Thank you for the reviews/alerts/favs. They are appreciated as always. Enjoy Chapter 10.
"Hermione, are you okay? You've been reading the same page for the past hour." Harry looked at his friend with concern. They were sitting alone in the back corner of the library. She only nodded in response; very un-Hermione like. "When are you going to tell me about you and Malfoy?"
She sighed and finally looked up at him. "What are you talking about Harry?" She tried to shrug the conversation off.
"You seemed really bothered by our discussion in the Great Hall. You also told me that something happened between you two."
"Harry, I'm fine."
He suddenly realized she hadn't actually told him what had happened and how they had begun to meet. "What exactly happened in the Room of Requirement, Hermione?"
She couldn't stand not telling him anymore. "I-I followed him to the Room of Requirement the night you wrote me about it. I tried to stay hidden but sort of ended up making a lot of noise." He looked at her confused so she explained, "Well you see he headed straight towards the vanishing cabinet and I gasped then I knocked over a table."
Harry began laughing. "Nice."
She blushed. "Anyways, he found me cowering behind a small piece of furniture. He sort of freaked out at first, asking me what I was doing there and telling me to leave. I didn't know what to say Harry and I couldn't curse him."
"Well then what did you do?"
"I," She took a deep breath, "I kissed him."
"What?" He asked in shock.
"Shhhh." She started to pack up her things and he followed suit. They left the library and began walking the corridors.
"So then what happened after that?"
She shrugged. "Well after that incident we started meeting every night." He didn't say anything for a while. "Oh Harry please talk to me."
"I'm just shocked is all. You and Malfoy really kissed?"
"Well that is the plan, Harry. The one you created."
"I know. You're right." He paused to think about something. "So are you and him…I mean do you still…"
"We meet every night, yes."
"Are you together? I mean in his eyes I suppose."
She swallowed. She knew Harry wouldn't tell anyone but she still felt like she would be betraying Draco by telling Harry. "Yes."
"Did you and he even talk at all?" Implying that all they did was snog and he tried to picture it but it seemed impossible.
Hermione gasped. "Yes! That's all we ever did for a while."
"Okay, sorry." He realized something. Hermione was just doing what he asked her to do. They stopped as Ron joined them. "Hermione I really am sorry. You're only doing what I asked you to. You don't have to do this anymore. We've gotten a lot out of it already."
"Finally," Ron started. "I can't believe you two actually did that."
Hermione looked at her feet. She didn't want to stop seeing him, ever. She hadn't meant to fall in love with him. It wasn't a part of the plan.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A week had passed since Hermione had told Harry about the kiss between her and Draco and everything seemed to actually be working perfectly.
Harry no longer badgered her about Draco and she still met Draco every night up in the Astronomy Tower.
However, everything wasn't as perfect as Hermione thought.
Draco was still trying to mend the vanishing cabinet as well as trying to figure out ways to take down Dumbledore. He didn't sleep or eat. He couldn't. Sleep didn't come easy because every time he attempted to close his eyes images of death flooded through his mind. Then eating was just pointless because he'd end up thinking too hard about his plan and he'd throw up. So he chose just not to eat instead.
Talking to Hermione and spending time with her seemed to take his mind off things and perhaps that's why he felt so strongly about her. Lately when they were together, he let her do most of the talking. He found himself interested in her life; how her day was, how her classes were going, and to his surprise what the muggle world was like.
"So when you're at home, you don't use any magic?" He asked her one night.
"None at all."
He laughed, "That sucks."
"It's really not that bad. Just imagine if you had to lift boxes with those strong arms of yours and cook with those long skinny fingers and clean with a broom instead of a flick of your wand." She laughed at his disgusted expression. "You've never cooked or cleaned with magic have you?" She looked at him seriously.
"Well, no. That's what the house elves are for."
"No that's not what they are for!" She raised her voice and he could tell she was angry. "They should have rights too! They have feelings. Just because you're too lazy to do the work yourself doesn't mean you should have a slave do it for you. I would call them servants but they don't even get paid!"
He laughed slightly and she threw him a death stare so he stopped. "Hermione, they like it."
"They like it because they've never known anything else. You know if you were to join S.P.E.W. it could gain some popularity."
"Join what?"
"S.P.E.W. is an organization I started to promote elf rights!"
"Okay, okay. Calm down. Even if you do think they should be paid and all, you'll never even get the actual elves to agree to it." She groaned. "Come here." He swooped her up in his arms and kissed her.
"Don't think you're getting out of this just because you kiss me."
"Whatever you say Hermione." He smiled before he began kissing her again.
Hermione was not only ignoring Draco's problems but she kept ignoring the fact that she wasn't telling the whole truth to Harry. She didn't tell him that Draco was ordered to kill Dumbledore and she didn't tell him that she'd fallen in love with Draco.
Every time a bad thought like this came to her mind she ignored it that is until she was confronted about it.
"Hermione! Hermione! Hello? Hermione!"
Hermione jumped out of her dazed state to hear Ginny screaming at her. "Oh, sorry." She had been gazing at Draco across the Great Hall with a large smile stamped across her face.
"What is the matter with you?"
"Just thinking is all." She tried to lie.
Ginny leaned forward and lowered her voice. "I know your secret."
Hermione's eyes bulged and she turned to Ginny but before she could say anything Ginny was headed out of the Great Hall. She hurriedly gathered her things and followed her.
"Ginny! Ginny come back here!" She raced after her friend and only caught up to her when she reached the portrait hole to their common room. "Ginny what are you talking about?"
But Ginny only turned towards her and smiled. "Balderdash." The portrait hole swung open and the girls entered.
Ginny ran up the stairs towards Hermione's dormitory. Hermione was worried. How could Ginny possibly know? Hermione closed the door behind her and turned to Ginny. "Are you going to tell me what you've been going on about?"
"Draco Malfoy."
"What about him?" She tried to play innocent but she knew Ginny would see right through her.
"You're in love with him."
"What? That's what you think?" Hermione made her way to the window.
"No. That's what I know."
"And what would make you think that?"
"Oh I don't know. Maybe the fact that every night you sneak out to meet him in the Astronomy Tower or the fact that you're wearing a bracelet he gave you or the fact that you can't stop smiling."
Hermione realized as Ginny said it that she was indeed smiling and tried to hide it. "I can too."
"Let's see it then." Ginny said, knowing she was right.
Hermione tried to make a straight face, but it failed miserably, "I can't." She began laughing but stopped at Ginny's serious expression. "How'd you know?"
Ginny smirked. "Well you see I first found out you were seeing him every night when I saw you sneak out of the common room one night and followed you there and saw you snogging him."
"How did you know it wasn't a part of the plan?"
"I'm not stupid Hermione. I know Harry told you that you didn't have to keep it up." Hermione nodded in agreement. "As for your bracelet, it's pretty obvious actually and I'm surprised no one else has noticed it. It's bearing a snake isn't it?"
Hermione played with her bracelet and smiled again. "Yes it is. He gave it to me for Christmas."
"Hermione, you can't keep this up."
"What do you mean?" She sat down on her bed and Ginny followed her.
"You didn't tell Harry everything Draco is up to, did you?" Hermione shook her head no. "That's what I thought." She sighed. "You're lying to him Hermione."
"Who are we talking about?"
"Both of them. Hermione, you aren't telling Harry everything you know and as for Draco, well what if he finds out that this was all a plan and that you have told Harry some things?"
For the first time since Ron had been in the hospital, Hermione began to cry. "Do you think I don't think about these things?"
"No I don't. You've been so happy lately and I'm sad to say that that concerns me. You're being naïve."
"I am not!"
"You are! The truth will come out eventually Hermione and I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"I'm not. Draco and I are happy and Harry doesn't want to know anything more about Draco."
"You're really in love with Malfoy?"
Hermione smiled again. "I am."
"You know he's a Death Eater right?" They laughed.
"I've seen the proof." Hermione laughed again.
"What?"
"I said I've seen his Dark Mark."
"No I know what you said but how?" Hermione blushed thinking about that night. "You shagged didn't you?"
"Ginny!"
"Bloody hell Hermione you really do love him." Ginny knew that Hermione would never go that far with someone unless she truly felt something for them.
"It just happened, okay?"
"Okay. I'm here Hermione if you need someone to talk to."
"I know. Thank you." Hermione wrapped her arms around Ginny, both happy and relieved to have someone to talk to about her situation.
Thanks for reading.