Chapter 1: Save Me

When Hermione arrived on the threshold of The Burrow, her hands trembled. She took two deep breaths to steady herself as pushed the gate open. There was a low buzzing in her ears which kept her from noticing a man with a shockingly blonde hair heading towards her till he almost crashed into her.

"Malfoy," she gasped, starting.

He too was surprised by her sudden appearance. He stepped back, and then, acknowledged her with a nod.

"Granger," he said gruffly.

"What..." She started to say, but then paused. Malfoy's relationship with the Weasleys was no surprise to her, though she had rarely seen them interact. His reasons for being there were most likely the same as hers.

"How is he?" She asked him with a small sigh.

Pain flitted across Malfoy's face so quickly that Hermione wasn't quite sure she'd seen it.

"Not...good."

The buzzing in Hermione's ears returned and she suddenly went numb. Her brain began to feel fuzzy. Her hands were shaking again. She tried to breathe, but only managed quick, short in takes of air. Her chest felt too constricted, almost as if it had turned to stone. She heard Malfoy call out her name but his voice was faint as if he were yelling to her from a great distance.

"Granger?" Malfoy said. He didn't like how she looked. Her face was ashen and she looked like she couldn't breathe. It seemed to be an anxiety attack - something he was all too familiar with. "Granger? Granger?" He called out to her again.

"Hermione!" He used her first name, speaking louder this time, trying to draw her attention. It worked. His voice broke through to her and her eyes snapped to his face. She stared at him, saying nothing. He began to feel slightly uncomfortable. "Come on...Granger," he finally said, hesitantly. "Let's take a walk."

Hermione didn't respond and, for a moment, as he took a step towards her, he wondered if she'd heard him at all. Then she moved, slowly turning around and falling into step beside him.

They quietly walked up the hill next to The Burrow. Draco stole glances at her a few times during the walk, wondering whether he should say something. But, his problem was that he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure how to comfort someone, much less Hermione Granger, who he hadn't seen in years. It had been nearly 10 years.

They reached the top of the hill that looked over a village, each lost in their own thoughts. It was a bright evening and the weather, some would say, was perfect - the sky was a bright blue and the sun provided a comforting warmth. White clouds gathered over the horizon like snow-covered mountains in the distance. They stood in silence for a while, surprisingly unperturbed by the presence of one another.

Hermione was slowly coming out of her shock. She was grateful for the silence. She needed a moment to process her feelings. From the emotions on Malfoy's face earlier, sh guessed that he feeling the same way as her - tired, gutted, broken. Perhaps that was why they were interacting so civilly; standing so coolly together as if they were friends. In reality, Hermione had thought as little as possible about Malfoy since after the war. She had been present once at one of his trials but apart from that she wanted to move on from the events of the war as quickly as she could.

"The year we were on the run from Voldemort," she finally spoke, looking into the distance. She noticed his head turn sharply towards her from the corner of her eye.

"You, Potter and Weasley?"

She gave a small nod. "That year, before we set off, I went back home and I... I performed a memory charm on my parents."

She continued without waiting to see his reaction. "I knew the risks going in but it was...the safest option at the time. I was... scared that they would pay the price for my involvement. I just wanted to protect them. So I erased myself from their memory and they moved to Australia."

Hermione wasn't quite sure why she was telling him this story, but now that she had begun, she couldn't stop. "When the war ended... I went to see them. As expected, they didn't recognise me. They are dentists.. err healers of the mugge world.. so I pretended to go in as a patient and... I tried to reverse the charm." Her voice broke. She took a long pause, trying to steady her breathing.

"It didn't work. I went back three times after that and each time they remembered me...as a patient... They told me I should come in for a check up more often. Each time, I hoped my magic was strong enough to reverse the memory charm." She paused. Her lip quivered and she looked down. "I stopped going back. It's been seven years since I last saw my parents."

"The war took so much from us," she turned to face Malfoy, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Arthur Weasley has been a father to many of us in its wake."

Malfoy looked at her intensely, but he said nothing. For a moment, Hermione felt lighter. She sniffled, turned and walked back towards the house.

Malfoy watched her till she receded into the distance. Then he shifted his gaze to the scene behind him: the sun was beginning to show signs of setting, inching towards the horizon. The sky had turned a glorious shades of pink and purple. The peaks of the clouds shone brighter, fading into grey. On another day, he would have been mesmerised by the beauty of the view before him but today he noticed nothing. His mind was still on Hermione's story.

She was right. Arthur Weasley, the man he had so despised as a child, was now more a father to him than his own had ever been. Now Arthur lay inside, struggling to breathe. Malfoy's eyes became wet at the thought. Then with a crack, he disappeared.

I hope you're staying safe in these trying times.

Thank you for reading! Please like and leave a review if you can, I'd love to hear from you.