Author's Notes:
Here's Chapter 11 for you all.
Follow me on Tumblr (bigdswisdom . tumblr . com) for updates, sneaky-peaks of upcoming chapters, polls and answering your questions.
I've decided to let you guys choose the names of the children of all couples. I'll post polls on Tumblr and you simply put a | next to the name you prefer.
As always, I dedicate this fanfiction to all my readers.
I dedicate this chapter to out of options for usernames, roni2010, Geowyn, Betty who, ChanivN, LiveoW88 and Guest.
Love, Dumbledore's Wisdom.
P.S. Enjoy Xx
Back at their house, Draco heads upstairs to their room to hang his clothes on the right side of their wardrobe which is apparently his side now. He doesn't know where Hermione's gone so he takes as much time as possible to hang his clothes up. He's not used to spending all this time with one person. Besides Blaise but when he's with him they both keep to themselves with the odd conversation here and there.
After about an hour of putting his clothes away, casting a few ironing spells for the clothes that need them, he makes his way downstairs to place the few books he brought with him on their bookshelf. He finds Hermione lying on the couch reading one of the books they had been provided with.
"I think we're going to have to enlarge the bookshelf." She mentions as he starts stacking his books alphabetically.
"How many books are you planning on bringing?" He asks. The bookshelf seems big enough already. He's only brought thirty-five books with him. It had taken him hours it narrows it down to those thirty-five.
"Not many, about sixty or so. I'm only bringing the ones I haven't read yet and one or two I'd like to reread." She tells him.
He turns around to check if she's joking or not. Her eyes are still on her book so he assumes she's being serious. He taps the bookshelf with his wand muttering the enlargement spell, doubling the bookshelf's size. Similar to their bed and wardrobe, Draco takes the right side of the bookshelf since there's a dividing section down the middle of the shelves. Once he's done, he turns to face Hermione to find her already looking at him.
"When do you want to go shopping?" He asks her standing up off the floor.
"I suppose we can go now and get it over with." She announces getting off the couch leaving her book open on their coffee table.
Draco pulls his cloak back on then grabs his shoes, taking them to the back door to put on since Hermione doesn't want their carpets to get dirty. Hermione's already waiting there with her cloak and shoes on ready to leave. She locks the door behind them then they set off down their garden path towards the large green in the centre of the estate. There's a few people already walking around the shops or sat in the café or restaurants. He notices that most of the people are alone or with their friends rather than with their partner.
The first shop they enter is the market. Hermione hands the basket to Draco as she fills it with bread, milk, eggs, butter and some fruit and vegetables. She finds out that he has 'a completely healthy addiction to apples' as he puts a bag of five in the basket.
They walk around the rest of the shops not really needing to buy anything else. She finds it funny that the restaurant is called 'The Pentagon'. There's a local branch of Tomes and Scrolls that they have a look inside. It's very small with only a few hundred books. Hermione and Draco probably have more books together than this bookshop. After circling the shops, they head back their house to put their shopping away.
Hermione ends up doing it by herself as Draco disappears upstairs somewhere. When she's done and she's tidied up a bit, she goes back to the book she left on the coffee table. She doesn't know how long she lies on the couch reading but it must have been a while and she hasn't heard anything for Draco since they returned from shopping. She places her book back on the coffee table with a sigh then heads upstairs.
She looks in their room but there's no sign of him in there so she knocks on the bathroom door. Nobody answers. She turns to face the third door upstairs. She really hopes he isn't in there. She's not ready to see that particular room yet. Just as she's about to knock on the door, she hears a creak from above. She nervously looks up to find the hatch to the attic, which she hadn't noticed before, is open.
"Draco!" She calls. "Are you in the attic?"
Suddenly, his head pops into view making her jump. "Yeah, we have a Christmas tree up here." He tells her.
"How did you get up there?" She asks walking closer to the opening to peer further inside.
"I used the bannister as leverage." He admits moving away from the opening.
She watches as he dangles his legs through the hatch then jumps down, landing impressively softly in front of her. He then produces his wand and uses it to move the hatch back into place.
"Is there anything else up there?" She asks curiously.
"No, just a Christmas tree and a box of decorations." He shrugs then glances down at his watch. "It's half past four. I'm going to make a sandwich." He announces stepping around her, careful not to touch her. "Would you like one?" He adds walking down the stairs.
"Yeah, thanks." She follows him downstairs. "What do you plan on putting in this sandwich since all we have is butter?" She asks curiously as she watches him turn a hob.
"Do you like fried eggs?" He asks as he pulls the carton out of the fridge.
"Yes." She answers jumping up to sit on the countertop next to the sink. "I'm surprised you know how to cook." She admits.
He turns to face her with an eyebrow raised. "You think eggs is cooking?" He asks chuckling slightly. "I'll cook you a proper meal on Sunday." He tells her going back to frying eggs on the hob.
She stays sat on the counter just watching him make their egg sandwiches. Nothing else is said until he hands her a plate and she thanks him. Draco leans against the counter next to her so she doesn't move to the table.
"I was thinking we could leave a little early for my parents and I can introduce you to Bobby," Hermione says hopping down from the counter, once she's finished.
"Who's Bobby?" Draco asks rather sharply with a frown
"My next door neighbour's dog." She answers taking his plate to the sink to wash up. "We could take him for a walk." She says before adding, "If you want to."
She keeps forgetting who she's talking to. This is Draco Malfoy. She's talking to him as if they were actually friends as if they could tolerate each other. A few weeks ago they were arguing over a potions book and now they're expected to live together. She's actually surprised they haven't had an argument yet. They have been acting very civilly towards each other. Maybe they can make it through this marriage without cursing each other.
"That sound great." He answers.
"Good." She answers nodding awkwardly.
She dries her hands on the tea towel and remembers she's still wearing one of Draco's shirts as a dress. She couldn't hide this under a cloak in the park.
"You don't happen to have a jacket I could borrow or anything less conspicuous than a cloak?" She asks hopefully.
Draco seems to think about it for a few seconds before nodding. "Blaise bought me a leather jacket for Christmas." He tells her.
She follows him up to their room where he rummages around in his side of the wardrobe. It takes him a while but he finally pulls the jacket out and hands it over to her. She pulls it on and it's only slightly big. She can thank Draco for being so twig thin for that.
"Thanks." She tells him as she checks herself out in the mirror.
"It suits you." He tells her.
She wasn't expecting him to compliment her and from the way he's starting to blush, he didn't mean to compliment her either so she lets it drop. She goes back downstairs as Draco looks another jacket that he can wear. Once he's ready, in a casual blazer that Hermione can't help but think looks really good on him. She looks away from him before he notices the blush that she's sure is spreading across her face.
Draco locks the door behind them before they set off for the gate where they can safely disapparate to her house.
"You mentioned your family this morning." He brings up so Hermione nods. "The only family I have left is my Mother. It never occurred to me that you probably have grandparents, aunts and uncles." He mentions.
Hermione's heart grows heavy as she realises that Draco really doesn't have much family and he probably never has since his Aunt and Uncle were in Azkaban most of his life.
"Yeah, you'll get to see everyone soon enough. We're always having barbeques, especially in the summer. You'll be tired of seeing them before long." She jokes remembering that if he doesn't want to meet them if he doesn't want to. She can feel herself falling further into this act of husband and wife.
"I doubt it." He shakes his head.
"I think my Uncle David is hosting the next barbeque. He has a daughter called Sophie. She's nearly nine. I also have an Auntie Louise who has two children, Lauren who's five now and Craig who's four. My Auntie and Uncle are both my Mum's siblings as my Dad's an only child." She looks out of the corner of her eye to see if he's even listening to find him already looking at her.
"Your cousins are quite a lot younger than you." He points out.
"Yeah, my uncle never wanted children but he got this twenty-something-year-old pregnant. She ran off as soon as she'd given birth, leaving him with Sophie. He's a great Dad, though. Loves her more than anything else in this world." She smiles to herself.
"What about your Auntie?" He asks as they come to the gate.
He then reaches down, grabbing hold of her hand. Her breath hitches, confused by the sudden touch until she remembers they need to disapparate to her house. They reappear in the alley at the back of her house, hidden behind the fences of the back garden. She drops his hand, then sets of down the alleyway towards the road.
"My Auntie Louise is still very young. She's only twenty-one and still likes to live the life of a childless twenty-one-year-old so be careful when you meet her because she will flirt with you." She laughs as Draco's eyes widen. "Don't worry. She prefers older men." She adds.
"My Grandma Betty and Grandad Tom have been together since they were nineteen and they're both seventy-three now and claim to be just as in love as they were fifty-four years ago. They're my Mam's parents. My Dad's Mam, Emily, is eighty and always tries to give me money since I'm her only grandchild. My Grandad Ellis died when my Dad was thirteen, so I never met him." She explains as they come up to Mrs Johnson's house. "That's my house there." She points at the house next door. "And this is Mrs Johnson's house." She says knocking on the door.
Mrs Johnson peers through the crack in the door, the latch still on.
"Hello, Mrs Johnson, it's Hermione Granger from next door." She greets her politely.
"Oh, hello dear." She closes the door to take the chain off then reopens it.
"We've come to take Bobby for a walk." She explains.
"Who's we? I thought your parents were at work." She asks suspiciously.
"My friend and I." She answers.
"Okay dear. Let me go put Bobby on his leash." She closes the door again, locking it.
"Ever since she went blind a few years back, she's been very careful with security," Hermione explains to Draco who just nods.
Once they have Bobby, who barks very excitedly at Draco until he reaches down to stroke him behind his ears. Draco takes hold of the leash then follows her down the street towards the park.
"Is that your whole family?" He asks.
"I have a Godmother called Sharon who's been my Mam's best friend since primary school. She's got twin six-year-olds, Mark and Mia, who are going through a fighting phase. They're constantly arguing with each other." She shakes her head fondly. "Then that's all of them." She shrugs as they enter the park. "I use to play here all the time with my best friend when I was in primary school." She mentions as they walk past the play park.
"What's primary school?" Draco asks.
She turns to face him a little confusedly. "It's where children go when they're four until they're eleven before they go to secondary school then college which is what Hogwarts is." She explains.
She watches as Draco takes it in.
"I should warn you that when you meet my Grandad Tom and Uncle David, they will question what your future plans are so say something about going to University to study chemistry. It's the closest thing to potions we have in the muggle world." She tells him.
"Which university should I say?" He asks curiously.
"I've told them I'm going to University of Edinburgh so you should probably say the same." She answers.
"Okay, so I'm studying chemistry at the University of Edinburgh." He repeats for confirmation to which she nods.
When they return, her parent's car is in the driveway. They quickly hand Bobby back to Mrs Johnson then head into her house. She's halfway down the hall when she realised Draco's no longer behind her. She turns around to find him awkwardly stood on her doorstep, glancing around her hallway, as if waiting to be invited in.
"You can come in, you know?" She tells him.
His eyes quickly flicker to hers questioningly so she gives a small, encouraging nod. He then clambers through the door closing it behind him as he continues to glance around her hallway.
"Come on!" She urged him when he doesn't move from the doormat. "They'll be in the kitchen." She explains.
She pushes the door open to reveal her Dad eating a sausage roll straight from the fridge and her Mum making two cups of tea.
"Hi, Mum. Have you been home long?" She asks giving her a quick hug before fetching two more cups from the cupboard.
"No, just five minutes." She places the kettle back on its stand then set the two cups of tea on the table. "You okay making your own, I'm shattered." Her Mum sits down, toeing her shoes off.
"Yeah, Draco, sit at the table." She orders him since he's just standing in the doorway staring at everyone.
"Do you need any help?" He asks stepping towards her.
"With making two cups of tea?" She places her hand on her hips. "No, I think I can manage." She turns to make the cups of tea.
"What are you wearing, Hermione?" Her Dad laughs taking his own seat at the table.
"I forgot to pack spare clothes." She turns around to find everyone sat at the table already. Draco is sitting next to her Dad so she takes the spare seat next to her Mum. "You been busy at work then?" She asks her parents trying to change the topic of conversation.
"You could say that?" Her Dad grumbles before taking a sip of tea.
"That stupid assistant, Lindsey, booked all our clients we missed yesterday in for today. We didn't get a minutes break until half three and even then it was a ten-minute sandwich break before being swept off our feet again." He Mum complains.
"Well, at least it's over with. It won't be as busy tomorrow." Hermione tries to be optimistic.
"Oh, and you won't guess who came in." Her Mum smiles knowingly.
"Who?" She takes the bait.
"Derek." Her Mum announces.
"As in Derek Merton." She asks for confirmation.
"Yeah, I haven't seen him since his eleventh birthday party. He's very handsome, isn't he?" She winks at her.
"I don't know, Last I saw him was three years ago." Hermione shrugs drinking her tea, trying to ignore Draco's stare.
"So Draco…" Her Mum starts until Draco starts choking on his cup of tea.
"Sorry… Sorry, Sarah." He apologises between coughs.
"Did you have a girlfriend before this stupid decree?" She curiously asks.
"Mum." Hermione groans. "It's none of your business. You can't just ask him that." She complains but curiously awaits Draco's answer. He does hang around Pansy a lot but they could just be really good friends, like her and Harry and Ron. There had also been a few rumours throughout the years of Draco dating various girls, mainly from Slytherin and Ravenclaw but there was the odd girl from Hufflepuff.
"No, it's fine Hermione." He says turning to face her Mum. "I didn't have a girlfriend. Although I have heard of many couples who broke up once they found out about the decree in fear of not being paired together. I'm thankful I didn't have to go through that."
"Well, a handsome man like you. I'm sure there were lines of girls wanting to be your girlfriend." She can tell her Mum is trying to comfort Draco.
"Not since the war." He mutters sipping his tea.
Her Mum glances towards her frowning.
"Why is that?" Her Dad asks suspiciously.
"My family was on the wrong side of the war." He admits looking between her parents, trying to determine their thoughts from their facial expression. "Everyone seems to be under the impression that I can't change or I'm unwilling to try." He adds.
"That's not true Draco," Hermione announces seriously, not wanting him to think she's under that impression. She sees the hurt expression flash across his expression before a stern, emotionless one replaces it. She realises how he's interpreted what she just said. This isn't a conversation she wants to have in front of her parents so she excuses them both.
"I'm going to go bring my boxes down. Draco, I would appreciate your help." She mentions.
He shrugs but follows her either way up the stairs to her bedroom, eyes trained on the floor until they enter her bedroom and he glances up. She watches as he takes the whole room in.
Draco stops at the doorframe of her bedroom glancing around. It's… not what he was expecting. He doesn't really know what he was expecting but it certainly wasn't what he's staring at right now. A pale pink room with bright yellow, orange and blue flowers scattered around the walls. Her quilt cover is just as flowery. The rest of her furniture is brilliant white. He looks down at her, quirking an eyebrow.
Hermione rolls her eyes then shrugs. "It's been like this since I was seven. My parents didn't see any point in redecorating since I rarely use it. I suppose they'll turn it into a gym or something now I've left." She chuckles.
He frowns. "Why would they turn it into a gym?" He asks.
"That's what happens in the movies. Once the child's moved out they turn their room into an office or a gym. My parents already have an office in the spare bedroom." She explains but he still doesn't understand. Maybe it's something that commonly happens in the muggle world that he's not aware of.
He looks around the room to find two boxes at the bottom of her bed atop her trunk. He heads over to pick one up. That is until Hermione places a hand on his wrist stopping him in his tracks. He glances down at her hand then up to her eyes questioningly.
"Have a seat, Draco. We need to talk." She tells him.
His heart skips a beat as his stomach drops. He doesn't know what they need to talk about but it can't be good. No one ever says 'we need to talk' when they have good news. He glances around for a place to sit.
"My bed's fine." She pulls him by the wrist to sit next to her on her flowery bed.
He perches on the edge waiting for Hermione to start talking.
"It's about what you said downstairs." She says sounding quite nervous herself.
Draco thinks back to what he said. He can't think of anything he said that was wrong. Maybe he accidently offended her parents. Maybe she didn't want her parents to know about his family's involvement in the war. That would make sense.
"I'm sorry if I said too much." He apologises looking down at her hand which is still holding on to his wrist.
"What?" She sounds confused. "I'm talking about what you said about you changing. What are you talking about?" She questions.
Draco snatches his hand away from hers, standing up from her bed. He really doesn't want to hear her thoughts on the matter. She made it pretty clear earlier that she doesn't believe him.
"I don't care Hermione. You can think what you want." He heads over to the door but she jumps up putting herself between him and the door. "Move." He almost growls. He won't hurt her. He promised Chris he wouldn't.
"No. You don't know what I think. I want you to sit down so I can tell you that you're wrong." She glares up at him.
He continues to glare down at her. "Why would I want to listen to you tell me how I can't change. You don't even know me. Not really." He shouts.
"Please don't shout. I don't want my parents to hear." She asks him.
He sighs. "Just move so I can leave." He asks quietly.
"No. You've got it wrong, Draco. I -" She starts.
"What did I do to make you change your mind? I've done nothing but be kind and polite to you since The Partner Ceremony." He asks trying to avoid looking at her.
"What do you mean?" She frowns at him. "I haven't changed my mind."
"Really?" He glares her straight in the eye. "I overheard you on the Hogwarts Express back to school after Christmas telling Potter and Weasel that you think I'm trying to change and now you don't think I'm not capable of such a thing." His voice starts to raise again.
Hermione seems to be taking it all in. "Wait, so you were eavesdropping on us?" She asks rhetorically.
He scoffs throwing his arms in the air. "Yeah, just turn this back on me. I knew your little friends would go back to their compartment to talk about me. I think I have a right to know what's being said."
"Not when it's a private conversation, Draco." She shouts at him.
"Why were you talking about me anyway? Does nothing better happen in your lives that 'your favourite Slytherin' is the best topic of conversation." He raises a questioning eyebrow, smirking.
Hermione shakes her head looking disappointed. "Maybe I was wrong." She shouts at him. "Maybe you haven't changed. Maybe you can't change."
He feels everything fall. His smirk, his shoulders, his heart, his stomach. He already knew she felt that way but hearing her actually say it hurt more than he cares to admit. He grabs hold of her shoulders, a little harder than is necessary, to move her out of the way of the door then walks out of it leaving her behind. He heads downstairs to find Chris and Sarah stood at the kitchen door. They had obviously been listening to them. He stares at them for a moment before walking out of the house and disapparating back to the estate.
He doesn't want to go back to his and Hermione's house yet so he just stands in front of the gate unsure of where to go. He glances around spotting a suspiciously colourful door with a brass E12 on it. It looks like someone took just threw different coloured paint at the door. Since it's the last house number on the last street, he assumes that it's Blaise's house, so he heads over and knocks on the door then waits for someone to answer. Nobody does. He knocks again, a little louder. Finally, the door opens to reveal Luna in a very floaty, pale dress.
"Draco, come in. We're sat in the garden drinking tea. Would you care for a cup?" She asks leading the way into the kitchen, although he could have found his own way since the layout is identical to his own house.
"I would, thank you, Luna." He answers, leaving her in the kitchen and heading outside to wear Blaise is lying on a blanket.
He gently kicks his foot to gain his attention.
"Draco!" He cheers jumping up and pulling him into a tight hug. "Did you bring Hermione?" He looks behind him.
"No, we… had an argument." He admits taking a seat at their garden table.
"It was bound to happen Draco. Couples who are deeply in love with each other have arguments every now and then. To be honest, I'm surprised you weren't at each other's necks at the reception party." Blaise chuckles. "So tell me, what did you do?" He asks.
Draco faces his friend. "I didn't do anything." He shouts at him. "She said that I couldn't change." He tells him.
"That's where you're wrong Draco. It's very rarely the wife's fault. You must have done something to make her say that." Blaise explains.
"I told her I'd eavesdropped on a conversation she had with Potter and the Weasel." He admits.
"Okay, now we're getting somewhere. First of all, you insulted one of her best friends. Who do you think she's going to stick up for, her best friend of eight years or her husband who she's been married to for a day and has hated for the past eight years?" He points out.
Draco shakes his head. "She didn't mention that?"
"Of course not, but I'm just letting you know that she's going to choose her friends over you so stop insulting them." He explains.
Luna exits the house carrying a cup of tea, placing it on the table. She then takes a seat next to Blaise.
"Next, you eavesdropped on her conversation. That's an invasion of her privacy. She has every right to get angry at you." He tells him.
Draco scowls at his friend. "The conversation was about me. Do I not have a right to know what they're saying about me?" He asks rhetorically.
"You wouldn't have known they were talking about you if you weren't eavesdropping on them."
Draco groans. He thought Blaise would take his side on this but apparently not.
"Now, I highly doubt she meant what she said. She was angry and wanted to hurt you so she said what she knew would hurt you the most. This isn't going to get any better until you apologise for eavesdropping on her then if all goes to plan she'll apologise for saying what she said and then you can go back to playing happy families." Blaise claps his hands to signify the end of the conversation.
"If you want to apologise properly, buy her some fish and chips and mushy peas for tea. It's her favourite." Luna adds.
Draco thinks for a moment. He knows he shouldn't have eavesdrop but he stands by his actions. He wanted to know what they were going to say about and he's glad he did. Hermione had shown faith in him and she wasn't saying it for his benefit since she didn't know he was listening. Maybe Blaise is right. Maybe she didn't mean it. He sighs deeply. He's going to have to apologise to her.
"Where do I buy fish and chips and mushy peas?" He turns to Luna.
"I'm not sure, you could always ask her parents." She tells him.
"Okay, thank you, Luna. I guess I'll be seeing you both at Theo's party tomorrow?" He asks standing up.
"Yeah, we'll be there and hopefully, you'll be there with Hermione." Blaise pats him on the shoulder as he heads back into their house.
Just as he's leaving the house, he spots Hermione walking through the gate looking rather angry, so he quickly jumps back into the house and waits for a minute. He opens the door slowly, peering around the corner. He can't see her anywhere so he quickly exits his friend's house, shutting the door behind him and quickly walks over to the gate where he disapparates back to his parent-in-laws back alley. He knocks on their front door and hopes they actually invite him in or at least listen to what he has to say.
Sarah opens the door. "Oh, Draco. What are you doing here?" She asks staring at him confusingly.
"I'm hoping I can talk to both you and Chris. May I come in?" He asks politely.
Sarah stares at him a little longer before nodding and letting him in. He stands awkwardly in their hallways waiting for her to lead the way. She takes him into the front room where Chris is sat in an armchair reading his newspaper.
"Ah, Draco, I didn't think we'll be seeing you anytime soon," Chris mentions.
Sarah takes her seat on the couch leaving Draco stood on their rug awkwardly holding his hands. They're both staring at him, waiting for him to say something.
"I'd firstly like to apologise for how I acted earlier. I knew there would come a point where Hermione and I would argue but I didn't expect to do so under your roof and loud enough for you to here." He tells them looking back and forth between them.
"I shouldn't get involved but you've both done wrong. You just need to apologise to each other and all will be fine." Chris explains
Draco nods. "That's why I'm here. One of her friends informed me that her favourite meal is fish and chips and mushy peas?" He asks for confirmation.
Sarah chuckles. "Yeah, when she was eight, she refused to eat anything else for a fortnight."
"I was wondering where I can acquire some fish and chips and mushy peas," Draco asks them glancing back and forth between them.
Chris sighs, standing up. "Come with me." He tells him.
Draco follows him to the front door where Chris pulls on his shoes and a jacket then exits his house. He follows behind his father-in-law for a few minutes before he speaks.
"Where are we going?" He asks curiously glancing around. It's starting to get dark.
"Our local chippie." He says which doesn't really clear much up.
"I'm not entirely sure what a 'chippie' is but would I be safe in assuming it has something to do with chips?" He asks.
"Do you always talk like that?" He asks looking him up and down.
"Like what?" Draco asks confused.
"All posh and proper?"
"My father taught me to speak formally to my elders. It shows respect." Draco explains.
"And calling me old is showing respect." Chris rolls his eyes.
"I'm not calling you old, I'm just saying you're older than me which is simply stating a fact." He counters as Chris points at a shop they're coming up to.
"Well, you don't have to speak like that to Sarah and I. We're family now." He says opening the door to the shop called 'Major's Fish and Chips'. "This is a fish and chip shop or a chippie. I'll order for you so you know how to next time you need to apologise to Hermione." Chris mentions stepping forward.
"Hey Howard, how's you doing?" Chris asks leaning against the counter.
Draco steps closer but doesn't feel comfortable leaning on the greasy counter.
"Ah, I'm doing fine. Did I tell ya Rebecca got herself pregnant?" The man, Howard, asks.
"No, how'd that happen. She's always grounded isn't she?" Chris says and they both laugh.
"I know. Some twenty-year-old she met on the bus. I'm gonna have to drop her off meself now." Howard says then looks directly at Draco as though he just noticed he's been standing there. "Who's this posh twat, Chris?" He asks, looking him up and down.
"Hermione's fella," Chris announces.
"How'd your girl get a fella? You shipped her off to Scotland, didn't ya?" Howards asks.
"Yeah, she met him at school."
"You never mentioned him before." Howard points out.
"Neither did Hermione. We went to pick her up from Kings Cross five days ago and she gets off the train with this guy." Chris says shoving his shoulder slightly at his mention.
"Ooh, the cheek of her. Pray to God that you have sons, lad. Daughters are a nightmare." Howard chuckles.
Draco tries to smile even though he's just unintentionally insulted him.
"Anyway, what can I do ya for?" He asks.
"Two fish and chips, large mushy peas and two baps mate," Chris orders for him.
"Is that all? You ain't ordering for your lasses then?" Howards asks grabbing two bread buns from a container.
"Nah, I'm ordering for him. Didn't even know what a chippie was?" Chris laughs.
"You posh twat." Howard joins in laughing at his expense as he places two battered fish and rather a lot of chips atop a newspaper then wraps it up. He places the wrapped up food in a bag with the bread buns, which Draco assumes are the baps and the large tub of mushy peas. "That'll be £5.40." He says looking at Draco who looks at Chris. He didn't have any muggle money.
"I don't have any of your money," Draco explains.
Chris stares at him confused for a moment for realising. "Oh right, yeah. Here Howard, keep the change."
Howard stares at the money for a moment before taking it. "Why ain't the posh twat buy his own?" He asks handing the bag over.
"He's foreign. From Canada or America or somewhere. He doesn't have any pounds." Chris explains heading towards the door. "See ya Friday Howard," Chris calls behind him as they leave.
"I'm not entirely sure what just happened. Will I have to talk to him like that next time I go in?" Draco asks.
"No, we went to school together. You just go in, ask for what you want, pay and then leave." Chris explains. "Here, you might as well teleport from here. Visit anytime." He hands over the bag then carries on walking leaving Draco behind.
Hermione stands in her room, staring at her open bedroom door. She flinches when the front door slams shut. This isn't her fault. Although, if it isn't her fault then why does she feel guilty. She sits back down on her bed, head in her hands. Being married to Draco is going to be a lot harder than first thought. They hadn't even made it twenty-four hours. She hears a small rap at her door and looks up to find her Mum stood there staring awkwardly at her.
"I suppose you heard all that then." She sighs shuffling over so her Mum can sit next to her.
"Yeah." Her Mum smiles softly stroking her hair.
"Sorry." Hermione mutters.
"I know you're not going to want to hear this but have you ever thought about how Draco feels?" She asks.
Hermione glares at her confused. Why would she care how he feels right now?
"His father's in prison and from what Narcissa was saying last night, she still has her beliefs. He doesn't have many friends since your war ended and those he does have, have been his friends for so long that they don't realise or notice that he's trying to change. It was wrong for him to eavesdrop on your conversation but he must have had reason to believe you were all going to talk about him and he's insecure enough that he just wanted to know what you were going to say. Then he hears you, a girl he's hate for years, defending him and believing in him. That obviously had a positive effect on him. Then you, the only person to have faith in him, has told him that maybe he can't change. I know you didn't mean it but he doesn't know that. He doesn't know you so you need to go and apologise to him even if it is partly his fault. If he's a half decent person he'll apologise to you for what he did." Her Mum tells her.
"When did you become a psychologist?" Hermione huffs, knowing she's right.
Her Mum laughs, standing up. "Come on, you can finish your cuppa before you go." She says pulling Hermione by the hand, down the stairs.
Hermione finishes her cup of tea quickly, wanting to get her apology over and done. She just hopes that Draco went back to their house and not the Manor or one of his friend's house. She gives her parents a quick hug before running out the back door towards the alleyway where she disapparates back to the Estate's gate.
She quickly walks down Alpha, Beta and Gamma until she reaches their house. She tries the door handle but it's looked. She reaches into the pocket of her borrowed leather jacket for the keys before remembering that Draco locked the door when they left. She sighs deeply staring up at their house. Maybe he's in the house but just locked it behind him? She knocks on the door multiple times before giving up and sitting on their doorstep.
It's starting to get dark. She checks her watch. Quarter past seven. Where could he be at quarter past seven? Maybe at a friend's house. The only one of his friends she would even consider visiting is Blaise but she doesn't know where his house. She would go visit one of her friends but she doesn't know where any of them live. Well, she could probably hazard a guess at where Neville lives since he was on their bus but she doesn't want to intrude on his and Hannah's evening. It's about dinner time so she decides that it's best to just wait on her doorstep. If he doesn't show up by eight o'clock then she'll head back to her parents' house for the night.
After about half an hour, Draco finally shows up carrying a carrier bag. He stops right in front of her and just stares at her for a moment. She doesn't give him the satisfaction of standing up, instead waiting for him to sit down on their doorstep next to her. He doesn't say anything as he sits down. In fact, neither of them say anything for about five minutes. Then Draco breaks the silence.
"Why are we sat on the doorstep?" He asks turning to face her.
She doesn't look at him when she answers, "You have the keys."
"Oh," Draco rummages around in his pocket before producing them. "Sorry." He mutters placing them back in his pocket.
He obviously has no intention of unlocking their front door then. Hermione decides that now is a good a time as any to apologise.
"Draco," She says to gain his attention. She sees him turn to face her out the corner of her eye so she turns to face him too. "I'm sorry for what I said. What you did was wrong but it didn't give me the right to say what I said. I know you've changed and you're still trying to change. One day everyone will see what I see." She looks him straight in the eye so he knows she's being sincere.
"What is it that you see?" He asks with a small smirk. Evidence that he's forgiven her.
"I see you, Draco." She smiles softly.
He scoffs rolling his eyes. "What kind of an answer is that? Everyone sees me as Draco."
"No, most people see you as your father or your father's puppet but that's in the past now. They'll soon see you as a unique individual not a copy of your father." She explains.
Draco turns away from her staring straight ahead of him. She leaves him to his thoughts.
"I'm sorry for eavesdropping on your conversation but I'm glad I did it." He says, still staring ahead.
"Okay, it's not the best apology I've ever heard but-"She starts.
"Wait, I'm glad I did because I got to hear what you really thought about me and it helped me for the rest of the year. There were so many times where I could have fallen into old habits and messed around with Potter and Weasel but the thought of my actions changing your thought of me stopped me." He admits.
Her heart fills with joy at the impact she had on his life. "Draco,-" She starts but doesn't know what she's going to say.
"It also helped that your friends still tried to get me to retaliate and the more I didn't the more they tried. It was rather fun to imagine them telling you their conspiracy theories of me and having you defend me." He chuckles before coughing and clearing his throat.
"You have a nice laugh." She comments then chuckles when Draco clears his throat again awkwardly.
'Who would have thought that their first fight wouldn't end up in curse flying back and forth?' She thinks with a laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" He scowls at her.
"This was our first fight." She smiles at him.
"Most likely our first of many." He adds giving the smallest of smiles. "I've brought you some apology dinner." He adds holding the white carrier bag she had forgotten about up.
"Apology dinner?" She questions.
"Luna suggested it." He explains.
"You visited Luna?" She asks confused.
"Well I went to visit Blaise but Luna was just as helpful." He adds.
"Oh, okay. So what did you get me?" She asks sitting up a little straighter. She hadn't realised how hungry she was.
"Fish and chips and mushy peas." He hands the bag over to her.
"Really?" She grabs the bag excitedly. "Where'd you get them from?" She asks.
"Well, I didn't know where to go so I asked your father for help. He took me to Major's Fish and Chips." Draco explains.
"Ah, so you met Howard," Hermione says putting a chip in her mouth.
"Yeah, he called me a posh twat." He mentions making her choke on her chip. "And told me to pray for sons because daughters are a nightmare." He shrugs.
"What has Becky done now?" She asks popping more chips in her mouth.
"A twenty-year-old she met on a bus got her pregnant." He explains.
Hermione stares at him for a moment to see if he's serious.
"Wow, didn't expect that." She says actually taking the bag of fish and chips out of the bag and resting them on her lap. She then pours the mushy peas on top of them. "Help yourself." She tells him.
"I'm fine, thank you." He says with a disgusted facial expression. "It doesn't look that appealing." He admits making Hermione pause with a chip halfway to her mouth.
"It's not about what it looks like. It's about what it tastes like and Howard's are the best fish and chips I've ever had." She takes out one of the bread buns, placing half a fish in it, some chips and some mushy peas. "Here." She hands it to Draco. "Just try some."
"Fine." He takes hold of the bread bun. He sniffs it suspiciously before taking a small bite and chewing carefully. "I suppose it's alright." He admits.
"Alright?" Hermione gasps offended. "You just don't want to admit that you're wrong." She says making her own fish, chip and mushy peas butty.
"I'm never wrong," Draco announces.
"Yeah, okay." Hermione scoffs taking a bite from her own bread bun.
Draco laughs softly again. They sit in silence whilst they eat their dinner. Draco finishes his bread buns and steals a few of Hermione's chips. When they're finished, Hermione puts all the wrappers in the carrier bag. They're sat in a comfortable silence that she doesn't want to break. By now it's nearly nine o'clock and its pitch black.
Hermione looks up at the sky. It's nothing compared to the sky above Hogwarts but it's still very beautiful.
"Do you see Ursa Major there?" Draco suddenly asks pointing up at the stars.
She nods. Her Dad pointed the big dipper out to her when she was five.
"Well starting at the end there's Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, down to Phecda, Merak and Dubhe. Those are the main stars that make up the Ursa Major constellation. If you look directly up from Dubhe, you'll see Gianfar then in a backwards 'S' shape you have, Shaowei, Thuban, Edasich, Theta, Aldibain, Alsafi, Batentaban Australis, Batentaban Borealis, Arrakis, Tyl, Altais then into a trapezium shape with Grumium, Kuma, Rastaban and Etamin. They are the main stars that make up the Draconis Constellation." He explains pointing at each star as he names them. Hermione follows his finger almost hypnotised by his gentle voice as he explains each name.
"Draconis as in Draco?" She asks sleepily, leaning her head against Draco's shoulder. He flinches but doesn't push her away so she doesn't move.
"Yes, my Mother loves star and constellation names. She had a few picked out for when I was born. She really wanted another child after me but it was hard enough for her to fall pregnant with me. After five years, they gave up. It's highly unlikely that a pureblood will have more than one child." He mutters.
"It's a good thing I'm a Muggleborn then, isn't it?" Hermione chuckles.
"How many children would you like?" Draco asks, sounding nervous.
"Hmm, I think three is a nice number." She answers.
Neither of them says anything else. Hermione continues to stare up at the stars. Particularly Draconis. She thinks she might agree with Narcissa. Star names are beautiful. She feels her eyes drooping shut and tries to keep them open but ultimately fails.
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