Malfoy's eagle owl Ulysses was tapping on her window later that evening, and Hermione let him in and handed him some snacks. She stroked the owl's feathers lovingly before accepting his letter.
Hermione
As I told you yesterday, I'm bad with words when it comes to explaining my feelings. I figured it might help if I wrote them down.
I told you once, that you could never disappoint me. That was not a lie. It is one of the reasons why I decided to support you all those years ago from my position of power on the Wizengamot.
You may think that what happened back at the Manor at the end of the war was the reason why I started scheming for you in the shadows in the first place. It is more complicated than that.
During our Hogwarts days, you were always the best of us, even if I never wanted to admit it. I thought you were an idealist who had no idea how the Wizarding World worked. But during the last two years of the war, I quickly realised you'd always been right. The justice and peace you fought for, was not how the Wizarding World worked. You fought for the ideal of how magical Britain should be.
Please don't assume that our agreement or our friendship is based on pity. If that was the case, I could have spent my money on the Weasel. But I chose to spend it on you because I do believe in you.
So please, do not shut me out when things get difficult. Do not distrust me. I'm your ally in all of this. I promise.
Your friend, Draco
PS: I'm truly sorry about what happened to Crookshanks. And about what I did to your wards. Let me know if you need help fixing them.
Before she could pen back a reply there was a knock on the door.
"What in the bloody Merlin happened here?" Harry asked in awe as he grabbed hold of a shredded part of her wards with the tip of his wand. "Did someone try and break in? Your wards are all over the place, Mione. I've been trying to get through your floo all day. You should've called me!"
Ginny looked at Hermione's face and immediately noticed something was wrong. "What happened?" she asked as her husband started poking at parts of Hermione's walls, trying to find the rest of the splintered magic while shaking his head.
"Crooks died yesterday," Hermione whispered in a quiet voice.
Harry immediately whipped his head at her. "Mione, I'm so sorry. The loss of a familiar is…"
The pained expression on his face as he remembered Hedwig made Hermione realise that it would be quite some time before she would truly get over the half-kneazle's death.
"Is that why your wards are shattered?" Ginny asked. "Did you lose control of your magic when you found him?"
Hermione shook her head and led her friends to the sofa before deciding to put on some water to make tea. "Me and Malfoy met up to discuss the preliminaries yesterday and-"
"I'm sorry did you just say you and Malfoy?" the redhead asked incredulously. "Harry, did you know about this?"
Harry decided this was as good a time as any to stare at the eagle owl who was studying the trio with a hint of curiosity.
"That's his familiar, isn't it?" Ginny realised, following her husband's gaze. "Merlin, Mione. You've been working together with Malfoy for nearly three months? Why didn't either one of you tell me?"
"Malfoy isn't particularly well-liked within our friend group," Harry shrugged. "I thought it best if not too many people knew of it. And when you and your sisters-in-law get together, no offence Gin…"
Ginny crossed her arms and huffed, giving her husband the silent treatment. "Anyway, your wards?"
"He walked me home yesterday after our meeting. Said he still had some other business in London. But he must've forgotten to tell me something because he came back to the flat sometime after I found Crooks. I assumed he heard my wailing or could feel my magic lashing out, so he just… Tore down the wards to make sure I was alright."
Ginny frowned at Harry. "Didn't you help put up these wards when Hermione moved in?"
Her husband nodded, his eyes lingering on the shredded wards around them.
"Then why in Merlin's name was bloody Malfoy able to tear them down without the blink of an eye?"
"He's always been strangely attuned to them," Hermione whispered. "Perhaps it was his friendship with Crooks that allowed him in?"
"Friendship with Crooks? Crooks isn't friends with anyone except you, Sirius, and I," Ginny said, completely baffled. "Are you sure he didn't weave his magic into the wards when he visited earlier on?"
Hermione nodded. "I checked after the first time he'd left, since I didn't trust him in the beginning. But nothing is binding him to this home. Nothing but Crooks."
"And you," Harry said softly, rubbing his chin, his eyes still focusing on the leftover magic in the air. "If you considered him your friend and truly trusted him, then the wards might not have seen him as a threat."
Hermione snorted at that. "Malfoy is not-" She'd started to answer, not in truth, but out of habit. He was…
Your friend, Draco.
Finally offering the two Potters tea, she ran over to Malfoy's familiar and penned a quick note. "Ulysses, please take this to your master."
"Well, I guess he is now," Ginny smirked, softly blowing on her hot cup of tea, not keen on burning the tip of her tongue. "So, when are we supposed to start inviting him over to the Burrow on Sundays?"
"It's not like that." Hermione sighed and scowled at her best friend. "Malfoy is just my friend, we're not in a relationship, we-"
"Are in a situationship. Don't deny it, Hermione Jean Granger. How often have you spent your time with that man in the past few months?" the redhead inquired, sipping her tea gently. Harry started looking green, clearly not wanting to be part of this conversation.
"Only a handful of times." Hermione swallowed.
Ginny quirked her brow, attuned to her best friend's mannerisms. "A handful, or multiple handfuls? And don't lie to me. Do not forget I was born to a mother who has a built-in lie detector."
"Multiple," the brunette squeaked. "But still, that doesn't mean anything. It's all been dinners and meetings for my campaign, and-"
"Harry, who was it that told you to get to Wood during the Gala last month?" Ginny asked, interrupting her friend.
"Malfoy told you to get me before he stormed off onto the dancing floor," he admitted. "But surely Gin, you don't think-"
"And who came to her aid when Skeeter started asking questions?"
"Malfoy, but Gin I swear-"
"And he nearly stuck McLaggen to the ceiling of our office," Hermione mumbled, not realising she was thinking out loud. Merlin. If Ginny knew that Malfoy had even jumped to her defence three months ago, then…
"He what?" Ginny yelled, raising her arms. "Why does no one tell me any of the good stuff anymore?" The witch pouted, looking accusingly back and forth between her husband and her best friend.
"McLaggen was being an arse as usual. Malfoy overheard and he put him in some sort of body bind spell and shut him up to try and teach him some manners…" Hermione waved it off.
"He also broke Wood's arm that one time when he was offending you, Mione," Harry added.
"Oliver hit him first. You guys, we are honestly just seeing things. It's Malfoy for goodness' sake. Why in the world would he ever want to be in any sort of situationship with me?" Hermione asked in exasperation.
The trio kept arguing back and forth, finding arguments for why the Slytherin would or would not like Hermione in more than just a professional or friendly manner. None of them came to a simple conclusion, however.
There was another knock on the door around half an hour later and Hermione went to open it, only to find Malfoy standing there, hands in his pockets. His eyes were soft, but as soon as he saw Ginny grinning at him over Hermione's shoulder, he strengthened his occlumency and raised his chin at Lady Potter.
Perhaps, what the three of them had been discussing had been somewhat right. Malfoy never showed his feelings to anyone. He wasn't nice. But he was always considerate of her. And his mask slipped more often than not.
"I didn't know you had company," the blond said tersely. "I can come back some other time."
"No, it's fine. Me and Harry were just leaving, weren't we?" Ginny said as she chugged the rest of her tea as if it were a pint of beer, making Harry chuckle at his wife's obviousness.
Harry looked at Malfoy suspiciously when they walked through the door, but all his wife said was, "Now be good you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes as the pair popped away. "Please, come in. I made tea."
"I just stopped by to make sure you're alright." The Slytherin took off his emerald green cloak and draped it over the back of one of her kitchen chairs. He looked around the room awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a deep sigh. "To make sure we are alright."
She smiled at him softly and took a step towards him, taking his hand in hers, not daring to look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry for misunderstanding yesterday. For mistrusting you before," she whispered. "After what happened with Oliver, it's not easy for me to let anyone new in. I tend to doubt people's intentions. When you looked so surprised about me saying I saw you as my friend, I…"
"I understand. You don't need to explain. I was just shocked you would ever consider me worthy to be your friend."
Hermione frowned, wanting to correct him. She'd always assumed that he would never want her to be his friend, considering everything that had happened at Hogwarts.
Sensing an argument brewing, Malfoy let go of her hand and instead took her wrist, studying the bracelet and the charm dangling from it. "I hope I did Crookshanks justice with this. It's been a while since I etched magic into an object by using runes."
"Yes, you did do him justice." Hermione swallowed deeply, a lump forming in her throat. Tears filled her eyes. "Thank you."
"Please don't cry, Hermione."
With a wave of his hand, he was holding a tissue once again and wiped away the tears gently.
"Why are you always so nice to me?" A hiccup escaped her lips.
He smiled at her and shook his head. "You're the only person in the entire wizarding world that thinks I'm nice."
"Maybe you should show others what you're truly like. Instead of that ice-cold persona you hide yourself behind."
Malfoy chuckled and pinched the tissue in his hand, making it disappear. Hermione wondered if he knew this was how muggle magicians made objects vanish.
"I don't think I will."
"Why not?" she argued while he stepped back to pour himself a cup of tea. She noticed he'd always retreat and hide whenever she got too close to guess his feelings correctly.
"People should fear and respect the Malfoy name," he replied. "If they want to think I'm ice-cold death eater scum that would make them quietly disappear if they oppose me, then let them."
"Even if it's not who you truly are?"
"Especially if that's not who I truly am. I'm just fine here in the shadows. Keeps me safe. Keeps the people I care about safe."
"The people you care about?" Hermione wondered. "Like your father?"
Malfoy laughed as he leaned back against her kitchen counter, cup of tea in hand. How often had she come to look upon him like this in her tiny flat? As if he belonged there, feeling perfectly at home. As soon as the thought hit her, her heart skipped a beat. So much for not being in a situationship with Malfoy…
"Merlin, no. I keep the people I care about most safe from him. If he'd ever know I was spending my time with muggles and muggle-borns, he'd have both my head and theirs."
"You spend your time with muggles?" She blinked at him. "But how-"
"My neighbour is a lovely grandmother who likes to bring me cookies or cake every Sunday afternoon," he clarified. "She thinks I'm a solicitor of some sort, seeing as I usually leave in a muggle equivalent of my formal wizarding robes. Her name is Agatha. You would like her."
"You live in muggle London?" Hermione's eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline. This could not be real.
"I never said I live in muggle London. I just said my neighbour is a muggle."
"Does your father know?"
"No. He thinks I live in one of those premium flats in Diagon Alley. But I just use it as my office or a quick place to change clothes. It's not like he can check where I live either way, considering he is bound to the Manor."
"Then where do you live?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the better of her as she leaned on the counter by his side, trying to pry the answers out of him.
"If you want to be invited to my home, all you would have to do is ask, Granger," the blond smirked at her, flicking the tip of her nose playfully. "If you want, I'll even let you stay over." He smirked at her flirtatiously, waiting for her response.
Hermione snorted at his silly teasing and shook her head, swatting at his hand. "No thank you."
The wizard next to her laughed again, something he'd done more and more in her presence now that she thought about it. "Fine. Then would you like to join me for lunch tomorrow so we can satisfy your curiosity, Miss Granger? We still need to prepare for the preliminaries anyway," Draco suggested. "And to teach you to be more Slytherin. Keep your emotions in check."
She frowned at him, but realising he was right and that she did show her true feelings too often to be a politician, she strengthened her occlumency instead. "I usually go to the Burrow on Sundays, but I suppose I can make an exception just this once," she sighed, feigning disinterest. On the inside, she couldn't contain her curiosity, however. Draco Malfoy was living next to muggles?
"Good. I will come and get you tomorrow at eleven. Agatha usually stops by around two for tea, so we should have more than enough time to eat and discuss some of our strategies."
Malfoy put down his teacup and walked back towards the entrance of her tiny flat. He started putting on his cloak, but Hermione took his elbow and stopped him. "Weren't you here to help me?" she questioned, pointing at the remains of her fallen wards around her. "You were the one who tore them down after all."
"I'm sorry about that," he sheepishly said as he took out his wand, averting his eyes. "I- I ran back because I forgot to ask you about your speech for next week. I figured it would be faster to ask you instead of owling. And then, when I reached your building, when I felt your despair, I just…"
That was peculiar. He'd felt her despair? Perhaps, she had not kept as much of a tight lock on her magic last night when she found Crooks…
"It's alright," she muttered, glancing up at him sincerely as she patted his arm. "I would have done the same for you."
A smile filled with a sense of companionship passed between the two magicals as they raised their wands and started repairing the wards protecting her home, their magic perfectly in sync.