AHH! I am so sorry everyone, this chapter did not upload properly before Chapter 43 was released… I've deleted both and started again. Hopefully things were not fully ruined before it was taken down xx

CHAPTER 42

October 24th 2001

Draco Malfoy sat at his office desk, scribbling administrative nonsense that had built up over his time away. His hand cramped from the amount of times he had to re dip his quill into the ink, continuously having to sign parchment over the last three days that needed his approval. Turns out a department cannot do much whilst their leader was in protective hiding.

There had been radio silence since the day he and Hermione returned from the safehouse. Not a single threat pressed their way, and Draco was starting to feel more on edge than ever. Something was coming. All they had to do was just sit and away until it did.

A light tap knocked on his door, giving him an excuse to finally stop writing all afternoon.

"Come in." He called out.

Looking up from the parchment, his heart sank slightly at the sight of Astoria walking in. Her lips pressed to a tight smile.

There had been nothing but tension between the two since Draco returned to the wizarding world. Following their meet up at the ministry foyer, he broke their fake arrangement off once they got to Astoria's apartment. She took it well, suspecting it was because he and Hermione were together but asked if they could wait a while before they announced it to the public. Draco agreed, seeing it was best until they found who was torturing his family.

Only now they still had to see each other at work.

"I am sorry for interrupting, Mr Malfoy." Astoria apologised. "I am just here to grab those papers from Monday. Doorson has been quite persistent on seeing them on his desk by the end of the day."

"Not a problem, Astoria. Please, take what you need."

Draco gathered everything that she required and handed it over briskly. Her hand accidentally brushed his in the exchange. He flinched back awkwardly, trying not to look her in the eye while she desperately tried to look into his. The only thing speaking was the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.

Astoria's heels echoed as she sauntered out of the room. Draco groaned, pushing both hands through his hair and leaning back against his seat. He hoped Kingsley was in the mood to start promoting his receptionists, allowing him to leave his office at some point in his life.

Then, a second knock rapped on Draco's door.

"Come in." He said again, with a little more annoyance.

Only this time, someone who made his heart skip a beat walked in.

"Hi." Hermione greeted.

"Hello." He returned, biting down the grin forming on his mouth.

Draco swiveled his chair as she came to sit on the brim of his desk just in between his legs. Her wand flicked a locking spell on the door, and silencing charm over the room. If it weren't for the concern on Hermione's face, he would have thought they were about to break some workplace laws.

"I wanted to stop and say goodbye before I leave for the final dress fitting at my apartment this evening." She said ever so sadly.

"You are going to have to tell Weasley's mother that you are not marrying her son at some point. I find it ridiculous you are being forced to pretend as if the wedding is still happening."

"We both know why I cannot do that. Until then, I am happy to go along with whatever plan Harry has for the sake of keeping you alive. Even if that means putting on a gown that is far too tight for an hour."

Their knees knocked as they spoke with bowed heads. As much as Draco hated the idea of sending her away to lie to the people closest to her, he knew better than to question Potter's strategies. Prick got away with everything else in his life, might as well lean on that luck while they could.

"Tell me about your day." He grabbed her hands in an attempt to lighten the heavy mood. "Are you drowning in as much work as I am?"

She gave a breathy laugh. "Not as quite. You see I am a much more efficient worker than you and happen to know all the best charms to support that fact."

"Is that right?" He gave a teasing smoulder.

"I'm afraid so."

They kissed in the nicest way Draco had ever been kissed. Gently, sweetly and casually, like it was the most natural thing for them to do. It was the warmest feeling he could have felt. Home.

"It feels wrong, don't you think?" Hermione asked as she took her face away but kept her hands intertwined with his. "Being this happy? I keep waiting for someone to burst through the door and blast me with a curse. Or worse, I hear someone burst through your door and blast you with a curse. Is it bad that I want someone to hurt me?"

"I don't think it's bad. I think there is more happening than we realise, we just have to wait it out."

He pulled her onto his lap so that her arms wrapped around his neck and his palm lay flat on the hemming of her skirt. Her skin was cold and yet still inviting.

"Come over tonight." She laced her fingers through his hair. "I'll be finished with the fitting by 6."

"I have yet to spend a night in my own house since we returned, you know this?"

"Do you want to go back to our own house?"

"Not if it means leaving you alone."

Draco loved how many freckles were splattered across the bridge of her nose. In the daytime there seemed to be so much more than what he tried to count at night. It was the one thing that helped him fall asleep. Even now while they scrunched up with her smile, he still wanted to count every single one of them.

"I will be there." He promised her, giving one last kiss goodbye before watching her leave. The limp was ever so obvious as she walked, reminding Draco that as peaceful as he felt, there was still a target on their backs.

An hour passed before a dent was made in the pile of parchment on his desk. He grew frustrated in not remembering any spells to make the slow process any faster, and regretted not asking Hermione before she left.

Draco shook the cramp out of his hand for the thousandth time as his office fireplace lit up with green flames. His mother, of all people, stood poised without a speck of dirt on her robes. A red lip to oppose her cool glare.

"Mother." He clenched his jaw in anticipation for the inevitable lecture.

"Draco." She stepped to take a seat across from him. "It is lovely to see you back at work once more."

"You hate my work."

"Not entirely, my boy. It is just not… my first preference for your future."

To most people that would have sounded harsh for a mother to say to their son, but to Draco this was one of the kindest things Narcissa had ever said to him since he decided to work for the ministry. It was suspicious.

He eyed her up and down. "What do you want, mother?"

"To know where you and Miss Granger stand."

"Why?"

"Because when your father returns I will need to find a reasonable explanation as to why his son abandoned his family home."

An aggressive wrath started to boil within Draco. He was struggling to find the restraint to not pour his built feelings out to his mother. In order to compose himself he clasped his hands tightly, knuckles bruising from the immense pressure.

"I want to make one thing very clear to you, mother. If and when the day father returns, I will be the one to tell him of why I left the manor. I will be the one to confess that it was not because of the abuse I endured under that household, or the unattainable expectations that were held over my head… It was because I refused to stand for the generations of prejudice that our family has agreed with. People like us killed good people for the sake of staying pure, and how you sleep peacefully at night, I will never know. I am in love with Hermione Granger. Unashamed, unapologetic and unrepentant. I want to give her a life that is filled with the happiness that she fought for, and will kill anyone who stands in my way. Is that clear?"

Narcissa's jaw tightened as she soaked in her son's words. Her nose flared and throat swallowed at being faced with the truth. Truth that was going to tear her family apart for the second time.

"Is that clear?" Draco almost spat as he repeated himself.

"Y-yes."

Naricssa bowed her head gracefully before standing from her seat. The lack of words between them revealed a mother's surrender in letting her child be who he wanted to be. Whether or not she agreed with his decision, Draco was not sure, but it was relieving to proudly stand on his own feet.

He remained still with his eyes focused on the quill at the edge of his desk while his mother ambled to the floo. For a second it looked as if she wanted to speak once more but retreated from the need. It wasn't until she had completely disappeared from the office that Draco let go of the breath he was holding in.

It was almost 6 o'clock. He needed to get out of his office, or he was going to go insane.

Emerald flames swirled across his eyes as a pull at his stomach twisted him to Hermione's apartment. Her living room was dark, bar a few lamps that were left on. Draco stepped out of the fireplace with caution over how quiet it was.

"Hermione?" He called out.

"I'm in here!" Her voice echoed from down the hall and into the bedroom.

Draco followed, leading him to find her by the mirror still dressed in the wedding gown. White silk flowed to the floor, thin sleeves sitting on her shoulders that fell to the lower back complimented by a string of pearls on the lining. She looked like heaven.

Her hair was pinned, showing the scars that scattered across her back. They weren't as raw as they once were but still just as savage.

Hermione looked at him through the reflection of the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and stained pink.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked softly from the doorway.

She sniffed, turning to reveal the full view of the heart cut shape on her chest. "I-I forgot about my scars. The looks on Ginny and Molly's faces… they-they were so worried."

A magnetic draw pulled him to her. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her apologetically. Hermione couldn't hold back the cries that escaped her lips anyway.

Draco wiped them away with his thumbs. "What did you tell them?"

"Nothing, I got flustered and yelled at them to leave. I feel so guilty and embarrassed all at the same time. All this lying, it's hurting people it shouldn't."

She was too good for him. Too pure. Draco hated being out of control and having no enemy to chase after to fix it all. It was slowly chipping at his soul just like this faceless bastard wanted.

He pulled her into an embrace, letting his chin fall on the top of her head. In the reflection of the mirror he liked the way that they looked together. An all black suit, a white gown. A small glimpse into what a wedding with Hermione could ever look like. It didn't feel so foregin, and didn't look so strange. Despite his views on marriage, perhaps it wasn't so out of reach either.

His fingers traced the lining of every scar he could touch. Careful not to press too hard, but gentle enough to notice the goosebumps forming.

"Do you like the dress?" Hermione asked into his chest.

"More than I can express. Weasley didn't deserve to see you in it."

She smiled as she tilted her head to look up at him. Draco released the pins in her hair to let it fall gracefully, just how he liked it. Wild and uncontrollable.

"Tell me something…" She pursed her lips. "Were you telling the truth when you told me you had to leave the country instead of coming to the wedding? Or did you not want to be there for other reasons?"

He was tempted to lie, but found no reason to. "It was not a matter of not wanting to be there. I don't think I could be there."

"I understand. In a way, I think I was glad that you weren't coming. To be completely honest, I wasn't ever sure if I had the courage to make it down that aisle."

"Hermione Granger without courage?" Draco sarcastically gasped. "Why I never!"

"Shut up." She slapped his back in their embrace. "Who knows, maybe if you were in the crowd that day I would have been a runaway bride."

"You really think that in front of all those people you would have left Weasley for the death eater? Come on, Granger. Be realistic here."

"There is more to you than the fact that you were a death eater. And, yes. I probably would have."

Draco hummed. "I guess we will never know."

There was a certainty that floated within her eyes. Assured that whatever life either of them lived, eventually they would have found each other. Whether that was forever, Draco was not sure. He clung onto the hope that it was, but had been disappointed far too many times by his own convictions to trust it.

Letting her arms go, he spun her around so that she faced the mirror once more. He moved her hair to sit over her shoulder, and undid every button with tender affection. His mouth, lowering to hover over her neck. She shivered at the touch of the sleeves falling off her arms.

Unsure of what came over him, Draco grabbed the dress at the small of her back and ripped it down the centre. Hermione flinched as her purity disappeared with every tear.

"You don't need this anymore." He fell to his knees to worship at her altar. "You are mine now."

She gasped as he pulled her very thin layer of underwear down. Kissing her cheeks before throwing the panties across the room. Hermione let the gown slip from her shoulders and collapse on the floor. She turned to let him rest his lips on her stomach. "Mine." He repeated just to make sure she knew.

Draco held her at her hips while trailing down to where she was most ticklish. She hissed as his mouth found what it was looking for. Tongue twirling in order to hear that sound again. He felt her struggling to stay standing the longer he played around, gripping at his hair for support. For the sake of both of their pleasure, he gave one last lick and stood back onto his feet.

It wasn't long before she had thrown his shirt off and pushed him against the closed door. Her hands fumbled at the belt of his trousers, stepping back to let him toss them away. Draco picked her up by the waist and let her cling onto him while he rested on the wall. Their mouths were like a consuming fire, burning to devour one another as much as they could.

Hermione was like an instrument that Draco wanted to perfectly tune, touching her right to make the most glorious noises. Noises that were delicious to the ear, unforgettable and addictive. Her face was glowing in sweat and as was his. Their bodies radiating heat while they grinded.

Finding his patience growing thin, Draco took them across the room. Kissing her on the bed was even better than it had been against the wall. Now he knew what she liked and the moves that made her gasp, sinking her nails into his shoulders. Momentarily, he noticed they weren't as sharp as Pansy's used to be, and then all thoughts of Pansy left his mind.

He moved like a flash, flipping her to be pinned against the mattress. Mouths never parted as bodies pressed against each other. Her legs curled around his back, pushing him so close that there was no doubt she could feel how hard he was. The only thing in between them was a mere layer of underwear and Draco was desperate to know if she was wet.

Keeping one hand on her pinned wrists, he used his other to take off his briefs. Draco settled himself between her legs. She cradles his hips with her thighs. He gave her one last kiss before entering her. His throat caught with a moan at how tight she still was. Hermione arched her back but didn't resist the grip he held on her hands. Her movements made him sink in deeper and they both loved it.

As his thrusts gain to a steady tempo, her breasts bounce to the same rhythm. Breaths heavy in each other's ears.

Letting go of her wrists, Draco sucked on her nipples before bringing his face to meet hers. "Turn around." He said suddenly in a gruffed whisper.

He pulled himself out of her to let her obliged his request. She crawled over to lean only on her knees, cheek pressed against a pillow. Draco was not careful when he lowered into her, he was thirsty to have her like this. It was how he had imagined it when he dreamt about her after the Yule Ball. Only in his dream there was a blue dress scrunched up in his fists.

His bottom lip grew sore from being bitten down on. His brow dampened from sweat. He was tired but needed so much more of her. Wandering hands sought after the curls that clung to her back, folding them until her head was tilted back. Keeping his rhythm at bay, Draco leaned down to kiss her. Their lips clashing with every thrust.

They changed positions twice more until Hermione came with a scream. Her legs quaked to the beat of his thrusts in their sideward motion. He loved the sound of his name on her tongue. It made him feel things that words lacked in description.

Draco nibbled at her ear in the minute she needed to gather herself. He had a sense that she wasn't completely done yet, and wanted to reward him for his good deeds. There was not a single syllable of denial in his vocabulary.

"Get on your back." Hermione puffed, pushing him to obey her command. "I want you to watch me."

The demand alone was enough to make Draco crumble beneath her, but instead he simply nodded in return. Her hands were steady on his chest as she lowered onto him.

"Fuck, Hermione." She rocked and his eyes rolled back into his head. The strength of what was building was staggering. Mind blowing and earth shattering. If she stopped he would beg. Beg and groan for more.

She gripped his jaw to ensure that he was watching her sway back and forth. Their eyes never broke eye contact.

He came roughly with every muscle drawn as tight as they could. It was almost too much. Almost.

Hermione kissed his chest as he calmed his breath, yet to remove himself from her. She sat graciously upon his lap, holding her hair up to cool off her neck. All Draco could physically do was just watch her in awe. He was so fucking in love.

The remainder of their night was filled with laughter spread between cotton bed sheets. Hermione read aloud while Draco listened with adoration. He cherished the way in which she brought words on a page to life, so passionate that she dove him into the worlds he was hearing.

At the closing of the final chapter he tossed the book onto the bedside table and curled her into his arms. They laid in a comfortable quiet for minutes on end. Draco had never known the silent rage of being loved until this week. It was invigorating and weakening all at the same time.

"Have… Have you ever thought that there is a possibility that whoever is torturing your family has just gotten bored?" Hermione asked.

Draco sighed, skeptical on whether or not it was time to admit defeat. "It has crossed my thoughts but I doubt my father would have stayed in the shadows if they had."

"You think he would have made a show about being under the imperius curse?"

"Definitely."

He would never admit it, but Draco was more terrified than he let out. Every second of every day he was scared. Scared that the consequences of his selfish choicesould plague all those around him, more so than they already had. If given the opportunity to take it all back, run to the past and fall into the role his family wanted him to play he probably would. Maybe then his heart wouldn't be so burdened by guilt.

"Something needs to happen." Hermione began to sound frustrated, and the way her fist clenched against his bare stomach resembled that. "It's too peaceful. We're back and wide open targets. Why isn't this person coming to get us?"

"He's probably just working on his grand finale, building suspense to really press in on us."

"No that's not it. It's like whoever this is knows our every next move. Like they're on the in-"

She pushed herself up to face him before finishing her sentence. Eyes scattering with solutions dancing in her brain.

"What?" Draco sat up onto his forearms, watching as she connected all the strings together. It was a marvelous thing to witness.

"They're on the inside. Draco… It's Astoria."