Cyrus Greengrass grew more brazen. Strutting around the first floor, daring the Malfoy's to look at him the wrong way. Lucius was too distracted by his new responsibilities to notice, and Draco simply behaved as if he didn't exist. There was a part of her that thought Draco was afraid to face him. It was much easier to feign loathing and distrust than to face the damage he had felt he'd done. Intentional or otherwise.

Dolohov used to goad Draco, but his taunting had become less obvious. More covert. The sinister nature suggested that he and Cyrus were planning something larger. Cyrus was a snake in the grass. Unseen and unnoticed until he took his chance to strike. Even though his attacks caught them by surprise, by some grace of higher power they have all managed to go wrong. The night of the ball, the Order found out about his plan to attack. The day he tried to ambush Lucius against the muggle firing squad had backfired and cost him his daughter. They should have tagged him and Dolohov immediately after Daphne's execution, but Draco insisted he would manage it. He claimed it would only be suspicious if either of them ended up dead at the hands of the Order when everyone awaited the Malfoys' retaliation.

"The grounds look ghastly. At my estate the garden is overrun with flowers and small creatures." Cyrus said to Dolohov.

Dolohov pointed towards the sky. "Your estate doesn't have dementor's occupying the sky. And that fox that is lurking around is probably keeping the grounds clear."

Cyrus surveyed the area again through the window in the sitting room. A dementor floated past the window and he jumped back. "Let's hope the damage isn't permanent."

Dolohov chuckled. "There is plenty of money in the Malfoy vaults to spruce up the grounds when the time comes." He patted Cyrus on the shoulder who gave him a smug smile. Another Demontor flew past the window, and the sun that once made the grounds radiant now hardly broke through the grey sky.

Hermione had mastered nearly all her skills in her wandless magic book. In her time alone at the manor, she studied and practiced any elements of magic that she could. Spellmaking, magical artifacts and other subjects that she could pour all of her energy and magic into and to keep her mind from thinking the worst while the others were away. She was looking through the section on dark arts in the library when she heard the doors shut. Under her cloak, she backed into an empty alcove and pulled out her map to identify the intruder.

The bookcases were too tall to see around, so she weaved through the stacks as she made her way over to him. He was leaning against a small writing table in the potions section, and she took a moment to look over him in detail. The death eater robes he left in were replaced with a shirt and trousers, and his morning post must have included somewhere outside as she could smell the rain on his cloak. His unit had returned a few hours early, but he was frequently sneaking in detours as of late. He attributed it to more of his duties, but he never took anyone with him, and always returned more agitated. All she could do was try and ease the burden of whatever he was carrying until he trusted her enough to let her share it's weight.

"I know you're there." Draco said, distracting her from her thoughts. "You practically Irish danced down the row."

Hermione pulled off the cloak. "Ironic, coming from a boy with eight years of ballet training."

His grin fell. "I'm going to murder, Goyle."

Once she was within reach, he wasted no time picking her up and turning them to set her on the table. It was so narrow, one of her hips was pressed against the bookcase and the other was in danger of falling over the edge. Draco tugged at the back of her knees, kissing her firmly until her back was flat against the table.

"How didn't I see it before? Your movements are exceptionally graceful," she panted as he started to undo the buttons on her denims.

He nipped at the sensitive skin along her shoulder, and she groaned. "I think you were just surrounded by brutes until you met me." He grabbed the collar of her shirt and ripped it open, instantly dragging his lips across the newly revealed skin.

"Draco!"

"I'll fix it later," He stood straight, and his fingers hooked around the waist of her pants and knickers, pulling them off in one swift motion. "Take it off."

Hermione's fingers trembled slightly with the rush of excitement and nerves, and Draco helped her sit up enough to pull the ripped shirt over her head and onto the ground. His hand splayed out her chest, right above her heart to urge her to lie back down. The wood was cold on her back, and Draco's mouth was warm as it surrounded one of her pink peaks.

"Gods, I love all of your sounds," he said as he kissed across to give attention to her other breast. "The way you feel- the way you taste."

She moaned as his hands travelled greedily on her body. He brought their mouths together again and inhaled deeply through his nose.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." The table screeched as he pressed his body into hers so loudly it sounded like something crashed to the floor, and she reached out to the shelves to steady herself. "Let's go to your room."

"Every room is my room. I'm not going to allow anyone to dictate where I can be," he said, reaching to undo his own belt.

"I disagree, Draco," a voice sounded from behind him and they both froze, petrified in place. "If you insist on shaming your family name, you could at least do it in private chambers."

Swiftly, Draco unfastened his cloak and draped it over Hermione, concealing her completely before turning around. His belt clinked at the motion only halfway in the buckle, but he stood tall and lifted his chin. "Father."

Lucius huffed through his nose. "A little late for discretion. I am sure I can identify your whore from the roster."

Hermione transfigured Draco's robe so that it clothed her completely. She sat up and tucked her legs in, trying to make herself as small as possible behind him. She contemplated transforming and running away, but her bag and cloak sat in a pile on the floor with her clothes. Keeping her hair tucked under the hood, she ducked further behind him and prayed that Lucius wouldn't recognize her.

"You're supposed to be at Hogwarts," Draco told his father, putting a hand behind his back and holding her leg at the ankle to comfort her.

"You are supposed to be a respectable member of this family!" Lucius spat. "Step aside."

"Get out," Draco responded instantly.

Lucius paused, not used to his son's defiance. "You always had to learn the hard way, didn't you?"

"And you have never learned, so maybe you should take note." Draco snapped back. "You don't hand your woman over to those who wish her harm."

"Your woman," Lucius sneered with disgust and took another step.

Draco raised his wand and stood taller. "You have shamed our family more than I ever could."

Lucius laughed cruelly, and Hermione contemplated summoning her wand in case she needed to defend herself. "Yet you'd be the first in history to sire a whore's bastard son a few stacks away from your family records."

"Insult her one more time, and it will be the last thing you do!" Draco's threat fueled his words. Hermione had her face buried so firmly into Draco's shirt that she could smell the sweat they had started working up to moments earlier. She breathed him in deeply as the men faced off against one another- waiting for the other to move first.

"Neddy!" At Lucius' command, she appeared, shrieking once she took in the sight in front of her. "Draco's guest is to leave after the formal. They are not to be alone together again. If he attempts to sneak her into one of the suites you alert me immediately and I will remove her myself!"

"Yes, Master Lucius." Neddy said obediently.

Lucius turned to walk away, and Draco yelled at his back. "I'll tell mother you send your best!"

Lucius paused, stretching out his fingers, before continuing his way. He walked around the corner and Hermione melted into Draco as he held her. When they looked at Neddy after the library doors slammed shut, she appeared anything but amused.

"Mistress is a smart witch," she stated, looking between the two before disappearing with a snap of her fingers.

"Did she-"- Draco looked from Neddy's prior spot to Hermione. "Did Neddy just call me stupid?"

"I think she meant more of a bad influence," Hermione said reflexively, but the words felt hollow as the adrenalin faded. "Draco… what did he mean by…"

"Don't listen to anything he said, Granger." Draco cradled her face in his hands and kissed her thoroughly. "He was only trying to provoke me. He's probably combing through the entry roster now trying to figure out who you are. There are plenty of girls in attendance today to choose from."

Her chest still felt tight as she took deep breaths, tears welling in the corner of her eyes, and Draco wasted no time brushing them away. "That was- terrifying… How are you so calm?"

"If he tried anything, I'd kill him. At this point, it would eliminate more issues than it would cause them." Draco said bitterly. "I wish he had. I'd fucking-"

"Don't say that," she said, pushing him away and getting her things off the floor. She put her clothes in her bag and folded the invisibility cloak over her arm. "Family is important."

"So are you," he countered instantly, no doubt in his voice. She let herself get wrapped up in him, but the ease that usually accompanied his kiss was tainted by the threat of Lucius returning. Thinking of how horrible it would be if Lucius knew it was her his son was besmirching himself with.

"You should go. Chat up some girls- make it believable and all that," she said with a sad smile. What she really wanted was for the lingering anxiety to dissipate and to run upstairs and go back to pretending she didn't exist. Draco tightened his grip on her arm, and then they were standing in their bedroom.

He walked her back until the back of her knees hit the bed and she fell back onto the mattress. "I'm not finished properly disgracing the Malfoy name, yet."

She narrowed her eyes and he crawled over her. "That would be funnier if your father didn't wholeheartedly believe that to be true."

"He's a dick. And a stupid one at that." He vanished her transfigured robes as he kissed down her neck. "He's a constant curse on this family- his only redeeming act was siring me so I could sneak you in. No one is taking you from me."

Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled beside herself. She could feel him smile against her too as he kissed his way down her body. "So dramatic. And false."

"You're just so… good." He kneeled in front of her, hooking her legs over his shoulders and trailing her inner thigh with kisses. "So perfect."

He looked up his lashes at her while his lips moved to her other leg, tongue darting out to lick the tender skin at the juncture of her thigh. He lowered his mouth to her center, and she reflexively threaded her fingers through his hair and stopped him, pushing her hips further into the mattress. The trademark Malfoy grin took her breath away and stirred her desire. A voice reminded her it was never meant to be used on someone like her. He lowered again, pulling against her hold and keeping their eyes locked. The first swipe of his tongue had her bucking against his mouth instead of pulling away from it, and Draco gave a satisfied groan.

"Draco you need to go… We shouldn't be-"

"Have you ever tasted perfection, Granger?" he asked, giving her a lavish lick before moving his tongue in tight circles. He put a hand on her lower stomach as she writhed and rolled against him. Two of his fingers pressed inside her, pumping them a few times until she got accustomed to the stretch before bending and moving more intently. Obscenities and moans escaped the back of her throat as his tongue and fingers worked together to bring her to the edge. He didn't relent as her orgasm came over her, and he held her hips down to devour her.

When her heart rate eased enough for her to sink into the bed, she laid there limblessly. Enjoying the satisfying burn in her chest as she caught her breath. Her eyes were still closed when his hand circled her neck and urged her to sit up. He was standing, and she tilted her head up to look up at him from where he towered over her. A finger that was inside of her moments ago started to trace her lips. When they parted, he ran two across her tongue, making her mouth open wider. Seeing the way his eyes darkened at the sight, she wrapped her lips around his fingers and sucked. The ball in his throat bobbed, and he looked memorized as she pulled them further into her mouth. There was a pop sound when he suddenly pulled them free, and his tongue eagerly tried to taste every place in her mouth they had touched. His hand around her neck kept their mouths together and Hermione groaned when he tightened his grip ever so slightly.

She became increasingly aware that she was fully naked, and nothing but his cloak had been removed. It was a talent of his, disarming her mentally so she could just live in the moment with the two of them. Even after Lucius had walked in and all but ruined everything. Even though his father would hate him and kill her if he discovered it was her who sullied his perfect heir.

"Don't," he said firmly, and she met his eyes. "Don't listen to anything he says. I did it for eighteen years and I can confirm it is all shite."

"He hates me, and I am living in his house," she said. "And he nearly found out I was here…"

"You are living in our house – scoot," he said, nudging her leg gently and she crawled backwards until she reached the headboard of their bed. He removed his clothes before getting on the bed and wrapping her legs around his waist. "And everything I have is also yours."

"Malfoy, I don't need any of your family's wealth." She said with her sternest expression. He bit his lip, shaking his head slightly as he unashamedly studied her face.

"Accio." Draco sat up to catch the camera that flew to his open hand. His face scrunched up on one side as he closed an eye to look through the lens, but she could still identify his boyish smirk. "That pout, Granger. You have to see it."

Hermione squealed and barely had time to cross her arms over her chest and turn before the first flash went off. His straddling of her lap however prevented her from moving too far. Not wanting to encourage him, she covered her face in a lame attempt to hide her laughter. "You're mental!"

"Oi! Granger, you'll thank me one day I promise!" He said laughing himself while he tried to coax her to turn back around. She wandlessly summoned the camera out of his hand into hers and snapped a photo up at him, and she really was ecstatic to know she captured the way his fringe was currently falling over his brow. A moment later his expression darkened, and Hermione let her arms fall to the side. Draco waved his hand, sending the camera falling on the floor with a thud before descending on her.

"Malfoy!-"

He cut off her complaint with a kiss, which wouldn't have been enough to distract her if he didn't press into her a moment later. He gripped her ass tighter as he slowly pulled out and thrusted the entity of his length into her again. She let her head fall back and closed her eyes as Draco worked his magic to unwind her.

"You are going to be a very spoiled girl, my darling," he whispered to her, setting a slow tortuous pace. "You might as well embrace it."

He ignored her silent pleas to move faster. The hand on his back, the whimpering on his mouth: all tells he knew well enough to know exactly what she wanted. Still, he continued, deep but slow, pulling nearly all the way out before thrusting back in. When she all but growled with need he chuckled at her and continued kissing along her jaw.

She pushed his shoulders, flipping their position and straddled his lap. The look of surprise on his face was enough to encourage her to go on. Draco saw her hesitation and grinned. He put one hand behind his head, the other on her hip, daring her with a raised brow. She lowered herself on his cock, and his jaw clenched, inhaling sharply through his nostrils. She had to put a hand on his chest to help herself balance as she moved back and forth, just fast enough to earn grunts from him of her own.

"Gods, you're so-. Keep going," he moaned, fighting between letting his eyes close and watching her move above him. "You're so good, Hermione."

The hand he had on her hip encouraged her to go up and down, and she got into a satisfying rhythm. She could feel his eyes on her, all intimate parts of herself on full display. It didn't feel shameful or disgraceful. Her and Draco weren't wrong together. They couldn't be.

"Touch me," she asked in a shallow voice, gently wrapping her finger around his wrist and moving his hand lower. He needed no further instructions before he started teasing her clit. Her second orgasm was imminent as she used her hands on his chest to give herself leverage to move faster.

"Fuck, I'm going to- You're so fucking beautiful," he said, his voice strained with lust. "Come for me again, love. Come with me."

He took over the pace, thrusting up into her and she threw her head back when the pleasure washed over her for the second time. When she came back to her senses, he had sat up and was holding her tightly against him as he panted into her neck. He pulled back and kissed her cheeks, parted lips, and tip of her nose.

"What'd I tell you?" he said, kissing the side of her mouth. "Bloody perfect."

"Was she afraid?"

Anthony's condition was worse than she imagined. The rims of his eyes were red and glossed over with a mixture of occlumency and some sort of substance. They had stood in silence when they first entered the alcove. Hermione didn't want to rush him, but he was refusing to speak. She pulled him into an embrace, and a wet sob was the first sound he made when he let himself feel.

"No. I don't think Daphne Greengrass had ever been afraid." She answered him with a smile. When he gathered himself enough to pull back, Hermione could feel the wetness from his tears on her shirt.

"Not in front of anyone," he croaked. "I couldn't understand. How she could be so terrified of Voldemort and still support him."

"Maybe not," Hermione decided to take another risk, desperate to soothe him and he looked at her questioningly. "I saw her defy orders on several occasions. But no one remembered anything she didn't want them to."

"Really?" He said starting to lighten up. "There were times- I thought she was baiting me. Trying to get me to admit treason. All that time… we could have been working together."

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe you did. And she just didn't trust you to keep the details."

Anthony laughed, disbelief and awe. "There'd be gaps in time- I thought I'd fallen asleep… Christ. I wish she hadn't. I wish I could know what she knew. I wish she knew…"

Hermione knew the sting of forgotten words. "Well… we can make sure the world knows she helped. When this is all over."

Anthony nodded, stumbling a little due to whatever substance he'd been indulging in. "It's getting worse out there. Have you caught onto anything big that is coming?"

Hermione handed over the months' worth of notes she had not been able to pass on along. Draco was able to communicate to the Order through his contact, but he only provided the specifics for the death eaters they were targeting. Hermione and Anthony were the only ones left to supply mission details.

"There are a few new spells I created in there as well. I drew the wand movements the best I could," Hermione said. Since she discovered she had a knack for creating spells the night of the ball, she had made a few the Order may find useful. "I've had to entertain myself somehow with you and Draco being away."

"We'll take any advantage we can get," he said in thanks. "Arthur wanted me to ask, anything about Madrid? He's heard whispers about an upcoming attack, but no one can find any details."

"That's Theo and Goyle's mission…" she started. They wouldn't be getting the details from her. Anthony might be the only other Order member who could understand why. It would be hard to explain to anyone else how they could value the life of a death eater.

It took her a moment to let Anthony out of her sight, he stumbled more than once on his way to join the rest of his unit in the dining room. Malfoy was standing in the great hall, chastising a group of snatchers when Theo interrupted him. After exchanging a few heated words, Draco gestured towards the stairs and the two went to Draco's wing. Blaise followed, slightly jogging to keep up and Hermione went as fast as she could and kept her steps silent. Blaise tried to grab Theo's sleeve, but he yanked it out of hold and kept walking. They disappeared within the room when Hermione turned the final corner of their hallway, and she waited outside for a few moments to be sure no one was following them before entering. There was a chance the other boys would see the door open, but finally telling them about the cloak would not be the worst outcome.

Blaise was trying to hold Theo back as he threw his fists towards Draco's head. Never one to turn down a fight, Draco kept getting within range to give him a shove and scream in his face. Hermione ran to their room and threw her cloak and bag to the side, and when she returned, Theo broke free of Blaise's arms, and Draco accepted his invitation to start beating the shit out of each other.

"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted, sending Theo back several feet to fall into Blaise.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! I"LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Theo raged on, trying to get his hands on Malfoy again.

"Let him go, Zabini!" Draco said, gunning for them again when Hermione set a stinging curse his way.

"What the hell has gotten into you two?!" She scolded them, looking between the boys but her eyes locking on Draco's. If he didn't get his emotions back under control soon things were only going to get worse for them all.

"Calme toi!" Blaise hissed next to Theo's ear. Theo's wrestling faded and Blaise let Theo go.

"Malfoy fucking tagged me!" Theo screamed pointing his finger at Draco and Blaise grabbed his shoulder. Hermione stepped to Draco's side to try to keep distance between them.

"I don't need to tag you, you fucking git! I'd kill you with my bare hands if I wanted you dead." Hermione pushed her hand against his chest and shoved him back as he started charging again.

"What happened?" The steadiness that was in Blaise's voice not a moment ago was starting to break.

Theo looked at Blaise as he spoke. "We were ambushed. There were over fifty of us patrolling Barcelona and yet every Order member came straight at me."

Draco was letting some of his anger dissipate, but there was still a dangerous edge to his voice. "That doesn't mean shite! The Order ambushes every other mission."

"And have they ever casted killing curses towards random hooded death eaters?" He looked over at the boys, and by their surprised expressions she could tell it wasn't normal behavior. "They were on me – all of them – like a goblin to gold. And they only do that when it's someone we've tagged."

"Perhaps they could sense what an insufferable git you are and decided to relieve Zabini of his service." Draco snapped and both Blaise and Theo took an intimidating step forward.

"Oh, for Godric's sake - Ostendio." Hermione casted the spell to prove Theo was paranoid before things got worse, but when orange smoke became visible to her, her wand hand fell. Blaise looked at her expression, confused for a moment before he raised his own wand and performed the charm. Hermione could tell the moment the orange smoke was visible to him, and Draco must have casted the charm wordlessly to see for himself as he also stood, stunned.

"It wasn't me," Draco said, breaking the silence.

"You are the only one who performs the tags," Blaise said flatly. "And no one other than us knows about them."

Hermione's eyes flickered to Draco before she could think better of it. The others didn't know that she was the one performing most of the tags at the manor when Draco was away so no one would suspect him. His expression held no accusation, but he stopped her from confessing with a small shake of his head.

"That's not necessarily true," Hermione offered. "The Order leaders know about it. They are the only ones that perform the visibility charm so the others can't see it, but there must be several that know of it."

"Why would the Order tag me, Granger?" Theo said.

"Why would I?" Draco countered.

"Your contact knows it's you working with the Order. It wouldn't be difficult for them to predict we were on your side as well," Blaise said. "Any reason your little friend would want us dead?"

"No," Draco insisted firmly.

"Who is it? If it really wasn't you- that's the only other option!" Blaise said, starting to lose his temper.

"It wasn't them." Draco repeated.

"It was Goyle, then?! He was on the mission with Theo- where is he now anyways?" Blaise said goading him on. "Accio Manor Map." The parchment flew to Blaise's hand and he started searching the halls for Goyle.

"Piss off, Zabini. You can't actually believe it was Greg." Malfoy said, rolling his eyes.

"What is he doing alone with Cyrus in a sitting room, then? We all know Cyrus is chopping at the bit for a chance to quash our families." Blaise pointed at the map where Goyle's footprints were next to Cyrus'.

"He was probably asked about your mission. You all just got back," Hermione spoke in Goyle's defense.

Draco slowly stepped forward until he was shoulder to shoulder with Hermione. Blaise and Theo were only about six feet away, but she had never felt further from her friends. The trust they had developed only grew more with each passing day. It couldn't be possible that any one of them would set another up. But it was a hard truth to realize Theo was nothing more than another Death Eater in the Order's eyes. Draco summoned Neddy and requested she bring Goyle up to his study immediately. Once she appeared with him, he quickly caught on to the tension in the room.

"What is it now?" Goyle asked, clearly annoyed. "Greengrass has already nagged me for the better part of a half hour for trading posts again."

Draco raised an arrogant brow at the other two boys, and they quickly accepted Goyle's explanation and turned their suspicions back to Draco.

"That only leaves your Order contact. Tell us who it is," Blaise demanded.

"Who is who?' Goyle asked, trailing behind in the conversation.

"I already told you, no." Draco dismissed him. "Besides, it doesn't matter. We all need to trust each other. It's our only advantage against everyone else."

"I'm finished with the fucking games, Malfoy. It's not only us. Any day our fathers could fuck up and who do you think the Dark Lord is going to take it out on?"

"And what do you think will happen to Granger if the next one of us the Dark Lord executes is you? She will just be trapped in the bloody manor forever!" Theo added on.

The idea came to her instantly. "Yes! Theo that's it- why didn't we think of it before…" She exclaimed, her mind racing through all the different possibilities. "The wards are impenetrable. If Lucius never grants me access, I would never be able to leave. No one without permission could leave."

"You expect Lucius to trap all the death eaters inside the manor?" Goyle scoffed.

"It doesn't have to be everyone, just the most dangerous members and Voldemort himself." Hermione explained the plan formatting in her mind. "Even if someone gets trapped by mistake, we will have plenty of time to get them out before anything catastrophic happens."

"Draco will do it," Blaise said, agreeing with Hermione. "Lucius had plenty of time to come to reason."

Goyle looked at him with revulsion. "Are you suggesting we murder Lucius?"

"If anyone tries to execute Nott again, believe me Goyle, I will rain hellfire on this manor and everyone inside it." Blaise met Draco's eyes at the conclusion of his threat.

"It's about time our fathers pay for their own sins. We have given enough," Theo reasoned beside his partner.

Draco stared at the floor while he thought of his response. "The others won't stop because the Dark Lord is trapped. We'd have to continue battling them."

"Malfoy!" Goyle interjected. "We are not murdering your father. Blood can't mean nothing to you- For Salazar's sake-"

Goyle cut himself off, shaking his head and lacking the words to express himself. He was often a man of little words, but Hermione could imagine how looking up to Lucius his entire childhood would make this conversation unbearably. Zabini was still looking at them critically, not ready to believe they had nothing to do with Theo's ambush.

"Fine. But your friend must answer to me for tagging, Theo. Who is it?" Blaise all but shouted.

"Fuck off."

Hermione stepped closer to Draco, taking his hand to calm him down. "None of us have any reason to want to see him hurt, Blaise. We need to remember that we can, at the very least, trust each other. Just because we can't share everything, doesn't mean we want to keep things from you. Sometimes it is just more of a risk- or would cause more trouble."

"And sometimes it's just none of your fucking business," Draco snarled nastily.

Blaise expression switched, turning cold before squaring up with Draco. "I get it. Better not to mention things and cause trouble. Sort of like how none of us mention you spending your time at Hogwarts running around with Astoria?"

"That's not true," Hermione said instantly, and turned to look up at Draco. His face didn't reflect her confidence. The color was draining, and his eyes looked unfocused. The ball in his throat bobbed as he swallowed, and she watched his face turn pale as she waited for him to rectify the situation. At some point her hand fell out of his. She kept waiting for him to speak. For him to deny what was obviously just another tactic from Zabini to rile him up.

"Bloody hell, Zabini," Theo's voice whispered, but it sounded further away.

The blood was rushing so loudly in her ears, and black spots were appearing in her eyes by the time Theo wrapped his arms around her, pulling her gently to rest her head against his chest. Her lashes brushed against his shirt as she took long blinks. Why wasn't Draco denying it?

"That was low, even for you Zabini," Goyle hissed next.

Draco chose her. Not Astoria.

"She deserves to know. We gave you weeks to tell her." Blaise said back, but she could hear the regret.

When she took a step back, Theo kept a gentle grip on her arms. She turned her head to look at Draco, refusing to let herself get carried away in her mind.

When Draco spoke, his voice was cracking. "Granger…"

"It's not true. You love me." She hated the inflection in her voice.

"I do. I love you, Hermione." He said desperately. As much as she adored those words, they weren't the ones she needed.

The study felt smaller, and she looked around at four sets of eyes locked into her. The walls continued to close in and she backed away to the door, turning after a few steps to all but run the rest of the way. They were looking at her, and for the first time she hated being seen.

"Hermione, don't- please," Draco was in front of her, blocking her escape. He spoke so low and quickly she could hardly make out what he said. "Don't go. Please – please. Don't leave me, I can explain."

"Move," she breathed, barely recognizing her voice.

"Granger… It's not safe…" Goyle sounded from behind her. Like they knew what was best from her. How stupid must she look to all of them.

She looked up at Draco, and his eyes were pained in a way she didn't know she could believe anymore. "Then you leave."

Draco opened his mouth to object but one of the boys behind her must have made him think better of it.

"Please leave." Tears started to burn her eyes, threatening to add to her humiliation. "All of you."