Secrets Revealed

Does he leave
When you need him the most
Does his friends get all your time?
Baby please, I'm on my knees
Praying for the day that you'll be mine

It took Malfoy a few days to figure out what he really felt for Hermione. Would friendship be enough for him or did he really want something more? That was the question he kept asking himself.

He went over the kisses they'd shared in his head. He had no idea what had made him kiss her in the first place. He thought maybe it was just him feeling bad about Ron hurting her, wanting to comfort her in any way he knew how. Was it just instincts? The overflow of feelings? Old feelings he had pushed away years ago, finally resurfacing? Did he really still feel the same way about her as he had during the war, after all this time?

Then he thought about how she had pushed away from him and then came back to kiss him again. Did that mean she had feeling for him too? And if so, where did Ron fit into all this?

His decision to continue kissing her when she came back, was that wrong? He knew he had felt something stir inside him and it might have all gotten out of hand had he not stopped himself. But he had stopped. He couldn't continue knowing that she was attached to someone else. He did have a conscience after all.

Draco's conscience had stopped him from going any further because he had real feelings for Hermione. He didn't want to take advantage of her like Ron might. The way Ron has been treating Hermione, he didn't deserve her. Sure, he may be able to give her some things Draco couldn't but making her suffer because you can't control your emotions. No, Hermione, of all people, didn't deserve that.

He had to see Hermione again; to tell her how he felt. He had never wanted to leave Ron with the antidote, but at the time he thought if he didn't she might not survive. He had cared for her too much to watch her die because of a stupid argument and a possessive git.

He found out Ron would was going to be away from home during the coming weekend, playing in the first final against France in the lead up to the Quidditch World Cup. He saw that as the perfect time to go and face Hermione.


Knock knock!

"Who the hell could that be?" Hermione asked herself as she went to open the front door. When she found Draco looking at her, she was speechless.

"Hi, is it all right if I come in? I think we need to talk."

Hermione just cleared the doorway so he could walk past her. After Hermione closed the door, she led Draco to the lounge without a word. She gestured for him to sit on one of the couches and then seated herself in an armchair.

"Why are you here? Just because Ron is away doesn't give you the right to come back here." Hermione said abruptly, trying not to portray too many of the emotions she was feeling at this point. Upon seeing him on her door step, she thought it would be better to let him in and talk about what had happened during their previous meeting than to close the door and hope to Merlin he went away. Pretend that the whole mess which had been their last meeting could just be forgotten. But it would seem Draco had other ideas.

Maybe getting it out of their systems once and for all would mean they could just get on with their lives, as they had before. But being this close to him was bringing all the feelings back. They were silly, physical reactions and she would not let natural urges get the better of her. She was happily married to Ron (or so she had to keep telling herself).

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Draco plucked up the courage to respond to Hermione's question. "Umm…, you probably don't want to hear this but I think it needs to be said." He paused and when she didn't reply he continued. "Nearly six years ago now, when we were still fighting the war against the Dark Lord-"

"What has six years ago got to do with what happened last week?" Hermione interrupted. "Is this going to be a long story?" she continued rambling nervously. She didn't think she wanted to hear what he had to say after that opening and delaying its telling and getting out of the room might help her gain some more control over her reaction. "Would you like a drink?"

"Umm…it's not that long but a drink would be nice, I guess" Draco answered, not wanting to be rude. Hermione disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with two glasses of pumpkin juice. She seemed to be much more relaxed.

Hermione gave Draco one of the glasses. He thanked her and took a few sips as she sat back down before beginning to talk again. "As I was saying, nearly six years ago now, when we were still fighting Voldemort, you went with Harry and Ron on a mission to get more information about the Dark Lord." He paused, watching Hermione remembering the missions he could be talking about. "You were poisoned before it could be completed," he continued. "Ron brought you to the medical tent I was working in."

Draco paused as he saw some form of recognition cross Hermione's face. "I made an antidote, but it took a while to make and as it was brewing your condition worsened."

"But you got it to me in time. I'm not dead."

"Yes, but it wasn't that simple. Both Ron and I were worried you weren't going to make it before the antidote was finished."

Draco had gone from looking at Hermione to watching his hands in his lap. "When it was ready, I went over to give it to you and then Ron snatched it out of my hand. It was like he didn't trust me to touch you or something. Then I realised, he thought I was getting too close to you. He wanted you for himself and he wouldn't even let me be your friend. So I did the only thing I could to keep you alive. I left."

"Oh Merlin," exclaimed Hermione. "You're the guy in my dream. You're the one walking out the door while Ron is sitting beside me." She had stood up and was starting to walking around the living room, her back to Draco. "I've always wondered who it was. Each time I had the dream I would call for the man to come back, but they never did and then I would wake up."

"You mean, you have dreamt about me?" Draco asked, shocked.

"Yeah, about that day anyway," Hermione replied. "I always thought it meant something. Like, maybe I shouldn't be with Ron."

"Ron doesn't deserve you. He is too self-centred." Draco stopped at hearing the words come out of his mouth. He looked up and found Hermione was facing him again. She was on the other side of the room, but he couldn't see any objection on her face or in her body language. She seemed more curious as to where his words might lead.

It was hard, but he continued to look at her as he spoke. "Over the past few days I have come to realise that I wasn't supposed to walk out that day. I should have stayed and fought for what I loved." Hermione's eyes opened in surprise at the last word, but Draco stood up, walking slowly towards her as he continued. "Hermione, I should have stayed by your side. I didn't know it then, but I know now that I love you and I want to be with you. If you don't want to be with me than that's okay, I'll understand. Ron is your husband after all." He stopped about a foot away from her.

"Draco, I…" Hermione hesitated.

"Yes?"

She closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him. She looked up into his smiling face and kissed him intensely until Draco finally broke it, gently holding her at arm's length.

"I must ask you, how does Ron fit into the picture?" Hermione was surprised Draco would ask her such a question at this moment, but she knew it needed to be answered.

"Since you left, Ron has treated me like I'm some prize that he won, a trophy. He changed. I thought it was the war but I now I don't think that was the only thing. Sure he has his times when he is kind and loving, but I just don't feel he means it half the time. When he saved my life… well, when he gave me the antidote you made, I always felt that I owed him. And I had loved him for many years, since our early years at Hogwarts. I guess there was a lot of pressure for me to say 'yes' when he finally asked me to marry him." Hermione rested her head on Draco's chest.

"You know, he hasn't shown me as much love in the whole five years of our marriage as you have in the brief time we have spent together over the past few weeks. The love and care you have shown me is incredible. I don't know why you let Ron over power you back then."

"I guess it was because I loved you and wanted you to live. Even if it couldn't be with me." He kissed the top of her head.

"Well, now I can be with you." Hermione looked up at him and kissed him briefly on the lips. "You know, every time I looked into your eyes after we first bumped into each other, I remember my dream. When you kissed me, I felt so drawn to you. I wanted to be with you and only you. I totally forgot about Ron. You replaced him in my mind. I can see you have changed from the bullying character you were during school, no doubt with too much of your father's influence. The wizard you are now, that's the Draco Malfoy I would love to spend a lot more time with."

Draco just looked down at Hermione and smiled. "Well, all I have to give you is my love."

"And that is all I want."

They stayed in each other's arms for a few minutes before remembered he had only give himself a small amount of time with Hermione because he had not thought things would turn out quite so well for him. He had to leave for work, but he was happy he was doing so extremely reluctantly.