Title:  I Believe In You

Author:  YummySushiToo (sushi3579@yahoo.com)

Summary:  In which Hermione receives a terrible shock, and Draco is put back together again.  Includes shrieking, blushing, dancing, and lame joke telling.

Disclaimer:  Is this really necessary?  You know I'm not JKR, right?

Chapter One

Three months had passed since Hermione had read that Daily Prophet article.  Three months of worry about Draco Malfoy, a boy she hadn't even seen since graduation from Hogwarts.  She had had to worry in secret, as well.  No one would have understood the depth of her concern for Draco.  Especially Harry and Ron.

Shortly after her reaction to the article, the two boys had Apparated into her kitchen as they did every morning.  Neither noticed Hermione's upset as they moved around, gathering tea and breakfast foods.  It was only after Ron plopped into the chair directly across from Hermione that she registered their arrival.

Harry picked up the paper and tapped the headline.  "Yeah.  Did you see this, Hermione?"  He snorted.  "Suspected Death Eater.  Yeah.  And I'm a suspected wizard."

Ron laughed, and added, "It's about time ol' Lucius did away with himself.  I say, good riddance to bad rubbish."

"Hear, hear," said Harry, and saluted Ron with his teacup.

Hermione snapped.  Whether it was the shock and upset finally registering, or the fact that once again, Ron and Harry were there uninvited, she didn't know, nor did she care.

"How dare you?" she hissed, effectively silencing the boys' laughter.  "May I remind you that people are dead?  Never mind that Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy might not have been the most shining examples of human kindness.  They are dead, and that is a shame.  Especially because we all went to school with their son, who is now missing.  Have you no decency?  Don't you care?"

Hermione looked at each of them, and as they dropped their gazes, she sighed.  "Of course not.  Why should you?  Draco was nothing to you but an annoyance.  Never mind that he tried to make amends in Seventh Year."  She stood, holding up her hand for silence, as Harry tried to speak.  "But we conveniently forget about that, don't we?" she asked sarcastically.

The boys shared a look.  "But, we were only making a joke, Hermione," Harry protested feebly.

"That is exactly my point!"  She sighed, frustrated.  "And before you say anything, that was not 'gallows humor.'  I know what that is.  You were being cruel.  There is no other way to describe it."

Hermione walked to her door and opened it.  "I think you should go.  I really don't feel like seeing either one of you."  She did not look them in the eye as they walked past her into the hall.  "Good day."

"But, Hermione –"

"I said, good day!" she snapped, and slammed the door.

She leaned against the closed door, and then slid to the floor.  Burying her head in her arms, she began to cry.  Loud, harsh sobs wracked her body.  Crookshanks padded over to her and sat down next to his girl.  Only he knew that Hermione whimpered, "Draco.  Oh, Draco," occasionally, and he would never tell.

Hermione looked back on that day as one of the worst in her life.  Not only did she receive a terrible shock in the morning paper, but she managed to shriek at her two best friends and kick them out of her flat.  All before eight o'clock, no less.

Now that some time had gone by, things were pretty much back to normal.  Ron and Harry still visited, but they notified her first.  They still joked around with her, but the jokes never contained the words Malfoy, Draco, suicide, or missing, of which she was very glad.

Yes, the boys seemed to be more considerate of her lately, with a few exceptions.  Ron still managed to empty her cupboards of anything edible every time he was there, and Harry still slipped some of his and Ron's dirty clothes into her laundry basket.  But, she figured, it could be worse.  How, exactly, she had no idea, but still.

One night, Hermione decided that she would bake Harry and Ron a cake, just to really smooth things over.  She had all of the ingredients but one: eggs.  Dammit, she thought, of all the times to get the urge to bake, I had to pick now.  When it's cold.  And I have to walk to the store.  Too late, she had realized that her car had broken down some time ago, and she didn't have the money to fix it.  It was either: fix the car, or eat.

Ah, the joys of being a Mediwitch student.

It was a mile to the store from her flat, so she bundled up, and set out.  At least, the walk would give her time to think.