Save Me

Hermione Granger walked into the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and looked around for her two best friends. Spotting them at the end of a table, she ran to join them. Harry Potter, the-Boy-Who-Lived, and Ronald Weasley, the Third of the Golden Trio, smiled as they saw Hermione approach. Hermione plopped down in a seat across from Harry and Ron. The three began discussing some homework they had received the previous day from their least favorite professor, Professor Snape, Potions Master. As Hermione listened to Ron go on about how much trouble he'd had writing the essay, she felt like she was being watched. She glanced up to see Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin and sworn enemy of the Golden Trio, staring at her with a blank look on his face.

'What the hell does Malfoy want? Why is he still staring at me?' she wondered to herself.

"Well, I'd better be heading to Arithmancy." she said quickly, getting up.

"But you haven't even eaten any breakfast yet!" Ron squealed. Hermione gave him a small smile as she headed for the doors of the Great Hall. Walking down the corridor to her Arithmancy class, she heard footsteps following her. She carefully grabbed her wand tucked into her robes and spun around. She came face to face with Draco Malfoy.

"What do you want Malfoy?" she said angrily.

"Tsk tsk Granger. Is that anyway to treat a Malfoy? Where are your manners?" Malfoy taunted back. Hermione grew red in the face at his comment.

"Malfoy, leave me alone."

"Where are your beloved Potty and Weasel?" he continued to annoy her.

"None of your business Malfoy, now LEAVE ME ALONE!" she said as she turned on her heel to leave. Malfoy grabbed her wrist.

"Granger, never turn your back on a Malfoy!" he said before brushing past her and walking into the Arithmancy classroom. Once class started, the Professor informed the class they would be partnering up for an assignment. Everyone else partnered up and only Hermione and Malfoy were left without partners. Hermione raised her hand.

"Excuse me, Professor. I was wondering if we might be allowed to work alone?"

"Nonsense," the professor told her, "Mr. Malfoy doesn't have a partner either. You two may pair up." There was no real way out of it. Once the class was given their instructions, everyone began to work except for Hermione and Malfoy.

"Listen Malfoy," she began saying firmly, "I don't like you and you don't like me...."

"I like you" he said slyly, interrupting her.

"....but we have to get along long enough to get this project over with. Once we're finished we'll go back to the same hating each other bit. Got it?" Draco nodded as he began to copy the instructions off the board.

After class, Draco rushed out of the classroom before Hermione even had a chance to tell him they should meet up later for research purposes. She left the classroom in a huff, thinking to herself that she'd just go to the library by herself. Looking down at the ground while she walked, she suddenly ran into what seemed like a brick wall that sent her falling to the floor and scattering her books and notes all over the corridor. She looked up at the brick wall and was surprised to see Goyle, one of Malfoy's cronies. Malfoy was standing next to him.

"You should really watch where you're going Hermione" Malfoy said as he crouched down to help her retrieve her things. She gathered what she could and stood up in a hurry. Malfoy handed her what was left of her notes.

"Malfoy, I think we should meet in the library tonight for research." she told him quickly. He nodded in agreement.

"What time? After dinner?" he asked. She nodded and headed for the Gryffindor common room.

'Did he call me Hermione or was it just my imagination? And did he help me pick up my notes and books? What has gotten into him? He's being too........nice!' she thought to herself as she approached the Fat Lady.

"Phoenix feather," Hermione mumbled the password. She passed through the portrait hole and into the warm common room. Looking towards the chairs by the fire, she was surprised to see Harry and Ron already there. She must have had an angry look on her face.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Ron asked her. She was still replaying her encounter with Malfoy in the hall and was a little startled when Ron spoke.

"What? Oh, nothing. Just had a bad class is all. I've got to get something in my room," she said as she ran up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. Ron looked at Harry, looking for an explanation, but Harry only shrugged.

"She must not have had enough notes or something," Ron said as he went back to his Divination work.

Up in her room, Hermione sat on her bed and hung her head.

'What the hell is up with Malfoy?' she continued to ask herself. She sat there for almost an hour. She was thankful she had a spare period after Arithmancy. Coming down from her room after that hour, Harry and Ron weren't in the common room anymore. Hermione headed down to the Great Hall for lunch alone. Just outside the doors to the Hall, she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Malfoy.

"What?" she said angrily. Malfoy had a look of shock on his face.

"I just wanted to say that you missed one," he said as he held out a sheet of parchment towards her. She glanced at it. It was some poetry she had come up with one night while sitting in the common room with Harry and Ron as they finished some homework. Hermione snatched it out of Draco's hand.

"Thank you," she said softly as she entered the Great Hall. She left him standing just outside the Hall doors, with a slight grin on his face.

'What the hell are you doing Draco?! She's a bloody Gryffindor! A Mudblood!' he thought to himself as he went to take his usual place between Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table. He didn't eat much at lunch. He pushed his food around on his plate more than he ate. Draco was hoping for a Granger-less afternoon, but soon remembered they had Care of Magical Creatures and Potions together this afternoon. He silently cursed the Timetable Maker for being so cruel. Halfway through lunch, Malfoy got up.

"Got some studying to do. And I don't need you two following me!" he told Crabbe and Goyle as he left the table. He had in fact lied; he didn't have any studying. He just wanted some time to clear his head before having to see Granger for the rest of the day. Malfoy walked outside and found his feet taking him to the Quidditch pitch. He silently and slowly walked up the stairs to one of the stands and took a seat at the very back, in the corner. He was suddenly greeted by an owl, his large eagle owl, Zeus. Malfoy untied the letter from the owl's leg. He gave the owl a small poke and Zeus hooted softly before flying away.

Draco,

I received your recent test scores from Professor Snape this morning and I wasn't pleased. I thought you could have done better than a 92 on your Potions test. Disgraceful. Watch your step Draco, or you'll be sorry when summer vacation rolls around. Pick up your marks at once!

Lucius Malfoy

Draco read it a second time and angrily ripped the letter up. If his father expected better, he'd get better results. He threw the bits of the letter over the wall of the stands. No matter how well Draco did, it never pleased his father enough. Draco leaned back and closed his eyes, the warm sun beating down on his face. He removed his school robes as the sun grew hotter. All he wanted to do was be alone for now.

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Back in the Great Hall, Hermione had finished her lunch while Ron and Harry bickered over a game of wizard's chess they had played before lunch. Hermione sighed.

"I'm going to take a quick walk before our next class. I'll meet you both outside Hagrid's hut before class starts," she told them as she got up. She grabbed her books and headed outside. She walked towards the lake but found a few first and second year students sitting under her tree. She turned and headed for her second favorite spot to sit. As her feet carried her to the Quidditch pitch, she thought back to what had happened just before lunch.

'Did Malfoy keep my poem on purpose? Did he read it? Why has he been acting so strange lately?' She climbed the stairs to the stands and sat down on the front bench. She sat and thought about her Malfoy filled afternoon when she realized she wasn't alone. She heard someone sniffle behind her. She looked up to find Malfoy sitting in the back corner. She saw his robes had been taken off. Her eyes widened at the sight of him without robes on.

'Wow! I never realized how muscular his body is without those robes on. No Hermione! This is Malfoy! You can't have these thoughts. He's nothing more than an evil ferret whose mission in life is to make mine horrible! But his chest....you can see the muscles! And those arms! No Hermione!' she argued within herself. Suddenly Malfoy looked at her. He was shocked to see someone else sitting there, especially Hermione, of all people.

"What do you want Granger?" he asked angrily.

"Nothing Malfoy. I just came here to clear my head before class. You?" she said, spitting his name out like dirt.

"It's none of your business!" he said as he got up and left, forgetting to grab his robes. Hermione grabbed them and ran down the stairs after Malfoy.

"Wait, Draco! Your robes!" she yelled, breathing heavily. Draco spun around quickly.

"WHAT did you call me?" he demanded. Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Draco took a step closer to Hermione and grabbed her wrist. He brought his face to hers. Hermione uttered a gasp as Draco brought his lips to hers. At first the kiss was nothing more than a kiss. Then something inside Hermione awoke and she felt the passion of the kiss, the intensity. She closed her eyes. The kiss continued. And then as suddenly as the kiss had begun, it ended. Hermione opened her eyes to find Draco staring into them, his grey eyes filled with anger, hate and rage, passion, love and hunger all at the same time.

"Draco...." she whispered. Draco put his finger to her lips.

"Thanks" he said as he grabbed his robes and walked towards Hagrid's hut. Hermione stood there, alone, for another minute before slowly following Draco.

'Did I just kiss Mudblood Granger? Must have been the Malfoy instinct in me to seduce her. If only, after all these years, I'd known it was THAT easy. I would have done something sooner. But, damn, she's a great kisser. She has beautiful lips, just asking to be kissed. And her hair....I just want to run my hands through it. And I love her soft, delicate, tiny hands. So beautiful. Wait a flipping minute! Am I saying that I just enjoyed kissing that Mudblood?!?! It can't be. There's something wrong. It's all her fault for being so damn sexy. Fuck! Draco, get your damn head out of the clouds!'

When she reached class, Harry and Ron hurriedly waved her over. Hagrid had just begun class. He gave out instructions to the class on what to do with their newest batch of Flobberworms.

"What took you so long Hermione? You're never late for class!" Harry whispered.

"Oh, just lost track of time I guess," she said as she took her Flobberworm out of its crate and placed it on the table that had been set up for them. She glanced up from her Flobberworm at the table to see Draco standing across from her. He gave her a nod.

"Are we still on for the library after dinner?" he asked her quickly before Ron and Harry joined her.

"Yes" she said, just as Ron and Harry took their spots on each side of her.

"What does bloody Malfoy want?" Ron asked her. Hermione shrugged her shoulders and went on with the instructions they'd been given.

'What just happened? Did Malfoy just kiss me or was it my imagination? Why did he kiss me? And why did I enjoy it? Wait, no, I can't enjoy it! It's Draco Malfoy for Merlin's sake! Why why why?!?!?! I know, he must he under some spell or charm! Or maybe a potion! Yes, that must be it. There's no way a Slytherin, especially Malfoy, would kiss me or any Gryffindor for that matter! But either way, I really enjoyed that. I loved how his muscular body held me close. I felt safe, protected from all harm. Hermione, it's not supposed to be like that!! It can't be!! Why am I thinking about Malfoy like that? Arg!!'

Care of Magical Creatures passed much quicker than she had realized. It felt like only a few minutes had passed when Hagrid announced it was time to put their Flobberworms away. She put her Flobberworm away and headed back up to the castle with Harry and Ron. They headed straight down to the dungeon they had Potions class in. They joined the group of students standing outside the room, waiting for the door to be opened. Professor Snape came striding down the hallway, glaring angrily at the three of them as usual.

"Today's class will involve a project which must be done in pairs. Select your partner now. I don't wish to hear any unnecessary chatter in my classroom," Snape said as he flung open the classroom door. Harry and Ron paired up immediately.

"Sorry Hermione. I could find someone else," Ron said.

"No need," Hermione told him, "I'll be okay. I'll find someone on my own." She looked around and saw that again, Malfoy was the only one without a partner. She walked up to him quickly.

"Alone again, eh Malfoy?" she teased him. He tensed his jaw.

"I see you're the same," he noted.

"Well?"

"Why not?" he said, shrugging his shoulders. The group of students chatted quietly as they entered the dungeon. Hermione took her usual spot beside Ron and Harry and Draco sat on her other side. Ron glared at him angrily. Draco only sneered back at him.

"What's going on Hermione?" Harry asked her.

"We're paired up in Arithmancy class as well. We figured it would make it easier this way. We can study for both classes together," she explained.

"But....." Harry began.

"SILENCE!" Snape bellowed. All conversations came to an abrupt halt. Snape tapped his wand on the blackboard and their instructions appeared.

"Once you and your partner have copied down these instructions, I'd like for you both to come to the front and inform me of the partnership. You will then both proceed back to your seats where you'll discuss which Potion you will be doing and how you will go about presenting it to the class. You may choose any potion we have covered so far this year. This assignment will last the remainder of the year. It counts for 50% of your final mark. You will be making the potion you select a few times throughout the remainder of the year for practice," he told the class. Once he was done he sat back down and began to scribble something on a piece of parchment. Hermione and Draco each took out their quills and parchment and began copying the instructions down. Once they had finished, they headed up to the front of the room to tell Snape they'd be working together.

"Partner's name?" Snape asked Hermione.

"Draco Malfoy," she told him. Snape eyes widened incredibly and he opened his mouth slightly. He quickly regained his composure and looked at Malfoy.

"Is this true Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked. Draco nodded his head.

"Very well," Snape said as he jotted their names down on the piece of parchment in front of him.

"I expect great things to come from you two for this project," he said before waving them away. Hermione and Draco took their seats again. Hermione opened up her notebook and looked at the numerous Potions they could cover.

"Any ideas?" she asked, turning to Draco. She was a little shocked to see him staring down at her. She blushed a little and turned back to her notebook.

"If we don't come up with a potion before the end of class we can always discuss it after dinner," she suggested.

"Uh huh," was all Draco said. Hermione went back to scribbling in her notebook, coming up with different presentation ideas for different potions. Five minutes later, Snape called the class to an end. Hermione hurriedly gathered her books and ran after Harry and Ron, who had gone ahead without her. She hurried to the common room, slowly gaining a lead on Ron and Harry. She gave the Fat Lady the password and entered the already busy common room. She waited for Harry and Ron to join her.

"Geez, Hermione. Why are you in such a rush?" Ron asked her.

"Hmm? Oh, um, just hungry, that's all," she said quickly. "Let me drop my books off in my room and then we'll go down for dinner." She ran up the stairs to her room. Once inside, she locked the door. She dumped her bookbag on her bed, emptying its contents all over. She quickly put everything in it she would need when she went to the library after dinner. She then hurried over to Lavender's bureau and applied some of her mascara and lip gloss. She also put a little of Parvati's new Muggle perfume on. Hermione grabbed her bookbag off her bed and headed down to the common room. She, Ron and Harry left for the Great Hall.

"Phew! What reeks? Is that you, Hermione? What did you do? Roll around in Parvati and Lavender's make-up or something?" Ron asked. Hermione blushed and picked up the pace. Once inside the Great Hall she took her usual seat across from Harry and Ron.

'Why did I put on Lavender's make-up? Why did I put on Parvati's perfume? I'm not trying to impress Malfoy, am I? Damn it! I can't impress Malfoy. I'm a Mudblood. Even if I was trying, I'll never impress him. He'd be more impressed if I was pure blood over everything else! Damn you Malfoy!'

Malfoy looked up from his seat at the Slytherin table and saw Hermione, a puzzled look on her face as she stared down into her potatoes. He gave a small grin as he remembered the kiss he and Hermione shared on the Quidditch pitch. He quickly realized many of the Slytherins around him were giving him a peculiar look and quickly placed a sour look on his face. He looked down at his plate, which was filled with food. He was starving, yet couldn't find the need to eat. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't. He kept glancing up at Hermione, waiting for her to leave the Great Hall. Annoyingly though, she stayed until all the platters and plates were empty. As Ron and Harry began to leave, he saw her glance his way. She gave a half smile when she saw Malfoy looking at her. She got up and followed Harry and Ron out of the Hall. Once she'd disappeared from sight, he got up.

"I have to go work on my Arithmancy in the library. See you guys later," he told Crabbe and Goyle as he started walking away. He took his time walking to the Slytherin common room to retrieve the proper books, then took his time walking to the library. When he pushed open the library door, he glanced around for Hermione. He found her at her usual table at the back of the library. He walked over to her.

"You're late," she said.

"No, a Malfoy is never late, but always on time," he told her as he flopped down into a chair.

"Which would you rather work on first? Arithmancy or Potions?" she asked.

"What? You're not an option?" he teased. She grew red in the face as she pulled out her Potions book.

"I thought we'd do the Polyjuice Potion. I know it really well and it won't be hard to research. I just don't have an idea for the presentation part," she said, still looking down at her book.

"Whatever you'd like," he replied. He grabbed her hand and kissed it gently. Hermione looked up at him in shock.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Saving you," he told her.

"But I don't need saving," she protested, "you do." Draco looked into her eyes.

"Let's change the subject, okay Granger?" She had hit a nerve. She knew he wouldn't be too pleasant for a while. They worked quietly, Hermione researching their Arithmancy project, Draco researching the Polyjuice Potion. At 10 o'clock Madam Pince announced the library was closing for the night. Draco looked at Hermione.

"Do you want to keep studying or are we done for the night?" he asked her. She looked at him a moment.

"I was going to take some of these books back to the common room and do my work there....unless you had a different plan," she said cautiously.

"I know a place where we can still work together and not get caught by any teachers. We'd be all alone. If you trust me enough, I'll take you there." Madam Pince cleared her throat loudly. Hermione began gathering up her books.

"Let's go," she told Draco. He grinned and began gathering up his books. Outside of the library, Draco offered to carry Hermione's books.

"No thank you, Malfoy. I'm fine on my own," she told him. This frustrated him, but he agreed nonetheless. He wasn't about to argue with Hermione Granger when he was all alone. Draco led Hermione up to the Divination tower. He tapped a portrait with his wand and muttered "Serpent's tongue". The portrait opened to reveal another small staircase. They climbed the staircase as the portrait closed. At the top she found herself on a small landing on top of the tower. Hermione let out a small gasp.

"It's so beautiful up here! How did you ever come about it?"

"Every House has a secret place like this! You just need to know who to ask and where to look. Because places like these aren't visited often enough, the password is never changed. I come up here whenever I need to clear my head at night. I love to feel the wind in my face. It reminds me of flying," he told her quietly. Hermione was amazed. Draco Malfoy had just shared a secret with her. She set her books down and joined Draco, who was standing next to the ledge. She looked into his face, into his eyes. She saw the pain in them. She wished to herself that she could make all his pains go away. Draco sat down on the edge and held Hermione's hand. She followed suit and sat down, too. She looked down the Tower.

"Whoa! We're really high up!" she said. She began rocking slightly. Draco put his arm around her waist to steady her.

"Afraid of heights?" he asked her, sincerely. She nodded. He tightened his grip on her. Hermione placed her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"What?" Draco asked.

"Nothing. I've just never felt so.....at peace before. It's very relaxing up here....with you," she said. Draco looked down into her face again. He placed his lips against hers. This kiss was much like the one on the Quidditch pitch. Passionate and intense, but sweet and slow, too. This kiss however, lasted much longer. It seemed like they were kissing for hours. Finally, Hermione pulled away.

"Draco," she said. She opened her eyes. She saw the pain in his eyes and hers began to fill with tears.

"Draco, what's wrong?" she asked, running her hand through his hair. He took a deep breath.

"All those years of hating you. All those years of pain I caused you. It was all because of my father. He's the one that hates people like you. All he cares about are purebloods, and keeping the Wizarding World clean. I hate it!" he yelled. He rested his forehead on Hermione's.

"This past summer, he asked me to be a Death Eater. And do you know what I said? I told him 'no'. I told him that I couldn't handle all of the pressure of becoming a Death Eater. I told him, I wasn't sure if I wanted to rid the Wizarding World of Muggle-born wizards and witches. Naturally, he hated my answer. He punished me. Called me awful names, tortured me. I was so angry with him for not being a proper father. Right before I left for Hogwarts, his last words to me were 'Draco, you have a year to decide your fate. Use your time wisely'. Not a good-bye, nothing. Why?" he continued. Hermione lifted his chin and kissed him lightly on the lips. A tingle spread throughout Draco's body.

"Draco, whatever you choose to do will be your decision. Don't let your father influence it."

"But Hermione, he's not the only thing stopping me from making up my mind. You are, too. I've liked you since first year. Please, tell me what to do," Draco confessed. Hermione was stunned. Had she just heard him right?

"Uh, Draco. It's getting late. We should head back to our common rooms," she said, getting up. She felt horrible for pushing the subject under the rug, but she needed to take a little time to understand what Draco had just told her. Draco stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. He picked up his and Hermione's bookbag and started down the stairs. At the portrait hole, he stopped and looked at Hermione. He gave her a light kiss on the lips.

"Would you like to get together again tomorrow?" he asked her.

"Yes, but let's meet up for our spare period in the library. We can discuss everything else then," she told him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. He didn't want to let go of her. Finally though, he did let her go.

"Good night Draco," she said, kissing him on the cheek. She headed out of the portrait hole, her insides screaming at her to turn around and go back to Draco.

"Good night, Hermione" he whispered, putting his hand to the very spot Hermione just kissed. He stepped outside of the portrait hole and headed for his common room.

Throwing herself onto her bed, Hermione heaved a sigh of relief with a huge smile on her face. Her time spent on the roof of the tower with Draco was replaying in her head. Hermione lay there for several minutes, just enjoying the realization of what had happened. Slowly, her eyelids fluttered and she found herself asleep. Her head was filled with dreams--dreams of her and Draco together, dreams of Draco being punished by his father, dreams of her coming to his rescue after a particularly bad torture curse. Hermione's night of rest was mainly troubled and she tossed and turned all night long. She awoke the next morning with tears in her eyes. She still hadn't been able to grasp what Draco had confessed to her the previous night. She made a decision to talk to him about it that night on the tower.

Draco took his time, making his way to the Slytherin common room. His head swirled with thoughts of Hermione. He loved how peaceful she looked in his arms, how she kissed so softly, how she fit perfectly next to him, the way she smiled, the look in her eyes when she looked at him. 'Get a hold of yourself you idiot! This is Granger! What did I just do tonight? I've fought with these damned feelings for six years now, and at the slightest notice of weakness everything comes flooding out! Bloody brilliant!' Draco conintued his internal ongoing battle about Hermione as he walked up to the portrait. He gave the password to the portrait and entered the common room. He found no one there; only the comforting glow of the warm fire welcomed him. Draco trudged up the stairs to his room. He lazily threw his books on the floor beside his bed. Pulling his robes off, he fell onto his bed. He kicked his shoes off and put his hands behind his head. 'I know what I told her tonight, but why? Why did I suddenly have the need to tell her how I felt about her?' Draco couldn't understand it. As he slowly drifted off to sleep, he finally muttered his discovery out loud.

"I'm falling in love with Hermione Granger," he said to himself before falling into a deep sleep.