A Granger Reunion

7 Years Ago

7 years ago:
(In this, Lavender doesn't die, but is saved by Ron. She becomes a much better person, and becomes friends with Hermione.)

Hermione's POV:

The battle of Hogwarts had just ended. A collective sigh of relief could be heard. Once I comforted Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, I left to find Ron and Harry. I ran into Ron first.

"Look Ron-"

"Listen Hermione-"

We both chuckled a bit.

"You first, Hermione."

"Ron, I really do like you, but as a brother, nothing more. After we kissed, I realized that I had feelings for someone else. I'm sorry."

Ron did the last thing I expected him to do: He smiled.

"Thank goodness you said that Hermione. I was going to say the same thing. You are like a sister to me, and I just don't see you in a romantic way. I also have feelings for someone else."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was so worried that I would lose Ron's friendship, but this was going much better than I had expected.

"Friends?" Ron asked.

"Friends." I responded.

We both hugged each other, and we left to find Harry. We couldn't seem to find him, so we asked the Room of Requirement to open a door to his location. (I don't know if that is how the ROR works, but just roll with it.) We walked through the hall that the door had led us to, and found Harry and Ginny snogging each other.

I turned to Ron, expecting that he would go ballistic, like he usually does, but he just gave them a soft smile. I walked up to the pair, and tapped them both on the shoulder. They broke apart, bright red.

"Oh...Hermione! We didn't see you there..." Ginny stuttered.

I raised my eyebrow, then looked at Ginny.

"I expect a full story on this later."

She nodded, and smiled at me. I grinned at the two of them. I couldn't help it, they were just too cute!

"I'm going to go see if anyone else needs my help. You too may want to find Mrs. Weasley, she was looking for you both." I winked at the two of them, and left. As I wandered the corridors, casting Reparo on any object I could, I ran into Draco and Narcissa Malfoy.

Both of them appeared to have been crying, and Draco had his arm around his mother. I had never seen Draco cry, and he just looked so vulnerable and sad, it broke my heart. Without really thinking, I pulled Draco into a hug.

He was shocked at first, but then he hugged me back, and started to cry into my shoulder. I held him tightly, for who knows how long. When he finally let go, we smiled at each other. I then turned to Narcissa and hugged her as well.

She hugged me back, and for some reason, her hug felt so motherly. I had lost both my parents, because I hadn't been successful, and the death eaters had killed them both, but in Narcissa's arms, it felt like my mother was hugging me. I began to cry, and she patted my back in a soothing manner. Even though she had just been crying herself, she was comforting me. I felt loved, even though I had barely met this woman.

When we pulled apart, we looked at each other, and a sense of understanding passed between us. When I looked at Draco, he was practically grinning at the two of us. I blushed, and looked at the floor.

The next day, Draco runs up to me as I am cleaning the Great Hall.

"Hermione, I know I have treated you awfully these past years, and I am so sorry. If I could go back in time and fix all the hurt I caused you, I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm not going to make excuses about why I did it, you deserve better than that. I just want to say that I am so sorry."

At this apology, any pain that he had caused me melted away. He looked sincere, and I knew in that moment, that the feelings that I had for Draco exploded into a frenzy. I fell deeply in love with him.

"Of course I forgive you. I'm sure you had your reasons, and you can tell me those another day. For right now, would you like to go to lunch with me in a few hours?" I asked him.
He looked quite shocked, but then smiled at me.

"That sounds great. Could we meet at the Three Broomsticks at 12:30?"

"Sounds good!" I responded.

We smiled at each other, and then he walked away. I smiled to myself, and the day seemed to get better.