Changed

Different

I sit next to him. My side screaming in pain because of a spell cast at my shoulder during the battle. Draco doesn't even lift his head up in recognition. Before I know what I am doing, I wrap my arms around him and whisper in his ear, "Nobody blames you, you can try to redeem yourself," and I stand to walk away. But before I can leave, he grabs my arm and pulls me back to see him. The slender boy with pale blond hair slicked back that I knew back in my early years in Hogwarts was gone. In his place was a messy haired blonde boy. His pale blue eyes glistening in the dim room. His handsomeness was no longer covered with his devilish grin. Instead, he looked more modest. More clean almost. He stands up, his blonde hair in his face, "Hermione, if nobody blamed me, why would I need redemption." And with that, he stalks away. I say in place for a while, wondering if he feels guilty or ashamed, or maybe even both. And then I run after him, I feel as if there is a thin cord connecting me and Draco, and if I stand too far away it might break. And I would rather it stay intact for now. I find him in the now, half ruined fountains. On his knees, trying to wash the dried blood off his hands. I rip a piece of my old robe and soak it in water. I wipe the rag over his hands smoothly, not wanting to hurt him. Only by touching his hands I still feel as if I had crossed a boundary.
"Thank you, Granger" he says so lightly I can barely hear him.
"You're welcome. And please, call me Hermione." I say giving him a soft grin. He smiles faintly at this, but the smile hadn't completely reached his eyes yet. His smile were joyful but his eyes were still deep in sorrow.
"I owe you one, Hermione," he says, a little louder now "you're the only one who wasn't walked away in disgust from me." I look down at my hands, now that I am finished with his hands, I softly dab his forehead and temples, wiping the ash from his face.
"I am not disgusted by you Draco. The opposite actually, you have lost a lot, but in a way the others haven't. You have lost and sacrificed so much. It was a vey brace and noble thing to do. I don't hate you, on the contrary, I aspire to have as much courage as you do." When I say that he grabs the hand that was washing his face. He holds it in his says "I am sorry Hermione Granger. For everything I might have done over the years. I owe you so much. One day, you have to let me do something for you. You have to let me show you, who I want you to see me as."
"Deal" I reply. And we just sit there. In the ashy weather, my hands in his. And in the silence I stare into his eyes, imagining the stormy sky's that go with it.