Author's note: This story begins during the scene when Hermione is being tortured for information by Bellatrix in the Malfoy family manor. Please read, review, and favorite if you enjoy it. I will do my best to have the whole story up by the end of 2019.

Trigger warning: This story contains descriptions of violent and graphic content that may that may trigger those who suffer from trauma. Reader discretion is advised.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or story elements copyrighted by J.K. Rowling. It's her sandbox, I'm just playing in it.

***** Chapter 1: Trapped *****

The screams and agonized cries still echoed around the polished marble of the Malfoy Manor ballroom as Hermione's eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body went limp. Bellatrix flicked her wand with disgust at the twitching girl, who went sliding across the marble floors leaving a bloody trail. "Take the mudblood, Fenrir. I am finished with it." She turned to Pettigrew, snarling. "Bring me Potter."

The nervous man nodded before scurrying off down the stairs where frantic, muffled shouts of "Hermione!" could still be heard.

Hermione blinked, trying to focus through tears as a hand with long, ragged fingernails dragged her from the room by her hair. Agony coursed through her as a lingering aftershock of convulsions swept over her. "No…" she whispered feverishly as the face of the werewolf swam before her. He tossed her into a corner of a large stately room lined with bookshelves and dusty volumes.

His hands were on her, ripping at her jumper. He didn't even bother to use his wand. Instead he delighted in her terror as his fingernails bit into skin. Irritated with her attempts to scream, he shoved one hand over her mouth as the other ripped the neckline of her jumper and slid down her chest, pawing at her.

She kicked out at him and was rewarded with a sickening growl and the scent of hot, bloody breath on her neck.

"Do it again and I'll bite you before I've had my fun with you." To drive his point home he yanked up her wrist, licking at the blood dripping from the word 'mudblood' carved into her arm.

She saw it then, as he leaned over her and the flap of his jacket fell open: a wand handle sticking out of an inside pocket. Another convulsion passed through her that left her twitching, her head throbbing painfully as Greyback shoved her roughly into the wooden panel behind her head. His hand was on her throat, biting his fingernails into her skin. His hands gripped her shirt at the neckline and ripped the fabric. Hermione lunged. Grabbing the wand she pointed it at the werewolf. He collapsed on top of her before she could even think of a spell. Crushed under his stinking weight, she struggled to breathe. Then she felt relief as air filled her lungs and the weight of his body was levitated off of her.

To her astonishment she heard mild cursing as a figure with white blond hair approached her, stooping down. Draco Malfoy's face swam in front of her vision. She pointed the stolen wand at him, her hand shaking.

His eyes narrowed. His own wand hung at his side, clenched tightly. "I'm trying to help you, Granger! There isn't any more time. He's here!" The color had drained from his face. He clutched at his left forearm and hissed. Before she had time to think Greyback groaned and Draco sent another stunning spell at him before ducking down and pulling Hermione up on her feet. "We have to hurry. There isn't much time now."

Her body was heavy and the twitching made it difficult for her to control her body's movements. Draco didn't waste any time half-carrying her over to a bookshelf in the corner: one hand on her hip and the other with her arm around his shoulder. They were moving before she could get her feet beneath her. Her head drooped weakly as he pulled out a green book and a secret door opened in the bookshelves.

Hurrying, they fled down a set of narrow stone steps. Shattering glass and ricocheting spells could be heard along with screams and cries they both recognized.

"We have to keep going. We can't help them now," he insisted as she tried to pull back at the sounds above them.

"But Harry, Ron-"

"Harry's dead. Granger, there's no time! If you want to stay alive, we have to hurry." His own voice was frantic as he carried her down the stairs. With his wand he tapped a mirror on a wall and it melted and widened, like a metallic pool. Draco shoved her through before she had time to think.

A room blossomed beyond the portal, filled with strange and bizarre relics that gave off a dark and sinister presence. Looming statues, strange artifacts on pedestals, and a bloodstained altar passed them by as they hurried to a large black cabinet at the end of one of the rows. Hermione recognized it a split second before Draco was pushing her inside of it.

A strange silence fell over them as the door shut firmly in place, leaving them alone in the dark. She hadn't felt the tears running down her face until that moment in the silence as Draco's labored breathing filled the quiet of the cabinet along with her gentle sobs.

"There's no time for that, Granger." Yet despite the coldness of his tone, she felt his hand tighten around her own.

There was a sudden vacuum-like sensation and she felt herself being pulled in all directions at once and then the feeling was gone in an instant.

Draco cracked the cabinet door open and poked his wand out before peering to see if the coast was clear. Once he deemed it safe he stepped out, his hand still holding tightly to Hermione's. And then he turned around and sent a spell Hermione didn't recognize at the cabinet. It shuddered and then sagged as splintering cracks split across the wood. "There. No one should be able to follow us through now."

And then, looking around at the mountains of junk Hermione realized where they were: the Room of Requirement.

"Can they get into this room?" Hermione asked in a frantic whisper.

"I don't think so. If there's someone inside they shouldn't be able to get in. So as long as we stay in here we should be okay."

"But Harry told me that Trelawney got in last year when she tried to hide-"

"Okay! So it's not perfect, but I did manage to hide the Vanishing Cabinet in here for practically all of last year and right now it's the best I can do."

In the panicked silence that followed the two of them stared at each other in nervous anticipation, listening for the sound of a door flying open or the crack of apparition. But nothing came and the silence stretched on.

Hermione's legs, which had been shaky the whole time, finally collapsed under her. "We have to find a way to go back…" she began.

Draco cut her off. "We can't go back, Granger! Didn't you hear me?! I saw the Dark Lord kill Potter. I saw it with my own eyes."

"But Ron and Dean…"

"If they're still alive, which I highly doubt, then they're still back there with a house full of Death Eaters and the Dark Lord now! Don't you get it? Hermione, it's over. Okay? It's bloody over."

Her eyes swam with tears and she broke down in sobs, only to realize she wasn't alone. Draco Malfoy sunk onto a nearby stool and buried his head in his hands, heaving and sobbing. And then it wasn't sadness, but anger and rage boiling up inside her. "What right do you have to be so upset?! It's not like you cared! It's not like you cared about any of us! You're on his side!"

Looking up from his hands, his tear-streaked face snarling, he jabbed his finger at the cabinet. "His side? His side? You think I still want to be on his side? After everything he's done to me and my family? And here I thought you were the smart one." He shook his head in disgust and gestured to himself. "I'm a Death Eater because my father was a Death Eater. Because my father failed him and it was join or die. So excuse me for not martyring myself for the cause, but I chose to save my own neck. You think it was easy for me? You think I wanted any of it? My friends and family are in just as much danger as you and yours, Hermione! He lives in my home, he took my father's wand and tortured him! What do you think he's going to do to my parents now that I've saved your life and run off? Think it's going to be a nice quiet little chat? Hm? I'll be lucky if I have any family left to go back to. He's probably torturing them right now. All because I saved you!"

She flinched as he hurled the words at her, fresh tears flowing down his cheeks. "Why did you save me?"

He blinked and sniffed loudly, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "What?" he spat.

"Why did you save me?" she repeated.

He groaned, rolling his head in his hands. He seemed to think on it for a while before he spoke. "I don't know. Lots of reasons I suppose. Because I never wanted any of this to happen in the first place. Because I've been looking for an escape since I joined. Because I recognized your face the moment you entered my home and knew it was over."

"You lied," Hermione cut in and he looked up at her, a quizzical expression on her face that he had seen so often in classes long since past that it was almost comforting to see it again. It was the same furrow-browed expression she got when she was working on an assignment and the explanation didn't quite make sense to her. "You lied when we were brought in. Harry's face was swollen by my jinx, but you've known him for years. Same with me and Ron, and even Dean. But when they asked you if you recognized us you lied. Why? If you knew it was over, why lie?"

Once again his head sunk onto his clenched fists. "Because I hoped, somehow, that you and your big brain would manage to find a way out. Potter was always good at being lucky, wasn't he?" Even now he couldn't keep the malice from his voice and Hermione cringed. "It didn't matter. My dear aunt recognized you. And-" he stopped, his eyes flicking down to the still bleeding cut on her wrist. Cursing himself, he swept over to her and pulled back her sleeve. When he saw the word carved there he cursed again and pulled out his wand.

"No, I can-" Hermione reached towards her shoe where the bottle of dittany was still inside her beaded bag.

But he pointed his wand at the wound and the skin slowly stitched itself back together as he muttered under his breath.

"How...?"

"I made a point to learn after my run-in with Potter last year." He pulled up the sleeve of his right arm and showed her the pale scars. Hermione felt her stomach turn over at the sight, remembering how horrified she had been when she had heard what had happened when Harry used that spell Snape had created. She had warned him a hundred times at least not to go about trusting the notes in the book. And as usual Harry hadn't listened. And as usual she had been right, much to her displeasure.

"Honestly, six years at this bloody school and they never thought to teach us basic healing spells."

Hermione wanted to smile at the joke, but couldn't bring herself to.

Draco sat back on his heels and asked, "Did Greyback bite you?"

She shook her head, a small part of her relieved.

His lips parted to ask the second question, but he couldn't bring himself to form the words and ask it. She was obviously hurt elsewhere. Draco looked at the torn jumper and the scratches over her heart and said nothing. "I'll look and see if I can find anything useful," he managed and he stood and walked down the rows of junk, giving them both the privacy they needed to deal with the damage.

Draco came back a half hour later, a sack slung over his back. She didn't comment on his swollen, bloodshot eyes. "It's not much, but I found some clothes and robes. Not sure if they'll fit well, but it's better than nothing. This room can be freezing sometimes." He handed her the sack and pulled a box out from a nearby wardrobe.

"I didn't know that the Room of Requirement could make food. Isn't food one of the-"

"-Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law? Yeah, it is. And no, the room doesn't provide food. But you're forgetting that I spent a great deal of time here last year. I kept a fairly healthy store of food so I could work without interruption." He pulled out a box of chocolate cauldrons and offered it to her.

As she took a bite, she felt the tiniest bit of warmth flow through her. "When we were on the run, I packed nearly everything except food. I spent weeks scouring over books and supplies, but I never even thought to pack a decent supply of food." Hermione's throat went dry at the memory of those painful nights without food and her friends' misery.

Draco chuckled as he picked up a cauldron cake. "Leave it to the cleverest witch in our year to forget the basic necessities for a life on the run."

With a mocking scowl she rolled her eyes and turned to the heap of clothing next to her, picking through it and holding each item up to see if it might fit her. As Draco busied himself by sifting through the crates of food he still had, Hermione rose and gathered a few of the items in her hands to try on far, far out of sight.

When she came back she was wearing a thick wool jumper from her beaded bag and a warm traveling cloak that Draco had found. It was a bit large on her, but in the chill of the stone castle walls she was glad for its warmth, even if the style was a bit dated.

"I still don't quite understand you," she admitted as she took another cauldron cake and sat across from him. Draco continued to sort out the food in the crates, ignoring her comment. "Why did you save me?"

"Haven't we been over this already?"

Frowning, she crossed her arms. "But, it's just that I thought you hated me. At school you were always horrible to me. Why would you sacrifice for me?"

He set down a tin of food and sighed. "I didn't hate you, Granger. I envied you. You were brilliant even though you were muggleborn. Do you know what it's like to have to listen to your parents scorn you because a mu-" he caught himself and said, "-muggleborn out performed you in every subject? Besides, I've heard what Greyback has done to other women. I couldn't let him do that. Especially not to you."

There was silence as he resumed counting tins, carefully avoiding her eyes.

Hermione couldn't quite wrap her head around it all. She knew she should be feeling pain, anxiety, fear, anger, hatred, terror, denial and grief after everything she had gone through that day, but now it was as if all the mixture of emotions within her had combined and overwhelmed her system, leaving her numb and frozen. Without the emotions, there was only logic and questions she needed to have answered. "Why didn't you try to help Harry escape instead?"

His knuckles were white as he set down another package of cauldron cakes. "Because," he hissed again, gritting his teeth, "I might be a match for Greyback, but I am not a match for the Dark Lord or my aunt and a bunch of other Death Eaters. I am one man, Hermione. I did not have any help as you may recall. I did what I could. And I saved you."

"But Harry is more important than me…"

"No, he wasn't." Grey, cold eyes stared hard at her.

She reeled at his harsh tone.

"Harry Potter was not more important than you. I don't care about whatever the ministry or some prophecy says. Potter was not better than the rest of us. Don't believe everything Dumbledore told you. How many times would Potter have been dead if not for you? Hm? I'm guessing he's wracked up quite a large debt to you over the years."

Hermione felt her cheeks grow hot and she avoided his gaze. She didn't say anything after that.

The fake windows showed a dark night sky outside before long and Draco pulled out a small cot and set it up next to her before dropping onto a pile of cushions and leaning his head back until his bloodshot eyes finally closed and he drifted off to sleep.

The anxious tension in the air had long since dissipated and Hermione watched Draco suspiciously, throwing up a few wards to wake her if anything should happen. A small part of her wondered if this was all a trap. Was he just playing the hero and using her to try to get information out about what she, Harry, and Ron had been up to? Even as he slept he kept his wand in his hand clutched near his chest, although his body had relaxed somewhat. Still, a furrow remained in his brow and every so often he would twitch violently, never waking.

Hermione felt her own eyelids begin to droop and she pulled the traveling cloak up over herself as she settled down on the cot. She was afraid to fall asleep, but sleep came for her anyway.

She woke up to the sound of screaming. The wand she had stolen from Greyback was pointing at a figure crouching next to her. When Draco's face came into focus the events of the previous day came back to her. "Are you awake now?" Draco frowned, his hand still on her shoulder.

"I heard screaming!"

"Yeah, it was you. You were the one screaming, Granger. Now, I don't know everything about this room, like whether or not it's soundproof, so do try to keep it down." He held out a cauldron cake and she took it, turning it over in her hands. With a sigh he stood and then settled back on his cushions.

Holding the cauldron cake in her hands, Hermione felt tears pricking at her eyes. Willing herself not to cry and appear weak in front of Malfoy, she sat up and opened the package.

As if reading her thoughts, Draco said, "It's nothing to feel ashamed of, Granger. This is war. Screaming nightmares are part of the deal." He played with a frayed hole in the blanket he had been using as he said it.

"Do you have nightmares?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, considering a sarcastic response, but once he saw the expression on her pale face he decided against it. "Of course I do." He pulled at the frayed threads even though it widened the hole.

"What do you have nightmares about?" she asked in barely a whisper. After her screaming she felt like she shouldn't say anything more. It was still dark outside from the looks of things and Draco had performed a spell she recognized: a tiny blue ball of flame fluttered in cracked jar between them. Picking at the frayed threads he said, "Different things. Memories sometimes, of him or another of the Death Eaters. I see him torturing my dad, making me and my mother watch as he used the cruciatus curse. Or getting the dark mark. But other times it isn't so literal. Sometimes it's more of a feeling than a memory. There's this one where I'm being chased by a pack of wolves through a village and no matter how far I run or which way I turn I trip and fall into a pit and they attack me. Even though its not real, that fear and terror…is," he trailed off, shaking his head. "You're not the only one with screaming nightmares in this room. Trust me."

"I'm sorry," she said, taking a tiny bite of the cauldron cake. "That sounds awful."

He looked at her then, unflinching, with piercing eyes and a furrowed brow. "I should be the one that's sorry, Granger. It's my family and my lot that have put you through hell. So don't apologize." Dropping his attention back to the blanket in his lap he asked, "Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

She chewed the cauldron cake slowly, mulling over whether or not she wanted to talk to Draco about this. She wasn't willing to trust him yet. On the other hand, she was fairly certain that he was telling her the truth. She had a feeling she was likely the first person he had been able to confide in since he became a Death Eater. Or perhaps even before that. Crabbe and Goyle couldn't have been the most emotionally supportive friends. Slytherins weren't known for their affectionate, caring ways.

"It was Bellatrix," she admitted, touching the red scars on her arms. "She was hurting me and I kept trying to crawl away, but each time I felt myself reaching out to wake up it was like the nightmare pulled me back under. It felt so real," she shivered and pulled the blanket around herself as hot tears fell down her cheeks and she choked on her sobs.

Draco hesitated, unsure what comfort he could offer her that wasn't a blatant lie. In the end he rose and put the extra blanket around her before sitting on the stool he had occupied earlier. "There's nothing I can give you for the nightmares. But I'll stay up and take the first watch. How does that sound? And I'll wake you if you seem to be having another nightmare." He pulled off a dusty magazine about quidditch from several decades ago off a nearby stack and began flipping through it.

Despite her apprehension, Hermione felt her weary body calling her back into slumber and she closed her eyes once more.

It didn't take long before she was thrashing around in her sleep again.

Draco woke her each time and after the the third time of receiving a wand at his throat he gave an exasperated sigh. "Really, Granger? Every time?"

After that she decided to stay awake and told Draco he could sleep. Begrudgingly, he agreed and pulled the old blanket over himself.