Harry Potter 1. In the Darkness

Disclaimer:No…Unfortunately I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters….(sobs…)

There she was again. After a long summer she was finally back. Hermione loved Hogwarts. And best of all she loved the library, full of treasures and knowledge. She made her way through the empty tables; it was after all the first day of term- no one needed to be there. Leaving her bag on a chair she decided to wander about a bit and look for something new to read. By instinct she turned towards the East wing of the library, she always went there. Which made her think: "What is in the west wing?" The West wing was clearly a place not many students, or teachers for that matter, went to often. The reason was simple, it didn't contain any books useful for homework, it just had biographies. It was full of books about the ancient magical families and their history. No one would be interested to read about the great great great grandfather of Neville. I mean let's face it; these books have probably never been opened. Nonetheless Hermione decided to make the most of it. Just as she was about to learn how the Potters began their magical careers, she noticed a black book. It was bound with black silk and it was the only one that had no title in the front. That simply made her curious and so she pulled the book out. It was strange but the family's book didn't have a title anywhere in the first pages, and so, her curiosity heightened, she started reading…

"_The founder of the family was born in 1525 in France. His name was Antoine Vipère, youngest son of the richest and most powerful family in Normandy. From a young age it was obvious that he was a powerful and talented wizard. His powers however made him an enemy to his family who betrayed and imprisoned him. At those times muggles used to burn wizards in order to exorcise them and this was the fate chosen for Antoine. On the day of the execution when the guards went into his cell to lead him out, Antoine was nowhere to be found. _

_The next few months in the life of Antoine cannot be traced. However he appears 5 months later in Paris. He was walking through the dark streets of a city defeated by plague when he saw a young muggle woman lying at the corner of the street unconscious. As he tried to help her the woman opened her eyes and begged him to end her suffering. It was clear that the illness had taken its toll on her already and Antoine could not think of a way to help the ill woman except with his gift. He most probably used an ancient healing technique to stop the woman from feeling the pain; however as he was doing so the girl's brother came out of the house and saw the light emanating from Antoine's palms as he was touching his sister. Considering this to be the devil's doing he tried to catch Antoine and send him to prison. But when he realised that Vipère was too quick for him he turned back to his dying sister. Vipère looking back, saw in the distance the girl's brother setting her on flames… The muggle was trying to save his sister's soul by burning her. It is said that from that day on Antoine….."_

"What on earth are you doing here? The library closed ten minutes ago!" Madam Pince snapped at Hermione.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't realise how quickly time passed"

"Well on you go then, don't sit here looking at me!"

"Of course" said Hermione as she ran passed picking up her bag.

"Are you going to take this with you?" asked the librarian.

Hermione thought for a minute looking at the black book. She couldn't help but think how sorry she felt about Antoine and how much she wanted to know his story. He sounded after all as an honest and good wizard. So she said:

"Yes I think I will."

She started making her way towards the Gryffindor tower, but all she could think of was Antoine Vipère. She wanted to know his story, she wanted to know what happened to him, and trace his offsprings. She looked at her watch, she still had five minutes till dinner, so she decided to sit in a corner and at least finish the page she was reading

"_It is said that from that day on Antoine lost his faith in muggles and good. His guilt for letting that woman die such a painful death and seeing what his good magic did to her made him believe that muggles were unworthy of magic. He decided to leave France and travel north to England. There he established the first family of Dark wizards after Salazar Slytherin. He had three sons; each of them grew up to create an unforgivable curse. It is said though that until his last day he never forgot that girl. And as he was dying he whispered… "That girl I'll never forget...the mudblood" It is commonly believed that he was describing the girl as a mudblood, however it makes more sense to think that he meant her brother. It is certain though, that since then the word is still used to insult muggleborn wizards. Whichever way he meant it we know that the incident with the girl was the one that turned him towards the darkness. When he arrived in England, due to this loss of faith he changed his name to Malfoy." _

"Malfoy…Typical…" Hermione whispered…

After dinner Gryffindors made their way towards their common room. Hermione was one of the last ones to get in as she spent time chatting with the fat lady who had quite significantly lost weight through the summer. Once in, she moved towards the right end of the room and sat next to Harry on the burgundy sofa. It appeared they were having a conversation about some sort of film Harry had watched.

"So then the dragon gave a part of his heart to the prince and then the prince would not die unless the dragon died first and then…"

"Oh that is rubbish Harry, that's not a movie or whatever you call it, that's an ancient legend!" interrupted Ron rudely.

"I will agree with the rubbish part Ronald because I never thought much of "Dragonheart"! But what legend are you talking about?" replied Hermione.

"Gee, thanks Hermione, nothing better than having your support when it comes to muggle movies" answered Harry irritably

"Well I didn't like it and that dragon was so fake! I mean the guy could NOT act"

"That dragon was played by Sean Connery! 007! You cannot be serious Hermione!"

"Double 0 what?" whispered Ron clearly uncomfortable with his ignorance...

His friends turned and gave him that looked that clearly said "Muggle stuff, you're not going to get it anyway!"

"Anyway," said Ron ignoring their looks, "So there was a guy centuries ago who was from a powerful wizard family and then he fell in love with one muggleborn witch but his father was never going to let him make out with a muggleborn witch and…"

Ginny's voice broke her brother's monologue, "Ron, you're saying it completely wrong!"

"No I am not!"

"Yes you are, just be quiet and I'll say the legend! So there was this handsome, young and powerful wizard that met a beautiful but muggleborn witch. However they didn't fall in love then, he was prejudiced against muggles and muggleborns and she was in love with a muggle, or she thought she was at least. Then one day there was a battle, and the handsome wizard…

"Oh, so that's why my version was not good…? It was not fluffy enough?" interrupted Ron

"Well I like that version more" said Hermione.

"Of course you do, you also thought Krum was prince charming too! What about you Harry, what do you think mate, isn't my version better than Ginny's?"

"Well actually I do like Ginny's version…"

"Of course you do mate…Of course you do… Well then I'll leave you GIRLS to it and I'll go upstairs!"

"Anyway now that he's gone I can carry on with my story! So, in the battle the handsome wizard was with the dark side, helping them in his animagus form. You see he could transform himself into a dragon. Just as he was fighting against good he noticed the witch, who was on the opposite side on the square mortally wounded. And he felt something break inside him so he went near her. To save her he gave her a part of his heart. That way she couldn't die unless he did. So when the battle was over she put the piece of his heart into her wand and they stayed bonded for eternity. But she never managed to find him again. She spent her life looking for him and he spent his life hiding from her and protecting her from evil. Some believe she's still looking for him…And one day she'll find him…"

"Wow…" Whispered Hermione

"Yeah said Harry, but I still cannot believe you don't like Sean Connery!"

"He's 200 years old! And he is fine as an actor; I just didn't like the movie! Anyway that aside, did anyone notice how Ron keeps staring at Lavender 24/7?"

"Oh…yeah..." said Harry "you see Ron has a bit of a crash on Lavender"

"Oh please" said Hermione…

And laughing this way the three Gryffindors said their goodnights and went to bed…

"Come on guys! We are going to be so late for Defence against the dark arts!" said Hermione as they were running through the corridors.

"You know what Hermione, for a witch that doesn't do any sports except stressing you are too quick!" Answered Harry

"…Can't…breathe…can't run faster" said Ron

But it was ok because they were there, and they saw that the class was just entering.

The bad news of the new year was that unfortunately Snape now took defence against the dark arts and potions for sixth years…This was going to be painful…

Twenty minutes through the lesson Snape was explaining how he wanted the student to duel with each other so that he could see the various techniques they use and they get to see what it feels like facing an enemy. He had already split the class in pairs to start their duels, and five minutes later, as Hermione had already petrified Neville she was told to duel with Dean Thomas. Five minutes later he was knocked out too and she turned to Snape:

"What now professor?" she said noticing that everyone seemed busy with their pairs.

"Miss Granger you can duel with Mr Malfoy"

"Oh no no nooooo" She thought… "The guy is vicious he's going to rip me into pieces, he will actually try to murder me and make it look like an accident! And all that because I'm a …"

"Mudblood, are you going to carry on daydreaming about your Potter boyfriend or are we going to duel so that I turn you into dust?" said the Slytherin

"Oh no Malfoy when I'm done with you, you are going to feel sorry you were born. And don't ever call me a mudblood again otherwise" snapped Hermione

"Otherwise what? Mudblood…"

"Calamus Avolo" screamed Hermione as arrows started flying from her wand...none of them actually getting him though…

"Ooh...Granger using a banned charm…interesting…don't see that everyday …Petrificus totalus"

"Protego" shielded Hermione

"Very good Granger…Impressed…Not doing bad for a mudblood… "

"Incarcerous" screamed Hermione. But as the ropes started rounding Malfoy he yelled

"Incendio" burning them to dust...

"Amusing…remember that nice spell I used against you in the first year mudblood? That made your teeth go pretty? What was it again? "Dens..."

But Hermione had not yet said her last word…

"RELASHIO" and sparks of fire hit Malfoy on the chest exactly where his heart was. But something was happening, Hermione was in pain too, not just pain, excruciating pain…. It was as if someone had put on both of them the cruciatus curse. Neither of them could move. They couldn't even scream for help. They were frozen. She was pointing her wand towards him and he was halfway through stepping back, the stream of light still hitting him in his chest. But the pain was terrible, and they both sank into darkness…


	2. Hecate

Disclaimer: Still not mine…I might get them by next chapter though…..

A/N: I want to thank all three of my great reviewers. As it is my first fiction I need all the help I can get. Thank you for reading it and reviewing it. Please help me get better by telling me your thoughts. This chapter is dedicated to the three of you. Enjoy.

He slowly opened his eyes. What had just happened? He was duelling with that mudblood, and then he thought of the Densaugeo curse, then... the pain! The excruciating, unstoppable pain. How has that happened? What had she done? Is it possible that that goody goody Granger had used the Cruciatus? He cast a look at her just as she was sitting up. He looked around him. Everything seemed normal; no one seemed to have noticed the incident except…

"What have you been doing here? What sort of nonsense is this?" hissed an irritated Snape, "Are you mocking my class? Miss Granger?"

"Sir, I don't know what happened, I was duelling and suddenly he hit me with something and I…"

"Oh rubbish, you hit me first, I didn't have time to attack you, you moron" answered Draco

"You filthy lying piece of…"

"Mr Malfoy will you please watch your language, this is a classroom. And you Miss Granger, you just cost your house 20 points for improper language. Now I want you both back to your desks, since you seem incompetent to duel. I expect you to wait after the class has finished. "

"But sir…"interrupted Hermione

"I don't want to hear it Miss Granger, to your desks now."

Seeing that arguing would lead nowhere they started moving towards the desks.

"Well done mudblood!"

"It was all your fault you arrogant…"

"SILENCE" echoed Snape.

So without another word they sat at their desks and waited for the end of the class.

Not being able to do anything for 20 minutes infuriated Hermione even more than trying to puzzle out what Malfoy had done! How could this arrogant snake have got them into so much trouble? She could see how this was going to go, Snape will see that Malfoy put the cruciatus curse on her and he will get away with a slap on the wrist and what will she get?!?!? She will have detention until the age of 25 because she was not "smart enough to avoid it" or "quick enough to stop it" or because she used that stupid arrow charm. She was convinced that Snape would find something to give her detention for. Stupid Slytherin I hope you rot…

But Snape's voice stopped her lovely train of thought.

"Now, what did you do?" he said in that quiet and dangerous tone his voice took when Gryffindors were involved.

"Sir she put the Cruciatus curse on me!"

Hermione was shocked. Her mouth fell open. He dared to accuse her of that. He..She just couldn't believe her ears.

"Sir I would never… If anything HE put the cruciatus on me. I attacked him with the relashio curse and then I felt the pain it was terrible, it felt like…"

"I'm not interested in the story of your life Miss Granger, when I start suffering from insomnia I will ask for it." At that Malfoy chuckled. "Now, since it is obvious that one of you used a forbidden curse of some sort your wands are confiscated until I find out what has caused this."

At that he extended his hand and their wands shot out of theirs, landing in his palm.

"For the time being I will not punish any of you until I find out who did it. But if I find any banned or forbidden charms were used by either of you my rage will be terrible. Now go! Both of you."

As they were moving towards the door Malfoy turned to Hermione and said loud enough so that Snape could hear:

"Nice Avolo Calamus charm Granger…Not that legal though…."

Hermione looked at him with pure loath. The dirty rat.

"Miss Granger, you used a banned charm?"

She looked at Malfoy as he was exiting the room hoping that the snitch would just drop dead. But he didn't. And he left, and she was stuck with a furious Snape. She turned to look at him.

"Sir I'm sorry, I didn't know it was banned." she mumbled.

"You, Miss Granger? You said you didn't know something? Well I'm simply mortified…" said Snape sarcastically. "Anyway, I believe any punishment should fit the crime and of course, the offender, so it is my decision Miss Granger that because of this your next assignment is an immediate failure. Now leave my sight or I would change this to your next two assignments."

Hermione was horrified. He would fail her. He was going to fail her. As she was getting to the corridor the anger was beginning to rise. She knew that if she only got Malfoy in her hands she would curse him to the next century. How could he be such a…

And then two icy hands grabbed her and dragged her to an empty classroom. Malfoy squeezed her arms and crashed her against the wall…

"What did you do Granger?"

"Let me go! Let me go or else"

"Or else what? You'll scream? It's the dungeons remember? Tell me what you did and you are free to go."

"I didn't do anything. I don't do dark magic you know… as opposed to you" spat Hermione.

"Well, I didn't do it, if had I wouldn't be and idiot to let it backfire." He said.

"Yes, because you master every single spell to perfection?!?! As if..."

His fists squeezed her arms tighter, she started feeling her hands and forearms going numb…

"You are hurting me!"

"I don't care! And for your information mudblood perfection, is something you will never understand because you were born in a quagmire. Tell me what you did!"

"I didn't do anything!" she screamed, "and why are you so bothered anyway you arrogant toad? Snape will see it in my wand if I had done something and I'll be expelled. So what is your problem?" She yelled the last part as loud as her lungs allowed her. Her arms were completely numb. She started to kick him so that he let her go… but his grip was too strong.

"What is your problem?" She repeated.

"IT IS STILL HURTING ME!" his voice was a combination of pain and anger. His eyes were turning black from rage. For the first time in months Hermione was scared.

"What do you mean?" she whispered. She was terrified.

He looked at her, his voice icy again. "I feel the pain still. As if a red hot iron is slowly burning my lungs. I feel bleeding inside." With these words he let her go. She was reaching the door when she turned and looked at him.

"Malfoy I didn't do that. I hate you with every fibre of my body but this- I didn't do it."

"Make it stop."

"I can't I don't know how it happened. I don't know how! Why don't you go to Madam Pomfrey? I'm sure she…"

"Make it stop" he said louder.

"I told you I can't" she snapped.

"MAKE IT…" and then suddenly he fell quiet. His expression froze completely. He looked at her with a glacial calmness, he grabbed her hand…She panicked and stepped back… And then a voice sounded. It was not Malfoy's. It was coming from his mouth, she could see his mouth moving but the voice was not his. It was as if the voice belonged to a corpse. As if it was coming from the grave. Quiet and menacing.

He whispered:

"How could you do this Hecate?"

And then he froze again. Her arm fell to her side. His pain returned. His eyes got back to that agonizing expression they had before. His voice was back to normal when he said:

"Undo it Granger."

Hermione took a few seconds to recover from the shock. Then she said:

"Who is Hecate?"

"You really think it's the right time for you to expand your general knowledge?"

"You called me Hecate!"

"When…?"

"Just now Malfoy, you said "How could you do this Hecate?""

"You are either deaf or hallucinating, I said: "Undo it Granger.", that's you, you know… your name, Granger. Now undo it!!!"

"I cannot undo it because I didn't do it in the first place!" she answered "Why is it that you don't want to go to Madam Pomfrey? Why did you black out? Who is Hecate? Answer me!"

"Are you ordering me about now mudblood?"

"Yes!" She looked at him straight in the eyes. She realised she had probably just pushed it too far, she knew that much. She needed to know though. She needed the answer!

"I did not black out" he said quietly.

"You did and you are avoiding the other questions. Which can only mean one thing."

Without further warning she lifted the cloak from his left forearm. And she saw.

The Dark Mark.

"I knew it" She whispered as she ran to the door. She wasn't quick enough though. He grabbed her arm and said:

"If you even breathe a word of this your parents will die the slowest and most painful death. Your cousins, aunts, uncles your whole family will be wiped out… It will be the doom of your family because of you, it will be all your fault…"

"You wouldn't dare!" She spat.

"Wouldn't dare what? Dare to kill muggles? Hasn't Potter enlightened you as to what Death Eaters do exactly? What do you think; we meet and play gobstones, drinking firewhiskey? Don't say a word, and they might make it. Whisper my secret and you'll have to beg me to kill them and stop their sufferings."

He took a good look at her, and with an arrogant yet elegant air he left her alone in the dark classroom.

She could almost hear her parents scream…

TA DA! What did you think? Awful? Good? Please tell me!!! Please Review!!!


	3. Erinyes

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine…

She opened her eyes... She was exhausted! What's with the tired thing lately? She kept going to bed earlier and earlier and kept waking up even more tired! It was getting ridiculous! It was an early Sunday morning. Exactly one month after the incident in Snape's class. Snape had kept his word and failed her in the next essay, and he returned their wands noticing nothing special. It made no sense. She spent ages in the library trying to make any sense out of it. Ron and Harry told her she was obsessing and that Malfoy probably had used the cruciatus and Snape had covered him. But that just didn't fit. He was in pain. I mean, he was the ugliest toad ever to see the light of day but Hermione had to admit he was a capable wizard. He would never let a cruciatus curse backfire. She got up and dressed. It was too early for breakfast and like a typical English morning it was still dark… That probably had to do with the fact that it was half past five, as well as late autumn, you know, -the whole sun-earth distance thing. She walked towards the lake. She loved the lake. It made her feel so peaceful, so in control. She sat down on the wet grass. Who was Hecate? Shakespeare had her as the queen of witches. The ancients had quite a similar point of view, but for wizards Hecate was just a powerful witch. A destructive and powerful witch. For such a powerful witch however the information in literature was shockingly poor. Hecate was a witch, Hecate was pure evil, and Hecate lived in the Middle Ages. C'est tout. Rubbish. And then those odd robberies. Snape was missing a dagger. Professor Sprout some sort of herb… odd things were happening. These were strange times.

He woke up sweating. The cold sweat of nightmares. He didn't mind nightmares. They couldn't hurt him. Real life was scarier. And more painful. One month since he had this odd pain on his chest for the first time. Like he had lost something. Like someone had died. What did he care if someone had died? As long as he was fine. He is a Malfoy. Malfoys just don't care. And that's how he learned to live with it. It wasn't getting worse so he learned to ignore it and carry on with his life. What he couldn't stand was the whole dream thing. The dreams he was having were quite disturbing. And he could only remember parts of them. Like in one there was a woman screaming in pain. In another there was a figure dressed in white falling in the lake. Also the muggles begging for their lives. No hang on. That was reality. Reality in all its glory. He despised muggles. He really did. But the last deatheater attacks had shocked him. It's as if he couldn't do it. He couldn't. One girl especially. His first murder. His only murder actually. Brown hair, brown eyes, rather pretty. She looked at him in the eyes and said: Do it quickly at least. She had just seen her family and friends die. She screamed. He will never forget her scream. And her eyes, That muggle... He really was losing his mind.

His legs took him to the lake. Why was it that he felt so peaceful out there? As he was getting closer he saw her figure sitting by the lake. Granger… He just couldn't stand her! He turned on his heel and started moving towards the castle.

"Where are you going Malfoy?"

He stopped and gave her a sharp look over his shoulder. Then he decided to carry on his way.

"Why is it that murderers are never talkative?" she continued.

"What?" he snapped.

"You heard me. Don't you feel like talking? Why is that? Too tired from killing innocent victims? And it seems that you are not getting your beauty sleep neither…Up so early? Is it possible that a dirty murderer like you might have a conscience? "

"What are you talking about mudblood?"

"I'm talking about the attacks. You were one of them weren't you? You killed people."

"You must confuse me with someone else. I would never kill people. I killed muggles."

She stood up and looked at him speechless.

"Why are you looking at me like an idiot Granger?"

"You think that muggles are not human? Is that what you believe?"

"Muggles are dirt. And mudbloods are even worse than them. They try to poison magic by putting their filth hands on it. I will not be satisfied until I kill every last one of them." Strangely enough his voice was very calm, as if he was talking about the weather.

For a minute there, she was shocked, but she quickly recovered.

"I bet it tortures you"

"Oh yeah, boo-hoo a bunch of muggles died." He replied sarcastically

"Well… There have been three attacks in the last month. The morning after the first one you blew up your potion, then…"

"I was tired, so what?"

"Like I said you blew up your potion, which like you correctly stated is showing you were tired and this proves you were in the attack. After the second attack you fell asleep in transfiguration. Again, proof of your participation. But by the morning after the third attack, there, you were distracted all day. And since then you are often distracted. And sometimes you freeze in the great hall, as if a whole event is passing through your eyes. And then, for a split second there is pain. And then after that you turn back to whatever brainless conversation you Slytherins might have."

"And you are trying to prove what exactly?"

"That you feel guilty."

"I do not feel guilty for anything, you hear me?" His voice was getting quiet and menacing as he moved closer.

"Oh you do. You like it or not, you feel guilt."

"I do not" He hissed.

"Ok, tell me about the people you killed then."

"What?"

"Well tell me about those you killed. If you don't feel any guilt then you must be fine talking about it."

"I don't even remember them"

"Oh, is that so? Not even how many you killed? Was it ten? Twenty? 300?"

"One."

"Excuse me?"

"I said one. I've only killed once."

"I thought you said "them". Surely you were taught that "them" is used for plural. Anyway, how old was he?"

"He?"

"Your victim, how old was he?"

"She was 15-16."

"And what did she look like?"

"Small, brunette."

"And was she awake when you were murdering her?"

"Yes."

"Oh, and what did she say? Did she beg you to spare her? Did she ask after her family?"

"I don't remember. Plus her family was already dead."

"You don't remember? Fancy that… Not even a word?"

"She asked me to be quick."

--------_And suddenly he was seeing it again. The girl in her empty room. Sitting her floor, sobbing. She looked up at him; she knew he came to kill her. And, she didn't beg. She didn't ask him to save her. She just asked him to be quick. ----------------- _

"Did she scream? Did she cry when you were killing her, murderer?"

_-----------She stood up and he raised his wand against her. She knew she was dying. Her scream, seconds before his curse hit her, pierced his ears. -------------------------_

"You just saw it again, didn't you? You saw how you killed her."

"Why are you doing this?" He asked her, his voice for the first time in years was trembling.

She came closer to him and whispered in his ear:

"Because I hate you that much. And because you don't deserve any peace. You are a murderer."

And with these words she left him standing in the dark lake- hearing that girl's scream, again and again in his head.

She sat down, shaking. The common room was warm, dark and empty. It was still too early for the Gryffindors to be up on a Sunday. She was shocked. Did she actually hate him so much? Well, she wanted him to realise his crimes. She wanted him to suffer for the path he has chosen. Why did she even care? Well, he can't go on killing like that. No, it wasn't that. It was a feeling. As if she had seen him take that path before, as if she could remember the pain this would cause. It felt as if she had to stop him.

"Nonsense" She muttered. She picked up a book that had been abandoned on the sofa: _Myths and legends_. She opened it at a random page and started reading:

"_Furies, the Latin name of the Greek Erinyes, personifications of vengeance. They would drive their victims insane by…"_

She lifted her eyes and looked outside the window. He was still standing in front of the lake. Could she actually drive him insane?


	4. Dark Water

Disclaimer: Do I have to say every time??? Not mine!

A/N: Dear this-recurring-dream, I am really sorry you did not enjoy the last chapter. Thank you for your review, it made me transform this chapter. I have to say I am quite glad you felt sorry for Draco, he is my favourite and that was really the point. I hope you will enjoy this chapter more. Do try to stick with the story and it will get better, I promise! Thanks again for the review.

On with the story now:

She looked around her, she felt so confused. Where was she? She was in her nightdress, in the middle of the night, in a dark Hogwarts corridor. She couldn't remember how she got there and that scared her. She decided not to panic and to go back to her dormitory. After all, sleepwalking, could happen once or twice in a lifetime. It was a good thing no one had seen her. Little did she know that a pair of grey eyes followed her.

He followed her until she reached the Gryffindor tower. "Hungarian Horntail" she told the fat lady, who was clearly not impressed at being woken up in the middle of the night. After hearing the password and locating the entrance to the Gryffindor common room he started making his way to his dungeons. "You never know," he thought to himself, "knowing how to get to the Gryffindor's common room might prove useful." He got into his common room and sat on a sofa. Another death eater meeting late at night. Another attack, in a muggle village. He had been ordered to get rid of as many muggles as he could. But he didn't. He stood in a corner and wished he was far away from that place. After all, at the end of the attack everyone would be happy and no one would care to ask him questions. And he was right; no one did ask any questions, so he got back to Hogwarts. And on his way to the dungeons he saw her figure. What on earth was she doing out so late? He couldn't help it; he had to follow her, to find out what she was up to. She was going towards the library. And then before he could stop it he heard his voice coming out of his mouth: "Hecate, stop." He didn't even know why he said that. But the strange thing was the moment he said that she froze and then it was as if she woke up. What a stupid thing to do. Now he had missed his chance to find out what she was doing. What could she possibly be doing out that late. And then it hit him. All those things that were missing. Did she steal them? Without even realising how he got to say this he whispered: "Oh Hermione, what are you doing?" His bloodline would be shocked. Calling a mudblood by her first name?! Hell, he was shocked. But he was too tired to think about it, so he decided to call it a day and go to bed.

A week has passed since the incident in the lake. Draco woke up feeling even more tired than when he went to bed. He knew the Great Hall would be a nightmare to face with all the talks about last night's attack. He didn't have any classes anyway so he decided to skip breakfast and go for a walk. It was end of November and the cold air was hitting his face. He needed to think. He went to the lake. He sat on down and looked at the still water. What has happened to him? He couldn't do this anymore. He didn't want to be part of this anymore. All his life he had been raised to be the best death eater. And now that he finally was, he couldn't do it. And it was all her fault. Why did she have to make him relive it? What did she care anyway? He hated her.

"I thought you might be hungry."

He looked behind him and there she was.

"What do you want Granger?"

"I brought you some toast."

"Why?"

"Like I said, I thought you might be hungry."

"And since when do you care about how hungry I get?"

"I don't."

"Which brings us back to my initial question: What do you want?"

"I thought you might need someone to talk to, after yesterday's attack"

"Oh…Of course, you want to continue your beautiful task of driving me crazy? Prove that I am a born murderer with no soul, conscience or remorse?"

"That's not why I'm here."

"THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE GRANGER?" He screamed.

"Because I want to help you." She whispered.

"And why would you want that?" he hissed, shaking from anger.

"Because you are not a murderer."

"Oh, that's a good one! Last week we were at the same spot and you were calling me a murderer, you took pleasure showing me the horror of my crimes. And now you come back here saying: "You know Malfoy, I changed my mind, you are not a killer."?"

"I didn't take pleasure doing all that! But you know what? I succeeded."

"Did you, now?" he snapped

"Yes"

"And how did that happen?"

"You just said "the horror of my crimes". You are not a killer Malfoy. You can stop."

"How can I stop? Don't you know who I am? Don't you know who I follow?"

"I know you are not a killer."

"That has nothing to do with it Granger. I'll become one."

"I won't let you."

"And how are you planning to do that?"

"I'll find a way."

"Why do you care anyway? And you know what? That total change of attitude makes me mad. Make up your mind Granger, am I or am I not a killer?"

"You are not"

"Are you going to decide next week that I am?"

"I never thought you were. But you didn't think killing was a crime. And that had to change. I had to make you se the impact of murder. I had to make you realise. And you did. I can see it in your eyes that it tortures you. I can see that you feel guilty. I can feel it." By the end of this phrase she was almost yelling.

"Bravo then! You proved your point. Now what do you want?"

"I want to help you." She muttered

"Why do you care Granger?"

"I don't care. But I can't walk away from it. There is something inside me forcing me to do this. Something that shows me the pain your actions would cause and makes me shiver."

"Oh, now you can see the future too?" He snapped.

"No, but it feels as if I can see the past."

"Yeah, it's called memory Granger. Seriously, you say crap like that and then you are considered the smartest witch of the year?" he replied.

"I want to help you."

"How about helping yourself, you know, strolling in the middle of the night hypnotised is hardly an achievement, what were you doing out there Granger?"

"What?"

"I saw you. What were you doing out there?"

"If you must know, it's called sleepwalking. It happens."

"Does it, now? Strange, I thought it had to do with all the missing items from the professors. Are you stealing things Granger?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you the thief everyone is searching?"

"I would never steal!"

"Well then, if I were you I'd search my trunk, who knows what you might find there…" with that, he stood up, took the toast she brought and looked at her:

"I think it's your time to sit in front of this lake and do some thinking Granger…"

And he left.

15 minutes later Hermione was frozen in front of her open trunk. On the top there was Snape's dagger.

Night has fallen in Hogwarts. Hermione was scared. She was the one who was stealing. She knew it now. Last Sunday she found the missing items in her trunk. She was so terrified that she didn't say a word of it to anyone. She spent all night awake. She knew she was stealing at night, she knew she was sleeping when she did it, so she spent all night awake. She wouldn't let this happen again. The next night she tried the same thing. But she fell asleep and found herself in the restricted section of the library. What was she doing there? She panicked and went straight to Gryffindor tower. Tonight she would stay awake. This couldn't carry on. She couldn't live like this anymore. And then she heard the voice

"You might as well stop fighting me, Hermione."

"Who is there?" she muttered.

"I'm the one who's going to take over, one way or another. You might as well stop fighting me. You are so tired you will fall asleep…"

"What do you of me?"

"I want a host; you seem like the perfect one. You brought me here, remember?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Hecate. Be my host and I won't hurt your friends."

"My friends?..."

"Yes, Ginny is so peaceful when she's sleeping, and then at some point you'll fall asleep and then when you wake up you'll be standing in front of her bed, with her blood in your hands."

"I'll never let you do that"

"You will fall asleep eventually." And with that, the voice got fainter and fainter until it disappeared…

"She can't make me do that. I won't do that." thought Hermione.

Somehow she needed to stay awake. The hours were passing slowly… Her eyelids were getting heavy…and she fell asleep…

"Hermione are you ok?"

Hermione looked around her. She was in Ginny's room, standing above her bed. Ginny looked at her:

"Are you ok?"

"Ehm, yes, I'm fine, I just wanted to see if you were asleep, I felt like chatting."

"At 4 o'clock in the morning?"

"Sorry, I'll let you sleep, see you in the morning."

"Night…" said Ginny and drifted back to sleep.

Hermione went to the common room; she couldn't believe what had just happened. She nearly killed Ginny. She couldn't believe it.

"I told you you'll fall asleep sometime…"

"I will not let you do that, you hear me?"

"Really? And how are you planning to stop me?"

Hermione didn't reply. She just started running. Barefoot, in her nightdress she was running… The Hogwarts grounds were really cold but she had to do it. She couldn't let this happen. She had to stop it. She was reaching the lake…

Draco woke up with a feeling of panic and pain. He felt like someone was in danger. He had to do something. He remembered now. That figure. The woman in white falling in the lake. He started running towards the lake. He had to get there in time. He had to. As he approached the lake he saw her. Falling in the dark water…

"HERMIONE DON'T!"

And he jumped into the cold water, frantically searching for her…


	5. The Pact

Disclaimer: Nope, none of them is mine…

Also: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

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"HERMIONE DON'T!"

He dropped his wand and raced to the lake. He took a deep breath and dived into the frozen water. She was sinking fast, he could barely see her white nightdress in the darkness. He went deeper and deeper, he could see her now, her eyes were open, she was conscious and yet refusing to make a single effort to save herself. He tried to grab her but she pulled away. "Don't be stupid" he thought. She looked at him and let all the air leave her mouth, bubbles of oxygen in a mad sprint to the surface.

"No" he thought "You are not going to die tonight. This is not how you die!" And

with a violent motion he grabbed her.

She didn't resist this time. She was already unconscious and unable to fight back. Now he had to reach the surface. He needed air. He had to go faster. And she felt so heavy…so heavy. But he didn't even consider letting her go. With a final kick he broke to the surface.

He looked at her as he was pulling her out, he needed his wand, where was his wand? Finally he saw it a few meters away from the edge of the lake. He let her body rest on the ground and ran towards his wand. When he reached her he mumbled:

"Anapneo"

Hermione didn't respond.

"No, you are not dead. This is not how you die! Anapneo!" He said louder.

Still no response.

"ANAPNEO!"

Hermione started coughing. After a minute or so she was breathing normally. Draco was looking at her without saying a word. And then suddenly:

"OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS GRANGER! HOW COULD YOU BE SO THICK? SO INCREDIBLY IDIOTIC? WHAT ON EARTH WHERE YOU DOING DIVING IN A 5KG NIGHTDRESS IN THE DAMN LAKE?"

Hermione looked at him and didn't answer.

"AND NOT ONLY THAT, YOU TRIED TO FIGHT BACK AS WELL WHEN I TRIED TO GET YOU OUT? WHERE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?"

"I never asked you to save me"

"Oh stop thanking me, you are making me blush. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"You would never understand."

"Oh what is it, Potter and Weasley decided to date each other and you felt left out? Tell me your tragic story…" he said sarcastically

"Shut up Malfoy"

"No I won't shut up, I dived in there and even if you are not willing to thank me at least I deserve an explanation."

Hermione was quiet for a moment.

"I hear voices Malfoy."

"We all do, it's called conversation."

"I mean in my head. One voice really. A woman's."

"What does she want?"

"To take over..."

"Over what, the world? You sure that's not Potter?"

"Shut up and listen! She wants to take over my body. She is taking over everytime I fall asleep, she makes me steal, and when I refused to let her take over she threatened me, she said she would make me hurt my friends. And she meant it. When I accidentally fell asleep I woke up above Ginny's bed with my wand out!"

"And then you chose the lake? I knew it was going to be some stupid Gryffindor bravery thing"

"It was my choice not to let her take over."

"How long has it been since you last slept?"

"A bit. Anyway, it would have been better if you had let me die. I don't want to hurt anyone and there is no way you can help me. Magic can't help me exorcise a voice."

"White magic can't"

"There is no other acceptable magic than white magic"

"Oh yes of course, and I assume we dark wizards are simple illusionists?"

"I am not interested in the Dark Arts."

"That's fascinating Granger, I would have never guessed. Funny coincidence: the Dark Arts don't go crazy about you either."

"Then like I said, no one can help me."

"I can."

"How?"

"That Granger is none of your business."

"What's the catch?"

"Well, I have some terms if that is what your question."

"I want to hear them first."

"First, stop judging me and my actions. No more "Murderer" accusations etc."

"Ok."

"Second, keep my good side alive."

"Why do you need it?"

"Third, stop asking questions."

Hermione thought for a minute and told him.

"I don't know how to keep your good side alive."

"Find a way Granger, if you are the smartest witch of our year you must do better than that."

"I don't see why you need it. Anyway, and if I agree to all that you'll help me? No smallprint"

" No what?"

"No hidden terms?"

"No hidden terms, I'll help."

"Ok then."

"Well if that is all, I need to go back and prepare for a trip."

"Trip?"

"Is that a question Granger?"

"No, sorry."

"Good, go and wear some dry clothes and try to stay up. Have a wakening potion, it should work for some hours."

"I don't know any wakening potions."

"Page 789, Advanced Potions book, ingredients can be found in the kitchen."

And with that he started making his way towards the castle.

"Malfoy!" she said and ran closer to him.

"What is it now?"

"How come you came to the lake?"

"Another question Granger?"

"Oh, yes, sorry."

He tried to leave again but,

"Malfoy"

"What is it now Granger?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything"

Ten minutes later Hermione was scanning her potions book. Page 783, 786, 789…

"There we are, the wakening potion." She looked at the ingredients and laughed:

"4 teaspoons of coffee powder" she whispered "Typical"

At the same time Draco was crossing the grounds hidden in his black cloak.

"A woman trying to take over her body? And why? Why was I awake in the middle of the night?" He thought.

It wasn't difficult leaving the grounds if you knew how. When he reached a safe distance from the borderline he disapparated.

Malfoy Manor. The dungeons.

"Home sweet home" thought Malfoy. "Now where could the damn thing be?"


End file.

Harry Potter, Drama, Romance