A/N: Well it's still sunday (not in the Uk but somewhere it is) so i've kept my word! I've had to split this chapter into two because it was ridiculously long which means unfortunately no Draco/Hermione action but on the plus side the next chapter is nearly finished. Time wise I may have jumped a little so it starts off with Hermione at that meeting she had to attend last chapter and then to Draco the following day and ends with Hermione on that same day (just to be clear!) Thank you to all you wonderful people who have reviewed, followed and favourited this fic. I've been away from writing for a good three years and it's nice to come back and be reminded you're still half decent! Enjoy!

Chapter 4

That's Life

"Hermione? Did you hear me?" The woman with short dark hair and brown rimmed glasses asked. Hermione nodded slowly, unable to process what she'd just heard.

"That's…that's incredible!" Hermione said eventually to Matilda Llyons her direct superior at St. Mungos. A lump of emotion formed in Hermione's throat, this was the best news she'd had in a long time. She was finally going to be able to do what she signed up for – help people.

"You understand it'll be a while before the wing is fully functional but once it is I expect you to be ready to run it." Matilda explained and Hermione blinked at her in surprise.

"Me?" She asked slumping back into the leather armchair in disbelief. "Surely there are mo-"

"I think after years of putting together proposals and writing to benefactors, there is no one else more qualified that you Hermione. You will be in charge of our new Children's Ward." The older woman explained beaming, a slight tear in her eye.

For years Hermione had dreamed of this, of really being able to make a difference. After becoming a healer she couldn't believe how little effort wizards put in to treating childhood diseases. They were so rare in their world that when a child did fall so seriously ill that a quick spell wouldn't cure, it was just written off as a tragedy with not much to be done. Hermione was appalled to see the tiny allotment of five beds at the end of a random ward saved for sick children. Since then she'd been desperate to set up a separate ward where she could research as well as treat some of the wizarding worlds rarest and most horrible childhood diseases. Now finally thanks to a generous donor it was happening – and she would be running it! It was a dream come true.

"Now there's a few loose ends to tie up, documents to be sign etcetera. As it's your project I thought you'd like to make it all official so I've set up a meeting between you and the primary donor on Friday." Matilda explained.

"That sounds wonderful, I can't wait to thank them!" Hermione exclaimed all feeling of her earlier hangover forgotten. Her boss beamed widely at her.

"You're really making a difference Hermione, congratulations."

Hermione smiled shyly, her heart doing backflips.

"I think there's some people I need to tell…" She said and the older woman nodded.

"Yes I think there is, I'll owl you the details about Friday."

With another nod, Hermione exited the large Chief Executive Healer's office and practically skipped down the corridor. The day may have started off with weariness and a pounding headache but now she felt positively brilliant. She raced along to Ward 3, which was full of people with minor injuries, and ailments save for two beds at the end, that were curtained off. Skidding to a halt Hermione adjusted her healer's robes and pulled back the curtains. In one bed was a young boy with fair hair, his left arm twitching but aside from that he looked sound asleep. In the other was a little girl with dark hair and big expressive eyes, she was wrapped in a shiny blanket and her face was beetrood red.

"Healer Hemmy!" She said excitedly

"Hello Charlotte." Hermione said brightly picking up her chart and looking over it. Nodding in satisfaction she moved closer and shone a little torch in the girls eye checking her pupils.

"Today's a good day…mummy said so." Charlotte said happily. Hermione peeled back the silver blankets and kept her grimace inside. Charlotte had been born with Deficient Magical Barrier Syndrome. It was a rare anomaly where the magic literally seeped from the child's pours. Unable to be contained within her body, Charlottes magic radiated out of her causing her body to overheat and legions to form on her skin. The only effective treatment was to expel the magic and heal the wounds. It was extremely painful and the damage from constant healing meant that most children didn't live past the age of three. Charlotte was five. When she'd first come in three years ago running the highest temperature Hermione had ever seen she'd had the ingenious idea of using muggle cooling blankets to drop it. When she realised what was wrong with the little girl she devised a new treatment where she could effectively cool her skin and expel the magic. By doing both simultaneously she could give the patient a few good days without the legions appearing. Unfortunately this was only a temporary treatment and research into a cure was non-existent. Hermione was convinced little boughts of treatment everyday would stop burns from appearing but the Hospital simply didn't have the budget for that they'd told her– until now.

"Today is a good day." Hermione replied "Mummy's right, your temperature has dropped so now I can heal your burns. Once they're ok you can go home and I know we can make it a week before you get hot and bothered again."

The little girls eyes widened at the thought and Hermione's heart broke.

"But I have some more good news." She explained, "Remember that special floor I wanted to make just for you and other kids like you?"

The little girl nodded enthusiastically.

"Well it's going to be built and you know what that means?"

Charlotte shook her head this time.

"It means you can come in every morning, wrap in your blankets for twenty minutes and see a nice junior healer and then go home again – no burns! And the hospital is going to get someone to teach you how to expel all that magic with your mind when you're a little bit older so you can do it yourself. And I get a nice new lab so I can do all kinds of experiments so that one day you don't need to do either." Hermione told her and the little girl practically jumped up and down. Hermione smiled broadly as the Charlotte talked excitedly of actually having time to play with her friends and maybe even one day going to Hogwarts like everyone else. Settling her patient down she managed to heal away most of her red angry looking burns and unwrapped her from the cooling blankets.

"Can we wake up Michael?" Said Charlotte lying back down "He's going to be so excited!"

Hermione frowned as she looked at the ten year old in the other bed. Even in his sleep his features still held a pained expression. His case was more difficult. His mother about to give birth to him was attacked by an escaped death eater and crucio'd for hours. She was still in permanent residential care. Inexplicably the curse affected her unborn son and from the moment he came into the world he was subjected to blinding pain all over his body. Hermione being a junior healer then had managed to dull it considerably and confine it to his left arm using a combination of spells and the potion Snape had given Dumbledore to stop the spread of the horcrux ring's curse. Over the years she'd found ways of managing the boys pain but eradication was proving beyond difficult especially since his case was bounced around so often. Now and then a negligent junior healer would not alert Hermione that he was here or a more experienced healer would think they had a better method of treatment and he'd be taken off her. Eventually though they'd realise they were out of their depth and give up and he'd wind up back with Hermione, more broken than he was in the first place. Months of correct drug treatment and physiotherapy wasted. She'd been in tears over it more than once. She was glad to see him asleep - it was a rare thing. With his mother in permanent care and father non existent it seemed, Michael was bounced from relative to relative and was in and out of St. Mungos not only for his treatment but for the accidents he got himself into because of the botched medication he was receiving. This time he was so doped up by his previous Healer he tripped head first down a flight of stairs. Hermione couldn't help but feel totally responsible for letting him be taken off her service.

"I think we can let him rest for a while." Hermione said tenderly and the little girl pouted. "Which is exactly what you should be doing young lady."

Charlotte shook her head but despite herself gave a large yawn. She settled herself in amongst the cotton blankets and Hermione couldn't help but give her hair a little stroke. She sometimes wondered if she was torturing herself working with children given that she herself longed to be a mother. Pushing the unpleasant thoughts from her mind she was pleased to see Charlotte had drifted off to sleep. Deciding she had paper work to get on with she tore herself away and still beaming made her way back to her office.

OOO

"Mother are we really having this conversation again?" Draco drawled sitting in the quiet bistro.

"Well if you'd grow up a bit and find yourself a wife then we wouldn't have to would we?" Narcissa Malfoy snapped back, pinching the bridge of her nose and taking a sip of her large Sauvingon Blanc. Here they were again arguing over Draco's love life. How he hated it. It was giving him a headache. Draco swirled his whiskey unable to look his mother directly in the eye, lest she see his contempt.

"Now obviously Hannah Abbott is only a half blood but still-"

"Isnt quibbling about blood status what got us into this mess?" Draco huffed "Besides Voldemort killed her mother I doubt she'll be keen for dating a death eater any time soon."

Narcissa took a sharp intake of breath "Former death eater."

"So you keep reminding everyone." He said darkly.

A pregnant silence came over them and Draco fidgeted with his left sleeve. It had developed into something of a nervous tick over the years. The secret everyone knew but he was still trying to keep. Still trying to trick everyone into forgetting.

"You don't understand Draco." She said eventually her tone softer "There are still investigations even now…they way we portray ourselves to the ministry…we need to show them we've changed."

"Mother you saved Harry fucking Potter. He openly praised our family and recommended you for a Wizarding Cross for Bravery, I think we're off the hook." He said exasperated "Can't I be free to marry who I want? Why does it have to be a mudblood or half blood?"

Narcissa winced at the term mudblood like she once would have at the Dark Lord's name. It installed the same fear nowadays - like anyone who would dare say it would be dragged off. How times had changed. Draco hadnt used it in years but when it came to her trying to marry him off he'd remind his mother exactly what she used to think of muggle borns.

"Of course I want you to be happy Draco, you're my only child." She said sternly "But it'd be better for the family if it was someone with a less than pure bloodline. Then we'd truly be beyond reproach."

Draco sighed "If my beloved Aunt Bella could see us now…hoping for a half blood marriage, she'd be rolling in her grave." Narcissa glared at him "Which I'd be glad about." He muttered afterward.

Draco looked down at his half finished linguini and pushed it away. All their conversations seemed to lead back to this lately. He supposed it was to do with his father. Lucius had been so out of it since after all he'd been subjected to during the war that he supposed his mother felt quite alone. He guessed his father's health was failing and it was probably Narcissa's wish that he see his only son married and trying to repair what he'd done before he passed.

"It was a hell of a lot simpler when I could have just brought Millicent Bulstrode home and you'd have been delighted." Draco said and his mother snorted.

"That girl is ghastly. I think I proffer the thought of you marrying Hermione Granger." She said with distain and Draco nearly spat out the sip of whiskey he'd been taking.

"Granger? What? What about Granger?" He said panicked and his mother shot him a curious glance. His mind was temporarily paralysed. How could she possibly know about Hermione? Was she spying on him? He couldn't breathe.

"I just meant that Millicent is so awful I'd rather have a grandchild sired by our once greatest mudb…muggleborn enemy than that half troll." Narcissa explained still giving him a questioning look "I wasn't serious Draco, honestly you look as if you're going to have a fit. I think she's married anyway to-"

"Yes to that ginger haired prick Weasley." He spat.

"I didn't think you kept track?" She said raising an eyebrow.

"I don't."

"Apparently." She drawled in a manner very like her son. Then she sighed "I'm sorry for being so short with you darling."

She patted his hand softly "You understand I only want whats best…and I've been so busy with your father…" Draco's heart gave a pang of guilt as he looked at the weary form of his mother. "And there's your party and the charities and this new St. Mungos thing."

"St. Mungos?" He asked and she sighed.

"Yes we've donated a large sum of money to them for a new wing – a children's one I think. I have a meeting to go to on Friday with Matilda Lyons." She explained.

"In the hospital?" He asked.

"No apparently we've to discuss it over lunch but I imagine I'll need to go in sometime in the future. It's going to be a lot of work."

The gears in Draco's mind started to whirl. Hermione worked at St. Mungos. It'd be all too easy to conveniently bump into her…

"I can do it if you want?" He said trying not to sound too eager. His mother blinked at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah…I mean I like kids I suppose." He mumbled.

"Well if you wouldn't mind darling." Narcissa said the astonishment clear in her voice. Her son had never shown much interest in the family's charity work before. She would have pressed him further on the matter if she wasn't so eager for less work on her plate.

"Just tell me when and where I need to be." Draco told her nonchalantly

"Wonderful, I'll owl you the details but I think you can pick the place for lunch." She said clapping her hands together excitedly "Now back to planning your party…"

Draco inwardly groaned, this was bound to be another argument.

OOO

Hermione bit into her cheese and pickle sandwich in the canteen as she flipped over the details for her meeting with her benefactor. This was a lot of legal jargon. She'd have to get Ginny to look over it when she got home. Hermione sighed. Having nowhere to go she'd finally surrendered to facing Harry and Ginny last night. Even her good news yesterday couldn't stop her from becoming a sobbing mess on their doorway, a shadowy reminder of two years before when she'd been in the exact same situation. Once again they welcomed her with consoling words and a warm bed. Once again they were fuming. It was all Hermione could do to stop Harry from apparating round to her old apartment and cursing Ron seven ways from Sunday. They couldn't believe he'd done it to her – again. Ginny even sent him a howler and – being a magical procedure lawyer – drew up the divorce contract she'd asked for. They both suggested Hermione wait a while and give it a few days but she explained she'd made it quite clear to Ron that she wanted nothing to do with him ever again and wanted it over and done with as quickly as possible. After a little bit of convincing Ginny heard Hermione's terms and owled the papers over that night. They hadn't had a response yet.

Rubbing her temples she closed the booklet. It wasn't going in anyway, she really needed another set of eyes on it. As she ate her thoughts drifted back to Malfoy. It was the first moment she'd really had to think about him apart from a brief consideration that she go back to his apartment last night, which she quickly dismissed. He'd been weirdly nice. It was a little unsettling now in the light of day...but also quite lovely. She couldn't deny the other night had altered her opinions on the ferret. It would seem time had changed him as much as it changed her and still it hadn't really. He was still as quick witted as ever and as smug and not beyond a trick or two but the arrogance and prejudice seemed to have disappeared over the last decade. Sighing she wondered if that was all just wishful thinking. If it had been the alcohol that made them get along so well? But then the next morning he'd been equally well…human. And she couldn't get out of her mind how he looked in just his boxers or the shiver of excitement she felt when she was pressed against him or how they'd both leant in for the kiss that night. Her reverie was broken by a shadow crossing the table in front of her. She looked up to see a flash of ginger hair.

"Ron." She said darkly "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to talk." He said shuffling nervously, unable to look at her.

"I don't think there's anything to discuss." She growled standing up. "You have the papers, if there's anything you're not happy with owl me."

She moved to walk past him but felt a hand on her arm. He looked up at her with those blue eyes reminiscent of the Ron she used to know and her resolve weakened a little.

"Please 'Mione." He said softly.

"Fine." She snapped and she led him out of the canteen down a corridor and into one of the consultation rooms. It was a drab little room with a grey table, a few chairs and a coffee machine in the corner. Even though it was strangely muggle in a way Hermione hated it as she usually used it to deliver bad news. It was quite poetic she was using it now she supposed. In any case it was quiet and privet.

"Well." She said shutting the door with a click "You have three minutes, then I need to get back to work."

"I just…I…she meant nothing to me Hermione!" He spluttered out "Please just give me another chance."

"If this is what you're here for Ron, I think you'd best leave-"

"No please hear me out!" He begged "I know I royally fucked up but I still love you 'Mione."

"How can you possibly say that?" She screeched "If you loved me at all you would have never done something this cruel…you've broke my heart twice Ronald don't you get that?"

"Of course I do but I didn't mean for you to find out-"

"Oh so that makes cheating on me alright? What I don't know can't hurt me? Is that it?"

"No…I just…I was going to end it with Luna I swear-"

"Luna! LUNA!" She screeched and he paled "You fucking bastard! You cheated on me with one of my best friends?"

"I thought you knew." Was his only response and Hermione bit back tears. It felt like she'd been stabbed through the heart all over again. How could Ron do this to her? How could Luna do this to her? They hadn't been close since Luna took that job in France but still it was an ultimate betrayal. She felt physically sick.

"Here's what's going to happen." She said gathering all of her Gryffindor strength, setting her jaw into a determined line she glared at him, all her willingness to listen gone "Next week I am going to come by the flat and collect my stuff at a time of my choosing and you will not be there or so help me god I will curse you into oblivion." She paused and took a deep breath to stop herself from shaking "By the end of said week you will have signed those papers and I will be free of you and never have to see your sorry fucking backside again. It's over Ron. I am no longer your wife. Now get the hell out." She seethed.

"I thought we were going to be mature and talk about this." He spat.

"Yeah and I thought you were the love of my life. I guess we were both wrong. Goodbye Ron." Hermione said coldly. Ron opened his mouth to say something and Hermione drew her wand. He promptly closed it again.

"Leave." She barked, just managing to keep the tears inside. Miserably Ron skulked out and Hermione let out a heart-wrenching sob collapsing to one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. She thought it was over. She thought he couldn't hurt her anymore. She thought wrong - she really hated this bloody room.

A/N: Well there we have it. Just a little insight I normally plan out every single chapter and plot turn (more or less) in my writing and usually sit on ideas for well...years! but because I didnt really have a specific idea for this story and i'm back from a break I'm just writing it on the fly - and quite enjoying myself as a result! So when I started writing this I had no idea it was Luna Ron was cheating with and it's just opened up loads of possibilities...

That being said since I have no plans past maybe three or four chapters i'd love suggestions on where to go? Which you can absolutely put ina review...you know...if you really want too. haha, anway next chapter should be up end of the week. Have a good one guys! x