AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm so sorry this has taken so long to update! I havn't had wifi for nearly three weeks now so I've not been able to post for any of my fics. We finally got wifi today though so FANFICTION, I'M BACK BABY!

Thank you to NekoDarkHeart, puresteph, characetsworld6891, Neakco and Guest for reviewing the last chapter!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I've really been looking forward to writing it, but it gets pretty dark towards the end which I didn't even really plan on… I'm not sure what you guys will think of it but please review and let me know!

I should probably warn you all that the end of this chapter does reference child abuse.

This chapter is dedicated to Miss Lovebad, dancerengland, laeela, hoshiakari7, RHCP Addict, nijamuzen, Neakco and tkm8949.

Peony

Draco glanced nervously around Flourish and Blotts, praying that his father wouldn't come around the corner. The shop was packed due to Gilderoy Lockheart doing a book signing and Draco was extremely grateful that nobody would notice him sneaking around because of this.

He was looking for a book. One very specific book. That shouldn't have been too difficult considering he was in one of – if not the – biggest bookshop in wizarding London, but he wasn't looking for this book so he could buy it. It wasn't a school book nor was it one he wanted to read for pleasure. If he didn't find this book then someone may die. And Draco was finding it very difficult to stop his hands from shaking slightly as he ran his fingers across the spines of the books.

Draco had heard things over the holidays. He knew the only reason his father hadn't told him about the plans in the works for Hogwarts was because his mother wanted him to stay out of any business to do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for as long as possible, so all he had heard was from whispering when his parents didn't know he was outside the door. As such he didn't know all the details, but from the words "Chamber of Secrets" and "basilisk" he could figure it out.

Draco knew the legend of the Chamber as his mother had told him it as a child, but the one thing he didn't know was who the Heir of Slytherin was, only that his father was certain that they would be appearing at Hogwarts this year. And if that was true, if the Chamber was opened and the monster unleashed, then a huge chunk of the pupils at Hogwarts would be in danger.

Draco truly didn't care about the majority of the Muggle-borns at his school. His parents had brought him up with the idea that pure-blood wizarding families were above all others, especially Muggle-borns.

But there was one girl. Only one person who had ever made Draco question that belief which he held so firmly.

Hermione Granger.

He knew that Hermione was in Flourish and Blotts as he'd seen her run out of the shop a few minutes ago before re-entering with Harry Potter following behind her. It surprised Draco how much Hermione had changed in just a couple of months, but he forced himself not to stare after her as she weaved in and out of the crowds of people dragging Potter behind her and went back to glancing at as many spines of books as he could as fast as he could.

After a few minutes, during which there was a great uproar in the shop below him when Lockheart spotted Potter in the crowd and made a big fuss over him like everyone always did, Draco found the book he'd been looking for so desperately. Looking over his shoulder once more out of paranoia he quickly grabbed the book and leafed through its pages, having to double back when he spotted a small illustration of a basilisk. Letting his eyes dart over the page he saw the information he needed. Spiders flee before it, its gaze will kill, the crowing of a rooster can kill it… This was it. Now he just needed to find a way to get the page to Hermione without anyone – Hermione included – noticing.

With one last glance around to make sure nobody was looking Draco quickly tore the page out of the book and put the book back where he found it. As he did he spotted Potter, Hermione and the Weasley brood walking towards the door, and out of the corner of his eye he could see the imposing figure of his father about to march into the store. Seeing an ideal opportunity to make sure his father didn't suspect a thing he quickly ran down the stairs and blocked his fellow second years from leaving the store.

"I'll bet you loved that, didn't you Potter?" Draco sneered, referring to everyone shrieking about Harry Potter and Gilderoy Lockheart being in the same building. "Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave him alone."

Draco glanced down and saw the only daughter among the Weasley gaggle glaring up at him.

"Look Potter," Draco chuckled. "You've got yourself a girlfriend."

Just as he said this he felt a thud on his shoulder and heard a very familiar voice in his ear.

"Now now Draco, play nicely," Lucius Malfoy murmured in his ear.

Draco sighed slightly but moved out of the way, quickly stuffing the ripped page into the pocket of his robe. What he didn't see were Hermione's sharp eyes following the movement.

"Mr Potter," Lucius smiled slightly. "Lucius Malfoy. We meet at last." He held his hand out to Harry and Harry shook it with a very stony look on his face before Lucius pulled him forward. "Forgive me," he muttered as he used his cane to move Harry's fringe out of the way so he could see his scar. "Your scar is legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you."

"Voldemort killed my parents," Harry glared at Lucius, stepping back from him. "He was nothing more than a murderer."

Draco's eyes flew to those of his father. He knew Lucius wouldn't take well to the Dark Lord being called 'nothing more than a murderer.'

Sure enough, Lucius was quiet for a few moments before speaking up again. "You must be very brave to mention his name," he said, plastering a very fake smile on his face. "Or very foolish."

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Hermione spoke up, causing Lucius to look over at her and Draco to flinch.

"And you must be… Miss Granger," Lucius said, glancing at Draco for confirmation. Draco nodded once before looking back down. "Yes, Draco's told me all about you. And your parents."

Hermione frowned and looked back at where her mother and father were talking to Mr Weasley.

"Muggles, aren't they?" Lucius asked with a smirk.

Draco swallowed heavily, silently praying his father wouldn't use the other M-word to describe Hermione. Even though with any other Muggle-born he wouldn't have cared but Hermione was a different case.

Then Lucius began to mock the Weasley family and Draco saw his opportunity. With everyone's eyes on his father Draco carefully took the ripped page out of his pocket and slipped it into Hermione's robe. Hermione didn't react so Draco allowed himself a small sigh of relief.

Draco had tuned out what his father was saying but he spotted him dropping a few books into the Weasley girl's cauldron. Draco frowned. He'd seen one of those books – a black one - at Malfoy Manor during the holidays but he didn't know what it was, only that it wasn't a textbook for school. He also noticed that at some point Mr Weasley had appeared next to them and was now speaking to Lucius.

"And I thought your family could sink no lower," Lucius was practically hissing at Mr Weasley.

Draco saw Mr Weasley's jaw clench but he quickly relaxed his face and smiled round at his children, presumably to assure them he was okay, before looking back at Lucius.

"I'll see you at work," Lucius said shortly to Mr Weasley before motioning for Draco to follow him.

Draco nodded before glancing round at his classmates. "See you at school," he said to them all in the most unfriendly way he could muster.

Just before he left the bookshop Draco allowed himself one last quick glance at Hermione. He frowned when he saw that her hand clamped over her pocket and she was looking right at him. When she made eye contact with him however she quickly looked away and started talking to one of the Weasley twins. Draco looked down in confusion before quickly following after his father, hoping that what he'd done would keep Hermione safe.

Draco Malfoy hated himself. He'd never known he could hate anyone as much as he hated himself right now. He'd thought sneaking the torn out page to Hermione would be enough to make sure she was safe but he'd been wrong. Now she was lying petrified in the hospital wing and there was nothing he could do about it.

Draco stopped at the end of the corridor and peaked around the corner, the door to the hospital wing within sight. He couldn't hear or see anyone else so he pulled his robe closer around him and hurried down the corridor. Pulling out his wand he pointed it at the locked door, muttering "Alohomora," under his breath. He heard the bolt slide over and slowly pushed the door open.

Peaking his head around the door Draco was relieved to see that Madame Pomfrey was nowhere in sight. He could see the other students who had been petrified lying on various hospital beds, but he spotted Hermione on the furthest bed. Keeping glancing around just in case anyone else was here Draco came to a stop next to the young Gryffindor girl. He lowered his hood and clenched his fists. Draco never cried but he was seriously feeling like he was about to.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured, slowly reaching out and resting his hand on Hermione's forehead, stroking it gently with his thumb. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to warn you properly. I'm sorry I called you a Mudblood. I'm sorry for everything."

Draco took a few deep breaths just to ensure he wasn't going to cry and embarrass himself before looking at Hermione's strange position. One of her arms was out and her hand was clenched like she had been holding something, her eyes positioned as if she had been staring at whatever she had been holding. Her other had was clenched at her side. Taking a closer look at her clenched fist Draco spotted a scrap of paper held tightly in her hand. He didn't even need to pry the paper away from her to know what it was. Draco's eyes widened as he realised it was the page he'd torn out of the book at Flourish and Blotts.

Looking around where Hermione was laying Draco spotted a mirror on the small table next to the bed. A quick glance was all it took for Draco to figure out that was probably what she'd been holding in her other hand.

Draco felt his heart speed up as he realised what this all must mean. Hermione had found the paper he'd sneaked to her and had realised there was a basilisk in the school. She must have used the mirror to look around corners to check and see if it was coming so she didn't look at it directly in the eye. If she hadn't had that mirror…she would be dead.

The fact that the scrap of paper Draco had slipped into Hermione's pocket had potentially saved her life began to dawn on Draco and he found himself smiling slightly. He knew from Herbology class that Professor Sprout was growing more than enough mandrake plants to revive everyone who had been petrified once they were fully grown. Hermione was going to be okay.

Pulling his wand out one last time Draco generated a small bunch of pink peony flowers and left them on the table next to the mirror before he slowly leant down and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. With a final glance at her frozen form Draco fled from the hospital wing and dashed back to the Slytherin common room.

Draco grimaced as he felt the cane come down on his back, but he refused to cry out. He was stronger than that. He wouldn't cry or scream or beg for his father to stop. His mother was already doing that job for him and Draco knew exactly why his father was beating him.

A huge weight had been lifted from Draco's chest when he had seen Hermione come running into the Great Hall at the end of term feast, especially when he realised she was clutching the peony flowers he'd left for her. Draco had seen her look at Potter and Weasley in turn before frowning and slowly glancing over at the Slytherin table. The two of them had locked eyes for a moment before Hermione smiled ever so slightly, but the Dumbledore had begun to speak so their attention was stolen away. Hermione hadn't looked at Draco for the rest of the night.

And somehow his father knew Draco was the reason no Muggle-borns had died. Of course the water on the floor, the camera and the ghost had been nothing to do with Draco, but no book in the Hogwarts library spoke of a basilisk. Lucius had made sure of that. The only way Hermione could have survived this term with merely being petrified was if someone had told her about the basilisk or had somehow slipped her the information, and as Lucius was convinced nobody else in the school could have known about it Draco was now being beaten.

Draco could feel the flesh on his back breaking and the blood trickling down to the floor, but his father didn't stop. It wasn't until his mother's sobs were so loud that they were the only sound he could hear did he suddenly turn and leave the room. As soon as he did Narcissa dropped to her knees and held her son close.

"Please, don't anger your father again," she sobbed into his ear. "No matter what he asks you to do from now on please do as he asks, I beg of you. Do not make me witness my son going through that again."

Draco managed to nod, tears stinging his eyes. "I promise mother. I promise."

AN: Please review this chapter and let me know what you think!