Broken

Lonely

Hermione woke the next morning to the smell of food wafting upstairs. Curious, she quickly got dressed and went to investigate.

Draco was stood in the kitchen, his brow furrowed as he magically prepared breakfast.

'Draco Malfoy, you are full of surprises!' Hermione teased.

'You weren't supposed to see that,' Draco grinned ruefully.

'You did all this?'

'Yeah, I had to learn to cook,' Draco gestured for Hermione to sit down. 'Astoria couldn't cook worth a damn. This physique can't survive on restaurant dining every night, you know!'

'Oh wow, this is so good,' Hermione sighed as she bit into a bacon sandwich. 'I would have thought your house-elf would do all the cooking?'

'Sooty? Nah, he lives at the Manor, keeping mother company.'

'So you didn't live there, then?'

'Merlin, no!' Draco shuddered. 'I moved out the second I got a job.'

'But you live there now?'

'Yeah, well, me and Scorpius had to move in after Astoria...well I wasn't in any fit state to look after a baby. And mother, she didn't want to leave the Manor. For her, the good memories there outweighed the bad. So, I didn't have much choice, really.'

Hermione was silent, unsure what to say. Draco's eyes were clouded, his face unreadable.

'So, did you always want to work at the Ministry?' Draco asked, shaking himself out of her reverie.

'God, no! I once told the Minister for Magic I was hoping to do some good in the world!'

'And they hired you anyway?!'

'I know, right?! How about you? What did you want to do when you grew up?'

'Quidditch. But I wasn't good enough,' Draco shrugged. 'Mainly I wanted to be happy.'

'And are you? Happy, I mean?' Hermione asked, tentatively.

'Not really. It is exceptionally lonely, being Draco Malfoy. I will always be suspected. There is no escaping the past.' Draco spoke quietly, his tone matter-of-fact. 'That's one of the things I loved about Astoria. She could always help me find light in the darkness. She made the world - my world anyway - less...murky.'

Hermione reached out and squeezed his hand. A tear trickled down his cheek.

'Anyway,' he said, briskly. 'I'd best be going.' Draco picked up his bag.

'You're still planning on leaving?'

'I think it's probably best,' Draco blushed.

'Oh. Ok. Well, I guess you'll be wanting these then.' Hermione dug into her tiny handbag and pulled out a canvas shopping bag.

Draco looked inside, curiously. It was full of his text books, notes, parchment and quills.

'Undetectable extension charm? Weightless too. I'm impressed, Granger. Not that I'd expect any less from the brightest witch of our age,' Draco smiled at her. 'Thank you again, for everything.'

Without another word, Draco left the house, leaving Hermione feeling strangely lonely.