It was past noon when she woke up. She was thirsty and drank two glasses of water before stumbling into the small sitting room. Not surprised to find that Draco was still passed out, she started to pack. As it would take several weeks to correct all the exams and their classes had officially ended, there was no reason for them to stay at the castle.

Despite being tired, she made good progress cleaning out her room and collecting her books. She dropped her copy of Standart Spells 4 when she heard a knock on the door. Hermione hadn't expected to see anyone this early especially not as Ginny and Luna had to pack themselves. She rushed to the door.

Finding Lucius was unexpected but not unwanted. She took a step forward and hugged him. He scanned the area to find nobody was watching him and swung his arms around her. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her temple. She took his hand and lead him inside.

"Do you require assistance. I recall having had a hard time, but then again I might have drunk a little too much."

"It's actually going well. I've started to put my clothes aside days ago, so it's only a few more books and I'm good to go. That's if you don't want to wait for your son. Draco hasn't even gotten up yet."

Lucius chuckled. "That boy, even as a child, he was always sleeping in."

The gentle smile on his face vanished when Draco entered the room. The atmosphere changed. Lucius stiffened. He stared at his son who met his gaze.

"I have a hangover potion," Lucius said.

Draco continued staring at his father. Even though his eyes were red and swollen there was a sharpness in his gaze that was unmistakenly Malfoy. "I don't need it."

"As you wish." Lucius put the vial back into his robes.

Draco cast a charm and his stuff crashed into his suitcase. Hermione flinched and Lucius pretended to not see anything wrong with his son's behavior. Draco cast another charm and his books piled up dangerously high. Lucius looked at his son with a raised brow.

"You have no reason to be here," he snapped at his father.

Hermione took Lucius' hand and gave him a sympathetic look.

"May I take you two out?" Lucius asked.

"Not hungry," Draco said.

"I would love to have dinner with both of you," Hermione said sternly. "It doesn't have to be something big, just a bite at the Manor."

"You heard the lady," Lucius said smugly.

Dinner went almost well, that was at least until Draco stood up before dessert.

"I'm out with Blaise," he announced leaving the table.

Hermione watched Lucius. His hand tightened around his glass. His knuckles were white and his neck pulsated. She thought he wanted time to himself. She pushed her chair back but before she could stand up she felt him grab her arm. "We have yet to eat dessert."

Hermione nodded petting his hand. They relocated to a couch. Exhausted she let her head rest on his shoulder. Within a few short moments, he relaxed. He put his arm on her waist. Dolly handed Lucius a bowl of ice cream, Hermione looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"Thank you," he said to the elf.

She bowed before disapparating with a loud crack. Hermione smiled and kissed his cheek. He fed her a spoonful of chocolate ice cream.

"- I had only turned my back to him for a few seconds to pay for the wormwood when a loud scream went through the store. I was furious and he was crying loudly. I had told him a million times to keep his fingers away from the Flesh-Eating Slugs but Draco, of course, he knew better and put his hand right into their cage."

Hermione giggled, that was so Draco.

He looked her deep into the eyes. She felt her cheeks grow hot. She looked down and up again biting her lips. He leaned forward and placed his big hand on her cheek. Closing her eyes, she leaned into his touch. He looked at her, drinking in her beauty. He moisturized his thumb and wiped the dried ice cream from the corner of her mouth.

Hermione spent the following days doing exactly nothing. Whenever she wasn't sleeping she was aimlessly staring at the wall. By day four, she found enough strength to open a book and by the end of the week, her former glory was restored.

Draco didn't get up until noon and usually left in the evening with Blaise. Hermione was in a cheery mood, she was feeling better and better and spent most of the day reading up on Business in Wizarding Britain just so she could have a nice conversation. Even Draco was in an acceptable mood.

That was until an owl arrived. The bird dropped a big, red envelope on the table. Draco's face fell. He couldn't get a bit down.

"Just burn it," Lucius said.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked looking confused between the wizards.

"Mother wrote me. I haven't even graduated and she's already terrorizing me," Draco snapped.

"Just burn it."

"What am I missing?"

"Mother has spent the last months looking for a suitable bride," Draco spat.

"For you or your father?"

Both of them looked at her.

"You do not have to meet the lady, just burn her portfolio," Lucius said.

By the end of the meal, the envelope was still lying on the table untouched. Draco wrote Blaise a note, telling him that he wasn't in the mood for going out. He was sitting alone in a sitting room.

Hermione sat down next to him. "Your father supports you."

"Hm, right now maybe, but what in a couple of years?"

"You won't know unless you talk to him."

"Right. I go and tell my father that his only son and heir is gay."

"He probably wouldn't mind," Hermione said.

"You know Granger, Hermione, there's a huge difference between not wanting a wife right now and not wanting a wife ever."

She nodded. What Draco just said was actually very wise. She tried not to laugh, after years of animosity the thought that Draco did something really well, felt still alien to her.

The next day, Hermione decided to drop by her parents. She couldn't avoid it any longer. Walking up to the house she grew up in felt very awkward. There was a pang of guilt as she rang the bell. She never meant to betray them, she only wanted to keep them safe.

For some reason, this place stopped feeling like home the moment she had robbed her parents of their memories. Even as they regained them, there remained a strange distance between them.

Hermione let her fingers run over the oak cupboard were their family photos were placed. She lifted one of them up. She was six and they were having a BBQ with friends. It was happier times; they were laughing together.

"How did your exams go?" her mom asked.

"Rather well, I guess."

There was a long moment of silence.

The two of them sat down at the table and ate some cake.

"I confused Valarien Springs with Bulbox Powder and I have absolutely no idea why because it was such a stupid mistake. I was actually thinking about the right thing but wrote the wrong answer down."

"It probably wasn't a big mistake?" her mom said. The question in her statement was obvious.

"It was in the theoretical part so it will probably be only a minor deduction. If it had happened during my practical NEWT my cauldron would have exploded."

"That sounds dangerous."

"Not particularly," Hermione shrugged. "Nothing that can't be healed with a simple spell and a few potions."

There was another awkward silence.

"What are you going to do now," her mom asked.

"I want to read things that weren't part of the exams. There are quite a lot of things that I always wanted to read but I've never gotten around to. Also, I have to write a letter of application. I can't wait to start working."

"That sounds like a good plan. Have you heard from your friends?"

Hermione choked on her tea. She coughed all over the table. Tears ran down her cheeks. Her mom stood up and slapped her back. After a glass of water, the young witch calmed down.

"I've actually stopped writing them a while ago. Either none of my letters reached them or they just didn't answer. Anyway, I have other friends. I spent most of my days with Draco, although he's more interested in partying right now. For Ginny, the end of the exams means more time on the pitch and Luna spends her time helping her dad and the evenings with Neville. It's ok though, I like reading and Lucius always finds time for me between his business to have meals and tea with me."

Her mom frowned. "Lucius? He was the older gentleman who got into a fight with Arthur, wasn't he?"

Hermione bit her lip. "A lot had happened since then, he's a great person to be with once you get to know him."

By the skeptical look on her mother's face, Hermione could tell that she couldn't hide her smile whenever she talks about the older wizard. She mentally braced herself for her mother's scolding but it never came.

She sighed. "I trust your judgment. If you tell me that he's not as bad as Arthur told us and that he respects you, is all I care about."

Hermione felt like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulder. But as she kept looking at her mom, it felt like there was a wall between them. They could no longer relate to each other's experiences. Hermione knew close to nothing about Australia and her parents didn't know she had experienced over the last years.

She hadn't told them about the time she spent in the hospital wing because she was petrified by a Basilisk, the time she was held hostage by Merman for entertainment, the time she co-founded an illegal dueling club or the time she was tortured and broke into a bank.

They wouldn't have understood. How could she tell her parents that she was in constant danger and convince them that it was alright and they didn't have to worry?