Chapter 15
The Truth
Disclaimer: Although I wish that I owned Harry or Ron or Draco, I do not own a thing.
"Mione, is that you?" Harry asked, lifting his mask.
Hermione froze in her spot. "Hello, Harry." She replied, her hand slowly creeping towards Draco.
Harry grinned as he looked down at her gown. "You look amazing."
Hermione smiled. "You do, too."
Feeling a sudden pinch in the arm, Draco turned to Hermione and wrapped his arm around her waist. "What was that for?" he asked, pulling her towards him.
Hermione nodded her head towards Harry. Draco's eyes grew wide as he realized who was standing in front of her.
"Hello there, you must be Hermione's date." Harry said, sticking out his hand.
Draco shook Harry's hand. "Yes, yes I am. My name's Anthony, Anthony Blake."
"Nice to meet you, Anthony." Harry replied.
Just a few seconds later, as the music changed to a slower beat, Harry turned to Hermione and smiled. "Would you like to dance?"
Hermione looked to Draco and receiving his approval, took Harry's hand. As they found a spot on the floor, Harry placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to his body, just as he had done with Cho.
"Harry, where's Cho?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "She said that she had to use the restroom. That was nearly over an hour ago."
Hermione smiled and laid her head on Harry's shoulder as they slowly moved to the music.
"You know, that Anthony looks familiar." Harry said, looking back at Draco.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah, a lot of people are always telling him that he looks like some famous Quidditch player."
"That's nice." Harry replied.
The two remained silent of the remainder of the song. All throughout the dance, Hermione could not help but think about her dream. Knowing that she would have to tell him sometime, she decided that instead of approaching both boys at once, she would first tell Harry and then break the news to Ron.
Breaking the odd silence, Hermione cleared her throat. "Harry, do you think we could step into the hall for a minute?"
Harry pulled away and nodded. "Sure," He said, taking her hand and leading her to the exit.
Draco watched as Hermione and Harry exited the Great Hall. Feeling suspicious, he decided to follow them and watch them from the entrance.
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"It feels really nice out here." Harry said as a breeze of cold air blew past him.
Hermione nodded her head and let the breeze wipe away her sweat.
"So, do you want to go back in there?" Harry asked, inching towards the door.
Hermione shook her head. "Not just yet, I-I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" Harry asked, leaning against the wall.
Hermione bit her bottom lip as she searched for the right words to say. "I-I haven't been completely honest with you, Harry." Hermione looked down at her shoes. "I-I'm in love with someone, and I'm not really sure if you would approve of that person."
Harry looked dumbfounded. "How could I not approve of someone that makes my Mione happy?"
Hermione tried to smile but the pain of having to say what she was going to tell him overwhelmed her. "It's Draco Malfoy, Harry. I'm in love with him."
It took a moment for Harry to react, but when he did, he was unusually calm. In fact, instead of yelling he was laughing.
Hermione was shocked by hisreaction. "Harry, what's so funny?"
"That was a good one, Mione. You and Draco, in love. That's that maddest bloody thing I've ever heard!"
Hermione shook her head. "I wasn't lying, Harry."
Harry quickly began to calm down and leaned back against the wall. "But seriously Mione, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"
Hermione walked over to Harry and cupped his cheeks in her palms. "Listen carefully Harry, I-am-in-love-with-Draco-Malfoy. Understand?" She said calmly, taking a step back to observe his reaction.
"Please tell me that you're just joking? Please Mione, for Merlin's sake, tell me that you're just joking?"
"I'm not." She whispered.
Harry walked to the other side of the hall and placed his hand on his head, his back facing Hermione.
"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione set her hand on his shoulder.
"How could you say that?" He asked, anger filling his eyes.
"What, that I love him?"
Harry threw his hands in the air. "Have you gone absolutely mad? The bloke has tormented you, hated you since our first year! How could you possibly love someone like that?"
"He loves me, Harry. Draco has changed a tremendous amount over the past year and even if you can't see that, I do."
"Bloody hell Mione, look what he has done to you. He has made you believe that he loves you and as soon as he gets his way with you, he will leave you, just as he did with the others."
Without any hesitation, Hermione raised her hand and slapped Harry across his face. "Don't you dare say that, Harry Potter." She growled.
Harry instantly brought his hand to his cheek.
"Harry, I-I'm sorry," Hermione started to say before Harry interrupted her.
"Have it your way, Hermione." He said softly. "Just don't expect me to be there when he drops you." With that, Harry pushed past Hermione and found his way back into the Great Hall.
Noticing Harry's exit, Draco slowly approached Hermione. "Hermione, sweetheart," He said softly, slowly walking towards her.
Hermione shook her head, her eyes squinted as tears threatened to spill from them. "I'm sorry, Draco, but I just need to be alone."
Before Draco could wrap his arms around her, Hermione ran as fast as she could down the hall.
"Hermione, wait!" Draco yelled after her, following close behind.
Hermione continued to run until she located the nearest girls restroom. Throwing the door open, she quickly ran inside and pressed her back against the door, slowly dropping to the ground and hugging her knees to her chest.
Draco pressed his forehead and hands against the door, his body shaking while trying to regain his breath. "Hermione, love, please let me in."
"Go away," Hermione cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Please, I can help you. Believe me, I know how you're feeling."
Hermione snuffed. "No one knows how I feel."
Draco sighed and leaned back against the wall, his arms and legs falling freely to the ground. "But I do." He said blankly. Draco pulled his sleeve past his elbow and looked down at each of his scars. "You think that what you're feeling is horrible, try living with my father. You'll know what it really feels like to be in pain. I'm sure of that."
A few minutes later, the door slowly opened and Hermione crawled out, throwing herself on top of Draco. Draco pulled her to his chest and she laid her head on his shoulder, her tears soaking through his shirt.
"I knew this was going to happen. I knew that he would be angry."
Draco softly rubbed Hermione's back, his chin resting on her shoulder. "We don't need him, Mione. We have each other. That's all that really matters."
Author's Note: Sorry that I took so long, I've been really busy with Mid terms and band folly tryouts and getting all of my work in before spring break. Just in case you are wondering, Band Follies is where the band does bunches of really funny skits and such. It's tons of fun! My friends and I are doing a dance to the Time Warp from the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's going to be great fun. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed! Love ya all!
Love,
Jess
