Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Otherwise Dudley would have gotten his redemption arc.
Group Therapy
Summary
What happens when the trio return to Hogwarts after the war and McGonagall hires a team of counselors to help the students through their trauma?
Author's Note:
I often wonder while reading Harry Potter where the eff the school counselors were. My inspiration came for this story while waiting nervously in the waiting room of a new therapist's office. I wondered what it would be like to be the school counselor at Hogwarts. This story follows the lives of the Trio as they go through their Eighth Year of Hogwarts. I had originally intended that the story would heavily focus on the therapy sessions, but i really enjoy writing dialogue so it's sort of a background theme. Also, I'm not a counselor so I'm trying my best. If you have constructive criticism, please let me know.
Relationships/Things to Know
I used to be baffled that any sane person would ship Hermione with anyone other than Ron. Then I discovered fanfic. I now very much ship Draco and Hermione, but I think Ron is just lovely and I don't like to rag on him. I think he has a very specific role in Hermione's life and I think he is an honorable and wonderful character. This fic is HEA Dramione but starts of with some Romione plot points. It focuses more on Hermione and Draco, but I like to include perspective from Ron and Harry as well (plus a few other bonus perspectives as we move along).
Fluff/Tropes To Look Forward To
I love fluff. Please prepare yourself for cheesy tropes including: accidental romance, meddling mothers, school projects turning enemies into friends, falling in love in formal attire, and more
Other Notes
It's halfway written. I'm tweaking the chapters on the fall semester and plan to upload ever week or so.
Rating M just to be safe. It includes language and reference to torture, but nothing too explicit. I haven't decided if I'll include lemons later on.
Chapter 1 – At Least There Were Snacks
Tuesday, September 2
Group
Mandy Dearborne waited in one chair in the large circle. 20 chairs, one for each Eighth Year student that had returned. She straightened her skirt and heard the bell ring.
Deep breath, she thought. You've run group therapy sessions in high security prisons. This can't be worse than that.
"…they're making us do this." A boy said in the hall.
"Well I don't think it's the worst thing. Certainly, we've been through a lot. I just hope they lighten up on the schedule for those of us that are better adjusted. Two hours a week. I'll need those hours for N.E.W.T. studying." A girl spoke quickly.
"Merlin can you give it a rest. It's 9 AM on the first day and you're already stressing about exams that are 10 months away."
"It's never too early to start thinking-"
"As long as they don't make us sit in some kind of prayer circle…" a second boy spoke up
The door banged open.
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." A boy stopped in his tracks upon seeing her. "Oh, sorry ma'am."
"It's quite alright. Please take a seat." She motioned to the chairs. The boy and his two friends sat down on the left a few seats away. They talked quietly among themselves. She knew who they were but was determined to act casual. The other students filed in and took their seats. Some of them looked apprehensive. Some looked annoyed. One or two looked politely curious. A raucous bunch stopped laughing as soon as they entered the room.
A girl groaned. "I shouldn't have come back."
Mandy smiled sweetly at the new group and motioned to the empty chairs. One of the girls already seated scooted down a few seats so that there was room for the group to sit together. A boy muttered his thanks.
Only two seats remained. A boy tripped through the door and everyone laughed.
"Merlin you'd think he'd have some swagger after last year." One of the raucous boys whispered loudly. His friend elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a stern look.
The final bell rang to signify the end of the break. The door opened one last time and the final boy slinked in. He assessed the room and upon seeing the only chair left he looked to the ceiling as though praying for strength. He quietly accepted his fate and settled in the chair between Mandy and the first girl who had walked in fussing about NEWTs.
At the entrance of the boy – or the final bell, she wasn't sure which – everyone fell silent. They looked at Mandy. She cleared her throat and began.
"Hello everyone! My name is Mandy Dearborne and I will be leading these group session as well as your individual sessions. As you already know, I'm one of the counselors that has been hired by the school to assist as you go through your final year here at Hogwarts."
She noticed some weary glances go around the group.
"I understand that you might be apprehensive as this is a novel experience for most of you. I assure you that you have nothing to worry about. You have all experienced a great deal and the headmistress rightly decided that all students would benefit from the opportunity to talk about their feelings and experiences. We will meet in this group each Wednesday and I will meet with you individually once a week. If you would like to meet with me more frequently, I will do my best to sort that out.
"My hope is that each of you will feel comfortable discussing your past traumas as well as any issues that come up throughout the school year. In this group we will discuss issues that affect the whole group as well as go through some stress management exercises. Everything you say to me in private is completely confidential unless I have a very great fear that you are a danger to yourself or someone else." She tried to make eye contact with everyone in the room throughout her speech.
"What if we don't want to be here Professor?" One of the boys piped up.
"Please, call me Mandy. I am no professor. I know that some of you would prefer not to engage in these sessions. Your attendance is required though your participation is not something I can enforce. Those of you who put effort into our sessions will find great benefit, but if you are determined not to participate. I will not force you. You may not, however, participate in other activities or studies during our sessions. If you choose not to participate you must sit quietly and refrain from disturbing the others."
There was some murmuring.
"Does anyone have any questions?"
"Why are you American?" one boy asked
"Because that's where I was born!" She winked at him and he looked taken aback. "Sorry, bad joke. The headmistress hired counselors exclusively from outside of Europe. There are a few of us from the States, a few from Canada, two from Australia, and one from Japan. But to answer your question, the idea was that counselors from outside of England might be more removed from the events of the past few years. Of course, I know much of what went on but I am not generally familiar with your names and backgrounds. The hope is that you might trust us more if you felt more anonymous."
"What makes you think we'd trust you at all?" One girl spat.
"Nothing." The girl looked surprised. "I don't expect any of you to trust me. I will have to earn that."
There was some murmured discussion about this.
"Well now that you know why I'm here, why don't you talk amongst yourselves. I'm sure you have quite a bit to catch up on. I will be over there," she pointed to the corner of the room where she'd set out lemonade and some cookies, "if you have any questions." She stood up and moved her chair over to the table and opened up the book she brought and began to read.
She noticed that the circle stayed very quiet. No one had seemed to expect that she would just let them chit chat for the better part of an hour. Slowly, the students turned to each other and began chatting quietly. She subtly observed them. After a few minutes a few of the students wandered over to check out the cookie situation. She smiled at them but did not force them into a conversation. A few students introduced themselves to her as they came over for refreshments. Most did not.
She noticed that most of the students chatted with those they had entered with. A few went over to see other students. Some definitely avoided each other. A few said very little at all.
After a while she checked her watch and brought her chair back over to the circle.
"Well our hour is almost up. You will typically not receive any official homework from these sessions. I will however pose a topic for you to consider before we meet again. Please consider gratitude over the next week." She handed out a sheet of paper to each student. "This sheet has some general information on gratitude and how it can keep stress at bay. Please think of something you are grateful for and come prepared to share that with the group."
The bell rang.
"Thank you everyone. I will see you next time." She smiled at them as they all picked up their bags and headed for the exit.
"—could've been a lot worse."
"—don't want to put up with this touchy feely shit."
"At least there were snacks!"
"—Only thing I'm grateful for is that we don't have homework."
"Americans are so hot."
"Do you think she'll have cookies each time?"
She smiled to herself. Overall, that went well, she thought.
Thursday, September 3
Ron
Ron grumbled to himself as he made his way up to the third floor where Mandy's office was.
He rolled his eyes and knocked the door. Many opened it and motioned for him to enter. He plopped down on the sofa and crossed his arms.
"So, you must be Ronald Weasley."
"Ron."
"You prefer Ron?" Mandy asked politely.
"Yeah. Only Hermione and mum call me Ronald. Makes me feel like I'm in trouble." He muttered.
"Well, nice to meet you Ron." She held out her hand. He shook it tentatively. "How are you today?"
"Er. Fine. Thanks."
"Well would you like to tell me about yourself?"
"There's not much to tell."
"I'm sure that's not true.
He narrowed his eyes. What was she playing at? She said nothing more but just looked at him curiously. He remembered what she had said about not having to participate. Maybe he would just stare off into space for an hour. Yes, that was a good plan. It's not as though the last hour had been quiet. Hermione was droning on and on about Arithmancy. He had forgotten what it was like to hear her talk about something innocuous. But still, it was Arithmancy. He hadn't taken it for a reason.
He made it about 30 seconds before succumbing to the awkwardness of silence.
"Okay fine what do you want to know? I'm one of seven. Second youngest. Last boy. My sister is the year behind me. Everyone else has graduated. Bill works for Gringotts, Charlie is off galivanting with dragons. Fr- George owns a joke shop. Percy still works at the Ministry."
"That was only five siblings." He narrowed his eyes. This lady...
"Yeah so what?"
"Nothing. I'd love to hear more about sixth sibling one day." She said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, sure." He rolled his eyes.
"But you didn't really tell me anything about yourself."
"Well what do you want to know?" they were two minutes in and he was already impatient.
"How about we start with what you like to do outside of class."
"Uh, quidditch. I was Keeper last – I mean sixth year. I like the Chudley Cannons even though they are the sorriest excuse for a team I've ever heard. I'm pretty good at Wizard Chess. Harry and I play exploding snap a lot."
"I play chess too." She motioned to a board on the bookshelf. "Maybe next week you can bring your set and we can play a game."
He didn't really know what to make of that so he ignored it. It was quiet again. He decided awkward silence was the worst kind of talking.
"I know you skipped last year." He stiffened. "Would you like to talk about any of those experiences? Or the summer?" Ah... The reason we're here.
"No."
"Alright that's fine.
Silence again. He picked at his fingernails. He scratched his head. He re-tied his shoe. He sighed. He looked around the room and, upon seeing a flag of light blue, narrowed his eyes.
"You support the Tornadoes?"
"Yes, I do."
"But you're American."
"I'm aware. My husband is British and they've always been his favorite team."
He muttered "bandwagon" under his breath.
"I'm not ashamed of it. I never liked quidditch until I met him. But his enthusiasm and team spirit was so infections I couldn't resist. I've been a fan ever since."
"Well I doubt you'll have much to cheer for this year since Levi is out." He said coldly raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, well I suppose not, but still a better chance than your Cannons." She raised an eyebrow back.
He scoffed but before Ron knew it, he and Mandy were in a friendly but heated discussion about Quidditch.
. . .
"—and that's exactly why that rule needs to be changed! It's just not fair!"
"Oh I agree. But it will never get approved." Mandy checked her watch. "Well, Mr. Weasley, our time is up for today."
"Really?" Ron was surprised.
"In fact we went over a bit. I won't have time to use the loo before my session with Ms. Patil. It was a pleasure to meet you Ron. I'll see you next week." She stood up and opened her office door.
"Er yeah. Thanks."
He stepped into the hall and saw Parvati pacing nervously.
"How was it?" She asked tentatively.
"Er, fine. We just talked about Quidditch."
"Hm. Okay well wish me luck." She stepped into Mandy's office and closed the door.
He trudged off to the Great Hall feeling like even though he had won almost each debate they'd had about Quidditch, Mandy had won somehow.
Friday, September 4
Draco
"Please come in Mr. Malfoy." Mandy held out her hand and Draco shook it curtly. She motioned to the couch. Microfiber, he thought. He could already see the wrinkles from the 15 students who'd sat there before him.
He bypassed the couch and leaned against the wall next to the window that looked over the lake, trying to arrange himself in his best casually composed lean.
"How are you today?" She asked not bothering to turn her chair towards him.
He grunted but did not answer.
"How has your first week back been." He rolled his eyes and grunted again, less audibly this time.
"Would you like to tell me about yourself?"
He didn't even dignify that with a grunt.
She hummed softly but did not press him to answer. He heard her scratching in her notebook. He stole a glance at her. She was writing in an appointment book. He looked away as she set it back on her desk.
He focused on the lake again. What he would give for the squid to make an appearance.
But that was fine, he didn't need a distraction. He'd studied occlumency. Meditating for an hour was so easy a first year could do it. He studied the waves of the lake and let his mind focus on nothing at all.
. . . . .
"Well, Draco, that does it for today."
He straightened up and looked at her casually. She was sitting in almost the same position she had been the last time he looked at her. Had she just been sitting there for an hour? He wasn't sure what annoyed him more – that she could also meditate for an hour or how seemingly unbothered she was for just wasting an hour of her life.
He huffed.
"Well I'll see you next week. Have a pleasant afternoon."
He made no sound nor no acknowledgement of her as he flung the door open and darted to the side. He crashed into something – someone. A heavy bag fell to the floor and a large head of bushy brown hair bent down to pick it up.
"Watch where you're going Granger." He spat
"I was just standing here. You watch where you're going." She had her hand on her hip and looked flustered.
"Whatever." He sidestepped her and stalked silently off to the Slytherin common room.
Hermione
Hermione waited patiently outside Mandy's office. She was nervous but didn't know why. It's not like she hadn't spent all summer begging Harry and Ron to talk about their feelings. She tapped her foot and checked her watch. She was 15 minutes early. It seemed very quiet in the room. She couldn't hear anyone talking. She wondered who was before her and how they were behaving. She'd heard mixed reviews from her various classmates. She looked around guiltily and pressed her ear to the door. She still couldn't hear anything. Either they were very quiet or Mandy had put a silencing charm on the door. She was just about to move back to the bench on the other side of the hall when the doorknob twitched.
She yelped and bounded to the side of the door as Draco Malfoy practically flew out of the room, turned the corner and ran straight into her. She stumbled backward and dropped her schoolbag. She picked it up and straightened her robes.
"Watch where you're going Granger." He spat
"I was just standing here. You watch where you're going." She couldn't help the blush that crept into her cheeks. She would have been safely across the hall had she not tried to snoop.
"Whatever."
She rolled her eyes. At least Malfoy would always be Malfoy. The first week had proved that almost nothing was the same. At least there was that.
But he didn't need to run away. She shook her head. If anyone needed someone to talk to it was probably his sorry ass.
She knocked on the door. "I'm Hermione Granger. I'm a bit early. Do you want me to wait outside until 3?"
"No, Ms. Granger, please come in." Mandy welcomed her in with a smile and motioned to the couch. She sat.
Hemione knew about therapists' offices. She'd had to see one the summer after Second Year. Her parents wanted her to talk to someone about the petrification incident. Obviously it wasn't particularly productive since the therapist was a muggle and she couldn't really get into specifics. Between that and TV, she felt like she had a decent idea of what to expect. They always had a couch and usually two chairs. One for the therapist, leaving the patient to choose where he or she was most comfortable. The decorations and colors in the office were usually soothing and neutral. She sniffed. Lavender. A mini zen garden on the coffee table. How original. A large bookcase jam packed with muggle and magical books alike from the looks of it. Mandy's desk was neat. A clock on the wall that had been silenced so as not to tick.
"How are you today?" Mandy sat in the chair across from her.
"Oh I'm fine thank you. How are you?"
"Very well, thank you for asking." She smiled at Hermione. "Would you like to tell me about yourself?"
"Oh, I mean I guess I can. I assumed... I didn't know how much you already knew."
"I would be lying if I did not know who you were or the extraordinary things you've done. However I prefer to allow people to introduce themselves to me on their own terms."
"Oh, well. Then I'm Hermione." She did a simple waving motion with her hand. What is wrong with you? "I'm muggle born. I was ever so excited when Professor McGonagall came to my house and told me that I was a witch. I, of course, had never considered it but it did explain many things. I couldn't wait to come to Hogwarts afterwards. When I got here it was amazing and a thousand times better than I expect. I was so engrossed in my studies that I barely had time at all for making friends at the beginning. Eventually I found Ron and Harry and we've been inseparable ever since. They are so difficult sometimes but I wouldn't trade them for the world. I'm an only child. So it's just my parents – it's just me." She took a long breath and started again.
"Let's see. My favorite book is Les Mis and I have seen it live three times, once in Paris with my parents. My birthday is in a couple weeks. My favorite class is Arithmancy. I don't think very many people understand why but it's just fascinating. I think everyone assumes I'm going to into the Ministry after this year but I just don't know. I have rarely approved of what they do and even now I don't know that they're handling things very well. I mean, it's bureaucracy. It's the same everywhere. Just look at your congress. I think I might be able to make more of a difference if I did charity work. But of course, where would I get the money for that? Which brings me back to a Ministry job. I mean obviously it would be fairly straightforward to get a job there. They already offered one to several of us that came back for eighth year. I could always work for a few years and make some connections and then try to get out on my own. But I don't know, it just seems so… slow. I want to make change now! She took another long breath. "So people assume I'm either going to go straight to the Ministry or become a healer." She made a face.
"You don't want to be a healer?"
"I think people just assume I'd want to be a healer because there's so much more schooling required. But I think I've had enough blood for a whole lifetime."
"Hm. That's certainly true."
"Well is there anything else you want to know?"
"Is there anything else you think is important?"
Hermione considered this. "I think this is a really smart thing Professor McGonagall did. I mean, it's not like Hogwarts has been the most forward place and clearly all of us bottling up our emotions hasn't done a lot of good. I know a lot of students feel weird talking about the war, but we've all suffered and I think we'll tear each other apart if we don't address the issues. Plus it's nice to have someone as a third party to talk to. I never really felt like the other girls in my dorm understood me. They were always going on about makeup and boys. I always too busy making sure… Anyway, I'm not much of a girly girl. But having two boys as your best friends doesn't exactly leave a lot of room for long chats about feelings if you know what I mean. So anyway, I think it's good. I know that people are pretty unhappy about it and I hope that they haven't been giving you too hard a time."
"Well thank you. It's been fine. It's nothing I'm not trained for. I just want everyone to know that I'm here. If there comes a point where someone needs me, I'll be right here."
Hermione wasn't sure what to say next.
"Well is there anything you'd like to talk about? I have to admit I'm grateful that you're open to the idea."
Hermione was taken aback. "Oh, well I didn't mean that I necessary needed help. I mean I've been talking plenty to Luna and Ginny and I'm not a fool. There are good days and bad days. I'm sure it'll be hard as we go through the year, but for now I'm just happy to be here. I just meant that I'm happy people like Ron and Harry will have someone to talk to. Since they won't talk to me."
"I see. And why do you think they won't talk to you?"
"Oh I don't know. That's how they've always been. Harry is better than Ron. I've said it before, he has the emotional range of a teaspoon. And he lost his brother which I know is hurting him more than he's letting on. And Harry thinks that I don't know that Kreacher sneaks him Butterbeer and Firewhiskey every week. It's just… I worry about him. Harry has Ginny. It isn't perfect but Ginny understands Harry in a way that I don't think Ron or even I do. Maybe it's something to do with everything she went through second year. But Ron… I just see him going through the motions and everything's always been so wonderful for him and I just worry. I just feel like I should be able to... I just worry."
"And why do you feel like it is your responsibility to worry about him?"
"Well isn't that what friends do?"
"I suppose so." Mandy adjusted in her seat but didn't expand.
"I mean I wish he would talk to me. I mean were so close Fifth Year because neither of us really understood what was going on with Harry. I really thought then… Anyway then Sixth Year happened. But we got close again the summer before we left with Harry. But really we were both just avoiding reality. And then during the battle. Anyway. I just thought things would be different."
"What happened Sixth Year?"
"I mean I thought we would… After Fifth Year. But then there was all that stupid business with L— Oh gosh. We don't need to… I mean it's ancient history at this point. And I wouldn't want to... I just." She sighed. She knew she was sputtering. She had expected that they would get together Sixth Year. They'd shared plenty of moments Fifth Year and at the Burrow last summer before Harry had turned up. But the memory of Lavender's death was too fresh. She had never been close to the girl and had said her fair share of rotten things about her but she was a sweet girl. And it was so hard to see Parvati suffering so. Parvati had only come back because Padma begged her to. Padma had wanted to come back for her N.E.W.T.s so she could be a healer. Parvati didn't want to come back to the castle without Lavender. But she'd done it as a favor to her sister. Hermione pretended not to notice that Parvati had slept on the couch in the Common Room each night instead of in her bed up in their Eighth Year dorm. She knew Parvati couldn't handle sleeping in their dorm with only two beds. Without the stack of magazines between she and Lavender's bed. Without Hermione complaining about them gossiping too loudly and begrudgingly casting a silencing charm over her bed when they refused to go to sleep. Even Hermione missed Lavender's incessant suggestions about her hair and makeup. Lavender had always managed to compliment her even when she was barraging Hermione with suggestions on how she couldn't possibly drive boys further away. She was always sweet in her own way. Even after everything Sixth Year, Lavender had been one of the first to hug Hermione when they showed up in the Room of Requirement. She'd never forget the way she looked… Pale, covered in blood… Hermione felt a burn in her throat and stuffed it down.
"Hermione?"
She registered Mandy speaking to her through the haze of her thoughts.
"Hm?"
"I asked if you and Ron are romantically involved?"
Hermione sighed. Wouldn't she like to know the answer to that too?
Her mind flitted off to the night after the battle. Gryffindor Tower had been destroyed so they couldn't sleep there. Harry had gone off with Ginny and it had been hours. The Hufflepuff dorms had been relatively untouched and Hannah Abbott invited them all to stay there. They'd chosen the Second Year boys' dorm. After all those archaic wards on the girls' dorms were still in place. Ron stroked her hair until she fell asleep. She woke up in his arms. When he finally woke up they just looked into each other's eyes for a minute or an hour. They'd shared a long tender kiss before heading down to the Great Hall to face the grief of the day before. Everything had changed again. It seemed like Ron had allowed himself 12 hours of blissful amnesia down in the Hufflepuff dorms. But the second he was reunited with his family he was overcome with grief and anger and caretaking. She couldn't blame him but they never got back to where they were. They stayed at Grimmauld place with Harry and Ginny but in separate rooms. Sometimes Ron would slip into bed with her in the middle of the night. But he'd always be gone by daybreak. She only knew because of her blissful dreamless sleep and the smell of his shampoo on his pillow. They never talked about it and they hadn't kissed again. She thought it might be better at Hogwarts because he had more people around and things to distract him. But it only seemed to make things worse. He laughed with Harry and Neville in the Common Room and sometimes held her hand when no one was watching. But he refused to meet her eyes, let alone talk about anything. His bright blue eyes were sad most of the time unless he was talking about Quidditch. She thought sadly of the "Quidditch for Dummies" book hidden in her dresser. She'd been reading up on the subject since it was the only thing that made him happy. If he wouldn't talk to her about anything else, she'd at least talk to him about Quidditch. She hadn't realized how much she relied on the twinkling behind his eyes until it was gone.
"No," she finally answered. "No, we're not.
"Well it certainly sounds like you care for him a great deal. He's lucky to have a friend like you."
The burning in Hermione's throat was back. She gulped it down but it wasn't going away. She looked at the wall above Mandy willing the impending tears to go away. She noticed the clock.
"It's fifteen till," she said to Mandy
"We still have a few minutes."
"Well I started fifteen minutes early. I'm sure you need a break. You didn't have one after Malfoy. I'll just leave you to it." She got up and slung her bag over her shoulder.
"Alright dear well my door is always open, metaphorically at least. Just ring the buzzer if you ever want to talk. Day or night."
Hermione was already at the door. She put on her best Gryffindor smile and turned back to Mandy "It was just lovely to chat. I'll see you on Wednesday."
"Thank you, Hermione. I so enjoyed getting to know you."
Hermione practically ran down the corridor and barely made it into an abandoned classroom before sinking to the ground in silent, body shaking sobs.
No wonder Malfoy had been so desperate to get away from there, she thought bitterly to herself.
Sometime later she recognized that Luna had joined her. Luna didn't say anything but stroked her hair and hummed a tune Hermione wasn't familiar with. After she finally stilled, Luna wiped her eyes and used her wand to apply a glamor spell to her face to hide her swollen and red eyes. Then she jabbered on about some nonsense and led Hermione by the hand to the Great Hall for dinner. Luna sat with the Gryffindors that night. No one asked any questions. Hermione never asked Luna how she'd found her.
Author's Note:
Thank you for reading! :)