Chapter 3:

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the surrounding characters, etc.

Ah, before I continue with the story, I would like to thank all of my beloved reviewers.

Still, if you will take a look at my one not beloved Reviewer (Losalou); please, in the future, if anyone else decides they do not like my story, feel free to tell me so, but also tell me WHY so I can actually do something about it. Thanks! (Don't worry, I'm done now. Enjoy)


Draco turned his body so that he could hug her, leaning his head onto her shoulder, stroking her hair with his other hand. She leaned back against him in an unconscious acceptance of the comfort he was offering, her tears falling onto his robes.

"Shhhh…It'll be alright. I know it will. Everything will be fine…"

Hermione couldn't think; couldn't breathe. No one in this school was acting as they should, and it didn't make sense. She, Hermione, was at a loss, and did not understand anything at all; Ron, supposedly loyal to the end and her best friend, had cheated on her with not one, but two of her classmates; and now, Draco Malfoy, who, under normal circumstances she considered her worst enemy, was acting as though he cared about her.

Whatever was going on, she wished it would stop…it was giving her a headache, and she thought for certain she had a fever, for she felt quite hot.

Although, the hot part might be because I'm blushing. Worst enemy or not, I have to admit that Draco Malfoy is a fine figure of a boy. Quite handsome, especially when he isn't sneering at me as he usually does.

Despite her calm, dispassionate thoughts, Hermione couldn't help but react to such an awkward position. She sat stiffly in his arms, her tears long since dry. She sighed softly, her warm breath ruffling his silvery hair, preparing to break the mutual silence that had fallen over them. Gathering her courage, she spoke, her voice rough and hoarse from sobbing.

"Malfoy…not to be rude, but…Why..?" she asked stumblingly, blushing again from embarrassment at such a potentially insulting question; why had he, her acknowledged worst enemy, come to give her such comfort?

"Ah…I don't know, really. Erm, that is, I heard you crying and wanted to see who it was, and then you just looked so that…I mean…I couldn't just, you know, walk away…" He trailed off, confused and unsure of what he wanted to say versus what he should say. A blush spread across his pale skin, causing him to duck his head in humiliation. Hermione couldn't help but be skeptical – since when had Malfoy ever consciously tried to make anyone feel better? He hadn't, obviously. In fact, he normally went out of his way to make people feel worse. Still…she couldn't help but note that he had seemed sincerely concerned. But, wasn't he always acting for the professors? Rude though she knew it was, she couldn't trust his sincerity or apparent motive.

"Ah...well...I mean...Thank-"

"Draco!" the loud, slow voice of Crabbe interrupted her, and Malfoy cursed.

"Look – you're welcome. It was my pleasure. Just...don't tell anyone about this okay, Hermione? Ah – I mean, Granger."

"Oh, yes. I mean, I won't tell anyone." As she spoke she lifted the invisibility cloak over herself and stood, hurrying away, back to Gryffindor Tower. As she walked off, she muttered under her voice, "Not that they'd believe me, about you being nice."


Hermione entered the common room. She paused,half expecting Ron to come bounding over to ask for help with his homework as he always did.

Hah – help indeed. More like the answers.

Well, just because he was lazy (Stupid, whispered her subconscious), didn't mean that she should be; so she headed directly to the couch where she had left her schoolbooks after fell asleep and resumed where she'd left off.

Twenty minutes later, Harry entered the common room in his quidditch robes, looking fit to kill.

"Where is Ron! Why didn't he go to quidditch? When I left he said he'd wait a few minutes longer to see if you woke up! Did you talk to him? Was he sick or something, to skip like that?" when he had finished hollering questions at her, Hermione tried to answer as best she could; no easy feat, as tears kept welling up at the very mention of Ron's name.

"Harry, Harry please calm…calm down…..when I woke up, I found your note, but Ron wasn't here…I," and her she had to pause as tears were threatening to stream down her face once more, "I heard him in the boys dorm…I think." Her lower lip trembled as she kept fighting back tears, her brow creased with the effort of hiding her tears and her lie from Harry. Fortunately for her, he was too preoccupied with Ron to notice her expression. In fact, he didn't seem to notice her at all as he stormed past her up the stairs. In a few minutes, Hermione could clearly discern two identical shrieks from the two girls (Parvarti and Lavender) and Harry's voice raised in fury.A vindictive smile appeared on her faceas she imagined the scene upstairs; however, in a moment the expression was gone as the four entered the common room, Lavender and Parvarti scrambling up to the girls' dorm in terroras Harry continued to rant at Ron.

"Forgot, did you? How nice, just lovely! Well, next time you feel like forgetting, tell me, so that I can ask Hermione to give you a detention in advance! What a way to forget, betraying your two best friends at the same time! You slimy git, did you think about how she would react? Couldn't you have at least broken up before you go off making out with two of her other classmates? And why, exactly, was it necessary for youto do this when I had specifically told you that there was a quidditch practice? After all, you are the only one on the team who needs the practice! You…" Harry seemed momentarily at a loss for a proper description of Ron, "you are a disgrace to your family, to, to Gryffindor!" This last sally apparently being his worst, he turned abruptly on his heel and went to sit with Hermione, pointedly ignoring Ron's protesting sputters. The other students in the common room watched in horrified silence; although Hermione and Ron fought often, they had never, ever seen Harry truly angry. Apparently it was not a pleasant sight to behold; in fact from the expression on Seamus Finnegan's face, it looked like no one would ever dare upset Harry again. Also, the few girls who had also observed the row were eying Ron with eyes narrowed in anger. It seemed that he would not be getting a replacement girlfriend anytime soon.

Good, Hermione thought, I wouldn't wish him on anyone anyway – that git, it serves him right. Abstinence will do him good. Maybe he'll even do his own homework for once.

Ron glared at the back of Harry's head for a few minutes longer, and then turned and stormed back up to the boys' dorm. Upon hearing the slam of the door, Harry turned a fierce glare upon his observers, and swiveled to look at Hermione. (The other people in the common room hurriedly found something else to look at.)

"Hermione…about Ron. Did you know…that he was, you know…cheating on you?" He looked uncomfortable, as if all his previous rage had melted away.

"Yes…I'm sorry I didn't tell you when you first came in, but I…I just couldn't…Oh, Harry…you do understand don't you, why I couldn't tell you? Please…don't try to make us make up. I…I don't want him back." She sighed, hanging her head, feeling enormously relieved to have the confession off her chest: she did not want Ron back, ever; any further association with him had lost it's appeal.

"I understand. He…doesn't deserve you. I think that your going out with Malfoy would be preferable to getting back together with Ron."

Hermione started with surprise. That was what she had been thinking, herself…except without the distaste that had colored his voice. In fact, at the moment, the gorgeous, well-raised Malfoy seemed far, far preferable to Ron…