First of all, I wanted to start this off with an ENORMOUS thank you to everyone who read/enjoyed this fic! This was a bit of a beast to manage - it was meant to be extremely short, I swear, it just spiralled out of control - and I for one am proud of how it turned out.

Thank you again for all your support!

May 1997

Draco waited for Hermione in an alcove facing the Fat Lady, who had huffed at him when he walked up to her but informed him in a dry tone that "Miss Granger has not yet left for breakfast".

Hermione, just as she promised in the letter she had Crookshanks deliver before Draco went to bed - it had been a shock to step into his dormitory and find the demon sitting on his bed, half asleep and acting as if that was now his territory - stepped out at exactly half past seven, well before the dunderheaded duo normally gallivanted to breakfast. Draco tugged her into his alcove, bringing a shout of laughter from his witch, snogging her senseless for a beat or two before the Fat Lady interrupted what was going to be a wonderful morning.

"I am aware of what the two of you are up to, blondie, and I will report you without hesitation!" She yelled, a stark difference from the simpering she had done the day before.

Draco regretfully pulled away from Hermione, pressing their foreheads together with an exasperated groan. "She's just pissed I didn't enjoy her flirting- do you think I could slash up her portrait just like Sirius Black did in third year?"

Hermione chuckled even with a confused expression, stretching to kiss the tip of his nose. "Somehow, I feel like that wouldn't reflect very well on you. And hang on, what's this about a centuries-old portrait making moves on you?"

"Don't worry," Draco wrinkled his nose as he mentally recounted the horrid moment, "it was honestly a nightmare to experience. If you truly wish for me to scar you for life with this story, I have no ability to deny you anything you wish, but I don't think you would enjoy this fresh horror."

"You already scar me for life with your cheek and constantly sultry attitude," she laughed. He was glad to see she had a smile on her face, though it was slightly dimmed and he could still see the red rims around her eyes. He couldn't help stealing another kiss, hoping to banish the pain still present in her eyes.

"Love you, Granger," he whispered, and she echoed the sentiment, twining their hands together and tugging him out of the alcove.

"Shall we head to breakfast? If we go now, we have some time if you want… if you want to help me catch up on what I missed," she offered. Draco glanced at her, at the nervous way she bit her lip, and understood.

"No free pass, Granger, I told you last night what I needed to do today, and there's no backing out of it now. But," he kissed the back of her hand, giving her a meaningful look, "thank you for trying to let me pretend I didn't swear to you I'd speak with Dumbledore."

Hermione nodded, lost in thought for a moment before she beamed wider at him, the freckles across her nose standing out. "After breakfast, then?" She asked.

"How about you go eat, and I'll catch up in a minute. I need to stop at the Room of Requirement and grab a few things I left there last time. That way, I can return the books to the library and have everything ready for Dumbledore to look through without needing to go back again." He made a face, knowing he would refuse to ever step into that room again unless under duress.

"That's fine. Meet me in the Great Hall when you're done and we can scarf down some breakfast together. If you want me to go with you, of course."

"Daft witch, once I'm free of the Room of Requirement, I'd want you with me every moment of every day." She laughed like he was kidding. He wasn't - Draco had briefly toyed with the idea of petitioning the Headmaster and the Sorting Hat to put him in Gryffindor if the red/gold colour scheme didn't cause him to break out into hives.

The other occupants of Gryffindor House - most of them primed to harm and or attack him - were another reason it was best he finished their education with the snakes.

"You're okay eating alone today if I end up having to stay longer? I'm sure Pothead and Weasel aren't awake yet."

Hermione shoved him gently on the shoulder. "The longer we stand here talking, the greater the chances that they'd come down to breakfast and bump into you, so you might want to leave. And Gin said she'd leave soon, so I'm fine. Plus, I will be eating with my Housemates. They're not all that bad."

Draco made a humming noise in the back of his throat, only letting go of her hand when she had walked far enough away.

"Good luck," she told him, and he waved, watching her turn around a corner.

Briefly, Draco debated hunting down Blaise and Theo to give them an update on what was going on - they were worried about him, they had been all year, though yesterday's intervention suggested they were worse off than he initially believed - but shook his head to physically toss the thought aside, figuring he'd tell them after his meeting with Dumbledore.

Knowing Theo and the shit that came out of his mouth, the bloke would wind up stressing Draco out even more than he already was.

He was in and out of the Room of Requirement, wanting to spend as little time as possible in the dark and dreary room that brought back too many bad memories and thoughts. He hadn't touched the cabinet, not even to destroy it. Salazar knew he wasn't close to fixing it, so it wasn't as if it were operational at the moment anyway. With a shiver as the door to the Room of Hidden Things boomed shut behind him, Draco let all thoughts about his task fall from his mind and trekked down to the Great Hall to pick up Granger.

His palms sweat with each step, and he avoided looking at the teacher's tables once he entered the Great Hall. Dumbledore had been missing breakfast more often than not this year, but Draco didn't want to glance up and make uncomfortable eye contact with the geezer over a slice of egg casserole knowing the Headmaster would be aware of his murderous intentions within the hour.

He saw Hermione sitting at the table, smiling at Ginevra, the redhead talking animatedly, her hands gesturing so fast the spoonful of cereal splashed onto Longbottom beside her. He'd just sit with Granger for breakfast if it meant avoiding eye contact with Dumbledore.

As Draco turned in the direction of the Gryffindor table, he felt eyes on him and glanced up to see Potter standing in the middle of the Great Hall, glaring daggers in his direction. Draco frowned, uncertain as to the current reason Potter was staring as if he wanted to kill him. And then he noticed who Harry I-won't-let-things-go Potter was talking to.

Katie Bell.

She looked well, and he was glad to see she didn't have permanent damage, and then thinking about Bell and what almost happened to her - what he did to her - caused his mouth to dry out. It was suddenly hot, too hot, in the large room, and Draco could feel his breaths shortening until black spots tinged his vision. Backtracking away from Hermione, telling himself he would just head to the loo and calm down for a beat, Draco fled, trying to catch his breath. Gods, would he have to tell Dumbledore and Bell he had almost murdered them both?

As he burst into the nearest loo, his hands clutching the sink desperately as he tried to choke back the tears clogging his throat, Draco heard Moaning Myrtle uttering sympathetic condolences above him. He ignored the ghost, instead splashing ice-cold water with shaking hands onto his face to calm down.

It was getting even harder to breathe, and he tugged at his tie, ripping it off when it resisted his attempt to loosen it. Why was he panicking? What was wrong?

He was fine. It would all be okay. He was going to talk to Dumbledore after this. With Hermione. With Granger. His Granger.

Thinking of Hermione helped ground him a little, and he forced himself to stop taking quick, shallow breaths. Hyperventilating and passing out wouldn't help him, and all he had to do next was wait for his pulse to return to normal and stop beating in his throat before he could go find Hermione because she was who he needed. Stalking up to her with panic that he masked with anger and a racing heartbeat would bring terror to several of their peers, and he'd rather not be the reason anyone else wound up in the Hospital Wing.

His fingers flexed against the cool sink and slackened. Draco glanced up in the cracked mirror, trying to see if his colour had returned and if the sweat and tears drying on his face could be passed off for water when he saw Potter's reflection gaping at him. Draco groped for his wand, whirling around and pressing his spine against the sink.

Draco could have sworn all he had said was an angry "Potter!" but then his wand jerked as if he had cast a spell, and he quickly wrenched it sideways, throwing off the trajectory of the hex so it smashed into a lamp instead of Potter's skull.

The other boy drew his wand, too, flicking it without a word, and Draco instinctually blocked the hex. There was too much blood roaring in his ears for him to understand what was going on, to think of what he was casting. Jets of light erupted from both wands, colliding with each other or bouncing off shields until Draco haphazardly waved his wand, his energy sapping.

Potter's face whitened, and he shouted something that Draco couldn't make out over the ringing in his ears and the sound of the broken sink and Moaning Myrtle's shouts-

There was a beat of nothing, where time had stopped for Draco, and then he was in pain, feeling wounds open on his face and chest, feeling the warm ooze of blood staining his clothes and his skin and-

He let out a whimper, or maybe a scream, and the warmth on his chest was starting to fucking burn-

Draco dropped to the ground, twitching, unable to put together anything other than-

"Hermione," he croaked, but it didn't look like anyone heard him. Dimly, he felt the sensation of water spraying on him from the shattered faucet, and from where his head had landed, he could see the puddles around him turning first pink and then a deep, dark red.

From his vantage point, he could also make out Potter, standing still and pale as he stared at Draco in horror. Myrtle was screaming above him, and he closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep, or to be with Granger, or both-

He wasn't sure how long he had been writhing on the floor, feeling his clothing grow heavy with the combination of blood and water that soaked the material, feeling his fingers and toes grow colder, the tingling sensation spreading up his wrists and elbows as he lost feeling in appendage after appendage from the blood loss and shock-

Draco was dizzy, the room spinning as he struggled to keep his eyes open, trying not to break eye contact with the Potter because if he was going to die, he wasn't going to let it happen when he felt all alone, damn it. His eyelids fluttered despite his inner turmoil, and Potter opened his mouth - to finish the job or call for help, Draco didn't know.

Gods, his limbs were all going heavy and he was so, so tired-

And then there was another scream, one that Draco knew intimately, one that instantly made his blood run cold around him because that scream was one of pure fear. Adrenaline and the urge to see her suddenly revitalising him with a sudden bout of energy, he tried to twist to see her, tried to sit up but the pain in his chest flared and he gasped. Blood spurted, leaking across his chest in warm rivulets, and yet he continued to try and fucking crawl to her despite the torment.

Hermione was there, her hands tugging at his useless ones before she was caressing his face and cradling his head, and then her hands were gone and his head was in her lap and she was frantically casting something that would briefly staunch the wounds on his chest before they were ripped open once more.

"Sh, sh," she pleaded with him, "I'm here, don't move Draco, don't fucking move-" her voice caught and broke, and then her lips were on his forehead, mouthing words that had no sound other than her sobs. Her wand stayed in constant motion even as she crumped above him, the tears streaming down her features and falling gently onto his forehead. He let out a sigh because if he was dying, at least his Hermione was here-

But he couldn't die, not yet, because she was in pain, and he felt her suffering deep in his bones. It was agony, pure agony, as he heard Granger crying. He wanted to hold her, to tell her he was alright because even if that wasn't true, it might help her feel better.

The ringing noise vanished and then his ears popped, bringing everything back into sharp focus so he could clearly hear Hermione cursing Potter in between healing spells.

"Hermione-" Potter said, voice cracking, "what are you doing? Why are you here?"

"That is the first thing you have to say for yourself?" Hermione spit, the hand she was using to hold his tightening. "What did you do?"

"I-I don't know, it was in the Prince's book-"

"You absolute idiot, I told you never to use that book! Only a fool would use a spell when they don't know what it does! Harry, this is beyond your normal level of stupid!" Draco felt his body flinch as her voice went up several decibels, and she glanced down at him briefly before turning back to Potter with a furious snarl.

Snape emerged from the half-open door, murder in his eyes as he glanced at Potter and then stormed to Draco's prone form, whipping out his wand and waving it over Draco several times. His cuts felt warm and then hot, and he groaned as the flow of blood began to ease and the wounds knit together.

"Bloody fool," Snape growled lowly, and Hermione continued her shouting, heedless a professor was mere centimetres away.

Draco managed to chuckle as Granger hexed Potter with abandon, the bespectacled Gryffindor flinching with each hit. At one point, the other boy was Transfigured into a slug, Hermione shrieking profanities at the mollusc. Draco could have sworn Snape, who was still looming above him while keeping an eye on the infuriated witch, emit a soft laugh when he saw the state of the Chosen One.

"That's enough, Miss Granger," Snape finally cut in, stopping Hermione mid-tirade as he began to lift Draco from the floor. "Mr. Malfoy will be alright, though there will be a certain amount of scarring. Take him to the hospital wing, and make sure Madam Pomfrey gives him plenty of dittany. He may need more throughout the night."

Hermione nodded, face tight, and she held firm to Draco as he staggered and leaned against her, still tightly gripping his hand. She barely moved a muscle, even as his full weight was transferred to her.

"You have more upper body strength than I thought," Draco tried to say to her, though it may have come out as more of a groan than anything.

"Before you leave, Miss Granger," Snape raised a hand, and Hermione paused, "unfortunately, it is against school rules to attack a student, so I will deduct ten points from Gryffindor. However," there was a creepy smile on Snape's face, and Draco had to blink several times to make sure it was real and he wasn't hallucinating from the blood loss, "I will award you ten points for your quick thinking, as that saved Mr. Malfoy's life and another five for your… creative spellwork." He smirked maliciously at the Potter slug on the floor of the bathroom.

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said breathlessly, and Draco squeezed the hand that was still firmly tucked into his. This was the first - and probably only - time Snape had honestly complimented Granger for something, and he was determined to make sure she savoured the moment once he was tucked into a bed in the hospital wing.

"And well done, keeping calm in this situation," Snape added nastily as an afterthought, black eyes glittering. Hermione muttered some choice words under her breath as she helped Draco out of the waterlogged bathroom, her voice growing louder as her rant slowly became directed at Potter.

"Goodness, what happened?" Madam Pomfrey tutted as she beheld the unlikely duo stumbling into the hospital wing.

"Harry cursed Draco, blood everywhere," Hermione breathed, helping Draco into an empty bed. Within moments, Madam Pomfrey was clucking over him like a mother hen, Hermione at her side, her face white and pale with worry.

"Don't worry, Miss Granger," the matron said kindly, eyeing her and cataloguing the fear, "Mr. Malfoy will be right as rain soon enough. He may have a few scars, but some can find appeal in that."

Hermione and Draco flushed - at least, Draco assumed he flushed, though he may not have had enough blood in his body to do that - and Hermione quickly recounted Pomfrey on the events of the bathroom and Snape's instructions.

"I saw all that blood, and I thought you'd died," Hermione confessed in a whisper, sitting beside his hospital bed in a chair she had conjured. Madam Pomfrey had just done her rounds, raising an eyebrow at the Gryffindor witch that had stayed by his bedside all day, despite her classes. When he had first been carted in, Hermione stuck to his side like glue, Pomfrey had immediately been debriefed by Snape over the situation and tended to his wounds, whispering in his ear, "I found Miss Granger" rather unhelpfully. He clearly didn't need her to look for Hermione anymore, she was standing right there. But when he went to snarkily respond, she poked one of the red stripes rather aggressively and he could only wheeze in response.

They were alone in the hospital wing now, though Draco was sure the elderly witch was keeping an eye on them from her office, and Draco didn't hesitate before tugging on Granger's hand insistently.

"Lay with me," he urged, and Hermione pursed her lips. "C'mon, Granger," he forced himself to cough, and she fought to stop the smile from forming. Without any more prompting, she slipped onto the bed, her head finding that perfect place on his chest while still avoiding the bandages.

"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered, and he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"Me too. I mean, I knew I was going to have to go through some shit today, but I didn't expect to be on my deathbed-"

He hissed as Granger gently hit him on the chest. She hadn't hit any of his wounds, but the echo of pain remained. "Don't say that," she chided even as she rubbed small, soothing circles to ease the pain, "for a brief moment, you technically were on your deathbed. And I don't like to think about that."

He took her hand, pausing its movements. "It's okay. I'm still here, aren't I? All thanks to you." His heart thumped strongly in his chest, and he felt the pulse in her wrist slow down until they were in sync.

"I'd make Harry give you the notes for every class you'll miss except that might hurt your grades even worse," she groaned into his shoulder, and he chuckled.

"It sounds like you aren't going to attend class tomorrow either," he observed. "That'll be four days in a row. What a rebel."

She lifted her head so he could clearly see her frown. "And I have a good reason for each missed day."

He made a grunting noise of dissent but contorted his face into an innocent expression when she glanced at him. By her snort, it sounded like she didn't buy into his innocence, but she gave him a kiss anyway, so he could officially die a happy man.

"Anyway, I've been meaning to talk to you- I've been hearing complaints from my friends-"

"Which ones?" Draco was only half listening, most of his brain focusing on the smooth column of her neck by his face as she stretched out beside him. He wasn't a vampire - despite several taunts from other students mocking his pale complexion and, as of this year, the enormous circles under his eyes - but her throat looked so inviting he had no other choice but to reach up and nip and suck slightly. She let out a gasp that ended in a moan, and he did it again.

"Uh," she started, "erm, Gin and Ron. Technically, from Potter too," she spat the name with a venom that normally only he used, "but I'm still not speaking to him. In fact, I pretend I can't hear him, it's driving him mad and it's quite funny, I can't wait for you to see it."

"You're not getting over your anger anytime soon, are you?" He asked, smirking victoriously at the hickey blooming on her neck and pressing a soft kiss to the bruise.

"Of course not, he almost killed you. For a brief moment, I think you actually were dead. They'll put my ire on my gravestone."

"Ah, yes: Here Lies Hermione Granger-Malfoy, 1979-2079, loving Wife and Mother; and in quotes, "I'm still fucking pissed at you, Harry James Potter!" I personally love it. I might inscribe the same thing on my own gravestone." She gave him a look that told him she wasn't amused, but her small grin said otherwise.

"Anyway," Hermione said pointedly, kissing his jaw to distract him, "they're complaining because Hagrid has been making vague threats to them."

Draco furrowed his brows. "To them? What has he been saying?"

Hermione shrugged, eyeing him carefully. "Something about how the next time a frien' goes missin' and they don' look fer her, they'd answer to me."

"You are surprisingly good at his accent," Draco commented dryly, and she rolled her eyes.

"Did you talk to him? Gin said neither one of them spoke with Hagrid since the last time we'd been down to see him."

Draco grumbled noncommittally under his breath. "Listen, they were all pissing me off; none of them seemed worried you were missing. The only one who seemed to care was Hagrid, even though he wasn't helpful at all."

Hermione laughed, kissing his cheek gently, stroking his hair as she looked at him with a sparkle in her eye.

"What?" He asked warily, unsure what the sparkle meant.

"Nothing, I just… I love you," Hermione said softly, and he sat up slightly to kiss her despite the fiery pain covering his chest.

"Love you too," he said, and when he pulled back, she sighed slightly, settling back against the pillow and facing him.

"I KNEW IT!" A voice yelled beside them, causing both Draco and Hermione to startle, whirling to face the intruder. Draco let out a hiss as his chest twinged with pain. Hermione, not taking her eyes off the newcomer, blindly patted Draco's chest to find his hand, giving him a comforting squeeze. "Pay up Blaise, you owe me fifteen Galleons."

"You know shite, Theo," Blaise grumbled, stepping around the privacy curtain. "I told you about them yesterday, which meant I figured it out first."

"What the fuck are you two doing here," Draco groaned, pressing his face into Hermione's hair, completely willing to let it suffocate him.

"Erm, hello," Hermione said tentatively, looking stunned as she tugged her hair away so Draco wasn't resting on it anymore.

"Hello," Blaise said to Hermione and nodded at Draco. "It's good to see you aren't still dead."

"I don't believe I was ever fully dead," Draco said, trying to minimise the damage so Hermione wouldn't go into another of her rants.

"No thanks to Potter," Hermione snipped, crossing her arms as a furious expression once again crossed her face. "that tosser better watch his behaviour for the next several months." Draco met Blaise's gaze over the top of her head, eyes wide as they both struggled to contain their laughter. Merlin knew Granger wasn't a witch to be trifled with, and with a wand she was terrifying, but without it, she came across as rather unthreatening. But the boys knew better - she may look harmless without her wand, but Draco knew better than anyone not to antagonise her too far. His nose would sometimes have phantom pains from when she broke it all those years ago.

"I said they would wind up together when we were in first year, so pay what I am owed," Theo interrupted, holding out a palm towards Blaise.

"How could you have possibly guessed that? I'm pretty sure I said a total of fifteen words to Draco our first year." Hermione questioned, ignoring Draco as he shook his head frantically.

"I know these things, Hermione," Theo said with a flourish, "and I could just tell that, in years to come, there would be crackling sexual tension between you both-"

"Here," Blaise cut in, slapping his palm against Theo's, "take a high-five as payment and get over it." The Italian paused and inspected Theo, eyes narrowed, before adding, "But wash your hands before you wank." Hermione choked on a breath at Blaise's words, the only one in the room unused to the dynamic between Blaise and Theo.

Theo cackled. "Only if you pay up."

"I'll pay," the Italian's grin promised mischief, "but only if you cough up the fifty Galleons you owe Draco and me for backing out of the game of Kings at the Ravenclaw party last week."

"Why-" Draco started to ask, and Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Theo was close to losing, and he didn't want to break his winning streak, so we struck a deal. I would gracefully bow out and convince the others to follow suit - allowing him the default win - and he owes us both fifty Galleons. A deal which I am claiming now."

"Call it even?" Theo asked hopefully, expression contrite, and Blaise pretended to think even though it was obvious he planned for that outcome.

"Fine," he said, but Draco was quick to protest.

"Hang on, you're only calling it even between the two of you. Don't think you're wiping the slate clean with my share, too-"

"Get over it, it's only a few Galleons," Theo snapped.

"It's fifty Galleons, and I have plans for that money, thank you very much, so don't think that it's all settled between us-"

"Draco, your family is unfathomably rich, why don't you let this go?" Hermione groaned, throwing her head back so it was resting against his shoulder.

"It's the principle of the matter," he grumbled, "they're also as rich as sin, so they don't get any special treatment from me."

"No, just the rest of the student body." Theo agreed, looking much chipper now that his debt had been cleared. It seemed everyone was aware that, now that Hermione had involved herself in the argument, Draco was fighting a losing battle.

He'd work harder to keep his mates away from Hermione, otherwise, they may take advantage of his infatuation with the stunning witch. There were several other debts he still needed to collect, and refused to let them use Hermione to clear the board.

"There goes your birthday present," Draco sighed sarcastically, glancing at Hermione. "I needed fifty Galleons more for your gift but you just gave it away." He shrugged in a what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it sort of way, and she slapped him on the shoulder.

"I'll dump you and find someone richer." Hermione winked at Blaise, who looked very amused at the immediate glare Draco shot him.

Draco snarled at Blaise, teeth bared. "Keep your filthy hands away from Granger."

"Be nice or I'll tell Granger all the stupid shit you ran into this year while you were thinking of her." Blaise and Theo wore identical smirks, and from the way Hermione's shoulders were twitching, she was clearly stifling a laugh.

Draco was half a heartbeat away from summoning Potter to give the bloke another chance to off him and hope that this time, it stuck.

"Who's to say it's because I was thinking of Granger?" Draco let out a sigh as Hermione turned to him, one eyebrow raised. "Not that I didn't think of you all the time, love, but there was a lot going on this year."

That sobered the whole room, Blaise and Theo shuffling uncomfortably as they were unaware of how much Hermione knew. Hermione put a hand on Draco's chest, and he grinned down at her.

"He's so whipped for her," Theo said in a loud whisper.

"Alright, visiting hours are over, get out," Draco snapped, holding tight to Hermione's waist when she made a motion to leave the bed. "Not you, you stay. You swore you'd stick around, especially since we still have to talk to Dumbledore."

"Hang on," Blaise cut in, looking serious for the first time since he entered the Hospital Wing, "all jokes aside, are you serious?"

"You're going to Dumbledore? For..." Theo glanced at Hermione, "And not...?" His voice rose at the end so it became a question.

"Yes, I'm going to talk to him, not kill him," Draco muttered, glancing around to ensure Pomfrey was still in her office. Both Theo and Blaise reached over to slap the shoulder Hermione wasn't leaning against, pride shining in their eyes.

"Thank gods," Theo muttered, "we genuinely thought you were going to die this whole year."

Blaise cleared his throat and turned to Hermione. "Thanks for saving our brother," he said quietly. "All three of us are in your debt."

Hermione smiled at them before turning her grin to Draco, causing him to respond in kind. "I just gave him a little nudge and incentive. I always knew he would make the right decision in the end. He's a good man."

"Who the fuck is she talking about?" Theo loudly whispered to Blaise. "Draco's the biggest rat bastard there is."

"Did Pomfrey tell you when I'm cleared to leave?" Draco shifted slightly, the worn mattress and decidedly not silk sheets uncomfortable even through his clothes. His shirt was open so Pomfrey could have easy access to his wounds - though he'd teased Hermione later that she just wanted easy access for herself - and he couldn't help but shiver from the chill. Thankfully, however, Hermione exuded so much body heat he wasn't that cold.

"You sleep in the dungeons, you big baby, you shouldn't be that cold," she muttered, but snuggled a little closer despite her snarky tone. "She said she will inspect you in the morning, but Professor Snape did most of the work, so you should be able to leave in the morning."

"Can you stay here all night?" Draco pleaded, tightening his grasp around her waist. Blaise and Theo had left a while ago, the four of them playing cards on the hospital bed until the bell rang signalling dinner. Hermione had opted to stay with Draco, allowing the House Elves to bring an extra plate for her when they delivered the food for the students currently confined in the Hospital Wing. Draco found it immensely amusing that they were still afraid of Hermione, pleading she wouldn't give them clothes.

"I don't think Madam Pomfrey would like that very much. But we have some time before visiting hours are over."

"Not long," Pomfrey threatened, and both teenagers turned to see her standing at the foot of the bed, fists planted on her hips. "You have ten minutes, Miss Granger. Do try to keep things… school appropriate?" Hermione turned a bright red, and Draco laughed.

"Yes, Granger, be careful not to take advantage of me," he chuckled.

"Gormless git," the brunette muttered.

He pressed his lips to her forehead gently. "Love you," Draco said cheekily, adding a wink. "I'll see you in the morning when you come to pick me up."

"Bold of you to assume I'm not going to leave you here to rot," she shot back in a sunny tone.

"Like you'd leave me when I almost just died, sweetheart."

Immediately, her face fell, and he silently cursed himself for taking things too far. "Shit, Granger, forget I said that-"

"Alright, I will, which means I had the last word. See you tomorrow, Draco, love you, goodnight." She gave him a quick peck and darted out of the hospital wing, ducking under Madam Pomfrey's arm, before he could even register how she had played him.

Damn, he fucking loved her.

"Ready, Draco?" Hermione asked, glancing at him as they stood in front of that stupid gargoyle.

"No," he said honestly. His stomach was churning and his heart was ready to beat right out of his chest. With a deep breath, Draco closed his eyes, letting Hermione be the anchor as he grounded himself from his worries. "Let's do this."

"Acid Pops," Hermione said suddenly, and Draco furrowed his brow, an amused look on his face.

"Fizzing Whizbees," he countered, and she rolled her eyes.

"No, the password," she said insistently, nodding at the gargoyle who sniffed and stepped aside.

"I don't suppose you'd want to leave him outside?" The statue asked snobbily.

"Draco, what did you do?" Hermione sighed, more to herself than to him, so he ignored her question and stepped past the gargoyle, passing by without a word (but with a very rude gesture).

"Wanker," it grumbled behind him.

And then they were at the door to Dumbledore's office. Draco raised his hand to knock, paused, and considered turning around and bolting.

"It's okay if you can't do this today, Draco," Hermione said, "although I think this is the right thing to do, and the longer you and Harry continue to be enemies, the more he'll try to kill you, whether it be accidental or purposeful-"

Draco thought about that and decided that they would still try to kill each other regardless of who they fought for in the war. He then ruminated about having to walk back out past that gargoyle who would know he was too cowardly to speak with the Headmaster, and that thought hardened his resolve.

He knocked, and the door swung open of its own accord, Hermione falling silent.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger. I've been expecting you." The blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore twinkled at Draco over his half-moon spectacles.

Draco exchanged a glance with Hermione, who beamed and gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.

"Love you," he muttered under his breath, and her smile grew wider.

"Love you too," she whispered, "now stop stalling."

Rolling his eyes at his witch, unable to help the smirk on his face, he entered Dumbledore's office with Hermione beside him. Even Crookshanks appeared from the shadows, bounding into the office a step ahead of Draco, close enough that he almost tripped over the furry demon. "Sir," he told the Headmaster, "there's something I've been needing to tell you."

a/n: And it's done! Holy shit. I've been thinking about this moment for at least three years. An outline of what I wanted to happen is still on the original post-it I wrote it on (but it's really old and won't stick anymore) and the idea started gaining traction, so I figured now is about as good of a time as any to write it.

I did end up using the bathroom/Sectumsempra scene from the movies instead of the books (Draco didn't need to go into the bathroom and cry about Voldemort making him fulfil his task anymore).

I also waffled between Draco having those open-ended, rambling thoughts/sentences but honestly I kind of love it so I hope you do too :) I don't know why, but it gives me a bigger sense of desperation and emotion for Draco. And when I was writing, changing to the next sentence after these rambling moments felt like physically wrenching away from someone's monologue in a way that could cut you, so I think it works. And, apparently, I have no limits to comma usage. So for that, I apologise.

Please (re)read and review!

- Meg