Thanks to lyrabelaqua for being my beta.

I don't own anything having to do with Harry Potter unless you count the hardcover books and a couple DVD's.

Alright, I'm not very happy with this chapter but I think it has to be done. Drop me a line to tell me what you think.

Am I loud and clear or am I breaking up?
Am I still your charm or am I just bad luck?
Are we getting closer or are we just getting more lost?
I'll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let's compare scars I'll tell you whose is worse
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

I've been here so long I think that its time to move
The winter's so cold summer's over too soon
So let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow

I've got some friends some that I hardly know
We've had some times I wouldn't trade for the world
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go

Rise Against- Swing Life Away

Harry Potter made his way to the Heads' dorm. He'd have to watch Malfoy to see if what Ron said had any truth.

"Like Malfoy would ever have any interest in Hermione," he muttered to himself as he walked.

He came to the portrait of the lion and snake and said the password.

"Doxy bones." He said and stood back so the portrait could open, which didn't happen. Harry looked around the hallway before saying the password again. "Doxy bones." He said, pausing between the words to be clearer.

Still the portrait stayed still.

"Of all the… DOXY BONES!" Harry yelled before pounding on the door. He stopped with the portrait swung open, hitting him in the face as it happened.

"Oh, it's you." He heard from the doorway once he righted himself and stepped to the side to see the hole the portrait protected.

"Malfoy." Harry said sharply, with a nod.

"H… Granger, precious Potty's here to see you." the blond haired boy across from him said over his shoulder. Had he been about to say Hermione?

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked as he pushed his way passed Malfoy to get to his friend, who was sitting on the couch closest to the fireplace.

"I'm fine, Harry." She answered with a small smile. "I'm surprised you're speaking to me. Ginny ran out of here mad at me and Ron left in a huff." She said with a small amount of surprise in her voice as she moved over and patted the couch next to him.

Harry was silent and just looked back at her. She looked like the same Hermione. Dark circles were starting to form under her eyes from all of the late night studying she did and she had a smile on her face that was always uncertain, like she didn't know if she should be there or in her room studying for a test three months away.

"Did you kick Ron out of your common room, Hermione?" he asked after she started to fidget and finger the hem of her jeans.

"Yes, but you have to understand, Harry. I opened the door and he just started yelling at me. I couldn't say anything." Hermione rushed to explain.

"But why would he do that?" Harry asked.

"It was all about Hogesmeade. He said I'd abandoned him and that I wasn't being fair with him. I couldn't get a word in to explain myself."

"You didn't have to kick him out, though, Hermione." he pointed out.

"But he wouldn't let me talk! It was the only way I could get him to listen to me. Tell him, Draco." she said before looking past Harry to the Slytherin prince that sat on a chair in the middle of the room.

"I believe you, Hermione." Harry said quickly, cutting off anything the ferret had to say. "But Ginny doesn't. She said that Malfoy said that Ron made you pass out. Is that true?" he asked while trying to make eye contact.

"I don't want to talk about it, Harry." she said softly.

Harry nodded his head and was going to ask her about the password, to change the subject, when he heard a 'tsk' from Malfoy. He turned to see the blond rolling his eyes before standing to walk to the far side of the common room.

"What was that for?" Harry asked, eyes narrowed.

"Nothing, Potty. Just knew that was coming." Malfoy answered with a smirk.

"Shut up, Draco." Hermione said from Harry's side.

"Come off it, Hermione. Just tell him." Malfoy shot back.

"It's not his business." Hermione said through clenched teeth.

"He's just going to keep asking you about it. God knows how annoying he can be when he gets a thought into his head." Malfoy muttered the last part but Harry still heard.

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here." He said before looking back at Hermione. "Tell me what, 'Mione?" he asked as he tucked her hands in his own.

"It's nothing, Harry." she answered quickly, sending a glare towards Malfoy.

"Hermione?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Told you." he heard Malfoy say from the other side of the room.

"Shut up, Draco!" Hermione snapped.

"Hermione, what is it?"

"I don't want to talk about it." she said, turning her head to look into the fire.

"So it's okay for Malfoy to know but when it comes to me, Harry, your best friend, you don't want to talk about it?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Harry, it's not like that. He found out because…"

"I didn't do anything!" Malfoy defended himself.

"I didn't say you did! Just shut up and let me talk!"

Harry started, with wide eyes, between Hermione, the Gryffindor princess, and Malfoy, the Slytherin prince. She was mad at him but she was still talking to him. With him or Ron she'd have shut up and not spoken to either of them for a good solid month.

"Ron's right, isn't he, Hermione?" Harry asked weakly.

"About what?" she asked when she stopped bickering with Malfoy.

"You chose Malfoy over us. You like him or something." he asked, a head ache growing.

"Of course I don't like Draco." she said with confusion in her voice. "I have to talk to him." She explained in a tone only Hermione could pull off.

"If it would have been Ron or me arguing with you, you would have ignored us." Harry pointed out as the head ache turned into heart ache. He couldn't be losing Hermione to Ferret Face.

"Harry that's…." Hermione stopped, as if she saw it too. "I don't like him, Harry, but it's nice to have someone to talk to when I need it." she said softly.

"You can talk to us, Hermione."

"No, Harry I can't. The minute I start talking about school work, you and Ron groan and start talking about quidditch or something." She sounded almost pained when she said that. Harry thought back to all the conversations they had and saw that, excluding when they ask her to do their work, they, he and Ron, never talked to her about school work.

"Hermione, I'm sorry about that but Ron and I don't get that into school work." Harry apologized.

"I'm sorry, but I don't get that into quidditch." she said in answer.

Harry sat back and stared at the girl in front of him. She looked sad.

"I guess I never thought of that. I mean, I knew but I never really thought us talking about it bothered you."

"As much as I love the tear filled reunions," Malfoy sneered from across the room. "Tell him, Hermione."

"Why won't you let this go?" Hermione asked with a sigh.

"Because you won't talk about it." Malfoy answered smugly.

"Shove off, Malfoy. She doesn't want to talk about it." Harry said as he put an arm around Hermione, trying to protect her from the snake in the room.

"Fine. When she goes off the deep end, don't say I didn't warn you."

Harry watched as Malfoy walked to a door, said a password and disappeared.

"What is he talking about, Hermione? You know you can tell me anything." Harry said once the door didn't open again and he was sure he and Hermione were alone.

"Harry, why can't you leave it alone?" she asked, pulling away from him.

"I think Malfoy's right… even if he is a git. I don't know what it is but I think you should talk about it. If not to me then to him," Harry said tightly with a nod of his head to the Head boy's portrait. "He seems to know more about it then we do."

He felt Hermione wince when he said the last part but couldn't bring himself to say it was okay. She was his best friend and his enemy knew more about her then he or Ron did. He felt betrayed but at the same time…she'd been right about how they treated her. Harry looked at Hermione and saw that she had tears in her eyes.

"Hermione..." he said softly, not wanting her to cry.

"I can't tell you, Harry. Not now." she said as the tears fell down her face.

Harry watched as she cried. He knew it was mostly his fault. He shouldn't have pushed her so much but knowing that Malfoy knew something he didn't just ate at him. He waited until her tears stopped and then moved to put his arm around her again. She didn't move away and he took that as a good sign. He felt her stop shaking with tears and slowly pulled away to talk to her.

"Are you alright now?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes, thank you." she said softly, not meeting him. "I'm sorry for unloading that all on you."

"Don't worry about me, I didn't find out anything." he said jokingly, hoping to get a smile. He'd never really seen Hermione cry like that before and it left him on edge. She remained quiet, thankfully.

"Well isn't this a picture perfect site." a voice said behind them, a voice that annoyed him beyond all reason.

"Shove it, Malfoy." Harry muttered, not turning to meet the blondes' eyes.

"Oh come on, Potty. You don't want a picture in the paper with the caption 'Harry Potter brings girls to tears everywhere.'?"

"Shut up, Draco. It's your fault in the first place." Hermione said from behind him.

"Come to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione." Harry said when Malfoy answered her order with a raised eye brow.

"I don't think I should, Harry. Ron and Ginny are still mad at me." She answered with a sigh.

"Don't worry about them, Hermione." Harry tried to convince her.

"I know how Ron is, Harry. I think its best I worry about him instead of ignoring him. I don't want anyone going to the hospital wing burping up slugs again." She said with a smile.

"Just say what you mean, Granger. You don't want him to get into trouble while you're Head girl." Malfoy drawled from across the room.

"Draco!" Hermione said in a warning tone. Harry's eyes widened at her at the tone she'd used. He and Ron had both been on the receiving end of that voice.

"Hermione!" Malfoy shot back in a mocking tone.

Harry watched as Hermione narrowed her eyes and looked away.

"Let's go to the library then." Harry said, recognizing the warning signs of a 'Hermione Meltdown'.

"I'm not up to it, Harry. It's almost time for dinner. I'll see you then." she said, not looking at him.

"Alright, Hermione. I'll save you a place." he promised before standing up and walking to the portrait hole.

Before the door even closed behind him he heard Hermione turn on Malfoy. Ron must not know what he was talking about. Hermione acted different around Malfoy but it was an act of tolerance, not fancy.