CHAPTER ONE
He knew this was a chance. But the last he might have. He looked into the glazed mirror. The charming and famous face of Draco Malfoy looked back at him.
He wore a black cloak but then replaced that with a brown sweatshirt. He now liked to look like the people he had greatly despised. Changes happened. Yes they did. He was now going to have a talk with a person he had hopelessly disliked. But now... it was painful to think about it. Painful to think that it is possible he might never see her again.
He slid a hand through his perfect, blonde hair and after another look at the mirror left the room, in the search of her.
Several people looked at him as he passed through the streets of the city. After the war, from the normal crowd he had continuously and expectedly suffered a lot of looks of loathing, revenge of the injustice they had faced or the losses they had. He felt guilty. Yes he felt enormously guilty but all he tried to keep reassuring himself was that he was not the one who made the wrong choices but the one who did not have any.
Many had forgiven him. Many could not forget their losses. Thoughts like these haunted him. Scenes of the people crying miserably- swimming in his head, Draco accidentally bumped into a plump lady.
"I am so sorry" he said and immediately bent to retrieve her fallen items. When the lady turned to him, halfway through her words of thanking him, she stopped. A little abruptly too. That is when Draco saw Mrs. Weasley's surprised face looking at him.
Her polite expressions hardened and she gruffly snatched her possessions back from him, walking away. Draco felt like a hurt animal, the death eaters had killed her son Fred Weasley and so the Weasley family hated him. He couldn't be forgiven but he had to try, he ran after Mrs. Weasley.
After a minute or so he found her waiting outside the antidotes shop. At first he hesitated, should he go speak to her, those filthy Weasleys, who- a fortnight ago he greatly hated. But he went to her. "Mrs. Weasley?" She turned to him with hurt in her eyes. And before Draco could utter another consonant she said "Do you require going before me? Maybe to buy murderous potions for your gang of Death Eaters?" she said roughly "you sure can" a wave of her hand followed. "Or oh, wait you were not a death eater were you, your father made you one. Poor you. But boy, I lost my son because of you, and never am I going to forgive you for that." His eyes stung. He wanted to run away and hide but cowardice was exactly why he was in such a situation today. "Mrs. Weasley" he started "I really am ashamed of what I did, and what my father did. I really am." The lady snorted and started to walk away "No please wait. We need to speak, I am sorry for what happened but I can promise you that I will not hurt you or your family anymore." "Look-" Molly started but Draco continued "Please believe me?" She looked surprised she turned to him again and replied "Boy, look I do not understand how it happened but a lot has. Vol- Voldemort did not give you a choice, but I understand, my son Percy also made a wrong decision. The pain is grave. It will take time. Till then please stay away from me and my family." She took a breath and had no hatred in those eyes anymore. She had pity. Pity for the boy who had no choice.
Draco did not say anything. Just looked in her eyes silently and left. After some steps of guilt in his mind he imagined Hermione Granger- who if was here would say "Who makes mistakes can be forgiven but the one who can't forgive will make a graver one" He closed his eyes. He could smell her. He could sense her so close to him. The way her lips curled up when a professor praised her and the way her mouth filled with air when someone else replied before her and she exhaled if the other child were wrong.
Draco's heart ached to think about her and how far she might go away to if he did not reach her in time.
After walking a long way Draco reached her house. It was a neat, white building in which she was living since after the war. Just outside the door he saw her.
