I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters used! All rights go to J.K. Rowling.
Hermione had sleeping when she heard the noise. It sounded similar to times when boys had tried to get up the stairs into the Gryffindor girls dorms, so she naturally assumed that it would be Lavender's newest boy toy. She rolled over and tried to get back to sleep but the noise came again. This time she distinctly heard a yell that sounded like her name.
Getting up to investigate, Hermione tugged on her robe and put on her slippers. Her first instinct was that it was Harry or Ron, but they had both gone to the Burrow for the holidays. She had opted to stay behind because she didn't feel totally comfortable being there after her recent breakup with Ron. Mrs. Weasley had assured her that she was still welcome, but Hermione wanted to give Ron some space to be with his family.
The noise came again and Hermione was glad that all the other girls in her dorm were also gone for the holidays. Walking to the top of the stairs Hermione found a slightly disgruntled and very dishevelled Draco Malfoy.
"Draco? What are you doing here?" She asked arching an eyebrow in question.
"Oh, just taking a midnight stroll and decided to pop by." Draco responded in an even tone.
Hermione was never sure what to expect when it came to Draco Malfoy. She had spent most of her life hating him with all that was inside of her, but then when he had found them while they were hunting horcruxes she had started to see that there was more to him than she had ever taken the time to see. One night during the worst of their hunger and sorrow on the hunt, Draco had managed to make his way through her protective wards and into their camp. He brought with him food, water, and all that he knew about Voldemort and his plans. It had been incredibly hard for them to trust him at first, but all that he said was true, and he lacked the Dark Mark that all Death Eaters carried. He had been invaluable to them during the fight and had earned all of their respect.
"Would you mind coming down the stairs Granger?" He drawled, "I'd like to talk with you."
Hermione descended the stairs, her curiosity about his presence overruling her need for sleep. As she reached the bottom of the stairs Draco led her over to the couches that were around the fireplace. He made himself comfortable on the seat closest to the fire and patted the spot next to him. Hermione smiled slightly and did as he asked. The pair sat in companionable silence for several moments, watching as the flames in the fire danced and sparked. Finally it was Draco who spoke,
"I'm sorry." Hermione was puzzled by the words. What could he possibly be sorry for? She couldn't think of anything that he should be sorry about. She was about to ask him when he started to speak again.
"For all of the times I called you horrible names or teased you about your looks. I realized I never formally apologized for that."
Hermione was stunned. As far as she was concerned they had left that behind ages ago. She shifted her gaze to look at him more directly. She could no longer see the face of her childhood tormentor. His platinum blonde hair had darkened a bit since they were children and he had lost his baby fat. The real difference though, was his eyes. What had once been ice cold, rock hard, and menacing had become softer and kind. Now however, she could also see something else in his eyes, regret. It was there so potently it took her breath away. At that moment, she realized that he was still holding on to all the things from their youth; he had never learned to let go.
"Oh, Draco! I forgave you a long time ago. You have changed so much, how could I not?" As she said these words tears slipped down her cheeks. Even though she had forgiven him long ago, hearing him apologize brought a soothing relief to the pain she had from her childhood.
"How could you have forgiven me? The things I said, they were awful Hermione. I could spend years trying to make it up to you and it still wouldn't be right."
Hermione smiled, "Draco, believe me, I'm okay. Sure your words always stung but they're in the past and I'm willing to look past them. Let's let that be enough and move on from here."
The look of astonishment on Draco's face brought an amused smile to her face, but Hermione didn't want to ruin the mood by bursting out laughing. They lapsed back into silence as Hermione watched Draco processing her words. He turned to her again, eyes sparking in the firelight.
"Does this mean that we can be friends? I want to get to know you better Hermione." He looked so worried that Hermione would deny his request and she couldn't help but giggle a bit. She enjoyed it when Draco let down his walls and showed that he was still just a teenager.
"Of course we can be friends Draco, I was under the impression that we already were." At this Draco scooped Hermione up into a hug. She was more than startled at first, neither Harry or Ron ever initiated hugs, but she slowly sank into it, surprised at how natural it felt.
After several seconds Draco pulled back and smiled. Hermione returned the smile before looking to see what time it was. Even though it was break she shouldn't be spending large portions of the night out of bed. Seeing that it was almost four in the morning Hermione turned back to Draco.
"Why were you awake at this hour anyways?" Draco was startled by the question but responded.
"To be honest with you, I've been struggling with this for a long time now. You're so special Hermione; so good and the way I treated you was so completely unacceptable. I just wanted to make things right between us. It feels so good that we can finally be friends. Thank you."
Hermione smiled softly and whispered, "You're welcome."