Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other recognizable works.

A/N: I am horrible you guys. I am so incredibly sorry for the wait on this. I lost touch with it with all of the medical issues my daughter was having. I am not entirely pleased with this chapter but you all had waited long enough. I really hope it appeases you all. Also, I already have a few new things in the works so please stick around for those! (You can find me on facebook under my penname. Or you can pm me here! I love chatting!) -S

Chapter 10

"What do you mean you?" she asked, whirling around to face him.

"I mean that I'm the reason I was in that portrait."

"But how? And-and why?"

Draco shook his head, "I found a spell in one of the books in our library at the manor, it was- difficult and delicate but-"

Malfoy sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair, "You said you deserved a right to choose. Granger my whole life has been laid out before me since before I was old enough to know what it all meant. I- I detested it. My father pushed me to join the ranks of the Dark Lord, my education was bought and paid for before I was even conceived. I did what I was told, followed orders like a good little heir but there was- there was this witch who had my attention and I couldn't get her out of my head. On the night I disappeared my father had told, no- ordered me to fulfill a marriage contract I had been avoiding since my youth."

"You put yourself inside of a portrait to keep from getting married?" she asked, raising a brow.

"No. Well, yes, but not just that. You see, my betrothed… well she loved someone else. Had for as long as I could remember."

"Sounds familiar," she snarked and ignored the pointed glare he gave her before he continued.

"I knew I could do what I was told. Marry the pureblood witch, have pureblood babies. I had been following orders all my life after all but I couldn't do it. Not to her, not to me…not without us both losing something-someone important to us."

"So you what, decided to disappear? What would have happened if you hadn't been found Draco? What would you have done if you had been trapped in there for centuries?" she seethed.

Draco frowned, "But that's the thing… the spell I used Granger I should have been trapped in there for centuries."

"What?"

His jaw clenched, "I knew you were with the Weasel, the last I knew you were happy with him and I thought- well I thought it would be better to be somewhere else. Somewhere you weren't."

"Then how-"

"I'm afraid that was me-" The pair whirled around then to find Narcissa Malfoy on the arm of no other than Harry Potter stepping through the grate.

"Mother?"

"Hermione why is Ronald soundlessly yelling at me."

"Oh bugger," she swore as she pulled her wand and undid the spell on the man as he swore at her- loudly. "Well, it would help if you'd just shut up on occasion."

He glared at her but she rolled her eyes, turning back to Narcissa.

"You said-" Hermione started to accuse her.

The woman's eyebrows raised, "I lied Miss Granger, surely you remember what I did for your friend over there?"

Hermione nearly shriveled under the woman's intense gaze but she felt Draco's hand on her elbow as he stepped up next to her.

"Mother," he warned.

The woman sighed, "I believe we should sit? Maybe some tea?"

"I'll make sure Ron here gets home and I'll uh… be back." Harry said and Hermione threw him a questioning glance. "Don't worry, I've already got her statement."

They waited until Harry had stepped into the grate with Ron following behind before Narcissa finally started to speak.

"You see Miss Granger, it's been no secret for me how my son has felt about you all these years. When Lucius told me of the plans to marry him to Miss Parkinson I was vehemently against it-"

"You said she was beneath me," Draco supplied.

"She's a perfectly nice young woman but I also knew she was drawn to another. The match was doomed to begin with."

"You suggested the Greengrass girl-"

"Daphne?" Hermione asked.

Draco shook his head, "Astoria. But that still doesn't explain why I'm here and why-"

"Tori is a very nice young lady, though a little dim," Narcissa defended, "It was my hopes that you would outgrow your little schoolboy crush. When it became clear that wasn't going to happen I started looking for other options for breaking a magically binding contract. I had no idea what you had planned love until it was too late."

"You took the portrait to the woman in the shop?" Hermione asked.

Narcissa looked put out for a moment before she pulled a flask from her bag and put it on the table, "Miss Granger, I am the woman in the shop."

Hermione picked it up, popping the top to smell the Polyjuice potion inside, she pulled a face before she handed it to Draco to inspect himself.

"That still doesn't explain why," Hermione said exasperatedly.

"That is the simplest part my dear," Narcissa said easily, "You were drawn to the portrait of my son were you not?"

Hermione nodded.

"You were drawn to it not because of what it was or the magic it contained my dear but because of who it contained. The spell that should have kept my son trapped inside was broken easily because-"

"True loves kiss…"

"What?" Both of the Malfoys said in unison.

Hermione shook her head as the fireplace dinged and Harry stepped through. She bit her lip before she continued, "It's- well, a muggle thing. In our fairytales, the stories of magic- the curses can often be broken by true love's kiss."

Draco raised a brow, "I'm sorry to break this to you but that was- well, slightly more than a kiss."

Hermione felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she looked at Narcissa's face across from her and Harry blanched as he moved further into the room, "Draco-" she scolded quietly.

The man had the audacity to laugh at her then and his hand found hers, pulling it into his grasp and bringing it up to brush a kiss against her knuckles.

"The spell was broken my dear because it was you who did it." the woman smiled at them both as she pulled her bag to her once more and reached out for Draco's hand. He didn't hesitate as he slid his palm into hers and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I have done many things in my life but you, my sweet boy are the best yet. I only hoped to give you the love you deserved."

Draco smiled at his mother then and moved from his seat, pulling her into his arms and kissing her forehead, "Thank you mother."

"Now, I do believe Mister Potter and I have some business to attend to-" the woman said.

"Wait, Potter, you're not going to bring charges surely-"

Harry sighed as he pulled off his glasses, rubbing his eyes, "Well she did make false reports with the ministry-"

"In the hopes that Hermione Granger would be tasked with helping-"

"But she also saved my life once before," Harry said firmly and with a shrug he turned, "My fiance and I have a date at the muggle movies tonight and everyone involved is safe...Hermione if you want to get on this paperwork for me?"

Hermione shook her head, "Right away."

The man laughed as he turned to Naricssa, "After you?"

The woman smiled and reached out to pat Draco's cheek once more before she leaned in, her lips near his ear as she whispered something and then kissed him lightly on the cheek, tweaking his nose once before she pulled away completely.

"Goodnight Miss Granger," she said with a smile and Hermione couldn't help but smile back as she watched the witch elegantly step into the grate and disappear with Harry Potter hot on her heels.

Hermione turned to Draco, her eyes wide, "What just happened?"

Draco laughed as he stepped forward and grabbed her hips, pulling her against him once more, "I think we just found out we're soul mates, you saved me from certain solitude, and my mother showed once again just why she was destined to be in Slytherin."

Hermione blew a breath out of her mouth, watching as a stray curl flew out of her face, as she nodded, "That sounds about right. You know what else I learned?"

"Hmm?" Draco asked, leaning in for a kiss.

"I'm never buying another portrait again," she whispered just as she met his lips with her own.

~~~~~~A few years later~~~~~~~

Hermione was rubbing lotion on her hands when her husband walked into the bedroom, rubbing a hand over his scruffy jaw.

"Did you get them down?"

"What? Oh, yeah, they're out," the man said distractedly as he slid into the bed and laid down with a groan.

She raised a brow as she joined him, rolling over to wrap herself around him.

"Why we agreed to a sleepover with that child-"

"Stop," she laughed, swatting him on the chest.

"Jamie Potter is a nightmare," the man shuddered as Hermione laughed again.

"Your daughter is no peach either," she pointed out thinking of the epic tantrum their three year old had had the other day in the middle of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Our daughter is an angel," the man laughed, leaning down to kiss his wife's lips. "Oh and by the way she colored on the post today."

Hermione rolled her eyes but pulled herself up to accio the mail into her hands. "How'd you get them to sleep anyway?"

"Hmmm? Oh, I told them the story of the princess saving the prince."

Hermione laughed, "Again? I'm surprised she isn't tired of it by now."

Draco laughed, "Well, she did tell me I wasn't telling it right halfway through and then I just listened as she finished it."

Hermione laughed to herself as she flicked through the envelopes in her hand one by one until she landed on the crisp white envelope in her hand with the gold and green wax seal. Intrigued she slid it open and read the words printed on the parchment inside, "Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Why did we receive an invitation to Ronald Weasley and Pansy Parkinson's engagement party?"

"Oh," Draco sat up, moving to look at the invitation she had in her hands as he laughed, "Took her long enough. Let's hope she didn't have to lock herself in a portrait to get it done."

"Wait, you mean-"

Draco laughed as he cut her off with a kiss, pushing her back down on the bed behind them, the post long forgotten.