Chapter 27
Hermione walked into lunch on her birthday feeling decidedly melancholy. She knew she didn't really have anything to complain about, but she couldn't help it. It was a Monday, and while she loved school and enjoyed class, now that the exciting newness had worn off two weeks into term, she could only lament the fact that her birthday fell on a weekday and not the weekend. She would have prefered to have had the day to do with as she pleased.
Harry, Ron, Neville, even her roommates, had all remembered the day, which had felt wonderful. Harry, especially, was being very attentive, determined to find a way to make her day special. Even just one summer in a loving home with a caring parental figure had done wonders for him. He was more confident, thoughtful, and far more affectionate.
Hermione had heard enough stories from Sirius about James Potter to know that- had Harry grown up with his own parents- he would have probably been very like his father. A quip always on the tip of his tongue, an arm casually draped around his friends shoulders, a generally carefree attitude towards life. The opportunity stolen from him broke Hermione's heart. He was great and she was fortunate to have him in her life.
But, he wasn't Draco.
She missed Draco.
Nineteen days into term and it was harder than ever to just pretend that she didn't care about him. And especially hard to find time to spend with him. Things had been challenging the year before with the addition of their elective classes. But they were even more so this year. The lack of quidditch due to the tournament meant that the evenings Harry usually spent on the pitch- very often with Ron tagging along- were now spent with her. And then, of course, there was Draco's friendship with Theo Nott.
They'd become friends as arithmancy partners the year before, a bond they'd been unable to forge during their first two years of school, even though both of them were Slytherins. Hermione was happy for Draco. Or she at least tried to be. She knew that- aside from her- he didn't have any real friends inside Hogwarts, and that Narcissa and Theo's mum had been close, but she couldn't help but lament the time she missed with him now that he had Theo. And she hated herself for it because she knew how hypocritical it was. But sometimes she just needed to sulk like the teenage girl that she was. She longed for somebody to vent to about it, Narcissa would have been her usual choice- for some reason it seemed to silly to share it with her own mum- but she didn't dare. She no longer knew where she stood with the woman.
"What is he doing here?" Harry practically yelled, seemingly out of nowhere, startling Hermione from her thoughts.
She stopped short, almost running into Harry's back and looked up to see Lucius sitting at the head table. She wanted to laugh, but instead grabbed Harry's hand, hissed a warning at Ron, and led them over to the Gryffindor table.
Warmth blossomed in her chest. She gazed at the Malfoy patriarch out of the corner of her eye and bit back a grin. She knew Lucius too well, there was no way he'd appeared in Hogwarts on her birthday by simple coincidence.
When Dumbledore announced that the Board of Governors were present and had requested the presence of the top two students in every year, along with all of the prefects, for a meeting that afternoon, she was certain Lucius had a hand in the arrangements. She hid a smile behind her hand and resisted the urge to look across the Hall at the Slytherin table. Because Draco was the second best student in their year.
Harry sent her a reassuring smile. "At least you get out of afternoon classes," he commiserated.
She smiled in return. "Keep notes for me, yeah?" She asked, trying to make herself sound regretful- she wouldn't normally relish missing an entire afternoon of classes.
"Sure," he said seriously.
Inside the Board of Governors meeting room the students were seated around a large table by year group which left her between Draco and a third year Ravenclaw called Mariel. Apparently they had been gathered to discuss any issues they might have with how things were run in Hogwarts, academic or otherwise. The Board of Governors wanted to make very sure they put their best foot forward for the tournament. It was a good idea. One she wanted to take seriously.
But, of course, her stupid boyfriend decided distracting her would be the order of the afternoon instead. He started by just looking at her, just little fleeting glances, but she could feel his eyes on her. Then, because that was apparently not enough, he reached over and cupped her knee under the table, which not only captured her attention completely, but felt downright scandalous. She tried to send him a warning look but suddenly he wasn't interested in so much as glancing her way.
She squirmed, and he clamped down harder on her leg before he began rubbing soothing circles on her kneecap. And just like that, she wasn't so invested in making him remove his hand. She surreptitiously looked around the room and realized that nobody was paying them any attention anyway - not even Lucius- and that his actions were completely disguised by their voluminous robes. If somebody were to peek under the table they'd most likely be faced with just a curtain of black. She grabbed his hand and tucked them both into the sleeve of her robe just to be certain. He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb soothingly and she could practically feel him radiating satisfaction.
And so they remained for the majority of the afternoon. It was actually a worthwhile activity, for the Board of Governors to get the opinions of the students, especially with a couple of foreign schools about to be on their doorstep. It got a little tedious after a couple of hours, but she was grateful to be able to spend the time with Draco.
They finally wrapped up just before dinner.
"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger will you stay back, I'd like to speak with you," Lucius said in his usual imperious manner as the other students were readying themselves to leave.
A few people looked like they were going to object, but most were quelled with a look from the intimidating blond wizard. However, Harold Abbott- who was Hannah, a Hufflepuff who was in their year's father- wasn't put off.
"Now see here Lucius, I won't object to you speaking privately with your son, but what business do you have with this girl?"
"It's not a problem sir," Hermione jumped in, she supposed she should have appreciated his concern but was insulted on Lucius' behalf, even though, in theory, she understood, "I know Lord Malfoy." She smiled sweetly.
The man reared back in obvious surprise.
"Miss Granger is my wife's cousin's ward. You do remember that my wife is a daughter of House Black, don't you Abbott?" It was almost a threat, if he protested further Lord Abbott would have been interfering with family business. People may not have understood the detente between Houses Black and Malfoy, but they knew that it existed and none of the old families would question that - it just wasn't done. And if a ward of House Black wanted to speak to Lord Malfoy, it would be utterly improper for anybody to try and stop it.
The man narrowed his eyes in Lucius' direction but said nothing and turned to Hermione once more. "It was a pleasure to meet you young lady, you have a bright mind and Hannah speaks highly of you, I look forward to seeing it develop in the future."
"Thank you," she said quietly, looking at her feet and knowing she was bright red. She heard the man leave the room and then Draco started to laugh.
"What evil things do you think he believes we might be up to with Hermione, Father?" He asked as he hooked an arm around her waist, voice full of mirth.
Lucius sighed and she looked up to see that he was pinching the bridge of his nose and looking very pained indeed.
"I do not know, Son, but despite everything we should probably be grateful that he wasn't more insistent."
She felt Draco's arm tighten around her reflexively.
"But now is not the time to discuss such things." He raised his head and met her eyes, smiling. "Happy birthday, Mignonette."
She pulled away from Draco and walked into his arms. "Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're here. How long have you been planning this?"
He smirked at her, but shrugged casually. "It was suggested by somebody other than myself that we hold a meeting with the school's top students, I simply took the opportunity to suggest and take advantage of the date. Narcissa sends her regrets, she had no excuse to come today."
There was a heavy pause. They all knew that Narcissa could have manufactured an excuse, had she really wanted to, she was a master of such things, and the fact that she hadn't said a lot. Hermione didn't know whether to feel guilty or relieved. She hated that Narcissa felt unwelcome, but she also didn't think that Draco, or herself, for that matter, were ready to spend any real time with the older witch.
"I'm just happy you're here," she muttered into his shoulder.
"I'm happy to have had the occasion to see you on your birthday," he laid a kiss on her forehead and finally pulled away. "I have some things for you. Rumi! Evie!"
Hermione watched with wide eyes as the two elves popped in. "I thought personal elves weren't allowed on the grounds?"
Lucius chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "There are many benefits to being a member of the Board of Governors."
Hermione watched as the elves set several wrapped packages and a large picnic basket on the table and then fell to her knees to embrace them. "I'm so happy to see the pair of you!" She gushed, Evie embraced her in return and while Rumi was still obviously a little uncomfortable with her display of affection, he didn't pull away.
When she finally rose to her feet she saw Draco looking amused, and Lucius resigned. He shook it off and handed her the largest box. "This is from Narcissa and myself. I promised her I'd stay to see your reaction, after that I'll be out of your hair."
She tore the package open and felt her jaw drop. Inside were the most beautifully crafted, almost decadent, pair of dragonhide boots she'd ever seen. Buttery soft, utterly feminine but still practical with their low heel. She'd spent enough time with Narcissa over the past few years to be certain these had been custom made for her. She didn't spend hours pouring over fashion magazines like some of her housemates, but she appreciated beauty and quality, and these were exquisite.
"Narcissa thought that it was time that you had something a little more grown up," Lucius commented lightly. But she knew better than to take his tone at face value, these had been purchased as a statement. She looked down at her rather childish Mary-Jane style shoes and got the point immediately. Narcissa may have forgotten for a moment, but Hermione was becoming a woman and deserved to be treated as such. She appreciated the gesture and felt her heart heal a little further from the rift with her surrogate mother.
"These are amazing," she said, running her hands over them before passing them to Draco, who knew how to appreciate quality and whom she hoped would understand the message they had been meant to send as well. "Thank you very much."
"Of course, now I shall be going. This room is yours for the evening, you won't be disturbed." He visibly paused. "I don't think I need to tell you to behave yourselves, and to be back in your houses by curfew."
"Of course not," they chimed in tandem.
He gave Draco a clap on the shoulder and then left a kiss on her forehead. She reared forward and enveloped him in a crushing embrace, he stiffened for a moment- she really thought she'd broken him of that- but then returned it. "Thank you so much for all of this."
"You're welcome little love." He placed another kiss on the top of her head. "Draco, perhaps you should consider writing to your mother." Hermione cringed in Lucius' arms and backed out of them carefully to stand in solidarity at Draco's side.
"I have written to Mother, more than once," he said stiffly.
Lucius sighed. "You know what I mean, those letters were little more than formalities. Don't you think that this has gone on long enough?"
It was a reflex, the way Draco grabbed her hand and squeezed, she could tell by the way he tried to drop it immediately, but she wouldn't have it and entwined their fingers together in a manner he couldn't easily free himself from. She knew what he was doing, he was ashamed by the way his parents had treated them, and by how much it continued to bother him. He'd spoken to her about it openly at first, but had begun to try and hide it. She understood why- even with her, he still tried to resist being so transparent with his emotions- but she couldn't imagine that he didn't also realize how pointless it was, it was nearly impossible for them to keep things from each other.
"It was really nice to see you, and I thank you for arranging all of this, but I think maybe you should just go," she said quietly to Lucius, looking up at him from beneath her lashes, unable to fully meet his eyes.
Lucius' eyes flashed with anger and she had to resist the urge to flinch; she was very glad, at the end of the day, that he was on their side. She'd hate to be on the other end of that anger when it was truly unleashed.
But he took a deep and obviously fortifying breath, nodded to them both, and simply strode out of the room without another word.
Draco took a deep breath, so obviously reflective of his father that it nearly broke her heart. She hated to see them at odds, but she didn't say anything, just took him fully into her arms.
"I have wanted to do this all day. All month" she confessed with a huff. "I would say don't be mad at him, but I'm mad at him too, for bringing that up. Can we just take advantage of this time though?"
"Yeah," he murmured.
She snuggled against him, but then she suddenly remembered his earlier antics and reared back to thump him on the chest. "Did you have to be such a prat earlier? We could have gotten caught!"
His body went entirely rigid at first and she thought she'd offended him until he started to shake with laughter and turned his head to press his mouth against hers. "I missed you and I love you. Was I supposed to just sit next to my girlfriend for an entire afternoon- on her birthday- and not touch her? Also, don't pretend like you didn't enjoy it." He snarked, utterly unapologetic. He pulled out his wand and transfigured a chair into a loveseat and then pulled her down and onto his lap, which she allowed without protest.
She sometimes felt that she and Draco were unusually mature for their ages. She'd dismissed the idea before this summer. Now she suspected it might actually be true and that the connection Narcissa saw between them may have been a contributing factor. It was almost certainly the reason Draco's mum had mistakenly believed that their relationship had become intimate. She didn't know any other girls who would truly feel this at ease with their boyfriends, she'd endured hours of stories from her roommates and girls in the years around her about the fumbling treatment they were regularly subjected to from other boys their age.
"Happy birthday," he murmured.
"As much as you insisted on acting like an idiot, I'm so glad we got called into this meeting," she confessed, resting her forehead against his and keeping him held tight.
"Again, sit here and try to convince me you didn't like it," he smirked. "I have gifts for you," he singsonged when she didn't say anything.
She smiled. "I saw that," she murmured, her face buried in his neck.
"Mia,come on," he cajoled, his voice gentle but somewhat impatient- the only thing he liked more than giving gifts was receiving them, he was a sucker for praise.
She took a moment to process his words. "What did you just call me?"
That seemed to bring him up short for once, and she pulled back to see him looking both shy and defiant. "Everybody has a nickname for you: Father calls you Mignonette, your father calls you Pumpkin, Sirius calls you Kitten. Even Potter and Weasley call you Mione, as horrendous as it is. Don't I get to give you a name, if I like?"
She recognized Draco's signature arrogance, but she knew him well enough to also detect the insecurity he was attempting to keep hidden- this issue meant something to him. Knowing him, he'd been marinating this idea for quite some time just waiting for the opportunity to address it in a seemingly casual manner. And she honestly didn't mind if he wanted to give her a nick-name, she was just curious.
"I just wondered," she said quietly, "why Mia?"
He opened his mouth and ducked his head. "It's pretty, and it makes sense."
She tilted her head and just regarded him. "Maia would make more sense than Mia, as far as how my name is pronounced," she argued.
She saw his cheeks pinken and he pulled her closer in an obvious attempt to hide it. "Mia vita, la mia anima gemella," he murmured into her ear.
Her heart melted, she was particularly susceptible to him speaking Italian. "My life, my soulmate," she translated. But she also sort of wanted to kick his arse. "You're claiming me!"
"I thought it was more like we already belonged to each other," he retorted, never releasing his grip on her.
"You've given me a nickname that essentially means 'mine'" she shot back.
"And you've named me after your house mascot," he retorted, "Leo," he reminded her mockingly.
"You've marked me, essentially."
"Then so have you," he pulled back to look at her and rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. Are you that offended to be associated with me- to be 'mine'-even privately?" That brought her up short. "Hermione. You know I would never take anything from you that you weren't willing to give, right?"
She let out a long breath. "Merlin Draco, of course you wouldn't!" The feminist in her had risen up in protest at the idea of being some kind of possession. But she knew better than that, she didn't believe that he'd ever try and impose his will on her, or be a hindrance to her in pursuing her dreams. However, that thought begged a question that had been in the back of her mind since her conversation with Tonks at the World Cup.
"Would you object to me getting a job?"
"Getting a job?" He asked, blinking at her like she'd just spoken in a foreign language.
She chuckled, realizing that was probably how it had sounded to him- the question must have seemed to have come out of nowhere. "When we're married," she tripped a little over that last word, still finding it difficult to regard that as a foregone conclusion.
He continued to just stare at her for a few moments. "To be honest I'd never considered it."
"I know it's not traditional. Your mother doesn't work."
Again he just regarded her steadily. "True, but I'm aware that you and my mother are very different witches. And, well, lets just say I've started to rethink the importance of traditions since we've become friends."
"What do you mean, other than the obvious fact that I'm a muggle-born?"
"Well, for one, some thoughts on what we might do after Hogwarts."
"After Hogwarts? What were you thinking?"
"Well, actually it's part of your first gift. Though I don't know that it truly counts as a gift." He summoned one of the packages his father had left behind and handed her the large stack of what was fairly obviously books.
And when she unwrapped the package she found that they were, in fact, books. More specifically, muggle textbooks. Her breath caught and she looked to Draco for an explanation.
"I've been speaking with your parents."
She knew that he regularly corresponded with her parents, though it was usually a note he included with her own letters, but this seemed to indicate an altogether deeper degree of communication.
"I was thinking on what you said last year about keeping up with your muggle studies. I-" He hesitated, and looked away. "I shouldn't have just dismissed you when you brought it up. I realized that over the summer and I started talking to your parents about the idea, and they helped me gather these materials. I know I'll probably be behind, I won't expect you to hold yourself back for me, but I thought that we could do our best to study together because I don't want to-"
He was cut off as she threw her arms around him again. If she hadn't loved him so much it would have broken her heart- how dismissive he'd been nearly a year before when she'd expressed a desire to keep up with her schooling in the muggle world. She was more than a little ashamed that she'd allowed circumstances, and his disapproval, to dissuade her. That he'd pursued the idea without her was amazing.
"I'd like to learn too," he began again quietly, "I know I may not be able to catch up but…"
"Draco," she gasped.
"Your parents have been really great," he shrugged, "they say they understand if I can't ever go to muggle university, but they aren't holding it against me."
She closed her eyes, both so overwhelmingly grateful and so sad, because she knew what he was thinking- at the moment, to him, her parents appeared wonderful and understanding, while his appeared stodgy and distrustful. "It isn't a matter of your parents loving you, you're just going through a rough patch. They made a mistake, a big embarrassing one, and you have every right to be angry and to take your time getting over it, but it was a mistake."
He seemed to ignore that. "Also, I think it's important for me to be able to function in the muggle world. I think the preparations we've already started putting into place could make it so that money would never be a problem- but Hermione, I don't want to hide forever. What if we're still in the middle of this war when we're done with school? I'm not willing to…" he trailed off, taking a deep breath and pulling her even closer. "Like I said, I won't hide forever." He swallowed thickly, his adam's apple bobbing.
"I don't want this to just be because you're mad at your parents, Draco."
He shook his head vigorously. "It's not. I mean, maybe their behaviour made me realize that I would give up anything that stood between me and a life with you, even my own parents. But I'm not doing this because I'm angry."
She took a deep breath. She couldn't really argue, because she felt the same way. He was the most important thing to her and she would do whatever she had to do to secure a life with him.
"I've gotten you something else, it's your real gift," he said eventually, nudging her hip encouragingly.
"We're not done discussing this."
"Of course we're not," he snorted.
"Fine, gimme my gift," she said, making grabby hands which made him laugh.
He summoned the smallest package and handed it to her. She tore the wrapping off enthusiastically, specifically for the purpose of amusing him, and then pulled the top off of the box revealed within. Nestled inside was another- gorgeous- wood veneered box. It was decorated with a design of white roses- an ancient symbol of true and pure love, which resembled some of Narcissa's most prized flowers. Hermione had also come to adore those roses, particularly because she knew they had been planted in honor of Draco's birth. Her breath caught in her throat and she looked at him.
"Take it out and open it," he encouraged.
She picked it up reverently, hastily pushing the wrapping aside, and then lifted the lid. The soothing melody of her favorite fairy tale song filled the air.
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
The dream that you wish will come true
She realized now that as a little girl she'd taken great comfort in the idea that if she just had faith and persevered that she would- like Cinderella- find happiness. The day she'd discovered she was a witch, she had thought that was the day that her dreams had come true. But now she knew it had actually been the day that she'd run into the Malfoys in Flourish and Blott's, not that Draco was some fairy tale prince. But he was perfect for her. She'd found her place in the world as a result of that chance encounter in a bookshop.
She hadn't thought he'd been listening when she'd showed him the movie over the summer, that he had barely been tolerating the experience. She certainly hadn't thought he'd understood what she had been trying to articulate to him. But he seemed to have gotten it all too well.
"Draco," she gasped, raising a trembling hand to her mouth. There was really nothing else to say, and the delight in his eyes was its own kind of present.
"Did I mention that I loved you?"
She could only laugh joyously.
Author's note: Hello you wonderful and patient people! I have missed you and I have missed this story! I hope I haven't lost too many of you, I promise I won't give up on this story, I love it too much. Real life has just been trying lately. I'm okay, but when I got stuck in a bit of a rut plot-wise it was even more difficult than usual pulling myself out. In good news, I accidentally wrote a good portion of the next chapter while writing this one, so hopefully I can have it to you fairly soon.
If you're interested a picture of something like what I imagine Hermione's music box to look like is up on the Pinterest board for this story. Same name over there for those who don't know. Thank you Weestarmeggie for beta reading (and reading and reading and reading), just being awesome, and talking me through a lot of self doubt! Thanks to you all for reading this story and especially to those of you who leave me your thoughts!