Mai Gamit – A new reader! Welcome! Thank you so much for your lovely review. I'm so happy that someone new is enjoying the story and I hope that you will continue to do so!
gizmama – Thanks so much gizmama, here is that update you asked for!
dancing in rain – hee hee I aim to keep you entertained hun! Thank you so much again!
moonyNZ – I'm enjoying Padfoot myself, but don't you worry we will get to see Sirius again in all his devilish glory!
It was amazing what being cooped up in a small cell could do to one's mind Draco thought to himself. There was only so many things one could do in a situation like the group of them were in. One option was to brood at how you could have evaded being captured and how you did not deserve the treatment to which you were suffering. Another was to reflect on your life and pick all the bad things that you did so that you could beat yourself up and say that you did in fact deserve to be cooped up in a cell. The third option was what Draco chose to do though, and that was to think of his past and how the two women that he could see in the cells next to him affected him.
His grey eyes watched the young and beautiful witch directly beside him. Hermione was currently talking quietly to the dog that lay with his head on her stomach and he remembered a time when they once did the same. Time had thrown many obstacles in the path of himself and Hermione. Each of them had to deal with different situation, and each of them risked their lives for the sake of the light, giving them more in common than they had ever realized.
He reflected on the moment that changed their relationship. He was brooding in the Three Broomsticks with a firewhiskey in hand when she sat down across from him. His steely gaze drifted up to her and he sneered angrily at her.
"What do you think you are doing Granger?" He growled menacingly.
She sat there quietly, unaffected by his tone. Her head had tilted slightly as her dark brown eyes flickered side to side, her gaze boring into his own as he looked back.
"Well?!" He snarled.
"A man like you shouldn't have to drink alone." She said softly.
"You mean an ex-deatheater that tried to kill your precious Potter don't you? Think I should be drinking a Dementor's kiss do you?" Draco spit out.
She shook her head sending a short curly wisp to fall over her one eye. The haircut was a definite improvement for the Mudblood Draco thought and then wondered where it suddenly came from.
"No. I mean a man that risked his life and never got the proper credit that he was due. A true hero in the wizarding world." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm sorry for all the hateful things I have ever said to you Draco."
"What the hell are you talking about you stupid mudblood? I was a fucking deatheater." He growled.
"You are a brave man who risked his own life for something he believed in and I'm sorry that I ever doubted that you had it in you." She said softly. "I just wanted you to know that…I won't bother you anymore as I see my presence is not wanted."
Hermione stood up and started to walk past him but he reached up and grabbed her wrist before she could leave.
"Wait.." He said softly, unable to look her in the eye.
Hermione bent down so that she was looking up at him and her hand lifted. A finger touched his cheek gently and encouraged him to look at her. He let himself be lead and his eyes latched onto hers as he looked down at her.
"Thank you for saving our lives Draco, and thank you for standing by us in your silent and brave way." Tears were filling her eyes as she looked up at him and he felt an unfamiliar tug on his heart.
"I'm sorry for everything my father did to you, I'm sorry for everything I did to you." He tried to look away, feeling shame at how he had treated her in the past suddenly. She wouldn't allow it though and encouraged him to look back at her.
"We all have a chance for a new beginning Draco, if we all will allow it. I'm willing if you are?" She sat there silently for a moment before suddenly standing up and holding out her hand. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger."
He gave her a confused look for a moment and then he felt the corner of his mouth twitch up slightly. "Hello Hermione." Draco said as he stood up and took the young witches hand. "I am Draco and it is lovely to make your acquaintance." He said pulling her hand up to his lips and brushing a soft kiss on the back of her knuckles.
Draco was surprised to see her cheeks redden with a blush and he smirked which gave him a devastatingly handsome look. "I would love it if you would join me for a drink this evening, I find myself in desperate need of some intelligent conversation and who better to ask that from then one of the brightest witches ever to graduate from Hogwarts."
Hermione smiled brightly, her cheeks a slightly deeper shade of red. "I would love to join you Draco. I have heard that your skills in potions is a shining star within the field and that it is expected that you will become one of the greatest masters in the wizarding world."
It was Draco's turn to blush and Hermione chuckled softly. They started off with scattered bits of conversation but it did not take them long to delve deeper and both were shocked when it was time for the place to close for the night. Hours they had talked for and the time had seemed too short.
"I was wondering Draco, if you would allow me to cook you a dinner this weekend at my house. I live in muggle London and I understand if that would make you uncomfortable, so please do not hesitate to decline if this bothers you." It was one of the first times that Draco had ever seen Hermione unsure of herself and he couldn't help but feel his heart fill with warmth.
"I would be honoured Hermione." He said with a smile and she gave an excited yip as a result.
"Wonderful! Saturday at 7:00 shall we say?" She said.
"Sounds perfect." He replied.
So it was settled between them and from then on the two of them only grew closer in their friendship, which in turn led them to a romantic relationship. When they did realize that they were not meant for each other in that way, they were both feeling the same. They agreed that they were the best of friends, but that their romance just was not working out. There was no question that the sex between them was hot and that Draco wouldn't have hesitated in sleeping with her again, but it was more casual and comfort for each of them and not born of love.
Hermione's dark eyes drifted over to him as he looked at her and he smiled sadly to her. She placed her palm against the glass and he put his up against hers. They would be friends forever and at that moment Draco prayed that their lives were not cut short due to what was happening to them.
He let his eyes drift up past Hermione and they settled onto the sleeping form of Ginny. She had taken the death of the old man hard and Draco couldn't blame her. Being pureblooded wizards the degree of violence that they had witnessed was appalling. Spells were dangerous and some were messy, but neither of them had witnessed a death so gruesome.
He thought back to when she had accepted him as a friend and smiled. The youngest Weasley had her own strong mind, and Draco soon learned that it was indeed a family trait. As much as he poked fun at the Weasleys he couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous of them all.
Draco was an only child in his family, and his parents were not the most loving. He was forced to grow up at a young age and had been beaten regularly if he dared to defy his father. Ginny on the other hand had grown up with loving brothers and loving parents. When one of them was in trouble, they had their own personal army to fight against the evils. Her kindness matched her mother's and father's and her forgiveness perhaps even surpassed the rest.
So many hateful things he had said to Ron and his family. He had constantly remarked on their lack of money by poking fun at their used books, robes and wands. In reality Draco knew that money would never truly buy happiness. The Weasley's were proof of that fact every day that they lived. He would never admit to Ron how he felt about their family. Harry, Ron and Draco had agreed to set their differences aside, but there was never a bond of friendship like he had gained with Hermione and Ginny.
Ginny had looked at him skeptically at first when she had learned that him and Hermione were dating. She had warned him that if he ever thought to hurt her best friend that she would castrate him immediately making him worry strongly about his manly bits. At that moment he knew that she would indeed follow up on her threat should he choose to force her. When he assured her that he truly had grown to love Hermione as a friend she just looked at him for a few moments before pulling him into a hug.
"Well then, any friend of Hermione's is a friend of mine." She said with a smile. That was the moment that he first realized that Ginny Weasley had grown into a stunningly beautiful woman.
Ginny's long red hair draped over the end of her cot and Draco sighed softly. He made a pact with himself at that moment. If they managed to get out of this mess, Draco would give that woman a kiss that she would never forget and then beg her to have dinner with him at least once.
Hermione watched Draco as he was smiling wistfully towards Ginny. She couldn't help but smirk as she realized that he had a thing for her best friend. Hermione whispered softly to Sirius.
"I hope that those two will get a chance to be together Snuffles. I think that they will be perfect for one another." A wistful smile of her own lit her face as Sirius thought the very same thing about himself and Hermione.