Author's Note:

After the previous, highly emotional chapter, this one is a rather quite one, but still providing some plot development as well as some character insights. Or you could call it the calm before the storm hits... ;-)

Again, many thanks to MusicLover19 for beta-reading!

Chapter 33:

"Great! You're still here..."

Briefly startled at the unexpected interruption, Draco looked up from the notes in front of him that he had made during the meeting earlier. Being once more up to date with everything that had been going on besides what he had been involved in while on his time-out, he had to admit that it didn't look good at all. The list of problems seemed endless, nothing he had ever expected to experience when he took over.

It was Pansy entering his office, closing the door after a last look outside to make sure they were alone. So, with a sigh, Draco leaned back in his chair, watching her take a seat on the other side of his desk.

"That was one hell of a morning, right? I can't believe they distorted your interview so much, but then, it's the Prophet!"

"It's nothing new, honestly," he replied with a shrug, putting down his pen he used to make notes. "I'm more worried about the increasing complaints about the bad quality of our products that Blaise mentioned. I want to know what is going on and who is responsible for this! Sales are down to less than half of November... If this trend continues, we might have to shut down everything."

"Yeah, I know. I've never seen Daphne this worried... Merlin's balls, I really hope we win in court; we need the good press!"

"We certainly do." His lips pressed into a tired and thin smile, he studied her for a moment. Her feedback on the progress of her court date preparation had been the only good news at the meeting earlier that morning. According to her, it was going to be a clear-cut case, leaving no doubt that the suit was just an empty threat.

"Astoria still not back?" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice, breaking the heavy silence that had momentarily settled between them.

He shook his head. "Blaise excused her for not feeling well."

"Yeah, Saturday was tough," Pansy said with a quick smile, rubbing her hands absent-mindedly. "Can I ask you something? It's been on my mind ever since Hermione showed us those memories..."

"I can probably guess what you want to know."

She smiled nervously. "It wasn't exactly easy to watch those memories, to be honest. And it's hard to get it into my head that she is a creature, or at least a half-creature."

He nodded in understanding, brushing his hair back in an absent-minded move. "She showed me her creature on New Year's Eve. Merlin's balls, you should have seen her—she was scared. I mean, despite everything we discussed in therapy, she was still scared that I would just sneer at her and leave."

"You used to sneer at her as a boy..."

"Yes, and you called Ron a red-faced baboon, and look where we are now. You are about to get married to him, and–

"And you're back to dating their princess." Pansy laughed, but then leaned forward with a more curious expression in her eyes. "But what does she look like? The memories were a bit blurry and short on that."

"I... To be honest?" He let out a sigh as he studied her, slightly wary of the question for a moment. "She was so angry then, scared even. She wanted to know whether I could love her if she looked like this, and she transformed... It was fascinating to watch, all those feathers shimmering in every shade of red you could imagine. But it was so hard to see her hurting so much at the same time. So vulnerable."

"I can only imagine–"

"But my aunt was right; it was necessary to show her that she can trust me with it." He reached for the fountain pen next to his notes to roll it between his fingers, glad that Pansy remained quiet, waiting for him to continue. "She let me even touch her when I–"

"You touched her?" Her eyes widening in astonishment, Pansy leaned closer.

He nodded, still fiddling with the fountain pen.

"Oh, you're hopeless." Shaking her head in amused disbelief, she finally leaned back. "You know, I did talk with Ron about Hermione, since he is involved in her case and everything."

"You talked to Weasley?"

"Yes, I did, but don't worry." She shrugged and crossed her arms. "Seriously... Look, when I told him about the memories you showed us, he simply shrugged and said that she never showed it or harmed anyone in the family. Hell, he wasn't even mad at her for keeping it secret for so long."

"Either he gathered it from the case files anyway, or she told him over that lunch invite to the Potter house," Draco replied, raising his eyebrow. He was still surprised about Weasley's reaction, given that his sister had a different reaction when she had been told the truth—but maybe the job brought a certain attitude with it, when nothing takes you by surprise any more, or you simply accept things the way they are.

"Yeah, I remember... Just before Christmas I think," Pansy said, relaxing in her chair. "But... Look, I think I speak for all of us when I say that she is still Hermione, that her creature isn't the part we blame her for. It's just... Was that why she was kidnapped?"

Draco nodded and placed the pen back on his desk before he crossed his arms. "She was forced to fight."

"What the...?!" Pansy gasped loudly. "Ron never told me that..."

"Be glad. I've seen a couple of those fights, and they were brutal." He watched her try and hide her shock behind her usual smile. "We were lucky to find her alive."

"Honestly, I'm glad you did," Pansy said with a nod after a deep breath. "So, what about that envelope I brought you? Was it about Hermione? Because you looked like a ghost when you came back into the kitchen..."

He stared at her for what felt like an eternally long moment, damning her for her perceptiveness, but then he finally nodded, his lips disappearing in a thin line. "They want her back."

Pansy lost her previous smile, her eyes widening for a second before she caught herself. "Shit."

"Yes."

"Draco, you need to tell the others. And you need to tell Hermione–!"

"No, not her!" With a glare, he leaned on the desk. "She has been through enough."

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, Draco! Tell the others, and stop shouldering every burden alone..." To emphasise her words, Pansy got up, only to lean over his desk. "They will come after you!"

A bitter chuckle escaped him, and he rubbed his face to cover it. "They already started."

"What do you mean?"

"Pansy, please." He sighed; the words of that note still haunted his mind, coming back with a bang of guilt whenever he went over to Hermione's place or she came over to this. "The plagiarism suit isn't a coincidence..."

"WHAT? That's them?" She straightened up and turned around to make a few tense steps. "Damn it, Draco! You really should have told me!"

He stood up as well, yet still leaning on his desk as he followed her pacing around. "They are after me–"

"Draco, no!" Glaring at him, she came back to the desk. "Have you any idea of the troubles I'm having with this damn case? The Ministry is not cooperating at all, files suddenly changed or straight out missing... You're damn lucky I keep copies of all the files in my studies at home, because otherwise, your arse will be served on a gold plate!"

"I'm sorry–"

"Merlin knows you're not." She huffed and rubbed her face. "Draco, please, we are your friends; we are in this together... We have your back, whatever may come, but you have to tell us about those kinds of things if you want us to do our job."

"Handing her back is not an option."

"Heavens, no!" With an appeasing smile, she returned to her seat. "We need to discuss our strategy."

..

When Draco came home that evening, he found his mother waiting in the living room, skimming through one of his books and with a cup of tea on the table in front of her. He didn't exactly like her surprise visits, as she usually caught him at a bad moment, even though he knew she mostly meant well.

With a soft smile, he entered the living room. "Mother, nice to see you. If I knew you wanted to visit I would have come home earlier..."

She closed the book and put it aside to get up and greet her son. "Don't worry. Your house-elf is an excellent host, and I don't intend to stay long. I've just visited your father in Azkaban, who, as usual, laments that you never visit him..."

"You know I hate the atmosphere," he replied and beckoned her to sit down again. "I presume he is doing fine, as always."

"The books keep him occupied; it is a pity that he has no access to the family library." With an unwavering smile, she studied him as she sat down again. "You look good."

He shrugged and leaned back in his armchair. "Exhausted more likely. We've got all factory halls up and running again, at least. One problem off the list, ten others added."

"I've seen the interview in the Prophet."

"You can totally forget about that, they misquoted me almost entirely. I mentioned restructuring and they turn it into down-sizing. At least Kerr had enough brains to keep his questions strictly business-related."

Narcissa tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowed and focused on him. "I don't think it was a good idea to give them an interview, my dear. You only added fuel to the rumours with it. You are already struggling, and this probably made it worse. Rumours and speculations are the death of any business–"

"I know." Draco sighed, wishing he had a tumbler with some Firewhisky in his hand. "We discussed that today, and that's why I'm so late."

"Have you at least eaten something today?" she said, acknowledging his words with a short nod.

"Yes..." He let out a tired sigh before he nodded; the endless day at the company was finally catching up with him, and his brain threatened to shut down, making him crave the comfort of his bed more and more with every passing second. "How is–?"

He couldn't finish his rather disinterested question about his mother's latest stay in France, as the fireplace came to life with green flames, announcing the arrival of a visitor. A quick look at the clock on the wall made him jump to his feet in apprehension.

He had told Hermione when he might be home this evening, knowing she had another single therapy session with Dr Pendry today. She had made a lot of progress already, but they always left her a bit shaky.

"Draco?" Indeed, Hermione stepped out of the fireplace, dusting the soot off her clothes; a smile brightened her face when she saw him, even though her eyes kept their exhausted expression.

"Hey," he greeted her, immediately pulling her into an embrace, mostly to keep her from noticing his mother just yet. "I was about to come over..."

"Sorry, I just couldn't wait any longer."

He tightened his hold around her shoulders in response and took a deep breath, briefly relishing in her presence. However, he kept an eye on his mother who was still sitting on the sofa, watching them with sceptical curiosity.

"How did it go today?" he asked quietly after a few more seconds, rubbing Hermione's back before reluctantly loosening his hold.

She shook her head before she looked up, showing a faint smile. "I don't want to sleep alone tonight..."

"You can stay here," he replied, fighting the urge to comfort her with a kiss. "I just need to get up early tomorrow."

Narcissa coughed, one of those to politely gain attention of the others present, and slowly rose to her feet, ignoring her son's vehement motions to stay where she was.

With wide eyes, Hermione turned around. "Hi... I-I didn't know you're here too. I'm sorry."

"I had no idea either about how close you two have really become since your rescue. So, you're not the only one surprised here–"

"Mother, please." Draco stepped forward, reaching for Hermione's hand to pull her behind him in a protective move.

"No, Draco. I'm your mother, and you hide this from me?"

"Yes. It's my–"

"We sorted things out," Hermione said, trying to step beside him to his dismay.

"Let me talk to her," he whispered, rather irritated about her move.

"No," Hermione retorted in the same harsh whisper. "I might be exhausted, but I'm not a small child."

"Please?"

But Hermione made a step towards Narcissa, although she kept his hand in hers for support. "I wish I knew what to say because I'm sorry isn't enough. I know I hurt a lot of people, even though I didn't mean to–"

"You broke him." Narcissa let out a bitter laugh. "And I warned him repeatedly against rekindling any contact with you. One complete breakdown is more than enough–"

"He knows the truth–"

"But I am not entirely blind," Narcissa finished, acknowledging Hermione's interjection with a raised eyebrow, her arms crossed. "I did notice the affection, heard the whispers, and I saw the smiles you shared. As his mother, I just want to see my son happy, yet I can't forget what you've put him through."

With thin lips, Hermione nodded before she turned towards Draco, fumbling for her wand. "Do you still have the vial?"

"You mean the memories? They are upstairs." He furrowed his brows in momentary confusion, leaning towards her. "Do you think this is a good idea?"

She shrugged and Summoned the vial with a silent swish of her wand, her eyes on Narcissa who was watching them with a still raised eyebrow, this time in question.

Only moments later, the vial came flying, straight into Hermione's open hand, who held it up for Narcissa to take. "Please, take a look at those memories; they might help explain why I did what I did. I know I made a horrible mistake back then, hurting a lot of people. I'm already glad that Draco and I started talking again, I never hoped for more. I promise, I just want to see Draco happy too..."

Narcissa only reached for the vial after a look to Draco, who nodded. Almost pensively, she gazed at the vial before putting it away in a pocket of her robes. "This isn't over yet, but we'll continue another day. It's late enough..."

Draco felt an odd wave of relief rush through his body, and he twined his fingers with Hermione's, squeezing them before he stepped forward to say his goodbyes to his mother. "Thanks."

"You better make sure she doesn't hurt you again," Narcissa said, tapping his chest with each word before letting him hug her for the briefest of moments. "I mean it."

"She promised, and we had more than one session with Dr Pendry to discuss everything."

"Fine." With one last smile, Narcissa finally stepped into the fireplace, only to disappear moments later into the green flames.

Hermione reached for his hand, just as he let out an exhausted sigh, his head thrown back and eyes closed. "Come, let's go to bed."

..

"It will be fine, Draco," Hermione said as they walked through the front yard of her parents' house on Friday evening, holding his hand tightly in hers. "It's usually just a get-together with their friends and some family."

"You didn't tell them," he replied with a sigh, only to cover it with a smile. After a busy week back in the company he would rather stay home and unwind, but then, with the note a constant presence in the back of his mind, he didn't want her to go out on her own, even if it was just her parents' house.

"Well, they sort of know that we are talking again..." She blushed as she turned around in front of the door to face him, pulling him closer by the hand she still held. "It was hard enough to sort things out between us, without added pressure and expectations from others."

"So, this is basically you presenting me, making it official to your parents again..." He couldn't resist pressing a soft kiss on her cold cheek, smiling when she couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "Only fair after my mother discovered us–"

"Yeah, that wasn't exactly fun. And I'm quite sure she wanted to hex me for everything, which I can understand in a way."

He squeezed her hand as he stepped up to the door. "To be honest, I'm rather glad your parents are Muggles—OUCH!"

Mocking a scoff, she swatted him on the arm with her free hand, and then turned to ring the bell. Briefly confused, she raised her eyebrow when Draco made a step to the side, out of the line of sight, but still holding her hand.

Seconds later, Hermione's mother opened the door. "You made it! We weren't sure you'd be up to it..."

"I'm much better now," Hermione replied with a smile, stealing a glance to the side before she gently pulled at the hand she held. "And I brought someone with me. You might remember him."

"Mrs Granger." Draco stepped into view, nodding in greeting; her loud gasp was worth the surprise, although he didn't quite expect to be pulled inside for a cordial hug by her.

"It's so nice to see you again, Draco!" she said with a happy smile when she let go of him again. "And please, I'm still Jean, no need to be so formal just because we haven't seen you in years!"

Hermione meanwhile closed the door, opening her coat with a small, relieved sigh. "Dad's in the living room?"

"Yes, my dear," Jean replied, offering to take their coats to put them in the wardrobe for the evening, unable to contain her happy smile. "And the usual people... He's discussing the upcoming football games with Morty, I think."

Moments later they followed Jean into the living room, only to be met by turning heads, widening eyes in recognition and Hermione's father jumping to his feet to meet them, a happy smile brightening his whole face.

"My little girl!"

"Dad!" Hermione had no chance to avoid his bear hug, so she just reluctantly returned the gesture, breathing in deeply in relief as soon as he let her go again. "Happy Birthday..."

"Thanks, my dear. I'm glad you could come," Will replied with a warm smile, before his gaze switched to Draco who stood quietly next to his daughter, listening with half an ear while checking out the rest of the room. "I see... you worked things out then."

Her father's remark brought Draco's full attention back to them, and he couldn't help but smile at her reddening cheeks. He squeezed her hand in comfort before he nodded in response to the remark. "Yes, we did–"

"We definitely did, and I'll be forever grateful for it..."

They were joined by her cousin who had a broad smirk on his face. "Finally someone my age."

"Nate! Nice to see you," Hermione replied with a warm smile, discreetly twining her fingers with Draco's to keep him calm. "Jenny's not here?"

Nathaniel shook his head with a bitter chuckle and a shrug. "No. She broke up with me first thing in the new year. Her loss."

Draco let his thumb run over the piece of skin on Hermione's hand he could reach; he felt similarly oddly out of place as he did at the Burrow on Christmas Day. Like there, it had been years since he had been here last, and his mind was momentarily flooded with memories.

Out of place, but welcomed back with open arms.

"Aren't you that weird guy she dated years ago?" Nate asked curiously, pulling Draco out of his thoughts.

"And you are?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrow, ignoring Hermione who sent him a look with mocked mild disappointment before she couldn't hold her smirk in.

"Oh, come on, you remember Nate, I mean Nathaniel. My cousin? You always discussed some business stuff..."

"Yes, definitely the weird guy," Nate said with a grin, offering his hand for a shake. "Great to see you again."

Draco remembered now as well, accepting the hand with the same grin, albeit shorter. Nathaniel had taken similar business classes as he did while he was building up his company. They shared quite a few conversations while Nathaniel had a smoke and he just wanted to escape the noise for a moment, and their classes as well as his starting company provided enough to talk about, besides football in later years when he finally got the hang of it for her family's sake.

"Sorry to hear about the break-up," he said, letting go of the hand again, immediately reaching for Hermione's.

Nate shrugged dismissively. "She was rather blunt about it and told me that she found someone who could better care for her needs. I wasn't rich enough for her..."

"Gold diggers are the worst, yes..."

"Hey, not every woman is like that," Hermione threw in, albeit with an amused chuckle. "I never cared about your money, you know that."

"I know, my lioness." Draco leaned towards Hermione to place a kiss on her head. "One of your redeeming qualities..."

"Come on, let's nick a bottle and disappear into the kitchen or outside," Nate said, nodding towards the table where the alcoholic beverages were kept for the party. "I want to know how you got back together after my dear cousin here refused to mention your name for years..."

With a shrug, Draco let Hermione pull him along to the kitchen, trying to push the exhaustion back down that was slowly creeping back up. Maybe a drink would help stove it off a little longer, or at least chase off the feeling of being oddly out of place here, even though they had welcomed him back warmly and with smiles.

"So," Nate said as they reached the kitchen, immediately opening a cupboard to find glasses. "How come you two are back together again?"

"Well, erm..." Hermione blushed in slight embarrassment, briefly hiding her face in Draco's shoulder. "Long and complicated story."

With a smile and a nod, Draco accepted his glass of what looked like a decent Muggle whisky while Hermione tried to find the right words to tell their story, with her cousin listening intently and a smirk on his face.

Oh, he was curious to hear how she was going to tell their story without mentioning the wizarding world or her creature. And this was her family, so it was her story to tell...