DISCLAIMER: Only the plot and the few unrecognizable characters belong to me!

A/N: HELLO EVERYONE! Thank you so much for following/favouriting/reviewing my fic! Your support inspires me to write :) I hope you enjoy this chapter as well, once again, thank you so much! Enjoy~! (I apologise if the chapters getting shorter. This chapter and the next few will be particularly hard to write, so I shall apologise beforehand!)

CHAPTER 3

The beautiful and harmonious music drifted through the ballroom, and the pairs danced around the dance floor, steps synchronized with the beats of the music. The opening of the ballroom door was muffled by the music, and as Hermione, Ginny, and Pansy entered, no one seemed to notice yet.

The music was interrupted a one of the violinist's bow skidded across his instrument, causing an unpleasant sound to resonate through the ballroom. The orchestra stopped, and so did the people dancing. Everyone's attention was directed towards the three ladies whom had caused the slip up of the violinist to happen, and they couldn't take their eyes away.

Astoria sighed dramatically, having not noticed Hermione, Pansy and Ginny yet. Draco, who was quick enough to catch the violinist's line of vision, looked towards Hermione just as she stepped onto the dance floor.

Everyone else vanished.

Hermione… Hermione… Hermione…

He felt like he was a hormonal teenager, seeing a particularly hot girl walk past him. Everything happened in slow motion. Every step she took, each sway of her hips… He felt his throat tighten; well and perhaps, something else tighten, and his heart beating faster…

She tossed her hair over her shoulder.

It took all of his will power to stop his jaw from dropping. Did the ballroom just get… warmer…? Damn, he thought. What the bloody fuck did she do to herself?

Astoria left Draco's side and stomped unglamourously towards the orchestra with the intent of lecturing the violinist. Hermione strode past Draco and winked at him. Draco's eyes widened and his jaw really dropped this time. Holy fuck. What did she just do? And did he just catch the scent of… musk? He was sure it wasn't Astoria's. Hers was a stronger and more disgusting sort of musk. Oh Merlin help me, Hermione's wearing musk, he thought.

His head, along with every guest's, followed Hermione until she sat down at the bar.

Draco was still trying to figure out what happened to her. She was still wearing the dress he gave her. Could her smoky eyes and red lips do so much difference to a woman?

The whole ballroom of guests remained eerily quiet. Wait, no, it wasn't. Someone was screeching. Someone called Astoria Greengrass, who was screeching away at the violinist.

"You do not interrupt my dance! Do you have any idea who I am? What were you thinking, making that Merlin awful noise? That is the most disrespectful thing to do to the people dancing, to Narcissa, and most especially, me! How can you interrupt my dance with Draco, you stupid lowly-

Her voice was cut off, and Astoria's eyes widened to the size of a golf ball, as she spun around to identify the person who silenced her.

Draco made his way towards the bar where Hermione was, but Astoria caught him in a death grip by the arm, motioning towards her throat, telling him to remove the silencing spell.

Ginny smirked as she discreetly put her wand back into the wand holder fastened around her thighs under her skirt. Pansy nudged her playfully and whispered to her.

"Ooooh, I see a certain Slytherin rubbing off on you, you slimy Gryffindor…"

Ginny rolled her eyes and smirked, nudging Pansy back a little harder than she did her. She motioned her head towards Hermione, who was hyperventilating on the bar bench, apparently from shock at the stunt she just pulled. She knew the men were ogling her, and she knew Draco was shocked out of his mind.

Pansy sniffed in annoyance and snapped her fingers for the bartender for three shots of the strongest liquor available, while Ginny turned back to the dance floor in attempt to find Blaise, who was nowhere to be found.

Narcissa was swimming with glee in her mind, very much due to the reaction of her guests towards Hermione, and also due to the quick wit of the youngest Weasley. She reminded her so much of Molly Weasley. If Ginny hadn't silenced Astoria, she herself would have to do it, and being the Lady of the Manor, it wouldn't look good.

"Everyone!" She called. "Please continue enjoying the party, I apologise for the musical interruption, though I'm sure it was understandable. Those three ladies simply look magnificent. May the music commence!"

It was then that Astoria turned her attention from Draco to the three ladies whom Narcissa referred to, and not being able to hold back her shock, she opened her mouth in a silent scream.

Ignoring her, the ballroom immediately bustled with activity. Astoria was fuming and glaring at Draco who refused to remove her silencing spell.

Are you a witch or not? Stupid girl, you have your own wand!

"Hermione Granger…" Came the deep unmistakable voice of Theodore Nott. "Who knew you had it in you?"

Hermione, a little tipsy because of the alcohol Pansy forced her to drink, smiled. "Hello Theo… Why, thank you. I just never showed it, do you like it?" she threw him a flirty look.

Theo smirked and placed his hand on the crook of her bare neck. "Of course I like it. You know, you had 'untouchable' hanging off your neck since you entered the company. Draco indirectly claimed you as his and everyone knew you belonged to him."

Hermione stared at him, feeling her heart pump faster. Really? Was that why everyone seemed to respect me so much? Even though I'm muggle-born? Because of Draco claiming me?

"If it weren't for Astoria Greengrass today," Theo continued, taking a step closer and leaned into her ear. "I wouldn't approach you at all."

Hermione barely suppressed a shiver as his breath tickled her neck. Despite the liquor, this was too much for her to take. She could handle ogling, but hitting on her? Woah, gotta stop there…

"Dance with me?" he asked.

Hermione couldn't hide the repulsion she felt. She knew Operation Impress Draco Malfoy would not work unless she danced and talked with a few men. But now she wondered why in Merlin's name was she caught up in such a situation. She felt incredibly disgusted with herself, and had half a mind to tell Theodore to shove off, but if she did that, how would she impress Draco Malfoy?

Lucky for her, she escaped giving an answer for the time being as Blaise appeared beside her and automatically commenced Operation Snog Ginny Weasley.

"Oh Merlin." Hermione muttered to herself as she rubbed her nose bridge. "Give me a bag, I need to puke."

"Oh get a room!" Pansy cried, shoving Blaise away from her redhead friend.

Blaise shot Pansy an irritated glare and gave Ginny another peck just to annoy her even more.

Hermione laughed, momentarily forgetting the presence of Theo until he gave her a gentle light tap on the shoulder. "Hermione…?"

Hermione had never felt so hesitant in her life. Not even when she offered to go die in the Forbidden Forest with Harry during the war. "Theo… I-

"She's going to mingle with the guests. That's her job as Draco's personal assistant." Blaise interrupted, tugging on Hermione's arm. She gave him a thankful look.

Theo rolled his eyes. Pulling on her other arm, he said, "She's hired as financial consultant, not personal assistant. That's not her job." He gave her a hard tug, pulling her off the high chair of the bar and out of Blaise's grip, turning only to face the receiving end of Draco's wand. Draco glared, while Theo smirked.

"If you still want your balls you will let her go." Draco threatened, looking livid.

Theo only smirked wider.

Sparks flew from Draco's wand. "NOW."

Theo rolled his eyes at his friend, dropping Hermione's arm and throwing his own into the air. "Took you long enough to get away from that bitch, mate! I was just giving you a bit of boost." He pumped his fist in the air. "Seriously though, why did you invite her? Look at Granger here!" He gestured to her and whistled. "Hot as hell!" he exclaimed.

Draco sighed in annoyance at Theo and looked at Hermione with desperation. Desperation for what, she couldn't tell. "Granger!" He gripped her shoulders. "Merlin you look hot."

Her jaw dropped instantly with a crack. "What?" Never in her right mind would she expect him to say that.

Draco mentally kicked himself. "I-I mean, you look fantastic! What did they do to you! Anyway, Astoria. You must believe me, I had no part in that."

"It was Narcissa, I know. She said it herself! And I know you wouldn't do such a thing." Hermione cut him off. "Besides, you don't have to explain anything to me! I'm perfectly fine, you need to enjoy yourself, and I understand." She smiled and patted his shoulder.

"No Hermione, it's not like that! You don't understand, I-

"I understand! I completely understand, Draco. I'm a grown woman hence I can definitely handle myself. You go have fun, alright?" She gave him a light push, hoping he would get her hint and go away. Didn't he get that if he stayed any second longer she would smack him on the head and told him that he was an idiot? And then probably punch him in his mid-section and told him he was a bastard? And then she might consider kicking him in the shin and command him to tell her how he felt so that she did not have to go through the process of impressing to get him to confess? Bloody Malfoy and his thick skull.

Draco was at a loss. What should he do now? His mind was in a mess, and he could no longer remember what he could and could not tell her. He only knew that he couldn't tell her that he loved her.

"Hermione, no… It's not like that! You… I… We…"

Hermione's eyes widened and she unconsciously took a small step forward in anticipation. Is this it? Is this it?

However, before Draco could continue, Blaise came between them and dragged Draco away. "Woah, okay mate. Gotta stop there. Let's get you a drink. Theo, dance with Granger. Ladies, if you'll excuse us." Blaise had sensed his best mate's confusion and dilemma. He was not about to let them create even more tension than there already was. He dragged Draco to the other end of the bar, while Theo obeyed Blaise and dragged Hermione off to the dance floor.

"Wha…? Theo! Stop man-handling me!" Hermione hissed angrily, yanking her arm back from Theo. "I can walk perfectly well by myself."

Theo rolled his eyes. Merlin, they were becoming a habit. "Yes Your Highness, whatever."

Honestly? He was more than annoyed with Draco and Hermione. If they loved each other, then just get on with it already. He didn't understand their dilemma. He hated the sexual tension between them. He felt as if he was losing Draco, losing his understanding of him. He could tell that even Hermione, who normally understood him the most, seemed to be a bit confused as well. It now felt as if Blaise was the one who caught on everything and was the one that understood Draco the most. He didn't like the feeling of being replaced.

Hermione was cursing Draco in her mind, cursing him for speaking so slowly, and forming incoherent sentences. Wasn't he always the slimy and witty one, coming up with quick and annoying comebacks? They had come so close! Narcissa's plan was working, despite the failure of impressing on her part. She could tell Draco was about to say something about him, about her, about them, but the blasted Blaise Zabini had to cut in.

Before she could think further, the Potioneer, Marcus, cut in their dance, and Hermione politely agreed. Just like that, she danced with practically every single male in the ballroom, and she believed Draco wasn't even looking. She expected Blaise to get him drunk or something.

Oh, what have I gotten myself into? Hermione asked herself.

Her feet were aching, and she was groped at her ass more than she could count. She was sure that there were blisters forming at the bottom of her feet, and she was so annoyed she would probably Avada the next person who tried to lower their hand to her ass.

Contrary to her belief, Draco saw her dance. He saw her dance with everyone. But credits to Blaise, there were nothing he could do. Why? He was bloody tied to a chair, wand taken from him and silenced. Pansy and Ginny shared a laugh at the irony of the situation he was in, as Hermione was in a similar position as he was currently in.

I'm a Malfoy, and I'm bloody tied to a chair and silenced. Look at that man! I'll fire him! One more inch… you… one more inch… don't you dare… no… BASTARD!

Draco grunted and struggled against his bonds again. Sixteen! Sixteen guys had groped his Hermione's ass!

He sent Blaise another glare, who only shrugged in return and downed another glass of firewhiskey.

"Sorry, mate, you know I have to do this."

Draco continued to glare at Blaise, fantasizing about the various ways to kill him.

"Your mother wants her to impress you tonight, but I guess she's doing a better job making you jealous. Quite impressive, but unfortunately I have to inform you that there's nothing you can do. You know the situation you're in, Draco. Bonnie and I are going to come up with something, so just give me a bit more time. Self-control, mate. Self control. I know you love her more than air."

Draco knew he had to stop glaring, as his eyes were starting to hurt, but he was so angry he could literally see red.

"YOU TOLD BONNIE?" his eyes screamed at Blaise.

Blaise shrugged again. "One more brain and there's a bit more hope. Who knows, she may be useful. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe your beau owes me a dance."

"So, do you know what's wrong with Draco?"

Blaise smirked and rolled his eyes. "What's wrong with him? Everything's wrong with him. His hair isn't staying in place, he's having an uneven tan, bloody Astoria's here and he can't enjoy his time."

Hermione suppressed her giggle. "I was referring to the headaches and chest pains."

Blaise looked away. "I don't know, man." He lied. "Perhaps he's too stressed out. In fact, everyone's stressed. There's the breathing potion coming out, and the second batch of vigor-po, more and more orders coming in and we don't have enough time to boil the potions; maybe we should expand the laboratories." He slyly changed the topic.

Hermione nodded. "Good point, hopefully this Christmas break can help him relax a bit. Anyway, I don't know, we don't have much space to expand the laboratories. Perhaps we can hire more Potioneers and divide each laboratory into sections for them to work?"

Blaise shrugged. "Perhaps. No work outside of the office, though. Let's just have fun here."

"Good point." Hermione agreed. She smiled kindly at him, then angrily stomped his foot with her four inch heel.

"Ow! Fuck, Granger!" Blaise bent over in pain, releasing his grip on her waist.

"That's for dating Ginny without telling me, you arse. People are staring, get up." She pulled him up and continued the dance, acting as if nothing just happened.

Luckily for Blaise, Jeremy cut in the next dance, allowing him to go sit down and inspect his foot, making sure that nothing was broken. Not only did Hermione Granger have a good arm, she had a good leg too.

"Why're you limping?" Ginny asked as she went forward to help her boyfriend towards their dinner table.

"Granger." Came his strangled reply.

"What did she do?"

"Stomped on my bloody foot during the dance."

Ginny laughed. "Awesome! Why?"

"You."

Ginny's amused expression morphed into confusion. "Me? What did I do?"

Blaise pulled her down onto his lap, and burrowed his face into the crook of her neck. "She stomped on my foot for dating you. Now, you have to proof to me that being your boyfriend is worth the pain..."

Ginny felt blood rush to her cheeks. "What... do you want me to do?"

"Stay with me tonight, I want to rip that dress off you with my teeth..." He nibbled her earlobe.

Ginny got even redder and shied away from him. "No, I have work to do tonight..."

Blaise sighed and leaned his forehead on her shoulder. "Work is more important than me?"

Ginny cleared her throat. "Yes."

Blaise growled. "You make me a sad man, Ginny Weasley..."

"Well then I guess your hand can make you happy tonight."

A muffled laughter interrupted them, and their heads turned towards Pansy, who was biting her finger to prevent herself from laughing out loud.

Blaise glared, while Ginny reached forward and gave her friend a smack.

Pansy tsk-ed, swatted Ginny's hand away and leaned towards them. "Someone's whipped." she whispered, and immediately burst out laughing.

Ginny giggled, while Blaise glared harder. "That's because I love her too much."

Pansy smiled. "Aw, Blaise..." She reached out and ran her hand through his hair, purposely messing it up. "That's so sweet..."

Blaise hit her hand away, annoyed.

She laughed. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone, I see a particularly hot guy over there." She sauntered off, not without ruffling Blaise's hair just to annoy him even further.

Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Aww, don't be angry, I'll make it up to you..."

Blaise smirked. Just what he wanted. "Dinner tomorrow at seven."

Ginny giggled again. Merlin, she had to stop giggling, she's not a sixteen year old school girl. "Okay."

"Dress nice." He said, before dipping forward to claim her lips.

Narcissa couldn't bear to see her poor son trying hard not to hex Astoria in order to go to Hermione, so she managed to keep the very annoying Astoria Greengrass by her side, having discreetly hinting to her to learn the manners of a Lady Malfoy. Needless to say, the young girl, who finally grew a brain and removed the silencing charm by herself, acted all prim and proper and followed Narcissa around.

After what felt like years, the ball finally ended, and Hermione apparated home by herself, not bothering with the pleasant goodbyes and farewells with Draco. She was incredibly annoyed and angry with everyone for one reason or another. Right now, all she wanted was to go home and have a nice hot shower to soothe her muscles and sleep. Yes, that's a great idea.

Bonnie Halter sat in her flat that night, digesting the information that her superior had just shared with her hours ago. She had promised to help, and that she would go over to his flat to discuss about it the next afternoon, so she could probably give it some research right now, seeing as she wasn't feeling very tired. She felt pity bubble from deep inside her again, somewhat understanding what Draco felt. Not being able to tell the woman he loved the truth, resulting in not only eventually losing her but also losing his own happiness. She sighed. Why? She had heard lots of the British Wizarding War against Voldemort while she was in the States studying. She heard about the Malfoys once or twice, and knew enough that they were fighting for the dark and that they were evil. But this would not be karma for the Malfoy family line, right? Sure, they were evil, but she knew Draco was a good man, so what did he do to deserve such a fate? Besides, Lucius Malfoy already paid them off after dying in Azkaban, was that not enough?

Blaise looked up from his couch as he heard his fireplace sound just as Bonnie stepped in, struggling to balance at least eight books in her arms.

"Merlin!" he exclaimed, rushing forward to help her. "Are you a witch or not? Use your wand and shrink them next time."

Bonnie flushed in embarrassment. "Oh, right, slipped my mind. I'm sorry, I was too excited about what I discovered."

Blaise raised an amused eyebrow. "Is that so?" he gestured for her to sit. "Right then, shall we begin?"

Bonnie nodded and sat, immediately pulling out the notes she copied and got down to business.

"So… side effects are drowsiness and chest pains?"

Blaise nodded. "Headaches too. Though I'm afraid there might be more. We don't know." He ground out, frustrated. "His conditions are extremely unpredictable. Though I can be sure that it is worsening. I can tell, I watch him everyday. He's paler, he's weaker, and the pains are more frequent."

Bonnie frowned. Things were much more complicated than she originally thought. "And healers never detected it?"

"Never. He came out of St. Mungo's undetected three years ago, and I know that the symptoms started then, though at that time it could have easily passed off as stress from work."

"And you never told him to go back?"

Blaise threw his quill onto the coffee table, exasperated. "Of course I did, but you know that he's stubborn, unless Granger's there to persuade him. He refuses to go, knowing full well the healers won't be able to detect it. He insists that I help him."

"But if Miss Granger could persuade him, why not just tell her? Tell her about what's going on with him, and tell her that's the reason why he's so unwilling to confess?"

Blaise shook his head and gave her a sad smile. "I'm under the vow, Bonnie. I can't tell her. Perhaps you can, but I would advice you not to. Malfoy would kill me, and I mean really Avada Kedavra me."

"Stubborn git!" Bonnie cried, annoyed with her boss's boss. "He doesn't want to get Hermione to help? He doesn't want to get proper help from St. Mungo's? Not even for Hermione? Does he really want to d-

"That man is known for his complicated thinking, you must know by now. I can't force him to do something he clearly doesn't want to do. Plus, it can't be detected, so what's the point? We only know the side-effects, so the most effective thing we could do now is to discuss what improvements we can make to this potion to help him and slow down his worsening condition. And hopefully find what out what curse was used." Blaise rudely cut in.

Bonnie nodded in sadness. "Alright, alright. So, what have you tried putting into his potions so far? And maybe identify the reason for his blood red eyes after taking the potion?" She asked, pulling a piece of parchment and quill from her purse.

Blaise picked a piece of parchment from the stack in front of him and handed it to her. "This is the list of ingredients that I'm currently using. There are a few muggle ingredients, mostly used in the olden days to heal injured people when anesthesia was still non-existent. There's willowbark for curing headaches, and theraic for poison."

"Theriac?" Bonnie asked, having never heard of such thing before.

"Yes," Blaise answered. "It's made of over 64 ingredients, such as opium, gentian, liquorice, cinmmon, incense, and other funny ingredients. It's known to cure swellings, fevers, and poison, and I thought since the curse may be poisoning Malfoy, we could use it."

Bonnie's face scrunched in disgust and gave him a skeptical look. "You don't think… that this… theriac thing? Is actually causing him to worsen? Or the red eyes?"

Blaise winced and glanced at her. "We should… remove it, right?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes heavenward and groaned. "Urgh, YES! Dear Merlin, take it out before you do anything worse! Goodness me, you idiot!" she gave him a hard smack on the head.

"Ow, watch it! Honestly, you and Ginny are so alike you should get to know each other."

Bonnie huffed and straightened her robes. "Why, thank you, that I might do. Now, back to business. You remove the bloody theriac, and add…" she racked her brain. "Muggle aspirin?" she asked.

Blaise shook his still hurting head. "Tried it on him, doesn't work."

Bonnie sighed. "Muggle aspirin doesn't work. Great. If only there was something that could heal any curse or injury."

The silence between them was so loud that Bonnie could hear the light bulb in her head light up with a 'Bzzz'.

"Got it!" She shrieked, but reality dawned on her and she sank back into the chair, crestfallen. "But it's illegal."

Blaise stared at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Unicorn blood?" he guessed.

Bonnie nodded dejectedly. "Yes, but obtaining them is impossible, not to mention illegal. And then there are phoenix tears, but that's also impossib-

"PHOENIX TEARS!" Blaise jumped up from his couch. "That's it! You're brilliant, Bonnie! Dumbledore had a bloody phoenix, and we could go find McGonagall! Fuck, why didn't I think of that! I spent three bloody years doing shit!"

Annoyed, Bonnie glared up at him. "Let me complete my sentence, will you? Phoenixes perish with their owners. Dumbledore was the last person alive to own a phoenix. They're now extinct… I'm sorry, Blaise, there's nothing we can do along this line. All we can do is identify the curse and hopefully find a cure to it."

Time passed quickly, and the next time Bonnie looked at her watch, she yelped in surprise.

"Oh! Mr. Zabini, you need to get ready for your dinner with Miss Weasley, or you'll be late! It's fifteen to seven!" she exclaimed, quickly clearing some of the parchments and folders out of the way for him to move to his room. "I think I've got something, I'll just stay a bit more to finish off."

When he arrived outside Ginny's apartment, it was two minutes past seven. As if sensing his appearance, the door swung open, revealing Ginny wearing a short-sleeved silver dress with a tight bodice and plaited skirt.

"There you are," she grinned widely. "Thought you forgot about me!"

Blaise scooped her into a hug and kissed her. "Sorry love, I got caught up at work."

Ginny laughed. "Why work so hard for Malfoy? That cowardly wimp."

Blaise smirked and gave her a playful smack on the bum. "Why, someone's feisty today!"

Ginny's grin turned into a smirk, just as Blaise apparated them both to the restaurant.

Playful bantering and conversations were exchanged during their dinner.

"You know, if Narcissa's plan for Draco to be impressed would work, Potter's scar would disappear. I thought she might go towards jealousy, but impressing? Oooh, I wonder if she's losing her touch…"

Ginny held back a smile and put on a slightly offended look. "Blaise! Stop teasing Harry's scar. And surely Narcissa is more scheming than you are, she looks deeper into things."

Blaise pursed his lips, as if contemplating whether or not to ask something. "How's Potter holding on?"

Ginny sighed and shook her head, and the conversation took a ninety-degree turn to a serious level. "After the accident, he's a completely different person. He still seems to be blaming himself, and he's causing the people around him to be affected by his behavior. The new trainees under him start off worshipping him as the war hero, but after a few weeks they get so annoyed with him because of the way he trains them. Harry's so insistent about the auror rules that he makes sure every single one of them never forget it. He made them memorise it such that they can manage to recite it even when they are on a mission or when they are on the brink of death. He doesn't want them to be impulsive and make the same mistakes he made."

Blaise nodded in understanding. "But he does have his reasons for doing so, does he not? He acted on impulse three years ago, and it's not wrong for him to want to make sure that no one follows his footsteps."

"But all the deatheaters are gathered and kissed, Blaise. How dangerous can missions get? People are calling him uptight Potter now!"

"Well, he has to get over himself for that accident first! It was his fault for leaving Draco, causing him to, you know, almost, bleed to death." Blaise countered.

Ginny shook her head sadly. "But Blaise, Draco is alive and well, and I can tell that he doesn't blame Harry. Malfoy's not dead!"

Blaise's nose twitched, and instead of replying Ginny, he turned his attention to his almost finished T-Bone.

Ginny noticed his slight twitch and sighed. "You alright?"

Blaise nodded. "Yeah, just… suddenly thought of work."

Ginny knew he was lying, but chose to let him off this time. He would tell her if he wanted to. Blaise shifted uncomfortably in his seat, wishing desperately to change the topic. "You think… I won't die on Christmas night?"

Ginny grinned. "Of course not, I'll make sure they don't murder you. Besides, Hermione will be there. You think we should invite Draco? I think I heard Mione' mention something about Narcissa going to France with her friends for Christmas."

Blaise looked up to her, finding himself smiling back. "That would be nice, but I doubt he'll like it. Christmas with a bunch of Weasleys, might be too much for him."

"Whatever. I'll just owl him." Ginny bounded excitedly in her seat. "Finally! This would shut George up about my lack of female qualities!"

"Really, he said that? He should see what you wear to sleep! Honestly!"

Ginny blushed. "That's… not… " She glared at him. "I think I left my sweater at your place the last time I went. Is it with you?"

Blaise's lips curled into an evil grin. "Oh yeah, it's in the drawer that has all your panties."

Rolling her eyes, Ginny took the last bite of her tenderloin. "Not funny, love. Anyway, can we go get it now? It's my favourite sweater."

Blaise nodded and motioned to a passing waiter. "Charge this to the Zabini account." The waiter nodded and went off, while Blaise took Ginny's hand and they left the restaurant to apparate.

"I'll get the sweater, wait a minute." He said as he left her side to go to his room.

Ginny replied with an okay and went towards his kitchen to pour a cup of tea, when something caught the corner of her eye.

Mess. Horrible, unadulterated, mess. And she hated it.

She grunted in annoyance and stalked towards the coffee table, glaring at the stacks and stacks of parchment and folders.

"Mess." She murmured to herself. "Such mess!" She sighed. "At least he wasn't lying when he said he was caught up at work."

She crouched down to arrange the folders and parchment properly, when she noticed a muggle post-it note on top of the whole mess. Unusual. Blaise never used one of these things. She had seen Hermione use it once or twice though. Extremely handy stuff, these little square things. But why did Blaise have one?

She carefully peeled it off, recognizing Bonnie's handwriting.

Ah, that explains it. Work. With Bonnie.

Dear Mr. Zabini,

I used my quick-quotes quill to record down the ingredients that we discussed, and added a few on my own too, please refer to them. I will continue to research on this curse, and hopefully we can find what is causing Mr. Malfoy such pain.

I am extremely sorry for his condition, and will do what I can to help him. There will always be hope if we don't give up.

Bonnie.

Ginny stared at the piece of parchment, confusion swirling in her mind. What was wrong with Malfoy? From what she could gather, he was in pain, and cursed. She could hear the gears in her mind turning. Could this be the reason why Draco seemed a bit off to Hermione these few months? And if he's cursed, why didn't he come to St. Mungo's?

She picked up the parchment that the post-it was attached to and scanned through it, eyes pausing occasionally at the things she couldn't recognize, until her eyes stopped completely at two words that were crossed out.

Something was terribly wrong, and she trusted her healer instincts.

Anger replaced the confusion within her, and she stood from her crouching position just as Blaise emerged from his room, her sweater in hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to use the toilet." He said, an apologetic grin on his face. However, it dropped when he saw her unhappy face and what she was clutching onto.

Fear. It was one of the rare times Ginny had seen it cross his features.

Putting the sweater down on the cabinet beside him, Blaise moved towards Ginny, keeping wary eyes on her.

They stared at each other. One with fear, and one with anger.

Ginny pursed her lips. "Phoenix tears?"

Blaise said nothing, but gulped.

"What are you keeping from me?" She said in a deadly whisper.

Blaise looked away. "Nothing."

Looking back up at her, Blaise realized his mistake as he saw fire blazing in her eyes.

The parchment in her hand crushed as she balled her hands into fists. "I repeat my question, Blaise Alecto Zabini. WHAT. Are you keeping from me, or even Hermione, about Malfoy?"

He chose to keep silent, clenching and unclenching his jaw.

"Blaise, I swear…" Ginny continued, her voice rising up a notch. "If you don't tell me…"

His nose twitched, but he still chose to keep silent.

"BLAISE!" Ginny screamed and threw the balled parchment at him. Blaise flinched. "GOD DAMN IT TELL-

"He's dying." He whispered.

Silence. Ginny felt her stomach drop to her toes, and tears well up in her own eyes, wishing she hadn't heard wrongly.

"What?"

"Draco." Blaise took a shuddering breath. "Draco, he's dying."

A/N: DON'TKILLME DON'TKILLME DON'TKILLME. CLICHE! I KNOW! And I hate myself for it. This wasn't meant to be a cliche plot ): but it turned out this way, I'm so sorry! Please don't stop following the fic, I promise the way the story progresses won't disappoint you!

I hope you don't hate me, or kill me. (And Mermaidlover101, me aint no bitch!) But still, thank you to sleepysiopao (for reviewing, again! Love you xoxo), AJW, mermaidlover101, MadrigalGryffindor3, Gleed-043, Claudia, bushyhaired-american-nerd, claire96, YearOfJudges, and wow (HAHAHA!), for reviewing! You guys are my inspiration! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Please review! (With your thoughts of the above mentioned!)