Chapter 18

Draco Malfoy sat across from Hermione as she nervously chewed her quill, while revising her Charms notes. Despite the fact that she had picked up on most of the charms taught well into the yearned exams, she knew that she could only maintain her level of precision with constant revision and practice. And so she read over her notes, making corrections about wand movements and on how to properly cast each spell.

"Merlin, Granger," Malfoy said looking up at her annoyed, "If you keep chewing that quill, you're going to have to borrow another one from me. I'm already running low enough as it is, and I would appreciate not having to spend my next Hogsmeade trip stocking up on school supplies."

She looked up at him sheepishly, "Sorry, bad habit."

"Doesn't the feathers in your mouth irritate her?" he asked her, looking confused.

"I charm it not to fall apart in my mouth," she admitted, looking at the quill in question. "I'll buy you a new set next weekend, I promise."

He shook his head at her, "Don't worry about it, Granger," he said, looking more amused than annoyed at this point.

It wasn't as if conversations between the two of them were entirely rare, however it had started off as minimal. Usually it was to talk over school subjects, ask the other to look over an essay, or to correct the other on something they were doing incorrectly, such as wand movement, or pronunciation.

It started off as minimal details about their personal lives. She made a point not to mention Harry and Ron while she was around him, and he made a point not to mention Voldemort or being a Death Eater. Thankfully, he didn't seem to want to talk about Quidditch either, which relieved her. She was constantly surrounded by friends who wanted to discuss the latest school match, or even the professional games and who they thought would win.

Sometimes she wondered if the world would still spin for them if Quidditch did not exist.

Malfoy, on the other hand, was something else. He allowed her to discuss theories and practices. He even argued back on their various discussions on subjects, such as the benefits to crushing roots over shredding them.

And it was refreshing. Compared to her friends who groaned when she tried to have similar discussions with them. He didn't seem to mind the discussions with her, and he didn't always agree with her. Instead, he offered his own input and counterarguments, giving her something to think about.

She shouldn't have been surprised, really. He was only second behind her in their year. He might not have flaunted his intelligence in class, but he was smart.

Sometimes during their discussions, she would feel her heart begin to race as they heatedly discussed a topic. It was strange, because they were only talking about academic matters, but it was exhilarating to have someone to talk to about it. Someone who didn't groan when she started to speak. Someone who seemed to respect her thoughts but didn't need her to feed them the answers. She felt her stomach flutter at the thought of someone who she could be herself around.

Merlin.

There was no way.

It couldn't have been possible, could it?

There was no bloody way. She was not falling for him. She couldn't be, right? He was Draco Malfoy for Merlin's sake! She couldn't have a crush on him! Not after everything they had been through! Not with their past.

But he hadn't treated her that way in months. For all she knew he was changing. For all she knew he didn't see her as Potter's mudblood pet anymore. Hell, he still came to their study sessions, right? So he couldn't still think of her the same way, could he?"

"Granger?" she heard Malfoy ask her tentatively. "Are you okay? You look like someone's told you that you flunked everything."

"I-uh," she stammered, "I need to go, Malfoy. I'll see you later."

She gathered up her books quickly, as she ran out of the library, and into a corridor that was relatively abandoned, before stopping to catch her breath.

She was not falling for Draco Malfoy. She wouldn't allow it. She didn't care how much she seemed to enjoy spending time with him, she refused to fall for him. It wasn't right. She wouldn't fall for him.

For Godric's sake, it was pure madness to even be having this discussion with herself. She wouldn't be surprised if Malfoy still hated her. They weren't friends after all. A war was coming, and she knew he would be on the other side of it. In all honestly, he was probably simply tolerating her, letting her study with him to make her feel like she had the upper hand. Or maybe he was trying to pull one over on her. Maybe he wanted her to let her guard down and to let him in, before he destroyed her. It was no secret that she was close to Harry Potter. And how better to bring down Harry than to destroy his friends?

She felt a nagging feeling in the back of her head that she was wrong; that it wasn't like that at all, but she didn't know what to believe, not anymore.

She couldn't fall for him. Not now. Not with the war brewing out there. Not with Harry already with a full plate. She needed to push whatever adolescent feelings she seemed to be having aside, and go back to doing what she did best: focusing on school work.

She stood up straight and took a deep breath, calming herself, as she walked back to the Gryffindor common room, not once dropping her mask.

Lucius hexed the newspaper in front of him, watching it light up into a ball of fire, in anger. He watched his son wrapped around that mudblood gold digging whore as she clawed him in public, disgracing them.

How dare his son act so insolently in public? To accept such displays of emotions from a woman with no history to her name. A woman with no strong family ties or with such dirty blood.

And it had to be her. Potter's mudblood bitch. The one who had stood by this side as their master fell.

Lucius did not like taking orders from any man, but there was a certain pleasure in knowing Voldemort would bring them the world they desired. A world free of scum and disgrace. A world that was solely theirs.

Yet his son had deemed it fit to throw away everything Lucius had taught him like a randy teenager wanting a bloody shag.

After he had worked so hard to secure an alliance with the Greengrass family for his son. After he had worked so hard on trying to restore their family name after the war. On rebuilding themselves from disgrace.

Only to be repaid as such. What the bloody hell did his son think he was accomplishing by whoring himself out to a woman who had just gotten divorced and had a child already? A woman who was clearly using him to come out on top of her divorce and have another husband, lined up. One who was rich and could allow her to never have to work another day in her life.

"I see you saw the paper then," Rodolphus sneered as he watched Lucius casting curses on various items in the temporary home that Rodolphus had set up for himself. Despite having been on the run, the use of a fidelius charm was rather helpful when it came to wanting to evade Aurors. All one had to do was make themselves the secret keeper and then remain hard to find.

"That mudblood bitch has seen fit to assault my son in public," Lucius snarled. "He's been ignoring all my letters on the future I have attempted to secure for him. Why he insists on throwing it all away for her, I'll never know. Astoria Greengrass is a good match, and Merlin knows if she still would want him after this disgusting display that he just put on."

"Perhaps your son just needs a little distraction," Rodolphus suggested, "One to make him forget all about how the Granger girl exists."

"I'm not casting a spell on my son," Lucius shook his head, "Not yet anyways. No, you're right about him needing proper motivation though. But not the kind you're suggesting. He can't be distracted by something that doesn't exist anymore."

Rodolphus' eyes widened, as he broke into a grin, "Do you mean-?"

"I want to proceed as planned," Lucius said coolly. "The sooner the better. I do not want this problem dragging out any longer than it has to. Besides, we're nearly ready to cast it, do you not think? We're only missing a few ingredients now. Might as well speed up procuring them, and cast this as soon as possible. Kill two owls with one curse, so to speak."

She woke up to the sound of giggles and food. Hermione rolled over, to see what time it was, and a small smile on her face emerged at the sight of it only being eight in the morning. Her daughter was like her in a lot of aspects, and sleeping in was never something Rose was able to master.

The bed she was in seemed unfamiliar, and she remembered going over to Draco's for a date that night, a family dinner between the three of them to allow Rose and Draco a proper chance to bond. She smiled as she remembered her daughter asking him all sorts of questions, about what he did, about his cases, and his life. She had blushed when Rose asked him if he was in love with her Mummy, and when he had hesitated then answered truthfully, Rose had hugged him tightly.

They had stayed late, and Rose had drifted off, so Draco offered the two of them the guest bedroom. She had been grateful for that, for while she cared about him, she really didn't want to have to explain to her daughter why Mummy and Draco where sharing a bed.

She got up then, realizing her daughter and Draco must already be up for the day. And while she did enjoy sleeping in now and then, she'd rather spend the time with the two of them. She slipped on some outer robes, as she walked into the kitchen, to see Rose sitting at the counter, while Draco was scrambling eggs. He was still in his sleepwear, and his hair was tussled slightly from the night. She smiled at the sight as Draco was telling Rose stories from the Tales of Beedle the Bard, which he seemed to be reciting from memory.

"Morning," she said softly, as she walked around to them, placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead. Draco smiled at the sight of her, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing him chastely.

"Morning," he grinned as he cupped her face. She looked over at her daughter, wanting to make sure she was okay with the interaction. She hadn't really been intimate with Ron in front of her, and she was unsure of how Rose would react, despite knowing the two of them were together.

But to her delight, Rose simply giggled as she saw Hermione kiss Draco, and she felt her fears melt away.

"You slept forever, Mummy," Rose complained softly, as Hermione moved to help Draco by setting the table.

"Yes," Draco teased her, "It was a long half hour that you slept in for."

She laughed at that, "I'm so sorry, my loves. I must have been truly exhausted to have slept in for that extra time."

"Well you've had a lot going on," Draco excused her with a grin.

"I did," she admitted, as they silently communicated on just how exhausting her divorce proceedings were. Rose didn't know exactly what had happened, but she knew her daughter understood enough. And while she didn't care for Ron, it was hardly appropriate for her to be insulting her ex-husband in front of her daughter.

"Can we go to the bookstore later?" Rose asked, as Draco filled up her plate of toast, sausages, and eggs.

"She really is your daughter, isn't she?" Draco laughed as he smiled softly at her.

"Of course, Darling," Hermione smiled, "My daughter is very well rounded, I'll have you know," she said in a falsely haughty voice.

"I never doubted it for a moment," he grinned, "She probably will take after you in Hogwarts. Brightest witch of her age, and all."

She grinned as she watched Rose eat, and something inside of her felt complete. As if she had found something she had been missing all these years. A proper family, with Draco. And while neither of them wanted to rush their relationship, she wanted this; she wanted to wake up next to him every morning, and to have breakfast as a family. She wanted to have more kids with him, when they were ready, and have Rose be a big sibling to them all. She wanted to have a life with him.

She might have been just divorced, but for the first time in her life, she truly felt free. As if she could make the choices she wanted, and as if a great burden had been lifted off of her. It would be difficult, yes, but she would be free from Ron, and the abuse she had long suffered at his hands.

She was happy, and that was all she needed.

Hermione was exhausted. Since her divorce, she had been trying to leave work at a reasonable time, which often meant she woke up earlier to work at home for a bit before going in. And knowing her, once Rose was asleep, she would spend a few more hours trying to get things done. It was exhausting, but it was the price of trying to balance a work and home life. She needed to be able to do so if she would make things work for Rose's sake.

But at least she didn't have to worry about returning home to find a husband who had likely passed away from drinking too much, or if he was still awake, he'd start up an argument with her; one she had long since grown tired of having.

Since the proceedings a few days ago, she had many people drop into her office, wanting to ask her all sorts of things. She had people offer her their congratulations at being Miss Granger again. She had old friends drop in who were shocked Ron ever could turn abusive, for that wasn't the person he had been back when they were in school. She had friends drop in who admitted they knew she wasn't happy in her marriage, and had wished they could have been there for her. Hell, her secretary even told her that the Prophet wouldn't stop calling as they wanted an interview with her in regards to what had happened. And better yet, they wanted to know just how she felt about Draco Malfoy. There were even rumours circling around that Draco was secretly Rose's father.

However despite the few malicious rumours, the majority of the public opinion seemed to favour her, and for that she was grateful. She had been painted as a villain far too many times than she would have liked. And despite having a low amount of faith in the Daily Prophet, she had to admit that she did enjoy when they actually got the facts right for once.

She sighed as she packed up her bag, slipping her wand and other items into it before walking towards the apparation point.

She looked down, as she moved through the halls, which were long since empty. She knew the rest of her co-workers had left work the moment the clock struck four, and she was probably the only one who still even was here at this time. It was normal to her, however, as she was used to walking this path late at night, when it was even darker.

Hermione turned around the corner then, as she heard quiet footsteps behind her. She shrugged it off, as she figured it was most likely just another person who had stayed late. It wasn't all that uncommon for there to be a few others who stayed late as well, as she had made friends with the select few who didn't leave as soon as the work day officially ended.

She heard the footsteps being to quicken, and at that she turned around, curious to see who it was who was behind her. But she couldn't see a single person there. She raised her eyebrows, a disillusionment charm? Why would someone need it at the moment? It wasn't as if they were in the middle of the war era. Nor was she in an area where Aurors regularly surveilled.

Which meant that someone was under the charm because they were following her.

She tried to reach for her wand carefully, without drawing too much attention to herself, as she turned to walk back to the point calmly. It was just a few metres away, as long as she could reach it, she would be fine.

She could feel the fear begin to fill her body, terrifying her as she wondered just who it was that was following her. Was it someone who disagreed with her divorce, or was it Ron himself, who had been furious at the outcome? Or did it have to do with something else entirely?

She subtly picked up her pace, as she moved closer, and closer, and just as she reached the point, she began to prepare for apparation.

"Stupefy!" A voice called out, just as she began, as she fell to the ground. She saw a man standing over her, with a leer on his face, as slowly, the world went dark all around her.