sincerity and repentance | dramione *VERY SLOW UPDATES*

49 | change.

Nobody has said a word in maybe half an hour. Hermione is sitting on a chair, while Blaise and Draco are both sitting on the couch. The blonde is pretty absent as his eyes tell he is zoned out. Luckily, the judge listened to Granger and believed her - as she is the victim she would have no intention of lying in court. So he was acquitted in all aspects.

It turned out that Alex Grayson actually liked Hermione, mostly because she appears as a strong and independent woman and because she is a muggleborn he found her interesting. Another plus point was the fact that she is very popular as a war hero and he wanted to gain a profit from this fact for his own person and for his job in the ministry as he hoped to get into a better position after starting a relationship with her.

He noticed that she really wanted to help the Malfoy, so the blonde Slytherin had to disappear. And who would believe him when he says he is innocent but Granger was poisoned? So Alex convinced Hermione to meet up and gaslighted her into dressing up as he wants to. When they met up in a café he put the poison in her cappucchino as she went to a toilet.

He knew she would faint as soon as she was home and that the Malfoy would be accused of it. Normally, the brunette would not remembered much but it appeared that he used the wrong dose of the poison, so she did remember things.

Hermione looks at Draco quite concerned, she knows how much he is afraid of going back to prison and that the trauma is just adding up for him. »I am sorry for what happened, Draco. I should not have trusted him.« she speaks quietly. Blaise looks in her direction. »It is not your fault, Granger. You could not have known that he is such a...Well, am better not finishing that sentence.« The mood is weird, so she just shakes her head.

»Still, I should have known. I survived a war, Zabini. I met so many people, I just should have known.« Standing up, she goes through her hair with her fingers and gets a bad conscience the more she thinks about what she has done to the former Slytherin. She knew how traumatized he was already before she landed in hospital. But now that he was in Azkaban again, it must be worse.

»It is not your fault, Granger. Please do not blame yourself, you are smart but cannot know everything.« The Malfoy says these words but not in an arrogant way, rather calmly. Her gaze becomes absolutely misunderstood. His gaze challenges her as he just stares at her with the same expression that he has just said his last words. 

Hermione shakes her head. »However, I am still sorry. I knew how much trauma you went through and how much you disliked him. I feel so stupid for meeting up with him.«

»Why did you do it anyways? No offence, Granger, but you can do better.« Zabini says and laughs shortly at the end of the sentence to symbolise the way it is meant. The brunette gets distracted and looks away from the blonde to Blaise and seems to be very confused. »What exactly do you mean, Zabini?« Somehow - and for both former Slytherins the first time they ever experience it - she does not understand the meaning of the sentence. 

He raises an eyebrow. »Why did you meet this bloody bastard?« She turns away and shrugs. »It is too embarassing, I do not want to talk about it.« Draco nods understanding. »Do not worry, I am not going to force you to talk about it...But well, let me just say one thing: What I saw was not the Hermione Granger I knew from Hogwarts but rather a complete strange woman. If he told you to change - for him or generally - he is wrong. You are a good woman, a brilliant one even. Do not change your looks or personality, just because someone told you. I made this mistake, do not make the same one.«

With the last sentence he stands up and leaves the room. Even though Hermione stands backwards to him, she just knows that he is looking directly at her while he is speaking. As she turns around, he is already gone.