"Draco. We are all at risk in some way. Especially now, especially with what's coming. You can't just... shield me from whatever you deem too unsavory, or too dangerous. I'm capable of deciding for myself what I am and am not capable of knowing, of accepting. And, you utter prat, I'm quite intelligent. You could have simply told me that you couldn't talk about it, and I wouldn't have pressed you. Not much, anyway. You didn't have to push me away, didn't have to keep me away. I love you, you idiot. That's unconditional, and you should have known it. Now, take your shirt off." The request (demand, really) was thrown out so casually that, at first, Draco didn't react. Slowly, his head lifted, and his eyes caught hers again as he stared at her with something close to disbelief and, if she wasn't mistaken, fear.