Emily: Don't fret. I want them together too. They just have to be apart for a while.

Delight Summers: Um, thanks. I'm glad you enjoy it.

maevey: I'm glad I haven't lost you.

delvakooki: Yes! Thank you. What are your interpretations?

blackz: I hope it's not giving you nightmares or anything. And Hermione is just a confused person, but she won't be so angry at them anymore.

Soofija: Oooh.

:laughs evil laugh:

You have no idea what's coming, do you? Oh darn, I shouldn't have said that…

eventers club: The end? Not even close.

princesstiggeroe: I'm so glad you like the story. Really, hearing that makes my day. Did you ask about the number of chapters before it got taken down? I really don't know…I'd say maybe ten at the most; though don't take my word for it. It could be more.

I actually haven't read HBP yet (and I don't know when I will because I'm dead broke and I can't see any generous people buying it for me). I do know, however, that someone dies (though I don't know who), but as for the rest of the plot, I'm rather in the dark. So, I don't know…should I let you spoil it for me:)

And thanks to maddudewalking, ocardevoli, a fan, blondejenny, Ilovedevonmurray, Nathifa Femi, MisZHPLoVeR, and blonde-brain for your lovely reviews.

This chapter is actually a little bit longer than most; almost double the normal length, I think. So, enjoy.

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Her first reaction was to be angry. Really, what person wouldn't be angry after having been dumped, especially in such a manner, with no explanation at all? But Hermione fought the instinct. Being angry and hurt and upset, collapsing on her bed in tears and moping like her pet had just died, would only give Draco the satisfaction of knowing that he'd actually meant something to her. It was illogical to think that he wanted her to hurt like that, of course. He'd seemed so distraught; he couldn't even hold her gaze for more than a few seconds.

But that changed nothing. Yes, he didn't exactly seem happy about what he was saying, but the words had left his mouth nonetheless. Hermione had more than a suspicion that he wasn't giving her the entire truth; and if so, why would she want to be with him anyway? That was what she told herself. It had all been a game, and she'd been played magnificently. She thought of all the other girls Draco had been with and laughed. She was just like them. He'd seduced her in a matter of moments, and had thrown her away in even less. What was worse was that she'd seen it coming, but obviously she hadn't put up enough of a fight, because here she was, trying to figure out how she'd let the last few months happen.

And for the first time in a long time, Hermione was thinking clearly. She realized she hadn't been doing that from the very moment Draco had entered her life right up to this point. Her thoughts had been hazy in all the time they'd been together. There had been no hesitation—just action, and lots of it. She vaguely wondered where the real Hermione had gone; maybe she'd taken a vacation and left this person here to fend for herself, with no common sense and only her newly-discovered hormones to drive her. And what a job she'd done. Things had turned out so differently from what she'd had planned for herself. She'd had no intentions of losing her virginity at this age, to someone like Draco Malfoy. She had no intentions of doing any of what she'd done.

And she'd lost her friends in the process. Could she feel any stupider at the moment? All along they'd been trying to tell her to stay away from Draco, to think about what she was doing, and she'd just pushed them away. That was the thought that really made her want to cry. But maybe there was a chance to get them back. There'd be a lot of told-you-so's, and maybe a bit more silence for a few days, but it would all work out in the end. It had to. With not a little effort, Hermione managed to pull herself into a standing position and leave her room. She quietly walked down the stairs, hoping that Draco wasn't still in the common room. He wasn't. She quickly walked over to the portrait and left the dorm in the direction of the Gryffindor towers.

The Gryffindor common room was surprisingly empty when she entered; Hermione had thought there'd be at least a few loiterers at this hour, but apparently everyone had gone to bed. Well, it was later than she thought. She climbed the few stairs up to the girls' dormitory and opened the door. Ah, that explained it. If she were not mistaken, every Gryffindor female was awake, either gossiping in large groups or having girl-to-girl talks in semi-private corners. She searched the room for a sight of red hair, and was surprised to find Ginny attempting to go to sleep in the midst of all the noise.

Ginny noticed Hermione too and eyed her warily as the brunette approached her bed.

"Hey, Ginny."

"Hi…" Ginny sat up. "Here," she shifted on the bed, "sit down."

Hermione felt instantly remorseful. Here Ginny was, being just as pleasant as ever; and she'd been ignoring the girl. What to say now?

"He broke up with me," Hermione blurted out.

"What!"

Hermione sat down and faced Ginny. "I know I'm being selfish right now, but I really need you."

"Hmm…Let's go to your dorm. It's kind of loud in here, don't you think?"

"Ok."

The two girls stood and weaved their way through the crowd. Once outside of the towers, Ginny spoke again.

"Draco broke up with you?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm…"

They walked along in silence, Hermione glancing backwards every so often to make sure that they were alone, though no one should have been still awake at that hour.

"Why were there so many people awake?" Hermione asked as she opened the portrait door. Ginny followed through, glancing at Draco's staircase, before following Hermione up to her own room.

"I'd think you'd remember since you and Draco planned it…The Hogsmeade weekend is coming up. Everyone's excited since it's the last chance they have to do Christmas shopping and be with the love of their life." Ginny said this all very sarcastically as she plopped down on Hermione's bed. "But I guess you're not going to that, are you?"

"Nope," Hermione agreed as she sat next to Ginny.

"So what happened?"

"Well…" Hermione launched into her description of what had happened just hours ago. Ginny looked sufficiently interested and immediately began questioning her when she finished.

"And he didn't give you any actual reasons for the breakup?"

"Nope."

"Hmmm." Ginny looked as if she were storing the information in a memo book in her mind.

"I can't believe I was so stupid. I knew about his past, and for some reason I thought I was different."

Ginny said nothing, and the two sat in silence. Every once in a while Hermione would look up to find herself the recipient of an expression she could only call distrustful—guarded at best.

"Ginny, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you guys. I feel so stupid now. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I wasn't thinking at all."

Ginny sighed. "It's ok, Hermione. We just—we really didn't understand what was going on with you two. But can you blame us? And then the letter…So we really didn't trust him. But what you said doesn't make sense. I'd have bet half my galleons that he had an evil plan and you were tied up in it. But you say he broke up with you? That just doesn't make sense…"

Hermione should've been angry that Ginny was still suspicious of Draco because of the letter, but it strangely had no effect on her. The letter—of course. She hadn't thought of it when she was going through the dozens of possible reasons behind their breakup. But maybe that was it. Maybe he'd lied and really was going to be a Death Eater. But she couldn't determine what the truth was anymore, not in this situation. And it didn't matter in any case. Whatever they'd had was now obsolete. Her friends were the important ones in her life.

"So are you really going to stay friends with him?"

Hermione looked up. Ginny was eyeing her, waiting for her answer.

"I guess so. What else is there to do?"

"You mean you're still going to talk to him?"

"I said I would…"

"So you're fine with this? You mean you don't want to know what his reasoning is? Or try and get back together with him?"

Hermione laughed. "Of course I'm fine. And why would I want to get back together with him?"

Ginny gave her a blank stare.

"I have no intentions of getting involved in any more relationships anytime soon," Hermione continued.

"You've only had one relationship."

"And it only took me one to figure out what I've always thought was true. Boys are stupid. I've spent enough time with Harry and Ron to know just how dumb they can get."

"Ok, that's true. But Harry and Ron are special cases. Not every guy is a complete idiot."

"Show me one who doesn't act randomly stupid and I'll believe you."

"A good point…but seriously, Hermione, you're really going to do this?"

"Do what, be his friend? Why not?"

"Don't know…It might be a little difficult, seeing as you've slept with him so many times. Multiple, multiple, multiple—"

"We can still be friends, I think. And—well, we can be friends again too, right?" Hermione said hopefully.

"Hmm…" Ginny relaxed on the bed. "Well, you did treat us quite badly…"

"I know…" Hermione grinned. "You're having a great time making me feel guilty about this, aren't you?"

"Well, yes. But since you've figured me out, I'll stop. But in all seriousness, Hermione…I never thought you'd let a male come between us like that—"

"I know, I know. And I'm really sorry about it."

"Well, good. I've missed you, you know. And so have Harry and Ron."

Hermione frowned. "I'm going to have to apologize to them too…"

"Don't worry about it. They'll come around quite easy." Ginny rose from the bed. "I think I'm going to go back to the dorm now. I'm kind of sleepy."

"Ok. See you at breakfast?"

"Right."

Hermione felt significantly better after Ginny had left. Things were looking up. In a matter of hours, she'd be back with her friends. Things would be fine, and she would put this experience entirely behind her. Although, how she would put the 'experience' behind her—Draco in other words—was completely beyond her range of thought. Head duties, sharing this dorm—it seemed almost impossible with all the time she'd have to spend with him. It would definitely be one of the hardest things she'd done. But she had always been up to any task. And she was determined not to crack, or show that she'd been hurt. Had she even? Maybe she'd discover in a few days that she actually had no substantial feelings for him, which would go right along with the theme of their relationship. That would be a blessing. And if she did—well, she'd learned a thing or two about pretending from Draco, and she'd put her knowledge to good use. There were no worries anymore; she was just attributing more importance to the relationship than it had deserved.

"Wake up you fools. We've got her back."

Harry found himself being roughly shaken awake. He rolled over and looked at his clock. It was three in the morning.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" he mumbled groggily. But she was already over at Ron's bed, slapping him on the head in her haste to awake him. The older redhead mumbled and yelled at the same time, finally sitting up.

"I'm thinking it was a bad idea to tell you to let us know immediately whenever something happened with Hermione," Harry said. Well, he was awake now. He rolled off the bed. "Let's go downstairs."

The trio quickly settled into the middle of the common room. Ron was beginning to fall back to sleep, so Ginny quickly began her reiteration of Hermione's tale.

"So you mean to tell me that Malfoy willingly broke up with her? Hmmm." Harry rubbed his chin. "That doesn't make sense. He's supposed to be seducing her so he can take her to Voldemort or something."

Ginny frowned. "Yeah, well, that's what I said. Maybe he really wasn't up to anything."

"Hey, you agreed that there was something suspicious about the letter."

"Only because you forced me into it."

"You showed us the letter in the first place—"

"Hey, guys, can we not argue right now?" Ron said. "I just want to go back to sleep." He rubbed his face. "Here's an idea. Maybe…Malfoy never had an evil plan in the first place. Maybe he really doesn't hate Muggles like Hermione says. Maybe he liked her in the beginning but just can't get past his dirty womanizing roots, and so now they're broken up."

Harry gave him an incredulous look bordering on disgust. "Ron, that's just sleepy talk."

"Obviously. Even so, I'm going back to bed." Ron stood and left the room.

Harry followed him with his eyes then turned to Ginny.

"You know," she said, "Ron had a point. Maybe Malfoy isn't as bad as we thought. I mean, if Hermione could fall for him…"

Harry said nothing. Apparently everyone else was determined to think that Malfoy had suddenly become this wonderful person. He didn't understand how they weren't more worried, but realized he was defeated on that point.

"I doubt it," he said. "I still don't like him."

"And it's fine that you do. I don't trust him that much either. But he hasn't done anything suspicious. And until he does, we can't really worry. After all, Hermione's still ok, right?"

He grumbled his agreement.

"Go to sleep, Harry. You guys will make up in the morning. I saw her face and how she talked. She really wants us all to be friends again." Ginny climbed the stairs to the girls' dormitory and disappeared.

Well, Ginny had said it. He was completely justified in disliking Malfoy. But at least he didn't have to worry about the evil blond-headed git having his slimy hands all over Hermione anymore. She was safe for now, and that was all that mattered. Harry comforted himself with these thoughts as he left the common room and returned to bed.

Draco had seen the little redhead following Hermione up to her room. So it had begun. She'd be back with those overprotective Gryffindor fools by the morning. And she was. The happy sight of the two Weasleys and Potter surrounding her greeted him as he entered the Great Hall for breakfast. Draco strode over to the Slytherin table and tried not to look at them as he began his meal. But he couldn't help it. He just found her interesting; that was all.

Potter was whispering something in her ear, and she smiled. Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her to his chest. The fool looked genuinely happy. Strangely enough, Draco was distracted by the fact that the younger Weasley was looking at him. Not another girl, not right now… But she was giving him a rather knowing look; almost as if she'd found out his secret and pitied him. He narrowed his eyes and turned away. Looking at their table had obviously been a bad idea. He braced himself instead for the displeasure that would be Potions and the first time he would talk to her after their breakup.

Hermione entered the Great Hall the next day in an anxious state. Ginny was already there, though, giving her a welcoming look and beckoning her over to the open spot next to her—and Harry. Why was she feeling nervous? These people were just her friends. She sat down, and said hello to Ron, who was sitting on the other side of Harry, and Ginny, and then finally Harry himself. He only nodded, but continued giving her a very focused gaze.

Strangely enough, she felt as though she had to answer to him first.

"Harry," she began, "I know this is going to sound really stupid, but…well, Draco and I broke up yesterday, and I really want us to all be friends again. I mean, not just because he broke up with me and I'm suddenly lonely and wanting company, but because I realized that I've been really stupid about this whole situation and I've really missed you guys. I don't know what I was thinking." Harry didn't say anything, so she continued. "I was just—"

"I don't think we can accept that," Ron said from the other side of Harry. Hermione raised worried eyes to his face. He grinned. "Oh, I'm just kidding, Hermione. Glad to know you still like us." He turned back to his meal.

Hermione smiled. Ah, Ron, always the joker. But Harry still hadn't said anything. He seemed to be studying his plate way too intently, and then he looked up. "Well, of course we want to be friends," he said. "Welcome back. I've missed you."

"I missed you too," she said, and he hugged her.

Hermione let out a long breath of relief. It had gone more easily than she'd expected. She'd thought there'd be more anger, or silence, or some sort of negative reaction. But no, they were all content. Gods, could it get any better?

She couldn't help but sneak a look over at the Slytherin table. Draco was eating his breakfast with that unreadable expression on his face. She sighed and looked away, trying to focus on the newest joke Ron was telling. So he really did mean what he'd said. Oh well—if he didn't care, why should she?

Author's Note: I've noticed that rather a few people are upset by the breakup, and I have to say: DON'T BE. This is a happy romance, and they will be together—eventually. Just don't give up on me/them.

I actually liked this chapter a lot. I can't even say why. But I was just so inspired when I was writing it, and I actually think it's one of the best yet. So, review and let me know what you think, pretty please please…

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