Chapter 17 – Things become clearer

Dumbledore pulled Hermione from off the top of the coffin and held her while she cried. Ron came over and took her from Dumbledore

"Shhhhh" he soothed her and then when he was sure she was better he let her go.

"I am sure there are many other people who would like to speak a little about Harry but unfortunately we can't give that opportunity to everybody. I thank you all for coming and hope that a loss such as this will bring to mind to everyone the danger we face in the future and I ask that everybody bears it in mind and we can all come together again in happier times soon"

And with that Draco, Ron, Neville, Dean, Seamus and Colin lifted Harry's coffin and carried it out to the grave made in a small cemetery on Hogwarts grounds.

Hermione couldn't face this and went back to her rooms.

She sat alone for quite a while when Draco came in and sat with her

"Where is Ron?" she asked.

"He has gone home with his mother" he told her and took her hand

"Why? Why couldn't I go?" she asked

"He needs time to heal Hermione" Draco said

"And they don't think I do?" she asked

"Everybody knows that you do" he explained "but that isn't happening for you at the Weasley's. Dumbledore feels that you would be better off here"

"Oh, I see" she said "it was more miserable there to be honest"

"See there you go" he said and wiped a tear from her cheekbone

they sat there for a couple of hours, neither saying much but now and again Draco would look at Hermione, she just stared at the fire that was burning in the hearth and looked so sad. He just wanted to wrap her up and hold her forever. He didn't want to let her go.

But he knew he couldn't. She blamed herself for Harry's suicide and possibly could do forever. He wanted to be with her so badly but knew he couldn't whilst she was in such a fragile state of mind.

Hermione stood up

"Draco?" she asked

"Yes?"

"Would you do something for me?" she looked up at him through her eyelashes

"Anything" he said and brushed her hair from her face

"Would you cast a memory charm on me?" she asked

"Hermione I cant do this one, everybody else still knows it wouldn't really change anything in fact it could make you feel worse" he told her "you would only have to go through learning of it all again"

"I understand" she said sadly then looked at him again "when did you get to be so sensible?"

"I think you're rubbing off on me" he smiled

"Poor you" she said simply

"no not poor me" he laughed "don't you see, you're a brilliant person Hermione, if I could be like anyone in the world it would be you, your so smart, so pretty, so vivacious, I know you feel a bit lost at the moment and its hard but you are the best person I have met in all my life, so caring, so kind, so generous and so forgiving"

Hermione was shocked, she knew they had grown to be friends but she didn't know he thought that much of her

"Thank you" she said "I think I should go to bed"

"Goodnight Hermione" he said and kissed her forehead

"Night" she said and gave him a sad smile

'You should tell her' his inner conscious told himself

'And be rejected no thanks', 'you don't know that unless you try', 'now is not the time' 'coward'

He sat there arguing with himself for quite some time,

When he heard crying from Hermione's room, he seemed destined to interrupt her nightmares these days

He pushed her door open and she was fast asleep and crying.

"Hermione wake up" he said and shook her slightly

"It's just a bad dream wake up"
she sat up and looked at him, she wiped her tears away

"Sorry Draco" she said

"Don't be" he said "its not your fault, was It about Harry?"

"Yes" she sniffed "and my parents," they were all lay there dead and I didn't know what to do"

"Are you ok now?" he asked as he usually did

"Yes"

"Ok, goodnight" he said and went to leave

"Draco!" she said

"Yes?" he asked

"Please don't go" she said

"Ok" he said and went to sit in the armchair

"No, please hold me" she asked, so in he got. He pulled her to him, her head was on his chest and his arms were around her tight

She fell asleep eventually and Draco watched her for a while and fell asleep himself

"Hermione, wont you wait?" he called to her

"I can't" she shouted back to him

"Why not?" he asked

"Why would I wait for you?" she turned round and asked him

"Because I love you" he said

"You can't" she said "it can't happen, you must find someone else, they would never accept it"

"Yes they would, we would show them" he said determinedly

"It doesn't matter Draco, it can not be" she shouted

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love me" he demanded

"I don't love you" she said and stared him straight in the eye, she was shaking

"Fine!" he said and turned round and she left

"NO!" he shouted out

"Draco" Hermione said "you have a bad dream too?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it" he said, he noticed he still had his arms round her

"Its still night, go back to sleep she said and cuddled into him

"Night"