Chapter 6: Rows and Rocks
"Granger! Granger, wake up!" Draco said shaking Hermione's shoulder. "Fine then, Hermione, wake up! Come on, wake up Hermione!" Slowly her eyes started to open.
"Owww, my head." She groaned.
"Yeah, that normally happens when you faint and hit your head on the ground." Draco said with a smirk on his face. Then in a matter of a second Hermione's face went from an expression of pain, to that of absolute anger.
"MALFOY! YOU GET THE BLOODY HELL AWAY FROM ME!"
"Granger, just listen, I - "
"YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED DUMBLEDORE!"
"Hermione!"
"YOU SLIMY, SLYTHERIN, DEATH EATER OF A FERRET HOW DARE YOU –"
"Granger! Just shut the hell up and listen for 5 seconds." shouted Draco. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and shot a look of absolute loathing at Draco.
"This had better be good Malfoy." said Hermione.
"Oh, believe me, it is Granger." Then Draco began to tell her his story. He told her everything. "After the whole Dumbledore incident, Snape tried to take me back to the Dark Lord, but at that point I wanted nothing to do with that bastard. So I ran away. I had no clue where to go or what to do, so I just traveled from place to place for a little while. Then I found Camp Shadow Rock. Tony took me in, and I was a C.I.T for two years, then a counselor for the next two. Then Tony told me he wanted to retire, and asked me if I would consider taking over C.S.R. I had nothing better to do with my life, and I love this camp a lot, so now I own it. This is my first year without Tony, so I called my friends Jessica, Sarah, Mark and Josh to come help me out. They suggested I ask you to come, so I did."
"Whoa, wait. You're friends with Jessie, Sarah, Mark, and Josh?" Hermione asked in amazement.
"Yeah. They're pretty much the only friends I have, besides Blaise and that whole Slytherin crew, but I don't even know if any of my 'friends' are still alive."
Hermione gave a little chuckle. "It's not really funny, but Zambini probably isn't very happy at the present time, seeing as he's locked up in Azkaban for trying to kill Tonks. The curse missed her, but he got life in Azkaban for it." She said.
"Oh wow. I can't believe it. Well… actually I can, but it's still kind of hard to hear about one of your mates getting locked up. Do you know what happened to all of my old 'friends' like Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy?" Draco asked.
"Oh my god. You don't know anything about what happened in the war?" Draco shook his head.
"Nope."
"Well, it was a pretty brutal war. There were lots of casualties on both sides. The three people you mentioned- Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson- they're all dead, along with many other Death Eaters only a handful escaped, and a few of them are in Azkaban. There were losses on our side too. Four of the Weasleys, Mad-eye Moody, Kingsley Shackelbolt, and a lot of other people died." Hermione stopped, because tears were welling up in her eyes, and before she could blink them back, the tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You okay Granger?" asked Draco.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's still a little hard to talk about what happened." She said wiping the tears away. "Is there anything else you want to know?" she asked, still sniffling a little.
"Well, do you know what happened to my parents, not really my father, but my mom?" Draco asked.
"Your father hasn't been captured. He's at large along with the Lestranges. As for your mother, I didn't see it happen, but I read in the Daily Prophet that she had died. I'm really sorry Malfoy." She told him. Suddenly, Draco stood up from his chair, startling Hermione. He walked over to the window. He wouldn't let her see his tears. He may have humbled himself to live with muggles, but he was a Malfoy, and he had to keep up his image and his composure.
"I bet you all my money in Gringotts it was my father's fault. He treated her like scum. It's even worse because he's still alive and running around with his lunatic comrades. Well off the subject of my god-forsaken father, how are your pals, Potter, Weasley, and Weasley's sister?" Draco asked.
"Well, Harry and Ginny are married with twins –"
"Well, no one saw that coming…" Draco said sarcastically.
"- and Ron, well, Ron is dead." Hermione finished her voice barely above a whisper. She didn't even hold back the tears. Draco saw how much the war had affected her. He just sat there silently watching her with a look of concern on his face.
"Stop trying to act all concerned Malfoy! Go ahead and say what you and I both know you want to say! YIPPEE, LET'S HAVE A BLOODY PARTY THE WEASEL KING IS DEAD!" shouted Hermione.
"I'm not that guy anymore Granger, so stop trying to make me out to be how I was is school. I may not be totally devastated that he's dead, but that doesn't mean that I'm happy about it!" said Draco.
"Don't pull that shit with me Malfoy! You NEVER liked Ron! You have no clue what it's like to lose someone that you love!"
"What about my mother Granger? I KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! YOU DON'T KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH TO JUDGE ME, SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" yelled Draco.
"I regret that I ever came here! I HATE YOU MALFOY!" Hermione turned and ran out the door, slamming it behind her. She went through the woods to her secret spot. Tony had showed it to her. It was the hidden Rock that Camp Shadow Rock had been named after. There was a small rock sitting on top of a hill overlooking the lake. Not many people knew about it. Hermione had only come here one other time to think. It was the summer that she got her Hogwarts letter. She came to the rock to think about whether or not she should tell her friends that she was a witch. She of course told Sarah and Jessie, they are the only two muggle who know besides Hermione's parents that she's a witch.
She was now at the rock, wondering if she really should have come into the magical world in the first place. If she never would have gone into the magical world she never would be feeling the pain of loss and loneliness she was feeling now. Then again, she never would have met Ron. The thought of Ron once again invading her mind, she pulled her knees to her chest, and she began to cry.