Saline looked up from talking with Narcissa and Victoria to see Hermione come into the small common room they all shared.

"She's here," Saline mumbled and Victoria stood, facing her daughter with shock on her face.

"Hermione Jane Granger-"

"Mom, nothing happened back there!" she interjected before her mother could start. "If you would just listen-"

"No, you listen to me!" Victoria snapped, stepping up to her. "You are my daughter and I have every right to yell when I see that a woman who has pledged her life to another man is having sex with someone else!"

"We didn't have sex!!" Hermione yelled. "We kissed, that's all! You don't understand!!"

"Oh really, then why don't you explain it."

Hermione felt a chill run down her back as she turned around to face the blazingly cold gray eyes that bored into her wary honey brown ones. He rose from a chair by the fireplace, face pale and hollow, as if someone had stretched the skin on his face.

"Draco-"

"Explain why you were kissing Weasley."

Her lips opened to speak, but no words escaped. She couldn't explain it to him. She couldn't tell him in front of her family that Ron had been a better kisser. That Ron had treated her better than Draco ever had. That Ron had actual feelings for her.

She couldn't tell Draco that. And that made Draco mad as hell.

"You BITCH!!"

He was in front of her faster than she could blink. A darkened hand came across her face, creating five deep gashes in her cheek and sending her to the floor with a scream of pain. Tears sprung to her eyes as she held her hand to her face, looking down to see blood drip to the floor. She then looked up at him with widened eyes to see that from his dark hands extended long, steel claws that were quickly retracting back into his skin.

"Draco," she whispered, finally looking up into his eyes to see bright hatred shining from his eyes.

"If you don't want to be here, then you stay the hell away from me and the children or I will kill you," he hissed. "Now get the hell out."

She didn't move, too scared to even try and get up. Rage flew to his face and he grabbed her arm, wrenching her up and throwing her bodily to the door.

"GET OUT!!" he roared and she scrambled out, slamming the door behind her. He panted heavily as he hit the floor, eyes closed. Narcissa glanced at Victoria, who was staring at Draco with and unreadable expression before going out the door to find her daughter. Saline got up and walked over slowly to Draco, kneeling down and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Draco, you need to get control," she murmured and he looked up at her, pain now in his eyes.

"I…" He pushed himself up. "I need to go talk to her."

She nodded and led him to a chair, taking a vial out of her pocket and handing it to him.

"Not now, though. Drink this. It'll slow the transformation. It'll calm you down, okay?"

He nodded and she left him, replaced by Narcissa. She eyed her son as he downed the vial and threw it into the fireplace. He was quiet for a minute and then his eyes closed.

"I hurt her, didn't I?"

"Yes."

"She was with Weasel…he had touched her…nobody touches her…"

By the end of the week, forty students and parents were in the infirmary and several more claimed to be coming down with more symptoms. Victoria tried to keep a happy face, along with most of the Muggles and Muggle-borns, as they had all experienced these ailments at least once in their lives.

The relationship between Hermione and her mother became disconnected and Hermione was no longer seeing her children and Draco, whom she was avoiding completely. She and Ron never discussed what had happened neither was there any repetition. Ron had kept the relationship at a friendly level, not wanting to get on Mrs. Granger's bad side. Hermione had merely never brought it up or acted on it. She was too distracted by her school work and Draco's deteriorating condition. He no longer attended meals and when he showed up in class, people murmured amongst themselves about how pale, pasty, and weak he was looking. His skin was stretching across his skin and he sat in the very back rows with Slytherins so that nobody could see his pitch black hands. His hair hung in front of his eyes so that no one could see the pain in his eyes that the transformation was causing him.

Harry entered the common room and spotted Hermione by the window this time, by herself. He frowned and sat down next to her.

"Something wrong?"

She shook her head, shrugging.

"Bored, I guess."

His eyes widened.

"You?! Hermione Granger is BORED?! That's impossible!"

She smiled wanly.

"I guess I just need to get outside…I don't know."

He watched her for a moment and then looked away.

"So, there's nothing between you and Ron?"

She stared at him, blood rushing to her face.

"What?"

He sighed.

"I…I came downstairs a few days ago and saw you two on the couch…"

Her eyes widened.

"Harry, I-"

He smiled.

"Hermione, it's totally fine! I'm just surprised the both of you haven't done anything since then! What's going on between you two?"

She sighed and turned away.

"It…It's complicated, Harry."

"You like him, don't you?"

She bit her lip and stared out the window.

"That's what's complicated, Harry…you'll never understand."

"Not if you don't tell me. Hermione, look at me."

She turned to him and he frowned, tilting his head to the side.

"You've been acting really strange all year. I never said anything before, but a lot of it started after the Hogsmeade thing. Look, I don't want to force you to tell me anything, but we're best friends and I want you to talk to me if there's something bothering you."

She stared at him for a moment before wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"I know Harry," she mumbled. "I know…"

She pulled away and rubbed her temples, debating something in her head. She looked back at Harry and took a deep breath.

"Harry, you can't tell anybody what I'm telling you, okay? I mean, anybody. Not even Dumbledore. Nobody can know about this, okay?"

Harry nodded. "I'm not telling, Hermione."

She sighed and motioned him closer, glancing around them before leaning in herself.

"Okay, well…"

A pair of piercing yellow-orange eyes appeared in a dark corner of a hallway. They followed the movements of Peeves, who was tampering with several chandeliers in the Great Hall. Peeves zoomed out, humming Weasley is Our King. The eyes followed Peeves as he floated down hallways, keeping within close distance of the unassuming poltergeist.

Peeves then stopped outside the kitchen door, examining the pear closely. A low growl alerted him to something behind him and he turned around in time to let out a yelp of shock.

Shark-like jaws clamped around the poltergeist, pulling him into the darkness and leaving behind a ghostly white trail following them.

Harry was staring at Hermione with absolute shock when Ron came into the room. He frowned at Harry.

"Oi, what's gotten into you?"

Hermione gave Harry a pleading look, eyes begging him to keep his promise. He bit his lip and shook his head, turning to Ron.

"Nothing, Ron. Where've you been?"

Ron shrugged, sitting down across from them.

"Was looking for Ginny…"

Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry laughed.

"Ron, you need to stop. Ginny's with her friends in the Library, okay?"

Ron sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Hermione watched him for a moment before looking away, feeling her heart beating swiftly under her shirt. Harry glanced at her before standing, patting Ron's shoulder.

"Come on, Ron. Let's go find your sister before she finds Dean."

As they headed for the door, Harry glanced back.

"We'll talk later, Hermione, okay?" he called back.

She nodded, feeling slightly confused. Ron's affect on her was stronger than she had expected. She hadn't figured on a little kiss like the one they had shared made her question not only her relationship with him but the rocky relationship she had with Draco.

She turned to look back out the window. "It's not like Draco's a terrible person," she murmured to herself.

Then what had made Ron's kisses so different?

She thought back to their snogfest several days ago. Her eyes closed at the thought of Ron's lips moving softly over her. And the thought of Ron holding her tightly while she cried and the gentle way of his words lulling her to sleep made her realize that Ron merely cared more than Draco did.

And Draco didn't care one bit.

"Hermione!!"

She snapped out of her stupor to look up. Ginny scrambled in through the portrait door, pointing back out of it.

"Hermione, come out! You'll never believe what happened!!"

Hermione rushed after Ginny as they ran outside, several people following.

"What happened, Ginny?!" she gasped as they approached a crowd in the hallway.

"You'll see."

She pushed her way to the front of the crowd where Dean was, pulling Hermione along with her. Hermione gasped in shock at the sight, reeling back in revulsion.

"Oh no," she whispered and Ginny nodded, turning away into Dean's shoulder.

On the floor lay the mangled body of Peeves. Silver blood lay around the body, sparkling in the dimness of the hall. Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall came to the front of the circle and McGonagall gasped.

"Albus!"

Snape eyed the body gravely.

"It seems someone has pulled a prank on our prankster," he said dryly as Dumbledore circled the body, frowning. McGonagall turned to him in horror.

"Albus, this is impossible! Peeves is a poltergeist! He can't be…killed!"

A murmur went through the crowds. Dumbledore then looked up at the portraits.

"What happened here?" he demanded, the sparkling glimmer behind his half-moon glasses gone in a flash.

The portraits, however, made no noise and instead glanced at each other. Dumbledore glared.

"What happened here?!"

The circle took a step back. Dumbledore didn't yell.

The portrait directly in front of Peeve's body, a picture of a 13th century couple on a lawn in front of a fountain, shifted slightly as the woman buried her face into the man's shoulder while he stared stonily out at Dumbledore.

"We didn't see anything, Albus."

"Don't lie to me, Helios."

Helios' lip curled in disgust.

"You think I'm a liar."

"I think you're not telling me the truth. What did this?"

"You idiot!" the man in the portrait spat, causing the crowd to gasp. "You think you're so smart and wise but you're just like the rest of the idiots around you. No what could have done this to a poltergeist. Has anyone thought to ask themselves where the damn ghosts are, seeing as Peeves is normally torturing one of them? Don't you think that one of them would have been around?"

Hermione's eyes darted across the circle to meet Narcissa's, who then frantically searched the crowd before her eyes became large and she quickly disappeared. Hermione spotted Harry and made a discrete motion towards him. He glanced over and frowned. She pointed away from the crowd and he nodded. He muttered something to Ron, who wasn't listening at all, and slipped away. Seeing as Ginny was with Dean, Hermione slipped away undetected and found Harry in the empty Entrance Hall. He turned to her, eyes wide.

"Did you see Peeves?!"

She stopped him and dragged him down the hall towards the Slytherin Common room. Harry tried to speak, but she kept shaking her head, pulling on him harder. They spotted Blaise appear out of an alcove, Saline with him.

"We just heard," Blaise mumbled as Harry gave Hermione a confused look. She ignored them all, still yanking Harry down the stairs and skidding to a halt in front of the Slytherin portrait. Blaise and Saline were right behind them. Saline eyed Harry inquisitively.

"The Boy-Who-Lived is kind of cute."

Blaise turned to his mother, as did Hermione, momentarily distracted by the woman's comment. Harry just stared at her. Saline glanced at her son.

"What?"

"You're married."

"So?"

"He's not eighteen yet."

"I can wait."

"Mom!!"

Harry stared at her and Saline smiled, patting his shoulder.

"Welcome to the Slytherin family."

Hermione blinked and turned to the portrait, whispering the password. The portrait door opened and she scrambled in, the rest of them following her closely. Narcissa, along with several Slytherins, were standing against the wall, eyes wide at something in the common room. Hermione rushed to the front of them and screamed, falling back with Blaise barely catching her before she hit the ground in horror. Harry came up next to her and gasped.

"Holy shit…"

Silver blood covered the darkened, steely clawed hands that had started to grow scaly. The barely clothed body lay unconscious against the couch, Draco's blond hair hanging down limply in front of his closed eyes.

Tears appeared in Hermione's eyes, but she didn't approach him. She instead took a step back. Narcissa turned to her, frowning.

"Hermione-"

She shook her head, pushing Blaise off of her and scrambling for the door when Harry grabbed her, pulling her back. He frowned at her.

"Hermione…"

"No," she whispered, pointing at her face. "He did this. Let him lie there. Tell him I was here and that I walked away."

"No," Harry said, not believing what he was saying. Then again, he couldn't believe a lot of what he had found out and what he had seen in the past few hours. "No, you're going to stay here and you're going to take care of him. Ron can wait."

She stared into his eyes and she saw his seriousness.

"Hermione, go."

She bit her lip and nodded, turning around and slowly walked back to where Draco was. She kneeled down next to him and let out a small scream as his clawed hand circled around her throat. His eyes opened, stormy gray eyes staring up at her.

"That's right, mudblood. Weasley can wait."