12/31/2017 - There was a suggestion to better delineated between the A/N and story. Now that I have figured out how to update chapters without deleting/uploading - the only changes were to the A/Ns. No change to the story.

A/N: This is my first story. I'll apologize now for any grammatical errors - no beta. The story was flitting around in my head and just needed to be put down on paper. I have the majority of it written but just need to tie up one loose end. Unless I get a beta, I'll try to post a chapter or two each week. I'm also learning how the formatting works. As I figure out how to my preview document look like my typed one, I will update and get the spacing issues corrected. It's something that bothers me when I read, so I'll do my best to not inflict it on anyone taking their time to read this.

The lemons and NSFW stuff comes later. They have to get to know each other first...

I hope you enjoy.

Oh, one last thing...Ron is not shown in a good light. So if you like Ron, this is prolly not a story for you. Draco, however, is a good guy who just had a crappy childhood.

'- - - - - - - - -'

Six people, two witches and four wizards sat in a beautiful, ethereal, and seemingly peaceful room. However, there was a silence in the room that would seem oppressive if not for the twinkling eyes of the elder male. The two witches sat in questioning silence alternating their focus between each other and the large double doors. The doors had not moved, let alone opened, for almost eighteen years; however, some time earlier they were shaking. No one understood what was happening and those present had reason to fear. The doors started to shake slightly again. The occupants of the room held a collective breath before the doors flew open. Four of the six people were suddenly invisible.

"Hello Hermione. Draco."

'- - - - - - - - -'

Sometime Earlier:

"Are you sure about this?" a pair of brown eyes looked down to the hands holding her waist and lifting her to stand on the shoulders of the man.

"Do you have any other ideas? We can't use our magic and we couldn't find the ladders. How else do we hang the decorations?"

"I don't know...but if ..."

"Yes, if your dear friend was to walk in now it would be very uncomfortable for all of us...almost as uncomfortable as I am now with your heels digging into my neck. Please just hurry." A slight groan escaped his lips as the witch on his shoulders balanced herself and lifted onto to her toes to hang the garland.

"Ok – can you walk like this or should I get down and back up again?"

"No I think I can walk...just keep your hands on the wall so we stay steady. Are you ready?"

"Ye...yes – go."

Draco placed his hands on the tops of Hermione's small feet and gently gripped her ankles before taking his first tentative step. Her feet didn't move as she continued to adjust their balance with her core and the assistance of the wall.

"Leave it to you to act like you've been standing on guy's shoulders for years. Just another skill I'm now getting the opportunity to see." Over the last year and a half Draco had learned to appreciate his former enemy and now dorm mate's multitude of abilities.

"Draco, just another half step to the left, um, stop!"

Draco stopped and straightened his posture before allowing Hermione to rise to her tiptoes again. The seemingly unlikely duo continued in this manner around the Great Hall. It was early December and Professor McGonagall had decided it was time to decorate for the upcoming solstice celebration. There were no issues with decorating. It was an annual activity. This year, it had been decided, the decorating shouldn't be done by the elves but be used as another effort to unify the students. The hall was to be covered in garland and boughs of holly. There were large evergreens in the corners. The yule log will be delivered later in the month. The amount of greenery was traditional and intended to honor the druidic practice of protecting the life force until the spring equinox. The house elves, as expected by everyone other than those planning this, had taken offense at not being allowed to decorate. A few almost threw themselves from the top of the tower for their perceived failures. An agreement was reached where Hermione and Draco would hang all the garland and holly while the elves would decorate the trees and maintain the decorations until the equinox. Everyone, except Hermione and Draco, were in agreement. Neither understood why they were the only people being asked to represent the new wizarding world where Gryffindors and Slytherins got alone. No one seemed to care much about the Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs but really who could blame them.

After spending their Friday night and most of Saturday morning hanging the decorations they were on the last strand, exhausted and sweaty when the doors burst open to their surprise. It wasn't until a red head started yelling and running towards the duo that Hermione's balance slipped and she fell. Lucky for her there were two seekers in the room. The first grabbed the red head and tackled him while the second spun and caught her in his arms. Draco only had a second to realize how perfectly she fit against his body and felt in his arms before he had her set down, before he spun and drew his wand.

"Weasley – what is wrong with you? Do you realize that you almost hurt her? I should hex you into next week." Draco was shaking with anger while he kept himself between Hermione and annoying red head that was still on the floor under Potter. "Tell me why I shouldn't deduct house points for this?" Draco stopped speaking and leveled a cold, icy glare. The glare and sneer had not been directed at any of them for almost a year.

Hermione decided it was time to end the fight before it went any further. She placed her hand gently on Draco's shoulder. Harry noticed the shiver that ran through Draco's body at the touch and how his eyes seemed to suddenly change from hardened anger to soften with desire. They sparked like icy flames. No one else noticed as Hermione was still behind Draco and Ron's head was being pushed into the stone floor by Harry's knee. What Harry missed was the faint band of gold that appeared on Draco's wrist.

"Mmmmhhh, hrry phulsz mve ur nee." Ron was trying to move but Harry wasn't having any of it. His best friend had been acting oddly since the war ended the previous spring and the hope had been, once they were back at school, he would calm down. It hadn't happened and this wasn't the first time his rash actions had almost caused harm to someone. In fact Harry was seeing more and more of those actions being directed against Hermione. This was very disturbing to him.

"Dammit Ron! What is wrong with you? You have to stop running around like this. Nothing was wrong! They are just doing what they were told."

Harry's frustration finally won out over his desire to keep the peace as he yelled at his friend. Harry was feeling that Ron was distancing himself from everyone, including him and Hermione over the last few weeks. In reality, it had been happening since the spring and the end of the war. Harry moved his knee just enough to allow Ron to lift his head but nothing else. Ron lifted his head to see Hermione's hand and he started to shake with anger.

"What is wrong with you 'Mione? Why are you touching that...that...dirty, no good, Death...Traitor?!" Ron spewed with venom and anger. Four things happened at once.

Ron attempted to grab his wand and hex both Draco and Hermione.

Harry slammed his knee back into Ron's head, connecting said head back into the stone floor, and grabbed his right hand.

Draco sent an immobulus toward Weasley and made a direct hit missing Potter all together.

Hermione passed out.

Everyone had reacted to the war differently; some were jittery with sudden sounds and could not have anyone behind them; others had nightmares so intense that insomnia and sleeping draughts were common complaints during meals; while others had flashbacks so real the professors had created spells that could disarm and immobilize those experiencing them with a single word; Hermione, however, began to pass out when surprised. Luckily, she was caught before hitting her head; although her knees did slam into the floor with some force.

Draco quickly picked up and held Hermione tightly before looking directly at Harry. Her small frame cradled perfectly into his chest.

"Listen Potter, I don't know what is wrong with that git but this isn't the first time that he has ended up hurting Hermione or his actions almost hurt someone else. Hermione and I can't keep these things under cover much longer."

Draco stopped and thought about his next statement while gazing at the witch in his arms.

"We've had more than one professor ask what is wrong with him. Hermione is at her wit's end. You know I could really care less if he was expelled but it would hurt her and I won't do something to intentionally hurt her...anymore." He sighed, shook his head slightly to banish the memories that flashed before his eyes. Then looking back to Harry once again with an emotionless façade. "I'm going to take her to Poppy and make sure that second fall didn't hurt her and to have a potion administered that will bring her around. Make sure he isn't here when I get back. I need to finish decorating and regardless of what McGonagall said I'm using magic." With that Draco spun on his heel and headed toward the doors then to the medical wing.

Harry, still having Ron pinned to the ground, was trying to decide when to release him from Draco's freeze spell. Taking a couple of moments to think, Harry decided to make sure that Ron's wand was out of his immediate reach and gently tossed it under one of the tables. Harry then started to think about what almost happened and what Draco had said. If Ron was expelled he would not be able to go to auror training. A new rule had been enacted after the war. It was that all incoming auror's needed to have graduated a wizarding school and was the only reason either of them had returned. For those aurors who decide to go to university the training would count as course credit at any school in Europe. After the war, neither Harry nor Ron really felt school would do them any good. War changes you and the, now, simple nature of life at Hogwarts was dull by comparison. Both Harry and Ron had a standing acceptance from the Minister of Magic for the auror training program once they had graduated and were mentally ready to start hunting dark wizards again.

The war had been brutal for everyone and the ministry understood it would take time for the wounds to heal. What Harry hadn't realized until that moment was Ron didn't want to heal, he wanted to continue fighting old grudges until...Harry wasn't sure Ron would ever want to stop fighting and that scared him. What worried him more was that his head was hurting. It was burning. It was a feeling he hadn't had since last spring and that horrible moment when he died. It was something he hadn't missed either. It was like the scar was trying to tell him something again. Not a good sign.

Ron was moaning trying to get him to release the spell. Harry thought that enough time had passed to have given his friend time to cool off.

"What took you so long?" A very frustrated Ron said into the stone floor.

"You tried to hex Draco and Hermione after possibly giving her a concussion. I wanted to give them a chance to get to the medical wing and for you calm down. Listen mate, I don't know what is going on but you need to relax. We won; there isn't a need to keep fighting. You know that Dumbledore and Snape gave their word about Draco and his mother. They are on our side, for longer than we were part of the Order..."

Before Harry could continue Ron roared and jumped to his feet. As he stalked out of the door Harry would have sworn he heard Ron "No, they are traitors and all traitors deserve to die."

Harry decided he needed to speak with someone about what he was feeling but he didn't know who he could trust with his fears. If things had turned out a little differently Dumbledore or Snape would still be around and they could help. McGonagall was an option but she was still overwhelmed taking over the school and was dealing with Dumbledore's loss. Harry never had the nerve to ask her or Dumbledore how long they had been together. It was then that he remembered Ron's wand and that it was under one of the tables. When Harry found it he realized the wand in his hand wasn't the same one that Ron had always used. Harry didn't remember him getting a new wand after the war so the different wand was a surprise. Harry decided to store it somewhere Ron could not easily find it. Harry quickly left before Ron realized what he had lost and returned to find it.

Ron left the hall and mindlessly headed out of the castle into the late morning sun. His mind was filled with images and sounds. The sounds were screams of pain, them begging for mercy and that made him smile. He saw a scene of them all bowing before him. Those below him groveling and wanting to give him whatever he desired. He would be more powerful and important than any of them. An evil smirk broke across his face. No one would suspect him and when they figured it out, it would be too late. He would be too powerful. The power was coursing through his body; it was a welcome feeling. He had made it to the forest line and sat back against a tree looking toward the castle.

"I can't stand another moment in that bloody common room. It's good that the school has forced wards on the forest that don't allow students to access it. Good thing I'm not a student."

Ron shut his eyes and drifted into a light sleep while dreaming of new ways to kill them all. It wouldn't be much longer before all the good that had been Ron Weasley was entirely gone.