Hermione is working a summer job in the muggle world in a library and runs into Draco. Tension ensues. 😌
Hermione greeted her boss as she walked in for her shift at the local library with a soft smile gracing her face. It was the summer after Voldemort was defeated by Harry and so many lives had been lost. After her, Ron, and Harry helped try to clear up some of the mess, she decided to take a mental health break and come back to her hometown and work at her local library. Harry and Ron decided to stay with the Ministry in London and help track down other death eaters. Part of her wished she would have stayed with them because they were her family, but she missed her parents and while she works out how to get their memories of her back, working in the library in the town where she grew up made her feel close to them.
She had set her bag down in the back and grabbed the first cart of books that needed to be put back and started moving down the rows, returning each book to the correct shelf. The silence was nice. Most of the time, the silence was too much for her, but it was different when she was in a library. She felt at home and safe amongst all the books; like at any moment, she could pick up any book and escape this world for a little while.
She focused in on the title of the book in front of her (Romeo And Juliet) and shook her head just slightly. She had been avoiding Ron’s calls recently. After their kiss, they had both decided that they would give each other some space to truly follow what they felt they needed to do next. She had decided that she was going to go back to Hogwarts in the fall for her seventh year, but both Ron and Harry decided to forego going back to school. She was supportive of them and they were supportive of her but with how busy they knew they’d be over the summer and then another year apart while she finished her schooling, her and Ron felt it best not to get into a relationship as of yet. She didn’t regret anything but he had been calling her more often and she felt as though they were in a relationship, which she couldn’t handle right now. Not with where her mind and mental health was.
She sighed as she put the book back on its shelf before moving forward. She continued along with the books in this row before turning the corner to go on into the next row when the sight of a blonde haired boy stopped her in her tracks. Draco Malfoy. After the war and her time at Malfoy Manor, she no longer felt disgusted at the sight of him, but that didn’t mean she’d ever want to talk to him. His head was lowered slightly as his eyes followed the words on the page. She could see the dark circles under his eyes. They stuck out even more against his pale skin. She wasn’t surprised as the war had taken a toll on all of them. She had seen his hesitation at Hogwarts when Voldemort had called for him. She saw how the only reason he seemed to go to him was because his mother called for him. He seemed just as scared as any other wizard that was there.
She turned to try and walk away before he noticed her when she heard him speak up, “Oh, I’m sorry. I can move if you need to move past.” His voice sounded soft and polite, something he’d never sounded before. She knew the minute he saw her face, he’d change his tone, but she turned to face him anyways, not backing down from a challenge before. She saw his face drop, just for a moment, before it was like a switch in his brain went on and his face became blank.
“Huh.” Is all she said as she walked past him. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. Part of the reason she came back was because she needed time away from everything that reminded her of the war and settling back into the muggle world seemed like a good way to do that. She turned down the next aisle, continuing to put the books back from the cart, hoping that he would just leave and she wouldn’t have to deal with him.
“Granger.” She heard behind her, but she continued on as if she hadn’t heard anything. A tap on the shoulder told her that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon so she flipped around to see what he wanted.
“Can I help you with something?” She said, trying to fein being polite. Her fists were balled up by her sides and she had to consciously release the hold as her nails were digging into her palms. She stretched her hands out subtly by her sides as she looked anywhere but his face.
“Uh, no, but-” He started but she interrupted him.
“Oh, then I must be continuing my work.” She turned to move on, but he spoke up once more.
“Please.” She held her breath for a moment before turning around. She didn’t say anything but gave him a curt nod to show he could continue. “I, uh, wanted to say I was sorry. For everything. The insults. The narcissism. The...I don’t know how to put it all into words, but just all of it. There’s no excuse for it.” He paused. He seemed to be looking for more words to say but Hermione, at this point, needed to find out if he had sought her out.
“Were you following me? I mean, how did you find me?” She felt a tightness in her chest and she didn’t know how she felt about his apology.
“No! I mean, no.” He stepped towards her, but she stepped back pushing the cart forward slightly. Noticing this, Draco stepped back to give her space. “I doubt you’ll believe this but this is a complete coincidence. I’ve been taking some time away from the wizarding world and decided to just drive through the muggle world. After everything, I just felt so lost. Everything I believed, everything I was taught to believe, seemed so wrong. I felt like my entire life was a lie. And I didn’t feel as though I could properly learn to move past my prejudices unless I truly went to learn about those that I had been taught to hate. Seems stupid when I say it out loud.” Draco was no longer looking at Hermione, but rather at his feet. She could tell he definitely had changed because he usually has his chest puffed out, his chin turned up, as though he was better than everyone and everything but the person standing in front of her seemed so unsure of himself.
“It’s not stupid.” She said softly, “but I don’t know what you want from me. Why are you telling me all of this?”
“Because even if I don’t deserve forgiveness, you deserve an apology. As for the rest of the explanation, I guess I just don’t want you to feel as though I’m trying to come after you or something.” He had lifted his head and Hermione studied his face for a moment. He looked tired, but she could see he was telling the truth. There was uncertainty in his eyes and a pleading look as well. She didn’t know if she could forgive him so quickly but she could understand him. Especially since she was working in this library to escape the same way he was. Maybe for different reasons, but the idea was the same. The magical world was too overwhelming, for the both of them. “I, I don’t want to keep you any longer, but thank you for listening, Hermione. I hope you have a good rest of your day. And I’m sorry if any of this...my being here or my apology, brings up any bad feelings or memories for you.” And with that, he turned to walk out.
“You said my name.” Hermione was staring at the back of his head, the shock of hearing her first name come out of his mouth. She’d never heard it before. And he stopped as well. “You’ve never said my name before, but you just said it. As though it was the normal thing to do.”
He turned around, his eyes wide. “I’m so sorry. I- I shouldn’t have. I don’t have the right. I-” She held up a hand, his mouth falling shut quickly.
“It’s okay. Really.” And It was. Hermione didn’t feel anger or anything, except a little bit of hope, from hearing her name come out instead of her last name or anything else. “I have to get back to work, but if you would like to get a drink and talk about anything, Draco, I get off at five.” And she smiled. A genuine smile graced her features.
Draco looked up at her when he heard his name. And seeing her smile, made him just lightly smile. Her smile was gorgeous and he felt hope from seeing it. Maybe, just maybe, he found what he was looking for in this little muggle town. In a library.
“See you then, Hermione.” And at her name and the smile on his face. Hermione thought that maybe she found what she was looking for, here in her hometown. In a library.