December 11th, 2011

A/N: I have been sneezing every two minutes for nearly the entire day. It's driving me crazy! I've been taking medicine, to no avail. Allergies are so not totally awesome. Um, anywho, I've come up with a new incentive to get you guys to review, so you'll see what that is down below, at the end of the chapter, if you actually read that author's note. This chapter is currently un-edited because I wanted to give it to you guys and Cat is busy, which I know because I've had this done for a while, so there will be some mistakes :P And for those of you waiting for Hermione and Draco to finally have sex, that'll probably happen in the next chapter, though I'm not going into details about that. Sorry if this is taking too long for some of your guys' liking.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

You should review this. I just thought I'd say that now, because I never do xD

Chapter Seventeen

Draco watched Hermione with his eyebrows knitted together. He kept his arm around her almost rigidly, afraid that she would go and land herself in Azkaban by murdering Astoria. He hadn't even felt that mutinous when his mother told him the news – if anything, Draco had been relieved.

"Hermione…?" Draco said slowly.

"Yes?" Hermione replied calmly, shifting so that she and Draco were actually looking at each other straight on.

"You're not about to go use the big AK on Astoria, are you?"

Hermione sighed and shook her head. If Draco wasn't upset, she had no reason to be. It would be ridiculous of her to go into a frenzy because of something that didn't directly involve her.

"Oh good," Draco said, immediately relaxing. Hermione snorted and patted his hand.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to be charged of killing someone just yet," she teased, kissing his cheek.

"As I said before, oh good, because it would be very hard to date you if you were in jail," Draco told Hermione, grinning impishly. She opened her mouth to rebuke him and he stopped her by wrapping her in a tight hug.

Instead of questioning it, Hermione snuggled closer into Draco's side, closing her eyes in contentment with her forehead resting against his neck. It was nice to be able to simply sit there without worrying about being interrupted by Death Eaters for a change. Hermione still wasn't used to the fact that the war was over. Even two years after she found ways to justify keeping her guard up.

Draco was growing more and more uncomfortable with his and Hermione's position than he'd care to admit. They openly stated they loved each other, but they hadn't proved it yet, at least in his mind. He was a warm-blooded male, after all, and Hermione was the object of his affections. He was, in short, getting a tad impatient.

But, his parents had raised him right in that department. Draco wouldn't push Hermione to do anything she wasn't ready for.

"Draco?" Hermione murmured as Draco pulled her onto his lap.

"Hm?" Draco hummed.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because your little friend is poking me in the back," Hermione said, sounding a bit amused. Draco could practically hear the smile in her voice.

"Oh," was Draco's reply as his pale cheeks turned slightly pink. Hermione laughed and decided not to bother him about it anymore. It was a strange experience for her to talk about it aloud anyway.

That caused Hermione to mull over her and Ron's past relationship. They had only made love once or twice – perhaps that was why he cheated on her with Lavender, who had indeed said that Ron was only using her for fun without consequences. But Hermione hadn't been the one to blame for that, right? It was sort of hard to do those kinds of activities in a house full of Ron's relatives, including his mother. Besides, Hermione wasn't sure if she was emotionally ready for that after the first few times.

Draco, on the other hand, was more than ready to have a sex life again. As he had told Cassie, he hadn't had a girlfriend before Hermione since he was a teenager at Hogwarts. He was a volcano of sexual tension about to erupt.

He had also learned that Hermione made quite a few noises when she was sleeping. Granted, they were all extremely adorable, but he was startled to hear them whenever he thought she was awake.

Hermione let out a little breath as she napped, tickling Draco's throat. He looked down at her and decided that if he couldn't do anything other than watch her, he would sleep as well.

Sadly, though, Draco could never be left well alone. An owl hovered outside the window closest to the couch, hooting indignantly when the blonde man made no move to let it in his flat. Rolling his eyes, Draco carefully untangled himself from Hermione, and decided that whenever she was happily sleeping in his arms, they would be interrupted.

"It's nearly eleven o' clock, who could be sending a message at this bloody hour?" Draco muttered, scowling.

The owl nipped his fingers as he reached for the note – it was Astoria's. The creature had never had much patience for his mistress's ex-fiancé.

Draco,

Unless I am mistaken, you still are quite single, and the Ministry Yule Ball is taking place tomorrow evening. I am without an escort, and I believe I am right in assuming you are too. Why not make it easier on both of us and go together?

Yours Forever,

Astoria Greengrass

Draco couldn't fathom how he could go from being perfectly at ease one moment to utterly stressed the next. He had entirely forgotten about the Ministry Yule Ball. He glanced at Hermione over his shoulder. Did she expect them to go together?

Well, of course she did. They were openly dating, after all.

Draco decided to reply to Astoria's letter. It was a better option than showing up at the ball only to have her throw a tantrum again. He didn't need a repeat of his mother's birthday gala.

Greengrass,

I can't go with you. Need I remind you, I have a girlfriend, who would be happy to hex you for continuously harassing me, after I do so myself.

Sincerely (I can't begin to tell you how much),

Draco Malfoy

Hermione frowned at her reflection in the mirror as she tried to tame her hair so that it was less frizz and more curl. Ginny shot her a sympathetic look and muttered a charm, fixing the problem that had occupied her friend for thirty minutes in thirty seconds.

"How do you do it?" Hermione asked.

"It's just a skill you're born with," Ginny replied, grinning. "Now stand up and give me a little twirl."

She rolled her eyes, but Hermione obeyed, and spun around. Ginny had chosen her dress – otherwise Hermione would have gone in slacks and a blouse. She didn't like drawing attention to herself, and recalling her fourth year made her set against dressing up, for the most part. There was just no point. The Ministry Yule Ball would be full of strangers that only knew her for her accomplishments – they didn't need to see the side of her that she rarely ever showed. Why give them the impression that she was someone else entirely?

"Hermione, stop with the scowling. You look gorgeous. Those wankers won't know what hit 'em," Ginny said, handing Hermione a pair of diamond earrings.

"What's Teddy doing tonight? Do you know if Harry plans on taking him? The Yule Ball is considered a family thing."

"As far as I know, Teddy's staying with Andromeda, who refuses to attend, and I quote, 'such a frivolous affair'."

"She actually said that?" asked Hermione, laughing as she put the earrings on. "Even I don't talk like that, and I'm me."

"Exactly," Ginny said. "If I ever doubted she wasn't raised as a Black…"

Hermione shook her head and chuckled. She smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in her deep blue dress, slipped her feet into heels she didn't really want to wear, and walked around Ginny's room for a bit before she actually went outside.

"Hermione, if you keep going out like that, I'm going to have to start fending off a lot of single wizards…" Harry commented.

"Oh, Harry, it's just a dress. I don't even look that good; you should see Ginny. Besides, between you, Draco, George, Fred, Charlie, Bill, and your girlfriend, everyone will be far too scared to even talk to me," Hermione replied, smiling.

"You have a point," Harry said, a smile tugging on the corners of his own mouth. "But you look beautiful, 'Mione. Don't be afraid to tell me if the ferret does anything inappropriate."

Hermione snorted and gave Harry a hug before she went out back behind the Burrow to check whether she needed to cast a warming charm on herself or not. She did. Shivering, she pulled her wand out of a hidden pocket on her dress, and wandered back inside to inform Ginny of the chilling temperature.

Draco was waiting for her there, talking to Harry with his hands in his pants pockets. Ron was picking Lavender up at the flat she shared with Parvati and Padma, so he wasn't around to glare at Hermione's boyfriend and at Harry for being civil to said boyfriend.

"Oh, look at my two favorite boys," Hermione crooned, grinning when the two turned to face her.

"Look at my gorgeous girl," Draco said, crossing the distance separating him from Hermione so he could kiss her cheek.

"I think I may vomit," Harry announced, going into the kitchen to spare himself of the nauseating sweetness that was Draco and Hermione's way of interacting with each other.

Draco chose to ignore Harry's statement and to Hermione asked, "Are you ready to go? We'll cause a riot if everyone arrives at the same time."

"A very fair point," Hermione agreed. "I don't know where the others are right now…let me send a quick message to them." Hermione cast her patronus and sent the silvery otter on its way. Harry poked his head into the room where she was and waved before he went back to helping Molly with whatever she was doing. The rest sent their own Patronuses back to Hermione, bidding their farewells, and when she was done listening, Hermione told Draco that they could leave.

"I never knew you could send a message through a Patronus," Draco said. Hermione didn't know that he couldn't cast one, and he'd like to keep it that way until he learned how. That was actually what he had been talking to Harry about. It cost all of Draco's pride to ask, but he wanted to be able to cast a Patronus, and Potter was the best candidate for a teacher.

"It's something only the Order knew how to do until Kingsley decided that it would be more efficient if his Aurors could too," Hermione replied absently, tucking her wand back into its sewn in compartment. "Come on, let's go face the music."

"What?"

"Muggle saying."

"That wasn't entirely horrific," Hermione observed when she and Draco were back at his flat, cuddling on his sofa and watching the television.

"I attribute that to the fact that I had an absolutely stunning date tonight," Draco said, his voice implying that he would not be argued with. Hermione rolled her eyes, wanting to shoot down the compliment, but instead tightened her arms around Draco's torso.

A few minutes passed in companionable silence, Hermione lost in thought as Draco struggled to focus on whatever Muggle show the telly was playing. After more time went by, Draco couldn't keep the second letter he had gotten a secret, and squeezed Hermione's shoulder, partly because he didn't know how she would take the news, and partly because he wanted to know if she was awake.

Hermione looked up at Draco and smiled slightly, then blinked. Something was different. Draco was practically bursting at the seams, and she didn't know why.

"Love, I've been called away on a business trip," Draco said, the words tumbling out of his mouth in a rush.

"Oh," replied Hermione, surprised that such a thing would cause Draco to act the way he was. "For how long, and are you going anywhere exciting?"

Draco obviously hadn't expected Hermione to react with questions. He had to start giving her more credit than he currently was. She wasn't a simpering pansy – pun intended – that needed to be with him every moment of the day. Draco had to keep in mind that Hermione was different than most of the chits he knew.

"I'm going to be in some part of France – I'm not entirely sure where – for about two weeks."

Hermione suspected that she would miss Draco horribly while he was gone, but she kissed his cheek and said, "Have fun." She didn't want to burden him with her petty feelings. He wouldn't think less of her for it, but Hermione still didn't need Draco to know how much the thought of spending two weeks without him hurt.

That's it? Draco thought as he kissed the top of Hermione's head and held her close. Maybe if I tell her the rest…

"I have to leave tomorrow."

"Oh," repeated Hermione, in a much quieter tone. "How are you travelling?"

"Muggle airplanes," Draco answered. "I've never been on one, and they actually do sound interesting. Riding in one can't be much different than riding a broom, and it is certainly less dangerous, and would you mind flat-sitting for me?"

"Sorry, what was that last bit?" Hermione asked. She had heard him perfectly, but she needed to make sure that Draco Malfoy had indeed requested she flat-sit.

"Would you mind flat-sitting for me?" Draco was openly sheepish when Hermione straightened up so that she was facing him. Sheepish is something I have never paired with Draco…but he is rather adorable when he feels it, Hermione sighed inwardly. I'm going to miss his sarcastic, witty, yet undoubtedly loving self.

"I'll jump on any chance to get away from the Burrow for a bit," Hermione admitted. "It's been unbearably awkward there. The twins try to chase that feeling away as much as they can, but they're there for hardly more than two hours on weekdays."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Draco said sympathetically, pressing a chaste kiss to Hermione's lips. "I'd best pack, if I'm to travel the Muggle way."

"I'll help, if you'd like," Hermione offered. Draco smiled at her, and she slipped her hand into his, letting him lead her into his bedroom.

Apparently Harry Potter truly was the Boy-Who-Couldn't-Leave-Well-Enough-Alone. He had been corresponding with Hermione's parents with the help of Ron's small owl Pigwidgeon, for their daughter's sake more than anything else. Harry was affectionate of the Dr. Grangers, from the fleeting time he had spent with them, so he felt that they might respond well to his first letter. The reply had been polite, but the underlying tone implied that the elder Grangers blamed him for causing Hermione to make the choice to Obliviate their memories.

Now Hermione was standing in front of her parents' house, listening as Harry explained everything to her, from the point where he had been forgiven and had gotten the Grangers up to date, to the point where he asked if they might not meet with Hermione one more time in the hopes of reconciliation.

"Harry, honestly, Draco's flight is to leave at five and I should get him to the airport early," Hermione said. Harry arched an eyebrow and made a big show of looking at his watch – it was barely past noon. "Oh, alright! I don't want to see my parents. The last time we met it didn't end very well. I hardly believe they want to see me today either, but no one seems to be able to resist you."

Harry grinned cheekily. "And you know I take advantage of that fact. Come on, Hermione, I promise this meeting won't be as bad as the last. Besides, this time I'm here with you. If we can defeat the greatest Dark wizard of all time together, we can face your parents too…although your dad still intimidates me."

Hermione smiled despite herself. "Oh, Harry," was all she said. Harry took that as his cue and linked his arm through hers, walking up to the front door and dragging Hermione along.

The door opened. Had her mum and dad been watching them? Hermione wondered as she stared at her mother. Jeanette Granger looked just as Hermione remembered her, with the same curling, but much tamer, brown hair Hermione had, and gray-blue eyes that never ceased to display Jean's emotions. Right now they were betraying a mix of suspicion, hopefulness, and sorrow.

"Hello, Mrs. Granger."

"Harry, how many times have I told you to call me Jean?"

"As many times as I've called you Mrs. Granger," Harry replied easily with a charming smile. He nodded at Hermione encouragingly.

Clearing her throat first, Hermione said, "Hello, Mother."

Jean's eyes lost most of their suspicion, to be replaced by more sorrow. "Hello, darling. Please come in, both of you."

"Thank you," Hermione said stiffly. She slipped past her mother without touching her, leaving Harry on the porch with Jean.

"I'm sorry for that. She still feels a touch betrayed. She'll come around," Harry assured the woman. "Not to mention that her boyfriend is going to be out of the country soon. Hermione's not at her best right now," Harry continued. He had hoped that making up with her parents would fill the void that would be made when Draco left, but so far, his plan wasn't turning out so well.

"Who, do you mean Ron?" Jean asked.

Harry looked at her sadly. It was clear to him how long at the least Hermione had been out of contact with her mum and dad. "It's a long story. If Hermione decides to tell you, she will. We'd better get inside. I don't want her to be alone right now."

Jean nodded slowly and allowed Harry to enter her and her husband's house before she silently closed the door.

Hermione had paused at the sight of framed pictures of herself with her parents, but as soon as she heard more footsteps, she moved into the sitting room. Her father wasn't there; he was probably at work. So it was just her, Harry, and her mother.

"'Mione, you know how much I hate playing the therapist. It's not easy for me. You've had nine years to see that. Why don't you just start by…I don't know, telling your mother how you felt after you gave them their memories back?" suggested Harry as he sat down in an armchair.

"Excited to get my parents back, then disappointed, and shortly after, betrayed," Hermione said bluntly.

Jean blanched. She was not used to the strong, confident young witch in front of her. In all honesty, she wanted her little girl back – that Hermione she knew how to deal with. But she couldn't relate to the things Hermione was going through now. Jean was no magical human being. She was as mundane as they came. And she tried to sympathize with Hermione as best she could, but it was hard when she saw that her daughter was slowly leaving their world and entering one unknown to her and Richard.

"What about you, Mrs. Granger?" Jean didn't even have the heart to remind Harry to call her by her given name. She couldn't get over the fact that Hermione would not meet her eyes.

"I was so happy to see you," Jean said, everything directed to only Hermione – her looks, her words, her emotions. "Thrilled, over the moon, however you want to describe it. I had felt this awful sense of emptiness during my time as whoever you made me believe I was, like I had lost something dreadfully important. And to see you again, and have my memories back…it was wonderful.

"Then I realized that you weren't the girl I had seen last. You were entirely different. Scarred by the loss of people close to you, haunted by a war. It scared me, Hermione, and it scared your father. We didn't know how to act around you. You had experienced so much, lost so much, and we hardly recognized you. It was after Harry began to explain that I realized that you are still my daughter, and that I should love you despite what you've gone through, and even more so because you've endured things I can't even comprehend. Sweetheart, your dad and I love you just like we did when you were younger, never forget that."

Hermione let Jean hug her. She sat looking straight ahead as it happened, but she didn't pull away either. Harry looked on, already knowing what his best friend was going to say.

"Not understanding what I went through is no excuse, Mother. Ignorance is the cause of fear, so in some sense, you and my father were afraid of me. Me, your only child. What I did I did to make sure you two were not killed, that you could live happily had I died in that war. You always said you were proud of me for standing by Harry while no others believed in him, yet you tossed me aside like an old rag doll when I left to help him put an end to the whole charade Voldemort had started and returned," Hermione said flatly. She turned to Harry. "Harry, I appreciate you for going through all that trouble to help me, but it wasn't worth it. Now, can we leave so I can help Draco prepare to leave?"

"Yeah," Harry replied softly. "Let's go."

Hermione stalked out of the room, bidding her mother a polite goodbye as she did so. Harry lingered.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out, Mrs. Granger."

"It's quite alright, Harry," Jean said, blinking back tears. "I can't say I blame her."

Harry didn't know how to respond to that, so he tentatively patted Hermione's mother on the shoulder and followed his surrogate sister to the front yard.

A/N: So...the end xD Fin! For now, at least :P There is much more to come.

Review, it makes me write faster!