Chapter 3
The halls seemed to go on forever, Hermione began to wonder if she was just lost. Her blurred vision may have led her down a wrong turn. It would probably be best to retrace her steps. She turns, taking a deep breath, and begins walking back the way she came.
After about 10 minutes of walking Hermione realised that she wasn’t any less lost as she was before. She had only been to Nott Manor for events and hadn’t ever walked around alone. Resigned to having to pause and regroup with herself, Hermione leaned on the wall. A painting of what looked to be one of Theos ancestors looked at her with disgust.
The events of the night replayed in her mind. She hadn’t been prepared for the game nor Mclaggen. Hermione had always been very private about her personal details, especially after the war. Anyone and everyone wanted the latest updates on her life due to being one third of the golden trio. The whole situation brought her right back to first year before meeting Harry and Ron. Back then she was always the odd one out, not having any friends.
Tears began to fall again, this time more out of exhaustion than a true reaction to the events of the night. She simply was overwhelmed with work and the stress of the proposal from Theo, Mclaggen was just the switch that set it off and broke down her walls. Hermione slid down the wall and sat on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. Her sobs echoed through the hall though she was sure she was far enough from the party that nobody could hear her. She sat for a few minutes just letting it out before a pair of shoes came into her vision. She wiped away her tears, taking a deep breath, before looking up at the intruder on her breakdown. Standing above her was Malfoy, looking anywhere but at her, with his handkerchief extended in her direction. It was a deep red, the only colour on his person. She slowly reached for it, using it to dry her tears.
“W-why are you here?”
Hermione had sworn she wasn’t followed when she was walking.
“Manners aren’t wasted on me I see”
He looked down and locked eyes with Hermione, his usual scowl still in place.
“Sorry, t-thank you. For the handkerchief and Mclaggen”
Hermione looked back down to the floor between them, unsure where this conversation was going to go.
“It was merely a well-placed opportunity to do something I wanted since school”
Hermione just nodded in response. They stayed in comfortable silence until Malfoy reached out his hand. Hermione just looked up at him in confusion.
“Do you plan to sit there all night?”
She contemplates for a moment before reaching for his hand. He takes hold of her and helps pull her up to her feet, making sure she is stable. Hermione hadn’t realised how much she had drunk until now. She really should have put down the wine earlier, she definitely can’t apparate in this condition. Malfoy immediately turned and started walking in the opposite direction that Hermione had come from. He hadn’t even spared a glance back to see if she was following. Hermione began walking behind Malfoy, who was clearly walking slower than his normal speed to allow her to keep up. They walked in a tense silence; Hermione couldn’t make sense of his behaviour.
The same man who had called her a mudblood for years had punched a guy who called her precisely his favourite name for her. He even helped her when she was crying. It is such a juxtaposition that Hermione's alcohol-addled brain just couldn’t even begin to work through. Instead, she focuses on the sound of his dragonhide shoes against the floors, the way they echo through the halls like thunder. It’s a calming sound, after a few minutes her tears have completely stopped. She stops and raises her eyes once the sound ends to find Malfoy holding open a large door, waiting for her to enter. She does so without question, finding that the room is an office, likely Theos own. Malfoy entered and walked over to the fire, grabbing the bowl of floo powder.
“You can’t apparate so you’ll have to use the floo”
Though Hermione knew this, it’s odd that Malfoy cared enough for her safety to think of it himself. She could likely apparate with only minor risk now that they spent so long walking.
“Right, yeah I-”
“He was wrong”
Hermione was puzzled by his sudden change in conversation.
“Even if you had lied, it doesn’t make you any of the things he said”
Hermione couldn’t believe her ears. Draco Malfoy was trying to comfort her. It is as if she stepped into a parallel universe. She just nodded in response, unsure of what to say.
Malfoy cleared his throat and held out the bowl. She approached taking some powder and stepping into the fire, all under Malfoys gaze. The last thing she saw before the flames engulfed her and she felt a familiar pull were grey eyes, full of guilt and remorse. His walls had crashed down.
Hermione woke up the next day with her head pounding and the lights in her room blinding. She hadn’t closed the curtains after arriving home last night, only walked to her bed and collapsed. She began to make her way to the bathroom to retrieve a pepper up potion when she found Ginny. She was peacefully seated at her kitchen island drinking coffee.
“You look like absolute shit”
“Thanks, you look far too chipper for,” Hermione looks around the kitchen and eventually her eyes land on the clock
“Holy shit 4 in the afternoon?”
She can’t believe how much she slept, usually she is up before the sun.
“You must have been absolutely shattered”
Hermione entered the bathroom leaving Ginny to herself. The pepper up potions are stashed in the potions cupboard in the bathroom. It is far easier to keep some here rather than in the brewing room. She downs the vial before exiting the bathroom and taking a seat next to Ginny. A steaming cup of tea now sitting in front of her an invitation to wake up. Ginny has been silent for far too long to be normal.
“Is everything okay, you’re awfully quiet for a Saturday afternoon”
Hermione turns to look at Ginny who looks like she’s contemplating the DaVinci code.
“It’s just, what happened last night. Are you okay? Before you say it, I know it doesn’t bother you anymore but that doesn’t mean it can’t upset you when someone is so blatantly rude”
Hermione can tell there's more to what Ginny wants to say but chooses to ignore that fact for now.
“It was sudden but not new, I can see why you’re concerned but there is no need. Truly.”
Ginny let out a breath and smiled, turning to face Hermione too. Their legs tap each other with each movement.
“In that case,”
Ginny has that dreaded twinkle in her eye that always signifies trouble is looming.
“The ball. Spill. Why’d it go red?”
Hermione had expected this line of questioning to come up but not before she could give it substantial thought. At this point she didn’t know. She hadn’t lied.
“I don't know, I didn’t lie. You would know if I had been seeing someone, you can practically smell it out. Remember when Cho got laid and you didn’t let her live it down for weeks, you knew the moment she stepped through the floo. I would never be able to hide it from you”
Ginny, while looking put out that there was no new exciting information, seemed to believe Hermione. It was never in either girl's nature to lie, especially to each other.
“Well that sucks. You truly need to get laid ya know”
Hermione and Ginny had had this discussion countless times before and it always ended the same way. Hermione with her feathers rustled and Ginny in a foul mood because for once, this was something Hermione refused to budge on. Ginny hated when Hermione was left out and she knew how much Hermione hated feeling left out. When the girls would talk about boys and sex she tried to participate. But really, there is only so much she can say on the topics with her minimal experience. Her and Ron had never gotten to that point, only ever making it to a make out session or two.
It became the whole reason for their breakup. Ron just couldn’t fathom her not wanting sex and wouldn’t hear her out when she tried to explain she was scared. He just stormed out in the middle of an argument inspired by her resistance for the umpteenth time. After finding out he had gone off to seek things elsewhere she firmly ended things. Though nobody had believed her anyway, only Ginny and eventually the girls when they met. Even Harry struggled with the idea until Ron and her had outright fought over dinner. Harry had kicked him out and apologised profusely to Hermione. Their relationship never went back to the same brotherly love it once was.
“I have other things to focus on. I have that case to deal with for one, Theo probably wants a definitive answer by now”
Just the thought of it threatened to bring back her headache. She hadn’t truly had much time to consider it.
“Ah, what do you plan to do about that? Are you gonna take the case?”
Hermione sighed. When she really thought about it, this is what she became a healer for. She wanted to help people and this person, whomever they are, doesn’t seem likely to get help anywhere else. Dropping other patients would be a major downside but those people can technically receive treatment from someone else. The point still stands though, Theo seems to really care for this person. He wouldn’t ask if he didn’t. That alone makes Hermione heavily consider taking the case for nothing else than for his benefit.
Hermione can almost visualise the pros and cons list in front of her eyes. Maybe she should just make a physical list, surely it would help.
“You’re making the face”
“I am not”
“You are too. It’s the famous Hermione is going to go on a study rampage face”
Hermione did have a history of reading a little too far into things at times. There were many times she had locked herself up in her house reading and making mind maps over the walls. It was a sure way to help rationalise her thoughts.
“I am not. I just got a little too into my thinking about the case. It must mean a lot to Theo. He has done so much for me, taking the case is the least I can do”
Now that she has said it out loud it makes perfect sense, it’s for Theo so why not.
“Well-”
“I’m going to take it”
It came out all in one exhale but after coming to the decision things feel as though they have clicked into place.
“Wonderful. I think that’s a great idea”
Hermione just sits in silence drinking her tea, it’s not long before Ginny as usual becomes restless in the silence.
“Okay so, shower and then books. Yes?”
Hermione had almost completely forgotten about their agreement to go to Flourish and Blotts today. After the night she had it hardly felt to be of importance.
“Right, yeah. I forgot about that”
Ginny put down her mug and fully turned to face Hermione.
“No no, you’re not getting out of it to wallow in work all day. You’re going out to have fun, no exceptions”
It was attributed to Ginny's love of Hermione that she didn’t comment that her version of fun was as far from a bookshop as possible while Hermione was the opposite. The mutual respect between them had always come so naturally.
“Okay okay” Hermione stood from her chair and began walking towards the bathroom.
“I will be out in 20 minutes and be ready to go”
After entering the bathroom and turning on the water Ginny shouted to her.
“We both know you’re gonna be at least 40, you would live in that shower if you could”
Ginny had been correct of course; it had taken Hermione a whole hour to be completely ready to leave the house. When they eventually did reach Flourish and Blotts, Ginny had grabbed a basket and resigned herself to carrying all of Hermione's books. Not even complaining when she eventually had to get a second basket. It was clearly damage control from the previous night, but Hermione couldn’t find it in herself to care. It was a welcome distraction from everything going on.
It took Hermione only 2 hours to call it quits and allow Ginny salvation from the books in the form of a butter beer. They now sat in the middle of the leaky cauldron, Ginny was half-way through a rant about Ron and how he had brought a girl back to the burrow. Molly had caught him trying to sneak her out in the middle of the night.
“Honestly, he is appalling. I don’t understand how thought he could get away with it with mum in the house. The woman could hear you breathing too loud from six rooms over”
Hermione had known just how little you could get away with around Molly Weasley. She had always seemed to magically appear whenever Ron and her would get within a metre of each other when they lived in the Burrow.
“I’m sure she was delightful following that experience”
“Oh, she gave him the lecture of his life”
Hermione felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that Ron still was at the mercy of Molly. He had always complained he disliked her lectures just as much as he disliked his mothers
.
“Anyway, he has a room here now. He decided staying home wasn’t fitting his needs”
Ginny visibly cringed at the thought. She could be as crude as ever but the moment the subject had ginger hair and the Weasley name she looked sick.
Hermione had hoped that given the time of day she wouldn't run into Ron at all. But alas the universe had it out for her. Ron was steadily approaching their table. Hermione's sigh of irritation was enough for Ginny to hazard a guess at the cause
“Summoned him didn’t I”
Ginny looked behind herself at Ron just as he reached the table, a smile plastered on her face. The exact one she had seen her give plenty of people, none of them friends.
“Hey Ginny, what has you here? Come to see me, have you?”
“Oh of course, why else would I be here?”
The sarcasm was thick, but the smile never left his face, he clearly didn’t register her annoyance.
He looked much the same as Hermione had remembered him. He had hardly changed at all, excluding his build changing to that of a professional athlete. His shoulders seemed to have become even broader, his muscles more defined under his shirt. Just as Hermione was making note of this, he moved his eyes to land on her.
“Mione, how have you been?”
The nickname that had once made her feel so warm now just left a sour taste in her mouth. Even Harry had stopped using it following the breakup. He could tell just how much she disliked the name that so often was spoken by Ron.
“Just wonderful, I hear you’re spending your time well these days”
Ginny snickered, almost choking on her drink. She quickly cleared her throat and managed to feign indifference while looking at a particularly interesting wall.
“Look Mione, I hope we can be friends. I know we didn’t end things great, but I don’t want that to change us. Actually, I wanted to ask you to dinner, sometime before I head back”
Hermione took a breath and allowed herself a few sips of her butterbeer before attempting to respond in a reasonable manner.
“We broke up because you didn’t have any respect for me. Frankly I don’t want or need a friend who can’t dignify me with basic respect. As for your dinner invitation, no”
Hermione held her ground, not losing eye contact until Ron looked off to the side.
“You don’t miss us?”
Hermione looked to Ginny who still hadn’t shifted her attention from the wall. Hermione felt a light nudge to her foot, Ginny giving her the comfort she needed.
“You wanted something I wouldn’t give, and you made the decision to find it elsewhere. I don’t miss being demeaned just because I wouldn’t do what you wanted nor being your second option”
Ron looked at Ginny before sighing and nodding his head. He had clearly thought better than to continue the argument given their location and how many people could listen.
“We had better be going, these books won’t organise themselves”
Ginny broke the tension and stood, bringing the bags of books with her.
“Right, yeah”
Ron sounded awkward now that he had been firmly rejected, clearly something he hadn’t expected.
Hermione stood and walked past Ron, knowing Ginny was right behind her. They exited the building and began walking arm in arm to the nearest apparition point. It wasn’t until they reached Hermione's home that she let the tears fall. Ginny immediately held her in a tight embrace, allowing her to let it out.