The Inevitable

Chapter 12 - A Good Man

Draco's POV

We landed in the foyer of the manor with barely a sound. Hermione released a heavy sigh as she dropped her clutch on the small table. She bent over and began removing her heels. I took a moment to take in a deep breath. Of all the ways we could've had this conversation, this was not how I had imagined it going. Hermione finding out I'm a death eater? I figured she would she would have slapped me, yelled at me, ran off....there were many things. However, her telling me she knew already? Not one of the things I imagined happening. Once her heels were off, she walked forward into the main living area. I silently followed her. When she was moving to the stairs, I finally spoke.

"How did you know?" I asked her causing her to stop where she stood. Without even turning to face me, she spoke.

"That you were a death eater?" Her voice was small. I couldn't pick up any anger in her tone and it added to my confusion. When I didn't reply, she turned to me. Her bright eyes stared into mine. Her eyes were full of sympathy and sadness. She walked closer to me, stopping about a foot away. "Draco, how could I not know?"

"I-"I ran my hand over my face releasing another heavy sigh. "Nobody knew but my family and Theo." She dropped her heels on the sofa and crossed her arms.

"It didn't take much to put the clues together Draco. You're from a pureblood family...one of The Sacred 28."

"How do you-"

"Know about the 28? Come on Draco, I'm friends with a pureblood family..even if they are defined as blood traitors, they are still pureblood. Even if I didn't have them, there are these things called books." I couldn't stop the small grin that came to my face at her remark. "Your family not only is in the 28, but they are one of the families in the inner circle. When Harry was portkeyed to that graveyard when they resurrected Voldemort," she paused as I involuntarily winced at his name. "Your father was there. Harry told me every bit of it. Not only that...but your father and Bellatrix were at the department of mysteries when we broke in." I had heard about that. My father hadn't gone into detail with me on it, but I heard enough to understand what had happened. He took pride in telling my mother that her cousin was dead. She hadn't let him see, but she was torn by that. "That's where I got this," she said pointing to her chest. I hadn't noticed before, but there was a small white scar across her chest.

"What happened?" I asked taking a step toward her. My hand rose of its own accord and my finger lightly traced the small scar on her chest. I felt her breath in sharply when skin touched skin.

"Your father," she whispered. I jerked my hand back shock covering my face.

"What?" My father had hurt her. My blood...I knew she would only ever be in danger and my family was part of the reason.

"It's not a big deal Draco-"

"No it's a huge deal! My father hurt you!" My voice rose as I closed my fist tight. She reached down and grabbed my wrist. She brought my hand up and wrapped her fingers around the closed fist.

"I'm alright Draco...it was a minor spell. After that incindent, I began to notice things. You became jumpy...scared and always looking over your shoulder. You were barely eating. You always looked sick and as if you would fall over and die any moment. Harry was convinced you were a death eater so he followed you."

"He what?" I asked watching her stifle a small smile.

"He became quite obsessed with you," she said letting out a chuckle. "Anyways, yesterday morning, in the kitchen, when I touched your arm...I just knew. I didn't want to believe Harry, I truly didn't. I felt the skin Draco...I knew you had the mark. How could you not? All the signs pointed to it." I pulled my hand out of her grip. I turned away from her looking down at the floor.

"Then you know what a terrible person I am," I said.

"You're not a terrible person Draco," she said stepping around me. I looked at her face and saw no emotion.

"How can you think that? I have been nothing but terrible to you our whole lives. I was raised to hate you and all the other muggleborns."

"Exactly, you were raised that way. I can't fault you for being raised that way." She said stepping closer to me. I turned away again from her. I couldn't look at her face. She knew the truth and right now she was making no sense. I wanted her to scream, be mad, anything but the calm she was exuding at this moment.

"You should be fucking terrified of me Hermione. You should be running and screaming trying to get as far away as you can! I am nothing but death eater scum just like Weasley said!" My voice rose with each word. Hermione fired back matching my tone.

"The Ron here is wrong! I don't care what you think about yourself because I don't agree!"

"I have the mark! There's nothing you can say that will change that! I am one of his servants!" I turned to her as my voice rose even more. "I'm just the same old dick Draco Malfoy! I roll over and take commands, I spit at your blood, I destroy those around me! I have the fucking mark Hermione! My life is over and you're only in danger being even in small proximity to me!" I turned to storm out of the room.

"Not willingly." My feet froze as she spoke in a calm, quiet tone. When no reply came from my lips, she continued. "Draco I have read every single book in the Hogwarts library, even the ones in the restricted section. I have received books from Victor Krum that are more dark than anything our school has to offer. I know a vast majority about death eaters and their marks because of that!" She walked toward me stepping in front of me once again. "Look at me!" She snapped when my eyes hadn't left the wall behind her. When I didn't move them, she grabbed my face with her small hands and forced my face to come inches from hers. "You did not take the mark willingly Draco."

"You don't know what-"

"Shut the fuck up and listen to me!" My mouth snapped shut. She was angry now, but not at the mark. She was angry at me and my words, but not the mark. Her hands left my face and fell to my sleeve. "Take your jacket off," she said in a more even tone.

"Hermione-"

"Now!" I could see the fire burning in her eyes. She had a point to prove and she was going to prove it. I slipped my jacket off as she asked. She grabbed it from my hands and threw it away from us. Without a word, she unbuttoned the button on the cuff of my sleeve and rolled the sleeve to my elbow. Her delicate fingers came back to the glamoured skin, tracing the lines she knew were there. "Your skin is irritated. You fought the mark Draco. You did not want this. Your body tried to reject it the best it could. I know you did not willingly take this mark because I can feel it. If not by the skin, then by you. You're not the same bully you think you are."

"I'm not the man you think I am...I'm not the man you told Weasley I am. I can never be that man," I whispered. How could I ever be a better man to her than her best friend? Despite what we had seen this evening, the Ron Weasley we knew in our time was her best friend. She held my wrist with one hand holding the mark upward toward the ceiling. Her other hand came to rest on my cheek.

"You're a good man Draco. Ever since we've gotten here I've seen the real you. You are who you want to be, not your father, not Voldemort, not anyone else but you. You just have to choose to be that man that I know you are and can be."

"I can't," I said pulling my arm from her grip. Before I made it to the first step leading to the bedrooms, her voice rang out again.

"Yes you can. I believe in you Draco. I believe the man I have come to know in these few days is the real you and who you hope to be one day. You just have to believe that yourself." She stepped past me and up a few more of the steps. Turning back to me, she offered me a small, sad smile. "You're a good man Draco." With that she turned away and moved up the stairs. I stood there letting the conversation run through my head. No matter what she said, it wouldn't change a thing. I'm not sure what I would call our odd relationship we have going on...but I would like to think I could consider her my friend. I couldn't put her in harms way. I couldn't be the Draco Malfoy she saw. Taking the steps slowly, I made my way to my room assuming she had gone to the guest room. When I entered, the silence of the room felt suffocating. Sitting on the bed, I let my head lay in my hands. How could I ever be anyone but Draco Malfoy, death eater?