Summary: Hermione has left the Wizarding World for Muggle France. After two years of living a life without magic, two former Slytherins appear at her doorstep offering their services to be her own personal bodyguards. The past resurfaces and Hermione is reminded of what she truly is.

A/U.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who took their time to review.

EMBERS

IV

The entire house was eerily silent. Rain poured mercilessly outside, bombarding the rooftop with frightening drops. Lightning would flash every now and then, illuminating the landscape with a fierce glow. Thunder would follow thereafter making her knees tremble. Something was wrong. She pushed open the door to the living room. The television was on. A weather forecast was being reported. A storm was brewing over London.

She shivered from the cold. All the windows were open. It had been raining for a good two hours now. Why on earth were they still open? Surely someone should have closed them. She hastily shut them close.

"Mom?" She called out.

"Dad?"

There was no answer.

That's odd. She thought, plodding up the wooden staircase. It was barely four in the afternoon. They should have been home from work. And besides, the door was unlocked and the TV had been blaring when she came in.

The feeling of foreboding would not leave her.

"Stop being dramatic Hermione." She scolded herself and wandered towards her parents' bedroom. The door was half-open. But the lights were on. She slowly pushed it open.

Then she screamed.

Draco was awakened by a hideous scream. His fingers automatically grasped for his wand which lay underneath his pillow. The scream was coming from right beside him. Hermione was thrashing. But other than that, she was perfectly asleep. And there was no one else in the room. He dropped his wand and seized hold of her shoulders. He gently shook her awake. "Granger! Hermione, wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. They were blank for a moment and then they began to fill with tears. Draco released his hold on her and moved an inch away, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable. "Nightmare?" He asked quietly.

Hermione ducked her head and wiped away her tears. When she spoke, her voice was flat. "This is the first time I've had them since two years ago."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Draco asked hesitantly, unsure on how to act.

Hermione shrugged limply. "Just the usual. Walking in on my dead parents."

Draco grimaced. "I suppose we're to blame for that." Their sudden reappearance from her past might have triggered the nightmare, especially since they came bearing news of the rotten Death Eater that had murdered her parents.

They were silent for a moment. Her next question surprised him. "How are your parents?"

Draco stiffened.

Hermione must have noticed because she apologized. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."

It was as if a switch had been pulled and his mind immediately went blank. "They're dead to me."

Hermione did not pursue the topic. She resumed her sleeping position and pulled the covers up to her chin. Her eyes fluttered shut. Draco watched her sleep for a bit before allowing himself to be drowned in his own nightmares.

When he awoke the next morning, Hermione was nowhere to be seen. Her side of the bed had been made up neatly. On top of her pillow was a small piece of paper.

Gone out with Blaise to have breakfast. Fiona has left for work. There's food in the fridge if you know how to cook – or use a microwave.

- Hermione

Draco frowned. What on earth was a microwave? He didn't recall the Ministry ever teaching them that. With a disgruntled sigh, he climbed out of bed and wandered over to the bathroom only to find that there weren't any towels left. He decided to go look for one in Hermione's closet.

He could not resist a grin when he stumbled upon a few pieces of rather seductive lingerie. Naughty, naughty girl. He thought pushing them aside to continue searching for the blasted bath necessity. The next thing he stumbled upon, however, made him freeze.

To a Muggle, it would have seemed odd for a man like Draco Malfoy to express so much shock over a solitary slender piece of wood. But to him, it meant volumes. Leaving your wand behind was like amputating one of your limbs and chucking them into the closet. He shook his head in disgust and pocketed it. How could Hermione Granger, the smartest witch that Hogwarts had ever seen since Rowena Ravenclaw disown this essential part of herself? Was she really that determined to push magic out of her life?

Pathetic. Draco thought angrily as he finally found the towels. He stormed into the bathroom in a whirlwind of fury. He was going to have a talk with Hermione after this.

Nothing spoiled breakfast more than a livid Draco Malfoy.

"What did we do now?" Blaise Zabini asked, confused. Draco Malfoy had just barraged into the café wearing a stony expression.

"He looks constipated." Hermione noted.

"That my dear friend, is worse than constipation. He looks downright furious." Blaise observed calmly. He tucked a newspaper underneath is arm and stood from his seat, swallowing the remainders of his cappuccino.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hermione asked him as Draco neared their table.

"Time to make my Houdini escape." Blaise said in a gallant air and then hurriedly left the table. Hermione glared daggers at his retreating form. Coward. She thought. And he's been watching too many Muggle shows. Houdini my ass.

Draco assumed Blaise's position in front of her. "Care for some muffins?" Hermione asked weakly, gesturing at the plate of blueberry muffins in between them. Draco did not even glance at them. His eyes were firmly fixed on hers. She noticed how grey they were. Almost like silver…

"Tell me Hermione, why did you leave London?"

That threw her.

When she spoke, her voice was dangerously low. This was a topic that she did not discuss with anyone. Not her aunt, not the few friends that she had at the agency, and not even with herself. "I believe that it is none of your business."

"Well, I'm making it my business." Draco said with such causality that her blood began to boil. First, he appears at her home completely unannounced, then triggers a set of intensely excruciating nightmares, sleep in her own bed, and now this? He had the nerve to ask her this?

"Fuck you Malfoy." Hermione hissed, throwing her napkin at the table and rising to her feet. She wasn't going to deal with this. Without looking behind her, she walked away from the café.

She heard footsteps following her.

"Hermione! Hermione, wait!"

That was Zabini's voice.

"Is he with you?"

"No. Just me."

She slowed her pace and allowed Blaise to catch up with her. "I apologize for Draco's behavior." He said gently. "He always had a bit of trouble controlling his emotions."

"He was out of line." Hermione said brusquely.

"He was." Blaise conceded. "He just wanted to give you something."

"Oh really? And what would that be? An Imperius?"

Blaise's expression darkened. "That isn't very nice."

Hermione softened. "I'm sorry. You're right." She sighed and flopped down onto a nearby bench. Blaise sat down beside her. "He's a piece of work, isn't he?"

Blaise shrugged. "He only does what he does because he cares."

Hermione laughed derisively. "That's how he shows it? Through demanding a free pass into my personal life?"

"He's concerned." Blaise said retrieving something from his pocket. Hermione's eyes went round when she saw what it was.

The small and dimly-lit shop struck her as an odd one. There was only one desk near the front door, and behind it were rows and rows of grimy shelves filled with cardboard boxes, wooden and velvet cases. They were all covered by a thin layer of dust. An old man who was just as odd appeared from the shadows, wearing a knowing expression on his wrinkled face. He didn't bother greeting them. No smile, no warm welcome. He went straight to business.

He snatched a red box by the near shelf. "Rosewood, 10", Phoenix feather." He muttered, mostly to himself. He handed her a short wand. "Well go on now. Give it wave."

She did so obediently. The desk toppled over. They all jumped.

"Not it. Not it." He said with a shake of his head. He grabbed another box from the bottom of the shelf.

"Ash, 16", hair from the tail of a female Unicorn."

She gave it another wave. The wooden stool by the side turned into ash. "Oh dear." She said, almost dropping the wand.

The man assessed her with a critical eye. "Hmm. I know just the thing." He disappeared by the back and didn't appear for another five minutes. When he did, there was a gleam in his eye.

"Vine, 10 3/4", with Dragon Heartstring."

She gave it a wave. Sparks flew from the tip and transformed into tiny gold stars.

He smiled.


Yes, she remembered that day with an immense clarity. One does not forget such an important event. It had been the beginning of her long and treacherous journey into the world of magic.

"Just because the Wizarding World has been hard on you doesn't mean you have to push it out of your life." Blaise said softly. "This is a part of you Hermione. Embrace it."

Hermione felt shame flood through her and a sudden wetness on her cheeks. She realized she was crying.

Her fingers tightened around her wand.

Embrace it.

TBC

A/N: Reviews would be appreciated.