A Snake's Secrets ~Draco&Hermione FF~

Chapter 6 ~ Desperation

Hermione's POV

               I stared at Draco in shock, hoping that this whole thing was just a dream. But I could tell by the desperate look in his eyes that he was telling the truth. I could feel him shaking a bit and realized this was why he had been so shook up all day. He had to be scared.

               I finally just hugged Draco as hard as I could, pressing my face against his neck gently and just holding on to him. His arms held me tightly against him, and I heard him exhale slowly. I slid my hands down to his chest, just feeling the beat of his heart under my palms as his lips moved along my cheek. We kissed again for a moment, and then I took his face in my hands gently.

               "We'll figure a way out of this," I said softly, locking my eyes onto his. "I'm not letting anything happen to you."

               He let out a shaky laugh without any real humor in it. "You make it sound like I'm the one who needs protecting," he muttered.

               "But if you don't do what Voldemort asks, he'll kill you," I whispered, my grip tightening on him at the thought.

               Draco put his hands over mine gently, his eyes softening, but darkening at the same time. "I'm more worried about what he would do to you if he found out about us."

               I sighed softly and just kissed him again gently. Then something in my side vision caught my eye and I pulled back again slightly. I could see a bit of black on his skin that wasn't covered by his sleeve. He followed my graze and grimaced, but pulled his sleeve up so that I could see his Dark Mark. My eyes widened slightly as I saw how the snake seemed to slither on his skin. And it had clearly been burned into his skin since it was so very black against his pale skin. His whole arm had a slight red tint to it as well. But when I carefully brushed my fingers against the Mark, which made Draco flinch slightly, his arm was as cold as ice.

               I took out my wand, but he was already shaking his head. "Nothing I've tried works. The pain is just supposed to fade eventually."

               Despite what he said, I still tried all the most powerful healing spells I knew. But just like he said, none of them worked. I finally put my wand away and just hugged him to me tightly, wishing there was some way we could just get away from all of this.

               "I'll do everything I can to help you," I promised, relaxing a bit as his arms circled around me. "But have you thought about just telling Dumbledore? He could help protect you."

               Draco shook his head with a sigh. "Snape already knows, and he won't leave me alone. If I tell Dumbledore, he'll want to protect me, but it would be like admitting I was helpless. I need to prove myself somehow. I just don't know how to do that without killing him."

               "We'll find a way," I said gently, squeezing him tightly again.