A/N: Hello readers. Though it is two years later, I've decided to write the sequel to No Strings Attached. After all, it is Hermione and Draco -- they can't really live happily ever after, right? At least, not so early on in life anyways. I really do suggest reading No Strings Attached first, just so you know Draco and Hermione's history of how they came to be, but I wouldn't say it's crucial that you read it. I'm very excited for this story, I can feel the potential and I know that if you are a Draco/Hermione shipper, than this story is definitely for you. Happy reading!
A Fairy Tale Nightmare
Along the outskirts of London stood a tiny house, peacefully atop one of the many hills decorated with a thick, soft blanket of grass, inhabited by a couple who were such a paradox to the home they resided in. Although the small cottage lacked the white picket fence, the image of the home atop the hill plastered against the background of the rising sun made it look as though it had emerged from a fairy tale. The constant shouting voices inside, however, were the cause for the paradox.
"This has been planned for weeks, Draco!" cried Hermione Granger-Malfoy, pulling her robe over her nightgown as she followed her husband out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.
"I don't make the schedule, Granger!" said Draco Malfoy exasperatedly. "They tell me when to work and I do it, that's how it goes!"
"My parents took time off work so that they could come here and visit us," argued Hermione. "And you can't even get out of work at a decent hour on one night, just to be here to greet them with me?"
"I am not Head of my Department or Minister for Magic, Hermione! I am part of the Werewolf Capture Unit, that's all! The Head of the Department tells me where to go, who to restrain, and I do it; I don't ask questions, I don't argue, I just do it. How else do you expect us to earn enough galleons to be living in this fairy tale nightmare?"
"Fairy tale nightmare!" exclaimed Hermione. "What is that supposed to mean? You and I chose this place together, Draco! Is it suddenly not good enough for you? Too happy for you? Because if you'd like, we could send dear old Narcissa an owl and perhaps she'll extend an invitation for us to stay in that great old dank mansion of yours!"
Draco sighed. "Of course I like this place. I like having a place that's ours, just ours. This isn't even an issue. I'm not trying to start an argument here, I'm just telling you that I have to go into work and I may be home late. There's nothing I can do about it."
"You know, my hours are set, ten to four, five days a week." Hermione pointed out. "They don't ask me to stay late or come in early all the time."
"That's because you're only doing Auror training right now. You wait until you pass the training and actually become an Auror. I guarantee you'll be working more than I am."
"I thought you hated the Ministry of Magic?" smiled Hermione, pleased to see Draco so passionate about his work.
"I do," retorted Draco defensively. "But work needs to be done, galleons need to be earned. My mother didn't leave us a dime, it's up to us to set our futures."
Hermione smiled once more. She walked over to Draco, already dressed in his finest work robes, and slid her arms around his neck. "You're really serious about our future, aren't you?"
Draco looked down into Hermione's beautiful brown eyes. Even first thing in the morning, with the sun barely risen and her hair gone a strew, she still looked more beautiful than any witch Draco had ever laid eyes on. "You are my wife. I love you. Of course I'm serious about it. I want sons to be running around one day. I want the dog and the white picket fence and the picture perfect life, and I want all that with you."
Hermione grinned, trying to resist the sincerity in his grey, loving eyes that were threatening to create tears in hers. Instead, she leaned towards him and pressed her lips gently against his, with the intention of a short, sweet kiss. However, the moment their lips separated, they looked longingly into each other's eyes before reconnecting with a burst of passion as Draco allowed Hermione's tongue to slide passed his lips and begin a wrestling war with his own tongue. Hermione grabbed his hands and began walking backwards, pulling Draco towards the bedroom as they continued to kiss.
Draco, though still allowing Hermione to lead him, pulled his face apart from hers, and grinning, said, "I can't, I have to go to work, I-"
"Oh, have a little fun!" Hermione giggled, falling backwards onto the bed and pulling Draco so that he fell on top of her.
"Seriously, Hermione, I'm going to be late-"
But Hermione was not listening. She continued to kiss him, her hands reaching to undo the clasp of his robes and separate them from the rest of his body.
"Oh, what the hell," Draco grinned, taking Hermione's hands and forcing them to be spread out on the bed so that he was clearly in the dominant position. He leaned in and began kissing her neck, causing her to moan in a way that made his entire body tingle as it rubbed against her own. His hand began to move, tearing open her robes to reveal the naked body beneath them, making a quick stop to caress her breasts before continuing down past her stomach until he reached her very inner thigh, where he paused only for a moment. He pulled his face back so that it was only inches away from her own, and stared into her eyes as his fingers gently began to rub her clitoris, applying just the right amount of pressure so that he could see it in her eyes, the desperate attempt to stop herself from moaning at top volume. He could feel her wetness, feel his fingers slide down and into her opening with ease, feel her constrict as she clutched the bed sheets.
Draco could feel himself go hard, could feel the blood rushing through his penis as he leaned down and kissed his wife, then pushed himself into her and grinned as she screamed into his mouth, both of their bodies exploding with pleasure as his thrusts grew harder and faster, deeper and more in sync than ever before.
Hermione fought hard not to scream, tried to suppress herself by biting her lower lip, but Draco thrusting inside of her felt so amazingly incredible that she could not help but continue to scream, continue to moan while her nails made deep trails along his back. After quite some time, the two of them had brought each other to climax, causing them to fall back onto the bed, sweat dripping off their drained bodies.
Draco grinned as he looked out the window and saw that the sun had now completely risen. Between hard breaths, he said, "I really do have to go to work."
Hermione, attempting to catch her breath, put her arm around her husband's midsection and leaned in to cuddle with him, saying in a very soft voice, "I love you Draco."
"I love you too, Granger."
………………………………...
That was the typical morning in the Granger-Malfoy household. Hermione awoke with her husband every morning at five, then angrily thrashed around the kitchen preparing breakfast while the two of them engaged in an ongoing argument about one thing or another. The fighting never lasted long, though. Usually, by the time breakfast was over, the two would make up, sealing the make up with a visit to the bedroom.
It was love, there was no other word for it. The pair had been through quite a roller coaster together, from loathing each other for six years to being forced to cohabitate in the Head Dorm as Head Boy and Girl at Hogwarts school, to somehow, amazingly falling in love. It did not come easy, though. Many obstacles had crossed their path; Acelio McGonagall, for one.
Ace, being the first boy that Hermione had ever truly been crazy about, had caused a lot of trouble after Hermione had rejected him, including being the reason for Draco being suspended from Hogwarts for a short time.
Draco had also had a hand in damaging their relationship, though. He had unintentionally taken part in a plan concocted by Blaise Zabini that had the one goal of humiliating Hermione in front of the entire school so that she would leave on her own accord, purifying the school of Mudbloods if only a little bit. The plan worked flawlessly for Zabini, causing Hermione to accept an invitation to the most prominent wizarding school in all of London, Belle Straight.
She had only lasted there for a couple of months, though. Though Draco was constantly on her mind, she managed to make friends with a fellow student at the school, William Tompkins, who convinced her to allow him to stay with her in a hotel in the heart of France over the Christmas holidays. It was at that time that Draco traveled to France, intent on winning Hermione back. His mission had been a success; Hermione took him back, realizing that she loved him and deciding to give herself to him fully in mind and body.
When it finally seemed that things were perfect for the two of them, Will had enticed Draco into a fight, taunting him until Draco lost control and performed the illegal Avada Kedavra curse on him. After committing the murder, a horrified Draco and Hermione made a run for it, becoming fugitives only for a short time before Draco decided it was best for Hermione if he make a run for it on his own. It was not long before Draco was captured and sent to Azkaban, leaving Hermione to deal with the grief of losing her true love.
To keep herself busy, Hermione regenerated SPEW, the Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare, going on full force with the dream of creating a successful corporation out of it that would inevitably help the house-elves climb the ladder of superiority. However, in order to do this, Hermione needed to enlist the help of Acelio McGonagall, for gold purposes only. With her idea and his gold, the two of them managed to obtain premises for SPEW and began the work that would hopefully lead them to a successful career.
Ace's feelings for Hermione continued to grow, and soon enough they became overpowering and sparked a heated kiss between the two of them, which had only broken up due to the arrival of Draco, who had been released from Azkaban after his mother made a deal with Cornelius Fudge, Minster for Magic, stating that Draco had to find evidence to put SPEW out of business in order to remain out of Azkaban. Though he did not witness the kiss, he later stumbled upon incriminating evidence that Ace had drawn that clearly displayed his loathing for the corporation, but he had also seen Ace's Pensieve, where Draco saw the kiss firsthand from Ace's thoughts. Though he hadn't planned on destroying SPEW purely out of his love for Hermione, after viewing the Pensieve, his anger towards her and hate towards Ace caused him to go straight to the Daily Prophet with the evidence, resulting in the annihilation of SPEW, as well as Draco's freedom.
His mother, Narcissa, had immediately began planning a wedding between Draco and Pansy Parkinson, two purebloods, which Draco planned to go through with right up until the last moment when he decided that, no matter how furious he was with Hermione, he really did love her. So, after a quick chase, Draco and Hermione had finally been reunited and decided to marry at the wedding that was supposed to be Draco and Pansy's.
Since then, life had gone flawlessly for the destined lovebirds. Draco managed to fasten a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures as part of the Werewolf Capture Unit, and Hermione, along with her best friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, had followed their dreams of becoming Aurors and were now going through the training process.
Ron was the only Weasley child left living at the Burrow with Mr and Mrs Weasley. His sister Ginny, already a year out of Hogwarts, had fallen in love with Harry at the beginning of her final year (seeing as Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco all had to remain behind for one year due to their lack of NEWTs), and after dating for two years, Ginny decided to move into 12 Grimmauld Place with Harry. Even with everyone growing up though, they still managed to stay close with one another, though Draco refused to visit Grimmauld Place or the Burrow to visit Hermione's friends. He still hated Harry and Ron with all of his being, and it was impossible for Hermione to convince him to get along with them (or for them to get along with him, for that matter).
CRACK!
Hermione, who had gone back to sleep after Draco's departure, awoke suddenly at the sound of an Apparition, which seemed to come from her living room. She wasn't scared, at all; on the contrary, she yawned and pulled a pillow over her head, trying to go back to sleep.
Suddenly, there was a loud rapping at the door.
"Hermione, get up, we've got to go to work!" came the voice of her best friend, Ron Weasley.
"Yeah, we don't want to be late, it leaves a bad impression!" shouted Harry Potter, who had obviously Apparated with Ron.
Hermione sighed angrily, bothered at being woken up so abruptly. She admitted defeat though and got out of bed, throwing a housecoat on before leaving her room and emerging into the kitchen.
"Why don't you two practice your Apparating a bit more so you end up outside the front door and not in the middle of my kitchen." said Hermione grumpily.
"We're working on it!" said Ron defensively.
"We thought we'd stop by and we could all head to the Ministry by Floo Powder." interrupted Harry. "May as well all arrive together."
"Yeah yeah." said Hermione. "Give me ten minutes."
Twenty minutes later, Hermione was ready to go. Harry reached for the bowl of Floo Powder atop the mantel and passed it around, each of them taking a pinch. Ron was first to go, then Harry, then Hermione, and after a swirl of green flames, the three of them emerged out of the fireplaces in the atrium at the Ministry of Magic. The trio took the lift to Level 2 of the Ministry, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
"What've we got to do today?" asked Ron, shuffling together the parchment littering his desk.
"I think we're still doing research." answered Hermione, sitting herself down before her neat desk. "Reading up on the Dark wizards of the past and their techniques."
"If the Head of the Department sets us an essay on who we think was the Darkest wizard, who would you say?" Ron asked the two of them.
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" answered Hermione sarcastically.
"Other than him!" said Ron.
"The Lestranges." answered Harry darkly. "They killed Sirius. They tortured the Longbottoms. They performed the Cruciatus curse on about eight muggles before Voldemort was defeated."
"I think I would say the Lestranges as well." said Hermione.
"Being an Auror now isn't going to be nearly as exciting as it was back in the day." said Ron.
"And that's a bad thing?" shot back Harry. "I think we should be grateful that the Death Eaters aren't at large anymore."
"That's not what I meant," said Ron sheepishly.
"We've got loads of work to do," interrupted Hermione loudly. "So let's get to it."
