Chapter 20

The Writing on the Desk

Mudblood.

Filth.

Slag.

Whore.

Close your legs, you bloody slut.

Is the only way you can get a man through a love potion? Pathetic.

She stared down at the desk, covered in various insults and expletives, torn between wanting to cry and break something. She thought that she had gotten used to the word "Mudblood" during the war, having heard it said every second word during her fights with the Death Eaters. She thought that she had steeled herself against any and all attacks by the students, verbal or physical, but the combination of the whispering in the halls and the sight of the desk was slowly breaking down her resolve.

Thus far today, she had had another goblet of pumpkin juice explode during lunch, someone dared shrink her blouse into the size of a minute tube top, and several Slytherins had 'bumped' into her in the halls, muttering several rude words under their breath. It also bothered her that when she stepped into Charms, her usual spot was flipped upside down magically and it had taken her several minutes to revert the spell and be able to sit at her spot.

She felt the pitying looks on the teacher's faces, knew that they were concerned for her welfare, and Professor McGonagall had even come up to her at one point in time to see if she wanted any assistance. But she had kindly denied their help, not wanting to give the teachers more work than they already had.

So, she had tried to grin and bear it, she had tried to push away the feelings of anxiety, pain, and anger that threatened to overwhelm her every time something seemed to go wrong on its own. But now, as she stared down at her desk, covered in those words, she felt tears prick at her eyes and it took several blinks to push them away.

Skirt and blouse shrinking, she could deal with; the pain from that was a more temporary mental one, it was brief and only lasted for a short while after the event occurred. Things blowing up, that was more physical, and she knew that going down to the Great Hall for supper would end with something else exploding on the table, so she planned to avoid it and eat in the Heads' Tower.

But this, these words that had haunted her, words that never described her but seemed to become a part of her, the words that dug deep down, latched onto her heart with rusty nails that refused to budge, this hurt.

Rubbing her face, she let out a low, shuddering breath, trying to push away the pain long enough to see clearly and try to discover just who, amongst her fellow students, would dare do such a thing.

There were no snickering faces amongst the students in her Double Transfiguration class, but there was something she had taken notice of.

Thus far, all of these happenings either occurred in crowded areas, where the students were mixed, or in her classes that had Slytherins, as well. At least this would enable her to shorten the list of possible culprits. It had to either be a Slytherin – very likely – or a Gryffindor – quite unlikely, since most Gryffindors in her year had been surprisingly supportive. Then again, a number of them had been present at the New Year's party, and another number had fought with Draco in the war and knew that he had switched side. Of course, she knew that there were doubts, but she also knew that they were more likely to take out their frustration on Draco rather than one of their own.

Even Parvati and Lavender, the gossip queens and mischief makers that they were, had been more sympathetic about the situation. Lavender had even cried over Ron, upset that the man she once dated was clearly becoming another strange one altogether. Hermione wanted to tell her the truth, but she just couldn't until Ginny gave the go ahead, and even then, she thought that Ginny was the only one in the school who had the right to discuss Ron's mental health with anyone else.

Therefore, as she sat there, staring down at the desk, she concluded that the culprit was most definitely a seventh year Slytherin.

Waving her wand over the writing, she attempted a few erasing charms, muttering a low curse to herself when she realized it was a non-removable writing charm. It would only go away with time and no other magic would be able to make it disappear earlier than that. She assumed that it would probably last the length of the lesson, so that it would not be seen by any other student from any other class. That succeeded in only increasing her frustration.

Hearing footsteps come up, getting a brief waft of a musky autumn scent, she quickly covered her desk as much as she could with parchment, quills and books of all assortment, afraid of Draco's reactions to the words. She couldn't let him see; she didn't want him to worry more than he already was. She could deal with this on her own, she didn't need to get him involved too; he had his own things to take care of at the moment.

He seemed none the wiser, focusing intently on the class while keeping his arm near hers, fingers occasionally reaching out to brush against her skin. She appreciated the tender touch, enjoyed the way his warm fingers felt against her skin, and it succeeded in calming her for a moment, drawing her attention away from the writing covered desk.

As class went by, the tried her hardest to focus on the lecture, practicing when they were told to practice, dutifully taking notes when it was required, and she kept her attention on anything but what was currently under the notebooks. It was hard, her mind kept drifting and, as depression and self-hate sank in, she occasionally debated with herself whether the words were the truth or not. How could she be so sure? One really never knew their own qualities only somebody else described them. She wondered if they were true, wondered if they really were a part of her.

Her eyes were glazing over before she knew it, a thin, watery film covering her vision, and she knew that if she didn't quickly focus on something else, the water would be flowing freely down her cheeks, hot streaks of pain and self-hate.

She focused on the warmth of the man beside her, letting herself gently lean into him, a subtle gesture that made her heart pitter-patter as she felt his soothing heat radiate off of his body. She focused on his tickling fingers, letting the feel of the smooth, slightly calloused tips ease away her tension and pain.

Sometimes, she realized, she needed his support just as much as he sometimes needed hers.

Once class ended, she took her time removing her books, trying to determine whether the writing was still there or not, without letting Draco see. She let out a sigh of relief when she moved the parchment and saw that the words had disappeared at some point in time during the class.

Collecting her stuff quicker now, she removed the last piece just in time to watch Mudblood fade from the center of her desk. Quickly, she glanced over to Draco, pleased that he was too caught up in a conversation with Blaise to notice the last word on her desk.

Sending the two Slytherin men a thin smile, she reached over and gave Draco a small peck on the cheek. "I'm heading to the library," she said softly, glad that classes for the day were finally over. "I have some books I need for an essay in my Muggle Studies class."

The look in Draco's eyes said he wanted to go with her, but she needed some peace and quiet to herself to collect her thoughts and emotions, to file everything away in their own little folders and tuck them into the storage unit at the back of her mind. She wouldn't be able to do that if he were hovering around, trying to bring her spirits up while threatening the entire student population for the actions of, she believed, one or two Slytherin assholes.

"I'll be okay," she said in response to his unspoken question. "I'll just grab the books and I'll see you back in the Tower, okay?"

At Blaise's not-so-subtle nudge, Draco finally acquiesced and reached out, pressing his hand against her cheek to rub his thumb on her smooth skin. "Okay, but not before I get my kiss." There was a sudden mischievous look in his eyes that had her stomach dropping and abdomen tightening with liquid heat.

"But, I already gave you a kiss," she answered, keeping quiet; half of the class was still in the room, chatting away as they packed their stuff or just relaxing on their desks, glad that the day was finally over. She felt her cheeks heat up as a red blush made its way over them.

"Oh no," he teased, leaning down to place his other hand on her face, cupping face now. "That wasn't a kiss." His words got quieter he lowered his mouth towards hers. "This is."

When his lips pressed against hers, she couldn't stop the molten heat from overwhelming him. Just the slightest touch of his lips on hers made her heart beat wildly, as though it was trying to break out of her chest, and every nerve ending lit up with an electric fire. All pain, all despair and self-hate was rapidly pushed out of her body, quickly replaced by the love and passion he poured into it with the touch of his lips.

She bit back a moan as he slowly licked the crease of her mouth, letting out a shuddering breath as pulses of ecstasy slid their way down her spine when he slowly separated from her. His eyes were a burning heat, liquid silver that caressed her very core with one glance. Her face was glazed, cheeks red and eyes distant, as though she was caught in some sexual fantasy in some distant land, and her lips were plump and red, looking ever so kissable.

Grinning, he let out a quiet chuckle, leaning forward to nibble lightly on her lower lip while she was off her guard, delighting in the way her body rippled under his touch, like a smooth wave.

"That, my sweet Gryffindor, was a kiss," he murmured, leaning forward to whisper the word in her ears.

His words suddenly pulled her out from her reverie and she felt the blush rise in her face, not from passion but from mortification at the sound of the catcalls several Gryffindors were making. She could dimly hear Seamus and Dean hooting from the back of the class, and she was suddenly grateful that Professor McGonagall had been first to leave.

"Ah, uh…yeah, you're right," she stammered, face, ears and neck hot from embarrassment. "Anyway," she cleared her throat, "I need to get going to the library. I'll see you later."

"Okay," he said, reaching out to brush back a strand of loose hair from her face. Her cheeks got redder; she was not used to this series of sudden displays of affection and a part of her still felt like she had to hide from the world. It was strange and, openly showing her love for someone like this in an environment that would normally scorn such actions between two polar opposites and supposed enemies, terrifying.

She tried to push past the slight discomfort and smiled up at Draco one more time before whirling away and rushing off to the library, trying to ignore the way her heart pounded in her chest and how her body became overwhelmed with the urge to jump into his arms and snog him silly.

It was only once she wove her way around the bookshelves, collecting a few tomes on her way, and had finally sat down at her little hidden alcove in the back of the library, did her mind turn back to the day's events.

Stacking the books around her, hoping to block her face, she felt all inkling of passion fade as she thought, once more, of the writing on her desk.

Lowering her head into her arms, she felt her throat swell up and suddenly burst open as the dams broke in her eyes.

In the dark, back corner of the library, away from the warmth of light and friendship, back in a world she felt she belonged to, Hermione Granger cried in silent, the pains of the past, the accumulate self-hate in her heart, and fear of the truth streaming down from her eyes in cold streaks.

Friday...

"Where is she?"

"Who?"

"Who else? That snotty little bitch who thinks she owns Draco."

Daphne sighed heavily, poking at her peas with her fork, feeling rather sick to her stomach at the moment. The past week had not gone by pleasantly; she felt awful for everything that they had done to Granger, from the shrinking of the clothes to the exploding potions. The worst, she admitted, was the poor girl's desk. The things Pansy had written on it every day had been heartbreaking and she had felt her stomach drop to her feet when she saw Granger's expression at the sight of the desk.

"Probably hiding," Astoria answered with a sneer, glaring over at the Gryffindor table. "She's probably afraid her clothes are going to shrink again. You'd think the slag would want to walk around like that, the slutty clothes suit her personality."

Pansy grinned in response while Daphne continued to stare at her peas; the food before her that used to look delicious seemed rather unappetizing now. Leaning down, she dropped her fork and rubbed her face, trying to find a way to push the guilt away.

"What's the matter Daph?"

Glancing over to Maryse, noting that Pansy and Astoria were both watching her, she let out a silent sigh. "Just a small headache," she answered. "I didn't get enough sleep last night." Which was the truth; she had spent a good majority of the night tossing and turning, worrying the night away as she thought of Pansy's plans for the day. She knew that tonight would be the same thing.

"So," Astoria said, leaning forward with excitement, "how did she react to the writing this time?"

Pansy let out a sharp cackle, a sound that reminded Daphne of Bellatrix when she was excited about something. "It was wonderful," the eldest of the group said gleefully. "The dirty Mudblood looked like she was about to cry! It was definitely the best thing I have ever seen! It's my favourite part of the day."

Astoria laughed; the sound high and cruel but barely audible in the loud chatter of the Great Hall. "How wonderful; I wish I could have seen it."

"I wonder if Draco saw it," Daphne said softly, looking over at Pansy to see the girl's reaction. It wasn't that she wanted the girl to worry about Draco, she wanted to see her reaction when she remember the kiss the couple had shared in the classroom. She hoped that, since Draco had initiated the kiss, it would be taken as a sign that Hermione was definitely not using some kind of spell or potion on him.

Pansy's face darkened suddenly, eyes hardening as her thoughts moved to those in Daphne's mind. "Bleedin' bitch, she had him snog her in the middle of the corridor today, right in front of me. I know he wouldn't dare ever do that on his own; she made him do it."

'Pansy, my dear friend, you have no idea just how delusional you are,' Daphne thought, chewing her bottom lip as she listened to the girl's repetitive tirade. She was getting tired of hearing Pansy insult Granger, really fed up of listening to the girl spout nonsense about how Granger had cast all of these supposed love spells on him to make him her own. Daphne had never experienced love in her life, but even she could tell that the looks exchanged by the couple were full of love.

Getting up, sick and tired of hearing the nonsensical cruelty, Daphne shoved her plate aside and gathered her things.

"Where are you going?" Pansy demanded more than asked.

"I'm going to lie down for a bit; my head really hurts," Daphne lied, hurrying off as she spied a certain dark-haired Slytherin Prefect leaving the Great Hall. She needed to get to him, needed to warn him, to get him to tell Draco to keep Hermione close and safe.

Rushing out of the Great Hall, she caught sight of tail of cloak as he rounded corner and hurried after him, feet slapping loudly against the stone floor. Whipping around the corner, she was surprised to find Blaise standing with his arms crossed, facing her as though he had expected her.

"What…?"

"I saw you follow me in the Great Hall," he answered, leaning against the wall. "I'm assuming you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Looking around, noticing that some students were slowly begin to file out of the Great Hall, she nodded quickly and grabbed Blaise's arm. "Yes, but not here. We'll go to the nearest classroom."

"And why is that?" he asked as they made their way down the hallway.

"Because, I will most likely be tortured or killed for what I'm about to tell you."

When he turned back around as they rounded a corner, he had an amused look on his face that quickly fell at the sight of the raw fear in her eyes.

"What's got you so scared, Daphne?"

"I…it's really important that I say this."

"Daaaphneee!"

She came to a stop, face falling as she heard Astoria calling her. Rubbing her face, she suddenly became torn between finding an appropriate hiding spot yet risking being seen or not saying a thing and saving her hide.

"Daphne?" Blaise said, voice softer, understanding the expression on her face. It was one Draco and several other spies had worn often when it seemed like they were about to be caught and tortured. He knew that Daphne knew something, knew that she was hiding from something and someone, and somehow, his instincts broke through.

Pulling her close, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "What you have to tell me, is it a matter of life or death?"

She nodded, suddenly uncomfortable in the close proximity of their bodies.

"Are you afraid of Astoria finding you?"

Another nod.

"Alright," he murmured as the younger woman's footsteps neared, "follow my lead."

Just as Astoria rounded the corner, Blaise crushed his mouth down on Daphne's in a passionless kiss, one that looked like it was all tongue and lust, yet felt necessary and procedural. Daphne was glad that her mind worked quickly, that she was able to understand things fast enough that her body could follow through in enough time. Swiftly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he shifted their bodies, pressing her back against a wall to make their snogging session seem more passionate and like it was on the verge of a good shagging session.

She dimly heard Astoria say a quiet "oh my, you naughty girl, headache my arse," before hearing the sound of her footsteps as she turned around and moved away, back towards the Great Hall. They waited another couple of minutes, just to make sure that things were good, and when they broke apart, Blaise quickly pulled away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Sorry about that," he said. "It was the only thing I figured we could get away with doing. How about we move to somewhere more private?"

She nodded, also wiping at her lips. While Blaise was an attractive man, her heart currently lay with a Wizard a year older than her who lived in Paris. Kissing someone other than him felt alien and uncomfortable, and she assumed Blaise felt the same way, if the look in his eyes said anything.

Quickly, they found an empty classroom, shutting and locking the door, casting several silencing and privacy charms on the room to ensure maximum safety. Turning around from the door, pleased with her workmanship, she was surprised to see that Blaise had pulled up a couple of chairs and Transfigured them to be more comfortable. Sitting down, he gestured to the one in front of her and she quickly took a seat.

"Please tell me why I had to just kiss you to make Astoria go away? And it had better be a good, valid reason, because my girlfriend may not seem like the jealous type, but she certainly is."

Girlfriend? Since when did Blaise have a girlfriend? Daphne shook away the thought and focused back on the situation; she could pry a bit later on about Blaise's sudden lady love. "I'm…well, afraid," she began lamely, not sure where to start.

"I understood that," he said, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Can you tell me why?"

"I…I need to warn her." Her words were just coming out; fear made her mind incoherent and her words spew out in random order. Twisting her fingers, she paused and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself enough to speak in understandable sentences. "I, well, I needed to warn someone who is close to Granger. She's in danger."

"Danger?" Blaise's eyes lit up with curiosity and concern. "From who and what?"

"I…I don't know." It's not that she didn't know, but she knew that if Draco suddenly showed up in front of Pansy, railing on her to stay away from Granger, Astoria would tell Pansy that she saw Daphne and Blaise together, they would add two and two together, and it would equal absolute hell for Daphne. She wanted, desperately, to tell Blaise who was behind this, but she couldn't risk it.

"Look," she continued at his look, "I…I can't say who it is just yet. I'm afraid they'll find out and next thing you know, you'll find my body washing ashore from the lake. I…I can't risk it. And, I don't know enough yet, all I really know is that they're the ones behind Granger's bullying right now. At first, I thought it was just nothing, that they were just saying things but wouldn't do anything about it, but now I see that they meant everything."

"The bullying…you mean the shrinking clothes and exploding stuff?" Blaise asked, leaning back on his chair.

"Yes and…"

"For now, Hermione doesn't really want our help," he said suddenly, anger making his eyes glow darkly. "She said that she can handle it, that she can't let it affect her."

Shaking her head and fighting back a smile, she realized that she should have expected nothing less from the only woman in the Golden Trio and current lover of Draco Malfoy. "She's being silly and she's in way over her head," Daphne warned. "Did you see her in Transfiguration today?"

"Yes, she seemed pretty normal." He tilted his head, wondering where this portion of the conversation was going.

"Are you sure? Did you get a really good look at her? Because I can assure you that she was not doing fine." Daphne still felt terrible; she had been the watcher, relaying to Pansy every little thing Granger did during the class that might be a telltale sign of her being upset over the writing on the desk.

"Well," Blaise admitted quietly, thinking back over the class. He hadn't spent much time watching the brown-haired Gryffindor; the most interaction he had had with her was at the end of the class. "She seemed a bit…distracted at the end of class. But I assumed that it was because she was thinking about her essay for Muggle Studies."

"I have a friend in that class and they don't have any essay due."

Blaise arched a brow at her. What did this mean? Had she been lying to Draco about her reason behind going to the library? Then what was she doing then? Where had she gone? He knew that Draco was not going to like this one bit.

"So…what are you trying to tell me?" he asked, needing to know more before jumping to any conclusions.

"That desk…it was covered in insults and profanities, the person bullying her put a Non-Erasable Writing Charm on it, making to last the whole class, and I'm pretty sure she put some really, really cruel stuff on the desk." Daphne breathed heavily, rubbing her face. "I just…I feel horrible, because it looked like Granger was going to cry, and it's just not right. She hasn't done anything wrong, and I…I needed to tell someone who was friends with Draco so they could warn him."

"But why not tell Draco directly? Why come to me?"

"You were the first person I saw when I made up my mind, and it'll look really suspicious if anyone from the group saw me talking to him and suddenly he's trying to protect her. They would definitely figure out it was me and, well, they'd probably do things that would make me wish Bellatrix was the one angry at me," she admitted softly, fear making her voice tremble.

"And what do you expect Draco to do?" Blaise stood up now and began pacing, realizing more and more the reality of the situation.

"I think that he should be as close to her as possible, protect her or at least help her through the bullying. They're both brilliant, the smartest in our school, and I think that if they work together, they can figure out who did it before me." Daphne sighed heavily and lifted her head to look at him, desperation and pleas filling her eyes with tears. "Please…he needs to help her, to at least support her as much as he can, because, from what I can gather, it's only going to get worse unless someone stops it."

"How much worse?" he asked, stopping his pacing.

"I…I've heard rumours…that the leader has Veritaserum and that they have also been practicing certain dark spells."

"What kind of spells?" He needed to know; he knew that the Veritaserum didn't pose much of a threat, since neither Hermione nor Draco were hiding anything about their relationship. But the spells, he needed to know; those could cause serious damage.

"They've been studying spells from Vox Mors."

His eyes hardened at the mention of the book and the situation took on a new turn of seriousness and danger. He knew that book, knew what it meant and what it held; he remembered the way Bellatrix used to prance around the Malfoy Manor, caressing the dark, leather-bound tome, teaching the spells to the young, stronger recruits, practicing them on any enemies or those who refused to obey.

Letting out a sharp expletive, he ran a hand through his hair as he stopped his pacing. "Fuck," he muttered again. "They're really serious, aren't they?"

"Very," she nodded. "That's why I had to tell somebody; I can't let them keep getting away with this and she doesn't deserve this. So please, please tell Draco to help her, to keep an eye out on her. I'm…I'm going to try to help in any way I can, but…please understand, this feels about as dangerous as spying on Death Eaters."

He shook his head in agreement. "I know." He knew very well; they were, without a doubt, spying on students who had once trained to be Death Eaters, and, depending on their trainer, they could be very dangerous. The mere mention of Vox Mors was more than enough to let him know that they were trained by some of the best – well, worst – and that they had enough magical talent to be able to use the spells in the book. "It's exactly like spying on Death Eaters," he continued.

He returned to his pacing for a minute, wondering just what he could do in such a situation. Hermione wasn't exactly his best friend, but they had become quite close over the holidays and it was only in the past month or two that he had begun seeing her as a friend. Luna and Draco loved her deeply; Luna thought of her as a sister, while Draco…hell, Draco was head over heels for her. Just those thoughts alone made him want to protect her, but knowing her, understanding who she was as a person made him want to help her even more.

She, of all people, didn't deserve this; she had dealt with enough in the past few days and she didn't need this making her life even harder. Like she hadn't suffered enough already in life.

It was even worse with Draco involved; Blaise's best friend had been force to sit back and watch as so many friends and family members were tortured in the span of four years, it was enough to last a lifetime. Blaise feared that Draco just might snap if anything worse happened to Hermione, and he didn't know if anyone would be able to restrain the blond.

"Shit…why is everything always so fucked up?" he muttered, massaging the back of his neck to remove a small crick. "I'll talk to Draco; let him know everything you just told me. I won't let him know the source of my information," he added, knowing the importance of autonomy in a situation like this. "I'll let him know and we'll deal with it. If you come by anymore information, and you feel safe enough to pass it along, send me a coded letter through the Owl mail and we can set a time to meet at the Room of Requirement."

"Okay," she said, breathing a soft sigh of relief. Finally, something was going to be done about this. She knew that it should have bothered her immensely, this act of betrayal, but she didn't trust her friends anymore save for Maryse, who she knew was slowly getting on the same page as her. Daphne needed to pull away, to stop her 'friends' from doing something horrendously regrettable.

"I'm sorry about kissing you before," Blaise added suddenly, as though it was a last minute thought. "I figured that it would be the best way to avoid suspicion, since nobody knows about my relationship with my girlfriend."

"Is she a student here?"

"Yes, and the rumour mill is going to be running full speed tomorrow," he sighed. "I'll have to explain this to her before anything, just in case."

"I…I can help, too," Daphne offered, feeling guilty over the prospect that she might be behind the breaking of Blaise's relationship. "I can explain to her."

He gave her a small smile and they slowly moved towards the door. "No, it's okay. She's very understanding, so we won't have to worry. And she's also not one to stir up trouble." At least not intentionally. "So you don't have to worry." He paused at the door and waited for her to get up and they withdrew their wands to begin the process of removing the charms from the room. "I suggest that it be just you and I when we meet; we can keep up the appearance that we're a couple of students sneaking off for a good snogging or shagging session. That way we won't look so suspicious."

She agreed and they quickly removed the spells, exiting the room and going their separate ways with a small nod. Blaise ran a hand through his hair as he trudged up the steps towards the Great Hall; he was going to have a lot of talking to do.

The past week had gone by horribly slow. Every day felt like a nightmare coming to life, each step felt heavier and harder to take, and every class she stepped into made her chest tight with worry over just what might happen next.

The only moments of reprieve she had was when she hid herself away in the library at the end of the day and when she slept in his arms at night. Something told her that if she didn't have him to go back to every night, she would have spent every hour in the library.

Books were piled around her again today, blocking her face, and a Silencing bubble had been put around her, letting her hear outside of it yet muffling her sounds. Rubbing her eyes, she lifted her fingers higher to massage her aching temples. She was getting tired of crying every day, getting fed up the headaches that always managed to sneak up on her, and, most importantly, she was sick and tired of the torture. Exploding objects, shrinking clothes, and, worst of all, the writing on the desk. It happened daily and never once stopped. She stopped eating in the Great Hall, getting up before him in the mornings and feigning homework to hide in the library.

She knew that she couldn't hide there forever; it was only a temporary relief from the world around her, a way to hide from reality and pretend that things weren't as bad as they were.

Yet, as she sat in her transfigured chair, after she sobbed to her heart's content, she pulled out the piles of parchment and wrote note after endless note on the spells used, their power, and a list of potential candidates. She knew every spell used and had collected a variety of counter-spells. The hardest one to fight was the writing charm, but she would eventually find one. She didn't have much time each day, only a couple of hours of research, so it was a given that she was rather behind.

Looking down at the papers strewn about on the desk, she picked up the list of candidates. She knew, deep down, that it had to be a Slytherin. The Gryffindors had all voiced their concerns if they had had any, the Hufflepuffs couldn't be bothered by trivial matters and had been the ones to accept Draco's allegiance the fastest, and the Ravenclaws would only go after her if it managed to affect her studies. The bullying did get on her nerves, but it hardly affected her ability to study.

So, therefore, it had to be a Slytherin. Only a Slytherin would be so cunning, only a Slytherin would be so cruel, and the only other House that shared classes with her, aside from specialty classes, was Slytherin. She therefore had no doubt in her mind that it was a Slytherin.

The question now was who? Anyone in the third year and below was removed, they wouldn't have been experienced enough, and she had a strong feeling that most of the Slytherin students from the 5th year and below didn't harbor the same hatred towards her as those who had been most influenced by the Death Eaters.

She had first assumed that it was Pansy Parkinson, mainly because of Parkinson's not so secretive hatred of Hermione, but she thought that this just wasn't Parkinson's style. While the girl could hold her own in a duel, she was the type to brag about her accomplishments, and so far, no rumour had been heard detailing Pansy as the bully.

Yet, in spite of that, her mind kept going back to Pansy as a potential candidate, and due to their history together; she kept the snotty little bitch on her list. Just in case.

Besides, whenever she looked at Pansy's name, a strange sensation slid down her spine, a weird shivering that somehow told her that Pansy knew at least something about what was going on.

Massaging just under her eyes, she squeezed them shut for a moment to take in a deep breath before poring over the list once more.

This was getting exhausting; she was busy enough with her studies, especially given that it was the end of the year and she had her NEWTs to start concentrating on, as well as the Graduation Ball held for the 7th years. That was enough stress, but added on was her relationship with Draco, worrying about Ron's progress at St. Mungo's, worry on how Harry and Ginny were doing, and now she had to focus on trying to stop this damn bullying before it got out of control.

It was enough to make someone lose their mind.

Taking a shaking breath, she looked down over her papers, wishing that she could just magically pull the name of the assailant out of thin air and stop everything. It wasn't going to happen like that; stuff never happened like that. But she could always hope.

"Fuck," she muttered, cupping her face in her hands as hopelessness washed over her.

It was too much, too much stress, too much pain, it was just way too much and she would burn out soon enough. She barely slept, hardly ate, and only did her homework and investigative work. She didn't have much time for anything else.

A few tears squeezed out of her eyes as she sniffled loudly. She was fed up.

He was just leaving the Tower, ready to get started on his rounds for the night, when a certain dark-haired Slytherin literally walked right into him.

Giving Blaise a light punch on the shoulder, Draco glared at his friend. "Watch where you're going," he sighed.

"Oh bugger off," Blaise answered before grabbing Draco's arm and pulling him back towards the statue of Aphrodite. "We need to talk."

"Now? I had rounds to start soon, not that I really want to do them," the blond said, trying to tug his arm out of Blaise's grasp.

"Yes, we need to talk now, not later." He pulled Draco once more and the blond caught sight of the hardened look in his friend's eyes. It was a look he had never wanted to see ever again, one that told him a friend had been tortured, a school mate captured, and a family member murdered. It was their sign to each other, whenever it seemed like they were getting too close to being caught, a simple look that said thousands of words in less than a second. Hurry. Listen. Be Calm. Don't get angry. Don't do anything rash. Don't cry…

"Fine," he muttered, allowing Blaise to pull him back into the Tower. Once the door was shut, he arched a brow as his friend cast a quick Silencing spell on the room. "This had better not be some kind of love confession, because I'm honestly not interested."

"Don't keep your hopes up," Blaise answered smartly. "This is much more important; it's about Hermione."

Those words managed to get Draco torn between asking more and shutting his mouth to be able to hear what Blaise had to say. Draco, of course, had never been a person with the ability to keep his mouth shut for too long when curiosity got a hold on him.

"What is it about Hermione? Is she okay? Did something say or do something to her? Is it about the bastard bullying her? You're not in love with her are you?"

At the last question, Blaise let out a loud sound of frustration, rolling his eyes as he turned to his friend. "You're an idiot, you know that, right?"

Draco merely waved it off, knowing he could just go complain to Hermione later and get his self-esteem back up several notches. She had always been brutally honest with him when it came to compliments and he knew that she would never sugar-coat things or bullshit him.

"Then just fucking tell me," he breathed, moving to sit down on his favourite armchair.

"A certain little birdie came to me today with some fascinating information," Blaise began before recounting his whole discussion with Daphne. By the end of it, Draco's hands were clenched tightly and his face was drawn tight.

"Bloody fucking bitch," he snapped, "she never told me anything about that. Never once. I sat right beside her. Beside her!"

"I know how you must be feeling Draco," Blaise began before the blond cut him off with an expletive.

"Yeah right. That's a load of bullshit and you know it."

Blaise sent Draco a sharp glare, effectively shutting him up. "Don't you say I don't know how you feel; do you know how often Luna was teased and bullied? Do you know how often she'd try to hide the tears when we met up after a hard day? Thank Circe that she finally befriended Potter and his little gang because I don't think she would've wanted to stay here for another year."

Draco wanted to ask just how long Blaise and Luna had been going out, given that he knew Luna really befriended the gang during their fifth year, but he needed to hear what was coming next.

"What you need to do right now is find Hermione, talk to her, and support her. I'm sure you've been trying, but she's been hiding everything from you. I know she said that she wanted to act like nothing bothered her, that she wanted to be mature about things, but I know from experience that she can't keep doing that to herself. It's not healthy."

"I know that," Draco breathed, leaning down to rub his face in his hands as the stress he'd been hiding all week managed to creep out. "You think I haven't been worrying too? She's been too happy when she's with me, trying too hard and her smile never really reaches her eyes. She tosses and turns in her sleep, I haven't seen her eat all week, and all she does is hide in that fucking library. If she thinks she's doing me a service, she's doing one hell of a bad job at it."

"Why don't you get off your arse and tell her then?" Blaise gestured towards the door, more than willing to go with Draco to see Hermione. Luna was already waiting in the library for them; he knew that they would need Luna with this, as she was the only one out of the group to have gone through such experiences. She would be vital in getting Hermione to open up and accept their help.

Draco muttered something before getting to his feet. "Honestly, that woman…" He suddenly looked up to Blaise. "Who told you all of this information?"

"I'm not supposed to say."

"Did you ever think that it might lead us to something?" Draco moved towards the door as Blaise removed the silencing spells. They kept the conversation light, if they didn't say names or make it obvious just what they were discussing, they could get away with it.

"There's a chance," he answered thoughtfully as they exited the Tower and began heading towards the library. He glanced over to Draco and saw the restrained anger in every tense line in the man's body. He knew that it took all of his friend's willpower not to explode, to rush off to the library and scream and plead with Hermione to accept his help. He felt cast aside, pushed away, as though the person he loved most felt that he was useless to her.

Blaise knew the feelings all too well, understood the pain, the despair, the guilt, and the anger. A myriad of achingly painful emotions that simmered just below the surface, threatening to tear through one's flesh at any moment with a heart wrenching scream.

He also knew that Draco only pretended to be so secure about himself; the man was one of the most insecure people in all of Hogwarts, he just didn't show it. The swagger, the sway, the charisma, yes, he possessed all of it, and he had achievements that other students could only dream to boast about, but beyond those, there was still the lonely child within him, neglected and denied warmth.

He needed Hermione to see that, needed her to fully understand just how Draco's brain functioned. For now, however, they needed to focus on getting her to accept their help.

"I supposed it might help us with our research, having one extra source might lead us to others," Blaise said, trying to keep the conversation sounding more educational as they passed a group of Hufflepuffs hurrying to their dormitories.

"Of course it would. You can never have too many sources for any kind of research essay." Draco sent a glare at a couple of Ravenclaw girls who began whispering avidly the second they passed by. "What was the name of that bird we learnt about in Ancient Runes today? I don't remember."

Blaise's eyes lit up at he took the hint; there were only ten students in the school who took Ancient Runes, and Blaise and Draco were the only Slytherins to be in the class.

"I don't really remember. But, I wanted to ask you about a few of these letters; I just don't remember which ones they represent again." Blaise rubbed the back of his neck, feigning sheepishness. " I believe they were Thorn, Asch, Perch, Hagale, Not, and Eho." Blaise looked over to Draco now, waiting for the blond to spell out the word in his head. He knew what each letter represented, spelling out D-A-P-H-N-E. He just hoped Draco got it fast enough.

Realization was quick to dawn on Draco's face and he arched a brow at his friend before giving him a quick smile. "Well, I'm not fully sure, but I suppose we could always check out notes later," he suggested. "I suppose you don't remember that story, do you? The one we learnt in History of Magic."

"I'm not fully sure; I think you might have to refresh me."

"Insert some kind of myth here." Draco rolled his shoulders at they neared the library. "Well, I was thinking we could look at that myth; I thought it was a nice portrayal of how good friends always confide in each other, no matter what."

Blaise grinned at Draco. "I see what you mean, it could make an interesting little essay topic, looking at friendship and secrets in other myths."

Draco paused suddenly, near the library doors. "I was thinking," he said, putting his hand to his chin, feigning deep thought. "Going back to the subject of Ancient Runes, I'm having trouble with a few ones too. Mainly Perch, Asch, Not, Suhill, and Hyuri."

"Ah," Blaise said softly as they reached the doors, smiling as Luna moved away from a wall to join them. "I see what you mean. I guess Perch, Asch, and Not are the more annoying ones to remember, eh?" He let out a little chuckle, as though they finally realized which aspects of class were more complicated than others.

They made their way into the library, pleased to know that the main one they would look for had to be little miss Pansy; she was the main confidant of Daphne's, the only one who trusted Daphne enough to spill her deepest, darkest secrets. They also knew that Daphne spent an incredibly amount of time with Pansy and the two girls were the best of friends.

At least they were.

Moving through the library, Draco followed Luna, who said that she knew of Hermione's little hiding space at the back of the room. She was more than a hundred percent positive that Hermione would be hiding by the little desk in the alcove, trying to escape from the outside world.

When they got there, Draco's heart fell to his knees. There were papers strewn about, littering the desk top and the floor, books spread across the desk, and the chair had been kicked over, as if some weight had been placed in it and then leaned back too far. What made Draco's heart ache was Hermione's bag lying under the desk, tucked to the back right corner where she liked to put her bag at any table or desk.

"What in the hell happened here?"

This was not good…

So there we go, Chapter 20 is complete! Yay!

So, in the name of Halloween, I'm going to toss in a cute little Halloween recipe I found. I found this actually through in their lifestyle – cooking section. This one sounded good and like something everyone could do. I plan on trying to make it tomorrow.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Sorry it took a bit; midterms these past weeks have been brutal. I'm getting sick AGAIN, it hasn't even been a month since I was last sick. So not cool.

So yeah, that's it. Please don't forget to review, and constructive criticism is always more than welcome! I may not go back and fix it right away, but I have a list of corrections to do in MCMM and Kiss Me Freely that I plan on acting on as soon as I have more free time!

Thanks for reading guys!

RECIPE!

Pumpkin Shaped Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

2 package(s) (18.25-oz.) chocolate cake mix, plus additional ingredients as directed on package

1 1/4 cup(s) confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon(s) (light) corn syrup

4 teaspoon(s) milk

red and yellow food coloring , or orange, if available, optional

1/3 cup(s) chocolate frosting

1 wafer ice cream cone

1 small tube green decorating icing , optional

edible leaf or petal sugar decorations, for garnish, optional

Directions

Mist two standard 12-cup Bundt cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Prepare cake mixes as package label directs for 2 Bundt cakes. Bake as directed. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto wire racks to cool completely. You can also prepare cakes one at a time using the same pan.

Meanwhile, prepare glaze: In a small bowl, stir confectioners' sugar, corn syrup and 4 tsp. milk together with a fork until smooth. Blend in remaining 1 tsp. milk, if necessary, for desired consistency. If you like, use food coloring to tint glaze orange, or just leave glaze white.

Trim the flat side of each cake with a serrated knife so it's even. Place one cake, rounded side down, on a serving plate. Spread chocolate frosting on top (not a thick layer, just enough to hold the two cakes together). Position second cake on top of the first, flat side down.

Stir glaze again and drizzle over cake. Invert ice cream cone into hole in top of cake to make the pumpkin's stem. If you like, use green icing to decorate the cone and arrange edible leaf decorations around it.

Enjoy! Sorry it's a day late; I was busy these past few days.