In the morning, she woke up suddenly, pulled out of her memories of the years before. She felt her cheeks and discovered they were wet with salty tears. The flashbacks of her old life with Draco had shaken her to her core, since she tried her best not to think about him during the day. But at night, there were no conscious barriers that kept Draco away.
She wiped them away before the other girls waking up could see. Hermione got up and dressed in her uniform and tried to tame her bushy hair. After yanking her brush through it several times, she gave up on it and switched to making sure her homework was all packed neatly and in order of her classes. After that was done, she and Ginny headed for the Great Hall for breakfast. Ron and Harry were already there and in the process of stuffing food into their faces.
Hermione selected a few pastries and a cup of milk before finally digging in. All the emotion of yesterday night had left her starving and she ended up reaching for seconds.
On her way to class, one without any of her best friends, she walked straight into another person. Dropping down to pick up her books, she bobbed her head profusely and apologized. "Good gracious , I'm terribly sorry! So sorry! Didn't see you there."
A dark chuckle made her look up. It was Malfoy and his posse. She rolled her eyes and stood up, ready to move on. Crabbe and Goyle blocked her way and she huffed. "Really Malfoy, you've got to train your dogs better. They shouldn't stand in the way of another person."
"Ah, but I've trained them quite well then. Mudbloods aren't considered 'people' in the wizarding society." Draco smirked, cocking his head.
"If you are going to waste my oh so precious time with your ranting of Pureblood 'superiority', I would suggest letting me go and finding someone more willing to listen." Hermione turned to look at him. Her hands were stationed on her hips and her eyebrows knitted together.
"Well then, I've got to hurry with it then. The Mudblood needs to get on with her precious time." Malfoy sneered, causing the goons to laugh.
"Oh, Merlin's beard!" Hermione sighed, and she turned back to the 'dogs' and shoved at them. "Leave me be you delirious bloody imbeciles!"
Draco chuckled and gestured at his followers. "Let her go. She's not worth the trouble. I'm sure she's running off to her boyfriends now."
As the boys stepped apart, she pushed through and glanced back at the Malfoy heir. "What's happened to you? You've turned into a monster." With that, she burst into a run and dodged the few remaining people in the hall before darting into her class.
00000000000
"'Mione, are you alright?" Harry asked, concern written clearly on his face. "Your face is so pale."
"Oh, I'm fine, Harry." Hermione answered vaguely, trying to fight off sleepiness while editing her essay for the fifth time.
"You should head to sleep. Your essays are always perfect. One more edit won't make a difference." Harry answered, pulling up from his sprawled position.
"But-" She couldn't say the rest of her sentence. But sleep brings on Draco.
"No buts." He shook his head firmly. He smiled. "Don't make me chase you up there."
Hermione smiled weakly. "Alright. For you."
0000000000
"Hermione," Her father spoke lowly.
"Yeah?" She looked up from writing a letter to Harry. "What's going on?"
"Your mother and I would like to speak to you."
She stood and shuffled her papers into a neat pile. "Alright. Where?"
He nodded towards the dining room. They walked together in silence to the table. Hermione's mother was already sitting there with an expectant look on her face.
There was a silence for a while.
"Do you feel like you belong here Hermione?" Her mother asked at last.
Hermione furrowed her brow. "Of course."
"How so?"
"You're my parents." She heard her mother suck in a breath before her next words. "You care for me, prepare me for the world. I've got great friends that care about me. I, well, I'm not a muggle, I've got magic and I am accepted as who I am in this world." She glanced at her father when he made a grunting noise to this statement. "What's this all about?"
"Hermione." her father leaned forward and laced his fingers together. "We've been keeping something from you for a long time. You turned thirteen a while ago."
She nodded.
"Your mother and I had always wanted a child when we first married."
"Yes, I know, you made many attempts, and you thought you two were unable to reproduce. But then I was born." Hermione smiled.
"That's not exactly true."
Her blood ran cold. "What?" Her voice was incredulous.
"We went to the doctor. Your father isn't able to reproduce. I wanted a child so badly, and since we never believed the nonsense of Pureblood superiority we went to a muggleborn orphanage." Her mother admitted, rushing her words.
"What?" Hermione repeated.
"When we saw you, we knew it would be you. You were such a beautiful girl." Her father said.
"Impossible. They wouldn't have known I was magical at such a young age." Hermione accused.
"They knew, since the woman had a sister that had been a witch. They somehow knew."
Hermione closed her eyes. "Promise you are not kidding?"
"Promise." Her father said.
"Okay."
"Okay?" Her mother glanced at her father. "What does okay mean darling?"
"I mean I'm fine with it. I, I understand why you didn't tell me. I understand why it had to be done. You're certainly forgiven if that's what you're asking."
Her parents smiled, looking at one another again. "We raised such a wonderful daughter." her father proclaimed. "So forgiving and kind and caring. Thank you 'Mione. Thank you for understanding. And I want you to understand that we love you still, no matter where you came from."
The three hugged and there were kisses all around.
0000000000
It was a Hogsmeade weekend. Ginny and Hermione went together and spent it buying new quills and parchment.
"Ginny, I want some new books, can we drop by?" Hermione glanced longingly at the new bookstore, Paper & Parchment.
Ginny hesitated, glancing down the street. "I was actually going to meet up with Harry."
"Oh, that's fine, I'll go by myself. You'll be fine from here?" Hermione took a step backward in the direction of the store.
"Yeah, go ahead."
She spun around and nearly skipped into the store. She looked through the tomes, her nose crowded with the smell of parchment and fresh ink. She selected a few and brought them up to the cashier.
"Excuse me, I was wondering, why is the store called 'Paper & Parchment'?" Hermione questioned, watching as the clerk tallied up her price.
"Oh, we've got a whole muggle collection in the back. But we only show it to people who aren't against the idea of muggleborns." The boy answered. Then he paused, looking at her fearfully. "You aren't a pureblood superiority believer are you?"
She laughed. "No way, I'm a muggleborn myself. Can I see this collection?"
"Sure," he grabbed a key and headed for the back. He unlocked a large black door and gestured inside for her.
She smiled in thanks as he left the key with her.
She browsed through the selections, reading the titles of muggle classics. Catching the title, Little Women, she pulled it out with interest. After reading the summary, she smiled and taking her book, went back into the main store.
"This one too please," Hermione said, pulling out a few galleons to pay for the books.
"Isn't that a grand sight."
She huffed, and rolled her eyes at the clerk. "Malfoy," She turned and smirked. "What an immense pleasure. Didn't get enough of me at school I gather?"
He snorted. "Wish I could say the same to you, Mudblood."
"There goes the nickname again. I believe it has long lost its affect." Hermione grabbed her books after paying. She headed for the exit. She realized she still had the key.
"Sorry," she said, rushing back to return the brass key.
"What's that?" Malfoy asked.
"Nothing of your concern." She replied, still swinging past him.
"What was it?"
"Oh Merlin's hat! You are such an insufferable git." Hermione stuck her finger in his chest.
He snorted again and continued to follow her.
"Unless you're going to buy me a hot chocolate, you should leave." She said, glancing back at him.
Without a word, he disappeared.
"Now I can finally get something done!" Hermione muttered.
"What was that, Granger?"
"OH BY THE HAIRS IN MERLIN'S ARMPITS!" Hermione spun around, narrowly missing the hand Draco had extended. She softened. "What's that?"
He scoffed. "Brightest witch of our age doesn't recognize hot chocolate."
She looked at him disbelieving. "You got it for me?"
He nodded.
"You didn't do anything to it?"
He nodded.
She smiled. "Thanks." She reached out and took the cup.
As they continued along the street while Hermione window-shopped, Draco spoke again.
"Thought you liked champagne?" He said, glancing at his companion.
She looked at him with a sad stare. "It lost its wonder after I lost the person I could share it with."
He shook his head. "You don't miss me."
"I do. I don't care what you say. I do miss you and I will forever." Hermione pressed, her gaze very serious.
"You wouldn't miss me after you knew what kind of person I am now." Draco looked up at the sky with a cool expression.
She stopped walking. "Then what have you become?"
"A monster."
0000000000
"Hermione?"
"Yeah?"
"What do you think of me?"
Hermione propped up her torso with her elbows. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what kind of person do you think I am?"
"I," She pondered the question. "I think you're a jerk. And a bloody bastard, with the will to break the heart of everyone who ever cared about you. But there's another side of you. Someone who loves. Someone who cares about others. The sweet Draco, the one who does nice things, like buy me drinks and give me your cloak when I'm cold. You," She looked at him and smiled. "You're someone I care about. Someone I love the only way you'll accept."
He looked back at her, his expression unreadable.
"Why would you ask me something like this?" Hermione sat up, scooting closer to him.
"Because," He answered, his eyes never leaving hers. "I think I'm a monster."
"Draco," she warned.
"What? It's true. Why else would my own parents hate me so much?"
"Oh, Draco," she said, pulling him close into a hug he knew he couldn't fight off. "I don't know. I don't know why you were born to your parents. All I know is that I should thank them for bringing me such a wonderful friend and making him who he is today."
"To think the know-it-all Miss Granger doesn't know the answer." Draco mumbled into her shirt.
"Shut up,"
"Only if you make me."
"You brought this upon yourself," She warned before she lifted her hand. Thinking she was going to hit him, he cringed, but she only caressed his face and leaned in close enough for their foreheads to touch. "I care about you. Don't you ever forget that."
Then she closed the gap and they were kissing.
"That made you shut up didn't it?"
0000000000
"Hermione," Ginny said, nudging her friend. "How was Hogsmeade? Did you have fun after I left?"
Hermione nodded, her gaze drifting to the Slytherin table to look at the blonde boy glancing her way. After he had declared himself a monster, he had left abruptly, leaving her to her memories of him saying that.
"What did you do?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, well, the new bookstore certainly wasn't disappointing. They had some wonderful books and they had a locked section of muggle books. I got one."
"I assumed that much. What did you do afterwards?"
Hermione's staring competition with Malfoy had been going on long enough for his friends to notice, so he dropped his gaze. She turned to look at Ginny. "Malfoy found me. We spent some time together. He, for once, really wasn't a bloody git."
Ginny nodded in understanding. "I'm glad you had a good time with him."
"Me too," Hermione answered.
Ron finally caught onto who they were talking about. "Why you guys talking about that bastard? He hasn't been getting on your nerves has he? I'll punch his bloody skull in!"
"No, he hasn't Ron, though thanks for offering." Hermione smiled at her friend's anger. She looked at her surrounding friends. "I think I'm done for the night."
"Good night 'Mione." Ginny, Ron, and Harry chorused. She smiled and headed out.
She plopped down on her bed, her mind racing. Why was Malfoy acting human again? Could he possibly try to accept her again? No, his Pureblood pride was much more valuable, even when they were friends. And what did he have to do with Voldemort? What was he hiding from her?
She fell asleep with her school clothes on; on top of the covers of her bed. She slept dreamlessly, for once rid off the memories of her old life. It was helpful not to be reminded every time she took a rest of the good times of before.
Even without the dreams, she woke up In the middle of the night. She looked at the clock. Nearly midnight. A little walk after curfew wouldn't be such a bad idea right now.
Hermione got up and straightened her rumpled clothes before sneaking out the dorm and walking towards the Astronomy Tower. Her heart started to beat faster the farther she went away from the safety of her bedcovers. She climbed up the twisting staircase to emerge in the moonlight cast on the cold stone.
She admired the graceful full moon and the twinkling stars, reminded of the one night on the rooftop of Malfoy Manor. A slight shuffle made her head turn.
"Who's there?" She whispered, pulling out her wand.
The figure stepped into the bath of moonlight, his platinum hair illuminated brightly. "Malfoy."
She lowered her wand, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "What are you doing up here so late?"
"I could ask you the same question, Granger."
"Yes, well, I believe, I asked first." Hermione answered, stowing her wand away.
"Fresh air. Getting a bit stuffy in the dorm."
She nodded. "Same."
Draco stepped closer to the windows. "Do you ever dream about before?"
She took a step back. "Why would you even ask?" She sighed. "Of course I do. They were the happiest times of my life."
"How so?"
"I had friends that loved me, parents who were caring, acceptance in the world. Everything I had ever wanted." She paused. "Although I suppose now is even better." She tried to keep going when Draco flinched. "I mean, I have finally learned that being accepted by society isn't what matters. Being accepted by friends and family and the peers you care about is what really matters."
There was a pregnant pause before Malfoy spoke again. "What did you dream about?"
"You." She murmured. "When we were happy. When we were naïve and childish and carefree. When we didn't care what the world thought. When we were…. friends because we could."
"Years ago, you defined me." Malfoy spoke towards the moon.
"I did."
"Do you take it back?"
She shook her head. "Never. Nothing will ever take that Draco from me."
"Okay."
She stepped closer to him and leaned on the bar beside him. "What would you define me as now, Malfoy?"
He looked at her with his piercing eyes. "Don't ask me that."
She nodded. After another pause, she whispered. "I love you Draco." She grabbed his arm.
He looked at it. "What are you doing?"
She looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry."
She pulled up his sleeve, bracing herself for the worst. Slowly, pale white skin appeared, with blue veins webbed across its smooth surface. His skin was unmarked. She let out a breath and tiny droplets of tears formed at the edges of her eyes. She dropped his arm and hugged him tightly. "Oh thank the gods."
He pushed her away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Making sure you aren't jeopardizing the safety of yourself and the ones around you!" Hermione retorted. "Making sure the people I care for aren't going to get hurt."
"Now you know too much."
"What are you talking about?" She backed away as he advanced. "Draco, what are you doing?"
"I'm sorry," He whispered. He leaned in a kissed her forehead. A flash of bright white light appeared from his raised wand and she blacked out.