Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new term/spells/magical item are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

At the Owlery, Harry met up with Hermione. For the whole Divination class, Harry was preoccupied with the thoughts of what Hermione was going to say. It was more than a mutual understanding between the two of them that neither party was ignorant of what was going on. There was no need for further introduction or beating around the bush.

"Harry," a seemingly flustered Hermione rushed in. "Tell me that Malfoy doesn't know about his father." Harry did not reply. That distraught look on his face gave it all away. Harry was never particularly good at concealing his emotions, not like Hermione. Not like Draco Malfoy.

Hermione heaved a sigh. The both of them stood there in an uncomfortable silence.

"He seems to be running away from it." Harry broke the silence.

"What should we do?" Hermione asked. The mental images of snobbish, tyrannical Draco Malfoy lost and fallen gave Hermione the jitters. She never expected things to turn out this way. She always thought Malfoy hated Lucius and would never give a hoot whether he was alive or not.

"I don't know. I tried to talk to him last night but he just..." Harry broke into an uncontrolled sob. He tried hard to hold those tears back, but he couldn't help it anymore. How helpless Draco seemed the previous night, how he was shivering uncontrollably, how his eyes reflected desolation this morning.

"Oh Harry..." Hermione went up to him and cleaned the tears off his cheek.

"There's so little I can do. How I wish I could help him, but I just can't. And Ron... he..." Harry found it hard to say that Ron doesn't understand, not in front of Hermione. The pair was nearly inseparable, and Harry would never try to sow discord between them.

"I know, Ron doesn't understand." Such sensitivity and wisdom could only come from Hermione. She never failed to see what was in Harry's mind. Hermione went over and hugged the sobbing boy and Harry rested his head upon her shoulders. Suddenly, a shuffle at the doorway broke them apart.

"Ron doesn't understand..." This phrase kept ringing in Ron's head. The sight of Hermione hugging Harry and that illicit meeting in the Owlery... All these were driving Ron crazy. He ran through the hallways, down the stairs, he ran till he felt as though his lungs were bursting.

Ron went down by the lake and sat there. He felt outraged and betrayed. Whipping out his wand, he began to exarescio the grass. The grass then began to wither and dry up, just as though Death had just passed by. Soon, Ron was sitting amidst a significantly large area of arid land. But his anger was not all vented. Jealousy rode on him, and bitterness plagued him. The boy who lived, the famous Harry Potter, the supposed selfless friend...a bunch of lies! Ron picked up a stone and threw it into the lake. Spitefully, he started to throw bombardment charms at the lake. Waves of explosions were sent throughout the water, the force so great that fishes were thrown around in the air.

"Finite Incantum!" Professor's McGonagall's voice boomed in Ron's ears. The bombardment stopped and Ron turned around and faced the Professor. "What do you think you are doing, Mr. Weasley? Such recalcitrance! Fifty points from Gryffindor!"

"Fine! Take everything away! I bet Harry Potter can gain it all back by doing some selfless good deed again!" Ron stomped off without even waiting to hear more lecturing from the Professor. Ron's blood boiled at the thought of Harry, how he has betrayed him.

Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione were rushing around in school looking for Ron. Harry decided to try his luck at Divination classroom. Arriving at the landing, Harry asked the stairs to be let down, as usual. Ascending silvery ladder, Harry entered the room. And he was not alone. At one of the tables sat Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be shuffling a deck of Abrivian Tarot. Malfoy noticed Harry's presence and a smirk appeared on his face. "Looking for Trelawney for a fling? Too bad, she just left."

"I'm not here to pick a fight. Have you seen Ron?" Harry asked.

"That redhead? Nah, you won't catch me in the same room as him." Draco replied nonchalantly and returned to his cards. He was even losing his touch at insulting the Gryffindor.

"Fine." Harry could not care more to argue with Draco at this point in time.

"Sit." Draco said in a commandeering voice.

As if not by his own will, Harry sat down across Draco at the table. Draco gave a malicious grin and started to cut the deck. Apart from Ron, Draco was one of Trelawney's favourite students, for she claims that he has an open heart and an open mind to see into the future. Draco majors in Tarot cards, while Ron does Crystal ball. Draco did a classic Aurelius spread. As he laid down each card with utmost concentration, he noticed Harry's eyes locked on his hand, following his every movement.

"Why, are you afraid that I will attempt to switch the cards? Or are you afraid that the Grim will appear? Don't worry, there's no Grim in tarot, just Death..." Draco chuckled. He was enjoying himself teasing Potter. Harry didn't think the joke was funny, for the Grim is really something that you would never want to get in any form of divination. Harry was reminded of his close encounter with death in Year 3, and that intense fear of the Dementors. Sure, he was no longer afraid for he is now good at the Patronum charm. Draco deliberated the revelations of the cards, taking his time at each card. When he came to the third card, he was disappointed. Not by the content, but the lack of appropriate response from Harry, for the third card was Death. Harry knew very well that in Tarot, death need not necessarily mean the physical death, though it carried the meaning of an end. The fourth card was slightly more encouraging, it was the Lovers. By the end of the nine cards involved in a Aurelius spread, Draco gave his analysis.

"Dear dear Potter, there will be an end to some relationships. Yet Merlin is merciful to you, for he bestows you a new beginning. You'll get lucky in love, but at the same time, in exchange for some of the people closest to you. Think Weasels. These encounters are beyond your control for you have much more cards from the Major Arcana than the minor ones. Potter, be careful. Be really careful." Draco said with a smirk on his face, his lips curling in such a way Harry felt like hexing him there and then. Harry didn't care what he was said, for he was just humouring the Slytherin by giving him a chance to be deriding. Harry didn't know was that this reading had been real and not just some prank of Draco.

"You're done then?" Harry stood up and left the table, leaving Draco there. Draco was mildly amused by the results of the reading and quite shocked at the appearance of the Death, for it added much dramatic effect to the reading. Albeit he had fun, Draco had this nagging feeling at the back of his head telling him that Harry is going to get into some trouble. For the past years, Draco has had so many of these occasions where he had to rationalize with himself. All he lacked was the talking part before he became schizophrenic.

Harry went back to Gryffindor common room, hoping that Ron would already have returned. As he passed the Fat Lady, he saw the familiar head of red sitting next to the fireplace.

"Ron! You're back! Where have you been?" Harry exclaimed with much enthusiasm and surprise.

"Go away. Go back to your little love 'nest' if you need to." Ron replied bitterly.

"Ron, what are you talking about? Hermione and I spent so much time looking for you around the castle and this is all you can say?" Harry was becoming irritated at Ron. All these years, Ron has been acting immature, throwing tantrums as and when he likes, speaking his mind and getting into trouble. At this point, Hermione entered the room, but to the oblivion of the two Gryffindors.

"Hermione and I... how good it sounds together, doesn't it? Take her if you want but keep me informed all right? I didn't expect great noble Harry Potter to be a sneaky little thief." Ron was clearly insinuating the gross detest of seeing Potter meeting Hermione in secret. Hermione, who heard all that, broke down into tears and started to wheeze. She never thought Ron would have such little faith in her.

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about, Ron Weasley? Are you out of your puny mind? Are you clearly accusing me of double crossing you?" Hermione stepped in and started to scream at Ron.

"Now that you have admitted it yourself, yes, you are clearly double crossing me!" Ron shouted. His voice was getting croaky, for he was equally worked up as Granger. A tight slap flew across Ron's freckled cheek. Hermione then kicked him hard in the shin and ran off. Unlike their usual quarrels where Ron would run after her and try to make up, Ron stormed off the common room. He slammed the door so hard that the Fat Lady had a fright. Harry stood affix at his spot, not knowing what to do.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy planned his escape from Hogwarts.

exarescio: To dehydrate; to dry. Used extensively at the laundrettes and for quick drying.
Abrivian tarot: A deck that Draco likes to use. Note: Abrivian is not a word.
Aurelius spread: A tarot deck coined by me, consist of 9 nine cards, 8 in a octagon, the ninth in the center.