AN: Hi beautiful readers. See, a quick (for me) update for you already! Enjoy it, it's a pretty intense one for this story. I'll leave you to read now, but there will be another AN at the bottom just explaining a few things from me at the moment. xx

She had long forgotten why she had ever wanted to see the filth that was written out on the parchment before her. It stung seeing it written out in Draco's perfect scrawl and her tears started to fall once more. The pain that hit her right in her heart, to know that he had read those words, written those words, even if it were just copying. She knew it was silly, thinking that Draco would ever say these things about her now, she wasn't even convinced that he would have ever said anything even close to what was written in this letter, even back when it appeared that he hated her. Despite how bad he may have been once before, this was a whole knew level. This was evil. Pure, pure evil. And it came from the father of the man that she had begun to fall for.

Her tears came faster and her breath caught in her throat making it increasingly difficult for her to breath. She had tuned out Harry, who was yelling for her to let him in and the banging on the door that was less frequent now, but equally loud and forceful as when he had begun. She had sunk down the door the the bathroom, knowing that Draco was on the other side. She could hear him, whispering her name in such a pained voice that made her heart break all over again.

Every now and then he would stop saying her name and trade it in for pleas for her to let him in. A part of her wanted to let him in. Let him hold her while she cried, while she let herself be vulnerable. She wanted to let him save her. The bigger part of her had lost the energy and the will to lift her wand and remove the charms so that he could get in. She had lost the will to fight. Instead, she wailed, finally feeling beaten down after all that she had been through. She crawled into a foetal position on the floor and wept. She felt ashamed that a man who she had no respect for and didn't care for in the least was making her feel so broken. A man she had no respect for had tipped her over the edge she had thought she'd come so far from.

She knew, of course, that the ability that Lucius Malfoy had to break her was simply because he was Draco's father. That she was falling for him, falling from him hard. In fact, she had even thought there was perhaps a four letter word to describe how she felt. And Lucius Fucking Malfoy was going to ruin it just because of blood relation. Draco didn't care what he thought. Draco cared about her. She tried to convince herself it didn't matter, they were just petty words from a petty man. But no amount of reason made her tears stop, her heart unclench or help her get up off the floor. She felt like after all these years she had finally snapped. The comments, the looks, the insults, the torture and being called mudblood over and over had finally caught up with her. The words of a man she despised for what he did to her friends, for what he did to her, for what he did to Draco had finally broken her.

She begun to see snippets of the past. Hagrid carrying Harry during the war and believing that he was dead, Draco pointing his wand at her and her teeth growing and growing and growing, erasing her parents memories, a dead Dobby in Harry's arm, Ron shouting horrible things at her, death all around her, hearing Snape die and Bellatrix Lestrange hovering above her carving the word Mudblood into her arm. Throughout her horrible flashbacks, she writhed on the floor, reliving it all, particularly her torture. She clutched onto her arm as silent tears fell.

Hermione felt her magic weaken with her sadness. She knew that something was wrong, that it didn't feel right the way her magic was almost slipping away from her. The problem now wasn't that he magic was weakening, it was that she didn't even care.

She heard Draco in the background, muttering spells trying to get into the room. She heard Harry banging on the door, but it just sounded like the beat of a drum to her now, pulling her off into a deep unconsciousness. A place where she didn't have to think, didn't have to care, didn't have to feel. A place where she could be numb. She let herself be pulled into nothingness as the beat of the banging and Draco's mumbled spells sang her off peacefully.

Draco felt horrible that this was happening to her. His family had caused her so much grief and he felt incredibly guilty. Why did his family have to be this way, why had he been involved with them and the way that they thought. He hated himself at this very moment, right down to his very core.

Suddenly he felt a lull in power. He wasn't sure what it was, but he listened closely at the door and Grangers' sobs had subsided. He called her name, but had no response. He felt the power weaken even more. He was sure there was something wrong. He needed to get into that room. He began trying to work at the charms that Granger had put up on the door. He had already tried this in the beginning but hadn't had any luck. But he was desperate now, he could tell something was wrong and this time for some reason her locking and guarding spells were breaking easily.

He tried to force out the reasons that this could be happening, but the one that wouldn't leave his mind no matter how hard he willed it. He was so worried that she was weakened so much that her magic was leaving her.

Finally, the last ward was broken and the door opened with a bang. He rushed in and found her barely breathing curled up on the floor, he ran over to her and scooped her limp body up into his chest so he could hold her. He said her name, over and over again, trying to get her to respond but he had no luck.

"Harry Potter get in here." He yelled, as he heard Potter run as fast as he could through Draco's room to her there.

"What happened to her?" he asked, all of the colour draining from his face.

If it hadn't been such a serious situation, Draco would he happy that Potter hadn't pointed the finger at him immediately. He pushed away the thought to focus at the problem that was lying in his arms "I think her magic is leaving her. It happened to my great great aunt. She loved a muggle, and her parents told her it was unacceptable. She didn't care, she was going to let them disown her but they wouldn't. They didn't want to lose their daughter, so they killed the muggle. She found out what they did and so heart broken from losing her love she lost her magic and lost her mind. She wandered around aimlessly for the rest of her days, it was if a dementor had kissed her."

"So what do we do?" Potter asked, coming over and kneeling beside them. He grabbed her hand that was flopped onto the ground. It was then that they both realised that her scar was bleeding and had scratch marks all around it. She had been scratching at it and her other hands fingernails were covered in her own blood.

"Hermione," he said softly, stroking her forehead. "Hermione please come back to me, wake up love."

Potter just looked at him dumfounded.

"Please, Hermione. Please just wake up. It's going to be okay, you're going to be okay. Don't let the words of a ridiculous man, who doesn't mean anything to anyone important hurt you. I would never think those things of you, Potter and all your Weasel friends would never ever think those things. Everyone who matters thinks the sun shines out of your bum. You're amazing, Hermione. You wouldn't want to risk losing your magic. Please come back to me. We've got so much to do, I want to take you to greece, it's beautiful there. You would love it. I've got a villa there, it's mine, no one else's. I own it. We could stay there. Of course, you wouldn't let my house elf serve you, although I'm sure he'd love you too, even if you did try and sneak it clothes every time my back was turned." He continued to mutter caring things to her, his hands running through her bushy hair. He didn't know what to do, he didn't think there was anything you could really do to stop this, no spell or potion to brew that would stop it from happening. It was coming from her, from her emotions and her soul. No magic could stop this.

He leant down and kissed her lips softly. "I'm falling for you, Hermione, I'm falling in love with you, you have to be okay. You have to be." A tear fell down his cheek and onto hers. "I've never loved anything before, Hermione. You're it for me. So please, please come back. I don't know what to do without you." Her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes to look into the watery ones looking down upon her with so much care in them. He loved her, he was sure, this was what love felt like.

She moved her hand that was covered in blood and stroked his wet cheek, leaving a blood stain over him. But he didn't care. Her blood was no more muddy than his, no more muddy than anyone's. She was okay, she was awake, and she seemed present.

"You think you love me?" she said in a small voice, he wasn't sure he even heard her right.

"No Hermione, I know I love you."

Draco had helped her shower as she was too weak to do so herself, and he wanted to get the blood and tears off of her. Harry had gone to owl McGonagall to say none of them would be coming to classes that day, make tea and find some chocolate in the cupboards while Draco sorted her out. He showered, dried and dressed her before carrying her over to her bed and tucking her in underneath the warm, comforting blankets. He sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hands in his.

She had tried to say things several times already but each time he had shushed her. He didn't want her to speak, didn't want her to think about anything right now.

"Draco," She said softly.

"No." He said sternly. "Save you're energy. Potters making tea, it will make you feel better."

"Draco," She said, harder this time "I just wanted to say thank you, for bringing me back. I feel ashamed to admit it, but I was willingly letting my sadness drag me away."

"I know, I felt your magic start to disappear." He said, the words only just audible. "I don't know what I would have done if you had let your grief take you over. My aunt had the same thing happen to her, she was never the same afterwards."

"Draco, I just, I have one question." She said, but he already knew what she was going to ask.

"Hermione, I really meant what I said. I do love you. I didn't just say it to get you to come back for me. And don't worry, you don't need to say it back to me. The fact that I feel it at all is amazing."

"No, Draco, I want to say it." She said, softly. "I'm just scared. And I'm not used to feeling scared. But I thought I loved Ron, but it turned out I loved him like family, like a best friend. I feel differently about you, I really do. I'm just scared if I say it before I truly know I might jinx it."

"Jinx?" Draco said, confused.

"It's a muggle term. It is basically speaking too soon about something, causing something bad to happen." She said.

"Well that's a silly thing." He said, playing with her damp hair. "That's okay, Hermione, just let me know when you know, okay?"

"Okay," she said smiling. She might have said something more but Potter walked in, levitating three cups of tea and a few chocolate frogs.

"How are you feeling, Hermione?" Harry said, looking worried.

"Better. Much better, thanks." Hermione said, reaching out to take her cup of tea and chocolate. "Thank you both, really. Thank you so much."

"To be honest, Malfoy did most of the heroic stuff. It was a nice change, to be honest." Potter said, lightening the mood. And Draco felt proud that he could have stepped it up this time, particularly after the last time that she was in a horrible situation.

Hermione looked up into his eyes and he look back into hers. She moved her hand to hold onto his, he held onto it, never wanting to let go. Her arm was now bandaged up and she winced when she moved it, she had complained of an ebb of pain, so he accio'd a pain potion for her to take after she ate her chocolate.

It felt like home with Hermione. More like home than home had ever felt in the past. He wanted her to be a part of her life, whatever it took he would do it. To start with, he would eradicate Lucius, or any other unhappy pureblood extremist that wanted to thwart them. Perhaps this is what Potter had felt like, when he wanted to fight back against the Dark Lord. Perhaps it was love, after all, that was what eradicated evil.

He felt Hermione settle beside him, her breathing ease and her grip on his hand soften. She was falling asleep. He slowly got up, careful not to disturb her. He tucked her in, before nodding his head towards the door. Harry nodded, understanding and they both left the room.

Once they reached the lounge, they both sat down. Draco summoning a bottle of firewhiskey and two glasses. He poured two generous helpings, handing one to Potter and keeping one for himself downing a huge gulp immediately.

"Mate, thanks for helping her." Potter said, honestly.

"I wouldn't have been able to do anything else."

"So you really love her, then?" Potter asked, although he could tell that he already knew by the way that he had asked.

"Yes. I do." Draco said, taking another large mouthful. "I really do. I don't really know what to do with love. Hate, anger, lust I can deal with, I have dealt with. I just want to protect her, but she's so stubborn that I'm worried she'll get hurt, now that she knows what we're doing."

"I know how you feel. We've both got nosey, bossy women. But they're strong and as much as we're going to hate it they will want to be involved. And really, it's probably a good thing. Both Hermione and Ginny have saved me on a few occasions so we shouldn't underestimate them."

"It's not that," Said Draco, seriously, taking a moment to compose his thoughts. "It's more that I worry that her being in the same vacinity as that man and people like him, she'll be endangering herself. And I don't know what I'd do if she were to get hurt."

"She'd be thinking the same thing, mate." Potter said, finishing off his drink and motioning to the bottle. Draco nodded, sculled the rest of his own and held out the glass for a refill.

"Okay, so we're involving her now, are we?" Draco asked.

"We don't have a choice. She's going to want to be involved." Potter said.

"And we're going to do what we can to protect her though, right?" Draco asked, not sure of how these things work.

"Yes, of course." Potter agreed.

"Well, you're the hero, you know what's best." Draco said smirking.

"I never would have imagined hearing you say I know anything." Potter said, laughing.

"Well, a lot has changed, hasn't it. Namely, me."

"Yes, you certainly have."

"I certainly have, Potter. You're much more tolerable than I could have ever imagined." Draco said.

"Well, if I remember correctly it was you who offered a hand of friendship when we were first years."

"And you snobbed me for that bugger weasley."

"Yes, well, Ron is a wonderful friend." Potter defended.

"Even after all he's done to Hermione?" Draco asked.

"Think about it this way, of all the things you've done to her in the past she forgave you. Ron's done nothing to that extent, they will repair their friendship. You and Ron are both stubborn and you both have quick tempers. You also have a lot of similar likes. You could be friends, you know. We could be friends, for her." Potter said.

"You and I, perhaps. For her. But can you imagine me calling you, dare I say it, Harry?" Draco joked and Potter nearly spat out his drink.

"No, I don't think I can, not for a while, anyway."

"I could see myself being your friend, Potter. I can. We get along, this is a perfect example. But I can't imagine sitting around and sharing a bottle of firewhiskey with Weasley. I think one of us would probably break the bottle and attack the other."

"Maybe. Maybe now. But he's still hurting. He loved her, Malfoy, not like she loved him. He really, really loved her. Imagine if tomorrow she decided she didn't want you anymore, that she had had enough. How would that feel? How long would that take to get over? Once you can imagine that you'll be able to imagine where Ron is at. He's getting there, he really is and Pansy is helping, definitely. He really likes her. But seeing you and seeing Hermione is like a constant reminder that he wasn't good enough for her."

"But it doesn't have anything to do with being fucking good enough. If that were the case I wouldn't have had a chance with her. It's about something deeper. A connection. I'm sorry for him, that there wasn't one. Wait, no I'm not. Then she wouldn't be with me. What I mean is, I'm sorry that he didn't have that, but he will find that. But he can only find it, If he's not pining after my girlfriend."

"Well I know that, but he's only just figuring it out. He'll get there. He will. And you don't have to worry about Hermione, the way she looks at you, she never looked at Ron like that. I'm sure that she loves you."

"Well, one day I hope she figures that out. Because I love her and I will do whatever I can to keep her safe."

"Did you want to work on our plan, while she's asleep?" Potter asked.

"Actually, do you think we could just do this, for a bit? Drinking, talking, just… keep doing this?" Draco asked, and it was evident in his voice that he couldn't think about anything regarding his fathers plight to harm Hermione. And Draco was sure that Potter felt the same deep down.

"Sure, we can keep doing this." Potter agreed, pouring out some more firewhiskey.

They talked late into the afternoon, all of their classes had come and gone and the gryffindor and the slytherin had bonded more than they could have ever imagined they would. Despite their differences they had assumed they had they had found many similarities that they shared. They talked about everything under the sun, they even breached topics they had never imagined sharing with one another. They discussed their childhoods and found comfort in the fact that they had both been raised in difficult situations. Draco, expressing how ashamed he was that he had let his situation morph him into a person he was ashamed of, but Harry defending the fact that he had managed to change into the person he was now.

Both of them expressing their gratitude and love for the curly haired witch who was sleeping in the next room. And Draco didn't feel threatened by that in the slightest, as he understood their brother sister bond as the same between himself and Pansy. He also was told about his journey with Ginny and the stories held her high in the position of his favourite Weasley. She was firey, and Draco could respect that.

They learnt to laugh about any animosity between them from the past and find the humour in situations they had experienced in the last 7 years. Over the course of that day was the moment that Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter became friends and it happened without them even really realising it.

AN: Did you enjoy it? I hope you did. The end is a bit more light than the beginning, to balance it out. AW, draco and harry are becoming friends. AWWWW.
I just wanted to say thank you all for reading my story so far and all the lovely reviews and inbox messages, you guys really are lovely! When I get messages from you it really brightens my day. I've been having an absolutely rubbish week (lots of death, illnesses, crazy work schedules etc) that has been getting me down. But I decided to push through that and use writing as my outlet. So, please, if you would, leave me a nice message to brighten up this week for me. I really need it. I hope you're all doing well and keep on being awesome!
Love Sammie Jane x