Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and the WB. I make no money from this story.
Five Seasons
Whenever I see you,
I'll swallow my pride
and bite my tongue
Pretend I'm okay with it all
Act like there's nothing wrong
- Cry, Kelly Clarkson
Summer, 1998
June
Draco's head snapped up as he felt someone approaching his cell. Through the bars he could see his father in the cell directly across from him, stretched out on the hard bed. Draco watched as Lucius became aware of the new presence and sat up in interest.
He had only been in Azkaban for a week now, ever since the end of the Battle of Hogwarts. He didn't think he'd ever been somewhere he hated more. Draco desperately wanted out of this dank, dark, depressing prison, but he knew that if his trial didn't go well, he would be spending a lot more than just a month in this horrible place.
Draco raised an eyebrow as a bushy head of hair suddenly appeared in his view. Granger had her head held high, not looking at any of the prisoners as she walked along. He didn't say anything as Granger suddenly stopped, as if she had just noticed his presence as well. He tilted his head to the side, and stared into her dark eyes, wondering if she would say anything.
"Why Miss Granger," Lucius drawled. "How nice of you to come visit us."
Granger spun around to face Lucius. Draco couldn't see her expression but he had no doubt that she would look either angry or contemptuous. Or likely a mixture of the two.
"I didn't come to see you," Granger snapped. "Who would ever want to come see scum like you?"
Draco didn't think he would ever admit it but it was nice to hear Granger's voice. Anything was better than listening to Lucius rambling on, day in and day out.
"Oh? Who were you visiting Miss Granger?" asked Lucius.
"None of your business." Draco could hear the sneer in Granger's voice.
"Come now, we're all friends here." Lucius walked over to the bars that enclosed his cell and carefully stretched an arm through towards Granger. Draco could just see the sleazy smile on his father's face. "Could I… touch your hair?"
"You disgust me," she snarled.
She turned her back on Lucius and eyed Draco again. She nodded at him and then, dropping her eyes to the stone floor, she left.
July
"This is the trial of Draco Malfoy, Deatheater. Bring in the prisoner."
Hermione tried to keep her face blank as Malfoy was escorted into the Wizengamot courtroom, glowing chains shackled around his wrists and ankles. He was pushed down onto the sole chair and gold hands appeared to keep him held down, as his lawyer moved forward to defend him.
She glanced to her right at Harry and Ron. Ron had a smug and satisfied expression on his face. Harry was just impassive.
Hermione looked down at Malfoy again. He looked far worse than he had the last time she had seen him. Only a little over a month in Azkaban had already left him with stubble all over his face and his hair was beginning to look long and greasy and straggly. He looked nothing like the confident, arrogant, secure Malfoy that she had known for seven years. Nothing like the boy with the slicked back hair, the high cheekbones and the pointed face.
Malfoy wasn't a boy anymore. The man in front of her looked as if he had aged almost past recognition. Where was the conceit? Where was the bigotry?
Malfoy glanced up and looked towards Hermione, Harry and Ron. Hermione frowned when her eyes met Malfoy's. He just looked tired. It was almost as if there was nothing else left inside Malfoy except a listless weariness.
He nodded to her, returning the gesture she had given him over a month ago. She jerked her head slightly, in an attempt to nod back, but she didn't quite succeed. Hermione could feel the sneer on Ron's face as he stared Malfoy down.
Malfoy faced forward again as Shacklebolt stood up, immediately commanding the attention of everyone in the room. Hermione continued to watch Malfoy's blank, empty expression as Shacklebolt began proceedings.
"Draco Malfoy, you are charged with knowingly becoming a Deatheater and wilfully and unrepentently causing harm to wizards and Muggles alike." Shacklebolt placed down the piece of parchment he had been reading from. "This court is now in session."
Hermione leaned back in her seat as Malfoy's lawyer immediately launched into a passionate opening statement. She wondered how long it would be before she and Harry were forced to help him as witnesses. At least Malfoy and his lawyer had been smart enough not to subpoena Ron as well. He probably would've been stuck in Azkaban until he died if he had. As it was, Malfoy might just get lucky.
August
Draco couldn't stop the grin that stretched across his face as he stepped into Diagon Alley. He was a free man. Thanks in large part to Granger's and Potter's testimonies, of course. Not that he was actually going to verbally thank them any time soon but he figured simply acknowledging it to himself was enough for now.
The trial had dragged on for days, with both his lawyer and the Interrogator producing witnesses. There had been a lot of people who had thought Draco was just like his father, and that he should be locked up again in that damned cell directly across from Lucius. But no one had really been able to convict him after Harry 'The Chosen One with a Stick up his Arse' Potter had vouched for him.
And now he was free.
Slowly Draco began to walk through Diagon Alley. It wasn't the same street he had known as a child, when he used to drag his parents from store to store in excitement. Diagon Alley, just like everyone and everything else, was still trying to recover from the Second War. There were still empty lots where shops once had stood. But it was well on its way to once more being the magic-filled place he had loved when he was little.
He was approaching the construction site where Flourish & Blotts was being rebuilt when he saw her.
Hermione Granger, with her slim build and her unruly hair, was standing on the sidewalk watching the construction crew piece together the new bookstore. "Granger," Draco said by way of greeting as he stopped next to her.
"Malfoy," she replied with a nod and a quick glance at him. She immediately went back to watching the wizards and witches do their work.
"How long until it's open again for business?" asked Draco, not wanting to end the conversation. He wasn't sure why though.
Granger eyed him carefully before deciding that it was safe to answer. "A couple of weeks."
"Right." Draco shifted slightly and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I should go. Things to do, people to see, all that lark. So, bye Granger."
"Goodbye Malfoy."
Draco hesitated for a split second but then continued walking down the road, leaving Granger outside her beloved store. He glanced back once and was unsurprised to see that she hadn't moved an inch.
So it seemed they were good at that – pretending that everything that had happened in the last seven years was nothing; that they were merely passing acquaintances with no history between them. Draco wasn't sure if he liked that idea.
