Author's Note: It's been a while guys, so very sorry! I owe you guys a huge one for sticking by this story and waiting. I totally and completely lacked the motivation to finish the chapter but in the end I got a review that told me not to give up so I sat down on my computer and finished it. So thank you guys! I'm gonna sit down right now and get on the next one! Happy reading!

Exile Chapter Fourteen

The light of day gently coaxed Draco Malfoy to return from his deep sleep and float into consciousness in the early morning. He slowly became aware of small things: The red behind his eyelids, the smell of whiskey which still lingered in every breath, the slow throbbing of his temples, the nauseating feeling swirling around his stomach, and the inability to breathe freely, as if a large weight were pressing down on his chest, and strategic areas of his body. He became aware after minutes that this was not normal, and that there indeed was a weight on top of him.

Oh, shite.

Memories of the previous night slowly pieced themselves together, and he mentally groaned with disbelief and disgust while keeping his eyes shut. Draco refused to open his eyes. If he did, there was no escaping the reality of who was currently touching him. Instead, he prayed it was all a truly and remarkably realistic dream. He considered throwing the muggle girl off him, pinching her awake, or doing anything along those lines but he truly could not bring himself to move due to the complete shock he was in. This isn't happening. This did not happen. Draco repeated to himself over and over and over, while maintaining his eyes squeezed shut and making sure not to breathe in too deeply. His mind still felt muddy and slow from the whiskey, and he silently cursed the delicious golden drink which had gotten him into this problem in the first place.

Draco froze as he felt the girl stir, tensing his muscles and become rigid as stone. He squeezed his eyes shut harder, in the hopes that perhaps he would drift into sleep again.

He heard her gasp, followed immediately by an "Oh…god," and in that instance Draco's eyes fluttered open to reveal Georgia, green eyes wide with terror and embarrassment. She immediately threw herself off of Draco and dived toward the floor, sitting up and clasping both hands over her mouth, eyes as huge as was humanly possible.

The only things Hermione Granger regretted at that moment was not having been drunk enough to blackout and forget what had happened. Sadly, she remembered mostly everything, including Draco's confession of being a wizard, his need for a hug, and the small peck she had given on his lips.

Both remained staring at each other in shock, not knowing what to say. However if each had their wits about them that day, the scene would have progressed with much action. Draco would have liked to stand up and kick the muggle girl out of his house, later rinse off every inch of his body with soap, not to mention brush his teeth, curse to the four winds about how vile and disgusting of an experience it was and how he had disgraced his name once more. Hermione would have very much liked to run away at that moment, laugh and cry about the fact that it all actually happened, and never talk or see Draco Malfoy ever again. Neither of those two scenarios happened however; both were too hung-over and in too much shock to even move. Both felt that if they moved, what had happened would somehow become more real and inescapable because the more they stayed still, the better they could both ignore it.

"This didn't…." Hermione spoke once she had gathered the courage to break the long and never ending silence. She had wanted to finish the sentence, to say it never happened, but her voice sounded so alien in the silence she never finished her sentence.

"No." Was Draco's reply, sensing what the girl wanted to tell him. "I never want to talk about this again." He spoke through unmoving lips, still not being able to control his shock. He could not even meet her eyes.

Without another word, Hermione quickly and awkwardly rose from the floor.

"Agreed." She said, and walked as fast as she possibly could toward the door, opening it and closing it with such nervousness she slammed it shut.

Once alone, Draco made a terrible face, one between disgust and embarrassment, which contorted his facial features so much he would have been barely recognizable. He thrust his head into his hands, grabbing fists of his hair and pulling slightly, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head continuously. In that moment the full gravity of what had happened came crashing on him and Draco felt completely stumped at how to even begin to process what had transpired.

He decided to reason out everything that happened, taking small bits and pieces and working them out. The first thing that came to his mind was the fact that he had told the muggle girl he was a wizard. Major slip, but I was drunk, so I obviously didn't know what I was talking about. The thought immediately brought a small amount of relief to him. She would never have believed that, and who knew if she even remembered. He was not bothered so much by his slipped secret but with the fact that he had asked her for a hug, and allowed himself to touch her. Her, a muggle. A non-magic, filthy, stupid, muggle. He felt so ashamed, disappointed and embarrassed with himself that he could not bring himself to find a sane and rational reason to excuse his behavior. He could not tell if his actions or the hangover was making him feel so sick. What was worse was that Draco could remember his enjoyment at her touch, the first touch he had in a long time. He had enjoyed her hug, there was no hiding it from himself, but a second nagging voice in his head told him it was wrong, that he was filthy for wanting it. He even remembered when she pressed her lips against his for a brief moment, and recalled how soft her lips felt against his, and how warm she was. Draco immediately cut his thoughts off, refusing to think of a muggle as warm and soft. He began to question why he had not been disgusted at the moment, and came to the conclusion that he had been drunk, and thus he was not himself. If I had been in control I would have stopped it, Draco thought without much conviction.

In the apartment building from across the hall, a meltdown of pure dread and embarrassment was happening.

"Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. I kissed Draco Malfoy?! I slept on top of him?! What in the hell…" Hermione whispered aloud to herself, pacing the length of her living room with her hands in her hair, tugging with every thought. "How can I ever EVER even talk to this guy again?! What if he realizes it's truly me one day and finds out that Hermione Granger kissed him?!" Her eyes scrambled madly around the room, in complete disbelief, until they landed on her kitten, Romeo, who was staring at her from his place on the sofa with a stoic look. I wish I were a cat. Hermione found herself thinking. To her own horror, the events from the previous night would not cease to replay in her mind, and with every second she pictured Draco Malfoy drunkenly asking for a hug, calling her silly, and letting her kiss him.

"Calm down, it's not a big deal. Not a big deal. It's a lot worse for him. Definitely a lot worse for him. I've gone through worse. I've turned myself into a cat. This is nothing." Hermione whispered to herself, releasing her hands from her dark straight hair and placing them at her sides. She repeated this to herself constantly, until she felt her heart rate decrease. Her pacing did not make her feel better, and neither did the nerves, but it was too late. Her stomach gave a lurch, and Hermione ran to the bathroom clutching her mouth shut.

Sunday came and rolled around, and Hermione and Draco had not spoken or seen each other since their drunken incident. Both knew they were avoiding each other, pressing their ear against their respective doors to make sure the other wasn't leaving, and when the coast was clear, they would creep about their business. It was childish, but their embarrassment was so great neither could bear to come face to face. Given that, on Sunday Hermione Granger was quite glad to have the chance to visit her friends in the wizarding world. She missed her friends, and thought of them often, but she had become so accustomed to her new living situation that sometimes she forgot she had an entire world that she was a part of. The lack of wand use was a major contributor to that, not that she was forbidden to use it, but she was afraid to. Afraid that Draco could still somehow sense the magic, afraid of being careless and blowing her cover.

She arrived at the Burrow through floo powder, remembering as she was spinning among the green flames that she still had to go shopping with Ginny since she had cancelled on her the last time. Once on her feet, she heard footsteps as Hermione wiped off excess dust from her jeans and shirt.

"Are we going shopping this time?" Hermione heard Ginny say. Hermione lifted her head to look at the younger red-haired girl with an apologetic and amused expression.

"Yes, sorry about last week. But I'm here now!" Hermione answered back, walking over to Ginny and giving her a hug. Hermione recalled visiting Narcissa Malfoy the previous week, and felt slightly nervous at the fact that she hadn't given the message to Draco Malfoy yet. She then pushed the thought from her mind, deciding that she had had enough of Draco Malfoy for the day, and focused on her friend. "Where's everyone else?" Hermione asked, having thought of her friends and not seeing any. It struck her that the Burrow was emptier than usual.

"At the ministry." Ginny replied shortly. Her expression and averted eye contact dictated that there was more to the story, and that it wasn't a good thing. Ginny, knowing Hermione, decided to begin explaining now instead of doing it out in public while they were shopping. "Do you remember how a couple weeks ago my dad told you about people protesting against the bracelets?"

"Yeah," Hermione replied, her eyebrows furrowing in growing concern. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and shifted her weight to the right, a pose she often did when she was worried but interested. "Gregory Goyle's mother died of starvation." Hermione recalled Arthur telling her.

"Exactly. Well people had started to gather and protest on a small scale, but now people are getting angrier because the ministry isn't doing anything and it's hypocritical and stuff… people are really divided. Some think those wearing the bracelet deserve every bit and there are those who say it's enough and that the ministry is being cruel. So now they're sending letters, protesting on a much larger scale, shouting their opinion to people in public… and so Harry, Ron, and Dad are trying to keep people calm at the ministry. Hopefully it doesn't get violent. Mom suspected it might and so she took off after them without another word." Ginny explained, with a look of disappointment. Hermione guessed Ginny had wanted to go along too but she had been forced to stay behind. "I would have gone but I knew you were coming." Ginny added as if she had read Hermione's mind.

Hermione felt suddenly appreciative and guilty at the thought that Ginny stayed behind for her, but she allowed herself a moment to be selfish and feel glad that she had stayed.

"I wish I could do something to help the cause." Hermione muttered, more to herself than to Ginny. Ginny however, responded all the same.

"I know you do. But you have your own matters to worry about, and quite frankly that might be a good thing." The red-head said as she gathered a light jacket and headed for the door. Hermione followed her out of the house until they reached the apparition point. The weather was quite warm that day, but chilly enough for layers. The wind swept Georgia's long hair from Hermione's face and she closed her eyes, enjoying the wind and the sun on her face. They both agreed to apparate to Diagon Alley, and once at the apparition point, both young women closed their eyes, and spun on the spot.

Hermione's ears told her she had landed before her eyes did. She heard the sounds of various footsteps walking and dragging their feet across the cobblestoned streets, the voices of the young and the old shouting, gossiping. She then opened her eyes to put sight with sound, and looked around for Ginny, who was two feet to her left.

"I need new robes, so let's head down toward Madam Malkins' first." Ginny said to Hermione, her eyes set with determination to get what she needed. Ginny wasn't the type of girl to enjoy shopping, but as a young girl her parents could never afford to buy her new clothes, and so shopping was a novelty for her. With her job as a quidditch journalist, Ginny had more than enough money to buy what she needed, but she still held shopping as a novelty.

Hermione agreed, following Ginny's lead while still observing. She noticed those wearing the bracelet were not hiding as much as they used to, walking about Diagon Alley humbly, still trying to hide their bracelet. Hermione figured it had something to do with the recent protests, but she felt her heart lift a small amount at the fact that they were not shunned by the public as much as they used to be. Her mind fleeted for a moment to Draco Malfoy, and she wondered what he would think. Would he want to return to the world that had rejected him? Hermione blushed at the thought of Draco Malfoy, memories of that-one-particular-morning-she-refused-to-mention swam in her head. Thankfully, Ginny spoke to take her mind off of everything.

"I'm thinking of getting a really nice color violet robe, what do you think? Or a dark blue, Harry says it brings out my eyes."

"Any color looks good on you, Gin. How is Harry by the way? I feel like I haven't seen anyone in forever." Hermione asked, turning her body to the side to avoid hitting a witch passing in the opposite direction.

"Well that's because last Sunday you decided to skip out and do Merlin knows what…"

"I-I was at the ministry!" Hermione argued back feebly, having the feeling that Ginny knew perfectly well she did not visit Sunday for work related reasons.

"You've mentioned before the only reason you needed to make reports to the ministry in person were in case of a drastic emergency. Other than that you send your reports monthly by mail. And I doubt there was a huge emergency." Ginny spoke in a factual tone. Hermione was surprised as to how the red-haired witch even hung on to all of that information. Before Hermione could ask, Ginny gave her an answer. "I have a good memory. And my father works for the ministry. You totally missed that."

"So how's Harry?" Hermione asked once more, trying to change the subject to avoid possibly talking about a certain blond. They had both reached the door to Madam Malkin's, and Hermione opened the door, allowing Ginny inside. A bell announced their presence. With a small greeting from Madam Malkin, both women walked inside, and began absentmindedly searching through robes.

"Harry is fine, busy as usual. Although the public is pretty upset with him for not taking a more firm stand against the silver bracelet law. I mean he can't really do anything as an employee of the ministry, but he's working from the inside to convince officials. What more do they want? To declare mutiny because he's the chosen one? What about this color?" Ginny babbled on, holding up an emerald green robe that was quite beautiful.

"It's nice, try it on." Hermione said without any serious thought. "Poor Harry. He's always had so much unwanted pressure."

"I know, but sometimes I feel like he likes the attention. Don't tell him I said that." Ginny warned suddenly, skimming through a sea of emerald green robes, searching for her size.

"I certainly won't." Hermione assured her friend, finding Ginny's opinion of Harry being the center of attention quite amusing. She had felt that way at times as well. She was instantly reminded of Ron and Harry's arguments during Hogwarts, which consisted of some jealousy and competition for attention.

"So, what were you really doing last Sunday?" Ginny asked, trying to seem nonchalant. In reality the question had been itching away at the Weasley girl since she had been with Hermione, but did not want to ask in case it put Hermione in an awkward spot. However, her curiosity had reached its climax, and she had found herself asking the question anyways. Hermione knew it was coming. She knew it was unlike Ginny to leave stones unturned, and knowing herself, she knew she would tell her eventually. However, Hermione wasn't quite ready to admit she had talked to Narcissa out of concern for Draco Malfoy, so she pretended to be captivated by a dazzling blue dress robe.

"Oh, you know…" Hermione answered distractedly, feeling the silky fabric between her fingers. She was terrible at hiding her nervousness, and a terrible actress, thus Hermione had no doubt Ginny could see right through her charade.

"I imagine it's something that would be looked down upon, considering your poor attempts at dismissing my question." Ginny countered. She was determined to get her answer. She grabbed the very same dress Hermione had taken a sudden interest in and gently forced it out of Hermione's hands, making the witch in disguise to pay attention.

"I can't talk about it here, Ginny." Hermione renounced, talking in a hushed tone and simultaneously looking around the store. There was only three other customers aside from Madam Malkin herself, and they were all on the opposite sides of the store, getting robes tailored. Despite this, Hermione did not want to risk it.

"Does it have to do with…" Ginny whispered back, her eyes intense and focused. She mouthed the word "Draco Malfoy" and found it curious to see that her friend blushed and looked away. Ginny watched as Hermione replied non-verbally by holding her hand parallel to the floor and shaking it to the left and to the right as a way of saying, "kind-of."

Ginny Weasley made a motion with her hands to keep going, and Hermione, giving up and throwing all caution to the wind, spoke.

"I went to see his mother. I know what it's like to be away from your parents, in two totally separate worlds, I mean I didn't know if I was going to see mine again but he never will and… he's trying to adjust but his family's opinions are holding him back so I went and maybe I shouldn't have but I did. And I regret nothing except for the fact that his mother gave me a message for him and I have no idea how to deliver it without blowing my cover and I want to tell him his mother is okay, I want to tell him she's with him whatever he does but…" Hermione trailed off, breathless from the rant she didn't know she needed to give. It began as a way to excuse her actions and transformed into venting her worries away. Ginny politely allowed her to finish, making sure customers were still out of earshot before she replied.

"Hermione there's nothing wrong with what you did. Anyone with a good heart would have done the same. But delivering the message is tricky, I don't know how you'll manage that. But we can brainstorm that later. I actually feel bad for the guy." At this point Ginny had taken all of her attention and directed it to Hermione and her issues, completely abandoning shopping for a robe.

"Me too. He's adjusting though. He knows how to use most things and I got him a job."

"Draco Malfoy. Working?! No way, where?!" Ginny exclaimed with wide eyes. Her sudden excitement reminded Hermione of the way a dog got excited when its owner pulled out the leash to take it out for a walk. Hermione couldn't help laughing.

"He's a bartender now. Kind of like Tom at the Leaky Cauldron. He even brought muggle whiskey home on his first day on the job and drank it all."

"Oh my—wait how do you know he brought whiskey home and drank it all?"

Hermione paused, her eyes moving about the shop as if an excuse were hiding among the racks of robes. She had realized she had spoken too much, and too freely. She often did that around Ginny, because she had nothing to hide to the Weasley except this.

"He uh, told me." Hermione finally said in a terrible attempt at lying.

"You were at his apartment." Ginny stated with a tone of disbelief and amazement. Hermione watched her friend's face, looking as though she were piecing bits of information together. "Do you go over his place often? Did you… Did you drink with him?"

"Wow, this is a lovely color red, don't you think Gin?" Hermione said suddenly, spotting bright red robes hanging on the rack behind Ginny. Hermione walked past her and to the robes, feeling them between her fingers. Hermione could feel her face growing hot. How was she able to piece all of this together? She remembered Ginny was offered a job as an Auror upon graduating Hogwarts. Perhaps her deduction skills were why.

"Hermione Granger. You drank with Draco Malfoy. I can see it in your face."

"Look, I think you should buy these, they come in your size…" Hermione continued more desperately to ignore Ginny's accurate conclusions.

"I can't believe you!" Ginny accused Hermione with a smile.

Hermione Granger had gotten into her apartment that Sunday night with a lot on her mind. After shopping with Ginny and successfully avoiding all denunciations, they had returned to the Burrow to relax. The subject of Hermione's message surfaced and both young women began brainstorming ways to deliver it. After a relatively short amount of time both had reached the consensus that it was best to write it pretending to be an anonymous person, and stick it under his door. Although Hermione realized it was truly the best way to do it without incriminating herself, she worried about Draco's reaction. No doubt the note would raise more questions than answers, and she didn't want him studying the note too deeply in order to find out who the writer was. But as Ginny had put it after Hermione had voiced her worries, "For him, it's better than another day of not knowing."

And so Hermione found herself in her apartment with her bedroom door shut just in case, her wand out, and a piece of parchment paper and quill that she had taken from the Burrow. Hermione wanted the note to appear from the Wizarding World as much as possible.

"Here goes nothing…" Hermione said under her breath, taking the parchment and quill upon her nightstand and writing the message Narcissa had intended for her son.

To Draco Malfoy:

I have contacted your mother. She is perfectly well and in good health considering the circumstances, as well as in good company of Pansy. She knows you're well too and in a good place. She wants you to know all she wishes for you is to be happy, and that as long as you are happy and well, she will be proud of you and happy too. It would also benefit you to know the ministry has lightened up on the silver bracelets, and so she is not struggling as much as she used to.

Please do not inquire as to my identity. This is the only letter you'll receive from me. Please burn this when you're done reading it to ensure it is not discovered as this is illegal on several levels.

Anonymous

Hermione Granger read the note over several times to be sure there was nothing that didn't give anything away, and then grabbed her wand, having not felt the magic of the wood through her fingers in quite a while, and muttered an enchantment to change her handwriting.

Quite happy with her work, she quietly left her bedroom, crossed the living room and walked out into the hallway. She soundlessly tiptoed in front of Malfoy's door, making sure there was no activity on the other side. After she had heard nothing for about thirty seconds, she quickly slipped the note through his door, making sure it went all the way through, and made her way into the safety of her apartment as fast as possible.

Hermione pressed her ear behind her closed door for an extra minute, listening for sounds on the other side but heard none.

She hoped she had done the right thing, in the right way.

Now all she had to do was wait.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! you won't have to wait for the next update as long as you had with this one... Again I am really really sorry guys! I'll make it up to you somehow! Please leave a review if you liked it!