Hi all! For a while I was a bit discouraged in my writing, thinking no one liked it or wanted to read it. But this is a creative outlet for me. A hobby. I'm not a professional nor do I really want to be one. I realized I'm writing for me, and I'll never be able to please everyone. Words do have power so please be kind!

I've always liked the idea of attaching a song to a story and I've always thought The Reason by Hoobastank does a good job of describing Draco and Hermione's relationship. Give it a listen!

If this story does well I may do a sequel, who knows. Anywho, Happy Reading!

Steph

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The Grey

Hermione's screams ripped through the manor and echoed off the marble floors. Draco couldn't take it anymore. He had to do something. Anything. Think think think. He had 3 wands in his hands surely he could do something.

Wait.

Draco slipped into hallway, thankfully unnoticed. He cast a muffialto and whispered, "Dobby. I know you don't serve us anymore but I need your help, Harry Potter needs your help." He didn't give a rats ass about Harry, but he knew the house elf did.

Dobby appeared and gave Draco a suspicious glance. "How can Dobby help Harry Potter?"

"He's being held in the dungeon, I need you to get him out. Here take these wands." He kept Hermione's. Hopefully he'd live long enough to give it back to her.

With a snap Dobby disappeared. Ok. Showtime. He slipped back into the room, Hermione writhing on the floor underneath his Aunt Bellatrix. He scanned the room. His mother and father were there, his mom looking just as disgusted as he felt. She wouldn't be a problem, if she didn't help him at the very least she wouldn't harm him. He didn't think his father would harm him either, though that wasn't a certainty. That left Greyback and the snatchers. They weren't the brightest lot. Ok. He wouldn't be able to fight his way out, but maybe, just maybe, he could cause enough of a commotion to use the surprise to his advantage.

He heard Potter and Weasley running up the stairs, shouting for Hermione. Fools. Gryffindors. Of course they just ran in here screaming. Don't they ever take five seconds to think something through? He could use that to his advantage though, with everyone distracted he had a clear shot at Hermione, who lay still on the floor, almost too still.

Bellatrix still hovered over her, like a predator with its prey. He just had to get her out. He could do this. 3…2…1…go! He ran toward her just as the spells started flying. Perfect. As he got closer the only one who noticed him was Bellatrix. That didn't stop him though. He launched himself towards them and grabbed Hermione's hand, apparating at the last second.

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They landed with a thud in the middle of an open field. He quickly crawled to Hermione, who was passed out but otherwise seemed unharmed. When he looked up however, he saw a woman with curly black hair lying on the ground in a heap. Slowly approaching, he realized it was Bellatrix, minus her right arm. He guessed she had grabbed onto Hermione as they apparated, causing her to be splinched.

He was pulled out of his musings as she started to stir. "Petrificus Totalus". She froze, though he could still see her rage burning in her now open eyes.

"Malfoy?"

He spun around. Hermione slowly sat up, finally allowing him a good look at her face. Her voice was raspy from screaming. Her eyes red and swollen from crying. A hand print on her right cheek set his temper ablaze. She grabbed her right arm and grunted in pain. He followed her gaze and saw blood running down her arm. Oh Salazar! Had he splinched her too? He ran over and whispered a flurry of cleaning and healing spells. To his surprise she wasn't splinched at all. But to his horror he saw the word his aunt had carved and cursed into her arm. Mudblood.

He really did hate that word. He didn't know exactly when but somewhere along the way during this hell that had been the last few years, he had really come to despise the beliefs he had grown up with. Look where they had gotten him and his friends and family. No. He was done with that. He realized in short time just how untrue those beliefs were. And now she would be branded by them forever.

"I'm so sorry Granger." He dropped her arm and stared at the ground. Then remembered he still had her wand. He reached into his pocket and offered it to her.

She looked up at him confused, but then slowly reached out and accepted the wand. "You saved me. Thank you." Draco just nodded in response, still staring at the ground. Suddenly, Hermione scrambled up and pointed her wand behind him, hands shaking. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked behind him. He had forgotten about Bellatrix and the spell was starting to wear off.

He had an idea. He recast the spell and turned to Hermione. "She grabbed on when I tried to apparate us out and got splinched pretty badly. The lower half of her right arm is gone and her wand is nowhere to be seen. She can't hurt you right now, but you can end her."

Hermione snapped her head up to look at him. "B-but she's unarmed. She needs to be captured, tried and imprisoned." She didn't lower her wand however.

"You'd be doing the world a service. And giving yourself closure. Think of all the people she's already tortured, myself included." Hermione looked surprised at this but he continued. "Think of all the people she's killed and will kill. She's the right hand of the dark lord. Killing her would be a big blow to him."

She turned to face him, finally putting her wand down. "How do I know this isn't a trick?"

"You don't. You're just going to have to trust me. You can do this Hermione."

He had said her first name. Up until this point he had only called her Granger in public. He liked the way it sounded. Hopefully she would see he was genuine. She had every reason to doubt him, but he hoped she could sense that he really wanted to help her.

She turned back to Bellatrix, wand raised once again. "You're right Malfoy." She crouched next to the woman and ran her wand along her cheek and under her chin. "Though I think killing you quickly would be too much of a kindness."

He was surprised at her coldness, having expected her to quickly cast an avada. He had to admit, though, he liked it.

"Crucio"

Bellatrix began to scream as the spell was cast. Wriggling and writhing under hermiones wand as Draco stood with his arms crossed and watched.

After a few minutes Hermione finally ended the curse, leaving Bellatrix vomiting in the grass. Again she held her wand under the witches chin and whispered into her hair, "How does it feel to be helpless? How does it feel knowing that a 'filthy mudblood' will be the one to end you?" Hermione lowered her wand to the woman's chest and dragged her wand downward. "Sectumsempra"

Draco watched in shock as his aunt collapsed and bled into the earth, her reign of terror finally over. He looked to Hermione to see her sway on her feet. He got there just in time to catch her before she fell. They sank to the ground together, the heaviness of the last few hours finally settling in.

Suddenly, the mark on his arm began to burn and move. Oh no. "Granger you have to leave, the dark lord can track me here, go!"

"I'm not just going to leave you here Malfoy!"

"If he sees you he will kill you on the spot!"

"Wait! I have an idea, Malfoy get over here!" She rummaged through her pocket and unshrunk a small bag. After digging through the bag she pulled out what looked like…nothing. What was she getting at?

Next thing he knew she pulled him right up against her and threw the funny looking fabric over them both. An invisibility cloak. The girls a genius.

The mark began to burn again as Voldemort himself appeared with Nagini in tow. Hermione turned and thrust a basilisk fang into his hands. What was that for?

"Kill the snake, it's a horcrux "

"Granger what in the bloody hell is a horcrux?"

"I'll explain later just kill the snake if you safely can."

"What do you mean? What are you-"

Before he knew it she had leapt out from under the cloak and started firing hex after hex. So that's why she wasn't sorted into ravenclaw. With a roll of his eyes Draco pocketed the cloak and went after the snake.

Hermione was surprisingly holding her own against the dark lord, though she wasn't making any substantial headway. He went to stab the snake but the fang was knocked out of his hand. He reached into his robes to grab his wand but instead felt something a whole lot thicker and heavier. He pulled it out of his pocket and just stared at it. Merlin, it was a sword!

He didn't have long to study it however, when Nagini came at him again. Draco dodged the strike and just as the snake's heavy body flew past him, he swiftly swung the sword. Voldemort screamed in agony just as the snakes head hit the ground.

"Draco!" He turned to see Hermione running towards him.

"I will find you Draco Malfoy, you belong to me. I will always find you." Voldemort hissed and Draco arm began to burn. Once Hermione reached him she grabbed his face with her hands.

"Draco don't listen to him look at me ok, we'll fix this. I'm going to apparate us somewhere safe, now hold on."

He grabbed her hand and felt the pull in his stomach. Next thing he knew, they were on an island no bigger than a large rock in the middle of the ocean, with nothing but a hut on it.

"Come on Malfoy, that mark isn't going to get rid of itself."

Still reeling from killing the snake with some kind of magic sword, he blindly followed inside, hoping he heard her correctly. If she had a way to remove this god forsaken mark, his whole life could change.