"'What exactly am I guilty of?'
' Exactly, I cannot say. I've had to draw a conclusion based on what I glimpsed through the stitching of the person suit that you wear. And the conclusion that I've drawn is that you are dangerous.'"

The first days passed by quickly, like they were hurrying on, like they were late.

Hermione tried to keep up with them, first wake up, eat something, get ready for the day- oh, there it went.

She felt like she was never going to get use to the house. Smaller, than the one they were living in before, but after a while it felt cozier.

This one only had two bedrooms, one floor, "It'll be safer for the baby," Tom had said, then looked like he had let something slip.

Hermione wasn't stupid. She was a lot of things, but she wasn't stupid.

When she was younger she was prideful in her intelligence, now she wondered how happy she could be without it. She was also a brave child, one who could face the consequences head on, fear making her tremble but not back down.

Now, she sat in a quiet house, her stomach growing with life, and a soon to be husband who was most definitely not not a murderer, beside her.

Though, to be fair, she wasn't so innocent either.

Together, they carried the burden of what happened to Ginny, Tom probably carried more than just that.

That was if he even thought of it as a burden.

The days passed by, and Hermione tried not to think about it, she really did, but she knew. She knew Tom was a manipulative handsome man, and she'd let herself get carried away.

The thought of not being with Tom made her stomach sink, it sank lower than her soul would probably go after it all was truly over.

And, that's only just the thought, Hermione felt sick.

She wasn't sure if she ever wanted to feel what it would be like without Tom.

She imagined it.

Tom wasn't next to her, always placing at least a hand over her, though usually had his arms around her. Or Tom not looking down at her, waiting patiently for her to look back only for him to give her a smile. The prettiest smile Hermione had ever seen. It was warm and it was kind, it felt like a Tom only she knew.

She pictured not sleeping next to him, seeing him peaceful and innocent. She could believe those stories of him being bullied then

Hermione almost smiled, as if he'd let anything like that happen to him. Hermione only had to hear him talk, to know it couldn't have been as bad as he made it sound.

One time she dared ask him, and he cracked a smile, clever girl.

"It's possible I exaggerated some truths."

Hermione, bored of the same days passing by, was excited for the little new truth he gave her. "You jerk," she almost smiled back.

"You were ready to leave me, I improvise well under pressure," he shrugged.

Another time, he was braver. "I killed one of those when I was younger," he said casually as they drove past a stray cat.

Hermione saw him brace himself for her answer.

"We wouldn't have been friends," she replied simply.

"You're wrong."

It was like the move to the new home had changed them. They didn't worry about other people.

What would everyone say if they knew about Ginny? About the real Tom?

One day it'll hit her and she'll leave. Keep up appearances. Be good.

Those thoughts were gone. And slowly Hermione let herself come to terms with what they were.

They were not innocent. And at one point the guilt was going away.

Maybe they were bad people.

Most days, Tom worked, sometimes he let Hermione come and play receptionist in his new office.

Months went by and when the day came that their baby was born, Hermione didn't think of calling Ron or Harry.

She spend the day alone with Tom in the hospital, where they fixed themselves together on the bed and tried to find features they'd seen before.

"That's your nose!" Hermione cooed.

Tom was holding the baby then, "The hair is going to be just as curly as yours."

"But just as dark as yours," she agreed.

There was something left unsaid between the two.

I know you, the ugly you.

And still they managed to face each other and smile, lean closer and press their lips together.


For now, this will be the end of this story. I hope you enjoyed it, I get a bit lazy with endings, but hopefully with more practice I can improve.

I want to get into the habit of writing more, so if you like my stories and have any tomione prompts, please leave a review! I love feedback, and am excited to try and give back.

Thank you for reading and sticking around.