A Man Can Change - A Draco/Hermione Story

Struggles and Hard Decisions

I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS: J.K.ROWLING OWNS THEM. This is just a fanfic written by a huge HP fan.

Well, 2 months later, and we have a new chapter! Sorry for the longest delay in all of this stories history, but i have had a lot of things going on in the outside world that took priority and I just didn't have the time to write this chapter. I have to thank those of you that are still here! I hope i haven't scared you all away with my long waits! Now this chapter is in Hermione's P.O.V and i have a feeling after you read this, you will all, well, hate me. But do enjoy none the less and remember, THIS IS NOT THE FINAL CHAPTER!! Cheers x

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The fact that she had the power to kill people with the right thoughts, emotions and magic skill, scared her to pieces. At first, she had thought herself lucky to be given a gift that not many others had, but now it seemed like a curse upon her that she only wanted to wash away.

      Though they were only low life Death Eaters and traitor Auror’s, whose goal was to have them killed and to bring back the most evil man in wizarding history, she felt so guilty about the way they ended up, that it almost made her sick. She hadn’t killed them, no. But she had pretty much left them as vegetables, with nothing to do now but drool in a Ministry room until their bodies finally withered and died. These thoughts would not stop plaguing her mind.

      Many weeks after the ordeal in the Chamber of Secrets, found Hermione sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast so early in the morning that only a few sat at their respective tables. She had preferred the quiet of the mornings lately, not only for the silence but also for the fact that there was no one around to disturb her with questions about what had happened.

      When the entire school body had returned to Hogwarts, a week after the incident under the castle, they had been very aware that something had happened, something major. But only because McGonagall had to write letters of explanation to all parents, to let them know that everyone was now safe from the threat of Death Eaters and rouge Aurors.

      They also knew that once again, the ‘Golden Trio’ had been involved along with Draco, Ginny and Lavender. But Hermione, not wanting to talk about a thing, kept her mouth shut. So did the others. This seemed to irritate a lot of people.

      It was the last week of school now, and with their exams over and done with, Hermione was feeling nervous about leaving the familiarity of school and the work that came with it. She would be stepping out into the Wizarding World as a legal, qualified, and trained Witch. At school, she knew how to avoid the constant questions, she knew where she could hide away and where people would leave her alone, but in the outside world, she knew she was going to have a hard time avoiding journalists and curious people in general. The Wizarding World was still after all, celebrating the win over evil and the people who had helped with this.

      Hermione sighed at her thoughts and rubbed her eyes. She had been very tired these last few weeks, as she hadn’t been able to sleep after everything she had been through. And though she knew that Ron, Lavender and Ginny had been through it longer, and Ron had suffered the most, she was still haunted by the faces of the Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange who had caught her that night as she had been with McGonagall.

      Their maniacal expressions were at the front of her mind as she tried to sleep at night, and her mind tricked her with the thoughts of the searing pain the Cruciatus curse gave which had been used on her multiple times. Sometimes the memories of the pain were so strong that she felt as if the curse was being used on her again. Her mind was playing tricks on her, and she wasn’t handling it one bit.