Sorry to disappoint...

Boring you say? Gosh. Well. I don't know what to say. I'm not bitter. .:: cough ::. Not the slightest. First you want detail and now it's dragging on. Gosh. Not bitter at all. .:: cough cough ::.

---

"I'm so sorry, Draco. Please. Listen to me!" Hermione pleaded, grabbing hold of his arm as he refused to meet her gaze.

"Let me go." He ordered, his voiced strained. Hermione didn't know what he was feeling. Anger? Pain? Grief?

"It's all my fault!" She cried, aspirated. "I know. Please. Listen. Talk to me!" Why was she so helpless when it came to him?

People stopped and stared all around her. They were of all four houses, coming to watch the spectacle before them.

"Draco!" Hermione was losing it. Why wouldn't he even look at her?

"Leave me alone! Okay? Just...go!" Draco shook her off and raced to the quidditch field.

Hermione persisted to follow him.

Please, she pleaded to him in her mind. Knowing it was going to be as much us as it was if she said it aloud.

"Draco." She murmured, once away from the crowd of people.

"Go away, Granger." He painfully emphasized the last word and Hermione gasped, taken aback.

"It's not like your disowned, Draco. It's not that bad." She offered. Why was he doing this to her? Why was she just taking it?

"Yes. Of course you're right." He spun around and faced her, his pale face going red from the blood pressure building up inside of him. His very colour was dripping was sarcasm. "It's not that bad. You know; my wonderful and dim-witted plan to foil all those Death Eaters. Those Death Eaters, I bet you don't know who they are, don' t you? Well, one of them was my father. Others were like uncles to me. I grew up with their sons. I grew up with them caring for me. It's not like they were evil, they just didn't know any better! Voldemort tricked them. There's no way of getting out once Voldemort's tricked you." Draco revealed.

"I'm sorry." Hermione apologized, trying to calm him down.

"No; that's just it. You just say these things. How many times have you said you're sorry and you don't even mean it? I betrayed them. All of them. I'm one of them. Yes; I don't deny it. I'm proud of it. I betrayed them. Now the lunatic that want s to kill us all is still lose and my father is in Azkaban." Draco paused for a moment, as if for effect. "All because of you."

He glared accusingly at her. The very cause that made him go against his own.

"No. Draco, stop. You know that's not true. You did the right thing." Hermione cooed.

"The right thing?" Draco spat, "What? You think sending my father to Azkaban is the right thing?"

"But he was a-" Hermione began,

"Stop. Just stop it. Go away, Granger, you're just like the rest of them." With that, Draco mounted his broom and escaped her.

It wasn't that bad. Was it?

"You can't run forever!" Hermione yelled into the wind.

---

"I'm sure he didn't mean it." Harry concluded as he cradled Hermione as she sobbed in his arms.

"I bet he did!" Ron defied, setting Hermione off to more wails, "I told you what a Prick he was!"

"He's not that bad." Harry and Ginny argued. They looked at each other questioningly, shrugged and laughed at their own little private joke.

"Sure." Ron remarked sarcastically.

"C'mon, his father just got sent to Azkaban."

"You'd think the git would be happy. You've heard the rumors of what Lucius does to him." Ron tried to joke.

"That's all they were... just rumors." Ginny added wistfully.

"Whether he meant it or not," Hermione felt she needed to add into the conversation, "He was right."

There were times where Hermione could be very delicate; against her very nature. This was one of them. She needed the right consoling... so they were hell as making sure that Dean was going nowhere near her.

---

"...as soon as possible." An elderly man confirmed.

"Yes. Transfer them to my name, but just leave the accounts and everything as they are." Draco made sure.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. Sorry to hear about your father." His voice quivered so slightly when thinking of the elder Malfoy and what he had become. "And the business investments and portfolios?"

"Send them to Malfoy Manor." Draco answered, waving his hand. The man cowered back; the boy was splitting image of his father.

"And the meetings? You're expected to attend them."

"When is the closest urgent meeting?"

"This Thursday."

"I'll be there."

---

"What have you done, you git?" Harry murmured as Draco passed him in the hallway. Harry saw everyone cringe away from him, whether it was subconsciously or not, Harry didn't know.

The thing was, Draco did look incredibly like Lucius. And, if you didn't know him that well to spot the subtle differences; you'd think he was just a spawn of Lucius; an exact carbon copy. Harry watched as Hermione looked in Draco's eyes. He saw the gray pool soften for a moment and catch itself and hardened against Hermione.

How could she take it? Why was he doing this? Surely Draco wouldn't be one to judge people this way. Harry shook his head; what was he thinking, this was Draco he was thinking about.

"Malfoy!" Harry called out. Draco spun around and faced him. Harry flinched back, remembering the well-photographed wizard's picture of Lucius standing defiantly against the Aurors.

"Potter." Draco spat.

"What are you doing? Where have you been?" Harry chanced to ask,

"None of your business." Draco grimaced, why doesn't Potter just join his little fan club?

"What about Hermione. Why do you keep treating her like this?" Harry cried, fuming up.

"Leave her out of this." Draco replied though his gritted teeth.

"No. Tell me, and I'll leave you alone." Harry insisted stubbornly.

"Go away." Draco whined.

"No." Harry crossed his arm.

Draco walked up to him. Harry pushed him back.

"C'mon Malfoy. Why are you hiding? Just because daddy isn't here to protect you anymore... are you scared?" Harry provoked him.

"Sod off Potter." Draco muttered.

Harry was amazed. Here he was, pushing around Malfoy and he was just taking it. Something must be terribly wrong.

"Scared of your own... FEELINGS? Hmm Malfoy?" Harry persisted. He saw the colour rise to Malfoy's cheeks and knew he was getting to him.

"SOD OFF POTTER!" Draco screamed and pushed Harry harder than he expected, resulting in Harry toppling over into the nearest wall. Draco turned to leave.

"I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!" Harry roared at him.

"Well, I'm finished with you, Potter."

---

Dinner in the great hall was as usual, everyone devouring on the latest and juiciest gossip.

("Pssst... did you hear?"

"What?"

"I heard our delicious Slytherin Heartbreaker is getting rid of Hermione."

- Screech –

"What's more... and rather sad is..."

"C'mon tell us."

"Just look at him. Just like his father."

- Shudder -

"He's looking at the Gryffindors!"

"Why do they get all the fun?"

"Look! One Particular Gryffindor."

"He's looking at Harry."

"..."

"I'd rather not think of it that way."

"...But what if..."

"Impossible. He was with Hermione."

"It's possible to like girls and guys you know."

"Please... - barf – I'm eating."

"Impossible!"

"Where'd you come from?"

"I just witness a little interlude with Draco and Harry..."

"...And..."

"Whatever was going on between them, Draco's finished with him. Those exact words, I tell you!"

"Heard he has to take care of his family business. Keeps missing school, he does."

"What about Narcissa?

"They don't allow women to..."

"But that's not fair!"

"It's the way of the pureblood. It's tradition and the Malfoys pride themselves on it!"

"I hear You Know Who's Dead."

"Again?"

"How many times have we thought that?"

"True... there's no proof..."

"And he's lost his most faithful follower; Lucius."

"Some say he was weakened... as if someone had worn him down before the duel with the Aurors."

"Some boy called them up and said for them to be waiting."

"Everyone knows it must Harry Potter."

"They even said it sounded just like Harry."

"I bet Harry almost defeated You Know Who... but You Know Who ran away with a portkey!"

"I heard Harry almost killed Lucius and Malfoy's so mad his dad almost died that he won't even speak to Harry again."

"How does Hermione come into this?"

"Maybe..."

"...Maybe she doesn't. Maybe Hermione's just a decoy to keep us confused and not knowing what is really happening."

"True, I bet she doesn't even play a part in this whole rescue story!" )

Blaise rolled his eyes as he listened in to mindless gossip. Out of the corner of his eye, he kept a close watch on his friend. He could feel Malcolm do the same, and was sure Draco felt their gazes on him.

Pansy continued to prattle on about something or rather; Anna kept lashing out in a very exceptional Slytherin way in competition for the spotlight.

Draco, amongst the confusion pushed his plate away, as if excusing himself. He stood up.

The whole hall seemed to stop eating; seemed to pause as the object of affections and/or hatred... but all the same; the one their scandal seemed to evolve around.

This was possibly the first time Draco felt self-conscious. Self-conscious, hah! The whole hall seemed to be looking at him, or trying not to look at him in vain. The whole all seemed to be silent. Draco took the safe option. He placed a bored and sleepy façade on his face and pranced out of the hall as if nothing in the world can possibly be wrong.

---

The sun jarred in his eyes and Malfoy was forced to wake up. He had spent less than an hour each day grooming his hair, and it was taking a toll. He refused to look in the mirror, afraid of exactly what he would see.

His father.

How long could he keep this up? It was nearly the end of the year; thank bloody Merlin! Maybe he could keep it up... just for the end of the year.

Then he could have a break. Sort everything out... then he'd have to face the whole bloody school again for his last year.

---

Guess what people?

Next Chappie's gonna be the end of the fic!!!!

But there'll be a sequel so everything could be sorted out and everything.

I just wanted to ask if I've left something unexplained? Anything that doesn't quite fit? Please... tell me!!!