It had been a few months since the Trio came back to start and finish their 7th year. Things had been going ok, lots of stares and questions. The boys got into a lot of fights at the beginning of the year, Headmistress McGonagall moved Draco into the 8th year room in Gryffindor tower along with Ron, Harry, and Dean. They were the only boys who didn't finish their 8th year. None of them were too happy about it but the fights helped. They were able to talk a little about what happened, and Draco never started anything like he used to, so that helped a lot.
Hermione was back to normal, or at least that's what everyone else saw, that's what she wanted everyone else to see. She was sharing a room with Luna and Ginny for the time being until they finished the year. The Trio + Draco and Dean had started a term off because they were helping with some of the more legal side of war. Hermione like sharing the room with them, she did, but sometimes she wanted them to disappear. Sometimes she wanted to disappear.
She had nightmares, about everything, all the times camping with Ron and Harry that she thought they had been caught, or the time they had been, she dreamt about her parents and how they no longer remember their daughter. She dreams most often however about that day at Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix asking her 'what did you find in my vault' while yelling Cruico when she didn't like the answer. How for a while she could hear Ron yelling her name before the pain became too much to hear properly. She would dream about Bellatrix getting tired of using the curse, perhaps it was because she had used it so often that she wanted to do something new. She would see Bellatrix Walk over to her kneeling down while talking, 'Filthy little Mud blood, falling in love with a blood-traitor no less. You two really deserve each other you know' Bella would cackle right in her face before talking again but this time in a whisper. ' Do you love him deary? The red headed boy down there. Seems like he loves you, all the yelling, it's too bad that the next time he sees you, you won't even be able to remember who he is.'
Hermione woke up right then Ginny was shaking her, "Hey, it's time for breakfast down in the Great Hall. Unless you wanna sleep in? Seemed like you were really clunked out." She was saying while putting on her robe. Hermione wanted nothing more than to fall back into her bed and ignore everyone and everything but then Ron would get worried and ask questions she didn't want that, so she got up and went down to the Great Hall after getting dressed.
Classes went how they always did, people glancing and talking about her as if she couldn't hear what they were saying. She paid attention and took notes as always because that's what everyone would expect her to do, but all her thoughts were on her bed in her room in Gryffindor tower. All she could think about these days were laying there and doing nothing, but then people would get worried and start asking questions so she couldn't do that.
The last class of the day was Potions with Professor Slughorn. Hermione was glad when it was over because she wanted to talk to him before going to meet with some other 8th years in the library. "Hey, are you coming back to the dorm with us 'mione?" Ron turned to her, "Oh, um no, I was going to ask Professor Slughorn a question and then meet some people in the library before supper." Hermione said packing her bag. "What are you looking at you twat?" Hermione and Harry turned to see who Ron had just called a twat and saw Malfoy looking at them. "Nothing of particular interest Weasley, try not to take too long Granger I have my own things to ask Professor Slughorn." Draco said getting up to walk out the door, he stopped when Hermione responded "Don't worry I won't be long." She said goodbye to Ron and Harry before going up to Slughorn at the front of the classroom.
"Ah, miss Granger, your potion today was good work, yes good work indeed" - He said while waving a potion bottle in the air - "Anything you needed?" She stopped and looked at the floor, typically she never had this much trouble talking to her teachers, but this time, she just wanted to run out of the classroom. "Yes dear? Any questions you want to ask, ask away." Hermione took a breath and whispered "Do you have anything for dreams?"
There was a silence that seemed to go on forever she wanted nothing more than to run away in that moment, but her professor stopped her. "Well yes, I have a few things that might help actually," - She looked up at him and at once looked back down, the only thing she hated more than the whispers were the looks, the looks of pity she didn't want their pity it only made her feel worse. Slughorn as tactless as he normally is, seemed to notice this and simply walked over to one of the shelfs in the room looking for a second before grabbing a vile. He put it in her hands and said "This one is to help calm your brain while you sleep-" he stopped a moment while looking at her with the utmost concern in his eyes "-people use this one most often, but if you find it doesn't work come back, I have stronger potions."
She nodded and put the vile in her bag then said "Thank you Professor." As she walked out of the classroom, she almost ran into Draco who was leaning against the wall she moved out of his way and just walked quickly down the hall towards the library she didn't want to talk to him, not now that he could've heard what she had asked.
The next few hours went by fine, just a group of students in the library studying for the upcoming exams. Everyone was silently working on their pieces of parchment until a student name Kosa looked at the clock on the wall and said "OH, look at the time suppers already started!" Everyone looked up at her saying this and then started to get up as well, "Are any of you going to come back here after supper to study more?" The student to Hermione's left asked, he got a few positive answers but Hermione said nothing and bent down to pick up her bag when she stood up properly she scratched her arm on the same guys quill, he was holding it by his side after asked that question and hadn't put it away yet. "Ahhh!" she yelped everyone in the library looked at her and the group asked her she was ok.
"Yea, yea I'm ok nothing to worry about." She responded and turned on her heel nearly running out of the library, "No Running!" She heard said behind her, but she didn't stop she couldn't stop. She couldn't breathe. She felt her arm stinging. She saw Bellatrix in the shadows and had to remind herself every time that she was dead. She was dead! And her arm hurt, and she couldn't breathe, and she didn't even know where she was running to, she didn't care, she went up flight after flight of stair, turned almost every corner it felt like she was running in circles.
"Ahh!!" She suddenly screamed she had run into something on her way up the stairs and was falling backwards unable to get good footing until she stopped moving and felt someone's hand on the front of her robes. "What the hell Granger!?" - She looked up for the first time since she left the library, and she saw Draco Malfoy standing there one hand one his jaw and the other grabbing her robes. - "That hurt you know? -" He said pulling her closer to him and back up on her feet properly "- What happened to you? You look like you're about to cry." He said letting her go now that she was standing on her own. "Like you care Malfoy, what are you doing up here anyway?" She asked looking around now realizing she ran to the astronomy tower. "I was just enjoying the view, there's no classes up here during the day, so I like to come up here." He said back calmly and maybe even a little sadly, but Hermione was probably imagining that. Draco was looking at the view from the top of the stairs where Hermione had run into him when he saw brown hair walk by, he turned at watched her silently walk past him and go over to the other side of the tower looking out over the view behind the castle.
He just stood there watching her for a while before she huffed and said "Do you need something or are you just going to keep standing there like?" She sounded like she was going to cry or like she wanted him to leave, knowing even the little amount about her that he did, he thought it might be both. "What happened? Why are you holding your arm like it's about to fall off?" He didn't know why he had asked, it's not like they every got along but something about the way she was holding her left arm made him all to conscious of his left arm.
She tensed and nearly stopped breathing when he asked that, why did he ask that? Why was he still here? Why hadn't he said any snide comments yet? Why did he care?? She didn't answer the questions, but it was like he could read her mind because he started answering hers while he walked slowly over to where she was standing. "You seem too sad for me to say anything rude, -" He paused seeing if she was going to say anything back, when she didn't, he continued "-I don't really care, I was just curious. And I asked...-" This time he trailed off like he wanted to continue but couldn't. Hermione turned around tension leaving her body, she was starting to feel relaxed though she had no clue because. She watched as Draco took a breath trying to steady himself before continuing "-...That's the arm that my aunt gave you that scar." He finally finished.
Hermione looked him in the eye vividly remembering seeing him behind his parents that day that his aunt tortured her, partly for information, partly for fun. She wished he hadn't brought up the fact the he was related to Bellatrix, it made her feel even worse than she already did, but she found herself responding to him before she could stop herself, "Somebody scratched it by accident in the library earlier." He was still walking towards her listening to everything she said. "It stung. -" Her eyes started to gloss over like she was going to cry but he still said nothing, so she continued. "-I just remembered all of a sudden laying on your Manors floor with her on top of me literally clawing 'mud blood' into my skin." He stopped at this, and his eyes widened for the smallest of seconds.
He looked at her arm he couldn't see the scar, she was wearing her robes, was that what his aunt did? Write mud blood on her skin so she could never forget? He has never seen was written he was too far away to read it and right after it the Trio had escaped. He felt bad for her before but never like this, he stood their eyes on her arm saying nothing, Hermione was concerned that he just stopped suddenly. After staring at him, she realized he didn't know. He had no clue what his aunt had did. She found herself pulling up her sleeve and turning to walk towards him. She didn't know why, but she walked over to him and showed him her arm. "Look, this is what she etched into me with her own nails." His eyes started to get tears in them, but he only looked away so the girl in front of him wouldn't notice. "You know when we got out of there, I actually told the other two 'Mud blood and proud' -" She huffed like she wanted to laugh "- can you believe that? 'Mud blood and proud'" "Why wouldn't you be?" Draco suddenly asked looking back at her tears falling down his face, Hermione didn't know what to do, was he crying? Right now, in front of her? Why? "Why wouldn't you be proud? You were and are the smartest in our year, you learned every spell and more with ease, you never gave up even though all the Slytherins did try their hardest to hurt you. Me included, and I never held back you know that!" He paused full on crying now, "Why shouldn't you be proud Hermione, you're the best, smartest, bravest, and strongest person I've ever met."
She started to cry a little, but she was so shocked that he was saying any of this that she just asked "Why are you doing this? Why are you being nice? Why do you care what scar I have on my arm?" Her voice getting a little loud with the last question. Draco was so shocked that he stopped crying and took a couple of steps back. "Because I know what it feels like to have a brand you don't want on your arm." She felt so bad that she forgot about that, how could she it was such a big part of life the past couple of years, death eaters and all. "I'm sorry, I forgot." "No, it's fine, no reason why you should be sorry." She still felt bad about it though, so she kept talking, "Did the mark go away? Like it did the last time he fell?" He looked a little shocked that she would ask but he simply rolled up his own sleeve and showed her, "No, I don't know why though, I hoped it would." "I think I know." If Draco could be any more surprised at this whole interaction, he didn't think it possible. Hermione didn't want to be there forever explaining every detail of what the trio's trip was all about, so she just quickly explained how Voldemort stayed alive all those years. "I think that's why it only faded last time, because he wasn't actually dead, just hiding. Though I have no clue because it would still be on your arm now that he is dead." Draco was now sitting on the floor looking at his arm, "I didn't know all that." He said "I mean it makes sense why it would have only faded then but I wonder why it won't now?............Maybe just takes a while?" Hermione sat down next to him, not to close but near him, "Yea I hope it fades too." Draco looked over at her and then back to the sky saying nothing more. They both just watched the sunset until Ron came up the stairs "Oi, 'Mione? Are you up here, you weren't at dinner, and you weren't in either the library or the common room." Ron stopped seeing both Draco and Hermione sitting on the floor next to each other. "WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING SITTING NEXT TO MY GIRLFRIEND YOU BLONDE TWIG?!!!" He yelled they both stood up quickly, Hermione went over to Ron and pulled him back towards the stairs, not wanting any kind of fight. "Astronomy classes should be starting soon, you should go back to the common room soon." Hermione said pulling Ron down the stairs, "Have a nice night Draco." "Have a nice night Hermione." Draco replied to an airiness to his voice.
Ron asked questions all the way to the common room and in the common room and all the entire week. He was driving everyone crazy with it, though everyone did want an answer as to how come they were both up there. Hermione would never say anything more than "It was just a coincidence." Which wasn't a lie, but she wasn't ready to tell anyone what she had told Draco that night, and she sure wasn't going to share anything he told her. But she was in a much better mood after that, though she couldn't tell if it was because she had told someone what was going on, or because of Professor Slughorn's Potion.