-1Saving Granger

By - Keshia Kay Mansell

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Last Time:

"I had to come up with a plan to leave. I also had to figure out how to do so without being caught." Hermione explained.
"So you staged your death." Draco said, now understanding her motives.
"So I staged my death and made damn sure it was believable. I told no one- and I do mean no one knew of my plan. And when I knew there were no flaws in my plan, I left."

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Chapter 4: Revelations

Flash Back: Hermione's P.O.V.

I waited three long months before I put my plan in action. In that time, I had secretly bought and gathered supplies for my escape, all while pretending to be the perfect slave. My act was good enough to fool Ron, who now thought that I understood obedience. I knew the time was close when he mentioned going out of town for a few days. He had a meeting with the 'Flaming Snitches' and apparently he thought I could be trusted to stay home alone.

By now, I still had large gashes on my tender skin and had to wear long clothing to conceal them. People on the streets of Diagon Ally no longer said 'hi' when I passed and if they did, I simply ignored them. I'd do anything to make sure I wouldn't get in trouble with Ron. I just had to hold up my act until he left and then I'd be done. Never would I have to be under his demanding control again.

When that fateful day finally arrived, I was nervous and happy at the same time. This was after all, a life or death situation and anything could happen. I fidgeted with hem of my skirt until it was time to see him out.

"I'll be back in a couple of days." Ron enlightened me. Then he warned, "Behave, Hermione. I wouldn't want to have to punish you when I return."

"Don't worry, Ronald. I'll be absolutely fine by myself." I informed him strongly. He ignored my tone and kissed me on the forehead, bidding his adieu. I breathed a sigh of relief when he walked out of that door and out of my life.

I immediately went to the large broom closet and lifted up the floor boards. That was where I had been stashing everything I would need to make my escape. I double-checked everything to make sure it was there. Then I started the dirty work. If anything was out of place, I knew there would be hell to pay.

My murder would be staged in the kitchen. It would look like I had been eating dinner when I died. I used a dead Bogart that had been tampered with to keep a certain form, which in this case was to look like me. But I had injected it with a mixture of Nymph blood and my blood along with a few simple herbs that would cause the blood stream to morph until it matched mine. Such changes were absolutely untraceable so they'd never guess that it wasn't really me.

Then I stepped away from it about a foot or so and shouted, "INCINDIO!" The Bogart immediately caught aflame. I then hurried off into my room and grabbed my packed bags that I had hidden under the bed. If I didn't leave soon, I'd burn along with the rest of the flat. I took one last look at what I once called my home, before grabbing some floo powder and rambling the address of the place I thought I'd be happiest.

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Present Time:

"You mean you had already had another place to go?" Draco asked. Hermione nodded. "But you said so yourself that no one could know of your plan, so how did you do it? And how did you end up homeless?"

"Well, because I was dead to the Wizarding Community, I had no choice but to take residence in the Muggle World. That's where the trouble started. I thought I had done my research when I bought a small flat in Muggle London, but apparently I hadn't done enough. The Galleons that I had transferred into Pounds wasn't near as much as I had originally thought."

"You see, I hadn't been to the Muggle world in quite some time and things had changed drastically. Inflation had occurred an money was extremely hard to come by, let alone keep. I found myself working odd jobs, trying to make ends meat. On top of that, I was taking a medicine called TopaMax to stabilize my tremors. Then, a year later, the landlord said he could no longer accept late rent and I was forced to the streets." Hermione explained.

"Couldn't you have gotten a different job, though?"

"No, it wasn't that simple. Because of the inflation, businesses were laying off workers left and right. I could no-longer buy my medicine either. I couldn't go to my parents or my friends because I was already dead in their minds. I couldn't go home to Ron; he'd just beat me. I had nowhere to go."

"Hermione," Draco looked her in the eye. "How long have you been on the streets?"

"At least two years now." she answered quietly. She then looked away from him and bowed her head, ashamed at who she had become. "Perhaps it was punishment for leaving. Maybe I really am a Mudblood." A lone tear streaked down her face.

"Don't say things like that." He lifted her head. "You're the brightest witch of your age! Your Hermione Granger for Merlin's sake!" he smiled at her, wiping her tear away.

"Draco… why are you doing this?" she asked searching his liquid silver eyes. "Why are you helping me?"

Draco moved his hands away from her and frowned. "After the war, I was in denial. My father raised me with certain beliefs that he literally beat into my head. When the Dark Lord lost and my father was sent to Askaban, I was lost. I had never known anything else."

"Then, one day I was reading the 'Daily Prophet,' and your face was in the obituaries. At first I didn't care, hell I was happy. Finally the Golden Trio and their followers would suffer as I. But then I felt something, something I had never felt before: guilt. I felt absolutely horrible for all the years I had treated you so badly. After all, it was you and your friends who had saved me in that final battle."

"On the day of your funeral I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, sat through the entire service a changed man. I completely ignored the angered looks of the Weasley clan and paid my respects. The only person who didn't question my motives was Potter, who had given me a small smile. That day I vowed never to treat anyone as horrible as I had treated you, and so far I haven't." Draco said quietly. He had never revealed many of his thoughts to others, but around Hermione, he felt he could. She, like him, had been through a lot in her life. She deserved the honest truth.

"Draco," Hermione said warmly as she place a hand on his shoulder. "What you have done for me today proves you're a changed man. Without your kindness, I'd still be on the streets waiting patiently for death to come. I accept your apology and I offer my own in return." she smiled.

"You shouldn't have to do that, it was mostly me anyway." Draco told her, but then he smiled, saying. "I accept."

"Thank you." she whispered as she gave him a small hug, which he accepted awkwardly in return.

"I think that will be enough for tonight." Draco said thoughtfully as he turned off the recorder. "I will send this off to the Ministry in the morning. Until then, you should get some rest. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Hermione agreed as she bid him 'Good night,' and headed to her room. Once there she plopped down on her soft, oversize bed. Her last thought before closing her eyelids was, 'who would have thought that I could turn Malfoy into such a gentlemen…'

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A/N: Before you even ask, yes TopaMax is indeed a real medicine. It is normally prescribed to people who suffer from tremors caused by Parkinson's Disease. And do remember that Hermione's tremors are caused by the miss-aimed unforgivable that Ron cast in the last chapter. I thought I'd bring out the more sensitive side to Draco's personality. What do you think? In the next Chapter Draco and Hermione will travel to the Ministry of Magic in hopes of finding Justice!

-KKM