Hermione felt like her heart was going to explode, was going to rip out of her body like in a cartoon. She'd told him, she'd finally told him. The most dangerous secret she'd ever had, and he now knew it, too.

He hadn't said a word.

"Draco?" she tried.

"If he tries to hurt you, I'll kill him." There was no hesitation, no mercy in that statement, that tone, or that blankness to his face. Only deathly promise. It should have frightened her, but it didn't. What it might do to him, carrying out such an act, terrified her.

"No, Draco," the witch pleaded, but it was like fighting with a brick wall. A gorgeous, amazing, yet heroically stubborn wall.

"I mean it, Hermione. Father or not, your safety comes first."

Hermione shook her head. "But he's your dad," she protested. If it was her own, status of their relationship aside, she knew she'd never be able to do it.

"And you're the love of my life: you trump that," he replied simply.

An image of her and Lucius Malfoy as a Top Trump's flitted through her mind but she pushed it away.

"I haven't told Narcissa," she informed him quietly. "I couldn't bear to: she's been through enough already. Too much."

"I know," he murmured in agreement, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, burying her head in the safety of his chest once again.

"I know that, too."

"I just I-I didn't know how to tell you and i was so scared and then Blaise and Luna got spotted in Hogsmeade and Lucius said he would ki-kill her if Blaise didn't get me away from you and-and I couldn't stand the thought of losing you," Hermione wailed between her tears, fighting for breath. Then his hands were on her back, soothing and gentle, and his voice in her ear, reassuring and full of forgiveness and understanding.

"Shhhh, it's alright, love," he whispered, like he had when Teddy woke up with nightmares, that same great depth of love and tenderness he had always possessed and yet never let people see. "It's alright: you didn't do anything wrong. I would have done the same."

Hermione looked up at that. "You would have?"

Draco cracked a smirk. "I don't think I would have made a replica of my cat and have hung it up like a morbid Christmas decoration, but for the rest of it, yeah."

"That makes me feel a little bit better," she told him, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. She thought about how much she'd cried today alone and winced. "I must look terrible," she said to him.

Draco shook his head. "You look fine. It's been a rough few days, few months even. You're still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"You're just saying that because you're now my boyfriend and boyfriend's are obligated to compliment their girlfriends, even when they don't mean it. Especially when they don't mean it."

Draco tugged her closer. "Well, that may be how it is in the Muggle World, but right here, right now, I mean it."

"You're really good at this."

"I know. I've only been your boyfriend for two hours, and I'm already impressing even myself."

The brunette whacked him in the arm. "Jerk."

"Nerd."

"Snob."

"Swot."

Hermione grinned. "I love you."

"Not as much as I love you."

"Merlin, you two are disgusting. Firecracker, get out of the way: you're in my barf trajectory."

Hermione and Draco both looked up to see Ginny, Theo, Luna and Blaise all crowding the doorway. Ginny looked ecstatic, Luna was bemusedly pleased, Theo was neutral and Blaise was outright grimacing, no doubt meaning his comment to Ginny.

Draco gave her a long look. Hermione shrugged but didn't move an inch.

"Well, at least you're not bothering to hide it from us," Ginny noted dryly, sitting on the opposite bench, the others clambering to claim the rest of the available space. Hermione reached across her boyfriend and saved Theo from a fateful collision with Draco's hot chocolate.

"I'm happy for you both," Luna said sincerely. "Blaise is just being a prick because he feels threatened: Draco's got someone else he can play knights with and braid his hair for him."

Hermione raised a brow at her boyfriend. "Really?" she purred.

Draco's eyes promised pain of death if she asked any questions.

Liking being one of the living, she complied. For now. She was sure Narcissa had some pictures somewhere.

"Good for you, mate," Theo spoke up, unruffled.

"Thanks, Theo," Draco said back.

Bro Moment achieved.

"So, tell me everything!" Ginny gushed, practically jumping up and down in her seat. Hermione was surprised that she'd lasted this long as it was.

"We had a fight," Draco told her.

"It got heated."

"We screamed."

"Then we told each other how we felt and kissed passionately in the rain," Hermione finished.

"Just like a fairytale," Theo remarked sarcastically.

"It's so romantic," Ginny breathed, tears in her eyes.

"It's so them," Luna remarked with a dreamy smile.

"It so making me wish I were someplace else," Blaise said, folding his arms. "Does he know everything?" he demanded, not even sparing Draco a glance.

"He does."

Blaise loosed a heavy sigh. "Great." He tipped his head up to the ceiling, as if beseeching some invisible force up above for guidance.

"We would have told him eventually," Luna pointed out, ever the peacemaker.

"Debatable," Blaise fired back.

"What about these two?" Draco asked him, gesturing to Ginny and Theo.

"Oh, I know everything. Death Eater, danger, death, end of the world, blah blah blah. Been there, done that."

"She annoyed it out of me," Blaise was quick to clarify. "I can see why you two are such besties," he observed with a pointed glare in Hermione's direction.

Draco bristled beside her but kept his mouth shut.

Hermione tried not balk at the female Weasley's disinterested tone when discussing such life-altering matters. "What I really want to know about is the two of you. I'm just so happy that the drama is finally over: I want my best friend back, and not the mopey, doomed romance version."

"Ditto to that," Theo said. "About the knowing everything part: I'm really good at eavesdropping on people's conversations without them noticing," he offered. "I'm good on the relationship details front. But she's right: watching you pine away after her was getting a little tiresome."

"You pined after me?" Hermione asked at the same time Draco said, "You moped over me?"

"That is so sweet," they blurted to each other at the same time. Hermione kissed him on the cheek, to the pleasure of Luna and Ginny and the chagrin of Theo and Blaise.

"Now that you two are partners in snogging crime, you're going to have to be careful," the Zabini heir warned. "You know your father better than anyone, so you understand the lengths he'll go to break up this little union."

"Let him try," was all Draco said.

"And I have to at least look like I'm doing something to help that along," Blaise postulated.

The couple nodded. It was at that time that Neville and Hannah walked past, hand in hand and smiling. At the sight of Hermione and Draco together on the seat, holding hands themselves and looking very much in love, his eyebrows raised. But all he did was give them a grin and a thumbs up of approval before walking off with his girl.

"So now everybody knows? Terrific. We might as well save the reporters the hassle and tell the Prophet ourselves. Meanwhile, you two can smooch while you wait for your dear old dad to come kill us all."

"Blaise, shut it!" Luna chided, smacking him upside the head. "Don't be Mr Doom and Gloom!"

"Sorry," he mumbled, although he certainly didn't look it.

"Neville won't tell anyone," Hermione assured him calmly. "For now, this will stay between us."

"What do we do now?" piped up Ginny, who looked uncertain but glad to be part of the discussion. Hermione's heart flinched: she'd always felt bad for leaving her in the dark when it came to Harry and Ron's schemes, especially given how much she cared about them both.

"For now, nothing. We go to our placements, we do the work, get a chance to see what life might be like after Hogwarts." Hermione hoped it would be that easy.

Theo raised his brows. "And after?"

Draco looked grim. "After, we go to War. Again."

Luna took out a tin from the pocket of her dungarees. "Anyone for a mini lemon bar?"


The four of them soon departed back to their own compartments as the train began to slow. Hermione and Draco savoured the time together, knowing that the next six weeks wouldn't allow for this to be a regular thing. When the train pulled in to King's Cross, Draco graciously helped her with her bags, even going so far as to take Crookshank's travel cage, much to the cat's howling protest. He just needed time to adjust to having the Malfoy around again.

And he would be around. Forever. Hermione would make sure of it.

The rain had stopped, but the air still carried a dense fog, mingling with the smoke of the trains, swirling about their feet.

"I don't want you to go," Hermione said honestly.

"I'm not to keen on leaving you, either. I just got you back and now we'll have to go six weeks before we'll be within a consistent mile of the other."

"This sucks," Hermione moaned into the cotton of his shirt as she hugged him.

"It does at that," he agreed. Then he suddenly held her at arms length, something brewing in his eyes.

"What are you thinking?"

"How about I stay the night at your place?" he offered, smoke dancing across the unkempt strands of his hair. Hermione tried not to blush at the thought of what had made it so unruffled and instead focus on his question.

"Are you sure Draco? Don't you want to settle in and get ready for tomorrow?" Yet she was secretly pleased.

"When I could spend that time with you?" he questioned, tilting up her chin. "Of course not."

"You won't be saying that soon: you'll get bored of me," she joked, but some part of her held it as truth.

Draco shook his head. "I will never get bored of you, Hermione Granger," he told her fervently and pulled her into yet another kiss. Hermione wasn't going to complain.

Absently, she wondered if kissing Draco would always be like this, if she would always fell this burning passion yet complete safety mingling with an excited thrill she could feel all through her body. It was like jumping into a lake off the highest point, staying up all night reading, sneaking that last cookie out the jar, wrapping up warm in a blanket after getting in from the cold. Hermione suspected she would.

Still kissing, Hermione apparated them both.


Draco let go of her, head spinning both from the magic and the kiss. Wading through her sea of bags, Hermione got out a keyring from the recesses of her coat. "I'm on the third floor, fourth door on the right."

"And that wouldn't have anything to do with your fear of heights?" he joked casually.

Hermione laughed and pecked him on the cheek. "Hurry back," she urged him.

"Don't worry, I will," he promised and apparated away.

His apartment was small by Malfoy standards, but well furnished, shades of cream and dark grey and strong, heavy wooden furniture polished to a high gleam. He'd barely looked at the place before buying it, but it seemed nice enough, but it had a disquieting, empty feeling, the kind you get from disused places. Hopefully that would soon change.

Throwing his bags into the spacious bedroom without even sparing a glance for where they landed, Draco was soon standing outside Hermione's door once again. Ever the gentleman, he knocked lightly.

"It's open!" Hermione called, voice muffled.

Draco shouldered the door open, taking in her own choice of apartments. It was her, and yet not. Whilst the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves were most certainly her, as well as the worn yet comfortable looking couch and it's many blankets and embroidered pillows, the TV and large kitchen range didn't exactly scream 'Granger' to him, especially since he knew she wasn't that great of a cook. It was nice to know she could still surprise him.

"What do you think?" Hermione asked, coming out of what he assumed was her bedroom, hair in her face as she wrestled with what he could only assume was yet another suitcase full of her books.

Draco quirked a smile. "I think it's perfect. Want a hand with that before you lose yours?"

"No. I'm an adult, I should be able to open my own damn bag," she responded, giving the leather a hard tug. The bag flopped over onto it's side in response.

Draco let out a chuckle.

Hermione glared and he wisely schooled his features into a mask of neutrality. "Fine, please help."

Taking the offending item, after some considerable strength Draco was able to get her bag open. "I'm amazed that all this weight didn't split the seams. Did you really need to bring all of these?" he muttered to her as he deposited them on the empty shelves, knowing her cataloguing system well enough to know where she wanted them.

Hermione braced her hands on her hips. "Oh, so if I went over to your place right now I wouldn't encounter the same problem?" she countered slyly.

"Touché." He was as fussy about his books as she was. It was one of the many reasons he loved her, and loved the trust she'd put in him to sort them out for her.

Task completed, his girlfriend surveyed his work. "Not bad," she praised, twining her arms around his neck, planting a gentle kiss on his mouth. He readily complied, fingers finding themselves caught up in her hair.

The two would have likely carried on like this for a while if they hadn't been interrupted by a loud knock on Hermione's front door.

Draco quirked a brow. "You expecting company besides my lovely self?"

Hermione shook her head, biting her bottom lip in a very distracting fashion. "No, I wasn't." In a flash, her wand was in her hand and she was striding over to the front door, Draco hot on her heels. Wrenching it open, the pair were greeted by two familiar yet entirely unexpected faces.

"Mother? Aunt Andy? What are you doing here?"

Narcissa held a wrapped present while Andromeda carried a potted plant and a squirming Teddy.

"Surprise!"


Author's Note: Happy 40th chapter! I'm sorry everyone: I seem to keep leaving chapters on cliffhangers recently. I was planning to have the housewarming party in this chapter, but I felt like it would undermine the serious mood of the beginning too much. So, next chapter it is. I think I might have that one as just that scene, then I'll be starting the WWWE chapters. Be warned, a major twist is coming soon. Are you ready for it?...

(Sorry, couldn't help the Taylor Swift reference.)

What do you guys think of Dramione? Are you happy? Do you like them being together, or do you miss the pining days of olde? If you're curious, I'll warn you now that I'm not planning on splitting them up or get into ginormous fights. There may be some arguments -evil cackle- and definitely some head-butting, because they're both stubborn, but I didn't want there to be lots of drama in their relationship once they were together. Because, spoiler warning, there's gonna be loads of drama outside of the relationship! So, Dramione: solid as a diamond.

I love reading all of your reviews, it makes me so happy to see you engaging with these characters and getting involved. I just eat them up. *Proceeds to do Cookie Monster impression.*

Until next time,

All my love, Temperance Cain.