A/N:Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, and its been a struggle to do that - I've got minor writer's block and even Ana couldn't help much either. I wrote most of this in Physics today and would have written in Chemistry but I found out I got a U (ungradeable) in my first modular exam which was a bit of a bummer. Nothing I can't rectify though...Chem is my best subject and I should be getting straight A's. All your reviews cheer me up immensely though! Thanks! Hehe I'm keeping schtum on James & Lissy, but people, they're 11...11! Not 17! LOL. Suggestions and critiscisms would be most welcome at the moment, and if you can review me with any ideas or comments before 7.45am GMT tomorrow it would be most helpful as I would love to do some quality writing whilst i'm in Amsterdam. Same applies to all my stories - sorry I haven't got time to get the next chapter of Further Education up with all the jetsetting. ( I'm back on Monday so take care everyone and happy reading! Ciao.

"Draco…" Blaise questioned lightly – they were sat in the Three Broomsticks enjoying a few pints of mead.

"Yeah?"

"I don't believe you."

Draco raised his eyebrows, he knew what Blaise was referring to but didn't want to believe that his friend would question him about it. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I don't believe that cock and bull story you told me about why you're sat here free, getting a fair few odd looks believe me."

"Ironic, really." Draco smirked.

"What?"

"You just said 'believe me', when you won't believe what I'm saying." Draco chuckled.

"Draco, I'm not stupid. The Ministry would never let someone off that easy, there was no proof you'd changed sides."

"I didn't change sides."

"Okay okay, there was no proof you weren't going to go back to the old ways. They know who you are Draco; they know how powerful you are and they know what you were capable of."

"No, fuck you Blaise. You don't know what I'm capable of, you have no fucking idea." Draco raged, what Blaise had said had caught a nerve and he had stood up suddenly. "The things I have done to clean my family name, to keep my children from growing up without a father, yes you're right I lied to you. Well, technically I didn't lie; everything I told you was true. I just missed out a few details…"

"I was one of your closest friends, Draco…"

"Fuck that. You'd never understand. What I had to do burns deep inside me every day, and I don't want mindless busy bodies bringing it up again. You wouldn't understand, Blaise. You couldn't." Draco spat and stormed out of the pub, more than a few customers watching him go with intrigued looks.

"Try me." Blaise muttered bitterly and downed the rest of his pint of mead.

"FUCK!" Draco raged as he slammed open the huge doors of the Malfoy Manor, walking into the echoing entrance hall. "Why the fuck can't life ever be simple?" He grabbed a priceless vase from beside the large fireplace in the grand drawing room he had entered and flung it at the portrait of his father, splitting the canvas as he did so. "Why the fuck did you have to destroy my life?" He shouted and threw another antique at it. "BASTARD!" He glared viciously at the portrait but it continued to smirk down at him.

"Do you have any idea what you have put me through? The shit that your fucked up ideas about the world got me into? It was all your fault, because you fucked up on your mission I got dragged into it. I became a tool of revenge and it destroyed my life, and the life of the woman you loved." Draco collapsed onto his knees in front of the portrait. "Because you did love her, you tried to pretend that you didn't but you did, and it broke her heat that you never told her. You selfish fuck. It was always about you, you and the fucking Malfoy family name. Fuck you..." Draco trailed off, breathless, and a single tear slid down his face. He choked. "Fuck you…"

Blaise stared into the fire in his office; he'd been staring at it for hours, ignoring the piles of marking on his desk. He couldn't understand why Draco was so protective of the truth; could his ticket to freedom be that bad? Blaise couldn't comprehend what could possibly that awful, that devastating or disgusting that Draco would want to hide it from everyone. Surely if it was something that had got him out of trouble it would be something to be proud of…Blaise shook his head and blinked suddenly. He could swear he had just seen someone in the fireplace, someone that looked awfully like… "Granger?" Hermione's face smiled meekly and Blaise's eyes opened wide in shock.

"Evening, Blaise. Do you mind if I…?"

"No, no, go ahead." Blaise nodded and seconds later Hermione was stepping out onto the cold stone floor and brushing ash off her jeans. "Please, have a seat." He gestured to the chair next to his and Hermione collapsed into it. "Granger…Hermione, what's wrong?"

"Its Draco."

"Oh."

"Yes. I don't know where he is, he's not in the office and he hasn't come home. I flooed the manor and the house elves said they hadn't seen him. I know he said he was going to come and see you in Hogsmeade do you know where…?"

"He stormed out. We had an argument." Blaise said shortly, avoiding Hermione's questioning gaze.

"You did? What about? Please Blaise; it might give me some clue as to what he's done or where he's gone…"

Blaise sighed. "The other day, Draco came to see me and explained how he was free – but I didn't believe him, he skirted round the truth and I could see behind his story. I always have been able to tell when Draco is telling the entire truth or not. So today, I questioned him and he blew up completely…hey, what's wrong?" Silent tears had started to slip down Hermione's cheeks.

"Its just…I always knew this was going to happen, this was why I didn't want to come back…I didn't want to face this, I always knew that the past would catch up with Draco and I, I knew it would make things unbearable."

"Hey, Hermione it doesn't have to be like this…" Blaise sensed a chance to dig for information whilst Hermione had her guard down, he hated himself for it but he needed to know what was going on. "Can it possibly be that bad?"

"Oh Merlin yes….Draco can never forgive himself, he did it for me and the children but he can never forgive himself…it may have ended some of his family's pain but it caused so much and always will. Blaise, you cannot understand the guilt he has to deal with day after day. Its killing him, deep inside."

"You know, it might help him if he told someone. Other than you…because no one can help him if they don't know what's wrong..."

"Because Blaise, Draco was tortured, tortured beyond belief…" Hermione choked on her tears, unaware of what she was saying. "And then…then he had to kill…" Hermione's whole body shook with a silent sob; she couldn't bear to make a noise.

Blaise rubbed Hermione's back soothingly, hoping to get more information out of her but she was beyond speech and stood, her hand covering her eyes. "I'm sorry Blaise, I didn't mean to break down…like this…I should go home and wait for Draco…I'm sorry…"

"No, I'm sorry Hermione…I'm sorry that Draco doesn't trust me enough to tell me…"