Redemption.

Chapter 20

"Hermione! Hermione!"

Hermione had time to register a flash of flaming red hair, before she was tackled with a bone-crushing hug. She laughed and hugged her friend back tightly. 
"Hey, Ginny."

"You bitch!" Ginny half laughed, half cried. "You gave me the fright of my life! Where did you go?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not now. I'll tell you later. First let's finish dinner." As they headed towards the Great Hall, Hermione felt better. She was back home.

"Hermione!" Neville came running towards her and gripped her like she was going to disappear any second.

"Hey Neville." she said warmly as they embraced. "I'm sorry I left like that..." she looked apologetically at the two of them.

"Forget that. Let's have dinner."

Hermione sat down next to her friends, eating and laughing. She'd missed them. She'd missed the familiar smell of Hogwarts, the sound of chatter, the sight of a hundred students in black and the green grounds, and the feel of Draco-

Stop. Hermione grit her teeth. She was not going to go there. No. This was a new start for her, and she wasn't going to think about the past again. She was pleased with herself when her eyes hadn't fallen on the Slytherin table. Not once throughout dinner. But something gave her the feeling that he wasn't sitting among the mass of green and silver. Somehow, moving on from him was as exhausting as moving on from the war...

As she bid Ginny goodnight and made her way up the staircases to the seventh floor, somebody blocked her path.

"Granger." Hermione looked up and was surprised to see Blaise Zabini standing in front of her.

"Zabini." she said, surprised.

He stared at her a moment, and Hermione though she saw relief in his eyes. "Good you came back."

"Okay...thanks I guess." she said slowly, suspiciously. She had never had anything to do with Blaise Zabini. Why was he being so nice to her all of a sudden? Was he behind all this?

He nodded. "Draco will be happy." 

Her expression turned icy and she arched an eyebrow, hating the way her heart fluttered. Her worst imaginings had come true. He was behind this. Perhaps he had sent Blaise to tell her this? How...cowardly. Than face her himself!

"Whatever you mean, Zabini, I don't fucking care. Excuse me." she pushed past him, and she heard him groan. Internally she dreaded coming face to face with him. She hadn't seen him from over a month, and she didn't know how he would react when he saw her. Would he be angry? Happy? Pissed off? Indifferent? She hated that she even cared.

After she'd asked Professor McGonagall for permission to leave early, she'd left all her things and appareled directly to Australia, where her parents lived. They'd decided to stay there even after the war. They'd been surprised to see her of course, a week earlier than they'd expected. She'd enjoyed the stay with them. It was peaceful, and tranquil to spend time with her parents just as a normal muggle girl, and exploring the beauty of Australia...the monuments, the National Parks...everything. Though she tried to she couldn't forget him. Draco Malfoy. Hurt and anger had flared in her from time to time as she remembered his words. Her parents could sense something was troubling her, but they hadn't asked. And she was grateful for it.

She stood in front of the stone gargoyle. What if he's in there? She shook her head. Se would have to stop caring about what he did, what he thought and other bullshit like that. She was just here to finish her seventh year. And that's it.