Chapter 4 - Friends?
Draco and Hermione had continued to spend time together over the next month or so.
He had met her parents, who it turned out lived in Perth, Western Australia, but had been visiting Sydney for a dentistry conference.
Hermione and Draco had spent time in both Sydney and Perth, thanks to apperation, and found that they had a lot in common.
Gradually they had told each other almost every aspect of their lives.
Draco had learnt that Hermione and Weasel had never been more than friends and that they loved each other like brother and sister. Potter and Ginny had married, as had Neville and Luna, and Pansy and Blaise.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was the current Minister for Magic. Cornelius Fudge had retried after the war, and settled into life as a political commentator for the Daily Prophet.
Hermione had learnt all about Draco's childhood, family and what it was like to be a death eater. He had told her all about the places he had visited, the ones he liked and the ones he didn't.
They found that they had a lot in common and conversation flowed easily.
One day they were sitting in a park, having a picnic, watching the people around them. Draco noticed that Hermione was watching a family.
"You'll have that someday" he said
Hermione looked at him, "Maybe" she replied
Draco looked at her, he could see what looked like defeat in her eyes.
"Maybe?" he questioned
"I'm not very good at relationships, and boys, men, tend to just want to be my friend rather than by boyfriend. So I guess I'm not expecting anything" she replied.
Draco just looked at her. He knew he was destined to spend his life alone, but he had accepted that. He could find women when he needed to, muggle or witch, but he knew he could never have a long relationship with them. No witch in their right mind would want to be with him once they realised he was a Malfoy and a Death Eater. He also doubted very much they would believe his father forced him into it. Long term relationships with muggle girls were out of the question too as there was no way he could live without magic, and it would just get complicated.
But Hermione, she was a war hero, the greatest witch of her time, she should and could have everything and anything she wanted.
Draco watched Hermione. She was stunningly beautiful, but he'd though that since the first time he saw her in Sydney. She was intelligent, they could talk for hours about everything from quidditch to politics.
He'd learnt she was loving, caring and forgiving. She'd been prepared to forgive him and develop their friendship.
Suddenly it clicked, and he realised that Hermione didn't see herself as beautiful. She didn't see all of the wonderful things about her. He shook his head, he'd have to convince her that she deserved to be happy.
Draco had spent more and more time thinking about Hermione. He couldn't see why she didn't see all the wonderful things about her. He then wondered why he had never noticed all of the amazing things about her either.
Hermione hadn't heard from Draco in a few days, and found herself thinking about him. She actually liked having him around, which was something that she never thought she would admit. He was charming and intelligent, plus he'd always been attractive. She could tell he was genuinely sorry for his past, and from what he had told her about his father she felt she understood him a lot more, and felt sorry that he had been through that.
She could sense that the guilt he felt was impacting on his life. He had shut himself away from the world he knew. Yes he had a nice apartment, but she was pretty sure she was his only friend. The couple who ran the coffee shop just down the road knew him as one of their regular customers, as did the local gym, but other than that she knew he limited contact with people.
She could understand why he wanted to get away after the war, the thought had crossed her mind too. She had been defined as one of the Golden Trio, one of the heroes, and yet she had felt lost and scared. She stayed to help those that had suffered, especially the Weasley's, and rebuilding Hogwarts. Then there was Harry and Ginny's wedding, and the first anniversary of the final battle.
It had been about eight months ago when she had finally had enough and headed to Australia to find her parents. Removing the memory charm had been easy enough, but the aftermath had been tough. Her parents took some convincing that what she had done was for the best, and eventually when they sat down and thought about things, they realised she had done what was necessary. They also realised that they loved it in Australia and decided to stay.
Friends and colleagues had been told she was their daughter, and that there had been a family falling out, which was why they never mentioned her. People seemed accepting and most didn't push for too much extra information, they just said they were happy that the family was reunited.
Hermione had spent the time, learning about her parents new life, and figuring out what she wanted to do. In the beginning she had headed back to England fairly regularly, but now her visits were getting less frequent. Of course she had been back most recently for the birth of James Sirius Potter, and they had all asked when she was coming home. She told them she was enjoying spending time with her parents and she was sure she would be home soon. She knew she was lying. She wasn't sure when she would be home, or if she would be home, or where home was.
It had been over a week since Hermione and Draco had seen each other. Draco had invited Hermione over for dinner, and they had spent the evening catching up and talking about various things, including her parents recent decision to take a holiday to New Zealand.
After dinner Draco had suggested they sit outside and watch the world go by. It was kind of their thing to do. Both so appreciative to still be in the world, and to be with someone who understood that.
They had sat on Draco's balcony, watching the night sky and the couples walking along the beach below. It was a comfortable silence.
Draco got up to get another bottle of wine, and returned carrying the wine and a blanket.
"You looked cold" he said as he passed it to Hermione. She smiled and threw the blanket over her legs.
Draco handed her her glass as he sat down, and Hermione moved the blanket so it was covering his legs too. This meant that they were sitting closer together.
As the night wore on, Hermione and Draco had continued to sit closer together, talking and drinking their wine. Hermione unconsciously leaned her head against Draco's chest as she started to feel tired. Instinctively Draco wrapped his arm around her, and they fell into another of their comfortable silences.
Draco realised that Hermione had fallen asleep, he smiled looking down at her, realising how peaceful and beautiful she looked. He moved very gently and slowly trying not to wake her, but Hermione stirred.
"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.
"Bedtime", he said has he picked Hermione up, and carried her into his bedroom. As he placed her onto his bed she whispered his name "Draco"
"Ssh" he answered, as he pulled the covers over her and went to leave the room.
"Stay"
He turned around to look at her, and he could see her eyes half open, as she struggled to stay awake.
"Stay, please, the bed is big enough for both of us"
Draco took a deep breath and left the room. As he collected everything from outside and locked the door he wondered if he could sleep in the same bed as Hermione or if he'd be better on the couch. But she'd ask questions if he slept on the couch he reasoned with himself.
Taking another deep breath, he re-entered his bedroom. He could see that Hermione had removed her jeans as they were now on the floor. He removed his jeans and t-shirt and climbed into the other side of the bed and stared at the ceiling.
He glanced at Hermione and smiled. She looked perfect. He knew he was falling in love with her, and he'd do anything to make her happy. Just like he knew that this was likely to be the only time that she would ever be in his bed.
Draco stared back up at the ceiling, realising that he was not going to get much sleep, when Hermione rolled over and snuggled into him. Draco's arms, again, instinctively wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him.
Eventually her steady breathing lulled him to sleep, and dreams of Hermione.
AN: Pls review and let me know what you think :)
I'm still writing the morning after, but I hope to update soon.