A/N: I ignored a few deaths in this story, FYI
Harry Potter had reached a low in his life. The days of hero worship continued, but he would rather it didn't. He hated the fact that his life was always so public, he hated being watched by everyone and being the topic of children's bedtime stories through out the wizarding world. All he wanted was a normal life, away from everything, everyone, including his annoying, gold digging wife.
He had it made once the dust had settled. He had Ron, Ginny, and the rest of the Weasleys. He felt part of a family for the first time in his life and while Molly, Arthur and the twins stayed relatively down to earth, Ginny had become the poster child for wonder witch.
She paraded herself around like she was the queen of everything, muggle or wizard, and drug Harry through the motions with her. She would always stop to talk to the press as if she were the one who took out Voldemort herself and ignored Harry as he tried to pull her away. She seemed to be in her element as she flaunted the fact that she was now Ginny Potter and the press loved her because she would tell all and hold nothing back.
The arguments started off small enough. She would promise to keep their personal life a bit more discrete and that would be the end of it, but a week later she would be up to her old tricks and telling more about them then Harry wanted known.
He had dealt with it as long as he could but in the end, he couldn't handle it and asked for divorce. Ginny, of course, threw a royal fit and drug all the Weasleys into the middle of it, causing the family to either side with her or side with him.
He found himself staying at the leaky cauldron, enjoying the peace he found there… well, until he received a very vague letter from Draco Malfoy, a person he hadn't muttered two words to in years.
The letter was short, sweet, and to the point. Malfoy wanted to arrange a time and place to meet to discuss Hermione, a person he had tried very, very hard to erase from his memories and thoughts for years. He had put her firmly in the back of his mind, never thinking about her until something would remind him of the people that had been lost in the war or when someone would mention her name. He ignored her when she was around or would give her the look that said 'I want nothing to do with you' every chance he got. It was only fair after everything she had done.
His first reaction was to crumple the paper up and toss it, pretending he never received it but then his curiosity got the best of him. Why would Draco Malfoy want information on the woman that ruined many, many lives and damn near cost him his as well? It was something he wanted to know, so a meeting was arranged.
Ooooooooooo
Hermione was irritated. Jenkins was someone she initially thought would cause her a hoard of trouble but after a little research, Jenkins turned out to be no better off then she was with the exception of being less hated and less well known.
She hated that she was going to have to put energy into a man who more then likely only agreed to watch her in order to line his pockets a bit better.
The task only took a few minutes to complete and as far as Jenkins was concerned, Hermione Granger was just living her life, day by day, doing what she had to do to survive. He also walked away thinking she was too involved with work to pay the slightest bit of attention to Malfoy, his marriage or his daughter.
Now she sat in the Leaky Cauldron, glamour in place, waiting for another meeting. She didn't know whom this one was with but the determination on Malfoys face was to interesting to pass up.
She sat towards the back, casting the same charm as she had done before and waited patiently for them to arrive – she hoped they weren't going to be late again, she wanted to just go home and rest.
At the arranged time, Draco walked in and sat down. He looked like he was uncomfortable and Hermione couldn't help but smirk. It made her almost giddy when she noticed someone out of their comfort zone, it showed them what she felt like every time she set foot out in public.
She took a swig of her water, deciding to go light that night and almost spit it out all over the table when Harry walked in and slid into the chair across from Draco. She quickly activated the charm and settled in to listen to what she hoped would be a productive conversation.
Ooooooooo
"Potter." Draco greeted with a nod.
Harry nodded back and ordered a drink. He too was uncomfortable and Hermione was enjoying it.
"What did you want to discuss about Granger." Harry said in a tired voice.
Draco shook his head, he had never heard Harry refer to her as Granger before and it shook him a little the way he said it, as if her name left a nasty taste in his mouth.
"Well" Draco started in an awkward voice, "I want to know what happened between you? I want to know why she is treated so badly these days."
Harry raised an eyebrow, Why the hell would Malfoy care about something like that?
"Are you telling me you have no idea?" Harry asked
Draco shrugged, "I've heard rumors but I want to hear it straight from the main source."
"Why would you even want to know? Hermione Granger is a despicable person that deserves everything she gets and more."
Hermione tried to act like his words didn't effect her but even after all these years, the words were like pouring salt into an open wound and it stung…a lot.
"Lets just say that I believe she is after something involving me and I need to know her possible motives in order to protect myself and my daughter."
Harry took a swig of his drink and sat it down.
"Hermione Granger is treated the way she is because she betrayed me. She ratted out my location to Voldemort, catching me off guard and ended up being the main reason we lost so many people that night."
Draco frowned, "Surely you can't be serious?"
"Look, Malfoy, I don't like to talk about her, I don't like to think about her and I sure as hell don't want to remember what she caused, but I'm telling you the truth."
Draco just shook his head.
"Malfoy, we were happy when she was found alive. We celebrated for days until it was revealed that she was the cause of everything that happened. I don't know why she gave in and I really don't care, but it was apparent that her need for real food and fresh water were more important then the lives of everyone we had lost. The simple fact of the matter is she should have fought harder, she should have been willing to die just as I was for this and she should have kept her secrets, secret."
Draco looked at Harry as if he was a moron. Did Potter not know anything? Did he expect her to be another him? Did he actually think Hermione spilled the beans for food and water?
"That's a little harsh considering what she had been through."
Harry just waved his hand in a dismissive way, "I would have died before ratting out my friends. In my opinion, she is no better then Peter Petigrew."
Those words were a slap to her face. Peter Petigrew? She would have rather died then to tell Lucius or Voldemort where Harry was but dying wasn't an option for her. She had begged for it, pleaded for them to just kill her but they refused – torture was way more fun for them.
Hermione finished off her water and left the leaky cauldron, ignoring the slight sting of tears in her eyes, she didn't want to hear anymore, she didn't need to be reminded of Harrys hatred anymore then she already had. She had walked right by their table when she left, not once looking at either male and trying to just get the hell out of there.
"Do you even have a fucking clue?" Draco asked, "Don't get me wrong, I am not a Hermione Granger fan but even I can sympathize for her for what she had gone through."
Harry shrugged, "So she lost her ability to have children because of your father. I understand how that would probably effect a woman but she could have always adopted."
"Is that all you think that happened?"
Harry shrugged, "That was all she ever told us."
Draco was getting a migraine. Harry Potter was either in the dark more so then he had thought or was a complete bastard.
Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out the small journal. He looked at it before sliding it across the table towards Harry.
"I found this in my fathers study. I think you should sit down and give it a good read through, for your own sake."
Draco then stood from the table, nodded to Harry once more and walked away. Harry couldn't tell him anything useful.
0000000000000000
To anyone looking towards Hermione flat, they would think that no one was home. Not a single light burned, not a single thing moved except for the hand that raised and put the cigarette up to her mouth and pulled it away again.
Her small bowl of soup sat on the kitchen cabinet, cold, untouched and alone, just like she was doing right now, on the floor and propped up against the wall.
She went through the motions. She would breath in, then out. She would inhale, then exhale, both things were signs of life but inside, she was as dead as they got.
Harry's words had effected her more then she ever thought they would. She knew it shouldn't bother her, not after everything she had gone through, but Harry was different.
He had been her friend since the age of eleven. They had grown up together, fought Voldemort together, and even lived together for seven years, and to hear those hurtful words coming from the mouth of someone you once loved as much as you would love your own blood relative, well, no words would describe how much it hurt.
She had become the person she was in order to protect herself. It was a sort of self defense mechanism for the mind but she learned a short few hours ago that something's are harder to ignore then others.
She snuffed the well-smoked cigarette out on the floor and instantly grabbed for another. Her nerves were jumpy, her mind blank, and the only thing she could process was to light the match, put it to the end of the cigarette, and suck in deeply, filling her lungs with the chemicals that would hopefully cut her life shorter then she already wished for.
Hermione was in pain, it was well hidden, but it was still there, nagging at her and telling her that despite her best efforts, she could still feel and that was the last damned thing she wanted or needed.
This whole Malfoy case seemed to be a project she would enjoy, but it was turning out to be her worst nightmare. She had yet to find anything that would sway her into eliminating him, her target in question was now digging for information on her, and this whole thing of just watching and making a decision was turning out to be a lot harder then she thought.
As she snuffed out the last cigarette in her pack, she slowly rose from the floor and made her way to bed. She needed to talk to one of her trainers and fix this whole… feelings and emotions thing before it got out of hand and effected her job.