Disclaimer: I continue to not be J.K. Rowling.
There have been too many casualties in this Wizard war. Too many good people lost..
Hermione sighed. "He is going to kill my family. He had already threatening the worst he thinks he could do to me. I can't let him know about you."
Her nose scrunched up in her confusion. Malfoy really lost it during the war. She thought to herself as she sat back down in the soft chair next to Ron's bed. They were at St. Mungo's. Ron had been thrown into the whomping willow by an unknown death eater and had been pummeled into an unrecognizable pulp. Luckily, he would survive. It was finally near the end of a long recovery. It had been only a couple of months since Lord Voldemort had been defeated by the Order. Near the end, they had thought Harry dead. Hagrid had walked back from the forest, loudly blubbering and carrying a limp Harry in his arms. But that had been a ruse. Harry said that it had been Malfoy's mother who'd saved him, just before her murder in front of them all. She had only wanted to find her son. Hermione frowned, glancing down at her hand that was gently clasping Ron's. She sighed and released her grip, standing to her feet. Ron did not even know she was there. She wandered to the stairwell and, hesitating a moment, began to make her way up to the fourth floor. Ron was staying on the first floor. His wounds were no longer grievous and he could now breathe on his own, so he didn't need close monitoring. The higher the floor at St. Mungo's, the more serious the situation. She entered the fourth floor and began searching the halls for section E. There was a vast difference between the first floor and the fourth floor. The fourth floor was much quieter, significantly emptier, and a touch sadder. This was the floor that housed mental patients. More accurately, patients damaged by their own magic. Hermione had a hard time not relating into to a Muggle asylum.
Hermione turned a corner and found her destination. She cracked the door and peered inside. An older, weathered looking witch greeted her.
"Hello, Ms. Granger. I'd like to warn you that Mr. Malfoy is a tad more agitated than normal today." Hermione smiled at her. "When is he not agitated, Professor McGonagall?" They chuckled. Minerva's face dropped into a scowl. "Maybe you will have better luck than I have today. How is Mr. Weasley?"
"He is considerably improved. They want to release him in four days. He can stand up now. " Hermione beamed and then shrank visibly. "Ron wants me to move into a flat with him." Minerva gave her a knowing stare. Hermione rolled her eyes. "He is still vibrating from the impact of his near death experience. He just wants me to take care of him. I'm trying to convince him and Harry to move in with each other." Minerva was still laughing as she sat in the lobby. "Good luck with this train wreck." Hermione turned and opened the door to room 408. It was a small room, as he was being housed by the Ministry. After the Battle of Hogwarts and his parents horrific deaths, the Ministry had seized the Malfoy fortune as evidence and left Draco with nothing.
How cruel, though technically that is the best punishment for Draco Malfoy.. Hermione thought to herself as she closed the door behind her and walked steadily towards her former enemy. Draco was curled up on his bed and facing away from the door. She could see how frustrated and restless he was. As she came closer, she saw him recognize her existence and, in response, he pulled his blankets up to his ears. He had visibly painful and violent scars covering his chest and back. Hermione could see the muscles in his shoulders and back twitching with anxiety. She sat on the edge his bed behind him and began to gently massage his back.
"Hi Draco. I'm here to see you today." She felt him jump at her touch but he was still seemingly trapped in his own mind. His eyes were closed but she could see his pupils jumping violently in his head. He looked like he was trapped in a personal hell. It seemed repetitive. His moods always changed in the same ways at the same time. It would always escalate too quickly and he always ended up hysterical. She had been trying now for over a month to break through his mental blocks with Legilimency, with no such luck. Draco Malfoy was a powerful wizard who seemed to be trapped in his own mental defenses. The nurses at St. Mungo's seemed to have stopped trying to release him. To be fair, Draco seemed to be fighting it. None of them have achieved nearly a fraction of the progress that Hermione had. Hermione was rather proud of that, although she still had not told anyone other than Professor McGonagall that she was visiting him and that was only because her Professor had witnessed Draco's emotionally influenced explosion of power. Hermione doubted that he had been able to control the extent of the blast, but he had saved her life as well as Luna's because of it. He had murdered his aunt to protect her- the Mudblood. Dolohov had been blown away by the force of it, directly into a circle of Aurors. How gloriously convenient. She wanted to know why. Hermione felt a shuddering sigh escape her chest, eyes focused on the ruffled blonde hair at the base of his neck. Draco began to pull away from her touch. She removed her wand from her coat pocket and tapped her fingers in a rhythm on his upper arm. The rhythm got and kept his attention. He still did not look at her but he repeated the rhythm back to her on her wrist.
"Draco, tap twice if you can hear me." Her lips twitched into a smirk as he hastily responded.
He is very eager today. Professor McGonagall is right. There is a definite change in his demeanor. I need to get him out of here before they get him addicted to their sedatives, indefinitely.
Hermione was desperate to know what had stirred his behavior during the Battle of Hogwarts. And during the Quidditch World Cup. She felt bound to him, but not in a restrictive way but instead comforting. Which made absolutely no conceivable sense to her since he was raised to hate HER. Hermione needed the answers. She pulled Draco so he was now facing her. He had opened his eyes and they had a glimmering sheen in them, making them appear faintly clouded over. She felt his hand grasp hers tightly and a smile blossomed on his lips. Today may be the day.
He had been looking for her for what felt like years. Draco ran a raw, bloody hand through his hair and smearing it with dried blood. He felt weak. He was trapped in Hogwarts. He had woken up alone in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, alone and more than a little banged up. He was sprinting through the castle, screaming her name. "HERMIONEE!" He could hear the war raging but he could not find it. He could not find her and it was driving him mad. What had happened?! The last that he could remember was Dolohov breaking into and taking control of his mind. He remembered Dolohov in the process of having him murder Hermione and he remembered being in a remarkable amount amount of pain, but then nothing. Oh god what if i killed her. Draco was growing more and more desperate. He found himself rocking back and forth at times, too depressed to see the repetition. Sometimes, he swore that he could hear her voice and feel her touching him. It was agonizing. He felt like he was going insane. It had been months since he had seen another human being but he could not leave the grounds. The empty, chilling battle grounds of the Second Wizard War. I'm a ghost! He tripped over a large chunk of limestone and fell hard to the cold, blood stained floor. For fucks sake, most of the bodies were still there. He was surrounding by rotting, stinking corpses. There were multiple clouds of flies and other insects gathering for this harvest. He had to get out! He suddenly felt hands touching his shoulders and jumped, but then he heard her voice.
"Hi Draco. I'm here to see you today." He was so confused. Where the hell is she?! He was blind to her! He felt her drumming her fingers in a pattern. He threw his arm out, grasping at hope and grabbing a wrist. He repeated the pattern on the invisible wrist. At this point, what could it hurt him to talk to someone who is not there. He figured he was already past that point.
"Draco, tap twice if you can hear me." He tapped twice. Suddenly, he felt arms around his waist and he pulled upwards. He thought he had already been standing. Draco sighed nervously. He felt hair tickling his nose. He smelled honey and vanilla and gasped. She is here. Hermione!
"I am going to check you out of here, okay? You have to stay calm and trust me, Draco. I am going to help you." Draco looked around him frantically. The only thing he could see was the destroyed castle and surrounding decay. He couldn't even hear the bugs. He fell back onto the ground and felt another body topple over on top of him. Above him could only see a large gathering of crows circling above him, but he could feel her breath tickling his ear. He took in a sharp breath and tried to sit up more. The invisible Hermione held him to the ground. The crows circled closer, a few sitting feet from him and staring at him with their beady little eyes. He couldn't breathe. He was hallucinating. He will die here! He could no longer focus on his fear as a soft pair of lips latched onto his own. He tasted raspberries and dark chocolate and felt a chill running down his spine. His body grew warm and he felt a surge of power release inside of him. He wrapped his arms around the perfect body on top of him and kissed her back hard.
Hermione had not expected Malfoy to respond as strongly as he had. She was mainly just hoping that she would not put him in a state of panic or rage. She had not even been sure he knew it was her kissing him. This witch had not witnessed the former death eater show this much emotion since the Quidditch World Cup, and that was still rather limited. She felt Draco's arms tighten around her and with a squeak of surprise on her part, he deepened the kiss. She felt his tongue tenderly explore her mouth. She felt a tickle below her belly button and pulled away from him. She looked at his face and was surprised to see him staring back into her eyes, aware and present.
"Welcome back, Malfoy. I guess we are even now." Hermione beamed at the wizard sitting before her. She knelt down in front of him and placed a hand on his scruffy, unkempt beard. Despite being a much darker blond than his hair, the facial hair suited the man. The gold in his beard made his eyes pop out brilliantly and Hermione was finding herself lost in them. Careful, Granger. He was the enemy. Its like when nurses fall in love with their patients.. Hermione tried to rationalize in her head. Draco leaned in closer to her. "I didn't kill you.." He whispered, stroking cheek as he stared at her as if she would disappear if he blinked. Hermione felt a chill run down her spine. She had thought that was what was happening when he had found her. He had been under the Imperius curse. It was Dolohov, it had to have been. That is when Malfoy had begun to act more unpredictable and then went to find her. Dolohov screamed at Draco to kill her and Draco had instead had an uncontrollable magical outburst caused by his strong emotions that were against killing her. She had thought he was dead when he fell to the ground, all of the blood pouring out his nose. Now here they were, Draco holding Hermione in a way that even Ron had never touched her. He seemed entranced and content just to be there. She was getting a bad charlie horse in her thigh and hastily stood up. Draco stood with her and glanced around his small room, crinkling his nose.
"Where am I? I thought I was still at Hogwarts-" Draco's eyes widened and he withheld the rest of that memory from her. "What is this, Granger?" He asked her. Hermione grasped his arms to still him. "You suffered extreme magical exhaustion while you were fighting off Dolohov. I thought you had died at first. Then you woke up and never really came to. You were at Hogwarts?" Hermione furrowed her brows curiously. "Were you dreaming?" Draco accidentally let out a low whine and closed his eyes. "It felt so real. I could smell, taste death." He shuddered and reevaluated his room, now showing approval. He looked back to her. "You haven't answered where I am.." Hermione sighed and stepped back from him.
"You are in the mental ward at St. Mungo's. You were sent up here from level one because you assaulted anyone who touched you. You certainly seemed trapped in the war. They have been keeping you heavily sedated this last month." Draco paled drastically. "How long have I been in here, Granger?" He barked at her. Hermione flinched at the more characteristic way he asked her this question. She scratched at his beard. "About 2 months. The war ended today 2 months ago. Voldemort was killed." Hermione paused and took a moment to open the curtain of his barred window. He needed a little fresh air. Draco sat down on his bed and placed his head in his hands. His head snapped back to Hermione. "Do you know if my father will be sentenced to life in Azkaban? What about my mother? What is happening to them?" His eyes begged her for good news and he knew before she had even a moment to erase the memory from her head. Hermione stared solemnly back at him to confirm the truth. His heart shattered into a million pieces. His parents were dead. Most of his family- dead. Draco felt his stomach turn and he rushed to the trash bin by his down and dry heaved. His mothers death had been disgusting and humiliating. His eyes stung. Hermione softened once more and sat next to him on his bed. She leaned into his side and wrapped her right arm around him. "I'm so sorry.." She whispered, and he could tell she was praying he would be himself and throw that back into her face. He didn't have any more energy in his life to insult her again.
He put his arm around her as well and sat with her silently. He was just grateful for her presence. He inhaled slowly, exhaled. "When can I go home?" He felt Hermione breathe in a sharp breath and he began to feel an impending doom settling around him. "Mal-Draco," She had called him Draco. . "When the war ended, because of the torture and other illegal activity that occurred on Malfoy Manor property, the Ministry of Magic confiscated the entire fortune as evidence." She quoted evidence in the air. "Really, I think because of what had happened when you were committed they legally took your rights and your money. Nobody was fighting for you and they took it with barely a word." Draco sat with his mouth hanging open in disbelief. He did not think this was ever a possibility. The Ministry should not have been able to find that money. He had not prepared for this outcome. He was alive, but everyone who had ever cared for him was dead, and he realized all in this moment how much he had relied on other people. He barely felt Hermione's gentle strokes on his back. "I can check you out of here. Would you want to stay with me in my flat?" Draco turned to look in her eyes. "I would appreciate it quite a bit.." He admitted to her. She gave him a tight squeeze and beckoned him up.
"Let's get out of here. There is a lot we need to talk about."
Next chapter coming soon!
