I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It has many instance of heavy dialogue, but I felt it was important to do such in order to get certain things out. Much love! ~Lily's Fireflies
"Draco, why are we here? I really don't think it's a good idea," said Hermione as they appeared in front of the house she and Ron shared.
"I told you, we're paying him a visit. He wanted you to come back, right? Well here you are and here I am about to give him Hell," replied Draco.
Draco was determined to confront Ron once more and there was nothing Hermione could do or say to change his mind. They both stood there for a moment and glanced at each other before finally knocking on the door. For a second, Draco feared Ron wouldn't be home. Hermione was about to let out a sigh of relief when suddenly they heard the door knob turn.
"I don't…. bloody Hell, what are you doing here, Malfoy? Hermione? Come back to apologize?" asked Ron.
"Well… I-" Hermione began to say, but Draco interrupted.
"-No, Weasel. We came here to talk to you about something. Care to let us in?"
Ron appeared to be slightly offended that Draco would ever suggest being allowed into the house. He hated Malfoy for as long as he could remember and he wasn't about to let him come into his personal life freely. Ron noticed Hermione standing next to Draco, quietly staring at the ground and quickly grabbed at her wrist to pull her in.
"Come on, Hermione, let's go back to our life. Just make sure this doesn't happen again or I might not be so generous next time. Now piss off, Malfoy."
Draco, getting angry now, puts his arm in front of Hermione and pushes her back from Ron's grip.
"Listen here you little Weasel, I don't give a fuck what you think about me. I don't care if you hate my guts, but you will listen to what I'm about to say to you. Do you understand?"
Ron smirks and responds, "Funny, Malfoy. It's amazing how things change. Why don't you just mind your own business and leave us alone. We're obviously happy together."
Draco, seeing that he is getting absolutely no where, gives up on reasoning with Ron. His new approach is getting straight to the point.
"Explain the bruises on Hermione, then. If you're so fucking happy as you like to say you are then why the Hell does she have bruises all over her? Why does she cry when she thinks about you or talks about you? Why?"
"It's none of your bloody business, Malfoy. Maybe she's just clumsy. Ever think of that?" Ron questions Draco, trying to defend himself.
"Bull shit. Don't try to play me, Weasel. I'm not a fool. You put those bruises on her. Don't try to get out of it. All I have to ask is this: Do you feel like a man?"
"What the Hell are you talking about?"
"Do you feel like a man when you push Hermione around? Is that why you beat her? Do you feel better about yourself when she falls to the ground? Don't even answer that. I already know the answer, but let me tell you something. Someday this world you've built for yourself is going to crumble to pieces. All the lies you've said, all the harm you've done… they all have consequences. Karma is a bitch, Weasel, and it's coming right back for you. Everything you've done to her keeps piling up and if you're not careful, you're going to drown. She will have had enough and she will leave you broken."
Ron remains speechless in disbelief that Draco Malfoy would actually lecture him.
Draco continues, "You may beg for her to come back, but if I have any say then she won't be back. Hermione deserves better than you."
Ron finally finds his voice again and shouts, "Just who do you think you are? Coming over here and telling me what to do?"
Draco, sick of Ron, turns to Hermione and says, "Come on, let's go. There's nothing more to be said here."
"Wait… there's one thing I'd like to say to you, Ronald."
Ron stares blankly at Hermione.
Hermione stares back for a moment then says, "I really did love you. I do love you… but I just can't do this anymore. I started falling in love with you back in our third year at Hogwarts. I didn't fully realize it until our fourth year though. I loved the way you were, but you've changed so much since we got together in what would've been our seventh year. You've become angry. You've become abusive. I try to tell myself that you'll get better. That things will go back to how they were, but each year you seem to get worse. You started drinking and I just can't deal with it anymore. I'm sorry. I just can't let you hurt me anymore."
Tears were streaming down Hermione's face and once again she lost her will to speak. Draco and Hermione were gone in a blink and Ron was left standing in the door way alone. Ron was still trying to process everything he was just told. Still speechless, he turned back to the house and closed the door behind him.
Draco and Hermione sat in silence once more. They both said what needed to be said, but each of them worried they might have taken it too far. After an hour passed, Hermione finally broke the silence.
"When I was a little girl I always dreamed of waking up some day to find out I was really a princess. I wanted to be like Cinderella. I know you don't know who that is, but she was a gorgeous princess in the Muggle fairy tales."
Draco was unsure of why Hermione started to share this information. Not sure how he should respond, he simply said, "Oh really?"
Hermione let out a slight laugh. She knew Draco must think she's weird for randomly bringing that up. It was quite random, but that didn't stop her from talking more. She had a desire to share something about herself. Draco had been so kind to her, it just felt natural to tell him more.
"You must think I'm crazy. Honestly, I've never really told anyone this before. I tend to keep things about my childhood private since it never compared to growing up in the Wizarding world."
"No. Please, continue. I'd love to hear more," Draco mumbled. He was being completely serious.
"Well… I never did become that princess. I should've realized then that I wasn't cut out to be a princess. I've always been too ugly. My teeth were awful and my hair has always been too bushy."
"Don't say that. You don't have to be perfect to be a princess…"
"Well, I suppose not, but it was still a silly dream. Of course… I never imagined I'd become a witch! When I turned eleven and got my acceptance letter I was ecstatic! I never really had any friends when I was little. It seemed I was always too smart. Everyone called me a freak. When I got my Hogwarts letter, I thought to myself, 'Finally, a place where I'll fit in!' I had this silly idea that magical people must be incredibly intelligent. I thought that magical abilities were related to intelligence."
Draco burst out laughing, "You really thought that? You naïve child! Wow… I think that's the best thing I've heard in awhile."
Hermione attempts to defend herself, but fails. Finally she admits, "Alright, I was sort of naïve… so imagine my surprise when I boarded the Hogwarts Express and found average students surrounding me. That first month of school was painful for me…"
"You're kidding right? You always seemed overly thrilled to be in class. Every class we had together you had this goofy grin on your face because you knew more than everyone else," Draco reflected.
"Well, in class I was pretty happy. The professors all loved me. Except for Snape, of course, but I enjoyed learning about something so new to me. My happiness usually ended when I left the classroom though. I still didn't have friends. I was still a freak. No one wanted me around… even when I thought I was being helpful I was apparently being a burden. I was alone… again. My parents were hundreds of miles away and any friends I did have from home were Muggles and they would eventually move on. I was an outsider. When I met you, I realized just how much of an outsider I was. You called me a-"
"-a Mudblood," Draco said, finishing Hermione's sentence. Any guilt he felt before was increased ten times.
"Yes," Hermione continued, "a Mudblood. I didn't realize, at the time, that people were still calling Muggle-borns Mudbloods. It hurt me more than anyone would ever know. When Harry and Ronald knocked out that troll on Halloween, I felt like I had finally found a place to belong. We didn't always get along, but we had such a great friendship. I will never regret being friends with them…"
Regret fills Draco's body as he listens to Hermione speak. He never realized how much she hurt. He never noticed how hard her life must have been.
"I am so sorry, Hermione. I… I didn't know. I shouldn't have said the things I did."
Hermione sighs, "Don't be sorry. It's in the past now. Sure it still hurts sometimes to think about it, but we've all grown up. I'm different. You're different. I know you'd never call me a Mudblood now…"
Draco looks at Hermione's arms crossed on the table. The word 'mudblood' is still slightly visible as a scar on Hermione's arm. Draco could still remember that day as if it were yesterday. He still had visions of Bellatrix carving the word into Hermione's arm. He could still hear the screams. It tore him apart when he saw her on the ground, defenseless. Yet, he didn't do anything about it. He just stood there and watched. He would never forgive himself.
Finally, after a few moments of awkward silence, Draco smiled at Hermione. He was happy that she would share something so personal about her life. He felt like he finally knew a bit about her. Hermione and Draco had been visiting each other for awhile, but never had they shared anything personal. Time never seemed right and they were both worried about being judged. Since Hermione was sharing parts of her past, Draco thought it would only be fair to share something about his.
"Would you like to know what happened to me seven years ago? Right after Professor Dumbledore died?"