A/N: I feel like a complete bastard for leaving all you guys hanging for so long. I've been writing at a snail's pace because the outline I had for this got lost somewhere under the piles of books and notes I keep for Uni. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter after such a long absence from my HP fanfic writing.

Chapter Thirteen: Rolling in on a Burning Tree

Once dinner was finished, the couples were shown to their quarters. Draco and Hermione were shown to Draco's old bedroom. Hermione was not at all surprised to see the decor of the room.

It was a dark room; the walls were draped in a rich dark blue fabric that looked hard to maintain. The bed that took center stage in the room was a black four-poster with sheets that matched the drapery on the walls. There was a black desk on one side of the room and a love seat on the other. The love seat sat nicely next to a small fireplace and a moderately big bookcase.

"This room screams Draco."-Hermione told him.

"Yes, well, it is my room after all."

"You couldn't have had it like this as a child."

"I have, actually. I had a play area elsewhere in the house. The bed has changed but the rest is pretty much the same."

"Even the bookcase?"

"Yeah, the bookcase has always been there. The books have changed, however."

"You won't mind if I take a look, right?"

"Of course not, my little bookworm. It would be a crime for a lover of books, such as yourself, not to look at a book-filled bookcase."

Hermione walked over to the bookcase and noticed the rather large amount of classics that Draco had in his personal collection. There were classics of various countries and some lesser-known works that seemed interesting enough. From Mauppasant to Dickens, from Cervantes to Fitzgerald there was an expansive collection of literature. In fact, it was a surprise to her that there were books of almost every European country, a few from the East and from the Americas. Her curiosity peaked and she asked:

"Which is your favorite of these? You know, aside from Wilde."

He thought about it for a minute. "Fourth shelf from the top, fifteenth book…I think."

She looked for it and her eyes widened: "Jane Eyre?"

"Oh, sorry. Fifth shelf."

Hermione looked again. "The Woman in White. Huh, I'm surprised that I haven't read it."

"I think I'm more surprised than you are."

"Hey, it is entirely possible that I have not read a book."

"Yes, but highly unlikely."-He said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Very funny Draco. So, do you recommend it?"

"I do. Collins knows how to hook the writer. It's not exactly the thickest book at only about 600 pages but either way it only took me two days to finish because I couldn't set it down."

"I'll take your word for it. I never knew this about you Draco. We'd talked about books before but I didn't know just how much you liked muggle literature."

"Well now you do. It's ironic, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was raised in a wizard home and my favorite book is from a muggle author; you were raised in a muggle home and your favorite book was written by wizards."

"I never thought about it. That is funny."

"Want to read in bed?"-He suggested.

"I'm tired, actually. I think I'd much rather cuddle if that's alright with you."

"It is, I just don't know if we're allowed to cuddle with that spell that Galatea put on us."

"I asked her as you came up here. She said cuddling would be fine."

"Ok, then."

They changed into their pajamas and got into bed. There they cuddled and happily remembered times where cuddling was just a comforting method. They remembered now the simple pleasures of holding onto one another; of being intimate without being sexually intimate. They were just feeling each other in the most innocent way possible and at that moment, they realized jus how much it was that they had both missed it. Cuddling is always a matter of trust between couples and these two were no different. Hermione had asked to cuddle because it had dawned on her that they hadn't truly cuddled since before the end of the war…it made her realize that what Galatea said about their bond being sick was very true, considering that they didn't truly trust each other. Hermione and Draco both knew that despite what they told one another, they weren't completely trusting because of all the past hurts that had gone on between them. Now, especially with the appearance of a mad Parvati, their trust in each other had come to the forefront of both their minds and had remained unspoken. Draco feared that Parvati might hurt Hermione just to spite him and because of this he knew that he would do absolutely anything to keep Hermione safe; when in his fear he squeezed her hand and she, reassuringly, squeezed his back, he knew that she would be there for him no matter what. He knew right then that anything that had happened in the past should remain in the past, that he had let everything go. She, in turn, had known for quite a bit that she would trust Draco with her life. And in midst this realization of pure trust, the couple fell deeply asleep and it would only be hours later that a fire would wake Draco up.


It was around four a.m. when Draco woke up to the sound of a tree falling in the backyard. He abruptly sat up and was surprised when Hermione still lay beside him, deep in slumber. Draco walked to the window and noticed a birch tree lying on the lawn; Draco could tell it had been detached by fire considering that there were cinders at the bottom of it. Then a bust of fire came out of seemingly nowhere and took out another birch. Blaise. It had to be Blaise.

Draco grabbed a robe and some slippers and ran downstairs and into the patio only to find that Blaise had torn off the second birch and was now on the ground with his head on his knees and his hands over his head, violently grasping his own hair. Draco knew to be wary of his best friend at this very moment, so from relatively far away, he said:

"Blaise, what happened? Why are you so upset?"

Blaise's head snapped up. "Huh, so you noticed."

"Well considering that you're killing my mother's garden and her favorite trees, I'd say yes, I noticed. I'm surprised no one else has. Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"She's thinking about calling the wedding off. This whole mess with Parvati is making her change her mind."

"How has she changed her mind, doesn't she love you?"

"She does. She told me that she loves me and that she's deeply in love, but she doesn't think we should get married."

"Blaise, I don't mean to be rude mate, but there has to be something missing here. I swear she looks at you as if the sun rises and sets with you."

"That was corny Dray."

"So what if it was? You two love each other too much for that to happen just at random. There must be a reason that she's having cold feet."

"Yeah, it's called I'm a monster and she hates me, she hates what I've made of Parvati and fears being like that herself."

"Blaise! You are not a monster! And what happened to Parvati was NOT your fault. I think Ileana just fears losing you."

"But you don't know for sure."

"No."-There was an awkward silence during which an idea popped into Draco's head- "I know how I can find out. Hermione is going to hate me for it, but the plan will go on. I'll be right back. Can I trust you not to ruin the rest of the garden or do I have to fireproof everything?"

"I'll control myself, just go."-Blaise said in anger.

Draco ran up back to his room and shook Hermione awake. She grumbled: "What?"

"I need you to talk to Ileana. She's breaking off her engagement to Blaise and I think she's just nervous. Blaise is distraught."

It took a while for Hermione to get out of bed and rub her eyes, but eventually she got up and said: "I'm pretty sure you're right. I'll go talk to her in a second."

"Thank you. I have to go back to Blaise before he breaks his promise and turns the garden into a fiery inferno."


Hermione grabbed a robe and her feet padded down the hall to the room where Ileana was staying. She knocked on the door and heard sniffles coming from the other side and a broken voice say: "Go…away. Please."

"Ilia it's Hermione. Are you alright?"

She sobbed briefly. "Fine. Leave me alone."

"Ileana please open the door and talk to me. I know you're distraught. Talk to me."

Sniffles. "O-ok."

A visibly broken Ileana opened the door seconds later. Her usually perfectly kept hair was all askew and her eyes were red and puffy as was her nose and her cheeks were stained with unstoppable tears. She looked a mess and though Hermione didn't usually give hugs to everyone, she wrapped her arms around the broken woman and let her cry her little heart out. A bit later the two sat down on the edge of the unmade bed and had a chat.

"I had to let him go, Hermione."

"What are you talking about?"

"Blaise…I can't just let him marry me. Parvati is going to ruin it for him and I just want to avoid that. If we break it off she has no reason to hurt him."

"Are you saying that because you think she's going to kill you?"

"She wants to, I know that. I don't care about dying if it meant that Blaise would be happy but my death wouldn't be good for him. I know it."

"And breaking things off with him is? Can't you see that he's dying on the inside? He's about to burn an entire garden for Merlin's sake!"

"I'm just so scared. I've never been this scared or so out of control. I feel borderline irrational!"

"Just relax. You are being irrational. Leaving Blaise isn't going to solve anything. He'd be miserable without you and Parvati would have won. Under normal circumstances you have seemed to keep your cool. Why are you breaking down now? You know Blaise loves you more than anything. Take a deep breath and think about it."

"Now?"

"Of course now."

Ileana laid back a bit, closed her eyes and then thought about everything as she took deep breaths. For a few minutes deep breathing and thinking is all she did. She then opened her eyes and looked at Hermione.

"I've been so stupid!"

"I wouldn't say stupid…"

"It's stupid! I'm hurting myself and Blaise AND I'm making it easier for Parvati to find me because it would be easier for her to find me if Blaise and I separate." She got up and headed for the door. "I'm going to find Blaise and apologize." She started sprinting out the door and that's when Hermione realized that Ileana was running around and out of the house in a nightie that barely reached mid thigh. She grabbed a throw she saw on the couch and ran after her.

"Ileana it's cold out! For the love of-put this over yourself!"

Ileana kept running regardless. "I don't care! Besides if I get cold Blaise has the ability to warm me up… literally."

Ileana ran onto the patio and then to the gardens as the cold wind made the ends of her baby doll seem like they were floating in midst air. The more she ran, the bigger the silhouette of Blaise became until she tackled him to the ground and hugged him tight to herself.

"I'm so sorry, Blaise. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Ilia? What? I thought you hated me."

"Of course not you silly man! I love you so much, I'm just frightened."

"I knew it. You're frightened of me."

"No that's not it at all. It's the whole situation with Parvati. I'm afraid that she'll hurt you through me and I've just…well, you see Blaise…"

"What's wrong, cara?"

She looked into his eyes and saw the worry. She knew she had to tell him the truth before it was too late. "I'm pregnant."

Shock filled his body as his brain processed the words his beloved was telling him. He didn't react at all-he became stone as he thought about this news. His fear of his inner monster being let loose was nothing compared to the fear of plaguing a child with the same curse he was forced to live with. He always knew that from the get go of having a child he would feel guilty. Then he thought…he would treat that baby as best he could and love it entirely. He wouldn't leave like his father had done to him; he would stick by his son or daughter through thick and thin. And Ilia! Sweet, overworked Ilia had been walking around worried that his demented ex lover would hurt him through her and the baby. It's a wonder she hadn't said something before. He was determined to be the best support system he could be under the circumstances. So the first thing he did to react was to give her a gentle kiss and say:
"I love you, Ilia."

She sighed in relief. "Ok, you're taking this well. Thank Merlin!"

"I could never react badly to having a child with you. I just needed a moment to collect my thoughts."

"So you're fine with this, really?"

"Yes, of course I am! I love you and I'm going to love our baby so much."-he said as he lifted her into the air and gave her a twirl.

Draco and Hermione looked at their friends with joy in their eyes. Draco then wrapped his arms around his beloved and kissed the top of her head. He then whispered:

"I think since we're all up we should get to Sweden already. Besides with the baby coming, it's best to be away."

Hermione nodded.

"Draco, I'm going to be a father!"-Blaise told him enthusiastically.

"I heard, mate. Congratulations!"

"You're going to be the godfather, right?"

"Sure if that's what you want."

"Great!"-Blaise then turned his attention to Ileana and told her: "Let's get married when we get to Sweden."

"Whoa what? Just out of the blue?"-She responded.

"Yes, why not? It's spontaneous, romantic and that way we'll be married before the baby arrives."

Ileana gave him a stern look before she smiled and said: "Oh, alright."

"Great!"-Hermione said. "Now let's go pack and tell everyone we're leaving early."

"Oh no you don't. Blaise fix my mother's garden first."-Draco said. "Unless you want her finding you in Sweden and murdering you which I doubt Ileana would be happy about."

Blaise laughed: "Can you blame me? I thought I was losing my one true love."

"Yes, I know. But it's all settled now, so fix it."

"Fine."

And as Blaise started fixing the fallen and singed trees with his wand, Ileana wrapped her arms around his waist all the while Draco and Hermione headed back to the house, hand in hand, to pack for their voyage.