Having You Around

"Feels like having a little heaven I can call my own" Draco whispered as he tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

A/N: Been an awful long three years since I wrote a story of my own so do forgive some grammatical error and some spelling mistakes.

Disclaimer: Well, I don't own any character that you might recognize as the story progress, they all belong to JK Rowling.

Chapter 1: Fight for me

Fat tears rolled down Hermione Granger's cheeks falling to the sea below as the cruiser started moving, she knew that there's no going back now. Draco is lost to her forever. She had to give him up for his own sake; she knew that Lucius Malfoy meant business when he declared to her that she is not fit for his son and he will make life miserable for the both of them if they continue with their foolish little romance as he so call it.

They might have won the war but the fact remains that Draco came from a wealthy upper-class family and as the only child is expected to marry someone who's from a wealthy family as well.

Merlin, why did I fell in love with him?

But as her mind raised this question it also supplied her that she wouldn't have it any other way around. Granted, everything would have been easier if they didn't fell in love with one another but if that was the case, she wouldn't have known how love truly felt and she would at least have a hundred fewer happy memories.

All she wanted to do at this exact moment is to apparate wherever Draco is, wound her arms around him and tell him over and over again how much she loves him but she just can't. Her mind brought her back to yesterday's conversation with Lucius Malfoy.

"Miss Granger" came Lucius Malfoy's voice from behind startling her out of her reverie; she was awestruck with the rose garden which was breathtakingly beautiful. Spinning around, she saw his imposing frame a foot or two away from her.

"Good evening sir," said Hermione, nodding her head a little in acknowledgement at Lucius Malfoy's direction.

Lucius looked down his nose at her and without preamble said, "I see no sense in wasting time with idle banters, so I would go directly to the point."

Hermione just inclined her head slightly to the left and slowly nodded her consent but she had a feeling that he would have went on even without her consent.

"Get away from my son." That simple sentence left Hermione speechless and unable to do anything but to stare at Lucius Malfoy who said it simply and shortly.

"Now, Ms. Granger it has nothing to do with your dirty blood." Sneered Lucius, "While it is true that your war hero title would have some beneficial effect on the Malfoy name, it simply does not suffice." Lucius paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back with his right hand holding his cane.

He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of Hermione.

"My son shall marry a prominent member of the wizarding society, I would not give my son to a young woman who had just appeared in the face of the wizarding world at the age of 12," Malfoy senior paused, eyeing the young brunette with contempt. "You might think defeating a dark lord would make you worthy of a Malfoy but Miss Granger I assure you, whatever effect or benefit your liaison with my son would give is miniscule compared to the effect and benefit of a marriage to a young woman from a prominent and influential family would give."

"And you said this has nothing to do with blood." She said with raising ire as she regained her ability to speak and to form coherent thoughts once more, "What you have said—"

"Has absolutely nothing to do with blood statuses." Lucius paused with an arrogant knowing smirk and continued, "It is unfortunate for you if you think that way, but the wealthiest and most prominent members of the society are the ones who had roots in it, really, them being pureblooded is purely coincidental."

'Lying son of a bitch!' thought Hermione as she felt tears of indignation starting to form behind her eyes.

"Draco is not used on doing heavy physical works." Hermione wondered to where this conversation is going but she need not wait long.

"There wasn't a day in his life that Draco had to work hard but rest assured that will be changed in an instant if your foolish little romance with my son continues and ruin his wonderful future that I have planned for him."

He turned around with his robes swirling about him, he looked by his shoulder at Hermione and said, "You hold the power to make or break Draco's future. I've heard that you're an intelligent witch, so I trust you to make the right decision." With that he nodded his head and sauntered off.

Damn right, Hermione is an intelligent witch. Heck! She's the smartest witch of her age and honestly she believes that anyone with a half brain would pick up Malfoy senior's unspoken threat.

'Leave mudblood or I swear in pain of death that yours and Draco's life would be a living hell.'

She was brought up to the present with the ship's whistle. Sighing loudly, she leaned her chin on the safe rail and thought about what she's going to do in Spain once she reaches land. She needs a job that's for sure and there's the issue of where she was going to stay.

It was with thoughts like these and other concerns running all over her brain when she was pulled to a hard chest and felt strong warm arms wrap protectively and possessively around her waist followed with a relieved sounding whisper behind her right ear, "I didn't know we were planning to go for a vacation in Madrid."

Her heart raced, she knew that voice! It's the same deep measured voice that she always dreams of and wakes up to, telling her how much she is loved. The same voice that squelch her fears and insecurities.

She wants nothing more but to turn around and return the embrace and taste his lips with her own but for his sake she must not and that, she did not.

Draco turned her around slowly while her gaze remained down, not meeting his enquiring and somewhat hurt gaze, for she knew that at the moment she look into his eyes, her resolve will dissolve just like ice under the unforgiving heat of the afternoon sun. "Look at me Hermione" He said gently as he tipped her chin to look up at him. "Why did you leave me?"

'To save you' was the answer left on the tip of her tongue and instead she voiced, "It's over Draco. I don't want you here. Go back to your home and to your father, it is where you belong."

No Draco, don't leave me…

He just stared at her for the longest time.

"No." was his only answer and Hermione could only take so much and she snapped, "What the bloody hell did you just mean with that? Can't you answer in sentences because really that wasn't even a decent answer!"

Draco just continued staring at her as if she didn't just had a little outburst at him, taking a deep breath he started, "Of course you don't want me to be here, you need me to be with you as much as I need you to be by my side always. I'm at home whenever I'm with you and it is where I belong not anywhere else." And slowly, taking his time, so she have time to pull away if she wishes to, he leaned into her and he stop at just hairbreadths' distance, and who is Hermione to resist a welcome temptation when it hits her face on?

She closed the millimeter gap between them and kissed him with all the passion she has, all the bottled up emotions within her and the other things that plagues her. Draco answered the kiss fiercely. There was a bit of anger with her leaving him behind, bliss on seeing her again, possessiveness that he'll never let her leave him behind ever again and a passionate assurance that everything would turn out all right in the end.

And as they pulled away for air Draco was the first to recover and said to the still dazed Hermione, "It was my father, right." It was a statement, not a question, he was sure that it was his father scheming and manipulative ways that almost caused him Hermione. He saw her nod her head to confirm what he already know.

With eyes tearing up she looked up at him and meet his gaze "H-he said I'm not w- worthy of you… That h- he'll make it v-very hard for the both of us if we conti-"

"Bloody hell Granger! You're HERMIONE BOOKWORM GRANGER! You help take down a dark lord and you turn tail at my father's words? My father can shove it to his arse! I don't bloody care about what craps he said!"

Wiping her tears away with his thumb, he smiled at her and in a gentler tone, "Hermione, you're going to be with me, not my father. Don't let what he says get into you." And with a more solemn expression, he took hold of Hermione's shoulder. "Honestly, you wound me Granger, running away like that…"

"What would you have me do?" She asked him, honestly having no idea whatsoever on what do. Her practical mind is screaming at her to let go of him, to save them the hardship and to take Malfoy senior's words to the heart, but then again, her heart is screaming at her to fight and see it to the very end.

'Effin bleeding Griffindor heart…

Draco just smiled down at her and looking around, making sure that no one was looking, he apparated them to 12 Grimmauld Place's Garden. Hermione planted some roses, orchids and various herbs in the once barren garden, it was nothing compared to the extravagant beauty of the Malfoy garden but its simplicity appealed more to him.

Smiling that charming smile of his that could easily make a female student back on his Hogwarts' days stare for hours on end and walk straight into a wall he said, "Fight for me."

A/N: So what do you think? Thank you for taking the time to read my fic and it would be nice if you could leave some reviews so that I'll know what you think about it. I'll try to reply to the reviewers. Don't flame please, that's just rude. Constructive criticism would be helpful, nice comments are really welcomed and so are suggestions, don't want some writer's block, it takes me an awful long amount of time to overcome that…

Tune in for the next chapter^^!