Funeral Promise

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Crying, tears and grief clouded the funeral air. Despite it being a smaller gathering compared to the funeral of other, more well-known martyrs, the hall was still fairly crowded with well-wishers and grievers. Most prominent of all, was the Weasley family, who stood clustered around Fred's coffin. The youngest Weasley girl was crying into her mum's shoulder, while the other male members knelt and stood, tears leaking from their closed eyelids. George Weasley wasn't even able to look at the coffin, his eyes staring blankly ahead.

Granger and Potter were also there, comforting the Weasley family, with weak words and sharing in their part of the grieving process, their faces still weathered from the recent war.

Draco watched this all from the safety of a disillusionment charm, his eyes watery and downcast, his lips in a thin line of guilt. He knew that to approach the coffin, he'd have to wait until the hall was cleared; no Death Eater would be allowed within ten feet of such a sacred place. The boy waited patiently, waiting for the right time.

Eventually, he watched as the entire crowd moved outside, the emotionally-stable of the group advising that the fresh air would do them all some good. Soon the hall was empty. Swiftly, Draco slid out from the shadows and undid the charm, his eyes darting to the entrance doors.

All tact vanished; however, when his eyes fell upon the lone coffin upon the pedestal. He remembered Fred Weasley well, not that he knew the guy's name at the time; George and Fred were identical in every which way. The twins' antics had always brought a smile to his face, even during sixth year, he remembered appreciating the twins' handiwork at their joke shop and in fifth year, had internally cheered along with everyone else, when the twins had taught Umbridge a lesson with those fireworks. They'd been the light and soul of the school, not that Draco'd ever let that on. A rush of guilt enveloped him as he realised just what he'd taken from George Weasley. How could the guy even look in the mirror without reducing to tears? He probably didn't anymore.

Kneeling beside the coffin, Draco whispered, his voice croaky and hoarse 'I'm sorry, Fred. I know I never called you that when you were alive, but I didn't know then. I didn't know that you were right and I was wrong. I'm sorry for taking your life from you and depriving you of an amazing future. You were never fit for school; business was your thing. I know for a fact that business is booming for George. I wish that you could be here to see it too. I'm sorry, Fred, I'm really sorry' Draco didn't realise that he was crying until he felt his damp cheeks.

A hand came to rest on his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly.

He would've jumped, but he was used to surprises now. He just hoped the person would leave him alone. He'd had too much hate in the past week

"That was really sweet, Draco" Hermione Granger said. Her?

"Of course you would find it sweet" he snarled, trying to surreptitiously wipe his tears.

He expected Granger to retaliate, but instead, she smiled "You can't scare me off anymore." Draco stood up and he watched as Hermione wiped the tears from his eyes affectionately, as if she'd done it many times before 'It's not your fault he's dead, you know? I know you blame yourself"

"None of your business" Draco snapped, but his voice had lost its bite and he found himself staring mindlessly into those great, brown orbs of hers.

'You have to stop closing yourself up, Draco' Hermione whispered quietly. 'I've stopped you know'

Then, as if to make her point, she wove her fingers in with his tightly, silently promising to never let go.

~*~

A/N: Another short Dramione story! I hope you liked it! I've been considering uploading it up here for a while, but never really got a chance to do so.

I really do hope you liked it!

Please vote, share and comment! It really lightens up my day y'all and I'd wholly appreciate you taking the time to comment once or twice. Thank you so much to those who've done so on my other stories! :)

Sam <3