A Bellamort Tale

Part 35

Then she remembered their conversation from before and that he was in some way already betrothed to Astoria Greengrass and her smile faltered.

"If only it was possible. But as you said, you're supposed to be with someone else. And you should know very well that even if we both make it out of this alive, your family would never let you be with a mud..."

"Don't say that word! I was just saying things, back then, I had been told for all my life. There is nothing filthy on you, Hermione. Well, not that I wouldn't like a little bit of a dirty mind, but otherwise, the only difference between the two of us, except the obvious ones of me being male and you being female, is that I am a biassed moron and you are the sweet and kind woman, you always were supposed to become." Draco whispered as he brushed a few strands of unyielding locks behind her ear. "My parents would like to see me marrying Astoria, but it's still my decision if I will do so or not."

He shrugged.

"I probably would have given in because I knew the girl I really wanted was too far out of my reach to ever have a chance to even tell her how I feel. But then you were here with Potter and Weasley and I had to watch you being tortured and cut and I couldn't help you. You came back anyway, because you have so much love and compassion and righteousness in you that you couldn't stay away after you heard Delphi cry. You shouldn't even have been able to, as the whole room she is in was under so many protection spells and wards that not even one of us would have been able to hear anything from there or to enter said room without Bella or the dark lord." The blond young man explained. "I meant what I said. If I give in and we're really going to... you know... then I want you to be with me after that. I want us to be a couple, a real one. Not just friends with benefits or something like that. I told you that I love you, Hermione and I certainly didn't lie."

He stared at her, waiting for any kind of reaction. The young woman had tears in her eyes after hearing his words and laid one hand on his cheek, like he did on hers.

"Draco," she whispered, "I just told you that I want you to make me yours. I'm a Gryffindor, remember? We mean what we say, No hidden message, no devious word games, we just speak out what we want to say. So, you can just trust me to speak the truth even if it means I will get hurt or worse if I do."

He gently kissed her lips.

"I didn't mean you were lying. I am certain that you think you are telling the truth. But there is this muggle thing, it's named after some scandinavian capital, when hostages start to sympathise and even fall in love with their abductor. The muggle brain doctors say it is because their subconscious does this to protect them from harm and what's more logical than pretending to be on the kidnapper's side?" Malfoy muttered sheepishly.

Hermione though laughed.

"It's called Stockholm-Syndrome. How do you know those things? First about my parents' profession and now about psychology and even the name of the issue? You also said something about muggles have libraries too. So, how come?"

"Seriously?" the boy scoffed. "Come on, Hermione. What did I just tell you? wouldn't you think I maybe secretly attended muggle studies to learn more about your background? I didn't tell Dumbledore about my true reason for taking the class, but he allowed me to take polyjuice potion just before so I would become someone else. There were so few in that class and on top of that, I was the only Slytherin who ever took that one, that I would have been as subtle as Umbridge in her pink dress at a funeral otherwise. I think he knew anyway, yet he let me keep my dignity. Damn it, I even considered starting to live in the muggle world once I was of age, just to be able to prove to you that I... you know changed. I was dreaming of taking you to my little flat, with a TV, a microwave and all those little thingies and you would see that it was the 'big romantic gesture' like in the novels my mum reads, and then you would totally fall for me. I know, it's pathetic, right?"

Not sure how to react, the young woman looked at him for a moment then mumbled with tears brimming her eyes.

"I don't know if I should rather laugh or cry because of what you said. It's not pathetic at all. It's sweet and adorable and the only thing I want to laugh at is imagining your parents seeing you sitting in the muggle studies class. What did you tell Dumbledore, why you wanted to take it?"

"I wasn't exactly lying to him, I just kept my most important reason to myself. I did actually want to learn about muggles and get rid of my prejudices and my way of acting towards muggle borns and all those things. But my very first cause was you! I want to be a better man because of you! For you!" He said coyly, looking past her, his cheeks turning even darker red.

"I don't think that anyone has shown me so much respect or was willing to go beyond themselves as you just did. I am going to kiss you now and I won't stop ever again I think. Just to warn you!" The girl only croaked, her voice all hoarse.

He smirked as he answered.

"I like that. A lot. I..."

"Draco? Just shut up and kiss me!"

"I thought 'you' wanted to kiss 'me'! Ow, don't hit me, I was just teasing you. Hey, that's not fair! I thought you Gryffindor's always play fair."

Hermione giggled as she tickled him again at his side. Malfoy reacted quickly, grabbing her wrists and pinning them to the bed above her head, while he at the same time crawled atop of her, using his whole body to hold her down, when she all of a sudden wrapped both her legs around his waist and pulled him down.