Draco stood in his penthouse, taking one last look at the place. His packed suitcases sat on a gold cart by the door, Marcus the bell boy gripping the cold metal.
"Ready to go, Mr. Malfoy?" asked Marcus.
Draco drew in a deep breath. This was his last chance. He'd return to the wizarding world for six months. If he couldn't make it work, couldn't get past the demons in that old house and his old life, Draco vowed to return to Vegas and never leave again.
"Yes, Marcus. Thank you." With his head high and his lips pressed in a tight line, Draco followed Marcus out of the room and let it lock shut behind him for the last time.
Goodbye Las Vegas and Hello... he didn't know what he was going to do.
Draco could have apparated. He could have used a floo or a portkey, but he wanted one last chance at the muggle world. At the bustle of cramped airport and the smell of Starbucks coffee. In the muggle world, he could be anything he wanted to be – and that was a kind of magic of its own.
He almost turned around, but he couldn't run forever. And something had happened to Draco that made him tired of running, ready to face his past once and for all.
Draco had a window seat on the plane. Thank Merlin for first class, he thought, as he shifted on the plush blue seats and reclined his head against the thick glass. The flight attendant brought him a glass of scotch and he swirled it in his hand as he looked over the desert.
He had a layover in Los Angeles and then to London but for now he couldn't seem to get his mind off bright brown eyes and curly hair. He wondered if he'd see Hermione again when he returned to the wizarding world. Did he even want to? What would he do if he did? Draco pushed the thoughts away. He had to. Hermione would return to her life and so would he. It would be as if nothing had ever happened.
As if he never kissed her. But it could never really be like that because Draco could never forget the sweet taste of her mouth, the curve of her neck beneath his hand.
When he finally arrived at Malfoy Manor, he stood at the door, his heart pounding. He almost turned around and left. He almost ran but something kept his feet glued the stoop. He wanted to see his parents again. He wanted to make things right. But how, Draco didn't know?
With a deep breath, he pushed open the door. Terror coursed through him. Regret too – could he handle it here? Could he learn to forgive himself with the constant reminders of what he had done? "Mother? Father? Anyone home?" he called out, needing to talk to another person before this place made him crazy.
No reply.
A few moments later he heard feet pounding down the stairs and the high voice of his mother. "Draco! Draco, is that you?"
He smiled when he saw her face. Those dark eyes and her blonde hair he noticed had started to gray at the roots. "Hello, Mother."
She flung her thin frame into his arms. He hugged her back, breathing in the familiar scent of lilac that always accompanied his mother. "You didn't tell us you were coming back?" her voice cracked. She placed a kiss on her cheek. "We have so much to do... so much to tell you."
Her hand grabbed his and she tugged him deeper into the house. He tensed as flashes of what he'd done in this place slapped him like a cold hand. In the foyer he'd used the cruciatus curse on a muggleborn named Samuel Hatters. In the kitchen he'd watched Voldemort smack his father across the face with his own cane. Draco felt all the blood rush out of his face and to his feet. He had no idea how his parents managed to stay here after everything that happened.
"Where's father?" asked Draco.
Narcissa huffed. "Dealing with the Ministry again."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh they've been doing random dark object searches every other week since the end of the war. It's getting tiresome. They never find anything."
"Not because we don't have any."
Narcissa elbowed Draco. "Hush."
Draco stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a familiar, formal but warm voice around the corner.
"Mr. Malfoy I will be conducting the random searches of your house from now on. Trust me I want to be here just as much as you want me to be here." Hermione stood by the window in a tight black skirt and white blouse. Her eyes focused harshly on Lucius Malfoy who glared back at her.
"How many years will we have to put up with this?" snarled Lucius.
"Maybe you should have thought about that before-" Hermione's eyes flashed to the cracked open doors that led to the dining room. The place where Draco had watched his aunt torture her. Where he had heard her shrill, broken screams.
Narcissa cleared her throat and Hermione's eyes flashed to Draco.
"Draco?" Surprise painted Hermione's face.
"Afternoon, Granger," he forced the words. He had no idea how to treat her. She was a Ministry official. Here to harass his family. A muggleborn. Here she was an enemy. So why was all he saw her smile right before he kissed her on the hood of his car?
Thanks for reading. If you get a chance, please review. Things are going to get more complicated between Draco and Hermione now that they have to balance their real lives with an attraction for each other that is not accepted. Thanks for all the reviews, favs and follows.