Chapter 8

She hadn't talked to him since the incident in the bathroom, nor had she told her friends about it. She knew they would jump to conclusions if they found out that he seemed troubled by something.

She loved Ron and Harry to death, but the two of them were rather predictable when it came to Draco Malfoy; they would immediately charge into action, throwing accusations and attack first, without much room for thought.

However she knew better. Running into action wouldn't help anything; it would only put Malfoy on the offensive, and get him to trust them even less than he already did.

She wasn't exactly his biggest advocate, but she meant it when he said he wasn't a Death Eater; he was a child mimicking the actions of his parents. He wasn't inherently evil. She just needed to prove it to him that he was capable of change; that he just needed to choose a different path.

He just needed to choose them.

It wouldn't be easy, and she knew it was a long shot.

But one thing was for sure; she wouldn't give up without a fight.

So when Professor Vector assigned them some free time to work on their assignment, she decided to make the most of the opportunity, regardless of how he felt about her and them working together.

She stood up, and moved to where he was sitting, unsurprised when he chose not to acknowledge her. He had all but ignored her in the recent days, and she had grown accustomed to his silence.

"So I've begun to research the Chaldean Method, and it's absolutely fascinating," she said to him, "I've planned out different sections for our paper, and wanted to see what you thought about it."

She began to talk about the different sections, explaining in detail how she wanted them all to go, and during that time, she could see the pace at which his quill was previously scribbling at begin to slow. He was listening to her, even if he was trying to pretend that he wanted nothing to do with her. And that itself was a victory.

"Personally, I'm a big fan of the historical reasons of why they moved away from this method; it says a lot about the time period in which the witches and wizards were living in. It's very indicative of how the wizarding world was trying to move to a more advanced civilization and were trying to move away from their muggle roots," she said, looking up at him, "Don't you think?"

"Do you ever stop talking?" he asked finally, looking up at her, "Merlin's beard, Granger. I thought we established that we would work on our own parts by ourselves and put it together later. So go back to wherever you came from, and I'll give you my section when I'm done it."

"You agreed," she reminded him, "I never accepted the proposal of putting together when we both finished. Personally, I believe we should work together, as it's the best way to make sure we don't overlap on our sections. It also will be more beneficial for when it comes to putting together our parts since we can bounce different ideas off of each other; which I'm sure you would be helpful with as you're hardly a weak student."

"Granger," his voice said, lowering, "I said leave."

"And I declined," she said, cheerfully. In all honesty, she wasn't entirely sure he wasn't going to hex her, but she had to keep trying.

"For Salazar's sake," he muttered, as he focused his attention on the notes he was taking. She continued to prattle on, deciding to use his silence to her advantage.

She was well aware that several of the students were sneaking glances at the two of them, waiting for one to blow up and curse the other. None of the students in the room were particularly gossipy, so she didn't exactly have to worry about Ron and Harry finding out that she was attempting to annoy Malfoy into submission.

But when class ended, and Malfoy all but ran out of the room, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She knew it wouldn't be easy getting him to trust her, but it was rather disheartening to know that he would rather be anywhere than near her. She knew it would be difficult, but she knew that she needed to keep trying.

She should have expected her Mother-in-law to visit her at some point or the other. She knew Molly would be devastated when she found out the news, even if false, that Hermione had been having an affair. Even with the public apology from the Daily Prophet, it would be enough to tip off Molly that something was very wrong between her and Ron's marriage, so really she should have expected Molly to show up far sooner than she actually did.

"Is it true?" Molly asked, barging into Grimmauld place where Hermione had been sipping tea, while Harry was at work, and Ginny was putting the children down. "Are you cheating on my son?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Hermione said softly, looking up at the older woman, "I thought you knew me better than that."

"But something is wrong," Molly surmised looking at her, "You're staying with Harry and Ginny, instead of being at home with your husband. Clearly something is wrong when I go to your house and my son cringes at the mention of you. So what did you do?"

She winced internally at the accusation, which felt like a constant reminder that while she had married into the Weasley family, they would first and foremost be Ron's family. It was a painful reminder of everything she had feared when she first contemplated leaving her husband.

"I left him," she said softly, "I'm sorry if that hurts you Molly, but I could not stay in that marriage any longer."

"Why not?" Molly asked, sinking into the chair across from her, "He's your husband; the two of you have always held love for the other. How could you leave him after everything you've been through together?"

"Because I can't be in an environment where I am constantly worried for my daughter's safety," Hermione said, looking the older woman in the eyes.

"Are you implying that my Ron would ever hurt his daughter?" Molly asked, voice rising. "He's a good father, so how could you even suggest otherwise?"

"Maybe not intentionally, but he could have hurt her unintentionally. You must know he has a drinking problem, Molly. It's hardly a secret that he spends most nights at the pub, and that he comes home drunk out of his mind," Hermione said gently.

"Which is all the more reason to stay with him!" Molly raised her voice, as Ginny made her way back into the kitchen.

"How can you expect her to when he hits her?" Ginny said, rising to her defense, "Did she tell you yet how Rose nearly got injured because of his recklessness? He left her close to glass from a bottle he threw; Rose could have been seriously injured. Not to mention the bruises Hermione hides from us all."

"No," Molly whispered to herself, "I don't believe it. He would never do that; not to his wife and child. He's not a bad person. He loves you both; he was so upset when I went to see him and hurting over the fact that he was losing his wife and daughter. He would never hurt them."

"But he did," Hermione said, looking at her surrogate mother sadly. "I can't stay with him, Molly; surely you understand that. You must have seen how unhappy we both were. We were always fighting, he hated that I worked, and I hated how he drank. We were so unhappy together; surely you saw that."

"He's not a bad person," Molly insisted, "I wouldn't have raised a son who hit his wife. I never would have raised a son who did that."

"It's not your fault, Mum," Ginny said softly, comforting the other woman, "The war changed him; the loss of Fred and his friends were hard on him, and he began to nurse his pain with alcohol. He stopped trying at work, and hasn't progressed at all in years. None of it was a fault of yours."

"I'm sorry," Molly said, holding Hermione's hand. "I need some time to process all of this. I'm sorry. But I hope you won't pull away from our family because of it. We would never want you to feel as if you and Rose didn't belong in our home."

She nodded at the older woman, "Of course, Molly. I never would keep you from your granddaughter. It was never my intention to make you worry about being a bad mother. You've been anything but. I understand that you need time though. It cannot be easy to find out such a truth overnight, and have to process it."

"I'm sorry," Molly said a tear slipping down her face, as she stood and walked out of the room.

"She'll come around," Ginny said comfortingly, "She just needs to process everything."

"I know," Hermione sighed; she had always known how hard going through a divorce would be, but in the middle of it all, she couldn't help but feel a bit of relief, knowing she would be getting her freedom back.

Kingsley sighed to himself as he looked at the reports in front of him. To say the situation was escalating would be an understatement. The situation had escalated the moment reports of underground meetings of those who still supported the old ways surfaced. No, the situation had been getting worse with every give moment.

When he first stepped into office, he had vowed to be better; he would be truthful to his people, and ensure that they never once were thrown back into a war as they had twice in the last two decades. Yet here he was, receiving reports that there were secret underground meetings about blood purity and trying to restore the world to how people once believed it deserved to be.

There were still several Death Eaters at large, and other former ones had managed to evade capture by playing innocent and by being influential enough to escape Azkaban.

Which despite there being a low number of them, it was still enough to be problematic. It was still enough that if they chose to campaign underground they could regain enough support to harass the public. Sure, Voldemort was long dead, but there was a reason that so many people hung on to him; they supported the ideas he represented, and believed in blood purity. Which meant that despite there being a carefulness in the wizarding world, one which insisted on avoiding mentioning controversial topics in public, there was still a sizeable amount of the population who believed that the wizarding world should be returned to the state of separation of muggles and muggleborns.

And with the recent reports of missing bodies from cemeteries, Kingsley knew it couldn't be good. Human parts were rarely used for dark magic, so it wasn't as if someone was attempting to cast a dark spell using it; no, it was more likely that someone wanted to use the corpses to create inferi. What better army than an undead one which obeyed your every command?

If the wizarding population found out, he knew it would lead to panic and to fear. Nothing good could come out of having several bodies vanish all at once. Especially given all the other suspicious behaviour that was occurring in the wizarding world. Something big was coming their way, and Kingsley hoped for all of their sakes that they would be ready for it when I did.

Draco poured himself a glass of firewhisky as he returned to the area where Blaise and Theo were seated at his flat.

It had broken his mother's heart when he claimed he needed to move out to become a more rounded man, instead of staying at the family manor because they both knew the truth. He could not stay at a place where so many innocent lives had been slain; he could not stay at a place where his father looked upon him with disdain for being a disappointment to the family name. Because he really was; he had changed sides in the war to protect those he had cared about, and only really had been a Death Eater to protect his mother. He had forsaken his family's birthright when publicly claiming that muggleborn and halfblod lives were just as important as pureblood lives. He worked at the Ministry of Magic, without using his name and connections to get ahead, and he fought tooth and nail to separate himself from who his family thought he should be.

How could he stay at the place where Hermione was tortured? He had ended their relationships, in the hope that she would be protected from his family. Yet she had been tortured in front of his very eyes. He had summoned Dobby, hoping the elf would save them all from the place they were captive, and heh ad only let out a relieved breath when he saw her alive again at Hogwarts during the final battle.

"You haven't said a word all evening," Blaise said raising an eyebrow at his friend, "Is everything alright, Draco?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" He asked, countering the question.

"Well for one, Astoria Greengrass has been throwing herself at you constantly," Blaise reminded him, "Not to mention she has been hinting very publically that a proposal is in the near future. Which if I remember correctly, you had made it clear to us that you didn't want to have as much as a second date with the girl. So yes, I'm concerned about how you're doing."

"Of course she is," Draco sighed, "She's said more than once that she thinks we're getting married. Which was a little concerning, because she seemed to imply that my father was aware of the situation, and had promised her that we would be."

"Do you think Lucius has some sort of agreement with the Greengrass family?" Theo asked him curiously, "To promise the two of you together?"

"Even if he does, he cannot do anything to enforce it," Draco sighed, "He didn't create any betrothals for me growing up, and as an adult, he cannot create one now without my agreement. The magic wouldn't work otherwise. So he can make all the promises he wants, it won't change the fact that I have no future with Astoria."

"Because of Hermione Granger?" Blaise asked him curiously.

Draco groaned, "You know as well as I do that the article was mere speculation."

"It doesn't change the fact that you were with her when we were at school," Theo said calmly, and Blaise began to choke.

Draco turned to his friend questioningly, "How could you possibly know about that?" he asked Theo curiously. His first instinct would have been to deny it, but clearly his friend already knew the truth. Instead he let his curiosity get the better of him.

"You weren't always as discreet as you thought you were," Theo told him, shrugging. "The library isn't the best spot for snogging after all."

"We were always careful," Draco frowned, "We always had spells up to ensure no one saw."

"Wait," Blaise cut them off, "What do you mean you were with Hermione Granger when we were at school? How do you know about this?" he turned to Theo.

"There were a few times when the spell they used to disguise them took a moment too long to be cast," Theo grinned. "Don't worry, I always made sure no one else saw you two."

"Why didn't you tell us? Merlin, I knew you were pining way for her for the better part of our Hogwarts' years, but I never would have imagined that you actually had a relationship with her" Blaise questioned, "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked Theo.

"Because I figured Draco had a good reason for keeping his relationship a secret," Theo said calmly.

"We were in the middle of a war," Draco explained, "It wasn't that I didn't trust you two, but I couldn't risk anyone finding out and putting her in harm's way. I needed to protect her. From everything. She would have been in danger if our relationship was public. It was why I had to break up with her; she deserved far better than me. She deserved someone who could protect her, and keep her safe from harm."

"Someone like Weasley," Blaise snorted. They had all heard the rumours of how the man had drank too much and loved a little too freely. And it broke his heart to know Hermione was in such a marriage. He would have been lying as well if he wasn't relieved to find out that she had left the man in question. Even if it meant she still wouldn't be with him, she deserved happiness.

"So is there truth to the article?" Theo questioned, "Are you and Granger having an affair?"

"Of course not," Draco shook his head. "She's not that kind of person. She would never hurt anyone that way."

"But you still love her," Blaise surmised.

"I do," Draco nodded, "But she just ended her marriage, and she has a young daughter. I can hardly expect her to want to jump into anything else right away."

"But if she did come to you, would you get back together with her?" Theo questioned.

"In a heartbeat," Draco said with a sigh. It wouldn't do him any good to be lost in the hopes and dreams of what could have been. Not when he had blown his chance with Hermione. Because even after all these years, he still loved her, and he knew that it would never fade away.

Sensing his friend's conflict, his friends changed the subject, as they began to discuss the upcoming Quidditch match, and Draco found himself getting lost in the conversation.