New Chance || dramione || complete

Research and checking

Present

"May I at least know the identity of the person who took advantage of me?" Draco asked the empty corridor from his place on the floor with his head in his hands. It was likely the person was still there since he heard a muted sniffle every so often. They'd been sitting there for only a few minutes, but it stretched on for a lifetime. "Sure, sure, blame the Death Eater for all your troubles. Every little boy's dream to be held down by his own father while some maniac burns his Mark into your arm. 'Kill the only man who has ever believed there's goodness in you or I'll kill your family' he told me," Draco prattled, unsure if he was alone. "Some lucky bastard I am."

The blond wizard jerked his head toward the tapestry just down the hall where the sound of muffled sobs broke the silence. Not alone then.

"There she is. My prankster continues to delight in my pain," he sneered. "Perhaps, next time you can be a little more creative than Pansy since our history isn't a cheerful one. Obviously, you are no Slytherin, or you'd know," he declared to the tapestry. Silence. "You think you've bested me? You'll have a good laugh with what I assume to be all your Gryffindor friends, will you?" No answer. "You can't hurt a man who has been betrayed by his own father, his own blood...What a bunch of rubbish blood is anyway! My whole life was a lie. Blood means nothing to me now!" A gasp, possibly of shock, maybe. "The joke is on you, witch because that was the best shag of my life!"

"It wasn't a joke!" she declared earnestly. He'd recognize that voice anywhere. In the distance, he heard a group of Slytherins returning from the Great Hall. Without a second thought, he was on his feet and tearing his way behind the tapestry. The witch was trapped in the alcove with him now. As soon as he reached out blindly and touched her, she appeared before him.

"What the fuck?" he whispered in the darkness to the wide-eyed stare of Hermione fucking Granger.

"I'm sorry," the curly-haired witch squeaked when Draco approached her. Hermione held a tight fist around her wand, but when she saw his face, it wasn't anger she saw. It was pain. Suffering she'd caused.

"We just...did...things," he gestured between them awkwardly, "and you're sorry?" he asked incredulously so that only she could hear him as the group of Slytherins disappeared into their common room. "You saw me," he waved his hand down the front of his body. "You saw my Mark!" the blond said completely aghast, covering his forearm with his hand. At that, she tilted her head in confusion. Why would he be more concerned about her seeing his Mark than the rest of him?

"I already knew about your Mark," she replied defensively. Draco stared at her in surprise. She'd never seen him as expressive as he'd been on this evening.

"Is there any way you could focus that huge brain of yours on telling me what the fuck just happened?" he donned his familiar sneer, lightly tapping the middle of her forehead with his pointer finger. "Let's start simple. Why did you Polyjuice yourself to look like Pansy?" he asked slowly when she didn't answer him right away.

"It was all very innocent really. You see, I had questions for you about Potions class."

"Do you always go around pretending to be other people and fucking whomever you have questions for?" Draco drawled sarcastically. "You realize that you could have asked me your questions in any of the seven classes we have together?"

"You made it very clear from the beginning of the year that you had no interest in speaking with me, and I wasn't sure how else I could learn your methods," she explained. The Slytherin wizard began looking all around him and peeking around the tapestry.