That moonlight ride around the lake on horseback with Shane would last in Hermione's memory whenever she thought of him. They had talked, they had been silent, they had held hands, and when they had safely put the horses back in the stall where Hagrid kept them Hermione received her first kiss. It was so romantic she thought she would burst. Shane had come into her life and she felt like nothing at all could hurt her.



Ron never had any intention of hurting Hermione, but he would and Harry was the only one who knew it. When she had walked in at twelve am, snuggled in Shane's arm, Ron had a fit. He ran up to the boy's dormitories and threw and trashed at anything in sight, including Harry and Shane as they came up to see if he was okay. Tension filled the air the next day, not only at Gryffindor table but also at the Slytherin table.



'Draco, you idiot, don't fall for her,' Draco yelled at himself. But he had fallen. Deep.



'Shane, look what you did, you came and ruined Hermione and Ron's friendship for what?' Shane verbally abused himself.



'What did I do to her?' Ron asked himself as he looked sadly at Hermione.



Somewhat fortunately and unfortunately Harry, Hermione, Shane, Ron, and Draco all ended up in their least favorite class, Potions, together. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Shane sat together but didn't speak. Draco conveniently sat behind Hermione with Blaise.



"Today," Snape began the lesson with an icy voice," you will concoct a potion in a group of two. Blaise and Malfoy, Potter and Granger, Parkinson and Finnigan, Brown and Longbottem, Johnson and Weasley.."



Harry and Hermione froze in the middle of collecting their materials to look at Ron and Shane's reaction. Ron had a look to kill and Shane, who wouldn't put it past him, kept a safe distance. As they all began to work on the potion Ron and Shane began the confrontation of a lifetime.



"You know Hermione is a great person, she'll befriend anyone who looks lonely," Ron whispered to Shane.



"Uh huh, I know she is a great person," Shane said.



"Okay let me make this easy for you to understand," Ron muttered lethally. "Hermione may want to be your friend but she surely doesn't like you like that."



"Well then, Ron, if you know so much about Hermione tell me this," Shane said. "Would Hermione just kiss any old guy?"



"Of course not Hermione isn't like that!" Ron said harshly.



"Well then I think you are contradicting yourself," Shane said getting angrier by the minute.



Ron's eyes widened in understanding of the situation. He got out of his seat and rushed over to Hermione and Harry. He pulled Hermione from her seat with an explanation and took her straight from the class into the hallway.



"Ron what are you doing?!" Hermione asked him in an irritated tone.



"You kissed Shane didn't you Hermione," Ron asked. "Why in bloody hell did you do that?"



"Why shouldn't I have?" Hermione said raising her voice.



"I could only come up with a thousand reasons!" Ron yelled.



"Ron you are just being jealous and over protective!" Hermione screamed. "You are my best friend Ron but I don't know how much more I can take. Get used to Shane and I. Period."



Harry and Shane had come out and over heard the whole conversation. Malfoy stood in the shadowy corner watching the scene with amazement.



"Come on Ron calm down," Harry said gently approaching him with hesitancy.



"You," Ron said turning to Shane.



Before anything could be done, Ron lunged flinging himself and Shane to the floor. Shane fought back with the same vicious rage. Harry and Hermione tried to break them up, resulting only in Harry being pulled in the brawling fight. That was all it took to get Hermione crazed. She screamed out in agony.



"I hate you both!" Hermione screeched at Shane and Ron. Immediately they stop fighting and stood up straightening their robes. "You are both acting like monsters. Shane I heard you provoke Ron back in potions and Ron you are being a complete lunatic. Harry is the only sane one between you three. I don't want to anything to do with you Shane or you Ron and I swear if you look or try to talk to me I will hex you so bad you won't be ABLE to speak or look at me! AND don't any of you try to follow me, including you Harry."



And on that pleasant note she took off. Flying down corridor after corridor until she crashed into something solid. Above her, through watery eyes she could see the blurry figure of Draco. Without even getting up or looking at him she collapsed against the wall. Draco sat down next to her and put his arm around her.



'What are you getting yourself into?' Draco asked himself.



"That was quite a fight," Draco said.



Hermione's head shot up. "You saw?"



"The whole thing" Draco answered.



"I hate both of them," she said. Then she looked up at him with disgust and pulled away. "And you."



"I can't say I blame you," Draco said. "I think you ought to know the truth Hermione. First of all being the genius you are you were right to know I used a Duplicator spell. But that night when Blaise and Goyle attacked you, I let my Duplicate go. I didn't want to hurt you again. Well actually I did, but I didn't want to see that hurt look on your face. I feel bad about what I did. I know that one apology won't make up for four years of bad treatment but hopefully it will be a start."



Hermione stayed silent and had listened the whole time. It could have been a trap, it could have been another ploy to hurt her but she needed any friends she could get now and he actually seemed sincere. She took his outstretched hand and they shook on it. Friends. Something Draco had never had before. And he planned to keep the one thing he had never had before. He couldn't love Hermione the way he wished but friends was more then enough for him.



"Now this doesn't mean I don't get to tease you does it?" Draco teased.



"You wish," Hermione giggled.



"Remember I am new at this friend thing so set me straight if I do something wrong," Draco told her.



"Right," Hermione said getting up.



"Hermione," Draco said as they were about to head back to opposite common rooms. "Shane and Ron love you. Friends are something everyone needs and I just found out how good it feels to be forgiven. Give them another chance."



Hemione looked surprised. Then her face softened and she nodded. He was right. He was being compassionate. She always knew he had some heart. She headed back to the common room, happy to have run into the infamous Draco Malfoy.



*****~~~~~~~******~~~~~~~~*****



Hugs and apologies were plentiful in the common room. Ron cried into Hermione's shoulder like a little kid who accidentally broke his mom's favorite vase. Hermione forgave Ron. How could she not. He was her loyal faithful friend for four years, and she loved him as a friend as much as she loved Harry as a friend.



Shane apologized to Hermione for being rude to Ron and spilling the news about the kiss. They also decided that good friends was a better way to go right now, rather than something more serious. It was sad for Shane, but he wanted the best for Hermione and he felt like she needed friends right now, not a complicated relationship.



Harry winced as Hermione hugged him. The tumble into Shane and Ron's previous fight had given him some bruises.



"What you don't do for your friends," Harry said shaking his head.



****~~~~****~~~~****~~~~****~~~~****

The days passed quickly and soon it was Christmas. Hermione woke up to see a pile of gifts at the bottom of her four poster. She smiled and gathered her gifts. Whisking away rules she went up to the boys dormitories to open her gifts with Harry, Ron, and Shane. They all sat on Harry's bed and opened their gift happily. Hermione had received a lot this year. Ron bought her a delicate ankle bracelet with little sapphires on it, Harry bought her a wizard camera and plenty of film, he said to take lots of pictures and make each of them an album for a seventh year graduation present. Shane got her a silver necklace with a prancing horse charm, Hagrid bought her a new book about the care of young unicorns which she thought was weird but loved the book anyhow, and Hermione also got other presents from home and some of her other friends. She was a bit disappointed to see that Draco, who she had bought a masculine silver necklace for Christmas, had sent her nothing. Then, at the bottom of all that wrapping paper she found a letter from him. It told her to meet him out at the Quidditch pitch in an hour.



Hermione thanked Harry, Ron, and Shane for the wonderful gifts and told them she'd see them at lunch. She said she had to go see Professor McGonagall about a extra credit project she was working on. Harry, Ron, and Shane easily accepted this story. Hermione ran quickly up to her dormitory and changed into muggle clothes, Mudd jeans, a fuzzy red sweater, and all the jewelry Shane and Ron bought her. She also shrunk the camera Harry got her and took that along. She put on her heavy winter cloak and headed to meet Draco.



~~~~****~~~~****~~~~****~~~~****~~~~****~~~~



Draco was standing in the falling snow in the middle of the pitch when Hermione arrived.



"Well, well, you showed," he smirked at her.



"I wanted my present," she smirked back.



"And that you will get," he said, mounting his broom. "Come on."



"Where are we going?" Hermione asked hesitantly. She and Draco had been friends for weeks, but weeks did not make up for years.



"You are getting two presents," Draco said, "since I missed you birthday."



Hermione smiled and climbed on the broom behind him. Her first gift was a broom ride around the wintery Hogwarts grounds. It was so beautiful that Hermione used almost a whole role of film, she didn't want to ever forget it. Her second gift was even better. Draco led her into a small cave just behind Hagrid's house. Inside Hermione saw the cutest site. A sleeping baby unicorn.



"Awwww," Hermione cooed. "She is adorable!"



"And she's yours," Draco said smiling.



"What!" Hermione said incredulously.



"Hagrid found her the other day," Draco said. "Her mother left abandoned her so Hagrid was going to send her to a reserve. But I assured him you would be up for the job. I am sure he gave you a handbook. She is yours Hermione. You can name her, keep her, and she will be yours always."



Hermione was crying, holding the little unicorn to her chest. "I can't believe you did this for me Draco."



"It won't make up for everything else I have done to you," Draco said. 'But now, no matter what happens Hermione, that little unicorn will always be at your side. Just like I want to be. Friends forever."





A/N: WOW!!!! Now that was the longest chapter I have ever written. I better get A LOT of reviews. Now don't worry this story is far from over. Are you liking the twists and turns? Tell me!!!! Give me reviews. Without review I can't write and if I don't write then who knows what will happen to this story!!! So please tell me what you think!!!!!!!! Read and REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think 10 reviews and them the next chappy or at least 8. Thanks to all my faithful readers!!!!!!!!!! You guys are keeping this story going!!!!!!