Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Hermione Granger.
Word count: 300 words.
Summary: Sixth year, Hermione tells Draco something and he's not quite sure how to deal with that.
"I love you."
The words shocked him. He did not expect her to say that. He didn't know how to respond – much like the time she hit him, three years prior – because, how could she ever love him? How could Hermione Jean Granger, an Order of the Phoenix-member, the Gryffindor Princess, love Draco Lucius Malfoy, a Death Eater – and even worse – a-soon-to-be-murderer? She fought for everything good, while he fought for the complete opposite.
He knew he loved her – had known for quite some time – but he didn't know how to tell her without feeling more guilt eating away at him every time he looked at her. Guilt, because he could never tell her everything, because he hid so many things from her. He knew he only did it to protect her, but still...
"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked.
He realized he was staring at her, his mouth slightly open. He closed it quickly and searched for the right words to say.
"I love you, too."
She smiled her wide, innocent smile at him, the one that made his heart swell up in his chest, the one he came to love so dearly. With that smile, he realized something. He hid the truth from her because he was too selfish to give her up, not because he wanted to protect her.
Sure, he did it to protect her as well, but he knew she could handle it. If he told her, she'd dump him and go on with her life, pretending it never happened. He'd always known she could handle it, it was he who couldn't handle it.
He decided to never tell her. When she found out, after Dumbledore's death, he possibly wouldn't ever see her again, so he didn't have to deal with her questions.