Hiraeth // draco malfoy

THIRTY SIX

"I mean, can you blame her?" Dru wondered.

"Not at all. But they should be earning our trust as well. We're the ones risking much more than them." Pansy leaned onto Dru's shoulder, reading over Draco's note for herself. "He's usually one for letters. But this one is just tragic." Pansy made fun of him, before side-eyeing Dru beside her. "You know he used to write you all the time. I'll admit, for a wanker, he's quite the poet." Dru grew intrigued by this. "You bring out the better in him. It's nice to see a glimmer of the Draco we once knew."

"I wish I knew him back then." Dru sighed, leaning her head on Pansy's.

"You'll eventually. I'm sure of it." There was a silence now. Both deep in thought. Pansy thinking of her memories from Hogwarts, and Dru straining to remember her life at Hogwarts.

"Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like, had Harry won?" Dru suddenly asked, looking to her friend as Pansy looked back at her.

"Often, actually." Pansy glanced down at her hands.

"Where do you think you'd be?"

"It's hard to say. I'd like to think I'd be newly divorced—,"

"Divorced?" Dru shot back, furrowing her eyebrows, confused as to why someone would imagine themself divorced.

"Let's be honest, I'd probably be divorced because I would have married young and dumb and then realized there was plenty of other options for happiness." Pansy shrugged. "I'm trying to think realistically, alright?" She laughed, and Dru did as well. The laughter died out, and the girls looked to one another again. "Truthfully, I don't think I'd ever be satisfied."

"What do you mean?"

"I always choose wrong, because I never believed I deserved right. So I'd have a divorce out of pure misery with myself. And I'd have kept looking for the one or whatever it is, and still end up alone. That's just life." Pansy shrugged.

"Pans, when this is all over, I'm sure you'll find her. You're an amazing woman, and anyone could see that. She's out there. I know it. Just give it time. With time, comes happiness. And any girl would be lucky to have you." Dru smiled, as she rested her hand on top of Pansy's in an attempt at comfort.

"Well, anyways, we should probably get started. Got a lot planned for the day." Pansy hated discussing her personal life and the fact that she's never actually found someone like Draco and Dru did. But, that was this life. And she held no hope for her own future. After being put down from her father for so long, it never felt she was good enough. Even if she couldn't see how truly amazing she was deep down.

"Really? Like what?" Dru asked.

"Training. There's a war headed our way and we need to get you in tip-top shape."

— — —

Later that day, Dru stood outside amongst a few PA members and Pansy. She had been working on channelling her emotions through meditation to redirect it into her magic. It had been an exhausting process. It was also difficult to focus when Hermione had been talking with the new PA members who had returned to the safehouse today from their prior posts. Ginny brought along Padma and a few others, while a woman named Cho had come all the way from America with others. They were gathering here to begin a plan. And Dru wanted eagerly to listen to their ideas. "Sidetracked?" Fred asked Dru, causing her gaze to shift from Hermione, Ginny and Cho, to him.