Legilimens [Dramione]

Heroes suffers too

Draco curled his lips against the rim of his glass. "And why is that?" he asked, unaware of why what he had heard made him feel strangely nervous.

Theo shrugged. "You know how Granger is when she puts her mind to it. House elves, werewolves and all that stuff. If she had been hired in the department, she would have had the last word about what laws would be accepted or not. Where they put her instead…"

"They can reject all of her proposals, basically," Draco finished for him.

Theo nodded.

After a moment of silence, broken only by sighs from both of them, Theo spoke again. "I really thought something would change," he sighed. "That Potter, Granger, even Weasley would make it through to change things. But it's all appearance, a cover," he took a sip from his glass. "Because after all, nothing has changed. Voldemort is dead, and yet who's in the Ministry? The same people as always. The same bigots who helped him rise to power and who wrinkle their noses every time Granger passes through their corridors. And I wonder why they don't get it-" he stood up, and Draco nearly flinched, cowering even more on the couch.

He'd never seen his friend like this.

"This is all bullshit. Voldemort's dead. My father is dead. Parkinson is dead. Your father is in prison, and yet what has changed?"

"Theo," Draco stood up, taking a step towards his friend, who had a red face and heavy breath. "Theo, are you okay?"

"Yeah" mumbled the boy, rearranging himself on the couch. "Yeah, I'm fine…"

There were a few moments of silence, before the blond decided to bring the conversation back to the original topic. "It was all bullshit, wasn't it? The way we grew up, everything they taught us-"

Theo grabbed the bottle directly from the coffee table, lifting it toward him. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who figured that out, cheers," he said, taking a long sip without waiting for a response from his friend.

"She seems different, you know," Draco continued, cursing himself for not being able to stop talking about Hermione.

His friend raised an eyebrow and his expression changed completely. "Hmm- would you like to elaborate?"

Draco sighed. "She seemed… Defeated."

"Uhh," Theo smiled. "After defeating the dark lord, Hermione Granger succumbs under the weight of bureaucracy."

"Uh-huh" the blond shot him back. "I know it sounds crazy, but…"

"If there's one person who can get those old bigots out of their chairs and actually do something for the magical society, mate, it's her" he paused briefly "if she can't do it, I doubt someone brighter will come along."

Draco smiled bitterly at his friend's joke, which contained more truth than he would ever be able to admit. On the other hand, the smile that currently covered Theo's face was anything but bitter. It was a smile Draco hadn't seen in a long time, and at the moment he didn't know whether to feel happy for his friend or worried for himself.

"What's wrong?" he asked, fearful as if he were once again approaching a Hippogriff.

"Oh nothing." The grin on Theo's face only increased, and it was then, perhaps, that Draco understood.

"Oh no," the blond snapped, standing up and pointing a finger at his friend. "You're out of your mind."

"If you like to think so…"

"You're really drinking too much" he grabbed his jacket. "And probably I am too. That explains why we're delirious." He started toward the fireplace "actually, I confess, I had begun to suspect that some of you were drugging me. Now I'm sure it was Blaise" he searched in vain for the bag of floo powder.