DEVOTED | dramione ✓

| Thirty-two

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32

J U S T

U S

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HERMIONE WAKES IN THE LATE AFTERNOON, surprised to find that clenched in her hand is a golden necklace, and suddenly the memories of seeing Draco this morning replay in her mind.

Surely he'll want this back -

But scared that she'll walk in on something she would rather ignore, she attempts to distract herself, looking for clothes, before heading downstairs. Hermione sifts through the wardrobes for something she might actually wear. She settles on a short black sweater dress and dark nylons.

Apparently, Narcissa only wear dresses and lingerie -

In the vanity, Hermione fixes her thick curls into a loose bun, and then she searches for the bathroom, finding it downstairs on the first floor. It's empty, as the rest of the apartment appears to be, and she quickly cleans up.

When she is done, she finds that she is mostly correct. The place is empty of anyone besides Draco, who happens to be pouring two cups of tea. He glances at her as she enters the kitchen.

"Finally decided to join the world of the living, I see," he jokes, as if forgetting how he acted when Luna saw them together this morning.

Not together -

Her breath catches in her throat.

Just using me -

That's all -

She knows she must keep her guard up, especially with thoughts like these. The best way to do that is to think of hardly anything at all. But she hurriedly turns out of the kitchen and begins down the hall.

Or I can avoid him all together -

She sighs as she runs up the stairs to her room. The thought of leaving enters her mind.

I should fight Tom alone -

No sense in everyone getting in the way -

She decides it's for the best. She is packing a bag to replace her other one that had gotten lost when Draco knocks on her door. It creaks as he slowly opens it, she didn't even bother with locking charms. But she doesn't give him the pleasure of a glance though, instead she keeps her eyes on the floor as she pushes past him, and begins down the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going? Granger! Stop!"

She's already at the bottom of the staircase, so Draco jumps down the last few to catch up with her. When she doesn't stop for that, he has no choice but to pin her against the wall. But the longer he stares back at the defiant girl, the more intimate and less threatening the action becomes.

"Let me go," she says squirming. "I will fight you if I have to. Just let me go, Draco."

He won't though. He keeps his hands firmly grasping her upper arms. His crystal gray eyes won't leave her.

"I can't let you go," he says in a low voice.

"I need to do this," she replies quietly, her voice cracking ever so slightly. "Don't you see? Tom already wants me dead. If I go alone, it'll give me the opportunity to get close without alerting anyone of my intentions. It'll also save a lot of lives. It's fine, I've accepted my fate."

Draco shakes his head, then he releases her so he can make his way toward the front door. Hermione grabs his hand.

"You're not coming with me," she snaps, dropping his hand as he turns to tower over her, making her cower just a bit. "I. . . I can do this on my own."

"If you're going then I'm going," he remarks. "I won't let you throw your life away. Not when I've just gotten you back."

Suddenly, his stance is no longer frightening, but saddening.

He only wants to keep me safe -

Her eyes dart from his to the floor.

"I didn't know you still cared," she says finally, after a long pause.

He lifts her chin with his hand, forcing her to look at him.

"I've waited two years to have you back," he says, taking a step closer. "And when you sent that tracking beacon to find me, I had absolutely no clue what I was going to possibly say to convince you of how wrong I was - about a lot. So, I ran. And then, Luna explained how you tried to convince her to bring you back to our headquarters. And I knew that it was finally time."

"Time for what?" She studies him curiously as he smirks.

"Would you like to meet your parents?"

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