A/N: Hello everyone and Merry Christmas!

Red here! I'm back for another chapter of It All Started With A Confession, in time for the second day of Christmas (at least here in the Philippines)! I am so sorry for the long wait. As I explained in the author's note for Jean Malfoy, the computer crashed and I lost my files. Thankfully, I was able to get the chapter I had finished before, and the one I started again from scratch. I just put them together (basically) and finished with this. Hope you guys like it!

By the way, we're only one or two chapters from the end. I'll still have a separate epilogue though.

Disclaimer: It's been three years since I last updated. No, I still don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Four: Explanations

Previously…

"Hermione, how dare you?" he spat at Hermione. "Why'd you bring the ferret here? This is my house and you bring over this bloke of all people, two weeks before our wedding? What should I think that means?" he screamed even more, almost spitting in Hermione's face.

I thought Hermione was going to cry…or walk away. Guess I still don't know her that much. Wiping her face, she blinked and stared hard at Weasley. "Let me tell you this, Ronald. Whether you like it or not, Draco has been more of a friend to me in the 8 years of our friendship that you have in our 15 years as "friends"! Also, I don't think you're in any place to argue, seeing that you have Lav-Lav with you again, even after I found out about you two! So if you still want this engagement to work, I suggest you start cleaning yourself up, Ron. Get rid of your flaws before you start pointing out mine." At this point, tears were already swimming in her eyes, so I took hold of her hand and whispered, "Let's go someplace else first." She nodded and within seconds, we had appeared in front of a quaint Italian restaurant not far from the Ministry.

"We'll talk about this over lunch, okay?" Without letting go of her hand, we walked towards the restaurant.

Draco's POV

As we reached the restaurant, the maitre d' approached us, and seeing that Hermione was in no mood to talk, I just said, "Table for two, please."

The man nodded and directed us to a booth right away, somewhere in the corner of the restaurant near the windows. He put two menus on our table, and after ten minutes another waiter approached our table and we placed our orders. As soon as the waiter had gone, I took Hermione's hand, careful not to startle her. She looked at me, and gave me a small smile.

"Sorry about that, awhile ago in the Burrow," she suddenly said.

I was shocked at what she said.

The Weasel King hurt her, but she's still saying sorry for what he did?

"It's not your fault," I said. "It's Weasley's. Merlin knows why he has to act like such an arse sometimes." I shook my head, knowing that I needed to take her mind off the Weasel.

Our food arrived before I could think of something to say. Hermione had already started eating when I suddenly said, "Could I ask you something?"

She nodded at me. "What is it?" Hermione replied, her eyes now meeting mine.

"Why did you leave me on the train after seventh year, after you told me you liked me, and I kissed you?" I suddenly said. Hermione looked back down at her food, and didn't say anything for a while. "You don't need to answer it, if it makes you uncomfortable," I added, aware that she wasn't ready to talk about that episode on the train just yet.

"It's alright," Hermione assured me. She put her fork down and looked directly at me. "I'll answer the question, and every other question you have to ask me." She smiled and said, "After all, we have eight years of catching up to do, right?"

I smiled at her, happy that she had not minded the question I asked in such a straightforward manner.

Hermione's POV

I took a deep breath. It seems that after all this time; there are still things regarding my feelings for him that I am reluctant to divulge. But he deserves to know this, along with many other things that may have caused puzzlement on his part. "That day, eight years ago…after I told you I liked you and you kissed me…I ran away because I was afraid. I wasn't afraid of the things that I had worried about before I confessed my feelings. I was simply terrified that I believed myself already in love with you when in fact, I could just have been a hormonal teenager. I ran away because I needed time to think about my feelings, so that I didn't hurt you."

I looked at him straight in the eye and continued. "You are one of the most important people in my life, Draco. You showed me a side of you that probably no one else has ever seen. I knew that you had gone through so much pain with your mother's disappearance and so much humiliation when your father was sent to Azkaban. The day we became friends, I promised myself I would do my best to never hurt you, and while I have an inkling that running away from you that day did hurt you, I knew it would have caused you greater pain to have started a relationship with me, only to be told that it was a mistake.

"That's why I ran away."

I saw him listening intently, taking all of it in. After a moment, he nodded and smiled—obviously wanting to look happy—yet failing all the same.

Draco's POV

And yet the knowledge of your engagement stabs at my heart… I thought miserably.

"That explains a lot, to be honest," I said, looking at Hermione as she started on her food again. "Tell me when I can ask another question, alright?"

She looked at me again and said, "Ask away. I did promise that I would answer anything that might have left you confused over the last eight years…"

I pondered on how I would phrase my next question, seeing that it was the most delicate topic of all. "Forgive me…but I just need to know: Why is Weasley marrying you if he has this relationship with Lavender Brown?"

Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes and I suddenly regretted asking about the Weasel. I reached out to wipe the tears from her face, but she wiped them away and took my hand in hers afterwards. "It's alright, Draco. I'm okay," she said just as I was about to apologize. Hermione let out a ragged breath and faced me—trying to look comfortable with the topic—even if Hermione and I both knew she was anything but that at the moment. "I've been engaged to Ron for eleven months now. It's taken us that long to be married since my mother and Molly have been outdoing themselves with all the preparations—the venue, the date for the wedding, the guests, the food, the motif, my bridesmaids, my trousseau, my gown…the list goes on. It just shows how both of them are so excited for the wedding.

"At first, Ron and I were part of so much of the planning…then after five months, he started skipping a few get-togethers which involved the wedding. I thought that he was just busy with work at the Ministry and everything but I found out about a month later that he was seeing Lavender Brown behind my back. And by the looks of it, they've been together since he started skipping the preparations for the wedding.

"When he proposed, we had been dating for two years. By that time, I had reassured myself that I was truly in love with him, and what I felt for him when I was 17 was just the start of what I would be feeling for the rest of my life.

"He swore that he was very much in love with me, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, and nobody else. I, of course, have always loved Ron—as one of my best friends, as a person—with the exception of that time when I questioned my feelings towards you. I happily said yes when he asked me to marry him because in my heart I knew that I was making the right choice. I was actually stupid enough to believe that the same boy who had been the first to call me a "nightmare", who only appreciated me when he copied off my homework would come to love me as I loved him. Not only that, but I believed everything that he had said when he declared his "undying love" for me, even when I know that Ron had been able to overlook my feelings for him in sixth year, because of his girlfriend.

"I believed he had changed. I believed that he had matured after all these years. But when it comes down to it, he's still the same child I met all those years ago at Hogwarts: selfish and arrogant, and quite full of himself when he wants to be." Hermione shook her head, exasperated.

"Why are you still marrying him then?" I asked as Hermione lapsed into silence.

Hermione's POV

Funny…I've begun to ask that myself, I thought as I offered Draco a smile.

"I've always been an idealist," I replied, and I noticed Draco nod slightly. "There's this part of me that believes he'll realize that he's making this grand mistake, and that he'll find it within him to change before it's too late.

"I'm just giving him a chance, I guess," I finished lamely.

"I think you're giving him more than he deserves, if I could be so frank," Draco remarked.

"I know," I said. "More than that though, I'm doing my best to hold on to my engagement because everyone has been so happy to see me and Ron together. It's like they've been waiting for this moment since we clapped eyes on each other; like this is a fairy tale and they see Ron as my knight in shining armor, or a prince to save me from my tower," I added, scoffing at the last bit.

"Well, Weasley is certainly no Sir Luckless," Draco said dryly and I had to laugh as he made a reference to The Tales of Beedle the Bard of all things. Then again, it's not like he can refer to any other fairy tales, since most of those I know are of Muggle origin.

But I never actually imagined Draco reading fairy tales as a child, or having his father read them to him. Most probably his mother had told him the stories…

"And besides," he continued when my laughter had changed into a mere smile playing on my lips, "if they love him so much, why don't they marry him?"

My smile vanished as his words sunk into me.

"I mean, it's your choice, isn't it? They have to respect that in the end, because this is your marriage. I mean, it's one of the biggest choices you're going to make and it will be a choice of who you'll spend the rest of your life with. It's about who you're going to trust with your heart and your happiness and—again, I'm sorry if I'm speaking out of turn but—I don't think Weasley's up to the task at this moment."

I had stopped breathing by the time Draco had finished his little speech—hanging to every word he was saying—afraid that just by breathing I would miss even a word of it.

Draco's POV

As I saw the awed yet somewhat shocked expression on Hermione's face, I realized that just maybe I may have said too much. Or you could have indirectly told her you love her, as you never actually got to telling her in the first place.

The little voice inside my head was really getting to me.

"But of course, that's just my opinion," I finished awkwardly.

"It's one of the better opinions I've heard in the past year, to be honest," Hermione replied, smiling at me.

She tilted her head slightly, studying me. My breath caught in my throat as I suddenly felt nervous.

"So…" she began.

Deny everything, the voice in my head advised.

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask? It's almost six, and I still have paperwork to finish for next week," she continued, and I let go of the breath I was holding, suddenly chuckling at what she said, amused.

Hermione shot me a look. "You know how I am Draco. You know I've a habit of finishing things long before they're due; this is absolutely nothing to be amused about," she said even as a small grin formed on her face.

"Excuse me, but I haven't seen that in a while," I said simply, beaming back at her.

She merely rolled her eyes, bemused. "As I was saying, it's getting late and I still have work to do."

I raised my hand and when a waiter approached, I asked that our meals be packed so that we could take them home.

When we were alone again, I turned to face her. "Well, there is this one thing…" I began.

Hermione's POV

I just hope this isn't awkward or anything… I thought as Draco was forming his last question.

"You sent Weaselette to give me my invitation and—"

"Please don't tell me you're still calling Ginny by that nickname," I said. "After all, she is a Potter now," I added matter-of-factly.

"It just stuck," Draco insisted before continuing. "As I was saying, you sent her to my office and when she gave me the invitation she told me—and this is verbatim—"'She's getting married to Ron. And you have to do something about it. Quickly.'

"I was just wondering if you could shed some light on it…?"

I should not have sent Ginny to give Draco his invitation. Merlin knows just what ideas she planted inside Draco's head—with just those few words, mind—as she can be so…ostentatious! It's hardly the word for this situation but…Ginny did always have a tendency to go over the top (or add some dramatic flair to things), so I guess 'ostentatious' does work.

"I just told Ginny to 'talk you into it', seeing that I wanted you to go."

"That's all?" he asked further.

"Yes," I said, lying through my teeth. Of course, originally I had planned to invite Draco to make a scene at my wedding (or worse) so I could get back at Ron for what he's been doing, but now it's up to him. It's entirely his choice. I can't force him to make that decision now, based on how he reacted to my confession eight years ago.

Whether or not he'll object at my marriage to Ron, or even if his presence at the ceremony will cause an uproar is a mystery as of now.

But one thing is for sure (and I only have Draco to thank for lifting the veil from my eyes): If Ron doesn't shape up in the next fortnight, there won't be a wedding to interrupt anymore.

A/N: Comments? Questions? Clarifications? Violent reactions? I'm a review or a PM away. :)