Chapter Thirty-Eight

"What are you muttering about, Hermione?" Ron asked as he spread marmalade over his toast. It was the morning before their first classes – everyone, it seemed, was curious to see what would happen now that so many things were different – except Ron.

"Nothing, really. I'm just anxious for class."

Ron shrugged, "It's not like you have anything to worry about. You're you."

Hermione knew Ron meant to be encouraging, but she immediately became defensive. "What's that supposed to mean? That I'm better than everyone else, or something?"

Ron's jaw tightened a little and he seemed to be trying very hard to control a sudden temper, "No, it doesn't." He began accidentally spreading the marmalade onto his pancakes.

"Then what does it mean?" she snapped.

Harry's attention had been caught at this point, "It doesn't mean anything, Hermione. Ron was just trying to be helpful."

"Yeah," Ron agreed, noticing the marmalade.

"Oh, I see. Gang up on me. That's fine." Hermione shoved her piece of toast into her mouth and gathered up her things, storming out of the Great Hall, amid stares from her fellow students – many of whom still thought she and Ron were a couple.

Ron stared after her with a look of utter contempt before turning to Harry, furiously complaining: "I know she's been through a lot, but the way she's acting, you'd think she was the only one!"

"Don't be too angry, Ron," Ginny soothed, "Hermione's misfortunes are still manifesting themselves in her everyday life. Can you imagine how hard it must be to have to wake up and go to breakfast when you know you're going to see your husband – who you don't even like – across the hall, ignoring you?"

"In case you forgot, Ginny," Ron stormed, ruined pancake in one hand, "I have to wake up every morning to remember that she's married to him and watch the whole song and dance, myself!"

Ginny sighed, "I know, Ron."

"And in case you also forgot," Ron added contemptuously, "she never had to watch her own family DIE right in front of her eyes." He bit angrily into the pancake.

"Ronald," Ginny warned in her most dangerous voice.

"No one's saying Hermione's situation is more difficult than yours," Harry mediated. "They're just different. Neither of you can really understand one another."

Ron's countenance suddenly switched, and he appeared very morose, chewing the pancake absently. "I think I still love her."

Ginny gave her brother an awkward hug, "I thought so."

"It's just hard, knowing there's nothing I can do. She's MARRIED," Ron stressed, taking another bite of his pancake, the marmalade sliding off the sides and onto his plate. He took no notice.

"If you love her, mate, you might have to settle for being her friend. Of anything right now, that's what Hermione needs the most," Harry offered sympathetically.

"I know," Ron muttered darkly. "But that'd mean having to accept that she's gone."

"You've got to do it sometime," Ginny put in.

"Terrible pancakes, here," Ron cursed, flopping his half-eaten pancake onto his plate and ignoring his sister's comment. "I'm going to class."

He exited much in the same way as Hermione had. As soon as he had gone, Harry and Ginny exchanged looks, communicating they were both upset at the recent developments between their friends, and also thankful that they had one another. Ginny rested her head on Harry's shoulder; He took her hand.

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Meanwhile, Draco was not quite so unaware as he might have seemed; Having watched the exchange take place, he was able to read lips for much of the conversation.

It occurred to him that no one had probably told Hermione's friends that the school did not yet know she was married. Well, if they kept gabbing like that, soon everyone would know – and that was not what either he OR Hermione wanted to happen.

There was no way around it: he would have to say something to Potter. The last thing he needed, aside even from the glares and snide remarks about his past, was for everyone to know he was married. To Hermione.

He waited impatiently while Harry and Ginny finished their breakfast. He judged they would probably have the same class Hermione and Ron did, and so would exit the Great Hall through the same doors. The moment he saw them gather their things, he stood up nonchalantly and made his way to the doors facing the East Wing.

He intercepted them outside the hall, just as he'd hoped. "Potter," he said audibly. He was glad no one else was in that particular corridor at the time.

"Malfoy," Harry acknowledged, stopping in his tracks. He was holding hands with Ginny, who was trying very hard to look anywhere but at Draco.

"I need to talk with you."

"We're just going to Transfiguration," Harry replied, as though that was some kind of answer.

"There's something you need to know," Draco continued, ignoring Harry's ambiguous comment. "I've talked to McGonagall. No one at the school knows I'm married. I'd rather it stayed that way."

"Oh yes, because this is all about you!" Ginny snapped, brown eyes furious as she finally consented to look at him.

"For your information, I contacted the school to protect…" Draco peered around the hallway again "…Hermione from what kind of treatment she might get from people knowing that kind of information. You think I don't get ridiculed now? You think people don't know I was a scumbag? She's been through enough – don't you think? – without everyone associating her with me…"

Ginny closed her mouth.

"I appreciate that you did that for her," Harry said quietly.

"I didn't do it for your appreciation. But you might as well not go around putting those precautions into jeopardy," Draco snapped.

He was feeling very raw at that moment: what was wrong with him? Why was he admitting he'd done anything for Hermione? Because he actually cared about her? THAT would be absurd. Draco Malfoy never cared for anyone, really, unless they were useful. Hermione wasn't very useful – in fact, all she seemed to be doing was causing more troubles for him.

"I know you didn't do it for my appreciation. But I'm still glad you did it."

"Sure," Draco shrugged.

"Is that all?"

"I guess," Draco replied.

"I'll see you around, then, Draco."

He winced at the use of his first name, "Yeah, something like that…"

As he walked off, Draco silently cursed himself. What was that look Potter had on his face back there? And who gave him the right to call him by his given name, anyway?

Glancing at his schedule, Draco realized he was going the wrong way.

"Muggle Studies," he snorted. McGonagall had required all those involved with Voldemort to undergo a Muggle Studies class – both for retribution, understanding, and also in the hopes, most likely, of reforming some of them. "Absurd," he cursed, fuming, as he made his way up the staircase.

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"What WAS that look you had on your face, back there, Harry?" Ginny demanded, letting go of Harry's hand and walking backwards in front of him.

"I have a hunch," Harry murmured thoughtfully.

Ginny waited for him to say more, but when he didn't, she tapped his shoulder impatiently, "…And the hunch is…?"

"Well," Harry said, chewing the inside of his cheek, "call me crazy, Gin, but I don't think Malfoy's as hopeless as we thought he was."

Ginny snorted, "He's still a git."

"Maybe he is. But he's done a lot of thinking."

"So what? He still ruined Hermione's life," she retorted.

"I don't know about that."

"Harry! Stop being so vague!" Ginny complained.

"Sorry, sorry," Harry apologized sheepishly, "but I just don't want to be wrong."

She rolled her eyes, "You're not being any LESS vague by saying that, you know."

"I think Draco CARES for our 'Mione," Harry said quietly.

Ginny snorted, "As if. Can someone like him even ever care for anything?"

"I told you, Ginny, I don't think he's as hopeless as everyone made him out to be," Harry said seriously. "And when was the last time you ever heard of Draco doing something NICE for someone?"

"Never," Ginny said flatly, in a tone that showed how skeptical she clearly was.

"EXACTLY, Gin," Harry proved, "so why should he start now? Why did he go even a little bit out of his way to do something that would benefit Hermione?"

"I can see why you're making this connection," Ginny admitted, "but I just don't really think it's plausible."

"Maybe not," Harry admitted.

"But you're not going to drop it."

"I won't bring it up again… but I do want to see where it goes."

"If anywhere," Ginny added, with a tinge of incredulity.

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It didn't take Hermione long to get frustrated with herself. She felt like she couldn't learn anything – nothing Professor Nguyen said in Transfiguration was making any sense to her, even though she knew it was just a recap of things she'd learned just over a year ago.

She felt like her brain wasn't working. Had she been brainwashed? What if she would never recover? Would she fail? She couldn't fail! What would she ever amount to, if she failed? Nothing!

It didn't help that Ron was going out of his way to be TOO nice to her, or that Harry and Ginny seemed to be sharing some great secret. She purposely paired herself with Parvati Patil when they were doing practices, so she wouldn't have to deal with any of them.

That, too, turned out to be a bad idea.

"Should be an interesting year," Parvati remarked with a small smile. "It was an interesting year last year, though. And followed by an interesting summer, of course. What did you do over the summer?"

If only you knew, Hermione thought inwardly. She felt distinctly bitter, and angry for feeling that way. Resentful. If only anyone knew how much the summer had ruined her life...

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Author's Note: No, this chapter didn't have much Draco or Hermione. In fact, most of it was Harry and Ginny. I know that, as readers, when you guys read a Draco and Hermione fic, you're not really looking forward to reading a whole bunch about Ron or Harry or Ginny... but I think this chapter is important. Otherwise, how could Ron and Hermione go from being so into one another just months ago to nothing? They couldn't. And far too often, I think, Ron's side of the story gets lost in these sorts of fics.

So, in other words, I'm sorry, but I'm not. If that makes sense.

Thanks to InvisibleLilacNights, gitgit, Xx. Shaiya Star-Gazer .xX, MyLookOfDenial., RIPJameSiriusLupinTrueMarauder, ShadX, Padfoot7Progs, -Arria Rose-, and Marmalade Fever for the reviews! I give you all cookies! Yum!

Xx. Shaiya Star-Gazer .xX - I guess I didn't understand your question about the Heads of Houses. Did you mean Prefects and Head Boy/Girl? Or did you mean Heads like in the way McGonagall was the Head of Gryffindor House?

Marmalade Fever - Yes, I do know about the semicolons. I write for a newspaper, though, and that's how they like me to do it, so that's how it's been ingrained into my head... so unfortunately, bad grammar, yes, but they stay. Sorry. lol

P.S. I'm really glad everyone liked the portraits of Lupin and Tonks. I was rather proud of coming up with that bit. Yes, there will be more throughout the school, as you'll most likely see later.