Chapter 8 – A Final Decision

Draco and Hermione both had escaped the barriers of the white room but they were not dead.

When Draco flung his eyes open, he witnessed a sky blue colored ceiling facing him. Was he descending into heaven? If he was, then why was he lying on a hard surface? He looked down and found a king sized bed covered with pink satin sheets. What? Where was he? As soon as he moved his eyes to the right, eh wished he hadn't. It was Rosario, completely naked, with her full breast showing. Draco instantly closed his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to end up in that room again.

He needed to get out of there as soon as possible. He wore his clothes at top speed and stormed out of the room without looking back. Just as he was about to head out the main door, footsteps echoed in the living room.

"Where are you going? What's wrong?" said Rosario.

"I have to get out of here." Draco said without looking at her. He made sure never to turn around and look her in the face.

"Why? Didn't you enjoy last night?" She said peevishly, wrapping her arms around his waist and coming in to kiss his cheek. Draco couldn't breath. He waved a hand back and stuttered, "No-No. I have to go."

"What? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Just in case you haven't figured it out, this is over. It was wrong to begin with. I'm married, alright?"

Without waiting for a reaction, Draco walked outside and slammed the apartment door. Finally he was able to catch some air as he scurried in the real world outside. For the first time in his life, he had done something right, and it made him feel really good about himself. Now all he devoured was to reunite with his wife. His wife. The phrase sounded different to him now because he actually understood what it meant.

With a quick Apparation, Draco appeared right in his bedroom. He took one look around and saw that Pansy wasn't in there, meaning that she knew he had been out all night. He didn't know what to do. Should he tell her everything that had been going on with him, including the parts about Rosario? That's what a wife was there after all, to confide and trust in. But what if she got upset? Well, of course she would. He had cheated on her. He was angry with himself.

"Pan! Pansy!" He called throughout the house, which was unfortunately huge. Apparently, his father had left loads of money in the Malfoy Manor and Draco hadn't wasted a second in taking it. All that didn't matter now. The bigger the house was the worse he felt.

He strolled down the stairs and yelled, "Pansy! Where are you?"

"I'm in the kitchen!" The voice yelled back, and Draco rushed to the kitchen. The moment he saw her, an uplifting surge of energy struck him that he had never felt before. He had never been so happy to see someone this much in his entire life. Pansy frowned, wondering what was wrong with him, and said, "Draco? What's the matter? Where were you last night? I was damn worried-"

Draco broke Pansy off by pulling her body to his and placing his head on her shoulder. His heart was all warm and fuzzy inside. He couldn't describe his feelings of survival, happiness, relief, everything combined in one. Draco caressed her long curly hair and stifled a sob.

"Wow…you haven't given me a hug like that since…ever. What's up?"

"I just had to face six days of agony trapped somewhere with no food or water."

"Huh? What are you talking about? I just saw you eat an English muffin yesterday."

"It was more of a…dream, but it felt real, physical and emotional pain, and I think I died in it."

"Aww baby…come here my little dragon." Pansy held out her arms wide and Draco didn't think twice before he fell into them.

The room Hermione was in didn't seem so bright anymore. Her body rose comfortably off of a familiar couch, and she had to glance at it a second time to actually believe where she was. Hermione was back in Ron's apartment! Her neck pricked around sharply, looking for Ron.

"So you're up." Came a voice from the doorway. Hermione looked at him and saw that he looked the same as he had six days ago. Time hadn't moved without her presence after all. She sniffed her hair and it wasn't smelly and greasy anymore. She didn't feel hungry or tired. As much as she wanted to smile and enjoy her return, she couldn't because there was a serious task waiting for her.

"You alright? You look like you've just seen a poltergeist. I was planning to throw you out after you woke up but I'll refrain from doing it."

"Thank you." Hermione mumbled, even though she knew she fully deserved it.

"Hmm…"

"You were right Ron," she got right to the point, "I have to break things off with Harry."

He seemed stunned, "Wow. Are you serious? Last night you were really against it."

"Yes, well, something made me change my mind."

"And what's that?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I don't think you should hear it first." Hermione said, knowing that the only person she would tell it to was Harry. He needed to know why she had been put there in the first place.

As he was about to protest, she intervened, "It was a test, and it made me realize what I'm doing is wrong. I want to thank you for guiding me the right way. I should have listened to you. I can't believe I defied him again after all you said last night."

"But you didn't. Nothing happened." Ron explained.

"What? How is that possible? I remembered us kissing and-"

"Yeah, we were, but you sort of just fainted right after that. I was going to send you to St.Mungo's but when I felt a pulse I just put you on the couch and went to sleep myself."

"Oh…" Hermione trailed, "I see. That's good then."

Ron stared at her for a moment and then shook his head, "Man. You must have gone through a hell of a lot. You're all different and weird now."

"Thanks." Hermione grinned. As she packed up her things, Draco Malfoy came to her mind. Was he alive as she was? He must be because both of them had died in that room. Well, they'd died in their minds. That was the scariest thing she'd ever gone through. She knew she would never forget it, and never lay a hand on another man when she was married.

The more Draco thought about it, the more it dawned on him that he didn't love Pansy. If he had, he would have never double crossed her with Rosario. Draco knew that he would have to tell her if he truly desired to be a better person, but the problem would be observing that disappointed face when he told her. The whole world was disappointed of him at this point that he didn't need his wife to follow as well.

Draco was assembled on his special leather couch in the office room, surrounded by hundreds of scrolls of parchment from the ministry that he had kept. It was a habit he had accustomed himself into. Whenever he was at a trial, he would get a parchment revealing all the details of the case, including witnesses, names, and all kinds of other things that were relevant to the case. He didn't know why he did it, but on some level, it made him feel important.

A few minutes later, Pansy came trotting in and handed him a plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon with some tea on the side. Draco smiled forcedly at her as she sat beside him and folded her arms. He didn't really need the breakfast because all the hunger had dived right out of his body as soon as he had woken up, and not one bone in his body ached or limped as it had. It was hard to believe that this might have been the last breakfast he would be eating in front of Pansy in this big house.

Draco twisted his neck back just to relieve the tension in the room. Pansy raised a hand to her cheek and frowned, "Who are you? Who has possessed you? I had to admit that I'm worried out of my mind about you."

"I have to tell you something, Pan, and you're not going to like it." Draco took a deep breath, "There are two things, actually."

Pansy put on a serious face and said, "Alright. I'm listening."

"Adultery." Draco spoke in an abrupt manner. She gave him a blank look, making him roll his eyes, "I-err-cheated on you."

Two seconds of silence passed as she stared at him, and then those dark eyes of hers widened. She was speechless, and before she got a chance to open her mouth, Draco held up a finger, "No, wait. There's more. I want a divorce."

Pansy shuffled her feet and scratched her head, "Excuse? What did you just say?"

"I want a divorce. God, he had never felt worse. He wanted to escape from his office, escape from his huge house that reminded him of the deceit every second.

"You can't be serious. But-why?"

'My dream-vision, whatever it was, made me realize that this is wrong."

"But I love you." Tears brimmed up in her eyes. When he didn't say it back, she understood, "And you don't. I see. Well then. I…really don't know what to say. I didn't know it would be over this soon. It hasn't even been a year."

"We were together for three." Draco pointed out.

"We weren't married then."

"Right." Pansy sniffed and wiper the tears away, "I still want to know why."

Draco had just been ready to get off the couch when he was forced to sit back down by her question. How could she still not understand?

"I don't love you Pansy." He said flatly.

She gasped and covered her mouth, "How can you say that? Why did you marry me then? Just to have some fun? Just to enjoy it for a little while and then move on to another one? Why?"

"I was clueless before. I didn't know what or who I wanted, but I do now."

"What's changed? Nothing! You're supposed to be the same person and you're supposed to love me."

Draco reasoned, "Maybe…but I don't love you as much as I thought I did. You have to understand."

"How can I? You're leaving me!" She exploded, the kind of explosion that Draco had faced in the room with Hermione Granger and one that made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He stood up and looked at her pitifully as she sobbed. He wanted to apologize for everything but it just couldn't come to his lips. He was not one to apologize easily.

"I have to go." He said, and came another loud sob, "But I'll come back. I have to take care of something."

Hermione knew where Draco Malfoy lived. Everyone did. It was one of the most extravagant mansions in Wizarding Britain but Hermione knew that he hadn't used one Sickle of his own money to pay for it. All the money had come from darling Daddy.

She chose to walk instead of Apparate that day. Her mind told her that she needed a walk ever though her body hadn't really been in that room.

Harry still didn't know about everything that was going on because he wasn't home yet. She had wanted to tell him first, but what she was doing now couldn't wait either. Hermione had to know that Draco was alive and not dead like the last time she had seen him. True, it would be awkward to go visit your worst enemy but she had the strangest feeling that he was coming out to find her too.

They actually met midway on the corner between Bradley and Bittern Street. Neither of them were surprised to see each other, nor did the smug prideful look on Draco's face astonish her.

"So, you came." He said shortly, ruffling a hand through his hair.

Hermione nodded, "I knew you would."

They stood there for a few minutes before either of them spoke. She didn't know what he was thinking about, but she was waiting for something from him.

"Well?" Hermione hinted as she tapped her shoe against the sidewalk.

"Well what?"

"Ugh. Men. I want you apology."

"For what?"

"Oh, I don't know, for touching me and almost raping me before I punched you out."

"What are you talking about? You never punched me out. It was all in your imagination. You were kind of unconscious by that point."

"Well, it felt good to think it then."

"I barely remember what I did to you."

"I'm not planning to go over the details. All I want is my apology and I'm not moving from this spot until I get it."

Draco shook his head, "Oh, fine. I'm terribly sorry for what I did. It was incredibly wrong of me. Although something tells me that I already apologized to you."

"Now that's your imagination, bucko. And by the way, you owe me a new phone."

"What? No I don't. It was a dream. Nothing broke there."

"Well…okay, fine then. Get me a new one because you owe me. You treated me horribly. I'm hoping you wouldn't do that to a woman in real life."

For the first time, Draco grinned at her. It felt good to see it on such a vile face. The smile brought light to his face, his icy gray eyes.

"Have you learned your lesson?" Hermione asked Draco. He nodded and said, "Have you?"

"Definitely. Ready to go?"

"Mmhmm."

Hermione and Draco lined themselves next to each other as they paced themselves in the direction of the Ministry of Magic to finalize their divorces. They didn't know what would happen with each other, but both knew they wouldn't allow anything until they were absolutely single.