Of course there were scars, both physical and mental, but the passing months had softly made the students’ lives functional again. Some things were changed of course, but not necessarily to the worse. New opinions started to spread, a lot of them about forgiveness and tolerance. Sure, there were students treating others in bad ways, it’s hard to avoid, but it was not as common as one could have feared. On the whole, especially amongst the older students, there was a new understanding.

​

But these thoughts were far away from Hermione’s mind as she closed her book and tried to repeat the eight plants used in brewing high focus-potions. It was not strictly on the curriculum, but it was knowledge good to have for more reasons than strictly academic. Next to her Harry and Ron discussed Quidditch over breakfast, and even if she smiled at the familiar sight, there was the usual pain throbbing inside her. They had been through so much during the war, and got so close. Then how was it possible that she and Ron never ended up together? There had been times where the air had almost sparkled between them, times when that longed for kiss had been a heartbeat away. But no. All this time at school he’d never said anything to her, never gave her any actual signs. She believed that he felt the same as she did, but how to be sure? So she smiled, and quietly cursed him for never taking that first step. Inevitably followed by cursing herself for never taking that step either. After all she had seen and survived, when it came to Ron, she was a coward.

​

There was a whooshing sound, and she forgot both herbs and difficult friends as she looked up at the owls, zooming in on their targets. She was prepared for the owl carrying her Daily Prophet – not for what thudded down in front of her. A big, tired-looking owl dropped an enormous white parcel in front of her, and took flight at once. She stared at the parcel, and she was not the only one. Her friends at Gryffindor table all looked in anticipation, but there were also some students at other tables who leaned over in curiosity. She sighed. There was no reason to believe that it would contain anything nasty, but she had no idea who would send her something like that. Or maybe... She looked around at the curious eyes. Better to just open it and get it over with.

​

With a resolute hand she took away the ribbons, and started to unwrap it. The scent gave it away even before it was out in the open, a wonderful, seductive scent. An amused but also satisfied smile woke on her face, and she took away the last of the wrapping from the lavish bouquet of roses. The whole thing was a bit silly, there must be forty, maybe fifty red roses there. This was definitely a first. She shook her head and giggled.

​

“There is a card,” Ginny stage whispered from down the table.

​

She didn’t need the card, she knew full well who it was from. So did everyone else. Feeling a bit self-conscious she tried to dodge all the excited eyes, and instead reached out for the card. There were no surprises.

​

I’ve lost track of the times I’ve asked, but I feel lucky today.

​

How about a date?

​

Draco

​

For a moment she leaned her face in her palm, holding back the laughter trying to get out. The smile, on the other hand, couldn’t be avoided. Amused, flattered, a little annoyed, but this time with an affectionate feeling for Malfoy she never thought she would have.

​

It had begun a little more than a month ago. She had been in the library with a group of friends when Malfoy entered. He had gone straight over to them, and looked at her intently.

​

“Granger,” he said, looking a little nervous. When she turned her attention to him with a surprised face, he looked around, seemed to make a decision, and said the impossible words. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

​

She had been so nonplussed that she automatically just said a simple ‘no’, but he had only given her a little bow and left. Back then she had felt bad for rejecting him in that way, but she soon discovered that he was by no means discouraged. A week later he showed up outside her classroom, handing her an envelope with a discreet bow. Her girlfriends had crowded her, trying to read the letter over her shoulder. It had been short, well formulated, and ended with asking for a date. This time she had found him and told him that she was flattered, but no, she wasn’t interested in dating him. It felt like a better thing to say than ‘I’ve hated you for like forever, and it’s hard to break a habit’. However, there had been something strange on his face, something close to satisfaction, or maybe delight.

​

That was just the beginning. He was persistent, she had to give him that. The whole school knew by now, how Slytherin student Draco Malfoy tried to woo the Gryffindor Hermione Granger. There had been poems, chocolate, and cute little plushies, always in the strangest situations, and always when she was surrounded by spectators. Maybe he thought she would feel bad about rejecting him in public, she didn’t know. At first she had been annoyed, and felt bad about the whole thing. Now, when his question had been asked so many times that it started to lose its meaning, she was mostly amused. There was no way she could hate him any more. If nothing else, Malfoy’s courtship had definitely broken the ice between Slytherin and Gryffindor. She bit her lip. Since when did he become this nice? Maybe he just had to grow up?

​

With a sigh she stood up, better to have this over with. It felt like everybody was looking at her, pointing at her, talking about her. When she passed the Hufflepuff table, a group of students started to chant ‘Tell him yes! Tell him yes!’ She closed her eyes for a second, momentarily losing her smile, but remembering the ridiculous flowers made her smile again. The way to the Slytherin table wasn’t as long as it felt, and she soon found him. He was serious, as always, looking at her without betraying any feeling. He stood up, and gave her a polite nod.

​

“Malfoy. The flowers are wonderful. Thank you.” It felt like everyone in the Great Hall held their breath. “But no, I will not go on a date with you.”

​

There was a wave of disappointed moans from the Hufflepuff table, and then the Great Hall got a lot noisier. At some places you could see money change hands, but even so, the thing would be soon forgotten. For now.

​

“I’m sorry to hear that. Please accept my wishes for a wonderful Sunday, anyway.” There was a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth. He looked as if they had a secret together, just the two of them.

​

“Well. Yes, thank you. You have a nice day too.” She turned and went back to her place. Now, where was she supposed to put all those roses?

​

o O o

It was afternoon. The sun was on its way down, and the small stone bench at the south wall of the castle was rapidly losing light. Hermione closed her book, put it on the bench next to her, and looked around for a moment. There was the big Mock Orange to her left, delightful in the spring with its pleasant scent, keeping her out of sight from the other students. On the right was the bushes with dark green, shiny leaves, still carrying some red berries, which she never could remember the name of. They were shadowed by an old, knotty tree, with its branches low enough for her to be able to reach up and touch them. The ground was a much worn stone mosaic. It was one of her favourite places around the school, it felt like a secluded harbour in the hectic everyday life. If she suddenly disappeared – and was not to be found in the library – it was a good guess to find her here. Something that a very special someone obviously was aware of.

​

She looked up when a twig broke on the ground on the other side of the big bush, and a moment later Ron came into view. He looked a bit worried, but she instantly knew that this was not about the Astronomy homework. Her greeting was met by something incomprehensible mumbled back.

​

“How are you? Everything alright?”

​

“Oh. Um.” He made an obvious effort to pull himself together, and gave her an unconvincing grin. “No problems at all.”

​

“I see.” Which was a lie, she did not see at all.

​

“I just thought we could… talk?” The grin was gone, and he looked equal parts scared and determined.

​

“Absolutely. About what?” She was worried now too, even if she put up a perfectly calm face. For a second Malfoy’s poker face flashed through her mind, and she couldn’t help but smile. Maybe he was rubbing off on her? The smile seemed to get Ron to focus.

​

“I… There was something I wanted to give you.” Taking a deep breath, he held out a small, discreet flower.

​

“Oh.” There was no way she could keep the surprise out of her face. She stood up, and walked over to take the flower. It was a bit plain at a distance, but now she could see the beautiful blue colour of the petals, the rich yellow spot in the middle, and the delicate stem and leaves. It wasn’t perfectly straight, and one petal was clearly smaller than the other. But who was perfect anyway?

​

“I made it for you. I would have picked one, but there are no flowers. And…” He cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable. “Do you like it?”

​

“It’s a forget-me-not.” Her surprise was turning into delight. “I love it, it’s beautiful.” She couldn’t help but laugh a little, her hopes rising. “Are you afraid that I’m going to forget about you?”

​

“Honestly? Yes.” Looking frustrated, he gestured at the flower. “I can’t do the things he does. I don’t know anything about poetry, and I lack the means to give you that amount of flowers. Plushies? I don’t even know where to begin.”

​

“Oh.” That was about as coherent as she could be right now. She told herself not to hope, but...

​

“It’s Malfoy we’re talking about. He doesn’t love you, he just… He can’t do that. He’s not what you need. There’s no way he will ever know you like I do.”

​

“Ron.” Was there a hitch in her voice? This tension was killing her. “What do you mean?”

​

“What do I mean? I mean that he will never love you like I do.” Aware of the outspoken words, he bit his lip and turned scarlet red.

​

“But, oh, why…” A helpless little laugh pushed its way through. “I’ve been waiting like forever, but you never…. I never…” There was no way to stop the smile, growing bigger every second.

​

Still a bit red, but also hopeful, Ron took a step closer. “So… you’ve not forgotten about me? He is so… overwhelming… in anything he does, and I thought…” He reached out a hand and took the hand not holding the flower. “Now you tell me – are we more than just friends?”

​

Ron, looking at her the way he did, felt so perfectly right, and she was suddenly calm and at ease. “Haven’t we been for a long time now?”

​

“I’m happy to hear that. Actually, in a weird way, this whole thing with Malfoy gave me hope. He was so persistent. And you always said no.”

​

Hermione took a step closer, and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’m exactly where I want to be,” she said in a low voice.

​

“So am I.” He put his arms around her and leaned his head on hers.

​

Silently, they stood next to each other, enjoying their mutual feelings, the closeness, the sensation that they had all the time in the world. It was getting quite dark now, but they didn’t care. They had each other.

​

o O o

​

On the second floor, Draco Malfoy closed the window, very slowly and very quietly. The smile on his lips evolved into a big, satisfied grin. Wearing the looks of someone who just scored an Outstanding on their latest test, he walked down the corridor. Starting to whistle on a triumphant little tune, he turned around the corner, and was out of sight.