Almost a week had past since Hermione’s birthday and the limit date Harry had until he was supposed to give Narcissa a reply was drawing near.

After hearing all about Narcissa’s offer, Hermione hadn’t said anything on the subject and that didn’t help Harry with his stress level. It meant he had to talk to her about it, something he really wasn’t looking forward to.

He hoped he would have a chance to bring up the topic with her that night and get it over with as soon as possible. It was Ron’s last day home before he went back to Romania and they all planned to meet up at the Weasley’s for a last feast with the reunited family.

Mrs. Weasley’s outdid herself with the food and was trying to force feed Ron as if she was afraid he would starve to death when he left home. It was very motherly of her, Harry thought, smiling warmly at the sight of them. Hermione, understanding the meaning behind his look, nodded in agreement and gave him a knowing smile. You’ll be next, her look seemed to say. Harry smiled crookedly at her and sighed in happy resignation. It wasn’t like he disliked being ‘mothered’ from time to time.

After dinner the group split and Harry, Ron and Hermione retreated near the fireplace. An interesting fact was that every time they needed to talk privately, the three friends found their way to a fireplace. Harry suspected it was due to all their years at Hogwarts and all the moments when they had occupied those armchairs in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room.

Shaking his head from all other thoughts, Harry took a deep breath and dived right into the dreaded subject.

,,So, Hermione…” he started rather awkwardly, ,,have you given any more thought to Narcissa’s… Malfoy…”

Harry suddenly lost his courage and his words trailed off. After a moment’s silence, Hermione took pity on him and resumed his words for him.

,,About Narcissa’s offer you mean? Yes, as a matter of fact I have.”

,,A-and?” Harry asked.

,,And I accept.” Hermione stated simply.

,,Y-you w-what?” Harry and Ron blurted out in the same time.

They both looked at her as if she suddenly grew a second head or something. Their eyes were wide with shock and they seemed unable to breath properly.

,,Oh, would you both stop looking at me like that!” she snapped, lowering the cup she was holding onto the table a little too forceful. That made the coffee splash a bit and a small drop landed on the back of her hand. She ignored it.

,,Ron, close your mouth! You look like a puffer fish. And Harry… just breathe! Honestly you two!” she let out an irritated huff.

Her image and tone immediately reminded Harry and Ron of Hermione while at school, scolding them for not doing their homework on time or forgetting something or other. Somehow, that seemed to snap them back to reality. Ron slowly closed his mouth, swallowing hard, while Harry opened his in a feeble attempt to reply.

,,But Hermione…” he started just to stop again, unsure of what to say.

,,Hermione, it’s Draco Malfoy we’re talking about here” Ron said instead, seeming to have regained his wits.

,,I know perfectly well who we’re talking about, Ronald” she replied, crossing her arms.

,,Then how can you accept?!” Harry questioned, surprise and alarm in his voice.

,,Because that happens to be my job”, she replied, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

Harry knew what that look meant. It meant Hermione was now very serious about the conversation, therefore it was an ‘enter at your own peril’ kind of moment. He took a second to think about what the best way to continue was, but his thoughts were soon interrupted by a booming voice.

,,Horseshit!”

As usual, Ron, blind to the signs of danger when it came to Hermione, he opened his mouth without thinking.

,,Your job…”, he continued yelling, ignoring Hermione’s flushed face and flaring nostrils, “your job is to help people… good, innocent people not psychopaths like Malfoy.”

His loud voice could be heard in the entire room. That earned him a few frowns from the others, but, luckily, they were too engrossed in their own conversations and activities too pay too much attention to what Harry, Ron and Hermione were talking about.

,,He is not good” Hermione started in cold calmness ,,he may not even be innocent. But he is still ‘people’”, she finished pointedly, her hair looking puffier around her head, as if to match her flaming mood.

,,He’s the worst kind, Hermione” Ron added scathingly, glaring at her.

Harry sighed. He pushed a hand through his black hair. He knew he had to stop the conversation soon, otherwise Ron and Hermione’s argument would turn into a bloodbath.

He agreed with Ron in most part, but also trusted Hermione to have thought about it thoroughly before making a decision.

,,Hermione, listen”, he started tentatively ,,I know you take pride in your work at St. Mungo’s and I also know, very well in fact, how much you care about helping everyone, regardless of their status or situation“.

He heard Ron huff in frustration and rather felt him roll his eyes. Again, he couldn’t blame him. It was still fresh in their memory how vehemently Hermione had advocated for house elf rights while they were still in school. He was sure that, in time, her care extended to those less fortunate from their own species.

,,Then you understand why…” Hermione said.

,,No, actually I don’t”, Harry interrupted her calmly but with a tint of firmness in his voice. ,,It’s not the same thing, Hermione. This is different. You won’t deal with a poor victim of the war, seeking to fight the demons and the terror. He IS the demon and HE brought the terror on people.”

At this point Harry was starting to breathe heavily. He felt rage surging through his body. His blood boiled at the memory of what Draco had done, what he helped with. The image of all the Hogwarts students that were murdered the night the Death Eaters stormed into the school, and Dumbledore… Harry almost choked at the thought of him. In his nightmares he still saw Dumbledore fall off the Astronomy tower, lifeless… dead.

,,Harry you don’t understand… It’s not like that” she was saying, speaking rather softly, probably intuiting what he was thinking of. ,,Remember what Sirius told you: The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. And he was right. Some people may be worse than others and some may be too far gone to be helped, but I don’t think that is Draco’s case. I do not believe he is beyond help! He…”

Hermione opened her mouth to say something else but suddenly decided against it.

Slowly, Hermione’s voice penetrated Harry’s mind, bringing him back to the present.

,,What I don’t understand is why YOU have to be the one to help him, Harry retorted angrily. ,,He is not alone, Hermione, and he definitely isn’t suffering from some trauma. He is just a stupid git who happened to get himself into something too big for him and is now crying for help at the first sign of hardship “.

Their eyes locked and they remained like that, in what seemed to be a staring contest, for several minutes. Ron gulped, remaining silent. A joyous laugh came from the other group of people, probably Ginny laughing at something George said. Harry and Hermione continued to look at each other ignoring everything around them.

Hermione was upset. Not with Harry or Ron specifically but with their stubbornness, especially Harry’s, and their short sightedness. Sure, Draco had been a prick and a douchebag when he was in school, he called her mudblood and other names every chance he’d got; but he had also been a child when it all started. She was sure he couldn’t have remained untouched by the horrors of war. Even the worst people have their own traumas.

Everything put aside, she still hadn’t forgotten how he lied to his father and aunt when she, Harry and Ron were brought to the Malfoy Manor. That had to count for something, right? He couldn’t be as rotten as he seemed and do something like that without having anything to gain from it. Thus, she felt they had to at least try to help, try to fix whatever damage had been done.

,,Harry, we owe them at least this much”, she said aloud, continuing her trail of thoughts.

She saw Ron looking at her confused, but Harry caught his breath, narrowing his eyes slowly without breaking contact with hers. He knew what she was talking about, she was sure of it. She knew him all too well by now.

,,What he did at the Manor, what his mother did for you in that forest… We owe them to at least try” she insisted. ,,I’m sure you must agree with me, or at least a small part in you does, because otherwise you wouldn’t have relayed the message or told me about the offer.”

Harry continued to silently stare at her, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Ron frowned and scoffed but he remained silent.

Hermione realized she had stroked a sensitive chord with Harry by reminding him of those particular events. She knew he hadn’t completely forgotten either, but that he chose not to dwell on them that much during the war or afterwards for that matter. She knew he would soon see her reasons, but she also knew that she’d do this with or without their consent.

As if knowing what she was thinking, Harry let out a loud sigh.

,,So, you’re that determined to go through with this?” he asked.

,,Mhm”, she nodded.

,,With or without our approval?”

,,Yep” she said nodding again, firmly. ,,I just hope you would both trust me enough to believe that I will stop if I find out that he neither needs nor deserves my help.”

After another moment of silence, Ron was the first to speak.

,,Well then, let’s look on the bright side. You’ll be able to transform him into some hideous creature if he doesn’t behave, or better yet, curse him into the next century”, he sniggered.

,,Ron!”, Hermione exclaimed, slapping his shoulder lightly, but smiling as well.

,,Oh no, Ron is right”, Harry agreed, grinning evilly. ,,Or you let us know and we’ll be more than happy to make the white ferret ‘bounce’.”