Draco groaned as he crossed the street. The area was too big and there were muggles everywhere. There had been a few flashes of the odd magic over the past few days in the area, but they had never seen anyone suspicious around by the time they had made it to the trackers. He surreptitiously pulled out his wand to check for any signs of magic in the vicinity and slipped it back up his sleeve when all of his spells returned negative.
He had just come out of the pet store and was about to enter a muggle pharmacy when his watch grew hot. It was a message from Robards to return to the Cliffhouse immediately. Maybe there was finally a promising lead? Feeling a little hopeful, he turned on his heel and dodged a woman trying to enter the store he was trying to abruptly exit. Hurrying down the street, he made sure he was safely hidden in an alleyway before disapparating.
Everyone was huddled around a table strewn with papers when he walked into the living room. A silver otter was swirling in front of Robards for a few seconds before disappearing. He blinked. "Isn't that Hermione's patronus? What's going on"
His boss turned and nodded. "The Healers think they know where the Death Eaters are. Hermione just provided an address."
Draco stumbled as he neared the table and caught himself on a chair. "They didn't go there on their own, did they? It's been years since any of them practiced any defensive magic."
"We don't know. But we need a plan," muttered Theo as he looked closely at a map of the island. His right hand was clenched in a fist. "There's a park nearby. We can glamour ourselves and apparate there." He circled a spot of green on the map and laid it out on the table so that everyone could see.
Robards nodded. "That's the best plan for now, especially since we don't know if there are any wards up or if anyone's in danger at the moment. I've sent word to the Ministry, so Deputy Head Marks is on standby. Tap your watches immediately if you think we need backup. Anna, please send him a message for backup if we aren't back in two hours. Let's head out."
Draco quickly recast his glamour and glanced at the map one more time before apparating away. He opened his eyes to a familiar street. Auror Bates was casting spells and he frowned. "There's an anti-apparition ward down that block. It looks like it's going to be the address Healer Granger mentioned."
"I was in this area right before I apparated to the Cliffhouse. There wasn't any sign of magic, so this has to have been recent," Draco said as he recast the spells to double check and frowned as he confirmed what Auror Bates had already discovered. "This isn't good. There's definitely something wrong."
"They must have gone inside, and as good as Potter was, there's no way he can take on those two after years of working in a hospital," muttered Robards. "Okay, standard formation. If there's nothing outside, Hughes, disillusion and scope through the windows." Everyone nodded and they approached the door and waited as an invisible Hughes looked around. She appeared after a minute.
"The Healers are tied up and the two Death Eaters are definitely there. There's also a young woman unconscious on the couch."
"Any injuries to the Healers?" Robards asked as he pulled out two Auror-issued portkey badges.
"No, sir."
"Glamours down everyone, I don't want to risk anyone spending too much energy on keeping them up." Robards muttered as everyone reverted to their normal appearances. "Alright, Hughes, you need to grab the woman and take her to the St. Mungo's house in case she's sick," he handed her one of the badges. "Zabini, you can portkey the Healers to the Cliffhouse."
They all stiffened as they felt a wave of odd magic come from the house. Sick. Magical cores being drained. Death. Draco made to move towards the house until Theo's arm shot out to stop him with a meaningful look. "We don't know if they've taken a potion or not."
Robards sighed. "This changes things. I only have one portkey for the St. Mungo's house. Okay, Hughes grab the girl and take her to the St. Mungo's house and bring Chang-Matthews to the Cliffhouse unless we know for sure that the Healers aren't infected."
They all nodded and moved closer to the house. They were just crossing into the front yard when they heard a scream. Theo paled and started to run for the door before Draco threw himself on top of his friend. He muttered to his struggling friend, "Theo, you need to calm down."
The Junior Auror in question looked up from under him with terrified eyes. "That's Daphne. They're torturing her," he whispered back. The scream cut off and Theo sagged under his grip. They heard voices inside and the options the Death Eaters were laying out for Hermione and Harry.
Robards took out a third badge and tapped his watch. They all looked down to see the message. Theo was to grab Daphne while Blaise would take the other two. Once they dropped them off at the Cliffhouse, they were to come straight back.
Theo straightened and took the portkey being offered. The six Aurors took up position by the door and Robards held up a hand to indicate that they would move on his signal. Draco could feel the adrenaline rushing, and he flinched when he heard Daphne begin to scream again. He chanced a glance at his friend, and Theo was staring at Robards's hand like he was going to destroy it.
"Stop, please stop. We'll drink it!" came Hermione's terrified shout from inside, and Draco immediately tensed. A steady hand touched his shoulder, and he let out a quiet breath at Blaise's steadying presence. Blaise would take her to safety while he destroyed Rookwood and Dolohov.
His heart was pounding as they heard them talk. When Hermione said she loved Harry, Draco felt a rising panic in his chest. She thought she was going to die. He took to staring at Robards's hand as well. It was the only thing holding him back from saving her.
When Hermione mentioned taking the potion on three, Robards held up two fingers. Everyone leaned towards the door, with Robards and Bates at the front. As soon as Hermione's voice reached two, the door crashed down and Robards and Bates were aiming spells.
Draco felt his friends rush past him but focused on aiming spells at the Death Eaters. Robards was battling Rookwood in a corner, but Dolohov was gaining on Bates. He furiously cast spells nonverbally. "Stupefy! Confringo! Protego!" Dolohov managed to spin away from his spells while dodging the ones coming from Bates. Draco was forced to duck behind a table when a flash of green light was flying his way. It had been years since he had seen that particular shade of green.
He cast another shield as he stood up and spun more spells towards the tall Death Eater. How was he still so good at casting? It had been years since anyone had seen him.
The sound of spells flying from the corner grew silent, and he saw Robards and Blaise tying up an unconscious Rookwood. That must mean that Hermione was safe. Good.
He was forced to pay attention, as Dolohov batted Bates away with a silent stunner. Draco furiously sent three stunners in succession, but Dolohov dodged all three. He turned his dark eyes on Draco and moved closer while blocking all of Draco's furious spells. "Well, it's little Malfoy. I did hear that you became an Auror. Always an opportunist, just like your father."
Draco saw two things happen at the same time. Robards was sending a strong red spell into Dolohov's back, whose eyes widened in shock but not before a bright orange light left his wand and hurtled straight towards Draco. He was too close to even try to dodge the spell.
Hermione shivered in the cool evening air as she studied the diagnostics for the tenth time. The sun was just starting to set, and she cast another warming charm over her patient. Draco's still body was lying on a cot someone had managed to conjure while she had been frantically healing him a couple hours earlier. The grass had been stained with his blood and her tears as she furiously worked. The adrenaline from earlier had died down in the last couple minutes, and the pounding of her heart was also beginning to slow.
She was too nervous to move him before he woke up, but she was too nervous to wake him up. She looked down at his face and brushed a knuckle against his cool cheek. His face was so peaceful, he could have easily been sleeping.
Biting her lip, she glanced down at his bare chest and the new scar right above his heart. This was one she didn't think she could heal. It had been a nasty curse that had hit him with enormous force, but it had narrowly missed his heart and lungs. If it had been a few centimeters to the right or if Blaise hadn't managed to arrive in time…She shook her head. She didn't want to think about that.
Letting out a quiet sigh, she turned to pick up his bloody and mangled uniform from the ground where she had thrown it in her haste to figure out where all the blood was coming from. She had just finished cleaning it and was about to cast a reparo when she heard a soft groan behind her.
Dropping the red cloth, she whirled around to see Draco blinking his eyes open and smirking when he caught sight of her. "Did you save me again, Granger? I think that's two dinners I owe you now."
She let out something between a sob and a laugh as she cast more advanced diagnostic charms now that he was awake. "I would appreciate it more if you didn't get hurt anymore." Everything was fine. Slightly elevated heartbeat, but that was fine. She looked down at his face.
His grey eyes had no walls behind them, and they were looking at her with a myriad of emotions. Hermione felt her heart lurch in her chest. She looked at the diagnostics one more time. "How do you feel?"
He thought for a second and rolled his neck a bit. "I'm fine. A bit sore, but I feel fine."
Hermione felt her pulse begin to race again. "And you're breathing is fine?"
Draco raised an eyebrow before taking a deep breath in and letting it out. He nodded. "Everything feels normal."
"Wonderful," whispered Hermione before she leant down and pressed her lips to his in what was meant to be a sweet and careful kiss.
Her lips had barely brushed his before he was kissing her back with a low growl and wrapping his strong arms around her to bring her closer. The careful kiss quickly became something that was all-consuming and anything but sweet. She somehow ended up pulled to his side on the cot. Her hands swept down his chest as he groaned into her mouth. She felt the need to breathe, but the need to kiss him was so much stronger.
Draco's hands were starting to creep up under her shirt, and Hermione shivered as she felt his cool fingers brush against her back. She pressed herself closer to him and felt his fingers travel up further.
"Stop! Not here! There is a fully functioning Mansion here and many rooms with doors for you to choose from! Do not use the backyard for this!" Harry's voice rang from somewhere behind her and cut through the haze in her mind that was focused solely on Draco.
Hermione turned around at the intrusion and the growing need to breathe and blushed as she saw a crowd gathered on the back porch a short distance away.
Robards coughed loudly from the back of the group. "Everything's been taken care of. Glad to see you're alive, Malfoy." He rolled his eyes. "Very alive evidently. I'll be talking with the Senior Aurors tonight, and we can do a formal wrap up in the morning. Please do make sure you're available in the morning." He turned around, with Hughes and Bates following after him.
Draco could see the blush in Hermione's face as she made to move, but he tightened his hold on her and pulled her against him with her back against his bare chest. His chest ached, but it was so nice to finally be able to hold her. He felt her shiver when he sighed against her neck. "Now that I have you here, I'm never letting you go," he murmured, "see, I told you it was best to wait to kiss. There's no way we could've solved the case if I refused to let you leave."
He grinned at her quiet laugh and kissed her shoulder, feeling a thrill at seeing her shiver again.
"I win! Give me all the galleons. I told you it would be as soon as the case was over!" yelled Blaise, and Draco looked up to see their friends still looking at them with varying expressions of amusement from the porch.
"Not so fast, Zabini," called out Potter. "The case hasn't ended yet, according to Robards. Meanwhile, I said they would kiss after a narrow escape from death."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "The ferret's clearly fine. I don't know about a narrow escape. I think I have a pretty good case of them kissing in bed. The cot definitely counts."
"No, he was definitely inches away from death. If anything had been slightly different, Draco would have been killed," Daphne grimaced. "I still can't believe you chose that, Harry. It's so dark."
Harry shrugged. "Hey, once I heard Death Eaters were involved, it had to get dangerous."
Draco felt Hermione squirm indignantly in his arms. "Wait, you bet on when we would get together?"
Nott shook his head. "No, everyone knew you were together. It was impossible to miss and a little sickening. Blaise started a betting pool on when you'd finally kiss because Draco told us he was holding himself back in a fit of unprofessionalism right before the Aurors and Department of Mysteries people got here. Personally, I was hoping for something a little smoother on Draco's part at your make up dinner." He laughed at the group, but turned silent when his eyes met Daphne's and quickly looked away.
Draco huffed and rolled Hermione over so that she was facing him again, her caramel eyes furious at what their friends had said. There were some things to take care of, but everything could wait for a little while longer. He smirked. "This is technically my house, and they can't tell us what to do." He leaned down to capture her lips again, ignoring the squeals of delight and groans of the others.
One week later
Hermione snorted as she finished reading an article in the Saturday paper and tossed it over to Harry, who had Ginny perched on his lap. "Well, this is interesting."
Her best friend snagged it before holding it out so both he and his girlfriend could read the article. "Hey, we made the Case of the Week! Ron's going to be so jealous tomorrow at brunch."
Ginny laughed as she took a sip of tea. "Well, you already made the front page every day for the last week with everything that happened on Guernsey. What's so special about this small article?"
"Ginny, it's the Case of the Week! I've already been on the front page loads of times. This is special," Harry grinned before kissing his girlfriend.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I think the most excited person is President Marlon." She picked up her satchel and made for the living room. "I'll see you two later."
"Good luck on your last operation, Hermione!" called out Harry as she closed the kitchen door.
She smiled as she flooed to the hospital. It had been an odd week. They had spent one more day resting and wrapping things up at the Malfoy Cliffhouse before coming home. Cho had agreed to stay on the island for another few days to track down the other patients who had been infected and cure them. Rookwood and Dolohov had been transported to the Ministry by Robards and they were in tightly guarded holding cells while awaiting trial. Apparently, Dolohov had made a deal to earn his freedom from the Russian Wizarding prison, while Rookwood had somehow slipped through the cracks when he was being transported to Azkaban the last time. The Aurors and Wizengamot had been in a state for the past few days trying to figure out what happened and if any other Death Eaters were on the loose. So far, it looked like it had been a one-time mishap.
Harry and Hermione had spent one day in St. Mungo's as patients to make sure they weren't infected, but they were perfectly fine since they hadn't taken the potion. President Marlon had immediately waived their suspension and held a press conference, insinuating that sending them to Guernsey to help figure out the illness and come up with a cure had been his idea. The press had lapped it all up, and St. Mungo's had raked in the galleons. Harry and Daphne had just gone back to work and were doing their best to ignore the increased number of glances their way.
But this case, along with her late night talks with Draco under the covers over the past week, had made her think. She needed a change. And she had already sorted everything out with the relevant people and President Marlon. There was just one more person she needed to tell.
Hermione was looking over the patient's chart while Healer Jones was scourgifying the room where they had just finished their operation.
"Would you like me to do anything else after I make a copy of the charts for our records?" she asked after making sure that everything was correct.
The older Healer smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it." He walked over and took the chart from her hand. "You'll be missed."
Hermione blinked. "Oh, I didn't know that this was common knowledge yet."
Healer Jones laughed. "It's a big secret, which is why the whole ward already knows. I think they're planning a party next week since everything happened so quickly."
"Does Head Healer Park know yet?" Hermione twirled her wand as she thought of the small envelope that was in the pocket of her robes.
"I'm actually not sure about that. I assume you're going to do things officially?"
"Yes, sir."
He waved her off. "Get it over with. Then go enjoy your Saturday, Merlin knows you've deserved it after the past few weeks."
Hermione said goodbye and hurried out of the operating room into a nearby bathroom. She took a deep breath and waved her wand the way Draco had taught her the previous evening. Her healing robes became perfectly pressed and clean. She carefully adjusted her bun and managed a small smile. Good enough.
Head Healer Park's room was right next to the trainee room, which was odd because the other Heads had their rooms in a remote corner of their wards. She knocked and opened the door when a voice called for her to enter.
"Ah, Junior Healer Granger. Is there something I need to fix?" He barely looked up from his notes.
Hermione cleared her throat to make sure she didn't squeak. "I don't believe so, sir. I came to give you this." She pulled out the envelope she had brought with her and placed it on the desk in front of him.
Head Healer Park raised an eyebrow and opened the envelope. His expression was unreadable as he read through its contents. "I see. And what brought this on?"
"I have another offer that I will be taking," Hermione somehow managed to keep the nervousness out of her voice.
Her boss surprised her with a large grin. "You'll be very missed, Miss Granger. You were a wonderful addition to this ward." His dark eyes had a sparkle in them, and she could see the smile lines around his eyes deepen.
Hermione blinked. "I thought you hated me," she blurted before blushing and clamping her mouth shut.
He laughed. "I'm sorry it came off that way. You're very skilled and a wonderful Healer, but everyone could see that you weren't happy here. This isn't an easy job for people who don't love it, so I was trying to encourage you to leave earlier while you were still young. There are so many other things you can do before you find yourself specializing in the Trauma ward."
She managed a smile, very confused at how this conversation was going. "Thank you, sir. For everything."
Head Healer Park nodded. "Thank you, Miss Granger. And if you ever need anything, you know where to find me."
Draco handed Blaise a glass of firewhisky before pouring his own glass. He slid into a chair at the small table and took a sip. He might make it through the whole bottle if this conversation went poorly. Luckily, Hermione was at St. Mungo's for the rest of the day and wasn't expecting him until dinner. He could make himself presentable by then.
Theo was gritting his teeth as he looked up at the clear autumn sky. "Are you sure we have to do this?"
Blaise drained his glass before reaching for the bottle. "Yes, because this is driving all of us into an early grave."
Noticing his friend start to close his eyes, Draco's patience snapped. "Don't you dare occlude, Theo. I just might punch you to knock you out instead of a spell. Misty, could you please get us another bottle," he called to his house-elf. She appeared with a fresh bottle and gave all of them a frown.
"Its be too early for a drink. No more for any of you," she admonished before disappearing with a small pop.
"So, what's going to happen," whispered Daphne from her seat next to Theo. She was in pale grey robes and was perfectly poised. Her only tell was the slight shaking of her foot under the table.
Draco nodded to Blaise as he pulled a large vial from his pocket. "You two are going to talk things out finally. And you're going to tell the truth, Theo."
"Where did you get that?" gasped Daphne as she caught sight of the vial.
"Oh, Hermione gave it to me. She was very supportive of the cause."
"All of us are going insane because of you two," growled Blaise, "Theo's been driving us barmy for ages and Daphne's been asking us about what those Death Eaters said. I nearly thought she was going to bring it up during our interrogations."
Theo's eyes narrowed. "What's in the vial?"
Draco took another sip of firewhisky. "Apparently your ex-girlfriend, the potions prodigy, made an improved veritaserum that's been kept secret by a few divisions. It's the same as regular veritaserum, except your emotions also come out when you talk. All of the things you've been keeping back are encouraged to come out. Oh, she also managed to make the process not painful. It's going to be amazing for interrogations once enough has been brewed. It's desperately tricky to make, according to Hermione, which means it's nearly impossible to brew." He looked at the pale witch sitting across the table from him and next to his angry friend. "Robards is going to be very happy about this, Daph," he murmured.
Theo leapt up. "You are not going to force me to take that. You told me we were just having lunch with old friends."
"You will sit down, Theodore Nott. Or else, I'm going to tell the whole story to Daphne and also include everything about the war and everything that's happened afterwards. And I will be very detailed because I remember every bloody moment of it," hissed Blaise.
"No, I don't want to force him to drink it. He doesn't have to do this," said Daphne. "I don't want answers if he's going to be forced to do so."
A frustrated noise erupted from Theo as he clenched his fists. He sat down in his seat and held out his hand. "Fine, I'll take it. But Daphne is the only one asking me questions and you can't suggest she ask anything. And, you are not going to make her take it."
Draco nodded and handed over the vial. "Hermione said two drops should be enough for ten minutes of honest conversation." He set a countdown on his wand for ten minutes.
Everyone watched as Theo squeezed out two drops on his tongue and swallowed. His guarded eyes instantly flashed with anger before he turned to Daphne with a pained expression. "Well, let's get this over with," his voice cracked as he met her wide blue eyes.
A tear fell from her eyes as she swallowed. "What really happened between us, Theo?" she whispered.
He took a shuddering breath, but didn't look away from her. His voice took on a frustrated tone. "It was my fault. My father made me go home for Easter Break our Sixth Year. He had heard Draco was failing in his plan to mend the Vanishing Cabinet, and he wanted to ensure that the Notts had a strong position in the Inner Circle. The Dark Lord was still heavily recruiting followers, and he had his eye on Lord Greengrass. I don't know if your father told you, but they were relentless in trying to get his support. He has a considerable reputation in the Wizengamot for being a moderate and almost everyone respects him. The Dark Lord was convinced that if he got a few of the neutral families on his side, then the Resistance would fade."
Theo began to shake a little and his voice softened. "My father knew we were dating and that we loved each other. So, he made a plan to use us to force your father to join the Dark Lord. He gave me my mother's ring and told me to come back engaged by the end of the school year. If we weren't engaged, he was going to lure you to our manor and hold you prisoner until your father gave in. And I knew he would give in for you, Daph."
More tears were streaming down Daphne's face. "Theo, you don't have to say any more."
He furiously shook his head. "No, I have to. You asked, and potion or not, I should have told you earlier. You deserve the truth, Daph." He closed his eyes and a tear escaped. "My father had spread the word around that you were spoken for so none of the other Death Eaters could interfere. I couldn't do that to you or your family. My father was going to use me at any cost to get his rewards, and I knew you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from doing anything. Because you loved me as much as I loved you." He paused and clenched his fist so hard it turned white. "So, I decided to break our hearts. I thought it would be better than us losing our lives in a pointless war as pawns. I convinced a Ravenclaw who didn't know about us to meet me in our potions lab and kissed her right before you came in. She figured out what was happening pretty quickly because I had a panic attack and was sick after you left, so she agreed to spread the word that I cheated on you."
Daphne had her eyes closed. "Stop, Theo."
He gave a bitter laugh. "That wasn't a question, Daph. And in case Blaise decides to talk after this, I didn't tell anyone about this. Draco and Blaise figured it out the summer after the final battle when Draco wanted to work on his occlumency. The idiot had shields that were so strong that my legilimency backfired and he saw everything. My father found out I cheated on you, and your father refused to speak to him. He tortured me for a whole week. It was worth it though because you were safe and you weren't going to be in any danger. Not because of me, anyways."
Theo laughed again. "He pulled my wrecked body in front of the Dark Lord a couple weeks later and asked that I be given the Dark Mark. The Dark Lord was amused and asked if I wanted it. I could barely control my body after a week of torture, but I managed to convince him that I wanted to be branded, but that I didn't think I was worthy yet. I told him I would work on becoming worthy during my Seventh Year, and I would think myself worthy to be his follower after I finished my education and be able to help the cause. It worked, and all I had to do was stay away from you and keep my head down. And it was going fine until last week." He opened his eyes and tears were streaming down his face as he looked down at his lap.
His voice came out in a barely audible murmur. "I thought I was dying when I heard you being tortured Daph. It was worse than being tortured. If I had to go back to Sixth Year, I would do everything exactly the same. No, I would go back to before we got together so you would never have to go through any of the pain you had to go through."
"Why didn't you tell me any of this earlier, Theo?" Daphne was sobbing at that point, and the front of her robe had turned black where here tears had landed. She leaned forward in her seat as if she wanted to comfort him but was scared of him turning away from her.
Draco's wand gave a quiet chirp, but he immediately silenced it. The potion had run its course, but the conversation wasn't over yet. Blaise had his eyes closed and a nearly empty bottle of firewhisky beside him. Draco's was close to empty as well, but he kept his eyes open. If Theo ended up obliviating himself and Daphne after this, someone needed to keep everyone together.
The potion had worn off, but Theo just let out a sob and slid out of his seat and grabbed Daphne's hands that were reaching out for him. His eyes looked up to meet hers from his position on his knees. "I'm so sorry, Daph. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to cause you any more pain. Look at you right now. I never wanted to see you cry again, even if it meant that I could never saw you again. I'm so sorry, my love. You don't have to forgive me, but if I have to tell you everything, I have to tell you that I'm so sorry for everything." Theo was gasping for air and trembling as he gripped her fingers in his. He flinched as she pulled her hands away and looked up with wide eyes.
Draco watched as Daphne picked up the vial on the table and trickled two drips into her mouth. She collapsed on the floor, nearly straddling a shocked Theo.
"I wish you told me all of this earlier. Even back in Sixth Year. We could have figured something out," she murmured as she wiped away the tears from his face. Daphne shook the potion bottle in her hand. "Ask me, Theo. I know you. You're never going to believe me if you aren't completely sure I'm telling the truth because you've spent so long beating yourself up over this. I can't waste any more time away from you to try to convince you." She threw the vial behind her and caught his face between her fingers. "Ask me, darling."
Theo looked shocked and tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist. "Do you forgive me?" he murmured.
Daphne let out a small laugh and leaned in closer while she looked up at him. "Yes. Of course, I forgive you. There's nothing I can't forgive when it comes to you, Theo. Ask me the other question. I know you want to, and I want you to ask it."
He swallowed before whispering, "Do you love me?"
"Yes. I love you, Theo. I never stopped loving you," she whispered before she kissed him and threw her arms around his neck.
Draco averted his eyes and saw Blaise crying next to him. His friend met his eyes before angrily wiping his eyes. "This is why I tried to lock them in a closet at parties. I can't deal with this," he muttered. He picked up his nearly empty bottle and stood up a little unsteadily. "I'm going to go take a nap in one of your guest bedrooms. This was too much to handle in the middle of the day."
Nodding, Draco waved his friend away. He took another sip of his glass, and let out a sigh. He coughed to interrupt the snogging couple. They finally looked up. They both looked a mess. "You're welcome you two. Now, I told Robards that you were very ill, Theo, and that you wouldn't be coming in next week. I'll deal with all of your paperwork. And Hermione told your boss that you had a family emergency, Daph, so you wouldn't be available for a week." He leveled a stern look at his friends. "I don't want to see either of you until next Saturday morning for breakfast. Now leave before any of the peacocks see anything indecent." He smirked before he stood up and walked towards the Manor.
He wandered the main floor as he wondered how to spend his day before meeting Hermione for dinner. He found himself standing in an area he hadn't been in since the summer after his Eighth Year. The door was closed, but dark magic still lingered in this wing. Draco had come back to an empty Manor with a letter of acceptance for Auror Training in hand. He had spent his first afternoon home destroying the wing. The Drawing Room where Hermione had been tortured, the large ballroom where Voldemort liked to torture his victims and have the Death Eaters come to report updates, the bedroom he stayed in, and countless other rooms that had been tainted were all destroyed. He had stood in this spot and sent spell after spell into the darkness until the Manor's wards crackled in warning.
Voldemort had destroyed so much and caused so much grief. But Draco hadn't stopped to think that he was also the reason why Daphne and Theo had spent years apart when they were two people who should've been married with twins and enjoying their lives together by now. At least they were together now.
"Misty?" He called out. She popped up next to him and gave him a small smile. He returned it. "I think it's time we rebuild this wing, don't you think?"
She nodded, her large ears flapping. "Yes, sir. Misty thinks that's a good idea. I be telling you of the plan as soon as I speaks to the other elves with Mistress Narcissa."
"Thank you, Misty," he whispered before making his way to his study. He had a few hours until he needed to meet Hermione for dinner. So far, they had been sticking with muggle restaurants every night before they went back to Grimmauld. There had been more than a few times he found himself waking up in the early hours curled up around her on the couch or in her bed before apparating to the Manor to get ready for the day. She had told him late one night under the covers that she was perfectly fine with their relationship being public, but he was still a little worried.
The press had been ecstatic to see Draco working with her and Potter to solve a case. A couple people who he knew had consistently given him nasty looks over the past few years had even come up to him in the Ministry corridors to thank him for his work over the past week. But would that still be the case if a former Death Eater was dating the Gryffindor Princess?
Draco set down his now empty bottle and pulled up his left sleeve. He stared at the remains of his Dark Mark for a few minutes before he pulled out a piece of parchment. He needed to ask Hermione if she wanted to change their dinner plans.
Hermione grinned at Draco's groan as she swiped the last bit of Misty's chocolate cake. The press had had a field day when they got a shot of the two sharing a kiss outside a restaurant in Paris the previous weekend. Most of the response was positive, but everyone wanted to see the newest wizarding couple.
Which is why they were spending the last weekend before Hermione officially started her new position at the Malfoy Cliffhouse. Draco had mentioned needing to properly close up the property after the case had concluded, and Hermione had had enough of London for the past week. Plus, Hermione had wanted to see another sunset from the deck. After the past couple weeks in London, she missed seeing the gorgeous sunsets from the Cliffhouse.
She smirked at the blond wizard and set her fork down. "You could just ask Misty to make you another cake if you really wanted a taste."
Draco gave her an answering smirk and leaned in. "I think I can get one last taste without bothering Misty," he murmured before softly kissing her. Hermione blinked when he drew back after a few seconds.
"Did you kiss me just to have a taste of the cake?"
He laughed as he reached for his wine. "The cake was my goal, but the kiss was a nice bonus. Both were equally lovely."
She sighed and leaned back in her chair to look at her smug boyfriend. "So much for whisking me off to a Malfoy property for proper kisses."
"I've given you more than proper kisses, Granger," replied an amused Draco. This was true. They had definitely done more than a few proper kisses since they had wrapped up the case.
Hermione rolled her eyes, but felt her cheeks flush. Definitely more than a few proper kisses. She took a sip of her own wine. "Oh, I didn't ask earlier. How was breakfast with Theo and Daphne? I really wish I could have made it."
"They're both alive after a week of no messages," muttered Draco. "Blaise actually started a betting pool on if they're going to elope, if they're truly broken up, or if Daphne's already pregnant. I'm not allowed to bet since they already talked to me this morning."
Pondering the options, Hermione bit her lip. "Well, the first two options are out of the question. I'm sure Daphne would want at least a wedding, and there's no way they've broken up. And Daphne brews her own contraceptive potions that are extremely effective for all of the Healers at St. Mungo's, so it's very unlikely that she's already pregnant despite any efforts."
Grey eyes looked amused at her deductions and he just leaned back in his chair; his proper Malfoy posture always disappeared when he was alone with her. His shirt was wrinkled and his hair was messy from earlier. "What would you bet on then?"
Thinking for a few seconds, Hermione replied, "Well, not that I condone gambling, I would imagine that they would be engaged by the end of the year. Then there would be a couple years before they get married with a very proper and fancy wedding just to have everything be proper. And they would have a couple children in another couple years." She realized with a shiver that their warming charms had disappeared. Standing up, she gestured for Draco to follow her.
He obediently picked up his wine glass and opened the door. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
She gave him a small smile. "They won't let each other go at this point. Knowing Theo, he probably had a ring already picked out for her while they were still in school. They clearly love each other enough to be engaged quickly, but Theo probably has a couple years of field missions before he's promoted to finally be more involved with planning and strategy. Daphne's going to be adamant that they not do anything until he's far away from any chance of being injured to hurry things along. Daphne also has a couple more years left before her hours will calm down and she's promoted to a fully ranked Healer Researcher. Once she reaches that level, they would be ready for kids." Hermione leaned against the bookshelf with her last sentence and grinned at Draco's shocked expression. "Did I get everything right?"
He walked closer while shaking his head. "I know you already accepted this crazy job with St. Mungo's Research Division and the Department of Mysteries, but maybe you should become an Auror with those deduction skills."
Hermione laughed. She had given into her dream to work in the St. Mungo's Research Division, but a very miffed Head of the Department of Mysteries had also offered her a liaison role. They had tried to recruit her at the end of her Eighth Year, but she had already set her sights on St. Mungo's. Now, she would be able to research on an even wider scale and collaborate with researchers across divisions and countries. Now that she had finished her week of training, she would officially be starting her dual-role on Monday. "Do you really want me to work in the field, Draco? You got worried when I cut myself on some glass a couple days ago, and I'm a fully trained Healer."
He gave her a sheepish grin. "You're right. No more dangerous situations for you. But you're correct. That's basically the plan from what Theo told me earlier today. Daphne made Theo tell her everything after they finally calmed down and they agreed on a general timeline."
"Still the Brightest Witch of My Age and all that," chirped Hermione playfully as she set her empty wine glass aside. She frowned. "And speaking of dangerous situations, do I need to be aware of anything coming up this week?"
Draco smirked and set his glass aside as well. "I don't know about dangerous, but I should probably tell you. I'll officially be promoted to being a full Auror once Robards makes the announcement on Monday."
"Congratulations, Draco! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Hermione asked as she jumped to hug him.
He laughed as he barely caught her surprise attack. He shifted his hold on her to make sure they both didn't fall down. "I was going to tell you earlier, but we got distracted. And then we spent dinner talking about other things. I didn't know how to bring it up."
Hermione jumped down and frowned up at him. "You could've just said, 'Hey Hermione, I got promoted.' What's so hard about that?"
Draco shrugged, but Hermione realized he still wasn't sure if he deserved the title. She sighed. That was a conversation she could work on later. "Does this mean you'll be away on long missions?"
"I did tell them that one of my conditions was to not be away for longer than a week." He looked down at her with a smirk. "I don't think I can survive being away from you for longer than that."
"Good. Do you know what your first case will be yet?"
Wrapping his arms around her waist, Draco leaned into her with a smirk. "I don't know if I can tell you, Granger. It's a matter of national security. Why don't you tell me about your work instead? What will be the first thing you do to save the world?"
Hermione grinned and looped her arms around his neck. "I can't tell you. It's a matter of international security." They both knew that they would probably talk about their respective work and cases to bounce ideas off of each other. Nothing would stay secret for long between the two of them.
He gave a low laugh and whispered, "Cheeky witch," before kissing her. "We should go outside soon if we're going to catch that sunset you wanted," he murmured against her lips.
Opening her eyes, Hermione looked up at the earnest dark grey eyes that had so much love in them. She slowly pushed him in the direction of the couch. "We have a lifetime to watch sunsets together. What if we watch the sunrise this time instead?"
Draco picked her up and gently dropped her on the couch before leaning over her with a soft smile. He pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips. "Sunrises sound good to me. I'm sure I can come up with a way to occupy your time until then."
Tis finished! A few notes as I try to process my feelings of the past two months:
1. Thank you so much if you're reading this! I have no idea how to promote/advertise stories, so I'm glad you found this one. If you enjoyed it, I hope you recommend it or share it with others! Or at least let me know if you kinda enjoyed it?
2. I have a new fic posted (The Hogwarts Youth Symphony Orchestra) if any of you like music/musicians/orchestras/high school/film music/dramione/nottgrass stories! I hope to see some of you check it out!
3. I've always loved reading Dramione, but everyone in this fandom is so so so incredibly talented that I was too intimidated to ever post anything. I've had this particular idea in my mind since 2016, and I decided to post it this year because 2020 was already such a weird year. Why not go through old docs and try to write something that was somewhat coherent? This story is obviously based on Harry Potter, but the summary came to mind while watching Descendants of the Sun. This fic deviates from the main plot, but it's quite fantastic if anyone needs a quarantine binge!
4. And finally, for everyone who has left a review or followed or favorited this story, please know that every notification I got brought me a lot of happiness during the past couple months! I really didn't think anyone would read this fic, let alone spend the time to write out reviews or follow or favorite it!
5. This is the last chapter for now. There may or may not be an epilogue or a few other follow-ups to this story when I get the time to write it! (unclear on any sort of timeline) If there is anything in particular you would like for me to expand on, let me know!
Thank you so so so much for reading! ~ ameliortea