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A/N: Happy Thursday! I love all of the new follows and reviews I've gotten on this story! I would love it even more if you would shoot me a review and let me know what you're thinking!

Chapter 8

HERMIONE
-Present-

Hermione gasped as she appeared, greedily gulping air as she fought the wave of nausea that rolled through her.

She was late, and as if that alone wasn't enough to bother her, she also wasn't quite sure of what she was about to do.

The owl had come late the evening before, tapping impatiently at her window until she let it in and slid the parchment off of its leg. It was a simple message, asking for her to come see the children for the day and she had owled back right away without hesitation. But now, now she wasn't so sure. Add to that the fact that Harry had made her apparate across his living room at least fifteen times to prove that she wouldn't splinch herself on the way over and she was already in a foul mood.

She shifted, pulling on the jacket she was wearing as she stared at the sprawling house before her before she finally gathered her wits and marched up to the front door to announce her arrival.

It was her home, of that much she had been told, but it did nothing to quell the fact that the last time she actually remembered being here she had been pinned against the drawing room floor and tortured.

Finally, after what seemed like forever the door swung open. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but it definitely wasn't the pretty brunette standing before her.

"Oh- Um…" Hermione started, not really sure what to say.

"Mummy!" Leo appeared almost out of nowhere, flying at Hermione's legs with an exuberant smile. "Have you come to play?"
Hermione smiled and bent down, scooping the boy up in her arms, "I have!"

The boy exclaimed in joy and wiggled enough so that Hermione set him down gently and he disappeared once more as the two women stared at each other awkwardly.

"Tori… Which shirt do you think-" Malfoy appeared at the top of the stairs, clad only in black dress trousers and Hermione felt her jaw slacken as she caught sight of him before she quickly composed herself as he hurried down the steps. "Hermione? Are you alright?"

"What? I'm fine- I just… I came to spend time with the kids."

"I'm actually heading out in a few." He said quietly, apology coloring his tone. "I didn't know-"

"Did you not get my reply last night?"

"Reply? What are you-"

"I sent her an owl Draco." Hermione stiffened as Narcissa Malfoy appeared in the entry way, Lyra in her arms eating something out of a bowl. Hermione was almost certain she saw Draco flinch out of the corner of her eye and the dread forming in her stomach settled in even more.

"Mother-"

"A mother should spend time with her children Draco. Leo has been on and on about missing her, and you and Tori were going out so-"

"Astoria and I are attending a meeting." Draco said hurriedly, looking to Hermione as though she was going to hex him. "With Mr. Greengrass, her father. About our company."

Hermione nodded, not understanding his urgency until she saw Astoria step forward again, placing her hand gently in the crook of Draco's elbow and something hit her in the gut full force as a picture broke through. Of Draco with his arms wrapped around the woman before him, his mouth next to her ear, and the hot jealous anger that coursed through her was enough to make her hit her knees.

It was only as the hazy picture started to connect in her mind that she realized she had, indeed, fell to her knees in the Malfoy entry way.

"Are you alright?" Malfoy asked, kneeling in front of her, his hand on her face.

"I'm-I'm fine." She said, forcing the words out as she tried not to glare daggers at the woman now standing behind Malfoy and looking down at her worriedly. "Fine."

"Hermione…"

"I'm fine." She bit out as Leo appeared beside his father, beaming at her excitedly as he showed her the toys he had retrieved.

"Let's pway Quidditch Mummy."

"Leo, mummy is.."

"Mummy would love to play Quidditch with you." She interrupted the man before her, shooting her glare at him as she righted herself on her feet before finally, he backed up, nodding.

Hermione allowed Leo to pull her in to the nearest room, settling herself down on the floor as Lyra appeared and pushed her way on to Hermione's lap. As she sat there, nestled between her children she couldn't help but feel at home. It was only as Malfoy popped in, bending down to kiss the top of each downy head, that she realized how wrong it felt watching him leave with another woman on his arm, and that thought scared her most of all.

Hermione had managed to make it through the whole day without running in to Narcissa Malfoy. She tucked the children in bed, kissing them goodnight and promising she would return to read to them some more and walked out to find the matriarch of the family standing in the hallway.

"I made some tea." She said simply with a nod of the head and Hermione gulped as she followed the witch down the stairs and in to the drawing room that she had dutifully avoided today.

"Thank you." Hermione said finally as she sat down opposite the woman and picked up the tea cup before her. "For letting me see the children today."

"Nonsense." Narcissa dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Leo is, for lack of a better word, a mother's boy. He was asking yesterday how to work the floo so that he could come see you. It's better for you to come home to see him than for him to end up in some strangers grate."

Hermione laughed to herself at that and the woman across from her smiled kindly.

"I know that this isn't easy on you… it's been terribly hard on Draco." Hermione snorted, thinking of the way Astoria had clung to his arm as they walked out of the manor this afternoon. Narcissa seemed to read her thoughts as she continued, "Astoria is… she's a Greengrass. Please don't settle your opinion of Draco on her uncivilized behavior. As I do recall, she's, how did you put it last? 'pathetically dimwitted'"

Hermione choked on her tea then, swiping at her eyes as she fought to catch her breath. "I'm sorry, I just… I haven't said that in ages."

Narcissa smiled at her, and it felt so familiar, that Hermione actually wanted to cry. Not only for herself but for the woman in front of her.

"I'm sorry that I called you a death eater." She heard herself mutter and then felt the heat rise to her cheeks as she realized Malfoy might not have told her about that.

The woman, thankfully, smiled graciously and set her tea back down. "It's not the worst thing I've been called."

Hermione laughed and the two women sat in comfortable silence as they finished their tea until the door to the drawing room opened and Malfoy walked in, sans Astoria, and looked sheepishly between the two women.

"Mother-" He said warningly and Narcissa raised an eyebrow at her son.

"Draco-"

"What did she say to you?" Malfoy asked, ignoring his mother as he turned the full force of his gaze on Hermione.

"What? Nothing I-" Hermione stumbled, looking towards Narcissa with wide eyes as the woman turned to her son.

"Draco-"

"I told you not to push her. I told you, Merlin mother, you made her cry again…"

Hermione couldn't help the laugh that escaped at that as she swiped at her eyes, kicking herself for having put on mascara for some unknown reason that morning. Malfoy paled as Hermione continued to laugh, and before long Narcissa had joined in until both women were in tears again.

"What?" He asked, irritation peeking through his usually unbothered demeanor.

Hermione laughed once more as she stood up, "I swallowed some tea wrong and had a coughing fit, your mother didn't do anything wrong…"

"This time." He muttered under his breath, glancing towards his mother who rolled her eyes dramatically before he turned back to Hermione. "Are you leaving?"

"Oh, yes, I put the kids to bed after about fifty games of quidditch with Leo and several hundred books…"

Draco laughed lightly under his breath, shoving his hands deeper in to his pockets as he turned to allow her to pass by him, making their way towards the front door. "They get that from you."

Hermione allowed that, letting Draco help her with her jacket as they reached the door of the manor.

"Thank you… for letting me stay." She said, suddenly finding the marble floors beneath her feet entirely fascinating.

"Of course." His voice was husky and she couldn't help but look up at him then.

"How did- how was your meeting?" She asked, if only to keep the blush that was threatening to spread across her cheeks at bay.

Draco faltered, clearing his throat. "Good. It went… well. Look, Hermione, Astoria and I…"

Hermione held up her hand, halting his words. "It's okay Malfoy- I don't…"

"I just want you to know-"

The two stared at each other, before finally, Malfoy nodded and Hermione shifted from one foot to the other.

"It's getting late, I should get back before Harry sends a search party."

"Of his best aurors." Malfoy laughed with a nod and Hermione smirked, knowing it was meant as a joke but also not wanting to put it past Harry to do exactly that. "Look, Hermione, I'm taking Leo to a quidditch match this Saturday. Ginny pulled some strings, got him the tickets. I thought- well I was wondering if you would want to go along?"

"Umm…" Hermione stuttered, "I'm not really-"

"Into Quidditch, I know." He smirked. "But, as you've already seen, Leo is very much in to quidditch and I thought that maybe it might be good for you and for him."

Hermione bit her lip as Malfoy stared at her expectantly and Leo's pleading little eyes flashed in her mind before she finally, nodded. "I'd love to."

Malfoy smiled fully then and Hermione's heart thudded in her chest as she resisted the urge to touch him, even just once, before she finally forced herself to bid farewell and walked down the stone path. As she turned on the spot to disapparate back to Harry's place, she caught his eye and in that split second she felt something she had never felt before and she wasn't quite sure if the inability to breathe came from the squeezing press of apparition or the idea that she, Hermione Granger, was hopelessly in love with Draco Malfoy.

DRACO
-Past-

"Does the Weasel know?" Draco asked as he slid on to the stool beside Hermione, tapping the bar as he settled in.

"Ronald is my fiancé, not my keeper." She retorted, shooting down her shot of firewhisky with quick efficacy and barely grimacing.

"Right." He smirked as the barkeep appeared and placed the shot in front of him, her eyes appraising him. "So he doesn't know."

Hermione swiveled on her seat then, returning his smirk as she picked up the shot that sat in front of him and downed it before he could protest. "He's out on assignment."

Draco snorted as she slammed the glass down in front of him and the bar keep glared at them from the other side of the bar and it was then that he noticed the other patrons of the pub, their eyes warily watching him from the shadows. Draco hadn't hesitated when he had received Hermione's owl, asking to meet her at The Leaky Cauldron, instead just shrugging in to the nearest robe and disapparating directly in front of the entrance. Now, however, he was starting to regret that decision as he watched the side eyes and whispered conversations from beside Hermione.

"Anyway…" Hermione drawled out, turning to swat him on the shoulder lightly just as a wizard approached the pair.

"Hermione?"

"Hey Henry!" Granger said lightly, smiling at the newcomer who looked entirely uncomfortable.

"Are you.. .are you alright?" The man asked, lowering his voice as he looked at Draco wearily.

Her brow furrowed as she looked at the man called Henry in confusion before glancing at Draco. "Yes, of course, why…"

"He's making sure you aren't under the imperius curse." Draco said dryly.

"What are you on about?" Hermione asked, her voice too loud as she looked between the two men. "You think… you think Draco is…what?"

"Well, you can't blame us." Henry said, his tone unapologetic and Draco sighed, moving to stand up. "What with who he is."

"Excuse me?" she asked, her jaw slack.

"It's okay Granger…" Draco said quietly as he pulled some coins out of his pocket and tossed them on to the bar.

"No." she said forcefully, reaching out to grab Draco's arm, yanking him back towards her. "Tell me Henry, who is he?"

"Hermione-"The man shifted uncomfortably, glancing nervously at the man she currently had in a vice grip.

"Who is he Henry?
"He's… he's a Malfoy." The man muttered.

"Yes?"

"And, well, he's a death eater."

Her jaw tightened then, along with the grip she had on Draco's arm as she rounded on the man. "And I'm a Granger, and a Mudblood."

"Hermio-" Draco started but she continued on as though he wasn't even there.

"We fought in a war Henry not so that people would continue to be known for their past but so that they could live in the present. So they could have a future."

Before Henry could retort she was gone, pulling Draco along with her as she left the pub, not even bothering to leave her own money and Draco was glad that he had thrown down extra, not needing theft added to his already long list of transgressions, though he was sure that somehow Granger would be absolved of any wrong doing in the popular Diagon Alley destination.

"I am so sorry Draco." She said once they were sufficiently far away from the pub.

Draco shrugged. "It's nothing really."

She rounded on him then, "It's not nothing."

"No." Draco said, grasping one of her hands in his, mostly to stop her from waving it around but also because he would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about doing it since the first night at Grimmauld Place. "You're right. It's not nothing, but it's… it's who I am. It's who I will always be. You can pretend that I'm different, you can tell yourself I've changed but I'm a Malfoy. I always will be. Look, I should go-"

"No!" She called quickly, reaching out to grab his hand again, pulling him back to her, stumbling as she did so that she ended up pressed flush against him, "Don't go. I'm sorry- I just…"

"Hermione, you should-" He started but stopped when she swayed on her feet, falling in to him a little. Instinctively he reached out to steady her, fingers grasping her shoulders.

"Hey," She said, smiling up at him and making no move to pull away from him. "Say that again…"

His brow furrowed, "I think you should-"

"No, the other part.."
"I don't-"

"You said my name." She breathed; her lips were still quirked up and he realized, with a jolt, that he had. "I think- I think that's the first time I've heard you say it."

He pulled his own hands away from her then, shoving them deep in his pockets as he took a slight step back, shaking his head.

"No." She insisted and he realized, only too late, that she stepped in to him again. "it is. I'm sure of it."

He wanted to argue but he knew she was right so instead, he looked down, away from her eyes and down to the cobblestone beneath his black loafers.

"Say it again." Her voice was whisper soft and her words slurred together slightly. He met her eyes then. She was biting her lip and looking up at him through the thick fringe of lashes that framed her eyes and he wondered, briefly, why he had never noticed how deep her eyes looked.

Finally, he relented. "Hermione…" Her grin reappeared and he reached out for her, letting her place her hand in his. "Let's get you home."

And before she could argue, he disapparated

A/N:Penny for your thoughts?