"So, you killed them?" She asked, horror filling her brown eyes.
He nodded, silently. There was nothing he could say that would make it any easier to hear, but she needed to know.
She deserved to.
…xXx…
Hermione had never seen such a violent reaction to someone being paired with her. Everyone else had always been extraordinarily pleased at having her as a partner, knowing that they were going to get the highest grade in the class for the assignment.
Gellert had immediately gone to the teacher and requested a change of partner, without even uttering a single word to her beforehand. Hermione would have understood if they had even had a short conversation and the boy thought that he wouldn't be able to work with her – because she was annoying, or bossy, or pushy, or whatever other reasons she occasionally heard, but Hermione had never spoken to the boy. There had never been any interaction between the two of them despite them sharing several classes and being in the same year.
The teacher had rejected his request, just as she had done with every single other person who had complained to her about their partners. She rarely did allow swaps – the only exceptions being whenever Malfoys and Weasleys were paired together. They returned with bruises and black eyes the first time, and the teacher hadn't wanted to risk a repeat performance.
"Meet me in the library during lunch. If you don't want to work with me, we might as well get this over with as soon as we possibly can," Hermione informed him, eyes hard. The people who complained about working with her were always the most annoying to work with, complaining about whenever she made corrections to what they had done and generally being a nuisance.
Gellert looked taken aback, but Hermione was already leaving the classroom.
…xXx…
Hermione's eyes took in all the nervous twitches Gellert made. It gave her the feeling that he was almost scared of her, something that Hermione couldn't wrap her mind around. They had been sitting in silence ever since she had told Gellert exactly what she wanted him to do – he hadn't made a sound of complaint, to her surprise.
She could already see that this project was going to take a lot longer than she had first expected, and Hermione found herself glad that she had forced them to start early. The rest of their class would leave it all to the last minute and complain the day it was due because of lack of sleep.
"Why, exactly, are you so nervous?" Hermione asked finally, when her eyes hadn't returned to her book for a good five minutes as she examined the boy. Anyone would have thought that Gellert had some silly crush on her, but he wouldn't have asked for a partner swap if that was true.
"Wha-Oh, er, nothing," Gellert said quickly, his eyes flashing up for only a moment before returning to his book.
Hermione frowned at it.
It was clear that there was something wrong, and she was going to find out what.
…xXx…
Gellert had eventually started speaking more than about ten words to Hermione. She didn't know whether this was because of their prolonged contact, as it had been almost three weeks since they had started, or because the silence had become more and more awkward.
And, after Hermione had invited him over to her house several times in hopes of getting the project done sooner, Gellert had finally invited her over to his.
So, here Hermione was, looking around as Gellert's aunt, Bathilda, fussed over her and welcomed her in with a "I'm glad he's finally got a friend. I was starting to worry about him. Especially after everything, he was having such a difficult time…"
Gellert had stood awkwardly next to his aunt, as if he was silently pleading with her to stop and just let them continue with their work. Hermione wouldn't have been particularly surprised if that was the case, Gellert had always kept to himself, after all.
"My mother's sister," Gellert explained quickly, once Bathilda was out of earshot. "She mothers me like you wouldn't believe. She's probably going to do the same to you now."
Hermione smiled with a half-shrug, "I don't mind, besides, she looks relieved."
"She is."
…xXx…
Despite Ron's protests at spending so much time with 'that German ponce', Hermione found herself enjoying his company now that he was less tense.
The boy was sarcastic, witty, and managed to get far more of Hermione's jokes than either Harry or Ron did – not that it was really their fault. Harry and Ron were simply more interested in things that Hermione wasn't, sport being their main interest. Gellert… Gellert was different from them, different from her, even, but they were also similar.
And Hermione wondered if this was what Gellert had been afraid of in the beginning. He had been friendless, as far as Hermione remembered, occasionally talking to someone or the other when absolutely necessary – but that wasn't normal, and friendship was definitely not something anyone shied away from.
Gellert's gaze flickered up for a moment, "What?"
"Nothing," Hermione said quickly, despite the fact that her eyes hadn't left him. Gellert sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to get an answer out of Hermione.
"Aunt Bathilda insisted I ask you to come over this week, even though you came over last week," Gellert said, changing the topic.
"But, I can't! I-"
"She insists. She's going to visit a cousin, and would prefer me not to be alone, I think."
"You can just as easily come over to my house!" Hermione protested.
"She leaves really early, before the crack of dawn, and I wouldn't like to wake either you or your parents by arriving that early," Gellert said calmly, and Hermione found she couldn't really argue that.
"All right, but you're coming to my house for two weeks after!"
…xXx…
"So, why are you staying with your aunt? I mean, what happened to your parents?"
Gellert closed his eyes. He knew that question had been a long time coming; he was actually a little surprised that it had taken Hermione this long to ask, but he was a little glad that she knew him better now.
Hopefully that would be enough for her not to judge him on his past. A past that his Aunt Bathilda had tried desperately hard to save him from, and fix him when she realised that he couldn't be saved.
There was nothing he could do but explain, and hope for the best. If everything Hermione had seen already wasn't enough, then nothing would ever be.
If worst came to worst, they would have to leave again, and Gellert would know better next time.
…xXx…
He heard her heavy sigh, and half-expected her to run out the door, screaming, as un-Hermione as that sounded. Telling someone about his parents had always been his biggest fear, and he had just let it all out to Hermione.
He hoped she understood.
"It-it wasn't your fault," Hermione said, her voice gentle.
Gellert stared up in shock. He could see the glimmering tears that were lingering in the edges of those brown eyes, but he could also see understanding.
"They didn't give you a choice. It was your life or theirs, and you were scared. Not to mention, extremely young. You've been punishing yourself for that all these years, haven't you?" Hermione said, the tears that threatened to fall were half-hidden by the watery smile she sent him as he nodded slowly.
Not even his aunt knew all of it. She had the general idea of what happened, but had never asked for all of it – not like Hermione had, and Gellert was slightly relieved that Hermione was as understanding as she was. He was fairly sure there were many people who would react in fear of everything he had just told her, but Hermione didn't.
Instead, she hugged him.
And Gellert couldn't help but stiffen. It had been several years since his last hug, Aunt Bathilda rarely hugged him – something Gellert had always secretly explained to himself was her way of blaming him for what had happened to her sister.
Then he relaxed, taking the comfort he had never received from what Hermione was willingly giving him. And Gellert knew that he would be fine, even as the tears poured down his face as the memories flashed beneath his eyelids again, only Hermione's perfume keeping him grounded in the present.
Whatever happened in the future, Gellert would be fine. He would survive, just as he always had.
...xXx...
Written for The OTP AU! Competition III – High School!AU [Hermione/Gellert]