This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Word Count: 1925

Title: Man Or Beast?

Note: AU! Hermione takes Harry seriously during 6th year and finds out Draco is hiding something, just not what they expected.

Warnings: Angst

Golden Snitch

[Name] Crissie

[School] Uagadou

[House] Ogyinae

Doctor Who Day: Write about anger, the anger hidden behind the surface.

Santa Clause: Write about happiness in times of war.

International Wizarding School Competition:

[School]: Ivernmony

[Year] 1

[Prompts]:

[Character] Hermione/?

[Speech] "Please don't tell anyone."

[Emotion] Angry

[Theme]: Relationships

Hogwarts

Yearly:

Prompt 652 [Quote] A ship is always safe ashore but that is not what it's built for. Albert Einstein

The night sky was bewitching as she watched Malfoy disappear into the Forbidden Forest. She was wearing Harry's cloak, and she followed him. The full moon was illuminating the grounds enough for a charm to be rendered unnecessary.

Malfoy was even paler and looking more sickly than usual the last few days, and Harry told her he suspected Malfoy of becoming a Death Eater. She wasn't sure what she believed, but he was acting stranger than usual. She felt the unease as she entered the edge of the forest. She heard the howl of a werewolf, and her face went deathly white.

"A werewolf?" she whispered underneath the cloak. "How is that possible?" She spotted the creature not too far off the main path, and she felt panic turn her legs numb when she saw the creature lift its head and sniff to find her. It started bounding towards her, and she turned and ran.

It wasn't until she reached the castle she wondered if Malfoy had gotten away, and then she wondered… was he the werewolf in the Forbidden Forest? It would explain the odd behavior as much as becoming a Death Eater would. He was paler than normal, and edgy and sick around the full moon. She was planning on making sure before she told Harry, but she suspected he wasn't really on Voldemort's side after all.

She continued to watch and observe him. It became clear after watching him recover fully that it was as she believed. She wasn't sure if she should tell her friends, or wait and see.

The answer became clear during their next interaction with Malfoy.

"Hey, look who it is," Ron said, nudging Harry as they saw him in the passage. Hermione's eyes held a softness it never had before. He had been awful to all of them, her worst of all. But this situation he was in was equally as terrifying as being in league with Death Eaters. The only thing that differs is that he didn't have a choice, not even the pretence of one.

"Ron, don't," Hermione insisted, but he wasn't listening. He had already attempted to antagonize Malfoy.

"Hey, Malfoy," Ron shouted.

"You're an idiot," Hermione muttered softly.

"Uh huh," Ron replied, eyes on the advancing Slytherin.

The impending fight was easily disrupted by the appearance of Professor Mcgonagall.

"What are you up to?" she asked, advancing on Ron. Malfoy laughed and disappeared like a ghost in the night. "Would you three stop pestering him already?"

Hermione's face was puzzled when she eyed the professor and when she left Hermione was sure something changed. The teachers knew about it, they knew what he was. At least, professor Mcgonagall knew. Hermione had always found the professors tell easy to spot. Her head of house felt sorry for Malfoy, and it was clear in her eyes.

That night after dinner she took the cloak again, and followed Malfoy. He was alone. It was clear Crabbe and Goyle no longer followed him around like trained gorillas. She didn't know how she was going to talk to him, she was simply hoping there was a chance he wouldn't go into the Slytherin dormitories.

She got lucky, as he changed direction towards the castle entrance. She let out a soft noise when she saw Filch on the Marauders Map, and it encouraged Malfoy to look around in surprise, hear a voice and disappear quickly out the front door.

She almost lost Malfoy, she needed to make sure Flitch didn't mysteriously see the door opening up. She stood still, holding her breath steady as she waited for him to wander off muttering about, "Inconsiderate ghosts."

She opened the door, and saw him right outside. It was like he was waiting for her.

"Oh get off it, Potter, I know it's you," Malfoy spat, his voice lacking its regular venom.

"It's not Potter," she whispered, her voice a squeak.

"Granger?" he asked. He seemed genuinely puzzled when she pulled off the cloak.

"I was worried about you," she said softly. He looked at her incredulously.

"Why? I'm the bad guy, remember?" Malfoy asked.

"I'm not so sure," she replied. His eyes went wide.

"Oh, really?" he asked, leaning against a barrister, trying to look intimidating but merely appeared tired. "I was under the impression that you were the one with the common sense, Granger."

"Let me tell you something I've discovered over the last few months," she started. His grey eyes betrayed his interest. "There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense."

"Oh come on, you're not scared of me?" he asked.

"You seem more scared of yourself, what happened to you?" Hermione found herself asking.

"I got punished, you made your choice, I made mine," he started.

"I see, you choose a side that someone didn't approve of?" Hermione asked. The look on Malfoy's face betrayed him. It was only a quick flicker of fear but she noticed it before he managed to make his expression neutral again.

"Won't you leave me alone? I could just kill you, you know," Malfoy said bitterly.

"I'm happy right here," Hermione said stubbornly.

"What about being safe?" Malfoy asked her instead. It was clear he wasn't sure how to handle her unexpected appearance.

"There is no such thing as safe," she said to him softly.

"Well isn't that the truth," he agreed.

"Should we go for a walk? The full moon is still weeks away," Hermione asked. His face went even paler than she believed possible.

"Please don't tell anyone," Malfoy said, his voice breaking.

"I wasn't intending to tell anyone, I just," Hermione stopped herself. It had been the original plan, hadn't it? She wanted her friends to leave him alone, and now she knew he wasn't a Death Eater.

"I would rather them believe whatever they want," he muttered as if he was reading her mind.

"Okay, I promise," she said solemnly. The two of them started to walk across the grass in companionable silence.

"I didn't want to be a Death Eater," the blond man said, stopping so suddenly it took Hermione a minute to register.

"I know," Hermione said, reaching out one of her hands to touch his pale hand that seemed to be glowing beneath the moonlight.

"He gave me to Fenrir," Malfoy said, his body shuddering.

"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard off," Hermione said, instantly outraged by his treatment.

"I'm surprised you aren't saying I deserved it," he replied.

"Nobody deserves something like that, not even you," Hermione said softly. She realised their hands were still touching and let go.

He nodded in the direction of the Forbidden Forest, and the two of them walked towards it.

"Why didn't you go to the Shrieking Shack?" Hermione asked him, it had been another thing on her mind.

"Professor Snape insisted I go nowhere near it," he said attempting to shrug.

"Oh, I see," she admitted. "Do you know where you're going?"

"Kind of?" Draco replied.

"That's reassuring," she said with a small laugh.

When she got back to the Gryffindor common room the sun was coming up, and she was lucky neither of her friends were early risers. She seemed a bit silly when she asked Lavender if she could borrow a soft pink lipstick she had been admiring, and she added just a little bit onto her lips before going to breakfast.

She saw him across the Great Hall, sitting at the Slytherin table, his face focused on the bowl of porridge in front of him. She stood up, intending to walk over to his table. She knew what she was doing was bold, and possibly stupid. She had her plate in hand. "Can I join you?" she asked softly. Malfoy was so startled he knocked over his bowl, making the Slytherin's chuckle at their fellow students' misfortune.

"That was supposed to happen," Malfoy said blushing. She bent down to attempt to help him clean up, but the house elves appeared instantly.

"Of course it was," she responded softly, sitting down beside him. The two of them sat together until her friends walked into the Great Hall. When they saw her, she felt the glare from Ron.

"You should go," Malfoy muttered, but it was too late, her two friends were walking over to her, looking furious. Well, Ron looked furious, and Harry looked confused.

"Hermione! What in Merlin's name are you doing with him?" he nodded his head at him, knowing the professors were sitting at the table and would intervene if needed.

"I got to know him Ron, it isn't like you think it is," Hermione attempted to rationalise. Harry was just silently glaring at her as well in his show of support.

"Hermione, I don't understand, he has been pure evil since we set foot in this place, he even called you…" Ron trailed off, all four of them remembered what he had called her.

"I did what you said Harry, and I found it wasn't like we thought at all," Hermione tried to explain without telling them Malfoy's secret, she knew he wouldn't forgive her if she did.

"I don't think there is anything you can say," Ron said glaring at both of them.

"We spent last night together," Hermione said, wincing when she heard the implications of the words.

"I think that's when we really made our connection, you know," Malfoy interjected, making Ron stomp of furiously, followed by a flabbergasted Harry.

"Did you have to say that?" Hermione said with a blush, smoothing a hand through her hair.

"Well, you started it," Malfoy said and he winked. Hermione never expected to feel her insides contract at Malfoy's winks. Her heart was racing at the implications of what they had said.

It took a few days before her friends managed to calm down enough for her to talk to them, and when she told them she knew he wasn't a Death Eater, Harry took it better than Ron did. It was clear there was something more to what Ron was saying, but she realised it didn't matter after all. She didn't need their permission.

"Even if he isn't, how could you just spend the night with him, just like that?" Ron argued.

"Merlin, Ron, we didn't sleep together," she said rolling her eyes at his naivety.

"Good," Ron said.

"You know it's really none of your business," she replied annoyed and his ears went red again.

"But I, Herm," he stuttered.

"Let me stop you right there, Ron," Harry interjected and Hermione looked relieved to be interrupted from admitting she had no romantic feelings for either of them. "It is clear Hermione has romantic feelings for him."

"But," Ron tried again. "You can't."

Hermione just nodded, thankful for Harry's support.

"I don't know how she fell in love so fast, but Hermione knows what she is doing, Ron, and we need to support her."

Hermione wanted to open her mouth to argue she wasn't in love, but then she realised that what Harry said was so supportive and kind, and truthfully, she didn't know how it happened so fast, but she really was in love. She was in love with a beast, as well as a man.