Alright lads, as promised one final chapter before I hit the airport on Saturday. I really am hoping that the wifi at my hotel will be good enough to upload, otherwise I need to wait until I'm set up in my flat. I could have split this into two chapters very easily- but I decided why not post a much longer one since there might be a slight delay between uploads.

Reviews may also make my 28-hour plane ride a lot happier, just so you know!

I promised that the previous chapters were building to a turning-point in the story... enjoy.

-H

"Hey, Granger, think you could try not to step on my foot?" Harry whispered.
"Sorry, but it's more difficult now than it was in first year, have you shrunk this thing?"
Harry glanced sideways at her with a mock frown and she smiled back. They rounded the next corner and stopped dead at the sound of voices, "… cannot afford mistakes, Draco, because if you are expelled-"
"I didn't have anything to do with it, all right?"
"I hope you are telling the truth, because it was both clumsy and foolish. Already you are suspected of having a hand in it."
"Who suspects me?" Malfoy snapped, "For the last time, I didn't do it okay? That Bell girl must've had an enemy no one knows about- don't look at me like that!" Together Harry and Hermione stepped a little closer, just as Draco took a threatening step towards Snape, "I know what you're doing," he said more quietly and with more venom, "I'm not stupid, but it won't work- I can stop you!"
There was a long pause before Snape sneered, "Ahh, Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, what are you trying to conceal from your Master, Draco?"
Malfoy leant back and folded his arms over his chest, "I'm not trying to conceal anything from Him, you think I'm that stupid? I just don't want you butting in, this is my task, not yours."
"So that's why you have been avoiding me this term? You have feared my interference? You realise that, had anybody else failed to come to my office when I had told them repeatedly to be there-"
He laughed and it was cruel and high, the sound went straight through Hermione and she felt a little sick, "So put me in detention! Report me to Dumbledore!"
"You know perfectly well I do not wish to do either of those," Snape said softly.
"I know perfectly well that you can't, not without pissing Him off, and even you aren't that stupid," Draco countered. "So how about you stop summoning me to your office, and leave me alone."
"Listen to me!" Snape snapped, they were now arguing in whispers so Harry dragged a reluctant Hermione forward a few more paces. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear any more. "I am trying to help you, I swore to your mother I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow, Draco…"
His face twisted, "That's your problem. My mother needs to believe I can do this, Bellatrix does, and I don't care what you promised them, I do not trust you. I don't need your help, and I don't need your protection! It's my job, He gave it to me and I'm doing it… it's just- taking a little bit longer than I thought it would."
"What is your plan?" Snape wasn't letting the matter drop.
"It's none of your business! I have all the assistance I need."
"Not tonight, you got caught, alone, without any backup. These are elementary mistakes Draco."
"Screw you," he made to walk away and Snape caught his arm in a vice-like grip.
"I understand that your father's capture and imprisonment has upset you, and I understand that his burden has now fallen to your shoulders whether you would have chosen it or not- and I admire your resolve to see the task the Dark Lord has set for you through, but you cannot do this alone. If you are caught the consequences would be most severe, do you understand?"
Draco glared at him until he was released before he said, "I know what I'm doing, Snape. And if you don't leave me alone, I'll tell the Dark Lord that you're interfering in His instructions, or would you like to tell Him yourself that you don't think I'm capable, that you think He is wrong?"
There was the sound of a door opening and closing as a couple snuck out of Slughorn's party in the corridor behind them and it appeared to end the argument as Snape drew himself to his full height and said ominously, "You will require my help before this is over, Draco. You know where to find me."

He swept away and Harry and Hermione had to flatten themselves against the wall as he passed. Draco too disappeared, in the opposite direction and once they were alone Harry breathed a triumphant sigh, "I knew it!" he cried softly, "I told you that Malfoy was working for Voldemort!"
Hermione remained silent, she didn't trust her voice to speak. "We need to get back to the party," Harry said suddenly, "Snape might notice that we're missing, I'm pretty sure he suspects I have this cloak… Hermione?"
"You go," she said tensely, "I- I can't face McLaggen, just tell him I left with a headache won't you?"
They pulled off the cloak and Harry began to walk backwards away from her, "Are you sure?"
"Very, I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."
Once he was gone she took a breath for courage before darting after Draco, she had to talk to him, she had to find an explanation; how could she be falling for someone who was working for Voldemort, how could he be acting like he had feelings for her when he was… evil? A year ago she would have said that the word evil was perfect to describe Draco, but now… she entered the next corridor and saw him near the end of it.

"Draco!" Her voice echoed down the empty corridor and he stopped dead.
She made herself walk to him, the sound of her shoes making clean, sharp beats on the stone floor, the flickering of the flames from the candles on the wall making their shadows seem huge. He still hadn't turned to face her, so when she was close enough she reached out and touched his shoulder, "We have to talk."
"Not now, Granger."
"Yes, right now," she insisted, then she took a deep breath and told him, "I heard you, talking to Snape. I heard everything."
"Then why would you want to speak to me?" he snapped.
"I have to understand, you must explain-"
"I don't have to do anything," he spun around, his eyes flat and dark and furious, "I don't owe you an explanation, if you don't like what you heard then you shouldn't have followed me."
Hermione decided that honesty, especially now, was her only option if she wanted him to trust her with the truth, "Harry followed you," Draco paled, "I followed him to make sure he didn't hex you."
"Potter," he hissed, "Needs to mind his own damn business."
"He's been right about you all year, he's been convinced since your fight on the train that you're a…"
Draco took a step closer, his eyes boring into hers, "A what?"
She couldn't say it, instead she whispered, "Please Draco, please explain this to me. The boy I've been getting to know, the one that was just dancing with me, he wouldn't be working for someone so awful, he wouldn't be part of a plan that is sure to see people get hurt."
His eyes closed, "You don't know what you're talking about, you've heard a snippet of a much longer and more complicated conversation."
"That's why I'm giving you a chance to tell me!"

"Why not just ask Potter his opinion?" he asked nastily.
She grabbed hold of his shoulders and shook him slightly, "Don't, don't do that, don't try and provoke me to avoid the subject."
"I'm not avoiding, he's your best friend, you're never going to believe me over him. Why are you even bothering to understand what I'm doing? Just so you can go back and tell him so he can stop me?"
"I am not here for Harry!" she shoved him, "Not everything I do is about Harry."
"No you're right, you went with McLaggen tonight because of Weasley, because him dating that girl bothers you. You think I don't know that you're jealous, what's wrong Granger, can't decide what you want?"
His words stung, so she threw back, "I'm not the only one who is confused," the memory of him kissing Pansy was still crystal clear in her mind, "What's the matter, Pansy is the easy option but you get bored with the lack of challenge because she's so willing to throw herself at you at any given moment?"
He took a determined step forwards and steered her backwards so that she was trapped between him and the wall, bracing his hands either side of her head, "I explained that to you, it was a mistake!"
"Really, because it seems like she's someone you aren't ashamed to be seen with!"
Draco sighed very softly, and it wasn't the surge of anger she was expecting. He took a moment to compose himself, not meeting her gaze but instead slowly taking in the details of her face; the few freckles across her nose, the curve of her bottom lip… "Pansy would be the easy option, but she holds no interest for me." His eyes finally met hers, "But surely you realise how dangerous this is Hermione?" His tone became more urgent, "If the wrong people found out it could put your life on the line, the thought of letting anyone harm you just because I…" her heart was beating so fast she was surprised he couldn't hear it.
"I'm in danger anyway," she pointed out, "with Voldemort back he'll be hunting Muggleborns, and being friends with Harry makes me a prime target."
Draco flinched, "Please, don't say his name."
"You're afraid-"
"Of course I'm afraid!" he exclaimed, removing his right hand from the wall and offering her an escape route, "I've seen first-hand what he's capable of, I know better than you, maybe even better than Potter, the lengths he's willing to go to get what he wants. The thought of Him anywhere near you terrifies me, and the two of us together… Hermione, He would kill us both."
His gaze was so intense that whatever counter argument she had was lost, and he took advantage of her rare silence to take a risk he'd been daydreaming of for weeks. He sealed the gap between them, wrapping his arm around her waist and cradling her to his chest at the same time he dipped his head and kissed her.
Hermione gasped, he'd been talking himself out of any kind of relationship between them, a kiss was the last thing she'd expected. She should pull away, he'd all but confirmed that he was working for Voldemort and yet… She couldn't, not just yet. She'd only ever kissed one other person and that had been Viktor Krum; he'd been such a huge and passionate person that she'd always felt a little overwhelmed at his touch, though he was always gentle.
With Draco it was entirely different. She had to stretch up on her toes to compensate for his height, but he held her so securely against him that she trusted she wouldn't unbalance, and the way he was kissing her didn't just feel out of want, but had an edge of urgency to it; he knew that this was a one-time shot, he knew that in all likelihoods they would have to pretend that this moment never happened, and that made it stolen, it made it count. She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, running her fingers through the fine hair at the base of his neck causing him to shiver in pleasure. He titled their weight against the wall, not crushing her, but eliminating any remaining space between them. The hand that had dropped to her hip was gripping the fabric of her dress while the other tangled itself in her hair, and Hermione let out a low moan encouraging him not to stop.
They couldn't spend all night kissing in an abandoned corridor, and as they began to run out of air Draco gently pulled away, running his nose along the underside of her jaw while she caught her breath, then he pressed his forehead to hers and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, but I had to know… just this once I had to."
"Draco don't go, we have to talk about this."
His eyes were closed and he lightly brushed her lips with his once, so faintly that it made her a little weak at the knees, before he murmured, "I won't risk who I am, what I am, putting you in danger. I can't." He reached up and carefully removed her hands from behind his neck, he held on to them for a moment, taking in the last second he could before he steeled himself to leave, "Merry Christmas Hermione."
Then he was gone and she was left leaning against the wall with her hands over her mouth, what had just happened?