winning drabble 1
Anyone who thought Draco Malfoy had never apologized in his life didn’t know anything about anything. Since Hermione Granger knew something about nearly everything-she knew he did. In fact, he apologized every day.
He never actually said the words, but Hermione knew he felt remorse… an incessant need to atone for his sins. His weakness. It wasn’t about rebuilding a respectable name and reputation, that would be something to work on later. It was about guilt. It was about breathing in and out, grateful for the ash in the air burning your throat and lungs. Grateful because pain meant you were alive.
Hermione knew his reputation was worth a damn to him when he anonymously donated a large chunk of his inheritance to help rebuild Hogwarts in Albus Dumbledore’s name. She knew his search for redemption was genuine when he called in some favors to set up a meeting between the largest international distributors in the wizarding world and the Weasleys. Malfoys never did anything anonymously, but he did. He was angry when she uncovered this unspoken apologies, she was annoyingly persistent at following his paper trails and uncovering his secrets through curious investigation. He didn’t speak to her for months because she knew. Then he sent her a magnifying glass and signed copy of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to wordlessly apologize for being angry and not speaking to her.
The last eight years had been filled with Draco Malfoy’s apologies… sacrifices small and large, monetary and physical, to make his wife proud and give his children safety, love and boundless opportunity. Not just because he was sorry, mostly because he was thankful. Hermione knew, and she was definitely proud. Proud of him and proud of being his wife… but she never actually said the words. She showed him in her kiss, her touch and he knew… no paper trail required.