell me to go home!" she said, suddenly panicked, rushing towards him. "I can't handle it there. I'm doing so much better here. There's no bad memories here, no pills, lots of distraction, no Ron..."

"Speaking of Weasley, I'm actually surprised the tosser hasn't come by begging for your forgiveness," Draco said, trying to ignore how close she was.

"That's because I put a ward around the building," she said, suddenly looking a bit guilty.

Draco stared for a moment, and then burst into laughter. "That's amazing, Granger," he snorted. "You put a ward around the building? What happens when he comes into contact with it?"

"Uh, he breaks out in hives," she said, uncomfortably, fidgeting with her hands. Draco only laughed harder. Eventually she cracked a cautious smile.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," he said, wiping his eyes. "I'm very impressed. Okay, I'll do your stupid press conference, although I don't know why you want to feed the machine even more. I thought you didn't like the pity routine."

"I don't," she shrugged. "But it will help the business, which gives it some purpose, I suppose. Honestly, the press conference will be straightforward. We announce officially that I'm employed here, we plug the brooms, I'll reiterate how grateful I am to you - " Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me! Anyway, we'll pander to the press a bit and it will be all done. Then we can get on with regular business stuff."

"Fine. Just give me the script and I'll follow your lead."

She gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you. And you won't mention...?"

"No, I'm not mentioning your issues to anyone. I just don't want you collapsing on me is all."

"I appreciate it," she said. "The press conference is in two hours. I'm going to go prepare, okay?"

"Okay Granger. Oh, I nearly forgot..." He picked up the breakfast sandwich, realizing self-consciously that he was treading into dangerous territory. This whole encounter was getting downright friendly. He shoved the sandwich roughly into her hands. "So you don't pass out," he said, trying to sound as indifferent as he could.

With a surprised smile, she accepted. "That's very... Thoughtful. Thank you."

He shrugged. "It's in my best interest to keep you fed."

"Right," she said, walking towards the door. "By the way, you'll need to practice something for the press conference so you don't slip up."

"Oh?" he said.

She disappeared around the corner, yelling out over her shoulder. "You're going to have to call me Hermione."

Draco paced behind the curtain separating him from the crowds of reporters on the other side. He was starting to regret agreeing to this.

"Granger!" he barked for the second time in the past thirty seconds. "Why are we holding this bloody press conference again?"

"So the public can see how thoughtful and charming you are," she said, rolling her eyes. "It would help if you played the part."

"Maybe I don't want to play the part," he growled.

"You gave me your word," she said, calmly, walking over to fix his collar. "It will take five minutes, remember? We're simply making an official announcement of my employment with Trebax. I want tomorrow's papers filled with pictures of us looking happy and in control." He opened his mouth to make a snide remark and she silenced him with a look. "Quiet," she said. "The reality of our respective mental and emotional states is not important right now."

"Oh?" he said. "We're just going to perpetuate a lie? This coming from the virtuous Gryffindor princess?"

"You're just in a bad mood because you're going to have to play nice," she said, ignoring his jibe. "Be sweet for the next half hour or so. It won't kill you. Think of something motivating. What about your parents? They'll benefit from this, right?"

That shut him up. Yes, his parents would benefit hugely from the business being on a stable footing. Fucking know-it-all. "Whatever Granger," he muttered.

"It's Hermione for the purposes of this press conference," she corrected. She peeked out from behind the curtain to get a look at the crowd. "My goodness, there certainly are a lot of them," she said, her voice suddenly quiet.

The change in tone caught Draco's attention, and he looked at her more carefully. She was biting her lip, her eyes darting around to assess which reporters had turned up. His eyes slid down to her hands. They were shaking.

"Gra - ugh, Hermione," he said, walking towards her and pulling her away from the curtain. "Sorry, I know I'm being crusty. The press hasn't exactly been kind to me. It has been said that I hold a bit of a grudge."

"It's okay... I understand," she smiled, hiding her hands behind her back. He looked at her with concern.

"You going to be okay out there?" he said. Why he was always so worried about her was beyond him. She hadn't even been in his mental radar until a few days ago, and now he was fretting about her trembling hands. God he was turning into a fucking flower.

She nodded with a little too much enthusiasm. "Oh yes, just fine. Hoping we don't get too many curve balls from the reporters, but not much I can do about that."

"You mean... Ugly questions about the Weasel?"

"I suppose," she shrugged. "I want to keep things more or less on track, but they are bound to be curious."

"Well, you could always tell them how awful he was in the sack," he joked.

She laughed and then smacked him light-heartedly on the shoulder. "Now how did you know about that?" she said, grinning.

"You're not serious," he smirked, hoping very much that she was serious.

"I'll never tell," she replied. "I'm going to run to the loo before we start. I'll be back in a moment."

The second she disappeared from the area, Draco heard someone clear their throat. He spun around. "Merlin Blaise, you took me by surprise," he said, noticing that Blaise had an odd expression on his face. "Is there a problem?"

Blaise was wearing a curious smile. Draco didn't like it. "Mate, how long have we known each other?" Blaise asked.

"Since we were eight... Why?"

"How long have we known Granger?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Care to tell me why you're asking me questions you already know the answer to?"

"Well... It's just that I've been standing here for several minutes. Not only did neither of you notice me, but I also caught a glimpse of how you interact with our pretty friend."

"And?" Draco said, feeling his defences rise.

"Nothing, nothing," Blaise said, feigning disinterest.

"Speak up," Draco snapped, losing patience now. "How do I interact with her?"

"Let's just say you have a surprisingly good rapport considering that you used to actively dislike one another."

"Oh?"

"Shockingly good."

"And?"

"She fixed your collar."

"It was crooked."

"And you might have been flirting a bit."

"Bull."

"And you actually seemed a bit protective of her."

"I don't have to listen to this nonsense," Draco grumbled, turning away. "Honestly Blaise, what a load of - "

"Drake... I'm not saying it's a bad thing!" Blaise said, catching up with him. "It's good. You actually get along quite well. She knows how to manage your awful moods, and you know how to look out for her. It's good. You'll make good... Colleagues. Very good colleagues."

Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Seriously mate, there's no issue here. Just an observation," said Blaise.

Draco nodded. "Fine. We have a good rapport. Anything else then?" He wanted to finish this conversation before Blaise accused him of anything else. Protective. Wasn't an employer allowed to be concerned about the health of his employee?

"Nope. Nothing strange going on here at all."

"Good," Draco growled, turning away from his friend. Now where was Granger?

Hermione chugged back the cap-full of green liquid and winced.

"Yuck," she said, stowing the bottle back in her pocket. With relief, the shaking in her hands subsided. Good. If she could just get past the withdrawals, she'd be home free. Now that she had come clean to Draco about the fact that she was struggling, she felt much calmer. At least someone knew she was having trouble. For whatever reason, it made things easier. Hiding her life from the world was incredibly exhausting, and besides, he had seen her at her very worst. It was fitting to confide in him, as unlikely a choice as he might seem.

The pills still occupied much of her thoughts, and she was dreading going back home this evening, but she couldn't let herself think about that now. Now was the time to move forward. The stresses that had nudged her towards dependency were gone from her life - Ron was history, she had changed jobs for something surprisingly rewarding and interesting, she had finally spent some time with Harry... Overall, things were looking up. She'd even made new friends. Well, Blaise was a new friend. Befriending Draco was a bit like befriending a schizophrenic manticore. Great when they are on your side, but unpleasant as hell when they are in a bad mood.

He was always in a bad mood.

Perhaps she could work on getting him to be cheerful more often. Society as a whole would thank her. He had joked around with her once already today - that was an improvement, wasn't it? He could actually be quite funny when he wasn't thinking of creative ways to dismember people.

Hermione took several deep breaths and tried to center her thoughts.

I don't need my pills to function.

I don't need my pills to function.

I don't need my pills to function.

She grimaced into the mirror. This felt silly. She did need her pills to function... She just didn't want to need them. There was a difference. Drugs always felt like a shameful sign of weakness to her, but they also helped her stay strong. A dichotomy. An operational contradiction.

At least she could focus on one positive thing: for the first time in a long time, her emotions had stabilized to the point where she didn't necessarily feel the need to numb them.

If she could just keep this up until the drugs were out of her system, she'd be home free.