Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. I just happened to come up with the plot for this ship. All credit to J.K. for her amazing universe that she allows us to play in.

Warning: Rated M. Cursing, sexual innuendos, lemons, and fluff ahead. Basically what you would expect from a romance novel nowadays.

Music is my muse:
Song for this chapter: Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeren
Lyrics: Place your hand on my beating heart.

Love of a Mate

Chapter 13
Beating Heart

Hermione took Draco's hand as they walked through the back door and flashed him a reassuring smile as well as a quick "It will be fine, I promise" through their link.

He shuddered and nodded briskly at her as they made it past the mud room and into the kitchen where her mother was sitting at the table in an apron with her father who was reading a book. Her mum was obviously trying to decide if she should cook dinner or not because she had the take-out menus open in front of her.

"Mum, Pop," Hermione said happily, letting go of Draco's hand to rush over and hug her parents, who looked up with happy smiles. "I brought someone to meet you."

The Grangers turned with surprised faces to face the tall, handsome boy in well-pressed attire standing in their kitchen. Her mum immediately took off her apron and smoothed down her skirt.

"Goodness, child, a little warning!"

Hermione smirked and winked at her Pop, who was smiling at his wife, fussing with her hair now.

"I apologize for-" Draco started, only to be cut off by William Granger, who knew his wife well.

"Nonsense, young man. She would be fussing even if she'd had two weeks warning."

Helen Granger glared at him and then sighed in defeat, shaking her head as Hermione laughed.

"It was spur of the moment thing, mum. I promise. Draco and I both had the afternoon off and wanted to drop by for dinner. He's never had take-out. Can we do Chinese?"

Her mother's eyes went wide and then she laughed as it all clicked into place. "Oh! He's one of your kind then?"

Draco frowned as Hermione smiled at him reassuringly. "Yes, mum. This is Draco Malfoy, a wizard I went to school with and my- um- boyfriend?"

Draco shot her a frenzied look and a small shrug as if to say that he couldn't think of a better term to give her parents either.

Her mum's eyes went wide while her pop stood up to shake Draco's hand, looking him over more closely as he did. "Malfoy, you say... Isn't that the boy you had problems with?"

Draco flushed and cleared his throat. "I was a bit of a prat, sir."

Her mum tried to muffle her laughter as her pop laughed outright and smacked Draco on the shoulder. "Well, it takes a man to admit it! Come on into the parlor and let's all sit down we can order that take-out and you two can tell us how long this has been going on."

Hermione winced a bit but rolled her eyes and took Draco's hand. As her parents walked out, her mother grabbing the take-out menu she wanted; she could call the order in from the parlor.

"See, they really aren't that scary," she whispered to him.

He raised an unconvinced eyebrow at her and shook his head, allowing her to lead him into the parlor.

OooOooOooOooO

Draco looked around the strange room with curiosity as he graciously took a glass of port from Mr. Granger. Hermione explained all the instruments in the room to him and their functions. He had heard of a few offhandedly in school from other students talking. Telly, radio, telephone. He nodded and watched as Mrs. Granger picked up the phone thing, pressed some numbers, and then spoke their order into it.

"Do you have a telephone?" he asked Hermione curiously.

She nodded and pulled something small out of her purse, handing it to him. "It's a mobile, meaning it can go with you anywhere. I can call my parents here at the house or on their mobiles too."

Draco turned it over frowning and then nodded. "Right. Rather ingenuous, actually. Faster than an owl, for sure. I shall have to get one."

Hermione smiled at him in delight. "I could go with you to pick one out. You can get one that is prepaid or one that has a service contract. You will need a muggle bank account to sign up for the contract. Gringotts can actually have those linked to your vault now. Before that, I would have to exchange money at the bank all the time. They opened a muggle branch in London which links to the one in Diagon Alley just last year; it's been brilliant."

Draco nodded absently, a bit overwhelmed all this new information, and continued to look over the phone. So far, he knew that it flipped open and had numbers on it, as well as some other buttons.

"You will have to teach me how to use this," he said to her in his head.

She smiled at him and nodded and then turned to ask her father something about his investments. Draco tuned into this curiously and waited for her father to return to interrogating him. He could sense that the man wanted to desperately and Hermione was just putting him off.

As it happened, Hermione turned out to be rather good at distracting her father. It wasn't until after the dinner of "take-out," which he had to admit had been weird looking but very good, that the conversation turned around to him again.

"So, Mr. Malfoy, was is it that you do in the wizarding world?"

He could sense Hermione's unease and sent her reassuring pheromones. "I work with my family's interests and investments, which are varied and many. Malfoy Corporation has its fingers in rather a few things in our world."

Mr. Granger raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like you have a lot of money then?"

Draco nodded slowly and then frowned. "A fair bit, at this point. We were unfortunately on the wrong side of the war when my father ran things; we lost rather a lot to reparation fines and such. I have spent the last five years rebuilding our vaults as well as our public image."

Mrs. Granger sat up then, suddenly alert. "Wrong side of the war? Does that mean you and Hermione fought each other?"

Draco winced. "Not directly, no," he said, his tone full of remorse.

Hermione sighed heavily and looked at her parents, her eyes a bit haunted, "I made him promise not to help our side for his safety. His mother was being held hostage, and we all would have been at risk. He had a part to play and I magically bound him to it. We'd been together since sixth year, but I cast a memory charm on myself so I wouldn't know. I had to help Harry and he had to help his mother."

Helen Granger sat back in her seat, looking at her daughter in horror and anger. "Another memory charm, Hermione Jean?"

Hermione flinched and went pale as her father stood up angrily. "Young lady-"

Draco stood up and held up his hands. "Please, she literally saved my life by doing what she did, just as she saved yours before. My father was a Death Eater. He was actually tasked with finding and killing you two. I told her to get you both out of the country and she very wisely took my advice."

Hermione looked at him startled as she hadn't remembered him telling her that. He sent her the memory over their link and she felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Oh, Draco, you risked a lot by telling me that."

He shrugged and sat down when her father did. "I couldn't let my own father kill your parents, love."

Hermione nodded and sniffed her tears back, burying her face in his chest. Draco looked up at the startled Grangers and gave them a pleading look to let him handle it.

"Please stop, mate. Your parents are shocked," he said gently in her head, "All is well now. They are alive. We are alive because of you."

Hermione took a deep breath and then sat up, leaning over to kiss him gently. "Thank you for risking so much for me."

Draco nodded uncomfortably as Mr. Granger cleared his throat. "We were rather upset with her when she found us and," he gestured at his head, "fixed things."

Draco gave him a sympathetic look as Hermione sighed and shook her head in frustration. "I am not sorry. You two wouldn't leave and I did what I had to do to keep you alive."

At her mother's stern look, Hermione conceded. "Okay, I am sorry. Please understand- I had to keep you both safe."

Mrs. Granger tutted but she wiped at her eyes and they spoke of it no more.

OooOooOooOooO

It was a short time later when they left. Again they left through the back of the house so that they could apparate back.

"You didn't change the wards back," he whispered as they landed by her flat.

She shrugged at him, tilting her head slightly and giving him an odd look. "Why would I? As my mum said, you are welcome over any time."

Draco felt his heart swell at her trust and leaned down to kiss her hungrily. Unfortunately, there was a scuffling noise and then a flash that startled them apart.

"What the bloody hell!" Hermione whispered, turning with her wand out to see a smirking wizard spin in place and disappear. With a pop, another wizard stepped out in auror robes and sneered at them.

"You would think you would know better than to give them a front page photo op."

Hermione glared and didn't lower her wand, stepping in front of Draco. She knew that couldn't hex the git, since he was still technically on probation since the war.

"Who are you?"

"Auror Hearth, at your service," the man said, still sneering and giving them a deep bow.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and petrified him so that he couldn't stand up from his bow, though he could still move enough that he wouldn't fall over- a variation of petrificus totalus she'd come up with herself.

"Listen here, Hearth. You can keep your snark to yourself or I will hex you into oblivion- and before you go complaining to your superior, mind that I can out-duel him with one hand tied behind my back and Kingsley won't save you either. Be respectful or be reassigned."

She waved her wand, dismissing the spell, and grabbed Draco's hand. She threw up a silent shielding spell around them as she rushed up the stairs to her flat and slammed the door behind them.

Draco laughed as soon as the door closed. "Did you really just hex an auror?"

Hermione glared at him and put up a few more protective wards on the door. "Git, with his sneering face and comments. And what was with that bow?" she huffed.

Ginny walked into the foyer then, looking highly annoyed. "Hearth, was it?" Hermione nodded and Ginny snorted. "I already gave him boils. He had to go get the counterspell from Harry, who sent me an owl that just said half the office was highly impressed."

Draco stood there stunned before he cleared his throat and said tentatively, "They are here to protect you."

Both girls gave him disgusted looks but it was Ginny who threw a wandless and silent hex at him pinning him to the wall. "Six brothers, a war- do you really think one auror is going to do a damn thing if I am attacked?"

Hermione laughed and silently removed Ginny's spell on Draco. "Leave my mate out of this. He isn't yet aware of the terror we can invoke; he missed most of what we did in the battle."

Draco wiped a hand down his face, going bit pale. "Thank Merlin for that."

Hermione ignored him. "Did Kingsley show up to try and talk you round to this protection detail?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed as she waved them into the kitchen where she poured them a glass of wine. "Oh he sure did. I had particular delight in reminding him of my bat boogey hex. The great prat. I already have Harry, Ron, Bill, and George breathing down my neck. As if I need any more aurors hanging around."

Hermione giggled and sank down in Draco's lap. "Plus, as your father is head of Magical Law Enforcement, he will know when you don't come home from Harry's."

Ginny looked up livid. "Why do you think I hexed Auror Hearth? He was bragging about my Da saying that he would pay them a galleon for keeping track of my curfew."

Hermione fell back against Draco laughing and felt him hold in laughter as well. "It won't be for long, I reckon," Hermione said to Ginny reassuringly.

Harry will get annoyed with it all and just convince your father to have you move in with him and Ron and I can stay with Draco."

Draco sat up and she felt him go stiff and then she flushed. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that! If you don't-"

He put his hand over her mouth and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I want- I very much want."

Ginny giggled now and toasted Draco. "I bet we only have to dodge three aurors before we win this round."

Hermione got thoughtful and then said. "No, probably five. You in?"

Ginny raised her glass. "Oh, I am so in!"

Hermione felt inclined to remind her friend of the other option. "They might move you back to the Burrow."

Ginny scrunched up her nose. "Oh no they won't. I told mum if she ever tried to move me back Harry and I would elope and she wouldn't get her big wedding. George's flat is a disgusting pig sty, so that leaves Ron, who happens to live with Harry and both of them are aurors." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I will be oh so safe!"

Hermione smirked and then tilted her head. "Unless they make Kreacher your chaperone."

Ginny looked horrified. "I will avada that damn elf if they even consider it!"

Hermione sat up horrified as Draco burst into laughter. "Ginny!"

OooOooOooOooO

A few moments later, Draco insisted on leaving and Hermione stood at the door looking at him with wide, pleading eyes.

"I don't want you to go."

He sighed and leaned down to kiss her lips, lingering as he did but pulling away when his blood started to boil.

"The place will be staked out with reporters, love. I can't stay. Your reputation-"

Hermione pulled at his shirt and kissed him desperately, nibbling at his lower lip and smiling as he groaned and buried his hands in her hair.

"Hang my reputation- please stay."

He sighed and pulled away, giving her a hard look. "Don't make me stay, Hermione. My mother does care about your reputation. You are putting me in a very tough position if you ask this of me."

Hermione looked horrified as she realized that through the bond she was compelling him. "Oh! I hate that you have to do what I want."

Draco smiled at her and wiped at the frown lines between her eyes. "I know, and that makes me adore you that much more. When you are at the manor, we can take as long as we want kissing goodnight and you can decide where you want to stay."

Hermione looked up at him and sighed dreamily as his pheromones rushed over her. She closed her eyes and said. "I don't know what I did to earn feelings like this. It's all so much, Draco. You overwhelm me."

He let out a small laugh and hugged her tightly. "My mother will be very happy to get you under our roof. It has much more protection than this flat, no matter how excellent your wards are. Three days- that's about the most I can stand being separated from you."

Hermione nodded and smiled brightly, letting go of his shirt. "Oh, don't worry. Ginny and I are up to the task. Will I see you tomorrow?"

He nodded and kissed her again before he groaned and stepped back, pulling his robes out of his pocket and enlarging them so that he could put them back on.

"I will bring over some scones for tea with you two before I check in at my office. Is that acceptable?"

Hermione nodded. "Pomegranate scones."

He rolled his eyes, opening the door. "Goodnight, mate."

Hermione waited for the door to close and reset the wards and then sighed heavily as she whispered, "Goodnight. I love you."

"I don't think he can hear you through the three silencing charms you have up," Ginny said tartly from the hallway.

Hermione turned around and stuck out her tongue, heading to her bed, but froze as she heard in her head softly and silkily:

"I love you too."

She gasped and put her hands to her burning face as Ginny's eyes went wide. Then, her best friend starting laughing and singing loudly at her, "Draco and Hermione, sitting in a tree-"

Hermione threw a silencing charm at Ginny and rushed to her bedroom. He had heard her! And he loved her too!

Ginny was still silenced so she couldn't point out that Hermione skipped to the bedroom door looking as if she had just gotten an Outstanding on all of her N.E.W.T.s again.

Notes:

I am posting this chapter because I want to get it out but I have a few things that bother me. The cell phone being the first and the names as mentioned above. I send chapters to my beta after I post and she sends them back and we update that way, it just works for us, so I apologize for comma errors and such.

I free write, that means I have absolutely no idea how the chapter or fanfic is going to turn out till I sit down at my computer. No outline, no set ideas. I just let my muse go. This is not a very organized system but this is how I write. However I will NEVER have two Dramione fics running at the same time as a work in progress again and I think I have just decided Hermione's parents are named Helen and William from this point forward in my fanfiction. If there is a mix up still can you PLEASE let me know? I would appreciate it so much.

*** Got this back from Ihrin, so it's been beta'd as of 4-2-17 if you still find mistakes can you pretty please send me a PM. I appreciate your help with this so much. I honestly just don't have the time to write and beta and I know my grammar is awful, I can't apologize enough. Especially if you catch me misspelling a characters last name. :) Please, Please, PLEASE call me out on that! ***

###This fic ( as well as my others) will be featured in July 2017 on Granger Enchanted Survivors on FB and I am working so hard to finish it and at least fix as many mistakes as I can. I would be the worlds worst writer with out my beta Ihrin and you dear readers. ###

Thank you for all the kind words and well wishes. Strawberry had an awful few days but is doing much better now, I am hopeful by the middle of next week she can go back to school. We have to check up on her ear that was patched first. Tonsil surgery is no joke. My poor baby is miserable.
I had a bit of a scare and ended up in hospital this weekend. I am on the mend and well cared for.

All of this information can be found on my Instagram: CrystalJeanRed so don't forget to follow me. I post about my family, my adventures and other things. If you let me know you are a reader I always follow you back.

Appreciate the love!

This is an old Author note but I am leaving it up so years from now I can remember what was going on when I uploaded this chapter. So, basically y'all are reading my diary. Eek!

Up Next:
I think the girls should have some fun with some poor Auror's. We should meet Ron in this fic and hopefully get some fluffy goodness. But, who knows what my muse will do?

Cheers and sorry for the long note.
Cjean