Author's Note: Thanks as always for your kind feedback. I'm so grateful to have such wonderful readers, and am thrilled to say Distance is a finalist in three categories in the GES Awards, so THANK YOU. You've all been champions with some of the terrible chapter breaks lately, so here's an early one for you. I hope you enjoy it.
Just a reminder that there are 39 chapters total, although 39 is more of an epilogue of sorts. A few of you have mentioned you would be interested to see further adventures in this universe, and I can't make any promises yet, or give any sort of timeline, but there is a chance I'll write a second adventure post-Distance. SO... stay tuned.
Alpha love as always to the wonderful Kyonomiko. Errors are my own.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchise.
Hermione stepped through the Floo, nerves playing at her as she looked around the clean flat with modern furnishings. Draco peered around the corner, his lips quirking into a grin upon seeing her.
"Hi," he said, stepping closer. "Are you just about set?"
"I don't know if I'll ever be set," she admitted, her fingers entwining with his.
He rolled his eyes, snickering. "You'll be fine. She already likes you, anyway. She's been hoping for this ever since she found out you were the Unspeakable I've been working with."
Hermione sighed, even as his words caused her to relax just a bit. Tea with Narcissa Malfoy was a daunting thought, but at least Draco had convinced his mother to come to his flat instead of hosting the two of them at the Manor.
She wasn't certain she was ready to go back to Draco's ancestral home yet, especially on the same day as properly meeting his mother.
She stared at him, her lips quirking. "It was your mother, wasn't it? The anonymous donation to Healer Randall's lab?"
Draco grimaced, pulling her into his small kitchen. "I think so. But she's denied it every time I've asked."
"Subtle," Hermione said, a smile tugging at her lips. "I admit I'm surprised, though. I would have thought your parents would hope for you to select a nice, pureblood girl."
He shrugged, setting out a plate of scones with a tea service that had already been prepared. "It was definitely their hope when I was young. But I think with Father in Azkaban, Mother's realized there are more important things." He caught her gaze for a brief moment, his throat bobbing. "And I think she knows she couldn't make a decision like that for me even if she tried."
Hermione nodded, shrugging off her coat; Draco took it from her in an instant, hanging it on a coat rack by the door. He stepped back towards her, rubbing his hands up the length of her arms. His eyes swept the length of her; she had opted for a simple blush-pink dress with black lace detailing.
"I like your dress," he said, his voice softer. "And I'm glad you're here."
"I'm glad you invited me," she said, smiling. "And that reminds me, a group of us are going to the Leaky tomorrow night. Will you come with me?"
"Absolutely," he said, sliding a hand into her curls. "As it turns out, some of your friends aren't so bad."
Hermione scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Okay and I'll admit, Theo isn't terrible." He was supportive and cared about Draco, and she couldn't fault him that, even if he was frequently unprofessional and irritating.
"Theo is pretty terrible," Draco snickered in return. "But I'll let him know you said that."
He leaned in, a hand fingering the lace of her dress, but hesitated when the Floo flared to life. His grey eyes met hers, filled with an enticing sort of heat, and he drew away, turning to the grate.
Hermione felt nerves pull at her chest again and swallowed, watching as Narcissa Malfoy emerged, graceful and elegant as ever.
"Mother," Draco greeted, stepping forward to press his lips to his mother's cheek, and then the other. Narcissa's blue eyes caught Hermione's as she stepped away. "Please, properly meet Hermione Granger."
Narcissa Malfoy offered a demure smile, pressing her lips to Hermione's own cheek. "Miss Granger – it is a pleasure."
"Thank you, Missus Malfoy," Hermione intoned, feeling a flush in her cheeks. She had never been introduced to a parent in such a capacity, given Arthur and Molly were already more or less second parents to her when she and Ron had embarked on their short and ill-advised fling.
"Please," Narcissa said with a soft wave, "call me Narcissa."
Hermione swallowed with a tight nod; Draco's grey eyes sparkled in encouragement as they met hers. "Narcissa," she echoed. "And please – Hermione will do."
"Of course," Narcissa said.
Draco ushered Hermione and his mother to the small table in the kitchen of his flat and began preparing their tea service. The banality of it, after the life with him to which she had grown accustomed, was jarring.
To be sitting in London, sharing tea with his mother… She stifled a sharp breath and forced a smile. Draco's toe nudged hers under the table and she felt some of the tension sink from her stance.
"Hermione." Narcissa turned to face her, idly stirring a splash of milk into her tea. "Although Draco won't tell me the details of your mission, might I just say I am ever so pleased the two of you were together. It sounds like you've been through quite the ordeal."
"Right," Hermione breathed, taking a slow, measured inhale. "It certainly was. But actually, it was Draco who saved me. He led our team through challenges and difficulties we hadn't foreseen, and he brought us all through the other side without further casualties in the Ministry. I was fortunate to have him looking out for me."
Beside her, Draco cleared his throat. Narcissa's eyes glistened, a sincerity in her expression as she met Hermione's eyes.
"My dear girl," the woman said, a smile playing at her lips. "It is clear the two of you have learned to trust one another, after the past you share. But all the same, I am so…" she dropped off, her smile fading. "I am just so pleased."
Draco's hand caught hers beneath the table as Hermione took an unsteady sip of her tea. She met his gaze; his expression was stoic but for the upturn of his brow.
"Draco has proven himself over and again," Hermione said, fixing her gaze on Narcissa once more. "I am honoured to receive his consideration."
A squeeze to her hand, and he cleared his throat once more. "No, Mother," he broke in. "If it wasn't for Hermione, I don't know how this all would have ended up." His grey stare met hers again. "I'm a lucky bloke."
Draco wasn't certain what he had expected, the day before when Hermione had invited him to join her and her friends for drinks at the Leaky the following night.
But the atmosphere at the long table when they Flooed into the pub wasn't it.
Finnigan sat beside Dean Thomas, his face pale and eyes dull. There was a forced joviality to Potter's countenance as he chatted with Daphne. And Longbottom sat on the other side of Finnigan, looking uncomfortable as he sipped on a pint.
Potter's eyes chased to the two of them as they approached the table, and a hushed sort of silence fell over the small group.
It was the first time Draco had seen any of them beyond quick moments in passing at St Mungo's, in varying states of awareness, and he hadn't been sure of what to expect.
But Potter's arms pulled Hermione from him and Draco could hear her sharp intake of breath as she fell into her old friend; the air around him felt stifling as he met the stare of Dean Thomas.
Hermione sniffled as she pulled back into his side, even as she smiled at Potter, who only shook his head before extending a hand in Draco's direction. "Mate," Potter choked, "I don't even know what to say. Thank you just doesn't feel enough."
Something welled up in Draco's chest as he nodded and took the proffered hand. "It's more than enough, Potter."
Next was Finnigan, eyes wide as he shook his head. His hand was clammy as he clasped Draco's own and muttered, "Thank ye."
Dean Thomas gave a grin and a shaky laugh as he rose, throwing an arm around Draco's shoulders in an awkward embrace. Draco nodded in return as Thomas pulled back, wonder in his face. "And to think they doubted you." He swallowed, pressing his lips together. "We all doubted you. And we were wrong. You led us to success and none of us could have done that on our own, Malfoy."
He squinted, staring at his colleague with a tight nod. Hermione breathed at his side, "It's true."
As he took a seat with Hermione, Daphne beamed at him, and Longbottom clapped him on the back.
No, he hadn't expected any of that.
Two pints later, Draco felt cold. Hermione nursed a Butterbeer beside him, her expression tense and distant. While the group ought to have been celebratory and jovial, the table was instead somber and introspective, and Draco suspected everyone was coming to terms with all they had faced.
He himself had come close to the terms of his own mortality, and that of the woman for whom he had fallen. He felt a tightness in his chest even at the thought of it.
"I can't help but wonder," Hermione mused, intruding on the quiet chatter around them. "What exactly it was about Seamus that combated the sickness in a way that it didn't for anyone else."
Finnigan gave a chuckle. "Of course you wouldn't let that go, Hermione."
"I'm still curious, too," Draco admitted. "I wonder if there was something else that would have worked to fight off the magic."
"Already said," Finnigan said with a shrug. "Just drank me tea –"
"Right," Draco said, waving a flippant hand as she shook his head. "Tea, soup, rest."
But Hermione chuckled beside him, shaking her head as it turned into a mirthful laugh. "Didn't you say Parvati had been to visit you?"
"Aye," Finnigan responded, hesitant. "She brought me the tea."
Draco released a bark of laughter despite himself. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," he snickered. "And let me guess – there was tulsi in the tea."
Hermione gasped, amused moisture at the corners of her eyes. "And when you went to St Mungo's, you stopped drinking her tea."
"No," Potter groaned, drawing out the syllable as he dropped his face to his hands. "We all almost died, because Seamus went to St Mungo's…"
Draco felt a harsh breath chase from his chest at the thought. That they could have avoided so much, had they only taken a closer look.
Hermione huffed one last laugh as she leaned back in her seat, and her face fell into a grimace as she clutched at her chest. Draco frowned, staring at her and he asked, "Are you alright?"
"Just a spasm or something," she said, shaking her head. Her hand fell to her side.
"Heat," he said, his voice soft enough that no one could hear them. "Heat in your chest."
"Yes," she whispered. Her eyes widened. "You too?"
Draco nodded; he had experienced the same earlier that day. "I was wondering whether it was an after-effect."
The group looked up as two more approached the table and Draco might have sneered were he not so exhausted. Weasley and Bones slid into two vacant seats across the table; Weasley gave a hesitant nod to the collected company while Bones and Hermione exchanged a tentative smile.
But she shifted just so slightly towards him and Draco trailed a hand along her spine. Weasley's eyes flashed to follow the movement, his eyes wide.
Draco didn't have the energy to deal with Weasley and it seemed, neither did Hermione, as her tired eyes fixed on his; her fingertips grazed the fabric of his trousers around his knee.
She took a sip of her Butterbeer, her tone thoughtful as she said only to him, "It feels so strange – don't you think? It just feels so… ordinary."
She had put his exact thoughts into words, and Draco slipped an arm around her back, planting a kiss into her curls. "It does. I think it'll take a while." Hermione gave a slow nod, as if steeling herself to accept the fact.
"I'm glad we've been through this all together, you know?" she asked in a whisper, her chocolate eyes wide.
Draco could feel Weasley's stare burning through the side of his head and his eyes narrowed on instinct as he turned. But Weasley didn't have anything to say and Draco turned back to Hermione, fingers entwining with hers.
"I know," he breathed with a tight nod. "Merlin, I know."
With a sort of forced half-smile, Hermione finished the last of her drink. Her voice remained low as she asked, "Are you ready to go?" And as an afterthought she added, "I haven't been able to sleep very well."
"Neither have I," Draco admitted. He had grown so used to her by his side that the days in St Mungo's and the nights following had left him feeling cold and bereft. He threw a handful of Galleons down on the table. "Come over?"
Her eyes sparkled; she gave a grateful nod.
It felt at once anticlimactic and rewarding, as Hermione lounged beside him on the couch in his flat. Her eyes fluttered, her curls tickled his neck, and a soft smile played about her lips.
"I guess I didn't much feel like going out tonight after all," she admitted as her fingers danced across the fabric of his shirt.
He gave her a smirk. "Neither did I, as if turned out. But it's good you were able to see your friends."
"It all felt so strange," Hermione said; Draco felt his own eyes slip shut at the feel of her idle patterns on his chest. "After coming so close… and I don't even remember some of what happened down there… although I think I've seen parts of it."
"I have too," Draco hummed. "Flashes of heat… and stifling pain. Like I'm witnessing someone else's memories, but I know they're mine. But even so, I'm not entirely sure how we survived that."
"The tulsi," she said, "I think. Eliminating the sickness from our blood."
Draco nodded, threading his hands through her curls. She looked up at him, her brown eyes sparkling; he swallowed at the rising swell in his chest. "We're here, Granger. We're alive and we're going to make it. Come Monday, we'll return to work. And all of this will just be an experience. But… we'll have been through it together. And if you want to talk about any of it…"
"It's surreal," she murmured into his chest, "but thank you. And the same, of course." She turned to face him, sitting up against the back of the couch. "What do you think about getting another case now?"
"I think," he said, a smirk teasing at his lips, "I'll miss my partner."
Hermione laughed, a brilliant grin coming to her face. "And to think!" she exclaimed, waving her hands, "you couldn't wait to be rid of me!"
"It was mutual," he snorted, feeling a welling of mirth rising with him as he turned his head along the back of the couch to face her. "You wouldn't even work with me."
"Merlin," she groaned, swiping at an eye. Her expression sobered. "But now I can't get enough of you."
His voice dropped, his heart leaping in his chest. "It's still mutual."
Something shifted and she gave him a slow smile, her eyes scintillating, chin down as she stared at him. Before she could say anything else he leaned forward, catching her lips with his as he threaded his fingers in her curls.
A soft huff of a breath chased from her as she melted into him, drawing him closer; her tongue met his and Draco's eyes fell shut, basking in the feel of her kisses, the way her soft curves felt against his hard lines.
When she drew back, his stare met hers, their breaths mingling. Her fingers toyed with the knot of his tie, loosening the silk. He swallowed, mouth dry, as he traced along her jaw with his fingertips. She was exquisite.
Her gaze remained fixed on his as she coiled the fabric of his tie, her fingers falling to release the top buttons of his oxford. He could taste the Butterbeer on her breath as he leaned closer, his teeth grazing the curve of her jaw. Her chest was against his and he could feel the rapid rise and fall of her escalated breathing; her fingers twisted in his hair as he dragged his lips along the column of her throat, finding the delicate skin at her collarbone.
"Draco," she breathed, leaning away to give as he took, pressing her back into the couch. One of his hands fiddled with the hem of her shirt; his eyes met hers. He wasn't certain he would be able to hear her speak for the pounding of his heart. But she nodded, her eyes sparkling and her lips quirked with a smile. He felt a smirk pull at his own and he tugged the shirt over her head; her gaze met his as she shifted.
He could see the uneasy discomfort in her eyes as her chest and stomach were revealed to him and he recalled the way she had told him of her scars.
Draco pressed a kiss to her collarbone, trailing a path down to the curve of her breasts. One hand came up to trace the lacy edge of her bra as he met her stare.
"I love you," he whispered, pressing another kiss to her flesh, where the thin line of a scar bisected her front. "All of you and all of your scars."
Something akin to relief flashed across her face before she was pulling him towards her again; her lips met his with a clash and she was loosening the remaining buttons on his shirt, her fingers drawing the lines of his own scars and something heaved in Draco's heart with such a ferocity that it would have dropped him had he been standing.
He choked a breath, hovering above her on his hands; his fringe hung in his eyes as he gazed upon her.
Hermione smiled as she pushed his shirt from his shoulders, and she whispered, "And all of your scars."
Something stung at Draco's eyes as he blinked down at her and he swallowed a thick breath. In a swift movement, he rose to his feet, pulling her up alongside him and she laughed, stumbling and off guard as she landed her hands against his chest. Her eyes sparkled as she whispered, "Bedroom?"
He grinned, tugging her against him. "Bedroom." Staring down at her, he hitched her legs up to his waist and she jumped up, her arms around his shoulders as she coiled around him. Her lips found his neck and Draco laughed as he stopped halfway, pressing her against the wall in the corridor as he kissed her, tugging her bottom lip between his teeth as her hands reached down to release the buckle on his belt.
Draco growled and hauled her the rest of the way.
That beautiful sparkle in her eyes remained as Draco dropped her to the bed, his fingers deft as he slipped the button of her jeans and tugged them down her legs. He dropped his own trousers, holding her stare as he climbed atop her once more. But the sparkle remained as a glistening at the corners of her eyes and Draco hesitated, frowning.
"Are you sure?" he asked, dropping a trail of kisses down her chest and along the flat planes of her stomach. "Let me know… if it's too much."
She dragged his face back to hers, and a sad smile lingered on her lips. "I just can't believe we're back, Draco. And this is our life now… and…" she trailed off, swiping at her eyes.
"I know," he whispered, dropping a kiss to the skin behind her ear. "Believe me, Hermione, I know."
He felt the warmth of her shaky exhale on his skin and a quaking of gooseflesh erupted as her hands traced the lines of his chest, across his abdomen and towards his shorts. He heard her soft whisper of a contraceptive charm and Draco grinned, reaching behind her to release the clasp of her bra, taking in the beauty of her. She tensed for the briefest of moments and sunk into him as he caught one nipple between his teeth, and then the other, dragging his tongue across the peak. A whimper escaped her throat and caught on his flesh as she pulled him closer.
Hermione's hands skated the muscle of his back and Draco groaned, pressing against her; every nerve was set alight at her touch and he couldn't get enough.
He dragged her knickers to the side with one hand, slipping a finger beneath the fabric and huffed a curse under his breath at the feel of her. She released a cry, shifting against his hand as he slid two fingers inside of her, teasing her nipples with his tongue and the fingers of his other hand.
"Draco," she gasped, tugging at his shorts; his eyes fluttered at the cry of his name from her tongue as he pushed her knickers down, and she toed them the rest of the way off. He tossed his shorts to the floor, staring down at her as her hand found the length of him; her breathing was heavy, her lips parted and eyes dark as they met his. He had never seen her so beautiful.
A smile tugged at her lips as she drew him in for another kiss; Draco sheathed himself inside of her warmth, a breath chasing from his lungs as the feel of her exhale skated his skin.
He choked out her name, lips finding the corner of her mouth as he moved within her tightness, eyes falling shut at the sensation. Hermione's fingers coiled in his hair; her skin was soft against his, her legs holding him to her and Draco didn't know up from down.
As Hermione's breathing grew erratic, seeking her release as he sought his own, Draco moved quicker, marvelling at the feel of her beneath him. He couldn't think but for the feel of her skin against his hands, for the heat surrounding him, and his blood roared in his ears as she cried out, arching from the bed and into him. He huffed a breath, plunging into her over and again; her fingers dragged at the skin of his back and he felt himself spiral and twist until his release chased through him with a groan.
He buried his face in the skin of her neck, a sheen of perspiration on his temple as his lips found her skin. He could feel the upturn of her own as she kissed his jaw and turned to look at her, his chest heaving with the exertion.
The melted chocolate in her eyes sparkled up at him as she grinned. "That," she breathed, as he withdrew from her and laid alongside, "was worth the wait."
Draco barked a laugh, pulling her close. "You were worth the wait, witch." There was something deeper behind the words and he could see in her eyes she understood.
He felt sticky and overheated and in need of a shower but she melted into him, her legs entwining with his as she pressed another soft kiss to his lips. She breathed, "And we have one another, now."
As the sentiment settled into his heart, he could only pull her closer.