In the aftermath of Harry and Draco's duel, Harry had quickly been branded a villain by Pansy Parkinson. Normally, Hermione would loathe to agree with Parkinson, but she had to agree that Harry certainly came off looking worse in details than Draco did. Of course, Draco wasn't completely innocent himself since he had tried to use the Crucio Curse on Harry. But in the end, Harry had been the one to use a spell that he had never heard of, which almost cost Draco his life.

It was only after Ginny had expressed her disappointment in Harry that Harry seemed to show some remorse for his actions, and he subsequently hid the book in the Room of Requirement upon her urging. Naturally, Hermione was still pretty ticked off with Harry's recklessness and lack of guilt, but she was keeping that to herself. What was bothering Hermione more was her newly discovered feelings for Draco Malfoy.

Acknowledging those feelings had barely done anything to put Hermione's mind at ease. It was almost unfathomable to her that she could feel anything towards someone like Draco. But there was no denying that the thought of Draco dying made Hermione feel just as distraught as she would be if it was Harry and Ron, except more. These newfound feelings were just eating her alive, so Hermione knew what she had to do.

She had to see Draco.

After borrowing the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak from Harry, Hermione headed towards the Hospital Wing where she knew Draco would be. Once Hermione saw that Madam Pomfrey had retired for the night, Hermione entered the Hospital Wing and took off the cloak. Slowly, she approached Draco's bed where he laid asleep. Looking at him now, you wouldn't even think that he needed to be there. But Hermione knew that on his chest would be permanent scars as a result of Harry's use of Sectumsempra. That thought alone made her anger at Harry rise again.

For a few moments, Hermione just stood there, unsure of what to do. But then, acting on instinct, Hermione reached out to grab his hand. The moment she touched his hand, Hermione found her wrist being grabbed by Draco. His eyes opened, and he looked around before his gaze landed on her. His gaze stiffened.

"Granger," Draco spat out.

"Hello," Hermione whispered.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione remarked. "I'm here to see you."

"Why?" Draco snapped.

"Because I…" Hermione trailed off, uncertain of what to say. "Care about you."

"You what?" Draco asked.

Hermione sighed, "I care about you."

Draco narrowed his eyebrows, "Why in Merlins name would you do that?"

"You mean care about you?" Hermione clarified, somewhat surprised by his reaction. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure why. I just do."

"Well, you shouldn't. I'm not worth your care, Granger. So you can just get out and let me rest in peace," Draco snapped.

"What makes you think that you're not worth my care?" Hermione wondered.

"Because I'm just not. I'm not worth your time, Granger. Believe me," Draco snarled.

"I just wanted to… apologise on behalf of Harry. I was disgusted when he told me what happened. Don't get me wrong, what you almost did was just as bad too. But for him to so foolishly use a spell that he didn't know the purpose of was just wrong," Hermione said.

Draco scoffed, "Don't apologise for Potter. I don't need or want an apology from him. Besides, I would've preferred for him to just finish me off."

"You don't mean that," Hermione gasped.

"Why shouldn't I? I'm on a death sentence already. Potter would've just been speeding up the process," Draco answered.

"You mean, because of your task?" Hermione asked.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Yes, Granger. If I fail to complete my mission the Dark Lord will have my head on a silver platter. Either I kill Dumbledore, or I die. And since it's looking more and more like I'm going to fail there, I really would've just preferred to have Potter finish me off then to save me the trouble."

"No. Don't say that. As much as Harry didn't care about what he did, he wouldn't deserve to have your death on his hands," Hermione argued.

"Then who would?" Draco questioned.

"Nobody, because you don't deserve to die either," Hermione answered.

"Yeah, but I want to," Draco muttered.

"No, you don't. If you truly wanted to die, then you wouldn't be trying so hard to succeed in your mission. If you truly wanted to die, you'd just do it yourself," Hermione argued.

Draco glared at her, "Let me make this clear, Granger. I'm only so desperate to succeed because my mothers life hangs in the balance. My mother doesn't deserve to suffer because her son is too much of a coward."

"Not wanting to kill someone doesn't make you a coward. Murder is a cowardly action," Hermione insisted.

"Of course you would think that," Draco snarled.

"How can you let yourself go through this? You're wasting away. Aren't any of your friends concerned?" Hermione wondered.

"They know better than to get involved in my personal business," Draco stated.

"Because you put up too many barriers for them to get through," Hermione remarked. "Why don't you just take Snape up on his offer to help you?"

"I'd ask how do you know that, but I'm assuming that you got it from Potter since he's been stalking me all year," Draco remarked.

"Yes, Harry has been watching you. And at first, I thought it was pointless because I did not believe that you were a Death Eater. Only now that I know what you're going through, I too am watching you, but not for the same reasons as Harry," Hermione said.

"You're certainly not as obvious as Potter," Draco snorted.

"Please, Draco. I only want to help you. I'm probably the only person that can," Hermione insisted.

"So you keep saying. But I don't want your help," Draco hissed. "Do you want to know something, Granger? The Dark Lord chose me for this mission. Out of everyone, he chose me to do it! He trusts me. This is my moment and I won't be letting anyone take it away from me."

"You don't really think that," Hermione argued.

"Why else do you think I don't want Snape or anyone else's help? Because this is my time," Draco proclaimed.

"You say that Voldemort chose you for this mission because he trusts you, yet under the influence of Veritaserum, you said that he chose you as punishment for your fathers failure. This isn't your moment to shine. It really is a death sentence," Hermione said.

"Then just let me have it, Granger," Draco snarled.

"You don't really want that to happen, do you, Draco? Because if you're gone, then your mother will be left vulnerable," Hermione reasoned.

Draco scoffed, "Even if I fail, Dumbledore will still die. With him out of the way, the Dark Lord will have more power than ever. He'll be able to free my father from Azkaban and he'll be there to look after mother. She won't need me."

"What if Voldemort just keeps your father locked up because of his failure? Your father doesn't exactly have the sway that he used to anymore," Hermione pointed out.

"If she won't have father, then she'll at least have Bellatrix," Draco stated.

"Please, Draco. What is it going to take for me to get you to admit that you truly don't want to do this? What am I going to have to do to get you to accept my help?" Hermione pleaded.

"Why do you even want to help me, Granger? And I want the truth. You should have no desire whatsoever to help someone like me, yet you're so insistent on being the only person who can. Why am I so important to you?" Draco demanded.

Hermione gulped, "Because like I said… I care about you."

"And why would you care for me?" Draco asked.

"I've been told that I have a bleeding heart," Hermione replied, not wanting to confess her true feelings for him like this.

"Bullshit," Draco snapped. "You never cared for me before. You slapped me before and laughed with everyone else and mocked me when I was turned into a ferret. You've never cared before, so why care now?"

"Because I… like you," Hermione stammered.

"You what?" Draco asked.

"For whatever inexplicable reason, I like you," Hermione confessed. "There, I said it! You happy?"

Complete and utter silence fell over them. Hermione soon found herself unable to look Draco in the face as she looked anywhere else. She could now feel her chest beating a million miles a minute, and those familiar nerves that she used to get whenever she was around Ron came flooding back. Damnit, the feelings were real.

"I don't even know why I feel that way towards you because Merlin knows that you don't deserve to have me care for you because of how you've treated me over the past six years. You have done nothing but bully me and insult my blood status since the moment we met. If anything, the sight of you like this should give me some sick satisfaction. But instead, my heart aches for you and the thought of you dying gives me the same horrified feeling that I would have if it were Harry and Ron, only worse. I just want to be able to help you, and to reassure you that everything will be alright but you want even let me do that!" Hermione ranted, unable to contain herself.

Venting about her feelings like that actually felt good for Hermione, since she had just been keeping them buried inside of her in the hopes that they'd eventually go away. But there was no stopping them, and once they came out, Hermione knew that her feelings for Draco were real. It almost scared Hermione, to think that she could care so deeply for someone like him. Eventually, Hermione was able to bring herself to look at Draco directly in the face, only for him to stare at her looking completely gobsmacked.

"Say something!" Hermione demanded.

"I- you… What?" Draco stammered.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I, Hermione Granger, am inexplicably taken by Draco Malfoy."

"Why?" Draco asked.

"I wish I knew," Hermione muttered. "I just seem to have the most excellent taste in boys. First Ron, and now you?"

Draco grimaced, "Ugh, you did not just compare me to Weasley."

"You can't deny that you're both horrible options for me to be attracted to," Hermione pointed out.

"Even still, I'm better than Weasley. I'd be more of an upgrade for you, Granger," Draco remarked.

Hermione smirked, "Now there's that borderline arrogance that I somewhat miss compared to that pitiful 'woe is me' attitude that you've been holding onto."

"Hey, you'd hate your life too if you were me right now," Draco argued.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day. Draco Malfoy not saying that his life is better than someone's for once," Hermione chuckled.

"I've been humbled," Draco muttered.

"More like you've been given a reality check," Hermione corrected.

"I just don't get it, Granger. Out of everyone, including Weasley, you choose to want me? I get that I'm irresistible but why in Morgana's name would you want to be with me?" Draco wondered.

Hermione shrugged, "I truly don't know. Believe me, I've been trying to figure out why ever since I realised it. But perhaps it's because you are different now. You might be a pitiful mess, but you're not as horrid as you used to be. You have more of a moral compass, even if it is still extremely flawed. The Draco Malfoy from before wouldn't have deserved my compassion but now, I can't say that you don't deserve it. I don't think that I could have ever wanted to be with you before we had this… development between us."

"And by development, you mean the books?" Draco clarified.

"Yes. I will admit that when I first discovered that it was you, I had wanted nothing more to do with you. But then my conscience got in the way, and I knew that I would never forgive myself if I didn't stop something horrible that I could've prevented. So I did just want to help you for my own selfish reasons, but it was impossible for me to deny the pull that I felt towards Anonymous, that had really been a pull towards you. I tried so hard to separate you two, but I couldn't because whether I liked it or not, you were the same person. The same person that I had grown to care for," Hermione explained.

"So, that's it then. You only like me because of the books. I'm not the same as Anonymous, Granger. I'm Draco Malfoy, snobbish pureblood supremacist," Draco said.

"Except you are the same person, Draco. Believe me, I tried to convince myself otherwise, but I knew it was pointless. You are Anonymous, and Anonymous is you," Hermione insisted.

"Just because you had some freakish feelings for somebody that you'd never met, doesn't mean that you have to like them once you know them," Draco argued.

"Why are you trying to convince me that I shouldn't have feelings for you? What has you so convinced that I shouldn't feel how I feel towards you? Is it because you're you, or because I am me?" Hermione questioned.

"Both," Draco admitted. "You're Hermione Granger, and I am Draco Malfoy. You're the Gryffindor Princess, and I'm the Slytherin Prince. You're a muggleborn, I'm a pureblood supremacist. We could never work. I would ruin you. Do yourself a favour and just get out now while you still can."

"Can you honestly look me in the eyes and say that you think all muggleborns are scum?" Hermione asked.

"I just don't have any opinions on anything anymore. All I know is that I hate the Dark Lord for what he has done to my family and I do not want to fight for him," Draco confessed.

"Well, that's something. If you were truly a pureblood supremacist, you would completely be supporting Voldemort," Hermione reasoned.

"But not because I disagree with his opinions, but because of how he has affected me personally," Draco argued.

"It's better than you just blindly supporting him because you're supposed to. You can see how what he is doing is wrong, and it has made you realise what is important to you, like your family," Hermione said.

"You really are trying your best to make me sound like a good person. If Potter could hear you now, he'd be livid," Draco snorted.

"I don't care what Harry thinks. I only care how I think and how I feel. What I think is that you should give your own morality a little more credit, Draco. And I've already expressed how I feel towards you," Hermione stated.

"I can't even begin to understand how you could feel that way towards me," Draco muttered.

"That begs the question though… How do you feel towards me?" Hermione asked timidly, almost afraid of the answer.

"Honestly, Granger? I don't know. When I first found out that it was you, I was just livid at the fact that I had been hoodwinked by you. But then you… cared for me. And I didn't know how to feel about that. It's funny, because I think that everyone should just bow down and care for me but the fact that you of all people do, just sets something off inside of me. I don't know why it bothers me, but it does," Draco explained.

"Maybe it's because you don't think that you deserve my care?" Hermione suggested.

Draco sighed, "Probably. If this was over a year ago, I'd probably laugh at your face, call you a mudblood and say that I would be the best thing that could ever happen to you before telling you to find some other sorry sod to drop your nickers for. But now? I'd probably be the worst thing that could ever happen to you."

"Wow, your ego has certainly been taken down a notch," Hermione remarked, though it was still sad for her to hear Draco talk about himself like this.

Draco shrugged, "It's the truth, though. You getting involved with me would only be worse for you. If anybody found out, you'd be hunted, tortured or worse. Not to mention, what Potter and Weasley would think. I wouldn't want to wish that on you. Nobody else needs to get hurt because of my stupidity."

Hermione's gaze softened, "So… does that mean that you do care for me in some degree? You'd have to, if you would be concerned for my safety and wellbeing."

"Damn, Granger. Do you really have to nit-pick everything that I say?" Draco drawled.

"But I do need to know how you truly feel towards me if we're gonna get anywhere," Hermione stated.

"I don't even know anymore, Granger," Draco sighed. "Part of me feels like I should hate you, but I don't even have the energy to do that anymore. It almost feels wrong to hate you after the whole journals nonsense. I just… don't want anything to do with anyone right now. I've even turned down Pansy's desperate attempts to get in my pants and I'm usually always down for anything with her!"

Hermione cringed, "I really didn't need to hear that last part."

"You should know it, though," Draco commented.

"I do, regrettably," Hermione shuddered, remembering all the stories that she'd heard about Pansy Parkinson's exploits, most of which were with Draco.

"What do you want from me now, Granger?" Draco asked.

"I just want you to trust me. I want you to let me help you. Please, let me," Hermione said.

"You wanna know something, Granger? If you had come to me early on, before I got too deeply into things, I might've been more receptive to your offer. But now there is no turning back. I can't risk defying the Dark Lord with my mother and my own life on the line. Even if I did trust you, I couldn't accept your help," Draco admitted.

"But, you do trust me?" Hermione clarified.

"For whatever reason, I do," Draco muttered.

Hermione smiled, "Well, at least that's something. I guess now we have to figure out where we go from here."

"Where we go from here is that you will leave me and try to stay out of my mess. Don't hold out any hope for me, Granger. Cause I really don't see myself making it out of this mess alive, even if I can somehow pull off Dumbledore's assassination," Draco said.

"No," Hermione argued. "I won't be giving up on you, Draco. Clearly you need someone to be there for you and to support you, and I'm willing to be that person. I'm perfectly content with that being all we are if it means helping you."

"If I say yes will you leave?" Draco drawled.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Fine."

"Then yes, you can do whatever you want. Just don't get involved in my mess anymore," Draco conceded.

"I can accept that," Hermione nodded.

"Now, you can leave," Draco ordered.

"This won't be the last that you see of me, Draco," Hermione said as she prepared to here. "But remember this, I am here for you."

Despite not getting a response from him with that, Hermione was still satisfied with how this conversation had gone. She had managed to get Draco to trust her, while also confessing her feelings to him. And although she had not gotten a complete admission from him about his feelings, Hermione felt like they had made more progress in that one conversation than they had throughout this entire situation.

An odd feeling of hope overwhelmed Hermione, knowing that she was getting somewhere. There was still hope. She could still save Draco, and Merlin she was going to try her best to do that.


This was a rather long talk-about-our-feelings chapter but hey, it needed to happen for progress, and some progress is better than none. Hermione's now gotten Draco to open up to her, but of course he's still being a stubborn and reluctant git. But they're getting somewhere, and that's something. I don't know why, but I just feel really nervous about how I write the proper Dramione interactions, cause they almost feel out of character, but then I remember that they basically had months to establish trust through the journals, which has sort of transcended to their personal connection with each other. So naturally after that, and with Draco's selfish need for someone to understand him, they're able to talk to each other in a way that they wouldn't be able to if not for the journals. Yay for purpose.