Hello friends! We are back with another Draco and Hermione fic, hope you all enjoy! love you, xoxo

disclaimer: I sadly do not own Harry Potter, but J.K Rowling does so cheers to her creative mind.

"Granger"

"Hmm"

"Stay here for the night"

She sighed as she turned her body to look at the blond man laying with his arms wrapped around her. He looked at her with kind eyes, silently pleading for her to say yes. Just this once he thought to himself, but they both knew better. It was nearing midnight, and she knew how much it would mean to him for her to stay. Which is exactly why she could not.

Hermione removed his arms from around her frame and dressed quickly as he laid in bed watching the night sky through the large window. He was upset, they both knew it, but he would never admit it. Most days she wished he would stop her, tell her she was being unreasonable, allow himself to be angry with her. But today she was glad he kept his thoughts to himself.

"See you soon Malfoy" she whispered softly.

With one last look at him, Hermione left his room with a silent 'pop' of apparition.

The following week had been a long one.

With Valentine's Day the next day, Hermione decided to stop by a muggle shop on her way home to pick up a few "essentials" that she would need. Quickly grabbing everything on her list, she paid the young store clerk and made her way to her flat.

Before she could fully remove her key from her bag, the door had already been swung open and she found herself face to face with an angry Ginny. Knowing better than to question why the redhead was in her home, she mumbled a small greeting to her friend as she sat her bags on the sofa.

"Hermione Granger, is there a reason why a little ferret is moping around MY flat, drinking all of MY fire whiskey, with MY husband?" Ginny asked with a hint of annoyance.

"I can always give animal control a call if you need" Hermione responded flatly.

"Hilarious, you are truly." She responded drily. "Look, I don't know what you did to him Mione, but I do know that I have never seen Draco like this."

With a deep sigh, Hermione left to the kitchen and returned to the sofa with two glasses and a bottle of wine. As she opened the bottle, she realized it was the one Draco had given her the first time he had dinner at her flat. Smiling softly at the memory, she passed a glass to Ginny.

"It's not what I did, but what I didn't do. He asked me to stay the night with him, and I left instead. Like I always do."

Ginny stared at her with what looked like pity in her eyes. Despite the blank look on her face, Hermione knew it was the calm before the storm. She was protective of Draco, and despite being her best friend, Ginny had no problem telling her when she was in the wrong.

"If you're not serious about him, I suggest you grow a backbone and tell him."

"Gin- "

"No, I am not done talking." There was a slight bite to her tone that scared her too much to interrupt again. "He adores you Hermione. If there was any chance that he was not serious about you, I doubt he would still be around after nearly a year of you avoiding any real commitment. The amount of patience he has truly amazes me, because if it was anyone else, they would have chosen themselves and left."

Hermione felt tears begin to form as she reflected on her time with Draco.

After the war, he had become close friends with the Potters as Harry had been the one to testify on his behalf. All it took was one look at his fragile state and haunted eyes for Ginny to demand he spend his yearlong probation at 12 Grimmauld Place with them instead of what was left of Malfoy Manor. When he asked why they would ever sacrifice their newfound peace for him, they simply answered "Narcissa sacrificed herself."

Over the course of his probation, Draco had found a way to apologize to every single person he had hurt in anyway, including paying his respects to those who had passed. It was not until his last night of probation did, he ask Harry for permission to have a private dinner with Hermione. She was surprised to say the least when she arrived to see a frazzled Draco Malfoy removing a slightly burned roasted chicken out of the oven. Giggling at the man in front of her, Hermione had realized no apology was needed as she had forgiven him long before that evening. He still insisted he apologize, and felt her heart skip a beat as he mentioned he saved her apology for last as it had to come from someone who had changed in a way, she would be proud of.

Soon after, the two of them had formed a bond that she cherished deeply. For months she had been afraid to act on her feelings, until one night the two of them had too many drinks with not enough company. Respecting her, even in his drunken state, Draco made sure she made it home with nothing to regret except a sloppy kiss and one too many drinks. As he lay in bed that evening with a lopsided smile, he was unaware that for the first time in years, Hermione had slept through the night.

Until today, the thought of letting him in terrified her.

"I still have nightmares, every single night. What would he think if he woke up to me screaming at the top of my lungs? I leave every night, so he doesn't have too. He might not understand Ginny, but I care about him too much for him to deal with someone so broken."

Ginny looked at her with her own tears in her eyes and embraced her so tightly that if she squeezed any harder, she'd struggle to breathe.

"Oh Hermione" she cried. "You are far from broken, and I am not just saying that because you are my best friend. You went through things you should have never went through, and yet here you are with that brilliant smile of yours, brightening everyone's day. Merlin Mione, you are truly the strongest person I know, but it is time that you let someone besides us help you heal."

She contemplated Ginny's words later that evening, and decided she was right.

The next morning, Hermione woke up feeling heavy with emotion. She missed Draco, but knew better than to reach out when she was unsure of what she would say to him.

Accepting that it was Valentine's Day and she would be spending it alone, she decided to distract herself by owling her loved one's sweet notes and even sweeter treats. As she sent off her last note, she noticed her bag from the previous evening and smiled at the films she had picked up. Quickly showering and changing into her favorite jumper, she grabbed her favorite film and made herself comfortable on the sofa with a cup of tea.

Hours later, Hermione had been in such a deep sleep, that she was unaware of the man who had stepped out of her floo with his hands full of takeaway and flowers until he placed everything on her center table a bit clumsily. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she groaned as she had been rudely awakened. Ready to scold the intruder, she opened her mouth before her eyes and was shocked to hear the voice she missed so much.

"Interesting, I was wondering where my jumper had gone" he said with a chuckle. Taking in her appearance, and the empty carton of ice cream next to her, he smiled widely as she realized what state he was seeing her in.

"Draco, what are you doing here? I was not quite prepared for company" she began, suddenly nervous. However, she did note the way his cheeks slightly reddened as he looked down at the food and flowers, he had brought her.

"I figured Harry had plans with Ginny, and Ron had plans with Luna" he sounded quite unsure of himself, until he looked at the small smile on her face and regained his confidence. "So, I made sure to grab a few things with the hope you would let me spend Valentine's Day with you."

"But you hate Valentine's Day" she challenged.

"But I love you" he responded quietly. Despite hearing him say those words plenty of times before, it felt different knowing she was ready to be loved. "All of you Hermione."

As he said those last few words, she felt a few tears escape. He took her silence as an opportunity to continue, and she was grateful that he did.

"Please do not be mad at the she Potter", she giggled as she knew Ginny had him make sure she did not shoot the messenger. "but she felt like telling me was the only thing she could do for you. I just need you to know that there is nothing in this world that I would possibly want more than you. When I was at my lowest point, you were there Hermione. You were my reason to continue on, you gave me a purpose to live again and I will never be able to repay you for saving me. When I lost myself, you brought me back to reality. Despite everything, you found a way to love all of me, and maybe I should have told you sooner but merlin, I am so in love with all of you. I would never leave you. I promise you that."

Before she could comprehend what, she was doing, she had already pulled him into an embrace. Looking up at him, she felt her breath leave her as he pulled her into a passionate kiss. It quickly escalated, and with every second that passed she felt the cracks in her heart slowly begin to heal itself. Pulling away and leading him to the sofa, she allowed herself to relax in his warm embrace.

"Stay here Draco"

"I will never leave you Granger"