Raw

After the training session, Hermione had showered and dragged herself to her classes. Her stomach muscles were killing her, and she could still feel her arms trembling from the morning's exertion.

She had Arithmancy first with a few other Ravenclaws. The lesson was mildly interesting, but for once Hermione had trouble paying attention. She spent most of the class staring blankly through the professor, her mind turning over the events of the last couple days.

She resolved to snap out of her funk before the next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. It wouldn't do to appear dazed and out of focus in front of Megan. She didn't want her to think that the Auror training was becoming a distraction.

She ducked into the nearest bathroom after Arithmancy was over and quickly leaned over the sink, splashing water in her eyes and on her face. She shook it off, staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes still looked tired and dull, but at least the water had opened them slightly. She straightened her robe and dried her face off, glancing once more at the mirror before heading out the door to the DADA classroom.

Harry and Ron were already sitting towards the front of the class when she arrived. She was grateful to see them there - they would help her collect herself. However, her mood darkened slightly when she saw Malfoy sitting in the opposite corner from them. She predicted they would have many of the same classes together, as there were many classes that Aurors-in-training were required to take their seventh year.

She slid into the seat that Ron had saved for her. "Hey!"

"Hey Hermione. So how excited are you for class with your mentor?" Ron jokingly teased, poking her in the ribs.

Hermione groaned. "Not excited at all. Guess what she made us do today? Climb Head Tower with our bare hands."

Harry and Ron stared. "Is that...possible?" asked Harry.

"I wouldn't have thought so yesterday, but we did it. I'm so exhausted and drained from doing this training. I just had Arithmancy, and I can't for the life of me remember what the lesson was about. The whole time I just stared off into space and zoned out."

"Wait, you were daydreaming?" Ron turned to Harry. "Call a Healer, I think she's broken."

"I've been feeling weird all day. I just want to make it through this class and appear normal. I don't want Megan to think that the training is affecting me negatively."

"Call me crazy, but wouldn't that be a good thing? If she knew this training was having such a physical effect on you, maybe she'd ease up a little," said Harry, seeming concerned.

"I mean, as much as I would love that, it would be more harmful to me in the long run. At the Academy, they're going to expect me to be able to endure tests like that. If Megan babies me this year, it will be even worse next year when I'm not adequately prepared. I need to just suck it up and, I dunno, invest in some Muggle steroids or something."

"Steroids?" Ron asked as Harry laughed. The classroom door shut suddenly, and Megan strode in, looking pristine.

"She doesn't look that exhausted," whispered Ron.

"Well yeah, it's not that tiring watching other people fall off a wall," Hermione shot back.

"Point taken."

"Good morning class," said Megan. "My name is Megan Hewlett, and I am your professor. Hogwarts is in the process of trying to find a permanent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but myself and other Aurors from the Academy have offered to fill in during the interim period. At the moment, I'm not sure how long I will be with you, so I guess the best course of action will be to teach you as much as I can as quickly as possible!"

Harry and Ron shot each other looks, excited to be learning magic from an actual Auror.

"Does everyone have a copy of the textbook, Defensive Magic, Year Seven?" There was a rustling as the class pulled out their copies from their bags. "Excellent. If you could turn to page 102 in the book, you will see a heading entitled the 'Flattening Spell.' We'll start with that."

As Megan began her lesson, Hermione stole a glance over at Malfoy. He looked like she felt: his face was flushed and his eyes appeared dull and tired. He leafed through the pages with a robotic motion, and it seemed like his eyes were just staring at the page without absorbing any of the information. Hermione almost felt a twinge of sympathy before she turned away, focusing her eyes on Megan.

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Hermione remained in her tired, dazed slump for the rest of the week. Her routine remained virtually unchangeable: wake up before dawn, train with Megan and Malfoy for several hours, go to class, and then study if she had the energy. Often the training sessions with Megan ran late, and Hermione would walk into the dining hall just as breakfast was finishing and there was little food left. The house elves took pity on her and started leaving her private meals in her room, which Hermione often devoured as soon as she got back from training.

Her time spent with Ron and Harry decreased significantly. Auror training took up much of her free time, and she also had her studies and Head Girl duties to attend to. She and Malfoy were in charge of managing all the prefects, and they took the late night shift patrolling the corridors. Over the past week, Hermione really only saw Harry and Ron during meals she managed to attend and during classes they had together. Ron managed to sneak into her room several nights that week, but Hermione was usually too tired to be very interactive.

The sessions with Megan had only gotten more intense that week. Hermione was certain Megan was trying to make some point by making the tasks they had to accomplish almost superhuman feats. Tuesday she had Hermione and Draco swim the perimeter of the lake, almost three miles in total. On Wednesday she made them climb trees in the woods and move from tree to tree while in the air - no magic allowed. Thursday she set up a ropes course for them. That was the worst - they were expected to work together to complete it.

She and Draco simply couldn't communicate effectively. Draco was more impulsive than she, and he would brashly forge ahead while leaving her in the dust. She preferred to think through her moves, which annoyed him. He was always convinced he was right, which exasperated her. And while they showed each other utmost respect in front of their mentor, they both hid a layer of veiled anger in their voices when they talked.

Working so closely everyday with her previous enemy was tiring Hermione emotionally. They pretty much avoided each other in Head Tower, and on the occasion they did bump into each other they usually didn't say anything.

Today was Saturday, the third day Megan had made them work on a ropes course together. The morning had been a disaster.

"Come on, you guys!" Megan screamed. "You aren't even trying to cooperate!" Draco had just dropped Hermione while trying to lift her over a brick wall. "You're both fighting each other mentally. You have to work like a team."

"I can't believe you can't even keep me up when I'm putting half my weight on the wall," Hermione muttered as Draco pulled her off the floor.

"That's cause your way is stupid," Draco said through a clenched smile. "We should just scale it like I suggested."

"And break my fingers? I don't think so."

"No fighting," called Megan. "Work together, you guys."

The rest of the session didn't improve any. Draco and Hermione took their frustration out on each other during sparring, each landing multiple hard hits on the other. Megan ended the session early, blaming some work she had to finish for the Academy, and Draco and Hermione stalked off in different directions.

Hermione watched his back as he walked away from her. He had taken his shirt off during the ropes course, and his pale back glistened with sweat. His shoulders had gotten broader and stronger since he began Auror training, and he no longer had the skinny frame she had associated with him throughout their school years.

Hermione turned away from him and walked back towards Head Tower. She wanted to see Harry and Ron really badly, but right now she just needed to sleep the lesson off. She climbed the stairs up the tower and entered through the portrait, pushing aside the red tapestry. As she was about to walk into her room, her eyes fell on the velvet lined purple couch in the common chamber. She lay down and closed her eyes.

************************************************************************************

Hermione woke an hour later, feeling a presence in the room. She opened her eyes to see Ron standing over her.

"Hi Ron." She smiled sleepily. "I was just gonna go find you and Harry after I woke up."

"Yeah, I figured you'd be done by now so I thought I'd try to find you," said Ron, sitting on the couch next to her and smiling. "So how are you?"

"I'm okay," she said, grabbing his hand. "Better now that I'm with you."

"How was this morning?"

Hermione snorted. "Awful. I had to work with Malfoy on a ropes course and he dropped me. I'm worried Megan is going to get fed up with us."

"She knows how hard you've been working; I'm sure she understands that not everything is going to work automatically." Ron leaned over and kissed Hermione on the forehead.

"I wanted to talk to you about this week - I feel like I barely see you anymore." Ron looked at her, his blue eyes serious. "Harry and I were talking about it and I realized pretty much they only time I get to talk with you is in class. Plus the few times I've slept here that's pretty much all we did - sleep. I don't know, I just - I just miss having you around as my girlfriend, you know?"

Hermione rubbed her eyes and sighed. "Ron, I'm sorry. I know I've been really absent. I'm not doing it purposefully - I miss you and Harry like you can't even imagine. It just seems like every single second of my day is scheduled. I didn't realize this Auror training would take so much time...plus on top of that I have my studies, and the new Head Girl duties. It's been like hell. I barely even have time to eat or sleep. It'll probably get easier once I get the hang of this bloody schedule..."

"But will it get easier?" Ron asked. "You're only going to get more busy as the school year goes on. You'll have more studying, more training to attend to, and I'm going have Quidditch practice starting in a few weeks. I have the feeling it's only going to get worse."

Hermione brushed his hair from his eyes tenderly. "It's not going to get worse. I promise, I'll make more time to see you, starting right now...today. We'll be fine. This year'll be just like this last summer, I'll show you."

Ron nodded and slowly got up from the couch. "Welp, Harry and Ginny sent me to get you. We were all going to go practice Quidditch in that meadow near the Forbidden Forest, and we wanted you to come watch. We're going to pack a picnic and make a day of it. If you come I promise to practice shirtless," Ron said wickedly.

Hermione giggled and got up from the couch, kissing him under his ear. "Well then it's a deal." He grabbed her by the hand and led her from the common chamber. As she leaned against him, a wave of uncertainty flooded over her. Deep in her heart, she knew Ron was right - it would only get more difficult for them to find time for each other as the year progressed. She really hoped nothing would change between them from this summer. She would just have to make a bigger effort to find time to spend with him. She couldn't imagine losing Ron - she wouldn't let that happen. Just because the semester got off to a bad start for them didn't mean it had to end that way...right?

************************************************************************************

Sunday dawned with a rainy demeanor - dark clouds riddled the skyline and a low thunder grumbled in the distance. Hermione sat up in bed, wakened by the thunder. Yesterday had put her in a particularly good mood. She had spent the day with Ginny and the boys in the meadow, watching their Quidditch practice from her comfortable blanket on the ground. She chose to stick her loyalty with the girls' side and cheered on Ginny as she hurled a particularly tricky Quaffle past Ron. After her continued heckling of the boys, Harry and Ron insisted she get up on a broom. Ginny lent her the broom and she flew around, playing one on one against Harry with Ron as goal keeper. She even scored once, although she was pretty sure Ron took pity on her and didn't try too hard to save it.

She looked at Ron sleeping next to her, his body framed by the deep red sheets. He looked peaceful, sleeping almost silently. She felt a wave of affection rush over her - she was glad he had come to talk to her about how he was feeling. She cared about Ron so much and really wanted them to last as a couple. Looking at his body lying tangled in the blankets made her tempted to spend the rest of the day in bed with him. Seeing Megan and Draco was about the last thing she wanted to do right now.

She reluctantly pulled herself out of bed and picked her workout clothes out, noting to herself that they were pretty much all she wore these days. She walked over to the mirror to fix her hair. As she glanced at her reflection, she was pleasantly surprised to see that her stomach looked tough - her ab muscles were becoming more defined, and she looked more dynamic and streamlined than she was used to.

She jumped on Ron in the bed, and he woke up startled and flailing about.

"Who'sere?"

"Sorry," whispered Hermione, kissing up and down his chest. "Just wanted to say bye before I left."

Ron sank back under the covers. "Well you're in a feisty mood," he said, wrapping his hands in her ponytail.

Hermione pressed her mouth against his and growled lightly as he laughed. He kissed her on the mouth with a little peck and she pulled away.

"I have to go," she said with a frown.

"Stay with me," Ron said with an evil grin, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him.

"Ugh, it's already hard enough to go as it is," moaned Hermione. "Don't make it harder!" He pulled her into him for one final kiss, slightly biting her lip as he pushed his mouth against hers. He slipped his tongue in her mouth lightly, and she rubbed hers against it eagerly, pulling his head to hers strongly. He started to grab her and move her back into bed with him, and she snapped out of it and broke away from him.

"See you later tonight?" Hermione asked, breathless from the kiss.

"Of course," answered Ron, throwing her a wink, and Hermione left the room.

As she entered the common room, she noticed Draco's door was already open and he was gone. She hoped she wasn't too late. She hurried past the tapestry and out the door, taking the steps two at a time. The sky growled angrily outside, but Hermione welcomed the relief from the hot summer morning sun.

She walked out the castle doors and noticed Draco was already waiting by the bridge. She walked over towards him and they both acknowledged each other with a silent wave. Hermione looked up at the sky, taking in the humidity and impending storm. Little pieces of her hair stood on end, absorbing the electricity in the air.

Draco pointed to their right. "Look," he said.

Hermione noticed a small dark figure in the sky, still far away, but approaching them fairly quickly. It looked like someone was flying on a broom - but who would be crazy enough to be out flying in this weather? As the figure came closer, Hermione recognized the dark brown hair whipping around in the wind.

"It's Megan," she whispered. Megan was flying towards them on an old Nimbus 2001, and it looked like she had brought two other brooms in tow. Hermione dreaded the thought of flying through the storm, and she hoped that wasn't what Megan had planned for them.

Megan landed in front of them. "Good morning, you two. I have something a little bit different planned for today - we're going to have to travel a bit before we reach our destination. Hermione, are you going to be comfortable flying on a broom?"

"Err...I think so," Hermione said, grasping the Nimbus 2001 Megan had handed to her.

"It's not a very long trip, but it might start raining and winds are stronger today," said Megan. "So try to stay close behind me if you can." Draco had already mounted his broom and was looking at Megan seriously, his eyes matching the dark skies above their heads.

"Okay, let's go!" The group kicked off and Megan started off in a direction southwest from the castle. Hermione was glad she had flown with Ron and Harry yesterday - the recent practice would help her. She wasn't very comfortable on a broom, especially in the high winds that were making her broom list lightly from side to side. She resolved not to be frightened - she thought of her three friends playing happily in the sunny afternoon the day before, swooping and diving and laughing without a worry.

Draco flew easily next to her, his hair swept back from his face by the wind and the light rain that had begun to fall. He looked at home on a broom, a relic of his Quidditch playing days. He swooped around easily, almost bored by the easy ride.

Hermione was excited. She didn't know whether it was the sudden change in the weather, the electricity in the air, or the mystery and danger of where they were going, but she felt like today was going to be very thrilling. Her broom shook slightly as the climbed even higher, but she held on resolutely and stared after Megan's back.

Megan was scanning the ground, looking for their final destination. She dove lower and Draco and Hermione followed behind her. The rain was lessening their visibility, and Hermione squinted against the storm. Megan called to them, pointing in between the trees below them. Hermione looked at Draco, but he just shrugged and followed Megan. Hermione dove after them, the cool rain stinging her face.

As they neared the ground, Hermione scanned the area below them. She couldn't see much through all the trees, but it didn't look like there were any impressive structures around. In fact, the only building she could make out was an old, dingy one-story building with a flat roof. The top was an off white color with various rust stains and obvious weathering over the years.

They landed in front of the building and Hermione noted the small, dust covered windows and metal door. It looked like some kind of prison.

"Where are we?" asked Draco, looking confused.

"This is part of Auror Academy," said Megan grandly. Hermione and Draco glanced at each other - this was not how they had pictured the Academy looking.

"It's not quite as I had imagined," said Hermione.

"It's not on the main campus," Megan said, noticing their surprised faces. "This is an outside building that we use for training exercises. Outside it's really just the bare minimum, nothing impressive. Let's go in, shall we?"

Megan grabbed the metal bar on the door and yanked it open. It moved forward slowly, with a loud creak. The room in front of them was pitch black. Megan stepped in and Draco and Hermione followed her.

The door shut behind them with a loud bang, and Hermione jumped. The three of them were standing in a completely dark room.

"Hermione, Draco, are you alright?"

Hermione nodded until she realized Megan couldn't see her. "Yes."

"This room is designed for sensory deprivation exercises. We're going to be training in here today. You both need to come together as a team. I know we've been focusing on physical training, but part of becoming an Auror is learning to read your teammate. It is so important to know exactly how your partner is going to think and how they are going to react. A team that is mentally connected gains so much more of an advantage than a team that is just physically fit. A team that is connected can fend off six, maybe seven attackers all at once. That's why we are going to stay here today until you two can learn to connect and to read the other - without talking, without looking. You are just going to have to feel each other out. That's your goal for today."

"Another Auror is in this room right now. Today, he is going to be acting as your target. We've set up a scenario for you: the Auror in this room is acting as a Muggle thief. He has stolen something, a package, which he is going to be carrying in his arms. He is also armed. You won't know what the weapon is or where he is hiding it, and it's going to change on each successive attempt. He won't use it on you, but if he manages to get one of you in a compromising position with the weapon, the attempt will be over. The room is also going to be filled with physical obstacles that will change with each attempt. You'll have to use all your other senses, as your sight has been compromised. I'll be using a charm so I'll be able to watch you through the dark and tell you how you need to improve."

"Will we be able to talk to each other?" asked Draco.

"No, you can't talk in this exercise. You need to learn to read each other's thoughts without the advantage of verbal communication. Are you ready? I'm going to go to the other side of the room so I can watch while I'm out of your way. Sonorus," she said, her voice suddenly getting louder. "DRACO, HERMIONE, GET READY. BEGIN ATTEMPT ONE."

Hermione looked around, frightened in the dark room. She immediately heard footsteps running from them in the opposite direction. Draco started running besides her and she ran next to him, trying to head in the direction of the fleeing footsteps. The footsteps sped up and became more forceful, and Hermione ran faster, feeling Draco match her pace on her right.

She could feel the fleeing man just a few feet in front of her, and she felt Draco increase his stride. Then she heard a low kick and a yelp - Draco had swept his foot out and he had tumbled to the ground. She heard the package fly and she jumped to where she thought it had landed. As she did so her head hit something hard and she fell back, reeling. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her up, then the cool sharp metal of a knife blade against her throat. She screamed, confused and frightened, and the arm quickly removed itself.

"HERMIONE, DRACO, YOU BOTH WENT AFTER THE PACKAGE IN THE DARK." Megan's voice boomed across the room. "YOU COMPLETELY MISSED AND HIT EACH OTHER IN THE HEAD. THE AUROR WASN'T ATTENDED TO AND HE WAS ABLE TO GRAB YOU, HERMIONE. IF THIS WAS REAL YOU COULD HAVE DIED. YOU NEED TO READ EACH OTHER BETTER...MAKE SURE YOU AREN'T BOTH GOING AFTER THE SAME THING. TRY AGAIN, ATTEMPT NUMBER TWO."

Hermione was shaking slightly after feeling a knife blade against her neck. She backed up in the dark and tried to collect herself. She felt Draco walk up next to her.

"You okay?" he whispered.

"Err, yeah," she said. "Thanks."

"BEGIN," Megan said.

They heard the Auror take off running a few feet to their right and they sprinted after him. After a few seconds they heard the footsteps stop. Confused, they kept running towards the direction he had been going in.

They both fell down in unison as they smacked against a stone wall. Hermione cried out in the darkness, and Draco let out a low grunt. He got up immediately and pulled her up beside him. He placed her foot in his hand, intending to help her over the wall. She accepted and pulled herself up on the wall, straddling the top. She leaned over and groped around in the dark until she grasped his hand. She pulled him up towards her as he walked up the wall, using his other hand to pull himself up. They both stood on top of the wall, noting the lack of footsteps anywhere around them. Draco jumped, and Hermione followed suit. She heard him gasp and then the click of an empty gun.

"DRACO, HERMIONE. YOU BOTH HELPED EACH OTHER THAT TIME - THAT WAS GOOD. BUT YOU MADE SEVERAL FATAL MISTAKES. YOU BOTH REACTED LOUDLY WHEN YOU HIT THE WALL. I KNOW IT WAS PAINFUL, BUT IT ALSO ALERTED YOUR OPPONENT TO YOUR POSITION. ALSO, WHEN YOU CLIMBED THE WALL, YOU LOST YOUR FOCUS ON THE SCENE AROUND YOU. THE LACK OF FOOTSTEPS ON THE OTHER SIDE SHOULD HAVE SIGNALED YOU THAT YOUR OPPONENT WAS STANDING THERE, WAITING FOR YOU TO JUMP. IT WAS AN IMPROVEMENT ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT, THOUGH, GOOD JOB. TRY AGAIN, ATTEMPT THREE."

Hermione heard Draco breathing in the dark and she stepped over next to him. She felt Draco turn to look at her in the dark.

"BEGIN," Megan boomed.

The Auror's footsteps were in front of them, but fairly distant sounding. Hermione and Draco started after him, making sure to listen carefully this time. Their strides matched one another, and they were making ground on the fleeing man.

Hermione lurched forward suddenly, her strides becoming ragged. The floor had slanted; they were heading downhill. Draco increased his stride and grabbed her hand to pull her alongside him. Hermione sped up and tried to calculate their distance from the running man. He wasn't that far ahead of them. In just a few more strides, they should be able to catch him.

When they were within an arms length of him, Hermione held onto Draco's shoulder for support and ducked down, kicking the Auror's legs out. He stumbled, giving them some ground on him. Draco grabbed his wrist and swung him around to face them. The Auror still held onto the package, but he was clearly struggling to hold his balance. Hermione stood up and grabbed his other wrist, blocking his leg from kicking her with her lower leg. She grimaced as his foot connected with her shin, but it didn't hurt enough for her to recoil. Draco swung around him and landed a solid punch in his gut, causing him to bend over. Hermione saw her chance and grabbed the package, turning away and running up the hill. Draco followed suit and caught up with her, the two of them running together.

"NICE WORK, DRACO AND HERMIONE. YOU WORKED TOGETHER REALLY WELL ON THAT ONE. SET THE PACKAGE DOWN AND REGROUP, YOU'RE GOING TO TRY IT AGAIN. ATTEMPT NUMBER FOUR."

Hermione set the package down on the ground and stepped away from it, hearing the Auror walk forwards and pick it up. She stepped back near Draco and heard him turn towards her, breathing heavily. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"OKAY. BEGIN."

They didn't hear any movement from the Auror, so they both stayed in place, standing with their backs against each other, turning and trying to hear any sign of their opponent's position. Hermione detected a rustle to her right and she whirled in that direction. Draco took off in that direction and hurled himself at the Auror. Hermione heard them both fall to the ground, wrestling with one another. She walked over in that direction, being careful not to interfere with their fight. She heard Draco grunt as the Auror gained the advantage and pinned him under himself, holding his arms down against the ground.

Hermione saw her chance and kicked his elbow. The Auror faltered and Draco wasted no time sliding out from under his body. He flipped the Auror over and tried to hold him down. Hermione went for his robe pockets and pulled out a club. She threw it across the room, hearing it clatter several meters to the right. She kept on at his robes, searching for the package until she finally found it on the other side. Draco was losing his hold as the Auror began to overpower him, so she grabbed it quickly and stepped away from the fight. Draco sprung off the Auror and ran after her, catching up easily.

"GREAT JOB, YOU BOTH. THAT WAS PERFECT - ONE OF YOU INCAPACITATED HIM WHILE THE OTHER DISARMED HIM AND TOOK BACK THE PACKAGE. THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED TO BE DOING EVERY TIME. GREAT JOB - LET'S TRY IT AGAIN. ATTEMPT NUMBER FIVE."

The group stayed in the training facility for about an hour more, continuing the scenario with varying levels of difficulties and obstacles. Draco and Hermione lost much more often than they won, but they were getting better.

Hermione was beginning to understand how they operated together. Draco liked to be the physical impulsive one: he often acted first to bring their opponent down. He acted as the strength behind their team. Hermione knew that her advantage was in her quickness. She was quicker to think, react, and move. She was sneakier than he was. As they moved through these scenarios, they began to sort themselves into these roles. Hermione felt she was beginning to read Draco's style of thinking much better, often guessing what move he was going to make just moments before he acted.

Megan was pleased with their efforts as she called the session to a close. They heard her thank the Auror in her normal voice, and then heard the loud pop as he disapparated from the room. She grabbed both their wrists and led them out of the training facility.

Hermione and Draco squinted in the light, their eyes accustomed to the pitch black of the training room. Megan faced them.

"You both did really well. You learned a lot today - you learned how the other works, how you both think, and what your strengths and weaknesses are as a team. That's really important knowledge. I'm glad you two are beginning to work past your differences - I think you make a really strong team." Megan smiled at them. Hermione looked at Draco and saw him looking straight at her. She looked away quickly.

"I'm going to stay at the Academy for a bit - I have a mission I need to do some work for. Draco, do you know the way back to the castle?"

Draco nodded.

"Good. Take these two brooms back - you can lead Hermione back. That was really great work today, you two. I hope you continue to work together like that...you could be invaluable as a team." With that, Megan turned and left them standing together, holding the brooms.

"Well, should we be off then?" said Hermione, not looking at Draco. She saw him nod out of the side of her vision.

"Follow me." He mounted his broom and pushed off from the ground, rising quickly in the sky. Hermione quickly got on her broom and followed him. It was still raining outside, but it was a welcome cooling after practicing in the dingy training room. Hermione felt refreshed. She looked at Draco's back. She had never really watched him fly before today. He looked completely comfortable on his broom, his arms gripping the handle lightly, his muscles clenched.

She was impressed with how they had worked together today. He seemed to be able to tell what she was going to do, even without seeing her. He came to her rescue several times during their practice, knocking away their opponent's arm when he went to hit her. He often anticipated her moves and reacted accordingly to produce the second hit. They worked well together by the end of the session and had become a formidable team. Hermione was beginning to think she would be able to bear working together with him in the future.

Draco turned his broom sharply to the right and started on a downward dive, motioning for her to follow him. She did, and they flew through the trees, coming up on Hogwarts castle. Draco skimmed the ground and jumped off his broom, grabbing it and jogging a few steps before coming to a walk. Hermione followed behind him and dismounted.

They walked up towards the castle together, side-by-side. Draco stole a glance at Hermione, and opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind and shut it silently. Hermione listened to his breathing as they walked, which was sort of ragged and awkward sounding.

Draco opened his mouth again, this time to speak. "That was fun - today. "

Hermione turned to look at him, unsure if he was mocking her in some way. "I mean, I never really got to work like that with someone before...side-by-side. I think we made a really good team. It was nice." He shut his mouth and glanced away, embarrassed by the honest nature of his words.

Hermione nodded slowly. "Yes, it was nice, wasn't it? That was the first time I felt really able to feel what you were thinking when we worked together."

They walked back to the castle in silence. This time Hermione turned to look at Draco. His face was slightly flushed from the exertion mixed with the cold rain. His hair still looked soft and blond, even when covered with sweat. She looked away and smiled. She could get used to working with him. Like this, he was even tolerable. Maybe they would possibly become friends by the end of the year.

Hermione walked up the steps towards Head Tower and realized that was where Draco was heading too. They walked through the portrait hole and as they entered the common room, Hermione turned to face him.

"Draco," she began, "I have a question for you."

Draco looked at her.

"I want to be able to be open with you - I want to be able to talk normally. I don't want to feel like I should avoid you when we both live in here."

"Have at it," said Draco cautiously.

"Erm..." Hermione started, "why do you want to be an Auror so badly?"

Draco stared at the ground, studying his feet. "Hermione, that question has a really long answer, one involving a lot of information about my family."

Hermione spread her hands. "So tell me. I'm willing to listen. I'm sure you had to tell Megan, so you might as well tell me. We're in this together, you know. If we both make it through our training, we're going to be working together for the rest of our lives."

Draco looked at her, his steely eyes boring in to hers. "Okay. Okay, I'll tell you. But please don't scoff, or judge, or...you know, anything Weasley would do."

"Promise."

Draco sat down on the couch, spreading his arms over the back. "So after the war, most of the Death Eaters remained alive. You're aware of the fact that the Ministry has hardly caught any of them; most of them went into hiding. My family didn't have to - we were cleared because the Ministry considered us to have helped Harry Potter before Voldemort was defeated."

"Because of this, and because of my family's...err, reluctance to aid Voldemort during the second war, our family is considered a bit traitorous in the Death Eater circle. We're a bit wanted at the moment. There is a small sect of Aurors assigned to the mission of protecting my family. Yes, including Megan," said Draco, seeing Hermione's sudden look of understanding.

"That's where she goes after our lessons are finished. Anyway, the remaining live Death Eaters are biding their time. They've sort of formed a new hierarchy - Theodore Nott's the ringleader. They're nowhere near as powerful as they were when Voldemort was alive, but they're nowhere near done either. Their mission is simple - eliminate as many Muggle-borns as possible, along with those that they consider to be traitors to the pure blood cause. Now, that includes my family."

"I want to be an Auror so I can protect my family. I don't want them to live in fear of the other Death Eaters for the rest of their life. I want to be able to chase down the remaining Death Eaters and find them - and then make sure they are locked up in Azkaban. I just want to feel safe."

Hermione nodded. "I didn't know this was going on - I thought most of the Death Eaters were on the run, just trying to stay alive. I didn't know any of them were plotting."

Draco snorted. "They're Death Eaters. They're terrified for their lives. Now that the Ministry is back in power, they don't have anyone watching their backs. They're all marked, so most of them figured they might as well try to bring down as many Undesireables as they can before they go out."

Hermione sat down next to Draco. "Draco, why isn't your family joining the rest of the Death Eaters? From what I've seen of your father, he shares their opinions on blood purity and Muggle-borns."

"It's not that simple, Hermione." Draco frowned. "They see my family as traitors because my mother's actions helped bring about Voldemort's downfall. We can't just go and rejoin them - it's not even like we'd really want to."

"So what makes your family exempt from all punishment? For the majority of the war, you fought with Voldemort. Your father was the one who brought his horcrux into the school to reopen the Chamber of Secrets. Why does your family get to run free?"

Draco glared at her. "You think my family's status in the wizarding world is easy, Hermione? Do you think there aren't any expectations, being one of the oldest and richest pureblood families still living? It's not like my parents up and decided one day, why don't we put our lives at risk and join forces with one of the most evil wizards who ever lived? He threatened them, Hermione! He needed their money and power on his side. He threatened their lives - more specifically, my life. When I was just born, he approached them and said he would take me away and raise me himself if they did not serve him. What would you have done?"

"Ever since, they have had to live under his thumb - doing as they were told for fear of their lives and my life. Maybe my parents weren't always the biggest fans of Muggles or Muggle-borns, but most purebloods are raised not to be. That doesn't mean they wanted to up and murder them! You see the world in right and wrong - in pure black and white. But you had it easy. You came into this world knowing nothing. Your family was safe in the Muggle world. You got to choose to fight in the war; nobody threatened your life if you didn't. My parents and I lived in constant fear over the last year," Draco spat out. "Not only fear of the other side, but fear of our leader, Voldemort. He could have killed us at any moment he felt we weren't loyal enough. What were we to do? I wished every goddamn day I could have had the easy choice you did - to come into this world, fighting for good and equality. This pureblood status is a curse: you become subject to whatever the other purebloods want from you. You should take a minute to stop condemning me and my side, and maybe start realizing how lucky you were," Draco shouted. "How lucky you were to be able to fight for what you believed in, with a clear conscience. And now that your side has won, you can go about your life easily, without constant fear or dread in the pit in your stomach."

Hermione remained silent for a second out of shock. "Draco, I didn't mean to -"

"I think you should go," said Draco, looking at the ground."

"Draco, I-"

"GO!" he barked, standing up from the couch.

Hermione jumped up, startled, and fled to her room, a single tear streaming down her cheek.

Author's Notes: Forgot to give credit to a line last chapter: "For the smartest witch in your year, you sure can be a dumb ass sometimes" - Dumbledore in A Very Potter Musical. I'm a huge fan, as shown by my pen name =)