Aftermath

Stories From The Dark Ages

A/N: Warning, some mentions of depression and self harm. Nothing too graphic but beware.

"You betrayed me," Draco yelled at the girl as they stood in the center of the living room. His face was red with anger where Hestia flinched softly at his tone. "You had no right to do as you did."

Small house elves in tiny cloaks peeked in at the ongoing feud in fear and slight entertainment. Duck clawed at Draco's feet in a small attempt to fight. Hestia allowed Draco to yell at her because she knew it was what he needed. She knew he had this secret hope that after Romero's demise the pain he felt would leave but in the end it never truly would.

"What were you thinking? You betrayed me Hestia!" He continued on. "Talk already!"

Hestia found her voice hiding behind her mind and heart. "I did you a favor Draco. You're far too stubborn to admit it but I did. If you had broken your law and killed that man, or worse Lola, you would've never forgiven yourself. You were blind with hatred and I couldn't let you or that baby get hurt."

Draco slammed his hand onto the desk, causing Hestia to jump. "That wasn't your choice to make. You should've trusted me to do the right thing."

A spark light inside Hestia heart as it won the battle with the mind, "Why should I?"

"I've never done anything to you! Tell me what I've done to deserve you to not trust me." Draco demanded and towered over Hestia.

"You left me!" She exclaimed, finally breaking her calm exterior. Draco instantly pulled back and looked away. "You left me, Draco. When I needed you the most you tossed me to the hounds and watched me get torn apart. For years you just watched me suffer. I didn't doubt you today, I saved you. You were blinded by anger so I did what I had to do to keep you alive. I may have learned not to hate you Draco Malfoy, but I will never forget what you did to me."

Draco frustratingly ran his hand through his hair and looked away while shaking his head in anger. "I know I betrayed you as a kid Hestia but it's been over 6 years. We moved on with our lives since then. Like everyone else we got new interests and hobbies." Draco protested but Hestia cut in with a furious tone, her emotions high after the days events.

"You don't understand. I never had anybody else except you and Galahad, but Galahad had to take care of himself. I was shunned from my family when I was eleven because I refused to practice the dark arts. Everyday of the year I had no one. It wasn't just one year when we were eleven but almost every year until I was seventeen. You claim you always saw me, but if you had truly seen me you would've known this."

Silence hung thick in the air as Draco comprehended what she said. Her words were heavy on his mind and thick in her tongue.

"What?" He asked dumbfounded, "You had to have had friends. Had to of. I mean... I never saw you with anybody. I always just assumed-" he cut himself off as daunting realization crossed his face.

Emotion that she kept bottled up started to overflow as the toll of the day caught up with her and she needed to spill out a tidal of truth.

Hestia's eyes glossed over with burning tears. "I grew use to not having anybody, of course. Over our first year of school I was always hit with the realization I never had friends I could sit with during meals, so I stopped eating and went to the library to finish my studies. Every holiday I locked myself in my dorm or wandered the school yards alone so I wouldn't have to see everyone so full of glee."

Draco sat down and brought his balled fist to his mouth, closing his eyes in frustration for being so obsessed with himself and trying to outdo the golden one to realize this. He lost himself in trying to prove himself that he never stopped to think about what everyone else might be going through. The weight of reality tied down on him as Hestia walked to the large rose bush in the corner of the room. Her tears watered the plant quietly. Just as he was about to stand she spoke again, this time with such a soft voice Draco had to concentrate to hear her.