I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter 26

Draco

The next few days passed relatively uneventfuly. I spent more time with Hermione, and we got to know each other better than ever before. But I knew she was still hiding something. When she thought I wasn't looking she would let her smile fade, and the haunted guilty look would become more prominent in her eyes. I asked her about it once, and she had feigned a puzzled look and for the rest of the day pretended to be extra happy. I was beginning to see behind her mask though and I knew it was bothering her even more so this close to Christmas.

I couldn't help but wonder what she was hiding. What could the third member of the Golden Trio, top of our class, Hermione Granger have done that was so bad she didn't sleep well at night?

I heard movement from upstairs, and a few moments later Hermione came down yawning. "Good morning Draco." She said glancing at me. She did a double take, and blushed before looking away quickly.

"I guess you like what you see." I smirked.

"Oh, go put a shirt on!" her blush became deeper as she tried to fix her breakfast.

I kept the smirk on my face as I came up behind her wrapping my arms around her waist, and pulling her close to me. "I thought you would like the view." I joked as she squealed for me to let her go. "No, I'm good. You're keeping my upper body warm."

"Draco!" she said appalled as she managed to wriggle herself around to where she was facing me. When I didn't move she hit me on the chest, "Let me go!" I gave her a cheeky grin and gave her a big wet kiss on the cheek. She squealed again, and I ran off to my room before she could catch me. "I'm going to get you!" she yelled, "Just you wait!"

"Good luck!" I called back down, and heard her sigh in frustration. I chuckled to myself as I put on a t-shirt and Muggle jeans. They were quite comfortable, and I enjoyed the look on my father's face when I first brought them home.

I was going into Hogsmeade today to try and find a Christmas gift for Hermione. It had to be something special, but I had no idea what.

I left for the wizard village when Hermione had gone up to her room to get ready for the day. I spent the first hour or two, window shopping, but after that it began to get much colder so I ventured into a store that I thought looked promising. To my disappointment, it wasn't all that promising. I had exited yet another store when I realized that it was going to be much harder than I had originally thought. But I had to find one quickly because Christmas was only a couple very short days away, and it was nearly time for lunch up at the castle, and I knew Hermione would be looking for me.

I sighed before entering another jewelry shop. Hopefully this would be the one I would find her present in. I still had no idea what I was looking for though, which was a slight problem. I was more of an 'I'll know it when I see it' kind of person, and then I saw it, the perfect gift for Hermione.

"I'll take it." I said pointing to what I wanted in the glass case.

The manager nodded his approval, "Very nice choice sir. May I ask whom it is for?"

I smiled, "My girlfriend."

The manager nodded again, and wrapped up what I'd bought before handing it too me. "That will be six galleons sir." I nodded and counted out the money from my pocket. "Thank you sir and Merry Christmas!"

Once back inside the castle I hid Hermione's present in my room, and went to join her on the gold couch upon which she was reading. She looked up surprised then went back to her book. I pulled out mine as well, and began to read.

We had decided to eat in our room that night, and when we were done Hermione sat back down on the couch except she scooted to the far corner, and let me lay my head her lap. I smiled as she played with my hair, only stopping for a quick second to turn the page before resuming running her hands through it. I sighed contentedly, and opted to stay up reading for a while longer while she went to bed. Hermione kissed my cheek, and told me goodnight before heading up the stairs.

A few hours later I began to feel tired, and convinced myself that it was probably a good time to go to bed before I fell asleep on the couch. I climbed the stairs quietly, and stopped before Hermione's door to check she was still asleep.

I heard her murmur something, and move around before becoming quiet. She said something again, and I strained my ears to hear her. "I'm sorry!" I made out then more murmuring. "Please! It was all my fault." Then I heard her choke on a sob.

I opened her door to make sure that was exactly what I had heard, and stopped short when I saw the anguished look upon her sleeping face. "Hermione," I whispered shaking her lightly to wake her, "Hermione."

"I'm sorry!" she said louder then she jerked awake. "Draco?" she croaked.

"Are you alright?" I asked concerned, when she didn't answer I tried again, "Nightmare?" Hermione nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" she shook her head, and turned away from me. "Alright then, call me if you need anything. Goodnight Hermione." I kissed her on the forehead, and made to leave.

"Stay." She whispered. The moon was reflecting in her eyes, and I saw fear there. I lifted up the covers and slid in next to her wrapping my arms around her waist. She stayed quiet for so long that I thought she had fallen asleep then she began her story. "It all started the summer before when we were supposed to be in our seventh year. I knew Voldemort was going to come after Harry, Ron, and I, and I had wanted to protect my parents. So I erased their memories…"

As she continued on with her story I used Occlumency to delve into her mind and see it first hand. I know it was wrong, but I had to know. I had to make sure she was telling me the truth.

The first emotion that hit me was sadness so deep that I felt it even inside the core of my own emotions. I watched as she sighed, and put what looked to be the last of all her belongings inside a box then she shrunk it, and the one next to it before placing it in her beaded bag. One had all of her personal things, and the other was full of pictures and things her parents had kept over the years. Hermione then took one last look around her room before pulling out her wand and transfiguring it into a guest room.

She closed the door quietly behind her and crossed the hall into her father's study. "Hey Daddy," she said coming up behind him. Her father could sense something was bothering her and he opened his arms and motioned for her to come sit in his lap like she was a little girl.

"What's wrong Hermione?" he asked gently.

"Nothing Daddy, I just wanted to tell you that I love." She whispered as she hugged him.

"I love you too punkin." He replied surprised. "Why this sudden show of affection?" he joked.

"Promise me you won't forget that." she said ignoring his question. Hermione looked positively stricken as she watched his reaction.

Her father's eyes softened, "Of course Hermione. How could I ever?"

Hermione stood and kissed her father on the cheek, and as he turned around she whispered, "Obliviate." A tear slipped down her cheek as her father slumped down unconscious. When he awakened he would never know he had ever had a daughter.

Hermione shut the door quietly and descended the stairs to find her mother. Jean Granger was standing in the kitchen fixing dinner when her daughter came in. She noticed immediately that something was wrong, and wrapped Hermione in a hug.

"I love you Mum." She sobbed squeezing her mother tightly.

"And I, you, tell me what's wrong Hermione."

"It's nothing you can fix." She sniffed, "I'm so sorry. I love you so much."

"What ever are you sorry for? Come now Hermione, whatever you did can't be that bad."

"But it is! Promise me that you'll always love me."

Jean held her daughter at arms length wiping a tear away with her thumb. "I promise that I will always love you, no matter what."

"Obliviate." She sobbed. Hermione caught her mother, and sat her down at their kitchen table. "I'm sorry." She whispered again before kissing her mother on her cheek and Apparating to the Burrow.

The memory ended, and I saw a tear slip down Hermione's cheek. "They thought they were the Wilkins, and that their life's ambition was to move to Australia. So they did. I went there this summer to change back their memories. Only I couldn't. I had managed to find the town they were living in, and I…"

I delved back into her mind, and watched as a slight older Hermione followed her mother into a supermarket. She finally managed to step into an isle alone with her to try and quickly modify her memory back to normal. Only they weren't alone.

There was a baby girl sitting in the basket drumming her feet happily against the cart. Hermione was so taken aback that she stumbled into the cart. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.

"Oh no, it's fine dear. No harm done." Her mother replied.

The baby girl looked at her curiously so Hermione commented, "Oh what a beautiful baby girl! Is she yours?"

Her mother smiled fondly looking at the baby, "Yes she is."

"How old is she?"

"About three months, her name is Hermione." That wasn't supposed to happen! She thought. There must be a mistake!

"That's a beautiful name," Hermione swallowed painfully as she studied the baby girl more. She noticed very few differences between the baby now, and the pictures she had packed away in a box barely over a year ago. The biggest difference was her eyes. Instead of having her fathers brown eyes she had her mother's blue.

"I'd always wanted to have a little girl named Hermione." Her mother said softly, "What's you're name dear?"

Hermione paused before answering, "Jean, Jean Granger."

"Well it was very nice meeting you, Jean Granger."

"And you."

Hermione's mother moved on to the next aisle, and Hermione walked quickly out of the store with tears streaming down her face, before Apparating home.

"I failed," she choked out as I came back to reality. "They weren't supposed to have kids! They weren't supposed to want any! I couldn't bring their memories back even if I wanted to after that. How would I explain them having two daughters named Hermione? It wasn't supposed to happen that way. But I failed. It's my entire fault."

"Shh," I soothed her rubbing calming circles on her back. "It wasn't your fault. Anyone could have messed up on that spell. It's extremely hard to get right, and you were only straight out of your sixth year at Hogwarts. You did what was best for them."

"I shouldn't have failed!" she sobbed hitting the mattress before rolling over and crying into my chest. "I'm Hermione Granger! Everyone expects so much more from me. They expected me to get it right!"

"They're safe, and that's all you could have ever asked for. I can't say the same for my parents. And yours are happy. That's all that matters now." I felt her nod, as more tears slipped down her cheeks, soaking my shirt.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, "It's just that I haven't told anyone about it. You're the first person to know what happened. I feel so stupid, I'm sorry. Your shirt is probably ruined now."

"It's nothing a quick cleaning spell can't fix. Now get some sleep. I promise I won't leave you tonight." I pulled her closer to me, and felt her relax against my body.

"Thank you Draco." She whispered, and a few moments later Hermione Granger was asleep in my arms.

It was hard writting this last part of the chapter. But I liked how Draco comforted her =) Please tell me what you think!

~chocoyum4~