Utterly Broken

Chapter Six

Hermione liked to think she was intelligent, in fact she knew she was. But Harry's and Draco's friendship was a complete mystery. After all, the two boys had hated each other for so long. Harry didn't even hate Voldemort as much as he hated the blond.

Hermione herself didn't hate Malfoy, strongly disliked him, sure, but she didn't hate him like Harry did. So seeing the two together, interacting without fighting, or even just arguing, was extremely odd, disturbing even.

A week after the whole 'mudblood' incident (honestly, Hermione didn't know how Harry could stand the Slytherin), Harry was still not talking to Malfoy. Although it seemed that it was bothering Harry more then it was Malfoy, as her friend seemed to have returned to his depressed state. With Malfoy around, Harry's twitch had disappeared, and his laugh was real. Harry seemed to be his pre-Voldemort self. Well, Malfoy had always been the only one to create such huge emotional changes in Harry, not even she and Ron could. 

Head angled away from Malfoy, Harry would stare at him through the corner of his eyes, trying not to be obvious. Hermione noted that Harry was never more obvious then when he was trying not to be. 

Harry was her best friend, and she thought she knew everything about him. She knew about how at first glance he seemed clumsy and insecure, but as you got to know him, there was a simple elegance to his every step. He thought about every outcome before he acted (except when someone was in danger, which was probably why he was in Gryffindor). So of course Hermione knew about Harry's obsession with Malfoy. The Slytherin had always been there since year one, not quite in the background (He would never allow himself to be a background character). Harry's obsession wasn't one sided however, Hermione assumed, as Malfoy had always gone out of his way to torment her poor friend.

Truth be told, Hermione was almost grateful for the git, as when Harry was down, so down not even Hermione or Ron could reach him, Malfoy would come around, make a few comments and the fire would come back to Harry's eyes. He would seemingly wake up, just to threaten (or act upon the threats) the blond. And even if it was just a brief moment, Harry would come back to them. That was the reason that Malfoy was still around, the reason that Hermione hadn't dealt with him earlier (although the punch in third year was pretty amazing). 

Hermione maybe even respected Malfoy, as he was nearly as smart as her, and he forced Harry to study (Hermione had tried desperately, but Harry never listened). Sure, Malfoy was a right bastard, but he was intelligent, and had some good ideas. Hermione had even once considered what it would have been like if they had invited Slytherins to join Dumbledore's Army; Malfoy would have probably thought of more efficient ways to not get caught (if he didn't turn them in for personal gain). 

So when the great Malfoy himself walked up to her in the common room, Hermione wasn't very surprised. The dark skinned girl put her book down, but kept her knees tucked up against her chest. "What do you want Malfoy?" she questioned, unable to keep a slight growl out of her voice.

The blond dipped his head, a sign of respect? "To..." He started, before scowling, "To apologise..." Hermione raised her eyebrows, "For calling you a, well you know."

"Can I ask you something Malfoy?" Hermione inquired, resting her legs down in a criss cross position. She looked up at the Slytherin from the white couch chair she sat on.

"Of course. Although I must tell you, I'm not available tonight, but tomorrow, if you can escape that horrid Weas-"

"No. I mean to ask you, your friend Zabini, would you ever dislike him because of skin colour?"

Malfoy looked positively shocked, "Just because he's black doesn't mean anything. Same with you!"

"Well, some people in the muggle world think people with darker skin are lesser, and should even be slaves."