I have a week of all day meetings. I've decided I no longer want to be an adult. Can I be six again? Please?
Chapter 6
Hermione steeled her nerves when she heard the knock at the door. After dinner, she had written to Ron, asking if they could talk the next morning. The former couple hadn't spoken since they ended their engagement, and she was unsure how he would act around her now.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and attempted a smile. "Thanks for coming," she greeted him.
He nodded stiffly as he sat down on the sofa. "What's this about?" he asked.
"I wanted to clear the air," she said, sitting across from him. "Ginny said you're not coming to the wedding. I just...I wanted to make sure it wasn't because of me."
Ron scoffed and shook his head as he muttered something about being full of herself. "I don't care if you're my sister's maid of honor," he replied. "My reasons for not going have nothing to do with you."
"Is it Draco?" she guessed.
"Can you honestly say you're fine with him being around?" he asked.
Nibbling her bottom lip, she shrugged. "He's been a good friend to Harry," she replied. "Harry deserves to be happy after everything he's been through. If Draco makes him happy, then I can accept their friendship."
Ron's face began to redden; a telltale sign of his anger. "We've all had it rough, Hermione," he reminded her. "You lost your parents. I lost my brother. We both lost our childhoods by helping Harry. I'm not saying it wasn't for a good cause, but he's not the only one who's suffered."
"True as that may be, our suffering didn't begin in infancy," she retorted. "Draco's not the little boy he once was. I'm not suggesting that you befriend him, but for Harry's sake, it wouldn't kill you to be cordial. He's going to be your brother-in-law in six months. Distancing yourself from him and Ginny only hurts you."
Shaking his head, he stood and stepped into the floo. Within seconds, he was gone. It frustrated her that she hadn't been able to get through to him. Though he had always been stubborn, he had also always stuck by Harry. He was loyal to a fault oftentimes. Why Draco Malfoy still ruffled his feathers so much, Hermione didn't know.
Grabbing a handful of floo powder, she stepped into the fireplace and soon arrived in Draco's flat. "Hope this is okay," she said when he looked up, shocked to see her.
"Yeah, fine," he replied, clearing away the papers scattered about. "Judging by the look on your face, your talk with Weasley didn't go well."
With a frown on her face, she shook her head. "I know how pigheaded he can be," she said. "I just...he's known that you're Harry's friend a lot longer than I have. Why can't he see that you're not the bad guy anymore?"
His reply was simple, but sad. "Because to him, I always will be."
She took a seat beside him, the frown seemingly permanently etched on her face. "But you're not," she insisted.
"There's nothing I can do to convince him of that," he replied, putting his arm around her. "I'm fine with that. I just feel bad for Harry."
Nodding in agreement, she rested her head on his shoulder. "What if this is the end?" she wondered, her voice soft and forlorn. "I thought ending our relationship meant I'd be the one on the outside. Seems that's Ron now."
"By his own choosing," Draco added. "Harry deciding to make a new friend shouldn't mean that his old friends abandon him. You're not letting that happen. You decided that being friends with Harry was more important than hating me. Am I right?"
Glancing up at him, Hermione smiled. "You are," she told him. "Did it happen this quickly with Harry? Was it so easy for the two of you to put the past behind you?"
He thought back to his first meeting with his friend. Harry had been wary of his apology, but Draco seemed to convince him. "Azkaban changes you," he said. "I spent six months there, and I never want to go back. I learned the hard way to treat people well. My parents may deserve some of the blame for my behavior, but at some point I knew I had to take some responsibility for myself. Befriending Harry was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"I'm glad you're friends," she decided. "It's nice to know that two people who hated each other for so long can work things out. It gives me hope."
Sighing, he pulled away. "Don't get your hopes too high," he cautioned. "Ron...Ron might not come around."
True as those words were, Hermione couldn't help but wish that Ron would give Draco a chance. The Weasleys were a family oriented group, and she hated the idea of him distancing himself from them because of Harry's friendship with someone Ron didn't like.
"On the plus side," Draco continued, "I'm sure it's nice to know that you're the not to blame for all this."
Snorting, she repositioned herself against the armrest, placing her feet by his legs. "Oh yes," she agreed. "It's much easier knowing this is all your fault. It feels like old times, blaming you when things go wrong."
"Did that happen often?" he wondered. Grinning she nodded as she listed examples - everything from paper cuts to missing library books to detentions. He laughed as she spoke, transfixed by her animated voice. The Hermione Granger he knew as a child was studious and serious. It was a welcome change to hear her laugh and make jokes, even if they were at his expense. "I thought you were supposed to be the nice one."
"I slapped you when we were thirteen," she reminded him, nudging his thigh with her toe. "I may have lost count of the number of times I've threatened to do it again. Also, it's incredibly sexist to assume that since I'm a woman, I'm the nice friend."
Hands raised in surrender. "I didn't mean to offend," he said. "You're the only one in your group who never tried to kill me in the loo, or continues to hate me for things I did a decade ago. Harry and I have patched things up, but I can't forget that he attacked me. I've forgiven him for it because my actions that year were far worse. Other than a few verbal sparring matches and a slap across the face, you were never as horrible to me as I was to you. That's why I think you're the nice one. Maybe tolerant is more apt though."
She mumbled an embarrassed apology, but he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Could I buy you breakfast?" she asked. "Consider it a peace offering."
Draco stood and held out his hand to her. "It's not necessary," he told her, "but I'll happily allow you to pay."
