Prologue
Despite being offered a job in the Ministry, Hermione was determined to finish her education. Whilst Harry and Ron began their Auror training, Hermione returned to Hogwarts. It didn't come as a surprise to her when only a select few of her classmates returned. Many of them were still grieving the loved ones they lost during the war. Hermione was too, but she figured throwing herself into school would distract her from the pain she still felt.
When she wasn't in class, she was in the library; throwing herself into her studies. After establishing a routine for herself, Hermione was beginning to get used to the fact that she was alone.
She was thrown off guard when Professor Snape partnered her up with Draco Malfoy in Potions. As a Potions Master, Snape fortunately had a cure for snake venom on him when Nagini launched her attack. Unlike many others, he managed to survive the war.
As for Draco, after speaking on his behalf during his trial, there was no longer any bad-blood between him and the Golden Trio. However, despite accepting his slew of apologies, Hermione and Draco were not friends.
They had an understanding.
Hermione may have offered him her forgiveness, but Draco was aware that it wasn't synonymous to friendship. He respectfully kept his distance, at first, only talking to her regarding their Potions assignments.
But after spending most days together in the library, and unintentionally getting to know each other, Draco no longer knew where they stood.
He eventually invited her to eat with his friends at the Slytherin table. Unlike the majority of her house-mates, some of Draco's had actually returned to Hogwarts. Hermione politely declined the offer at first, but Draco remained persistent, and continued to ask her.
She eventually gave in, and ever since that day, she never ate alone again. Most of Draco's house-mates were understanding when they saw the Gryffindor sitting with them during meals, but others weren't as accepting.
Draco's small group of friends slowly accepted Hermione into their fold, while others continued to disapprove in the shadows.
Instead of spending her weekends in the library like she always did, Hermione found herself being dragged to Hogsmeade by Draco. At first, they went with Blaise Zabini or Theodore Nott, but as weeks went by, Hermione and Draco began going to Hogsmeade as a duo.
After weeks of rigorous Auror training, Harry and Ron finally managed to take time off to visit Hermione during a Hogsmeade weekend. They were taken aback when Hermione met them at Three Broomsticks with Draco Malfoy in tow.
Through her letters, Hermione had explained to them that she had grown close to Draco, but they hadn't taken her seriously.
Despite being uncomfortable with the idea of Hermione being friends with Malfoy, her boys were understanding of their newly-formed friendship. Harry even pulled Draco aside to thank him for keeping Hermione company while they were off training to be Aurors. It took Ron awhile to come around, but that was to be expected. Harry and Ron still harbored a strong dislike for the Malfoy heir, but sooner than later, he began to grow on them as he continued to accompany Hermione whenever they visited.
It became clear to the boys that Hermione and Draco had grown quite close. They saw how Draco looked at her when she wasn't looking; how the corners of his lips would slightly turn up whenever Hermione laughed. The look of adoration in his face whenever she flashed him her bright smile. They saw how much of a gentleman Draco was when it came to Hermione; offering up his cloak during a cold winter stroll throughout the village, offering to refill her butterbeer when he saw how much she wanted to keep talking with her boys, buying her favorite treats at Honeydukes when she ran out of galleons, and other things too nauseatingly sweet to mention.
It was sickening really. Draco Malfoy had a soft side? His ancestors were rolling in their graves.
Unlike his already dead Malfoy relatives, his parents were surprisingly more accepting of Draco's recent friendship with the Muggle-born witch. At first, Draco wrote in detail how things never seemed to change, and that she was bossy and infuriating as usual.
Narcissa and Lucius were more amused than angry.
They quite enjoyed the fact that some girl had their son so riled up. His parents soon noticed a change of tone in their son's letters. Instead of complaining about Hermione, Draco spoke of his fondness for the witch; her bravery, brains, and beauty.
However, unlike others around them, Hermione and Draco remained clueless about the change in their relationship. It wasn't until Harry had pointed it out during one of their visits that Draco finally began to realize his newfound feelings for Hermione.
It was when Hermione had run off to accompany Ron to Honeydukes, leaving Harry and Draco alone in Three Broomsticks, that Harry threatened to hurt Draco if he broke Hermione's heart. Draco was taken aback, and argued that he only saw Hermione as a friend.
Hermione and Ron had come back from Honeydukes, and wondered why Harry was laughing in Draco's face. But when they asked, Harry just continued to laugh as Draco's new revelation left him speechless.
Confident that Hermione would never feel the same way about him, Draco hid his true feelings from her.
He was doing a pretty good job at it-that is until they got into another heated argument. He had accidentally added too much lacewing flies to their potion. To be fair, Hermione was distracting him. Snape had given them an Exceeds Expectations, but Hermione wanted an Outstanding.
They were walking down the corridor as Hermione continued to ramble on about how he should pay more attention in class. She was taken by surprise when Draco had dragged her inside a hidden nook inside the wall, and snogged her senseless.
Kissing her, Draco reasoned, was the only effective way to shut her up. After thoroughly snogging her, Draco placed the blame on her, saying he couldn't concentrate whenever she was around.
Hermione blushed, and rosiness of her cheeks made Draco snog her even more.
Although their friends and family were supportive of their relationship, there were others who weren't so keen at their blatant display of inter-house relations.
Most of their classmates and professors watched them with amusement, but others were seething with jealousy.
Hermione and Draco were quite besotted with each other-it was clear to anyone who saw them together. Hermione was never seen walking the corridors alone as Draco always walked by her side, carrying her book bag as her dutiful boyfriend.
Whenever the weather was nice out, the couple was always seen under their designated tree by the lake. Sometimes Hermione would be reading, and Draco would just be watching her. Other times, Hermione could be seen playing with Draco's golden-white locks with her back against the tree, and his head laying on her lap.
However, when the weather was too cold to bear, Hermione and Draco snuck off to the Room of Requirement, and talked for hours in front of the fireplace that the room had provided them with. Sometimes, they even had a habit of eating dinner in there too.
Despite their new-found adoration for one other, they still argued. Quite often. Many began to suspect that Draco would purposely get her riled up because making up was always the best part of their arguments.
And they weren't wrong.
After every fight, Draco dragged her to their special room on the seventh floor, and proceeded to show his girlfriend just how sorry he truly was.
All was well.
The day before graduation, Draco went to Headmistress McGonagall to ask for permission to visit his family vaults at Gringotts.
He was gone for majority of the day, and this didn't go unnoticed by Pansy and her minions. It was then that Pansy decided to go through with her plan to break the couple up.
She somehow managed to convince Marcus Flint to drink Polyjuice to disguise himself as Draco. While the real Draco was away at Diagon Alley, Pansy's plan was put in motion.
Knowing that Hermione was going to be in the library, Pansy dragged Flint there, and proceeded to snog him against the stack of books. But to the unknowing passerby, it appeared that she was snogging Draco.
The devoted boyfriend of Hermione Granger.
Draco came back later in the day, with a ring safely tucked inside his trouser pockets. He was going to propose to Hermione after their graduation ceremony.
But Hermione was nowhere to be found.
When Harry and Ron suspiciously hadn't shown up to the graduation ceremony either, Draco deduced that they knew of his girlfriend's whereabouts.
He owled them relentlessly; begged them to tell him where Hermione had gone, and what he had done wrong to warrant this silent treatment.
Draco waited months for a reply, but it never came.
As he drowned his sorrows in Firewhisky, Hermione was hiding out in Grimmauld Place.
After finding Draco being unfaithful to her, she had taken solace in the Headmistress's office, begging her to let Hermione graduate a day early.
After finding out that Hermione was with child, the Headmistress reluctantly let her leave, knowing that the stress for the mother-to-be was not good for the baby.
Instead of asking questions, McGonagall handed her the pot of Floo Powder, and promised to have her belongings sent to wherever she was going.
Harry welcomed her with open arms, but he hoped it was under better circumstances. She told him about her pregnancy, and about Draco's unfaithfulness.
Hermione begged her friends not to retaliate or reply to any of his letters, but they didn't listened.
After months of listening to Hermione cry herself to sleep, Harry had sent Draco an owl.
You know what you did, and for that, you're going to pay. Pray to Merlin that we don't ever run into each other because I'm going to break you...like you broke her.
Draco had balled up the letter in his fist, hurling the glass of Firewhisky onto the wall. His mum came into the room, and held her little boy as he wept in her arms.
"Mum, I don't bloody know what I did." He cried out in frustration.
It was snowing outside when Hermione's water broke. Knowing that going to St. Mungo's was going to cause a scene, Hermione decided on a home birth.
After enduring hours of painful labour, Hermione gave birth to a beautiful blonde baby girl.
Lyra Sophia Granger.