HERMIONE | Draco Malfoy

one ⌁ mundanus

The two girls sat quietly in Ginny's room of The Burrow, Hermione sat on the bed and Ginny on the floor, sorting through her quidditch gear. The bushy-haired friend sat fiddling with her fingers, pondering. Harry and Ron had been offered jobs as Aurors at the Ministry, and hadn't yet decided on whether not to accept. Hermione thought it was silly, really, that they would offer such a job to two young boys without the qualifications, even if they had defeated Voldemort. It didn't seem safe.

"Do you think they'll take it?" she asked her friend.

"The job?" she replied, lifting her head. Hermione nodded. "No, of course not. Harry hates the idea. Fighting dark magic? That's all he's done since he found out he could even use magic. He wants to know what it feels like to have a normal wizard life, not run around repeating the past few years. And besides, Ron won't do it without him. If Harry doesn't take it, neither of them will," she declared.

"I hope so," Hermione replied. "I can't imagine going back without them."

"Besides," Ginny added, having noticed her friends sullen mood, "could you see Ron in an Auror's uniform?" She snickered, and Hermione relaxed visibly. Picturing Ron in the tight pants and dragon-hide boots that Aurors traditionally wore was definitely something to laugh about.

"No," she agreed, "though that would be quite a sight."

The pair settled back into a comfortable silence, Hermione's mind fixating on another topic. She had to keep busy, keep thinking. To distract herself. She would go back to Hogwarts, that would help. Yes-she'd have homework and studying and tests to worry about, no time to think about anything else. That would be good. That would help.

But going back, facing everyone, facing the Slytherins especially... she knew that not all of them were bad, she did, but it was difficult for her to separate them from what they'd done. Some of them had done absolutely unforgivable things, but they'd seen things that were even worse. That was what she had to remember. They were victims too: what they'd seen, done, heard, none of it was their fault. Their parents had gotten involved with Voldemort and they'd had to deal with the consequences. It wasn't fair to put the blame on them when most of them had lost their parents through the war, whether to death or Azkaban.

Although, that did mean she'd have to forgive Malfoy.

She wasn't sure she could look at him the same, knowing that he'd seen her that night. Knowing that he'd watched as the supposed 'brightest witch in their year' was pinned to the ground, tortured and mocked in front of him. It was humiliating. Degrading. He'd be a walking reminder. But then again, if she could face him after everything that had happened, she'd be strong. She'd go back to being Hermione Granger: the smart one, the tough one. She could have pretend everything was okay again.

Then she thought of herself. A girl who was once so strong, so brave, she'd left her entire life behind and come to Hogwarts where she'd been sorted into Gryffindor. A girl so strong she'd punched Draco Malfoy in the face. Things had changed since then, and whether good or bad, she had to face them. She refused to cower away for the rest of her life, scarred by what had happened. She'd fix it, she'd pass her N.E.W.T.S. and she'd get a job - at the ministry, hopefully. Somewhere she could help make a difference, a real one.

For now though, she had to pick herself up and continue on with her life. Yes, she'd obliviated her parents, and lost the people who'd raised her, who'd looked after her, the people who'd loved her most, but she had the Weasleys. She had Harry. She had all of them, and they were all there to support her if she needed it, she knew that. It was just difficult for her to ask them for help.

She paused for a moment to reflect on her relationship with Ron. It wasn't the first time she'd had to stop and think about it, but she felt like she needed to just stop and have a good think before she was fully able to move on with her life. Could Ron be there for her and help her in the way she needed the most? Was he really emotionally versatile enough to understand what she was going through? That night at Malfoy Manor had left her isolated from the group - they'd been through almost everything together before then.