-1 Harry Potter and the Strange Situation

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!!

It was the second week of detention for Draco. Snape had him cleaning every disgusting thing in the dungeons. He didn't care about that, but being away from Hermione for so long was starting to take it's toll.

Snape made sure they were never together. The other teachers had been warned to keep them apart as well. He had been degraded enough to stoop to relying on Harry to deliver notes to Hermione for him. Harry had also been passing notes to Draco from Hermione. He never looked as if he was happy about it, but Draco was thankful all the same.

Draco had never felt love before. He was confused by this strange feeling for another person. It was scary to know that someone else could control you this way. Perhaps that was the reason why so many of the other Slitherins and his family avoided true love, it was a weakness. Like it or not this love was a weakness. If anyone used Hermione to get at him he would be vulnerable.

He would do anything to keep her safe. The more he thought about it, the more he worried about it. He had never thought about that angle before. Now that he wore the Dark Mark, he could not afford to be vulnerable. Nor could he have Hermione in danger. If anyone wanted to use her to get at him, she could be hurt. He couldn't bare the thought of it. He was going to have to end things for now to keep her safe. He would tell her of course, that it was for her own good. He just hoped she would understand.

He was waiting outside defense against the dark arts class to slip Harry the note that explained everything to Hermione. Harry was in the habit of picking up the notes now. They had a system of sliding them behind a book on the far bookshelf after class so the other could pick it up without being seen. Draco hid the note a few minutes before and Harry used a spell to have the note fly into his hand as he passed by.

Draco always waited after class to get a glimpse of Hermione, even though they weren't allowed to speak, they could still look at each other. Just as Hermione passed by she looked up into his eyes. He felt the light of a thousand suns in his gut. His heart beat so fast he felt faint. Yep, this was a weakness. He couldn't let this go on. He smiled that cocky grin at her and she returned it. Then he fled to the safety of his dungeon common room.

When they were in the hall, far from Snapes prying gaze, Harry handed the note to Hermione. She was in such a hurry to read it she ran to a corner window of the castle so she had enough light to read.

Harry and Ron fidgeted about in the hallway waiting for her to finish. It was so uncomfortable watching her moon over Malfoy, but she was their friend. They had no choice. They watched as she tore open the note and quickly read it, like a hungry person about to devour a feast. Harry became worried when her face fell and then he saw the tears.

"What is it Hermione?" he asked. "Not here." she sniffed. "Let's get outside, by the tree. I'll tell you there."

When they reached the tree Hermione let everything go. She sobbed so hard Harry had a tough time holding her up. "Are you alright?" He asked her. "Please, Hermione tell us what's going on."

She tried to control the quaking of her body and the shaking sobs long enough to tell them what the note said.

"He's calling things off! He says I could be used against him. He doesn't want me to be hurt. He still loves me, but we can't be together anymore, He will still try to spy and get information for us. Please understand…blah, blah, blah. How can he do that if he's under the spell of the potion? I thought he couldn't be away from me? I don't understand it! Why?" Then she was sobbing again. Harry patted her on the back for reassurance.

"I don't understand either." Harry said, "I thought the potion worked that way too. Maybe it wore off?"

Hermione sniffed, "But that can't be. He wouldn't say he still loved me and wanted to keep me safe. He would go back to the same old hateful Draco who couldn't stand the sight of me. I couldn't bare it if that happened." She started sobbing again.

Ron couldn't take anymore. He rolled his eyes in disgust. "Oh, please Hermione, just let it go and be thankful it's over. Do you really want to be saddled with that lot for the rest of your life? You can do a thousand times better than that stupid git."

That got her attention. Her eyes flared with indignation at him. "Ronald Weasley! Don't you ever say anything bad about him again! After he took the Dark Mark to help us! You should be ashamed of yourself!" And she stomped off toward the dormitory.

"What did I say?" Ron said with a confused look on his face. "Harry gave him an understanding punch in the arm. "It's alright Ron, I'm afraid we just don't understand the attraction…on her part anyway. We just have to be there for her. I'm worried that Draco may be onto something."

Ron looked puzzled, "What do you mean? You think someone might try to kidnap Hermione?"

Harry shook his head, "I don't know, but now that Draco has the Deatheaters breathing down his neck, it probably isn't a wise idea to have anyone close. Especially if he's trying to keep spying for us. The people close to him would be a target."

Ron had a worried look on his face. "Do you think the potion wore off then?"

"I dunno." said Harry, "I don't think we have a choice now. We are in this pretty deep. Keep your eyes open though." And he punched Ron's arm.

"Right." Ron agreed, and punched him back.