Chapter 6:Somewhere In The World

"I believe there is a place

Where fear is finally waving goodbye

Somewhere in the world tonight

Everything's alright"

Altiyan Childs (Somewhere In the World)

Hermione reached out and placed one hand over his as a sign of comfort. Looking at all the hurt in his eyes made her realize that she had to learn how to let past grudges go, for it was like a heavy weight on both of them, dragging them down into dark painful corners filled with horrors. This war had forced teenagers to be adults and both of them had gone through way more than they should have at the age of 19. She understood that perhaps the situation was out of his control, just like it had been for her.

Draco flipped his hand over and interlaced his fingers with hers. That little gesture from her meant more than anything right now, in addition to the idea that he wasn't alone when he experienced the horrors that replayed themselves over and over again in his mind. Her touch was comforting and soothing and it eased the feelings of loneliness that shrouded his heart.

A rather surprised giggle elicited from Hermione's mouth after a few short blissful moments. He gaped at her in shock; this was a rather different Hermione Granger than the usual stoic one. When her giggles erupted in full-blown laughter though, he wondered if she'd lost her marbles.

"I'm sorry," she gasped in between chuckles. "I'm just laughing at the irony of the situation. I was all ready to hex your balls off last night for coming in and messing up my life and here I am comforting you. What are the odds?"

He chuckled lightly as he noticed a familiar glint return to those brown chocolate eyes. She looked marginally better than she did yesterday; it was amazing what laughter did to a person. However, the blissfulness didn't last long, much to his disappointment, as she quickly collected herself.

He decided now was a good time as any to continue his little speech.

"Voldemort had my father under his thumb the whole time, my mother hated it though, she resented answering to him, but she didn't leave, because she loved my father too much. She kept hoping and praying that one day the guy she loved would come back, and because of her, I stayed. You see, Voldemort liked to torture others, especially women, and my mother was always chosen. There was the time when I failed to kill Dumbledore as he requested and when my father lost the diary that was so precious to him… He chose to take it all out on her." Tears were blinding his vision as they spilled down his cheeks. This was something he never did before, to cry in front of another, yet he didn't feel wrong doing it around her. He knew she wouldn't judge him. As if in response, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Whenever I could, I took the punishment for her," he whispered softly. He heard a soft gasp as he revealed that, before a head of bushy hair obscured his vision. Her arms tightened around him as she gave him the biggest hug she could possibly give. He heard her sobs and was shocked to realize she'd been crying herself.

She pulled away and he noticed the tear tracks down her cheeks. Why did he seem to make her cry every time he talked to her? She searched his face before she looked him right in the eyes and said:

"I'm sorry for being so rude yesterday. I'm beginning to understand the pain that you've been through and how it is, in a way, similar to my own."

He cut her off before she could continue. "If anyone should apologize, it is I. The reason why I couldn't save you at the Manor was not that I was deeply evil. It was in fact, because I knew that if I did, the Voldemort would not hesitate to kill my mother that time. It was a cowardly act, yes, and I'm ashamed for it, but don't think for a second that part of me wasn't suffering when she was torturing you," he said, trying to add as much sincerity into his tone as he could.

She wavered for a second before she pulled back and sat at the opposite end of the couch.

"I understand what you are saying right now, but I'm sorry if you were expecting my forgiveness right away. I sympathize with your situation, because it's what I would have done, but I'm having trouble forgiving you," she said whilst she stared at the ground.

Draco's heart sank. Of course things wouldn't go as he had expected, but at least he got her to hear his side of the story.

As Hermione stared at the ground, a billion questions were running through her head. If he didn't want to follow Voldemort, why didn't he stay after Harry had won? Why did he run then? And most importantly, why hadn't he taken his mother with him if the whole point of submitting to Voldemort was to protect her? Most importantly, why couldn't she forgive him?

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Earlier that morning

Harry Potter was concerned. It was gradually turning into a bit of a habit these days. His current matter of importance: Hermione. After leaving her after her funeral, she virtually vanished off the face of the Earth. He knew he agreed to give her some space, but he couldn't help it. She was his closest friend, almost a sister, so he figured it was natural he'd pay attention to where she was and what she was doing.

Initially he was afraid that Hermione would tear herself apart with grief, but he knew that she was stronger than that and would pull through. He just wished she didn't have to disappear to do it. After pondering for a while, he reached for a quill and wrote a quick letter to her, asking to meet her for lunch. As he watched his owl fly away, he hoped that she was all right.

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A light tap on her living room window broke her musings. She spotted Harry's new owl just outside. Hurrying over, she opened the window to let the owl in and supplied some treats and water. She unfurled the small scroll and saw a message scribbled in Harry's handwriting.

Hermione,

Haven't seen you in a while. Meet me for lunch at 12pm? It'll be at the muggle Italian restaurant that you love.

Love, Harry

She wondered if she should meet him. Glancing back at Draco, she decided that she probably should, it'll be good to get her mind off things. She wrote a quick reply and sent it back. Turning around, she looked at Draco, who was currently observing the television.

"What's this….black box?" He peered at it closely.

She stifled another set of giggles and rolled her eyes.

"It's a television Malfoy."

"What's that?" He now moved on to touching it gingerly with his fingers.

She plucked the remote control off the couch and switched the TV on. He jumped when the pictures appeared in front of him.

"So it's sort of like wizard pictures but with sound?" His voice shone with curiosity.

"Something like that, yes. Listen Malfoy, I'm going to go out for lunch with Harry," she said, noting how he jumped at Harry's name.

"Do you mind if I stay here?"

She hesitated, before she decided that he wouldn't cause any harm.

"Yes, but don't damage anything. You may continue watching the television if you wish," she tried to put a calm authority into her tone.

"Yes, mother," he said with mock solemnity.

"Good boy."

She moved to walk past him when his hand suddenly reached out to grab her arm. She stared at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Could you just not tell Potter that I am here please?" He was pleading now. He noted her look and quickly said. "I'm not afraid of being arrested, I'll turn myself in eventually, but not right now."

She sighed - an action that was starting to take on an eerily comfortable familiarity - but acquiesced.

"Wait," his voice called out after she had walked a few steps away from him. "Do you mind having dinner with me tonight then?"

"Well, I had breakfast with you this morning, so I can't see why not?" She said sarcastically.

"Good then, so tonight at 7?" The enthusiasm in his voice was getting unbearable.

Hermione eyed him warily, unsure of her reply. After all, what harm could he do now anyway? She had her wand with her and was very, very capable of taking care of herself.

"Fine."

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"Hi Harry," she called.

"Hermione!" Harry stood up from his seat and hugged her tightly before he pulled out a chair for her.

"How's auror training these days?" Hermione asked. It was her feeble attempt to steer the conversation away from questions about her.

"The usual. It's tiring yet enjoyable in a way. It feels good to be doing something constructive," said Harry, waving his hands in an offhand manner. "But we're not here to talk about me, how about you?"

And that didn't work, Hermione thought as she eyed him. He looked so happy right now that she was afraid any upsetting news from her would ruin the moment. She was never one to lay her burdens onto others and she wasn't going to start now.

"It's been… great," she said, her voice rising at the end of her sentence. She inwardly smacked herself.

"Don't lie Hermione, you were never good at it," he shot back.

"Okay, don't bite me. It's getting a bit better these days. I'm trying to move on Harry."

At this point, the waitress arrived to take their orders. After ordering, Harry glanced towards Hermione again.

"What have you been doing then?"

Hermione paused as a certain blonde-haired man flashed through her mind. He had said that he didn't want her to tell Harry about him, but should she honor that promise? A part of her said no, to wait and figure out what Draco wanted to do, yet another part of her was telling her she was a bloody idiot and spill everything.

"Well, I'm having an old family friend stay with me for a while, we were really good friends when we were young, so she's helping me get through… with things," she added as an afterthought. All the while when she was talking, she tried to avoid eye contact with Harry by staring at her fingernails. In a way, she was partly telling the truth, seeing and talking to Draco had helped her start to move on, albeit only slightly.

"Couldn't you have talked to me? I would have helped you get through this," the hurt tone in his voice was undeniable.

She looked up hastily and saw that he was looking at his lap and not at her.

"No, no, no Harry! You're my best friend, and I love you. I tell you everything else, but this… this is something I have to get through myself. Please, understand," she pleaded.

Harry hesitated for a second before he nodded. Hermione quickly searched for a change in topic.

"So how are things with Ginny?" She asked with a smile.

"Things have been great. I'm thinking of asking her to marry me soon."

"That's wonderful Harry!" she squealed. Harry gave her a small grin.

For the rest of the afternoon, they had a warm conversation, not unlike those they had at Hogwarts, before all the chaos had erupted. It helped her escape from reality for a brief wonderful moment.

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Several minutes earlier

Draco watched as she left the house hurriedly and he noticed how her long brown hair whipped around for a split second before she disapparated. He leant his head against the windowpane. He couldn't leave, not yet at least. He hadn't even gotten her forgiveness yet. He had tried, but she said she couldn't forgive him right now. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling rather frustrated.

She said she had understood. Why couldn't she forgive me?

A voice (Was that his conscience?) berated him slightly. She has been through so much this past month. The horrors took a huge toll on her. Give her time.

Perhaps, as an act of repentance, he should help her move on. Yes, he should help her to understand that he was not who he was at school or at the manor. He would show her that he had changed. Somehow seeing her again had changed him, he wanted to not only ask for her forgiveness now, but to show her that he had a soul, that he could feel, as she did, the emotions of love, pain, grief and loss. But most importantly, he wanted to stay near her, because she had made him feel less alone in this world. She was the one who could help him move on.

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At precisely 6.45pm, Hermione was staring into the depths of her closet, wondering what to wear.

This is ridiculous, it's not has if it's an actual date. I don't even like the guy, why am I even bothering about how I look?

Looking at her rather meager selection of robes, she picked out a dark blue one. It wasn't sexy, not that she would have wanted to be, but rather, it was modest and simple. She changed into the robes quickly before tying her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck. Sticking her wand into her purse, she exited her room.

The sight that greeted her at the end of the hallway was slightly shocking to say the least. Draco was standing there in a set of dark green robes, with a bouquet of lavender roses in his hand. He handed them to her with a small smile on his face.

"For you," he said softly.

She breathed in deeply. The scent of the roses was intoxicating and sent a wave of calmness racing through her body; she always had a fond spot in her heart for roses. She felt calmer and less lonely now than she did in ages. It was interesting how such a simple gesture did wonders for her being than any other.

"Thank you," she whispered. She hunted around for a vase, before Draco handed her one and she blushed as she remembered how she had in fact threw that vase at him just yesterday. After placing the roses in the vase, she walked out with Draco. He extended an arm towards her and she eyed it warily.

"Relax, I won't bite. We do need a way of getting to the restaurant don't we?"

Hearing that, she reached out gingerly and grasped his elbow. He gave her a smirk before the squeezing sensation enveloped her.

A/N: Here's another new chapter! Thanks for reading thus far. I would like to thank all the people who wrote such lovely reviews for this story so far. Each and every single one touched my heart.

Search the meaning of lavender roses on google if you like. Click on the first link that appears. There's a meaning behind it and I found it rather sweet, which is why it appeared in this story.

Oh, and I wrote another song-fic for Harry/Hermione shippers called 'Just So You Know' based on the song by Jesse McCartney. It's rather fluffy if i may say, so you've been warned.

Thanks for reading again and if you would be so kind to leave a review, I will really appreciate it.

AmandaCJY