Merry Christmas!

The next weeks passed in a blur for Hermione. There were a few visits to McGonagall, the usual sleepless nights, whispered comments from Pounce and his lot, and Draco Malfoy hardly talking to her, but not obviously avoiding her either. It was the weekend now though, the last of November, which meant a break from having to feel angry or pitying gazes fixed on her all through class. It also meant Quidditch.

The Gryffindors made their way in a group to the pitch, bundled warmly against the brisk fall wind in crimson and gold and waving flags while whooping and screaming their way across the grounds. Hermione had protested that her homework needed finishing but eventually agreed the fresh air would do her some good. Ron and Harry bemoaned their ineligibility to play the entire walk down. Malfoy was still asleep or at least pretending to be.

Ginny had been at the pitch for hours already, getting her team ready for what promised to be a competitive game. Ravenclaw had put together an excellent team this year, and most of the school was expected to be in attendance.

The trio sitting in the Gryffindor stands hadn't spoken about the revelations shared three weeks ago, but Hermione could sense them looking at her differently as if anything they said or did would cause her to break down. She was relieved when Theo and Blaise appeared and sat next to her. They'd always known, so they had no reason to change how they treated her.

"We know who did it," Blaise whispered as soon as Gryffindor scored their first points.

The roar of the crowd masked his words to all but Hermione. She whipped her head around to stare at the Slytherins who were starting to get curious looks from some other Gryffindors.

"Meet us after the match? We'll get Draco, and you bring those two," he nodded to Harry and Ron.

"Where?"

"Greenhouse seven."

The two stood and made a hasty exit. When Hermione glanced back, she noticed Pounce glaring down at her. He'd had detention for a week after his outburst over Pierce's article Their eyes met, and she fixed him with a defiant stare as he mouthed 'slut' at her. Harry grabbed her arm, pulling her focus back to the game and her friends. Ravenclaw was up 30-20.

"What'd they say?" He asked.

"They think they know-"

Hermione was drowned out by a roar from the surrounding stands as the Gryffindor keeper made a spectacular diving save, but Harry understood. He leaned over and said the same to Ron, who nodded with a grim smile.

Draco Malfoy, dressed impeccably but looking the opposite, was talking quietly with Blaise and Theo when the trio entered the greenhouse.

"Who won?"

"Gryffindor of course," Harry announced, proudly. "I told Ginny to stay with her team, I'll fill her in later."

They were wisely meeting in the outlying greenhouse that housed spring plants, which meant no one was likely to stumble upon their secret meeting. Hermione lifted herself onto an empty bench, taking her coat off in the warmth. Despite the November chill, the sun shining through the roof made the greenhouse almost unbearably hot. She produced a muggle notebook and pen from her pocket, then turned to look at Blaise and Theo expectantly.

"Find your seats, class," Theo commanded in his best Professor McGonagall impersonation. "This lesson is going to be tricky."

Malfoy, to no one's surprise, ignored Theo's instruction, choosing instead to lean moodily against a shelf. Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Alright. I'll keep this as simple as I can," Theo began, launching into the story, starting with Daphne's list and explaining how they'd narrowed it down. "We think it was four people."

"It was definitely more than one," Draco spoke finally. "I couldn't see, but I could hear at least a male and female."

"Well, Pansy was the female," Theo said quietly, still not totally believing it himself. The evidence, however, was overwhelming, suspiciously overwhelming. "We think she's being manipulated by someone, but at first glance, she looks like the leader of it all."

The three Gryffindors had never particularly enjoyed the Slytherin girl, so this new knowledge was hardly breaking news to them. Draco on the other hand, shook his head.

"She's cunning enough, but hardly the type for violence. Besides, she practically worshipped me-"

"If your stupid arse hasn't figured out by now that no Slytherin could give a damn about you, then you're-you're..." Blaise stopped, seeming entirely lost for words.

Malfoy looked down, realizing the truth of his friend's words and let his argument die.

"We don't think she has a choice though," Theo continued, solemnly. "There's someone making her do this, setting her up to take the fall."

"And you don't know who?" Ron questioned, still a bit skeptical that Parkinson wasn't orchestrating the whole thing herself.

"Haven't the foggiest, but we think the others are two Slytherin sixth years and a seventh year. Daphne and Susan have been working on it, and they narrowed it down to..." Theo squinted at the illegible writing. "Well I've never heard of them before, but the girls said they're big, brutish looking characters. Rumor is they were heard bragging about some accomplishment shortly after Draco's attack, and Daphne swears they all had strange wounds around that time."

Harry reached out for the list, shocked at the sloppiness of the words.

"A girl wrote this?" He asked, squinting.

Hermione peeked over his shoulder and read the names aloud easily. Everyone gaped at her except Malfoy who was twirling his wand, lost in thought.

"Susan Bones wrote this," she explained. "I've done a lot of work with her for... wait. How is she involved with this?"

Theo turned red.

"Theo's in love," Blaise practically sang, smirking at his friend.

"Shut it Zabini! At least I keep my 'love' out of my friend's bed!" The other boy shot back.

The three Gryffindors watched in horrified fascination as the color drained from Blaise's face. Malfoy pocketed his wand and turned to him, already understanding exactly what had happened. They stood toe to toe for a moment, neither sure what the other would do. Draco was physically taller, but only a little, yet right now his presence seemed to fill the room in a way it hadn't since before sixth year. Finally, the blonde let a smirk creep onto his features. It unnerved Blaise even more.

"Well done, Zabini," he finally said, but in a friendly way that confused everyone. "I'll expect new sheets, naturally. Only the finest will do. You can owl my mother asking where to purchase them."

"Right.. Yes, right. of course."

Theo seemed disappointed that his reveal hadn't provoked a greater scene.

"But Blaise," Draco added in a quietly demanding voice. "Don't let it happen again."

Hermione rolled her eyes, wondering how such a trivial matter could undermine the original purpose of the meeting. Harry and Ron, on the other hand, were whispering seriously to each other about the topic of sex in the dormitory.

"You shouldn't be doing that with my sister anyway!" The redhead yelled suddenly, making Hermione jump and Draco laugh.

"Just wait 'till you hear how your parents ended up with seven kids, Weasley," he said.

Hermione chuckled to herself at the comment while Ron spluttered and Harry cracked a smile. It seemed to the girl that maybe Draco Malfoy was making a change for the better. His comment was just teasing, not outright insulting, to Ron. And he hadn't even made up some mocking version of Ron's name.

"I hate to break up this little spat," Hermione interrupted the arguing boys and her own thoughts. "But what are we going to do about Parkinson and her trio?"

That silenced them. Malfoy's mood shifted quickly to the broody storm cloud it had been before.

"We should tell McGonagall," Harry said simply, having had enough of these adventures for a while.

"We thought so too," Blaise sighed. "But I just can't believe Pansy is doing this of her own free will, and I refuse to let her go down for something someone else planned."

"And if that person is still out there..." Hermione trailed off.

"I'll still be in danger," Malfoy muttered, half to himself. "Merlin, I'm so sick of all this."

"So, now we have to figure out who's setting up Parkinson on top of keeping Malfoy safe from those Slytherins and Pounce, figuring out when another attack could happen, and keeping up with our school work," Ron whined, still wishing it had been as simple as turning four students in to the Headmistress and letting her handle the situation.

"Ronald! As if you've done a page of homework since your first year," Hermione chastised.

Privately, she was just as frustrated and angry, but she understood the Slytherins' sense of loyalty to each other.

"I'll try to talk to Pansy," Theo planned. "I can check for an imperious, or try to figure out how someone could be controlling her."

"Daphne can help too," Blaise added. "They used to be close. Meanwhile, I'll keep a close eye on whatever their names are-"

"Henry, Samuel, and Lawrence," Hermione interrupted.

"Yeah, them. I'll try to find proof. You three," he gestured to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Just keep Pounce away from you all and Draco, and make sure he's safe."

Malfoy rolled his eyes at that, biting back a comment about how he could take care of himself.

"And you," Theo fixed him with an icy stare. "Stay. Out. Of. Trouble."

"Yes, mother."

With that, the group departed, Gryffindors, including Draco, in one direction and Slytherins in another. Theo and Blaise had done well in their preparation, but as so often happens, something was left unaccounted for. That something was an angry Gryffindor boy named John Pounce, wondering how best to bring down Hermione Granger.

I hope everyone is having a great Holiday season, whatever you celebrate! Please drop a review/favorite/follow while I pretend like it hasn't been ages since the last update. I want to thank everyone who is sticking with this story and asking me to continue writing, you guys are the reason I keep coming back!