What If? -Drarry

Part Three: Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Harry felt as though he had been punched in the gut when he got to the window to see that the source of the tapping noise was none other than Draco's owl, sitting haughtily on a branch outside the window and looking at him with all the disdain of a bird who knows his worth. What the hell was Draco doing, sending him a letter? He stared at the creature, then turned, planning to ignore it, before whirling back around with a torn expression. Crossing his arms, Harry stood glaring at the owl as emotions churned in him. He considered opening the letter, then disregarded the idea, then turned back to it. Not only was he craving Draco and wanting to have some - any - contact with him, but he was curious. And worried. Harry hadn't worn his ring since the day of the argument, so he had no idea if Draco had been hurt, or if he was trying to apologise, or even if something else had happened. It was only due to Hermione that Harry had kept the ring at all - and she had so far been keeping it safe for him. It was as Harry thought this that he realised Hermione was the only one who could help him - she'd know what to do. Twisting around once more, he strode from the room, leaving the agitated bird to wait outside.

"Hey, Harry," The twins whispered in unison, stopping him on the landing outside his room. Fred continued. "Look, about the shop, we might just be able to get ourselves a place in Diagon
Alley-"

"That's great," Harry interrupted. "Look, have you seen Hermione?"

The twins wore matching expressions of befuddlement. George pointed down the landing. "Sitting room."

"Thanks," Harry said, already walking.

He found her on one of the recently cleaned armchairs, reading one of the books she'd been given for Christmas.

"Hermione,"

"Mm?" She said, distractedly.

"I need your help with something," Harry was conscious that Sirius and Mr Weasley were also in the room, so tried to act as casually as possible. "It's, uh, homework stuff."

She looked at him, instantly suspicious. "...Okay," she said slowly, putting her book to the side and following him out of the door.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the sitting room, Harry turned to Hermione and grabbed her wrist, pulling her along with him in his haste.

"Harry, wha- Harry, seriously! What's wrong?"

"He sent me a letter," Harry said, still pulling her along behind him as they arrived in the room he and Ron were sharing. "Look. It's his owl."

Hermione gave a little "oh" of understanding. She looked at Harry. "Why d'you need me?"

Harry threw his hands up in a half exasperated, half pleading gesture. "I don't know what to do!"

Hermione thought for a moment. "You need to make sure he's okay, Harry. Even if you're cross with him, you can't truthfully say you don't care."

Harry sighed. "It's just... I don't really know how to explain this... it's just that I'm scared to have contact with him again just as I'm beginning to get used to this, in case it makes everything worse again. I don't want it to get like a few weeks ago."

Hermione reached over and took his hand, squeezing lightly. "Of course you don't. But think about it - Draco cares about you. I'm sure he wouldn't do anything he knew would make you upset?"