Chapter 7: Friends, New and Old
Hermione sat on the hill by the rock and watched the sunset. The beauty of a sunset never ceased to amaze her. The golden sun would fade beneath the clouds as the sky turned a gorgeous pink blended with the gold of the sun. Suddenly, she heard the bushed behind her rustling. She turned around as Malfoy came through the bushes and sat beside her.
"I guess Tony showed you his secret place too?" Draco asked.
"Obviously, I'm here aren't I Malfoy?" snapped Hermione.
"He told me he only showed it to his favorite campers. He said it was a great place to come and think, and in time I have come to agree with him. It has helped me many times, when I needed to think." Draco said.
"Yeah, it's helped me loads to. It's just another thing about this camp that I love. You know there's only one place I love more than this camp, and that's Hogwarts. I really don't see myself going back there anytime soon though." She told him.
"Why?"
"There are too many memories of Ron, Harry, and me. I'd probably become a complete mess and start crying at the drop of a hat like I used to, and I really don't want that to happen." Draco turned and looked at her, but she just continued to stare at the lake.
"I'm sorry about Weasley." Draco said.
"I'm sorry about your mum." Hermione replied.
"So we okay Granger?"
"I think so. You're a lot more tolerable then you used to be." She said, smiling. He smiled back at her. "Just as a warning, Harry might try to arrest you when he comes to visit in two weeks. So be on your best behavior so I can convince him you aren't some crazy Death Eater." She giggled at the look of absolute horror on Draco's face.
"You're kidding right?" he asked, still in shock of this newest revelation.
"Haha, nope. Harry, Ginny, and the boys are coming to visit on family day. So be prepared."
"Malfoys are always prepared Hermione. We need to get used to calling each other by first names, because if we go around calling each other Malfoy and Granger, people are going to know something's up. Just to let you know everyone knows me as Daniel, not Draco."
"Okay Daniel. God, that's going to take some getting used to." They both laughed. "So, let's get down to business. What cabin am I going to be in?"
"I'll let you pick. There are two new cabins, one boy and one girl, just to let you know." Draco said.
"I already had my heart set on one cabin before I even got here." She told him.
"Which one?"
"The Blue Jay. It was the first cabin I stayed in when I started coming to thins camp. I love it."
"Let's go get your stuff and move you in then." Said Draco. The two of them went to the office to get Hermione's bags, and then they headed up past the mess hall, across the field, and into the wooded area where the cabins were located. The cabins were in a circle with a small area with picnic tables in the middle. Closest to the mess hall were the boy's cabins (what a surprise); there were three cabins, the Eagle cabin, the Hawk cabin, and the Sparrow cabin. Opposite from the boy's cabins, across the picnic area were the three girl's cabins, the Blue jay cabin, the Cardinal cabin, and the Hummingbird cabin.
When Hermione entered the Blue Jay cabin, it was the same as she remembered it. The counselor bunk bed was by the door (to make sure the campers didn't take any unauthorized strolls around camp at night). Then there were six rooms, each with two bunk beds in them, for the campers. There were also two bathrooms. Hermione couldn't help but laugh a little when she saw that there were still stains on the wall from when the boys had attacked their cabin with shaving cream, and there was still toilet paper in one of the light fixtures from when the boys had tipied the inside of their cabin back in the summer after third year, before the World Cup. Hermione had then realized that she was home.
June 30th, noon
Hermione was in the office with Draco finishing up some last minute things like cabin assignments, camper health forms, and other things. Everyone was supposed to arrive any minute now. Just then she heard the sound of cars coming up the gravel road.
"I'll go and welcome everyone. I'll look to the office and then you can pop out and surprise everyone." Draco said, smiling at her. "Don't forget, I'm Daniel, not Draco."
"Got it." She said as he walked out the door. Hermione went over to the window in time to see Jessie and Sarah get out of Josh's car.
"DANNY!" Sarah and Jessie both screamed when they saw Draco. They both Ran over and engulfed him in a hug that almost knocked him over. Then Josh came over and gave Draco a hug.
"Nice to see you Danny." said Josh. Then not a minute later Mark pulled up and came over to the group of friends. He also gave Draco a hug. Hermione could see that the friends were chatting happily, as they all had huge smiles on their faces. Then Draco looked over and pointed at the office. Hermione took that as her cue. She came out of the office. When Jessica, Sarah, Josh, and Mark saw Hermione their faces lit up. Of course, Sarah and Jessie were the most excited.
"JAY!" they squealed in happiness as they ran over to Hermione. Mark and Josh weren't far behind. They gave her a bone crushing hug, literally, as they slammed into her, knocking to three of them to the ground. All of the girls just laughed and hugged each other. "We missed you!" Jessie and Sarah said together.
"I missed you all too!" Hermione said. Then Josh, Mark, and Draco came over to help the girls up off the ground. Josh and Mark each gave Hermione a hug as well.
"I've heard some very exciting news about you guys. So what I want first, is to see the rings!" Hermione said. Jessie and Sarah each held up their left hands. "OH. MY.GOSH! They are gorgeous! Josh and Nathan have good taste, for guys." Everyone laughed at Hermione's comment. Hermione was so happy for her best friends. "Have you all set a date yet?" she asked.
"No, not yet." Sarah said.
"Now that Hermione has had her questions answered, it's our turn." Jessie said with a smile. "How are you and Ron? I remember the last letter I got from you; you couldn't shut up about him!" Jessie asked with a giggle. Hermione's face fell, and Draco had a look on his face that said 'Oh no'. They all waited for her reply, but instead she started running towards the trail that Draco knew led to the rock.
"I'll go get her. Can you guys stay here and wait for everyone else to come?" The four of them nodded as Draco took off up the trail into the woods.
Hermione was up by the rock, again. Draco came running through the bushes. "Can't you go five seconds without crying Hermione?" Draco asked sarcastically.
"I'm not crying you prat. I'm just thinking." She said.
"What's the big deal with Weasley? He died THREE years ago! I know he was your best friend and all, but get over it already! Not to be a mean prat or anything, but for Merlin's sake, this is getting annoying!" He told her. Hermione just turned and looked at him.
"Never in a million years would I believe that Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin and son of Lucius Malfoy, would be talking sense into, and comforting Hermione Granger, the know-it-all muggleborn Gryffindor. It's very comical if you think about it." She said chuckling a little. "I never thought I would be telling you of all people this but, here goes. Ron wasn't just my best friend. He was almost my fiancé." She told him. Draco sat down beside her.
"I'm really sorry. Just think of it this way, he probably wants more for you than you mourning him forever. So why don't you just move on?" he asked.
"I know I should move on, it's just hard. The fact that we could've been engaged makes it even harder, because now my thoughts are constantly focused on what could have been. The night Voldemort killed him; I found a ring inside of his robes. After that, I just became numb to the world around me. I went and lived as a muggle for three years, trying to get as far from my memories of him as I could, to escape the wizarding world. I guess great minds think alike, huh?" Hermione said smiling at Draco.
"I guess so. So are you going to tell Jessie, Sarah, Mark, and Josh? They're really worried you know."
"I have to, they're my best friends, and they need to know. Can I ask a favor?" she asked.
"Sure, shoot." Draco said.
"Will you come with me to tell them? Last time I told people about Ron, I was really nervous, and then I kind of had a small breakdown." She said.
"You had a breakdown? That's unbelievable!" Draco said smirking at Hermione. They both stood up, starting to walk back to camp.
"Shove it, Malfoy!" Hermione said hitting him on the arm.
"Ow! That hurt! The name calling and the punch." Draco said rubbing his arm. "That slap back in third year was worse though! I never knew you had it in you!"
"That was one of the best days of my life!" she said laughing at him.
"Alright, that's enough reminiscing about our good ol' Hogwarts days. We're almost back at camp. Are you ready?" Draco asked. Before Hermione could answer, Draco did something that shocked her. He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.
"Yeah, I think I am." Hermione replied. Together they walked back to the picnic area; Hermione was now feeling a little more confident, knowing Draco was with her.