Chapter 4

(Malfoy Manor)

Draco stared at his watch. It read six o clock. She was supposed to be here three hours ago. Did she change her mind? He walked over to the cabinet, loosening his tie as he walked. Draco poured himself a drink and sat down at the piano. He took a gulp and set the cup down. Tears filled his eyes, as his hands found the keys and started to play. He was so lost in the music that he didn't hear the light pop that announced Hermione's arrival. Hermione followed the music as she had done so many nights before. She stood in the doorway of his den and listened.

Memories played like a silent movie in her head. The melancholy tune ripped at her heart. Echoes from the past tore at her inside out. She placed a hand over her mouth to stop the weeps from escaping. The music stopped. A hand wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Hermione stepped backwards, but a pair of strong arms grabbed her and pulled her in. Draco wrapped his arms around her. She tried to free herself, but he held on, pinning her against him. "Draco, please," she cried, but he wouldn't let go. "Please," she wiggled to free herself, but his grip was too strong. Finally, she gave up.

He buried his face in her hair and cried. "Hermione. Mine. Hermione. Please. I'm sorry."

She wrapped her arms around him. "Don't. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm ok. I really am. I'm happy, Draco."

Draco let go and backed away from her, confused, "You're happy?"

Her smile faded, "Yes. Did you want me not to be?"

What! Yes. Of course he wanted her to be unhappy. He thought she was miserable. He thought she wanted to be saved. "I...-you're happy...with him?"

"Yes. Ron is a great man. He loves me. He takes care of me."

Anger begin to set in, Draco could not contain himself. "What about me?" He walked away from her, "Did you forget about me?"

Hermione walked towards his voice, "No. How could you say that to me? I could never forget you, but Ron is ...."

"What am I?"

"What?" She stuttered. "You're...a friend. And I missed you."

The words hit Draco like a ton of bricks. His heart broke into a million pieces. "I don't want to be your friend," Draco sneered at her. He had spent so many nights coming up with a plan to free her, but she didn't need to be freed, not from Ron anyways. She needed to be freed from him. That's why she came, to get closure. He composed himself, "I don't want to be your anything."

"What do you want then, Draco?"

"I'm sure Potter has told you. That must be why you are here."

"I want you to tell me."

Draco smirked; it was her turn to hurt. He paced, in a circle around her, stopping behind her, to whisper into her ear, "I want my flesh." He resumed walking, until he circled around again to the other ear, "I want my blood." He stopped directly in front of her, "I want...my son."

Hermione swallowed hard, "Are you trying to punish me?"

He had her right where he wanted her. She was scared. He reviled in it, "Why do you assume this has anything to do with you?"

"Then why are you doing this?"

He chuckled, "Because I can."

"Draco, please. Don't do this. Ron is a good father. He loves him. He is the only father Regen has ever known."

"And whose fault is that?" He snapped at her.

"Yours. You were the one who made me promise to marry him. You were the one who abandoned me. You were the one who disappeared for three years." She retorted.

"And do you know why? Did you even wonder?"

"I know why." She shook her head. "Harry told me. I am not condoning what he did, but you could have told me."

"What good would that have done? You'd still be married to Weasel and I'd still be here, alone."

"I wouldn't have felt abandoned. I would have waited for you, instead of being brokenhearted. Ron healed my heart. A heart that you broke."

Draco's anger reached its boiling point. "He made me take the unbreakable vow, a vow place on your life. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"I know. I know that Draco, but what's done is done. You can't change any of it and I can't change how I feel now." Hermione turned her back to him, hiding tears, "The truth is I'm not that girl anymore. You fell in love with Hermione Granger. She's dead. She died of a broken heart, and I don't love you anymore. Not like you want me to."

The rejection was more than Draco could bear. For the first time, since this whole ordeal started, he was glad she was blind. He was glad she could not see the hurt and pain in his eyes. For the first time in his life, he could not control his emotions and they were plastered all over his face. He inhaled deeply. His eyes changed back into cold silver orbs. "I didn't ask for your love. In fact, I don't remember asking you for anything." He paused, standing an inch behind her, leaned in and whispered, "You will give me what is mine or I will take it."

She turned around and slapped him across the face. Even blind, she could sense his every movement; tell where his every body part was. Draco stumbled backwards. "You can't take what is not yours. He is not your son. He is my son. I gave birth to him. I raised him. I was there when he cried; I was there when he laughed. Me. Not you, Draco Malfoy."

She started to storm out of the room; Draco caught her arm and turned her back around. "Let me ask you something, Mrs. Weasley," He hissed into her face, "Does your husband intend to spend the rest of his life denying the fact that his oldest son looks undeniably like his wife's former lover?"

Hermione jerked her arm away from his grip. "What my husband does or doesn't do, does not concern you." She backed away slowly griping anything she could reach, for support, "I didn't believe it. Any of it. When Harry told me what you had asked for, I thought, maybe I misunderstood." She was now standing in the doorway, "And I was right. I did misunderstand, but not what Harry said. I misunderstood the kind of person you are." Her eyes wear fixed on his, as though she was looking straight at him, "You're a monster. I fell in love with a monster." She turned and apparated.