The whole castle was looking forward to the coming weekend, the last of October. It would be an eventful one, with the Hogsmeade trip on Saturday, followed by the second Quidditch match of the season – Ravenclaw vs Hufflepuff – on Sunday morning and the incredible Halloween feast later that evening, although Slughorn was holding his own Halloween party that evening. I'd dodged the last two meetings so I didn't really have a choice but to go to this one.

Daphne's decision to put things on a hiatus had been… rough, to say the least, but at the very least I now had some clarity about where the two of us were relationship-wise… so yay for that, I guess? Still, I wasn't psyched about going to Hogsmeade alone, and was even considering skipping it. The castle would be mostly empty and I could use the time to train a bit.

On Friday night, we had a DA meeting. This time I was able to attend, thankfully. Harry informed the others at the start of the meeting about the Death Eater Youth Program – namely Zabini and his cronies – with the instructions to ideally travel in groups or stick to crowded hallways, all the while keeping an eye out for anyone they might suspect is part of the group. The news of this new insurgent group understandably unnerved some people, but Hermione insisted that they had the upper hand, because firstly, strength in numbers, and secondly, they probably didn't know we knew about their group.

And with that, we moved onto actual training. We'd finished Levitating Charms and were now onto the Deterioration Hex, which basically wore an opponent down and fatigued them for a short while. I'd already dabbled in these a bit on my own, so I did much better than the others.

The whole time, Daphne ignored my presence, much as she had the past few weeks, but there wasn't the same coldness to it anymore. It really seemed like she was more focused on her training than anything. A good sign perhaps? Was she slowly starting to heal? Or maybe I was just reading too much into it, trying to find something to make me feel better. I shook these thoughts away and refocused on my training. The meeting was a bit shorter than usual, since people got the hang of this spell pretty quickly. There was still some time till dinner as I left, so I decided to take a bath first, and headed off towards the prefects' bathroom.

"Andromeda," I said to the familiar statue of Boris the Bewildered, which then moved to reveal the entrance to the bathroom. I walked over to the massive octagonal bathing pool and opened a couple taps, letting hot water pour out and fill the tub surprisingly fast. I opened another tap and the tub quickly filled with purple bubbles. When the tub had filled, I dipped a toe in the water to test the temperature. It was perfect, as always. Just before I could take off my bathing robe and step in, I heard the door of the bathroom open. I didn't think much of it, probably someone needed to use one of the stalls. But then the person, whoever it was, opened the door to the bathing area.

I turned around to see Hermione standing at the entrance, wearing only a purple bathrobe. Her eyes widened in horror. "I'msosorryIdidntknowyouwere-"

"Sweet Merlin, Hermione, breath," I said.

She stopped, and took a deep breath. Aaand then she blushed.

Fuck, there it was.

That blush.

"I'm- I'm really sorry, I didn't know you were here," she said, staring at her feet. "I didn't think anyone would be here just before dinner so… I'll just come back later."

She turned on her heel to leave. In that moment I really wondered why the Founders thought it was a good idea to have a single, luxurious bath for horny teenagers to share. But then again, they also thought shifting staircases were a good idea and that apparently there were only four personality types, so maybe it wasn't that outlandish.

I mean, sure, you could totally get laid here, but that was a whole other matter. And honestly, I wasn't sure why I'd never brought Daphne along for a swim while we were dating, would've been fun… but those thoughts were in great contrast to the present situation, which was awkward and unexpected. It was a relief to see that Hermione was leaving, that is, until she suddenly stopped at the door. Facing back towards me, she said, "So um… I didn't get the chance to tell you this earlier, but Daphne... knows."

"I know," I said. "We had a talk."

"What, really?"

"Yes," I said. "We are now… 'on break'."

"What were you before, then?"

"Uh… complicated? I'm not entirely sure either."

"It's because of me, isn't it?" she said quietly.

"You? No no of course not, why'd you ever think that- yes it's because of you, Granger," I said, getting a bit annoyed. What kind of question was that? What had she been expecting me to say? And what exactly did she think she was doing looking that damn cute as she stood there abashedly.

"I'm sorry…" she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I really am- I don't know what came over me that night…"

"Hermione," I said. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"Wha- what do you mean?"

"You're saying you're sorry, and maybe you are, but you're still standing here. You were about to leave, but you didn't. What you told me could have waited," I said. "So, just tell me. What exactly do you want?"

Hermione looked at me uneasily, as if debating what to say, whether to say it or not. At last, hesitantly, she spoke, "I want… I want another moment, like the one from that night. Just one last time."

I looked at her. Of course, she wanted that. She'd been pretending for days as if that moment on the balcony had never happened, but she couldn't go on with it forever. It couldn't be left dangling, that unholy saga needed its conclusion. Hermione took a step towards me. My heart skipped a beat. Was this really going to happen? The sensible part of me knew this was a mistake and I shouldn't, but that part's voice seemed to grow more and more distant. I knew it was wrong, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to kiss her in that moment. She looked really great, there was no denying it. Her long, brown hair falling to her face, unruly and free compared to their usually neat and proper appearance, the bathing gown hinting at what seemed to be a rather nicely shaped body… Almost subconsciously, we moved closer to each other. Closer than appropriate, and yet still not close enough.

"One last time?" I whispered.

"One last time," she nodded.

I wrapped one arm around her back and moved the other through her thick hair, and we locked lips. I pushed her back against the wall as the kiss intensified. Our tongues battled for dominance, a battle she lost, and eagerly surrendered. I extended my hands down to her legs and picked her up, letting her wrap her legs around me as we continued making out against the wall. I started kissing her neck, eliciting a moan of pleasure from her, and gave her arse a good squeeze before lifting her again. She let out a startled yelp and held on for dear life as we jumped into the water with a mighty splash. She shrieked as we fell in, still in our bathrobes. She swam up to the surface and let out a giddy laugh, pushing back her soaked hair from her face and readjusting her robe. We kissed again, this time slower and more passionate. Eventually, we broke apart. I leaned back against the edge of the pool and exhaled. Hermione swam up next to me and placed her head on my shoulder and snuggled up close.

As I started to relax, the thumping in my chest calmed down and my head cleared. With it, I felt a heavy guilt set in, the feeling of letting Daphne down (which I was getting uncomfortably familiar with)… and suddenly Hermione resting her head on my shoulder was making me uncomfortable. In fact, this whole situation was. What the hell was I doing?

"Hey, um…" I said. "It's time for dinner, we should go probably."

"Oh- okay," she said, a bit startled.

"Yeah… and, probably best if we don't leave together, it might seem suspicious."

She nodded and slowly climbed out of the bath, looking a tad let down. A few minutes after her, I changed and left the bathroom too, but I didn't go to the Great Hall. I had completely lost my appetite, and some solitude, and a soft warm bed, was what I needed.

I jogged down to the dungeons, into the empty common room and went straight to the dormitory and crashed on my bed. I wasn't sleepy, not at all, but I needed to lie down and mull things over, and my bed was ideal for both those tasks.

So… so. To recap, I'd just made out with Hermione. The same thing that had gotten me into a whole world of mess, the thing I knew was wrong and had deeply regretted doing once – I'd done it again. WHY?

Well… I could chalk it up to one main reason. Teen hormones. Truthfully, there was no emotional connection for me with Hermione. Not in a romantic sense, I mean. The only reason I'd kissed her then had been because in that moment, I had been thinking less with my brain and more with my… well…

And of course, there was Daphne…

I let out a loud groan and rolled over on my bed, wishing it would swallow me whole and spare from these difficult thoughts. Cursing myself for not being able to keep it in my pants, I took out the Marauder's Map. It was a small pastime of mine and I could use something to distract myself.

Since it was dinner time, nearly everyone was in the Great Hall. Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen on the High Table though, nor was he in his study, so he was probably away on Order business. A few ghosts were moving around in the hallways, a few students here and there, either going to dinner or leaving it. A couple were in their respective common rooms. Mr. Filch was prowling the third floor for some reason, and Mrs. Norris was on the fourth floor.

I noticed Zabini leaving the Great Hall. A few moments after him Pansy left, then Crabbe and Goyle. Over the next couple of minutes, a small gaggle of students gradually left the Great Hall. It was too early for them to have finished dinner – especially Crabbe and Goyle. They were headed for Classroom 17, the known meeting place of the Death Eater Youth Programme. Now this was interesting.

I got out of bed, cast Disillusionment over myself, and headed out towards Classroom 17. Disillusionment didn't make me invisible, but it made me a lot more difficult to spot, which would be good enough. I quickly climbed up four stories, checking the map regularly. When I got to the fifth floor, where the classroom in question was, I noticed something strange. Just as I started getting close, about a couple corridors away from the room, they started leaving, all scattering in different directions. And they were moving quicker than normal walking. It was suspicious… almost as if they'd known someone was coming.

I quickly checked my position on the map. There was no one else close to me, so it couldn't have been some kind of hidden lookout. They couldn't have heard me either, I was still a couple corridors away. Its not like they could have cracked the map either…

Or, could they have?

I racked my brains. I don't think I had opened the map… yeah, no, I hadn't, but I had gotten the first few words out. Is it possible that they may have heard it, guessed it was some kind of code and then pieced together the rest? It sounds unlikely but what other explanation is there?

But right now, I had to think quickly. They didn't know I had another map, as far as they knew, the one they had stolen from me was the only one. I couldn't risk them getting suspicious, so I continued on my way towards the fifth-floor bathroom, which was empty at the moment. I stayed for a minute or two, then left and went back down to the Great Hall, where my name on the map would easily get lost among the hundreds of students.

In the Hall, I lingered at the Slytherin table for a few minutes, doing my best to avoid eye contact with Daphne or Hermione. I sat down at an empty spot and my stomach gave a loud grumble. Turns out the appetite wasn't so dead after all. I grabbed a drumstick and began devouring it. Under the table, I chanced a glance at the map. They were back at classroom 17, which pretty much confirmed they had figured the map out.

I grabbed another drumstick and left the hall, this time headed to the Room of Requirement. It was on the opposite side of the castle, plus a couple of floors above from the classroom, so I don't think they'd be looking at that side. Nevertheless, I moved quickly.

Inside the Room, I quickly got an Extendable Ear. Just as I started focusing on my next request, the door of the Room opened. My heart skipped a beat. I spun around, wand pointed at the door, only to see it was… Daphne.

"Oh, it's you," I said, lowering my wand. "What're you doing here?"

"I followed you," she said. "I've never known you to eat so little at dinner. You looked a bit… shifty."

I winced, realizing that I hadn't checked the map even once after leaving the hall.

"Were you followed?" I asked her.

"No? Why would I have been?" she asked, a bit perplexed.

"Well, you can never be too careful…"

"Merlin, you're sounding like Professor Moody. Anyway, what are you doing exactly?" she said, eyeing the extendable ear suspiciously. Eh, fuck it, why not. I told her the situation and my plan. She was understandably alarmed when I told her they'd figured out how to use the map, but was intrigued by my plan.

"So you think the Room will somehow… let you spy on them in the classroom?" she said. "How, exactly, would that work?"

"Well, it's just a theory for now, but yeah theoretically the Room might be able to create some kind of hidden passage we could use," I said. Of course, it wasn't a theory, I knew for a fact the Room could create pathways to other parts of the castle, and even out to Hogsmeade, but I wasn't sure how I'd explain to her why I knew.

"Wouldn't Zabini be able to see you lurking around then?" she said. "The Room is Unplottable but you wouldn't really be inside the room, would you?"

I stopped. That was actually a good point, I hadn't considered that at all.

"Well… only one way to find out I guess."

I closed my eyes and envisioned a hidden passageway that would allow me to spy on classroom 17. It was a little more difficult than imagining a direct path to the Chamber of Secrets, since I didn't want to get into the classroom, only spy on it, but after a few tries I heard a soft rumbling, shifting sound in the Room. I opened my eyes and a narrow doorway had materialized in the wall, leading on into darkness.

I muttered, "Lumos," and entered the narrow passageway. "You coming?" I asked Daphne, who hadn't immediately entered behind me. Truth be told I kind of wanted her to say no but after a moment's hesitation, she nodded and began following me. I let out a small sigh and kept on walking.

"Are we showing up on the map?" Daphne asked after a minute.

I checked the map. "Nope. I guess because this tunnel didn't exist till now, so it wouldn't be on the map."

"Or the Room's Unplottable Charm extends to it."

"Or that."

We continued in silence. After about five minutes, we arrived at a staircase going down as far as the light from my wand would allow me to see. It took another five minutes to get to the bottom, after which the path become a long series of left and right turns. The path was narrow, with barely an inch or two of wiggle room on either side. Once or twice I got the feeling that Daphne might be regretting coming along with me, but fortunately the tunnel soon opened into a room.

I shone a light across the room. There was no more tunnel.

"Is that the end…?" Daphne asked from behind.

I checked the map but remembered it was useless, since I couldn't see where we were.

"Wait, do you hear that," I said softly. There were voices coming from behind the wall to my left. I pressed my ear against the wall, attempting to hear clearly, but it was still muffled.

"Over here, there's a hole," Daphne whispered from my side. I quickly place the Extendable Ear through the tiny slit in the wall and listened using the other end. The voices were now clear. Daphne leaned in closer to listen as well. Very close. She had that adorable, slightly pouty look she made whenever she was heavily focusing on something. I found myself staring at her, but refocused on the Ear before she could notice.

"-I found a new place on the fourth floor, it's pretty well hidden and roomy, so we could hold our meetings there," said a voice that sounded like Zabini. "Also, when're you two going to do that thing you were planning?"

A new voice spoke now, that of Pansy Parkinson. "We can do it tonight, after dinner."

"You sure she'll be alone?"

"Most likely," Pansy replied. "She doesn't hang out with anyone that much now that she's through with Draco. So, we'll just wait till she's alone and make our move."

"Alright, I'll lend you the map then. We'll have another meeting tomorrow after the Hogsmeade trip."

There was a few moments' silence, before Zabini again said, "Alright, coast is clear. Let's go."

"Is um… is Malfoy nearby?" asked another voice. I'd only heard it a few times before, but I recognized it as Anastasia.

"No, it's all clear, he's probably still in the Hall."

"Oh, ok… good."

Next were the sounds of shuffling footsteps and a creaky door closing, leaving me and Daphne in a tense silence.

"So, um… well, now we know what they're gonna do next," I said.

"Yes, Pansy Parkinson and someone else is planning on attacking me," she said, rather calmly given the situation. "What's the plan?"

"Plan?"

"Well, we're gonna do something about it right?" she said.

"Oh, I was thinking we'd just… I dunno, tell a teacher or something."

"…seriously?"

"Mhmm," I said.

She punched my arm.

"Ow-! Okay, okay, yes, I have a plan in mind."

"Attaboy, let's hear it."

[…]

Daphne stood at the end of the corridor by the window, with a cigarette in hand. She thought it was ridiculous, but Draco had insisted that if she was going to be standing in a deserted corridor, she needed to be doing something for it to not seem suspicious. She supposed he was right, if Pansy and whomever else she would be bringing along saw her just standing there, doing nothing, they might feel something was off.

She kept glancing at the corridor, scanning the floor for any out-of-place shadows. That's what Draco had said… even under a Disillusionment Charm, there was still a shadow. But at the same time, she had to make it look like she wasn't paying much attention to the empty corridor. It was driving her crazy. And then there was the blasted cigarette in her hand. Pansy and her sidekick better hurry up and get there before a teacher saw her 'smoking', or by Merlin's beard it would be Pansy that needed rescuing.

A few minutes went by, Daphne started getting uneasy, but then in the middle of the corridor, the door of the Room opened and Draco stuck his head out.

"Heads up, they're coming," he said. "It's Pansy and Rachel, they're about a minute away."

Daphne nodded, and Draco went back into the Room, the door of which disappeared behind him. Daphne readied herself. One eye on the hall, searching for stray shadows, and one hand on her wand, concealed inside her robes. Her heart was thumping, a small bead of sweat trickled down her temple. She was nervous.

Something caught her eye at the far end of the corridor. Or more accurately, a flickering shadow of something. Daphne had a second to react as a jet of orange light streaked across the hallway and narrowly missed her head. She fired a Stunner in retaliation as she quickly took cover behind a pillar. A few more hexes hit the pillar and ground near her.

Daphne knew she had to keep them engaged, so she took a deep breath and quickly leaned out to fire some Stunners and Stingers. Immediately, she faced a series of several hexes, most of which narrowly missed, the remaining few she managed to block. During the five seconds or so this clash lasted, she couldn't help but notice that all the hostile spells were coming from one source only. Before she could fully comprehend this, she noticed a door materialize in the wall. Remembering the plan, she ducked behind the pillar again and covered her eyes. A soft rumble and a couple loud shrieks later, she dared to open her eyes again and stepped out from behind the pillar.

Draco was standing there, wearing sunglasses and wand held out. Pansy was on the ground, no longer Disillusioned. She seemed dazed.

"What did you do?" Daphne asked.

"Oh, don't worry, she's fine, just a little disoriented," Draco said, then beamed. "It was a form of Lumos. The light hits you. Anyways, like my shades?"

"Very nice," Daphne said dryly. "Take her wand, now, and… wait, where's- oof!"

Something hit her between the legs and she fell to her knees, clutching her groin. She saw a figure – Rachel, disillusionment wearing off – dash from behind her, trying to escape, but Daphne grabbed her by the ankle just in time and she fell to the ground with a thud. Daphne tried reaching for her wand but Rachel kicked it out of her hand and then kicked Daphne in the face.

"HEY-! Petrificus Totalus!" Draco yelled.

Rachel froze on the spot, and Daphne got up. She retrieved her wand and wiped her nose, cursing upon seeing how much it was bleeding.

"Here, wait," Draco said, jogging up to her. "Episkey!"

Daphne felt her nose go really hot, then really cold, before returning to normal. When it did, the pain was gone and the bleeding had stopped, allowing her to wipe the blood off. It was a strange little sensation and enough to get a little giggle out of her, in spite of herself.

"Now, tell me where else she hit you, I'll massage it," Draco said.

Again, in spite of herself, Daphne nearly let out a laugh, but managed to stop herself. Instead, she mustered one of her infamous looks, though she knew it would just bounce off Draco with no effect. She considered a punch to the balls, but it seemed too mean-spirited considering he'd just saved her. Not that she needed saving of course (or that she'd ever admit to it) but she wasn't going to act ungrateful.

Behind Draco, Pansy was starting to stir. This caught his attention and he turned back to her.

"Accio Map!" he said, and an old, folded piece of parchment flew out from her pocket straight into his hand. "Thank you very much," Draco said, pocketing the map. Then his expression darkened and he turned back to Pansy. "Now, you're gonna listen to me very carefully Pansy. You and Rachel and Zabini and your little Death Eater fanclub, you're all gonna disband. No more ambushes, no more sneaking around, no more meetings in disused classrooms. I'm not gonna tell any teachers just yet, but if I get one whiff that something's not right, that you're having meetings – and trust me, I'll know if that happens – I'll go straight to the Headmaster. I'm sure he'd be very alarmed to hear that there's a bunch of Death Eater wannabes running around the castle, attacking students. Am I understood?"

Pansy, still a bit disoriented, nodded frantically.

"Good," Draco said. "Well, here's your wand," he said, throwing it to the far end of the corridor. "Tell Zabini I said hi."

And with that, he left the corridor. Daphne, slightly stunned by Draco's warning, jogged after him.

"Why'd you let them off the hook?" she asked in the next corridor.

"Well… I guess you could say there were multiple reasons. First, if I told a teacher or Dumbledore, at most we'd be able to get Pansy and Rachel punished, but not the rest, since we technically don't have enough proof. And also, it's good leverage to hold over their heads. As much as they love to pretend they're ready to serve the Dark Lord, the threat of expulsion is enough to keep most of them in check. Heck even detention would be enough to make a few of em buckle. They're just a bunch of disconnected brats really, not hardened Death Eaters. So I figured it would be a good weapon to keep for a while."

"Wow…" Daphne said. Honestly it was impressive, and a bit scary, that he came up with this on short notice. "So uh… thanks, I guess. For this whole thing."

"Don't mention it," he said with a smile. "We're even now, I guess. We make a good team."

"Yeah… we do," she said. And there it was, the reminder they weren't technically together anymore. For a brief while Daphne had genuinely forgotten that, and the realization hit her like a sledgehammer.

Just then, the sound of running footsteps came from around the corner. They both tensed and Draco took out his wand. Anastasia came running into the corridor and skidding to a halt in front of them.

"There you are!" she said, panting. "I've been looking everywhere for you, you need to- oh…" she seemed to take in the situation. She had been talking to Draco, but upon noticing Daphne there as well, she said. "Never mind," and then ran away.

"Hey, wait-!" Draco called after her but to no avail. "Weird."

"What was that all about?" Daphne asked. "Some kind of diversion?"

"I dunno," Draco said. Then he checked the map. "I don't think so, none of them are nearby."

An awkward silence befell, in which it seemed Draco too, finally remembered the status of their relationship, as his calm but alert demeanor changed into something akin to sheepishness. The silence was broken, eventually, by Draco.

"Well, anyway um… see you around. G'night Daphne," he said quickly, and walked away. Daphne watched him go, not even thinking about Anastasia's strange interruption

[…]

On my way back to the common room, I tossed one of the two maps into a lit brazier. It was too risky to have an extra one lying around. I charmed the one I kept to make it accio-proof, since that was a neat little trick I learnt. I was in a good mood heading back. The trick with the strengthened Lumos had worked seamlessly. After the battle at the department of mysteries, I'd been toying with the idea. Glad to finally use it in action. And I'd got the fucking map back too, hell yeah!

It seemed like nothing could dampen my spirits. That is, until my stomach gave a loud growl. Fuck, why had I skipped dinner?

…oh.

…oh yeah.

That.

Never mind, mood dampened.

I trudged the rest of the way back to the common room, taking an occasional look on the map to make sure Daphne was safe. Probably should have stayed with her, but the sudden pang of awkwardness back there had gotten the better of me. She was safe though, in the library where there were a few other students as well as Madam Pince.

Upon returning to the dungeons, I went straight to bed and crashed. I had gotten a huge burden off my shoulders today; the map saga was over. I just hope the saga with Hermione was over now too…