Penance

Draco walked down the brightly lit hall, hating how cheery they always tried to make things seem. Sure, people are dying every day, Death Eaters are still on the loose and are trying to start another resurrection, but everything is fine, just fine. Look at all the pretty lights! The Ministry was acting as always, as if they had everything completely under control. Although, Draco had to admit, now that Shacklebolt was in control things were a lot smoother. He had brought up the Auror force and hundreds were now in his command, working towards putting away as many Death Eaters as possible while an entirely new aspect called the Acumen worked on finding new information to stay one step ahead. He pushed open the door to the ante-chamber bathed in blue. A woman behind a desk looked up from her parchment she had been scribbling on and gave him a smile.

“How may I help you today?”

“Can you please tell the minister that Draco Malfoy is here to see him?”

Her eyebrows scrunched as she rifled through papers on her desk. “Do you have an appointment?” she asked.

“He doesn’t need one,” came a deep voice from the office door. The big brown teddy bear of a man smiled warmly at him. “Come on in, son.”

Draco grinned back and walked through the door he held open wide. Kingsley clapped him on the shoulder and held him still, looking him over.

“Where have you been, boy?” he said, a smile still on his face. Being tall himself Draco found it amusing that he had to look up at the large man.

“Here and there. I found her.”

“Found who?” he asked, confused.

“Hermione Granger.”

Behind his dark skin Draco could have sworn he paled. “You’re kidding me?” he said softly. “Come here, come sit.” He gestured to his desk and Draco sank into a chair in front of the mahogany wood. He leaned back; comfortable in the soft chair he had frequented these last couple of years. Kingsley sat back then forward, his elbows finding his knees, his hands clasping. “You’re serious? You found her?”

Draco nodded and Kingsley let out a long whistle. “Well, where is she? Do we have her? Do we need to get a party together?” Kingsley stared sorting through papers as if finding names of Aurors who were not currently on a task.

“No, no no. We have her, she’s safe,” Draco assured him.

“Well, that’s great news! That’s great news, Draco. Is she doing alright? Did you take her to St. Mungo’s? We’ll get her the best care-,”

“She’s fine. A little banged up but I don’t think it’s anything urgent. Madame Pomfrey should be able to mend her up.”

“I’ll have her sent over. She’s at the Den, right?”

“Yeah, I left her there. You might want to send a mediator as well.”

“A mediator? Why is that?”

“Because I think Ginny Weasley might kill her.”

“Ginny? I thought the two were close?”

“They were, but she’s not very happy with Hermione’s explanation about her absence.”

“Which is?”

Draco faltered. He wanted to tell this man, his mentor, one of his only companions the truth, wanted him to understand that Hermione had been through much more than they realized…but her trust was more important to him. “You’ll have to talk to her about that yourself. I’m afraid I’m not authorized to make such statements.”

Kingsley looked taken aback. “Well, where did you find her? Where were they hiding her?”

“In the states, Nebraska to be specific. No one was hiding her.”

“What? What are you saying?”

Draco put up his hand to show he had reached the limit of explanation. Kinsley sank back, hard, into his chair, contemplating.

“And she’s alright?”

“She’s alright.”

“Well, then I guess that’s what’s important then. Now give me a few minutes to send out these missives and we’ll get down to business.”

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Hermione rose from the table. She’d been sitting there for a long time, thinking. She couldn’t take back what she’d done, but she could make up for it.

The sun had risen and she made her way out into the entry room. It was snowing softly, the white flakes making their way to the ground. Hermione needed to do something, to be useful. She walked to the room next to the kitchen. She pulled on the handle but it was locked. She gave up on that one and walked to the one on the other end. Now that it was light she could see a plaque resting above the door’s mantle:

Hermione’s Room
September 19, 1988- May 12, 2006

Guilt assailed her. For a moment she could do nothing but look up at the plaque, reading her own death which had never occurred. What had she done? Had she really just let these people, her family, the most important aspect of her life believe that she was dead? What kind of a sick person was she?

Hand shaking, she opened the door. A library. They had dedicated the library to her. Eyes swimming with tears she walked in and looked around. The walls were filled with books, shelves laden with them. It was as spotless as the rest of the house had been dreary. Wide windows were the only things that stopped the flow of books. A couple tables were set up and here and there pictures peeked out from between books. A glass case held some books and she walked forward to look at them. Her lungs deflated. They were hers. Her books. Her fingers skimmed the glass as she looked at the volumes of her school books, her personal books, even a few of her muggle books that she had collected over the years.

“She made this for you, you know,” a dreamy voice said from behind her. Luna was standing in the doorway, her dirty blonde hair in a long plait down her back. Her face looked older, stronger. “Ginny,” she continued, walking into the room. “She never got over your disappearance. She was completely frantic when they found that room. It was horrible, evil Dresinwarks were floating all over that room. I could feel them. We all searched, you know. For a very long time. Until about a year or so ago when everyone else gave up. Except Ginny and Draco. They kept looking. It was only this last January that she agreed to let it go. She made you this room soon after that. She’d been keeping all your belongings but we made her get rid of them. ‘All but the books,’ she said. She wouldn’t get rid of your books. She won’t let anybody mess this room up either, she said it was to always be treated as if you were there, looking over our shoulders. It was so hard on her, you know. After Harry and her brothers… I didn’t think she’d ever come through. But she has well enough I suppose. I thought that after the After War we could get away, just the two of us. I’m hoping she’ll find her smile again.” Luna stopped right beside her, pears dangling from her ears. She touched the case as well. “It’s like you’re back from the dead, you know?”

“Yeah, I do Luna,” she said truthfully. It did feel as if she’d been dead these last two years, not really living…just…existing. “I’m sorry for everything.”

She shrugged as if it were no bother. “You’re here now, aren’t you? That’s what really matters. She’s upstairs. Calm now, I think.”

“She won’t want to see me,” Hermione said.

“Oh, I think you’d be surprised. Go on,” the blonde urged. Hermione hugged the girl and received a warm one back.

“Welcome home, Hermione,” Luna said.

“Thank you, Luna. For everything.”

Hermione left the room limping. She made her way up the stairs and realized she had no idea which room was Ginny’s. She didn’t have to guess very long because she popped out of one, calling:

“Hey, Luna! Love, you forgot your-,” she stopped mid-sentence when she saw Hermione. Hermione locked in on the bra dangling from her friend’s hand. She quickly retracted it, stuffing it into a pocket.

“What do you want?” Ginny asked harshly.

“I was hoping we could talk,” Hermione pleaded.

“There’s nothing you could say to make me forgive you.”

“I don’t expect you to. Ginny, please, just for a minute, then you’ll never have to hear from me again.”

Ginny hesitated, her stubborn nature battling with her soft one. She finally nodded jerkily and disappeared inside her room. Hermione followed. One window was the only light in the sparsely furnished room. In one corner lay a four-posted in deep reds. There was a dresser, desk, vanity and a trunk sitting at the foot of the bad. Ginny pulled out the vanity chair and sat, gesturing for her to sit on the bed.

“So…so you and Luna…?”

“Yeah, we got together about a year after you left. She’s helped me a lot, made me feel again. She’s amazing, everything I wish I could be. Through all of this she has never lost herself. She’s the only one who hasn’t changed.”

Hermione nodded. “I’m very happy for you two. You deserve each other, really.”

“Thanks.” They were silent for a minute, not sure what to say. “How could you?” Ginny finally asked.

Hermione looked down into her lap, ashamed. “I’m not as strong as you, Gin. I felt like everything had been taken from me. My parents…I’d tried so hard to keep them safe and I failed them. They didn’t even understand this world and they died because of me. Then Ron…I was going to marry him, Ginny. He had finally gotten the courage to tell me he loved me…and then he was gone. Like that. Just, one second he was there and the next…it happened right in front of me, he protected me. I should have taken that curse, not him! And then Harry… he was so close, I could have almost reached out and touched him. I could have saved him; I was there, just there! And Malfoy, he held me back…

“Ginny, I couldn’t take it. I’d killed too many people, too many had died for me. I thought it was over, I really did. You have to believe me, I never would have left if I thought this would happen. Please, believe me on this one thing. When Malfoy told me I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t want to. I didn’t realize that you guys had been suffering so. I swear to you, Ginny, I would have been right here beside you if I had thought for one second that I was needed anymore. Because I wasn’t, Gin. Do you understand? No one needed me anymore. I couldn’t get over what had happened and I just would have dragged everyone down. I couldn’t do that to you guys. So I left where my pain couldn’t hurt anyone else. I’m so sorry, Ginny. If I could take back those years I would. But I can’t. If you can’t ever forgive me, I understand. I wouldn’t either. What I did was despicable, cowardly. I don’t deserve to wear the Gryffindor name. Just satisfy yourself with the fact that I hate myself more than you ever can.”

With that she left, closing the door softly behind her. She made her way back down to the library, thankful Luna wasn’t there. She searched the shelves before finding a book she thought might prove helpful. She did what Hermione Granger was known to do; she dragged it to a table and settled in for a long night.

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Draco shook Kingsley’s hand once more and left the office, giving the woman at the desk a curt smile. He strode to the closest fireplace and flooed back to the Den. He landed in the kitchen and nodded to Luna who was stirring vegetables into a large pot.

“She’s in the library,” Luna said softly without a glance his way. She scared him sometimes with how much she knew. He made his way to the library where the door was cracked open. He gazed inside and saw her immediately, surrounded by books half her weight, her head in her hands as she read the tiny script of a large tomb. He could see the tension in her shoulders and when she leaned back and rubbed her hands over her face he knew she was overly tired. He stiffened when he saw the bruises, the dried blood still caked on her face. Wasn’t Madame Pomfrey supposed to have stopped by? That had been hours ago! Incised, he strode back to the fireplace and flooed to Hogwarts, the only fireplace connected. The school was different than it had been. Half of it was dedicated to the students but many wings had been portion off for war-work. He raced up staircases and wondered vaguely why it was so quiet. Winter break, his mind reminded himself. When he burst into the hospital wing he opened his mouth to shout at the plump, pleasant woman but the words died in his throat. The beds were filled, others had been shoved in. He recognized several people and he rushed forward to the closest man who was seated beside another with bandages covering his face.

“Curtis, what happened here?”

The senior Auror looked up at him. “We tried again. It went bad, real bad…” the man’s voice shook as he placed a hand on his friends arm. “Garret here…I don’t think he has long. The shields…I don’t know what they used. Shite we ain’t never seen before. Draco, they’re advancing. We can’t keep up. We’re too busy trying to catch up while they’re staying one step ahead. I don’t know how Harry’s survived this long…”

Draco clasped the man’s shoulder, looking around. Most of them would go home the next morning, stiff but without lasting effects. Some may not go home at all. He found Madame Pomfrey in the crowd, a stack of blankets weighing her down as she moved between the injured people. Draco hurried forward and took the blankets from her.

“Oh, thank you, dear,” she said, happy to be rid of the burden.

“Anything I can do to help?” Draco asked.

He thought she was going to cry in gratitude. It was going to be a long night.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Hermione looked up when she heard a knock on the door. She smiled at the large man who entered the library.

“Miss Granger?”

“Hello, Mr. Shacklebolt. It’s good to see you,” she said.

Kingsley sat in a chair across from her. “It’s been a long time, my girl. Where have you been?”

“The states. I’m sorry to have worried you all. I’ll be more than happy to pay for any money or time spent searching for me-,”

“No, my dear. Not necessary. We are just happy you are home safe. Will you be willing to explain your disappearance?”

Hermione sighed. She had known this was coming. She was terrified Draco had already told him, she didn’t want anyone knowing. It was better this way, better they thought of her as no more than a malingerer. “It was the cowardly escape of a young girl, Minister. Nothing more.”

He didn’t seem impressed by her story. “But to have been gone for two years? How did no one find you?”

“I returned to the muggle world, my way of pitying myself. I felt useless as a witch, not being able to stop the death of my friends and family so I resumed my life as an ordinary muggle.”

He nodded slowly, one hand rubbing his chin. “And that’s it?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“And what of the bedroom at Grimmauld Place?”

“I’m embarrassed to say I staged it, I wanted people to believe I was dead and prevent them from looking for me as I hear you did.”

“Of course we did! All of your friends were frantic! As Minister I had to pull strings to keep the investigation alive. I don’t think you really understand the severity of consequences of your actions.”

“I do, Minister. I swear, I’ll make it up to you all. Give me a chance, please. I’ve changed, I’m not that scared girl anymore. I know I made a mistake, one that is impossible to fix, but I will serve my dues. If you have to take me to Azkaban, I understand. I know I broke the law and I will serve my punishment.” Hermione was inwardly terrified that he might actually do so, the stern look on his face unmoving. But he smiled.

“I don’t think that will be necessary. I do expect you to do work, a lot of it. We have needed you over these past two years. Miss Luna will be able to give you a list of things needed to be done; she has been keeping track of it all for us. Now, what I would like you to do first is to take yourself to the Burrow and comfort Molly. She will want to know you’re here and she will be able to treat your wounds,” he said pointing to her face. Her hand shot up to it, having forgotten, she was so absorbed in her reading. “Madame Pomfrey, I’m afraid, has her hands full. Get a good night’s sleep and in the morning, when you are rested, come to my office. We have things to discuss.”

“Thank you Minister. I won’t let you down this time.”

“You never did. Now go on,” he ushered her out the door. She ran to the fireplace and yelled for the Burrow, happy to see Mrs. Weasley again.

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A/N: I tweaked the time scale, because I can :)
This story is taking place in December of 2008. Jsst so you're not confused, she is 21 at this time.


XOXO

RynStar15