As the students came back from their holiday break things went back to normal, or as normal as Hogwarts ever got. Harry and Ron had been trying to catch Hermione alone for a few days after the outburst in Dumbledore's office but she avoided them at all costs until they finally gave up. As she sat with Draco at breakfast she sighed into her punch, she was all but invisible to her two best friends now. She watched them around the rim of her cup, trying to not be obvious that she was half stalking them. She felt her heart clinch as Ron turned to Dean and they both started laughing at some joke, unknown to her. As she watched them laughing she couldn't shrug off the feeling that they were laughing at her. Here she sat, virtually friendless except for Draco, while Ron and Harry were enjoying themselves with their abundance of friends. Hermione looked to Ginny, she had never realized how much she missed her younger friend's company until she had sided with Harry against her, now she wouldn't even look at Hermione in the hallway. She watched as Harry took Ginny's hand in his own and she gasped, catching the attention of Draco.

"You all right, Mione?" he asked, perplexed. She set her cup down and cleared her throat.

"Um, it's nothing, just thought I saw something is all." Puzzled, she turned her gaze back down to her own clasped hands in her lap. Was it possible that Harry and Ginny had finally gotten together, and if so how was it that she had missed it? She felt tears threaten to spill over at the knowledge of just how far she had been removed from her closest friends' lives. She had changed so much, a year ago she would have seen this coming weeks before anyone else and now she hadn't even been aware it had already happened. She caught Draco staring worriedly at her from the corner of her eye.

"You really don't look too good, do you want me to take you back to our room?"

"No, of course not. It's the first day back to classes and you should know by now that I won't miss them for anything. I promise I'm fine." He gave her one last unbelieving look before turning back to his breakfast.

Draco's POV

He pushed around some of his scrambled eggs with his fork, he had lost his appetite. There was something Hermione wasn't telling him and it hurt. It hurt worse than any physical pain he ever felt and that was saying something. He glanced back over at her; there were tears in her eyes. He dropped his fork and it made a rather loud clinking sound as it hit the plate. Several people looked up from their own breakfast, mildly interested, to see who had disrupted their morning conversation. They quickly lowered their gaze when they realized it had been the prince of Slytherin himself. Draco raised a hand to brush his hair out of his face. He felt a headache coming on, it was going to be a long day.

"Hermione, look just,"

"Draco, no I already told you I'm fine, drop it."

He dropped his gaze again. It was as if she had just driven a knife deeper into the already gaping mental wound. What was she hiding from him and why?

Hermione's POV

She absently dabbed at her eyes, wiping away the unshed tears. She felt horrible for snapping at Draco like that but just how was she suppose to explain how she felt when she didn't even know herself? She loved her friends dearly, and she had been so scared last time they had fought that that was going to be the end. Could they really survive yet another fight so close to the first one? Her chest clenched as she tried to think about what life would be like without them. She felt the tears well up in her eyes again and laid her head down upon the table. She covered her head with both arms wrapped securely around, blocking all light and sound. A tentative hand brushed up against her back before coming to rest between her shoulder blades. There, it began to slowly trace smooth circles through the fabric of her robes. It continued in an unending random pattern, just barely pressing. She sighed and closed her eyes. Did he know just how good that felt? She positioned herself closer to the warmth of his body, taking comfort from his presence. A smile crept onto her tear stained face as she thought about how lucky she was to have him.

"Mmm, Draco, feels so good… don't stop, I love you" she murmured through her arms.

"I love you too, Herm. You've no idea." Came the silky smooth voice of her beloved from somewhere above her head.

"Don't ever, ever, leave me." She murmured again, slurring her words as the hand on her back started to put her asleep.

"I won't, trust me I won't"

Author's POV

Severus Snape scanned the Great Hall, looking over all the insolent brats he would have to face again today. One group of rather annoying Gryffindor had started a miniature food fight, carelessly slinging eggs and bacon and ham all over one another. He scowled as he saw that Dumbledore had no intention of stopping it. 'Insufferable pigs' he thought as he grimaced at the sight of a handful of grits hitting some younger girl. She gave an indignit shriek as it slopped off of her face. She brought a hand up to her hair and slung a fistful of the foul food at the boy who had launched it.

Severus turned his attention back to the teacher's table just in time to hear Hagrid and Tonks launch into an in-depth discussion on some odd monstrosity of an animal. Dumbledore sat staring straight ahead at something of great interest. Severus watched as the headmaster turned his eyes to the left and a small discreet smile played on his lips. As he turned to the right however his face became disturbed. Severus turned to where he was looking first. His godson sat with his arm around Miss Black. She seemed to be troubled by something, either that or really tired, he couldn't be sure which. He watched as young Draco leaned over her and rested his torso on top of her, apparently whispering something to her ears. Whether comforting or seducing, Severus wasn't sure he wished to know. He strongly disapproved of the open display of affection, he couldn't help but think that Draco was taking it a bit far to practically lie on top of the young girl in the middle of breakfast but even he had to admit they looked good together. He smiled as he thought back over the last year. That Gryffindor had done Draco a world of good, for the first time in forever Severus had seen his godson happy. He himself may not be able to stand the know-it-all but if she made the poor boy happy it was more than he could do to accept it. Merlin knew the boy deserved to be happy, he had witnessed more than most adult wizards would ever see in their entire lifetimes.

He turned his attention away from the two young lovers and focused on what had seemed to trouble Albus. There sat the golden boy himself and his sidekick. They seemed happy enough, so what was the problem? He sat in silence, observing the actions of the two boys and those around them. Within a matter of minutes he noticed that none of the Gryffindors had so much as glanced over at Hermione or Draco. The last time the trio had had a falling out they had at least glanced at one another secretly, hoping the other wouldn't find out. But that was not the case now. Harry, Ron and even the younger Weasley now sat absorbed in themselves, completely ignoring the fact that Hermione seemed distressed over something. Had the three finally had all they could take? His brow creased, this couldn't be good, no, not good at all.

"They make a good couple don't they, Severus? Yes, quite cute together if I may say so."

Severus glanced at the headmaster out of the corner of his eye. He was smiling at Draco and Hermione, but the smile didn't come anywhere near his eyes. He was just as worried as Severus was himself.

Draco's POV

He watched as Hermione pulled herself back together and gathered her supplies to start off the day. He grabbed his own bag and they headed out to their classes. The day passed uneventfully for Draco. Hermione had her moments where he could have sworn she was going to break down crying again but she held together and all in all the day was pretty boring. There were no mishaps in Herbology, no deaths in Care of Magical Creatures, no new wars in History. No one transformed anything inappropriate in Transfiguration; no one turned bright neon pink in Charms. Even Snape was in a melancholy mood during Potions with no explosions to disrupt the class. Hermione looked her worse during Potions. Her robes flew out around her as she sat down next to Draco. She unpacked her bag with the necessary articles needed for the class and sat quietly awaiting Professor Snape. Draco tried talking to her but he might as well have been speaking to the cauldron for all the response he got out of her. She turned around once and when she turned back to face the front fresh tears had formed in her eyes, waiting to fall on her parchment. Draco turned to see Harry and Ron glaring at Hermione's back. He narrowed his eyes, She deserved so much better than them, why couldn't she see that? He put a reassuring arm around her shoulders, catching a warning gaze from his godfather.

"Herm, it's ok, they'll come around and if not, well, that's their loss."

"You don't understand, I don't know what to do without them."

"You'll be fine, I'm here for you and you know that."

"It's just not the same."

He tightened his grip on her for a moment before releasing her. He hated seeing her so depressed, he would do anything for her he just didn't know what to do now. He looked back over to her so called friends and sighed. Life just couldn't be easy could it? He focused back on his potion, it certainly wouldn't help anything to have a cauldron full of a foul smelling concoction explode on him. He closed his eyes as he stirred; he really had a passion for potion making. He supposed he had inherited it from his godfather. There was simply nothing compared to the calmness that overtook him when he was immerged in his creating. It may not have the rush of flying but it certainly was relaxing. He let his mind drift. So much had happened this year and he knew there was so much yet to come. A smile crossed his face as he thought about Hermione, what would he have thought a year ago if he knew he would end up with the beautiful young Gryffindor. Merlin he loved her, he had never felt so strongly about anyone before but he knew this was right. She drove him insane, and he loved every moment of it. He was so lucky to have her and he hoped she knew that. That smile of hers was more than enough to capture him and make him lose all control. The feel of her in his arms gave him more than a reason to live. All he wanted was to make her happy. He had to do something about Harry and Ron then, for his lioness. But how…?

He opened his eyes suddenly as an idea came to him, would it work? He didn't know but he had to do something.

Draco stood outside the portrait of the Fat Lady one last time, or what he hoped would be the last time. He brought a hand up to his face. He must surely have lost his mind to be standing here again.

"Get Potter and Weasley" he barked at the Fat Lady. She gave an indignant "hurump" before turning to the Gryffindor common room. Draco stood, back against the wall and his arms crossed. He hoped to Merlin that this worked, if not he was out of ideas. The portrait swung open and out stepped the two whom he had come to talk to.

"Malfoy." Harry growled.

"Potter." Draco nodded, acknowledging his presence and trying his best to ignore the malice in the Gryffindor's voice.

"What do you want?" Ron demanded.

"You two call yourselves Hermione's best friends and yet you have the nerve to treat her like total shit."

"If she wants to choose the likes of you over her true friends than I guess that means we aren't her friends anymore."

Draco stood disbelieving. No more golden trio? Surely not…

"Potter, what have I done to lose Hermione her friends, she cares about you, I would have thought you felt the same towards her."

"She obviously doesn't care about us enough to believe us when we speak the truth, now remove your presence from my face, Malfoy, before it becomes good acquaintances with the floor."

"I'd like to see you try, Potter." Draco snarled.

AN

hey there! I finally updated yay! lol. sorry it took so long but now that i have a laptop I should be able to write alot more and alot faster. Yea it's kinda short and i left a really mean cliffie but hey, at least i didn't give up on it... right? I want to thank all my reviewers and all of you who have waited for this chapter.
Fiona: trust me, you don't want to know, just me being a stupid careless teenager lol

Taurus Girl: I'm sorry you feel that way, what makes you say that? Also, I am sorry my third chapter had so many flaws in it, I plan on redoing the first few chaps once i finish the story.
I also want to thank all of you for not turning me in on the posted author note, shh... its a secret! lol. talk to you all soon! Please review!

moseysdragon