Draco woke with a start at three in the morning, wiping sweat off his forehead. Bloody nightmares He thought bitterly, as he rose from his bed. He had nightmares a lot, always different but yet somehow the same. They all revolved around the idea that he was in multiple ways, a coward. Last nights scare was of him watching his father torture his mother and doing nothing about it. This, of course, happened many times throughout his childhood, but this scene portrayed it on a much larger and gruesome scale than what he had actually seen. The more Draco tried to remember the dream, the more it seemed to just slip out of his mind. It was like trying to pick up dry sand; there's a split second where you are holding the contents but then, suddenly and inevitably it all slips right out of your grasp. He took a quick shower to get his mind off of it.
While in the shower, his mind wandered to other pressing matters…Hermione. He didn't really know why he followed her, it was just instinct. He didn't like to see her upset, and he wanted to somehow be of help to her. He wasn't necessarily surprised that she had really been the one to end her and Weaslebee's relationship, if anything, it made the most sense. The only part that surprised him was her agreeing to lie about it. This seemed out of character for her, but then again, how well did he really know her. I do know her. He said to himself. I've known her for years, and I know she's not a liar. Yet she was always a part of those idiot's plans and schemes, so maybe she can lie. Draco's thoughts were running amok in his head, and they only stopped when he stepped out of the shower and felt a wicked chill within him. The dungeons were cold, and most of the time he was used to that, but every once in a while it took him by surprise.
Draco got dressed and laid back in bed, staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. His mind was racing, as it always did when he couldn't sleep, but it came to a halt when he thought about what Hermione had said at dinner. "Seems we both have fans" What did she mean by that? Was she a fan of mine? No it couldn't be. Why would she be? The thoughts kept spiraling and Draco quickly thrust himself off his bed and over to the sofa. He picked up his book on magical maladies, and began reading. The book was huge, way over 1,000 pages, it almost looked like a glossary text. He had made a pretty big dent in it it seemed, and he had increased that dent significantly before he shut the book. Plenty of hours had passed at this point, and the sun was slightly risen in the sky. He checked his watch and it read 6:00 am. He went to his wardrobe and changed into jeans and a light blue collared shirt that he tucked into his jeans. He opened a cabinet nearest to his wardrobe to reveal sweets and snacks. He took a snack cake from the cabinet, magicked himself a coffee and sat back on his bed as he ate and drank. Another hour had passed, and he decided to go for a stroll on the grounds. He was a little bit in his own world until he heard a familiar voice say his name. He looked over and saw Hermione sitting underneath a nearby tree reading.
"Granger. Up so early." Draco greeted, walking towards her.
"Same to you." She pointed out. "I guess you really are an early riser." She said, a hint of disbelief in her voice. If she only knew how long I'm really awake for Draco thought.
"So are you, it seems." Draco responded, eying her shoes being off, knowing it was a sign she'd been there for a while.
"Couldn't sleep." She said quickly, fidgeting with the bookmark in her hands. Draco nodded knowingly. Maybe we have some things in common. "When do you want to head over?" Hermione asked, closing her book.
"Whenever, I'm sure Aunt Meda has been up for at least an hour cooking for us." Draco laughed lightly.
"Have you always called her that?" Hermione blurted out. "I just never heard anyone call her that." Hermione added, trying to rectify the random prying question.
"Well no I didn't always…because we didn't speak to her." Draco said shyly.
"You don't have to t-"
"It's fine." He interrupted yet again, but this time put his hand up to signal that he was going to do it. "I'm sure it might come up today anyway. My parents…well mostly my father, thought of her as a blood traitor." He paused, and Hermione nodded. "I didn't know her much as a kid, I knew of her of course, but I didn't know her. She is my mother's sister, but I'm sure you knew that already." Another nod. "They were already estranged before I was born. Aunt Meda married Ted Tonks, and my mother and Bellatrix disowned her, along with the rest of the Black line. I'd like to believe that had my father not been the arrogant prick he was…" Hermione's eyes widened, not expecting these words, but she quickly recovered. "...that maybe my mother would have changed some of her rash decisions. I didn't know Aunt Meda at all until after the war. She reached out to me right after, said she heard stories of me switching sides, and said she was…proud of me." Draco paused for a minute, collecting his emotions. "She's the only family I've had since the war." He finished, and sat down about two feet from where Hermione sat.
"Your mother…" Hermione started, but let the sentence die when seeing the look in his eyes.
"My mother has been in St Mungo's since the war ended." Draco's voice was shaky, and he felt Hermione's hand come on top of his. There was a moment of spark, just like the last time, and then just comfortability. He didn't move his hand to accept hers, but it didn't seem to phase her.
"I didn't know that…I'm sorry." Her voice was soft and compassionate.
"Thanks." He said quickly, trying to show no weaknesses. He wanted to say more, he wanted to tell her what happened, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Maybe one day you'll tell me, but you don't have to." Hermione said sweetly. Draco was shocked by how accurately she portrayed his thoughts, all he could do was nod. There was a comfortable silence for a minute, their hands still touching. "So Andromeda wrote back…" Hermione started, and Draco's eyes changed expressions. "...Harry and Ginny are also coming today."
"Oh good, I've been meaning to congratulate Ginny on the pregnancy in person." Draco said easily, as if this was normal. "So shall we get going?" Draco asked, and at this moment it was very obvious that Hermione's hand was still on his. Draco turned his hand over, cupped his fingers around her hand and stood up, almost like offering her assistance. He was surprised that she didn't pull her hand back. There was a tense second, where she definitely realized it, but then she used his hand as leverage and stood up as well.
"Let me just…" Hermione was trying awkwardly to put her shoes on, balancing on one leg. Draco put his arm out, the same arm that she was just holding the hand of, to offer her balance. After a shaky second, she took his help and put both shoes on easily. "Thanks" She muttered and released his arm.
The pair headed to Draco's chambers, passing some excited students on their way. When they got there, Draco ushered Hermione to go first and told her what to say. She did it easily, and he followed. Draco saw a whirlwind of green smoke and then his feet hit hard pavement with a thud. Before he opened his eyes he knew he was in the right place.
"Drake!" Teddy bellowed, running out of Hermione's arms and into his. He noted how Hermione's eyes softened while looking at them.
"Little man!" Draco said, releasing him and doing a complicated handshake with the seven year old.
"Did you see that "Mione?" Teddy exclaimed, running excitedly between the two people.
"I did! You must be so smart to remember that whole thing." She said sweetly, and the little boy flushed. Draco noticed that it seemed like little Teddy had a small crush on Hermione. Who could blame him. What no! He shook his head quickly, trying to ignore his battling thoughts.
"Hermione! Draco!" Andromeda's voice carried before they saw her. "Perfect timing, I just took out the scones!" She said excitedly, hugging both of them.
"You didn't need to make us anything Aunt Meda." Draco said, knowing it was futile.
"I'm ignoring you dear." She said in reply, and Draco and Hermione laughed.
"Let me help you." Hermione said, starting towards the kitchen.
"No no there's nothing else, don't you worry." Andromeda said, levitating cups of what looked like coffee towards them. "Come have some coffee you two." She said as the mugs placed themselves on the coffee table a little bit away from them. Draco and Hermione just got to the table when Teddy came running back in.
"Drake! Let's play a game!"
"The quiet game?" Draco asked sarcastically, causing Teddy to scoff dramatically.
"You know I hate that game!" Teddy wailed.
"One day you'll like it." Draco said simply, causing a huge reaction that could only mean no. "Alright, what game?" Teddy's face lit up, and then he started to change his appearance to look like an owl.
"What am I?" He asked, overly excited.
"An o-"
"TEDDY! We TALKED about this!" Andromeda scolded.
"Come on, let's go to the other room where she can't see you." Draco whispered, but Andromeda heard him and called him a bad influence. He went into the other room anyway, obviously indulging the seven year old. When he came back, Hermione held out a mug of pre-made coffee to him. "Thanks" He said lightly, taking a sip. "Perfect." He muttered, and Hermione smiled.
Teddy came zooming back into the room, but this time pulled Hermione away. Draco was left with Andromeda, who quickly rounded on him.
"You like her."
"What n-"
"You like her, and you should like her. She's great." Andromeda's voice was firm but kind.
"I don't know what you are ta-"
"Fine fine, you aren't there yet. When you are, I'll be saying I told you so." She said in a sing-song pitch.
Draco watched as Hermione played with Teddy, and he couldn't help but admit how much he enjoyed observing her. His thoughts spiraled into what liking her could possibly mean, but they were cut short by Harry's arrival. Teddy had run across two rooms to greet Harry and Ginny, and it was quite entertaining to watch the little boy see all the people he loved in one place. Draco watched as Hermione went running at Harry first, interesting he thought, and then to Ginny. The couple greeted Andromeda next and then came over to him.
"Hey" Harry said, patting Draco lightly on his back.
"Hey Potter" Draco said, returning the friendship pat.
"You two are so weird." Ginny stated, and then went in for a hug with Draco. He embraced her immediately, though it still somehow felt wrong. "Now was that so hard?" Ginny asked, stepping back from the embrace and giving the boys pointed looks.
"I'm not hugging Potter." Draco said jokingly, and Harry laughed in agreeance. "Congrats Weasley!" Draco said, a touch of enthusiasm in his voice.
"Why thank you." Ginny said, modeling her nonexistent bump. "It was all me you know."
"Oh I know, you don't have to convince me Potter does nothing." Draco said, causing everyone in the room to laugh.
They had a nice couple of hours, chatting and catching up. Teddy played with each person individually, and then had some group games. Draco and Harry discussed quidditch for a long time, while Ginny asked Hermione all about Hogwarts. The dynamic seemed so natural. Andromeda was floating between conversations, looking happier than Draco had seen her in a long time. He wasn't surprised, considering she had been trying to get Draco together with this group for years now. Draco found that he was actually enjoying his time with these people, go figure! He should not have been surprised when a raving lunatic redhead ruined it all, but he was.
All six of them were sitting around the table, playing a game Teddy invented when there was a sudden POP. Everyone's head turned to where the noise came from, and were shocked to see Weasley there, fuming mad.
"You have to be bloody kidding me!" Weasley yelled, staring daggers into the small space between Draco and Hermione. Everybody stood up, except for Andromeda, who just looked puzzled by Weasley's behavior. Draco instinctually stepped in front of Hermione, which turned out to be the biggest mistake. Weasley pulled out his wand, but Hermione wordlessly expelled it from his hand and into hers.
"Ronald." She said, her voice like ice.