(TFG: Hey, what's up? Hehe... J.K. Rowling owns the characters... *sniff* I'm *sniff* fine... really *sniff*

Kara Malfoy-Here's the UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE you requested! Hehe! Thanks!

Gliniel of Terrigan-Thank you SO much! :D

Maxoid-:D Thanks for the review!

Dragon Girl-Thanks a lot! And I LOVE that cute pic of the bunny! That is SOOOOO cute!

Draco'sAmericanGirl-Thank you SO much! And I'm glad you and ur BF are going back out. That's good.

Miranda-Nope! It's not over! Hehe!

BraveSpiritGryffindor-Yeah, I know... I pity him. I'm going to try to put him in this story a lot, and not just be a side character that's only mentioned once or twice... just cause I feel so bad for him. :D Actually, I had that planned before I added his character. Thanks for reviewing!)

Discoveries-16-Stares and Whispers

Hermione heard people talking. How could she not? It's not like they bothered to keep their voices down. They just talked as if she wasn't there, and she couldn't hear them. But she knew. She knew what they were talking about, and it made her uncomfortable. Gryffindors... her friends... thought she'd betrayed them, and the Slytherins thought the same of Draco. It was a terrible mess, and she wondered if things would ever be the same again.

Of course, sometimes people did whisper. Students passed her on the way to classes, and would whisper or just talk normal, to a friend and be watching Hermione the whole time. Did they think she was blind? That she couldn't see them looking right at her? It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Even so, she was very intelligent... that was what she was most known for at school.

No matter, she kept her face a smile. Never a frown. She wanted to pretend like she didn't know what they were talking about. She could only imagine how false she looked grinning stupidly at the passing crowds. She wasn't even alright in the library, the place she felt the best... other than Draco.

Draco. That's it. She'd go see him and he'd make things all better.

She quickly gathered her things, stuffed them in her bag, and left the library, ignoring the people talking.

Hermione still had no idea why the head boy and girl's room had to be in the dungeons. It was dreadfully cold, and damp. How could the Slytherins stand it down there? She supposed it was just because of who they were... slimy little gits.

One step inside the common room, and she felt tingly from head to toe. It was nice and warm in there. Then she spotted the reason why. There was a fire in the fireplace. And in front of it, sat Draco, on the couch.

She quietly put her things down, and tiptoed over to him. "Whatcha doing?" she asked, as soon as she was standing right behind him.

He jumped, and turned his neck. "Didn't hear you come in. Just doing homework. Say, can you help me with this part? I thought I understood it, but it turns out I don't."

"Sure," Hermione said, walking around the couch and sitting beside him. She leaned over and looked down at the piece of parchment. "Oh, that's easy. You just take that number and times it by the number of objects in the bunch, then take away three add a two, and you're done."

It took Draco a moment to think it over before saying, "Oh, yeah. Thanks, Hermione!" He kissed her on the cheek, and scribbled down the answer.

"No problem."

He must've sensed that something was wrong because he said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she denied.

"Something's up. I know it. Just tell me, and maybe I can help."

She sighed. "Alright, if you must know, it's just... everyone's talking about us. Even though all they've seen is us holding hands, they know we're involved, and... I don't know. All my friends think I've betrayed them."

"Betrayed them? What? Because you followed your heart?"

"I know. I feel the same way, but I just don't know how to explain it to them. They won't even listen to me."

"Well you'll have to make them listen, then. Make them see reason. You can't help your feelings. We care about each other... that should be a good enough reason."

"Yeah, you're right. I'll try talking to them again tomorrow."

"Try?"

"I WILL talk to them tomorrow."

"That's right."

(TFG: REVIEW!)