I know it's not here yet, but MERRY CHRISTMAS! :D Or whatever it is you celebrate, I hope it's wonderful :) This idea has wondered about in my head for a bit, begging to get typed. Think Hermione just didn't wanna be hung over yet :P (If you do not understand that joke, read The Fake Wedding Date, that'll clue you in haha) But speaking of that, it's coming along, I may have it up by Christmas, if not I will try REALLY hard to have it up by New Years Eve or day, but there are no promises. So for now I leave you with this Austin by Blake Shelton inspired fanfiction :)
Disclaimer: I am not, nor will I ever look like, or be J.K Rowling. Nor am I Blake Shelton, who I believe wrote or co-wrote the song in which this fanfiction is inspired by, so please don't sue.
Hermione Granger sighed as she paced the floor of her muggle London apartment building in front of her telephone. Over and over she passed by it, over and over she stopped and stared at it, over and over she picked it up to call him up, and over and over she put it back on the cradle and continued to pace. She was surprised she hadn't worn a hole out in her floor by now.
See, it was 11 and a half months ago that Hermione had packed up all of her things and moved to the muggle side of London for the 1st time since she was 11 years old and got her Hogwarts letter. She stayed a couple of months in the Wizarding world after the war, but the pain of everyone who hadn't made it through it alive was too much to bear on her. So one day, without any notice, she left. She shrunk everything down that was hers and practically shoved her things into a suitcase and left once she was done. No floo call to Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna...
And she especially didn't wait for Draco to get home that day.
Yes, she lived with Draco Malfoy of all people after the war. Most people figured she would've stayed with either Ron at the Burrow or Harry at 12 Grimmauld Place, but she didn't.
The Burrow didn't feel like the Burrow anymore. A part of it was missing when Fred died in the battle. Percy blamed himself, Ron kept everything bottled up until he has a tantrum about it, saying how he wished he could've saved him, somehow. Charlie couldn't handle the thought of it, and much like herself, he fled back to Romania with the promise to Molly to write every week. Bill just sits around like he's in a dream, he goes to work when needed but other than that he's pretty much zombie-like. Ginny was upset about the whole thing, we know she was but like Ron she bottled it up and helped Harry get through everything. Once and a while though, Harry told me when she thought he was asleep she'd cry herself to sleep at night, whimpering her older brothers name. Arthur and Molly acted pretty much how any parent would when they lose a child. Although, Molly started watching George like a hawk whenever he was around. And George... George is the worst of them all really. He barely smiled anymore and when he did it seemed fake and plastered on so no one would ask him how he was doing, then there are the mirrors. Where mirrors were in the Burrow before, no longer exist. Having all been destroyed the night the war was over, he said he couldn't stand to look at himself and have Fred staring back at him.
12 Grimmauld Place seemed to get even gloomier, if you can imagine that. Sure, Harry took up residence in the old building along with Ginny, but even though Harry won the battle he couldn't help think about how everyone died. Chanting his mantra 'I didn't want them to die for me.' He still wasn't whole when she left.
Onto how she got to living with Draco, during the rebuilding of Hogwarts Hermione was signed up to help rebuild the Great Hall, along with Draco. At first, they behaved much like they had when they were going to school together; bickering 24/7, spitting names at each other. Although to Hermione's surprise, Mudblood, never came up once.
So after they got over the old rivalries and all that jazz, they found out they enjoyed some of the same things. Even owned some of the same books. Then while getting to know each other more and more, and working together everyday you could say feelings started to grow up out of the ashes and debris of the war. For both of them.
To say everyone was surprised when she suddenly moved into his new flat-he had recently moved out of the Manor, claimed there were too many hard memories inside to forget-was an understatement, and then proving to her friends she wasn't under any spell, curse, or potion was also a difficult task. Harry nearly blew a gasket, but that's just Harry... Imagine Ron's reaction.
Apparently he was still hooked on that kiss we shared in the Chamber of Secrets, even though he hadn't mentioned it anymore than she had at that point. She merely hoisted it up as a spur of the moment thing, a ' Holy Godric, we're alive!' moment if you will. Apparently he hadn't, which she should've saw coming. But oh well...
Coming back to the now, Hermione once again picked up the phone off the cradle it sat on but this time instead of putting it back down she dialed the familiar number and placed the phone to her ear.
After 3 rings her breath caught in her throat at his voice.
"You have reached Draco Malfoy's answering machine. Since you're calling this number and not using my floo network you're probably Potter, or Weaslette. So since you've reached my answering machine you've figured out I'm not home or am doing more important things than using a muggle device like this, so leave a message and I'll get back to you when I feel like it, or when I notice."
Hermione sighed and was about to hang up when she heard his voice let out a breath on the machine.
"But, if by any chance, this is my Lion cub, I still love you."
Hermione didn't have to hang up the phone because it slipped from her grip and fell to floor.
3 days later, Hermione found herself pacing in front of her phone yet again with his words running through her mind.
"But, if by any chance, this is my Lion cub, I still love you."
Godric, she left practically a year ago and he was putting that on his answering machine? She ran away from a guy who would put that on his answering machine, for anyone and everyone to hear.
Not to be cheesy, but as Hermione thought about it over the past 3 days, one thought kept reoccurring.
'He still loves me.'
Thinking about it again lit a smile across her features, and on impulse she grabbed the phone and dialed his number once again.
After ring one, her nerves hit her hard. She didn't have any idea what to say to him, it had been almost a year after all. Just because that was on his answering machine doesn't mean he meant it, who know when he recorded that.
After ring two, her anxiety kicked in. What if he didn't love her anymore? She'd seem like such a fool calling him after all these months and not even being able to get by the 'hi, how are ya's'. He probably recorded that message a couple of weeks after she left and he just never got around to changing it.
After ring 3, she was about to hang up but his voice broke the silence on the other side. Once again cutting off her air supply.
"You have reached Draco Malfoy's answering machine. If today is Friday then you're out of luck because I've gone to a Quidditch match with one Harry Potter. If today is Saturday then you're still out of luck because I'm once again out with Potter, it's sad how much of my time he gets really. So leave a message and I'll get to it when I can, which should be Sunday, Potter's finally leaving my side then."
Hermione waited a couple more seconds and once again, she was met with his breath in her ear on the machine.
"I can't believe I'm still doing this, guess she turned me into a sucker." She heard him chuckle lightly which caused her to smile before he went on. "But if this is my Lion cub, I still love you."
Hermione released her breath before she did the bravest thing she's done since she moved back to muggle London; she left her number.
Draco Malfoy sat himself down on his couch after pouring himself a glass of Firewhiskey. Taking a sip of it he shook his head as he thought back to where he just came from, of all places.
Can you guess? Bet you can't.
Draco sodding Malfoy, just came from Sunday lunch at the Burrow. That's right, the one and only Weasley Burrow.
I believe I just saw some people faint, and pictured Lucius Malfoy rolling around his grave.
Yes his father was dead, was sent to Azkaban and received deadliest kiss of all time, worse than one from a certain Parkinson. His mother however, still lived in the Manor which was now newly decorated. When he had asked why, Narcissa responded, "The same reason you moved out, too many bad memories."
But honestly, if you would've told him a couple years ago that he'd willingly go to the Burrow to see the Weasley's and Potter, let's say you'd be mentioned for a certain You-Know-Who's Avada list. Or at least dear Aunt Bella's Crucio list.
Draco smirked at the way she went out the world. At the hands of none other than Mrs. Weasley. He hadn't actually been there, but Ginny told the story well enough not to mentioned showed him in his personal pensieve. He himself also learned not to be on the receiving end on Molly Weasley's wand, or to do anything to have it aimed at you in the first place.
He still couldn't believe he was friends with them, he never expected in a million years he'd even be acquaintances with them, let alone friends. But, he owed that to one witch in particular. His 'Lion cub' as he liked to call her.
He sighed as his mind went to the memories they had together, the better ones after the war was over. Although, sometimes her punch in their 3rd year entered his mind on it's own.
One day he had came home from taking care of some business in the Ministry to an empty flat. Everything that was hers was entirely gone, and there was no note anywhere. Usually she left one, but she hadn't. Not even with Potter, any of the Weasley's, hell, he even checked with Looney Lovegood, but she hadn't even realized she had up and left either.
Hermione Granger, had disappeared from the Wizarding world without so much as a floo call.
How does that even happen to one third of the Golden Trio? He had questioned anyone who was close to her, he even asked that stupid Rita Skeeter. Big mistake that was because the next day there were rumors that Hermione had run off with a secret lover, among other things that were rumored about her.
But no matter who he asked, nobody knew where Hermione had went to. Then one night, much like this one where he sipped at Firewhiskey on his couch it dawned on him.
She had probably gone back to the muggle side of London. She talked about going back, but he never thought she would because she always talked herself out of it. Saying that she was too intertwined into the magical world to leave it behind.
Well apparently she had, and for a good while too.
Downing what was left of his drink, he got up to put his glass in the kitchen sink when he noticed his answering machine blinking '02' over and over.
Groaning, he made his way over and pressed the play button.
"It's Ginny, you better not be late today for lunch Ferret-face." He smirked at her nickname for him, it's all fair, since he hadn't dropped Weaslette. Pressing delete he closed his eyes as he waited for the next one to play.
And when it did his glass fell out of his hand and smashed to the ground and his eyes snapped open and watched the machine like it suddenly grew legs.
There was no name, but he knew that voice anywhere. It haunted his sweetest of dreams, and his naughtiest if he wanted to be truthful.
Muttering a quick and wandless Reparo, the pieces of the cup flew together and landed on the table like it had never been smashed as he frantically dialed the phone number he had just heard.
After 3 rings, he heard her voice for the first time in almost a year.
"You have reached Hermione Granger, one third of the wizarding worlds Golden Trio and Draco Malfoy's Lion Cub. So if you're calling to know about my heart, believe me, it's still yours." He smiled and stayed quieted to listen if there was anymore. There was.
"And by the way this isn't a machine you're talking to."
In that moment, Draco could've swore he felt his heart stop.
"M-Mione?"
There was a click on the other end of the line, then the busy signal sounded. Just as he was about to start to belt out every curse word known to man, woman, but hopefully not child, he heard the familiar sound of flames behind him, and watched as the wall in front of him glowed green.
Slowly hanging up the phone and turning around, he came face to face with the woman he loved. One, Hermione Granger.
"Mione? I thought I was your lion cub? Or were you ling to everyone on your answering machine?" She smiled at him.
Before she could blink he had her wrapped up in his arms tightly, peppering her face with kisses.
"Thank Salazar Slytherin, you're back. You're here." He mumbled in between the kisses causing her to giggle.
"I'm back, and I don't plan on leaving again anytime soon."
"That's good, 'cause I wouldn't let you." He spoke seriously but she giggled more. He had the perfect way to make her stop though.
Placing his lips on top of hers, she immediately stopped giggling and kissed back. And by Godric's good name, did it ever feel as good as he remembered.
So there you go, you've read, now how about a review? :) They make me happy :)