Draco, Hermione, Ginny and Blaise followed the rest of the students out the Castle in the courtyard and found a small free place where they could see the fireworks clearly. in the sky, that night, with the stars was shining also a beautiful pearly white full moon. "Draco, hey, Draco!" called Hermione. "Yeah?" Hermione pulled him by the arm and started pointing at the moon. "You know what's that?" she asked. "NO." Draco sighed. he knew perfectly well that Hermione had asked him that just for the joy of answering. "I'ts December moon!" she exclaimed. "...so?" "legends say it's magical. During the night with December's full moon magical things happen!" she whispered in his ear like an overexcited kid. Draco thought that Hermione was talking nonsense but maybe it was just the drinks, no need to worry.
For a few minutes all the students stood talking under the magnificent night sky, then the show began. The valley rumbled to the bottom of the black lake, and the mountains were tinged with a thousand colors, they were purple, then red, then blue, like that night of the battle. George had given his best in Fred's memory, there were normal fireworks, some that looked like shooting stars and others in the shape of dragons, owls, stars... of a thousand colors that sparkled in the night with the stars.
Suddenly there was a bang and Cedric Diggory, the first fallen of the second wizarding war, appeared. Another bang, and Sirius Black, was in front of them, turned into padfoot, and ran away disappearing into the dark. The eyes of the whole Dumbledore's army, of the order of the phoenix, of the knights of Hogwarts, and many others, filled with tears and embraced each other under the stars to see their friends, who had died, back there, with them, to greet them one last time.
Here is mad-eye with his usual look a little crazy and grumpy. A white light filled the valley and Hedwig flew over their heads circling around mad-eye. They disappeared, and in their place appeared Dobby who with a snap of his fingers disappeared again.
There was a golden glow, and Lavender Brown and Colin Creevey appeared in the sky, with large numbers of students, of all ages and from all houses, lined up in front of them, all who had died during the battle, raising their wands to the sky. The whole school, like when Albus Dumbledore died, in the same place, raised their wands and many sparks left the ground in front of the row of boys, so young, who died in such an adult way.
Lupin and Tonks appeared together and greeted with a smile. More than half of those who fought in the battle, at that point began to cry uncontrollably.
Hermione and Ginny were together leaning on each other, with Draco and Blaise who did not know how to behave and rather embarrassed, trying not to sound rude and doing their best to stay as close as they could. A little further on, Harry and Ron were with Morgan, Luna, Rolf, Neville, and Hanna, and they too mourned their friends, like everyone else in that as special as sad moment.
Tonks and Lupin disappeared, living room to Snape, and then to Dumbledore, they were greeted by a shower of applause and groans of tears. Lastly came Fred Weasley with the symbol of their shop up in the sky over his smiling face. He took a canary creams from his pocket and after eating it instead of the boy with red hair, there was a canary flying in the air, that then returned Fred, and disappear into a reddish explosion.
Finally there was a series of fireworks that formed the profile of Hogwarts, and under it one words: "thank you". Everyone applauded and collapsed on the ground leaning against each other trying to stifle the tears.
"It's all your fault of you Death Eaters." said Ron, sobbing near the small group of Hermione, Draco, Blaise, and Ginny.
"don't do this Ron, they suffered like us, they fought like us, they lost their friends like us. Not only our friends died, or only our relatives, but also theirs." Ginny said with wet cheeks.
"How you can you say that they went through what WE went through, we lost Fred, Ginny, Fred! our brother!" Ron exclaimed, leaving Ginny speechless.
"Many of them will have lost brothers, sisters, even parents, you can't know, just forgive." Said Hermione who still had strength to speak.
"But they are the cause of Fred's death!" Ron continued as Harry put a hand on his shoulder.
"then WE are the killers of many of their friends and relatives." Hermione retorted feeling Draco stiffen at Ron's words.
"Yes, but they started the war!" Ron barked, leaning on Harry.
"Now stop Ron, if we continue to accuse each other like this, we won't go anywhere; eye for an eye, the world becomes blind." Hermione replied.
"How can you, who fought with us, who are our friend, stand for this Death Eater."
"Weasley, enough. You're just blinded by the pain of your loss." Blaise tried to stop them.
"I thought I told you right here, four years ago. You fraternize with the enemy?!"he continued with his ears almost purple, he looked like he was going to punch Hermione.
"first, he. Is. Not. the. Enemy. but a boy who's trying to change, and although I also knows that he is an idiot, you should give him another chance, you may find it pleasant. Second. What do you think I am?! A princess who needs an handsome Prince to save her?! No dear, I'm a warrior." Hermione stated.
"You are no longer my boyfriend Ron, you can't control my every move, you couldn't before, much less now. Don't you think if it was dangerous for me to be friends with Draco, I would have already gotten out of it?! But no, I'm here, at a ball to pacify the houses with him, and I don't regret it at all." the girl yelled.
"I don't know who you are anymore; and I think I don't want to." She continued still angry but this ime using a cal tone.
"Well, don't come to me when he's gonna hut you, you're just a filthy mudblood." Ron spat.
"how dare you/" Hermione was already getting ready to punch him in the face, but was interrupted by Ginny. "don't you dare speak to her in this way!" said the redhead coming into range alongside her friend.
Harry broke into that absurd fight. "just stop, enough, I don't recognize any of you anymore; now we go away Ron before you manage to start the third wizarding war." Harry said stopping his friend from worsening the situation; then turn to Hermione.
"Hermione, I don't really care what you want to do, because it's your personal choice. And if it makes you happy it will make me happy too. But I will never trust Malfoy, even if I try to do it; you know, I would do everything for you, you are practically my sister. But until I can accept Malfoy, or Blaise, or your new way of behaving completely, maybe it's better for me to stop for a moment and think. Ginny also applies to you, I'm sorry. Good night guys." and with this they went back to the castle, leaving a Hermione who held back tears of anger and a shocked Ginny.
"come Ginny." Hermione whispered as she took the arm of her friend. They didn't say goodbye to anyone, they didn't warn of their intentions, they simply vanished; in the calm of the night, the rumblings of fireworks echoed in their mind and in their hearts as they walked among the heartbroken people in memory of those who had lost.
They crossed the courtyard full of people still in tears and went back to the school sowing everyone; then they huddled on the stairway right where Hermione had collapsed the night of the Yule ball.
"Oh, Hermione, I don't what to do!" Ginny said in a sob-broken voice. "Harry has always been my certainty, my safe haven! What am I going to do now?!" she asked while her friend stroked her head.
"I... I don't know Ginny. You remember in the second year when Ron got a slug-eating spell just because Malfoy called me a mudblood. Now he was the one who used that name, it seems that the roles have reversed, I have lost my certainties too, I have lost my best friends ever, except of course, Ginny." she said to her friend.
-the fate will be exchanged, the destinies will turn...- just a dream...
Meanwhile, Draco and Blaise, who had been caught off guard by their disappearance, started looking for them in the courtyard but there was no sign of them, so they went back to the school hoping they were there.
"Granger, are you okay? How's going Weaslette?" Draco asked when they found them.
"oh well, Harry broke up with her, and Ron called me mudblood, just to name some. We have lost everything." she explained sadly and on the verge of tears.
"nah, it's not true, not quite everything, maybe it's not exactly reassuring, but I'm still there if you need it, and even if I know I'm an idiot, I want to be there, because you were when I needed it."
"yeah, me too... always better than nothing." Blaise added appearing alongside Draco.
"Ginny, maybe it's a bit inappropriate, but... wanna dance?" Blaise asked unusually shyly holding out a hand towards Ginny who remained silent with tears in her eyes.
"Come on Ginny, go, enter the room, go to the center of the dance floor, and dance. Dance, and have fun with Blaise, continue to be happy, make them wonder where you find the strength to keep smiling." Said Hermione encouraging her friend, who took the hand of the boy who helped her to get up.
"Thanks" she whispered to everyone wiping her tears.
"Ginny, head-on, or your crown falls." Hermione added, making Ginny turn and smile slightly at her on last time before returning to the room with Blaise.
Now there were only Hermione and Draco sitting on the stair step.
"so, What happened Granger?" asked Draco.
"nothing."
"wrong. I can see."
"and how?!" she asked sarcastically with a sad smile.
"oh please, I'm a Gemini, I can read people like a book. So tell me everything, I love drama." He whispered the last part with a light smile making hermione chuckle slightly.
"okay then... . I don't know, for once I don't know what's going on! My life has been completely turned, enemies are friends, friends are enemies, my parents don't even know I exist! I'm discovering that the only person I thought was the most idiot on the face of the earth, is becoming one of the most important people in my life at the moment. oh, I just found a possible catastrophe, and I have to find a way to resolve it before it happens. I know too many things without understanding even one!" Hermione snapped starting to sob.
"It's all my fault, Granger, don't worry. Now I will continue to ignore you, and every now and then also to insult you; just remember that I don't really think what I'm going to tell you. So you will go back to being happily Weasel's girlfriend, and friend with Weaslette and Potter. You will get your friends back, and your life will perhaps be a little less upside down." Draco said guiltily.
"don't say nonsense, Draco!" Hermione snapped hysterically, collapsing between the other's arms.
"The only thing that still makes me happy is to be here, to help you, to have someone sincere. I forgive you Draco Malfoy... for everything... ."
"I'm not even like that, why do you want to forgive me, Hermione?! I'm a horrible person, a death eater, a traitor, the one who insulted you all your life, why?!" he asked with a tear in his eyes ready to go down his face.
"Because I don't want to suffer anymore, I don't want you to suffer anymore. You, who have caused me so much pain through the years, it's true, but nothing of what you have done has not already been returned to you. I know that you have suffered, and that you don't show it, but I see it, I see your heart in pieces, and it destroys me. If you don't want to suffer, you must make sure that others do not suffer; I deserve peace, you deserve peace." she said in tears.
"that night at the Manor... I really wanted to help you, those images always come back during the day, in nightmares, and every time I said, or someone else says –mudblood- I hear your screams in my head, I will never find peace. I will always remember the words written on your arm, the words that I have written over the years that can no longer be erased."
"You too have the words I, and everyone else, wrote, on your arm. A mark that doesn't go away, that remains in the skin forever. But I forgive you Draco Malfoy!" she said extending her arm in front of Draco.
He looked with regret at the word written on her arm -mudblood-, and then he pulled up the sleeve of his suit letting see the dark mark. They looked in each other eyes for what it seemed hours, and then they hugged, as friends that come back to see each other after years.
The Death Eater and the mudblood.
BANG! Hermione's head exploded and the only thing she could see was the little, black angel flying free in the heart of stone of Draco Malfoy. Before she went back to reality, she heard him say "Thank you." and then she was in Hogwarts again.
In that moment two people passed there: one had found an interesting information for the death eaters, and the other, a platinum blonde girl with flowered dress, stopped looking at them sighing. -I ship it- Luna whispered to herself. "yeah, Dramione; much better than Romione. Romione sounds like the name of a French cheese." she mumbled. "maybe I should join that fan club Blaise and Ginny told me about..." Luna thought going away.
They stood there in silence for a few minutes staring at the void.
"you saved me. Probably at this hour I would have already committed suicide if it wasn't for you, you who believed in me. Sometimes I have horrible nightmares where they want me to go back to the dark side, but I don't want to, and every time I go crazy, I could easily get to kill myself during one of those nervous breakdowns, you saw it. But it was you, who taught me every day to be a better person, to change; and every time I pretend I don't care, because I've always done this, but it means a lot to me." Draco paused.
"you know? I was always so mad, because everyone adored you, and even when I insulted you, you kept smiling, and I wasn't capable." Hermione smiled slightly at his words. "literally Hermione, you drove me crazy, from the first time I saw you. I just couldn't stand you. You annoyed and fascinated me at the same time, but I chose the first and kept insulting you. We could have been friends."
Hermione laid her head on his shoulder. "and so? friends?" she asked.
"friends." He replied.
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple isn't it?" she sighed
"oh, my father will hear about this, but not from me." He replayed.
"You don't have to worry anymore, I will be there, and Blaise, and Ginny, and I think also Neville Morgan and Luna would stand for you. We will go through all this" she started "together." completed the other thinking of his friends, the real ones, Blaise, Ginny, and now Hermione.
"don't expect me to be so sweet all the time, it's not like me, i'm the bad guy here. But maybe sometime I will...
I have a gift for you. Your Christmas present." Draco rummaged in his pocket. He pulled out a nice ring, to tell the truth a little extravagant, but intertwined snakes surrounded the golden circle. a small diamond at the top was tightened by the fangs of the snakes. And a dragon wing covered part of the ring; the whole of it resembled a dragon. Hermione took it in amazement.
"thanks. You will find mine tomorrow." she said putting the ring on her finger.
"Actually this ring belonged to my family for about sixty years, but it's a very particular story: my family found it when my great-grandfather was dying, and that exact day he was healed. There was no name only a signature: -use it well.- We considered it a sign that someone wanted to send it to us. And well, I thought it could be something like a metaphor to say that now he has to heal you, for all that the Malfoys has done to you, like paying a debt, and it is a good luck charm." he explained.
"then I won't take it off anymore. Who knows what could happen to me." Hermione took a few moments to admire the rings and then spoke again. "You know what, Draco? I think there's a reason for all that happened tonight... it's our December moon after all..."
The two returned to the great hall, regardless of all the hate glances from every part of the room, completed the party with Ginny and Blaise, celebrated and danced together, managing to spend a nice evening.
It was snowing on that beautiful Christmas morning, and there were already about fifteen centimeters of snow on the ground that created an enchanted cloak over the school.
Hermione woke up in her bed, and immediately went to wake up Ginny. "Ginny, Ginny! Wake up!" said Hermione shaking her friend who was sleeping deeply. Ginny woke up with an heart-attack. "What is it?!" she asked agitated. "It's Christmas!" Hermione shouted in her ears. Last year she was fighting Nagini at Godric's Hollow on Christmas, so she was quite exited. they screamed and giggled together going down the dormitory stairs.
"Look how many presents." Ginny exclaimed sitting down next to the tree.
"wait, that box is moving!" Hermione shouted looking at a box that was swinging.
"God, it's true!" Ginny said approaching to check for whome it was. "It's for you!" she shouted as Hermione joined her closer to the moving box.
She stopped for a moment, then opened the box, there was a small long-hair tabby kitten with two large eyes that looked like melten gold. Hermione took the kitten in her arms and picked up the note inside the box.
-Merry Christmas, Hermione! I know you had a cat before the war, who stayed with your parents, so I thought I'd give you another one. I hope you like it, it has eyes like yours. Draco.-
"Who gave it to you?!" Ginny asked stroking the kitten.
"Draco." Hermione replied absently.
"what a beautiful thought. What did you give him?"
"a collection of Muggle books, perhaps he will consider it an affront."
"I have never read them; which you chose?"
"the beauty and the beast first, then a collection of the Grimm brothers', and some other books a little more... of culture, classics and one of Muggle world history. What did you give him?"
"one of my mom's jumpers, and I replaced the –G- on the green jumper that she made me with a –D-. Instead he gave me this necklace." Ginny said opening a box and showing it to her friend. There was a pretty chain with a rose-shaped pendant. "How beautiful," said Hermione.
"How do we call the kitten? How about Altea, or Cassandra..." Ginny would go on for hours.
"Athena." Hermione interrupted her. "I want to call her Athena." She repeated firmly.
"I like it. why?" Ginny asked curiously.
"because she is the goddess of war, and she has come to the end of a war, with peace. Draco gave it to me, right now that we've made peace. And she is also the goddess of wisdom." Hermione explained.
"I approve." Ginny said stroking the kitten. Hermione wrapped Athena in a cover and placed it next to them.
"I think Harry will be going crazy at this hour for the Nimbus that we bought him." said Hermione, unwrapping a pair of earrings that Luna had given both to Morgan and her, and also to Ginny.
"Yeah, it must be really fabulous to fly on the Nimbus 2020. And the best part is that his Firebolt will have to find someone else. Actually it's already in my room." She whispered the last part.
"and also Ron will be happy to have found new quidditch glasses, keeper gloves, and maintenance kit."
"isn't wonderful, Ginny , no commitments of any kind for all the holidays, plus we don't even have to spend all day long with the other two, as if we were at the burrow."
"I believe, however, before school starts again, it is appropriate to go to the secret room. There aren't many students, you risk less." Ginny said."Umpf, we have to?" complained Hermione. "Do you prefer trying to go into the room without being seen all the time as if you were an international spy?" Ginny asked sarcastically. Hermione snorted. "fine." she concluded.
"there is nothing better than spending Christmas with your friends. Merry Christmas, Ginny." "Merry Christmas, Hermione."