It was shit, to see that revulsion in her eyes. It was fucking hell, and yet Draco just had to grin and bear it – he knew he brought the blame and the fear of what he might have done that lurked in her eyes on himself. But part of him rankled at that dull acceptance of judgement; felt anger, because there was nothing he could do to fix the hurt he had caused. Ever. What he had done was done, and there was no going back and undoing it. And did that mean that technically, everyone – Hermione – was entitled to distrust or despise Draco forever? Was he always going to be the one on the outer edges, never permitted into the inner circle, knowing that they were all quietly watching him, judging him for things he would take back if he could?