The Broken Families | Draco Malfoy [6]

Chapter 23 ~ Too Much for Everyone

"Please tell me you have a good reason as to why you called me in here," I said to Hermione, closing the door behind me. "I was in the middle of something important with Draco."

"It's about your brother," she responded, ignoring my last comment.

"Okay, what about him?"

"He's just...I don't know. He just stormed off into his office just now. I can just tell in his face that this is all bothering him."

"So you want me to talk to him," I stated.

She nodded her head. "I mean, he won't come out of his office or let anyone in, no matter who it is. He just keeps pushing everyone away. Besides, you two are really close and all, so I figured he'd talk to you."

I huffed a sigh, sitting down in a chair. "I've tried, Hermione. Look, we all know how Harry is under a lot of stress. Right now, he's just frustrated at everything. Well, we all are, but his kid is missing, and so is mine."

She leaned back into her chair, tapping her fingers on the desk. "I just think, because all of this involves Voldemort, then he would be comfortable talking to you about it."

I huffed a sigh, leaning back in the chair. "Okay, I'll try again tonight."

She gave me a grin. "Thank you." She paused, then held her stare at me. "So, are you okay?"

"No," I admitted. "I think you already knew that."

"Well, I figured, but you seem to have it under control, unlike your brother," she said. Yeah, that was hardly true. "Anyway, what were you doing with Draco?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at her. "We were just talking."

"About Scorpius?"

"About what could happen if we don't defeat Delphi."

Her face dropped. "Oh, Max..."

"I hate thinking about it, but what if Harry and I die for good this time? What'll happen next?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to think like that," she retorted, trying to avoid the topic altogether. "We've won a fight before and we can do it again."

I groaned. "I'm so worried about everything, you know? It's stressing me out."

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologized, giving me a sad look. "This really is a stressful time for you. I know that you've got a lot on your mind already."

"I'm glad you noticed," I said in a sarcastic tone, then realized how snippy I was. "Sorry, Hermione. I'm sure you've got a lot on your mind, too, as Minister for Magic."

She almost let out a laugh. "My job is always stressful."

In that moment, I finally realized why Hermione was one of my best friends. I remembered our conversations as teenagers and how they ranged from complete nonsense to saving the world together. She was someone I could go to just to tell her about my day and she would be there to listen. I missed those talks with her.

"Hermione?"

"Yeah, Max?"

I paused, then let out a soft smile. "You're still one of my best friends, you know that?"

She nodded her head, beaming. "I know. You're still one of my best friends, too."

"I hope so," I teased.

She laughed. "At least you still have some kind of sense of humor in you, given the circumstances."

I held my gaze at her. "There needs to be some laughter in this world right now."