Hermione never thought she'd need help from him. Back then, Malfoy was a horrible school bully who thrived on intimidation and knew precisely how to exploit someone's vulnerabilities. He and his Death Eater gang intimidated and killed people, and she'd spent years shaking off the damage they left behind. Many years had passed, and people said he'd changed, but she wasn't sure she believed it. Could someone who once took pleasure in hurting others leave that behind? *This story is purely fictional for entertaining purposes. J.K. Rowling retains full copyright and intellectual property rights for all of her works, including but not limited to the Harry Potter series and any related materials.