A/N: Here is chapter four. It is rather short but would give us an insight into how Hermione changed.
The past four chapters are focused on Hermione's journey.
Harry's story will be coming in the next chapters soon.
As always, your feedback is highly appreciated.
My Cheating Heart
By: tweety-src-clt9
Chapter Four: How She Changed
"Tori?", Draco Malfoy called out to his wife as he turned around to face her.
"Yes, darling?", Astoria Malfoy rolled on her side to face her husband. She was sleepy but she knew Draco had something important to say. The tone in his voice indicated that whatever it was, it had to be serious.
"Hermione just left the house. My ring keyed to the house wards shifted", he informed her.
"You and I both know that she'll visit her daughter as soon as possible. She's not been there ever since the burial", Astoria said sadly as she cuddled into her husband.
"Do you think she's ready for all this? To be back here in Britain, I mean?", Draco inquired as he rubbed his wife's back.
"It's been ten years, darling. Even if she's not ready, being here again will force her to. Hermione is one of the strongest people we know. If anyone can handle this, it's her", she reassured the man she loved.
"Do you remember when I told you about the time I first saw her after she left Potter?", he chuckled.
"Yes, darling. You told me all about it. You were at Gringott's withdrawing some money and settling your affairs. You saw Hermione Potter, looking distraught and haunted. Until now, you and I both do not know what possessed you to approach her, but I am so glad you did", she replied. Together, the Malfoys looked back on their memories of their dear friend - her journey from being the broken and distraught Hermione Potter, to the headstrong Chief of the ICW's Medical Research Department.
"Pardon my disturbance, but Lady Potter, are you alright?", Draco Malfoy approached the crying woman, who looked nothing like the strong girl he used to antagonize in his youth. The Hermione Granger he now sees in front of him is looking so distraught. Disregarding the consequences given their history as school enemies, he felt compelled to approach her.
"I hate that name! Do not call me that!", she hissed as she continued crying. She didn't even look up at him.
"Would you mind some company then, er, Ms. Granger?", he said awkwardly.
"What do you want, Malfoy?", she looked up to him. Once again, the familiar glare that he associated with the Hermione Granger he once knew was back on her puffy and snot-covered face.
"If you want Granger, we can talk inside my account manager's office. We do not want to attract any more attention here", his eyes gestured to the prying eyes all around.
"Why are you being nice to me?", she gave him a curious look but she stood up from the bench.
"Because believe it or not, Granger, I know how you feel. You think the world hates you and with the Daily Prophet and the Weasel family badmouthing you as the 'Scarlet Woman of Britain', you feel that there is no one else to help you. I think the prophet is wrong. So, you married Potter? Big deal. That does not give them the right to call you names. You are a hero and how dare they forget about that!", he told her sincerely.
"Okay, Malfoy. I believe you. Take me to your account manager's office so we can talk", she gave him one last curious look and sighed. He stood up and led her towards the Malfoy estate manager's office.
"Scion Malfoy, I am surprised to see you back so soon. Is there something wrong?", Sharpfang asked.
"Good morning once again, Sharpfang. This is -"
"Lady Potter, wife to one of Gringott's richest clients", the goblin interrupted.
"Please do not call me by that vile name, sir. I detest being called Lady Potter. Just please call me Hermione Granger. I just ended things with my bastard of a husband this morning", she explained.
"Very well, Ms. Granger. So, Scion Malfoy, what can I do for you?", the goblin clearly understood the woman's grief.
"I just need a place to talk to Ms. Granger without prying eyes, Sharpfang", he replied.
"Of course! Please feel comfortable here, Ms. Granger", the goblin gestured to a seat across his desk. Draco took a seat as the distraught and angry former Lady Potter took the other.
"Should I go?", Sharpfang asked Hermione.
"Oh no, sir! I don't want to be a bother. Besides, maybe you can give me good advice", she said immediately. The goblin looked at him and he understood. He must be the one to get her talking first.
"Granger if you could please tell us what's the matter? Why were you sitting on the side benches of the bank looking very upset?", he inquired kindly.
"As I said, I left that bastard this morning. I gave him divorce papers. I can't live in that hell anymore", she said angrily.
"Did Potter hurt you?", his face contorted with a frown.
"Oh, he's been hurting me ever since I stole him away from his precious Ginny Weasley!", she said bitterly.
"I can't believe Potter would hit his wife, whatever the odd circumstances of your marriage are in!", he said with disbelief and anger.
"Oh, that bastard never hit me. He just makes me clean the manor he built for his beloved Ginny without magic, insults me as much as he possibly can, and parades any woman he can convince to shag him in front of my face!", she hissed as angry tears escaped.
"What? How can he do that to you? I thought he was your best friend!", he could not believe the Golden Boy can do that to his wife, a wife that was his best friend since their Hogwarts days.
"I am not his best friend! If I was, then he would have at least respected me despite the circumstances. No! I'm just someone who's nothing compared to his perfect beauty, Ginny Weasley!", she said with a sad voice.
"So, what are your plans now, Ms. Granger?", Sharpfang asked.
"I visited the bank to check on my accounts. I wanted to see how much money I had so that I can have a fresh start. It's not enough. I planned to go back to my parents in Australia but I know that he could find me there. I just need a place where he can't find me. I need to get away from him! I hate him so much! He is the reason why my daughter died!", she ranted as she cried.
"Ms. Granger you are a very brilliant woman. If you would like, there is a prestigious healer's academy in Salamanca, Spain. Students who get accepted there are secluded for the entire duration of the program up until completion. That way, you can have a fresh start and your husband cannot find you", Sharpshang suggested.
"That sounds like a brilliant idea. But sir, I do not have any money for that", she said sadly.
"I'll loan you the money, Granger. Pay it back when you can. It does not matter how long it takes", Draco offered.
"Why are you doing this, Malfoy?", she was confused. This was very out of character for Draco Malfoy after all!
"Because I know how it feels to have the whole world turn their back on you, Granger. And in your case, you do not deserve it", he replied.
"Alright", she said with determination and then they agreed on the terms of the loan as the goblin handed her pamphlets containing information about the Instituto de Medicina Magica.
"Do you remember how Hermione looked when you first brought her to my apartment, darling?", Astoria broke into his thoughts.
"Yes! I remember that just like me, one look at her and you immediately felt compelled to help her. Of course, given that you are way much nicer than I ever could be, you immediately accepted her under your wing. You hugged her and she cried on your shoulders while we listened to her talk about her ordeal with Potter", he answered his wife.
"After all these years, I still cannot believe Harry Potter can do that to her!", Astoria exclaimed.
"Well, I can. Even at Hogwarts, Potter always had this extreme support for any member of the Weasley family even at the expense of hurting Hermione", Draco explained.
"But darling, you do recall for sure, that Harry Potter never went back to Ginny Weasley, right? And of course, there are his efforts in building a charity to honor the late memory of their departed child", his wife reminded him.
"Oh yes! Merlin! Hermione is so going to get mad at us since we did not tell her about the fact that she is still the Lady Potter in all legalities", Draco winced.
"Well, we can always say that whenever we tried to talk about her ex-husband, she would immediately change the topic. Besides, when we last visited her in Switzerland, she seemed to be content. There was no need to break her happy streak by bringing in sad memories by mentioning her very own version of a he-who-must-not-be-named", his wife chuckled at the last statement.
"Well, that is true, love. Besides, I reckon Longbottom, Lovegood, and Delacour would have told her of that detail. That is if she allows them to bring about the topic of her ex", Draco added as an afterthought.
"Darling, what do you think of Harry Potter's actions? Not getting together with Ginny Weasley, building the charity, and most especially not pushing through with the divorce?", his wife inquired with genuine curiosity.
"For me, love, it means that Potter finally got his shit together and he realized that the most brilliant treasure in his life, was his wife all along!"
"So, you believe that he's in love with her, darling?"
"Yes! I am certain. I can see the way he looks at her. With longing, regret, awe, and shame. He wants one more chance but I doubt she is going to give it to him. We've seen how she was at the IMM. I even used to conjure pictures of Harry Potter that she tears into tiny bits and pieces with her bare hands when she was so stressed from all our coursework. When that does not work, I conjure statues of Potter which she blasts into smithereens", he laughed.
"Oh, yes! You told me all about that! When she was so wound up with pent-up energy and since there was no outlet at the IMM, given you were not allowed to leave the premises and the only contact from the outside world was the letters that you can receive from a pre-registered list of people whom you wish to contact you while inside the school!"
"Until I introduced her to Pablo Zamora, remember him?", Draco chuckled.
"Ah, yes! The very dreamy Latino who majored in mind healing and psychology", his wife recalled.
"Yes or as we call him, Hermione's sex toy! Merlin! I swear, they would shag like rabbits. I pitied the bloke because he had feelings for her, but sex was all she could give him. Potter screwed her up so much that the only relationship she's willing to try is a physical one", Draco sighed as he felt sad for his friend.
"Well, you can't blame her, darling. Pablo looked like a Greek god who fell from heaven", Astoria sighed dreamily.
"Are you fantasizing about our dear friend's shag buddy, Mrs. Malfoy?", Draco asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Of course not, dear! It's just well when I was studying at the IMM, and Hermione was there as a researcher, she used to tell me that Pablo Zamora was the best shag she's ever had. That time though, she's only had four lovers, I guess. First was Potter, then Pablo, and then there was Muller, oh and I forgot the other one", Astoria narrated.
"Ah, yes! Muller! That German bloke she met at the pub near the IMM. He's the one she called had the biggest prick she's ever seen, right?", he laughed.
"Yes, that's him! Merlin! I used to laugh at Hermione's sex stories. I guess I was living vicariously through her. Since, well, you're my first and only lover darling. And at the IMM, I sure did miss you a lot", his wife pecked him on the lips.
"I really can't believe Potter let go of a vixen such as our dear Hermione. What an idiot!", Draco chuckled.
"Well, Hermione told me she only shagged Potter during that crazy scheme thought about by Fleur and Luna. Potter's never touched her after the wedding", Astoria divulged.
"Really? She did not tell me that", he was surprised.
"Of course, she wouldn't! As close as you two are, there are so many things a woman only tells a fellow woman, darling", Astoria patted his cheek patronizingly.
"Do you think Hermione's seeing someone right now?", he inquired.
"Well from her recent mirror conversation with me, the last time she's shagged someone was ten months ago. You know how busy she is. Besides, she told me there is a sex toy she uses when she feels frustrated. You know how she goes on dates, shags the bloke, and leaves afterward. The blokes are okay with the setup because they know she's not emotionally available anyway", Astoria shrugged.
"I just wish she will allow herself to fall in love again. To find what we have. She of all people deserve to be happy", Draco cuddled closer to his wife, the woman who changed him for the better.
"She cannot fall in love again until she forgives herself, darling. She still tries too hard because she still blames herself for Viola's death. Once she lets go of that guilt, then and only then could she finally move on", Astoria said sadly.
"Do you think being around Potter can help her finally accept the painful memories of her past?", he asked.
"That's one more thing she has to face, darling. From my conversations with her, I could tell how much she loved him. And with the magnitude of that love, comes the immense size of the pain. He destroyed her. If she could finally accept all that's happened in the past, that is the only time she can fully heal. She's a strong woman. But only when she opens up and becomes vulnerable to feel the hurt she buried deep within, and talk to the man who hurt her deeply, only then can she finally move on and let go", Astoria explained.
"Do you think she still loves him?", he inquired.
"That is a very hard question to answer, darling", she sighed.
"Do you think Potter would try to win her back?"
"Harry Potter was stupid in his youth, but he's surely gotten wiser with maturity. I am very certain he would try, darling. That is for sure! Will she take him back? Well, there's a very minimal chance. Another thing I am certain though is -"
"Hermione will make it damn hard for Potter!", Draco finished.
"Exactly!", she agreed before pecking him on the lips again.
"Love, do you think Potter can bring her walls down?"
"To be honest darling, I still believe he is only the person who can. We've seen so many men try and fail. So, I truly believe that it will only be Harry Potter who can truly heal her again", she admitted.
"Well, I am sure that she won't make it easy for Potter though!", he said smugly.
"Of course, she won't! And Potter deserves all the effort and the groveling he has to do to win her back!", she agreed ferociously.
"Ah, well, as they say, 'you will only appreciate what you have when it is gone', should be Potter's new motto", he chuckled.
"Trust me, darling. He's realized that a long time ago", she stated.