Hermione woke with a start. She sat straight up in her bed, sweat dripping down her face and pooling at her lower back. She was gripping her arm, covering her scar, so tight that the blood had gone and her skin had paled to an almost white tone. It took her a second but she released the grip on her arm. Now that she was awake and could see that there was no blood running from the wound, she shook it for a few seconds, hoping to get the blood flow back up and running. She blinked a few times, not completely sure of where she was, subconsciously casting a lumos charm. The light flickered gently, not too bright, and she was able to see her surroundings. The new bed, the soft carpet, her unpacked trunk. She blinked hard letting a few more tears fall then pulled herself out of bed, she had gotten used to the nightmares, not that she liked them. She had started going for walks at night when she woke up like this. It was worse at first, the first few days after the final battle she barely slept, Molly noticed and made her take a sleeping potion after a week of keeping an eye on her. She slept through the night but was not rested, she had felt trapped in all manner of situations from the previous months, an endless stream of pain and anguish repeating as she tried to wake but couldn't.
The more she talked to her friends, the better her sleep became. They had all been through similar things and were all struggling in their own ways, even just spending time together in silence had helped them all improve. Just before she had left to come back to Hogwarts, she was only waking up every few nights, she could only imagine it was the change of scenery that was the reason it had come back this bad, even still she tried to clear her mind and shake it off. She wiggled her toes in the long shaggy fibres of the plush carpet and walked over to her chest, pulling out her fluffy slippers and a hoodie. She opened the door into the common room, noting that the fire was still just glowing, the embers still slightly glowing, giving the room a really homely feel. Hermione headed for the kitchen room that she hadn't had a chance to explore yesterday. Opening the door, a lantern above her head turned on, lighting up the whole room, she shut the door behind her and headed over to a sink area. She picked a cupboard and opened, hoping for a glass to be inside.
The door creaked slightly as she pulled on the cool metal handle, revealing a single tall glass. When she reached out to grab it, she was amazed to find the side cool to the touch and as she brought it towards her, she could see the beads of condensation forming on the outside, rolling down the side of the glass, picking up others as they went and pooling under her fingers. She smiled as she took it to the tap in the deep farmhouse basin. After pouring herself a glass of water and sipping a few times she decided to go back and test out a theory. She stood in front of the cupboard and thought about a midnight snack she used to have when she was younger. She paused then pulled the door open. Sure enough on the other side was a slice of toast with peanut butter and banana. She smiled gleefully and wiggled a little, slipping onto a high table and stool in the corner of the room, lifting the toast to her mouth, it tasted exactly like the ones she had back home, just like her mum made for her. After finishing her toast just like earlier with the tray the plate it was on disappeared, she said a quiet thank you to the elves, filled up her glass and headed back to her room.
When she opened the door to the common room, she was met however with something very unexpected. Lounging on the sofa, looking as carefree as ever, was Draco Malfoy. He was awake, and looking right at her. As if the room knew that there were two people awake in it a few lamps on the wall lit dimly, just enough for Hermione to make out that he was not wearing a shirt, and that the blanket that was covering him was falling to almost show his whole torso. She tried not to look but she could not dispute that he had a good body. What she didn't imagine though was the number of scars and marks on his body. Looking away before Malfoy caught her, she started towards him, a sudden flame of anger alight in her when she realised that he was also staring at her. She looked down briefly and felt her cheeks flush. In her haste to leave her room she had picked up a big old hoodie to put on over her pyjamas, but the shorts were so short and the hoodie so long that it seemed like she was wearing nothing underneath. A smirk appeared on his face and he propped himself up on one elbow giving her a little wave of acknowledgement, then bringing the finger to his lips.
"What are you doing here Malfoy?" She half whispered as she got closer, pulling the hoodie down as she went.
"Well, it was a bit of a last-minute plan to come back here and therefore I had no accommodation ready for me." He looked to Blaise's door before continuing. "Our illustrious Head Boy offered me a sofa in this lovely common room so who was I to turn it down. I have to say, the views aren't half bad." She scoffed in his general direction.
"It was nice of him to check with the rest of us."
"I guess he just assumed that as Head's you were all generous and helpful people who wouldn't turn away a student in need." He was almost pouting, really playing up the whole act.
"Give over Malfoy, you've never not got what you wanted."
"I know," He winked at her, and she looked away hating herself for how much she didn't hate the action.
"I don't care what Blaise said Malfoy, I couldn't give a toss if you don't have a bed anywhere else." She could feel the anger rising in her, pulling at her sleeve to cover her scar as she strode closer to him. "I don't want you in here and I couldn't care less if you slept outside." She stopped a few feet ahead of him, fists balled up. She was too angry to notice a calmer look cross his face, dropping the previous expression.
"Look Granger," He paused, sitting up and pulling the blanket around his waist. He gestured for her to sit next to him. "I think we need to get some things up in the open."
"That's nice Malfoy but I don't really feel like being insulted right now" She started to walk away to her bedroom when he reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She spun around, her hair frizzing with magic. "Get. Off." She managed to get out through gritted teeth.
"I will, when you listen to me." He pulled gently on her arm, dragging her back towards the sofa. She resisted for a second then begrudgingly allowed herself to be seated next to him on the sofa.
"Go ahead then, just get this over with." He released her arm and she pulled it back into her lap, rubbing it slightly.
"I'm sorry." She peered up at him, he was looking down in his lap, fiddling with the blanket. "I'm sorry that I didn't see sooner how ridiculous this whole blood thing was. I'm sorry that I wasn't brave enough to stand up to my father and do the right thing. I'm sorry about what happened to you, at my house." He trailed off, still looking down. Even though she couldn't see his whole face, as far as she could tell he was being genuine. "Ever since I saw you on the platform, I knew I had to say something. Not just because that useless wizard I have to see from the ministry told me I had to confront my issues, because it felt right." He held out his hand to her. "Can we start over?" She could feel her mouth fall open, shocked, surprised, impressed. She waited a second.
"I'm not sure that a second chance would be accurate, maybe fourth or fifth." He looked like he was about to say something in response but then thought better of it. "But I think after everything that has happened a fresh start would not be a bad thing for anyone." She took his hand and shook it, noting his smile as she did. "I saw the trial." She took her hand back, his face grimacing slightly as she mentioned it. "And I agree, you couldn't have done much more. You were only a child. And our parents are supposed to point us in the right direction. You realised what you were doing was wrong and I think that in itself is brave." Pulling her jumper down she stood up and headed back to her room, hearing him settle back onto the sofa. She looked back once more before heading to bed, catching him looking at her too.
"Oh, Granger. I forgot to say." She raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Nice legs" He winked again and she blushed and hurried back to her room, slamming the door behind her. Draco leaned back into the soft sofa cushions muttering under his breath as he drifted back off to sleep. "Weasley is a lucky man."