Beginning at the End ⏃ Dramione

Chapter 23: Confirmation

Hermione braced herself, watching Ron closely as he slowly shook his head in disappointment at her. He looked at the floor again, as if putting the last pieces of the puzzle together, "No."

There was a pause. Hermione glanced over to Harry for some sort of interpretation on what Ron meant, but he seemed just as lost. She turned back to study Ron, ready to ask him, but he only appeared to grow agitated.

"No, no, no," he continued, "because... because how?" Fixing Hermione with a wounded look, he asked, "How could you forgive him, and not me?"

Hermione felt a prick behind her eyes; he had hit a nerve, and she could feel all the memories of Ron's slight rejection of her begin to stream to the forefront of her mind. Clenching Draco's hand, she wished she could magically transfer all of her thoughts through her touch, so he could understand, to explain what Ron had meant.

She exhaled, trying to keep herself together. Her response came out with more frustrated shakiness than expected, "Because, you knew me, Ron. You knew who I was..."

Draco squeezed on her hand, and it gave her strength to confess her personal denial, the pain she had felt for longer than she would ever want to admit.

"...And you still hurt me. The mere fact that you didn't see that, hurts me still."

Ron lifted his head higher, new realization written all over his face. He blinked quickly over at Harry, but Harry only kept his eyes down.

Hermione stood there, waiting for him to respond, frustrated that he could only think to scowl up toward Draco as if it were his fault. He was always quick to blame someone else, never accepting liability for how he had made others feel.

After one last glance at everyone, Ron abruptly turned to stomp up the stairs. A moment later, a sharp slamming of a door pierced the air.

Draco kept his hand tight on Hermione's, unsure what to do. This was a part of something he could not touch, and he felt strange in this place between them. He exhaled heavily, trying not to allow jealousy and rage swell, knowing it was the last thing Hermione needed. Over all, he was frustrated that someone like Weasley could affect her so much, but he'd hardly had that type of relationship before, so he could not relate. Weasley had hurt her, and he had been unaware that it was an issue. Suddenly, he felt distant from her... what else, or who else, had hurt her that she had yet to tell him? Would he ever find out?

Harry sulked, eyes flickering toward the stairwell where Ron had disappeared, up to Hermione's face, "Hermione, why didn't you tell us? I mean, really...?" He had disgust written all over his face as he gestured to Draco, as if she had picked out the worst-flavored Bott's beans from the box, on purpose.

Hermione sighed. Despite that Harry's negative reaction was still clouding the room, Ron's exit had made the air feel lighter. She wearily looked over to her friend, "I know this won't be easy for you, and especially Ron, but we're... together."

She peeked up at Draco, to see how he would react with that being said out loud. He did not look at her, only pinching his lips, keeping his gaze low; it looked as if he was thinking it all through. Was this too much drama for him? It was something she really did not truly expect to come out so soon, as her mind was on priorities such as finding Harry and Ron, alive.

Harry combed back his messy black hair with his hands, and sank heavily into a chair by the table. Not wanting to add more to everything Harry was already going through, Hermione pleaded, "Please Harry, this should not affect the mission. It's why I- we did not want to tell anyone."

Harry's head fell into his hands on the table, and something about the action frustrated her. "Please don't make this harder than it already is. Draco is going to have to prove himself to everyone he meets in the Order. It would make it a lot easier if you and Ron trusted him. He answered everything under the serum..."