Author's note: I own neither Hermione Granger nor Draco Malfoy. They belong to the brilliant JKR.
Something quick.
Reviews are lovely. Ok.
Why does Hermione Granger stay with Draco Malfoy?
Well, that's easy: The sex is fantastic. Really. Like, chocolate and champagne fantastic.
But besides the sex, the food is delectable. Granted, he can't cook to save his life and she can't do much better, but he is rich and as she quickly learned, wealth buys a better brand of take-out.
And besides the food, the arguments are stimulating. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of keeping one's mind sharp, and their witty rapport brightens her brains on even the dullest days.
And besides the arguments, the books he has are astounding. Some are older than years and words and are just spells pressed between blank and molding pages. You cannot doubt magic like that.
And besides the books, the occasional gesture of affection makes her weak in the knees. He does not much care to show affection openly, and so the lightning-strike brush of his hand against her thigh under the table or the fleeting squeeze of his arm around her waist while they walk down an overcrowded street causes fireworks to explode behind her eyes and her cheeks to burn in pleasure.
And besides the small gestures, the trust he has for her is overwhelming. He tries not to ask much of her, but there are times when he can only squeeze his eyes shut and press his face into her shoulder, willing the world away or back to childhood or flat or gone or just quiet enough to let him sleep. He does not have very high regard for himself, she knows. He has done Bad Things, and they do not leave him alone. And so all she can do is pray that an arm snaked around his shaking shoulders can be enough.
And besides the trust, there is some faint hope for a future she can't even begin to imagine, but sometimes when they are having sex (which is phenomenal), she thinks she can almost see something playing across the inside of her mind like a movie clip. If she believed in divination, she would call it a vision. It is an image of her and Draco and quiet nights with books by the fireplace in a house she can't recognize and their faces are old and their eyes are alive and any fool can see that they are in love and it's the kind of love that does not make much sense but happens anyway. But she does not believe in divination, and so she only calls it hope. And besides all the little things, there is always hope.
And hope is why Hermione Granger stays with Draco Malfoy.