Snippets

Chapter Thirty-Two

Hermione huffs as she blows the same curl out of her face for what feels like the tenth time in as many minutes. She doesn't even know exactly why she is even bothering with this, but evidently, she is.

Hermione picks up her wooden spoon and stirs the burbling pot on her stove, trying to remember if the recipe that Mrs. Weasley had given her had mentioned anything about the stew turning that specific shade of green.

At approximately the same time as the concoction in front of her begins to splash out of the pot and burn Hermione's hand, she decides to give up, slamming the lid onto the pot and twisting the knob to turn the stove off almost violently.

Hermione reaches then for her Muggle mobile phone, and fishes through her kitchen junk drawer for the take-away menu for an Italian restaurant down the block, dialing the number and resigning herself to the fact that she simply is not a chef.

Hermione had intended to prepare a home-cooked meal for her date with Draco this evening– and she's not even entirely sure why. She doesn't feel the need to impress him, and if she's being honest with herself, her cooking wouldn't impress him anyway. She had just wanted to do something to show him that she cares, but she supposes that ordering a meal and having it delivered for them will have to do.

Hermione doesn't like feeling behind, and in some ways, she feels just a step behind in her relationship with Draco. He has already told her that that he loves her twice now, and while Hermione knows that he doesn't say it out of a desire to hear it in return, it still worries her that he might feel less appreciated simply because Hermione isn't quite ready to put her feelings for him into words just yet.

In addition to that, Draco has been very clear that he does not refer to their relationship as a 'dating' relationship. He has explained to her that dating and what he calls courting are two very different things. 'Dating', he says, has the possibility for many different outcomes, whereas 'courting' only has one. Hermione isn't entirely sure how to respond to the fact that Draco already seems set on the idea of marriage with her, but it does surprise her that of the two of them, the one who seems to need convincing is her, despite the fact that she's been Seeing visions of the clearly married-to-one-another vision-versions of herself and Draco for months now.

It's not that Hermione is entirely opposed to the idea, either, it's perhaps simply the fact that without her visions, Draco Malfoy would've been at the bottom of the list of potential husbands she might've chosen. Now that she has gotten the chance to know the person he is today, and has seen the way he has simply accepted her oddity, though…

Hermione's floo activates and from it steps Draco, who appears to notice Hermione in her kitchen immediately. He dusts the soot from the shoulders of his hooded Muggle sweatshirt and steps out from the hearth.

Hermione tips her head, indicating for Draco to join her in the kitchen, which he does immediately, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to her temple in greeting. Hermione ends the call on her mobile once she finishes placing her order and sets it down on the countertop beside her before twisting in Draco's arms to look up at him properly.

"I tried to make dinner, but… it didn't work out," Hermione explains, biting her bottom lip and casting a disappointed look toward her stovetop before returning her gaze to the wizard before her. "I just ordered take-away. I'm sorry."

Draco leans down and kisses Hermione's lips, lingering for just a moment before he pulls back to respond.

"No apology necessary, love," he states, lifting his hand to brush that same curl out of Hermione's eyes and tuck it behind her ear. "I'd like to discuss something with you while we wait, if you're up to it."

Hermione cocks her head to the side, questioning, but nods after a moment. She slips out of Draco's embrace, taking him by the hand and leading him over to the sofa. Draco takes a seat in the middle of the sofa and Hermione sits to his left, crossing her legs and turning to face him as he speaks.

"I'd like to tell my parents about you– about our relationship. They would likely find out eventually, but I think it's best that they hear it from me."

Somehow, that had not been what Hermione had expected him to say.

"Oh," Hermione states, her surprise evident in her voice. "That's– well– but how would they react?"

Draco shrugs, slinging his arm over the back of the sofa near Hermione's right side.

"Badly, probably," he sighs. "Unfortunately, just because I have dispensed with my harmful beliefs, that doesn't mean that my parents have done the same. They remain convinced of pureblood superiority. They also disapproved of Astoria, and she was pureblood, so I am fully prepared for this news to be received poorly."

Hermione doesn't understand why, then, Draco is so keen to tell his parents this soon. They've only officially been together now for a few weeks, and if his parents are truly going to respond negatively to the idea of their son dating a Muggleborn, then what's the rush?

"Are you sure that you want to tell them now then? We could wait a while longer– after all, it's only been a month or so," Hermione shrugs, not wanting to fight Draco on this, but also recognizing that perhaps there would be a benefit to stalling the inevitable for just a little while longer.

Draco frowns for a moment, a look of longing shining in his gray eyes before he responds.

"Hermione, I am quite serious about you, and…," Draco trails off for a moment and Hermione allows him that moment, reaching over and taking the hand which has been resting in his lap until now into hers. "And the irrational part of myself is holding out hope that they might find it in themselves to be happy for me."

Hermione nods in understanding, though there is still one thing sticking out to her in this conversation.

"I understand," Hermione states, caressing the back of Draco's hand with her thumb. "But, Draco, you don't need my permission to tell your parents anything. If you want to tell them, you should."

Draco smiles a half-smile at Hermione as he leans just a hair closer to her.

"We're a team now, Hermione. I will discuss everything with you from this point forward, and it is my hope that one day you might feel that you can trust me enough to do the same," Draco says, and his tone betrays his seriousness. "Furthermore, when I do tell my parents, I had hoped that you might come with me. I'd like for you to be by my side for that conversation. My mother would insist on meeting the woman whom her son is courting anyway, regardless of her personal feelings toward you, so perhaps doing both at one time will serve to limit both of our exposure to them."

Something in Hermione's gut sinks at the prospect of coming face-to-face with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, despite more than a decade having passed since the end of the War. Draco was one thing, given that he had been a minor and/or under duress during most of his harmful actions– but his parents are another thing entirely. His parents were adults who knew that their actions had consequences and they went ahead anyway.

Hermione doesn't even want to think about the idea of going back to Malfoy Manor either, but she finds it unlikely that the Malfoys would be willing to meet with her on neutral ground.

"I understand that this is asking much of you, Hermione. You do not have to make any decisions right now. I simply wanted to broach the subject and give you time to think it over."

"It's so lovely to see you, Ms. Granger," Healer Greengrass smiles as she enters Hermione's exam room with her usual file of parchments in her hands and her quill tucked behind her right ear. "It's always bittersweet when I begin to see patients less often. It means that they're getting better, but I still notice the loss."

Hermione smiles in return, sharing Healer Greengrass' sentiment.

"It's nice to see you, too, Healer Greengrass. I've missed our conversations."

It has been three weeks since the last time that Hermione had an appointment with Healer Greengrass. As her visions have decreased in number, so have her appointments with Healer Greengrass, and Hermione has felt simultaneously grateful and disappointed by that fact.

"How have you been feeling, Ms. Granger?" Healer Greengrass asks once she settles herself in her rolling stool.

Hermione thinks for a moment, deciding how to respond to that question. On one hand, she has been enjoying the past several weeks of growing closer with Draco– his asking for her to meet with his parents notwithstanding. On the other hand, her visions have picked back up. Rather than the two visions which she had the first week after her treatment, this past week showed her five visions. Five visions over the course of seven days is still leaps and bounds better than multiple in a day, but she still finds it disheartening as she had thought that Healer Greengrass' treatment had worked. Perhaps, as her brain heals, it is reverting back.

"My visions seem to be coming true at a faster rate lately," Hermione explains, not exactly answering Healer Greengrass' question as she scratches the side of her head for a moment before dropping her hands back to her lap. "Three have come to pass since our last appointment."

Healer Greengrass nods, her eyebrows raising in surprise. She sifts through her file of parchment for a blank sheet and plucks her quill from behind her ear, readying herself to take notes.

"Can you tell me about them?" Healer Greengrass asks.

Hermione nods, trying to remember which vision had come true first.

"Draco spent the day playing quidditch with my friends two Saturdays ago. Then I tried to cook dinner for the two of us, got frustrated and ended up ordering take-away. That was one of my older visions, I think. After that, Draco came to my flat in the morning with coffees in mugs. I washed them and put them away in my own cabinet without realizing it, so when I opened the cupboard the next day, I saw a mix of mine and his. That was one of my first visions, I remember that."

Healer Greengrass scribbles out her notes, tapping the feather of her quill against her chin for a moment as she contemplates something before she speaks again.

"Ms. Granger, it's occurring to me now that the vast majority of your visions that you've shared with me have had something to do with Draco– either directly or indirectly. I know that not all of them are about him or feature him, but it seems to me that many of them do, even if that's not readily apparent until you actually live them. Does that seem accurate to you?"

Hermione bites the inside of her bottom lip as she thinks. Why hadn't that thought occurred to her? Healer Greengrass is right.

Hermione thinks back to some of her visions which hadn't included Draco and thinks that, quite possibly, there might be some merit to Healer Greengrass' theory. Two visions which stick out immediately to Hermione– of the ones which have not yet come to pass– are the vision of Harry walking her down the aisle at her wedding, and the one of Pansy forcing Hermione to try on evening gowns.

The former is the more obvious one. If the rest of Hermione's visions are to be believed, then she and Draco may well be heading down the aisle at some point, and it would stand to reason that Harry would walk her down the aisle considering he has already agreed to do so. The latter, however, is less obvious, but Pansy Parkinson would not even be on Hermione's radar– they wouldn't be friends right now– if not for Draco.

"It does, but what does that mean?" Hermione wonders, slouching on her exam table in frustration.

Healer Greengrass seems to think for a moment.

"Well, I'm not sure– but it's a lead."

Hi, friends! Happy Saturday!

First and foremost, thank you all so much for your kindness, support and patience as relates to my surgery. I am almost two weeks post-op as I'm writing this and am healing well. I still have a long road ahead of me for recovery, but I am likely out of the worst of it. Thank you again for your support.

In fairness, I want to be up front that uploads still may be unpredictable due to the nature of my healing process. I'm uploading both Snippets and Somewhere on a Beach today to update you all, but I can't guarantee that I'm quite ready to resume regular uploads just yet. I will try my absolute best, though. (:

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and as always, feel free to review. I love reading them.

See you again soon. (:

P.S. I'm going to use this A/N for both Snippets and Somewhere on a Beach for the sake of simplicity, so I apologize for the redundancy if you read both fics. (: