~Accidentally on Purpose!~

~13~ ~YOUR EYES TELL~

Don't worry. I don't own anything. It is the world of JK Rowling. We are just living in it ;) And none of the art except the cover page belong to me. HAPPY READING!

Today was a tag-along day and Hermione expected it to be a long one at that, sadly.

Draco was going for a monthly inspection of the estates, farms, lands, and what not in the old Wilshire area and she just decided to get along with him. To be honest, the events of last night had led to some more awkwardness between the two as compared to when she arrived at the manor. It was all very sudden and she was still not able to comprehend what exactly had happened to him yesterday. As she was getting ready for today, she replayed her not so peaceful walk the night before.

She was walking along the trees lined on the borders of the manor gardens admiring the cool breeze and dead silence of the night when she suddenly heard some commotion from the nearby fountain. Cautiously, she moved towards the middle fountain and found Theo and Draco in a deep discussion.

The latter had his back towards her and she noticed Theo giving him a sly smirk to which she replied with her half-hearted smile. At the spot, Draco turned around with his eyes closed and asked her what she was doing here. She almost gave back a remark on the lines that who was he to ask such a thing to her when she stopped as he addresses her as 'MUM'. It was an insight into the relationship between Mrs. Malfoy and the broad-shouldered man before he had. She ignored the thought and instead resorted to mock him. As expected, he was not the one to back down, and soon they were walking together away from the manor, deep into the tree arrays.

After some small talk, Draco took a step close to her and she was still confused as to why her heartbeat quickened at this subtle action. She was racking her brain to guess what he was trying to do when she felt his grey eyes piercing into his hazel ones and she was in a trance. Another first! His eyes were beautiful and she had never seen anything like them before. His stoic expression was gone and he was masking his real feelings.

Still, she was able to read remorse in his eyes, and to top everything he held her hands in his and her first thought was to snatch them away from his grasp. What made her stop? She still didn't know, sadly. Her guess was the next words that came out of his lips.

******

"I am sorry!" he sighed.

"HUH?"

"Just, for everything I ever did. Dumbledore, Potter, Weasley, Katie, you, and everyone else. I am ashamed for ...."

Hermione interrupted, "Wait Malfoy. Why are you saying this now and why to me?"

Draco was confused, to say the least, he had imagined this many times but this was never the reply. "Uhhh, I thought you ...."

"You thought I would love to hear you apologize for everyone to me?" She raised her voice to get the logic through his head. "I am not the advocate of anyone, Malfoy and neither am I your psychiatrist that you are spilling all your thoughts to me." She wriggled her hands out of his grip and took a step back.

"Okay, I understand, and add this to my list of apologies. Then, please listen to me for few moments." When she did not move away, he continued.

"I am sorry for calling you names and harassing you and your friends during school. I was wrong and I repent my actions. I am sorry for not helping you the day you were in the manor and most importantly I am sorry for being a coward all these years."

Hermione stood there with her mouth agape. She never would have expected to hear Draco Malfoy saying that he was wrong. She recomposed herself pretty quickly and saw that he was sincere. His eyes told so and they were never wrong.

"Okay, I understand but I also want to clarify that I am not a stupid person who'll accept everything after some words. You have been treating me pretty badly since day 1 of Hogwarts and not to mention here too. I get that you are sorry for what you did as a teen and you want to get it off your chest. But I can't forget and forgive everything. I hope you understand. And I promise I'll give you another chance if you are asking for it."

"Yes, thanks. I do not hope for more. Just another chance to prove that war changes everyone, even me."

Hermione stared at him and was unable to take in that he had the same thinking like her. She nodded her head, muttered a goodbye, and fled the scene to avoid him noticing the faint blush on her cheeks. It was true that she had already given him and everyone else she knew had a good heart even before coming here.

Shit! She was late and Hermione Granger was never late. She picked up her sling bag, hastily tied her laces, and ran out the door only to collide with a person's chest, and guess what?? It's him. Of course, she scoffed and ignored the person and continued to walk to the foyer."Hermione, please."

A/N - Hi Guys, any comments, constructive criticism or reviews are more than welcome!

Don't forget to comment and vote if you like the story. Stay safe.

~ gK