Ron Weasley was in deep shit and he knew it. He sat there, waiting and waiting, not daring to flee, which in retrospect was a smart choice. He couldn't, even if he tried, being bound to the chair by his broken leg and his arm and all that. Ron smelled like sweat mixed with grease, the taste of his vomit still present in his mouth. He glared at the stone floor of McGonagall's office, his healthy leg bouncing up and down from all the nerves. The sight of a lifeless body belonging to Lavender wouldn't leave his mind, her hollow and empty eyes staring at him, piercing his dark soul.It reminded him of Fred.He waited and waited, chewing on his nails till the skin started to bleed and itch uncomfortably, making him twist his hands in his hair after that, ripping some of it out. He felt caged like an animal, like a clock was hanging over his head, ticking away. He jumped in his seat from the sudden sound of the doors opening when McGonagall returned with Aurors, the Heads of the houses and other important people from the Ministry on her tail, including Shacklebolt. Ron cowered in his seat when he was pierced by a glare from his former teacher. Her eyes showed nothing but disappointment and anger, there was a hint of hate too. Ron's heart was beating fast and he was sure he was white as a sheet of paper, the fear creeping up behind him. What if they know ?"Ronald Weasley," He heard his name coming from Kingsley Shacklebolt, who cleared his throat afterwards. "Due the circumstances that occurred and previous allegations of your behavior in Hogwarts School, I'm afraid you'll be suspended from your school work and privileges that were given to you." His dark eyes pinned Ron down, but he was nervous as well,  Ron could tell. "Including leaving the school's grounds-"But I didn't do anything,  sure as hell didn't kill Lavender, why would I kill my girlfriend ?" His desperate voice cracked at the end. His fake tears didn't fool anyone present in the room."You should be grateful, Mr. Weasley, that they didn't arrest you today." McGonagall dared to interrupt the minister, her stern and strong voice canceling Shacklebolt's. "Only letting you go with a light punishment and that's all thanks to your participation in the war but let this be a warning, my dear boy, it won't happen again." Ron was breathing hard and his left palm clenched into a fist, knuckles white. "As well as not being able to leave the school grounds, you're not allowed to play in the matches of Quidditch and attend The Christmas Ball or other gathering expect those that are related to school work."Ron scoffed and buried his head in his hands, anger rising inside. His whole future depended on those Quidditch matches. Fuck this. Fuck Hermione. "Ah yes, you're also dismissed from your Perfect duties, that'll be it."Then one of the Head-Aurors spoke. "The investigation will be proceeded quietly and considering that you're of legal age your parents won't be accountable for your actions, Mr. Weasley. There will be two Aurors near you at all times during our investigation." The man's voice, Ron didn't know who this man was, was deep and automatic, almost emotionless. "Mr. Weasley, as of today you're the primary suspect of Lavender Brown's suspected murder and a suspect of a few accounts of sexual assault."Yeah, Ron Weasley fucked up.~The walk back after the dinner was deafening, no one made a single sound, no one dared to talk. Draco had to hide his sick smile to himself when he felt the same power rushing through him, just from seeing the mass hysteria and reaction to his very well played spectacle.It turned out exactly as he planned, Brown didn't disappoint for once in her short life. Brava to her for adding the theatrics and the whole speech, it was sure a great show in the end. And how easy was it to manipulate the poor girl, her actions were more predictable than anyone else's.Hermione stayed silent too, her face not showing any emotions, natural and calm as always. She comforted some first-years crying in the corner and whispered comforting words to a few boys who got lost in the process of going back to their dorms. She was helping. She was playing her part.Her kindness irked Draco greatly but he supposed he couldn't do anything about it. A selfish need to have her for only himself was bearing... for now. He did caught her gaze directed towards him a few times too. Hermione's eyes betraying an emotion he couldn't name yet, since it was gone before he could look closer into it, replaced by a gentle look. Draco did his job too, taking care of his house and directing all of them back to the dungeons, not bothering to pretend to care about the disturbed ones. He left that job to Pansy and Blaise who were confused about the whole ordeal but did their jobs as well. They'll figure it out one way or another, Draco knew that.Draco was eager to return after everything has been handled, already nearing their shared space. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Hermione standing in front, already waiting for him. Her posture still calm and relaxed, back straight and shoulders lowered. He narrowed his eyes at her, not letting his guard down just yet, aware of her foot tapping against the stone floor lightly.Once they both walked through the portrait Hermione wasted no time and took Draco by his necktie and dragged him up against the wall, pressing her body against his, trapping him in a way. He lifted an eyebrow at her actions, surprised at her strength more than ever. He was about to ask her about it but his lips were covered by hers instantly, silencing him. Draco's arms sneaked around her middle, lifting her off of the floor slightly, just enough for her toes to touch the ground. His other hand lowering to cover her backside, finger tightening roughly. Her heartbeat quickened when she felt him deepen the kiss, eager to get a response from her too. Then she pressed her hands on his chest and pushed herself away, not too far but not close either. Their heavy breathing mixing together and his smirk never left his face. Her eyes flashed at him when he looked at her up and down, then when he opened his mouth to speak again she smacked him. Hard. The sound echoing through the space and his head tuned a little, just a bit. Draco scoffed at that and massaged the side of his face where her finger made contact, locking eyes with her again. He was impressed. And turned on more than ever."I take it you enjoyed the show ?" The twisted words made her smirk at him and she came closer to him again, now her hand sneaking around his shoulders and the other pressed on his cheek where she slapped him. "Plan something like that behind my back again and I'll make sure your balls will be framed above the fireplace." Hermione smiled a sick smile again and not giving him the time of the day and kissed him once again.Only now she didn't stop, nor did he. Her hungry kisses driving him up the walls and causing a hurricane in his mind. Draco understood the " thank you " in the kiss quite well. She did enjoy the show after all.~Surprisingly, the Christmas Ball wasn't canceled. Maybe, and just maybe, it was because Hermione stepped into McGonagall's office the day after of the unfortunate event and convinced that it would be for the best. Get the students happy again. " Lavender would've wanted this, trust me." She said and it worked.With wary but trusting and quite frankly tired out eyes the headmistress agreed, sighing deeply and letting Hermione control the preparations. Minerva trusted the girl the most out of everyone, especially now. Harry Potter was nowhere to be found.The Headmistress wondered what happened to once kind and sweet boy like Ron Weasley. Was it glory ? Jealousy ? It was tragic what she saw in front of her. Of course, she didn't think he could've done those things... he couldn't possibly. But these days she wasn't so sure. Now keeping an eye on him was quite difficult, the boy wasn't as dense as it seemed. He did, in fact, know all the secret passages, all the castle tricks. Besides she had other things to do, still not believing that the accusations were true. She decided to leave it alone for a while, at least until the Christmas Ball passed, he wasn't allowed to attend that either way. McGonagall will keep that headache for the Aurors to take care of.~Hermione thrived in the panic and chaos that followed the accident. It seemed like she was standing in the middle of the game board, having all the trumps while everyone around her seemed to crumble down. Many people were already spreading rumors about Ron and Harry, many people also turned their backs on the Golden Boys really fast, especially on Ron. Now the duo walked separately and alone, like she once did, except Ron who had two Aurors trailing behind him as his company. The tension was obvious between two friends, besides that people were starting to catch on, asking the right questions silently. Hermione smirked at that, her hands were folded and she stood confidently on the ground while she watched as Harry Potter's fan club crumbled between his hands. Still, some were so brain-washed that they ignored all the facts and still blindly worshiped the boy-who-lived.Ron on the other hand, not so much. He lost all his fan-girls, that once were hanging off of him and no one seemed to believe the bullshit that he was spreading around. He was always angry and shouting, being aggressive towards anyone who looked at him wrong. Sure, nothing was proven and most of the looks were similar to pity but his behavior didn't help him that much. Also the obvious Aurors always standing in the room where he was located.Now when she thought about it, Ron wasn't seen around as much as usual, it seemed as if he was hiding, ashamed perhaps. Which disappointed Hermione but didn't leave her surprised. Deep down, knowing that the humiliation was eating him alive, Hermione knew that soon he will do something, she hoped it'll work too.On the day of The Christmas Ball, everyone seemed to be too preoccupied to even notice anything around them. Some were adding a few things to their outfits, some were just hanging out, gossiping about couples around them. Or fighting over magical creatures."They  can breathe fire, Lovegood." Draco gestured with his hands, his unusual expression of irritation amusing Hermione. "Is that your only argument ?" Her light voice was calm as the three of them walked down the halls. "It's the only argument I need." He almost yelled and Hermione just rolled her eyes. Honestly, only Luna would be brave enough to disagree with Draco and even prove him wrong. But he couldn't know that. Neville caught up to them, tapping her on Hermione's shoulder. She turned around and let the bickering duo move forward, still going on about their topic. Hermione greeted Neville with a smile and shook her head at his questioning look directed at the blondes. "I get that you also knew about Draco's plan ?" He chuckled at Hermione's amused look, ignoring how unconcerned she sounded despite the topic. "It was a test run, yes but the good part is that the Night Shade is fully grown and is deadly toxic." He whispered the name, still aware of other around them. "And also the seed is planted." Hermione smiled at the news and pressed herself against Draco's side, when he slowed down and put his arm around her. Her plan was indeed working out perfectly.Having been in the same position a few years back, Hermione knew exactly how on edge Ginny Weasley was. She knew the girl was probably running around, getting ready and adding extra touches to her dress. Ginny wasn't focusing on anything else besides looking perfect, an official appearance with famous Harry Potter after all, almost engaged an all that. Yes, in fact, he did give her the courting gift, a few days after Lavender's death, to cheer her up. That was a mistake on his part though. So naturally the whole school knew about the "engagement'. And Merlin did she show it off, never once was seen without the bracelet on her wrist, bragging and bragging. She talked about it so much that she even would sometimes choke up and have a coughing fit.It made Hermione laugh out loud. ~Harry Potter felt like he was trapped in a box, like he was back at his hole under the stairs.  He didn't know where did things go so wrong. Well, that's not entirely true, he knew that things went downhill in his life when he invited Pansy Parkinson on a date, despite having a girlfriend or maybe the moment when he decided that breaking Hermione's trust was good idea or even when he was born.He very well knew that his parents would be disappointed if they were alive, they would scold him and perhaps help him but sadly alive they were not. His mind couldn't focus on anything these days, fear always creeping up behind him. His memory suffered more and more, he was forgetting little details for awhile but lately it's been huge chunks of his days, of his life. Someone's at fault he knew that much.This feeling was entirely different from Voldemort, he knew what he faced back then. They always had a plan, an army, he had friends and now he didn't have neither of those. He managed to lose his life, saw it crumble in her hands, her fault, his fault, his fault... What he did was pretend that everything was fine, that they were fine. Ron couldn't possibly be responsible for Lavender's death and that thing with Pansy was just his imagination while being influenced by cheap liquor. It. Didn't. Happen. Surely, his mind was only stressed enough to make up those things right ?The paranoia drove him insane but he managed to hide it well enough from the public, he pretended to be hero after all. But he knew. Oh, he knew that Hermione saw the real him, she always did. And every time he dared to look at her he feels the same death stench surround him. He ignored it as best as he could. He was Harry Potter, for fuck sake's, the boy who lived. He won the war, destroyed the most nitrous dark wizard of their generation. Why was he so afraid of some girl ? Maybe, Harry thought, because she wasn't some stupid girl. Ginny seemed like the only thing he could grab on in his life now days, and even then he felt like she was always looking for a way to humiliate him and control him, keep him beside her legs. And it worked. Not being able to remember small things made him scared so Ginny was his only reassurance, he didn't have a choice. Not this time.Of course he was foolish enough to think that that stupid bracelet will be enough for her. Laced with real gold it was not brilliant enough for the girl. "Am I not good enough to you, Harry ?" She accused him only to have him beg on his knees for her to come back. She did the next day, with a promise to go back to the Potter's vaults. And Ron, well he didn't talk with him for a while now, his friend disappeared after his girlfriend's death. Harry felt as if Ron was always lashing out on everyone that walked past him. Of course his best friend couldn't possible hit his sister, both of the siblings denied it, it was just Lavender's stupid accusations. He found somewhere deep inside him to trust the duo but the image flashing in his mind, of him shoveling his grave deeper, made him hesitate just a tad bit.