Draco sat atop the astronomy tower, silent tears glistening on his cheeks. He wanted to die, to put it simply, and he was debating tipping himself over the edge. He knew he shouldn't, but he was seriously considering it.
He tensed when he heard light footsteps on the stairs and was reaching for his wand when he heard a light, "Malfoy?" From behind him. He quickly wiped his eyes, and stood up, brushing himself off and turning to see Granger.
"Are you crying?" She whispered, taking a cautious step forward. "No!" Came the immediate sneer, and he took a step back, straight into the moonlight. His face was illuminated, the puffiness confirming Hermiones suspicions.
"Malfoy, what's wrong?" She asked, sounding more confident than she felt. "Nothing." He tried to hiss, but his voice broke half way through. He coughed and stepped out of the moonlight, sliding to the floor. "I'm sorry." He whispered, before completely breaking down, heart wrenching sobs shaking his too-skinny frame.
Hermione was at loss for what to do; there was nothing in her school books to tell her how to deal with a boy, no less a crying one!
She trusted her instincts for once in her life and sat next to him, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. He flinched at first, then pulled his hands away from his face and looked at her, "What are you doing?" He spoke, his voice broken and cracking.
Hermione couldn't help but notice the tears clumped in his eyelashes, and the wet, red skin around his eyes. She gulped, and with a half smile, replied quietly, "Honestly? I have no idea."
He cracked a grin at that, the sight filling Hermione with an unknown emotion, "A miracle! Hermione Granger, doesn't know something!" She smiled back, "Shove it, Malfoy." He let out wet chuckles, wiping his face on his sweater clad hand.
"Hey, why did you say sorry?" She asked quickly, but regretted it as his face fell, "I'm just sorry. For everything, for what I called you, for how I treated you and for what I... became." He whispered and she wasn't sure he was actually talking, just breathing words.
They had a short moment of silence, Hermione quickly figured what he meant. "Can I see your arm?" She murmured and he tensed, but placed his arm in her lap. She lifted it cautiously, and rolled the sleeve up to reveal a shirt, which she unbuttoned and pulled up.
Sure enough, a black mark sat there, the colour such a contrast to his skin. It was littered with scars, too, fresh and new. Some were barely closed.
"Oh, Draco..." She whispered, the sadness in her tone was impossible to miss. All of a sudden she pulled him into her grasp, hugging him tightly. He tensed at the sudden contact, but quickly mellowed out and hugged her back with just as much force.
"You're going to be okay, Draco, I promise." And he lifted his head, and the world was spinning and her lips were ever so soft, and he thought for the first time that year that yes, things might be okay. And Hermione Granger kissed him in the moonlight, and for awhile he felt happy.
The astronomy tower, after that, was their meetup place, where they could talk about their woes in the moonlight. After Dumbledore was killed she decided to comfort Draco instead of her best friend; that was when Draco thought, for the first time that he might actually be in love, and with Hermione Granger of all people.
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This turned sappy I'm sorry
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Fictober 2019!
FanfictionYes I'm aware it's December. These were not written in the order that they were supposed to so authors notes are a bit insane. Different ship for each chapter (sort of). Enjoy!
