"Draco?" she whispered.
He looked up but did not speak. Tears rolled down his paler than usual face, his eyes red and puffy. Hermione walked to his desk and took his hand, pulling him out of his seat.
"Come on, lets get out of here. We'll go for a drink, to talk?"
He took a deep breath, nodded and followed Hermione out of the room. They got the lift downstairs to the main entrance of Ministry, they used the fireplace to floo to the Muggle street above and walked to the cafe where Draco always bought his morning coffee, all in complete silence. Draco sat down and Hermione bought two cups of tea before joining him. She surveyed him as she sat down, his hair was ruffled from him running his hands through it and his eyes were still red and though the tears had stopped falling.
"Tell me about her Draco," Hermione whispered after several long moments of silence.
He had a sip of his tea, took a deep breath and began. "Her name was Evelina Carboni, I called her Lina and she hated it, or she said she did. After you-know-who died, as you know, Harry gave evidence about me and my mother helping him in the war by lying, we were excused for our crimes. My father wasn't though, he's still in Azkaban, I haven't spoken to him since. But I knew I'd been given a second chance at life and I didn't want to waste it, so I travelled. I went to different parts of Europe and met other witches and wizards, ones who didn't know who I was or what I'd done. It was amazing, I worked in restaurants and bars, earning just enough to get by but I was happy I went to France, Germany, Greece and then...Italy. I met Lina whilst I was working in a wizarding bar, it was easy money and a good way to meet people. She came in one night with some friends and she stayed long after the bar closed just talking to me. After that we never looked back, I spent every spare second of my time with her. She was clever, funny and, well, you saw her, she was beautiful. I eventually told her about my past, I was petrified that she would leave me but I needed to be honest with her, I was desperately in love. She surprised me every day with how amazing she was and I was never more surprised than when she told me my past didn't matter. 'Ti amo' she told me: I love you. That day you just saw, that was about five months after we met, I was planning on proposing to her later that week, after I'd spoken to her dad to ask his permission. Instead, the next time I spoke to him was to tell him Lina was gone. I'd give anything to go back to that day, to not let her cross that road, to trade places with her..." he trailed off.
"Oh, god, Draco. I'm so sorry, I had no idea..." Hermione whispered.
"After that, I locked myself away. I didn't speak to anyone for months. Mother wrote me letters I didn't reply to, people knocked on my door and I didn't answer. I barely ate and I barely slept. Then one rare night of sleep, I dreamt of her. She told me that I was to stop moping around and go back home and face the world I'd left behind. She told me to make people realise that I wasn't the person I used to be, so I did."
"So taking the job, you did it because she told you to prove yourself?"
"Sort of. You see," he paused, "Lina was a Muggle-born, Hermione. And she was a spectacular witch, she made me realise how wrong I'd been all those years. She told me of the prejudices they have in Italy too, they have a term-'Sangue Sporco', it means filthy blood. That's when I knew that the discrimination against Muggle-born witches and wizards went beyond Britain. I couldn't bear the idea that Lina had suffered the same torments that I'd inflicted on others my whole life. When I came back here I read in the Daily Prophet about the work you had been doing so I came to see Duggen. You know the rest..."
"Wow. I don't know what to say...So that's the big reason then?" Hermione asked, finally connecting the dots.
"That's the reason. Now that you know, I need to tell you that I'm sorry, Hermione. I knew if I said this earlier you wouldn't believe me, but I hope you will now. I'm sorry for every time I called you a-well, you know. I was stupid back then. You know my past better than anyone now and I know it's no excuse but you've seen it's what I was raised to believe, that Purebloods were better. I know that's not true now and I'm truly sorry for ever believing it. I hope you can forgive me," he looked into her eyes, his expression sincere.
"Thank you," Hermione said quietly. "Thank you for saying that. I know it's the truth, of course I forgive you, Draco."
A comfortable silence came over the pair, both had been given a great deal to think about. Hermione couldn't believe what she had seen and heard in the last few hours. Though she and Draco had become friends of sorts lately, a part of her had still been wary and mistrusting of him working on a project that supported Muggle-borns. Now it all made perfect sense; he wanted to help Muggle-borns because he'd fallen in love with one, and now he'd lost her.
"You know," Draco said, finally breaking the silence, "it actually feels good to talk about it. I've never told anyone about her, not even my Mother, I was too scared of what she'd think. I was just planning on moving there permanently. It feels good to talk though, like a weight has been lifted. Thanks."
"Any time," Hermione said, and she meant it. "I'm glad we're talking again, though it's a shame it took something so awful to make it happen. I'm sorry for reacting the way I did after the last memory, if I'd have known..."
"Don't be ridiculous Hermione. You had every right to be angry. Twelve year old me was an arse."
Hermione laughed. "Yes, he absolutely was."
"I guess we should be getting back to work..."
"Actually, I've got the afternoon off. I'm meeting Juliette and Ginny for our final dress fittings. It's the wedding next week," she explained.
"Lucky you," he smirked.
"Come with me?" Hermione blurted out.
"What?"
"To the wedding. I mean, if you want to," she said quickly. "My invitation has a plus one and I feel a little pathetic turning up alone. It might cheer you up after all the horrible memories you've had to suffer lately..." she trailed off.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. Ron and Juliette won't mind. Juliette likes you, you and Ron can stand to be in the same room after the whole charity Quidditch match, I think he might even like you now. Why not?"
"Okay then, I'd love to," he looked excited at her invitation.
"Great," she checked her watch. "I'm afraid I have to go and meet Juliette and Ginny now. Will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine, Hermione. Thank you for listening, and understanding."
The pair stood, exited the little cafe together and prepared to go their separate ways. Hermione said goodbye and, to her surprise, was pulled into a tight hug by Draco. She hesitated for a second before hugging him back.
"Well," Draco said pulling away, not meeting her eyes, "I'll see you Monday?"
"See you Monday," Hermione confirmed, a little flustered.
***
The dress fitting with Juliette and Ginny went without a hitch. They had chosen strapless floor length gowns in a shade of dark red that complimented both girls well. Juliettes gown was simple but elegant; thin straps and a little crystal detailing at the top, both bridesmaids agreed she looked amazing.
By the time they had finished at the dress shop, it was late in the afternoon and the girls decided to stay out a little longer to have dinner. They found a quaint French restaurant nearby and after they had sat down and ordered drinks, Hermione decided to tell them about inviting Draco to the wedding.
"Juliette?" she asked tentatively. "You know my invitation to the wedding included a 'plus one' and I said I probably wouldn't be inviting anyone after the last disastrous date I had? Well, I've sort of invited someone now."
"That's great, Hermione!" Juliette exclaimed. "Anyone we know?"
"Well, yes actually, Draco-Draco Malfoy. The one Harry organised the Quidditch match with?"
"Oh, yes! Handsome blonde guy, he was at the Halloween party?"
"That's him," Hermione smiled.
"Hang on a second," Ginny interrupted, "am I hearing this right? You've invited Draco Malfoy to be your date?!"
"Yes. Well, not a date as such, he'll be accompanying me as a friend," she emphasised the word heavily.
"I can't keep up with you, Hermione. One minute he's your friend, the next you can't stand him, then you're kissing at parties," Ginny said.
"No, he kissed me, it was certainly not returned."
"I don't see why not," Juliette said with a grin, "he's very good looking. And he obviously likes you if he kissed you."
"And I explained to you both, he apologised and said he was drunk."
"But he never said he regretted it though, just the circumstances," Ginny argued.
"And you didn't disagree about him being good looking," Juliette teased.
"Can you both stop it please. Draco and I are friends, that's all we'll ever be,"'she thought sadly of Draco and him loosing Evelina. "Yes, he is good looking, only a fool would think otherwise, but that does not mean that there is anything between us. Now let's order, I'm starving."
Juliette and Ginny eyed Hermione suspiciously but said no more on the subject. Hermione ate her meal in silence, pondering her friendship with Draco. Now Lucy, Ginny and Juliette had all made comments about it; was there more to it than she realised? It was clear from her earlier conversation with Draco that he was still mourning Lina. Then again, he had seemed excited when she invited him to the wedding and hugged her in what felt like a more than a friend way...
She shook her head, inwardly chastising herself for letting the girls' taunts get to her. Of course she and Draco were just friends. Weren't they?
A/N So, this is Draco's big secret! I'd really love to know your thoughts, do you think it's a plausible reason for him changing his ways? Thanks for reading!