Author's Notes:

We'll get a rare glimpse into someone else's head! These are the memories Blaise has given Hermione in the previous chapter, and I hope it sheds some light on why Draco's friends are so wary about Hermione returning to their friend's life.

Just a warning: IT IS HEAVILY BIASED!

Like Draco, Blaise doesn't know the reasons at that point as to why Hermione left. He is only witnessing the aftermath of her decision, so I think his reaction and his opinion of her are understandable in this situation.

I will address Draco's behaviour during the break-up as well, he is not without fault.

In addition, it seems that I need to point out that Draco no longer believes in those prejudices he was fed as a child, though he might still be a tad vain and self-centred. His relationship with Hermione taught him a lot, broadened his horizons so to speak. But then, he was being persecuted by a relentless Purcell, who tried to stick a false claim on him that would have sent him to Azkaban for life—he was highly frustrated about it, so he has a rare moment of lashing out in the heat of the moment. Under normal circumstances, Hermione would have called him out on what he said, severely so, but she was pre-occupied with her own situation and misunderstood him.

Now, last but not least, my thanks:
To diebirchen for proofreading the chapter and making me laugh with a comment about my use of periods. ;-)

And thanks to the lovely bunch of ladies who still have the patience to listen to my ramblings and answer my questions (and I have a lot!). Debbie, Katie, Linda, Amy, and Evora—I love you! :-*

Enjoy!

..

Interlude: The Aftermath (Eight years ago)

"Blaise! Help!"

He looked up alarmed as the voice of his fiancé came through the small communication device; he had been working through Pansy's notes on an agreement he wanted to present to Mrs Malfoy just as a precaution. It had been a month since the break-up, and it had been a horrible time—Draco went through his own stages of grief, and they were waiting for the inevitable to happen.

"Blaise! Please!"

With a sigh, he pushed the talking button on the device; the agreement had to wait. "I'm coming."

Their friend had another incident, but based on Astoria's voice, it must be bad, really bad this time. Walking over as fast and discreetly as he could, Blaise knew that things couldn't go on like this—Draco was basically destroying himself with his inability to get over the shock of the sudden break-up, spiralling down into a deep hole.

However, Draco wasn't the only one having to deal with the loss. They all had. In the six years he had spent with her at his side, she not only managed to make him a happy fool, she had also become an integral part of their little group. Now they all felt like they lost a close family member, and they had to deal with the loss while also trying to keep the company running for their devastated, broken friend. Because once loyal, a Slytherin would never let their friend fall.

"What happened this time?" Blaise asked as he arrived at Draco's office, where a frantic Astoria was pacing up and down, repeatedly shaking her head and murmuring to herself.

She came running towards him, only to wrap her arms around him for a quick hug. "The Prophet published a piece on the Golden Trio today, and they even focused on her... He-He saw it. I wasn't fast enough to hide it. Blaise, they were speculating about a possible engagement! An engagement!"

"You know he was planning to..." He took her hands in his as she let go of his waist, his lips pressed into a grim smile as she momentarily seemed to lose her calm.

"Blaise, he had an outburst! And it sounded scary!"

"Have you been inside?"

She shook her head and squeezed his hand. "I was too scared this time. It was horrible last time, with everything in pieces. Gods, I wished we could really help him..."

"We all do." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and finally turned towards the office door, expecting the absolute worst behind it. "You contact Healer Fladbury and tell him it's an emergency this time–"

"You think that...?" Her eyes widened in shock at the possibility they didn't dare to mention.

"I'm afraid so. Just tell Fladbury that we're coming. And then try to reach his mother as well; tell her to meet me there."

"Okay." Astoria immediately went about contacting the Healer through the Floo Network while Blaise entered Draco's office with his breath held.

The room looked like a bomb had gone off—everything was scattered on the floor, furniture demolished, windows showing small cracks. Nothing in this room survived the outburst without any damage. And in the centre of the destruction was Draco, leaning against the front of his desk, his legs pulled up, his face empty. He didn't move.

This was the breaking point.

Blaise felt his heart shatter as he saw his friend curled up like this, unable to let go and simply overwhelmed with the loss. After a month of raging—against everyone and the world, but mostly against himself—Draco had finally broken down. No more rage.

Careful not to step on anything he didn't want to be stuck in his shoes, Blaise made his way through the room to kneel down in front of Draco. "Mate? You there?"

No response.

Blaise wished he knew the spells the Healers used in such moments, but more so he wished he knew how to take his pain away. Gods, they had offered to Obliviate him and yet he had declined, the fool. With a resigned sigh, he prodded Draco's shin, not expecting any response.

Moments later, Astoria showed up at the door. "Oh fuck Merlin! Is he okay?"

Blaise turned around and nodded. "Just a few superficial scratches. But he's not responding..."

"She really destroyed him! That's what you get for dating a bloody Gryff–"

"Astoria!"

"You know I'm right! They are all fucking cowards. And they don't care at all about the mess they leave behind! This is the goddamn reason why we don't date them. This!"

After a quick glance at Draco who still wasn't responding to his surroundings, Blaise got up to meet his fuming fiancée at the door. As understandable her reaction was, because he pretty much shared the sentiment, it wasn't in the least helpful. "Not now... What did Fladbury say? Have you reached him?"

"Fladbury?" As Astoria was about to continue her tirade against her, his question stopped her in her tracks, so it took a couple of seconds for her to catch up. "Oh. Fladbury. Yes... He said that you could Floo straight into the mental ward; they are waiting for you. Haven't reached his mother yet."

It was a small relief for Blaise that Healer Fladbury was ready to receive them immediately, and discreetly so. After a quick peck on the cheek of his fiancée, Blaise went back to Draco to pick him up. "Keep trying to reach his mother. I really need to speak her."

"Wait..." She came closer to help him as he kneeled down to shoulder the still unresponsive Draco.

"For being so lean, he is damn heavy." Blaise groaned as he lifted his friend; he even swayed slightly as he tried to find a balance before stepping towards the private Floo exit in the office.

"Careful with his head." Astoria placed Draco's head back on her husband's shoulder, as it had come close to a corner of the fireplace.

He stepped into the fireplace and smiled when he saw his wife grab a handful of Floo powder as he had his hands full; he only had to call out the destination once she had thrown it into the green flames. "I'll let you know as soon as I know more."

She blew him a kiss for goodbye and then threw the powder into the green flames, waving at him as he called out the Floo exit of the St. Mungo's mental ward.

..

Blaise sat in the visitor area outside the private rooms in the mental ward of St. Mungo's. The Healer had told him to go home, as it might take a while, but he had insisted on waiting here, at least until they had news for him.

Here, he felt the exhaustion of the past month crush him—he was exhausted from keeping a constant eye on his friend to make sure he didn't harm himself or, worse, end his life in a bout of overwhelming despair. Her death would have been easier to deal with, because it would have had some sort of reason. But this? It was just horrible, and they all were at their wit's end.

For a single moment, Blaise wished that Hermione—whose cowardice had caused all this—would come back to right her mistake, to end his misery. There would be shouting and tears, but Draco would be foolish enough, in the end, to take her back. A surge of anger ran through his body as he realised that the wish was pointless—she had disappeared from the country, and probably didn't even care about the aftermath of her decision. Astoria was right earlier, this was what you got for dating a Gryffindor.

"Blaise?" a quiet and worried voice belonging to an elder woman pulled him from his thoughts. "Why did you want to meet me here?"

With a sad smile, he got up to greet her properly. "Mrs Malfoy, I'm sorry about the circumstances, but it's urgent."

"Draco." After exchanging three cordial cheek kisses, she sat down next to his seat. As always, she kept a graceful posture, even in these difficult days. Yet, a deep sigh escaped her as she righted the ends of her sleeves before facing him. "You brought him here."

"He broke down. The whole office was a devastating mess." He nodded solemnly, leaning back in his seat. "We tried everything, but we can only do so much."

"You did your best. At least he is still alive." She patted his knee in reassurance, as she had done hundreds of times when he had been a boy visiting the Manor over the summer while his own mother was away in Italy. "Just why? It still baffles me. A month ago, he was happy, and now this."

"We all wonder," Blaise replied with a shrug.

He watched Narcissa for a moment; he wondered how she managed to keep her grace, to remain the strong woman who kept the family together as well as she could. Yet, he could see her eyes glistening with an onset of tears that she quickly covered with an equally sad smile. They all suffered with him, but a mother would always feel with their child, suffer with them through every heartbreak. It must be hard enough to watch your family fall apart like this, despite the best efforts—husband in prison for life, son delivered to the mental ward without knowing if he would ever recover.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"They haven't come back yet," he replied, reaching for her hand to give it a squeeze. "But I guess it will take a while."

"He's so lost without her," she whispered; a crack in her voice was the only indication of her pain. "She was his rock, after all."

Blaise nodded, his eyes fixed on the door to Draco's room. Hermione had indeed been Draco's rock, the one person to keep him grounded, and the one person he had trusted most with his soul and heart. He had opened up to her and thus given her the ability to destroy him—and damn, she had destroyed him!

He bit his tongue to keep a growl from escaping, because if that coward of a Gryffindor walked in right now to end Draco's misery, he would bloody hex her into the next dimension for hurting them all like this. No explanation, no reason, fucking nothing. Wherever she was, he hoped that she went through the same living hell!

There was a heavy silence between them for a moment, both anxiously waiting for the Healer to bring news about their friend and son.

"You know, we talked about him wanting to take the next step," Blaise finally said, mostly because the silence had become too hard to bear. "He said that me getting married to Astoria had made him think about it."

She looked at him, her sad smile widening briefly before she nodded. "I know. He asked me whether I thought using the same engagement ring as Lucius had used would be a good idea... But he eventually found another one; I think my sis-his aunt gave him hers. It's a beautiful piece, simple but beautiful. She would have loved it!"

"Yeah," he replied with a sigh. He had seen the ring, a single green stone surrounded by the smallest of engraved snakes. And he remembered Draco's nervousness about it all, repeatedly questioning the idea, because he thought he didn't deserve her. Turned out, she didn't deserve him...

"However, there's actually a reason why I asked for you to meet me here," Blaise said, finally touching the reason why he had asked her to come here; it was also a welcome distraction from his straying thoughts.

She faced him, no surprise in her expression. "The company. Astoria told me a few things about how you keep it going when she reached me. Blaise, I can't tell you enough how grateful I am for everything you do."

Blaise smiled in appreciation of her words as he straightened up again. "I've talked with Pansy about it for the whole legal aspect because it's not as easy as it seems. She has set up an agreement that I was reading through when... when this happened. It complicates things because Draco always had the last say in everything, and his signature is still the only binding one."

"I see."

"Another aspect is that, with Draco committed here, the legal responsibilities for the company are technically transferred to you... Pansy can explain it much better than me."

She nodded in understanding, pursing her lips ever so lightly; he knew her well enough to know that she was considering the options. "Draco can be glad to have you all as his friends."

"He would do the same for us, I'm sure."

"He would." She briefly rubbed her face after a deep breath. "Let Pansy know that I'll have a talk with her about those legal aspects. But don't worry too much about the company, Blaise. You all do a great job, and I will gladly sign any agreement so that you can lead it in my name. Whatever is necessary to take things off my son's shoulders."

"Thanks." Relieved that she accepted everything so easily, he leaned back. "I just doubt he'll ever get over it."

"That's the bane of the Malfoy men—they don't love easily, but once they do, they do so deeply and with all their heart. But we shouldn't lose hope that he learns to deal with it over time..."

"Yeah." Blaise wasn't so sure about it; all he knew was that it wasn't going to be easy either way, but they would never abandon their friend.

"Mr Zabini... and Mrs Malfoy?" Healer Fladbury finally came out of Draco's room, showing a sombre smile. "I'm afraid we have a few things to discuss regarding Mr Malfoy. If you would be so kind as to–"

"Can I see him?" With one swift move, Narcissa got up, even made a step towards the door. "I want to know if he's okay."

"Mrs Malfoy, my team is still treating him. But his health, his mental health, is what I wanted to discuss with you. So, if you would please follow me into my office?"

Narcissa shared a quick anxious look with Blaise, who just nodded. There was no point in arguing with the Healers, so they followed Fladbury into his office.

..

"Potter!" Blaise called out as he saw him and his red-haired wife arrive at the press conference at the company they had hurriedly called for. "You really took your time. I said early."

Harry nodded to Ginny to already go inside as the press conference was about to begin. "We had to bring James to Molly first. Just wait until you have children yourself."

Blaise only threw Harry an irritated glare before turning towards the side entrance for the press room of the company. It was all he could do to keep his calm because the break-up caused by Potter's best friend had put everything on hold for now—his own wedding where Draco was supposed to be his best man, and any future children as well. "I really wish we didn't have to do this."

"Same here."

Once inside, still hiding behind a curtain from the hungry press crowd, Blaise turned around. "You don't get to say that, Potter, because you have absolutely no clue what she left us to deal with–"

"Really? I don't?" Harry retorted through gritted teeth. "I know that Malfoy is a mental wreck, and that you committed him to–"

"Guys!" Astoria came in, shooting them both an impatient glare. "They are waiting for you."

Blaise wanted to say something, but his fiancée wasn't going to tolerate any more of their useless argument. With a last glare at Harry, he finally made towards the small stage area with its speaking desk and the two small tables to each side. "This is your fault."

The loud relentless noise in the audience area immediately turned into a curious murmur and confused looks.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming today on such a short notice," Blaise began, struggling for once to keep his voice professional.

"Mr Zabini," a younger wizarding reporter in the front row interrupted, "is this about Mr Malfoy's whereabouts? After all, he hasn't been seen for more a month now..."

Blaise gripped the edges of the speaker's desk hard as he saw the accreditation of the reporter—the Daily Prophet, the one paper who had had the nerve to publish this awful piece full of useless speculation. He would have loved to throttle him, even if it was just to get some of his accumulated frustration out of his system.

"We called for this press conference after your paper, the Daily Prophet, has dared to publish an abysmal piece that you dare to call article about Mr Malfoy, speculating wildly about his relationship with Ms Granger," Blaise continued after a deep breath, fixating on the young wizard in the front row, who was now shrinking back ever so slightly. "Mr Potter and I would prefer to keep this as short as possible, as we both have important things to go back to."

"What do you know?" another reporter asked, a few rows back and his Quick Note Quill ready to write down any response. "No one has seen either of them for about two months now, and flimsy excuses were given for their absence from important social events, such as–"

"No questions yet." Blaise shared a look with Harry who had his arms crossed and the lips pressed into a thin line; he wasn't a fan of this kind of situations either. He counted down from ten as he let his gaze wander over the crowd in front of him. Damn reporters and their guts for being so bloody intrusive into all their private lives. Those bloodhounds would definitely love what he was about to tell them, words that would have quite an impact on the wizarding world.

"Ms Granger has ended the relationship with Mr Malfoy. Given the nature of the break-up, Mr Malfoy has decided to take a time-out. Until he returns, I'm the acting president of the company."

After a moment of shocked silence, the reporters started to bombard them with questions regarding the reasons for the break-up, or whether there had been an affair involved, or how long the time-out would be.

The longer they bombarded him with those questions, the more disgusted with their blood-thirsty questioning Blaise was. His patience was wearing extraordinarily thin, and he wished he could just hex them all to leave them in peace.

"What about Ms Granger? Where is she?"

"Potter, that's for you." Blaise took a step to the side to let him come forward. "There will be no more comments about the situation from our side. In addition, we request that you don't harass us, nor will you try and find Mr Malfoy. This is a highly private matter, and we will take every necessary step to protect ourselves."

As if those bloodhounds had listened.