To Me, From Me // DHr ✔️

n i n e

"'Mione! There you are!"

Hermione saw Harry try to get past a barricade of people to get to her, who moved from the couch that became overcrowded very quickly to the foot of the staircase that led to their dormitories. She laughed aloud when Harry tripped over a foot right before he was about to sit down beside her.

"You okay there, golden boy?" She nudged his shoulder as she smiled at him. Harry mimicked her nickname and threw an arm over her shoulder. She, in turn, took the opportunity to rest her head on him.

"Me? How about you? Are you okay? I've been looking everywhere for you." Hermione's smile grew warmer at her best friend's thoughtfulness.

"Of course I am, Harry. This just isn't my thing, you know?" She whispered, to which Harry nodded at. She knows he understands how she feels because Harry himself hates being the center of attention just as much as she does.

The two of them unfortunately didn't stay there for long in peace, because drunken Ginny spilled spiked pumpkin juice all over Hermione as she got both of them refills. When Ginny started to cry over Hermione's soaked jeans and how terrible of a friend she is, Hermione fled after she assured the ginger she was okay, not wanting to override her friend's emotions even more. Harry mouthed his apology to her as he was gathering Ginny in his arms to calm her down, something that Hermione appreciated him for.

She expected to see a couple of students loitering about and was prepared to dock off points, maybe even see Peeves, but she certainly didn't expect Luna and Neville hanging outside the common room with Draco Malfoy and Theo Nott.

"Hey, what's going on here?" She asked as she approached them.

"Luna's been trying to get these two to come in since we got here close to an hour ago." Neville. Her forehead creased in confusion even more.

"Granger, will you please tell these three buffoons that what they're asking for is social suicide?" Hermione was so shocked to hear the 'please' in Malfoy's sentence that she ended up gawking at him openly.

"Did-did you just say 'please'?"

Malfoy groaned and threw his hands up in frustration. "Theo, I'm leaving now – with or without your sorry arse. Have fun getting torn to pieces in there." He stabbed a finger at the door to the common room and stalked off in long strides with his hands jammed in his pockets.

"I do agree with Malfoy, guys. There is no way you'll survive in a den of lions. Why do you even want to do this?" Hermione asked, looking directly at Nott, who just grinned at her. Merlin, he has perfect teeth, she caught herself thinking (and envying).

"Don't you agree that all this house division is useless, Granger? What better way to stop it than to offer a hand to Potter himself." He replied easily. "Draco was supposed to be with me though, because of the match tomorrow and all, but since Blaise already bailed, well..."

Hermione nodded because she got where Nott was coming from, because she was doing the same by organising a damn ball in the first place. Turning to Luna, "He's the Slytherin you've been talking about?"

"There are many others, 'Mione, but Theo is one of them, yes." She beamed. Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Okay then, you three head in, I'll see if I can convince the ferret to join."

As the three walked past her, she managed to overhear Nott. "Wait, what did she mean I was one of them? One of what?"

----

"Get your bushy hair out of here and leave me alone."

Hermione huffed. What a greeting.

She didn't know Malfoy very well, but her gut told her that he would be here, in the Astronomy Tower. Her gut was right. Malfoy was standing exactly where he was the last time she saw him here. He was leaning over the rail with both of his elbows, looking straight up ahead. She was startled a bit when he turned around.

"You're impossibly stubborn, did you know that?" He commented, but she noticed it was lacking bite, unlike how he used to taunt her. Hermione pushed down the happiness she felt at Malfoy's change of attitude towards her.

"I didn't survive by being passive, I'll tell you that much." She pointed out. Walking closer to where he was, she reached over to the rails. "It's a good idea, you know, you going over there."

"In case it's escaped your attention, Know-It-All, let me repeat myself. I'm not begging for anyone's forgiveness. I made my choices and I stand by them. I don't care if everyone else in this damn world thinks of me selfish, but those choices were for my family." He still didn't look at her as he said the most she's ever heard him say since they got back. "Now, will you leave me be?"

There wasn't much that renders Hermione Granger speechless, and after what she's gone through, she thought there wouldn't be anymore, until now.

She didn't see the shock that flicked across Malfoy's features when instead of leaving, Hermione simply sat down to dangle her legs over the platform and holding on to the rails on each side of her face like one would in a swing. She looked up at him. "Misery loves company, does it not?"