Thanks to all who have stuck with this fic despite there being such a huge gap between postings, i started a degree in Septemeber and the workload has been a bit of a shock trying to fit it in around my kids and college days! As always, i would love some feedback!

Later that afternoon, once Draco was released from the hospital wing, he noticed a distinct change in the behaviour of the other students towards him. After he had been fussed over by Hermione for a while, much to his satisfaction, they went to the library to revise before dinner. There were only a few other students in there on a Saturday, all of them fellow N.E.W.T. students so he and Granger could get away with having a fairly private conversation.

"Room of requirement tonight?" asked Draco softly, brushing Hermione's arm under the pretence of reaching for a different book.

"Not tonight," she murmured, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "You will be expected in the common room for a party no doubt, and I will be expected to commiserate…"

"No one will notice if I'm not there except Theo, and he will know where I am anyway…" Draco had missed his time with Granger the previous evening, not just the sex, but he felt he could actually relax when they were closeted in the room of requirement together.

"You obviously didn't hear what people were saying after the match!" She grinned at him, and he was unable to keep a straight face.

"Was Potter livid?" he asked her gleefully. "The only reason I got there before him was because he fell for a feint; I bet he was cursing my name!"

"Actually, I think he was pretty impressed…" Hermione chuckled. "I must confess that I took great pleasure from seeing Ron storm off the pitch, he was so red he looked like he was about to combust!"

Draco wished he had been more coherent at the end of the match so he could have appreciated lauding his victory over the Gryffindor team properly. "What about Weaslette?" he asked. "She was staring daggers at me!"

"I haven't spoken to Ginny." Said Granger, emphasising the name with a pointed look. "She and I are still not… well, we are still a little upset with one another."

"I'm sorry," said Draco, trying to sound sincere although he was pleased to hear that they weren't as close any more; he wanted to be her closest friend, the one who knew her best. This was something new to him, this feeling of propriety, and he stored the thought away for further examination later.

"Anyway, enough of what everyone else felt; What about you?! You won the cup!" Hermione beamed at him across the pile of books between them. Draco grinned back, allowing some of his elation to show on his face.

"I can't believe it still!" he said trying very hard to be humble, when really he was feeling rather smug. A small, mean part of him wanted to gloat; 'see how much better I am than Potter! You should prefer me…' But knew that the combination of arrogance and insecurity would not be an attractive mix. "The last time I play quidditch and I manage to do what I have been hoping to do for the past seven years!"

"Well of course you wanted to win," said Hermione with a smile, obviously not realising that it wasn't the winning as such that he had been hoping to achieve, but rather the beating of Potter that was so very satisfying. She obviously thought he was a better person than he actually was… which too was very satisfying. He let himself imagine for a moment that she would accept his proposal when he asked her to be his wife, how they would set up home together, sleep with her every night instead of having to sneak around to spend time alone….

"Shall we go to and get something to eat?" Hermione's voice intruded on his fantasizing, and he looked up to find her watching him with gentle amusement. " I lost you there for a minute…it really must mean a lot to you."

"Yeah," he agreed, returning her smile; it only she knew! They packed their books into their bags and left the library, Draco reaching for her hand once they were in the corridor leading to the staircases. It was surreal, holding hands with Granger at school, it made him feel very young all of a sudden.

They parted in the doorway of the great hall, Hermione giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading over to the Gryffindor table. Draco made his way towards the Slytherins, ignoring the stares and whispers from the students who had obviously not witnessed him and Hermione together before. The quidditch team were sitting together as usual, talking loudly and obnoxiously, but they made space with them when they saw him approach. For a moment he was tempted to slide in next to them, imagining for a moment how it would feel to be part of the in crowd again, but then recalled how they were only including him because he had done something for them, not because they actually liked him. Bunch of bastards, he thought, and looked past them to find Theo. He was as always, sitting alone. The other students seemed fearful of getting too close; almost as if they thought that his unpopularity was contagious.

He looked up as Draco slung his leg over the bench. "What are you doing sitting with me?" he asked churlishly, but Draco thought he saw a hint of a smile before he looked back at his food. Theo was obviously expecting him to take full advantage of his new social status of quidditch hero.

"Well, it was a tough choice; I could either spend time with some two-faced, shallow bastards, or I could come over here and spend time with you, you miserable, sarcastic git." Draco reached for a platter of pork chops and loaded his plate.

"Knob." Said Theo, sulkily. "That was pretty impressive flying though."

"Yes, it was." He sneered, grinning. He couldn't help but allow some of his former arrogance shine through; It was one thing to be humble in front of Granger, but he just couldn't manage it for the fellow Slytherin.

"I guess that you will be off with Granger tonight? Little victory blow job?" Theo asked in a matter of fact tone, eyes still on his plate.

"Where do you think I've just been?" replied Draco, grinning when he saw the look of shock on Theo's face.

"Really?!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "No. She is needed in the gryffindork common room to dry the tears of her comrades…"

"Oh my god, that is the saddest thing I have ever heard! I can just imagine it too, Weasel-by and Potty sobbing together…" Theo tailed off into a tirade of nasty comments about the Gyffindor quidditch team, but Draco tuned out. He actually didn't find it all that amusing anymore, with the exception of Weasley, the Gryffindor team were pretty decent players, and their attitude was better than the Sytherin team, that was for sure!

After dinner, Draco and Theo went up to the common room together, their ears assaulted the moment they entered. The party was in full swing; bottles of firewhiskey were being passed around, the quidditch team members were all surrounded by groups of fawning admirers.

Theo made for the stairs up to the dorm, but Draco stopped him. "Stay down for a while, you don't need to disappear.."

"No one here will talk to me, and in a moment you will be surrounded by fans. I don't need to stay here as a witness. I may as well do something useful with my time." Theo barked.

"Stay." Repeated Draco. "If they can forget my past due to a quidditch win, then they can certainly forget yours." Oh god, thought Draco, I sound like Granger!

Theo looked at him with a mixture of hostility and pity. "How long have you been going out with her?!" He asked. "You sound like the same person. All noble and forgiving. Yuck!"

He stopped walking though, Draco noted with satisfaction. It didn't take long for a few students to drift over to them, full of compliments about his flying. A few of the younger girls asked him if he was alright after his crash, batting their eyelashes. He bit back a scathing response; maybe he could put their pointless flirting to good use.

"Yes, I'm fine." He said, quickly dismissing their concerns. "I'm lucky that I have a good mate like Theo though, he is brilliant at healing spells, so whenever I got injured in training he sorted me out…"

Theo shot him a look of disbelief before realising what Draco was doing. "Er… yeah, I'm alright I guess…"

"Don't be modest mate, your wandwork is impressive." Said Draco, stifling his grin at the double entendre. The girls turned to look at Theo like they were noticing him there for the first time.

"Really?!" asked one. She had an elfin face with sleek black hair, and Draco was sure he recognised her, but couldn't remember her name.

"Yeah." Replied Theo, starting to get into his stride. " We have gotten into a few scrapes…."

Draco smiled and nodded along with Theo's utterly fictional stories, letting his mind wander; Why was he wasting time here instead of in the room of requirement with Granger?

The evening passed slowly, and Draco was pleased to get away when it started to wind down. Couples paired off and disappeared to more private corners of the dungeons, the bottles of firewhiskey were long since empty. Draco excused himself from the circle of Theo and the fifth-year girl he was still chatting up, heading up to the dormitory and into his own bed. He could hear Harper shagging Pansy behind the closed curtains of his bed, and Draco heaved a sigh as he crossed the room to his own. Great, he could listen to them at it half the night when all he wanted to do was go and find Granger to do the exact same thing!

Draco awoke early the next morning, the other occupants of the room were all still asleep. Theo was dead to the world; Draco had no idea what time he had come back to the dorm, but no doubt he would hear all about it throughout the course of the day! The curtains of Harpers bed were still closed, and he couldn't tell if Pansy was still in there or if she had already sloped off back to the girl's dorms.

Feeling energised, he headed to the showers and scrubbed himself vigorously. He felt like the quidditch match had galvanised his resolve to get through his NEWT's, settle things with Granger and find employment. He had six weeks until he left school; five weeks of revision and then a week of exams. He could do this!

He was one of the first to breakfast and watched the great hall slowly filling up with students. Some looking rather worse for wear after their celebrations, or commiserations, the night before. Granger appeared along with Potter and he watched them chat easily whilst they ate. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was starting to realise that Potter wasn't that bad. God, if his father could hear him say that… He had done it again, remembered his father unexpectedly, but the rush of accompanying emotions had changed. Mellowed maybe. He felt the sadness of his loss of course, but there was a little less anger there than before.

He was distracted from his melancholy by the arrival of Theo, who looked like death warmed up as he slouched onto the bench opposite Draco. "Good morning!" said Draco brightly, and loudly.

"Piss off." Moaned Theo, looking suspiciously at a tray of bacon nearby.

"How are you feeling?" said Draco, dropping the tone and volume. Yes he was a piss taking git, but Theo really did look like he was suffering.

"Amazing." Replied Theo, his bloodshot eyes briefly squinting and Draco before dropping back to his plate. "Why don't you look like shit?"

Draco chuckled, "Because I just kept handing the bottle to you last night…"

"Well, I hate you." Theo had reached a descision about the bacon, and speared a couple of rashers with his fork.

"That's not a nice thing to say…" chided Draco. He was enjoying Theo's discomfort far too much. "That wasn't the only thing I handed to you last night… who was the girl that I left you with last night?"

Theo perked up immediately. "Roisin Lightfoot! She is a couple of years below us."

"Yes…" Prompted Draco, when that seemed to be all the information that was forthcoming.

"What?" asked Theo. "oh, umm, her tits are better than they look in her uniform. And she has a…"

"No!" barked Draco. "I don't want to know about stuff like that. Are you seeing her again? What is she like?" Theo really was clueless at times!

"When did you become a total nancy?" said Theo with distaste. He put on a high falsetto voice. "She's really nice, I think I like her." He went back to his normal tone. "Of course I want to see her again, she is gorgeous, and seems inclined to actually give me the time of day. What is there not to like?"

Draco shook his head. He was 99% sure that under all Theo's acerbic personality there was a decent bloke in there somewhere. Maybe 98% sure…

There was a flurry of wings and the post owls descended from the rafters, causing much excitement from some of the other students who were obviously receiving gifts and news from home. Draco was surprised to see that there was something for him too; he had expected it to take much longer for his mother to calm down and start speaking to him again. He put the letter aside whilst he finished his breakfast, he could wait to read his mother's latest guilt trip wrapped up in an apology.

There was a commotion going on further down the table, Daphne Greengrass and her sister were looking at a letter that was obviously unexpected and distressing. The feeling seemed to be emanating outwards from the pair, and spreading up the table. Draco was attempting to ignore the drama, but for some reason it seemed that people were looking at him. Feeling suddenly worried, he eyed the letter from his mother; had something terrible happened?

Feigning a nonchalance that he didn't feel, he casually opened the letter and began to read.

Draco,

I hope this letter finds you well. You revelations over the holidays left me in a state of considerable distress. I have therefore taken the liberty of moving the previous arrangement that we agreed upon forward, and have been using what little influence I have left to find you a suitable match. I have managed to secure you a bride whom is pure of blood, and from a respectable family. She is a little younger than is perhaps ideal, but I feel certain that she will be a respectful and dutiful wife to you.

I understand that you believe you have feelings for the Granger girl, and I have no doubt that the physical aspects of this ill-fated relationship are clouding your judgement. You may feel angry with me, but I'm sure that in time you will see that I have saved you from making a horrible mistake, and that Astoria Greengrass is a much more suitable partner for your future life.

I know that you are busy revising for your exams, so the formal engagement ceremony will be scheduled for the Sunday after your return from school. I would advise you to spend whatever free time you find yourself with getting to know your fiancé, who is, I am assured, a well-mannered and pleasant girl.

Best wishes,

Mother.

Draco stared, non-comprehendingly at the words written in his mother's flowing, formal script. What the fuck had she done? He looked down the table at the two Greengrass sisters, seeing the same shock mirrored there. There was the sound of whispering all around him, and he could see it was spreading to the other house tables too.

He felt a surge of panic as he realised that it would reach Hermione in a number of seconds. Everything would be ruined! Everything was ruined! He watched in horror as the whispering reached the gryffindor's ears. Several faces turned to look at him, before conferring with their neighbours.

"Whats wrong with you?" Draco dimly heard Theo ask over the rushing of blood in his ears. "seriously, are you ok?" he asked seeing the look of utter horror that must have shown on Draco's face; the whispers had reached as far as Weasley and Lavender and the look of spiteful pleasure on Weasley's face was nauseating.

It almost seemed like it was happening in slow motion; Hermione turned with a smile to the person on her right, who had obviously said her name. He watched her face fall, and then she raised her eyes to his. Their gazes met, and she obviously found the confirmation that she was seeking, as she dropped her eyes down to the table. She said a few words to Potter, who levelled an angry glare at Draco. With more dignity than he would have thought possible, Hermione got up from the table with a few smiles at her housemates and walked in measured steps to the doorway.

Shit! Shit! Shit! There was only one thing he could think of, he had to get to her, to explain, before he lost her forever. Tossing the letter from his mother onto Theo's greasy plate, he got up and practically ran from the hall, throwing any discretion to the wind. These vultures loved a scandal anyway, he may as well give them what they wanted!

He caught up with Granger halfway up the first flight of stairs up to Gryffindor tower. She was gasping for breath from both the speed she was ascending and the effort it was taking to hold back her sobs.

"Granger," he cried, grabbing her wrist when she showed no inclination to stop her flight. "Granger, please, let me explain!"

"What is there to say Draco?" she cried, "you never made me any promises, you even told me that arranged marriages were the norm with purebloods. It's my own fault if it thought…"

"It wasn't like that, I didn't know about it until I received a letter from my mother this morning…"

"It doesn't matter now." She said, "I wish I could have found out differently, but what's done is done." She turned to walk away but Draco dragged her back.

"Nothing is 'done' Granger, nothing has to change…" he realised immediately that he had said the wrong thing as her faced darkened.

"Everything has changed!" she snarled. "You have a fiancé, here, in this castle. I'm not the sort of person to carry on behind someone else's back."

"I know," said Draco desperately. " I was just hoping that we could…"

Hermione cut him off. "I can't Draco." She turned to go again but he wouldn't let go of her. Couldn't let go of her.

"Let me go Malfoy" she said quietly. Then more forcefully when he didn't. "Fucking let me go!"

Before he could respond he felt a shocking pain travel up his arm causing him to leap back instinctively. She had cast a stinging jinx on him so quickly he hadn't seen it coming, and was sprinting up the stairs away from him, chestnut curls bouncing wildly.

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