A/N: Thank you so much guys for 1.3k+ views on this story! It means a lot! Hope you guys liked the last chapter. Some twists are about to start in the story, and I am really excited for it. Hope they will turn out good. Spoiler alert: A good thing mixed in a bad thing is going to happen in this chapter. Read the A/N at the end to find out when the next chapter will be out. On with the chapter!

"I told you, Headmistress, it wasn't me! I don't know why I have to tell you this the umpteenth time." He shouted.

"There is no need to shout, Mr Mayfair. You can tell your point by just simply saying." She sighed and said.

"Yes, and that is what I am doing for the past thirty minutes and you have done a great job in understanding what I say." Andy said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I won't allow the use of this tone with the Headmistress, Mr Mayfair. Sit down and you can explain everything again." Professor Slughorn told him.

Andy didn't move a muscle when Slughorn said that. He simply kept glaring at the Potions Professor. "Mr Mayfair, do as you are told." Headmistress McGonagall ordered him. And Andy had to do as he was told.

"Now explain everything once again from the starting. And then we will decide what to think of that." Headmistress McGonagall said.

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"She has gone nuts." 

Hermione looked around to see Andy standing there, leaning against a window. She looked side ways and saw that most of the students were making their way to their dormitories after the dinner ended. She hadn't seen Andy at the dinner, and she had yet to thank him for explaining everything to Draco. It had been three days since Draco was attacked and Hermione hadn't got a chance to thank him.

So she decided  to make her way towards him.

"How can she think like that?" 

He still hadn't noticed that she was standing in front of him as he keot muttering things.

"How would I prove that?"

Hermione looked around again and saw that the corridor was nearly deserted and she finally decided to make her presence known.

"Prove what?" She asked him.

Andy jumped when she asked him that as he hadn't noticed that she was standing there. But he quickly recovered and said, "Oh-Hermione! Hey!" 

"Hey Andy! You seem quite busy that you didn't see me standing in front of you?" Hermione asked him.

"Yeah...sorry about that. I was thinking about something and so didn't notice your presence. Anyway, you wanted to talk about something?" He asked her.

"Oh, yeah. I just wanted to thank you, for you know, explaining everything to Draco about that night." Hermione said. 

"Well, you are welcome. And it was nothing. I just didn't want to see you suffering or sad because of him. I wanted to see you in a  happy mood, and for that, I would have done anything. And telling Draco all of that? Well, it wasn't that much. I could have controled a bloody hippogriff for you." Andy said as he smirked at her.

Hermione chuckled when he said 'bloody hippogriff' and soon that turned into full on laughter. Andy seemed puzzled by this and asked her, "As much as I like seeing you laugh like this, will you tell me why were you laughing?" 

Hermione controlled herself and said, "It was nothing. I just remembered something when you said bloody hippogriff so I started laughing." 

"A story worth telling?" He asked her.

And Hermione just nodded in reply. After some moments, she asked, "You still didn't answer my question, Andy." 

"Which question?" He asked her back.

"Well, when I came here, I heard you muttering something along the lines of 'how would I prove that?' and I asked you what you had to prove?" Hermione told him.

Andy scratched the back of his neck and said, "I don't think this is the appropriate place to tell you about that. Let's go somewhere else?" 

Hermione thought for a moment and then said, "We can go to the Heads' Dormitory, if you want. Draco is probably with his friends or if he is not, then I think he wanted to thank you as well, so you could talk to him." 

Andy nodded as he thought about that. And they made their way to the Heads' Dormitory together.

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"Tell me about that?" 

Andy sighed as he put the cup down as he finished drinking his coffee and looked up at her, who was sitting next to him. 

"Do you trust me, Hermione?" He asked her.

"You have asked me this question so many times, Andy. And I now can say yes even before you compete the question." Hermione said as she chuckled a bit.

"Hermione, I am serious. I need a proper answer, please." Andy said sincerely.

Hermione nodded and said, "Yes, I trust you, Andy. And my answer wouldn't change even if you ask it a hundred times." 

Andy smiled at her and asked her, "And do you think that I could hurt someone? And specially because of my relation with Voldemort?" 

"Don't be daft, Andy. I could never think that you would hurt someone, even if you weren't related to Voldemort." Hermione said to him.

"I wish others would too think like that. But what can I do? Not everyone is as nice or kind like you, Hermione." Andy grimaced.

"Andy, tell me what happened right now. You are freaking me out." Hermione said as he placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I am sorry, Hermione. I didn't want to make you freak out." Andy said as he sighed sadly. Just as he was about to open his mouth again, the portrait of the common room opened. 

"You have to hear this, Hermione. This- Andrew? What are you doing here?" Draco said as he stepped into the common room.

"Oh, hey Draco! I didn't know you would be back so early. I thought you were with Blaise and Theo." Hermione said as she stood up to give him a hug. This was in their daily routine. Hermione would always hug him when he came back to their common room after dinner if she came before him and Draco would do the same, if he came before her.

Draco hugged her back. "Yeah, I was with them. But then both Blaise and Theo decided to take a walk with their girlfriends, Lovegood and Pansy, respectively, and I didn't want to be the fifth wheel, so I came back. They told me to call you as well, but then I thought that you still must be tired since you told me that before dinner, so I declined. I hope you don't mind. We could go now if you want-" Draco started as pulled away from her but Hermione cut him off.

"Draco, you are rambling." Hermione said as she chuckled at him.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But I hope you got the point. So do you want to go with them?" He asked her.

"Oh no, it's fine. I was actually talking with Andy right now." Hermione said as Draco looked at Andy who was sitting on the couch. 

He stood up as Draco walked towards him and shook his hand. They had been, and were still, civil to each other because of the truce they had made. 

"I hope I didn't interrup anything important. And sorry if I did." Draco apologised as he stepped away from Andy.

"Oh, don't worry, you didn't." Hermione said and then stepped a little closer to Draco. "He was actually looking troubled for some reason and so I asked him to tell me about that." She whispered so only Draco could hear.

"Oh. Then you two talk, I guess. I will be in my room." Draco whispered back as he walked towards his room. 

Once he was gone, Hermione sat down back next to Andy. "Why he went to his room?" He asked her.

"I thought that you didn't want to talk about whatever is troubling you in front of him and he thought the same, so he went to his room." Hermione said.

"Okay. So do you remember the watch that you gave me on Christmas?" He asked her.

"Yeah. What about it?" Hermione asked him.

"Well, apparently Professor Slughorn and the Aurors found that watch near the place you were attacked that night. And they think that I am behind that attack." Andy said.

"What? How could they think like that just because of the fact that your watch was near that place." Hermione said, shocked by what he just told her.

"And what's more, they think I was the one who attacked Draco since I was the one to find him lying on the floor, with blood all around him. And they even think that I helped those three Slytherins attack you, Harry and Draco because I was the only seventh year at that time in Hogwarts and because I came just when he was about to use the Cruciatus curse on you." Andy said as he glared at the table on which the cups were kept.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief and said, "Are they insane? Why would they think like that when you were the one to save us?" 

Andy laughed though his laugh didn't have a hint of humour. "Because I am freaking related to Voldemort, Hermione! I am his nephew! And in their eyes, I will turn out like him and will always be the bad guy, no matter what happens. Even if I do something good, or help someone, they would always think that I was the one to hurt that person because of my relation with Voldemort!" He said angrily.

"They are not thinking right if they are accusing you just becaus of that. What does Headmistress McGonagall have to say in this?" She asked him.

Andy again let out a humourless laugh and said, "Turns out that she thinks like that too." 

"I think you are mistaken, Andy. I know her. She would never think like that just because you are related to Voldemort." Hermione said, clearly not able to believe what Andy was saying about her beloved Headmistress and Professor.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me Hermione. So let me tell you what happened today and why I missed dinner today." Andy said.

Flashback

"Mr Mayfair please start your explanation." Headmistress McGonagall said when Andy hadn't speaking even when it had been seven minutes since she last told him to explain.

Andy took a deep breath and said, "I was simply going back to the Ravenclaw Tower when I found Draco lying on ground, covered with blood and his pulse really weak. So I picked him up and took him to the Hospital Wing, and you know the rest." Andy said.

"And what about your watch which was found near the place Miss Granger was attacked?" Headmistress McGonagall asked him.

"I told you that it wasn't my watch because I was still wearing it at that time and I never take it off, except when I am sleeping or when I am freshing up or when I am in the shower." Andy said.

"Then where is your watch now, Mr Mayfair?" Professor Slughorn asked him.

"It was sticking to my shirt's sleeve because of the shirt's material, I guess. And it was really uncomfortable when I would write my homework so I took the watch off." Andy explained it to them.

"Where is the watch now?" Professor Slughorn again asked him.

"It is in my dormitory. We can go and check if it is there or not now." Andy said to them.

"Then we shall check if it is there or not." Professor McGonagall said as all three of them stood up and exited her office.

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Andy suddenly became very nervous as they reached his dormitory. He was about to open the door but he suddenly stopped.

"What happened, Mr Mayfair? Open the door. It is in there, isn't it?" Professor Slughorn said from behind him.

"Y-yeah. It is in there. Let me open it." Andy said and opened the door.

He immediately went to his bed and opened the trunk. He was rummaging through it when he realised he had kept it on his night stand. So he quickly walked towards it.

He was shocked when he found his book and a quill only on the top of it. He had kept it on top of the table and now, it wasn't there. 

"What happened, Mr Mayfair?" Headmistress McGonagall asked him.

"Nothing. I must have kept it inside the drawer." Andy said and opened the door. He rummaged through it but saw nothing there, except for some pieces of parchment, some bracelets and some letters. 

"It must be in the trunk, I suppose." Andy said and made his way back to his trunk. He opened it and started throwing everything on the floor which was neatly kept in his trunk. When the trunk became empty, he didn't find his watch, but only heaps of clothes and other items.

"Where is your watch, Mr Mayfair? You surely had it, right?" This time it was Professor Slughorn who asked him about his watch.

"Yes, I had it right here. I think I must have misplaced it." He said and took his wand out. Pointing the wand in the room, he quickly muttered the summoning charm and said, "Accio my Christmas gift watch." But to his dismay, nothing happened.

"I-I had it. I just checked that it was there or not before I went to dinner, which I clearly missed now. It must be here only." Andy said as he frantically looked around the room.

"The watch is clearly not here, Mr Mayfair, because it is in my office after we found it-" Headmistress McGonagall started but Andy cut him off.

"No! That is a fake watch. My watch must be here only. I told you I checked if it was there or not." Andy said as he continued to look around.

"Mr Mayfair, I-" Professor Slughorn tried but was met with the same result.

"I am telling you, Professor, I had it here only. I don't know why I can't find it right now." Andy said.

"But how can it disappear just like that?" Professor Slughorn asked him.

"I freaking don't know! Maybe someone took it. Yeah that's it, someone stole my watch." Andy said as he nodded at his statement.

"But why would someone do that? Surely your watch wasn't made of gold with diamonds everywhere?" Professor Slughorn said as he tried to make the situation lighter by cracking a joke but that clearly didn't work out.

Andy just glared at the ground in return where as Headmistress McGonagall told him to 'leave the poor boy alone.' She walked towards Andy and stood in front of him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she said, "Mr Mayfair, please stop lying. If you would just co operate with us, then probably we could-" 

But Andy, who was in the mood of cutting everyone's sentences off today, said, "No, no, no! You don't understand, Headmistress! I am telling you I just had it right here. I don't know why it just vanished into thin air!" 

"We need to go now, Mr Mayfair. But remember we will always keep an eye on you. That is, until you find a prove that you still have your watch." Headmistress McGonagall said and she and Professor Slughorn exited the room together, not waiting for him to reply.

Andy walked out of the dormitory and slammed the door. Not wanting to stay there any longer, he walked out of the portrait to Merlin knows where.

Flashback ends

"But where could your watch have vanished to?" Hermione asked him.

 "I don't know, Hermione. I don't know where it went! I don't know anything." Andy said as he covered his face with his hands.

"Why did it vanish just like my pens and specially erasers used to vanish in the Muggle world?" Hermione joked, trying to make the situation lighter but it only made him groan.

"Now you too don't go and try to be Professor Slughorn." He said without removing his face from his hands.

"I was thinking of maybe becoming Snape?" Hermione said, again trying to joke.

But, thank her luck, it worked this time. "Are you sure you don't wanna be Umbridge, huh? I have heard how nice she was." Andy said as he finally lifted his head from his hands and looking up at her with a smirk.

"I wish you would have been here to see how much 'nice' she was. But then again, I wish you hadn't." Hermione said, air quoting the word 'nice'.

Andy chuckled a little and then said, "I wish I knew how to prove it to her." 

"You could show her your memories, Andy." Hermione suggested.

"Even if I could, they would probably think that I have altered my memories to prevent them from seeing the truth." Andy said.

"I can tell them that you had your watch with you." Hermione said as she offered to help him.

"No, Hermione. I don't want to trouble you any further." He said and stood up. 

"Let me know if I could do anything to help you, okay?" Hermione asked as she too stood up. 

Andy nodded and she hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her just as the door to Draco's room opened. The Malfoy heir came out of his room to see Hermione and Andy hugging each other.

"Don't worry, I won't tell her anything." Andy mouthed to him before he could say anything.

Draco nodded just as Hermione pulled away from him and turned around to see Draco standing there. "Did you need anything?" She asked him.

"I just came out from my room with the sole purpose of getting water. Nothing more. You two continue." Draco said.

"Oh no, I was just leaving. You two carry on." Andy said as he walked towards the portrait.

"Tell me if you need anything, Andy." Hermione said. Andy stepped out from the portrait but not before nodding at her.

"Why does Mayfair has to trouble you with every bad thing that happens to him?" Draco asked as he went into the kitchen to drink water.

"Back to Mayfair, is it?" Hermione asked him, her eyes following his every move.

When he didn't answer her question, she said, "He didn't trouble me with anything, Draco. In fact, I was the one to ask him what was troubling him. I already told you that." 

Draco took a glass from the shelf and poured water in it. With his back still to her, he said, "And why would you lie for him? Do you really know if he had his watch with him?" 

"That is not completely lying. He told me he always wore that watch and-wait, hold on. How do you know that I said that to him? You were in your room, right?" Hermione asked him.

But he simply shrugged his shoulders in reply. "Were you eavesdropping? Draco, if he wanted you to know about what we were talking, he would have told you to stay in the common room with us. But he didn't, meaning that he didn't want you to hear all of that things!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Bit hard to not eavesdrop when he is asking you things like if you thought that he could hurt someone or not. It's not everyday that you hear someone say that, specially a person like him with relations like that." Draco said after taking a sip from his glass.

"And here I thought that you of all people knew better than to judge a person by his relations, having suffered the same thing. But, no. You had to go and prove me wrong." Hermione said angrily.

"I don't know why you are acting so protective of him. He is not your boyfriend or anything, Hermione." Draco said casually as he walked past her and sat on the couch.

"So what if he is not my boyfriend or anything like that? He is one of my close friends and I care about him just like I care about you." Hermione said as she stood in front of him.

"Don't you compare me with him now, Hermione." Draco grumbled.

"Why shouldn't I, Draco?" Hermione said as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Don't tell me that the thought that you two are very similar haven't crossed your mind yet?" When he didn't respond, she continued, "You both were mistaken, Draco. You both had to do the things you never wanted to. You both were forced to become a death eater when it was clear that you two never had your hearts in that decision. But, still, you two changed for the better after the war, Draco, and I am glad for that. But," Hermione sighed and said, "Sometimes I think that you still hadn't left your prejudices, Draco." 

"You think that just because of the fact that I said the things that were true about Mayfair. I think you are becoming a little too close to him, Hermione." Draco said without looking up at her.

"And what if I am, Draco?" Hermione asked him.

"It is not good for you." He simply muttered in reply.

"But what is it to you? Why do you give a damn if it is not good for me? Tell me, Draco, why do you care so much?" Hermione said angrily.

"BECAUSE I LIKE YOU, HERMIONE. I FREAKING LIKE YOU SO MUCH!" He shouted angrily but sighed a moment later and said, "There I said it. I know you don't like me back, it is fine. I will just go now." He started walking towards his room, brushing past a jaw dropped to the floor and eyes wide Hermione, who still had to recover from a shock.

Just as he opened his door, Hermione, as if breaking from a trance, said, "Do you really mean that? Do you really like me, Draco? I mean like like me?" 

He nodded without looking back at her. 

"Well then I think you may want to hear something. Come back here." Hermione said to him.

Draco again nodded and walked back towards her. "What?" He asked, his eyes glued to the ground.

"The feeling is mutual, Malfoy." Hermione said as she smirked a smirk that could rival Draco's famous smirk.

"What do you mean?" He asked, still not looking up at him.

"I mean to say that I like you too, Draco." She said and smiled at him.

Draco quickly looked up at her and asked, "You really mean that?" 

He grinned widely and scooped up in his arms, spinning her around when she nodded in answer at him.

He set her down and hugged her tightly as she asked him, "Do you really like like me, Draco?" 

"Yes, I really like like you, Hermione. Why? Don't you believe it?" He asked her as he pulled away a little to look at her face.

"No, I believe you. But it's just that I don't know why a person like you will ever like me? I don't deserve you, Draco. You deserve someone who is way better than me." Hermione said, as she looked down, not meeting his eyes.

Draco used his hand to gently pull her chin up so to make her look at him while his other hand rested on her waist. "You listen to me now, Hermione. If there is anyone in this room that doesn't deserve the other person, then it is me. I don't deserve you, Hermione. Even I don't like myself, and I don't know how could you like me. Believe me Hermione, after all those things that I have ever done, I had never thought that you would be my friend, and maybe like me someday? I never thought it would happen. But it did, and I am glad it did. So never say like that again, Hermione. You are the most beautiful, kind, sweet, unique, intelligent, caring, and also the nicest person that I know of. And you know I won't lie to you." 

Hermione smiled at him. "That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me, Draco. Thank you so much!" She hugged him again and Draco kissed her forehead as he smiled at his witch who was in his arms.

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That night, Draco couldn't sleep because of three reasons. One, Hermione told him that she liked him. Two, he wasn't really feeling sleepy. And third, the most important, because of what Andy told Hermione. 

Draco didn't believe him a percent. Sure he started to trust him a little when he explained things to him that day but now, when he told Hermione all those things, Draco doubted that he would keep his promise of not telling her his feelings for him.

I would surely figure the thing about his watch tomorrow, Draco thought as he finally let sleep take over him.

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Hermione and Draco were quietly making their way towards the Great Hall when they heard students whispering about something.

"Yeah, I heard it was pretty bad." One Hufflepuff student said.

Hermione stopped and went towards them, asking, "What are you talking about?" 

Draco followed her as that student said, "I heard that Ginny and Harry were attacked today. And it was pretty bad from what people told me." 

Hermione didn't wait for Draco to say something or to bother replying to that person as she bolted towards the Hospital Wing.

Before she could enter, Draco told her to take a deep breath and led her towards their beds.

Harry was sitting up in his bed and was looking at Ginny who was still unconscious. But before she could say anything, Madam Pomfrey told them to call Headmistress McGonagall.

But what she said was the thing that shocked Hermione the most.

"Andrew Mayfair is missing." 

A/N: That's it for this chapter. Hope you guys liked it. It was 4300+ words. So they finally confessed to each other about their feelings! What do you guys think about that. Random question: Durmstrang or Ilvermony? Answer in the comments below. Vote, comment and please share my story. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you!

Next chapter on 9/2/20(Sunday).

Until next time.