When Our Children Fight Our Wars

Author's Note:
First of all, I'd like to apologize for the technical issues. I'm not sure if you all can see all of chapter one when you first go to the story page, but I can't. So I'm reposting it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

If you read the first note, then you know this twist of my style is new to me. It comes fairly naturally, but I still feel a bit self-concscious about it. So feel free to let me know how I'm doing! :D

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Chapter One: What's Left of My Life


Draco nodded curtly and rolled his eyes after he was told the news by Blaise Zabini: Granger was Head Girl and he, meaning Blaise, was Head Boy. The decision on the latter title had been held off until that very day and Draco could not say that he was at all pleased. Both Slytherins understood McGonagall's reasoning behind appointing Blaise instead of Draco, but neither wished to discuss it or say anything else on the matter. Draco because he was sick of getting pissed off over the injustice and sick of obssessing over the possible loss of (actually, now very much already lost) title which was rightfully his, and Blaise would rather not say anything lest his glee become apparent to his friend. He was, in fact, extremely proud that he was now a step above Draco. Even if is was only by default.

The lack of conversation left a thick, awkward silence lingering in the train compartment like a fog rolling in and obscuring the fact that these two boys were the closest thing to best friends that two Slytherins could be. The pair that was usually found wrapped up in some sort of intelligent conversation or battle of minds and wits was now reduced to a pair of mutes who were making themselves extremely busy with doing absolutely nothing. Draco sat with his back against the wall of the compartment, near the window, studying his nails with a practiced look of boredom and Blaise was pretending to stare intently at the scenery whizzing by. This little Hogwarts executive decision was going to cause a bit of a rift in the aforementioned friendship, that was for damn sure.

The two boys could not help but feel a bit stifled in the absence of distraction from the bloody Head Boy appointment. They were all alone, pretending not to notice each other, ignoring the situation at hand, and the very walls seemed to scream "What a brilliant start to the new school year!" in a nagging, sarcastic way. The whole atomosphere of the small train compartment was making the both of them feel extremely claustrophobic.


"You'll give me the password anyway, of course." Draco finally said in a tone that held no hint of a question in it.

"Of course." Blaise reassured quickly and earnestly.

Through those agonizing minutes of silence, Blaise had been toying with this very idea and had come to the conclusion that having a whole common room to himself and Hermione Granger would be absolutely zero fun. It was his seventh year and he wanted to spend as much time with his long-time friend as possible. Especially since Draco had been eerily quiet about his heroic acts during the war that past summer. Normally, Draco would have gloated about anything and everything.

He was a changed young man. They both were; and they needed to find a way to reconnect.



Meanwhile, in another part of the Hogwarts Express, a similar conversation was taking place. . . .

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed a frustrated Hermione Granger as she straightened out her robes and sniffed high-and-mightily.

"But why not, 'Mione?!" whined Ronald Weasley as he untangled himself from Lavender Brown and leaned forward in his seat so that he was closer to the young woman opposite him who was denying him what he wanted. "It's a whole common room that we could spend time together in!"

"It's against the rules, Ron, and I'm not about to set a bad example for Head Girls to come!"

"That's the end of it!" she shouted, exasperated, as he opened his mouth to give her another stupid reason, meant to coax her. She knew full well that Ron only wanted a place where he and Lavender could come (in more than one sense) whenever they like, and she was not about to set herself up for a daily heartbreak. Noooo sir. She had had quite enough of all that.

It was all Hermione could do to keep herself from staring jealously and longingly at the couple across from her. She, instead, willed herself to stay strong until Harry returned from wherever he was. He always gave her his shoulder to cry on and his ear to bitch to. And for that, she was grateful. She really did miss him terribly, though.

Though Hermione understood why he'd needed to get away from it all after the war, a small part of her thought it was terribly unfair of him to do so. Especially since he had taken Ginny with him. This left Hermione alone with Ron and his. . . . . .his Lav. Not to mention her memories. Those were probably the worst.

The memories of the war, the deaths, and the Death Eater trials were just too fresh in Hermione's head and she was left with no pleasant distractions from her failed relationship with the youngest of the Weasley brothers. The truth was, that her painful relationship with Ron was actually the easiest of the all the memories to revisit. Hermione only wished that the rest of them weren't there at all. But they were.

They were all right there, ready to breach the surface of her carefully monitored thoughts and the soft giggle from the girl sitting on the opposite side of the train compartment was all it took for Hermione's concentration to break. Now she would have to relive it all once again.

The memories came rushing over her at such a speed, she was amazed any of it made sense to her.


Ron's smile as he tentatively kissed her for the first time; the feel of his arms around her waist. Screams coming from every direction and her heart pounding in her chest. Relief that she had survived another night's worth of fighting. Ron and Harry holding her tightly as she cried so many times. A flash of green coming straight at her and surprise taking over her as she was pushed out of the way of her own death. Bodies piled high and flames dancing over them. So very many bodies. Ron's nonchalance as he declared he loved Lavender and not her; her own misery as she bit back the words she had wanted to utter so badly for so long. Cold, blue eyes glaring at her with malice before closing; Lucius Malfoy falling to the ground. Faces. So many faces. George, Lupin, Tonks, Mad-Eye, Ron, Luna, Kingsley, Harry, Ginny, Molly, Arthur, Neville, Fred, Cho. BAM! The curse was countered. He fell. They were safe. It was over.

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Before long, Hermione opened her eyes to see four pairs of eyes fixed on her; two of which she wasn't sure she could stomach at the moment, and the other two catching her completely off guard. Immediately she stood up, only to have to sit back down again due to the blood rushing to her head much too fast.

"All right there, Granger?" came the familiar drawl of Draco Malfoy. "I thought that you would have gotten used to the sheer weight of all. . . . .that over the years." He continued, gesturing towards her hair and offering his hand to help her stand up, knowing full well she would not take it. His smirk was plastered onto his face and it only grew when she glared at him and stood up on her own. She didn't even dignify his remark with a response as she turned towards Blaise and sighed.

"I assume you need me for something?" she asked, trying to figure out why the two Slytherins were here.

"Not particularly. I just wanted to know if we could discuss our password to the Head's common room now instead of spending unnecessary time on it later." Blaise offered in a polite tone.

At the mention of the common room, Draco's eyes rolled, darkened and became fixed on a random spot on the wall. He was still more than a bit sore over losing the position of Head Boy and the best he could do was clench his fists to suppress his temper. He usually had much more self control, but after the war and the trials, this was just the last straw.

As he stood there, glaring at the wall, Draco realized Granger nervously giving him a once-over before consenting to Blaise's offer. He rolled his eyes at that as well. Scared, was she? Pathetic. She should know better than anyone that he wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't. Not after. . . . .


But that was then. She probably didn't even realize that it had been him at the time. And if she had known, she had probably convinced herself that it wasn't true. Draco Malfoy would never save a Mudblood. No matter whose side he was on, right?

Wrong, Granger. Wrong.

His eyes moved from their spot on the wall when Granger hurriedly told the compartment's resident idiot (and his leech of a girl) that she would only be a few moments. Draco couldn't be sure, but it seemed to him that Granger was still sore over her break up with the Weasel.

It had been a huge topic of gossip with the Wizarding World and even Draco had gotten wind of it. How could he not have? Every girl was talking about it. Yes, even the ones he'd slept with. These women had seemed to be under the impression that just because Draco was fighting alongside the Boy-Who-Needed-To-Get-Laid and his sidekicks, he cared about them. And seriously? That was the farthest thing from the truth. Draco didn't give a shit about any of them. He only cared about his own ass and had jumped into the war only because he saw that, with his help, the good-guy pussies would win. Well, that and the fact that Draco liked Voldie just as much as the next guy - which was negative amounts. Draco hated him even now that he was dead.


Pulling himself back to the present, Draco watched as Granger gave a last irritated glance at Weasel and Brown. Then she was gone.

How interesting that she had fled the security of her friend's company to go spend a half an hour with a Slytherin boy who was friends with Draco Malfoy. How very interesting indeed.

That was the observation Draco was making as he allowed the compartment door to slam shut behind him. He, of course, was following the two Heads to another compartment and as he quickened his pace to catch up with them, he couldn't help but notice that there was something different about Granger. Even from behind he could tell that something had changed. Of course they had all changed. Every single one of them. And in many different ways.

He just couldn't put his finger on what was different about Granger.

He decided to run through the facts first, hoping that whatever it was would dawn on him in the process.

He knew for a fact that Hermione had gotten much, much better at shielding her emotions when she wanted to, but judging from her little show of sappy, lost affection in the compartment with Weasel. . . .that wasn't what he was looking for. He noticed that she'd grown a thousand times closer to Potty, but again. . .not what he was looking for.

After a moment or two of thinking, Draco could come up with nothing. He was still staring intently at her as a felt a hand hit him over the head. He blinked a few times before narrowing his eyes and turning to the source of this action. When he found it, he was not at all surprised to see Blaise.

"What?" he spat petulantly, still not exactly in good spirits.

"Just thought I'd inquire as to why you were staring at Frizz Face with such intensity. If I wasn't informed, I'd have thought you fancied her." Replied Blaise in a hushed tone. After seeing her for the first time this year, he had noticed straight away that Granger had filled out in all the right places over the summer. He was slowly warming up to the fact that they would be spending a great deal of time together. Blaise was, after all, a teenager of the male species. He just wondered if Draco was thinking a long the same lines.

"Are you mad? She's as plain and frumpy as ever and there is no way I could like such a thing."

Apparently not on the same wave length, I see. Blaise thought to himself, before giving Draco a practiced laugh.

"I was only joking, Draco. Don't get your Grannies in a twist." And with a wink, Blaise disappeared into the secluded compartment that Granger had slipped into moments ago. To Draco's great annoyance, Blaise had shut the door behind him and, apparently, placed a silencing charm on the room.

Great. Just bloody wonderful. Now what am I supposed to do?

Draco kicked open a nearby compartment, shooed a timid first year out, and plopped himself down onto the seat. He figured he might as well try to calm down his stormy disposition and the best way to do that was to. . . . .was to, what? Sleep it off?

Bloody hell. Who am I and what have I done with Draco Lucius Malfoy?

But even as he thought this, he was closing his eyes and settling into the cushioned seats.


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"Good to be back, isn't it?" Blaise asked as he rested his hand on Hermione's lower back, effectively pushing her farther into the compartment so that he could shut the door before Draco managed to slip in. He didn't miss the way Granger tensed at the unexpected contact, nor did he miss the relaxation of those same muscles right before he removed his hand. It amused Blaise to know that she was that jumpy around him. She had just been through a war, after all. And Blaise was surely no threat to her. Well not in the way she was used to anyway. He could already tell how little attention Granger got from the opposite sex and if he played his cards right. . . . . .

He would be the first to get into those uptight knickers.

He already had an advantage over the other seventh year boys in two ways. First of all, he could get closer to her on the train ride if he thought of a good enough reason for her to stay in this particular compartment (it was obvious that Granger was less than pleased with Weasley and Brown). Secondly, Blaise was Head Boy. They would be sharing a common room and spending a great deal of time together. Not to mention the fact that Granger would probably want someone with the same brainpower as her. And even though Blaise was no Draco Malfoy, he could keep up better than most of the other seventh years at Hogwarts.

Concealing a smirk, Blaise slid onto the seat across from a slightly pink-faced Granger.

"Oh. . .Yes, of course. I always love coming back to Hogwarts. Its like a home away from home." She replied with a polite smile. She decided that as long as Zabini was going to play nice, so would she. And it seemed to her that he was playing very, very nice. . . .Or was that just her imagining things?

Probabaly.

"Mmm. I know what you mean. Its nice to get away from it all and focus on school. Especially since that's all we have to worry about now, thank Merlin." Blaise knew that by adding the bit about the war, he might upset her. . But he wanted to gain her trust and by allowing her to think she could tell him anything, he would. Eventually.

Surprisingly, she took the bait.

"That's for damn sure." Oooh, watch out! Granger curses now, does she? Interesting. "I can't even begin to explain how happy I am that's its all over. Everything is over. No more worries, no more fighting, no more. . . . . .Nevermind. I got a bit carried away; I apologize."

Blaise raised an eyebrow as she turned away from him to gaze out the window with a faraway expression.

After a few quiet minutes, Blaise took it upon himself to seize the moment. In a few seconds, he was beside Granger, rubbing her arm softly and whispering to her that it was all right. She was safe now.

Just as his fingers touched her arm, she tensed again.

"Please. . . ." She pleaded quietly, wanting Blaise to back off. She was far too hungry for kindness and deathly afraid of whoever first showed it to her. She didn't want to scare anyone off with her emotional baggage - especially not the Head Boy who she would be in constant contact with. But he seemed to take her plea differently and she soon felt his arms around her and her back against his chest. She wanted to push him off; really, she did. But it was all just too much for Hermione and she found herself sobbing loudly.

Oh, brilliant. Ruin his ridiculously expensive clothes, why don't you, Hermione? That's a great way to make a first impression! But even as she mentally berated herself, she felt herself letting go of a bit of her pain.

As for Blaise, he was straddling that fine, fine line between feeling extremely turned-on by her small frame against him, and feeling really, really bad for regarding her as some kind of stupid bint earlier.

Apparently there was more to Hermione Granger than a nice rack and a tight ass. . . .And Blaise felt terrible for thinking only of that at first - and for thinking of it at that moment too.

Damn hormones.

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"Oomph! What the bloody fuck?" mumbled a half-asleep Draco Malfoy as the train bumped violently and he was thrown off the seat and onto the floor. Sitting up and stretching, Draco checked his watch and frowned. He'd been asleep for two hours? And Blaise hadn't gotten him yet?

Within seconds, Draco was kicking the door to the compartment in which he had left Blaise and Granger.

"What the fuck, Blaise?!" he questioned angrily as he saw the door sliding open and a very confused set of brown eyes giving him a once-over. "Oh, what are you looking at, Granger?" he spat, striding through the door and nearly dropping his jaw at what he saw.

There was Blaise, sitting next to Granger with his arm around her like they had been lovers since the Big Bang and looking oh-so-confused at the sudden intrusion. Like he didn't know I'd be coming by eventually. thought Draco with annoyance. But overriding his irritation was his confusion and curiosity. Why was Blaise looking a bit smug? Why was Hermione looking like she had some kind of syphilis with her red-rimmed eyes, dripping nose, pink cheeks, and sniffling?

. . . .Oh, she's been crying. No syphilis then. Damn.

Frustratingly, ruling out syphilis didn't bring Draco any closer to some kind of conclusion about what he'd walked in on. "Oi, Blaise. A word?"

"But of course." Blaise replied before turning to Hermione (yes Hermione. They were on a first name basis now.) and assuring her that he'd be back in a few moments. At this gesture, Draco's eyes narrowed and he turned quickly out of the compartment and into the hall.

The minute they were out of earshot, Blaise grabed Draco's arm. "Here's fine, mate." He said with a smile that Draco thought he'd rather enjoy punching off of his face. As soon as he'd left the scene, Draco had realized exactly what he'd walked in on.

". . . Granger?" he managed after a few moments of silence.

"What about her, Draco?"

"Allow me to ask you the same thing, mate. What about her turns you on? Why would you even think of going after her?"

". . . . You're bloody blind, Draco." Blaise said with a chuckle as he took a step back, anticipating the swipe Draco might very well have taken right then and there. Surprisingly, he hadn't. Draco had remained still. Eerily so. After a moment or two he spoke again.

"Its Granger, Blaise." He all but pleaded, willing his friend to see how absurd he sounded. He would admit to himself that he hadn't even given Granger a fair once-over since. . .well. . .ever, but he wasn't about to either! It wasn't even that he was still prejudiced against muggleborns and half-bloods. It was just that he hated her. He hated her so damn much and figured that Blaise did too. How many times had the two of them sat around doing nothing but think up ways to humiliate her and her friends?

Countless times, that's how many. A girl grows some tits and its all about forgiving and forgetting. Some bloody friend.

"She's changed, Draco."

At Draco's unamused stare, Blaise continued. "Not just physically either. She's. . . . . . . She's different. The war really changed her." He sighed then, knowing how cliche his next statement would sound, but not caring. "It changed us all."

"Apparently." Stated Draco coolly before he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed to think for a minute.

He hated Granger more than a lot of people, of that he was sure, but Blaise was his best friend who Draco trusted with his life. Okay, not life; Draco didn't trust anyone with that anymore. But he trusted Blaise more than anyone else in world and that was the truth. So, technically, if Blaise had decided that Granger was worth spending time with outside of the bedroom (which was saying a lot, coming from Blaise), maybe he could give her a chance.

Ha. Yeah, right.

Oh, fine. He could be civil. That was the best he could do for now and Blaise had better not ask anything else of him. For Draco, being civil to Granger was like kissing a snapping turtle. So his best friend should be extremely grateful that he was going to attempt this impossible feat.

"All right, fine." Draco said with a sigh, knowingly that Blaise knew what he meant. "But if she so much as mentions my family -"

"She won't."

". . . .Well, good then."

"Yes, quite."

"Right."

". . . .Shall we go back, then?"

"You expect me to share air with that?!"

But Blaise was already rolling his eyes and making his way back through the cramped corridor to join Hermione in the compartment.

"Be serious, Blaise."

Step, step, step. Stop. Smirk. Step, step, step.

Draco practically growled before taking a deep breath and following his friend. This was going to be one fucked up year.



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A/N#2:
Hey you! Yes, you. Please review and let me know what you thought of the beginning. As previously stated, I'm a nervous wreck over what you all think. Thanks so much! :)

The title of this story, When Our Children Fight Our Wars, is from the song "Bricks" by the band, Rise Against. I really think the song fits one of the big themes - the war theme - in this fic, if you're interested in taking a listen. :)

The title of this chapter comes from a song called "Injection" by the same band.