This story is based on Harry Potter written by J.K Rowling
A/N: Written for the quidditch league fanfiction competition.
Round 3- Truth or Dare
Seeker- Write about a buried Truth being unearthed after decades and its consequences OR write about a Dare that is unearthed and carried out after decades, and its consequences.
The day started off as a seemingly peaceful and relatively harmless day. At least, that is what a few certain people thought as they went about their daily life.
Hermione Granger going about her daily business as a ministry employee.
Draco Malfoy taking on the daily duties of a single father.
Last but not least, Scorpius Malfoy doing his daily activities. Which included driving said single father up the proverbial wall with his antics.
As Hermione concentrated on her paper work, she felt herself drift off in thought as she often did.
Why does this job have to be so boring? she thought. I could have gotten such a better job.
Of course, she never took that chance. She remembered the chance she had been offered almost ten years ago as if it had been yesterday.
It was just after graduating from their extra 7th year. She had gotten an owl from Kingsley, asking if she was interested in a dual internship for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It was the chance of a lifetime, and she had been ready to jump in with both feet. Her only hesitation had been about who the other intern would be. When she had asked, she had been told that it would be Draco Malfoy.
Her first reaction to the news had been to demand to be paired with someone else. However, sense kicked in and reminded her that just because she had an issue with her partner didn't mean it could be changed.
The choice had been simple: agree to the internship and handle being in Malfoy's presence for a long period of time, or decline the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented to her.
She had declined, taking the coward's way out for once in her life.
It hadn't been because of something as simple as house rivalry or all of the bullying. Not even because he had been a Death Eater.
It had been because at the end of the war, when all was said and done, she hadn't had a reason to hate him. He had proved himself in what little he could do to help them at the time, and she could no longer hate him.
Because of that, the hate hadn't been there to cover up what she had always tried to hide.
Almost for as long as she could remember, she had been attracted to him in some way. At first sight it had been his looks; however, his attitude had helped her push those thoughts away.
Over the years it morphed until it was unrecognizable from those first thoughts on his looks. Then, her feelings solidified in 6th year when they had seen him slowly deteriorate. Even so, suspicions and hate had helped to ignore the worry.
After everything they had been through, Hermione could no longer hate him.
Sharing an internship would have been too much. Her secret would have been out. Any chance of a possible friendship would have been made impossible.
Now, as she gazed at her mundane paperwork she couldn't help but wonder: would it have been so bad? Any outcome, aside from this one, seemed better.
She leaned back in her chair and released a deep sigh. An early lunch break was definitely in order.
As Hermione had this thought, a certain pair of blonds were thinking the same thing.
Draco, having had completed the internship eight years ago, was able to work mostly from home.
It was impossible to be at the Ministry and raise a son at the same. Thankfully, he was able to reach a compromise.
Just as he came to a stop in his work, the door to his study creeped open.
Scorpius poked his head in and asked, "Father, can I come in?"
Draco nodded and waved him inside.
Once Scorpius was seated, he blurted out his question, "Can we go to Flourish and Blotts? The new edition of Hogwarts a History has come out, can we get it?" He was bouncing in his seat, and Draco smiled fondly at his son.
He sometimes wondered where Scorpius got the love of books from.
Of course, wondering about books brought up the memory of a certain bookworm.
There was no way he was going down that train of thought, so he simply said, "Of course, son. We need to get some lunch anyway."
Scorpius pouted from his chair. "Can we eat after?"
Draco smirked. "No, food is more important than books."
The look on Scorpius' face showed he was inclined to disagree. Even so, Scorpius nodded a few moments later, and they got ready to leave for Diagon Alley.
As the Malfoy pair stepped into their restaurant of choice, Hermione stepped out of hers across the street.
She briefly thought of stopping somewhere before heading back to the Ministry, then dismissed the idea. She had to go back, eventually.
However, as she passed Flourish and Blotts she glanced over for a second, catching sight of the book displayed in the window.
The new edition of Hogwarts a History.
Just the sight of it brought back the nostalgia of being a first year, fresh and new to the magical world.
The urge to go in and at least look at it was too strong to resist. This was definitely worth putting off returning to the Ministry.
Walking over to the display inside and looking at just the cover brought back so many memories. The intensity of it rooted her to the spot as she simply stared.
Five minutes went by before she came out of her trance, finally deciding to crack one open.
Before she could even lift her hand, something collided with her legs and toppled to the floor from the force.
Hermione turned around to see a small boy, probably no older than eight, on the floor rubbing his nose.
Startled to see that he might be hurt, she bent down and asked, "Are you alright?"
He looked at her shyly. "Yeah." After a pause he continues, "Sorry for running into you."
Giving him a reassuring smile she said, "Don't worry about it. What had you so excited?" She took a quick glance around. "And where are your parents?"
He scrunches up his face, "Dad was taking too long so I went ahead. I need to get the new edition of Hogwarts a History, it's so exciting!"
She chuckled and ruffled his hair; he was about as excited as she had been at that age. It seemed like they had a similar love for books. "What is your name?"
He smiled. "Scorpius Malfoy."
Hermione blinked, she hadn't noticed it before but he did indeed have strikingly similar features to a Malfoy. How hadn't she noticed?
Shaking herself out of her daze she smiled back. "It's nice to meet you, Scorpius. I'm Hermione Granger."
His eyes widen in realization, and he squealed excitedly. "I have heard so many stories about—"
She held up a hand, stopping him before he got going. "It's nice to hear, but let's not talk about that." He agreed reluctantly, and she continued, "I'm here to get the same thing, so how about as a gift for such great conversation, I get you a copy."
His eyes a widened in excitement, and without giving him a chance to reply she stood up and grabbed two copies off the table. She helped him up, and they walked over to the counter to pay.
By the time they finished, it was almost the end of her lunch break.
They walked out front where they saw a slightly frazzled Draco walking over. When he caught sight of Scorpius, he sagged in relief, unnoticed if you hadn't been paying attention.
He picked up Scorpius and said, "You know you're not allowed to run off like that." He tried to use an admonishing tone but his relief was making it difficult.
Scorpius pouted, "I know, Father, but look, Hermione got the book for me!"
Hearing the name his eyes snapped to her face in a split second. For a few seconds they just stared.
Draco cleared his throat. "Thank you for keeping an eye on him."
Hermione smiled, and for a moment all of the feelings that she had kept hidden from everyone were as clear as day on her face. All you had to do was look. Draco was indeed looking.
He took in this new found knowledge in shock and surprise, surely she would never be that open with him, of all people. Couldn't be true.
And as fast it came it was gone, she looked away. "I better get going."
As she walked away Draco build up his courage. "would you like to get coffee tomorrow?"
She turns and smiles, "sure, owl me."
As she walks away she ponders the situation.
Her secret is out.
And she could really care less.
Because nothing could ruin her happiness at this moment.