Hermione Granger and The Secret Fire

Chapter 5- The fire begins to burn

"Yeah," Misten said glancing at the creepy look in Malfoy's eyes, "I'll be leaving now. Bye! Good luck with that, Hermione."

Hermione watched Misten make her quick exit and briefly thought, 'Nice friend! Leaving me here to deal with a deranged Malfoy!'

"Sit down, Granger! We need to talk!" Malfoy said for the second time.

"Um...Malfoy? Whatever we need to talk about can wait until you've solved whatever it is that is upsetting you," Hermione said, trying to think of a plan to save her own neck. She had been on the wrong side of Malfoy's anger before and she had no interest in repeating the situation this afternoon.

Malfoy stopped, gave Hermione a look she was unable to interpret and collapsed on the couch in front of the fire.

Hermione slowly walked over to the fire to see if Malfoy was face up or face down on the couch. She didn't need him creating some melodramatic death scene in their common room, especially on a day like today. Thankfully, he was face up. He was staring at the ceiling and his chest was heaving, but he showed no other sign of duress.

'Well, at least he's breathing. What in the name of the Gods is the matter with him? Is this about what I said earlier? Maybe I should apologize. But why should I make the first move? He wouldn't apologize if he had said something mean. He did say something mean and he isn't apologizing! Why should I?' Hermione thought as she sat down on the floor, sliding against the chair opposite the couch.

"I need to talk to someone and since my infantile house mates are about as trustworthy as Dumbledore is evil, I thought maybe I could...oh, I don't know!" Malfoy said pitifully.

"What am I going to do, Granger? How am I going to get out of this? This was not supposed to happen yet. I thought I had until my birthday in December at least. I hoped for summer, but I had at least until December, right?" Malfoy said, almost pleading, from his place on the couch.

'I guess this isn't about me,' Hermione thought with a sign of relief. 'Oh, I feel sorry for whomever is at the other end of this tantrum!'

"I can live with you and your Gryffindork friends making fun of me. I have had years of practice at that. I can live with having no real friends, after all most people are beneath me. I can even live with this suicidal notion the members of my family have and their incessant need to outmaneuver, outsmart and even outlive the competition. But I can't..." Malfoy said in a low, melodious voice.

Hermione felt herself frowning in confusion and fear while holding her breath waiting for him to finish his thought. His change in mood frightened her. He was screaming in anger and burning things one second and speaking in a deadly calm, composed and under control tone the next.

'Who is this person in front of me?' Hermione thought. 'Who is this person beginning to pour his, dare I say it, heart out to me? What in the hell is going on?'

Malfoy started shaking his head back in forth as if saying 'no' to whatever thoughts were going through his head. "I can't..." his repeated while his voice broke.

'Did Malfoy's voice just break? Like as in about to start crying?' Hermione thought with alarm.

Hermione Granger was not a person who was content with not understanding something. She was not accustomed to being 'left out of the loop' and she prided herself on knowing something about almost everything. Looking at Malfoy, she realized she had no clue what he was talking about, and that made her uncomfortable. It made her very uncomfortable.

"Nothing could be worse, could it? Even if I refuse, it can't be as bad, can it? Oh Gods! I can't go back already! I just got back from that bloody place this morning!" His questions were asked with a new level of pain.

Finally, Hermione found her own voice, "Uh, Malfoy. You're frightening me. I am dreadfully sorry about whatever is upsetting you, but I have to ask, what is going on?"

Malfoy turned his head and looked at her almost as if he hadn't expected her to be sitting there. However he had a newfound fire in his eyes. He started yelling, but never got up off the couch. "I can't Hermione, and I won't. I WON'T, DAMN IT! I don't care what the consequences are for refusing, but I REFUSE!"

Hermione's brain once again could not process what was going on in front of her. 'Malfoy is possessed by some...what...demon? He's refusing something. What in the hell is he going on about this time?'

Hermione was about to respond with the next bombardment of 'What the hell' questions when Snape barged through the portrait into their common room.

"Draco? Draco, what the fuck happened? I thought I told you..." Snape barked but stopped when he saw Hermione sitting on the ground in front of Malfoy.

Hermione had been surprised when Malfoy had been carrying on talking to her about Gods knows what, but nothing prepared her for the shock she felt with Professor Snape using vulgar and ghastly language not only in front of students, but TO a student! To say she was mortified would be a great understatement!

"Granger, OUT! NOW! GET OUT OF HERE!" Snape ordered forcefully. Hermione stood up, shaking, and tried to run up to her bedroom.

"Severus, that is quite enough," a voice reasoned from behind the portrait, halting Hermione where she stood. Albus Dumbledore strode into the common room with a grace and a presence like none other.

"Miss Granger has a right and a responsibility to be here. It is her home we are barging into, is it not? After all, Mr. Malfoy was speaking with her before you came into their rooms."

Severus Snape was seething with anger and glaring daggers at Hermione, but he stalked off into a corner at the Headmaster's words.

"That's...that's all right Professors, I'll be upstairs," Hermione shot out of the room like a bat out of hell. She could not climb the stairs fast enough.

Hermione ran right into the lavatory and began throwing water on her face. She felt truly scared for once. She was not used to feeling scared at Hogwarts. This was her safe haven!

Hermione collapsed on her bed and started to cry. It took a long time before she got past all the strange words Malfoy had said, and what Professor Snape had said.

She calmed herself using a Muggle breathing technique and decided to replay in her head as much of the conversation she could remember.

"He said, 'I can't go back already! I just got back from that bloody place this morning.' Did he mean Malfoy Manor? Where else could he have been? But if he just got back this morning, who was having sex in his room last night?" she mumbled at Crookshanks as she went through the conversation.

She made it all the way to the words Malfoy said before she mentally accused him of being possessed by a demon, before she stopped in horror and alarm.

Hermione sat up on her bed and gulped in a lungful of air, almost damaging them in the process. Malfoy had called her 'Hermione'.

~*~

Hermione wanted desperately to leave the confines of her bedroom and to talk to Misten, or at least Harry and Ron. She knew that Misten always seemed so calm and capable of handing a situation. It was a trait Hermione recognized in herself, but was also able to appreciate in someone who was around her.

'I have to tell someone what Malfoy said!' she thought. 'But I can't even explain what happened because I don't understand everything that went on!'

Hermione got off her bed and tiptoed to her door. She opened it a crack and listened for any sounds coming from the common room.

"Nothing," she whispered. "I hear nothing."

After waiting another minute just to be sure, she grabbed her wand and made her exit, finding the common room empty.

Hermione found Misten, sans the boys and every one else, in the Gryffindor common room. Misten didn't waste any time. She stood up at seeing Hermione and closed her into a hug.

"Are you okay?" she asked tentatively. "I probably shouldn't have left you with Draco unhinged like that, but he can be pretty scary when he is in that mood."

Hermione lost herself in the generous hug before realizing what Misten had said. '...left you with Draco...he can be pretty scary...in that mood'

"Wait...what?" Hermione said as she pulled away. "You just called Malfoy 'Draco'. I don't think that is the first time either, now that I remember our earlier conversation in the library. And what do you mean he can be pretty scary when he is in that mood? When have you seen him in that mood before?"

Misten looked like a kid who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Hermione, I need to tell you something, but you must keep it a secret. I don't expect you to understand, but being an outsider here has been hard. Everyone already has his or her set of friends and whichever group I try to be part of, I constantly feel like a fifth wheel," she turned seventeen shades of red, once again.

"I have kind of been talking to Draco; a lot. It's no big deal, but he thought it was a good idea for us to keep it quiet. He didn't want his reputation as a Gryffindor-hater to get tarnished by spending time with me," she smiled sheepishly and looked at Hermione for approval.

"Are you dating him?" Hermione asked, knowing she couldn't help herself from asking the very private question.

Misten screwed up her face as the flopped onto one of the couches and said, "Gods no! I mean he is good looking and has a great body but he's not my type. That is why I was in the classroom on Saturday night with Professor Snape who, by the way, is seriously sexy! I had just finished talking to him about something that I was worried about with Draco and then I asked my potions question and got the eye thing, and well, you know the rest."

Hermione's brain once again started to spin from all the shocking things that were going on in her head.

"You think Professor Snape is sexy? With his greasy hair and huge nose and attitude problem? Have you gone mad?" Hermione couldn't help herself. The words Misten said all sounded ludicrous!

"No way, Hermione. Snape is beautiful. Sure he has greasier hair than I'd like, but he's around potions and boiling cauldrons all day. He can't help it if it is humid as hell in his classroom. And his attitude can be pretty grouchy. But I already told you I think it's how you look at it. I mean he's got to deal with disrespectful students all day who don't understand the first thing about potions, really. He can't relate to them because he's a master at what he does and probably knows more than most of the world about brewing!"

"Are we talking about the same Professor Snape here?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.

Misten smiled as she looked at her bewildered friend, "You're right about his nose, though. I can't believe he doesn't have a bird nesting in those nostrils!"

This caused both girls to laugh and it lightened the mood in the room, considerably.

"Okay, but I am still confused. When did you and Malfoy become friendly?"

"Here and there. He walks the hallways at night, much like I do," Misten saw the concerned face Hermione gave and added, "I have never been able to sleep the whole night through and I find a good walk usually helps me unwind. Anyway, he and I have spent hours just talking and blowing off steam. I have seen him in those outburst stages before and have learned it is just better to let him get it all out rather than interfere. Interrupting him in the middle of one would be a bit like trying to stop an erupting volcano!"

"I can't get past the fact that you are friendly to Malfoy. He's always been such a pompous jerk," Hermione said, giggling at the picture in her brain of Malfoy's head exploding like the top of a volcano.

"He's a good guy, Hermione. He may not have been in the past, but this summer has really changed him. He's gone through a lot of stuff in the last six months," Misten explained. "I believe he's on a better path now, even though he doesn't always act like it. I imagine he knows I understand him on some level and that is why he felt comfortable enough to play that prank on us in your common room. I don't think he would have done that, otherwise."

Hermione and Misten grew silent as each of them reflected on what was just said.

"I can't believe you fancy Malfoy!" Hermione breaking the silence and thinking about what Misten had revealed to her.

"I don't fancy him, but have you looked at his body? He's hot! And that whole bad boy persona he puts on? Yummy!" Misten said giggling at the horrified face Hermione was giving her. "Haven't you ever looked at him and thought he was cute?"

"I've never been able to get past the 'Mudblood' comments and the swearing that comes out of his mouth to notice anything else," Hermione stated in all honesty.

"Even Ginny thinks he's good looking!" Misten said, defending herself.

"Ginny would think any male was cute as long as he was breathing!" Hermione said and gave in to a fit of laughter.

~*~

That night at dinner, Hermione received a note from the Headmaster that Malfoy needed to be excused from Head duties that week due to an out-of-school emergency that had come up. Hermione was advised to get Ron or Harry to complete rounds with her and to let the Headmaster know if anything occurred that Hermione could not handle.

While Hermione was not happy about getting all the duties dumped into her lap, she was secretly glad she would not have to deal with Malfoy's moods again for a while. Besides, she thought it would be fun to spend the time talking to someone she liked.

Ron and Harry decided it would be a good idea if both of them were to accompany her on her walk Monday night. It seemed the two had realized they needed Hermione's advice on a new plan. The three began the long walk through the many hallways of Hogwarts with Hermione in between the two young men who had shaped so much of her childhood.

"So what's going on with the two of you? I haven't seen much of you in the past few weeks!" Hermione complained to her best friends.

Ron and Harry exchanged a look and then Ron said, "What we are about to tell you can go no farther than us, okay?"

"That seems to be the Gryffindor line lately, but okay," Hermione conceded. "Wait, let me ask you this, is anything you are planning going to cause me to have to inform Professor McGonagall? I am Head Girl this year and..."

"Yes! Yes! We know, Hermione," Ron interrupted. "We're fully aware of your dilemma between good friend and good Head Girl. If you remember Percy was Head Boy and we still told him things."

"Yeah, but we didn't like Percy. We never told him anything incriminating," Harry said smiling at his two friends.

Hermione smiled once again at the two young men. It was almost like old times, the three of them talking and sharing secrets. "Alright, what do you have cooking? Does this have anything to do with that potion you were researching?"

Ron and Harry exchanged another look and Harry said, "Well, we're actually a little past that. You know how this was a Hogsmeade weekend, right?"

"Harry, you have to start at the beginning. It won't make sense unless you start with the letter," Ron interrupted, once again.

"Oh, right. I am always forgetting stuff," Harry agreed. "Anyway, Ron got this letter from Percy the first week back. It seems our ex-Head Boy/Ministry of Magic 'Weatherby' know-it-all found out some new information about Voldemort's plans."

Hermione stopped walking and stared at her companions. "So you went to Dumbledore straight away, right?"

"We couldn't! Percy didn't actually tell me what the plans were, just that he was privileged enough to know about them. He wanted to brag and show-off his new knowledge," Ron explained.

"Did you even show Professor Dumbledore the letter? Did you even try?" Hermione asked exasperated.

"There was nothing there, I tell you. Just let Harry continue!" Ron answered.

"Right, so Ron and I got the idea that..." Harry started.

"Brilliant idea. Say it! It was a brilliant idea and it was all mine!" Ron interrupted.

Harry just looked at him and continued, "...we would get it out of him. I remembered that Ginny was telling us this summer about how she read some old potions book that she found in the basement of the Burrow."

"Don't ask me why she was reading a potions book over summer! Who does that?" Ron said, rolling his eyes.

Hermione looked like she was going to lecture at the boys that it was an intelligent thing to do when Harry got back to his story, "The book had a potion for making someone tell you something and then forget not only what they told you but that they told you. I guess it was made by some witch who wanted to find out if her husband was cheating on her but she didn't want him to remember she had asked in case she was wrong."

"We couldn't ask Ginny about the book again because she would be curious as to why we wanted to know the information. So we started doing some research to find the potion ingredients," Ron explained.

Harry and Ron exchanged yet another look, reminding Hermione of the dozens of times the Weasley twins had done the same thing, before Harry continued. "We found the potion with your help on Saturday in another old text book here. When we realized that it would only take three hours to brew, we went to work. I am not going to tell you how we got the ingredients, but we did and we brewed the potion in an unused classroom on the sixth floor. Besides all the 'borrowed' ingredients have been replaced."

"Oh Gods! I do not know anything about missing or replaced ingredients. That is just information that I can not know about, especially the part about you two brewing it in an unused classroom," Hermione mumbled.

"Oh like you never brewed a potion in the lavatory with Moaning Myrtle crying away back in our second year," accused Ron.

Hermione shook her head resignedly and smiled at the memory . She encouraged Harry to continue.

"We figured we had to talk to Percy anyway, so last week we owled Ron's information-rich brother and asked him to meet us at the Three Broomsticks. We made it out like we needed him for some advice Ron wanted about his girlfriend. We figured Percy would jump at the chance to provide us innocent, naïve boys with some of his wise, worldly knowledge on the subject of witches."

Ron couldn't seem to contain his excitement any longer and spit out, "This past weekend when we got him alone in a booth, we got to use the potion on him!"

Hermione stared at the boys before asking, "You used an unknown potion on poor, unsuspecting Percy?"

"Well, Hermione," Harry interjected, "we had to find out what he knew and if it was credible. You know better than most that it has been very quiet since the end of our fifth year and I needed to know if I was going to have to worry about an attack and studying NEWTS in the same year."

Hermione knew Harry was being melodramatic and adding in the NEWTS bit purely for her benefit, but, nonetheless, the explanation still had its intended effect. It made her feel bad, "So what did you find out?"

"Other than Percy is an idiot? Not much. The only thing he said that was of any interest was that Voldemort was planning on increasing his numbers by recruiting students," Ron said.

"Which we already knew, incidentally. So over-all it was a big waste of time, energy and potion ingredients," Harry added, "but at least we now know about the potion in case you want to know anything about our favorite Death Eater in training.

"Harry! We cannot use that on Malfoy, I am shocked by your suggestion. Not to mention the trouble you two could have gotten into by brewing something in an used classroom and by not telling Professor Dumbledore that Percy knew something that could have helped the cause!" Hermione scolded remembering that she was upset with their choices.

Ron put his head down and shied away from Hermione like a puppy that was in trouble and said, "We would have told him if Percy had actually known anything."

Hermione felt her old friends regret and conceded, "Well, no harm done I guess. I hate to be Percy when his boss asks something that you two have erased from his mind."

"No one will probably know the difference. He's such a tosser that it will be chalked up to another Percy-moment," Ron said, laughing at his own joke.

"What am I going to do with you two?" Hermione asked half-kidding.

Harry gave her one of his famous smiles and asked, "The real question is what are you going to do next year without us?"

~*~

The following Saturday night, Hermione decided to take a long bath in her marble, private bathtub. Malfoy was due back from his family emergency the next day and she knew this would be one of the few times she would be able to soak uninterrupted.

After filling the tub with a mix of Lavender oil and bubble bath, she sank into the tub and started flipping through a Witchy Wearables catalog that Misten had gotten from a Chicago suburban store. Hermione could not stop thinking about her conversations the past week with her friends. This led to thinking of Malfoy's discussion with, or rather, at her and Hermione refused to relive that exchange!

She found herself dozing several hours and water warming spells later. Hermione dragged herself out of the bath and into her bed, certain she would get a fantastic nights sleep.

Hermione was walking down an abandoned hallway on one of the top floors of Hogwarts. She had heard a noise and was curious to find out who was responsible for the clatter.

She walked into a very dark classroom and said, "Lumos." Nothing happened. She tried again, "Lumos!" Again, nothing happened.

Hermione pulled on the sleeve of her robe and felt for her wand. She realized, belatedly, that it wasn't there! After searching her body for the missing wand, she realized with dread that it was not with her in the pitch-black classroom.

"Looking for something, Hermione?" a male voice called out from somewhere in the middle of the room.

"Who's there?" she said with fear and trepidation ringing in her voice. "Why are you sitting in the dark?"

The voice chuckled and said, "Would you prefer to have the room lit? You do know how to light a room, don't you?"

"I...I tried. It didn't work," she replied.

"Well, I like the darkness; it suits me. Why, Hermione, do you think your spell failed to work?" the voice said.

Hermione thought about it and couldn't come up with a logical answer, so she decided not to answer, "Light a candle, please. I can't see you."

"Hermione, when you can light it, it will be lit. You know, you didn't answer my question. Why didn't your spell work?"

"I don't know. I can't find my wand," she admitted. She immediately regretted announcing that she was unarmed. She used a trick she had heard from Harry to make the attacker forget your moment of stupidity and asked, "Why didn't it work?"

The voice laughed out loud. "Good thinking, Hermione. I figured you wouldn't ask that question, but as usual, you proved me wrong. I can't tell you why it didn't work, you must find the answer yourself."

Hermione found that she was feeling frustrated as well as fearful and apprehensive. The phantom male was not giving her any information whilst confusing the things she already knew to be true.

As Hermione sighed out loud thinking about how she could get herself out of her current situation, she felt the man grab her arm and yank her into the room, slamming the door behind them. Immediately her frustration turned to pure terror.

"What...what are you doing? Light a candle so I can see you," she commanded trying to sound fierce. But nothing was lit and Hermione felt the man's arms encircling her waist.

"You are such a dumb witch. There is no way you are the smartest in your class. In fact, I think I saw that you were slipping in the ranks," the man whispered in her ear.

"Let me go," she cried as he shoved her onto the ground. She could feel the man stepping on her robes. "Let me go. Please, let me go!"

He bent over her putting his head close to her head and said, "You must be the least clever person ever. How could you allow yourself to be falling behind in your studies?"

"LET ME GO," she screamed as she slapped the man, hoping to force him off of her before he said a spell to make her silent.

The man grabbed her shoulders and began to shake her.

As sudden as it began, it ended. Hermione woke up from her nightmare, sweating and crying.

She took deep breaths trying to get control of her emotions. When she looked up, she saw a face in front of her that she was sure was a live version of her nightmare!

"Oh my Gods! What are you doing in my room?" she screamed, terrified.

Chapter 6-Anger burning bright

Hermione was walking down an abandoned hallway on one of the top floors of Hogwarts. She had heard a noise and curious to find out whom was responsible for the clatter.

She walked into a very dark classroom and said, "Lumos." Nothing happened. She tried again, "Lumos!" Again, nothing happened.

Hermione pulled on the sleeve of her robe and felt for her wand. She realized, belatedly, that it wasn't there! After searching her body for the missing wand, she realized with dread that it was not with her in the pitch-black classroom.

"Looking for something, Hermione?" a male voice called out from somewhere in the middle of the room.

"Who's there?" she said with fear and trepidation ringing in her voice. "Why are you sitting in the dark?"

The voice chuckled and said, "Would you prefer to have the room lit? You know how to light a room, don't you?"

"I...I tried. It didn't work," she replied.

"Well, I like the darkness; it suits me. Why do you think your spell failed to work??" the voice said.

Hermione thought about it and couldn't come up with a logical answer. "Light a candle, please. I can't see you."

"Hermione, when you can light it, it will be lit. You know, you didn't answer my question. Why didn't your spell work?"

"I don't know. I can't find my wand," she admitted. She immediately regretted announcing that she was unarmed. She used a trick she had heard from Harry to make the attacker forget your moment of stupidity and asked, "Why didn't it work?"

The voice laughed out loud. "Good thinking, Hermione. I figured you wouldn't ask that question, but as usual, you proved me wrong. I can't tell you why it didn't work, you must find the answer yourself."

Hermione found that she was feeling frustrated as well as fearful and apprehensive. The phantom male was not giving her any information whilst confusing the things she already knew to be true.

As Hermione sighed out loud, she felt the man grab her arm and yank her into the room, slamming the door behind them. Immediately her frustration turned to pure terror.

"What...what are you doing? Light a candle so I can see you," she commanded trying to sound fierce. But nothing was lit and Hermione felt the man's arms encircling her waist.

"You are such a dumb witch. There is no way you are the smartest in your class. In fact, I think I saw that you were slipping in the ranks," the man whispered in her ear.

"Let me go," she cried as he forced her onto the ground. She could feel the man pulling on her robes. "Let me go. Please, let me go!"

"LET ME GO," she screamed as she slapped the man, hoping to force him off of her before he said a spell to make her silent.

As sudden as it began, it ended. Hermione woke up from her nightmare, sweating and crying.

She took deep breaths trying to get control of her emotions. When she looked up, she saw a face in front of her that she was sure was a live version of her nightmare!

"Oh my Gods, what are you doing in my room?" she screamed, terrified. She once again reached out and slapped the man in front of her.

"Owwww. Knock it off, Hermione!" Malfoy said as he rubbed his cheek on the spot where she had slapped him, twice.

Hermione stared in shock at the man standing next to her bed, "What are you doing in here?"

Malfoy looked at her with an insulted expression and said, "I came in here because you were screaming. You started yelling 'Let me go' and then you slapped me! Is that the thanks I get for waking you? Fine, I'll leave you to your nightmare."

He began to walk back toward her door when she stopped him.

"No, I mean what are you doing in here? You are supposed to be at home for some emergency. And my room is warded!" Hermione explained searching for an answer that would make sense.

Malfoy looked at Hermione as if she was a child and walked toward her. In a placating tone, he said, "I am Draco Malfoy. I come from a long line of pure-blood wizards."

"Is there a point to this line of rubbish?" Hermione interrupted, her fear turning into anger at Malfoy's little monologue.

"I COME FROM A LINE of pure blooded wizards," Draco said, practically yelling the first part. "We are not held off by a few minor wards. I would not be a jewel in my ancestry crown unless I knew how to get past a few basic wards."

Hermione stared at him in disbelief, "How often have you been in my room?"

"Please! I would not, and have not, been in your room when you are not here."

Seeing the look on Hermione's face, he added, "And before you ask, no, I haven't been in here spying on you or anything. The only time I have been in here, other than right now, was when we first moved in. You unceremoniously threw me out that night, if I remember correctly."

Hermione had finally started to catch her breath. She realized that she was sitting up in her bed in a satin nightdress. The sheet covering her was only draped over her legs, leaving her breasts unsupported and partially exposed. She grabbed for the sheet and covered her chest.

Malfoy snorted and said, "It's too late to be modest." Hermione noticed that his eyes scanned her body and returned to her face.

Hermione was about to make a smart comment, but she realized for the first time that Malfoy was in her bedroom in his underwear and an open school robe! Only his silk black boxers, that left very little to the imagination, covered his bottom half. Hermione found her pulse increasing as her teenage hormones took over and she thought about what else was under that robe. She then recognized that it was once again hard to breathe.

"Um. Thanks Malfoy. I appreciate you coming in here to wake me from the nightmare," she said.

Hermione was finding it very difficult not to focus in on Malfoy's covered, and uncovered, body. She realized with alarm that Misten had been correct. His body was quite attractive!

Malfoy scowled at her and he sat down on the bed. "Yeah, whatever. Look, do you want to talk about it? You yelled a lot before you slapped me."

Hermione's face grimaced and she whispered, "I am sorry about hitting you. Why are you being nice to me?"

"Don't get used to it. I am not being nice. I don't even know why I am in here. I am just trying to return the favor. You listened to me, so I'll listen to you. This is a one time deal, though," Draco said with a snarl.

Hermione noticed that Malfoy was trying hard to look and sound menacing. 'Is it just an act?' she thought. 'Is Misten right? Has he really changed?'

"No, Malfoy. I don't want to talk about it. It was just a stupid nightmare."

"Okay. Don't worry about hitting me. I have been slugged harder," Malfoy said trying to lighten the mood by joking.

"How long have you been back? Is everything okay at home?" Hermione asked, realizing she hadn't heard him come back from his emergency trip home.

Malfoy's open expression closed quickly at her question. "It doesn't matter, but not too long. You were in the bath when I came in, so I hung around in the common room until I was sure you were finished. I was getting ready for sleep in the lavatory when I heard you scream. Your wards were more difficult to break than I expected, so it took me a few extra seconds to get in here."

Hermione smiled thinking that she was glad she had created wards that were stronger than most.

"Are you sure you're okay now?" Malfoy asked. Hermione thought she saw him trying to be civil, but brushed it off to her lack of sleep. She then realized that it was quite late and he probably wanted to go to bed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Do you mind if I ask you a question before you go, though?"

Malfoy seemed to weigh the idea before answering, "Okay. But I may not answer you."

"Why did you call me 'Hermione' last week in the common room and then again tonight when you woke me?"

Again, Malfoy seemed to consider his answer before speaking. "I called you 'Hermione'? I didn't notice. That is your name isn't it?"

Hermione knew he was being cheeky, so she waited for him to continue.

With a deep sigh, he continued, "I guess I just think of you as more than 'Mud...' that name now. You have been pretty nice to me and now that I have been talking to someone who is trying to get me to see why my 'evil ways' are so bad, I suppose I am just trying to get along with my suite-mate."

"You've been talking to Misten, right?" Hermione asked in an attempt to keep him talking and in her room.

Malfoy's face clouded over with a look that Hermione guessed was disappointment before admitting, "Yeah, but I thought she and I agreed to keep our friendship quiet."

Hermione immediately realized her mistake and broken promise to Misten to keep their relationship a secret. "Don't be mad that she told me. I was having some difficulty with what you had said that day in the common room and she let it slip that you two had talked before. Are you two close? I mean do you like her?"

Malfoy chuckled and said, "Misten? Just as a friend. She's a nice girl and all, but she's from America and I don't think she gets our cultural differences."

Hermione let a breath go that she didn't realize she was holding.

'Do I care if he likes Misten as more than a friend? Why would I? It's Malfoy, for Gods sake!' she thought internally but snorted externally.

"Nice snort, Granger!" Malfoy said accentuating the last name.

Hermione found herself reddening and asked, "Does this mean I get to call you by your first name?"

Malfoy thought it through before saying, "Whatever. I don't care what you call me."

But his words were negated by his next sentence. "You can call me 'Draco' only if you do not say it in front of Potty and the Weasel, okay? I cant stand the idea of them thinking of me by any other name than Malfoy."

Hermione giggled and admitted, "I am pretty sure that is not the only name they have for you."

Draco smiled and said, "Yeah well, we're even then." He got up and started walking toward the door that led back into their shared lavatory. He reached up and used his arm to push open the door, letting the sleeve of the robe fall toward his shoulder. The pose, with him leaning against the door, was quite sexy to Hermione.

"Good night, Draco. Sweet dreams," Hermione said wishing she could think of a way to get him to stay in her room and continue talking to her.

"Goodnight, Hermione. Get some sleep," he whispered with a sweet smile. He turned his back to her as he walked through the door and Hermione caught a glimpse of his forearm. There, in a horrible mixed shade of black and blue and red, was the Dark Mark.

~*~

'NO, NO, NO!' Hermione thought as she laid on her bed. 'Just when I thought he might be changing!' Hermione kept replaying the conversation in her head. She had thought he was good looking, for Gods sake!

"Sleep? Sleep? How, exactly, am I supposed to sleep after seeing that Malfoy has the Dark Mark?" Hermione asked Crookshanks several hours after he left.

Once again, Hermione felt like her safe haven was being breached by an irrepressible source. It seemed that Hogwarts was never going to provide the security it once had in her eyes.

'What am I going to do? If I tell Ron and Harry, it'll start some conflict between them again. This year has been so peaceful without the three of them squabbling every chance they get. I know Percy said that Voldemort would be enlisting students at Hogwarts for his battle. He must be using Malfoy to find his prospects! Maybe we should use that potion they found to see what Draco knows and what he may be hiding.

'I could go to Misten because she seems to understand him better than anyone else has in all the time we've been here. Plus he trusts her and we may be able to convince him to turn himself in to Professor Dumbledore.'

Hermione could not sleep. Her mind kept racing with thoughts of Malfoy as a Death Eater, Malfoy as a name calling git, and Malfoy as a bully who initiated her earlier that year. But she also thought about the Malfoy that Misten talked about, the Malfoy who sat on the stairs listening quietly as Misten cried her eyes out, the Malfoy who had been in her room hours earlier concerned as she awoke from a nightmare and she found attractive and alluring.

As night became dawn, Hermione decided that there was only one course of action. She got dressed quickly, and left her suite to find the one person who she could tell the truth to and not worry about them being on her side. There was only one person she knew who seemed to know what to do in a crisis.

~*~

Hermione arrived at her destination and began climbing the stairs, hoping she was not arriving too early in the morning. As she knocked on the door and she held her breath that her confidant would not only be awake, but would be able to help her.

The door swung open and Hermione walked into a space where she felt comfortable and calm for the first time since Malfoy had left her room. She saw the one person she thought could be an excellent sounding board and was told to have a seat.

After being offered tea and pastries, she sat quietly thinking of how she could approach the subject.

"What can I do for you at this earlier hour, Ms. Granger?" Professor Dumbledore said looking at her through his half-moon glasses, "Perhaps there is something going on in your life that needs to be discussed in a safe and completely private atmosphere?"

Hermione looked at her Headmaster and smiled at the thought that she could relax and be completely honest for once. She was glad there was one person who she could talk to without having to worry about her conversational cohort going off on wild adventures or judging her for not being perfect at every aspect of her life.

Hermione looked at the man who had shown great love and respect to all of his students and who seemed to appreciate each individual as their own person. She found she didn't know how to tell him that someone he had trusted had turned his back and was now working for the enemy.

Hermione looked at Professor Dumbledore and worried that, for once, he might not know how to handle the piece of news she was going to give him. Although he was a noble wizard and many years her senior, Hermione found herself wanting to protect him from the news that was sure to greatly disappoint him.

"Professor, I...I don't know..." she broke off as the tears she had been valiantly trying to hold back started falling freely, "I am not sure... I don't know how to..."

"Ms Granger, you have known me several years, no?" Professor Dumbledore said as he watched Hermione wrestle with her news.

"Um...yes," she replied not sure where he was going with his question.

"And have you ever had difficulty telling me news before?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"And have I disappointed you with how I have handled the news you struggled to give me?" His question surprised her.

"No, sir," she stated plainly.

"Then trust now that this mystery will be met with the same gravity and reverence I have shown in the past," he finished. And suddenly Hermione felt secure enough to share her story.

Hermione told Professor Dumbledore everything. She shared the story from when she literally ran into Draco on the train and he called her a name, to her fight with Ron and the treatment she received from Malfoy the night of the feast. She told him about catching Draco watching her and Misten in the common room and his initiation the day after that Professor Snape happened to walk in on two minutes too late.

Hermione also confessed Harry and Ron's conversation with Percy (minus the brewing of the potion) and Misten's new friendship with Draco. She explained what had happened in her common room before he had interrupted Professor Snape the previous weekend and finally admitted to her conversation with Draco earlier and her shock at what she saw when he left the room.

Throughout the entire conversation, Professor Dumbledore sat in his chair watching Hermione, reading her emotions and considering her reactions to the information she had decided to share. He didn't say a word when he heard how Ron and Harry had interfered, once again, with a plan concerning Voldemort and even kept quiet after she exposed Draco's secret and what she observed on his arm.

Hermione watched his face carefully and it never changed. She never saw surprise, anger, happiness or disappointment. All that she saw was a look that she could only describe as apathy. Even when she finished her entire story, Professor Dumbledore sat quietly looking at her. For the first time since deciding to come see him, she was concerned she had made a mistake.

'What is he thinking? Why hasn't he said anything? Am I going to get in trouble for telling him all of this? What will happen to Draco? What will Misten do when she finds out what Draco really is?' Hermione thought as her mind continued racing with all her uncertainties.

"Professor, I don't know what else to say," Hermione forced out as she watched him watching her.

"Do not misinterpret my silence as a delay for you to say more," Dumbledore spoke slowly. "I am simply trying to decide what the best course of action will be in this situation."

Hermione was shocked at his admission of ignorance.

"I had hoped that young Mr. Malfoy would be able to show better judgment," he finally said.

Hermione felt comforted in her adviser's agreement with her conclusion before she heard, "I did not expect you to find out this early in the school term."

Hermione stared at Professor Dumbledore and wondered if she was still dreaming. 'Surely he did not just declare that he knew about Draco's secret and is contented with Malfoy's decision!'

Professor Dumbledore stood up from his desk and walked over to a window on the east side of his office. Hermione watched him as he gazed at the sun start to rise over the lake.

"Miss Granger, I must ask that you return to your common room and wait there for further instructions," Professor Dumbledore stated gravely, "I ask that you tell no one of this conversation and that you stay in your rooms until I send for you."

'This is not happening! How could he hear news like that and then send me back to my common room?' Hermione thought staring at her Headmaster. "But...I think..."

Professor Dumbledore held a hand up and discharged Hermione's feelings before hearing them.

"I will send for you soon," he said in a dismissive manner.

Hermione got up and wandered back to her private room thinking a million thoughts.

'Am I going to get in trouble now? Is he just so upset he can't talk to me?' Hermione had never seen the Headmaster at a loss for words or unclear on how to handle a situation. She didn't understand how anything could happen that he could not manage!

She sat on her bed as she arrived in her room and began to cry. She didn't think telling the Headmaster what she knew would cause him to think poorly of her. In her wildest dreams, she never expected him to watch her so solemnly and with such disenchantment in his eyes.

Soon, however, the sadness turned to anger. Hermione felt great rage at the so-called adults around her.

"This is ridiculous," Hermione said aloud to no one in particular. "I am old enough and mature enough to be an adult in the wizarding world's eyes in four days. I am responsible enough to be given the position of Head Girl and I am bright enough to have a dozen choices with what I want to do with my life. However, the 'adults' that are responsible for my education do not think I am capable of handling any sort of news that will most likely affect my entire world.

"My best-friend is going to be the savior of our world but not before death and destruction unlike anything I've ever seen before, but I cannot deal with any serious matters because I obviously must be sheltered from it! I am beginning to see what Harry feels when he says that nobody tells him anything. I can certainly understand his frustration!"

Hermione's ranting was reaching deafening levels. She was pacing around her bedroom and throwing books, clothing and anything else she could get her hands on all over the floor, making the room look like a war-zone.

"Then, I am not even allowed to go to breakfast this morning or talk to my friends! Obviously, I made the wrong choice by going to Dumbledore. Who would have thought that going to him would be a mistake? I should have gone to Misten, or even Harry! I can usually get him to listen and not overreact if I talk to him calmly and tell him that I need his help."

Hermione decided that sitting in her room was outrageous and that Dumbledore could not just order her to 'sit and stay' like she was some dog. She grabbed her wand and walked out of her room, intent on going to breakfast and talking privately with Harry.

As she walked out of the portrait, she collided with Professor McGonagall.

"Oh, Miss Granger! Professor Dumbledore would like to meet with you in his office," Professor McGonagall said, trying to right her balance.

Hermione genuinely wanted to say 'No, I am going to breakfast. Professor Dumbledore will have to wait until I have more time.' However, she knew she'd never say those words because they were disrespectful and irresponsible. Instead she nodded and followed her former head of house to the Headmaster's office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked, walking into his office. Hermione looked around and realized that they were not alone. Inside the Headmaster's office, against the western wall, Professor Snape was watching her carefully. Hermione also realized that none other than Draco Malfoy filled the seat closest to Professor Snape in front of the Headmaster's desk.

"Hermione, have a seat next to Draco. I understand that many people in the Order would not agree with my choice, but I feel the time has come to let you in on something that must remain confidential," the Headmaster said.

Hermione sat down and snuck a look at Draco. He was staring at the ground, blushing. He also looked very uncomfortable and Hermione felt a surge of pride in herself for turning him in to Professor Dumbledore.

'Even if no one else thinks it was a good idea, I am glad he has been caught and won't be able to recruit for Voldemort!' she thought.

"Draco, I believe you have something to tell Miss Granger," the Headmaster said encouraging him to speak.