A/N: Another long chapter! I am trying to finish up the story, so the rest of them will probably be this long too. Hope that's a good thing for you!

Also, a special shout out to Cheshirecat23, and a general thanks to all who have reviewed :)

Chapter 12: The Unwanted Revelation

Draco Malfoy was in a dilemma. He was seated on the floor of his apartment staring at Boots while the cat gleefully chased around a rubber band that had strayed from a bag of crisps. He had become very attached to the orange, fluffy animal in the short amount of time he'd had it. Sleep had never been more peaceful, and his apartment had never felt so welcoming.

When the owner of Boots had just been some mysterious stranger, there had been no internal conflict. But now, every time he saw Hermione, he felt a pang in his chest that only grew stronger the more time he spent with her. He needed to give Boots back to her. Somehow, through this strange agreement between former enemies, she had become his friend. His only friend, really. Last night, talking and laughing together until late at night, he had been struck by this realization.

Giving Boots back when he first met her probably would have solved everything, but back then, she was only some girl he'd met who was putting up posters and he had selfishly chosen to keep the fact that her cat was safe and sound 9 stories up to himself. It was bad luck for him it had turned out to be Hermione. He told himself that if he'd tried to give the cat back after that, she never would have agreed to help him.

What do I do now? He ran a hand through his hair and gave a sigh. If I give Boots back, I lose Granger. She'll never forgive me. If I keep Boots, she'll either find out and I'll lose her, or I'll explode from guilt. Guilt. It was something he was so familiar with, and yet, it had never eaten at him like this. Perhaps it was because he had never cared about something this much. What boggled his mind even more was that it was Hermione Granger he was afraid to lose. If he lost his friendship with her on top of losing Boots, he'd drift back to being the depressed, alcohol consuming, good-for-nothing deadbeat he'd been before. Probably even worse.

Hermione was due to show up in about 20 minutes, but he hadn't been able to clean the apartment yet and hide Boots. Doing that one more time felt like almost too much for his guilt ridden system. Did one have a guilt limit? If so, he felt like he was one incident away from an overdose.


Hermione watched Draco as he and Amelia walked ahead of her through the Winter Wonderland. Something was definitely bothering him. It was strange, because it hadn't been there last night. What could possibly have happened within the last 14 hours to have bothered him this much? She was at a loss. Amelia was being good company, doing exactly as was hoped. She held Draco's hand and practically skipped from attraction to attraction. Upon discovering that Draco had never been on basic things like a carousel, or in a fun house, she made it her duty to get him to experience them all (Thankfully she hadn't stopped oggling Draco long enough to question his lack of experiences).

I've actually got him in a fun house, like I wanted, and he's not even having any fun, Hermione thought as the distorted images of all three of them reflected back at her from every direction. Amelia was oblivious, only focusing on the fact that Draco kept giving her little pecks on the cheek, and was constantly holding her hand. Hermione felt more and more like a third wheel, or like the training wheels on a bike belonging to a kid who barely needed them anymore. He didn't really need her there, regardless of what he'd said previously. But the thought of not having any more of their odd hang-outs bothered her a lot more than she wanted.

By the time they had finished with the fun house, she'd come to the conclusion that Draco was mad at her. He was barely talking to her, and when he did, the bothered expression she'd seen before became more prominent. She had just decided to confront him about it with Amelia gone for a few minutes in the bathroom when he sat down next to her and gave a huge sigh.

"God, I don't know how much longer I can do this..." He massaged his temples slowly, and then looked at her. Hermione stared at him, momentarily forgetting what she'd been about to say.

"You- wait, what?"

"I've got enough on my mind without..." He trailed off.

"Without what? And, you're not...mad at me?"

"Mad at you, why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Hermione shot back.

"There has to be a reason. Why do you think I'm mad at you? Are you mad at me?"

"Well, I'm confused-"

Amelia exited the bathroom and cut their conversation short. "You two alright?" They both insisted they were, and began walking towards one of the roller coasters. 5 minutes later, they were both still scowling, and she wasn't convinced by their answer.

"Really, are you sure you're alright? Draco, you're not upset with me, are you?" Amelia looked worried, and Draco took her hand in his gently.

"No, of course not. How could I be?" He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss to reassure her. Hermione looked away quickly.

It was the first time she'd seen them actually kiss on the lips. The other things had been grating on her nerves, but this kiss made her feel different. Almost like she was in 6th year all over again, watching Ron and Lavender.

She felt the color drain from her face, and her fingernails digging into her palms as the realization hit her. I fancy him. She looked back at them again, smiling at each other in a romantic way and felt her throat constrict. I, Hermione Granger, fancy Draco Malfoy. DRACO. MALFOY.

With that sickening expression on his face, she could believe he was as infatuated with Amelia as she was with him.

Hermione knew it was part of the plan, that he had to play the part in order to succeed, but how much of him was acting and how much of him was enjoying this? He'd admitted to finding Amelia attractive. What if he had found her to be good company after all? No, no, there was last night, our conversation about her, and the date. He hadn't outright complained, but she had thought that overall he hadn't been impressed with her. Then she recalled what he'd said about continuing to date her after having talked to Mr. Thompkins. Perhaps he was finding her good enough company to consider keeping around. But then, what had he been talking about when Amelia had been in the bathroom? Had he been talking about her?

Hermione's mind raced around in circles as she followed behind the other two once more, moving their way up through the roller coaster's line. They were completely oblivious to her inner turmoil.

No, no, no! She verbally berated herself. You do not care if Draco Malfoy is attracted to another woman. You should not care. Of all the people to move on to after Ron, she had picked the very worst. How did this even happen? One moment, she had been begrudgingly helping him, the next, she had been over at his apartment late at night having meaningful conversations.

"Hermione, how do you think I'll handle my first roller coaster?" Draco asked, speaking to her for the first time since they'd been in line.

Angry, confused, and feeling slightly nauseated, Hermione replied, "I'm thinking you'll probably be scared half to death."

"We'll see about that." He smirked slightly.

"Oh, I used to hate roller coasters when I was younger. I'm still not that fond of them, but for you, Draco, I'll go," Amelia cooed.

Soon they were strapped in and moving, making the slow ascent to the peak of the roller coaster. Draco flashed her a nervous smile, and then they were speeding downwards. Hermione knew immediately that something was wrong. All the worrying had somehow made her sick, and now, she could feel the remains of her lunch swirling unhappily in her stomach. Draco was yelling at the top of his lungs next to her, whether in horror or excitement, she didn't know and didn't care. They pulled up to the platform to unload, and Hermione struggled out, and walked quickly to the exit.

"Gra-Hermione, what's wrong?" Draco ran after her, leaving Amelia behind as she grabbed her coat.

She was searching frantically for a bathroom, but there were none in sight. Finally, she settled on a nearby trash can, and sprinted towards it, emptying her stomach just as she reached it.

"That's disgusting," said Draco in a conversational tone. He was standing next to her and the trash can.

"Go away, please, or do something useful," Hermione growled, her face still halfway in the trashcan as she waited for the rest of the nausea to pass.

He immediately walked away, to her surprise, but then returned with a stack of napkins. "Here, I did something useful." She took the napkins and wiped her mouth. Her nausea gone, she sank to the ground.

"I just vomited in public."

Draco chuckled softly and knelt next to her. "Yes you did. Are you feeling alright now?"

She shook her head slightly. "I'm not sick anymore, just feeling dizzy, and embarrassed." Her eyes started tearing up at the whole situation. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her, thereby extracting her from this whole awful situation. Draco then did both the worst and best thing she could have hoped for. He put an arm around her. She involuntarily leaned into him. They stayed like that for a few moments. "I'm not mad at you, by the way," she said, suddenly wanting to clarify. More like, mad at myself. He helped her stand.

"I'm not mad at you either," He said, offering her a small grin.

"There you are!" Amelia was walking towards them looking annoyed. "I couldn't find you when I got off the ride. Why did you run off?"

"The contents of my stomach had a very important meeting with that trash can," explained Hermione. "I guess I got a little motion sick."

"Oh." Amelia looked disgusted.

"It's alright. No need to worry, I feel fine now."

"I'm glad. Actually though, I really should be going soon. I have to be at my parent's by 6," she said, looking at Hermione warily.

"That's too bad," lied Hermione, "Should we walk you out?" She made to take a step towards Amelia, who, to her delight, took an involuntary step backwards.

"Oh, it's okay. I can make it out fine. Draco?" She took Draco's hands, and pulled him several yards away from Hermione and the trash can. "I'll see you soon?"

Their voices drifted over to Hermione, who was standing in the fading light, trying not to look at them and failing.

"Yeah, I'll call you," Draco gave her a small peck on the cheek, but Amelia pulled him back and gave him a long kiss. Hermione tried not to roll her eyes.

"Bye," Amelia said sweetly. "Bye Hermione!" She waved cheerfully as she walked away.

Draco stood staring after her until she disappeared. "Yep, that's it. I can't do this anymore. Once I get the extra money, I'm breaking up with her."


So Hermione has finally admitted she has feelings for him to herself! And how will Draco resolve the Boots situation when he's still so darn selfish? Haha, I'll update soon so you can find out, and sooner if I get lot's o' reviews :)