"No! This can't be happening!" Hermione moaned, falling forward onto her bed. She buried her face into her pristine sheets, willing it to be just a nightmare. Her hand still held the letter, all crumpled from her distress. She remained in that position for several minutes, before sitting upright. She glanced at the wrinkled parchment in her grasp, scrunched it into a ball, and tossed it across her room, where it rebounded off the wall and onto the floor. She didn't know how long she'd sat on her bed just gazing mournfully at the wall but she knew it was depression recovery time.


That was how Harry Potter found his best friend. He had just returned to their shared home, lugging groceries when he heard sobbing from within Number 12, Grimmauld Place. The bespectacled boy rushed in, dropping the groceries in his hurry to envelope his friend into a tight embrace and soothe her grief away.

"I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go."

The sobbing grew louder in volume.

"Hermione! What's gotten you into this state!" Harry exclaimed, annoyed at the brunette for worrying him. He took in the state of his best friend, bundled up in a comforter, clutching a tub of ice cream in one hand and a spoon in another.

Hermione looked up, startled, the tears streaming down her cheeks mixing with the chocolate smears on her mouth. "Sad," she sniffed eloquently.

The sight of Hermione was too much, Harry couldn't bear it anymore and he started guffawing. He laughed long and hard, clutching his stomach which was beginning to hurt.

"I-I'm sorry, Hermione. It's just… Hahahaha," Harry managed to wheeze out. Something silver flashed in his peripheral vision and he caught it by the handle before it made contact with his face. He held the spoon up, waving it at her triumphantly.

"Damn Seeker reflexes…" Hermione grumbled to herself, getting up from the couch to clean up her mess. She shuffled toward the still laughing Harry, snatching the spoon back and headed towards the kitchen, muttering about Ginny and Bat Bogey Hexes.

"So what brought that about?" Harry asked as he entered the kitchen with the groceries he had abandoned in the hallway earlier.

"I got my letter from the Ministry this morning. It's Draco Malfoy," she replied slowly. She sounded as if she had gritted her teeth while forcing the name out.

Harry started chortling, his resonant voice reverberated through the kitchen.

"Draco Malfoy? Why, Hermione, you're making me laugh an awful lot today." He wiped at the corner of his eye. Hermione glared at him with her lips pursed and her arms crossed in front of her.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Harry questioned anyway, even though he knew the answer.

"Oh, Harry, what am I gonna do? I can't believe that Sorting Hat paired me with that insufferable git. Out of all the men, why Draco Malfoy? I must have been a very horrible person in my previous life-"

"C'mere." Harry beckoned to her with open arms and Hermione leaned into his embrace, burying her face into his hard chest. His arms circled around her, enveloping her in comfortable warmth. "Hermione, it will be alright."

"That's because you don't have to marry him," came her muffled reply. He chuckled.

"You're Hermione Granger. You're smart, brave, strong and beautiful. Have you forgotten that you've faced full grown Death Eaters, and helped take down Voldy? Malfoy'll be a piece of cake. It'll be alright." Harry felt her smile against his chest and he planted a quick kiss on the top of her head. "Or else, you could count on us to beat the shit out of him, if he so much as look at you the wrong way."

Hermione snickered, the thought of Malfoy being roughed by Harry and the Weasleys uplifted her spirit. "Thanks, Harry. You can let go of me now."

"Now that you're feeling much better, you put away the groceries." Harry tore out of the kitchen, laughing evilly, leaving Hermione with several bags of groceries and the realization that she had left her wand upstairs in her bedroom.

"HARRY POTTER, COME BACK HERE! HARRY!"


It was fun writing this but I don't think I'll be continuing it. Thank you for reading!