Chapter 13: Trust Between Enemies
The trek to Draco’s apartment was a long one and he didn’t catch his breath the whole way which didn’t help Hermione at all. She had a hard time trying to figure out what to say to Harry about all of this. He walked close behind and Hermione could tell that his hand was still firmly gripped around his wand, though it was out of sight. Ginny was walking a little behind, lost deep in thoughts. Nobody said anything until they were actually in the apartment.
The day was growing dark as Hermione ritualistically locked all of the dead-bolts and chains on the door as she had seen Draco do before. Draco collapsed on his dilapidated chair and was finally able to breathe easier. Harry, wand back out, and Ginny both stood uncomfortably near the door, not sure what to do.
“You can sit down,” Hermione pointed towards the dirty couch. “This might take a while.” She felt exhausted and wasn’t sure why. It was probably because she knew this would take a lot of effort and still wasn’t sure where to begin.
“I’ll stand, thanks,” Harry said tightly. His knuckles were starting to turn white from gripping his wand so hard. Ginny, on the other hand, took a seat at the end of the couch farthest from Draco. She still didn’t say anything.
Hermione also sat on the couch and looked back and forth between her companions. When she caught Draco’s eye, he gave her a nod signally she could start their story.
She took a deep breath and began. “Well, it really all started the night on the Astronomy Tower.”
At this Harry flinched and narrowed his eyes. He remembered that night all too well and was not anxious to hear it over again.
“I obviously wasn’t there, but between your story and Malfoy’s story, it seems that he wasn’t able to perform the task given.” Hermione did not want to say what that task was. There was no reason to drudge up that image for anyone. “After fleeing the castle, Malfoy explained that rather than Apparating to their original destination, he went to the Ministry of Magic.”
Harry’s eyes grew big as he looked between Hermione and Malfoy. “Are you kidding me? You believe that rubbish?” He looked ready to take Malfoy out at that second but Hermione quickly jumped in.
“Yes, Harry, I do.” She said quickly. “Do you remember that anonymous tip that helped bring down most of Voldemort’s plans?”
“Of course, I do. It was all over the Daily Prophet.”
“Well,” Hermione eyed Malfoy, “that was him.”
“You seriously believe him?” Harry was still skeptical. Hermione knew it wouldn’t be easy so she trudged on.
“Ever since that night, nobody has heard about him nor seen him. He’s been in hiding all these years. He doesn’t have a wand and he can’t go into the wizarding world. His only contact is when the Ministry contacts him.” Hermione was rushing through and not sure if Harry would be able to take all the information in. “Malfoy has been living and working as Muggle for years. He didn’t even know his parents died until I told him a couple months ago.”
By now, Hermione was standing up. She was getting so caught up in her explanation that she barely realized she was becoming so passionate about this. She really wanted Harry to trust Draco the way she had come to trust him. But she still wasn’t sure why she trusted him so much. She didn’t know when everything had turned upside-down on her. There’s no turning back now, she thought, I’ve made my bed.
Harry was deep in thought trying to piece this story in with the events he knew had happened. He was also trying very hard to forget his old prejudice like Hermione seemed to have done, but it was hard. Very hard. He had dropped his arm down and was no longer trained on Draco.
Slowly he looked up and faced Draco once again. “What do you have to say about all of this?” His eyes were narrowed and lips still formed a scowl.
For once, Draco did not return Harry’s look with a smirk or a sneer. Instead, he looked Harry dead in the eyes and said seriously, “It’s all true. Every thing Hermione said is true. That night, Dumbledore offered me redemption and I took it. After failing the Dark Lord there was nothing I could do to save myself anyways.”
“So you were just trying to save your own skin, is that it?” Harry raised his wand again as well as his voice. “You were just taking Dumbledore’s trust for granted so you could be safe?”
Draco raised his arms defensively. “That’s not it. Well, honestly, that’s part of it. I definitely didn’t want to die. But I also didn’t want to kill Dumbledore that night. You were there, you saw everything. I had no options except to go to the Ministry and turn my back on everything I’ve ever known.” Draco was defiant and willing to show anybody that he had changed, even if it was Harry Potter.
“Dumbledore offered him forgiveness, Harry,” Hermione was timid. “The least you can do is to offer the same.”
“He treated us like crap in school, Hermione. He did everything he could to make us miserable. You most of all. He thought he was better than us, smarter than us, and worthy of being a wizard more than us. And you can just leave that in the past now.”
“It was hard to look past all of that for me too. We all did some awful things in school based on our prejudices. But we’re all adults now. I know none of us are the same little kids from Hogwarts. We’ve seen things and done things we never would have dreamed of. He’s giving us a chance.”
Hermione was hoping she was making an impression. From the looks of it, Harry was getting close to at least putting his wand away. They would never be best friends like him and Ron were, but they hopefully will tolerate each other as acquaintances.
“Potter,” Draco spoke up, “haven’t you noticed that you three have wands and I’ve got nothing?”
Hermione didn’t think this was the time to be cheeky but that was Draco. Malfoy, she mentally kicked herself.
“Though it pains me to admit it, I have no defense and am at your complete mercy.” Draco had brought back a hint of his smirk. It was really ridiculous that the tables were turned like this. He, the proud pure-blood, had nothing against the half-blood, the blood-traitor, and the Mudblood.
“It’s ironic isn’t?” he laughed. “It might surprise you to know that blood quality means little to me anymore. We all bleed regardless.”
Hermione was a little surprised by his epiphany. She had no idea he’d really come so far and after being around him for sometime, she could see the sincerity in his speech. The thought brought a big smile to her face.
But all this time, Ginny hadn’t said a word. She kept face neutral through it all and just watched as the conversation jumped around the room. She wanted to trust Hermione’s judgment but knew it would take a while for Harry. But when she saw Hermione’s smile she couldn’t keep quiet any longer as a strange question bubbled to the surface of her thoughts.
“Are you seeing each other?” she blurted out accusingly.
Hermione and Draco did a double-take, looked at each other and began to profusely deny it while talking over each other.
“Of course not,” Hermione started.
“Absolutely false,” Draco denied.
“How could you think such a thing?”
“Ridiculous really.”
“No idea where that came from.”
“Complete rubbish!”
“Honestly!”
Ginny tried not to laugh at their sputtering responses but knew she asked it seriously. The tension between the two seemed different than ever before. She could tell something had happened between them but knew that they would never say anything especially in front of Harry. He would definitely go ballistic.
Hermione hoped she hadn’t turned scarlet. Something had definitely changed between them but she wasn’t sure what happened or how. And admitting to anything beyond tolerance for the former Slytherin would make Harry lose any grip at acceptance he had.
Ginny was still eyeing the pair but Harry seemed to have other things on his mind and quickly dismissed the question. He had thoughts of his own. “How can we really trust that you’ve changed? And if you have changed, what do you want from us?”
“That’s the funny thing,” Draco mused. “You just have to trust me and Granger that I’ve changed. And all I want is to go home and have a wand again.” He felt defeated. The honesty with which he spoke really pained him as he realized what he really missed.
He missed England and everything about the wizarding world. He now understood the obstacles Muggles had worked hard to overcome through the centuries. He appreciated his luck at being born into a wizarding family and having the great opportunities growing up. He didn’t miss his friends for they weren’t really friends anyway.
Surprisingly, he didn’t really miss his family; he just missed the idea of having a family. They were never a close-knit, share-your-feelings kind of family so that special bond was never there. Draco just missed companionship and being able to be himself.
Harry finally took a seat. Hermione could tell he was thinking through the entire conversation they just had. Though he never worked hard while at school, Harry was a very intelligent man. As he grew up, he realized certain situations called for thought and reflection. It was this change that made Hermione proud. He had grown from a brash, passionate boy into a thoughtful, but still passionate, man.
The similarity between the two men before her almost made her laugh at loud. They had both learned to reflect on situations and assess them fairly. And each struggled everyday to overcome preconceived ideas and learn new truths.
After about five minutes of this silence, Harry finally stood up and spoke. “Okay,” he said plainly, locking his emerald green eyes with Draco’s steel grey ones. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. I’m mostly trusting Hermione’s judgment on this one.” He gave a quick smile to Hermione. “But if it turns out that you’re lying, I will not hesitate to do whatever is necessary to keep my girls safe.”
Harry’s eyes blazed with the threat, but Draco didn’t look away once. “I understand.”
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as the tension in the roof lifted slightly. She had passed one hurdle but there were still more ahead. They had to contact the Ministry of Magic and see if they could persuade them to let Malfoy come back to England.
The gears in her head were already starting to turn as she thought of various approaches and who to contact when there was a knock at the door. Everyone’s head snapped and stared at the worn door.
“It’s probably just Henry. My neighbor who likes to annoy me,” Draco said as he went to the door. He slowly unlocked each bolt down the side of the door and eased it open.
The crash of the door falling to the ground along with the strangled scream from Draco made Hermione jump to her feet. It was definitely not Henry.
Second Chance by WebSpinner
Chapter Endnotes: I know, I know. I'm so sorry it took so long. But the good news is that I've finished writing the story so submitting the rest shouldn't take too long!