Hi everyone. Hope you've all had a lovely weekend filled with everything you all deserve. If you could please leave a review for We were staying in Paris, I've put a lot of work into each chapter so it would be nice to know what my readers think. Love always xoxo

It was only a three days until his exhibition and Draco was beginning to panic. He had decided on most of his pieces, including the portrait that brought him and Hermione together, but the curator had requested that he paint a six foot long landscape as a centre point for the show. The only progress he had made was magically suspending the canvas in the air and staring blankly at it for hours. All of Hermione's hard work in securing this exhibition for him would be wasted because he was unable to pick up a brush, something he'd never had trouble with before. Perhaps it he was crumbling under the pressure of someone demanding a painting from him or perhaps he wasn't as good an artist as he or Hermione thought.

"Still nothing?" Hermione said, coming through the door after her days work.

"Still nothing." Draco reaffirmed, continuing to stare blankly at the white canvas.

Fearing he would snap and set fire to the canvas, which did nothing but tease his ineptitude, Draco followed Hermione into thru kitchen and sat at the kitchen bar whilst she set about cooking dinner. Hermione had officially moved into Draco's apartment a few days into the New Year, although she did retain her apartment for the rare occasion her friends decided to visit or even his Mother if she felt the need to visit. Narcissa had written to Draco a few times since he returned to the Manor with her promise of attending his exhibition, with or without Lucius.

As Draco watched Hermione chop up onions for the soup, their aroma making tears fall down her cheeks, he was reminded of the moment he saw her in the courtyard during the Battle for Hogwarts, where she saw Harry supposedly dead in Hagrid's arms. He thought about all the atrocities that day and how the building he had called home for the last seven years of his life burnt in a raging fire and crumbled all around them. Draco thought about how he revisited Hogwarts to mark the first anniversary of the Battle, how he remained hidden in the shadows as he saw Hermione and her friends with tears streaming down their faces as they looked around the courtyard which bore no scars of the trauma that had happened twelve months prior.

Following his train of thought, Draco returned to his canvas and began to paint. On one side he painted Hogwarts the night it lay under siege, a dark shape against reds and oranges of the fire that destroyed everything in its path and the sun rising on the destruction. He ignored Hermione's calls that dinner was ready as he gave life to the scene of one of the worst days of his life. On the other side, he painted Hogwarts as it stood today. Proud against the blue skies with its sloping gardens and the Black Lake stood the castle that he had called home, the green of the grounds and the calm blue skies showing the transformation from chaos into peace. Draco used his brush the blend the middle of the scenes, creating this blurry link between past and present. He picked up his wand and shot out gold thread spelling out a word in the middle of the blue. Remembrance.

"Oh my!" He heard Hermione gasp from behind him. He turned and saw her standing in her pyjamas looking at what he had done, it was obviously later than he thought.

Hermione walked up to the scene of Hogwarts burning, her fingers hovering over the paint as she traced over the school. She slowly made her way down to the calmer scene, how the castle stood today. Draco understood that to the muggles who would be viewing this particular piece it would be nothing more than a castle at two different points, whereas to any magical people, it would be a reminder of one of the darkest days in their history but also a reminder that those dark days did not consume Hogwarts. Well, that's what Draco hoped they would take away from it.

"What do you think?" he asked, unable to guess her reaction.

"I think its wonderful" she said, smiling as she walked over to him. "You've outdone yourself."

Draco cupped Hermione's face in his hands and gently ran his thumb over her cheek, leaving a small streak of blue paint across her skin. Here they stood as a personified version of his painting, Draco being the chaos and Hermione being the peace, held together with the remembrance of what struggles they each went through but looking forward at the calm future they could have together.


It was the evening of Draco's art exhibition and he was feeling incredibly nervous as he watched people admire his work. The show was being run in a small room in the Musée de l'Homme at the top of the Trocadéro. He couldn't believe this was happening, in the last few months he has gone from a typical artist painting only to fill his time to an artist about to open his first exhibit, and it was all due to the woman beside him giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Padma had made the journey over to support him, more like to support Hermione after their rudeness as Christmas, but Draco was still touched by their gesture.

"These really are good. Well done." Harry praised shaking his hand.

"Thanks Potter." Draco smiled. For some reason, Draco felt proud of himself at Harry's compliment. Perhaps because it was the first genuinely kind word either had spoken to each other in their whole existence.

"Who knew that hard Draco Malloy, Slytherin extraordinaire and former Death Eater, would be such a delicate painter." Ginny teased, waving her hand around the room.

"If you're not careful I'll start doing life drawings with your face in mind." Draco teased back causing her to blush.

As the group laughed, Draco's attention was caught by his Mother and Father entering the room. Making his excuses, he left the group of Gryffindor's and made to show his parents around.

"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed. "Never thought the old man would turn up."

"Neither did Draco." Hermione said as she watched Draco explain things. Hermione had received a letter from Narcissa Malfoy this morning reaffirming that she was indeed coming to Paris and that Lucius would be joining her. She had decided against telling Draco as he was already a nervous wreck and she saw no point in adding to it.

"Is this what I think it is?" Padma asked, breaking Hermione's stare.

"Holy shit." Harry said, his eyes growing wide at the landscape of Hogwarts.

"He painted that three days ago." Hermione told her friends proudly. "Draco says that it's a representation that from the darkness chaos in our past comes the calm of our future. Both are held together by the reminder of what happened and how the darkness did not consume us during the Battle for Hogwarts."

Her friends remained silent, there was nothing they could say that the painting hadn't already. They all remembered that the five of them were on the opposite side of the War to Draco, but he was right, darkness did not swallow them up that day all those years ago and all that remained was the calm after the storm.

"He really has changed, hasn't he?" Ron asked, unable to look away from the scene before him.

"Didn't take you too long to catch on." Draco joked as he rejoiced the group with his parents. "Mother, Lucius. You remember Harry and Ginny Potter, Ron and Padma Weasley and Hermione Granger." Narcissa smiled and greeted them politely whereas Lucius looked like he had just swallowed Murtlap Essence.

"Actually Miss Granger, I was wondering if I could have a word?" Narcissa asked, a small hint of nervousness in her voice. Hermione obliged and took a turn around the room with the older witch. "I just wanted to say thank you." Narcissa said once they were out of earshot of Draco.

"Thank you?" Hermione asked slightly puzzled.

"For what you have done for my son." Narcissa explained softly. "I have never known my boy to be so free to express who he truly is. Draco has this new found light and I suspect it has something to do with you."

Hermione blushed at Draco's Mother's words. "I really haven't done anything."

"And that's the point." Narcissa said. "For most of his life, Draco was pushed or forced or demanded into almost everything he did. Since he moved to Paris and met you, he has finally been able to be his own man. He's able to paint and laugh and love. As a Mother, there is no possible way I can thank you for what you have given my child. I am so glad that he met you my dear."

Hermione thanked the woman for her kind words and a promise of a future lunch date when they rejoiced the group. Draco looked like he was having a stern conversation with his Father and it didn't seem to be going well.

"Nobody asked you to be here." Draco growled through gritted teeth at the elder Malfoy.

"Blame your Mother, boy." Lucius retorted quietly. "You think I would willingly surround myself with mudblood filth and muggles?"

"I thought that during my absence you would have somewhat changed your pathetic views on people." Draco said, looking disgusted.

"I would have thought I would have a son to be proud of, not some blood traitor who lives in a slum and paints like a child!" Lucius snarled, his voice growing louder with every word.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Hermione demanded, interjecting herself into the situation that was starting to cause a scene.

"You have no right telling me what to do." Lucius sneered at her.

"Oh I think I do." Hermione said more confidently than she felt. "Draco has put too much work into this for the warped views of a pathetic views of a washed up old man to ruin it for him."

Draco was astounded at Hermione standing up to his Father, something he had only recently done. She really was an incredible woman. Without another word, Lucius stormed out of the building, followed by Narcissa who looked thoroughly embarrassed at her husbands actions.

"You are never going to believe this Hermione." Ron said, breaking the silence

"What?" Hermione asked, looking between Ron and Draco.

"Potter bought my painting of Hogwarts." Draco said, looking shell-shocked.

"What?" Hermione said in disbelief. "Why?"

"I'm going to hang it in school by the memorial." Harry said matter of factly. "You're right, it's a reminder of what happened and where we are now. The new students of Hogwarts need to see this."

Draco was in a state of pure shock, be he knew he had sold a few other paintings on display, but he never figured he would sell this one, and to Harry Potter no less. "Are you sure?" Draco asked.

"Course I am mate." Harry said, shaking Draco's hand once more.

Mate. Harry Potter had called him mate, nobody had ever called him that before. Perhaps this was going to be the start of a genuine friendship with Hermione's friends. Once he had recovered, Draco took Hermione's hand in his and slowly walked outside to get some fresh air. "I can't believe this. Potter bought my painting." Draco said, silently placing a warming charm over both of them. "What did my Mother want?"

"Just to say how proud she is of you and how glad she is that we met." Hermione said, wrapping her arms around his waist under his jacket.

"Not as glad as I am." Draco said, wrapping her up in his coat and kissing her.


It had gone two in the morning by the time they left Hermione's friends in her apartment. Aside from the success of Draco's show, they were all marvelling at how well Lucius had been behaved. It seemed to be a common agreeance that Narcissa had either placed a silencing charm on him or he was under the Imperius curse.

"Congratulations again." Hermione said, kicking off her heels.

"It wouldn't have happened without you." Draco reminded her,

As he had done the night they had first become reacquainted, Draco slowly undid Hermione's dress, lightly tracing her spine with his fingertips. He leaned down and kissed her neck, inhaling her intoxicating scent.

"It was you, you know." Draco whispered against her skin.

"What was me?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"Sixth year potions. Armortentia." He explained. "Roses, a new book, jasmine and the rain. That's what I could smell."

Hermione blushes, she had completely forgotten about that class. Hermione leaned closer towards him and took a deep breath. "Freshly mown grass, parchment and spearmint." She told him smiling. "It was you."

"Only took us nearly ten years to figure it out." Draco joked, kissing her forehead.

"And I thank God every day that we did." Hermione told him, pulling him onto the bed and into her embrace.