Hermione and Draco : How To Save A Life

Chapter 9: Stay With Me

She waited, as she did so many times before, yet it was different. It was different because she was not waiting for a happy, cheerful Draco- not that he ever was cheerful... She was scared. More than scared. Scared to a point in which she could not tell whether Draco would even come or not. She did not know anything about him at all. Every time they were together, every time she decided against pushing him, she probably should have done it. Because despite her trust she did not know him, not really. But did she not know anything she needed to know? He was surprisingly funny and enjoyed good books just like her. He was more insecure than he wanted to admit and had a hard time confessing his weaknesses. His rude and nasty side was just a mask he wore to hide from all those things that could possibly hurt him. And most importantly, she felt like she had known him, the real him, forever. Even though, in reality, she knew nothing. What did he do in his free time when he was not with her? Has he had a good childhood? Did he prefer his tea with or without milk? Those simple, harmless things seemed so irrelevant before. But now it was all Hermione could think of- and the fact that her boyfriend probably happened to be a Death Eater. Boyfriend. Was he really her boyfriend? They never talked about it. It certainly felt like that for Hermione, but she did not know much about those love things. At least not as much as she wanted to know. That, to her frustration, seemed to happen a lot to her lately. Stuck in her thought she did not even notice when the door was opened and silently closed again. The Room of Requirement was darker than usually- either because he wanted to hide in the shadows, or because she did. It did not work well, though. Draco's pale skin almost shone against the dark wall, only excelled by his messy hair. The dark rings under his beautiful eyes were in competition with the darkness of the room and the coldness in his stare looked similar to a feeling Hermione felt in her heart. 

"You called for me?", he asked, hiding his hands in the pockets of his cloak.

Called for him? She mooned over him, desired him. But she could not allow herself to think like that, not now. Not before she knew the truth. 

"I did. We need to talk."

She braced herself for a fight. For disgust or ire or any kind of loathsome emotion. But it did not come. He sat down on the dusty sofa instead and looked at her.

"I guess that's long overdue.", Draco sighed, "what do you want to talk about?"

He knew exactly what she wanted to talk about, he was not that stupid. The question was always there, unspoken between them. And he was right- discussing it was long overdue.

"How about the truth?", it sounded harsher than she expected and she regretted it instantly. 

Draco snorted and closed his eyes.

"You always say the truth like there is only one. It is not that simple, you know. The world's not just black and white, Hermione." 

"Is it not?"

When his eyes met hers again, they almost seemed wet. 

"No", he simply said. 

"Well, I think it is. You're either a... a... Death Eater or not. It's as simple as that", she crossed her arms around her chest. Saying it out loud was more difficult than she had thought. 

"This is anything but simple!", Draco jumped off the sofa and suddenly stood towards her. His voice was as loud and raspy as the snowstorm outside. It reminded her of Katie, lying in the snow, unconscious. 

"Was it simple to poison Katie ?", she whispered and looked him in the eyes. She might have crossed a line, but she did not care. 

"Don't", he warned.