Her leaden migration to the sitting room was accompanied by an unfamiliar thrumming in her chest brought on by the heated exchange between Draco and Theo. Was that a hint of possessiveness she detected in his voice? She quickly brushed the thought aside in favor of a modest nod as she hastily bypassed where Ron and Malfoy were seated in varying stages of irritation on the ruddy furnishings of the living room, her eyes scanning the room for any sign of Harry. Finding none, she continued her harried escape to anywhere but the presence of her riled-up counterparts, but her destinations were slim-picking considering the limitations of the small cabin. Regardless, she walked with a purpose fueled mostly by avoidance, but camouflaged with a degree of determination. It was high time she shared her spiraling predicament with her best friend, one of the only people in her present company who may understand her fledgling feelings on the topic that was Malfoy.

Against her better judgment, she chanced a fleeting glance back toward the sitting room, not entirely sure what she'd hoped to find- perhaps a glimpse of something a fair bit more genial than two grown men memorizing their shoes- but, alas, neither had so much as flinched as she'd passed through the shared space. Even as Theo dropped into one of the empty chairs, neither wizard broke out of their broody trance.

As expected, the flimsy porch door squealed at the barest touch alerting Harry to her arrival as it inched open and clacked shut. Edging through the opening, she wondered for the first time exactly what she'd planned on saying, suddenly aware that words to describe the situation didn't form freely.

Harry looked up from where he sat, shooting her a side-eyed glance before patting the cushion next to him with a notably sluggish movement. Without preamble, she sunk onto the chaise, swallowing down the apprehension that was now welling in her throat.

As she glanced at Harry from the corner of her eye, she wondered if the troubled shadow settling on his face was mirrored in her own, swiftly bringing her back to the grave reason they were in Egypt in the first place- which unequivocally had nothing to do with her difficulties with Malfoy. It suddenly felt pointless and trivial to even bring up the topic when the sobering reality that wizarding Alexandria was under siege hung oppressively in the air between them.

Sensing her trepidation, Harry's eyes flickered over to hers as he sighed. "So, do you want to tell me what all that was about?"

Keeping her eyes downcast, she fought the urge to skirt over the topic entirely, but being highly aware of the baser need to get Harry's advice on the matter, she permitted her words to bubble to the surface.

Everything from the absurd ruse they'd undertaken in France to the unanticipated physical entanglements they'd helplessly become embroiled in as of late, working up to and including the unexpected feelings that had bloomed in her chest like a wild and nettlesome vine of Devil's Snare, tumbled from her mouth with surprising ease. It was only when she noticed the confused look on her friend's face that she realized she may have divulged too much.

Harry stared down at his hands, wringing his fingers and fighting to keep his composure.

Hermione frowned. "You know what, never mind. We obviously have more pressing matters here to discuss-"

Raising his hand to scratch a patch of stubble that had developed on his face, he finally glanced over at her with a grimace. "You do know, this is Malfoy we're talking about, right? So, it may very well take me a moment or two to digest the fact that you've basically just confessed to me that you might be falling for him. Safe to say, I'd always suspected something was a bit off about the two of you dating, so the ruse I completely understand. But this- this I most certainly didn't expect." He grimaced again before averting his eyes. "'Mione, are you sure? I mean, it can't just be a bout of momentary madness with all this extra time you've been spending together?"

A credible response struggled to form as she toyed with the hem of her shirt. "Believe me, Harry- I'm just as confused as you are. If I could do anything to stop myself from feeling these awful feelings, you have to know I would. I recognize how absurd it all sounds, but there's no use keeping it from you anymore. I just needed someone to talk to because for the first time, I simply have no idea what to do with any of this. I mean, he's due to get married any day now and the very thought of that causes my heart to feel like it's getting Crucio'd a thousand times over. I'm not sure how long I can keep on like this."

Harry shook his head with a low whistle. "Shite, 'Mione. I had no idea you felt like that. You have to tell him. You can't just-"

"No, Harry!" she cried out, her posture suddenly bold and defiant. "No one can know about this, least of all Malfoy! It would sabota-"

"Why did you even tell me then? You didn't actually think I would say to take your feelings to the grave with you, did you?" He let go of a long and laden sigh. "Look, even though I think you could do infinitely better than Draco sodding Malfoy, the bloke does seem to have turned a corner recently. Even I can tell he isn't the same miserable prat he was before. The only way you're going to find out if there's anything there is to tell him. And if you're not comfortable doing that, maybe I could have a word with him for you."

"No!" she shrieked again, shooting him a panicked glare. "Things are complicated enough without adding this into the mix-"

"Without adding what into the mix?" Theo called out from just beyond the porous porch screen.

Hermione's breath caught as she twisted around to face him. "Theo, how long have you been standing there?" she asked, trying to mask the well of panic bubbling in her chest.

Theo opened the door and shuffled into the room, dropping down onto the adjacent chaise. "Long enough to know you and Potter have a little secret you don't want the rest of us to know," he said, leaving her to wonder exactly how much of her confession he'd overheard. "This doesn't have anything to do with the suicide mission you're fixing to go on, does it?"

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, yes, of course, it does," she stammered, anxious eyes spurring Harry to concur. "I was just telling Harry how critical it is that we spend tomorrow going over the finer aspects of the mission. Wasn't I, Harry?"

"Did you also tell him that Draco is vehemently against the plan?" Theo asked, donning an expression of self-satisfaction.

Hermione pursed her lips and looked sheepishly over at Harry and then back at Theo. "Right, I hadn't quite gotten to that part yet."

Harry looked harassed - a mix between suspicion and confusion. "What's that? Malfoy's not on board with the plan?"

She shook her head, ignoring the guilt welling up inside her at not sharing that bit of information with Harry sooner. "He'd rather we pursue another option, I think."

"Another option, as in?"

"I mean, he didn't exactly offer one up. It's just-"

Theo watched the exchange with amusement, immediately recognizing the telltale signs of deception.

"Well, I mean, last I checked, 'Mione, it's the most viable plan we have. It's the only plan, in fact. So, unless he has some other suggestion-"

"Did you tell him why Draco doesn't want you to go through with it?" Theo asked, leaning back in his seat with a smug look upon his face.

"What?" Hermione asked, clearly flustered. "I certainly don't pretend to know what makes Malfoy tick. So no, I did not tell Harry why he doesn't want me to go through with it. Maybe you should ask him yourself if you haven't done so already," she said, frowning back at him. "Harry, do you have any objection to me breaching the estate by way of the enchanted mote?"

"I mean, Hermione- I trust your judgment. If you are confident this will work, I am 100% on board with your plan."

Hermione's eyes darted across to meet Theo's with reignited conviction. "That's settled then. Let's gather up Ron and Malfoy to go over everything. We can spend the day tomorrow fine-tuning the plan before I depart on Thursday."

Theo managed a withering sigh before brushing his hands down the front of his pants and rising to stand. "Potter, I'll let you break the news to Draco. With the current state of the sitting room right now, he's liable to Avada anyone on the spot- and I'm far too pretty to be the one to die."