Disclaimer: It’s all JKR. You and I both know that!
“So,” began Hermione.
“-so,” Draco overlapped.
Hermione smiled at Draco then, gesturing to him to sit at the couch by the hearth. He sat down, not daring to lean back or to get too comfortable. Hermione noticed this as she sat down in the comfy armchair opposite to him. She couldn’t help but notice- and rather absurdly, she thought- that he had to have been the best-looking man to ever sit on her couch.
“Tea? Coffee?” she offered. He shook his head. She laughed then, causing him to look up at her.
“Oh, I guess I don’t want any either. I’ve already had too much as it is- in fact, I was wearing quite a bit not too long ago,” she rambled. Draco continued to look at her, noting that she was clearly as nervous and uncomfortable as he was. He nodded his head at her.
“Maybe later,” he said in a husky tone, though not without a small smile. They sat in silence for another minute. Hermione was staring at the rug, chiding herself for her rambling admissions. Draco allowed himself to notice how the bright sunlight bounced off “ no danced off,- of her mounds of brown curls.
“Well, er- I guess we should get started,” she said, finally looking up at him.
“Right,” he said. “Right, so we need to understand why Voldemort would want to mess around with wizarding children in the Muggle world.” Hermione noted the sharpness of the way he said the Dark Lord’s name. She realized then that she’d never heard him say the name aloud.
“Dumbledore seems to think that the latest series of incidents are coordinated enough to indicate some kind of a plan. If there’s a plan and Death Eaters are behind it, we must assume that Voldemort is connected as well,” she said, shivering a bit despite the warm sunlight.
“There’s never been a plan without the Dark Lord. The Death Eaters can’t think for themselves past the usual despicable Muggle-baiting,” Draco answered. Again, Hermione noted the harshness with which Draco said ‘Muggle-baiting.’ She realized that she was a bit surprised. He’d certainly done his share of Muggle-bashing all throughout their time together at Hogwarts. She remembered back to the summer of the Quidditch World Cup. He’d laughed at the way the Death Eaters, including his own father, were terrorizing three Muggles. He’d even threatened that she might be next.
Draco sighed aloud. She’d been looking at him rather intently for a few minutes now, not saying anything. He wondered if she believed that he really wanted to help Muggle-borns. Have I given her much reason to believe that? he mused.
“Er- Hermione?” he said, still testing out her name aloud. Whereas he’d been on a first name basis with her in his own mind for five years, he’d only said her name aloud less than a handful of times and only twice now in front of her. She shook her head, coming out of her reverie. A bright blush crept along her cheeks as she realized she’d been staring at him.
“Look, Hermione,” he began again. “I need to say something to you- actually a few things.”
She bit her lip in anticipation.
Is he really going to tell me about Louisa? she thought wildly. She couldn’t believe it. After all this time, was he finally going to trust her? She took in a quick breath and turned her full attention to him.
He stood and walked towards the fireplace. Absently, he ran his hand along the top of the mantle, stopping it on the edge of a framed picture of Hermione, Harry, and Ron. Seeing her smiling among her friends renewed his conviction to speak his mind to her.
He turned around and looked down at her. Seeking out her eyes, he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.
“Hermione, I really want to ask your forgiveness.” Her mouth dropped open in surprise. When she didn’t say anything, he continued.
“I was an ass when we were at school. I was worse than an ass. The things I said to you “ the cruel things I called you- I was horrible to you and your friends- I was a jerk to you and any other Muggle-borns. I am so sorry. I can’t really offer much of an explanation. My behavior- my ideologies were inexcusable. For all of that, I ask for your forgiveness. Though I’ll understand if you don’t ever give it to me.”
She still sat there in stunned silence, now gaping at him.
“I am saying this to you for two reasons, Hermione. One, as I’ve already said, I am so sorry. And two, I want you to understand that I fully intend to do whatever I can to protect Muggle-borns or anyone, for that matter, from the likes of Voldemort and his Death Eaters,” he finished, sitting back down again on the couch. This time, he leaned back, as though exhausted, all the while keeping his eyes locked with hers.
“Why?” she asked. Though she could have said any number of things in response to Draco, she wanted to hear one thing in particular. She always suspected that Louisa had changed him- more like saved him, she thought. She wanted to give him another chance to tell her the truth about his child. I need to hear it, she thought.
“Why, indeed?” he asked, though rhetorically. His thoughts were jumbled now. He had seized the opportunity to apologize to her but hadn’t wanted to divulge anything about Louisa. Not yet, he thought.
“I have come to know someone- come to love someone- who helped me understand that bloodlines and parentage just don’t mean anything. This person is so perfect, just the way she is. I met her towards the end of school. She’s of mixed-blood. But it doesn’t matter to me. She’s a witch, just like you’re a witch, just like my own mother is a witch. She’s a human being. I don’t even know how I believed some of the crap that I believed before I met her,” he said, still looking directly into Hermione’s eyes.
“She changed you,” Hermione whispered.
“Yes,” he answered, thinking, she’s not the only one who changed me, either.
Hermione got up quickly and nearly ran out of the room. She didn’t want Draco to see the tears that were now spilling out of her eyes. She had needed to hear what he said. She wanted for him to know that she did forgive him- and that she did believe his intentions towards Muggle-borns. But she was so touched by his sentiments regarding Louisa that she feared he would realize that she knew his secret if she stayed in the room. She sat on the small cabinet in her bathroom, letting the tears fall silently onto her robes.
She had desperately wished he would confide in her. But he didn’t and she wasn’t going to risk him knowing her own secret. She feared that he would take himself and Louisa out of her life. She knew that she’d be crushed without them. Taking a deep breath, she stood up in front of the washbasin. She splashed some cool water onto her face. With a small sigh, she looked at her own reflection. Ginny’s spell was still covering up her now puffy tear-swollen eyes. She braced herself and reached for the doorknob.
Draco was pacing in front of the window of her office. He felt like a selfish fool. He had really unloaded a lot of pent-up feelings and frustrations onto her. What did I expect? This is the first real conversation that we’ve had- and what do I do? Blow it by reminding her that I was the biggest ass ever and then asking her to just look beyond it- like it didn’t matter, he thought.
Something else was troubling him a bit, too. He knew he’d been vague when describing how Louisa had changed his way of thinking. But he now realized that maybe he might have made it sound like he was love with another woman. He couldn’t risk telling her the full truth just yet, though. Maybe I can say something just to clarify that I’m single, he thought. Of course, why would that matter? She just ran out of the room. She certainly doesn’t want to go on a date, he mused.
Hearing her turn the doorknob, he looked up. She walked back into the room, this time choosing to sit behind her desk.
Okay, he thought. She’s trying to change the mood. I have really blown this whole thing.
“Draco,” she began. “Please come sit down over here. I have some accounts of the Muggle-baiting incidents that we can look at,” she said. He walked over to the chair in front of her desk. She handed him a small stack of folders. He took them and then leaned back in his chair. He was feeling a bit exhausted after his outburst earlier. But now the true work was starting.
“Draco, before we begin,” she said, faltering just slightly. “Before we begin looking at these cases, I want to respond to what you said earlier. I do believe you, you know. I do think that you’ve changed and that you want to prevent Voldemort from hurting Muggle-borns or anyone else,” she said, with a small smile. Then, before she could lose her nerve, she quickly said, “And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for telling me why you’ve changed. It means so much to me that you can tell me this.” She paused. “And one last thing, Draco, I’m here for you. If you need anything, I’ll be here for you.” Then she looked down at the folder in front of her.
“So, this first case is about a charmed swing set. Seems like the swings ensnare any children with magical abilities,” she said.
Draco just nodded at her. He was unable to speak about swing sets or anything else for several minutes.
The morning hours passed quickly. They worked their way through half of the cases, taking notes on similarities and differences. They plotted the incidents onto a map of Muggle London. They brainstormed. When the noon hour arrived, Draco leaned back into his chair. He took out his pocket watch and realized that he would need to leave soon to meet Louisa. At that moment, they both heard someone Apparate into the room outside of Hermione’s office.
“Mione, let’s go, girl. I hope your day has gotten better- you were a total wreck this morning,” she said, coming into the office. She stopped when she saw Draco sitting across from Hermione. She muttered something sheepishly that might have been an apology and looked from the good-looking blond man to her friend.
“Right,” said Hermione, frantically trying to keep her cheeks from turning the same shade as Ginny’s hair. “Right, it’s time for lunch.” She looked at Draco, who had now stood up as well.
“Ginny, you remember Draco. Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley.” Ginny quickly covered up any shock she may have had at the incredulity of Hermione courteously introducing her to Draco Malfoy. She held out her hand to him. He took it in a polite but firm handshake.
“Of course,” Ginny said, giving Draco a small nod. He nodded back but didn’t say anything. Still arrogant, she thought to herself.
“Draco, would you like to join us for lunch?” Hermione offered. Ginny nearly blanched for a second time in a matter of minutes. Draco didn’t seem to notice as his eyes were on Hermione.
“Thank you for the offer, Hermione. I really appreciate it. I’ve got other plans, though,” he said with a small but genuine smile.
Hermione nodded. “Maybe another time?” she asked.
“Definitely,” he said. “And shall I return tomorrow morning to get through the remainder of the cases?”
“Yes, eight o’clock works for me,” she replied.
With that, he gave a slight bow to both women and walked out of the office, stopping only to retrieve his robes from the outer room. Ginny noted that Hermione watched him the entire time, her mouth slightly open. When the door closed to the outer room, she heard a small sigh escape from her dearest friend’s lips.
“Okay, lunch now. But you are sooooo going to spill it afterwards,” Ginny said, grabbing Hermione by the arm and leading her out of the office.
“Spill what?” she said innocently, while pulling on her dark green outer robe.
“Yeah, right. Now let’s go to the little café on Camden street. I love their noodles,” Ginny said, Apparating seconds later.