A/N: Here's another chapter. Enjoy:))

Chapter 128: Aftermath

Although she had known that her dormmate would be far more understanding than her brother, Hermione took the news of Selene and Draco being soulmates far better than expected. She was actually happy for her friend.

"...though I still can't believe I didn't notice that something was off sooner. I mean, you disappearing all the time, not being here in the morning sometimes, and frankly, you adapted way too fast to the situation this summer, what with the Malfoys at the Black House and all."

"Maybe. But are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Why wouldn't I be Sel? I'm not as biased as Harry or Ron, you know that. Besides, I actually got to know a Slytherin. Blaise, in Muggle Studies, remember? And Draco this summer. And even if I wouldn't have, if you are happy, why would I want to take that from you? You're one of my best friends."

"Look, Hermione, in this case, I had never been able to think straight. I didn't want to lose any of you, and frankly, I didn't know how you'd react to it."

"Do you want to tell the others too?"

"No, not now. But I will, at some point."

"Well, that's your decision to make. Wanna go to the Hospital Wing? To see how your soulmate is doing?"

"If Poppy lets us in, sure."

They managed to get out of the Gryffindor tower without anyone getting in the way, and made it to their destination in no time. The only patient in there was Draco, who was now awake, laying on a bed shirtless, with his torso wrapped in bandages. Even though his cuts had been healed for the most part by the potions teacher, he was still bleeding.

"Hi Draco." He got up, wincing as his wounds stretched, and smiled weakly, until he saw the bushy haired Gryffindor behind the brunette.

"Well, I-"

"Don't worry. She...I told her. It's fine. How are you?" They walked up to the bed and sat down on chairs next to it.

"I'm better than half an hour ago, that's for sure."

"I'm glad. Now, care to tell me what happened?"

sigh* "After we left the cupboard" he ignored Hermione's surprised look "I got into an argument with a seventh year, and you know, everything with the Dark Lord and my mom...next thing I knew, Potter had his wand pointed at me, and-" he shot his soulmate a guilty look.

"And what?"

"I, I almost shot a Cruciatus at him." both girls' eyes widened at that, but none of them dared scold him while he was in this state.

"You shouldn't have tried to do that, you know how dangerous it is. And it is an Unforgivable Curse after all." Selene said softly.

"I know, and I take full responsibility for that. There is indeed no excuse for it. Besides, look where it got me." he gestured towards the bloody white bandages wrapped tightly around him.

"No, this shouldn't have happened either." To the other two's surprise, that came from Hermione, who suddenly had a determined look on her face. "You were very wrong to try and curse him, yes, but that gave Harry absolutely no right to do this to you. And the fact that he didn't know what this spell was capable of makes it even worse. What if-" she didn't finnish the sentence, but her eyes said it all.

"Wow, didn't realize you cared for me Granger."

"Well, you mostly erased all my reasons not to during the summer. And you can call me Hermione, Draco."

"Oh, don't worry, he does." Selene laughed, and managed to finish her sentence through the boy's fingers covering her mouth, as he tried to prevent her from doing so.

It was curious indeed, how these two people, who had hated each other for a long time, could get along so well. But their friend knew how much they had in common, although she wouldn't tell them that, to avoid the vehement denial.

The first thing they saw upon entering the common room, were Harry and Ron, talking in front of a fire. When her brother smiled and waved at her, Selene felt her blood run cold and her eyebrows twisted into a frown. But before she could make a step towards the boy to give him a piece of her mind, a hand gripped her arm.

"Don't do this. He'll ask a lot of questions, and they're going to turn this situation against you. It's only going to make things worse."

"And what am I supposed to do? Sit her and watch as my brother accidentally slaughters Slytherins?"

"He'll talk to you about what happened and you can tell him it was wrong without blowing your cover. Just stay calm, and pretend you don't know what happened."

"Thanks Mione. What would I do without you?"

"Probably more than you think. Let's go."

The last few weeks flew by, and, before they knew, they were in the Hogwarts Express, heading back home for the Christmas break. Harry and Draco didn't say a word to each other at school or during the day in the train, and didn't seem like they were intending to do so anytime soon. Selene and Hermione had both pointed out to their Gryffindor friends how wrong it had been for Harry to do what he had done, and although the burning hate for the Slytherin was still there, he understood.

The arrival at Grimmauld Place was rather uncomfortable, what with everyone knowing what had happened mere weeks before, and Narcissa looking so worried, jumping on her son as soon as he entered the house, but after a few days, the tension was almost gone.

While everyone else was barely able to contain their holiday excitement, the two soulmates had to make efforts to look happy. They were, of course, grateful that everyone was safe and that they could spend Christmas with their families, but they were also worried. Apart from Ron and Harry, there weren't really other people in the house who didn't know about them, but they were enough, and their reactions were mostly unpredictable; at least in this case.