A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I apologize in advance for slow burn but hopefully this chapter will make up for some of it! Happy Reading as always :) Hope you're all staying safe and healthy.

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to the fabulous J.K Rowling.

Chapter 4: Traitor

Hermione's eyes opened slowly to the beige ceiling, embroidered with red and gold detailing. She was in her bedroom. She didn't remember walking to her bedroom, so how was she in her bedroom? She shifted slightly, only to gasp in pain as her head began to throb furiously. She mentally scolded herself for getting carried away with the girls last night at Hogsmeade.

As she slowly rose up to sit at the foot of her bed, memories of last night came flooding back.

"You're so difficult to read. You know that?"

"Maybe I don't want to be read"

Oh god. She had another argument with Malfoy. Hermione tried to remember what happened afterwards, she prayed she didn't say anything stupid. She realized that she was still wearing last night's jeans, and so she went straight for the shower.

The shower did feel nice, but her head was still pounding, and she hoped a hot cup of espresso would do the trick. As she got dressed and headed to the kitchen, she saw Draco sitting there lazily reading the paper.

"Morning" she spoke briskly, avoiding eye contact.

Draco nodded at her and brought his gaze back to the contents on his paper.

Hermione looked over at his face to see if his gaze had averted, and it hadn't. She proceeded to make her coffee. Once it was ready, she brought the mug to her lips and sighed as the hot liquid eased down her throat and soothed her instantly.

It had been a few minutes of silence, with no remark or even snide comment from Malfoy, and she started to feel awkward.

"Just for the record" Hermione began, "I had been overserved"

"Obviously" He replied, nonchalantly.

Draco had a feeling Hermione probably forgot his rare act of kindness last night, and decided to engage as little as possible with her in the morning. He wasn't in the mood to entertain her incessant questions about his past, or hear about her secret ongoing obsession with the weasel. He had bigger matters on his hands at the moment.

Hermione made eye contact with Draco as he started to get up. It was in that instant, that she remembered falling asleep on the couch. Which only meant that…

"Later Granger" Draco finished his tea, put on his robes, and apparated out of the room before Hermione had the chance to protest.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As Draco made his way to Azkaban, he mentally prepared himself for his face to face with his mother. They hadn't had an interaction with each other since they were in the alps, hiding from the Order. It was quite a sick twist of fate that now, he was going to ask his mother for permission to become an auror himself. His father would have never allowed for Draco to turn out this way, he knew that Lucius would rather Draco died than turn over to the light. Narcissa, however, was more reasonable, Draco thought. She was his mother at the end of the day, and she almost risked Voldemort's life once before when she helped Harry for the sake of Draco. She could do it again, especially when it is her beloved son who is asking for the favor.

'Go in, get her signed permission, and leave' Draco told himself over and over again, as he made his way to the prison gates.

He reached the sign saying 'Azkaban' and felt a chill run down his spine. Not a single soul was in sight. He had owled his mother days prior to inform her of his visit, and yet nobody was outside to expect him. Draco straightened his robes as he waited, nervously examining his surroundings, watching out for any sudden movements. He hadn't brought anyone else with him on this trip. What if this was a trap?

Suddenly, the gates opened, and three keepers escorted him to the field inside. It was dark, and cold; he noticed a few familiar faces of people he had seen roaming around the manor before the war.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"I'll sign those papers, but I need you to get me something from the manor in return" Narcissa had spoken stiffly from behind the prison cell.

"Yes - of course Mother, what is it?" Draco started to feel slightly relieved that this was going easier than expected.
"It's a jewelry box, under the vault. Don't open it" she warned.

"I'll bring it to you today mother. I'll leave at once"

As Draco approached the Manor, he had a strange feeling that he was being followed. He entered the home and immediately shut the door, only to turn around to an unwelcomed "Crucio!"

And with that, Draco fell unconscious onto the marble floor.

THUD

Draco opened his eyes to find himself lying face down on the rug in his living room. He visualized everything that happened before he fell, he saw his mother and then went to the Manor. Upon checking the time Draco realized he had been unconscious for nearly 4 hours. Who did this to him and what did they want?

His thoughts were cut short as he winced at the sharp pain he was feeling. Draco slowly turned to find gashes all over his arms and back, his right arm was carved to spell 'Traitor'. He presumed it was one of Voldemort's remaining followers that was behind this, but who? Nobody but his mother knew that he was going to be at the house.

The pain was starting to sting terribly, and Draco found it difficult to stand. He slowly crept to the fireplace of the manor. His body felt detached from his mind, as if he wasn't able to move or aid it in any way. He knew he couldn't apparate to St Mungo's or Madam Pomfreys at this hour without causing any further suspicion than he has to. He knew that if he stayed at the manor, he would most likely bleed to death all over her mother's Persian rug. She wouldn't like that.

And so his mind darted to the only other place he could think of that would be safe. A place where a certain know-it-all may be able to help him. He had heard that she was a fantastic healer during the war.

Draco mustered all the energy he had left in him to throw in some floo powder and step into the fireplace, praying to Merlin that Hermione can save him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hermione was curled by the fireplace of the Head's common rooms, book in her hand and a cup of chamomile steeping on the side table. She had finished all her heads duties during the afternoon and it was Draco's turn to patrol the halls that night. Speaking of Draco, she wondered where he'd been all day. She hadn't seen him since this morning, and she knew he had to come back, because he didn't take the keys for hallway patrols. Her mind drifted back to their conversation, and she began to worry that she may have spoken out of turn last night. Was he perhaps avoiding her?

In that moment the fireplace cracked and whizzed and out flew a limp body, robes torn, covered in cuts.
Hermione stood up and immediately her wand out, pointing at the trespasser.

"I could use…a little help here" Draco managed to say before his head gave in to the hardwood floor.

Hermione ran over to Draco's side and gently turned him over. She gasped at what she saw.
"Oh my god! Who did this to you?"
Draco didn't respond, looking seemingly unconscious.
"I am going to perform a few healing spells, its going to hurt okay?" Hermione took his silence as a green light to go ahead.

As she muttered the spells, Draco's cuts on his arm began to reduce swelling, and the blood was getting cleaned off. It took roughly 15 minutes for Hermione to finish his one arm, and then went over to his other side to work on the next one.

Draco slowly opened his eyes to find his wounds being expertly tended to, by none other than Hermione Granger. He should tell her to stop helping him. He should tell her to back off him, to never dare touch his arm again. But he didn't, because he didn't want her to stop. She was being so careful with her every touch; he could see her face up close from his view and was surprised how he had never really looked at her face before. She was beautiful.

Hermione noticed Draco staring at her, and decided to break the silence first.

"The cuts were deep, they are definitely going to leave a scar. But I made sure the stitches didn't spell out… what it spelled out before."
"Thank you" Draco looked down in embarrassment.
"Would you mind telling me what the fuck happened to you?"

Draco chucked "You shouldn't curse, Granger. It's unbecoming"
Hermione didn't flinch. She didn't want to play games with him, not tonight.

"Answer the question, Malfoy."
"I went to Azkaban. Needed my mother to sign something… and its safe to say that I wasn't welcome there"

Hermione glared at Draco in disbelief "But, there had to have been guards there to stop anything from happening!"
Draco frowned. She wasn't going to let this go. "This didn't happen at Azkaban, Granger. This happened at the Manor"

"Why were you at the Manor?"

"I have to tell you why I went home?" Draco snapped. He almost immediately regretted it, looking over at Hermione who looked genuinely concerned and upset. Draco sighed and continued, "My mother asked me to bring her something from the Manor, so I went, and some bloke ambushed me out of nowhere. Probably a friend of my father's"

"Do you think… it was a trap?"
Draco shot a defensive glare, "You mean my mother? No. She wouldn't. She doesn't even know" He wondered if he really believed what he was saying, as he too questioned his mother's intentions. She did agree to signing those AIT papers rather quickly.

Hermione sighed. "I know. I'm sorry for even suggesting it." Hermione finished up his other arm and sat across from him. "Draco, these wounds are deep. I only managed to sew up the ones on your arm, but there are a number of them on your back, and…"
Draco used his now healed arms to raise himself from the floor. His arms reached the collar of his white shirt, and he began to unbutton it one by one. Hermione's eyes widened, and then she turned away in embarrassment. He smirked and turned his back towards her, so that she could feel more comfortable.

Hermione placed her hand on Draco's clawed back, her fingertip slowly grazing the wound. She felt a shiver down her spine as she touched his chiseled back. She was surprised at how toned his body was. Something about this moment felt different to her. She didn't see Draco as an enemy, or as all the ideals he represented. She saw the real Draco; the Draco that carried her to her room last night. It was an intimate feeling that burned slowly inside her, a feeling that she couldn't deny anymore. Lavender and Parvati were right – he really had gotten better looking over the years.

"I heard that, you know"

Hermione froze. Did she think out loud?

"Wh-what?"

"You called me Draco, earlier"

Hermione sighed in relief. "Yes – well, you were dying"

Another long silence.
There were soft touches, and grazes, but not a word from either of them.

As Hermione finished Draco's back, and helped him with his shirt, he turned around to place his hand on hers.
"Thank you" he looked at her sincerely.

Hermione looked back into his eyes as he spoke. His otherwise cold, emotionless eyes turned a warm blue green, and she felt like she could stare at them forever. Sure, he's looked better when he wasn't as wounded, but his face had a handsome sadness to it that she couldn't help but admire. Was she starting to have feelings for Draco Malfoy? She couldn't bear to come to terms with such a thing.
And yet, she wasn't sure why, but she had an urge burning in her body to leap forward and snog the daylights out of him. She figured he was debating it too, since he had moved closer to her.

Hermione brought her face mere millimeters away from Draco's, as their noses lightly grazed each other and she exhaled against his lips. She wanted this. She wanted it so bad.

But she couldn't. Not while Ron was still out there.

Draco could see the internal conflict within Hermione as his lips lightly grazed her cheek and he brought his hand around the nape of her neck. Her mind flashed back to the last time she was this close to a boy. She didn't know if she was ready to move on so quickly.

"I cant. Draco"

"Just stop thinking for a moment, Hermione. Just let yourself feel "

The way he said her name was like drops of Amortentia to her ears. Hermione's eyes blazed full of lust and desire. Her hand caressed his face slowly, and she tried to think of a reason to stop herself from this feeling, this moment. She couldn't think of any reason to say no.
She nodded at him and said "Okay."

And his lips crashed down onto hers.