Chapter Two.
Draco wandered around his penthouse, making sure everything was sorted for Hermione coming over. Visiting his father in Azkaban always left him feeling anxious and unable to relax. Normally he didn't start to feel better until he saw Hermione and held her in his arms.
After making sure the place was spotless, Draco eventually settled down in the front room. Picking up his book he read a few pages before throwing it back onto the coffee table. Draco just couldn't concentrate on what he was reading so instead he sat back on the sofa, closed his eyes and thought about Hermione and the fact they would soon be together properly.
Draco knew they would likely face opposition to their relationship, but he also knew they were strong enough to prevail. The main opposition from Draco's side would come from his father, but being stuck in Azkaban meant there was little Lucius could do about it. Draco's mother, Narcissa, was initially likely to back his father but Draco was hoping he could convince his mother that he was doing the right thing. If he could get Narcissa on side Draco was hoping his father would come round and accept Hermione, Lucius may not be a big part of his daily life but he still loved him and didn't want to lose what little contact they did have.
While Draco was hopeful his family would eventually come round he wasn't as sure about Hermione's friends. After the war a lot of people felt he escaped lightly, and Harry Potter and Ron Weasley weren't afraid to tell people that was their opinion. Over the last few years Harry had softened his stance and on the rare occasion Draco came into contact with him they could at least be civil to one another. On the other hand Ron obviously still harboured a grudge and a few times had made it clear he thought Draco belonged in Azkaban.
Draco's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the floo network activating. Getting up he smiled widely when Hermione stepped from the flames and paused briefly to brush soot off her dress.
"Hi." Hermione smiled when she spotted Draco and rushed straight over to embrace him.
Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione, wondering what was bothering her as she nestled into him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Hermione nodded, not moving from Draco's arms. Obviously she was going to tell him about Ron's threat, but first she needed to spend some time with him.
"Are you hungry?" Draco asked, knowing it was pointless to push Hermione and that she would talk about what was bothering her when she was ready. "I stopped at the Italian around the corner and grabbed some takeout."
"That sounds great." Hermione said, finally stepping out of Draco's arms.
"Come on then, let's go eat." Draco said, leading the way into the kitchen.
Together they sorted dinner and settled down to eat with a nice bottle of wine. Conversation over dinner surrounded Draco's visit to see Lucius and general chit-chat. Draco was very aware that Hermione never once brought up the topic of them going public with their relationship and the one time he mentioned it she changed the subject. By the end of the meal he had convinced himself that she had changed her mind about them being together and that was why she was in such a strange mood.
"I can't take this anymore." Draco announced as they settled back into the front room after dinner.
"Take what?" Hermione asked.
"This torture, if you're going to end it then just do it. Don't prolong the agony."
Hermione looked at Draco in confusion. "Why would I end it?"
"You've been in a strange mood since you arrived and you never once mentioned our relationship over dinner." Draco replied. "I assumed you were having second thoughts about telling people."
"I want to tell people more than anything." Hermione said sadly.
"Why do I sense there's a massive but coming?" Draco asked, noticing how sad Hermione looked.
"Because there is." Hermione sighed. "Ron came to see me this afternoon and it wasn't good."
"I don't imagine a visit from Weasley is ever good." Draco muttered, letting his dislike of the redhead shine through. Normally he managed to keep his opinion of Hermione's friend to himself, but for some reason he couldn't help himself today.
"This was bad, Draco." Hermione said. "He knows about us and he threatened us."
"The bastard, I'll kill him." Draco snarled, jumping up from the sofa.
"Draco, don't." Hermione pulled her boyfriend back onto the sofa before he had a chance to storm off and confront Ron. "Confronting him will only make things worse, if it's even possible for things to get worse that is."
"What exactly did Weasley say?" Draco asked, sensing there was more to this than what Hermione was telling him.
"Apparently he's got a pile of fake evidence against you, accusing you of dealing in dark magic and artefacts. If I don't do what he wants then he's going to use it to send you to Azkaban." Hermione explained.
"I bet he would as well." Draco muttered. "He's made no secret of the fact he thinks that's where I belong. And it's not as if it hasn't been done before."
"What do you mean, it's been done before?" Hermione asked.
"Can you remember a few of years ago when Theo Nott was sent down for trafficking dark artefacts?" Draco asked.
"Vaguely." Hermione said. Theo was a friend of Draco's and he'd been released from Azkaban just before she got together with Draco a little over two years ago, but she couldn't really remember much about the actual case.
"Theo was innocent and he spent a year in Azkaban. It was retaliation from the Aurors when Theo's father won his appeal and was granted early release." Draco explained. Theo's father had been a Death Eater like Lucius and he'd also been sent to Azkaban after the war.
"I remember that." Hermione said. "Nott claimed that the arresting Aurors had coerced him into confessing to crimes he didn't commit. I can remember Harry and Ron were furious when he won his appeal and was released, they said it undermined the entire department."
"They weren't the only ones to feel that way. A couple of the other Aurors decided to take revenge, they knew they couldn't get to Nott Senior so they targeted Theo." Draco said. "Obviously with who Theo was he was sent straight to Azkaban and he lost a year of his life."
"How do you know Theo was framed by Aurors?" Hermione questioned. She didn't doubt Theo's innocence as she'd met him and believed he wanted nothing to do with the darker side of magic.
"One of them visited him in Azkaban to taunt him." Draco answered. "Of course no-one would believe him. Who's going to believe the son of a convicted Death Eater over an Auror?"
"That's what Ron kept saying about you." Hermione whispered, wondering if Ron was involved or knew about Theo been set up. "When I said you could fight the claims and prove they were false, he kept saying no-one would believe you over him."
"I hate to admit it, but Weasley's right." Draco admitted with a disgusted look. "I'm a former Death Eater and most people will rush to condemn me. I don't stand a chance if Weasley decides to set me up."
"I know." Hermione said quietly, having already came to the same conclusion a few hours earlier. "That's why I need to do what he wants."
"What exactly does he want?" Draco questioned.
"He wants me to marry him."
"No!" Draco protested with a shout. "That is not an option."
"It's our only option." Hermione said. "Believe me, I hate it as much as you but there's no other way. If I don't marry him, he's going to send you to Azkaban and I can't let that happen."
"There has to be another way." Draco said stubbornly. "I am not losing you to Weasley."
"You'll never lose me, Draco." Hermione said softly, taking hold of Draco's hand. "I will always be yours, even if I'm married to Ron."
"That's not happening." Draco insisted. "I won't let you do this for me. I might get a life sentence in Azkaban, but we'll both get a far worse one of you marry Weasley."
"At least this way we can still see each other." Hermione argued. "If you're in Azkaban, that's it, we're done. This way we can still be together, even if it is just once in a while."
Draco paused for a few minutes before shaking his head yet again. "There has to be another way. I know, we can leave. We run before Weasley works out what's going on."
"If we run, he releases the evidence against you." Hermione said despondently. "We'll be hunted down and things will be ten times worse."
"They might not find us." Draco said hopefully, even though deep down he knew they would be found. Since the war the Auror's had tracked down dozens of Death Eaters, including some who'd been in hiding since the first war.
"They will." Hermione stated. "Running isn't an option."
"Neither is you marrying Weasley." Draco repeated in despair. "I can't live with that, Hermione. I'd rather go to Azkaban."
"Don't say that." Hermione cried, moving closer to Draco. "I can't let you go to Azkaban, it'll destroy you. You've seen what that place does to people, I couldn't live with myself if I condemned you to that fate."
"And I couldn't live with myself if I condemned you to marry Weasley." Draco replied. "You should be marrying me, not him."
"It might not be forever." Hermione said. "What if I went along with his option and married him. I could then look for the information he has on you and destroy it. I could also gather evidence on him and expose him for the corrupt, blackmailing bastard he is."
"Do you think that would work?" Draco asked. He didn't want Hermione anywhere near Ron, but it was looking like her marrying him was their only option.
"It's worth a try." Hermione shrugged. "It's better than refusing his offer and having him come after you. At least this way we still have a chance to be together."
"How long do we have to make the decision?" Draco asked, hoping Weasley didn't want a quick answer to his ultimatum.
"A week, he wants his answer next Saturday afternoon." Hermione answered.
"Okay, then we have a week to either find a new way out of this or to work on a plan to bring him down." Draco said. "Whatever happens, I promise you won't be married to that arsehole any longer than is absolutely necessary."
"Good." Hermione smiled. "Because I think I've just had a proposal from someone much better and I want to take advantage of it."
"You would really marry me?" Draco asked in surprise.
"In a heartbeat." Hermione replied. "I just hope I get the chance."
"You will." Draco said. "I promise we'll find a way to be together."
Hermione nodded before leaning forward and connecting her lips with Draco's. "I hope so." She whispered as they separated for air.
"I know so." Draco declared, before reconnecting their lips and ending their conversation for the night.