Everything Changes (A Dramione fanfic)

Chapter Thirty-One

Hermione was about done sulking around and pretending to read, because actually reading was no longer working. She decided to leave the common room, for it was becoming much like a prison cell and just leaving, she realized, might help her feel better. She grabbed a light jumper for the warmth of the fire would not follow her and headed out. It may not have been cold, but it was quite chilly. She thought suddenly of her mother's tea kettle brewing a nice warm treat. Had she spent her Christmas at home she wouldn't feel lonely and empty and she would be having a nice cup of tea right about now. Did she require tea she wondered, or was it simply a luxury? The tear running down her cheek told her she needed it.

...

Draco found himself pacing before the very spot in which the Room of Requirement should appear. He hoped some miracle would help the room figure out what it was he needed even when he himself wasn't quite sure. Perhaps something as simple as a warm meal to prevent him from having to go to the great hall and settle his grumpy stomach. It wasn't like he could wish up a companion, and even then it wouldn't be pleasant. His picnics with Hermione were over. At that very thought the entrance appeared, leaving a very stunned Draco to hesitantly walk in.

Draco spotted a round table surrounded by plump chairs. On the table was a tea set. This confused Draco, who wasn't expecting to need something along the lines of a refreshment. The brew was boiling hot and hovering just above them, dropping a sugar cube, was Hermione Granger. There. He felt as though he had just enjoyed a gulp of tea-and the warmth was spreading through him. Hermione let out a little gasp, dropping the second cube without a glance. She stared stunned at him, confused but not upset. "I...I just wanted some...tea..." she said hesitantly. "What...what are you here for?" was all she could manage. Draco shook his head, unable to lie to himself or her any longer. "You." he said. "I miss you, Hermione. I miss having...a friend." the word somehow not strong enough and yet it was the only thing he could muster. It was as if for once in his life Draco had a billion things to say and yet he couldn't manage to say it.

...

Hermione shook her head looking at him. She couldn't make up her mind about him, about who he was. How could she tell him that? "Hermione?" Draco repeated tearing her from her thoughts. "I don't know how I feel about being around you quite yet." she admit. "Why is it any different from the way you felt about being around me at our picnics out on the field?" he pushed. "Because...Bellatrix...and you...your family...the mark." she couldn't summarize it properly and yet not a single other word was needed. She couldn't even convince herself she had a true argument. "You've always known Hermione. Since the beginning of this. Since the beginning of us." The beginning of us. "You knew when you began to trust me what family I came from. It was you who freed me from the idea that I was one of them. It's been you all this time, changing me-making me better. The Dark Mark was there the whole time, hiding just beneath a sleeve while we sat out on the Quidditch field having picnics each day, or riding on a broomstick," Draco pulled up his sleeve revealing the mark, practically making Hermione flinch. "It was there. It's here. It unfortunately always will be but it does nothing to define me. I am nothing like the Draco you knew before. I'm finally somebody that I don't hate...I can't bear having you hating me when I've finally found my acceptance." Hermione unable to to avert her gaze from the mark on his arm, stared unmercifully. There would be no secrets between them, no hiding of their true feelings or thoughts if they were to get through this conversation. A single tear slowly slid down her cheek without her acknowledgment but not without Draco's, who rushed to move closer to her.

...

The instinct to comfort her came quicker now, the awkwardness of before now completely gone. It was immediate. So much so that Draco had been near her in an instant without a thought. It was not until he had reached out to touch her that he hesitated for a moment. There would be no filter to their thoughts or emotions anymore, he decided as he reached for her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Her head snapped up and she then looked Draco in the eyes for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. Her brown eyes stared into Draco, studying him as she did everything just for a moment until she seemed to relax. He felt under the palm of his hand only seconds later all tension leave her.

...

Draco's grey eyes had never before seemed so deep, Hermione was drowning in their sincerity. She looked into them and tried so hard to remember why it was she was upset with Draco to begin with and why she was fighting forgiveness now.

SOOOO this chapter took forever and I have no excuse. I'm so sorry...but today the story seemed to come so freely and I'm very excited! Please leave a comment with your thoughts! Thanks! -jazzyjstar*