AN: Hey I know you want to get to reading but I still dont own any of the characters! Also, I apologized in advace for the darkness and pain and bad stuff in this chapter. Hopefully they will get a bit lighter. If any of you have any ideas or anything you'd like me to add please review! And i promise more fluff to come!

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Hermione stood at the front gates of the immense Malfoy Manor. The gates had fallen off their hinges making it easy to step into the property, but it wasn't the gate that held back the young witch. She twisted a piece of her hair between her fingers and swallowed a bit of her fears. Deep down she knew that there was nothing here that would hurt her, but still she worried. If it hadn't been for her determination to make sure her almost-friend was okay, she wouldn't have thought twice about turning around.

Hermione walked under the broken gate and down the thick paved path. The building itself was darker than she remembered with ivy growing up and down the sides of it. Most of the windows were blocked up with wood or cardboard from the inside. It made her wonder what Draco could possibly be doing in that dark house. Hermione had always found it frightening to think what happened behind the closed windows of the Malfoy Manor. She figured that no sort of good ever found its way into a place like that.

Slowly, Hermione knocked on the giant doors of the house. She was surprised when it wasn't answered by a house-elf or even a spell. Instead, she found the door unlocked and slightly unhinged like the gate. Hermione couldn't help but want to scold Draco for not taking care of the things that he had. Without his aweful parents around the manor had lost almost all of its dignity it once had. Then again, after the war the entire Malfoy family lost their dignity, why would their house be any different?

"Draco?" Hermione called stepping into the giant halls. "Draco, I...I got your letter but we need to talk." She waited but no one responded. "Malfoy? Come one, you, I came all the way here and I'm not afraid to leave if you decide not to answer me!" Hermione huffed and walked deeper into the forboding house.

In all honesty, Hermione had no idea where to look. She looked in what appeared to be the kitchen, dining area and the great room, but found no Malfoy. Every once in a while she couldn't help but run her fingers over the letters carved into her skin. They had obviously healed but were still visible, especially to her. The medics had told her that she could hide and/or remove it with a simple spell but she refused.

After huffing up several flights of stairs, Hermione worried that she would never find him. She began to question if he was even there. Slowly, she turned the corner and found a door that was closed and locked. He was in there, she could feel it.

"Draco," she said, "It's me, Hermione." There was no reply. "I know you're in there." She sighed and leaned against the door. "Please, I got your owl...but...I'm sorry...if I did anything wrong...just tell me."

After waiting several minutes outside the door, Hermione was overwhelmed with a sudden panic. What if something bad happened? What if he was unconcious? She grabbed her wand.

"Alohomora!" Hermione said. The door's locked unlocked and she slowly opened the door.

The room was immense and dark, not unlike the rest of the house. It was hard for Hermione to believe that a boy used to live here once. There was a giant bed in the corner near the door and a desk at the other end of the room. The immense room was painted deep green with mahogany trim that matched the bed frame. It was a beautiful room, Hermione decided, in a dark way. The room was quiet like it's owner. Sadly, the giant window was boarded up with rough old wood and broken nails.

Hermione saw Draco sitting in the corner of the room in his bed. His back was against the wall and his knees were drawn almost to his chest. It appeared that he was writting something on an old parchment with an enchanted quill. His eyes were wide when she broke through his lock.

"Gr...Granger," he stuttered in shock. "How did you..." he glanced down and saw her wand in hand, "Oh."

"Sorry, Draco," she started. "I...I came to see if you were alright. I was worried. You left Hogwarts so fast. I didn't even get a chance to ask where you were going."

"That's why I left so fast...why did you come here?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Hermione raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "I just told you that I was worried for you."

"Oh?" Draco looked down at the parchment on his lap and then back up at the girl standing in his doorway. He found something ironic about the situation. Most men would have been thrilled to see a beautiful woman standing in their doorway asking if they were alright. Most men would be happy to have a giant mansion alone, with a beautiful girl. But not Draco Malfoy. He was worried and confused. He didn't understand why Hermione had come all this way to see him. She had to walk through the very house Bellatrix had tortured her in...just to see him.

"Well?" Hermione asked after a bit. She walked over and gently sat at the edge of his bed. "What's wrong?" The cleaver girl watched as Draco looked back down at his knees. His almost-white hair was unkept and messy and he had giant circles under his eyes. She was shocked that she hadn't notice his apparent lack of sleep before.

"I...I just couldn't stay at Hogwarts any longer..." he paused and looked at her with sad, cold, grey eyes. "...I have...nightmares a lot...and I just can't seem to make them go away," he explain.

"I understand," Hermione said gently. "I used to have them all the time...but they went away eventually..." She moved closer to him and leaned against the wall beside him. "Your nightmares will subside eventually, I promise." Hermione gave a small smile.

"And if they don't..." Draco trailed off and looked away from the girl beside him. He couldn't believe that she was actually sitting next to him. Slowly, he felt her warm hand grab his. Hermione squeezed his hand and a small smile crept onto her face.

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Yay! Hope you like so far! Please r & r