A/N: This is my first fanfic, so please be kind. However, any reviews and feedback are appreciated.
Disclaimer: The rights to Harry Potter belong to JKR. This is meant to be a work of transformative fiction, based on her characters. I do not make any money from this work.
Summary: Fifteen years after the end of the Second Wizarding War, former Hogwarts' students are sending their own children off to school for the first time. As the train leaves, Hermione makes a startling discovery about her husband and the secret life he's been living. Draco witnesses Hermione's world shatter and comes to her rescue, helping her pick up the pieces and find herself again.
Pairings: Hermione/Draco, Ginny/Harry, Daphne/Theo, Tracey/Blaise, Greg Goyle/OC, Ron/Lavender
Warnings/Tags: Rated M for romance, eventual implicit/explicit sexual situations, mild profanity, mild violence, implicit spousal abuse. This fanfic has been up for a few months without these warnings and I haven't received any complaints, but I thought it might be a good idea to put this up just in case.
Finding Hermione
By: eBookDragon
Chapter One
The Betrayal
Sunday, September 1st, 2013
Fifteen years after the Battle for Hogwarts
Draco stood on platform 9-3/4 getting ready to send Scorpius off to Hogwarts for the first time. He was dreading it. He was afraid for Scorpius, afraid that the mistakes of his past would haunt his son as well, afraid of the labels and prejudices that would be given to Scorpius for being his son and a Malfoy. He would miss him being gone too. His home would be lonely without Scorpius.
"You're going to have to be strong this year. People will make assumptions about you because of me and I'm sorry about that. Just be yourself though and the people worth knowing will see the good kid you are and not just the son of Draco Malfoy," Draco stood facing his son with his hands on his shoulders. His son looked so much like himself at that age, same slick back, white blond hair, same gray eyes, and pale skin.
"Dad, I'll be fine and there's nothing wrong with being your son. You're a great dad to me and the people who can't let the past go, can sod off," Scorpius said defiantly.
"Language, son. If you need anything, write and let me know. Write even if you don't need anything. I want to know how you're doing."
The whistle blew and the crowded platform became chaotic as children rushed to board and load their trunks. Families were gathered around the train saying goodbye, children were leaning out open windows. It was time to let him go.
"Time to go, son. I love you. Be strong, study hard, and make good friends," Draco said as he pulled Scorpius in for one last hug.
"I love you too, dad. I'll make you proud."
"You already do, mate."
Scorpius broke away and climbed onto the train. He looked behind him one last time and waved before he disappeared. Theo and Daphne came up to him. Theo clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?" Theo asked.
"Yeah. I'm just worried about how he'll be treated."
"He'll be fine. You raised a good kid. Drake is there, so are the other Baby Snakes," Theo chuckled a little at their nickname for their group of children.
"Come over for dinner tonight, Draco," Daphne offered, "Spinner's End will be too quiet."
"Not tonight Daphne, but thank you. I'll be fine. It will just take some getting used to."
Draco looked out over the sea of families watching the train depart. He saw Harry up ahead, facing him talking to Weasley and her. He nodded a greeting to Harry when their gazes met. He and Harry had made their peace years ago. The Golden Trio had spoken up for him and his mother during their trial. It had kept them both out of Azkaban. Harry had even apologized for not being able to help his father too, but they had both known there was no helping his father.
She was there. Her back was to him and she was leaning on Weasley, but she was the closest to him that she'd been in ages. He'd watched her over the years as she walked by him at the Ministry or Diagon Alley. They had never shared more than a "Hello" in passing. She was happy with Weasley and he only existed as a part of their shared past.
She has no idea of his feelings for her, had never had any idea. He had been horrid to her in school, spouting that pureblood crap that his father fed him growing up, not really understanding the prejudice he had thrown at her feet. He had only been twelve and those ideals had been ingrained in him his whole life. By the time he had understood, it had been too late. She had despised him and he couldn't find a way to repair the damage.
He had been cast adrift in a world ruled by hate. He'd had to make impossible choices to save his mother. Choices he struggled and railed against. He had tried to find the light, to be what she deserved, but he couldn't abandon his family and kept getting pulled back to the dark. She had unknowingly ripped his world to shreds and he'd been left to find a way to rebuild it anew.
Being a father to Scorpius had given him a chance to be the man he wanted to be. He didn't want Scorpius to grow up the way he had. He wanted better for his son. He wanted to create a better world for his son to grow up in.
The train blew one final whistle and pulled out of the station. Draco stood watching his son being taken away, hoping that the year wouldn't be awful for him. Theo and Daphne said goodbye to him. He said goodbye distractedly to them still gazing at the train as it made its way around the bend and out of sight.
He was about to turn and go when he saw a little, red-haired boy break free from his harried mother and go barreling into Weasley screaming "Daddy." Hermione took a step away from Weasley, her back still to Draco. Harry looked shocked, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. The child was wrapped around Weasley's legs chattering away, completely oblivious to the adults around him.
The mother of the boy walked up with two other children, a young girl and a toddler boy, both red-haired. He was horrified to see that the plump, harried woman was Lavender Brown. She said something he couldn't hear to Weasley.
He heard Hermione screech "You bastard" loud enough for it to echo off the platform around them and break him out of his shock. He started forward and grabbed her around the waist just as she was about to launch herself at Weasley. He hauled her back and stood between her and Weasley.
She glared up at him. "Get out of my way, Malfoy. Did you come here to gloat?" She made to move past him but he put his hands on the tops of her arms, keeping her in place.
"No," he said quietly.
"Let me go."
"No. You can't do this in front of the children. Your daughter is standing right there." He nodded over to where Rose was standing, half hidden behind Ginny, "Hermione, I know you're furious. I know he deserves whatever you planned on throwing at him, but you can't do it in front of your daughter."
"I hate it when you're right, Malfoy," she said angrily.
"I know, Hermione. Summon your Gryffindor courage, take your daughter's hand, and walk away with me right now."
"Why should I go anywhere with you?"
"You saved me once. Let me return the kindness."
"Fine." She took her daughter's hand. Weasley was pleading with her to let him explain, but she ignored him. He tried to make a grab for her but Draco stepped in front of him to block her.
He got up in Weasley's face. "Don't touch her," he ground out, low and dangerous, "I stopped her from hurting you for the sake of her daughter. I won't stop her again. I'll even help her next time."
He turned and walked over to Hermione and her daughter, touched them both on the shoulder, and disapparated them all to his home.
They materialized into the foyer of Spinner's End. "Where are we?" she asked as she took in her surroundings. The walls were cobalt and light gray striped. The floor, staircase, and entries leading to various parts of the house were all dark walnut.
"Spinner's End, my home," he said.
"You don't live at Malfoy Manor?"
"No. I'll explain later. Come on. Let's get some lunch. I think your daughter may be hungry."
He led them into the dining room. The room was done in a similar color scheme as the foyer, solid navy blue walls with silver vines climbing up the walls, walnut floors, gray leather chairs, and a lighter walnut table that looked like it could comfortably seat twenty. Large bay windows covered one wall and looked out onto the lawn. Plates and food were set waiting on the buffet along the other wall.
"Expecting company?" Hermione asked.
"No. Tansy must have seen us arrive," he responded.
"Who is Tansy?" Hermione asked.
"Welcome home, Master Draco. Did Master Scorpy get on the train okay?" the subject of her questions walked into the room.
"Hello, Tansy. Yes, he's off to school now. Tansy, this is Hermione and her daughter, Rose," Draco said to Tansy.
"Hermione, Rose. This is Tansy." He introduced them to his house elf.
Tansy looked like many of her kind, large eyes, large bat-like ears and gray skin. Unlike other house elves, she was wearing a bright pink tutu, leotard, and ballet slippers instead of a dishrag.
"Hello, Tansy. It's nice to meet you," Hermione said.
"Hello, Mistress Hermione and Miss Rose. May I help Miss Rose get her lunch?"
"It's just Hermione and Rose. No need for the miss and mistress…"
"Good luck with that," Draco snorted. He had tried for years to get her to stop calling him Master. She always looked at him, said "Yes Master," then kept doing as she wanted.
Hermione ignored him, "and yes, you can help Rose. Thank you."
Tansy led Rose over to the buffet. He heard Rose speak for the first time. "Are you a ballerina? I like ballerinas. They're pretty and can dance pretty," she said. Tansy filled a plate for Rose and herself and sat down at the table together, eating and chattering away.
Hermione watched them in fascination. He watched her, trying to gauge her reaction. She turned and looked up at him. "Your house elf is dressed like a ballerina."
"She's free. She wears what she wants."
"You…have a free house elf," she said incredulously.
"I am not my father, Hermione. She also eats at the table with us as part of the family. She's family. I wouldn't have been able to manage the house and raise Scorpius after Astoria died without her help."
"That's very progressive of you. I heard about your wife. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you. It was a very, long time ago. Come let's get some lunch and you can pepper me with all those questions I can see swimming around in that brain of yours."
"I don't pepper.."
"You do. You're not the brightest witch of our age because you waited around for people to volunteer information. Questions aren't a bad thing."
They grabbed plates and filled them with salad and sandwiches. He held out a chair for her to the right of the head of the table. He sat down in his customary seat at the head. They ate in silence, listening to Rose and Tansy further down the table.
"Why do you live here and not at the Manor?" she asked after a few bites.
"Would you want to live there?" he asked. She shuddered at the question. "My mother has done a lot to redo the place over the years, but I had a hard time being there right after the war. All the atrocities committed there. I just couldn't do it. I inherited this from Professor Snape and decided that I would rather live here."
"Snape left you a house?"
"He was my godfather. I think he wanted me to have a place I could go to if I ever needed a home."
"You're a Malfoy. Why would you ever need a home?"
"If I hadn't been forced to save my mother, I would have become a disinherited, blood-traitor." he stared at Hermione as he said this, daring her to call him a liar.
She chose to change the subject. "You have a free house elf. How did that happen?"
"Tansy came to the door right after I moved in here. Astoria and I were engaged, the house was barely livable, and I didn't have the time or knowledge to get the house in order. I hired her on the spot. When Astoria died, she helped me take care of Scorpius."
"Mummy, can Tansy and I go play ballerinas?" Rose asked them as she came up to where they were sitting.
"I don't know honey, maybe…"
"She'll be fine with her," Draco said quietly.
"Okay, go ahead and play," Hermione relented.
"Are you done eating? Let's go to the study. You'll be more comfortable there."
He took her arm and led her out of the dining room across the foyer into his study. Double walnut doors opened into a room with floor to ceiling bookshelves on one side of the room. Across from the wall of books was a cheery fireplace with bookshelves surrounding it. A comfortable, sapphire blue couch with matching armchairs stood in front of the fireplace. Draco's large desk was near the large bay windows at the back of the room. The walls that weren't covered by bookshelves were sapphire and silver leaf print.
"Is every room in your house blue?" Hermione asked as she gazed around.
"Yes. Did you expect Slytherin green?"
"Well, yes."
He grabbed the decanter of scotch from the table and two glasses and guided her over to the couch and sat next to her. He filled the glasses halfway and handed her one. "It's scotch, drink up."
"I don't drink scotch."
"You just found out your husband has a mistress and pack of kids. I think now's a good time to start and it's very good scotch."
"Good point." She took a sip, made a face, then took another. She had turned her face away from him to stare around the room.
"You can let go of that Gryffindor courage now. You've been holding it in a long time. It's time to let it out." He reached over and touched her shoulder, gently massaging her. She turned to face him, tears running down her face.
"Why? I don't understand why he would do something like this? He had a whole secret family that none of us knew anything about. How could he do that to me? How could he do that to our daughters? How is it I had no idea? They had 4 kids together. I guess one is the same age as Minerva since they were at the Hogwarts train platform. How am I supposed to tell my girls about this?" she said, crying softly.
"I don't have the answers for you, Hermione. I don't know why he would go and create a whole other life when he had a beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters to come home to. As for how you had no idea, did he give you any reason to believe that he was capable of this? That there was something going on?"
"I'm not beautiful, especially right now. I'm all blotchy and blubbery. Why are you flattering me?"
He cupped her face in both hands and wiped away the tears streaming down her face with his thumbs. He held her face so that she was forced to look in his eyes. "It's not flattery to tell a beautiful woman that she is beautiful. It's just speaking the truth. Don't let anyone ever make you think that you are anything other than beautiful. Even when you've been crying, you're still beautiful. You've had something terrible happen to you that's shattered everything you thought you knew, and it may take you some time to pull the pieces back together, but that doesn't change who you are. You are still a beautiful, smart, and courageous witch, who is an amazing mother. Other things may change in your life, but those things will not."
Hermione started crying in earnest, deep, grief-stricken sobs. Draco pulled on her shoulders and Hermione launched herself into Draco's chest, wrapped her arms around his neck, and sobbed into his chest. Draco picked her up and settled her more comfortably on his lap. He wrapped an arm tight around her waist, rested his chin on the top of her head, and stroked her hair with his other hand.
It broke his heart to hear her cry like this. He would have given all the money out of his vaults in Gringotts to keep her from ever having to cry again. He hated that she was crying over Weasley. He was furious that Weasley had betrayed her like this. He regretted not fighting for her years ago. She wouldn't be going through all this if he had.
Hermione pulled back to look at him once she had calmed down. Draco tenderly wiped away her tears. Hermione looked at the large wet spot on his dark gray shirt and cringed. "I'm sorry. I think I've rather soaked your shirt."
"Don't worry about it. It's just a shirt." Draco waved his hand and cast a quick, wandless Scourgify on the wet spot so Hermione wouldn't be uncomfortable leaning against him. He gently pressed her back down so that she lay against his chest again.
"What am I supposed to do now? Where are Rose and I supposed to go? I can't be near Ron right now." She said against his chest.
"You can stay here for as long as you want."
She reared up off his chest to look at him. "You can't be serious. I can't stay here. What will people say? I don't want to impose on you and your life. We're not even friends." Hermione interrupted him.
"I don't give a damn what people say," he said vehemently, "and I'd like for you to consider me a friend."
"I'm sorry, that was rude. You've been so kind to both of us."
"Don't apologize. Please, say you'll stay."
"Why? Why should I stay with you?"
"You'll be safe here. Harry is the only one who knows where you are. There's no one here who's going to pressure you to do anything before you're ready or coerce you into making decisions while you're vulnerable. Your presence could never be an imposition. Say you'll stay, please. Say you'll stay and let me take care of you." He hoped he hadn't pushed her too far by asking that she stay.
"I can take care of myself. I'm not some damsel in distress."
"I know you can take care of yourself. You're the most capable witch I know. That doesn't mean that you should have to right now. Letting others care for you doesn't make you weak. Say you'll stay, please."
"I'll stay and thank you. Thank you for saving me on the platform and taking care of us and letting me soak your shirt."
They ate dinner together that night. He got to know Rose better. She really was an adorable child. She climbed up into his lap after dinner and politely demanded that he read her a story. Hermione tried telling him that he didn't have to but he waved her off.
He took them to his study and had Rose pick out a book of Scorpius's. They read together on the couch until Rose fell asleep. He carried her up to Scorpius's room and they tucked her into his bed.
"Are you tired or would you like to go back down and have another drink with me?" he asked.
"I don't think I can sleep yet. Let's go get sloshed."
He laughed at her answer. "Let's see what we can do about that."
They sat watching the flames dance in the fireplace, not talking. Draco had given her more scotch. He refilled her glass when she emptied it and refilled his own as much as he refilled hers. They were both a little drunk. Hermione was chewing on her lip, deep in thought.
"Tell me what you're thinking," Draco finally said.
"My marriage is over. I'm not going to take him back. I don't care what his explanation is. Explanation! Oh, let me explain away cheating on you for at least twelve years and siring four children. I don't need a bloody explanation," raged Hermione.
Good, the anger was coming. Draco remained silent and let her rage. Hermione had grabbed one of his silver throw pillows and was beating it with her fists. He had a feeling that it would never be the same after she was done mauling it. He didn't care. She could rip the entire room to shreds if it made her feel better, though he doubted it would come to that. Hermione would sooner rip her own arms off before she damaged a book.
"That bastard! Thirteen years of marriage. Thirteen years of me supporting his stupid Quidditch dreams after he decided that being an Auror 'wasn't for him'. I practically raised our daughters by myself while he was touring with the team. I guess now I know that he wasn't touring and practicing as much as I thought. I never once suspected that he would be out screwing around. Gah, how could I have been so stupid and blind!"
Draco spoke now. He wasn't going to let her blame or disparage herself for this. Best to stop it now before it got worse. "You're not stupid. Quite the opposite. He was your husband. You trusted him. You trusted him to be true to you. He violated that trust. It doesn't make you stupid for trusting him. You should be able to trust your spouse with everything."
"I'm going to hex his balls off the next time I see him and anyone else who gets in my way," she glared at him, knowing he had stopped her before from doing just as she threatened.
"Provided there are no children present this time, I may just help you. How about a nice Slugulus Eructo hex? I'm sure he'll have a fun time vomiting up slugs again," Draco replied.
"Don't make fun of me. I mean it."
"So do I. He deserves whatever punishment you decide to throw at him and I plan on throwing a few myself while you're not looking."
She smiled at that. "That's quite Slytherin of you."
"Once a snake, always a snake," he laughed.
Draco took the drink from Hermione's hand and set it back down on the table and his with it. "It's late and has been a long day. I think it's time for bed. Do you need a Calming Draught or are you drunk enough to sleep okay tonight?" he asked.
"I'm probably drunk enough to sleep through a parade right now. Thanks for that. I'm gonna have one hell of a hangover tomorrow."
He walked over to his desk, pulled two green vials out of a drawer, and handed her one. "Here. It's Hangover Cure. Drink it now and you won't have a hangover tomorrow." Draco drank his vial down and Hermione followed. He set the vials down next to the glasses. Tansy would clean it up in the morning.
Draco escorted Hermione up to her room and opened the door for her. Hermione hugged him goodnight as they stood just inside the doorway.
"Thanks for rescuing me today," she said against his chest.
"No thanks are necessary. I'm glad I was able to be of service to you. Goodnight Hermione." he ran his hands over her hair.
"Goodnight Draco."
He went to bed and lay there staring up at the ceiling. She was here in his house. Just across the hall from him. She was leaving that lying, cheating bastard of a husband.
