Well, it was only a matter of time before somebody's foot ended up in their mouth...

Chapter 22

Another two days came and went before Hermione and Draco were able to meet again. Two days of secret glances and silent pining. Hermione spent the entire day that Wednesday forcing herself to focus on her classwork, managing to be mostly successful thanks only to her enviable ability to compartmentalize. By the time dinnertime arrived, though, she felt as though she were nearly ready to burst right out of her skin.

She barely ate anything, pushing the food around on her plate instead, and her leg was bouncing up and down so relentlessly that Harry finally reached over to stop her restless jittering by placing a hand on the top of her knee.

"What's the matter, 'Mione?" he asked in confusion.

"Nothing, Harry," she lied. "I just really wanted to get some extra studying done in the library before curfew. Actually, I think I'll head up there now."

She stood and grabbed her bag from under the bench where she sat but before she could walk away, Harry had grabbed her hand, pulling her back down to her seat on the bench.

"Hermione," he said firmly, the exasperation he felt with her clear to hear in the brotherly tone that his voice had adopted. "You've hardly eaten anything. The library isn't going anywhere. At least eat a little bit before you go," he said, voice now cajoling. "I'm worried about you; you've been so distracted lately."

She had realized she must be getting careless in her haste if Harry had started to notice her eating habits. Having been rushing through her dinners lately to get to the Room of Requirement, and to Draco, she knew that Harry was right.

She nodded at Harry and gave him a small smile, patting the hand that was still holding on to her left hand with her right.

"You're right Harry. Thank you for looking out for me."

She made herself clear her entire plate, chatting with Harry about nothing in particular while she did so. Once she had eaten all of her food, she smiled at Harry and stood, making her way out of the Great Hall. She hadn't noticed Draco watching the interaction between herself and Harry minutes earlier, nor had she seen him storm out of the Great Hall afterward.

When Hermione arrived at the Room of Requirement, she was nearly vibrating with anticipation. It had been four days since she had been able to be here alone with Draco and she couldn't wait to see him, to talk to him, to just be with him. She dropped her bag by the door upon entering the room and rushed over to where he stood by the fireplace, his back to the door.

Just as she was reaching out to wrap her arms around his lean frame, however, he stepped away from her and out of her reach. She was completely befuddled. What had happened? Hundreds of scenarios flashed though her mind in mere seconds, all different things that could have happened to cause him to withdraw into himself once again. Had something happened with the Dark Lord? To his mother? His father? He continued to back away from her, his posture fully closed off to her, and his eyes were hard and cold as he watched her.

"Draco?" she asked, confused and concerned. "What's happened? What's wrong?"

"I don't know, Granger. Why don't you go ask your boyfriend?" he snarled, the hateful sneer that had been so familiar to her for so many years before now twisting his features once more.

"My boy… Draco, what are you talking about?"

"Don't try to play stupid with me Granger, you and I both know you're anything but. I saw you with Potter," he spat the name like it was a curse, "at dinner. If it's him that you want to be with, then go."

"Draco…"

"I'M NOT A FUCKING IDIOT EITHER, GRANGER!" he shouted, causing her to flinch away instinctively at the venom in his voice and his sudden loudness in the otherwise silent room.

"I know that Potter has been watching me, following me, all year now! Did he finally just decide to use you to get his information for him? Having you spy on me this whole time by pretending like you actually care what happens to Draco the Death Eater?"

Hermione's jaw dropped. Surely, he wasn't insinuating what she thought he was…right?

"I mean, I saw you at dinner with him; the whole fucking school did. I know the truth. He's the one you really want to be with, so why the fuck are you here right now? Leave! I'm not stopping you!"

"FUCK YOU, DRACO MALFOY!" Hermione screamed, shaking with rage. Her entire body was vibrating with fury and magic crackled in the air between them, a nearly tangible entity in the room, causing her riotous curls to practically stand up on end.

How dare he?! To imply that she was here with him, that she had slept with him, just to get information from him that she could pass along to Harry. For someone that had told her only four days ago that he had loved her to say something like this now was crushing, but at this moment she wasn't wounded. She was livid.

"How dare you? You are such an unbelievable bastard. If I wanted to be with Harry, why would I have spent almost every single night for the past three months here with you instead of at Gryffindor Tower with him? Why don't you use that brain between your ears for something useful, for once? You need to grow the fuck up!"

Her eyes had begun to well up with angry tears during her tirade, and at the last word they finally spilled over, racing down her cheeks. She rushed to the door, grabbing up her bag on the way out and slamming the door behind her with a loud BANG.

She raced back to the sanctuary of her room, mercifully arriving before anyone else thanks to the fact that she had left dinner so early. She flung herself onto her bed, pulling the curtains closed around her and casting a silencing charm so that her dormmates would be none the wiser. Then, she cried.

They were deep, wracking sobs that shook her whole body and she did nothing to try to hold them back, merely let them fall. When they finally tapered away, leaving her laying on her tear-soaked pillow, drained and hollow, she found herself wondering why loving someone had to mean giving them so much power over her. It was like handing them a map that said, Here is my heart, now you know exactly where to aim to make it shatter. She wondered, as an exhausted sleep finally overtook her, if it was truly worth it.

Draco also lay awake in his four-poster bed for hours that night, staring up at the emerald canopy above his head. When he had first arrived back in his room, his fury had still been riding him hard. She had no right to make him feel guilty about his words when she was only using him to get information for Potter. After all, there was no other logical reason why someone like her would choose to spend time around someone like him…right?

Then, he remembered. He remembered the tears that had filled her beautiful eyes when he had told her that he loved her. He remembered the look of contentment that had stolen over her features when he had called her by her given name for the first time in six and a half years. Most of all, though, he remembered the look of blissful contentment that had come over her face as she had snuggled closer into his body and fallen asleep in his arms. In that moment, he realized what an absolute idiot he had been.

Hermione's words echoed in his head as if she were right there beside him, whispering them into his ear over and over again. He knew that she and Potter were like siblings, nothing more; for Salazar's sake, the whole school knew that. He also knew, objectively, that his feelings of unworthiness of her love and all of his insecurities about their shared history, added to the situation in which they had found themselves, had been the impetus behind him lashing out at her.

He had been indescribably jealous when he had seen Potter reach out and grab ahold of Hermione's hand at dinner. They had sat there talking for a few minutes, but when she had smiled at him so sweetly, and in exactly the way that he wished she would smile at him for all to see, that jealousy had turned into a rampaging beast inside of his chest. He had continued to watch them for a few moments more, until he couldn't stand looking at them for another minute. He had stormed from the Great Hall, not even bothering to make an excuse to Blaise and Theo who had been sitting by him, and made his way to the Room of Requirement. He had paced the room, waiting for her arrive and growing more irrationally angry with each second that had passed.

He knew, though, that she had been right. He had been an utter ass to accuse her of what he had. Not only had it been untrue, but it had also been said with the sole purpose of causing her pain. He had taken the incredible gift she had given him, one she had never given to another soul, and cheapened it. Worse, he had basically accused her of whoring herself out to him just to get information for her friend. Now he lay in his bed, hoping to all of the Founders that he hadn't pushed her away completely; that he hadn't lost her.

He woke early the next morning after only an hour or two of sleep at most and, while the rest of his dormmates snored quietly in their beds around him, wrote out a quick note. He made his way up to the Owlery before heading down to breakfast, ensuring that she would receive the note at the same time the rest of the school was receiving post. He also used one of the school owls instead of his own Eagle Owl, Charon, just to make sure that no one would recognize the creature and connect him to her. Then, he made his way to the Room of Requirement.

Hermione looked up from her bowl of porridge, which she had been stirring pensively instead of eating, as a nondescript brown barn owl landed on the table in front of her. Confused, she removed the small note tied to its leg and fed it a slice of bacon from a nearby platter before it hooted softly and flew away. She opened the small piece of parchment and, immediately recognizing Draco's impeccably neat handwriting, read the short note.

Will you meet me before class? Please?

She seriously considered not going. After what he had said to her last night, she wasn't sure if she wanted to give him an opportunity to hurt her more. However, she could no more ignore his request than she could purposely order her own heart to stop beating. She rose wearily to her feet and made her way to the Room of Requirement.

As soon as she entered, she found herself wrapped in his strong arms, enveloped by his soothing scent. She stood stiffly in his embrace, arms held limply at her sides, waiting.

"I'm sorry, Hermione."

Her name coming from his lips softened her just a little, as did his immediate apology, and she allowed her arms to slowly rise up and slip around his lean waist, pulling him closer to her. She did not speak, merely listened as he continued.

"I was wrong, and I was a total ass. My only excuse, pitiful as it is, is that I was jealous of the fact that he gets to be with you, to hold you, in front of everyone and I am relegated to the shadows. I know that this is just one more instance in a long line of things that I've done to hurt you that I do not deserve your forgiveness for, but...I'm asking for it anyway."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears and she sighed, hugging him tighter and finally allowing herself to breathe him in deeply. She listened to the steady thump, thump of his heart for several moments before leaning back to peer solemnly into his grey eyes.

"I forgive you, Draco, because I love you. But I won't do it again," she warned him, voice soft but filled with conviction. "I've given you my heart, Draco Malfoy...don't break it again."

Draco nodded and pulled her close once more, relieved beyond words that he hadn't crushed her love with his malicious words and his petty jealousy. He vowed to himself for what felt like the fiftieth time that he would do better, determined to actually make it true this time. He had to. After all, for him, there was no other choice apart from her.

Song Inspiration: If This Is Love – Ruth B.

So, I tried to make this as realistic as possible. I don't want Hermione to come across as a pushover, but I always felt she was the type of person that would be quick to anger and quick to forgive, so that's how I've written her. I also wanted to show that the strain of Draco's mission is still weighing on him, adding to his already self-focused personality to cause some spectacular foot-in-mouth moments.

Hopefully all of this came across in the chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it!

sbz