he supposed to say? I can't tell you about my spying assignment for the Ministry because you'll think my motives are fuelled by greed and selfishness?
And really, weren't they? Wasn't he seriously considering betraying the confidence of his friends in order to gain a bit of flexibility from the Ministry with regards to his pending inheritance?
How utterly stupid that now, when he actually wanted her to stay with him, he had no idea how to keep her. He feared her judgement as much as he feared her safety, if she were to be burdened by the sensitive information. She would leave. She would come to her formidable senses; the warmth in her brown eyes when she looked at him would disappear, replaced by a look of mild pity.
There was something very wrong with her for loving him, and he was afraid that whatever mental affliction she was currently suffering from would right itself if she were presented with the unshakeable proof of his black heart.
So Draco said nothing.
Hermione, meanwhile, was unimpressed with what she perceived to be his obvious lack of trust in her. She stiffly removed his arms from around her waist.
"Forget it," she muttered and trudged on ahead. "I' m not asking you again."
He was about to call out to her, to say something placating, something borderline apologetic, but caught himself. A faint thumping and hissing noise on the ground caught his attention.
It was a patch of Tangleweed, sandwiched between two, sizeable rocks. Fat, healthy Tangleweed that was fortunate enough to have been overlooked on the day of Lupin's weeding lesson. The thing was agitated by their approaching footsteps.
Something occurred to him, then.
"Granger, where would you say the first Mark was launched? Not very far south of the Greenhouse, right? We were heading southeast."
Hermione looked at him. "Yes. That's what I told Dumbledore."
Draco seemed to be thinking. "Weasley and Millicent were with us. Most of the others remained near the Greenhouse because it was too bloody hot to do any real work."
"Um, except Harry and Blaise, I think. They headed down to the direction of the Whomping Willow."
Draco raised an eyebrow at this information. "And Saint Potter had nothing to report?"
"If Harry saw something, he would have spoken up, Hermione frowned. "Likewise, Blaise. You saw the look on his face. A stiff breeze could have knocked him over, he was that stunned."
"Were they together the whole time?"
She looked at him suspiciously. "I imagine so. I could ask Harry," she said. "Or you could ask Blaise."
"Mmh," was all he responded with.
They were coming to end of the trail and the beginning of a giant hedge of ancient bracken. Already, the sky above Hogwarts had taken on a lavender tint. The sight of the Castle and its associated responsibilities made her stomach cramp with nervousness. She wondered how far the news of the second Mark had spread.
"Malfoy, wait a second."
There were many things that were not at all their forte, but Hermione reckoned that timing was top on the list.
He watched while she removed her wand, only answering him when he gave her a quizzical look. "We didn' t um, ah... that is I didn' t use or do anythingearlier."
Some of the tension left his face. It was good that he could nearly read her mind because under ordinary circumstances, her half-stammered explanation left a lot to be desired.
"You mean contraception? Why didn' t you um-ah say so?" he teased. "Come here."
She swatted at his hand. "I can do it myself. I just wanted to do it now before we went any further." The thought of casting the spell once inside the Castle seemed a lot like handling a condom in your parent's house.
The spell wasn' t hard, but from an emotional perspective, it was something of a big deal to her. He'd think her foolish if she admitted that fact, though.
"Give it here. I've done it before."
Hermione held up her hand. "Spare me the details. You're probably going to tell me you're such an expert you can almost do this wandlessly."
"Not quite," he replied, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards slightly. "You don' t have to sound so reproachful. Stand still." Before she could protest, he passed his wand over her abdomen and said the required incantation. There was respectfulness in his voice that she was glad for, and surprised at.
A cool sensation spread over her belly. It was unpleasant, but still better than the bitter potion she had taken at Malfoy Manor.