Chapter 32
Draco knew something was wrong from the moment he was summoned downstairs that April day. He was rarely called down to see visitors unless it was the Dark Lord coming, and even then he was given far more notice than he had been.
He entered the Drawing Room where he saw his mother standing, next to three people who had undoubtedly been picked up by snatchers. But those who had so rarely made their way into his home; they went directly to the Ministry to face whatever atrocious crime they had supposedly committed.
And it sickened him; to know so many people were tortured and murdered each day because of ideals that people like his family held. It sickened him each day, worry about Hermione, and praying to Salazar that she was alright. That she never would find her way into their grubby hands who cared more for profit than morals.
"Draco, come here," His mother's cool voice said, and stoically he moved forward to where the three were standing. The dark-haired boy was facing the mirror, his face swollen with some hex or another, clearly cast to make him unidentifiable. But there was no mistaking those emerald green eyes.
His eyes flickered to the girl, and he felt his heart drop. Hermione. She looked at him pleadingly, begging for him not to give them away, and it took everything in his will power not to turn his wand on his Aunt and Father and help them escape right there and then, before things got worse.
"Well, Draco?" his father asked him expectantly, almost gleeful at what the implications of this could mean, "Is it Harry Potter?"
"I can't," his voice stuttered out, "I can't be sure."
He turned away, as his father and Greyback squabbled over who would receive the credit for capturing Harry Potter at last, and found himself cursing the boy. All he had to do was stay hidden, was to not do anything to get caught. To keep Hermione safe while they went on whatever mad quest they were on.
And if Harry Potter died today, he knew that the wizarding world would have no hope at survival. That Hermione would have no hope at survival. Because even if Draco turned his wand on his family now, it wouldn't save any of them. Not when he was the only one with a wand. He would be dead in an instant.
"Look Draco," His mother said, snapping his attention once more, "Isn't that the Granger girl?"
He forced his eyes to meet hers, begging her, pleading her to understand that he was just as much a prisoner as he was. That he also was unable to escape from his family's grasp."
"I…maybe…yeah," he choked out, hoping he wouldn't sound convincing. They wouldn't summon Voldemort here on uncertainty. But if he did come and found out that Draco refused to identify his former classmates that he had gone to school with for six years, he would be punished.
He wasn't sure of the exact moment when hell broke loose. One moment, Bellatrix had entered, and taken great glee at Harry Potter's capture, and the next she was yelling about a sword, stunning the Snatchers, and looking positively frightened, demanding to place all the prisoners in the cellar.
He had almost let out a breath of relief at that; he could get them out if they were in an isolated part of the house. He could get them out alive without anyone the wiser. He could grab a random wand; preferably his Aunt's, and use it to remove the spell on the Cellar. He could do it.
But then his aunt spoke again.
"Wait," she said, pausing with a smirk, "All except the mudblood."
No, his mind screamed out. Leaving her behind with his Aunt almost guaranteed her death. And why wouldn't it? Potter was the only one who mattered to them; the one Voldemort would reward them for. But Hermione was a muggleborn, and thus expendable."
He almost took a step forward, but he felt his mother grasp his shoulder tightly, giving him a warning look.
"Don't, Draco," she said, as Bellatrix began to question Hermione as to where they got the sword from. And when she refused to answer, he was forced to watch as she fell to the ground writhing in pain.
"May I be excused?" he forced out in a neutral voice. "I have no interest in watching mudbloods bleed all over the same room I like to enjoy my evening tea in. Ruins the peacefulness of it."
"Of course," Narcissa nodded, "Why don't you go check on the prisoners?"
He nodded curtly, tearing his eyes away from the spot where Hermione was left screaming on the ground of his home, feeling sick to his stomach. He walked quickly from the room, and when he was far enough, he spoke.
"Dobby," he said firmly, "Dobby, please come."
It took a moment, and in all honestly, he wasn't all that sure it would work.
"Little Master Draco?" the elf said, looking confused.
"Dobby, I know you do not serve our family anymore, but you have acknowledged Harry Potter as your friend, have you not?" he said quickly, not wanting to waste any more time. When the elf nodded he said, "Harry Potter is being held in the cellar of this house, alongside Ronald Weasley and a few others. In addition to that, Hermione Granger is in the drawing room as we speak. If I go down to the cellar and open it pretending to want to bring them in for more questioning, can you get them out? Can you get them all out of here and as far away as possible?"
The elf's eyes widened and he nodded vehemently, "Of course, Little Master Draco. I is saving them all," he paused for a moment.
"Please, do not tell anyone that I have asked this of you," Draco said again, "It would put me at great risk."
"Of course, Little Master," Dobby nodded, "You is a good boy."
Draco swallowed, thinking back to Hermione on the floor, as he walked to the cellar and called out, "Stand back. Line up back against the wall. Don't try anything or I'll kill you."
He opened the door and no sooner that he had entered, he was blinded by a bright light, as he heard the others talking to Dobby, asking them to get them out. He was overpowered, as his wand was stripped from him, as he let the others escape and watched as Potter and Wealsey ran forward to get Hermione, and he prayed that it would be enough.
And after giving them some time, he ran back upstairs to them, and watched as they fought, before Bellatrix held a silver dagger to Hermione's neck as she commanded him to take their wands.
And as the chandelier fell from the ceiling by Dobby's design, leaving him bloodied and battered, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as he saw Hermione escape, broken and cut up, but alive.
Draco couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, not daring to meet his mother's eye. He knew very well that she would know what had transpired and who had been responsible. And if anyone knew him, it was his mother, so it was more than likely that she knew just why it had transpired as well.
All that mattered was that Hermione was safe; she had gotten out of the house alright, and she was alive. It was more than he could have hoped for when she was brought in. She was okay, and while he wanted to curse his aunt for even looking at Hermione, he knew that now wasn't the time. Not now that Voldemort was going to show up in their home, wondering just who was responsible for helping Harry Potter and his friends escape his grasp once more.
He decided in that moment that he was done. He was done trying to stand on the other side of her though this war. He would fight to bring down Voldemort, and he wouldn't let his family dictate how his life
Draco watched as Harry stepped out of the holding cell, leaving Astoria in it, still rambling about how the two of them would end up together, one way or another.
He closed his eyes, furious at the woman still, wondering how she could be so obsessed with a title that she cared less about all the people she managed to hurt in the process.
How anyone could be so self-absorbed was utterly mind blowing.
"It's over, Draco," Harry said, looking at him with a frown. "Because she confessed to the entire thing with her attorney present and the prosecutor, she won't be getting a trial. Instead she'll face her sentence of life in Azkaban for attempted murder and line theft, because she's prevented Hermione from having any more children.
"Good," he said, face hardening. It was what she deserved. And while he was absolutely devastated that such a thing happened to Hermione, there was also the part of him that was terrified about what could have happened if the dosage was too high. If Hermione had died as a result, and he lost her forever from his life. And after everything the two of them had been through together, he couldn't bear to deal with the idea of losing her again, especially if she had lost her life because of him. Not when she had already suffered so much by his family's hand.
"Give Hermione my best, alright?" Harry said, giving him a nod, "And good luck tomorrow. Not that you really need it; everyone with eyes can see that the two of you are meant to be together."
He smiled softly, knowing fully well what Harry was referring to, and he felt his heart pound faster.
He left the cold room behind, as he headed home, to his daughter and to the love of his life.
Hermione woke up, tangled in Draco's sheets as the rays of sunlight hit her face gently. She rolled over, and saw that Draco's side of the bed was cold, and wondered just how long it had been since he had gotten up. And from the giggling she heard in the kitchen, she had a very good idea of just where he had gone.
She smiled to herself, as she took a moment to wake up. It had been a few weeks since she had been discharged from the hospital and since she had won the case against the Wizengamot. She still felt fatigue and pain from time to time, but the Healers had assured her that it would slowly fade given time.
And once she was discharged, she had been unsure of what it meant for her future. She knew that she and Rose couldn't keep living at Harry's for the rest of their lives. They needed to move on, to a new chapter in their life. And if that meant finding a place in Diagon Alley for just the two of them, then that would be what she did.
But no sooner that she had even considered broaching the subject with Draco had he stopped her right there and then, and given her another option. He was fine if she wanted to move out on her own for a bit, but he was serious about his feelings for her. And as such if she wanted to, and thought it was in both her and Rose's best interest, he wanted them to move in with him.
It had given her pause for a moment. While his flat was large enough for them, she needed to make sure that he wasn't offering out of obligation. And he most certainly wasted no time in showing her just how serious he was about his offer.
And so, she found herself and Rose moved in with Draco, and in all honesty, she couldn't be happier. Seeing Rose and Draco spend time together, as he showered her with love and affection was everything she could have hoped for. Her daughter deserved to have parents who loved her unconditionally and would always put her first.
Maybe one day, Ron would be a part of her life; he was her father after all, but he had a long way to go to clean up his act.
But regardless of whether he managed to do so or not, she knew that Draco would always be there for Rose. He would love her as if she were his own, and make sure she was always happy.
She loved Draco; she knew that much. She loved him more than life itself. And while it had taken them years to find their way back to each other, to grow into the people they were meant to become, she loved him just as strongly as she did when they were in school; she loved him even more than she did back then, when they were two kids who were scared of what the world outside the walls of Hogwarts held for them.
She loved him, and spending the last few weeks living with him only cemented her feelings for him. She went home from work happy, and not with a sense of dread, worried about her husband's drinking problem. She went home wanting to see Draco. And the two of them rotated work schedules, to pick up Rose from Molly after they were done, so that someone would always be home in time for dinner, if not the both of them.
She loved everything about their new life together. She loved waking up in Draco's arms each morning, and going on lunch dates with him. She loved that they still worked together, just as they had before. She loved that he kept things profession when they needed to, but didn't hesitate to show her affection when they had a free moment. She loved that when they were done working, and Rose was asleep, that they could spend the evening together, reading, talking, or just enjoying each other's company.
She loved Draco Malfoy, and every day only cemented her feelings for him.
She sat up when she heard the giggling increase as it made its way down the hall, and she smiled to herself as her daughter threw open the door and looked at her with a frown.
"You're supposed to be asleep," Rose said with a frown. "I was supposed to wake you up."
Hermione patted the spot on the bed beside her, "I just woke up, Darling. How about you come join me for a bit?"
Her daughter grinned as she jumped onto the bed and nestled herself into Hermione's side.
Seconds later, Draco appeared in the doorway, holding a tray of food, as his hair looked tussled from cooking. He was wearing his night clothes still and she couldn't help but grin at the sight of him, looking domestic and happy.
"Good morning," he greeted her, as he pressed a kiss onto her cheek.
"Morning," she responded, as he placed the tray of food down in front of her, with enough food for the three of them. "What brought this on?"
She looked at the tray, filled with two cups of tea and orange juice for Rose, bacon, eggs, and toast. There was a vase filled with Roses in the centre of the platter.
But her face froze slightly when she saw it; the velvet box in the middle of the platter.
"Draco," she murmured slightly, and he took the box from the centre into his hand and got down on one knee, opening it up to reveal a diamond right, wrapped in a dragon and an otter on the band.
"Hermione Granger," he spoke, looking into her eyes, and she felt her heart beat faster. hated you when I met you, because you were everything I've always wanted, but were everything I was told to hate. And I'll be the first to admit that I was a right prat to you throughout most of our years of school. But something happened in sixth year, when we were paired together for that arithmacy assignment and you wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed to work on it with you. Until that point in my life, no one else had put in that much of an effort to try and know me, and I was hardly the easiest person to know when we were in sixth year. You fought for me, and believed in me, even when I couldn't believe in myself. And you showed me that I could be the man that I wanted to be, not who I was told I needed to be."
He paused then, and Hermione held her hand to her mouth, as silent tears poured down her face as he spoke.
"I love you, Hermione Granger. I've loved you for the past seven years, and I promise you, I will love you for the rest of my life. I want to spend every morning waking up to you, and every night holding you. I want to spend my days enjoying your company, with Rose, and any other children we chose to adopt. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Hermione, making you the happiest woman alive, because you make me the happiest man. Will you marry me?"
She looked at her daughter, who was beaming brightly, and she turned back to Draco, nodding, "Yes, Draco! I'll marry you."
He slipped the ring onto her finger, and pressed a kiss onto her lips, as he cupped her face tenderly.
"I love you too," she murmured, as he sat down on the bed beside her, holding her hand still.
"She said yes!" Rose sang out, and Hermione hugged her daughter closer to her side.
"How long did you know, Rose?" She asked her daughter.
"Since Draco asked me if he could marry you, and I said yes," her daughter beamed back up at her. "Does this mean we all get to live together forever?"
"Yes, my Darling," Hermione said, heartwarming as she looked at Draco, feeling overwhelmed that he had gone through so much effort for her. "It means that we'll be together forever."
"Until the end of time," Draco promised Rose, "Until the stars stop shining and the earth stops spinning, but even then, I'll still love you both."
Hermione grinned at him, feeling warmth in her chest. It had taken her years to find her way back to Draco, but here they were, living together, and engaged. And after all these years, they were ready to start a life together.