Disclaimer: The universe of Harry Potter nor the characters realized in that story are in no way under my ownership.

The moon was especially luminous as its light fell through the window onto Hermione's bed. It was one of the reasons she had picked the bed in the first place. She had fallen in love with the moon as a child and would become transfixed by its bright gaze. Usually, watching the beautiful orb in the sky served to relax her overactive mind and help lull her to sleep but she would not acquiesce to its allure tonight. She closed her eyes briefly against the light that highlighted her bed while the others in her dorm remained in darkness.

As usual, her heart was not with her. It had not been since she had embarked on a journey and ridden the Hogwarts Express for the first time. Her heart was firmly in the possession of a clueless boy with green eyes and messy raven hair. She could see his face firmly in her mind. She could see how devastated he'd been as he'd stumbled into the clearing with Cedric Diggory's dead body. She had seen how his own body was barely operable under the injuries he'd sustained.

It crushed her so to see him in pain. If she could take on all of his burdens, physical and mental, she would. She only found peace when he was smiling. She only knew happiness when he was laughing. Now, as he lay in his bed after having seen a schoolmate killed and Voldemort re-animated while also undergoing the cruciatus, she only knew pain and misery. Her soul felt crushed under the weight of it all.

Even more pressing than the pain was the guilt. She had the means to help Harry. She could be instrumental in ending his misery but couldn't because of an oath that she was bound to. An oath that her friends knew nothing of. She hated that she was an unwilling part of any form of deceit against Harry. Sometimes moments would seize her with fear should he ever know. She could clearly imagine Ron's reaction, he was the hot head, after all. What would Harry say, though? Would he feel betrayed? Would he sever ties with her permanently? She still got an ache in her chest when she thought about how Ron and Harry had treated her third year. She could not imagine that type of isolation forever. They were the only friends she had.

She had never been good at making friends. Other children were always either too intimidated, jealous or just plain hated her on sight. Even Harry and Ron had not liked her initially. She felt the stinging in her eyes at the memory and clenched her fists at her side to help staunch the desire to cry. Not for the first time, she wished she could just tell them. She wished this secrecy bind would end and let the chips fall where they may. Living a lie was not so fun especially not when the lie prohibited you from helping those you loved.

She sat up and opened her eyes, pushing aside her bed coverings. She glanced at the moon not wanting it to completely distract her and tip-toed silently out of her dorm. Most of her dorm mates slept like logs but Parvati seemed to waken at the slightest sound. She stepped quietly down the common room steps her mind filled with those emerald eyes and stopped abruptly at the bottom step.

He was there, staring into the fire. He had on a pair of dark blue pajamas that she'd never seen before and his hair was tousled more than usual, which meant that he'd tried to sleep just as she had. The flames were lively as if they were dancing purely for his pleasure. She walked towards him and sat down with a comfortable distance between them before staring at the flames herself.

"Can't sleep?"

His voice sounded a bit hoarse to her ears but it didn't stop her belly from doing their usual somersaults at the sound.

"I wish you didn't have to go."

She saw, out of the corner of her eye, his head turn towards her, confusion on his face.

"Go where?"

Her eyes stayed on the flames and she was almost transfixed by the intangible fire as she was by the moon.

"To those monsters parading as an excuse for your relatives."

She could see the faint blush tinge his cheeks as his head quickly turned back towards the fire.

"Dumbledore won't let me stay at the Burrow."

'Why the hell does Dumbledore have any say in where you stay?' she wanted to scream but kept her wayward thoughts to herself.

"You should be with people who love you especially after what you've been through. And knowing how fickle these people are they're going to be bashing you again, claiming you're a liar and some delusional little boy who's poised to be the next dark lord," her voice grew more bitter as she spoke.

"I know," she could see his lips twisted just as bitterly as hers had, "They can't seem to make up their mind if I'm a hero or a villain," he shook his head, "I don't really care what they say anyway. They don't matter, they never have."

Her heart swelled at that. She loved how he was able to stay so strong even when the world was, quite literally, against him. It made him all the more admirable. His courageousness against such enormous adversity had always endeared him to her. She hoped and prayed that he would never change. That he would never lose hope.

"You're one of the bravest souls I know, Harry. This world doesn't deserve you."

She saw him duck his head in embarrassment at her praise. He had no idea that he was just validating her point. He was so humble and modest. After a while when it seemed his embarrassment had abated he lifted his head and turned it slightly towards her.

"You're a great friend, Hermione."

This time it was her turn to blush but she didn't turn her head and look at him. She couldn't look at his eyes right now as they would be her undoing.

"You should try to get some rest, Harry. There's only a few more hours left. We'll be on the train before you know it."

He turned back to the fire.

"Yeah, I might as well get one more good night of sleep," he turned back towards her and she could see the grin forming on his face, "You're right, as usual. Doesn't it get annoying?"

She reigned in her courage and turned towards him her face lighting up at the carefree expression he was now wearing.

"Does what get annoying?" she coyly asked.

"Being right," he shrugged playfully, "Seems like it would get old after a while."

She gave him a smirk worthy of any Slytherin, "Being right never gets old, Harry. You and Ron should just be happy that I'm modest enough not to lord it over the both of you."

"Of course, what would we poor subjects ever do without Queen Hermione's divine judgment?"

Her smile faltered a bit at that and her heart rate sped up before she quickly calmed it and gave another shaky smile.

"You would perish, naturally. I mean, you and Ron are absolutely hopeless without me."

She was hoping that he wouldn't notice any change in her demeanor but, of course, this was Harry. When he wasn't so bogged down by the unfairness of his life he was just as observant of her as she was of him. Now, she berated herself for having turned his smile back into a frown.

"You okay?"

"Yes, just a bit tired."

He nodded slowly and she knew he didn't believe her but it wasn't in his personality to press for sensitive information.

"You should go on to bed then."

She stood up and looked at him expectantly, "I'll go to bed if you will."

He rolled his eyes and stood as well. They both walked to their respective staircases and stopped, both looking at the other. His face looked playful again and she relaxed slightly.

"You know one of these days you won't get your way. I'll find a way to say no to you."

This time it was her turn to roll her eyes, "Don't hold your breath Potter, I have you wrapped around my little finger," she demonstrated by wiggling her index finger.

He laughed and she relished in the sound that had been far too absent lately. He seemed to sober up after a bit and watched her with a thoughtful expression.

"You really do."

His words were so soft she almost didn't hear it. Her heart rate went into overdrive at the soft-spoken admission. She didn't quite understand the torrent of emotions that swept over her at that moment. She didn't really want to understand so she just let herself feel, and it felt good.

She watched as his eyes widened slightly as his face heated up, realizing what he'd just said. His head whipped towards the staircase and he immediately started up before casting her another quick look.

"Night."

She let out a shuddering breath before replying, "Night."

Hermione watched in amusement as Ron still stared at the autographed parchment in his hand as if it were the most valuable object on the planet. After all his blustering he still was in awe of Viktor.

"Why don't you marry it, Ron?"

He blinked a few times before focusing on her disbelievingly.

"I can't believe I have Viktor Krum's autograph!"

Harry chuckled from his place beside her and she turned to him with a grin.

"I'm just surprised he hasn't exploded by now."

Whatever little moment had occurred between them mere hours ago was either being conveniently forgotten or she had wrongly misinterpreted the events. Although she wasn't the most confident girl around she knew that the latter was not even really an option so obviously they were both pretending nothing untoward had taken place.

"You're just lucky Viktor is a genuinely nice guy otherwise he may have humiliated you in front of everyone," she admonished.

To Ron's credit, he blushed abashedly.

"Just because he's the greatest seeker in the world doesn't mean he's still not a -"

She glared at him stopping the words before they could clog their way up his throat.

"Don't start, Ronald," she stressed his name to show her displeasure, "I should think you've had enough time insulting Viktor, especially considering he has done nothing to you."

He crossed his arms and she heard him mumble something that suspiciously sounded like, 'He asked you to the ball'. She chose to ignore that and turned her attention back to Harry who, to her surprise, had a slight frown on his face. She wondered if he was, for some unfathomable reason, in agreement with Ron. She highly doubted that, though. Harry had shown no concern over her friendship with Viktor although he hadn't outright supported it either. She frowned to herself. How did Harry feel? Surely, he didn't believe that rubbish about her dating the enemy or some such nonsense?

She decided it was her responsibility to lighten the mood as she was the one who had darkened it, to begin with. Her mind scoured for topics that didn't lead to anything depressing and found that there was very little concerning the three of them that didn't lead to something slightly sad or tragic. Not to mention, Dumbledore had pulled her and Ron aside before the train to inform them that they were not to contact Harry over the summer. She had immediately questioned the Headmaster appalled at the idea of Harry not having any communication after what he'd endured but he had been staunch in his decision. He'd iterated to them that it was for Harry's protection which may have mollified her somewhat but did little to allay her suspicions. Once she returned home she would have to find some way to contact Harry without Dumbledore knowing.

She sighed in annoyance. Even now, she couldn't access everything because of that stupid oath. Had she been able to access all of her knowledge she would have been better able to protect Harry all these years. She crossed her arms and stared sullenly out the window before a nudge in her side brought her attention back to the other two occupants in the compartment.

"No need to pout, I'm sure Ron will come around."

She smiled sheepishly at Harry and resisted the urge to playfully mess in his hair.

"I wasn't thinking about that."

"Then, what were you thinking about?"

She glanced at Ron who still seemed to be mumbling but was now back to staring at his autograph.

"Nothing important," she shrugged.

She didn't miss the look of disappointment on his face before it quickly went blank. She felt a bit guilty not completely confiding in him but it wasn't something that could be helped. As it was, she was still trying to find a way to get him away from those monsters he lived with.

"I wonder what Sirius is doing."

She smiled a bit at the thought of what he'd be doing. He was probably cursing the fact that he was still on the run and couldn't fully be with his godson, not that she blamed him. She was highly pissed at Sirius's predicament and felt guilty once again over the fact that she couldn't do anything. It was an absolute outrage to her that he had suffered all of those years in prison for a crime he didn't commit and still could not properly show his face because that rat Pettigrew had escaped yet again.

"He's probably wondering the same thing about you," she sighed again in agitation, "I wish you could go stay with him, Harry. It's not fair."

He gave her a bemused look before his features relaxed back into their sullen fixture.

"Me too."

What she'd really wished all these years was that she could take him home with her but that was so out of the question she'd laughed aloud many times just at the thought. Life was, most definitely, not fair.

"You know you two don't have to whisper I'm sitting right over here, you know," they both turned to Ron who was giving them an annoyed look, "I hate it when you guys do that," they stared at him blankly before he motioned to them with his hands, "That whole silent conversation thing you do," they glanced at once another before turning back to him still not understanding what he was talking about, "That! That right there. It's creepy, it is. Talking without...talking!"

They looked at one another again before bursting into laughter. Ron's lips twitched for a few moments before he joined them. Hermione allowed herself to succumb to the innocent moment they shared knowing that moments like these would be few in the future. As their laughter slowly abated a peace settled over their compartment as they all sat in silence together, alternating in staring out the window. Suddenly the door flew open and they all stared up into the sneering face of Draco Malfoy who had his arm wrapped around a girl with dark hair she knew was in Slytherin but couldn't remember her name. The girl blushed furiously at seeing all of them and she briefly wondered why before remembering that this was one of Pansy's friends and she probably thought word would get back that she was obviously rendezvousing with Malfoy. Hermione nearly rolled her eyes at the thought, as if she cared about anything those nitwits were up to.

"Looks like this one's sullied, what with Scarhead, Weasel, and the mu-"

Harry jumped up quickly with Ron behind him and Malfoy's voice petered out. He then cleared his throat and glared at them all.

"Back out and take your girlfriend with you, Malfoy," Harry spat the words like venom.

She knew he was taut for a fight, had been ever since he returned with Cedric's body. She wasn't about to let him, though. It was bad enough he was going to the Dursley's for the summer but she wouldn't allow him to get into trouble on top of that. The Prophet was already having a field day about his proclamations of Voldemort being back. She stood and squeezed beside him holding her arm out in front of her to which Malfoy sneered.

"How cute," the look on his face indicated that he thought it was anything but, "Potty's girlfriend trying to defend him."

The Slytherin girl was tugging aimlessly on Malfoy's robes and she could see that Harry was reaching for his wand. She reached for the door and pulled it all the way back, already fed up with this little episode, and pointed into the corridor.

"Out."

The tone she used was one that always had those around her withering in acquiescence and she could see Malfoy falter for a bit before glaring at her.

"You can't tell me what to do you-"

Before he finished his sentence she had grabbed him roughly and shoved him backward. The girl who had been clinging to him stumbled backward too and they both bumped into the opposite wall. Just as he was about to open his mouth and, no doubt, curse her and her unfortunate heritage, she scoffed at that, she had slammed the door shut and used her wand to place a silencing and locking charm on the door. She turned back to Harry's and Ron's amazed expressions.

"What?"

Harry just grinned at her and she began to grin back before she felt a jolt of electricity ripple through her body and she staggered into his arms.

"Hermione?" he asked, voice full of concern.

Before she could respond or remove herself from his grip another ripple stronger than the first ripped through her and this time she screamed. It wasn't that the sensation was painful, rather it was wholly overwhelming as all of her memories and knowledge suppressed by the oath exploded inside of her filling the compartment with a powerful blue light. That pressing suffocating feeling was leaving and she trembled in Harry's arms as she fully succumbed to the sensation and fell into darkness.

Alchaeus Erebus Granger paced the length of his gigantic study. He knew that once Hermione returned home she would not be happy. She would not be happy because he would be informing her that she would no longer be allowed to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The only reason he'd allowed her in the first place was because he knew that it was something that she had to do. She was being guided by the higher spirits in her choice and no matter how much he would've liked to he knew Hermione had to walk her own path. That didn't mean that he wouldn't do everything in his power to protect her though.

He'd given her four years to attend that school and if it worked out he would let her continue but as it stood, her life had been in danger from the moment she'd entered that godforsaken place. He knew, in his position, that he was naturally paranoid, it came with the territory, after all. When it came to Hermione, though, paranoid was an insufficient word for the near maniacal fear he felt for her well being. He ran his hands through his bushy tangled mass of hair and willed the unsettling feeling in his stomach to go away. It was a constant sickness he endured when Hermione was away.

He strode over to the floor to ceiling window overlooking the city and stared out. It was one of the few things that could calm him. There seemed to be an ever growing tension inside of him that he couldn't pinpoint. His mother had always taught him to trust said feelings and after the many scrapes that he'd been into, he did. He just hoped and prayed that this feeling had nothing to do with Hermione specifically. He could handle almost anything but losing her.

He felt rather than heard the door behind him open. The soft rhythm of the footsteps let him know immediately who it was. He turned to his wife and felt some of the tension release from him as he gazed into her brown eyes.

"Don't worry yourself to death."

"How can I not? I'm just thankful her name didn't come out of that ridiculous goblet! If it wasn't for this damn oath I would've stormed that school ages ago!"

His nervousness was fleeing at the sight of his anger and he embraced it. It was always better to be angry than a ball of nerves, in his opinion. His wife placed her hands on her waist, the beginning signs that she was going to tell him off and knock some sense into him simultaneously.

"You think you're the only one worried about her? I don't like her at that school any more than you do. It really hurts knowing I can't just go in there and yank her out but being this wound up is not good for when she actually gets here. It's bad enough we're going to have to tell her she can't return I don't need your attitude on top of it all."

He glared at her, "I've more than earned the right to have an attitude about this."

She sighed and her stern look softened into one of understanding as she wrapped her arms around him, "I know how frustrating it is for you. You hate to feel powerless but you can't always have your way not even in matters as important as this."

He scoffed as his arms wrapped around her, "You make me sound like some spoiled petulant child."

"I don't know about the petulant child part but you're definitely spoiled, My King."

He gave a reluctant chuckle at that, "What good is it being King if I can't have my way?"

She pulled away and gave him a shrewd look with laughter in her eyes, "You know, it's probably a good thing we're in secret right now, or else your ego would, quite literally, have no bounds. You'd be spoiled beyond help."

He pecked the top of her nose, "A huge ego? With you around?"

She glared playfully at him and he laughed. He twirled her honey golden hair playfully while eying her lips and admiring her light brown skin. Just as he was about to capture her lips with his he felt a tingle go through him and by the look on Nessa's face she felt it too. Then, he felt another tingle much stronger roil through him and he felt a feeling of release. He looked outside and saw that the entire city was bathed in a magnificent blue light. He released his wife and stared at the both of them as they glowed. He couldn't see it but his eyes flashed blue as well and she bowed regally before him.

"The time has come, my King. You must take back the outer lands."

He nodded resolutely, not hardly believing it himself. Then, his eyes widened.

"Hermione."

Harry knelt beside Hermione where he'd laid her on the seat, his gaze raking over her body. He was terrified. He'd sent Ron to find some type of authority or adult on the train. Anyone who might know how to help her. Hermione might have known what to do but he was at a loss.

After tending to Hermione he'd immediately unlocked their compartment and stunned Malfoy and his girlfriend before they could get away. It was a good thing Hermione hadn't used any difficult locking and silence charms a moment before. He had no clue what could be wrong with Hermione but since it happened right after the altercation with Malfoy it didn't take long for him to place the blame on the blond ferret. 'What was taking Ron so long?!' He was growing more agitated by the minute staring at her prone form. He'd tried enervate several times to no avail. He brushed a few bushy curls from her face. She looked so peaceful. His eyes swiveled to her chest and he watched fixedly to make sure she was still breathing. He sighed as he noticed the up and down of her chest then turned bright red once he realized what area of her body he was staring at.

He gently grasped her hand in his and marveled at how tiny it was compared to his own.

"Come on, Hermione. Wake up," he whispered to her.

His eyes widened slightly when her eyelids began to flutter. He leaned in closer to her face.

"Hermione?"

Her eyes fluttered open and he felt relief wash over him like a tidal wave. He let out a shaky breath as her cinnamon eyes seemed to blink away his darkest thoughts.

"H-Harry?"

Her voice sounded a little different but he attributed that to her just waking up.

"Hey," he forced a smile on his face, "Are you okay?"

She stared into his eyes for so long that he began to fidget. Her eyes were making him feel...funny.

"Hermione?"

She blinked and then jumped up so fast he nearly fell backward. She reached out her hands to steady him.

"Sorry," she loosened her grip on his shoulders, "How long was I out?"

There it was again. It wasn't her voice it was her...accent. Something he'd never really noticed before. Now, it sounded...different.

"About ten minutes or so. I sent Ron to get help."

She said nothing else and seemed to stare off into space. He'd never really seen the expression that was on her face now. She looked like some amazing event had just happened and she didn't know where to go from here.

"Hermione, what happened?"

Her eyes shifted to him and she opened her mouth several times before closing it and staring off in space again. He was studying her so intently that he was startled when the compartment door opened. He could still see Malfoy and the girl laid out on the floor and his face turned thunderous at the sight of them.

"Hermione, you're awake!"

Ron stood in the compartment doorway with a face-splitting grin and the Ravenclaw Headboy whose name he couldn't remember.

"What's going on here?" the Headboy demanded.

Ron began to open his mouth to explain but Hermione quickly cut him off.

"I'm sorry, I had a bit of a fainting spell after a small altercation with Malfoy. My friends assumed he hexed me and stunned him until they could find you."

Harry stared open mouthed at her quick lie. He had no idea what happened but he knew simple fainting was not it. She gave him a look that he correctly interpreted as 'shut up and let me handle it I'll explain later', so he kept quiet but Ron didn't exactly get the message.

"But that git did do something to you! You didn't just bloody faint!"

Her face flushed and her eyes narrowed, "Language Ron and Malfoy didn't do anything to me."

Ron opened his mouth again to protest but Hermione raised her head in dismissal and looked pointedly at the Headboy.

"We apologize for bothering you. You can release Malfoy and his friend. I'm fine now."

The Headboy looked like he wanted to say something more or at the very least object to the situation in some way but was corralled at the look on Hermione's face. He turned primly and released the two Slytherins in the corridor.

"Don't think this is over Potter! Never think you can raise your wand against me again!"

Malfoy marched off without a second glance and left the girl he was with staring at them wide-eyed and pale before she too scampered off. The Headboy gave them one last stern look before shutting their door and disappearing. The moment he did Harry sat next to Hermione just in time for Ron to start up.

"You're protecting Malfoy now?! Blimey, Hermione, he did something to you."

He was interested in Hermione's excuse as well and watched her intently. She still had a dazed and wondrous look on her face but there seemed to be a million different things going on behind her eyes. He'd always thought she had the most expressive eyes he'd ever seen. He could always tell what she was thinking or feeling just by looking at them. Now, there seemed to be too much going on and he couldn't rightly decipher it.

Hermione took a deep breath and glanced between him and Ron, "I know it appears that way but trust me that's not what happened. Malfoy did not hex me or anything of the sort."

Ron wrinkled his nose in confusion, "Why are you talking like that?"

"Like what?" her eyes widened slightly, "Oh! My accent! I completely forgot."

He and Ron shared bewildered looks.

"You kind of sound like...I don't know," he mumbled.

"I kind of sounds like old English mixed in a bit with American and something else?" Hermione grinned shyly.

"Uhhh, yeah."

She moved her hand and he blushed furiously realizing he had been holding it this whole time. He quickly let her go and scooted away to give her some space while eyeing the floor. She let out a long-suffering sigh and he summoned his courage to look back at her.

"I'm not exactly one hundred percent sure yet what's going on. I'll have to speak with my parents first but I promise you both that when I do I will tell you," she paused and her expression became a bit pained, "Is that okay?"

Harry looked at Ron who still looked as lost and confused as he, no doubt, looked. He would have preferred to know now what was going on with Hermione but if he knew nothing else he knew that he could trust her. She had always had his best interest at heart even when he didn't agree with her 'protection' methods. He just hoped whatever was going on wouldn't put her in danger.

"I'll agree only if you're sure you're not in any danger," his eyes connected with hers letting her know how serious he was.

Her face softened into a smile and he felt something flutter in his stomach, "I'm not in any danger," she frowned and took a moment before continuing, "At least not in any immediate danger. Honestly, I can't say. I just know I can't tell you anything just yet."

"Why not?" Ron asked exasperatedly, "You just passed out and was covered in this blue light. Something could be wrong with you and we wouldn't know it."

Her lips set sternly and she straightened her back in what he liked to affectionately refer to as her 'lecturing stance', "For one, we're nearly at the station and don't have time. For two, I know what's happened to me even if you don't. Trust me, there's a lot of things that I would have to tell you two and I would need more than a few minutes to tell it."

Harry studied her his worry increasing with every second. What could she possibly have to tell them? What was going on? Before he could verbalize any of his thoughts the train's whistle could be heard and they were pulling into nine and three quarters. They all worked in a tense silence as they gathered their belongings. His mind was currently in overdrive with everything that had happened. He wasn't as adept at handling so many different thoughts and feelings, this was more Hermione's forte.

Despite his chaotic thoughts as he stepped off of the train onto the platform, his stomach dropped in dread. He knew the Dursleys would be waiting for him on the other side, reluctantly. He'd have to spend all summer with them. He would get called 'freak' again. He'd be forced to do all the menial chores. He'd have to cook them meals that he could not partake of himself. Then, he'd go to his small room that was his only refuge from their scathing words and looks. He immediately became sullen as all the negative things in his life seemed to be upon him all at once again.

The Weasley's all greeted and said their farewells to him and Hermione and to his surprise she grabbed his hand with a determined look on her face and led him through the barrier. He immediately spotted his uncle standing near his car looking disgruntled and put out as usual. He guessed Dudley and Petunia were either in the car or had foregone the trip altogether. He felt Hermione pulling on his hand and he turned to her. He had to take in a breath at the intensity in her eyes. He'd never seen her like this. If he was being totally honest with himself he would admit that ever since whatever happened on the train Hermione seemed a bit...different.

"Harry, I'm going to get you away from those monsters," she then enveloped him in one of her signature hugs that he couldn't resist returning, "I promise. You won't be there long."

Her words were said with such conviction that he believed her even though logically he knew that there was nothing Hermione could do. Dumbledore wouldn't allow it and who went against his word? None that he knew but something in the way Hermione was looking, something in the way that she was holding him, in the way that she was speaking made him a believer. He didn't know how long they stood there hugging one another but he was no more inclined to let her go than she seemed to be in letting him go.

What did shock him out of the embrace was the soft kiss placed on his cheek. His entire body shuddered and he slowly released Hermione who, although was lightly blushing, still had that determined gleam in her eye.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Harry."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek again to which his face heated up immediately and then she was gone. He watched her walk away with two retreating figures who must have been her parents. They were long gone before he was able to blink again and he could hear the angry rumblings of his uncle. He hurried to his car and slipped in the back not even hearing Vernon's insults. The only thing he could think of was Hermione and the tingling feeling that she'd left on his cheek.