In memory of all those lives lost on September 11.
Chapter Eight: The After Math of the War
The next morning Hermione woke up to the sound of something spilling in the bathroom and the flushing of a toilet.
She crawled out of bed and slowly opened the bathroom door. The smell of half digested food reached her senses and she gagged.
Draco was leaning over the toilet, throwing up.
He reached up and flushed the toilet again.
"Malfoy… are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.
He shook his head and lurched forward, arching his back and threw up again.
Hermione's expression turned from concern to disgust as she quickly closed the door and began to get ready for another day.
Today was Sunday, most of the student's last days of relaxation till they had to wait till next weekend.
In her case though, today was when she finished double-checking all her schoolwork and then she would probably go and support Ron and Harry during their Quidditch practice.
Harry wanted this year to be their best since it was most of the teams last time playing Quidditch at Hogwarts.
But before she began her Ancient Runes homework, she decided to go down for some breakfast in the Great Hall. Maybe Harry and Ron would be there too so that she wouldn't have to eat alone so early in the morning.
The Great Hall was practically empty with the exception of around five students to every table.
Hermione chose a seat at the end of the table. Away from the small groups of first years who were chattering about, eager to get an early start on the day.
She wasn't that hungry. The night before she had eaten so much that by the time she had finished, she felt pregnant.
A glass of pumpkin juice and some scrambled eggs were enough to fill her and once she was done she headed back up to her room to begin her work.
Draco was still sick and stooped over the toilet when she returned not too much later.
She tried to get him to visit Madam Pomfrey who could clear it with a simple potion but he refused.
She said that if he didn't go soon then she would force herself to go and get one for him because she couldn't stand the smell.
But the smell wasn't what bothered her the most. She felt like it was her fault he was sick. If she hadn't left him alone with a tub full of wine then he wouldn't be throwing up right now.
As she started to double-check her Ancient Rune's essay, she couldn't concentrate very well due to the sound of liquid being splattered on the tile floor. It was nearly unbearable so moved to the common room and made herself comfortable on the couch. The sound of Draco in the bathroom was still audible, though she was able to block it out after a while.
Soon, an hour later, she had finished double-checking her essay and had come to find that she could no longer hear him.
This concerned her a little but she shoved the thought to the back of her mind and began on some other homework.
But the silence made it even worse for her to concentrate.
She finally made the decision to go and check up on him and to make sure that he hadn't fainted or something.
The bathroom was empty and it didn't smell anymore. It looked new and like it hadn't even been used yet.
She opened Draco's bathroom door and found he was lying face up on his bed. His eyes were closed but you could tell that he was not sleeping.
"Malfoy?" she asked, stepping into the room she had visited not to long ago.
He grumbled and turned on his side so that she could only see his back.
"You feeling better?"
He didn't answer again and continued to lie there motionless.
Hermione began to grow impatient. She was trying to be nice to him and all he did was ignore her.
"Well if you're not going to talk to me then I'll just leave you here."
She turned to leave him in peace but the rustle of bed sheets stopped her.
He cleared his throat and when he spoke, his voice was hoarse and dry.
"I'm tired."
She looked at him curiously.
"Well you have been up for a while."
He stared up at the ceiling.
"Do you want me to get Madam Pomfrey?" she asked again.
He shook his head.
"No. I just need to sleep."
She nodded and left him to rest for a while.
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Draco had just woken up from a well-needed sleep. He had no intention of dozing off but he was too tired to think at the time.
He headed downstairs to see if Granger was there. He needed help with his DADA homework.
"Granger?" he called to her, seeing her curly brown head pop out from behind a large armchair.
"I see that you're feeling better. I told you not to drink so much, Malfoy. You-"
"I came down here to ask for help on homework not for you to act like my mother,"
"Sorry. I was just saying that you should be more responsible,"
"I didn't even drink that much, Granger,"
"The tub was practically half empty!"
"So? That's not a lot. Not to me. I've drunk much more at parties,"
"It's still not good for you. Slytherin or not, you shouldn't be drinking,"
"What would a goody-too-shoes like you know about alcohol?"
"Quite a bit,"
"Is it because you're such a hard core drink or something?" he asked mockingly.
She glared at him and placed the book she was reading on her lap.
"No. It's because I've read about it."
He snorted and fell back into one of the armchairs facing opposite of her.
"That's what I'd expect from someone like you,"
"What's that supposed to mean? That you're so much better than me?"
"Well, yes,"
"At what? Drinking? I haven't seen you work hard for anything!"
"Trust me, Granger. I work my ass off to-"
Knock knock.
They both turned their heads to look at the portrait door.
Draco looked over at Hermione as if to ask who would open the door. More or less, who knew where the head common room was.
She rose from her seat and crossed the room, then let the portrait swing open.
"Ginny!" she exclaimed, embracing her friend with a tight hug. "What are you doing here?"
"Dumbledore told me to give this to you."
She handed Hermione a sealed letter that read: 'Mr. Malfoy & Miss Granger'
"Thanks Gin."
Ginny smiled up at her.
"I've got to tell you something later,"
"Sure thing. See you at dinner."
Ginny left Hermione standing in the doorway, contemplating about what Ginny wanted to tell her. Her only conclusion was that it was either Ginny had finally found a new love interest (she had already put Harry on post phone because he was to busy being in love with Cho Chang last year), or that her mother had given her enough money to go shopping at Hogsmeade. Which meant that she would have to go along with Ginny too.
"What was Weasley doing here?" Draco asked her once she had come back into the common room.
Hermione didn't speak. She had already ripped open the letter and was reading Dumbledore's slanting script.
Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger,
If you please, will the both of you report to my office at once. I have some things to discuss with you two before I leave for the night on some Ministry business.
Yours sincerely, Professor Albus Dumbledore
"Granger, I'm asking you a question."
He waved his hands up at her to catch her attention.
"Dumbledore needs us to go to his office."
He looked at her quizzically but simply shrugged his shoulders and followed her out the door and down the corridor to Dumbledore's office.
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Once they had arrived, Dumbledore began to explain to them quickly.
"I am sorry that I'm in so much of a hurry today. But the Ministry business is urgent. I know that my manners are terrible but I hope you two don't mind if I start to get ready."
They shook their heads and watched him rise from his desk and begin to pull on his purple robe.
"Well, as I was saying in that letter, I wanted to inform the both of you that as Head Boy and Head Girl, it is your duty to choose the area in which the Christmas Ball will he held this year,"
"When do we have to get started on it?" Hermione asked.
"In around a month I presume."
They shook their heads again.
"Well I must be off then. Don't forget to start patrolling the corridors later tonight."
And with a pop, he was gone and the office was empty.
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Hermione and Ginny sat on a rock overlooking the lake.
They were simply talking as friends do.
"So was there something you needed to tell me, Ginny?" Hermione asked her.
"Yeah. I don't know how to put it though… oh Hermione, please don't think I'm a stupid idiot and that I'm weird!"
"Ginny, I already think that."
Ginny frowned and stared at Hermione sadly as she began to laugh.
"I'm only kidding! Don't worry. You can tell me anything,"
"Okay… but don't laugh,"
"I promise I won't,"
"Well… I think I sort of kind of in a way-"
"Ginny just get to the point!"
"I think I like Blaise Zabini!"
Ginny gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes growing wide. She waited for Hermione to burst out laughing or say that she was in fact an idiot of having feelings for a Slytherin.
"There's nothing wrong with that,"
"B-but aren't you upset or something?"
"Why would I be Ginny? It's your choice."
Ginny let out a sigh of relief and began to stare out at the lake.
"He's a Slytherin though,"
"So?"
"But isn't that going against some law or something?"
"I've read about a million books and I've never heard any kind of law like that,"
"I still don't know. Ron's head would explode if he knew,"
"That's for sure… how do you know Zabini anyways?"
"Well one night it was after curfew and I was walking to the common room when I ran into Blaise and-"
"Oh god, Ginny. Don't tell me you snogged him right then and there when you don't even know him,"
"No! I would never do such a thing! I simply ran into him and we started talking for a while,"
"I thought he was stuck up and snobby though,"
"He's not. He's really sweet,"
"But doesn't he have tons of girls chasing after him?"
"I guess. But he told me that he's never had a girlfriend,"
"Hmm… interesting… you do know he's Malfoy's best friend right?"
"Yeah. He told me about that… maybe I should just forget about him. How would I ever get a guy like him?"
"Ginny, you have boys chasing after you too,"
She sighed once more.
"I don't know. Maybe I'll let it go. Like I did Harry…"
"Well something tells me that you're going to be having a busy year Ginny,"
"I know! I can't believe how much homework we're getting!"
"I'm not talking about homework,"
"Hermione! Are you saying that all of a sudden I'm going to have Blaise, Harry and god knows who else chasing after me?"
"Possibly…"
"You always seem to see the bright side of things. I'm so glad I have someone like you to talk to! I could never tell Ron or mum about this,"
"I'm always here for you Ginny,"
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"What are we even supposed to be looking for?" Draco asked as they patrolled the corridors that night.
"Students out of bed,"
"I was always out of bed past curfew and I never got caught,"
"Maybe that's because down in the dungeons they don't care much,"
"What do y-"
"GET ME OUT!" came a shrill scream from somewhere farther down the corridor.
"Did you hear that?" she asked nervously.
"It sounds like it came from over there."
He pointed over to the end of the corridor where the torchlight wasn't as strong.
They walked cautiously, wands in front of them.
"Lumos," she whispered. Her wand tip lit up like a bright ball of light and they continued forward into the darkening part of the corridor.
"HELP ME!" the voice said again.
"Where is that voice coming from?"
"OVER HERE!"
Hermione looked up and down the corridor but there was no one in sight.
"It sounds like a boy," Draco said, breaking the scilence.
"How do you know?"
Draco merely shrugged his shoulders and began to stare at a portrait in front of him.
"There's no one here though."
Hermione was confused. Where was the voice coming from? It's not like he was in some room around here because the walls and doors were sound proof. But her train of thought was interrupted when Draco spoke again.
"…I think I found him."
She turned on her heal to look at him. He was still staring up at the portrait but this time she noticed something. That portrait hadn't been there before… or at least she didn't remember a little boy wearing Hogwarts robes in it, pounding his fists against the glass.
"How did you get in there?" she asked, taking a step forward.
"I was walking and then this thing that looked like a short little man came flying at me! He said something weird and then I got trapped in here!" the boy said exasperatedly.
"Peeves," Draco muttered.
"Well what are we going to do?"
"I don't know. You must know something in that big brain of yours,"
"That Peeves always comes around when he sees an opportunity to make people even angrier,"
"That's it?"
"Shut up, Malfoy. Could you do better?"
"COULD YOU TWO PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE?"
"If Malfoy wasn't such a stuck up prat-"
"And if Granger wasn't such a snotty bookworm-"
"SHUT YOUR MOU-"
"Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger! What is going on here!"
All three of them turned to face Professor McGonagall stalking towards them with a fuming expression.
They both pointed to the portrait where the little boy was still trapped.
"Oh my! How did he get in there?"
"Peeves,"
"Peeves' magic isn't very strong. I'll have him out in a jiffy."
With the flick of her wand, the little boy fell out of the portrait and Professor McGonagall escorted him off to his dormitory.
That left Draco and Hermione to walk back to the heads common room on their own.
"Even if I'm a bookworm, I'm not snotty,"
"Well you always act like you know everything,"
"I don't. But I want too,"
"If that's why you read so many books then that's just stupid because nobody knows everything,"
"Dumbledore knows a lot of things,"
"That may be true but that oaf doesn't know everything, Granger,"
"Don't talk about Dumbledore like that! He's a better wizard than you'll ever be!"
"He can't live forever,"
"No one can live forever. Except if you used something to help you,"
"But I'm sure you would love it if your boyfriend Weasley could live forever?"
"He's not my boyfriend!"
"Then why did you say yes to him?"
"That doesn't make him my boyfriend, Malfoy! You said yes to Parkinson for the Yule Ball!"
"It's different!"
"Why? Was it because you couldn't find anyone else to go with the sorry excuse for a man that you are?"
"You can't talk to me like that, Granger,"
"I can talk to you however I want! Just because you're a Malfoy you think your so much better then everyone! Well guess what, you're not! Being a pureblood doesn't make you any more deserving for things than anyone else!"
"Then why is it that purebloods get everything they want?"
"Like what? A new broom every time you ask? Wow,"
"Shut up, Granger. You don't know anything about being a pureblood since you're a dirty little mudblood,"
"Excuse me Malfoy?"
"You heard me! You don't even deserve to know what magic is. You should have been left as a muggle. It would make this place a much better school and-"
Hermione lost it. She ran at Draco and slapped him across the face.
"OUCH! BLOODY HELL, GRANGER!"
"I've had it with you! Why can't you just be nice for a change?"
"It's not like you were ever nice to me!"
"Maybe that's because once you learned that I wasn't a pureblood, you treated me like a bag of dirt when you don't even know me!"
Draco opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't think of anything. She was right. He had treated her with no respect whatsoever when he didn't even know her.
There was nothing more he could say.
"I'm sorry."
"Y-you're what?"
"I said that I'm sorry, Granger,"
"Well… I'm sorry too then."
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That night as Hermione lay in her bed, for the second night in a row she thought about the things that had just happened. For once in her life, maybe she wouldn't have to worry about Malfoy being angry with her anymore.
Wow this chapter was longer than usual. I really thought it would be short but I added a lot more in. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it!