Chapter 15: The Truth Is Out
"Draco?" Hermione's voice was soft as she entered his office.
"Back so soon? I expected you back tomorrow morning." Draco's voice was scornful, angry and hurt.
"Draco… I know it looked bad… I should have listened to you, too. He really did want to take me from you. But the truth is, I pushed him away."
"You've made your choice?"
"I have… but so have you. So… in the morning I will take the girls and we will leave. It's not fair to either of you how I treated you, and I'm sure you can't trust me; so, it's time we separate."
"What?" Draco's eyes shot to hers, true confusion in his steely eyes.
"I thought you wanted me out of your life…"
"What made you think such a ludicrous thing?" Draco stood and walked to the front of his desk, his front side now directly to Hermione's. His arms supported him as he leaned casually against the desk's surface.
"Well, you said you made up your mind back at Sid's…"
"You know, for the brightest witch of your age, sometimes you can be really daft." Draco chuckled as he came forward and wrapped his arms around her, his lips pressing warmly into her forehead. "You're my witch and there's not a damn wizard in this world who could steal you from me. I'll kill a guy before I let you go."
"Then what…"
"I heard him. Austin is mine. They're both my daughters. He lied to you and was going to let that go on; he just wanted a piece of you that he can't have."
"She has to go to him."
"He'll never touch her again." Draco crossed his arms and looked at Hermione. "She's my daughter. I'll be damned if that bastard ever touches either of them again."
"She'll die without him, Draco."
Hermione sat in a chair haphazardly, the stress eminent on her features. With her eyes shut, Hermione told the whole story to Draco.
After explaining things, Draco sat back and soaked in the information. "I don't want her with him. I don't want her to die." Draco mulled thoughts over in his head.
"I don't understand how all this could have happened." Hermione heaved a heavy sigh.
"It makes sense if you think about it. The error percentages on those tests were so high. There was no possible way they could be that unsure about him being the father. It's because her magic was so strong that the test was confused. Actually, I've read many books about his kind when I was younger."
"You did?"
"Hermione… My family was a dark family bent on pure magic. We have books about every magical being and type known in the history of magic."
"How did your goons learn that when they had so much trouble in magical history."
"They just didn't try." Draco grinned at her witty remark. "Your sense of humor has taken a sharp dive after the late hour." Hermione just smiled lightly as Draco helped her up. "Tomorrow the Aurors are coming back to do a check and get the final details to close the case. Let's go get some rest."
Hermione nodded as Draco led her to his bedroom and together the two climbed into the bed, Draco's arms protectively around her.
"Draco?" It had been about an hour since they had gone to bed, and Hermione had too many thoughts going through her head to be able to fall into a comfortable sleep.
"Hmm?" He stirred slightly. Still half asleep, he was unable to form a coherent response.
"Where is Harry's Memorial?"
"They put a statue for him on the Hogwarts grounds under the dead whomping willow."
"I want to see it when everything has calmed down."
"We can go. We'll take Weasley, too." Draco pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. "Just get some rest love."
Morning came quickly as Hermione prepared to answer the Aurors questions. Her breath hitched when she saw that same young auror. She just had to make sure.
"Excuse me?"
"Yes, ma'am? Is there something you need?" The young Auror looked concerned.
"Not at all. You just remind me terribly of someone I knew a long time ago. May I ask, what is your name?"
"The people on the squad call me Jay. I'm certain we've never met before, ma'am." He smiled softly.
"Oh… thank you very much." She couldn't mask the disappointment in her voice well enough and the auror grew worried once more.
"Is there anything else I can get you?"
"No, thank you though." He nodded slowly and with a hesitant check to make sure she really didn't want more help, he strode off. Hermione plopped into the couch defeated. He even sounded like Harry. Her mind was playing tricks on her, she was delusional and guilty. There's no other explanation for this behavior.
"Hermione…" Ginny sat next to her. "Lavender is going to Azkaban. Ron was let off because he complied perfectly." Her voice seemed distant to Hermione, not really heard in the brunette's mind.
"Yeah…"
"Are you okay?" Ginny shook her friend slightly on the shoulder to snap her out of it.
"It's just… Harry… I keep…"
"You're not the only one that sees it. That Auror is so much like Harry. I see it too. It kills me inside, but Harry is gone. It's time to accept it." Ginny's voice cracked. It seemed to Hermione like Ginny was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Hermione. Hermione wanted to be right, and her gut was telling her Harry was alive; why wouldn't her gut listen to the logic?
Hey guys…
It's really short… and I've been gone for so long that I totally forgot where I was going with this… So, I'm predicting a few gaps here and there as I try to pull things back together. It's been way too long, and I promise I thought about you guys a lot… but there's been so much going on… and a lot happening in life… so… please excuse the sub-par update as I'm trying to get back into the swing of this again…
sorry...