Chapter 32

"Wait!" Blaise frowned as the two of them rushed through the corridors. "Lucius was in your bathroom? What a creep!"

"Blaise." Hermione sighed, stopping in her tracks and turning to the dark skinned boy. "He said Draco was back in school."

She watched as Blaise's face displayed a range of different emotions: relief, confusion, excitement. Eventually, he settled on a look of amusement as he pushed past the brunette girl.

"Hermione, let's get you back to bed." He smiled, taking hold of Hermione's arm and guiding her through the corridors.

"Blaise, I swear to Merlin - I'm not crazy! He told me himself." The witch protested.

"In your bathroom? Ten minutes ago?'

"Yes."

Blaise shook his head and chuckled as they reached the Head Prefect Common Room. "Yeah right, 'Mione."

They stepped inside the Common Room and almost instantly a wave of fear came over the duo.

"Okay, so there's a creep ass looking person standing over by your window - that doesn't prove anything." Blaise stammered, dropping his hand to his side.

"W- who the hell are you?" A coarse voice questioned from the darkness. "Where am I?"

"Oh God!" Hermione gasped from beside the Slytherin, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Draco?"

"Y- you know me?" The shaken voice questioned as the figure stepped into the light.

The duo let out a horrified gasp as the blonde boy stepped into view. His pale face bared an ugly scar that covered his left cheekbone, alongside a few scrapes and bruises. His once platinum blonde hair was matted together with dried blood and dirt and worst of all - his clothes were torn and bloodstained as though he'd murdered someone.

"Oh Draco." Hermione gasped, her shock evident.

"How do you know me!" The broken figure that was Draco snapped, startling the brunette girl.

"Woah, Draco, buddy." Blaise exclaimed, in attempt to calm the situation. "Take it easy, yeah?"

"And you! Who the fuck are you?!" The broken boy yelled, grabbing the nearest book and launching it across the room.

"Draco, stop it! That's enough!" Hermione pleaded as she and Blaise ducked behind the sofa.

"Really!" Blaise exclaimed turning to look at the brunette. "He's throwing books at you and now you decide to negotiate with him?!"

"Blaise! I don't think we should be arguing about this now!" She states loudly, trying to make herself audible through Draco's screaming.

"You're right - we should do it when he launches another book at us! Great thinking, 'Mione." He responds sarcastically, earing a small groan from the young witch.

"That was not, by any means, what I meant!" Hermione argued, gripping her hair back into a ponytail. "And you know it."

Before long, Draco's yelling quietened into whimpers that could only just be heard over the crackling fire. It didn't take too long for both Blaise and Hermione to come out from behind the sofa.

"H- hello?" Draco's voice cracked from some within the room. "Father, is that you?"

The Gryfindor Princess exchanged a worrisome glance at the dark skinned boy, who seemed paler than usual. It didn't take them long to locate the broken boy, two minutes to be exact.

He was sat in front of the fire, hugging his knees to his chest, while rocking back and forth allowing his tears to run down his face.

"Draco?" Hermione spoke, but not very loudly.

"F- father?" The blonde boy questioned with a sense of relief in his voice.

"No, buddy." Blaise corrected his friend. "It's Blaise and Hermione. You remember us, right?"

The two of them watched as Draco frowned as he racked his brain for anything related to the two people standing before him, but were filled with despair when he shook his head.

"N- no, I'm sorry." He said sadly, lowering his head to look at carpet. "Should I?"

"Well, yes." Hermione sighed, knowing this wasn't going to go very far.

Blaise frowned for a moment, trying to think of something he thought Draco would remember. It didn't take him long to do so.

"What about Dramione? Do you remember that?" He asked keenly, earing another sigh from the Gryfindor Princess.

"Blaise, if he doesn't remember who we are, how do you expect him to remember that?" She said fustratedly, putting a hand to her forehead.

"Oh yeah! Sorry."

There was an awkward silence between the three students, which was quickly broken by a very excited Draco.

"Wait! I remember something!" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"What? What do you remember?" The two students questioned together, pequing their interests.

"Dramione. W- who is that?" The broken boy frowned, turning his head towards them slightly.

"Not who." Blaise corrected proudly. "It's rather a case of what is it."

"Still." The blonde boy shrugged passively. "I want an answer - what is Dramione?"

"Draco, perhaps we should wait." Hermione suggested, stepping forwards ever so slightly.

"Wait?" Draco questioned, his anger raising with every quivering word. "You want me to wait for an answer!?"

"Just until you're..."

"I'm what? Healed? Yeah, you know something - I think I do remember something."

"Y- you do?"

"Yes, Mudblood, I think I do."

Blaise let out a rather loud gasp as the words fell from his best friend's mouth with such hatred. Hermione stumbled backwards in horror, almost knocking Blaise over backwards. Out of everything he could've remembered, this was the result!

"Now, I want my answer." Draco persisted, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly. "What is Dramione?"

"It's Blaise's name for his favourite couple." The brunette witch sighed in defeat as she explained.

But the broken boy frowned. "Which couple? Who is involved?"

Hermione turned to Blaise, silently urging him to continue, and eventually he did. "The couple is - was you and..."

"And? Me and who?"

"You and Hermione." Blaise concluded, rather quickly too.

It took a moment for the information to sink in, but even once it had, it didn't seem to make much difference.

"I- I used to date a..." Draco questioned in disbelief.

"Yes! You used to date a Mudblood!" Hermione snapped, growing more and more annoyed at the use of that word.

"Oh. And what happened?"

The GryfindorPrincess frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Did we - you know?"

Behind her, Blaise broke out into a small giggling fit as he began to understand what Draco was asking, which left Hermione completely clueless.

"Draco, I don't know what you're asking me." She huffed in annoyance at the two boys.

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Did we have sex?" The blonde boy snapped, causing Blaise to laugh even more as the Gryfindor's cheeks flushed bright red.

"No. No we didn't."

"So then what did happen?"

"Nothing, I don't think."

"Wow! That must've been one bad relationship." Draco chuckled as he sat himself down on a sofa.

"How dare you call Dramione a bad relationship!" Blaise gasped in horror. "You're part of the ship and now that you've broken away - you're sinking my God damn ship!"

"Blaise, perhaps we should..." Hermione began to suggest, only to be cut off rather abruptly.

"No! You and Draco are the reason we're all still afloat in this water! Fix it." He protested forcefully.

But still, the brunette remained adiment. "Blaise, perhaps we should find McGonagall?"

"You mean, now? At this hour?" The dark skinned raised an eye brow.

She nodded weakly. "Yes, Blaise."

The two of them glanced sadly over at the broken boy and sighed. Blaise reluctantly agreed to find McGonagall and left the Common Room with Hermione, leaving Draco on his own - again.