A/N: I'm really sorry this has taken so long! It was a hard one to write but I waited for the muse and it eventually came a few days ago. This is literally fresh off my writing laptop so I hope you enjoy!

Hopefully further updates won't take as long!

serenarian1 x

Chapter 8 – Distraction

I let myself into the flat, trying to calm the thoughts in my head. It had been a busy day of work – Draco had been training all morning and I had been in meetings with Harry. We had been discussing how we were going to handle Draco's eventual assimilation into the larger group of Aurors and the meeting had not gone well. We had encountered resistance at every turn. Seamus had been especially vocal about his disapproval.

For his part, Harry had been firm and insisted that Draco would be joining the Aurors whether they liked it or not; but this had just created more discord within the ranks and eventually I had been forced to intervene. I had expected that the process would not been completely smooth but the ferocity of the resistance had surprised me. Despite my own ironclad beliefs, I was beginning to think that he was innocent of killing Ron after all. He had never shown me any inkling that he was hiding anything and despite how he looked; I could not reconcile the Draco I knew with the Malfoy I had hated.

He looked up as I entered the kitchen. "Hey, Hermione," was his greeting as he smiled at me before returning his attention to the Daily Prophet.

"Hello, Draco. How was training today?" I asked, unzipping my jacket and draping it over the coat stand.

"Boring," he complained. "You weren't there, and the guy who was training me was dull as dishwater. He had the most monotonous voice and he kept giving me commands to do things we did weeks ago – and expecting me to be useless at them. So when I could do them properly, he looked at me with suspicion and accused me of cheating!"

The look of complete bewildered annoyance on his face was priceless and I couldn't resist laughing. He narrowed his eyes at me for a second before finally bursting into laughter as well. I knew exactly who he was referring to – the poor hapless wizard he was describing had trained me for a few sessions as well and had been similarly useless then. When our giggles died away, I smiled before going to the fridge. I took out a bottle of Diet Coke and took a long drink, enjoying the bubbles on my tongue. I lowered the bottle to see him staring at me. "What?" I asked, suddenly uncomfortable.

"When will I be able to join the Aurors fully?" he asked.

I shrugged. "You still have 18 months of training left, Draco. Once you have completed that successfully, you will be formally inducted."

He looked away, biting his lip. "Hermione – I want to see how this goes," he explained, gesturing between us. "There's something building – you know it and I know it. I'm holding back because you aren't sure and because you're my trainer but – I want you, Hermione."

I shook my head helplessly. "Don't say that, Draco. I can't hear this right now."

"Why?" he asked firmly, getting to his feet. "You've known for a while that I'm attracted to you. You know as well as I do that the attraction is mutual – why are you fighting this? Fighting me?"

"I can't," I repeated, closing my eyes for strength. Looking at him would do me no favours. "Draco – please understand. This is not something I can entertain right now!"

"I don't understand, Hermione!" he countered. "You aren't letting me understand! One minute you're kissing me and the next you're moving away from me like I've got some sort of disease... but I know you're hiding something!"

I fisted my hands into my hair as he moved towards me, my anger and frustration building up inside me. I couldn't let him touch me – he was attempting to take me by the shoulders but I just couldn't let him. His fingertips were skimming my skin when I finally exploded. "I CAN'T LET YOU IN BECAUSE WE USED TO HATE EACH OTHER!" I screamed, tears springing from my eyes.

He shrank back from me, his eyes clouded with an emotion that I didn't dare to try and read. "What?" he asked hollowly, sinking back into his seat by the kitchen table. "You mean – we knew each other before and you never told me? You never said anything?"

I was crying properly now; fat tears running down my cheeks. "I couldn't – I was under orders not to," I sobbed. "I told you everything I was allowed to."

"How long did you know me?" he asked warningly. "How long, Hermione?"

"Seven years!" I cried. "Seven years I knew you, Draco, and seven years you hated me and tried to make my life a misery."

When he spoke next his voice was miserable and sounded rough. "So that's why I knew the word mudblood. I called you one, didn't I?"

I couldn't speak. I just nodded. He began to pick his fingernails nervously.

"Holy mother of Merlin," he said finally. "I've lost seven whole years of my life. Seven years of memories, just gone. People that I once knew – maybe even loved – just forgotten."

"Please don't ask me to fill in the blanks," I pleaded. "I'm going to be in enough trouble with the Head of Aurors as it is."

"All right," he agreed. "Just one thing though. Why didn't he want me to know?"

I rubbed at my tearstained cheeks with the back of my hand. "I don't know," I answered. "Would you like to ask him yourself?"

His mouth dropped open before he nodded. I immediately marched into the living room and over to the fireplace; throwing a handful of Floo powder in and yelling for Harry. His head appeared in the flames a second later, looking concerned. "What on earth, Hermione?"

"You'd better get over here," I said. "He knows more than I meant to tell him and he has some questions."

Harry sighed in response and a moment later he was stepping onto the rug, brushing the soot off his clothes. "How does he know?" he demanded. "Hermione, you know you weren't meant to say anything more – not yet."

"Why didn't you want me to know exactly?" Draco's voice drifted in from the doorway; where he was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed. "Also why haven't I met you yet?"

Harry stepped forward, extending his hand. "Harry Potter," he introduced himself. "I'm the head of the Auror Office and Hermione's supervisor."

I watched as Draco hesitated before shaking Harry's hand. The look on his face told me that he didn't know what to make of Harry, but I saw no recognition there. "Why don't you sit and discuss this properly?" I suggested, gesturing towards the sofas. "I'll go and make some tea."

They accepted the invitation and I left the room, switching the kettle on as I passed. I heard them speaking in low voices; Draco's tone urgent, Harry's calm and explanatory. Draco was nodding. I left them to it while I reached into the cupboards for tea and sugar. The kettle boiled and I poured the tea and left it to brew while I fetched the milk from the fridge. Adding it to the mugs and stirring, I finished up and then carried the mugs into the living room on a tray. I set them before the boys, and Draco looked up and smiled in acknowledgement. I couldn't help but notice the way the light was playing across his face; his strange blue/grey eyes warm with affection, his pale hair only serving to showcase the porcelain masterpiece that was his face, almost fragile in its beauty.

"You all right, Hermione?" asked Harry in an amused voice. I realised I was staring and shook myself.

"Sorry, I was staring into space then," I said in an attempt to sound nonchalant. "So what's the news?"

Harry waited for me to sit down before answering. "Well, I've filled Draco in on what we know. I've told him that he went to school with us at Hogwarts but we didn't like each other for the entire time. He accepted that. I also told him that he used to hate you, which he couldn't accept at first."

Hearing this, my eyes flicked to Draco's face almost without thought. He looked crushed; and a little thrill of shock and pleasure shot up my spine. It hit me then – Draco really cared about me. He wasn't pretending. The realisation hit me like a Bludger to the gut, and I blinked suddenly, trying to process it. Harry was oblivious to this, but Draco noticed and gave me a small, hesitant smile.

I held up my hand before Harry could continue speaking. "Harry – I'm sorry to interrupt but there's something I need to do," I said hurriedly, before pulling Draco close to me and kissing him full on the mouth. Somewhere in the distance I heard Harry gasp and chuckle, but I couldn't focus on it as Draco had slipped his arms around my waist and was pulling me closer; deepening the kiss. I allowed his tongue to make brief contact with mine before I pulled away and smiled at him.

Harry was shaking his head and laughing. "Hermione, now that you've gotten that out of your system, could I please continue?" he enquired. I flushed beetroot red and nodded. "As I was saying, Draco here is now aware that he attended Hogwarts with us. Thanks to you, he also knows he was a Death Eater and of the original plan Voldemort and Lucius had planned for him."

"What I don't understand," began Draco, "is what happened during the battle you mentioned. Suddenly I was meant to be the next big thing in dark magic, and then I disappeared? It doesn't make sense."

"That's the piece of the puzzle that's missing," agreed Harry, "along with a few other things that we can't figure out. Hermione's former fiancé, Ron, was found dead in your ancestral home alongside the body of your father a few months later. Lucius also disappeared during the battle, so that doesn't make sense either."

Draco's jaw dropped open, and he reached out and clutched my hand. I felt the familiar bitterness building at the back of my eyes and fought it tooth and nail. I was not going to cry. Not this time. For the first time, I wholeheartedly believed that Draco hadn't killed Ron. "There is nothing tying you to the deaths," I whispered.

Harry's gaze fell on me, surprise in his eyes. I just nodded weakly in response. "As Hermione said, you aren't a suspect in the deaths; although they are suspicious," he reiterated. "I know you have concerns about the other Aurors accepting you; however I have been watching some of your training sessions and any previous concerns I had have been allayed. You are good enough to join us, Draco. You just need to keep working on your training." He smiled kindly at the pale man who was clinging to my hand like a lifeline; his fingers shaking between mine.

"Thank you," ventured Draco, his voice unsteady. "I was angry when I realised you both had kept things from me but now I understand why you did. I assumed you knew all the answers when it turns out you have just as many questions as I do."

Harry and I could only look at each other and nod. Draco had hit the nail right on the head with that observation.