A/N: Hi, my dear readers, here it is: the beginning of the end.

I considered leaving out the Daphne-part, but I wanted to make it clear that Draco didn't just accept Hermione's "3-months"-promise. He wanted to discover her secret by himself. That's the reason he reacts so strongly in this and the following chapters and draws the conclusions he does. I don't want to spoiler you, just explain.

So, enjoy the craziness that awaits you!

Thank you to Cecelia Everhart, who betaed this and all following chapters!

25. The Ties That Bind

The following weekend, Draco visited Daphne to find out some more information about Hermione's past. It felt wrong, but he needed to know. At least, that was what he told himself.

"Hi Daphne, is Theo home?" he asked, entering her sitting room without bothering to knock. Of course, he knew that Theo was out.

She instantly glared at him. "No. Sorry you had to come all the way here to find out. Bye," she spat full of venom. She really hated him, didn't she?

"Ehm, Daphne?" he asked innocently.

Irritated, she looked up from whatever she was doing. "Why are you still here?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Her expression turned even darker. "Depends."

He stared her squarely in the eye, pretending to be more confident than he actually was. "I know that you know Hermione. But why won't she tell me about it? Why does she deny knowing you?"

"That's none of your business," the dark-haired witch hissed, her gaze flickering to her wand on the table. Did she think he would threaten her?

"So you don't deny it," he stated calmly, and she flinched. She apparently hadn't wanted to reveal anything.

Draco stepped closer. "Why is it a secret?" he enquired when she didn't answer. He didn't understand the secrecy. It couldn't be that bad, could it? It was Hermione, after all.

Daphne shrugged, trying to act nonchalantly. "I don't know what you're talking about. And now, get out or I'll tell Hermione you've been snooping around. She won't like it."

Draco sighed, realising he'd have no luck with her. "Fine. I won't forgive you, by the way."

"For what?" she asked, frowning.

He gritted his teeth and growled, "For telling her I would hurt her." With that, he disappeared again.

In the following weeks, nothing new came to light. Tracey and Blaise couldn't find a single clue, not even in the ministry's top secret files. Potter must have destroyed everything about Hermione's past.

But Rita Skeeter found a way, as she apparently always did. He and Hermione had just celebrated their two month anniversary, when a big headline appeared.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT!

Is sly Miss Hermione Granger cheating on the most eligible Bachelor of the year?

An anonymous source reported that the War Heroine was regularly entertaining lovers during her marriage with Quidditch Star Viktor Krum. Their marriage ended for unknown reasons, but this strongly indicates that wicked Miss Granger was the guilty party. Research showed that Krum was also more and more concerned about his wife's behaviour and expressed that in letters to friends in Bulgaria. As possible lovers, he named The Chosen One, Harry Potter, and co-war hero Ron Weasley, both also married at that time and both in previous relationships with Miss Granger. My source also identified Oliver Wood, Keeper at Puddlemere United and former team mate of Mr. Krum, and Anthony Goldstein as possible candidates, who would probably satisfy Miss Granger's taste for famous wizards.

This pops the question if the former Brightest Witch of her Age is toying with her new boyfriend Draco Malfoy, two-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award. But, as previous articles have demonstrated, she seems quite adapt at making Love Potions. As loyal reporter, I will investigate this further. In the meantime, let's hope that Mr. Malfoy watches out for himself and, next time, bestows his heart on a worthier candidate.

Draco put the paper down and stared out of the window, half expecting to see his father's owl tapping against it, but it was just the rain.

He had genuinely thought that Potter's and his plan would work out.

When Hermione came out of the bedroom, she found Draco staring out of the window. "Something wrong?"

Draco winced and looked at her startled. "No. Just tired. Have you slept well?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. The nervousness in Draco's eyes told her that he was lying. "Perfect," she lied smoothly and hugged him from behind. "Come back to bed with me."

Normally, Draco would follow just too gladly, but today he freed himself and got up to make some tea in the kitchen. Hermione watched him, frowning, when he came back with two steaming mugs. "What are you doing with the Prophet?" It looked like he was trying to accidentally throw it away.

Draco flinched. "N-nothing."

Hermione sighed. So there was something. And it had to do with that blasted newspaper. "Tell me! Is it Skeeter?"

"You shouldn't read that!" Draco mumbled and stuffed the paper into the bin.

"Accio." Within a second, it was in her hand. Hurriedly, she skimmed through the awful article. Oh my god. Oh my god. How did she … how could she know? Which letters was she speaking of? Cold panic shot through Hermione, and her hands started trembling violently.

Draco.

He had read this.

Oh, sweet Merlin. That was why he was acting weird. He thought it was the truth. He thought she was cheating on him, just like Viktor.

What was he going to do?

"Hermione, breathe." Dracos's voice came through to her, and she realised that she was hyperventilating.

"It's not true. I swear, Draco," she choked out, not daring to look up. "I swear. I wouldn't …" Hard sobs broke out of her throat.

"Love. Hermione, I didn't think–"

"Please, Draco," she interrupted him, not even hearing what he was saying. "I didn't sleep with Harry or Ron. I didn't."

"Hermione," he called her firmly; and from the corner of the eye, she saw that he reached out to touch her. Automatically, she flinched away, throwing down her mug of tea in the process. The splintering noise threw her out of the present and back into her past, when she'd had the same fight with Viktor.

Taken aback, Draco stared at his uncontrollably weeping girlfriend, who had curled up on the floor. What had he done? He shouldn't have let her read the bloody article!

"Hermione?" he whispered. "Reparo." In a flash, the cup was whole again, and the hot tea vanished with another wink of his wand, but she didn't stop crying. He felt so helpless.

"Shit, Hermione." Draco noticed that she had cut herself with the splinters; however, when he kneeled down next to her to help her, she flinched away violently. He froze. Why wouldn't she let him touch her? Did she believe he would even consider one word out of that witch's pen for the truth?

"Hermione!" Firmly, he grabbed her shoulders, not caring about her intense reaction. "Snap out of it."

She stared at him, but didn't really see him. It was as if she was looking at a ghost – her amber eyes widened with terror and pain. The unfounded fear in them shattered him, broke him inside. She still whimpered like a wounded animal; her hands rose in defence as if he would hurt her.

"Please, Viktor," she sobbed and tried to free herself, panic-stricken.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

She was having a flashback or something. He had seen it happening all the time during his last year in Hogwarts. A strange noise, a certain smell, a reflection of light, or – in his own case – the darkness. He certainly wasn't the one who could help her now. Without thinking, he took out his wand and cast a speaking Patronus, then, he sent it to Harry.

It only took a few seconds for the fireplace to roar with green flames, but to Draco, it seemed an eternity, each second agonising pain in his chest.

"What did you do to her?" an unexpected voice yelled, and Draco spun around.

"What are you doing here, Weasel King? I didn't ask you to come," he snarled arrogantly.

Within a split second, another person appeared in the fireplace. "What the hell, Ron?" Harry hissed at his friend.

Ron spun around. "I thought something bad happened," he tried to defend himself.

"Be happy that Ginny isn't feeling too well or she'd kick your ass for eavesdropping."

"Shut up!" Draco interrupted their bickering. "You need to help her." He gestured helplessly at the floor where Hermione was still sobbing and rocking to and fro. "She's having a flashback. She thinks I'm bloody Viktor. All because of that stupid article," he added, his voice husky with worry.

Ron and Harry exchanged a look and kneeled down next to their friend. Draco didn't know what to do, and he didn't want to interrupt, so he went back to the kitchen.

After a while, Harry entered. Draco wasn't sure how much time had passed since he could only stare out of the window into the grey sky. There was no rainbow, no lone ray of sunlight, merely sharp flowing sheets of liquid crashing down on the earth like bullets. His thoughts raced.

"Draco?" Harry asked softly.

Immediately, Draco spun around. "How is she?"

"Sleeping. Calming Draught," Harry explained without wasting words. "Ron's with her."

Anger flared through Draco's chest, burning like a supernova. But he said nothing, just looked out of the window again.

"You're upset," Harry remarked a bit awkwardly.

Oh hell, yes, he was. His own girlfriend was afraid of him. And now Weasel King was comforting her – he who had shunned her and cast her out of his life. But she wouldn't let him – her own boyfriend, who would do anything for her – near her. It suffocated him.

"Please, forgive her. She wasn't herself."

"Then tell me what she was! Because nobody wants to tell me anything. All that I know comes from the bloody newspaper!" Draco snarled heatedly.

"It was a flashback," Harry mumbled and sat down at the table. Draco had to bite back a snarky comment. He already knew as much.

"She and Viktor had a lot of fights about this. He forbade her to see Ron and me. So she used to sneak out and meet us secretly. We didn't know… we didn't know for a long time." Harry sighed. "What you said to Ron was the truth. We both feel awfully guilty because it was her friendship to us that got her into trouble and we didn't notice a thing."

"Then you're the worst friends ever," Draco remarked coldly. It was the only thing that came to his mind. He still needed to process what Harry had said.

"We were," Harry whispered, and his voice was so full of pain that Draco shivered.

"Astoria and I had fights, too, but I never had a flashback about them," Draco realised and turned to study Harry's face.

"Mhm," the black-haired boy mumbled and traced the scar on his forehead with his fingertips, carefully concealing his face.

"So what happened?"

"I can't tell you. It's not my place."

"Fuck that. Tell me now! I deserve to know," Draco snarled, banging his fist on the kitchen counter.

"You do, Draco," Harry agreed, nodding slowly. "But she needs to do this. Please, be gentle with her. She deserves a good person as boyfriend."

"Not someone like me."

"That, I didn't say," Harry contradicted, shaking his head fiercely.

Draco shrugged. "Never mind. She doesn't trust me anyway. I saw it in her eyes, the fear. She was afraid of me, Harry." His voice broke accidentally. "I'm done with the blasted secrets."

"It wasn't you she was afraid of," Harry tried to assure him, but Draco brushed it off with a shrug.

"Stop defending her. I can't take it any longer. Her carefulness around me sometimes; her nightmares that wake her up in the middle of the night, and she thinks I don't notice; she, wincing every time someone says Quidditch or Viktor; the flinching away from me or the look in the eyes if I said something wrong. I bloody hate it. You can believe me I've tried everything, but … " Draco shook his head. "This is enough. Three persons are too many in a relationship."

"Don't do this. I'm begging you," Harry pleaded, his voice shaking with emotion.

Slowly, Draco turned. "Then tell me."

"I can't," Harry whispered, his green eyes full of regret. "Please."

Draco stared at him for a moment. "I'll give her today."

"I guess, that's all that I can get," Harry murmured sadly. "I check on Mione and then I need to head back. Ginny's in a hell of a mood."

Draco couldn't help chuckling although it wasn't funny.

Suddenly, Ron entered the room. "She's sound asleep."

Draco's face went vacant. He wouldn't forgive him that easily. "Out of the apartment at once, Weasel."

"What's got your wand in a twist?" Ron asked nonchalantly.

"You. Do you know how many times she cried because she met one of your family members on the street and they wouldn't talk to her, or because she saw something that reminded her of your times together in Hogwarts, or simply because she missed her best friend? No, you don't. She never showed it to me, would never admit it, but it hurt her so much. And now you dance in here, playing the hero. You don't get to do that because you failed her," he raged at him, all his anger breaking free from his control. He breathed heavily, clenching and unclenching his fist.

Ron's face went ashen. "She … I … sorry," he spluttered.

"I don't think sorry is enough to make up for that." Draco had to hold onto the chair to stop himself from punching the git. Not that he hadn't deserved it. "Stop pretending to care and get the heck out of here. For all I care you can rot in hell," Draco spat viciously.

Ron swayed back as if Draco had really hit him; then, he turned wordlessly and stormed out of the kitchen.

"Feeling better now?" Harry asked slightly amused.

"Yes," Draco lied smoothly. "The git deserved it."

"He wanted to make up with her, you know; that's why he was at my place."

"Do I look like I care?" Draco shrugged. "Didn't you have a wife that's demanding your presence?"

Harry winced. "You'll be alright?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Why wouldn't I be? Now, get lost."

"Yeah, just let nobody see how you're really feeling," Harry mumbled but left anyway, after casting a quick glance into the bedroom.

Draco, though, stayed in the kitchen and watched the lashing rain, which seemed to mirror his emotions.

Inside, he was crying. Inside, he was ice cold. Inside, he knew it was over.

I was made aware of the fact that the review function didn't work when I posted the last chapter (thank you again, purplehedgehog13!). I was slightly worried that nobody liked it... So, thank you to everybody who wanted to review but couldn't. (And, of course, thank you to everyone who actually did review!)

Let's make up the "lost" reviews in this chapter, yes? :)