Chapter 14

Last night I had a dream that felt like a memory. A glimpse of what could have been. Crossed signals from another life.

Where instead of all this, I had you.

And life was exquisitely simple. And we were desperately happy.

-Lang Leav

Present Time: January 2001

"The second one was handsome but he wasn't very tall," Daphne was saying. "He's a few inches taller than me when I'm not wearing shoes, but in heels we're the same height and I'd prefer-"

"Daphne!" Hermione snapped, banging her hand on the table.

Daphne jumped. She had invaded Draco and Hermione's first meeting in the new year to catch Hermione up on all the dates she'd gone on over the holidays. Draco was glad Hermione was cutting this off, as he'd already heard about Daphne's dates ad nauseum and didn't need a repeat.

"Choose the one you got on with best, regardless of height," Hermione said, obviously frustrated.

Draco tried to suppress a smirk at the affronted look on Daphne's face. If she knew Hermione as was well as Draco did, she would have turned around the moment she walked into the office today, since it was clear Hermione wasn't in the mood for frivolous conversation.

She was disheveled, holding her hair up with quills again, and radiating stress. Draco knew when Hermione was in these moods the best way to handle her was to speak in low, calm tones and offer to help in any way he could.

"What gives you the right to yell at me like that?" Daphne asked, getting upset herself.

Draco sighed. Just what he needed, two angry witches. He grabbed his wand in his pocket and cast a mild Disillusionment Charm on himself - just enough to blur him out a bit, reducing his chances of getting pulled into the fray.

Hermione was unphased by the cold glare Daphne was shooting at her (one that typically caused salespeople and waiters to tremble in fear). "I am at work, Daphne. I don't have time for this."

"If you hadn't canceled our shopping trip yesterday, I wouldn't have had to barge into this meeting, would I?"

"I canceled because I'm busy! I have three drafts to review before my meeting with the Ministry Worker rep tomorrow, two proposals that need final editing before the Elders convene on Friday, and I also have to review feedback on the round of laws they reviewed at the end of the year - something I haven't touched but also need to complete by Friday - somehow."

She stopped to take a breath and Draco saw Daphne open her mouth to speak, but he knew Hermione wasn't finished yet. Before Daphne got a word out, Hermione continued her rant.

"Meanwhile, the dishes continue to pile up and it's become so bad I've started eating over the sink in my bathroom since I don't have time to clean a dish (not even by magic!). I'm currently wearing my last pair of clean knickers and there is a large leak in my roof that I'm pretty sure I can't fix by magic - since I live in a Muggle building and don't want to raise any questions, but that means I need to find a Muggle handyman, find a time I can get off work to meet him, and remove all traces of magic from my place before then - which are tasks I have no time for."

"Oh," Daphne said, clearly at a loss for words. Her previously angry expression was sympathetic now. She placed a tentative hand on Hermione's arm. "Would you like me to send a house elf over to help with any of that?"

Hermione closed her eyes and looked like she was going to cry.

"Seriously, Daphne?" Draco whispered. "Do you know who you're talking to?"

Daphne looked at him, then raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why are you faded?"

Draco dropped the Disillusionment Charm and looked back at Hermione, who had her head down and was pressing her fingers hard into her temples. "Just leave," he hissed.

Daphne looked relieved. She gathered her purse and outer robes. At the door, she turned back and motioned for Draco to hug Hermione. Draco waved her away, then Daphne started moving her tongue in and out of her mouth in a gesture that he assumed was supposed to be kissing. He cast a weak Stinging Hex with the wave of his hand. She jumped when it hit her leg, then glared at him, but it worked, as she finally left them alone.

Once the door closed, Draco took the seat Daphne had recently occupied and placed a gentle hand on Hermione's arm.

"If you ask me to talk about my feelings, I'll hex you."

"You have me mistaken for someone else. I was just going to ask where the notes from the Elders were. I can start addressing their comments and I'll be sure to mark each edit, so you can review them later."

She dropped her hands from her head and turned to look at him. "Really?"

"Yeah. Why didn't you ask in the first place?" He waved toward the proposal he'd been working on earlier. "That doesn't need to be done until the end of the month."

Hermione just hummed in response as she sifted through her giant pile of papers. When she found the stack she was looking for, she turned and handed it to Draco. "Thanks."

"You don't have to do everything alone, Hermione. You can ask for help before it gets this bad."

She bit her lip, then looked away as she said, "Sometimes, I just want the people in my life to know without me having to ask. Is that...unreasonable?"

"No," he said quickly, thinking of how much he wanted to hex Weasley right now, "you deserve that."

When her eyes met his again, she looked so lonely that he wanted to scoop her up into his arms and hug her close as he reassured her that everything would be okay: that one day they'd figure out a way to be together and they'd be desperately happy; and they could even start now, if she wanted.

Instead, Draco did the next best thing he could think of. "Hey," he said, nudging her arm.

"Yeah?"

"If you need to stop wearing knickers to work for a little while, at least until you get your laundry sorted out, I would be okay with that."

Hermione threw her head back and laughed. Draco guessed it was the first time she'd done that all day, maybe all week. "I hate you," she said, a huge smile lighting up her face.

"I know," he smiled back.

"I need to tell you something," Hermione announced at their Thursday meeting the following week.

"Okay," Draco said, pulling his gaze away from the law he'd been reviewing.

She hesitated, like she was trying to work up the courage to say what was on her mind and Draco was instantly intrigued. She was rarely nervous, at least not around him. What could she possibly need to say?

"Ron and I broke up."

Holy shit. Was this really happening? That was it? Draco had been planning all sorts of insane schemes, one of which involved using Polyjuice to transform Blaise into Weasley and have him cheat on Hermione in front of her. Yeah - the ideas weren't great - but it didn't matter anymore. It was done.

He tried to hide the glee from showing on his face and said evenly, "Oh. Good for you."

"It wasn't because of you."

Which obviously meant it was because of him. Draco could feel a smirk forming on his lips but quickly stopped it. "Of course not."

"That was a bad choice of words. Of course it had nothing to do with you, but also nothing to do with what you said to me last year about - well, you know. We just - aren't right for each other."

"Right."

"And I'm only telling you because it'll be in the paper tomorrow and I - I don't know - I wanted to preempt you thinking you had anything to do with it. Because you didn't."

"I think that point's been made."

Her tone turned harsher. "You need to take that smug look off your face before I hex you. Use Occlumency if you have to."

"Done."

Hermione turned back to her stack of papers while Draco used Occlumency to clear his mind, since he had no desire to be on the receiving end of any of her hexes today. But the euphoria he was trying to hide from showing on his face was still flowing through his body, warming him up completely.

No more boyfriend. Just like that. Draco had noticed she was more relaxed today than she had been since the start of the year and wondered if this was why. She'd dropped the burden of that shitty relationship and could finally breathe. Draco had felt the burden too and now, felt so light he could float away. Weasley was gone and there was nothing in his way.

Present Time: June 2001

As it turned out, even with Weasley gone, there was something standing in between Draco and Hermione: Draco, or, more specifically, the debilitating fear that came over him any time he considered taking things further with Hermione.

So, months passed, and nothing happened between them. Daphne dated, Theo sulked, Hermione fell in and out of periods of extreme stress, and the war in Draco's head raged on. Did she like him? How badly would she reject him if he tried anything? Was he absolutely certain she was Lady Malfoy? Why wouldn't she give him any hints about how she was feeling? Just a small one, that's all he needed.

Draco had tried getting her out of that office they always worked in a few times, using their book discussions as an excuse. He reasoned if he could get her away from work, alone, he could...do something, or at least entice her into giving something away.

So, he took her to lunch three times and they ate ice cream on the bench in the park twice, and nothing happened. They talked about the books Draco had read, discussed work a bit, flirted a lot, and Draco was still paralyzed by the end of each 'date,' unable to do even something as simple as placing his hand on hers.

Then, in early May, they had a bit of a breakthrough. They each attended the Ministry Gala without dates and spent the entire evening together, dancing, joking, and playing that game where you had to guess at people's thoughts, using the witches and wizards in the ballroom as subjects.

That night had been especially fun because Weasley had been in attendance, glaring at them the whole time. But right at the end, before Draco could ask Hermione out for drinks or offer to take her home, she gave him a nod goodbye and rushed back to her friends. This was how it was with her. They'd get close to something that felt like more than friendship, then she'd run off and Draco was left wondering if he'd imagined it.

After the Gala, Draco tried to create more "chance" meetings with Hermione outside of work. He attended every Holyhead Harpies Quidditch match after he found out Hermione was usually there to support Ginny Weasley, he pretended to shop at Diagon Alley every Saturday morning, right at opening, since he knew that's when she liked to go out, and he spent an embarrassing amount of time at Flourish and Blotts.

Daphne teased him for making things so difficult for himself and not just crashing the standing meetings Hermione had with her and Theo, but Draco thought that was too obvious. Plus, he wanted to catch her alone, if he could, but she was always with some friend. As he watched her interact with her friends outside of work, he began to regret his decision to stalk her. Because as he studied her, the foundation with which he'd built up their relationship in his mind crumbled.

Draco seethed as he watched her wrap an arm around Longbottom while looking through a shop window in Diagon Alley, as he watched her through Omnioculars across the Quidditch stadium, laughing at some joke her ex-boyfriend had just told, and as she walked arm and arm with Potter through the stands, on their way to meet up with the players after the match.

Draco had convinced himself he was special, but this was just how she was. Those playful shoves, genuine smiles, that way she leaned into him - she was just an affectionate person. Draco began to see that night at the Gala in a new light. She'd attended the event alone while all her friends had dates. Even Weasley had a date and she probably hated feeling like a spare part. So, she'd wandered off until she found Draco.

It hadn't been the significant almost-date he'd brewed up in his head, but just a way for her to pass the time. Draco was one of her friends - that much he was sure of. She called him by his first name, joked with him, did the affectionate thing (which she did with all her friends), but that was all it was for her.

And now it was June and her rotation was coming to an end and Draco was more unsure about their future together than ever.

Draco was currently walking through the Ministry Atrium on his way to the lift when he spotted Hermione. He was about to go up and greet her when he noticed that she wasn't alone. She was with a bloke. A tall, brawny, attractive bloke. And she was laughing. Draco hid behind a pole and watched them.

Hermione was holding a small stack of papers, like always. He wondered how she kept all her stacks of papers straight. He watched her take the stack and swat the other man's arm with it. Draco's chest clenched. She was doing the playful violence thing. He'd thought that was something she only did with him, but had seen her with her friends enough by now to know this was common for her.

Then, the bloke said something and she laughed in that way that lit up her whole face. Another thing that Draco had learned was nothing special. He'd deluded himself into thinking he was one of the only people who could make her laugh like that, but it turned out that she laughed all the time.

The man reached out and lifted her chin up with his knuckle. Huh, that was intimate. Who was this bloke? Draco had never seen him in the papers or in all his time stalking Hermione. Was it a new friend? A boyfriend? Fuck, was Draco too late? Had he missed his chance?

Draco scowled and marched to the lift without giving Hermione and her new lover a second glance. As he sat in the office waiting for her to arrive at their meeting, the anger continued to simmer in his gut. How dare she find a boyfriend. Sure, she was single, attractive, smart, funny, and an excellent catch and sure, Draco had given her very little indication that he was interested in her, but still! She was his future wife; she should just know. She was smart and intuitive, why couldn't she just figure it out and save Draco the heartache of having to work up the courage to tell her?

When Hermione arrived at the office (ten minutes late) she was smiling. Draco sneered back at her but she didn't notice. She was looking down at her smaller than usual pile of books and papers and picking out the ones she and Draco would be working on that day.

"I apologize in advance for how busy this next week is going to be but I'm trying to fit in as much as I can before I move on."

Yeah, yeah, he thought darkly. You're almost finished with this role. You don't have to keep reminding me. You also don't need to look so fucking happy about it.

"And I've taken your advice and tried really hard not to take on anything new," she continued, oblivious to Draco's mounting anger. "So, if you can finish these today, that will put us in a good spot to-" She cut off when she finally looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

"You were late," he replied coldly. "I was waiting in here for ten minutes."

"Oh, sorry," she said, waving him away.

"Why were you late?" Even though he knew he didn't want the answer, he had to know.

"I had a meeting with some people from my new department."

"How did it go?" Draco pressed.

She cocked her head at him. "Why are you being weird?"

"Just tell me," he bit out.

She studied him for a few seconds, then shrugged and said, "It was good. Great, actually. I was worried about going into employee relations, as I've told you, but the main person I'll be working with, Bennett, he's great."

"Bennett," Draco repeated. That must have been the bloke from the Atrium. So, it wasn't a boyfriend, just a coworker: a coworker she'd just met. That almost made it worse somehow. She'd been so familiar with him after one meeting while it had taken her months to get to that point with Draco.

"Yes, Bennett Clark," she continued. "He's a Hufflepuff a year or two below us in school and he's got that quality that makes you want to spill all your secrets. I bet that works really well for him when he's doing employee investigations. And he also has this uncanny ability to read people. You wouldn't think it when you first meet him, but I read some of his reports from recent mediations he's done and -"

She stopped talking when she saw Draco's expression. "Anyway, I think I'll learn a lot from him and am feeling much better about the new role than I was before."

"Good for you," Draco said curtly, then looked back at the laws she'd set in front of him. "We should get back to this.

"Okay," she replied, eyeing him curiously.

They worked in silence for the rest of the meeting. When it was time for her to go, she lingered by the door instead of rushing to her next appointment.

"Aren't you going to be late?" Draco asked.

She shrugged. "I was late here, so I guess it's fine if I'm late there. Cascading effects and all that…"

Draco felt a jolt of satisfaction. She was going to be late for him? She hated being late. Don't blow it out of proportion. She was late coming here for that Bennett bloke.

"What are you going to do for your birthday?" she asked, leaning her back against the closed door.

"I usually go out for a nice dinner with my mother but she's been busy packing for her summer trip to France. We've decided we'll just postpone it, for when I'm there in a few weeks. She'll be less stressed and then we can go somewhere anonymously, which will be a welcome change."

"Oh, that sounds nice. You're going to France?"

"Yes. We have several properties there and I've had business I need to attend to that I've been putting off for too long."

"So, you're doing nothing for your birthday?"

Why? Do you want to do something to celebrate? Perhaps dinner? This Saturday? The words were on the tip of Draco's tongue and if he hadn't seen her getting on with that new bloke and then suffered through her glowing description of him, he may have actually said them. Instead, he shrugged and said, "I'm going out with Daphne, Blaise, and Theo. But as Daphne and Blaise still can't be in the same room together, the night is split."

Hermione sighed. "Really? That's still a problem?"

"Yeah."

"What's Blaise's deal? Daphne made it clear she liked him and even asked him to give up all those other witches and be with her, but he let her go and now, can't handle the fact that she's dating other wizards. Why is he doing that?"

"He's in love with her but is debilitated by his inability to tell her so. He's in a constant state of frustration and takes it out on her but really, it's himself he's upset with."

"Oh," she said, looking surprised. Maybe she'd caught on to the sincerity with which he'd said the words, or maybe saw the significance behind how readily available the explanation had been. "Why is he like that?"

Fuck if I know. "Bad childhood?" Draco guessed.

"Huh," was all she said. It was a lame excuse. Everyone their age had had a bad childhood, but they were all doing fine. It was just Draco (and Blaise, apparently) who were incapable of facing their feelings. Theo was like that, too. Maybe it was a Pureblood thing.

"Anyway, I should probably go," she announced, opening the door. "I set our next meeting on Tuesday, since I know you have a strict 'no working on your birthday policy.'"

Draco couldn't help but smile at that. They regarded each other for a few moments and Draco thought Hermione was waiting for him to say something but couldn't be sure. Before he'd decided if the expectant look in her eyes was real, it was gone.

"I'll see you next week, Draco. Just two meetings left." She gave him a final wave before disappearing into the hall.

Her eyes had looked sad when she'd said that, hadn't they? Or was he just imagining it? Draco didn't know anymore.

The following weekend, Draco arrived at Nott Manor through the Floo, where he was meeting Daphne and Theo before dinner. They were going out to Daphne's favorite restaurant to celebrate Draco's birthday (since Draco didn't care where they went) and then after dinner, Theo and Draco were meeting Blaise at a pub for drinks. Draco didn't care about his birthday very much but didn't mind having something to do tonight besides sitting at home and wallowing about Hermione.

He found Daphne in the larger sitting room of Nott Manor, standing by the drink cart and pouring herself a drink. "Oh, perfect. Now I don't have to feel weird about drinking alone," she said when she saw him. "Do you want something?"

"A very large glass of Fire Whiskey, neat." Draco said as he crossed the room, stopping at the window.

He pulled back the curtains and looked out at the lake, the surface of which looked like a mirror. The sun, which was currently low in the sky, was casting lovely, golden hues, providing a beautiful contrast against the grey lake and dark green trees of the surrounding forest. Draco often forgot how beautiful this estate was. It was a shame it was so close to Muggle homes, prohibiting anyone from flying around it.

"I forget how beautiful it is out there, since I usually use the Floo," Daphne said, echoing Draco's thoughts. She was holding out his drink and he grabbed it from her and took a large gulp. The liquid burned his throat on the way down and settled in his chest, emanating a pleasant warmth that began to dissolve the tightness that had been there all weekend. Draco took another drink, then let out a long sigh.

Daphne, who'd been taking modest sips of her own glass of whiskey, leaned into his side. "What's wrong, Draco?"

"I'm just feeling down today."

"Any particular reason?"

"No," he lied. "Where's Theo?"

"He's just now getting ready. He was asleep when I arrived. Can you believe that? He sleeps at the oddest hours of the day."

"I'm pretty sure that's a sign of depression," Draco supplied. Where had he heard that? Oh, right. Hermione.

"Thank you for that lovely tidbit of useless information. Should I start calling you 'Hermione?'"

Draco ignored her quip and took another drink of whiskey. "He is depressed, we know that, and I think it's been worse lately as we approach that deadline he set for himself to finally admit to his mother that he's gay. Maybe we should cut him some slack."

"So I shouldn't have told him that if he made us late to our reservation tonight I'd hit him with twenty-one Severing Charms, in celebration of your birthday?"

Draco just shrugged, which caused Daphne to push him and nearly made him spill his drink. "Hey!" Why were the witches in his life so violent?

Is Hermione really 'in your life?'

Shut up! It's my birthday. You have to be nice to me today.

Your birthday's tomorrow. I'll hold off until then.

Daphne gave him a calculating look before shaking her head. "Come on, that was funny. You're not even with her, yet and you're already turning into her. I don't think I want to know how bad it's going to get once you're actually together."

Draco just scoffed.

"Speaking of," she said eagerly, placing her drink on the side table, "when are you going to ask her out? Now that your work assignment is done, you're going to have to come up with a new reason to see her regularly. Maybe a recurring lunch? Or even better, dinner? Perhaps you can tell her you always wanted to learn how to cook for yourself, without an elf's help (she'll love that), then you can sneak your way into an invitation to her flat. You can cook, have some wine, take some clothes off…"

Draco had returned to starting out the window as he tried to keep his face blank. "Come on," Daphne said, nudging his side. "She's not going to say no. I'm 1000% sure."

"Maybe in the autumn," he said noncommittally.

"The autumn?! No. The summer. Now! You've waited long enough!"

"I'm not going to be here," Draco admitted. "I've decided to spend the summer with my mother in France."

"What?! Absolutely not."

"It's done. I've already made the arrangements with my mother, our estate manager, and the Auror office."

"Then undo it," she said sternly.

"It's for the best," he sighed, then started pacing the room.

"Tell me what's going through your mind," Daphne said as she watched him walk around.

"I think it would be good to get some time away. Clear my head, you know?"

"Why can't you just clear your mind with Occlumency? Do you really need three months out of the country? Tell me what's really going on."

Draco stopped pacing, then turned around to face her. He drained the rest of his drink, Vanished the glass, then grabbed the back of the chair he'd stopped behind, watching as his knuckles went white. "Do you know what her ex-boyfriend did last week?" he asked in a soft voice.

Daphne shrugged and began making her way toward him. "Made a bad fashion choice, then shoved a large amount of food into his mouth (with his hands), before telling a stupid joke with his mouth was full?"

"Probably," Draco said seriously, not even sparing a small smirk for the joke, "but he also caught Rookwood, who'd been hiding out in Belgium since the end of the war. Do you know what I did last week?"

Daphne didn't guess this time and just nodded for him to tell her.

"I pushed forward a tax reform law that will reduce how much in taxes people have to pay on investment earnings over 15%."

"I... don't understand," she said carefully. She'd reached his side of the room now and was standing at the front of the chair he was grabbing, concern swimming in her light green eyes.

"Weasley wasn't good enough for her," he said quietly. "How can I expect to be?"

"Oh, Draco. It doesn't matter how you stack up against him. You're meant for her, I can tell, and she's meant for you. And you know it works out, so why are you putting yourself through all this heartache? Just tell her how you feel."

"I can't! I've tried it a hundred times and something always stops me. Maybe that's a sign. Maybe we got it wrong. What if she's not Lady Malfoy?"

"Dammit, Draco! Look at me. The next law I need you to push is something to reduce the punishment for blonde murderesses because I swear, I'm going to strangle you with my bare hands."

Draco took a step backward. That was her second death threat in less than five minutes.

"Of course Hermione's Lady Malfoy! I saw the letter, those were definitely Hermione's words. And the handwriting - plus, all those clues your future self gave you. He had to know who'd you'd guess it was and if you were wrong, wouldn't he have altered his clues?"

"Hermione's Lady Malfoy? What does that even mean?" Theo asked from the doorway.

"Don't interrupt me," Daphne said sternly before turning back to Draco.

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. Now Theo knew? Or, who knew, maybe he'd known this whole time. Draco needed another drink.

Daphne walked around the chair and grabbed Draco by the shoulders. "It's Hermione," she implored. "I know you're waiting for her to give you some sort of indication that she feels the same way you do, but she's never going to do that. This is a witch who sees a troll when she looks in the mirror and has no one in her life (besides you) who appreciates, or even understands, how hard she works. She's brave as hell when it comes to fighting for her friends and helpless creatures she hasn't even met, but she won't do the same for herself."

"You know why she sees herself like that?" Draco spat, stepping out of Daphne's grasp. He hit his chest painfully. "Me! I'm the reason she's like that. So it just stands to reason that I don't get to have her! That can't be how this turns out! Hermione deserves a charming Hufflepuff like, like, Bennett Clark, while I get - I don't know - a sad, arranged marriage."

"Who's Bennett Clark?" Theo asked. He'd grabbed a drink and joined them on the side of the room. At the sight of Draco and Daphne's glares, he grumbled under his breath, "If you don't want me to interject, don't make the conversation so hard to follow."

Daphne sighed and shot Draco an exasperated look before turning toward Theo. "Draco is supposed to marry Hermione - his future self gave him a thousand hints about it - but he's been waiting for her to show up one day carrying a large 'I love Draco Malfoy' sign before doing anything about it and now, he's running off to France for the summer."

"The hints were vague," Draco said defensively, past caring by now what Theo knew. "They could have been about Hermione or some other witch entirely."

"You said the handwriting on the envelope was hers."

"Maybe that's how all people with poor penmanship write. Who knows?"

"You're reaching, now, and all because you don't think you're good enough for her, but you are, Draco! Maybe you weren't before but you are now!"

Draco just snorted, then crossed the room and poured himself another glass of whiskey while Daphne asked Theo, "Well? What do you think? Should he run away to France?"

"Why not?" Theo shrugged. "He clearly needs more time to sort through it all. Makes sense to me."

Daphne scoffed. "Theo agrees with you, Draco. That's confirmation that you're making the wrong decision."

Theo just shrugged again and took another gulp of his drink. Draco knocked his own drink back before turning to face Daphne, who was standing next to him now. "Aren't we supposed to be celebrating my birthday?" He looked down at his watch. Their reservation was in five minutes. "Let's go."

Draco put his empty glass down and turned toward the fireplace, but Daphne caught his arm. "Hey."

"Daphne…" he pleaded.

"I'm not going to pester you about Hermione anymore just -" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "You're an idiot, that's for sure, but I love you," she murmured in his ear. "Merlin knows someone has to, since you certainly don't."

"Thanks," Draco breathed into her hair, holding her close. He knew Daphne loved him, he loved her too, but he was pretty sure this was the first time she'd ever told him so.

"What about me? Do you love me?" Theo asked, interrupting the tender moment.

"Sure, Theo," Daphne replied, smirking at Draco as she stepped out his arms. "I love you, too."

Theo walked with Daphne toward the fireplace. "You know? I think that's the first time anyone's said that to me - besides my parents, but even then, I only heard it about a handful of times when I was younger, and only from my mother, of course. I've considered ordering Fawcett to say it to me, when I'm feeling especially lonely, but he'd only be doing it because he had to."

Daphne let out a laugh as she picked up a pile of Floo powder. "I have no idea what to say to that, Theo, so I'm just going to leave it be." She spoke the name of the restaurant and stepped into the green flames.

When she was gone, Draco said to Theo, "You are so sad."

"And you're not?"

"Fair point."

Draco was in his last meeting with Hermione, daydreaming about leaning over the table, taking her face in his hands, and kissing her while she explained her plan for transitioning all the representatives she worked with, Draco included, to the new Ministry Liaison who had yet to be selected.

"Of course, I won't be gone for good," she was saying. "I'll be right downstairs and once they do pick someone, I can sit in on your first meeting or two and explain our process, help lay some ground rules, though you've never had problems with that...whatever you need."

Draco took a deep breath. Now was the time to tell her. "I'll be in France during the transition, so it'll mostly happen by owl, with perhaps a few Floo-calls, as needed. Though, as you know, those will be difficult to set up."

"You can wait until you're back from your trip. There's no urgency since I'm leaving behind a large pile of revised laws and new proposals for the Elders to review."

"I'm going to be gone all summer."

"All summer?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. So, you're not going to be here…at all?"

Why? Does that upset you? Ask me to stay and I'll cancel the trip in a heartbeat. "No."

"Oh," she repeated, then looked down at the table and began piling her papers back into a large stack using a method of organization Draco had never figured out. "You made it sound like a short trip before. Did something change?"

"I've been ignoring that part of the estate for too long. I have a lot of work to do to get it all in order, then I want to hire a team in France to manage it since I don't plan to make regular trips there, like my father did. It'll also be nice to keep my mother company and just...get away."

"Yeah," she said. She'd finished stacking her papers, then stood up and pushed her chair in. "I'm worried your friends will self-destruct without you, so - uh - be sure to send them frequent owls."

He forced out a laugh. "You'll continue to see them, right?" She nodded. "Do what you can to keep them intact until I get back. I know it's asking a lot...but, well, you do have an Order of Merlin, a Chocolate Frog card, and all those other awards. Not to mention the unofficial titles, like 'Brightest Witch of the Age.'"

Hermione smiled. "This may be above my abilities, but I'll see what I can do. It's only...how long…?"

"I'll be back in September."

"Okay then." She let out a sigh and Draco stood up and put on his outer robes. When he was standing across from her, she said, "I guess this is it. It seems so...final."

Draco held out his hand. "It's not," he said insistently. "I'll see you around, well, uh, once I return to England."

Hermione looked at his outstretched hand for several moments, then ignored it and threw her arms around him. Draco moved his hands to her back and pulled her close. "Owl me when you're back," she murmured into the crook of his neck.

"Yeah," Draco replied, several seconds too late. He was busy relishing everything about this moment. The feel of her in his arms, how she smelled, her warm breath against his neck, her soft hair against his cheek, the rise and fall of her lungs under his hands. It was perfect and he never wanted to let her go.

It was Hermione who pulled away first. "Um, sorry," she said, looking down at the ground. "I've been told I hug people too much."

When she looked back up at him, wearing a shy smile, he saw that a curl had fallen into her face. Emboldened by her hug, Draco reached out and pushed the stray curl behind her ear which was, without question, the most intimate gesture he'd ever tried.

When she didn't push him away or give any other indication that she was disgusted by the move, he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, then whispered in her ear, "Have a good summer, Hermione."

As he pulled back, his heart was pounding so hard, he felt like he'd finished a long round of flying. He was so nervous to see what he'd find on her face, but it was fine. She looked surprised, more than anything, and when their eyes met, her lips turned up slightly. "You too, Draco."

A week later, Draco was flying on a broom behind Potter, who was setting a tracking charm around their property in France. Every so often, Potter would do a flip in the air or fly up high, then dive down, which had caused Draco to roll his eyes the first few times, thinking he was trying to show-off, but he'd realized after about an hour of this that Potter just really enjoyed flying. He probably didn't get to do it much since he lived in London and had a demanding job.

Although Draco had solved the mystery of why Potter was flying like a child who'd just received a new broom, he hadn't figured out why Potter had insisted Draco join him for this task. It became apparent a few moments later. Potter turned so quickly, Draco nearly ran into him, and announced he was finished.

Then, before Draco could say anything in response, Potter asked, "How much do you know about Hermione and her parents?"

Draco started, then scowled. Oh. Great. He must be gearing up to make some sort of, 'if you hurt my friend, I'll kill you' speech. Draco didn't need the speech, he already knew that.

"Very little," Draco replied honestly, trying to keep his irritation out of his tone.

"She had some difficulty with them after the war because she had to go to extremes to protect them and they - struggled with that. Has she told you anything about that?"

"She Obliviated them. I know that."

Potter looked surprised. "Right. Well, following the war, she had a hard time. She couldn't really connect with the rest of us, threw herself into her job, and just - seemed like a shadow of herself. That went on for years and then, a few months ago, she came alive again."

Potter leveled Draco with that fierce gaze of his. Draco matched it, trying to hide how much Potter's words were affecting him. Was he saying Hermione liked him? Was he the reason she'd come alive? Or maybe it was because she'd finally dropped Weasley. But if that were the case, why would Potter be telling him this?

"But this past week," Potter continued, "she's become a shadow again. It's almost like she's haunting her life, more than living it.

"Eloquent, Potter."

The other wizard ignored Draco and continued to stare him down.

"What are you saying?" Draco asked.

"You know what I'm saying, and that's about as clear as I intend to make it. I don't want you to get the wrong idea and think I want this to happen, or anything."

Draco had no idea what to say to that, then was spared having to come up with something when Potter turned toward the house and began flying back. Draco followed him and they passed the ten-minute trip back to the stables in silence. They both dismounted their broom and Draco hung them up in the stables, then petted one of the horses, Aquila.

He missed horses. That was one thing he loved about this house, how the stables were still full and he could go riding whenever he wanted. He should get horses back at the Manor. He'd loved riding as a kid, but had given it up for his broomstick, but there was something about riding atop a horse that was so much more relaxing.

Draco wondered if Hermione had ever ridden a horse or if she had some opinion about horses and how it was cruel to keep them locked up for the sole purpose of riding them whenever you felt like it. The point of this trip was to clear his head of Hermione but he could never keep her out of his thoughts for long.

Okay, enough stalling (heh, nice pun), time to face Potter again. Draco turned toward the other wizard, who'd been watching him thoughtfully.

"You're all set to spend the summer here," Potter announced. "If you leave for longer than twenty-four hours, I need to know ahead of time. And I'll be here in two months to scan the house for Dark Magic, check your wand...you know the drill."

"Thank you," Draco managed to force out, "for letting me spend a few months here. I know you could have easily refused."

Potter crossed his arms and stared Draco down for a few moments. "You knew my future, who I'd end up marrying, the names of my kids, all of it. I assume you know about yours, too."

"Is that a question or a statement?"

Potter sighed and shook his head. "You're really going to spend the whole summer here?"

"I am." Draco motioned toward the path to the gate. "I'll show you out."

That was enough of Potter's judgments for one day. Draco wasn't brave, he'd never made that claim. Potter was the brave one while Draco was the one obsessed with self-preservation. And now, with all this uncertainty about Hermione, he needed to stay away. He needed to sort it out and then - then, something. But for now, he couldn't do it. So, he was here, and Potter could judge him all he wanted, Draco didn't care. He was used to it by now.

Present Time: September 2001

Draco did just as he told Potter he would and stayed in France all summer. He threw himself into work, practiced reading and writing in French again, and tried to distract himself with several of the witches in a nearby Wizarding Village - which ended up being a disaster as he just felt like he was cheating on Hermione and felt depressed and sick for days after kicking them out of his bed.

After three rounds of this, he reminded himself he wasn't Blaise and gave up on trying to sleep with random witches to alleviate his malaise. He turned to riding instead, both horses and brooms, spending up to four hours a day outside most days, even in the rain.

Now, he was back in England. He'd actually been back for over a week, getting settled into the Manor again and catching up on all he'd missed. Today was his first trip back to the Ministry. He was supposed to be meeting the liaison who had replaced Hermione in person for the first time.

As Draco walked through the Atrium, he scanned the space for her. She was nowhere to be seen and he was trying to decide if he was relieved or disappointed when the doors of the lift opened to reveal the very witch who had consumed his thoughts all summer long.

She jumped when she saw him, then beamed. "You're back."

Draco nodded as he walked onto the lift. He was too busy drinking her in to respond. She was prettier than he'd remembered, and her hair was more wild than he'd imagined it in his head, countless curls billowing over her shoulders. And her eyes, they were bright and that perfect shade of brown and gold he'd never seen anywhere else.

"Um, this is Bennett," she said, indicating the man next to her.

Draco smiled as he recalled a short note Theo had sent him over the summer. It was the only correspondence Draco had received from Theo.

Draco,

Bennett Clark is gay, so it's unlikely Hermione is going to end up married to him. That doesn't mean she can't find some other charming Hufflepuff to be with, and there are no shortage of options for you, if your dream truly is to land yourself in a sad, arranged marriage. Hope is not lost.

-TN

P.S.: She did that thing straight people do when they convince themselves the only two gay people they know are destined for each other. There was a forced setup and everything and yes, it was as awful as you're imagining. Perhaps worse. I'll be asking you to Obliviate me when you're back in town.

"Draco Malfoy," Draco said, holding his hand out for Bennett. He considered mentioning Theo but decided against it. He didn't want to give Hermione a reason to be angry with him so soon after reuniting with her.

"When did you get back?" she asked.

"A week and a half ago," he said automatically.

Her face fell, then she pursed her lips in that way she did when she was angry. Draco searched his mind for the problem. What had he done? Had he already fucked it up?

"I must have missed your owl," she said, her tone cold. Just then, the doors to the lift opened and they walked off. Bennett turned over his shoulder and waved goodbye, saying it was nice to meet Draco, but Hermione didn't give him a second look. Shit.

Later that night, Draco was sitting at his desk, holding his quill in the air as he started down at a single line on an otherwise blank parchment.

Hermione,

You called me Mr. Darcy once and I'm hoping to imitate him again by reversing all my misdeeds with a letter.

Draco was determined to write it all out. She deserved that. She deserved to know why he'd left, why he hadn't owled her once he was back, like he'd promised he would, and everything in between. But just like all those times he'd tried to say these things to her in person, the words wouldn't come. Regardless, he was determined this time and wouldn't get up from this desk until the letter was written and sent.

While Draco was contemplating his next words, he heard a tap on the window. It was a familiar-looking light brown owl but Draco couldn't immediately place the owner. He got it when he saw the scrawl on the short note the owl was carrying. Potter.

You need to stop by my house tonight as soon as you have time. You know the address.

See you soon, Harry Potter

Draco exhaled heavily. Fucking hell. What was this? Another speech? He looked back at his unfinished letter to Hermione. He'd said he wouldn't get up until he finished it but knew saying no to the Auror managing his case was a bad idea. He'd make this quick trip to see Potter, endure whatever awful speech Potter had ready for him, then come back and finish the letter.

Draco was extremely annoyed ten minutes later as he stood on the doorstep of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Who did Potter think he was, Summoning Draco like this? Draco was a busy man who couldn't be expected to drop everything on a whim. After Potter's speech, Draco was planning to give him a talking-to of his own.

He knocked on the door and a moment later, Hermione appeared on the other side. Draco's heart stopped. He was reminded of that time, months ago, when he'd stood in this very spot, expecting to see Potter, but had encountered Hermione instead. She'd been holding a pile of something at the time, he didn't remember what, but he smiled at the memory, anyway.

He remembered being drawn to her, then thinking she'd cast some sort of spell on herself to make her more desirable. He didn't recognize the attraction for what it was at the time. Damn, he'd been so stupid.

Had been - past tense?

Shut up!

"Hi," Hermione said.

"Uh, hi. I'm here to see Potter."

"Yeah, actually, you're here to see me. Will you come in?"

"Okay," Draco managed to choke out before following her inside.

Whatever you do, don't fuck this up.

A/N: First off, no Slytherin schemes behind the Ron breakup. It was just Hermione deciding it wasn't the right relationship for her with a gentle nudge from Draco, just like in Timeless.

Also, in this story, Draco is pretty much paralyzed by fear when it comes to Hermione and in my head, the reason he's like this in this timeline and wasn't like this in the other timeline is because in the other timeline, he actually saw Hermione in love with him. He spent time with her in the future, felt the love, yada yada. That is not the case here, so he's constantly questioning himself. I think this is in keeping with his canon characterization as a "coward" and Hermione isn't helping by keeping her feelings so close to the chest.

And now he's forced Hermione into taking a bold action. Yay!