How We Fell In Love
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters… or else it would have ended differently… ^.^
Note to the Readers: This is my first story in a very, very long time! Please forgive my spelling and grammar errors!
#EWE… Here is how it really happened
Prologue
Ten years have passed since the Dark War and our heroes have been picking up the pieces of their broken lives. The war has left many scars. Some physical and some emotional. Now, it is time to reflect, and keep the past from happening again. The best way to do this? By teaching their children what happened and taking the final step in the healing process. Sharing.
Chapter 1
The sky darkened pretty quickly over what was once called Malfoy Manor. When Draco inherited the estate, after his father was sentenced to death by the Dementor's kiss, his first act was to rename the massive structure to Novus Initium. New Beginnings. Draco and Hermione had agreed upon it almost instantly. To the now happy couple, it symbolized a clean slate and hope for the future after a devastating war.
Hermione Jean Granger-Malfoy walked into her daughter's room and was unsurprised to see Rosalie reading intently. The room was spacious, and comfortable. It had a huge bookcase against the far wall, filled with so many books of every genre. Hermione had insisted that she have access to muggle authors and wizarding authors alike. Other than that, the room had a walk-in closet, a bathroom attachment, and was lightly furnished with a queen sized bed and a dresser. The walls were decorated with Rosalie's own paintings of famous scenes from her books.
The middle-aged woman leaned against the door jamb for a few moments lost in thought. Her daughter had grown so much in eight years! She mirrored Hermione's warm chocolate brown eyes, which complimented her beautiful skin complexion. Rosalie's intelligence was unrivaled, but that led her to a mischievous nature that could put Draco to shame. Her hair color was the perfect balance of the couple: loose curled sandy-blonde hair. She truly had the best of her parent's traits.
"Mom! You are doing the thing again where you stare into space!" Her overzealous daughter pointed out, while giggling. This snapped Hermione out of her reverie.
"I'm sorry, honey. You remind me so much of myself, when I was your age." She came over and sat on the edge of the bed next to Rosalie. She didn't see her daughter's delighted eyes at the compliment of being compared to herself. She was too busy reading the title of the book, A History of Hogwarts. She smiled to herself, "You know…." She paused reflectively, "At your age I did not even know about the magical world." She watched as her daughter's eyes grew wide in surprise. "Yup. Grandma and Granddad didn't even know about magic until I got my Hogwarts letter."
Rosalie suddenly had a million questions, but could only manage a statement, "You promised to tell me another story about your past! Please mum!" The shrewd little witch puckered her lip out and gave her mother an imploring look. Lately, Rosalie had been probing her parents and their friends about stories from their past. She was so curious, but for the survivors it was so hard to talk about the past. It still felt like a Band-Aid being ripped off.
Her look had the desired effect, though. Hermione melted instantly. "Alright. Just one," She said with a serious undertone, and then smiled and gazed back as if searching for the perfect memory. A flood of images came to her mind. She sifted through them and decided on one of her favorites. "Did I ever tell you that your father and I were prefects together in our fifth year? You know, of course, that our relationship was a bit rocky. We had only just started seeing each other and it had to be kept top secret." Hermione said with a hushed tone for effect, remembering the feeling of her heart fluttering with anxiety as her best friends, Harry and Ron, probed her about her whereabouts or when they mentioned Draco. "You know Uncle Harry and Ron never saw eye-to-eye with your father. Well," She thought about how she was going to phrase this, "I thought they had found out we were secretly dating…."
Ronald Weasley rushed up to Hermione, nearly knocking over her stack of books. She looked up bewildered, and after she saw who it was her gaze hardened. "Really, Ronald… do have a care. You almost ran me over! Plus, since when have you ever been in a rush to get to the library?" Hermione had asked perplexed. Before Ron could get out his answer Harry rounded the corner. His gaze found hers apologetically for the rant that was about to ensue. "What is it?" She addressed them both as soon as Harry was closer.
Harry looked like he was about to speak, but Ron pulled her a little too hard to the side and whispered in a very sharp voice. "We know, Hermione! It's ridiculous. How could you not have told us!?" His voice was so full of disbelief. Hermione's stomach lurched. Her cheeks were red, and she could feel her defensive nature starting to take over. Her heart was beating so fast, but again before she could speak Harry slapped Ron on the arm.
"Stop it, Ron." He said in exasperation. "You are doing that thing, again, where you scare Hermione over nothing big." He truly was ALWAYS playing mediator between them.
"How could you give 20 points to a Slytherin! 20 points! That is high treason!" Ron yelled angrily, ignoring Harry's warning. He spoke in his very thick accent, which made him sound like he was chewing his food. This was Hermione's worst pet peeve with Ron.
Hermione breathed an inward sigh of relief, but her anxiety turned to annoyance. She spoke in a very low and threatening tone, "Those points were VERY well deserved. He saved someone's pet from the Whomping Willow! Besides, if you treat them all as criminals, how will they become anything else than what you treat them?" Harry started laughing, which eased the tension exponentially; to Hermione's relief. She used this opportunity to make her great escape. "Now, I will see you tonight. It's our first meeting. Do not be late! I will get there early to set up the Room of Requirement." In a hushed tone she leaned in and whispered, "Dumbledore's Army will be a huge hit. Don't be nervous." The young witch clutched her books so close and practically ran away from them.
"My heart was beating so fast! I truly could not breathe!" She finished and smiled at Rosalie. Her heart was fluttering again. Before she could say anything else, she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She hadn't even noticed the very tall man, with platinum blonde hair leaning so casually in the doorway. His arms were crossed and he had his very familiar smirk plastered on his face. Hermione blushed looking at him. He was the epitome of gorgeous in casual black slacks, and a deep plum button up shirt.
"Just for the record… I thought it was extremely adorable that you defended me. That poor cat had taken a nap in the most dangerous sun spot." Draco laughed merrily and gave his two ladies a kiss each. "Now, Rosalie. I know this will be just as useless as telling your mother, but put away the book and get some sleep." Hermione stuck out her tongue and made to protest, but their daughter cut in.
"Alright, I will go to bed…" Rosalie dragged on, "If you tell me one more story!" Hermione and Draco exchanged glances and laughed softly.
"I will tell you another one first thing tomorrow, I promise." Draco said sweetly. He was clearly impressed by his sly daughter. "You are just like me. I had to use ALL of my charm on your mum." He winked and helped Hermione up. They both kissed her again, and turned out the light.
"Good night, honey!" They said in unison. Both of them exited the room and shut the door behind them.
Once they were down the hall and around the corner Draco pulled Hermione against him and kissed her deeply, tucking his hand in her soft brown hair, which was a lot tamer than it was in school. She quickly covered her surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck instinctively. "You are gorgeous in that black dress, my lady," He drank in her appearance. She was wearing a strapless, skin tight black dress, with a loose black school-style robe over top of it.
"You aren't looking bad yourself, my love." She grinned seductively, and traced her finger along his sternum; making sure to never let her eyes leave his. "Let's say you and I get ready for bed..." That was all of the encouragement he needed. Draco picked his wife up in one quick, effortless motion and carried across the house, to their master suite.