A/N: Thanks a bunch to those who reviewed! It means a lot to me, really. I'm trying to get myself into a pattern of updating but I haven't figured one out that would fit my schedule yet (and by schedule I mean my laziness). So I'll just keep updating every time I finish a chapter until I figure out a good way to get by. Can't wait to hear what you think!
Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter. This applies to all the chapters in this fic.
The carriage ride to Hogsmede was a quiet one. Draco and Hermione, rather uncomfortably, sat by each other keeping to themselves. Other than Draco's occasional teasing smirk and Hermione's returning glare, the ride was an uneventful one.
"Here we are folks, Hogsmede village." Draco announced to the wide-eyed group of third years.
Before the students could alight and knock there heads out with all the knick knacks you get here, Hermione announced the rules.
"You may buy anything you wish and bring it back to the castle for as long as it is not part of the prohibited item list which Dra- ahem- Mr. Malfoy will give out to you later." Checking if she got everyone's attention before moving on.
"You are expected to be back here before 4pm and we leave back for Hogwarts at 4:30opm. And I must emphasize that all Hogwarts house rules will still apply; professors, prefects and heads are still capable of deducting house points."
"Oh and another thing" Draco piped in "To those boys I overheard a while ago who plan on using an aging potion to get in the Hog's Head a word of advice, it doesn't work." His lips twitched into an arrogant smirk at the restrained groans of disappointment he heard.
"And if it does work for some strange reason, I'll be there to congratulate you." He added sarcastically followed by the nervous gulps of students who already understood not to cross him.
"Stop terrifying the students, Malfoy" Hermione hissed under her breath.
Draco responded by shaking his head and giving out a low laugh. Always the proper one, she is.
Hermione dismissed the students after Draco handed out their pamphlets and the students hurriedly made their way to whatever establishment caught their fancy.
"Any plans Granger?" Draco casually asked, a bit more hopeful than he wanted to sound.
Hermione slowly turned her head to glare at him from under her lashes. "I don't see how it's any of your business Malfoy but I do, in fact, have a few errands to run. Picking up some parchment so I could write Ron and Harry this weekend, meeting Ginny and Luna at the Three Broomsticks and, oh, least I forget, avoiding you." She added harshly.
"Ouch, Granger." He feigned hurt by putting clutching his heart with his hand. I was expecting this after all, no matter no matter. I have time…
"I never pegged you as someone so cruel. I was going to invite you to patrol the Hog's Head with me after a few butterbeers, my treat to the lady of course." He finished with a wink.
Hermione's mouth fell open with disbelief. Hermione was both slightly shocked and appalled by the way her former – I mean – still very much her enemy was flirting so casually with her, as if those years of name-calling and bullying never happened at all!
'Malfoy is driving me absolutely out of my knockers today! His behavior isn't what I'm used to and I have absolutely no idea how to deal with it.'
"I don't know what you're playing at here, Malfoy" taking one step towards the tall boy and raising a threatening figure.
No matter how petite and harmless Granger looked, Malfoy knew fully well that she packed a punch, literally. Remembering that day still made his nose twitch in pain…
Looking down at the moist spring ground Draco looked contemplative for a moment before raising his head and looking up at her.
"I'm not playing anything Granger. I've been nothing but nice to you today haven't I?"
Hermione opened her mouth to answer back but found no words to support her, he was right. If it weren't for him a while ago, things would've gone into absolute… – no, she didn't even want to think of how bad it could've ended for her.
The Malfoys suffered greatly during the war, much more during the trials. Hermione most of all should know, she was there when his family was tried.
"Mister Malfoy I suggest that you let the Aurors see your memories as they intend to, there is no other way we could possibly –"
"You don't understand!" the eternally regal Master Malfoy was now in nothing but filthy rags more commonly worn by house elves. "I-I cannot relive those memories any longer! I cannot!"
The Malfoy patriarch begged and pleaded the court while his family, Draco and his mother Narcissa, stood at a corner and pretended to put a brave face. Wands were pointed at them, but much less than the ones aimed to shoot at his father.
Draco's face looked like it aged ten years that day. Standing beside his weeping mother, clutching at her shoulders, he looked at the man he once idolized.
'And to think I wanted to be like him someday…' he thought to himself.
Oh, how things have changed.
"Draco darling…." His mother whispered softly, blindly searching for his hand to grasp as her eyes were too welled up to see clearly. "I will not let anything to you, my child. Never." She glanced up to meet the eye of her only beloved son.
Draco tried his best to give his mother a reassuring smile. "I think now, it is my responsibility to take care of you, mother. As we can very well see, our 'man of the house' won't be returning for a while." He said with a bit of spite.
"Alastor, if you would…" Kingsley motioned for moody to extract the memory and place it in the projected pensieve.
"NOOO! You filthy half-bloods! Filthy! All of you!" Lucius screamed in deranged pain and agony.
Moody, successfully extracting the memory that they needed to try the most-likely guilty Death Eater, placed it in the pensieve for every member of the jury to view and analyze.
Hermione, Harry and Ron were all present, sitting at the back and throwing a few testimonies here and there. Harry himself pledged for Draco and his mother to be spared from trials due to their forgivable actions during the last days of the war.
The memory played and just as they suspected, Lucius Malfoy was indeed part of almost every raid, battle and torture as commanded by the fallen Dark Lord. What they didn't suspect, however, was his torture of his own son and wife.
It was very clear and very disturbing to watch, Draco Malfoy, then just entering his 5th year at Hogwarts, being tortured by his father for attempting to run away knowing full well that he was to receive the Mark. Narcissa, being a mother attempted to protect his son but to no avail, she too would be subject to her husband's wrath.
The jury watched in silent discomfort, Narcissa shaking and Draco glancing away with his jaw set tight.
Draco writhed in pain, he could no longer bear to watch his mother being tortured again, even if it was just a memory. He would've shouted, called for them to stop but he couldn't make a sound.
Just when Draco felt he couldn't take anymore, a voice spoke out.
"Stop this!" the young bushy haired witch stood from her seat, speaking for the first time that evening.
"Its bothering him, stop it!" she said with a hint of glimmer in her eyes.
Draco looked up at her in amazement. After everything he's done, all the unforgivable, desperate, and stupid things he's done as a boy, she was right there looking out for him.
Their eyes met for a brief moment. Even though she did not enjoy watching him and his mother being tortured, her eyes still showed that she hasn't completely forgiven him. Sitting back down, Hermione bit back her sobs.
Knowing full well how painful the Cruciatus is somehow made her more….sympathetic to the case of Draco and his mother. She doesn't know if she could ever forgive them completely for watching while their insane Aunt Belatrix tortured her but at least now, she understood what their circumstances were.
'It was either watch and stay silent or die…' she thought to herself.
The room went silent and Moody turned off the pensieve.
"Very well, Miss Granger. I do believe we've seen enough…." Kingsley said from his pedestal.
"Alastor, if would please escort Mister Malfoy back into his cell." Kingsley commanded.
Moody nodded firmly before aparating with two other Aurors back to Azkaban prison.
"Alright" Hermione said.
"Alright what?" Draco asked, confused as the witch was just standing there for a good long while without speaking.
Hermione took in a deep breath, she might regret this someday but something told her that it was, at the moment, the right thing to do.
"Look Malfoy. We're not friends, we never were. We hated each other's guts in fact." Hermione stated, enunciating every word to make her sentiments clear.
Draco's brow furrowed, still confused as to where this conversation is going.
'Hey at least we're actually having a conversation, it's a start' he thought to himself.
"But I think, given our current situation, we must at least try to be civil with one another." She said with her sometimes-annoying matter-of-fact voice.
"If you haven't noticed Granger that is what I'm trying to-"
"Yes I know." she quipped with a bit of frustration; it was not an easy thing to do.
Taking a deep breath before continuing, to steady her emotions that are currently all over the place she continued "What I meant was, I'm going to at least try."
Draco looked dumbfounded. "What…like try to be….friends?" he asked cautiously.
Hermione scrunched up her nose, she doesn't think friendship between them was possible anytime soon.
"Not quite friendship, we're too far from that at the moment. More like…civility?" she tried.
Draco looked at the floor in contemplation again, tapping his shoe against the small rock on the floor as he bit his lip.
'I never realized we had the same habit' Hermione observed, she had a bit of lip biting problem too, but for some reason she found it quite endearing on Draco; it made him seem more vulnerable.
'Alright there we go again, Hermione. That's twice today now stop it. Stop looking at him for Merlin's sake.'
"Well?" she probed, becoming impatient to hear the young wizard's reply.
Draco's head cocked up and smiled. A genuine, full smile that got Hermione confused for a good two seconds. She'd never, not once seen him smile before… She didn't even know he could.
"Alright, Granger. You've got yourself a deal." Putting out his hand, asking for a handshake to seal their deal.
Hermione eyed his hand, assessing whether this was a good idea or not, before finally taking it.
"Deal"
Hermione didn't think to remove her hand from his right away and he took this as an opportunity.
Happening too quickly for Hermione to realize what he was trying to do, he lifted their joined hands to his lips and pecked the back of her hand with a light kiss.
Hermione blushed instantly at the contact. His lips felt so warm and soft, despite his seemingly cold attitude. Gathering back her senses, she instantly pulled her hand away and punched him at the shoulder.
"Git! You little pervert!" She fumed sending out random jabs at the boy.
Draco found it all too funny. He laughed as he attempted to avoid her angry punches, although a couple did make its way to his shoulders.
"See you later, Granger!" he dashed out laughing as the witch attempted to run after him but gave up after a few steps.
'This is definitely a start.'