My, hasn't it been a while? 2007 was quite the year for me. I've been accepted in University and will be starting my first semester very soon. Thank you to all the people who have reviewed so far even though I haven't updated for so long. Inspiration has been hard to find after a long break and some details have been lost in my memory. I can't promise I will give you a lot this time around. If you're still reading this thank you so much!
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Lunch had just been consumed when a mediwitch arrived to check on Hermione. She pronounced Mrs. Malfoy to be well on the way to full recovery which Draco was relieved to hear. Once she had left Hermione told him she was tired and went up stairs to take a nap.
"This must be important." Harry looked at Draco questioningly as he flooed into the Manor after receiving an owl requesting his presence. "Is Hermione alright?"
"She's tired." Draco told him, conjuring some drinks and inviting Harry to sit on the plush couch opposite him. "There is something I think you should know."
The serious tone in Draco's voice concerned Harry but he sat calmly, afraid that if he said something wrong this news would be kept from him. "Only me?"
"After telling you there is no doubt anyone who should know will hear it." Draco replied sarcastically. He took a sip of his drink and looked at it as if it were suddenly very interesting. He had given this some thought and still wasn't sure if Hermione would really appreciate it. Given the circumstances however, there wasn't anyone else he could talk to and sometimes, everything can't be pent up inside. "Hermione and I have been through some rough waters so to speak."
Harry nodded, "I believe most of the world has realised."
"My defensive stance on the matter has served only to make matters worse in the public eye I believe."
"What is it that you felt needed to be protected so well then?" Harry ventured.
"Hermione was pregnant." Draco raised his eyes to meet Harry's as if challenging him to disbelieve.
Harry sat forward slowly and watched the man before him carefully. He remembered a quiet, melancholy Hermione and how sickly she had looked. Photos from the Prophet of Narcissa Malfoy's Manor floated through his mind as he recalled Hermione's brief move. "Was?"
Draco breathed deeply and nodded, "The night she came back to the Manor she had a miscarriage."
"Did you take her St Mungos?"
"No, they came here to the Manor. A nurse comes to check on her each day."
"It's not enough is it?" Harry caught on quickly to Draco's train of thought and surprised himself by sympathising with the powerful figure opposite him. Friendship had been achieved but he had always thought anything that Hermione suffered would be Draco's fault. Perhaps that was the case in this situation but a stronger friendship, than he could have ever expected, stopped him from making blatant accusations.
"No it isn't. I'm concerned that her mind is not recovering quite so well." It was the first time Harry had ever heard Draco openly admit to feeling genuinely worried for anyone.
"Understandably. What has she been like?"
"Quiet. It could be put down to exhaustion or physical fatigue but I'm certain her own emotions are keeping her from resting as well." Draco observed, looking out the window. The sky was overcast turning the grounds grey despite the extravagant gardens.
Harry nodded, "I'll be hard but it seems like something that just needs time to recover. Do you think there is anything anyone can do that would help?"
"I'm not sure what she's going through," Draco admitted, again surprising Harry. "If she won't let me through, I can't do much to help her."
"I'm surprised you would tell me this." Harry told him, finishing his drink and placing it on the table carefully. "I can see why you two tried to keep this to yourselves."
"There isn't anyone else to speak to about it." It was then that Harry realised how lonely Draco must be. He didn't have friends like Hermione did. Although he had known this the implications hadn't truly occurred to him until now.
"It's good to get it out there." He told him earnestly, "I'm glad to be here for both you and Hermione."
They exchanged smiles which was all Harry needed to know Draco was thanking him. After a moment the typical Malfoy came through, "don't kill me with your sentiment Potter, I think I've had enough to last me for the next decade or two."
Harry laughed at Draco's smirk. He rose to stand at the large window, "on an unrelated matter; when will you be back on the pitch?"
Still seated, Draco sighed, "I don't know. One more match until my leave runs out."
"Yes, and we've been doing well so hopefully we can make it through to the quarter finals." Harry replied optimistically. "So far the team haven't managed to kill one another but I think we might be saving that for the finals; gotta go out with a bang." He chuckled.
"As all athletes must." Draco added. "Getting back on the pitch would be good I think but I'm not sure if I can afford to leave Hermione for Quidditch."
A contemplative silence occupied the room, disrupted only by the soft pop of a house elf to refill their drinks. When it had gone Harry turned away and sat opposite Draco once more. "I think time back in the air will be good for both of you."
"Is that so?" Draco's scepticism wasn't overlooked.
"You and Hermione have been through a lot in the past three years. You've worked together a lot lately on your company. Even though you both enjoyed it and are no doubt happy with the progress it has made, it meant that you saw each other every moment of every day. The past few months have been a test of sorts. Both of you are together again and now I think you need to get away from it. For the benefit of both you and Hermione, maybe you two need to look at the other aspects of your life that aren't inextricably linked to each other." Harry looked up to see how much of his words had reached Draco.
Dressed in his immaculate pressed robes, looking into the distance with a blank face, Harry felt no closer to this man than he had been when they first met. And yet there was an understanding that his blank expression was in fact portraying everything. He was thinking deeply and seriously of what Harry had said. That alone meant the words were not wasted, even if he chose not to act upon them.
A friendship had been set in stone within this hour. Both Harry and Draco were quietly grateful for it.
After a while Draco rose and Harry followed, putting his robes on as he prepared to leave. "Your advice is appreciated, Harry." Draco shook his hand firmly, giving a small smile.
As he stepped into the fireplace Harry nodded, "Any time, Draco."
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There was a lot going on in Hermione's mind as she lay in bed. She looked to her left where the lake could just be seen behind the trees. The cloudy day seemed to brew along with her. Her physical health appeared to be getting better. The nurse had checked thoroughly and Hermione could feel that she had more strength and was able to move around comfortably. But her thoughts tumbled around each other of their own accord, hardly giving her time to recover.
One moment she was happy to be home and then she'd be angry at Draco for forcing her to move in the first place. Then she would be so sad about her baby and her heart ached and she cried quietly to herself. She understood very clearly now that a baby would have been the cause of only more tension between them and that maybe it was only right that she lost it.
It wasn't only hers thought. It was their baby. Draco must be going through a lot too. But it can't be half as hard as what Hermione was going through now. He never wanted it to begin with so he must be happy with the way things turned out.
She wasn't being fair to him. He had cared for her attentively as she recovered, making sure she was always comfortable and resting. Even if he didn't want the baby she knew inside that he would never have wanted this for her.
"I'm going insane." She muttered to herself, looking up at the ceiling. The chandelier was one of many in the Manor which was cleaned periodically by the elves. Each small crystal was polished so that when it was, it glittered magnificently. While trying to distract herself enough to sleep with thoughts of chandeliers, she saw the door open slightly.
"Yes?" It was Draco. He stepped in and quietly closed the door.
"I thought you were sleeping."
"I've been trying to." She told him, moving aside slightly. He took the indication and sat beside her.
"You've been trying for a long time; how are you feeling?"
She put her hand over his, "I'm better."
He leaned over to kiss her cheek softly and watched as she finally drifted off to sleep.
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I'm still warming up I think. Trying to get a feel for the story again. I'm sorry if the story disappointed you. I was trying to focus on Harry and Draco this time actually. More so than Hermione who's mind I'm having trouble portraying. Has my writing deteriorated? Do tell me if it has. I don't know what I'd do about it but it would be worth knowing.
Thank you ever so much for reading!