A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to post this chapter, but I wasn't able to upload anything new for a few days. Hope all of you enjoy!

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"Levicorpus!" Ron was moving forcefully towards the now hanging upside Draco. Before anybody could react to what was going on, Ron, wand in hand, had started punching Draco without inhibition. The look on his face was on of primal hatred, showing no humanity. After a few blows to Draco's chest and face, Hermione screamed "Expelliarmus!" and unarmed Ron so forcefully that he flew back. She then went on to say "Liberacorpus" and caught Draco to stop him from falling too hard. His body was limp as it fell and his breathing was labored. Immediately she went to work on healing the cuts on his face and his now broken nose.

Meanwhile Harry had run over to Ron to restrain him from further attacking Draco. Ron was fighting madly to escape his friend's grasp. He finally struggled free with a well placed swing of his elbow and dove for his wand. In the middle of chanting various incantations Hermione realized that Ron was coming towards Draco again. She took her wand and pointed it straight at Ron and with anger in her voice she yelled, "Don't you fucking dare come near us Ron! And if you even think about hexing Draco again I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your life!" She had changed from a look of worried love to a look of absolute power with the will to do anything and back to worried love before Ron knew what hit him.

He fell back with the blow that was a broken heart. Hermione was lovingly taking care of the person he hated most in the world. He had no idea what was going on besides the fact that Hermione now appeared to hate him, or at least something like it.

Harry recovered from what was a very low blow and pulled Ron up onto his feet. "Come on mate and sit down. Give me your wand before you cause any more damage." Ron was speechless as he watched Hermione caress Draco's face which was now healed but still had blood on it.

Ginny was horrified as she watched her brother, formally harmless as fly, beat Draco Malfoy bloody. She just stood there as she watched Harry and Ron struggle on the hard floor and Hermione knowingly heal her lover. When Harry told Ron to sit down, Ginny went and joined her brother. She sat down and pulled him down next to her. Harry was breathing heavily from the strenuous struggle and the pain. He went over to Hermione and Draco and helped both rise to their feet.

Though Draco was healed, he still felt the pain of the blows. He stood up slowly and faced the redhead that had just beat him. There was no way he was going to let him get away with that. He pulled out his wand slowly and pointed it directly at Ron. Ron took the challenge and stood, pulling away from his sister's hold. The hate flowed between the two and they were just about to start to duel when Hermione stepped in between them, her back to Draco and facing Ron's wand. "STOP! Ronald Weasley don't you dare."

Ron immediately lowered his wand for fear of harming Hermione. With a shaky voice Ron asked, "Hermione, what is this? Why are you helping Malfoy?"

"Because I love him Ron. I love him and I won't let you hurt him."

Ron was clearly distraught. He sat back down on the bed and placed his head in his hands. After a few moments he looked up at Hermione and asked, "Why Hermione? Why him? Why not me?"

Hermione moved away from Draco, who had lowered his wand, and kneeled in front Ron. She grabbed his hands and looked into his teary eyes. "Ron, I love Draco. But I also love you, more as a brother and friend than anything else. It could have been different if you had let me know how you felt earlier. But it's too late now. I love Draco more than anything. We are together now and I'm happy with him."

"No 'Mione. You are mine. I love you. I love you more than he ever can. Even though I never told you how I felt, you must have known it. Everything I have ever done was so I could have you, your love. Every time that bloody bastard hurt you, I was there for you. Hermione, you can't possibly love him. You can't."

"Ron, I realize now that you love me. I promise that I never thought you really loved me before, at least not like this. Yes, Draco did hurt me, and yes, you were always there for me, but Ron, Draco is different now. He loves me beyond comprehension. He makes me feel…complete. I'm more alive when I'm with him. I truly love him and he truly loves me."

Ron had tears running down his face. Hermione was lost to him forever. He saw it as she stood up and stood next to Draco. He saw it as Draco held Hermione's waist. He saw it as they looked into each other's eyes. She was gone and his hope of her love slipped away. Ron stood up from his bed and went to Hermione.

"Hermione, I will always love you." And with that he hugged her and walked out of the room, leaving his love behind.

Nobody went after him. Hermione stood holding hands with Draco and Ginny and Harry stood together, dumbfounded by the unfolding events. Hermione threw her arms around Draco and her face into his chest. Soon it was clear that she was crying. "Draco, why? Why did I have to break his heart? I don't want him to hurt."

Draco held her soothingly. "He'll be fine Hermione. It won't be much longer before he finds a love of his own. Perhaps he'll even be as lucky as you and I or even Harry and Ginny. But he will find someone. And he will forgive you."

Ginny stepped in and said, "Don't worry too much Hermione. He will forgive you. If he loves you like he says he does, he won't be able live without your friendship."

Harry felt the need to comfort his friend too. "Hermione, everything will be alright. It will. But for now, we should all give Ron some space, so perhaps you and Draco should go. Only from Gryffindor, and only until Ginny and I are sure Ron could handle your presence. Go on, you two should eat before heading back to your room. Hermione, everything will be okay. I promise." Harry sealed that promise with a hug. Ginny followed her boyfriend's actions and gave Hermione a much needed reassuring hug.

And with simple goodbyes Draco and Hermione were off to their rooms, where house elves were sure to have replaced their untouched breakfast with an equally delicious supper.

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