Because I care
“Come with me tomorrow.”
Granger’s fingers twined through the hair at the base of his neck as she peppered kisses across his jaw, working her way towards his lips. He struggled out of the pleasant haze he’d be in to focus on her request.
“Why?”
His question seemed to jolt her out of her mission to snog him senseless. She sat back with a frown, still straddling his hips from her position in his lap. Her fingers smoothed over his shoulders to press against his chest, almost as if she was confirming for herself he still breathed, that his heart still beat.
“Because I’m tired of hiding. I want everyone to know about us.”
Draco wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. They’d come a long way the past few months, this final year at Hogwarts a welcome reprieve from the public eye. His unlikely friendship with Granger stemmed from a class project that resulted in his full apology for everything they had gone through during the war, and for the several years of his shite attitude before that. He’d been a right prat. He dodged her gaze and stared shamefully at her tie, the red and gold mocking him with their colorful warmth.
“Why does it matter if they know? I hardly think they’ll be interested in forgiving Draco sodding Malfoy.” He couldn’t stop himself from sneering his family name like some kind of curse, a sickness to be purged.
Strong fingers gripped his chin, tilting it up and forcing him to look into her eyes. “Because I care about you. About us.”
“You do?” Draco wanted to squirm away from the hope threaded through those two words. Such an elusive emotion felt foreign, a forgotten pain he had learned to bury deep.
“I do. And I want us to have a real chance after graduation. That means no hiding from friends and family.”
Draco wasn’t even sure what friends or family he had left anymore to share with her. His mother. Blaise. Theo. Pansy, maybe. Hermione and his future likely held get togethers populated entirely by people he once considered blood traitors and mudbloods. His stomach churned.
“…I see.”
“Or is that not what you want?” Warm eyes gazed into his own, completely without judgment. He had a sense that she’d accept his answer no matter what with grace and understanding. She truly wanted the best for him, didn’t she?
“I do…want us.”
Salazar. The smile she beamed at his admittance nearly blinded him with the strength of it.
“Are you okay?” Her face has transformed into one of immediate concern, and he realized he must have winced from her imaginary heat.
“Do you have any idea how bright you can be sometimes?” He teased, playfully tugging at her tie. “I’m used to dark, dank dungeons. Snakes and shadows and all that.”
“Hmm, I see.” She fought back a smile as she turned his head side to side, as if inspecting him for signs of infection. “You look perfectly healthy to me, other than a bit pale. If anything, you could use more sunshine.”
She really had no idea of the effect she had on him, one she’d honestly had since their first year but he was too stubborn to acknowledge. All the vitriol he spat, the poison he’d help spread, and now he had this chance to start fresh.
“I’ll go with you tomorrow. Let’s give them something new to remember.”
Hermione’s hands clutched his in delight, and Draco let himself be swept up in her joy. Somewhere inside of him, a door cracked open.