Disclaimer: Forever wishing but the power of my wishes is apparently not strong enough to let me own Harry Potter.

Chapter 11

There were no major events over the next few weeks. Draco and Hermione continued to meet twice a week and their budding friendship grew and strengthened. Opposition to it soon died down once it became clear that neither of them a problem being in each others company. They also, as Hagrid had predicted, became role models for the people in favour of inter-house unity. Many people who had fought against each other mere months before could now be observed holding friendly, if cautious conversation in the school hallways and speaking to each other politely in classes. The insults and threats shouted at the Slytherins lessened and they seemed to be on their way to a truce.

That is not to say that things were perfect. They were far from truly trusting each other and many of the house feuds were still raging but a long and slow journey to reconciliation had been sparked. Hermione knew that the situation was fragile and any slight nudge would tip the knife edge it was balanced on. She was shocked and excited by the reaction the school had to their friendship and she liked to imagine that they could be the ones who finally broke down the age old feuds that tore apart the Hogwarts houses.

Since seeing the affect they had had on the students of Hogwarts some of Hermione's old optimism had returned. She could smile again, with less force and any sorrow that could be seen in her eyes was fleeting, only there for an instant before disappearing to the back of her mind.

She and Draco had fallen into an easy friendship. Mostly the avoided any deeper, more personal topics of conversation and kept it light, and although both of them could fell the bonds of friendship strengthening neither of them mentioned it. They let the subtle signs slip by seemingly unnoticed.

One morning in late November Hermione was woken by an agitated Ginny. It was the first Gryffindor match of the year and they were playing versus Ravenclaw. Ginny was, of course, playing Chaser, so she chattered away about weather conditions and new tactics as Hermione rolled out of bed and reluctantly started to dress herself.

She disliked Quidditch days. There were no classes and although she had enjoyed watching the matches with Ron and sometimes Harry, if Gryffindor wasn't playing, she didn't think it would be the same without , she hid this from Ginny and pretended to be as excited for this match as she would have been if Harry and Ron were here.

They met no one as they made their way down the many flights of stairs that separated Gryffindor tower from the Great Hall. The sky was a clear, crystal blue, almost white. Ginny glanced appraisingly up at it, probably evaluating how this weather would affect the match. Hermione, having limited Quidditch experience, didn't know whether it was favourable or not but she did know that it was nice weather for sitting in the stands, for which she was grateful. The Great Hall was practically empty when they arrived, with only a few early risers scattered across the four tables. The two girls sat down near the middle of the Gryffindor table and started piling food onto their plates. Hermione immediately tucked into her eggs and toast but Ginny merely picked at hers. Clearly the nerves were getting to her, and although Hermione knew she'd be fine once she was on the pitch, she kept a steady stream of encouragement flowing at her throughout breakfast. By the time the hall began to fill Ginny had calmed down enough to eat and she was greatly cheered when the rest of the team came in and they could have their final tactics discussion.

Suddenly, with a great rush of wings, the post arrived. Hermione glanced upwards, not expecting anything. The only people who wrote to her these days were Harry and Ron and she wasn't expecting a letter from them for a few more days. Therefore she was surprised when she saw an unfamiliar brown owl descending towards her.

It landed gracefully in front of her and suck out its leg. She untied the letter attached to it and opened it curiously. The letter was short and written on paper, not parchment.

As she read, the blood drained from her face and she became deathly pale. For what could have been a minute, an hour or a day she sat, frozen. From across the hall Draco's eyes found her and they widened with concern. Before he could move towards her she snapped out of her stupor, leapt from her seat and departed the hall at a run.

She could hear Ginny calling after her but she kept running. Tears were streaming down her cheeks in thick rivulets, blinding her as she fled. She ran as far as a deserted corridor on the second floor before she collapsed on the ground.

She didn't know how long she lay there, her body shaking under the pressure from her sobs, before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and pulled away before noticing the platinum blond hair that meant this was Draco Malfoy.

He put a hand around out to steady her before moving so he could put his arms around her. She stiffened for a moment before relaxing into his embrace. She buried her face in his shoulder as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

Eventually Hermione began to calm down and she choked back her sobs. She pulled away from him slightly and leaned back against the wall of the corridor. He still had one arm wrapped protectively around her but he ran his other hand through his hair, looking uncertain.

"Hermione" he began "What happened?"

The look of concern on his face almost drove her to tears again but she held them back with difficulty. She was silent for a few seconds so Draco obviously thought he had crossed a line.

"It's fine if you don't want to talk to me, I just thought you looked like you needed to tell someone."

He began to pull away from her but she shook her head.

"No! It's fine. I was just considering how to begin. I haven't told anyone about this you see." She paused again and glanced at him. He nodded and shuffled sideways so she was sitting in front of him. She leaned back against his chest and took a deep breath before she started to talk.

"That letter was from my parents. Only Harry and Ron know this but the summer before last I cast a memory on them. I knew that it would be unsafe for them to stay here, Voldemort would be looking for any weaknesses we had and they were first on my list. I modified their memories and gave them new identities. I had to ensure that after I had done it they wouldn't stay in England so I made it their dream to move to Australia. I nearly chickened out so many times but I knew it was the only way to keep them safe." She stopped there and took a deep breath. The memory of leaving her parents in the house with no recollection of or memento from her was still one of her most painful.

"They were in Australia for the whole year. One of the few comforts I had during that time was the thought that they were safe, away from all the horror. Then once the war was over I went to find them and restore their memories. I knew that they were going to be hurt at first because I hadn't confided in them but I was sure that once I explained everything to them they would understand. It seems I misjudged how angry they would be. They haven't spoken to me since they arrived back here in August and now they send me this."

She took out the letter and began to read aloud.

Hermione

Your father and I are very busy so I have to keep this brief. I know you explained to us why you felt putting a spell on us was justified but as you have probably guessed we feel betrayed and angry. It was our job to look after you and the fact that you did this without so much as discussing it with us beforehand shows that you do not value or respect our parenthood. I was not going to contact you at all but your father said that I should. We are moving back to Australia. We are also reverting to the names we went by whilst we lived there. We would rather you did not come and visit us.

Monica Wilkins

Once she had finished this Hermione fell silent. She felt empty inside. If her own parents could turn on her so completely how could she trust anyone? Had she truly been so horrible to have as a daughter that the actions she had taken to protect them led to them disowning her?

Draco interrupted her thoughts.

"Hermione your parents are fools."

She stared at him.

"How they could stay angry at you for something they should be proud of defies all reasoning. You told them what you did when they gone, they know how brave and strong you were and are. They should see what is right in front of their eyes and that is that their daughter has grown into a fearless young woman who will fight for what she believes in. Eventually they will see why you had to do what you did and they will understand. They can't stay mad at you forever, they're your parents and they love you. They'll remember that sooner or later."

Hermione gave him a watery smile but then her brows furrowed.

"But what if I can't forgive them, even if they do forgive me? They left me and when I needed them most and I don't know if I'll be able to forget that."

Draco pulled her into another hug and stroked her hair.

"That's you choice to make when the time comes. You don't have to worry about it yet, it will fall into place."

She let herself be held by him for another few minutes before pulling away.

"Thank you Draco" she said sincerely.

"Anytime, Hermione." He smiled at her. Then he cocked his head to the side as if he was thinking.

"You know, we could still make it to the match if we ran. Race you."

He sprinted off down the corridor and Hermione hesitated for a moment before leaping off the ground and racing after him. Maybe this match would be more enjoyable than she had thought.

Authors Note: I am so sorry. It is completely unforgivable of me to have taken so long to update. I can only say that I have been sick for weeks and because of that I kind of lost my motivation. Thank you so much to the people who have Reviewed, Followed and Favorited this story. Also, a special thanks to E-E-Electric Wish! Your kind words definitely helped to get me writing again:) So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know that their relationship has advanced a lot since the last chapter but that was just the way it came out. Thanks for reading and sticking with me.

ShHpBookworm xxx