THE COVER UP

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any part of the Harry Potter universe and I am grateful to be able to borrow them for a short time.

Reviews are a writer's coffee: they keep us going as long as we get some. *hint*

Christmas break came and went without much fuss. Hermione went to Australia to visit her friend and check on her parents. She even apparated to the Weasley's for a family and friends filled Christmas Day dinner in which she tried to be happy. She must have succeed somewhat as no one questioned her behavior.

Draco went back to the Manor and watched his mother try to force feed the both of them holiday cheer. He had hoped it wouldn't be horrible but he got what he expected. The only true joy was the fact that the Dark Lord and his followers weren't there as they had been for the last two Christmases. In fact, the holiday was very quiet as it was only Draco, Narcissa and their few remaining house elves. Draco was bored the entire time but he would take bored over afraid any day.

When the holidays ended, Draco & Hermione arrived back to Hogwarts from different modes of transport. Both of them had skipped the train. Hermione apparated to Hogsmead in time to catch a Thestral drawn carriage with the other students. Draco apparated to Hogsmead as well but sent his trunk on to the school. He wasn't ready to rejoin the school and took his broom for a spin over the village and the school grounds, arriving just in time for dinner.

He arrived in the Great Hall and looked for Hermione. He found her talking to Ginny at the Gryffindor table. He walked over to her with a small smile on his face, "Good holiday Granger?"

She smiled brightly and answered him, "It was good. Thanks, Malfoy. Yours?"

"Lovely, thank you."

Ginny glanced at him before her manners kicked in, "Malfoy? Would you care to join us?" She smiled at him.

He was startled by her polite invite and kind tone of voice, "ah, maybe another time. Thanks though." She nodded her head in acceptance and he left for his usual seat at the Slytherin table.

After he left the girls, Hermione gave Ginny a shocked expression.

"What? He's alone! Besides you seem to get along well with him so he can't be that bad anymore, right?"

Hermione suddenly saw Ginny not as a girl but as a young woman coming into her own; one who cares about all people. "You don't have to convince me. I'm just glad you aren't holding the past against him." After that their conversation continued with the topic they were on before Malfoy polite interruption.

The next afternoon, Hermione & Draco were studying in the library when he brought up something that was bothering him from the evening before. "Hermione? Honestly, how was your holiday?"

She looked surprised at him so he elaborated, "Come on, I can tell a fake smile from a mile away. What happened?"

She looked down and blushed just a little. She cleared her throat, "I saw my parents." She decided to trust him and told him the story of her parents. She finished the story, "They're still in Australia. I decided not to remove the memory charm I put on them. There are still too many angry death eaters out there. I didn't want to take a chance. I hadn't seen them since the summer break. What I didn't know then because I didn't get close to them was that Mum was pregnant. Five months along apparently. She delivered early, a daughter. Guess what they named her?"

She looked at Draco expecting him to answer. When he didn't say anything she answered her own question, "Hermione Michelle. Apparently they really wanted a daughter named 'Hermione'. At least she doesn't have my middle name."

Draco was shocked to say the least. "Your sister has your name? What did you do?"

She chuckled, "I wanted to see my sister, so I sat next to them at a café and accidently knocked mum's purse off the table. I apologized, introduced myself as Jean Granger and talked to them for about an hour. It was so wonderful and so horrible at the same time." She was near tears, "They will never know me as their daughter. I'll never know my sister. She'll never know me." She had tears clearly running down her face at this. "I don't have any family left because now I can never remove the charm. They have a life and it doesn't include me." That's when a sob broke out of her mouth.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how horrible that was for you." He didn't know what to say to comfort her. He was at a complete loss and felt inadequate.

She cried for just a few more moments and was able to pull herself together fairly quickly from what Draco could tell. He remembered his mother crying and it always took her at least and hour to pull herself together.

She pulled a handkerchief out her bag, dabbed at her eyes and wiped the tears from her cheek. After she cleaned herself up she looked at Draco and gave him a watery smile, "Thanks Draco. I haven't told anyone else. I didn't realize I was holding it in so much."

"You didn't tell your friends?" He wondered out loud.

She gave him a chuckle and another watery smile, "I think I just did. Hey, anyway", *sniffle* "I could say the same thing about you. Your smile was pretty fake too not to mention your comment, 'Lovely', really? 'Lovely'?."

He shrugged, still not quite sure how to handle having an actual friend. He tried to turn back to his work, but Hermione wouldn't let him.

"Draco, this is what friends do for each other. We listen, we don't judge and if we can offer help we do. Sometimes all a person needs, as demonstrated just a moment ago, is a shoulder to lean on. What's going on?"

Draco was silent but she was the picture of patience. Finally he gave in, "It was actually exactly what I expected. Mother tried to force cheerfulness on anyone who walked through the door which was only ME. And she didn't let up. She was always happy and smiling and singing carols and she decorated the Manor in such a garish way. I can't think of another word for it. It was garish: greenery and mistletoe, bells and wreaths, red, silver and gold bows tied around anything that would hold them up. She acted like nothing was wrong. I was miserably bored.

"What bothered me the most was that I was fine with miserably bored because it was better than the last two years when He was there with all his followers. Those were horrible times." He trailed off lost in the memories and refusing to admit how frightened he really was during those times.

Hermione let him sit in his thoughts for a few seconds before bringing him back to the present. "Draco? If you ever want to talk about it, let it out, I'm here for you. You don't have to cover up anymore."

"Cover up?" He asked as he came back to the conversation and reflexively reached to cover the Dark Mark on his arm.

"I don't mean it that way. I meant that you can tell me anything, I won't judge you. I understand that those times were as bad as it could get and those things you did, you did to survive and too keep your parents alive."

"You don't understand what you're saying." He shook his head knowing that those memories are things he didn't want to remember let alone force someone else to remember with him.

She didn't say anything so he looked at her. She was lost in thought. "Hermione?"

"I think I know how to cover that up!" She was excited.

"Cover what up?" He asked.

"Your Mark. We know that there is no way for magic to take it off, but there might be a muggle way." She was excited and had started to put her books and work back in her bag. "Come on, we have to talk to McGonagall."