Disclaimer: Not mine, of course. Except Bee and the plot.


Perfect Mistake

Seven

Only Love After All


"Hello," Hermione greeted Ron warmly.

"Hello, love," He said affectionately, kissing her cheek. He drew back, a small frown on his forehead.

"What's wrong?" Hermione's heart jumped into her throat.

"You smell good," Ron grinned and she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Of course," she said casually, smiling.

Ron looked vaguely surprised and grinned. "What's for dinner?" he asked as Hermione walked into the kitchen to heat up the leftovers.

"Daddy, you're back!" Bee raced out of her bedroom, dressed in her pajamas.

"Hey, why aren't you asleep?" Ron asked.

"I already slept in the afternoon so I'm not tired," Bee explained.

Hermione placed a bowl of spaghetti on the table. "Ron, your dinner," she called out.

--

Draco contemplated his next move, as he sat in front of the fireplace, his head in his hands.

She would hate him for this, he thought tiredly. She really would hate him. How many times had she said that she wanted her family to stay as it was?

Draco thought of Ronald Weasley with his hands on his Hermione and his daughter and scowled. He had to do this. This was his family not Weasley's.

He hesitated, thinking of how angry Hermione would be. He groaned, his head falling back into his hands.

Would she hate him? Would she really fight back if he tried?

No one could blame him for trying, he reasoned- besides, the only reason he was going to do this was that he loved Hermione and their baby. If his love was a crime, then he was guilty.

With a note of finality, he penned the letter and signed his name under it with a flourish, sending it off and stayed awake the whole night, bracing himself for her anger.

--

Draco missed her, he craved her touch, her presence.

He walked round and round the bedroom that was his prison, his palms splayed against the walls, looking for a way out- a way back to her arms.

"Let me out," he shouted, banging against the door. "Father, please!"

He sank down to his knees, begging and pleading, something he had never done in his life. "Please," he shouted until his throat blistered and his eyes were swollen shut form crying.

"Just let me go," he cried out over and over again, wondering why it was that his father thought loving was a crime.

Loving her was the only thing he knew was right in his life, yet his father thought that was the biggest mistake of his life.

Why was it that Lucius Malfoy couldn't see the way Hermione lit a fire in his otherwise cold heart? Why was it that he couldn't see how beautiful she was to Draco?

Draco fell asleep, a broken pile on the floor until the next morning, his father opened the door and stared down his son, a look of utter disappointment and anger on his face.

--

Hermione sent Bee off to school then sat down to have breakfast with Ron.

She laughed at Ron's jokes, feeling better than she had in a long time.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Ron said, sliding off his chair.

Hermione peered to see who it was- it was a man they didn't know, in dark robes and holding a file.

"Excuse me, is this the Weasley residence?" he asked.

"Yes," Ron said. "What is this for?"

"I'm Kenneth Pickle," the man shook Ron's hand. "I'm a lawyer."

Hermione went to stand next to her husband and he looped a protective hand over her waist, mostly out of habit. "Lawyer?" she echoed. "What are you here for?"

"You must be Hermione Granger," the man said, looking at her intently.

"Yes I am, is there a problem?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"Yes, actually," Kenneth Pickle said. "It's about your daughter."

"What happened to Bee?" Ron said sharply.

"Her father is demanding for her custody," Kenneth Pickle said, shrugging and Hermione stumbled away from Ron, knocking her body against the wall, eyes wide in horror.

"I am her father," Ron argued.

"I think both you should make a trip to the courthouse now," Kenneth Pickle advised. "As well as get yourselves a lawyer. Good morning."

He apparated away and left the both of them standing in their house stunned.

Ron grabbed his wand, face tight and drawn. "Let's go now," he said tersely to Hermione, who could only nod dumbly and follow.

Hermione's mind was whirling. What was Draco trying to do?

She found herself face to face with very person she had been thinking about as they walked into Kenneth Pickle's office to demand an explanation.

He met her eyes, with an unreadable expression.

She shook with rage and tried to keep herself from lunging across to strangle him.

"Malfoy?" Ron said incredulously.

"Weasley," Draco said, standing up.

"What are you playing at this time?" Ron spat out.

"I'm not playing at anything, I just want back what you took from me," Draco said simply, his eyes flicking over to stare at Hermione.

"Fuck you, Malfoy," she managed, her hands curling into fists and she lashed out at him in anger.

"Hermione!" Ron shouted in shock, trying to restrain as his wife struck Draco Malfoy across the face repeatedly. She had never lost control like that before.

"Go to hell," she told him clearly, her face contorted in agony. "Go to hell!"

Draco closed his eyes against the pain, against the sight of her face, filled with hatred and anger. "Hermione," he pleaded quietly.

"Shut the fuck up," she said poisonously, struggling as Ron and Kenneth Pickle both pulled her away from Draco.

"Let go of her!" Draco snapped at Kenneth Pickle who obeyed quickly. "Don't touch her."

The lawyer sat down, pretending not to see or hear anything, rubbing at his temples.

"I don't need you to stand up for me, Malfoy," she said angrily.

His eyes darkened. "Fine," he said harshly. "Have it your way, Granger."

His words were like a slap that stung. Her last name sounded so foreign on his lips and she backed away, eyes wide.

"You know what?" Hermione said, her voice trembling. "I hate you. I hate you for what you're doing to me."

He flinched. "Come on, Hermione," he whispered.

"What's going on?" Ron shouted.

"Nothing!" Hermione and Draco both yelled back.

Ron narrowed his eyes at Hermione. "Hermione," he said dangerously. "You know what's happening, don't you?"

"Ron, I'm sorry, I don't-" she tried, reaching for him.

"Get away from me," he stepped away, eyes blazing. "Don't dare you touch me until you tell me what's going on!"

Hermione burst into tears, disgusted with herself.

"Hermione," Ron said firmly. "Tell me what's going on. Now."

"I… can't…" she managed, before knocking both men aside and dashing down the hallway to find a rubbish bin to throw up in.

When she looked up, shakily wiping her mouth on her sleeve, a camera flashed at her.

She started, screaming in shock and the number of people who had formed a barricade around her. "Go away!" she shouted at them.

"Mrs. Weasley, can you tell me why Mr. Draco Malfoy is claiming that yours and Mr. Ronald Weasley's daughter is his?" one woman said excitedly, her quill shivering in her hand, equally hungry for some sleaze just as she was.

"Go away," Hermione covered her face from the camera flashes, trying to knock her way out of the crowd but failing.

"Get the fuck out of here," someone shouted in a harsh voice.

"Mr. Malfoy," one reported cried out. "Can you tell us what's going on?"

"Who told you to come?" Draco spat. "Please get your sorry behinds out of this building or I'm calling the security on you."

The crowd dispersed, mumbling with displeasure and he handed her a tissue.

She batted his hand away. "Why? How?" she accused him.

"I needed more than this," He confessed. "I needed you and Bee. It's just that now I have nothing and I don't- I can't live without you," his voice broke and he pulled her into his arms, burying his head in her hair, breathing her in, letting the essence of her fill his lungs.

"It doesn't work this way, Draco," she said softly.

"Why the hell not, Hermione? Why is it that I'm the one who loves you and the one you love back, the one who fathered Bee, yet I'm the one who's fucking alone and empty-handed?" Draco asked bitterly.

"Get your hands off my wife!"

Draco whirled around to face whomever who had spoke and the moment he did, his head snapped back as Ron's fist connected with his jaw.

"Oh my God!" Hermione screamed as Ron grabbed Draco by the collar, punching him in to stomach. "Stop, please, just stop!"

Draco raised one leg and kneed Ron violently, before slumping against the wall, trying to keep his head from spinning.

"Oh my God," Hermione hyperventilated, eyes wide and dilated.

Ron groaned in pain. "Damn you, Malfoy," he hissed, straightening as he took another swing at the blond man.

Hermione screamed at the dull thunk as Draco's head was pushed back from the force of Ron's fist to knock against the wall. "Ron!" she shoved him away, tears welling in her throat. "Are you out of your mind?" she screamed, uncaring of the crowd that had gathered to watch the scene. "Get out of my sight NOW!"

She turned back to Draco, nearly passing out when she realized he was unconscious. "Get him to the hospital, now! Now!" she shrieked. "NOW!"

--

"What in Merlin's name is going on?" Ginny's quiet voice broke through Hermione's muddled thoughts.

Hermione looked up slowly, trying to register the face in front of her.

Ginny glanced at the unconscious Malfoy on the hospital bed. "Care to explain?" the redhead said lightly, sitting down next to her best friend.

Hermione shook her head helplessly. "Help me, Ginny," she pleaded, reaching out to her friend.

Ginny felt tears prick her eyes at the sight of Hermione's haunted brown eyes. "Hermione," she whispered. "Oh, Hermione, what have you done to yourself?"

"I don't know, I don't know anymore," Hermione admitted.

"Hermione," came a small groan from the bed and Hermione broke away from Ginny to dash to the bed, eyes intently surveying Draco's face to check for any signs of consciousness.

"Draco? Are you awake?" she asked hopefully.

Ginny's heart ached at the raw love that shined her in her best friend's eyes. "Hermione, he's the one you love, isn't he?" She asked, the question falling like a soft feather between them.

Hermione looked up at the ceiling for strength. "Ginny," she confessed. "He's been the only one all along."

The moment the words dropped past her lips, Hermione felt a kind of dull relief washing over her, cleansing her inside and out. "He's been the only one all along," she repeated, realization dawning on herself as she looked down at Draco, her tears falling from her cheeks to wet his face.

She felt a kind of lightness in her chest- like a great weight had been lifted away. What was there to feel guilty about? She asked herself as a smile graced her lips- it was only love afterall.

Ginny came to stand next to her, and placed an encouraging and comforting hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Ginny," Hermione said, closing her eyes, turning to face the redhead, wanting to explain, to apologize, because after all Ron was her brother.

"I know," Ginny hushed her friend. "I understand."

Hermione relaxed because she knew Ginny meant what she said. "Good," Hermione whispered.


i am a right chapter factory aren't i?

i hope you guys are happy with this (: i really enjoy writing this story

THANKS to all who reviewed. it means a lot really.

-lissie