Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Les Mis. I don't make money from this fic.

October 27, 2000 Wiltshire, England - Malfoy Manor

Draco was awoken shortly before dawn by a persistent tapping on his shoulder by wand light. He opened his eyes drowsily, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Draco. Draco, love, wake up." He heard Andromeda's voice, raw and cracking, calling out to him. She'd spent the past week at the Manor with Narcissa and Malfoy, sleeping in one of the manors many guest rooms. She'd brought Teddy along to meet his great-aunt one day, but for the most part, the little boy stayed with Harry, and it was a good thing.

Narcissa's health was deteriorating fast. She seemed to be at peace with her demise, and the reappearance of her sister had seemed to put her more at ease. Draco knew there was nothing he could do but wait, and it seemed as though the wait was over.

"Draco, are you awake, dear?" Andromeda asked, pointing her wand towards the ceiling so the light filled the room.

"Yes. What happened, Aunt Andromeda?" Draco said, pulling himself upright and wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Narcissa- she-" Andromeda had to take a moment, her eyes filled with tears.

"She's gone?" Draco asked, his eyes wide. Andromeda nodded, her face covered with her hand. Draco had to see. He pushed himself up, grabbing his wand from the nightstand. He numbly passed his sobbing aunt, and padded down the hall, blankly. He wouldn't believe she was gone until he saw it for himself. He entered quietly into her room, padding over to the side of her bed and lighting his wand. Her chest did not rise nor fall. He didn't hear the tell-tale signs of her labored breathing. He reached out and touched her face, his hand trailing to the pulsepoint just beneath the jaw. Her skin was cold, her pulse, nonexistent.

And that was when he lost it. He fell to his knees, the weeks and months of anger, guilt, hopelessness all surging to the surface in that one moment. He cried, he screamed, he clawed at his chest, at the spot where it seemed an empty pit had taken over, sucking in his entire world. He didn't register when Andromeda came in, taking him by the shoulders and guiding him out of the room, back to his own, where he sat on the bed, staring at the wall. He didn't think about work, didn't think about arrangements. It was all he could do to focus on his breathing.

Inhale. Exhale. He was still alive. He was still here, and she wasn't. A dull, throbbing pain beat in his chest.

Inhale. Exhale. He was vaguely aware of his aunt telling him she'd written to the Ministry. Someone would be there soon to collect the body.

Inhale. Exhale. It was sometime later, he guessed late morning by the light spilling in from the window. He heard a knock at his bedroom door, then Andromeda popped her head into the room.

"Draco, you have a couple friends here. Hermione and Theo?" she said softly. Draco couldn't bring himself to respond. He heard soft voices in the hall, then his door was opened furth and Theo was kneeling in front of him.

"Draco. I know this is hard, but you need to stay with us. We need to get you out of your head." Theo said firmly. He looked Draco straight in the eyes, his blue orbs caring, but stern.

"I'm here. Hermione is here. You are not alone, Draco, do you hear me?" Theo said, his voice exactly what Draco needed. Then he saw her, out of the corner of his eye. His head swivelled to meet her gaze.

"It's lunch time, Draco." Hermione said, a small, sad smile in place. She held out her hand. "Let's go eat, then we can talk."

Draco took her hand, allowing her to help him up. He didn't let go when he stood, but held on as though his life depended on it. She just smiled, squeezing his hand gently as she guided him to the dining room. Theo trailed along behind them. Andromeda had made lunch, grilled cheese and tomato soup. They sat down to eat, at the little table in the kitchen instead of the banquet-sized table in the dining room. Theo kept a careful eye on Draco, but Hermione relaxed, falling into the easy pattern they'd repeated for most of the week.

They ate quietly, enjoying each other's company. Then, when everyone was nearly finished, Hermione started talking.

"I've been feeling inadequate." She said, not meeting Draco's eye. He nodded.

"I can understand that." He said, speaking for the first time in hours. His throat felt raw and he could hear the cracking in it. "What's the cause?"

"I worry about being too broken to help you. Too broken to be of any use." Hermione confided, looking down at her lap. Draco was shocked to find himself smiling.

"That's silly, Hermione." He told her. She looked up, frowning. Her frown turned to mild surprise when she saw his expression. "You've already helped me more than anyone else."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Theo asked with a nudge to his best mate.

"Yes." Draco said simply, before laughing at Theo's expression.

"Blimey, am I glad to hear you laughing, mate. At my expense or otherwise." Theo said, relief washing over his features.

"I understand why Robins put the two of you together, now." Draco said, frowning a little. "You two are so in sync, you're nearly the same person. Theo hit me hard to get my attention, and Hermione brought me back with our accountability ritual." Draco shook his head. "Seriously, where would I be without you two?" he murmured.

"Probably still hungry in your room." Hermione said. "But we're not done here. You haven't opened up. And I know you need to; what are you feeling, right now."

"Grateful. Numb. 'Sad' doesn't do it justice, but it isn't quite depression. If I could give it a color, it would be a dull blue-grey. Like a storm cloud." Draco said thoughtfully.

They sat there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, each lost in their thoughts.

"How did you know?" Draco asked finally. Hermione smiled sadly.

"Harry told us. Andromeda had sent him an owl. Teddy has been spending the days with Molly Weasley, you see, and she needed to let him know that she needed him to keep him at night until further notice. He rushed down to tell us as soon as he got word. Theo was beside himself with worry." Hermione giggled, as Theo glared at her.

"Me? I'm not the one who insisted we leave immediately." he spat.

"Not immediately. We did have to tell Robins, after all." Hermione retorted. "We took our lunch early to come check on you. Knew you'd need some form of support. Robins told us to let you know that you can, and this is a direct quote, 'take as much time as you need, just make sure you're back in a week.'" Draco snorted a little.

"Wonderful boss we have, isn't he?" Draco smiled. "Seriously. A full week's time off does sound great. I'll need time to plan the funeral with Andromeda. You'll be there?" Draco asked, looking down.

"Of course we'll be there." Hermione answered immediately. Draco allowed himself to relax a little. Knowing he had a support system, friends and family that cared about him, helped him realize that everything he was going through was normal.

Hermione and Theo stood, getting ready to head back to the office.

"Hermione," Draco called, still seated at the table. She turned back to him, brows arched. "You'll have lunch with me tomorrow?" he asked hopefully. He didn't know how badly he needed their lunchtime talks until now. Hermione smiled widely.

"Of course, Draco. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, giving his shoulder a quick squeeze on her way out of the kitchen. Theo clapped him on the back, lingering for just a moment.

"Hang in there, mate. We've got you." He murmured, before disappearing through the door after Hermione.

October 29, 2000 London, England - Theo's Flat

The funeral had been a small affair, as Narcissa had only had three living relatives. Draco had been mentally and emotionally exhausted, but Theo had somehow been able to tell that he didn't want to be alone. So Theo had invited Draco back to his flat, for a change of scenery and as an escape from keeping up appearances.

Draco felt himself sag into the leather sofa, the weight of the world lifting from his shoulders. Theo had an air about him that spoke of indifference. If he chose to be your friend, he'd thought about it carefully, and only very extreme circumstances could he be dissuaded from a friendship. That allowed Draco a level of comfort around Theo that he hadn't experienced with anyone else in his years at Hogwarts.

"Bloody hell, I could go for a drink." Draco said, scrubbing a hand down his face. Theo laughed, pulling out his wand and summoning two glasses and a decanter of firewhiskey from the liquor cabinet in the kitchen. He poured a measure for them both and handed Draco his glass. Draco had enough sense to not knock back the entire drink in one go, but he did take a rather large swig, grimacing at the taste.

"I always thought you were more of a vodka drinker, Theo." Draco commented.

"Oh, I am." Theo replied, swirling his whiskey around before taking a sip. "But firewhiskey's got cinnamon in it."

"And? You got a thing for cinnamon?" Draco asked, an eyebrow raised. Theo chuckled softly, his deep voice resonating through the room.

"No, Draco. Cinnamon is a mood stabilizer. There's no way I'd chance giving you alcohol with the potential of you lapsing into a depressive state. Hermione would have my head." It was Draco's turn to chuckle.

"Well, you're right there, mate." Draco conceded. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something, though." Theo sat down in the chair beside the couch, leaning forward, his arms braced on his knees.

"Alright, let's hear it." Theo grinned.

"So, I've noticed that you and Hermione are- close. Obviously, she just got out of a relationship and won't want to rush back into one, and I'm not insinuating that she should, I just-"

"Draco." Theo stopped him. "Spit it out." Draco took a deep breath, examining his drink before tossing it back.

"How do you think of Hermione? You two are close, and I was just wondering if there's any, you know, romantic interest there." Draco said, not meeting Theo's eye. Theo paused for a moment before chuckling.

"Draco, Hermione is one of my best friends, you being the other. I don't see her as anything more than platonic. She's actually more like a sister to me than anything." Draco sighed in relief.

"Thank Merlin. I was afraid this was gonna be really awkward and uncomfortable." he relaxed, grinning at the other boy.

"And when have you ever known me to be awkward and uncomfortable to be around?" Theo asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, there was this time between fourth and fifth year. I don't know, I think it had something to do with puberty and your voice dropping like ten octaves over night." Draco smirked as Theo hit him with a little decorative pillow.

"Draco, I've been using every opportunity I've gotten the past few weeks to get you two alone together. Why do you think I bowed out of lunch last week?" It was Theo's turn to smirk. Draco's eyes widened.

"You've been trying to set us up?" Draco looked at his friend as though he'd sprouted a second head.

"Of course I have been. I saw the way she looks at you. She's fascinated by you. I've seen that look in her eye, the one she has when she's talking to you, before, Draco. She only has it when she's talking to you, or she's found a particularly compelling document that challenges her." Theo told the other man. Draco nodded, a grin on his face.

"I know that look. Her eyes light up and her cheeks flush a bit. Wait, she gets like that? About me?" Draco asked, dumbfounded. Theo scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Yes, dunderhead. Open your eyes and you'll see that every time you read over her shoulder, she blushes like crazy. Every time the two of you talk, her eyes light up." Theo shook his head dismally. "Even Potter saw through your facade of aloofness."

"Oi, to be fair, mate, the two of us have had a lot going on. The simplest things are beyond my mental range right now. I think you should cut me some slack." Draco protested.

"I'm just taking the mickey out of you, mate. I want you to know I support you fully in your endeavours and I have absolutely no problem playing wingman for you." Theo dropped a wink in Draco's direction. Draco chuckled, shaking his head and setting his glass on the coffee table before getting to his feet.

"I should head home. I'm exhausted." Draco said, actually meaning every word. Theo stood too, clapping Draco on the back.

"Hermione invited us round for tea Sunday. You be there, I expect?" Theo asked, a teasing light in his eye. Draco nodded, a lopsided grin in place.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."