It was a chilly evening. Christmas was merely a few weeks away, and Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley were bustling around Diagon Alley trying to find gifts for their friends and family. For Hermione, however, it was just her friends. The memory of using obliviate on her parent's still hung heavy on her heart, but she refused to sit around and ponder over her loss. Christmas was around the corner, and it was a happy time. It wasn't a time to dwell on past events including the wizarding war they survived three years prior, for it still hung heavy on all of their shoulders, especially Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny's. Not to mention the other countless family and friends that were affected by all of the deaths they had seen and gone through. It was hard, and it were times like these when they needed a bit of happiness from the Christmas spirit.

"Are you girls almost finished?" Ron whined. He was tired of waiting outside the shops as the girls searched for gifts.

"Ron, we'll get done when we're done," Ginny told him. She was not having any time for her brother.

"But we've been out here forever," he sighed before Hermione giggled and quickly pecked him on the lips causing him to both quiet down and blush tremendously.

"Yeah, Ron, we'll get done when we're done," Hermione teased him. It was in these moments she was the happiest. It was in these moments when she was surrounded by her best friends, that she felt lucky to be alive no matter what she had already gone through.

"Okay," he smiled at the two girls. "Take all the time you need."

"You're only saying that now, because 'Mione snogged you," Ginny laughed before Hermione elbowed her.

"I did not snog him!" Hermione defended herself as she tried her best not to smile. "It was barely a kiss!"

"A kiss leads to other things..." Ginny pointed out.

"Ginny Weasley!"

"Hermione Granger!"

"Instead of the arguments — because we all know I'm irresistible — can you two hurry up? It's bloody cold out here," Ron complained as he watched his breath form into white puffy clouds.

"Yeah, yeah. We just need to visit one more shop, okay?" Ginny promised him.

"Okay," Ron sighed in defeat. "Which shop is that?"

"The Leaky Cauldron," Hermione informed him. "I'm in some dire need of Firewhisky." Apparently she and Ginny were thinking the same thing, for Ginny did not correct Hermione. Instead, the redhead just simply nodded her head in agreement.

However, Hermione's reply caused Harry and Ron to share a strange glance with one another before they composed themselves and told her they could use a drink too. Hermione didn't catch the looks when she suggested getting a drink, and it was probably for the best. After the war, she found herself drinking whatever would take her pain away, and it was mostly Firewhisky. She then became consumed by it, and it took months to get her back to where she was now. Still broken, but hiding under a fake smile and many laughs.

The Leaky Cauldron was busy because it was nearing the evening, and that was when the witches and wizards liked to get drunk on their favorite beverages — especially Firewhisky.

"I'll go get the drinks," Harry volunteered, while the three friends found a booth in the corner and waited for Harry to return.

"Bloody shopping," Ron complained as the shopping bags crammed against him on both sides. He sadly wished the bags were Hermione snuggling against him instead. 

"I haven't had Firewhisky in forever," Ginny told Hermione. "I can't say that I'm not excited," she laughed.

"I haven't had any since — " Hermione stopped mid-sentence, and it caused silence to pour over the three.

"Are you — are you sure you can handle it?" Ginny whispered to her after a moment, making sure Ron couldn't hear. "We could order butterbeer instead."

"I'm sure," Hermione managed a weak smile. "Just one, then I'm completely done. Don't let me ruin the fun."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Hey," Ron spoke up after Harry came back and distributed the drinks among the four of them. "Isn't that Malfoy over there?" And just at the sound of his name, all four pairs of eyes glanced around the pub before they found the blonde boy sitting in the far corner, Draco's eyes focused on the Daily Prophet, for he hadn't realized they were there.

It was strange seeing him out, and the four knew it. After the war, Draco stayed hidden, and no one had heard from or seen him for three years. In fact, he only emerged from the Malfoy Manor every now and then. Tonight was one of those nights he was out and about,  and it was a complete coincidence that all five of them were at the Leaky Cauldron the same night. Just seeing him across the room made Hermione's stomach hurt, and she found herself pushing away her Firewhisky.

"Are you okay?" Ginny whispered to her, wanting to make sure, wanting to know if anything was wrong. After all, wasn't that what best friends were for?

"I'm fine," Hermione lied as she plastered on a weak smile. Her smile didn't fool Ginny whatsoever, and upon instinct, Ginny glanced down at Hermione's covered arm. Hermione didn't notice Ginny glancing down at her hidden scar, but upon instinct, Hermione's fingers dug into the scar, almost in an attempt to forget the memory. Almost as if she could still feel where Bellatrix carved into her skin.

It was then that Malfoy happened to glance up. There was no reason for him to look in their direction, except that they were directly across from him and what he was reading was no longer holding his attention. However, when he did look up, all he could see was one thing — Hermione Granger.

She was no longer looking in his direction, for she knew she wouldn't be able to stay in the Leaky Cauldron any longer if she continued to look at him, so she submerged herself in a conversation about shopping with Ginny. This conversation diverted Ginny's attention from asking Hermione if she was okay, which was exactly what Hermione wanted. Hermione wasn't okay, and she was unsure if she was ever going to be okay.

However, Draco was still looking in her direction, and he kept thinking how Merlin must be on his side. After all, it was only minutes ago when he was thinking about how to get revenge on Potter, so wasn't it working out in his favor?

Despite the hatred that resided inside his chest — it grew larger with every passing second he watched them smile or laugh — he couldn't help but notice that Granger's hair wasn't as large and bushy as it used to be. It was still wild, but it had been tamed tremendously and was now light curls around her face. It was also then, that he realized she was slimmer than when he had last seen her, as if she was still focused on the past. Something in her eyes told him she was, and for the first time in Draco Malfoy's life, he could relate to Hermione Granger.

The idea that he related to Hermione Granger caused him to look away from the group. Look away and stand to leave, for even though it was hard for Hermione to look over at Draco, it was just as hard for him to look over at her. There was always something about her. She was always a know-it-all, annoying, and irritated him tremendously, but that didn't mean she didn't also intrigue him. He decided the only reason she did so, was the fact that she was a mudblood, yet she was a genius when it came to magic. That was what he told himself, that was what he had to tell himself. For just before he closed the door to the Leaky Cauldron behind him, he noticed Hermione's fingers digging into her arm, digging into the scar he could clearly remember his aunt Bellatrix giving Hermione as if it were yesterday, and he couldn't stay around to watch anymore.

His heart was cold, and his thoughts were dark; but the memory of that night always stirred something inside of him. He might've wanted to kill Granger to get back at Potter, he might've found her annoying and irritating, he might've even hated her, but he would never want to relive that moment again, the moment when he heard her scream. Watching her grip her arm was memory enough, and he hurriedly shut the door behind him, hoping to shut out the memories as well.

"He left," Ginny announced after glancing up from her conversation with Hermione. "I wonder where he went."

"Probably to sulk in the manor about how he lost," Ron half-laughed, but suddenly stopped when he noticed that no one else found what he had said to be amusing. "What?"

"We're not the only people who lost loved ones or friends, Ron," Ginny snapped at her brother. "He may be a cold person, but there were friends he had lost in the Battle." They tried as much as they could, to avoid the subject of the Battle of Hogwarts. However, no matter how much they tried to avoid it, it always seemed to come up.

Draco wasn't close to many people, he just liked to complain to certain ones. However, despite his dislike for a large number of wizards and witches at Hogwarts, he missed Severus Snape tremendously. He may not have shown it, but Draco enjoyed Snape's company and he respected him for what he had done for Draco. Malfoy found Snape to be a brave man, something that Draco knew deep inside he would never become. Malfoy couldn't face his problems, he would run instead. That's how he dealt with everything, and it shamed him to admit it.

"I didn't mean to — " Ron began but stopped. He knew the war had taken a lot out of everyone, and he was ashamed to have said what he did.

"Let's just forget about it," Hermione muttered, before collecting her shopping bags. "I'm ready to leave."

"You haven't even touched your drink," Ginny pointed out when she saw they had all drunk their Firewhisky except for Hermione.

"I'm not in the mood for a drink. I'll talk to you guys soon. I need a walk to clear my head," she told them before walking out of the Leaky Cauldron and into the cold night.

They all knew there was something up, for Hermione was trying to overcome the past, and she was doing a great job, but for some reason, it all seemed to slip when Ron pointed out Draco. They knew how her feelings were toward him — Hermione and Draco both hated each other with a passion — but they couldn't help but wonder if there was something more? What memories did he remind her of? Or perhaps — perhaps they just shared the same pain, and they could tell this by looking into each other's eyes. After all, Hermione wasn't the only one with a scar on her arm from the war.

"Do you think she's alright?" Ron asked after a moment of silence before he sipped Hermione's untouched drink.

"She will be eventually," Ginny whispered. "She may not be now, but in the future, she will. Scars take a long time to heal." That was the end of their conversation, for nothing else needed to be said. Hermione had many scars — physically and mentally — and they knew she needed to heal on her own, despite how much they wanted to help her.

***
chapter one! So many emotions already oh my goodness. I hope you all enjoyed it, though, and lemme know what you think!