A/N: Hi, you'll find that this fanfiction is way different from the other one on here. I am a Dramione fan and have been reading a lot of good fanfics recently. Made me want to try one out. I'm very pro-canon (if that's even a thing) and like to stick to how the books are. I don't mind bending some stuff though; it makes things fun. I thought Rowling a little too hard on Draco's personality in later life. Not how he was/is, just the comment she made about him staying sort of set in his ways and only changing a little. I think she's a little too resolute on making characteristics set, which is funny because a lot of her characters have many layers. I thought Draco showed a lot of potential in changing more than she had him change in the epilogue. I made this story up real quick, so forgive any mistakes with the timing and grammar. It's not finished yet, but it's not meant to be super long, so perhaps only a handful of chapters. Hope you all enjoy it!
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 1: St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
Hermione sat in the comfortable room that was in a building adjacent to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. She wouldn't have known, at least not more than three months ago, that St. Mungo's had other buildings for particular patients. She felt silly that the thought never occurred to her. Almost six years since the war had ended and she was still finding things out in the magical world.
She sighed, seeping deeper into the cushioned seat as she waited for the Mediwitch to come. She was one of the best, as far as Hermione had heard, to deal with this section of the hospital, so she felt she had nothing to worry about. Everything was going all right until recently. Otherwise she would have steered clear of coming to the hospital at all. She just wished she didn't feel so lonesome. Harry had offered to come with her and so did Ginny, but she had kindly refused their company. This felt too intimate and she wanted to be alone for the first appointment even if that made her feel lonely for the time being.
She sat up straight, determined not to let the past few months get her down. In the end, she was happy with the result and nothing would ever change that. There was absolutely no regret in her gut or conscience and, despite what happened that caused her to not be ecstatic, she was definitely overjoyed. It was a weird state to be in.
The door opened, making her jump, but that wasn't what made her freeze. The last person in the world that she had wanted to see had just walked in and, because he didn't bother looking up from the file in his hand, didn't even know who was sitting there. His blond hair caught the sun, making it lighter in some areas and the green cloak reminded her, as they had before, of when they were Hogwarts students, despite it being shades lighter than the dark green that symbolized Slytherin. He was saying something, but she didn't hear a word, too stunned to comprehend anything. It was only when he turned to face her, his once pointed features long since changed to match his growth into adulthood, and set his grey eyes, no longer holding any coldness they had when he was a boy, on her that he paused, too.
Draco downed a potion before heading to the next client, the headache making it hard to concentrate. They were less frequent now, but were still coming, much to his annoyance. He had woken up in St. Mungo's only about nine weeks ago, the place he had worked at for the last four years, really five since he interned one, and found that he couldn't remember anything of the last eleven months or so. It was infuriating to have to navigate his life with the patients that knew him and the people outside of work that he had also met.
He walked into a room where his colleague's patient was waiting, not bothering to see who it was since he needed to finish reading his client's current effects of the burns he had received from a particularly vicious Blast-Ended Skrewt. He didn't even know those things existed anymore since that Hagrid had, inexplicably, gotten Manticores and Fire crabs to mate.
"I'll be taking over for Healer Thisbe. She's recently retired and has recommended me to take her place, so I hope this isn't an inconvenience to you. I can assure you that, while I may not have been here for as long as Healer Thisbe, I am can provide as much—"
He cut off once he turned and saw Hermione Granger sitting in the seat and staring at him as if she had seen a ghost. She looked only a little different from the last time he saw her, which was not long before he lost his memory. She was now working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement after working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for three years.
His parents, his father mainly, had scoffed and complained about the laws she worked hard to draft and present to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, pushing for elf and, surprisingly, goblin equality, along with other creatures that she felt were being treated unfairly. He found that he didn't really have a problem with most of the laws and even admired her unyielding effort in it.
Since that horrible year in which he was forced to face how ridiculous his family's idea about blood and superiority were, he barely knew what to make of things anymore. He wasn't stupid and though he was on unsteady ground, he tasked himself to thinking a lot of things over and seeing them at face value. Himself included. He didn't like the coward he had saw in the mirror looking back at him. Couldn't stand it. He did what he had to in order to become someone that was still him, only less vile, less like the circumstances that led to that bloody war. He didn't want to be a vessel in which his father's old ideology had seeded ridiculous bigotry.
If he were being completely honest, it was not an easy road and it was very hard to overcome some of the prejudices that had been drilled in him since an early age. Over the years though, (because it had taken years) he gradually saw a lot of different perspectives and his values had changed as time went by. Researching his own family's dealings with Muggles before the International Statute of Secrecy was passed helped him change his views quicker than what he thought he would. It turned out past generations had frequently hung out with high Muggle society and were against the imposition of the Statute. His family made their fortune by Muggle assets and still had a hand in to this day, even though they would never admit to it. The first Lucius Malfoy had even wanted to marry the Muggle Queen Elizabeth I, for crying out loud. The information did wonders for Draco to accept Muggle and Muggle-borns. It also made him realize just how slippery his family was, even towards themselves, and for such a long time.
"Hermione," he said after the brief pause.
To everyone's surprise, Hermione had gotten in direct contact with the Malfoy family after getting into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement almost two years ago. It had taken the better part of a year, but she had stubbornly weaseled her way into the politics surrounding the Malfoy family and the Ministry.
His family was reviled by the majority of the Wizarding community partly because they barely escaped Azkaban, and they were struggling to keep whatever power they still had. They were very defensive when she had started enquiring about business deals and collaborations, but eventually yielded when they couldn't turn down the meticulous and near genius way she maneuvered the system. He was more willing to work with her than his father, seeing that change in himself and their society was inevitable and they had come to friendly terms, albeit after a number of months. In the end, with how much the Malfoy name rose again in the Ministry, even his father begrudgingly had to respect her and his mother even invited her over for tea, though he couldn't see how that was tempting, considering the location.
He took a closer look at her. She looked more tired than the last time he remembered her, but she had a distinctive glow about her. She had her dark hair in a simple yet elegant braid that had a few curls falling along the side of her face, which suited her quite nice. She wore dark jeans and a light jacket over a knit sweater that was a pretty blue and went well with her skin tone, reminding him of the Yule Ball. His grey eyes met her brown ones, which quickly looked away, before his gaze went back to her stomach, the glow making more sense now. She blushed when she followed his sight and pulled her light jacket around her, hiding her bump.
"Congratulations," he said, a little disconcerted at her condition. He had missed much due to the incident and wasn't sure how he felt about the situation he had walked in to. To him, it was as if she had become this way almost over the past couple of weeks, which was impossible, of course, because of his memory loss. It seemed that not too long ago she was livelier and frequently associating with the Malfoy family. Her stomach had definitely been flat, but those were the memories before he had woken up. He tried to squish the absurd feeling of jealousy and betrayal. "Is it Mrs. Weasley now?"
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"No, no," she answered in a small voice, "still Ms. Granger."
It was his turn for surprise. He also smashed down the elation he felt at the information. 'What's wrong with me' he asked, shaking his head in a minute way in an attempt to stop the ludicrous thoughts from creeping in.
Not wanting to make her more uncomfortable at her admission to being single, he finally opened her file, feeling stupid for not getting to it sooner and looking over the information.
"How are you, Draco?" she inquired after a few seconds, her voice louder than before. "I heard you had a run in with a previous…acquaintance and were in a coma for some time."
"Yeah, it was really unpleasant waking up with a massive headache," he answered, briefly glancing at her to be polite. He was happy he didn't forget how to be civil with others. His younger self would no doubt have added plenty of insults and would definitely not have become a healer. He was glad they had been on speaking terms before the time period of when he lost his memory. She had been one of the most stimulating women he knew that could keep up with his wit and keep him on his toes with the ideas she always had coming. "I can't remember the past eleven months, unfortunately. I'm not missing some big milestone in our friendship, am I," he asked playfully.
She laughed at that. "No, nothing too extravagant. We did get married, though."
His head turned so quick he got whiplash. He couldn't speak from shock, even if he had anything to say.
Hermione bust out laughing at his reaction.
"I'm joking, I'm joking!" she exclaimed through near tears of laughter. "I couldn't resist the temptation, I'm sorry."
Draco visibly slumped in his chair, his heart beating faster than he thought it ever had, including the time he had his wand turned on Dumbledore. For fractions of a second, he really had believed her and the thought of her being his wife, carrying his child, brought up unusual emotions he wasn't familiar with.
"Are you okay," she asked seriously, her laughter quickly abating when he hadn't recovered as quickly as she thought he would.
"I'm fine," he answered, giving her a small smile. "I didn't think we could joke like that."
"Hmm, no, I suppose you wouldn't remember. Can you forgive me?" she said, placing a hand on his arm, looking contrite.
"Of course," he readily replied, looking back at her medical file to avoid too long of eye contact and trying not to like the sensation of her small hand on him. It would be unprofessional of him to find her as lovely as he did. Though, to be honest, he had long come to terms that his teasing of her at school was actually a bad attempt at him trying to deal and hide his attraction to her.
He mentally chastised himself. This was Hermione Granger, the girl he mercilessly tried to bully at Hogwarts, and now soon to be mother of a child she no doubt was having with a man she loved, albeit unmarried to said mystery man. Even if something could happen between them, he doubted she would ever find his ex-Death Eater and previous cowardly self remotely attractive. But if that Weasley wasn't the father then who was, especially when she was having—
"Twins?" he asked, surprised even as he read her file. "Well, I suppose it makes sense since you're already showing as much as you are at three months."
"I'm really excited," Hermione said, placing a hand affectionately on her swollen belly and smiling with such content that Draco wondered how she could be so happy without the man who did this to her by her side.
"We'll have to know details about the father in order for your pregnancy to go as smoothly as possible. I understand you came here after not finding adequate help in Muggle facilities?" Draco inquired, making sure to be professional. It wasn't his business to meddle in Hermione's personal life, though he did want to verbally berate the man who let her alone in her situation without even having the decency or intelligence to marry her.
The guy had to be a real idiot. How could he not see that she was perfect? She was a brilliant witch with an understanding of people's motives and personalities; a willingness to forgive past grievances, and fierce loyalty, bravery, and confidence. What kind of man wouldn't want her? She had awful taste in men. Just look at the Weasley who had a brain that only told him to eat whatever was in sight. She was too much woman for a guy like him anyway. She needed someone who could keep up with her on an intellectual level, if not an emotionally mature one as well.
"Um, he's a Muggle," Hermione said, avoiding eye contact.
Draco felt his head turn to the right in question. Did she think he had a problem with Muggles? Weren't they friends, a Muggle-born and a Pure-blood? He remembered his father being upset at seeing how much he and Hermione got along and challenged one another. Lucius wasn't a fool and knew his views on blood purity didn't fit in anymore. But he was a Malfoy, and Malfoy's were more than willing to change attitudes if that meant they would survive in their world in higher society. It didn't make him like the 'Granger girl' any more, however, though he did acknowledge that she was a force to be reckoned with, which was as much as an approval anyone could have hoped for.
"Is it possible to get any records or information on his medical history?" Draco asked. He was a Healer and he was going to make sure Hermione's children would be safely delivered into the world.
His mother could only have one child and that fact distraught her even when she pretended it didn't. He wanted to be a Healer when he was a kid, but his father soon rid him of that idea. Now though, with what happened in the war and You-Know-Who, his desire to treat others with ailments resurfaced. It was weird, now, how he once couldn't tolerate the touch of Muggle-borns. Or thought he couldn't. It really showed him how messed up his upbringing had been.
"Malfoy, I think I should get another Healer to take over. We're too close and it would just seem awkward for you to be the one doing this," Hermione said in a resolute voice. "I didn't know you dealt with this type of case. Do many Healers move around from one type of ailment to another?"
Draco didn't miss the use of his surname and felt his eyebrows knit together in a frown. Something didn't sit right. She made a slip that would have been missed by someone who didn't know her well, yet spoke volumes to someone who did.
"I'm the most qualified person in this hospital to manage a situation like this. No one has done as much research as me when dealing with possible childbirth difficulties. It's true that not too many Healers move around and usually specialize in one section of treatment, but I can address a number of injuries and maladies that may have to be cared for, including yours. Why don't we discuss this again when you come back for assessment?"
Draco didn't give her a chance to respond as he handed her a piece of parchment he had scribbled her next appointment on as he spoke, trying not to lose his temper. There was no way anyone else was going to take over Hermione's case.
His mother had suffered enough from her disappointments that he witnessed as a child and he wouldn't let others suffer through that. Especially Hermione; he would make sure of that.
He wasn't lying. No one else had done half as much research as he had on the subject of childbirth, even Healer Thisbe, though no one liked to admit that he was as good as he was because of his age and family. The stupidity of people never ceases to amaze him.
He offered his hand to help her up, pleased that she took it, and opened the door for her.
"How are you traveling?" he asked, concerned. He knew it was a stupid question, considering the person he was asking, but he couldn't help himself.
"I'm using Muggle transport. I felt it was the safest. Now don't give me that look, Draco Malfoy, I know for a fact that your family keeps a car in the garage," Hermione said, giving him a look that he had seen often in school when she was scolding Harry and Ron.
"How do you know that?" Draco asked, clearly puzzled. He never would've thought his father would let anyone outside the family know about the Muggle car he loved like a child loved their first broomstick.
"Well," Hermione started, clearly regretting mentioning the car.
"You're not getting out of telling me," Draco said, moving to block the door. How could forget such a thing? Well, he didn't willfully forget such a thing. Damn that Death Eater who had attacked him. His uncle Rodolphus, no less! He still had no memory of the attack, but his parents had confirmed it.
Rodolphus never got caught and he knew he and his parents had had no idea where he was hiding. Apparently he had kept tabs on them and didn't like, as far as Draco had gathered from his parents, their recent affiliation with Hermione. He had no idea how a fight between him and his uncle had come about, though. His Healer, the experienced Alden, had been adamant about him not trying to remember anything. He was hit with a combination of a curse and a Memory Charm and they were trekking unchartered territory. If he tried to remember, he could possibly forget other things or worse; fall back into a coma. Alden said he got off very lucky only being in a coma for a week and stuck in bed for another, to make sure nothing very serious was wrong. Draco silently agreed, but not remembering the better part of a year sucked. A year, apparently, Hermione had been a part of, if only for her job.
With Hermione being uncertain of telling him information about the past, he figured she knew about the risk of telling him anything, most likely courtesy of his mother.
"I'm sure this little piece of information isn't going to lapse me into a coma, Hermione. It's hardly anything to be riled up about, I'm sure," Draco said, determined to at least get a little background on what persuaded his father into showing her his car.
Hermione pursed her lips in irritation but told him what he wanted to know. "Your father and I were discussing business one day and he made a comment I didn't appreciate about Muggles. One thing led to another and he wanted to show me that he knew a thing or two about them, specifically cars. Then he called me a know-it-all. Well, not so blatantly, but close to it."
Draco couldn't help but laugh. He didn't think anyone besides Severus and her close friends would ever call her a know-it-all, especially his father.
"It's not that funny," she said with slight annoyance, pouting a little.
"It is if you know my father. He hates being proved wrong, and you've done that since we were in school. I guess he was happy he got an opportunity to show you up," Draco elaborated. "And he would never show anyone his car unless he really respects them. I'm happy to know he's coming around," Draco added, a little offhandedly and moving away from the threshold of the door.
"Really," Hermione asked, clearly surprised. Then she made a what-do-you-know face before heading out the doorway he had vacated.
"Oh, Draco, would you do me a favor and tell Mrs. Malfoy that I would be more than happy to join her for tea on Sunday? I would send an owl, but I think it would be quicker getting to her by you," Hermione said, adjusting her purse a little.
Draco was glad she didn't carry a bag full of books like she used to, though he wouldn't put it past her spelling her purse to fill it with loads of them anyway.
"Sure," he agreed, not so surprised at finding that she had eventually accepted his mother's invite for tea.
He sighed as he watched her go, dispirited that he couldn't remember anything about the past year. There were so many things he wanted to know, but most likely couldn't ask and expect an answer.
Apparently he and Hermione were close enough to joke and even his father seemed more familiar with her. He tried asking some things the past week, but his parents were hard to budge. He would have to speak with them again. Surely keeping things vague wouldn't hurt anything.
Healer Alden said to expect flashbacks but so far all he ever had were headaches. He at least needed some outline of what other's lives had been like for the past year. He headed towards Alden's office, determined to at least run his idea by the older Healer.
A/N: I encourage everyone to go check out Rumaan. They have a lot of Dramione stories and I did borrow elements from her stories, which I hope she doesn't mind. This fic came easy, so I don't think it'll take me long to finish it. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it, but I do plan on finishing so, if you ended up liking it, don't fret. I think I'm mainly going to be in Draco's head, but that may change. A lot of the information about Malfoy's family, in as far as dealing with Muggles, is on Pottermore and I used it to make his and his family's point of view what it is. I also didn't mean to be mean to Ron, it just kinda seemed like a thing Draco would do. Please review, if you would be so kind.