Hermione Granger and The Burning Egg

Chapter 7

When Hermione became aware of Draco's presence, she was curled into a ball crying softly. She had retreated to the same garden she had used to spy on he and Luna earlier in the week. It was dimly lit with only spots of moonlight making it through the tree branches which made it a perfect place to hide. She knew her friends would be searching everywhere but she didn't want to hear how justified she was in her actions. Their self-righteousness never really touched the guilt because she knew however necessary the things she had done had been, there was no coming back from them. She heard his foot scuff the ground as he turned to let Luna know where she was when her head shot up. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red. "Don't tell anyone where I am."

Draco stopped and looked down at her. "They're just going to keep looking for you."

She bit her bottom lip and thought for a moment. "Expecto Patronum" The blue light sputtered, flickered, and died out. Hermione cursed. It was so much harder to cast one after the war. After everything she'd seen. She dug into her bag and dragged out her DA galleon and scratched out a message. Went Home H.G.

Draco was silent as he watched her then turned to leave.

"Draco wait."

He stopped and looked back at her curiously. She didn't want self-righteousness but maybe she could learn to live with her darkness like he was.

"Stay."

"Please."

She shoved the galleon back into her bag and sat with her chin on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs. She stared at the water feature in the corner as it dribbled into the pond, her eyes blank. Draco hesitated before moving to sit beside her his long legs splayed out in front of him as he leaned back on his arms.

They sat in silence. He didn't push her to explain anything. Just waited.

"They don't actually blame me you know." She muttered into the cool night air. "Colins parents." She tilted her head so that she could look at him. "They actually thanked us." He caught her eyes with his own as she continued, "It doesn't really help. Knowing that they don't blame us. I still hate it."

His eyes searched her face. "Did you mean to permanently disfigure Marietta?" Hermione's breath hitched as the guilt crushed her again. She whispered. "Yes." He raised his eyebrows, his grey eyes intense. "Why?"

Hermione breathed out slowly hugging her shoulders. "Umbridge was terrifying. The things she did to Harry were abhorrent enough. I knew if I ever did something truly worth her ire, I would be facing far worse." She paused staring at his face softly lit by the dappled moonlight. He wasn't giving anything away. "I also knew a war was coming. I needed to know they couldn't betray us to our deaths."

Her breath hitched again, and she looked away while the tears gathered, shining in her eyes. "I was also just, so angry. I hated Voldemort. I truly hated everything he stood for. Because... he hated me. He hated my kind. So much so he wanted to wipe us off the face of the earth. It made me want to hurt his people back."

She heard Draco breathe out slowly. "Why didn't your Patronus work earlier? I'm sure I've seen you cast them before."

The question caught her off guard. "You need to think of something that makes you truly happy and after the war, sometimes when I'm feeling like this... I can't." She shuffled. "Plus, most of my truly happy memories are of my parents and they're... tainted now."

Her eyes glistened with tears as she thought of the little house with the empty bookcases and blank walls.

"I can understand that." He said quietly. "Why did you ask me to stay?"