Chapter 25- Decisions

I started awake. It took me a moment to remember where I was. The hospital wing. Of course. As the blackness pressed in around me I had the strange sensation that something wasn't right.

As my eyes struggled to adjust to the light, I peered into the heavy darkness, scanning. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a movement in the shadows. Before I had the time to react, I felt a large hand clamp down over my mouth, smothering the scream that had just began to work its way out of my throat. I started to struggle, trying to kick through the twisted sheets and pull the hand from my mouth despite the shooting pain it caused in my leg and ribs.

As the hand slipped down, I bit down, hard, into the soft flesh of a hand.

The hand instantly withdrew. 'Ow! You bit me,' came a shocked voice from above me. Draco's voice.

'Draco? What the hell are you doing?' I whispered angrily. 'You nearly gave me a heart attack!' I slumped in relief back to the pillows as the sound of my blood pumped steadily through my ears in perfect time to the pounding of my heart.

Draco lifted his wand and muttered 'lumos' to give us some light. The soft glow lit up his pale features, making him seem like a ghost haunting me in the night.

'I'm sorry,' he said, shaking his head as he sat down on the chair beside my bed. 'That was stupid. I didn't want to scare you.'

'Well you didn't do a very good job,' I retorted, pushing myself up in my bed.

'Hmm,' he agreed, studying the bite mark on his hand, before he lifted his eyes back to mine. 'I am sorry,' he said again. Something in his tone made me think that he was saying sorry for more than just scaring me. 'I just wanted to see you.' Draco diverted his eyes for a moment, staring at the ground. I saw a brief flash of pain within them as he continued in a small voice. 'They wouldn't let me see you.'

Even in the pale light he couldn't hide the hurt in his features. Seeing the hurt in his eyes made the anger that I felt just a moment before disappear. I wanted to reach forward and touch him, to comfort him. I could see that he was hurting, that something was troubling him, but I needed to understand. I needed to know the truth about what happened and Draco was the one person who could give me that.

'Draco, what is going on?'

I didn't need to elaborate. He knew what I was talking about. His back tensed and he swallowed hard, preparing, before he lifted his gaze to meet mine.

'I thought you were dead,' he whispered, the pain palpable in his voice. A shudder raked through his body and he closed his eyes as if he were reliving the memory. He opened them suddenly and looked into my eyes. 'You were so pale and there was blood everywhere. I was so scared. I thought I'd lost you.'

The pain and the fear, were clear to see. They were written over each and every one of his usually calm features. My heart ached for him. I wanted to tell him I was fine. I wanted to comfort him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. He was genuinely upset about what had happened. He cared for me. He was worried about me and I was somehow knew which every fibre of my being that he would never hurt me, but I still had questions and I needed the answers. Answers that so far he wasn't willing to give.

'Draco, what happened?' I pushed again. 'Why does everyone think that you hurt me?'

Once again he looked away from me and I saw a thousand emotions appear on his face, each one gone as quick as the next as he thought over his answer. But I was disappointed in what he finally said.

'What do you think? Do you think it was me?' His grey eyes seemed almost black in the darkness of the hospital wing, but they were piercing straight into mine, trying to find the answer to his question.

Under his intense gaze I knew what he wanted me to tell him. I wanted to say it to him. To say that I trusted him. To say that I believed him. But I couldn't do it. He was hiding something and I needed to know what it was.

'Why won't you give Professor McGonagall your memories?'

He stood up so suddenly that I flinched in surprise and the chair behind him rocked unsteadily from the force. He whirled around and turned his back to me, running his hands through his hair and hiding his face from my view. I sat up straighter, feeling on edge. Why wouldn't he tell me? What could be so bad that he wouldn't tell me? What could possibly have happened that he wouldn't want to tell me about? Unless… it really had been him that had hurt me.

'Because my memories are none of her business!' he shouted out as he spun around to face me. 'What happened between us is none of anybody's business!' I flinched back at his outburst and at seeing that and the shock on my face, his face fell again as he lapsed into silence. It was a long moment before he spoke again in a quiet, strained and resigned voice, 'so you do think it was me?'

'Of course not,' I answered immediately and I couldn't help but notice the immense relief that passed through him. His whole posture and facial expressions slumped in relief but immediately tautened when I couldn't help but add, 'but while what happened might not be anyone else's business, it is mine. I deserve to know what happened Draco and I know there's something that you're hiding.'

I could see him thinking over how to respond, gauging my reaction as he spoke. 'Yes,' he said simply, 'but I need you to trust me that it's better that you don't know.'

'How can I trust you when you're keeping something from me?'

I could tell that my doubt was hurting him, even if he was trying not to show it. Ever the Malfoy. He stood up and turned his back to me, plunging me into near darkness. I stared at his broad back, watching the tension in his features. He was surrounded by the light of his wand, making him seem almost ethereal. But he was a dark angel, a troubled angel.

When he finally turned around to face me again he looked resolved, as if he had made up his mind about something. He looked as if we was about to say something when the sound of a door banging closed somewhere nearby seemed to change his mind.

'Maybe you should go,' I said, not wanting him to be caught but also not sure that I really wanted him to stay. If he didn't want to tell me the truth I wasn't sure what we had to talk about.

In that second his eyes turned hard and he pulled back from me. 'Fine. I'm sorry I woke you up,' he said in a short clipped voice. 'But we do need to talk, Hermione.'

He stood up from his chair and leaned in close towards me and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me, but a thought passed over his face with a flicker of doubt and he pulled away again.

'Sleep well, Hermione,' he said as he turned and walked away from me, leaving me alone in the darkness.

I was getting impatient. Madame Pomfrey had checked over my healed bones twice now and was still making little noises of dissatisfaction as she pressed her fingers over my many bruises. She had already given me a lecture that I was to take it easy; get plenty of rest; stay off my leg; make sure I didn't bump my head and above all no flying. I didn't even bother telling her that I didn't fly. It would just have taken more time. This room held too many bad memories for me and I didn't want to spend a minute longer there than I absolutely had to.

Harry, Ron and Ginny were waiting just outside the hospital wing door. I could see that they were getting impatient. They had already been there for twenty minutes so I couldn't really blame them. Eventually Madame Pomfrey seemed ready to let me go, with a final warning that if I felt dizzy, sick or had any headaches, I was to return to her immediately.

The moment I walked, or rather hobbled, out of the hospital wing, I instantly felt better. Maybe it was the clinical smell or the stuffy heat, but the cool, fresh air of the corridor was like a taste of heaven. Harry and Ginny gave me quick hugs asking again if I was okay. Ron followed after and gave me a hug that lasted noticeably longer than the others, uncomfortably longer. As we started to walk Ron saw the grimace of pain as I tried to walk on my leg, and told me to place my arm on his, forcing me closer to him. It was a move that would have been perfectly normal for us before and yet now even this simple contact seemed awkward.

We moved slowly and the others were very patient as I slowly manoeuvred the stairs. Considering the last few conversations that I had had with Ron, he was surprisingly attentive and caring in the way that he was helping me. As much as I felt slightly uncomfortable in our closeness, I was in enough pain that I was grateful for his help. Most people were still having breakfast meaning the corridors were quiet. Although I couldn't help noticing the few people that we past following me with their eyes. I ducked my head and tuned out the whispers that followed. I could imagine what they were saying. I didn't need to hear it.

As we reached the landing on the fifth floor, I was beginning to tire. I had already gone up four flights of stairs from the hospital wing and still had another two to go. Ron must have sensed that I was struggling because he slid his arm around my waist and made me put mine around his shoulders. Something that wasn't easy considering how tall he was. After only a minute or two my arm ended up resting just above his waist.

Which was of course when we met Draco. We had struggled up another set of stairs, albeit with slightly more speed than before thanks to Ron's help. I was surprised when he suddenly stopped, jerking me backwards with him. I winced as the movement jerked at my ribs and looked up to find myself looking into Draco's startled face. In one long, slow glance his eyes raked assessingly over me and Ron, lingering on the arm that was wrapped around my waist. To a casual observer his face showed no emotion, it was stony and blank, but I knew him better. I could see the tightness around his mouth and eyes, the tightening in his jaw and the stormy darkness of his eyes. He was angry.

'Hermione,' he said, in a cool voice, his lips quirking up into a small smile, devoid of all humour. I could see the question in his eyes. I could see him asking what I was doing, why I had Ron's arms around me.

Before I could say anything, Ron stepped in front of me in an almost protective gesture. The thought was almost laughable. Draco was annoyed and yes he was angry, but he would never hurt me. Although with the way he was looking at Ron, I couldn't say the same for him. 'Stay away from her,' Ron demanded.

'I think that's up to her, don't you?' Draco said, his steady gaze never leaving Ron.

Ron gave a harsh laugh.'After what you did to her?' He took a step forward. 'There is no way you are ever seeing her again.'

'And you are going to stop me?' Draco asked, his trademark smirk making a reappearance on his face.

'If I have to,' Ron replied, pulling himself up to full height, as if he were ready to fight Draco here and now. Draco simply looked him up and down once, raising one single eyebrow at Ron, a look of clear amusement on his face.

Draco scoffed as he took one lazy step towards Ron. Despite Ron's superior height, Draco still managed to look down his nose at him as he sneered, 'Why don't you just admit that you lost? She chose me.'

'Does this look like its over?' Ron said, tightening the arm that was wrapped around my waist and pulling my closer into his chest. 'I have loved Hermione for years. I've never hurt her. Can you say the same?'

A strange look passed over Draco's face at Ron's challenge, his stony mask slipping briefly as he glanced my way, before he put the wall back up, shutting down all of his emotions as usual. Seeing Draco's blank, stony mask, his inability to stand up for me, his inability to tell me what he felt for me, that hurt, even more than the pain in my ribs.

That was the point where I had had enough. My leg was sore, my ribs were hurting, my head was spinning and my heart felt like it was breaking.

'Ron let me go,' I said, pulling away from his hold.

'No we're nearly there. I've got you.' Ron was not to be dissuaded, pulling me back against him.

'Ron I said let me go!' I said more forcefully, pushing at his chest until he finally let go of me.

'You heard her,' Draco said, giving Ron a smug look. 'I'll take her from here.' Draco moved forward, placing his hand around my waist, giving Ron a smirk as he did. At which point Ron lunged forward, ducking down and barrelling straight into Draco's middle sending them both flying backwards. After that they were a tangle of limbs and fists, rolling about the floor to the sounds of grunts and fists connecting with flesh.

'Harry do something!' I yelled. Harry up to that point had been simply watching the two of them with an appraising look on his face. He pulled out his wand and held it out in front of him, looking like he wasn't quite sure where to start.

'Will you two stop it please?' I pleaded again, deciding to try and stop them myself, which turned out to be a big mistake. I had only taken one step forward when Draco pulled back his elbow, preparing to strike Ron and instead caught me full force in the ribs. The pain that shot through my already bruised ribs was overwhelming and I immediately crumpled to the floor as tears of pain filled my eyes. Everything around me was a blur. It was all I could do to remember to keep breathing as I tried not to throw up.

I felt a hand touch my back and then gently help me up to my feet, Ginny I soon realised. I leaned against her, trying to hold myself up through pained gasps as we both watched Harry hold Draco and Ron apart.

'Hermione, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were there. I w…'

I held up my hand between us to stop his advance towards me. 'Don't,' I ordered, my breathing ragged from the pain. 'Just leave.'

Draco reeled back with an intense look of hurt on his face. Ron on the other hand beamed. 'We all know you were the one to hurt her. This just proves it,' Ron began, copying Draco's move of trying to come towards me. But I had had enough. Of both of them.

'That includes you Ron. I don't want either of you near me right now.'

They looked at each other with a look of such hate that clearly said that they blamed the other. I took a deep breath and took a step out of Ginny's reach, trying to hold myself upright, trying to seem strong. I looked directly at them, hoping that they could see the anger in my eyes. 'I am not an object that the two of you can fight over. Nor am I something that can be won,' I said, directing that to Draco with a pointed look, after his previous comment. 'If either of you even knew the first thing about me, then you would know that I will not be impressed by some petty chauvinistic show down. It's pathetic. I can make my own choices and my own decisions and right now I choose neither of you.'

I turned around, using both the edge of the banister and Ginny for support, ignoring the look on both of their faces. Right now I was beyond pissed off with both of them and I couldn't care less about how they were feeling. If my body hadn't been aching before, it certainly was now and it was taking every ounce of my willpower just to keep standing,

'Harry can you help me back to the common room please?' I asked avoiding looking at the other two. Harry stepped forward and took up Ron's role, placing his arm around my waist and helping me to walk up the stairs. I didn't look back.

When we reached the common room, I went straight away to my bedroom, Ginny helping me up the girl's stairs.

'Well I can see why you fell for Draco, Hermione. He's a real charmer.' Her voice was dripping with disdain.

'Please Ginny, not just now.' I had no wish to talk about Draco, or Ron for that matter. I was already so angry and confused and what had just happened was not making things any easier. Draco was asking me to trust him, but how could I? Why would I when he so clearly didn't trust me? I saw the way he looked at me and Ron together. How quick he had let his anger control his actions. How easily he had turned to physical violence catching me in the cross fire. How was I to trust that he hadn't directed that anger at me before?

Ginny left me alone so that I could get some rest. I couldn't sleep. I didn't even bother to try. How could I? I had too much running through my head. Sitting in the quiet of the dormitory I listened to the quiet chatter and ringing laughter float up from the common room. I could just imagine Ginny, Harry and Ron sitting in the common room talking about me and how stupid I had been to believe Draco. What a poor, stupid fool I had been. I was almost beginning to wonder if it had been true.

At some point I must have succumbed to the bliss of a dreamless sleep for when I opened my eyes, it was dark in the room. I craned my head to peek out of the window and saw the dying light of the sun. Considering it was the middle of winter, that meant it was probably only around 4pm, still relatively early. I was stiff all over from lying in bed all day, so I decided to go down to the common room. People could stare all they wanted, I needed a distraction.

Harry and Ginny came into the common room a short while later and joined me in the best seats in front of the fire. Ron wasn't with them and I didn't ask where he was. Right now I really didn't want to know. I was still so angry with him. Harry and Ginny kept the conversation flowing, going from one meaningless topic to the next. At first I thought that they were just trying to distract me and keep my mind off of things, but when I caught them giving each other little glances I started to think that they had an ulterior motive.

I became even more suspicious when nearly every person that walked through the portrait hole saw me, immediately stopped talking and then shot a dark look in my direction before whispering behind their hands.

'What's going on?' I asked eventually, unable to take the hushed whispers anymore.

I watched as Harry gave Ginny a questioning look, one which she simply answered with a shrug. Whatever it was, it was Harry's decision to tell me. He waited a moment more, clearly debating what to say or even if he was going to say anything at all. At last he spoke.

'Malfoy's waiting outside for you. He has been since this morning.'

'What?' I said, positive I'd misheard. 'How is that possible? How did he even know where the common room entrance was?'

'I would guess that he followed someone,' Harry shrugged. 'He's not a Slytherin for nothing, Hermione.'

It was a simple enough statement, but the way that Harry said it spoke volumes. Draco was cunning, but he was also determined and ruthless. Harry had given him a chance and he had blown it.

'What does he want?' I asked after a moment, trying not to show just how curious I truly was.

Harry gave me a long look before saying, 'You. He says he's not leaving until he's seen you.'

I couldn't stop my eyes from looking over to the door, knowing that Draco was just behind it. So close. I wanted to see him. Something that Harry saw plainly written on my face.

'For God's sake Hermione! You can't see him. You know what he's done.' It wasn't often that Harry lost his temper, but now seemed to be one of those times. However silent Ginny was at the moment, it was obvious that she agreed with him.

'No I don't. That's why I need to see him. I don't think it was him, Harry, I just don't think he would hurt me.' Harry gave me a look half pitying half judging. But Harry knew me well, he knew that shouting at me was not the way to convince me, logical reasons would be much more effective.

'Hermione, you can't see him. Not yet anyway,' he added when he saw my expression. 'Malfoy's not allowed to see you. He could be expelled if he tries. Just leave it be for now.'

I tried to listen to Harry, honestly I did, but I couldn't. That night I couldn't sleep knowing that Draco was so close. I must have lain in my bed for hours trying to get him out of mind, yet every time I closed my eyes it was his face that I saw. Everything kept running through my mind and as much I tried to make the pieces of the puzzle fit together, I was missing a gigantic piece. A piece that Draco had and for some reason was unwilling to give. Knowing that I wasn't going to get any peace of mind until I knew, I quietly climbed out of my bed and gently tip- toed across the floor trying not to wake the others. I grabbed my cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders. Climbing down the steps and I got half way before I wished I had thought to put on some shoes. The stone floors were almost as cold as ice. I made it to the common room before I had my first moment of doubt. What if he wasn't there anymore? What if he had left? The castle was cold during the night. It was unlikely that he would have stayed just on the off chance that I would appear. Yet here I was. I had chosen to see him. Maybe he would have done the same and waited for me. I'd come this far anyway and I needed to know.

As I stepped out of the common room I was met with a fresh blast of icy air. Shivering I wrapped my thick cloak further around me. The lights in the corridor were down low, only a pale glow coming off of the lanterns, barely giving off any light at all. Yet even in the darkness I could see him, my eyes immediately drawn to the shining blonde hair, glowing bright even in the darkness of the corridor. He was a little way away from the entrance to the common, sitting on the ground, his head resting against the stone wall, arms resting on his knees.

Nervously I walked towards him, my light footsteps barely making a noise. Yet he must have heard me as he turned his head in my direction. When he saw that it was me, a smile of nervous relief played across his lips. He made a move to stand up, but I sat down beside him, wrapping my cloak tightly around me for warmth.

We sat in silence for a moment, a space in between us on the floor. Eventually I asked him a question, although not the one that I had been desperate to. 'Have you been out here all day?'

He gave me a quick nod, looking almost embarrassed.

'Why?' I asked, although I already knew the answer. Draco took a moment to think over his answer. It hadn't escaped my notice that he hadn't actually spoken to me yet, although when he opened his mouth, it seemed as though all of his thoughts came out at once.

'To see you. To apologise. I was angry. So angry. He had his hands all over you. The way he was touching you. I just got so mad and I lashed out. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't know you were there. I'm so sorry. Are you okay? You know he likes you don't you?'

'Hmm,' I agreed, avoiding looking Draco in the eyes. 'But that doesn't mean that I like him. I've already told him that I don't. But he's still my friend and I will be spending time with him. You need to trust me.'

'Like you trust me?' Draco said. There was no accusation in his voice, just disappointment and sadness.

'That's different,' I said on a sigh.

'How?' he quipped back.

I turned my head towards him, a look of disbelief on my face. 'Because someone tried to hurt me Draco. Possibly kill me and you know something about it and you're not telling me.'

Draco turned his head to the side to avoid looking at me and I had the feeling that his frustration was rising. 'What I'm not telling you is nothing to do with you getting hurt. I can promise you that.'

'Tell me what happened that night,' I said trying to change the direction of the conversation. I sat up on my knees trying to get a better look at his face and gauge his reaction. 'I remember arguing with Ron and leaving the common room, but I don't remember what happened after that. I don't remember seeing you.'

'None of it?' he asked, giving me a questioning look, waiting for my answer.

I shook my head in response. He gave a slight nod. There was nothing to indicate that I had said something wrong and yet I felt like I had. I felt that I had disappointed him somehow. That I had maybe missed something important. When he finally did speak, it was mechanical. As if he'd said the same thing time and time again.

'You bumped into me in the corridor. You were upset. You and Weasley had been arguing- about you choosing to be with me.' His eyes darkened as he spoke. He wasn't looking at me. He was staring at the wall opposite from where we were sitting, gazing at one single spot. 'I said something stupid and you got angry with me and we argued and then you ran away from me.' He swallowed hard and his whole body tensed. One hand was clenched by his side and the other, was sitting on his knee was shaking slightly. When he spoke again his voice was strained, as if he were struggling to keep the emotion out of it. 'I was heading to the room of requirement but then changed my mind.' He closed his eyes as if we were in pain. 'Then I heard you scream. I knew it was you. It was like reliving a nightmare. I never wanted to hear those sounds come out of your lips again. I ran to find you and you were at the bottom of the staircase, with your leg sticking out at a funny angle and blood everywhere. The rest is a bit of a blur. It all happened so fast.'

I pushed back his words, not allowing myself to become distracted, not letting the painful thoughts cloud my mind. 'So if that's what happened, then why not show Professor McGonagall your memories? If that's the truth then what are you worried about?'

'If that's the truth?' Draco muttered. He pushed himself up so that he was standing and walked away from me, stopping in front of a window and leaning against it, his shoulders slumped in defeat. 'You don't believe me. Why would you? People will always believe the worst in me. They'll never believe that I can change. I don't know why I ever thought that I could. People will always see me as a death eater and that's what I'll always be.'

His words brought back a memory of what I had said to Ron before. That people could only change if we let them. Draco could only do so much to change people's opinions of him, but if people were always determined to see the worst in him, people like Ron, then none of it would matter.

How many times had I sat and told Draco that it was possible to change. That I truly believed he had changed. That I believed in him and that I understood what he had been through. He had done everything he could to prove to me that I could trust him. It was up to me to prove that I trusted him.

I wanted to. Deep down I think I knew that I did trust him. I wanted nothing more than to tell him that I trusted him and that of course I believed that he would never have hurt me. Yet somebody had hurt me. We had gone way past name calling and petty hexes. Someone had used an unforgivable curse on me. Someone really hated me and wanted to cause me the most unimaginable pain. I could still picture Bellatrix's face as she cast the curse that made me feel like my bones were being pulled and twisted from inside me. Like the blood that ran through my veins was on fire, burning and scalding me from the inside out. Like my skin was pricked repeatedly with sharp needles, jagging into me over and over again.

Could I really picture Draco in the same position? His silver grey eyes cold and dark with hate. The same lips that kissed me so gently, twisted in cruel malice as he stood over me with his wand outstretched as he uttered those torturous words and revelled in my agony.

The simple truth was no. I couldn't see that. I had seen revulsion in his eyes when he had talked about the time when Voldemort has made him torture another wizard. I knew that those emotions were real. I knew that he would never hurt me.

I stood up from my place on the floor and walked over to Draco. I wrapped my arms around him from behind and rested my head against the solid muscles of his back. 'We've had this conversation before Draco. You are not a death eater. I know that you didn't hurt me.'

Shrugging out of my embrace he turned around to face me, his face hard and serious. He gently lifted my chin and forced my face up to look up at him.

'You believe me?' he asked looking into my eyes as if he could see the answer there. 'Why?'

'Because I trust you.' I looked directly into his warm grey eyes and begged him to see the trust written in them. I pushed myself up onto my tiptoes and kissed him – really kissed him. I tried to put every ounce of trust and faith and love into that kiss. I believed in him and now I needed him to believe in me. I pulled back and looked into his eyes and I couldn't say what I saw in them, but suddenly I knew that he understood.

'You believe me,' he whispered, a small smile playing at the edge of his lips.

'I do. But Draco, I still need to know what you're hiding from me. What could you have possibly said to me that was that bad?'

'It's best left in the past, Hermione.' His gaze shuttered but not before I saw the traces of guilt and regret.

'That's not an option, Draco,' I said feeling my anger beginning to rise again. 'You need to tell them what happened. If you don't they'll send you to Azkaban. You know that right? You only have until tomorrow, well actually tonight,' I amended, realising the time.

'If I tell them,' he began, his voice small, 'then I'm worried that I'll lose you.'

'You'll definitely lose me if you go to Azkaban,' I pointed out. 'Just tell me what you said Draco. It can't possibly be as bad as I'm imagining.'

'Hermione… I can't.'

'Then I can't do this Draco. I will not stand by while you do this. You're asking me to trust you and I do, but if you can't trust me back then I really don't see the point, do you?' I turned around, ready to walk away from him.

'No wait, please,' he said, grabbing me by the shoulders and forcing me to turn around and face him again.

'No Draco,' I said shrugging out of his grasp and taking a step away from him. With my arms folded, I looked him straight in the eye. 'I need the truth. What did you say to me?'

Draco seemed to be struggling with some internal dilemma. I could tell that his resolve was cracking. We both realised that the next words that were to come out of his mouth would determine what would happen between us. He walked away from me, running his hands through his hair. In two quick strides he was standing in front of me, his hands grabbing my shoulders.

'This is not how I wanted to do this. Nor was the first time how I wanted to say it, but you're not leaving me a choice. I love you Hermione.'

Whatever I had expected him to say, that was not it. In my mind I had prepared for an insult or some derogatory comment, which is why I found his confession a little hard to take. 'Excuse me?' I said, pushing his hands off of my shoulders, 'Is this some kind of joke?'

'No,' he said desperately, his face earnest as he closed the space between us again. 'I told you that I loved you and you left me. You were upset, angry with me. You were saying how I could never want to be with someone like you, with a… a… muggle born.'

Draco reached out, taking my hand. When he began to push up my sleeve and I realised what he was doing I reached out and grabbed his wrist, halting his movement.

'Hermione, trust me.' Draco spoke so softly and so gently, looking at me with such love in his eyes that I found myself shakily releasing him, turning my head away and choking back the panic erupting from within.

I closed my eyes as Draco slid his right hand down my left arm, his thumb gently stroking over the raised skin of my scar. I gasped under his touch and my whole body shivered at the conflicting emotions. I wanted so much to push his hand away and cover up my scar and yet I found myself leaning into his touch, quivering at the sensations of the soft strokes of his thumb.

'Draco, please stop,' I ground out through clenched teeth.

'No. You need to hear this. This is what I should have said to you before. The last time you showed me this, I was caught off guard. I didn't know what she'd written on you, I didn't know you still carried the mark. I was repulsed by it Hermione, but not because I'm in any way repulsed by you. I was repulsed that I stood by and let that happen. That I heard your screams and watched your pain and I stood by and did nothing. I was repulsed that I'm related to the deranged lunatic who did that to you.' His words washed over me and I tried to block them out, but the pain that I head there and saw reflected in his eyes kept pulling me back in.

'This mark on your arm does not define you. It is not who you are. And it's certainly not who I think you are.' He leaned in close, towards me, resting his head against mine, his hands enclosed around my wrist in a vice like grip. 'This mark just shows what a brave and courageous person you are and it is nothing that you should ever be ashamed of.

'That's why I didn't want to tell you the truth. You broke up with me Hermione. You left me. You were going to take away the only good thing that I have in my life and when I realised that I had another chance,' he shrugged, looking sheepishly apologetic, 'I took it.

I swallowed hard, the weight of his words sinking in. 'So you were manipulating me?'

'No! No of course not!' he exclaimed loudly. 'I just wanted a chance to do it properly. To tell you how I really felt. The first time I was stupid and caught off guard and you were upset and I just made everything worse. I just wanted to make everything right.' He looked up at me from underneath his lashes giving me his puppy dog eyes filled with such hope that I found myself hopelessly melting.

'For future reference,' I took his hand in mine watching as his eyes turned hopeful, 'lying to me is not the way to make things right. If this is going to work then we need to be honest with each other.'

He nodded earnestly, pulling me into a tight hug. A hug which I clung to until a thought popped into my head and I pulled back hitting him on the shoulder, 'I can't believe that you were prepared to go to Azkaban rather than tell me the truth?'

'That's how much you mean to me,' he said softly.

'Well it was bloody, stupid and idiotic Draco. What an absolutely ridiculous thing to do.'

He blinked twice at my outburst and I would almost swear that his lips pouted in irritation. 'I didn't say my logic was sound, but I wasn't exactly thinking straight.'

'Well first thing in the morning, you are going to Professor McGonagall and you can show her your memory. You'll just have to swallow your stupid pride.'

He nodded in reluctant agreement and I could feel the anger ebb slowly out of me as relief slowly replaced it. We settled into silence and Draco only broke it when I finally looked him in the eyes again.

'I do though. Love you. I knew it before all this, but even if I hadn't, I would have realised it, just seeing you lying there like that. That's how I knew I couldn't lose you.'

Of course I was happy and I could feel the small smile playing around my lips even as my brain went into overdrive and making me panic. I had been hurt too much by too many people recently and so I began to put the defences up. 'Draco, don't you think it's a bit soon to be talking of love.'

'Probably,' he admitted casually with a shrug, 'but all of my life I've been so used to ignoring my emotions. Everything is compartmentalised. I keep every emotion in its place and I never let them get the better of me. Occasionally anger slips out. Can't help that one, but as much as I may have tried to ignore what I feel for you. I can't.'

I stared at him, always feeling like I was seeing something special when Draco opened up to me and talked about his emotions. It wasn't often that he did, which was why it was precious when he did. I just wished that I knew what to say in return. I didn't know why I reacted so badly to Draco telling me that he loved me the last time, yet I could guess. Like Draco I was not a person who would share my emotions readily. I would always keep them guarded. In the past year my emotions had been up and down more times than I could count. People I loved had gone forever, people I thought loved me had turned their backs on me and well unreciprocated love was just one of the worst. All of them together had made me wary to open my heart up again.

'You know that rose I gave you for Christmas,' Draco said after we had both been silent for a few moments, 'well it's not exactly what I said it was.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, it is enchanted and it will be a perfect rose forever. That rose will stay in perfect bloom as long as I love you. If you ever doubt how I feel about you then that can be a reminder.'

He looked almost sheepish as he admitted the truth to me but stared at me hopefully watching my reaction. Tears started to cloud my vision and I had to blink them back. 'Draco that's the most beautiful, amazing, sweetest and most romantic thing that anyone has ever done for me.'

'Well, I love you Hermione,' he said simply. He reached down to kiss me again, I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips as I kissed him back. An honest kiss, a kiss of two people who had finally let down all of the barriers between them.

When we finally pulled away from each other I said back to him what he had said to me. Something that I hadn't really known that I had been feeling until that moment and yet now that it came to it, it seemed so obvious. Of course I loved him. He was the one person who had made me feel alive again. He made me feel loved again and I loved him for it.

'Draco I love you too.'

The smile that he gave me, melted my heart and if I hadn't just said the words a moment before, then I definitely would have done in that moment. The happiness and innocence in his expression made my heart yearn for him even more. I reached out and pulled him to me, wrapping my arms tightly around him and never wanting to let him go.

I had been so preoccupied that until that moment I hadn't even realised that the hand that Draco had been holding me with was like a block of ice. 'Draco, you're freezing.'

'It's not that bad,' he shrugged. 'You kind of can't feel it after a while.'

I wrapped my cloak around him and shuffle towards him, nestling my head against his chest, enjoying the feel of his thick arms around me once more.

'You are an idiot Draco Malfoy,' I mumble against him.

'Only when it comes to you.'

A/N- I'm so sorry that it took me so long to post this chapter. I had hoped it would only take a few days but this chapter was longer than I thought. Also, this week has been tough. Eight weeks of lockdown and I'm not used to working on my laptop all day every day and let's just say it's been getting to me. Any way I hope you enjoy this chapter and as usual I appreciate all of your reviews, so I would love to hear what you think.