Chapter 6

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It was the middle of the night, and Draco sat straight up. The sound of screaming was filling his ears. He got up quickly and ran into his room, where Hermione was. She was thrashing about on the bed, and he ran over to her. He shook her until she woke up. 

Hermione looked around, trying to remember where she was. She calmed down a bit when the memories came back to her, and the nightmares subsided. 

"I am sorry, Draco," Hermione felt the hot tears come to her eyes. 

"Don't be sorry. I am just glad you are alright. You were thrashing all around the bed."

Hermione sat up and looked at Draco. No sense in lying to him. "I get nightmares almost every night. Have been since the war. You would think they would have gone away by now."

"I am sorry, Hermione." Draco felt the lump in his throat grow. He caused these, he was sure. Or someone he knew. She was tortured in his house, after all. 

"Don't be sorry." Hermione squeezed his hand and started to get up."

"Why are you not angrier with me?"

"I don't want to be angry, Draco. I want to move on with my life, and I have in every aspect except the nightmares. They are always worse when I am working on a big law. It is why I had been working so much. They tend to leave my mind when I am busy. I think they are more pronounced now because Ron isn't here."

"He shouldn't have left you when you needed him most, Hermione."

"Yes, he should have."

"Why would you say that?"

"I was supposed to meet him at the Burrow that night that he left. He had to come to get me at the Ministry. It was already over. There was big family news, and I missed it. I missed it a couple of months before as well. I was never around, and when I was, I paid more attention to his family than him. He had every right to leave me."

"Do you know what you are going to do?"

"Well, George is getting married in May. Basically, he said that if I show up and remember, then we can try and work it out." 

"Well. Would you even want that?"

"I have no idea what I want, Draco. Yesterday I realized that this is the first time that I have ever lived alone. I was at Hogwarts, and then when we graduated, we moved in together, and this is the first time I have lived alone. Been able to go where I want without reporting to someone, and I like it. I like the freedom. I think we forgot who we were as individuals. I think we really need this time apart. As much as it hurts."

"You love him still, don't you?" Draco was amazed at how much Hermione loved Ron. He only ever experienced that from his mother.

"I will until the day I die." Hermione breathed, looked at the clock, and figured she was alright to go home now. "I think I might head home since I am feeling better. It is four anyway, and there is no way I am getting back to sleep. Mine as well get to the office early and try and catch up."

Draco nodded, and Hermione started for the living room. "Hermione, I am so sorry for what she did to you." 

"You didn't have a choice Draco. She would have killed you, and you survived just as I did. It is all we could do." Hermione hugged Draco and thanked him for everything. 

"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to do this again sometime. It was nice talking with you." Draco fiddles his fingers around. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous. 

"How about next Tuesday night? And I'll see you at the cafe on Sunday morning, I hope. Tell Margret I said hi."

"Sounds great. Have a good week at work," 

Hermione smiled at Draco, and he watched as she vanished. Margret sure was going to have a field day when she found out about all of this. 

The rest of the week went by quickly for Hermione. She was busy, and she liked it that way. It kept her mind off a Draco. She wasn't sure why she thought of him often now. Maybe because they bonded Tuesday night, she did tell him things about herself she hadn't even told Harry. She wasn't sure why she had, but she did, and she felt as though he would hold onto her secrets and take care of her. 

It was Saturday night, and Hermione was just about done with cooking up dinner when Harry and Ginny appeared in the fireplace. 

"'Mione!" Ginny walked over and pulled Hermione into a hug. 

"Hello Gin, how have you been?"

"You know the usual. Crushing any team that thinks they can beat the Harpies. What have you been up to?"

"Nothing really. You know. Just work." Hermione did not intend on telling her friends about Draco. They would most definitely freak out, and she wanted to enjoy this time with them and not explain herself. She needed to figure out what was going on with Draco, and then she would tell them. 

"That is all you do, Hermione; you need to find something else to enjoy." Ginny rolled her eyes and sat down at the table. Hermione finished up in the kitchen and then served her friends the food. They talked about random things for a while before the topic she was dreading came up.

"Hermione, what do you and Ron instead to do about this entire situation? He won't tell me anything." Ginny looked into Hermione's eyes, and Hermione swore she was probing into her soul. 

"Gin, I really don't know. Honestly, I think the separation is a good thing. You know we never lived apart. We never had any chance to be alone and figure out what we wanted in life. I think this has the potential to bring us closer together."

Harry shook his head, and Ginny looked at her husband carefully. 

"Care to share what you are thinking, Harry?" Ginny was in no mood to play games about this. Ron and Hermione belonged together. 

"He is saying the same thing. I am just worried, is all."

"About what, Harry" Hermione looked curiously at her friend.

"That the two of you are going to get comfortable apart, and then you won't get back together."

Hermione was shocked. Why wouldn't they get back together? She was starting to wonder if Harry knew something she didn't.

"Harry, why wouldn't Ron and Hermione get back together?" Ginny was wondering the same thing. 

"You never know. They could drift apart. George's wedding is months away, and they might like being apart. I am just worried, is all."

Hermione nodded and tried to process everything. She was having a nice time being alone. Harry might be right.

"Hermione?" Ginny was looking at her friend, impatiently. 

"I drifted off. I am sorry, Gin, what did you say?"

"Clearly, you were in your own world, Hermione. I was asking if you wanted to go shopping with me tomorrow?"

Hermione thought about it. She had breakfast plans with Draco, but she thought 2 or 3 o'clock would be fine. "Is around 2, alright?"

"Yes, that would be fine. I can meet you here?"

"Perfect." 

The three talked for a little while longer before the couple left, and Hermione cleared everything off the table and went into her room. She looked in her purse from the day before and found the number Draco had given her. She dialed the number and hoped he would answer. 

"Hello?"

"Draco, it's me, Hermione."

"Hey Hermione, how are you?"

"I am well; I was wondering if 10 was alright with you tomorrow. Ginny asked me to go shopping around 2, and she's meeting me here."

"10 sounds fine. I'll see you then." 

"Alright, see you then, Draco." 

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