Chapter 14: Trust, Truths and Time to Think

Hermione swung her legs over the edge of the astronomy tower and listened as the door opened and closed softly behind her.

"Hi." Draco said. His voice was quiet and slightly nervous, but it carried across the space between them.

"Hi." Hermione replied raising a hand as if to wave, but she lowered it again.

Draco moved across the tower slowly, nervous about Hermione's reaction. "Listen I don't know what Blaise told you about him and me-"

"Fucking, yes I know."

"Right. It was back in fourth year, though. We were quite drunk."

"I don't mind." Hermione chuckled.

"Oh." Draco sat on the edge facing the door; his hand seeked out Hermione's and clutched it tightly. "So why have you been so quiet lately? I thought it was that that had freaked you out."

"I know you're not gay."

"Oh?"

"Ginny Weasley would be toast by now if you were."

Draco chuckled. "That's true. So what is bothering you?"

"This thing with my parents. And Harry knows about us. He gave me an ultimatum." Hermione chocked back a sob but couldn't stop a tear trickling down her cheek. She brushed it away impatiently. "I know I haven't exactly been spending a lot of time with him recently and I know that he's still angry about the whole Ginny thing, but you'd think he might put that aside and take my side of the story into account rather than being all angry just because you're a Malfoy!"

"Breath." Draco wanted to laugh at how such a little thing could upset her so much, but couldn't help but notice the tears that she let fall steadily down her cheeks which knocked all glee out of his system. "Look if Potter can't-"

"Yes but I know that he's actually having a pretty mature reaction to all of this. He didn't even shout and Harry always shouts. It's me that's being unreasonable. I'm being such a slut too and Harry is completely right in everything he said."

"He called you a slut?"

"No, no I did that. I didn't even have the nerve to break up with Ron and now Harry isn't talking to me and he was the only one I could talk to about my parents."

"Well what about Ginny? Or me?"

"Well you've got the whole death eater father going against you." Hermione sighed and Draco paled, she still didn't know about his dark mark. He had carefully kept it covered with glamour charms and a few more spells that his father had sent him in order to keep the whole ordeal a secret. "And Ginny wouldn't understand. Her parents are actively working against Voldemort, whereas mine don't have anything to defend themselves with apart from an old shotgun that my dad keeps in the attic but I don't even think that works."

"What-"

"I put up defence spells and wards and everything at Christmas, but they won't keep anyone out that wants to get in. They just keep out muggles or wizards who can't undo wards and that's pretty useless. I'm just terrified that I'm going to be too late, that I'll get home for the summer holidays and they'll be lying there dead and it'll be my entire fault."

"How did you do magic outside of school without being prosecuted."

"I asked Dumbledore, he knows how close I am – was – to Harry so he thought it would be a good idea. What if I get home, though and they are dead? What am I supposed to do without my parents? What is anybody supposed to do without their parents? I plan on sending them to Australia with no memory of ever having a daughter, but I'm terrified that I'll get the spell wrong and I'll permanently damage them and either way I won't have parents once it's done and I wasn't supposed to tell you any of this." Hermione sighed, her tears falling thick and fast. "A-and..." Her voice trailed off, chocked by tears.

Draco put his arm around her shoulders and pulled Hermione closer resting his forehead against hers. He knew she hadn't wanted to tell him any of that, knowing that he was closely connected to Voldemort. She just didn't know how closely.

"I should tell you something."

"You don't need to." Hermione sniffled.

"I think I should." Draco untangled his left hand from Hermione's making her look up at him in confusion and curiosity. He slowly rolled up the sleeve of his robes, showing his bare arm to the world.

Hermione lifted one hand and trailed her index finger down his arm softly. "There's nothing there." She whispered. She looked up and saw that Draco had raised his wand and was pointing it at his forearm. A few whispered words later and Hermione gasped in horror and shock as the dark mark came into view. "You're...you...death...oh."

"I'm sorry...I." Draco sighed it was hard to explain the circumstances. "He would've killed Mother." Hermione nodded. After all she had just said, she couldn't turn around and shout at him for protecting his family.

Hermione took his arm in both her hands and looked closely at the terrible mark that branded Draco's body. Carefully, as though she was wishing her mind was playing tricks on her, she placed a finger tip on the mark and slowly traced it. She shuddered slightly when she had done it and leant back. Draco quickly replaced the charms that had covered it and shook down his sleeve.

Hermione swung her legs back over the ledge and stood up. She walked to the door and looked back. The look of rejection that coated Draco's face was enough to make her turn back and walk over to him. She cradled his face in her hands when she reached him, looking deep into his eyes. She pressed a small chaste kiss on his lip and whispered, "I'm not angry."

His eyebrows rose delicately. "You're not?"

"No, but I do need time to think." She kissed him again before she walked out of the door. Draco sighed slightly. That had gone better than he had ever expected. Though he hadn't exactly ever expected to tell her.

It was two days later before the pair managed to find time to talk again. Hermione joined Draco at their table in the library. They had shared their table with the only four people who were still their close friends so Hermione was glad to see that Draco was sitting there alone. She said nothing as she sat down opposite him and opened her books but when she pulled her quill out, she paused.

"I've been really busy, I tried to find you yesterday..."

"I was busy too." Draco looked up from his potions textbook and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad. Better than I was. I think I'm beginning to deal with the whole..." She waved her hands indicating his left arm. Draco winced but nodded.

"That's good. I'm glad. I would've hated you to feel that we couldn't be together because of it."

"You could have not told me. I would've been none the wiser."

"No." Draco shook his head. "It didn't feel right, you not knowing. I knew that there was a chance that you'd hate me, but I took that chance, because if you did hate me then, well..."

"Us wouldn't mean anything. A relationship built on lies with no trust."

"But now we have truth and trust-"

"And all is well." Hermione finished grinning, feeling a lot better suddenly.

Maybe she had been too quick to judge when she left the astronomy tower. Maybe she had made a mistake when she slept with Blaise, but all that was because everything was falling to pieces around her and she was worried that the only thing that she still counted on, her relationship with Draco, had been founded on a ground of experiment and excitement and not much else. She had been wrong, however, and Draco trusting her with the dark mark had made her see that their relationship was in fact something she could rely on and she had made the right decision in staying when Harry had offered her a way out of the Slytherin lifestyle. She would just have to watch her step on this foreign ground and she could survive.

"I was wondering," Draco said, "how exactly Blaise came upon the topic of him and me...well you know."

"Oh well he was smoking and-"

"He was smoking? He only smokes after sex."

"No he wasn't smoking, I asked him about where you picked the habit up."

"He wasn't smoking? But you said-"

"Yes I know what I said, I got it wrong." Hermione snapped. "We were just talking about it and he mentioned that that's where you got it from."

"Alright." Draco frowned slightly, that wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"Look I have to go; I promised Ginny that I'd meet her in the dorms." Hermione picked up her things and practically ran out of the library.

Draco stayed where he was for a moment, blinking in surprise before he collected his books up and went to find Blaise, a frown on his face.

Eventually he found Blaise lounging in the Slytherin common room, pointedly not doing his homework.

"What happened?" Draco demanded as he sat down in the armchair adjacent to Blaise's couch.

Blaise sat up slightly, smirking. "And what exactly would this be in reference too? I live a busy life, you know."

"Mya."

"Right and what am I supposed to have done?"

"You slept with her didn't you?"

"What gives you that idea?"

"Hermione just flipped out and you're not denying it!"

"Listen, Draco-"

"No you listen, Zabini. She is my girlfriend you have one of your own do you think that for once, just this once, you could please just keep your hands to yourself?"

"Alright. I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

"Draco-"

"Don't even bother." Draco growled and stood up. "I thought that this time maybe you could have some self restraint. Ginny might be interested to hear of your little adventure."

"You wouldn't."

"Then keep your hands off Mya." Draco turned around and headed for the dorms, leaving Blaise sitting with his head in his hands.