Chapter Ten

Moving On

April 18, 2001

"It's because I can do something," he says evenly.

"What do you mean by that?"

Malfoy stays there, frozen. I see him blink like he's just realized what he's said. He hesitates and for one second, he looks like he's changing his mind.

He looks down and then he says very quietly, "That night… at the Manor."

His voice is so soft I almost didn't hear him. But I know exactly what he's talking about… Only once did I ever set foot in that Manor. For what felt like hours, I was torturedI thought I would die.

"I listened to you scream—," he starts.

I find myself hanging on to every word he says. There's a crease between his eyebrows that tells me he's struggling to get them out.

"— I watched you writhe in pain —"

He says the word pain like he's in pain himself.

"— And I couldn't do anything," he says through gritted teeth.

Then he raises his eyes to meet mine, like he's pleading and speaks more softly, "I couldn't do anything Granger."

I almost feel the helplessness he felt, can almost imagine remembering his apologetic face while I begged Bellatrix to stop.

"I hated you for so many reasons. But I realized that I didn't want you to suffer — not like that," he finishes.

I want to comfort him, tell him it wasn't his fault. I have this urge to smoothen the lines of anguish on his face. I realize then that this isn't just a confession of regret. For a man like Malfoy, this is an apology in so many difficult words. More than that,he has shown me his profoundsincerity. He was there when Greyback attacked. He's here now to tell me everything's going to be okay. He has done what he couldn't do at the Manor that night. It's time I give him what he needs to move past this. Only I can give him this —

"I forgive you Malfoy," I finally say, not recognizing my own voice.

— Forgiveness. When I say those words, I am surprised by how much I mean them. Not only that, I feel it,like someone just lifted a heavy burden off my shoulders. I see it too. Because now when I look at Malfoy, it's like I'm seeing him for the first time. He has in him a good heart, corrupted but not too far from saving.

"You don't have to Granger," he says, looking away again.

"I want to," I tell him. I do.

He looks at me. He looks at me for a long time. I don't waver. And he sees that I meant every word.

"Thank you."

He doesn't smile. But all the lines smooth out. And I can tell that that's enough. He turns to leave but pauses at the door and say, "Where does this leave us?"

He asks like this makes it over, whatever it is between us. Seeing as there's no bad blood between us anymore, with no broken bridge to mend now, it's a question that challenges the uncertainty of this new relationship.

"For now, we go back to work."

He nods before opening the door. He doesn't know it yet but I see it now. Each of us values this relationship more than either lets on.

"And maybe, see each other for lunch tomorrow," I add before he completely gets out.

He freezes there, like he's not sure of what I just said. After confirming that his ears heard right, he finally speaks up.

"Whatever you say Granger." He says it sarcastically — normally. I don't see it but I know he's smiling. "See you tomorrow then."

We'll see where this friendship goes...

xxx

April 20, 2001

"You can stay for a few more days you know," Harry says as he sits on the bed, watching me pack my things.

"I know," I tell him while I levitate the clothes hung in the closet.

Now that Greyback's captured and is willing to talk, it's only a matter of time before they round the others up. Harry and Ron told me they've already caught a pretty good number of them at an ambush the other day. The rest of the Death Eaters will be too busy running away and hiding to bother with me or whatever it is that they're trying to do. There's no reason for me to stay here longer when there isn't a threat I can't handle.

When I'm done packing, I call Crookshanks. Since my anti-Apparition wards are up, it will be easier to travel through Floo. Crookshanks would prefer Apparating though because Floo traveling makes him dizzy and nauseous.

Harry and I stand in front of the fireplace with my trunk shrunk enough to fit my pocket.

"Thank you for everything," I tell him when we embrace.

"You're always welcome," he says and adds, "I'll miss you."

We both laugh at the absurdity of those words seeing as we work at the same place. But I know what he means. These past few weeks have been like camping with him when we were hunting down Horcruxes only without the weight of the locket and the imminent War raging upon us.

With Crookshanks in my arms, I step up to the fire. I smile at Harry one last time before I throwthe Floo powder into the flames. They turn emerald green and envelope me just as I shout my destination. The next moment, I feel myself spinning for a long time and I tuck in my elbows to avoid hitting them, clutching Crookshanks tighter. Isee glimpses of other wizards' living rooms and shut my eyes until I get out into my own.

Recognizing where we are, Crookshanks immediately jumps out of my hold and settles on his favourite rug, a white, circle rug made from sheep's wool, the one I bought in Australia when I travelled there with Mum and Dad April of last tells me later that he saw me buy it which is ridiculous at first but… But that would be another story for another time. Right now, I need a good night's sleep because I'm going to need all of tomorrow cleaning this flat, including that rug.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if it took me so long to post this chapter! Wow! 100+ followers, I can't believe it! Thank you for believing in this story. Actually I'm already done with the next chapter so I'll be posting it probably next week. But if I get too excited with your hopefully overwhelming reviews, I might just post it the next day! So, what did you think? I hope you at least enjoyed this chapter! xx