Letting Go

Chapter Eleven

Hermione Granger wasn't one to NOT get involved if something unfair was happening.

She also wasn't one to hold her tongue. She spoke her mind when she wanted too and held her tongue when she needed to. She learned this over the years of staying at Hogwarts.

And it was one such situation where she knew it would most probably be better for her if she were to hold her tongue, then speak her mind. She was going to get involved in something she knew couldn't possibly be good for her in the long run.

Hermione Granger saw the Ravenclaw, turned Snake, being cornered by the lackeys of Cho Chang.

She felt sorry for the girl, no matter where she went she seemed to find trouble...it reminded her a bit of Harry.

A small smile tugged at her lips at the thought of Kagome Higurashi and Harry Potter alike. They had major differences, sure, but they had lots of similarities.

Taking a deep breath Hermione stepped closer to the group of girls, "Is there a problem here?"

All the girls heads snapped to her as a frown pulled at Hermione's lips.

"This isn't any of your business Granger...leave." a girl with blond hair and green eyes snapped, a sneer on her face.

"Hmmm, why would I do that. You are cornering a girl who is younger than you and also from the looks of it, doesn't want to fight." She paused looking at the blue eyed girl, " she also happens to be the only one not with a wand out."

A snort came from one of the other girls, "Just because you are Harry Potters friend doesn't mean we have to listen to you."

Hermione raised an eyebrow and drawled in a very Professor Snape fashion, "hmm, Is that so..."

Just as she was going to say something else, a voice came from behind Hermione.

"If I remember correctly, Kagome is under our protection, and you should watch what you do unless you want a whole house after you three."

Hermione sighed, she didn't ever think she would be happy to see him, but he did hold some power around the school.

"Granger." the voice drawled, a smirk on his face as he walked to her side to look at the situation.

"Malfoy" She glanced at him before turning her attention back to the group. "As I said, is there a problem here?" The girls all scowled before scampering off leaving Hermione alone with the other two.

Draco frowned as he glanced at Kagome, "You really know how to find trouble wherever you go..." he sighed, "I should just have Blaise lock you up so no more harm comes to you."

Kagome scowled at him, she didn't think she attracted that much trouble...

"Come on, lets get you to class." Draco sighed as he put his hand on the low part of her back and started to lead her away.

Before the two left Draco looked over his shoulder at Hermione and gave her a smirk, "Thanks Granger." then the two walked down the Hall leaving a stunned Hermione Granger in their wake.

'Who knew Draco Malfoy could be nice.' Hermione thought as she too left to get to her next class. She didn't want to be late, Harry and Ron would never let her live it down.

x-X-x

"I wasn't under the impression that you and Hermione Granger were on friendly terms, what changed?" Kagome questioned in honest curiosity as she walked beside her 'classroom escort' if you would.

"Nothing has changed," Draco gave a small frown, "however, I cannot deny the fact that she stuck up to our house to protect one of our own. She shouldn't have had to, but the situation is what it is. I merely gave thanks where it was earned."

"...I don't believe that." Kagome stopped and turned her eyes to look at Draco. He too stopped in his steps and faced her. "Enlighten me. Why is it, when she has done many things to have deserved a thank you, you have ignored her and thrown hateful and insulting words her way."

Draco didn't give a reply, he wouldn't, he turned and left her in front of her next class, and headed on his way to his own. This was the only class she didn't have with Draco and Blaise. Arithmancy, it was during their Divinations class, and the topic of Divination hadn't been one of interest to her since her third year, and even then, she liked it just as much as Hermione had. Yes, everyone knew how much Hermione liked Divinations, even the socially inept Kagome.

"Miss. Higurashi, good of you to join us. Please take your seat and we will start with familial personality numbers. Take the numbers of your mom and dads first, middle and last name, and find their personality number. Then, adding all of their numbers together, find their relationship number."

Kagome frowned, '...my mother and...father?' Kagome sighed, "I'd rather not..."

"Is there a problem with the work for today?"

Kagome jumped and turned to see an irritated Professor hovering behind her. "N-no...I just...my dad." Kagome frowned, "I don't have a father." Not really the truth, but she wasn't about to be tell the woman the truth. There were only a few people who knew of her past, Dumbledore, her mother...and herself. As far as she knew, it was only them...as far as she knew.

-x-x-x-

Severus sat across from Blaise Zabini. The boy had finally made his way to his Head of House's office. "Now, Mr. Zabini, I'm not sure how much you know of your newly found source of interest, but there is one small fact to which I think I should elaborate on. Her father..."

"What about her father?"

"Her father was well known in the Japanese Magical World, and was a wizard who practiced dark magic and potions. He was a great Potions Magister, one of the greatest, and one of the vilest. There was a rather aggressive rumor that spread to the Japanese Ministry, and her father was thrown into Azkaban on charges of child abuse."

"Child abuse?!"

"It was kept hush hush for the most part, in fact, as far as I know, only Dumbledore knows of her past, I know only because I was in a group of elite Potion Ministers from around the world, and I had been one of the people to witness one of his...precarious potions."

"How so...what do you mean precarious?"

"...Kagome was an experiment, for the most of her life. She has more potions running through her veins than a testing lab filled with potion tubes."

"...how is she alive if she's got so many different things inside of her?"

Snape looked down at his hands in thought, "It's a curious thing, but Kagome had never shown any sign of being harmed long-term by the potions, her body had a natural healing ability. She would be strapped down, and then the potion would be forced down her throat, to put it lightly. She would only show signs of pain and irritation for a max of a day, at the longest."

Blaise watched his professor pull out a pile of parchment and quill before he took to grading his students paper. "By the next morning, she would be fine. It's a mystery to anyone how or why her body reacts this way to potions. The one used on her by Cho was healed equally as fast, she no longer shows signs of a lost voice. My point...she is very easily terrified of certain things. She has nightmares of her father often. You have taken on the role of ownership; you are now responsible for her safety."

"Why does it matter what her father did to her in her past? I mean, yes, it sucks, and if I saw him I might try to kill him...but...he's gone now...right?"

Shaking his head, Snape sighed. "He is to be released this coming month...he will come looking for Kagome...and she doesn't even know."

-x-x-x-