A/N: I really wanted to use this chapter also to include more Slytherins, I want it to be different than in the books. They're not /all/ evil, and it's important. Houses equality, yay ! So I hope you will like what happens in the chapter.

Harry finally agreed.

We will all meet at Hogsmeade, tell the others.

Will I see you later today?

.

The note was brief and Draco glanced at the Gryffindor table before taking his quill out of his bag. He quickly scratched something on the back of the paper before giving it back to the owl who directly flew off his table to give the note to Hermione.

He then got closer to Pansy who was reading her mother's letter and he looked at Theo who was reading the Daily Prophet.

.

The two weeks he had to wait to go to Hogsmeade went by pretty fast. His detention was over and he was hoping that the scar on his hand would go away at some point. For now, it was still healing very slowly, but it wasn't hurting anymore. He had been careful to avoid any argument with Umbridge, reading during the lessons like they were asked to do and keeping a low profile when she was around. It seemed to be working, as he didn't have any problem with her during this time.

He had met Snape a few other times to work on the potion but the results still weren't brilliant. Draco was surprised to see that his teacher was never getting impatient with him. He had laughed alone one day, late at night, imagining how it would have gone if Potter had been trying to make the potion, no matter how difficult it was to begin with. At least, Snape wasn't blaming him.

And Draco was sure that Snape could tell how unfocused he was most of the time anyway, he was never too harsh with him. But he could tell when Draco was doing something wrong, he didn't have to wait for the final result. He was used to make it and could tell with a glance. So, when it was happening, Draco was starting all over again. It was long and tiring, and he wasn't very patient either. He was always dismissed after a very long time spent in the office, but never being successful.

And here he was, in October, following Hermione, Harry and Ron with Pansy and Theo to go to Hogsmeade. The three Slytherins had been distractedly listening to Harry telling something about an encounter with Filch. Draco was only doing so because Hermione seemed very interested to know how Filch could have been tipped off about a Dungbombs order.

The day was bright but windy and when Draco looked over at Pansy, he saw that the bottom half of her face was hidden behind her Slytherin scarf.

"Where are we going?" He finally asked Hermione, also wanting to be in a warmer place.

"The Three Broomsticks?" Harry asked.

"No, the Hog's Head," Hermione said. "The students don't usually go there so we're not going to be overheard, even if I don't like the place." Draco couldn't help but grimace as he looked away.

"Well, there's a reason students don't usually go there," he said.

It was clearly a dodgy place. When they entered, they all noticed that it was extremely dirty and it wasn't the same atmosphere as the one in The Three Broomsticks. There were only a few people, their faces hidden because of the way they were dressed. Draco pursed his lips, wondering wether or not one of these people knew his parents. He didn't really want to be seen in the company of The Boy Who Lived if it was for his parents to learn about all this.

Draco, Pansy and Theo went to sit at the farthest table while Hermione, Harry and Ron ordered Butterbeers.

"I'm pretty sure we could order anything, I don't think that guy would mind," Ron said, talking about the strange barman, when the trio joined the Slyterins. "I've always wanted to taste firewhisky," Ron said, looking enthousiastic and getting an amused grin from Theo.

"You are a prefect," Hermione said with a reproachful tone, Ron already looking a bit gloomy. Draco let out a quiet chuckle as he leaned a bit on his seat, crossing his legs and his arms.

"Well, I don't blame him," he said, looking at Hermione who frowned a little. "I'm not sure for the one this guy sells, but firewhisky is usually good."

"Don't encourage him," she said, only amusing Draco more.

"You've tasted some?" Ron asked. Draco glanced at him before he smiled at Pansy who was sharing his amusement.

"His father let us taste some during the summer," she said casually. Ron stared at them for a moment before he glanced at Hermione who was also looking at them. But before anyone could say anything else, Harry turned to Hermione.

"How many students are going to come?" He asked. He seemed tense, from what Draco could tell. Hermione blinked and finally looked at her friend.

"Just a couple of them," she said quietly before hearing the door being opened. Good thing, she was starting to get anxious.

Draco raised an eyebrow. A huge group of people was now entering the pub, to the barman's bewilderment. Draco first recognized some Gryffindors. Longbottom, Dean Thomas, the two noisy girls he had talked back to when they had mocked Luna. What were their names? One of the Patil twins and Lavender? He was sure it had to do with a flower. He then noticed that the twin of the first girl was there too, accompanied by other Ravenclaws, Michael Corner being one of them. He knew Cho because she was playing Quidditch, but he didn't know who her friend -who didn't seemed pleased to be there- was. Draco couldn't help but smile a little when he saw Luna walk in too. She looked lost in her thoughts and Draco wondered if she knew what she was doing there.

Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson followed with two younger boys. There was the one who always had his camera, Colin Creevey, and his little brother. Four Hufflepuffs were there too, the prefects Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones and Justin Finch-Fletchley. Three other boys from Ravenclaw were there but Draco didn't know their names. Fred, George and their friend Lee Jordan were there too and in front of them, Draco recognized Ginny Weasley in the crowd. She was followed by a boy from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, Zacharias Smith. Hadn't Hermione mentioned something about that Michael bloke and Ginny?

Draco stopped thinking about it when he saw Slytherin students. Tracey Davis was there with a girlfriend of hers that Draco did not know. Well, he knew her name, Astoria, but he had never talked to her. She wasn't one of the girls hanging out with her sister Daphne and her gang. He was surprised to see Miles Bletchley, the Keeper of the Quidditch team. Then, he was pleased to see Malcolm Baddock. The boy was looking uncertain and was staying close to Tracey. A boy was next to him, looking wary. Draco had already seen him hanging out with Malcolm and if he was remembering correctly, his name was Graham Pritchard.

Draco leaned towards Hermione.

"I didn't know you talked about this to my House too," he said quietly.

"I didn't," Hermione said on the same tone, leaning too. "I wouldn't have dared," she added. Draco knew what she meant. Considering the way she was treated by most of the students, it wouldn't have been very wise.

"I did." They both looked at Pansy. "I talked about it with Tracey," she said, giving Draco a meaningful look. Hermione raised an eyebrow as she glanced at her boyfriend but she didn't understand what Pansy was implying. "She said she knew two thrustworthy persons," she said, talking about her friend and Miles, which was still surprising to Draco.

He heard Fred and George asking for thirty butterbeers and he used that time to keep talking with the girls.

"Are you sure about Bletchley?" Draco asked. He knew how the guy was usually behaving. He had been the subject of some mockery since the Yule Ball and Miles hadn't tried to hide his amusement or to keep his comments to himself. Still, he accepted Pansy's nod as an answer. He knew he could trust her. He glanced at Tracey. So, she was really nice with Pansy, huh? He looked at his best friend again.

"Sorry about-"

"It's already forgotten," Pansy said as she shook curtly her head. Draco nodded and gave her a little smile. "Anyway, I also saw you talking with Malcolm, and I saw him at the station... I thought he could be interested. He's young, but I'm sure he can learn a few things. I see he brought a friend, that's good, right?" Pansy asked as she looked at Hermione this time. She quickly nodded with a grin on her face.

"Yeah, that's great! The more, the better!" Hermione said, glad to see that so many people were ready to learn.

"Yeah, there are... A couple of them," Harry said as he glanced at Hermione. She smiled happily.

"Ron, we should pull up more chairs," she just said.

The silence came only when everyone had been able to sit down. The few Slytherins students had sat on Theo's left. Neville had heartily greeted the Golden Trio, he was looking quite excited. When he had looked at Draco, the Slytherin had only nodded at him by pure curtesy, because Hermione was looking, and Neville had given him an awkward smile before sitting near the Gryffindors. Soon, all ready to listen to Harry, Hermione stood up, greeting everyone. Draco smirked and looked away when he heard her voice being higher than usual.

Funny. She had been able to talk back to Umbridge, she was doing her job as a prefect but she was anxious in front of a bunch of students. Now, everyone was looking at her and he looked up too, still slightly smiling.

"Well... Well, you all know why you're here. Harry- I mean we- Well, I had the idea that... What if some of us wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts? I mean, really study it, not the rubbish Umbridge is doing with us," she said, sounding a bit more confident as she criticized Umbridge.

"Hear, hear." It was a boy from Ravenclaw and Draco was glad to see that Hermione seemed to feel even better.

"So I thought we had to take matters into our own hands. We need to learn how to defend ourselves, we need to learn the spells, not just the theory."

"Yeah, I bet you also want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.," Michael Corner said.

"Of course I do," Hermione said quickly. "But we also need to be trained because..." She paused for a second before taking another deep breath. "Because Lord Voldemort's back."

Draco couldn't help but wrinkle his nose as he looked away, as did Theo and Pansy. They weren't the only ones reacting, they all winced or coughed, suddenly uncomfortable. Draco wasn't surprised to hear Zacharias asking for proofs. Still, he was surprised to see Harry getting up to finally say something. He had looked as if he wanted to be burried alive, or as if he wanted to run away. But now, it seemed like he was ready.

But he wasn't eager to tell them anything about the night he had faced Voldemort. If they were there, it was to learn how to defend themselves, not for him to talk about Cedric Diggory.

"I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out."

None of them left.

"So," Hermione said, anxious again. "Like I said... If you want to learn, we need to decide where we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet," Hermione started to explain before being interrupted by Susan Bones.

"Is it true that you can produce a Patronus?" She asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, still a bit aggresive.

"A corporeal Patronus?" Draco looked at Harry. Hermione had talked to him about him producing a Patronus, but he had never discussed the matter with Harry. Why would he have? He didn't like being impressed by him, but he couldn't hide some curiosity.

He listened as another boy from Ravenclaw asked if it was true that he had killed a basilisk with the sword in Dumbledore's office. Draco looked down as he heard Harry simply said that it was true. He was humble for sure. Everyone was very impressed and he just looked nervous. As Draco glanced at him, he saw how red he actually was. And when he glanced at Cho, who was sitting near, he noticed the way she was looking at him and her smile. He wrinkled his nose again, hiding his hands in his pockets as Neville started to talk.

"And in our first year, he saved that Sorcerous Stone-"

"Sorcerer's," Draco and Hermione said at the same time, Draco only glancing at the boy. They got a few glances, Theo smiled, quite amused and Pansy shook her head as she looked at Theo.

"Yes, that, from You-Know-Who," Neville finished.

"Not to mention all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament," Cho said. "He got past dragons, merpeople, acromantulas and things..."

"Listen, guys... I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be modest or anything but... I had a lot of help with all that stuff," Harry said.

"Not with the dragon," a boy said directly.

"And nobody helped you get rid of those dementors," Susan Bones said.

"No, okay, I was able to do some things without help but I'm just trying to say-"

"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" Zacharias asked.

"Here's an idea," Ron said loudly, "Why don't you shut your mouth?"

Draco raised his eyebrows, looking at Ron. He wondered for a second if the word "weasel" had angered him. Draco observed Zacharias arguing with the Weasley twins for a moment before they were interrupted.

"And them?" Cho's friend finally said, nodding towards the Slytherins students, including Theo, Pansy and Draco. "What are they doing here?" Every student saw the Slytherins frown at once.

"You've got a problem?" Miles asked as he got up.

"I'm not sure that's how you will convince them that you want to learn too," Theodore said calmly, not even looking at Bletchley.

"I didn't talk to you," Miles said as he glared at Theodore. Draco sighed but before he could say anything, Pansy talked.

"For god's sake, Bletchley, just sit down and shut up for once," she said, impatient and looking at the boy. He seemed a bit taken aback and he glared at Cho's friend, still frowning. He sit back down.

"If you've got something to say, better do it now," he said.

"You're from his house. Why would you fight against You-Know-Who? Are you here to spy? Or is it because you want to be able to defend yourself against us?"

Pansy rolled her eyes and was ready to snap back, Draco could tell. He was himself starting to get angry. But Luna spoke before.

"Draco's nice," she said as she slowly looked towards Cho's friend. Nobody said anything for a moment, Draco just stared at her with his eyebrows raised again, not able to open his mouth right away. But he noticed Lavender and Parvati whispering something to each other. He glanced around, seeing that the students not staring at Luna were looking at him, sometimes eyeing Hermione as if one of them had to say something. He wasn't about to talk about his relationship with her, that was one thing. He finally looked away, annoyed.

"It's not because you're narrow-minded about us that we're going to sit in the dungeons without doing anything," Pansy said to Cho's friend. "We're not all the same. We're all scared, here," she said as she glanced at the two younger boys in the room, Malcolm and his friend.

"I'm narrow-minded?" The girl said. "You're the ones bullying everyone because they-"

"I trust them," Neville said, interrupting the girl. Draco and Pansy looked at Neville in surprise. Was he serious? "And I believe her," he then said, nodding at Luna who just smiled brightly. He then looked at Hermione. "I don't believe Hermione would date someone that horrible," he said more quietly as he finally looked down, the students recognizing his shy-self. Hermione gave him an awkward smile. She had never talked about her relationship with Neville, she didn't know how he was feeling about it, but she felt a lot of affection for him. Draco had bullied him for a long time, and that day, he was standing by his side. She couldn't believe it.

"He's been horrible to you," Angelina Johnson said, casting a nasty glance at Draco who still didn't say anything. He just stared back, hands still in his pockets, legs crossed. He couldn't help but have an indifferent expression as he heard that cutting remark.

"He's been horrible to a lot of people," Theodore said. "But you know, as time passes, some people grow up and some don't," he continued. "Why can't you just be glad he did?"

"It's fine, Nott," Draco said, not looking at his friend. He didn't like to be protected this way, even if he was grateful. He looked at Angelina, then at Cho's friend. "I don't need protection," he added.

He heard Pansy make the same tut noise as Hermione but Theodore didn't say anything. He just looked as though he was trying to hide his smirk, like he was amused.

"I don't care if I can't be an example for you people," Draco then said, glancing at the crowd. "I'm not here for you to approve of me and my housemates. I'm here because I hate Umbridge as much as you do," he then said. "And you know it, I've been in detention, I don't agree with her ways. Call me selfish but I'm here for me and my friends," he said as he nodded towards Pansy and Theo without looking at them, "Not for you. So you do as you want, but we're not leaving. We're going to learn how to defend ourselves."

Only silence followed this statement and Hermione cleared her throat.

"So," she said a bit louder. "Are we all fine with Harry giving us lessons?"

From the murmur that followed, they could tell that they were all aggreeing. From that point, they decided that they would found a way to meet at least once a week, and they started to search for a place they could learn in.

The library was proposed but quickly refused, and when someone proposed a unused classroom, the two trios glanced at each other. Classroom 6B?

"Too small and being in a classroom might be a bit dangerous. What if Peeves comes in and reports us?" Theodore said to the five others. They all agreed that this one wouldn't do.

"We will think about it and send a message to everyone when we will be able to meet for sure," Hermione said calmly as she bent over to take a parchment and a quill from her bag. "In the meantime, I think everyone should write their name here so we know who was here today. But also... I think that we have to agree to not talk about what we're doing. If you sign, you're agreeing not to tell anyone, especially not Umbridge, what we're up to."

Directly, and even if Fred had directly taken the parchment to sign it, Draco noticed that some students suddenly looked nervous, less enthusiastic.

After a little debate with Ernie, Hermione convinced him that she wasn't about to let the list laying around. Once he agreed, the others did too. After Zacharias, Malcolm and his friend came to sign, still looking rather nervous.

"You're doing the right thing," Ron said tentatively before glancing at the Slytherin students. Tracey, her friend Astoria and Miles were still near the trio. Tracey was whispering about something with Astoria and Miles had his arms crossed, not looking like he wanted to talk to anyone. Draco slowly nodded at Ron before looking at Malcolm.

The boy was staring at him like he was waiting for him to approve of what Ron had said.

"It's fine, we've all done it," Theodore said kindly as he leaned a bit to look at the list. "Even Miles," he said, nodding towards the Slytherin boy who just glared at him. "So if that doesn't mean you should, I don't know what does."

Pansy slightly smiled as she looked at Theo, who was grinning at the boys. After another glance at Draco who just smiled at him, Malcolm turned his head to look at his friend and nodded. He signed before giving the quill to his friend.

Graham started to sign when Draco noticed something. As the boy was giving back the quill to Hermione, since he was the last one to sign, Draco leaned a bit and grabbed Graham's wrist.

"What's that?" He asked, frowning. Now that the six of them were looking, they could see that the boy had had detention with Umbridge. Weird, she seemed to favor the Slytherins over the other students. Draco found meeting Graham's eyes difficult.

"He's been punished," Malcolm said quietly. Draco glanced at him, staring for a moment.

"And you?" He asked after a few seconds, surprising Harry and Ron because of his tone. Malcolm shook his head.

"No... But that's why he wanted to come today. When Pansy told me about it, I knew he would want to do something," he just said, shyly glancing at Pansy. The girl tried to smile at the boy and focused on not looking at Graham's hand. She didn't want to embarrass him. After another moment of silence, during which Hermione was sure Draco was trying to see if Malcolm was avoiding his gaze because he was lying, Malcolm spoke again. "I told him not to scratch..." He just said, looking at his hands.

He wasn't lying, no. Guilt, that's what it was about. Draco glanced at Graham, at Malcolm again and he finally nodded. He raised his free hand, showing the mark on it. Not close enough or long enough for them to try and read it, though.

"You're not alone, okay?" He said as he met Graham's eyes again. Finally, he seemed to realize that he was still holding his wrist and he let go of it, crossing his arms as he looked away, seeing that Miles was staring at him. "He's right, don't scratch it," he said more quietly before taking the parchment to give it to Hermione. Graham turned his head to look at the other Slytherins and slowly, Miles raised his hand to show him the red mark behind it.

The students didn't stay much longer there. Soon, they all left the initial group alone, the Slytherin trio and the Gryffindor trio.

"I think that went well," Hermione said, grinning as they left the pub. Draco tilted his head as he stared at her. How cute she was, when she was smiling this way. He didn't listen as they started to talk about how obnoxious Zacharias was before making Ron aware that Ginny was going out with Michael. He felt her fingers finding his hand automatically, even if she wasn't looking at him but talking about how Ginny and Michael had met at the Yule Ball before starting to go out at the end of the year.

Instead of listening, or make a remark to annoy Ron who was obviously shocked, he thought about the fact that he was walking and holding hand with Hermione in the middle of Hogsmeade. No one was paying him attention. It was a good day indeed. Maybe one day, he would be able to go there only with Hermione, and that for the first time, they would be able to have a date there together. The next week-end there, maybe? They had so much work, he wasn't sure about that. But maybe if he was proposing, she would accept. He looked at her again and couldn't totally hide his smile as she laughed. He held his hand tighter and looked away when she looked at him.

.

Once back at the castle, the couple started walking more slowly as they entered. Ron was still muttering things about Michael and Harry was obsessed with Cho. Pansy and Theo were having a conversation and were walking behind the Gryffindor duo. Hermione and Draco were behind, still holding hands, walking slowly. Draco wondered for a short moment if Umbridge knew about him and Hermione. They had never done anything in front of her, never kissed, never held hands. If she knew, would she tell his father? Did she know Hermione was a muggle-born? Would she care? He had never thought of it before. Did she only have a problem with half-humans?

"Seeing Neville stand for you made me really happy." Draco blinked and looked at Hermione. She was talking a bit more quietly now that they were back at Hogwards and it took him a minute to realize what she had said and what she was implying. He knew what she meant.

"Right..." He just said, looking away for a moment. After a few seconds, he looked at Hermione again. "Alright, alright, stop looking at me like that. I'll thank him. But only-!" He said as he stopped, raising a finger. "Only if you behave with Luna," he said with a smirk. Hermione sighed and looked away for a second before glancing at Draco again, meeting his eyes.

"Alright," she muttered, making Draco smile. He leaned to peck her lips and she gave him a soft smile. "Now, library," she suddenly said, grinning even more and pulling his arm. "We need to work."

As they were in the stairs, Hermione leaned against the handrail and Draco used the opportunity to trap her between his arms. Hermione looked up at him as he put both his hands on each side of her, on the handrail.

"You've got a nasty idea, don't you?" He asked quietly. Hermione frowned a little and Draco smirked. "With that list." Hermione chuckled and smiled a little, looking down.

"How did you know?" She asked, her fingers reaching Draco's collar to put it properly. Draco was sure he was well dressed and he tilted his head, trying to meet Hermione's eyes.

"You're not reckless, you wouldn't write the name of so many students taking part in something like this without a good reason," he said. Hermione bit her lip as she finally met his eyes.

"I'll jinx it," she finally confessed. Draco smirked. "If someone rats us out, we'll be able to know who it is directly."

"Oh, I see," he then said, taking her hand when the stairs stopped moving. He climbed them and walked in the hallway, letting go of her hand to pass his arm around her shoulders. He soon felt her arm around his back, her hand resting on his right side. He didn't mind anymore having her hand there, when it was hers. "So, how will we know?"

"D'you know Eloise Midgen?" Hermione asked. Draco took a few seconds to think about it before he shook his head. "She's from Gryffindor, she's got... well, a severe case of acne," she just said as she looked in front of her. She liked Eloise, she was extremely nice, but it would be a lie to say that she didn't inspire the punishment she had created. "Let's just say that if someone tells Umbridge about the D.A., it'll make her acne look like cute freckles," she explained as she shrugged, still looking in front of her. Draco grinned as he looked at her. He liked when she was having this kind of ideas. Hermione could be nasty when necessary, he knew it and he liked it.

"I like that, it should be fun to see," he said.

"No it wouldn't, if it happens, it would mean that Umbridge knows!" Draco rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean, Granger." Hermione smiled to herself as she looked away.

"And we still need to think about a place to train," she said as they approached the library's door.

"Too bad there's no place in Classroom 6B," Draco sighed. It would have been easy, but not only the room was too small, it was also too risky.

"Yes, but it's already a chance Pansy found it, right?" Hermione said as she pushed open the door, starting to whisper. "It's been really useful last year."

"Yeah, it's a chance," Draco said quietly, looking down for a moment.

"How did she find it again?" Hermione asked, casting a glance at Draco. He briefly met her eyes before removing his arm from around her. He pulled a chair as she did and sat down, putting his bag on the table. He pulled it near him and leaned, letting his chin rest on it as he wrapped his arms around it.

"I didn't say," he simply said, looking in front of him. Hermione didn't know if he didn't want to talk about it or if he was just tired. The cycle wasn't before another two weeks, but it had already been an animated first month in the school.

"But you mentioned something about it, didn't you?" She said, really curious. She wanted to know more about his friendship with Pansy. He just knew they were extremely close and that they had met at school. The only real conversation they had had about her, Draco had explained how different she was, that she was only acting like a mean girl to protect herself. Hermione still hadn't tried to spend more time with the girl, but they were both getting used to the time spent together as a group.

"Yeah, well, I still didn't say anything about it," Draco said, this time sounding a bit annoyed as he glanced at his girlfriend. "I don't think she'd like for me to talk about it."

"Oh," Hermione just said, looking down at her bag before getting a book out of it. "Alright, then." Draco slightly frowned.

"Don't take it like that," he said as he straightened.

"I'm not taking it like anything," Hermione muttered. Draco smirked and leaned closer to her.

"Are you, by chance, jealous?" He asked. Hermione quickly turned her head to face him, seeing him looking amused. She frowned.

"No, I'm not!" She whispered.

"What did I tell you last year?" He asked calmly and Hermione rolled her eyes, looking at her book again. She opened it and took her quill, wanting to work.

"I get it, it's fine, I don't want to talk about it," she said.

"And I don't want you to ask questions about this," he said. Hermione looked up for a second before putting her quill on the table. She crossed her arms, leaning on her seat.

"And why not?" She asked, turning to look at Draco.

"Because there's nothing going on, and there's nothing you need to know about her from me."

"I'm just curious, not jealous. Ron mentioned how close you two were and he's not entirely wrong. You guys are... really close." Draco had rolled his eyes at the mention of Ron but refrained himself from saying anything about it. "Like I told you last year, everyone thought you'd end up together. We thought you were already together."

"But we weren't. And we won't ever be."

"But what if she hopes something will happen?" Hermione asked, tilting her head. Draco chuckled longer than he even thought he would. Hermione didn't like when he was acting like he had heard a really good joke that only him could understand. "It's not funny, it's a possibility!"

"No, it isn't," Draco said as he leaned again on his bag, still laughing quietly.

"How would you know? You're not in her head."

"Because she's not-" Draco stopped himself, looked at Hermione and couldn't help but snort. Seriously, there were more chances that Pansy would be interested in Hermione rather than him. The thought of it brought another giggle that crossed Draco's lips and he bit his lip, not wanting to be banned from the place.

"I don't understand what's so funny," Hermione said. Draco shook his head.

"She is not interested in me, ok?" He asked as he sat properly again. Hermione didn't look really convinced and Draco didn't really want to talk about it anymore. Not ever, if he could. Hermione had nothing to fear when it came to Pansy. He tried to think fast about a way to make her stop thinking about it but something entirely different from a good solution came out of his mouth. "She likes Theo, so don't worry."

Hermione's face brightened as she looked at Draco again.

"For real?" She asked, looking excited. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, er, she didn't want me to say anything about it," Draco said. Pansy wouldn't mind, right? And Theo wouldn't care. It's not like Hermione was going to talk to them about it anyway, right?

"Do you know if Theo feels the same?" Draco opened his mouth but nothing came out at first, so he closed it. After a second, he shrugged.

"I don't really talk about feelings with Theo." Hermione shook her head.

"That would help Pansy. You boys, always avoiding feelings and fighting for stupid things," she said as she thought about Harry and Ron sometimes bickering like a couple. They had stopped talking for so long in their fourth year, it was ridiculous.

"She doesn't want me to do anything about it," Draco muttered. "And you can't do anything either, alright? You keep that to yourself." He begged her to agree in his thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah, alright," Hermione said as she waved her hand, looking clearly more relaxed than before. Great. Draco leaned on his bag again, this time hiding his face in his arms.

.

"Oi, Longbottom!"

Neville stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway before he slowly turned around. He had recognized the voice calling him and was expecting the worse as he saw Draco and Pansy standing near a door. He had been on his way back to the Gryffindor common room after a highly interesting talk with Professor Sprout about his plant.

Most of the students were already in their common rooms but the fifth years could wander in the castle until nine o'clock. As a prefect, Draco and Pansy were already doing a round to make sure no younger students were in the hallways. He would lie if he was saying he didn't want to catch some from the other houses.

Arriving in the hallway, and seeing Neville from afar, he had thought that it was time for him to do the right thing, since he knew Hermione would ask about it. At least, no one was around.

Draco nodded to make him understand that he wanted Neville to come closer and not stand in the middle of the hallway. Holding his Mimbulus Mimbletonia tight, Neville walked towards the two Slytherins. He stopped in front of them and waited but nothing came out of Draco's mouth. Pansy even elbowed the boy after a moment. She really wanted to go back to the common room at that point, and she really didn't want to see this, it was so embarrassing.

"Get it over with," she mumbled, crossing her arms. Draco only glanced at her before he looked at Neville's plant for a moment, and he finally met his eyes again.

"What you did back in the Hog's Head," he started to say, stopping to find his words. It was harder than he had imagined.

"Oh, it was nothing," Neville said as he directly looked down. "Really, I-"

"Nah, shut up," Draco said, interrupting him as he waved his hand, looking away too. "If I don't say it now, I might as well not even think it," he said. He glanced at the Gryffindor again. Neville was looking so nervous and not certain about how he should be acting. "Thanks," he muttered, looking directly away. Neville slowly looked up, mouth opened, but nothing came out.

"Off you go, now," Pansy snapped before pulling Draco by the sleeve of his robes. Neville was already walking fast towards the other end of the corridor. They left the hallway and Pansy let go of Draco's sleeve. "This was the worst thing I've ever heard you say, I'm not going to forget this. Not ever." she said with a smirk as she looked at Draco. He rolled his eyes and looked away, hiding his hands in his pockets.

"Great," he said sarcastically.

"No but really! I can't wait for you to get married, this will be a part of my speech," she said excitedly. "Will Longbottom be your best man, now that you two are tight?" She asked, elbowing Draco. He pushed her arm away.

"Stop that!" He snapped, only making Pansy laugh. They didn't say anything, they just walked quietly for a little while, Pansy still smiling. After a while, she looked at Draco.

"D'you think you will marry her?" She asked quietly. Draco looked at her.

"What?" He asked, taken aback.

"Granger. D'you think you'll ever marry her?" She repeated. Draco frowned a little.

He didn't like to think about this kind of stuff, it was scary. Besides, they hadn't been going out for that long, just almost a year and a half. Would he like to see her everyday for the rest of his life? Sure, that sounded tempting. But he was too young to think about that, wasn't he? Besides, with Voldemort's return, he shouldn't even consider doing something that foolish. And what would his parents say? After everything that had happened already, would they still love him the same if he was bringing a muggle-born in the family? Even if Voldemort was defeated, would they ever accept? Would he ever stop caring about their opinion on this? Enough for him to marry who he wanted? He couldn't do that to them. All these thoughts started to spin in his head and he blinked, looking away.

"I don't know," he mumbled as he shrugged, uncomfortable. Pansy was still staring but she quickly looked in front of her again.

Again, they walked in silence for a moment. After a while, Draco turned, it was his turn to ask a question.

"Speaking of Hermione," he said, quickly looking away when Pansy met his eyes. "Would you mind acting like you've got the biggest crush on Nott?" He asked. Pansy stopped walking, taken aback. Draco turned to face her and smiled. "What?"

"What did you do?"

"Nothing, I'm just asking, I-"

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, what did you do?" She asked as she took a step towards him.

"I just... You need to understand, I needed to make her stop thinking about you and me," he mumbled. Pansy frowned. "Hermione... She talked to me about it a few times... She wonder if you have feelings for me, stuff like that," he said.

"Whatever," Pansy said, not interested by that. Well, a little, if she had to be honest, but still. "Doesn't explain why I should fake a crush on Theo."

"I... Maybe I've... Told her you had one so she'd stop asking me questions." Pansy closed her eyes for a second as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"You could have told her that I do not have feelings for you. What about that?"

"I did!" Draco exclaimed. "Even her friends think it's weird we're so close, it's not my fault if they put things in her head!"

"Don't find excuses," Pansy said as she narrowed her eyes. "You're impossible!" She said, hitting his shoulder as she walked past him. Draco grimaced and rubbed it as he walked quickly to follow her.

"Did you want me to tell her the truth? I didn't want to, so I had to hide it. But if you want me to, I can," he said, knowing it would make her react. He stopped abruptly when she suddenly turned, her finger raised. He waited but she just stared at him defiantly before turning again, walking towards the door.

"I'm not going to act like anything, it's enough if you told her that," she said as she rolled her eyes, Draco on her heels.