A/N: A shout of thanks to everybody who reviewed and added the story as favorite and for reading and the continued support. I was really happy when I woke up the next day and saw all the notifications :)

Uploading the next chapter as promised. This chapter is a bit short and I hope I had covered everything I wanted to be said in this chapter. I actually had a lot of thoughts I wanted to put into this, but somehow I couldn't put into words what I really wanted to say and somehow it became redundant. So I guess this will have to do.

You know the drill: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING HARRY POTTER.

Hermione forced a smile on her face as she tried, in vain, to enjoy herself. It was a Friday night and she was at the Potter's dining room, getting together like they usually do during Fridays. Ginny was putting James to bed while Harry and Ron talked about Quidditch.

It had been three days since Harry convinced her to go home. She told him everything about what happened between her and Draco and he didn't judge her like he said. He continued to hug her until it seemed that all her tears had run out. He had convinced her to go back to London and then figure out things from there. They also agreed that it would probably best if Ron didn't find out about Draco.

She was smiling on the outside, but deep down she was dying. She was nothing but a shell of her former self, a zombie. She wanted to hate him; hate him the way she used to…she tried remembering that boy from Hogwarts, the one that caused her so much pain and she hated that boy so much, but she couldn't seem to hate the man he grew up to be despite his lies and deceptions. She had given him her heart, truly loved him like she has never loved any other before. But even though it was short lived, she couldn't hate him because her love for him was real and her forgiving heart knew as much, but where did it leave her? She felt empty and broken without him. She hated herself because she couldn't hate him, hated herself because even after everything, all she wanted was to be in his arms again.

"Are you okay, 'Mione?" Ron asked as he put the back of his hand on her forehead to feel her temperature. "You've been awfully quiet and you look pale. Why don't we go home so you could rest a bit?"

"I'm fine, Ron. Don't worry too much." She gave him one of those sweet smiles and he seemed to buy it. She was getting to be a good liar herself too. Ron didn't know any better, but Harry warily looked at her and she could tell that he knew that it wasn't fine at all.

So full of grief when she came back with Harry that she wasn't aware of the things going on around her. She remembered a relieved Ginny, a crying James (probably due to his fussing mom) and Ron who was all over her, hugging her and kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Everything seemed to go so fast that she didn't care, she was lifeless and Ron didn't even notice that she wasn't responding at all; all she thought about was Draco. The next thing she knew, Ron was taking her and all of her stuff back to their shared flat. She didn't even bother. She was just numb.

"Why don't you stay here for the night, 'Mione? You could have some girl-on-girl bonding with Ginny." Harry knew that she was probably uncomfortable sleeping with Ron on the same bed, considering she didn't love him that way and that cheating episode bit, but Ron was just as stubborn, insisting that they work out whatever it was and continue the relationship like nothing happened.

Hermione tossed and turned in bed. She was tired, but sleep seemed to escape her. Ginny offered to sit with her a while after Ron finally went home, but she said she just wanted some time to herself. Ginny hugged her good night and left her to her thoughts. Ginny and Harry knew everything, they had squeezed out every detail from her (without Ron, of course) and they loved her all the same, accepted her for those moments of bad judgment and believed that Hermione could get passed this, that everything will turn out okay in the end.

Her thoughts returned to Draco. She remembered that night under the stars when he told her he loved her, yet he didn't even come after her. Not a word from him in three days. Did he only say those words just to get in her pants? It seemed like all that had happened between them was a lie. Her heart started breaking again. She had to stop doing that—why does she keep hurting herself with thoughts of him? He was no different than Ron or any other liar out there. She had to forget about him. She had to get him out of her system one way or another.

Ginny found her cooking breakfast early the next morning. She cheerfully handed Ginny a plate of bacon and eggs as Ginny filled two cups with coffee.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes. Thank you for accommodating me." She faked a smile, although the dark circles under her eyes told Ginny otherwise. Hermione didn't get a wink of sleep last night. Her brain was telling her to forget Draco, but her heart was telling her to give him another chance. She was conflicted hence the lack of sleep. But in the end she had decided that to forget him would be the logical thing to do. She had to listen to her brain. Listening to her heart got her in to this mess in the first place.

Harry came down with James and gave both girls a kiss on the cheek. Harry took a strip of bacon from Ginny's plate as Hermione refilled it with the newly cooked ones.

"You know, you could stay here with Harry and me. You don't have to move back in with Ron."

"It's okay, Gin. It is our flat after all." Harry and Ginny looked at each other as she continued with frying the bacon, her back to them.

Hermione was denying herself of all emotions. She was numb already, why not go the whole way? She had to flush Draco out of her system and this was the only way she knew how to do it. She had to stop feeling.

The three of them ate silently while James played in his pen in the kitchen when Nall, the Potter's owl (Ginny's gift to Harry when Hedwig died), flew in with the Daily Prophet. Hermione removed the parcel from the snowy owl that reminded her so much of Hedwig when she froze on the spot after seeing the day's headline:

MALFOY HEIR ALIVE!

A/N: Well, what do you think? Don't forget to let me know your thoughts...press that review button! :)