The morning getting ready at the cottage felt like an eternity to Hermione. She found herself snapping at people, and acting quite jittery, anxious to get back to Hogwarts. The others put her bad mood down to the stress of their final year, as they had for the entire Christmas break when she had seemed stressed. After saying a tearful goodbye to her parents, she joined everyone and they headed back to Hogwarts. It was a completely awful day, the constant snow and the gushing wind was hitting everyone's faces like icicles, that cold where it is so freezing it feels like it burns. Hermione grinned grimly to herself, she could not have picked better weather to match the turmoil going on within her.

When the group arrived at the Castle Hermione made her excuses to head back to the common room, she could barely stand the anticipation of seeing Draco, of the stress she felt that he might not have returned. The others stared after her, concern filling their faces and as soon as she was out of sight Hermione sprinted the whole way through the castle and didn't stop until she reached the portrait hole. She put one hand on the wall as she fought to catch her breath, her chest heaving back and forth.

"Butterbeer." She puffed out when she could a little of her breath back. Evon gave her a concerned glance.

"Welcome back Miss Granger." He said quietly as he the door swung open. Hermione rushed through the door to see a blonde boy sitting on the couch facing the fire.

"Draco." She breathed in relief, the sensation flooding to every part of her body, filling her completely. "You're okay." When he didn't turn around she started to walk towards him, uneasiness starting to bubble back up within her. "When I didn't hear from you… I, I got so worried." She rounded past the couch to see Draco staring blankly at the fire. "Please, can you at least look at me?"

Draco slowly turned his face towards her as she sat down next to him. "Hermione," he reached his hand up and stroked the side of her face. "I think it will be better for both of us, if we keep our distance from each other from now…" He trailed off dropping his hand to his lap.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione stared at him in disbelief. "How could you even say that? Nothing could make me want to stay away from you." She glanced down as she saw his left hand twitch involuntarily. "Oh Draco…" She reached her hand towards his but he yanked it away quickly.

"There was nothing I could do." He said defensively, his eyes wild.

She reached for his arm again with him staring back at her, terrified. She had never seen him looking so uncomposed, so young and afraid. She pulled his arm towards her and rolled his sleeve up slowly. There it was. A skull, with a serpent exiting from the mouth like a tongue, a symbol of everything Hermione stood against, of everything she hated with every fibre of her being, permanently etched into the skin of the man she is in love with. Etched into the arm that pulls her towards him when he kisses her. Etched into the arm of the arm that had held her in a way that no other man ever had. The thought was so repulsive she had to stop herself from pulling her hand away. Instead she took a deep breath, grabbed his arm and held her hand there with her hand covering the marking and looked into the grey eyes that were already searching hers.

"This isn't who you are Draco."

"Who says it isn't? I was born for this." He stood up abruptly, yanking his arm out of her grip. "I was trained for this. It is in my genes, it is in my nature." He snarled as he worked up momentum, with Hermione looking at him in horror. "I have all the tools to be this, all the expectations, it would be crazy for me to think I could ever be anything else."

He stopped talking when he saw the horror in Hermione's eyes; he turned away and faced the far wall. Less than 10 seconds had passed before he felt two tentative hands slide around his waist. Hermione laid her head against his back before speaking quietly.

"Perhaps you have been brought up for this. But I don't believe it is in your nature." Draco closed his eyes as she talked and took a deep breath. "You have qualities that the rest of them could never hope to have. You are brave Draco." He took another ragged breath at the use of his first name, he never quite could get used to it coming from her lips. "You are brave, and you are kind. I've seen it first hand, you could never be what they think you to be. It is just not possible."

Draco turned around at that, slide his arms down onto her waist and buried his face in her hair, kissing her head. Slowly, Hermione put two hands on the side of his face and pushed it back so they were staring into his others eyes.

"I am not in love with a death eater Draco." His eyes widened at her use of the word love. "I am in love with a brave and kind man, a man who despite having all the odds stacked against him, turned into an incredible human being."

At that, Draco couldn't stop himself, he lent in and started kissing Hermione with more passion that he would have ever thought possible. He ran his hands along her back, drinking her in, as if she was life herself. He supposed, if he admitted it to himself, she really was. She was his life, his light. She kissed him back with just as much desperation, she had truly missed him in their time apart. He pulled her away for a second, and closed his eyes. "You know… I feel the same way right.?"

Hermione smiled at him kindly, running her hand along his cheek. "Of course I do Draco."

He grabbed her hand and led her across to the couch and they sunk onto it together, laying in each others arms, neither speaking for what felt like an eternity, Hermione having a few silent tears drop down onto the couch.

Finally Draco asked the question they had both been contemplating separately. "So what now?"

"I don't know." Hermione sighed, a sole tear running down the side of her face.