DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of JK's world, just the stories in my head that flow out to this keyboard.
Warning: This chapter visits trauma from the war. I will try to keep it as tame as possible not to trigger anyone, but no one goes through what these students have gone through without trauma. Having dealt with PTSD myself (not war) I will try my best to relate my feelings and emotions to the situation throughout this story.
Also, I didn't realise how short the last chapter was. I do apologise, I will make this next chapter longer. Remember I have no beta, its just little old me.
(Jumper - Sweater for the non-brits reading)
When Hermione had finished catching up with her friends, she excused herself from the table and made her way up to the seventh-floor corridor and waited opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the barmy, she thought back to when she, Harry and Ron went to retrieve the Diadem that Voldemort had turned into a Horcrux and how they had narrowly escaped the fiendfyre set off by Crabbe after they had run into him and Goyle. And how it had destroyed both the Horcrux and the room killing Crabbe along with it.
Remembering how the flames licked at them as they escaped the room, the sound of the screams of the Horcrux and Crabbe's crazed laughter as he died made her shudder, before Hermione knew it she was sat on the floor with fat warm tears sliding down her face hugging her knees when she heard a voice "Granger….Are you alright?" she brandished her wand "STAY AWAY FROM ME, ITS A FAKE SWORD I PROMISE!" then she heard mumbling as she faded to black.
Hermione woke up with a startle looking around her, she realised she was laid on a hospital bed although there were no windows so she definitely wasn't in Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and sat up, right there in the corner of the room was Draco Malfoy in a rather extravagant green chair reading a book with a pair of glasses perched on the end of his nose. He looked up at her pushing the glasses up and said "So you've woken up then? It's only been three hours since you shouted at me and passed out...I was worried I'd have to go find the Weaselette and have her pummel me for letting this happen" he grinned at her in a playful boyish manner, her face flushed the same way it had that evening in the library.
She licked her lips she was thirsty so she grabbed the glass of water that was next to her bed and downed it sighing in relief "all better then?" said Draco, Hermione looked at him "I'm sorry for shouting at you and for inconveniencing you for three hours, where are we anyway?" she asked him "we are in the room of requirement" he noticed her face whitening as she looked down suddenly interested in her hands "Don't worry Hermione, I asked the room to make a place for you to rest up as the hospital wing seemed far away….and it's nothing like that other room as you can see"
She looked up at him in shock "You called me Hermione? Why did you want to speak with me, Why now after everything?", Draco placed his book and glasses onto the table next to his chair and stood up "Isn't that your name? Anyway I did still want to talk to you, I wanted to apologise for everything the name-calling, the bullying, all that happened at the manor, the lot - You don't need to worry about me or the other Slytherins calling you mud- erm that slur anymore...I...I...would like to be your friend" he looked down at his expensive shiny shoes and shifted awkwardly from foot to foot.
She had never seen him act this way before she was about to answer when they both heard someone enter the room it was Blaise "So there you are mate, I've been looking all over for you…." his eyes widened as he witnessed the scene before him Hermione with her hair all tussled up, uniform rumpled with her jumper over the end of the bed and Draco looking sheepish stood up in the corner, Blaise grinned "Ohhh…..sorry Draco…..Granger, honestly I had no idea this was a thing congratulations!"
Hermione went bright red when she realised how it looked to the Slytherin "This isn't anything!" She shouted and ran out of the room, Draco placed his forefinger and thumb on his temples before looking at his tall Slytherin friend who was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly "Oops sorry I said the wrong thing didn't I…." Draco shook his head in exasperation "No, Well yes, I'm not sure but I'd just asked her to be my friend" he went over to the bed where she had left her jumper and picked it up it was as soft as he'd imagined and her scent waved over him as he folded it up honeysuckle, cinnamon and parchment.
He was determined to make amends and it started with little things like this. He bid Blaise a farewell and left the room to go back to the common room library where he thought she would probably be but she wasn't there, he walked into the main common area and up the stairs to the girls dormitories down the hallway until he got to the end with the door marked "Hermione" and was about to knock when he heard a crying noise from inside the room, he drew a deep breath in and opened the door to find her sat at her desk tears rolling down her face, she hadn't realised that he was there until a black fur ball hissed towards his direction and stalked towards her jumping into her lap. She looked up at him eyelashes wet, tears unshed in her eyes ready to fall down her cheeks to join the others, her lips plumped and pouty and her nose all red shocked at the sight of him.
It was in that moment he realised that he had indeed fallen for her all those years ago he never wanted her to look this sad again and time seemed to stand still until the scraping of her chair filled the room and he realised she had stepped towards him to grab her jumper back from his clenched hands "Thank you for bringing this back….Draco…" her voice sounded unsure but he could see that Gryffindor courage burning in her eyes behind the wetness "We can be friends, just don't tell anyone what happened no one knows how affected I still am and if you tell anyone I will hex your balls off," she said to him. Draco smiled at her and laughed "I promise I won't tell a soul, I would like to keep my balls thank you very much!"
The sound of his laugh rang around the room, she grabbed her jumper off of him and huffed "well I'm not sure what is so amusing Mr Malfoy but I for one am very hungry so will be going to the hall, would you like to join me, friend?" Draco's eyes darkened and he said: "Please don't refer to me as Mr Malfoy, that is my father's name…" she looked at him "I'm sorry Draco, let us get some food" she placed her jumper on the bed and made her way out of the room with Draco on her heels. He felt a weight had lifted off his chest. She was his friend, and that's all he could ask of her for now.
Okay, they are friends, obviously, there will still be bumps along the way to them getting together after all one doesn't just forget years of bullying and forgive right away.