Author's Note: It took a shamefully long time. I couldn't continue it for a while because my brother just happened to switch my computer with his. I was also out enjoying my sem-break instead of dutifully typing my beloved story. Grar. And when I actually had a bit of free time, I had a case of writer's block. Oh woe is me. So I apologize if this chapter is rusty. I am either emerging from the ashes, a phoenix, becoming a captivating and beautiful creature (a better author). Or I'm just a grub coming outta a bug's egg (basically crap cause I lost my experience). You decide please. Reviews would be good.

Title: The Whole Truth

Author: The*Spangled*Pandemonium

Chapter Title: A Short Meeting

~~~*~~~

Hermione:

I arrived at Platform 9 ¾ with a big smile on my face and a hand-full of my old memories about my old school and it's people. Not to mention a trunk full of items and a sleeping cat.

The doctor who examined me before called up yesterday to check my condition. I told her how I couldn't remember any of my beautiful (probably) memories of Draco and me together. Its like we never even knew each other before the hospital! She told me that sometimes amnesia blocks out certain things because of a trauma that's happened. But why would it block out Draco? I mean, he didn't cheat or dump me (i think). He's too sweet to do something like that to anyone, nonetheless me.

I really love him. I do. Being with him… It's just special. Like a breath of cool air after a long run on a hot day. He's my savior. He comforts me. He told me everything about myself that I forgot. With him, it was like I was born again into a greater, more fantastic being (even though I practically was a new person after that damned fall in that train station).

Spotting a mass of luggage in a corner, I knew he was here.

I grinned widely as I saw a glimpse of platinum blonde hair and green clothing. Draco! Tilting my head sideward, I noticed his shirt had an image of a snake winding around it. Even though I was the ultimate Gryffindor girl, that shirt suited him. He wore it well.

Draco was sitting on the side, where the wooden benches were. His head in his hands and his arms propped up on his knees. Narrowing my eyes, I tried to decipher his expression under those long lean fingers of his, but I couldn't get a proper angle and sighed pityingly. The poor dear, he was probably tired or something…

Smoothing down the long denim skirt I was wearing, I nervously walked towards Draco. It was strange actually, usually I was at ease with him, but after I told him I loved him… Well, he's been a bit quiet. I don't understand it. Was that the first time I've told him that? I don't think so… I mean, six months of commitment is a long time. And I've felt like I've only been with him for three days after I hit my head, and I fell in love with him anyway.

I frowned ponderingly. What was with his reaction? It made me feel uneasy. Why didn't he say the same thing back? I shrugged the thought off. The kiss he gave me showed more than any words he could have said. It had compassion in it deeper that I knew was possible. That kiss proved that our relationship wasn't one sided. I made me feel warm all over, remembering that perfect, unforgettable moment

Pushing back the rumpled mass of my hair and straightening the form-fitting peasant shirt I was wearing, I looked around. We had both decided to come to the platform a bit early so we could talk with each other for a while. Alone. No one was here yet except for the two of us.

"Draco!" I yelled, beaming at him. This was going to be so exciting. I would be meeting my friends who I haven't seen all summer (I felt tremendously bad about not keeping in touch)!

Harry and Ron. Did they change much? How would they react to my revelation about Draco?

I stepped closer, so the light was strategically behind me. "Draco?" I murmured again, peering at him though my hazel eyes.

I contained a flinch when I saw him.

He squinted up at me through heavily shadowed eyes, like he hadn't slept a bit since I last saw him. His shoulders were slack, tired, weary. Slowly, he covered his fascinating gray eyes with languid fingers, shading the glare so he could look at me properly.

"Herm…" He said, smiling weakly up at where I was standing.

Ok… What was the problem here? Was there something wrong with his parents? Did anything terrible happen at home? I resisted an urge to yelp. What if it was because I told him my feelings?!

"What's wrong, Draco?" I asked, not exactly gently, but not sharp either. Firmly, I guess.

He shook his head, yawned, and propped his head up in his hands again so that strands of shiny blonde hair fell forward. I couldn't help it any longer; I gave him a soft hug. I know it sounded silly. My boyfriend was in a supposed crisis and all I could do to offer comfort was give him a lousy little hug.

Clutching him, it struck me then what was wrong. He had spent the entire night stressing about what would happen if I told Harry and Ron about us.

I let go and sat silently next to him.

Was I being the irrational one here? Did I really have to tell Ron and Harry the whole truth about Draco and I going out? Couldn't I just expose our relationship bit by bit?

Well, that was an idea, even though I didn't like it much. But what wrong could it do? It would save three of the people I love deeply from distress and great amounts of emotional suffering… That wouldn't be so bad, would it? I would have to stop being selfish and simply let things reveal themselves slowly.

As I was about to open my mouth and tell him my idea, a person came through the barrier.

Harry.

Good ol Harry Potter. Come to save me once again from an option that I detested, even though I was willing to do it for the sake of others.

Ron Weasley stumbled in after him. Laughing at what Ginny was saying as she followed her brother in.

I was not entirely surprised when all three of them stopped, stared, and blinked profusely at me. It looked as if some invisible person had cast a body-binding spell on them… They didn't even care that they were blocking the barrier.

Through their eyes, I was a stranger. I was an unfamiliar person who somehow looked a bit like their dear friend Hermione. Not only had I changed dramatically (I did look at my pictures last year); I was sitting with the "enemy."

He was a Slytherin. A Malfoy. A Quidditch player for the opposite team. A triple threat.

Not only that, they didn't like him for some other veiled reason.

Pretending to dust myself off, I whispered to Draco that everything would be all right and that he shouldn't interfere with what I was going to say to them. I stood up cautiously, carefully hiding the turmoil inside of my head. Three sets of eyes were on me (as usual)… I was already getting used to the feeling.

I heard a faint shuffling of clothing and the squeaky sound of sneakers on the floor behind me.

Through my corner of my determined eyes, I saw that Draco had stood up and was now walking somewhere. As he left, I could see that his mood hadn't improved one bit… In fact it might have worsened. I contained the urge to run after him and tell something amusing, something that would make that wall of fatigue crack and he would become sweet, sarcastic Draco again.

Instead, I turned my eyes back to my now recognizable friends and continued on.

As I ambled slowly across the floor, I breathed heavily. Poise, I told myself deep in my head, poise. This had to be one of the most important things I had to keep when I met my friends again. You see, as I remember it, I was usually very composed and commonsensical around my friends, that is, unless some crisis was going on with our group…

My cheery mood I had earlier had waned a bit after seeing Draco so down, but now it car completely gone, replaced by a biting, uncomfortable feeling that I would mess up everything.

And because of my new idea, I had to act the same as before, letting only small rays of the new me shine through until I revealed everything to them.

The sound of my feet on the floor was practically deafening. There was that tense sort of silence that you had right before a storm. I prayed that this would end up going smoothly, as I mentioned before, I didn't call or send any owl posts to either one of my best friends the whole summer (except the order of Harry's present that I did when I came right back home from Hogwarts at the beginning of vacation).

I felt guilty, even though it wasn't really my fault. You can't really control being knocked out for several days. And I couldn't exactly send mail to people I didn't remember!

It was a good thing that Draco was there to retell my life in Hogwarts… But enough about that... I needed to concentrate on what I would do now.

I figured that I would say my usual greetings, have a little small talk (and somehow squeeze in a little comment about why I was with Draco).

When I was just about to reach them, I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out in time.

Fate had decided that exact time to summon Neville Longbottom's cart through the hidden barrier of Platform 9 ¾ and crash into Harry and Ron, sending them careening towards me. Ginny was left unscathed.

Fuck!

We landed in a bruised heap of people and bags… And some of Neville's… erm… clothing.

Neville did what Voldemort had never succeeded in doing. He had slain (kind of) the great Harry Potter and his two friends in one big blow. Without using a trace of magic.

And I, the lucky girl that I was, was crushed beneath both Ron and Harry, who just happened to grow taller and heavier over the summer.

Ron was squashing me, his hand was tangled up in my hair and his elbow was placed painfully under my cheekbone. Harry (the lucky bastard) splayed on top of both of us.

Very graceful. So much for poise.

I groaned. It wasn't because of the pain (even though Ron's friggin elbow was seriously irritating me). It was because my plan had suddenly been reduced to nothing. At least for now.

You might as well say that I was highly pissed off right now. Snarl. Hiss.

"Geroff!" I yelled and panted for breath. I think Ron crushed my solar plexus when he landed on me…

Great. Two large blows to my head in a bit over a week. Could my poor brain stand it? There go all my brain cells. There go my chances of being a valedictorian.

Hmm. The anger turned into an aggravated form of sardonic humor. Haha. I was sooo laughing. Urgh. Oh the irony of it all…

Harry was the first one who recovered, rolling off of Ron and landing with a light thump to my right. I saw through my blurred eyes that his glasses were miraculously still on, but wildly askew on his nose.

Ron did likewise, carefully detangling his arm from my hair (successfully bumping my forehead with his arm again) and landing on my left.

We lay there for a while, with Ginny's shocked gasps of laughter echoing through the platform combined with the corny music that I had failed to hear earlier. Neville's laundry was scattered around us, with the dirty cement emphasizing the bright green boxers that had fallen between Ron and me. Ron's red hair clashed greatly with the lime colored cloth. It was a bit too much for my pitiable eyes to bear with... I closed them for a few seconds.

Neville had finally recovered from seeing three of his acquaintances being mauled by his own cart and laundry. Rushing up to us and crouching, he bent over us. I cracked open one fuzzy eye.

"Ginny! Quit laughing! They could be hurt!" He said. "You guys?! You ok?"

His voice sounded frantic. What ever could be the problem? What?! Three people lay half-conscious on the pavement? Not a very serious quandary. Yes, dear Neville. I am perfectly fine about dying on the pavement.

"Ouch." Ron grunted, hauling himself off of the floor, dusting himself off and checking for injuries. How ever did he gather the strength to do that amazing feat?!

"You got that right, man… Bout you Herm?" Harry stood up, fixed his glasses, and straightened his shirt. He looked like a person with jelly-legs on him for the first few seconds. I had to contain a snort.

I think I was delirious.

"Hey boys," I said dryly from the floor. They all loomed over me, the pathetic one left on the hard concrete. Bleah. Then realizing Ginny was also there (unharmed. grar) I added, "Hi Gin…"

At the same time, seeing that I wasn't dead, Harry and Ron stuck out a palm each.

I smiled up at them, grabbed both of their strong hands for balance, and pulled myself up.

I would have to tell them about Draco later.

Author's note: I'm sorry if the dialogue was crap. I'm still rusty, no? Well, phoenix or grub? Tell! Reviews will make me put up the chapters faster… School is truly a bitch, so I need something to prod me into wasting hours (having fun _) typing this for the net. I love you all. REVIEW!