Baton Rouge

- 37 -

They were the only ones left in the winter garden. Hermione was curled up in one of the armchairs Blaise and Ginny had been sitting in earlier. They had left the cottage together at some point and Malfoy had disappeared upstairs shortly after their departure. So now she was alone with a thoughtful looking Harry.

"How are you?" he asked.

Hermione sighed. That was a very good question. Ever since she had taken the first step into the cottage, her emotions had gone haywire. For the most part, though, she was overwhelmed, practically stunned, and it would probably take her quite a while to assimilate the full extent of the informations she had received today. The 'before' was forgotten for now.

"I'm fine. I'm just so glad to be with you guys. And I'm so incredibly glad you're all right, Harry. You and Ginny, both of you." Her lips trembled. "It's just so much at once. I think, I need some time to process all of this."

He nodded in understanding while his hands twirled his wand absently. He drew invisible circles in the air and didn't even seem to notice.

"Ginny and Blaise..." It took Hermione some will to use Zabini's first name. She hesitated. "...well, what happened to Ginny and you, Harry?"

She had been wondering that for hours. When Ginny had entered the house a few hours ago, Hermione had just assumed it was Harry's child the redhead was carrying under her heart. It would never have occurred to her that there was another possibility. Accordingly, the revelation that Blaise was the father had taken her by surprise.

Harry made a dismissive hand gesture.

„That's all right, really." Hermione raised an eyebrow, but he seemed serious. "After the Battle, I was on the run immediately and had no way of staying in touch with Ginny. I was traveling alone for almost two years. Of course I was incredibly worried about her, about all of you, but I knew that one day she would manage to be happy without me and eventually I came to terms with the thought. When Blaise and Ginny finally tracked me down, I just knew something was between the two of them. A chemistry or whatever you want to call it. I don't think they realized themselves at the time. But I noticed that it didn't hurt me at all. The war and my escape changed us both so much. So we just kind of went back to being friends."

Hermione was surprised at how calm and sober Harry spoke about it. He sounded so fucking grown up. And for some reason it broke her heart because it reminded her of her own feelings that had haunted her all those years in Knockturn Alley. His words spoke of pure resignation. Harry too had accepted his supposed fate and just put up with it. Ginny might be happy again, if that was even possible these days, but Harry had been just as alone as Hermione the whole time. The thought was hard to bear.

"And what about you?" he asked suddenly, stretching. Hermione looked up in surprise.

"What do you mean? I'm definitely not in love with Blaise," she assured him, a self-mocking smile creeping onto her lips.

Harry stayed serious.

"Well, not with him, I suppose."

Of course, she knew immediately what, or rather who, Harry was referring to. Still, her heart was pounding in her throat now because she hadn't realized it was that obvious. And it just confirmed once again that she wasn't just imagining it. That there really was something between Malfoy and her. Between Draco and her. She swallowed.

Harry didn't seem to expect an answer at all. He stood up and gently placed a hand on her shoulder as he passed.

"We all deserve a little happiness, Hermione. Each of us in our own way," he said quietly.

+.+.+

Draco slowly climbed the stairs to the first floor. He was on the way to his room, where he would throw himself back onto his bed and probably stare senselessly at the ceiling for hours.