Disclaimer: Oh, the things I would do if I owned the boys of Harry Potter!

Ch. 40

"Draco," The snakelike voice hissed in my ear, and immediately, my eyes snapped open. For a moment, it felt as if I had never opened them at all. The room was dark and gloomy in the early winter morning. I felt…disoriented. Slowly, I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, pressing a palm to my forehead as I tried to remember where I was.

One look to the left was all I needed. The strange box with moving pictures sat perched on the dresser. A television, Hermione had called it. I smiled tiredly before grimacing. My hand was soaked with sweat from my forehead. I shut my eyes, and the darkness of the Manor surrounded me again, along with a pair of red, snakelike eyes.

Dear God, I hoped I hadn't screamed.

Without another word, I lumbered towards the bathroom for a shower, mind racing.

VVVVV

Lost in my thoughts, I stayed in the shower nearly too long, taking advantage of the relaxing effect the hot water had on my body. It seemed as if I had stood there for hours, letting the scalding water cascade down my bare body while my hands held me up against the wall. After a while, the water ran cold.

The stairs creaked as I made my way down them, and although it wasn't too early, I made sure to be quiet. I wondered if Hermione was still asleep. She probably was – tumbled up into her covers, curls a flurry like a deranged cat. I smiled ruefully, and took the last steps down. The bottom floor of the house was empty and gray with only sunlight drifting in from the kitchen windows lighting the place. For some reason, I felt disappointed. Knowing full well that she was asleep, I had still expected Hermione to be there, perhaps curled up on the couch with a book in her hands, or even Crookshanks. I frowned and turned to go back up to my room, when a voice broke the silence.

"Mr. Malfoy!" A booming voice announced, and as I turned, I saw that Mr. Granger had just come out of the kitchen. I was startled, but I hid it well.

"Good morning, Mr. Granger," I greeted him, halting at the bottom of the stairs. "Did you sleep well?"

The man smiled a knowing smile which revealed the laugh lines in his face, and then chuckled. "Yes, quite. Yourself?"

"Perfectly," I lied.

"Good."

There was an odd silence, almost an awkward one, before he spoke again. "What are you doing up so early? Is Hermione awake yet?"

I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. Surely he didn't think I was exploring his house on my own?

"No, but I was just –"

"No matter, no matter," Mr. Granger chuckled, waving away what would've been an apology. "That girl sleeps like an animal." He teased, and I held in a giant laugh. "A deranged cat sounds good to me," I wanted to say, but I wasn't sure how he would react to me teasing his daughter, given our history. Instead I just smiled.

"Would you like to join me for breakfast, Mr. Malfoy? I'd like to get to know you better." Mr. Granger asked, and I had no choice but to agree.

"I'd love to. And please, call me Draco."

VVVVV

Despite the clinking of spoons scraping against cereal bowls, Mr. Granger and I had actually managed to have a normal, uninterrupted conversation. In fact, I quite liked the man. Still, I was somewhat very intimidated by him. It didn't help that he asked such direct questions either.

After asking me about my favorite hobbies, my family (which I had mostly lied about), and other nonsense questions, Mr. Granger dove in for the chase. Once he had finished his breakfast, he cleared his throat and set his spoon down, suddenly becoming very business like.

"You seem like a fine fellow, Mr. Malfoy, but I must ask you…"

I set my spoon down into my bowl and swallowed the cornflakes in my mouth before turning to him. "Yes, Mr. Granger?"

Just as a business man would, he looked me straight in the eye, brown reflecting into silvery blue. The physical similarities between him and Hermione –the hair, the eyes, the freckle near the bottom of the chin – were astonishing.

"What are your intentions regarding my daughter?"

At the question, I thanked Merlin that I had swallowed the cornflakes beforehand. I laughed quietly in surprise, trying my best not to scoff. "I'm sorry, sir?"

Mr. Granger gave me a knowing look, and immediately, I straightened up in my seat.

"Hermione and I are friends." I said, and the words felt weird in my mouth. I also wondered why I felt like I was lying to him.

"Just friends?"

"Just friends." I assured him. Mr. Granger looked into my eyes again for a long moment and nodded, before getting up to put his bowl in the sink. I felt a sense of relief.

"You two seem close…much closer than she seems to be when she's with her other friends. Her mother thought so as well, she even thought…never mind." He said. It sparked my interest.

"Harry and Ron?"

"Yes. They've been her best friends for years…but I've never seen the amount of chemistry between them amount to what you and Hermione have." Mr. Granger muttered, looking terribly befuddled. I didn't need to ask why. How could someone who had hated his daughter come to see her as a companion?

I wondered the same thing everyday.

"Thank you, sir." I murmured. I couldn't help but smile a little to myself. 'Hah, take that Potter and Weasel,' I thought. Mr. Granger chuckled and we shared a small laugh. It had been right of him to ask of our relationship.

…relationship?

"Dad?" A voice came from behind me, and I turned in my seat. Hermione stood sleepily at the bottom of the stairs, big hair and all, rubbing a hand over her eyes. She caught sight of me and smiled warmly. I smirked back.

"Good morning, Dear."

"Morning, Dad, Draco." Hermione greeted us, preparing herself a bowl of cereal before sitting next to me. Her bare leg brushed against mine, and I felt the softness of it even through my pant leg.

"Sleep well?" Her father asked, and Hermione shrugged, spooning bits of cereal into her mouth. She paused for a moment and nodded. Mr. Granger chuckled.

"I should prepare for work," he said, before exiting the kitchen. I didn't miss the blatant look he gave me before leaving. There was a moment of silence before Hermione turned to me with a questioning gaze. The sound of Mr. Granger shutting the door vibrated throughout the empty house.

"Seems like you and my father are getting along well," Hermione mused as she walked over to put her half empty bowl of cereal into the sink, all the while unknowingly giving me a glorious view of her bum. My groin twitched and it immediately became a struggle to regain myself. Hermione raised a perfectly arched brow.

"Exactly what were you two talking about?"

I smirked while my stomach did somersaults. "Wouldn't you love to know? He was just getting to know me."

Hermione winced. "Poor dad, then." We both laughed. Hermione stopped short before I did, and walked silently over to me before sitting down. She faced me, biting her lip.

"There's something I've wanted to talk to you about." She murmured. I cleared my throat. What could she possibly need to tell me? It seemed urgent.

"Go on."

Hermione leaned farther in, as if we were in a crowded room, when in reality, besides Crookshanks, it was just us. "The dreams…they're back."

I wish I could've seen my face pale.

The dreams? The horrific nightmares? They had returned to her too? I had prayed that they would only plague me. What had Hermione ever done to deserve them, and the constant pressure they imposed? It appeared that I hadn't spoken for a long time, because Hermione had been calling my name.

"Draco? Draco, I –"

"Well, what was it? Your dream?" I interrupted, harsher than I had meant to. The concerned look in her full brown eyes was scouring a trail into my chest with a red hot poker.

"Just the same recurring one, so far. I'm at The Manor, watching you…," She faltered.

"Watching me what?" I demanded, appraising her with cold, iron slated eyes. Hermione's voice cracked, and it seemed like she couldn't look at me anymore.

"They…they torture you. Voldemort tortures you. They make me watch until the last moment; make me listen to your screams… until you look at me. And then I wake up." Hermione breathed, before her eyes met mine again, reminding me of chocolates behind a glassy shop window. Hermione quickly turned away from me to wipe away stray tears, and I sat a stiff as wood board. How was it that her dreams were the complete opposite of mine? Minus the recurring theme, everything was reversed. Countless times The Dark Lord had asked me to point my wand at her, and I had done it! But Hermione had never died…at least I had never seen her body fall to the ground or watched the emotion leave her face. The dream always ended with a flash of green light and a snakelike, whispery voice in my ear.

In one quick motion, I reached across the table for Hermione's trembling hand.

"We're going to fix this. Together."

VVVVV

The day had been enjoyable and fairly peaceful, if you didn't count my outburst of tears at the breakfast table earlier that morning, or the slightly awkward dinner that Draco and I had just had with my parents. Everything had been good on my side of the table – Mum had laughed at almost everything that Draco had said, while I had had to ignore the frequent brushing of his leg against mine that sent chills up my spine from underneath the table. However, Dad had seemed a little less friendly. He'd barely spoken, only when he was addressed, or to commend me for the chicken and potatoes I had cooked. However, he had kept an annoyingly obvious watch on Draco the whole time.

"You know," Draco snickered as we made our way outside of the house in the chilly evening air, "Maybe you and your father have more in common than I thought." The sky had taken a dark midnight blue color, and glittered with stars. I had missed the sight and the opportunity to be outside without having to perform Head Girl duties or worry about being attacked by someone. But then again, my house was protected by Aurors. Perhaps that was why Draco felt so safe here. He had definitely let his guard down, that was for sure.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, turning a corner in the backyard. I grabbed onto the black ladder attached to the wall and immediately began to hoist myself up. Instantly, I felt Draco's hands resting lightly against my hips, guiding me up safely. I swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.

"Just that you're both very…observant." Draco finished, laughing a little to himself at my father's ridiculous actions.

"Right. Sorry about that."

Draco shrugged and climbed up the ladder after me with dexterity. I waited to see the look on his face, and as I knew I would be, I was pleased with the smile that came to his face. On the flat surface of the roof, I had set up a little spot for us to lounge and look at the stars. Blankets covered the hard surface, and I had even placed a few pillows. Of course, I wouldn't have been able to complete the scene without a few jars of little blue flames to warm us (my specialty), a platter of cookies, and a thermos of hot chocolate. Draco wolf whistled and made a pompous face at my display.

"Well, well, what do we have here? I say, Hermione Granger, is this your idea of a traditional Muggle date?" he asked playfully, stepping onto the warm blanket. Draco turned to me, arms crossed, with an especially smoldering look in his eyes. Despite this, I could still see the trace of a domineering sneer.

"Well what do you expect us to do now? Kiss passionately under the moonlight?" Draco murmured, eyebrows raised. Immediately, I blushed fiercely. I felt embarrassed, but still, I decided to hold my ground.

"Not exactly, no. I just thought you might enjoy…" I flustered for a moment, running a hand through my already distressed hair. "If you don't like it, you can just say so." I grumbled. I rolled my eyes when I got no response.

"Draco Malfoy, are you just going to –"

"Are you going to keep rambling over there, or are you going to get over here before these flames go out?" Draco smirked, and to my surprise, he was already lying on his back, head propped up against three pillows. He patted the spot next to him and I grumbled to myself before walking over to sit beside him.

"You're the most difficult person I've ever met in my life." I sighed, grabbing a cookie and biting forcefully into it. Draco chuckled before going quiet again, instead choosing to examine his cookie rather than talk to me.

"Thank you. For everything, Hermione." Draco muttered, looking a little abashed. His silver eyes met mine, and they shined like molten crystals in the night. "This is probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me."

I choked, spluttered on my cookie. "Ever?"

"Ever." He nodded curtly.

I grabbed a pillow and held it against myself. How could he say that? He was Draco Malfoy, high and mighty, the person everyone in Slytherin wanted to please! I thought of Pansy, and of Blaise, of how they were willing to anything for him. And he had chosen my simple blankets, flames, and cookies as the nicest deed? It made no sense.

"I don't know if you've realized this or not," I said stubbornly, "But you're Draco Malfoy. The Draco Malfoy."

Draco shrugged, as nonchalant as I had ever seen him. "So? And by the way, you're doing that weird, mouth-gaping fish face again. With the bugged eyes." He smirked smugly. I ignored his comment and pushed on. He seemed to be avoiding something. Did he think he could delude me with his humor?

"I don't understand. You're rich, powerful, and elite. Everybody either wants to be you or be with you. You have friends that would do anything for you – and you choose this? It just doesn't seem like you –"

"Shut up, Hermione." Draco interrupted briskly, and it almost sounded like a command. It was then I realized that he was extremely aggravated.

"Excuse me? You don't get to tell me what to do –"

"Then don't you dare try to tell me who I am." Draco said harshly. There was an eerie silence, so filled with tension I could almost taste it. "Draco –"

"Don't!" He yelled, and I flinched. Without warning, Draco stood up and walked away from me. He peered over the roof, perhaps trying to estimate how far away we were from the ground while he calmed himself. A singular hand ran through his silken blonde hair. I knew better – I waited until he spoke again.

"Fucking hell. I thought you understood. Haven't you realized that I'm not what everyone thinks I'm cracked up to be? Daddy's money hasn't done shit except get me into the situation I'm in now." Draco said, his voice cracking at the end of his sentences. His back was still to me. He laughed, an empty, cold sound.

"I'm the biggest fuck up I know," he spat, turning to me, "Or maybe you haven't noticed that either? I'm not some easy go lucky prat. Sure, a prat, but certainly not a happy one."

"Draco –"

"You're wrong. No one wants to be me. Everyone wants to be Potter, or God forbid, Weasley. But you know what? I don't blame them. I envy them. They know their fates, and so do you. You either live, or you die. It's simple. Would you like to trade places? –"

Rage coursed through my veins at those words, and I couldn't stay quiet any longer. "How dare you? You have no idea what Harry, Ron and I have to do! What we've gone through! We've done everything to protect people like you –"

"Protect?" Draco scoffed disbelievingly, and I had the strongest urge to slap him. "You really are blind."

Tears pricked my eyes, and before I knew it, my cheeks were wet. "Why are you doing this? Saying these things?" I whispered. It might as well have been to myself, I had said it so quietly. He turned away from me again, regarding the starry sky above us.

"You're the first person to know this, besides Blaise of course. I'm fucked, Hermione. I probably shouldn't even expect to live past the age of twenty. My mother isn't well, and I can't be there for her. It's too dangerous. My father is rotting in Azkaban. That leaves the Dark Lord with just me. It's only a matter of time before he comes for me, and anything can happen." Draco turned, possibly to see my reaction, and as he did, I saw the edges of his lips rise. "You didn't think those dreams were just coincidences, did you?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I held in the urge to wretch. All of the times I had seen Draco lying dead in front of me in those dreams, tortured, mangled, and beaten...

Lifeless?

Was that Voldemort's message to me? But besides telling Harry, what could I do to protect Draco? I couldn't even think about him dying, it physically hurt me to imagine it.

"Why me?" I asked. My voice was low and raspy. Draco paused for a moment, his facial expression a cross between confusion, bitterness, and hurt. His eyes were vacant pools of liquid graphite.

"We can assume all we want to about The Dark Lord's motives. That's what he wants…a distraction."

"Harry has to know about this." I muttered, standing up to go send him an owl. It would show up at the Weasley's and risk a response back, but it was a risk I was willing to take. Before I could move from my spot, Draco had grabbed my arms. I watched him for a moment. His hair was tousled and with each breath, a ragged cloud of chilly mist emerged from his mouth. All in all, he looked like a madman –nonetheless, a beautiful one.

"No."

I struggled against him, but he gripped me tighter. "Let me go."

"No! You can't tell Potter a damn thing. I can't trust him!"

'But you can trust me', I wanted to plead.

"And you're going to stop me?" I challenged instead.

"I would let you go. Wouldn't expect such great results if I were you though, since I'll deny everything. Plus, it would be bad on your part to be the untrustworthy one in our friendship. You're one of the few people I know I can I actually trust…but that'll change if you tell Potter, you know. Tell him, and you'll leave me no choice."

'Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin', I thought. So Draco had decided to give me an ultimatum, had he?

My defiance vanished. What could I say to that? Draco had threatened me with the thing I feared most – losing him. He had played the perfect guilt card. Draco smirked and released my arms when he saw he'd won. Cold air overtook them and I almost want him to hold me again.

"Fine. I won't tell Harry….but only if you tell me everything." I challenged back, and Draco's face flooded with bitter concern. "What? I thought you said you could trust me?"

Draco paused for a moment, before making his way back to our little nest of blankets. He poured himself a cup of steaming hot chocolate. "Let's hope so."

VVVVV

It was late into the night when Draco had finally finished telling me everything. He had told me about his mother, and what his father had done to her. He talked about the things he'd seen in The Dark Lord's presence, and he had had to stop more than once to see if I was alright enough to continue his story. Draco had even gone into the details, the revels that were held at his home, and how his father had participated. Lucius was the one responsible for all of this. He had entered the Ministry earlier last summer and had failed at placing an Imperius Charm on Pius Thicknesse. Lucius' failures had resulted in various, extremely disturbing punishments bestowed upon Draco, Luicius, and Narcissa by Voldemort himself. He had paused then, as he explained that he still dreamed about the violence of the torture. Draco had said this so void of emotion that it had sent chills all the way up to my hairline. I had never heard of anything so gruesome. The Dark Lord took pleasure in performing Unforgivable Curses so much that he performed them almost lovingly. Draco couldn't even remember how many times he had woken up bloody and mangled from the Cruciatus Curse. Blaise had never been involved with the Dark Side, his mother had made sure of that. Draco's mother hadn't really had the choice. Pansy's father was affiliated with Voldemort as well, although he was often not invited to the meetings . Somewhere throughout the middle of his story, I had burst into a fit of silent tears. Draco hadn't noticed, and even if he had, he hadn't acknowledged it. Actually, I preferred it that way. Draco sighed quietly, looking away from me.

"So now you know. Everything. Do you still think The Dark Lord is a force to be reckoned with?" He demanded, looking obviously patronizing. He had the right to be.

Chin up, my voice still cracked as I spoke. "Yes."

Draco chuckled bitterly, turning his head to observe me with his liquid-like blue-grey eyes. A lock of hair came down to shadow his left eye. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because we have something he doesn't have."

"What?"

Wordlessly, I burrowed through a pile of blankets and various pillows. I pulled out the book from the mess, and immediately, Draco's eyes widened curiously. He recognized it, no doubt.

In my hands, I held "The Whisper of the Night" by Gredaculus Scrunch.

VVVVV

"Draco?" I murmured, when I didn't receive a response after the third try. After a few moments, he glared.

"Are trying to insult my intelligence?"

My jaw slacked. "What?"

What the hell was his problem? Just moments ago he had been soft and vulnerable and now he was cold as ice.

"You heard me. Do you really think Voldemort can be defeated by using some stupid dream book? I thought you were smarter than that – I certainly am."

I scoffed back, determined to not let him win. "You really should have more faith in books."

"Why, so I can become like you?"

There was dead silence, and instantly, my eyes stung with unshed tears. Draco sighed. Tentatively, he reached for my hand. "I didn't mean that. I just –"

"I know." I said softly.

Draco didn't mean the things he said when he was upset, I had learned that by now. He was constantly hurting, and if he needed to use me as a vessel to channel his hardships through, I would let him.

"Why am I such a prat, Hermione? I always end up hurting the people that care." Draco muttered, and I gripped his hand. I sighed, and put my head on his shoulder. For once, he didn't flinch, and after a few moments, I felt his chin resting atop of my hair.

"Don't say that. You haven't hurt me."

"You're a horrible liar."

"Okay, so maybe you have. A lot. Regardless, I still care about you." I said, looking down at our entwined fingers. Draco stiffened beneath me.

"You do?"

"Are you daft?" I said, looking up to see him. "Of course I do, you're my best friend," I laughed. Draco's eyes lit up curiously once more, but this time, a mixture of quizzicality and warmth lingered in them.

"But Potter and Weasley –"

"I never said they weren't…well, Harry anyways. But so are you."

Draco nodded solemnly, the smallest quirk of a smile resting on the edges of his mouth. I didn't mind if he didn't voice his thoughts on our friendship.

"So, no luck with Weasley then?" Draco asked curtly, and I shook my head.

"Not at all," I sighed, subconsciously scooting closer to Draco. He made a small acknowledging sound.

"He'll come around."

I laughed in surprise and removed my head from Draco's shoulder. I stared at him in shock. That was the nicest thing he'd ever said about Ron. "What makes you think so?"

"Just trust me," He murmured. " After all, you're Hermione Granger. The Hermione Granger, everybody either wants to be you or be with you. You have friends that would do anything for you –"

"Okay, I get it!" I grumbled, and he laughed. Soon enough, I was giggling along with him. Draco faltered slightly, but I didn't. I continued to laugh so much that I hadn't realized that he had been staring unabashedly at my lips for a very long time. I quieted then, my eyes flickering to his lips as he licked them. I watched as he did, and his teeth dragged across his bottom lip for a moment before it emerged fully again, pink and plumped. It was becoming increasingly hard to breathe, and it became worse as he moved even closer to me. Automatically, my eyes began to flutter close as the warm electric pool in my stomach riveted. This was all too familiar…

Just let it happen…just this once… –

"Hermione? Draco?" Mum's voice came from down below, causing me to jump away from Draco. I didn't miss the flicker of a scowl on his face. "Are you two still up there?"

Breath still caught in my throat, I managed to choke out a response. "We were just coming down!"

"Alright, Dears! Sleep well!"

"Goodnight, Mrs. Granger!" Draco called out, laughing a little at the sudden surprise. Mum responded by chuckling and saying something, but I couldn't focus. All I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears. I would have kissed him again, and as much as I tried to stray away from the thought, I was pretty bothered that I hadn't.

Draco smirked and began to hoist blankets into his arms. He climbed down to ladder before I did, whistling some Muggle tune he had heard on the radio earlier today.

"Bugger," I muttered, and I leant down to gather the platter of cookies and the now cold thermos of hot chocolate from the floor.

VVVVV

Hello loves! It was has literally been forever, and I've missed you all terribly. Seriously, I've been trying to update for a while now, but I never got the chance to! You can thank school for that. My final exams are next week, so I won't be updating until the week after that. Wish me luck? I'm going to need it. On a happier note, this story has reached its 40th chapter! Haha, and to think I had been planning to make this no more that thirty chapters. I'm sorry for any typos/grammatical errors, I try to catch them, but they can be sneaky buggers sometimes. The kiss is almost here! I don't want to give too much away, but I think you get the idea. Sorry for being a tease again, I promise I'll make it up to you all ;D! This chapter was emotionally draining but fun to write. Another chapter starring the oh so famous cookies :D! Anyways, I would love it if you'd all tell me what you thought of this chapter! I thought it should reveal something because Hell, it's the 40th chapter! In the mean time, here are some questions (because we haven't done that it forever!)

Why do you think Hermione forgave Draco so easily?

Do you think Hermione will tell Harry Draco's story and give up his trust?

What will make Dramione get together?

Do you think Draco will replace Ron as Hermione's best friend?

That's all for now. Your responses always make smile . Just know that I love you guys just as much as I love Dramione! I look forward to updating soon! Feel free to leave a review, constructive criticism, or ideas! Love to all! X