Of Foes and Friends

Hermione woke up to the buzzing of her alarm again. She felt the comfort of Draco's arms around her but didn't feel surprised. At least not at him being there. She was shocked to realize she felt comfortable and safe with his arms around her. "Draco," she whispered, "wake up." The only answer she received was a snort in her ear. "Malfoy, dammit, wake up!" She said more forcefully. This time she got the response she needed, he loosened his grip and groaned. "Granger, finesse really isn't your strong suit, is it?" He asked as slumber reclaimed him.



With a roll, Hermione was out of bed and on her way to the privacy screen where she quickly changed. She gathered her things and made her way to the Great Hall. As she walked, Hermione wondered about her friends, what would they think about this arrangement? A sinking feeling settled itself in her gut as she thought of her friends. They were the reason she'd been sleeping in the RoR to begin with. She didn't have friends anymore. 'What a great way to start my day,' the brunette thought to herself as the amount of dread in her increased. 



As she settled in at the far end of the Gryffindor table with some toast and beans, the morning post arrived. To her surprise a beautiful owl landed in front of her, holding out its leg. Gently, she undid the scroll and handed it a piece of toast. 'Who could possibly be sending me a letter?' Hermione thought as she looked at the seal. It was crimson with the letters HP pressed into it, Harry! With some trepidation she undid the seal and read the words written in Harry's messy scrawl.



Dear Hermione,



I have been trying to figure out where our friendship fell apart. Was it when you broke it off with Ron? Or even before that, when we refused to return to Hogwarts? Either way, I miss you terribly. My life feels different without you.



I must confess that I have an ulterior motive for writing you. Ron showed up at Grimmauld Place yesterday. He didn't make much sense and looked like he'd been through hell. What I could grasp was that he'd been kicked out of the Burrow after being tortured by two strangers because...well, because he harmed you. Hermione? Please? What happened?

I've only heard Ron and Ginny's side for months and I can't believe the picture they've painted. Please, tell me what's going on?



Your friend,

Harry Potter



With a hand over her mouth she looked at the Slytherin table, hoping to see Draco. His signature blond head was nowhere in sight. Hermione shook her head and put the letter in her book-bag, right now was not the time for it. Leaving her meal behind, she walked to class.



~*~*~*~



Draco woke with a groan and a start when he realized her side of the bed was not only empty it was cold. He cursed loudly when he conjured the time, he'd overslept again! If only he hadn't been up late, taking care of business, he would have noticed Hermione leave the room. Instead, he'd only turned around and gone back to sleep. With speed only a Quidditch player possess, he got dressed and ran to Transfiguration. A white and black streak could be seen, almost flying through the corridors.



Not even trying to catch his breath, Draco pushed the door open only enough for him to slip into class and sneak to a seat in the back. Maybe McGonagall, who still taught the last two years, wouldn't notice his tardiness. As he bent down to gather his quill and parchment, his stomach grumbled loudly in hunger. "Ah, Mister Malfoy, I see you have finally decided to grace us with your presence today," Headmistress McGonagall said with a pointed look. "Sorry Headmistress," Draco muttered, hanging his head in shame. "That'll be twenty points from Slytherin Mister Malfoy. Don't let it happen again."



Malfoy groaned inwardly, twice in the span of a week he'd cost his house points. If his new classmates didn't already hate him, they surely would now. He had just earned himself another reason to be despised: former Death Eater, cocky bastard, and point-loser-extraordinaire.



~*~*~*~



As usual after class, Hermione was sitting in the library with the window open so that the breeze and the sun could kiss her skin. She stared at the lake as she tried to find the right words to say to Harry. The desk looked like a paper bomb had gone off, crumpled notes littered the top and some had fallen off. Each scrap of paper had different words and phrases that meant the same thing: Ron raped me and everybody is shunning me for it. She couldn't send those words to Harry. Not like that.



With a resolution she hadn't felt in days, she finally decided on what to say:



Dearest Harry,



I don't know what happened to our friendship either. I miss you as well and need somebody on my side. 



I can't find the right words to say what happened, at least not the right words to write to you. I have Hogsmeade privileges next Saturday, please meet me at noon at the Three Broom Sticks? 



Love, 

Hermione



She set the note aside, incinerated all the others and swept them into the bin nearby. Feeling the weight being removed from her shoulders, she set into her homework with vigor.