I bet you haven't expected an update this fast! Guessing from the response most of you hated the last chapter as much as I did and I really wanted to make up for that for the sake of us all as fast as possible so here we are!

Thanks to everybody who keeps up with my mad update scedue! I LOVE your reviews and comments. they give me life!

And of course thanks so my betas Chocomieux, Nantai and Vicky

It was the middle of the night and Hermione found herself standing in front of Oliver's door. She hadn't wanted to talk to any of her friends, but now that she had somewhat calmed down, Hermione had changed her mind and she knew Oliver wouldn't judge her.

That's why she had texted him at two in the morning to make sure Flint wasn't over and yes, it was okay to come over and no, he wasn't tired and yes, for god's sake Granger that's what friends are for!

Hermione rang the bell, stepping from one foot to another. She felt really bad for bothering him at such a time, but she knew that she wouldn't sleep until she figured out what she wanted.

"Hey," Oliver smiled at her when he opened the door. Hermione noted the dark circles under his eyes immediately, a clear indicator that something was off. She had already been surprised when he had answered her message that late and her suspicions only grew. Malfoy would have to wait, as it seemed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, as she sat down on the sofa, taking the cup of tea Oliver gave her.

"Nothing," he said and sat down next to her.

Hermione shot him an unimpressed look as she took a sip. It was good.

"I ran into Angelina two days ago," Oliver said with a sigh. "We talked and talked and as always, it was amazing."

"Oh."

"Indeed," he ran a hand through his hair. "I like Marcus, I really, really do, but I like Angelina as well… Have for a long time, and we agreed to meet up next week…"

Hermione rose an eyebrow. What an interesting development. Or rather concerning? She wasn't sure. "Marcus is officially your boyfriend, right?" she asked, wanting to make sure she was not misunderstanding the situation.

Oliver nodded. "It's not like I want to break up with him. Especially as I seriously doubt she will ever see me as something besides a friend and a former teammate. The issue is that I am confused about my feelings. I thought I was over her now that I am in love with Marcus, but apparently I am not and it sucks and I don't know what to think…" He buried his face in his hands. "I don't want to hurt Marcus but I want to meet her next week because we are friends and god, this is so unnecessary complicated and I am ranting about something this stupid when you came here because you need help."

Hermione patted his arm. "It's fine. Maybe you should talk with Marcus about this? I am sure he will notice something is wrong and you don't want him to misunderstand. He probably knows about your old crush on Angelina, considering how closely you watched each other back at school."

Oliver groaned. "You are probably right, but I am definitely not looking forward to that talk." He sat up straighter. "But enough of that. Tell me what exactly has you in distress this much?"

Hermione put down her tea on the coffee table in front of her before turning to face Oliver. "I slept with Malfoy," she said.

Oliver gaped at her. "When?"

Hermione took one of the pillows and hugged it. She needed the little comfort it offered. "Friday." Even though it was only two days ago it felt both like yesterday and as if eternity has passed since then. It was weird.

"How do you feel about it?" Oliver asked, immediately in his best friend modus, ready to offer advice and gossip if needed. "How was it?"

Hermione wet her lips. If she really wanted Oliver's help to figure out her feelings, she would have to tell him the whole truth. He already knew most of it, but she would have to tell him the truth about the group and how it all started. "I am not sure about how I feel that we had sex. That's the issue. While it all happened, it was nice… I tried a few new things and well-," she trailed off, not looking at Oliver, as heat rose into her cheeks. She felt really uncomfortable talking about this but there was no way around it.

Oliver tilted his head, looking at her curiously. "New things?" he asked.

"Rougher stuff," Hermione said, shifting in her seat. "The group in which we met.. It was about BDSM, you know. Don't judge me! I was curious and-"

"Stop," Oliver interrupted her rant. "You don't have to justify yourself. I am in that group as well - and even if I weren't, it's your thing what you are into as long as it's consensual and safe."

"Wait, what?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide. What a surprise! "What's your name?"

"Batman," Oliver grinned at her. "Always be yourself. Unless you can be Batman, in which case, always be Batman."

Hermione snorted. "You are ridiculous," she said. "But does that mean Marcus is the dude with the arse in his name?"

"Datasseismine. Yeah, that's Marcus. But don't tell him I told you."

Hermione nodded. She certainly hadn't expected that. She had known she wouldn't be judged here, but this was going into a completely different direction, not to mention that she knew way too much about their bedroom situation now. More material for the football orgy images in her head as it seemed.

"But back to the topic," Oliver said, bringing her back to reality, "So you slept with him, it got rougher. Did he do something you didn't want or like? Or what went wrong?"

"He only did things we've talked about beforehand. Except for something I asked him to do while we were at it. It's just.. I can't explain it. I felt terrible when I woke up. Empty, used, like.. I can barely fit it into words. It sucked. But it wasn't regret." Hermione felt so stupid speaking those words. It didn't make sense.

Oliver was frowning at her. "Let me guess, that bastard kicked you out as soon as it was over?"

She shook her head. "We cuddled and fell asleep and Zabini walked in on us the next morning. You are assuming I have experienced sub-drop, right? Malfoy thought the same thing..." Hermione looked at Oliver uncertainly, squeezing the pillow just a little bit tighter. She really hoped he could help her. There weren't many things she hated more than not knowing what to do.

"Well, it's a possibility. If you say it wasn't regret, there aren't many other things coming to my mind. Especially if it was consensual. But I basically never feel bad after sex, so I am not an expert on the topic."

"Of course it was consensual!" Hermione said in outrage, sitting up straighter before she visibly deflated, letting her shoulders hang as she recalled what she had said to Malfoy. "Even though I told him that he used me. God, I feel so awful," she hid her face in the pillow, a theatralic action she picked up from Oliver, a clear indicator they spent way too much time together if he managed to rub off on her this much.

"That's.. harsh," Oliver said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Why exactly did you feel like that? Is there something that strikes out to you or was there no reason at all? That might help us determine what you really are dealing with."

Hermione looked at him, drawing her lower lip between her teeth. "You sure you are fine with this? With the whole Angelina-Flint-thing going on and all.."

Oliver ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Your problems distract me from my own," he said with a weak smile. "Now talk."

Hermione smiled back. She understood the sentiment. Distraction wasn't her favourite way of dealing with problems but sometimes it was the best choice, especially if you had to wait to be able to solve your own.

"Honestly, I think I made a fool out of myself. You know, with practically begging him and all that. It's… God, I don't know. Nothing special. I just felt empty and I can't really describe it."

"Like he hurt your pride?" Oliver asked flatly. "Or something else?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's possible. It could be something else. I-I am not sure. I feel so stupid."

Oliver pulled her into a hug. "Just breathe. We will find a solution."

Somehow, Hermione doubted that, but she was willing to try. She had to, if she wanted some sense of normalcy back in her life.

Draco had had enough. This was the last straw. Granger had certainly crossed the line. He didn't even bother to tell Theo where he was going and marched straight to her and the fellow she was apparently dating.

"You should know she slept with me between your dates," he hissed as soon as he was sure they would hear him but it wouldn't attract too much attention. While he was going to make a scene - a justified one, thank you very much - he didn't need everyone to know that Granger of all people turned him down. That would be too much.

"Excuse me?" Granger shrieked as she turned around, murder in her eyes. "What the hell, Malfoy?"

The man next to her, Draco felt like he has seen him before but couldn't put a name to the face, looked mildly amused, confusing Draco even more. Shouldn't he be furious that the woman he was dating was sleeping with other men in the meantime? Or had she told him and he was fine with that? Was that possible?

"Don't you think he deserves to know if he wants to pursue you any further?" Draco shot back. "It's one thing if you play with my feelings, because you have every reason to want to hurt me, but don't drag unsuspecting people into this!"

The guy next to Granger couldn't apparently hold it anymore and erupted in laughter, making Draco stop talking and look at him in bewilderment.

"Calm down children," he said, his voice deep and thick with a Scottish accent, and the coin finally dropped. The man was Oliver Wood, the biggest football enthusiast Draco has ever met, and almost as good a player. He had been a few years their senior back at school. What was he doing with Granger?

"Calm down?" Granger glared at Wood. "I am not going to let that stand! Have you heard what he said?!"

Wood sighed loudly and looked at Theo, who had joined them to Draco's great surprise. He would have expected him to pretend that he didn't know them and walk away, using the chance to flee the emotional minefield.

"I am just here to help you with stopping them from physically killing each other. Don't expect any help with mediation," Theo said to Wood, sounding like he didn't want to be there which, in all fairness, was certainly the case and completely understandable. Draco didn't know what he was thinking when he approached Granger - scratch that, he knew for a fact that he hadn't been thinking, and now he wished he had just walked away.

Wood snorted at that but turned serious again immediately. "Yes, calm down, Hermione. You two are both hurt and angry and a lot of other things I don't want to examine any further and don't mean half of the stuff you say. You are attacking each other because you don't want to get hurt and create a never ending circle of pain and rage."

Draco rolled his eyes. He hated when people acted like they knew things about him even though they have barely exchanged a single greeting in 5 years. "Sure. And how exactly have you come to this conclusion? Was it your horoscope for today?"

"Malfoy," Granger hissed in a warning tone, but Wood didn't seem fazed by the comment.

"Experience and I know Hermione well enough. And I've heard enough about you. But seriously, would it kill you if you sat down and were honest with each other for once?"

Granger glared at him. "Like I told you, we already did and this is where it got us!"

It was fascinating to see how little Wood cared about Granger's murderous stare as he continued calmly. "You were ready to talk to him literally five minutes ago."

"That was before he started believing he can boss me around and have a say in my life!"

"That was a misunderstanding. If he had been correct though and we were dating, I would have appreciated him telling me."

Draco tuned out Granger's protests and looked at Theo, who was apparently listening with mild interest. "Did you know he was able to think about things that aren't related to football?" Theo asked Draco, not even bothering to whisper as Granger and Wood were still arguing. "And he isn't half the buffoon I expected him to be. I am fascinated!"

Draco nodded absentmindedly. Wood was certainly not what was on his mind right now. Granger had been ready to talk to him? What about? Should it even matter after how she had treated him? Would he even listen?

If he was honest with himself, he wouldn't. And Granger wouldn't talk to him right now anyway. So why bother?

Draco didn't say anything once again and walked away wordlessly, ignoring Theo's "Are you kidding me? Not again!" as he stormed down the street and away from her.

Hermione glared at the back of Malfoy's head. She had arrived just as the lecture had started so she wouldn't have to talk to him, which had luckily worked. Unfortunately it meant that she had to sit further in the back than she liked and had full view of him which turned out to be quite the distraction.

While she still managed to pay attention, Hermione caught herself staring at Malfoy more than once and it unnerved her. She had to do something or her marks would suffer in the end and that would be unacceptable! It seemed she would have to do what Oliver had told her from the beginning and talk to Malfoy. Again.

She pulled out her phone and sighed. There really was no way around this, wasn't it?

Persephone: Could you meet me at the big three after the lecture? I want to talk.

She closed her eyes and hit send.

Sometime mid lecture, Malfoy turned around and looked at her, as if searching for something. His face didn't show if he found what he had been looking for but when Hermione checked her phone, there was a single message from him, a single "yes" but it was enough for her to pay attention to the remainder of the lesson.

Draco leaned against the three, his fingers drumming a random rhythm. He was in quite the foul mood, courtesy of Granger, but now that she had asked him in a civilized manner if they could talk, he would give her the chance.

Not that he was feeling charitable in any way, but it would do him some good. He couldn't care less about her feelings right now, he only wanted his brain to shut up and if it meant talking to Granger, he would. Even if she didn't really deserve it. But she probably thought the same about him.

The whole situation would be quite hilarious if it wasn't so fucked up.

Granger finally arrived, god only knew what took her so long, and stopped several feet in front of him, hugging herself as she chewed on her lip, staring at him.

He rose an eyebrow, daring her to speak. He certainly wasn't going to make the first step. She had asked him here and here he was, she couldn't expect more.

"I know that I have reacted badly after Zabini walked in on us," Granger said, here voice strained with the tension they both were feeling. Tension, that made him want to laugh when he realized, that she hadn't apologized. No, she had simply informed him that she knew where she messed up. Luckily, his upbringing made him catch himself in time and he managed to keep a passive face. If this was what she wanted, he could deliver.

"I know I have reacted badly upon seeing you with Wood," he said and felt a little bit of satisfaction upon seeing how hurt and anger flashed over Granger's face before they turned to realization.

"Not funny," she said, sounding like a pouting child.

"Oh, I think it is very funny. Especially as you would've dismissed my complaints," Draco said with nonchalantly. He knew he shouldn't piss her off if this was supposed to solve anything but it was hard to control himself. After all, all he had done for years was to taunt her and they don't say old habits die hard for nothing. "But enough of that. Why did you want to meet?"

If looks could kill, Draco would be dead ten times over but luckily, Granger did not possess such a gift. On top of that, she spoke rather calmly, even though her face screamed murder, her hair looking electrified. "I am sure you agree with me that things can't go on like this. We are distracting each other and worsening our respective moods."

"What do you want to do about it?" Drao interrupted whatever she was going to say next. He knew exactly what the issue was. He was more interested in the solutions she wanted to present.

Granger stuck out her chin defiantly. She clearly hated how he spoke to her, and Draco could already hear the tone of her voice she was going to use next. It was frightening how easy it was to fall into old patterns.

As if reading his mind, Granger spoke, her voice full with hostility just like he had expected. "We clearly don't work like friends in any way, but there is something between us." She looked at Draco as if daring him to object, but he didn't say anything, waiting for her to continue. "That's why we should have sex again. Not in any friends with benefits way, but-"

"But in an enemies with benefits way," Draco finished, a feral grin spreading over his face, when Granger nodded, looking rather annoyed.

"Sounds good. I'm in," he said and pushed away from the tree. "I'll text you."

With that, Draco walked off, his hands in his pockets, fingers digging into his palms. He just hoped she hadn't seen through him and realized his nervousness. This was a stupid idea, he was sure about that, but he couldn't help feeling excited nevertheless.