"Blimey, Ron. You were eavesdropping?"

"No, Harry. I just overheard!"

"Oh, mate, the door is as thick as your skull, you might have not heard everything!"

"What else could she had said and meant?"

"What if we inserted an 'if' in front of what you overheard?"

Blimey, Harry's right! And I hit her… She'll never forgive me now. If she doesn't' forgive me, then I've lost the love of my life, and I will never have sexual intercourse, and then Ginny will hear, and she'll tell Mum, and then I'll get a Howler, and the enti- "Harry, I've got to fix this!"

"Well, apologizing for yelling at her would be the first step!"

"The only problem is…"

"… Is there more to the story you didn't tell me, Ron?" Harry's eyes glowed with green fire. There simply had to be a reason Ron was being hesitant, and he wasn't sure it was a good thing.


Oh, Merlin, what have I done? Flashes of last night's events flooded her mind as she collected her clothes, spread across the Common Room. It was only by luck that they had reached his room before any activities began, but still, she'd rather not leave her dignity sprawled around the Head dormitories! Of all people, she had taken advantage of Draco Malfoy. She might not even like him the way he liked her. She simply had taken advantage of that fact and used him for sex to feel better. For all she knew, she could only be attached to him because he had saved her, so to speak. She could be having some sort of a complex with losing her virginity, and not wanting to let go of the person who took it from her. "Oh, Hermione, what have you gotten yourself into?"

Not one moment after she'd reprimanded herself, someone knocked on the portrait door.


Ginerva Weasley was a hothead. Her hair proved it, really. She loved her brother dearly, but she knew that being a hothead ran in the family. There simply was more to the story that she just overheard, and she knew she should be sympathetic to Hermione. Ronald Weasley was a daft idiot, and she knew it. Being the only girl in a family of redheads meant she knew how the male brain worked, and if she knew anything about Ron, he must have done something drastic.

Ginny raised her hand to knock. Almost immediately, a scantily clad Hermione answered, dressed only in Malfoy's oversized robes, and in her hand was her own. I can't believe it! The redhead felt her blood boil, "HERMIONE GRANGER, I came here, thinking perhaps my brother was simply being a bloody git, and he was right! You are shagging the ferret behind his back! How could you?"

Hermione looked down. Ginny had been on her side, and she'd ruined it all. Though it wasn't truly the story behind her night, it hit home. She and Ron were technically still a couple, since a breakup hadn't been exacted at the moment. There really wasn't anything to redeem herself, really. She looked up at Ginny's shocked, disappointed, and angry expression, ready to apologize when the redhead's expression changed to that of fear.

"DID THE FERRET RAPE YOU?"

"I- Ginny? What are you talking about?"

"Your face! It's bruised and tender!" Hermione's hand flew up to her cheek. She winced, having slapped it in her urgency to hide what was already seen. She hadn't wanted Ginny to see; Ron is her brother, after all. Nobody wanted to find out things like this about their brother.

"No, Draco was gentleman. Ron…. Ron did this," Hermione sighed at Ginny's horrorstricken look. Of course, everyone would have thought Ron would do something brash, but to hurt his girlfriend? Even that seemed out of line for the poorly anger-managed boy.

"So you had sex with the first person there?"

"It wasn't like that… you know how I was gone the night of the supposed attack?" When Ginny nodded, Hermione continued her story.

After Hermione was done, the awkward silence added onto the growing tension. Feeling the urge to at least break the silence, Ginny joked, "Is he any good?"

Hermione burst into tears, "I just poured out my heart to you about what happened between your brother and I, especially after Draco Malfoy saved me, and you ask me about how good he is in bed? I've only had sex with him twice, and the first time he practically raped me, and I took advantage of him last night!"

"You took advantage of him? I thought you two just…" Ginny was gob smacked. Hermione raped Malfoy? It seemed almost funny.

"Oh, Ginny. He admitted that the reason he saved me was because he liked me, and I took advantage of that because I needed someone last night!" Ginny rubbed Hermione's back as sobs racked her from her soul, outwards.

"Hermione, do you like him?"

"NO! I don't know. What if… I just like him because he saved me?"

"Our 'Mione as a damsel in distress? Never! Don't use that as an excuse," Ginny mocked.

"Gin, I don't know," Hermione sobbed into her friend's shoulder, "What if I only feel attached because he's the only person to ever say he liked me, other than Ron? I've known that it wouldn't work out with Ron since he started wanting sex, and now that Draco likes me without sex… I feel like I should like him back? What if I only think I like him because he took my virginity, and I want to hold on to him?" Hermione's tears soaked into Ginny's robes, and though the hug was comforting, the shoulder length red hair was starting to prick at her eyes and face.

Sensing her discomfort, Ginny pulled away and held onto the crying girl by the arms. "Hermione, you'll be okay. You and Malfoy being together would be something I need to get used to, but I will. I'll accept. Ron is a wanker and won't for a while, but I'll make Harry come about!"

"It was just a one time thing!"

At that, Ginny smirked, seeing Malfoy behind Hermione, obviously listening in. "I wouldn't be so sure," she said, in a low, sultry whisper next to Hermione's ear. When the girl slid out of the Head dormitories, Hermione couldn't help but let a chill run down her spine when she spun around to meet face to face with the topic of her morning conversation.


"RON YOU HIT HER?" Harry was livid. There was no explaining how he could have done such a thing to his girlfriend. Ex girlfriend now, surely.

"Mate, it wasn't that bad!"

"Don't 'mate' me, Ron. You HIT her!"

"I was angry!"

"Angry? Ron! That still gives no ex-"

"I'm not getting any sex!"

"Is that all you care about? What about Hermione?" By this time, Harry was disgusted. As he raked his fingers through his unruly black hair, he wanted nothing but to do Hermione justice and punch Ron in the face.

"It gives her no reason to side with the bloody wanker!" The red freckles on his face seemed to blend in with his reddened face as the daft boy threw his tantrum. Hermione's my girlfriend! I'm her boyfriend, that should give her enough reason to be on my side!

"The only bloody wanker I see is you!"

"The ferret-"

"THE FERRET SAVED HER!" Is Ron really so dense? How have Hermione and I stood by him? This is a ridiculous argument! Harry's eyes looked into Ron's. The blue eyes were murky, just like how this anger and frustration blinded him. Ron's always been a brash one, living by his emotions. Usually, it was forgivable after a few rounds of teasing, but this time… the boy had gone too far. It felt like he didn't even know his best friend anymore. He was always violent, yes, but to strike a girl? To strike his girlfriend, who is also his best friend? That seemed wildly unlikely, even for Ron. Or so Harry had once thought, anyhow.

"You do-" before the hotheaded boy could finish his sentence, the fist of Ginerva Weasley connected soundly with his jaw. Everyone seems to love punching Ronald there, nowadays.

"YOU PUNCHED HERMIONE?" was the first word that came out of the girl's mouth.

"SHE DESERVED IT!" Harry's eyes widened at the statement, and could only watch with pride as his girlfriend began pummeling her brother. When his best friend began calling out for his help, he shook his head, and walked away, deciding it was better for the Weasleys to take care of themselves. He almost chuckled at the threats of bringing Mrs. Weasley into the situation and deathly Howlers reaching Hogwarts. Weasleys. Such an interesting, entertaining bunch. But truly, at this moment, he had to be a friend to Hermione, which meant going up to her Head dormitories.


"Draco…"

"It wasn't a one time thing for me," he said bluntly. It hurt him, hearing her say that it was. It wasn't the sex he didn't want to be a one time thing, it was the emotions that went along with it. He knew she felt it too. She must have. She had to have. "But if you don't feel the same way…" Draco choked, "that's okay, too."

"Did we wake you?"

She's not denying that she doesn't feel that way. She really doesn't fancy me, does she? But maybe this is for the better. When I do my task, she'd hate me forever. It'd be easier to let go if she never did start fancying me. "You were rather loud." Being cold and unfeeling was difficult. The girl in front of him had shattered all the walls he'd built over the years, and now she was the one person he had to rebuild them against.

She could see the hurt in his eyes. Within the past 48 hours, she had learned to decipher the colours in his eyes. Right now, the steely grey were the same colored eyes that took her virginity two nights ago in front of the huge masses of Death Eaters. His voice was so calm and collected, as though he'd rehearsed every word in his mind before speaking. Just the it was before any of this happened. There really wasn't anything she could say, except, "I'm sorry."

"I know. I heard."

"I am attracted to you in some level."

"You said it's psychological." Again, the same clipped tone in his voice made Hermione shudder.

"I think it is. I hope it isn't."

"Why?" That was the one question that Hermione Granger didn't know how to answer. Why does she hope that her attraction wasn't purely mental? "You don't have to answer."

"I loved Ron," Hermione finally blurted. It was off-topic, but it was something she felt had to be said.

"Do you still…?" Draco's mask faltered. He really had to know. After what that prat did… could she still love him? Did he even have a chance against that ginger?

A sad smile graced Hermione's lips, "No. I can't. Not after what he did." It was all she really could say. Draco already knew the details, and maybe, saying this was the best thing that she could offer to him at the moment. No promises, but at least he would know her heart was freed.

"Well, it's a start."

"I can pursue you with Weasel out of the way."

"You still want to court me?"

"Will I succeed?" His words were no longer cold, and again, he seemed relaxed and flirtatious, even. He couldn't lose to the Weasel again, and this time, he was already on the right track.


A/N: YAY FOR MORE TESTING SEASONS. Oh the joys of college. Anyhow, I would like to open this up for debate: would my dear readers prefer for Draco to have the task of killing Dumbledore + fixing the cabinet, or an original task? :) I probably won't be able to post for a couple of weeks, just because of the nature of my testing schedule for this quarter, so my readers have until then to give their input via review/PM. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Until next time 3