Contingent | D.M. + H.G.

Chapter 20: Intense

A/N: Love you all a million times over. Thank you for waiting for me, and your endless support.

xoxo, carm

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There were not many times where Hermione Granger was terrified.

Granted, there were a few she could list off the top of her head: Harry coming back from the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, the moment she got Petrified, and the Quidditch World Cup – even if only for a moment.

Right now, she was feeling like she could add this moment to that very short list. Her heart was in her throat, her pulse was racing, and her cheeks felt hot with anticipation.

She was going to tell Harry. The full truth – everything she'd been successfully keeping in the shadows for months.

Ron, for now, was blissfully unaware that anything had been going on with her. She assumed that wouldn't last much longer, especially with what she was going to be asking for in the near future.

But she needed to start laying the groundwork to get Draco out of this situation safely and this was the only way to successfully go about that.

Steeling her nerves, she approached him in the crowded hallway. Catching him off guard, she grabbed his arm and flung him into a nearby empty classroom. She looked at his bewildered expression and took a deep breath.

"We need to talk."

"Okay..." Harry said hesitantly. "What about?"

"So..." she started. "You know how the whole plan to figure out what Malfoy's up to was my idea, right?" She was fidgeting with a stray thread on her jumper, twisting it around her finger so that the tip of it turned a dark red as it suffocated under the pressure.

"Yes..." he said slowly, drawing out the word in question.

"Well," she stammered. Taking a shaky breath, she continued on. "It sort of, kind of, maybe backfired. Just a little bit." Hermione sped through her words, hoping that if she got them out fast enough, he may not have heard them.

Harry's silence was deadly. "Backfired, how?" he asked gently. 

"I sort of, kind of, maybe, developed... real feelings," she replied, reflexively tugging at the thread so hard it snapped off.

She hurriedly took a glance at his face to gauge his reaction, and she was met with shock. His face was frozen, white as a sheet. His mouth gaped once or twice as he finally found the words. "You... Malfoy... Death Eater? What?" He shook his head so hard his glasses scooted down his nose. "You're serious?"

Hermione nodded slowly, brows furrowed. "Yeah."

He let out a long, low breath. "Wow. Uh, alright then." Harry ran his hands through his hair, making it even messier than it normally was. "Uh, how– how exactly did that happen?" Stopping himself, he defensively held up his hands in her direction and squinted his eyes shut. "Never mind, I've decided I don't want to know."

Despite herself, Hermione giggled. "Don't overthink it," she chastised knowingly. "I promise it's legit. So legit, that I'm here. Telling you."

"Does he..?" Harry trailed off uneasily as he considered the prospect of his best friend and his archenemy being an item.

Hermione understood his implication immediately. It was hard not to, with their whole history. "I... I think so." If she were being honest, she really wasn't completely sure. For all of the displays that he put on, she still wasn't one hundred percent sure if he were putting on an act instead.

She let herself be vulnerable. "But, Harry, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter to me. Regardless of the fact that this may be all an act, it doesn't mean I want to see him go down for this." Hermione bit at her lip. "I need to make sure I do the right thing."