Graveyard Valentine ❤️

Chapter Two

February 14th, 2000

Hermione rested her weight against the oak tree and sighed. At least she'd remembered to wear gloves this time.

Malfoy was here again, and she could make out the shape of a rose dangling from his fingers.

In the past year, her mind had drifted back to their confrontation many times, and she'd wondered if he would return again today, and why he'd visited Tonks' grave in the first place. She had even tried to imagine what she might say to him, never quite reaching a conclusion about what would be appropriate, and perhaps that was why she wasn't particularly shocked by his presence, but a strange knot of nerves settled in her stomach as she approached him. When she was a few steps away, he glanced at her over his shoulder with an indifferent look, like he'd been expecting her, and she absently noted that his features were still lifeless, and his eyes still vacant.

"You're here again," she mumbled, chastising herself for stating the obvious. "I mean, I wasn't sure you would-

"Are you going to start shouting again?" he cut her off, but there was no venom in his voice. "Because I'll be leaving in a minute-

"No, no, it's okay," she said quickly. "I...uh...I want to apologise for the way I spoke to you last year. It was unnecessary, and I was upset, and...yes, I'm sorry."

She was surprised to find she actually meant the apology, and judging by the way Draco's eyebrows rose high on his forehead, he was surprised too. Nibbling her lower lip and feeling a little foolish as he continued to stare at her in silence, she almost wished she had repeated her previous actions and simply shouted at him until he'd fled.

"You know," he muttered finally. "Most people would say I was the one who owed you an apology."

"You don't strike me as an apologetic person."

His eyes became animated for a brief moment, and he almost grinned. "I'm not."

"Well, neither am I usually," she went on, awkwardly shifting her weight. "But I had no right to tell you to leave-

"So you have no objection to me being here?"

She took a moment to consider his question, deciding that this was easily one of the most bizarre moments she could recall in her life. And that was saying something. A loud part of her brain was screaming at her to ask him to leave again, but, as was often the case, her curiosity was so much louder, and she realised she was deeply intrigued about his reasons for being here. She was also curious about his behaviour, which she determined could almost be considered civil, and against her better judgement, she shrugged her shoulders.

"It's a free country," she said after the long pause. "You can do what you want."

He nodded and returned his empty stare to Tonks' grave, and the two of them remained like that for a while, neither speaking or even moving as the cold wind thrashed around them. The silence was far from comfortable, and the urge to break it made Hermione's tongue itch, but it was Draco who spoke first.

"Tell me something about her," he requested suddenly, keeping his eyes on the headstone.

"What do you-

"Just tell me something about her," he said again. "Anything."

Hermione's brow wrinkled as she spoke. "Well, she was an Auror, and she was an amazing dueller. She was so brave-

"No, not like that," he stopped her. "The big things are what make people heroes, not humans. Tell me something small."

She went quiet again, rubbing her lips together with thought. "Well...she liked Muggle music, like the Beatles-

"Smaller," he interrupted, flicking his eyes to her expectantly. "How did she take her tea?"

Hermione blinked at him in bewilderment. "She didn't like tea. She only drank coffee; black with one sugar."

"What else?"

"She...um...she hated jam, so she only had butter on her toast, but she preferred teacakes."

He cocked his head like he was storing the information and twirled the rose between his fingers. "Something else."

"She loved brown sauce," she continued distantly. "She used to put it on everything. Even things like steak and pasta..." her voice hitched, and she clenched her eyes shut when they started to ache with inevitable tears. "God, I miss her."

She hadn't intended to say it out loud but there it was, sitting in the air between them, practically begging him to mock or judge, and she instantly felt vulnerable and ridiculous. She angled her face away from Draco, waiting until the wind had plucked away the licks of her tears before she turned back to him, ready to challenge whatever taunt had been eagerly tickling the tip of his tongue. But when she opened her eyes, she found that Draco was actually looking at her, almost fixated on her like he was trying to memorise each inch of her expression and scar it onto his brain, and she shivered under the intensity of it.

"Why are you here, Malfoy?" she asked bluntly, not really expecting a response but feeling the need to say something. She probably should've learned by now that it was futile to try and predict anything that Draco Malfoy would do.

"I have no siblings and she was my only cousin," he said evenly, but there was a peculiar undertone to his voice that was captivating, and Hermione held her breath. "It was the same for her; no siblings and I was her only cousin."

"I don't understand."

"I would think you would understand perfectly, having no siblings yourself," he disputed. "Unless you have cousins who you share a good relationship with?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't have any cousins."

"Then I'm sure you do understand," he muttered. "It's probably why you and Potter are so close. My point is, I think she and I would've had a very different relationship had we been brought up under different circumstances."

Hermione stared at him, open-mouthed and wide-eyed like he'd spoken in a language she didn't understand, and in a way, he had. "Why did you tell me that?" she asked. "In fact, why are you being...civil to me at all?"

When his eyes shifted to her this time, his body followed, and he tapped his forefinger against one of the rose's thorns. "You and I have more in common than them," he said, nodding his head towards the graves. "We bleed and breathe the same, and perhaps that's all that matters in the end. Before we join them."

"Okay," she mumbled uncertainly. "Is that a cryptic and morose way of telling me that you don't believe those blood prejudices anymore? That you've learned your lesson?"

"Something like that," he said, and his lips tilted into half a smirk. "If you of all people are calling me cryptic, Granger, I'm wondering if I should be concerned."

Hermione almost smiled, but she caught it. That would simply be too surreal. "Is that why you really come here?" she asked, her tone harsher than intended. "You know, you won't find redemption in a graveyard, Malfoy."

His half-smirk disappeared and he straightened his spine. "I'm not looking for redemption, Granger. I'm just looking for a respite."

With that, he dropped the black rose on Tonks' grave, pivoted on his heel, and walked away in much the same way as last year. And again, Hermione was left speechless, her eyes tracking him until he was out of sight, and that peculiar sense of guilt was clogging her stomach once more. Gathering her thoughts, she turned back to Tonks' grave, kneeling down and straightening Draco's rose into a more deliberate position.

"Your cousin's very confusing," she sighed.

With a tear sliding down her cheek, she leaned forward and reached out to trace her fingers across the letters of the epitaph.

In Loving Memory of Nymphadora 'Tonks' Lupin

February 14th, 1973 - May 2nd, 1998

Daughter, Mother, Wife, and Friend

Bella Detesta Matribus