A/N: I'm currently looking for a Beta for this story- send me a PM or review if you're intrigued and please read my A/N below. Thanks.
Warnings: This Chapter contains language that is unbecoming of a Lady- and is not to be repeated by younger audiences.
Warning: Also there are scenes of nudity and scenes that some viewers may find disturbing.
Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.
Chapter 5: The Truth
After having no success in being able to express her views and to tell her story to Draco, Hermione made her way to her guest suite, taking off her heels she plodded out of the French windows onto the balcony overlooking the Malfoy estate's large five acre expanse of gardens.
Stepping out to look at the navy blue sky with twinkling stars, the whole scene looked to be holes in a dark material where a light was shining through. She barely felt the fresh but bitter cold air numbing her bare toes. Being here, able to look at the sky reminded her of Hogwarts and during her seventh year as head girl, she had had the added benefit of a balcony, unlike the original head boy/girl rooms within each of the House dormitories that had housed the extra students who had missed their seventh year due to the Second Wizarding War.
Head Boy and Head Girl, Draco and Hermione were given the benefit of a joint dormitory together sharing a bathroom as the Prefects' bathroom was too far away for them to amble to every day. The dorm consisting of a small lounge area, two bedrooms, each with a double size bed and an adjoining bathroom, a joint balcony, as well as the usual items found in the other House Dormitories of Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry.
Staring at the night sky, she made a few decisions. She was starting a fresh in the romance department, she was divorcing Ronald Weasley. 'It shouldn't be a hard job we didn't use any Wizarding bonds and as such, I only needed proof of infidelity. Easy.' So that left her having to find a new home. 'Either that, or burn the sheets off the bed to get rid of any evidence of their tryst.'
After setting her plans onto her to-do list, she began thinking of memories they'd shared over the years; from first year and the troll, to the most current event; finding him in bed with 'A Bitch, man eating, man-stealing whore, who will Fuck any man who is alive.' Whisking through the memories made her lose track of time and a cold breeze woke her from her day-dreams. 'Time to turn into bed its late' turning around she found an unexpected and frankly unwanted sight of Draco Malfoy leaning against the door frame with a blank face. 'Fuck' she thought, knowing he could have seen everything she was thinking with him being an accomplished Legilimens.
"How long have you been here?"
"Long enough."
"What do you want?"
"To talk," he stated as if that would be the only reason he was there.
"I have nothing to talk about." She tried to muscle her way past him but he blocked her way, his imposing figure a better door than a window.
"I think you do… you need to talk about whatever is on your mind."
"No I don't!" she shouted poking his chest, "I didn't have anything on my mind!" she lied before adding "And if I wanted to talk I'd talk… Now move out of my way!" She once again attempted to barge past him by using more force. He grabbed her wrist in a death lock and adjusted his footing to stay vertically upright, sneering down at her.
"This isn't about wanting to talk about this, its about needing to talk," he snarled, "When you weren't thinking a moment ago, your grip on the railing increased suggesting you were willing a bad thought or memory away, so why don't you tell me what happened?" he finished roughly letting go of her wrist moving back into the room.
"Why do you care if I'm happy or not Draco?" she asked looking to his still silhouette in the darkness of the room, rubbing at her wrists to get the circulation working again. When he didn't answer, she got annoyed "Why Draco?" she asked loudly walking over to him, "Is it because you don't actually care, you are just doing your mothers bidding? What happened to you being busy anyway?" she added on remembering why she wasn't up in his office discussing this topic.
"I lied okay! Is that what you wanted to hear?-"
"Oh how bloody Slytherin of you, I should have expected as much-"she interrupted before he did the same to her.
"You don't listen to yourself do you? You are so high and mighty, so opinionated, so stubborn! I lied because I couldn't face you after my despicable behaviour earlier; gentlemen don't act like that! I was brought up better than th-"
"Gentlemen? Ha don't make me laugh, all men are the same, want what they can't have! Typical behaviour."
"Seriously, if you didn't interrupt, you might be able to get the full picture! I'm trying to explain why I did what I did." He held up his hand to stop her retort before turning away from her. "And you just keep interrupting me! I'm surprised the Weasel hasn't given up on you with your mood swings." That was the final straw for Hermione. Spinning him around, he barely had time to register the palm aimed right for his left cheek until the slapping sound reverberated off the walls.
"Get out!" she shouted, pointing to the door.
Holding his cheek. Draco stood defiantly a new fire in his eyes, "That's the Hermione I want to see back; the one with a spark not afraid to stand up for herself no matter who she is up against. Hit me again if you want to release your frustration," he said, grabbing her upper arms to bring her closer to his body. She brought her hand up to take another swing. Draco waiting calmly for the hit, but it didn't come. Hermione had stopped mid way and instead, dropped her whole body towards Draco. Her hands in between them, fist curled up as she bawled her eyes out. Draco cautiously wrapped his arms around her loosely.
"Why did he do it?" she chanted over and over, hitting his firm chest again and again, the tears streaming down her face. Draco to pulled her more fully against him in an awkward hug.
"Because he's an arsehole? An idiot? Mentally deranged? Weaselbee?" he offered, still not knowing what Weasley had actually done.
"But I gave him so much!" she sobbed, "I knew he would do it again, but my bloody morals."
"Hermione, what did he actually do?" he asked leaning slightly away from her so he could see her face.
"Where to begin?" she pulled away from him fully, walking to sit on the foot of the bed, "Oh I know, the part where I found my husband rutting like a rabbit with his mistress in our bed?" Draco sat next to her "Or the time when our Daughter was downstairs or the time when she was in her room next door? At least they thought to cast a silencing charm," she drawled sarcastically.
"While your daughter was in the house?" Draco asked shocked. Over the years his Father had told him of mistresses and how the Malfoy men are proud to have a wife and no decent man would willingly sleep with another woman while still being married.
He mentioned that many Wizard's had been known to keep them, but everyone knew the rules; "even if you don't play the game, you know the rules" was what his father had told him. It was a tradition. The rules were passed down from generation to generation, from England to Australia and back around. Every Wizard knew that the first rule was not to do it in the martial bed and, most importantly, children were not to be present in the house. He shook his head 'Weaselbee has reached an all time low.'
"Well technically, I didn't catch them in the act when Rose was in the house, but nobody sits that close on a bed, flushed, with the distinct smell of sex in the air. Not to mention they were apparently talking about Quidditch and memories of Hogwarts at the same time, hence the reason Ron had no shirt on, as he claimed to be showing her how he still had his Quidditch muscles from playing for the Cannons."
"You don't have to answer this, but is it always the same woman? And what happened tonight?"
Hermione nodded, "Always the same woman, though that doesn't take the pain of the betrayal away." She wiped a stray tear away. "It might be easier to show you, I don't think I'll be able to get through the whole story without crying my eyes out."
He nodded, snapping his fingers. The House-elf Miffy appeared before them. "How's can Miffy be of service Master Draco?"
"Miffy, can you pop to my office and get me my Pensieve, the personal one not the business one." Miffy nodded before disappearing and then reappearing holding a shallow basin.
Draco carefully levitated the desk to the foot of the bed with a quiet, "Wingardium Leviosa," so that the basin could be placed on top of it. "That will be all Miffy," he stated, looking back at Hermione, as the House-elf once again disappeared out of sight. "Do you know the spell to remove the memory?"
Hermione nodded, placing her wand to her temple, extracting a sliver of a memory before placed it in the silvery substance; a slightly cloudy liquid in appearance within the rune carved basin. The pair both entered the memory, as if looking from the outside of a house in.
-HGDM-
Draco and Hermione landed gracefully into the memory. "Ginny and I had a surprise for our husbands the night that this memory takes place, so we were dropping the children off at Molly and Arthurs," Hermione told him as the world around them solidified.
The memory showed Hermione and a red-headed girl walking up to a house. The name plate said 'The Burrow'. They entered the house after an over-excited Mrs Weasley answered the door, giving them each a hug and a kiss.
"Mum why am I going to Nana's?" Rose asked once Molly had busied herself in the kitchen, unable to hear the mother and daughter.
"Because me and your father are having a quite night in."
"You are?" Rose had a strange glint in her eye.
"Yes is that a problem?"
Rose shook her head and as Hermione went to go upstairs, her daughter spoke "Make sure you get back quickly." Hermione looked at Rose strangely due to her cryptic message. "You don't want to keep him waiting," Rose clarified, turning away from her mum.
"I think your daughter knows something," Draco said, "And she just lied. She does that scrunching up of the nose you used to do when you lied and she didn't look at you, you still do that while lying."
The pair followed the memory Hermione up the stairs entering seconds behind memory Hermione.
"Hey 'Mione," Ginny said, looking in the reflection of the mirror as she was doing her mascara, "Finished." She spun round on the stool she was sitting on to face a furrowed brow Hermione. "What's up with the face?"
Shaking her head, Hermione sat on the bed she used to use on visits to 'The Burrow' during the summers. "Uh nothing, just something Rosie said." She shook her head again to get rid of the thought. "So what are you going to do to me?"
Ginny smiled doubled like the cat that got the cream, "Firstly sexy underwear!" Draco looked towards the Hermione who could actually hear him, dying to ask 'Are you wearing them?' but he wasn't a teenager anymore and seeing her blush as she continued to watch the memory, he realised his answer.
"Wait, before you say anything hear me out… if you feel sexy, you're more likely to act sexy and who knows what'll lead to," Ginny finished quirking her eye brows. "Secondly," Ginny continued before Hermione could get her six pence in, "I found a new spell that can tame those wild bushy curls of yours and I'm going to apply a bit of make-up to bring out your eyes and cheeks." Observer Hermione shook her head thinking, 'I'm just her Barbie Doll sometimes.'
"I know what your "a bit of make-up" insinuates so I'll limit you to my usual. I refuse to be caked from head to toe..." Ginny considered her, moving her head from side to side in thought, "...like a whore" Ginny relented nodding her head in acceptance. Hermione wearing too much make-up would look like she was trying too hard. "And while we are on the subject of ladies of the night, I refuse to wear any outfit that screams any of the following: "I'm easy", "I want you, now" or "If you want it, I'm giving it for free" or any other clothes puns I can think of that are along those lines."
Draco sniggered, watching the scene in front of him and the face on the Weaslette was amusing. He'd never really seen Hermione interacting with anyone else unless he was there, and it was refreshing to see her so open; she was usually reserved in her opinions unless she was speaking to him, and as he thought on, he felt a slight pang of something, he wanted to be the only one who brought out that side of her.
A sharp elbow to the rib brought him out of his thoughts to a Hermione with her hands now on her hips. "What? it was funny!" He smiled as he turned back to the memory.
"So you want to look like a nun?" Ginny was asking back in the memory, her frown much more prominent. "Come on 'Mione live a little! You're 30 years young!" '31' Hermione remembered thinking. "Yet you act like you're a seventy year old or some pre-teen virgin who doesn't want to lose her virginity and in case you're unaware, unless Rose was an immaculate conception or the next chosen one you're too late!" it was Hermione turn to frown.
"I'm quite aware of the laws of nature Ginevra and versed in the art of sex." 'Okay not well versed, but you don't have to be,' she added mentally, before the two girls stared at each other intently.
"What are you waiting for?" Draco asked pointing to the memory Hermione and Ginny.
"For the other one to crack. Instead of arguing, we tend to just stare each other out. Once one of us looks away they lose." Hermione held up her hand as Draco was about to say something. "It's childish, I know, but you don't want everyone to know that you're arguing so we have a silent battle of wills."
"Actually it's quite smart. It keeps people away from your business."
"You're not going to back down are you?" Ginny asked back in the memory.
Shaking her head, Hermione answered with a one syllable word "No", without taking her eyes off Ginny. After a few short minutes, Ginny muttered something under her breath.
"What was that?"
"I said fine you win if we can compromise." Ginny was determined not to go down without a fight."
"What did you have in mind" Hermione asked steepling her fingers together, much like she did at work before leaning forward.
Ginny smiled, "Number one; the outfit or dress to be specific, isn't like a sock covering you from head to toe."
"But no showing of thigh."
"Only if all arms are present."
"Under a cardigan."
"Deal!" Ginny smiled. Usually she'd not even get the dress in there and there was no mention of neck line. "Number two; matching shoes, with a heel"
"Not too much of a heel, an inch at most"
"You aren't giving me much to work with here..." at Hermione's pointed stare Ginny sighed "Okay, a one inch limit. Finally make up. I was thinking a bit of gold eye shadow, eye-liner and mascara; it'll make your eyes stand out and a bit of blush, foundation obviously..." she paused before continuing in a sing song voice "'cause you know what they say healthy looking skin all the way, keeps mad diseases out of the way."
"Who says that?" Hermione asked sniggering behind her hand.
"What? It was a spur of the moment thing," Ginny said shrugging, causing both girls to laugh out aloud.
Draco smiled watching Hermione and Ginny's interactions; it made Hermione seem like she had another side to her that only certain people were privy to and it brought up a feeling of being one of those and also dare he think, a Weasley as acceptable company?
"Well back on subject," Hermione said after calming herself down, "I'd prefer the Au Natural look."
"You really don't give a flying snitch about giving me a challenge do you?" Shaking her head, Ginny stood up off the stool and walked over to her bed side table getting out her wand.
Hermione stood up off the bed she had placed herself on and stood in the centre of the smallish room between the two beds. With a flick of her wand Ginny had transfigured Hermione's jeans and t-shirt into a knee length, floral patterned, baby blue summer dress, with thin straps holding it on Hermione's frame. For over the top she transfigured a towel into a white cotton cardigan, and the outfit was bottomed with a pair of white sandals transfigured from Hermione's original sensible leather shoes.
Another flick of her wrist and Hermione's slightly bushy nest transformed into soft caramel ringlets cascading down Hermione's back.
Sitting on the stool, Hermione admired her new hair style in the mirror and thus failed to see Ginny place her wand away and pull out a wash bag. "Turn around," Ginny ordered.
Hermione used the reflection to look at Ginny, "Where's your wand?" she asked spinning around.
"I put it away, make-up is not my speciality with a wand; you have to be too precise." She wiggled the bag, "And not to mention this way is much more fun."
Grumbling to herself about the trouble she goes through to look nice, Hermione allowed Ginny to add the mascara, eye-liner and minimal blush to her porcelain face, managing to flinch only a record number of three times in the beginning.
"One Au Natural look," Ginny stated, spinning the stool around so Hermione could once again admire herself in the mirror. "If he doesn't fall over himself for you, there is something obviously wrong with him."
Hermione replied with a sheepish smile, 'Oh I really hope he likes it!'
Spinning the stool back around, Ginny pushed at Hermione's back to make her stand. The brunette turned back to ask her what she was doing but Ginny beat her to it, "Now go get him Tiger!" she finished with her hands out like claws and "grrring."
Hermione smiled before mimicking Ginny's actions and joking "I'm a Lion". She growled before pretending to stalk her prey out of the door, all the while chuckling to herself.
Hermione blushed looking at Draco, who had his infamous smirk plastered on his face. "I know I'm childish."
Draco gave a low chuckle before leaning into Hermione's ear and saying, "If you're a Lion that means I'm a snake" he finished, hissing in her ear, causing an involuntary shiver to go down Hermione's spine. 'I can't believe I find that sexy', she thought as he stepped back to his original place.
Rose and Hermione walked silently to the front door of 'The Burrow' until Hermione stopped at the door, "Don't you be too much trouble for your grandparents Rosie and don't you be showing off any magic. The last thing we need is the Ministry swarming in and your Uncle Harry having to do damage control."
"I won't mum. I'm not that daft," she huffed indignantly, folding her arms over her chest.
"I know," Hermione smiled caressing Roses' curly hair. "I'll see you tomorrow Rosie," Hermione muffled as she kissed the top of her Daughter's head, before opening and stepping out of the door, still facing the abode she apparited out of sight with a small 'pop'.
The two Hermione's and Draco landed with a thump in the front garden of the Weasley-Granger's detached household. The house was situated not too far away from 'The Burrow' in a semi-rural part of Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon.
As soon as Hermione had entered the house, she relieved herself of her cardigan, placing it on the coat rack before bee-lining for the kitchen. Turning on the gas stove, she placed a pan of water on it for it to come to the boil. While the pan was heating the water she began chopping some tomatoes when a sound echoed from upstairs making her nick her thumb with the knife, Running her thumb under the tap, she listened for any other noises upstairs and just as she was drying off her thumb a bigger thud sounded.
Intrigued, Hermione pulled out her vine 10 ¾" Dragon Heart string wand, quickly bandaging up her cut; a skill she developed while the Golden Trio were out looking for the Horcruxes' of Lord Voldemort. Once finished she looked at the clock above the doorway, reading the time as 5:05pm. "Ron said he wasn't going to be back until at least 6 O'clock," she muttered, her eye brows made into a frown.
Walking quietly to the bottom of the stair case, she listened intently for the noise again; a sound of wood hitting a plaster board could be heard. Climbing the stairs, the noise became louder and more frequent. The twelfth step creaked, causing Hermione to pause. The sounds still didn't stop and seemed to be now joined by human noises, distinguishable as grunts, groans and moans and the occasional coherent sentence of "Yes, yes, yes oh right there" or "Oh your so good to me Won-Won."
Hermione immediately realised that the only door along the corridor that was ajar was their bedroom. She crept slowly towards it and opened it enough to insure she could easily get her head around it. The sight that came into view was one that she would have trouble forgetting.
On the bed was her husband; Ronald Bilius Weasley, naked and underneath him was the equally naked Lavender Brown. The pair joined literally at the hip continued to move in synch, unaware that Hermione stood in the doorway.
Draco saw memory Hermione gasp lightly and cover her mouth her face, deathly pale in colour. The look she had as she turned away from the sight before her was enough to make even the toughest of men cry. The look of abstract horror and betrayal was undeniable. He turned to his accompanying Hermione, who currently was looking elsewhere, and she too had a look of horror. The small tears in her eyes caused his heart to break that little bit more.
In order to make her presence be known, Hermione slammed the door open and a baffled Ron looked up to see what had caused the racket and disrupted his rhythm. What he saw made him forget his previous actions.
Hermione turned back to face him with a new emotion clear on her face; an emotion of pure unhindered rage. Her face contorted into one nobody had ever seen on Hermione Granger, ever. Her nostrils flared, her eyes wide; there was no mistaking she was livid.
"Herms," Ron tried to sooth. 'Oh how I hate that nickname,' she thought as her hair crackled like electricity from the whirl of magic consuming her body from head to toe. "It's not what it looks like."
Hermione started laughing, not a humorous laugh; it was a blood curdling cackle to rival even that of Bellatrix Lestrange herself. "Don't you dare insult my intelligence Ronald!" she warned, "It isn't what it looks like?" She then asked gobsmacked, "What is it supposed to look like? Wait let me guess it was an accident, she tripped and fell on top of you while you were both naked? Hmm?" her voice had become shrill throughout her questions making the hairs on the back of everyone's neck stand on end; including Draco.
Lavender decided that now was the time to speak up, from still underneath Ron; "I'm sorry Hermione," she said trying to hide her modesty.
"Save it you… whore, man-stealing home wrecker!" Hermione shouted before turning on her heel and walking away from the room.
"Herms!" Ron shouted attempting to put on his pants. He put his finger to his lips to make sure Lavender didn't say anymore.
"Save it Ronald, I've had enough!" She continued towards the stairs.
"Give me one more chance, Herms?" Ron asked as he grabbed her arm before she was able to get down the stairs, throwing her wand down the flight.
"Relashio!" Hermione said motioning her unoccupied arm in Ron's direction to knock him away from her.
She finished him off with a stinging hex to the genitals before saying, "This was your last chance Ronald!" With that Hermione Jean Weasley, nee Granger, walked down the stairs, picking up her jacket and wand on her way out of the door leaving, her first love behind.
-DMHG-
Draco and Hermione pulled out of the memory landing softly on the guest bed. "So that's how you found me earlier. Now you know my story, you can leave and stop pretending like you care," she said curtly, standing and walking back out onto the balcony. "You know where the door is," she called over her shoulder.
Hermione casually lent on the balcony looking at the patio area below when she felt another weight on the rail to her right hand side.
"I don't know how many times in the last twenty or so years I have actually said this, but Ron Weasley is stupid and ignorant. I used to think Longbottom was bad but he at least grew out of it." When she didn't answer or even acknowledge that he had said something, he sighed, "What man in his right mind would throw away a wife as beautiful caring and loving as you?" She was still looked away from him.
"I know I wouldn't, especially for a slut like Lavender Brown. I know they had something in Sixth year. I assumed he was just in it for the sex, and seems he still is."
Hermione's head dropped causing her hair to fall in her eyes hiding the tears from Draco. "I should have expected him to cheat on me. He might be in it with Lavender for the sex or he could actually love her?"
"He doesn't deserve you, you know" he stated matter-of-factly. Before he realised what she had just said; "What do you mean you should have expected it?"
"The only reason we married in the first place was Rosie, and she's the same reason we are still together." She paused look to Draco to gauge his reaction. "Have you ever found it strange that during our final year I wasn't with Ron, and he never once came to visit me? I mean Harry was able to see Ginny all the time, yet Ron never came to see me?" When he shrugged she continued, "Well I still had feelings for him. A year after the battle at the remembrance ceremony, Ron and I got together after a rather rash, uncharacteristic drinking session on my behalf. The result of which, was Rosie. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret that night; it gave me my lovely daughter but Molly made us get married saying 'no Weasley was going to be born out of wed-lock,' " She put her head back down.
"Hermione, how many times has he cheated on you?" he asked sincerely.
She shrugged, not committing to an answer. Draco carefully removed the strand of hair from her eyes and gently turned her head towards his so he could look into her eyes and her him, asking silently the question again.
"A handful; two times that I suspect, and tonight but the time before this was about two and a half years ago." She sighed dropping her head back down "I seem to be telling you everything tonight baring my soul, don't I?"
Hermione was ashamed. Never in all of her 31 years of life, almost 32, had she expressed her secrets to anyone bar her parents. She was independent, headstrong and strong willed. However tonight she was sharing them with someone who was far from her best friend, her tormenter for six years. And yet she couldn't help herself, even having endured the Cruciatus Curse cast by Bellatrix Lestrange, a wave of emotions was able to come past her barricade. Because while the unforgivable curse had caused physical pain, she had been able to maintain her barrier, but what Ronald Weasley had caused was both a physical and an emotional pain that weighed heavy on Hermione's heart and therefore needed to be released.
"You can simply say what you are happy to divulge," Draco said giving Hermione a way out of the current situation, and she gladly accepted and remained quiet. Draco breathed heavily through his nose turning away from looking at Hermione. "To level the Quidditch field, I'll tell you what happened with me and Astoria."
"I read it all in 'The Prophet' last year, before your Father made them write a retraction."
He shook his head "You mean the one that gave only the Greengrass' side of events?" he "tsk" at Hermione. "You for one should not believe everything you read in the media."
She looked confused. "What exactly was wrong in their assumptions?"
"Pretty much everything, so I'll tell you my part of the story from the beginning. It started in our seventh year when I found out I was arranged to marry Astoria Greengrass. The Greengrass-Malfoy union was a good accomplishment on behalf of both families, but like most arrangements there was minor problems; actually major problems. Both Astoria and I loved other people."
"Pansy?" Hermione asked with a slight sneer. Much like Hermione and Draco had become amicable, Pansy had become slightly kinder to Hermione in her own self-absorbed way, stopping the insults of "Mudblood" but still managing the downgraded insults similar to the "bookworm" standards.
He shook his head, laughing lightly. "Pansy? No, she was destined to be with Blaise and they now have two children together, Amando and Violetta. As for your next question, I'm not telling you who it was, maybe one day but not today. Astoria however, was in love with Theodore Nott's younger brother Thomas."
"Wasn't he a prefect with Astoria?"
Draco nodded an affirmative response. "She told me she couldn't go through with the arrangement, and she insisted there must have been a way out. But there wasn't, I looked it up." He ran a hand through his dishevelled blonde locks before going over his face. "So we adjusted the arrangement; she was to provide me with a pure-blood male heir, and I would give her a divorce and money so that she could be with Thomas, near the child's eleventh birthday as is required by law. She asked for only one condition; to be able to see the child regularly. I agreed, how could I not?"
Looking to Hermione he continued; "The day we signed the divorce papers, she was going off with Thomas. He picked her up from the Manor and they both planned to move up North somewhere to start afresh with the money I gave them. Thomas came in a Muggle car; since his father was incarcerated in Azkaban they became interested in Muggle Technology."
Hermione thought about the Theodore she remembered and imagined him as, interested in Muggles and Muggle technology as Arthur Weasley was.
"While they were on route there was an accident; a drunk Muggle behind the wheel. The impact killed them instantly. The Senior Greengrass' believe I had her killed for having an affair, hence the reason that the newspaper said."
For the first time that night Hermione could see tears forming in Draco's eyes; "I didn't… I already got what I wanted from the deal… but they insisted that I had some connection to her death and claimed it was because she was mocking the Malfoy name. They said I also had a mistress to satisfy my needs and that was the reason Astoria was divorcing me, when I showed them the papers."
He shook his head. "They refuse to see Scorpius because he reminds them too much of me and the reason they no longer have their daughter. They are not happy about Daphne seeing either of us, but she just says I was her friend before I was her Brother-in-law, and that no matter who her Nephew's Father is, she still wants to be able to see her Nephew."
"So she comes to Puddlemere United's Quidditch games at the weekend with her two children to watch her husband, Terence Higgs. He plays as a Chaser and while she is there she gets to see Scorpius."
"Terence Higgs...wasn't he the Slytherin seeker before you?"
He nodded looking smug with himself, "Yes he was, he now plays seeker for Puddlemere, if I can't play but usually he's a Chaser."
"Are you trying to show off Mr Malfoy?" she joked.
"Is it working? Because if it is, maybe I am" he teased, causing Hermione to blush a scarlet colour and a large smile to crack on her face. "That's what I wanted to see."
"What?" she asked, confused.
"That smile. I've not seen that smile in many years, it is always a good sign to talk to you when you're happy and smiling."
"I don't have much to be happy about at the moment; my life is crumbling around me," she said in a serious tone.
"Should I be offended?" he said trying to lighten the mood "You are at the home of our Hogwarts year's Sex God and Bachelor of the year 2010 and your not happy," he finished with a dramatic "ack."
"You know what I mean Malfoy," she said, still with no playfulness in her tone, biting back the retort of 'this is still the same house I was tortured in.'
He simply nodded, realising they had gone back to surname terms. Knowing now was his destined time to leave, he stood full up instead of leaning on the balcony. "It is getting late. You need to sleep all that crying will have took a lot out of you." He walked casually towards the bedroom door.
"Thank you Malfoy," Hermione's meek voice said from the balcony area.
"Your welcome," he said over his shoulder, not committing to a name.
-DMHG-
Once Draco got to his room, he stripped off his suit down to his boxer and climbed into bed, hoping tomorrow wasn't as eventful.
-HGDM-
A few minutes after Draco left, Hermione closed the balcony doors and changed into a light green negligee she found in the wardrobe, climbing into bed she hoped the next day didn't bring so much crying.
-DMHG-
24th April 2011: 3.26 am
Draco woke with a start, unsure of why he had awoken. Glancing at his clock he noted the time was 3.26am. Sighing, he rolled over onto his right side so that his back was to the door. He then heard a noise he hadn't heard in twelve years, causing him to bolt upright.