AN: Yes, I know, another update so quickly… I just can't help myself! But, in order to possibly help me with self-control, after this chapter, I'm going by reviews. Lots of reviews = faster chapters.

Disclaimer: Is Dramione canon? No? Well then obviously I don't own HP.

September 2, Draco's POV:

After what had seemed like hours, sleep had finally decided to try and pay him a visit. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, he felt warmth crawl up from his toes and a smile hinted at the corners of his lips. For the tiniest space of time, his world had stopped, and he was in that wonderful dimension between sleep and wakefulness. Here, Draco was happy. For some reason it was his favorite place to be, because at least here, he was still in control. Sleeping was dangerous, you had no idea what was going on around you and if you were tired enough you could sleep through your own murder. But the middle land? It was wonderful.

And it had just been ripped away from him.

A shower? What time was it? After consulting his watch, despair washed over him. It was 6 o'clock in the bloody morning. Had he honestly spent the entire night thinking about Granger? What was his problem! Draco grabbed his pillow and threw it across the room with a yell; it clipped the photo of his mother that he had sitting on his dresser and knocked to the ground where it promptly shattered.

"FUCK! Sodding hell fuck!" his curses as he cleaned up the mess he made grew unintelligible as he wondered how he could possibly get some sleep now and then gave up. It just wasn't happening with the shower going on in the next room, and even if he did cast Silencio (his other charm had worn off as soon has he had started to drift) he was far too awake now to make any progress before breakfast time. Sitting on his bed, he waited for his turn in the shower.

Granger, he decided, was taking too damn long.

Banging on his door to the bathroom, he called out to her. "Merlin, Granger! Are you planning on spending the rest of your life in there?"

"Sod off," came the reply.

Draco growled a low guttural sound that vibrated all the way down to his bones. If he had to be awake then he wanted a shower damn it! He sat there and glared at the door for a moment, biting his tongue as best he could and threw himself down on his bed, scowling.

After what seemed like hours (but was in reality only minutes) the water stopped. A moment or two afterwards and the magic that prevented him from entering while she was inside stopped humming. He leapt to the door and slammed it open, only to find that Granger was still in there, wrapped up in a green robe. He allowed his eyes to wander for a second before she screamed.

"Malfoy! Just what do you think you're doing?" Her voice really was far too shrill for this early in the morning.

"About to take a shower, Granger, is there a problem?" He smirked and began to unbutton his shirt- he saw her flush at his actions.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm not quite finished in here yet, so leave!"

"You've been in here for well over a century! I hate to tell you this but no matter how much you scrub away Granger you'll never be clean, you'll always be filthy!" His anger at being ordered to leave by her had flared up, and just like that, years and years of tormenting her had taken control. He no longer had control over his mouth, and the moment he stopped yelling, his mind caught up.

FUCK!

"Gran-"

"You, Malfoy, you are foul and arrogant and spiteful! You are just a cowardly man who stands by and watches things happen because he doesn't have the backbone to do anything about! You are cruel and vile and I hate you! You are just. Like. Your. Father!" Granger was red faced and shaking, and just when it looked like she was going to have another go, he spoke up.

"I know," he said in a small voice that for a second there he didn't even realize belonged to him. Her words had struck home, repeating verbatim the ghosts that had been haunting his conscience since the war had begun. Never had he heard them out loud, but hearing them out loud, it seemed, made them real. Truth. And he just wasn't sure how to handle that with anything other than truth. So he repeated himself, and his voice was broken.

Draco was mentally kicking himself for this, but the other part blamed Granger. Granger, who had frozen in her tracks the moment he had spoken, shock was written all over her features, and her mouth had clamped shut. Good, it's about time someone had robbed her of her words. He wanted to make a comment on the matter, but some foreign force compelled him to say something else entirely.

"And I'm sorry," he croaked. Draco met her eyes full on as he said this. Did that croak come from me? What in Slytherin's name is wrong with my voice? Granger's mouth was opening and closing, reminding him of a fish he once had as a child. It was then that he realized that he was still speaking- why hadn't he known he was still speaking? Was he under some sort of spell?

"'I'm sorry, Granger, for everything. For being like him. I hate it."

Draco wanted to Avada himself at this point.

Well, mouth? Are you done talking now? You sure? Because I think there are more confessions you could be making to try and ruin my life. You're really sure you're done now? No longer trusting his own mouth, he brought his hand up to cover his own lips so quickly that he smacked himself.

Ignoring the sting, he looked at Granger. She was struck dumb, but before he knew it she had gathered up her things and fled. He thought he might have heard her squeak something along the lines of 'bathrooms yours' before her mane of wet hair disappeared and the door was closed behind it.

He called himself several different kinds of idiot as he ripped off his clothing and stepped into the shower. And there, he thought.

It had only been one night and already the witch was driving him batty. First she keeps him up all night by invading his mind with her screams, and then once Draco finally managed to get some rest, she woke him up again! That was why he went around spewing so much nonsense that he felt as if he might spew last night's dinner too. If it went on like this for much longer, she'd have him eating out of the palm of her hand in a week! No, he wouldn't allow that to happen.

He would push her away, ignore her. Just like she ignored him when he opened up for a moment back there. He would curse the hair off of her head so quickly that… Her hair. Her hair dripping wet, slung over his shoulder as he- NO!

He was NOT going have those thoughts about that stupid witch! Draco had never hated Granger more than in that moment, so much so that he punched the shower wall and screamed out in frustration. His burst gone, he began to rationalize.

He was a male, when males see semi naked women, thoughts occur in their mind. Doesn't matter who it is- it was normal. Draco breathed a bit easier- good. Now, to keep it from happening, he had to avoid her. Easiest way to avoid her? Make her want to avoid him too. Excellent. Grand plan Draco, sure to be a winner!

His plan was pathetic.

Slytherin Common Room, Hermione's POV:

She had gone ready so fast that she didn't even have enough time to pay attention to the fact that she was supposed to be depressed. Instead she did what she could not to think about the bombshell that Malfoy had just dropped on her. First, he insinuates that she's a mudblood and then he apologizes, and smacks himself in the mouth so quickly that she jumped!

What the HELL was she supposed to make of that?

Nothing, she decided. She would pretend it hadn't happened and she could go back to keeping Malfoy in the nice little box she had placed him in the first day she had met him. Easy.

Despite the fact that this thought should have calmed her, Hermione still raced out of the dorm and into the Slytherin common room. Or, more correctly, into a Slytherin.

"Ow! Why you stupid little- How dare you touch me!" Cried a blonde fourth year whose name Hermione did not know. Hermione righted herself and began to stammer. This blonde was pink in the face with rage, and so were all three of her little friends that surrounded her. She swore they looked almost feral, so much so that their outright violence took Hermione by surprise.

As the little blonde raised her hand to hit her, Hermione reached for her wand – but she knew that she was far too slow because she was hindered by her schoolbag. Hermione braced herself for the oncoming contact, but instead she heard another female voice say quite forcefully,

"Down, bitch!"

Hermione had never been so thankful to hear Pansy Parkinson's voice in her entire life.

Pansy's POV:

She had been in the common room waiting for the Head Girl for a good 15 minutes now. Pansy hadn't been sure what time Granger was used to getting up, so she had made sure to wake up a good hour or so before she normally did. It was rough, but she couldn't risk Granger walking around the dungeons alone yet- and she couldn't count on Thomas to do it. He was still new to Slytherin, and probably didn't think they'd be trouble.

A noise to her left signaled that the portrait to the head's dorm was opening, and she saw Granger pop out of it looking positively disgruntled, like something horrible had happened.

Inwardly Pansy groaned, what could Draco had possibly done to hurt her? And this early in the morning, too! Usually he wasn't up at this time; he was slow to wake. Whatever he had done she was going to ring him out for it later; she wanted to help Granger, not start a third war. Speaking of…

She saw the altercation between Granger and that vapid whore, Clarissa, and had promptly come to the rescue.

"Down, bitch." Pansy raised her wand and used it to put Clarissa in a groveling position on her knees. "Apologize to the Head Girl, Please."

Granger looked mortified, but didn't say a word as Clarissa stammered out an apology under Pansy's pressure.

"Good, now go find someone new to sleep with- it should keep you busy long enough to come to your senses and see right from wrong. Though I'm not sure it's possible for you to find someone new, considering you've slept with the entire school…" Pansy trailed off, smiling a sweet little smile that meant trouble. Clarissa fled.

"Blood traitor."

She whipped her head around to glare at the speaker: Nicolai Daival. He sneered at her before he and his little cronies left he dungeon. Pansy rolled her eyes before turning to Granger and speaking.

"Blaise already took Thomas down to breakfast, so there's no point in waiting. I'd like you to come with me, if you don't mind," Pansy held out her hand like an olive branch, all the while searching Granger's wide eyes for any trace of the girl she had once known. And then, by some miracle, Granger took her hand. She did the best she could to hide the surprise on her face.

"I should put you in detention for that, you know, using magic on another student…"

Pansy looked up at her and grinned, there was the Granger she knew! Still grinning, she led the way down to breakfast.

AN: Yes, this is the second AN, I'm sorry. I just have one thing to say…. "Down, bitch!"

… Favorite line to write so far. That is all.