A/N: Thanks to Grovek26, SereniteRose, jadjef, roni2010 for their reviews on last chapters. Thanks for the favourites and follows.
*** This chapter is one of the most crucial ones that shapes the story. I request everyone to NOT READ it while at work or in hurry. It took me three and a half monthes to plan this one segment. As a writer, I want everyone to FEEL it, understand what I wish to say through the many characters.
Acknowledgements:
***Every single place, people and fact written in this chapter was carefully considered after checking map, geography, location, articles and addresses. I left no stones unturned for this part of the memory.
Well, that's all and you can leave your feedback if you like.
This chapter is rated M.
The link to TPA Pinterest page is on my profile page. Some of the things mentioned here can be found there.
Disclaimer: The copyright to Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling. Any other characters are purely work of fiction and any resemblances are co-incidental.
Chapter 81: Grape of Wrath (Part 4/2)
The hiatus between a departing afternoon and an approaching evening was glorious when Draco landed on the Delacour's garden. The western horizon was still glowing. A gentle breeze was blowing, bringing with it the aroma of a coffee brewing nearby. The gentle hide and seek of the receding light and intensifying dark was casting a mysterious yet enchanting aura around him. Everything felt pleasant.
Instinctively, he looked around. There was something special about the first memory was in for the giver seemed to be happy and it made the entire atmosphere of the memory vibrate with a low hung excitement. To prove his speculations right, he found Apolline, Gustave and Gabrielle, all donning their best casual clothes and standing on a row, watching the gate expectantly as if they were waiting for someone. Draco looked for a sign of a fourth person: Hermione but she was nowhere to be seen.
Watching the Delacours standing like that and whispering in barely concealed excitement, the first thought that occurred to Draco was Hermione. Maybe they were waiting for her. But that didn't explain why they were all so well dressed up. Hermione was no longer a guest to them; she was almost their family now. Another possibility popped into his head. Maybe it was a surprise party arranged for her. He knew how greatly stressed and worried she had been on those days and noticing it, the Delacours were doing something special to cheer her up.
As if on real life, Draco smoothed his hair and clothes. He was feeling better now, except for the blisters on his fingers and toes, which throbbed painfully. But he could live with it, of course. Everything was tolerable when Hermione was involved in it.
The main gate granting access into the Delacour Residence clanked heavily and smiling now, Draco waited for Hermione to appear from behind it and the Delacours to scream a loud, 'Surprise!'.
But to his extreme dismay, it wasn't her.
A man with flaming red hair that was glistening even in the murky darkness of approaching evening, stepped in. He was followed by a very pretty witch with waist length silvery hair.
"Bill! Fleur!" Gabrielle's excited squeaks were loud enough to inform the entire Paris the true identity of the guests. Draco frowned. So this was Adrian's godfather! They had actually never met.
Bill Weasley, as his surname implied, was a well built man of twenty something with shoulder length red hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. He had handsome features underneath what appeared to be a few strange gash marks which miraculously couldn't obscure his good looks. Draco found himself greatly interested to know what had happened to him.
"Maman! Papa!" Fleur's happy screams were equally loud as Gabrielle's and Draco had to cover his ears as the pretty young Veela ran past her husband and threw herself on her parents' arms, hugging them tight.
"Fleur!" Gustave it seemed was having difficulty in believing that his daughter was finally standing before his eyes. He ran his hands over her head full of glistening hair repeatedly, as if making sure she was really there and said, "Fleur, ma fifille!" (Fleur, my little girl!)
"Good evening, father." It was Bill Weasley's deep resonating voice that immediately attracted Draco's attention. He had always learned to hate the Weasleys on first sight but this man, on his first appearance, seemed to cast a different impression on his mind. He watched as Bill bowed and greeted the Delacours, planted a kiss on Gabrielle's head before turning to his brother in-law, Alexis, who was watching the happy little reunion with a smile on his face.
"Don't worry about the luggage, Alexis, I'll take care of them." He said, pointing at the pile of three trunks that were large enough to accommodate an entire double sofa each. "Fearing that she might leave behind something for her month long trip to Paris, my dear wife Fleur Delacour Weasley has packed and brought the entire Shell Cottage with her. I suspect that you'll need no less than three Trolls as helping hands to bring them in." He teased his wife with a cautious glance at her direction.
"Mind your own business, Bill." Fleur threw her silvery cascading hair over the shoulder and snapped as Alexis laughed, joining the gang finally. "Where is 'ermione, maman?" She asked, scanning the small crowd in the faint evening light.
Finally, Draco was relieved to note, that someone was going to explain Hermione's absence. He waited for Apolline to reply.
"She's upstairs, dear, sleeping." She replied curtly, her broad smile reduced to a simper now.
"I hope she's doing well." Bill said this time, looking mildly concerned now, "Is the baby doing well, mother?"
Apolline's simper vanished as she stated gravely: "The baby is fine, Bill, dear, but I am afraid that the mother isn't."
As the evening and everyone's mood grew dark with her statement the scene shifted, leaving Draco hungry for more about Hermione.
When he blinked next to adjust his eyes in the bright light, he found himself standing on the Delacour's kitchen. The place was buzzing with loud chatters as an evening coffee was underway. Apolline was pouring Bill some coffee; Gustave was listening to Fleur's story about taking care of hens with an air of great interest. Alexis was serving his sister some pie. Draco looked around for Hermione and found that she was absent from the table again. Impatient and dead worried, he was about to slam a fist on the table when a loud squeak silenced everyone.
"BILL!"
Draco clutched over his heart in relief as Hermione streaked past him and landed in Bill's outstretched arms, who had left his seat as soon as his name was called.
"Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill!" She said, her voice muffled as she tightly hugged the man, as if he would vanish the moment she let him go. "Bill!" she snuggled against him and said again.
"Hermione!" Bill said gently, smoothing her curls and rubbing her back, as if she was nothing but a little five year old girl hugging her elder brother. Her bump, as Draco examined her from head to toe, came between them but Bill was well built enough to accommodate both Hermione and her bump easily. "It's alright, Hermione. I am here, dear, I am here and I am not going anywhere." He stroked her curls and assured.
Hermione didn't respond readily. She simply breathed in Bill's clothes and snuggled more. "You bring the scent of my England." She mumbled, resting her head on his broad chest like a purring kitten. "That freshly mown grass…" she breathed in again, "…that smell of earth after the first rain…it's my England in you, Bill."
For some inexplicable reason, Draco found his visions suddenly go blur. There was something in those words that he felt melted his heart. He wiped his tears and noticed how everyone except Alexis was doing the same. Apolline was blowing her nose in a kitchen towel and Gabrielle was wiping her eyes in the corner of the table cloth. Gustave was looking away, blinking unusually rapidly. Alexis was giving the pair a very solemn look.
"Let us have a look at the Mommy!" Bill was very patient and careful as he released Hermione after five minutes. He gave her such a charming smile that Draco thought there were no scars on his face at all.
"Look at the baby bump!" He exclaimed softly, grinning from ear to ear as he looked down at Hermione's swollen stomach, "Who will believe that our little know-it-all is a Mommy now?"
"Oh, Bill!" Hermione pounded lightly on his chest, chastising him lightly. "You talk as if I already have the baby. He isn't due until another four months."
"You look beautiful, 'ermione!" Fleur stood up this time and hugged Hermione. "Simply beautiful."
Indeed Hermione looked beautiful. Draco noticed with care that she looked thinner than the last time he had meet her in the memories. Her clothes were loosely hanging around her except for the bump where it was smooth. But the aura of motherhood was more prominent now that Hermione was on her sixth month. He felt his heart go tender. Adrian was there. Sleeping, breathing, eating and feeling everything his mother felt. If he could just touch him, tell him that he was going to take care of Hermione now, that he would never make the same mistake again. If he could! Just once!
The scene shifted as he reached for the bump and distracted, he discovered himself sitting beside Apolline as everyone conversed in the parlour. Draco knew the place for he had been there twice to receive the memories. He ignored the details and looked past Apolline.
Bill, Hermione and Fleur were sitting side by side on a large sofa with the mother-to-be in the middle. She was holding a mug full of the same yogurt drink Draco had seen Fleur to give her in one of memories Audré had retrieved. Hermione's other hand was held between Bill's broad and strong ones. A tray full of tea delicacies was placed on a table before them, with everyone helping themselves.
"How's Harry?" Hermione's voice was slightly broken as she sipped the drink and asked Bill. There was a tender hunger on her features that touched Draco's heart even though he was just watching the memories and not actually present there. He found himself eager to learn how his once hated arch-enemy was.
Bill smiled but it didn't quite reach his gentle brown eyes. The gash marks on his face were prominent once again. "Harry is fine, Hermione. I believe he told you that he would be joining the Auror training course instead of attending Hogwarts this year. He has joined it at last. Just two week ago." He gestured Hermione to proceed with her forgotten drink.
"And Ron?" Draco noticed how Hermione was holding her tears back with extreme difficulty. Her eyes were glassy and she was blinking repeatedly to beat off the tears that threatened to break out any moment. She bit her delicate pink lips nervously.
"Ron is doing well too. Like Harry he has joined the Auror training course." Bill was very gentle as he brought the rim of Hermione's mug to her trembling lips, "They are also playing part-time for the Puddlemere United, you know where Oliver Wood is playing. As expected, Puddlemere is rolling in galleons now for most of the spectators turn up only to watch Harry and Ron play."
"Are they studying at all or just fooling around with Quidditch and that training?" Hermione sipped the drink and asked, looking annoyed, "They are not going back to Hogwarts. They were never regular with their homeworks. I hope Harry takes his course seriously."
Draco shook his head, not in exasperation but in wonder. How deep should a friendship run to have one make that concerned remark about homework and school in that ill state! Honestly, if he were Hermione, he would never bother himself with such petty issues. But then again, he was not Hermione and was sure that he could never be one.
"I keep warning them, of course." Bill handed Hermione a piece of croissant from the tray and said, "Eat Hermione. You look so thin."
"I keep telling her that every day." Apolline interjected this time, "A pregnant woman her height and stature should be a hundred and thirty pounds and Jean was only a hundred pounds last time I checked her. Thirty pounds underweight! Can you believe that Bill? It's not just one or two pounds. It's thirty pounds!"
"I'm fine, aunt." Hermione declared, biting the croissant reluctantly. "And I am eating as much as I can."
"And it's pretty obvious that the plan isn't working on you." Bill said grimly, "Mother what did that Healer you are consulting for Hermione say about it?"
Draco understood that Apolline was keeping Bill and Fleur updated on Hermione.
"It's the Cruciatus." Apolline's face was dark and distressed, "Obstetric-Healer Lili Sauvageau is the best in entire France and we used to work together when I was an active midwife. I am consulting her for Jean and she said it is undoubtedly the Cruciatus. It's altering her normal course of pregnancy. Most women have huge appetite when they are pregnant. Their bodies automatically make them eat what the baby needs most to grow well. But Jean? She wrinkles her nose at whatever I give her: eggs, milk, beans and even chocolate."
"Is there any way her appetite can be improved?" Bill was behaving like Hermione's elder brother in every manner. "I am really worried about her."
In his words, Draco found his own thoughts voiced. Even though he knew the future where Hermione had Adrian safely and was fine, he felt couldn't help but feel concerned for her.
"Oh Bill, you don't know aunt Apolline." Hermione protested, "She gives me two eggs in the breakfast and forces me to drink two glasses of milk every day. I doubt even Hagrid could eat that much if he was pregnant." She smiled weakly, "Don't worry about me. I came this far with my baby, didn't I? I'll be fine. Now tell me more about them. Didn't Harry ask you why I left stealthily? Without informing them?"
"Of course, he did." Bill ran his hand over Hermione's hand and nodded. Draco found himself reflexively fisting his hands and relaxing them immediately. Bill was a gentleman and Hermione trusted him to the point of hugging him even after being raped. "He accused me and Fleur of not taking proper care of you." He said solemnly, "He was very angry, Hermione, very angry. Searched the entire cottage and the nearby village for you. Went to Heathrow and Gatwick. Even sent an Auror to King's Cross. They thought you were behaving odd before you left. Not being your usual self, you know. Kingsley even considered the possibility of an Imperius Curse that could have driven you into doing it. But I told them straight and bold, that if they didn't question it when you left your parents to help them, they shouldn't question it when you leave them to return to your parents. You just survived a terrible war and needed some respite away from everything and everyone. I also told them that you are a fully grown witch and have rights to take decisions that suited you. They couldn't judge you or blame me based on that. In the end, Harry accepted the reality reluctantly."
Silent tears were flowing down Hermione's cheeks now and Draco expected her to press the point. What was Ron Weasley's reaction? Did he share the same view as Potter? But strangely, Hermione didn't pursue the topic.
"How's everyone at Hogwarts? Neville? Luna? Mr. and Mrs. Weasley? Charlie? George? Ginny? Percy? Hagrid? Professor McGonagall? Teddy?" She finished the drink in one go, gagged and asked.
Draco left his seat, crossed the small distance between them and knelt before her. "Slowly Hermione, slowly." He bade her gently, wishing with every fiber of his tainted soul that she was fine inside.
"Everyone is fine." Bill declared happily this time, "Mum and Dad have overcome the shock of Fred's death, at least they appear so but I am sure twice I caught mum sobbing in a corner while hanging the laundry. George is running their shop alone. Percy is helping him. He is also dating a witch by the name of Audrey. Teddy is doing just fine with his granny and Godfather, the legendary Harry Potter. Ginny, Neville and the Hufflepuffs are helping Professor Sprout to repair the destroyed greenhouses. Luna and Charlie are helping Hagrid with the games and birds. After they betraying Hogwarts to Voldemort, the Acromantulas have been banished from the Forbidden Forest forever. The Giants are under apprehension. Slughorn has asked for pay rise again. Typical. McGonagall and Flitwick, with the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, are working day and night to have Hogwarts restored before it reopens this September. Most of the Slytherins, as we have heard it, are considering attending Durmstrang this term."
"Perfect place for those two faced bastards! That cold rotting prison in North." Fleur interrupted her husband, looking vengefully pleased, "I say that they are banished like those horrible spiders too. Especially that…" she stopped abruptly.
Draco sensed the parlour suddenly go very quiet. Gustave exchanged alarmed looks with Apolline. Gabrielle cleared her throat audibly. Alexis, very calm, took up the evening newspaper and opened it as if everything was fine.
"How is he?" It was Hermione's icy voice that cut the silence like a knife on butter.
It didn't require Draco to have two brains to understand who that 'he' was.
"Rumour has it that the Malfoy heir is getting married to a pureblood witch by the name of Astoria Greengrass, the youngest daughter of Ebenezer Greengrass, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Bill stated calmly. "By the way, Hermione, Professor McGonagall keeps talking about you, her most favorite student." His smile was back again. "She says she misses her Gryffindor princess, the little Transfiguration wonder-witch."
"Oh, Bill!" Hermione cried softly and returned the smile but there was no life in it. Draco didn't know how to feel or in fact, to feel anything at all. The way they had addressed him, talked about his marriage, and the manner in which Bill changed the topic was enough to point out the extreme detest they harboured for him and rightfully so. What had he done to not achieve it actually?
"And Professor Snape?" He heard her asking Bill. "When I left Britain they were holding back his funeral on the grounds that he was a traitor and Dumbledore's murderer. Did they allow him to be buried?"
"They did." Bill nodded, "Harry showed his memories to Kingsley and in the end, they held his funeral under the shade of a Beech tree at the edge of the lake. Harry especially chose that place for the funeral. It wasn't something grand, of course; with Snape's reputation, only the teachers and some of the students attended it. Neville was the one who did most of the arrangements. Spape was buried beside Harry's mother's grave in Godric's Hollow." Bill's features, Draco noted, were not displaying the usual distaste allotted for the Slytherins only and he wondered why. He had expected Snape to be the most hated Slytherins of all after, after Voldemort of course, but it wasn't that.
"Apparently, Snape was expecting to not last the Battle and he made his will beforehand." Bill continued, "All his books and possessions were donated to Hogwarts, its library and potions inventory. I must say, Hermione, I have never been more surprised when I learned the content of those memories. Harry treasures them as if it's is his wand. I tried to remember what he was doing the night that bloody…" he paused and seemed to decide on something else, "…let loose that Greyback on students and I received this." he ran a gentle finger over his scars, "Snape didn't attack a single student who were fighting for Hogwarts. He just blasted the Aurors out of his way as he took the real blood-traitor out."
Kneeling before Hermione, Draco hung his head in shame. If he considered everything, the list of his crimes was endless. Though he hadn't asked for Greyback's presence the night Dumbledore died, his sudden emergence had caused more panic than usual. Even the old headmaster had chided him softly for it, raising his conscience. What he didn't know was that he was however indirectly, responsible for what happened to Bill. It was Greyback's claws that adorned his kind and handsome face now.
"Bill, will you not give 'ermione, her gift?" It was Fleur's extra cheery exclaim that broke his stream of thoughts. She seemed determined to brighten the grim mood.
"Gift?" Hermione looked at Fleur, blinking in puzzlement. "What gift?"
"I am sorry, Hermione, I forgot." Bill said apologetically. He waved his wand at one of the trunks that have already been brought up. The lead opened and a large package zoomed out before it neatly landed on Hermione's lap.
She gave it an apprehensive glance, clearly undecided whether to open it or not.
Sensing it, Bill unwrapped the parcel and large scarlet banner with a roaring Gryffindor lion came out. Both Draco and Hermione were gaping at it, stunned, when Bill wrapped it around her shoulders like an oversized shawl.
"A Gryffindor lion for the real Gryffindor lioness." He said, giving her a salute. "We, who are present here and those who are not, are so proud of you, Hermione, so very proud."
Hermione's mouth was still open when she clutched the shawl tightly and broke into fresh tears. "Bill…I…" she tried to say something but stopped midsentence, overwhelmed.
"Hermione, I am sorry." A lone tear escaped Draco's eyes and he said, "I am sorry, Hermione, I am sorry. Forgive me, please, forgive me."
It was an excruciating agony that tried to suffocate and kill him, and he knew what it was: the extreme remorse he had felt after watching the second batch of memories. He was responsible for every single one of those tears Hermione had shed, he was responsible for every single sigh that had left her; he was responsible, he was responsible and only he was responsible.
He wanted to wipe her tears and tell her that he was remorseful: truly. But before he could so much as extend his arms, the scene dissolved into nothingness and Hermione vanished.
Next he found himself standing in the Delacour gardens. In contrast to when he had first appeared there, it was daytime now. The sun was overhead, peeping through the cotton soft clouds. He looked around for Hermione and found her sitting on what appeared to be a beach chair, with her bare feet supported by two cushions and a third one behind her back. The Gryffindor shawl was covering her protruding bump and an open book was propped against it.
"How was the award ceremony, Fleur?" she asked the Veela sitting next to her. Draco who had his eyes only for Hermione noticed a heavy gold medal hanging from a miniature ribbon of French blue, red and white flag, from Fleur's neck.
"It was better than the British one." Fleur replied, "I hope you know that they gave me an award for bravery during the Second Wizarding War from Britain too. As if I did it for the awards. I did it because it was the right thing to do and I had Bill's support and love." She glanced fondly at her husband who was peeling some apples diligently, "I even said that in my speech. There are so many who died and never received any medals. There are others who did great sacrifices and were not awarded too." She took off the heavy gold medal and to Draco's surprise, placed around Hermione's neck, "Like you, Jean. I think no one but you deserve it."
"Oh no, Fleur!" Hermione smiled and took off the medal, placing it on Fleur's hand. "You definitely deserve that medal. I have my reward here." She placed a hand gently over her bump, "Everyday as my baby grows up inside me, I grow up too. I understand him better and I love him more." She sighed, "You see, Fleur, there is always some goodness in this world to fight for, to die for. Harry was goodness for all of us as we fought against Voldemort. I still remember the battle, even after we thought he was dead, not a single person would leave the fight. They'd fight or they'd die. Now that Voldemort is done for, this baby of mine is the goodness that makes me want to fight. I know many people, including you, wanted me to get rid of him. Even I considered doing it at first. But then I thought if the little innocent being could cling to his damaged mother, why couldn't the mother cling to him too?" she smiled tearfully. "My baby is the reason I fight, Fleur, and I have no resentments for the decisions that I made." She declared calmly. "You'll understand once you become a mother. It's such a wonderful feeling. The pain is what makes it more powerful."
Draco didn't know what he felt inside as he listened to Hermione. Was it remorse mixed with extreme tenderness? Was it a desire to turn the world upside down for her one true smile? Was it an intense need to take out his heart and lay it on her feet, to tell her that he couldn't possibly appreciate her more than that? What was it actually?
"I am sure the baby is going to have the most amazing mother on earth." Bill commented with a gentle smile, as he handed Hermione a plate full of apples with an air of silent command. She eyed them with great wary.
"First it was aunt and now you!" she sighed as Apolline, sitting just before Draco, snorted in disbelief. "Jean, you are underweight. Okay?" She reminded her.
"Fleur, what do you plan to do next?" Hermione shook her head in defeat and took a small bite from a piece of apple, "I mean with two medals of bravery and being an ex-Triwizard Champion, you can easily join the Auror training like Harry and Ron."
"I can but I won't." Fleur said, "I know it's strange but I enjoy being at home. Everyone, including Madame Maxime, expects me to do something grand, bring more glory for the country, school and family but I don't think I am ready for it now. Bill and I are planning to have our first baby next year and I just want to relax before that."
"Really?" Hermione seemed delighted with the news of more babies, "I hope it's a girl this time. Mine is a boy." She rubbed her bump gently. Draco smiled. He just loved the view.
"I thought woman preferred sons over daughters." Bill seemed taken aback. "We were six brothers and mum had Ginny when she thought she was going to have another son."
"I am sure she loves her more than six of you put together." Fleur said dismissively, "Honestly, 'ermione, they are so much alike and hated me with equal passion when I was staying at Bill's home to know them well. That brings me…" she tapped thoughtfully on her lips, "…have you thought about your looks for Beauxbatons? I mean you can't attend the school looking like this?" she referred to Hermione's brown curls, "Everyone will recognize you. After all, France and Britain aren't on two opposite Poles."
"I have given it a thought." Hermione finished her piece of apple under Apolline and Bill's combined hawk eyed scrutiny and reached for more. "You remember my Yule Ball look?"
"Your hair was straight?" Fleur asked. Draco didn't need reminding twice. The image of Hermione in her periwinkle blue dress robes and a knot at the end of her flowing smooth and straight hair was still vivid on his mind. Was she planning to attend Beauxbatons like that?
"Yes." Hermione nodded solemnly, "Even Harry couldn't recognize me and he stood beside us for like fifteen minutes until he finally realized that it was me, his best friend. I think I'll have that look of mine. I can't possibly use a Glamour Charm several times every day. Being pregnant, my magic is divided between my baby and me and the more I use the less he gets."
"I think it's a very good idea." Fleur said with an approving nod, "Don't worry, we Veelas are an expert when it comes to makeover. I am going to give you your one."
"Thanks." Hermione said and proceeded to reach for a glass of water that was placed on a tripod by her knee. But before she could so much as extend her arm, another hand lifted the glass and offered it to her.
Following it, Draco found that it was none other than Alexis Delacour.
"Merci." Hermione smiled gently at him and Draco felt his guts constrict painfully. Alexis left without another word and Draco followed him with his eyes only. The Junior Undersecretary was fixing and hanging a swing from one of the trees not very far from Hermione. Watching him work and glance at her direction occasionally as she discussed her new looks with Fleur, Draco was reminded of Hermione's words about Alexis that she said on her second therapy session in that forest.
"He…Alexis…he is so different, mum. He never says a word but don't be fooled by his silence because he watches you most carefully. His love is so silent and yet so deep: like an ocean without waves. He speaks not through his lips but through his eyes. It is so amazing because I don't know how he does that. I just know that he is there, watching me, loving me, caring for me. There is this beautiful truth in his eyes that he'll never leave me. And his touch? They tell me that he'll catch me when I fall."
Now for the first time, Draco understood what Hermione had meant by those words. Alexis never overbeared anyone with his presence as Draco usually did. He just stood by the one he loved and took care to have them silently. That was his way of showing his love for them.
Surely enough, when the swing was done and Alexis wiped his eyebrows on his sleeves, his sister left the seat with a glass of lemonade. He took it with a gentle kiss on top of her head and gestured her to sit on the freshly hung swing. As Fleur obeyed him silently, he slowly started to nudge the swing forward, sipping the cool drink. It was a deeply poignant scene: a brother slowly swinging his sister and Draco associated it with his feelings for Lillian.
He didn't know how long he watched them swing but looking down suddenly, he found Hermione watching Fleur and Alexis. She appeared sad and lost, her thoughts unknown to Draco.
He pondered on Audré's words. This memory wasn't like the previous ones he had seen. There was so much silence in it; silences that he suspected where Hermione's muffled cries and unspoken words.
The scene shifted and he found himself once again in the kitchen as Apolline busied herself on supper. Through the windows he could see that it was dark outside. His eyes immediately searched Hermione. Again, she wasn't there. Instead, Alexis was playing a game of chess with Bill as Gustave poured over an evening issue of The Wizarding Herald.
He wondered what was waiting for him now. Bill and Fleur's visit was a pretty good surprise. He wasn't expecting that. He knew somewhere in the next few memories Eva's ones would be present too. What would they be like? How was Beauxbatons actually? And how was Hermione's life there?"
"Quelle surprise!" it was Fleur's announcement that broke his stream of thoughts and looking at her, Draco's mouth fell open.
A pregnant woman was standing before the gaping Delacours, her hands lightly fisted on her sides as everyone examined her from head to toe. Draco knew it was Hermione but there was nothing Hermione about her. She looked completely changed.
Her signature unruly bushy brown hair was replaced with a shoulder length and short silky brown one. A small shaft of bangs was covering her forehead. What made her completely unrecognizable was the eyes and Draco, noticing their colours, groaned internally.
"Not again, Hermione!" he cried out loud, "I love your real eyes!"
The said eyes were light hazel this time, instead of dark chocolate brown. As everyone watched, Hermione took out a pair of spectacles and put them on, hiding her eyes behind the thick glass and frame.
"Merlin!"
"Nostradamus!"
"Circe!"
As if three different exclamations were not enough, Apolline added a fourth one:
"Dumbledore!"
"So what do you think about it?" Hermione asked everyone in the kitchen, glancing at them both timid and cautiously. "Do I look like Hermione Granger?"
"Hermione Granger? Who's she?" Gustave blinked in amazement and leaving his seat by the window, he patted his daughter, the beaming Veela. "Well done with Jean Granger, Fleur, ma fifille!"
"Merci, papa!" Fleur smiled sweetly, "'ermione agreed to shorten her hair a bit and we had Sleekeazy's New and Improved Hair Serum applied to it. It is better than the one she used for the Ball. Long lasting and zero hassle." She informed the admiring audience minus Draco who was extremely sullen.
"You completely ruined her look! That hair! It was her special feature! As unruly as the owner!" he said distastefully. "Care to explain how you destroyed those beautiful eyes?"
That explanation followed soon too. It was by the grace of a Japanese Beauty product named Iro Eye Drops that could change the eye colour with just drop that Hermione's eyes were hazel. It seemed that some of Fleur's Veela cousins had given her an entire box of beauty products on the occasion of her wedding which she was passing on to Hermione now.
"I don't think anyone would be able to identify her as Hermione Granger." Bill said and walking over to them, he took out what looked like a folded piece of newspaper cutting. "Have a look."He handed it to Hermione who read the headline and smacked her lips in distaste.
"What is it?" Apolline asked from her place by the stove.
"A special report by the Daily Prophet special reporter Rita Skeeter who claims that Hermione Granger left England over her rows with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley on distribution of Prize money for finishing off Voldemort." Hermione replied, crushing the piece into a ball and throwing it in the fire, "She claimed that I wanted bigger share of money because I made the plans."
"At least she admitted that you have the brains to make the plans." Bill offered with a gentle and encouraging smile. Draco agreed. Hermione did have twice the amount of brain both Potter and Weasley put together.
"Never you mind, dear," Gustave ushered Hermione to a seat and handed her a glass of orange juice, "Drink."
Helpless, Hermione looked at Bill for support who betrayed her and nodded, asking silently to finish the juice.
"At this rate, I am soon going to burst." Hermione sighed and took a small sip.
"If not this rate, my dear mother-to-be, you'll be forty pound underweight." Apolline interjected from stirring the soup on the stove. "By the way, Jean, tomorrow we have an appointment with Madame Maxime." Draco noticed how she exchanged a worried glance with Gustave and immediately masked it under a charming smile. "It's nothing. We are just going to talk to her about your physical condition, the Cruciatus and ensure that you receive proper medical care should you ever, Nostradamus forbid, fall ill there." She replied to Hermione's slightly frowned look.
Draco, however, suspected there were other motives to it because as soon as her headmistress was mentioned Fleur's face fell and she forgot to add sugar in her coffee before drinking it. As the scene shifted again, he found himself in another familiar place: Madame Maxime's office at Beauxbatons. The day outside the ceiling high windows was brilliantly bright with a dazzling sun overlooking the waterfalls Audré had mentioned. Their sound was like low hum of bees, present but not overwhelming.
He looked around and noticed the said Madame occupying her seat at the head of her gigantic desk. The others sitting around her were respectively the Healer Lili Sauvageau, Apolline, Fleur and another elderly woman with very calm and sensible features. As Draco watched them, he felt a palpable low tension between the ladies; something was not right. They were too quiet for a crowd of five women.
"Tell me, Fleur," Maxime carefully joined the tip of her ring adorned fingers and rested her broad but elegant chin on it, fixing her gaze on the young Veela. She always had an air of gteat elegance about her. "What is your view on pregnancy and marriage?"
Draco narrowed his eyes. What did Maxime mean by suddenly asking Fleur's view on pregnancy and marriage? Fleur was married and not pregnant.
"My view on pregnancy and marriage?" Fleur repeated, as puzzled as Draco was. She looked at her mother for support. They communicated silently through eyes and Apolline nodded solemnly, asking her to proceed.
Somewhat reassured, she sat straight and replied in a confident voice.
"I am afraid Madame that my view on pregnancy and marriage may not match your or a few people's presumptions about us, the Veelas, on that matter. Most people, even my mother-in-law, used to think that we are after handsome blokes rather than good men. It certainly is not the case. You have seen my father. He is not handsome but he is a very kind and sensible man. So is my husband, Bill Weasley and you saw him at the award ceremony too." She paused and cleared her throat. Draco suspected she referred to the ugly gashes on his once handsome face.
"Contrary to popular notion about Veelas, Madame, I, Fleur Delacour, would wait to have my babies until I am married." Fleur continued, "There are several reasons behind it. I am not against single parents but I don't want my baby to grow up without his or her father. Firstly, because I think that if that man was man enough to inoculate me with his sperm he should be man enough to take the responsibility and help me raise our child." She held an index finger, dictating her rules, "Secondly, since I am a Veela, I have quite a bit of knowledge about men's taste in opposite sex. Regrettably, most men prefer to have a young and dumb but good looking partner rather than a plain but intelligent one. They also are more interested in short term sexual pleasures than long term relationships. I, certainly am not a fool to fall prey to their thirst for lust. I am not going be seriously involved with a man until I am absolutely sure that he's interested in me and not my beauty and youth."
"How can you differentiate it?" Maxime it seemed was rather troubled than satisfied with Fleur's answer. "You are a quarter Veela. Men are bound to get attracted to you." she said reasonably.
Her pupil apparently understood the unspoken question. "For Veelas, Madame, their true mates are those who are not influenced or charmed by them. My mother can still charm any man she likes but my father. I can still charm any man of my choice except Bill. Our powers don't work on them and therefore according to the Veela rules, they are our true mates."
Feeling rather impatient, Draco was wondering why this memory was included by Audré. He was not interested in Veela's mode of choosing their partners. He was waiting for the real conversation about Hermione to commence.
"If I take your words into account Fleur, I believe we are going to have some problems with Jean Granger." Finally Maxime seemed to address the main issue at hand and Draco, pacing around the office stopped. "Like you, most Beauxbatons teachers don't prefer to have a unmarried pregnant pupil, let alone one who has neither the baby's father or his family to support her." Biting his lips, Draco hung to her every word, realizing the motive behind her earlier questions. "I must admit that I was pretty surprised when you sent her to me with that letter. Apolline was here when Jean came here on June. When I asked her about the baby, she flared up, said that she'd never leave her baby even though there was no real obligation on her to keep it. I had to admire her courage and free spirit but it is also foolish, in my opinion. She can have a better life without that baby and yet she's choosing a difficult path both for her and her baby."
Draco wanted to snap on her face and tell her to shut up; Adrian was his parents' life. Without him, both Hermione and he were incomplete.
"But Madame, 'ermione loves that baby. It's her baby." It was Fleur who protested on his stead.
"She said the same things to me too. That it was her baby." Maxime replied solemnly, "But a baby without a visible father, as you yourself stated Fleur, is not a very good and appreciated concept in our Wizarding Society which is still patriarchal and traditional. We are not Muggles. Our ways of lives are very different."
"You mean the words of hopes that I gave 'ermione was wrong?" Fleur cried. "That she'll be stigmatized and punished for someone else's crime?"
"Not completely." Maxime replied evenly, displaying great patience on handling the sensitive matter, "Listen Fleur, I just want to you to make it clear to her that she may not find Beauxbatons as charming as she had thought it is. Most of our teachers are followers of traditional Wizarding beliefs. While they may not insult Jean openly, they may be cold to her. The same goes with the students too. They may not be as friendly as she is expecting them."
"Frankly, Madame, Jean is not expecting anything from anyone." It was Apolline who replied this time. Looking at her, Draco recognized that expression very well. The half Veela was not going to take a single insulting remark on Hermione, lying down. "I have seen her struggles for last two months and if I am not wrong, she has no expectations from anyone at all." She said firmly, "It's sad but true that she has lost her faith on general people." She sighed, "But somehow she still believes in goodness and humanity."
"That's very good." Maxime said, looking pretty relieved now, "I have talked to the teachers and informed them about a pregnant pupil who will be attending Beauxbatons this year. Most of them told me that they have no problem as long as her performance in the classroom is good. But there are some who were against her admittance. Especially the Ancient Runes teacher. To them, I lied that Jean Granger is Fleur Delacour's cousin and her fiancé died in the war. Except for us, these five people here, no one knows it was a case of assault. Dame Peronélle," she waved at the last woman whom Draco didn't recall seeing before, "…is Jean's Maison Head. She is one of those few and fortunate ones whom I trust with my life. I told her the truth about Jean and she has agreed to help us."
"Merci, Dame." Fleur looked immensely grateful as she smiled at her. "Madame, I knew I can trust you. 'ermione came to us with great hopes. We, the Delacours and my husband, Bill will be happy to help her in any possible means."
Maxime waved aside Fleur's words with a kind smile of her own. "Peronélle." she turned her head to the Dame, "You have heard everything from Healer Sauvageau. Do you think you can manage it if Jean suffers any Cruciatus attacks here?"
Dame nodded thoughtfully. "I think I can. I am trained in basic Healing course. The hospital matron is an ex- Healer. Besides, Madame Sauvageau has told me to Floo her if the situation go out of control. But I sincerely hope that such a situation never comes."
"Madame, Jean's health is delicate but her baby is doing very well." Sauvageau added with a solemn expression, "It seems that her baby is feeling his mother's struggles to have him and clinging to her with all the little life he has. That's a miracle in itself." She smiled.
Draco, listening to the ongoing conversation silently, smiled hopefully too. He was extremely thankful to have his son. That little boy, Adrian gave his father the will to live and his mother, the strength fight the destiny.
"That leaves one last topic." Maxime said with an air of finality, "Jean's roommate. I am sure you all have assumed it that no one would like to share a room with an unmarried pregnant woman."
Everyone nodded, even Draco who was wondering how Eva became Hermione's roommate.
"Don't worry about that, Maxime." Dame assured the Beauxbatons headmistress gently, "I have a very good candidate in mind. She and her twin brother would be completing their final year with Granger. I think they'll be just fine for her."
"Peronélle, are you thinking that I am thinking that you are thinking?" Maxime arched an eyebrow, a small smile adorning her lips.
Dame nodded. "The Bellamys." She declared. "They are my nephew and niece."
Draco's mouth fell open. The Bellamys are Dame's family?
"Are you going to tell them the truth behind 'ermione's pregnancy?" Fleur asked the question that was spinning in Draco's head.
"I see no reason to bother them with it." Dame replied serenely, "Being assaulted is not a crime, Delacour. It's the assaulter who should be punished and not the victim. I have complete faith on Eva."
"But her brother?" Apolline asked, looking skeptic. "I mean, after that incident Jean is not comfortable with men except perhaps Bill, Gustave and Alexis and even they approach her very cautiously."
"Madame Delacour, I am aware of PTSD." Dame assured Apolline. "I know that the victims mostly relive their traumatic pasts every day. Despite it, I'll choose Edmound Bellamy, Eva's brother, to Jean's companion. He is a bit ecstatic but a very simple guy." She glanced at Maxime who was smiling for some strange reason, and even blushed slightly."He is a miniature of a special British friend of Olympe. Edmound can't even hurt a fly let alone a woman. I am sure that they'll take good care of Jean Granger."
Draco didn't have enough time to express his gratitude towards that wise Dame for taking care of Hermione when the memories shifted again. He was standing in a room he had been many times, under Disillusionment Charm: Hermione and Adrian's suite in the Eastern wing of the Delacour Residence. Contrast to the previous daytime memory, the lights were on here and the depth of darkness through one of the windows told him it was evening.
As if his second nature while watching the memories, Draco's first job upon landing any memory was locating Hermione in it. This time he found her sitting on the same windowsill he used to occupy while stealthily watching Adrian play and run. She was still on her Jean Granger looks minus the spectacles and holding a mug of the same yogurt drink with the same extremely reluctance.
Contended with his observation, his eyes next shifted to the floor. It was littered with stacks of books, parchments, quills and ink bottles. His gaze followed up. The small bed was almost entirely covered with Beauxbatons uniforms, toiletries items, a large chest full of what looked like hair straightening and eye colour changing serum. Two women, Apolline and Fleur were folding the clothes carefully and placing them inside a large trunk with initials of 'J. G.' on it. Recognizing the Hogwarts trunks and his own mode of placing his name initial, 'D. M.', Draco deciphered that the J stood for Jean while the G was Granger.
So this was the night before leaving for Beauxbatons and Fleur and Apolline were helping Hermione pack her trunk.
"Aunt, please let me help you!" Hermione pleaded from her place on the windowsill, looking very embarrassed, "I always do my things. I don't feel good when others do my work for me."
"Merci, dear." Apolline said airily, as she neatly folded a pink and black shirt before tucking it inside the half filled trunk, "If you really want to help your aunt, do me this kindness of finishing that yogurt drink. I have noticed how you have taken more than half an hour only to finish a quarter of that glass."
Hermione looked down at the glass and gulped audibly. It seemed she was close to tears now. Somehow her innocence made Draco laugh. Hermione looked so cute when she complained about eating. He noticed a small unoccupied area of windowsill beside her and settled there. He couldn't sit beside her on the real life but he could do so in the memories.
"Oh maman, do you see? 'ermione is tired of eating! She doesn't have the required appetite." Fleur said matter-of-factly to her mother. She was examining her old uniforms which have been loosened sufficiently enough to accommodate Hermione's bump with ease. "Maman, how did you do that?" she asked Apolline, visibly impressed.
"That's a Detectable Extension Charm." The elder Veela replied casually, "It is used mostly by pregnant witches to make them comfortable in their old clothes."
"'ermione, maman told me how you sold that locket to buy the school supplies and everything." Fleur started folding her old uniform skirt with great care and said, "It was your mother's last keepsake and the news broke my heart."
"It's alright." Hermione said with a weak smile which suggested otherwise. Draco felt a surge of extreme satisfaction. He had Hermione's locket now and was planning to return it to her very soon. He would love see her put it on and smile like she did when they were young and carefree.
"I hope you are not angry with me." Fleur enquired cautiously, scrutinizing Hermione's features with care. "I told you everything that Madame Maxime told me to. Our teachers and students are not bad, 'ermione. Maybe it's not like Hogwarts but Beauxbatons is still a great place. Did you see the waterfalls and the gardens? Aren't they just beautiful?"
"They are." Hermione, it seemed was losing herself into some other thoughts as she nodded.
"Anything wrong, dear?" Apolline asked this time, "Are you worried that your new school may not be up to your expectations?"
"No, aunt." Hermione tried to smile reassuringly but failed miserably. Her features plainly stated that she was sad. Draco wondered what it was. So far, everything has turned out pretty well. Madame Maxime had everything in Beauxbatons under control and Dame Peronélle has arranged Hermione her new roommate.
"Papa told me about aunt Margot." Fleur said with an extra-bright smile. It seemed she was eager to start any conversation that would light Hermione's mood up. "Served her well. I know my papa very well, 'ermione. He is very rarely that angry. Even maman is careful with him when he is furious about something and you know maman, she is the dominant between the two."
Hermione nodded silently this time, her eyes fixed on the initials J and G.
"Margot is an excellent example of social stereotypical beliefs we, Veelas, face." Fleur went on, determined to have Hermione join them, "When maman and papa got married she was vehemently against it on the grounds that maman was a half Veela and therefore not expected to be a good wife. Like her, most people think that Veelas are born to charm handsome men and dance before them in the Quidditch World Cup; that they can never be good women, good daughters or good wives. Utter rubbish." She snorted in distaste, "I believe you are familiar the definition of a 'good' wife, 'ermione: the one who obeys without questioning or complaining."
Hermione nodded again, her stare still fixed on the name initials. Draco wondered what was troubling her inside.
"Even Bill's mother and sister used to think so." Fleur continued, handing the folded skirt to Apolline and reaching for the full sleeve shirt, "That I was after Bill because he was handsome. Nonsense. I love him because he respects me and is not after my beauty." She said dismissively, "I know many people might take you as a foolish girl for being pregnant out of wedlock, for not using a contraception charm when staying with your alleged lover or maybe even someone worse than that." her features were serious this time, "I just want you to know that they are the same social stereotypical stigmas Veelas encounter and to not let your spirits down. We know what you really are. You know what you really are. The end." She handed the newly folded shirt to Apolline dismissively.
Hermione sighed and rubbed her forehead. There was something in her demeanor that Draco was certain it wasn't altogether a reaction to Fleur's words.
"Fleur, if you are internally blaming yourself that you made me to come here instead of going Australia to my parents or that you gave me false hopes about Beauxbatons or left any grand impression that French Wizarding society is anyway better than the British one, then you are blaming yourself wrongfully." She said, taking a small sip from the neglected drink at last, "I am not an impulsive person. I knew it very well what I was up to when I decided to come here. It was not your words that made me do it." She shook her head. "I had other reasons."
Draco leaned forward and gave Hermione's profile a very intense gaze. He remembered Audré's word about the memories being different this time. They were more silent than usual. Was there something else he was overlooking?
"You'll understand it when I tell you a bit more about my family." Hermione still had the lost look on her face.
"Maman told me all about your family, 'ermione." Fleur supplied with a gentle smile, "You are a descendent of the great François de Créquy."
"Ah! Shut up!" Draco snapped in annoyance that Fleur was interrupting Hermione's open internal monologue. He was eager to learn more about her and since she wouldn't tell him about her in real life, the memories might help greatly.
Hermione sighed again. "I never told anyone, even to Harry or Ron, my two best friends more about me or my other family members when we were at Hogwarts. They just knew that I lived in London and my parents were dentists. That's all. They don't know that one of my grandmothers is alive and well. She is the one I am named after: Hermione Leeds Granger. Her middle name is Sarah. I called her grandma Sarah. Among my four grandparents she is the one I still have. I even have an aunt, my dad's sister. She is Catherine Granger Worsley. They all live in England."
Merlin! Draco yelped as joy and surprise erupted inside his chest like a sleeping volcano suddenly coming to life. Hermione's had other relatives and they were alive! What's more, they lived in England and not in Australia! He slapped himself mentally for not considering the possibility. His own maternal and paternal grandfathers had died when he was two and sixteen respectively. Why didn't it occur to him that Hermione might have other family members too? After all, she is not Chinese.
"Nostradamus, Jean!" Apolline cried, looking stunned. "Why didn't tell us about them before? Your grandma and aunt? Can we bring them here?"
Draco was thinking on the same lines as Apolline.
Hermione's face fell, if possible, even more. "No. I wiped their memory of me."
"No!" both Draco and Fleur cried in unison; Draco in exasperation and Fleur in evident agony. "Why 'ermione? Why?" Fleur was gaping like a fish.
"Why not?" Hermione asked back, "It was war time, Fleur and like every Muggleborn who was a Wizarding citizen, I too, had a Ministry record. They knew where I lived. Number nineteen Heathgate Church road, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London. They knew my parents' names and job. Thomas and Adeline Granger. Dentists. We have lived in that neighbourhood since I was born. It is a quiet suburb, Fleur, everyone knew each other. We had Muggle neighbours who knew that I was attending a girl's boarding school in Scotland. What do you think would happen if I just wiped my parents' memories and my grandma or aunt turned up at their door steps one fine morning, looking for Thomas and Adeline only to find a very confused Monica and Wendell?"
Draco was hanging to Hermione's every word with undivided attention.
"I had no choice but to wipe their memories of me too!" Hermione cried, silently asking everyone to understand her situation, "I never told this to Harry or Ron. Harry was already planning to leave for the Horcrux hunt without me after Ron told him about my parents. Had I told him about my other relatives, he surely would have left me at the Burrow."
Fleur clapped over her open mouth, her blue eyes round in shock. Apolline was giving Hermione the most grievous of looks. But Draco was simply crippled under the burden of truth and extent of sacrifice this wonderful witch had done for her friends and now for the baby she loved. The suffocating feeling of guilt and remorse was back again.
"But that is beside the point." she said calmly, "I did what I had to do. My parents, grandma, and aunt. Their safety was the most important thing for me then, just like my baby's safety is the most important thing for me now." she gently caressed her bump, "My Grandma Sarah lives not very far from my old home in Hampstead. In Arden Street. Before I wiped my parents' memories of me, I emptied my room and the house of everything that might indicate that they ever had a daughter. Monica and Wendell Wilkies were childless, you know. It would look suspicious if they found a room on the first floor landing that contained belongings of a seventeen year old girl. So I wiped the photos where I was with them and removed the others that I couldn't bear to part with. I put them inside a bag with Undetectable Extension Charm and wiped their memories as they sat, drank tea and watched a documentary on Australia. Then I left home and went straight to me grandmas. It was Sunday. My aunt Cathy usually drops by my grandma on Sundays to have tea. She was there when I visited them. I wiped their memories of me too, put them on an enchanted sleep and hid the bag in a cellar under the stairs, where I knew no one would look for them. I had an undecided future lying before me, Fleur. Anything could happen during the Horcrux hunt. I couldn't take risks based on my emotions for them." She shook her head, "And I was right. Look what happened to me!" she sighed, her hand still on her bump, "Now I think they are better off without me."
The silence in the room was so dense that Draco thought it would hit him if he moved his limbs. What should he call this? Ingenious scheme? Brilliant idea? Careful planning? Excellent predictions? Or plain and raw sacrifice? But regardless of what it was, the end truth remained always the same: Hermione couldn't go back to his family and friends because he has assaulted her. It was not the shame; it was the sacrifice for her baby.
"You already know that my one of Grandmas, my mum's mother was a French noble woman." Hermione drank from the glass and cleared her throat. It seemed that she was thirsty from continuous talking. Neither Apolline nor Fleur moved a muscle.
"Jean Créquy, my grandma, was very young when her family perished at the World War two. She was only fifteen. Her family was in the French army. They died and she became an orphan. Grandpa was a friend of Grandma's elder brother when they were fighting against the Germans. Somehow, grandpa met grandma and they fell in love with each other. When grandma's family home was bombed by the German planes and everyone in it died, grandpa decided to take her to England and marry her there."
"Like my grandma Jean, my grandpa, Joseph Hastings, was from a very noble family. They are called the Earl of Huntingdon. When the war broke out, every able bodied man from age nineteen to fifty was asked to join the Royal Army. My grandpa was the sixteenth Earl in line when he came here to fight. He met Grandma Jean and after she was left an orphan, he took her to England with the promise of love and respect of marriage."
"He introduced her to his family and expressed his desire to marry her. But they objected to it. They said that my grandpa was going to be an Earl and it would be unwise for him to marry a poor French orphan. My grandpa tried his best to persuade them, told them that my grandma was from a very noble family and the union would be good. But they wouldn't listen. In the end, grandpa left his title and inheritance for his love of grandma. They got married and went to live in Somerset. It's a beautiful country side in the southwestern England. They built a cottage there and my mum was born a few years later."
There was a strangely sad glow on Hermione's face now; as if she was not in her room but in a past she talked about so passionately.
"I have been to that cottage many times. 'Holly pond cottage' was its name. The outer wall…" she moved her hand through the plain air, as if touching the invisible wall, "…was made of Somerset limestone. Every single one of those stones was laid by my grandfather as he built a home for his beloved wife." her voice was slightly broken, "It was a little heaven. A paradise for a woman who had lost everything in the war. It was then that I started dreaming to have a cottage like that of my own when I have my family. A cottage like my grandma Jean had. Holly Pond Cottage."
As if someone has splashed Draco with ice cold water, he woke up from the deep trance he was in. Hermione was explicitly telling him how she wanted her home to be! Just the thing he wanted!
"It had three bedrooms." She was completely lost in another realm, "There was a pond in the backward. It was full of gold fishes. My grandma loved gardening so they had a small garden too. It was a modest life, a plain life, a hard life. My grandpa was ill from the injuries he had received at the war so my grandma wouldn't let him work full time. She used to teach French in a local school and give piano lessons to kids. It is she who taught me how to play piano. I started my lessons when I was only five."
To Draco, who was falling asleep every night with Hermione's enchanting piano music coming through his radio, that solved the mystery as to how she sounded so effortlessly professional with that particular instrument. This witch was not only intelligent, brave and loving; she also came from a family who had better values than all the Sacred Twenty Eight Pureblood families put together. And yet unlike the Malfoys, she was so humble and down to earth!
"Jean!" Apolline exclaimed as if she has suddenly discovered the thirteenth use of Dragon Blood, "Jean Créquy and…and Jean Granger…Nostradamus!"
Distracted, Draco looked at Hermione but she was smiling for the first time since he landed on that memory. It was a warm one and despite the strange mixture of positive and negative emotions he felt inside, he couldn't help but smile too.
"What is it maman?" Fleur, it seemed was too shocked to be shocked more. She turned to Hermione next, "What is it 'ermione?"
"Do you know what is Jean's new job from September?" Apolline asked her perplexed daughter, who shook her head, "She is going to be an English and piano tutor."
As the revelation hit Draco, he laughed out loud. What a wonderfully reciprocal connection! Jean Créquy in England was a French and piano tutor! Jean Granger in France was going to be an English and Piano tutor!
"Now you see, Fleur, I didn't come to France because I thought life would be a bed of roses here." He heard Hermione say. She finally seemed to have gained some interest in the yogurt drink for she finished it in one go and burped slightly, "In fact, life is never supposed to turn out fruitful without any sort of struggles. Those who say otherwise are either Malfoys or kidding themselves."
Her words brought forth Audré's question to Draco. What would he learn from this new memory? He understood it now, even though the memory wasn't fully over. It was clear to him as daylight.
Hermione Jean Granger was a woman who never complained about life or what it brought upon her. From leaving behind her country and friends to working in an underpaid job to selling her mother's locket, buying second hand books, opting old uniforms, or deciding to work as an English and piano tutor in a foreign country, this woman has never complained. Ever. In contrast, Draco Malfoy, with everything under his command, his money, his family influence had spent almost ninety nine percent of the time whining and complaining loudly about it. Also, Hermione was never afraid to fight for what she believed was good. Draco wouldn't fight if there was no gain for him in it. Hermione worked to excel. Draco worked to earn and prove himself. Wasn't that enough to point out how extremely opposite they were?
As the realization and raw truth landed upon Draco, he decided to leave the memories for a while to calm the inner turmoil he felt. He needed to clear his head, to think, to identify the key points of this memory and if possible, understand what he could do to repair the damage he had done.
To be continued in the next chapter…