Sour Grapes

Chapter 7 - The Whole Scoop

"You tell it Potter, I enjoy hearing things from a bright-eyed perspective, and I must confess the view from where I've been sitting lately has been rather gray," Draco said, as he walked over to his selected couch and plopped down lazily. Potter followed and he and Granger took seats in opposite armchairs, their small personal reading lamps shone instantly, alight from their presence.

Potter began, "After the war was over and the Malfoy's had been carted off to Azkaban, do you remember, I spent a fair amount of time writing letters?"

Granger's eyes brightened, "The extra parchment and quills you asked for when we were just back at the burrow after cleaning up Hogwarts! Yes of course, and you told us that you were writing to various families of the fallen to thank them for their loved one's services and express your condolences."

Potter turned scarlet, "Yea I didn't actually do that, I mean, I did some but after a while it grew tiresome writing the same messages over and over again, and I had something else on my mind."

"Go on," she said, a touch of judgement in her voice.

"I couldn't stop thinking about Malfoy-"

"Not... in the romantic sense of course," Draco interjected.

"Yes right, I think Hermione is aware that I am not telling her our love story, Malfoy. Are you sure you want me to tell it or shall I let you?"

Draco shook his head and waved his hand for Potter to continue.

"Right then. As I was saying, I couldn't get him out of my head. Something just wasn't sitting right with me about him being in Azkaban. The circumstances are different, but it felt to me like Stan Shunpike all over again."

Draco interrupted, "That pimple faced simpleton who worked on that ridiculous night bus? How on earth are you lumping me in with that git?"

Harry didn't stop, but rose his voice in order to indicate that Draco should be quiet, and to great effect. "Stan had been imperioused to do Voldemort's bidding, and while I knew Malfoy had not been imperioused, I knew he'd been forced in other ways, and in much more calculated, manipulative and deep rooting ways, which I believed could do a great deal of harm to his psyche in the long run. And in the meantime, him being locked up was messing with mine."

"But Harry, I don't understand," Hermione said gently, "of all people to have sympathy for at that time, why," she paused and looked over at Draco before finishing with, "why?"

"Honestly Hermione I can't give you a logical answer, it was just my overwhelming intuitive response to the situation and I had to follow it. I'd just spent the last few years along side you trying to get straight my own... convictions. I spose the year we spent hunting horcruxes changed the way I listen to myself, which made the choice easy."

"But you were always fast to act on your instincts Harry, that's not new."

"It was just... different. That's all I can say."

Hermione thought for a moment, hand on her chin.

"But if you were so sure about it, then why didn't you tell us?"

"I dunno, at first I guess I was worried you would try to stop me. Then after it had gone on for a while, it seemed natural to let it go on some more. Just became a habit I suppose."

"Fair enough, go on, how did this Frienassance begin?"

Potter stared at her confusedly for a beat, before Draco cut in.

"That's clever, Granger, what you did with the words there. Smoshing them together like that to form one larger word with a new meaning, I enjoy that."