Disclaimer: I live, breathe and dream Harry Potter, but I do not own it.

The war was over and done with. A good thing, right? Mostly. See, while it had changed people for the better, while it had changed most people's prescriptive on blood status and magical creatures, those involved were never the same, something was broken. It was different with everyone. Each person had their own way of dealing. Harry flew, a lot. Ron played chess with anyone who could. Zabini wrote, where ever he went, he had a notebook. Hermione had a pattern, she'd have a normal day, finish her homework, go back to the common room where she would read a sad book and then start crying. The book was just an excuse, really.
See, she had promised herself she wouldn't cry over those who had been lost. She cried too much, way too much right after the war. And now? What was the point of their deaths, if she could not lead the life they died for her to have? So she'd wake up each morning and live her life. At the end of the day, though, she would get overwhelmed, so she'd pick up a book and let her tears fall over it. If she was crying over the book, then she wasn't breaking her promise. If she started crying because of a book, then it did not matter if her thoughts then drifted to those who were gone.

Then there was Draco Malfoy. All he did was watch. He'd watch Potter sneak out. He'd watch Weasley look for someone he hadn't beaten yet. He'd watch Blaise scribe away, but mostly he'd watch her read, then eventually cry. It broke his heart, but after even Potter and Weasley had given up, there didn't seem to be a point in trying to get her to stop. Just Stop Reading! But she wouldn't, she couldn't.

One night, though, he had enough, so when she closed the book and went to her room, tears still streaming down her face, he followed.

"Granger?" He called as he knocked. "M-Malfoy?" Her voice was hoarse from crying. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure" Even though the door she sounded unsure. He was no longer insulting her, but they didn't exactly speak either.

"you're still crying" He stated. She was sitting in the middle of the bed, her hair all messed up and her eyes red. She just shrugged. "Well, cut it out!" He demanded. She blinked up at him, clearly surprised., then "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Cut it out, no more crying"
"I can't just stop, Malfoy!"
"Yes, you can. Get up, go splash some cold water over your face and stop crying"
Apparently he'd shocked her into silence, because she'd got up, and did exactly what he said. Hell, he'd even shocked himself into silence. What was that?!

When she got back, he was sitting on the edge of her bed. "you're still here" She said, wonder evident in her voice. "You thought I'd leave?" He asked and she shrugged "I didn't think you'd come in the first place" She whispered as she sat down next to him. "I've watched you cry your eyes out every night since we got here" He brushed her hair her out of her face so he can look at her "No more. No more crying" It was somewhere between a statement and a request and he found he can feel hope again when she slightly nodded "I'll try" She promised. "Good" He murmured, and for the time being it was.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and he felt her sigh. "You should probably get some sleep" He told her and she shock her head "I don't sleep well"
"Neither do I" He admitted but he leaned them both back against the bed anyway. Maybe tonight will be different.

A/N This is the first Harry Potter fic I have ever written, so any reviews, ideas or suggestions would be great :)