Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Too Perfect

Chapter 9

Promises

Hermione dropped the letter to the floor and sank to the chair, wild thoughts going through her mind. Draco rushed to her side and picked up the fallen letter.

Hermione,

Come quick, your dad's been in a terrible accident. There's no telling how long he'll live. You must come home immediately! He keeps asking for you.

Harry

Draco dropped the letter to the floor as Hermione had done and scooped her into his arms. She sobbed into his chest, worrying about her dad.

"You need to figure out when the next plane leaves for home. I don't know how these Muggle airports work."

"Why can't we Apparate home, Draco?"

"Well, you'd have to do Joint-Apparation, and I've never done that before. Plus I've never done it internationally…I don't want to risk leaving…anything…behind."

She nodded and went to the phone, trying to calm down. After some talking, she found out that the next plane they could get on didn't leave until December 27th. She sighed, putting the phone back in its cradle.

"The earliest flight we can make is on the 27th. Too many people are traveling."

Draco breathed out slowly and said, "Alright, we'll stay calm…and we'll pretend nothing's happening."

"Nothing's happening? Are you kidding me? My father could die at any moment and I can't even see him until late Friday afternoon!"

He put his arms around her and said, "All I meant was that we should try and enjoy Christmas in Paris…treasure this time together, you know? Let's enjoy Christmas and try not to think about it."

In her heart, Hermione knew he was right. They shouldn't ruin their holiday with this bad news. "All right, Draco. We'll try and enjoy Christmas." He kissed her forehead and she pulled away, writing a return letter to Harry saying the earliest they could get in. When she was finished she sighed, and Draco picked her up and carried her to the bed. He laid her down and started massaging her legs and back. Hermione flipped over on her back and pulled Draco on top of her, kissing him passionately. Before they knew it, their clothes were off and they were under the covers, their current crisis forgotten in a wave of passion.

The next morning they woke up in each other arms, tangled in the sheets. Hermione was the first one to open her eyes. She got up, waking Draco up in the process. She looked around the room groggily and it took her a moment to register the scene in front of her.

A Christmas tree was set up against the wall that faced the bed, presents stacked high under it. She gasped and Draco sat up, a smile plastered on his tired face.

"Draco! Did you do this?"

He nodded and yawned. She said, "When!"

He finished yawning and said, "I pulled myself away from you reluctantly and set all of this up. Not all of these presents are from me, though. There's some that were sent from the Weasly's and Harry. There's also a bunch of cards from Hogwart's teachers. I'm guessing they're sympathetic cards about your dad."

At the mention of her father, tears came to Hermione's eyes. She brushed them away quickly and got up, quickly running to the presents. She smiled hugely and picked up a big present that was from Draco, tearing the paper off of it quickly like a 3-year-old unwrapping a gift. Inside was a box. She opened the box excitedly and pulled out a long, flowing black skirt. She squealed and stared at Draco, who was still sitting in the bed.

"Oh, Draco! It's the skirt I saw in that boutique! I love it. Thank you!" She jumped up onto the bed and kissed him on the cheek. She said to him, "You open one now. You've got gifts under there!" He got up out from under the covers and pulled a present with his name on it and jumped back under the covers. He unwrapped it slowly and pulled out a dark green scarf with a snake on it.

"This is great, 'Mione! I love it! I've been needing a new scarf. Mine is almost torn to pieces." She smiled as he kissed her cheek.

"I really didn't know what to get you that was serious. You've got a few gag gifts under there." He smiled and said, "Your turn."

They went through their presents, their current problems out of their minds. Hermione got more stuff than she'd ever gotten before. She got a sweater from Mrs. Weasly, as usual, with an H on the front, a blouse that matched the skirt, a box of chocolates, and a teddy bear from Draco, and other knick-knacks from her friends. The rest of Draco's gifts consisted of a stuffed snake, which made him laugh, and a photo album with pictures of him, Hermione, and their time together. He got a few small gifts from some friends who hadn't betrayed him, and from Mrs. Weasly, who sent gifts to her family, her family's friends, and even friends of her family's friends. Hugs and kisses were exchanged, and they went down to the hotel dining room for Christmas breakfast.

Christmas was different for the Weasly's and the Grangers. They spent Christmas in St. Mungo's. Gifts were still exchanged, and everyone was relatively happy. Hedwig tapped on the hospital room window and Harry read Hermione's note about the earliest they could get back. He spread the news to the rest of the family and everyone breathed a little easier knowing that she'd get there.

Meanwhile, Mr. Granger wasn't doing well. Although he wasn't "magically" injured, he was still placed in St. Mungo's so the Weasly's, Hermione, and Harry could all be with him without worry. He had gotten drunk that night and ran off the road, smashing into a semi and four other cars, everything bursting into flames. He was the most severely injured because he had been thrown from the car. He had landed hard and awkwardly on the guard rail and it had gone almost through him. Both of his legs had been broken and burned badly. He had injured his lower back, and the Healers said that he'd never walk properly again. He'd need intense physical therapy and a cane. His face was cut and scarped, and his arms had 2nd degree burns. His chest was covered in severe 3rd degree burns, and he had lost a lot of blood in the accident. The Healers were sure they could repair most of him, but some of his injuries were too bad to fix with just plain magic. They needed special Muggle treatments that the Healers didn't possess, and they couldn't risk bringing in a Muggle doctor. They'd need to find one, convince him to come, reveal everything to him, hope he could help Mr. Granger, then wait for him to do so, and then erase a lot of his memory. It was far too risky.

The day passed quickly for both parties. The Weasly's, Mrs. Granger, and Harry went out to a nearby restaurant that was open for some actual food and to give Mr. Granger some peace and quiet to rest. Hermione and Draco went out to see Paris at Christmas covered in snow. It was really quite beautiful.

Before anyone knew it, Christmas passed by and the morning of December 27th dawned. The flight back was fine, but Hermione couldn't stop biting her nails in anticipation. They landed and got off, wondering how to get to St. Mungo's.

When they arrived they were met with hugs and kisses. Hermione was glad to see them all, but the first thing on her mind was her dad.

"How's my dad?"

Mrs. Weasly answered, "Not so good. They're not sure why, but they just can't fix him properly. They need some intense Muggle treatments, but they don't know how to do them. Their magic isn't working." She explained everything that was wrong with him.

Hermione gasped and felt the tears well up to her eyes. Ginny stepped up and pulled her into a hug. He started sobbing into Ginny's shoulder, as Hermione was considerably taller than Ginny, and let herself go. Draco patted her on the back. A Healer came to the group and said, "Is a Miss Granger here?" Hermione looked up and raised her hand.

"He's asking for you."

Hermione wiped her eyes and followed the Healer to a room. She walked in slowly, seeing her mother standing beside a bed with a man wrapped in bandages almost from head to toe. The tears started coming back and she whispered, "Dad?" Mrs. Granger looked up at the sound and ran to Hermione, hugging her. Despite how angry Hermione was at her mother for deserting her in her time of need for her father, she gave into the warm embrace. Her mother broke the embrace and whispered to her, "Go see your father." Hermione nodded and walked past Mrs. Granger to her dad on the bed.

"Dad?"

His eyes fluttered open. He stared at Hermione and said, "Hermione!"

"Dad!"

She hugged him gently and he said, "I'm sorry, baby. I'm really sorry."

"What are you sorry about? That you got in an accident?"

"No, no, no…I'm sorry I…I was irrational…and I kicked you out of the house…that was the…stupidest mistake…I hope you can…forgive me." He managed to get out, pausing from the pain he was experiencing.

"Of course, Dad!"

"I'm happy…for you and Draco…I'm happy that you've…found someone that you can…spend the rest of your life with…I'm happy that I'm going to be a grandfather…although your age…does concern me…I'm still happy for you."

Hermione started crying again and said, "Dad, you have no idea how much hearing you say that means to me."

She hugged him gently again and smiled, feeling happy that her life was starting to get back on track. She turned back to Mrs. Granger who said, "Congratulations, dear!"

"Congratulations? On what?"

"On everything! This is your last year at school, you've found a fantastic man, you've patched things up with your dad, and you're going to make me a grandma!"

She laughed and Hermione ran to her, catching her in a hug, feeling happier then she ever had before.

The next few days went by slowly. Mr. Granger's condition wasn't getting any better, and Hermione was refusing to leave his side until he was better. They had to pry her fingers from the end of his bed to get her to come back to school. She was saying goodbye, letting silent tears spill from her eyes.

She promised to write every day to see that he was okay. He had laughed and said, "Once a week, as usual, will be fine, baby. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You'll see. Now go, you don't want to miss the train to take you back to Hoagiewert's or whatever it is your school is called."

She laughed softly and said, "Hogwart's, Dad. It's called Hogwart's."

He smiled and said, "If you're going to promise me something…promise me that you'll be careful at school and cautious with this Draco boy."

"Dad!"

He stopped smiling and said, "Promise me."

"I promise, Daddy."

"Promise to me that you won't be a worrywart while you're at that school of yours."

"I won't be able to keep from worrying, Dad."

He gave her a look and she said, "Fine. I promise."

"And promise me that if I go—"

"Dad, don't talk like that!"

"Just listen, honey. Promise that if and when I go, you'll only be sad for a little while—"

"If you go, I'll be sad forever. There's no way around that!"

"Hermione…you need to be strong for your mother. You need to promise me that when I leave this earth, you'll take care of your mother…that you'll be strong for her…that you'll tell her that she'll be with me again someday and to hold on for as long as she can. Promise me, Hermione."

"Dad…"

"Hermione! Promise me! I can't let you leave until you promise me this!"

Tears were falling from her eyes and she said, "I promise, Dad."

He smiled and said, "Don't cry, baby."

"It hurts to hear you talk like that."

"I know…"

"You're sure you'll be alright?"

"Don't worry about me, sweetie. I'll be fine. Now go!"

She nodded and kissed his cheek whispering, "I love you, Daddy."

"Love you, too, honey. Don't forget your promises."

"I won't."

"Promise?" He smiled, jokingly.

"I promise."

A/N-

Well, I really don't have anything to say…hmm…I guess I should start writing notes down…Well, this chapter was dedicated to my best friend Sarah (Dopey91, read her stories! 1 is "We, The Female Greasers" It's The Outsiders. Then she's got a Moulin Rouge one going, "The Ruffled Flamingo") She reeeally wanted me to update so I sat down and wrote this whole thing just for her. So tell her "Thanks!" in your review, 'cause you have to review! PLEASE! I love all of my previous reviewers, because y'all are THE BEST! Y'all jumped me up to 60 reviews for the last chapter! Way to go! Get me to 100! I will love you forever!

Hope to hear from you soon,

Love,

DC