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Hermione was walking towards the library with the bottle of firewhiskey. She didn’t get a chance to finish it, so she took it from the table in the common room in her beaded bag. Even though the war was over she felt that the bag must remain with her at all times just in case. The year had started off fine, different but fine. Harry and Ron waving her goodbye from platform 9 ¾ with all the Weasleys behind them. Feeling like absolute shit she started to head to the only place that had always felt safe. The castle didn’t feel like it did before. The halls that she used to walk were now tainted with the memories of the final battle. She still remembers Fred lying there while his brothers cried for him to wake up. She still can recall killing Fenrir Greyback just to make him stop disfiguring Lavender. All these thought are what kept her from enjoying Gryffindor’s quidditch celebration, how were all these people that fought beside her in the worst moment of their lives just move on.
Tired of reliving all the thoughts that go through her mind while walking to her safe space. Hermione felt someone was close when she got to the alcove near the doors to the library she saw just who was there… the one person that she has been trying to avoid. Well not avoid just don’t want to talk to. She was just about to walk away when she heard her name being called. Just walk away.
“Granger?”
Fuck me. That is when she made the worst best decision of her life.
“Malfoy, can I help you?”
“No, I was just wondering what Gryffindor’s Princess was doing out so late wandering the halls. ” Malfoy said with no emotion in his voice it scared Hermione.
“Do not call me that…”
“Why it’s what you are, right?”
“Good Night, Malfoy” Hermione turned around, wanting to get far away from Malfoy.
“Shit… Granger, I’m sor- I’m Sorry, ok?” The last part barely audible.
“Did you just apologize?”
“Yea, I’m sorry ok, do you want to go inside? I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” Draco Malfoy had just apologized for the second time she must have drank more than she thought at that party.
“You know what I’m actually sorry, I will leave you to it..” Malfoy was walking towards the dungeons and she had no idea why but..
“Wait…yea, ok.” she said not knowing why she wanted to spend time with her childhood bully.
“What?”
“The library…”
Malfoy just gave a court nod and headed to open the door. It was surprisingly open at two in the morning. Hermione felt her wand in her robes just in case, she started to follow behind him. That is when she noticed that he is taller than he was when she last saw him and broader and that arse, Sure they had been enemies didn’t mean she was blind.
They were heading to her favorite table, he could not possibly know that but it made her feel better that they were on her territory. When Malfoy headed for the seat closest to the window she was ready to sit across from him but when he pulled the chair and waited for her to sit.
She looked at him and noticed that his eyes were already looking at hers, Hermione never noticed how expressive his eyes were. Just looking at them she saw that he was hurting too, that no matter what side they fought on they were all broken in some way. Once she got to the other side of the table she could see the outline of his muscles and how much he truly changed in the last year. She never told anybody but when she saw him after the break of 4th year she started to see what the other girls in the dormitories were talking about. He was tall with broad shoulders and he didn’t have too much muscle to make him look bulky but enough to pick a girl up and shag her against the wall. Not that she thought about him shagging or anything.
“Thank you, you didn’t need to do that. I would have been fine to sit on the other side.” Hermione quietly said into the cold air of the library. Of Course it’s cold the one time she forgets to bring her jumper.
“You're welcome, and I did need to do that. My mother would send me back to my etiquette tutor, faster than an incoming bludger. ” He responded in that posh accent that she always heard mocking her.
“What did you want to talk about?” Hermione said as he started to pull the chair next to her.
“What… ohh, right” He sounded so nervous that it was also influencing her feelings on top of the alcohol.
“Malfoy?”
“I wanted to apologize… for what I said to you when we were kids. I know that you won’t forgive me but I need to because I still have nightmares about you on my drawing room floor…” He sounded so honest and she did know that Malfoy did apologize to Harry after they testified for him. “I’m not doing this because I’m on probation or I feel guilty, fuck I do feel guilty but that isn’t-” She was just staring at him, why not even she knew. She looked outside the window and saw the moon high in the sky. She heard him take a breath. “I…I can’t say sorry enough to make you feel better or make you forget what you went through, but I can try.”
“Do you mean it?” Hermione didn’t even recognize her own voice, she sounded like she just cried for a whole hour.
“Of course I meant it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know maybe-” She couldn’t do this sober, Hermione took the bottle that she had put in her bag earlier that night. “What…”
“I forgave you, I think it was somewhere around the second term of sixth. After Harry cursed you…” She felt him inhale. “I didn’t mean to bring that up, it's just that is when I forgave you. And the thing that happened at the manor, I never blamed you.”
He pulled out his wand, She flinched
“I would never, Granger. At Least believe me when I say that ” He conjured two glasses for the firewhiskey. She poured them both two fingers, this was already painful they were going to need the alcohol for the next part right? She slid the glass over to him.
“I always found you interesting…”
“How much did you have to drink, Granger.” With that statement Malfoy arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
“The bottle is mine, that answer your question …” Hermione countered back
“No, but what the hell. We're broken and we need a way to cope.” Hermione was freezing. Why is it so cold it’s October. Malfoy obviously noticed because the next thing she knew he was taking his quidditch jumper off and giving it to her.
“Only if you want, but you seem cold and you look to have forgotten your blue jumper that you carry with you everywh-” Malfoy had just offered his jumper to a muggle-born witch and happened to know that she forgot her favorite jumper. And she could she the tips of his ears and his cheeks turn the most adorable pink- her thoughts were soon interrupted when “Sorry that sounded…”
“Thanks, Malfoy..” The jumper smelled like vanilla, broom polish and a smell that was utterly him.
“Sorry” He said again and it was starting to get annoying.
“Stop saying sorry, please.”
“Sor- ok.” He went pink again.
“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” For some reason she was hoping that he would say no.
“Yes… and no.” He took a deep breath and said “but that does not mean that we have to leave and stop talking.” He looked rather nervous.
“No… I don’t want to leave.” She took a sip of the firewhiskey trying to calm her nerves. She never remembered being so nervous around him before. Things stood still and the air filled with awkwardness she was about to
“Can I have more?”
“What?... ohh yea here, I think I’m done for the night- done drinking.” She quickly added not wanting to make him think that she wanted to leave.
“Hermione Granger, drinking with a death-eater. Something I never thought I would say.”
“You're not.”
“What?”
“You're not a death-eater, you were a kid we all did things we are not proud of.” Hermione said it with such conviction that she herself believed it.
When Malfoy looked toward the aisle of books she pulled out her very worn out copy of ‘Hogwarts: A History’ and started to read, Malfoy stood up and Hermione thought that he was leaving, that brought an uneasy feeling in her chest. A few moments later he came back with the same book that she had under her fingers.
“What chapter are we reading?” He said so softly that if you were not paying attention you would have missed it.
“Chapter 3”
Everything went quiet after that and they just sat there and read…
Hermione Granger was not the type of person to get drunk on the weekend, she can no longer say that. She was dreaming about Malfoy apologizing, like that would ever happen. She started to rouse from her dream when she heard a voice calling her.
“Granger, come on we have to go, it's almost dawn.” That voice she knew, but it sounded different this time. This voice, usually filled with malice and hatred, held none at this moment.
“‘M sleeping, go way…” One thinks just because Hermione Granger gets to class on time she is a morning person. Well, they are very wrong. Hermione despised mornings, now so more than ever. There was pounding in her head and cotton in her mouth, she felt…
“Granger, wake up. Please.” Malfoy sounds like she feels. With a bit more groaning Hermione lifted her head to see Draco Malfoy look like he just woke up himself.
“What are you doing? Why are you here…?” Hermione had no memory of last night, she couldn’t have possibly drunk that much.
“Sweet Merlin, you're a lightweight. Come on, it's almost dawn, don't want to get caught with me, do you?” Malfoy said the last part with such pain that it physically hurt.
“What ar-... ohh. Shit, that wasn’t a dream”
“We fell asleep reading… Let me walk you to the common room?” Draco Malfoy almost looked nervous. Hermione looked at him like he had just grown another head, but something in her told her to say…
“Sure”
“We’re going to the same place, might as well do it together, right?”
She felt like she was missing something and looking around for her bag she noticed the jumper that she was wearing was not hers, but Malfoy made no move to retrieve it. Grabbing her bag she swung it over her shoulder after putting her book back in the bag. They both headed to the door of the library, a slightly awkward silence ringing in the air. Malfoy opened the door while she walked through the door and memories started to flood her mind. When he apologized and when they drank together. And the one thing no one ever did with her, they sat there and read not a word passed between them just silence. Until she eventually felt her head fall on the table, Malfoy must have let her sleep while he read. But the question is why he didn’t leave after she forgave him. She looked back at Malfoy with new eyes.
“Finally, remember, did you?”
“Apparently, I am a lightweight… ” She said a bit sheepishly. Hermione heard him laughing. There are no words to describe how beautiful that sound was to her, it sounded so carefree and young like there was no war and we didn’t fight on opposite sides. Did I just call Draco sodding Malfoy beautiful?
“Yeah, you are…”
“So did all that actually happen…or?”
“It happened, Granger”
“Well, then I want to say something now that I’m not completely pissed.” Hermione was terrified to ask him the next question, but he seemed- from what she can remember- sincere about his apology. And she was wearing his jumper so that must mean something…right?
“Your second best in our class…”
“Great start, Granger.”
“No that is not what I meant, just… arghh.” Hermione was starting to regret this, but she just couldn’t put down the idea of her and Malfoy being friends for some reason so… “I want to be your friend, you're the only person in all my time at Hogwarts that just sat down and read with me. Harry and Ron always asked what I was reading to help them with their homework, but you just sat there with me… Nevermind, okay it was a stupid idea”
“Yes” Malfoy sounded amused. “Stupid idea, but if you are asking. My answer is no”
“Alright… I guess I’ll see you around”
“You misunderstand me, I want to be your friend. Who wouldn't be your kind, smart and beautiful…”?
“Thanks, but you do not need to let me down gently.” She doesn’t know why but hearing Malfoy compliment her, felt normal like if he had been calling her beautiful all their lives.
“Not letting you down, just…I want to start over again” Hermione stopped walking, not that what they were doing could be considered walking with how slow they were doing it. When she looked up Malfoy was already looking at her with a gleam in his eyes that she had come to know that he was nervous.
“What?” Hermione was confused, did that mean that he wanted to be friends or not?
“My name is Draco Malfoy, and you are?”
“Hermione Granger.”
They continued to walk to the 8th year common room when they got there they headed to their respective dorms. Both thinking that it has been the strangest and best night these last couple of years.