We were in paradise. "Oh Draco, where are we?" I asked as I looked keenly around at my surroundings. We were on a beach somewhere in the world with crystal clear water and the softest sand I'd ever stepped on. There were palm trees everywhere and a series of bungalows spread around the entirety of a long pier.

"Bora Bora Hermione, it's my hideout, my home," he said as he softly wrapped his arms around me and led me to the pier. Due to the time difference between England and this paradise, I guessed it was late into the night when we arrived and the stars looked beautiful. Never in all my life had I seen such magical display from the heavens. A flash of lightning lit up the sky and I could clearly see the mountains that made up the whole of Bora Bora.

"We better hurry and get inside before it starts raining," Draco said as we walked past bungalows towards the one at the very end of the pier. Just before we got there, the door swung open and a tall man stood in the doorway as light from inside shown onto the pier.

"Master Malfoy! How wonderful to see you sir! Welcome home sir. I trust you had a good journey here?" he questioned as we walked closer to the bungalow. "Well yes, we did have a good journey, Apparating doesn't have that bad of an effect on us anymore. Hello Niles! It's good to be back. Niles, this is Hermione, she'll be staying with me tonight, please have dinner or breakfast ready while I show her around."

"Oh, pardon me sir. I had foolishly failed to notice he beautiful woman beside you. Are you going to stand there all night Master Malfoy or are you going to come inside? We can't leave our beautiful Ms. Hermione out in the rain!" he exclaimed as drop by drop the heavens opened up. I blushed at being referred to as a "beautiful" woman by someone other than my friends or Draco.

Sensing my blush, Draco let out a soft bark of laughter and ushered me inside saying, "We better hurry and get inside before Niles has a heart attack!" Niles let out a small laugh as Draco and I walked through the door and out of the heavy rain.

I looked around and smiled. "Draco, this place is beautiful; no wonder it's your hideout. How long have you had this place?" I asked as I walked around the large room looking at the decoration. What appeared to be an ordinary bungalow on the outside was really a fully furnished mansion on the inside, much like the tents we'd used at the Quidditch world cup all those years ago.

"I've had this place since our last year at Hogwarts, before…everything happened," he said in a soft sad voice. "I come here to escape my father and Pansy all the time. Niles here is in charge of the place while I'm gone. The only other person that knows about this place, aside from Niles and me is you Herms, like it's always supposed to have been. There are wards all over my home to keep you safe, not even my father will be able to get in. Come, let me show you around. I've got some things I've wanted to show you. Oh Niles, could you please make sure the chefs have some food for Hermione ready upon our return. Hermione has had a long day and she needs and deserves to be pampered."

Before I could protest, he was already dragging me up the grand staircase in the middle of the room. "Draco, there is no need for that, I can eat something when I get home," I stated as we got onto the landing and turned to the hallway on the right.

"You won't be going home, not tonight at least and I won't let you starve. Now hurry! I'm dying for you to see this room." We walked past four doors and then stopped at the fifth door on the right where Draco covered my eyes tenderly with his hands and whispered "no peeking, it's a surprise" into my ear. I felt a shiver of excitement go down my spine as his warm breath brushed against the sensitive skin of my ear and neck and also because of his closeness to my body.

Draco felt the shiver and groaned softly before kissing my neck slowly, making my knees go weak. "Ready Herms," he asked as he turned the door handle until with a soft click, the lock opened. He pushed the door open and uncovered my eyes. "Ok Herms, open your eyes."

I did as he asked and was speechless at the sight before my eyes. Before me was the library of my dreams. Shelves upon shelves filled with all of the books imaginable lined most of the walls of the cavernous room. Only one wall had a large window that consisted of most of the wall to let in the natural wonders of Bora Bora.

"Draco…this is…that is to say…well I umm don't know what to say…" I said giddy with excitement. Draco grabbed both of my hands into his and kissed them before saying "you like it? I built this room with you in mind even after all of this time, I couldn't stop thinking about you. This whole area of the house was added when we started dating back in 7th year. I always hoped we'd somehow end up together again. I never gave up on us, never. Not even after Pansy told me she was pregnant and Emma was born, I always hoped you could somehow still love me…if you ever decided to forgive me first, of course. Had it not been for Emma being so spoiled, such a daddy's girl, and always getting her way I probably would never have seen you again and we wouldn't be here now." He captured my lips in a searing kiss that held all of pent up love and passion we had for each other and had to repress for these past years.

"Ahem," a voice said clearly followed by a gruff laugh as Draco and I jumped away from one another as if we'd been electrocuted. "Niles! That was so not funny! You nearly gave us a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry Master Malfoy, it was just too tempting! I couldn't' resist. I just came to inform you that dinner is waiting and to inquire if we would need a guest bedroom prepared for Ms. Hermione." "Thank you Niles, we'll be down for dinner in a minute. There is no need for a guest bedroom to be prepared. Hermione will be staying with me in the master bedroom. From here on out, Hermione is to be treated as Mistress of the house because hopefully she will be soon." Draco said and gave my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

I felt heat rise up on my cheeks at the implication of being Draco's wife; I felt happy and nervous at the same time. "Oh good, we've been needing a woman around here for ages Master Draco. I'm happy you found Ms. Hermione again. This is THE Ms. Hermione isn't she Master Draco, the one you told me about all those years ago? I was foolish not to realize how your whole demeanor was different, almost like when you talked about her," Niles said in a cheeky tone and for once it was Draco's turn to blush.

"Niles!!! You were never to tell her that!" Draco said sulkily. Niles just laughed and offered me his arm to lead me to dinner. Laughing softly at Draco's childish antics, I took Niles' arm and let him lead me to dinner. On the stairs, I changed a glance back in Draco's direction and laughed my heart out. Draco was stomping down the steps, a childlike scowl on his face, upon hearing me laugh; he looked up and stuck his tongue out at me.

"C'mon Draco, I'm sure Niles was just kidding, weren't you Niles?" I said smiling at Niles, now feeling more at ease around the older man. "Why of course Ms. Hermione. Our Draco is too much fun to mess with. You make him so happy Ms. Hermione, everyone here can sense it. It's a good change from his normal grumpy self." Niles said and playfully stuck his tongue out at Draco after Draco childishly did the same.

"Boys!" I said in mock exasperation and laughed as Draco threw me over his shoulder and ran down the rest of the steps. I could hear Niles laughing in the background and I though wow, I can get used to this. Draco barged into the elaborate dining room and sat me down in one of the chairs.

"After dinner Herms, you and I will go upstairs to our room and sleep. You've had a long day and you need to rest. I'll show you the rest of the house tomorrow," he said as we began to eat the delicious food prepared by the manor chefs.

Once we were done, we went back up stairs; this time making sure Niles didn't follow us. "This is our room. I hope you like t." As he opened the door, Draco seized the opportunity to kiss me before showing me the room. If the library had sent my mind into overdrive and left me speechless, our rooms made it go into hyper drive. This room was the largest room in the house and as such had the best view. One of the walls was made entirely out of glass which let in the light from the lightning strikes outside, illuminating the room in beautiful hues of blues and purples.

I took a step into the room as Draco ran past me and dove onto the giant four poster bed against the right wall opposite the window. "Hermione, come to bed. It's late and you've got a long day tomorrow starting with going to the Ministry, then St. Mungo's, followed by going to quit your job at the Leaky Cauldron. You need to rest we can talk tomorrow."

I nodded and gingerly made my way over to the bed as Draco watched, an animalistic gleam growing in his eyes. I transfigured my clothes into some comfortably pajamas and climbed into bed with Draco.

"I love you Herms that never changed. You were on my mind every second of every day for the past four years. Rest now my love, we'll talk about everything tomorrow. I promise I'll go to the Ministry so I can get my marriage to Parkinson annulled while you go deal with Weasley. Then, we can go to the adoption office; I need to ask some questions regarding Emma as well. Sleep my love, tomorrow will be another day." He snuggled up behind me and kissed my neck softly before setting his head on my shoulder. Within minutes, he was fast asleep, a content smile gracing his face. Slowly, as lightning flashed in the sky, I fell asleep in the arms of the man I loved.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile back in England at the Potter household, Ginny was pacing the hallway outside of her husband's study. Harry had been locked inside for hours now talking to Ministry officials. "Yes, he did. Yes, he said that as well. Are we done here? We've gone over this for hours. Yes, all of that happened. Now please officers get out of my house, you are frightening my family," Harry stated firmly as he opened the door and Ginny stopped dead in her tracks, her face pale and ashen.

"Harry what's going on? This is about Ronald isn't it? I knew this would happen and I just hopped Hermione would take a bit longer to do so. God, Harry, what's going to happen to him?" Ginny questions before falling to her knees and crying.

"You see gentlemen, this is what your being here has caused. Now, I will ask you kindly to leave my house at once." "We are terribly sorry Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter. Everything will be fine, there is no need to worry, one of the Ministry officials said briefly before disapparating.

"Ginny, Ron is to be placed in Azkaban until he is tried for the assault against Hermione. We have to stay strong for her; we're all she's got now. Remember? Her parents were killed by Voldemort before the war. We're her only family she's got now. I know Ronald is your brother but think about it, Ron has the rest of your family; your parents and your brothers He's not alone in this, Hermione is. We promised we would help her." Harry said as he gently pulled Ginny up and hugged her.

Ginny nodded while Harry wiped her tears. Unexpectedly, Ginny punched Harry in the arm and said, "That reminds me! You are supposed to sleep on the couch Mr. Potter. Hermione was not in my living room drinking tea like she was supposed to. You will sleep on the couch tonight for sure."

With that said, she kissed a very stunned harry on the lips softly before running away leaving Harry little to no time to react.

"Ginny! Get back here! Let me explain!!!!" Harry yelled as he ran after her. "Hermione said she'd come by today! Last night was hard on her and she need to rest! She said she would stop by after work today. Ginny!!!!! Don't make me sleep on the couch. I had to keep Ron from hurting her more! You know he's capable of anything when he's mad! Ginny!!!!!" he yelled with a whine as he stopped running. Giggling softly, Ginny wrapped her arms around her husband's waist and leaned her head on his back.

"Okay Mr. Potter. You're not sleeping on the couch. I was just wondering why you hadn't mentioned what happened after I left," she said as she placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Well, it was basically what happened downstairs but without the physical violence. That's why I didn't mention it. I didn't want to worry you more. Everything will be fine, I promise."

"I wonder where Hermione is. Didn't you say she would come by after work or something? It's already way past the time she leaves both St. Mungo's and the Leaky Cauldron. I wonder what happened." Ginny said softly.

"Yeah she did. Something probably came up at St. Mungo's. If she doesn't come by later today, I'll go by and look for her Gin. I promise," Harry said as he turned around in Ginny's arms. He looked down at her and kissed her tenderly on the nose.

"It's about time to go to bed, I'll go check on the kids and then I'll meet you in our room," Ginny said and walked away towards the kid's rooms.

Once she made sure the kids were in bed, Ginny went to look for Harry in their room. "Harry, I'm worried. What is Hermione going to do? Ron won't leave her alone, he'll want revenge. That is until he finds someone else to love." Ginny said as she changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed.

"I know Gin that's why I pulled some strings at the Ministry and I'm having Hermione monitored, as soon as she agrees to it that is. This way, authorities are alerted to whenever she might be in danger from Ron or anyone for that matter. She's like a sister to me Gin; I can't let her get hurt." Harry said as Ginny snuggled into him.

"I understand Harry. I'm still a bit worried but there isn't much we can do until Hermione lets us know what's going on. I just hope she's ok. I'm going to go to sleep Harry, wake me if anything happens or if Hermione shows up." With that said Ginny and Harry went to sleep, hoping and praying that their friends would be ok.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

At the same time in Bora Bora, Draco was starting to wake from his sleep. Opening his grey eyes, he looked around and wondered if the events of the day and night before had been real, that is, until he noticed Hermione snuggled into his side.

I smiled softly sensing Draco looking down at me. I'd been awake for a while but I had not wanted to move because I didn't want to wake Draco. I felt Draco gently unwrap his arms from around my body and get out of bed. With a small chuckle, I rolled over and let my exhausted body drift back to sleep.

I woke up a short while later with bright sunlight on my face and for a second wondered where I was until I remembered the events of this morning. "Good morning Herms, I hope you slept well," Draco said as he walked through the doors to our room carrying a tray with our breakfasts on it.

"Hmm, good morning Draco, I slept wonderfully. What time is it?" I asked as Draco climbed into bed again and placed the tray in front of me.

"Well, here it is 10 am Saturday, in London, it is 8 pm on Saturday night." He said with a smirk as he bit into his toast.

"What? Draco!!! I had to go to the Ministry! Why did you let me oversleep?" I asked about to get out of bed and ready to get back to London.

"Hold it right there missy! Get back in bed and eat your breakfast. I sent an owl to the Ministry explaining why you weren't there. I also took the liberty to owl 's and tell your boss that you weren't going to be there today. Of course I explained everything that happened and he said he needed you there tomorrow morning because Dee has been asking for you and she won't stop crying until she sees you, her words not his. For now she's calm and sleeping so there is no need for you to worry about her. They are taking good care of her. We have the rest of the day to relax and we can leave tonight so you can be at the Ministry in the morning before your shift to deal with Weasley. We can meet up again after your shift to go to the Ministry so you can deal with the adoption paperwork while I see to the situation with Emma and the divorce. Oh and one other thing, I called the Potters for you to let them know you were safe. Ginny was downright hysterical before I called, almost pulled me through the chimney while we were talking. She said to tell you that you've got a lot of explaining to do, something about leaving the country on a romantic vacation and not telling her. Anyway, everything is set so hurry up and eat your breakfast so that we can go out to the beach before we have to get back to London." Draco said as he devoured his breakfast.

With a soft sigh, I fell back onto the pillows and ate my breakfast as Draco and I watched the sun rise steadily in the sky. Once we'd finished our breakfast, Draco and I went downstairs, talked with Niles for a while about how things were going on in the house and then got ready to go to the beach.

We walked down the pier and said hello to the people already making their way down towards the beach. Draco lay down a blanked and plopped down onto it, an expectant look in his eyes. Laughing he rolled onto his back and stared up at the cloudless blue sky. He turned his face to look at me and smiling reached up and pulled me down onto the blanket with him. I felt so free and wonderful that all of the bad things that had happened in the past 2 days left my mind. There was no drama, just Draco and myself in this moment in paradise.

"Herms, would you be happy with me?" Draco asked me, his eyes revealing the very depths of his soul. "Of course I'd be happy with you Draco. Why wouldn't I be happy with you? I never stopped loving you. My relationship with Ronald Weasley was a farce and I went along with it because I felt it was expected of me considering Harry and Ginny were together. I don't know, I guess I didn't want to disappoint anyone," I said as I snuggled into his chest.

We must've spent all morning out on the beach because by the time we realized, it was lunch time, both Draco and I had a nice tan and our stomachs were practically growling with hunger. Spending the entire morning out on the beach with the love of your life sure leaves a person very hungry. Draco's stomach rumbled and I insisted we go have lunch. Laughing, I got up and pulled Draco up with me.

"C'mon, I know this great little place. You'll love it!" Draco said leading me towards the pier. "Shouldn't we pack everything up?" I ask looking back at the blanket and other stuff we'd left there. "Nope, this area is private for wizards and witches only. We don't' have to worry about something going missing so don't worry about it. Let's go Herms, we have to eat then get back to London in time for you to go to work. I don't know about you but I'm starving."

He pulled me along up to the pier and back to the bungalow. We had a quick shower to get any sand off and got ready to go to the nearby village for lunch. We walked into a bungalow very similar to Draco's. It was obviously a Wizarding World five star restaurant.

"Mr. Malfoy! It's so wonderful to see you again. Would you like your usual table sir?" the hostess asked Draco.

"Yes Marie, the usual table, for two this time," he said as he put his arm around my shoulders. Marie smiled and walked us over to a secluded table on the terrace. As we stepped out onto the terrace, I noticed that like the master bedroom in our bungalow, most of the surfaces were made of glass.

We sat down and Marie took our orders. Once we'd finished lunch, we'd gone back to the beach for a bit longer then returned to London.