Chapter 57 - Back to Reality

The next morning, Hermione woke up and was disappointed to find that she was alone. After her passionate night with Draco, in which they'd made love several times, each unable to reinforce enough that they were together and intended to remain so, she had expected for him to be beside her when she woke up. She didn't think he was the kind of man to just shag and leave, but, upon looking around and not noticing any note or hint of his whereabouts, she did get worried.

Quickly throwing on her robe, the same one from the previous night, she hurried downstairs. Fortunately, she was met with the sight of Draco in the kitchen, their breakfast already well underway.

Draco turned as he heard her coming, grinning with happiness and even a bit of lust as he caught sight of Hermione in the robe and nothing else. Hermione blushed and returned the grin, taking a seat at the table as she considered that she too was hungry in more ways than one, but that it would be a shame to let their breakfast grow cold. "Good morning, Malfoy," she said cheekily.

"Granger," Draco scoffed, turning back to his work. "Sleep well?" he asked after a short pause.

Hermione bit the inside of her cheek. "Not really, no."

Draco looked a little too smug as he walked over, two plates of eggs benedict, buttered toast, and crisp sausages in hand. "Oh? And why is that?"

You know perfectly well why that is, you insufferable wizard! Hermione thought, but aloud she said, "I'm sure I don't know. It was just a troubled sleep."

"Troubled by what, exactly?" Draco asked, taking a seat beside her. "Come now, Hermione—as my guest, I am responsible for your welfare whilst you are under my roof. Just what troubled you and how can I remedy the situation?"

"By..." Hermione paused as she noticed how close he was leaning over her, the smell of mint on his breath. It was then that she realized that she hadn't brushed her teeth, and so she hurriedly muttered a quick cleansing charm. Draco had obviously noticed, but was chivalrous enough to ignore it. Instead, he merely leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.

"By something monstrous and nightmarish, I've not doubt," he murmured, and then turned to his own plate. "In any case, I can't guarantee that there won't be a repeat of that tonight. Or the next night. Or the night after that, come to think of it."

There was promise in that statement, and one that Hermione didn't object to at all. On the contrary, she found herself grinning like a silly idiot as she dug into her breakfast, simply happy for the camaraderie that she and Draco so naturally shared with one another. If ever she'd wondered what the morning after would be like for when she first took a lover, now she had her answer that it was charming, comfortable, and left her with a giddy sense to return for more and more.

Not that it necessarily would have been like that with just anyone, of course, but with Draco it certainly was.

"Any plans for today?" she asked casually once they had finished eating.

Draco paused as he carried the plates over to the sink, and then set them down slowly. "Yes, actually," he said, the quietness of his voice casting a serious atmosphere over the room. "I'll be going out and will probably be back quite late."

"Out?" Hermione echoed, standing up and walking over to him. "Where are you going?"

Draco looked for a moment as though he was going to refuse to tell her, but then finally relented and, sighing, explained that he was going to take his mother up on her offer to...to visit Azkaban and see his father.

"I don't think I was ever serious about not going," Draco admitted. "All things considered, he is my father, and I don't want his mistakes to rule me—and I know they would if didn't face him sooner rather than later and set things to rest."

Hermione nodded, understanding. "Yes, of course." She paused. "Do you...want me to come with you, or...no, that's stupid, I would only make things worse."

Draco stiffened as he felt Hermione pulling away from him, and, looking at her expression, realized that she had made the offer to accompany him entirely selflessly, as she knew that Lucius Malfoy hated her for being a mudbl—for being muggleborn, and she would hardly get a warm reception from him, or even from Draco's mother.

But by now, Draco's parents both knew that he and Hermione were together, and although Draco had never spoken to them about it, he had no intentions of hiding it, either. Hermione was well and truly his as far as he was concerned, and he was proud of the fact and willing to declare it to the world.

And if that world had to start anywhere, it would start with his parents knowing the truth—whether they liked it or not.

"Of course I want you to come with me," he said, pulling Hermione back when she would have walked away at that point. Holding her in his arms, he tipped her chin up so that she was looking at him. "I want you to know though, that you don't have to if you don't want to. Sooner or later, yes, we have to face my parents about us, but I won't ever do it if they mistreat you or say or do anything to hurt you." His drew his lips into a thin line. "I don't care if they are my parents, this is one thing that I won't compromise on. And while I don't think they'd do anything directly, I know how they can be, especially my father, and—"

"Draco, you...you want me to come along, then?" Hermione interrupted, having thought until now that he sincerely didn't want that, didn't want to risk being ashamed by her. Because, by all standards of "purity" for those who upheld it, she was less and definitely wasn't worthy to be with Draco. And while that had never made a difference between them ever since they'd first become friends and then more, Hermione had been struggling with the fact in her own way, casting it aside as irrelevant when she and Draco were the only ones to have a say in their own lives.

However, she also recognized that a part of him would always be bound to his family and their past, and that while he could look past their different backgrounds, a great many others couldn't—particularly his parents.

"Of course I do—about as much as I don't want to go," Draco sighed, resting his head against hers. "But it'll be easier for me to have you there, honestly. Then, once it's over, we can finally come back here and live in peace." He paused. "We are going to be living together, by the way? I don't remember how much we really talked about this."

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle as she noticed the worry in his eyes. Is that was he was afraid of—that she was only coming here temporarily, like a one night stand or something? Apart from the fact that she had nowhere else to go, Hermione couldn't think of anyplace she'd rather be. Ordinarily, she would have spent some time at the Weasleys', and Mrs. Weasley did invite her, but...with Ron there and all...

"Eventually, I think we may need to move somewhere less...isolated, but for now, we can stay here. Wherever you're going, Draco, I'll be there if you still want me to be."

"Is that what you want though?"

Hermione pressed her lips to his in a kiss that quickly deepened, leaving them both breathless before she gave her answer.

"Of course it is, you silly sod." Hermione smoothed her hands over his chest, lingering purposefully just to see his reaction. As expected, his breathing grew heavier and his eyes less guarded. "I would have thought by now that it's obvious how I feel about you, how we feel about each other. Don't people who are in love with each other usually want to live together and be with each other all the time?"

Draco sighed, closing his eyes and leaning towards her as she continued her exploration. "I suppose so, Granger. But then, you're the first person I've ever felt that way about, so it's all...new to me."

It was new to her too, Hermione realized. But then, before Draco, she hadn't been in love before, not really. Even when she thought that she'd loved Ron back when they first stared their mission of destroying horcruxes, she hadn't wanted to be around him all the time. Actually, sharing a tent with him and hearing nothing but gloom and doom from the redhead had been quite off-putting.

With Draco though, the feeling was entirely different, and Hermione found that she didn't want a day to go by without seeing him, even if only for a moment—they'd have enough of those during the war. But, now that it was all over, nothing would prevent them from being together ever after, right?

No, not even his parents, Hermione reflected, following Draco as he silently but certainly led her back upstairs, no doubt for move lovemaking before they were forced to get ready for their visit to Azkaban.

No, not even the hatred and prejudice of as dark a wizard as Lucius Malfoy would deter them now.

A/N: Whew! Okay, so...almost a year's hiatus guarantees that almost no one who once read this story is going to continue reading onwards, but regardless, I want to finish the story!

The only explanation I have that's honest for the delay is that last year was a particularly hard one for me in terms of mental health, not least of which because I started a new job and...yeah, it's taken me almost a year to integrate into that, when writing just hasn't been a priority for me. Honestly, it may take some of my re-reading my OWN content from this fanfic to really get back into the groove of things, but I am determined to get this story done and not leave it in the endless "unfinished" pile of fanfictions everywhere.

So, please do expect an ending if you are continuing to read, and trust that I am working to get it out there at my own pace. With summer full speed ahead, I'm hoping that I can promise at least a few chapters moving forward.

Please stay tuned, if you'd like, and I hope that everyone who is reading, either for the first time or as a confirmed fan, enjoys what's left to offer. Thank you!~