((Disclaimer :: I do not own Harry Potter. Just the plot.))

Chapter 2::
From the Stomach to the Toes

Hermione was tired. Not just physically, but emotionally. In the past year, the longest that she had needed to put on a care-free act was a few hours. Now, as the train ride continued, it felt like forever. From the moment she stepped into the carriage to see the smiling faces of Harry, Ron, Ginny, Dean, Luna, Seamus, and Neville, she had felt empty; hollow. It felt that, despite having met peace with her rapidly ending life, they were staring at her; almost as if they expected her to do a trick. It was definitely clear that she was imagining things. Deep down, Hermione knew this. But, knowing so still wouldn't stop the constant need to cover her face with her hands.

At home she didn't need to act. She could openly talk about her cancer or her feelings day to day. It was a life with contentment. One that, she now realized, was a stable environment. Sitting in the crowded compartment with Ron squashing her into the window, Hermione felt herself wondering what had possessed her to return to the school. A degree in magic wouldn't help save her life. What was so important that she had to leave her mourning and distraught parents to spend what could be the last few months of her life in class?

"Mione?" Harry tapped her on the shoulder, catching her drifting attention, "You're not talking much. How have you been?"

His lazy smile was on his face when Hermione looked his way, those beautiful green eyes were so at peace as his fingers drew circles on Ginny's knee, that Hermione felt her throat close up. Tears brimmed her eyes as the answer to her unspoken question filled her mind. This was why she returned. Her parents were great and she loved them dearly. But, Harry, Ron, and Ginny were her family too. If she was going to die, she wanted to have no regrets. Not spending time with her friends would have been the greatest regret of all.

She blinked away her tears quickly so he wouldn't notice. "I've been good, thanks, Harry. Went to visit America with my family last month."

"America?" Luna sat forward and looked over Ron's body as she spoke to Hermione. "Did you say America?"

Hermione nodded and smiled. Luna still had an aura of innocence surrounding her. She also noted how Luna's hand was clutched in Neville's.

"I love America! Nargles are very popular there, you know. I sure hope you were careful, Hermione." Her face was dead serious.

"I was. Kept my eyes open for them, I did." Hermione smiled again. She really did love this girl.

Luna smiled softly. "I'm glad. What did you do there?"

"We went to New York, Chicago, Hollywood, and other major cities. Mostly sight-seeing, really." She said in a it-wasn't-a-big-deal tone.

Luna sighed longingly, "Sounds like a glorious time."

Ron's snort caught Hermione's attention. "Yea, right. I'll bet that what Hermione isn't telling you is that her parents went to all the big shows and stores while she locked herself away in libraries reading bloody America stories."

Hermione couldn't stop her eyes from slipping into a glare. Even though they agreed to remain friends, he's been putting a lot of stress on her. She wanted to spend time with her friends while she could and he was doing his best to ruin it for her. While she glared, he went back to doing what he was doing before he spoke; eating chocolate frogs.

Hating his blow-it-off attitude, she stood and made her way to the door. "I'll be back, I'm going to get some air. It's suddenly began to feel stuffy in here."

No one called her back, but she did hear a scuffle followed by Ron's unmistakable voice shouting, "Hey!"

If there was one wish she could get, it would be so that she wouldn't get into any arguments while she was at Hogwarts. Those were simply regrets and guilt that she wanted to avoid as much as possible. Slamming the compartment door behind her, she headed to the left. She didn't really know where she was going, but didn't honestly care either. Her fingers lifted up and grazed the petals of her Black Magic that still sat in her ponytail. Her stress immediately drained away.

Draco sat across the seat of his empty compartment and watched the scenery fly by. The anger that rose within him upon hearing his sentencing a year ago returned with a fiery passion as he fiddled with the M ring on his thumb. Living without magic he could do; since he had several house elves at the manor who would gladly do magic for him in a heart beat. However, having to return to this sad excuse for a school was just preposterous! He had felt for sure he wouldn't even be allowed back! Though, upon hearing the outcome of his trial, Headmistress McGonagall had sent him a letter to return just like she did everyone else.

Growling, he slid farther down into the seat. It hadn't even felt good when he was presented his wand back this morning. He was able to finally do magic again, but he would have to do it at Hogwarts. All in all, that wasn't exactly a fair trade to him. Staring up, he fought the strangest urge to send a curse up to the sky. Somebody up there definitely hated him, so sending a curse up might make him feel better. Then again, it might make the person angry at him even more pissed off.

Letting his mind wander, Draco found Hermione Granger at the center of his thoughts. He hadn't been surprised to see her when she boarded the train. She was bookworm extraordinaire, after all. However, the one thing that did surprise him was the bags beneath her eyes. They were light in color and subtle, but he had spotted them anyway. After seeing them several times in the past when he would look in the mirror, he could recognize them anywhere: exhaustion. That was part of the reason he helped her up after knocking into her. Well, that and it was part of his sentencing. He had to be nice or he would get sent to Azkaban like his father.

Something did seem off about her, though. It was more then her not getting enough sleep, he was sure. From the moment he looked into her eyes, he could sense that much. Her normally bright, anxious brown eyes were now dull; haunted. At first it had thrown him off and he hadn't known what to say. Eventually, he fell back into routine and became the same rude Malfoy he always was.

But, Hermione didn't fall back into routine. If anything, she had been pleasant; talking to him like he was someone she spoke to every day. There had no malice or hate in her voice. There was just simple interest. She really did care enough to ask why he would come back to a place she knew he hated. He sighed, thinking she was the only one. Since the second he walked onto the train, he'd been avoided like the plague. Whispers and stares followed him at every turn. He'd been ostracized from the few Slytherin in his year that had returned and no one else wanted anything to do with him. And yet, there was Granger. She had spoken to him, not like he was a monster but an actual person.

Draco Malfoy had no idea what to make of that.

The door was open.

Relief washed through Hermione as she tested the lock on the girls' lavatory. After her little walk, she had gone back to the compartment long enough to grab her school robes. Her muscles were tired and her eyes felt heavy from lack of sleep the previous night. It never mattered how tired she was, she just never could get much sleep. When she did, she'd wake up with night sweats. There was just no way to win.

Stripping down, she washed her pale face in the sink before looking into the mirror. The discoloration beneath her eyes hadn't sunk in anymore, thank Merlin. After Malfoy's comment, she had thought they'd sunk in deeper since she left the house. It was a big relief to find they haven't. She just didn't have the tolerance to conceal them yet. Bending over to slide her skirt up, something caught her eye. Examining it further, she froze.

Damn. She thought. I should have known. This always happens.

On her right hip, a big purple bruise was showing up on her skin. It was obvious to her that it was from her stumble when Draco Malfoy knocked into a few hours ago. In most people, bruises don't show up for days. For people with leukemia, bruises were easily gotten and show up quickly. They were also ugly, as Hermione discovered over the past year. She was just happy that her jeans and skirts would cover this particular bruise. It was much to big to bother concealing.

What disturbed her more was that the new bruise was sitting nearby the disfigured scar on her abdomen. The scar she received while being hooked up to the pump she was forced to wear for months. Groaning, she went back to changing. Her flat stomach was going to be so deformed by the time her time was up.

Satisfied with her appearance as she fixed her tie, she grabbed her clothes and headed back to the compartment. Hermione almost panicked when she saw that the majority of the train was empty. They had apparently arrived at the station while she was in the bathroom and she hadn't been paying attention to the sounds of feet walking off the train. She wanted to jog the rest of the way to the compartment, but she didn't let herself. It was easy for her to get tired, so she would need to save her strength; just in case she had missed the carriages.

No one was in the compartment when she arrived. Her bag was still where she'd left it, so she slid her clothes in and walked off the train with it slung over her shoulder. Just like she feared, the platform was empty. She couldn't even see the carriages anymore. With a sigh, she started walking in the direction of the school. It was almost impossible for her to believe that she had been so focused on her bruise that she had missed the carriages. That was just something Hermione Granger never did.

"Missed the carriages, Granger?"

Hermione jumped at the voice. Having been thinking she was alone, the soft and curious sound sent her heart racing. Of course, she also knew that voice anywhere. Upon seeing Draco walking behind her, she just gave a soft smile as she nodded and continued walking. His footsteps became hurried and he was soon walking next to her, meeting her pace.

The two walked in a comfortable silence before Draco finally spoke, "Why were you being nice to me?"

Hermione was so startled by his question that she actually stopped walking. Looking up, she met his shimmering gray eyes and did what felt right. She shrugged.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "That's it? You just don't know?"

She shrugged again, this time with a humor filled smile playing on her lips. It was obvious the action was annoying to him.

He groaned. "You are the most frustrating witch on the planet. Why can't you bloody well answer the question?"

Again, Hermione shrugged.

"Well, to hell with you then!" Angry, Draco began to stomp off.

He didn't make it far before he heard heart-felt laughter echoing from behind him. Turning, he was surprised to see Hermione bent over at the waist, laughing herself to tears. For the longest time he just stood there, his head tilted to get a good look at her face. It wasn't very often that Draco had the pleasure of seeing true laughter. Polite laughter, sure. But, actual laughter that could be felt from the stomach to the toes? No.

As the witch wiped tears from her eyes, Draco had the urge to smile. Catching him off guard, he couldn't stop it from spreading across his firm face. The feeling was so foreign and new that he just left the smile in place until well after Hermione composed herself. Smiling back at him, Hermione patted his shoulder with affection before she continued her walk.

Was it just his imagination, or did he hear the soft words 'thanks, I needed that' directed to him from Hermione Granger's mouth? The world has gone topsy turvy.

The welcoming feast had been much the same as all of the years before. The only difference being McGonagall giving the speech instead of the late Professor Dumbledore. Hermione sat at her usual place, between Harry and Ron. They had apparently thought she had already gone ahead on the train. Hermione immediately saw the lie in their eyes. How could they possibly think she had gone ahead when her bag was still on the seat?

Ginny proved her right by slapping Harry and Ron over the head before saying, "Don't listen to them, Hermione. They are a bunch of liars. The boys got into a conversation about the latest riding broom and completely forgot." Guilt crossed over Ginny's eyes, "I'm sorry, too. If I didn't have Prefect duty I would have come looking for you."

Hermione smiled, "It's alright, Gin. I understand. Boys will be boys after all!"

The hall was dismissed and all the students stood. Her friends started to walk in the direction of the common room, but Hermione remembered there was something she had to do. "I'll meet you guys in the common room. I need to check on something."

Ron rolled his eyes rudely, "We know, we know. You'll be in the library so there will be no need to wait up. What else is new?"

Hermione stared at his retreating back with disbelief. What was wrong with the bloody buffoon?!

Harry stepped up and tapped her on the shoulder, much like on the train. "Would you like some company?"

The sudden need to really hug Harry overcame her and sent her into Harry's unsuspecting arms. Hermione loved how he was so caring. She was really not looking forward to losing that. After the initial shock wore off, Harry hugged her back fiercely. He had truly missed his best friend over the past year. Her visits never lasted more then a few hours each time as she was constantly vacationing with her parents. It was nice to finally get to hug her for more than a second.

Sighing, Hermione stepped back and tried to hide her teary eyes, "No, but thank you, Harry." She touched the side of his face, "You're the best friend I could ever ask for. I love you dearly. Never forget that."

Harry looked startled at the direction there conversation had taken, but he replied, "And I'm certain you know I feel the same way about you. Right?"

She smiled. "Right."

He nodded. "See you in the common room?"

Hermione nodded and walked past him and out into the hall. Instead of heading in the direction of the library, she did a u-turn and headed towards the Hospital Wing. She made a promise to her parents and had every intention of keeping that promise. Besides, she needed some back up just in case she had one of the episodes that come and go with her ailment.

I hope Madam Pomphrey doesn't cry. It's always worse when they cry… She thought sadly as the doors of the wing came into view.

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