DRAGON'S HEARTSTRINGS || dramione | harry potter

Chapter Thirty-Two

Hermione knew what she had to do. She couldn't let herself drown in self-pity, she had to get to work. As soon as the next day she packed the uneaten dinner from yesterday's dinner and went to where the Azkaban prisoners waiting for trial were supposed to be held. She asked the guards to see her husband, postponing telling Draco's name out loud for as long as possible, but she still in the end had to admit that he was her husband, so, naturally, she wasn't allowed to see him, and the food she was ready to give him had soon gone cold.

The next day also brought no victories – she tried to bribe the prison guards firstly to at least look at Draco, to see if he was alright, and when that didn't work she demanded to see the head of the prison but she was denied in all ways possible. She tried to tell everyone she saw there that Draco would be unable to live in the presence of Dementors for long, and if any of them cared for at least the livelyhood of their prisoners, they must make sure the Dementors don't hurt him too bad. One of the guards then msut've felt some type of empathy for her, because he was quick to assure her, "Ma'am, you mustn't worry, there are no Dementors in Azkaban anymore; all of them left soon after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named lost."

Nobody yet dared to speak about the war being over, nobody dared to say Voldemort's name out loud, and nobody either wanted to admit the High Reeve Draco Malfoy was the one who killed Voldemort and brought all that hell to the end, or the people simply didn't know how exactly the war ended. However, the knowledge that Dementors were not hurting Draco brought Hermione at least some comfort.

Even though everyday she was met with the same blank faces of the prison guards, the same denials to meet her loved one, the same refusals to let her speak to higher-ups, Hermione still visited Azkaban every day. A whole week full of disappointment and resentment passed this way. Hermione tried out everything, she wanted nothing more but to at least catch a glimpse of Draco and see how he was bearing his new existence. She knew he was strong and resilient, she had so much faith in him, and she believed he was going to be alright no matter what, but she still worried excessively. Was he eating well? Where was he sleeping? If the Dementors no longer guarded Azkaban, what were the new guards like? Were they treating Draco well? Was he being interrogated by Aurors? Was he being forced to tell them all that happened? There were more questions than answers, and Hermione couldn't bear to be with those dark thoughts any longer.

She was surprised to see Luna on her way out of the Azkaban one late evening; Luna was coming in right as Hermione head out. They were both startled to bump into one another.

"Luna... What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione... I came here to see Blaise... He's awaiting trial..." Luna answered.

"Draco, too. Did you get to meet Blaise?"

Luna nodded, "Yeah, we had a meeting with his lawyer."

"Lawyer... That's right, that's what Draco needs!" Hermione exclaimed. "They're not letting me see him, but I'm sure if he had a lawyer, everything would run a lot smoother..."

Luna looked around, then took Hermione's hand in hers. "Let's go to my place. I'll make you some tea."

Luna's home was a shabby one-room flat in downtown London. It was small and a bit untidy, but still quite cozy. Luna gave Hermione a giant mug of greenish tea which Hermione knew better than to drink, so she only pretended to sip it slowly.

Hermione explained all that happened to her and Draco since they last met. Luna, in turn, told her what happened to Blaise – that they were staying here after the incident at the Department of Mysteries, lying low. They heard the news of Voldemort's death on a radio one night and decided to go straight to the Ministry to get Blaise pardoned – that's when he was detained.