A/N: hey you guys! You are great for putting up with me! I have been swamped with end of the year stuff, reports and the like, so I'm sorry this has been held back for such a long time. Hope you enjoy! The title is the name of a Dashboard Confessional song that I absolutely love, so if you are the type to research, check out the song for an inside on what it means! Cookies if you do! And since this is the revised version, due to a certain review that, though I'm sure was well meant, was a bit harsh( there were better ways of putting it)…I have decided to take a look over my work and fix some things, add some things…

Chapter 14: Hands Down

The following week was filled with stories of the fight in the common room, from both those that were actually there to those that had heard of it second hand, like the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. The stories being passed around were many, each more outrageous than the next. But each lead back to the "jealous fit of rage that had overtaken Draco Malfoy" and the "heroic bout of courage that had been issued from Harry and Ron". They particularly enjoyed the one about them fighting off Malfoy and his cronies, plus a large amount of other Slytherins, taking them all, one after the other and coming out with just a few scratches. But alas, that story could not withstand because the boys had come out with more than a few scratches.

The three had gone to see Dumbledore, but as always, his advice had a deeper meaning that would take awhile for them to decipher. Hermione had come up with "Don't judge a book by it's cover", in which Ron made some crack about it being about books. A short tiff followed but things soon regained normalcy, complete with natural wise cracks, nothing meant behind them. So it seems as though they were on their own, Dumbledore confident in knowing something the others didn't see in Malfoy. Matters would be taken into their own hands, not that they weren't before.

After a while, things had cooled down, but whispers still followed them through the hallways. It greatly reminded Harry of his first week or so at Hogwarts, the way people gawked and spoke as if he wasn't standing right there. And it also brought up bad memories of his second year, when everyone in the school was against him. But this time, the majority of the school was with him and said words of encouragement to him or Hermione. It was a bit annoying but nonetheless still meaning good. Of course, the Slytherins had a different perspective on things. But then, when did they not?

The days that followed didn't have much of a showing of the ferret himself. It seemed as though he had taken to hiding or maybe he was plotting his next "attack". Either way, he was not seen often outside classes. In the Great Hall, he sat at the opposite end of wherever Hermione, Harry and Ron sat, no matter where they were. If they didn't know better, they would have thought he was hiding from them. But the glares he threw their direction said otherwise.

Malfoy was covered with a few well-placed white bandages, matching the pale skin and hair of the boy and it was hard to take his glares seriously. As an afterthought, Malfoy had spread a few of his own stories about the fight, all of which were untrue, to say the least.

Late afternoon, in the Great Hall, Hermione, Harry and Ron were sitting in their usual place at the Gryffindor table, and rolling their eyes at Malfoy's attempts to make them uncomfortable. It was a tireless effort on Malfoy's part since he thought he was doing something that intimidated people, and therefore, he "worked his magic" freely.

"I'm going to go over there!" Harry announced, throwing his fork down with a clang after catching another glimpse of Malfoy down the Slytherin table. "Come on Hermione…we are going to get this straightened out right now. I'm tired of Malfoy thinking he has the upper hand since Dumbledore hasn't spoken to him and I'm sure Snapes given him encouragement instead of reprimanding him. "

He pulled her up and out of the bench, not forcefully, just quickly, eager to get this over with. But Hermione wasn't ready to go over there. She wasn't over her last encounter with him and she was ready to fight the next encounter since it was, in her mind, unnecessary.

"No, I really don't want to, Harry" Hermione said, pulling back on her hand, which Harry held in a secure but gentle grasp. "I don't fell like talking to him anytime soon. He has done nothing but make faces and if that's how he wants to act, far from me to stop him!"

It was quite a funny thing to see. Hermione leaning as far back as she could, trying to break the grip that Harry had on her hand, while her feet were pretty far apart and her behind stuck out. Harry, on the other hand, had a smile creeping across his face as he realized how funny the situation was and as he looked at Ron to reassure his guesses, saw that he was laughing out loud with many others. Finally, Harry pulled her up, so he could let go (he wasn't going to let her fall!) and gave her his best "I need you to" look. But Hermione had seen that look many times in the course of their relationship, though it was usually reserved for when he need help with his homework where she would end up doing it for him, and knew better than to fall for it.

"Oh no!" Hermione declared, shaking her head furiously. "You will not get me with that face! I know it too well!"

Harry stuck out his bottom lip, trying to suppress a smile and curved his eyebrows in a sad gesture.

"You know what happened last time I talked to him?" Hermione said defiantly, placing her hands on her hips. " The outcome was not good! Well…the outcome after the first outcome was good but…wait! I don't want to and you're not going to get me to!"

She declared the last part like a child throwing a tantrum, which was very unlike Hermione. But no one seemed to take notice of the tone of her voice because soon after, Hermione and Harry were walking towards the far end of the Slytherin table. As they walked towards Malfoy, who looked just as surly as Hermione was but had a bit of a shocked look on his face as he saw them approach, Hermione dragged her feet, slowing down the inevitable as much as possible.

"Malfoy…" Harry started, "I don't want to do this as much as I know you don't, but being the better man, " he said this with emphasis on the word "better", putting his chin up a little farther" I want to just get this over with."

Crabbe and Goyle, who had been sneering the whole time Harry spoke, put their best menacing faces forward but the two ignored them. Hermione wouldn't look anywhere near Malfoy and took to looking up at the ceiling, at the clouds passing by, trying to go through all her arithmacy formulas for a test next week.

"What do you want, hero? Are you going to get rid of that Mudblood yet…I'm sure we can work something out" Malfoy drawled in a cold voice, not addressing Hermione.

But before Harry had time to respond, before anyone could react, and right after the words left Malfoy's lips, Hermione hit Malfoy upside the face, leaving a red mark where her hand had hit. For a second, no one reacted, no one moved, except Hermione, who was stalking away from the offensive party, her hands balled in tight fists as she marched to the exit.

I hope this is better now….Wow! I'm sorry that my update was way overdue! I graduate in 14 days! So I'm sorry if I'm a little slow but eventually, the story will be finished! I promise!

Homestretch