Disclaimer: Of course, these lovely characters do not belong to me. I do borrow them for my idea.

Thank you to all of you kind followers and the reviews.

This chapter each section is a different month, starting in August.


Unbound

August 2005-February 2006

There was a different flare to the Headmaster's office now that McGonagall used it. The little knick-knacks Dumbledore used to love were gone, instead, there were more books, a few plants, and of course there were two new portraits at the wall. Hermione tried to ignore the curious eyes and hurried to sit in the chair facing away from them.

"Really, having me look at Snape and the man I tried to murder."

She glanced up at him.

"Make it your divorce gift to me."

She threw a glance over her shoulder at Dumbledore's amused smile and wondered for a second if he could read her mind as well. With a huff, she got up and moved to the other chair.

"Thank you." Malfoy was facing her now, and if it wasn't for the curious eyes on the wall, they would probably be having some sort of a moment. She swallowed. They had spent a lot of time together researching over the past four months and he wasn't all bad. On contrary, she was sure if they had had a different start in their younger years they would have probably been a great team for difficult homework assignments.

"Let's get started, shall we?" The minister of magic entered the office, McGonagall on his heels. Her eyes snapped away from Malfoy to the man of color and took in his kind smile. "Minerva, thank you again that we get to use your office." They were in McGonagall's office at Hogwarts. As they were hoping for the added magic properties coming from the school and former owners of the office. While Narcissa and Ron along with Roks were waiting outside. The headmistress had been insistent on not having them present. However, Ron and Roks had made quite the scenes respectively.

"Of course." McGonagall's eyes now rested on Hermione, who was trying hard not to squirm. In her more private conversation with McGonagall the question had been raised, why she hadn't come for help earlier on. After all the Hogwarts professors were some of the best in their respective fields.

"Alright, please join your hands so the magic can flow as easily as possible." She shifted awkwardly before his firm grip fastened around her hand.

Their eyes met the moment Shaklebolt and McGonagall start the spells. She tried to find something in them, but it appeared he had raised his walls high. She sensed the magic flowing between them like a strange dance. While she hadn't expected it to be an easy thing, it took quite a while for them to untangle all the magic surrounding the bind. When they were done, Kingsley sank into one of the chairs.

"I feel quite naïve to have thought I could have lifted this with a few simple spells last time." He rubbed one hand over his face. The pair still stared at each other. It had been a long few months since they first started their research and it felt weird to now be here and unbound. Hermione wasn't even sure if it had really worked. Last time there was this overwhelming feeling, but this time nothing seemed to have changed. He was still Malfoy right there in front of her.

"We gave them to you." Hermione finally responded but didn't break eye contact with Malfoy.

"One would think, the Minister of Magic would at least check if it worked." Kingsley chuckled lightly at his own words. He was a man of humor and he certainly knew his shortcomings. This matter is one of them. His eyes were on the pair for a moment before he cleared his throat and turned to McGonagall. "Didn't you want to show me the new additions to the greenhouses?"

"Yes." The headmistress sounded a tad too eager, making her way to the door. She had also been watching the pair, who seemed quite oblivious to their bystanders. "Mr. Malfoy, Hermione, I trust you can take it from here."

The younger witch simply nodded, still not ready to break eye contact. Had she looked up she would have seen faint concern flicker across the headmistress's face before she carefully concealed it behind a smile.

"We will tell your company outside that you will be out in a short time."

It was only by the closed door and retreating footsteps, that the pair recognized them leaving. They were stuck in their thoughts. Each of them trying to make sense of what this meant.

"Well, darling, how are you feeling?" His smirk reached his eyes, but she could have been able to hear it, even with closed eyes.

"Not much different." Certainly not as relieved as last time, but that hadn't been any indication anyway. An effect that she knew muggles labeled as placebo. They kept staring at each other. "Can you still get in?"

"If you have to ask, I'd say no." She wanted to be annoyed by his indifference and the smirk she knew was forming. A different kind of smirk, not as playful as the last one. It would be more like the ones she had gotten to see during her school years to ridicule.

"Have you tried?" He rolled his eyes at her but landed back in their stare.

"First thing, darling."

"You really need to stop calling me that."

"Try the necklace." Her eyes widened, which send an amused glimmer to his eyes. The friendlier Draco was back. She had the necklace hidden under her blouse, careful to have nobody see it. Hermione wasn't ready to give that piece of memorabilia up.

She felt for it, before taking a tight grip on it. His face didn't change. She grabbed it harder, her thumb rubbing over the dragon on it.

"Nothing." His walls seemed to disappear behind his eye, but she didn't get a chance to analyze it before he looked away. He cleared his throat. "Roks."

Hermione watched as Draco stood and walked away towards one of the bookshelves, not paying any attention to the books. It almost felt like he was avoiding her now, but she didn't know why. It was odd, but over their research, something had developed between them. A fondness and she had enjoyed hearing his input on things. The elf appeared with a soft pop interrupting her thoughts. She could tell by the tears pooling in the elf's eyes that the spells seemed to have worked on him too. He remained quiet though until Malfoy asked him for his evaluation.

"Roks is no longer associated with the young Mrs. Malfoy." Tears slipped down the elf's cheeks, which stopped her from correcting the last name. She was so focused on the little creature that she wasn't sure if she really heard the huff from Malfoy, or simply imagined it.

"It seems we were successful." Did his voice really change, or was that another thing she imagined? "I will let you know how the house wards feel, we might have to have you come through to check on that."

"Of course." She wanted to say more, but he already brushed past her towards the door and down the staircase. She gave Roks another encouraging smile, before turning to follow him, the little creature on her heels.

"All yours, better don't mess it up this time. Can't blame me on it." Hermione gabbed as she heard him acknowledge Ron. By the time she was down the stairs, he was gone. Narcissa's small smile was nothing compared to her husband's beaming.

"It worked then?" He stepped towards her. He didn't even seem mad at Malfoy's comments.

"It appears that way. He is out of my mind and the connections through the necklace and Roks are broken." There was a whimper behind her, reminding her the elf was still close by. She didn't have time to think of a way to comfort him though, as she was pulled into a tight hug and heard a quiet whisper by her ear. "Everything is going to be fine now."

"Roks, why don't you cater my next tea with Hermione, I'm sure she would still be pleased to see you." Hermione turned in the embrace of her husband to see the elf beam at Narcissa through his tears.

"Roks would be most honored. He will serve his best soup along with tea." He disappeared with a pop, most likely to start preparing and perfecting soups. Narcissa just stared at the spot he had occupied. Her face reflecting her lacking understanding of why one would serve soup with tea.

„Thanks for coming, Narcissa." She peeled herself from her husband's arms to hug the older witch.

"Of course Darling, I will leave you two to it, I'm sure Draco is waiting for me to depart. Perhaps, I can treat you both to dinner sometime soon." Hermione caught her glance towards Ron and hoped he didn't look too sour on the suggestion. Then the other witch turned and walked away in such an elegant manner, Hermione began to wonder how the bind had ever stuck to someone clumsy like her.

"Well, Mrs. Granger-Weasley, mind having lunch with me today?"

She turned back to him and nodded with a smile. They ended up eating at the Three Broomsticks Inn, before heading back to their flat. It was quite a lovely meal. A lot more down-to-earth and certainly cheaper than the dinner Narcissa had planned for them. She enjoyed seeing Ron's eyes sparkle, while he told her about some prank little Fred had played much to his mother's and grandmother's dismay, while George had tried his hardest to not show his pride. She could imagine that scene. Remembering the mischief Ron and especially the twins had been up to, making sure Molly would age just a little faster. Hermione had smiled and laughed along and for the first time in years, her mind hadn't wandered off.

In fact, for the next few weeks, everything in her marriage to Ron became much more real. Her feelings were all there, her mind was on him and their dinner plans, and when he suggested trying again, she was the least bothered by the thought that she ever had. He even surprised her by enduring dinner with Narcissa with a smile on his face.


"So, what's the problem?", Ginny stared at her best friend. Albus lay between the pair on a soft blanket as they sat on the grounds of the Burrow. Ron and Harry attempting to play quidditch with toddler James, who simply chased after the balls thrown for him. Hermione tore her eyes away from her godson, to look back at the other woman.

"You know how Ron used to blame everything that went wrong on Malfoy?"

"He still does." Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny's teasing tone.

"Well, it's just that I also blamed everything that didn't feel quite right with Ron on the bind." She let her finger caress Albus's tiny cheek with a small sigh. It had been a good month since the bind was lifted and life did seem simpler, yet not that much different. She still wasn't cleared to enter most of the ministry, she still didn't have her name on the flat contract and her application for her higher position at St. Mungos had been denied in benefit of a wizard who asked her for advice on anything. She was still very much a Malfoy to the public eye. The only thing gone was the conflicted feelings towards Draco himself. Apparently, he had been right on the whole house magic theory. The problem with that was that there was now no reason why she shouldn't be madly in love with Ron. Which she wasn't.

"Maybe you just need a second honeymoon. A real one, all the feelings." Ginny's voice was full of encouragement. "The girl Charlie is dating has a travel agency, I'm sure she could make you some sort of a deal. Someplace warm, a beach, secluded."

"It's an option."

"It's a great plan. We'll go shopping before you go, find you a bikini and some things to surprise Ron." She gave her a wink.

"He is your brother."

"Trying to block that out."

"I suppose I could talk to Charlie about that."

She did talk to Aline and then went on requesting time for herself and Ron off at their workplaces for the end of November. She knew that he was working on some important projects and while there were a lot of other healers less qualified than her in higher positions her boss still seemed unable to free her until then. Ginny was clearly disappointed pointing out that much-needed things shouldn't wait that long, but Hermione didn't care.

Between taking care of her parents, her job, and Ron, she still had Narcissa to entertain. After hearing about it at a family dinner, George joked that the Malfoy seemed to have liked it better to keep Hermione than her son. She laughed but didn't point out that Narcissa was very much like a mother to her. She loved the woman and her undivided attention. She loved being pampered by her and shocked everyone when she announced a spa weekend at a resort. Of course, she offered for Ginny to come, but apparently, Albus wasn't quite there yet and so she went alone.


"So, your mother took Granger out for a spa weekend?"

"Seems like it."

"What do I have to do to get invited?"

He glanced at the witch with long dark blond hair, who he had known all his life. He frowned when he saw her smirk, recognizing the teasing.

"Mean tongues claim that she would have kept her over you given the choice."

His frown turned into a glare.

"Seems like you are going out with the wrong person then if you want to join the spa weekend."

"Seems that way." She picked up one of her oysters and slurped it up. Just the noise of it made his toes curl. He would eat the things if society dictated, but really they were gross. But that didn't keep Daphne from enjoying them.

"How is your cottage coming along?"

"As well as expected, we got the roof, windows, and doors in before the weather changed."

"That's great. Can I see it?"

"Sure." He wouldn't actually take her there, so he stared at his steak instead. His lesson with building things with a love interest was to never do it again. He still didn't set a foot in his old wing at the Manor. After all, everything screamed Lucia and a little bit of Ashely there. The rest of the Manor was not much better though. It was all Granger. Whenever she visited his mother, it was even her scent that hung in the library for the next few days. No woman would set foot in his cottage unless they were married for a reasonable amount of time.

"You know we don't have to date?"

His eyes left the medium-rare steak in front of him and went back up to the beautiful witch. He wasn't even sure how long his thoughts had been wandering off, but by her look, it had been too long.

"I'm sorry Daphne."

"Don't be." She gave him a small smile. "We both know we won't be getting married."

"We won't?"

"See Astoria might have tried a little harder, but I know you aren't into me, and to be frank, me neither."

He sighed, putting his fork down. He grabbed his napkin to clean his mouth before he took a rather inelegant large gulp of his wine.

"I did have every intention of taking this seriously."

"I know." She pushed an oyster around her plate. "And I have been enjoying it. I wouldn't eat this sloppy stuff with a real date."

He looked at her food, trying to recall what she had eaten on their past outings.

"And I'm really glad to not have to stick to salat and lady-like food for a while."

Draco finally laughed and she gave him an encouraging smile.

"Seriously, I have been enjoying these past months of casual outings with you." She gave him her million-dollar smile that should have his knees go weak, which it didn't. "It's hard, when who you want, doesn't want you and I'm okay with being your distraction. But there won't be a marriage and most likely no sex either."

His jaw sank. Was she referring to the woman in his head and more importantly how did she know?

"Strict." Draco decided to ignore all the unsure factors of her talk and focus on the part he could tease her with. He leaned back in his chair, glad that their table was far enough off from the regular guests that they could speak freely.

"But I'd be willing to accompany you to certain gatherings. My parent's Christmas extravagance, your mother's Winter Wonderland."

"Can you believe they are still doing that?"

"It gives them something to hold on to. I believe a lot of it will die when we are expected to carry on." She gave him a sad smile.

"So, if someone asks, we are getting reacquainted and are enjoying each other's company?"

"That sounds lovely Mr. Malfoy." She took a sip of her own wine. "And of course, you are paying for meals."

"Wouldn't dream of having it another way." He smirked. "Maybe you should get me a list of places you always wanted to go on a date on or what to eat but couldn't because you were stuck on a salad."

"You are a keeper." She gave him a small smile. "Don't make it too hard for me to give you up again."

They finished their meal, and he took her home to the Greengrass estate. He didn't stay however but spend the night mulling over books in the library. He needed to use the time without Granger around. He had picked the books on house magic and wards back up to prepare to ward the cottage to be used as a living space rather than a construction site. He still had a good month, before they had to be up, but since Granger always hung around the Manor, he tried to avoid it as much as possible.

That feeling from the day the bind was lifted still lingered within him and while on some days he simply wanted to throw up, on other days, he was close to demolishing his cottage to get rid of the stupid feeling of abandonment. She had gone and run to her husband's arms, but he was stuck with those stupid feelings that hadn't left with the bind.


"Maybe we should break up?"

She stared into those blue eyes. The blue eyes that finally showed in her vision of a baby. She lifted her hand to the red hair, a different baby version featured, brushing it out of his face. They had returned from their honeymoon trip to a beach in Thailand a few days ago. While they had both enjoyed the sun there, it had become very clear that the lack of grand feelings wasn't isolated to their dull everyday life. Yet his words surprised her.

"I love you Mione."

"I love you too."

"But you can feel it, right?"

"That we are not meant to be?"

He nodded, leaning into her hand. Her thumb ran softly over his cheek.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence. Her hand finally sinking back to her lap.

"I could move back home for a while."

She scrunched her nose. That would mean the Weasely's would know right away. It would mean Molly coming over to fix things and long conversations with Ginny making things even harder to accept.

"So close to Christmas?"

"I just think, we should make a clear cut."

"I could move to…" she trailed off, glancing at him. She was surprised to see an amused smile on his lips.

"You really like that house too much."

"It has an extensive library."

"Right."

"He isn't even there." She chewed on her lower lip. At least she hadn't spoken to him since the bind was lifted. It was like some invisible wall had reappeared. He was always busy or out of town. Some project of his. "It would give us time to get used to it before we explain it to the world." His family.

"Nobody will ask if I show up for Christmas without my wife."

"I could come, chat with Percy and Audrey, Ginny and Harry, of course, you hang with George and Charlie, play with the kids. Nothing would be out of place."

"True." He gave her a small smile. "Alright."

"Might have to do the same for James' birthday."

"Are you getting the present?"

"I have a book picked out." She caught his grin since the birthday was still a couple of months away. "Is he too young for a toy broom?"

"Never." His grin grew. "I mean technically he is, but who cares. It will still be the first broom and he got it from us."


"You are in a grand mood."

He grimaced, before placing an arm around her waist maneuvering her around the dance floor, towards the bar.

"Tomorrow I will get Lucius Malfoys grand talk on how I ruined the family name this year."

"Shouldn't it count for something that the bind was lifted, and you are being seen with me?"

"I'm sure he can come up with something." He ordered himself another fire whiskey. They were at the Greengrass estate for their Grand Christmas Extravagance. When he looked around the room, he felt like a teenager again, being home from school and dragged to these events. Society really hadn't changed as much as it should have. There were still only a handful of half-bloods present and the food magically refilled itself through the hard work of house-elves. Granger would be horrified.

"Alright, at least dance a couple of songs with me, before we disappear into whatever room Theo and Blaise have found to escape too."

He raised his hand for her to take, setting his half-drunken glass down, before leading her to the dance floor.

"I said this before, but isn't it nice to not have to care about people whispering on once relationship status?"

"Oh, they are whispering."

"But we made the gossip up ourselves." She had an almost devilish smile on her face, which finally caused him to laugh. He twirled her around when the song allowed it, before bringing her back in and steering her towards the other end of the dance floor. His eyes had caught sight of something he didn't quite believe.

"Who is that with Blaise?"

"Blaise brought a date?" He twirled her again, so she could see what he had seen. "Noooo."

"Loony Lovegood."

"Merlin, maybe the two of us should get married after all, if the world comes to this." She forgot her good manners of letting him lead and pulled him around much faster than the music required to openly stare. "Let's skip the second dance and find Nott to prepare the interrogation."


"James, let's try your broom." To his credit, the toddler did look skeptical. Maybe not quite there yet. She gave him a little squeeze.

"You are going to enjoy it." She handed him over to his uncle, who carried him upstairs, where they could raise in the long hallway. Hermione let out a small breath, before moving her other gift from the couch to the coffee table. A wave of red hair announced Ginny before she sat next to her.

"I stopped by your place the other day." That innocent tone.

"Oh, I have been in the hospital a lot." She hoped her tone was just as innocent.

"Did you move all your stuff there, too?"

"Does Ron know you snoop around his place?" She basically admitted to everything with that sentence, but only if Ginny really knew what she thought she knew.

"So, I'm right." Hermione turned towards her friend. Technically neither of them had actually said what Ginny thought she discovered. She could see that flicker of disappointment in her eyes and tried to smile anyway.

"Remember how you said, we would still be sisters, even if I was married to Malfoy?"

"Nooo…" Ginny's voice had taken a low and unbelieving tone, as her eyes widened.

"No, I'm not with Malfoy." She softly slapped her friend. "I just thought that if you were willing to overlook that, that maybe you would be willing to overlook the fact that we are getting a divorce anyway."

The redhead stared at her comprehending this new information.

"But the second honeymoon and you two aren't even fighting."

"Turns out the fighting was on the bind mostly." Ironically enough without the bind, her marriage finally went the course that the bind had always intended. She chuckled softly, before sobering. "It became apparent that Ron and I are just friends really. Friends that are married to each other."

"Well, but isn't that a great thing?"

"Not if you love your husband like a brother."

"Eww." She scrunched up her nose, as they were talking about her actual brother.

"I always thought that the bind had me water down my feelings since I was bound to someone else. But it only became clearer when I was actually in charge of my own feelings again."

Ginny stared at her quietly. This was a conversation the redhead had expected years ago when Malfoy was fresh in the picture. When feelings were going wild before the divorce. When Ron was rude and hurtful. But now? She was confused. Everything had seemed peachy since McGonagall and Shaklebolt had undone the last of the bind.

"I know this is a lot. I won't be mad if you are upset. I'll keep my distance."

"Oh Merlin, no." Ginny snapped out of her trance. "We don't want you to keep your distance. You are still Auntie Mione, I just didn't see this coming." Hermione's glance was still skeptical.

"I understand, he is your brother."

"Don't be silly." She grabbed her hand. "So, since you aren't living with us, am I right to assume I finally get my way on the Malfoy Manor?"

"You can on my room."


"Draco, I didn't know you were here." Narcissa was still wearing one of her thick cloaks, as she had just returned herself.

"Just looking for something." There were several books in his hands, but he hadn't found the one. There was one on house magic that he knew had all the details that he needed, but it was nowhere to be found. However, since a couple of days ago a few muggles had made it clear to his property on their little adventure, he needed to finalize the wards.

"I was actually going to come and see you out at the cottage."

"Why?" He turned, his voice full of suspicion. Ever since Hermione had moved back to the Manor, he was gone even more than before. He slept in his room, he even had some house-elf prepared meals, but usually, he was at his project.

"I want to see the progress."

"Right." Her tone was too innocent to accept.

"Daphne stopped by the other day looking for you."

He froze. One could only hope that the witch hadn't told his mother about their little arrangement.

"She found me at the cottage." She hadn't, since women weren't allowed there, but he had talked with her this morning and knew everything was fine.

"Oh good." There was disappointment in her voice, he was sure he heard it.