Chapter 12- Open Up, Pour it Out

It was the end of the week and three days since Malfoy had agreed to let me help him. Yet, in those three days, he did not approach me at all. There were times when I felt the urge to ask him if I could have helped out with anything, but I knew better than to keep prodding him. If he needed any help, then at least he knew I was there to help him.

Wow.

I never thought I would see the day where I would have offered my help to Malfoy and he would accept it.

Or that we would ever be on civil, almost friendly, terms.

Oh my, if Harry knew…

No.

I don't think Harry should know about how Malfoy and I are now.

He'll just jump to conclusions.

He doesn't know that Malfoy has changed…

As these thoughts kept springing up in my head, I entered the Common Room to find Malfoy in a black suit, pacing up and down nervously. He had his hands behind his back and his gaze was fixed on the floor. He didn't seem to have noticed my presence.

"Um…Malfoy?" I called out to him.

His head snapped up and he stared at me with wide eyes for a few seconds, as if someone had caught him doing something wrong.

"G-Granger. What are you doing here?" he stuttered almost nervously.

"Lessons are over for the day, so…" I trailed off, realizing how anxious he looked.

"Malfoy? Is everything alright?" I cautiously asked, stepping closer.

"Um…well…I was actually w-waiting for you." He spoke quickly, not looking me in the eye.

"For me? May I know the reason why then?" I asked, rather shocked.

He didn't speak for a long time, his eyes fixed on the floor. I knew better than to drill into him so I just patiently waited. Finally, he looked up.

"I was going to visit my mother's grave." He spoke, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Realization struck me as I understood why he looked so nervous and upset. I slowly walked forward towards him.

"You mean, you arranged her burial…all by yourself?" I asked.

He meekly nodded, not looking me in the eyes.

"I thought you said if you needed help, you would ask me…" I spoke almost angrily.

I offer him help, he accepts it, and then he arranges everything by himself?

"T-That's actually why I was waiting for you." He said softly, finally looking up at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I stood right in front of him.

"I was wondering if…if you would …accompany…me…." He spoke almost in shame.

Oh.

"You want me to come along for the funeral?" I confirmed.

"Yes. Actually, no. You see…actually, her body has already been buried. There was no procession." He explained.

"What? Why?" I questioned.

"No one would have attended it." He said sorrowfully.

I realized just then how alone Malfoy felt. I could see the loneliness in his eyes as I understood how sad he felt that neither he nor his mother had anyone to be there for something like this.

"I would have." I whispered, trying to convey how I understood his feelings.

I felt…feel the same way too.

"Still, a procession cannot take place with two people. So I just had her buried immediately. I left as soon as the burial was over. I was…not strong enough. To do it by myself. But I want to visit her grave. Properly. And that's why…I hoped you would join me." He said, gazing at me pleadingly.

I was rather touched and surprised at how much Malfoy had opened and warmed up to me in the past few weeks.

Here he was…reaching out for me for comfort.

How could I deny him?

"Of course." I whispered, nodding firmly.

With a small smile, he reached out and held my hand. I gasped at the contact, his skin strangely warm. The last time I had touched his bare skin, he was freezing cold. This time, his hand was soft and warm, and a fire spread through me as he held my hand strong and firmly. My mind had lost all sense for a few seconds as I relished the touch of his hand.

He apparated us to a cemetery. It was a cloudy day so it was not too sunny but not dark at the same time. There were a number of gravestones around the graveyard, but it did not come off spooky like how I expected it to be. In front of the graveyard was the back of the Malfoy Manor. I gulped as I recalled my horrid experiences at the Manor, but I immediately shook my head firmly, ridding myself of those thoughts.

No.

This was about Malfoy, not me.

I realized my hand was still in his as he held it tightly. He pulled me along to behind a huge oak tree where a single marble gravestone lay.

Narcissa Malfoy

Beloved Wife and Mother

Malfoy's hand left mine and for a moment I was upset over the loss of warmth and contact.

Only a second.

Malfoy slowly walked forward towards the grave and placed a bunch of white roses in front of it. I had not even realized he had them in his other hand.

He touched the gravestone slightly as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. I decided to just stay behind.

This was something he needed to do alone.

I saw his breathing slowly become ragged as he started shaking slightly. His mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something but no voice came out.

Slowly, I walked forward until I was directly next to him and slipped my hand into his, squeezing it slightly. Malfoy turned and looked at me, his eyes filled with unshed tears. I gave him a small smile and turned back to the gravestone.

I took out my wand with my other hand and whispered a spell which made a bouquet of red roses appear next to the white ones Malfoy placed.

"You should be very proud of you son." I whispered as Malfoy continued staring at me with a mix of gratefulness, surprise and confusion.

"He loves you a lot." I murmured, turning to look at him as he squeezed my hand firmly, pouring out all his thanks in that one gesture.

We stood there for a while, just holding each other's hands as we stared at the grave. I didn't even know how much time passed, maybe a few minutes or maybe even a few hours. I had no idea what was going through Malfoy's head, but I thought back to my parents and all the wonderful times we had spent together. The day I heard about their deaths was the worst day of my life, even worse that the day I had to obliviate all their memories of me. What hurt the most was that they could not even be buried as their bodies were never found. That was why I felt happy for Malfoy that he could at least do this much for his mother.

Finally, Malfoy took one last look at his mother's grave and whispered something I couldn't quite catch before apparating us back to the Common Room.

"Thank you." Malfoy whispered, staring into my eyes with so much genuine appreciation that I was almost left speechless.

"You're welcome." I replied, smiling as I squeezed his hand once before letting it go.

"Can I ask you something?" I mumbled as he sat on one of the couches and gulped down a glass of water. He nodded and I took a deep breath before continuing.

"You said no one would have attended her procession. I'm sure there would have been someone…"

"When I said no one, I really meant on one." He firmly replied with a hint of annoyance.

"What about Blaise and Pansy? They seemed concer-"

"Concerned? Ha! They could care less about what happened to her. Trust me. I know. The only people who would have attended her procession are you and me. Besides, I wouldn't want them to come anyway." He grumbled.

I was stunned to say the least.

Mostly because he indirectly admitted that he would rather have had me go for his mother's funeral than his own best friends.

So many questions crossed my mind but I decided to just let things be.

"Can I ask you a question?" he mumbled.

Confused, I nodded as I sat down on the small armchair opposite him.

"Why did you say that she should be proud of me?" he spoke in a low voice, studying me closely.

"Well, um…I-I just…" I stuttered, trying to think of a good answer.

Why did I say that?

"I just meant how much you've grown to be a good young man." I lamely replied.

Good young man?

What's wrong with you, Hermione!

Malfoy's eyebrows shot up and he looked at me curiously.

"Did the Hermione Granger just call me a good young man? Whoa. Godric must be turning in his grave!" he laughed.

"But you're still the slimy Slytherin prat that you are…" I haughtily replied, smirking.

"Oh, so now I'm a prat. Ouch Granger, that hurts!" he mocked, holding his hand over his heart.

"Not something you haven't been called before, ferret-boy." I retorted with a small smile.

"Hey! Could everyone please let go of the ferret incident. Stupid Moody." He muttered under his breath.

Two seconds later, we burst out laughing. At what, I wasn't exactly sure, but all I knew was that I had not been this comfortable in a long time. All of a sudden, that sense of loneliness disappeared as I enjoyed Malfoy's company.

Wait, enjoying Malfoy's company?

You really are going mental, Hermione…

"But…seriously Granger…" he said as our laughter died down.

"Thank you. You have really helped me a lot during this tough time. I mean, I was so alone and scared and you were the one person who reached out to me and actually cared. You were the last person I expected to stand by my side all this while, yet you did. And for that, I'm very grateful…Wow… I cannot believe I, Draco Malfoy, just said that. Now Salazar must be turning in his grave!" he murmured, causing us to burst into a fit of giggles again.

"It's alright Malfoy." I said as my giggles died down.

"I guess I could relate to your loss when the same thing happened to me and…" I stopped immediately and my eyes grew wide when I realized what I had just said.

I saw Malfoy's face scrunch up in confusion and I knew he had caught onto the last part.

You just had to blurt that out, didn't you, Hermione!

"What do you mean 'since the same thing happened to me'?" Malfoy questioned, staring at me.

"Uh…n-nothing. It meant nothing." I stuttered.

Ya, like that's the perfect answer.

"Come on, I'm not dumb. It did mean something. Tell me." He murmured.

My heart was going into overdrive and my breathing became irregular.

Calm down, Hermione. Think. Think of a way to get yourself out of this.

Suddenly, Malfoy leaned forward and placed his hand on top of mine, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Please." He whispered, his face full of sincerity and his electric grey eyes bearing into mine.

"I…lost my mother too. And my father." I spoke softly, looking down into my lap.

I didn't know what made me tell him, or what made it even slip out. The only other people who knew were Harry, Ron and Ginny. And I only spoke about it to Harry so far.

I closed my eyes and a tear escaped as I recalled the fateful day I found out my parents were really gone, the word dead ringing in my head over and over again.

A felt a soft finger wipe away the tear and move to under my chin, gently lifting my head up. I opened my eyes to be met by the same blue-grey orbs.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. His actions were so gentle and caring that it was hard to believe that the person in front of me was the Draco Malfoy, Slytherin DeathEater with the stone-cold heart.

"When?" he whispered.

"Last year. On the Millennium Bridge. They were on it when the DeathEaters attacked." I said softly.

A look of sympathy, guilt and regret washed over Malfoy and before I knew what was happening, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight to him. His embrace was so gentle and warm that it made me comfortable enough to just let go and break down. I sobbed into his chest as he held me tightly to him. Whatever emotions I had pent up in me, I let them go. I was so tired of being strong all the time. I just wanted to let all the hurt and despair out.

As I cried, I couldn't help but feel comfort in Malfoy's arms. It was ironic that I felt safe in a DeathEaters' arms, but I immediately reprimanded myself for that thought. Malfoy was no longer a DeathEater. He had confessed to the Order that he was forced into whatever he did and he had no intention of following in his father's footsteps. That itself proved that he had a good side to him. That he was not completely engulfed by the dark.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione." I heard him whisper as he rested his cheek on the top of my head and rocked me back and forth.

That was the first time that he ever called me by my first name.

And I loved hearing him say it.

To say I was not confused at what was going on would be a lie.

But in that single moment, I decided to just push the logical part out of my mind and relish the warm embrace of Malfoy.

No…

The warm embrace of Draco.