Feeling Hermione's scrutinizing eyes on him, Draco stirred and suddenly felt foolish. Surely, he'd been rude to ask, and she was now thinking of a way to tell him off.
"It's alright, Granger. I understand if you don't want to tell me. It's…" he said quickly, but to his surprise she smiled.
"I can show you, if you want." she said quietly.
He simply nodded in response, too unsure to speak.
They walked further down the street and at the first intersection they took a right. There, they were assaulted by a bustle of people and cars. Draco drew closer to Hermione, making sure they were not separated.
A few feet further ahead, a small alley opened from the main street. They took the alley and after a few minutes of walking Hermione halted to a stop. She took Draco's arm and disappeared.
A second later they arrived in a quiet neighborhood, with houses that looked almost the same. Draco glanced at Hermione. She was catching her breath, looking up ahead with a longing expression on her face.
"Granger, what's wrong? Where are we?" Draco asked, curious as to what had made her feel so emotional.
"That, over there." she told him, pointing at a house near the end of the street. "That was my house." she finished with a nervous gulp.
She looked up at him, her eyes barely holding back the tears that were forming.
Draco stared at her, then at the house. He was feeling nervous tinglings all over his body, as a thought crossed his mind.
"Are they…" he started to ask but couldn't bring himself to finish.
"They are still alive." Hermione said, a small smile forming on her lips. Draco breathed out in relief. "But they're gone." Hermione continued, looking away from Draco, her eyes settling again on the house.
"Gone?" Draco asked in confusion.
"Before I went on the run with Harry and Ron, I…" she stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I wiped their memories. They are alive and well, living in Australia, but they don't remember anything about me or the life they had here with me."
Draco froze. He looked at Hermione as if she had hit him with a stunning spell. He kept thinking about what she must have gone through, having to do that to her own parents, to herself. How much despair and loneliness she must have felt to come here and remind herself of a past she alone was the sole witness.
Without realizing what he was doing, Draco raised an arm and gently brought Hermione closer to him, giving her a gentle hug.
She didn't protest and willingly leaned against him for support.
After so much time, she had finally told someone of her grief. She couldn't bring herself to tell Harry, for she knew just how much he would suffer. She had done that to protect her family while she went on the run with him, to help him. She had given up the warmth and safety of her family to become like him, an orphan, in a way.
Hermione never regretted having made that choice, she knew it was the right one. But she also knew Harry would suffer and that would make her suffer even more in return. Therefore, she kept silent about her visits to her former home and the pain those visits brought her.
It felt strange though, having never told Harry about this, but now sharing it with the one man she never thought possible, Draco Malfoy. His quiet and warm embrace made her feel slightly better, but confused her all the same. Why was he making her feel that way? Why did his simple touch make her feel warm, and chased away part of the loneliness she had been feeling?
With a gentle push she moved away from him. Looking up at his face, their eyes connected into an intense stare.
That seemed to have snapped Draco back to reality. He recovered his senses and cleared his throat.
"We'd best be going now. It's not safe to wander about like this." he said in a low voice.
He made a point out of ignoring Hermione's inquiring look, while grabbing her arm and Apparating them to their flat.