Six.
Thank you guys SO much for 100 reads! It really means so much to me <3
I have a really big soft spot for this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!
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The first weekend of the term was always the greatest.
It was still warm outside. Although it was September, it still was not yet fall, and the sun was still shining bright and warm. Classes hadn't really started yet, so there was still plenty of free time to mill around.
Draco decided to spend the day outside, like the majority of his classmates. He, however, was still pouring over his notes and books. He knew he wasn't the only one who was planning on doing so.
"Hey, mind if I sit with you?"
He glanced up to see Granger standing above him, arms full of books.
He smiled and moved to the corner of the blanket he laid out. "Of course."
She smiled back shyly, sitting down next to him. "How's your nose?"
"Oh, it's as good as new. See?" He shoved a finger up his nose.
She chuckled as she opened up one of her books. "That is absolutely disgusting."
"What, you expected a Malfoy to have some manners? How dare you." He scoffed sarcastically. She seemed uncomfortable, as if she didn't know it was a joke or not. He let out a reassuring chuckle. "Thank you, though. For making sure I was okay last night."
Not only had she walked him to the infirmary, but she stayed with him until his nose was fixed, walked back to the common room, and stayed up with him to talk. He pretended he wasn't at all hurt about Potter's outburst, but it did sting somewhere inside. And she knew that.
"Well, that's what friends are for, aren't they?" His mouth dropped.
"F-frie-" He cut himself off, not wanting to embarrass himself, but it was too late.
"I mean, I know it's only four days into the term. But we have spent every night together, have we not?" He nodded in response. "I know you're not used to that, but I hope we can be friends. If not now, then eventually. It's okay if you're not up to it yet."
He blinked, not knowing what to say. "I- you want to be friends with me?" She nodded. "You- are you not afraid that I will blow up at you? Call you a you-know-what, curse you, hex you, sabotage your grades? Ruin your life?"
She shrugged. "It's a risk I'm willing to take. Besides, I don't think you would actually do any of that stuff."
He was absolutely shocked. She was just so, so calm. Most people would make fun of him, yell at him, sure. But they would always tuck their tail between their legs and run away the second he shot them a nasty glare, as if he would unleash a full army of Death Eaters upon them. Nobody dared to get close to Draco Malfoy.
"Why?"
She shut her book, leaning back so that the sun shone on her face. She looked like she was in deep thought. "I can see that you're different. Different from who you were before, different from who others think you are."
She looked at him, expecting a response, but got nothing but shocked silence in return. "I don't think you're as cold as everyone thinks you are. I think you're just lonely. And sad. And that you torture yourself over that. I'm scared you have no one to talk to, no one to turn to. I think that you could use a friend in your life. Even if we're nothing more than study partners, I hope that the presence of someone else in your life will make you feel a little less lonely."
He thought back to what Snape told him earlier in the week. But I do have people I talk to, people I trust. People I can go out with and enjoy my time. Just because you live an unfortunate life does not mean you must torture yourself.
He still couldn't comprehend why she would want to befriend him.
"But, why you? Why now? Why not two years ago, why not next year?"
"I was still scared of you at the beginning of the year. I was terrified to be prefect alongside you, I was sure that you were going to make my life a living hell. But the second you stood up to that first year, I knew that something inside you had shifted. That's really why I asked you for help, to see if you would turn me away like you did when I asked you for help first year. But you didn't. I decided to try to push my way closer and closer. You showed up for quidditch tryouts. You let me take you to the hospital wing. You didn't throw a fit when I called you Draco instead of Malfoy. You've changed. Anyone with half a brain could see that."
She was right. "But, why do you want to be my friend?"
She sighed. "Honestly, I need a break. Ron and Harry are just, just too much sometimes. I don't really want to talk about it. But I just needed a break, someone else to talk to, and you happened to be there."
"Fair," he nodded. He didn't know what to say in return. He still wasn't convinced, but that was his self-esteem talking. Or was that his brain rejecting a possibility of a friend? Maybe he couldn't, wouldn't believe that anyone wanted to be his friend. He didn't know if that was because he was so used to getting by without one or if he was afraid of what would happen if he let someone in too close.
The last time he let someone in close, he had blamed them for getting sorted into Gryffindor, ensuing four years of living hell to follow.
"And, I don't know. I do enjoy the time we spend together, even if it is purely focused on academics. I think you and I would get along well outside of studying, as well. As great as my friends are, they can be bloody idiots sometimes. It would be nice to talk to someone with an ounce of intellect for once."
He chuckled. "Well, you've come to the right place."
Okay, so she wanted to be friends with him. But did he want to be friends with her? He still didn't know. He couldn't separate the want and need in his head. Logically, he needed a friend. Both Snape and Granger were right about that. But did he really want a friend? And did he really want it to be her, of all people?
"I could ask you the same questions." She said.
"Y-you, what?"
"This isn't a one way street, you know. I've been friendly to you, but you've been friendly to me, as well. Again, you have not once complained about our interactions. And just now, when I came over to sit with you, your face lit up like you were happy to see me. Why?"
Maybe he did want to be her friend. "I don't know. I've never really had someone want to be friends with me before. I do not hate the time I spend with you, I just, I don't know how I feel about anything, really."
"That's okay."
They sat in silence for a while, each of them reading their books. There was an uncertain tension in the air. He kept thinking about what she had said. Everything she said about him was true, in a very frightening way. It was like she was a mind reader. Maybe she was, and that's why she was able to get so close to him so quickly. But he also kept thinking back to what she said about Potter.
"Can I just ask you something?" He blurted out, and she nodded. "I mean, what is up with Potter? It just seems so out of character for him to just punch someone in the face. Does he really hate me that much?"
She sighed. "I mean, you did bully him for the entirety of first year."
He had forgotten about that. "Right-"
"And he's had a rough few months, you know? I mean, he saw You-Know-Who return, and no one believes him. For Christ's sake, he saw him murder someone! Witnessing that can really mess a person up. And then he was locked up with muggles all summer, just to get attacked by dementors. And to come back to Hogwarts, with all the rumors and no one believing him, it's just really put a lot on him. Quidditch is the one thing in his life that's stable. First, Umbridge took it away from him for the next two weeks, and then you show up reminding him about it and telling him it's going to be gone forever. How would that make you feel?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him. "And what you did wasn't okay! There's a fine line between defending yourself and egging him on! You knew exactly what you were doing, everyone could tell that. What was the purpose in that? To make him feel bad about himself? He was killing himself about missing tryouts, and it wasn't even his fault! It was all because Professor Umbridge was punishing him for telling the truth and speaking up for us! But you just had to rub it in, didn't you? You just had to egg him on. No one is surprised that he punched you."
That stung, but she was right. He was being an idiot.
"I'm sorry, that was a little harsh-"
"No, no." He cut her off. "I am sorry, I should not have said those things."
"You should really tell him that." She sighed. "It's not like you're the nicest to him either. You obviously have some strong feelings for him-"
"ButI would never just punch him in the face like that!" He shouted. "Sorry. I mean, yeah, I bullied him first year once or twice-"
"Once or twice?" She gasped. "I don't think you realized how much you hurt him. You were his first wizarding friend, one of the first glimpses he had at the magical world, and then you just simply threw it all away, ignoring him but then eventually just tormenting him every chance you got!"
"But I got over it!" He defended. "In case it has escaped your notice, I have hardly said a word to him since that year."
"But you still hated him." She said. "And he knows that."
He sighed, trying to calm himself down. "I do not, I mean, I did, sort of. It was not the same sort of hate that I held towards my family, towards my parents. I mean, first year, it was. But after the summer I had realized that it was silly of me to blame him for what the Sorting Hat did. He had no part in it. I stopped hating him, but I grew sick of him real fast. It was always Harry Potter this and Harry Potter that, you know?"
She sighed. "It's not like he has the easiest life-"
"He makes it hard for himself! He was the one who decided to go after the stone first year. He was the one who decided to find out what was going on in the chamber. He could have just laid back like the rest of us, listened to Dumbledore, and then he would not find himself in such a mess sometimes. Why does he have to get involved in everything?"
"It's not all his fault," she argued, raising her voice in defense over his friend. "He didn't choose to have his name put in the Goblet of Fire. He didn't choose to have You-Know-Who murder his parents! He didn't choose to have him murder his classmate right in front of his eyes!"
People were staring at them.
They sat in awkward silence, waiting for people to stop listening in on their conversation. It was private, it was intimate. Draco didn't know why he was opening up to Granger so much, and he didn't really know why she was opening up to him, either. He just knew that neither of them wanted other people to listen to them. Eventually, the chatter around them started back up again.
"I- I am sorry. I do not mean to sit here and pick on your friend. I really do not want to argue with you, either. I just really do not know what is true and what isn't. Everyone is just always talking about him, which is annoying, but they say so many things about him. I am not sure what to believe." He leaned forward. "But You-Know-Who really is back, isn't he?"
She nodded, sighing. "And Harry saw his return. He saw him murder Cedric Diggory in cold blood. And everyone refuses to acknowledge the truth."
His heart hurt. He had spent the whole summer wallowing in self-despair that he hadn't even thought of what Potter had to have been going through. He thought that he had it rough. But there were people out there far worse off than him. It made him feel even worse about himself, in a way. That he was this upset with his life when it really wasn't all that bad. But at the same time, he felt some sort of pity for Potter. But he wasn't sure if he really felt bad for him, or if he just felt bad for Granger for having this happen to her friend.
"You, you say he was locked up all summer?" He questioned sincerely. What did she mean by that?
"He spends the summers with his muggle Aunt and Uncle. They don't really like him for being a wizard." She seemed like she didn't really want to say much more, but he still pressed on.
"When he came back this year, he had these, these bruises on his neck. He comes back with them every year. On his arms, his face. His Aunt and Uncle, do they, you know," he trailed off, not wanting to say the words out loud.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's really in my place to talk about that kind of stuff." She sighed. "Harry would be really upset if he saw me talking with you in the first place, you know? I- I've already said too much about him."
She collected her books, beginning to stand up. "I really should go."
"Wait," he grabbed her arm, stopping her from standing up. She looked at him, almost in fear, which made him upset. Did she think he was going to hurt her?
He outstretched his hand. "Friends?"
She smiled and grabbed his hand, shaking it firmly. "Does this mean you'll finally call me Hermione instead of Granger?"
He smiled in return. "Only if you agree to call me Draco."
She stayed. He was glad that he had stopped her, as it seemed that she only got up because he made her uncomfortable. They had slowly but surely eased into comfortable conversation breaks between their studying. Every now and then, one of them would read something interesting, and they would spend the next thirty minutes talking about it. She was right, they did get along well. She was a brilliant witch, and it was nice to have an intellectual conversation with her.
He felt warmth spread from his body. Not just from the sun, but from having a friend. A friend. He kept repeating the word over and over in his head until it didn't sound like a real word anymore. A friend. And he had one.
He fought back tears, hiding his face in his book.
Before they knew it, the sun was setting and it was almost time for dinner. They packed up their books. "Well, I think I finally understand Arithmancy now."
She smiled. "I'm glad I could help."
They began walking back to the castle, about to head to dinner in the Great Hall. Would she sit with him? Or would she sit with Potter and Weasley? If she did sit next to her friends, was he allowed to sit with her? Or would that be weird? He didn't want Grang- Hermione's friends to dislike her for sitting with him.
Thankfully, that decision didn't have to be made quite yet.
A few second years darted in front of them. "Hey, no running in the halls!" She had called out to them in her prefect voice.
"But, Thomas just said they posted the Gryffindor quidditch list in the common room!"
They looked at eachother, their eyes widening. "Well, I think that's a perfectly good reason to be sprinting through the castle."
The three of them took off, Hermione grabbing Draco's hand and nearly dragging his body before he could protest. Before long, they were in the common room, fighting through the crowd to see the final list. He kept standing on his toes, trying to catch a glimpse of the list. He was able to catch a few names, but he never saw his. He began to grow disappointed. People in front of him slowly moved out of the way, some sulking, some bright with excitement. Finally, he was able to get a good look at the list.
Gryffindor Quidditch Team, 1995-96
Reserves:
Katie Bell
Cormac McLaggen
Dean Thomas
Ginevra Weasley
Seeker:
Harry Potter
Keeper:
Ronald Weasley
Beaters:
Fred Weasley
George Wesasley
Chasers:
Angelina Johnson
Alicia Spinnet
Draco Malfoy
There he was. At the very bottom of the list. A Chaser. A starter.
He was shocked.
A smirk began to grow on his face.
He emerged from the crowd of people. As soon as he did so, Hermione attacked him in a hug.
"Congratulations! I'm so glad you tried out, I knew you could do it! Oh, I'm so happy for you!"
He pulled away, his smile growing. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time. "I could not have done it without you. Thank you for pressuring me." He chuckled.
"I didn't pressure you. I merely suggested it, you made the decision on your own."
And she was right.
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