Author's Note-Sorry it's been so long since I updated, Summertime maks me lazy. I will try to update 'How to survive' very soon...until then enjoy. Happy reading and don't forget to review!

The gift

When Hermione opened her eyes the candle was extinguished, but Ron was still there.

'Bother.' she thought. She still loved him of course, but the addiction to Draco was strong, primal even.

"What did you wish for?" he asked as he cut her a piece of cake.

"I can't tell you that." she smiled "It won't come true."

"Oh, come on…" Ron said. "How will I know if I got you the right thing for your birthday?"

'Because you couldn't if you wanted to.' she thought.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll love whatever it is." she struggled to smile.

"Good!" he said eagerly. He rushed off to get his gift. He returned with a large white box with a red satin ribbon on it.

"Thank you." she said taking the awkward box from Ron.

"Open it!" he said excitedly

"I am…unless you want to?"

"Of course not. I just want to see your face." he grinned.

She smiled back weakly.

Her hand trembled as she undid the ribbon and let it fall to the floor. Ron's smile widened every second she took to open the gift. Hermione slid her finger underneath the lid and lifted it off. There was white tissue paper on top of the item which Hermione too soon realized was an item of clothing.

'Great.' she thought. Ron was not known for his taste in clothing.

Slowly she peeled back the tissue paper and was even more horrified. It was sheer, pink and covered in ruffles. A baby doll nightgown. The tag said it was from Victoria's secret. A tiny pink bow was nestled between the bust. There was a matching pair of bikini panties inside as well.

"Oh." she gasped. She needed a moment to think of what to say.

"You like it don't you?" he asked. It was clear from his face that he absolutely adored it.

"Oh, well yes of course I like it. It's beautiful. Not something I would normally wear." she told him. She didn't wear things that short. The length was barely to mid-thigh.

"Come on and put it on." he said pulling at her hand. "I want to make sure it fits."

"Oh I don't know." she stalled. "It's been a long day."

"Please…" he begged.

"Ronald…" she sighed. "I don't really think I'm up for it."

She put the nightie back into the box.

Ron gawked at her.

"Hermione, come on…it's your birthday." he probed. "I thought we could have a special night."

"It is special. But I need to take a shower, I'm so tired."

His face fell.

"I'm sorry." she said.

"Yeah, you've been tired for months now." he said looking away from her. "Maybe you should see a healer."

"I'm just stressed out. Work and Rose leaving for school. It's all catching up with me." she said trying to soothe what was turning south quickly.

"Come off it Hermione. Just say it. We haven't had sex for almost six months. It's not just work and Rose. It's something else. So just tell me." he said raising his voice a bit.

"Really…it's nothing."

"Yeah it is. Do you know how frustrated I am?" he spat. "I'm only a man."

"And I'm not a machine." she said back bitterly.

"You could show me some attention. Some appreciation." he said loudly.

"I do. I try." she said back.

"I've been doing a lot more than my share since you started 'working' with Draco." Ron sneered.

"And I did more than my share when the kids were much younger. I gave up working full time; I did all the cooking and cleaning. So you are just doing your fair share now." she reasoned.

"No. I've been wracking my brain trying to get your attention. Some kind of emotional response from you. And so far…nothing."

"Well excuse me Ronald Weasley. I'm not used to you showing more of an emotional range. I have a lot on my mind."

"Yeah…like who?" he said just loud enough for her to hear.

"Like who?" she shouted.

"Forget it."

"Like who? I cannot believe you said that! What exactly are you accusing me of?"

"Never mind!" Ron shouted.

"No, no you started this! You are not walking away from me." she said. Her hair was coming out of the knot she had put it in and looking wild and untamed.

"Fighting with you is pointless." he said. "You always have to be right. You never listen to anyone else's point of view, or feelings. It's not worth my time. I'm going out."

"Out?"

"Yes out." he said heading towards the door. She knew that meant he was going out in muggle London.

"When will you be back?" she asked. He had never 'gone out' before.

"I don't know. Don't wait up." he said bitterly.

"Wait!" she shouted, but it was too late. He walked out the door ran to the car, squealing the tires as he sped out.

Large tears welled up in Hermione's eyes as she watched her husband drive off at top speed. She buried her face in her hands and cried. What kind of person had she become?

Draco sat in his office that evening pondering what to do about Hermione. She was married, even if it was to a huge prat, and he had to respect her decision, whatever that may be. He was being selfish to think that she would just leave her life, her family and her friends to come away with him. It was the most far fetched thing he had ever heard. He stood up and paced the floor. He didn't know how he would go the weekend without speaking to her, but he knew he had to, for her sake and the sake of her family. He would not be the cause of her broken home. That was one thing he knew for sure. It was bad enough that he had received papers from Asteria wanting a large portion of his business. He didn't care, as long as he retained custody of Scorpius. He knew his father would fight it; and for now that was not on his mind. Hermione was. She ran through his mind all that night. He wondered if she was having a good birthday. He wondered if her 'husband' was making her feel the way he had this afternoon. Not that it was his business mind you; he didn't have the right to demand her of being only with him. She was married, but the thought of that tall, gangly moron touching her made Draco feel slightly ill.

'You have no right to think that.' he told himself. 'You are her distraction, nothing more.'

But deep inside he knew he wanted more. She had become his other half, his soul mate even; if he believed in such lunacy. Hermione made him feel more complete than he had in his entire life. Not just physically but mentally. And he was thankful to have her in any capacity. He looked down at his watch and noticed it was still early. He decided to go and buy her a birthday gift. Something special. And he thought Flourish and Blotts would be the place to go. He apparated there from his home and just caught the man before he closed up for the night.

"Please…I need to find a gift for someone. I'll make it worth your while." he said handing the man a hundred galleons.

The man's face lit up and he opened the door back up happily.

"Take your time." he said. "I'll be waiting up here."

Draco nodded and headed off into the massive bookstore. He eyed potion books, spell books, charm books, cook books and every other normal book in the store. At the very back of the store there was a small section called. 'Muggle reading section'.

"Hmmm…" he thought. 'Maybe she would like something in there." Draco walked into the cramped section and browsed the shelves. There were many books, most of which he hadn't heard of. Then one title stood out.

Pride and Prejudice

That was the summary of his life. Pride of being a pureblood and prejudice against those who weren't. He picked up the book and flipped through it. It was a mediocre condition third edition, published in the late 1800's. Draco made his way to the front to check out.

"Ah, excellent choice sir. Very rare to find one of Ms. Austin's books in such good condition."

"How much?" Draco wondered. There were no prices on the muggle books.

"One thousand galleons." the man said confidently.

"Done." he said pulling out a small satchel and dumping the contents on the counter. "You can count it if you like. Keep whatever is left."

"Thank you sir!" the man said. "Can I wrap it for you?"

"No, no thank you." Draco said taking the book and heading for the door. "Thank you for all your help."

"Thank you!" the man squealed again. Draco heard the bell tinkle behind him and a lock click before the man shouted gleefully. He apparated home sat in his favorite chair in front of the fireplace and opened the book. The story touched him, knowing how things used to be for him, how similar he used to be to Mr. Darcy. And the strong independence in Elizabeth reminded him of Hermione. He smiled as he placed the book in a box with a ribbon and attached a small note inside the book and one on the outside of the box.

The note on the outside simply said;

Happy Birthday Hermione

DM

The one on the inside wasn't really a note, more of a bookmark to a certain quote inside. It said;

Chapter 60

He called his owl and sent the package off to Hermione's office. He didn't want her to open it in front of others. So he would have to sit and wait until he talked to her on Monday to see if she understood what he was trying to say.

Hermione fell asleep in the chair waiting for Ron to come back, but by 3 am he hadn't yet returned. She wiped her eyes, stretched and stood up, briefly losing her balance. She entered the kitchen and found the remnants of her birthday cake, none of it touched. She shrugged and cut a larger than normal piece for herself. She felt awful, and worse she was feeling a strong urge to find Draco. She swallowed the cake and fought internally about that idea.

'Its ludicrous Hermione.' she told herself, 'You need to control yourself, you're not an animal.'

Hermione looked at the slowly ticking clock. Thank Merlin it was Saturday and she didn't have to get up early for work tomorrow. She finished that piece of cake and then another, eating away all the anger and lust she was feeling inside. She stopped herself from going and owling Draco several times.

'I'm not going to make it the whole weekend without…' she frowned. 'What am I saying?' she thought. 'I love Ronald. I am going to stay married to him. I will just have to get over this…need.'

She resolved herself to this and took a long shower before going to bed. By the time her head hit the pillow she heard the front door slam shut.

She kept her eyes open, waiting for him to come into the bedroom. She heard him banging around in the kitchen and something being thrown away. Then Ron started down the hallway, humming an odd tune under his breath. He staggered in, obviously drunk. She pretended to be sleeping as he pulled off his clothing and left it lying wherever it fell. Then he half plopped, half fell onto the bed and covered himself up. He said nothing to her. But a scent hit her. It was perfume, and it wasn't hers.