Chapter: Twenty One...fuck.

Draco and Hermione arrived back at the castle that night with wide dopey grins plastered on their faces. All the kids who saw them thought they were high, but Draco, Hermione and Dumbledore knew why they were so happy. You see, Dumbledore happened upon Draco buying Hermione's ring. So of course him being who he was, he could put two and two together and get four. Dumbledore smiled at them from the head's table. Hermione and Draco smirked at him...oh fuck, she's caught the smirk...AHHHH.

"So did you guys have fun today?" Harry asked, taking some potatoes onto his plate.

"Yeah, we did." Hermione turned and winked at Draco, who winked back. "Where were you? Didn't see you." Hermione said, taking a bite of her mashed potatoes.

"Oh. I was around..." He trailed off.

"Okay, I get it secret agent man." Hermione laughed, then breaking into song. "Secret agent man...don't know anymore after that." She pouted and laughed.

"That's okay, don't think we'll mind." Harry and Ron joked.

"Fuck you." She raised her middle finger on her left hand. Her new bling caught the eye of Ron. Who's eyes bugged out.

"Hermione, what's that?" He asked, swallowing hard.

"Oh..." She said following Ron's gaze. "I'm getting married to Draco." She laughed nervously.

"That's wonderful Hermione." Harry said hugging her. He ended up catching the side of her, and her mashed potatoes stabbed him in the face. I mean it was really her fork.

"Oh Harry, I'm sorry." She apologized.

"That's okay." Harry said.

"You're really marrying him?" Ron asked. Draco looked offended.

"Well, yes." She said.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I think I love him, and not just as a friend." Hermione said.

"Think?" Draco asked.

"Know." Hermione corrected.

"Oh, that's cool." Ron said, glee coming back to his voice.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Hermione said taking Draco's hand.

So later that night both Hermione and Draco fell asleep with smiles on their faces. When Hermione woke up she thought she had dreamed all that, until she sat up and looked at her hand. She couldn't help but smile, but she was a little saddened. She didn't want to give up the person she was, she didn't want to change. She liked who she was, but she didn't want to become one of those dowdy old housewives. She wouldn't allow herself to be. It was after nine when she rolled out of bed. Hermione skipped her shower today and didn't even want to put on clean clothes. For some reason she wanted to smell. She was loading up her bag so she didn't have to come back up for anything. She put her toothbrush, paste and hair brush in her bag and left. She even brought her red book. She ran quickly towards the bathroom and made herself look somewhat decent. "Moom." She said to the mirror.

"Did you just moo at me?" Said the fat girl who walked in behind her.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I said moom." She corrected.

"Okay, just checking." She said walking on.

"Sorry." She said again running from the bathroom. Hermione wasn't very hungry so she skipped breakfast and went to the library. She walked to the back and sat against the wall. She pulled our her red book. She took out a pen and began to write.

"Don't know what to write. Not as bitchy as I have been in the past. How the hell could I have changed in less than two months. I'm still me but not as, well I guess evil. Not like my head spun and I puked pea soup." Hermione stopped to laugh. " Not that I'm happier. Not that I wasn't happy, because I was. But maybe it's because I feel like I actually belong. I mean having Draco here, being with me, has made me feel like someone actually got me, accepted me, for me. Fuck, I sound so fucking...blah." She stopped and threw it at the shelf. A few books fell onto the floor.

"Damn it." She whispered. Picking them up. She muttered to herself. She wasn't that happy. Whatever it was pulled the sunshine from her ass. "Fuck."

"Nice language." Someone said from her left. She turned to see Blaise Zabini.

"I know, I use it for special company." She stated, reshelfing the books.

"Ahh, I feel special." Blaise said.

"So, did you need something?" Hermione asked, placing the last book back in it's place.

"No." He stated, staring at her.

"Oh." She said.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked. Her eyes got wide with shock and then she spoke up.

"If you want to." She said.

"Do you hate me?" He asked. She was shocked by this question.

"Not that I hate you, but you've never given me a reason to like you." She smiled.

"Yeah I know, been a real git in the past...oh, my whole life." He said.

"We all have our problems." Hermione said.

"Yeah I guess we do." He said.

"Is that all you wanted?" She asked putting her red book that she'd been holding in her bag.

"Do you think I'm going to hell?" He asked which really got her.

"Why would you?" She asked. "I mean you've never been that nice to me, but I don't think you're going to hell for being a prat." She said.

"Yeah, but this I don't' think you know. But I'm the reason she's dead. I caused her death." He said.

"Did you actually kill her?" She asked.

"No."

"Didn't think so. You can't really blame yourself for how she decided to act. I don't think you wanted her to die. You just acted before you knew the truth. You're not the first you know." She stated.

"You know, I think you're right."

"Okay, did they start putting something in the Slytherin house? Something in the water perhaps?" She asked. "You've all like changed." She finished.

"Maybe we've just grown up." He said.

"I think we're all doing that in some form or another." She said.

"Yeah." He laughed.

"So what cha been up to?" Hermione asked, making small talk.

"Nothing much, I no longer have any friends. So I spend a lot of time ALONE." Blaise said.

"Wow Spinner, sucks to be you." Hermione laughed.

"Spinner?" Her asked.

"It's a television show!" Hermione said.

AN: I know it's a Canadian show and I'm not even sure if they get it in the UK. But the scene just seemed to fit.

"And there's a character named Spinner who played a prank on a kid he'd been bullying, and he showed up with a gun and shot Jimmy, who used to bully him. Now Jimmy's in a wheelchair. There's more to it, but you get the point." Hermione said.

"Yeah that's a little familiar."

"Oh yeah the kid that got bullied, Rick's his name, he's dead...You get the point. Yeah I think we've established that." Hermione laughed.

"Yeah." He laughed. "I miss my friends." He said.

"I bet you do. I would too." Hermione said. "I remember when I didn't have mine. All I had was Draco. I still missed them like crazy." Hermione said.

"I miss Draco." Blaise said. They sat for a moment before Blaise laughed. "I remember this one time when we were about eight or nine and we were playing dress up. We were at his house in his Mum's fancy dresses. Totally funny because we had make up on and wigs we'd found in the attic. Fucking funny." Hermione and him laughed.

"I would so like to see that." Hermione said.

"It was a hoot. Mr. Malfoy caught us. He actually laughed at it. He's changed the past six years. Since the Dark Lord's trying to come back. Well, seven years. He's always been a prick but he used to be able to laugh." He said.

"Really? That's something I would like to see." Hermione laughed.

"It's pretty great if you ask me." He stated. "So did you always hang around in the Libraries on the weekend?" Blaise asked.

"Not anymore. Mostly with Draco." She said wishing she hadn't. "Wow, do I feel like a fucking retarded ass bimbo." She said.

"Why, because you spend so much time with him?"

"Yeah. I feel like I've given up so much of myself, that I'm no longer who I was. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah actually." Blaise said. Hermione and Blaise sat there in the library for a couple more hours talking about well whatever crossed their minds.

"Wow, it's almost noon." Said Hermione, glancing at her watch.

"Shite, how time flies when you're having fun." He said.

"So are you coming to lunch?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm hungry." He stated rubbing his tummy.

"Me too." She said. They got up from the floor. They stretched out before they walked to the door. "So would you like to join me?" She asked.

"Sure. Not like anyone else has offered." He said laughing. Hermione and Blaise walked down the hallway, catching people's attention. "Wonder what they're looking at?" Blaise asked being a total smart ass.

"Who knows with these idiots." Hermione said laughing. They walked into the Great Hall together. The people by the door looked up and watched them. they began to whisper to each other. "These people are so dumb." She said. "Gawking at us." She finished.

"But that's what kind of people they are." Blaise said. Draco was already sitting in wait of Hermione. He thought that he was dreaming when he saw the two of them together.

"Harry?" Draco called.

"What?" He asked.

"Is that Hermione with Blaise?" Draco questioned.

"Oh yes, that is." Harry said watching her laugh and then the two walk over.

"Hello boys." She said taking a seat. While Blaise sat on the other side.

"Hi." He said feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Draco tried to speak but he only stuttered at them. "Anyway where have you been all morning?" Draco asked, when he found how to use his tongue again.

"In the library, with Blaise." She said taking a sandwich and putting it on her plate. She then went back for some crisps.

"Have you really?" Draco asked.

"Yeah." They both said.

"Oh that's interesting." Draco said.

"Not as interesting as the two of you cross dressing...that's funny." Hermione and Harry laughed.

"You told her about that?" Draco was embarrassed and amused.

"Yeah that's not all I told her." Blaise turned away with a smile on his face.

"Oh man, what else." He asked.

"About the time with..."

"Oh no!" Draco yelled. "That's horrible!" He exclaimed.

Hermione and Blaise laughed, leaving Draco embarrassed and Harry confused. Draco had his hands over his eyes trying to convince himself that he was dreaming. Hermione and Blaise couldn't help but laugh when Draco removed his hands from his face. It was red, more than Ron's hair.

"Draco..." Hermione said before she continued with her laughter. "It really is okay. I still love you." He looked at her and laughed.

"I know you do." He smiled and turned to Blaise. "Why did you have to tell her?" He asked looking like a kid.

"Because it's funny, and we were having a good laugh! So it seemed relevant!" He said drinking his pumpkin juice, his face scrunched as he did. "Bitter." He said.

"Oh couldn't tell." Hermione said laughing.

"Well, not like I can hide it." Blaise said.

"So you two been with each other all day?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, he found me in the library, and we started to talk." She said before she took a bite of her sandwich. Draco looked at Blaise suspiciously for a moment he didn't know what Blaise had up his sleeve. He didn't know if he could even trust him, but he would just have to wait and find out.

A few weeks later Hermione, Draco and Blaise were outside sitting near the lake. The past few weeks Blaise's presence had become a welcome one. Draco was still a little apprehensive about him, but he tried not to think about him.

"So Hermione what cha going to be for Halloween?" Blaise asked.

"Not sure yet. Nothing too girly. I hate how they put something skanky on and then animal ears and call themselves an animal." She stated.

AN: Yes, totally stolen from Mean Girls, but when chicks do stuff like that it bugs me. Even if it's only in movies!

"Yeah me too." Blaise said not having a clue what she was talking about.

"What about you?" Hermione asked.

"I was thinking about being a Death Eater." He said laughing.

"Very nice." Hermione said.

"Doesn't anyone want to know what I'm going to be?" Draco asked.

"Not really!" Hermione and Blaise said laughing.

"Fuck you." He said.

"Sweetie of course we do." Hermione said.

"Well, too bad now. I'm not going to tell you." Draco said.

"Okay whatever." Hermione said.

"Blaise you can't go as a death eater, they would probably kill you." Draco said.

"Oh yeah, never thought of that!" He said.

"Seems like you didn't. Hey go as Snape." Draco said. "That would be funny." Draco laughed. He was the only one.

"He doesn't want to scare the shit out of people, kill them, my b." Hermione said. "Right Spin?" She asked.

"Right." He said.

"My balls hurt." Hermione said out of the blue.

"Sorry." Blaise said. "Shouldn't pull so hard, Draco." Blaise finished.

"Yeah I know." He said looking at Hermione apologetically.

"It's okay sweetie." Hermione said. "I forgive you."

"Yay." She squealed.

"Oh shite. I gotta go Dumbledore wanted to see me." Draco said hurriedly putting his things away, and rushing off.

"See you later." Hermione and Blaise said together.

"Yeah." He said.

"So did you get them?" Hermione asked, making sure no one was around.

"Yeah, I did. They're hidden." He said.

"Cool." She said laughing.

"Very cool." He said laughing as well.

"Wonder what he's going as?" She wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but I wish I knew too. What a bitch." He said.

"Yeah he is. But he's my bitch!" She laughed.

AN: Sorry that I didn't update last week, I had writers block. Okay I was busy writing My Chemical Romance fanfic and I really did have Harry Potter writers block, don't hate me, but I did update today, I was planning on doing on my 18th birthday which is monday, yes that is Halloween...so you never know...there might be an update...monday...Hmmm. Well, Review if you want too...I don't want to get old...it scares me. So show me some love to make me feel better.