After Draco had left her small room that morning Hermione began to feel a little hope start to bubble up within. Her brain was screaming at her that this was a bad idea to once again open this door, but her heart told her to have a little faith that it would all be ok. She would endure a hundred more lives its meant that she got to hold on to him. Though she had never experienced the type of passion that she often would see color Helena's memory's she knew that it ran deep, Finn had been a passionate lover, but just the kiss from Draco had the blood in her veins singing. She had no idea what she had been depriving herself of, and she wasn't sure she would be able to deprive herself any longer now that she had a taste of it.
At eight o'clock on the dot Hermione found herself standing in the entrance hall of the ancient school waiting for the Head Mistress to appear, she took a moment to look around the old school and smiled to herself at the familiar scent of the castle. She had only been back on a few occasions in the last five years, and most days she found herself missing this place. This was where she had found herself as a witch, where she had come to terms with her future, where she made some of her best friends, she had lost friends here, but she tried not to dwell to often on memory's from that night. This place would always be a home away from home and had helped shaped her into the witch she was today and for that it would always hold a special place in her heart.
"Ms. Granger." Professor McGonagall said from behind her.
Hermione turned and smiled at her old teacher "I think you can call me Hermione don't you Professor." She said as she made her way over to her old teacher.
"My dear girl no matter how old you get you will always be one of my charges. How are you? I heard you have just returned from a post in New York." Hermione could see her old professor still wore her hard exterior but under that she could see the women's softer side showing through.
"I am good, thank you. I have returned, I wasn't there long but my time there was well spent." Hermione had no desire nor the time to tell her more than this.
"Wonderful, well if you will follow me, I will introduce you to the Head Boy and Girl. They will after all see to most of the arrangements with the staff for the upcoming gala."
"I will follow your lead Professor." She said and allowed McGonagall to lead the way.
The meeting was a productive one, there was no doubt when it came to McGonagall though. The gala was to take place the last evening of the conference on the Hogwarts grounds. Seeing as the winter term would still be in session, they thought it would be best of the evening's events were to take place on the grounds. Warming charms around the tent that would be erected could be used to keep the guest warm throughout the evening. The wait staff would be Hogwarts seventh years students who would be entering the work force at the end of the school year.
It had taken a few hours, but the finer details had all be worked out, from the decorations, to the food, seating arrangements and who the speakers would be. Hermione was looking forward to pulling this off the Ministry as away of saying 'Hey look us, we are doing just fine.' She thought Kinsley would be proud when he saw the final product.
McGonagall had asked her to stay for lunch, but she politely declined but not before promising to make it back up to the school before the gala in a few weeks. With that done she finally felt a little better about the tasks she had been given as far as the conference was concerned. She knew ministry had a lot riding on this, and she would do her best to make sure everything in her power was done to make it great.
On the walk back down to from the school, she became nervous. Draco had told her that he would be back before her meeting was over, but what he if wasn't? What if he had changed his mind when he had gotten home and seen Emily? What would she do then? She wasn't sure when it had happened, when she had fallen for the one man, she had tried her hardest to keep a distance from. Maybe it was that first day in central park when she had been given her first glimpse of who he had become, or maybe it was over the many coffee's they shared at the little shop not far from her apartment. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew now looking back at her time in New York, she may have been spending most of her time with another man, but she looked forward to her time with Draco, and somewhere a long the way had fallen for the man.
He wasn't the boy she had gone to school with, he was kind, smart, ambitious, he was handsome now that he had grown out of his sharp features and had put on some weight. He made her feel like she was at home, and it had nothing to do with their surroundings and everything to do with him.
When she reached the door to her room, she stopped for a moment and took a deep breath and prepared herself for the chance that he wasn't there, that he wasn't coming back before she reached out and turned to nob and pushing the door open. She needn't have worried though because there he was sitting on the bed propped up against the headboard reading a book.
When the door opened, he looked up to see her come in, he smiled a radiant smile at her before leaping from his spot on the bed and moving towards her. Closing the door behind her she met him halfway throwing her arms around his neck as his own encircled her waist.
"I was afraid you wouldn't come back." She admitted softly as she kissed his cheek.
"Nothing could keep me away now." He murmured into her ear.
"I'm sorry I have kept you away for so long, I just was so…" she said but couldn't find the words to finish.
"Afraid." But he finished them for her.
"I am still scared, of the future, of the curse. I can't let the fear stand in my way or cloud my judgment any longer. I would live for a thousand more years if it means having you." She kissed him this time, not able to hold it back any longer. Watching him go this morning had been the hardest thing she had done in a very long time. Now that he was here though, she didn't think she would ever be able to be so far away from him again.
For the first time she could feel him, not just in her arms but could feel his presence within her soul. She could feel the happiness rolling off him, she could taste excitement, she could feel the guilt he carried. For the first time she could understand how it was that he felt her. He pulled away for just a moment to whisper, "I told you, it will always be you." before he claimed her lips as his.
It would be hours before either of them came up for air again, they had spent to much time apart. They didn't need words though for them to know what the other was trying to say to the other, they could say it with a touch or a feeling. It was truly a beautiful thing she thought. It wasn't till her phone rang that she had been able to pull her lips from his.
It was Harry, she had never confirmed dinner. She wanted to ignore it, she did ignore it the first time it rang, but her best friend was determined. When he called for the second time, she knew she had better answer it unless she wanted Harry Potter to beat down her door.
"Hello Harry." She said when she answered the phone.
"What are you doing. You sound like you have just run a marathon." He said in his all to inquisitive tone.
"Nothing."
"Right, well when did you want me and Ginny to meet you for dinner?"
She looked over to Draco who only nodded his head "We thought we would come back into London and meet you guys there." She said closing her eyes.
"We?" her best friend asked
"Draco is here." She said opening her eyes so she could stare into his silver orbs. Her friend was silent on the other end of line for a moment.
"Something has drastically changed hasn't it?" he finally asked.
"You could say that." She admitted to her friend.
"I am going to have to learn to like the ferret, aren't I?" he asked with a sigh.
"It might help if you didn't refer to him as the ferret Harry." She said with a smile.
"Bugger."
"Why don't we meet you at the little Fish and Chips place we like, say in one hour." She said when her friend had nothing else to say.
"Ok." He was silent for a moment before "What do I tell Ginny?"
"Everything Harry, tell her everything."
"Ok."
She hung up the phone before turning back to Draco who had been silent the whole conversation. She smiled "So, it looks like we are heading back to London tonight after all."
"Well not that I don't find these accommodations rather nice, it will be nice to sleep in a bed tonight that doesn't have so many lumps."
Her smile faded just slightly. "I think I should stay with Harry and Ginny tonight."
"Why?" he couldn't help the surprised look that passed across his handsome features.
"Because we should take this slow, you just broke up with your fiancé this morning. I would feel like we were be disrespecting her if I stayed with you tonight."
"You aren't changing your mind are you." He asked in a serious tone.
"No, I am not, I just know that if I stay with you tonight, we will push things to far to fast."
"So, you promise you aren't changing your mind."
"It will always be you." She whispered to him.
…..
Dinner with Harry and Ginny had gone better than Hermione had hoped. It helped Harry and Draco had been made to be civil with one another on more than one occasion in the last few months. As for Ginny well she was opened to the idea of Malfoy being around on a more permeant basis if he made Hermione happy. Hermione thought the two might even end up friends. Harry would be a little toucher to crack but she wasn't to worried, Ron on the other hand was going to be a totally different story.
It had taken all the willpower Hermione had to not return to Draco's brownstone with him. She had made herself a promise though and she meant to keep it. They didn't need to rush into anything they had the rest of their lives to jump headfirst into whatever this thing was between them.
Seeing as it was Ginny's off-season for the Holyhead harpies both women had waited for Harry to go to bed so they could have a private chat. They were sitting at the small island in the kitchen both nursing a glass of white wine. Hermione could tell the Ginny was having a hard time keeping all her questions to herself during dinner. She gave the redhead credit though; she had kept it together and looked only mildly interested in the change of events going on in her best friend life.
"Why did you never feel like you could tell me?" Ginny asked when she was sure that Harry was out for the night.
"I don't know Gin I hadn't been able to tell anybody. I was afraid of what people would think, I was afraid they wouldn't understand. It's a lot to take in. I mean can you imagine how Ron is going to react when I tell him? I am me, but I am also someone else. I can't even really explain it, the only person who understands…"
"Is Malfoy." Ginny finished for her. "It's kind of romantic you have to admit." She smiled at her friend.
"I think it's more sad than romantic Gin. But I know now, no matter how sad or tragic the situation might be it will always be him."
"Harry told me Malfoy thought that the two of you were soulmates, but that you didn't believe in soulmates. Have you changed your mind?"
Hermione thought about that for a moment. Had her opinion on soulmates changed? "I think it's just more complicated than that Gin. Henry and Helena, they were soulmates their love is kismet. The love that they shared was profound, it has spanned four centuries." She could at the very least admit that much. She was sure though that she loved Draco for who he was outside of Henry, but was it because of Henry that she was so drawn to him? If there had been no Helena would she and Draco still ended up together.
"What are you guys going to do now?" Ginny asked softly. Hermione hadn't answered her question not completely, but she didn't push, she wasn't sure her friend had that answer yet.
" We're just going to figure it out as we go along. For the first time in my life I don't want to try and plan every little detail, I just want to see where this thing between us goes. I don't want to think about the curse or the people we have hurt to get here. I just want to live in the moment with him."
…..
It had been exactly one week since Draco had moved back to London full time. Most morning's he had to pop over via port key to his office in New York to deal with some last-minute business that couldn't wait. The time required in the office there had shorten day by day, and the launch of the new brewing operation was just a few days away. Things were defiantly on track for Draco to be able to spend most of his work week here in London.
The ministry had just one week to go before the confederations' wizards would start to descend on London. With the lodging squared away, and the gala event at Hogwarts nearly all wrapped up in its planning stage, Hermione found her to do list was slowly shrinking. Which meant she was left with more free time, she was enjoying the time she spent with Draco. Whether they were alone or at his new London office in the afternoon trying to get things squared away before his staff started to arrive.
Neither of them had broached the subject of what they both left behind in the states. Neither wanted to be first to bust the little bubble they had been in since his return. They both knew however that time was fast approaching, and they would need to discuss it just so they could get through the confederations visit.
It was late Friday morning, Hermione had been able to slip away from the ministry just after eleven having wrapped up her week earlier than she had thought. Knowing that the staff of DM international would be arriving this coming Monday Hermione thought she would head over to the DM offices to see what she could help with. She had a surprise weekend for Draco planned up at her family's lake cabin as away of celebrating his successful business transition from the states to the UK. Not to mention she was ready to take what they had between them to the next level. What Hermione hadn't expected was for Fin to be there. She could tell the two men where in a heated argument, she leaned against the wall to try and keep herself concealed from the two men. She wasn't sure if her appearance would help or worsen the situation.
…..
"The stories are true, aren't they?" Fin asked his voiced raised in irritation. "You are a selfish son of bitch. Always taking what you want, what others think be damned.
"Fin, I never meant to become between you and Hermione. Honestly, all I have ever wanted was for her to be happy." Draco said his hands in his pocket.
"She was happy." Fin said stubbornly.
"You left her mate." Draco said trying not to sound accusing but the fact remained the same.
"She lied to me, she lied to me about you. What was I supposed to do? Just take that lying down. I needed some time and space to think about what was going to happen, how we would be able to move forward. But you, you don't even wait a week before you swoop in there and take what isn't yours, not to mention the fact that you broke the heart of one of the most amazing women I have ever met."
"Look there are things that you don't know or understand, me and Hermione it's complicated."
"You mean the fact that you are Henry and Helena Eason?" Fin had spit out.
Draco looked more than little surprised; he had suspected that Fin might know who they were but to have the verbal confirmation was a little unsettling. "How…?" he couldn't finish the thought, if Fin knew who they were there was only one reason as to why.
"The legend of the two lost lovers has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. Cassandra Thomas was my great-great-great-great- grandmother one my father's side."
He had been wrong, it wasn't Emily who held the power, it had been Fin and he had been blind to that possibility when Hermione had come to New York and caught the man's interest. "When did you figure out who I was?"
"The moment I met you, but I wasn't sure until the portrait appeared at the Met."
"You thought Emily was Helena, didn't you?" he asked the other man.
"I loved her it is true. Even after the split, I loved her. Then you came along, and I could see how happy you made her, I was content with letting the curse break. I had loved her enough to want her to be happy."
"Then Hermione came to New York."
"The moment I saw her standing at the welcome desk. Seeing her for the first time was like coming up for air even though hadn't noticed I had been deprived of it. She spellbound me instantly."
"Then you know how I feel about her." Draco said softly. "I never had a choice not really. It was always going to be her."
"You hated her before you knew who she really was. I know the stories Drake. You made her life hell before Henry came to the forefront. You can't stand there and tell me that you deserve Hermione more than I do."
"Fin, you don't know anything about how I felt for her before."
"Yeah well let's find out why don't we?" Fin said sardonically. "I release you from the ties that bind you to the past."
All at once Draco was hit with force of a dozen Dragons, he looked at Fin as if he couldn't believe what had just happened and then everything went black.
…
Hermione had watched the whole exchange between the two man, her breath caught her throat at Fin's admission of who he was and the power in which held over them. At his words she felt a stab of pain at her core, the pain was like nothing she had ever felt before, surpassing that of what she felt at the hands of Bellatix Lestrange's hands. It was as if something vital had been ripped from her. When the pain had receded, she felt hallow, Helena was gone as if she had never been there at all.
Draco laid on the ground at Fin's feet unconscious. She rushed from her hiding place to Draco who wasn't stirring. "What did you do?" she screamed at Fin when she reached the two men and knelt beside Draco checking for a pulse. It was there and strong, but the man was still out cold.
"I gave you chance to choose your own path in life. One that doesn't have to include this man if you don't want it to." Fin said there was no malice in his tone, just a sadness. "It's what you have always wanted isn't?"
It was true, she had spent years wishing that she could be free. Now she was, but she could never have predicted that she would feel so utterly alone. "Help get him to St. Mungo's." she said pulling out her wand.
"No, I wouldn't help him even if he was wizarding kinds only hope."
"How can you be so cruel?" she accused him.
Draco grunted and started to stir from he is spot on the floor. "What happened." he asked in what could only be described as a grunt.
"Draco," Hermione said breathlessly "Are you ok?"
He looked at her bewildered, as if he couldn't understand why she was here. "Granger?" he said confused "What are you doing here? And where is here?"
In the pit of her stomach Hermione knew something wasn't right, something was very wrong. Everything had just changed, and it would never be the same again.
