Damaged Goods by slytherin_after_dark

Chapter 14

- NOT MY STORY!! ALL CREDITS TO @slytherin_after_dark ON A03!!
-
Walking to her room, she thought about the strange turn the evening had taken. The last thing she had expected was for Draco Malfoy to open up to her. For the first time in a long time, she had felt seen and understood. Someone with a shared experience. Being a Death Eater was vastly different than getting tortured by one once. She knew that. But there were so many similarities.

The sun had just risen and she stopped by one of the arches in the hallway to admire the look of it. Normally when she was up this early, it was because she had woken up from a nightmare.

"Hermione? Why are you up so early?" Harry asked and when she turned and he looked at the jacket she was wearing and the exact same dress as last night, his smile faltered.

"I could ask you the same thing." She smiled softly, awkwardly adjusting the oversized jacket on her.

"Auror duty."

"Ah." She nodded, wondering if there was another murder. If so, she surely would hear about it soon.

They both stood there, not knowing what to say. He had been her best friend when she started at Hogwarts and now, they barely could get through a conversation.

"Well, I'll let you get back to it then," she smiled.

"Are we okay?" He suddenly asked and the question surprised her. Harry looked at her with worry.

"Yes, of course."

"It's just, you're one of the most important people in my life and I feel like I'm losing you and I can't stop it."

She bit her lips together. "You mean because of Malfoy?"

His eyes traveled over the jacket on her and he couldn't hide a flinch. "No, not because of him. Don't get me wrong, I cannot stand him. I think he is vile and he doesn't deserve to even be in your presence. But I don't care about any of it as long as you're happy."

Happy. Such a simple word for a feeling that seemed so out of reach for her.

"Here," he took off his Gryffindor scarf and handed it to her.

She looked confused and he pointed at her neck. Fuck! Malfoy's love bite probably was very visible at this point. Quickly she took the scarf and wrapped it around her neck.

"All I want is for you to happy," he continued. "I just seem to not understand what that is for you anymore."

Her chest felt tight and she was fighting tears.

"But I want to be there for you, Hermione. However, I can."

"You could never lose me, Harry," she finally said and he smiled at her with that boyish charm of his.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

She nodded.

"And I know things are awkward with Ron," he continued. "But in a bit, things are going to be back to normal. He will calm down with his fragile little ego, you'll be back in Gryffindor and all will be okay."

His smile was infectious, she always thought that. But she knew it wasn't that simple. Things weren't just going to go back. They had all changed since the war. Too much had happened.

Tears were stinging her eyes.

"What if it won't? What if I'm not the same person I used to be?"

His smile faltered. He was always optimistic about everything. Sometimes overly so; annoyingly so. But even if she could be 'fixed', she had long realized she would never be the same person she used to be. Her biggest fear was that her friends wouldn't accept her for who she was becoming.