Time between updates naturally makes a story seem more drawn out. You all already knew the pacing of this piece and rushing the action now would just make sure that once it's done, people wouldn't be able to read it without thinking "boy, that sure begins to get rushed around that time, it sort of ruins the feel of it." I don't know what else to say to that. Just know that if that is your complaint, I already heard it. Repeating it will be redundant.

Hope you enjoy.


"What the hell is keeping him?" Blaise growled.

Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes. Was Blaise actually looking forward to getting his arse pummeled by a jealous boyfriend? "Maybe he just doesn't believe in violence," he suggested.

Classes were out and Blaise had decided to dawdle, leaving Draco no choice but to dawdle with him.

Blaise snorted. "I don't have all day," he continued his whine. "Maybe I should just go find him instead."

"And do what? Poke his shoulder and say 'hey, where's my punch for snogging your girlfriend'?"

"Hey, here he comes!"

Draco turned around to see that Blaise was right. He sighed and leaned against the wall, resigning himself to the fact that his friend was an idiot and deserved whatever he had coming. Blaise straightened, giving the oncoming boy his haughtiest look and most condescending smirk.

This time Draco did roll his eyes.

And then… nothing. Tracey's boyfriend scowled at Blaise, but kept on moving without a single word or hostile movement. Blaise looked so nonplussed that Draco couldn't hold back a snigger.

Blaise frowned. "What the hell is wrong with him?"

He whirled around, apparently intent on following the other bloke, when Draco pushed away from the wall, effectively getting in his way. "Let it go, mate. He just didn't feel like picking a fight. He probably didn't buy the story."

"Or maybe he doesn't care. He should get beat just for that," Blaise snarled.

Draco wearily rubbed his eyes. He really hoped that he wasn't such an idiot when it came to girls. He deliberately ignored the very recent memory of breaking Terry Boot's nose for badmouthing Hermione. "Maybe he shouldn't. Maybe Davis thought up a better story."

Blaise pouted but relented a bit. "Why would she do that?" he asked a bit petulantly. "This is what she wants. She wants me to suffer and she doesn't believe I already do. Why would she miss an opportunity like this?"

Draco shook his head. "So that's why, is it? You want him to beat you up because you think she'll like that? That's fucked up."

"Like you wouldn't do the same."

"And everyone knows how I'm not extremely fucked up. Besides, it won't make her happy. You should know her better than that."

"So you think I should just do the other thing that makes her happy—leave her completely alone? Do you have any idea how entirely impossible that is? I already tried that, I can't do it."

"It's really very simple," Draco calmly answered, choosing his words carefully. "Either you go all out to get her and keep her in a way that she can be happy with—this includes crossing your mother, possibly being disinherited, and facing blood prejudices from people who used to be your friends—or you leave her alone. Anything else is just plain selfish."

"I'm a selfish person, Draco."

"Well, then it's not her happiness we're talking about, is it? You just continue to make her miserable, then, if it makes you feel better."

Blaise looked stunned and Draco shrugged and walked away. It wasn't terribly nice of him to talk to his friend like that, he knew, but he couldn't be easier on him than he was on himself. Sometimes you just couldn't get what you wanted. It was a lesson it had taken him seventeen years to learn.


If Draco had been under the impression that his day couldn't get much more depressing, he was soon proven wrong. He was just dropping by the Heads' office to leave a note for a requested change of the schedule of rounds, when he found the room to be occupied.

He cringed and looked away from the embracing couple at the familiar feeling of all the air leaving his lungs while his chest ached rather painfully. He knew he'd better get used to it, but it was a bit difficult when they took him by surprise like this. He was about to leave them to it when he was called back.

Leave it to Theo to never miss a thing.

"Draco," the other boy pleasantly said. "Was there something you wanted?"

Hermione swirled around, blushing furiously at being caught snogging. Really, after everything, why would something this simple embarrass her?

"It was nothing important," Draco muttered. "Didn't know you'd be here. I'll come back later."

"No, wait!" Theo stopped him again. "I need to talk to you."

Oh, by everything that was sacred! No more talks! "I'm sure that can wait as well," he replied a bit more frostily than was perhaps called for.

"I would prefer it if it didn't," Theo replied.

Draco turned and scowled at Theo in silence, completely convinced that this was Theo's way of tormenting him for the whole bracelet incident.

"Oh!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, getting their attention. "I… suddenly remember I need to be somewhere. Bye!"

Draco raised an eyebrow at her as she ducked her head and slipped past him. That was certainly not obvious at all. Her discomfort was understandable, though. He just hoped she had no inkling of what Theo was probably going to say now. "So, what is it this time?" he asked, sauntering over to a chair. "You disapprove of the way I do absolutely nothing?"

Theo almost smiled. "I wouldn't put it quite like that."

"Then how would you put it?" Draco flopped down and resigned himself to another exhausting lecture.

"It is about you doing nothing and me needing you to do something… but not in the area you think."

So, it wasn't about Hermione, then? That was a refreshing change. "I can't do anything more than I'm already doing. If it's about my Deputy duties, I'm already spending as much time on them as I can."

"It's about our house, Draco." Theo sat down across from him. "They are slowly but surely spinning out of control. You used to catalyze the malice into organized pranks, but when you stopped I had to try and keep them in line my way, which is less effective, and now that it's slowly becoming public knowledge that I'm dating a Muggleborn…"

So, Theo and Hermione were really dating then? Of course they were. But they hadn't been just a few days ago, had they? Draco shook his head to clear it. Focus. "I don't know what you expect me to do," he replied.

"Well, you seem to want to redeem yourself in their eyes. It would help everyone immensely if you would go back to your past behavior. With some modifications, of course."

"Yeah, there's only one slight problem with that," Draco said, leaning forward as if imparting a secret. "I don't bloody want to. The pranks got tired a long time ago. Get someone else to do it."

Theo sighed and leaned back. "That's the problem—there is nobody else. Blaise refuses to have anything to do with this and sixth year only has one person with half a brain, and he's not going to risk the brawns of the rest. I'm not sure anyone younger will be able to curb the rest at this point."

"Then do nothing. Leave it to the professors." Draco shrugged, unable to see why this was their problem.

"They are severely distracted," Theo tiredly said. "You-Know-Who is wreaking havoc all over Europe and they don't need to add playground bullies to their list of worries right now. It seems like Crabbe is trying to prove himself a leader and in the process they're coming closer and closer to actually hurting someone."

"Still not our problem, mate," Draco said. "We can't be expected to manage this ourselves. I certainly don't intend to."

"Three of them had a fourth year Muggleborn girl cornered just yesterday when I came upon them. She was wandless and frightened and they were taking great pleasure in taunting her."

"So, report them."

"I did!" Theo was looking annoyed now. "But wouldn't it be nice if these things just didn't happen?"

"I keep telling you, it's not our responsibility to make sure it doesn't!"

"What if it were Hermione?"

Draco's eyes narrowed. So much for keeping her out of just one of their conversations. "Granger can take care of herself."

"You helped her out before," Theo pointed out.

"And I don't intend to anymore." Draco was sick and tired of not getting credit for all he was doing to stay out of their way. Wasn't anything good enough?

"Really?"

"Really."

"So, if you come across Hermione defenseless and completely at the mercy at someone who would love to see her dead, or at the very least badly hurt, you will do nothing?"

Draco groaned and fell back. "Don't be absurd."

"Well, isn't that what you said?"

"I'd lose my position if I didn't do anything."

Theo shook his head, half in amusement, half in exasperation. "You're talking in circles, Draco."

"Fine, then let me be straight about it: I don't intend to help her out especially, same as I don't intend to play Muggle-protector unless I absolutely have to. Now drop this, please."

Theo didn't let go entirely. "But you still refuse to help with our house situation?"

"Sorry. It's just not who I am anymore."

"And just who are you these days?"

"Someone who is really, really tired of having to justify himself to you."

As he made his dramatic exit, Draco couldn't help but wonder at Theo's question. Who was he these days?


The brave Gryffindor made her hasty retreat and didn't stop until she was well away from the office. That had been strange beyond words. She didn't even mean the tension between Theo and Malfoy, because that had been there for a while now, but… the whole thing.

She was so confused.

Theo kissing her had seemed to be the climax of a very long dancing around the issue and it had been nice, but she hadn't been able to just relax and let go. Granted, she never had been able to do that without some sort of coercion, but she had wanted to let go, to lose herself completely.

Hermione had been so intent on her purpose that she hadn't even noticed when Malfoy had entered and being so used to him knowing exactly what she felt, she had felt caught and had probably given everything away with that stupid blush.

She was just fortunate that he didn't really seem to care anymore. Not many days ago, he would have mocked her blush with a condescending look and a smirk, but today he hadn't really reacted at all, except to try to leave. It must mean the effects were finally wearing off. She was glad.

And confused. She had thought it would be a bit more gradual than this. Not that it was a bad thing. It was a very, very good thing. Now there was nothing keeping her from Theo, and nobody was unhappy. Everything was neatly wrapped up now. Happy ending… right?

She frowned. Something was off.


The funny thing about pain is that when you're exposed to it long enough, you stop noticing it, and eventually you just grow numb. Apart from the occasional pang, Draco found that he was coping fairly well. He was actually sort of proud of how well he was coping, everything considered.

Blaise was mad at him. Draco was sorry about that, but he wasn't sorry about telling his friend the truth as he saw it. Blaise really did need to either shape up or back down. At least there was a possibility that he might get what he wanted if he shaped up. Draco would have liked to have that choice himself. He would like to think that he wouldn't have wasted it the way that Blaise did.

But, of course, nobody would ever know.

"Hey!"

Draco frowned as someone got in his way when he was on his way from class to the dungeons. His frown turned into a weary sigh when he noticed who it was.

"Just the kind of reception any girl wants!" the girl cheerily said.

"Look, um, Astoria, was it? I don't know what you think, but I really don't have a lot to talk to you about, so if you'd just…"

"Wow, you truly are a ladies' man, aren't you? No wonder you have it so easy with the girls!"

Draco clenched his teeth and glared at her. He realized that he wasn't really fair to her, but he couldn't help the disgust he was feeling with himself when he thought about how he'd used her to throw Hermione and everyone else off the scent. "What do you want?"

"I was going to propose a deal, but you'll really have to be nicer to me for it to work."

"What kind of deal?"

She studied him for a few seconds before replying. "I'm reasonably popular and, more importantly, of the right pedigree. Pretend to date me and before long people will completely forget your infatuation with Granger and your name will be restored."

What a strange proposal, one that instantly made him suspicious. "Provided I were interested in that, what would you get from it?"

She smiled a bit wryly. "The social standing would go both ways. With your name restored, you'll be one of the very few really good matches left since Nott goes with Granger and Zabini… well, apart from acting strange lately, we all know that it isn't a girlfriend he's looking for."

Draco pursed his lips. "I thought you said you were popular, why do you need me?"

Astoria scowled and shrugged. "There are a few bi—um, witches in my year that I'd like to set straight about a few things… They're always bragging about their 'boyfriends' at Durmstrang. Glorified penfriends, really, if you ask me, but it's hard to get them back without leverage. You could be leverage. You're certainly better than some penfriend."

"So, you want to use my name to win some petty teenage witch squabble. Charming."

She smiled. "Well, it would also make me more interesting to other prospects later. Provided you let me be the one to break up once we've achieved our goals, of course. It's not like you need anything to look more interesting. You just need to be nicer."

"Why would you want to look more interesting as you call it?" Draco couldn't help but ask. If anything, he was wishing that this girl would be a little less interesting. His head was spinning—and not in a good way.

"Mother wants us—my sister and me—to marry as soon after finishing school as possible. I want to make sure that I at least have as many prospects as possible so I don't end up sharing my marriage bed with some fat old wizard."

"Ew," Draco muttered.

"Yeah, and I am neither the prettiest nor the smartest witch that will be on the market, so I need something else to set me apart, and you need something to help redeem you and possibly convince Nott that you aren't a threat to his relationship."

As if Theo didn't already know that. "Look, as clever as your little plan is, I'm really not that interested in any redemption as far as those people go."

"You're still looking at her, you know. I've been watching you, and you look at her when you think nobody notices."

Draco stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about and even if I did, where I look is my own business."

"Somebody else will notice. They will realize that you choose to stay single and that you still look at her with that wistful expression on your face…"

"What is it you want from me?" Draco interrupted, a sick feeling spreading in his stomach at the thought of Hermione realizing that he still wanted her. She would pity him. He couldn't deal with her pity just now.

"I want you to agree to this," Astoria calmly replied.

"So, you're blackmailing me. You're going to tell people that I still want her unless I pretend to be your boyfriend. Is that it?" He wasn't even trying to hide his anger. He had fought too hard to get where he currently was at, she couldn't just ruin it now!

Astoria's blue eyes widened with an innocence that he didn't trust. "Not at all! I won't have to tell anyone anything. You'll give yourself away before long."

"And how will that be any different with this charade?"

"They won't look for it. They will assume that you are completely recovered. Don't underestimate the power of assumption."

"You really have this whole thing figured out, don't you?"

"Of course! So… will you do it?"

Draco just stared at her for a long moment. A pretend-girlfriend. Could he do it?


Draco plonked down in a chair across from her. "So, I was thinking…"

"Did you hurt yourself?"

He rolled his eyes. "Really, Granger, you need some new material."

"But the old material fits so well!"

"I was thinking," he repeated, ignoring her, "that there was a misconception that I probably should correct."

"What? Just the one?" she drily asked.