Hey Back Again!!

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!! Continue to do so! Those who have yet to review, I don't bite. Please, I need your feedback.

Anyways... umm I just let you read and be angry later.

MDM

Draco had never been so pissed. In all his life, he had never felt so frustrated. He felt the urge to pelt his best mate in the face as the target stepped out onto Granger's front porch. "For Merlin's Sake!" Draco cried out as he looked at Granger's face. Her eyes were sunken in, her cheekbones more visible she looked like a sack of bones under her red cardigan.

"Malfoy, we'll discuss this later." Hermione hissed obviously angry at his unexpected arrival.

"What, Hermione?" Blaise's smooth voice rushed over the static between Draco and herself.

"Yes, do tell Granger?" Draco added watching his mate reach out for her hand.

"Nothing. Goodnight, Malfoy. I will see you tomorrow afternoon." Hermione said dismissively, taking Blaise's hand and allowed him to lead her back into the small cottage. Blaise nodded his head kindly as if asking secretly for Draco to drop the issue and leave. For some reason Draco found himself walking down the porch steps and down the walk. "Fuck!" He exclaimed. How could he be so stupid? Not going back to work. Decision already made long before, but it needed a nudge, the attack, caused by… him. It was his fault. Draco walked off the property and continued down the dirt road. He didn't care where he was going he needed air. He clasped his hands together, struggling to keep his focus. It was him.

How could she allow him to stay around her? Doesn't she learn? He breathed heavily. He felt like he was going to be sick. What if she had died that day as he carried her into St. Mungo's? Was she really that fragile? That weak? How could have he be so selfish? He didn't even notice. It took an irate Pansy to clue him in. All of sudden he felt his knees give way. He collapsed on the gravel, he gasped in pain from the rocks piercing his knee. His chest constricted tightly, ripping the breath from his lungs. He grasped at the ground trying to focus on getting air. But the pressure kept adding, visions of Granger lying on the Ministry atrium. He felt his head touch the ground, no longer could he feel air in his throat, tears stung his eyes, and pain enraptured his head.

Soft hands touched his back, then embraced his chest and pulled him over onto his back. He could see the outline of a small face with brilliant brown eyes, they had tears in them. The hands moved to his chest, he felt warmth right over his ribs, and soon the feeling of fresh air hit the back of his throat and fill his lungs. He could hear himself gasp for air. The small hands moved his head onto its warm lap as it stroked his sweaty forehead. He blinked his eyes trying to see his rescuer. Soon he opened his eyes, to a crying Granger. He reached up and wiped a tear with his thumb.

"I am so sorry, Draco." Granger sobbed heavily. The sound of his first name on her lips was calming. He lifted his body to a sitting position. She looked so angelic. He cupped her face in his two hands. She sobbed harder. Looking into her eyes, there was so much worry. Oh, how he wanted to take it away. She rested her forehead on his as the tears fell from her eyes. He suddenly felt the urge to kiss her. Without even thinking he felt his lips touch hers. It was quick, small but it meant so much more.

She moved her tiny hand to his heart, and looked down at it. He moved his hand over hers and looked back at her. She stared straight back at him. She looked so deep in thought he couldn't really understand what she was thinking about. She suddenly stood and extended her hand to him. He grasped it gently and pulled himself up. He felt her touch leave almost immediately. She started to trek back to her cottage.

"Hermione?" Draco called her first name out in question. He hurried after her not knowing what was going on.

"Look, I am not asking anything from you. I don't want anything." Hermione called out. She flailed her limbs around in angst.

"What?" Draco asked out to her back. He watched her turn around and walked towards him. He stopped as she reached for him.

"I am sick. I am not your sick, I am my sick. I am not going to get better, I have a deteriorating state. My body is failing, though my heart fights." She gulped heavily and continued, Draco put his hands in hers. "I am losing my mind over the fact that I am this way. I don't want to leave. I am not done yet! I want to live, experience love, a wedding, children, grandchildren and old age. But I can't." Hermione sobbed uncontrollably. Draco didn't know what to say. He grabbed her and held her close to him resting his head in the nape of her neck. Her body rattled in his embrace. He felt himself begin to cry. She couldn't be this way. There had to be something he could do. He felt her begin to calm in his arms. He looked up and saw Blaise slowly trekking down the road. He could obviously see what was transpiring.

In that moment, Draco knew what to do. He stepped away from Hermione. She looked at him and then to the now approaching Blaise and then back to him. He had his hand in hers but then suddenly let go. Hermione looked down at her now vacant hand and then into his eyes. Draco tried to tell her everything in one look. That he loved her. Would never hurt her. That he wanted the best for her. And that the man approaching them was the man that she needed. The man that would give her everything. That would be with her, love and live with her. Would fight for her and undyingly demand her to stay alive. He was her saving grace. Draco smiled softly and thought of home.

"Hermione, love?" Blaise Zabini's soft voice echoed through the cottage halls.

"Kitchen, sweetheart." Hermione called out, as she chopped green onion on her white cutting board.

"Hermione, I was thinking. The tie dilemma. Why don't I just get the royal blue, Harry wants the mismatch but I hate not having a certain element of coordination." Blaise asked sweetly walking into the kitchen in jeans and a blue polo. Hermione turned from her cutting board and smiled widely.

"You're such a fashionista." Hermione laughed loudly soon joined by Blaise. He walked up to her and reached around her torso pulling her to his body. Hermione looked into his dark eyes and smiled as he leaned into kiss her. His lips were smooth and warm. When he kissed her, she felt the world fall away. It was so easy to be in his arms.

"Hmm… why do we have to go? I want to spend all of my Sunday with you. In our bed." Blaise said as he buried his head into the nape of her neck.

"Don't we all. But it's Ginny's big day we have to be there, not to mention Harry's." Hermione rationalized and turned in his embrace and began to cut the green onion once again.

"I am glad they cancelled the Saturday night dinner this week. I haven't had a home cooked meal since Friday last week. I am sorry about work." Blaise raised his chin and rested it on her chest as he caressed her stomach.

"Please stop apologizing. There is a lot to do around here, I perfectly capable having dinner on my own." Hermione smile into her and picked up the onions in her hand and placing them on top of the egg salad. She brushed her long brown curls over her shoulder, making a mental note to cut them before she left tomorrow. They had grown almost out of control. She figured it had been almost a year since she had last cut them. She felt Blaise leave her and get drinks from the fridge placing them on the kitchen table and sitting with the Evening Prophet in hand. She picked up the egg salad and walked to the table placing on it carefully laying out toast for Blaise and her self. Blaise smiled widely as he spread the salad on his toast.

"Did you get your potion from the fridge?" Blaise asked monotonously, when Hermione had shook her head he frowned. "Hermione, twice a day. This is how you get better. Forgetting is selfish." Blaise said almost sardonically, and raised himself from the table to get it. Hermione shook her head in annoyance.

"I know I was trying not to interrupt the flow of dinner. I never miss it by an hour Blaise, I know that it helps." Hermione looked up at him, as he placed the small vile beside her plate. Hermione picked up the vial and took off the cork. She sucked it back. The taste of black licorice and what she supposed tar would taste like entered her mouth and quickly left. Hermione opened her eyes to find Blaise smiling at her gleefully.

"Who ever created that potion is a saint as far as I am concerned, my dear." Hermione smiled back, and nodded. The person was a saint, a potion though the taste left less to be desired, but it kept her well. In the last year alone her attacks had grown to so few, she could actually start focusing on how to control them. Healers began to look optimistic when reading her chart, smiling every once and a while.

"Certainly so." Hermione added taking a bite of her sandwich. She picked up the quill beside her and began to scribble notes onto a parchment, random 'to do's for the excitement tomorrow. It was funny, that Harry was getting married after Ron. Ginny and Harry had been together for so much longer, even had a child.

Finally as of tomorrow they would be man and wife. Hermione was a bride's maid. Duties had been delegated and she had been given the job of floral arrangements. They were set to arrive at ten, and be arranged by ten thirty. Which meant she would have to show up at the grounds at least two hours earlier than the rest of the party. Hermione bit her lip apprehensively.

It's not like she hadn't seen him. Quite the contrary, she had seen him every Saturday, like clockwork. He would either acknowledge her with a stiff nod or sometimes if he had enough fire whiskey in him, he would hazard a hello. But tomorrow she was not on Pansy's turf, where everything was wonderful no matter what other people thought, she was going to be on his. The Black Estate was the setting for the nuptials of Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley. She sighed lightly, and continued to scribble.

Draco Malfoy, had completely disappeared from her map, other than Saturdays. He quit his job at the Ministry, and moved in full time to the whole of the Estate. From what Pansy had merely muttered, he had become a more of a recluse then usual. He still went for lunch with Harry, even babysat his godson whenever the child was not with Hermione or his parents. Pansy had also let it slip, that there was no visitors of the female nature going in or out. Hermione of course took comfort in neither.

She merely sloughed it off and continued her little patch of life with the not so new addition of Blaise Zabini. Hermione didn't usually dwell on the day that Draco Malfoy made the conscious decision to quit her presence but the upcoming venture into what should be enemy land left her unhitched and uncommonly nervous. Her godson, Ethan was the only thing that she and Malfoy had in common now. Ethan, usually gurgled his name in his intense youth and even Harry had said a gurgle close to "Hergmione" had been uttered quite a few times. Hermione took an odd kind of pleasure in that, knowing that the little gift of a godson reminded Malfoy everyday of what transpired at least that's what she hoped because her godson didn't let her forget. Hermione finished her sandwich and looked up at the man sitting across from her smiling widely.

"I love you." Blaise uttered calmly and assertively.

"I love you, too." Hermione said kindly not really sure if she meant it all entirely in that moment.

Don't hate me... It's what transpires in life... I had to do it... I need to develop some other things... time my friends

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MDM