Save Me

Hermione was awoken the next morning by Harry and Ron.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" "Why did you spend the night in the common room?" "Why are your eyes so red and puffy?" "What happened to your books?" She was attacked with questions from her two friends. Hermione gave no answer, only sighed before getting up and heading for her room. She took a long, hot shower that morning, trying to wash away the guilt she felt about leaving Draco the night before. She missed breakfast but she didn't care. She had no appetite. She dragged herself to her classes for the day. In Muggle Studies, she simply ignored the professor. Her mind still lay with Draco, on the tower. In Potions, Hermione found herself oddly alone. She was forced to sit through the entire class without her partner. She instead continued her research, even if she didn't get one new thing written down. At lunch, she hid herself away in the library. She poured over a piece of parchment, attempting to write out all her feelings, to lighten her heart. It didn't work. During her afternoon classes, she still felt miserable. During Herbology, Professor Sprout lectured them on the newest plant they were learning about. Hermione didn't write a single note down, or even catch the name of the plant. During her final class of the day, Transfiguration, she kept glancing at the set of desks across the aisle from her so much that Professor McGonagall caught her and questioned her on it. Hermione simply explained that she thought she kept seeing something odd out of the corner of her eye. After Transfiguration, she excused herself from supper, producing odd looks from Harry and Ron. She walked herself to the Gryffindor tower. Upon entering the common room, she broke into a run up the stairs and into her room. She slammed the door shut, locking it and proceeded to throw her books around the room. She was so angry, but had no idea why she was, or how it came about. She eventually collapsed, leaning against the door.

"What have I gotten myself into?" she asked herself.

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Draco muttered the password and slipped silently through the portrait hole. He crept up the stairs and into the awaiting moonlight. He sat on the edge of the tower, replaying his speech in his head. But Draco knew that no matter how many times he went over it, as soon as he saw Hermione, he'd forget it all. He heard a small rustling sound behind him and whipped around. He faced a small owl with no note attached to its leg.

'Odd,' he thought, 'I've never actually seen an owl without a note.' He shrugged it off and turned back to stare at the horizon. He sat alone for several minutes before he heard another small noise behind him.

"Ruddy owl," Draco said aloud.

"Excuse me?!" the sound maker asked sharply. Draco winced. He recognized the voice instantly. He turned back again to find his father in the owl's spot.

"Su-sorry Father. I didn't realize you were there," Draco stammered out.

"A Malfoy never needs to apologize and a Malfoy never has to explain himself," Lucius Malfoy growled at his son. He looked directly at Draco with a fire in his eyes.

"What are you doing up here at this time of night Draco?" Lucius questioned his son.

"Using my time wisely," Draco answered back almost too quickly. Lucius eyed him suspiciously.

"I see," Lucius said, "and this has nothing to do with that Mudblood you've been hanging around with in class now, does it?" Draco brought his eyes down to his hands, which were nervously playing with the hems of his robe at the sound of his father calling Hermione a Mudblood.

"No, Father," Draco croaked out. He knew if he didn't regain his usual Malfoy composure soon, Hermione would find him and his father arguing on the tower roof.

"Very well, dear son," Lucius said. They remained as they were for a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Well Draco, remember, use your time wisely. And stop being so civil with the Mudblood," Lucius told him before turning on his heel and leaving the tower. Draco let out a sigh of relief once his father was gone. Draco shifted in his spot on the edge of the tower.

'Hermione should be here any minute now!' he thought to himself excitedly. But Draco waited and waited. He continued to wait for what seemed like days. Finally getting up, he realized he'd done something wrong to offend Hermione.

'That must be it. Why else would she have not come?' Draco thought to himself. He headed for the stairs, wishing he could fix whatever he'd messed up with Hermione when the portrait suddenly swung open. It was Hermione.

"Oh Draco!" she cried, flinging her herself at him and throwing her arms around his neck. She buried her face in the robes on his shoulder. He rubbed her back and assured her everything was fine as she cried. As she finally stopped crying, Draco held her back slightly, looking into her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked her softly. Her eyes welled up with tears again, but none fell.

"I-I came up the stairs to the tower and I almost ran into your father. I jumped behind a suit of armour before he saw me. Bu-but when I saw he had come from behind this portrait, I-I thought the worst, Draco! I stayed behind that suit of armour for an hour, too scared to move, even if it meant you might be hurt. I feel so horrible about it. I'm a Gryffindor for Merlin's sake!" she explained. Draco shushed her and brought her back into a hug.

"Everything is fine now. I'm okay, especially now that you're here," he told her.

"But you could have been dead!" she cried in his ear, a little too loudly. She broke free from his grasp and brushed past him up the stairs. Draco followed her up the stairs. She came to a stop at the edge of the tower, where he had just been sitting. He stopped just behind her, but didn't approach her like usual.

"You...you were that worried?!" he asked quietly. Hermione nodded.

"Yes, Draco. I...I...I think I'm falling in love with you." She kept her eyes on the ground as she spoke. She took a few steps towards him. He reached out and grabbed her hands, pulling her close to him. He breathed in deeply.

"You still smell like strawberries," he noted. She gave a small smile. Suddenly, the sound of two small lions could be heard throughout the roof of the tower.

"You skipped dinner, too?" he questioned her. She gave a small nod. He let her go and headed for the stairs.

"Be right back," he said before racing down the stairs and out of the portrait hole. He returned ten minutes later with a basket filled with fried chicken, bread, apples, cookies and strawberries in one hand, and a quart of pumpkin juice and two glasses in the other. He also bore a huge smile. He placed the food on the floor and took a seat. Hermione hesitated a moment before sitting down beside him.

"Where'd you get this?" she asked him, eyeing the food. "Please say the kitchens." Draco gave her his most mischievous smile. He waited a moment to answer her.

"Of course!" he said. Hermione gave a small sigh of relief. He separated the food and handed Hermione her half. She was about to take a bite of chicken when Draco spoke up again.

"Tell me what it was like growing up in the Muggle world." She thought for a moment, while chewing on her chicken, then she began her story. She told him all she could about Muggle hospitals, Muggle schools, her parents, the pets she had growing up, her birthdays, her friends, the day she found out she was a witch, and her last few days as a true Muggle before she received her acceptance letter from Hogwarts. Draco just sat there in awe. He said nothing as she spoke, only nodded occasionally. When she finished, she took a deep breath.

"Draco, can you tell me what it's like growing up in the wizarding world?" she asked. He took a sip of pumpkin juice and began his story. He told her about St. Mungo's, being home-schooled until the age of eleven, being able to do magic anytime, flying on a broomstick, travelling by the many methods of wizarding transportation and what it was like growing up a Malfoy. He went on to explain to her about his father's connection with Lord Voldemort and how, since his birth, his father has expected him to become a Death Eater on his seventeenth birthday.

"So, after saying all that, there's something I have to tell you, Hermione. I'm afraid of my father. I'm afraid of what he's capable of when he's angry. And I'm afraid that, no matter how much I love you, it will never be enough. I've never loved anyone the way I love you, but I think you deserve someone better than me. I'm sorry, Hermione, but...but I think it may be better if we stopped this relationship we have." Draco was near tears. It was a rather odd sensation, as he had never cried before. Hermione sat beside him, crying her eyes out, her mouth hanging open in shock, a strawberry in her hand. She stood up and threw the strawberry at him.

"Draco Malfoy, you're a cruel, heartless bastard! I hate you! And I don't think I'll EVER be able to forgive you for this!" she screamed before running down the stairs and out of the portrait hole. Draco hung his head and let his tears fall.

"What have I done?" he asked himself.

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Over the course of the next week, Harry and Ron noticed a huge change in Hermione. She couldn't sit through an entire meal, she sat by herself in the back of Potions (leaving them to sit beside Malfoy), she was found often in the common room crying, a few nights she fell asleep in a common room chair, she wasn't paying as much attention in class, and when they were in the tower, she often locked herself up in her room. They also heard from Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil that Hermione was having loads of problems in Arithmancy. Normally Harry and Ron would have simply waited for the mood swing to pass, but she never had trouble in a class before. Against Ron's pleas ("You know she can hex us right?"), Harry decided to talk to Hermione. After dinner Harry and Ron headed for the common room instead of the library like usual. They passed through the portrait hole and saw Hermione sitting in front of the fire. Upon further inspection, they saw she was crying. Hermione hadn't noticed she had an audience until Harry finally said something.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked her. She jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly wiped her eyes dry with a tissue.

"No-nothing's wrong, I'm fine! Can't you see? Fine!" her voice wavered and became high-pitched. Harry and Ron sat in the chairs to Hermione's sides. Harry touched her arm gently. She pulled it away quickly.

"Listen Hermione, we know something's up. And if you need to talk to us, we're here for you," Harry told her. Ron nodded. Both boys got up and proceeded to leave.

"No! Please don't go!" she asked. They both sat back down.

"I have some explaining to do to both of you. I've never been like this before and frankly, it scares me so much," she told them. They listened intently as she told them just about everything between her and Draco.

"And then last week, to the day actually, he told me we couldn't be together anymore because of his father! I don't give a rat's tail about his father! I love Draco and I thought he loved me and I thought that was all that mattered!" Ron had a strange look on his face. It was a cross between shock, anger, jealousy, confusion and a little fear. But Harry stayed straight faced. He opened his mouth.

"I know you both may not like what I have to say, but it has to be said. Hermione, I'm honestly shocked that you would ever consider dating Malfoy. However, if he made you happy at the time, you would have had my full support. All I want is to see you happy. You're like a part of my family and if you're not happy, I'm not happy. I'm asking you, but you don't have to answer. Is there any way Malfoy can make it up to you?" Ron opened his mouth to protest but Hermione reached over and covered his mouth with her hand as she thought a moment about Harry's question.

"There's only one way, Harry. I want him to prove to me that he still loves me. I want him to stand up to his father and I want him to tell his father that he loves me." Both Ron and Harry had shocked looks on their faces. They hadn't expected such an impossible answer. Harry regained his composure and continued talking to Hermione.

"So that's it?" he asked. She nodded.

"Okay then! And Hermione," he patted her hand and got up, "you know you can talk to us, well, me, about anything." Hermione smiled at him.

"Well, I'm off to bed," he told them. Harry flashed Ron a 'come-on-and-leave-her-alone' look and headed up the stairs to his room. Ron gave a fake yawn as he stretched.

"I'm off to bed, too, Hermione" he said as he got up.

"Thank you! And good night!" she called after them. She went back to staring into the fireplace.

Inside the dorm room, Harry pulled out a piece of parchment along with his quill and an ink-well.

"What are you going to do with those?" Ron asked.

"I need to tell Malfoy what Hermione said, Ron. As much as I hate saying it, they need each other. You've seen how Hermione's been. And Malfoy isn't much better. I'm the one sitting next to him in Potions, you know!" Harry explained, "I'm just going to write a simple letter telling Malfoy what Hermione told us and that will be it!" Ron furrowed his brow, but didn't stop Harry. Harry began scribbling away on the parchment. He stopped once or twice to re-read what he had written. Finally satisfied, Harry put his quill down.

"Want me to read it?" he asked. Ron nodded. Harry cleared his throat and began:

Malfoy,

Before you dismiss this letter, it is important that you understand that, if you do dismiss this letter, you won't have a relationship with Hermione ever again. Ron and I recently had a talk with Hermione and she told us she still loves you but the only way you can win her back basically is to tell your father you love her. I'm not telling you to do it. That is your own decision. I'm simply letting you know what you have to do in order to get her back. But please consider it. Hermione is a terrible wreck. She can't eat or sleep without thinking of you. I'd rather her be with you, than alone and miserable. And know this, I'm writing to you for Hermione's sake, not yours. But please don't tell Hermione I wrote to you. She would be furious.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

Ron looked at Harry after the letter had been read.

"You had to bring me into it, didn't you?" Ron shot at Harry. Harry rolled his eyes and walked over to his owl, Hedwig, who was sitting on Harry's bedside table. He tied the letter to her leg.

"Now Hedwig, listen closely. I need this letter delivered to Draco Malfoy in Slytherin House. If you can't deliver it to him tonight, deliver it to him tomorrow at breakfast." Hedwig hooted in understanding and flew off.

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Draco stirred in his sleep at the sound of knocking.

"Answer the bloody door!" he yelled only to be muffled by a pillow. When no one did and the knocking continued, Draco sat up. He looked around at the other beds and found them all empty. Draco threw his blankets off of him and stomped his way to the door. He flung it open.

"What do you...want?" he asked, finding himself staring into nothing but thin air. He slammed the door shut and stomped back to his bed. He sat on the edge and held his head in his hands.

'This is bloody wonderful! I can't sleep for a week because of what happened with Hermione and on the first night I finally manage to doze off, someone is playing games with my damn mind!' he thought to himself as the knocking started again. He went back to the door and opened it. Again, nothing there, but the knocking continued. He left the door open and looked around him. He thought of every possible place someone could be hiding, but quickly dismissing each one with a good enough excuse. His final option was the windows. He looked at the first three and saw nothing. But he looked at the fourth window and saw a large snowy owl. He opened the window and untied the letter from its leg. He looked at who it was addressed to and was shocked to find his name there. He poked the owl out of the room and closed the window. He opened the letter and read it over. When he finished, he had mixed emotions about it. He was angry that the letter was from Potter, relieved it wasn't from his father, happy that Hermione still loved him and very, very sad that he couldn't be with her then. Draco sat up for many hours after receiving the letter, contemplating what to do in his situation with Hermione and whether he should answer Harry back or not. All night he fought with the decision to write Harry back. Just as the sun began to rise for a new day, Draco yawned and took out a piece of parchment. He wrote a response to Harry and ran down to the owlery. He tied his letter to a school owl and gave the owl its instructions, then Draco headed back to the Slytherin dungeon. He was in great need of a shower to wake him up. Once he'd finished, he headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. He forced himself to eat a piece of toast as he waited for Harry's letter to be delivered. Just as Draco put the last bite of his toast into his mouth, owls began swooping into the Hall. He gulped down his pumpkin juice, keeping an eye out for the owl he had picked. He spotted it and felt a small feeling of nervousness in the pit of his stomach. As Harry reached for the letter, Draco got up and left the Great Hall, all the while hoping he'd done the right thing.

An owl landed softly onto the table in front of Harry. Harry untied the letter from the owl's leg before the owl flew off. Harry opened the letter.

"Who's it from?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, it's from, uh, Fred and George," he said, handing the letter to Ron. Ron quickly scanned the letter and understood what Harry was doing. Ron followed along.

"Great! It's been awhile!" Ron said.

"So how are they?" she asked him. Ron gave Harry a worried look. Harry could only stare back at him.

"Oh, uh, they're fine Hermione. They say they've come up with something new. Didn't give any details though. Said it's to be kept a secret until we're home for the summer," Ron managed to say suddenly.

"Well, when you owl them back, tell them I say hello," she told him before going back to her breakfast.

"Will do," he muttered, giving Harry a bit of a confused look. Ron read the letter completely, his eyes slowly widening with shock as he progressed through the letter. Harry stood up when Ron gave the impression he was done reading the letter.

"I'm going to add some last minute things to our Divination homework before class. See you later, Hermione. Ron," he said. Ron stood up and followed Harry, giving Hermione a small wave. She managed a smile before getting up herself and heading for the Gryffindor common room.

Harry and Ron ran to the library. They huddled at the table in the back corner. Ron passed the letter to Harry so he could read it.

Harry,

Thanks for your concern about Hermione and myself. I'm thankful you sent me the information. It will be greatly needed to gain Hermione's trust back. I'm unaware of how I'll do so, however. I'd also like to let you know that I too have been a terrible mess without Hermione. I'm sure you haven't noticed though. I too, love her, but in order for our relationship to progress, I need to swallow my pride and destroy my father's hopes and dreams for me. No matter how absurd they were. As for not telling Hermione, I may have to. It would be odd owling her my letter without having an explanation. But, if I do use your information in my letter to her, I will ask her not to repeat it to you and you will never hear of it again. Hermione is faithful like that. She is a very good secret keeper. Thank you again for your concern. I will attempt to keep you updated. And please be aware, I may need your help again in the future.

Draco Malfoy

Harry's mouth hung open in shock.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or was that letter from Malfoy...civil?" Harry asked Ron.

"I'm too scared to think Harry," Ron half joked. Harry read it a second time before tucking into his nearest textbook. He pulled out his Divination homework, trying to add any last minutes details he may have forgotten. He sat, staring at his piece of parchment for almost half an hour, before he finally threw down his quill in anger and began gathering up his books. Ron noticed this display of anger and just watched Harry until he was finished with his fit.

"Problem?" Ron asked finally. Harry gave Ron a nasty glare before packing up the remainder of his things. Ron followed suit and ran after Harry out of the library. Ron didn't catch up to Harry until the Divination Tower.

"Ha-Harry, wait-wait up-for me" Ron huffed and puffed near the top of the stairs. Harry stopped and turned to see Ron having so much trouble.

"Oh, sorry Ron. I must not have been paying attention," Harry explained.

"Why-why are you so...angry?" Ron said, slowly beginning to catch his breath.

"Well, it's really just the whole thing with Malfoy. Hermione deserves better but if she never gets back with Malfoy, she'll be heart-broken. It's so frustrating. And I don't know if I should help Malfoy with Hermione anymore," Harry told Ron. Ron gave Harry a sympathetic look.

"Harry, if you didn't want Malfoy to be with Hermione at all, you never would have told him what she said in the common room to us in the first place." Harry shook his head.

"I know, but still...." Ron put a supportive hand on Harry's shoulder before climbing the ladder up to the Divination class. Harry stood on the tower floor a moment longer, before following Ron.

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Hermione, stopping outside the Gryffindor portrait as she mumbled the password ("salamander seeds"), paused before entering. She wasn't sure if she should go in. She still had some Potions stuff to research and a few things left in Arthimancy to go over before her next class. She also had to get together with Draco for both classes to organize all their information.

"Are you going in or not, child!?" she heard the Fat Lady shriek, interrupting her thoughts. Hermione sighed and stepped through the portrait hole. Inside was deserted. Not many sixth-years had a spare period. In fact, none of them with the exception of her. She slowly walked to the big table by the fireplace and sat in the chair behind it. She took her Potions work out of her bag and spread it out on the table. She looked over her information, piece by piece. She re-read what she'd written so far. Then she tried to continue her work, leafing through random papers, not really recalling anything.

'Why the bloody hell can't I concentrate?!' she wondered to herself as she stared at the same page for five minutes. Eventually giving up, she grabbed all her work and shoved it back into her bag. She then walked up to her room, where she threw her bookbag on the floor and lay down on her bed, looking up at the canopy. She let her mind wander, but it always came back to Draco.

'Why did he have to say that stuff about his father? He knew I loved him! WHY????? The stupid git! Obviously he didn't love me if he said that stuff. How could I have been so foolish? Oh, but no matter how much I want to hate him, I can't. I know his father is horrible, and I can see why he said what he did. But still.....' Hermione began to cry. She didn't cry long before she heard a faint tapping. She wiped her eyes on her robes and got off her bed. She looked around at the windows and saw nothing. She raced into the common room to find a small minute owl perched on a ledge. She opened the window and let the owl in long enough for her to untie the letter on its leg. Once she had the letter, the owl flew off quickly. She closed the window and sat down in the chair in front of the fireplace. As she opened the letter to read, something silver fell on her lap.

Hermione,

Before you shut me out of your life completely, I have a few things I need to say to you. Firstly, I still love you and always will. What I said that night on the tower was never meant to hurt you the way it did. I'm truly sorry. Secondly, I've never loved anyone the way I love you and I will never love anyone that much ever again. I thought you needed to know that. As for regaining your love and trust, Harry owled me and told me what I need to do. Don't go and get angry at Harry though. If he hadn't told me, then you wouldn't be reading this letter right now. I will be confronting my father and telling him about our relationship and my love for you. I just need to figure out the best time to tell him.

Hermione, before I go, I need you to know I've never felt more alive than when I'm with you. I'm a terrible wreck without you. Please don't tell Harry or Ron you know he owled me. I miss you.

Love, Draco

P.S. This necklace was mine. I want you to have it as a token and a reminder of our better times together. I'm not asking you to wear it, but simply keep it for yourself.

Hermione picked up the necklace and held it close to her face. It was a small silver snake, held on to a simple silver chain. Hermione flipped the snake charm over in her hands and found an inscription. 'To my one and only, love Draco' Hermione's eyes welled up with tears as she clutched the necklace close to her heart. She was suddenly interrupted by the portrait swinging open. She quickly picked up the letter and placed it, along with the necklace, in her pocket. Rubbing her eyes, she was slightly surprised to see Harry and Ron approaching her.

"Why are you back from Divination so early?" she asked them.

"Trelawney predicted another one of Harry's deaths. Only this one was much worse, according to her, and after announcing it, she fainted. Dumbledore had to come and fix the disaster," Ron explained. A smile twitched slightly at the corners of Hermione's mouth. She remembered how during every class, Professor Trelawney would predict a new death for Harry.

"Well, if you'll give me a moment to retrieve my books from my room, we can head to Potions a little early," she told them. Ron had a nasty look on his face.

"At least it isn't double Potions," she reminded him. He shrugged and she headed up the stairs to her room. Once inside, she carefully hid the letter in one of her textbooks. She then fastened the chain around her neck, tucking it into her robes. She glanced in the mirror before heading back down to join the boys on their walk to Potions class.