Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Two updates in one day! I have the day off so I figured I'd spend it writing. Since this story started with Hermione walking in on Draco in the sixth floor boys bathroom instead of Harry, the fight between Draco and Harry never happened! I know the Sectumsempra spell was very significant in the Half-Blood Prince so I really wanted to incorporate it into my story. I changed some things up to help my story along, but I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 6

Hermione, Harry and Ron made their way down to dinner on Friday evening, their classes done for the day and each ready to eat and settle into their usual spot in the common room ro relax for the weekend. Well… except Hermione. After dinner she was to gather her notes and head up to the Room of Requirement for her Friday session with Malfoy. She tuned out of the conversation as they walked, her mind wandering back to what had happened on Tuesday night. Was she an idiot for going back even after that? She wasn't sure. The cabinet had not been fixed yet and Hermione didn't feel right abandoning her commitment to helping him just yet. And perhaps a small part of her actually wanted to go back to see Malfoy… She hated herself for it but she couldn't help how she felt.

She was forced to return back to the conversation Harry and Ron were having when Ron slung an arm over her shoulder, pulling her into their side as they walked. "Right, Mione?" he asked, grinning down at her.

"Er...yeah." she agreed, hoping it was the right answer. She sighed in relief when she saw the grin spread across Harry's face as he and Ron picked up their conversation again.

She turned away, her mind wandering to Ron's arm across her shoulder. He had finally broken up with Lavender the day before and had officially returned to his place in the Golden Trio. Hermione was glad, of course. Lavender was an insufferable witch who hated Hermione for no good reason, but their breakup had certainly complicated things for Hermione. She had fancied Ron for years and just a few short weeks ago she had been crying over his relationship with the other girl. But now… she wasn't sure how she felt about him anymore. He had completely ignored her feelings when he had gotten with Lavender and she didn't want to be his second choice who was waiting around for him to have his fun with Lavender and then come running back to her. She was better than that…

No you're not. she thought to herself. You're letting Malfoy use you as his little snog puppet. What makes you better?

Hermione pushed her thoughts aside as she tried to tune back into her conversation with her two friends. Just as she began to catch on once more, she heard a familiar voice ahead of them as her, Harry and Ron stopped in their steps.

"Well, look what we have here." drawled Malfoy, sneering at them as he stood across the trio, Blaise Zabini at his side.

Hermione felt herself begin to panic, unsure of what Malfoy was going to say. Would he expose her? Why had he stopped them? This wasn't a part of their deal!

"Oh, sod off, Malfoy." hissed Ron, tightening his hold around Hermione's shoulder, much to her dismay. Great, now she looked like a slag; kissing Malfoy one minute and then snuggling up to Ron the next. She attempted to catch his icy grey eyes, shooting him a pleading look.

"So Granger finally spread her Mudblood legs for you, has she Weasley?" he said, eyes flickering to Ron's arm around her shoulder.

Harry gasped and Ron let out a sound of indignation. She felt a sting on embarrassment rise within her at his words and she couldn't help but feel a bit hurt. Was that what he had thought of her? Why was he doing this? Why was he humiliating her so horribly in front of her friends, especially about a potential relationship between her and Ron when he knew she had kissed him on a handful of occasions already.

Lost in her thoughts, she was unable to stop both Harry and Ron charging forward at the two Slytherins. She watched in shock as Ron raised a fist before shoving it forward to connect with Malfoy's jaw. Simultaneously, Harry had gone for Zabini, punching him in the stomach. Hermione gasped as she watched the four boys fight and she rushed forward, deciding that since the main fight was between Malfoy and Ron she should try to stop that one first. She reached the two boys just as Malfoy had punched Ron square in the nose, causing him to stumble back.

"Stop! Ron!" she yelled, stepping between them and attempting to push Ron back. His nose was bleeding horribly and Hermione was glad they were in a usually deserted corridor so it wasn't likely that anyone would stumble across the fight. She spared a second and glanced over at Harry for help only to find him and Zabini rolling around on the floor, both attempting to try and get the upper hand on one another.

Helplessly she turned back to Malfoy and Ron who were exchanging punches between each other, both looking more and more angry every second. Malfoy had gotten the upper hand, now having dragged Ron to the floor and was repeatedly smashing his fist into Ron's already bleeding nose. She felt her eyes well up in tears as she heard her friend moan in pain while he attempted to reach for his wand in his pocket. He was being beaten to a pulp by Malfoy for defending her honour! Merlin, she really hated Malfoy.

Rushing forward in one last attempt to break them up, Hermione fell to her knees beside Ron and Malfoy, raising her hands to pull on Malfoy's raised fist. "Malfoy! Stop! Please!" she pleaded, tugging on his hand.

He attempted to brush her off, though Hermione had a tight hold on his fist with both of hers. They tousled for a bit with Malfoy attempting to rip his hand out of her hold and Hermione clutching it for dear life. Their eyes seemed to be speaking to each other silently as Hermione begged him to stop with a pleading look. Just as Malfoy had shoved her off, effectively pushing her back onto her bum she heard Harry's voice a few feet away.

"Sectumsempra!" yelled Harry, eyes glued to Malfoy as Zabini laid stupefied at his side. Hermione sat up on her knees, eyes wide as she heard the unfamiliar spell.

A white light dashed forwards and Malfoy had managed to push himself backwards just in time, dodging the spell. Hermione was about to let out a sigh of relief that she didn't know she was holding after seeing that the unknown spell hadn't hit Malfoy when felt a sting of pain in her chest and she looked down at her torso in shock. By dodging the spell, Malfoy had allowed it to hit Hermione -who was sitting right behind him. She stared in shock as long gashes of blood began to seep through her white school shirt. She looked up, her eyes locking with Malfoy who was directly in front of her. She coughed as she felt herself choking up and was shocked to find that she had coughed out an alarmingly large amount of blood. Malfoy stared at her in what looked like a mixture of shock and fury just as she fell forward on her knees and straight into his arms.

The sounds of fighting immediately ceased and Hermione's eyesight was beginning to blur as she bled out onto Malfoy's cashmere sweater. She repeatedly coughed out blood she didn't know she was choking on and the pain in her torso area was almost unbearable. She had never been in so much pain. She felt Malfoy's arms tighten around her as he moved her into a new position, laying her down on her back and tilting her head to the side so she wouldn't choke on her blood. Time seemed to stand still as he ripped open her blood soaked shirt to inspect the still gushing wounds. Hermione was in too much pain to even care that her body was now exposed.

"M-Malfoy…" she choked out quietly, sure he couldn't even hear her. "H-help m-me,".

"I got you, Granger. Just hold on, fucking hold on!" he muttered, grey eyes inspecting the wound as his brows furrowed. He raised his wand, about to attempt a healing spell when he was knocked backwards by Harry, who had finally gotten over the shock of what his missed spell had done.

"You'll pay for this, Malfoy!" yelled Harry, turning to Hermione as he helplessly watched his best friend bleed out.

"You did this you fucking idiot!" yelled back Malfoy, voice filled with rage. "Look at her, she gonna fucking bleed to death!"

"Like you give a damn!" Ron shot back as he had finally got up from his position on the floor, rushing to Hermione's side.

Hermione shut her eyes, not wanting to hear anymore fighting. She laid there and tried not to focus on the pain as she began to feel dizzy and light headed, likely due to the loss of so much blood. Before anyone else could say or do anything, she faintly registered the familiar cool voice of Professor Snape.

"Move aside!" she heard him yell, and she was sure he had shoved Harry and Ron to the side. She forced her bleary eyes open to see Snape on his knees beside her, wand raised. "Vulnera Sanentur…" she heard him say in a song-like incantation just before she drifted off into unconsciousness.


Draco sat on his knees a foot away from Snape and Granger, watching them in anticipation. Snape would fix her… he was sure of it. He watched as Granger fell unconscious just as the blood flow began to slow. What the fuck had just happened? Potter had meant for the spell to hit Draco, but he had effectively dodged it and unknowingly allowed it to hit Granger square in the chest. He looked down at his own torso which was covered in blood, though not his own. He felt an unfamiliar feeling of worry rise in his chest. What would happen to her? Would she be alright? She had lost an unhealthy amount of blood. He was going to kill Potter.

Snape repeated his incantation and the multiple bleeding wounds on her naked torso began to knit themselves closed. He muttered the spell one final time before turning to the three boys.

"Who did this?" he hissed, a look of fury on his face.

Draco was shocked at the look of rage on his professor's face. He had never seen him so angry before. "Potter did." he said immediately, sneering over at Potter who hadn't bothered to deny it.

Potter hung his head in shame and Weasley raised a hand to pat his friend's back. "It was an accident professor! The spell was meant for Malfoy!" Weasley pointed at Draco who simply scowled at him.

"You idiots." sneered Snape, rising to his feet. "You could have killed her. Five more minutes and she would've been lying dead at your feet." he took a few steps until he stood in front of the two Gryffindors. "100 points from Gryffindor. I will be reporting this to the Headmaster." he finished, staring at the two boys as if he were expecting a fight.

They simply nodded, probably because they knew they deserved it. They deserved worse, actually. Draco watched as their gazes wandered over to Granger who was still laying unconscious. Her white bra was covered red with blood, but the wounds on her stomach seemed to have healed themselves for the most part. He was sure she would still have to see Madam Pomfrey, though.

"Draco, take Ms. Granger to the Hospital Wing. Tell Madam Pomfrey she will be needing dittany immediately to ensure she isn't left with any scars." ordered Snape, and Draco felt a rush of appreciation for his professor.

"What! He can't take her-" began Potter, though he was cut off by Snape.

"And who should take her, Potter? You? You are the one who did this to her." Snape glared at the boy who averted his gaze guiltily. "Both of you, come with me." he pointed at both Potter and Weasley before he flicked his wand at Blaise's unconscious form.

Blaise stirred into consciousness, slowly sitting up and looking around in confusion. Snape turned on his heel and started down the hall. Potter and Weasley turned to Draco as if they wanted to threaten him of some sort, though they didn't look very enthusiastic.

"Take care of her, Malfoy. Please." said Potter, and Draco was shocked at his request. Before he could respond, Potter turned and followed after Snape, Weasley doing the same after he shot a glare at Malfoy.

"What the fuck happened?" asked Blaise, slowly rising to his feet. His eyes scanned Draco's blood covered sweater in shock before his eyes flickered to Granger.

"I'll tell you later." he muttered. "Give me your sweater." he demanded his friend, who stared at him in confusion before pulling off his blood free Slytherin sweater and tossing it over to Draco.

Draco pulled it over Granger's head, wanting to protect her modesty before anyone could see her half naked form on their way to the Hospital Wing. He then scooped Granger up into his arms, heading down for the Hospital Wing without another word.


Draco sat next to Granger's bed in the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey had done as she had been told, applying dittany to her wounds and a few healing spells before she had left her to rest. He had not moved from his spot next to her the entire time, unable to leave until he knew she was okay. His mind wandered back to the moment she had been hit with the wretched spell. He had stared in shock as blood oozed out of her small form and he had caught her when she had fallen forward onto him.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he had been so scared when he had ripped open her shirt to see the alarming amount of long gashes in her skin. He was certain she would bleed to death before he or anyone else could help her. He was eternally grateful to Snape and his sudden appearance. Draco replayed the blood spurting from her lips and he felt his stomach tighten into a knot at the memory. She had looked so abused and broken…

"M-Malfoy...H-help m-me," he replayed her words in his mind and he felt a wave of guilt rise within him.

He had purposely provoked Weasley after seeing his arm draped across her shoulders. He had acted on his jealousy, thinking maybe Granger had decided to give Weasley a chance now that he was no longer associated with Brown. Granger had tried to stop him… she had been pulling on his hand, trying to stop the fight and him shoving her off had been why Potter had fired that spell. Although Draco didn't cast the spell, he was partially responsible for it hitting the unconscious girl next to him. But that didn't mean he was going to let Potter get away with actually being the one to harm her. No, he would pay for that.

He was glad Snape had taken Potter and Weasley with him as it allowed Draco to sit with Granger in the Hospital Wing and make sure she was okay. He glanced over at her unconscious form, raising a hand to push Blaise's sweater up her torso so he could inspect the skin. Madam Pomfrey had cleared away the blood and the wounds were now almost completely gone other than a few very faint white lines leftover. He raised a hand, tracing the barely there scars with the tips of his cool fingers. His head shot up when he heard her gasp and he watched as her eyes shot open, looking around frantically before they landed on him.

"Malfoy?" she spoke out in a raspy voice. Her caramel eyes drifted over to his hand, which was now flat on her bare stomach, holding her down to ensure she didn't try to get up.

"You're okay." he stated, breathing out a sigh of relief as his fingers unconsciously traced patterns on the skin of her stomach.

"Yeah… I am." she murmured and Draco was sure she was beginning to recall what had happened. "Where are Harry and Ron?" she asked, looking around the Hospital Wing.

Draco's face darkened as he scowled. "Getting their punishments from Snape. I'm going to fucking kill Potter!" he hissed, retracting his hand from her stomach and clenching it into a fist at his side. Now that he knew she was okay he could begin planning his revenge.

"No you're not." he heard her calmly state. He glanced over at her, brows furrowed.

"He did this to you, Granger!" he exclaimed, gesturing to her exposed stomach.

He watched as she pushed the Slytherin sweater back down to cover herself. "This is your fault as much as it is his." she said, glaring at him. "You provoked Ron! You said those awful things to him… about me!" she looked hurt as she averted his gaze from his. "So don't act like you care now."

Draco stared at her in shock. "I didn't… I do care, Granger! I brought you down here, I was about to heal you before your idiot friend pushed me away!" he defended. How could she think he didn't care? Today's events had confirmed to him that she was in fact one of the only people he did care about.

She scoffed, slowly sitting up in the bed, ignoring his attempts to push her back down. "You care? You have a funny way of showing it." she muttered, brushing his hands off her shoulders as he tried to push her back into a laid down position.

"Don't be like that, Granger." he scowled at her, dropping his hands. "You know… you know…" he trailed off weakly, unable to finish his sentence.

"I know what? How you feel about me?" she supplied, chuckling humourlessly. "Please. One minute you're tossing me around and calling me a Mudblood and the next you're snogging me senseless and claiming me as yours. Just leave me alone, Malfoy." she shot him that hurt expression again and Draco frowned.

Why was she saying all this? He felt a wave of annoyance rise in him. What did she want him to do, confess his undying love for her? Surely she knew what their situation was. It was… He scowled, cursing himself mentally. He didn't even know what it was. All he knew was that Granger was his and no one -not Weasley, not Potter- would touch her.

"You know I can't leave you alone." he said, eyeing her up and down.

"Right… the cabinet." she said, looking down at her hands. "I'll start writing you some notes… instructions and all of that on possible ways of fixing the cabinet. I'll give them to you in the corridors or something. We don't have to continue meeting up."

Draco stared at her in shock. What the hell was she talking about? "That's not what I meant." He said through gritted teeth. Sure she was helping him with the cabinet and he did really need her help, but he had meant he couldn't leave her alone for other reasons. "I can't… I can't leave you alone because…" he tried to wrack his mind for a reason without seeming like a total sap.

He didn't need her, per se. He had survived this long without her and he was fine. But that didn't mean he didn't want her. Now that he had had a taste of her he couldn't turn away.

"Just… don't give up on me, Granger." he pleaded, leaning forward to press his forehead to hers. "I'm… I'm sorry." he ground out, and he noted the shocked look on her face at his apology. Good. It had taken a lot in him to even apologize. "I'm sorry that I'm the reason this happened to you. I'm sorry for what I said. Just don't leave me, okay?" he raised a hand to cup her cheek, his cool lips brushing against her own as he spoke.

They stayed like that for a minute, foreheads touching and eyes locked together before she gave him the slightest nod of her head. "This is the last time, Malfoy." she warned, raising her own hand to lightly brush her fingers against his jawline. "If you push me away one more time… you call me a Mudblood one more time…" she continued. "I'm gone. That's it, okay?"

Draco stared at her hesitantly as he registered her words. He would really have to try, this time. Something told him she wasn't playing around. But what did this mean? Did she think they were a couple? That he would be her knight in shining armour and take her on Hogsmeade dates all of the sudden?

"Let's just take this slow, okay?" she cut off his trail of thoughts and Draco was sure she had read the doubt on his face. "Let's just… try to be civil for now. No more fighting. No more manhandling me." she said, pressing a light kiss to his lips.

He let his eyes fall shut, revelling in the feeling of her kiss. He then nodded, snaking a hand behind her head to capture her lips in another one. Be civil. He could do that. Just as she began to return his kiss, they heard hurried footsteps in the corridor outside of the Hospital Wing and they sprang apart.

"Tuesday night." Draco whispered to her as she leaned back in the hospital bed, shutting her eyes to feign sleep. Draco stood, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets just as Potter and Weasley rushed in.

"Hermione!" they called, rushing forward until they were on either side of her bed. "Is she okay? Did you do anything to her?" asked Weasley, directing his questions at Draco.

"No, you fucking idiot. I didn't do anything to her." Draco hissed back, annoyed. How stupid could he be? If he had wanted to do something to her, why would he bring her down to the Hospital Wing?

Draco watched as her two friends sat beside her, identical worried expressions on their faces. He felt a twinge of jealousy as he watched the trio before he turned on his heel and headed out of the Hospital Wing.


Draco sat in his bed in the Slytherin boys dorm, staring down at his bloodied sweater in his hands. He replayed the evening's events over in his mind, glad that Granger would be okay. He didn't know why he felt so strongly about her. It seemed that he was trying to figure that out every day since that night just over a month ago in the boys bathroom when Granger had held him while he cried. If Granger had been hit by that curse just two or three months ago rather than now, Draco was sure he would have been glad. He would've applauded Potter for hitting her with the violent spell. But now...

His long fingers traced the now dried up blood on his sweater and his mind was racing. Granger's blood looked exactly like his own. Crimson red. She bled the same way he or any other pureblood he knew would. Her blood wasn't dirty.

It seemed that Hermione Granger was proving everything that he had grown up to believe to be wrong. Every prejudice idea, every hateful thought. One by one, she was breaking it all down. And Draco didn't know how to feel about that.

A/N: I had to throw in a little bit of nice Draco. What do you guys think? Do you hate me for making the Sectumsempra spell hit Hermione? I'll post the next chapter once we pass 20 reviews!