A/N: Hello all! Thank you for your wonderful reviews! TomFeltonsDancer, I tried getting your e-mail, but I don't think you made it available for the public, why don't you e-mail me privately? I wanted to update Monday as promised, but it was Valentines Day, so my fiancee made plans with side tracked me. I wanted to continue this chapter with dialouge and whatnot, but I had a better idea. So Chapter 30 may not be the last Chapter :). I am writing Chap 30 right now, so i hope to have it up before the weekend.
My brother is coming from from Japan after three years in the Marines. So, as you can imagine...I am a very happy person.

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Draco felt restless.

Uneasy.

Bored out of his mind.

His confrontation with Hermione had sparked something with in him that he thought was long dead; his feelings for her.

He paced the Slytherin common room, throwing nasty glares to anyone who even sent him a peculiar look.

"What's crawled up your ass and died Malfoy?" he heard a deep voice call out from the entrance of the dungeon.

Draco turned around and was about to give Blaise the hexing of his life, but stopped. A friendwas what he needed now.

"Come now Draco, the entire House is in a tizzy over what got you in heat." Blaise smirked knowingly.

Draco scoffed but allowed the negative energy to leave.

"There is a Butterbeer with your name on it at the Three Broomsticks." Blaise offered, patting Draco on the shoulder.

"Then lets go." He replied roughly.

They walked to Hogsmead in friendly silence. Blaise knew better than to ask Draco about any of his problems. All he could do is offer the boy his shoulder and wait.

They walked into the Three Broomsticks, and was surprised at the amount of students. The majority was seventh years, but sixth and fifth years were spotted.

He spied half the Weasley clan by their red hair along with Potter.

She wasn't there.

Not that he was looking.

"If you stare at that table any longer, I'm going to begin to think that you have a thing for red hair." Blaise quipped at Draco, who scowled in reply.

They ordered their butterbeers, and sat in silence until they came. Draco needed a distraction while he talked; incase he needed to stop himself; he had something to shove into his mouth.

Blaise was the only person that knew what went on. Of course there was Potter and Weasley…Draco cringed at the thought of the two boys looking at his most private memories with Hermione in the Pensieve.

"We got into a bit of a confrontation today." Draco started, "She asked me, 'You have something to hide?'"

Blaise lifted an eyebrow, "She knows?"

Draco shook his head, "Impossible. If she knew I would be missing my manhood right now."

Blaise snorted into his butterbeer.

Draco shrugged his shoulder and continued to sip his drink. Behind him he could hear the loud laughter from the Weasleys.

"I still like her, you know." Draco admitted, not looking Blaise in the eye.

"Of course you do. You would be an idiot to let something like her birth get in the way of your happiness." He replied loftily.

"I'm past that." Draco scowled; he knew his reputation of being a Mudblood hating Malfoy would haunt him until he left this earth.

"Does she know that?" Blaise asked, his eye drifting to Ginny, who pretended not to notice his stare.

"No." Draco admitted. "Would you please stop playing googly eyes with the Weasley girl?"

The wickedly flirtatious smile Blaise was sending Ginny disappeared when his eyes met those of this friend. He placed his hand on Draco's shoulder. "You how you feel, Draco. Coming here, trying to drown your sorrows in butterbeer isn't going to help your situation at all. Make her see the truth."

Draco sighed.

Easier said than done.

He threw money on the table for the two drinks and started to leave The Three Broomsticks. He ignored the wolfish grin Blaise threw Ginny, but what he couldn't ignore was the way Harry and Ron acted.

They completely ignored him.

No nasty words, no insults, not even glare.

"What was that all about in there?" Blaise asked him as they started the long walk back to Hogwarts.

"Potter and Weasley?" Draco muttered. "As always, they blame me for what happened to Hermione."

"They know?" Blaise asked, tripping over a piece of raised sidewalk.

"Yes, they do know." Draco growled, getting angrier. "They know that it was not only my fault what happened to Hermione…they also should know that she was the one that asked me to kiss her…"

"And they didn't tell her!" Blaise exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"Let me tell you something about the Golden Trio, Blaise," Draco snapped, turning to his friend, "the bond between them is supposed to be unbreakable. Do you know what would have happened if they told her? She would leave them."

Blaise raised a perfectly arched brow, "And you're so sure about this…how? Maybe they are scared for Hermione"

"They are not scared!" Draco maintained, pacing the busy sidewalk, eliciting stares from mostly everyone walking by.

Blaise made a motion with his hands that told Draco to continue, but he was sure Draco missed it, as he was not even looking at Blaise.

"No one is good enough, I am not good enough for her! Me! They damn well know what happened and how I feel; yet they choose to ignore that! They are using this for revenge."

Blaise's eyes opened once more in astonishment, "No!"

Draco scowled at him and started to walk again.

"Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley…forsaking their best mate's happiness for revenge!" Blaise laughed at the backwardness of the situation.

Draco threw another scowl at Blaise, which shut him up.

They walked in silence, taking the long way into school; they bypassed the long bridge and walked towards the lake.

Blaise stopped dead in his tracks and pulled Draco's shirt. Draco was about to throw yet another scowl at the boy.

"Look who is taking in some sun by the lake." Blaise grinned, motioning with his chin.

Draco followed his line of vision to see a very relaxed Hermione lounging by riverside. She was leaned against a tree, surrounded by her books. Her head was rested back on the tree and she was fast asleep.

Blaise gave him a playful shove before he started to walk off.

"Go on, then." He smirked before disappearing with a speed Draco thought he only saw on brooms.

With a resigned sigh, Draco knew this was his chance to talk to Hermione while she was relaxed and had no other duties on her mind or her two minions guarding her.

He straitened his back and walked to the sleeping Hermione, nestled under tree by the lake.