WARNING:

This story contains Dark!Evil!Obsessive!Possessive!Draco. It will contain violence, toxic behavior, and mentions of smut. It is not for everyone, and if you are faint of heart, I suggest not reading it. You've been warned, and I will not entertain comments from people who don't know how to heed warnings.

18+

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Disclaimer: I own nothing

Hermione was unusually quiet as she stared out of the window, watching the scenery fly by. The Hogwarts Express was taking them to Hogwarts like it did every year. For Hermione and her friends however, it might be for the last time. She didn't want to think like that, but she had to force herself to be realistic. It wouldn't be long before everything finally came to a boiling point, or as some of her muggle friends liked to say; 'before shit hit the fan'.

It wasn't too long ago that the wizarding world had finally been informed of the truth; Voldemort had indeed returned, and nobody knew how to handle it. How does one respond when someone tells you that 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named', the darkest wizard to have ever lived, has returned from the dead? That warrants so much more than a horrified stare or a gasp of terror.

She glanced first at the empty space in front of her where Harry once sat, and then to Ron who was in an animated conversation with Seamus Finnegan before letting out a sigh. She was scared for Harry, truly she was. She understood that he wanted to find clues that could lead to answers that could help them win this war, but Draco Malfoy's pending Death Eater status was not the best place to start. It was Draco Malfoy for Merlin's sake. The boy threw out hollow threats of telling daddy and empty promises more than he breathed.

To be frank, she wasn't sure that Malfoy even had the guts to become a Death Eater. The first few seconds of getting the dark mark would've been too painful for him before he started to sob like an infant. She cracked a small smile as she remembered his dramatics when Buck Beak barely scratched him in third year. She shook her head in disbelief at the image of Malfoy kneeling in front of Voldemort with his arm held out like an offering. There was no way that he was a Death Eater. The idea was ludicrous.

She glanced at the empty spot again before frowning in a mixture of worry and confusion. Harry had been gone a while and she could tell that they were nearly at Hogwarts. She could also use this as an opportunity to patrol seeing as how she'd gotten out of her prefects meeting a while ago, and should have been doing that already. She slid out of her seat before beginning to walk down the train in search of him. She smiled at her friends and acquaintances in the process, trying to ignore some of the discreet looks she was receiving.

Ginny had repeatedly told her over the summer how much she had blossomed, but Hermione had never taken it to heart. Perhaps Ginny had been telling the truth, after all. It wasn't long before she had walked through all of the compartments, all except Slytherin's territory that is, but there was no way that Harry was in there. She turned around to head back before her own thoughts stopped her.

Unless… Unless he'd gone to try and prove his theory of Malfoy. She bit her lip as she struggled with whether or not to go. She didn't have to go in, just glance through the door. She turned around again and headed in that direction, stopping at the door and discreetly glancing in the window. No one noticed her, thankfully, but she didn't see Harry or any place where he could be hiding, causing her to quietly sigh.

She was about to go back to her own seat when a head of pale blond hair caught her attention. He was sitting with who she recognized as Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, no surprise there. What was a surprise though was him glancing up and locking his eyes onto her, his expression blank and almost calculating, as if he knew that she was there before he even looked up. She forced herself to suppress a gasp as her eyes met his. They were piercing and far too intense for her liking, causing her to take a step back before heading in the direction of her own seat.

"Mione, you've barely touched your food," Ron commented as he continued to shovel food into his mouth.

It was a miracle she could even understand him, but that's what happens when you spend years perfecting the art of becoming fluent in the language of those who speak with their mouths full. She glanced at her plate before setting her fork down.

"Sorry, guess I wasn't that hungry," she replied with a small frown.

It was the truth, she wasn't in the mood for eating and she wasn't sure why. He gestured to her food with a raised eyebrow. She, completely understanding his customized sign language, handed her food right over. Harry laughed beside her as she giggled while they watched Ron practically inhale her food. Ginny, who was sitting a ways from them beside Dean, frowned in disgust at her brother before giving Hermione a look that screamed 'how do you put up with it'. Hermione shrugged in amusement and was about to say something when she all of a sudden got the strongest feeling of eyes on her.

She glanced around before her gaze finally settled on Malfoy who was dedicating half of his attention to listening to Theodore Nott go on about something beside him and dedicating the other half to gazing at her like she was a foreign enigma. She figured that a normal person would at least be a little bit embarrassed at having been caught staring, but then again, Draco Malfoy didn't exactly count as a normal human being.

Her mind was screaming at her to look away and just ignore his odd behavior, but her body wouldn't listen. Her body had a mind of its own as she not only continued to gaze back but also frown at him in question. The corner of his lips lifted into his trademark smirk before he grabbed his glass of pumpkin juice and lifted it to his mouth, keeping his watchful gaze on her the entire time. It wasn't until after he had set his cup down and darted his tongue out to catch the stray juice did she finally look away. She looked down at the table as she felt her cheeks heat up. She wasn't convinced of him being a Death Eater, not even remotely, but she did agree with Harry on one thing; something wasn't right about Draco Malfoy this year.

"You alright?"

She glanced up at Harry as he gazed at her in concern while resting his hand on her arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel a bit…ill, is all," she reassured him with a small smile.

He slowly nodded as he raked his eyes over her, making sure she was okay.

"Okay."

He returned his attention to his food, and she returned hers anywhere else but the Slytherin table.

"She's mental, I tell you. How on earth…"

She drowned out the sound of Ron's voice as she diligently took notes. He and Harry weren't going to be satisfied until Snape gave them detention, probably her too just by association. She tried her best to focus, but that was seemingly impossible when someone was practically staring holes into your back. She didn't know why Harry and Ron chose the second to last row to seat themselves into. Especially since it's no secret that Malfoy and his gang of misfits have practically staked a claim on the seats in the back.

Now that she thought about it, that's probably why Harry chose to sit back here, hoping that he could eavesdrop on Malfoy. As much as she disliked Malfoy, even he wasn't that thick in the head to start spouting Death Eater secrets right behind Harry Potter. That is, if he was in fact a Death Eater. She knocked her quill off of her desk and leaned down to pick it up, using this opportunity to glance behind her only to sit back up in a mixture of shock and fear. Malfoy had his eyes locked onto her, and he wasn't even bothering to hide it.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to continue scribbling, pretending as if she couldn't feel his heated gaze on her. She almost cried in relief when they were dismissed, and her friends stared at her in confusion as she sat there, waiting for the class to pile out. She wanted to be the very last one out, so that she could be as far away from Malfoy as possible. She had thought that his staring yesterday had been odd, but today it was just plain creepy.

"You two head on to lunch. I'll be there in a bit."

Ron didn't need to be told twice, but Harry lingered in the doorway, glancing around the empty room before resting his eyes on her.

"Are you sure that you're okay, Hermione?"

She forced her smile to reach her eyes as she looked at him. Harry was already worried about so much. She didn't want to burden him with any of her petty problems.

"Yes, Harry. Go on and eat. I'll catch up," she reassured.

He shifted his feet a bit before nodding and disappearing out of the doorway. She sat there for a few more minutes before standing and putting her things into her bag. As she made her way out of the classroom she couldn't help but think about what the hell Malfoy's problem was.

"Why so down, Mudblood?"

She let out a shriek of surprise upon seeing Malfoy leaning against the wall beside the door. His arms were crossed, and his head was tilted to the side as he stared at her with those piercing eyes.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" she demanded.

She tried to ignore how her heart was currently going a mile a minute. Had he waited for her? Had she really been better off if she'd just left class with everyone else? He didn't answer her for a while, and the way he stared at her unnerved her a bit.

"I was told to meet someone outside of Snape's class during lunch," he finally answered as he raked his eyes over her figure.

She unconsciously took a step back, to which he followed before shoving his hands into his pocket.

"What's wrong, Mudblood? You're not afraid of me are you?" he mocked, darkness creeping into his tone.

If he had asked her this question a year ago, the answer would have been an automatic no. Maybe even with an expletive thrown in, but now… She was sure her answer would be yes. This wasn't the same Malfoy they had all grown used to. The Malfoy standing in front of her was someone completely different, not only in appearance, but in attitude as well.

She leaned back a bit as it finally registered how tall he had gotten. His school shirt fit snug over his muscles, and she briefly wondered what exactly it was that he did to obtain those muscles. His hair fell into his face and his eyes almost seemed to glow in comparison to his fair hair and skin. She couldn't help but think that this is what angels must look like, but as soon as she thought that she immediately remembered something about Lucifer being one of the most beautiful angels of all.

Everything about this Malfoy screamed dangerous. He had a dark aura about him that would make anyone second guess challenging him, including her, she was reluctant to admit. She found herself absentmindedly glancing at his forearm only to be disappointed to find the skin bare. He followed her gaze before he smirked. He took a few more steps forward, which she mirrored before her back hit the wall.

"Looking for something?"

"No."

"You're a filthy liar, Granger," he hissed as he leaned his hands onto the wall, effectively trapping her.

She couldn't lean more into the wall if she tried. He was so close to her that she could smell him, and he smelled like a mixture of spice, menthol, and cedar wood. It was a very dangerous and tempting combination to be around. She couldn't do anything but stare at him as he leaned towards her with that God awful sneer plastered onto his face.

"I don't like liars, Mudblood."

"And I don't too much care for you either," she snapped.

He simply smirked before tilting his head towards the hall as the sound of approaching footsteps got louder. Her eyes widened in alarm, hoping that it wasn't one of her friends coming back to check on her. She was certain that Malfoy wouldn't move, and she didn't even want to begin explaining the compromising position that she currently found herself in.

"Draco, come on."

She glanced over his shoulder to see Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott standing at the end of the hall, Nott looking a bit uncomfortable while Zabini simply smirked. Draco turned back to face her with an unreadable expression on his face before raking his eyes over her…again.

"Looks like you got lucky, Mudblood. Until next time," he said with a sneer before following after his friends.

She stood there for a few minutes, in shock, before finally getting the courage to make her way to what was left of lunch.

"He's obviously in desperate need of a hobby, and it looks like he's found one in messing with you," Ginny explained as she flopped onto Hermione's bed.

"Merlin, I hope not. I have better things to worry about than some annoying boy who's hell bent on ruining my life."

"I'd say he's hardly a boy anymore. Wouldn't you agree," Ginny asked with a smirk.

Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust, but couldn't help but to mentally agree, Malfoy was far from a boy. She'd never really noticed his looks before, but the few times she did she couldn't help but to remember her revulsion at all the hair products he used and his scrawny figure. That wasn't the case anymore.

"...and I'd say you're hardly that same insecure little girl anymore."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Hermione asked in confusion.

Ginny rolled over onto her stomach while twirling her wand in between her fingers.

"Maybe he just wants a nice shag from you," Ginny reasoned with a shrug.

Hermione was tempted to throw something at the beautiful redhead.

"By calling me Mudblood and scaring me half to death? Oh, yeah, he's a real charmer, Ginny."

"Maybe that's his idea of foreplay," Ginny responded as she wiggled her eyebrows.

Hermione threw a pillow at her, causing her to laugh.

"You're thoroughly enjoying this aren't you?"

"Just a bit," Ginny answered.

"Are you forgetting the part where he's a suspected Death Eater?"

"Oh, please. This is Malfoy we're talking about. That's rubbish, and you know it."

"Maybe," Hermione murmured.

Ginny sat up onto her knees before looking at her best friend in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Ginny questioned.

Hermione shook her head in thought.

"He's different this year, Ginny. There's something about him that…that makes me uneasy. Something about him that almost makes me think that he could be a Death Eater."

Ginny stared at her for a bit before scooting back to lean against the headboard beside her.

"Have you told Harry?"

"And plant more ideas into his head? Harry's got enough on his plate. I don't want him to become fully invested in this when it might just all be in my head."

"And if it's not? All in your head…"

Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know, but I do know that it can't end well for anybody."

Draco rolled onto his back, then glanced at the panting girl beside him before resting his eyes on his ceiling in exasperation.

"And just what…do you think you are doing?" he drawled.

The pretty brunette looked at him in confusion.

"I…well I thought-"

"Thought what? That'd I'd actually let you sleep here," he sneered as he turned to face her.

The green eyed girl was silent as she continued to lay there and stare at him like a fish out of water. He could see that her eyes were becoming glossy. Merlin, she was going to start crying. He shouldn't have been surprised, but that still didn't stop him from mentally sighing.

"Yes," she quietly answered.

He snorted before rolling out of bed, naked as the day he was born, before beginning to search for his pants. There was no hope for his boxers. He mentally made a note to never sleep with this girl again. Of course, that would be much easier to do if he could actually remember her name. Think...

"Listen…Violet-"

"Viola," she snapped.

At least I was close, he thought with a shrug.

"I'm pretty sure all of your pathetic friends have gossiped all about me, so you know how this works."

"I-"

"No, wait. Don't tell me, you thought that you'd be different. You figured that you were much better than any of the others, especially your friends, so why wouldn't I let you sleep over instead of kicking you out like some common slag," Draco commented wryly as he slipped his arms through the sleeves of his shirt.

He could hear her shuffling behind him, shuffling and sniffling. He rolled his eyes as he heard the door slam shut. Another one bites the dust, he thought.

He tilted his head as he heard his door open and close again.

"They always come out crying. What the hell are you doing in here, Draco? Abusing them?" Blaise questioned.

"Just their self-esteem," Draco commented as he buttoned up his shirt, leaving the first three undone.

"Well, that can't be good for business," Theo teased.

"They always come back. I'm not worried…"

"Shouldn't you be working on the cabinet? Instead of shagging Merlin knows who...," Blaise suggested as he sat on the edge of his bed, hands shoved into pockets.

His eye almost twitched as he thought about his task. It was a difficult task, no doubt about that, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. Despite what others wanted to believe.

"No. I know exactly what I'm doing," he answered.

"You don't want to finish this as soon as possible? You're just giving people more reasons to doubt you," Theo asked.

Draco stood up straight before turning to face them with narrowed eyes while he adjusted his sleeves.

"Who's doubting?" he demanded.

"The usual; Crabbe, Dolohov and the like. The ones who are hoping that you fail because they're worried about all of the time you've been spending with their precious Dark Lord," Blaise dryly answered as he examined his sleeve.

"You're his new favorite," Theo cooed.

"Favorite or not, I'm not doing this for Voldemort, I'm doing this for me, and my family. He knows that..."

It was silent for a bit as Blaise stared at him in wonder before he suddenly lifted an eyebrow at Draco.

"That's why you're dragging this out... It's about her," Blaise reasoned.

"Yes…," Draco replied quietly as he thought about a certain curly haired Gryffindor.

He had spent weeks thinking about the night his task would finally come to fruition. He wouldn't dare be able to return, and Granger had been the star in every one of his fantasies since fourth year. The curiosity and desire had never waned over the years, almost becoming too much for him.

Theo stared at Draco before he too smirked, accompanied by a chuckle.

"You're mental if you think she's going to willingly go anywhere with you. Especially after you complete your task," Theo said.

"Well, it's a good thing that I have no qualms about taking what I want then," he commented.

"Do you plan on killing her friends in the process? They're never going to let you just walk out of here with her," Blaise added.

"I'll kill whoever I have to kill. Besides, I'm sure we can all agree that the world would be a much better place without Weasley," Draco hissed.

"Oh, I'm not arguing with that. I just don't think that this is going to be as easy as you think it's going to be…," Blaise retorted.

Draco frowned at Blaise as he let his words sink in. No, he wasn't expecting it to be easy but then again he was sure it wasn't going to be as difficult as they were making it out to be. Either way, it didn't matter. At the end of this year he was leaving Hogwarts with the mudblood either tucked into his side or thrown over his shoulder.

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