11 Reasons General Theme: 11 Reasons why Draco and Hermione Belong Together
Pairing: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger
Title: The One Who Knows
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter
Word Count: 2261
Prompt: Table 4 (Sins and Virtues)—Faith
Notes: Many thanks to my wonderful beta, eilonwy!
…
But sometimes I will ask the moon
Where it shined upon you last
ooo
Hermione was sick. She'd thrown up four times since she got home.
Gemma and Nathan were worried but she assured them she'd be fine. She lied to her children, which only made her feel worse.
When Draco arrived home from work, she was waiting for him in the living room in the center of the sofa, her hands folded sternly in her lap. She didn't look up when he entered the room.
"Hello, my sweet," he said in his sultry bedroom voice.
She shuddered and felt nearly sick again, but she allowed him to kiss her cheek.
"How was your day?" he asked, glancing around the room and pulling at his tie. "Where are the kids?"
"Ginny's," she replied, still avoiding him.
He looked at her and quirked an eyebrow, grinning. "Oh? What do you have planned for us tonight, hmm? Rigorous…activity?" He leaned down to capture her lips, but Hermione turned her head. He straightened and frowned. "What is it? Is everything okay?"
Hermione shut her eyes, wishing with all her might things could be different, that she could take back her impulsive decision to go to Diagon Alley that afternoon for lunch and a stop at the Apothecary. When she opened them, Draco was staring at her, concern written all over his face.
"I—" she started, but something in her gut tried to expel itself and she clamped her mouth shut and swallowed hard.
Draco sat down on the coffee table. "Hermione, are you okay?"
She shook her head and fresh tears filled her eyes.
"What? You're frightening me. Please, talk to me."
"I saw you today," she blurted before she could think. It was better that way.
He blinked and his frown deepened. "You did? When?"
"At lunch."
"My lunch? Or yours?"
"Yours. Mine. I mean, I was at lunch, and saw you at lunch."
He relaxed somewhat. "Oh. Why didn't you talk to me?"
Now she blinked. "Talk to you? I saw you, Draco. With—with that woman. Why on earth would I want to interrupt you?" She was half-yelling, half-whispering, terrified at what was coming out of her mouth.
"You saw me? What, eating?"
Hermione clenched her jaw. "No. I mean, yes, but I saw much more than that." She could tell he knew what she was getting at and he was getting angry too.
"What is that supposed to mean, exactly?" he asked, remarkably calm for how upset she knew he was, standing to pace in front of the fireplace.
Tears were streaming down her face. "I saw you, with her. What more do I need to say? I saw the way she looked at you, the way she touched you. I saw the way you acted toward her. I stood there for nearly ten minutes watching, because at first I couldn't believe my eyes. I knew there was no way I could possibly be seeing what I thought I was seeing, but for ten bloody minutes I watched and saw nothing to prove my eyes false."
"You think I'm cheating on you," he said flatly.
"I—I don't know what to think. I think…maybe. I—"
"Spare me," he said coldly, gathering his work robes. "When you have adequately formed in your mind just what you're accusing me of, we'll talk."
She looked up at him, too hurt to speak. Their eyes met and the next moment, he strode from the room and out the front door of their house, slamming it so hard the windows rattled.
ooo
Hermione cried for two more hours while she tried to gather a bag of things to take to Ginny's. Everything she looked at reminded her of Draco, and her mind was so muddled she couldn't keep straight what she needed to pack. Finally she gave up, figuring Ginny would have whatever she needed.
Fortunately, the kids were asleep when Hermione knocked on Ginny's door. Her friend answered and wordlessly pulled her in and held her as she cried even more.
"Shh, there now, Hermione," Ginny repeated, guiding her into the closest room available. "Let it out, let it out."
Finally, when Hermione thought she'd be sick again from crying so hard, she forced herself to calm down. She stopped crying and Ginny handed her a box of tissues.
"Do you want to talk?" she asked quietly.
Hermione shook her head. "M-maybe t-tomorrow."
"Okay. Let's get you in bed. Want me to stay with you?"
"N-no, th-thanks. How are my kids?"
"Just fine. They were perfectly behaved and quite excited about the impromptu sleepover."
Tears rushed into her eyes again and she wiped them away. "I'm not sure I'll ever stop crying."
"I have to know…did…did he…"
"He said nothing, actually. Not yes, not no."
Ginny looked at her friend sadly. "Okay. You can stay here as long as you need to."
Hermione nodded and Ginny hugged her, releasing a fresh wave of pain and tears. "Thanks, Ginny," Hermione whispered.
ooo
Three days later, at quarter to eight, Draco knocked on Ginny's door. He hadn't slept, hadn't eaten, and when he'd caught a glimpse of his reflection, he looked terrible.
Ginny answered and crossed her arms in the doorway, not opening the door, not stepping outside. "Yes?" she asked, as though she had no idea why he was there.
"Is my wife here?" he asked raggedly, not quite able to meet Ginny's eyes.
"Yes."
"May I see her?"
"Why should I let you?" Ginny asked, and he could tell she was angry. "She's been here three days, Malfoy. Three days! You just now decided to come see her?"
He clenched his jaw. "No, Weasley," he said, angrily using her maiden name. "I came by three days ago, the night she…" He swallowed hard. "Your delightful lesser half told me she wasn't here. I've been looking elsewhere for her since."
Ginny didn't reply right away. She looked him up and down. "You look like death, Malfoy."
He glared at her. "Like I care. MayI seemy wife?"
"Did you cheat on her?"
"NO."
"Who was that woman, then?"
"I don't have to explain anything to you," he spat.
"Well, there's where you're wrong. You want to see her, you have to get through me. So start talking."
He deflated, letting his shoulders slump, and ran a hand through his messy hair. "A client."
"A client? What does that mean?"
"For my job, Ginny. I work, remember? Part of my job is to keep clients happy."
"Oh, I bet it is," she replied saucily.
The fire erupted inside him again. "Shut it," he said through gritted teeth. "You don't know anything about what you're insinuating. I can get past you, you know."
"Not a chance in all the circles of hell, Malfoy. Your wife is excellent with wards; did you know that? I can let you in. If I choose."
"My work," he said, staring past Ginny at a spot on the wall. "Requires me to meet with clients, and exchange information. It is customary to meet over lunch, or coffee, or some other amicable setting rather than in a boardroom or stuffy office. That woman was a client of the firm's."
"Fine. But that's not why we're here, having this conversation, is it?"
"No. What do you want, Zabini? Merlin, at least tell her I'm here."
"Not yet. Hermione said your behavior was beyond the typical business meeting. Explain."
"My behavior was completely professional. If she was behaving in any other way, I assure you, I didn't pay any attention to it."
"Was she then? Behaving inappropriately?"
His eyes darted to the ceiling as he took a deep breath. "It might, from the outside, look that way."
"Was she behaving in an interested way toward you, outside of what you were meeting to discuss?" Ginny demanded.
"Yes. But that doesn't mean—"
"Did you encourage her?"
"I'm tired of this. Let me talk to Hermione. And yes, I know she's good with wards, but I'm pretty sure I could get past them. Let me in—now! " he said, furious.
"Do you promise never again to put yourself in a situation that someone could misinterpret?"
He huffed. "If you're asking me if I'll refrain from meeting clients, then no, I can't promise that. The way other people act is beyond my control. I was doing my job."
Ginny opened her mouth to speak then quickly shut it and looked to her left. When she looked back at Draco, she smirked and shut the door.
His eyes narrowed and he raised his hand to pound on the door when it opened again, this time by Hermione. His mouth opened in surprise and he stared at her, feeling a myriad emotions roiling in his gut. First and foremost he thought she looked more beautiful than he'd ever seen her and he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never leave her side again.
"Hi," she said quietly.
"Hi." He lowered his arm and felt ridiculously awkward.
"I…um…was listening."
Draco let out his breath, both relieved and more anxious than he had been. "Okay."
Hermione looked behind her and then stepped onto the front porch, closing the door behind her. She crossed her arms, not in annoyance, but in a self-defensive pose.
"What more do you need me to say?" he asked.
She looked at him, brow furrowed, her gaze darting from one eye to the other. "You lether touch you."
He shut his eyes tight. "Yeah, I know."
"Why?"
He took a deep breath and looked at her, straight in the eyes. "It's a habit, you could say. I could tell she was…interested, and I…used that."
"You flirted with her."
He grimaced; she was always bluntly honest. "Yes."
He saw tears well in the corners of her eyes and it was only then he noticed how red and puffy her eyes were, as though she'd been crying for days. She probably had. Without thinking, he reached for her, but she pulled away.
"Hermione…I'm sorry. It—it doesn't mean anything."
"Do you do it often?"
"Not often, but this wasn't the first time."
"You flirt with women who are probably thinking about how much they want to get you into bed—why?"
He cringed. "Business. It's harmless, Hermione, I promise."
"Well, it hurt me," she said sadly.
His mind spun and stopped, focusing on that word. He shifted his weight. "It hurt me, you know. That you would ever think I'd cheat on you. I—never, Hermione. I am so completely in love with you. How could I ever betray you? Our children? You? I—Merlin, Hermione. I love you more today than I ever have and that's not going to change. Ever.
"I know what I did was wrong, and I'm not trying to excuse my actions, but it was strictly for work. And…you know me. I…flirt easily. It means nothing. How could you even for a second think I could do that?"
The tears were still locked in place. Hermione looked at him sadly. "Sometimes—I find it so impossible to believe that I make you happy."
A torrent of pain gripped his heart and he went to her and wrapped her in his arms. He wanted to envelop her, to surround her, to saturate her with his love. She cried into his arms and shakily wrapped hers around him. He squeezed her tightly, probably too tightly, but he wasn't going to let her go until she believed him. All the way.
"Listen to me, Hermione Malfoy," he said thickly. She nodded against his chest. "You are what happiness is to me. I can't be happy without you. I need you. You're the mother of my children, you're the piece of me that's always been missing. You have to believe me, you have to. You have to. I'll quit working, quit everything until I can convince you, show you every single moment that you're the most wonderful thing in my life. You make my life."
She was shaking her head so he pulled back and looked down at her. "What?"
"I believe you."
"You have to, Hermione. Look at me," he said, tilting her chin up. "I can't even breathe until I know you believe me."
"I do, Draco. I promise."
It wasn't enough, it didn't feel like enough. They'd been married eleven years and she still carried doubt in her heart, something he hadn't thought possible. He searched her face, finding truth, but scared to grasp onto it.
"Your turn," she said, smiling slightly.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"To believe me. I believe you; it's your turn."
He shut his eyes and leaned his head down to rest on hers. He took a very deep breath. "I do." It felt like he was promising his vows all over again, and maybe in a way he was.
She tilted her face up and kissed him lightly. It had only been three days, but her absence had felt like a mortal wound and now, now, he had her back. He crushed her to him once again, breathing in her scent, her being.
"I love you, Granger," he said.
She was crying again, but he knew this time they weren't tears of sadness. "I love you too, Malfoy."
Draco let her go then and kissed her, not too softly, not too deeply. Enough.
"Now what?" she asked breathlessly when he released her.
He smiled. "I guess we get our kids and go home."
"Home. I've missed you."
He shook his head and took her hand. "Like air."
ooo
A/N: Thanks for reading! Only TWO more to go! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story!