It had been a week since Malfoy had arrived on Hermione's turf. After the manager had his little chat with him, Draco had started to pull his weight more – minimally, but more than he had been. The two were civil with each other, and the kids seemed to like him (though Hermione secretly noted with pride that she was still their favourite). He even read some of them to sleep. It was weird to see Malfoy in a kind of paternal role. It almost warmed her heart. But nope. He was still a prick, and she didn't feel quite safe.
The youngest child was claimed back by her parents. Hermione cried when she had left, while Draco smirked at her. It took all of her willpower not to punch him in the face, but she didn't want to upset the other children.
And then one night, an own arrived for Draco, and he went paler than he already was. Hermione was sitting on the couch with a couple of the children, and she watched him with interest as he abruptly stood up and strode off, shutting himself in his bedroom. She shrugged and continued helping the kids with their ABCs.
Draco pretty much holed himself up in his room for days, only coming out for the obvious necessities, red-eyed and growing thinner. As much as Hermione did not like him, she began to worry. The kids kept asking why he wasn't helping, and Hermione just had to tell them to leave them alone.
And finally, he came out and started being a part of the household again. Hermione looked at him questioningly, and he turned away, avoiding her gaze. She wasn't feeling sympathy for him, was she?
It took a couple of weeks for Malfoy to finally open up to Hermione. The remaining four kids were in bed, and she was reading on the couch. He sat down in the armchair across from her, and cleared his throat. Hermione looked at him.
"Mother has died. I thought you would be pleased to hear."
Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, no. Draco. I am so sorry."
"Look, you don't have to pretend to care. I just wanted to explain my behaviour weeks ago. She killed herself, because she was messed up over what she was involved with during the war."
"Oh my god. Draco, I truly AM sorry. No one deserves an end like this." She impulsively put her hand on his, which was resting on the table between them. Then she realised what she was doing, and pulled it away. He looked at her, shocked and kind of disgusted. But mostly, he looked sad.
"Granger, I am sorry for calling you a mudblood all of those times. I am sorry for my role on Voldemort's side. I regret it so much, but at the same time, it is hard to get over my old prejudices. But I don't mean any harm. I really have changed. The war frightened me into seeing rationality." Draco looked on the verge of tears. "I couldn't stay at home anymore. Things had gotten so bad. Father only switched sides to save his own ass, and he was angry. Really angry. It was scary, so I got out. Mother chose to stay, and now she's dead. I have nothing. I don't know what to do with myself now."
Hermione was startled. Was Malfoy really opening up to her? Was Malfoy really showing regret? No one deserved this. She looked into his grey eyes, usually so cold, but now full of tears.
"Malfoy, are you okay? You're not thinking of… following your mother, are you?"
"No. I don't know. I don't know if I can ever be accepted back into society after what I did. And I was brought up with those values so deeply ingrained, that it is hard for me to try and change."
Hermione put her hand out. "Truce?"
He shook it, looking wary. "Okay."
"Look, it will take a lot to be forgiven. You need to really make an effort to change, and work hard to earn a decent place in society. Have you thought about going back to Hogwarts and finishing school?"
He shook his head. "I don't know."
"I think it would be a good idea. You could graduate and it would be a good start on a career path. I'm going to be enrolling too. I will help you."
Draco stood up, tears in his eyes, and hugged her briefly, whispering "thanks," before shuffling off to bed. Hermione went off to her bed, feeling thoroughly confused.
Had the world turned upside down?
