Chapter 1

It's been a week since Draco Malfoy's offer. A week that was becoming more and more hell for her every day. The hell of feeling trapped inside. She felt Harry's eyes on her as she passed his office at the Ministry of Magic. She felt Ginny's eyes every time she came to visit her boyfriend.

Hermione had the impression that the red-haired girl blamed her for the breakup of her relationship with Ron. She knew for sure that Molly had blamed her for it.

She leaned back in the chair she was sitting on. She closed her eyes as she tried to remember the last time she felt relaxed.

Former Gryffindor wanted to run away. From everything and from those who blamed her for Ron cheating on her. From the hypocrisy of Harry, who, in order to protect his relationship with the youngest child of the Weasleys, completely broke off contact with her. If only she had the courage to say yes. She knew the former Slytherin would be able to take care of her. But how could she say yes to him if she wasn't sure she could feel anything more than sympathy. The sympathy they had worked so hard to earn during their last year at Hogwarts.

"Hermione…" - Her secretary's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Mrs. Adelle had worked here since the previous Director of Magical Beings Management. If Hermione were to be honest with herself, Mrs. Adelle Westwood should be in her position.

"Something happened? Did I miss a meeting?" - she asked confused. The older witch wasn't in the habit of bothering her with things she could do without her.

"Nothing happened. You got the parcel. The courier came with flowers, but before I bring them here, I need to know if you are allergic to flowers other than roses. I don't want you to have an anaphylactic attack again." - Confusion was evident on the woman's face.

Hermione remembered well the last bouquet Ron had given her as an apology. A beautiful bouquet of tea roses had been placed on her desk before she even got to work. Her body's reaction was almost immediate. - "What flowers are in the bouquet this time?"

A smile appeared on the older woman's face. - "Forget-me-nots. I suspect someone wants to remind you of themselves. There's no note on the bouquet, so I guess it shouldn't be a mystery to you who sent it."

Damned Malfoy. - "I know who must have sent it. You can bring the bouquet inside. "- A moment passed and Hermione saw the color of the flowers brought. Pink forget-me-nots. From what she remembered, one of the meanings of pink forget-me-nots was eternal love.

xxx

He walked through the corridors of the Ministry with a smile on his face. He was going to give her all the time she needed for his proposal. A proposal that resulted not only from his feelings but also from an impulse. He knew Hermione well enough to know it wasn't worth pushing her. In any area of her life. But he also knew that she liked being adored. And he wasn't going to deny himself the pleasure of adoring her.

They became close during their final year at Hogwarts. He suspected that the fact that he had become Head Boy helped him. He finally got a chance to spend time alone with her. Without the addition of Harry Potter and one of the Weasley siblings. It was then that he had the opportunity to understand some of the feelings he had for the energetic brunette. And then he realized that he had fallen in love with her.

He fell in love so much that he knew no woman would be able to replace her in his heart. It was then that he decided that he would do anything to spend the rest of his life by her side. He just had to be patient.

"Good morning, Lord Malfoy." - Theo's secretary voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Draco looked at the woman who was the first Squib to get a job at the Ministry as part of the program to keep Squibs in the Wizarding World. - "Mr. Nott is free at this moment. Do you want to be announced?"

"If he's not busy right now, I'll just go in." - He smiled at the woman he would have tried to recruit into the family business if she hadn't been working for his friend. Noticing the yarn on the desk, he quickly added - "What are you doing this time?"

"A sweater for my son."

He knew that he was still almost the same boy he had been in the past, only that now he didn't have to pretend to be someone he wasn't or create a pretense to preserve his reputation. He built his reputation from scratch. What changed in him was that he began to appreciate the Muggle part of the world.

He leaned towards Penelope and whispered in her ear. - "Someday I will order sweaters from you for my son or ... daughter."

He couldn't wait to hold his baby in his hands. He couldn't wait to hold their children in his hands. Without giving the woman a chance to respond, he entered the office of one of the Auror Chiefs, quietly enough to see what he could catch Theodore Nott doing. Another former Slytherin who was totally in love with a girl who paid no attention to him and with whom he managed to befriend.

He just wondered how he could get Luna Lovegood's attention before she became Luna Scamander.

xxx

As she looked through the documents that had accumulated on her desk in the two days she had been away, Hermione wondered if she still wanted work here. She has always dreamed of having her own library or bookstore. The library wasn't a very profitable idea considering that she had to earn a living, but the bookstore… She was sure that the money from the award accompanying the Order of Merlin would be able to buy the building in Diagon Alley. Especially now when many of the shops didn't revive their activity after the war.

She quickly got up and went to the bookshelf to get the blank parchment. She finally had to give him an answer. She thought that if she was willing to change her life so drastically in the professional sphere, then perhaps she should try to give herself a chance in the private sphere. Especially since she was still treated as Ronald Weasley's property by many wizards. Perhaps Malfoy's proposal was her chance to get the family she so desperately wanted.

"I wish I didn't regret it." - She said as she closed the envelope after writing a few words. - "I wish I didn't regret it." - she said as she started to write her resignation from work. With a notice in which she indicated Adelle as a candidate for her deputy.

She couldn't help noticing how relieved she felt. Relief not only because something will finally change in her life. But also relief because she won't have to look at the people who have let her down so much every day. Smiling, she skimmed the forget-me-nots, wondering how much her life would change.

xxx

"Who do I see here?" - The annoyance in Theo's voice was all too clear. - "What brings you here?"

Draco looked at the dark-haired wizard. It made him notice something he had missed before. Nott was more than tired. He was also wearing the same set of robes he had seen him in the day before. Sitting down in one of the empty chairs that looked very much like the ones in the Slytherin Common Room, he said. - "I gave Granger flowers. I guess I should ask what happened? You look like me after a week with the Vanishing Cabinet."

"Are you joking about that?" - A smirk appeared on Theo's face. - "Who performed this miracle? You haven't even talked about it for a long time."

He had been seeing a Muggle psychologist since the end of the war. He didn't feel like telling anyone. - "Question for question? It's even below you."

"Luna said she'd go on a date with me if I could prove the existence of Nargles." - His voice was deadly serious. - "I can't find any information about them. At first I thought it was just a fancy way of saying no to me. Then I thought I'd ask about her. I asked a few Aurors who were with her in Ravenclaw, and it turns out she actually believes in their existence. If only I had a starting point..."

He didn't know what to say. He had an encounter with Luna during his sixth year at Hogwarts. Crazy as he thought at first, the blonde made it a point of honor to be his friend. She thought he was lonely and no one deserved that. Although their acquaintance didn't survive, he still felt a fondness for this witch.

"She once told me about the Nargles, but I never had the courage to ask her what the Nargles are."

Theo ran his hands through his hair in frustration that he now looked like Potter getting out of bed. Or rather, what Draco thought Potter might look like right out of bed.

"Enough about my problems. Will you at least tell me what flowers you bought Hermione?"

"I gave her a bouquet of pink forget-me-nots that I grew myself. I know it's no big deal, but I'm proud of them."

After a moment of silence, the dark-haired wizard said. - "I know that you have loved her for a long time, but I never thought that you would decide to fight for her."

Draco felt his trademark smirk appear on his face. - "You don't believe in me that much? I would wait as long as it takes. I knew Weasley would screw up sooner or later. I just didn't think it would happen so quickly. And I didn't think Granger wouldn't give him another chance."

"That's good for her. She respects herself and expects her man to respect her as she respects herself."

In silence, he considered the words of the wizard sitting at the desk. Theo was right. Granger wanted to be respected and he knew that he could give her that.

xxx

He slammed the door shut as Ginny ran out of his office. With each passing day, he understood less and less why he fell in love with her. He only wondered if it was because SHE looked less and less like the girl he wanted to start a family with or because HE had changed too much.

He hurriedly walked over to his desk, took a cup of coffee in his hand, and threw it against the wall. It brought momentary relief. Too momentary to be enough to calm him down.

He had had doubts about the relationship with Ron's sister before. It started long before his relationship with Hermione fell apart. In fact, the first doubts appeared before they went on the hunt for Horcruxes. That was the real reason he broke up with her then.

He never admitted it to anyone.

Further doubts arose when he kissed Blaise Zabini during an integration party. It was one short kiss. A kiss during which he felt more than during sex with his fiancée.

A month later, he wanted to break up with her. She told him she was pregnant.

After another month, it turned out that Ron had started cheating on Hermione because of her unwillingness to engage in a sex life with him and her emotional frigidity. He chose Ginny. because he didn't want to leave the baby.

Another month passed and it turned out that Ginny was no longer pregnant and he didn't have the conscience to leave her when their family began to burst at the seams.

However, recently he was beginning to wonder if his fiancée had ever been pregnant. He was afraid to know the truth. He wasn't sure if he was ready to know the truth. He loved the Weasleys, but he knew that if he left them, there would be no way back.

Without a word, he cleaned up the mess and sat down at his desk. He knew he had a lot to think about. And many bridges to fix. He also would like to kiss Blaise again. He wanted to know if what he felt then was real or was it caused by the alcohol he had drunk.

If it had only been alcohol, he would have to forgot what his mouth tasted like.

xxx

I'm not sure about this chapter. I wanted to leave Harry with Ginny but at the last minute I added a paragraph about kissing Blaise. I hope you liked the chapter. Regards, Katie Krum