[A/N: Okay, so this has been a (really really long) while coming and I apologise. I had my first university exams (I passed my first semester!) and then I've spent the last two weeks doing very little, which has been a nice change from waking up at 4am and getting home at 8pm everyday. Even though the content of this chapter was planned more than a month ago, I literally didn't start writing until today, but here it is, a whole half of a new chapter. Part 2 will be along before the end of the week (it's practically done). After so long, the suspense might kill you, but oh well...
After these two half-chapters, there's only one more chapter then an epilogue, so prepare yourselves. After that, I think I might start a new AU Dramione fic, finish my long-neglected Jily one (my first multi-chapter fic) or start a Scorose (it's basically new-gen Dramione and thoroughly adorable). Anyway, have fun, fellow shippers!
So here it is... chapter 9, part 1.
*cackles dramatically*]
Chapter 9
Part 1: What Is Love?
She was in love with him.
She, Hermione Granger, loved Draco Malfoy.
What was wrong with her?
Better yet, what wasn't wrong with him?
When she thought about it, though, there wasn't all that much she hated about Draco Malfoy anymore. And she hated herself for that. She didn't want to want him. She didn't want to love him. Victor was obviously no longer under the impression that Alice was his daughter, so perhaps it was time to call off the whole charade, before anyone got hurt. But Draco was already hurt... she'd left the house in a tizzy just because she had no idea what to say. Because she had no idea how she could have gone from hate to love in a decade.
How could she deny what was right in front of her?
"Hermione, are you going to look over your new cases or are you going to stare at that desk in front of you all day?"
She looked up and shrugged at her colleague. Hermione had never been all that close to Padma Patil when they were at school, but the woman was a damned good lawyer. They'd started off as fledgelings and were now seconds-in-command of the division. Having spent a significant period of time off from work, it was difficult for Hermione to get back into things... especially with a certain blond man on her mind.
Draco had told her he loved her. Wasn't that what she, deep down, truly wanted?
No.
No, she didn't.
She wanted to take Alice back home and get on with her life. Maybe she would forget the whole fake engagement debacle altogether.
"New cases. We're moving forward," said Hermione, plastering a smile on her face. She was Hermione Granger and she did not need a man to be happy. She didn't even want Draco Malfoy.
Definitely not.
No.
He was in love with her.
And he'd told her.
And she'd run away.
She'd run away. Hermione didn't love him. She didn't want to give him a chance. He'd been genuinely nice to her, when he wasn't trying to be witty, and he wanted t- Draco was thrown from his reverie by a familiar and altogether unwelcome voice, "Draco? Are you here?"
Of course she would choose the one moment when he just wasn't prepared to argue with her to come by. He just wanted peace.
He just wanted Hermione.
"DADDY!" A red blur catapulted onto Draco's lap, wrapping two chubby arms around his waist. He'd grown so much, Draco realised with a grimace, but he was still the same exuberant child he'd always loved. His son. Scorpius.
"Scorp!" He chuckled, lifting the boy high in the air before setting him down once again, "How's my little man been since I last saw him?"
Scorpius grinned, and he almost looked like Draco. Mannerisms could be learnt, Draco reminded himself as the boy chirped, "Good!"
"Sweetheart, why don't you go play in your room? Mummy has to talk to Daddy for a minute."
The boy's face became slightly drawn, but the happiness to be back at home was evident as he swung the door shut, humming as he made his way down the hall. Astoria settled on the opposite end of Draco's sofa and crossed her legs primly. Draco finally turned to face his ex-wife. Her hair was the same dark brown that it had been since she'd first dyed it at Hogwarts, but now there was a hint of red when the light hit it. It suited her. She was wearing an olive flowing skirt and a tight black top. Astoria looked remarkably casual, a distinct change from her usually put-together look.
"Draco, darling..." She began, laying a small hand on his arm. Astoria would have appeared genuinely friendly, except her mouth was drawn into a fake smile and her eyes were cold. "I have to ask you something."
Why was she here? Why was Scorp here? It was fantastic to see him, but entirely unexpected. He just wanted... no.
"Yes?"
Astoria took a deep breath and when she spoke, her voice was strained, "I need you to look after Scorpius for a while."
"How long?" Draco let a small smile creep onto his face.
She coughed delicately just as she spoke, her words indecipherable.
"Astoria."
"Indefinitely," she said.
Indefinitely.
He would finally get to spend time with Scorpius again. Scorp could play with Alice and they could go to the park... Draco paused in his planning. Astoria was abandoning her son? With him, sure, but abandoning him?
"You'd just drop him off and leave?!" Draco stood, shaking her hand off him.
"We both know I was never the best wife... or mother. He deserves to be with his father. I'm going away for a while. Travelling, with Jean-Marc. We won't be back for a few months, but even then... Scorpius is probably best with you. I won't fight for him again."
"He's your son!"
"He's your son."
Draco sank back into the sofa. He was numb. He was happy. He was distraught. Scorpius was here, permanently. Hermione was gone, she didn't love him.
"Fuck!" He cried, running a hand through his hair.
Astoria shuffled closer, this time wrapping her left arm over his shoulders, and patted his knee with her right. "What's wrong?"
He shut his eyes and told her everything... from their accidental meeting at the Ministry to Hermione's departure that morning. It hurt. It fucking hurt.
"She's an idiot. I always thought she was. No one's that smart. She fooled everyone quite well though, pretending to read all those books."
It was quite possibly one of the worst and most inappropriate moments to laugh, but Draco couldn't stifle a chuckle. He could just imagine her sitting in the library scouring book after book for knowledge. She wasn't a fake, she was just that obsessed. Merlin, that woman.
It was with Hermione on his mind that he reacted to the pair of lips softly pressed against his. But then it wasn't Astoria's leg that swung over his hip so that she was straddling him. It wasn't Astoria's neck that he was sucking on. It wasn't Astoria's breast that his fingers were grasping at. It wasn't even Hermione's. Draco succumbed to numbness. He didn't think, he just acted, just responded. So when a hand came down between him and the woman on his lap and played with the zipper on his pants, he didn't hesitate to encourage her, he didn't hesitate to slide his hands up her legs and he didn't hesitate when she pulled his lips back to hers.
He just sunk into oblivion.
She was in love with him.
Hermione had told herself time and time again in the past few hours, as she barely focused on her work, that she didn't want to continue with the charade. Enough time had passed, surely. It had been weeks. Or months. She could barely tell anymore. Everything had happened so quickly in the beginning, but the longest time with Draco could seem like a second, she'd realised.
Draco had told her he loved her. Wasn't that what she, deep down, truly wanted?
No.
Yes.
She did want that. She wanted Draco to properly be a part of her life, not an accessory to a lie.
She would tell him as soon as she got home, Hermione vowed.
She would fling her arms around his neck, kiss him passionately and tell him that she loved him.
That is exactly what she would do.
Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall.
Thirty-seven minutes to go.
[to be continued]
