AN: Thanks so much for your continued support. One more chapter after this and then an Epilogue. We've almost made it guys! Another special thank you to my alpha reader: LaDeeDaa and beta reader: Astrangefan

New Opportunities

Hermione was still trying to catch her breath as she cuddled up to Draco's naked side when he slid his arm around her pulling her closer, nuzzling his nose into the top of her head.

"This hair, Granger…" he breathed in deeply and she giggled. "I dreamed about it."

"Well, I'm glad one of us likes it," Hermione replied sarcastically.

"I still can't believe I'm here," Draco admitted, quietly. "I thought for sure…"

"And you certainly didn't make much of a case for yourself," she pointed out, but she was too happy to really be angry any longer.

"I had to do it this way," Draco said, his tone pleading with her to understand. And to an extent, she did. "I'm not going to be my father. I'm not going to blame others or make excuses…" She tried to interrupt but he shook his head. "Not even if you think the excuses are relevant."

"Well, Katie appreciated it, if nothing else," she allowed. He said nothing. She could practically hear his brain working.

"It's not over, you know," he finally said after a long silence. "Even if most people agree with the more lenient and tolerant Wizengamot, there will be a lot of angry people. The pendulum will swing back. The reforms are too radical to keep the reactionaries from organising."

Hermione sighed. She knew that. She was living a day at a time, but now that the three of her charges were free - or nearly free in Draco's case - her mind had to travel back to the aftermath.

Looking at the entirety of human history, with every surge of progressive, liberal reforms, and cultural upheaval there followed a strong reactionary opposition. She was smart enough to know it would be no different now. She knew Kingsley and The Wizengamot probably realised it as well, which only made their compassion in dealing with these cases that much more revolutionary.

"Stellar Prim says Geneva is planning to keep an eye on Britain as we navigate the coming years," she said, but she didn't know how much good that would do, exactly. If this were France or Italy or any other country on the continent, adherence to the international conventions was strictly enforced, but Britain - well, both Muggle and Magical Britons really did believe the rules don't apply to them.

Draco scoffed. "You and I both know that The Prophet - nor the people annoyed that The Order took charge after the War and they didn't - will not allow this to go unpunished."

"I know," Hermione sighed. "But can we not think about it right now?"

Draco deftly rolled to his side to get a better look at her face. "Deal. Besides, Pansy will kill us if we don't leave this room at some point tonight."

Hermione laughed. It was true. Pansy had already not so subtly warned her that if she took Draco to her room and 'fucked him all night' it was rude and selfish, and she wouldn't abide it.

"They have decided to move Dolohov into the new medical wing too," Harry informed. He'd been going over the list with Ron when she stepped into his office to ask them both to lunch. Unfortunately, they were swamped. As the Wizengamot came out with new decisions daily, the DMLE had to facilitate moves, set up new quarters, and - in their biggest challenge - get St. Mungo's to oversee the creation of a special, high security, medical psych wing for prisoners. They wouldn't likely get a break in work until Christmas.

"Did they indicate his condition?" Hermione was merely curious.

"Only that his mental faculties are unreliable and that he struggles to care for himself day to day," Harry explained. "To be honest, all of the prisoners who were in Azkaban more than once seem to be having this problem."

"I see," she replied. That would mean Lucius' mental state was probably not great either.

"Have you heard anything about Lucius' trial?" she asked, as she did nearly every day.

"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "I'll let you know when we find out."

"Okay, well, I'm going to go to Ollivander's," she said.

"Shouldn't Draco be with you?" Harry asked, a black eyebrow quirked up.

"Well," Hermione started, "he's still not up for the public. Besides, Ollivander indicated that he'd be more than happy to allow Draco to have the provisional wand he'd used at Hogwarts just like he did for Theo. I really only need to pick it up for him."

Hermione was worried about Draco, but she also didn't want to push too hard. Draco was living through legitimate trauma and the new 'freedom' was oppressive. Not only that, the public wasn't entirely in his favour. If she was still getting snide remarks on the street, she could only imagine what he would face.

So, Draco occupied his time cooking magnificent meals for all of them - Pansy practically lived at the house now too - and took care of his mother who was getting stronger by the day. Still, it couldn't last forever. She supposed the mind healer would help her get him back on his feet. Her natural curiosity made the lack of knowing what they talked about near torture.

Theo, for his part, told her everything about his sessions. It sounded very much to Hermione like mind healers practised a combination of magical healing on the brain as well as talk therapy that Muggles used. Theo said the session consisted of several minutes talking about their current mental state, their immediate problems, and daily issues, then they moved on to triggers. The mind healer would run a complicated diagnostic scan while the patient discussed particularly triggering events and pinpoint where those triggers affected the brain. Little by little the healer would repair damage and limit the trigger's effect on the patient.

Narcissa's healer was a bit of a specialist. She was a practised legilimens who could help Narcissa rebuild her occlumency walls and reconstruct her memories long lost behind her old walls. It was long, hard work. When Narcissa finished a session, she usually had to sleep the rest of the day.

Draco, though, wouldn't speak of his sessions. Not a word. Hermione refused to pry. And it was killing her.

"Don't forget that the wand has to be secured by the DMLE before you hand it off to him, though," Ron reminded her. "He'll get in trouble otherwise."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I had assumed we'd pick it up together after lunch, but now I shall make two trips. Highly inefficient."

Harry and Ron snorted in unison.

After a beat, Harry stopped looking at the paper in his hand and instead fixed his green eyes on Hermione. "Come over this weekend. Bring the whole lot over to Grimmauld Place. We really do miss you."

She smiled brightly. "Aww, Harry," she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you. Is Pansy included in 'the whole lot'?"

Harry grumbled but agreed. "Fine. She can come, but if she says one thing unkind to Vati…"

"She won't. Theo knows how to keep her on a leash. Merlin knows no one else does."

"Honestly don't know how such a nice bloke could go for her," Ron added. "Bloody nightmare, she is."

Hermione laughed again. "She is, but she's also the most loyal friend you'll ever meet. I don't get it, but she loves him with everything she has. He deserves that. He deserves to have someone willing to take on the world for him."

Ron grumbled in agreement and Hermione kissed them both on the cheek before heading out to run her errands.

"St. Mungo's, eh?" Draco replied absently as he flipped his wand around in his hands and listened to her rundown of the news Harry had given her. "Dolohov. Now I know how the public feels about me."

"What?" Hermione asked. What did that even mean?

"He doesn't deserve a nice hospital bed. He deserves torture," Draco replied. "It's a shame."

Hermione huffed. "Have you not heard a bloody thing I've been saying for nearly five months?"

"I've heard you, Hermione," Draco said. "But he nearly killed you. I don't care about his rights."

"You are impossible," she huffed. "The man is so far gone he probably can't even remember his own name at this point. It seems stupid to hold onto grudges and anger."

Draco disagreed. "That his mind is gone means nothing to me. He could have killed you. I wish him dead."

Hermione rolled her eyes, there was no reasoning with Draco about the topic. "Hermione," he continued, seeing the look on her face, "he's not misunderstood. He's not a mistreated kid who fell in with the wrong crowd. He sought evil, courted evil, and he delighted in being in that inner circle. He loved every minute of it. He would have followed The Dark Lord to full genocide and laughed along the way. He's not someone to be pitied."

"I don't pity him," Hermione reasoned. "You think I don't hate him? Of course, I do. I look in the mirror every day and see what he did to me. I think about how close I came to dying - again. But the hate I feel for him is pointless. It won't change what has happened and further punishment will neither teach him a lesson nor help the public be safer. So, what is the point? My own blood lust? That's not me. That kind of punishment - it corrupts the people who do it and seek it. He tried to kill me when I was 15. I'm not going to let him take the better part of the rest of my life with vengeance and hate."

Draco looked at her appraisingly for a long moment. "You are unbelievable," he said, but it wasn't an accusation. It was awe. "I have no idea how you are the way you are. You are so passionate, tuned into your emotions, and sympathetic. But you are also profoundly fucking logical. It's - it's frankly amazing. I have no idea what in the world I've done to merit your affection, but I'll spend every day proving to you that it's not misspent." He wrapped both arms around her and she smiled up at him.

"I love you, Draco. And you are pretty amazing yourself - even if you don't show everybody."

"Amazing, my arse," Pansy said, walking unceremoniously into the kitchen where Hermione and Draco had been talking. Theo smirked as he followed behind her. "The only thing Draco Malfoy has ever been amazing at is staring at his own reflection."

Hermione had to remember that this was the way Pansy and Draco expressed their friendship. It was hard not to get defensive, but Draco assured her it was all in good fun, and the meaner Pansy was to him the more he knew she cared. It was a stark difference from her friends who could rib each other, but it was always done in the least offensive way possible.

"Well, I did have a reputation to maintain for the ladies," he said, running a hand through his hair as if he were a fashion model on set.

"Oh, for the love of…" Theo muttered under his breath but he was chuckling, and Hermione laughed too.

"By the way," Pansy said, "Here's your post."

Hermione eyed the stack of letters Pansy tossed onto the island, half of them opened. "Wh-But…" Hermione sputtered looking up at the black haired woman.

"Slytherin…" Pansy replied as if it should have been obvious that the first thing Pansy would do after making herself comfortable was go through Hermione's mail.

"I tried to stop her," Theo offered. Hermione sighed. Theo was absolutely wrecked by Pansy. He was a good and honest man, but he would lie through his teeth for Pansy Parkinson.

"Well, what did I get that was so interesting?" She finally asked, flicking through the mail. The Prophet sat on the bottom, and she would probably end up tossing it before reading it. She had no use for iteration number 457 of how she and Draco Malfoy had pulled one over on The Wizengamot and that was just more evidence of her 'man crazy' ways.

"Nothing," Pansy replied. "Absolutely nothing of interest at all." She almost sounded like she was pouting.

Hermione checked for herself. It was mostly junk but there was an - unopened - letter from Stellar.

Hermione,

I've spoken with my director and he's absolutely dying to have you join the team here in Geneva. He's willing to pay all expenses for you to move as well as providing you with prime lodgings near the International Human Rights Commission headquarters. I know he's serious because he's willing to double whatever your salary was as an Unspeakable for the British Ministry of Magic.

A formal offer should be coming through in the next few days. I know that you are pretty tied to Great Britain, but I really hope you'll consider this offer. It falls in line with so much that we talked about and you can take over our GB branch entirely. Floo call me any time.

Stellar

Wow. If she was being honest, Hermione hadn't really considered the off hand invitation to come work in Geneva to be serious. 'Oh, come work at a dream job in a dream location,' just offered freely like, 'Why don't we grab a butterbeer later.' It seemed absurd. It wasn't like she'd been trained in policy making.

Dazed, she fumbled with the envelope long enough for Draco to start reading over her shoulder. She stiffened. Geneva was not close, and Draco was not going anywhere for a minimum of a year.

"The International Human Rights Commission?" he said, his eyes darting to hers. "They want you to work for them?"

"I mean," Hermione started, "Stellar did mention it, but I honestly thought she was joking."

"It doesn't seem like a joke to me," Draco pointed out, his lips turned down into a frown that he sometimes absently produced when he was thinking very hard about something.

"Well, I haven't accepted it. They haven't even officially offered. Obviously, with you being here for at least a year - and of course, my friends are here. It's absurd, really."

She waved the idea off like an errant fly and shoved the letter back into its envelope. She noticed Theo's very significant look to Draco, but since the latter was behind her she couldn't see his response.

The whole thing really was ridiculous. She couldn't possibly just pick up and go to Geneva and start over her life. She had a life here. Her friends were here, her …well, no. She didn't have a job. But she had so much work she wanted to do in Britain. There were things to fix - still.

'You can take over the UK branch…' She shook her head. No. Draco needed her, and she wasn't going to abandon him for a job of all things.

"So…" Theo started awkwardly, his hands behind his back like a child hiding something. They were standing in the garden together, looking over the newest blooms from Theo's hard work.

"Oh, Merlin. What?" Hermione asked, knowing whatever he was about to say was something he didn't really want to say, and so, therefore, something she wouldn't want to hear.

"How much do you actually, really want that job in Geneva?" he finally asked, walking toward the hydrangeas that were sprouting nearby.

"What?" She asked, totally thrown off by the question.

"If you didn't have ties here, would you take that job?" Theo clarified.

"Oh, I don't know," she lied. Of course, she would take it. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Sure, she'd suffer some imposter syndrome for a while, but she'd get over it.

Theo tisked. "I thought as much."

"What does it matter?" Hermione asked. "I do have ties here. This is my home. This is where everyone I know and love is. I'm not just going to pick up and go halfway across the continent to take on another job that, by the way, hasn't officially been offered to me."

"Well," Theo said, dragging out the 'e'.

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling a swell of butterflies in her stomach usually reserved for when Draco looked at her a certain way.

"Pansy opened the mail again," Theo admitted. "And that bloke Prim works for has sent over an official contract of employment."

Hermione dropped the rake she was holding. "Em-employment," she sputtered. "But…"

She felt equal parts elated and distraught. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but she didn't have a place for it in her life. She had things to do, people to see to. She had responsibilities and…

"Hermione," Theo said, moving closer and putting his hand on her shoulder. "You do deserve to be happy too."

"I wouldn't be happy away from my people," she answered, looking into his deep brown eyes. "Yes, I'd love the job. But Draco…"

"Draco will be fine," Theo promised. "It's one year. Do you think that's anything compared to what we've all been through in the past? One year of floo calls and you portkeying back on weekends. Then he's free."

"I don't even know how I would talk to him about it," Hermione admitted. "He can barely leave the house. He's navigating being free with his restricted magic. He needs me, and I can't just…"

"Draco. Will. Be. Fine." Theo repeated squeezing her shoulder with each pause. "He has to learn to stand on his own eventually. And besides, it's not like Pansy and I are going to abandon him. I bet if you talk to him about this, he'd tell you exactly what I am telling you and that is that you cannot let opportunities like this pass you by. If you want that job, then you should take it."

"I just don't think I can," she sighed. Theo squeezed her shoulder again and then let go.

"I just want you to be happy," he said. "If anyone deserves it, it is you."

"Thanks, Theo. I wish the same for you. Even if it is Pansy that makes you happy."

Lucius Malfoy's Conviction Upheld - Prison Sentence Commuted to St. Mungo's Ward for Criminally Insane

Narcissa had cried but promised that she was fine.

"It's the best we could have hoped for," Draco assured. "I wonder what his mental state is."

"Maybe we can get Padma to pass us his file," Hermione suggested.

It was a quiet rest of the day. Neither Malfoy felt like talking.

The prisoners who were not entitled to new trials had all been moved - finally. In celebration of no longer having to oversee 'that horrendous mess', Harry and Ron had invited the gang for drinks. Hermione had happily agreed and asked if they thought everyone would be okay if Theo, Pansy, and Draco tagged along.

Harry had said, 'Of course,' and Ron had said, 'Merlin, Hermione. How many snakes are we required to endure on a night out!?' Hermione slapped his arm and decided she only cared about Harry's opinion.

Pansy had declined. She waved them off as they left and told them to 'have fun' in the most insincere voice Hermione had ever heard. She supposed she understood. Theo and Draco were quite familiar with Harry, Ron, and Padma but Pansy was familiar with none of them. Besides, Pansy could keep Narcissa company. Hermione never liked leaving the older woman alone for long. She was doing well, but one never knew.

Theo seemed a bit relieved when his girlfriend begged off. One less thing to worry about - one less argumentative person to wrangle.

They arrived early and Theo was doing his level best to appear calm and collected. To anyone who didn't notice the slight tremble in his hand, he passed with flying colours. Draco was tense, scowling the way he was prone to doing when he felt unsure of himself. 'Everyone will be kind to you, I promise,' she'd told him. And it was a promise she intended to keep. So much as a word against Draco and they'd leave. No questions asked.

Harry and Parvati arrived first. Hermione made the introductions and Parvati, a natural hostess, greeted both Theo and Draco with dual kisses on the cheek to both of their very obvious surprise.

To everyone's surprise, Ron also brought a guest. She was really very beautiful. She was a ginger, but her hair was deeper, more an auburn than the orangy red sported by the Weasley clan. Her name was Brigitte and she had the slightest hint of a French accent. Hermione learned that she'd emigrated to Britain when she was five. She worked at a pastry shop and cafe in Diagon Alley and Hermione adored her almost instantly.

Brigitte did hesitate momentarily when she spotted Draco but recovered quickly and smiled warmly at him before shaking his hand.

Points for the French girlfriend.

After the first round, everyone settled in more comfortably and Hermione felt Draco's hand relax a bit on her thigh.

"Did you hear the excellent news," Theo said, conversationally, to her left. "Hermione's been offered a very good position with the International Human Rights Commission in Geneva." Hermione's head snapped in his direction. He was beaming.

She swallowed. Well, Theo had not been sorted into Slytherin for nothing. She wanted to pinch him. Instead, she took a shaky breath and looked around the table at her friends.

"Wow! That's awesome, Hermione," Ginny beamed. "When do you start?"

"I've heard they have one of the biggest libraries in Europe," Neville offered. "You'll be in heaven."

"It's really a big deal," Luna added. "They don't hire on new people often."

Hermione's eyes met Harry's and his brow furrowed for a moment before he said, "Geneva, huh?"

"Theo leaves out the fact that I've decided not to take the job," She said, glaring at her friend to her left. "It's not the right time."

"The right…" Ginny blurted. "You've just been canned. It's literally the exactly correct time."

Draco's hand stilled on her thigh, and she looked over at him quickly, his face an impassive mask. She looked back over to Harry who seemed to be frowning. "But you've always wanted to do something like this," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's in Geneva," Ron pointed out. "Hermione doesn't want to leave Britain, right?" He said it like it was obvious and she was glad for an ally. How could none of them see that she couldn't possibly leave now.

"I can't leave right now. I'll be fine. I have plenty of inheritance until I figure out my next move. There's no need to worry about me," she said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. She kicked Theo under the table. He didn't even have the courtesy to look chastised.

Harry quickly changed the subject, and they went back to drinking but Draco never spoke another word the rest of the evening.

"Weaslette is right," Draco said, when he finally broke his silence after his shower that night.

"Huh?" Hermione hadn't a clue what he meant.

"This is exactly the right time for you to take that job. You are staying here because of me," he accused.

"Despite what you think, Draco, the world does not revolve around you," she snapped. She felt a frustrated rage growing in her chest. Wasn't she allowed to make her own damn choices? She'd chosen.

"So, if I could come with you to Geneva, you'd still turn it down?" he countered.

"Yes," she answered quickly.

Liar.

"My whole life is here. My home, my friends. Everything. I don't even know how to make policy…"

"Oh, bullshite," Draco interrupted with a roll of the eyes. "People far more stupid than you make policy all the time. And as much as I'm sure you'll miss Potter and Weasley, you can portkey back here any time you want. You can't give up something this important because you are scared to leave the island."

"Draco, I'm allowed to say no. I'm allowed to choose my personal life over my career!" she was shouting, and she wasn't sure why. She felt frustrated by the whole situation. Yes, she wanted the job, but she was sick to death of being told she had to take it.

"You are allowed, but I'm allowed to tell you that you are being stupid!" he shot back, and she was momentarily distracted by the way the water was dripping off his blond hair and onto the collar of his grey tee-shirt. Shaking her head, she redirected.

"Stupid though I may be, who is going to run your errands? Get your wand? Fetch the groceries? You can't leave the house, Draco. You can say that it's fine for me to go all you want, but you aren't able to do these things for yourself yet. And I don't mind doing them, but I do mind being attacked for it!" She hadn't meant to say all of that, but the words sprang forth before she could stop them. She almost felt the urge to cover her mouth.

He stepped back as if he'd been slapped, a harsh breath left his mouth, and he was quiet for a long time.

"I didn't mean…" she began but he shook his head and raised a hand to stop her.

"I will not be the reason you turn this opportunity down," he finally said, before turning around to grab his wand from the nightstand. He pushed past her, and she heard his thudding footsteps take the stairs two at a time. Then, slam - the backdoor.

Fuck.

"Where's Draco…" she could hear Theo start to ask and she stomped into the hall.

"Thanks a lot, Theo," she huffed. "I told you to leave it alone. But you just had to bring up the Merlin-be-damned job in Geneva."

"Granger, watch who you yell at," Pansy warned.

"Oh, fuck off, Pansy," Hermione huffed, pushing passed both of them and down the stairs. She did the only thing she could think to do. She Floo'd to Harry's.

After an hour of rehashing the argument and talking about the job, Hermione finally sighed, "Don't you see. This is exactly why I can't go. I get into a fight with my boyfriend, where's the first place I want to go? To my best friend. I can't just Floo here from Geneva."

"Hermione, you can portkey, and it's not like you won't make new friends," Harry pointed out.

"I don't want new friends," she pouted.

Harry chuckled. "You get pouty when you descend into silly," he pointed out.

"He needs me, Harry. Whether his dumb arse, masculine pride will let him admit that or not. Godrick even knows what he's gotten himself into now. I have no idea where he is. Anything could have happened to him…" Hermione cried.

"Hermione, he navigated Death Eater politics as a teenager. I'm sure he can handle Surrey," Harry promised.

"Fine," she said, "but he doesn't have full access to his magic yet. And he's traumatised. He's been avoiding the world for good reason."

"Sure," Harry said. "And if it will make you feel better, I can find out where he is. His whereabouts are a matter of DMLE record."

"That's such a violation of his privacy," Hermione muttered.

"But very convenient, eh?" Harry asked, wagging his eyebrows. Hermione couldn't help it. She snorted a laugh.

"Fine, just let me know where he is," she sighed.

Harry pulled out his wand and with a series of complicated strokes and a few incantations he pulled up a map. "Hmm," he began. "Looks like he's in St. Mungo's…"

Hermione felt her heart leap into her throat. "Oh, Merlin." Anything could have happened to him. She felt like she was going to puke.

"He's not hurt. We have spells for that too," Harry quickly explained.

"Then what…" All of a sudden it hit her. "Dolohov."

Fuck.