Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.
Hermione's POV
It's been a couple of days since Draco hid himself from the rest of us and I'm starting to feel really lonely. Ginny and Luna have had a lot of assignments due recently so they can't spend as much time with me, Neville has been busy helping Professor Sprout take care of the plants on the Hogwarts premises before winter as the battle damaged most of them, and Blaise has been spending most of his time running away from the seventh and eighth year Slytherin girls since they realized he was the only male Slytherin with lots of money and a good reputation. I feel happy for the boys, but I also feel kind of jealous. As a Head I have a lot of responsibilities, some of which I've had to take over for Malfoy, but right now it's just patrolling and being the communication point between the teachers and students. I don't have very much to do besides that as I've hit a bit of a slow point in school work and I must have read almost all the books in the library by now.
I walk out of the Transfiguration classroom and head down to the Great Hall after dropping my books off in my room. I sit with my friends like usual, but I don't feel like eating a lot today. I gather a plate for Draco and start to leave when I hear someone call, or rather screech, my name.
"Granger!" I turn around in surprise to see Pansy stalking after me. She reaches me in just a few strides and drags me into the hallway. I struggle to not drop the food and just barely balance it properly.
"What have you done to my Draco!" she practically yells at me. She doesn't seem that sad or heartbroken, just angry.
"Sorry what?" I look at her in confusion, not quite understanding what she's talking about.
"My Drakie-poo hasn't been seen for days now! What have you done to him, killed him? Finally got sick of him calling you a mudblood and hoped your war-hero status would save you from Azkaban? Well it won't!" I stare at her, and after a few moments I laugh. It starts out as a giggle at first, but soon it's hysterical. She starts to look confused and slightly perturbed by my behaviour. I take a few deep breaths before answering her in the simplest way possible in an attempt to get it in her thick skull.
"Pansy, I haven't done anything to Draco. His mother died about a week ago and he's been mourning this whole time. In fact, I'm on my way right now to give him some food so he doesn't starve to death."
"Ohh, well… you're still a filthy mudblood slime ball. Hmph." She says very indignantly. At that she stalks off and I have to bite my lip to prevent myself from laughing yet again. The whole encounter was so stupid and pathetic. I walk up to my dorm room and climb the stairs to our rooms before leaving the plate of food by Draco's door with another note.
I settle down for the evening and do some homework. When I finish that I read for about an hour before I put the book down in utter boredom. It's really sad, but books no longer capture me in the same way they did before the war. They all seem so fake now, particular my adventure novels, or just plain boring. I never thought that day would ever come but here I am now, completely and utterly bored and not wanting to read books. I carefully place the book on my shelf, just because I don't find them as interesting as before doesn't mean I don't hold them in high value, and leave to take a walk. My patrols don't start for another hour, but if I don't go out I'll go insane.
As Head Girl, I can leave and wander the grounds without permission or supervision, but I haven't really used that privilege till now. I walk down to the lake and sit under a tree to watch the sun set. I sit and just take in the crisp fall air, the golden rays of sun that are slowly fading, the soft touch of the grass underneath me, the smell of the trees surrounding me, the shimmering surface of the lake, and just the delicacy of it all. I allow myself to just stop thinking and relax. After awhile, I get up and return to the castle to do my patrols.
I wander the halls and break up a couple squabbles, as well as direct a group of lost first years. We really should give them maps or at least have a couple interactive ones on the walls in more secluded spaces, especially since the portraits are almost useless at giving directions. I remember that even though I read Hogwarts: A History about twice in first year and could tell you the placement of every single portrait in the school, I still got lost many times before Harry and Ron became friends with me. Actually I still did even when they befriended me, in fact I think it happened even more often with them.
I return to my dorms to collect Draco's plate and take it down to the kitchens like usual. As I take it down I think back to Pansy's words from earlier, and my own response when I remember a small bit that I said. When she accused me of doing something to him, I said that I 'hadn't done anything to him', and though that's not entirely true, I could be doing more. I've been scared about pressuring him, but it's been awhile and I think I need to try a little harder. I think back to when we first started becoming friends. It was probably on the Hogwarts Express coming to Hogwarts. When I look back at it, the main thing we bonded over and still do bond over is music. We were able to draw each other out with music because of its simplicity, but also its ability to convey complex emotion in an easy to understand way. I practically run back to my dorm once I've realized this and pull up my computer.
I search my playlists trying to find a song that would convey what I want to say to him. Eventually after searching in one of my oldest playlists, I find a song that I think fits. I change a couple words and find an instrumental track. I download the song to my phone and sit outside Draco's door like I usually do at the end of the day.
"Draco, I know you're in there. I realized today that you need friend right now. I don't want to pressure you or anything, but it's not going to help you by staying in there. I know your mother died and you're mourning her death, but I also know that mourning my parents brought a lot of memories back from during the war. I know you had a very hard time during the war, and you're probably having a very hard time reliving those memories. I just want you to know that I'll always be here for you. I also wanted to explain this to you in a simpler way so just keep listening for a little longer." My thoughts are kind of muddled right now, and I'm not sure if any of it made sense to him, but I hit the play button on the song anyway and listen to join in to the song Changing Tides by the Fray.
When the rain came
It washed us out to sea
I'm holding what I love
And he's holding on to me
It's no surprise
It brought me to my knees
You're never really ready
You're ready as can be
The sun was coming up
We were sifting through the sand
Looking for the pieces
Of our broken plans
It's gonna take a while
We're gonna get it back
We gotta carry on darling
We were built to last
As I sing this song I think back on all the moments this year that have furthered our relationship and convey all my hopes for the future of it. The first was definitely the train ride to Hogwarts. I remember looking into his eyes while he listened to muggle music for what I believe was the first time, and seeing such a childlike wonder in them. He was so captivated by all of the stuff that muggles had done, and he hadn't even scraped the top of the iceberg yet.
Changing tides
Baby that's the hardest part of life
Hold me tight
And we will move as one in the changing tides
There's no doubt the beauty that we see
Following the path, so much older than we
Lovers built it with their hands, walked it with their feet
Above the raging waters and the darkness underneath
The second time that our relationship was furthered was when I taught him how to use his chromebook and set up his gmail account. He was acting very calm and didn't try to be cocky like usual. He was like a completely different person. It was like he actually wanted to learn how to do it properly and as efficiently as possible. I had a lot of fun teaching him and I felt needed. After that, we worked very well together in muggle studies and he always got really good marks.
Changing tides
Baby that's the hardest part of life
Hold me tight
And we will move as one in the changing tides
And we will move as one in the changing tides
When the rain came
It washed us out to sea
I'm holding what I love
And he's holding on to me
It's gonna take a while
It's gonna come back
We gotta carry on darling
We were built to last
One of the major things that furthered our relationship was the Halloween ball, and not just the ball, but the setup and planning of the event. It allowed us to learn more about how the other person thinks in terms of planning and style. I found out more about his eye for design and decorations due to his pureblood heritage, and he got to learn more about my creativity that I usually didn't show as it didn't have much to do with academics. Then the ball itself allowed us to discover even more about each other when we left after our performance. In fact, the performance also helped me feel even more connected with Draco as the song actually held personal meaning. That evening and the weeks leading up to it played a crucial part in where we are now.
Changing tides
Baby that's the hardest part of life
Hold me tight
And we will move as one in the changing tides
Changing tides
And we will move as one in the changing
And we will move as one in the changing tides
I finish off the song and stop the music as it ends. I sit quietly for a moment, and silently pray that he would come out. That he would have the strength to escape from the cage of his memories, or at least reach back out to me. After a couple moments I get up to leave and let him have his space, but before I can leave I hear the door open and a warm hand grasp my forearm.
"Wait, Hermione, don't leave yet." I turn to see him standing in his doorway, his hair all messy, his shirt ruffled, and his eyes red and bloodshot. His voice sounds kind of rough, probably from lack of use, but I don't dwell on this for long. As soon as I see him I engulf him in a huge hug. At first he seems too shocked to respond, but slowly wraps his arms around me as well. We stand there for what seems like ages, but was probably only few moments. We cling to each other like we were drowning and the other person was a piece of driftwood. We pull away and just look at each other. Then he nuzzles his face on my shoulder and starts to cry a little bit.
"I'm sorry Hermione for leaving you by yourself for the last few days. I actually got over my mother's death near the beginning but like you said, her death triggered a whole bunch of memories and nightmares. Stuff I haven't had to deal with since the summer and I guess I'd gotten used to the lack of that type of brain activity.
Thanks for sticking by and sending me the food and notes. It was really nice how you made sure I knew what happened everyday, I enjoyed listening to you so much. I'm sorry I drifted away from you, I should have realized that you would know what I'm going through. At some point do you think we could just talk about that stuff over the next few days?" I look at him a little funny and he looks afraid for a second.
"Draco, you don't have to be sorry about any of this. None of us asked to join a war, that has mentally and physically scarred many adults mind you, while we were kids. We've all been subjugated to so much pain, loss, and death. It shouldn't have happened to us, and none of us deserved it. Also, I don't know what you're going through as well as you think. Every war story is so different, and unique. We all went through most of the events, but we were all changed in different ways. That's why it's so important to hear all the stories in a war before making judgement. I'm just glad you came back to me Draco, I love you so much."
We talk for a while longer, then head to bed when we realize that it's almost 1 in the morning. We say good night, then retire to our rooms. I lay down, happy that one of my now best friends has finally come back to me.
Author's Note: I may not be able to get the next chapter up for another 2 days depending on my schedule as I'm going away for a day and a half so don't panic or anything. Thanks for all of your support, I really appreciate feedback so please review. If you guys have any style requests e.g. poems, dream scenes, etc., either review or Private Message me and I'll try my best to incorporate it in. Have a great week, till next time.