A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters related to the franchise. That all belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I hope you enjoy the only thing I do own...the plot. Also M rating for language and possible sexually explicit scenes (really just wanted to be safe with the rating).

-TNHGTNHGTN-

Word of the four teenagers' success had raced around the castle after that Saturday, but when the quartet were seen hanging out at the three broomsticks on Sunday the rumors spread more like wildfire. They had become icons in a way, more so than they already were. It was nice for Draco and Nott who were not used to being in the light in a good fashion. It would have been perfect if it hadn't been for one slightly jealous Ron. When he had learned that there had been NO spiders in the cave he was pissed at his own cowardice, but he was even more pissed at the Slytherin's glory which he was not used to being left out on. He had taken to trying to convince Hermione to go on dates with him with a renewed fury which she had repeatedly and politely declined every time he had asked. The redhead was getting increasingly frustrated, and it was during one of these spats that she found herself the night before Christmas break, with multiple eyes surrounding her in the Great Hall.

"Why not Hermione?" Ron nearly yelled at her as she crossed her arms trying to avoid looking at him. This was the first time he had actually questioned her decision. Hermione could feel her emotions build, but unlike the drowning feeling she got when she would have a panic attack this was a more normal feeling. This was the feeling of having a row with Ronald Weasley, and she was not backing down.

"Because Ronald I said no!" She yelled back, getting more and more irritated. Nott and Draco had to have a late Slytherin team practice and Harry had not yet made it down to dinner with Ginny as they were busy 'studying' for a Transfiguration practical next week. She knew this was why Ron was being so aggressive, she was 'defenseless' and alone.

"I have asked you out like ten times, and you keep saying no. Why?" He looked at her confused as she met his blue eyes with her own. They were standing in between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. Ron had several inches on her and was using it to his advantage, but Hermione just stood with her head high and tried to not feel small next to him.

"I just don't want to."

"You seemed to want to before! What changed? You have acted differently since you have been with the serpents." As they stood there more of the Great Hall began curiously watching the spat between two thirds of the precious golden trio. Hermione hated this. She hated the fame that came with helping Harry. She didn't want the notoriety she just wanted to save her friend. Ron on the other hand lived for it, and soaked it up like a sunflower following its name sake through the sky. That was why he had confronted her in the Great Hall and she knew it. He wanted the attention and the drama, and he didn't care that he was putting her on the spot to get it.

"I have been acting differently long before I began spending time with them! You were just too self absorbed to notice." She yelled, remembering Notts words from months ago in the alcove.

Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Do you fancy them?" He asked, his blue eyes narrowed as he spoke, "Do you fancy Malfoy? Do your knickers get wet thinking about doing something bad with the enemy?" He was practically spitting fire when he finished his rant. There were several gasps from around her as more people had started filing into the Great Hall. Ron let a smug grin erupt on his face.

"It doesn't matter if it does!" She screeched, "Because what gets my knickers wet has nothing to do with you! I tried letting you down easy Ron, but you can't take a hint. I do not fancy you, and from the way you have been acting lately I am not sure I would want to be your friend anymore. You cant let go of the past." Harry and Ginny both walked into the Great Hall at this point, and seeing Hermione's hair currently standing up on end with residual pent-up magical energy they both moved quickly to the two squabbling Gryffindors.

"Damn it Hermione, I was just trying to protect you from them."

"Who?" asked Harry as he moved to stand off to the side of the two friends as they stared at each other.

"The sodding serpents," Ron roared as he threw his hands up in frustation, "Why am I the only one not falling for the fucking snake charms?" He advanced towards Hermione quickly, but was halted when Harry stepped forward, emerald eyes flashing as he pushed himself between Hermione and Ron.

"You are gonna want to back the fuck up, mate." Harry said with an eerie calmness to his voice. Ron faltered for a second, staring at his best friend.

"Harry, I appreciate it but I think I can handle this!" Hermione said, trying to force her way back between her the two boys. Neither seemed to hear her, having their own private battle now.

"You are really going to take their side? After everything we've been through. All the shite I've sacrificed for you?" Ron said disbelievingly. His blue eyes burned with inner fire as he stared at his best friends, who for the first time in his life stood on the opposing side.

"You come towards my sister like that again, and you are going to learn why half the wizarding world fears me." Harry growled before motioning behind him towards Hermione, "I am taking Hermione's side, because hers is the right side. I am done with all this fighting. I've been fighting my whole damned life. First the Dursleys, then Voldemort, and now this stupid house war. I am done!" Harry's voice was raised which caused all the students to quiet down and really listen to the argument currently taking place with the Boy-Who-Lived-Twice and his best mate. The attention had caused Hermione's face to flush as she tried to hide behind her bushy hair, "Hermiones the only one who seems to understand that we were all kids when this happened. We were forced to choose sides and we fought because choices were made for us, and if we didn't fight we died. I am done fighting, and I am not going to let anyone ruin the peace that Lupin and Fred died to achieve."

Hermione was so entranced in the way Harry was defending her and the Slytherins that she almost didn't notice the arm that was casually slung around her shoulders. She looked up to see the pale face of Draco Malfoy, still wet from his shower after practice. A flash caught her eye, and she glanced down to see his wand in his hand, currently letting out the occasional spark of uncontrolled magic. "You might want to listen to your friend." Draco drawled with an eerie tone to his voice that matched Harry's, "I would hate to ruin my probation by hexing you Weasel."

Ron's eyes flicked from Draco's face to his arm wrapped securely around Hermione's shoulder and shook his head. "I fucking knew it, you have been shagging Malfoy," Nott had made his appearance as he casually walked up to join the group, his dark hair hanging in his eyes from the weight of the water. His pale blue button up shirt was sticking to his chest from water tension as his eyes slowly flicked from Ron to Draco to Hermione and back to Ron.

"I told you. It doesn't matter what I do anymore. I am independent of you...you big redheaded...redheaded…"

"Git"

"Prat,"

Nott and Draco supplied, similar to the way they had when she had been trying to find the right word to describe Pansy all those weeks ago. Hermione waved her hands in agreement as she began to speak again,"I am my own person." Hermione walked forward then, pushing Harry to the side. She was done. Done hiding behind her hair, and being polite. She was done letting her anxiety and fear of hurting someone let Ron control how she spoke. She poked her finger into Rons chest causing him to back up. "They are not the enemy anymore and I don't know what we can say to make you understand that!"

"They are the enemy, their parents killed our families and friends. Killed Fred." Hermione flinched slightly, but didn't back down.

"And our families and friends killed theirs! It was a war! It was fought, we won and it's over. I will not sit here and let you constantly remind us of a past that we are trying so hard to move forward from. They are my friends, and if you cannot start acting civilly around them then that means you have no place in my life!" She was screaming now. Standing tall and proud like the Gryffindor she was as she stared down Ron.

The livid redhead looked like he was about to say something else before a giant bat shaped bogey flew out of his nose. Reeling in pain, Ron ran from the Great Hall with two more bats flapping wildly behind him. The four companions looked around for the caster of the hex and upon confirming that they hadn't produced it they turned to look for the origins of the spell. Standing to the side wand raised was a very proud looking Ginny Weasley.

"Nice going, Red." Nott nodded to her as she slowly lowered her wand.

"Yeah, well he wouldn't shut up," She said shrugging her shoulders and started walking down towards the open seats at the Gryffindor table, Harry trailing behind.

Hermione looked at Draco and Nott and noticed that both of them had remained standing still. Nott looked upset, his eyes now locked on Draco's as a silent war was being played across both boy's near stone still features. Nott slowly shook his head before rolling his eyes and walking briskly over to the Slytherin table.

"Draco-"

"I can't, Granger." He responded sharply. Seeing her wince at his tone, he let out a long breath before saying gently, "I cant." He then stalked over to sit down next to Nott at the Slytherin table.

Hermione watched him go before she went to sit by the other Gryffidors as the mail arrived. Pigwidgeon was quite upset that Ron was not at his usual place and stalked around the table twice before taking off again in search of his target. Harry's new owl Bubo, a small screech owl, was currently snacking on some chicken it had grabbed off his plate. Hermione watched the little bird with interest as it ruffled its feathers and leaned into Harry's hand. She was considering getting an owl since Crookshanks had been taken by her parents when they left for Australia, but couldn't bring herself to replace her grumpy familiar just yet.

She was pulled from her thoughts when there was a shattering of glass from across the room. Owls that were trying to gather a light snack as a reward flew into the air with angry hoots and screeches as all eyes turned towards the Slytherin table. Standing there shoulders back in a defensive posture was the normally silent Theodore Nott, red faced and disheveled. Every piece of glassware on the table had been shattered in what appeared to be an outburst of accidental magic. Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini were both trying to calm him down as he stared at a sheet of pale yellow parchment.

Nott threw off Draco's calming hands and glared at his friend, before saying something low enough that even in the silence of the room the words only reached Malfoy's ears. Draco took a step back as if he had been hit, before his eyes flicked over to meet Hermione's. The gesture was not missed by Nott and his blue eyes flicked up to meet hers as well. She looked at both boys, brows furrowed in confusion and concern wishing beyond reason that she could see what shade of blue Nott's eyes were. Nott backed away from Draco, dropping the parchment and casting a silent wandless spell causing the page to erupt into flames. Sending one last glance her way he was out of the Great Hall before the ashes touched the stone floor. Draco followed not long after at a slower pace.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know. Looks like Nott didn't like whatever news he just recieved." Harry said as he glanced between the Slytherin table and his curly haired best friend. Ginny noticed Hermione's concerned look and half guided her, half yanked her aside away from Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors until they were standing at the door.

"Hermione, what's been going on with you and Malfoy?"

"I-nothing. We haven't been doing anything…" Hermione let out a small self deprecating laugh, "I've actually started to fancy Nott." She said glancing at the Great Hall door.

"Hermione...for the brightest witch of our age you are such an idiot." Hermione looked at her like she was crazy causing Ginny to roll her hazel eyes and scoff. "Look, it's none of my business but I think you two would be great together. You both just need a little push so you can take that leap. Right now it really looks like he could use someone to talk to. So, go and find him." The copper haired girl then gave Hermione a small nudge towards the door, and that was all she needed.

Hermione summoned her bag from where she had left it at the table and immediately ran out after Nott. She searched her common room, the library, and the study room before giving up in the last location and slumping down into the couch beneath the window. There, she stared out into the night and watched as the moon rose above the trees of the Forbidden Forest. She was about to go find Luna, and force the ditzy Ravenclaw to tell her where Nott disappeared to when he needed to think, but before she could do that the door to the study room opened revealing a very haggard looking Draco.

"Oh...hey," He said when he saw her there.

"Hi," She replied as she turned to face him. He hesitated in the door for a second, and she wondered if he was just going to turn around and leave her before he shook his head and walked in closing the door quietly behind him. "Is he ok?"

"No."

"Are you ok?"

"No." His voice choked on that word and when she looked up she saw his eyes were bloodshot.

"Talk to me," She said as she scooted down the couch making room for him to come and sit by her. He did, slouching down and running his hands over his face and into his hair.

"If I talk to you, you have to promise me you wont tell Theo what I tell you. He would never forgive me if he found out it was me and I can't lose him. Not after everything." Draco was staring at the fire in front of them, his eyes looking like pools of mercury as the light reflected off of his irises.

"This is what friends are for Draco, of course I promise."

"He thinks...He thinks we are together." He said motioning between the two of them with his hand.

"Together Together?"

"Yeah. I tried to tell him that we weren't but after what Weasley said...he is convinced I lied to him. I don't lie to him, I never have. He was my only friend during the war. After the Dark Lord gave me my task sixth year Theo taught me Occulemcy… it helped. I think he might actually be better at it than Snape was." He gave a humorless chuckle before continuing, "He's convinced you...well that you have a thing for me."

"But...and I mean no offense by this Draco, I don't find you attractive at all. You are just...too you." He smiled at her, a small pitiful smile that reminded her their friend was out there somewhere and that they were here together.

"I get that. Really I do, but Theo doesn't. He has been told several times by people that he is a failure...his confidence was shattered before he ever really had it." Draco lowered his head from the fire and pulled his wand, summoning a bouncy ball and playing with it between his hands.

"Where is he?"

"Getting drunk." When Hermione peered at him out of the corner of her eye Draco drug his hand down his face before resuming his rhythmic bouncy ball bouncing, "The letter was from his father in Azkaban. Snuck it out through some bloke who just started training in the prison. Bloody idiot. Once I send a letter to the Minister his career is going to be over before it ever begins." Draco's eyes were murderous as he caught the ball and held it in a clenched fist, and for the first time since their eighth year had started she was reminded of the ruthless boy he had been all those years before.

"Why did the letter upset him so much? It's just a letter." She asked, confusion caused her eyebrows to draw together as she faced Draco again.

"His father wanted to make sure Theo remembered that he was now Lord Nott. Wanted to remind him of all the ways he needed to uphold the family name. The expectations that one of such pure-blooded breeding had to maintain." Draco scoffed and rolled his eyes, "He had heard some unfortunate rumors about Theodore defending a Mudblood." Hermione knew the slur was said as a direct quote from the letter, but still she flinched. She also had begun to realize that the Mudblood in question was probably her.

"Where is he now? He wasn't in the common room when I went there looking for him."

"He had to scream at me for a good thirty minutes and steal my firewhiskey first, but I suspect he is back in your common room now drinking himself into oblivion."

"I am going to go and talk to him," She said standing. Feeling slightly guilty for leaving Draco alone she reached into her bag and grabbed a sugar quill. They had found through their months of friendship that they both had an unhealthy addiction to the sugary treats, and they were often used as peace offerings when debates got a tad too spirited. She handed it to him and gave him a smile.

"He loves you, you know?" Hermiones heart stopped as she stared at Draco, feeling like she had misheard and wanting nothing more than for him to verify that she hadn't. She had convinced herself that Nott couldn't like her, but hearing his best friend confide in her Notts feelings caused her heart to beat erratically and her breath to hitch. "Has since before second year I think. I called you a Mudblood in the common room that year and he punched me square in the jaw. It hurt like hell…" Malfoy laughed as he rubbed his jaw, remembering the long forgotten pain.

"He has known how to throw a good punch for years, learned from his old man before a boy should. After that day none of us would call you that word around him. Goyle forgot that special rule this year...the day Parkinson said it in Charms. Theo caught them making fun of you in the hall. I thought Theo was going to kill him, I haven't been that scared for someone since the war." She remembered back to the first day Nott had found her crying under the portrait, his face covered in bruises. He had told her it was nothing, and not to worry about it. That she wouldnt understand. She had screamed at him, and the whole reason he was hurt was because he had defended her. Why hadn't he told her what he had done?

"Don't hurt him," Draco continued, "He has been hurt by every person in his life and I don't know if he can take anymore. If you want to be with him fine...just please don't hurt him." Hermione could pinch herself, Draco Malfoy, pureblood Prince of Slytherin was begging her. Instead she gave him a hug and upon feeling him return it she ran to the door determined to finally confront Theodore Nott.

-TNHGTNHGTN-

A/N 2: Fun shout out to the old Clash of the Titans with the name Bubo.

Also I would like to say thank you to everyone for their awesome reviews and comments. I am almost done writing this story so you can expect regular updates on Wednesday and Sunday with the occasional bonus chapter if people want one until the story is done!