Draco sat alone in the prefect's compartment thinking about what Ginny and Blaise had said to him after he had gone off on Hermione. He would be damned if he would ever admit it to anyone, but they were right. Draco knew that nothing good would come from him pursuing his best friend's newly acquired sister; she was the very definition of pure innocence and the last thing she needed was to be defiled by Draco Malfoy. Draco hadn't been able to stop thinking about the Gryffindor princess since he'd seen her descending the staircase the other day. He could easily see himself giving up everything he had for her, and that wasn't a good sign. The worst part of this whole thing was that the princess had actually made an effort to get along with him, and that made things that much more difficult. How the hell was he supposed to stay away from her when she was being so damn pleasant? So naturally, Draco had done the only thing he could think of to try and keep her away; he acted like a vile, loathsome, cruel ferret. He had hoped to make her mad so that she would go off on him, call him a dirty ferret and then go back to hating him again. He hadn't, however, expected to give him a look like he had just kicked her cat. He saw hurt flash through her eyes and he had immediately regretted it; he had never wanted to hurt her. He had seen that same look in her eyes the other day when they were in Diagon Alley and he felt absolutely abysmal. Not only had he hurt the girl of his dreams, but he had pissed off his best friend and he would now have to watch his back against the fiery red head that had most definitely made him number one on her shit list.

Draco knew that the only thing he could do was just, as Blaise had put it, act like a man. He was just going to have to put his desires aside for the sake of the princess and just get over it; what better way to do that than to distract himself with another girl? Yes, the only way for Draco to even attempt to get Hermione out of his head was by immediately finding another girl to occupy his time. As great as that sounded, he knew that there was no way that he was going to be able to completely avoid Hermione; not if he wanted to stay in his best friend's life. He was going to have to track them both down and beg for their forgiveness, and truth be told, he really didn't want Hermione to hate him. He could apologize to her, just be her friend, find another girl to keep him occupied and live happily ever after, right?

Yeah, right.

Draco knew that it was going to kill him to just be her friend, but he was determined to make things right, even if he had to shove his feelings to the deep recesses of his mind. Draco decided to give Hermione and Blaise time to cool off and apologize to them both later that night after dinner. Draco pulled a chair up to the window and watched the scenery fly by as he got lost in his thoughts.


Blaise and Ginny had both searched high and low for Hermione, but she was nowhere to be found. They decided that she just needed some space, so they gave up their search and went their separate ways to find their friends. When the train reached its destination, Blaise and Ginny searched the platform for Hermione, but once again, she was nowhere to be found.

Now they were starting to worry.

It wasn't until they got to The Great Hall that they finally saw Hermione. She had been the first one at the Gryffindor table and she was sitting alone, staring at a centerpiece on the table. Ginny gave Blaise a reassuring look and went over to check on her friend.

"There you are!" Ginny plopped down next to Hermione, "Blaise and I were so worried! Are you ok?"

Hermione smiled, "Yes, Gin, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I will march over to the slimy Slytherin table right now and curse Malfoy's bits off if you want me to." Ginny gave her a fierce look.

Hermione grinned, "As tempting at that sounds, I swear I'm fine. I'm sorry I disappeared on you on the train; I just needed to be alone for a while."

"I totally understand; I just want to be sure that you're alright. You should talk to Blaise though; he's worried about you."

"I'll talk to him after dinner." Hermione promised.

Ginny smiled and turned to respond to a question that Neville had asked her.

Hermione stole a glance at the Slytherin table and saw Draco sitting there, talking to Theo. After Hermione had run out of the prefect's compartment, she had locked herself in the bathroom and promptly burst into tears. She really had believed that Draco had changed for the better these past few years, but he had shot that theory all to hell when he had called her a stuck up little princess. He didn't know a damn thing about her and she certainly didn't expect to just have everything handed to her! She was doing the best she could to accept this whole bloody situation and Draco sodding Malfoy was doing his damnedest to ruin it! If he wanted revert back to his former prick-like ways, that was just fine with her, but she would be damned if she was going to walk on eggshells when he was around. She hadn't had any problems ignoring him these last three years and she wasn't going to have any problem doing it now; it was safe to say that the crush she had on him was quickly disappearing.

Over at the Slytherin table, it was all Draco could do not to sneak a glance over at Hermione as she chatted it up with her friends. He had it all planned out on how he was going to apologize to her; of course, he wasn't going to tell her the actual reason as to why he as being such a prick to her, but he believed that he had come up with a sufficient lie. When Blaise walked over to their table, Draco fully expected him to sit as far away from his as he could get, but he was shocked when he took his usual seat next to him. Blaise didn't acknowledge him, but Draco figured this was the first step.

Everyone was silenced as the first years made their way into The Great Hall After all the first years were sorted, Dumbledore stepped up to his podium and announced a few transfer students that would be joining them that year. Two were from America; a seventh year boy that was sorted into Slytherin and another seventh year boy that was sorted into Ravenclaw. There was also a fifth year girl from Beauxbatons that was sorted into Gryffindor. After the sorting was complete, Dumbledore made his usual announcements and introduced the new DADA teacher. He was a man who looked to be in his mid to late twenties, with short light brown hair; the female population was very pleased with the new addition. After that, Dumbledore went on to announce the new head students.

"Can I please have Mr. Zabini and Ms. Granger join me up here?"

All eyes turned to her and Blaise and Hermione tried her best not to blush. She cautiously made her way up to the podium and stood on the other side of Dumbledore. Almost everyone had seen Hermione's new appearance on the train, but not everyone had and she was still getting quite a few stares and everyone was whispering. To keep herself from vomiting and passing out from embarrassment, Hermione focused her eyes on Ginny, Harry and Ron who were all giving her reassuring smiles. Blaise stared defiantly at everyone in the room, just daring them to say or do something against him or Hermione; everyone wisely chose to keep their mouths shut.

Dumbledore put his hands on their shoulders, "I'm sure that by now you've all read or heard about that unfortunate article by that dreadful Skeeter woman in the Daily Prophet in regards to Ms. Granger and the Zabini family. While I'm sure that you are all very anxious to hear all the details, I'm sure that if Mr. Zabini and Ms. Granger want to discuss it with any of you, they will do so of their own accord, so the subject of their personal lives is off limits unless they bring it up first; am I understood?"

Everyone nodded silently and Dumbledore smiled, "Wonderful! Now, I also brought them up here to announce that they are this year's Head Girl and Boy."

The entire room broke out into cheers and applause as Hermione smiled graciously and Blaise flashed a smirk to rival Draco's. Dumbledore asked them to stay behind after dinner ended so that McGonagall could show them to their new dorm and then sent them back to their tables.


Blaise waited until McGonagall left their common room to talk to Hermione. Their dorm was on the seventh floor down the hall from the Charms classroom. The common room was decorated in neutral colors with two couches, a coffee table, two end tables with lamps, two large bookcases on either side of the door leading to their rooms, and a huge fireplace. Their rooms were decorated in their house colors, with a large four poster bed, bedside table with a lamp, a desk, a closet and a dresser. They each had their own bathroom with a hot tub sized bathtub, a large walk-in shower and a large vanity. They were both thrilled at the thought of not having to share a bathroom with anyone else. After they were done admiring their new digs, Blaise got straight to the point.

"Are you alright, Hermione?"

Hermione smiled, "Yes Blaise, I'm fine. I already went through this with Ginny. I noticed you didn't say a word to Malfoy all through dinner. I was serious when I said that I didn't want to come between you two."

"You aren't coming between us, Hermione; Draco is coming between Draco and I. He's a total wanker and I'm not dealing with that right now. What's going on with you and I right now has absolutely nothing to do with him, and he just needs to get the fuck over himself. Besides, I know Draco better than anyone; he will come crawling back to me sooner or later." Blaise desperately wanted to tell Hermione the real reason why Draco was being such a dick to her, but it wasn't his place to get in the middle of that particular situation; he knew that Draco would eventually come around on all counts.

Hermione pursed her lips, "I love Harry, Ron and Ginny more than anything, but what you have with Malfoy is special and any fool can see that; you've been best friends since you learned how to crawl and I would hate myself if you stopped being friends because I had to come into your life."

Blaise smiled, "You've obviously never heard about some of our more legendary fights. Even after those, we're still going strong, Hermione. That's just how we are; he will always be my best mate, even if I feel like crucio-ing him sometimes."

Hermione didn't look convinced, so Blaise grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head on his chest and they just stayed like that for a few minutes. When Hermione and Blaise had first heard that they had a long lost sibling, neither one of them knew what to think of it. They had both been afraid that there would be some serious awkwardness and even some animosity, but when that charm had been lifted from Hermione, it was like all the missing puzzle pieces had been put together and they just knew that they belonged in each others lives. Hermione knew that this was easier for Blaise because he had always known that he was a Zabini and things weren't changing all that much for him. For Hermione, however, her entire life was in upheaval and she would never be able to tell Blaise how grateful she was to have him there; she wouldn't have been able to deal with all this if it weren't for him; he was her rock. Blaise pulled away from Hermione, reached into his pocket and pulled out a little jewelry box and handed it to her.

Hermione opened the box and gasped, "It's beautiful!"

Blaise smiled, "It's the Zabini family crest."

He showed her the matching ring that he had on his right hand. He took the necklace out of the box and helped Hermione put it on.

"I also put a charm on it for you. Take a hold of it and think of any place in the castle."

Hermione wrapped her fingers around it and thought of one.

Blaise smiled, "Dumbledore's office."

Hermione's eyes got wide, "That's amazing!"

"It works both ways." Blaise touched his ring and thought of a place.

Hermione felt her pendant heat up just a bit and the words 'Quidditch pitch popped into her head. This reminded her of the coins that she had made for the DA in their fifth year.

"Quidditch pitch." Hermione said.

Blaise grinned, "If you ever get into any trouble, I want you to use your necklace to tell me where you are and I'll come to you. If it's not a dire situation and you just need some help with something, just say the words once. If it's a life or death situation, the more you say it, the louder it will come through to me."

"Really?" Hermione chanted 'library' in her head over and over.

Blaise winced and pulled his ring off, "Library."

When Hermione gave him a look of confusion, he chanted 'dungeons' several times in his head and Hermione gasped and pulled the pendant away from her skin.

"Dungeons; it burns a bit."

"Yes, but it doesn't leave a mark; this is just to make sure that I know how badly you need help. I really don't think that anyone here would be stupid enough to mess with you, but I'm not going to take any chances."

Hermione smiled, "Well, I love it. Thank you, Blaise."

"Anything for my sister."

"Are you going to go hang out with your friends for a while? I plan on taking complete advantage of our later curfew."

"Yeah, I told them I would come see them for a while."

"Good; you should kiss and make up with Malfoy."

Blaise glowered at Hermione, "No way am I coming to him; he fucked up. He's going to be the one to fix it."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I will never understand boys."

Blaise grinned at her, "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah; Gin, Harry and Ron are going to stop by for a few minutes later."

Blaise frowned at the mention of Ron, "Has that git apologized to you yet?"

Hermione smiled, "More or less."

"Good." Blaise smiled at her and ducked out of the room.


Draco had ducked out of the common room the moment he had seen Blaise come in. If he was going to fix the mess he had made with Blaise and Hermione, he needed to deal with them one at a time, starting with Hermione. He had followed McGonagall, Blaise and Hermione when they were going to their dorm, so he knew exactly where to go. He made his way through the halls and came to a stop in front of the portrait of a little girl sitting on a tree swing, reading a book. He knocked once, hoping that Hermione hadn't gone off to hang out with her friends. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal the Head Girl in her nighttime attire which consisted of yoga pants, a sports bra and a black tank top. The outfit didn't show anything off, but it all fit her...very well. He realized that no matter what she wore, she was always going to look good to him and he was going to have to learn to shove these shots out of his mind.

Hermione looked surprised to see him, "Malfoy; Blaise isn't here. I thought he went to your common room."

"He did; I'm here to see you actually."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Is that a fact? I think you said all you needed to say on the train, today."

"Well, that's why I'm here. I want to apologize for that."

"Your apologies are starting to mean nothing to me, Malfoy. I believed you the last time you apologized for being a jerk and look where it got me."

Draco signed, "Can I come in, please? Just hear me out and then I swear I'll leave you alone."

Hermione stared at him for a minute before she finally opened the door wider and stepped aside; Draco walked in and Hermione shut the door behind him. She stood in front of him with her arms crossed, waiting for him to speak. He had been rehearsing what he was going to tell her in his mind for hours; if she was going to buy it, it had to sound believable.

Draco took a breath and spit it all out, "Blaise has been my best friend since before we learned how to crawl; I've never had to compete with anyone for his time and...well, I was-"

Hermione smirked, "You're jealous?"

Draco pretended to be ashamed and glared at her, "This stays between us, Granger."

She nodded, but kept smiling, "I'm not going to come between you and Blaise, Malfoy."

"I know that, but it's hard for me to...share, I guess." Even though this was all total bullshit, Draco still felt like an idiot saying it.

"Are you trying to make amends with me so that Blaise will forgive you?"

"That's part of it, yes; but, I was also a dick to you, and as I said before, none of what's happened to you is your fault and I may be a complete wanker at times, but I'm not a heartless wanker."

"So, are you telling me that from now on, you will only ever be nice to me?" Hermione asked.

"It would appear so, wouldn't it?" Draco deadpanned.

Hermione smirked at him again, "So, you making up with Blaise depends entirely on whether or not I forgive you?"

Was she seriously messing with him now? The little chit was actually having fun at his expense. That almost made him smile...almost.

"Are you going to make me beg, Granger?"

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment and then she grinned mischievously at him, "Give it your best shot."

Draco narrowed his eyes into slits, "Granger." he growled.

Hermione chuckled, "Alright; I'll forgive you on two conditions."

Draco gritted his teeth, "What?"

"Stop calling me Granger."

"I already told you, it would be too weird to call you Zabini."

"So, call me Hermione...Draco."

The sound of his given name coming from her perfect lips was almost his undoing.

"So, what's it going to be?"

"Fine, I won't call you Granger anymore; the second condition?"

"Be my friend." Hermione whispered.

"What?"

Hermione looked him in the eye, "Be my friend? Right now, I need all the friends I can get. I just think that if people see the all mighty Draco Malfoy on friendly terms with a freak like me, then maybe they will follow suit."

As Hermione said the last word, a tear slid down her cheek and she looked at the ground. She knew that she had Blaise, Ginny, Harry and Ron, but it was still hard coming to so much change while having people look at her like she was a freak of nature, or someone who didn't deserve what she'd gotten, as Pansy had so graciously pointed out. Draco saw her crying, and against his better judgment, he lifted her chin to look at him and he wiped the tear away with his thumb.

"You are not a freak, Hermione."

The look in her eyes made Draco want to pull her against him, tell her that everything would be fine, and then kiss her into oblivion. Instead, he dropped his hand from her cheek, stepped back and held his hand out for her.

She took it and he shook her hand, "Friends."

Draco gave her a genuine smile and it just about melted her heart, "Friends."

They just stood there looking at each other for a moment before Hermione blushed and looked at the floor, "You can go crawling back to Blaise now; he's been waiting for you."

Draco cleared his throat, "Right; well, I'll see you later...Hermione."

Hermione smiled and opened the door for him, "Bye, Draco."


As Draco was making his way to the Slytherin common room, he was cursing himself for almost forgetting his plan. He was going to have to have a hell of a lot better resolve if he was going to be able to keep his shit together in her presence. He muttered the password to the common room, went inside, and saw Blaise talking to Theo.

He walked over to them and Theo nodded a hello, "Where've you been, mate?"

"Making peace with Hermione." Draco said carefully.

Blaise narrowed his eyes a bit and Theo grinned, "She's Hermione now, is she?"

"That was one of her conditions of her forgiving me; I can't call her Granger anymore."

"And the other conditions?" Blaise asked.

"Well, she wants us to be friends."

Theo laughed outright, "You can't just be her friend, Draco."

Draco glared at him, "Well, I can't go on being a dick to her, now can I?"

"What did you tell her when you apologized?" Blaise inquired.

Draco rolled his eyes, "I told her that I was jealous of your relationship with her."

Now it was Blaise's turn to laugh, "She thinks your jealous?"

"Well, it was either that or I tell her the truth."

Theo quirked a brow, "What's the truth?"

"That doesn't matter." Draco insisted.

"Oh, I get it. Did you really think that we didn't know? I'm surprised Granger, I mean...Hermione doesn't know."

Draco shot Theo a venomous glare, "She's not going to know, Nott."

Theo rolled his eyes, "Relax, Draco; your secret's safe with me."

"So, this nonsense with you being a dick to her is over for good?" Blaise looked skeptical.

"Yes; I have a plan to keep myself distracted."

"Oh, really? And what plan is that?"

Like clockwork, Tracy Davis walked into the common room and gave Draco a flirty smile and he grinned at his friends, "It just walked in. I'll see you later, boys." He sauntered off towards Tracy and began to work his magic.

Blaise and Theo watched him and Theo smirked, "He's out of his fucking mind if he thinks that Tracy Davis will be an adequate substitute for your sister."

Blaise sighed, "He's still in complete denial; I suspect it won't be long until he finally comes to his senses, though."

"I don't know, mate; he's damn stubborn. It'll probably get worse before it gets better."

Blaise shuddered at the thought of having to play referee when the drama that would no doubt be Draco and Hermione began.


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