Chapter Five: Rocky Roads

Lunchtime rolled around and Harry and Ron hadn't even noticed. They spent the entire morning in the room they were staying in, reading and re-reading the will.

Draco had taken the letter from his mother with him, so they weren't able to find out more than what Harry had read.

KnockKnock

The boys' heads shot up. They looked in the doorway where Zelia stood.

"Oh, hi Zeel," Ron said, getting up from the bed.

"Hey Ron," Zelia said as she and Ron hugged. "Y'know, with all this drama going no, we hardly got to say hi last night or this morning."

"I know," the two pulled apart. "So number one, how are you? How's the family? Have you boys killed Ginny yet?"

"Great, fine, and no," Ron laughed. "You should talk about killing your cousins, though. Remember when you and your friends stayed over?"

"Oh come on, it was a phase!" Zelia laughed.

"What happened?" Harry asked, needing to know more.

"Well Zelia was going through this 'Fred and George' phase and, well, by the end of their week-long visit they had challenged Fred and George themselves for a practical joke competition."

"Say no more," Harry laughed. He noticed that Zelia was blushing like mad from where she sat on Theo's bed. Yep, she was definitely part of the Weasley clan.

"So what are you guys up to?" Zelia asked. "Knowing Ron as well as I do, I know that he must be up to something important if he misses a meal."

"I mi-"

"Not now Ron." Harry looked at Zelia and said, "We're trying to figure this whole thing out."

"Well what do you know so far?"

"We know that Sirius took part in some bond-forming thing between mine and Malfoy's mums." Harry sighed, "I mean Draco's."

Zelia walked over to sit beside Harry. When she got there, she put her hand on his shoulder and turned him to face her. "Harry, I am so sorry about all of this, but maybe if happened for a reason."

"I guess."

"Not to mention the fact that, well, would you want to go your whole life not knowing about this part of your mothers life? She did this for you because she thought it would be good." This made Harry think. "C'mon guys, let's go get something to eat. You could use a break."

Ron left the room, leaving Zelia with Harry.

"Thanks a lot Zelia," Harry looked at his best friend's cousin. Her dark eyes were looking right at him. "For everything you've done so far."

"Oh it-"

"No. I mean it. You're letting us stay here, and even helping me with this."

"Come on, let's get something to eat." Zelia pulled him up by the arm and brought him out of the room, "I think that the lack of food is getting to you."

"Thera, what are you eating?"

Hermione looked up from the table. "Celery," she replied quietly.

Tanya rushed over from where she was standing and sat beside Hermione in the next chair. Shari walked over and sat on the windowsill while Daliah went to the fridge to grab some water.

"And what are you eating with the celery?" Daliah asked slowly.

"Ice cream," Hermione replied in a small voice.

"That's what we thought," Daliah said as she replaced the bowl of ice cream in front of her friend with a bottle of water.

"We heard what happened, honey," Tanya said, taking Hermione's hand in hers.

"How're you holding up?" Shari asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione wiped a tear from her eye before it could fall. "I was just changing my usual snack a bit."

"You switched coffee yogurt with rocky road ice cream," Tanya said flatly.

"So?" Hermione sunk in her seat and drank half the bottle of water in one breath.

"So this isn't healthy Thera,"

"Sometimes I have chocolate frosting," Hermione pouted.

At that moment Ron decided to speak from where he was standing by the pantry.

"Not a bad combination, Thera, but celery and ice cream sounds like a break-up fo-" He slammed the door shut. "He broke up with you?" He yelled.

"Ron, what's going on?" Harry asked as he and Zelia walked into the room.

"That prick, Theo broke up with Her-"

"Hem, hem!"

"Thera!" Ron saved himself.

"WHAT?" Zelia rushed to Hermione's side, taking the bowl of ice cream from Daliah and putting the bowl of ice cream in front of Hermione.

"Guys, don't worry," Hermione insisted. "I'm fine. I just want to finish my lunch."

Everyone looked at the calm girl before them. She sat upright, picked up the bowl of ice cream and bag of celery and left the room. Before leaving, she turned around and smiled a teary eyed smile and said, "I found a great book in the study, so if you need me, that's where I'll be."

The six teenagers looked at each other, each just as worried about Hermione as the next.

"They were so close," was all anyone (Tanya) could say.

"Draco?" Draco looked up from his book and saw Hermione walking from the house in his direction.

"Wh-what do you want mudblood?" He asked defensively, not understanding why she would want to be talking to him, especially after what happened in the library.

Hermione stopped a few feet in front of him. She didn't let his words affect him the way that it had in the past. She closed he eyes, though, trying to hold back her tears.

"I just wanted to thank you again for before, and apologize for you getting caught up in the whole thing, and, well," Hermione looked around, "I'm just sorry, okay."

"He wasn't right for you."

"What?"

"He wasn't right for you," Draco closed the book and leaned back in the swinging, two-person chair, putting his feet on the ground.

"How do you know?" Hermione asked.

"I just do. He wasn't the right guy for you." Draco didn't even know why he was saying this, but if he was going to have to live in the same house as the Golden Trio, he might as well try to talk to one of them.

Hermione sat down beside him on the swing and looked at him.

"Y'know, if you weren't so cryptic and vague then maybe I would understand you." Hermione couldn't believe that she was being so confident.

"I just know," Draco said slowly and softly.

Hermione smiled. "You don't know."

"Yeah I do," Draco replied, returning her smile with one of his own.

Hermione let out a small, soft laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't know," Hermione felt so at ease right now, it was making her a bit uncomfortable.

"Well I can't talk to a girl who doesn't know why she does things," Draco, now turned to completely face her, rested one arm on the back of the chair and left the other hand to take hers.

Hermione was shocked at this action, accidentally letting him know that by her shocked face.

Draco was shocked as well, but was trying hard not to let her see it.

"You can't always know why you do everything," Hermione whispered.

"I know," Draco whispered back before softly kissing her.

Hermione felt his soft lips press against hers. The kiss was short, but sweet. As he pulled back, she thought to herself, 'why can't Theo ever be this romantic?'. At this thought, her eyes shot open and she jumped up as though the seat was electrocuted.

"I'm sorry," she said before running back into the house to find sanctuary in the one place she knew to find it, the library.

"How could I let her go?"

"Because you love her."

"And that's just why it's so hard."