To a Better End

Chapter 28

March 12th 1945

Hermione was fucked.

She knew it. Malfoy knew it. And it was essentially confirmed that Abraxas and Alphard knew it. Too many times, Hermione found herself holding the scrap of paper Abraxas gave her. It was on her person all the time, in hopes that whatever was written would reveal itself.

And while she was enjoying every bit of her relationship with Tom, she couldn't help but feel the guilt build up in her before she buried deeper again and again. The looks Malfoy gave her shook her. It finally hit her that she was seeing jealousy-ridden eyes.

But that couldn't be right. Anything that she had with Malfoy before was just physical. It was just convenient. Right?

Whatever was going on in his mind was driving a wedge between the two of them. Hermione had to fix it - this was her fault after all. So with determined steps, she walked into the great hall during breakfast and headed straight to Malfoy and his friends.

She stood there for a few moments while Malfoy sat there, ignoring her presence entirely. It was Alphie who spoke up.

"Hey. You can sit with us if you want, Mione." Hermione smiled at the nickname.

"Thank you, Alphie."

The other two wizards eyed her suspiciously while she grabbed a plate and began filling it. It didn't go unnoticed that Malfoy prepared her coffee just as he used to, even if her presence was unexpected. She missed this. It was a nice routine that was absent from her life for too long.

Hermione took a sharp inhale, preparing herself for the conversation she had planned. "I'm sorry."

"What is it that you think you did?" Malfoy was casually sipping his morning tea, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm not really sure where to start." Suddenly she wasn't sure she had an appetite at all.

Malfoy glanced over at her briefly. "You want to do this here? With them?" He gestured to the other two wizards who pretended very badly that they couldn't see or hear Hermione and Malfoy.

"I know they know." Malfoy waved his hand for her to continue. "I thought I was strong enough to do this. I thought I could handle it all, but I just kept spiralling and falling deeper. I feel like we need to give up."

"We're not giving up, Granger."

"But-"

He held his hand out for her to stop. "Granger, I don't know why you think I came here with you, but I will not stop caring for you because you fell for the wrong boy. I just needed some time to solidify my plan."

" Your plan?"

"Yes. I have a plan that will bring us to the next stage. You can live in your dream a little bit longer, but come October, I'll be whisking you away."

"Whisking me away? Dra-"

Before she was able to finish her thought, a sharp pain hit her left arm. She grabbed Malfoy's leg with a tightness that must have hurt, judging by the way he scrunched his face. She had only a moment of reprieve until it hit her again.

"Granger?"

"Draco. It's happening," she whispered harshly through clenched teeth. She wanted to scream and cry out, but this was not the place to lose her composure.

"What's happening?" Malfoy answered his own question when he grabbed her left arm and saw her wince at the touch. "Fuck. I'm so sorry, Granger. I'm so sorry." The desperation in his voice would have had more of an impact if she wasn't relieving one of the worst days of her life.