NOTE: Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new story of heartbreak and happiness. As usual, I will be writing about Draco/Hermione. As you read, you will find the format a little funny because I have combined both the past and the present. But not to worry, if I am switching between the two I will be sure to let you know. It might be odd, but I assure you they have everything to do with the plot. :) Enjoy, and please leave me a review.
Chapter One
He bit into the blueberry bagel, eyes on the door. He knew she would appear any second and he did not want to be surprised when she arrived. He had a thing about being in control of the situation.
With his other eye, he watched Weasley warily twirl the wedding ring around his finger. He wondered if Granger knew. But why would she not? Though she had been avoiding the Wizarding community for four years now, she surely had not abandoned her friends, had she? Potter was nowhere to be seen and Draco wondered if that was making Weasley more nervous.
"Nothing's going to go wrong, right?" Weasley whispered to his wife, his voice loud in the quiet room. "It can't go wrong. Hermione might not be able to-"
"Ronald, hush. Calm down. She'll be fine; everything will be fine. You'll see." His wife soothed him. Elena Weasley was a sweet woman who worked in the Department of Care of Magical Creatures at the Ministry. When Draco had first met her, he had thought it unhealthy for someone to be so full of joy. But she was like the song everyone loved to hear no matter the mood, and eventually Draco began to tolerate her presence. Weasley had wasted no time in tying the knot, only after 7 months of knowing the lady. Draco had been invited to the wedding but had declined, fearing Hermione might have been there. Maybe she had not.
Eventually, the large oak doors opened and she arrived. There was nothing particularly amazing about her. She had a baggy, shapeless cloak around her, her hair was pulled back into a tight braid, and her skin looked like it had not seen the sunlight in days. The only thing that resembled the old Hermione was the determination in her eyes. Draco sighed, he had feared (and silently hoped) that he would not recognize her after these four years. But he did; he knew Hermione like the back of his hand.
2nd year:
"I didn't know anyone else read these," Draco said as he approached the ancient runes section, noticing someone sitting near the window reading the same book he was holding in his hands.
Hermione looked up with a smile that wouldn't soon be forgotten. She moved her ridiculously big hair and said "Hello-" and then noticed who it was. "Malfoy."
Draco himself was surprised to find bookworm Granger actually doing something he found interesting. He did not know she actually did normal things. He wanted to turn on his heel and find someone else to torture when he noticed a piece of paper near her. He picked it up and inspected it, ignoring her glare. "You did this?" He asked surprise clearly etched on his face. "You're a muggleborn; what could you possibly know about elfish and ancient spells?"
She snatched the paper from him. "I know a lot. I happen to think knowledge – and any type of knowledge is important."
She went back to her book and Draco left in a daze, frowning and wondering how a muggleborn could be so smart. How could she understand the power that knowledge led to?
He came back a week later with a piece of paper and a book in one hand. Hermione did not look up at him immediately so he had to cough to get her attention (as much as it annoyed him to do so). "I've been working on this," he said in his most I-am-Draco-Malfoy-and-you-are-not way.
Hermione wanted to ignore him, but it turned out he was not as dumb as he looked. And it turned out he actually wanted to have a conversation with her – which intrigued and weirded her out at the same time. "How long did it take you?" Hermione asked, noticing every detail as she flipped through his notes.
"I started this summer. It's only been a couple of months," he said watching the way her fingers traced over his writing. He wondered if there was really mud running in her veins. "And you?"
"Last month," she said.
Draco raised an eyebrow for there were at least two full pages of ruins Hermione had deciphered."Can I see?" He asked, referring to her notes. She obliged and passed them to him, eyes empty of distrust. He sat down at her table and they poured over each other's notes for at least two hours before Draco remembered Quidditch practice. "Are you going to be here next week?" He asked, noticing Hermione did not want to give up his work.
She nodded, turning a bit pink admitting, "I'm here almost every day."
He nodded, and for once did not take the opportunity to tease a Gryffindor. "You can hang on to it then, I can get it from you later."
Hermione's eyes lit up and she smiled. "Cool, thanks!" They met and worked together at least twice a month. Neither of them said much the first few days, but they enjoyed it. For a couple of hours a month, they finally found someone who completed and challenged them at an intellectual level. And for now, that was all they needed to be civil with one another.
"Malfoy," she said, nodding to him as she approached his desk. She looked at no one else in the court room and Draco could see Weasley pale.
After the war, Draco had found himself unemployed. He thought he would enjoy a break from life after two years of torture and war, but he felt as if he was wasting his life. He wanted to do something. So after completing a rehabilitation program, the Ministry decided he would be a good asset and gave him a job offer. For the past three years, he had been working to help people who were suffering from after effects of the war piece their life back together.
He was particularly involved in getting people rehabilitated with magic and to watch over spells being cast. After the war was over, many people became fearful of magic and some had denounced it. This had caused people to break their wands and cast spells that took away magic. However, they would soon appear at the ministry's door demanding a way to access their magic again. Of course the ministry could not bring magic back into a person if they had ridden themselves of it, so a pandemic had spread across the wizarding nation: mass suicide and death became common because people were in need of their magic. They did not want to live without it.
So several people had come together and now Draco was in charge of getting people acquainted with magic again, and taking away magic if need be.
The aforementioned was the reason Hermione was here. Though she had wanted to give up magic, she did not do anything drastic. She simply took an oath in front of Harry and Ron swearing to never practice magic again and gave up her wand to the Ministry of Magic. But today she had returned to get her wand back.
"Nice to see you alive, Granger." He said, shuffling around some papers. He expected Hermione to say something or even frown at him, but she stared at him unblinkingly as if she had not heard him. "Weasley," Draco barked at the red head. "Where is Potter?"
Ron shrugged. "I expected him to be here by now."
"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked, turning around and finally acknowledging Ron.
Draco sighed, and glanced at the clock on the other side of the room. "I apologize Ms. Granger, but we need both Mr. Potter additional to Mr. Weasley here in order for you to obtain your full magic again. Might I suggest-?"
"Why?" she interrupted sharply. "Let's just get this over with. Isn't having Ron here enough? Ron was there when I swore-"
"You denounced your magic in front of both of them." Draco said slowly. "Magic is not something that can be just tossed around. You cannot pick it up where you left off. For it to come back fully, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley must both be here."
Hermione glared at him but Draco's gaze did not waver. He had been through many people who were in a hurry to get their magic back and he knew how they wanted to challenge him; they would release all their pent up anger on him.
Then, the oak doors opened again and Harry stood there, his hair in its usual uncombed shape. He approached Hermione and stared at her as if she was made of disappearing smoke; as if he could not believe she was here. "It's been too long, Hermione." He said with his ever-present smile.
Hermione looked uncomfortable in his gaze and at this moment, Ron joined them. "We've missed you, Mione." He said.
Hermione stared blankly at her two friends. Draco thought this would have been a rather happy occasion but it was incredibly awkward. Potter looked at Hermione like he was afraid she would disappear, and Ron looked at her as if he had thousands of stories to tell her. Hermione looked like she wanted to run away. Draco wondered what had happened between these three.
"Let's begin," he said, saving Hermione from the awkward introduction. From underneath his desk, he took out the case holding Hermione's wand. He opened it but moved it before she could touch it. "Like I said, magic isn't something that can be tossed aside and picked up. When you swore to never use magic again, you broke your magic. It has to be mended before it accepts you again. You cannot have your wand back just yet."
Usually, this was the part where people stared at Draco like he had two heads and was speaking German. However, Hermione nodded like Draco was making complete sense. "So what do I do?"
Draco proceeded to arrange Hermione, Ron and Harry in a circle (triangle really) with Hermione in the middle. "Raise your right hand," Draco said and Hermione obliged, keeping her eyes on her wand. "Now repeat after me and really understand everything I say: I, Hermione Jean Granger..."
"I, Hermione Jean Granger, in front of these witnesses promise to reaffirm my magic. I promise to use it wholly and completely. I acknowledge that the magic running in my blood has never left me at all. I acknowledge that I damaged my magic when I swore an oat off of it. I accept it again, and in the future I will use it properly and wholly."
When she finished, Draco handed her back the wand and when Hermione touched it, they all felt the magic transfer between them. To everyone else it was a normal magic transfer; but Draco felt every ounce of damaged magic that entered Hermione again. It was very powerful and Draco swore he could see the color return to Hermione's cheeks. "We're not done yet, Ms. Granger." Draco said before her two friends could take her away. "There's some more to discuss regarding healing your magic. And it's usually a private thing," he added, eyeing the two men on either side of her.
"Will it take long?" Harry asked him.
"Depends on the person," Draco said while packing away his things. "My office is on the 5th floor and I'm only free until noon Ms. Granger. Meet with me any time before then." He said, walking away.
"Wait-" Hermione said before he could leave her. Inside he sighed, but he turned around with a pleasant smile plastered on his face. "I – um – I am free right now. I'd like to discuss everything right now."
Draco eyed her two friends and shrugged. "Of course," he said. "Follow me."
She did, and unfortunately Potter followed as well, close on her heels. "Hermione you just got back, don't you want to-?"
"Not right now Harry," Hermione said with a tight lipped smile. They were nearing the elevator and Draco thought about how awkward this ride up to his office would be.
"I know you want to get everything sorted out but Hermione - it's been four years. Four years. Ron and I have been worried about you. We thought you'd never even come back. Where-?"
"Well I am back now," Hermione interrupted as the elevator doors closed. They continued to have a hushed conversation while Draco examined Hermione from the corner of his eye. She looked nothing like the Hermione he remembered. He knew the magic that was coursing through her veins was probably weakening her right now but it was more than fatigue. Her demeanor had changed. There were harsh lines in her face and she couldn't seem to take that blank look out of her eyes.
"We're here." Draco directed, as the elevator dropped them in front of his office. He stepped in immediately but Hermione strayed outside, continuing her conversation with Harry before entering the office and slamming the door behind her. Draco raised an eyebrow but did not comment.
He led her to Anita Redid, his secretary. "This is Anita; she'll be in charge of your finances for this program as well as notifying you of your appointments. Anita, this is Hermione Granger."
Anita looked up suddenly with wide eyes. "THE Hermione Granger?" she exclaimed and everyone in the office turned to look. "It's so wonderful to meet you!" she said vigorously shaking Hermione's hand. Hermione nodded, pulling her hand away quickly. "You've inspired me so much for what you did during the war! I hope one day I can be as brave as you."
Hermione smiled, and looked to Draco for something to say. "Well I have various things to discuss with Ms. Granger, but she'll be back and then you can tell her all about how you named your daughter after her." Draco said, flashing a smile at Anita and walking away.
When he finally got to his office, he closed the door and sighed in relief.
"She named her daughter after me?" Hermione asked incredulously.
Draco scoffed. "You have no idea how many Harrys, Rons, and Hermiones there are running around in the world now." He shivered as if the very idea sickened him.
"I'm not that special." Hermione mumbled.
"What are you on about, Granger? You're a war hero. You and your friends saved the world." He said while rummaging through his briefcase and loosening his tie.
"What happened to calling me Ms. Granger?" she asked, ignoring his comment.
Draco scoffed. "I grew up with you for seven years. The only reason I was using formalities before was because my boss was in that room - not to mention several people who are looking to get me fired. They all want an excuse to fire me."
"Why?"
"Why does anyone do anything?" he asked with a smirk. "For power,"
Hermione shifted in her seat and looked around the large office. It was stocked with expensive cabinets that had complicated locks on them and several renowned paintings. "You hold a position of power?" she asked, sarcasm lacing her voice.
"Let's talk about you instead, shall we? You've received your magic back by oath in front of several witnesses, which was just the first step. You are going to notice discomfort when trying to use your magic. It will not come as easily as before and it's going to use some rehabilitation to get things working smoothly again. My job at the ministry is to help you practice magic again in a safe and comfortable manner."
"Why can't I just practice magic by myself?" Hermione asked suddenly.
"You can – I don't expect you to not try it out. But my job is to help people like you get used to their magic and monitor their progression throughout a couple of years."
"And how does that work?"
"You and a group of people, who do the same work that I do, come together and create a schedule for you to become acquainted with your magic again. We practice different techniques and do several activities with the hope of getting your life back to normal." Draco said this in his practiced, controlled voice and Hermione gave him an alarmed look.
"Why are you being so nice? Since when have you been like this?"
Draco saw the mistrust in her eyes and wondered what was causing her to be so paranoid. "Granger I have been a part of the Ministry for three years now. In the beginning many people treated me the same way you're acting right now, but you can trust me. I am just trying to help you rehabilitate your magic like I've done with dozens of people." Hermione still had that look on her face like she wanted to bolt, but she stayed seated and Draco took that as a good sign. "How about you try a spell on me?"
Draco had been hoping this suggestion would make Hermione comfortable – for they were magical beings; it was in their blood to use magic. It was second nature next to breathing. However she frowned and eyed the door. "No." She said flatly, getting up. "You know, maybe this is not a good idea, maybe I should just-"
"If you refuse this program, you will not be able to use your magic." He said and Hermione's hand stilled on the doorknob behind her.
"You can't do that."
"I actually can," Draco said. "I'm in charge of making sure everyone who wants their magic back goes through this program. I am able to see every spell that everyone through this program casts, and I can report you as unsafe and your magic will be taken away." He was hoping he would not have had to threaten her, but if that was what it took then so be it.
"I can report you to Harry for abusing your power. I could say that you stepped over your jurisdiction, and you know that everyone will believe me because he's Harry Freaking Potter." Hermione narrowed her eyes and Draco felt like they were back at Hogwarts. Back to being hostile.
"I haven't seen you in a long time but I know you're not someone that uses their friends for their own personal gain, Granger. And from what I gathered, you and Potter are not on the best of terms. I doubt you'd go running to him for anything. And don't think the world doesn't know about the break you took. They will openly idolize you now that you are back but you have no idea what they said about your sanity while you were gone. You don't know how they'd judge you." He could see red sparks start to shoot out of the tip of Hermione's wand and realized he was not helping the situation. He had done this with dozens of people now; he should have been ready for her mistrust in him. He should have been ready to diffuse the situation, not make it worse. Taking a deep breath, he held his hands up in a sort of surrender. "I know working with strangers and trying to integrate yourself in a world you ran away from might be –"
"I did not run away." Hermione snapped, and Draco could tell he had hit a nerve. But this was not the time to explore this new development.
"Whatever," he dismissed firmly. "I know all this may seem strange, but it's very important to recover your full magical potential in a harmless and stress-free way. This program has helped over 100 people now. You need to let me help you," he said and held his breath to see what Hermione would say.
Despite his hope, Hermione did not look like she was going to trust him any time soon. She stared around the room at everything she had left behind. A bookshelf that dusted itself, locks that could only open by a specific person's magical signature, a coffee mug that had refilled itself, and a wand in her hand that was beginning to get too hot to touch. She had been so happy leaving everything behind. Seeing all these objects at once was suffocating her. Or was it the man in front of her that her gut was telling her not to trust?
When Hermione's stance had not changed after several minutes, Draco took a step toward her. "How about you take a few days to think about it?" he asked. "Maybe Potter can talk to you about it or something. I understand you just came back to London today, and you seem a little high strung. You should get some air to clear your head and then maybe you'll understand. And you know where my office is now; you can come back in a couple of days."
Reluctantly Hermione loosened her grip on her wand and nodded. "I'll think about it," she said.
"Granger," Draco said before she left. "You do not have another option except to come back and rehabilitate your magic. And you also need to know that if you discard your magic again, you will lose it forever."
"You didn't mention that when I was accepting it again!" Hermione exclaimed turning back to him. "What if something happens? What if I need to stop using magic again?"
"What are you talking about?" Draco said, carefully watching her facial expressions. She seemed like she was afraid of using magic. "What could happen?"
"It – magic is not completely safe for everyone to wield." Hermione said darkly.
"Granger, slow down. I know you." He said, making sure to keep his eyes leveled with hers. "If I trust anyone with magic it would be you."
Unfortunately, his comments did nothing to help Hermione.
"You do not know me." Hermione snapped and practically ran out of his office ignoring the people trying to get her attention.
Draco sighed before returning to his desk. "If only you knew, Granger."
