On Friday, the hours in the Auror office dragged by. Throughout the day, I'd intermittently looked up at the clock and at Granger's closed office door, wondering how she was feeling today. By the time six in the evening arrived, I was well and truly losing it. Being cooped up in this place was driving me mental.
Gathering up my belongings, I thought of her dinner invitation for tomorrow and wondered if I should bring wine. If I was going to do that, I would have to sneak it out of the house like a bloody teenager. Astoria would jump to all sorts of conclusions and I wasn't equipped to handle that quite yet, even if we'd both admitted our marriage was over.
I quickly strode towards the lift, hoping that no one would stop me. Scorpius would be awaiting my arrival, and I didn't want to disappoint him, especially since I'd be out of the house for longer than usual the next evening.
As soon as I stepped out of the fireplace in my kitchen, I saw Astoria sitting at the table, dolled up and looking annoyed. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was ignoring the racket that Scorpius was making. He was banging utensils on pots and pans and I couldn't imagine why we even had those things in the first place; neither of us really knew how to cook.
"You're late," she snapped.
"By ten minutes," I replied, looking down at her. "Where are you off to?"
Her expression was sullen and her voice mirrored that. "Daphne and I are having dinner with our parents and then we're going out. Theo Nott reserved a booth for us at his club."
"You're going out to a club? Why?"
"What do you care, Draco? It's not like you even speak to me when we're home together," Astoria stated. "I take care of Scorpius all day. I think the least you could do is spend one night a week with him on your own—"
"I'm here every single night," I hissed, leaning closer to her. "I take care of him and put him to bed. I haven't walked out on either of you. If you have somewhere to be while I'm at work, my mother would be more than happy to take him."
"Oh, so you're speaking to her now?"
I felt a tug on my trousers. When I glanced down, I saw Scorpius, concern in his clear blue eyes.
"Dada?"
Bending down, I lifted him into the air and kissed his cheeks. I settled him on my hip and turned back to Astoria.
"We'll finish this conversation when we're alone. Of course I'll take care of him tonight."
Astoria rose, adjusting the dress that I had no doubt would be magically altered after dinner with her parents. Once she was eye level with me — in tall heels no doubt — I got a good look at her face. She was wearing makeup, but I could tell she was exhausted. There were still hints of dark circles under her eyes.
"Why bother lying, Draco? We're not going to continue any conversations. You're out every other night, and I know you're already half in love with her again."
The way she spat the word 'her' made it clear who she was talking about.
"That's not true," I replied quickly, my heart rate starting to pick up. "I'm angry with her."
"Well, at least she gets that." Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she wobbled slightly, using the table to catch herself. For a moment, I wondered if she was already a little drunk. After grabbing her bag, she added, "I barely even get a reaction out of you for anything anymore."
"Astoria—"
She waved her free hand before stepping into the Floo.
"Goodnight, Draco. Don't wait up."
After she vanished, I turned to face Scorpius. "Well, little man, I guess it's just the two of us tonight."
I noticed he was staring at the place where Astoria had been and I felt terrible. She hadn't even kissed him goodbye because I'd been holding him.
What damage would she and I do to him by living together but not being together?
Spending the night with Scorpius brought me back to the days before I'd returned to work.
We had a quick dinner and I gave him a bath, letting him splash and play until he was a prune. His laughs and shrieks calmed me and occupied my mind in a way that nothing else had in weeks, and I resolved to spend more time with him.
My life had been so tumultuous for the past ten days and, even though I'd been helping with bedtimes, I hadn't been fully present. Unfortunately, thoughts of Granger invaded my mind around the clock.
After the bath, I dressed him and carried him into my bedroom, settling down on the bed with his new favourite book — George the Unicorn and His Missing Ear by Luna Weasley. As I turned the pages, I realised that George the Unicorn was actually George Weasley. He played pranks on the other animals in the Forbidden Forest and loved fireworks.
Thinking back, I remembered the day he and his twin had set fireworks loose in the castle and I chuckled to myself. In homage to that day, the book ended with an evil toad frantically hopping away from a pink cat one of the fireworks had spawned, to be continued.
Loony Lovegood certainly had a way with words.
Scorpius had fallen asleep partway through the story, but I kept reading, picking out who each character in the book was modeled after. I laughed more than I had in quite some time.
Of course, Hermione had been in the story, as well. She'd been a long-haired cat, pacing back and forth in front of a dragon egg, guarding it. It wasn't clear what from, but I realised that Loony truly saw more than anyone gave her credit for.
As soon as Scorpius was settled and soundly asleep in his cot, I went into my bedroom. It was far too early for me to go to sleep, but I needed to stay close by. I looked around, knowing I needed to move more of my things from the master bedroom into this one but couldn't find the motivation.
And then I noticed the box in the corner and remembered what it contained.
The books — the ones that likely contained notes from Granger.
Summoning the box, I set it down and took a deep breath. Between Blaise's departure and the heavy memory we'd viewed last night, I'd forgotten all about it. For the past two weeks, every single hour that passed had felt like an eternity, and it was getting exhausting.
Slowly, I removed the lid and looked down, finding magically shrunk and lightened books. Reaching in, I grabbed the first one and it examined it closely. As soon as it was out of the box, it had changed to its original size and my fingers traced the edges of the cover.
One of the first magical worlds I loved. I hope you enjoy it, too. -H.G.
The symbology in this book reminds me of runes. It's funny how both Muggle and magical worlds look for meanings and assign most of the same things. -H.G.
I flipped open one after another, finding a lot of impersonal notes — nothing like what I'd written in hers. There were no dates, nothing to indicate which came first or last, so I kept opening them and casting Revealing Charms.
Finally, there was something.
Thank you for Mykonos. It was the best birthday I've ever had. Can't wait to get away again.
Like a man possessed, I grabbed the next one.
The war is long over. Let it all go and forgive yourself. Almost everyone else has already. You don't need to keep punishing yourself.
I wish every weekend could be like last weekend. Paris was perfect, and I love you. I can't wait to go back to our little hotel.
My fingertips skimmed over the words.
Paris.
The first time I'd gone to Paris after the Obliviation, I'd recognised a hotel and Astoria had told me we'd stayed there before.
Had we? Or had it been from my time with Hermione?
These little notes were so vague without the memories attached to them, but I kept going, looking for even the tiniest scrap of information that could show how our relationship had progressed.
But it was all mostly little invitations or details.
Finally, I opened one book and found a long quote penned on the cover page, attributed to Louis de Bernieres.
When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are to become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is.
I stopped for a moment, wondering if she'd been trying to tell me to make a choice without saying it outright. In hindsight, I thought it was likely, and I'd either been too blind to see it or I hadn't told her that I'd made a choice and was trying to find a way out of the marriage, not wanting to get her hopes up.
Sighing, I closed the book and rubbed at my eyes.
If only I could make a timeline of how things had happened and how these books fit into it, maybe I could understand. But without all my memories, I was at Granger's mercy.
I'd hurt her for a long time — that much was clear — but by the last memory she'd shown me, my past self had no idea that she was actually in love with me. I knew now, and I could see how obvious it was, but back then, I'd seemed so unsure of where she stood.
By the time I cracked the last cover, I still had no idea when things had changed for her. As I packed all the books back into the magical storage box, I tried to quiet my mind, to make her face disappear.
But, once again, she was all I could see.
"Draco!" Granger shrieked, her body writhing on red sheets, my mouth between her thighs. "Oh Gods!"
Her hands were tangled in my hair, tugging it to the point of pain, but I didn't care. I sucked her clit harder, crooked my fingers inside of her, made her want more.
Even as her cunt clenched around my fingers, she was begging for more, begging me to keep going.
She keened and whined, arched off the bed. Her legs shook and her hands moved to her breasts, but I kept at it, loving the way her hips bucked up towards my face and the taste of her on my tongue—
A very tiny hand slapped against my cheek, waking me and pulling me from Granger's bedroom.
"Dada?"
I huffed out a breath, rubbing my palms over my face. I'd been having a sex dream. A very intense, very graphic sex dream while my toddler was right beside me. I suppose that was my punishment for going to bed with her on my mind.
"Good morning, Scorp," I said, my voice gruff. "How did you get out of your cot?"
He made an exaggerated little shrug and smiled.
"Alright, well, let's get up."
He held out his hand and I sat up, debating whether or not it was appropriate for me to walk around the house with my dick harder than stone. I didn't really have a choice at the moment, so I adjusted myself and stood. Before taking Scorpius' hand, I slid on jogging bottoms and a t-shirt.
"What shall we do?" I asked him and he looked up at me.
"Hungy," he said.
I nodded and picked him up, not ready to watch him toddle down the stairs.
"Okay. Let's see what we can get for breakfast," I answered, noticing that Astoria's bedroom door was still closed.
As we stepped into the kitchen, I was shocked to see my mother sitting at the dining table.
I prayed that the jogging bottoms were loose enough to hide my… situation.
She smiled at the sight of us.
"My two favourite wizards," she said teasingly, getting to her feet. "Do you need me to take him, Draco?"
"We're fine, but if you want to—"
She snatched him from my arms and pressed kisses all over his face.
"Grandmother and grandfather have missed you so much!"
For a moment, I felt guilty, but then I let it all go. While I made my way to the coffee pot, she listened to Scorpius babble and summoned Flora, asking her to bring breakfast for Scorpius and me.
Once I had my coffee brewing, I rubbed my hands over my face and said, "What are you doing here, Mother?"
She turned and raised an eyebrow.
"I haven't exactly been speaking with you or Father so I know I didn't invite you, and you've never dropped in unannounced before," I replied.
Looking chastened, she sat down again, holding Scorpius on her lap. "I know, Draco. And I know you said you weren't ready to talk yet, but I'm not speaking to your father. The quiet on both fronts is driving me mad."
"I never asked you to stop speaking to Father," I began, "so if you're giving him the silent treatment on my account, there's no need. Especially since it's nearly two years too late."
Scorpius wriggled and whined, wanting to roam around freely. Reluctantly, she lowered him to the floor.
"Believe it or not, I do realise I should've done this long ago, but it seemed like everything was set in stone already, and it physically pains me to ignore your father," she explained, looking down at her hands. "I'm not saying that makes it right, and I'm not proud of the choices that any of us have made over the past three years, but we need to start somewhere. You know as well as I do that your father is more likely to wisen up if I withhold my attention."
It was too early for me to even think about the implications of that statement.
"Please don't elaborate," I said, bending down to pick Scorpius up. I brought him to his highchair and summoned his cup, filling it with some water and a splash of juice. "I'm still not ready to talk about everything that's happened."
She waved me off. "Then we won't yet. I have something else I want to discuss with you."
"Oh?"
"I received a very interesting owl this morning."
Making my way back towards the coffee pot, I sighed. "You obviously think I need to know whatever information this owl brought you, so out with it."
"Apparently, there was a strange visitor to the Flint estate last night. The wards alerted Marcus' mother."
Immediately, my mind jumped to Granger, but then I realised that didn't make any sense. Granger wouldn't sleep with Flint and, even if she did, no one would owl my mother about it. That left only one option.
Astoria.
"Is she still there?" I asked.
My mother nodded. "It seems she put on quite the vocal performance. Woke half the house. How they didn't think to use Silencing Charms, I'll never know."
"And how did they know it was Astoria? Did they see her?"
With a laugh, she said, "Oh, Draco. There are monitoring charms for that kind of thing. Your bedroom in the Manor had one on it, as well."
I felt the colour drain from my face. "What?"
"For when you were a teenager," she added. "It's an old-fashioned tradition, but any time a non-related female entered the bedchamber of the heir, an alert was sent. It was to ensure that no bastards were sired."
"That's disgusting and an invasion of privacy."
My mother waved it off like it was just a normal, everyday thing. "You know the old ways just as well as I do."
"Doesn't make it any less wrong," I answered, rolling my eyes. "Marcus is nearly thirty. Why does she still monitor who he's sleeping with?"
"I've no idea. You would think he'd have put a stop to it when his father died. He must control the wards now."
"I know I would've," I mumbled. "Bloody fucking embarrassing to know your mum can find out who you've been shagging."
Raising an eyebrow at me, my mother said, "Charlotte just wanted to let me know that you might want to perform a paternity test if Astoria ends up with child. I think she might be hoping it happens since she doesn't yet have a grandchild."
My eyes widened. "You don't think—"
"No," she interrupted. "I know Astoria wouldn't try to pass that off. I'm assuming you haven't had sex?"
"Well, you certainly have no boundaries," I replied, shaking my head. I turned to the coffee pot and summoned a mug. "Of course we haven't had sex since I found out about the Obliviation."
"You should probably keep it that way, especially now."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Mainly because my dreams were all featuring Granger again, but I wasn't going to bring that into the open with how my mother was behaving this morning.
Just then, Flora popped into the kitchen and snapped her fingers. A full breakfast buffet landed on the dining table.
"Can I stay? To see what she says when she comes through the Floo?"
I rolled my eyes. "Do I really have a choice? You showed up unannounced and you're like a bloody teenager at the moment."
She sat primly and helped herself to the fruit platter. "I'm not acting any different from usual. I just don't want her to lie to you and she won't if I'm here."
"Mother, I know you enjoy gossip, but you're not normally this open about it. And you'd usually do anything you can to cover up a family scandal."
She held her fork up and pointed it at me. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, I've done enough covering up for Astoria and your father to last a lifetime. I won't do it again. You're my son and you deserve the truth. I should have realised that a very long time ago."
While I knew she was trying to win my forgiveness, I found she didn't have to. It didn't matter that she'd covered for my father and Astoria and Granger; she was my mother, and I would always forgive her. Through the war and the aftermath, she and I had looked out for each other more often than not.
Rather than replying, I simply nodded and reached for the platter of bacon and eggs.
"So, are you seeing Hermione tonight?"
As much as I wanted to avoid talking about Granger, I knew she wouldn't drop it. I checked on Scorpius quickly; Flora had given him bite-size pieces of all his favourites.
"I am," I answered. "I have to go to her place around six. She's… Well, she's making dinner. Or getting takeaway. I'm not really sure if she cooks."
She suppressed her smile. "Have you had dinner together before now?"
"Well, obviously," I stated dryly. "We did have a relationship—"
"You know what I mean!"
I shook my head and sighed. "No. We haven't. But now that Blaise is gone—"
"Blaise is gone?"
Fuck. I'd given her another piece of gossip to fixate on.
"He took a leave of absence. Potter thinks he's in Italy."
Dabbing at her mouth with a serviette, my mother said, "That was quicker than I thought it would be. Did Hermione break up with him?"
"From what I understand, no." She gave me a quizzical look, so I continued, "He wrote her a letter and left."
"A letter? He didn't even bother to speak to her?"
"I guess not. She hasn't really told me much about it."
"You should ask her how she is and make sure she's okay when you're with her tonight," she stated, taking a sip of tea. "This might be difficult for her to handle."
"I saw her yesterday. She was… not okay, but definitely not as upset as I would've thought."
"Of course she wasn't very upset. She didn't really love him."
I swallowed and ran a hand through my fringe. "I don't care if she did."
"Please stop lying to me, Draco. It's insulting," my mother said. "And lying to yourself is unhealthy."
My jaw was clenching, along with my fist on top of the table.
"Fine. I cared, but that doesn't matter. Things between us aren't good and, according to her, they never really were."
She frowned. "What do you mean things aren't good?"
"I told you I wasn't ready to talk about this—"
"You need to talk to someone," she stated, narrowing her eyes at me. "I can't imagine you're going to speak to Astoria about it."
The jumble of emotions I'd been feeling — the jealousy, the attraction, the anger, the undeniable pull I felt towards — all swirled inside of me.
I leaned my elbows on the table and kept my eyes cast down. "I've said I hate her more times than I can count, along with a bunch of other horrible things. And sometimes I do feel like I hate her. I hate this whole situation, and she's at the very centre of it."
She didn't say anything.
"But I'm also slowly figuring out that I made really fucked up decisions. I never told her I was trying to get a divorce, not in any real way," I continued. "And I don't even know when or why I made the decision to go to the solicitor."
"You could ask him," she offered, tapping her fingernails on the tabletop. "I didn't ask for details when I spoke to his assistant and got the paperwork."
"I know, but I want to actually remember it." The frustration I was feeling was evident in my voice. "And I want to know when things changed for Granger, but she hasn't gotten to that point in memories yet."
My mother stood up and moved closer to me, settling a hand on my shoulder. I wanted to pull away, but the contact soothed me; it had been awhile since anyone but Scorpius had touched me.
"Please try to hear me out," she began, speaking softly. "You need to be careful with what you say in anger. Telling her you hate her… You're going to hurt her even more, and she's been through enough because of our family. I'm not telling you to forgive her right away, but don't turn into a monster, Draco. Whether she's willing to admit it or not, she's still in love with you. She never really gave up."
"And how would you know that?" I asked.
After a moment, she said, "I went to see her. I gave her that photo strip you found because your father was going to destroy it, and I showed her a picture of you and Scorpius. When she looked at it, it was obvious there was love in her eyes."
I reached for my coffee, taking a slow sip as I filed away that fact for later review. Of course, it could just be my mother being dramatic.
"Well, I don't think she feels the same way now. Like I said, things aren't good between us," I replied.
"And how much of that is because you're acting like she's completely at fault for this situation?"
My stomach dropped. In my head, I'd taken partial responsibility for what had happened between us, but had I ever expressed that to Hermione?
"I see," my mother said, tsking. "You need to talk about this, or you're going to destroy whatever relationship you could have with her in the future."
"I don't want a relationship with her," I said reflexively, but even as the words passed through my lips, my insides twisted.
"You're in no frame of mind to make that decision right now. Talk, Draco."
While we waited for Astoria to return, my mother managed to get detail after detail about what had been going on in my life out of me. I told her about my conversation with Hannah and the way Mel had been acting around the office. I told her about Belby and the fertility potion and Astoria's reaction.
She was shocked to find out that so many people had known about the affair.
Just as Scorpius started to get antsy in his highchair, the Floo roared to life and Astoria stumbled out, looking like she'd been crying. Her hair was a mess and her dress—like I'd thought—had been morphed into something much tighter and shorter.
She looked even more drained than usual, but if Flint's mother was to be believed, she'd been up all night.
"Mama!" Scorp yelled. "Mama!"
When Astoria saw my mother sitting across from me, she averted her eyes, not even acknowledging Scorpius.
"Good morning," she said quietly. "I'm going to go… freshen up."
My mother clicked her tongue. "Yes, that would probably be for the best, dear. No need to sit at the dining table in last night's clothes."
With a sigh, I rose. "We might as well get it all out in the open. We know where you were last night, Astoria. I'm not going to judge you for it — Salazar knows I have no right to — but you need to tell me when you're planning on staying out."
"Like you did before?" she spat, closing the distance between us. "When did you ever tell me that you wouldn't be coming home?"
"We didn't have a child to care for then," I reminded her, even though I felt guilty.
Her eyes darted to Scorpius. He was holding his arms out to her and flexing his fingers in recognition.
"Hi, baby," Astoria said, reaching out and tousling his hair. "Mama will be right back. I'm sure your grandmother will keep you busy until then."
Nodding, my mother stood and grabbed Scorpius. After a glance out the window, she said, "I'm going to take him out into the garden. I think the two of you need to have a serious discussion."
"Mother, don't interfere—"
"She's right," Astoria interrupted, taking a step forward and slumping into a chair. "You and I need to figure out a few things."
Settling my hands on my hips, I looked at my wife. "Really, I'm not angry, Astoria. It was one night."
Slowly, my mother moved to the door, Scorpius in her arms. Her exit was far from stealthy, but she acted like we would hardly notice.
"But it's going to keep happening," Astoria replied, her eyes meeting mine. "I'm not just going to sit around here day after day, care for Scorpius, and watch you fall in love with Hermione again, Draco. I can't do it."
"So, what? You're going to have a parade of one-offs?" I asked, and then I realised how horrible it sounded.
She looked like I'd slapped her.
"Until last night, I had never been with anyone but you," she said quietly. "And we're separated. I'm not — I wanted to see what it was like, being with someone else."
I'd known that. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'd known she was a virgin when we'd married. It had been a clause in the contract, and her father had also told me as much.
"I shouldn't have phrased that so crassly," I admitted. "I just — I know you're right. We need to come up with some sort of schedule. A permanent arrangement for Scorpius so he can adapt. I thought you were still asleep in the bedroom when we first got up this morning."
Clearing her throat, Astoria said, "I think we should live separately."
Her words shocked me. I had thought she wanted me around every night for Scorpius.
"You want to move out?"
She shook her head. "No. This is my home. You weren't here at the beginning, and you were the one who carried on an affair. I want you to move out."
"But what about Scorp? I want to see him every day—"
"You're more than welcome to come by after work and deal with bedtime and play with him. That doesn't have to change. And, of course, you can always take him for overnights and the like. I'll carry on with him during the day like I have been."
"You've thought about this," I stated.
"Of course I have. You said this marriage was over before it ever really began, Draco. I'm willing to admit that now."
Her face showed her resignation and it made me feel even more guilty.
"So, we should—"
"Get a divorce. As soon as possible."
The words came out in a rush, like she had to hurry or else they'd be stuck inside her forever. Like she was ripping the plaster off a cut. I'd known we were heading there — hell, I'd even wanted a divorce myself — but something about Astoria's words made it feel more real, somehow sharper.
I pushed my sleep rumpled hair back with both of my hands, my palms coming to rest on the back of my skull.
"Right. Well, I'll talk to Father—"
"No," Astoria interrupted again, standing and steadying herself using the back of the chair. "I will. I started this mess by talking to him, so I'll fix it."
As much as I wanted to be the one to tell my father to fuck off and that I would do what I wanted to with my life, I agreed. If Astoria wanted to be the one to speak to him and show some backbone, I would let her.
"Alright," I said. "I'll start looking for a place to live on Monday."
I saw her teeth sink into her bottom lip as she nodded and took shaky steps towards the stairs. Before her bedroom door slammed shut, I heard the sound of a sniffle and sob. She'd put on a brave face, but she was still hurting.
While I hated her for what she'd done to me, I also knew I hadn't treated her well. As soon as I'd started things up with Hermione, I'd been absent and neglectful.
I knew two wrongs didn't make a right and all that shite — and I certainly didn't deserve to lose years of my life — but I felt like I could understand Astoria better than I had before.
As soon as I stepped through the Floo, I was shocked. The whole lower level of Granger's house had changed. Her furniture was different and the walls were painted a different colour. Her normally bare coffee table was covered with the Pensieve, the trunk, and various trinkets.
Curious, I turned to examine the mantle.
The otter and the dragon were still there, apparently making the cut when she'd redecorated. However, they were now joined by photos — one of the Golden Trio, another of Potter's kids — and a few small, worn-looking books.
"Hi," Granger said, interrupting my perusal.
I spun to face her, startled.
"You've certainly been busy," I replied, gesturing to the room around us. "It looks great."
"Thanks." She twisted her hands in the hem of her black and white striped t-shirt. "It was time for a change."
"Might as well make all your changes at once. It will be a fresh start all around."
Granger nodded, still nervously fiddling with her top. "I suppose so. Last time Pansy and I just rearranged things a bit. I needed something more drastic."
"Well, like I said, it looks great."
Fuck, I sounded so awkward.
"Thanks," she said again, and I knew I wasn't the only one feeling nervous. "I made dinner. Your favourite—or, what used to be your favourite."
"I brought wine," I stated, pulling two shrunken bottles from my pocket. "Both a red and a white since I wasn't sure what we'd be having."
A smile spread across her face and she gestured to the dining table.
"Sit down and relax. I'll only be a few more minutes."
"Do you need help?"
"Have you learned how to cook over the past two years?" she asked, her voice teasing.
Shrugging, I answered, "No, but I'm sure you could find something for me to do."
"No, like I said, it'll only be a few more minutes. Just chill the white wine."
She started walking back towards the kitchen, and I watched her. Her jeans looked a little big on her, like she'd lost some weight, and I started to wonder if she'd been eating. Stress did funny things to a person, and Granger had been dealing with a boatload of it.
I'd likely been causing the bulk of it.
I moved towards the table, my body instinctively heading for one seat. She'd set the table neatly. Utensils were lined up beside the plate, a napkin tucked beneath them.
There were flowers in the centre of the table, and I examined them closely, looking for any sign of where they'd come from.
"I bought them for myself," Granger commented, walking into the room with a tray and several bowls levitating in front of her.
The scent of roasted chicken filled the air, and I knew the bowls would contain roasted potatoes and peas. She set everything down on the table and I saw she also had carrots.
"It smells great."
"You always did enjoy this meal," she said, a glazed look in her eyes. "You said it reminded you of Hogwarts. Your elves wouldn't make it except for on your birthday."
"Not fancy enough for a Malfoy," I told her, remembering how my father had complained about it. "But you're clearly a goddess."
At the use of the nickname, her breath hitched.
"I—fuck—I'm sorry. I forgot. That wasn't intentional."
"It's fine. I know what you meant." Tucking her hair behind her ears, she sat down in one of the vacant seats. "Help yourself, Malfoy."
Not Draco.
I'd gotten used to her calling me by my given name, but she was distancing herself.
As I served myself helpings of everything, Granger watched and waited her turn. Once I was done, she took small portions and set them on her plate. I wanted to nag her to eat more, but I bit my tongue.
It wasn't my concern.
"So, you invited me to dinner," I said, trying to make it sound conversational.
She pushed her food around her plate with her fork, not really eating much of anything. "I did. I thought we could talk a little. Penelope—my therapist—she thinks I need to really talk to you. Get things out in the open."
I reached for the wine I'd had under a cooling charm and added some to each of our glasses, sampling mine immediately.
"I'd like that, I think," I responded, encouraging her to continue.
"Tonight, I'm going to show you the Christmas Eve we spent together and the Christmas Day after," she began, speaking slowly. "I need you to see how things were for me after you went home."
"I'll see all the gifts."
"Yes. All the gifts that you bought me."
Much to my surprise, she summoned things over from the coffee table.
"I have some here. There were nine of them," Granger explained, pushing a red box that said Cartier towards me. "That's the diamond necklace."
I suddenly remembered Astoria's trip to Gringotts, the way she'd come back with a simple round diamond set in platinum.
"What did you give Astoria?"
"I gave it to your father. It was a replica I made with Gemino. I wouldn't give him the actual necklace."
After the perfume incident, my father had come to the DMLE. He'd never done that before, and I'd been pleasantly surprised.
However, I now knew that he'd had another objective. He had to get this necklace from Granger before I started asking too many questions.
I reached for the box and opened the lid, looking down on the diamond that probably had a price tag nearly equivalent to what I earned annually as an Auror. It was somehow more beautiful than the copy Astoria now kept in the house.
Swallowing hard, I ran my fingers along the delicate chain, imagining how it would look around Granger's slender neck, the way the diamond would settle against her chest. I glanced up at her.
"Do you ever wear it?"
She shook her head. "It wouldn't have been explainable. And Blaise…" Her words trailed off and she twirled a lock of her hair nervously. "You can have it back, if you want. I know it's very valuable, and I should've just—"
"Stop, Granger," I interrupted, closing the lid and handing it back to her. "This is yours. I'm glad you didn't give it to my father and Astoria. I obviously wanted you to have it."
"Okay," she said, exhaling sharply. "You're right."
"What else?"
"The otter and the dragon," she murmured, gesturing to the mantle. "The dress. A bottle of my favourite perfume."
"The perfume that triggered the memory, I'm assuming?"
She nodded. "Yes. Your father — when he came to the DMLE — he told me that my perfume had made you remember the gifts and I needed to give him the necklace."
I watched as her fingers drew patterns over the box, though I couldn't identify what they actually were.
"Okay. What else?"
"Well, that's actually when you gave me Anima. For Christmas."
Anima.
"I need to ask you something. I've been thinking about it lately, and I'm just wondering..." She set her fork down and focused all her attention on me."You can keep eating, Granger."
With a nod, she resumed, taking a tiny bite of potato.
"Did Blaise know that I thought you were my soulmate?"
She nearly choked on the meagre bit of food. Grabbing her wine glass, she drank deeper than she should've and sputtered even harder.
"Are you alright?" I asked, and she nodded, reaching for her napkin.
"I'm fine," she said, but her voice was strained. After cleaning herself up, she continued. "I think he knew, but he never really said anything to me about it. He wasn't exactly a fan of our affair from the time it started, so he encouraged me to end it."
"I assumed as much," I began, taking another bite and hoping she'd do the same. "Do you think that's why he left?"
I saw her mask slip into place, her emotions vanishing in a split second. She was hiding from me again, and while I understood that this was hard to deal with, it made my stomach twist into knots.
"He left because I was keeping things from him," she responded, looking down at her plate. "I didn't tell him when I ran into you in Diagon Alley, and I didn't… I couldn't tell him how I was feeling when you came back into the picture. Hell, most of the time, I didn't even really know myself."
Even though her emotions were locked away, I could tell she was telling the truth. She knew what she'd done wrong in their relationship and had no problem admitting it.
"But if he knew we were soulmates, then he should've understood there was always going to be a connection between us," I stated quietly. "He shouldn't have taken that out on you."
Granger shrugged, but didn't answer.
I changed tactics. "Do Muggles believe in soulmates?"
"Muggles are unsure about soulmates. Many of them think it's just a bunch of nonsense. Others swear that they've found theirs."
"But you know they're real, right?"
Her admission was quiet. "I do now. I didn't believe it when you first gave me the book."
"When did you start to believe?"
I could see the tears flooding her eyes, and she pressed her fingers against them.
"After you were gone."