Second Chances (Fremione)

32.

Hermione had trouble sitting through Dumbledore's welcome speech, knowing that it was probably his last. She hoped she could save him. She was going to try as hard as she could to save him. But somehow she just knew that he was going to have to die. And as he addressed the school before the feast, it somehow felt like he knew too.

She tried not to steal too many glances toward the slytherin table as they ate, knowing that she couldn't have Ron and Harry catching her looking at Malfoy. But she was struck again by how sad, how conflicted he looked and she was more sure than ever that he could be saved. But she knew that he needed help, only help that she could provide.

Malfoy hardly ate any of his dinner before excusing himself from the Great Hall and quickly running out the door. Hermione waited a few minutes and then excused herself as well.

She knew where he was. The Room of Requirement. She just hoped that it would let her in. To her surprise, it was almost as if the room knew that she was trying to help Malfoy, as it appeared to her and allowed her into the crowded room. There he was in the corner, back turned to her as if he didn't even hear her come in. He was just staring at the cabinet, as if willing it to work. As if he was trying to convince himself that he didn't need to do this.

"Malfoy?" Hermione said. "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realize the room was occupied." She told him, pretending this wasn't the exact reason she came in here. She turned to go, hoping he would say something.

"You don't need to go. I don't even know what I'm doing here." He said.

"It looks like you're staring at an old beat up wardrobe. It's a vanishing cabinet, isn't it?" She said, taking a step toward him.

Malfoy nodded. "Why, have you ever seen one?" He asked, trying to hide the eagerness evident in his voice.

"No,  but I've read about them. They're very hard to fix and this one looks to be in pretty bad shape." Hermione said, taking a closer look. "Are you in the market for a vanishing cabinet?"

"I just... Um... I was thinking of trying to fix it. I thought it might be a nice challenge." Malfoy said. Hermione was shocked. He hadn't insulted her once.

"Do you need help?" Hermione offered without really thinking.

"Help? From you?" Malfoy scoffed.

"Sure, why not? The two of us are always battling it out for the top spot in class. I bet if we put our heads together we could make it work. It could be fun."

"You want me to work with you? Why would I ever work with a mud..." He stopped himself. "With you, Granger?"

"Because you're not going to do it on your own." She answered.

"No one can know about this." He said.

"Agreed."

"And we're not friends"

"Of course not."

"Tomorrow, 10 PM"

He quickly turned and left, leaving Hermione wondering how she possibly could have had such a cordial conversation with Draco Malfoy.