A/N: I am so sorry this chapter took so long! I had an overload of homework for the last two weeks, and I didn't have time to write. Anyway, enjoy!

Life went on for all of them. It wasn't quite the same, though. Harry and Ron seemed almost afraid of Hermione, but Cho and Ginny tried so much to be what she needed. She was incredibly grateful to them. Still, she only had so much time to spend with Draco. He had kissed her a few more times, and each time, she felt dizzy and light and amazing. Every time, it kept her from focusing for the rest of the day.

Then, one morning, everything changed. At breakfast, when the post owls flew in to deliver the mail, a large barn owl crashed right into the back of Harry's head and to the floor.

"Ow!" Harry yelped, startled. Stooping, he managed to get the owl upright and on the table. He started to untie the letter from the owl's foot, but stopped, staring. "That's odd," he muttered.

"What?" Hermione asked.

He tilted the envelope so she could see the label.

Draco Malfoy

Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

England

"Go on!" Harry told the bird sharply. "It's that blond git over there you want, not me." The owl stared at him blankly. Hermione reached over impatiently to untie the letter. Then, she stood, shooed the owl up to the ceiling, and walked off. Nobody argued with her. They all knew that there was a reason the post arrived at breakfast. Urgent messages and all that. When she reached the Slytherin table, she tapped Draco's shoulder. He jumped and turned. When he saw Hermione, he scowled imposingly.

"What do you want, mudblood?" he snapped. She could tell he was acting. His eyes sparkled and his mouth was edging toward a smile. She kept her own face stiff as she answered, holding the letter out.

"You have a truly idiotic owl. You're just lucky it came to me and not one of the Hufflepuff wimps." Hermione didn't really have anything against Hufflepuffs, but she knew she had a point. If the letter had reached one of them, Draco never would have received it.

His eyes narrowed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she retorted, spun on her heel, and marched away. As she passed the other tables on the way to Gryffindor's, she struggled against her desperate desire to laugh. When she sat down, she had gotten the emotion under control enough to finish eating.

Just as she finished and was about to leave, a blond figure walked quickly past her. Draco didn't look at or speak to her, but dropped the letter marked "Draco Malfoy" on the table in front of her and kept walking. Puzzled, she pulled out the parchment in the envelope and scanned it quickly.

"Dear Mr. Malfoy," it read.

"We are sorry to inform you that your father, Lucius Malfoy, passed away last night in Azkaban." Hermione froze. She stared at the parchment, completely disbelieving.

"No," her mouth formed the word. "No. Oh, God, no. Draco. No." She stood, shoving her seat away from the table and raced out of the Great Hall. The last thing she saw and heard was Ron leaning down to snatch the letter that had fallen to the floor and his very distinct, "Bloody hell."

Hermione tore after Draco. Unfortunately, he was a lot faster than she was and had a head start. When he had lost her completely, she made a frantic guess and rushed to the empty classroom they always met in. She was right; he was there, crouched on the floor, hands around his head. She didn't even try to think anything through. She walked over and put her arms around him. He was shaking hard enough to break apart.

"This can't happen," he whispered. "It can't."

She didn't contradict him. She held him, rocking back and forth.

They stayed like that for over an hour. Hermione knew she was missing classes. She knew she would be in trouble later, but she didn't care. The only thing that mattered was Draco. Finally, she stood and left. She could tell he wanted to be alone. She thought he would be okay, after a while. But as she walked away, she didn't hear his soundless scream. She couldn't see his heart shatter like a rose dipped in liquid nitrogen.

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A/N : I'm sorry this had to be so depressing! Thank you to all the amazing people who have reviewed this story. To everybody else, I need some input! Next chapter: another visit to the hospital wing (that really is becoming a very popular place.) And even more depressing-ness.