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OMG !

39 reviews !

I am speechless!

It's the maximum I've ever got on a chapter and I'm positively stoked.

I laboured on the previous chapter quite a bit and I'm really pleased that you all liked it so much!

Thank you everyone.

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CHAPTER 53.

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It was as if someone had petrified her.

She stood rigid as the silence reverberated around Draco's words which were seeping in through her system.

Draco looked resigned yet relieved. No reaction was certainly better than a negative reaction. Everything had happened so long ago that it was expected that Hermione would be shocked by what he had just said.

"Hermione I ..."

"You said you love me?" She asked blankly.

"Yes..."

"And that you always have?" She asked again.

"Yes Hermione. I have always loved you. Ever since I could relate to the emotion. Ever since the Yule ball." He said.

Hermione's eyes went wide. Draco was relieved to see some reaction.

"You .. You .. Since then.. So long.. Since so long." She blabbered.

"Look Hermione, I know this may seem surprising but ..."

"No." She shook her head violently. "No Draco, it's not really. I always thought you loved me too then. But it's been so long. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you wait so long? It's been 10 years Draco. An entire decade!"

Draco looked ashamed for a moment but then he finally looked up and went closer towards her. He snuck his fingers through hers and looked into her eyes. "That night, when you wrote in the diary... And I was trying to reply.. Hermione I wanted to write those words back to you. Believe me I did. I wanted to write them with all my heart."

Hermione looked up at his eyes with tears pooling in her own. She had seen the love there for her. If only he could have said it too.

"But I think it was for the best that I didn't get to." Draco sighed. "I couldn't involve you further into the madness. It was enough that you were Harry Potter's best friend. Being mine would guarantee you harm. I couldn't do that to you."

Hermione closed her eyes. "And when it was all over..."

"You were with Weasley." Draco completed her statement. "Which was a good thing really." He said, swallowing his words with difficulty.

"I thought that with me out of the picture, you would finally give the chemistry between you and him a chance. It was only a matter of time really." Draco said.

Hermione jerked her fingers out of his. "You ... You ... Set this up? On purpose?"

"I only pushed way for the obvious Hermione." He said matter of factly. "You would have been safe with him. And happy. You can't deny that."

"Of course I was." She hissed. "I loved him. I loved him and it all happened because of you. If you hadn't gone about playing martyr, I would have never leaned on Ron. I would have never fallen in love with him or married him. He would have married someone else, had kids and probably lived."

"Are you even listening to yourself Granger?" Draco asked irritably. "How in the world was it your fault that he died? You're taking the guilt too far."

"Am I?" She yelled. "Really? I married a man I was in love with while I was still in love with you. Do you know how messed up it was? How guilty I felt every day? Why do you think I ran away from you too? I still love Ron and I love you. How is that normal? And most importantly how is that fair to either of you?"

He took a step forward till he was touching her. He took her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes. She shied away at first but he put his finger under her chin and tilted it up so that she was forced to look at him.

"Look here Granger," he said roughly. "What happened had to happen. We are wizards and witches here. Not God. His living or dying had nothing to do with you. Even if you hadn't married him, he would have still died. His time had come. And as much as harsh it sounds, it's the truth. There was nothing you could have done. And you of all the people should know that once contracted in adulthood, spattergroit is always fatal."

Hermione had closed her eyes by now, unable to look at Draco. Little rivulets of tears were flowing across her cheeks. He wiped them away with the pads of his thumbs and then ran his hand across her hair, flattening it and getting it out of her face. Still holding her face in his hands, he lowered his face to place delicate kisses on her eyelids. He went on to place sweet little kisses all over her face. Her Cheeks, nose, forehead, chin and finally he pecked at her lips gently and chastely.

He held her by the waist and hugged her. Reflexively she hugged him back and settled into his chest. He rested his head on her shoulder and kissed her ear sweetly. She shuddered at the contact and snuggled closer to him. He smiled at the warmth and the closeness and sighed internally. How many years had gone by imagining this with her. And here she was, finally in his arms. After ten long years.

"It's none of your fault." He whispered. "You have such a big heart. It's okay to love us both. We were both lucky to love you and have you love us back. Circumstances weren't right for me to tell you my feelings then. And even though watching you get married to Weasley was the hardest thing I'd done in life, I was still proud of myself that I did the right thing. And I'd do it all over again."

Hermione released herself from his grip and looked up to him for a second before she stood on her tiptoes and brought his head down to claim his lips in a searing kiss. Draco got the feeling that she was trying to talk through the kiss what words couldn't say.

They parted but still stayed close. "I'm so damaged Draco." Hermione said.

"Am I'm not?" Draco scoffed. "I've watched people being tortured in front of my eyes Hermione. I was ordered to do the same. The horrors I've seen, I didn't think I'd ever be able to let that go. But I had to. For you. Your face kept coming in front of my eyes. And because I kept thinking what answer I would give to you if I turned into a death eater, I managed to avoid being one. We all have our scars Hermione. That doesn't mean people will stop loving us."

"I spent more than a year mourning the death of the person I loved." Hermione stated. "How can you bear that? And how can I suddenly be with you and be happy?"

"Hermione, I know you." Draco said. "I know that when you give, you give it your all. If you married Ron, you loved him with everything. Of course you're entitled to mourn his loss. I won't take that away from you. It may seem like sharing you but I'd rather share you than not have you in my life at all."

He then proceeded to kiss her tear stained eyelids and cheeks all over till he reached her lips again and gently kissed her many times. She didn't stop him but she didn't kiss him back either. She just stood there, eyes spilling and he went on kissing her; salty kisses nonetheless.

"That night was just a culmination of what I've felt for you since a long long time Hermione." Draco said. "It wasn't a onetime thing; or a mistake. For me it was making love to you. And I had never imagined it to happen ever. I don't also expect it to happen again because I don't know how you feel. But today I had decided that whatever happened I'd let you know about my feelings. I've spent ten years not telling you. And even though some things may be unsaid, I needed to let you know that I love you; I always have and always will with all my heart. You made me the person I am today and if I'm even remotely human it's because of you. I learnt the concept of love from you and I'm eternally in love with you; of that I'm sure. I don't want it to be uncertain anymore Hermione. And I don't expect anything in return. All I wanted is for you to know."

"I... All this... Draco .."

"It's too much." Draco stated. "I can imagine. But it's the truth Hermione. I don't expect you to say that you love me back. All I wanted was to tell you. And to have you back as a friend."

Hermione swallowed. "Draco, I love you too. I have nothing against saying that. But I just can't transition into anything more for you right now."

"That's enough for me." He said gently.

"But I know I can. I love you. And after all these years I still do." Hermione said fervently. "Please help me. Give me some time."

Draco smiled broadly for the first time in what seemed like days. "I'd wait all my life for you."

"I don't know what I did to deserve you Draco." Hermione said.

"Don't steal my line Granger." Draco teased.

Hermione swatted his arm playfully before giving him an experimental, shy kiss and breaking away from him.

"So, what now?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Now," Draco said decisively and very seriously. "We continue where we left. Where's your bedroom Granger?"

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I know! I've taken very long...

My apologies!

But real life gets in the way!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as you did the last!

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