A/N: Sorry for the delay (doubly late thanks to my laptop crashing just as I was about to save the edit...meaning I'm starting the edit again lol). Anyway, thank you to all my readers and to everyone who has reviewed, added this to favourites &/or alerts. you guys are amazing!
I know a few of you have been wondering just how Hermione and Richard's engagement came about, and why Victoria Granger is so deluded about her daughter's feelings...well, you are about to get you answer.
Enjoy :)
xBx
~ Chapter 21: Confession ~
Neither one knew how long they had been there, enjoying the taste of each other, exploring each other with their hands.
Draco's hands entwined themselves in her hair, pulling out the pins which held it in a loose up do. He let her hair cascade around her shoulders, running his hands through the curls.
Hermione became so caught up in the heat of the moment that without thinking of the possible consequences, she raked her hands along Draco's chest, and started to undo the buttons of his shirt, craving the feel of his skin underneath her fingers –
"Hermione? Are you down here?" A voice called from the top of the stairs, accompanied by the sound of a door opening.
In that split second the moment was ruined, and their little bubble burst. Draco sat up abruptly, pulling Hermione up with him, and in their haste knocked the Firewhiskey bottle onto the floor, resulting in a loud clunk.
"Hermione?" The voice – which Hermione now recognised as Richard's – called out again.
Hermione cleared her throat and called back: "Yeah? We're down here," as Draco re-did the buttons she had managed to open.
She then noticed Draco's mouth and she kicked him to get his attention,
"You have my lipstick on you," she whispered urgently, while attempting to touch up her own lips the best she could without the assistance of a mirror. Draco grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped his mouth. Hermione turned around to look over the back of the couch, moving herself to one end, putting some well needed distance between Draco and herself, in time to see her fiancé emerge from the stairs leading up to the kitchen.
She smiled, "What's up?" she asked, trying to feign a nonchalance she certainly wasn't feeling.
Richard took in the pair of them sat together on the couch, "You disappeared a couple of hours ago. Your absence has been noted and commented upon." He stated.
Hermione's smile slipped, "I wasn't feeling in the party mood, so I came down here to get away from all the festivities." She said coldly, not appreciating Richard's tone of voice.
"Not in the party mood, but decided to have a little private party down here?" He asked with sarcasm.
"What are you suggesting?" Hermione asked, but continued before he could respond. "Malfoy and I are simply having some drinks, and talking. Catching up."
Richard raised his eyebrows, "Catching up? You go to school together, you've been home from school all of three days, surely there's not that much to catch up on?"
Hermione sighed, "For God's sake Richard, what is your problem?" she snapped, all thoughts of keeping up her in-love pretence now completely forgotten.
"People have been asking after you, do you know how embarrassing it is to tell people I have no idea where my fiancé is? Let me give you a hint, it's only slightly less embarrassing than realising that I am up there, alone, while my fiancé is down here getting drunk and cosy with some guy." Richard snapped back
"He's not some guy, he's a friend-" Hermione started, but was rudely interrupted.
"I know you don't talk a lot about your school, with me, but you do talk about your friends: Harry, Ron and Ginny come up a lot as friends. Draco Malfoy, I've never heard of."
Draco, who had been silent up to this point, sipping on his drink, turned himself on the couch in order to look toward Richard,
"I think you're the first person who has ever said that about me." He commented in all seriousness, but giving his signature smirk.
Hermione laughed, and turned back to pick up her glass. Upon seeing it empty she picked up the bottle from the floor and filled her glass.
"So Malfoy and I haven't always been friends. But I've certainly made reference to him at some point, though admittedly never by name: a choice description of him would have been 'slimy git'. 'Arrogant arse' is my particular favourite, oh and 'evil son-of-a-bitch'. To name a few." Hermione said in a mocking tone, knowing it would anger Richard.
"Charming," Draco said dryly, Hermione tuned and smirked at him,
"Nope, never used that one. Don't think I ever will." She commented.
Draco quirked an eyebrow, muttered, "Challenge accepted" and took a sip of his drink, as Hermione laughed.
Hermione turned back to Richard. "What I'm trying to say is, that while we haven't always seen eye to eye-"
Draco snorted, Hermione glared at him for the interruption, and he smirked, "A little bit of an understatement," he said.
Hermione turned back to Richard, ignoring Draco's comment, and continued, "Things change, people change. A lot of things can happen in a year, and it turns out we have more in common than we thought. We actually get along pretty ok when old grievances and prejudices are forgotten."
Richard remained silent, looking between them, and clearly struggling with himself.
Hermione took a deep breath, "What is it? Come on, spit it out, you've obviously got something you want to say, so say it." She all but commanded.
Richard shrugged, "Just looking around: A couple of empty bottles, his jacket and tie thrown over the couch, top button undone. You're hair's down and messed up, and your heels are flung across the floor. See where I'm going with this? Can't help but be suspicious."
Hermione glared at Richard, "Forgive me for wanting to relax in relative comfort, without wearing toe-squashing shoes, or having pins pinching my scalp." She said with quiet anger.
Draco stood up to face Richard completely, "You know, over-suspicion of others is a sign of a guilty conscience in one's self," He commented darkly.
"Excuse me?" Richard took a step forward and in response Draco stepped around the couch.
"You know what I'm talking about," Draco reiterated, "You do something you shouldn't and next thing you know, you think everyone else is doing the same thing. Never heard the saying 'it takes one, to know one'?"
Richard scoffed, "Please, even a blind mind could see what I walked into-"
"Yes! Two friends, enjoying a drink in the peace and quiet away from the ridiculous charade going on upstairs!" Hermione said standing up, as her rash Gryffindor spirit began to come through.
"Tell yourself that as much as you want, Hermione," Richard said quietly, "But I'm not the only one who witnessed your behaviour tonight with regards to him," He said, pointing at Draco. "It stops now."
Hermione let out an incredulous laugh, "Are you seriously trying to tell me what to do?" She asked, "I suggest you go back upstairs, before I really lose my cool."
"Will you be delighting us with your presence?" He asked shortly,
"Probably not. Not with my hair all 'down and messed up'. I'll probably go to bed, when I've finished this drink." Hermione plastered a fake smile on her face, "Be a darling and make my apologies, tell them I was tired and went to lay down."
Hermione turned back to the couch, dismissing Richard, their conversation now at an end.
"Congratulations Alden," Draco said, "Remember that line we discussed earlier? Well you've just gone and crossed it. Good luck with that." He smiled a dangerous smile, before Richard turned and left the room.
"A lot of love there, between you and your fiancé." He stated, every word dripping with sarcasm and tainted by the anger that still remained towards Richard for his disrespectful treatment of Hermione.
Hermione laughed, "Hard to believe we were good together at one point. But the romance and feelings fizzled out long ago, for me at least. It was a summer fling – granted it lasted a couple of summers, and continued over one Christmas holiday I spent here. But there was no contact through the school year." She said, before draining her glass again and setting on the table. She still hadn't turned around to face Draco, she hadn't looked at him properly since they were interrupted, and she didn't feel like she had the nerve to look at him just yet.
After a moment of silence, Draco finally spoke. "I should get home, it's getting late." He said, walking back to the couches for his jacket and tie.
Hermione rose and finally looked at him, "Thank you for coming tonight, I hope all the Muggles weren't too much for you?" She joked.
Draco smirked, "It was fun to observe them in their natural habitat. A bit like being at the zoo."
Hermione laughed, and punched him playfully on the arm, "They're not a separate species," she reprimanded.
Draco shrugged, "After what I witnessed this evening, I'm not so sure. But, I actually had a pretty good time, you're not so dull as I thought Granger." He said playfully.
Hermione smiled, "You're not so bad yourself, Malfoy," she returned, and he laughed. "Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say," She commented, "What a surreal evening."
"Quite," He agreed and smiled at her, a smile she automatically returned. They held each others gaze for a moment before Draco disapparated.
Hermione stared at the empty space Draco had just vacated. "Fuck," She stated and grabbed her shoes and gloves, before apparating to her room dwelling on the confusing feelings swirling in her.
###
Draco appeared in the entrance hall of the Manor, just as the clock chimed 1am, with his tie and jacket slung over one arm. As he was walking along the hallway toward the grand staircase, absorbed in his thoughts, he almost ran into his mother, who came out of the family Library.
"Draco," Narcissa smiled tiredly, upon seeing her son, "You're home."
"I am," Draco returned the smile, "And you're up late, I hope you weren't waiting up for me."
"That wasn't my intention," Narcissa admitted, falling into step with her son, "I was reading: I became thoroughly engrossed by The Tales… that Miss Granger was so good as to lend us. I hope you thanked her properly for the generous loan."
"Define a proper thank you" Draco smirked, and Narcissa rolled her eyes.
"Well, if you didn't pass on my thanks this evening, I suppose I can do it myself at New Years." She sighed as they began to ascend the stairs.
"This evening?" Draco repeated – He was certain he hadn't mentioned where he was going, or at least he hadn't mentioned Hermione's name. And then the rest of his mother's sentence registered - "Wait, New Year?"
"Yes," Narcissa clarified, unconcerned, "Harry has invited us all to his home to celebrate New Years, Miss Granger will be there, along with others. And Miss Granger is whom you spent the evening with, tonight, isn't it? Why else would you be wearing that suit?" She smiled knowingly, "I know you never said where you were going, specifically, but Andie, Harry and I deduced where you must have gone."
Draco grimaced, "Wonderful, you've been gossiping about me with Potter." He grumbled, and his mother gave a quiet chuckle.
"We weren't gossiping, darling," She placated, "And I hope you behaved yourself." She reminded her son of his earlier promise.
"Of course. I was the epitome of a gentleman, and I charmed everyone I met. Honestly," Draco assured his mother, when Narcissa gave him a slightly disbelieving look, "Mrs Granger in particular, was exceptionally charmed."
Narcissa smiled, looking mildly impressed, as the came up to Draco's door, "That's a good start." She told him, "But her father may prove more difficult to charm, and he will be all the more necessary to befriend if you are truly serious about her."
Draco looked momentarily winded, "I'm sorry?" He managed to say, and Narcissa smiled indulgently.
"Draco, you are my son, I know you better than anyone." She said simply, "There is no need for attempts at denial with me. And now I'll say goodnight."
"Goodnight mother," Draco smiled again, and leaned down to kiss his mother on the cheek. "And Merry Christmas." He added.
"Of course! It's gone midnight," Narcissa realised, and smiled even wider "Merry Christmas, son."
Draco entered his room and, for a long while, lay on his bed fully clothed contemplating the events of the evening. Thinking back, he had no idea who initiated the kiss - not that it really mattered, as neither was eager to stop it, that much had been clear. Draco spent the next few minutes indulging in the contemplation of what would have happened if they had not been rudely interrupted: was that just the Firewhiskey in their systems, pushing them blindly ahead? If they hadn't been interrupted, would they have woken up in the morning full of regrets?
Somehow, Draco didn't think so – at least, he wouldn't have had any regrets at any rate. So what did that mean? And then he remembered his mother's words: if you're truly serious about her. It seemed his mother was under the impression that he was pursuing Hermione Granger, that the two were much more than friends. Was he? Were they? Was there truth to what Blaise and Emmy had been saying to him for weeks? Did it matter? She was engaged to another man for crying out loud!
Ah said a voice in his head, but she has no intention of marrying him. And she kissed you back – with lots of enthusiasm. The voice reminded him.
"Eugh!" Draco exclaimed, rolling off his bed, "This is why Malfoys have no feelings. They're too complicated and cause sleepless nights." He grumbled.
###
Hermione was awoken far too early by her alarm clock, that she had luckily remembered to set before turning in for the night - she would never hear the end of it if she didn't rise early enough to spend Christmas morning with her parents. She rolled over, shut off the alarm and groaned as she rose slowly.
"Ow" she croaked, far too much alcohol had been consumed last night and now she was paying for it with a severe headache and an incredibly dry mouth, "Water, I need water." She mumbled.
Slowly she dragged herself into her bathroom, where she consecutively drank four glasses of water before getting in the shower. After half an hour of standing under the stream of hot water she started to feel somewhat human, though her head continued to pound.
An hour after her alarm had sounded Hermione entered the kitchen, to join her Mother and Father at breakfast.
"Merry Christmas Mum, Dad" She said as she entered, going over to each in turn to give them a hug and a kiss.
"Merry Christmas, Sweetheart" Her father said with a smile.
"Merry Christmas, Darling," Victoria echoed her husband.
Hermione took her seat and poured herself another glass of water.
"Mimosa?" Her mother asked, at which Hermione groaned.
"No thanks, I'll stick to water for now." She said, "And tea, I need a cup of strong tea."
Anthony chuckled, while Victoria gave a disapproving look. "Hung over are we dear?" Anthony asked with a grin.
"Little bit," Hermione admitted.
"I didn't like that you disappeared without telling anyone." Victoria reprimanded, clearly unable to stop herself. "Lord knows how long you had been gone before anyone noticed. And you disappeared with your friend-"
Hermione rolled her eyes, hearing the quotations around the word friend, "I don't think Richard was too happy either." Her mother continued.
Hermione looked up, "Do we have to do this today? Let's just try and be civil, it's Christmas. Are we doing presents now, or later?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject,
"We thought we'd do it this morning." Anthony answered, "We know you're having lunch with the Weasleys, but you won't be leaving for another couple of hours. And then we're going into York, to Richard's Bar for a late dinner, apparently we'll have the whole place to ourselves, nice and quiet and informal – it should be good."
Hermione made a non-committal noise as Victoria added: "So do make sure you're back by five."
Hermione nodded, "I can do that. What will you be doing, while I'm at the Weasleys?" She asked.
Her father grinned, "What we do every time you're not around and we have the house to ourselves."
Hermione gave her parents a tortured look before getting up to make a cup of tea, "Seriously, I feel sick as it is. That was just uncalled for." She muttered as she left the table.
A few hours later, Hermione made her way up the snowy path of The Burrow, a large grin beginning to unfurl. As she approached the door she heard the usual commotion that went with a kitchen full of Weasleys and she couldn't help but laugh fondly as she knocked on the door.
The door was thrown open instantly by Ginny, who immediately proclaimed: "Hermione! About time!" Before dragging her across the threshold.
Every Weasley (and Harry) was crammed into the kitchen: Ron and Harry were chopping vegetables and George was by the sink peeling potatoes, while Mrs Weasley and Fleur hovered around the stove. Mr Weasley was sat at the large table conversing with Bill and Percy while they laid the table settings and Charlie was taking the crockery from the cabinet.
Mrs Weasley turned at her daughter's exclamation and smiled, "Hermione dear, it's lovely to see you! I feel I haven't seen you in an age." She cried, coming over to give her a hug.
"I'm sorry I haven't called in sooner, these holidays." Hermione apologised.
"Nonsense," Molly waved away the apology, "You have your own family to see, I understand that." She held Hermione at arms length for a moment and frowned. "You look peaky," she accused, "Why don't you go sit in the sitting room, and Ginny will bring you some tea. We'll come and join you when we're finished preparing in here."
Molly wouldn't take no for an answer, and moments later, after saying an individual 'hello' to everyone in the kitchen, Hermione was reclining comfortably in a chair by the fire in the empty sitting room. She had barely been sitting a minute when Ginny entered and handed Hermione a large steaming mug of tea.
"No offence, but you look like hell. Rough night?" Ginny asked, taking a seat next to Hermione, with her own mug.
Hermione laughed, "Thanks. And yeah, I may have drunk a little bit too much. My parents had a party." She explained.
"You had a party, and I wasn't invited? I'm offended" Ginny mocked, Hermione smiled.
"You would have hated it." She assured the redhead, "I hated it. A pompous Muggle soirée, so I escaped down into our cellars and drank Firewhiskey."
Hermione reflected on her last comment with a frown, "That didn't come out right – it wasn't supposed to sound so creepy. We have a wine cellar, that has been furnished with a bar and couches, it's actually quite cosy." She explained and Ginny laughed.
"So how much did you drink? We'll gloss over the pathetic quality of drinking alone and just get right down to numbers" Ginny commented.
Hermione scowled, "I wasn't alone. And we got through a little under two bottles."
Hermione looked down into her mug, "And then I did something stupid" she admitted with a groan, which caused Ginny to grin enthusiastically, "I crossed a line, I opened the gates, and now I can't close them." She groaned, thinking of the new-found emotions still swirling around inside.
"Is this some kind of metaphor for sex?" Ginny asked, "When you say 'gates' are you really meaning 'legs'?"
Hermione glanced up and gave Ginny a dark look, "No, Ginny! What is the matter with you? You've been around Zabini too much." Hermione reprimanded, "It was just a kiss. A great kiss, but just a kiss." She assured.
"Who was it?" Ginny asked, and Hermione smiled ruefully.
"I'm sticking to my promise: I told you that you would be the first to know if something happened. Well, last night we kissed. Don't mock me." She added.
Ginny frowned for a moment, and then comprehension dawned, "Oh my God!" She hissed, "How? What the hell was Malfoy doing at a Muggle party?" she asked.
"I invited him at the last minute, to piss off certain people – Don't ask. But toward the end of the night we'd had enough of the party, so we went downstairs and had a few drinks, had a chat. Then one thing led to another." Hermione trailed off into a groan.
"Now you have no excuse for denial any more," Ginny smirked, while Hermione groaned again.
"I can't have feelings for him, Gin. It's too complicated." Hermione whispered with anguish, not wanting the others to hear from the next room.
"Why not? I mean, would it be so bad if you did?" Ginny asked her seriously.
Hermione looked at Ginny, obviously the answer was a resounding yes, but how could she explain it to Ginny? Hermione had gone back to Hogwarts to buy time and find a solution of getting out of a marriage she had no inclination to be in, not to start falling for another man – a previous enemy to boot.
"I went back to Hogwarts to study, to get my NEWT's, and try and get back to normality." Hermione said slowly.
Ginny laughed, "And when has your life at Hogwarts ever been normal? Look, Hermione, I'm not pressuring you here, but seriously, what would be so bad about having feelings for Malfoy?" Ginny asked again.
Hermione looked at her incredulously – even that simple sentence sounded ridiculous given her history with the man - but Ginny continued, "You say you want to get back to normality? Well, falling for someone is completely normal Hermione. I mean, after everything you've done over the years, a relationship is so normal it's probably mundane to you. But for the normal folk of Hogwarts, you know those who don't get into life threatening situations at every turn, it's the most exciting time of their lives." She said with a grin.
Hermione couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, I have gotten myself into a lot of terribly sticky situations over the years." She admitted. "But of all the people to fall for, Draco Malfoy?" she said, "It just seems ridiculous."
Ginny shrugged, "Not really, when you think about it. Hermione you are the brightest with of our age, no one comes close to your intellectual standards." Ginny told her.
"Except Draco Malfoy. You and Ron were never going to work out long term: you used to get exasperated with him, and you always argued. And I saw it sometimes that when You, Harry and Ron were discussing something that none of the rest of us knew what it was about, you and Harry always seemed to be on the same page, but Ron was always a couple of pages behind." Ginny told her honestly. As Hermione digested her friend's words, the redhead continued.
"Harry was a close equal to you, but you said there's no spark. With Malfoy, you seem to have it all. He is incredibly intelligent – I've noticed a few times that while I'm doing homework with you, we'll start a discussion on a topic, Blaise and Malfoy will join in, and then before you know it, you and Malfoy are zooming off on tangents, leaving me and Blaise lagging behind trying to keep up." Ginny said, shaking her head with a laugh before continuing:
"Malfoy is the only person I have seen who can really keep up with you, who can even challenge you, in a stimulating conversation. And you certainly have the passion, Merlin knows I've seen the two of you in some of your fights and you can both really let rip." Hermione laughed again at that.
"All I'm saying, is don't let the past prejudice you too much. Forget the fact that you're the Gryffindor Princess and he's the Slytherin Prince-" a sudden gleam came to Ginny's eye that had Hermione worried.
"On second thoughts, don't forget that, that's even more perfect. Its like Romeo and Juliet: Two lovers from opposing sides brought together against all odds." Ginny said gazing out, now lost in her thoughts.
Hermione looked at her with a less than impressed air, "Oh lovely. So you're saying we're going to fall in love, give in to our feelings, and then kill ourselves? How nice." She said dryly.
Ginny looked at Hermione with a frown, "The most famous love story of all time, and you manage to destroy the romance in one sentence. Unbelievable."
Hermione laughed, as Harry and Ron joined them.
"What's so funny?" Ron asked, sitting down next to his sister, while Harry moved towards the fireplace.
"Nothing, I'm just ruining romance apparently." Hermione smiled, at which the boys frowned, clearly confused.
"Don't mind her," Ginny said, "She's just bitter 'cause she's hung over."
The boys laughed while Hermione frowned at Ginny, "Yeah, well, you'd be hung over too if you had to be exposed to the party I endured last night."
"Oh come on, it wasn't all bad," Ginny teased with a grin.
Hermione chose to ignore the statement and turned to the other two, "So what did you boys get up to last night?" She asked.
Ron leaned back into the couch, "Absolutely nothing." He said.
Harry watched Hermione carefully as he answered, "I had dinner with Andie and Narcissa." He told her.
"Oh," Hermione said, "How was that?" she asked, feigning a calm she didn't feel. Did Harry know that Draco spent the evening with her?
"It was good. Malfoy wasn't there, apparently he had another engagement." He said, still not taking his eyes from Hermione.
"Is that so?" she said, tucking her hair behind her ear, "Did you discover where?"
"We had a strong suspicion," he told her, pausing a moment before continuing, "How was your evening?" He asked pointedly, and Hermione laughed.
Yep, she thought, he knows. "God's Harry," she said out loud, "You're about a subtle as a blunt axe." She looked him in the eye, "Can we not do this now? I'll spend the day with you tomorrow, you can ask me anything and I'll tell you true. Just not today, please." She beseeched him quietly.
Harry held up his hands in surrender and the conversation was dropped, just as the George entered the room, closely followed by the rest of male members of the Weasley clan. The rest of the afternoon with the Weasleys was cheerful bliss: after a feast of a dinner, which lasted a couple of hours, they sat around the fire enjoying lazy conversations and swapping gifts.
Hermione regretfully made her departure just before five, allowing time to change before heading off with her parents to spend the evening with Richard and his parents in York. The evening was more pleasant than Hermione had anticipated: Her argument with Richard the night before seemed to have been forgotten, and the evening was full of smiles, laughter, good food and excellent wine. Hermione, once again, played her part of the doting fiancé to perfection, and no one had the faintest idea of her and Richard's most recent disagreement.
###
As promised, Hermione spent Boxing Day with Harry at Grimmauld Place. Andromeda looked in for a couple of hours with Teddy, but after they had left, Harry and Hermione sat down in the drawing room with two large mugs of tea, and Harry got straight to the point.
"So," He started, "Tell me true, what's really going on between you and Draco Malfoy?"
Hermione sighed, "Honestly? I have no idea." She said, and when Harry gave her a disbelieving look she hurried to continue.
"We've both matured over the war, and since the Battle at Hogwarts, I guess we've both silently agreed to bury the hatchet, as it were. And we've become fairly close, I guess, sharing a tower, which has become our little sanctuary to escape all the whispers that follow us both around nowadays. And when all the animosity is dropped, he's actually not a bad person to be around." Hermione tried to explain.
Harry frowned, "That didn't really answer my question," he pointed out, continuing slowly, "I mean, from what I saw at Slughorn's party, and some things Narcissa mentioned the other night – He was at your party on Christmas Eve, wasn't he? It seems there's something more than friendship between the two of you."
It was Hermione's turn to frown, "Wonderful, you've been gossiping about me with Mrs Malfoy." She accused, and Harry chuckled.
"Look," Hermione said seriously, "I don't really know what there is between us – it's complicated." She said haltingly.
Harry looked at her intently for a moment, as though steeling himself to say something; he took a deep breath and finally asked about what had been bugging him for weeks:
"Does this complication have anything to do with the engagement ring you were wearing on September 1st?" He asked.
Hermione paled slightly, and chocked on her tea, "You saw that?" She managed to ask, after a decent amount of coughing, and Harry nodded.
"It was only a brief glimpse, and I don't think anyone else saw it," He assured her, "So who's the lucky guy?"
Hermione looked at him for a moment, ignoring his question for the moment. "Why didn't you say anything before now?" She asked.
"Because I knew you would tell me when you were ready, I didn't want to push you. But now, I think some explanation is needed." Harry smiled, "Now, answer my question."
Hermione nodded, "His name is Richard. Richard Alden, he's a Muggle, his parents and my parents are old friends. It's a romance that has spiralled out of control: my parents believe me more in love than I actually am, but I intend to get out of it." Hermione said.
"So how did it come about?" Harry asked, probing for more detail.
"Richard and I grew up together, he's a couple of years older than me, and in the summer after fourth year, there was an attraction that was never there before. We flirted a little, but nothing really came of it at that time as I returned to Hogwarts and we didn't speak for the entire school year. But, when I returned home after fifth year, the attraction was still there and our relation progressed to the next level – he was my first and I was quite infatuated at the time. We had a summer romance, it wasn't exactly serious but it wasn't casual either, and that was when my parents started promoting the match, they believed we were the perfect couple. And then that Christmas, in sixth year, I spent the Holidays at home and we picked up where we left off – I'll admit, there may have been a slight revenge element to that, as I was angry at Ron." Hermione admitted, and Harry laughed, but didn't speak, allowing Hermione to continue.
"For the most part, I tried to keep my Muggle life separate from the Wizarding world – after Hogwarts I intended to live in the Wizarding world, with limited contact with my Muggle past. But of course, Voldemort was gaining power, my family were in more danger than they ever realised, and that Christmas I started putting up Magical defences and wards, and told my parents to start planning for going into hiding. It was just before I returned to Hogwarts in January that my mother first mentioned the idea of an engagement., but at the time I didn't pay much attention and gave a vague answer – I had bigger things on my mind at that point, and thought it would be better to discuss it properly next summer."
Harry listened in silence, absorbing every word, for which Hermione was thankful. Now that she had started her narrative, it was easy to keep talking, but if he interrupted her now, she didn't think she would be able to continue.
"But, summer came and things turned critical. I went home and told my parents they would be going into hiding within three weeks – I didn't tell them exactly what I was planning, because I knew they would argue with me and flatly refuse to co-operate. But the subject of the engagement was brought up again and I didn't have the heart to tell my mother 'No'." Hermione admitted, a lump forming in her throat at the memory.
"In less than three weeks I would be erasing myself from their memories. I would be going off to fight a war I never thought I would survive: in my mind these were the last days I had with my family, and maybe it was selfish of me, but I wanted those days to be perfect and happy. I'm an only child, my mother's only daughter, and I know it has always been her dream to plan the perfect wedding for me. And as a girl I used to dream of the perfect wedding and making plans with my mother, so being the selfish person that I am, I gave my mother the answer she wanted, never thinking I would actually have to follow through, and spending three weeks in family bliss."
Hermione wiped a stray tear from her eye before taking a deep breath to continue, while Harry remained silent.
"But, we fought, we won and we survived in record timing and now my little white lie has come back around to but me on my arse." Hermione stated.
Harry snorted, in spite of himself, at Hermione's choice of words, and Hermione allowed herself to laugh.
"But I still don't understand," Harry said after a moment, "Why can't you just explain this to your parents, and Richard?" He asked.
"Ah," Hermione said grimly, "the plot thickens." And she told him about the financial side of the engagement, after which Harry's response failed to impress Hermione.
"So, you're like, High-Society rich?" He clarified and Hermione stared at him.
"Unbelievable," she said, "Why is that the only aspect people focus on?"
Harry chuckled, "I always knew you had a fair amount of money," he told her, "Every time Ron ever made mention of his lack of money, you looked even more uncomfortable than I did. I know I have a hefty fortune under Gringotts, so it figured you had just as much, if not more, at your disposal. So how are you planning to get out of it?" He asked.
"I need to figure out how to make the business stronger, how much it will cost, and find an alternative cash source. If I can prove we don't need the Alden's money then there will be no need for the marriage, and I'm free." Hermione explained, "Which means my new bed-time reading material is accounting books. It's marvellous fun!" She mocked.
Harry laughed again, then asked more serious, "Does Malfoy know all this?"
"Yes," Hermione admitted, "He, like you, saw the ring on September first but I didn't tell him anything at the time and he let it drop. However, when the Witch Weekly article was printed, he put two and two together, and he was actually the one who made me realise that the money could be key to why my parents were overly supportive of the match. He met Richard the other night." She added after a moments quiet.
"Oh yeah?" Harry said with thinly veiled amusement, "How did that go?"
Hermione gave an amused glare, "They were perfectly civil to one another, though I don't think they liked each other much."
"Really?" Harry put on an overly theatrical air of disbelief, "The fiancé and the love interest didn't get along? Shocking!"
Hermione threw a couch cushion at him with a laugh, and Harry continued seriously.
"I'm not going to tell you to stay away from Malfoy, if you can see good in him, then I will trust your judgement. And I will even admit that I do believe he is a better person after the war. But please be careful, you're getting yourself into a bit of a sticky love triangle, and I don't want to see you get hurt. Just, take things slowly with Malfoy, especially while you're tangled in this engagement."
Hermione smiled, "Don't worry Harry, I don't want to see me hurt either." She assured him, "And besides, it's not really a 'love' triangle, not when there is no love between Richard and I anymore, at least not on my side. And I have no intention of falling in love with Draco Malfoy."
"That's the funny thing about love," Harry said, sounding rather wise, "Just because you don't intend for it to happen, it doesn't necessarily follow that it wont."
A/N: Well, there it is. A little shorter that the others, but I hope it clears a few things up.
As ever, I love to hear what you guys think...and what do you reckon? Should Hermione heed Harry's advice, and take it slow? (Obviously, I already know her decision as the next chapter has pretty much been written, ;) but I'd love to hear your opinions)
I'll try and update quicker this time, but for now, goodnight
xBx