Salvation

Lunch

It was breakfast time again at the Hermione/Ron house. Everyone was sitting at the table, enjoying breakfast that Hermione made. Everything was calmer since the day before and all the Draco drama. Well, it wasn't so much calm as ignored. It was something Harry was used to with his upbringing. Hermione, well, she just wasn't going to start any arguments for no reason. But she would sure as hell finish them if Harry wanted to start them.

"So do you want to have lunch together today, Hermione?" Ron asked while he was pouring himself some more juice. It had been awhile since they went out to lunch and thought he would take her out. She liked nice things like that – it kept her happy. And obviously when Hermione was happy, Ron was happy.

"I can't today. I already made plans," Hermione responded, hiding behind her cup a little bit. She knew Ron wouldn't be too pleased, which is why she didn't tell him in the first place. It was too early for him to get angry. He still had this jealously issue that he had never quite gotten over. It didn't help that Hermione had so many few female friends that it would be a given that her lunch partner was a man.

"What plans did you make?" Ron demanded while setting down anything in his hand and setting his full gaze on his girlfriend. Harry watched the episode unfold before him, attempting not to laugh.

"I said I would do lunch with someone else. I can't just back out now, Ronald. There are plenty of other days we can eat together." Hermione was trying to avoid just who she was going to lunch with, hoping Ron wouldn't catch on. Too bad for her, Ron caught on just fine.

"Hermione who are you going to lunch with?" Ron asked with a smile on his face that looked like he was going to burst any minute. Harry was surprised his lip didn't start bleeding with how hard he was biting it. After mumbling something, Hermione took a sip of her juice. "What was that, sweetie?" Ron asked with the same scary smile on his face. Harry was leaning on the table, wishing he had popcorn or something to shove in to his face.

"Draco Malfoy," Hermione finally said and started to get up. "Does anyone want anything else? I think I might need something else to drink. Preferable some hard liquor," Hermione said as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Hermione, love, get your cute butt back here." She slowly walked back out to the table. She was met with two very strong gazes from her two favorite men. They looked like they wanted to smack her and take her temperature at the same time. "What was that name again?" Ron asked.

"Look, Ron, I'm going to lunch with Draco Malfoy today. He wrote me a very lovely owl saying thank you for treating him like a decent human being. Then he said he wanted to buy me lunch to show his appreciation," Hermione answered with her hand on her hip, showing she meant business.

"He's just doing that to piss me off," Harry yelled while slamming his fist on the table, shaking the plates. That loathsome little jerk! Now he was going through Harry's friends just to torment him? He has some serious issues!

"You know what: this has nothing to do with you! He wanted to take me out because I said something nice about him. The entire world does not revolve around Harry Potter!" After her break out, Hermione huffed and pushed the hair away from her face. "Plus, he said you would say that. And if you did, he suggested that's what I should say back to you."

"I knew that sounded a little too much like Malfoy," Harry snapped while sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms, his bottom lip jutting out like a small child.

"Look, I didn't mean to yell at you," Hermione said while looking at Harry. "You just get so difficult sometimes. I mean, why is it so hard to believe that someone actually wants to talk to me? Is it that strange that maybe someone wants to be friends with me for me and not because my best friend is the amazing Harry Potter?"

"That's not what I meant," Harry said while shaking his head. "I just mean, you know that Malfoy always likes to get on my case. He always has something up his sleeve to make my life miserable. It's like his goal in life is to drag mine down. He likes to see just how miserable he can make me."

Grabbing her purse, Hermione walked towards the door. "Well for once, Harry, this has nothing to do with you." With that she stormed out. Hermione didn't want to yell at Harry, but he was so thickheaded. That's just what it took every now and then – a good yelling at. Sometimes a smack was even better.

Hermione was looking forward to lunch all day. She wanted to have a wonderful time and be able to go back to her men and tell them just how great it was. She wanted to brag and tell them how wrong they had been. She wanted them to have to get down on their knees and kiss her feet to make it up to her. Well, maybe not that extreme, but she did want an apology. It was a good thing lunch finally came or she would have gone crazy with wonder.

The two had sat down and already exchanged the pleasantries. It was a lovely restaurant that Draco picked with food that made her mouth water from just reading it off the menu. However, Hermione wasn't thinking about all the niceness of her surroundings. She really wanted to know what was going on in Draco's life.

"So tell me what you're doing now, Draco." She was going to make it as personal as possible. There was a reason they were here together and she wanted to find out just what that reason was. If he was just trying to use her to get ahead with something or other, she wanted to know immediately.

"Mostly I'm just selling little bits and pieces of things I don't need living by myself and that's what I'm living off of. Well, that and the money that was left for me," he answered while taking a bite of lunch.

"Don't you get bored?” Hermione asked while slightly leaning forward. She would go crazy if she didn't do anything all day long.

"No, I'm simply trying to learn everything I can and read every book possible. I focus all my attention on learning and don't let a job get in the way. Maybe I'll try to teach something at Hogwarts when I feel I know enough," Draco answered with a smile. "Books are my life now."

"Ah, so is that why you're harassing Harry?” Hermione asked lightheartedly with a wink. She was trying to make him chuckle.

"Ugh, Potter, he has so many issues!" Draco huffed while leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. He looked exactly like Harry when he did that. They should pout together some time....

"Come on Draco, he's been through a lot," Hermione said calmly. No matter what Harry said or how thick he was, Harry was still her best friend and she would always stand by his side.

"No, you come on! He isn't the only one in the world that has gone through something! Plenty of people have difficult lives and no one pays any attention to them! And you know why? Because they can handle and don't need every single person in the world to constantly bow down to them!

"He isn't the only one to lose parents! There are hundreds of kids that are alone in the world! I will not pity him! So what? His parents died? It's not like he knew them! It's not like he had been with them long enough to get attached to them and then have them ripped away! Maybe he should go talk to Longbottom and then try and cry over his pathetic existence!"

When he had finally calmed down, Draco looked around. A few people where gawking at him and he was standing up. Quietly he sat back down and took a sip from his cup. He hadn't meant to make a scene. It's just Potter always pulls the worst things from him. He is normally so much more composed and refined. But no, as soon as someone mentions Potter he loses his fucking mind.

"Draco," Hermione said in a timid voice, "did you lose both your parents?" She had stopped paying attention over who was killed in the war after a while. It all got too depressing. But maybe she should have paid closer attention to who got killed so she could avoid these awkward questions. The one time she didn't read.... She knew Lucius has been mysteriously murdered, but didn't know about his mom or not. She was always so quiet and alone in her corner, it hadn't really mattered to her before.

"Yes, okay, they aren't here any more. They're gone and they aren't coming back," Draco said, still huffing. There was an obvious cross between hurt and anger in his voice. Hermione was wondering how recent it was that his mother died. She couldn't figure out if it was recent and that was why he exploded. Or maybe it was some time ago, but still stung miserably.

"Draco, I'm so sorry, I had no idea. I wouldn't have said anything if I had known," Hermione said quietly. She knew she would have been completely melancholy if her parents weren't with her any more.

"I don't need your pity!" Draco snapped. A small gasp came from Hermione, making Draco look at her. She seemed really hurt by what he said. For some reason she actually took it personally. "I'm sorry Hermione, here you are trying to be my friend and I'm screaming at you. I guess that's not really the best way to handle someone's niceness."

"Why do you suddenly want to be my friend? It does seem quite odd, especially taking in our history and everything. I mean, I know we worked things out during the nights trying to figure where the next hit would be, but we were never close or anything. I just can't understand it."

"I just feel so alone now. All the friends I had back in Hogwarts don't want me any more. They say I'm a traitor and would rather slit my throat than talk to me. Or they're in Azkaban. Everyone else doesn't trust me, even though I thought I had completely proved myself loyal to the light side," he answered more truthfully than she ever expected him to be with her.

"Why me then?" Hermione asked, still not exactly convinced. There were plenty of people he could have been talking to at that very moment.

"Because you're the only one reaching out to me," Draco answered simply. Something about the way he said it made Hermione want to jump out of her seat and hug him tightly. She had been around Mrs. Weasley way too much.

"I'm just hoping you won't bite the hand I'm extending," Hermione replied, hope in her voice, but also some fear.

"Don't worry, I'm taking any hand that's extended," Draco told her.

Hermione smiled kindly at him. "Well, then mine will always be there."