"What have you got Ron for his birthday?"

"Nothing." I answered without a beat.

"But it's his seventeenth!" Harry spluttered, his mouth gaping open as though I'd just committed a cardinal sin.

"So," I shrugged, turning the page of the latest book I'd gotten out from the library in my quest to save Draco. "I don't recall either of you two bothering on my seventeenth."

"Wait- you're seventeen already?" Harry asked, scratching his head. "Are you sure?"

I slammed the book down loudly on the coffee table, causing Harry to jump five feet into the air from the sofa he was sat on which was strangely devoid of a snogging Ron and Lavender.

"MY BIRTHDAY WAS IN SEPTEMBER LIKE IT IS EVERY YEAR!" I roared, not caring of the scene I was making. "AND YET I DIDN'T EVEN GET A SINGLE 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' FROM EITHER OF YOU!"

"But you didn't say!" Harry implored, looking around frantically for help. "How were we supposed to have known?"

"I don't know, maybe Neville and Seamus leading the common room into a chorus of 'Happy Birthday' should have been your first clue. But no, you were too busy sticking your nose in that stupid fucking book whilst Ron was drooling over Lavender's tits!"

A wave of gasps and giggles swept across the common room, and someone even squealed ("She said a swear word! Hermione Granger swore!")

I stormed out, feeling suitably infuriated, hurt ripping at my insides at the reminder of what shit friends I had.

But it was okay, because I had Draco, Draco who had, in only a matter of months, become my closest confidant, the one I wanted to turn to the most when I needed someone.

I went straight to his room even though I knew it was likely he wasn't going to be there. On the nights he wasn't at in the Room of Requirement he always invited me over.

I was right, but I let myself into the empty room with my wand (which Draco had given access rights to so that I could come and go as I pleased) and curled up in his bed which smelt of him and gave me the comfort I sorely craved.

It seemed I had barely shut my eyes when I was opening them again. Draco was leaning over me, gently shaking me awake, concern etched over his features. It wasn't like me to go to his room when he wasn't there.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

I sat up, flinging my arms around his neck, practically crying in relief that he was there.

"Hey," he soothed, rubbing my back and kissing the top of my head. "What's upset you? Tell me."

"Nothing," I said, "I just needed to get away from the Gryffindors."

Two in particular.

"I keep telling you, you can just move into this room with me," he murmured, tightening his arms around me. "Fuck, I'd love nothing more knowing you are in my bed when I'm working on that fucking thing."

And although that offer was tempting, a part of me was reluctant, terrified that it would mean the final nail in the coffin for my friendship with Ron and Harry.

It wasn't something that I felt I could explain to Draco who seemed to understand everything about me but this. Ron and Harry had been my first friends, the ones who truly accepted who I was when people like Draco were trying to drive me away. Without Ron and Harry I would have probably just given up on it all.

So, yes, I wanted to hold on to what little ties I still had with them. Even if my feelings for Ron were no longer romantic, there was still that sentimental attachment I had to him, as well as Harry.

But Draco didn't push it, instead cocooning me in his arms as he lay down with me, the sound of his beating heart lulling me back into sleep.

*****

The morning of the first day of March started off like any other Saturday.

Draco and I lazed around in bed, enjoying one another. I tried not to think about the fact it was Ron's birthday, pushing it down as far as I could.

"I suppose we should go upstairs and get some breakfast," Draco drawled lazily, softly stroking my arm as we recovered from a morning quickie. "Although I do hate how it means having to part ways with you."

Laughing softly, I reached up and lightly kissed his nose. "Luckily it's the weekend, so we can always come back here and do some 'studying' afterwards."

"Well, I was going to work on my task today, but I guess I can sack it off for you," he smirked, rolling me over and pinning me down into the mattress as he ravaged my neck in a way that tickled so much, I was left breathless with laughter.

Agreeing to meet back in his room after, I left first, my step light as I skipped up the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

However, what I was greeted with when I arrived at the Great Hall, was not a scene of Ron being serenaded by Harry, but Lavender sitting pale faced and alone.

"What's wrong?" I asked her as I approached the table. "Where's Ron? Not having a special birthday breakfast?"

She stared up at me as though I'd said something in a language she could not understand. Her eyes were red-rimmed and full of tears.

"Lavender?" I prompted, wondering what on earth could have made her this upset.

Oh no... I could only conclude that Ron slept with her and left her disappointed.

"Look," I said kindly when she didn't answer but just quivered her bottom lip instead. "Ron can be a real jerk sometimes. I warned him not to mess with people's feelings. I told him-"

"He- he's been poisoned," she whispered, her voice just a tremble. "I think he might die!"

Well, that was not what I was expecting.

And to my horror, she opened her mouth and started wailing really loudly.

"Lavender," I hissed, shaking her arm, trying to get her to stem her sobs so I could make some sense of it all. "What happened exactly? Where is he?"

But she just shook her head and continued to wail loudly.

"What's going on?"

I spun around to find Neville approaching the table, looking concerned.

"I'm not sure," I admitted, "Lavender says she thinks Ron has been poisoned or something-"

"HE HAS!" She wailed so loudly that the entire hall went quiet to hear what all the fuss was about. "And I went to the hospital wing to be by his side because I'm his girlfriend and he needs me but they said I wasn't allowed even though his entire family and Harry is up there with him!"

I started to feel a fluttering of panic. If the Weasley's had been called in, then it must be serious.

"Lavender," I said firmly, hoping to get a straight answer from her. "What happened exactly? How did he end up getting poisoned?"

"I- I'm not sure," she hiccuped, blotting her tears with a napkin. "But apparently that bitch Romilda Vane somehow slipped him a love potion and so Harry took him to Slughorn's office for an antidote, I went to follow him to see if there was anything I could do to help, but before I could get there I was almost flattened by a load of teachers stampeding down the corridor with Ron's unconscious body and Harry running behind yelling that his best friend has been poisoned."

"Blimey," Neville breathed, his eyes widening as he rubbed his chin. "I mean, we all had a chuckle when he woke up this morning harping on about Vane, but this..." he tailed off shaking his head. "Sounds like you'd better get up there, Hermione. I'll stay and look after Lavender."

I didn't argue and wheeled on the spot, running blindly to the hospital wing, not knowing what I was going to be faced with.

My heart raced as I stepped inside, looking around. I couldn't see Ron, but I could see a crowd of red heads surrounding a bed. They were all there, his parents, Ginny, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie.

Everyone bar Percy, that was.

"Hermione, dear," Molly sobbed, blowing her nose into a hankie, "come here, come here. Ron needs his loved ones right now, not some harpy who keeps banging on about being his girlfriend. I mean, he's never even mentioned this Lavatory before!"

I felt another stab of empathy for Lavender. Ron really was a shit.

Tentatively making my way towards them, Arthur stepped back to let me into the inner circle, his hand patting my shoulder as I did so.

The sight of Ron laying unconscious on the bed looking deathly pale made my heart clench. Beside him, Harry sat in a chair, his head bowed and his hands clasped together as though in mid-prayer.

It was like they were all waiting for him to die.

"What- what happened?" I breathed, my voice shaking. "Lavender said something about poison?"

"The mead... it was poisoned." Harry murmured gravely, his voice slow and heavy as his head remained bowed.

"Mead?" I spluttered. "It's nine-thirty in the fucking morning! Why is he drinking mead?!"

"There was love potion you see... Slughorn... he had the antidote. He suggested a drop of mead to perk him up."

"But... poisoned? Who would want to poison Slughorn?"

Harry finally looked up, his gaze fierce as his eyes defiantly met mine. "The mead was a gift from an anonymous source. Slughorn had been instructed to pass it onto Dumbledore. Whoever gifted it wants our headmaster dead. Sound familiar?!"

No. No, no, no, no.

"Er-my-nee," Ron croaked unexpectedly.

We glanced down at him, waiting for him to say more, but his eyes remained closed and gentle snores began to issue from his lips.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over at that point, checking his vitals.

"He'll be fine," she told the group, "he just needs plenty of rest. If it wasn't for Harry's quick thinking though, he'd be as dead as a dodo right now!"

She laughed and bustled back away.

Realising there was nothing more they could do, the Weasley's departed, insisting they felt much better knowing Ron was in mine and Harry's good hands.

"I'm sure he'd rather see your young pretty face when he wakes up rather than my old wrinkly one!" Molly had winked at me.

So, Harry and I remained, sitting vigil by his bedside, waiting for our friend to come to.

"If Malfoy really is behind this then you are technically sleeping with a killer." Harry said, after Ron spoke my name in his sleep again.

"Harry- stop," I whispered, closing my eyes as I was hit by a sudden wave of pain. I did not want to think about that right now, I just wanted to be sure that Ron was well.

"I've kept your secret up until now," he continued, his voice deadpan, "because you're my friend, Hermione, and I've always respected you. But after this... if you continue to see him, I don't think I can call you my friend anymore. You do understand that, don't you?"

"Harry, you don't even know if it was Draco-"

"Of course it was him! Open your fucking eyes, Hermione. Just because he goes out of his way to pleasure you in bed, it still doesn't make him a decent guy! You're only seeing what you want to see because he is telling you everything you want to hear!"

"That's not true!"

"Really?" Harry scoffed, folding his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes at me. "I bet he told you he smells you in Amortentia."

My hesitation said it all. Harry scoffed again. "I knew it, oldest chat up line in the book."

"He didn't need to say it," I snapped, wishing Harry would shut up. I didn't want him to start planting seeds of doubt in my head, "we were already... together by that point."

"He's still a killer," Harry shrugged. "And are you prepared to continue climbing into bed with someone who is capable of taking an innocent life just to save their own skin?"

I looked away from him, turning my attention back to Ron. There was nothing more I could say to Harry without implicating Draco any further.

However, I couldn't help but shake the uneasy feeling that a part of what Harry was saying was true. I didn't want to believe Draco could do something quite so foolish, but then again, he was a desperate boy in a desperate situation.

The hours slowly ticked by, with neither Harry nor I relenting our positions by his bedside. At lunch time, Ginny popped in with some floppy sandwiches and rank tasting tea.

"Ugh - not bloody corned beef again."

I froze at the familiar voice, the sandwich halfway to my lips.

"Ron!" I cried, tossing my sandwich to the floor as I flung myself forwards, reaching out to grab his hand. "You're awake!"

A lazy crooked smile formed at his lips as his eyes twinkled up into mine. "'Mione, you're here. You're really here."

"Of course I'm here, silly!" I laughed, never being more pleased to hear him call me that. "Where else would I be?"

As soon as the words left my lips, I experienced a cold hard plunging sensation in the pit of my stomach.

Draco.

In all the drama of Ron getting poisoned, I had completely forgotten that I was meant to go back and join him in his room.

"Glad you're back with us, mate," Harry chortled as he leant down to cuff him on the shoulder, "you gave us quite the scare."

"What- what happened?" Ron asked thickly.

"Look, I'm sorry," I said, quickly slipping my hand out of Ron's, guiltily avoiding Harry's gaze, "but there's something I really must do. I'm so glad you're back with us, Ron. I'm sure Harry will explain how he saved your life."

"Oh." Ron's face dropped in disappointment. "You will come back, won't you?"

"Of course," I smiled, only it didn't reach my eyes.

Harry caught up with me moments after I left the hospital wing.

"Hermione, wait!" He called, stopping me in my tracks.

"What do you want, Harry?" I asked coldly, not in the mood for another lecture.

So, it was to my surprise when his expression softened and he looked at me with what I could only describe as remorse.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier," he said, jogging over to me, "I was just upset about Ron and selfishly took it out on you. And I'm sorry Ron and I have been shit friends these past few months. You deserve better than us and I promise we'll make it up to you. I care about you Hermione, and so does Ron, and I can see after today that you still care about him too, otherwise you wouldn't have stayed to make sure he was okay."

"Of course I still care about Ron," I seethed, "I never stopped! It's just that he's been too busy with Lavender to notice I even exist these days."

"Well, between you and me," Harry said quietly, looking around, "he's confided in me that he wants to end it with her, he just doesn't know how."

I rolled my eyes, going to turn away. Harry grabbed my arm.

"Please be careful with Malfoy," he implored, his expression earnest, "I know you have fallen for him hard, and that is why I'm worried for you. Surely you can see there's no future in it? His father's in Azkaban for crimes against Muggle-borns."

"Draco is not his father, Harry." I sniped a little too defensively, snapping my arm out of his grasp.

Harry opened his mouth, as though he were about to say something else, but then quickly closed it again, changing his mind.

"Just... promise me you'll tread carefully?" He asked instead.

Slowly, I nodded. Harry threw me a sympathetic smile. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Saying goodbye, I left him standing out in the fourth floor corridor and made my way down through the castle, towards the dungeons. Towards Draco's room.

Hovering outside the door, I took a moment to steel myself, my chest tight with apprehension.

And, holding my breath, I stepped inside, ready to face a conversation I really, really didn't want to have.

*****