Yes, I Do

A Harry Potter Fan Fiction

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended and no profit is being made from this story. All rights reserved to J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.

Chapter One

"Oh dear me... Hermione! Why aren't you dressed?" Padma Patil's agitated voice filled the room. "It's an hour before our graduation!"

Hermione opened her eyes and saw that her friend was already in her black graduation robes. She groaned when she saw Padma rushing toward the window and pushing aside the curtains, letting light stream in in effect, which hit Hermione squarely in the face.

"Please leave me alone... Please..." she muttered before burying her head beneath a pillow. "I'm not attending."

"What?!" Padma shouted, and then sat down on Hermione's bed without any care at all, jostling the young witch. "Did I hear you right? You're not attending? Answer me this. Who's going to deliver the valedictory address, then?"

She got no response from the brunette witch. Minutes of complete silence passed before Padma heard a strangled sob. Padma gingerly shook her friend's shoulder.

"Hermione? What's wrong? Do you want to tell me something?" she asked, even though she had a nagging suspicion as to why her roommate was crying on what was supposed to be happy day.

"I'm okay. Just go, Padma; you wouldn't want to miss the ceremony," her muffled voice said without energy.

"Of course not. And so should you." The former Ravenclaw patted her friend's shoulder sympathetically. Hermione just shrugged her off and reached for another pillow to cover herself with.

Padma sighed. "Fine, I'm going." She hurriedly went out of the room, her feet knowing where to take her next.

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Draco Malfoy was adjusting his graduation robes, lightly touching the logo of the International Academy of Magical Law that presented itself proudly on his left chest, when he felt a tap on his right shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with Padma Patil, a classmate of his who was also graduating that very afternoon.

"What do you want?" he snapped, obviously not in a friendly mood.

"Hermione's not attending the ceremony."

He raised a light eyebrow at her. "And that should bother me because?"

Padma accusingly jabbed his chest. "Because you're her ex, you ponce. And despite the fact that you are a royal git, you are possibly the only person who could convince her to attend. You know what, I think you're the reason why she's turning on the waterworks in the first place," she told her in a hushed voice, careful not to let any others hear her words.

"It's not my problem anymore. And certainly not yours, either," he said coldly. "If you'll excuse me, I have a graduation to attend."

The blond sneered, and turned his back on her a second later. It really wasn't his problem that Granger was in one of her dramatic moods. He lost the right and the obligation to look after her the moment she severed the ties that connected them. She could throw herself off the highest tower that she could find; he couldn't care less. If she's wallowing in the misery that consisted of self-pity and regrets now, she deserved it. She brought it upon herself.

He heard Padma's sigh. "First class arsehole, that's what you are, Malfoy. Thank you very much for the great help. Now I'm totally convinced that Hermione did the right thing when she broke up with you."

Her words struck a nerve. Who was she to say that? How he desperately wanted to hex the witch into oblivion! Before he was able to decide on the appropriate hex to use on the impertinent witch, he heard her walk away. Draco muttered a string of curses under his breath, sighed, and then cursed some more.

"Attention to all graduates! You have half an hour to prepare and settle yourselves before the ceremony starts," a wizard in the stage erected for the event stated.

Draco craned his neck, looking for his mother. She waved at him from one of the seats reserved for the guests, located behind the seats that the graduates would take themselves. Seated beside her was his father, looking grim while he gave his son a nod. He supposed that Lucius wasn't contented that his son was graduating second in his class. He wanted Draco to finish first, but that wasn't possible when you've got Hermione Granger for a classmate, was it?

Also, beside Lucius sat Astoria Greengrass, his friend Daphne's younger sister. The young woman gave him a timid smile, and trained her eyes on her hands folded on her lap. She was every inch of a lady, and Draco happened to know that she was wife-material. His father said so; the older Malfoy wanted him to marry Astoria. Well, too bad, because he wasn't the same Draco anymore. He was done with trying to please his father. The day he married Astoria would be the day Harry Potter turned evil.

"Hermione Granger? Has anyone seen Hermione Granger?" he heard a law professor ask no one in particular.

Draco looked at the entrance of the hall, and then re-directed his gaze to his watch. Twenty-seven minutes left before the start of the ceremony and still no sign of Granger. He took his seat and assured himself that Granger would come. She was delivering the valedictory speech, for Merlin's sake. She had spent hours and hours on it – he knew, because she had bailed out on one of their dates just to prepare for it – and of course she wouldn't want her effort to go to waste, would she?

"Have you seen Hermione, Draco?" the Spanish witch Teresa Rodriguez beside him asked.

"I haven't."

"Well, aren't you going to check on her?"

"Do I have to?" he asked, irritated. What was with these people? He wanted to spell out to them that he and Granger were exes, and like most exes (not all, for there were exceptions to the general rule), they hadn't parted amicably. In fact, he was still angry with her. So angry. Very angry. And all their classmates should know. He had not been very discreet with regards to showing his animosity to her. Oh, Granger had tried to be friends with him, but that would only happen if hell froze over.

Teresa gave him a disapproving look. "If you don't want to, just say so. I'll look for her." The witch had already stood up when Draco stopped her.

"I know where she is. I'll fetch her," he said behind gritted teeth, hating himself for saying so. Once again, he found himself cursing. He cursed and cursed on his way to Hermione Granger's dorm room.

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After managing to enter the witch's dorm room undetected, Draco found Padma Patil sitting beside Granger, attempting to pacify the latter. When Padma saw Draco, she gave a faint smile and looked very much relieved. She stood up and the blond wizard replaced her beside the crying witch who was curled into a ball, clutching a pillow tightly, covering three-quarters of her body. Her eyes were closed, but he saw fresh tears making their way from her eyes to another pillow that supported her head. She was so absorbed in her misery that she wasn't able to notice his presence.

A familiar ache filled Draco's blackened – or so he believed – heart as he watched Granger. Not able to take the sight her so broken any longer, he lifted his gaze up. Padma caught his eye, mouthed her thanks to him and silently exited the room.

He and Granger were left alone.

"The ceremony's about to start, you know," leaning towards her, he whispered into her left ear.

Granger quickly got up, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously while wiping away the traces of tears from her face.

"Padma told me to get your pretty little arse out of bed and get you dressed." He heard her curse her roommate. "Get dressed, Granger," he said in an unaffected voice, deciding that putting up a cold facade was the best way of dealing with the matter at hand. Draco saw her robes hanging from a hook at the back of the door. He stood up, grabbed it, and threw it to Granger when he saw that she hadn't moved a muscle yet. "Don't make me force you," he added threateningly.

To his horror, what he got for a response was a sob, followed by new tears springing from the witch's eyes. "Fuck, Granger." He shifted his weight from one foot to another, unable to decide on what to do with her. He had never seen her this helpless. She was always vibrant, she was an optimist. She wasn't someone who could be easily reduced to tears. "Cut the tears, damn it."

"S-sorry," she said in a weak voice. Granger tried to stand up, but the second her feet touched the floor, her knees gave away. Draco hurriedly supported her; she held on to his shoulders to steady herself. "I'm really sorry, Draco."

He sat her down on the bed again, and he settled beside her. He had to, because his knees were threatening to give away as well. He hadn't expected to hear her utter his given name again. Since they broke up three weeks ago, he had stopped referring to her by her first name. She had also reverted to calling her Malfoy whenever she was forced to speak to him. Thus, he was taken aback when she called him Draco again. Suddenly flooded with fond, yet painful, memories of them together, he gripped the sheets of her bed as memory after memory attacked him. The night she said yes to dating him... the mornings he woke up with her beside him... the afternoon walks by the beach side... They all made him want to smile, yet at the same time, they made him want to smash his head against a wall.

She had offered to obliviate him but he had said no. Memories were memories, no matter how painful they were. Besides, each moment spent with the witch seated beside him was part of defining who he was. Two years with her changed him, though not all at once, but bit by little bit. Hermione Granger changed him. Because of her, he could say that he wasn't the same person as he was more than two years ago. He had grown to accept who he was and he had learned a lot about himself, all because of her constant guidance and appreciation.

That was why he hated her so much when she broke up with him one night less than three weeks ago. She turned his world upside down and intruded with every aspect of his life. She allowed him to become dependent on her for his existence and only to what, break up with him? And she hadn't given any reason, despite his attempts to make her spill one, fuelling more anger from him. She was cruel, she was evil.

He eyed the brunette beside him; she was doing his best to stop herself from crying. Against his better judgment, his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer. She hugged him back, burying her face on the crook between his neck and shoulders.

She was cruel. She was evil. Yet he loved – and still loves – her anyway. After three weeks of constant denial, it was time to admit it now. Seeing her so vulnerable encouraged him to take down his defenses and be vulnerable as well.

"What am I going to do with you, Hermione?"

Hermione just squeezed him tighter.

"Won't you take me back?" The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He sounded desperate, but he was just being true to himself. He wasn't angry at her, not really. "I can see how much our separation pains you."

She pulled away from him and shook her head.

"I'll beg, Hermione." It was pathetic, how fast he'd gone from hating her to begging her to take him back. It was unheard off of a Malfoy. Begging? His father would highly disapprove, absolutely. But Draco would beg. For the first time in his, he was going to beg. "I swear, if you ask me to, I'll beg. Just take me back."

He instantly knelt down in front of her, and a look of horror crossed Hermione's features. "Draco, no!"

He ignored her, and took her right hand in between both of his. "Please take me back."

It felt as though time froze when their eyes met. Everything around them dissolved when her honey-brown orbs connected with his silver ones. His contained his fervent hope to have her in his life again, while hers were filled with hesitation and something resembling fear. At that precise moment, all Draco could feel was the forceful thumping of his heart in his chest and the damp coldness of Hermione's palm.

It took forever before she answered, "No."

"N-no?" Draco asked, dumbfounded.

"No."

She withdrew her gaze and her hand, and then grabbed her robes. Hermione stood up while Draco was left kneeling, trying to contain himself as a new wave of pain rushed to him.

"You do realize that this will be my last attempt in fixing our relationship, don't you?" Draco asked a while later. He had already lowered himself, and he knew that if she didn't take him back now, she never will.

She met his eyes once again in his reflection in the mirror on the dresser she was using currently. She wiped away another tear before answering him with a strangled, "Yes, I do."

Draco laughed bitterly. "That was the closest thing I could get to a marriage with you." The witch wanted to say something, but he quickly held her off. "Do me a favour. Don't say anything. Let 'yes, I do' be your last words to me. Don't deny me that one tiny privilege, Hermione."

He held out his arms and Hermione hugged him. Her tears were soaking the school logo embroidered on his robes. "No more crying, you still have a speech to deliver later on." She looked up to him, appeared that she wanted to say something but remembered his request at the last second.

The blond planted a kiss on her forehead, a kiss of respect, love and despair. They both had their eyes closed, recognizing the fact that it will be the last kiss that they'd share. "Thank you for the two years with you," Draco croaked, already verging on tears. "Do your best."

After one last hug, Draco exited Hermione's room. He knew he was leaving not only the witch, but also his heart, his soul, and his broken dreams.

"I love you, Hermione. I always will until my last breath. Even in afterlife, I bet," he whispered to himself. Liquid streamed down his cheeks, which he quickly wiped away.

It wasn't the first time that he cried because of Hermione Granger, and he was pretty sure it wouldn't be the last.

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He named his daughter Louise Perdita. Her mother protested the child's second name, knowing what prompted Draco to choose it. But Draco had insisted, and all she could do was agree, or else she'd find herself without a husband.

In his deathbed, Draco had called Perdita to his side. He had held her hand tightly and to his daughter's confusion, his last words were: "Until now, I still don't know why she left me."

Chapter Two

Harry was poring over an Auror file when a shadow was cast upon the document, making the war hero raise his head up and lean back on his chair as he faced his visitor. Directly in front of his desk stood a very formal-looking Draco Malfoy, who was dressed in all-black attire and who was currently retrieving something from the inner pocket of his robes.

"What are you doing here, Draco? Don't you know how to knock?"

Yes, they were friends now. Draco's relationship with Hermione had made the former enemies see past their differences and get to know each other better. They had been reluctant at first, but Hermione was one persuasive witch. During summer breaks from law school, she had forced Draco on Harry and Ron, and vice versa, leaving the lads with no choice but to try to enjoy each other's presence. And enjoy, they did.

After Draco and Hermione's fallout, both Harry and Ron continued with their communication with the Malfoy heir without any objection from the brunette witch. They had organized irregular meetings with the blond since his and Hermione's graduation from law school almost year ago. Irregular because Harry and Ron had been caught up with Auror matters while Draco had said in a letter that he was busy with the family business, having taken the reins from Lucius Malfoy a month after he got his law degree. Harry suspected that Draco immersed himself in Malfoy Incorporated not only to fulfill his familial duties, but also to forget of his recent heartbreak. But he never voiced out his suspicion, because both Draco and Hermione had made it clear to them that they didn't want to talk about what happened.

Draco handed a lavender envelope to him and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"What the hell is this?" the raven-haired wizard asked as he opened the envelope and pulled out a rectangular sheet of paper. "Bloody hell, Malfoy, is this what I think this is?" His hands were shaking as he read the words printed in the intricately designed scented invitation. Three words caught his attention, and they were three words that made Harry want to punch the stupid git in front of him. He took in a calming breath as he eyed the words once more.

Malfoy-Greengrass Nuptials.

Draco Malfoy was getting married.

He wondered how Hermione would react to his piece of news.

"You're marrying Daphne Greengrass?" Harry asked instead.

"No, her sister Astoria." Draco's silver orbs met with Harry's green ones, and the latter made sure that his conveyed a message of pure contempt. The blond was first to withdraw his gaze, unable to take his friend's heated glare, and drummed his fingers on the table as he waited for Harry to say something.

"Why?" Harry asked, his voice rose a little bit. For the hundredth time, he was glad that, as the head of the Auror Office, he had his own private room. "And don't tell me you love her, you dickhead!"

"I do love her," Draco whispered as if trying to convince himself.

Harry laughed bitterly. "Why? Because daddy told you to?"

A pregnant silence surrounded the entire room as Harry waited for the blond wizard's answer. He stood up from his chair, taking the document he was previously perusing to return to the filing cabinet located in the area behind Draco. Harry had just replaced the folder when Draco spoke.

"I've long broken free from my father's dictatorship. It was my choice to marry Astoria. She would be a perfect wife to me and it doesn't hurt that marrying Astoria would bring in a huge amount to the Malfoy coffers."

"It's a business move, then," the auror said as he closed the metal drawer and leaned back on the cabinet, looking at Malfoy's back with piercing eyes. "What about Hermione?"

"What about her?" he asked rather hotly, not bothering to face Harry.

"Will you tell her?"

"You tell her, Harry."

"You're the one getting married. You should tell her." Harry saw how Draco's shoulders tensed at his words. "You owe it to Hermione."

"I owe her nothing."

Harry made a tsk-ing sound. "Still bitter about your break up, eh?"

This time, Draco had the decency to turn around and look at Harry as he said, "No, I'm not. I'm just trying to forget that I know someone named Hermione Granger. Not that I hate her. It's for my own good."

He took several steps towards the seated blond. "Frankly, you sound bitter to me."

Draco practically growled. "I'm not bitter." Harry was about to open his mouth but Draco was quick to say, "Shut up, Potter. Shut up if you know what's good for you."

"I'll shut up if you tell me what happened between you and Hermione. It's been almost a year yet all of us are still clueless about the reason behind your break up with her."

"Let's not talk about this, Harry. She's moved on. I've moved on. Discussing it will be absolutely pointless. It'll just re-open the wounds."

Harry shook his head. He tried his best. He did all he could since June of last year to pry the reason out of the former couple's mouths to no desirable results. They just wouldn't talk. "Fine, Malfoy. I really have to tell you my opinion on your upcoming wedding, though." He sat on the chair opposite the one Draco occupied and looked him straight in the eyes as he said, "You'll be making the biggest mistake of your life. And despite your claim that you've moved on, you and I both know you still haven't. You still love Hermione. I'm willing to bet my wand hand that you'll continue loving her for the rest of your life. You were perfect for each other."

Exasperatedly, Draco ran his hand through his white-blond locks as he returned Harry's gaze. "Let it go, Potter. Hermione and I won't get back together. I'm marrying Astoria a month from today."

"Maybe I don't want to attend."

"Too bad. I wanted you to be my best man."

Harry resisted the urge to laugh. Who would've thought that he would end up being Draco Malfoy's best man? "Fine, I'll go to your goddamn wedding. Why the rush, by the way? Is she pregnant?"

"No, she isn't." He rose from his chair and straightened his robes. "I'm rushing to finally get rid of Hermione's memories."

The raven-haired wizard almost hugged Draco for finally speaking honestly. "This isn't a very wise move."

Draco nodded. "I know," he affirmed as he walked to the door.

"You're making a huge mistake, Draco," Harry called out before the blond was able to leave. "You won't stop loving Hermione this way."

With what looked like sadness in his eyes, he replied, "I just don't care anymore."

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The news about Draco's impending marriage to Astoria broke the morning after the blond had personally delivered the invitation to Harry. It was front page news at the Daily Prophet. Malfoy was looking at the camera rather stiffly while his fiancée was lovingly gazing up at his face. Harry let out a sigh as he threw floo powder at the fireplace and called out the address to Hermione's place.

He wasn't the only one who thought it necessary to be there with Hermione when the news broke out. When he stepped out of the fireplace and into Hermione's apartment he saw Ron and Ginny sitting on the sofa, looking pityingly at their brunette friend who was reading the article on Draco's engagement. Harry took a seat beside his girlfriend and joined them in waiting for Hermione's reaction.

"Seriously, guys. You didn't have to act so concerned for me. I'm okay," Hermione said with a smile as she refolded the newspaper. "I'm over him. I promise."

Beside him, Ron and Ginny let out sighs of relief. "Are you sure, Hermione?" asked Ron. "I'd hate to leave you if you aren't feeling alright."

"Of course, I am. I'm the one who broke up with him in the first place. I'm glad he's okay."

Ginny rose from her seat and transferred to Hermione's side. "And we are glad that you're okay," she whispered as she hugged the brunette.

Hermione gave out a mirthful laugh when Ginny let her go. "You're overreacting, all of you. I'm fine, really. That established, why don't you go to work? You're running a bit late."

The Weasleys gave Hermione one last embrace.

Ron noticed that Harry hadn't moved from his seat. "Aren't you coming, Harry?"

"No. I have something important to discuss with Hermione."

Hermione and Harry watched silently as the Weasleys left though the fireplace. Harry watched some more as Hermione quickly grabbed the Daily Prophet and threw it in the flames.

"For someone not affected by the news, you sure are quick to dispose of the paper."

"Don't get started on me, Harry," she warned. "What do you want to discuss with me?"

He followed her to the kitchen where she grabbed bread by the counter and jammed it inside the oven toaster.

"I saw Malfoy yesterday. He wanted me to be his best man."

"Well, that was nice of him. Did you accept?"

"Cut the crap Hermione. You aren't fooling me. Also, you and Malfoy are fooling yourselves. He's still in love with you, for Merlin's sake. He's marrying the Greengrass girl to forget about you."

No one spoke another word after Harry's outburst. Hermione had her back to Harry as she stood in front of the toaster, waiting for the bread to be the perfect golden brown. The toaster dinged; the brunette got the bread out and laid the plate on the table where Harry had seated himself. Then, Hermione sat beside Harry and both just looked at the plate of toast in front of them.

The wizard couldn't take the silence anymore. He faced his friend and then held his arms wide open, encouraging Hermione to hug him. Harry saw her brown eyes sparkle with unshed tears as she looked at him, and when Harry nodded, she hugged him so tight that he had to catch his breath. He gently caressed her curly hair as Hermione buried her face in his chest, now sobbing quietly. They stayed that way for Merlin knows how long.

"Won't you stop his wedding, Hermione?"

"No, I won't. I won't go back to him, Harry. I want to, but I can't. And I shouldn't."

"Why can't you?"

"I can't tell you. Because if I do, you'll just come running to Draco and you'll tell him why I left him. And then he'll come barging in my life again and he'll try his hardest to win me back. I don't want him to go back to me, Harry. He deserves someone better than me. He deserves a life better than the life I'll be able to give him." Hermione let go of her hold on Harry and she furiously wiped the tears off of her face.

"You both love each other, Hermione."

"Merlin help me, but I do, Harry. I really do. That's why I'm letting him go. He won't be happy with me," she said determinedly.

Harry looked at his friend and, having known her for nearly two decades, he was able to see that Hermione had thought her decision over and she wasn't going to change her mind anymore. He knew he wouldn't be able to convince her to take Draco back. Hermione was a hard-headed witch, and once she has made her stand on an issue, she wasn't going to budge from it. Feeling defeated, he slumped on his chair. It was frustrating, knowing that Draco and Hermione loved each other but he could do nothing to bring them back in each other's arms again. Whoever said that love will always win out in the end was going to get an earful from Harry.

He sighed. This was what Hermione wanted, and he was going to respect what his best friend wanted.

"Tell him I'm happy for him and may he and Astoria be blessed with kids they'll shower with love."

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"Do you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, to have and to hold; and do you promise, forsaking all others, to cleave to her and her alone, for as long as you both shall live?"

Harry saw from his location that Draco closed his eyes. He closed his eyes for quite a while, resulting to a panicked look to cross his bride's features. Harry clenched and unclenched his fist and tried to restrain himself from pounding the groom into a bloody pulp. He could see the headline now: Best Man Kills Groom. But he was an educated person, and he wasn't about to cause a scene. He had promised Draco that he wouldn't. He had planned to stop the wedding. He really had. But Draco's words had prevented him to go on with his plan.

"I know you're a romantic, Potter, and you want your so-called love to triumph above all things, despite whatever barrier there is. But I'm asking you, Harry, as one friend to another, to not try to make me back out of the wedding. You and I both know this will be the best direction to take at this point in my life. You and I both know that Hermione won't be taking me back. She'd rather be dead first." Draco had laughed bitterly then. "I have accepted my fate, and now I ask you to accept it, too. This is what Hermione wants. Again, you and I both know that Hermione knows best. Always. Also, I ask you to be happy for me on my wedding day. I want my best man to support my decision, Harry."

He looked at the man who used to be his nemesis, the bane of his years at Hogwarts. He saw as man who had become one of his closest friends stood perfectly still, eyes closed, as the people around him await his answer nervously. Harry hoped that Draco would change his mind at the last minute.

The dark-haired wizard pitied his friend, and at that moment, he wished that Draco would be happy with decision, whatever that is. Everyone held their breaths as Draco's lips began to move, Harry included.

The blond finally opened his eyes, and looked directly at Astoria. However, it seemed to Harry that he wasn't seeing Astoria. He was looking at her, but he really wasn't seeing her. It looked as if there was someone else in Astoria's place as he muttered, "Yes, I do."

Harry was sure Draco was wishing that it was Hermione whom he just promised his life to.

Chapter Three

Only the sound of quills scratching against parchments could be heard inside the International Academy of Magical Law as students worked hard to meet their deadlines and review their lessons. Almost all tables were occupied, one of which was taken by Hermione, who was busy crossing out words from her already long essay and occasionally absent mindedly chewing at the feathered end of her quill. The term had barely started, yet senior law students were already given boatloads of course work.

A while later, a small square of parchment was pushed on top of the brunette's essay, causing her to stop her work and read it.

Would you want to get married to me someday?

Hermione let out a surprised gasp, which made classmates who were occupying the same long table look at her with query in their eyes. She quickly shook her head, signifying that there wasn't anything to worry about, and both Padma and Teresa went back to revising their notes. She turned her head to the left. She was greeted by the intent gaze of boyfriend, who was waiting for her answer. The witch quickly brought out a new roll of parchment from her bag and with shaky hands she wrote:

Of course. Someday. Are you proposing?

To which he replied: You'll know when you're being proposed to. You know I can do better than this.

P.S. I want to marry you someday, too.

Hermione glanced at Draco once again when she read his response. It was crazy, how his simple words made her pulse quicker and plastered a silly-looking smile on her lips. He returned her smile with a smile of his own, a smile which she had once thought she would never see on Draco Malfoy's lips.

Silently, his right hand reached for her left, and he brought them underneath the table, away from their classmates' curious eyes. There, he held her hand tightly, yet at the same time affectionately, and he tried to keep on an expressionless face as he browsed through a book lying open in front of him. She tried to follow his lead, but after a minute or two of struggling to understand a word of what she's reading, Hermione gave up. She squeezed Draco's hand in an effort to catch his attention. His silver eyes met hers, his eyebrow rose up inquiringly.

"I love you," Hermione mouthed wordlessly.

A tender look crossed Draco's features, and then he pulled her closer to him and planted a kiss on his girlfriend's left temple. She heard him let out a sigh of utter contentment.

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At present...

Hermione was woken up by the angry alarm of the clock on her bedside table. Groggily, she reached for the offending item and stopped the alarm, and once again lay down and stared at her ceiling.

She dreamt about him. For the third time that week, which meant that three times she woke up feeling like a thousand needles were pricking her heart until she could not take the pain any longer and and ending up breaking down in tears. Hermione reached for her cheeks, and true enough, they were wet.

She let out a frustrated sigh, after which she berated herself. It had been four years since their break up, three since Draco married Astoria Greengrass, and still here she was, crying over her ex as though they broke up only yesterday.

She was crying over something that she had brought upon herself.

She was pathetic.

Hermione took a deep breath. She had no business feeling sorry for herself. She did what she did for Draco's sake, for Draco's happiness, and she told herself to not regret doing something that ultimately made the man she loved happy, even if it was solely she who knew what she did for him.

She dragged herself out of bed and prepared for another day of feeling so hollow inside.

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"Merlin, this is hilarious," Ginny exclaimed, bursting out into a fit of giggles as she scanned the unauthorized biography of her husband's life. "I can't believe that this idiot called Harry a certified heartbreaker."

"You of little faith," teased Hermione, who was carrying an armful of books that she had decided to buy during their shopping spree in Diagon Alley. They were headed for The Leaky Cauldron, where both Harry and Ron were waiting for them.

"Oh come on, Hermione. You of all people would know how cowardly Harry becomes when it comes to women. You know what? I suspect this Avery Fletcher harbours a humungous crush on him. Read this line."

The two witches were occupied with reading a particular line about how handsome, charming and brave the boy-who-lived was that they were caught off-guard when a little girl came running toward their very direction. Hermione tried to swerve to avoid colliding with the child but her action was too late. The blond toddler with her hair in pigtails crashed into Hermione, sending the books that the older witch was carrying flying out of her arms. Ginny rushed to levitate them before they hit the ground but one book went rogue and hit the young girl in the head.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Hermione apologized as she knelt down beside the bawling child. "Are you hurt, little girl?"

The child just screamed in answer to her question.

"Geez, Hermione. Of course she is. She's crying, for pity's sake," the redhead said as she gathered her friend's books. "Where are her parents anyway? Why is she being left to roam around Diagon Alley at her age? What is she, around two or three maybe?"

The girl was still screaming and crying that Hermione did not know what to do. She was so preoccupied with the task on hand that she did not hear Ginny's gasp.

"Dear Merlin, isn't that..."

The brunette hugged the little girl in an attempt to pacify her. It worked. The child's screams ceased, perhaps because she was wondering why a total stranger was hugging her. Hermione stood up and craned her neck for any sign of her parents. "Where's your mummy, little one?"

The girl just looked at Hermione with wide eyes. She couldn't help but notice their colour. They were grey, much like the ones that haunted her dreams every now and then. She banished her unpleasant thoughts away and focused on finding the child's parents. Now finding comfort and warmth as she snuggled against Hermione's neck, the child whispered, "Daddy."

"Daddy? Where?"

Her tiny finger pointed to the right, and in fact, her father was rushing to claim his daughter from the hands of the brunette witch.

Hermione froze. It seemed like all her dreams came to life to haunt her.

Ginny saw that Hermione saw was too late to extract her friend from the situation. Ginny saw the panicked look that crossed her friend's face and thus, she chose that exact moment to keep her mouth shut. She edged closer to Hermione and laid her hand at the small of her back to offer comfort to her almost catatonic friend.

Hermione looked like she was ready to faint the moment Draco Malfoy reached them. It had been years since they last saw each other this close, and that was because both were skilled in evading one another and blanking on everything related to each other. So skilled, in fact, that the Fates had grown tired of hide-and-seek game that they were playing and decided to pick this day to make the former couple's paths cross.

With shaking hands, Hermione handed the child to Draco, whose face was a mask of indifference. He gave her a tiny nod of acknowledgement and then turned to his child, now scowling.

"I told you not to leave my side," he said firmly, although it was obvious that he had worried about his missing daughter. A lot.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," the child muttered, giving her father a tight hug and kissing his cheek. The scowl on Draco's face was erased and it was replaced by a look that Hermione was sure was a look of tenderness. Hermione felt a familiar squeeze on her chest, and she had to look away from father and daughter to hide her grimace. She felt Ginny's hand gripping her waist, wordlessly telling her to get her act together when the truth of the matter was, all she wanted to do that moment was to run away from them and weep in her room.

She hadn't completely gotten over him, and now that she'd seen him in the flesh again, it was like someone had cut open her wounded heart, sprinkled salt all over it and even sadistically poured a generous amount of alcohol on it. Seeing Draco again after all these years hurt that much.

Hermione looked at the pair again. Draco's daughter looked a lot like him. She had straight blond hair, hauntingly grey eyes and even her father's pale skin. It seemed as though Draco had no help from Astoria in conceiving the child at all. She was totally what would one call a mini-Draco.

Standing there, taking in the sight of the young girl trying to appease her worried father by hugging him with her tiny arms and kissing him in the cheek with her cute little mouth, Hermione couldn't help but think that this little lady could have been their child.

'Only with curly hair, of course,' mentally, she added.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Several years ago...

A hand stopped Hermione from reaching for her wand from the bedside table. Curiously, she looked at the owner of the hand and she raised her eyebrow at him.

Draco gave her a grin and planted a soft kiss on her lips before saying, "Don't mind casting the Contraceptive Charm."

Her eyebrows rose higher, for not casting the Contraceptive Charm after what they just did would equate to her possibly getting pregnant.

"I'd like to think that Draco the Second is growing inside your womb as we speak," her boyfriend added.

She frowned at him. "I'd like to think it's a mini-Hermione." Draco's only answer was to leave a trail of kisses on her neck. Several moments of contented silence later, Hermione asked, "Draco, are you sure? We're still studying."

"Yes, I'm sure. And we're graduating in a few months anyway. I can't wait for you to start popping out Little Dracos, love."

"Or Little Hermiones."

"Whatever. I just can't wait to be a father, you know. After the years that we'd been together, after everything you've helped me discover about myself, I can't wait to start a family of my own. I'm going to prove to everyone that I'm not my father. I'm going to prove to all the naysayers that I am much, much better. I'm going to raise my child and he or she is going to be a child raised in a loving family, a good family. For the first time, there will be a Malfoy who hadn't been linked to the Dark Arts and there will be a Malfoy who could honestly say that he or she has a family to come home to."

She looked at him with pride in her eyes after that impassioned speech. He was so different from who he had once been, so mature and so full of love that her heart was bursting with pride for the man that he had become. She told him so, and she had been rewarded with a lingering kiss on her lips, a kiss that was full of love, not only the love that he felt for her and also the love that he felt for the child that might be growing inside her.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A tear escaped from both her eyes, a tear which she discreetly wiped away. She looked at Draco and his daughter again, the symbol of the daughter that she and Draco will never, ever have.

"Thank you," Draco finally spoke to her, although he never looked at her. He was more interested in her shoes.

She cleared her throat and returned his thanks with a whispered, "You're welcome."

"We have to get going," he said to her and then turned to Ginny. "See you around, Ginny."

The redhead just gave him a nod.

Out of nowhere, Hermione remembered Draco's last request from her. "Do me a favour. Don't say anything. Let 'yes, I do' be your last words to me. Don't deny me that one tiny privilege, Hermione," he had told her. That wasn't the case now. 'Yes, I do' was replaced by 'You're welcome' and her shoulders slumped with disappointment at the realization.

Hermione had treasured her last words to Draco for the past years and this chance meeting had robbed her of those three memorable words.

In her mind, Hermione was already envisioning that she was locking herself inside her room and crying her eyes out until she had no more tears to give. She wanted to lash out, to break anything. It was unfair; everything that had once brought her joy and comfort had all been taken away from her.

Silently, both Hermione and Ginny watched as the Malfoys walked away from them.

She felt like bawling her eyes out right there and then. She took in a lung-full of air as she was afraid that she would suddenly pass out.

And then, as they were almost out of their sight, Hermione saw something. She saw something that lifted the heavy rock on her chest away and with a relieved sigh, she discovered that finally, she could breathe again. She saw something that reminded her of the reason why she left him. She saw something that made her breath catch due to the sheer beauty of it.

She saw him, Draco Malfoy, the love of her life, the one guy that was her many firsts, give his beautiful daughter a gentle kiss on the forehead.

All her hurts, all her regrets and all her doubts vanished after that. It was as though it was her that Draco had kissed seconds earlier. Her decision gave him the opportunity to be that happy and she knew she should be happy for him.

And indeed, she was.

From then on, she never doubted her decision again and whenever she felt sad, she just looked back at that breathtaking moment and once again, her whole world would be okay again.

"Are you all right?" Ginny asked her, after what seemed like an eternity.

This time, a huge smile was plastered on Hermione's lips as she told Ginny, "I'm more than all right."

Later that day, she went to Muggle London.

She still had that huge smile on her lips as she opened a door and was greeted by a dozen of faces, all of which were already familiar to her, having spent all Sunday afternoons with them for the past three years. One of them was her Aunt Hilda.

The door closed. The sign hanging above the door swung a little bit.

The sign read: Society of Cervical Cancer Victims.

THE END

A/N: As promised, I leave this three-chapter in this site as a gift to my readers. I hope that those who e-mailed me their e-mail addresses would find it more convenient that I have just re-uploaded this instead. Almost all of the addresses e-mailed to me were incomplete due to the formatting restrictions in this site and as such, I do not have complete e-mail addresses to send this story to. So here it is instead. And this shall be the only one re-uploaded for now. So sorry for those who wanted all my other stories. Enjoy!