This is morning when I spend the most time thinkin' 'bout what I've given up

Hermione sat in the sterile hospital ward trying to ignore the concerned looks the Weaselys kept shooting at her. They wouldn't understand, they were the masters of loud emotions and the fact that Hermione hadn't cried was something strange and unnerving. Every one of them wanted to ask her why she didn't but none of them would. So she sat there pretending like they weren't observing her like some strange specimen.

When they entered the room the Weaselys parted so that she could reach his side first, and she did slowly her steps measured and sure. He didn't smile at her but she had known he wouldn't. Hermione would miss that crinkling at the corners of his eyes, the way his cheeks always reddened just a bit masking his freckles, and the way his nostrils flared when he was holding back some teasing comment. She went up to him and took his hand in hers stroking the little scars with her thumb, trying without words to tell him everything she felt, and when she looked up she wanted to cry a little because he was after all a Weasely and would never understand her. But, she didn't cry she just looked into the depths of his eyes and tried to draw out his pain, she didn't want him to suffer, he was going to blame himself like he always did and she would not allow it.

"We'll smile again Ron." She said leaning towards him her breath stirring his hair and he turned his face to stare into her eyes again and she cursed her inability to read people, she didn't know what thoughts were swirling within his head.

"Yeah," He paused for a moment his lips clenching slightly, "Yeah I suppose we will." He said there was no hope in his voice. It was better not to hope Hermione thought, after all the hoping they had done it was useless to try again.

As she stepped back and watched his family surround him all tears, and blustery attention she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to grieve. If when it came it would break her because Hermione Granger had to be the cool collected one, Hermione Granger had to hold everything together.

You're the one that I wanted to find

She wasn't quite sure why she had gone to visit him; maybe it was because she thought that he would release some pent up emotion in her. Before the Final Battle when she had imagined the future she pictured only seeing Malfoy through the bars of some cage. Instead she saw him across a smooth ebony table in a fancy restaurant; the evidence had cleared his name. Severus Snape had been the one to kill Dumbledore, and Malfoy hadn't appeared in the war so there was no way that he could be convicted. She wished that they had found some minor thing so that he was locked away and rotting in some dank cell.

"Granger stop glaring." He said and she noticed the lines at the corners of his eyes, she cursed her weak self for feeling sorry for him. He had lost everything in the war, well almost everything his family was gone and the manor but he still had that fortune stored in the vaults of Gringotts.

"I wish you were in prison." She said trying to stay strong, but he just looked at her instead of giving the reaction she wanted.

"You know sometimes I wish that too." His voice was soft and quiet Hermione found herself scared, he wasn't supposed to change.

"Why?" She asked her insatiable need for answers overriding her want to seem impassive.

"You know my parents may have seemed so cold to everyone else but they loved me." He sighed reaching up and rubbing his eyes. "They're dead now and maybe it'd be better if the dementors just sucked those memories away from me, all the happy memories so I could feel like it was okay for me to be alive."

"You're making it awful hard for me to hate you Malfoy." She whispered regretfully.

"I guess I'll have to try harder." He replied a cold smile gracing his features.

"Yeah you better." She muttered and he laughed something so genuine, that she just stared so blatantly before she began to laugh with him.

A/N: Another Hermione and Draco fic you ask? Read and see. I'm actually full of surprises.

Your lovely divine author,

Wonderwall