Chapter 10: Even You

Hermione walked into the dinning room the next morning, where Draco and Narcissa were sat already having breakfast. Draco stood when she entered, pulling a chair out for her before asking. "What do you want to drink?" He was dressed in a normal black suit while Narcissa wore a black dress, anyone else would think they were going to a funeral. In some ways they were.

"Orange juice, thank you." They ate in silence, Hermione glancing up at the blonde opposite her every so often. A Christmas tree sat at the end of the room, glistening in the little light coming from outside. Grey clouds hung in the sky gloomily, as if they too could sense the day's activities.

"We're leaving in a few minutes." Draco stood and left the room, and she watched after him, unsure of where he was going. Narcissa cleared her throat from across the table and Hermione turned to her, almost forgetting the older witch was there.

"Thank you for coming with us, dear. Draco could really use a friend." The woman smiled before dabbing her mouth with a napkin.

"That's okay." Hermione returned the smile as best she could. Was she really Draco's friend? They hadn't discussed that before, only the truce. Perhaps the truce did make them friends.

"You two get on very well don't you?" Narcissa asked before sipping from her glass.

Hermione nodded. "I suppose so, more than we used to anyway." The two women shared a small smile at how very true her words were.

"Draco admires you very much, I can tell." Hermione didn't know how to answer this, her cheeks began to turn pink and she looked down into her lap. Luckily she didn't have to answer as Draco returned.

"What should I wear?" Her present clothing consisted of simple dark blue jeans and her maroon coloured jumper. It was comfortable but she felt a bigger effort should be made on her part.

"Whatever you want. That's fine." He gestured towards her current attire dismissively.

"But you look quite formal." Hermione protested, glancing from Draco to his Mother.

"He's my father, not yours. You could go in your pyjamas if you wanted. He doesn't deserve you there anyway, I don't know why I agreed to this." He ran his hands through his hair, stress evidently beginning to build.

"Calm down, darling." Narcissa interjected, standing from her chair and walking towards her son.

"But she shouldn't be coming. We don't know what he'll do, what he'll say. If he's vile to her I might-" He stopped himself short, remembering Hermione was in the room. Also unsure as to what exactly he might do.

"Hermione offered and knows perfectly well what might happen. Plus, your father won't say a word against her while I'm there." The older woman put her hands on his shoulders and he seemingly calmed down. A sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes briefly.

"Narcissa is right. I know what I'm doing, I'll be fine." Hermione stood from her chair and went to join them. Draco opened his eyes and glanced at her, still looking unsure and dishevelled.

"Ok, ok. Shall we go then?" The three of them made their way down the stairs. "Let's get it over with." Draco mumbled to himself as they arrived at the front door. They stepped outside and a loud pop rang through the now empty manor.

Their eyes had to adjust when they arrived in the prison Apparation room, due to it's lack of light. It was impossible to Apparate anywhere else in the godforsaken place. Hermione coughed and spluttered, bending forward in distress, causing Draco to look down at her concerned. "Are you alright?"

"It just makes me feel sick sometimes." She informed him. Draco watched her eyes for a second until satisfied the sickness has faded from them, though fear still stared prominently back at him. A desk sat to the right of the room and Draco strode over quickly.

"Morning, Mr Malfoy." A gangly looking man with dirty skin and dark eyes spoke cheerily from behind the desk. On the wall over his shoulder hung hundreds of hooks, all holding their own key.

"Is he awake?" Draco went to lean an arm on the desk but decided otherwise when he glanced down to inspect it. Merlin only knew how many diseases might be festering on it.

"Of course. Here's the key, I trust you're not gonna try an' smuggle him out." Draco shook his head and took the key. Noticing the dirt caked underneath the man's fingernails, before turning to Hermione and Narcissa.

"Let's go." Narcissa nodded before leading the way quietly. Obviously anxious, yet slight excitement was evident in her step. Draco stood and waited for Hermione to reach him, all her features told signs of fright now, not just her eyes. Beginning to wander why she'd offered to do this.

"You don't need to be scared." He muttered, leaning towards her slightly as they began to follow his Mother through the corridor.

"Who says I'm scared." Her voice shook as she fought her hardest against the fear, putting up a confident front.

"Well, you're shaking, that tends to be a tell tale sign." Draco gestured in her general direction, and she looked down to see her arms were in fact shaking. Crap. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, am I?" He raised an eyebrow at her, a small smile on his lips. Hermione liked his smile, it was infectious and outlandishly comforting.

"I'm not exactly the person your Father is going to want to see." They emerged into a larger corridor with cells either side. The Gryffindor tried to keep her eyes to the ground, thinking of the childish saying; if I can't see them, they can't see me.

"He may not even recognise you." Hermione glanced at Draco in confusion before having her attention taken by prisoner after prisoner, after prisoner. One man, or what looked like a man, leapt at his cell bars growling. Hermione jumped, grabbing Draco's hand without thinking. "Don't panic, they can't get to you." The blonde murmured soothingly.

"I know that, but it's still…" She trailed off when she felt her hand in his, and the fact he hadn't even noticed. In all honesty, he had noticed, how could he not? It felt strange yet calming and weirdly normal. Their fingers sat perfectly between one another, Draco glanced down at them and so did Hermione.

"Sorry." She quickly let go, casting her eyes away from him as her cheeks flushed for the second time that day. Draco was about to speak when Narcissa came to a halt ahead of them, hands on the nearest cell's bars. Hermione's breathing increased, her chest rising a falling rapidly. They arrived and a tall man came into view, sitting on a wooden bed to the right of the cramped cell.

"Morning, Father." Draco turned the key in the lock and Narcissa rushed in, enveloping the man in a hug. Hermione watched in shock, unaware of just how much the older witch had missed her husband. Draco smiled at his Mother's happiness as she sat beside Lucius. Hermione got a better look at him now. Lucius Malfoy was old, older than Hermione ever remembered him. His hair was no longer blonde, but grey and thinning, his skin pale with a yellow tinge. The man didn't look healthy, but she supposed no prisoner would after a while in this hell hole. Hermione lingered in the doorway as Draco stepped further inside and held his hand out for his Father to shake, she found this odd. However, Lucius denied Draco's hand, instead pulling him into a hug. Draco stood rigid, not really hugging back.

"How have-" The older man coughed. "How have you been?" His voice was nothing like Hermione remembered either, it was more gravelly and quiet now. No longer holding the sense of self importance.

"Just fine." Narcissa chimed with a smile. What little light shown through the small barred window above them, revealed her hand clasping her husbands.

"Draco?" Silence lingered uncomfortably before the younger Malfoy male answered, voice empty of any emotion.

"Fine." He nodded once, feeling Hermione step further into the cell behind him and wishing she wouldn't.

"Who do we have here?" Lucius spotted their guest and Draco shifted quickly in response, guarding her with his body protectively.

"Miss Granger, you remember her dear?" Narcissa smiled at Hermione as Lucius's eyes bore into her.

"How could I forget?" Another cough echoed off the cell walls as the man glanced towards his son briefly, eyes shining with curiosity.

"She came with Draco." Lucius had already guessed as much but allowed his wife to confirm his thoughts.

"I see."

Hermione didn't know what to do, they were talking about her so maybe she should say something. "Morning." She went to wave but quickly decided against it, tucking hair behind her ear in an attempt to hide it.

"How are things in here?" Draco changed the subject, strolling over to the bench on the left wall and sitting down. Hermione watched him and he gestured for her to sit beside him, nearest the door.

"You'd never know it was Christmas day." Lucius muttered before they fell into silence. Hermione had forgotten it was Christmas, how could she forget? She'd have to send her parents an owl when they got back to the manor. Narcissa held onto her husband for dear life, resting her head on his shoulder and running a hand up and down his arm. "How is Hogwarts?" The old man rested his cheek on top of his wife's head as he looked to Draco.

"Fine." The younger man shrugged. He always found these visits difficult because all he felt was disdain towards the man he was meant to love. It was his Fathers' fault, all of this. Everything.

"I see you're all making new friends." Dark grey eyes fell on Hermione, Lucius had very similar eyes to Draco's other than the colour. Draco's held hope while the older mans did not.

"Looks like it." There was silence again as Hermione fought the urge to explain about the new house unity at school. She was sure the ex-death eater wouldn't want to hear it, nor care. From then on Narcissa and Lucius had a conversation about the house and her plans for the garden. Draco sat staring into his lap as Hermione played nervously with a stray string on her jumper sleeve. There was one major difference with Draco's behaviour and that was the fact he was no longer scared. He used to always be silent out of fear, but now he was just angry, disappointed. When Narcissa and Lucius finished their conversation the old man turned to their guest.

"How are you, Miss Granger?" Hermione jumped when she was addressed and stumbled over an answer in her head, about to reply when she was cut off.

"Don't talk to her." Draco suddenly growled from his seat, teeth gritted tightly together.

"Draco, please." Narcissa leant forward where she sat, eyes pleading.

Lucius held his wife back calmly. "Don't fret, darling. If he doesn't wish me to speak to her I won't. Though, I wander if perhaps he should let her decide that for herself." The married couple looked at Hermione expectantly, but she didn't know what in the world to say.

"Just don't." Draco spoke firmly, not even bothering to glance at the woman sat beside him. His Father didn't have the right to speak to her. Hell, Draco himself barely had that right. Their family had caused her enough pain and grief as it was.

"Time's up folks." They all turned abruptly to see the man from the desk holding the cell door open. Draco quickly stood and put a hand on his Father's shoulder briefly, before allowing Hermione to exit first. Once Draco was also out of the cell, which he couldn't exit quick enough, they waited for his Mother.

Narcissa hugged and kissed her husband goodbye frantically, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "We'll be back soon." She cried. Lucius held his wife as she sobbed, whispering reassurances in her ear.

"Come on, Mother." She exited the cell when Draco spoke and the man locked it before starting back towards his desk. Draco hugged his Mother and put an arm around her shoulders as they followed the man, Narcissa holding onto her son tightly. Her tears had dried now, determined not to make things harder for herself or Draco. She could cry all she wanted when they got back to the manor. Hermione followed behind them silently, feeling awful for them and holding back her own tears. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to have a loved one in prison, a place where you were limited to seeing them half an hour at a time. The more she thought about it the more unbearable it seemed, it made her miss her parents. She'd go home tomorrow. They entered the Apparation room again and Hermione quickly took Draco's hand, before he even had time to offer it.

When their feet hit the ground outside the manor Narcissa hurried off, not wanting to sadden her son or embarrass herself further in front of their guest. "Thanks for coming with us." Draco watched after his Mother as he spoke.

"It's fine." Hermione's voice was quiet and she could feel the tears beginning to rim her eyes. "How long has he got in there?" She should have known, but Harry had kept her away from as much of the trail proceedings as he could after the war.

"He should be in there the rest of his life. But he could get out in ten years." Draco glanced at her and stopped when he saw the unshed tears. "What's wrong?" He moved towards her slightly, unsure of what to do. He never knew how to go about comforting someone upset.

"I…it's just…" The tears began to fall now and she frantically tried to wipe them away, desperate not to cry in front of him-in front of Draco Malfoy. "It must be so hard for you." A sob racked through her body and she hurried towards the house and through the door. Draco followed after her in alarm, what was she doing?

"Granger, wait." He called as he entered the house and saw her halfway up the stairs. "Granger, stop. Stop!" Draco climbed the stairs two at a time. "Hermione!" His voice bellowed loudly and she stopped in her tracks. Even he hadn't realised he was going to say it until it was out of his voice; her first name. He finally reached her and she turned to look at him, tear stains down her cheeks.

"You called me Hermione, why? Why?" Her voice was urgent and sounded terrified.

"Because that's your name?" Draco put his arms out, just short of touching her, as he didn't know what to do or how she'd react.

"You're not meant to call me that! You're Malfoy and I'm Granger. We don't do that-we don't!" Hermione rattled off urgently, shaking her head manically.

"Ok, ok. I won't call you it." The blonde watched her closely, she seemed to be having some sort of panic attack.

"But-but-" She gave a loud sob and stumbled backwards, back hitting the banister before she slowly melted to the step they stood on. Draco squatted in front of her, hands resting carefully on her upper arms, not knowing where else to put them.

"But what?" He asked quietly.

"I-I liked it." Hermione's head hung heavy as she cried into her lap, not wanting him to see. Draco stopped for a second, staring in surprise and confusion. She liked it? Liked what? The fact he'd called her Hermione? The only thing he thought might be right to do was what he did when Pansy used to get upset; hug her. He carefully moved forward and put his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. At first she sat rigid, until the warmth and comfort of his body relaxed her and she shoved her arms around him in return and rested her head against his chest.

"Just breathe, Granger." Draco glanced around anxiously as she sobbed silently into his suit jacket. Keeping her calm was perhaps the beat idea right now, and he could hear her begin to take his advice. This all felt very similar to the time he'd carried her after the attack from Peeves, the only difference now being she wanted to be in his arms and she was hugging him back. It may have been the most peculiar feeling he'd ever felt. After a while of sitting their on the stairs he carefully lifted her and carried her to her room. The sobbing had died down and she seemed to have nodded off as he placed her on her bed. He retrieved a glass of water from the kitchen, wandering what in hell had happened. She'd had some sort of panic attack but what had caused it, he didn't think he'd done anything. Yet another mystery about the Gryffindor girl. When he returned to her room the small sound of her breathing filled his ears. He placed the glass on the dresser and pulled the stool out from beneath it. Proceeding to sit and lean forward, elbows on thighs. He tried not to watch the woman sleeping but found it difficult to draw his eyes away. Even with dry tears on her face she looked tranquil, he might dare say beautiful too. It was difficult to tell how long he sat there with her, the only indication of time being light coming through the glass doors. It was beginning to get dark when she woke, stretching and rubbing her eyes until she spotted him sat there.

"Oh no." She let out a groan and pushed her face back into the pillow regretfully.

"Good evening to you too." Draco scoffed, sitting up straight on the stool.

Hermione reluctantly rolled onto her side to look at him. "Erm-I…did I have a panic attack?" She struggled with her words slightly, still tired and very much able to remember how badly she embarrassed herself.

"I believe you did, yes." He nodded, hoping she would perhaps have some kind of explanation.

"Thought so." She groaned again, pushing herself to a sitting position and glancing out the glass doors. The sun had almost set which meant she'd been asleep for hours.

"Care to explain?" Draco crossed his arm, unsure if he even wanted to know.

"Well, they happen sometimes. Since the war…whenever I get overly emotional I have panic attacks. People being present doesn't help either." Hermione pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. Watching as the blonde mulled over her response in his head, brows furrowed in concentration.

"Why?" It didn't make sense to him. He understood the whole idea of not showing emotions publically, being guilty of that himself. But panic attacks?

"I have a Panic Disorder, which covers a wide range of different types of panic attacks. Mine tend to be triggered by problematic emotions. My body just gets overcome with emotion and I panic." She wished she didn't have to explain this to him, but even though this was a very personal matter it felt okay to tell him.

"What emotions were you feeling?" Draco was staring at her, but quickly diverted his eyes when he realised this. He still wasn't sure what had set her off.

"I felt horrible, sad and distraught mainly I think. For you and your Mother." Hermione watched as his eyes returned to hers questioningly. "Having a family member in prison must be…" She trailed off and Draco ran a hand through his hair restlessly.

"Don't worry about us. We're fine, we're coping." The blonde stood abruptly from the stool, tugging at his hair again. He should never have invited her here, then none of this would have happened.

"Then you called me Hermione, and I guess it scared me." Hermione hugged her knees tightly, savouring the soft feel of the covers on her skin. Draco had began to pace, eyes darting around the room and evidently avoiding her. When she spoke he stopped abruptly, turning to face her.

"Scared you?" His shoulders were hunched with tension and he plunged his hands into his pockets.

"I guess so, I wasn't thinking straight was I?" Hermione was confused already, and his current behaviour was not helping. She could remember what it sounded like leaving his lips, how much she'd willed him to say it again. Of course he hadn't, her own actions had prevented that. Draco sighed quietly before sitting back down on the stool, contemplating for a second as silence engulfed them.

"Why did you agree to come here, Granger?" The blonde leant forwards on his thighs again, eyes searching her face.

"I…" She didn't know the answer to that. Deep down inside her there was an answer, but it was too far to reach right now.

"Out of pity? I don't need your charity, if that's why you came." Draco looked down at the carpeted floor, wishing he'd thought to ask her before now. Then perhaps this could have all been avoided.

"No! That's not why at all." Her eyes bore into his head, slightly hurt that he'd think such a thing. "I-it's just…You're not the Malfoy I used to know." She thought about getting out of the bed and going to him, but deduced that would probably not help.

"I'm not the changed man you seem to think I am, Granger." Draco muttered; face still staring towards the floor. "I've done horrendous things that I can't take back. I've sat back and watched people get tortured and killed." The distress in his voice grew as he rested his forehead on his hands. "I sat back and watched you get fucking tortured, and I didn't do anything about it." Hermione held back a gasp, hand lingered over her mouth and fiddling with her lips. "I'm still the same coward."

"You're not." The only words that wanted to leave her lips sounded meagre.

"How can you be so calm about this? How can you even be in this house after everything that happened?" Draco closed his eyes tightly, hands rubbing over them briefly. Hermione couldn't help wander if he was going to cry.

"Everybody changes..." She climbed out of the bed and slid onto her knees in the small gap between him and the bed. "…even you." Hermione touched his chin lightly and he looked up at her, surprised at their sudden close proximity. There faces were inches apart again, like they had been in the garden a few days earlier. His eyes fell on hers and he could tell in an instant that she meant what she said. Only now did it sink in that she truly forgave him, and a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. Out of all the people he'd hurt, she was the one that mattered most. He didn't know why, nor did he care. Hermione stared back at him, aware of the small distance between them but preoccupied by his eyes. There was so much hidden behind them, so much pain-so much turmoil. It made her thankful she was already on the floor and therefore unable to fall from their impact.

"Granger…" Draco whispered, eyes falling from hers to linger on her lips briefly. His breathe mingled with her own, as their chests rose and fell in time with each other. Heartbeats increased with each passing moment and the blonde felt an uncontrollable urge to kiss the woman in front of him. He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help himself. Hermione didn't know what to do, but allowed him to lean forward all the same. Within seconds his lips caught hers and she inhaled sharply at the contact. Their eyes fluttered shut and she could fell all inhibitions float away, the only thing that mattered right then was each other. Their lips moved slowly at first, Draco's hands moving to rest on her back as her arms stretched out over his shoulders. His tongue swept across her bottom lip and she carefully obliged, a shiver running down her spine when their tongues touched. Her nostrils filled with the smell of his cologne as he cautiously lifted her from the floor and put her on the bed. Before her back could make contact with soft surface, which she really wanted it to, alarms bells rang in her ears.

"Wait, wait." Her lips reluctantly left his as she pushed at his chest and he quickly leant away, giving her plenty of space. "What are we doing?" Hermione moved further away from him, excited but too scared to think about it.

"I thought that would have been perfectly clear." Draco sat on the edge of the bed. He had tried not to kiss her, but he was unable to fight it-he wasn't strong enough. He knew all the reasons why he shouldn't have, but he also knew all the reasons why he should.

"We can't." Her breathing was still ragged as she tried to tame her wild hair. "There's Ron and-"

"You're not with him anymore." The blonde blurted out, cursing himself inwardly almost straight away.

"We're only on a break." Hermione watched Draco's back, his breathing sounded slightly dishevelled too. Guilt swam over her at the thought of Ron, it was probably still seen as cheating and it made her feel awful. The man stood from her bed and made his way to the door, he put a hand on the doorknob before stopping.

"Well, I'll leave you to sleep them." He yanked the door open, about to leave.

"I'm going to go home tomorrow." She declared quickly, eyes still on his back.

"Right." With this last word he exited the room, closing the door behind him with a little too much force. The bang rang through Hermione's ears and she cringed. Once silence had settled across the house once more, there was an even louder bang that almost had the furniture shaking. Draco had slammed his own bedroom door. The Gryffindor lay back on her bed, eyes closed as what just happened played over and over again in her head. She'd kissed Draco Malfoy, and she couldn't say she didn't like it.

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Hello again lovelies. I thought I'd make up for the huge wait, by posting to chapters! :D Hope you like them and let me know what you think!