Help (Dramione)

Hope

Draco sat rocking a sleeping Hermione for about an hour. He could tell how exhausted she was so he decided that it would be alright to let her sleep, even through dinner. She began to stir slightly in his arms as her eyes fluttered open. Draco smiled down at her and placed a light kiss on her forehead. There were tears in her eyes again but she refused to let them fall this time. 

"I'm sorry" she spoke softly, barely a whisper but he still heard. Hermione pulled her hands away from Draco and curled more into herself.  He responded by pulling her closer to him and shushing her a little. 

"You have nothing to be sorry for my darling." The Slytherin was trying extra hard to be as gentle as he could with his tone. He wanted her to stay as calm as possible. Draco pushed a few loose curls away from her eyes and saw a tear begin to make its way down her face.  His heart broke a little seeing her look so dead as she had in the days leading up to and following her attempt. He continued running his fingers through her mangled hair, trying his best to comfort her.  She seemed so fragile, so thin, so broken.  Draco debated for a moment before speaking again. "Talk to me" he said simply. She adjusted in his arms to look up at him, opening her mouth to speak but no words came out. Hermione looked back down, closing her mouth once again. She shrugged her shoulders and leaned back into Draco, more so than before. "Ok" he soothed, tightening his grip around her, hoping to make her feel safe. 

There was a knock, causing the pair jump slightly and look up to the door. "Hermione?" a familiar voice called before the rest of the golden trio appeared in the doorway. Hermione buried her face back into Dracos chest. Keeping his eyes to the two wizards, Draco saw their faces drop into sorrowful expressions. Ron and Harry made their way over to sit next to the couple. The group sat in silence for a long time before Hermione peeled herself away from Draco and sat up on her own. 

"You all didn't have to come here. I'm ok." Hermione was trying to convince herself as much as the others that she didn't need help. That she really was ok. She could tell by her friends faces that they weren't buying it.  

"Did you really think we wouldn't try to be there for you?" Ron tone was upbeat, almost laughing with the words which made Hermione smile a little. Her smile, as small as it was, made the rest of the group feel a little better. If this was a couple months ago the answer would have been yes.  She wouldn't have expected them to come for her. But ever since they found out about her troubles, she had noticed them trying to be more attentive. Many people had acted differently around her since her attempt. Some of it she hated. The looks of pity, the whispering going on around her, the tiptoeing around her emotions. Some of it she really didn't mind at all. It's like some peoples eyes had opened and they realized that people may be a little more fragile then they appear. People had seemed to be overall nicer to each other than they had been in the past. She hated that it took what she did for some people to simply be polite. Hermione noticed a few people in particulars reactions. Like Ginny who tried her hardest to spend as much time with her as possible, and the twins, especially Fred, seemed to be much more protective over her. Then there were people like Draco and Luna who treated her no differently then before which Hermione greatly appreciated. 

The group began talking about completely normal things like classes and gossip. This was a rare thing for the trio who usually had huge events happening around them to talk about. It was a nice change for all of them. The three boys tried their hardest to get along for Hermiones sake. They were acting almost like friends. 

Soon enough, it was much past curfew and the students were all sneaking back to their common rooms, Draco kissing Hermione goodbye when they had to part ways. She laughed with her friends as they snuck into the common room, hugging them before heading to the girls dorms. For the first time in a long time , Hermione went to bed with a smile on her face and a sense of hope.