This bumped around in my head for a day and I've never written a Harry Potter story before so I thought this was a good one to start with. This is set several years after the war but before that final train scene in DH.
I don't own any character(s) and intend no disrespect to anyone associated with the Harry Potter franchise.
A/N: I was re-reading this and found a couple of errors that embarrassed me, so I have fixed them and reposted. If you find more, please PM me so I can fix them. Thanks.
She saw him standing by the gravesite alone. The few people who had come to the funeral had long since left. She arrived late on purpose. She really didn't want to have this conversation in front of anybody else. It was going to be difficult because she didn't know what to expect from the man standing by his mother's grave. But she agreed to do it. Harry couldn't make it to the funeral but he wanted to pay his respects so he asked her go in his place. After all, what were friends for?
She slowly approached him, clearing her throat every few seconds to make sure he heard her.
"Would you quit already? I know you're here. What do you want Granger?"
"Sorry. I wanted to offer my condolences about your mother. She was a strong woman."
Draco snorted, "What do you know? You didn't even know her."
"No, I didn't. But Harry told me about her. He held her in great respect."
Draco didn't look at her. He laughed without humor. "Potter. It always comes back to Potter even after all these years. Go away Granger. I don't want you here."
"Harry asked me to come, he wanted you to know…"
"I don't care. Leave." Draco still hadn't looked at her.
She took a couple more steps closer to him, "Draco…"
Draco whirled around on her, his eyes were glazed with sadness and anger, "NO! YOU DON'T GET TO BE HERE! YOU DON'T GET TO SPEAK! YOU & POTTY & WEASEL RUINED MY FAMILY!"
He had moved to stand in front of her but she never backed away. She saw his grief and it caused a few tears to prickle her eyes.
"I HAVE NO ONE! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY. SHE WAS ALL I HAD LEFT!"
She didn't know what else to do and her instincts took over. Before she could stop herself she had wrapped him in a hug. He accepted the comfort for only a moment or two before pushing her away and dropping to the ground.
She sat down next to him and quietly started to talk. "Do you know why Harry respected your mother so much?"
Not waiting for an answer, she continued, "During that last battle, remember Voldemort offered a break to bury the dead. During that time Harry went off to fight Voldemort face to face; end the fighting as soon as he could. Well, basically Voldemort won. Harry said he was laying on the ground not moving. He thinks he might have blacked out. What he remembers is that he could hear someone approach him. He just waited, not moving. He thought for sure it was Voldemort coming over to finish him. Whoever approached him, leaned over and laid hands on him, checking to see if he was alive or dead. He was still breathing and it was obvious that he was alive.
The person leaned into Harry's ear and asked "Is my son alive?" Harry cracked open one eye just enough to see who it was. That's when he saw Narcissa. He was tempted, for a second to lie to her; tell her that you were dead, to punish the Malfoys for their part in it all. But he saw a look on her face and he just couldn't. He saw the love of a mother for her son. He told her you were alive. She stood up, faced Voldemort and announced that Harry were dead. That's when Hargrid carried him back to the castle and all hell broke loose for the last time."
She paused because Draco had turned to look at her. She nodded her head at his surprised look. "Yep, all she wanted was her son safe. All she wanted was you. She defied him because of her love for you."
He had tears streaming down his face and she was pretty sure he didn't even realize it. In the stunned silence she continued talking, "She lied to Voldemort. Can you imagine what he would have done to her if he had won that battle? He would have killed her and you and anyone associated with your family. Her strength made our lives possible. We have children & jobs and peace because of her. Everyone hailed Harry as the hero, but he always believed it was Narcissa who saved us all. That's why he spoke at her trial."
He didn't say anything or try to move at all but he turned his face down and let the tears continue.
She leaned forward so she could look at his face. He looked broken and lost, "I didn't tell you this to make it worse for you. I wanted you to know how grateful we are for what she did. I don't know if she ever told anybody about that. Obviously Harry told me and I know he told Ron. He wanted us to know what a strong person she was." Hermione didn't know what else to say so she decided it was time for her to leave him alone. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you what she did for the world, the chance she took. She was a strong woman and we owed her our lives."
She got up to leave and had taken several steps away from him, "Granger?" She turned back to look at him. His head was still lowered and he didn't look up, "Thank you."
She smiled at him, though he didn't see it. She turned and continued on her way.
