Another Ministry function, this one a formal fundraising gala put on by the St. Mungo's expansion committee of which Draco chaired, found Hermione again locked in conversation with someone more boring than watching paint dry. Draco again swooped in to rescue her, this time by inviting her onto the dance floor for a waltz to start the evening's dancing.

They danced together effortlessly, making anyone who by some fluke didn't know their convoluted history think that they made a most handsome couple, and those that did know it could only see polite politicking at it's finest between the Minister of Magic and the Hospital Committee Chairman.

Hermione noticed an odd look in Draco's eyes as they danced, and she was grateful when they completed their first solo turn on the floor and other couples quickly filled it. She leaned closer to Draco and asked, "What are you thinking about? You seem far away."

Draco smiled at her, managing to keep them in step. "I was remembering the Yule Ball and the first time and only time we've ever danced before now."

Hermione had of course, been on Viktor Krum's arm for that event, and as such Draco and the other Slytherins had all put on their best high society manners and treated her cordially all evening regardless of their normal feelings for her or her lineage. She and Draco had even shared a waltz and he had surprised her by not only being a complete gentleman about it, but by also complimenting her on her dancing when he had actually smiled at her and teased as he twirled her around, "You're good at this, Granger." It had been the first time Draco had ever spoken to her without a sneer or venom in his tone and for just a moment they had enjoyed each other's company. It had also been Draco who had wordlessly tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a pristine white handkerchief when he walked past her sitting on the stairs crying by herself at the end of the evening. He didn't say anything, just handed it to her and gave her a little nod when she accepted it, his eyes oddly kind, then continued on his way.

"Oh, Merlin. That was so long ago," Hermione said with a laugh.

"Your face when I asked to you dance," he teased, "it was priceless."

"I wasn't sure it wasn't some sort of Slytherin prank. It was surreal."

"All our fathers would have killed us if we had insulted the Durmstrang visitors in any way, most notably my father. So we were all on our very best behavior, especially since all eyes and the press were on you as the Durmstrang champion's date. At least I know I was, no one else gave you grief did they?"

"No. Not one. Everyone was very polite. Blaise Zabini even complimented me on my appearance, he said I looked lovely and that I brought honor to my House. He was very formal but I thought he sounded sincere at the time."

Draco leaned in a little and said softly, "Every guy there that night thought you looked lovely, me included, Blaise just had the nerve to actually say it. You know, that was the first time I really saw you as a girl and not just an irritating swot. You were beautiful and fun and it surprised me more than I ever expected it to. I sort of hated having to hate you after that night, if that makes any sense. I thought… I thought you and I might have actually made an interesting couple if you hadn't been muggle-born. I can't even begin to tell you how conflicting that was to prat me."

She nodded. "All of us getting along that night made me wish that it could have been like that all the time at school. Could you imagine?"

"Hogwarts would have certainly been a different place if we had. I guess all we can do now is make sure that's how it is for our children."

"I couldn't agree with you more."

They danced wordlessly for another circuit of the dance floor when Hermione spoke again, "I never did thank you for the handkerchief. You were the only one that seemed to care that I was crying."

"Merlin, I wanted to hex Weasley for making you cry. It had been such a good night up till then. Git."

"I kept it you know, that handkerchief, for a long time."

He chuckled. "Sentimental much, Granger?" She accepted his teasing but didn't tell him that it had gone with her in her little beaded bag on the hunt for Horcruxes or that she had finally lost it when she had used it to stem the flow of blood from Professor Snape's ravaged neck. Of all the deaths in the war, Snape's hit Draco the hardest and she wouldn't add to his guilt over things long laid to rest in the past.

She forced a grin instead, but didn't reply.

It was his turn to offer, "I have a picture of us dancing at the ball."

"What? Really?"

"Really," he replied then leaned in close to whisper seductively, "Come home with me and I'll show it to you."

"You are just full of surprises, Mr. Malfoy, how can I say no to an offer like that?" she teased both of them knowing full well that they had already planned on ending their evening in Draco's bed and having a rare leisurely lie-in in the morning and letting Timly pamper them with brunch.

They finished their dance and found themselves pulled off to dance with other partners. Their eyes kept finding each other across the room, however, and they both felt the heat from their impending secret rendezvous.


Hermione slipped her shoes off the moment her feet hit the marble of Draco's entrance hall. He chuckled. "Cushioning charms give up?"

She wiggled her toes. "Hours ago."

He shook his head. "Women and their shoes."

Hand in hand they headed for the library, Draco insisting that he wanted her to see the photograph from the Yule ball.


He went to a certain shelf in the library, the one that held all his books from Hogwarts and pulled out a photo album that was tucked safely next to a first level Divination text.

He brought it over to the reading table and put it down. He flipped through the pages, Hermione seeing a lot of familiar Slytherin faces fly by, until finally he found the Yule Ball pictures.

"Here," he said with a grin, pointing to a page.

Hermione giggled. "Merlin, look at how young we were. I still can't believe you kept this."

Draco rubbed his finger absently along the bottom edge of the photo. "You were so beautiful that night."

"And how handsome you were in your dress robes. We did make a quite a pair didn't we?"

Draco grinned and turned his head a bit to look at her, after a moment he pushed the album a little closer to her and walked away towards a curio cabinet along the back wall. When he returned he was carrying a little gold box in his hands.

Hermione pulled her attention away from the photo album to see him place the box down on the table and draw his wand. He tapped the box and commanded, "Maestro, if you please."

The box split open and all its gold filigree innards flipped and unfolded themselves into a complete little orchestra. Draco tapped it again and said, "Wizard Waltz forty-seven."

The little orchestra began to play a slow waltz and Hermione clapped her hands in delight. "Where on earth did you get that, Draco? It's wonderful!"

Draco tucked his wand away. "In a little dingy antique store in Venice. It was completely broken and its charm not working so I got it for a couple galleons. It took me six months to mend it and make it play properly again."

Hermione looked between the orchestra and Draco. "You fixed this? Wow. That's beautiful magic, Draco. Do you fix other things?"

Draco extended his hand. "Come dance with me and I'll tell you."

She chuckled and slipped her hand in his. He pulled her in far, far closer than he had at the Gala and lead them in a slow stately waltz. "Fixing curios like that became a hobby for me after the war. I needed… something to focus on. Something I could actually fix unlike the disaster I made of everything else."

Hermione listened without saying anything, it wasn't often that Draco shared anything about his life during or immediately after the war. She knew it was a particularly dark time for him.

He continued. "I had actually started fixing things our fifth year over the Christmas holidays. My mother's favorite Yule music box stopped working and I was able to repair it. After that, I would buy broken things at Borgin and Burkes, fix them and sell them back for more than what I paid. It was how I was chosen to mend that damned vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement."

"I'm sorry they twisted your hobby into that," Hermione replied gently.

Draco brushed a kiss to her cheek. "And I could have been a man and said no. But that's in the past and not something I can change."

She nodded. "So how many of the things here in your home are things you've fixed? You have so many beautiful antiques."

"Almost all of them," he replied, glad for the change in tone of the conversation.

"Are you working on something now?"

"Mm-hmm," he murmured near her ear, making a shiver go down her spine. He nipped her earlobe and whispered, "but it's a surprise."

She groaned a little and asked, "A surprise for me?"

"Maybe," he teased.

Before she could say another word Draco's mouth claimed hers, hard and a bit more assertive than it ever had. He was normally loving and gentle, even when he was deep inside her and pushing her towards the abyss of orgasm. But tonight he was a little needy. Hermione went with the flow, letting him take what he needed from her.

The first waltz ended and the little orchestra began another piece, this one more mournful with a somber pounding rhythm behind it.

She soon found herself backed against a bookshelf, the smell of old parchment and leather heavy in the air around them. Draco's body was pressed hard against her and she could feel his arousal through the silk of her ball gown.

His mouth traveled down her neck teasing and licking in ways that made her forget how to think, all she could do was turn her head a bit to give him better access and wrap her arms around him to pull him in even closer as he ground himself against her. Hoarsely he said, never breaking the uncompromising pressure of his hips, "This is what I should have done at the Ball when I saw you crying. Should have told my father to sod off and made you mine back then, should have shown you how beautiful you were, how good we could have been together…."

There was a deep tone of regret in his voice that she hated hearing, he seemed rather stuck in the past tonight. She whispered back, "We're here now, Draco, so show me now."

No sooner had she said that did she feel air on her calves, then her thighs as he dragged her gown up.

(Explicit content removed to meet this site's TOS. Story available in full at other archives. -CJ aka WritinginCT)

Hermione kissed him for all she was worth as he set a pace matching the music.

(Explicit content removed to meet this site's TOS. Story available in full at other archives. -CJ aka WritinginCT)

Their breathing was ragged and neither spoke.

Her gown slipped back down and he fixed his trousers. There was a little worry on his face, like he had been too rough or domineering. She leaned in and kissed his mouth gently. Softly she reassured him, "That was… just… wow. Made me feel like a teenager again."

The music changed again, this time to a lighthearted plinking piano tune. It, along with her reassurance, seemed to snap Draco out of the odd place he was in his head. He brushed a knuckle over her cheek and said a bit bashfully, "I honestly didn't expect to christen the library when we came in here tonight. I only meant to show you that photo."

Hermione giggled. "I've never done it in a library before," she admitted.

"Seriously? As big a swot as you are?"

"Never."

"How about a formal dining room?"

"No."

"Conservatory?"

"No."

"Drawing room?"

"No."

"Lord of the Manor's bed chamber?"

She laughed, for as many times has they had been intimate it had always been at her home, not his. "No," she said with a pretend pout, "but I have shagged the Lord of the Manor does that count?"

She shrieked a bit as he swooped her up in his arms at her last response. "Draco, what are you doing?"

"It's a big house with lots of rooms to christen, we'd best get started," he replied and apparated them to his bedroom with a grin.


The nightmare hit Draco hard that night, an up close and personal replay of the night he received his Dark Mark.

He was screaming, trying to claw his way away from Voldemort's memory as the mark was burned into his flesh.


Hermione woke in an instant. Draco was next to her crying out in his sleep, unable to wake himself to escape the horror of his dreams.

Carefully she took his hand in hers and called his name. Over and over she called to him until he heard her.


He could hear his name, hear it over his screams as the Dark Lord invaded his mind and rooted around like a berserker for any tidbit of information that could be used to bind Draco to him while he burned the Dark Mark into his flesh.

He finally broke free of the dream and woke to see a pair of worried brown eyes.

He sat up and scrubbed his face with his hands.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked softly. She had witnessed some of his other nightmares, but this one was different, stronger and she almost hadn't been able to wake him.

He looked over and swallowed hard. "Yeah. Sorry I woke you."

"This one was worse than the others."

He nodded and looked down to stare at an empty spot at the end of the bed, trying to calm his breathing.

"It was about the night I got the Dark Mark."

Hermione's eyes fell to the vile, hated thing on his arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Draco shook his head, "No. I… just not right now. It's too fresh in my head."

Hermione rubbed his back gently and replied, "Okay. So long as you know I'm ready to listen whenever you want to talk about it."

He nodded and she extinguished the light. They settled back under the blankets with Draco spooning around her and holding her close to him. The look on his face terrified that a long dead Dark Lord would tear her from him.


They laid in the dark for a long while, neither able to go back to sleep.

Draco finally broke the quiet and said, "He was in my head, slithering around, touching everything. Prodding. My whole life was open to him. Good memories, bad memories, shit I didn't care about, then my first kiss, my first shag, everything… everything I was he touched and poked and prodded."

Hermione gripped the arm he had wrapped around her tightly. "I can't imagine what that must have been like. Just to be in his presence was loathsome and terrifying."

He squeezed her a little closer and whispered, "I never let him know how I felt about you, the things I thought about at the Ball. I hid that, it was the only thing I managed to hide."

Sleep eluded Hermione the rest of the night.


The week after the gala had been a busy back-to-business-as-usual week for the both of them. And to top things off, right in the middle of it was Hermione's court date to settle her divorce.

Following the hearing, Hermione had been quiet all evening. It didn't concern Draco overly much, in the nearly six months they had been together they each had days when either the stress of the present or the deeds of the past would foul their moods and they both worked to not take out either on each other.

Given that she had had to go court today and finalize her divorce Draco was not surprised at her quietness and had even asked gently after she had insisted upon making them them dinner, as if it were any normal Wednesday evening, if she wanted him to go home so she could have some alone time. Her reaction had been an instant and resounding, "No!" followed by a quiet, pleading, "Please, stay," as she didn't lift her eyes from her plate.

So he had stayed… and worried about her. And hours later they finally talked.


Draco had gone to bed before her and was sitting up against the headboard in her bedroom with an old book in his lap, waiting for her and concerned about her, when she finally came to bed.

She didn't say a word, just took the book out of his hands and dropped it gently to the floor. He slid over a bit and raised the covers. She climbed up and curled up against him, her cheek on his bare chest. He fixed the covers over her and extinguished the bedside lamp.

He stroked her hair and said softly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

She sniffed hard and kissed his chest before she said, "It all came out and is now part of the public legal record. I'm going to be a laughingstock. And my children…," she replied, trying not to cry.

"What came out?" he asked, they had never really spoken in specifics about the ends of their respective marriages, just that they were each unhappy and felt that the time had been right to move on.

They had both completely respected each other's privacy in regards to the circumstances of their divorces. Neither wanted to judge each other's actions in their relationship based on what either had done in their now failed marriages. Both Draco and Hermione were honest with each other that neither of them had ever been unfaithful or abusive spouses but rest of the issues around their marital breakdowns were not discussed in minutia. Their marriages to Astoria and Ron were in the past, what they were to each other was the future and to them, that was what was important.

"You're going to think I'm pathetic and I'd rather wait until morning for you to hate me again if that's okay. I just… I need you tonight," she croaked out through tears and squeezed even closer to him.

"Hey," he replied as he quickly re-lit the lamp. He took one look at her face and sat up and pulled her into his lap. He held her as tightly as he could and whispered, "There is absolutely nothing that you can say that would ever make me think you're pathetic. And I am not going anywhere. Not now, not tomorrow. Hear me?"

She looked up and met his eyes and saw the truth and conviction there. He leaned in and kissed her forehead softly, sealing his promise.

Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and drew little random runes on his chest with her finger. It was something she did often. Draco hadn't told her that his skin tingled for days afterwards when she did, she had amazing magic.

He heard her breathing even out and her voice was quiet in the room. "What came out is that Ron cheated on me. With three different women over the length of our marriage. I found out about the last one the week before I filed my divorce papers."

Draco frowned above her head. Hermione was one of, if not the, most faithful people he had ever known. Whether it be her friends, her family, or the things she cared about, she was always steadfast and loyal. Having her marriage disintegrate because of her husband's three-time infidelity would have been the ultimate slap in the face to her self-esteem.

"That's his shame to bear, not yours," Draco offered evenly, not letting his own anger at how much it was hurting her come out in his voice.

"But I'm the idiot that stayed… for years… the idiot that believed him when he said it wouldn't happen again. Not once but twice. Then I find out about the third."

Draco stroked her hair. "I'm betting that you stayed because of your children. That you didn't want to rip your family apart over it."

"That's exactly why I stayed. But now it's all out there in the court record, and there were reporters in the courtroom as well. Guaranteed it's going to be all over the papers tomorrow. I don't know how I'm going to be able to look people in the eye."

"Again, he's the one who should be hanging his head. Do Rose and Hugo know?"

She sniffed again, "Yes. I went to Hogwarts yesterday to tell them both in person before it comes out in the papers. And I sat with Professor McGonagall and informed her as well so she would know just in case there were issues with Rose and Hugo."

"Are they okay?" he asked with genuine concern. It unfurled something warm inside her that he cared so much for her children, children he had only ever seen from a distance on Platform 9 3/4.

"I don't know if Hugo entirely understood but Rose did and she's livid at her father. Their relationship has been rocky for a couple of years now and I honestly don't know if she'll ever speak to her father again after this."

"That will be a bridge he's got to mend. She's allowed her feelings."

She nodded but didn't say anything. Neither did he for a long time, choosing instead to just hold her close, cherishing the feeling as he always did.

"Draco?"

"Hmm ?" he replied softly.

"This is probably the worst possible moment to say…," she started then hesitated.

"To say…?" he prompted gently.

She squeezed him tightly and whispered, "That I love you."

He squeezed her in return and rubbed his cheek in her hair. "That is a very mutual feeling. I've been trying to find the perfect time to tell you how I felt, something utterly romantic and memorable but maybe this is better, more meaningful. I love you, too, Hermione."

Hermione stilled in his arms and pulled back suddenly so she could look at his face in the light of the bed side lamp.

Her fingers found his face, stroking his cheeks and brushing softly over his lips. "You really mean that?" she asked softly, almost fearfully.

He cupped her face in his hands and replied, "Completely, absolutely, and more than a bit hopelessly."

She let out a crying sort of giggle and Draco took the opportunity to kiss her deeply before making love to her in a way that was heartbreakingly gentle, sealing every promise their hearts just made to each other.


"You better go, you're going to be late," Hermione teased as she opened the front door.

"I'm going, I'm going," Draco replied as he slipped past her out the door. He paused in the open doorway and leaned in for a playful goodbye kiss.

Unseen by the two in the doorway, Ginny stopped dead midway up the walk, unable to quite believe the scene before her. Hermione was in a big pink fluffy robe and slippers, her hair off in a thousand directions. It was obvious she had just gotten out of bed. Ginny was surprised, Hermione's divorce had been finalized over four months ago but she hadn't said a word to Ginny about dating anyone, let alone having someone sneaking out of her house like they were a pair of sixth-years avoiding Filch.

And then there was the man Hermione was snogging right there on the front stoop, who, while dressed, had a dress shirt on which wasn't buttoned all the way or tucked in, a tie hanging undone over his shoulder, and a suit jacket and cloak neatly hanging on his arm. His blond hair was damp like he was freshly showered.

When he turned and Ginny saw who it was, her mouth literally fell open.


Draco froze upon turning around and seeing Ginny and heard Hermione's sharp gasp of surprise from behind him.

Not knowing quite how to deal with the situation he slowly walked down the stairs towards Ginny and said pleasantly, "Morning. Nice piece on the Irish in the Prophet last week, Mrs. Potter."

Ginny blinked at the unexpected compliment but found her voice. "Thank you. So… wait… you two…?" she asked looking between Draco and Hermione.

Lightly Draco replied, "I think I'll let Hermione explain." He pivoted where he stood and threw Hermione a wane smile which she gamely returned. It was their biggest fear - others finding out about their relationship. His heart sank a little wondering if this was the beginning of the end for them and the little sliver of happiness they had had managed to carve out for themselves.

He turned back around and gave Ginny a little nod before walking past her and through the gate.


Hermione's expression grew worried as Ginny walked up the stairs.

Ginny stopped in front of Hermione and grinned. "You've been keeping secrets."

"It's complicated," Hermione replied nervously.

"Obviously."

Hermione gestured behind her. "Tea?"

"Unless this story requires something stronger."

Hermione chuckled as she looped her arm around Ginny's to pull her into the house. "Maybe once I've told you everything."


A pot of tea later, Ginny had the whole story.

She didn't quite know what to say. She got up and looked absently out the window. Finally she said softly, "You looked so happy. I was thrilled for you that you had found someone to make you smile again. Then he turned around and I just couldn't believe it."

"It's so hard to explain. He's not the same person he was back then, Ginny. He's not. Then again, neither am I, I guess. We've all grown up and life has shaped us all differently. And right here, right now at this point in my life, he makes me happy. Happier than I've been in years, honestly."

"I know. I know how unhappy you were with my brother and why. Git that he is. You absolutely deserve to find someone that makes you happy. It's just… he's Draco Malfoy. Draco, Hermione, Draco. Harry and Ron are going to go mental."

"Please. I don't want them to know. Not yet. Not until I know where this thing between Draco and I is going."

Ginny sighed and turned back to face Hermione. "I'll keep your secret, I've always kept your secrets. Same as you've kept mine. But it's going to come out some how some way, Hermione, and it's going to be better that Ron and Harry find out about it from you rather than anyone else."

"I know. I just need a little time to figure it all out."

tbc...