A/N: Let me start off by apologising to all of you about the "chapter update" that happened around Wednesday. I am currently writing two stories, and while going to update that one, I accidently posted it to this one instead. I am sorry for all the confusion, and while I thought about posting an author's note chapter, there's nothing more disappointing than thinking you get a chapter and finding out it's one of those. So without further ado, here's chapter 37!
Chapter 37
Draco was hiding. He wasn't proud to admit that he was hiding out from his girlfriend, but it was exactly what he was doing. He was scared to face her; scared that the moment they talked, the best relationship he had ever had would come to an end. He felt so guilty for everything that had happened over the last few days, but moreover from what happened before. It was his fault after all. He was the one who stood by and watched as Blake Shadows was murdered. He was the one who didn't bother making sure Daphne was okay. He was the one who had gone with Weasley in the first place, and he was the reason Hermione came after him and was hurt because of her love for him.
He couldn't face her knowing that he was the reason she nearly died. She had risked her life for him, and she was the one who nearly paid with her life.
Draco rubbed his eyes tiredly as he sipped his umpteenth cup of coffee. He hadn't gotten much sleep lately, because every time he tried he saw her body lying broken and bruised in front of him. It scared him so much more that he could ever have imagined to see her lying there. The worst part was that he needed to be with her more than anything, and knowing that he couldn't. She deserved someone so much better. She deserved someone who didn't have such a dark past, and someone worthy of her.
"What are you doing to yourself?" he heard a voice which he would never have expected behind him. He turned around to see Harry standing there, crossing his arms.
"What are you doing here?" he asked as he tried to straighten his body out to face his friend.
"I was about to come tell you off for not being with Hermione. She needs you after what she went through, and you're nowhere to be seen. She's scared that she messed up and she needs you to tell her that she didn't. Draco, I've only seen Hermione seriously upset about a relationship when Ron broke up with her. She was beyond devastated and it took so long for her to heal and move pas it. So if you are planning on breaking up with her, then do it gently, okay? I love her so much, and I never want her in that position again," Harry said eyeing him warily. "But something tells me that isn't what you're afraid of. Care to enlighten me on what's causing you to look like an Inferi?"
His head snapped up at the mention of breaking up with her. "Why would I want to end the relationship? She's the best thing that's ever happened to me! How are you not here to reprimand me for what I did? Because of me she nearly died."
Harry shook his head, "Because you thought you were doing what was right for her. Do you know how many times I nearly got myself and my friends killed? If they held it against me for every time I tried to do what I thought was right, I would never have any friends. If anyone knows how you feel, it's me."
Draco remained silent at that. He felt grateful to have Harry in his corner after everything. He knew Blaise and Theo would always have his back as well, but it meant more to have one of his newer friends stick by him.
"Draco, I have a feeling you and Hermione are both afraid of different things. You should talk to her so you can figure out what's happening. Something tells me you won't get a lot of peace until you do," Harry said, sounding concerned. "The Weasleys are with Hermione now, but you should go see her in a bit and talk."
Draco nodded as he felt a knot in his stomach. He knew he would have to eventually. "Is she doing alright otherwise?"
"She's healing beautifully. She should be discharged within the day, but you know how much she hates feeling useless. She's probably going to be nagging the Healers every chance she gets to let her go sooner."
Draco laughed, "Sounds like her. Thank you, Harry. It means a lot that you came to see me, even if not for the initial reasons you were going to."
Harry nodded, "I should get back to her now. It was good seeing you, Draco. Just remember, as much as I like being your friend, I will kick your sorry arse if you end up hurting Hermione. But that said, you both are really good for each other, so don't mess it up." He turned away from Draco and walked out of the room, leaving Draco to his thoughts.
Hermione was bored beyond her mind. She hated sitting in the stupid hospital bed for so much longer than she needed to. There were only so many books one could read to entertain themselves.
The newspapers were no help as well. There were so many speculations about how war hero and Quidditch star Ron Weasley could do such a criminal act. Some claimed that he had a mental break down, while others said it was a mental health issue from the scars of the war. But so many newspapers blamed her for her 'blatant displays of her new relationship' and 'driving him to the edge'. It didn't help that his fans, both female and male tended to blame her, and thus sent her so much hate mail. She refused to open any of them, learning her lesson from fourth year.
And as much as she loved her friends, they couldn't spend all their time visiting her. It had been just over a day since she had regained consciousness. She was desperate to see her son and reassure him that she was alright, but the Healers didn't want her out of her bed just yet, in case some unknown side curse had been used on her. Harry had promised her that he would visit Jamie and tell him that she was doing fine and that she would visit him as soon as she given the okay to do so.
But what scared her was that she hadn't heard from Draco since she woke up. She felt her heart clench at the thought. Why was he being so distant from her? She hated knowing that he was slowly drifting further and further away. The last time she had felt like this, her boyfriend had cheated on her and left her. She wasn't quite sure she would be able to hand it if it happened again.
"Do you mind if we come in?" she heard after a gentle knock on the door. She looked up to see Molly standing at the door, followed by a herd of Weasleys.
She smiled as she nodded, "Of course you can!" she said, as she sat up higher. In piled Molly, Arthur, Bill, Ginny, George, Charlie, and even Percy. She was slightly surprised to see them all there, as it was rare that they were all free other than for the typical Sunday dinner.
"How are you doing, sweetheart?" Molly asked worriedly as she sat down in a chair beside her.
"I'm doing fine," she said as she nodded at the other members in acknowledgement. "I just can't wait to get out of here."
"You shouldn't be here in the first place!" George said angrily. "I cannot believe my brother did this!"
And just like that the little tiny bubble of awkwardness wore off as he spoke what was on his mind.
"You have to understand Hermione, when we heard what happened we all had to come see you," Bill explained.
"You have no idea how shocked we were when Harry came and told us what happened. It was hard to comprehend how our own brother could do such a thing," Percy said with a shake of his head.
Molly seemed to be shaking slightly, and Arthur wrapped a comforting arm around her as Ginny spoke, "I talked to them after seeing you yesterday, and they all wanted to come make sure that you're alright."
"I just don't get how he could even think what he was doing was acceptable," Charlie exclaimed. "Did you know Lucius Malfoy agreed to testify against him that he came to him first about trying to get rid of you? They connected the handwriting to Ron's from some letters."
Hermione looked up in shock, "I knew Lucius received some letters about trying to put an end to our relationship, but I had no idea they were from Ron!"
She heard Molly sob softly and she turned to see the Weasley family Matron. "I'm so sorry for everything, Molly."
"You have the least to be sorry about, my dear," she said with a watery smile. "I just feel like such a failure. How could he turn that way? I don't know what happened."
"It's not your fault either," Hermione said decidedly as she took Molly's hand. "And I don't blame you in any way, I don't blame any of you. Ron's actions are of his own accord."
"Besides Mum, we all saw how he was becoming. Do you remember the time he came over angrily wanting to know how we could support Hermione and Draco? Then there was all the reckless behaviour he partook in. It was only a matter of time before he snapped," Charlie said, placing a hand on his mother's shoulder.
"What's going to happen to Ron?" Hermione asked, sounding somewhat unsure of how to ask. Ron needed to face justice for his crimes, but it was still a slightly sensitive topic considering the present company.
"He's going to have to face a full trial, but to be honest it's not looking good for him," Arthur said with a sigh. "All the money he has can get him a decent lawyer, but there's just so much evidence against him. He'll be tried for Accessory to Murder, Stalking, and blackmail to name a few. He won't get as heavy a sentence as Daphne Greengrass would have received seeing as he never actually killed anyone, but it will still be something."
"There's something else, Hermione," George said softly, "We visited him today. We needed to look him in the eyes and see for ourselves what had happened to him. But he mentioned that he wanted to see you and that he wanted to talk to you about what had happened. No one expects you to visit him; not after what happened. I just thought you deserved to know that he was asking about it."
She took a moment to take in everything they had told her. She was glad that Ron wouldn't be able to worm his way out of paying retribution for his crimes, but she was conflicted about his request. On one hand she wanted to talk to him about why he had done the things he had, and why he had betrayed their years of friendship. But on the other, she never wanted to have to see him again. She never wanted to come face to face with him for hurting her and Draco so badly, even though he hadn't used a single curse. But one thing she knew was that she wasn't sure that she would ever be able to forgive him for his actions over the last several months.
"I'll think about it," she said finally as she looked at all of the Weasleys. They simply nodded at her, understanding her decision.
She saw Harry enter the room and she smiled as she saw her friend. She had wondered where he slipped off to, but didn't say anything as she watched him kiss his wife on her cheek.
"You will still keep coming to Sunday dinner right?" Molly asked, sounding somewhat fearful. "I don't want this to be the reason you leave our family."
"If you still want me there," Hermione said. She knew they didn't blame her, just like she didn't blame them, but what if over time they grew to resent her for all that had happened?
"Of course we do!" Ginny exclaimed as she took Hermione's hand in hers. "We love having you there, just like we'd love for you to bring Scorpius and Draco, and maybe even Jamie one day too."
She smiled sadly; slightly afraid that soon Draco would be out of her life forever.
There was a knock at the door, and she saw Draco standing there with the largest bouquet of roses she had ever seen. It made every other bunch he ever gave her look miniscule in comparison.
The Weasleys took this as a cue to take their leave. Molly kissed her forehead, and the rest of them gave her hugs before leaving the room.
Ginny stayed a bit longer as she looked at Hermione, "I'll see you again soon. I know how bored you're getting so I'll bring by James and you can spend some time with your godson."
James had been spending a lot of time recently with Andromeda and Molly while Ginny and Harry were in to visit her. She tried to convince them that she didn't need both of them to leave their son, but they insisted that they didn't mind every now and then.
She grinned, "I'd like that. He's getting so big. Before I know it, he'll be going to Hogwarts!"
Ginny hugged her before leaving the room, "I better go. Harry's probably waiting outside for me."
She didn't say anything as Draco approached her, seeming somewhat worried over how she would react. His pale skin looked paler due to the dark circles under his eyes and she could tell that he looked to be quite worn out.
"Hey," he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He placed them in the vase beside her bed after vanishing some of the old ones. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," she said softly. "Draco, why have you been avoiding me?"
He chuckled at her forwardness as he sat on the bed beside her, "I was afraid," he admitted as he took her hand. "I was afraid when you said we needed to talk that you were going to break up with me."
"Is that what you want?" she asked as she swallowed deeply. She was scared what his answer would be, but she needed to hear it.
"Merlin, no," he exclaimed. "What would give you that idea?"
"You've been so distant lately. And then it seems like you've been making all of these decisions without me. Draco, we're supposed to be a team, the two of us! And here you are just jumping into the face of danger without so much as thinking what it would do to me. You went with Ron without even telling me what you were going to do"," she said shaking slightly.
He sighed, sounding a bit relieved. "Hermione Granger, I love you so much. I know it seems as if I've been keeping myself apart from you and doing all these things without consulting you, and you're right. I was so wrong for doing that, and there's no excuse. But when Ron came up to me to talk, I thought I could help you. You've done so much to help me with Jamie, even before it became personal. And then he threatened you and Scorpius and I couldn't sit by and do nothing. Merlin I love you so much, but the thought of him or whoever he was working with hurting you scared me so much. I thought I was doing the right thing."
She held his hand, "I know you did," she said as she kissed his palm. "Just please always talk to me first? I want you to be able to know you don't always have to protect me because we're in this together."
He nodded, but was still slightly tense, and she picked up on it. "Why did you think I would break up with you?" she questioned him softly.
"Because it's my fault you got hurt. Because of who I was in the past and what I've done. If I hadn't been a Death Eater, or if I hadn't stood by and watched Blake die you wouldn't have been tortured. If I didn't love you so much, you wouldn't have been tortured. You deserve someone so much better than me, and I was afraid you finally realised that too," he admitted shamefully as he looked down.
She reached out and cupped his face, "But I love you," she said softly as she brought it up to face her. "I told you once that what happened in the past didn't matter to me, and I meant it. I love you, not just for the good, but also for the bad. I love every little piece of you. You're a good man, Draco."
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in tightly, "I love you too," he said as he kissed her forehead. She cuddled into his chest and she could tell he seemed a lot lighter. It would probably take him a while to believe how she viewed him to be true, but she didn't mind. She would gladly spend every moment of her life trying to convince him that she was right. She was in it for the long haul, and she knew him to be in it as well.