"I am NOT playing with you mudblood…I will cut you from ear-to-ear! NOW TELL ME THE TRUTH…WHERE DID YOU GET THAT SWORD?" "I swear, it's fake, it's FAKE! We just found it…please…I swear…I swear…it's a fake…ple…"

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Draco sat up, his body drenched in sweat…he lurched out of his bed and stumbled to the washroom barely making it to the toilet before vomiting the contents of his stomach. He slowly raised his head and stared into his mirror over the sink barely recognizing the reflection gazing back at him. His normally sleek blond hair was in disarray, his skin was tinged gray, and his eyes…other than the color he didn't recognize them…they would look more at home in the face of a hunted animal.

He had been having the same nightmare every night since the Great Battle had taken place nearly a week ago. Every night he dreamed of Hermione Granger. He dreamed of her screams while Bella cursed her. He dreamed of the red blood dripping from her neck where Bella cut her. He dreamed of the tears pouring from her brown eyes. He dreamed of the sickly shade of green her skin turned while enduring the crucio over and over. He dreamed of her haunted eyes opening and staring at him in anguish as she screamed her final scream and fell to the floor.

Draco had no idea what had happened to Granger after that night. The last he had seen of her was when his old house elf Dobby appeared, grabbed her hand and disapparated from the Manor. He had not seen her during the Battle. He had scoured every issue of the Daily Prophet searching for an interview or some news about her. He found nothing and it was driving him mad. Surely if she had died there would have been some mention; after all, she was one-third of the Golden Trio, saviors of the wizarding world…not to mention she was the brightest witch of the age…it was preposterous to believe she simply disappeared.

It was rather ironic though, Draco had to admit. The only person he had ever wanted to apologize to in his entire life had disappeared. The only person he had ever wanted to make amends with…gone without a trace. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to apologize for calling her a mudblood. He wanted to tell her he had deserved that well-aimed punch during their third year. He wanted to tell her he was sorry, so very sorry for being a coward and doing nothing to stop the torture she suffered at the hand of his aunt. If he had learned anything from that horrible night, it was that his aunt, his father, the Deatheaters and the Dark Lord were wrong…every single one of them was wrong. He had seen Hermione's blood that night and it was just as red as his.

Thanks to his mother's lie and Potter's insistence (after all, who is going to tell the Savior of the Wizarding World no?), Draco and his mother had been acquitted of all charges. Lucius had not been so fortunate; he was presently serving a life sentence at Azkaban. Draco should be looking to the future…a future unencumbered by doing what was expected of a Malfoy…he was free. Instead, he spent his nights crying in his sleep and watching the torture of the brightest witch he had ever met.

Draco splashed cold water on his face and gave up on the notion of going back to sleep. He walked the long hallway and down the stairs to the first floor. He avoided the dining room and gave it wide breadth…sometimes he was fortunate enough to have his nights filled with not only nightmare about Granger, but also about a flash of green and the body of the muggle relations teacher dropping to the dining room table with a loud crash.

As he stepped into the kitchen and filled a glass with water, a sleek tawny owl flew in the window, landed on the kitchen table and held its leg out. Draco walked to the owl and removed the package from its leg, the owl nibbled on his finger and immediately flew out the window into the morning sky. Draco opened the package; a wand and a piece of parchment fell out. He picked up the parchment and began to read:

Malfoy,

Seeing how you were acquitted, I thought you might like your wand back. I am sorry about your loss; I truly wish Lucius had made different choices with his life. The war is over and I hope we can both move forward from being the prats we were while at Hogwarts. I wish you well and please tell your mother thank you again. She truly saved my life.

Harry Potter

Draco picked up his wand and felt warmth spread through his arm. He grudgingly admitted to himself it was much more than he deserved. He searched for a piece of parchment and picked up a quill.

Potter,

I appreciate the return of my wand. Thank you. Father was a right git during his life and is now paying the consequence. Thanks for what you did for my mum and me. Please pass my regards to Weasley and Granger. I hope they are also well.

Draco Malfoy

He called for Zander, tied the parchment to the owl's leg and tossed him out the window. He just hoped Potter would reply with Granger's whereabouts. Feeling better than he had in quite awhile, he began to make himself some tea.