After The Storm

|Encounter

W H E N Hermione opened the door to her appartement the first thing she noticed was the rain pouring on the streets. The person that stood in front of her was wearing a dark drenched cloak. She was cautious. Who was this person?

The figure inhaled and exhaled deeply, looked up to her. Hermione Granger took a step back. She could recognize this face everywhere. Dark Stormgrey eyes stared at her under those even darker circles.

"Malfoy." she whispered. Somehow she began to feel fear. What did he want with her? Why had he come here?

"Granger." he exhaled, "May I come in?", he then asked.

The brunette may be called 'Brightest Witch of her Age', but she had no clue what to do. She just stared at him and wondered why he hadn't already hexed her to Merlin and back and Draco Malfoy slowly grew inpatient.

"Now, now, Granger, I've not come to fight or attack you. I've come... Because I.. I wanted to talk."

Hermione swallowed and took a step out of his way to let him in.
"You can dry your coat on the heater there." she pointed into her kitchen.
She didn't ask him if he wanted something to drink. Hermione may be kind, but she really wanted to keep Malfoy in her home as short as possible. She went into her living room and waited for him to come and sit on the couch.

Before he sat down he hesitated a moment but then finally decided to sit next to the Gryffindor.

Hermione could tell that he was nervous about something.

Then he finally started.

"I'm sorry."

She remained silent.

"I'm so sorry."

"For what?" she asked.

"For.. For everything. For making the lives of the Weasel, Potter and you hell.. For.. Being this way. For not apologizing until now. For..", he took her scarred arm, "..being to afraid to help you."

Hermione was more than surprised. She hadn't even thought about a conversation like this in her dreams.

"I'm sorry..." he clasped his hands together and looked at the floor of Hermiones living room.

There it was. This silence again. Hermione didn't know what to respond to her former enemy. The bags under his eyes spoke a thousand words. Apparently he didn't sleep much the last days.. Or weeks. His eyes didn't even have this Malfoy-confidence gleaming in them. Next to her there sat a broken boy. None other than Harry, or Ron.
The brunette approached him and lay her hand on his back. The Slytherin flinched but didn't pull away. He instead began to shake under her touch.

"You know.. I've... I've always been quite jealous. Jealous of you. My whole life my parents taught me to despise muggle-born wizards, I didn't know why, but I started to. But when I got into Hogwarts there were no beasts, no wizard eating muggle-born. We were all the same. But you, you weren't. You were smart and did good in everything you did. You were better in everything than me. My father was so disappointed. I... Wanted to make him proud, I... I wanted to... Make myself proud. But that making my father proud wasn't the right way to please me..." he began to shake even more and even sniffed.
Hermione still didn't know what to do but she tried to comfort him.

"That I have realized far too late. When I had, I-I already-" he swallowed and looked at his left arm. And Draco Malfoy then shattered completely.

"Hey... Hey... Don't cry.." Hermione tried to comfort him. She wanted to tell him it was okay except for it wasn't. So she kept it to herself.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone... I didn't want to hurt you. Every night I see you and her. I hear your screams, I feel my fear. I regret I didn't do anything. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being such a coward."

"Malfoy, Malfoy. Please. Look at me.", she told him, "Look at me."

So he looked at her. And found himself lost.

"I'm here. I'm right here and I feel fine, I'm okay, alive and well. And do you know why?" she asked. "Because of you."

And this time she began to cry.

"I should be sorry, we should have tried to be friends with you, maybe things would've gone different, and maybe our lives hadn't been so fucked up. Merlin, maybe there wouldn't have been so many losses."

"Why are you saying this?! It's not your fault. I was a fucking jealous git. Even I wouldn't want to have a friend like me."

"Maybe. But we should have at least tried."

Both looked in each others eyes.

"I'm sorry."