Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know it has been a while since I have updated any of my other stories but I have been busy in university since September. Thank god I am on my last week, with my last exam on Friday. After this I will be writing and updating more frequently. Thank you for all who have been reading my stories, I love you all. Please comment on my first Dramione story and send your love!**

"How about this Ronald," Hermione stood in front of the redhead with her hands on her hips. "You do your _own_ work instead of looking over my shoulder? Then you can hand in your _own_ work to see how well it stands." Ron's face went from being flushed, at being caught red-handed copying Hermione's homework, to white at the thought of having to hand in his own homework. It was not a huge secret that the only reason he was able to complete the first two years was because he looked off her homework. She stared down at him with a defiant look; daring him to speak.

Ron looked down at the paper and quill in his hands for a moment before looking up at Hermione with a low burning fire in his eyes. "Well I'm sorry," he said loudly. "I'm sorry that I am not as smart as you and that I need help with assignments."

"There is a difference between asking for help and blunt copying, Ronald!" Hermione blew a strand of wavy hair off her forehead. "This has nothing to do with how smart you are." She planted her hands on her hips and surveyed the boy sitting on the edge of his seat in front of her. "No, it is about you being irresponsible, lazy arsed, boy who can't think for himself." She took a deep breath before turning on her heel and stomping as she began making her way out of the Gryffindor common room.

A minute passed before she heard the falling of footsteps coming after her quickly as she made her way through the room, dodging the looks she was receiving from other students in her house, and her temper got the better of her. Without realizing what she was doing Hermione's fingers grasped the handle of her wand and whipped around, robes whirling around her, as she pointed it in the face of her follower, curse at the tip of her tongue.

"Hermione!" Harry stood in front of her, emerald eyes widened with worry behind his glasses, as he stood there holding his hands up in surrender.

Hermione paused for a moment before putting her wand back. "I'm so sorry Harry." She stood there for a second looking at her best friend before turning and continuing through the common room door. She felt the brush of Harry's robe against her arm as he caught up to her in the corridor. They continued to walk down the corridor silently.

"Look Hermione," Harry began as they turned the corner. "If I were in the same position as you I would have probably done the same thing." He snorted as she looked up at him, disbelief covering her face. "Alright I probably would have punched him." He smiled as Hermione laughed a little.

"You know Harry, sometimes I wish I could just punch him in the face."

"Well you pulled your wand on me, so what's the difference?"

Hermione paused a moment before replying. "I think the difference is I don't want to physically hurt him. I just want to scare him." She looked over at Harry before continuing. "A punch will be forgotten in the long run, maybe a bruise will show for a period of time, but the sight of seeing someone pull their wand on you, someone who you know and trust, you really have no idea if they are going to go through with the curse or not. That is something that is not easily forgotten."

"True but actually feeling the force of your fist collide with their face is a great feeling too." Harry grinned at his best friend before looking at her with a slight frown on his face. "If that had been Ron following you instead of me, would you have cursed him?"

"Yes." Harry looked at her in shock. "Oh, for goodness sakes Harry! I would have probably thrown some minor curse at him, probably _Petrificus Totalus_ and then _Silencio_." Hermione smiled at him. "I may be angry but I would not curse him into oblivion!"

"You scared me Hermione," Harry told her as he grinned, shaking his head. "So what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"You left him there, scared out of his mind, and you are not going to do anything to him?"

Hermione smirked. "Of course I am going to do something to him." She twirled her wand around before making it light up so the pair could see as they made their way through the dark hallways back to the Gryffindor common room. As they walked they discussed their classes and Harry complimented Hermione on being able to hold her own against the mounting piles of homework the Professors have been giving out to their students recently. Hermione just smiled and said, "I don't procrastinate. That is what the library is for, Harry."

"What's up your sleeve?" Harry asked as they rounded the final corner before they would be in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. He had been watching Hermione thinking about what she would be dishing out to Ron as they walked. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder gently. "Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head as she was pulled from her thoughts that had overtaken her. "Hmm?" She asked slightly dazed. "Pardon?"

"What's up your sleeve?" Harry repeated as they stood there in the dim-lit hallway. "I know you very well, Hermione, and I right now I can see you've got something up your sleeve."

"I'm going to put a stop to his cheating for once and for all." Hermione stated adamantly. Harry arched his eyebrow. "Can you bring me all Ron's papers and quills down from your dorm when we get into the room? Surely everyone would be getting ready for bed by now, if not sleeping." Not knowing what else to do and curiosity getting the better of him, Harry agreed. "Fantastic. Let's meet back up in twenty minutes? That should be plenty of time for everyone to leave the common room I would imagine."

* * *

Twenty minutes later two figures stood in front of a large window at one of the larger study desks situated to the side of the common room. A small heap of quills and papers had been dumped onto its surface and the two teens were staring at them. Just as Hermione had figured, the common room was dark as no students were there mingling with their friends. They had all left to go to their dormitories to get ready for bed before having to get up for classes the next morning. The large moon cast its light through the window, onto the desk so the pair was in no need of using their wands in order to produce light.

"So do we do this all in one go or do we do it all individually?" Harry asked while looking at the assortment of quills and paper in front of them.

Hermione bit her lip before making the decision. "I would imagine that the professors at exam time would do this amass because there are so many exams happening. That would make sense right?"

"Right. Plus they have to do the papers as well," Harry reminded his long-time friend. "They would want to get this over and done with as fast as possible." Hermione nodded and picked up the spell book that had been sitting beside her and opened it. Taking one last look at it both she and Harry took a step back from the desk and she pointed her wand at it. Whispering the words for the anti-cheating spell she turned to Harry and smiled.

"Let the madness of Ronald Weasly begin." Bidding Harry goodnight Hermione tiredly climbed the staircase to the girls' dormitories and changing from her robes into her pyjamas before falling into bed, letting a deep sleep surround her, with a smile on her face.

* * *

The next morning Hermione sat up in bed and stretched, trying to get the kinks out of her spine, before sliding her slippers on. Wandering over to the wardrobe containing all her clothing she stood there deciding before she pulled out a pair of black jeans along with a black hoodie and a pale purple shirt. Slipping into her clothing she got onto her hands and knees to look under her bed for the black flats she had worn sometimes ago. Spotting them she pulled them back into the light of the sun and slipped them on just as Ginny appeared.

"Morning, 'Mione," Ginny said as she sat on the messy bed, giving her best friend a quick and silent appraisal of her clothing. "You look nice today."

"Thanks," Hermione grinned as she pulled a brush through her frizzy hair.

"I saw Harry this morning," Ginny told her while watching Hermione. "He told me what you guys pulled last night."

Hermione sighed. "I am just tired of Ron cheating by looking over my shoulder or getting me to correct his homework every time we are assigned something." She pulled her hair to the side, beginning to braid it, and turned towards Ginny. "So I put an anti-cheating spell on his papers and quill, so what?"

"Hermione, come here. I'll French braid your hair for you." Ginny motioned when she realized that Hermione would be at the braid forever, her mouth going faster than her hands. "And bring your brush too." Gratefully Hermione let go of the braid before grabbing the brush and climbing onto the bed next to her best friend. "We both know that Ronald is going to be mad when he figures out something has been done with his stuff."

"I couldn't care less Gin," Hermione told her as she let Ginny brush her hair out. "I know his temper and what is the worst that can happen? Sure he will be mad at me for a while, maybe a week or two, but surely he will realize that it is all for the best." She sighed. "Besides, you should have seen how angry he was last night when I refused to let him look at my homework."

Ginny chuckled. "I am happy that you stood up for yourself."

"I should have done so a long time ago, I reckon." Hermione bit her lip as Ginny attacked a knot that had formed in her hair. "Geeze, Ginny, that hurt."

"Sorry Hermione," Ginny replied as she kept working with the brush. "It is just your hair is so thick and, well, frizzy!" Hermione laughed as she reached back to pat Ginny's knee. They sat there silently for a few more minutes before Ginny handed Hermione the brush she had been working with. "I am glad someone has stood up to Ron but I also know that when he gets mad he does not think about what he is doing. Though I am sure you realized that."

"I have but I know that I can handle whatever he throws at me," Hermione replied confidently. She reached up to touch her hair just as Ginny pulled the last of it into the hair elastic. "Ginny, thank you, you did a wonderful job!"

"Anytime," Ginny grinned before pulling herself off the bed. "C'mon, it's almost breakfast. I can almost smell all the great food!" Pulling on Hermione's arm in excitement, Hermione laughed at her friend's glee, the two girls left the room laughing as they headed towards the Great Hall.

"You know, it feels good to stand up to Ron," Hermione told Ginny as they made their way towards the Great Hall. "I think last night I came to realize he has been taking advantage of me. "As she talked Hermione failed to notice that a blonde Slytherin was listening into their conversation.

Ginny laughed as the girls linked arms. "Now he actually has to do the work he's always complaining about. You know I don't think you could have done this at a better time, Hermione." She brushed a strand of her red hair from her face. "You guys are all thirteen! At least Harry has grown up and is doing his homework, but Ron? It's nothing different at home. Mum is always getting after him to do chores and stuff but he does nothing." Hermione turned to Ginny in amazement. "I'm serious 'Moine. That kid does diddlysquat." The blonde eavesdropper wanted to hear more but instead passed through the doors.

Hermione grinning turned to Ginny with a bright smile as they sat down at the Gryffindor table and raised her pumpkin juice in a toast. "To new beginnings!" Clinking their glasses together they set about enjoying their Saturday.

* * *

Settling down in one of the chairs by the fire place with a large muggle book in her lap and a large cup of tea Hermione sighed in contentment. A few minutes later Ginny sat down across from her in another chair with her own cup of tea. The girls exchanged small grins before Hermione went back to paging through her book and Ginny watched the flickering fire. Several minutes went by without either of the girls talking and only the low key murmuring from the rest of the house could be heard.

"So what are you reading?"

Hermione looked up from her book in mild surprise. "Ginny, since when have you taken an interest in my reading?"

Ginny shrugged. "I guess I need more to do Hermione, I've finished my homework and I am bored."

"Well I have some more books upstairs in my bookshelf in my room. Would you like to look through them?" Hermione asked as she carefully placed the bookmark back between the creamy pages of her book.

"Sure. I know you've got some pretty interesting books," Ginny commented as the two girls stood up. "Do you have any more muggle books? Are they different from wizarding books?" Soon Hermione was happily chatting away to Ginny about the different types of muggle books and how they are different as the girls made their way up to Hermione's room. Spending a few minutes picking through the books in Hermione's personal collection, Ginny finally picked out five that she found interesting, and the girls made their way back down to the common room. As they got closer to the bottom of the stairs the girls could hear a ruckus becoming louder. Looking at each other cautiously they stepped into the room only for Hermione to be suddenly slammed against the wall by an enraged redhead.

"What did you do to my quils and paper, Hermione." Ron asked, breathing hard, as he squeezed Hermione's wrists painfully above her head. "I know you did something." Behind Ron, Hermione could see Harry opening his mouth but she gave him a look.

"Ronald let me go." Hermione told him as she began struggling.

"Did you do something to my quils and paper?"

"Yes." Hermione admitted with gritted teeth. "I prevented you from being an idiot and cheating off of everyone in the house."

Ron released Hermione's wrists and took a step back, panting. "You are such a bitch Hermione." The room was completely silent except for the crackling of the fire. All eyes focused on the fight brewing between two thirds of the Golden Trio.

The name hit Hermione hard, but she didn't let it show, and she gulped quietly. "Really Ron, I am a bitch for making you think." She would never admit this but the Ron she was seeing right now was scaring her. Much scarier than the troll that had caught her in the first floor bathroom during first year. "I am just tired of having you looking off of my paper and getting the marks for doing something you did not put any effort into, so I decided to stop it." A loud slap echoed through the room. If the room had been quiet before now it was deadly silent. No one who witnessed the slap Ron gave Hermione would have ever imagined something like that happening, especially between them. They were too shocked about the first slap that when Ron slapped her again it was moments before anyone reacted.

At once Seamus, Harry, and both the Weasley twins came between the pair, while someone ran to get a professor, Ginny tried to pull Hermione into a hug but the brunette refused and ran through the crowd and out of the room, into the hallways, blinded by her tears.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello everyone! Wow! My email literally blew up with all your lovely comments, favourites and follows. I am so glad that I was able to get this chapter up for you all to enjoy. I realize that it is more of a filler but soon the action will begin. You are all amazing and I want to thank you all for your support. Cheers!**

Footsteps echoed through the dark halls. A silhouette danced across the walls, flickering torches lining them, through the dim light. The silhouette's head turned back and forth, as if it did not know which way to go next, while its shoulders heaved in attempts to bring air into itself. The dim light showed the erratic thought pattern as the footsteps and silhouette appeared in one set of corridor flames then another before it appeared to make a decision.

* * *

Draco, who had just entered the castle through the Great doors, was humming to himself, deep in thought. He had no idea about what had recently transpired in the Gryffindor common room nor did he have any idea about the seriously upset girl running through the halls at that very moment. Draco had been outside walking while pondering about the conversation he had overheard that morning as well as why that conversation had bothered to even thread its way into his thoughts.

By the time he returned from his walk Draco only had a vague answer to the second pondering, the thread bothering to even make its way to him, and it was distantly related to a decision he had made the night before returning to school. He had a sneaking suspicion that Dumbledore knew, but he kept that thought to himself, instead he worked on keeping his thoughts and feelings away from the prying eyes in the Slytherin house. Lord knows how fast word would get back to his father if he made only one mistake. The events from the previous year, everything from the blood dripping down the stone walls making small pools splattered with every drop to the sight of those who had the misfortune of being petrified, unfolded because of the choice his own father had made. By that one action Draco only solidified his own.

Something echoed above him but Draco took little notice as he began closing the doors he had come through. Suddenly those echoes became louder, solidifying with each one, until he realized that they were footsteps and coming down the staircase right behind him. Reeling away from the half closed door his eyes widened at the sight of a bushy haired female, puffy and red eyes with tears still streaming down from them, wand in her hand just a split moment before she disappeared through the doors. He could hear her footsteps, now fading away in the distance, as he pulled himself towards the door, grasping it with cool fingers, squinting in the setting dusk to see which way she had gone. Giving up he leaned against the door and took a shaky breath as he replayed what had just happened in his mind.

His eyebrows furrowed as the image of Granger became more clear in his mind's eye. Every detail stood out for him now and his jaw clenched in anger. Something had gone down in that common room, something that obviously had gotten out of hand before anyone was able to intervene. The distinct hand prints, still bright red, must have happened only moments before his arrival in the foyer of the castle. His gut was shouting that it had to have been a bloke who had been wielder of such force. Those hand prints were large and he winced at the pain she must be feeling at this moment.

Pulling his wand from inside his robe he was about to follow the distraught girl when more footsteps came up behind him. Turning once more he lowered his wand as his gaze fell upon the Headmaster himself.

"Good evening Draco," Dumbledore addressed him, peering over his half moon spectacles. He had a small smile on his face though Draco noticed it was tense and nothing like his normal smile.

"Good evening, Headmaster," Draco replied, torn between telling Dumbledore and keeping silent about what he had seen.

"I see you were just coming in from outdoors," Dumbledore nodded and Draco nodded in return. "Did you by any chance see Miss Hermione Granger outside?"

"Not outside," Draco told his Headmaster truthfully. "But I had just come in when she almost ran me over on her way out."

Dumbledore sighed and Draco realized that was not what he had wanted to be hearing. "How long ago was this Mr Malfoy?"

"Could not have been more than ten minutes sir," Draco said. "I was about to go after her when you showed up." Draco held up his wand. "Sir if I may ask, what happened? Granger looked pretty bad when she went past me."

"I do not think Miss Weasley or Mr Potter would want me to tell you," Dumbledore told him gently. Draco's blood boiled at the sound of their names. They had not done anything to stop what happened to Granger. "Though I will say this," Draco's ears perked at Dumbledore's words. "She has found herself in a spot of trouble and I dare say I hope she finds a way to get herself out."

Draco looked at the older wizard standing before him in disbelief. "You mean you are not going out there to find her?" He threw his hands up in the air. "She was crying and looked a mess when she left, you can't expect her to be in any state of mind to be able to stay outside for the night by herself."

"I never said I was not going out to look for Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy," Dumbledore told him gently. "I am going to go look for her myself, all I said was trying to get across was that she may need a helping hand after what has transpired this evening."

Draco stood in front of Dumbledore just a little stunned at the old wizard's words. "You want me, Draco Malfoy, to help?" Draco's mind was reeling and for a moment he thought he was going to faint. Remembering Malfoy's did not faint he drew in a deep breath to calm himself down. "You said so yourself that even speaking to me about what had happened to Granger will displease Weasley and Potter. Why do you expect me to help?"

"I know you have changed, Draco," Dumbledore told him gently. "Your heart has changed over the summer and you have come to see that what happened last year indeed should not have happened." He paused a moment, so Draco could process his words, before continuing. "All I wish from you is that you would keep an eye on Granger and possibly help her out of her...situation. Of course you are going to have to earn her trust first, which after what I have heard about the events of this evening, will be no small task. I trust you can handle this?" He looked over his spectacles again at Draco, this time with both a twinkle in his eye and a real smile on his face.

Draco nodded. "I will do my best sir."

"Very good, now if you will excuse me," Dumbledore pulled a fairly large pocket watch from inside his robes, looked at it for a moment, before putting it back. "I must go find Miss Granger. Please go back to your dormitory, Mr Malfoy, and please don't say anything to anyone in your house. Tomorrow the rumors are going to be flying already if they are not already and Miss Granger surely does not need that right now, don't you agree Mr Malfoy?" Draco nodded, secretly agreeing with the Headmaster. "Good, now off you go!"

* * *

Draco sprawled across his bed, with the curtains drawn and a locking charm in place, hours later after the incident and he still could not get the image of Granger out of his memory. It was if it had been burnt to the physical cells of his memory and no matter how many times he tried to make it leave it just wouldn't go away. He turned over in his bed and groaned into his pillow. How was he supposed to fall asleep now? He already was having terrible nightmares and he did not want to use any more of the Dreamless Sleep potion than he needed. The door of the dormitory room opened with a creak and the light from the hallway pierced the darkness of the room with four beds. Draco held his breath; he was aware that it was way after curfew and should be asleep, so he was hoping that it was only Blaise coming into the room. A muffled giggle reached his ears and Draco refrained from gagging. It was very apparent Theo had convinced Pansy to stay the night. _Great, just another reason to keep me from sleeping_ thought Draco as he reached for his wand and cast a silencing charm.

His thoughts turned from the condition of Granger to how he was going to go about watching out for her. Dumbledore's words about how she had gotten herself into a situation kept swirling around his head and he shuddered. If he failed at protecting her, for lack of a better term, he didn't want to know what would happen after seeing the red handprints this evening. Was Dumbledore able to find her? It was pretty dark when she went out but no doubt Dumbledore had some way of tracking or finding her. He was fairly surprised when Weasley and Potter were absent when Dumbledore went outside. Perhaps they were still in the common room? Draco doubted that, with Potter's record about keeping his nose out of other people's business not to mention he had seen the two girls talking this morning, it was a well known fact that they were best friends, an idiot could see that something was up.

Draco turned back to the problem of him tailing Granger. How was he going to go about this entire scheme without her figuring something was up? He couldn't just go up to her and start acting like he was her best friend and act like it was the most normal thing in the world. His heart clenched as he realized that he had destroyed any possible chance of a friendship with the brunette during the first year at Hogwarts. Cursing himself he pulled the blankets over his head before closing his eyes. With his stupidity and ignorance he may as well have just destroyed any chance of saving the girl. But how was he to know? He was only going with what his father was portraying.

That changed last year. That decision was the only way he would be getting his redemption with the girl he portrayed to loathe.

Rolling over he reached one hand through the curtain, making a face at the sound of a bed squeaking, to reach for a vial with the potion in it from the bedside table. Bringing it back into the bed with him as fast as he could, while making a mental note to curse the boy in the bed next to him the next morning, he let the potion slide down his throat. His vision darkened as his eyes closed and the image of Granger looking healthy took up residence in the back of his eyelids. Draco blindly pulled the comforter over his head with a smile on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys are an amazing bunch of readers and I love you all. Your reviews, faves, alerst, and everything is a total moral booster! I can't say how much I love you all!**

**Wow it feels good to be back after my brief and abrupt hiatus from this story. This will just be a filler as I did not have much time in between a job interview, resume handing out, fetching my transcript from the university (not to mention waiting in a four hour line for it in the first place). I understand with all this going on that this chapter may not be what you all were hoping, it sure wasn't when I was writing it, but I promise that the next chapter will be more interesting. I'll stop my blabbering for now to let you read the chapter, but please be sure to read a little more of my blabber at the end!**

* * *

Chapter Three

She had never felt so embarrassed in her life.

For goodness sakes, she is Hermione Granger: Brightest Witch of Her Age. It would not do, in her mind at least, for her to be embarrassed because of the treatment that Ronald had just given her. For her to run out of the common room like some first year...well it only added to her embarrassment, she reasoned as she sat up in a large oak tree that overlooked the Black Lake. She sat there watching as the waves rolled from the middle of the lake in the dark moonlight to the sandy beach, just letting her thoughts wander. The slight wind brushed up against her bruising cheeks but she didn't wince at the pain, instead she pulled into herself and began crafting it. She crafted it into determination, resilience, and some more courage in order to face what was going to be happening because of her reaction. No doubt she would be the laughing stock of the entire Gryffindor House just because she ran.

A little voice in the back of her mind, that had been silent for so long, decided to make itself heard at this exact moment. _Hermione, don't think like that. You realize that in no way, shape or form, did Ron have any right to slap you, TWICE._ The voice paused, trying to collect its thoughts, waiting a moment to see if Hermione would respond. _What happened up in that Common room is not your fault. I can tell you right now that no one blames you for what has transpired._

Hermione listened to the voice for a moment before reaching up into the leaves of the branch above her and pulled some of the leaves off in anger. Maybe what the voice was saying is true but she also was aware that her housemates are notorious for taking what had happened and spreading it thought the school within hours to the point where the rest of the school would hate that one person. Tears began to fall freely and she let them run down her cheeks, shining in the moonlight, and fall to the ground far below her. All she had wanted to was to show Ron that she was tired of his behaviour but of course her plan would backfire! Her thoughts were broken when the leaves under the tree she was sitting in began to crunch quietly. She pressed herself against the trunk of the tree and held her breath.

"Miss Granger?" Hermione let her breath out in a whoosh when she heard the familiar and comforting voice of the Headmaster. She looked over the side of the branch and realized that Dumbledore was not aware that she was above him in the tree.

"Yes sir?"

Dumbledore looked up at her and smiled. "I am glad to see you, Miss Granger. Though, would you mind coming down from the tree?" Hermione grinned and jumped from the tree, landing on her feet in front of him in a crouch, before standing up. "Thank you. As much as I would have loved to have joined you up in your perch, well, I'm not exactly in prime condition to be doing so." He and Hermione smiled at each other and Professor gestured for Hermione to come and walk with him. Together they walked through the grounds of Hogwarts before coming to the edge of the lake. Hermione squinted at the calm water and smiled softly when she could barely see the outline of the submerged Giant Squid. The Giant Squid looked so peaceful with its tentacles floating around him while he slept and Hermione silently wished that she would be granted the same calmness. On some level Hermione was glad that Professor Dumbledore had found her on the grounds. She had never intended to stay out for very long; after all there was curfew, although she had wanted to stay out long enough so that when she returned to her common room no one else would be there.

"The stars are really shining tonight," commented Hermione as she looked up at the thousands of lights in the sky above the pair. She was able to pick out the constellations of Pegasus in the south and Cassiopeia in the darker northern portion of the skyline.

"That is correct," Professor Dumbledore remarked as he gazed upon the dark sky. "Astronomy is a fascinating subject, don't you agree Miss Granger? When I was younger I would go about picking the constellations on the rooftop while I looked into the sky at night when I should have been all tucked up in my bed sleeping."

Hermione chuckled a bit at the image of a young boy sprawled upon the roof of his house looking up at the stars. "I used to do that when I was younger too," Hermione admitted. "Although when I am home from Hogwarts during the summer I still do it. Before I came to Hogwarts I had decided that I wanted to become an astronomer."

"That would be a marvelous thing," Dumbledore commented as he watched his student gaze up into the stars longingly. "I can see you having the option of many jobs; both here in the magical world as well as in the muggle world. It is a wonderful thing to know what you want to be when you grow up, then again, it is also fun to never grow up to the point where your heart is set upon just one thing."

"True, I suppose there are moments where I find myself leaning towards being a librarian or even a researcher." Hermione admitted a loud. "In the muggle world I would be able to get the astronomy degree as well as being a librarian or a researcher. I wish I could do that in the magical world though." There was a comfortable lull in conversation between the two figures. Neither felt the need to force a continuous stream of conversation for both enjoyed just being immersed in their private thoughts.

* * *

Dumbledore was trying to decide on how he would broach the subject of what had happened earlier that evening in the common room with the young witch standing beside him. After all being the Headmaster of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, for many years did give him some of the necessary insight and knowledge on how to deal with delicate matters. On the other hand all that experience did not warrant that he knew how to handle every situation that came up during the school years. Seeing as he is the Headmaster and that it is he job to protect and keep a diligent eye on the students that he housed in Hogwarts, he decided that the way to handle this situation would be in small steps and plenty of tea.

"Miss Granger, I would like it if you would please meet me at my office, perhaps at half two tomorrow?" Dumbledore said to the teenage witch standing beside himself. "I would like to speak to you about the events of tonight."

"Why don't we just talk about it now?" Hermione asked back, a harsh edge to her voice that she had not meant.

* * *

Sweat poured off his body as he withered between the sheets of his bed. His arms involuntarily clawing at the air as if something, or someone, was just a few feet away from him but it was being kept from him and he was trying to get back. His face was scrunched as he gasped for breath as if he were in pain. Draco's body collapsed onto itself after a moment, seconds later his head lifted up and he looked around dazed. Heaving himself up so that he was sitting he sighed before rubbing his eyes then his body in attempts to get some warmth going instead of the chills.

He sat there looking towards the foot of his bed, still rubbing his arms, thinking about the nightmare that he had just went through. Even there, awake, he could still see the flashes of brown eyes hurt flashing through them, blood oozing from cuts and gashes. For a moment he heard the scream of a girl in his brain and he shook his head, covering his ears, trying to shake it out. He knew that whatever he had seen in his dream would have a profound effect on him for days to come.

* * *

Dumbledore smiled at the girl. "If that is what you want," the girl nodded her head. "Well, can you tell me what happened?" Hermione took a breath and explained everything that had happened, from her anger towards Ronald that first night to her and Harry's attempt at stopping Ronald from cheating on anything else, to the Headmaster. He smiled at the idea of keeping Ron from cheating by charming all his writing utensils since that was really a good idea. In all his years though he could not keep from feeling disgust, more than what he had before, at the thought that he would slap her just for doing that. He sighed and turned to look at the dark sky, wondering what he could tell the now distraught Hermione.

"The worst part, Professor, is to be honest I am scared of seeing Ronald again," Hermione's words wrenched the older man's heart. "I am scared of what he could do since he already has taken the time to slap me. I don't want to have this go on any further but I also don't want to appear scared. What should I do?"

Dumbledore thought about this for a few minutes. "For now I suggest that you don't have anything to do with him. Don't let yourself be caught alone with him and keep your wand with you at all times." Hermione nodded her head, slightly disappointed that the Headmaster did not have any more advice. "I know I do not have much advice right now Hermione, but I will consult the other Headmasters to see what actions should be done."

"Thank you Professor," Hermione smiled, even though she was already deciding whether or not she should heed the Professor's advice and go to the Library before bed. She was sure that she could find something in the library to help her after all the library has everything right? The pair walked back to the castle and just before the two separated just inside the Great Doors, Dumbledore turned to Hermione and she knew that the Headmaster suspected that she was considering on going to the library.

"Do me a favour Miss Granger," Dumbledore looked at her with a sparkle in his eye. "Please go to bed, don't go to the library, you have time for that tomorrow."

Hermione grinned and nodded. "Goodnight, Professor," she bid the Headmaster goodnight before turning and walking up the stairs and making her way towards the Gryffindor Common Room. She did not notice the grey eyes following her from their hiding place behind a suit of armour. She just kept on walking, her shoes only making the slightest sounds as she walked; soon it was obvious that she was deep in thought.

* * *

**Hi again, I know its shocking that I have two author notes today! I had wanted to let you all know a fantastic thing happened to me this week. I have been accepted into a librarian technician program at the local technical college for the upcoming August school year! I am so excited that I have been accepted because I have been wanting to get into this program for the last two years.** **Because of this fantastic news I will be updating again this week, most likely on the normal day Praesul Presul should be updated, so that I can get back into the habit of updating.**

**I find its so hard to interact with all of you, and trust me I really want to, by just the means of what we have on fanficnet. I would love to be able to talk to you and get to know you all more because writing is the essence of getting to know someone, do you agree? So because of all the fantastic reviews I have been getting about this story I would like to give you something in return, more than a lousy chapter, that is interactive. **

**Follow me on twitter: BittiVitti**

**I will talk to you and maybe if you guys are able to convince me, a twitcam (though I feel like a twit just thinking about it haha), and maybe a contest? My goal is just to get to know my readers because you are all the driving force behind this story realistically. I love you ALL!**

**So what did you think of the chapter? Drop me a line/review!**

**xx C. Rose**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for the wonderful reviews and all the attention that you have been giving this story! I am so sorry that I had not been able to update sooner but with work and now school updating will be slow. I promise that I will never STOP updating, you just need to be patient with me. ****My program is going wonderfully, thank you for mentioning that in reviews, I am having an amazing time and couldn't be happier.**

**I had writer's block for this chapter for the longest time but after deleting it I finally found a rhythm again.**** So it is a bit choppy.**

Chapter Four

Draco stumbled down the stairs, and through the hallways, as he raced back towards the dungeons where the Slytherins' dormitories were tucked away. Although he was relieved that he had witnessed her return with his own eyes there was something about her that bugged him. Something just didn't sit right in his gut. Unfortunately for the blonde man her return was not the only thing churning his gut.

He closed his eyes, index and thumb pressing the bridge of his nose, and inhaled a great deal of air before exhaling. What was going on in the Headmaster's head? Did he really expect everything would get better if Granger just _ignored_ Weasel? Draco snorted silently. If he knew Granger, well as best as he could get to know her over the years of fighting and hatred, the fact that Weasel getting off basically scot free was internally pissing her off. Even to him it was pissing him off and that gave him a bit of a surprise because since when did he dwell on the feelings of others?

That stopped him cold in his tracks and before he knew it, his mind had jumped him onto a new train of thought. Sauntering through the Common Room he gave a slight acknowledgement to the new first years who were crowded around the fireplace and Blaise Zabini, who had looked up from the thick, leather bound, tome with a raised eyebrow. Giving no response to his friend's subtle interest to his whereabouts Draco kept moving through the room towards his dormitory. Pushing the wooden door open with his hand, the light from the Common Room slicing through the dark casting shadows along the furthest wall, before plunging the room back into darkness as he slipped through, closing the door behind him.

Perhaps this is why the old coot wanted me to look out for Granger, Draco mused to himself as he changed from his school robes. He sat heavily on his fourpost bed and began unlacing his dragonhide boots. He knew that with my change of feelings at the beginning of the school year that there would be a better possibility of me being more open towards this...proposal. A sudden creaking from the wooden door drew Draco's concentration away from his swirling thoughts. The light which surrounded the dark figure at his door blinded him for a moment before his eyes adjusted and he recognized Blaise standing at the door. Somewhere in the back of his mind, past the multitude of thoughts regarding Granger and her problem, he wondered why Blaise had not barged into his room sooner.

"Where were you, Draco?" Blaise asked while making his way over to his friend's bed. "I was looking for you earlier in hopes that we could play a game of chess before bed." The Italian watched the blonde with piercing eyes.

Draco sighed as he threw the right boot towards his wardrobe and began unlacing the other. "I was...out walking." As soon as the words left his mouth he knew Blaise would catch his hesitation within a moment and would pounce on him so he continued hastily. "I had tried to go to bed earlier, which is why you probably didn't find me in the first place, but then I woke up with a terrible nightmare." Even to Draco the lie seemed forced but it was better than having Blaise begin freaking out about his new found habit of keeping tabs on Granger. The second boot flew through the air and landed haphazardly next to the first one.

"Ahh...I see," Blaise watched his friend like a hawk for a moment. He took a seat on the bed beside the blonde teen. "I know there is something more, Draco. Something that you are not telling me." Draco could feel his gaze piercing through him but had no energy to make him stop. "What did Dumbledore say to her?"

Draco turned to Blaise in shock. "How in Slytherin's name did you get that one out of me?" Throughout the years of their friendship he had been semi aware of Blaise's scary talent for reading people but this was the first time he had let his guard down enough for Blaise to put his talent to the test on himself. To be honest up until this point he always had a half mind that Blaise's talent was just a quack.

"So it is about a girl," Blaise smirked, not answering Draco's question but continuing on with his observations. "Anything you want to talk about? Or is the Slytherin Prince off onto another conquest?" Before he could stop himself Draco inadvertently blanched at the thought of making Granger just a conquest, and mentally slapped himself. Of course he would do that in front of Blaise. "Not a conquest? Hmm..." Blaise carefully watched Draco as he got up and looked through his large cupboard for pyjamas to change into.

"You alright dear?" The Fat Lady asked as she stared at the girl who had been standing in front of her portrait for the last ten minutes. Her words must have broken the girl's train of thought because she looked up at the portrait with a watery smile and nodded. "Are you sure?" Again the girl nodded. Sighing the Fat Lady asked for the password to the dormitory and swung open for the resident bookworm. Closing the door she shook her head, praying that nothing would happen to the girl. She had heard the slap, the argument, and was abruptly pushed out of the way for the same girl who just ran _into_ the common room only hours prior. It was times like these when she wished she was an actual person who could walk through the portrait entrance herself to address those who were behind the sickening display behind the canvas wall. Shutting her eyes she began to doze off again.

"There was a fight in the Gryffindor Tower," Blaise informed Draco as the blonde man pulled on his green velvet slippers. "Granger apparently got a heck of a bruise from the Weasel."

"Yeah," Draco replied, suddenly feeling like he was going to drown with the undertaking of the Headmaster's request. "I know." Blaise looked at him questioningly. Groaning he realized he would have to spill his guts about everything that had been happening to him. Even if Dumbledore had told him not to say a word to anyone. How Slytherin of him. "Fine. I'll tell you, on one condition."

"Which is?"

"You do not say a word about this to anyone," Draco hissed, for what reason he couldn't explain. "You need to swear that you will not say a word. Dumbledore made me swear that I would not tell anyone about what is happening.

* * *

The Tower was dead silent which gave Hermione some relief as she entered the common room on stealthy tip toes. Wanting to head to bed right away, both her mind and body way past their exhaustion limit, she remembered that her book was still by the fireplace where she had left it earlier that evening. Glancing around to make sure that she was definitely alone she walked normally over went to pick it up, not noticing the paper that had been unceremoniously stuffed between the pages, before heading up to the safety of her bed.

Tossing the book onto her bed she didn't notice the pages, where the piece of paper was stuffed, open so that the letter was able to slide out from between the pages and lay innocently on the comforter. Turning back to the bed Hermione did a double take at the piece of paper before glancing at the book in realization that it had been stuffed in the pages. "Honestly, stuffing a piece of paper between the pages of a book is the work of someone who couldn't possibly care that the next time they need a book it may not be there for them," she murmured to herself as she plucked the piece of paper from her comforter and unfolded it.

A gasp escaped from her throat as her eyes roamed across the page that had been scribbled on.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Blaise, disgust appearing on his face, at his best friend laying across the width of his bed, exhausted from retelling the events of his life from the past while to his best friend. "Dumbledore wants you to watch out for Granger? He thinks that just _ignoring_ the Weasel is going to do anything about it?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I think we now have sufficient evidence that he has lost what common sense he had left."

* * *

Her first instinct was to get out of her dormitory. Leave everything and get out _right now_.

Scooping up her school bag she stuffed a change of clothing before quietly leaving the dormitory. Slipping down the stairs and making her way across the common room she shuddered at the thought that Hermione Granger, Brains of the Golden Trio, was slinking away from her own House because of someone's blind stupidity.

She felt that the entire situation was uncalled for especially regarding Dumbledore's apparent lack of consideration towards her, though she will admit it was nice talking to him one on one, and the situation entirely. She was willing to bet her entire personal library that nothing would happen in the morning regarding the state of affairs. All this time she believed that Dumbledore had wanted her to succeed seeing as he was the one who personally came to tell her and her parents that she was a witch from muggle born parents.

Leaving through the portrait door, Hermione was surprised that the Fat Lady didn't even wake up when she gently pushed the portrait frame, Hermione made her way towards the only place she could possibly seek refuge at this time of night.

* * *

"So what are you going to do?" Blaise asked as he walked over to his own bed and pulled back the covers before hopping in.

Draco sighed and placed a hand over his face. "No damn idea. I mean how am I supposed to get within three feet of her? Knowing Granger she will curse me or worse."

"It isn't like you will have to deal with Weasel now," his best friend pointed out to him. "By the looks of it the friendship that was crafted between them has all but broken." Blaise turned on his side so he was able to watch Draco. "You know it is not too late to start a friendship with her." Draco turned his head in disbelief and snorted. That opportunity was lost years ago with the extremely slim chance of it coming back into reality. "Show her what a real Pureblood man would do," Blaise continued. "She probably has no idea that as Purebloods we are not supposed to treat woman like how Weasel treated her. I am simply suggesting that you prove that yes you may be in Slytherin but that doesn't mean you are just like everyone else in this snake pit. Show her what a true friend acts like. Show her that you have had a change of heart and that you are not like your father." Draco perked up at the suggestions coming his way. "This will solve your problems, Drake."

"Thank you," Draco replied, still stunned at the amount of help he had received. I am glad that I didn't listen to Dumbledore otherwise I would have been in a lot of trouble. Laying there while his friend fell asleep Draco's mind began spinning with the new possibilities that Blaise suggested. He felt an immense relief that he had confided in his best friend.

As he fell asleep he wondered how Granger was making out. His last thought was he hoped she wasn't in trouble again.

**Hope you all liked it! Reviews are appreciated but if you want to talk to me more about the story, or life in general, I have twitter ( BittiVitti) and created a special hash tag for the story (#PraesulPresul) There is someone on twitter who has the same username (why is beyond me) but dont worry it looks like the user has not been on since the beginning of the year. If you run into any problems let me know and I'll make up a new hash tag.**

**Have a great day! See you on twitter and looking forward to the reviews!**

**xx C. Rose**


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