Chapter Twenty-Five

A New Life

Hermione scanned the front of the two-storey house with her gaze. It had the same colour as in her memories, even the front door looked like the old one.

Her heart was racing and her mind was unable to accept what she was seeing.

A pale hand offered her a handkerchief and she accepted it, surprised to realise that she was crying.

Draco was watching her with concern.

"I hope those are tears of joy."

His face relaxed as she nodded. Hermione wiped away her tears with the handkerchief and returned to staring at the house, blinking several times.

'Am I dreaming?'

"How... how is this possible? My parents told me a week ago that someone had bought the land, but they didn't mention your name."

Draco folded his arms, averting his gaze to the facade.

"Potter helped me. He used a little confundus on the estate agent and the notary to get them to write a Muggle name that was quite common and didn't attract attention as the official buyer."

"Did you two use magic in front of Muggles?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

He waved a hand, playing it down.

"They didn't notice, Potter is very good with non-verbal spells. I couldn't let your parents know I was the one who bought it."

She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. They would have told you, and you would have suspected what I was up to and tried to stop me and give me my money back."

Hermione sighed. He was right.

She looked back at her parent's old house with glassy eyes.

"I will pay you back, though I don't know if I'll have enough money to pay for everything you've done here."

"No way," Draco growled, clicking his tongue.

Hermione snorted.

"It's a gift, Granger."

"It's too much."

"Nothing is too much for a Malfoy."

She rolled her eyes at his smirk and he took another step towards her, wiping away another tear from her cheek with his fingertips.

"I spent only three percent of what I have in my Gringotts vault, and I'll have those galleons back in a few months. It's not important."

"But..."

Draco wrapped his arms around her, his hands in her curls as he pressed their foreheads together.

"It's just a gift. Don't think about the money."

Hermione let out a long sigh, closing her eyes. His breath smelled sweet.

"It's hard."

"Just try."

His lips always helped her stop thinking. His kisses tasted like chocolate cake and butterbeer.

Hermione responded by wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her body against his.

She felt more tears fall down her cheeks but Draco didn't seem to mind. He kept kissing her until she had to pull away to catch her breath.

"Only if you promise not to spend money on me again," she demanded in a whisper, opening her eyes again.

He looked away.

"As you wish."

That sounded like a big lie, but Hermione decided to let it go. She sighed and he looked at her again.

"I think... I think I'm in shock," she admitted, staring up into his grey eyes.

Draco grinned, holding one of her hands.

"Do you want to see the inside?"

They both walked to the door and he stopped, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket and offering it to her.

"There are two more inside for your parents."

Hermione glanced at the four keys in her palm with a smile and raised an eyebrow at the four locks on the door.

"Potter said one was enough, but it didn't seem safe," Draco commented as she unlocked them.

Hermione giggled, sighing once more as she managed to open the front door.

She stepped into the living room with her mouth hanging open as she looked around. Sand-coloured walls and light wood furniture, similar to what her parents had had. A huge fireplace stood in the centre of the room surrounded by three red armchairs that looked really comfortable. The sofa was almost like the original, though larger.

In fact, all she saw seemed to be bigger.

"Everything is Muggle except the fireplace, which is connected to the Floo Network. The wards allow Potter, Weasley, you and me to use it, but you can change them to add more people. There are also several shields around the house so that no one else can apparate inside."

Her eyebrows shot up.

"Ron?"

Draco ran his tongue over his teeth, opening and closing his fists.

"Weasley helped as well. He and Potter explained everything they remembered about this place to my mother to try and make it as similar as possible."

He had a good relationship with Harry, Hermione could even say they were starting to become friends, but she knew that he and Ron could barely tolerate each other.

It was overwhelming to think of all that the boy in front of her had done to bring her parents' old home back to life. And in just one week.

A wave of intense feelings washed over her and she couldn't answer. Draco sighed at the sight of her glazed eyes and took a step closer, hugging her.

"Don't cry anymore."

Hermione let herself be enveloped by his warmth. The lump in her throat almost didn't let her speak.

"I-I can't believe you've d-done all this f-for me."

"I've had a lot of help, Granger."

"This... this is too much," she muttered, stepping back a few inches and scanning the living and dining room with her gaze.

It looked much like the old Grangers' house, though there were a few details that reminded her that the family home had been destroyed. The most notable difference was that there were no photographs on the furniture.

She opened the kitchen door. Her mother's collection of magnets no longer adorned the fridge, which was now metallic. There was a table just as big as the dining room table and enough cupboards to feed the entire Weasley family.

Hermione tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth. It was much bigger than the old one.

She glanced sideways at Draco, hiding a smile.

She was starting to suspect that they had done to the house what she did to the small handbag hanging from her shoulder the day she left her home never to return.

"Rinny decided it was too small for three people," he murmured, shrugging as if it didn't matter.

"Extension charms?"

Draco nodded.

"The Minister authorised it."

"Does Kingsley know what you've done here?" she asked, surprised.

"Of course he does, Granger."

Hermione frowned.

"I was with him two days ago and he didn't tell me anything."

"It was a secret."

She snorted, trying not to smile. She took his hand again and the two of them walked back out into the hall, heading for the stairs. Draco laced their fingers together and she felt herself blush.

Hermione stopped at the stairs and gasped, her eyes widening.

"Wait! What will the neighbours think? It's impossible to build a Muggle house in such a short time."

Draco arched an eyebrow, giving her a crooked grin.

"Potter and Weasley have already taken care of that. Any Muggle who looks at the house will think it's always been there. They won't remember that it's been destroyed for over a year."

She let out a sigh of relief and they both laughed. As soon as they finished climbing the stairs, she heard his voice following her down the corridor, their hands still clasped together.

"Potter and Weasley didn't remember much about this floor so most of it was designed by my mother and the elves. If you don't like something you can change it."

Hermione shook her head at the nervous tone in his voice.

"I'm sure everything will be perfect," she replied, squeezing his hand.

And it was. Her parents' new white and earth-toned room was the most beautiful bedroom she'd ever seen in her life. And their private bathroom looked like something out of a decorating magazine.

Hermione opened the door to her old room with a trembling hand and gasped at the sight inside.

It was almost twice as big as before (probably another extension charm) and there were two doors on one wall. The furniture was white and both the walls and the bed were shades of purple.

And the mattress was as big as the one Draco had in his bedroom.

Draco followed her gaze, which was fixed on the doors.

"Your bathroom and your dressing room," he commented, pointing at them.

Hermione inhaled sharply.

"I have a dressing room?"

"Your parents do, too. It's no big deal."

"But even you don't have one."

His lips curved upwards in a cocky smile.

"There's more than one secret door in my dormitory, Granger. I'll show them to you one day."

"Really?" she said, turning to look him in the eye.

He held up a hand, counting on his fingers.

"You know the bathroom but I also have a dressing room, a small study and a little room with a glass roof where I like to read in the mornings. All the entrances are hidden around the walls of my room and only activate if someone with Malfoy blood touches them."

Hermione nodded, very impressed. The magic hidden in Malfoy Manor never ceased to amaze her.

His cheeks flushed and she raised her brow.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Draco cleared his throat, leaning his hip on the wooden desk.

"There's another hidden room," he added quietly, fixing his gaze on the ceiling so he wouldn't see her reaction. "My mother had it built when I was born. It's a bedroom where my... my fiance was supposed to live until the wedding day."

Hermione gasped.

"Did your parents want Daphne to live with you?"

Draco stared down at her, frowning, and she saw a silver glint in his irises.

"She was never my fiance."

"But she was going to be."

"No."

Hermione swallowed and he snorted, relaxing his shoulders.

"I've already told you that the bond between a Veela and his mate is very different. Once it's complete it's as if they're married, though the proper thing for a formal pureblood couple to do is to be engaged for a couple of years," Draco explained, shaking his head. "It's idiotic, but it's what they used to do. My mate and I would have had to wait to get married, but she would have lived in the manor with us until that day came and then we would have moved into one of the double bedrooms in the south wing."

A blonde woman appeared in her mind, walking down one of the marble corridors holding Draco's hand as they both looked at each other and smiled.

Hermione bit the inside of her cheek and approached the other side of the room.

"I don't give a fuck about the traditions of pureblood society now, Granger," he added, glancing at her again.

She was running her fingertips through the books on one of the shelves, reading the titles. They were both Muggle and magical.

"Will you want me to move into your manor in the future?" she asked quietly with her back to him.

Being there had slowly become easier thanks to Draco's presence and Narcissa's kindness, but Hermione found herself unable to call home a place where she had been tortured and which still haunted her sometimes in her nightmares.

She heard his snort and looked up. He was standing by the window, watching the Muggle neighbourhood curiously.

"I would never ask such a thing of you. When the time comes, if it comes, we'll talk about it. But you needn't worry for now."

Hermione couldn't help but smile. He was still talking about being together like it was just a possibility, as if she could still back out and change her mind.

She had never been more sure of anything in her life. She was madly in love with Draco Malfoy, her former enemy, and spending the rest of her life with him no longer seemed crazy.

In just a few months he had turned her life around, proving to her that he could be everything she was looking for in a partner.

They were both equally stubborn and she knew that some days would be harder than others, but being with Draco was as easy as breathing.

It was as if someone had made him for her. He just needed to be a little less arrogant, but imperfection was underrated and Hermione didn't want someone perfect. Neither was she nor did she pretend to be.

Besides, Draco and she had changed a lot since their strange friendship began after the trial. Spending so much time together had influenced them both.

He had given her more confidence to fight for what she wanted regardless of anyone else's opinion, and she had helped him find the goodness hidden inside his heart that he had never let out for fear of appearing weak.

Hermione felt a shudder at the thought of the two of them complementing each other like pieces of a puzzle.

She moved towards him and cupped his face with both hands.

"This is a dream come true, Draco. Thank you so much."

His surprised face was the last thing she saw before she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him deeply. Hermione buried one of her hands in his hair and smiled when she felt his arms wrap around her waist, pulling her to him.

He tilted his head slightly and everything became more intense. Her skin felt like it was about to burn and all she knew was that she needed to hold him closer, to feel him more.

Draco broke the kiss when she lifted his jumper and caressed his skin, shaking his head.

"You don't have to give me anything in return, Granger."

Her hand continued to move up until it brushed his chest.

"This has nothing to do with the house."

"You sure?"

"Shut up and kiss me."

Draco obeyed instantly, kissing her so passionately that Hermione felt dizzy. She took a step back, panting for air.

"What if we slept here tonight? Would you stay with me?" she asked in a whisper, trying to breathe normally.

"Of course."

Hermione pulled out her wand and waved it, transforming her dress into short-sleeved pyjamas. She did the same to his clothes and he kissed her again as soon as she was done.

They both ignored the sound of the wand falling to the floor.

It was the first time they had kissed like that. Hermione held her breath as he lifted her up in his arms, sitting her on the desk. His lips continued to devour her mercilessly and she felt that familiar bulge against her centre.

She wrapped an arm around his body, pulling him closer to her and moving her hips a bit. They couldn't have sex, but that didn't mean they couldn't do other things.

At that moment, moving away from him wasn't an option.

"Fuck," Draco hissed, pulling away from her lips. "If you keep doing that..."

"You don't like it?"

Another snort.

"Don't ask stupid questions."

"Then why do you stop?"

He let out a deep growl and lunged at her, lifting her up and walking with her in his arms. Hermione could feel that he was holding back his strength and it made her heart pound harder.

Draco gently set her down on the bed and positioned himself on top of her, pushing her against the mattress until Hermione was lying down on it.

A gasp escaped her lips as their hips came together again. Feeling that part of his body against her was incredible, Hermione couldn't remember ever feeling more alive than she did at that moment.

All her nerves were on edge and her brain was focused on that nice warmth she felt between her legs. She pulled her knees up until they were on either side of his body and began to move in rhythm with him.

'Just a little more...'

Draco paused and she let out a grunt of frustration, opening her eyes when she heard his chuckle.

"I have a question."

Hermione sighed.

"Okay."

He swept his gaze over her face, stopping at the freckles on her nose.

"Have you ever... touched yourself?"

She bit her bottom lip and his arms tightened as he watched her do it.

"Um..."

She couldn't bring herself to tell him. Draco smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"I have, Granger. I stopped doing it in sixth year, you can imagine why. But ever since you agreed to start dating me, I haven't been able to resist," he confessed, lowering his face until his lips brushed her ear. "And I think of you when I do it," he added, rolling his hips again to make it clear what he meant.

Hermione let out a shaky breath. His words were making her even more nervous and it felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

Imagining Draco touching himself with her in mind was very erotic.

"I had never done it until a few months ago."

That made him raise his head and stare down at her.

"When did you start?" he asked in a whisper.

"The day after you almost kissed me, I woke up with my hand inside my clothes in the middle of the night and, well..." she admitted, blushing.

She'd never talked about anything sexual with anyone before, but with Draco it was the second time.

And now she had him between her thighs, their most intimate parts rubbing gently against each other and one of his hands inside her shirt, stroking her skin and brushing her bra with his fingertips.

"I'm not going to forget that mental image for a long time," Draco murmured, claiming her lips again.

He continued to move over her, teasing her more and more. Her breathing quickened and he pulled away a few inches.

"Are you close?"

"Yes," she said breathlessly.

Draco groaned, pressing their foreheads together. His eyes flicked between hers.

"You first, Granger. I want to see you."

Hermione closed her eyes and kissed him again, wrapping both legs around his waist. The pressure increased deliciously and the heat became unbearable.

That tingle she had not long known spread through her lower body, concentrating where their bodies rubbed together as they both rolled their hips.

His tongue brushed hers just as everything exploded. Her legs trembled and he held her hips tighter, pushing against her as he continued to kiss her.

"Fuck," he gasped against her lips, shuddering between her thighs.

Hermione opened her eyes. He was still completely pressed against her, staring down at her with a few strands of his blond hair sticking to his forehead.

As she looked at him she felt that wave of feelings again, even more intense. Her lips parted and the words rolled off her tongue without giving her time to think about it.

"I love you."

Draco smiled, pushing her curls away from her face and kissing her forehead.

"I've loved you for quite some time, Granger."