Spellbound

Chapter Nine

"It's so good to see you, Hermione. It's been ages." Harry said, smiling at the girl across from him. "I've been wanting to meet with you, just didn't know if anyone would be okay with it..."

Hermione didn't know if 'anyone' referred to Draco or Ron, but didn't press it. "How have you been? And GInny?"

"Good. Really good, actually. Did she tell you she was pregnant?"

"Of course not. Congratulations! How long have you known?"

"About 3 or 4 weeks. She never mentioned it?" Harry didn't knnow why she wouldn't have.

"No, she didn't. Bitch." Hermione laughed a little. "So... How is he?"

Harry knew who Hermione meant. "A lttle better, I guess. Still seems kind of lost. But he's actually getting out of bed for more than 5 minutes at a time. And he's eating and showering... Well, sometimes showering... He's let the shaving go by the wayside, though... He looks like a mountain man, actually..." Harry chuckled a bit.

Hermione sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I have to go home, don't I, Harry?"

Harry shook his head slowly. "I can't make that decision for you. I can help, but I can't tell you what to do."

"Then, help. Because I am at a complete loss here. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."

"Okay... Well, how has the past 6 weeks been compared to before?"

"It's been... Great. And wonderful. And stressless. Draco is really not what I thought he'd turn out to be like. He's kind and warm and... And he actually does the things I want to do." Hermione sighed. "But I have a family. And I have a husband. And I have an obligation to make the best decisions concerning that family. And I really haven't done that."

"What about the guys? How are they compared to each other?" Harry absentmindedly swirled his drink in his cup. He already knew how this was going to end up, Hermione just had to reach the conclusion herself.

"Draco is... Great. I really do like him. He's funny and caring and so different from what he used to be..."

"But...?" Harry smiled a bit. He knew she had gotten her answer.

"But I love my husband. I love Ronald Weasley." She smiled a bit and her face flushed. "It's always been him. Hasn't it, Harry? It's always been that red-haired boy with dirt on his nose, trying to turn his rat yellow that first day on the train." Hermione brought her hand to her mouth. "And I've known this all along, haven't I?"

"I think you've answered your own questions, Hermione." Harry grinned.

"If only he might take me back. I wouldn't if I were him. I screwed up, more than I deserve forgiveness for."

"Trust me. He'll take you back. I know he will. You just have to lay down the law."

"Yes, definitely. Things will have to change."

Harry nodded. "Now you just have to talk to Draco, you know... "

Hermione cringed. "And Mrs. Weasley..."

"I'll manage to stay away from The Burrow during that conversation." Harry chuckled. "But I think she'll forgive you in time."

"Thank you so much, Harry. I know I could have gotten here by myself, but it would have taken way longer. Maybe too long."

x x x

Hermione apparated into the hotel room, and sullenly looked at Draco. "Can I talk to you out on the balcony?"

"Yeah... Sure... What's the matter?"

"We have to talk..."

Draco's heart fell. Those words were never good coming from a female. Or anyone, for that matter. "What about?" He asked, after he had followed her outside.

"I'm going home. And you need to, as well." Hermione said, bluntly.

"What? Why? What about-?"

"We can't do this anymore, Draco." Hermione sighed. "As lovely as this has been, I have a family I need to worry about. And so do you. You need to go home and tell your wife that she needs to stop seeing whoever she's seeing and that you need to be a family. This isn't right, you and me. And as much as I want to stay, I can't. Deep down, I can tell you love your wife. And I love my husband. And that's who we need to be with. We aren't frivolous teenagers anymore. We need to do what's right for our families."

"Hermione..." Draco had begun forming a speech in his head, but it disappeared. "You're right... Aren't you?"

"Always have been. Always will be." She smiled a bit. "I do care for you, Draco. Always will. But we have responsibilities and we've let them go for all of this." She placed a kiss on his cheek. "If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here. But only to talk. Nothing else."

"I understand. Thank you for this... Vacation from reality, I guess. I've definitely enjoyed your company. Among other things." Draco smirked. "I guess I can officially say, I'm one of the only two people who've seen you naked... And, not that I'll cash in on it, but I think I won the bet between a few friends and I that we made 5th year."

"You made a bet about what I looked like naked?" Hermione looked at Draco like he was on drugs.

"I always thought there was something hiding behind all that hair and teeth." Draco grinned as Hermione smacked him in the arm. "And I was right." The pair laughed. "You've turned into quite a beautiful woman, Hermone."

"I'm glad this went well. I do care for you a lot, Draco."

"Right back at you. Come on, I'll help you pack."

An hour later, when the room was cleaned and cleared of extra junk, the pair stared at each other. "So, this is good bye?" Draco said, a little sadly.

"For now. Maybe one of these days, we could still be friends."

"I'm going to miss you, Hermione. I really am."

"I'm going to miss you, as well. But this is what's best."

They shared one last, long kiss before Draco and Scorpius apparated out and Hermione, Rose, and Hugo walked downstairs to check out. Before closing the door to the hotel room, Hermione took one last glance, not wanting to forget for a minute. But then quickly closed the door. This was just one tiny part of her life. She had many more great moments to come. She just knew it.

X X X