A/N: All right, all right, I know…I haven't updated in over a year. School killed me for a while, but it's summer again, so I'll try to finish this thing up. Please keep reading and reviewing.

12.

From day one, I talked about getting out, but not forgetting about how all my worst fears are letting out. He said, "Why put a new address on the same old loneliness when breathing just passes the time until we just get old and die? Now talking's just a waste of breath and living's just a waste of death. And why put a new address on the same old loneliness? And this is you and me, and me and you, until we've got nothing left."

Fall Out Boy, "Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying"

Draco knew he shouldn't have said anything. But when Marcus said that…Merlin, he just couldn't hold back his anger. But, he knew this was going to cause a shitload of questions from them.

On his way to his common room, he stopped. He realized something. If he wasn't speaking to the people in his House, whom was he going to speak to? All he had was Hermione. Why would he go to his common room? What would he do there, besides revel in his loneliness?

Hermione was up in the Owlery for a long time after she sent the letter to her father. A feeling of finality had overcome her, and the feeling was so peaceful that she didn't want to move.

When she heard something move behind her, she turned to see Draco standing there. He smiled only slightly, and Hermione smiled back. He came and sat with her on the windowsill. His face was solemn, and he seemed to be in deep thought.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" Hermione asked him, trying to break the silence.

Draco smirked. "I had a hunch you'd take my advice. You weren't at dinner, so I just figured…" He shrugged, then he looked back out the window and the solemn look came back.

"What's wrong?"

Draco shook his head.

"You're not going to do that to me. You wouldn't let me do something like that to you."

Draco seemed to be thinking. He did this for a long while. "If you're not friends with the people who were previously your friends, and they were the only people who would accept you, then who are you left with?"

Hermione grasped his hand. "If you're talking about yourself, then that would make me very sad, because we both know that you have me."

Draco sighed. "But I won't ever really have you. Do you realize that we can't ever even tell anybody that we could possibly be friends?"

"Why do you need anyone to know?"

"I don't need people to know. It's just…I don't want to live in secrecy."

Hermione sighed and moved closer to him, and he leaned into her.

"I've thought about all of this too," Hermione said. "We both know the things we'd be in for if anyone knew. Isn't living in secrecy a better idea then not living at all?"

Draco chuckled lightly. "Of course it is."

"It's settled then, right?"

Draco smiled. "Right."

Hermione squeezed his hand tighter. "Good."

Later that night, Draco was just about to get into bed, when someone burst into his room.

"What was that show about at dinner tonight, Draco?" Marcus Flint exclaimed. "You really acted like an asshole, man."

"I'm not the one acting like the asshole, Flint," Draco said, moving closer to him. "I'm not the one who raped a girl."

Flint rolled his eyes. "You and I both know she probably wanted it. It was Granger, for Merlin's sake."

Anger was flaring inside Draco. "Don't you understand what you did was wrong? It could have been the dirtiest, ugliest, criminal of a Mudblood, and it still would have been wrong."

"Well you got the dirty, ugly, Mudblood part right."

Draco punched him before he realized it. Flint was hitting back in record time. Draco wasn't sure how long it went on, but it could have gone on forever if a couple of other guys hadn't torn them apart.

"I don't know what the fuck has come over you, Malfoy," Flint yelled as he was being dragged out of Draco's room, "but you better damn well get your priorities straight!"

A/N: Sorry guys, kind of boring. I'll update again soon, hopefully. R&R!

3.raine1234.