Chapter 2
"Think she left because of me?" Draco asked as he and Harry set up a pick up Quidditch game.
Harry shrugged. "Depends on what you said to her," he replied.
"Just that we're friends," Draco said. "Then she hit me, threatened my life if I hurt you, and walked away. She's loyal, I'll give her that."
Uncomfortable discussing one friend with another, Harry walked to the shed to gather the brooms. Inside, he sat on an old crate and exhaled. He knew Hermione wasn't just angry that Draco was there, but also that Harry had kept a five year friendship from her. They rarely kept secrets from each other, and one this big normally would have been shared. He felt guilty that he not only kept it from her, but that he potentially pushed her away when she had finally come back into the fold.
The door opened and Ginny stepped inside. "Are you hiding from Malfoy?" she inquired. He said nothing as she sat down next to him and handed him a book. "Hermione forgot this. Maybe you could take it to her."
"You mean apologize to her and beg for forgiveness," he quipped, taking the book from his fiancee. "She and Malfoy have never gotten along, and I don't expect them to start now. I feel bad that I never told her about it though."
"Tell her that," Ginny advised. "She'll come around. The rest of us have. Kind of."
A dark brow rose. "Ron?"
Laughing, she agreed that Ron would never come around to a Malfoy. "Hermione's more forgiving though," she decided. "And she'll do whatever she can to support you. She always has."
He knew she was right and took her advice, Apparating on the spot to Hermione's flat. "Do you hate me?" he asked, handing over the book as a peace offering.
Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You know I can't hate you," she replied. "Try as I might, I can't. Believe me, I have tried."
"Yeah, I did risk your life a couple times," he agreed, sitting down. "Well, maybe more than a couple."
"At least seven times," she added. "And if I don't hate you for that, I won't because you and Malfoy are friends. I find it strange, but I love you, Harry. We've been friends for too long, and I can't afford to lose you."
He wound an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. "You won't," he promised. "We've stuck by each other for almost fifteen years. You're not getting rid of me now. And I'm not asking you to be buddy-buddy with Draco. I'm not even asking you to give him a chance. Hate him if that's what you want. Just don't think I'd pick him over you, or anyone over you."
Her head rested on his shoulder as he spoke his kind words. Following her split from Ron, she had attempted to isolate herself from the people who once made up the family she had lost thanks to the war. Harry and George did their best to penetrate her defenses, but Hermione continued to shut them out. It was a relief to know that she still had them after the break up.
"I'm not saying I'll be friends with him," she stated. "For your sake, I will give him a chance and see if we can be civil."
"Good, then come back to the Burrow," he said, standing up. Holding her hand, Harry pulled her to her feet, and allowed her no second thoughts before Apparating to the Weasleys' home. There was a worried look on Ginny's face when they arrived. She said nothing, but looked to the assembled players as they chose teams. "Ron's here."
Hermione pulled away, ready to leave. "Harry, please," she said as he tried to convince her to stay. "I'm not ready to deal with him. Just let me go home."
To add to her misery, Draco approached the pair, letting Harry know he intended to sit out the game. "There you go - keep Draco company," Harry suggested, walking away briskly to join the game.
Scowling, she sat beneath a tree and opened the book Harry had given her only minutes earlier. "This happens every week," he told her, sitting down.
"Aren't you worried your pants will get dirty?" she asked facetiously, keeping her eyes on the page.
He shrugged as he watched Harry and the Weasleys take to the air. "No," he replied, cutting her off before she could make a remark about the house elf tasked with washing them. "Look, I'm trying here, Granger. I don't have house elves. I don't depend on my family to take care of me. Being friends with Harry has nothing to do with my public image. We get along, and because you matter so much to him, I'm trying to do that with you. If you want me to leave you alone, just say so."
She glanced at him briefly. "Go away," she said.
Draco stood, ready to leave, but thought better of it. "No, you know, I don't think I will," he decided, reclaiming his seat in the grass. "I'm sorry for the way I acted when we were children. I'm not twelve anymore though. The least you could do is give me the chance to prove I'm not that boy anymore."
"You can be friends with Harry. I won't stop you," she told him. "We don't need to be friends, Malfoy."
"So, that little promise you made him about being civil was a lie?" he wondered. Hermione shrugged as she continued to read. "And here I thought I was supposed to be the jerk."
Stifling a laugh, she stuck her finger in the book and closed it. "Did you just call me a jerk?" she asked. Glowering, he nodded. "I guess it's not the worst thing you've called me. And I wasn't lying to Harry. You just...bring out this side of me. Whenever I see you, I just have this strong desire to hit you like we're a couple of third years again."
Draco removed the book from her hands and marked the page with the ticket stub she used as a bookmark. "The difference is I deserved it then," he stated. "I'm not saying we have to be friends because of Harry, but I'd, at the very least, like you to know I'm sorry for the way I treated you. Do with that what you want."
"Will you give me my book back if I accept your apology?" she asked, grinning as he held it away from her.
"Are you accepting it?" he wondered.
She glanced at the Quidditch game for a brief moment before looking at her lap. "Yeah, I think I am."
