Disclaimer: I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling, therefore, I do not, nor will I ever own Harry Potter.

A/N: Thank you so much for all the happy birthday wishes; they made me feel so good! It seems unanimous that everyone wants Draco to return to Hogwarts . . . .so I'll let the title of this chapter speak for itself on that subject. ;o) Now to thank all of you totally awesome people who reviewed chapter 22:

purple pixie – welcome back! lol no worries, I do that all the time where I review someone's fic and then for whatever reason stop for a while. But of course every reader means something, so it's nice to see you haven't stopped reading :o) Anyway, I'm very happy to hear that you like it, and thanks for the review!
mAlFoYiSaWeSoMe – thanks! I'm glad to hear that you've liked both my fics so far, hope the update came quick enough!
sprinkles.over.glass, luna, midnightwanderer01, anIme-prYncess, openhearted, Scorpiogrrll, I wish your heart was mine, Dumdumditz23, zuvalupa, Sunflower18, Twistedtwin, sissified – I'm glad you all like the story and thanks for the reviews!
Ginny-W13 – oh no! hopefully this update came in time to revive you from your heart attack. I would hate to be responsible for killing anyone with suspence. Thanks for the review!
Anonymous-139 – lol yes, poor Draco's not thinking straight at the moment, hopefully he'll get over that soon. ;o) Thanks for the review!
jesska-14 – Interesting ideas. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that Draco is not going to get another girlfriend. Of course, that doesn't mean he's getting back together with Hermione either . . . . . Thanks for the review!
Sayaku-chan – lol no the laughter didn't frighten me, it amused me though. Writer's block definitely isn't fun, so I'm hoping what I came up with meets the standards everyone expects, I guess I'll find out soon. Thanks a lot for the review!
Lee – thank you, an no, Draco won't forgive anyone quickly, that's not his style. And yes, Ron's being a complete jerk, he's got quite a bit of growing up to do. Thanks for the review, and I hope you like the chapter!
CB – Well, I'm not sure if this chapter would be considered happier, so I'll let you decide that for yourself. I hope I didn't leave you Hanging for too long, and I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for the review!
Melia – confetti! hehehe Anyway thank you for the review, and I hope the wait wasn't too long!
elektra30 – there probably is no such thing as 'crucioed' however since it's a made up word anyway I didn't worry about it. I'm glad you like the emotion and Pansy's transformation, and I hope you like the stuff in this chapter as well. Thanks so much for the review!
Unknown – lol yeah Ron's definitely a baby, he's just sop easy to write that way it's hard not to go overboard with the immaturity. Anyway, thanks for the review, and I hope you like this chapter!
Southernsweetdevil – thank you! I love that you think I make it sound believable. And actually, your review, came exactly on my b-day so you were neither late or early! lol Thanks for the review, hope you like this chapter!

And now, onto chapter 23!

Chapter 23: Return of the Dragon

Once they were finished with lunch, Dumbledore led Draco to the fireplaces so that he could return home. Draco had not yet decided if he would return to Hogwarts, so Dumbledore asked him to think on it and give him an answer as soon as possible.

After swirling through the floo network, Draco crash landed on his knees once he arrived back in the Manor. He coughed due to the soot and winced at the shooting pains which were surging through his legs due to the impact of the crash. That was definitely not the sort of landing he was used to, but then again he had an excuse.

Draco was only just beginning to stand when he heard the patter of house elf feet rushing towards him. "Master Draco!" the elf squeaked as she ran forward to help her master to his feet. "What is you doing here sir? Madam said you is in Azkaban." The house elf shuddered and looked shocked at the state Draco was in, "what is they doing to you Master? They is not treating you good at all sir!"

"Where is Narcissa?"

"Oh Master Draco, Madam is so lonely and depressed here all alone without Master Draco and Master Lucius!" the house elf grieved, "Madam left to escape, she is taking only one house elf with her, and ordered the rest of us to stay here and keep Master's Manor clean. And we is doing it sir, but we is so happy to see Master Draco again! Is there anything you is needing?"

"No not right now."

"Very well sir, we is all here if you is needing anything!" the house elf bowed and left Draco on his own.

Draco spent a moment taking in his surroundings. The crisp perfection and wealth of his home was a glorious change from the filthy Azkaban cell. As he thought about it, Draco looked at his robes. He sneered with disgust at himself and stormed thought the halls up to his room to take a shower. His room was dark, since the drapes were shut and the torches were not lit, but Draco didn't care, after all, by now the darkness felt more than normal for him. Now it was expected.

He peeled the robes off, nearly gagging at the site of them, and how disgusting he felt now that he was surrounded by the rich fabrics, and highly polished wooden floors. He reached into his pocket for his wand because he wanted to start a fire to burn the robes, but then he remembered that he had not had it for over a month. A surge of hatred flashed through him, he was rather attached to his wand, and he was furious at the fate that had been brought upon it. He cringed as he remembered his wand being snapped in two.

Upon deciding that the first thing he would do in the morning would be to go to Diagon Alley and purchase a new wand, he threw the robes down in the empty fireplace to be burned later. It felt unbelievably good to have the steamy drops cascading through his hair and down his body. As he washed away the dirt, it was as if he was washing away something else as well, like the water was sweeping away all traces of guilt. Well, all but one. There was one trace that he would never be able to wash away, one Mark that he would have to live with for the rest of his life. He scowled at the sight of it; the temporary lift his spirits had felt quickly dove back down into anger, resentment, hatred and despair.

After his shower, he donned a bathrobe, with the intension of taking an afternoon nap. He stepped into his room to find the torches had been lit; the house elves must have done it while he was in the shower. He walked to his bed, but found something blocking his way; it was his trunk from school. 'Dumbledore must have sent this after I was imprisoned,' he thought as he heaved it out of the way.

Draco spent the rest of the day and the whole night sleeping. Yet while the bed was exceedingly softer and more comfortable than the bed in Azkaban, he still did not sleep well. His mind was plagued with nightmares similar to the thoughts the dementors had caused him to relive. Indeed, it seemed as if Draco was just as good at torturing himself as the dementor's had been.

The next morning when Draco finally awoke, his body at least felt a little better and stronger. He was still aching, but no where near as much as he had been the day before. He turned so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, and as he did so, his legs hit his trunk. With an inexplicable curiosity, he slid onto the ground and opened it.

He didn't know why he was so compelled to open the trunk; he already knew what was in it. Just all the crap he had brought to school. But wait, this wasn't how he left his stuff packed in his trunk at all. Draco had always kept his trunk as organized and pristine as the rest of his life was, but what he saw was a complete mess. It looked as if someone had ravaged through and half-hazardly thrown it all back inside. He saw loose pages from his textbooks, his clothes were in a wrinkled mess, and there was a crack in his cauldron, what the fuck was going on? Who had destroyed all his things? He began to remove some things to see what else of his had been ruined, and underneath this last set of robes, he saw something that suddenly made sense of everything.

The aches he felt in his body was nothing compared to the ache and pain he felt in his heart when he saw the picture of him and Hermione with a huge tear down the center. Both images seemed to be moping on their respective side of the photo, Draco sighed, he couldn't even be with Hermione in a picture anymore. He gently lifted the picture and placed it on top of the pile of his textbooks, and then looked back inside the trunk. Underneath the photo he found the dragon pendant, the first gift he had given Hermione. He held the necklace tightly in his hand, so tight that it was painfully digging into his skin.

Despite the negative emotions that the examination of his trunk had inspired, it had served one important purpose. It had convinced him to return to Hogwarts, if for no other reason than to see her face again.

- - - - - -

Hermione again chose to skip meal time the next morning; she had turned to her usual solution for any problem, studying. That was what she was doing when Harry knocked on her door after he had returned from breakfast. "Come in," Hermione called from her desk.

Harry let himself in, trying to make as little noise as possible. He walked to Hermione's desk and dropped an apple and a couple pieces of toast on her textbook. It was a silent order to eat instead of work, and Hermione got the message, and set her quill down. Harry glanced at Hermione's desk and saw a rolled up copy of the Daily Prophet, "Have you read that yet?"

"No," muttered Hermione before she nibbled her toast.

"Well," Harry spoke as he reached over and picked up the newspaper. "There's an article in there about Malfoy being released, I thought you might like to take a look at it, it's not much, but I thought you'd appreciate it anyway."

"Thanks Harry."

"Hermione you're not planning on spending all day studying are you?"

"Actually I was."

"Come on, it's the last Hogsmeade weekend we'll ever have, come with us."

Hermione looked up at Harry, then at her schoolwork, then back at Harry and then conceded with a sigh, "Alright, you win, I'll come."

"Excellent!"

"But if Ron says one thing I'm leaving."

"I've already told him not to say anything on the subject, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Hermione seriously doubted it would be as simple as just telling Ron not to speak, but she followed Harry anyway.

The trip to Hogsmeade was good for Hermione. It felt nice to be outside in the sun, and since she spent most of the time with Ginny, she didn't even have to worry about Ron. By the end of the day, she was even laughing and genuinely having a good time. It was bittersweet knowing that this was the last time she would be visiting the village as a student. She reflected back on all her past Hogsmeade visits, a lot had certainly happened in this village, and it was rather sad to know there would be no more Hogsmeade weekends to look forward to in the future.

Towards the end of the day, Hermione and Ginny met up with Harry and Ron at the Three Broomsticks. Harry looked relieved to see Hermione happy; Ron on the other hand seemed to be putting all his concentration into maintaining a happy expression. But Hermione was quick to note that the smile on his face did not match the look in his eyes, and he was still not speaking to her for the most part.

Harry and Ginny clearly did their best to ease the tension between Hermione and Ron, but despite their best efforts, Ron's stubbornness was too much. The four friends remained together for the rest of the day, but they never spoke all together as a group, they always seemed to be divided into pairs. Hermione would either be talking to Harry or to Ginny, but no one seemed to want to attempt a conversation between the four of them all together. All in all, it was not the ideal ending to the last Hogsmeade weekend, but sometimes things just don't work out the way you want them to.

That night, as Hermione was lying sleeplessly in her bed, her eyes subconsciously wandered to the bookcase where she knew she had thrown the book Draco had given her. She summoned the book from the bookcase, and held it delicately. She opened it to the page she had left off on oh so long ago, and fell to sleep reading the story.

- - - - - -

Sunday morning, one of Draco's more vivid nightmares startled him awake earlier than he would have liked. But as he was out of breath, and could not see himself finding sleep again, he got up anyway. He washed up and for the first time, got a good look of himself in the mirror. His face was even paler and pointed than he could ever remember seeing it, and his hair was much too long, he would have to get that taken care of today as well.

The house elves served him an enormous breakfast, they were so excited to have someone to serve that they went a little overboard. Once he was fed, he apparated to Diagon Alley, he was glad to finally have the strength to apparate again because he hadn't felt at all up to it the day before.

He walked through the street, which was rather empty compared to how he had normally seen it, then again, the only time he usually came to Diagon Alley was during the before school rush when the whole place was a mad house. He was pleased to find that no one was throwing him disgusted looks today; he had his expensive, richly tailored robes to thank for that. His first stop was to a small wizarding barber shop in a corner of the street. This was where he had always gotten his hair cut, so the barber already knew exactly what to do. Once the barber was finished, and Draco determined that he was once again looking like himself, he instructed the man to charge the cost to one of the Malfoy vaults at Gringotts.

Feeling much more confident now that he at least looked the part, Draco went into Ollivander's old wand shop to purchase a new wand. Draco could feel the magical energy surge the moment he entered the room. It was a creepy feeling, and made him feel on edge but he didn't show it. Somewhere deep in the shop a small bell tinkled as the door opened, and a moment later, Mr. Ollivander appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Good morning Mr. Malfoy, Dumbledore sent word that you might be coming by today."

Draco allowed a small sneer to play upon his lips.

"I am assuming your old wand has been destroyed?"

Draco nodded.

"Pity, it was a nice wand. No matter, we shall find you a proper match today I am certain. Your old wand was a dragon heartstring I believe?"

Draco nodded again.

"Very well then, that is what we shall begin with today." Mr. Ollivander flitted to the stacks of wands, and pulled one down.

Draco removed it from the box, notice with distaste that this wand was much shorter than his old wand. Yet, it seemed Draco had barely touched the wand, when Mr. Ollivander swiped it away. The next wand was longer, but exceedingly thin, this too was taken away almost immediately.

Draco had tried over two dozen wands and was beginning to get very bored, although Mr. Ollivander seemed to get more excited with each rejected wand. He passed Draco yet another box, Draco lifted the wand, expecting to have it ripped away as all the other one's had, but this time as he lifted it, gold stars left a trail in the air behind it.

"Excellent!" cried Mr. Ollivander. "It seems we have finally found the correct wand! And what a powerful wand it is. It is made of Rowan wood with a combination dragon heartstring and unicorn tail core eleven inches and very pliable, you should get great results from this wand."

Draco nodded; he had not yet spoken to the man, mostly because the old wizard's attitude unnerved him a bit. "You can just charge it to the Malfoy account at Gringotts," he instructed. Mr. Ollivander nodded, and as soon as Draco turned his back to leave, he had disappeared once again.

Draco apparated back home as soon as he stepped out of the shop, and once he arrived, he took the time to examine his new wand. It was entirely black and polished to a gleam; it was a tad bit shorter than his old wand, but not awkwardly so. It was the perfect thickness for his hand, so holding it felt completely natural. He got the feel of it between his fingers, and even performed a few simple spells. Everything worked perfectly, and felt fine; Draco was very satisfied with his new wand, so with a cunning grin, he walked rather quickly up to his room with one thought in mind. He threw open the door, stood in front of the fireplace and took one last look at the filthy mess that was his set of Azkaban robes, and muttered "incendio." A burst of fire shot out from his wand and engulfed the robes; the flames fed off the fabric and rose towards the top of the fireplace. Draco watched them burn with relish until the flames had shrunk to embers, and the embers silently faded away.

Having completed his initial goals for the day, Draco set out to find Aries, so that he could owl Dumbledore about returning to Hogwarts. The eagle owl seemed ecstatic to see his owner again, and Draco spent a few minutes stroking the regal bird's feathers before he began writing his letter to Dumbledore.

Professor Dumbledore,

I have decided to return to Hogwarts. I want only to complete my seventh year and take the N.E.W.T.s. I will need transportation and lists of work I should prepare for the tests.

Draco Malfoy

Draco didn't see any reason for the Headmaster to know what (or who for that matter) had really triggered his decision to return to school. Plus, what he wrote was true, he did want to complete his N.E.W.T.s, after all, it would not look good at all for a Malfoy to have never completed school. That would put him at the same level as the weasel twins, and Draco could never stand for that.

Draco tied the note to Aries' leg, and Aries was only too happy to finally have a delivery to make that he flew like lightning through the sky. Once he was gone, Draco had nothing to do but wait for a response from Dumbledore, so that is exactly what he did. He wandered the grounds and took a tour of the Manor, as if to remind himself it was all still there, but all in all, the rest of the afternoon was rather unproductive.

- - - - - -

Sunday passed without incident. Hermione had insisted on spending the whole day studying, and she encouraged Harry and Ron to do the same since N.E.W.T.s were not even two weeks away. They agreed to study if she would agree to take a dinner break and actually come to the Great Hall for once. In the end she agreed.

So after an entire day of effective studying, she removed herself from her room and joined her friends in the Great Hall. One of the first things she noticed was that Professor Dumbledore was not seated at the front of the room. The Great Hall was abuzz with chatter as usual, at first people had been curious as to where their Headmaster had gone, however, once the food arrived, people quickly forgot about their curiosity.

Well, most people forgot at least, Harry however, voiced the question that was running through his mind as he doled out food onto his plate, "where do you think Dumbledore is?"

"I don't know," answered Hermione. She paused awkwardly, sneaking an almost imperceptible glance at Ron before continuing. "Do you think whatever he's doing has anything to do with Draco?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but even Ron could not pretend that he didn't hear the hopeful tone of her voice. He chose not to speak, which was very difficult for him, but his jaw was set in a manner that made it clear that he did not appreciate the tone of Hermione's voice.

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Ginny, "do you think he'll . . . ."

But Ginny's question went unfinished, for at that moment, the heavy doors to the Great Hall slowly opened, and two people stepped inside. Every head turned, and when the students saw who the men were, several people gasped. Dumbledore calmly stepped forward, but no one was watching him. All eyes were on the platinum-haired young man standing next to him, Draco Malfoy.

Though it was rather difficult to tell since he was too far away for his expression to be readable, Hermione sensed a deadened air about him. She didn't think that he standing with his usual confident, arrogant stance, though she hoped she was just imagining it. Draco did not look at anyone in the room, nor did he seem to be looking at the room itself. It was as if there was a wall in front of his eyes, blocking them from looking out into the world. Hermione stared at him, desperately hoping to draw his attention, yearning to gaze into his silver eyes and see what he was really feeling.

Professor Dumbledore viewed the room, and saw stunned looks on most of the students' faces. He bent over and whispered something to Draco. Without any sort of reply, Draco turned on his heel, and swept out of the room without so much as a glance at anyone. Dumbledore closed the doors after him, and then made his way to the front of the room with long sweeping strides. Now that Draco was gone, all eyes followed his progress and eagerly awaited an explanation.

Once he was at the front of the room, he turned to address the student body. "I suppose you are all wondering about the presence of Mr. Malfoy here tonight." The anticipation was heavy and the silence following Dumbledore's introduction was deafening. "As you already know, Mr. Malfoy was declared innocent by the Ministry of Magic. And now he is here to complete his final year at Hogwarts. It has taken much effort to convince Mr. Malfoy to return to Hogwarts. And therefore, I wish to ask that no one question him about what he's been through, please just go about your usual routines. He will return to classes tomorrow, and I think it best that everyone act as normal around him as possible. Also, would the Head Boy and Girl please speak to me for a moment after dinner? Thank you, and again, please remember not to question Mr. Malfoy about recent events, it has been far too difficult for him as it is."

Hermione and Harry turned to look at each other following Dumbledore's pronouncement. Hermione suddenly found she was much too eager to hear what Dumbledore had to say to wait, so she dragged Harry up to the front of the room. "You wanted to see us professor?" she asked once they arrived.

"Yes, I have something to inform you of. Naturally, since Mr. Malfoy is innocent, I felt it necessary to offer him the chance to reinstate his former position as Head Boy."

Harry's heart sank, he was pretty sure he knew what was coming. But he didn't like the idea, he had grown quite accustomed to his shiny Head Boy badge, and having his own room, and he didn't like the idea of giving it all up, even if those privileges shouldn't have been his in the first place. Dumbledore continued, "I have made him the offer, however, he has chosen to refuse it, so Mr. Potter, you will complete the year as Head Boy."

Harry's face lit up, but Hermione looked slightly disappointed, "but why did he refuse?" she blurted out. She only realized how rude she must have sounded to Harry after she spoke. She covered her mouth and glanced at him guiltily, he looked rather offended.

Dumbledore gave Hermione a small smile, "I believe, Miss Granger, that this ordeal has left him in a very reclusive state. I am still not exactly sure what convinced him to return to school at all. But I believe that now that he is here he only wishes to complete his studies. Being Head Boy, with all the responsibilities it requires, would not allow him the privacy he needs at this time."

"Oh, okay," Hermione didn't even try to hide the disappointment in her voice, "thank you professor."

Dumbledore nodded, and Harry and Hermione turned away. "Oh, and Miss Granger," Harry continued walking, but Hermione turned back and gave professor Dumbledore a questioning look. "Mr. Malfoy may be difficult to approach at first, but give him time. Being under the imperius curse and in the hands of the dementors for as long as he was tends to make people distrustful, even of those they used to care for most."

Hermione furrowed her brow. She was a little unnerved as to why Dumbledore was taking the time to explain this to her, "thank you professor." With that she turned away and returned to her seat at the Gryffindor table.

"What's the matter? Disappointed that ferret face isn't going to be Head Boy again?" spat Ron sarcastically as Hermione began to sit down. He had finally snapped, and the jovial façade he had been wearing all day was instantly abandoned.

'If looks could kill' is the only way to describe the glare that Hermione gave Ron. Indeed, if looks could kill, he would have been dead on the spot. But instead of retaliating, Hermione found that she no longer had an appetite. She retreated from the table, and stormed out of the room with her nose in the air. Many heads watched her as she went, her thick bushy hair bouncing with each step. She wasn't crying, and she didn't know who she was angry at most, Ron for what he said, Draco for turning down the Head Boy position, or herself for being selfish enough to be angry with either of them.

She sighed desperately once she reached the portrait; she leaned up against the wall and just sank down to a sitting position, her knees tight against her chest. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the stone wall. The Founders in the portrait were all curiously attempting to crane their necks in order to see what was going on.

Hermione soon heard approaching footsteps. Her first thought was that it was Draco, coming to comfort her as he always used to whenever she was sad or distressed. But the voice that spoke her name was not Draco's, it was Harry's. "Hermione, are you alright?"

Hermione kept her eyes closed, and silently nodded.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked quietly, sinking down next to her.

Hermione sighed, knowing it would do no good to lie to Harry, and knowing that he would see right through her if she tried to pretend she wasn't disappointed.

"It's not that I don't like you being Head Boy Harry, because I do. And you're a wonderful Head Boy, I just . . . .It's like . . ." Hermione struggled for a moment to find the right words to express what was going on inside. Harry patiently waited, looking at her supportively, like a friend, which was exactly what Hermione needed.

She finally opened her eyes, which were slowly misting, she had expected Harry to be angry with her, but one look into his enchanting green eyes told her that she never had to worry about that. His supportive gaze relaxed her and helped her find the right words. "It's just that when I saw him back, a part of me hoped, and I guess expected, things to all of a sudden go back to the way they were before. Back before he was put under the curse, back when everyone was actually getting along pretty well." She paused. "Back when I was really happy." She finished more to herself than to Harry.

Harry put his arm around Hermione's shoulders in a friendly gesture, "I understand Hermione, and . . . I can't believe I'm saying this, but just because he's not Head Boy doesn't mean that things can't go back to the way they were with you two."

Even in her saddened state, Hermione was flabbergasted; she stared at Harry for a rather long time. At first Harry looked back at her with an expression that told her he was completely serious, then apparently feeling awkward, he turned and made to stand up, but Hermione was too quick for him. She seized his robes and pulled him back down, "you mean, if that were to happen, if Draco and I did . . .get back together, you would be alright with it?" she asked not daring to believe that to be the case.

"Well, yeah if that's what would make you happy, like the Hermione we all know and love, then yes, I fully support it." Even Harry had difficulty believing the words that were flying out of his mouth, but he meant every one of them. "I mean . . . if you tell anyone this, you'll die . . . but when you and Malfoy were together, he wasn't so bad."

Hermione burst out laughing. "Don't let anyone else hear you say that Harry or you'll end up sharing a room with Lockhart in St. Mungo's!"

Harry quickly looked away, pretending to be completely cool, "yeah I know, that's why you'll die if anyone finds out I said it!" He smiled at her. "This conversation never happened"

Hermione pretended to zip her mouth shut. Then she laughed and gave him a hug. "Thanks Harry, I needed that."

"You know I'm always here for you Hermione," assured Harry with a smile.

"I know, but thanks for reminding me."

- - - - - -

When Draco left the Great Hall, he walked slowly through the empty hallways down to the Slytherin dungeons. His footsteps echoed off the stone walls, and his thoughts were a jumble. He was cursing himself now because he hadn't had the courage to look towards the Gryffindor table for Hermione. He was afraid of what he might see.

He felt very conflicted because Gryffindors were notorious for their righteousness, and that means that they would save anyone who needed saving whether they liked the person or not. He knew that Potter and Weasley had helped her stop the ceremony, and there was no doubt that they hated Draco, so in his mind it was entirely possible for Hermione still hate him even though she helped rescue him.

He didn't want to believe it, but recent events had caused him to be even more suspicious and closed off that he had ever been in his life which meant that he didn't trust anyone or anything, not even his own instincts.

He opened the Slytherin common room, and walked up to his old dormitory. As he looked around, he wondered if he had made the right choice in not taking Dumbledore's offer of the Head Boy position. The old Draco would have loved taking anything away from Potter, but he had refused. He refused not because of the stressful responsibilities it entailed as he had told Dumbledore, but because of Hermione. Yes he wanted to see her again, yes he wanted to talk to her again, but living with her again would have been too much too soon, especially when he had no idea what she was thinking.

He unpacked his things; he had brought the picture and necklace with him, although for the time being those remained safely hidden in the trunk. He then crash landed on the bed. He was so exhausted; his sleep was still filled with nightmares, so he was still unable to ever completely relax.

When he had spoken to Dumbledore, he had decided that until NE.W.T.s were completed he was going to focus entirely on studying. No doubt he had a lot of work to catch up on if he were to do well (or even just pass the bloody tests).

Dumbledore had assured him that the professors would be more than understanding and helpful, although that wasn't much of a comfort to Draco, the last thing he wanted to do was ask for help. Upon leaving the Great Hall, he had had the intention of going to bed in order to rest up for classes, however now that he was alone in the dormitory he felt rather like a caged animal who needed to escape. He began pacing the room, and finally, threw the door open and stormed through the common room. He didn't know where he was going or why, it was as if his legs were no longer under his control. He passed the Great Hall, and scowled at all the voices he heard. It wasn't until he was about to turn the corner to the Gryffindor hallway, that his mind clued in to where his legs were taking him, and finally, he came to an abrupt halt. He heard a male voice ". . . never happened."

'Potter,' Draco thought with a sneer. He then heard a girl laugh. It was a laugh he recognized instantly, 'Hermione!' Unable to stop himself, he peered around the corner, and his heart jumped into his throat and constricted his airways when he saw the two sitting with their arms wrapped around each other.

Draco shook his attention away and pressed his back up against the wall, he didn't know what he was thinking, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. In a frustrated rage he slammed his fist against the wall, and turned back, taking long strides as if to get as far away as possible from the two Gryffindors as he could without actually running. Because, after all, Malfoy's never ran away from anything.

It wasn't until he was back in the Slytherin dormitory with the hangings shut tight around his bed that he paused to think about what he saw. Even he could not explain to himself why he had gotten so mad, it was almost as if he was jealous. 'I am not jealous of Potter!' he growled to himself, 'and who cares if they were hugging. That means nothing! Now if they were kissing, that'd be different.' Draco nodded to himself, he was doing a good job calming himself down and convincing himself that there was nothing to stress over until the next thought popped into his head. 'And even if they were kissing, it shouldn't matter to you, you're not dating her anymore.' The thought came before he could stop it, but the sickening feeling of resentment and anger that it left lingered long after he drifted to sleep and it made his already restless sleep even more uncomfortable than usual.

YAY he's finally back! Now they're gonna realize they've been stupid, and suddenly get back together as if nothing ever happened right? I'll let you all decide how I would answer that question on your own. ;o) In the meantime, I look forward to reading what everyone thought of this chapter, so please send a review. Thanks!