Hermione's mind seemed to seize up as she tried to process what Voldemort had just told her.
What? She thought, confused. Did he just say I'm not a muggleborn?! How is that even possible?
She glanced up to see Draco's expression. It was just as shocked and abashed as hers was.
"I don't understand," Hermione stammered quietly.
"Of course you wouldn't, you've spent your life thinking you were the daughter of two muggles and no indication or reasons to doubt that you were theirs," Voldemort said. "In actuality Miss Granger, you are the daughter of two of my closest followers: Andrew and Delia Luxurien. Quite a powerful family, and regarded with high respect. You are the last of their line, the last that's free at least. I was good friends with your grandfather. Both of your parents were bright, clever, cunning. I kept them close to me, so very close, and I had great plans for you. This is why it came as a surprise to me when I was told your mother had turned traitorous. She no longer wanted to raise her child under the influence of dark magic and a great wizard such as myself. I was so disappointed. You're mother was like a daughter to me, and to have her betray me was quite a blow.
"I had her killed of course- by your father. I had to imperious him to do it, another painful thing for me to do. You're mother was the love of his life, and he would've rather died than harm her, but I needed him alive, and I needed you. It was supposed to be a fairly simple task, and no one else was to be involved, but unfortunately, you're mother had gone to Dumbledore. She had told him everything she could, and he had granted her absolution and protection. He got to your manor a second too late, but soon enough to have your father carted to Azkaban and to take you away. Your father was sentenced to life in prison, since he was a wanted Death Eater and no one believed his story about being coerced.
"You however, seemed to fall off the face of the world, at least the only world I concerned myself with. I've never denied that Dumbledore is a smart man, and he did one of the smartest things possible when it came to you. He knew I wanted you and that I would be searching, so he put you where he knew I wouldn't look for you: in the muggle world. He handed you to a muggle couple and changed their memories so that they thought you were theirs and always had been. You became Hermione Granger.
"That night at the Ministry two years ago, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you. You were the spitting image of your mother, though your hair wasn't as dark. After all these years, there you were, the girl I had been searching for in vain for so long. And now you are here, fulfilling your destiny as the child of one my most faithful servants."
Hermione was speechless. She literally had nothing to say, and even if she did she knew she wouldn't be able to get it out coherently.
She was a pureblood. Daniel and Jean Granger weren't her parents. Andrew and Delia Luxurien were her parents. One of them was dead and the other was rotting away in Azkaban. They had been Death Eaters. She was the daughter of Death Eaters.
"But…" she found her voice slowly, "You said you came up with your plan for me after I was brought here…"
"Yes, Miss Granger, or should I say Luxurien. When you first arrived I did make it seem as if you were just an added scheme. But you're not and never have been. I've had this planned for a long time, a very long time. It just worked in my favor that they brought you here on their own and before I had given my orders, which would have otherwise been issued in a couple months.
"You see Miss Luxurien, before her death your mother was helping me with some highly important dark magic- a potion granting me indestructible, everlasting life. It was her own little creation she had been working on for me the moment she graduated from Hogwarts. It had already been completed and proven to be effective through experimentation when your mother decided to leave us. She destroyed the potion and every note she took regarding its instructions. Luckily I have a very good memory and was able to have Lucius reconstruct the potion for me. We thought we had it all figured out, but little did we know your mother had been wrong about one of the ingredients and its effectiveness. The potion called for the blood of a pureblooded wizard, and every single witch and wizard in my ranks has donated their blood to various concoctions of the potions- yet none have been successful in giving the desired result. It has left us with only one conclusion to what the problem is; not just any pureblood's blood will work for this potion, it has to be the blood of Delia Luxurien, or someone that shares it with her, someone like-"
"Me," Hermione finished for him, though it was barely a whisper.
"Precisely, Miss Luxurien! I knew they were right about you," Voldemort said delightedly. "I know this may all be a complete shock to you, but you'll get used to the idea in due time. But if you want to blame anyone, blame your mother. To finish off, only Narcissa and Lucius have been privy to your true identity and your purpose-I didn't feel the need to tell of your blood status to you or others at the time; I decided to keep it to myself until it needed to be brought to light, which I chose to do now. You are not the daughter of two muggles, you are the daughter of two high ranking purebloods and death eaters, and I need you to complete my plans for world domination. You will provide my heir, and your blood will provide me eternal life- that is why I am keeping you."
The room was bathed in complete silence once Voldemort finished.
Hermione rubbed her head in aggravation, all thoughts she had muddled.
She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Voldemort had dismissed them and Draco was now leading her out of the dining hall by the crook of her elbow.
"Are you alright?" he asked her as they reached the stairway. "Or do you still need my support?"
"I think the banister will be fine," Hermione said back, but she lost her footing as soon as she took the first step. Draco caught her and continued his hold on her.
"Come on Granger, the faster you get up the stairs the faster you can sit back down."
He put an arm around her waist and walked with her up the stairs. Once they made it to her quarters he set her gingerly on her bed, and took a seat next to her.
"Well that was some unexpected news,"
Hermione didn't answer, still trying to let what she'd learned sink in.
The door to the room suddenly burst open and Blaise hurried in. "What happened?" he asked.
"We just found out that Hermione's pureblood royalty,"
"What the- how?"
"Turns out she's actually Hermione Luxurien,"
"Please don't call me that," Hermione finally said, groaning as she fell back onto her bed.
"Are serious?" Blaise said, his voice going up a couple pitches. "As in Andrew and Delia Luxurien? The nearly second in command to Voldemort, a manor twice the size of yours, and galleons up the yin yang Luxuriens?"
"The one and only," Draco said.
"Wow Hermione, you're the richest teen in the world!" Blaise's eyes bulged. "So what are you going to do now? Change your name, claim your inheritance?"
Draco grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and swiftly struck it across Blaise's head. "What's the matter with you?" Draco berated. "She just found out her whole life's been a sham and all you can think about is her money?"
"Sorry, you're right, I'm being completely insensitive," Blaise apologized.
As if on cue Narcissa, popped her head into the room. "Blaise, you're mother just flooed me and said she would like you home now dear,"
Blaise nodded to Narcissa and then turned back to Draco and Hermione. "Well it was a great day- thanks for the fun Hermione," he smiled, even though Hermione wasn't looking at him. "I guess I'll see you two later."
Blaise left the room leaving only Draco and Hermione together. Draco lay down on the bed next to her, not sure what to say or do. "Are you okay?" he asked her quietly.
"I…suppose," was the reply he received.
"Do you want anything?"
"Actually some sweets would be great,"
"Wren!" Draco called, and Hermione heard the familiar pop! of a house elf apparating into the room. "If you would please get Miss- Hermione and I some sweets from the kitchen?"
"Yes, young Mr. Malfoy sir," Wren said and was gone.
"Feel like having a sugar rush?" Draco asked, but Hermione didn't answer his question. She had turned over and was looking at him thoughtfully.
"You said my name," she said.
"Well I wasn't sure what to call you, considering you're technically not a Granger, and you refuse to be called Luxurien. I decided Hermione was the best way to go,"
"It's always been the best way to go Malfoy," Hermione laughed.
"Hey if I'm going to call you Hermione, then you have to call me Draco. It's only fair,"
"Fine, from now on I'll only call you Draco,"
"And I'll call you Hermione," Draco affirmed. "You don't know how weird that sounds," he chuckled, and Hermione joined him.
A few seconds later and Wren appeared with a platter of all sorts of candies.
"Thank you Wren," Hermione said, grabbing some gummy frogs and tearing the bag open. She then stood up and went over to the CD player on her desk that Narcissa had gotten for her. They had fixed it so it was powered by magic that way it would work. Hermione pushed the play button and then sat back on the bed. "Music soothes me," she explained to Draco, who looked confused by her actions.
"This song sounds like it's supposed to do more than just soothe," Draco quipped, noticing the seductive tone of the melody.
Hermione let out a laugh. "You're right. Songs like this are what muggles affectionately call baby making music. I just happen to like this CD, and this song is first on the playlist,"
"Who knew Hermione Granger had a sensual side," Draco teased.
"Okay, I'm switching the CD," Hermione said, jumping off the bed.
"Aww, I was just getting into that song," Draco whined.
Hermione rifled through her stack of CDs searching for one that she felt like listening to and was also Draco friendly. "On second thought," she said when she didn't find one she was in the mood for, "Why don't we go into the music room and you play something on the piano for us? That would probably be more distracting, and that's exactly what I need at the moment,"
Draco shrugged. "Okay then,"
They gathered all their sweets onto the platter and Hermione carried it as they made their way to the music room on the third floor.
"And what would you like me to play for you, Hermione?" Draco asked, still feeling awkward with the use of her name.
"How about Canon in D?" She said as she took a seat in one of the lounge chairs and set the platter of candy in front of her.
"Johann Pachelbel's Canon coming right up," Draco saluted her, and he placed his fingers on the piano and began to play.
Hermione closed her eyes as she let the piano music enter her ears and through the rest of her body. This had always been her favorite classical piece, and it was the one she envisioned herself walking down the aisle to when she got married. Hopefully she'd still be able to do that one day. And hopefully her family would be there- Harry, the Weasley's, and her real parents.
Never in her wildest dreams did Hermione think she'd have to use that term for the two people who had raised her. Technically she should be calling them her adoptive parents, but that just didn't seem right. She had spent her life with them, not this Andrew and Delia Luxurien Voldemort had just told her about. The Grangers were and would always be her real parents.
Hermione's ears perked up as she noticed that the piano was no longer the only instrument being played. The violins and cello had joined in, creating the full symphonic effect the song deserved. She opened her eyes and jumped when she saw that Draco was standing in front of her. He had charmed the piano keys, and also the other instruments, to play on their own.
"Dance with me," he said, holding out his hand for her to take.
"Draco..." Hermione hesitated, not feeling very up to it. "Come on Hermione, this is a once in a lifetime offer."
Giving in, she placed her hand in his, allowing him to lift her off the chair and into his arms. They began to slowly, and carefully, waltz around the room, Hermione following Draco's lead.
"I think I figured out why my mother likes you so much," Draco said as he twirled Hermione around.
"And why is that? Because she knew all along that I was a pureblood?"
"No, because you're mother was her best friend. She has a picture of her somewhere. I found it once a few years ago when I was going through things I shouldn't have been. It was of my mother and yours sitting together with us on their laps. I showed it to my father and he told me who it was, and then he told me to put it back from where I got it from before my mother killed me-"
"And I would have," Narcissa said from the doorway. Hermione and Draco quickly let go of each other. "Do you mind if I steal Hermione for a bit Draco?"
Draco motioned for Hermione to go with his mother, and after giving him a smile she obliged. Narcissa walked Hermione over to the terrace they had on the third floor, and sat on one of the benches
"I'm sorry you had to find out about your true parentage from him, Hermione," Narcissa began. "I wanted to tell you, but I wasn't sure how. What Draco said was true, your mother was my closest friend and I cared for her very much. She helped me get used to the changes a life married to Lucius Malfoy brought. I understood completely why she wanted to turn her back on our ways, and I nearly did the same. After what happened though, I knew it wasn't an option. I am still proud of her for having the courage to go through with it though, even if it meant ending her life. She got what she wanted for you, a life away from the influences of the Dark Lord. I want you to know that your mother loved you above all things, and she would've done anything for you,"
Narcissa then pulled out her wand and said, "Accio box!"
A box the size of a fat textbook whizzed towards them and Narcissa caught it in her hands. "Your manor is still standing, and is being used as a vacation home. Most of the personal items were sold when your father was put in Azkaban, but I took the liberty of removing some of your mother's treasured items for safe keeping," Narcissa explained. "It may be a little soon to be showing you all of this, considering you just found out about Delia tonight, but I've been waiting since the night you got here to be able to give these to you. If you'd rather not look at them right now, I understand, but I'll still entrust this box to you,"
"I…I don't know what to say," Hermione breathed. "I suppose there's no harm in starting to learn my parents history now," she said, though still a little unsure. Narcissa took this as the signal to go ahead however, and she excitedly opened the box up.
One by one she pulled things out and showed them to Hermione, and placed them carefully on the table. First there was a masquerade mask encrusted with diamonds and sapphires. Her mother had used it to a Christmas ball Hogwarts had had while she was there, and it had been her first official date with Hermione's father.
Next was a silver bracelet with seven charms: a large D for Delia, a coiled up snake to represent Slytherin, an A for Andrew, a book for her love of reading, an H for Hermione, an eighth note for her love of music, and a diamond heart given to her by her husband. "There's room for one more," Narcissa said as she handed it to Hermione. "So think of something good to put on it." As Hermione looked at each charm she couldn't help but think how alike her mother and her were, making her feel a little more connected to the woman she couldn't remember.
After the charm bracelet Narcissa took out Hermione's mother's Head Girl Badge, which Hermione accepted with pride. "I know it seems odd that a Slytherin was a Head, but Delia had plenty of admirable qualities worthy of the position," Narcissa told her.
Next came a golden quill that her mother had used all through Hogwarts, and a white gold bookmark that had been given to her by her grandfather and she only used for books she was reading on her own.
"Now this," Narcissa said, pulling out a single white rose that still looked completely fresh and alive, "Is the rose your father handed your mother the night he proposed to her. He said he'd love her till the last petal of this rose fell. Delia thought it was an odd declaration, but accepted it anyway. She kept it in a vase on her vanity mirror and expected it to wither in a few days, but it never did. Andrew had enchanted it to never die, signifying his eternal love for her." Narcissa wiped away a tear that had formed in the corner of her eye. Hermione could tell she was thinking about something, but whatever it was Hermione didn't find out, for Narcissa kept going with the unveiling of her mother's belongings.
She brought out a green velvet jewelry box and opened it to reveal a white gold band with a solitaire, round cut diamond in the middle, and a plain white gold band accompanying it. "This was your mother's engagement and wedding ring. I know from all the other stuff I've shown you it seems that your mother liked lavish things, but she did appreciate simplicity. Your father wanted to get her rings encrusted with so many diamonds you wouldn't be able to tell there was a band holding it all together, but I convinced him otherwise,"
Hermione carefully took the jewelry box from Narcissa and admired the rings sitting inside. They were beautiful, and exactly what Hermione would want in her wedding rings. They looked so perfect in their place in the box that she had to resist the urge to try them on. It wouldn't have felt right.
"I know that this stuff may not have any meaning to you right now Hermione, but I hope that it may mean something to you in the future. Your mother loved you, and she would've loved for you to have these things. I have one last thing to give you," Narcissa said as she lifted out of the box a small book. She tapped it with her wand, causing it to grow to a normal size, and Hermione realized it was a journal. "This was your mother's diary while at Hogwarts. She didn't write in it daily, but she made sure to record the important things that happened in her life. It starts with her first year of Hogwarts up till the end of her seventh year. She had too much on her plate to take time to write after that. Please take the time to read it. Better to get to know your mother through the pages of a book than through nothing at all,"
"Thank you," was all Hermione could manage to say as Narcissa packed everything back up into the box and placed it in her lap. She suddenly felt overwhelmed. There in her possession were the invaluable treasures of a stranger, and she wasn't exactly sure what to do with them.
"I'll take my leave now," Narcissa said standing up. "Would you like me to walk you back to the music room?"
"No, it's fine," Hermione replied. "I know my way,"
Narcissa smiled and then left Hermione on the terrace. Hermione just sat there for a few more minutes, staring at the closed box in front of her, trying to get used to the idea that she now had two sets of parents instead of just one. She shook her head to clear her thoughts when it all became too much. Knowing that Draco was probably waiting for her still, she got up and headed back to the music room.
He was practicing Tchaikovsky's Waltz from Sleeping Beauty when she walked in, but stopped once he heard her enter. "What did my mother want?" he asked.
"She had some stuff to give me," Hermione said, pointing at the box in her hand. She set it on the ottoman next to the lounge chair and then took a seat.
"Anything interesting?"
"All of it's interesting," Hermione gave a small laugh. She opened the box and started to take things out and show them to Draco.
"You would've been spoiled rotten," he commented.
"I suppose so," Hermione said, as she pulled out the velvet box containing her mother's rings. "This was my mother's engagement ring and wedding band," she told Draco.
"Funny how she went simple on the most important piece of jewelry, don't you think?"
"Actually, you're mother said that my mother preferred simple things, that's why my father chose them for her,"
"Hmm," Draco mused. "You should try them on,"
"What? I couldn't- they're not mine,"
"Sure they are Hermione. They were your mother's, and now they're yours. Who else is going to wear them?"
Hermione shrugged, knowing Draco was right. When she didn't make a motion to do anything, he took matters into his own hands and removed the two rings from the box.
"Come on Hermione, it's not like your mother's going to come in here and scold you for trying on her rings, " he joked as he took her left hand and slowly slid first the engagement ring on and then the wedding band.
"Asking me to marry you Draco?" Hermione said playfully, though her voice shook a little. The moment Draco's skin had touched her she felt a tingle go through her and her stomach do a somersault.
"If I did it would be a waste of time, considering you have your heart set on marrying the Weasel," Draco said, and Hermione couldn't tell if he was being serious or not, for his expression had remained plain as always. He obviously wasn't having the same reaction to their hands touching as she was. He lifted her hand up to the light for her to get a good view. "See? Perfect fit,"
Hermione admired how the rings looked sitting on her ring finger. It was as if they belonged there. She sighed, knowing that she couldn't leave them on, as much as she wanted to. She grudgingly began to take them off.
"Why are you taking them off? Leave them on," Draco said, pushing her right hand away from her left.
"I can't do that! I'm not married or about to get married," Hermione chuckled.
"You're right, that does pose a problem," Draco admitted. "I guess we'll just have to find another way for you to wear them,"
"So can I take them off now? Or will you attack me again?"
"I didn't attack you, and yes, you can take them off," Draco said, holding the box for her to put the rings back in. Hermione slid the two bands back off her finger and placed them in their velvet home.
"Hermione Luxurien…" Draco mused as he looked at the box of jewels and trinkets. "Who would've thought?"
"Nobody, that's who," Hermione scoffed. "You know this doesn't change anything. I still think he's terrible for what he's trying to do and there's no way I'm ever joining him,"
"I didn't expect you to. This is just one more mystery solved as to why you're up here and not-" Draco stopped himself before he went any further.
"And not…?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Not being taken care of like you were going to when you first got here,"
Hermione could tell it wasn't what he was originally going to say, but she decided to take it. She wasn't in the mood to face Draco's irritation at her prying into things he didn't feel she needed to know.
"What makes you think I want to marry Ron?" she asked, bringing them back to his earlier statement.
"Well… you kind of said his name in your sleep this morning when I came to wake you up," Draco said, causing Hermione to blush. The dream she had that morning of her and Ron sitting on a bench, and him leaning over to kiss her, came back to her.
"How do you know I wasn't yelling at him for something?"
"Were you?"
"No," she answered. Hermione couldn't lie to him, even though for some strange reason she wanted to. An odd thing had happened in her dream that she hadn't expected. When Ron kissed her she had quickly broken away from him. When he looked at her with a confused expression, that was when she had said his name. For some reason, kissing him had felt wrong, like she had been betraying someone else by doing so.
Hermione had just shrugged it off as a silly dream though. After all, who would she be betraying? She wasn't with anybody.
"So what do you want to do now?" Draco asked, quickly changing the topic.
"Play me Sleeping Beauty please," Hermione requested, forgetting about her dream.
"As you wish." Draco returned to his seat at the piano and began to play. Hermione stretched herself out on the lounge chair and closed her eyes, giving a yawn. It had been a long day, and now all she wanted to do was relax and forget about everything for a little bit. Soon she was completely asleep.
Draco finished his song, and then looked at Hermione, catching her sleeping form. Shaking his head he got up and went over to her, scooping her into his arms. Then he carried her to her room, the box of her mother's things levitating behind him. He set her down in her bed and then covered her up with her blanket. He smiled at how peaceful she looked, considering everything that had happened over the course of the day.
Draco was about to leave when he had an idea. He went over to Hermione's vanity desk where he had set the box down, and lifted its lid. He pulled out the white rose she had shown to him and conjured a vase for it. He placed it inside and then set it on her bed stand next to her. He then conjured a tiger lily and after placing an enchantment on it so it wouldn't die, set it next to the white rose.
"Sweet dreams Hermione," he whispered before quietly leaving the room. He'd never openly admit it, but he hoped that her dreams would be filled of him, and not that stupid Weasel.
The next week passed by without any consequence. Hermione and Draco did the usual: library, music room, or outside. They had even begun to use the Room of Requirement, where Hermione would teach him some of the muggle sports she knew. Blaise joined them a few days, when he was able to get away from home. He and Draco were becoming quite partial to football, especially since it involved keeping the ball away from Hermione. Although she would never tell them, they were already better at it then she was.
Other than that, Hermione spent most of the time reading her mother Delia's journal, and was surprised by how alike they were. They were both avid readers and studied like crazy to get the best grade possible in all their classes. The only class her mother didn't care for was divination, which caused Hermione to let out a laugh when she read it. Her mother also didn't like flying and thought boys talked about Quidditch way too much.
She got along with mostly everyone, and was considered the most amiable Slytherin. She had three close friends: Narcissa Black, Annika Haven, and Sadie Quinn. They were all in her year and had been friends since their first year. Narcissa was obviously her best friend and confidant, and if she needed anything she would go to her first. The only boys she was close to were the ones Narcissa had mentioned she had been friends with: Jerrick Richter and Christopher Dupont.
Apparently before she was a Luxurien she was a Ditiae, the second most powerful pureblood wizarding family. This caused some of the girls in her house to be jealous of her, most notably Philantha Candor, because of her wealth and unintentional command of those around her. All the boys wanted her, to her dismay, but she didn't particularly care for any of them. She knew they only cared about her bank account and the bragging rights that would come from dating her.
The section of the journal Hermione found particularly interesting was Delia's sixth year. By this time it was obvious Jerrick harbored a crush on her, and she was slowly starting to grow to like him as more than just a friend. Delia was frustrated by the fact that he wasn't acting on his feelings, even though everyone could tell he wanted to.
I don't understand why he won't just ask me out, Delia had written. There's a Hogsmeade trip coming up and it would be great if we spent it together… just the two of us. But I'm not going to be the one to step up, he's the man, he should do it. Onto a different topic- Andrew's being a prick again,
Hermione sat up and paid more attention to what she was reading. It was the first time her father had been mentioned, and she was surprised that she hadn't noticed his absence before. He thinks that just because he has the biggest Gringott's vault that he owns the school and everyone in it. Today he actually ordered a first year Slytherin to carry his books for him and follow him to all his classes. I stopped it of course, and he didn't even try to stop me. He just smiled and winked at me and told me I was beautiful. And then he offered to walk me to class. The nerve of that boy...Now that I think about it, I don't think I've mentioned Andrew in here before. Well, to make a long story short: I hate him. He's so annoyingly arrogant and rude to everyone around him, especially Gryffindors. Don't know what his problem with them is, he takes house rivalry way too seriously…
Hermione's mother certainly didn't make the long story short. She spent the next five pages, front and back, describing how much she loathed Andrew Luxurien and wished he would go away. Apparently they'd known each other since they were kids, being part of the two greatest pureblood families, and they hadn't always gotten along due to the fact that they were always trying to one-up each other. He was just as smart as she was, and at the end of each school year there was always a bet about who would come out on top. He always had a snide remark reserved for her when they passed each other, which she refused to return.
I don't know what this new game he's playing is, but it's not going to work. Probably just trying to distract me by being nice to me. Whatever Andrew.
As Hermione kept reading her father's name began to appear more often. Delia's encounters with him began to be more frequent, and she noticed how he no longer said anything crude to her, but instead complimented her. When Christmas came he actually gave her a gift: the charm bracelet with the diamond heart.
I don't know what's happening to me. I used to feel nothing but contempt when he was around, and now I get all nervous and fluttery. Sometimes I even forget my words! He asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him this weekend, and I said yes. I said yes! What was I thinking? I hate him… okay, maybe I don't hate him anymore. I mean, if I hated him I wouldn't be wearing the bracelet he gave me every day. I guess he's not that bad… he's nice to me, and he has this smile that makes me lose all thought, and on the days that we have potions together he offers to hold my book bag, and his eyes are so blue you could paint the sky with them… Ugh, it's official- I've gone off the deep end. I mean, I'm sitting here writing about all the good qualities of Andrew Luxurien! You know what Cissy told me today? She said that he practically worships the ground I walk on. How am I supposed to resist that?
Hermione just had to laugh as the relationship between her parents began to grow.
"What's so funny?" Draco asked one day when they were sitting out on the terrace, each lost in their own book.
"Andrew kissed Delia for the first time, and she's cursing herself for letting him do it. She's fighting the fact that she's in love with him,"
"Is there something not to love about him?"
"He's arrogant and rude when it comes to everything but her. They actually used to hate each other, and Delia's still trying to get past that. He already loves her with a passion, and I can tell she loves him too, but for some reason she's still holding onto the hope that Jerrick will make his move,"
"Sounds like a dilemma, though we obviously know what the end of the story is,"
"Yeah… I guess it is possible," Hermione chuckled.
"What's possible?" Draco asked.
"For two people that dislike each other to fall in love and be happy together,"
"I think some of the best relationships start out that way. And you appreciate each other more because you were able to get passed the others faults and find something deeper that was worth loving,"
"Not to mention your pride," Hermione added. She looked up at Draco and noticed that he was staring back at her. She wondered how long he'd been doing that. He quickly turned away and stared into the sky instead.
"Well Hermione, you have a grand day tomorrow, so we should probably head to bed,"
"What's so special about tomorrow?"
"Are you serious?" Draco said, bewildered. Hermione looked at him confused, clearly not knowing what he was talking about. He gave a small laugh. "It's your birthday Mione," he told her.
"Oh!" Hermione noised, it finally dawning on her. "I guess I just forgot what day it was,"
"The Brightest Witch of Her Age forgets her own birthday," Draco snickered.
"Hey! It's not like the days of the month matter around here at the moment. And how did you know tomorrow's my birthday?"
"My mother told me. She was there at St. Mungo's the day you were born and never forgot it,"
"That's sweet. You know, I still find it strange that my family and yours were so connected. Who knows, maybe if things had turned out differently you and I would be BFFs right now,"
"If only, if only," Draco said as he stood up from his chair. "Come on, let's go. Mother will kill me if you fall asleep at any point tomorrow,"
Hermione picked up her mother's journal and followed Draco back to their quarters.
"Night then," she said to him, giving him a hug.
"Night," he replied, returning her embrace.
They immediately froze as they realized what they were doing. They had never hugged each other before, and they had just done it as if they had been doing it their whole lives. They hurriedly let go of each other and after quickly saying a final goodnight, they entered their rooms and shut the doors.
Crap, Hermione thought. Life with Draco was starting to get way too natural.
A/N: Hey :) I hope you liked this chapter, despite all its clicheness. I just didn't think it made sense for Voldemort to be keeping Hermione if she was the embodiement of everything he despised. So... I had to make her a pureblood. You'll learn more about Hermione's family in the next coming chapters :) Thank you for reading and your amazing reviews!
-Pink Ranger
