"We already got your school supplies," Harry assured her. "And we're figuring out how to get you a wand. Dumbledore thinks Mr. Ollivander may be willing to visit."
She was sitting in his garden, her feet grazing the ground from the swing so that her shoes painted little lines in the dirt. "Thank you."
He took the empty swing beside her and stared down at overly large hands. He'd grown again since she'd last seen him, he and Ron both, perhaps even Draco. She'd not had a chance to inspect her best friend yet, as she'd been too stressed at the adjournment of the meeting and opted to go outside instead.
The teens sat in silence for a few moments, breathing in the crisp night air and listening to the crickets. It was beautiful out here in a way completely different from Malfoy Manor. There were flowers, though only one variety of roses that she could tell, and it was much more modest despite the wealth she knew the Potter family had.
"We've put a Fidelius Charm over the place, with Professor Dumbledore as the secret keeper," Harry murmured after several long moments. "No one will be able to get to you here. You're safe."
Hermione smiled wanly. "Thank you, Harry. I know I am. It's just— it's all a bit overwhelming."
He nodded, but didn't say anything, waiting for her to say her piece or hold her peace however she willed.
A brief hesitation, and she said, "I was only with him for so long, but often it wasn't even that. He left me there, locked in that horrid room, alone, for hours— days at a time. I'd try to stay strong, to pretend the loneliness never bothered me, because, well, it shouldn't. It's not as though I don't value my own company. But it was different. I saw no one else, not even the elves. I was locked there with a fake window, left to stare out at fake sunlight, at fake birds, and I envied them.
"And so, when he would come, I—" She broke off, unable to confess what burdened her despite Narcissa's assurances. "I don't think I could handle that again," she said instead.
"You won't have to."
Harry took her hand in his and their fingers twined in the gap between the swings.
"No one will ever think differently about you because of what happened, Hermione. Not me, not Draco, not Ron— and he's a right git, so that's saying something." She giggled despite the solemnity of the subject. "No one who has ever met you would think such a thing. You're Hermione Granger, the brightest student Hogwarts has seen in nearly a century. You got eleven bloody Outstanding OWLs. That's inhuman. Though, to be fair, I think Bill took all twelve; he just didn't get Outstandings in everything. He had an Exceeds Expectations or two, can you imagine the shame?"
Hermione bumped his shoulder in admonishment.
"He only took seven NEWTs classes, though. Slacker."
"You're ridiculous," she said.
"Yes, but you like it," was Harry's response. "Anyway, I think Bill and Charlie might be smart enough to hold a conversation with you. Merlin knows I have trouble."
"You're hardly unintelligent yourself, Mr. Potter. If you put in the work, you would be a competitor for Draco off the Quidditch field as well as on it."
"So, you admit I'm good at Quidditch," he said.
Hermione huffed. "That's hardly the point I was making. I was saying that you're not stupid. Neither you, nor Ronald, though one would never know based on his essays. Yours are far less mind-numbing. Don't tell him I said that."
"I won't, on my honor as a Gryffindor," he swore.
"So, what are you doing, vetting possible friendships for me?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I was just thinking that they're handsome enough lads, with good careers and sharp minds. If you won't take me seriously—"
"You're not still on about this marriage business, are you?"
"No— well, yes, but not really. I just wanted you to have options."
"Options," she repeated. "You, Bill and Charlie. Who else? Draco? Ron ?"
He grimaced. "Sirius, actually. I know he's old and all, and kind of an outcast, but he still has some clout. He's got a good job, and he lives with us, so…"
"Harry, I have never thought about getting married," she said.
"Really? Not even as a little girl? Didn't think about a prince rescuing you and then having a fairytale wedding?"
"No." He frowned in skepticism. "I was a ward of the Malfoys. Fantasizing for me was imagining myself as a free witch pursuing magizoology or traveling to explore different ways of casting magic across the world. I knew no one would want to marry a bookish, frumpy muggleborn."
"Krum certainly didn't think you were frumpy. And none of us have ever cared that you're a muggleborn," he pointed out.
"I'm still a know-it-all."
"Yes, well, not everyone dislikes that. Plenty of boys have fancied you anyway."
"Like who?" she demanded, raising a brow.
"Neville, for one," he said smugly. "And Ron."
"What? No."
"Yes." Harry nodded sagely. "The twins— one or both. I think it's the way you insult Ron, really. Probably the same for him, now that I think about it. I could see him having it for a mean girl— ow!"
She'd smacked his shoulder, but doubted it actually hurt, especially when he smirked.
"And me."
"You're taking the mickey out of me," she accused him.
"I am not." At Hermione's disbelieving eye roll, he expounded. "No, really. I mean, it's a bit more recent, and it's a little strange, since you're one of my best mates, but you're smart and determined and kind. And you're really pretty. Why wouldn't I fancy you?" She stared at him as he spoke, his hands in his lap and looking down at them again. It almost looked like his cheeks were darker in the moonlight. Behind his glasses, his eyes shone with earnestness.
"What about Ginny?"
He huffed a bitter laugh. "Gin's great, really, but sometimes she and some of the other Weasleys can be a bit overbearing."
"I'm bossy," she countered.
"Yes, but there's only one of you. Besides, you're not always bossy. In fact, most of the time you let me or Draco take the lead."
Hermione smiled. "You're very natural at it."
"Thanks." He laced his hand through hers again and they lapsed into quiet.
It was peaceful in the garden, the scent of dirt and grass heavy in the air. She felt like she could stay there forever. Harry's presence was always soothing to her, almost immediately into their friendship. He was more stable in mood than Ron, more outgoing than Draco, overall a well-rounded influence on her life. Obviously, his parents had done much right in raising him, but she also thought that was just Harry at his core— good and kind.
He would be a good husband to whomever he married, certainly the best prospect she had at the moment, but Hermione was still resistant to using marriage as a way to escape her wardship.
And what would Tom think? Oh, dear. H e's the Heir of Slytherin.
No, she wouldn't think of that for now. She'd put it away, packed up with the experiences she was trying to overcome now that she was free.
"They aren't as extensive as the Malfoy home," Lily had said about their wards.
Hermione toed a circle into the dirt beneath her foot. "I feel so trapped." Realizing how ungrateful she sounded, she quickly appended, "Not that it isn't great here. It's so much better than it was at the manor, and the company is more than I could hope for. It's just—"
"It's fine," he cut through her diatribe apology. "I understand. I have a little cabin fever myself."
She smiled over at him, and he squeezed her hand.
"We'll be at Hogwarts soon anyway," he added.
"It's almost strange to think about school after all that's happened." She recalled midnight blue eyes and a smirk as sharp as a tiger's bite. Would Tom be upset with her? He knew what happened— about the law, based on the bombardment of Malfoy Manor— and he'd talked to Bellatrix, demanded her return. Surely, she wouldn't be blamed for not writing to him when she hadn't the means? He would understand. Tom always understood.
Even though she had moments where she glimpsed a scarlet flash, a hidden side of him that spilled chills down her spine.
Harry broke her from her momentary fixation. "It's a good thing you're Hermione Granger, then, isn't it?"
"Yes," she replied, flashing a grin. "Yes, I suppose it is."
Harry was right; school was what Hermione did. It was where she excelled above all others. There was no reason to fear, not when nearly every professor adored her. She also had her friends, so many more than she'd realized.
There's no reason to be afraid.
Notes:
Monthly announcement post: freya-fallen/716098196228702208/may-announcement-post?source=share