I've been so busy, but here is FINALLY the update I promised.

I hope you all aren't too mad at me :)

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Disclaimer: Sadly, I'm still not J.K. Rowling, therefore I own nothing.


I'll Believe It When I See It Chapter 7

The next few days after Christmas passed with no interruption. The unexpected trio spent almost every minute together lazing around, playing games, and getting to know one another even better.

Unfortunately for Hermione, that meant the subject of her relationship with Ron was brought up. A lot. She absolutely loathed discussing the personal issue. Things were over between them for a reason, and she would rather not talk about it, thank you very much. But Draco and Blaise were extremely persistent. They didn't understand why it bothered her so much, and therefore didn't care that she got so pissed off when they mentioned it. It was all a hilarious game to them.

One day, Hermione had enough. Most of the students were back from break already, since the Christmas holidays were over. Ginny was scheduled to be back that day, too, but Hermione had yet to see her best girl friend. So instead she was sitting at the Gryffindor table, talking to Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, and Collin Creevey. Hermione looked up when she heard Draco and Blaise talking; the three agreed to enter separately since no one knew they became friends, and Draco had a reputation to uphold. They also decided to continue their insults and arguing, but Hermione hardly expected what happened.

Blaise continued over to the Slytherin table, but Draco veered off, strutting toward where Hermione sat.

'Oh great. Just what I need. He's definitely going to play this up. Draco loves teasing me,' she thought, playing with the ends of her curls and trying to avoid the sexy Slytherin walking her way.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here, Granger? No Saint Potter. No Weasel. No Weaselette either. You're all alone," he drawled and leaned against the table.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. Now, what do you want, ferret?" Hermione tried her best to sound uninterested, but she was dying to know why he just had to talk to her.

"I was simply wondering where your little ginger boyfriend was. Surely you miss him," he smirked, knowing she would get riled up. Draco loved it when Hermione was angry. She was so hot.

She huffed and turned to glare at him, "Ron is not my boyfriend. Not anymore."

The smirk widened. She fell right into his trap. "Not anymore? What happened? Little Miss Iron Knickers wouldn't put out?"

Hermione felt the anger build inside her. If he didn't stop she would have to hex him, never mind her feelings for the prick.

"No answer, I see. So, I must be correct. You're such a goody-goody, Granger. Won't even let loose in the privacy of your bedroom for your own boyfriend." He winked at her, silently reminding her of what happened between them a few days before.

Hermione's cheeks flushed with blood and her eyes darkened dangerously, "You don't know anything that happened between Ronald and I, so keep your mouth shut! Unless you would like for me to do it for you. Permanently," she took out her want and pointed it square at his chest.

Draco snickered and took her action as a defense mechanism, "Getting defensive, are we? So I was wrong, you did fuck the Weasel. It appears the Gryffindor Princess is turning into a whore. Who would've thought? Next thing we know you'll be shagging Slytherins in alcoves during the middle of the night."

Hermione thought he had been joking. She thought he was trying to get under her skin and tease her about their snogging session and her admitted feelings for him. But that last comment made her suspicion true. He only wanted to embarrass her. This was just another ploy to "put her in her place." Hermione couldn't help her anger. He knew nothing about her relationship with Ron, nor the reason for it ending, so what gave him the authority to act as though he did? Draco didn't know how much it hurt her to be reminded of the mistakes she made with Ron. And to be called a whore by someone who, just days before, had said she was nowhere close was the last straw. She fought to hold back the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, but she failed miserably.

The entire Great Hall had witnessed the whole thing. It was dead silent; no one dared to speak. The tension between the couple was thick. Everyone could feel it. Blaise was on the other side of the Hall, jaw clenched, ready to send his own hex at Draco for being so stupid. Ginny, who had entered not long after their fight started, was glued to the floor, mouth agape.

Hot tears rolled down Hermione's face. She shot lasers at Draco with her eyes, nostrils flaring and chest heaving. Hermione Granger was beyond pissed. How could he do this to her? He said he would do anything for her, give her anything she ever wanted.

She spoke low to where the only people who could hear were herself and Draco, "You know, I thought you changed. I thought, maybe, just maybe, for once someone liked me for me; not for my intelligence, not for my body, not for anything else. I thought you would treat me better. But I was wrong. You were just using me. You're no better than Ron," she continued, her voice louder for everyone to hear, "You're still the same Slytherin prat you always have been. You're arrogant, selfish, and don't give a damn about anyone else's feelings. You, Draco Malfoy, will never change. I hate you," Hermione hastily wiped her tears away and ran out of the Great Hall.

Ginny fired a vicious glare at Draco, letting him know how much he was hated by not only Hermione. She then turned to Blaise, gave him a frustrated look, mouth the words 'talk to him,' and followed Hermione out.

Inside, Draco felt horrible. He hadn't meant to be such an arse, but he couldn't stop the words once they formed on his tongue. He knew he over did it, but he was so jealous that the Weasel got to Hermione first. Hermione was his, and he wanted her to know it. Draco never intended to make her cry. Now she hated him and would probably never give him the chance to explain. He had acted worse than ever before, even after how hard he tried to show her he had changed. He was pissed off at himself.

On the outside, Draco remained cool, calm, and collected. He acted as if her words amused him immensely. He didn't care that he made her cry, in fact it boosted his ego a bit.

The Great Hall filled with noise as students went back to eating or talking about what just happened. Draco sauntered over to the Slytherin table and sat down by his best mate. Some Slytherins, who had maintained the pureblood superiority complex, shot him grins of approval before going about their business. Everyone else sent ice cold glares his direction.

Once all eyes were off of him, Blaise glared at his friend, "Nice going, mate," he laced in the sarcasm.

Draco groaned, a worried look crept into his gray eyes, "I fucked up. She's never going to forgive me, is she?" he whispered.

Blaise continued eating his breakfast and shrugged, "We'll talk later. Your bedroom, after breakfast."

And that was the end of that.

Meanwhile, Hermione was in the fetal position on her own bed, bawling her eyes out. Ginny, still unaware of the events that took place in her absence, rubbed her back soothingly.

"It'll be okay, Mione. Malfoy's a stupid git anyway. He isn't good enough for your tears."

Hermione cried harder and shook her head, "You-you're… w-wrong. H-he…" she choked out between sobs.

"What is it? Shh, shh. Calm down so you can tell me."

Hermione's stomach was in knots, her chest hurt, he eyes were swollen and puffy. She was angry at herself for being so stupid. The more she thought about it, the more upset she got, and the more she cried.

A few minutes later, and Hermione was sniffling and taking deep breaths. When she felt ready to talk without bursting into tears, she grabbed her wand and cast a Muffliato before locking the door. They sat cross-legged on the bed, Hermione's hands in Ginny's.

"Okay. This might come as a bit of a shock to you, but please, just wait until I'm finished before you speak," Hermione started, "While you were gone…"

After breakfast, Blaise hauled a depressed Draco up to the Head's room. He forced Draco to mutter the password and then proceeded to yank him up the stairs to his room. He threw Draco on his bed, cast his own Muffliato, locked the door, and gave Draco a piece of his mind.

"What in the bloody hell were you thinking? Wait, let me answer that for you. You weren't! Honestly, Draco, I know you can't stand the Weasel, and neither can I, but that's no reason to torment Hermione!" Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Blaise wouldn't have that.

"No! You keep your mouth shut until I'm finished! It was one thing for us to tease Hermione about it when we were alone, but you took it entirely too far today. In front of everyone in the Great Hall? Did you want her to kill you right then and there, mate? Because she was ready to. Fuck, I almost hexed you to shut you up! Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Draco gulped. He knew Blaise had a temper from past experience. It wasn't as bad as Draco's, but he was a yeller. Draco was more of a take action kind of guy. Blaise could rant and rave, yell, scream, shout at the top of his lungs and never get tired. But this time, Draco knew he deserved it.

'At least he isn't yelling in Italian. He's dead serious when he goes into that,' Draco mentally wiped the sweat of his brow for that.

"I- I was stupid. I shouldn't have said that," Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair, hoping Blaise would let him off the hook. He wanted to wallow in his sorrows alone already.

Blaise growled and shouted even louder, "Non dovreste avere l'ha detto? Non dovreste avere l'ha detto? Damn right you shouldn't have said that! Mi stai prendendo in giro? Draco, you called her a whore for fuck's sake!"

'Shit. So much for that. He's speaking Italian. He's definitely pissed. No way I'm getting off easy on this one,' Draco understood everything he was saying from the time spent with Blaise's family. They only spoke Italian to one another, so Draco also spoke fluently, but it still intimidated the hell out of him when his best mate yelled in his native tongue. Not that he would ever admit that, mind you.

"I know, I know. Merlin, kill me now. Why can't I just keep my fucking mouth shut? I've ruined everything! Hermione thinks I'm the same old Slytherin arse that I used to be," he groaned, "Oh, what am I going to do?"

"I'll tell you what you're going to do! You're going to find Hermione, tell her you were being an idiot, apologize her, beg for her forgiveness if you have to, and don't stop until she give it to you! I know you love her, Draco. I can see it in your eyes! You look at her the same way I look at Ginny. Now, get your sorry ass up and go to her!" he practically shoved Draco out the door.

Blaise sighed and sat back on Draco's bed, "Arrogante bastardo," he muttered, rubbing his temples.

"What?" Ginny shrieked when Hermione finally finished telling her what happened. "He says all of these sweet things to you, snogs you, then does something like this? That arrogant bastard!"

Hermione sniffled and sighed, "I should've known he was only using me. He is a Slytherin, after all. I'm so stupid."

Ginny rubbed her shoulder, "You are not! You are the Brightest Witch of Our Age! You really like him, Hermione. Love does crazy things to our minds. So, Malfoy was a prick and deceived you. He's done that to a lot of girls; you aren't the firs to fall for the Malfoy Charm. Hell, I did too, once upon a time!"

"That's exactly the point! He has a history of womanizing, Gin. And I fell for it anyway!" Hermione was so frustrated with herself and Ginny wasn't- Wait. "Did you just say you fell for it, too? When!"

Ginny sighed and nodded, "It was last year. Draco and I had a little fling, but he dropped me a few weeks later like he did every other girl. But, I picked myself up and got over it. I figured it would happen sooner or later. He's great in bed, by the way," she added as a side note.

"What? You shagged Draco Malfoy? But I thought you hated him more than I did?"

"Oh, I do. For that very reason. He plays girls emotions, gets what he wants, and then dismisses them when he's lost interest. But, like I said, I got over it. Now I'm with Blaise and I'm happier than ever. Speaking of which, I need to speak with him. I'm sure he's gotten Malfoy's side of the story by now," Ginny made to leave the room, but Hermione stopped her.

"I'm coming with you." Hermione said as she stood, scratching her puffy eyes, "I need to hear what Draco had to say."

Ginny took Hermione's arm and pulled her along toward the other end of the short corridor.

"But- but that's Draco's room. What if he's in there?" Hermione hesitated.

"I don't think he is, but come on. Even if he is, you are still going. You two need to sort this out. He may be a jerk, but from what you've told me, it seems he might have changed a little. Malfoy is not that great of an actor, and what he said to you Christmas Day seemed to come from the heart. And I know you really like him. Maybe he'll apologize," she knocked on the door.

"Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it. A Malfoy apologizing?" the voice in her head piped up, 'He already did once, didn't he?' She shook it away. Hermione felt much more comfortable being angry with him right now.

The two Gryffindors entered the room that was completely covered in all things Slytherin. They looked around with slight distaste on their faces, Slytherin was their house rival, after all. Catching sight of Blaise on Draco's bed, Ginny squealed and practically tackled him in a hug. This was one thing Slytherin she would never be disgusted by.

"Oh, I've missed you so much, Blaise!" she sighed happily as he kissed her passionately.

"I have missed you, too, my little lioness," he smile, kissing her again.

Before a heated snog session could take place, Hermione cleared her throat, "Ahem. Have you forgotten about me that easily, Gin? It's only been about 20 seconds," she teased, slightly embarrassed by Ginny's typical teenage behavior.

"Sorry, Mione," she said, moving to sit in Blaise's lap. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her shoulder. All of this was making Hermione feel sick to her stomach. Draco held her just like that.

"So, I take it you're still pissed at Drake?" Blaise questioned, though the answer was clear in her tense body language.

"You heard what he said, Blaise! We had been getting along so well, the three of us, but he ruined it. He played me, Blaise," her voice portrayed her dismal emotions.

Blaise knew he had to tell her what Draco admitted a few minutes before. But he also knew he had to do so carefully if he wanted to avoid her wrath.

"Look, Hermione, Draco is a possessive and jealous guy. He doesn't like other guys messing with his girl. Weasel is a particularly sore subject for him because you haven't told him your past."

Hermione bristled, "That did not give him the right to call me a whore. What I did or did not do with Ron is done of his business," she said for the millionth time.

"Say it were Draco and Pansy that you were constantly asking about. Would you not feel a little hurt, upset, or jealous when he didn't tell you what happened with their breakup?" Ginny countered, seeing that Draco truly had changed. Blaise made sure she understood.

"Well, yes… But-"

"And would you not get angry if he continued to shut you out when you only wanted to know more about him? Even help him deal with whatever it was bothering him about Pansy?" Blaise added, knowing that Hermione was beginning to understand, as well.

After a few silent minutes of contemplation, Hermione succumbed, "Oh, alright. I understand why he was so mad. I would probably have reacted the same way."

Ginny and Blaise gave each other a look and had the same grin on their face. Their plan was a success.

"Drake didn't have to be such an arse-"

"Or call you a whore," Ginny interrupted. Blaise gave her a stern look before continuing, but she just giggled.

"But he really does feel awful about it. He's the jealous type, big time."

Hermione looked confused, "But… But he seemed fine with all of the innocent flirting you and I have been doing the past couple of days," she glanced nervously at Ginny, a blush tinting her cheeks, hoping she wouldn't get pissed about it.

Ginny raised an eyebrow in question at Blaise who smiled and nodded; she gave a little "Huh," and shrugged.

Blaise laughed, "Look, Hermione. Draco and I have… uh, well… shared before. Draco has a certain signal he'll give me if he's really into a certain girl that we are both talking to. I'll do the same for him. We trust each other to not get too serious with her. It's all innocent fun. No harm, no foul. With you, however, I already knew he liked you a lot, and I have Ginny anyway. But, he was unsure if you liked me more than him," he thoroughly explained.

Now Hermione understood. 'That's why he got jealous over Blaise at first, but once he knew I didn't have serious interest in him, his guard went down. Hmm, I kind of like this sharing idea.'

"You need to go find Draco and have him apologize. He's looking for you now actually," Blaise was running his hands up Ginny's sides, her mouth was parted and her breathing was getting shallower.

Hermione giggled, "Fine. I'll give you two some privacy and see if I can work things out with Draco."

Already, Ginny had turned around to where she was straddling Blaise and was nipping a trail up his neck. He groaned before calling out to Hermione. "Oh, by the way…"

She stopped walking toward the door and looked over her shoulder, a blush on her cheeks from seeing one of their more intimate moments.

"Give him hell, Granger," he chuckled.

She flashed a bright smile, "Oh, believe me. I will. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Gin!"

"Ugh," she whined, "Now I can't do anything!"

Just before she shut the door, she heard Blaise, "I'm not so sure about that. She's game for more than you think, my love."

An excited and intrigued, "Really?" came from Ginny.

Hermione rolled her eyes and giggled a bit, 'Finally they're starting to see that I'm not such a goody-goody! Now, where to find Draco?' she thought as she made her way down the stairs, 'I hope we can clear up our misunderstanding… Ooh, and maybe I can have a quick snog in an alcove with my delicious Slytherin Sex God.' A grin spread on her plump lips.


Non dovreste avere l'ha detto? - "You shouldn't have said that?" in Italian

Mi stai prendendo in giro? - "Are you kidding me?" in Italian

Arrogante bastardo - "Arrogant bastard" in Italian.

There you are, my lovelies! I hope you all liked it :)

More to come soon, I hope. I'll try my hardest to update more frequently.

Let me know what you thought about this chapter. That button down there is so lonely. Show it (and me) some love this holiday season!

Thanks so much for reading. Happy New Year to everyone!

Xoxo Princess