I want to thank;
GreenEyedPurpleRaven
SaruDM
Dramione4evr
ChelseyJ
CinziaTwut
MaronTodai
Daisy Seary
echizenochi
For their reviews!
The story is going to take a lighter turn now.
Well for most parts.
Of course there will be some sadness and emo content too.
But not much.
The flashbacks may be angsty though!
And I hope it's not going too slow.
Well, I've warned you ;)
I'm really kicked that you'll are enjoying how it's panning out to be.
It's really great that you'll have accepted OOC Draco with open arms too!
Well, Hermione helped him become OOC so in the flashbacks you'll will see how he was before she came into his life!
Also I have so many reviewers telling me that they enjoy the flashback scenes! I'm absolutely thrilled by that!
They are my favourite parts of the story!
When this idea popped into my head (whilst I was in the shower, if you remember my first A/N :-p) I knew I had to incorporate a story that was going ahead in terms of time but still stuck in the past!
And flashbacks were the only way!
Yeyy for them!
Kay, I may have been on a yoga followed by shopping high; that explains the rambling.
Maybe you just want me to get on with the story, yeah?
I'm outta your way now ;)
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CHAPTER 22.
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They stood like that for several minutes, Draco just holding her and rubbing soothing patterns on her back.
After few circles he decided on alphabets and after 'Z' when she still didn't seem to budge he started rubbing patterns of numbers from 0 onwards.
He didn't want to talk to her right now.
Well, he did obviously but he didn't think it was the time. She would have to be the opening spokesperson here.
At 39 he realised that his shirt was dripping and the tears were now seeping through and had caused his wet shirt to cling to his chest and abdomen, in turn wetting his torso too.
Not very comfortable. But he continued to stay that way.
At 57 the moisture was reaching his waistband. Maybe he was counting too fast.
Wow. It was amazing how many tears a small little tear gland can produce and hold.
At 65, she steadied herself and put some distance between them.
Her eyes were red and puffy and her nose was suffused but there wasn't any outright sadness reflecting in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. Oh dear, look at your shirt!" She said surveying her handiwork.
Before he could even say its okay, she snapped open her clutch and retrieved her wand and dried him in an instant.
Then she conjured a wet and a dry napkin and proceeded to freshen herself.
Draco was amazed at how logical she could be even in this state.
Well, that was Hermione. Logical was her middle name.
Not really. It was Jean. But you know what he meant.
Practicality and logic oozed from every thought and decision that Hermione Granger made. Except for the running away decision.
But Draco couldn't bring himself to blame her for that.
He knew what it felt like to have something that you loved so much being taken away from you.
And when that happened, you don't want to be next to anyone.
Hell, you can hardly be with yourself. So the only thing plausible seems to be creating distance.
He had done it too, had he not?
In 6th year, before her wedding and in his own head.
So how could he judge her for something he was guilty of too in the first place?
But all that didn't matter now. What mattered that Hermione was getting closer each day at giving herself another shot at happiness.
And he hoped that his idea today had not scared her too much.
She blew her nose rather loudly and that jerked Draco away from his own thoughts.
She threw him an apologetic glance and vanished her napkin and gave one final cleansing pat to her face with the dry one before vanishing that too.
He smiled at her and she returned it with a small but genuine smile of her own.
He conjured a glass and filled it with water from his wand tip and offered it to her.
She needed to replenish her tear glands after all.
"Thanks." She said as she accepted the glass and gulped down the liquid.
"Thank you." She repeated after she was done drinking the water.
"Granger, its only water. You don't need to thank me twice." He chuckled.
"No. For this. For getting me here. And practically pushing me into this. I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for you." She said.
"So I take it that you enjoyed your experience?" He asked.
"Let's just say it was life altering." She smiled.
He smiled wider.
He didn't need her to further her words or explain better.
The sentence she had said and the calm tears and the serene look on her face was enough to show him that he had achieved what he had desired to when he had brought her here.
Besides, the first time he had done this, in South Africa, he was swimming in a plethora of emotions. He could totally relate to what Hermione must have felt like.
"Even though I promised myself that if we survived this, I'd kill you the moment we are on land, I think it's safe to say that I've changed my mind. Consider yourself lucky." Hermione mock-glared at Draco.
Draco just flashed her a brilliant smile and said "So up for another go then?"
Hermione almost turned pale before she gave him a scorching look. "Don't push it Malfoy."
He laughed and casually draped an arm around her shoulders as they made their way back to a lonely patch from where they apparated home.
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"What are you doing?" Draco asked her from the kitchen.
Hermione had never been partial to home cooked meals since she had shifted to Australia.
Muggle frozen foods were her saviour but now that Draco was here, he was not going to let her or himself for that matter ever rely on that vile readymade frozen excuse they called food.
"I'm looking for parchment." She replied.
"You won't find it here Granger. Why would I have parchment here?" He asked, tossing some red wine generously into the pasta.
"Umm I don't know, maybe to write on?" She retorted.
"Clever. But you're here. I don't need to write now." He said as the pasta cooked and he buttered the bread with garlic paste mixed with butter and cheese.
"Oh." She said simply as she straightened up. "I'll just pop over at mine and get some writing material then."
She popped out before he could say anything.
She had modified the wards so that either of them could apparate into each other's flats. In spite of her earlier misgivings, she had finally given in.
Just as Draco was putting the bread into the oven she popped back again looking rather excited.
"If I'm not mistaken, it looks like you're going to write a letter." Draco said eyeing her warily. "Silly me."
"What's so silly? Your deductions are correct." Hermione said as she dipped her quill in the ink.
Draco almost dropped the ladle he was stirring the pasta with.
"You're actually writing a letter?" He asked again.
"Yep." She said casually.
Don't get excited Draco. He told himself. It might be a work related letter.
"To whom? If I may ask?" He said carefully.
"To Ginny. And Harry of course." She said rather cheerfully.
Mental fist pump. And a pat on the back. Ok Malfoy. You can get excited now, he told himself as he found himself smiling victoriously.
"Didn't you say they were holidaying somewhere? I believe there are still a couple of days left till they return." Draco inquired.
"Yeah. I know. But I'm charged right now. I thought about it you know. After the jump and all. And what if I had died during?" Hermione paused.
Draco rolled his eyes at this.
"Yes. So I was thinking better now than later. Also the resolve is strong right now. I want to write it before I have the chance to get down from the adrenaline high and back out." She said.
"Oh-kay. Sounds like a plan then." He said, tasting the pasta and nodding his head in approval.
"Yeah. So I'm going to write this letter and hand it over to you. And over the next two days I may undergo a change of mind and become all nervous. I may even threaten you. But you must, under no circumstance.s give in okay? Come Thursday and you have to owl the letter." Hermione panted.
Draco just stood there,looking at her with an expression that mirrored amusement and wonder, two plates laden with pasta in hand, when the buzzer on the oven went off.
He shook his head at the madness that was Hermione Granger and went over to retrieve his precious cheese garlic bread.
His mad, bushy haired, bossy friend was back. Or at least she was on her way back.
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Yeah! So this was post adventure happenings!
Anyone noticed how I always make the male protagonists in my stories cook?
Well I have written only 2 stories, well 2 HP ones, and 1 Vampire diaries one: though needless to say even if I want to I can't make vampires cook. I could actually, this is FF after all!
Anywho, the point is that I'm absolutely obsessed about the idea of a man who can cook. I think it's incredibly sexy! (May have something to do with the fact that I'm lazy to cook and I love food!)
Sigh. To add to the fictional list of virtues and wants in the 'perfect' guy! (That's why I said fictional, don't run to correct me ;))
I think my rants are as long as the chapter in this one, don't judge me! I'm just feeling excessively talkative today!
And for those who want to talk back, the review blue thingy down there will let you do exactly that!
And this time a heartfelt 'thanks for reading' (even my A/N's.)
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