To Me, From Me // DHr ✔️

t h i r t y

Two weeks ago

"Of course."

The silence that followed made her unsure of what to do next. Hermione tucked a stray curl behind her ear and leaned back on the balls of her feet. Malfoy just kept staring.

"Oh, you – you mean now?" She asked blinkingly.

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Hermione led him to a place where she thinks he'll feel safe in trying his hand at a spell that most grown witches and wizards can't even do. No, it wasn't at the Astronomy Tower. She headed for the Room of Requirement.

"I thought it was-"

"Destroyed? The Room of Hidden Things, definitely, but it still works."

She stepped up towards the entrance that magically appeared on the big blank wall in front of them, imagined where she wanted to go, and then opened the doors.

The two of them came to a beach. It was night-time and the stars were all laid out up above them, seeming to endlessly stretch across the sky. The breeze was cold but bearable and Hermione could taste the saltiness of the sea every time it blew by. The ocean looked restless – wave after wave tumbled onto the shore, each one bigger than the last, each one getting closer and closer to where the unlikely pair of sudden acquaintances stood. Sand was squished under their shoes as they walked on through inside and it was Malfoy who took off his shoes first. Hermione watched as his toes curled open and close, like he was relishing the feeling of the gritty soil from underneath him. His voice jarred her out of her reverie.

"Is this where the Brightest Witch of Our Age finally kills me off?"

It was a joke so she would've laughed, but she didn't because he just sounded so... defeated. Dare she say dead?

"Truth be told, I'm not the greatest teacher. It was actually Harry who taught me, who taught the D.A this," She went on, pausing to look at him as she remembered how that went during their fifth year. "But you already knew about that."

She set down her bag and took off her school robes and Malfoy followed suite, then took off her own shoes. At Malfoy's quirked eyebrow, she shrugged. "I like being barefoot on the beach too."

"Right, then, we should start with what you already know about the Patronus charm." Her wand was already out, though this time not poised to hurt him. He was twirling his with his fingers by his side.

"Defense against Dementors, could also be used to relay messages, and is conjured only when the conjurer is thinking of his happiest thoughts." He replied like a student already bored of the class.

"Widespread belief states that not everyone can produce a fully corporeal Patronus, especially not Death Eaters, so is this why you want to learn? You want to stick it to everyone who thinks you can't?" Hermione was afraid that her question might get taken out of context and that Malfoy would think she's discouraging him, so she simply waited for his response, bracing for any sort of outburst.

"No." He said it so softly that Hermione wouldn't have heard it had she not been focusing on him the entire time. Before she could say anything, however, he straightened his posture and looked at her directly. "You don't have to know my reasons so you can teach me. Now can we get on with it?"

She nodded. "Well, the incantation is Expecto Patronum, and the hand movement is like this," With her wand, she made a medium-sized circle in the air with the tail tucked a little bit upwards into the middle. Turning to Malfoy, she cocked her head, indicating his turn. "But remember, you have to think of a memory powerful enough. Not just of you getting your first broom, or whatever, but a moment of pure, unbridled bliss."

His eyes were shut and his stance went even more rigid than before. For a second, Hermione felt a pang of sympathy for him that he was having this hard of a time thinking of a happy memory, but then his eyes shot open and so did his mouth.

"Expecto Patronum."

Nothing.

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A/N:

Of course I wouldn't leave you guys without a flashback. Over the next couple of chapters it would just be mainly focusing on Dramione and their relationship (so you'll get why in the previous chapter, they seemed to be okay with conversing casually where before they didn't even want to acknowledge each other's presence. All the more reason to stay tuned!)

This one goes out to @CorynnSherrell for expressing her love for this story! Can't thank you readers enough for giving me a bit of your time to read through this, ya'll r da best xx