I know how the last chapter ended, but you know the drill. Two chapters in the present aaand FLASHBACK!
I really enjoyed all your comments. I hope you continue enjoying my story 3

"Mate, you've got to stop pacing" Blaise commended with a huff, trying his best to convince the very anxious young wizard who was practically burning a trail on the stone with his shoes.

"I can't. Who the fuck is she going with if it's not Weasel or Potter?"

Theo let out an exaggerated sigh. "You know as well as I do that Parkinson and Daphne are the biggest pair of gossips in our year apart from Brown and Parvati. I call trollshit."

Draco stopped momentarily, pursing his lips in thought before shaking his head and resuming his pacing. "No. My gut is telling me this one's for real."

Between the Yule Ball approaching, Pansy's increasing clinginess and his goons' insistence in making a stand against mudbloods — whatever that meant besides torturing Granger more insistently — Draco felt like he was going to break.

His mother had helped him improve his "blocking" spell, Occlumency, the last couple of weeks of Summer. It had proven vital for him during this year, as the animosity between Slytherins and Griffindors had been worse than ever, what with Saint Potter cheating his way to the Tournament. He had used it so much, in fact, that sometimes during lessons his magic almost depleted. This resulted in two things: he was exhausted and he had to use his skills less to prevent it.

As such, he felt more. Draco always welcomed the cold calmness that washed onto him whenever his thoughts and feelings were locked. It helped him become his other persona: this cruel, callous wizard capable of the worst taunts. Only he remembered his actions quite clearly later, when he let his walls down, and it pained him immensely.

He couldn't do what he wanted, for he was constantly being scrutinised by his classmates and his supposed friends, Crabbe and Goyle, who worked as spies for his father. Draco had received the proudest owl from him the day after he had accidentally enlarged her front teeth. He had burned the parchment as soon as he finished reading it, though, not even bothering to reply. The image of her teary eyes had been haunting his most recent nightmares since then, so he didn't really need yet another reminder of his behaviour.

Oh, how he wished he could just send it all to hell, leave Pansy forever and go to the Ball with Granger… But he couldn't. And even if he could, she would never forgive him for all the shit he had been pulling for so long. What was he supposed to say? 'Hey, I've spent years trying to fool my stupid lackeys so that my poor excuse of a father won't hurt you, but the truth is that I love you!'

Not likely.

Blaise put his arm around Draco's shoulders, leading him to their usual spot inside the classroom they'd been using for years. When he finally convinced him to sit, he rummaged through his satchel and placed a small bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey.

Draco lifted an eyebrow at him. "Where did you get that?"

"I took it from home. I doubt mother ever found out, considering the amount of crap we've got in the cellar." Blaise chuckled. "I brought it along thinking we could drink it for a special occasion, and what's a better occasion than getting drunk out of our arse like sensible adults do?"

"Oh, yes please" Theo answered, his voice laced with longing. He, too, had many demons he wished to escape from.

"The fuck not," Draco shrugged, reaching out to one of the glasses Blaise was generously filling to the brim.

He sniffed it first. It was so strong he thought he was going to pass out from the smell alone. Then, he braved a huge gulp, determined to forget. Or at least he supposed he would, as he had heard one too many times how people drank to forget.

The liquid burnt the entire way from his lips to his stomach in a scorching trail he could do nothing to alleviate. He spluttered and coughed, almost choking from the wretched taste.

"Ugh, this is terrible!" Draco exclaimed, wondering just why anybody would torture themselves by drinking that concoction willingly. Next to him, his friends were having similar reactions.

"Fuck, I wonder why my dad drinks it all the time" Theo scrunched up his nose, his voice tight.

"Now I know why my mom doesn't," Blaise answered, covering his mouth and looking a little green in the face.

Soon enough though, Draco began to feel lighter. He braved another gulp — a smaller one, that time — and his friends followed. It would only be a matter of minutes until they were laughing uncontrollably in a bliss he'd never quite felt before. His worries didn't matter, the sodding Ball didn't matter and he literally had to be stopped from going to the Gryffindor dorms to yell his heart out to Granger.

That night, the only thing that mattered was that he had the company of his friends to push through all the shite life had been constantly throwing at him.

Pansy was next to him, all fussy and frilly in her pink robes, clutching his arm so tightly it felt like she wanted to part with it. They were all standing around the Great Hall, waiting for the huge doors to open. He pretended not to be scanning the crowds for the usual curls, but he wasn't sure he was pulling it off.

When the doors finally opened, they all waited for the Durmstrang students to enter first, followed closely by their French counterparts. As usual, Krum was leading the way with Karkaroff on one side and the prettiest girl he'd ever seen — maybe from Beauxbatons? — on the other. She was wearing a gorgeous, floaty blue gown and her hair was twisted up into an intricate and elegant knot.

Suddenly, he felt Pansy grab his arm tighter as her mouth opened in an unrefined gape. He eyed her for a second, determined to follow her gaze to find whatever had affected her to that point. But when his eyes went back to the mysterious girl, Draco did a double take.

Sure enough, the young woman in Krum's arms was Hermione Granger, so stunningly beautiful that he hadn't been able to identify her at first. All around him, eyes were fixed on the pair, watching as she twisted and turned in his arms to the rhythm of the music.

She was so breathtaking, happy and carefree…

Something akin to disgust churned in his stomach first. He had no right to ogle her, not after everything he'd done and would continue doing for her safety. Then, the deepest jealousy he'd ever felt punched him in the face. So not only had she Weasel and Potter nearby, no. At least the couple of morons were her friends and nothing more. But the Durmstrang champion… he was looking at her with such sincere care and devotion in his usually stern and unfriendly face... It was just what she needed in her life, not a slimy bastard like him.

The night went by in between food that felt ashen on his mouth, punch that did nothing to calm his parched tongue and Pansy flirting with him so obviously that he came across a snickering Theo and Blaise on more than one occasion. They had danced, of course, but he had agreed out of commitment more than anything else. Truth was, the more she clung to his side the more he wanted to drive her off.

"Draco, would you like to go back to the dorms?"

"I'm tired, darling, why don't we leave early and relax for a bit?"

"You know, I read about something quite interesting the other day. I'd very much like to show you, love."

Every time she opened her mouth, there was some kind of unmistakable innuendo coming out of it. He refused to budge and be left alone with her for several reasons. He could be a good actor, but certainly not to that extent. There was something about her purring, lecherous voice that made him squirm. Pansy was so after his family's name and fortune that it wasn't even funny. She became so irritable at his constant rejection that, at one point, she simply left without him, feeling angry and humiliated.

He never stopped looking at Hermione, awkwardly moving around the room in what he tried to define as "subtly." So of course he did not miss the Weasel's astounding idiocy when everything went to shit for her. It was usually hard to miss, but this conversation was an example in and of itself of what he was capable of.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Granger asked, a crease in her forehead and venom in her tongue.

Weasley scoffed. "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you."

She looked at Potter quizzically but he just shrugged, not an ounce of understanding in his stupid face. Typical.

Granger tried again after a deep breath to steel her nerves. "Ron, what —" but she was cut off almost immediately.

"He's from Durmstrang! He is competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You — You're —" his face was turning red, anger contorting his freckled face. "Fraternising with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

Granger's mouth fell open. Draco had to occlude to prevent himself from lounging at him, the impulse stronger than ever even though he didn't have his wand with him. He resorted to turning around instead, facing the door with his back to the trio, clutching the glass in his hand so hard that his knuckles turned white. Theo saw his desperate face from the other side of the room and sauntered towards him to help. Meanwhile, Blaise stood nearby, giving him reassuring nods every now and then.

Her exasperated voice came next.

"Don't be stupid! The enemy! Honestly — who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him in their dormitory?"

Draco laughed a little. Damn, she was fierce. Theo raised an eyebrow in question, but remained silent when Draco signaled him to listen.

"I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yes, he did. So what?" Draco could almost see her crossing her arms as she did when she was angry.

"This is intense. The Weasel is jealous, then?" Theo whispered inconspicuously. "It seems like he's just being a massive wanker to her, even more than usual."

Of course, everybody knew about the love-hate relationship Granger and Weasley had. It wasn't uncommon for him to make fun of her for being swotty or pushy, among other things. Truth be told, he couldn't understand how they were still friends.

Draco had to occlude harder to keep his own jealousy at bay.

"He's using you!" Weasley's voice was getting louder and louder, and people began to turn their heads in their direction.

"How dare you!" Granger spat so furiously that both Theo and Draco twitched uncomfortably. Things were spiraling out of control. "Besides, I can take care of myself!"

"Doubt it. He's way too old" Weasley said, controlling the volume of his voice long enough to stand up and walk towards the door. Granger followed him, and so, Draco and Theo did too.

"What!?" She yelled, absolutely out of her wits. He'd never seen her so angry, not even at him. "That's what you think!?" The crowd was parting to let them through, staring after them in awe at her display. Uncontrolled magic began flying out of her bare hands, leaving a trail of sparks behind her.

"Next time there's a ball, pluck up the courage and ask me before somebody else does, not as a last resort!" They had reached the Grand Staircase then, away from the public. Weasley climbed the stairs in his large strides without a word or a last glance, objectively ending their quarrel. As he did, Granger turned around and dashed down a corridor.

"You should go see her." Blaise's recently deepened voice scared Theo and Draco out of their skins. They both turned around, surprised when nobody was there.

"What the fuck?"

"Found a very useful spell the other day. Does 'Notice-Me-Not' ring a bell? No, don't turn around! I saw Goyle loitering nearby. Pretend I'm not here."

Draco huffed. "And why, pray tell, hadn't you told us about it?"

"Eh, I wanted to scare you first. But I did, so now I've told you."

"Blaise is right" Theo interrupted their talk in an uncharacteristically serious tone, sensing Draco's wish to change the topic of conversation. "You should go talk to her."

"Sure, because she'd love to see me," Draco drawled, unaware that his friends were celebrating April Fool's three months early.

"Look Drake, here's your chance to say something. If you can't say the whole truth, at least give her a handkerchief."

Blaise helped Theo get his point across by nudging him in the back. "Go. We'll take care of your idiots." So with a fortifying deep breath, he went.

It took him a while to find her, considering Hogwarts' maze-like corridors. Fate was on his side, however, for he could hear muffled sobbing coming from behind a lackluster tapestry depicting two sleepy unicorns next to each other. Both of them faced him, eyeing him eerily.

Draco cleared his throat, his hands suddenly clammy.

"Granger?" His voice cracked, still not fully developed, and he cursed his body for betraying him. There was a sharp breath intake, and then her quivery voice answered.

"Go away, Malfoy!"

"Granger, please. I'm alone, I swear." He tried to muster as much sincerity as he could, praying to Merlin, Circe and Morgana that she'd let him in.

For the longest minute of his life, there was only silence. Then, quick as lightning, her hand moved the tapestry to the side and grabbed him by the wrist. He'd always thought, her being so short, that she had little to no strength. She proved him wrong when she single-handedly pulled him inside the concealed alcove where she had been hiding.

"I swear if you do anything suspicious I'll deck you on the face again."

Draco audibly gulped. "I bring a peace offering," he cooed in the voice he only used with his mother and her during their brief stint as friends. Then, he took his handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out for her.

There was another pause, a shorter one this time, after which she promptly accepted his gift.

He felt the urge to break the silence. "You could break Weasley's nose."

Granger gave out a watery laugh. "Yeah, I really want to." She hesitated before opening her mouth again. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if you were alright."

"Psh," she scoffed, channeling her inner Malfoy-type of sarcasm. "Peachy."

He laughed, thinking about how stupid he was being. "Yeah, alright."

Draco's eyes became accustomed to the darkness very soon. He could see some of the curls escaping her coiffure, as well as the rich fabric of her dress. She looked so entrancing that the urge of letting her know blossomed in his chest. His mouth was quicker than his mind though, for a shy "you look lovely tonight" escaped before Draco could contain himself.

Hermione stiffed first and nodded politely then, thanking him in turn.

More awkward silence came before he unwisely decided to heed Blaise and Theo's advice. "I'm sorry" he blurted out with sweaty palms and trembling lips, waiting for her to hex him six ways to Sunday.

"What for?" she asked, her voice now much more normal, albeit surprised. She had stopped crying completely by then, thank Merlin.

Draco inhaled deeply, summoning as much courage as he could. "I'm sorry for always being a git. I'm sorry for the hippogriff, and for calling you names. I don't really enjoy it-"

"Well, you certainly look like you do" she interrupted him, annoyance back in her voice.

"I know. I have to. Sodding Crabbe and Goyle are always around, spying for my father" he continued, exasperation now on his voice. "But you have to trust me. I don't believe a single thing that comes out of his mouth. Haven't believed it since First Year, not since I met you."

"You sound different" she pointed out calmly, looking at him with the usual spark of curiosity in her big, brown eyes. He nodded, enticed by their beauty.

"I can be myself when I'm with you."

Hermione reached out to him, giving his hand a brief squeeze. "Thank you for telling me this, and for the handkerchief." He could tell there was still doubt in her voice and her eyes, but he hoped she would believe him, in time. Unfortunately, that was as much as he could give her at the moment, and he hated himself for it.

"Keep it" he shrugged. "I've got more."

They parted ways soon after, half of the weight on his shoulders gone.