Chapter 5: What it takes to Love Hermione

Comin down the world turned over

And angels fall without you there

And I go on, as you get colder

Or are you someone's prayer

Draco woke up and immediately felt the stiffness in his back and legs. He knew he'd remained in one position all night long, but he couldn't remember why. Then, as he regained his senses, he realized that there was a soft weight pressed against his chest.

Draco slid his eyes open and looked down at the curly head that was tucked under his arm. At one point during the night, he'd rolled onto his back and pulled her to sort of lean against him, not quite on top of him. And now, she was pressed flush against his left side. Her hand, the one he could see, was curled slightly and resting on his chest beside her head, her left leg was drawn up and intertwined with his own. Draco had his arm around his left arm around her shoulders, and he turned into her slightly and wrapped his right arm around her, careful not to wake her.

There, with her wrapped in his arms, Draco knew she was perfect. Never before had he simply held a woman and been certain that he wanted to be with her. Never before had he considered that Hermione might be that woman—but here she was—she'd fallen into his lap seemingly by accident, and he'd gone and fallen head over heels for her without any reason at all. Draco couldn't explain it. He thought maybe it had something to do with the fact that he'd always found her pretty when they were younger, though he'd never have admitted it to himself then. Perhaps it was the fact that he was able to finally help someone, to do something besides wallow in his own self-loathing and misery—perhaps it was because when he was around Hermione, the house wasn't the same anymore. It wasn't cold or empty and he didn't hear the distant screams of the victims that had been tortured there. It was strange for Draco to think that it had only been two days—and already he could feel the difference in the atmosphere of his own home. It had only been two days, and he could already tell that he had feelings for Hermione No-Last-Name.

Draco hoped that what he had come across the night before had some truth to it. He hoped that there was some way he might get Hermione to fall for him the way he was falling for her, and he hoped he could be the man to help her get her magic back. He wanted to be that man.

Draco recounted all they'd done the day before… The potions he'd created were a bust. The first was two noxious to even ladle up—for once it cooled it give off a foul stench, and then ate through the bottom of the cauldron. The second, because he'd botched the recipe, turned into a furniture-eating molten river of snot-like goo, which caused Hermione to have to rescue the books she'd been reading through.

They'd also ventured into the parts of the house he feared most. Draco sighed when he remembered the room's they'd entered. His mother's old office. The meeting room the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord used to discuss plans and tactics, and his old bedroom… of the three, it was the last that had nearly pushed him over the edge. Draco didn't like that room. He didn't like the feeling he got when he went in it. He didn't like the reminders left behind on the walls and floor and furniture of the abuse he'd suffered. But he'd shown all of it to Hermione. And she'd felt sorry for him. She'd been scared for him. She'd wanted to comfort him; despite her own plight, she wanted to help him!

Draco pictured the scene in the bathroom in his mind and he felt his heart skip a beat. She'd kissed him. And then, he'd kissed her. Draco wasn't sure what it all meant, but he hoped it was a good sign when she didn't slap him. She'd told him about the strange charged feeling she'd experienced and, after reading the passage he'd read to her later that evening, he could only hope that he was meant to be the one to help her.

Draco found himself clutching Hermione to him as tight as he could without breaking her. He didn't want to let her go. Without realizing it, she'd come into his life and helped him face his demons even while he was trying to help her. Draco feared he needed her more than she needed him.

--

Hermione woke feeling strong arms around her and she was puzzled. Surely she hadn't gone to bed with one of her customers!? The thought startled her and she jerked her head upward to see a shock of blond hair and gray eyes staring down at her. When she saw the raw emotion in his eyes, she sucked in her breath and held it, waiting for him to speak.

Draco struggled to get his thoughts and emotions under control before he opened his mouth. "Morning." He whispered to her, blinking several times and loosening his hold slightly.

"Morning." She whispered back, a little nervously.

"I'm sorry if I woke you." Draco murmured letting his head fall back against he armrest of the couch.

"You didn't." Hermione said, and laid her head back against his chest momentarily.

"Good." Draco said. He let the room fall silent for several long moments.

Hermione was the next to break the silence. "How did we end up here?"

"You fell asleep on me last night, I'm afraid." Draco replied, a laugh in his voice.

"Oh." Hermione said, and honestly she didn't remember going to sleep.

"I don't mind." Draco said after another pause.

"Ok." Hermione said.

--

They laid there for another hour, talking every now and again, discussing their plans for the day, discussing where they should go as far as getting her magic back and restoring his home. They talked a bit about their pasts, about school, about their friends, but mostly, they talked about nothing at all—just content to share each other's company.

Hermione finally pulled herself from Draco's chest and sat up on the couch. Draco slid himself up against the armrest and watched her. "Its early still." Hermione said, looking at the antique clock on the mantle. "Barely nine."

Draco agreed. "I took the liberty of sending the elves out yesterday for your new wardrobe. Since you said you didn't want anyone to know you were…alive." Draco said, waiting for her reaction. "I didn't think you wanted to keep wearing my mother's stuff."

Hermione turned toward him with a look of shock on her face. "You didn't have to do that!" she said, but smiled anyway. "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it. You'll probably find everything washed and put away in your rooms. I'm also pretty sure the clothes are charmed to fit themselves to you when you first put them on. That's the way my mom always did it—when she sent the elves out for us." Draco explained.

Hermione nodded. "Then I suppose I should go upstairs and shower and change."

"I'll fix breakfast." Draco said, smirking.

--

All day they decided to spend working on research for getting Hermione's magic back. Draco insisted even though Hermione was willing to help him with the house. "No, Hermione, your magic is far more important that a wing or two of this house." Draco reasoned. "We'll work on this first."

She didn't argue and was secretly grateful.

Draco and Hermione sat in the Great Room surrounded by mountains of parchment, scrolls and books, some of them scattered haphazardly around them, others stacked neatly into piles segregated into 'useful' or 'not useful'.

Twice they had come across passages in books that mirrored what Draco had found the night before, though neither were any clearer about how exactly another witch or wizard was supposed to help bring back the affected's powers. They did come across potential spells and potions that they would have to work out equations on to see if they were plausible in present day life—for the tomes they were found in were ancient—but the fact remained that by dinnertime that evening, they were no clearer as to how to help Hermione. Though Draco had begun to formulate a plan.

As he cooked dinner, he began to think about how to propose his plan to her. And when they were eating—stew with dinner rolls and glasses of wine—he finally laid his idea on the table.

"Hermione. I've been thinking." Draco stated, taking a sip of wine and setting it on the table, before looking at her. They were about finished with their meal, and he had finally talked himself into suggesting his plan to her.

"What about?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows rose.

"What if those passages we've found so far do hold an element of truth?"

'What do you mean? That I have to find a witch or wizard that can jump start my powers?" Hermione's face twisted.

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean. But—I have a hunch that it is more than just… a random witch or wizard." Draco tried to find the right words.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione was growing nervous under Draco's steady gray gaze.

"I think those passages mean that you must fall in love, Hermione." Draco said, as simply as if he were discussing the weather.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "That can't be. The reason I lost all my magic was emotional to begin with!" she protested.

"Exactly. Can you honestly tell me that you deserved to be loved? You don't think you're worthy, do you?" Draco's eyes never left Hermione's face. He watched it contort into a picture of self-loathing.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO LOSE EVERYTHING!" Hermione cried.

"Don't I?" Draco asked, calmly. "I'm the one who's the orphan, Hermione."

Hermione felt the tears begin to slip down her face. "It's different, Draco. I was simply…replaced. I wasn't good enough. And I was replaced."

"Hermione you must never think that you weren't good enough. Weasley made a grave mistake. I count myself lucky that you ended up here in my home. And—if you will let me—I would like to…to try and earn your love." Draco said, leaning forward. He never took his eyes off of her.

Hermione sat in shock. Her mouth hung open, salty tears seeping in at the corners. She was shaking, utterly confused and in disbelieving. "You can't. You can't love me." She whispered.

Draco sat back, folding his arms over his chest. "Why not?"

"Because… because I can't give you what you want… what you need." Hermione hung her head.

"You mean because you don't have your magic anymore?" Draco asked.

"No. I mean because I can't…" she couldn't finish her sentence, but she didn't have to.

Draco slid his chair back from the table and stood. He walked around beside Hermione's chair and knelt down beside her. "You need to know that not all men are the same, Hermione. I'm asking for a chance to see where this might go—I'm not asking you to marry me. And if, one day, it does get that far, and you still can't have children…then we'll adopt."

"But you won't have any children of your own. What about an heir to the Malfoy line!?" Hermione shuddered under the weight of her own self-doubt.

"We will cross that bridge when and if we get there." Draco said. "Right, now, all I'm asking is for a chance to try to help you—to help us both." Draco said, his voice low and hopeful.

Hermione was silent for a moment, and then nodded. "Things are so upside down, now. Just four years later and it seems like the world is on its head. I'm divorced from someone who used to be my best friend in the world, and my worst enemy is asking to be my boyfriend." Hermione laughed flatly. "I do like you Draco…and maybe we CAN use this opportunity to help each other." She conceded his point.

Draco stood and pulled her up with him, taking her hands in his. "Excellent!" he smiled, in that case I have something to show you."

--

Draco led her through the house and out into the back garden, there was a large glass house at one end and he headed toward it, as the sun began to set.

"Draco where are we going?" Hermione laughed, struggling to keep up with the taller man.

"You'll see. It was a place I went to when I didn't want anyone to find me." Draco said, finally reaching the large glass doors and carefully opening one of them. "Here, go on."

"Hermione watched him as she stepped through the entrance and gasped as a butterfly landed on her nose. "Oh my!" she giggled, looking cross-eyed at the beautiful creature. "You have a butterfly house!" she giggled, raising her arms and smiling as several others landed on her fingertips.

"It was my mother's sanctuary." Draco smiled down at Hermione, happy that she liked it. "The plants and flowers you see here are the rarest in the world. They cater to only the rarest butterflies you see flying around you." He spoke with a purely factual tone, but Hermione laughed at him nonetheless, when several red and blue and green butterflies landed on his head and made him look like had a large flowery headdress on.

As they walked through the house, Hermione gasped and cooed at the tiny creatures that seemed to be drawn to her—Draco thought it was because of the sweet smell he'd noticed on her himself ever since she'd come down from her shower—Hermione seemed entranced by them. "I love this place Draco! Thank you for showing it to me."

"You're welcome. And you can consider it yours." Draco said, smiling down at her.

"Mine?" Hermione turned to look at him.

Draco smiled wider, noting the butterflies in her hair, "Yes. Yours. I'm giving it to you. My first present to you."

"Draco—I can't accept this! It was your mothers." Hermione said, looking around the glass house once again.

"Yes you can. If you don't, I'll have to get rid of it." Draco said, and watched as her face contorted into a grimace.

"You force the issue, Draco." She muttered. "It's a lovely present. Too much for me, already."

"You'll soon see that you're worth far more than even I could afford." Draco murmured to the girl before him. "I'm going to prove that to you."

Hermione blushed, but nodded.

In the next two weeks, Draco did prove to her that he cared for her."

--

They'd shared a few chaste kisses, a few special moments that made Hermione's heart flutter like she never thought it would again. She felt drawn to him in an incomprehensible way and every day it the urge to be with him grew stronger. She refused to believe that she was falling for Draco Malfoy.

'I can't.' She told herself, sinking down into her large tub. She rubbed her hands over her face and slipped beneath the water until she could no longer hold her breath. When she resurfaced, she gasped and let out a frustrated cry. "Why does he want to love me?!" Hermione wailed into the large room and heard her own anguished voice reverberate off the tiled walls.

She rested her head back against the edge of the tub, where she'd placed a towel for a pillow, and closed her eyes.

"What if Master Draco is right?" squeaked a small voice from beside the tub.

Hermione jumped a little, and opened her eyes to find a small female elf looking at her hesitantly. "I don't know… I can't let him ruin his life with me." Hermione replied, miserably.

"Master Draco does not do anything he wishes not to, missus." The elf replied, laying out a robe and a set of cotton pajamas for her when she was ready to change. "Mopsy thinks Master Draco has loved missus for a long time." The little elf admitted.

Hermione blinked at the elf, "How can you think that? I've only been here two weeks… And before, in school we were enemies…"

The elf seemed to smile kindly at Hermione, and then snapped her fingers and an old photograph appeared before her. Mopsy took it out o the air and held it before Hermione for her perusal.

The photo was worn, it had been handled many times, it seemed, as the edges were faded and there were several places where it was torn and frayed. The picture was still recognizable though, and Hermione gasped at what danced before her in on the paper. It was a picture of her and Vicktor Krum dancing at the Yule Ball in her Fourth Year. "Where did he get this?" Hermione breathed.

"I is not sure, miss." Mopsy squeaked, "But Master Draco has had it with him always since he was in school."

Hermione was stunned speechless and took the photo from the elf for a closer look. She remembered having her picture taken several times by Colin Creevy that night—for the paper she imagined—though she never imagined anyone would have received an original.

Hermione bathed quickly, and dressed in the pajamas and robe that had been laid out for her before making her way to Malfoy's room.

--

Malfoy was dressed in black sweatpants and was sitting before his fireplace reading when a knock came at his bedroom door. He knew that none of the elves knocked, he assumed it must be Hermione. "Come in." he called, setting the book down on the table beside the chair.

Hermione opened the door and padded barefooted into the room. She was holding the picture between her hands and was looking at him curiously. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked, looking around his room—realizing it was the first time she'd ever been in there.

"Not at all. What can I do for you?" Draco asked, and then noticed what she was holding. "What is that?"

"Actually—I was kind of hoping you could tell me." Hermione admitted, and then offered the picture to Draco.

He took the picture, and looked at it, immediately recognizing what it was. "Where did you get this?" he asked, looking back up at her.

"Mopsy brought it to me." She said.

"I see." Draco said, knowing that the little elf was notorious for matchmaking. "This is exactly what it looks like, Hermione." Draco admitted, handing the picture back to her.

"You got an original from Colin?" Hermione asked, "Did you threaten him or something?

"No" Draco glared at her, "I asked him for a copy of it. Gods Hermione, did you even realize how beautiful you were that night?" Draco sighed. "It was that night I realized how I felt about you, I think. Even though I hated you—even though your friends and my friends hate each other. Even though you weren't a pure blood—I loved you." Draco couldn't hide the pleading tone in his voice as he looked at Hermione.

Hermione looked down at the picture again. "You loved me before you even knew me." She murmured. When she looked back up, she had tears in her eyes.

Draco came to her and wrapped his arms about her slender frame. "I think have loved you for a long time, Hermione." He whispered, and then he kissed her, fully, for the first time.

Hermione melted into the kiss, the strange tingling was there, as it always was, but it was a wonderful, familiar sensation she enjoyed and never wanted to let go of. When she felt his tongue trace her lower lip and beg for entrance she opened her mouth and granted it gleefully, accepting his kiss and kissing him deeply in return.

Both of them were so wrapped up in the earth-shattering kiss that neither noticed the small objects that began to float off their surfaces and hover mere inches in the air. After several moments, Draco released Hermione, reluctantly, and the moment was shattered when several objects in the room crashed to the floor or dressers.

Draco and Hermione jumped and looked around the room. "What just happened?" Hermione asked, looking back at Draco's thoughtful face.

Draco's heart momentarily stopped. 'Could this be it?' he thought. Then, looking down at the girl he still held in his arms, he said, "Hermione, where is your wand?"

Author's Notes:

:D Chapter 5!

Not a lot to say about this chapter—it's all going to start coming together soon—on both ends of the spectrum. And don't forget about Hermione's friends and family!

Questions? Comments?

Thanks for all the reviews you guys! I really appreciate everyone's comments!