Draco returned late Wednesday night. In fact, it was technically Thursday morning when he finally slipped into the common room of the heads' dorm and found himself falling onto his bed. As soon as he closed his eyes, though, images from the mission he'd just got back from replayed in his head. His eyes snapped open and he rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

An entire muggle town. He'd helped raid and murder an entire muggle town on the coast and in the morning, he'd have to pretend like he hadn't. Most of the townspeople hadn't survived and the damage had been severe. In the morning, wizard and muggle newspapers alike would bear the news and Draco would carry on as normal. Merlin, things were getting worse and worse.

He blinked.

He really should try and sleep, but it was unlikely he'd actually sleep well. He'd been plagued by nightmares recently and tonight would only make them worse. His supply of Dreamless Sleep potions was running low and he knew he'd need to brew more soon if he wanted to get through the school year without resembling a half dead goblin.

With a groan, Draco pulled himself off of his bed and wandered into the bathroom to wash his face. He'd discarded his Death Eater robes as soon as he'd walked into his room. That hideous mask of his was being kept in Snape's office so he wouldn't risk other students seeing it when he walked down the halls, but the robes themselves were pretty recognisable.

Stepping into the bathroom, Draco paused. He knew he shouldn't pry, but on the sink was a glass jar of dittany cream and some other medical ointment. He frowned and tried not to think about what Hermione could have been using it for as he stepped into the shower. Unfortunately, it was the only thing he seemed to be able to think about as he stood under the hot water and tried to wipe away the guilt of his mission. When he stepped out of the shower, he spotted the ointments again and frowned once more before returning to his room.

He grabbed a Dreamless Sleep potion and downed it in one gulp before lying back down on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling, trying not to think of anything while he waited for the potion to hit. When his eyes started to droop and he knew he'd fall asleep soon, he sighed and closed his eyes. He only saw a few of that night's images flash in front of him before everything seemed to disappear.

The next thing Draco knew, he was waking up to his alarm and there was light streaming into his room. He groaned and stretched, thankful he'd been able to sleep despite still being tired.

As he climbed out of bed, he thought back to the dittany he'd seen in the bathroom last night and decided to see if it was still there. He opened the bathroom door and blinked. In front of him, Hermione was sitting on the sink counter in just a bra. Draco didn't have time to be embarrassed because before he could, he saw dark bruises covering her abdomen and shoulder.

Hermione gasped at the sight of him, reaching for her shirt to cover herself with, but Draco had already seen the marks.

"Hermione?" he asked, staring at the shirt covering her front. "What happened?"

"Before you get upset, it's been handled and you don't need to do anything," Hermione said quickly. Draco raised his eyebrow at her.

"Who handled it? You?" he asked. She frowned at his tone and he immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," she said. She tugged her uniform shirt over her head then slid off the counter top. "Blaise handled it, actually, but you are not to go pester him about it, understand?" she asked, rounding on him quickly. Draco glared at her.

"Only if you tell me what happened," he argued. Hermione glared back at him and they stayed like that for a minute. Hermione was the first to fold.

"Some of the Slytherin boys attacked me on my way to Herbology," she said. Draco waited for her to continue, but she didn't. When he opened his mouth to ask who, she glared at him and said, "I'm not telling you who, Draco. You'll just go hex them."

"They beat you up, Hermione!" Draco exclaimed. Hermione gave him a look and as much as Draco didn't want to, he let it go. "Fine. Did you go see Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes," Hermione answered shortly.

She turned away from him and walked out of the bathroom before he could call her out for lying. Draco sighed and glanced at himself in the mirror for a second. Despite how much he wanted to lock her in the dorm and keep her safe, Draco knew Hermione would never agree. He'd have to hope she wouldn't get attacked again.

Just being around her so often had painted her as a target. Both Amycus and Alecto had questioned him about her right before the mission and Draco hadn't done anything that could have given them suspicions.

Draco ended up walking to breakfast on his own that morning. He spotted Hermione sitting with Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom so he knew she'd made it safely, but he still wanted to keep an eye on her.

All throughout breakfast and up until the very moment he walked into astronomy without her, Draco kept an eye on her. Other than a few kids who shoved past her or attempted to trip her, no one seemed out to get Hermione which was both good to know and annoying. Whoever had beat her up had clearly known her schedule and that she'd be alone. He just needed to find out who it was before he could pay them back for what they'd done.

Draco was on his way to the Great Hall for lunch before he found out who had hurt Hermione. He hadn't even been looking.

"Hey, Malfoy!"

He turned around to see Montague standing behind him with Avery at his side. Rolling his eyes, Draco turned back around and continued towards the Great Hall.

"Have you seen your mudblood yet?" Montague taunted. Draco stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around. Behind him, he heard Montague mutter something to Avery before the sound of footsteps. "I hear she's a little banged up. Makes it difficult to fuck her then, yeah?"

"Say another word and I will end you," Draco growled as Montague stepped in front of him. They were the same height and Montague already had his hand on his wand, but Draco was fast. He could kill Montague before the kid even had the chance to draw his last breath.

"Have I hit a sore spot?" Montague teased. He sneered at Draco and jabbed a finger at his chest. Before he could react, Draco had twisted his arm and he was on the ground.

Montague growled and jumped to his feet as Avery pounced on Draco. Both boys tumbled to the ground in a tangle of fists and kicks while Montague stood above them and sneered. Draco managed to hit Avery hard enough to keep him down before lunging at Montague.

"Stop!"

Draco did not. He punched Montague in the face before Montague rolled out from under him. Coming up from behind him, Montague wrapped his arm around Draco's neck and tried to suffocate him. Angrily, Draco elbowed Montague in the chest and turned around to face him. Before he could see his fist, Montague had punched Draco in the face and he staggered back.

Avery clambered to his feet while Draco was busy punching Montague's face in, but Draco paid him no attention. He continued fighting Montague, grunting at the few hits Montague managed to get in while battering the other boy even worse.

"Draco! Stop!"

Draco blinked down at Montague, snapping out of his daze for a second at the familiar voice. It was just what Montague needed to throw him off and escape Draco's grasp. Draco clambered to his feet and slammed Montague into the wall.

Behind him, he heard Hermione yell and he spun around to see Avery holding Hermione tightly. His wand was at her throat and when Draco lunged towards him, Hermione cried out in pain. He stopped in his tracks and glared at Avery.

"Make one more move and I'll crucio her," Avery threatened. Draco's fingers itched to grab hold of his wand and curse Avery, but he didn't dare move.

"You hurt her," Draco sneered as Montague moved in front of him. Montague just smirked. "I'll kill you for it."

"Now, Draco," Montague said, "You shouldn't go about defending mudbloods if you're fighting for the Dark Lord."

"I swear to Merlin, Montague," Draco growled. He stepped forward and Hermione inhaled sharply, causing him to freeze.

"Someone should tell him," Montague said, turning to Avery. He glanced back at Draco as he walked towards Hermione and said, "Someone should tell the Dark Lord that one of his loyal servants is in love with the mudblood."

Draco barked out a laugh.

"You're not worthy enough to bow before him, let alone speak to him," Draco said. Montague glared at him, but Draco said, "The last time you tried to see him, you interrupted a meeting and the Dark Lord used you as a plaything. Now let her go and leave before you embarrass yourself more."

Montague snarled at Draco but motioned for Avery to let Hermione go. They stormed down the hall while Draco moved forward to check on Hermione.

"You should have told me it was Montague," Draco said, his hands ghosting over her shoulders. Hermione rolled her eyes and pointed her wand at his split lip.

"You shouldn't have gotten into a fight about it," she told him. Draco frowned and flinched at the slight stinging sensation from her healing spells. Hermione didn't apologise. When she was finished, she stepped back and gave him a look. "Now, can we please go enjoy lunch without getting into any more fights?" she asked.

Draco smiled and nodded, motioning for her to lead the way. She shook her head and scolded him one last time before walking into the Great Hall and going to the Gryffindor table, leaving Draco to listen to Blaise and wish he'd just gone up to the dorm.