Perfectly in Pieces

Chapter 9: Hermione

TW!!! - Discussion and depiction of sexual abuse and assault.

All rights of characters and world are reserved to J. K. Rowling
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He doesn't come back for three hours.

She is in the kitchen when she hears the door open. Her anger is already bubbling at the surface as she re-reads the same sentence in Theo's cookbook for the third time, and she hears him walk in. She doesn't look up or turn around as she waits for him to say something that he never does.

"You're back."

"Yes."

High road or low road, Hermione, which one do you want to take?

"Glad you are still alive, Malfoy."

She can hear him let out a small laugh.

You're welcome, you tall blonde idiot.

He moves to lean on the counter next to her. She looks up and sees him looking towards the door, running his hand through his hair. He looks in one piece. His robes are in perfect condition, and his face and hands show no signs of any type of struggle. He has always been taller than her, but now he towers over her. Like Theo's, his hair is longer and now it left to lay naturally instead of the slicked back way he used to wear it. She had never seen him with facial hair, and found herself wondering if it would be as platinum blonde as the rest of his hair was. He doesn't look like a boy anymore, he looks like a man.

What did you do Malfoy?

"I finished the reading."

He scoffs. "Of course you did. What did you think?"

She keeps looking at him, but he won't look at her. Why won't he look at her? She feels her stomach start to turn again.

"Some concepts are beyond me currently as I have yet to experience occluding, but I had no idea that legilimens could all feel differently in someone's mind, that they almost had a signature."

Draco continues to look ahead and nods.

"Yes it is a phenomenon no one is sure how or why it occurs."

He looks tired, exhausted really. Maybe a little defeated. If he didn't want to do lessons tonight, she would understand. She knew after her reading that legilimency was very draining for both parties.

"I am going to take a quick shower, and then we will do your lesson out on the balcony. If that is okay with you."

He finally looks down at her.

His eyes...
They look like they did during year 6.

She reaches out towards him, "Malfoy..."

But before she touches him, he pushes off the counter and starts to walk out of the kitchen.

"I'll meet you out there, grab Nott."

She is left standing by herself. Malfoy wasn't okay. Whatever he was doing, whatever he was giving up for her to stay here with him, was eating him alive. She remembers how he looked 6th year, and why he had looked that way.

He had been all alone and given a task that was impossible. It was nothing short of a suicide mission, and he had been alone in that reality. She knew something was wrong then, just like she knew something was wrong now. She had tried to reach out to him back then.

She had snuck into the infirmary after Harry had told her what he had done to him in the bathroom. She needed to see for herself. Make sure he was okay. No one was there when she entered. It was 2 in the morning so she didn't expect to see anyone, but she also didn't expect to see him staring up at the ceiling wide awake either.