Author's note: Disclaimer. Also heads up I have now decided to include some flash backs and so any writing in italics are flash backs. I'm also debating writing a prequel fully figuring explaining Draco and Hermione's whirlwind romance. Thoughts? Also I know this is a short chapter but I feel like its important enough to stand on its own.

Chapter 12

Draco looked around the halls of Hogwarts and sighed. He couldn't believe he had to go through another year in this school. As part of his probation he had to attend and pass his last year. He was going to be classified as an 'eighth' year with a small group of other returning students. He wasn't ready to face any of his old schoolmates.

After everything that went down with his family absconding to France shortly after the final battle he had become a pariah from both sides. The so called 'light' side hated him for all he had done for the so called 'dark' side and the 'dark' side hated him and his family for being cowards. He had been sent to Hogwarts early to help rebuild and he had been enjoying the quiet.

"Mr. Malfoy are you ready to start working off your community service?" McGonagall asked. "Now I can't leave you unsupervised around the grounds but luckily enough for you another eighth-year student agreed to come up and help you with rebuilding the school."

Draco's eyebrows shot up in surprise. There was another student who was coming back early. Why? Then he heard a person clear their throat behind him. He hoped it was Blaise and he had showed up for eighth year after all just to make it less painful for him but he knew it was an empty hope before he even turned around.

He didn't know why he had been surprised someone had come back after he saw who it was. Hermione Granger, the little golden girl. He rolled his eyes and wished to be anywhere but there.

"Alright Malfoy, just because we're going to be working together on this doesn't mean we're friends or that anything about our dynamic is going to change. I still hate you and everything you stand for." Hermione stated glaring at him.

"At least on that Granger we can agree," Draco stated holding out his hand for her to shake. She just scoffed and headed after McGonagall. Draco shook his head and thought to himself 'Yea the way we feel about each other is the one thing I know I can count on.'

Draco woke up with a jolt. The memory of the seeing Hermione for the first time after the war still fresh in his mind. He marveled at how very wrong he had been. With a soft chuckle he laid back against his pillows and shook his head at how closed minded he used to be. He glanced at his alarm clock, yes he Draco Malfoy Pure-blood Slytherin Prince used a muggle alarm clock and noted that it was close to 7 a.m. he had a 9 a.m. meeting with his shareholders about how the muggle initiative was going.

He had looked at the numbers last week and everything had been good. Actually, it was better than good because since branching out into muggle technology the company's revenue had increased by 15% in the last quarter alone. If they had branched out earlier like he had wanted when he took over the company they would be making even more but they ended up being late joiners to other companies who had begun to integrate with muggles.

He and Hermione had debated the merits of creating muggle items for wizards and creating items to sell in muggle markets and how it would help or hurt the wizarding community. As things usually went Hermione was right when she said it would only help and the community and bring whatever company took the first steps money hand over fist. 'She had been right about a lot of things' he thought with a melancholy tone as he got up to start his morning routine.

When he headed down to breakfast something started to feel off. There was a tension in the air that he just couldn't place and the hairs on the back of neck had started to rise. He shook it off as him just being on edge for his meeting. As he continued towards the dining room the feeling seemed to intensify and he began to wonder what would cause such a strong physical reaction from him. Then he saw what was causing it. His father sat at the head of the table sipping a cup of coffee and reading the Daily Profit. The scene brought up a sense of Deja vu from Draco's childhood but unlike his memory of Hermione this one brought up only bad feelings.

"Father what on earth are you doing here? I thought I made it very clear that you are not welcome in my home," Draco growled out through clenched teeth.

"My house Draco you are merely in possession of at the moment. But I am not here to discuss my position as head of the family at the moment. I'm here to discuss the fact that you gave your seat on the council to that rabid animal. Have you no sense of family pride?!" Lucius exclaimed slamming down his coffee cup.

"When you were head of this house no I had absolutely no sense of family pride, but I am doing everything I can to fix your mistakes so that Scorpius can be proud to be called a Malfoy in a way I never was. And as for the council seat I never had much interest in politics if you recall and Remus well he has a good head on his shoulders and knows how to get people to really focus on fixing issues of the present rather than upholding the status quo," Draco shot back at him with a venomous glare.

"Everything I did, I did for this family Draco. I thought now that you have a son of your own you might begin to understand the struggles I faced. I was trying to preserve your heritage I was trying to preserve our way of life-,"

"It didn't deserve to be preserved! We were bound to fail based on the fact that everything we stood for was completely corrupted. Who cares if muggles can wield wands? What is it about inbreed lineage that can be traced back to big names in magic that makes us so much better? Does it give us some innate ability to better control magic? Because may I remind you the top student that Hogwarts has ever had was A MUGGLE BORN WITCH!" Draco bellowed because he was so fed up with his father's ridiculous attitude.

"DO NOT MENTION THAT WITCH TO ME! SHE NEARLY DESTROYED EVERYTHING I CREATED! Need I remind you of what it would cost her should you ever have anything to do with that mudblood whore again?" Lucius bellowed back.

"Never call her that again father. I will kill you where you stand if you make one more comment. I haven't had any contact with her per our agreement but that doesn't change the way I feel about her and nothing you ever do will change that." Draco snarled through his lie about no contact by focusing on his pure blinding hatred towards his father at that moment.

After watching his son so venomously defend his feelings for the little whore caused a light bulb to go off inside Lucius's twisted mind. He knew exactly how to get all of his power back and all it took was enabling a problem that could easily be rectified later.

"What if I agreed not to harm her? What if I even allowed for you to divorce Astoria and truly try to win back your 'love'," Lucius sneered the word like one would at a grotesque image, "If I guaranteed her safety would you give me back my seat on the council?"

Draco took a deep breath and tried to focus on the fact that his father was just playing his mind games and would never truly keep his word on protecting Hermione but in that moment he had never wished for anything more.

"Father I am not going to do anything for you least of all give you anything that puts you back in a power position. You're just too much of a risk to the wizarding community when you have a way to control people or laws." Draco forced the words out despite his internal war.

"Well maybe I should change how I word that then. You can either take my more than generous offer or I simply remove the protection I have been offering her all these years." Lucius knew he had won when he watched the fear flash across his son's face. 'Checkmate' he thought with vicious glee. Love was a weakness too many allowed themselves to fall into.

Author's questions: What will happen with Hermione's plans now? Will she still be able to make the changes with Lucius there to block her? Will Draco leave Astoria? Will Hermione and Draco reconnect?