I'll Find You, Dray {A Drarry Story}

91.

Hermione: "Do you remember the gathering Minerva had a year after the war?"

Harry: "Yes, the one at Christmas?"

Hermione: "You were with Ginny, just engaged if I remember well."

Harry: "Yes."

Hermione: " Minerva had begged everyone to come for over a year—all houses, the different blood statuses. "

Harry: "Yes."

Hermione: "I saw the way you looked at him. I had seen it over the years, but I had never been sure. You were with Ginny, yet, your eyes burned so much brighter for him. He was your Romeo—I-I knew I had not been wrong all of those years. The hatred a façade, your love your real sentiments."

Hermione: "The first time I saw it, it was third year. Everyone was in Hogsmeade, and you did not have the right to come because the Dursleys would not sign the permission slip. I had stayed with you in the Great Hall, we were the only ones except Malfoy. I saw the way your eyes fluttered up to find his, for an instant, there was no mirage. It was a short moment, but in those single seconds, that burst, I saw the love in your eyes, Harry."

Harry: "I don't—"

Hermione: "You can be honest with me." Hermione grabbed Harry's hands and made him look into her eyes. She did not let him divert his gaze.

Harry: "'Mione," Harry quivered as his breath caught in his throat.

Hermione: "I know, it's difficult."

Harry: "I don't—"

Hermione: "I already know. I could see it when Scorpius said Malfoy spoke of you. I could see it all of our years in Hogwarts. Harry, I know..."

Harry: "I-I," he breathed in and out. "You're right, I-I do..."

Hermione: "You do, what?"

Harry: "I-I," Harry's words cut off, his breaths more unsteady than they had ever been. "I-I love him."

Hermione: "And to think you were going to spend your whole life not telling him, Harry. You deserve to be loved. You need to hear that, to know that. You deserve to be unconditionally loved, and I think Malfoy feels the same. You're not the only one hiding."