Posting a couple hours early today. I really wanted to share this all with you and I'm HOPING that I'll hear from everyone as to why they enjoyed this story, why they stuck around despite my three (?!) year attempt to finish this story...anything. It brings a big smile to my face when I get to read what you guys are thinking. I think the great thing about posting these stories online is that feedback you get. Those of you who commented early on helped build this story, and those of you who commented later on have helped keep me on track!
See you next week for the epilogue ;)
Love,
Cherry
"I'm not taking the fall. I killed Petcher." Hermione answered Harry's question carefully.
"No, you are. He told me himself." Harry continued. "You were knocked unconscious, he grabbed your wand, and he killed Petcher."
"And with his past, he'll go on trial, which means at least three months in Azkaban as he awaits his day in court. He doesn't need more time in that place, Harry, it almost broke him once."
"And you, one third of the Golden Trio, will be going home now, only to return to the Ministry if your answers don't align with what we find." Harry continued.
"I'd like us all to sleep well tonight." Hermione said. "And at the end of the day, it was self defence, no matter who did it."
"And if you passed out, how do you know that?" Harry asked. Hermione paused as she looked at her friend.
"I just do."
The two stared at each other very closely for several moments before Harry bobbed his head.
"Fine. Since I trust you and you trust him, I guess I trust him too. Get home safe." Harry patted Hermione's shoulder and left to continue his duty as an Auror, leaving Hermione and Draco to themselves.
Hermione gestured for Draco to join her and when he did, she took his hand and apparated them to her flat, guiding him into the bathroom.
"Your skin is so pale that I don't think it can handle any scarring." Hermione gently pushed Draco down onto the closed toilet, fishing some of her homemade healing salve from the medicine cabinet. She rubbed it into his battered fingers and knuckles, watching the cuts and scrapes disappear.
"Not if I want to stay beautiful." Draco fluttered his eyelashes, making Hermione laugh. "You're hurt, too." He noted, touching the blood that made her dress stick to her skin. She tried to ignore that it also meant Draco was touching her leg.
"I think I hit one of the awards Turnbull hung behind the register." She noted, leaning back to lift her dress up to expose her thigh. Draco tried not to stare too much. "Ah, yes." She wandlessly fished a piece of glass out of the cut, wrapping it in tissue before throwing it away. She gathered more tissues and wet them to clean herself up, when Draco took them from her hands.
"Let me." He offered, gesturing for her to sit on the counter. "It's the least I can do when you returned these hands to their perfect state." He jested.
Hermione accepted, mostly because she was still sore from being slammed into a wall, so she let Draco clean up her leg and rub in the salve.
"I am hoping that this product will be brought to Malfoy Enterprises as you make your transition." Draco noted, watching the rather large cut on Hermione's leg shrink down the more he rubbed the salve in.
"That can be arranged." Hermione agreed. "Perhaps I'll bring the recipe with me if you tell me what you got Harry for his birthday." Draco shot Hermione a look and she grinned.
"Just some quidditch gloves." Draco explained. "I asked Ginny for some suggestions upon receiving her invite and she suggested something quidditch related."
"Well he'll appreciate that more than my gift." Hermione leaned her head back against the wall, waiting as Draco scoured her legs and arms for any other wounds. "I got him an original print almanac for Quidditch. He'll say it requires too much reading."
"Which is something I'm sure Potter's still working on mastering." Draco quipped. "A book is a perfectly fine gift, if you know how to read."
Hermione smiled tiredly. "Are you all right?" She finally asked. "With what just happened."
"It's fine." He answered. "Given what happened to begin with, the resolution is fine."
"Did you want to kill him?" Hermione continued, and Draco slowed his search to a halt.
"Of course I wanted to kill him." He chewed on the inside of his cheek. "But I wouldn't have done it if he had shown any sign of stopping. I would have much preferred to have been clean in all of this. But not so much that someone else would take the fall for me." He looked up at Hermione and she shrugged.
"It's the least I could do." She answered. "No one would bat an eye if I killed a murderer. Unfortunate circumstances mean that I am afforded the luxury of trust, while you are not."
Draco's shoulders dropped infinitesimally, but Hermione continued.
"All I did was tell the truth with one altered fact. At the end of the day, it doesn't change what happened, it only ensures that everyone gets to move on with their lives."
"I don't like it." Draco stated.
"You don't have to." Hermione retorted. "And I want nothing more than for you to prove to the world that you aren't defined by the actions of your childhood, but that takes time. And now you have more of it."
"Potter wouldn't listen to me." Draco commented. "I kept telling him, and he kept saying it was your wand, so you must have done it."
"He's a good friend." Hermione stared at the cut on Draco's cheek. She dipped her finger in the cheek and reached up to apply it to Draco's cheek. He looked up at her and any doubt he had was replaced with longing. Longing to put everything behind him, longing to begin the next chapter of his life, and longing for Hermione.
Draco leaned forward and kissed her, catching her off guard. But Hermione was a fast learner and wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, pulling him closer. She happily returned the slow kisses Draco was giving her, but when she scooted to the edge of the counter and pressed the length of her body to his, the tone of the kisses changed. Any chance of savoring the moment was gone, they had waited too long to take things slow. Hermione grew lightheaded from the way Draco kissed her, so she removed her cardigan. Draco had once described his past romantic interactions as nonexistent, so Hermione figured it was common courtesy to take the lead, ridding Draco of his blazer.
They separated for a moment, Draco hesitating against her lips.
"Hermione, I...if, if you don't want to -"
"Don't." Hermione nearly growled, beginning to unbutton his shirt. "I do want."
That was all the confirmation Draco needed to unzip Hermione's dress. She stood to let the dress drop to the floor, shoving Draco's shirt over his shoulders. Draco guided Hermione to her bedroom with shaky hands and hoped she didn't interpret it as nerves - which it partly was - but the adrenaline of the moment was catching up to him. When Draco woke up that morning, he hadn't expected to end the night like this. Hell, he hadn't expected this when she brought him to her flat to clean up his wounds.
But in that moment, there was nothing more Draco wanted than to hold Hermione. To explore her skin. To feel her under him.
And as they lay together, Draco held Hermione by the waist, refusing to let go just in case this was all a dream.
They slept then, better than either had in months, and when they woke, it was because neither remembered to close the curtains before falling asleep.
When the reality of the previous day's events hit them, neither was able to go back to sleep so they spent the morning engaging in mindless pillow talk before Hermione went to take a shower, her bed head more like an unbrushed wig than something that could be managed with a comb. She was rinsing out her conditioner when Draco joined her, offering to wash her back if she needed. And perhaps he could assist with any other body parts that needed attention.
What began as harmless flirting ended as shower sex, which was not nearly as fun as either thought it would be, so they moved back to the bedroom for a redo.
It was nearly noon when Hermione and Draco finally dressed and left her bedroom, deciding to grab lunch at the muggle bakery one block over. When they finished their meal consisting of one of every pastry the bakery had to offer, Hermione suggested they stop by Flourish and Blotts to see if they had any new books. Draco raised an eyebrow.
"You want to be seen with me?" He asked.
"Of course I do." Hermione replied. "Besides, we've already been seen together in plenty of places. It's a little late for me to back out now."
"Good." Draco said. "Then you're stuck with me."
"And you're stuck with me." She teased back, and the two set off for the Leaky Cauldron.
The news of Dermot Petcher was on everyone's lips in Diagon Alley, which seemed to boost morale amongst the crowds; the unknown murderer was finally caught and was no longer a threat. When they stopped for tea, Hermione snatched the newspaper from Draco's hands and read it herself, partially to protect Draco, partially to see what was written. She was pleased to see that Harry and Ron had only shared minimal information with reporters, but they included a rather slanderous summary of Dermot's life, which Hermione knew was Ron's doing. He would never pass up an opportunity to drag the name of a criminal.
When she had confirmed that nothing had been written about Draco or herself, she handed the newspaper back to Draco to let him read it. She smirked when he did, knowing he was reading the bit about Dermot being a "failed inventor who piggybacked on other inventor's designs."
They finished the evening at a Spanish restaurant in London before bidding each other goodnight, though there was no reason to say goodbye, as it turned out, because Draco practically dragged Hermione into the Floo to bring her back to Malfoy Manor.
Draco pulled her through the manor like a teenager sneaking a girl over for the night, and when he caught the eye of a knowing Mimmy and disgruntled Thump as they passed them in the hall, he supposed he really was sneaking a girl over.
The next several weeks passed by in a blur. Hermione went back to Japan to continue her research with Arata, and while she was there, she received several visitors. Harry and Ginny stopped by with James and Albus for several days, using the visit as an excuse to take a holiday. Hermoine introduced them to Arata and Mai, and showed them her research so far, joking that Harry better not take her notes and become a world renowned potions maker. Harry returned a jab by saying this was Hermione's wheelhouse, as her job required killing plants, something she was very good at. He went to bed that night with a bruised arm.
Neville was the next to visit, and Hermione was almost certain she saw him shed a few tears when he saw Arata's crops. While she had expected to host her friend, Neville spent most of the week shadowing Arata to the point at which Hermione had to redirect Neville's attention so Arata could finish his work. Arata and Mai had been kind enough to house Hermione and any of her guests during their stay, but when that meant Neville could access Arata from the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep, Hermione was beginning to see the Matsuda's hospitality was wearing thin by the time Neville returned home.
Hermione's final visitor was Draco, who told Arata he was there as a representative of Malfoy Enterprises. This was proven false on the first night, when Mai caught Draco sneaking across the hall to Hermione's room. It was clear Mai told Arata, as his demeanor changed the next day. Over the month Hermione had been working with him, they had developed a bit of a father-daughter relationship, and it was clear he was sizing up Draco to see if he was a suitable match for Hermione. While Hermione could make up her own mind, she did value Arata's perspective, and when Draco had packed up and was ready to leave, Arata offered him an open invitation to return anytime. Hermione smiled and thanked Draco for coming to see her and promised to return home soon, as her research was almost finished.
When Hermione returned to London, she met her new boss in person for the first time. Gustavo Bianchi was a passionate man, Hermione learned very quickly, whose enthusiasm for the work he did was contagious. She discussed her research with him, explained that while she couldn't find a way to grow Witch's Ganglion in England, she could stabilize it once it had been pulled from the ground using a essence of aconite, which was strong enough to freeze the decomposition process of Witch's Ganglion, but used early enough in the potions process that it didn't affect the safety of the potion.
Gustavo approved the contact with Arata, who would grow, harvest, and jar the Witch's Ganglion in essence of aconite, then ship it to the Research and Development division of Malfoy Enterprises. With the contract signed, Hermione received her first shipment of Witch's Ganglion from Arata and began working. Because she had perfected the patch before her trip to Japan, her development phase with the Witch's Ganglion went rather quickly, and within a week, she had entered the testing phase, where volunteers with cursed blemishes, scars, marks, and more lined up to try the new product.
Though Draco oversaw Gustavo personally, Hermione had convinced Gustavo to keep Hermione's progress a secret, revealing only enough to let him know that she was on track. To keep everything above board, the company knew Draco and Hermione were an item, so Gustavo assumed Hermione wanted to surprise her partner with her progress, though he didn't know why. While it wasn't his business, Gustavo was a romantic man, so when Hermione asked him if she could have the lab to herself the coming Saturday, he coerced her into admitting that she was going to reveal her progress to Draco. With that news, Gustavo helped Hermione plan, and by Friday night, her workspace looked more like a lounge than a lab. When she asked if this was sanitary, Gustavo flippantly said he would have his latest automatic sanitizing gloves come through and clean the room up before the returned Monday.
When Saturday came, Hermione tricked Draco into meeting her at the lab, citing an impromptu meeting requested by Gustavo. When Draco stepped through the doors, he slowed to a halt and took in the space.
"Are you planning on proposing?" He asked, and Hermione laughed.
"No!" She exclaimed. "Genuinely, this was all Gustavo, I understand why he's been married so many times. Still working on why he's had so many divorces, though." She scrunched her nose. "But, I did have something I wanted to show you." She removed her coat and Draco's lips tugged into a smile.
"My, my, Hermione, in the office? How saucy." He flirted and Hermione smacked his arm.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Draco. Look." She held out her left arm, and Draco looked down, noticing that all he saw was unmarked, smooth skin.
"You, Miss Granger, are a dirty liar." He smiled proudly. "'Still in the trial phase,' was it? How long have you been sitting on this?"
"A week, maybe. Nothing too extreme." She pulled him by the wrist over to her work station, where a stack of brand new Curse Be Gone patches sat. She undid his cufflink and rolled up his left sleeve, noting the way Draco stiffened as the dark edges of the Dark Mark appeared.
"You'll be pleased to know, Mr. Malfoy, that I was able to separate the Witch's Ganglion into two products. Using the leaves, I made an inexpensive patch, which covers temporary curses, perfect for children and teenagers who are pranked or tricked with a jinx."
"Like that one you used at Hogwarts." Draco pointed out. "On that girl who told us about your Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons."
"Yes, exactly like that." Hermione noted with a guilty smirk. "Marietta would have paid through the nose to have had a product like this. Anyway, that's the patch made with the leaves." She opened one of the plastic packs that held the larger, higher strength patches and pressed it down onto Draco's arm, rubbing it into place.
"The second product is this one, which is made with the bulb. Much stronger, and much more expensive."
"I like the sound of that." Draco jested in an attempt to cover his nerves. Had she really done it?
"I'm sure you do." She responded, covering the Dark Mark with her hand. "Before I let go, I want you to know that you are more than this mark." Hermione looked up at Draco. "It might sound hypocritical coming from someone currently wearing the patch, but you are so much more than what this mark means. And I don't love you any less because it's there."
Draco thanked her with a kiss and placed his hands over her, pulling it away. He was silent at first, and Hermione waited patiently for a response.
"Ten years, that's been there. And it's gone in an instant." He breathed, running his hand over the skin.
"I had the same thought." Hermione commented. "A daily reminder of a time when the world was at war, wiped from reality."
"But it doesn't really go away, does it?" He looked up at Hermione. "Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there."
"It'll never leave us." She said. "But it doesn't define us. And perhaps these will keep us from others thinking they can." Hermione lifted her arm and the two compared their results, both as clean and free from life's mistakes as the day they were born.
"Have I mentioned lately that you're brilliant?" Draco cosied up to Hermione.
"It's been a few weeks." She simpered and the two shared a smile and when they pulled away, Draco gave Hermione a suggestive look.
"Now about these decorations." He spoke, raising a brow and the corner of his lip. "We shouldn't let them go to waste, should we?" He slowly wrapped his arms around her small of her back and pressed his face into her neck.
"Draco, no!" She laughed. "I refuse to defile my office with such activities."
"Then my office?" He asked.
"I could be persuaded." Hermione scrunched her nose and took Draco's hand, letting him lead her from the room.
As they walked, Hermione thought back to that night at the Ministry that Draco came back into her life. What would that past Hermione think if current Hermione went back in time and told her how things would end up? That the rut she was stuck in - with Ron, at work - that she would move past all of it, and with none other than Draco at her side. Back then, she would have scoffed and said there was a better chance of wrackspurts being real than where she was at now; wholly and completely in love with Draco Malfoy.
But then again, it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise; she and Draco were more alike than she had expected, and the threads of likeness that brought them to each other had thoroughly knotted themselves together, never to be untwined.
"We're not married, Draco." Hermione laughed quietly.
"We could be." He offered, stopping Hermione in her tracks.
