AN/: OMFG! Over 31,000 views! You people are amazing! I'm over the moon and I'm back with another chapter, please read the Author's Note at the end of this chapter thanks x okay, so I planned to have everything happen in one chapter but ended up splitting it once and then twice. I thought everything that happens in chapters 18, 19 and 20 would all be together but there is just so much to say, it's not possible and I don't want to make my chapter lengths too different if I can help it. Without further ado, I give you...

Chapter 19 : Reminiscing, Guitars & Homecoming

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I'm telling you Draco, that woman drives me nuts!"

"I know! Last week she wouldn't let me into the common room for a whole 20 minutes because she was lecturing me on the importance of a neat tie!" They both plonked down on the sofa, exhausted. Then Draco said in a much calmer voice, gazing at Hermione sitting next to him, "And she interrupted us at the worst time possible." Draco held one of his fingers under the dainty Gryffindor's chin and tilted it up so their lips could meet for a sweet, prolonged 'peck' on the lips. Hermione sighed into the chaste kiss and smiled at Draco when they broke apart. He smiled back.

"So..." She paused. "Your guitar..."

"Ughhh!" Draco's smile dropped off his face at an impressive rate as he collapsed on the sofa lying on his back, his left arm hanging over his eyes. He was shaking his head, "No, no, no, no..."

"What? Did you think I'd forget? Get real Malfoy, I'm Hermione Friggin' Granger!" Hermione grinned and teased him. "I never forget...most of the time anyway...I'm still human." She smiled.

"Yes...I always thought your head was rather elephant like...you know...big." Banter. Banter. Banter. It's what they do best.

"Ha. You're one to talk Narcissus...you're your mother's son." Draco heard her sweet, contagious laugh as he felt Hermione crawl up his body and rest herself on his lean chest. She felt amazing pressed up against him and he reluctantly removed his arm from his face to look at her.

"Did you mean it...when you said you'd show me your tattoo?" Draco cautiously asked. He saw conflict in her eyes and for a second, he thought he saw fear. But eventually Hermione nodded her head.

"You have my word..." She said with the upmost sincerity. "And unlike you Slytherins, it actually means something because I" She poked his chest, grinning. "am a Gryffindor." They were both grinning now.

"You do realise I have so many comments regarding what you just said Granger, but I'll refrain from sharing...for your sake of course." He smirked.

"I'll bet." Hermione was still smiling.

"You've got yourself a deal Hermione Granger." This only made Hermione's smile grow wider, which resulted in Draco's growing too. They made their way up to his room, towards his guitar.

...

"How do you know so much about guitars?" Draco asked, curious, when they entered his room.

Hermione plonked herself down on his bed and made herself comfortable. Draco did the same once he'd retrieved the instrument from its stand.

"I mean, you may think I'm ignorant towards anything related to muggles but I do know that not all muggles know everything there is to know about music. Just like you know jack-all about quidditch. Everyone has their own interests." Draco smirked.

"Hey. I know some stuff about quidditch..." She defended herself.

"Hermione, am I correct in saying that up until last year when Potter corrected you, you called The Wronski Defensive Feint...the wonky faint." Draco grinned at her obvious embarrassment.

"Bloody hell. No one will ever let that go, will they?"

"Nope." He smiled.

...

"My father." She said all of a sudden.

"What?" Draco was lost.

"My dad is how I know about guitars." If someone could look happy and sad at the same time, that's how Draco would have described the look he saw on Hermione's beautiful face. Happy and sad, he thought.

"He was a dentist, yes." She smiled. "But he had a passion for music. He had a few guitars and he'd mostly used his worn out old acoustic, it had this real nice antique sunburst finish." You could see in her eyes that she was visualising it right now. "But his favourite to play...was his 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard, kind of like your one." She pointed at the guitar in Draco's hands, he was fiddling with the strings, playing chords and turning the tuners on the headstock. Hermione watch Draco in his element, happily and continued speaking. "He always told me that Eric Clapton played one of these guitars and that it was legendary. 'Imagine the music that that guitar had been allowed to make. Imagine the stories that it could tell,' he used to say, among other things as well." Hermione smiled sadly remembering her father. Draco smiled with her.

"Eric Clapton, you say?" She nodded. "He's one of my favourites." Draco admitted.

"Really?" Hermione immediately perked up. "Mine too." She smiled. Draco was nodding his head.

"I don't know many muggle artists but of the ones I do know, he is possibly my favourite. Especially the song 'Wonderful Tonight'." Hermione grinned.

"That song makes me cry, I love it so much." Her eyes were glistening and the two of them were looking at each other in a whole new light. "Did you know that Eric Clapton wrote that song in 1976 while he was waiting for his future wife, Pattie Boyd to get ready for a night out?"

"Mmmhhmm. Yes I did Bookworm." Draco smiled, so did Hermione. "Clapton was sitting around playing his guitar while she was trying on dresses upstairs." Draco continued with the story. "She was taking so long and was panicking about her hair, her clothes, everything, and when she came downstairs she was expecting him to really berate her but instead he said, 'Listen to this!' In the time Pattie Boyd had taken to get ready Clapton had written the song." Draco finished. Hermione smiled up at him.

"How did you know that?" Hermione was shocked that someone such as Draco would know anything about muggles, let alone something in such detail.

"My mother bought me lots of books about guitars and various artists for my 12th birthday, which was when I picked up the instrument. She was never prejudice. My mother encouraged me to play. It wasn't until years later that I asked her about it. She said that, 'We're all a part of the same world Draco and we mustn't just ignore the things we don't understand or hurt the things we're afraid of. Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity, sweet heart. Remember that.' were her exact words." said Draco.

"I'm sorry." Hermione had to apologise.

"For what?" Draco was genuinely confused.

"I misjudged you Draco. I had you so wrong. I'm sorry." Hermione was shaking her head.

"That's not your fault. We all had our own ties. It's not like I made it obvious." He smiled.

"You can say that again..." She smiled. "You managed to keep this a secret for 6 years but when you're having your little escapades with every girl in Hogwarts you never thought to use a silencing charm when you're shagging their brains out in our shared dorm rooms?!" She scalded and playfully hit him with a pillow, grinning.

"Hey. It was unintentional..." Hermione gave him a knowing look. "...some of the time." He finished lamely, grinning like a five year old. They both laughed, Hermione shaking her head, smiling. The git is unbelievable.

"So tell me Hermione, who else did you father like?" Draco asked, genuinely interested in what Hermione had to say. I don't think I've had a girl in my bed this long without having removed any clothing and just sat and talked. The weirder thing is, is that I don't mind. I actually want the know-it-all to keep talking! Now that's ironic. Draco mused to himself. I wouldn't mind some clothing being removed also, but still...

"Well, he listened to loads of artists but he loved Rod Stewart, Van Morrison...he used to sing to me when I was younger." Hermione had glassy eyes now, but was smiling weakly. Everything was still so fresh. "The song Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison." She managed to say looking at Draco. "Do you know it?" He shook his head. "That's ok. Most nights I wouldn't go to sleep until he'd sung it. My mum would sit on my bed next to me, cuddling and rocking me whilst dad sat at the end of the bed, guitar in hand and singing." The tears were freely falling over her cheeks now and Draco placed his guitar at the end of his bed before taking Hermione in his arms, she didn't shy away but rather snuggled into Draco as much as she possibly could. He was making those soothing circles on her back again. They helped but she kept crying silently.

"Sshssshh." Draco hushed. "It's ok."

"It's not ok Draco, my father died without even remembering he had a daughter. I made him forget me...forever because I was selfish and I didn't get back in time and...and I miss him!" Hermione was openly crying now. "And my mother..." She couldn't even finish what she was going to say but Draco knew.

"Ssshhssh! I know, I know. It is ok Hermione and don't you effing dare blame yourself...for anything. Sorry to say this but your mother was an out of line bitch to you quite frankly. You are not selfish, what you did, sending your parents away, if that makes you anything it makes you bloody selfless, alright?!" She nodded and hugged Draco tightly. He could feel her wet tears running down his neck, he didn't mind. "And you know it's ok to miss him. I miss my father, I know he's not dead but I still..."

"Your father! Oh my god! Merlin, Draco!" Draco had been hushed by Hermione's sudden change in emotion. She was desperately trying to void her face of tears. Her hands were wiping her red cheeks and puffy eyes. "I'm so sorry, I almost forgot..." She sniffed, congested because of all the crying.

"Hermione tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong. Have you seen the Daily Prophet today?" She asked and had stopped crying.

"No, but what does that have to do with anything? Hermione!" Hermione had leapt out of Draco's comfy arms, off his bed and out of the door. Moments later she returned with what Draco could only guess was today's copy of the Daily Prophet. She handed it to Draco.

"Harry showed me this morning. We were talking about it at breakfast but then the whole Ron thing happened...I just forgot. I should have told you sooner, I'm sorry."

Draco was dangerously close to crying himself. There on the front page of the Prophet read, 'MALFOY BAIL UPGRADED TO PERMANENT RELEASE...Lucius Malfoy currently in Azkaban prison for previous associations with the dark lord has recently been awarded his freedom. Lucius Malfoy's bail hearing that was set to take place Tuesday of last week was upgraded to a full pardon on account of good behaviour. Mr Malfoy's 2 year sentence has been revoked to only a 6 month...' Draco trailed off, not believing what he'd just read. He gasped trying to catch his breath.

"He's coming home?" Draco's lips quivered, praying that this wasn't some kind of joke.

Hermione smiled at him. "By Christmas, yes. He only has two months left." Draco raised a hand to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose before he couldn't help but cry openly in front of her, the sound that escaped his lips was heartbreaking. Dropping the newspaper onto his covers, his hands came up to cover his eyes, his shoulders shaking. Immediately Hermione went to him, wrapping her arms around him and winding her fingers into his hair. It was her turn to comfort him and Draco accepted her embrace gratefully and his arms too went around her yet again.

"He's coming home?" Draco asked yet again, still not believing that he would be able to see his father in time for Christmas.

"Yes, Draco."

"Really?"

"Yes!" She laughed and so did he.

Draco and Hermione unwound themselves slightly so they could see each other better. Hermione reached up to Draco's face to wipe away his tears. Embarrassed Draco looked down, not wanting her to see him like this. Malfoy's don't cry! He reminded himself.

"Draco..." Hermione spoke softly.

"I thought I wasn't going to see him again for years. He would have missed my graduation. He left shortly after my 18th birthday, a week or so...he doesn't even know I'm head-boy." Said Draco. Hermione had never seen him so vulnerable so...she kissed him.

Draco's eyes closed when he felt her soft lips brush against his own. The pain in his head was soothed and automatically Draco kissed her back.

When Hermione pulled back she smiled at the boy with blonde hair that she saw sitting before her. Yes...boy. Draco Malfoy was indeed a man but at that moment Hermione saw a small child wanting his father. A few of Draco's bangs had fallen in front of his eyes and Hermione couldn't help it when she reached a hand up to gently brush them aside, only to then rest her hand in the hair at the nape of his neck. Draco smiled at her because of it.

"How about that song now?" Requested Hermione and Draco obliged all too easily.

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AN/: Xxxx Awwe the Malfoy family is getting back together! Yay. I love the Malfoys, if you guys love funny Snape, Narcissa, Lucius, Draco and Hermione...check out this fic called the mudblood exchange, it's not complete and it's a dAmn shame that the author has abandoned the fic but what is there is hilarious! Out of all the fics I've read that one just sticks with me :) READ IT! x Also I know that Draco's crying was a bit OOC here and his relationship with Lucius is different too but that's how I want it so suck it up! Another thing, somewhere in this chapter i used a Martin Luther King quote, review if you know what it is! :D Next Chapter, Draco sees something... :D remember to keep reviewing and tell me what you think should happen to Ron for his detention! Xx Mmwah Xx And thank you guys x