Disclaimer: Only the story idea is mine. The characters you recognize and Hogwarts and such are all J. K Rowling's. Thanks to my beta ashash52009!

A/n: Here's chapter thirteen. I told you I would try to update early! So enjoy :)

Don't Waste Your Whole Life Trying

Guilty.

That was the single word that echoed through Ginny's mind as she sat in the hall, just after the trial where her brother was proven guilty of raping one of her best friends. Her head rested on her knees, as she hid from the world. Somewhere at her side stood Harry, although she couldn't even imagine how he was feeling.

She had called Hermione such horrible things… let her friend stand on her own when she was just trying to tell the truth. Honestly, Ginny was a bit torn at the moment with her feelings, seeing as her brother had indeed been responsible, but the most overwhelming emotion raging through her body at the moment was pure regret.

How could she have ever been so heartless to her? Fucking Malfoy spoke out against Ron about what he had witnessed, and why he did not bring the issue to light earlier. When he had gotten down off the podium Hermione had thrown her arms around him and cried, shying away from Ron's angry gaze that had never once left her. When the ginger had tried to call her horrible things though, she had not had a problem at all with dealing with him. It was almost aw-inspiring, to see that she could still stand up to someone who did that to her, even if that someone was Ginny's flesh and blood.

Evidence was revealed quickly in court, and not once did anyone in the Weasley family stand to try and help Ron. Harry had sat at Ginny's side, looking on at the person he called his best friend in disgust. The two had nearly broken into a screaming match in the middle of the hearing, and Bill had to remove Harry from the room for several minutes so he could calm down.

And Harry had hit a lot of things in the hallway; he was simply ashamed at his behavior, and did not know how to handle it. He had called her a liar, when she had been trying to gain his support on the issue. How could he be so stupid? Hermione didn't lie.

Throughout the entire session he had wanted to go and hug his best friend, but she was sitting just a bit further down the rows of seats, sandwiched between Zabini and Malfoy. The blonds hand had been blood red by the time the final verdict was decided from Hermione's grip on it throughout the hearing. Harry had looked on at that with a lost expression. She gripped onto the ferret for support in something he should be at her side for. He had to truly of fucked up then.

But then, Hermione had not seemed disappointed in her choice of company. When Ron was sentenced to twenty years in Azkaban, she had jumped up and onto the blond, clinging to him happily and possibly cutting off his air. After clawing the overjoyed, relieved girl from his neck, the blonds only response had been that Weasley deserved life in that place.

Harry had not agreed. He knew Ron had been wrong, out of line, and completely cruel. But he also thought that deep down, the ginger was better than that. You didn't go through seven years of your life knowing someone without getting to know their tendencies at least a bit, right? Ron could change for the better he believed, if he would only try.

But that would be up to Ron, in twenty years, give or take a year. He would never be allowed within a good distance of Hermione again however; their friendship was ultimately over, and would probably build a rift between Harry and his best friends in later years- although he didn't think Ron classified as a best friend any longer.

The-boy-who-lived didn't even know what Ron's parents thought on the matter, just at the first chance they got that they had gone over, hugged Hermione- who was still surrounded by Blaise and Draco- whispered something to her, and left.

All the other Weasley's save Ginny had done the same. Now there were five students remaining in the Ministry, waiting for McGonagall or Auror's to take them back to school.

The two Gryffindor's watched from the other side of the hallway as Hermione jumped up into Draco's arms again, smiling. Blaise stood some distance from the too, not watching them. He had been hugged on the way out, and knew that although Gryffindor's Princess was grateful to him, it was really Malfoy she wanted to talk to. And considering how he believed each of them felt for each other, he could believe that.

Hermione had been hugging Draco for quite some time when she finally pulled away. "Thank you," she breathed her face full of life. It was the best she had looked to Draco in a long time, since perhaps even before her rape.

He grinned, a real grin back at her. "You can stop thanking me you know. If I do recall, a few days ago you hated me for telling anyone."

Her eyes looked down, and in that brief moment he noted where her friends were; the Gryffindor's were a bit closer to Blaise then him, with one of them staring blatantly at them and the other peering at the two through her red hair. Interesting.

"I know," she said, drawing back his attention, "and I shouldn't have. I feel better than I have felt in weeks."

"Good to hear," Draco grinned, brushing some stray hairs from her face. His feelings towards this girl had certainly changed lately, and the notion to kiss her suddenly took over. That was a bit strange, wasn't it? He was still considering the thought when Potter finally decided to make his way over and ruin the whole bloody moment.

"Hermione," he said slowly, rubbing the back of his head nervously. She turned to look at Harry, grabbing Draco's hand as she did so. She didn't have a reason to, just wanted to. The action caught both boys off guard for a moment, and Harry cleared his throat before continuing. "I know I can never say it enough really, but I'm so sorry for not believing you."

"You can say that again," Draco grumbled from behind Hermione, but she ignored him.

"It's not just that you didn't believe me Harry," she said, sighing. "It's that you flatly refused to listen to anything I said, and called me a liar for telling you the truth. It's the fact that you couldn't trust me as a friend."

"I know," he began, "and I'm sorry-"

He cut himself off as Hermione held up a hand, silencing him. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, and saw Ginny stand, walking over to be by Harry side. "We truly are sorry Hermione." She said, not allowing the brunette to continue.

"I understand," she said weakly, "and I do believe you. But you did hurt me- emotionally- and that does take a bit of repair on friendships. I'm not mad at either of you for your reactions- I rightly can't be- but I do think it may take a bit to feel better about how you treated me."

Ginny nodded slowly, giving her a sad smile. "I expected as much." Shifting her gaze to Malfoy, it moved from a sad expression to something between irritated and uncertain. "But I suppose you do have ferret boy by your side…"

"One bloody trip as a ferret and people can't let it go," Draco muttered from behind the brunette.

"Yes I do," she said, smiling lightly as an Auror walked towards the group.

"I am here to escort Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy back to school. Another Auror will be along in a moment to take the rest of you."

Although Granger thought the way they were split up was odd, she said nothing and turned her attention to her friends once more. "See you at breakfast tomorrow then?"

Both Gryffindor's faces shattered into happy smiles. "Of course," Ginny said, although the sadness was still evident in her voice. Hermione nodded, and after short goodbyes to everyone- including Blaise- she turned and left the group, still gripping Malfoy's hand.

"Was that as bad as you thought it would be," Draco asked when they entered the common room, collapsing on the couch. She had finally let go of his hand.

She shrugged. "It was kind of humiliating."

He raised an eyebrow. "It was the truth, and the truth had to come out at some point. Not one person who attended that trial looks down at you any differently you know- and it's not like court details can really be spread around that much. You shouldn't be feeling humiliated- relieved maybe, but not humiliated."

Hermione smiled lightly, sitting beside him. "Yeah, I guess I do. It was terrible though to go up and state everything he did to me in front of everyone- I mean, his family was there!"

Draco shrugged, sitting up a bit so he and Granger were quite a bit closer. "Yes they were, and now they all know the truth. It was necessary."

"I know," she sighed, resting her arm on the back of the couch. She looked down as she spoke again, "Thank you for speaking on my behalf. You were really the only one who could help me in this case."

"Ah-ah," Draco replied, frowning. "There were plenty of tests present proving the same point, I just helped confirm the information further because I was a witness. Although I could have dealt without the veritaserum- that shit is terrible."

The Gryffindor rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that bad."

"I suppose, they could have always made me use a pensieve." Hermione shuddered at that thought; imagining showing anyone a playback of her rape was horrifying. Thank Merlin the veritaserum had been sufficient enough.

"See, it wasn't that bad," she said, smiling. He got caught in that smile- for it was genuine, and drew him in.

"No, it wasn't," he breathed, reaching out to brush her hair away again. The moment had returned, and he moved his eyes to look into hers, his hand coming up to cup her cheek, silently asking for her permission. He didn't want to scare her, after all.

When she didn't shy away from his touch, he took that as a good sign and leaned in, letting his lips slide against her, keeping the kiss as sweet and tender as possible.

He smirked against her lips when she began kissing back. Letting his hand drift from her cheek to the back of her neck, he leaned in a bit more, pressing her lips against his just a bit more. Her hand came up and rested against his chest.

And then he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. "You don't understand how long I have been trying to keep from doing that."

Her eyes met his. "What do you mean?"

He smirked and pulled away, leaving his arm to rest around her shoulders. "Well, you have been a bit emotional lately Granger. I didn't want to try anything and have you freak out on me."

She raised and eyebrow, crossing her arms. "You know it's a terrible idea to inform a female she is being emotional."

Draco chuckled, "Yes, probably. And you can yell at me all you want for that comment later, but aren't you ruining a perfectly nice moment by being a smartarse?"

The girl looked down, grinning. Her fingers traced lines on his chest where her hand still lay, "Yes, probably."

He clicked his tongue, gently grabbing her chin so she would look back at him. "Well, stop." And then he kissed her deeply again, just to enforce his point. His arm pulled her closer, and he was thrilled when she didn't stiffen at all.

Pulling away, he pecked her nose. "It's late, we should probably get to bed."

Nodding she stood. "Yes, our separate beds."

Draco held up his hands. "I didn't suggest anything Granger."

"I know," she said, reaching over to clasp his hand, the same one she had been holding onto all day, and had probably bruised. "And by the way Malfoy," she continued, looking up into his eyes.

"Hmm?"

"It's Hermione."

A/n: Tada! A kiss! Now let me explain; I didn't want to focus this chapter on the trial so much (since we pretty much already know everything that happened and how things would go) but the aftermath. So I did just that. I hope you guys like it!

There's only one chapter left after this, so please leave a review my loves :)