Disclaimer

J.K Rowling's characters are her own. I am only expanding them using my imagination. Although I'm not new to fanfiction and I am a writer, this is the first fanfiction piece I have written. So reviews and constructive feedback are welcome!

I am a Dramione shipper (not sorry) and this story idea came to me as I was daydreaming at work (yikes!). The story is rated M for mature content that will be evident later in the story and for mild violence.

Now that that's out of the way: Happy Reading!

Love Like Oxygen

Chapter 1

He saw her standing there, across the road in the shelter of the market's awning. Her bushy brown hair was wet and the tops of her shoulders were visible through the soaked fabric of her soft white blouse. She clutched a woven basket to her chest trying to keep her groceries dry.

It was raining.

The end of the war had treated Hermione Granger well. She no longer had that gaunt, malnourished look Draco remembered from the battle of Hogwarts. She had grown taller and the colour in her cheeks had returned. They were red right now; scarlet like the colours of Gryffindor House from the sudden chill of the rain. And Draco Malfoy hated it.

He hated every bit of her. He could not stand to see her hair, that once, Bellatrix had nearly pulled from her scalp. When she spoke, he did not hear words, only the shrill screams and pleas she made as she lied to protect her friends in Malfoy Manor three years ago.

What he hated most of all was her tattoo like scar. It was crude, vile and permanent. She wore it proudly. A daily reminder, to everyone at the Ministry, that the horrid values of pureblood supremacy had no place in this new world.

Draco ground his teeth. She was his personal living nightmare, haunting him in the hallways of the Ministry. Reminding him of his cowardice and failure.

Hermione was a well loved war heroine. Her heroic deeds had gained her a position on the Wizengamot and a permanent job in the Ministry as the Head of the new Magical Creatures and Wizards Reconciliation Department.

Yet when Draco looked at her, he could only see that skinny girl lying on the floor of his family home with a fierce determination in her eyes to keep Harry Potter's plans to defeat Voldemort a secret. She effectively changed the fate of all the people who were victims of Voldemort's ideology, from her one act of defiance.

Granger had saved him too.

He had lied to his father. Draco knew Harry Potter's, Hermione Granger's and Ron Weasley's faces like his own but that night, for the first time in his life, he chose to rebel. He knew that Potter had the best chance to defeat the Dark Lord and create a world in which his family would be safe from harm forever.

Draco's dream had come true, at least partially. Lucius Malfoy was administered the Dementor's Kiss for his crimes but Narcissa Malfoy was found guilty for co-conspiracy. Potter himself had given testimony for Narcissa, insisting that she was just as much a victim of Voldemort, as Draco Malfoy was an under-aged wizard subjected to physical and mental abuse by his father.

Granger had supported Narcissa as well and even testified for Draco at his trial. He was indebt to the Golden Trio from that day on. He hated that even more.

The Ministry forgave Draco's crimes and the Auror Department placed Narcissa Malfoy permanently on the "Potential Threat" list. She was also forbidden to leave Malfoy Manor for ten years. At least, one parent was safe.

Still the stigma of being a former Death Eater was ever evident in the behaviour of the wizarding community. The Leaky Cauldron's owner, Tom, refused to serve Draco. Madam Malkin insisted on Draco seeking robes elsewhere. In fact, nearly every shop on Diagon Alley had shut its doors to "The Forgiven Lot".

Trying to seek occupation was the hardest challenge yet. After Harry Potter's great break in and escape three years ago, the Gringotts Goblins had altogether stopped trusting wizards – Dark or not. The Ministry did not want to hire previously convicted criminals or the children of previous Death Eaters either. This was not the free world in Draco's imagination. Nothing had truly changed, only the tables were turned.

To pay for their crimes, the Malfoy family were stripped of their wealth. They were allowed to keep their ancient manor house but the ministry seized half of their gold and all the items in their home. An empty home for an empty family. How fitting, Draco thought.

Narcissa used some of the remaining gold in their vault to furnish the living room in the manor and two bedrooms – one for her and the other for Draco. Now, even the left over gold had begun to run out.

In his desperation, Malfoy had begged his friend, Blaise Zabini, to help him gain a position in the Ministry. It was one of the most shameful moments of Draco's life but Zabini had managed to convince the head of Muggle Artifacts Department to hire Draco as a temporary employee.

And so, he met Granger again, three years after her testimony in the Ministry dungeons.

The rain was falling harder now, creating an even thicker veil between him and Granger. She did not see him but Draco was used to it. She never even saw him at the Ministry. It was worse than being ignored. It was as if he never existed.

Initially, Draco was grateful towards Potter and Granger for their help in saving his mother but as discrimination against the former associates of the Dark Lord grew amongst the wizarding community, Draco had become hateful once more.

Granger's presence at the Ministry only served as a reminder of how his family was reduced to near poverty while the Golden Trio only incurred respect and power. He hated them but most of all he hated himself because he knew he deserved his fate.

After all, taking the Dark Mark had been his decision. What came after did not matter.

For months, Draco's thoughts tormented him. He wanted Granger to see him, look at him and see what he had been reduced to. He wanted her to know that somehow it was her fault. Her`s and Potter`s.

Draco wanted Hermione Granger`s attention but he wanted to hurt her too.

o-o-o

Hermione hugged the basket closer to her chest. She wasn't expecting it to rain. Then again, after spending most of one's time underground in the Ministry of Magic, one forgets what real weather ought to be like. The weather and the windows in her office were charmed to reflect a grassy lawn with never ending sunlight – like the view of her backyard from her parent's home.

She smiled at the thought.

The past three years had been a blur after the war. It was chaotic but progressive in the realm of magical politics. Hermione did not realize how and when she became the forefront of the Magical Creatures and Wizards Reconciliation Movement. One day she was preaching the values of Magical Cooperation at a Post-War Conference and the next day Kingsley, now Minister of Magic, approached her with an offer to lead the new department at the Ministry, and supervise the creation of the Magical Creatures and Wizards Reconciliation Act.

Since then, she had lost herself in her work. Hermione knew this Act could change the magical ties between magical creatures and wizards forever. For centuries wizards had oppressed their fellow magical species, forcing them to stay on designated lands or accept enslavement and suffer belittlement.

It is no surprise then that the ties between centaurs, goblins, house elves and the rest of the wizarding community were so strained. The deep rooted prejudices, both on part of other magical species and the wizarding community, is what Voldemort had manipulated to gain power.

No more.

Hermione had a fierce determination to change that. Unity will bring us strength and peace. Equality will bring us justice and community. These were the ideals Hermione envisioned while working on the laws that would soon govern the new wizarding world.

Lightning flashed, illuminating the darkened street for fleeting moment. She saw a silhouette with platinum white hair standing across the street. His eyes shone bright, staring directly at her. Who was that?

Hermione could not see his face nor could she make out the figure of a man through the torrential sheet of rain separating them. Convinced that she must have imagined it, she turned her thoughts to Ron.

Hermione's position at the Ministry meant long hours at work and very little time for the rest of her life. Yet Ronald had been understanding and patient. After the war, they decided to officially court but they didn't want to rush the progress of their relationship. Both wanted to give their efforts to the rebuilding of the Magical community because that was what they had fought for.

Ron and Harry had joined the Auror Academy a few months after the battle of Hogwarts. Hermione had chosen instead to volunteer her time to Professor McGonagall to help rebuild the castle. Later she created an aid group sponsored by Harry to help displaced and imprisoned muggle-born witches and wizards find their families. Ginny took charge of the aid group once Hermione joined the Ministry but Hermione still volunteered when she had time.

Time.

She really lacked that one element in her life. Time for Ron, time for Harry, the Weasleys—herself! Funny that it took a thunderstorm to force her to stop and think about her life.

Regardless, Hermione needed to get home soon. Ron, Harry and Ginny were coming for dinner for a much needed reunion. She was looking forward to a good evening of warm food, wine and laughter.

She looked up to the sky once more. The clouds were thick, grey and menacing. The rain was not going to stop soon and she could not Disapparate in the middle of a street filled with muggles. She would have to search for an empty alley. Trying her best to shelter her groceries with her upper body, Hermione stepped out into the cold wet street.

Her clothes were soaked in seconds. She could barely see the road in front of her but kept up a brisk pace down the road peeking into the small alleys as she walked. Finally, she found one that was empty. Hermione strained her eyes to scan the alley for a final time before slipping her wand from her sleeve. Assured that she was alone, she closed her eyes to focus on her destination.

Suddenly there was a vice-like grip on her elbow, a flash of lighting and white blonde hair, the familiar tug of Disapparation at her navel, and Hermione was sucked into a black void.

Malfoy!?

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