Catching Up With Hermione
As I was lying down on a couch in the Head's common room, I thought about the love of my life Ronald Billius Weasley and the one year three months since his death in the final battle.
Some of the remaining Death Eaters kept on fighting after Voldemort had been killed, Lucius Malfoy being one of them, he aimed his wand at Harry intending to kill harry but Ron saved his life by jumping in front of Harry, the killing curse hit him square in the chest.
Ron fell to the floor. I screamed Ron's name then I attacked Malfoy snr with everything I had, sending curse after curse at him all during which Mrs Weasley had sent a hex at him which polished him off.
I collapsed to the floor, then my whole body started shaking with the force of my sobbing, I felt as if my whole reason for being had been obliterated.
Next thing I knew I was in the hospital wing being treated for shock.
Until my Head Girl badge came, my life was a bit of a haze, I went to Australia to find my parents but only found their joint grave in Melbourne, Victoria.
Then it was Ron's funeral, I cried all the way through, Harry and Mr Weasley made beautiful speeches, both of them commented on his outstanding bravery and his love of food.
In the month of March, Hogwarts announced that it would re-open in September; I was shocked thinking it would have been at least a few years until they would have even considered the concept.
A few hours after I read the announcement in the paper a knock came at my parent's house front door. Professor Snape was there along with the son of my love's murderer.
"What in the name of all that are holy are you doing at my front door?!" I asked Malfoy in a tone that betrayed my hatred for him "can we come in please, its Hogwarts business we are here about" said Professor Snape.
Just at that moment Narcissa Malfoy came around the hedge that was at the front of my parents' house. "Actually I am not here for that reason, but I would like to speak to Miss Granger if she will let me."
She was wearing a cream; knee length shift dress with spaghetti straps with navy blue heals to match the navy blue waist cinching belt. She couldn't look more muggle in my opinion, but higher class muggle all the same.
"You have a beautiful home, may I please enter, and I have been trying to pluck up the courage to come sooner, but courage isn't something that comes naturally to a Slytherin."
I thought about not letting them in but it wasn't their decision to kill Ron so I waved them all in and took them to the kitchen where I was just preparing dinner. "I know this would be most unexpected given our, hopefully previous, relationship, but would you like to stay for dinner? I was just preparing it." All three looked surprised but Narcissa spoke first.
"I would be happy to, Draco I would like you to stay please, and I would love to put old daemons to rest but I can only speak for myself. What are you making for dinner? I looked at Draco all the way through, when his mum said that she would like him to stay he didn't look at her in a bad way and that was rather shocking.
"Yeh sure I'll stay but I need to go by seven pm, what are you serving?" he asked "I'm making chicken & broccoli Chinese style tai dish with noodles, it packs a bit of heat which I like. I got it out of a recipe book about Taiwanese cooking after going there two summers ago."
I proceeded to make the dish after Professor Snape quietly said yes to my invite. We sat down at my dinner table at about 17:30 and the talk steered toward the subject of Hogwarts. Professor Snape handed me an envelope, I opened it and found a letter from Professor McGonagall asking me to come back to Hogwarts to do my seventh year for I never had the chance to do so. I looked up at Draco "Have you been asked back?" to which he nodded "I accepted because even though my career has already been planned out I could use a bit more school." I nodded too. "I accept but I can't go back in to the Gryffindor common room, there are way too many memory's there for me to go back, it will be hard enough for me to go in to the great hall Professor."
He nodded "I understand, in the re-construction of the school we, all the Professors, have decided to give the Heads a separate living space with a bedroom each to their own personal taste's, one bathroom, a library/study and a kitchenette with of course a common room. We decided that we should put the idea forward the idea that your fire place could be connected to the floo network, what do you think, Draco already agreed." I nodded "that could be a good idea but I give you my word that I will not abuse such a privilege."
Through the remaining months of the holiday I proceeded to sell the things in my parents' home and move to an apartment near the embankment. I decorated the apartment in neutral colours for I felt just as bland, my sofa was light beige leather and it was new, like the rest of her furniture because she wanted no reminder of her parents.
On the 1st of September I caught a taxi to kings cross station at about 10:00. On my way in to the station I saw Narcissa and Draco walking towards the trolleys. Narcissa waved in hello and walked up to me "how are you? I hope everything is alright." I nodded "I moved from my parents place to a new apartment here in London, got new furniture and everything."
We walked in to the station with our trolleys. We got on to platform 9¾ at 10:34. When Draco said that we had to go to the Heads compartment for the entire journey, I was secretly relived because I couldn't bear to see Harry or Ginny.
Draco's P.O.V.
On the way to Hogwarts I took notice how quiet, reserved & how unlike herself Hermione had become, "did you really love him?" I asked her, she didn't even look up! But then I saw a white string of sorts leading down to her jacket pocket, what on earth was all that about?!
I moved next to her and tugged at it, she yelped in shock and what I saw was a small white thing, small enough to fin in a persons' ear with a sound emitting from it, a piano as far as I could tell.
"What is it?" I asked her "it's a head phone it lets me listen to music or any type of sound from the device it is plugged in to." She got a rectangular device in the colour of silver with a screen with a moving picture on it, "this is an I Pod Nano chromatic, it lets me listen to music, watch videos and movies." Maybe muggles aren't so bad if they invented a device like that, she smiled at me then I realised that I said that out loud.
Hermione's P.O.V.
I can't believe he said that! He praised a muggle invention! I slumped back in to my seat and gapped at him, then I started to giggle, he joined in too "there is hope for you yet Malfoy" I said
"Draco, I want you to call me Draco, you said back at your old home that you wanted to put old daemons to rest, I will not call you Granger or the M word and you won't call me Malfoy or Ferret. Ok, from now on we are Draco and Hermione." He said, I nodded "Ok Draco."
The rest of the journey there was a little quiet and some get to know each other conversation between the two of us but the closer to Hogwarts we got the more quiet I became, so by the time we got to Hogsmead station I was a quiet as a door mouse.
When I walked in to the Great Hall I stopped dead in the entrance, I saw all the dead bodies again as I have been in my nightmares since the end of the war, I didn't think it would be this hard!
"You can do this; he wouldn't want you to be afraid." I turned around and Draco was there. "No offence, but I wouldn't want your father to win or beat me." He nodded with a very small smile playing on his lips.
I walked to the Gryffindor table, walked to the end of it and sat down.
From that evening forward to the present time I did my head duties and did all my class work to my usual standard but I was very quiet and even more un social than I used to be; on the weekends I stayed in my heads common room wallowing in my grief, Draco tried to help but I felt that is I listened to him my memory of Ron would diminish for even I wasn't immune to Draco's looks.
So as I thought of Ron, the common room door burst open with Professor McGonagall with her hands on her hips all but gapping at the state I was in.