a/n: in my head i cast georgie henley (aka lucy from narnia) as daphne :))

November 7, 1992

Two days later, Hermione felt much better. She had deliberately forced herself to forget the events of that night and focused on other things. She had also hung around Harry and Ron more often, though not often enough to raise suspicion from her friends.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, perfect for today's Quidditch match. In fact, Draco and Pansy had woken up at the crack of dawn to get started on their training. It was both their first match, and they were anxious to see how it would go. They decided to train a little earlier than the rest of the team. When Hermione had woken up, she found Pansy's bed empty.

They went down to breakfast early as well. They piled their plates high with greasy strips of bacon, sausages, beans, and what-have-you. Even Tracey—who had denied ever being vegetarian in the first place—did. The façade lasted about two days before she gave up. Hermione shook her head fondly at the blonde's antics. Tracey was fickle-minded and sort of shallow, but very predictable. Therefore, she was easy to be around.

They were in the middle of having breakfast when Pansy, Draco, and the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team entered the Great Hall. The team had dispersed and sat next to their friends instead of all together before the big game.

As soon as Pansy and Draco sat, they hadn't ceased to stuff their faces with food.

"Hey, easy with the food!" Said Blaise. "Don't want to throw up while catching the Snitch."

"S'rry," Draco said, mouth full. He swallowed before continuing. "Flint's got an anti-sick potion, so we can eat however much we want to."

Pansy agreed. "M'ght 's well take advantage of 't." She said whilst chewing.

"Well, rein yourselves in before it goes down the wrong hole." Hermione chuckled. Draco looked at her for only a second before looking away. He merely nodded at her.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Honestly? It's been weeks, She thought.

Just then, a massive eagle owl swooped down from one of the high windows. It was of muted brown color, bright orange eyes, and it had a very serious, no-nonsense face. Clutched in its beak was one—no, two—envelopes.

Hermione knew only one owl that carried itself as highly as it did… as if it, too, received pureblood training. Of course, it was Draco's eagle owl.

Hermione began, "Draco, isn't that—"

"Pembroke!" He spotted it. "What are you doing here? Have you got a letter for me?"

Pembroke landed atop the table, right in front of Draco. He dropped the envelopes in front of him, and in the same movement, stole a strip of bacon from Pansy's plate.

"Hey, that's mine!" She called after the owl, but it had already flown away. Hermione watched the owl leave. It exited through the same window it had flown in from, barely flapping its graceful wings.

"Who's it from, mate?" Blaise asked.

Draco picked up the envelopes and compared them side-by-side. "My mother." He said without taking his eyes off one of them. He extended his left hand to Hermione, and it took a while before she realized that the other letter was for her. It was also from Narcissa.

Hermione tore away the wax seal and unfolded the letter within.

Dear Hermione,

I do not wish to trouble you, but as it is, there are some things you need to know. The Manor was raided by the Ministry last night. Lucius and I are fine, but they took old family heirlooms, furniture, jewelry, and about anything they deemed cursed, including your piano in the guest house. Though, I assure you that it was not bewitched in any way. I am so sorry, dear girl. There was nothing we could do. If it makes you feel any better, you may use the pianoforte in the drawing room of the main house whenever you desire it. I know you dearly love to play.

If it is not too much to ask, please do comfort my Draco. The Ministry took a lot of items from his wing of the house that they shouldn't have. It certainly will not be easy for him to accept. Please remind him that the raids will stop one day when we are proven innocent. For now, please be there for him.

Take care always.

Narcissa Malfoy

When Hermione looked up from the letter, everybody was staring, waiting for her to let them know why the matriarch had written.

Hermione's eyes drifted to Draco who was still reading his own letter. She realized that the boy appeared to be indifferent. If not for the appearance management lectures from none other than Narcissa Malfoy—pureblood queen extraordinaire, Hermione wouldn't have noticed the infinitesimal flaring of his nostrils. She could have sworn his brows twitched as well.

"Draco…" Hermione extended her arm and placed her hand on his wrist. He didn't flinch or pull away. He didn't make a move to acknowledge her.

"What's happened?" Asked Daphne.

With an apathetic look on his face that was practiced to perfection, Draco replied, "The Manor was raided by the Ministry."

"Merlin," sighed Theo. "Wankers, the lot of them."

"I thought they stopped long ago," Daphne commented.

"Malfoy, I'm sorry," Pansy said consolingly.

Everyone at the table was solemn as Draco neatly folded his letter and tucked it back into its envelope. He wasted no time. Immediately, he stood, pocketed the envelope, and said, "No matter. Let's get going, Pansy."

"But we haven't finished eating, and the whole team's still here." She said, glancing around to find the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team. Indeed, the green-clad sports team were all seated and merrily chatting with their own friends.

"It's better if we train earlier than everyone else. You know, cause we're new."

"Right..." Pansy frowned at her barely-touched food.

At that, the pair up and left the Great Hall, one more reluctant than the other. Everybody stared at them as they did. They sensed Draco's masked unease. Hermione could tell by the silence that followed their departure.

Daphne placed her hand tenderly atop Hermione's. "Are you okay, 'Mione?"

She gave her friend a sad smile, pretending not to notice that everyone was listening in. "I am. Thank you for your concern. I'm just worried about Draco."

"He's gonna be okay," said Theo. "Malfoy's good at handling that stuff well."

Hermione didn't tell him, but she thought that Theo was very wrong. Draco had a bad habit of repressing his true feelings when something was bothering him. Only Hermione had gotten through his walls occasionally when they were younger. She knew better than everyone that he was not doing well. It was impossible not to learn about this aspect of his personality with years of living in the same estate.

The Manor had been raided before when they were nine. There have been other times, but Narcissa had the intuition beforehand and Flooed little Draco and Hermione to Theo's or Daphne's estates before the raids, so they wouldn't witness the Aurors turning the house upside-down. When they were nine, it was most unexpected, as it had happened in the wee hours of the morning.

Draco had been hit the hardest. He tried to fight the Aurors off, slamming his body into theirs to protect his belongings. He kicked and screamed at the stone-faced Ministry workers. Alas, Lucius had to physically restrain his son in order to stop him from his fruitless pursuit. The Aurors left at sunrise. Draco had refused to go back to bed, internalizing his hatred all the while. Hermione had stayed with him. She hadn't done anything to console the boy; she just stayed silent in the corner of his overturned room. When Draco had exhausted himself from punching pillows and kicking walls, he sat next to Hermione and wiped away silent, angry tears. He fell asleep with his head on her shoulder.

Instead, Hermione replied, "Yeah, I know."

After breakfast, the group separated. Crabbe, Goyle, Tracey, and Millie went to reserve seats on the Quidditch stands, while Hermione, Daphne, Theo, and Blaise went down to the dungeons. The day of the Potions results was upon them. Hermione did not look forward to it. No, she dreaded it. She and Harry may be friends now, but it didn't change the fact that they bickered their way to a subpar potion that Hermione was reluctant to turn in. Alas, it was necessary unless she wanted incomplete marks.

It was a Saturday, so they didn't have any classes. Despite this, Professor Snape chose today to reveal the results, and they will only be shown for thirty minutes before he erased them in preparation for the Quidditch game. Potions students filled the classroom to get a glimpse of their scores. The four Slytherins were present. They had promised to let their other friends know what marks they had gotten, as they were too busy either reserving seats for the match later in the day or practicing for the actual match.

Someone nudged her from the right side.

"Harry! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be training?"

"Yeah, I'll run right back after I see what grade we got for the potion." Harry was dressed head-to-toe in his full Quidditch gear.

Professor waved his wand over the chalkboard and their names appeared. Each was partnered with somebody from the opposite House, exactly the way it looked at the beginning of the school year. This time, however, a numerical percentage was written next to their names.

Nobody was surprised to see that Draco and his partner were at the top. They had gotten a 100%. It was common knowledge to Hermione and her friends that Lavender Brown was all too happy not to lay a finger on the potion, as per Draco's request. In turn, Draco had promised full marks. She hadn't argued. Of course, she hadn't. Brown wasn't exactly smart, but she wasn't a fool either. Draco was a natural in the field of Potions. Hermione used to think he might consider becoming a Potions Master of some sort when he was older, and then scratched it at the silly idea of a Malfoy as a common worker.

Hermione searched the board for her own name… and grimaced.

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed cheerfully. "Eighty-nine percent! Didn't expect that, did you? Exceeds Expectations. It's better than I thought!" He beamed and elbowed her side.

"It's abysmal." Said Hermione, shaking her head. "I've never gotten such low marks in my life."

"Cheer up, Hermione. At least we had fun." He wriggled his eyebrows at her and she cracked a smile.

She hit him in the shoulder, eliciting an 'ow' from the boy in circular spectacles.

Hermione asked, "Nervous for the match?"

"Not at all." He chuckled. "Will you be watching?"

"Yup. I hope you lose." She smirked.

Harry laughed loudly. "I hope you lose. I've got to go, though. See you."

"See you."

When Harry left, Hermione turned to leave. As she spun around, she found her friends giving her intrigued looks.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" She asked.

"Getting cozy with Potter, eh, Lestrange?" Theo asked accompanied with a mischievous smirk.

She looked down at her clothes and pretended to brush away a hair strand. "We were just talking about our potion."

Daphne raised a perfect brow. "Mm-hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing," said Daphne.

She mimicked her, raising a brow as well. "Right… well we don't want to be late. Let's hurry or we won't get the good seats." Hermione pivoted and started walking towards the Quidditch pitch.

Slytherin had lost.

They had been in the lead for most of the game. Hermione and the rest of Slytherin House had cheered without rest despite the pouring rain. Their score was almost definitely a winning one… and then Harry had caught the Snitch a half-second before Draco did.

The Slytherins were rioting. They called Harry foul names, damning him to hell. Her friends, in particular, described in disturbing detail what they wanted to do with Harry's mangled corpse. Hermione stayed silent, watching the occurring exchange of Quidditch players below.

Draco was not in a good mood. Flint and the rest of the team had been giving him scathing glares since Lee Jordan had announced Gryffindor's victory.

Before the match began, Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that Draco would be distracted by his mother's letter. As soon as she thought it, her fingers clutched the wooden railing in front of her and hadn't let go. She had hoped and prayed that that wouldn't be the case, but her fears were confirmed.

Students and teachers had left quickly because of the dark sky and rainfall, and soon, only Hermione, Daphne, Theo, and the Slytherin team were left in the pitch. The three decided to wait for Draco and Pansy before retreating back to the Gryffindor team had already gone to celebrate in their tower.

"—idiotic!" Flint had been yelling. "The fastest broom in the world, and you couldn't even beat the scarred wanker with vision problems? Are you even taking this seriously, Malfoy?"

Hermione took Daphne's hand in hers as she watched. Draco did nothing to defend himself from Flint's verbal assaults. He looked at something in the distance impassively as if he hadn't just caused a loss for the team. Pansy was looking more livid—not at Draco, but at Flint, probably at the way he talked down her friend. They all wore identical masks of rage directed at the blond… all but one. Someone on the team was smiling arrogantly—Terrence Higgs. "Edmund would have done a much better job than you, and he's a clumsy oaf!"

Draco was silent. The only indication that he had heard him was the vein that twitched as he clenched his jaw.

Pansy spoke up against her captain. "Stop it! You already know Malfoy's home was raided! Don't you think that's punishment enough?"

Surprisingly, Flint hadn't moved. "Yeah, and clearly he deserved it!" Flint looked at Draco. "Why don't you run back home to mummy, hmm? Make daddy buy us all gloves this time or new uniforms." He chuckled darkly. "This was a mistake. We shouldn't have made you Seeker, you useless fuck."

Hermione had enough. She let go of Daphne's hand and stepped forward. "Hey!" She stormed into the pitch, robes flaring in the wind. Behind her, Daphne and Theo stayed rooted to the spot, dumbstruck at their friend's nerve. Draco's head finally snapped up. She continued. "That's enough!" She faced Marcus Flint. "How insensitive can you get? He's already going through hell!"

Draco's eyes widened at her. He shook his head vigorously, signaling for her to shut up. It was the first time he acknowledged her properly in two months.

With narrowed eyes, Flint said, "This is the team's private huddle. You're not supposed to be here, little girl."

"It is certainly not private. Everyone within a five-kilometer radius can hear you mocking Draco, and it isn't fair!" She yelled.

"Lestrange, just go," Draco said, taking her wrist and pushing her away. Hermione wrestled her arm out of his grasp. She ignored him, giving the captain her most feral glare.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt his wee little feelings? Hmm? Want me to write him an apology card? Or perhaps give him a big hug? Is that what you want, little girl?"

"Don't call me a little girl," Hermione growled under her breath. Lestranges were known for their unstable tempers and destructive lunacy. Because of this, some members of the team stepped back. They were smart to do so. Hermione was on the cusp of exploding in rage.

Before Hermione could unleash her wrath, Draco exploded first. "I said stop it, Lestrange!" He paused, heaving. Hermione was shocked. In a few seconds, hurt replaced shock as she realized Draco was angry at her, instead of Flint who was publicly persecuting him. Draco continued, "You know what—"

He stormed off.

Hermione stared at his retreating back. She was absolutely speechless. From the corner of her eyes, Pansy was shaking her head disappointedly… at Draco or at herself, Hermione didn't know.

The silence was broken by Higgs. "Fantastic!" he said. "I'm back to Seeker, then, hmm?"

Hermione didn't stick around to find out. She fled the Quidditch pitch, set on confronting or comforting Draco… whichever suited his mood.

She found him angrily making his way down to the dungeons.

"Draco!" She called after him. "Draco, wait!"

Draco stopped, surprising Hermione. She bumped into him as he turned, and she was about to apologize when he spoke.

"Leave me alone, Lestrange!"

"No, I won't! Our friendship has been dreadful for two months, and I'm trying to make it up to you," Hermione admitted.

"Make it up to me?" He asked, towering over her. "Make it up to me? You think you're making it up to me? Embarrassing me like that in front of the team? Whatever that was, it certainly wasn't 'making it up to me'."

She raised her voice. "I just thought I—"

He seethed, "Did you think I needed your help? Because I don't. I don't need your help. I never have, and I never will. Just back off."

"How come Pansy's allowed to stick up for you but I can't?"

He pointed a finger at her. "Pansy stuck up for me; you overstepped your boundaries. Learn the difference."

Hermione was reduced to embarrassed silence. "I'm sorry." She said quietly.

"Yeah, I don't care. I know you're only sorry because of Mother's letter, so take your pity party elsewhere.

"Draco, that's not what I meant! I really am sorry—"

"Do me a favor and fuck off, alright?"

Draco walked out on her for the second time in the same hour.

Hermione couldn't sleep. It was half-past midnight, and normally, she should have been out cold by this hour. She couldn't bring herself to shut her eyes for more than a minute, so she read… or pretended to, anyway.

Daphne had noticed that her friend was still up, wand lit to illuminate the textbook perched on her knees. Daphne also noticed that Hermione hadn't turned a single page since she sat down. Obviously, something was bothering her best friend. She had intervened, then, telling her about her day to distract her from whatever was plaguing her mind. They had been chatting since eleven.

"—and I was surprised, to say the least. We barely even spoke while doing the potion, but we still earned an eighty-four from Snape. It's crazy." Daphne had been saying.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah, but I think Snape just favors me, you know?" They giggled.

Everybody else in their dorm room was asleep. The two girls made sure to keep their voices down, lest they woke them.

"How was Dean Thomas as a partner, though?" Hermione asked.

"Eh. He was alright, I guess. He did most of the work. He only told me to fetch the ingredients or stir the cauldron, whatever." She paused. "You know what, though? Dean Thomas is kind of... cute."

Hermione looked at her incredulously. "I didn't know he was your type. I thought your type was more skinny, sickly-looking, pale, with a dry sense of humor and a Slytherin tie. Boys who go by the name Theodore Nott."

Daphne chuckled softly. "Yeah… no. He just wanted to be friends." That much was obvious. Since the day Daphne had kissed Theo, he hadn't made any moves to acknowledge it ever happened. He did, however, refer to Daphne publicly as his friend on more than one occasion. Like last week, he had asked for her to pass the sauce, and had thanked her by saying, 'you're the friendliest friend ever.' Daphne could not have been more friend-zoned.

"Are you alright?"

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Daphne hesitated before saying, "I'm going to be honest with you, Hermione, because you're my best friend. I wouldn't admit this to anyone else, but… I'm hurt. I'm really hurt."

Hermione took her hand and rubbed circles on the back of it. "Oh, Daph."

Her eyes grew glassy. "He never told me no, technically, so I haven't been rejected. I've just been…" she paused. "Ignored. And the crazy thing is," Daphne sat up straighter. "It sort of hurts more. It was like… he didn't even think I was worthy of an answer, you know?"

"No, well, what if Theo was just shy?"

She gave her a look. "Theo isn't shy. He isn't the type to be shy."

"You're right, he isn't." Hermione nodded. "At least your potions partner's cute, right?"

Daphne nodded. "He is kind of—" her mouth opened in a wide 'o' as she yawned silently. "—cute."

Hermione squeezed her hand. "Alright, enough chit-chat. It's time for you to go to bed, Blabbermouth." She used her friend's childhood nickname, coaxing a sleepy laugh from Daphne as she rose from Hermione's bedside.

"If you say so, Know-it-all."

As Daphne settled into bed, she said one last thing to Hermione before she drifted. "I hope you're okay, Hermione. I know the raid has been bothering you the whole day… also the whole Malfoy situation, too, even if you won't admit it. We're here for you, you know."

"I know. Love you, Daph."

"Love you too, 'Mione. G'night." Not even ten seconds later, Daphne was snoring.

Hermione, try as she might, still couldn't bring herself to get some shut-eye. Finally, twenty minutes later, she began getting irritated at her own body clock for not doing its job. She thought of calming scenes like wind-blown grass, libraries, and the underwater view of the Great Lake to try and coax her to sleep. Then she realized that her room had a view of the last of her visions. However, when Hermione opened her eyes, she found the curtains drawn on the windows. Instead of creeping around and opening them, she stood, pocketed her wand, and tip-toed out of her dorm room to walk into the common room.

Nobody was there... or so she had initially thought. Hermione perched herself on a tall window's ledge and watched the moon's reflection on dark water. She could tell that the rain hadn't stopped from the window's view. She leaned her forehead on the cool glass, closing her eyes.

Someone sniffed, startling Hermione.

Next to the fireplace, there was a hunched figure clad in silk pajamas.

"Draco?" She asked.

He turned his head to look behind him and indeed, it was Draco. He looked exhausted. Like herself, he hadn't gotten much sleep either. He was seated, cross-legged at the foot of a settee in front of the fire. Hermione hopped off the window's ledge and tentatively made her way to him. She sat on the right side of the settee.

"Can't sleep?"

Draco shook his head 'no'.

Well at least he didn't ignore me, Hermione thought. Outwardly, she said, "Neither can I." She sensed that he was too sad to care about the fact that he was supposed to be angry with her for intervening on his behalf earlier.

The crackling fire, floating bubbles out the window, the faint rainfall, and steady breathing was enough to lull Hermione into the sleep she coveted, but she resisted. She had a feeling Draco wasn't up in the common room this late at night just to sleep. No, he was here for a different reason, and Hermione was going to find out.

The blond stared intently at the flickering fire with a determined look on his face… as if he expected something to come out of it. Draco's face would light up and turn hopeful whenever something crackled or made an unusual sound. He schooled his expressions back to determination whenever nothing happened.

Realization dawned on Hermione. He was waiting for a fire-call. She put together the pieces and came to the conclusion that he had hoped his mother would reach out to him at this time.

"Is Narcissa going to fire-call?"

Draco sighed quietly. Hermione had thought that that was the extent of his replies tonight, but he answered after a few minutes. "I don't know."

Hermione's heart shattered for the boy. She knew he was in pain. He was worried about his parents and their safety, and a brief letter from his mother did nothing to quell his concern. She felt the need to do something for him to comfort him somehow. Narcissa did ask her to look out for him.

She stood from the couch, startling Draco. "Come with me."

"What?"

"Come with me." She repeated.

"Where?"

Hermione didn't give him an answer. Instead, she extended her arm to him, palm faced up. He stared at her hand doubtfully, but after a few seconds, took it.

She led them out of the Slytherin common room, tiptoeing quietly.

"Where are we going?"

"Shh," she reprimanded quietly. "Be quiet."

The Hogwarts corridors were blanketed in complete darkness, save for the pale moonlight glimmering on a crack of a glass window or some other. Staircases loomed over the pair, but she knew exactly how many steps there were, undeterred. It did not bother Hermione. She had long memorized the path to her destination. She could navigate it in her sleep. Their footsteps were almost completely silent for the pitter-patter of rain on the stone outside masked their sounds.

The Astronomy Tower was incredibly chilly, what with the November air and the breeze from the rainfall. Hermione and Draco wore no coats or even robes, but thankfully Hermione had brought her wand. She took it out of her pocket and cast a warming charm on them both.

The pair walked towards the rail. No words were exchanged, only a sad smile from Draco to Hermione. They watched the rustling trees swaying side-to-side down below. The stars were invisible as big nimbostratus clouds blocked them from view. Hermione could extend a hand outwards and it would be engulfed in a cloud.

A comfortable silence fell on the two. Hermione was content to just stay that way, basking in each other's presence. It was nice, if not sort of sad because of the reason they were there in the first place.

Draco broke the silence after a while. "I'm sorry I got angry at you."

Hermione looked at him. It was very unlike Draco to be vulnerable. "It's alright. What I did was out of line, you were right." She paused. "Pansy asked me to never do it again, did you know?"

He shook his head. "No, not just about earlier today—or yesterday, technically, but for the past months. I was angry at you over something really stupid." Draco paused. "I'm also sorry about today, though. I was frustrated at myself and I took it out on you. Sorry."

"Oh," she sighed. "Apology accepted."

Draco smiled and looked away. "I've missed you, you know."

"I've missed you too. We avoided each other for the longest time."

"That's my fault. I know you tried reaching out but I ignored you. I was just so angry that you weren't there to see me try out for the team, you know? You promised me you'd be there, then you just… weren't."

"I had to collect worms with Potter," she protested.

"I know. I've been unfair on you, is all. I got lucky Brown didn't want anything to do with the assignment." He paused, extending his right hand towards the rain and catching a bit of water from the sky. He kept his hand there, letting the water pool and overflow.

"Let's never fight again." He said so quietly, Hermione almost didn't hear him over the roar of the storm.

Draco shook his right hand of any dampness and offered his left for her to shake.

Hermione looked at his hand for a second and pushed it away, throwing her arms around his neck instead. Draco made a small 'oomph' at the collision. After the surprise had faded, Draco wound his arms around her back, nuzzling his face in her curly hair. He breathed in deeply and her scent filled his nostrils. He smiled. Yes, he missed her very much.

Draco and Hermione stayed that way for a whole minute. They hadn't realized it, but their heartbeats were so synchronized, they wouldn't be able to distinguish one from the other. At that moment, all weight had been lifted off of their shoulders. Hermione completely forgot about her friends' bullying and her abysmal Potions marks, while Draco's worries about his parents were squashed. Unbeknownst to them, they had both been looking for the same relief… and they had found it in the arms of one another.

Before they pulled away, Hermione placed a chaste little kiss on his cold cheek, much like he did two months ago. She watched him turn pink.

In the months that followed, Draco and Hermione had returned to being closer than ever. Daphne was the first to notice, firing rapid questions at Hermione about how they had made up after two long months. Everybody else noticed as well, including Harry and Ron who had commented on the spring in Hermione's step ever since that night.

Draco was not kicked out of his position as Seeker, and he delivered this news to Hermione with an enthusiastic hug. They had been doing that a lot—hugging. They had also been holding hands or maintaining some other kind of physical contact with one another, albeit unconsciously.

As the school year came to a close in June, Draco and Hermione had completely forgotten about their row. Draco had also proven himself worthy of the Seeker's position. After the first game that had ended dreadfully for the whole team, Draco hadn't missed the Golden Snitch since. Slytherin had won the Quidditch cup that year because of that very reason.

The House cup, however, went to Gryffindor. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had called a draw on it and continued their friendly rivalry well into the next year.

Hermione and Draco visited their Astronomy Tower as often as they could. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they studied, sometimes they just sat in complete silence for an hour before retreating back into their rooms, lest they were caught by a ghost or a professor. They hadn't brought anybody else with them. Their friends knew the pair escaped to the Tower on some nights, but nobody had asked to come along. It was understood by all.

The Astronomy Tower was their thing.

And it would continue to be.

Until their sixth year.