Out of Hand by relativelypositive
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I make no money from the use of J.K. Rowling's characters.
Chapter 25
What did I just do?
Hermione couldn't say she'd never done anything impulsive. She was always quick to jump on any opportunity, just in case it was the only one she ever got.
But having her first kiss with Draco in front of hundreds of people including her parents?
What if something had gone wrong? He could have shoved her away in disgust, or gone overboard with aggression, or been a bad kisser.
Thank goodness it was perfect.
The hall had gone quiet.
She had yet to open her eyes. She wasn't exactly scared to see the reaction on Draco's face, more apprehensive.
She'd just encouraged him. That was one of the few things she had decided she wasn't going to do. She was still going to try to get out of the engagement. She knew he still didn't want to.
She hadn't figured out why.
They needed to sit and talk.
"I need to go back to the Hospital Wing."
"Okay," Draco answered, but didn't move.
She opened her eyes, and saw that Draco hadn't yet opened his eyes.
She smiled. Aww. He was having a moment. She rolled her eyes at herself.
Hermione's aches and pains had been steadily growing over the past couple hours, and she couldn't ignore them anymore. Her face was throbbing and she could feel it swelling.
She could just imagine what she looked like. She couldn't believe Draco would let her kiss him looking like she probably did.
His eyes slowly opened. He quickly licked his lips and they quirked into a little smile.
"Couldn't help yourself, could you? I understand. I'm fairly irresistible."
"Shut up." She was embarrassed enough. She didn't need him to tease her, too.
"Come on. Let's get you to Pomfrey." He put his arm around her and led her to the hallway.
"Madam Pomfrey," she corrected.
"Whatever."
She was surprised to see her parents and Mrs. Malfoy waiting for them.
They walked as a tense group back through the halls while Hermione said hello to everyone that stopped her. She was tired, but these people were supporting her cause. She would be cordial if it killed her.
Madam Pomfrey tutted at her when she came in. Hermione's potions were already laid out and she gratefully took a pain reliever. Madam Pomfrey performed a diagnostic spell, then pursed her lips when she saw the swelling and bruising from her new injury.
Being the expedient witch that she was, Madam Pomfrey had healed the worst of the damage in seconds and left Hermione to rest.
Hermione looked at the small group and wondered where to start. They were all avoiding looking at each other.
She turned to Draco's mother, and tried to smile.
"Thank you for your support, Mrs. Malfoy. It will go a long way toward gaining acceptance in your circles."
"I didn't do it for you. I don't support you. I support making sure no one else has to watch helplessly while their heirs end up shackled to inappropriate witches!"
"But you said…"
"I am always working in the best interest of my family. Rita Skeeter will plaster the front page of the Prophet with how despondent yet accepting we Malfoys are. There will be no change in society."
Hermione thought that over. Mrs. Malfoy continued.
"I was hoping to make you look like an unfeeling witch that was breaking the heart of my dear son, but then you had to do…that. Sickening."
"You said you didn't care that I was a Muggleborn."
"That is not what I said. If that is what you inferred that is your mistake."
"You bitch," Catherine said, losing her temper. "There is nothing wrong with my daughter. Your son has mostly shown himself to be a nice boy, but you are just insulting. And your husband is an abusive jerk. Why are you even here?"
"I still want to try the Muggle resurrection plan. If I cannot convince my son to do the right thing, I will force him."
"That's not going to happen." Draco protested.
"I think you'll agree to it soon enough," she said cryptically.
Mrs. Malfoy gave her son a stern look and walked out of the Hospital Wing.
"Well. Young man, I hope your apple was taken by a gust of wind and fell miles from your tree," Timothy stated.
"No, it didn't. But my apple is rolling away."
"Good to hear. Now, let's make a plan. Hermione? Catherine? I think Miranda Carrey would be our best bet."
"No way. Even if we showed her what Hermione could do, she'd think it was a trick. You know who we should go to."
"Angela Egglesfield," Timothy conceded. "But after we canceled dinner last Saturday I don't know if she'd make room for an appointment with us."
"Of course she would. She loves Hermione."
"Okay, we'll try her first."
XXXXXXXX
Draco just listened as Granger's parents quickly came to an agreement. Granger wasn't saying anything, and he didn't know how to stress any more forcefully than he already had that he wasn't going to go through with it.
Granger's parents gingerly hugged their daughter and kissed her bruised cheeks and forehead. They nodded and smiled at him as they went to find Dumbledore.
"I think they're starting to like me."
"I wouldn't go that far."
Granger and Draco smiled at each other.
"I'm not going to do that thing you want me to do," he reminded her.
"I know. I'll have to do it myself."
"No, you don't! Why can't we just…"
"Get to know each other?" she interrupted.
"Well, yeah."
"I wouldn't mind getting to know you, Draco, but I don't want to be engaged to you, let alone marry you. I've been honest about that all along. I'm sorry if you don't agree."
"I can change your mind."
"And I can see you believe that, which just proves how well you don't know me."
They stared at each other.
"You made this happen. From start to finish," he accused.
"Not completely true. You tracked me down. You followed me. All I did was say something salacious. It would have stopped there if you had left it alone."
"But you formalized it!"
"My mistake! I'm sorry! I was out of control, but I'm going to fix it!"
Draco took a few deep breaths. He didn't want to make her mad, but he also wanted to get his way.
"What do you think your life will be like if you marry me? Do you think you'll be dining with the Dark Lord and torturing house elves?"
"I think your mother would try to control me and your father would try to kill me."
Draco didn't know how to respond to that. It was the truth. The absolute truth.
But that wasn't how he wanted it to be.
"We wouldn't live at the manor."
"Hypothetically, if we were married, would you live in Muggle London?"
"If you live in Muggle London, can you use magic in your house?"
Granger probably hadn't considered that. She probably thought she'd get a place close to her family, since she could always apparate to her friends.
"As long as the Muggles around you didn't know, would it matter?"
"Regardless, we can live in Wizarding London so you can pop over to see your parents any time."
"Would you have any objections to me having a dangerous full-time career?"
"I'm sure you'll be the next Minister of Magic."
"No. I'm going to be a curse breaker."
Draco was surprised. He had always assumed she would work behind a desk, or maybe in a library. He imagined her pouring over books for hours on end. It's not like there wasn't precedent. He'd seen her in that mode plenty of times in library. Not that he spent much time there, but she was always there. She was a fixture.
"Like a dealer in cursed antiquities in a shop, or a traveling-the-world, dragon-riding, swashbuckling curse breaker?"
She smiled. "Both, actually."
"Sounds exciting."
"I've always thought so. What are you planning to do?"
"Until yesterday I didn't have a choice. I was going to take over the Malfoy family interests. Now…I don't know. I guess…I've always wished I could be a wandmaker. From searching the world for wood and core materials, to crafting them, to matching them to their witches and wizards, I've always been fascinated."
"What, you don't want to be a pro Quidditch player?"
"Only on the weekends."
Draco realized that marrying Hermione would make it possible to follow that dream. They could spend their lives traveling the world, Granger breaking curses and him seeking out unique supplies. That would be a great life!
One question was niggling at the back of his mind, but he didn't want to ask it. He knew it would make her mad, but he had to know what she was thinking.
"Would all this adventuring happen before or after we have children?"
"Hypothetically, I would want to wait until my late thirties to have children."
Draco knew her answer would make him mad!
"I am not waiting another twenty years before I get to have sex!"
A/N:
KodeV called my plans for Narcissa! Aagh! I try to be unpredictable, but I suppose I can be scooped just this once.
Thanks for reviewing!
love bleeds red, viola1701e, viki, giada, HermionenDraco368, ASJS, Somnus Verus, KodeV, shaymars, brighteyes2889, eliza6801, Sampdoria, AllyCat2000, Allen-holic, Tar-Silmarien, and pumpkin314159