"Hermione!" Ginny shrieked as she ran toward her best friend. The two girls engaged in a long hug before releasing. "I missed you so much! How are your classes? How is Hogwarts? Who else is back in school?"
Hermione chuckled. "Not too many people from my year, but I recognize a few people." Hermione blushed a little before continuing. "And school is wonderful, though it will truly never be the same.
"Where are Ron and Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, they're outside playing Quidditch."
"And you're inside?" Hermione said with a grin.
Ginny nodded toward the stove. "I wanted to make you something special for your visit. Vegetable soup made with vegetables from our garden, I swear you'll love it. I'm going to finish up in here, but you should go say hello to the boys—they've been antsy since I told them you were coming."
Hermione gave her friend's hand a squeeze and stepped out into the backyard. She didn't see either of the boys but could hear them zooming through the sky. And then she saw two dark figures flying towards her and her face broke into a grin. "Harry! Ron!"
Ron landed first and ran towards Hermione, then came Harry who joined into one large group hug. Hermione felt pure bliss being with her friends at The Burrow. Ron's hair was longer and pulled back into a small ponytail and his face looked older. So did Harry's, honestly, but Ron looked like he was recovering from a visit to Hell. She was quickly reminded of their past.
The trio sat down in the grass outside and caught up on life and work and school. Hermione asked if she could see Harry's apartment and Ron asked if Hermione was still the top student.
About an hour later Ginny called them inside to eat, and that's when Hermione finally saw Molly lying on the couch as if in a catatonic state. Hermione thought it strange when she saw Ginny cooking and not Mrs. Weasley but she didn't question it immediately. Now she understood why the roles had changed. Mr. Weasley was sitting near Molly's feet, gently persuading her to stand up and join us at the table for dinner. Molly said nothing, though, just kept staring at the picture of Fred hanging on the wall opposite her.
Hermione turned away, not wanting to stare at the woman she considered a second mother. She sat down next to Ron on one side of the table and watched as Ginny and Harry settled in across from them. Hermione leaned in and whispered to Ron, "How long has she been like that?"
Ron shrugged. "For about a month and a half, I'd say. Dad's been feeding her at mealtimes." He spooned some of the soup into his bowl and passed the soup to Hermione.
She couldn't deny how delicious it smelled, but she suddenly felt overwhelmingly guilty about eating her meal while Molly lay in silence only a room over. She took a little bit and continued to pass the soup around the table.
Once they began eating the awkward silence at the table dissipated and it was easier to carry on a conversation. Hermione couldn't stop thinking about Draco and how this was probably the worst time to bring her relationship up to her friends. But would the time ever be right? She kept eating her soup, which truly was magnificent, and wondering if she should just blurt out her secret. Tomorrow night, she decided. She didn't want to ruin her first night with her friends.
After dinner Harry offered everyone a drink for dessert and they went upstairs to Ginny's room. And that's when the real conversations started, the honest ones that you hold onto until you're in complete privacy. "Hermione, what do you think you'll do once your classes are over?"
Hermione was quiet a moment, trying to think of an answer, but she didn't have one. "I haven't given it much thought, I suppose. Perhaps teaching." Her brows furrowed at her lack of a response. How could she not know?
"Do you think you'll ever go back to school?" Ginny immediately shook her head no.
"I've already talked to Harry and I think we'll be moving in together once George moves back. Afterwards… I dunno, I'll find a job doing something that makes me happy." She smiled at Harry and he rested his hand on her knee.
"Oh, wow, I didn't realize George was moving back to The Burrow."
Ron had just finished his glass of fire whiskey and was pouring more. "Once dad told him about mum he decided to move back to help her. He felt bad pushing his responsibilities off on Ginny. Honestly, I do too." He looked up at Ginny and frowned, but Ginny shook her head no.
"Ron, we've been through this a million times. You have a career! And I was still uncertain about whether or not I was going back to Hogwarts with Hermione."
Hermione's mind drifted back to that afternoon at The Burrow when they received their Hogwarts letters for the new term. The Burrow definitely felt more alive now than it did then, but it was nowhere near what it was years prior. Life was moving quickly and everyone seemed to be on their own path. Was Draco her next great adventure? Would they move in together after Hogwarts? Would they make it that long?
Harry saw Hermione's brain working in over-time. "What are you thinking about, Hermione?"
She smiled and took a sip of her drink. "Just how different our lives are." Is this the moment? She could feel the fire whiskey numbing her nerves so she took a deep breath and began speaking. "I actually have been seeing someone." She finished her glass and set it on the floor in front of her.
Ginny's eyes got wide. "Who? Hermione, why didn't you say something sooner!" She was leaning forward, clearly interested in this bit of information. The answer made Hermione's head buzz—or was that the alcohol?
"You know him, he was in our year," she looked at Harry and then Ron.
"Are you going to make us guess?" Ron chuckled.
Hermione reached for the bottle of fire whiskey next to Harry. "Maybe we should all pour another glass first," and she unscrewed the top of the bottle and began pouring the liquid into everyone's cup. "Cheers!"
Before Harry drank anything from his glass he furrowed his brow, wondering why Hermione was so hesitant to tell them who she'd been spending her time with. Was it someone from Slytherin?
"Harry—"
"Is it someone from Slytherin, Hermione?" Harry's serious voice had cut her off. She was taken aback. He knows, she thought.
She nodded her head.
"Who is it?" Ron asked her. Her stomach started to knot up. "Who is it, Hermione?" Ron's voice was growing more angry. Ginny set her glass down and waited for a response.
"Draco Malfoy," she finally admitted. "I know how it sounds—"
Ron slammed his glass down on the floor and stood up. "Are you bloody mad, Hermione? What, did he slip you something?"
"Of course not, Ron! How could you even suggest something like that?"
"Then how did this happen?" Harry started. "How did you of all people end up falling for an ex-Death Eater?"
"Harry, you were there for his trial, you heard what he said; he never wanted to be a Death Eater, he was forced into it. His whole life was a facade." Hermione's voice had grown soft and her eyes were cast down. She could hear Ron pacing around the room, while Ginny scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Ron finally stopped pacing the room and looked at Hermione. "How long has this been going on?"
"We've been friends since the start of the term, but we just started dating. We wanted you to hear it from me before word got out."
"'We', huh? As if he actually cares."
"Ronald Weasley, why are you so upset by this?" "Because, Hermione, after the war it was supposed to be me and you. But you weren't ready, you said the timing wasn't right and that we needed to focus on ourselves for a bit. So I started Auror training and I waited for you—I've been waiting for you. How could you expect me to be gung-ho about you dating Draco Malfoy, the boy who made our lives Hell?" He turned away from the group and stood there, silent. Hermione felt like she had been slapped.
Honestly, she hadn't planned on dating anyone this term. She was at Hogwarts to feel normal again, to finish schooling and move on with her life. She knew Ron had been waiting, but she also figured that at some point he would find someone new and forget about the relationship they could have had. And she still didn't think this was the right time, but you can't help who you love. Love? Did Hermione love Draco?
"Ron, ple—"
"I think I'll be heading back to the city. Thanks for dinner, Ginny." And with that, Ronald Weasley walked out. Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were silent as they listened to Ron's heavy footsteps retreat down the stairs and through the house. Hermione spoke first.
"I'm so sorry, you guys, I didn't think… Draco just happened." Hermione shook her head and stood up. "I think I should get going also."
Ginny shot up from the floor and gently reached for Hermione's arm. "Hermione, please stay. Don't let Ron's reaction keep you from enjoying the rest of your weekend. We love you and support whatever you decide to do. We both know that you can't help who you have feelings for."
It was wonderful to hear someone be on her side, and she wondered how the rest of the world would react to her relationship with Draco Malfoy. Not that anyone else's opinion would ever matter, but it would definitely affect their dynamic and the way they move about in the world. Especially now that Voldemort was defeated and the systematic oppression of muggle-borns and halfbloods would not be tolerated by the Ministry of Magic.
"No, really, Ginny, I think I just need to be alone right now. Thank you for everything, though, dinner was perfect. I love you dearly." She leaned into Ginny for a hug and then Harry after, and began the descent to the front yard where she would apparate back to Hogsmeade and walk the rest of the distance to Hogwarts. Her head was spinning from the argument with one of her oldest friends and she had no idea what she was feeling at the moment. She did know, however, that her feelings toward Draco were stronger than she could have ever imagined.
~ { oOo } ~
It was almost midnight by the time Hermione reached Hogsmeade and she wondered if she would be able to sneak her way into Hogwarts this late. She pulled out her wand and cast a Patronus that would be sent to Draco with an urgent message. Coming back early, meet me in Hogsmeade. She kept walking and passed by the coffee shop she and Draco stopped in when they began hanging out months ago. How did this become her life? How did she transition from the person who cursed Malfoy's existence to the person he slept next to in the astronomy tower?
She checked her watch. 12:23. When she looked back up she saw that blonde head of hair and her heart rate sped up.
~ { oOo } ~
Draco was lying on a pile of blankets in the astronomy tower wondering how on Earth Hermione Granger made him feel this sappy and pathetic. He missed her already and she had only been gone for half the day. It's not like they would have spent that entire day together but it was something about knowing she was unavailable to see or touch or kiss that kept his heart aching slightly.
Draco had honestly never felt this way about another person ever. He had dated girls—and women—but things never got this serious. He was always so selfish, worrying more about keeping up his appearances as the son of a Death Eater instead of chasing after beautiful females in the hopes of having a girl he could call his girlfriend. But Hermione was different and he couldn't exactly place why. Perhaps because she's the only person who took the time to understand him. It's like he could feel her understanding of him, like she knew him, knew him to his core without having all the information.
In the middle of these thoughts he saw Hermione's Patronus floating in front of him. He accio'd his broom and set off to find her. Once he touched ground in the general vicinity, he headed towards the coffee shop and was greeted by Hermione's long brown waves blowing in the wind. Her face was fallen and her body dragged as she walked.
"Hermione!" he yelled and sped up his pace to reach her quicker. He enveloped her in a hug that she refused to release, prompting him to ask her how her visit went.
She shook her head. "Harry and Ginny were… more understanding than Ron. He left."
Draco kissed the top of her head and rested his hand on the small of her back, guiding her back in the direction of Hogwarts. "I brought my broom…" he said to her with a small smile.
"Oh, no, not tonight, Draco."
"If not now, then when? No one's around, it's just you and me, and the sky is completely clear right now. Best weather for flying."
Hermione thought about it for a moment before imagining herself speeding through the sky on a stick. Draco mounted his broom and reached for hand. "Come on, I won't let anything happen to you." At her hesitance he added, "I'll even go slow."
And with a roll of her eyes, Hermione slipped one leg over the broom and sat as close to Draco's body as humanly possible and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.
"Ready?" he asked. She nodded in response and felt Draco leading the broom forward and upward, slowly but steadily. Before she knew it they were flying above the streets of Hogsmeade and all the wizards and witches down below looked like tiny insects. Draco was picking up speed and dipped down low near the tops of the trees, so close Hermione felt like she could reach out and snap off a few leaves.
Finally they were nearing Hogwarts and Hermione could see how grandiose the castle was from this angle. She released a giggle that turned into a scream as they dropped down low again, soaring through corridors and back up through an opening that brought them back above the school. Hermione remembered Draco promising her views of Hogwarts that she had never before seen, and he was right. Draco slowed down and turned a corner and before they knew it they were already reaching the astronomy tower, their new favorite place to be. His feet touched ground and he steadied himself before allowing Hermione to step over the broom and settle onto solid ground.
She swayed a bit and leaned against the railing of the tower, still comprehending what tiny adventure she had just been on. "So what do you think about flying now?" Draco asked with a chuckle.
Hermione smiled widely back at him. "Under the right circumstances and conditions, I think it's acceptable."
"Oh, wow, look at that," he teased. "A convert." He set his broom against the railing and sat down on the blankets he'd set up earlier. Hermione sat down next to him and for a moment they sat quietly and looked out at the night sky.
"Draco, where do you see yourself after school?"
He paused and thought about her question. He couldn't remember the last time he was asked that question, he was so used to having his life planned out for him. "I don't really know. I suppose I'd like to help people somehow now that I have the option. I want an honest life, whatever that means. I don't want to lie and scheme to get what I want, you know?"
Hermione nodded. "Maybe you could teach and shape the minds of our youth. I think you would be extraordinary at that."
"Er, maybe. I wouldn't exactly mind traveling and seeing the world before settling down. What about you? Where do you see yourself?"
"I see myself working for the Ministry making positive changes in the world. I want to make sure nothing like that war ever happens again." Hermione reached for Draco's hand and he pulled her into his chest so her head was nuzzled into his neck. "Draco, I don't know how this happened or why, and I know it's happening so fast, but I think I love you. It's okay if you can't say it back, it's just… after the war I feel like my time is constantly fleeting, and if anything were to happen to me I would want desperately for you to know that this isn't something I'm considering lightly."
Draco looked at Hermione's face and moved towards her as if he were going to kiss her. "I love you, too." He rested a hand against her left cheek and brought her closer for a sweet, gentle kiss filled with desire. Hermione's hands reached behind him and grabbed at his shirt.
"My friends know," Hermione whispered in between kisses. "We don't have to hide anymore."
"At this point, even if they didn't know, I'm not sure we could hide this any longer." Draco pulled away from Hermione's lips. "You asked me where I see myself after school, and I see myself with you, I swear it."
Hermione closed her eyes and a tear fell down her cheek. "Draco, is this real?"
"It's the realest thing I've ever felt." And he continued kissing her until he felt a hand slide over the zipper of his pants.
He pulled back to look at her. She looked him square in the eye and let her hand wander once again over the zipper, this time pulling down slowly. He slid his hands under her shirt and lifted up until the fabric was scrunched at her neck. Hermione leaned forward and she was shirtless except for the pink bra that hugged her torso. Hermione tugged at his pants and soon they were both lying semi-naked underneath the stars.
Draco knew they were moving quickly, so quickly, but they were both falling hard and fast and there was nothing they could do to slow their feelings down. They were in love. There was some dormant passion that resided within both of them for all these years and something about the actions of the war and the truth that followed that resonated with the two teenagers and sent them catapulting into a world full of desire.
But Draco had fooled around with women before, he knew the way their bodies reacted to his touch, and he knew exactly what he needed to do to elicit the response he wanted. He knew what desire and lust felt like, and what he had with Hermione was similar but not identical. With Hermione it wasn't just about arousal, it was about sharing this moment, his body, his feelings with another human being that wanted to protect him as much as he wanted to protect her. He would do anything for Hermione, and he knew being intimate was only going to seal this.
"Do you really want to do this, Hermione? We can wait if you'd like."
Hermione shook her head no. "I'm not afraid, Draco. I want you to feel just how much I love you." She wrapped her legs around his waist and continued exploring her body, feeling excitement and nervousness. She knew this was going to hurt, but she wanted to share herself fully with him.
At some point their clothes were off and in a pile to the side of their blankets. They were moving and touching and kissing and whispering and suddenly Hermione understood everything her friends had ever told her about sex. It was like she was in a trance, her brain on mute, her body working only on instinct, and once they were done her head snapped back into place. She could feel the chills running through her veins, from her lips to her ankles. Everything inside of her was illuminated. She felt it, his love, as if it were a physical object. Sex with Draco was like taking a sip of him and housing a part of his soul inside of her body.
Hermione held back tears but Draco persuaded her to let herself feel. He was reeling from their experience. Nothing had ever felt so good, and he had been with plenty of beautiful, enchanting women. But no one was Hermione. He rolled over to the side and pulled Hermione close to him. "Are you in pain?" he asked her.
She knew what he was referring to. "Not really. I definitely feel it though," she chuckled. She yawned loudly and snuggled into Draco's side, curling her body to fit perfectly into his. Her eyes closed and she felt her breath deepening. The last thing she remembered was Draco pulling a soft blanket over her body and kissing her forehead.
~ { oOo } ~
Draco woke to a loud thud the following morning. "Oh my! Is that—?"
Giggles erupted around them. "That's Hermione Granger! With Draco Malfoy!" A camera clicked.
"Enough, students!"
Draco rolled over, groggy, his brain still coming to. He jumped back when he saw twelve students and Professor Sinistra standing before them. He grabbed at Hermione, making sure she was covered. "Hermione, Hermione, wake up!" he hissed. She smiled up at him,", but when she saw the look on his face, her smile faded and she turned over.
"Oh, my God!" she pulled the blanket up over her body completely.
"Alright, alright, class, let's give them some privacy," said Professor Sinistra, who turned her class away in the opposite direction, giving Draco and Hermione time to gather their things and disappear into the staircase leading down from the astronomy tower.
Professor Sinistra followed them down. "What on Earth do you two think you're doing sleeping here overnight? You may be Eighth Years, but that doesn't excuse this behavior. I have no choice but to report this to Professor McGonagall, who will determine your punishment." She looked back and forth between the two of them. "I am truly shocked, Miss Granger."
Draco scoffed. "Who has class on Saturday mornings, anyway?"
"We had to reschedule our usual time to learn about the morning star, not that that should matter at all. I must get back to my students; you two should dress yourselves and head back to your rightful dormitories." Professor Sinistra spun around dramatically and made the ascent up the stairs.
Hermione looked at Draco in worry. "Don't worry about that," he reassured her. "Let me do the talking, and I'll make sure that photograph goes nowhere."
"There's a photograph?" Hermione shrieked with wide eyes. "Oh, my God, this is the worst thing that could happen! You know how quickly photographs circulate through this castle." Draco pulled Hermione into an empty alcove and they quickly dressed. Draco gave Hermione a quick kiss on the lips and told her to meet him after classes that evening. She agreed and they headed their separate ways, each of them concerned with two different aspects of their spectacle that morning.