"I heard this nasty little rumor earlier Granger."

Draco smirked to himself on the other side of the door, imaging her annoyed expression. Really her life didn't mean that much to him, but having something to hang over her head was just too much fun.

Besides, after everything that went on last night he wanted to know what really happened. His interest was more than peaked.

"Go away Malfoy, " she grunted, her voice barely carrying through the heavy door. She hadn't come out since this morning, and from the nasty smell he'd encountered upon entering the bathroom he'd assumed she got sick. Poor, pathetic Gryffindor couldn't hold her liquor. "I don't care."

"You might care about this one," he replied, leaning on the wall. She'd come out sooner or later.

She moaned, her voice increasing. "Is it about Ron?"

"Well, it does have to do with you and the Weasel." He wrinkled his nose, thinking about the rumor. He didn't know how much was actually true, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

She opened the door just wide enough to glare at him, sighing at his smirk. "And why, pray tell, do you care to tell me?"

"Oh, I don't know if I care so much as I just want to see your reaction."

"Well, spit it out already," she snapped, eyes narrowing.

His smirk widened, leaning against the doorframe of her room. She really was kind of run to mess with when she wasn't a drunken moron. "Apparently your little lover is going around screaming about how you dumped him after sex. Pretty shady move there Granger."

Her eyes widened as she threw the door open, a blush blossoming over her cheeks. He too a step back as the door bounced loudly against the wall. "He what?!"

"I know, it terrifies me too. The idea of a naked Weasel is just too much."

Her body was shaking, which was definitely not the reaction he expected. Eyes wide, hands clenched, she looked ready to obliterate someone. "How… how did you hear that?"

He wrinkled his nose, taking another step back for his own safety. "Pansy was raving about it. She actually came up here to tell me. I have no idea who told her, but she was elated to share. Apparently Weasley is throwing a fit over it."

"It-it isn't true!" she snapped, glaring at him. She was close to panicking, and he noted gratefully her wand did not seem to be on her person. "I-we didn't do anything like that! I told him no."

Draco frowned, recalling the marks he'd seen on her skin last night and the torn blouse. He just assumed it was from sex, nothing else. "Well you sure had bruises from yesterday like something did happen."

"That's because he-" she stopped, cutting herself off. He arched an eyebrow at her hesitation, but she shook her head to banish the thought. "Never mind. The point is that didn't happen. He's lying, and I definitely didn't breakup with him after sleeping with him. Quite the opposite really."

His frown deepened, looking her over again. "Granger-"

"Don't ask," she interrupted, straightening her wrinkled shirt. "It doesn't matter. What matters is Ron is lying about me to everyone." She shook her head. "Why would he do that?"

Draco scoffed. "You're asking me?"

"No, I guess not. I'm just asking in general. I knew he'd be mad at me, but I didn't think he'd do something like this." She rubbed her face, looking lost. "I thought he would just let it go last night. I didn't think he'd make it into a bigger ordeal."

"You realize it would be a big deal even if he hadn't been a drunken moron at our door last night, right? What did you even do to start an argument like that?"

Her eyes flashed. "Why do you care?"

"Because it's ruining my weekend," Draco snapped, losing his cool. "And your drunken arse was a pain last night, you brought a drunken Weasel along, and you kept we awake for hours. So you owe me an explanation for what happened."

"I really don't owe you anything," she replied, lifting her chin. "It's none of your business. But if you're going to continue pestering me, I may as well tell you since now I'm going to have to say something to everyone. We broke up because Ron couldn't remember my name while we… nevermind."

He scoffed, feeling his eyebrows lift up. He expected Granger to tell him something stupid that Weasley did o push her over the edge. He didn't expect she'd tell him that.

"Your twat of an ex-boyfriend messed up during sex?"

Her cheeks reddened again, practically bleeding the color. "We didn't have sex! This was before we got to that point. I-well, we were… you know, it's not actually important."

Draco couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing, leaning back into the wall for support. The stunned look on her face when she tried explaining that was too good for words. And to make matters funny the know-it-all was blushing while trying to talk to him.

Seriously, he didn't know he'd get this much out of her.

"That's rich," he said, continuing to laugh as he wandered to the couch. "I can't believe Weasel messed up so bad. Is that why you were so livid yesterday?" He cackled, holding his head as he sat down. "How can he possibly mess that up? I've slept with more than my fair share of women and I've never messed up so bad!"

He continued chuckling to himself, letting the noise fill the silent common room. When he finally got ahold of himself again he glanced back at his dormmate, noting the devastated look in her eyes. He cleared his throat, frowning at her.

"You're not seriously going to let Weasley's slip of tongue get you down, are you?"

She halfway raised her head, giving him a tired look. "I haven't decided yet, I need to talk to him first."

"I wouldn't waste much time," he replied, making a face. "You're decent looking without that ginger haired reject clinging to your hip. You can probably get a boyfriend again, another desperate dork."

She paused, blinking at him. He supposed his words sounded like a back handed compliment, but that wasn't his intention. He certainly would never look twice at the girl.

"I have to go talk to him," she snapped, more conviction in her voice than before. "I'm not going to let him turn me into the bad guy here."

"You think talking will help?" he asked, looking through the book he'd set aside. He didn't have anything left to say to Granger. All he planned on doing was laughing at her expense. She didn't need to give him a play by play of her plans.

"Talking always helps," she snapped, shifting around behind him. He didn't look up, choosing to ignore the girl. "Ron's a prick but he's not a total jerk. I just need to talk and he'll see reason."

Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say Granger."

Hermione hoped luck was on her side when she spotted Ron up ahead of her, the only other bloke in the entire hallway being Seamus. She hurried up to him, unconcerned with the loud slapping sound of her shoes against the floor.

Her cheeks were burning red. Enough people either stared or glared on her way there, and she didn't look all the looks. Most looked surprised or disgusted, but others were coy and curious. She really didn't need all those eyes following her around.

Thank Merlin this hallway was mostly empty.

"Ronald!" she snapped, grabbing the back of his sweater. It was enough to draw his attention but not completely stop him, and he whirled around to smack her hand away. His eyes were alive with fire, and she could see the malice within them.

"Hermione," he seethed, voice lower than she was used to. "What the hell do you want?"

"I want you to stop lying," she cried, jabbing a finger at him. "You know as well as I do that we didn't sleep together! You're making this whole thing up. Why can't you just-"

"Shh," he snapped, hand snaking out to grab her wrist. She jumped, surprised by how much force he wanted to put behind the action. He shot Seamus a look, faking a grin. "I'll be up in a few."

Seamus for his part looked conflicted, glancing between the pair. "You two sure everything's alright? I know you broke up but-"

"Everything's fine," Ron replied, smiling while he pressed harder on her wrist. She shot him a glare, waiting until Seamus was out of earshot before she jerked her arm to break free.

"Let go Ron, you have a lot of explaining to do," she snapped, tugging at her wrist. He had yet to let go, and if he didn't soon she would be forced to make him. Instead he started tugging her away from the hallway into a much smaller, less used one.

He dragged her in and nearly threw her into the wall. The idiot took several steps back from her, looking momentarily started by what he'd done. Hermione reached into her pocket, immediately drawing her wand. He was unusually violent.

"How dare you?" she snapped, ignoring the stinging in her eyes. She would not allow herself to get upset right now. "How could you say that about me, Ron?"

"It's not like it's believable," he argued back, crossing his arms. "It's actually hilarious that people think you'd sleep with anyone. The fact that everyone is falling for it is funnier than I imagined."

"It's not funny!" Hermione replied, steeling her gaze. "People are getting the wrong impression and everyone knows! Hell, even Malfoy heard about it."

He chuckled. "Wow, news travels fast. I don't understand why you are upset, you're a prudish bitch so you know it's not true-"

"I am not," she seethed, stepping closer to him. Her wrist was throbbing, the pressure he'd put on it leaving an ache behind. "You're a pig for being so pushy! Is that why you had memories of Lavender now? You couldn't possibly wait for me?"

Ron laughed this time, his expression darkening. "If I waited for you I'd be rolling in my grave. Lavender was willing, and she'll do everything you wouldn't."

She blushed, feeling the anger building up. "It doesn't matter what she does Ronald, you cheated on me with her and now you're lying about me! Don't you care at all that you've turned me into a villain when I'm the one getting screwed?"

He shook his head, stepping closer to her. He hadn't drawn his wand the entire time, keeping his eyes trained on hers instead. "Trust me, you're not getting screwed. That's what I've been trying to do to you." He grinned, reaching out to grab her waist. She immediately placed the wand at his chest, daring him to try something else. He pulled her closer anyway, letting the wand stab into him. "Besides, what are you worried about? No one's ever going to want you anyway."

Hermione jerked back, smacking his arm away from her waist. He looked prepared for her reaction, immediately grabbing her hip and dragging her against him. She didn't hesitate, and in seconds he was lying flat on his back several feet away.

"Just because you didn't want me doesn't mean someone else won't!" she cried, but her voice trembled. Whatever he'd been trying to do hadn't worked, and although he was away from her now she didn't feel better. She actually felt worse that he still thought he could touch her. "You might not have patience but someone else will."

Ron didn't laugh this time, pushing himself up on his elbows to glare at her. "Keep telling yourself that."

"You need to tell people you're lying, or I'll have to tell them the truth why we broke up. Do you really think your story is more believable than mine?"

"Mine was first," he snapped, eyes narrowing. He sat up straighter and rubbed his head. "Anything you say now will try to sound like you're trying to save yourself."

She bit her lip, knowing that was exactly what she was doing. She wanted him to know that he couldn't tarnish her reputation, couldn't make her feel bad about herself or his stupid lies.

He was getting through her skin though with his comments. When he wanted to, Ron knew exactly how to cut her down.

"I always thought you were better," she whispered, the fight leaving her. Why she thought confronting Ron would work she didn't know, but his words were enough to tell her she wasn't having an effect. Instead of resolving the issue she'd probably made it worse. "Clearly I was wrong."

"You were wrong about a lot of shite," he replied, standing up. He didn't move towards her, just glared at her through slitted eyes. "If you were better, it would've never come to this. You did it to yourself."

She smiled sadly, backing away from him. She didn't have anything else to say to him, not now, not when he was so absolutely certain that she was wasted time. He didn't even regret lying to the school about what happened. Ron didn't have an ounce of regret in his eyes.

"You'll be sorry you let me go," she continued, backing out of the hall. "I don't know what you see in her, but I'll make you realize all the things you failed to see in me."

He said something in return, but she was no longer listening. Turning, she bolted out of the hallway and down the next, intent on putting as much space between them as possible. Her cheeks were wet, and she knew she was crying due to the blasted idiot.

How could he make her feel so horrible? They were supposed to have something special.

Draco glanced up when Granger returned not even an hour later, slouching into the common room. He hadn't expected her to actually be successful on her little endeavor, but there was no stopping her when determined. He didn't expect to see her crying however, or her swollen wrist.

He narrowed his eyes. "Didn't go well?"

"Shove off Malfoy," she muttered, falling onto the other side of the sofa. The swollen wrist rested gently on her stomach, her eyes studying the swollen flesh.

"Get into an argument?" he continued, recalling their conversation from earlier.

"Something like that." She pulled her wand out, casting a simple spell over her skin. It didn't look broken, but he could pretty obviously see the makings of a handprint.

Scoffing, he snatched up her arm, careful to not touch the darkening skin. She gasped, jerking in his grip. "Are you seriously letting him beat on you?"

"No," she seethed, her words so final he dropped her arm. "I'm not. Ron… he never hurt me before." He snorted. "I'm serious! He hasn't acted this way until recently… until the last few months."

He arched an eyebrow, putting the pieces together. "He got picky cause you won't put out?"

"Well, that's a bit of a crude way to say it but yes, essentially." She sighed, brushing back her hair with the other hand. "There's more, but I won't trouble you with it. We're through, more than ever now. It doesn't matter what led to it."

Draco fell silent, watching her from the corner of his eye. Dumping Weasley really affected her. She never sat on the couch with him before, not that it bothered him. Usually she went out of her way to avoid him, and he her. Last night dealing with the Weasel was more time than they'd spent together since moving into the dorm.

She must feel pretty weird to be sitting with him, falling to pieces telling him little stories about what was going off. If he hadn't been partially involved last night, he wasn't sure she would've said a word.

Apparently seeing the whole break up disaster was what got him in her good graces enough to share. He didn't know if he actually wanted her to keep indulging him. He had a little bit of blackmail material, but most of it was gone since Weasel told everyone they broke up.

"Malfoy?"

He glanced over again, noting the wide, eccentric gleam in her eye. She looked a little more alive than a few moments ago, tears no longer lingering in her eyes. He just didn't know why.

"What?"

She hesitated, apparently thinking over whatever was bugging her, chewing on her lip. He'd just about given up on her saying anything when she cleared her throat, looking into his eyes for the first time.

"Have you ever helped someone get revenge before?"

A/n: I'm super sorry the update is a little late, I got distracted reading stories instead of writing. Let me know what you think! Up next we see Draco's reaction and the other students…