A/N: It's been forever and I'm sooo sorry! Between class and a new job life has been hectic! But I have a better feel for my schedule now, and as long as my muse cooperates with me, I should be back to regular updates. Thank you for reading! Leave me comments. :)
Chapter Seventeen: Reunited
"My Little Girl" -Tim McGraw
"He can't just do something like that! Can he? I mean, surely we could arrest him. Or I mean, not us, but one of the higher ups..."
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. They were sitting in the Weasley's garden, having just arrived home from the gala. His headache was growing worse by the minute, and Ron's constant string of complaints and insults directed at the Malfoy heir were definitely not fucking helping.
It had been a terrible night. He'd had to stand on a stage, handing out plaque after plaque to grieving, broken families who might still be whole had it not been for him. So many people had lost their lives in a war that was waged simply because Voldemort had wanted his head. And then Hermione... God, Hermione. He had hated seeing her go to pieces like that. He had witnessed his friend in the most vulnerable moment that he could ever remember.
"-And just because they have some kind of 'thing' going on doesn't mean he can just waltz right in and take her wherever the bloody hell he wants while she's unconsious! I mean, Merlin knows what he's doing to her right now... she's defenseless in that state-"
"Ron, mate, no offense, but shut it!" Harry snapped and he felt Ginny's hand tighten on his arm.
"Wh- What do you mean 'shut it'? She's our friend, Harry!" Ron spluttered, indignantly.
"Our friend who you haven't talked to in a week because she kissed someone who wasn't you, after she had already made her feelings perfectly clear to you!" Harry fired back. Ginny was being uncharacteristically quiet and Harry wondered if he had gone too far.
Ron's face was several shades darker than his hair now. "Yes, I was mad! I was hurt! But I care about her! I want to know that she's okay. I mean, what the fuck was that tonight? And then he just takes it upon himself to carry her home with him. I mean, she might not have wanted to go..." His voice sounded a bit shaky on the end and Harry almost regretted even saying anything. Almost. He was so tired of being caught in the crossfire. Ron needed to man up and move on.
"She would have wanted to go..." Ginny murmured.
Ron spluttered and huffed, "And how would you presume to know that?"
Ginny heaved a great sigh, twirling a strand of her red hair around a pale finger, "Ron, do you honestly think that Draco would hurt Hermione?" she asked.
Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It's fucking Draco Malfoy, Ginny. Of course I do! He hates Hermione."
Ginny laughed, causing Ron to scowl at her. "I don't see what's so damned funny."
"Oh, Ron, you are completely blind if you think that he's still the same person you knew!" At his silence and confused stare, she shook her head. "Merlin's beard, he's completely smitten with her, and she with him... even if neither of them realises it fully yet. He's changed since they've become friends. Maybe even before. There's no way he would ever hurt her and I would swear it to Merlin himself."
Ron still looked doubtful. "Harry?"
Harry shrugged. "I agree. Draco's changed. I mean he's still an obnoxious prick, but he's not a homicidal obnoxious prick. And I don't believe for a second that he would let anything happen to Hermione."
Ron chewed their words over in his head, wringing his hands.
"Besides," Ginny smirked, "It's not as if he'd ever kidnap her or anything..." She waited and when neither Harry nor Ron laughed, she sighed. "Too soon?"
Draco woke to sunlight streaming through his windows. He was overly hot and his shirt was sticking to him from the sheen of sweat on his skin. He glanced over at the old clock on the wall. It was past noon.
Despite the heat, and the late hour, Hermione was sleeping contentedly, soft snores escaping her as her chest rose and fell evenly. He was pleased to note that his Quidditch jersey still hung around her neck, charmed into the inconspicuous piece of jewelry. She looked so peaceful and Draco was enamored by the fact that just his presence had allowed her a full night of sleep. Or maybe he was being conceited. In all honesty, his presence probably had nothing to do with it. She was exhausted, after all and recovering from an anxiety attack, a fainting spell and a head injury. Yes, that ought to be enough to make anyone sleep in.
Draco rolled onto his side and carefully brushed a few stray curls away from her face. Fuck, she was beautiful. He'd been deluding himself to ever have thought otherwise.
A quiet knock at the door diverted his attention momentarily and when he turned back to look at her, she had cracked one eye to peek up at him. He smirked at her and slipped out from under the blanket, crossed the room and cracked open the door.
Andromeda stood in the hallway, a small piece of parchment clutched in her hand. "This just came for Hermione. It has Kingsley's seal on it."
Draco nodded and took it from her. She hesitated, hovering in the doorway. "What is it?" he asked, growing uneasy with the way she was shifting from foot to foot.
"There are two Auror's downstairs who would like a word with you." Andromeda grimaced. A sharp cry startled her and she turned away. "That's Teddy up from his nap, I should... I'd go on down, Draco, luv." She said before turning and disappearing into Teddy's room.
What the fuck did two Auror's want with him? He hadn't done anything wrong. He had answered all of their bloody questions, even those it had pained him to speak about. His mother was still a sore subject and would probably always be. He squeezed his eyes shut, crinkling the parchment in his hand a bit before he sighed, turned and found himself face to face with Granger.
"Fucking hell, Granger! I didn't even hear you move-"
"Did she say Aurors? What's that?" She nodded to the paper in his hand. He handed it over and she chewed her lip, hesitant.
"Don't bite your lip. That's for you, from Kingsley apparently and yes, she said Aurors, but they're here for me."
She jerked her eyes away from the seal on the parchment to stare at him, brown eyes widening so that he could see their entire iris. "What did you do?"
He scoffed and smirked. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Granger," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Nothing that I can recall, in recent memory, anyway. Guess I'm about to find out."
She frowned at him as he turned and pulled the door open wide to exit into the hallway. He glanced back to see her tearing into the letter.
He was dressed only in his pyjama pants, his chest bare. For better company, he probably would have at least donned a shirt.
He stepped off of the last stair, and stopped short when he saw who awaited him in the living room. He leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms over his chest, flexing his muscles just a bit and smirked.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Weaslebee?"
Ron's face turned nearly purple, and his comrade stepped forward, giving Draco pause. He hadn't noticed him at first.
"Barrett. I would say welcome, but you're not."
"I would hold my tongue if I were you, Malfoy. You are wanted for questioning at the Ministry for the abduction of Hermione Jean Granger." Barrett sneered at him, flashing his badge as if Draco didn't know perfectly well that he was an Auror.
"For fuck's sake, I've already answered all of your sodding questions. I've been tried and aquitted, remember? Or have you had one too many stuns to the head from your trainee, here? You know, he always was shite in school-"
"Shut your mouth, Malfoy!" Ron bellowed, causing 'Dromeda's owl to screech and begin an never ending circle of flight around the ceiling.
"That is not the abduction to which I was referring, Mister Malfoy. You see, Hermione Granger fell unconscious at the gala last night after suffering a psychotic break. She was removed from the premesis without the permission of the unconscious Granger and against the will of her friends and care givers."
Draco snorted a laugh. "You can't be fucking serious. She's here. She's fine."
Barrett shrugged, a wide grin spread across his face, but his eyes cold. "Either way, Malfoy, you're coming with us. You are under arrest," he said, moving forward and conjuring a pair of non-magic cuffs.
Draco glared at Barrett as he moved towards him, knowing that fighting would only make matters worse for him. He was supposed to be staying out of trouble. He turned around without a word and held his hands behind his back.
As Barrett slipped on the cuffs, he chuckled softly. "It's too bad really, that you'll be thrown back into a cell. I'd have really liked to see your face when-"
"What are you doing?"
Hermione had appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her wild curls splayed around at all angles, giving the impression that a Hippogriff might be nesting on her head. Draco smirked, wondering how he hadn't noticed it before he'd left the room. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes narrowed and she had her fists pressed firmly against her hips, the letter still clutched in her left hand. Her t-shirt and shorts were a bit too small, hugging tightly to all the right places. Pansy had leant them to her the night before so that she wouldn't have to sleep in her dress. All in all, Draco thought as he took in the sight of her, if he hadn't known any better, he would have had the impression that they had been up to a little more than sleeping up in his room.
When he heard the sound of Ron's spluttering behind him, he knew that he was correct. He smirked. "I'm being arrested, Granger, for kidnapping you."
Her eyebrows knitted together. "But you've already been tried. You were released... What-?"
"No, no, Granger," Draco said slowly, sarcastically, enjoying himself just a bit. "Not that time. They've found me out. I'm being taken in for abducting you last night and holding you hostage here. However did you escape your chains?"
Confusion quickly turned to shock and then anger. He watched the emotions play out over her face, studying them carefully and relishing the fiery look she got in her eyes as she settled into indignation.
"Release him immediately, Barrett! He hasn't kidnapped me. I'm here of my own free will. I want to be here!"
Ron stepped forward now, anger coloring his face. "How can you say that, Hermione? You weren't even speaking to him, and then you act like a fucking looney at the gala, pass out and hit your head and you're just fine with the fact that he whisked you away without consent?"
Hermione threw up her hands in exasperation. "Godric, Ronald, what do you want from me! Draco is my friend. I know that you don't like him, and that's fine. You don't have to! But you don't get to dictate my life! You can't tell me who I can and can't spend my time with! And you definitely can't abuse your position at the Ministry as a means to an end! You're the only one that has any problem whatsoever with me being around Draco and I'm sick of it... If you can't be my friend, and let me make my own choices and support me, then..."
"Then what, Hermione?" Ron asked, glaring coolly at her, his arms crossed over his chest. "Go ahead and say it."
She took a breath, calming herself and seemed to consider her words before she slowly and firmly gritted out, "Then maybe we shouldn't be friends anymore."
"Do you realise how childish you sound?" Ron sneered.
"Do you realise how childish you've been acting?" She shot back.
Draco watched their exchange in silence, wishing Barrett would take the damn cuffs off already. Ron and Hermione continued to stare each other down in tense silence, before Weasley finally broke it.
"Well, you heard her Barrett."
The other Auror looked thoroughly put out that he wouldn't be bringing Draco in to the Ministry and Draco smirked at his sullen expression. Barrett released the cuffs and Draco flexed his wrists.
"Thanks for dropping by," Draco said, moving to lean against the back of one of the couches. "It's been nice catching up."
Ron flipped him off, shot a withering look at Hermione and walked out the front door, slamming it behind him. Barrett turned to head for the front door, but stopped short and turned on his heel.
"I'll be seeing you at the Ministry later, Miss Granger. I look forward to meeting your parents."
And with that, he was gone, leaving Hermione standing with a disgusted expression on her face. She gave an involuntary shiver. Draco arched an eyebrow, "Your parents?"
She held up the letter, "Kingsley had someone restore their memories. I'm to meet them at the Ministry in an hour."
Draco nodded, bringing a hand up to stroke his chin.
Hermione studied him, a strange expression on her face.
"Something on your mind, Granger?" He asked, after what felt like several minutes had passed.
She chewed her lip and he resisted the urge to stride forward and yank it free. "Why'd you bring me here, Draco? Why did you... Why did you kiss me last night? Or why did you kiss me the first time, just to tell me to leave right after? I don't like to be toyed with."
He opened his mouth to respond, but it seemed she wasn't quite finished yet.
"If you don't like me in that way, you can just say so. I know I reacted poorly before. I shouldn't have warded you out. I should have spoken to you. But you don't have to pretend just to spare my feelings... I would understand if you-"
It seemed as if she didn't plan on letting him get a word in edgewise any time soon, and so he strode forward and shut her up the only way he knew how.
Her mouth popped open in suprise as his lips crushed down on hers, and he kissed her briefly, not allowing her time to kiss him back before he pulled away, taking a step back.
"Now that you're quiet, I can answer you. I'm not pretending anything. I told you to leave because I'm bad for you. I regretted it immediately, but I couldn't rectify the situation because you did everything in your power to make sure that I couldn't get near you. I'm a terrible person who has done terrible things. I've told you that, several times now. You know what I am, and if you still choose to hang around, then it's on you. I can't stay away from you. You've gotten under my fucking skin, and I can't get you out. So, I won't tell you to leave again, but I won't tell you to stay either. If you want to continue to make the bad decision to be my friend, or whatever this is, then it's one hundred percent on you."
Hermione was staring up at him, her golden brown eyes roving his face, a slight smirk on her lips. "Some speech..." she murmured, stepping forward and closing the space between them. Draco watched her warily as she stood before him. She reached out tentatively, and trailed her fingers up his bare arm, over his shoulder and down, splaying her fingers wide as they passed over his chest. "You know, I'm pretty good at making bad decisions... If you look at my track record I mean, over the years, I've made plenty... I've made some pretty recently, as you kindly pointed out to me."
"Hm..." Draco hummed in agreement, coherent thought escaping him. Goose bumps rose to the top of his skin as her fingers continued their light trails over his naked torso.
"What's one more..." She whispered.
"Draco, 'Dromeda said there were fucking Aurors here ma- Oh."
Hermione jumped as if she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, as Theo spoke from the doorway.
"Ooh, hoo, hoo! What's going on here?" Theo grinned, moving around them to flop down onto the couch. "This morning just gets more and more interesting by the minute."
"Theo," Draco growled, a warning in his voice that he knew his friend would blatantly ignore.
"Is this arrangement monogamous or can I get in on the fun?" Theo grinned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Hermione gave an indignant gasp and Draco rolled his eyes. "He's kidding, Granger-"
"-No, I'm not-"
"Theo, I swear to Merlin, I'll castrate you here and now if you don't piss off-"
Theo threw his hands up, but made no move to leave. "Hey, hey, no need for threats. I'll be good. What did the Aurors want?"
Draco heaved a great sigh and moved around the couch to sit. Granger remained behind the couch, but leaned against it so that her chin was just above his head. He could feel her warm breath on his hair as he answered Theo. "They were going to arrest me for kidnapping Granger-"
"But-"
"But we've already been tried. Yes, I know. They were here to arrest me for kidnapping her again. Last night."
"Ah, what the fuck," Theo grumbled, his eyes narrowing. "Bet it was fucking Weasley's doing."
"It was," Hermione agreed, quietly as Draco said, "He was here."
"What a cunt," Theo snorted. "Who was the other?"
"Barrett."
"Shite.
It grew quiet for several moments. Hermione cleared her throat. "I'd better get going," she said, turning to head for the stairs.
"Granger, didn't you know that it's impolite to leave before breakfast the morning after?" Theo called from his place on the couch. Draco smacked him in the face with a throw pillow.
"Says the man who's never had more than a one night stand until recently."
"Hey, I still stayed for breakfast!" Theo replied, feigning offense. "No sense in leaving on an empty stomach..."
"Oh, how charming." Hermione scoffed. "Seeing as it's well past noon, I'll skip breakfast. I have to get to the Burrow, shower and change and fend off Ginny's endless line of questioning all within an hour, so I'm in a bit of a time crunch."
"I'm sure Draco would help wit-"
"No more innuendos, Theo, I really am in a hurry." Hermione called over her shoulder as she mounted the stairs and disappeared.
Draco smirked at Theo, who smirked back at him. "So..."
"Don't..."
"Granger..."
"I said don't, Theo..."
"I'm just saying, I totally saw this coming. I called it like as soon as we arrived on Bardsey with them in tow. I was like, 'Draco and Granger...' and Pansy was all like, 'Shut the fuck up, Theo, this is serious.'"
"Pansy was right. Shut the fuck up, Theo." Draco said, lounging back and throwing an arm over his face.
Hermione flooed to the Burrow, showered and changed quickly before Ginny even realised she was back. She thought for a moment that she might be able to escape unnoticed to the Ministry and avoid the endless string of questions she knew were coming. But she was not an inherently lucky person, and Ginny was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.
"You were just going to sneak in and out of here without saying a word, weren't you?" The red head demanded, stomping her foot like a toddler.
"No?" Hermione said, grimacing at the look in her friends eyes.
"What happened? Start at the beginning and don't leave anything out."
"The beginning..."
"How about what happened on stage?" Ginny prompted.
Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her curls. "I don't know, Gin. A combination of a lack of sleep, not eating much and turbulent emotions I guess."
Ginny studied her, frowning. "You really scared me when you fainted..."
Hermione grimaced. "I know. I'm sorry."
Ginny arched an eyebrow, but made no comment on her unnecessary apology. "What happened when you woke up? Draco insisted on taking you to Andromeda's. Ron was pretty pissed..."
"Ginny, he tried to have him arrested!" Hermione exclaimed, her stowed anger surfacing. "Ron and Barrett showed up at Andromeda's just before I came here."
"For?" Ginny hedged, but Hermione was sure she already knew the answer.
"Abduction," Hermione rolled her eyes. "I mean, what the hell? I know he's upset about me being friends with Draco, but that's taking it too far."
Ginny held her hands up, a disgusted expression on her face, "Hey, I'm with you."
Hermione glanced nervously at the clock, sucking a calming breath through slighly parted lips. "I have to go now, Gin. I'm going to be late as it is."
"Where are you going?" Ginny demanded, recrossing her arms.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "To the Ministry. Kingsely sent me an owl. They've restored my parents memories."
"Hermione, that's great!" Ginny smiled widely.
Hermione raised her eyebrows, shrugging her shoulders. "I just hope they don't... you know, hate me. For what I did to them."
Ginny scoffed, "They would have died and you know it. You were saving their lives."
"I know it, Gin, but I kept them out of it. I never spoke about Voldemort to them. I never told them about the war or how involved I was..."
"They'll understand, 'Mione. Now get going. And then get your arse back here and tell me everything about everything!"
Hermione laughed, "That's a tall order."
"You can fill it, I'm sure. If anyone knows everything about everything, it's you."
"You overestimate me."
"And you're stalling."
"I'm nervous!"
"Get over it," Ginny gritted out, giving her a shove towards the fireplace.
Hermione heaved a great sigh, grabbed up a handful of floo powder and stepped into the flames, shouting out 'Minstry of Magic' before she had a chance to change her mind.
The Ministry was bustling with people. Hermione hadn't seen it this crowded since before the war. She took it as a good sign.
She walked up to the wand check desk to get a visitors badge and the old woman behind it 'tsk'd'. "You had a time last night, didn't you honey? It was too soon for something like that, I told them. I told them all, it was too much, too soon."
Hermione did her best to hide her shock and embarrassment. She nodded swiftly, reaching out to take the badge from the woman, who's own nametag read Millie.
"Take care of yourself. You hear me, girl? Take care of yourself."
Hermione's brows knit in confusion and she nodded. "Thank you. I will..." she said, fastening on the badge as she hastened away.
All of the lifts were full, aside from one, but the doors were swiftly closing. "Hold it, please!" she called, her trainers smacking loudly against the stone floor as she nearly ran to get to it.
A hand was keeping the grate from sliding shut, and the gap was just wide enough for her to slide through. "Thank you," she said, breathlessly, adjusting her jumper.
"You are most welcome, Miss Granger."
Her blood ran cold at the sound of his voice and she cursed herself for not paying more attention to her surroundings.
"Barrett," she greeted him coldly.
He chuckled quietly. "You have no reason to dislike me, and yet everytime we meet, you treat me as if I were a leper."
Hermione glanced up at him. His dark eyes were trained on her face. "Call it a hunch. Intuition. Base instict, whatever you will."
He laughed loudly, clutching his stomach as if he might burst a seam. "Oh, Miss Granger. A woman's intuition, is it? How clever you are. And here I thought you operated on facts and reason... Though I should have known that wasn't true, because..."
She bit her lip, refusing to take the bait. Barely half a minute passed before she couldn't help herself. "Because?"
"Because," he smirked, "If you had any brains at all in that bushy head of yours, you would stay far, far away from Draco Malfoy."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Draco is my friend."
Barrett snorted and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Miss Granger, but he's not a good 'friend' for you to have in any case."
Hermione arched an eyebrow in disbelief. "And, what, you think you are?"
He laughed again as the lift doors began to open. Hermione hadn't even realised it had stopped. "What do your base insticts tell you, luv?"
And with that he strode out of the elevator, leaving her in stunned silence.
She took a moment to compose herself, before hurrying out of the lift and down the corridor to Kingsley's office. She knocked swiftly and the door opened to reveal Kingsley's tall frame. "Are you ready, Hermione?" Kingsley asked softly, and she saw pity in his eyes. She wondered if that was how everyone was going to look at her now that she had broken down in such a public setting. She couldn't deny it. Everyone had seen her. She sighed.
"Yes. I'm ready."
He motioned for her to come inside and she complied, tears springing to her eyes as she took in her parents. Her dad was standing in front of Kingsley's desk, pacing. Her mother, belly still swollen, was wringing her hands in one of the chairs on front of the desk. They both froze when they saw her, and for a moment, the world stopped spinning on its axis.
"Hermione!" Her mother sobbed, standing with great effort and moving to embrace her. Her body shook and Hermione held her.
"I'm sorry," Hermione whispered through her own tears.
Her dad joined them, wrapping them both in his arms. "Never, ever do anything like that again. Do you hear me, Hermione Jean? Never again!"
She nodded, unable to form coherent words through the torrent of tears streaming from her.
They stayed that way for some time. Hermione felt as if they'd been locked in a three way embrace for several hours, but she knew better. It had been so long since she had felt the warmth of her parents arms around her. She had been distant with them, even before she had decided to wipe their memories, knowing what was coming. She had never expected to make it through the war alive. She had hoped, yes. But never had she let her mind convince her that that would be the inevitable outcome. And perhaps, that is why she had survived. She had never let her guard down, not for one second, always anticipating danger at every turn. It was that kind of mind set that had seen her through countless situations over the past months, ne years.
When they finally did break apart, her parents had demanded a better explanation than the hastily summarized version that Kingsley had provided. She did her best to recount everything that had happened leading up to her decision to Obliviate them, and everything that had happened since. Even the kidnapping. If she was going to start over with her parents, she wanted everything out in the open.
When she was finished with her story, her mother pressed her fingers against her mouth, eyes wide with emotion. "This is... It's so much to take in, dear. I feel like years have passed." She reached out and squeezed Hermione's hand gently. "You have dealt with so much in your young life, Hermione, and you have had to do it alone. It breaks my heart as a mother to know everything you've had to suffer."
Hermione chewed her lip. "I haven't been alone. My friends have been with me every step of the way. And now I have new friends, continuing on with me. I start back to Hogwarts next week to finish out my last year."
Her dad grimaced and shook his head, "Hermione, wouldn't it just be so much easier, so much safer to hand over your wand and integrate back into the... what is it you call us again dear? The 'muggle' world?"
Hermione sighed. "Yes. It would most likely be easier. Possibly safer. But I love being a witch, papa. More than anything. I could never just walk away from my life... from my friends..."
Her dad smiled wistfully, "Was life with us really so bad before? Back before you got the letter and everything was still normal?"
Hermione laughed and arched an eyebrow. "Normal? I don't recall ever being normal. Normal children don't usually set fire to their drapes when they're scolded, or conjure biscuits from the jar while their mother's back is turned. I think that letter saved me from being institutionalised."
He guffawed. "We would never have sent you away, no matter how peculiar a child you were. Kept us on our toes, though, didn't you?"
"Still at it, it seems..." Her mother said pointedly, her eyebrows knitting together.
They sat in a comfortable silence for several minutes. Finally, Hermione asked, "What will you do now? Are you going to stay in Australia? Your practice seems to be doing quite well. And the baby? When is the baby due?"
Her parents shared a glance at each other, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Well," her father began, "We thought we might stay in Australia... At least for now. With the baby almost here, and keeping the business afloat and running smoothly... And you're going back to school-"
Hermione could tell that he was trying to spare her feelings and she couldn't have them feeling guilty for something she had done. She held up a hand to silence him. "Say no more. I completely understand and I'm happy for you both. You have always talked about starting a practice in Australia before you retired and now you're living your dream, with a precious baby on the way. I've always wanted a sibling by the way, have I ever told you?"
The tension in the air eased with her proclamtion and they spent the entirety of the next hour catching up and simply reveling in the joy of each others company. Hermione found herself wishing she had restored their memory as soon as she'd found them in Australia instead of having a pity party and sloughing the task off on someone else. But alas, the deed was done and she was all the merrier for it.