Chapter Fourteen- The Ring

Summary- It has been about eight months and no one has heard from Hermione, and it seems as though no one misses her.  Harry and Ron have each been married since school let out and they still bear a grudge for their old friend.  Hermione is leading another life, away from the man who used her and broke her heart, and has a terrible secret.  Draco Malfoy is the present heir to the Malfoy fortune and is unhappily married to Pansy Parkinson Malfoy.  He still has haunting dreams of another love.  Around eight months after graduation, Pansy and Draco come across something extraordinary, which links them to the last person they had in mind.

Pairing- Ron Wesley and Lavender Brown Weasley, Harry Potter and Parvati Patil Potter, and at the beginning- Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson Malfoy, but subject to change.

Spoilers-

 Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone,

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,   

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Disclaimer- I do not claim to own any of the characters from the Harry Potter series.  They all belong to Ms. Rowling.  Don't sue, I have a disclaimer and I'm not afraid to use it!

Previously- Harry and Ron looked completely ashamed, Juliet and even Draco observed with a sense of satisfaction.  Finally Ron looked back up.

"We're going to make up for that."  He said firmly.  "We're going to make up for it all." 

Then Harry joined him.  "Juliet, would you like to meet your mother?"

~

If I never knew you
If I never felt this love
I would have no inkling of
How precious life can be

And if I never knew you
I would never have a clue
How at last I'd find in you
the missing part of me

In this world so full of fear
Full of rage and lies
I can see the truth so clear
In your eyes
So dry your eyes

And I'm so grateful to you
I'd have lived my whole life through
Lost forever
If I never knew you

If I never knew you
I'd be safe but half as real
Never knowing I could feel
A love so strong and true

I'm so grateful to you
I'd have lived my whole life through
Lost foreverIf I never knew you

I thought our love would be so beautiful
Somehow we made the whole world bright

I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong
All they'd leave us were these whispers in the night
But still my heart is singingWe were right

If I never knew you
If I never knew this love
I would have no inkling of
how precious life can be

There's no moment I regret
Since the moment that we met
If our time has gone too fast I've lived at last

I thought our love would be so beautiful
Somehow we'd make the whole world bright

I thought our love would be so beautiful
We'd turn the darkness into light

And still my heart is singing
We were right

We were right
And if I never knew you
I'd have lived my whole through

Empty as the sky
Never knowing why
Lost forever
If I never knew you

(If I never Knew you-Pocahontas Soundtrack)

~*~

Juliet's eyes went wide, and then Draco stepped in.  "We need to go see her love."  He said to Juliet gently.  "It's only fair to the both of you."

Juliet nodded her small blonde head, and soon the four of them were on their way to the Potter residence.

~*~

Upon arriving at the Potter mansion, Draco grew increasingly nervous.  They entered into the spacious living room Hermione had seen when they first arrived.  Draco looked around with an amused smirk. 

"You did alright for yourself, Potter."  He said.

"Oh!  What's that?"  Juliet said, pointing to the big screen in the corner.

"That's a TV."  Ron said to her.  "It's a muggle thing; I myself never saw one till Harry bought his first one." 

Juliet looked at it more closely, looking ready to fiddle with it, but Harry said.  "Follow me; I'll take you to her."  And the three others followed Harry up the winding steps to Hermione's bedroom.

~*~

"Hermione? There's, er, people here to see you."  Harry stepped into the guest room that Hermione was currently staying in.

"What is it Harry?"  Hermione asked from her bed.  She was lying on her stomach, feet in the air, reading a book.

"Um, well, I'll just send them in."  Harry said in a hurry and turned around when Hermione nodded.  Hermione swung her legs around her until she was sitting Indian-style on the large bed. She heard a knock.

"Come in."  She said, and a small blonde head shyly entered.

"Juliet?"  Hermione asked, confused. 

"Hi."  Juliet's tiny voice echoed throughout the large room.

"What did you need?"  Hermione asked kindly to the girl, standing up.

"I want to know something about myself."  Juliet said carefully.  "I want to know more about my mother."

Hermione was startled, and her eyes were sad.  "Pansy?"  Hermione asked.  "I'm afraid we were never really good friends in school, I never knew her that well, I'm sorry I-"

"Not Pansy Parkinson."  Another deeper voice said, startling Hermione.  Draco Malfoy was standing in the doorway now, leaning against the door frame.  "Not Pansy."  He said again.  "You."

Hermione quickly sat back down on the bed, her legs failing her.  Draco strided quickly to her side, but Hermione put her hand up and looked away from him.

He sat beside her, a few inches away while Juliet looked on.  For the first time in her life, she saw her two true parents together or at least in the same room if nothing else. 

"You have to face this, Hermione."  Draco said gently.  "I knew her all these years, and she has known me, but the two of you-" He swept his hand from his daughter to Hermione. "You two have never known each other for what you truly are. She's your daughter, our daughter; you need to listen to her." 

Draco fixed his silver eyes on Hermione, who had her head bent in an almost praying position, loose hair blocking Draco's view of her.

Hermione slowly looked up, taking in the scene around her.  Draco was on her right side, looking pained to be so close, but not daring to offer any sort of physical comfort, and Juliet standing in front of her, looking ready to bolt out the door in a moments notice.

"My baby."  Hermione muttered incoherently.  "I can't believe this, all of this, its, its amazing.  To think that….my lord…"  Hermione trailed off the sentence she tried to string together. 

Juliet looked at Hermione and said.  "Can I ask you one question?"  Hermione nodded.  Juliet took a deep breath, then said, "May I call you mum?"

That just about did it for Hermione.  Tears spilled out over her eyes, and she stood up, and reached for the small girl, who was crying herself.  Hermione was now on her knees, which made her a couple of inches shorter then Juliet.  She hugged the girl tightly, the pulled away and held her at an arms length. 

"You seem to be handling this better then me."  Hermione said with a small smile.

"I've had some practice."  Juliet said sarcastically.  "I think I know everything now."

Hermione looked at her daughter with wide eyes.  "You're so quick to forgive! I never could have dreamed-"

"I think you deserve it."  Juliet said firmly.  "Everyone deserves a second chance."  She added off handily. 

Draco startled the two girls on the floor by coughing.  "Could you give us a minute Jul?"  He asked kindly, ignoring the exasperated look Hermione shoot at him.  "I'm sure Ryan and James are around here somewhere, why don't you ask MR. Potter?"  Juliet smiled and nodded, giving her mum another tight hug.

After Juliet left, Hermione drew herself up into a standing position, and Draco stepped up to her, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Why did you make her leave Draco?  That was my daughter!"

"Shh."  Draco said, putting a finger to her lips.  Hermione then realized how close they were standing, and took a small step backward.  "Draco, I don't know if I can do this."  Hermione confessed, still looking into his eyes.  I've locked away my childish dreams of love long ago, I don't know if I can love again." 

"Give me your hand."  Draco commanded, his eyes betraying his steady voice.  Hermione gave him her hand, her beautiful ring standing out against her milky skin.

Draco then did a very peculiar thing.  He took her hand in his and twisted the ring so that the snake's rich head was in the inside of her hand.  He then did the same to his ring, the head on his palm.  He took her hand in his again, this time taking it palm to palm, their fingers interlaced.  Hermione was startled to feel the ring on her finger grow warm, and a faint glow coming off the golden hue.  She stared at their hands, which where now locked together in Draco's firm grasp. 

She looked a Draco to see him return her gaze, not seeming to notice the glowing rings on their fingers.  They stood there a moment, not moving, fingers laced together and staring at each other, truly seeing one another for the first time in all these years.  Draco pulled his palm away from hers slightly, and twisted their hands so that their fingers were still together, but bended backwards, their palms were facing the ceiling, and the glowing serpent rings facing up as well.  The glowing red and green were glowing brighter still, and finally a light of both colors shot out of the snakes eyes like laser beams. 

Hermione gazed ahead of her in amazement as the colors swirled around creating the figures of two people, one of the green light and one of the red.  To Hermione's surprise, the red figure was that of herself, her fifteen year old self to be precise, down to every detail, her then-still bushy hair, her heavy school bag, her Gryffindor robes, everything, and the green one, was that of Draco, also in absolute detail.  The colors swirled in the background together, forming the transfiguration room as it was thirteen years ago.  The red and green Hermione and Draco were alone in that classroom, Hermione remembered.  They were doing extra credit for Professor McGonagall, Hermione because it was extra credit and Draco because he needed the points.  Small figures of Draco and Hermione were standing close together, just as their real counterparts were this very moment.  The red and green figures got increasingly closer, the small Draco putting his green arms around the small Hermione.  Then, just as magically, the small figures leaned in and kissed, and as they did, their own green and red colors started glimmering and sparkling, mixing in with each other, until one could no longer tell who had started off as what color. 

"Our first kiss."  The real Hermione said in amazement.  "That was our first kiss, down to every detail…Draco…how did you do this?  What is this magic?"

Draco grinned sheepishly.  "These rings are the only existing like them in the world.  I sort of fibbed when I said I bought them.  Their in fact called the rings of truth, and was created for the Malfoy family by the great Merlin himself." 

Hermione looked disbelieving at him, so he continued. "Years ago, for however many great-grandpas there were, one of my ancestors fell in love with a beautiful woman.  What many don't know, and I myself had to do quite a bit of digging, was that the woman my ancestor fell in love with was a muggle.  A pure muggle, not just a witch of muggle blood.  My ancestor's family forbade him to see her; he was in fact already betrothed, so he went to see a renowned wizard named Merlin, who devised these rings.  Merlin created these in the image of everything the Malfoy family stands for: wealth, beauty, cunning, and majesty. It was enchanted of course; Merlin called them his best work.  He gave the rings to my ancestor, and told him that if there was a chance the girl could truly be in love with him, and if, if not today, or tomorrow, the love would still exist.  By putting the rings on, we connected ourselves the same way my ancestor did.  The have a spell that connects with your subconscious.  Did you ever wonder why you never wanted to take it off?  Even thought you thought you hated me?  It's because the ring is enchanted to sense love.  As long as you wore it, you loved me, and I you.  My ancestor had to marry the woman he was betrothed to, as his family would have killed the muggle girl.  He wore it his entire life, until his wife died.  But when he returned to the muggle village his true love lived, he came in time to see her die of old age.  As you know, we magical people live longer then a regular muggle. Nearly seventy years longer if I'm correct.  He arrived at her deathbed, and she remembered him.  She still wore his ring, just as I said.  She never married, she always loved him.  She told him to take the ring and keep it in our family that maybe history may repeat itself, and maybe the rings can help. This ring kept me going, Hermione.  Don't you see?  I would have been able to tell if you took it off, the link would have been broken, but you never did, and I kept living.  You were my life even when you were not in it.  A simple incantation makes these rings act much like a pensive.  I poured every bit of that memory into those rings.  There is powerful magic filled in them.

Hermione took a deep breath, and glanced back at the red and green design above her head.  The two figures were now frozen in the time.  An everlasting kiss. It was the best moment of Hermione's life, and there it was, in front of her. 

"I never regretted any of it."  Hermione told him.  "When I realized I was pregnant, during the labor, the last long years….I never regretted that that was what I had to pay in order to know what true love was.  If I never knew you, Draco, I would be safe, but only half as real, and the person I am today, you made.  I found in you, the missing part of me.  I always knew you only left because of your father, but I didn't know I was in danger too.  But you should have known I would have died to be with you."

"I did know, Hermione, that's why I stopped it, I cared about you enough for that."

"I know that, Draco."  Hermione said tearfully.  "Your father was horrible, he gives our kind a truly bad name, and he has ruined so many lives.  I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong.  He proved that to me, and in a way, Harry and Ron proved that to me too.  I would be lost forever if I never knew you, Draco Malfoy.  Are you able to bear that responsibility?"

Draco smiled a relived smile and broke away their hand, flickering out the red and green picture.  "I'm ready for anything you throw at me Hermione Granger."  He said.  "I would have been lost forever if I had never known you either." 

"I'm glad to hear that Draco, but we need to be realistic."  Hermione said in her know-it-all tone.  "We can't just go rushing into-"

Hermione didn't get to finish her sentence, because in an instant Draco swooped down and kissed her.  At first she was surprised, but soon leaned into it, and deepening the kiss.  She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he around her waist.

Little did they know that Ron and Harry were watching everything through one of the old fashioned keyholes of the study door. 

"Yes!"  They jumped up from the floor, giving each other high fives, and then quickly remembered how old they were and composed themselves, grinning like mad. 

Back in the study, Hermione broke away.  "Draco!"  She sputtered, "What are you doing?  Just jumping into that? Draco! Why are you laughing?" 

Draco was indeed laughing, his eyes lit up and his whole face was smiling.  "I'm sorry, Hermione."  He said gently, taking some deep breathes.  "I just could help it.  You look exactly like you did when we were teenagers, all know-it-all and bossy."  He grinned good naturedly, and Hermione couldn't help but smile too.

"Very funny Draco." She said.  "But that's not the point.  What are we going to do now?  Just pick up where we left off?  Before or after the confrontation with your father?"

Draco flinched at the memory.  "After."  He said after a moment.  "Hermione, I could never ask you to forget everything, I'll never forget either, and I have told you before, tears will never repay the love I owe to you, but starting today I'm going to try.  I'm going to try to be everything you need, a good father to our daughter, a good wizard, if you let me, please Hermione."

Hermione was startled he said after.  Clearly this wasn't the same Draco.  The old Draco would have tried for the easy way out.  This Draco was taking the long approach, this Draco was a man.

"We were strangers, starting out on a journey."  She said to Draco.  "We didn't know what we'd have to go through, and now here we stand, and it's like I'm back at the beginning. But now I'm going to be at the beginning with you."  She stopped for a moment.  "Draco, I think I need you.  I have survived these years, but I haven't been living.  I want the life I dreamt of having when I was seventeen, I want the fairy tale, I want to know my daughter, and I was to raise her with you, beside you."

"You don't know how wonderful it is to hear that Hermione."  Draco said in an almost awed voice.  "Juliet deserves to have the best; she really is an amazing kid.  She was able to grow up in the Malfoy manor with Lucius, and she managed to turn out like a perfect Gryffindor.  You're so much a part of her, just by existing."

This brought tears to Hermione's eyes.  It all sounded so foreign, her daughter, her daughter Juliet, Juliet…..Malfoy?

"Draco, you never answered me."  She said slowly.  "What next?"

Draco's eyes clouded a bit, as if he was having a vision of something wonderful.  "What do you want, Hermione?"  He asked.

"What I want," She said.  "Is to be happy.  I want to have the life we planned for ourselves when we were sixteen.  I want everything I have missed.  I want everything, and I'm scared that if I don't have it all, I'll die all over again.  "I'll die again, and this time nothing can bring me back."

Draco pondered this a moment, then said.  "Then I'll give you the world Hermione, I'll give you the world and everything in it, just to be safe."

Hermione smiled at Draco, and said, "For right now, I think I could just settle for a happy family.  A family with you and our daughter.

"That can be arranged."  Hermione and Draco turned around to see Juliet standing in the doorway, a huge smile lighting up her pretty face.

"Oh can it?"  Draco said teasingly.  "How do you figure?"

"Well, mom can live with us for one."  Juliet said in a tone Hermione very much recognized as her own.  "And second, you two can get married."

Hermione's eyes went wide, and they turned onto Draco's who, much to Hermione's pleasant annoyance looked perfectly cool and collected. 

"That's an excellent idea love."  Draco said with a friendly smirk.  "But maybe you should ask your mothers permission before you marry me off."

Juliet giggled.  "Mommy, will you marry daddy?" She said in an innocent voice, although her eyes were laughing.

Hermione was shocked at the forwardness of it all, marriage? Already? What?  But then she realized what Juliet said: 'mommy will you marry daddy?' She smiled at the irony of it all.

"I don't know sweetie." She said just as innocently as she could.  "Maybe if daddy asked me, I might say yes." 

Juliet smiled even wider and turned to her father.  "Daddy, mommy said she will!"

Draco and Hermione laughed at the child's excitement, and then Hermione said.  "I didn't say I would, I just said I might."

"But you used the voice!"  Juliet whined. 

"What voice?"

"The voice adults use when they say one thing, but are really saying another!"  Juliet said, as if it where the most obvious thing in the world

Hermione and Draco laughed again at their daughter, and then Hermione, completely caught up in it all, dropped to her knees and hugged her daughter.  Draco followed suite, wrapping them both in his strong arms until Juliet managed to gasp out: "Mum! Dad! Oxygen….becoming an issue!"

Draco relaxed as did Hermione, and they all three sat around on the hard floor, just looking at each other. 

"We could become a real family."  Juliet said earnestly.

"It's not that easy, honey."  Hermione said, still wary of the thought.

"What do you mean its not that easy?"  Juliet asked.

"There's a lot….alot of other things."  Hermione answered.  "There's just a lot of catching up to do, a lot of everything to do."

Draco sat there quietly throughout the conversation.  "We could make it work you know."  He said quietly, in a very un-Malfoy like manner.  "We could if we tried."

"How can you say that Draco?  Do you want a repeat of everything?  What would Harry and Ron say? Hmm? Think about that?"

"Hermione."  Draco said patiently.  "Who do you think arranged all of this? Me?  Hardly.  Its been Harry and Ron this whole time.  At the quiddich pitch, now, everything.  Even their sons had a chop in all this.  They discovered Estella and Phillip."

Hermione clearly wasn't expecting this, and all she could do was stare.  Draco continued.  "They still feel guilty about leaving you like that before, I think this is their way of trying to make up for it all. All of it.  Hermione, you know I love you, and I know you love me.  I think we could make it work now.  My father is gone, Pansy is gone, and Juliet deserves to know you, and you her.  We all deserve to be happy, to be a real family." 

"We do."  Juliet agreed. 

~

"Think that did it Harry?" Ron said to Harry.  The two men where in the large sitting room, talking about what was going on above their heads.

"I don't know Ron."  Harry confessed.  "This runs so much deeper then what we thought.  Its so much more then a teenage game anymore.  Ron, they were seeing each other for three years in Hogwarts! And whenever knew! We never had the slightest idea! Think about how much it killed them; just think about all the times Hermione came with us to Hogsmeade, wishing we were Malfoy.  I cant stand the guilt, I really cant."

Ron nodded sympathetically.  "It will work out Harry."  He said.  "It has to, they have a daughter! Hermione always wanted children, now she has one, she's not going to let go so easily."

"I know."  Harry replied.  "I'm just praying.  Ron, I've had nightmares all my life, I'm used to them, but I dreamt of Hermione for eleven years.  These dreams where things that might have happened to her.  Things, well, things I cant describe, some horrible, some not, some just painful to look at.  I don't know what all Hermione went through those years, but the fact remains is that she still loves him, and it will end up killing her if she cant get the love she needs."

Ron just nodded and stared at his hinds.  "There are a lot of things that need to be done before anything is made clear."  He said quietly.  "There's a lot that may never be revealed, but we don't know what's going to happen, no one does."   

~

"We could be a family, Hermione."  Draco said forcefully.  "We could be a family if you let it."

Hermione stared at the two blonde people in front of her.  "I wouldn't want anything more, Draco."  Hermione said.  "We had something beautiful, we did.  We had three years of each other, and it wasn't enough.  I want to be happy again Draco, can you do it?" 

Draco fixed his eyes on Hermione.  "I can try."

(A/N)

shoot guys, I'm sorry, but I cant reply to all of you and get this chapter up tonight, I hope you don't mind :P seriously, like 50 people reviewed! I couldn't believe it! anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't too much of a disappointment L it really sucks in my standards, really sucks. But im just having a horrible time writing.  I think I need to take a small break from this story, and write some more of my other. Its tiring trying to imagine them all older, and taking out some of the fun.  Eh. Lol. anyway, maybe expect another in a week or so.  I wont completely neglect my baby!

Xoxo/ariel