Title: Security Author: drcjsnider Rating: PG-13 Prompt Set: 50.4 (Draco/Hermione) Prompt: 017.

War Word Count: 401 Summary: Draco has learned a difficult lesson. Warnings: course language Notes: Entry for the dramione_ldws challenge.

Draco Malfoy was not a man who believed in fate, destiny, providence, or any of that other shite people clung to so they could justify their pathetic lives and irrational decisions. Draco didnt need the false security that faith and trust bestowed on the mindless rabble. He was content with the knowledge that he would one day be judged, and most likely punished, for his actions. This philosophy did not cause him to toss and turn at night, it didnt make him to tear at

his hair or clothing in despair, and it certainly did not push him to seek redemption from Harry-fucking-Potter or his band of devout cronies. Unfortunately, he hadnt always had such a healthy outlook on life. Hed experienced an embarrassing period of weakness during sixth year. He had been commanded to do the impossible, threatened with the unthinkable, and had been desperate to find a way out of

his dilemma. Then she had appeared, like an angel of mercy. She had promised him salvation and like a fool hed reached for it, strained for it, fought against tradition and his upbringing to grasp what appeared to be a way out. Hed been hoodwinked. Hed believed her words of affection. Hed believed that her intervention would protect him. But she turned out to be just as callous and capricious as any Death Eater. She had known immediately that the mead, which had

almost killed Weasley, had been his doing. And despite his protest that he had gifted the tainted beverage months before her offer to help him, that hed had no clue that anyone besides Dumbledore might be at risk, shed refused to listen to his pleas. Shed ruthlessly cut him from her life and mercilessly denied him further emotional support. Hermione Granger taught Draco Malfoy that there was no such thing as deliverance. He, therefore, did not flinch or cower as

he watched Bellatrix duel Hermione and Ginny Weasley during the final battle at Hogwarts. He remained impassive as the two girls struggled to match the skills of his aunt. Even when the brown haired witch had lost her balance and stumbled, hed clamped down on any wayward thought of rushing to her assistance. Determined to remain dispassionate to the end, Draco would neither actively aid nor hinder either side in the war. Survival was the only objective and it

was a goal most easily accomplished alone.