I waited for Malfoy to come out of his room again. I needed some emotional support to be able to go down to breakfast and I was sure he did too. After a couple of minutes he appeared again, having showered. I just didn't feel up for one, I would just shower after breakfast.

"What?" He said as I smiled hesitantly at him.

"I don't want to go down there." I explained sheepishly.

"Then don't." was all he said, obviously not caring. So it was one of those of his moods again. That boy was moodier than a Veela.

I scowled at him and he sighed. "Okay, we'll go together. But don't ever mention it again." I smiled at him and he just walked out of the portrait hole. I followed him quickly.

"Aren't you a little scared... at all?" I wondered.

"Scared? Scared of what, Granger?" He asked debasingly.

"Of people staring at you."

He stopped abruptly and eyed me. "Granger, I get stared at every single day anyway. Just like you said, some of them think I'll pull my wand and hex everyone any minute, others think I am oh-so-hot." He looked disgusted by those kinds of people. I would not let him know that I was secretly one of them. "It doesn't matter to me anymore. I'll survive. And after this year I'll be out of this hellhole anyway and then I'll go far, far away from here and will start a new life."

Even though he tried to say it as if he didn't care, I could tell that he was sad about it. And I wanted nothing more than just to comfort him. Who would have known that the Slytherin prince himself, loved by the girls, admired by the boys, wanted to flee from his own life?

I nodded understandingly.

He sighed again. "And I'm a Malfoy, so I'm not scared of anything." I frowned at his words. He still talked like Lucius, even though he detested him more than any other person did. Old habits die hard, I guessed.

"The only thing that's worrying me is the people that will congratulate me. Sick bastards." He added. Congratulating someone for killing his own father might not be the most sensitive thing to do... I nodded again and we continued our way down the stairs.

The whole way downstairs we got stared at by people, probably not only because we were the latest causes of scandals, but also because we were walking downstairs together. My scandal was liking him after all. Which he still didn't know, but probably would come to know in a couple of minutes. If he went to breakfast and would meet all of his replaceable friends there...

I stopped in my tracks and held him back as well. "We shouldn't go to breakfast." I said urgently.

"Why? We'll have to face them eventually anyway. Might as well get it over with." He just replied.

"Yeah, but..." I started, but he cut me off.
"Granger. Suck it up like a big girl. No pun intended." He hissed and turned around to walk on. I followed him nervously. I was so screwed.

When we arrived at the heavy door to the Great Hall he opened it easily (even though I was always struggling with it) and we stepped through it. People didn't at once stare at us, it was more like a Mexican wave. A couple of people saw us right when we came in and told their friends and so on. In a couple of seconds the whole hall seemed to know we were here.

"See you later." I whispered nervously and made my way to the Gryffindor table, not looking at anyone even though they followed me with their glances. Suddenly I noticed that I had no idea who to sit next to. Everyone I used to sit with was now mad at me. I looked around desperately. Dean and Seamus? No, Dean was with Ginny and they both were probably more likely to be on either her or Harry and Ron's side. I then laid eyes on Ginny, sitting next to a couple girls from her grade. She glared at me and I quickly looked away. Harry and Ron weren't at breakfast yet. When I had almost given up I caught sight of Lavender and Parvati that were whispering. I sighed and sat myself next to them.

"Hi girls." I said meekly.

"Hey Hermione." Lavender smiled.

"Listen, no one can really blame you for having a crush on Malfoy. It's not like any other girl in this school doesn't. Don't worry about it." Parvati rolled her eyes and smiled kindly.

Lavender nodded agreement and stared off to something behind me. "If he looks so damn handsome..." She sighed. I turned around just to see Malfoy talking to Blaise. Blaise seemed to tell him something and Malfoy listened, a frown on his face. Oh shit. was all I could think. He was telling him about the boggart right now. And sure enough Malfoys eyes locked on me and I turned around to my table quickly.

"Oh I think someone just got caught staring at him." Parvati and Lavender giggled.

I smiled nervously, but I was glad that they didn't make a big fuss about it. At least I knew that I would have someone to sit by now.

"You know, I don't really have a crush on him." I lied badly. "The boggart was closer to Blaise than me."

They just nodded and smiled knowingly. "Of course."

I ate my toast with marmalade and drank a sip of my cup of hot chocolate when I suddenly felt the presence of someone standing right behind me. I turned around, just to see Harry.

"Hi." I said, cautiously smiling.

"Hey." he said seriously. "Can I talk to you about something?"

I nodded and got up, ignoring all the gazes on us once more. As we left the Great Hall I glanced back at Malfoy, and he looked up again for a second, before laying his eyes back on Blaise.

"So...?" I asked carefully once the door was closed behind us.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, hurt in his face.

I sighed. "Because, Harry! Because of so many things. Because it's not my job to tell you something I wasn't supposed to know anyway. Because Ginny is my friend as well and I hadn't even really talked to her about it. Because you weren't together anymore anyways. Because I didn't want everyone to know..."

"Since when am I everyone?" He asked. "And since when did you know it anyway?"
I looked down at my shoes. "The fact that they did have sex... for a couple of months now. The fact that it was just a bet... since yesterday." I admitted.

He sighed, sounding relieved. "So you didn't know back when we were together?" I shook my head energetically.

"Good." was all that he said and he smiled.

"So then we're... good?" I asked doubtingly.

He thought about it for a second and then nodded smilingly.

I laughed happily and hugged him tightly. "You have no idea how happy I am about that! I thought I had all three of you mad at me now. I'm so happy you're not! I love you, I love you, I love you!" I yelled out happily, while plastering pecks all over his cheeks.

He laughed and shook me off of him. "Since when are you so... affectionate?"
"Since I know how much it would suck to lose you, Harry!" I replied laughing.

He chuckled a little and said "Well I haven't eaten yet, care to join me?"

I nodded quickly, even though I already had. We went back inside, people still staring at us, but I didn't care anymore. I sat down next to him and Dean and Seamus, smiling sheepishly.

"Hey Hermione." Dean murmured uncomfortably and Seamus winked at me.

"Hey guys." I just answered happily. They then continued having a conversation about Quidditch and I turned back to Harry. "So how mad is Ron, on a scale of one to ten?"

Harry bit his lip. "Ten being the maddest, right?"

I nodded.

"I would say, maybe a... 9." I almost choked on a piece of bread I had put in my mouth. "But you know him, he stays angry for a little while and then he just forgets about it."
I nodded again, not really convinced.

"He's just being childish." Harry then murmured. I nodded a third time, this time very convinced of his words.

"And Ginny...?" I asked cautiously. Harry gulped his toast down and frowned.

"I haven't really talked to her. But Ron's furious at her. Almost as much as at you." He was angrier at me than his baby sister that had slept with his enemy?

"And you?"

He sighed. "I'm trying to tell myself that what's done is done, but... it doesn't really work."

I patted his shoulder. "I know."

"She cheated on me, Hermione. With Malfoy." He looked so hurt, I just wanted to hug him. And that's exactly what I did.

"I know." I repeated again, catching a glimpse of a blond boy, sitting at the Slytherin table and looking at me.

When we parted again he continued eating his toast.

"So Malfoy, huh?" He asked after a while. I just nodded slowly, not really knowing what to say.

"Does he feel the same way?" He continued. I shook my head defeatedly. "I'm sorry, Hermione. But maybe it's for the best."

"Yeah." I replied unconvinced, smiling sadly. He looked at me funnily and then turned back to his breakfast.

"Well if you're going for it anyway... which I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying that sometimes it's better fighting for what you want, even if it seems hopeless. Because then you at least don't have any regrets... but if you're going for it anyway, Hermione, promise me to be careful! We both know he's not exactly the first person I'd trust my life with and he does have quite the reputation.

I smiled at him. "Thank you, Harry."

He smiled back at me. "No problem, Hermione."

After we had been sitting next to each other silently for a while I then turned to Dean, trying to show him that he didn't have to be uncomfortable around me.
"So, how are things with Ginny?" I asked nicely, sounding nothing but polite. Then why did Seamus make motions with his hands to cut it?

Dean frowned at me. "I wouldn't know." He then replied blankly.

It hit me right at that moment. Of course he had broken off the thing with Ginny. He had been in the common room too, when she had yelled that she had had sex with Malfoy. He probably knew that she still liked him as well.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Dean. I should've known, I just didn't think." I explained hastily.

"No problem." Dean smiled sadly at me. "It's not your fault."
The mood was kind of awkward for a couple of seconds and no one dared to say something. Then Harry said, trying to sound carelessly "So Dean, how's Quidditch practice going for you? I was thinking about trying something new this week."

I smiled at him thankfully while Dean was vividly talking about last night's practice.

When I was walking out of the hall, a little earlier than Harry since I still wanted to take a shower before going to class, I saw Malfoy leaning against the wall.

He saw me, grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into a nearby broom closet.

"What the...? Let go of me, Malfoy!" I yelled out and he did as I said.

"Talk." He said as he leaned against the door.

A/N: Hey guys,
So another chapter's done now. Yay. Review please, it'll be appreciated. All the reviews make me sooo happy! I hope you still like where this story is going. I decided to upload this chapter fast because you had to wait so long for the previous one.

Love,

ShayleeRae