Chapter One - Healer Training
Six months later...
Hermione woke up and wondered if today would be the day she felt normal again. Since the end of the war she had been waiting for the day when the feeling of dread, fear, apprehension and nervousness weren't the first things she felt, until she remembered that the war was over and then the grief for those lost hit her.
Hermione signed, today was not that day. She got out of bed and wandered into her kitchen, to make a morning cup of tea and to feed Crookshanks. Hermione had moved into her own cottage, near to Ottery St Catchpole and The Burrow. She had decided it was time for her own space, and to create her own life. She had found it hard to leave the Burrow but Hermione knew she needed to. For whatever reason it felt like time to stand on her own two feet. Molly insisted she came for dinner 2 or 3 times per week, and Hermione obliged knowing Molly still needed her family close. Today she was expected for dinner, and it was also her last day before her healer training began.
Hermione smiled to herself as she thought about heading to training tomorrow. Not only was she excited to be learning again, she was also hoping that it would allow her to develop a routine and allow her to feel a sense of normality that she was missing.
At Malfoy Manor Draco Malfoy was also preparing for a day he never thought would come. He was going to be a healer, a career he'd chosen for himself. Since his father's death the Malfoy's family business had been closed down, which was the reason he had the chance of doing something other than following in his father's footsteps. His mother was also completely transforming the Manor. All evidence of death eaters and their beliefs were being removed. Draco had long known his mother did not follow the beliefs as strongly as his father, and her actions during the war had confirmed this. Draco had changed too and tomorrow he would be able to start a life he never thought he'd get to live.
Healer training was held at St Mungo's to allow those training to learn both in theory and in practice. The newest class of trainee healers were gathering on the 8th floor, which was the training floor. As it was so soon after the war and so many people were still rebuilding their lives, this class was decidedly smaller than normal. St Mungo's had decided to still run the training, as they hoped it would help to develop a sense of normality. Due to the small size of the class this course was going to be an intensive course so that they would complete the theory in 6 months and be used as trainees for the final 6 months of their course.
Draco stood against the wall a little further down the corridor away from the group which was gathering. This was the first time he'd been out in public since the end of the war. Both him and his mother were well aware of the rumours that had, and still were, circulating about the Malfoy's and exactly what had happened at the Manor during the war. Needless to say this was not something Draco wanted to talk about. He quietly observed the rest of the group which was congregating outside the designated room. There were 2 or 3 who looked vaguely familiar as other students from Hogwarts, and a few that he didn't recognise. As he glanced around the group he saw a face that he certainly recognised, Hermione Granger. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to stay calm. Seeing her caused him to feel uncertain and he wasn't sure why. He hadn't expected a warm welcome from his fellow trainee healers, but now he had an unsettling feeling in his stomach that it was going to be worse than he expected. As he opened his eyes he half expected to see Potter and Weasel with her, and was slightly relieved when he saw she was alone.
Just then a woman opened the door and invited them into the room. Draco hung back and found a seat at the back of the class. The woman introduced herself as Healer Rowena Price, and explained that she would be in charge of their training program. Over the next few hours Healer Price outlined what they would be doing for the next year and what would be expected of them. Draco smirked to himself as he saw Hermione taking pages and pages of notes, just as she'd done at school. It gave him an odd sense of calm, that maybe not everything had changed after the war.
As they broke for lunch Healer Price advised them all to get to know each other as they would be spending a great deal of time together over the next year. It was as everyone was filing out of the room, heading for the cafeteria that Hermione noticed Draco. She was shocked, of all the faces she had thought she might see his was not one of them. Hermione realised that she'd stopped walking and a few of the group were looking at her. She shook her head as if to clear her mind and walked up to the rest of the group smiling.
Lunch was interesting with everyone introducing themselves and getting to know each other, well everyone except Draco and Hermione. It seemed the group had already decided they knew them from everything they had read in the media. This actually suited Draco and Hermione as it meant they could both sit in silence and observe while trying to figure out how and if they could survive the next year without having to deal with each other.
The rest of the day passed in a bit of a haze for Hermione. She couldn't figure out why Draco Malfoy was training to be a healer. She'd read all of the reports in the media and had picked up a few extra bits of information from Kingsley and other order members. She knew Draco hadn't taken part in the final battle and that something had happened to see Draco and Narcissa imprisoned in the Manor dungeon, but she had not idea what, and from what she had heard not many people did. She remembered the last time she'd seem him, on the day they were captured and she was tortured. She remembered at that point he looked more broken and tired that she had been. Was it possible that Draco Malfoy wasn't the evil death eater she had believed he was?
Draco kept himself separate from the other class members as much as possible. He sat at the back of class, concentrating on the lectures, determined to learn as much as possible. The rest of the class observed him but made no great effort to get to know him or include him. There had been a report in the Daily Prophet that both Hermione and Draco were in the latest group of trainee healers. This had lead to more speculation over exactly what happened at Malfoy Manor and especially what had happened to Draco.
Of course, that same article had caused Ron to turn up at Hermione's cottage to demand that she pull out of her training as it obviously wasn't safe. Hermione had just let him yell and scream until he was finished, then she told him it was her life and she would do what she wanted and no one, including Draco Malfoy or Ronald Weasley, was going to stop her. It had taken Ron a few days but he eventually agreed to respect her decision, although he still wasn't happy. Harry had taken the news better but still asked Hermione to be cautious, more because very few people knew exactly what had happened to Draco and Narcissa, and like most he was apprehensive about what it meant and what mental state they were both in. Hermione promised to be careful but reminded Harry that she'd never been scared of Draco and was not going to start now, as she thought to herself, if nothing else it was going to make her training interesting.
AN: Ok so the first two chapters are kind of setting the story up, but I promise it gets more interesting in the next few chapters...which should (hopefully) go up soon...
