Hermione looked around the apartment that was supposedly Draco Malfoy's. The war had ended two month ago, and the Malfoy family had given every sickle of their money to helping rebuild Hogwarts. Lucius was carted off to Azkaban, Narcissa was filing for divorce and living with Andromeda and Teddy, and Draco was .. well who knows where Draco was.
But Hermione had to find him. Draco Malfoy was apparently the best Healer that Saint Mungos had seen since Marlene McKinnon, and there were too many patients for the understaffed hospital. It was Hermione's job to persuade anyone with a degree in healing to come and take up a job.
"Malfoy ..?" Hermione called into the messy house. She walked into the loungeroom where she found a lump in the couch. A lump with blonde hair. Around the couch were numerous empty bottles of Firewhiskey. "Well look at that. A Malfoy living like a Weasley." She put her hands on her hips as Draco stirred to life.
He opened his eyes, "Hermione .." he greeted groggily. Then his eyes shot open. "Hermione!" He repeated.
Hermione noticed how unwell he looked. His hair had lost it's shine, his face more hollow and pale than usual. He was bone-thin and looked generally sickly. "For a qualified healer, Draco, you seem to be lacking your own care." Draco just shrugged, not even bothering to snap back. He got up, then stumbled and fell down. Well, almost. Hermione's quick reflexes saw that he was caught in her arms. "Far too skinny .." she muttered.
She helped him up and saw him to the shower. It was probably the first one he'd had since the battle. As he did so, she set to tidying the apartment. With a few flicks of her wand, rubbish was in the bin, stuff was back on the shelves and nothing was broken anymore.
Just as she finished , the blonde came from the bathroom. Hermione smiled tightly. "That's how I remember you." She commented.
Draco smirked lightly. "What? In nothing but a towel and dripping wet? Damn Granger, if I had have known before .." he proceeded to his bedroom.
"If you had have known? What does that mean, Malfoy?" Hermione followed him.
The Slytherin turned around. "I'm sorry, that was mean." He murmered, looking down.
Hermione scoffed. "This isn't how I remember you!" she exclaimed. "What the hell happened to you?!"
She stood outside as Draco got dressed. He stumbled out of the room and thrust his arm at her. "I was a prat and fucked up my life?" He suggested. Hermione saw the Mark, but it was almost hidden by the scratches and knife cuts.
Hermione took his arm and dragged him to the couch. "Merlin you're an idiot, Malfoy." She stated.
Draco nodded. "Pretty much" he agreed.
They sat down and the Gryffindor pulled out her wand. Malfoy flinched, but Hermione just uttered a simple healing charm and then pulled a smaller bag from her handbag. "Makeup, Malfoy, works wonders" she said.
"I'm not wearing MAKEUP!" He yelled. "That's for Gi-" he was cut off when he saw what Hermione was doing. She pulled out a skin coloured cream and started dabbing over the Mark. In mere seconds it wasn't visible anymore. "Wh- th- thanks .." he sighed.
Hermione smiled genuinely. "It's okay. I still don't think you're you when you're nice, but I like it." She laughed lightly.
Draco looked at her curiously. He'd never heard her laugh like that before. It was nice. "Okay, so what did you drag me out of bed at this hour for?"
Hermione scoffed. "It's 4pm Malfoy! This is a respectable hour to he awake." Draco just shrugged. "But we need you at St Mungo's. We're understaffed and we have too many patients. Head Healer Vidler sent me to visit you, because apparently not only are you a qualified healer, but you're a half decent one as well." She looked at him skeptically.
Draco shook his head. "No. I can't. No one'd want a Death Eater treating them. I can't." He stood up and walked to his bedroom.
"Draco!" Hermione walked after him and grabbed his hand. "Don't you understand?! According to Healer Vidler, you're one of the best she's seen since Marlene McKinnon and if that's true, then this your chance. Look, you hate me, and I'm supposed to hate you, but you could either sit her, trying to cut that Mark from your arm for the rest of your life, or you could go out there, devote the rest of your life to healing others instead of hurting them. Soon enough, everyone will forget about the stupid thing." She looked at him almost desperately before realising she still had hold of his arm. She let go quickly.
Draco groaned frustratedly. "Damn your bloody way with words woman." He grumbled. "Look, ill go in tomorrow, TRY it, but I won't promise anything, okay?" He sighed and sat on his bed.
Hermione grinned. "Okay!" She agreed. "Thankyouu, I- I mean we ALL really appreciate it. Now, I'm going on a little bit of a holiday with Luna and Alicia, sort of a singles thing, so I won't be back until Monday." She smiled.
Draco frowned, "wait? Singles? I thought you and We- Ronald were a thing?" He asked.
Hermione clenched her fists. "You know when someone kisses you and tells you they love you and then a month later announce to Rita Skeeta that they've gotten their sixth year girlfriend pregnant and that they're marrying next summer?" She gritted her teeth to keep from crying.
Draco gaped. "You've gotta be kidding me." Hermione shook her head. "He chose that whore over you?" She nodded.
"Well, I've got to be going. We leave in an hour." She smiled weakly and waved. She turned to leave.
"Hermione wait!" Draco grabbed her hand, making her face him, and kissed her on the cheek softly. "I never hated you, I'm sorry, and thankyouu. For being probably the only person that believes in me." Hermione blushed and left.
The next Monday, when Hermione got back to work, she was most delighted to see Draco working busily. The moment she stepped into her white Healing cloak, Healer Vidler approached her, Draco in toe. "How was your holiday, Hermione?" She asked.
Hermione smiled. "It was alright." She subconsciously touched her cheek and looked at Draco, who smirked in the usual Malfoy fashion.
"Well, Mr Malfoy has decided to grace us with his skills a while longer, and I have decided to go into retirement." Healer Vidler said. "So I am leaving the both of you in charge. Is that okay?"
Hermione smiled, "That sounds wonderful" she said,
"I only have one condition." Draco spoke up. "When I worked here in my Seventh year, there was a rule against relationships with co-workers. Is that still in effect?"
Healer Vidler smiled knowingly. "Well, Mr Malfoy, that is up to you and Miss Granger." She walked off.
Draco turned to Hermione. "What do you think, Miss Granger? Should we be allowed to date?"
Hermione gasped. "I- erm, I- uh" she stuttered.
"The know it all, out of words?" He asked, "there isn't some 100 year old book you have a quote from?" He took her hand.
Hermione shook her head. "N- no .." she whispered.
Draco shrugged, "well how about after work you go and find one?" He suggested. "That way I can watch the adorable look of concentration on your pretty little face, or that one strand of hair that always falls in front of your face as you read, hmm?" Hermione giggled a little as Draco pulled her closer. "And maybe, just maybe, this time, while I'm watching that too damn cute little smile you get sometimes, ill have the courage to go and tell you that I love you"