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It had been his idea to go in the first place so he knew that he needed to just suck it up and let Hermione enjoy their trip. He didn't know why he'd suggested this particular trip in the first place. He supposed he'd gotten sick of her talking so fondly about the camping trip that she had shared with Potter. He had wanted to remind her at the time that it wasn't as if they had gone on some sort of relaxing holiday, but he had decided against that at the last second. Somehow he didn't think that it was a particularly good idea to remind her of the war in which he had literally fought against her. He didn't even like to remember that he had saved her when she had been held against her will, not because he regretted saving her, but because he knew that he didn't deserve to be hero worshipped at all considering that he had helped to make things so much worse in the first place.
He knew that she had never actually forgotten what he had done for her, that it was one of the main reasons that she had even spoken to him after the war. They tried not to talk about the past though. They were both so hurt by what had happened, for different reasons and yet they were drawn to each other by their shared trauma.
Their relationship had started as just two people hanging out together and enjoying the fact that they could just be in each other's company without having to say anything, and yet managing to say everything with their silence. Slowly they had managed to call each other 'friend' as Hermione had found herself supporting Draco as he had come to terms with the fate of his father, and in turn Draco had tried to help Hermione to find her parents. They had failed - but the biggest blow to the bushy-haired brunette had been that of Weasel dumping her purely because she had made it known that she was friends with a Malfoy.
Draco had found that he hated that Weasel more since he had broken Hermione's heart, especially over something so trivial as who she was friends with. It hadn't mattered at all to him that Draco had changed, that he was doing his best to re-educate himself. The redhead had been far too fixed on the past and the way that things had once been.
While Draco hurt for Hermione and the way in which her relationship with the Weasel had ended, he wasn't at all sad that after being single for some time, they had found themselves falling into each other's beds from time to time. It had taken them a while to admit that they were in fact in a relationship, but once those words had been uttered, they had found that they were inseparable. Draco finally moved out of his parents' house - though not before ensuring that his mother moved her sister Andromeda, and Andromeda's grandson in with her so that she would not be lonely - and into a flat with Hermione.
They found themselves planning for a shared future which was a strange notion in itself. Draco had never planned for a future, let alone for a future with another person. He had never expected to live past seventeen so to have a whole adult life with someone he loved was completely unprecedented. He wasn't going to complain about it though. He liked his new life and he never wanted to go back to what he was before.
Except warm. He would quite happily go back to when he had felt warm, especially if it meant that he would no longer be sat on the edge of this sorry excuse for a camp bed. He hadn't realised when he had purchased this tent that it was a muggle one without any of the luxuries that he had never had to do without before including hot water and heating. He didn't want to be miserable about it, especially not when this was meant to be their first trip away together.
"Are you alright in there?" Hermione called from outside the tent. She'd been gone for a little while now and he figured that she was busy building and lighting a fire so that they would have something warm to eat that night.
Once again he found himself cursing the fact that he had been so pig-headed and competitive as to not even bother considering somewhere not only indoors but also exotic and maybe even with its own pool. He had to make the most of this situation though and as he crawled out of the tent, he was reminded of why exactly he was willing to put himself through all of this.
Hermione's cheeks already had a streak of mud along the left side and her wild hair somehow looked even more dishevelled than usual. Surely it couldn't have been that hard for her, someone who was known for her fires in the first place?
He scrambled to his feet and moved to press a kiss to her cheek as he let himself take a proper look around their small campsite. They'd chosen a spot far away from other humans, one where they wouldn't have to hide who they were, let alone what they were. This was meant to be better than staying in their flat though, which truly was the only place that Draco felt like he could be himself. He was still going to try his very best to make this trip enjoyable, even if he was going to secretly hate every second of it.
"Draco?" Hermione's eyebrow was lifted as she met his gaze and he realised that she had spoken and he had casually forgotten to actually reply. If she hadn't already been out with two idiots before him, she'd have thought him to be one. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, of course it is, love." He promised her with a small smile. He didn't know how to explain that his head was just elsewhere, that he was worrying about all the things that were and all the things that could still be. He knew that she was probably the only person that would be able to understand his thoughts in the long run, but he didn't want to have to sit down and attempt to explain them all to her in the first place.
"Are you hungry?" Hermione asked after a quiet moment of just watching him, during which Draco had tried not to feel too self-conscious. He didn't know what it was about Hermione Granger, but oftentimes it felt like she could see all the way down to his soul.
"I could eat, yeah." Draco nodded as he glanced towards the fire. He didn't think that he had ever eaten a meal that had been cooked on an open flame before, so he knew that this was going to be a unique experience, and that was as long as he pretended that Hermione's cooking in general was even palatable. He had tried to teach her everything that he knew - having picked up some tips and from the various house elves that they had had over the years.
Hermione kissed his cheek before she turned to their packs and Draco let himself watch her as she got to work and he sat down on a nearby log. She had only grown more beautiful over time. He hadn't thought much of her in school, but then she was something that he had been raised to hate and it really didn't help that she had those awful buck teeth and hair so out of control it reminded him of his aunt.
A lot of people were under the impression that he had been attracted to her since they were thirteen, purely because she had punched him, but contrary to popular belief, Draco wasn't actually attracted to violence and it made him feel kind of squeamish to think that was how other people had perceived him. He had done his best, however, to push that particular worry as far from his mind as possible now.
He could honestly say that his attraction to Hermione hadn't actually appeared until after they had become friends, and that was exactly how he would have wanted this to play out anyway. Anything before that he wouldn't have had time for anyway and that was a fact.
Ever since he had fallen for her though he has seen her grow from a struggling youth into a glowing adult. He was proud of the woman that she had become and he liked to think that her happiness had a lot to do with the person that she was now, and that he had somehow helped her to find her happiness. He didn't really understand that one but he felt as if he could at least try when she was someone who made him unequivocally happy in return.
The food that Hermione managed to cook wasn't too bad, if you ignored the pink parts of the sausage that was. Draco did his best to do just that, throwing aside the raw parts when Hermione wasn't looking and secretly hoping that there were enough snacks for him to sneakily eat later. He knew that she'd at least done a better job than he could have. He could cook, but he'd never had to like this before. He was used to having a big, fancy kitchen at his disposal, but here there was just the basics, though to call them that still felt like a stretch to Draco.
They decided to sleep under the stars that night. Draco's main reasoning for that was that the tent smelled kind of funny and he didn't think that he would be able sleep in there with that smell digging itself into his nostrils. The thought of lying under the stars with his arms wrapped around Hermione made his heart soar. It didn't matter to him that they slept in the same bed back at home every single night. That was back at home, and tonight they could almost even pretend to be other people. Not that he wanted her to be anyone other than Hermione of course, but that was besides the point as far as he was concerned.
They didn't really talk that night. It was nice just to be able to quietly spend time with her, just enjoying the warmth from her body and the feel of the beating from her heart as it pulsed through her body. It wasn't as if he didn't want to talk to her either. He did.
He wanted to tell her just how beautiful she was and how much she meant to him, but he couldn't seem to form the words that he needed. They all needed to be perfect and he wasn't sure that perfect words did exist, at least not for this situation.
Hermione didn't mind that he was quiet anyway. If she had something that she wanted them to talk about, she didn't bring it up, which he wanted to count as a good sign, but it also made him nervous. He couldn't make her talk but he also hoped that the reason that she was being quiet too was because she was happy like he was.
The sky was almost completely black before she finally broke the silence between them. Her voice was soft like silk and it seemed to wrap itself around him, taking away almost all of his worries.
"Draco?"
"Hm?" He hummed lazily, his eyes flickering open as he turned his head ever so slightly so that he could look at her. She had the same sort of peaceful look on her face that he could feel in his soul. He didn’t know how to explain the emotions that that invoked in him.
“I’m so happy you’re mine.” Hermione’s words were soft but Draco could practically see them as they danced over her face and drifted off up into the sky. He didn’t know how she could be even more perfect than she already had been, but somehow she managed. He supposed that if anyone was going to perfect perfection then it was going to be Hermione Granger.
“And I’m happy you’re mine.” He told her before he pressed a kiss to her temple gently. “Now go to sleep before I have to cast silencio on you.”
Hermione laughed but she dropped a kiss to the side of his mouth and fell into silence anyway. He shifted slightly so that he was able to pull her warm body just that little bit closer to him and allowed for his eyes to close again as he breathed in the smell of her hair - a mixture of smoke from the still burning fireplace and the banana scented shampoo that she had become obsessed with lately. He’d teased her when she’d first tried it, telling her that monkeys would kidnap her, but since then he’d grown rather fond of the smell of bananas and having her smell of them.
The weird side effect tonight was that as he drifted off, he dreamt of monkeys who had access to smoking pipes and chewing tobacco. He’d had stranger dreams, and he supposed that the upside was that at least this wasn’t a nightmare that would have him wake up screaming. While he knew that Hermione was used to such things now, he still didn’t want their holiday to be tarnished by anything.
“Draco?” Hermione’s voice was urgent as she shook him awake. Draco couldn’t help but grumble. He wasn’t a morning person in the first place and he hated not being allowed to wake up naturally. “Wake up! I can hear something!”
It took the blond a moment or two to figure out where exactly they were when he realised that his feather down pillow was not firmly under his head. “What’s going on?” He mumbled as he blinked his eyes open slowly. It didn’t take him long to remember where they were, especially as there was a leaf pretty much in his ear. He pushed himself into a sitting position as he looked around them. They were safe as far as he was concerned. They’d put up warding charms when they had first arrived so it wasn’t even as if anyone - muggle or wizard - would be able to see them.
He could understand why Hermione would be on edge though, and it was starting to occur to him that this maybe wasn’t the best way for them to get away from the stresses of real life considering the last time she had gone on a camping trip, she had been practically running for her life. He took a deep breath and turned his head slightly to look her over, to check that she was okay. He was aware that whatever she had heard might have either been in her head or as part of a dream that she had had, but he didn’t dare mention that. Whatever it was, it was real to her.
Gently he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re safe, Mione.” He promised her softly as she leaned against him. They sat there for a while, his hand softly rubbing over her back. It wasn’t often that she let anyone see her vulnerable side so he couldn’t help but feel privileged when she did let it out, especially when it was just the two of them.
Draco was just about to suggest that he get breakfast - and coffee - sorted for them when he heard the crack of a twig on the other side of their tent. His eyes widened slightly, especially when Hermione flinched.
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” He tried to reassure her as he let his hand look for his wand before carefully moving her off of him. He knew that she was a far better wandswoman than he was, but he still had this need to look after her - or at least try to look after her.
He crept around the tent, his wand held in front of him, but he immediately lowered it when he came face to face with a thestral. It was only a foal, no threat to either of them. It shied away from him, letting out a pitying whinny and practically fell over its own feet.
Draco held out his hand so that it could sniff him if it so wanted. “Hey… It’s okay little buddy.” He whispered, hoping that the poor thing wouldn’t be too scared. He looked around to see if there was any sign of its mother and bit his lip when he couldn’t see any other thestrals at all.
“Draco?” Hermione’s voice came from the other side of the tent, but it wasn’t long before she had joined him. “Oh.” She whispered, slipping her hand into his.
“Its herd must be close by.” Draco said quietly as he looked around them. The thestral was still standing staring at them with wide eyes, but Draco was careful to keep all of his movements slow and steady so as to not startle it again.
“We’ll need to find its mum…” Hermione said slowly, her fingers giving his hand a gentle squeeze before she dropped his hand and went back around the tent. Draco didn’t know if she was expecting to find its herd there or what. He tended to steer clear of big animals nowadays - after his run-in with a certain hippogriff that he tried not to bring up when around Hermione and her friends. He knew that at least one of them had got a kick out of seeing him knocked down by Buckbeak, not to mention the fact that his father had then had the beast sentenced to death.
But there was something about thestrals that drew him to them. He didn’t know if it was his rather dark upbringing or the fact that he knew that only those that had seen death could see them. He especially wanted to help this little one to find its herd as well.
Hermione appeared again, the bag of sandwiches that Mrs Weasley had made to send away with them in her hand. “Let’s hope it likes ham and beef…” She said with a small smile as she opened the bag. Draco watched while she offered the foal some ham out of the sandwich and he practically held his breath before it carefully took the offered food.
“It’ll hopefully follow us now..” Draco hummed as he looked around them again. They didn’t even know what direction to start walking in, but he knew that they had to at least try. This baby was clearly young enough that it would need its mother sooner or later, and he was sure that she was probably distressed enough without it. “Try this way?” He suggested. He didn’t know if heading further into the forest was a good idea or not, but they hadn’t seen any thestrals on their way in.
Draco walked with Hermione, and the thestral following on behind them, through the trees. Neither of them spoke as they listened out for any sign of the thestral herd. Draco had figured that the herd couldn’t be that far away, that there was no way that the baby would have wandered off on its own in the first place so it was probably more a case of the herd being spooked and running off without it. That did mean that he had to worry what was big enough to scare off skeletal winged-horses in the first place, but he tried his best to push that worry aside for the time being at least.
He didn’t know how long they’d been walking for when they finally heard a high-pitched whinny from behind a row of trees and suddenly the foal, who had been following along behind the sandwiches quite happily, took off at breakneck speed, almost knocking Draco over in the process. As it was, he was able to grab hold of a nearby tree to steady himself before they followed the foal.
Just beyond the row of trees was a clearing where a small herd of maybe five or six thestrals were gathered together. Draco couldn’t help but smile as he watched the foal run straight into the middle of the group where the others proceeded to nuzzle into it. There was something about a child being reunited with their parents - regardless of breed - that always made Draco want to tear up, but he did his best to try and keep his cool today.
That feat was made even more difficult as Hermione slipped her hand back into his and gave it a small squeeze. He could feel a lump at the back of his throat which had formed at her touch so he didn’t dare chance a glance in her direction. He wasn’t afraid of his emotions like he had once been but that didn’t mean that he was at all ready for her to see him cry about something that made him happy.
They stood there for a while, just watching the wild thestrals talking and playing with the foal. There wasn’t a need for words to pass between them, though Draco was sure that Hermione could probably hear his thoughts by this point as she just stood there, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. Even when she was saying nothing at all, she always knew exactly what to say.
Eventually he broke the silence, feeling that he had to be the one to do it or else she would have just continued to stand there with him, enjoying his company and allowing for him to contently watch the scene unfold in front of them.
“Think you can remember the way back to camp?” He asked her as he finally managed to look at her, pressing a kiss to her temple as he turned away from the thestrals and started on their way back along the practically non-existent path that they had taken to get there.
“That’s part of the adventure, isn’t it?” Hermione asked. He noticed a smile on her lips unlike any that he was accustomed to from her - in fact it reminded him quite a bit of Luna, but he supposed that could have just been because he often associated thestrals with the blonde girl.
“Sure, you could put it that way.” He agreed with a slight shake of his head. He didn’t know if she meant their camping trip or life in general when she spoke of adventure, but either way, he was glad to be on this particular one with her.
She swung their hands back and forth while they walked, reminding him of a childhood that he’d never really had much chance to fully experience, but the memory was there all the same.
“That baby was quite something, huh?” She mused. There was a tone to her voice that he couldn’t seem to quite place, but it more than matched the sort of wistful smile that she’d had on her lips since they’d left the herd. It told him that she was up to something and while he’d known her long enough to know that he was better not to ask what that something was, that wasn’t going to be enough to stop him from wondering.
“Yeah, it was.” He agreed with a small nod, glancing sideways at her and smiling fondly when it appeared that she was now in a world of her own, one that he was still somehow allowed to exist in, at least in part.
Hermione was silent again for a few more moments, still swinging their hands together before she stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. Her smile was still there but her expression was just that little bit more serious.
“It’s got me thinking.” She began; a statement which in itself could be dangerous, but Draco did his best not to jump to any conclusions, or at least he didn’t let himself fixate on what any of those conclusions were.
“We’re not getting a thestral for the house.” He teased, trying to keep the tone from getting too serious in case this was a conversation that he was going to want to bail out of. It was a weird setting for anything serious in the first place, at least as far as he was concerned, but he realised that that was maybe why Hermione had chosen it in the first place.
Hermione rolled her eyes at that. “No, I don’t want a thestral for the house.” She took a breath and glanced away for a moment before she met his gaze again. “I… I do want to know what you would say if we… If we had a baby.”
Draco blinked slowly, unsure if he had heard that correctly to begin with. Maybe she had missed a word off the end of that sentence? A baby dog or cat, maybe? But if that were the case then she would probably have just said puppy or kitten… She couldn’t be serious though. A baby. Them. When everyone still hated him and she was attempting to become the youngest Minister of Magic in their history.
But also, a baby… He couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful than them having a baby. Someone who was a perfect blend of both of them. And their baby would be perfect. Perfection was just something that Hermione did so unbelievably well without having to try, and something that he always strived for.
It wasn’t until she let go of his hand that he realised that he’d been standing staring at her without saying anything for much too long. She had actually started to walk away from him when he finally managed to snap himself out of his thoughts and he quickly reached out to grab her wrist.
“Mione.” He said softly. “If we had a baby, I would be so happy that I could almost burst.” He knew as he said it that he wasn’t exaggerating at all.
He watched as a grin spread across her face as she turned to face him again. There was still something there behind the smile though, something that made him question if there was something more behind this, but again he knew better than to voice said question aloud. Instead she just wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a passionate kiss that almost knocked him off of his feet as he hadn’t been expecting it.
He wrapped his arms around her waist as he attempted to steady himself and kissed her back, though when she pulled back to look him in the eye again, he couldn’t help but tilt his head slightly while he tried to figure her out. He just couldn’t put his finger on whatever it was that was running through her head and he knew that it was going to drive him crazy.
Fortunately, it seemed that he didn’t have that long to wait until she came out with it, confirming a suspicion that had slowly started to manifest in the back of his mind.
“Then I hope you’re ready to be ‘so happy that you could burst’, Draco Malfoy.” Hermione said softly as she took his hand and laid it gently on her stomach, which as far as Draco could tell was completely unchanged. “We’re going to be parents.”
Draco couldn’t have helped his reaction even if he had wanted to. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and swung her round, peppering kisses all over her face. It might not have been the holiday that he had particularly wanted when he had first thought about a trip away, but this was the magical camping trip that was going to replace all Hermione’s previous memories as the best one yet.
Everything about it was perfection.