Healing the Heart (Dramione)

37 || In Even Bigger Trouble

Closing the door behind her, Draco sighed. He did want to go see Hermione. He wanted to know she was alright, that The Cure had worked and she was healthy once again. But no matter how much he wanted to, no matter how many times he thought about going, something always stopped him from taking that step out of his apartment.

Three sharp raps against wood interrupted his thoughts. "Oh, come on." He hadn't even made it back to his chair before the rapping sounded on the door he had just closed. Mrs. Weasley. He groaned and pulled open his front door. "Mrs. Weasley, please-" He snapped his mouth shut when his eyes met a pair of bright green ones.

"Not quite." The shaggy, dark, haired boy began stepping into the flat when the door suddenly collided with his face.

"No." Draco shoved his weight against the wood and pushed. "You are not coming in."

Harry rolled his eyes and pushed back. "Move! Mrs. Weasley warned you and I believe that French witch did as well. So, two strikes, and I'm the third. You're out."

Ignoring the reference which he did not understand, Draco threw his shoulder into the door. "Nope." The last person he wanted to see right now was Harry Potter.

"Come on! What are you, five?" He grunted. "Stop. Pushing. On. The. Door!" Harry wedged his foot between the door and the frame and managed to slip through the crack. "Ha!" He panted. "Take that. Woo." He leaned over as he caught his breath. How did he manage to run through the forrest for months when he could hardly breathe after thirty seconds of pushing on wood?

"Get out." Draco pulled out his wand.

"Oh, please." Harry walked over to the couch and plopped himself down. "You're all bark, no bite." He let out a deep sigh and made himself comfortable. "And didn't you take an oath to "Do No Harm?" or something like that."

"I'm not going to the hospital." He snapped.

"I know." Harry picked at a thread on the arm of the couch. "And I'm fine with that. Really, I'm actually relieved."

"Why?" Immediately, Draco inwardly cursed himself for asking.

"Well, first off. You're not good enough for her. Second, you're a coward who can't even face her so that supports the first reason. And third, were you there at Christmas? That was awkward. Do you really think that given the choice, Hermione would choose you over her family?" Harry kicked his legs onto the coffee table and shrugged. "Also, none of us think you're good enough for her."

Draco's hands clenched as Harry spoke. His shoulders tightened and slowly, his lips curled. "And why would I care what any of you think? Huh? Why would your opinions matter to me?" He hissed. "I don't have to be good enough for you all, I only need to be good enough for her and myself. We're the two who would be in the relationship."

Harry snorted. "Well, obviously you're not cause you won't even go see her and have you ever been in a relationship before? You're not just dating the girl, you're dating the whole family. You may have Mrs. Weasley thinking you're great but she's the only one."

"You're wrong." Draco smirked. "Hermione's mom likes me, and her father. I've got 75% of her parents on my side. I only need Mr. Weasley and I'll be at 100%. Also, Fleur likes me, so does Bill, and Ginny." He waggled his eyebrows. "Try again."

"Ginny doesn't like you."

"Yes, she does." He pocketed his wand and walked over to the couch. "So I don't care if 'The Wonder Boy' likes me or not. And that Weasel, he never deserved her so don't even think of trying to get the two of them back together." More quietly he added. "She couldn't handle it if he broke her heart again."

"You don't deserve her either." Harry continued picking at the arm of the sofa.

"Yeah, I know, but she at least deserves someone who appreciates her."

"Oh, please." Harry shot up. "You don't appreciate her, you hardly know anything about her."

"I know more about her than most of you!" He pointed his finger at Harry. "She cares more about each patient that comes into the hospital than she does about herself. It doesn't matter how much work she has to do or how long she's been at work, if a child asks for her to read them a story so they can fall asleep then she'll stay up all night with that kid." The kettle on the stove had begun whistling as Draco continued. "When she sleeps, her brow furrows, even when she's having a good dream. She dances while she's making breakfast, I bet you didn't know that!"

A smile crept onto Harry's face as Draco continued yelling. He walked towards the kettle and turned the burner off. "And that means you know her? Hardly."

"She needs someone who recognizes just how talented she is and knows that she puts her whole heart into everything even if she gets nothing in return!" He followed Harry into the kitchen. "Each time she and Ron fought, I was the one she came to. She sobbed the day Ron broke her heart. Where were you that day? Huh? I was the one who was there for her. I made sure she got to bed safely. I might not deserve her but I'm sure as hell gonna try to."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Harry asked calmly.

Draco took a step back. "What?"

"Go on. Try and deserve her. Prove you deserve her." He folded his arms and smugly regarded Draco.

He liked to believe he was a calm and level headed person, even if that was rarely an accurate description of him. "Get out." Draco grabbed Harry's shoulder and dragged him towards the door. "Get out!" He shoved at Harry's back.

"I don't like you, never have." He continued speaking as though he wasn't getting forced  through an entryway. "But if Hermione loves you, then that's good enough for me."

"Get out!"

"See you around, Malfoy." Harry darted through the door and grinned. All too easy.

Mrs. Weasley was standing on the sidewalk wringing her hands when he exited the flat. "Harry!" She sighed as he came down the street. "Will he go visit her?"

"He may not go to the hospital, but he hasn't given up on her yet." He held out his arm and began walking once Mrs. Weasley had taken it.

"I heard yelling, what did you say to him?"

He shrugged. "Not much, just enough for him to become defensive. Now, let's go make a bed up for Hermione at The Burrow." He suggested. "I imagine she'll take a bit of time to recover before she can go home alone."

"But what about Draco? When is he visiting her?"

"Probably not for a while. He doesn't want to prove me right." Harry shrugged as they walked down the street. "But just you wait, he'll come around. Men love doing what their told not to."

Mrs. Weasley huffed. "He'll go to her because he loves her. Not because you told him not to. Just you watch." She pointed a finger and him before jabbing it into his side.

"Alright." Harry rubbed his side before laughing. "He will go to her because he loves her, but I'm just speeding up the process a little bit. Uh, Mrs. Weasley... do you think Ginny actually likes Draco, or does she tolerate him because he's Hermione's..." He searched for the right word. "Love? Friend? Boy-thing?"

"Oh, Ginny does indeed like Draco. I mean, how could you not like that wonderful boy?" She clicked her tongue. "So polite and well behaved."

"Great, I've lost both Ginny and Teddy to that snake's sneaky ways." Harry muttered in disbelief.