She'd always been cautious. Most would say over cautious, she just called it better safe than sorry. It seemed fitting that the one time she put her heart out on the line it was shredded into tiny pieces.

Her fingers twisted together, then untwisted. Finishing off the process by combing through her hair and then starting all over again. She'd thought she'd never feel worse than she had every time Ron did something stupid and immature. She was wrong. Her feet carried her through the deserted corridors of the castle. He'd broken up with her. Told her that while it had been fun it was a mistake. A mistake! The nerve.

It was supposed to be a special evening for them. Instead she had walked into the Room of Requirement only to find there to be no fire and Malfoy sitting in one of the armchairs. At once she had known that nothing good could result from this sort of mood. She rushed over to his side, praying that she was only being worrisome. Her worst fears had been confirmed when he abruptly stood up but would not make eye contact with her. Hermione's heart rate drastically increased at that moment and she felt her palms growing sweaty.

He didn't drag it out, instead he made it as brief as possible, "This can't go on any longer," if that wasn't enough to shatter her heart his next words solidified the job, "You're just a Gryffindor muggle born who has no place in the life of a pureblooded Slytherin," he turned and walked out of the room without a backwards glance. If he had of he would have seen the tears flowing freely down the brunettes face.

Hermione flung herself down on the sofa and nursed her grief. Harry, Ron, they'd all been right. He was Malfoy, a manipulative scum bag who could make you believe anything as long as it benefited him. He would go to no ends to accomplish something as long as it fueled his oversized ego. She'd screwed up and trusted the untrustworthy. Her stupidity was what hurt the most.

xxx.:.x.:.xxx

He didn't know what he was going to say. All he knew was that they were words that needed to be said. He'd come into this wanting to get laid and had vowed that he wouldn't give up, not until he had been awarded the ultimate prize. If he had seen what would have become when he made that promise he would have most definently rethought his plan of attack.

The sound of his footsteps bounced back at him as he traced his steps through the empty corridors. He still didn't know which word he should use, but he figured that he should at least try to explain.

When she walked into the silent room all of his morals slipped away. His breath caught in his throat and all he wanted to do was rush over to her and kiss her. That would not be the answer to his problems. Just moments before he had promised to be kind but that was another promise broken as the words slipped unruly from his lips. He couldn't believe he was saying them. Sure he'd said things like it before, a lot of the time them being much worse but for some reason today's hit home.

As soon as he was done talking he rushed away. There was no point hanging around. It would only end badly, not that this already hadn't. As he walked steadily-one foot in front of the other-back to the common room he forced his mind to travel to different places. The Quidditch Final's tomorrow was and excellent choice but his mind would not budge.

Had he done the right thing? Of course not but it was necessary. His emotions had started getting involved like they never had before. And when emotions came into the picture it was time to distance yourselves and call it quits.

You're just a coward his head screamed at him and he couldn't deny it. It was true, he'd darted at the first hint of trouble and not even trouble at that. More like fear. He was scared of commitment? No of course he wasn't, not if the right person came around. Then why was he fretting over his decision so much? Was he really afraid of commitment that much? Nah he wasn't scared of anything. Except maybe having to see the Weasley girl the next day. Yes she could get quite scary. Oh well he would just have to throw himself into his game tomorrow. That would be easier said than done because he didn't know how much his conscience could play on a guy.

xxx.:.x.:.xxx

"We won! We won! Who's the Best?-"

"We are."

"Yeeaahh!"

The cheering rang out through the grounds. Not a spot was immune to the constant celebrations of victory. The day had broken as cloudy and mild with little to no wind. Allowing for an almost perfect game. Or so the crowd thought until they witnessed the goings on of the two seekers. Both players didn't seem to have their usual intensity but nobody thought much of it. It had been a long and tiresome year for both young men. One had had an extensive row with his girlfriend in the middle of a crowded corridor before the game and the other hadn't been himself for the past few days. No make that the whole year.

Going into the game people had been placing their money on Gryffindor. Sure Slytherin had Malfoy but he was only as good as his ego would allow him to be. Harry on the other hand had the skill and the team to back him up. It would be a well fought battle in the end but Gryffindor would come out victorious.

All of the Gryffindor supporters were in for a surprise when Harry dove after the snitch but lost sight of it quickly. Malfoy had been right on his tale and they both pulled out of the dive seconds before they would have crashed painfully into the hard earth. Gasps rang out through the stand from both the red and green supporters. Nobody wanted to see their star players being carted off the field on a stretcher.

Nothing much happened for the better part of an hour. Goals were scored and then quickly the other team would seize the Quaffle and even up the score once again. It seemed that the two Seekers had completely forgotten about the game because other than their first dive it appeared that they hadn't seen the small Golden Snitch. Or maybe they just weren't looking. Fans began pointing up at the sky but it was not at a spectacular play. Instead they were pointing to two tiny dots floating high above the pitch. It looked like they were talking or more likely arguing but nobody could be for certain from such a distance.

Voices began to elevate in volume as people voiced their ideas to their neighbors. Was it a strategy? Nobody knew but they were keen on talking about it. Suddenly a cheer rang out and all eyes were once again focused on the game. Up in the sky from that ungodly height one of the tiny players began a perfect swan dive decent towards the ground. As the figure rapidly got closer the cheers grew louder as the fans noted the colour of the players uniform. He raised his hand into the air and in his tightly clasped fist he held a small struggling ball.

"We won!"

His team was the first upon him, they too were wondering about the events of the past few minutes.

xxx.:.x.:.xxx

As Hermione watched the events of the Quidditch Game unfold she couldn't feel anything. She was completely numb. The harsh realities of what she had gotten herself into had emerged and she was less than thrilled about her as well as his attitude towards the whole thing. So as she watched the game she pondered what had happened and cheered that much harder ever time Gryffindor scored a goal. Those filthy Slytherin scumbags!

Hermione knew that Harry and Ginny hadn't been doing so well and she also knew that it directly resulted from her situation. She hadn't had the guts to tell either Harry or Ron what had happened. It was mortifying enough to be dumped so carelessly but to have someone be grateful that it had happened was heart wrenching.

Ginny had cornered Harry on his way to the game and told him to stop being so immature. He hadn't taken it well and as a result a screaming match between the two strong minded Gryffindor's followed. Ginny had stood her ground and Harry was the first to walk away saying that he was needed on the pitch. Ginny had stormed away in a huff, knocking a few innocent bystanders off their feet in her wake.

xxx.:.x.:.xxx

Up in the air Draco found himself watching Potter closer than usual and when he appeared along side him hundreds of feet up in the air it made him a tad bit nervous. From the look on Potter's face it was evident that he was not pleased and Draco was pretty sure he knew why but he couldn't show any weakness.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Harry demanded.

Draco swallowed and gently laid his hand by the pocket that his wand was in. He would not go down without a fight. No wait on second thought he wouldn't suffer, Potter would. Who did he think he was coming up here in the middle of the most important game of the year and demanding to know why he broke up with his so called girlfriend, "I'm playing Quidditch which is more than I can say about you Potter."

"Give it a rest Malfoy. We both know why we're here."

It was hard enough for Draco to concentrate on the game with his conscience constantly screaming at him to apologize and say he made a huge mistake, he didn't need this added on burden, "No why don't you enlighten me."

"Fine I will. You stay the hell away from Hermione. I don't know what you've said to her or what you've done but believe me this has got to stop."

"And why do you think your phony little threat is going to change my mind?"

That stumped Harry who went instantly silent. Draco internally gloated at the fact that Granger didn't share everything with Potter when he said "Oh and we broke up".

It was quite apparent from Harry's face that he still thought they were together.

Draco's minded was flooded with thoughts, so much so that he didn't notice Harry crouching down onto his broom and going into a steep dive. By the time he noticed it was to late. Draco put all his energy into directing the broom to fly perfectly but it was no use. Harry had his fist in the air and Draco was left empty handed.

He didn't know what made him do it but he found his eyes scanning the see of red in the stands. Somehow he found her. Amidst the standing crowd she was sitting somberly on the bench. No hint of emotion could be seen. Not joy at her teams victory or sorrow at their breakup. Their eyes met briefly but she was the first to break the connection. No sooner had she jumped up to join the Gryffindor's victory march onto the pitch. All prior things forgotten. At least so it appeared.

The Slytherins begrudgingly headed off the pitch and to the change rooms empty handed. Nobody could pay them enough to hang around. As Draco crossed the grass Harry stepped in front of him blocking his retreat.

"You know you could have had that."

"Had what?" he grumbled, yes he had to admit he was a sore loser.

"The snitch. It was right beside your broom. Not a foot away. Next time leave your emotions on the ground."

"Why are you telling me this?" Draco asked. It almost seemed as if Potter was trying to give him advice. There was no way he would have take any advice that Potter cooked up he told himself.

"Just thought you should know how close you were and how your in ability to direct your thoughts directly influences how your day goes," of course he wasn't giving advice, he was mocking him.

"Thanks for the insight," he stuck his shoulder out and plowed his way through the ever growing crowds. Instead of heading for the change rooms, he really didn't want to hear his Captain yelling at him for the next hour straight he decided to retreat to the castle where he could clean up and be alone. That's what he needed to do, he needed to think. Since he had told Hermione that it was over he couldn't get her out of his head. He felt horrible and he'd never ever felt horrible for doing anything. No regrets was his motto. So why was this any different? Why did he really break up with her? He asked himself these questions and many more and he hid throughout the castle for the rest of the day. No doubt the Gryffindors and probably even Hermione were already celebrating their victory upstairs. He had to move on, there was no way he could let this rule his life. He had better things to do than relish over a mudblood.

xxx.:.x.:.xxx

Unlike what Malfoy had thought Hermione had not headed upstairs to party. She had never been the partying type and she figured it was best for her to stay away. She was so unhappy at the moment and she didn't want to inflict her sorrows onto others or even worse take it out on the carefree party goers.

She stumbled into the library and found the most private table she could. It wasn't hard. The library was empty, nobody was into studying on the day of the Quidditch FInals. She pulled her book out of her back but quickly tossed it back when she noted which one it was. There was no way she could read one of her romances now. Not after what had just happened.

Lying her head down on the table felt like the best option and so she did. There with her eyes hidden in the deserted corner of the empty library she allowed the tears to come. She sobbed until their wasn't a single tear left in her and only then did sit back up. To her utmost relief the library was still deserted.

She hid out in the library until her stomach began to rumble, reminding her that she did need fuel to keep her going. Having no plans to sit in the Great Hall she headed down to the kitchens. The pear gave way to a door in which she stepped through and just as quickly turned back around, but not quick enough. His voice carried across the noise of pre dinner prep, "Fancy seeing you here."

She had two options, to run or to flee. Since the House Elves had blocked her easy escape she decided to ignore and grab some food. That wouldn't prove so easy because as soon as she sat down and was served a large bowl of soup he sat down opposite her, "I'm having a flashback," he mused.

"What are you a sodding idiot," she fumed, did he not remember what he had just told her or did he think she didn't remember.

"No, I'm thinking that I screwed up."

"That's nice to know but isn't it a little late for that?"

"Never to late to apologize so I'm sorry. What I said was totally uncalled for and I take it all back. So can we just go back to the way things were?"

"Of course," Hermione said.

"Really," shock was evident in his voice.

"Sure, status quo right? You can't stand me because I'm a mudblood Gryffindor who's better than you in class and you're an arrogant pin head who's ego is fueled by his families name. Sounds good? Great," she pushed her chair back quickly, sending it clattering across the floor. There was no way she was going to cry in front of him. She couldn't give him that pleasure. As her feet carried her throughout the corridors of Hogwarts she fought back the urge to vomit. Just by talking to her he had planted the seed of desire once again. Her body ached to be along side his and feel his tender kisses. She was glad she had run out when she had other wise she might have given into his lame apology. It was no evident that he was manipulative-something she had previously known-her heart was not disguising that fact any more. It would in turn take a lot more than a half hearted-if even-apology to win her trust back. She wasn't going to fall for his silly tricks again. She needed to keep her head clear and see him for what he was. He was so kind to her before though. How could he be such a nice and then such a horrible guy? No she had to keep her head on straight. He was not a nice guy. But what about...No remember not a nice guy. Oh boy this was going to be difficult.

xxx.:.x.:.xxx

a/n so this took a bit longer than usual and that would be a result from not having a day of in almost three weeks. I've had school or work or both and a ton of homework. So I'm pleased to finally have found the time to get this posted. I hope you enjoyed it, it seemed to me to be a bit rushed and not exactly what i had in my head but I know if i don't post now it could be weeks before I get the chance to again. Please review and tell me what you think. Remember that reviews help boost my will to write and i may just be able to slot some time in if you guys give me some decent feedback. Remember good or bad it doesn't matter. Cheers and thanks for reading.