Hermione connects with loved ones

Sitting between her parents on the sofa, Hermione spent the rest of the day catching up with her parents on what had been going on her life.

Hermione told her parents everything. About why she'd cast the spell on them, which they could understand why she'd done it but also were not happy about. About their journey to hunt down Horcruxes and destroy Voldemort. About the aftermath of the war. About how she'd decided to finish her final year at Hogwarts. About how she'd been able to transport herself into her favorite fairy tale. At that last one, her parents were amazed. Her father, in particular, who loved mythology asked her many questions.

Hermione was eager to find out what they'd experienced. Their memories of the transition to becoming Monica and Wendell were hazy. To them, they'd just woke up one day and wanted to move to Australia. They'd sold their home and most of their furniture and moved there.

At first, they stayed in Australia on a tourist visa but then had been able to apply for a skilled migration visa due to the fact that they were both talented dentists. They'd enjoyed their time in Australia, but then after about a year, they'd felt a burning need and desire to move back to England and settle in London. It hadn't been easy to uproot themselves so many times, but they'd felt like it was what they needed to do.

"One thing I still don't understand," Hermione's father said. "Is how we have documents under the name Wendell and Monica Wilkins. And where did all of your things go?"

"Well, in short," Hermione said. "Magic. I altered your documents, vanished my things, and erased all traces of myself."

Her parents had nodded at that. "It's hard to be angry at you," her mother said. "Because I'm so happy to see you. But you completely altered our whole lives. Without asking us."

Hermione hung her head. "I know," she said. "I feel awful about it. It's been such a weight on me these past two years or so. I completely altered your lives without your consent. It makes me no better than the Death Eaters, even if my intentions were good. But I saw no other way to be 100% sure I could protect you. So, I took this horrible action upon myself with the hope that doing this awful thing would ensure your safety in long run."

Her parents looked at each other and nodded. "We forgive you," her father said. "In the scheme of things, these inconveniences matter little when we're all safe and together again."

Her parents hugged her tightly. And Hermione felt happy and home again.

Her parents told her about how they'd started to become increasingly plagued and confused by memories of her and their old lives.

There are some patterns, Hermione realized, that are ingrained in our bones. You can't just entirely forget that you had a child, for instance.

After hearing her parents talk, Hermione was glad she'd come when she did. Their mild confusion might have grown until it turned into outright psychosis. That would have been the last thing she wanted.

Luckily, she came in time to avert a long stay in St. Mungo's. Hermione shivered at the thought of her parents needing to be in the same ward as Neville's parents and Professor Lockhart.

Once they'd caught each other up on their lives, her parents asked her about Ron and Harry. Hermione explained that, unlike her, they had decided not to go back to school so she didn't see a lot of them. She also, awkwardly, explained that she had started dating Draco Malfoy.

"That boy who was so mean to you?" her mother asked.

"Yes," Hermione explained. "It makes no sense to anyone, myself included sometimes. But the war woke him up to his true nature. That's the only way I can explain it. He'd been so indoctrinated by his family and upbringing that he'd been living a false version of himself."

Her parents had nodded thoughtfully. "We'd like to meet him," her father said.

"That can be arranged," Hermione said, smiling. "He came back from Hogwarts with me."

"What are you doing for the holidays?" her mother asked.

"I…don't know," Hermione confessed. "I hadn't gotten beyond trying to find you."

"Why don't you spend it with us?" her mother asked. "We'd love it if you stayed here. You can stay here the whole holiday break. We have a room already ready for you. We didn't quite know why, but we got a house with two extra bedrooms. One for guests and one for…someone special." Her mother beamed. "Now we know that was you."

Hermione smiled. "I'll have to discuss it with Draco," she said. "He came to London with me and I want to make sure he's comfortable with it."

"Won't you stay for dinner?" her mother asked.

"I can't," Hermione said, apologetically. "I made plans with Draco to meet him for dinner."

"Of course," her mother said. "We love you. We're so glad you came home."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she embraced her parents one more time before she left and Disapparated back to the Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione found Draco waiting for her in their bedroom.

"How was it?" he asked immediately, coming up to her and embracing her.

Emotion choked Hermione's voice as she told him what happened. "It was beyond everything I could have hoped for," she said.

Draco rubbed her back. "I'm glad to hear it," he said.

"How was it for you?" Hermione asked, looking up at him.

Draco shrugged. "About as good as could be expected," he said. "I spent some time with my mother before my father figured out I was there and threw me out."

"Oh no," Hermione said. "He's still angry?"

"Furious," Draco said. "I was his last hope for redeeming the family name." Draco sighed. "But getting with a Muggle-born is not what he had in mind."

Hermione put her head on his chest. "I'm sorry," she said. "Not about being Muggle born, but that your father is so narrow minded."

"Ironically, you might be one of my best chances at redeeming the family name. Depending on who you want to redeem yourself with," Draco said. "And since my father is handing over names of Death Eaters to the Ministry to save our skins, I would think us dating could only be a good thing. You're part of the Golden Trio that saved the world from the Dark Lord, after all."

Hermione laughed. "There is that," Hermione said. "Maybe one day he'll see it."

Draco shrugged again. "Who knows," he said. "But my mother would like to meet you. Well, meet you again as my girlfriend," he continued. Before Hermione could say anything, he added. "But don't feel like you have to. I have no idea how she'll behave. She could be quite nasty."

Hermione squeezed his hand. "I'd be happy to," she said. "Or at least, I'd be happy to do that for you if that's what you'd like."

He squeezed her hand back. "I would like that," he said.

"Speaking of meeting parents," Hermione said. "My parents invited us to stay with them for the holidays. I didn't commit one way or another because I didn't want to speak for you. I know would be a huge step."

Draco kissed her on the lips. "What would you like to do?" he asked.

Hermione thought about it. "Well," she said. "I'd love to spend as much time with them as possible. It's been so long. But I also want some alone time with you and we won't get that there. They'd likely put us in separate rooms. They're fairly traditional."

"Well," Draco said. "We better make the most of this alone time before we go stay with them." He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply.

Hermione pulled back. "Wait," she said. "You're fine with staying with them? Remember, they're Muggles. Their way of life is different than what you're used to."

Draco kissed her lightly. "Yes, I'm sure," he said. "This will be an opportunity for me to see what it was like for you growing up without magic. And in a, well, more loving home."

Hermione kissed him back, fiercely. "Thank you," she said. "How about we plan to come back here a few days before we have to go back to school so we can have some alone time?"

"Deal," Draco said. He pulled Hermione close and pressed his lips against hers.

The thrill of successfully reconnecting with her parents charged Hermione as she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and pulled herself as close as she could get to him.

She breathed him in as she returned his kiss, smelling his usual cologne that he wore, a fresh citrusy and minty smell that she quite liked. His tongue met hers in a fierce dance.

His hands ran down along her sides, feeling her waist. He slipped his hands under her t-shirt and began to caress her skin. She shivered at the sensation. She wanted to feel him. Skin to skin. She began to undo the ties that held his wizard robes in place.

"I'm ready to see all of you," she said.

In response, he helped her by pulling his robes over his head and discarding them. He stood absolutely naked before her, except for his undergarments where she could see a large bulge that sent a thrill of excitement through her. Hermione took him in. Lean and tall with a strong, muscled chest, legs, and arms. She also noticed how round his ass was.

"I'm ready to feel all of you," she said, stepping closer and grabbing his ass with one hand and running her other hand across his chest. She pressed her pelvis against his erection, feeling the hardness against her.

Draco closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the sensation. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes," she said shortly. "Or I wouldn't have said so."

"Okay, then," he said, letting his words settle into the space around them. And then he was pulling off her shirt. Hermione unbuttoned her pants and stepped out of them, ready to be close to him. In just their undergarments, they renewed their kiss, exploring each other's skin.

It felt so good to have this skin-to-skin contact. It was so different than touching each other through clothing or even touching each other underneath clothing. Hermione luxuriated in the feeling.

Draco's hand moved around from her back to her stomach, caressing her gently. The other hand rested on the small of her back. The moving hand slowly inched upwards until it cupped her breast. She let out a small moan at the feeling. Her hand found its way into his hair and she ran her fingers through it. As he began to knead her breast, she gripped his hair harder, pulling his hair into her fist.

His hand slipped inside her bra and she realized she was still wearing it. Hermione reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, giving him full access. He moved his head to her neck and kissed her there, sending more shivers down her body. His head moved from her neck to the other breast and took the nipple in his mouth. He began to suck and lick at her nipple.

Hermione arched her back in pleasure, giving him more access. It was hard to think about anything with him worshipping her breasts. Hermione let her hands roam freely across his chest and back, enjoying the feel of him while he gave her breasts such devoted attention.

She let her fingers rest against his nipples. She could feel him shudder at her attention there. She began to stroke them, feeling them become more erect under her touch. She left one hand to play with his nipples and the other to caress slowly down his chest until she found his firm erection.

Hermione let her fingers brush against the fabric of his underwear while increasing the pressure so that he would surely feel her touch. He moved away from her quickly enough to take off his underwear and she began to renew her explorations, feeling the smoothness of his penis and the rougher feeling of his balls, the hair there rubbing against her skin.

She looked down to discover that he really was blonde everywhere, though his pubic hair was a darker shade of blonde.

She wanted him. Now. She pushed him towards the bed. Responding to her touch, he stepped backward until he hit the bed. She pushed him further until he was laying down on the bed. He edged backwards towards the pillows as removed her underwear. She climbed on top of him, her body positioned above his so she was looking down on him.

His hands found their way to her hips and held her there before she could move further. "I have to ask," he said. "Are you taking any contraceptive potion?"

Hermione, looking him in the eyes, said, "Yes, of course. I have several women's remedies that I work with depending on where I am in my moon cycle and…my sexual activity. I was hopeful this morning and drank one."

"Of course you did," he murmured, letting his hands move idly across her skin. "You're always prepared. So I can unload myself inside of you."

She shivered at the mingled words and touch. Imagining the feeling of him inside nearly drove her crazy. She kissed him on the lips and began to lower herself closer to his chest, letting her breasts fall and brush across his skin.

She moved her body further and further down his body until her head was just above his erection. She let saliva pool in her mouth and then gently spat on his enlarged penis. She spat on her hand and then moved it up and down his member, ensuring that it was wet and coated.

Hermione looked up at Draco, his eyes were partially closed, clearly enjoying the feeling. Hermione moved back up his body and positioned her entrance over him. She kissed him on the lips and lowered herself, letting him enter her.

As he filled her, she felt so good. His hands ran over her hips and back as she began to move on top of him. As she began to move faster, his hands gripped her ass, squeezing hard. That made her feel more wild and she moved faster, riding him.

Her breasts bumped against his face and he took one of her nipples in his mouth. That sent her over the edge and she came, hard on top of him. She let herself gloriate in the sensation of being out of her body while he continued to suck on her nipple and squeeze her ass. Then when she was finished, she lowered herself on top of him and he held her while she caught her breath.

"Was that all right?" he asked, grinning.

"I think you know the answer to that," she said. "Amazing."

"Good," he said. "My turn."

He flipped them over so he was on top. He began to thrust slowly against her, getting her used to the sensation of him. As she opened herself to him and moaned in pleasure, he began to move faster and faster until he was pounding her. She met him thrust for thrust, enjoying how deep he penetrated. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him in deeper.

Hermione could feel the rising wave of pleasure coursing through her once more. As she let the pleasure ride through her, she could feel him find his own release within her.

He collapsed on top of her, the weight of him comforting her. The feeling of just…rightness…hit her once more. He felt so right to her. She held him close, letting her fingers trace idle patterns on his back.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear.

He pulled back quickly. The love and happiness in his eyes touched her deeply. He nuzzled her neck and whispered, "I love you, too," he said. "But you already knew that."

"Yes," she said. "But it's nice to hear it all the same."

"Say it again," he demanded, nipping at her earlobe.

"I love you, Draco Lucius Malfoy," she said.

"And I love you, Hermione Jean Granger," he said.

A sudden scratching at the door signaled that Crookshanks had returned and wanted to come in to rest and digest his afternoon prey. Hermione laughed. "At least he waited until we finished," she said, as she stood up and pulled a robe around her to let him in.

Crookshanks entered the room and sniffed the air. He let out a strange mrow sound and prowled under the bed.

"I'm not sure if that was disappointment, disapproval, or what," Draco said as Hermione climbed back into bed and cuddled against him. She rested her head in the crook between his shoulder and chest as he wrapped his arm around her.

Hermione chuckled. "Maybe he's jealous," she said. "He doesn't show it when anyone else is around, but he loves getting attention and you're pulling away my attention."

"Poor cat," Draco said. "But I can't bring myself to apologize for receiving your attention. It's most welcome."

"I'm sure it is," she murmured, rubbing his chest. "And I plan to give you much more attention."

"I like the sound of that," Draco said.