A/N – New story time. Under Suspicion has 14 chapters in total, and updates will be the normal Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

This prologue is set at the end of sixth year, and merely sets the scene for the story. The story then flips to directly after the end of the war, and picks up from there. There will be a few subtle differences to the books, mainly two of my favourite characters (Snape and Fred) surviving the final battle.

Prologue.

As Hermione Granger passed by her best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, in the Gryffindor common room she sighed as she heard the topic of conversation. Yet again Harry and Ron were discussing Harry's theory that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater. Hermione knew for a fact that the blond Slytherin did indeed have the Dark Mark, however she also knew the full story behind it. Unfortunately she wasn't at liberty to discuss the subject with her friends so when the topic of Draco came up she normally excused herself. Harry of course thought she was just burying her head in the sand and refusing to see what was really happening, but really she was just making sure she didn't say anything that would arouse her friend's suspicions.

"I'm off to the library," She called to the duo as she passed by them. "Madam Pince has given me permission to stay late, so there's no need to wait up for me."

"You study far too much," Ron replied, rolling his eyes at the brunette witch.

"It's better than not studying enough," She shot back pointedly.

Hermione's response had both Harry and Ron lowering their heads in shame as they both knew they didn't study half as much as they should. Hermione's mentioning of the pair studying habits caused enough of a distraction for her to slip out of Gryffindor Tower without further fuss.

Instead of heading to the library, Hermione headed off in the opposite direction until she reached the Room of Requirements. Checking no-one was around she summoned up what she wanted and slipped inside the room. The room was decorated like a cosy flat with a large sofa placed before the roaring fire and a bed over in the corner of the room. The furniture was the same as it always was so Hermione paid it little attention as she walked over to the sofa. When she reached the sofa she peered over the back and found Draco Malfoy lying on it with his eyes closed.

Draco was Hermione's secret boyfriend, hence how she knew all about his mark. The pair had first became friendly in fourth year when they'd been forced to work on an Arithmancy project together. They'd actually worked surprisingly well together and they'd struck up a friendship. The friendship had soon given way to romance and by the end of fourth year the pair had become a couple, although they hadn't told anyone considering they both knew Hermione's friends and Draco's father wouldn't approve of their relationship.

"Hey," Draco greeted tonelessly as he opened his grey eyes when he sensed Hermione watching him.

Hermione sighed at how tired and defeated the Slytherin looked. When they'd first become friendly in fourth year Draco had been so lively and vibrant, but she'd watched as this year he'd become a shadow of his former self. She knew her boyfriend had received the mark as punishment for Lucius ending up in Azkaban at the end of the previous school year. She also knew that Voldemort was threatening Narcissa's life in order to get Draco to do something for him this year. However, Draco refused to be drawn on what his task for Voldemort was. He didn't want to put Hermione in any danger by telling her about the task, in his opinion he was putting her in enough danger by not being strong enough to walk away from her.

"How long have you been here?" Hermione asked as she moved around to sit on the sofa.

"I've only been waiting for five minutes or so," Draco replied, not telling Hermione he'd actually been in the Room of Requirements all day working on completing his task for The Dark Lord.

When Hermione sat down on the sofa, Draco sat up and moved along so that he could put his arm around his girlfriend. Hermione happily snuggled into Draco, but it soon became apparent that something was bothering her boyfriend. Even though he was holding her, she could feel that Draco was anything but relaxed.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking up and finding Draco watching her with a sad look on his face.

"It's time," Draco sighed. "I've nearly finished my task for The Dark Lord. Well, I've finished the part I can do."

"I wish you would tell me what he wants you to do," Hermione said gently. "You know I won't hate you Draco, I love you."

"I love you too," Draco replied, smiling at his girlfriend. "But you knowing won't help anything."

"Please," Hermione begged. "I understand I can't help, and that you can't go to the Order for help, but please let me be here for you. I can listen, and I won't judge."

Draco looked at Hermione, trying to decide if he should confide in her or not. Despite her promise not to hate him he was terrified that if she knew the truth that she would turn away from him. He was confident he was going to lose her within a few days anyway, and he didn't want to lose her any sooner than he had to. However, he desperately wanted to talk to someone and Hermione was the perfect person to bare his soul to.

"He wants me to kill Dumbledore," Draco finally admitted in a small voice. "I've been fixing a set of vanishing cabinets and sometime soon he's going to use them to let Death Eaters into the school. The day he does that is the day I'm supposed to kill Dumbledore."

Hermione gasped at the revelation. She knew Draco wasn't an angel, but she also knew he wasn't a killer. No matter what sort of hold Voldemort had on him, she couldn't picture him killing Dumbledore. However she knew if he failed in his task that Voldemort wouldn't think twice about killing Draco for his failure.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I have no idea," Draco replied as he shook his head despondently. "If I fail him, he's going to kill my mother and then me, but I'm not a killer Hermione. I might not like Dumbledore, but I don't think I can kill the man in cold blood."

"Is there no-one else that could help you?" Hermione asked. "What about one of the other Death Eaters that he'll be letting into the school?"

Again Draco shook his head. "One of those will be Aunt Bella. She's being sent to ensure I do what I'm supposed to. She won't help me."

"What about Snape?" Hermione pressed on, determined to find someone that could help her boyfriend. "Granted, I'm not sure which side he's on, but I do know he cares about you. Harry said he overheard Snape telling you he made an unbreakable vow with your mother. Can that not help?"

"That will turn Severus into a killer," Draco whispered. "He's promised Mother to look out for me, and if the time comes and I can't complete my task he's also promised to do that for me. I don't want him to have to kill Dumbledore, he doesn't deserve to be labelled a killer because of me."

"This isn't your fault, Draco," Hermione said sternly. "This is all Voldemort's fault. He was the one who initiated a scared sixteen year old boy into his ranks and gave him an impossible task. One day, when he's gone, the truth will come out and everyone will know how he threatened the life of your mother in order to get you to do his bidding."

"You genuinely believe there'll be a day when he's gone?" Draco asked curiously. He hoped that one day Voldemort would be no more, but he wasn't sure it was going to happen.

"I do," Hermione nodded. "And when that day comes, you and I are going to tell the world about us. We are going to be happy Draco, I just know it."

"I wish it was that simple Hermione," Draco sighed. "There's nothing I want more than to be with you for the rest of my life, but we have to accept that may never happen. First, I have to survive not completing the task I was set, then we both have to survive long enough for Potter and the Order to find a way to defeat The Dark Lord."

"I know it could be a long way off, but I have faith we can survive what's heading our way," Hermione said determinedly.

Draco had to smile at Hermione's optimism. From where he was sitting the chances of them both surviving the war were slim. He especially didn't think he had much chance of surviving the war, he'd be lucky to survive the rest of the year.

"That's not all," He said, unbuttoning his shirt sleeve and rolling it back until the horrible black mark on his arm was visible. "There's this. Even if I survive the war, I'm a marked Death Eater. If I'm not killed in all likelihood I'll end up in Azkaban."

"I promise I will not let that happen," Hermione told her boyfriend. "I will fight for you, and I will make sure the whole world know the true story of your mark."

Draco smiled sadly at his girlfriend. "I wish things were as simple as you want them to be." He doubted even the true story of his mark would save him from a stint in Azkaban.

"Okay, maybe things aren't as simple as I would like," Hermione admitted. "But things aren't quite as bleak as you like to think either. To be honest neither of us knows what the future holds, or what will even happen in the next few years."

"True," Draco nodded. "But I want you to promise me one thing. If anything happens to me, I want you to move on and live your life. Also, if I end up in Azkaban, you're to walk away. I will not having people turning against you because you're sticking by a convicted Death Eater. I want you to be happy Hermione, and that might mean you have to be with someone else."

Hermione shook her head stubbornly. "No. You're my happy ending Draco, I want to be with you."

"That might not be possible," Draco said softly as he cupped Hermione's cheek in his hand. "Please Hermione, I want you to promise that if things don't go our way you'll move on and find happiness elsewhere."

"I will on one condition," Hermione replied. "If we both survive the war and you don't go to Azkaban, we get married."

"Are you proposing to me?" Draco smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Hermione smiled back at her boyfriend. "So what do you say, do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal," Draco replied. "We'll either get married, or you'll move on and be happy."

"How do you fancy celebrating our engagement?" Hermione asked with a saucy grin. "I told Harry and Ron I was going to be late back from the library, so I'm all yours for a few hours."

"Just the way I like you," Draco grinned, as he gently connected their lips.

After exchanging a few steamy kisses on the sofa the pair made their way across to the bed in the corner where they proceeded to remove their clothes and spend a few precious hours making love. As it turned out their evening together was the last one they managed before the Death Eaters entered Hogwarts and the war well and truly got under way.