Disclaimer: If I was J.K. Rowling I'd quit my job, and spend all day writing.
A/N: First things first, a big shout out to a couple of people. I really did not think the story would reach 100 reviews with the last chapter, and I was so excited when it did! A super big thank you to AngelesPG, Guest, aerochick06, drgon blue, jennydcg, AussieSweet, mega700201, ilovehplotr, Weirdcrazylittleshit, Mischief, Imwaiting4myAliceandEdward, M. Lauren, mutemuia, and wanlet for taking the time to share your thoughts. I always love reading what people have to say, thank you for your kindness! It's also good to see some familiar names on this list, thank you for sticking by me, I am most unworthy!
Second thing, sorry for such a gap! I must have rewritten this chapter like six times. Every time I would get pages into it, I would realize my idea sucked and I would get stuck. Nothing was (in my humble opinion) good enough. Last year was crazy for me, I worked extremely hard but I achieved so much more than I thought I would so soon. I'm still trying to find a good balance, because I really do miss Dramione! In my sincerest apologies, I hope this chapter makes up for it.
Hope you enjoy!
21. Terms of Endearment
By the time he left the room, the darkness had given to dusk. Pale light softly illuminated the home as Draco trudged through the hallway. His eyes were burning, itching, begging to shut. Head throbbing for sleep, body aching for slumber.
Lazily shutting the door to their shared bedroom, he stifled a yawn. It wasn't over yet, he had one last thing to do before letting sleep overcome him. He walked over to his sleeping princess. He brushed the hair away from her face, and kissed her just before her lips at the corners. He softly stroked her cheek, "Hey." he spoke softly, but firmly.
Hermione peered at him through half closed lids, eyes glassy and unfocused. It would still be awhile before the spell wore off. He smiled at her, "It's done." he said, and she nodded lazily. He could tell she was trying to stay awake, he could see the fight in her eyes. But it was too much, and soon enough she closed her eyes, and nestled further into the mattress.
That morning, Hermione leisurely let herself wake. Her body was warmly nestled by strong arms. Body intertwined, and soft lapped breaths caressed her forehead. As she lazily opened her eyes, soft pink lips were her first sight.
Hermione gasped, and quickly untwined herself from Draco. Her first immediate thought was that mouth, hot and wet on hers last night. She could almost feel a ghostly swolleness about her lips, as though they had only just parted mouths.
As much as she had enjoyed it, and as much as she shouldn't have, her thoughts quickly turned sour with the thought of his actions afterward. Everything was a game to him, wasn't it? He could never talk things out reasonably, always had to force her to give into his way. Next time he dared do that again, she was going to really show him a piece of her mind.
Slipping into her slippers, she walked towards the window and took a deep breath. What will the day bring? She thought to herself.
Hermione rested her forehead against the cool glass. Thinking about the mess she had gotten herself into. She hoped the trouble had been worth it. Her breathing fogged the glass pane, and the frost disappeared after a moment.
It was still very early, and the town was only beginning to slowly wake up. She blew hot air onto the glass, and tried to quickly draw a cat before the fog dissipated. Her drawing lasted a mere second before vanishing.
Draco shifted on the bed, the noise not going unnoticed by her. She could hear him lift off the bed, and make his way towards her. She was unmoved.
"Out of all the things you could be doing, this is what you do?" he said, staring out the window beside her. "Mind you, I did not stay up all night so that you could draw kittens on a window."
Not bothering to turn around, Hermione threw her elbow back to hit him in the ribs.
"You sure like to hit me," Draco exclaimed, "The hell was that for!"
"Don't play innocent, you know what for." she turned to him.
He encaged her. Both hands were now beside her head, the palms of his hands resting on the cool window. "Enlighten me." he dared her.
"I spent the night in a fit between consciousness, and unconsciousness. Gee, I wonder why." Hermione glared at him.
Internally Draco smiled, he had been right. She would not bring up the kiss, just as he had perceived. "It's because you can't let things go." he answered her. "You couldn't let it go that I didn't need you there. Therefore I had to go to lengths-"
"Extreme lengths." Hermione snapped.
"To get you to stay put. It was that or tieing you up. Be grateful I chose the more docile of the two. If only you would do as I say, and stop questioning me every chance you get we could-"
Hermione no longer cared about the conversation. It had quickly become meaningless, and irritating. "Well did you do it?" she briskly interrupted.
"Did I what? Speak properly Granger, and then we could have a proper conversation." he scolded her like a child.
Hermione rolled her eyes, and slapped one of his hands away. She made a beeline for the door. He clearly knew what she meant, but he loved getting under her skin so much that he could never let an opportunity to have a go at her pass.
As much as Draco was infuriating, Hermione fancied that she knew him well enough, or perhaps that they knew each other well enough, that he would warn her if anything had happened that was worthy of mention.
Hermione paused at the designated door.
She felt lethargic, this was it. She had been waiting for this moment for years, and she didn't quite know how to feel. Should she burst into the room? Should she wait? Should she be over the top with happiness? Was it too soon to be happy? What exactly was the proper way to act, and feel?
Hearing footsteps, Hermione straighten her posture. Her mind was completely blank in regards of what to say if the door she had been looking at opened, and she got caught on the other side. Her posture and nerves relaxed when she saw that it was only Malfoy, coming out of their room. She gave him a sour look. Must he always follow her?
"Gryffindor yeah, or did you forget?" Draco teased. Obviously he was waiting for her to go in.
From his stance beside her, he reached in front of her to open the door to her parents room. Holding the door open, Draco then proceeded to shove Hermione into the room, quickly closing the door, leaving no room for questions. The door slammed shut with a loud thump.
She inhaled sharply, already hearing the rustling of bedsheets.
Quickly she became a coward. Fuck Gryffindor bravery. Now was not the time! She couldn't just barge in, and beg her parents for recognition. How startling must it be to have someone barge in, and beg you to see them as a daughter before properly waking up. No, now was not the time.
Hermione moved back towards the door, hoping she could manage to go unnoticed. But when she tried to turn the handle, it would not budge.
"Hermione, don't you dare. Stay in there!" she heard Malfoy from the other side, clearly he was holding the door closed.
"No, no! I can't just barge in. This is not the time!" she frantically whispered through the door. "Please!" she pleaded.
"What are you doing in here?"
Hermione froze. It was her father's voice ringing out in the darkness. She heard shifting in the bed, and her mother's bedside lamp turned on.
"Did you have a bad dream?" her mother asked.
Hermione was stuck in place, a deer caught in headlights. She was running out of air, she needed to breathe! She had forgotten how to do the most natural thing. She was very disappointed in herself. Smart, and brave? Since when had she no longer been either? For Merlin's sake, how was it that out of all things she didn't know how to breathe?
She looked behind her, hoping Draco would show mercy for once, and open the damn door. "Um... I... I..." she stuttered. Her mouth had suddenly become a dessert, she swallowed and it felt like sandpaper. "I mean-"
"Names. Tell them their names." she heard Draco advise.
Hermione took a shaky breath, finally getting her lungs to work. She tried to steady herself, "Jane? Steven?"
Her parents shared questioning looks, "Have you hit your head?" her mother asked.
Hermione's face was crestfallen. "You don't remember, do you?" she said softly. Hermione could feel a deep pang in her chest, weren't they supposed to be fine? Hadn't Draco said so? Perhaps he wasn't as great as he alleged himself to be. All this time, all this effort, a complete waste.
Hermione heard Draco turn the door handle. He was about to go in, but he had listened in on enough of her family's memories, to know to stay put once her father spoke.
"Remember what, turtle?" Steven asked.
Everything stopped for a moment. Her deliriousness, her negativity, her worry, her heart. It wasn't long before Hermione was beaming. "Oh sweet Merlin, thank goodness!" she launched herself into the bed, and peppered her dads face with kisses.
Without really saying anything, her dad had said it all. She had always been his sweet little turtle. To some it may seem strange, but she had always loved the petname. Parents always went for the ordinary names, like dear, sweetie, and so on. But she had always been different from all the other kids, and in terms of endearment, so was turtle.
"Hermione what is going on with you?" Jane said in surprise as she went through her bedside table. "You must be sick. Where is that thermometer?" she said to herself.
Hermione turned to look at her mother. She was still latched onto her father's arm, and was sure it was going numb due to the pressure she was putting into it, but she didn't want to let go. "Mom?" she tentatively asked, knowing she was the real risk of the two.
"Yes?" she said, looking up at her daughter.
Hermione's face glowed before she began to hug, and attack her mother with kisses just as she had done to her father. Her mother laughed, "What is the matter with you? You act like you haven't seen us in ages, we just saw each other last night-" her sentence died on her lips, her smile fading.
Jane turned to Steven, eyes wide, hand covering her mouth in shock. He stared at her with the same weary expression on his face.
Steven shook his head, "I told you! I told you so didn't I? I told you that we shouldn't have let her go to that magic school!" her father yelled, looking at his wife. "Now look at us, part of an experiment gone bad. Young lady, I don't know what you did, but you are very much grounded."
"But-"
"Grown up or not, you are grounded." he solidified.
"But dad, it wasn't my fault! I had to! I can explain, honest!" Hermione argued. "Voldemort was going to kill both of you! I couldn't let that happen. So I did the only thing I could do," she swallowed the lump growing in her throat. What she did, still weighed heavily on her. "I had to make you forget about me, so that you would be safe. I didn't want to, it was so hard to have you two not only forget me, but have to leave. They burned the house down, it's in ashes, complete ruins! I hated to do it, but it kept you safe."
"How long was this bloody war? It's been years!" her father demanded.
"Well some wars last longer than others dad, but truth is... I kind of, sort of, couldn't take the spell off." she cringed at the explosion following suit.
"WHAT!" they yelled in unison.
"I don't understand. All your professors said that you were the brightest child in Hogwarts, how is that possible?" Jane asked.
Hermione sighed. Typical parent, always finding ways to make you feel worse. "Well I was a little upset, you know, about to lose my parents and all." she defended herself. "Draco says it's harder to perform that spell when it's people you know, and when it's something that big."
"So Draco came to figure out why the spell wasn't coming off." she continued, "To which he clearly did. Draco is very good at his job. He's one of the best in the world when it comes to this kind of thing, if not the best. You were in good hands." Hermione assured them.
"Well then," Jane heavily breathed, trying to comprehend everything, "Thank goodness for Draco."
"Are you upset? Please don't be upset, I've spent all this time without you, beating myself up for it. Please don't be too upset." Hermione pleaded, she even gave them the sad eyes to help lessen the blow.
Steven rubbed his face, "Of course we understand, to a certain degree." he quickly added. "It was very brave what you did, and we appreciate it. We're not mad, but we're also not very pleased. You could have at least given us a heads up. It would have saved us the misunderstanding, and we would not be having this conversation now."
"Oh come on dad! You would never had let me do it had I let you know." Hermione argued. "You would have wanted to stay because you would not have let some bad guys chase you out of your own home."
"Even so-!"
"All is well," Jane cut in before the argument got out of hand. She knew very well that would have been her husbands ultimate decision. "Everything is back in its place, and we are all safe. That's all that matters." Jane said as she stroked Hermione's hair. "Were it not for Draco then-" Jane shuddered, "I hate to even think of it. Forever trapped as someone else, and without my baby." she kissed the top of Hermione's head. Hermione smiled.
"You're very lucky to have him, Hermione. I think we all are," Steven laughed heartily. "Imagine that. He's not at all what you had made him to be all these years, I suppose growing up does that to a person. Honestly, I very much approve." Hermione looked at him quizzically. "I couldn't think of a better man for my little turtle."
"I have something to say," Hermione began, feeling rather uncomfortable over the way the conversation was going.
"Agreed, I like him too. Who would have thought? Enemy turned lover, very romantic."
"Mom!" Hermione cried out in outrage.
Jane laughed, "I think he's great. I'm glad you found someone who loves, and is as fond of you as we are. We can tell he cares about you a lot. He did come all this way for you after all."
"But-"
"Yes, and besides what father doesn't want his daughter to marry a smart, well established professional?" Steven spoke proudly.
"As well as nice, and charming. He's very charming, but you know that already, Hermione. Oh, and this ring! What a gorgeous ring!" Jane said holding her daughters hand.
All this 'Draco-is-so-great' talk was really making her nauseous. She needed to put an end to it right away. "Actually-" Hermione cut in but was interrupted once more. Her parents just couldn't stop singing praises about stupid Draco Malfoy, it was infuriating!
"You're lucky that we like him, and that he's your fiancee or else this whole sharing a room would never have been allowed."
"But dad-"
"We will turn a blind eye just this once, but we do expect appropriacy the next time. Call us old fashioned if you will, but those are the rules." her dad continued.
Jane laughed, "Anyways, darling, you had something to say?" she looked at Hermione.
At this point, Hermione was at a complete loss for words.
If she thought before was a bad time, this was infinitely worse. She considered which was worse, saying she was sharing a bed with a man she only just began to really know, or taking the ecstatic look off their faces at the thought of her not marrying the "most perfect man."
Hermione tried to find the right words. "We... we aren't, I mean... I'm not sure if..."
Her mother smiled, "Oh that's so sweet! Pre-wedding jitters, I understand. Oh honey, we all get those. He seems like a good man, we can tell he loves you very much. I doubt he would let anyone hurt a single hair on your head." Jane reassured her daughter.
"Of course, the decision is up to you. We wouldn't want to make you feel pressured into doing something you don't want to do, regardless of how we feel."
Jane nodded, "Yes, it all comes down to you."
Fucking hell.
She was in too deep. In the words of Draco, play along.
"We haven't decided a date yet to be honest, or started planning." she would just tell them it didn't work out later on. No harm no foul, it wasn't that big of a deal right? Not in the end anyway.
"Hermione that's perfect!" Jane gushed, "This is great news, I am so happy to hear you say that. I wouldn't want to miss out on helping you pick everything. We are going to have so much fun!"
"I'm happy that you're happy." Hermione said sweetly, putting on a big giant fake smile. Life really hated her didn't it. Was it ever going to be smooth sailing?
They stayed like that awhile. Cuddled, and cozy in bed as they tried to catch up on everything they had missed. Hermione made sure to pay extra attention to her parents. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her utmost delight. Her father was fine, and her mother did not seem to have any troubles as well.
The family unit jumped right back into step, never missing a beat. It was as if though nothing had ever happened, and nothing had ever changed.
All the while, the wizard in the room over slept soundly, with a smile tugging at his lips. It was all quite funny. Yes, he was arrogantly happy he had performed such flawless spells that day. But that's not what really made him smile. No, it was because of what he had heard, eavesdropping on the better half of the conversation in the room next door.
A/N: I know someone has to have a question, so lay it on me and I will answer it in the next chapter. And just so you know, now the fun really begins ;) I promise it won't be such a large gap until the next chapter, I'm really excited to write it because well, drama!