Draco and Hermione

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Ron come on, let it drop. Once the ferret's done his trial he'll be gone," said Harry tiredly, after hearing another one of Ron's angry rants.

"He better be gone. It's on the 22nd right? Just two more days," Ron muttered as he paced up and down the kitchen. They were having lunch, and they'd been talking about Hermione quite a lot for the past few days. The end of the war should have been a bright, happy and positive time, perhaps the best time of their lives. They should be celebrating, spending every day with their best friends. But with Malfoy in the mix, things were just complicated and tense for the Gryffindor's.

"And besides, there's no point in fighting with Hermione over Malfoy. He's not worth it," continued Harry casually. Despite the fact that he'd apologized to Hermione just before, he didn't like Malfoy any more than the next Gryffindor. He only apologized for Hermione's sake, and he couldn't wait for things to go back to normal again too.

"But why does she like him-?" growled Ron in frustration.

"She doesn't like him, she just wants to help him," insisted Harry firmly.

"How do you know that?" asked Ron, looking at him hopelessly.

"I told you before, I went up to apologize to her. They were having a massive argument," explained Harry, and this seemed to lighten Ron's mood a little.

"Really? About what?" he asked quickly.

"I didn't hear what they were saying, but they were shouting at each other," Harry said, knowing that this was a lie. If anything, their fight had probably brought them closer together than before. Harry just hoped that for all their sakes, Hermione stayed with her true friends. It was almost like Viktor Krum all over again, and Ron really hated Krum after the Yule Ball in their fourth year. Back then there was heaps of fighting between Ron and Hermione, and it seemed like they would never be friends again. Harry wished that this didn't happen a second time. Just like in all the other years of Hogwarts, he'd often been stuck in the middle of the other two's arguments and fights - it was starting to happen again. Only this time he was more on the side of Ron, because he hated Malfoy to the very core. But he didn't want to choose sides, because he wanted to stay friends with Hermione. The whole situation frustrated him. He would just have to do his best to keep their friendship alive, no matter what, for as long as possible.

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"As you know Malfoy, your trial is in two days. I was originally going to have Ollivander be your witness and defence for the whole 'Malfoy Manor prisoners' scandal in the Prophet, but since he has... passed away, I was thinking that Hermione should take his place. Hermione was also there during your entire sixth year, so it makes sense for her to be a vital witness. Myself and Snape have also volunteered to be your defence on the day as well - you'll be fine, I'm sure. After your trial you will be able to see both of your parents, and return home," Kingsley informed Draco and Hermione in the living room, with a rather cheerful smile. It should have been a cheerful moment, the fact that Draco and his mother would be free after everything that had happened in the war. But in reality, his father being in Azkaban simply ruined anything positive about the situation. Draco just nodded to confirm it, and shortly afterwards they had returned to their room on the third floor.

"Are you nervous?" asked Hermione curiously, as soon as they were alone again. Her question was mostly about his trial, and about his parents. He was becoming more and more anxious as he got closer to being able to see them again, after nearly four weeks of being separated and in danger.

"No," Draco lied casually, although his eyes flickered to the Daily Prophet on the desk on the other side of the room anxiously. Hermione smiled a bit, obviously noticing his expression and knowing that he was lying. It was becoming harder for him to hide his expression and lie - perhaps he was spending too much time with Gryffindor's. Either way, he hated it when she read him like an open book.