Bad Blood

Flaws

Flaws

When all of your flaws

And all of my flaws

Are laid out one by one

Wonderful part of the mess that we've made

We pick ourselves undone

They lie there hand in hand,

Ones we've inherited, ones that we've learned

There's a hole in my soul

Can you fill it?

Hermione has never felt so awkward in her entire life, she didn't even feel this awkward around Ron and Lavender when they were dating in their sixth year. The silence in the car was tense and neither of them said a word. Hermione silently cursed herself for buying such a small car, the space between her and Malfoy was not enough. Tension oozed from both of them, the air was so heavy you could cut it with a knife. Hermione was grateful when they finally pulled up in front of her London apartment. It was a few blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron, in a very busy part of London, but she didn't mind. Being surrounded by so many people made her feel safe. She couldn't get out of the car fast enough, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Malfoy didn't say a word as he followed her up the stairs to her apartment. She fumbled with the keys, feeling his eyes burn into the back of her head. What was she thinking? Why did she feel sorry for him after all he had done? Maybe it was that haunted look in his eye, like he had seen way too much for a normal 28 year old. Then again, all of them had seen too much.

She showed him to the bathroom, trying very hard to ignore the awkwardness of this whole situation. Draco Malfoy was in her house, taking a shower in her shower, and she let it happen.

"Yeah, I've gone completely around the bend," she mumbled to herself as she rummaged through her fridge, trying to find something for him to eat. He was terribly thin and if there was one thing that always plucked at her heartstrings, it was underfed people. It was a side of her she hadn't seen in a while, it was the side of her that wanted to take care of everyone and make sure they were alright. She was always the one who did the right thing, and helping him was the right thing to do, right? She finally found some leftover chicken noodles and she quickly popped them into the microwave. She then listened to the water running in the bathroom, tensing up as she heard it turn off. A few minutes later Malfoy was standing in the door way. He looked a little better, but not much. She had given him some of Ron's old clothes (not that she told him that, otherwise he never would have accepted it), a pair of jeans and a grey sweater. Both were way too big for him and made him look thinner than he already was.

"I hope you like noodles," she said, trying to break the silence between them. His face was stone cold and she couldn't get a read on him, which made her extremely uncomfortable.

"Noodles?" He raised an eyebrow, walking over to her and examining the microwave. "And what on earth is this contraption?"

Hermione almost laughed, but then she remembered that Malfoy was a spoiled little brat who lived in a huge Manor and had everything done for him. She doubted that the Malfoy's had a microwave, or that he had ever been in a kitchen. "It's called a microwave, it heats up food, and I think you'll like the noodles."

The microwave beeped, causing Malfoy to jump back a little before he cleared his throat and regained his composure. He sat down at the small table in Hermione's kitchen as she dished up the noodles. She watched him as he sniffed the noodles before putting a forkful in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully on them, deciding if he liked the taste or not. Finally he just started shoveling it into his mouth and she took that as a good sign. When he was finished he asked if there was more and Hermione quickly heated the rest up for him.