superstar
Sheās on the radio again. Her voice is the only reason I take out the radio she gave me every morning at nine AM, for her tiny, thirty-second segment after the traffic report. A Letter from Hermione Granger. Sheās Wizarding Britainās favourite, and Iām no one different from her screaming fans after she gives a speech, or who cheer for her after she passes legislature. I shake the thoughts away and listen.Ā
āAfter the war, I worked as a counsellor for reformed Azkaban prisoners. When I was working with my last person, I remember that I had always said that he was unforgivable before I met him. When I met him, I was surprised at the person I found underneath labels of Death Eater and Blood Traitor and Evil. Of course, my experience is only an individual one, and itās impossible to ignore someoneās past, but I believe that itās possible for redemption.ā And then her voice fades out and itās replaced by horoscopes.Ā
I feel her words touch something in me. Blood Traitor. Evil. Death Eater. Whereās your Lord now? My fingers clench on the table, remembering the voices of the guards as they stripped me and searched me and spat on me. Not so haughty now, are you, Malfoy? Whereās your father now? Oh, heās dead! Poor Draco. And then, a word parts the blizzard. Breathe, Draco. I remember her telling me that, her fingers light on the base of my neck, one of the many times I got lost inside my mind and she led me home. Breathe. Can you tell me where we are right now?
āIām at home,ā I mutter. Good. Now, who am I?Ā
āHermione Granger. My reformation counsellor. Not anymore. Butā¦ā Good, Draco. Take a moment. Maybe I clung on to her in that memory, because I remember her pulling my hands away and clasping them in her own. Iām not going anywhere.Ā
āBut you lied.ā I brush my hair out of my face. āYou left, didnāt you. I know I shouldnāt resent you for it, but you left. Said youād write and you didnāt. Because Weasley took you on some impromptu trip and proposed.ā
āTalking to yourself now?ā Pansy saunters into the room. I jolt up from the counter I was leaning on.
āJeez, Parks, where did you come from?ā I ask, smoothing down my clothes. I wave my wand and the radio stops.Ā
āTodayās brunch day, did you already forget? Blaise and Theo are already in the garden.ā Pansy waves her wand and summons a tray from the cabinets under my sink.
āShit, was that today?ā I rub my forehead. āI completely forgot. I didnāt trim the roses, so the gazebo is pretty much unfunctional.ā
āI still donāt know why you do that by hand. You canāt use house elves anymore, but I bet thereās dozens of spells,ā Pansy murmurs as she unpacks her bag. She pulls out a cake and places it on the tray.
āThat looks good,ā I say absently.
āDo you think so? I baked it myself. With Harry.ā Pansy continues unpacking her bag and placing increasingly elaborate creations on the tray. āSo, whatās on Dracoās mind that he forgot about our weekly brunch day? Were you crushing after Granger again?āĀ
āWhat? Noāā
āI donāt understand how you got so attached to her. I hated my reformation counsellor so I fired him and did the community service hours instead. Iām actually glad, I wouldnāt have met Harry otherwise,ā Pansy says. She lifts up the tray. āGrab the teapot for me?ā
I follow her out the garden doors and walk the winding path into the garden. As expected, the roses I forgot to trim block the entrance to the gazebo. But Theo and Blaise have decided to try their hands at gardening. On my roses, that my mother took so much care of, and that Hermione taught me to care for. I place the teapot precariously on Pansyās tray and rush forward, snatching the clippers from Theo and the trowel from Blaise.
āAnd were you thinking you could dig the petals out of my roses?ā I ask, waving the trowel. I make quick work of the roses, sending them with the tools back into my kitchen. Iāll give the flowers at Motherās grave later. I clean up the gazebo and soon weāre seated.Ā
āSo, what sadness lengthens Dracoās hours?ā Blaise asks as he butters a crumpet.Ā
āWho do you think?ā Theo sighs dramatically.Ā
āWizarding Britainās superstar, Hermione Granger,ā Pansy announces. She sips her mimosa.
āYou three are horrible,ā I mutter. āI havenāt talked to her in a year.āĀ
āAnd herein lies the problem,ā Theo intones. āYou think sheāll hate you.ā
āI think that I was just another one of her patients for lack of a better word,ā I correct. āShe talked about another one of her guidance patients on the radio today.ā
āBut werenāt you her last patient? She got engaged toāā
āNo, she did a couple more after she got back from her trip,ā I reply.Ā
āHow do you even know that when you wonāt let us tell you about how her lifeās going, and you wonāt read about her in the society pages?ā Blaise asks.Ā
āPotter told me when we were meeting him. Said she was planning to do more counselling.ā
āWellāā
āWhy must we always talk about me? These brunches have become ambushes,ā I complain. āParks, howās the shop going?ā
āI got seventy orders for hand-painted masquerade masks for Rosewoodās Summer Solstice party, so Iāve been working day in, day out. Harry has tried to help, but to no avail. I wonāt let his ham-handed paint job ruin my storeās reputation,ā Pansy sighs. āI think I hurt his feelings, but I havenāt the time to make it right.ā
āThatās a skilled person problem,ā Theo complains.
āYouāre just salty because ever since Matthew broke up with you, youāve just lounged around being a dramatic prat in your huge manor,ā Pansy retorts.Ā
āMatthewās dating this guy named Tony now,ā Theo wails. He hides his face in his sleeve.Ā
āThere, there,ā Blaise pats his arm. āMust be hard not being wanted. I couldnāt relate.ā
āThatās because youāre in a happy relationshipāā Theo sniffles, lifting his head. āAnd Iāll be alone forever!ā Theo starts sobbing again, even louder.Ā
āTheo!ā Pansy snaps her fingers in front of Theoās face. āI brought you your favourite sweetsāā
āLemon pound cake?ā Theo stops crying instantly. I laugh as Theo scarfs down three slices of lemon cake in rapid succession. Soon, no one wants to leave so we cook dinner together as Pansy gripes about the unreasonable patrons who come to her for her clothes, and Theo moans about Matthew, and Blaise preens in front of the mirrors.
As I mount the stairs to my room after my friends leave, a strange thought comes unbidden over me. What if I just sent her a letter like she told me to. Iām sorry Iāve got to go now. But you should keep in touch, Draco. Iāll always be here for you. I trusted her, so the moment I heard she was back, I waited outside her house. She returned with Weasley, laughing up the stairs with bags full of groceries from the Farmerās Market that she once brought me to. That was our place. But it wasnāt like I could say that, so I left.Ā
I still have the rule I made that day scribbled on a framed piece of paper on my nightstand. You will not talk to Hermione Granger. Iāve come too far to break that rule. But I need to hear her voice. That, Iāve allowed myself. I grab the recording I made of her first message and pull the covers over my head.
āGood morning! Iām Hermione Granger, and for the next few months, Iāll be with you every morning at nine AM, giving you a couple insights to start your day! Today, Iāll be leaving you with just a sentence. Recovery doesnāt happen in an instant, and itās hard to enjoy the process, but itās one thing that everyone can try.ā
You were my only competitor for top marks every year, Draco. You can do this. I remember her hand on mine, guiding my hand to clip the roses, her fingers deftly stirring a pot full of stew and lifting the spoon to my lips, her fingernails digging into my skin as I steadied her on the ice rink. She was so close, right in front of me and so beautifully alive, until she left and I had to content myself watching her speeches in the back row, listening to the recording I made of her radio messages, and knowing that sheāll never see me.Ā
Iāve spent my life after Azkaban trying so hard to disappear from the public eyeāafter a year, the hate mail slowed to occasional howlersābut now, all I want is for her to see me. Then what? My mind mocks me. You still have hope that she treasures those moments too, donāt you? How could she ever? You were just another fan, another patient, another person who she changed forever. Just another person who loves her.
I roll over to face the ceiling and wave my wand to reveal the stars behind a glass ceiling. Itās wrong for me to like her this way. For me to want to see your face this bad, because I know that if I ever talked to you, Iād be disappointed. We sat on this very roof once and I pointed out Draco and Andromeda, she showed me Sirius. I told her about my mother and her roses, so the next day, she helped me revive the clippings I brought from the manor.Ā
I honestly think that the reason why I refuse to get close to her again, why itās my staunch rule, is because I am as much of a coward that I was in my Hogwarts years, and on the Astronomy tower, and during the war. Unlike her, and Weasley, and Potter, and every hero that I am not.
The next morning is uncharacteristically misty for a late-Spring day. I unfold the Prophet and spot her face on the front page. She passed another Dragon Protection Act, and I know that triumphant look on her face from class when she beat me on a test. I huff a laugh. I remind myself of Pansy when she used to cut out pictures of her favourite singers from the magazines she ordered. I close the paper and place my teacup in the sink.Ā
A word catches my eye from the bottom of the page that I just closed. I dart towards and flip it open. Romania. I backtrack across the page. In order to learn more about her next goals, Ms. Granger will be in Romania for the next six months. Weāll be sorry to see her go, but are thrilled for her most recent victory. I stumble towards the radio. Her leaving to Romania means sheāll be stopping her program, perhaps indefinitely. Her leaving means that for six months, I wonāt hear her voice.Ā
Good morning everyone! Itās Hermione Granger, and today, before I say my little message, I have an announcement today. Today will be the last segment of my little programā
Oh no. No. No. My knees hit the floor, fingers scrabbling on the floorboards. She canāt leave. She canāt be going again. I canāt be alone again, but maybe I was always alone because I havenāt talked to her in a year and she doesnāt care but she cared so much and she taught me to care too, so how can she leave nowā
Thatās all. Itās been a great ride, and Iām so thrilled for my next adventures. Hermione Granger, signing off. Thereās a click as I realise that sheās now completely gone, and that I just missed her last message, and Iām falling into darkness.Ā
Iām in the Forbidden Forest, watching Voldemortās body rot. The maggots chitter and scramble through his empty eye sockets, and somehow, they form words I know. Death Eater. Evil scum. Unworthy. Failure. They stop moving suddenly, and I feel something staring at me. I whirl around, and sheās right there. But maybe she isnāt, because there is no warmth in her face. She just stands there, staring at me, cold, honey-gold eyes picking me apart with disdain. Finally, her face twists. Worthless Death Eater scum, she spits before whirling away. I stumble back as the maggots swarm me. Breathe. I am shivering in the corner of my cell in Azkaban as the winds howl outside. Breathe. I am receiving my first Howler, words coming at me like a storm. Breathe. And Hermione Granger is walking away.Ā
Draco! A shout punctures my consciousness, followed by a loud banging. Draco! Are you in here? Draco! A female voice shouts my name again. Is itāno. That was the past. When I locked myself in my house with only the smouldering embers of a red envelope, lost somewhere between Azkaban and the Astronomy Tower. It was the anniversary of the war, and I had ignored all of her letters, and somehow, she came to find me, banging on my door. Draco! Draco! Are you in here? You canāt justā a frustrated noiseāJust open the door, okay? This is literally my jobāI need to see that youāre not dead! So I let her in, and she curled my fingers around a mug of tea. Drink.Ā
āWhy donāt you call me Malfoy?ā I asked her, voice breaking. I coughed to hide it. She looked up, eyes wide, as if she had never thought of it, a furrow forming between her brows. I longed to smooth it away. She came to a conclusion, blinking at me.Ā
āYouāre not your father,ā she said simply. And that was that. And that was that.Ā
I am lying on crisp white sheets in a room in St. Mungoās. I hear voices and struggle to focus on them.
āācollapsed from shock. He should be fine in a while. If you three had come any later, this couldāve been much worse. He should stay here for a couple more days, and I will check on him in a couple hours.ā
āThank you,ā I hear Pansy say, echoed by murmurs from Blaise and Theo.Ā
āIs he all right?ā Thatās a new voice. Itās so familiar, but somehowā
āHe wonāt die, Granger,ā Pansy says roughly. Granger? Hermione Granger? My eyes fly open, but the light is too bright, and I shut them immediately, wincing. But I know itās her.Ā
āWell, I guess thereās nothing to do,ā Theo mutters. Itās so strange to hear them like this, all worried and defeated.Ā
āCome on, Harry, letās go get something to drink. Sorry for dragging you two into this,ā Pansy sighs. āI know it was your last time to meet before Granger leaves.ā
āItās fine. Hermione insisted,ā Harry replies. The door opens. No. Donāt leave again. Pleaseā
āDonāt goāā the words shoot out of me. āPleaseāā And maybe she recognizes the words from late-night Patronuses and my hand tight around hers when I was lost and she pulled me out of darkness, because she turns back and takes my hand.
āIām not going anywhere,ā she whispers. Thereās a rustle of her turning around. āIāll stay here a bit longer. You guys should go ahead of me.ā And this time, she doesnāt let go.
I wake up to curls tickling my neck. Or at least, I think I wake up. I donāt want it to be a dream as she kisses my forehead and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. And I want it to be a dream as she steps away from my bed and opens the door, leaving once again.
six months later.
I walk down the street with my recording in hand. Itās been six months, and I think Iāve learned to live without her voice every morning. Maybe. I wish she walked away after our first official meeting as my reformation counsellor. A year ago, she walked into my living room with two mugs of tea and told me that she would be by my side for the next three monthsā
āFuck off, Mudblood,ā I told her, the slur slipping out of my mouth.
āWords mean nothing without conviction,ā she said, her expression hardening but with an easy smile.
āYou sound like Aunt Bella when she taught me how to do the Unforgivables,ā I replied.Ā
āYou stopped saying mudblood with hate in Fourth Year at the World Cup. Remember? You told me that they were looking for mudbloods like me. But there was no hate. You were horrified, maybe?ā Her easy smile never slipped.Ā
āYou fuckiāā
āYou stopped saying that word with conviction when I saw you in Seventh Year. Maybe because of the Astronomy Towerāā I flinched, a motion that didnāt go unnoticed by her. Her gaze sharpened, but she continued. āSo now, when you say it with neither hate nor conviction, theyāre just two words. Put a word in the middle, say ānot,ā and it becomes āmud not blood.ā Then it could be like we went to the cinema and you were scared of the ābloodā in a black and white film. Maybe I wouldāve turned to you and said, āItās mud, not blood.ā She smiled at me in that annoyingly smug way of hers, like she just beat me in test scores.
āYouāre fucking delusional,ā I spat.Ā
āTrue,ā she replied lightly. She got up, easy expression gone. āBut Draco Lucius Malfoy, youāre delusional if you think that youāre going to sabotage my chances to become a better candidate for Department Head of the Magical Creatures Department.ā
āAh, I knew you had some ulterior motives,ā I said, vindicated. āYou arenāt a selfless hero, Granger. I knew it.ā
āAnd did you ever think I was?ā She smiled at me, a sharp smile that was more teeth than happiness.Ā
āBetter you than Potthead,ā I replied. āBut youāve got to wonder, could someone who isnāt a selfless hero become Department Head?ā
āSeeing that your father was on the Board of Directors of Hogwarts, clearly,ā she replied flippantly.
āYou donāt know shit about my family,ā I snarled.Ā
āHmm. Another thing to talk about.ā She made a note on her page. āWell, Draco, Iām glad we could have this little heart-to-heart. Iāll see you tomorrow.āĀ
āI wonāt,ā I muttered.
āOh, you will, Draco Malfoy. Even if I have to hunt you down myself. Now that I know that you hate this, Iām even more motivated to do my job.āĀ
āYouāre loitering,ā a familiar voice calls, jerking me out of my memory.Ā
āParks,ā I say, trying to regain my composure. āI came to visit you.ā
āClearly, seeing that you stood in front of my store for three minutes already,ā Pansy replies. āWell, come in. Iām mending one of my pieces right now, but you can talk.ā
Inside the backroom of Pansyās store, she annoyedly snaps her thread with her teeth and rummages around in her box of threads. She chooses a gold thread and looks up.Ā
āWell, arenāt you going to say anything?ā Her eyes flash.
āNo. You were the one who told me to come visit you from time to time. Itās not like thereās anything new to say,ā I reply flatly. Pansy grabs a tiny diamond bead and starts sewing it on the shimmery black fabric of a dress.
āDid you know that she wore this dress?ā Pansy asks after a long pause.Ā
āHermione?ā I ask, glancing at the dress again.
āTo the War Anniversary ball a year ago. For twenty minutes before she got too worked up about you ignoring her letters and stormed your house,ā Pansy answers dryly.
āAh,ā I say, slightly sheepish. āIs that how she lost some of the beads?ā
āYeah. It was partly my fault, because this is a vintage from the 1920s, and I didnāt sew on these beads correctly because it was a last minute job,ā Pansy replies. āYou know, she always goes running when she knows youāre hurt.āĀ
āYou know, I think Iāve told you many times that I donāt want to talk about her,ā I snap.
āYou continued the conversation about her,ā Pansy counters. āWhy are you so scared to even fathom that she could care about you?ā
āBecause she doesnāt. Because she left. And because if I get my hopes up, itāll hurt even more,ā I grind out.Ā
āItās your funeral, Draco. But when I came home to tell Harry to close the shop for me because Iād be staying with you, and he was with Hermione, the moment I said why, she bolted up and Flooād to St Mungoās,ā Pansy says. She sews on another bead.Ā
āSheād do that for Weasley,ā I reply softly.Ā
āWeasley and Grangerāā Pansy cuts herself off and shakes her head. āSheās back. Go talk to her. You two deserve that at least.ā She mutters something darkly under her breath about oblivious, stubborn asses before she looks up, surprised that Iām still here. āIf youāre just going to stand around, go get me some tea,ā she sighs. āMake yourself useful.ā
After a couple hours of making myself useful, I walk out of Pansyās shop, arms laden with packages for delivery, another one of her chores. After sending the packages off, I sigh and lean against the brick wall outside Pansyās shop. Sheās back. Go talk to her. I groan and bang my head against the wall. You two are a pair of oblivious, stubborn asses. I bang my head back against the wall again. She always goes running when she knows youāre hurt. The hardest thump yet. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she leaned closer, almost as ifā
āI told you to stop doing that,ā says a voice. My eyes fly open, and I already know who Iām going to see. Brown curls, Muggle ādenim,ā sparkling brown eyes, and that honey voice.Ā
āGraāGranger,ā I stammer.Ā
āDonāt call me that, it reminds me of our Hogwarts years,ā she rolls her eyes, that same sarcasm that I remember from a year ago. āI thought we were on a first name basis.ā
And just like that, itās like no time passed. āOkay, Hermione, sorry Iām a little rusty after not talking to you for a year.āĀ
āOh, Draco, our relationship is forever,ā Hermione grins.Ā
āAh yes. You were my therapist,ā I remark. That was all we were, right? Just say something to prove what Iāve known this entire time. āVery touchy feely.ā
āIf weāre being accurateāā Hermione pauses for my long sigh at her catchphrase, right on cueā āI was your reformation counsellor, meant to help your smooth transition into post-War life!ā
āQuoted that from the handbook, did you?ā I grin and gesture for her to walk with me.Ā
āOf course. Never go anywhere without it. And I never say anything without good proof,ā she adds.Ā
āYou said a lot of things,ā I say quietly. āYou said that youād never get on a broomāā
āYou were a good teacher,ā Hermione shrugs. āI taught you so much Muggle culture, so you just returned the favour. The polite thing to do.ā
āYou said that you would force me to let you do your job, but I just ended up telling you anyway,ā I say.
āOn you, not me,ā Hermione shrugs. āI just gave it a little time. After the War Anniversary incident, things progressed fast enough for me to not Bombarda my way into your house.āĀ
āOh, please, my wards wouldnāt let you,ā I scoff. āYou tried.āĀ
āMaybe Iāve been practising. But try again. What have I said without good proof?ā Hermioneās eyes dart up at me with a clear challenge.
āYou said youād write,ā I say, voice unwavering but much too soft. She catches it. Thatās how she was such a good counsellor. How she was able to know everything without me needing to tell her.Ā
āIām sorry. IāBlaise told me that you didnāt let anyone talk about me, so I thought you didnāt want to hear from me. I thought I made a mistake ināā she sighs. āCaring. Too much.ā
I donāt know what that means. For the brightest witch of her age, her words are suddenly cryptic. āI think I cared too much as well.ā There. That kind of strategic wording that Iāve learned all my life.
āYeah?ā I donāt know when we got so close, but the setting sun sets her hair on fire, and her eyes sparkle. Iām painfully reminded of sunset in my garden, brushing dirt off her cheek, tucking a wayward curl behind her ear and the way her eyes fluttered shut before she got a patronus from Weasley and hurried off. I step away. Sheās engaged. Or maybe married. Or maybeā
āHowās Weasley doing?ā I ask. āI know itās late, but congratulations.ā
āFor what?ā she asks, puzzled.
āThe engagement? I honestly havenāt been keeping up with the society pages, but Parks told me,ā I say.Ā
āOh!ā Hermione gasps. āWe broke up a while ago. Amicable. We agreed that weāre better off as friends and neither of us wanted to throw ten years away.ā She shrugs.
So maybe her ācaring, too much,ā was not just a friendly sentence. Maybeā
āAre you free after this? For dinner?ā Another cryptic sentence that I canāt puzzle out. Iām tempted to just ask her outright, but I canāt bear to lose her having just found her again.
āSure. I know a place,ā I tell her. And I wish that this night would never end.
āSo youāre telling me that Pansy broke your wards on Valentineās Day, left pink hearts and cupids everywhere, shoved Blaise into the bed with you and left?ā sheās laughing, head tossed back as we stumble into the street. Thereās the evidence of the two bottles of wine that we drained on her wine-dark lips.
āShe thought I was lonelyāā I roll my eyes, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face.Ā
āAww, have you been lonely ever since I left?ā she asks jokingly. My eyes soften at the sparkle in her eyes.
āYes,ā I answer truthfully. āHonestly, yes. I missed you. Even though I heard your voice every day that yearāā
āMy radio program?ā she asks incredulously.Ā
āI tuned in every day,ā I admit. āIt was like you were there, but not.ā I huff out a laugh. āUntil you left for Romania without any warning.āĀ
āI canāt believe you listened to all of my programs!ā She flushes even more. āThatās soā¦ā
āWell you accomplished your mission,ā I shrug. āTo use your influence to help people. You helped me. And your fans.ā
āYou were my hardest case.ā She bumps my shoulder. āI guess I cracked you.ā
āYou melted me,ā I laugh. āWhen I saw you today, I thought I was hallucinating you from looking at your pictures in the Prophet too much. Just another fan.ā
āWho wouldāve thought that you wouldāve become my biggest fan,ā Hermione muses.Ā
āWho wouldāve thought that youād still be such a pure hero after all these years,ā I tease.Ā
āYou think Iām pure?ā Hermione asks, voice going low. She blinks up at me from under those feathered eyelashes, gaze shifting into something hotter.Ā
āI think you could have such filthy thoughts,ā I whisper. āI havenāt seen proof yet.ā
āEver the perfect researcher,ā she whispers back, hooking an arm around my neck and pulling me down into a kiss. Itās everything I thought it would be in full colour, the swipe of her tongue over my lips, her fingers clutching the hair at my neck. I pull her closer to me, teeth scraping over her lip as she shudders. I smile against her mouth, pushing her against the wall.
āYou started this,ā I breathe, pulling my fingers through her curls, tangling them further. I pull away, resting my forehead against her, breaths synchronising.Ā
āIāve been wanting to do that ever since Harry cut his finger off and Ron patronused me to come and fix it,ā Hermione breathes. I look down at her flushed cheeks, kissed lips and mussed hair and I smile.
āIāve been wanting to do that in some capacity since I met you,ā I laugh, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. I look up at the stars, finding Sirius and Andromeda and Draco like Hermione taught me. Dusk is setting in, light from the lively shops streaming into the street. I look over at Hermione Granger and smile. The sky is endless, and I hold the world in my arms.Ā












