Chapter Six

Disclaimer- Me no write Harry Potter. Me write fan fiction. JK Rowling write real story.

Hermione walked in the room to see Draco sitting on the living room couch, just waiting. He knew they'd be back any minute.

"Harry, Ron... Please, you guys, talk to him. I'll make us some tea," she said, and then walked into their mini kitchen to do just that.

"Um... Hi, Malfoy," Harry said, trying to be the one to start their conversation.

"Hello, Harry. You can call me Draco, if you like, I'm not going to bite you."

"Sorry... Draco then."

Ron was yet to speak to Draco; he was fearful of anything that might come out of his mouth, no matter how much Hermione said he changed. He didn't want to disprove of his best friend's new "love" in any way, so he just kept his mouth shut.

"You guys," Draco said. "I'm sure it's probably awkward, talking to me like this... Especially after those six years of constant torment... But you have to understand that I'm sorry, and that I'm not really like that at all, if Hermione hasn't made that clear with you. I know you may not believe me, but my father really did have me under a spell. He died this summer, and that's why I can be normal now... So I guess what I need to really say to you is that I'm sorry."

Finally, Ron found his chance to speak.

"SORRY? ALL THOSE BLOODY YEARS OF TELLING HERMIONE SHE WAS A MUDBLOOD AND YOU'RE SORRY? WHAT KIND OF TERRIBLE EXCUSE FOR AN APOLOGY IS THAT, YOU PSYCHOTIC FREAK!"

"Hermione," Draco said... "I knew this wasn't a good idea. I knew they wouldn't believe me..."

But Harry cut him off.

"I guess I can kind of believe that, because your father was much more of a freak than I think you are... I guess I can accept that he did that to you, but I'm not sure..."

"What the hell are you doing, Harry? Before we even came in here, I was sure that you, of all people, would be on my side. Look what the asshole has done to us for the last six years! And all he says is sorry, and you believe him?"

"Ron. Look at it this way. He makes Hermione happy, and she's our best friend. There's no way, after knowing her as long as we have, that we can put into our perspective that she's made a bad decision, especially about a boy," Harry empathized.

"Whatever." Ron said. "I'm leaving. You guys all have a great day."

Hermione burst into tears. "All I wanted was for everyone to be okay with it..." she mumbled. "Now look, Ron's going to hate me! All because I'm dating someone he doesn't like... I give up!"

Both Harry and Draco took her in their arms; and, if you know what it's like to be in that situation, for a guy, you know it was pretty awkward. But they didn't care, because they both loved her, even though in different ways.

"I... I should probably be going. I'm sorry," Harry said. "I want to make sure Ron's okay, but he had a point in blowing up on you like that. I don't understand why you're dating Malfoy, but whatever. I love you, I'll see you at dinner."

"I love you too, Harry," Hermione said, kissing him on the cheek. And as soon as he was out the door, she said to herself, "Thanks for nothing..."

"Wow." Draco said. "That has got to be the two most arrogant, stubborn jackasses I've ever had the opportunity to meet. But mostly Ron."

"They're really not usually like that," Hermione said quietly. "They used to support anything I did, no matter how weird they thought it was... But maybe, I mean... I changed over the summer... Maybe they did too... But who knows, right? I just don't want them to act like that towards me..."

"Would you like to get to know my friends a little better?" Draco asked.

"Sure... But not really today, I need to think about stuff... I'll be in my room, you can come up in a little while if you want, but I need to write some stuff out first... See you in a little while."

Draco just nodded at her, unsure of what to say to that. He felt bad that she was so torn up at what Harry and Ron had said to her; in his opinion, they could just fuck off, because he didn't like the way they acted.

But, nevertheless, Hermione was upstairs, writing a letter to no one in particular in a notebook she had brought from home...

Dear No one...

I no longer have the opportunity to write to anyone from school, considering my parents are both gone... I don't know what to do though. I have no one to talk to anymore except Draco, and I feel kind of weird talking to him about stuff, since he's never really given me the idea himself. We're going out now, officially. Today, I tried to tell Harry and Ron that we were dating, but they didn't exactly like the idea, and so they left me in the common room I share with Draco, and now I'm up here, crying my eyes out, and all I can think about is how bad I feel like I need to cut. I mean, I have tried to stop doing that since I started, but it never works, because then I just do it again, deeper. I hate life, except the one part of me... My heart. My heart is in the right place... It's in Draco's deep silver-blue eyes, his shaggy blonde hair... It's in the way he smiles at me, it's in the way he makes me so happy... I conclude, my heart is definitely in the right place.

Love, Hermione.

Draco knocked on her door at the exact instant she closed the notebook.

"Can I come in for a second?" Draco said to her door, and then, as soon as it was opened, "Babe, do you need to talk? I'm here for you, you know that... I don't want you to be upset."

This whole time, Hermione had her back to him.

"Are you going to look at me?" he said.

When she turned around, he could see her tear-streaked face and he could tell she was more upset than he thought.

"What's wrong?"

Hermione did nothing but hold out her wrist to him. All he saw was red... She was bleeding... Which could only mean one thing...

"Oh no..." was all he could say.

She was sobbing now... More than she had since summer started. More than she could when her mother died. More than even when she got the letter from her mother...

"My life is nothing, Draco. I'm useless... I mean, look at me. My old friends hate me now... I don't even have a family. Because my father did the one selfish thing he could do and killed himself, which caused my mother to be killed... I hate life, except the part that includes you. Everything else needs to be numb to me, and God forgive me that this was the only thing I could think of that would give me that..." she said, so quiet that he could barely understand her.

He sat down on her bed and put his face in his hands; he didn't want her to see, even though he knew she knew exactly what he was doing... He was crying. For the first time since he was nine years old...

"I'm sorry, Draco..."

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3 Shelby.