So…I did have this lovely blurb about how much I love you guys, and I did have the first three pages written in a span of twenty some-odd minutes.

But I also have a computer that decided to suddenly freeze and lose all of my work.

So, I am annoyed now, which means that my blurb will be shorter.

And my chapter was so fucking wonderful! I was seriously proud of it, too.

But yes, basically my blurb was how I love you guys and how amazing you are and your reviews always make my day. I love how you are always so damn patient, waiting for me to update, occasionally 'pestering' me to update faster, haha, and how I love that you are so freakin' loyal it's scary.

You and my MCMM group of readers/reviewers happen to be the best bunch in the entire world.

So, I love you guys. Even though I hate my computer at the moment.

FUCK YOU COMPUTER!

I feel a bit better now, can't scream IRL 'cause I'm on the train at 10:00pm.

Oh well.

Extra note (made much later than the above one): I am SO SORRY for the huge delay in updating. Life has been unexpectedly busy. I thought I would have more time with more days off from school, but I have so much homework from my classes that it's insane (my Ancient Greek teacher is crazy, I'm serious). On top of that, add work, soccer, one/two days a week with my boyfriend (which is the only time we get together), and house work, and I have hardly time to update. So, I apologize from the bottom of my heart that this has taken so long. I didn't intend for it to happen, but shit got really real. So I'm very sorry to everyone. I will try to work harder and make more time for this. I promise! (I've already started on the next chapter, but my exam period is coming up, so it may take a bit, but not as long as this one!)

P.S. Probably typos in there...wanted to edit, didn't have time, and just gave up.

Here's the chapter.

Btw, sorry, Ron doesn't die. But he may or may not get severely pwned. Just putting that bit out there.

Disclaimer: lots of swearing. Because most angry people tend to swear multiple when, well, angry.

So, we get cursing! Pretty and beautifully colourful words used to express a feeling when there is no other appropriate word for it.

Enjoy that.

Chapter 17

Trojan War

"Block and subdue, just like those missions when we were trying to capture Death Eaters for information," she answered mechanically. Ron, unfortunately, was an enemy now. She knew no words would reach his fogged mind, knew that nothing she did or say would be able to stop him from doing something he would regret. They would have to just stop him the only way they knew would work.

Her grip tigtehened on her wand as Ron shouted, sending out another curse in their direction.

It was a sad day when one had to fight their friend because of a kiss.

(Insert pretty and awesome quote about loss of friendship here)

Two bodies fell to the ground, rolling on the mud and dirty quickly to leap back into their feet, bodies poised, arms outstretched and unwavering, hands clenched tightly about individual pieces of wood that held such untold powers.

Her heart hammered wildly in her chest from the fear and excitement of the battle, a sensation she had not experienced in the past seven months, when they had last caught and subdued the last Death Eater who posed a severe threat to Voldemort's betrayers and the hiding innocent.

She had to ease her mind, had to push away the threatening fears and anxiety and find that place of mindlessness and emptiness. She had to fight back the worries and pull her body and mind into a state of ultimate calm. It was the only way one could survive a battle; be calm, be emotionless, be rational, and defeat the emotional, untrained enemies.

Her eyes never wavered, always staring at the man in front of her, but she caught sight of the other man in her peripheral vision, the one she loved with all of her heart. His pose was perfection, a telling of incessant training and hours of practice. His back was straight, legs taut and ready to move when necessitated, his arm was long and strong, unwavering, fingers clenched tightly around his wand, prepared to hold onto it for dear life, and he bounced almost imperceptibly on the balls of his feet, something only the trained eye would notice. His eyes were empty, hard, grey walls that blocked out all emotion and pushed any fears away. You fear you die, it was common knowledge, and Draco Malfoy was one of the best at pushing away that fear to survive.

It wasn't a mindless uncaring attitude, certainly not, it was a blank, rational state of mind that took over, siphoning the emotions, letting in just the right amount to keep the person feeling human, while remaining calm and collected enough to avoid certain death.

She had to find that place, and quickly, or she would be just like the man they were about to destroy.

The relaxation, the emptiness slid over her mind just as she began to examine her foe.

"You fucking bitch!" he screamed. "You motherfucking bitch!" Spittle flew from his mouth, she could see it from several feet away, and it was reminiscent of the froth at a rabid beast's mouth. His body shook violently, uncontrolled, emotions consuming every inch of his person. His arm trembled, fingers clenching and unclenching around his wand, and it was something, she noted, that could cost him the piece of wood. His eyes were open to the world, raging blue flames of fury, face contorted into an ugly expression of unadulterated rage, and she knew that his heart was utterly consumed by the emotion.

She never left him, never once looked away to stare at any of the confusion, the chaos that surrounded them. She knew it was beyond time for words, knew that she had no choice but to end this. He would lose this battle; it was a certainty. His lack of control was evident and she could easily exploit and take advantage of that.

What bothered her, however, was that she would be the one to ultimate end him.

The fears gnawed at her, but she didn't once break, not even when he screamed again, a red stream shooting for his wand in her direction. She merely took a calm step to the left and allowed the ground to explode in a shower of dirt. Her eyes never left him and she never once let the anxieties take over. She knew they were there, swirling, black emotions that threatened to blanket her mind in a black sheet of despair and guilt. But her heart had grown strong, her mind powerful, and the walls she had created were reinforced with years of experience. She would not break like the man in front of her.

"Ron! Stop this! Stop what you're doing! Please!"

In her peripheral vision she caught sight of Harry pushing through the crowd, trying in vain to shove away the dozens of students that held him back, clinging onto his body for dear life. Guilt tore at his face and she felt a brief pang of it in her heart, but she couldn't let it grow. Harry's voice was pleading, achingly loud and yearning. She knew he didn't want this to happen, knew that he wanted to do everything in his power to avoid the destruction of her friendship with Ron. But she also knew the crowd's mentality.

The students would never let him pass; they clung to him, dragging him back, protecting their hero from possible injury or death. They saw the expression on Ron's face, knew that sanity had exploded into a fury of unrational thought, and they did not want to take the chance that Ron might snap at his best friend. Harry was their hero, he had saved them from evil and destruction, and she knew that the students would do everything in their power to keep him safe. Harry would try to verbally end the argument, having recently developed more pacifistic thoughts and ideals for ending disputes, and he would never be able to raise his wand against his best friend. Ron, on the other hand, was so broken he would not be able to restrain himself.

They did not want to take the chance.

"Shut up! You don't know her, Harry! She's nothing but a fucking whore! A dirty slag!" Ron screamed, taking several trembling steps forward.

"Ron! Stop this madness!" Harry was tyring to shove his way through, trying to get his classmates off of him. "Just let her tell you why! She has a good reason! Let her explain herself and you'll understand! I promise!"

She knew it would come to no avail, but she decided to placate Harry; the tenderness in her heart wanted to at least temporarily ease some of his fears.

"Ron, let me explain." Her voice was soft, easing, but the tone was more for show than to actually soothe the raging redhead. It would not work, she knew that. "I should have told you, should have explained everything back over the holidays, but I was afraid. I couldn't find a way to explain myself and I was afraid you wouldn't understand. I wanted to wait to find the right time, the right opportunity to tell you the truth. But," she sighed softly, "after what happened a few weeks ago, I was just so angry at you that I didn't care anymore. I just couldn't keep this a secret any longer."

"Liar! You're a fucking liar!" Ron spat, sparks flying violently out from the end of his wand. "You're just a fucking slag, shagging every fucking bloke that comes along. Was I next? After Malfoy, was I going to be your next target? Or was it Harry?"

Oh the imagination that man had; if only he was willing to listen to the truth.

"She's not a slag, Ron!" Harry shouted. "She loves him! She told me!"

Her heart stopped beating when Ron suddenly froze, eyes wide with shock as he slowly turned around on the spot, facing the dark-haired man who had grown up with him.

She heard the snap before it happened.

"You knew?" His voice was unnaturally, terrifyingly low. The pieces were falling down now, shattering as they impacted the floor of irrational reality. "You knew…and you didn't tell me?"

Harry hung his head in shame and, watching Ron's face slowly twist and change, she took a couple barely perceptible steps forward. She felt Draco's eyes briefly fall on her and knew he was wondering just what she was doing.

The second she saw the movement, she was sprinting.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

His roar of outrage hurt her ears, the pain and despair in her voice ached at her heart, and she became suddenly terrified she might not make it on time.

His hand lifted and Harry's head slowly raised, eyes widening with shock as the tip of the wand illuminated. The crowd shrieked, students uncertain of whether to move or to rely that Harry might be able to protect them. Ginny was pushing through the back of the crowd, wand out, tip glowing a faint white, but Hermione knew she would not be able to get to the front in time.

"You ungrateful prick!"

She threw herself into the air, heart wild against her ribs, lungs screaming for air as she wrapped her arms around him, throwing their bodies to the ground. The dark green light shot out in a random direction, landing several feet off of its mark, exploding against the ground and creating a large crater.

She panted, pressing her body roughly on top of his, knowing that once he figured things out, his physical strength would outmatch hers and she would have to find some way to subdue him as quickly as possible.

Looking down, he slowly blinked up to her, a brief moment of clarity showing in his blue eyes.

"Hermione?"

Her knees hurt from where they landed on the ground, her arm ached, shoulder still sore from her previous injury, but she pushed away the aches and pains.

"Ron…stop this," she whispered, not once taking her eyes away from his. "Please. Don't do it for me, don't do it for Draco, do it for Harry, for Ginny, for all of the students watching. Please stop."

The clarity seemed to loom through, pushing away the fog, and she thought, briefly, that she had won, until his eyes darkened with rage once more and she was quickly scrambling to her feet, back in her stance.

"You're just a fucking bitch," he snarled, getting to his feet once she was off of him. "You're a disgusting, foul bitch."

"Conflagrate!"

"Protego!"

Burning flames met a brilliant white shield in a shower of sparks and explosions, and she heard more than saw Draco running up to her, standing once more by her side. She focused all of her attention to pushing her power through her wand, protecting herself and her lover from a potentially dangerous blast.

"I'm going to kick his fucking arse," Draco growled, wand ready and glowing, prepared to retaliate with a spell of his own.

"Just no Unforgiveables," she answered.

"Love, the only one you have to worry about performing those is Weaselbee over there." He glanced around the pitch for a moment. "Where the hell are the teachers?"

"Probably just as stuck as Harry and Ginny," Hermione answered, knowing that the crowds of students probably created an unintentional blockade and, at the sight of a fight going on, they would most likely not heed to their teachers' demands. She heaved out a soft sigh, the only sign that exhaustion was creeping through her veins. She had never wanted this to happen, had chosen to do this specifically then because she assumed that Ron was more stable than before.

She hated it when she was wrong.

"Why do you think no one else is helping us?" Draco asked nonchalantly as Hermione added an extra burst of energy to the shield.

"Fear, excitement, terror, the usual." She grimaced, pushing more magic through her wand when Ron tried throwing more fire at them. "They don't want to get hurt, but they want to see what's going to happen. I would prefer it if they could at least go into their seats and watch; it would be significantly safer for them."

"Do you want me to get them out of the pitch?"

Her eyes glistened with the faintest of smiles and she tilted her head just the slightest in his direction. "As long as you don't get hurt."

He grinned at her. "I won't get hurt; I have you at my back."

"I'll always have your back."

His grin broadened and he blew her a quick kiss; he wanted to place a big one on her lips, but he knew that it would increase Ron's volatile actions and make things far worse than they already were. So he had to make do with blowing her one.

With her free hand, she reached up and caught something and placed it on her lips. He sent her a quick look of confusion, wondering exactly what she had just put on her mouth. Smiling back at him, she answered softly, "I caught your kiss."

Still grinning, he nodded and ran around the shield, putting up one of his own as he ran towards the crowd of students. He heard Hermione yelling from behind him, successfully distracting Ron from his movements.

Reaching the mass, he glanced over his shoulder and saw that Hermione and Ron were once again engaged in a duel, Hermione powerfully defensive, Ron throwing anything that came to mind at her. He hoped that Ron didn't try to use the fiendfyre; that would be rather difficult to try and stop.

Several students reached out to him, as though wanting to pull him away, and he caught sight of Pansy and her gaggle of girls at the back of the mass, a look of shocked pain written on Pansy's face. He should have felt a pang of guilt towards his childhood friend, but the emotionless reaction felt far more natural than regret ever would.

"Everyone, if you want to watch, do it if you want, but Hermione and I want you to go into the stands. It's too dangerous."

"What about you?" whined several third years Slytherin girls, trying to latch onto his gear. "You'll get hurt!"

"You don't have much time," he growled, glancing back to the fighters. "Get the hell out of this pitch; not many of you are powerful enough to fight back. Let Hermione and I handle this, just get back!"

"We don't want you to get hurt!" the girls squealed, giving Draco more of a headache than any amount of Firewhisky ever would.

In the background, he heard Harry over the crowd, screaming to be let through, yelling for Draco to bring him onto the pitch and help stop Ron. He knew, though…he knew that Potter would never be able to lift his wand against Weasley. Just as he had been incapable of raising his wand against Crabbe when Crabbe had finally gone mental.

Sighing heavily, he hadn't really wanted to do this; it had been some time since he had last used 'this' one anyone and he really hated doing it. But he had no choice, he really didn't want anybody else getting hurt, and if anyone did, Hermione would rip off his kneecaps and feed them to the Grindylows in the lake.

He eased his features, letting a mask of calm slide over his face, before opening his eyes. Dark, cruel, and cold steel met the gaze of dozens of students and the first couple of rows back up. Twisting his mouth into a grimace, he pulled his voice from the back of his throat, allowing the anger, the rage, the disappointment flood through his veins. Cold, dark calculation entered his heart, rationality and cruelity sliding through his system as he let the past begin to consume him.

"What did I say?" he snarled. He let the darkness slide through his voice, the malice that had been forced into him since childhood. He wanted to create pain, wanted to cause fear. "I told you to get the fuck back. Why is it that none of you seem to fucking understand that? Get the fuck out of this pitch before I do something you'll regret," he whispered sharply, twirling his wand through his fingers, allowing just enough magic to seep in to cause the tip to glow a dark green. "Now the get fuck off of the grass, and make sure Potter and the Weasley girl go with you." He looked at the crowd, pleased that no one had noticed that the green was the wrong colour for the Killing Curse; it was too dark. "Now!" he shouted.

The first several rows scrambled back, pushing at students, and suddenly everyone was running off of the pitch and making their way into the stands. He barely heard Harry screaming over the fray; he knew that Hermione would never stop blaming herself if Harry or Ginny got hurt because of her romantic decisions. So, he protected her friends in the only way he could.

"Draco!"

Spinning around, he saw a column of fire flying towards him. Cursing, he jumped back, letting out a hiss of pain as the fire slid across his back, licking away his clothes and branding his flesh. Raising his wand, he shouted, "Aguamenti!"

A jet of water gushed out of his wand, meeting the fire in a violent explosion, steam rising where the two streams met.

She was at his side in seconds and he knew she wanted to look over his wounds, wanted to make sure that they weren't too severe, but she had to focus on the fight. Besides, he had a feeling that the second someone touched them, he would be in just enough pain that it would be distracting.

"Got them to leave," he answered her silent question, pushing more magic to make his water stronger and larger. Slowly, it began to push back at Ron's jet of fire.

"Thank you," she murmured softly, raising her wand, tip glowing white as she readied herself for a protego.

"No problem."

"Hermione! You fucking whore!"

"Again with the name-calling?" Draco shouted back. "Don't you know how to say anything else? Maybe a nice compliment here or there!"

"Sod off Malfoy, I wasn't talking to you," Ron yelled, trying to push more energy into his wand.

"Ron, I told you to stop this!" Hermione screamed before Draco could say anything. "Bloody hell, we have you outnumbered and overpowered! Just give up already and no one will think any less of you!"

"Yeah right," Draco snorted. "Like no one will think any differently about the kid who snapped and tried to kill his best friend and her lover."

"Keep quiet you," she hissed.

"It's too late!" She fought the urge to roll her eyes. "It's too fucking late for that! He…he's brainwashed you…he's done something to you! I have to stop him; he makes you think you care about him! He's nothing, Hermione! Nothing but a filthy Death Eater! He wanted you to die because you're nothing but a Mudblood!"

"I never - !"

"Shut it, Draco," she snapped, raging seeping into her body. She hated Ron now, hated him for his actions and hated him even more for his words. It was an anger unlike any she had ever felt before; not only had he insulted the man she loved, but he had dared to use the word "Mudblood." Did he not know how much pain that word caused her? Did he not understand just how much it made her heart break and ache? The heartless bastard.

"Ron, you bloody bastard, you are a heartless piece of shit!" she screamed, wand glowing brighter. "How dare you call Draco a Death Eater! He has done nothing to deserve that; he helped use defeat Voldemort, he gave us the bloody location and let us know his every weakness! He is far from a Death Eater!"

"He's brainwashed you into believing that!" Ron pushed more magic into his wand, the fire matching the water, swirling and steaming in the center of the pitch. "He's manipulated you, used his Death Eater magic on you! He thinks you're just a Mudblood; he'll probably just bring you to his lair and kill you!"

"Stop calling me that!" Her eyes shut as the screamed the words, the pain wrenched from the very depths of her heart and soul as tears threatened to spill over. It was so hard, had always been so hard, not to break down and allow the emotions to rule over her every time she had heard that word. But now, as Ron used it, called her it, it hurt. It hurt more than anything. He should know what it did to her, should know how it made her feel, how much of a derogatory word it was. He was her friend…once was her friend. Friends never did things like that to each other.

"Hermione," Draco said softly, a warning and soothing comment all mixed in one. She had to calm down, had to take in a deep breath and push away the pain in her heart. She didn't like it, she wanted to break down and scream and cry, but she couldn't afford to do it.

Swallowing thickly, she nodded to Draco.

"Ron," she began loudly, voice a tad shaky. "I will tell you this only once, because I don't feel like repeating myself anymore. First off, you need help. Go to St. Mungo's, get admitted into the Psych Ward, and don't come back until you're mentally fit. Next, don't you ever used that word around me ever again! You don't realize how horrible of a word it is, do you? You have no clue how much it hurts to hear a friend say that word to me." Her wand tip glowed bright and she swore she saw something like regret flash in Ron's eyes. "Lastly, I don't care what you say about Draco; he's not a Death Eater, he's far from one. He didn't brainwash me, Ron; I love him."

Silence followed, the only sound being the chattering of the crowd and the steaming hiss of water meeting fire. It was deafening and frightening; silence, the quiet, the calm before the storm.

Something was not right.

If it were possible, they would have heard a loud, violent crack echoing through the stadium as that last little shred of sanity snapped.

Rage consumed him and he found himself at a loss of words, unimaginable pain tore through his body and he saw nothing but red.

With a loud cry, the tunnel of fire changed directions and she swung her wand, sending out a large shield to protect herself from harm. The water from Draco's wand quickly disappeared and he turned to Hermione as she kept the shield strong.

"You just had to push him that last little bit," he sighed.

"I couldn't help it," she admitted quietly.

The fire suddenly died down and they were faced with a panting, sweating Ron several feet away. Hermione kept the shield up, however, just in case he decided to attack again.

"Put down the shield," Draco said suddenly.

Blinking at the blond, Hermione sent him a frown. "Why?"

"I have a plan. Put it down, and then put it back up when I say so." She frowned at him, wondering aloud what he was going to do. "Just trust me, love. This bastard's been just fighting with magic, he wants to fight, we'll fight. Man to man."

"I never thought of you as a hand-to-hand combat type," she admitted. "And I also do not need you fighting my battles for me," she added.

"He is fighting both of us, so we will both fight him. I just have a better of chance of kicking the bloody shit out of him in hand-to-hand than you." He flashed her a quicky smirk. "The plan is, I kick the living shit out of him, and when you have a shot, stun the weasel."

"Don't call," she began but hesitated, realizing that the words were more out of habit than in actual defense of the man. "Fine," she sighed. "When you're ready."

"Now."

The shield lowered and Draco suddenly sprinted forward. Quickly, she reset the shield at his signal and he kept running. Ron took a moment to gawk and try to figure out just what was going on before something clicked. Suddenly, he was throwing out curse after curse, Draco dodging them.

"Stupefy! Stupefy!"

Rushing, closer to Ron now, Draco jumped over the curses, twisting his body in the air to land comfortably on his feet and keep running. When he was within reach, he pocketed his wand and threw his body at the redhead, both landing in a heap on the ground.

Rolling over, Ron managed to slide his body out from under Draco's before the blond could get a hold on him and scrambled to his feet. Swinging, he kicked at the blond's face and Draco leaned back, dodging it, before gracefully getting to his feet.

"This again, Malfoy?" Ron snapped, clenching his hands into tight fists.

Draco grinned. "Don't be angry that I can beat you in both magical and physical duels," he answered. "Give me your best shot."

Letting out a cry of rage, Ron lunged forward, tossing his wand aside to throw a punch at Draco. Like before, Draco gracefully stepped to the side and reached out with his hand, grabbing the redhead's wrist. With a quick and swift movement, he twisted his body, pulling down as he pushed up. Ron was airborne before he even realized what was happening, landing hard on his back.

"Bastard!"

Draco chuckled as Ron got back to his feet, listening as the redhead curses him to hell and beyond. It was a lot of fun to embarrass Weasley. Stretching a bit, he fought back a wince as his back ached just the slightest bit. It was starting to hurt him again, but at least the adrenaline pumping through his body was distracting enough.

Ron threw himself at Draco and he dodged again, spinning around in time to avoid a second attack by the redhead. Unfortunately, however, the redhead's hand made contact with the burnt flesh of Draco's back.

Hissing with pain, Draco grabbed the Ron's arm a second time, moving with more force and flipping Ron hard onto the ground. He felt blood trickling down from the broken, scabbed skin and it irritated him more than anything.

As Ron got to his feet once more, out of sheer annoyance, Draco simply stretched out and slammed his fist against the other man's face. He watched with sadistic glee as blood spurted from the man's nose, taking this moment to grab his hands and hold them behind his back.

"Hermione! Now!" He held Ron in front of him, using him as a shield and keeping the man exposed enough for Hermione's spell to hit the target without any problem.

She swallowed thickly, taking a moment to take in a deep breath before readying her wand. "I'm sorry Ron," she murmured, lifting her wand, the tip glowing.

"Expelliarmus!"

Her wand went flying and all eyes fell on the person standing near the entrance to the pitch. Looking rather disheveled and extremely upset, McGonagall glared furiously at the students as she reached up and grasped the wand.

"What in the world are you three doing?" she shouted, face red with a myriad of emotions. "Do you even know where you are? Do you have an idea of what you have done?"

Adrenaline still flowed through her veins, so much so that Hermione didn't even register an inkling of alarm or fear at Professor McGonagall's voice. Her body was screaming with the need to continue fighting until the very end, a mentality she had obtained from months spent fighting against the merciless Death Eaters.

"You two! Put your wands on the ground immediately! And let go of Weasley, Malfoy, now!" the Professor commanded, hair standing comically at ends and hat askew from having to push and pull her way through the thick crowd of astonished, cheering, and screaming students.

Almost as if they woke from a dream, Draco suddenly let go of Ron, sending the redhead stumbling forward to his knees, and pulled his wand out. "Professor, I refuse to let my wand go until Weasley drops his. Just in case."

Ron blinked at the Headmistress, wondering how the hell she just materialized out of nowhere so suddenly. Looking around, he took in his surroundings, let go of a deep breath, and realized that it was of no use to keep fighting. He was outnumbered and overpowered.

Sighing, he gestured to the side, where his wand had been tossed some time during his physical brawl with Draco. "It's there," he mumbled.

Crossing her arms sternly, Professor McGonagall waited and watched as Draco took out his wand and gently placed it on the abused terrain. He stood still as the Professor marched over and gathered both of the wands, tucking them into the pockets of her robes. Looking at the trio, her face twisted in disappointment and immeasurable frustration, she gestured for them to follow her.

"My office. Now," she ordered, making her way off of the pitch. When she paused near the entrance and looked back, the trio suddenly scrambled forward, rushing after her.

Hermione wanted to say something as she followed the Professor out of the stadium. The adrenaline was quickly fading, the need to survive replaced by the need to explain and difuse the situation. She needed the Headmistress to understand why this happened, how come she and Draco couldn't have just backed down and avoided the entire confrontation. But a part of her knew that it was useless to argue now; it would only further frustrate McGonagall and make things worse.

At the same time, a realization was slowly dawning on her. They had fought on school grounds. Not just a few punches here or there; they had flung curses at each other, had used magic against one another with the intent to harm – at least, that was certain in the case of Ron. But, no matter what, they had used magic to fight, and fighting itself was strictly prohibited.

Her breathing sharpened and quickened as she began to understand just how precarious and bad the situation was. They could be suspended, or worse, expelled. Or they could have their wands revoked for a period of time. Or they could…

She began to hyperventilate at the thought of being sent home, wandless and in disgrace, unable to finish her education, unable to continue casting her magic, unable to continue her dreams because of a stupid, redheaded idiot who seemed to live in an alternate reality.

Her feet carried her, but her mind was elsewhere entirely. What would her friends say? What would her family say? What about Draco? What if they revoked his wand, too? How would his family react? She had pulled him into this, had dragged him down with her, and now he was in just as much trouble as her and it was all her fault.

"Fuck," she murmured, digging her hands into her hair, nails dragging across her scalp as tears threatened to burn her eyes.

A soothing hand made its way to her back, gently rubbing up and down her spine in an attempt to calm her restless fears. Turning, her gaze met Draco's; his tender, loving, and calming quicksilver eyes. Almost instantly, she felt a cooling wave of relaxation wash over her body, chilling the angry heat growing within.

She was glad that McGonagall and Ron seemed oblivious to their actions, walking away, McGonagall with angry purpose and Ron with his head hanging down. This was a moment where she felt broken, raw, and open, a moment that she knew only Draco would ever be able to see.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed to him, reaching out to tug on his shirt.

Smiling gently, he reached over and placed a peck on her cheek, never breaking his stride. "Don't be sorry," he whispered. "Just remember, you have my back and I'll always have yours. We're in this together."

Nodding, she kept her hold on his clothes, walking the rest of the way in silence. Her mind had quieted as his soothing words and touch. His, too, he calmed down. He knew that the worst that could happen was probably a temporary suspension from classes, if McGonagall had witnessed the whole fight. She couldn't expel them; they were merely protecting themselves.

Weasley, on the other hand…that was a completely different situation.

"I will talk to you one at a time," McGonagall said once they had entered her office. Hermione couldn't help but lower her head at the look the portrait of Dumbledore was giving her. Peering, calculative, concerned, curious, and…pleased? It was uncomfortable and strange, to say the least, and she last thing she wanted was to have her favourite Headmaster know that she was in trouble for fighting.

About to ask how, she watched as McGonagall gestured for Ron to step forward first, and then created a bubble around the two of them, silencing the area within to those outside.

Turning, she ignored as McGonagall began a very restrained looking conversation with Ron, the redhead gesticulating wildly, as though unable to contain the anger provoked by the topic of conversation.

"Draco," she began.

"Look, Hermione," he cut her off gently, removing her hand from his shirt to slide his fingers between hers, "we are not going to get expelled."

"How do you know that? How are you so sure of it?"

"I've been in trouble enough throughout the years to know how this will play out. We were defending ourselves. Weasley attacked us and we had no choice but to try and defend ourselves from his actions. At worst, we might have an in-school suspension for fighting, but that's it. She can't expel us."

Hermione wanted to argue, wanted to tell him that yes, she could expel them, but this was one of those times when she had to put her trust in someone else's knowledge. While she had read Hogwarts: A History several times, Draco probably did understand the school's penal system better than she. She had, after all, made it a point tos tay out of trouble as much as possible in her years at Hogwarts.

"Okay," she breathed. "Okay...but, what will happen to Ron?"

"He's getting expelled." Draco spoke the words with such a calm tone that it almost broke her heart. If it weren't for the fact that Ron had just tried to, essentially, kill them, she would have felt more pity. But, no matter what, it was still shocking to learn that a good friend – ex-friend – of hers was going to be expelled from school.

"We need to let McGonagall know about his state of mind," she said quickly, glancing over to ensure that the Headmistress and student were still in their bubble. "We need her to know that he's not…right."

"We will, don't worry." He squeezed her hand. "But, for now, we just tell the truth."

"I know that," she muttered, squeezing his fingers back.

She watched as the bubble lowered and Ron stepped back out, looking rather upset. Swallowing thickly, she took a step forward as McGonagall motioned her to go next. Glancing back at Draco, she sent him a quick smile before stepping forward and being surrounded by the bubble.

Show time.

There we go.

Again I'm so sorry that it took so long to finish this. I would have incorporated the conversations with Hermione, Draco, and McGonagall, but that would just take too long since I have plans for that. Anyway, thank you all for your unbelievable patience. I know what it's like to wait for forever for someone to update, to wonder if they're even gonna keep writing and I'm sorry for putting you all through that.

I plan on spending more time writing now in the future, now that things are easing up a bit and I am on Spring Break next week.

Note: called this chapter Trojan War after the concept/story of the Trojan War, the face that set sail a thousand ships. Hermione is my Helen, Draco could be Paris and Ron Agammemnon's brother. Although Draco is no pansy like Paris.

Also, I was wondering, to either any history buffs or Montrealers/Quebecers out there reading, I would like to take two seconds of your time to appeal to you. My friends did an advocacy a while back (basically a peaceful protest) to get the City of Montreal to start taking care of the house of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, who is essentially the first ever Prime Minister of Canada. They have a petition running, and if you want to sign you can.

This is the link you can use. Obviously replace (dot) with .

http:/www(dot)gopetition(dot)com/petition/42522/signatures(dot)html

THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR PATIENCE! YOU ARE REALLY THE BEST! I LOVE YOU ALL!3333