Exceptional love

Chapter 21

Hermione stepped back after slamming the door closed in Andrew's face. Her eyes dropped to the floor and she began to chew on her bottom lip. Was she overreacting?

"Exactly what he deserved!" Fred called out. Draco and George hissed at him to be quiet. Hermione paid no attention to them.

It wasn't like she and Andy had been officially dating. They'd spent all of a couple of hours together at one time. And that had only been twice. And they'd only snogged the one time. Not only that, but he was a Death Eater and would apparently go to any lengths to get what he needed for his Lord. But Hermione had already known that. His devotion to Voldemort had not been a secret. It had been one of the first things they talked about when they had the time; during the Falcons and Cannons Quidditch match. And truthfully, Andy's committed loyalty and passion for the cause had made Hermione even more infatuated with him.

She'd asked him then, at that Quidditch match, how he'd come to be a Death Eater, and Andy had told her. Andrew was a Ravenclaw and had gone in search of a Death Eater recruiter halfway through his seventh year. Same as Louie. He hadn't gone for the promise of muggle and muggleborn annihilation. No, he'd gone for the pride of Dark magic, for the pride of all magic's and having enough of the discrimination. Andrew was a lot like Harry in that regard and most Death Eaters were in it for that. For the promise that one day they would have the freedom to be who they are without discrimination. He'd gone to learn more, to become more. And Hermione couldn't help but respect that.

But still, there was that one annoying fact. "He didn't need to sleep with her in order to gain more information," she snapped to no one in particular.

"Hermione, come here," Draco called out. She sighed and turned to join them on the common seats. She slumped down on the couch next to Luna, who reached over and patted her hand.

Hermione managed a small sad smile, but then it disappeared completely after a moment and a small sob escaped her. "He should have told me," she cried, covering her eyes with her hands. The twins bolted from their seats and rushed around the couch to throw arms around her from behind.

Draco sighed in annoyance before grabbing a chair and moving it until it was directly in front of her. He then turned it around and straddled it. "Hermione!" he leaned forward and yanked her hands away from her eyes. He didn't let her hands go and instead squeezed them. "What none of you seem to realize," he began, looking at Hermione and the twins, "is the fact he had a job to do and if he failed, he would have died. If he refused, he would have died."

"You were glaring at him right along with the rest of us, hot stuff," George murmured.

"Of course I was! He should have told her! But I don't think you should let this break up whatever it was you two were having. Because, and I stress this bit, he would have died."

"He didn't have to sleep with her," Hermione mumbled again.

"Tonks was being tight lipped."

Everyone turned towards the door to find Belial there. He nodded and came forward, removing his mask. "Tom says Andrew was having a hard time gaining information from her, so he had to try harder."

"And being intimate with someone adds another layer of trust to a relationship," Draco continued, looking into Hermione's eyes.

"Obviously it didn't work since he was never invited into the Order," Hermione replied.

"No, but he must have learned something incredibly useful, since he is, as we've all seen, still breathing and still part of the Inner Circle. The Dark Lord does not put up with useless tools." Harry replied as he came to stand beside Draco's chair. "Hermione, I'm not saying to forgive him right away, but you should know that he feels for you. He never felt anything for Tonks. His wanting you has nothing to do with any mission or scheme. He really fancies you. Tonks was strictly a job to him."