Chapter Twelve: Lost and Found
Hermione instantly blushed scarlet. She had no idea what to say. She had hoped he had forgotten since he’d been drunk.
“Umm,” she started; her eyes darted around the restaurant as she tried to find something “ anything “ that would make this go away. “I’m sure it was an accident,” she said with absolutely no conviction.
“Well, sort of, I guess.” Draco felt confused but continued, “I really didn’t mean to blow up at you. You just don’t know what its like to be cut off from everything you know. And then, of all the people I could meet, it’s Miss Know-It-All; the person I was taught was inferior to me but was constantly compared to.”
Hermione had not made a sound through his little soliloquy; she didn’t even blink. Maybe he has forgotten about the kiss, she thought.
Draco continued, “And it’s a lot of information to get all at once.”
Hermione thought he had finished and was feeling relieved. She was ready to forgive him and get this conversation finished but…
“So about last night now.” Draco smirked as Hermione’s face flared again. This time she pursed her lips tight waiting for the onslaught. But Draco’s smirk fell as he continued to look at her.
“Between your outbursts and what you said,” he paused slightly, “last night, I’m starting to think that things didn’t work out between you and Ron.” The look on Draco’s face was intense like he was looking for a signal that he was wrong about his assumption.
For the third time, in less than ten minutes, Hermione was shocked. She thought he would pin the kiss on her or the alcohol. She really thought he would write it off entirely and pretend it hadn’t happened himself. Just the idea of the Prince of Slytherin kissing a lowly Griffyndor must have made him sick. Surely, the thought appalled him.
What she didn’t expect was for Draco to bring up Ron. And with such a sympathetic tone.
Hermione hesitated for just a second, wondering how much to tell him. But she realized they’d both been honest the whole time. So she decided to tell him everything.
She started with the Final Battle right before their food came. She told him about their struggles to defeat the Dark Lord and about Harry’s success. She told about them gathering their fallen comrades and rallying those who survived. Sometimes Draco would interject with a question; usually wondering the fate of a former classmate or Death Eater. She told how Ron’s final act was killing Bellatrix Lestrange.
When their food was cleared away she was finishing up with the funeral and how Ron would have proposed. “And after that, I came here and you know what happens next.”
Hermione looked down at her hand on the table. The ring still gleamed on her left ring finger. To the rest of the world, it looked like she was engaged but she knew the truth. As she looked at it a long pale hand reached out and covered hers, blocking the ring from view.
Draco’s hand was warm. Hermione didn’t know why but she always expected it to be cold. They didn’t say anything for a few minutes until the waiter came with the check.
They immediately pulled back their hands and refused to make eye contact, each one wrapped up with their own thoughts. Draco quietly paid the bill and thanked the waiter. Still in silence, they left the restaurant and headed back towards the bookstore at a slow pace.
“I hate being in hiding,” Draco suddenly burst out, effectively breaking the tension. “I mean, just look at my hair. It’s absolutely ridiculous!”
He pulled on a piece of black fringe and eyed it maliciously.
Hermione started to chuckle. “Well, aren’t we a little vain? Maybe you shouldn’t go shouting that you’re in hiding. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?”
“I suppose. I’m just tired of it and I miss magic.” Their walk was a little easier as their conversation lightened up. The streets weren’t too busy with activity since most people were eating lunch still.
“After all, you didn’t hex me the moment you saw me, so maybe it’d be safe for me to return to England.” He broke a branch off of a nearby tree and waved it around a bit. “I really miss the feel of my wand. I haven’t even seen it in so long.”
Hermione started to laugh hard. She thought Draco looked like a little kid waving that twig around like something might happen. She could also tell that he really hoped something might happen too. That thought made her feel sad for him. She could barely remember life before magic and she definitely never wanted it to be taken away.
“I wouldn’t be so sure that Harry wouldn’t hex you.” They both knew that’s why they were avoiding him.
“Well maybe we should make my presence known.” Draco said eagerly. “If old Scarhead doesn’t kill me then I should be safe right?” He meant it as a joke but then seriously wondered if Harry might kill him. He almost did once during sixth year, now he’s got an even better reason.
“I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” Hermione bit her lip as she thought about it. She would like to stop lying to Harry and Ginny but didn’t know if this would really help the situation at all. It might make things worse, but she knew that Harry wouldn’t kill Draco out right. “I could tell him about you before you come in contact.” She mused out loud.
“Merlin, I can’t believe I want Potty’s approval. It makes me sick but I guess I am getting pretty desperate.”
“You know, if you want my help or Harry’s help, you should really stop with the name calling.”
“Yeah, yeah. But he’s not around right now, so I should be good. I’ll be on my best behavior when and if the time comes.” The grin that spread across his face just added to the little boy image Hermione had in her mind. They could both feel the easing of tension as they strolled down the road.
Shops passed by as they made their way through the streets of Paris. Their pasts seemed to melt away as they took in the city. Any one passing on the street might have thought they were lifelong friends, rather than childhood enemies brought together by chance.
It must have been the sense of ease that caused Hermione to not pay attention to her surroundings because as they approached a corner she didn’t even bother to check traffic before stepping off into the street.
She was suddenly pulled and spun around as Draco grabbed her and pulled her back. Not a second later, a small car zoomed by with an aggravated honk. Draco had his arm around her waist to support her, which was good because Hermione felt faint.
It wasn’t because she had almost been hit by a speeding car. No, it was mix of being saved by the infamous Draco Malfoy and the sudden closeness she felt. Their bodies were pressed close and Hermione could smell his skin. This felt much more intimate than their brief kiss the night before.
The rush of feelings almost overwhelmed her: excitement for being so close, guilt for enjoying it, confusion for feeling it, and grateful for being alive.
Only one emotion flashed across Draco’s face, and that was concern for her well-being which just added to the confusion rushing around the pair.
After a few seconds, Hermione regained her bearings and was able to stand on her own. Draco finally removed his grip from her waist, almost reluctantly. “Are you okay? You might want to be a little bit more observant.” Already, he was trying to relieve the stress of the situation.
“Yeah,” Hermione felt dizzy. “Thanks for…that. I guess I owe you one, huh?”
“I guess you do.” Draco smirked at the idea too. “Maybe you can keep Harry from killing me.”
Hermione started to laugh. “I can try anyways. He did kill Voldemort and all.” And with that they finally arrived back at the bookstore and got back to work. Each was left with their own thoughts and feelings to puzzle over.
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Hermione had been working diligently and didn’t even realize how late it had gotten until she was bowled over by a mess of red hair. Ginny had toppled over Hermione and was squealing quite loudly.
“He proposed!” she practically screamed in Hermione’s ear as she waved a shiny diamond in her face. “And I said yes!”
Ginny’s enthusiasm was quite contagious and a big grin spread across Hermione’s face as she hugged her friend. “I can see that! Congratulations!” Hermione’s suspicions from the morning were confirmed. “Tell me everything.”
“Well, he took me around Paris all day and we saw all of the sights. The whole time I was complaining because I wanted to see the Eiffel tower and we hadn’t gotten near it.”
Harry poked his head around the shelves. “You have no idea how annoying it got.” But the grin on his face showed that he really found it more amusing than annoying.
“Anyways,” Ginny got right back into the story and Hermione was eager to hear the romantic tale. “Finally, we started to head towards it and I was so excited I was practically running for it. But the whole time Harry walked slow and held my hand tightly. And right when we got underneath and I was staring up to the top, he took both of my hands and got down on one knee right there, in front of everyone!”
By now, Ginny was close to jumping up and down for joy. “Will you be my Maid of Honor?” she blurted out.
Hermione was a bit taken about but quickly became excited. “Of course! There’s so much to do!” And the two girls started planning the wedding right there.
Harry became impatient. “Uh, Ginny? Sorry to break this up, but we have reservations at this restaurant and if we’re late, we’ll lose them.”
“Okay, hold on a second.” Ginny just brushed him off as she continued describing her dream dress in exacting detail.
Harry gave up trying to coax her to leave, they could afford a few more minutes. After all, she was pretty excited. Instead, he decided to wander around the shop and look at the books. Not that he really enjoyed books, but it seemed a little more interesting than which shade of white would be best for Ginny’s skin tone.
It was when they were discussing the various nuances of the wedding march when they heard a loud thump and shouting going on.
“Oh, no!” Hermione shouted as she realized Harry must’ve found Draco. She jumped and raced through the store, following the loud cursing and threats. Ginny followed close behind with her wand drawn.
When the girls found the ruckus they saw Harry with his wand pointed directly at Draco’s heart. Harry’s hand around Draco’s slender white throat which was quickly turning red from the grip as his lips turned blue.
Hermione looked at Ginny to find out what they should do but Ginny also had her wand pointed at Draco. She was aiming at his head. “What the bloody hell are you doing here, Malfoy?!” Harry shouted.
All Draco could do was sputter and gasp for air as his airway became more constricted. Hermione could tell he wouldn’t last much longer. She decided to just jump in front of Harry and tried to push him back.
“Harry! Stop it! You don’t know what you’re doing!” Hermione tried to pry his hand away but the rage kept Harry’s fingers tight.
“Hermione get out of the way. I know exactly what I’m doing.” Harry’s eyes blazed as he stared down Draco. For five years he had anger building up inside for the boy who had ultimately caused the death of Albus Dumbledore.
Hermione didn’t know what else to do so she pulled her own wand out and aimed it at Harry. “No, Harry, you don’t know what you’re doing. Put your wand down and I can explain everything.”
“This is Malfoy we’re talking about! I can’t believe you’re sticking up for him!” Harry really was confounded at this turn of events. Ginny looked equally confused as her best friend stood up for Draco.
“If you’ll just calm down and stop shouting, I can explain everything,” Hermione pleaded. “You have to trust me.” She looked deep into Harry’s eyes willing him to believe in her.
Harry’s will started to falter. “It’s not you I don’t trust, Hermione. It’s him.”
“I know it’s hard. Just please.”
Slowly, Harry released his grip on Draco which caused him to slump to the ground, drawing in deep gulps of air. Harry and Ginny both kept their wands trained on him just in case, although they pointed at less vital areas instead.
Relieved, Hermione helped Draco to stand. She wasn’t quite sure how much the pair would believe what she had to say, but she was going to do everything she could to try. Granted, she really didn’t have a clue why she was helping him so much.
“Let’s go find a private place to talk,” Hermione started. “I’ll tell you everything.”
As the group left the shop, they headed towards Draco’s flat. It was the only logical choice since he couldn’t go to Hermione’s.
As soon as Draco could form the words, he whispered softly, “We’re definitely even now.”
Second Chance by WebSpinner
Chapter Notes: Awkward moments and a bit of action.
Chapter Endnotes: This would have been up sooner, except in my rush I guess I didn't proof-read as well and it was rejected. Here's hoping it's not too late, and don't worry because Chapter 13 is all ready to go!
Please review, I really appreciate the time you take to leave your thoughts! thanks!