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Chapter Text

“I’m going to miss you this year,” Hermione said to the red-head sitting across the room from her.

Ginny nodded as she continued to throw random things into her trunk. “You’ll be fine. Besides, a change of pace will be nice for you! Maybe with Ron and I not returning to Hogwarts, you’ll find time to have some fun,” she said with a smile.

Hermione looked up with a scowl. “Okay, that’s a bit rude. I have fun.”

“Please, chasing Voldemort with my brother and my boyfriend for the last seven years doesn’t count as fun.”

“That’s not all I did,” Hermione mumbled.

“And spending all your free time in the library doing homework, doesn’t count either. I’m talking about going out on dates, snogging, maybe even a good shag. You’re always reading those smutty muggle books. Why not actually go out there and get you some?” Ginny said with a wink.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I prefer to read about it.”

Ginny shook her head and threw one of the said books to her. “Believe me when I say that the real thing is so much better than the fantasy,” she added with a smirk.

Hermione shook her head. “Gross, Ginny! I don’t want to hear about your escapades with Harry, he’s my best friend.”

Ginny’s smirk faltered as she returned to her packing. “Anyway, promise me you’ll try to do something actually fun this year, Miss Head Girl.”

“That’s exactly why I shouldn’t do something fun.”

“Oh for Merlin’s sake. It’s your final year, LIVE A LITTLE. The last time you really had a boyfriend, he left. I would have jumped Viktor Krum’s bones.”

“I wouldn’t really call that a boyfriend. Viktor and I kissed a little after the Yule ball, and then he just watched me study after that; which I found odd.”

“Hermione…I’m begging you. Try to find something or someONE fun to do this year!”

Hermione sighed as she stood up and stretched. “My best girl friend is forgoing her last year to play for the Holyhead Harpies. My two best guy friends are also going in separate directions. Ron, is going straight into Auror training, and Harry is going to be grumpy because he’ll be missing you while at Hogwarts with me. How am I supposed to be having fun this year?”

Ginny smiled and put her hand on the older girl’s shoulders. “Simple. Meet new people.”

Hermione scoffed and pulled Ginny into a hug.

*~*~*~

A few hours later, Hermione smiled at all the Weasleys gathered at the table with Harry. They had to eat outside as the dining room was too little to fit them all. Harry and Ron sat across from her and Ginny while the other Weasleys were spread out along the big long table. Arthur had just finished with a speech about how they would all go separate ways tomorrow. Some returning to Hogwarts, some going to their new jobs, and some just going back to work. However, they would all be Weasleys.

Harry was telling Ginny about his plans to visit over every holiday and Ginny was acting odd, if Hermione could put her attitude towards him in one word. She was avoiding his eye contact, being dismissive about his plans, and she just kept pushing her food around. Hermione wasn’t sure what was going on with her.

Ron was talking about Hermione coming to see him over holidays and Hermione kept telling him she still hadn’t decided. They had kissed at the battle of Hogwarts, but Ron had told Hermione after that it was a spur of the moment thing. Hermione agreed, saying it was nothing more than that for her as well. However, since then it seemed like Ron might want something more. Hermione didn’t. She had at one point, but not now. After their kiss, she wrote her feelings of love into a letter, and stored it in her bag. She didn’t think any more about him, at least in that way.

Hermione has written a letter for every time she had a crush that was so powerful she couldn’t contain it any other way. She would write all her feelings down, and then bury them deep inside her beaded bag where no one else could find them. She had written five in total. One for Viktor Krum, after their kiss in 4th year. One for Cormac Mclaggen after they went to Slughorn’s party, although Hermione admitted later that was a mistake. One for Ron Weasley, who had been Hermione’s biggest crush over the years. One for Harry Potter, which had been her most recent, and shortest lived, as she quickly realized her love for him was not romantic and he started dating Ginny. The last one was to someone who she should never have feelings for, and would never tell anyone about.

“Ginny, I was wondering if I could come watch your game over the Christmas holidays. What do you think?”

Ginny sighed as she put down her fork and finally looked up to him. “Harry, can we talk? Somewhere private?”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

Hermione watched the pair go back into the Burrow and wondered what they could possibly be talking about. It wasn’t long before she would find out, but seeing them leave left her with a bad feeling.

“Do you know what’s up with that?” Ron asked and Hermione was almost impressed he was able to notice something off. Hermione shook her head, “No.” Ron just shrugged.

*~*~*

Hermione was woken up later that evening when Ginny came into her room and unceremoniously flopped on the bed they shared. “I broke up with Harry,” she said into the pillow so it was muffled.

“WHAT!?”

Ginny sighed and sat up on her elbows, “I broke up with Harry.”

“I heard you, but why?”

“Because I don’t want to do the long-distance relationship thing.”

“So you knew you were going to the Harpies two months ago, and you’re just now doing it?”

Ginny rubbed her face and shrugged. “It didn’t really hit me until a couple days ago that we wouldn’t really be together. When you three were on the run last year, and all I could do was miss Harry, I realized that wasn’t fair to him. Who knows, if we’re meant to be we’ll get back together.”

Hermione shook her head. “Wow…I never thought that would happen. You’ve been obsessed with him ever since I could remember.”

Ginny glared. “I wasn’t obsessed with him. It’s called a crush. It’s normal to have crushes. Something you’ll never learn if you keep reading those books.”

“I’ve had crushes thank you very much.”

“Yeah, just like I’ve seen the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, ” Ginny said sarcastically.

Hermione sighed as she turned her back to the red-head. “And with that, I’m going to bed.”

“Hermione, I’m sorry, I’m just a little sad. I just don’t want to go off and become a quidditch star while having a boyfriend. Specifically the boy who killed Voldemort, I just want to shine on my own for once.”

Hermione nodded, but didn’t say anything else and soon fell asleep.

~*~*~*

“Did you know?”

Hermione looked up from her textbook to her best friend sitting across from her. “No, I didn’t know about it, Harry.” She said not needing to know what he was asking about. They had been on the train all of twenty minutes before he asked her about Ginny.

“I just figured since you spent so much time together, she would have said something.” He said pushing his glasses back on his face.

Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile. “If I had, I probably would have given you a hint. I’m sorry.”

Harry nodded and shrugged. “It is what it is, I guess. She made her decision and I can’t do anything about it now. Just sucks.”

“I know Harry. You know I’m here for you though.”

Harry grinned and nodded. “I know, I’m happy you’re here with me this year. I wouldn’t have returned if you didn’t. I would’ve gone on to join the Auror training.”

Hermione nodded. “I’m glad you’re going back with me as well,” she said with a small smile. Ever since the defeat of Voldemort, Harry was a little more open with his feelings. Hermione figured it was because of all the people he had lost without being able to tell them how he felt, this was his way of coping with the whole thing.

~*~*~*

It was about a week later that Hermione’s life as she knew it changed. The Friday of her first week back at Hogwarts she was sitting and studying at the black lake with Luna Lovegood when she heard someone call her name. Well, rather her last name. “Why is Draco Malfoy calling for you?” Luna wondered aloud.

Hermione looked up from her essay to see none other than Draco Malfoy walking up to her and motioning her over. “I have absolutely no idea,” she said, not moving from her spot.

“Granger, may I have a word with you in private?” He asked once he was close enough. Hermione raised her eyebrow and shook her head. “Luna and I are studying right now, Malfoy,” she replied, determined not to go anywhere with Malfoy.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to ask you what this is about in front of Lovegood. But I must say that this seems quite private,” he said as he pulled out what looked like rolled up parchment from his pocket. Around it was a lavender colored ribbon Hermione recognized immediately. But there was no way he could have that. She stood up really quickly and pulled him away from Luna.

“Where did you get that?” She asked in a sharp whisper.

“Granger, you owled it to me this morning,” he drawled with boredom.

“I did no such thing! I would never send that to you,” she said, shaking her head. There was no possible way he could have it, it was buried in her bag alone with tons of other things. No one knew about them.

“Listen Granger, from what I can remember about that kiss..it was good, but…”

“Wait, just stop talking,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to think about how he could have it.

“Granger, if you would listen to me, I just want to say something.”

“Malfoy, just give it back to me,” she said, holding her hand out to him, palm outstretched. Hermione looked over his shoulder as she noticed someone else stalking toward her. What really caught her attention was the rolled up parchment tied with a red ribbon in his hand. Her heart dropped.
Coming toward her was Harry Potter, the recipient of one of her letters, and it was in his hand. Her eyes widened as she started panicking. Hermione looked around before she did something completely stupid.

“Sorry,” she said as she grabbed Malfoy’s necktie to pull the ungodly tall man toward her. She captured his lips in a kiss just before Harry got to them.

It was evident that Malfoy was surprised. The kiss was over before he could react.

Hermoine patted him on the chest, muttered a thanks and then ran past Harry and back into the castle. She ran until she couldn’t anymore, ending up in the second floor girls' lavatory. She ran into one of the stalls and finally let herself breathe. Although that didn’t last long before someone was knocking on the door to her stall.

“Hermione? You’re in there, right? I saw you run in here and thought you might want this back.” She looked down to another parchment with an orange ribbon tied around it. It was the one she had written for Cormac. She picked it up and unlocked the stall door.

There stood Cormac with a small smile, “sorry, I just thought it was pretty private and I got the feeling you didn’t really want me to have that. It was flattering to get it though. I have to ask, you know I’m gay, right?”

Hermione raised her eyebrows slightly. “Uh, yeah, of course I did.” She did not, however, know that.

“I mean, I’m out and proud, but not a lot of blokes here you know?”

Hermione nodded. “Thanks, for bringing it back,” she said with a small smile.

Cormac nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. “No problem Hermione. It was a beautiful letter,” he added with a wink before exiting the bathroom.

Hermione let the massive breath she had held in and crumpled to a lump on the floor.

“Well that was awkward.”

Hermione turned to the ghost floating right behind her and shook her head. “Yeah…agreed, Myrtle,” she muttered.

Chapter Text

Hermione sighed as she made her way down to dinner that evening. She had spent the rest of the night avoiding Harry like the plague and she had been pretty successful, but she knew she would have to talk to him at dinner that night. She still couldn’t believe that her letters were out. At least three of the five, Malfoy got his, Harry had his, and Cormac gave his back to her. Hermione was apprehensive about whether the recipients of the other two letters would get them. There was still a chance that Viktor didn’t receive his as it was addressed to Durmstrang, the last thing she wanted was to have him send her an owl and ask to see her. She feared that Ron received his, if he didn’t already, which meant even more awkward talks with him when she went home for the holidays.

As she was almost to the Great Hall, strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into a broom closet. She couldn’t help the little yelp that came out of her mouth. “Malfoy, what are you doing?” she hisses once she realized who had pulled her in.

“Quiet Granger, let me speak.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes then and bit out,“Well, go on then.”

“While I think that kiss from 6th year was nice and all, I just don’t have feelings for you that way. I just got out of a relationship with Astoria, and…”

“Wait…Malfoy, are you rejecting me?”

Draco raised an eyebrow and nodded, “Yes, you see, I don’t think you really understood what I said yesterday.”

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. “Ugh, no, that was because I needed to create a distraction. There was someone else who received a letter, and I couldn’t have them thinking I liked them.”

“Wait, I’m not the only one who received a letter?” Malfoy asked, confusion clear on his face.

Hermione was about to reply when she crossed her arms. “No, although things would be simpler if it was just you.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “So who was the other person?”

Hermione looked down at the floor, “Harry.”

“Wait….Saint Potter? Isn’t he dating your best friend, the She-Weasel?”

“Don’t call them that. And he was, they aren’t together anymore.”

“So, you have feelings for Potter?”

“DID, I did have feelings for him. Every time I have a crush, I write out my feelings in a letter, it helps me to understand what I’m feeling. Which is what you got.”

Draco chuckled a little and nodded, “So how many letters, just me and Potter?”

Hermione shook her head. “There were five: one for Durmstrang, Cormac, Ron, Harry and you.”

“You know Mclaggen is gay, right?” Draco asked with a smirk.

“Not the point,” Hermione replied.

“Weasel as well? You really know how to make a guy feel special.”

Hermione rolled her eyes “I didn’t write them to make anyone feel special. I wrote them to get over my feelings.”

“So, you don’t have feelings for me?”

“No. I might have had a slight crush on you after that kiss in 6th year, but it was very fleeting,” she replied feeling very uncomfortable. Why was she telling him everything? This was Draco Malfoy, the boy who tormented her since she was eleven. They mutually despised each other. Mostly. Until that one night in sixth year when they were very drunk at a party in the Slytherin common room. They shared a brief and unexpected, a sloppy drunk kiss, but it was nice. She couldn’t remember much of that night, but she remembered feeling something for him as they talked together in the dimly lit room. . However, after that night Malfoy became more distant and even let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, resulting in Dumbledore’s death.

She hadn’t seen him again until last year when she was taken to Malfoy Manor after a group of snatchers found her, Ron, and Harry while on the run looking for Horcruxes. Malfoy didn’t tell his aunt, father or mother that he had recognized them. Then, although he watched as Hermione had her arm carved into by that crazy woman, Hermione could tell he didn’t want to, by the way he would tense and look away every moment their eyes met. When the battle happened, he made his allegiances clear and helped on the light side.

It was Hermione and Harry’s testimonies that kept Malfoy and Narcissa out of Azkaban. Narcissa received a sentence of house arrest and Draco was allowed to demonstrate his reform by returning to Hogwarts for his 8th year. Now looking at the boy across from her, those moments felt like a lifetime ago. Hermione began to feel uncomfortable after having confessed what she did.

“Okay, well if you’ve said all you needed to say, I’m going to dinner.” She moved to get out of the closet.

“What are you going to do about Potter?”

Hermione sighed, “I guess I better go tell him the truth.”

“What if you didn’t need to? We could let him think we’re dating. It would help with things with Astoria, and Potter would never need to know.”

Hermione laughed a little as she turned around to see him coming out of the closet, having to bend down to get out. “So, what? You want to use me to make your on-again off-again girlfriend jealous?” she asked, tilting her head.

Draco shrugged, “To be fair, you used me earlier when you decided to jump on me for that kiss.” Hermione glared at him. “You don’t have to give me an answer now Granger, just think about it.”

Hermione nodded as she walked away. “Don’t count on it, Malfoy,” she said over her shoulder as she turned toward the Gryffindor tower. With the stress of not wanting to see Harry, and now Malfoy asking her to fake date him, she just had no appetite. Sleep was needed, she just wanted this day to be over.

When she reached her dorm, she found a rolled up parchment with a blue ribbon tied around it. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest seeing it and she picked it up shakily. As she unrolled the paper, she saw her prediction was correct: Viktor Krum’s letter had been returned, thankfully unread, as he no longer lived at Durmstrang. She felt relieved as she grabbed the letter and threw it in her trunk. Hermioned resolved to forget everything about today.

As she reached to pull the curtains around her, Parvati came into their shared dorm.

“Harry is looking for you, he asked where you were at dinner. I told him I’d pass the message along, I figured you were hiding up here,” Pavarti said.Hermione simply nodded and pulled the curtains around her four-poster bed.

The next morning, Hermione groaned as the light spilled through her curtains. As it was Saturday she had no lessons, ideally she could do what she wanted. What she wanted to do was never come out from her bed. In actuality,he got ready for the day. She had made plans with Luna to spend time out by the Black Lake to look for another creature that Luna swears she had seen before. Hermione doubted Luna really saw it, but she never minded spending a warm day out by the lake.

As Hermione walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast, she immediately regretted it as Harry came into view. He watched her as she sat down across from him and started putting food onto her plate. She kept quiet until he finally said something.

“So, are we going to talk about this or what?”

“Talk about what exactly?” she asked, hoping she could stall to where she had enough food.

“The letter, you kissing Malfoy, you avoiding me. Take your pick,” he said and she could hear an edge in his voice.

“I really don’t think we should be talking about this here,” Hermione replied, looking around for any prying ears.

“Then when? I tried to find you yesterday, but you avoided me and then kissed Malfoy which….what?”

Hermione sighed and shook her head. “Later, I’ll talk with you later,” she said as she rose from the table. She really hadn’t had that much to eat, but maybe she could nip into the kitchen later and grab a snack. “Hermione, where are you going?”

“I told Luna I would help her search for some creature down at the Black Lake today. So, I should be going,” she said, determined not to see the sadness in her best friend's face as she walked away. Hermione knew that she would eventually have to talk to Harry about all of this, but at the moment it was too hard. She didn’t want to talk about this to anyone, let alone Harry. She wasn’t even sure what she had to say to him, so she would have to think about how to approach the subject with him before sitting down with him. Maybe actually using Malfoy and ‘date’ could help avoid all this?

*~*~*

A few hours later, Luna and Hermione were still out by the shores of the lake. Hermione sat there lounging while Luna kept bobbing in and out of the water trying to find whatever creature was on her list today. Hermione kept forgetting the name.

“So what was all that with Draco yesterday?” Luna asked.

Hermione looked up to Luna coming out of the water holding some kind of weed that was soaking wet. “Nothing. Misunderstanding,” she said dismissively.

“No, I meant about you kissing him. Are you dating now?”

Hermione could feel the blush on her cheeks and shook her head. “NO! I most certainly am not dating him.”

Luna chuckled and spread the weed out to dry out. “Why not? I mean you could do so much worse than Draco.”

Hermione sat up to watch her and pulled her knees to her chest. “Since when has he been Draco to you?”

Luna smiled her dreamy smile and shrugged. “He was very nice to me while I was stuck in his manor’s dungeons. He and I talked.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows at this news. “You talked? Like a civilized conversation with Draco Malfoy?”

“The war changed us all, Hermione. You, of all people, should know this. Draco Malfoy is not the same person he was, just as you are not the same person you were. He’s actually pretty trustworthy once you get to know him.”

Hermione let that sink in for a bit before just humming in response. Draco Malfoy was a trusting person? When she had written him that letter, she must have known he was different. From what she could remember of that night in 6th year, he was actually somewhat nice as they conversed. If it hadn’t been for Blaise Zabini who had somehow spiked the punch with copious amounts of alcohol, Hermione never would have gotten that drunk. She definitely wouldn’t have kissed Draco Malfoy that night, and she definitely wouldn’t have enjoyed it.

As if the fates were intervening, she saw the familiar blonde walking across the grounds with his quidditch team. Before she could stop herself, her mouth betrayed her. “Hey, Malfoy.”

Draco stopped and turned around at her shout. “Granger,” he said with a raised eyebrow.

She stopped a few feet in front of him and she took a breath before speaking. “Let’s do this.” Hermione was not prepared for the smile that grew on his face. Before she could react, he closed the distance and swooped down to kiss her. She had to stand on her tippy toes to reach him. When had he gotten so tall?

She broke apart from him and nodded. “Right…well I’m going that way now,” she muttered, as the red creeped up her neck.

“Yeah, I see, certainly nothing going on between you two.” Luna said, as Hermione ran back to her friend, still immersed in the waters of Black Lake. Luna gave her a knowing smile and Hermione rolled her eyes.

Chapter Text

Later that evening Hermione found herself across from Malfoy at one of the tables near the back of the Library. After confirming there was no one nearby she pulled out a parchment and wrote the word “Contract” at the top. Malfoy raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re going to suck the fun out of this for me.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. “There has to be rules if we’re going to be doing this fake dating thing.”

“Why does there have to be rules? Where’s your spontaneity?”

“I am a terrible liar Malfoy, I think my spontaneity would ruin it.”

Malfoy sat back in his chair with his arms folded. “Fine, what do you have in mind?”

“First off, no more kissing, and no touching.”

“What? Granger, you really think people are going to believe we’re dating if I can’t kiss you or even touch you?”

Hermione sighed. “Not all of us have experience with dating. I don’t want all my firsts to be fake.”

“Wait, does this mean you're a vi…”

“That isn’t the point, Malfoy,” she bit at him with clenched teeth.

Draco raised his hands in a surrender position. “But seriously you can’t expect us to convince anyone if I can’t at least touch you.”

Hermione thought for a minute and nodded. “Fine, but you can only put your arm around my waist.”

“Ooh Scandalous,” he remarked and Hermoine narrowed her eyes at him.

“Fine, but you have to come to the parties with me.”

“What parties?” Hermione asked, hesitating to write down what he had said.

“Oh right…Slytherin has some get-togethers in the dungeons every once in a while. You know like the one you somehow were invited to back in our 6th year. We never invited you or Pothead…well because you’re Head Girl and Potter is Potter.”

“Don’t call him that,” she said, finishing writing it down. “I’ll go with you, and I won’t report you either.”

Draco looked mildly surprised by it. “You won’t report a party? You’re Head Girl. I thought that was like the essence of you.”

Hermione looked up at him curiously and shrugged. “You’ll find there is a lot about me you don’t know.”

Draco nodded slowly. “Fair enough. Add the Yule Ball there.”

This year, in celebration for having everyone back and for Hogwarts being reopened, the school decided to throw another Yule Ball. Which meant staying at Hogwarts for the holidays and attending the dance on Christmas Eve. Hermione really didn’t think they would still be doing this until then.

“Do you really think we’ll still be, you know, together by then? That’s three months away.”

“Put it as a contingency in case we are. No one in their right mind would let their boyfriend or girlfriend go to the Yule Ball without them.”

Hermione put it on the list but didn’t think she really needed to. That’s why she said okay. “Fine, but you have to go to Hogsmeade trips with me. But NO Madame Puddifoots. That place is too much.”

Draco chuckled at this. “Agreed, no Madame Puddifoots. Also add studying in the library. Since this is your favorite place to study, we should be seen studying together.”

Hermione did as such. “Anything else?”

“I can write you little love notes, if you would like. Astoria was always on me to write to her, so if I did it for you, she would flip out.”

Hermione scoffed a little at this but nodded. “Okay, then make sure to give them to me when she’s around,” she added as she drew two lines at the end of the contract and signed her name. She pushed it over for Malfoy to sign his as well. “Then we are officially fake dating, Malfoy.,” she said, putting her hand out for him to shake.

Malfoy eyed her hand curiously. “What’s that for?”

“It’s to shake. It’s a muggle thing. It’s an acknowledgement of a sealed contract.”

Malfoy hesitated but put his hand out and Hermione clasped them together and shook it for him.

“Alright, then I’ll take you back to your Common Room.”

Hermione paused as she heard this. “What?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Granger, this is something a boyfriend would do. If you keep acting surprised at everything, you’re going to make this a lot more difficult than it needs to be.”

“Malfoy…you do realize I live at the Gryffindor tower right?”

“I’m not daft. I know where I’m going.”

“But aren’t you worried someone will hex you? You know how some of the Gryffindors can be.”

“If you’re talking about Potter, I’ll be fine Hermione. I’ve taken a hex from him and lived to tell the tale. Besides, I really don’t think he’s going to hex me for making sure my girlfriend gets back to her Common Room safely.”

Hermione winced as he mentioned the hex that Harry had unknowingly hit him with in the bathroom. “Sorry,” she muttered and Malfoy shrugged.

“It’s in the past. No need to dwell on it. Now come on. I don’t think my girlfriend would be very happy with me if I was out after curfew,” he said with a wink and Hermione couldn’t help but feel a little heat rise to her cheeks. She was really going to have to get used to him calling her his girlfriend, even if it was fake.

They walked in silence all the way to the Gryffindor portrait hole where the Fat Lady was singing to some portrait to her left. “So, this is the Gryffindor Common Room huh?” Malfoy commented.

The Fat Lady turned to him, “Go away snake, you have no business here.”

Hermione’s eyes widened and she was about to say something when she heard Malfoy chuckle. “Well aren’t you a ray of sunshine. Granger, I’ll see you Monday morning, what time do you usually head down to breakfast?” He asked and Hermione raised her eyebrows. “I try to be down there somewhat early. Maybe around seven?”

“Alright, Goodnight Granger,” he said as he gave the Fat Lady a curt nod and turned on his feet. “Goodnight, Malfoy,” she called after him and said the password to the portrait after she was sure Malfoy was out of earshot.

“Hermione, there you are.”

She turned to Harry as he stood up from their favorite couch in front of the fire. It was obvious he had been waiting up for her as almost everyone else had already retired to their dorms. “Hello Harry,” she said casually and she went to sit down next to him.

“Where were you? I haven’t seen you all day, and I thought we were going to talk?”

Hermione sighed and massaged her neck, stretching as she decided on her answer. “I was at the library, studying with Draco.”

“Draco? As in Malfoy?”

Hermione nodded as confirmation and Harry raised an eyebrow. “Since when has he been Draco?”

“Since we started dating,” she said simply, as if it was no big deal. Inside her stomach felt like it was being tied in knots.

“Wait…What? You hate Malfoy. I don’t understand what is going on with you.”

Hermione sighed. “I don’t hate Malfoy.”

“He called you a…a…well you know what, for seven years, he constantly made fun of you for everything, and now you’re dating him? I’m not sure how this could happen. Did I miss something? Hermione, he was a freaking Death Eater for Merlin's sake.”

“Harry, you know as well as I do that Draco didn’t really want to be a Death Eater, he even told his family he didn’t recognize you when we were sent to the Manor. And believe me, the stinging hex I sent at you didn’t do that well of a job disguising you. Anyone with half a brain would have recognized it was you. You testified for his release as well. How can you bring this all up now? Was he a pain in the arse as a kid? Absolutely. But people can change Harry.”

Harry sighed and nodded. “Okay, I relent, I’ll stop calling him a Death Eater, but I doubt he’s changed that much. At least it seems so fast. I just don’t know how you got to this point.”

“Do you remember that one party in sixth year that I got ridiculously drunk at?”

“Yes, I remember. The one at the Slytherin Common Room?”

“That’s the one. Well, while I was drunk Draco and I started talking. And, for the first time ever, he wasn’t atrocious to me. At some point we kissed,” she said with a blush coloring her cheeks, I’ve had a little crush on him since. Turns out that so did he.”

“Wasn’t he with that other Slytherin, Astoria or whatever?”

“They broke up, and he said it was final…so we got together.”

“Huh... So what, am I going to have to be friends with Malfoy?”

Hermione laughed at this. “You don’t have to be anything with him if you don’t want to, Harry. I just ask that you’re civil with him when he’s around.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully. “So, I guess we don’t really need to talk about why you sent that letter then?”

Hermione knew this was going to come up, despite her telling him that she was dating Draco. She had hoped that he would forget about it or at least avoid it once he found out about Draco, but that didn’t seem to be the case. “Harry…Please let’s just not talk about that.”

“Hermione, I think we should. I mean…what was in that letter was pretty intense.”

“Harry, I’m just not ready. I’m sorry,” she said as she stood from the couch and pulled her book bag over her shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning. I have some rounds to make now that curfew is over,” she added.

“Hermione, we have to talk about this.”

“Not now, Harry. Please,” Hermione said with finality as she walked briskly through the Common Room and out the portrait hole. In all of her time being friends with Harry she had never felt so awkward talking to him. She didn’t want to ruin her friendship with him, which is why she was scared to talk about her feelings for him. She spent the rest of the night doing her rounds and only finding a few students out of bed late. By the time Hermione returned to her dorm room she was exhausted, she fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

*~*~

On Monday morning Hermione stepped out of the portrait hole to find Draco Malfoy leaning against the other wall. With his arms crossed and eyes closed he looked completely at peace,and very tired. “How long have you been waiting here?” She approached him quietly, just in case he was sleeping.

Draco opened his eyes and gave her a small smile. “Not long. Although I did have an awkward few moments of Gryffindors staring at me.” Hermione laughed softly, “Well you didn’t have to come wait for me.”

Draco shook his head, “It’s our first official day as a couple, of course I did.”

They walked together in comfortable silence, but it wasn’t until they got close to the Great Hall that Draco put his arm around her waist. Hermione only slightly flinched and she could feel Draco chuckle next to her.

When she had agreed to let him put his arm around her, she didn’t expect to have it feel so intimate. To be this close to someone was a feeling that Hermione was not prepared for. Which is why she was sure that was the reason for the blush on her cheek. It couldn’t possibly be anything else. As they entered the Great Hall and suddenly all eyes were on them, her blush only deepened.

“Hermione, this is for you,” he whispered as he pulled out a small folded up piece of parchment. Hermione was so stunned by the use of her first name that she hesitated for a few moments before taking the note.

This was going to take a lot of getting used to.

Chapter Text

“So, when were you going to tell us you were dating Granger?”

Draco opened his eyes to see his friends looming over him as he sat on the couch of the Slytherin common room. Draco crossed his arms, he had been trying to get a little bit of a nap as he hadn’t been sleeping well for quite a while now. Just like pretty much everyone else who went through the war.

“Now?” He drawled as he raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize it was going to be that big of a deal, Pansy.”

“Not a big deal? Draco, this is Hermione Granger, the swotty Gryffindor princess who you have despised for the last seven years. She’s best friends with Harry Potter, the person you hate with a passion. I just don’t understand how all of a sudden you could be dating here. Not to mention but didn’t you break up with Astoria like, yesterday?” Pansy said as she sat down next to him.

“Astoria broke up with me before the start of term, Pans. She’s dating some bloke who works at the Ministry. She’s already moved on, why can’t I?”

“You can, of course you can, mate. We’re just surprised it’s with Granger,” Theodore added as he settled onto one of the couches, Blaise joining in the space next to him.

Draco shrugged and leaned back onto the cushions, propping his right elbow on the couch arm, letting his head rest on his hand. “Do you all remember that party back in sixth year? The one where Potter and his sidekicks came to?” The trio of Slytherins nodded.

“Well, that’s when it kind of all started. Theo, here, quadruple spiked the non-alcoholic punch. I had been drinking a lot due to…well you all know. So, I was pissed as was Granger. I’m not really sure how it happened but after talking for a while that night, we kissed.”

Pansy gasped, “You kissed Granger!?”

“It’s not that scandalous, Pans. Besides, we were beyond sloshed. Regardless, apparently we both felt something for each other, and I told her when I saw her this year. She felt the same. That’s how we got here.”

“I heard that she apparently approached you when you were heading down to the Quidditch Pitch. No one heard what you said, but you guys kissed there also,” Blaise said with a wink. Draco simply nodded.

Theo raised an eyebrow. “Huh, that’s nutters, mate. I had no clue you harbored feelings for Hermione bloody Granger.”

Pansy shook her head. “I don’t like it.”

“I’m not asking you to like it, Pansy. I’m not asking for any of you to like it. I’m dating Hermione, and you can deal with it, or you can not.”

“What will your father and mother say about this?”

Draco’s eyes widened at her antagonistic tone. “My father is in Azkaban and my mother is on house arrest. They have no say in my personal life. I’m the head of the House of Malfoy now. I don’t care what they say. You of all people should understand that sentiment.” Pansy narrowed her eyes at him but stayed silent.

“Come on Pansy, times are changing. We should be happy for Draco,” Theodore said with a wink to his friend. Over the last few years, Theo and Draco had become good friends. Draco would even go as far as to call him his best mate. Especially after the two moved in together; Nott’s estate had been destroyed in the war and Malfoy Manor was a place that Draco could not stomach living in again. There were too many skeletons there for Draco, he needed a fresh start.

“If it was anyone else, I would be supportive. But I just can’t stand her! She doesn’t know our customs and doesn’t have the courtesy to even want to know them. It’ll never work out.”

“Our customs are changing as well, Pans. If any of our lines are going to survive, we have to change,” Theo said irritatedly. “There are only so many Purebloods left, and honestly we’re all connected in some way. I personally don’t want my significant other to be my seventh cousin three times removed.”

“Well, it’s not like inbreeding should be a concern for you, if you ever have a kid they would have to be adopted anyway,” Pansy muttered derisively.

“That’s incredibly insensitive,” Theo replied, his voice soft and eyes distant, clearly hurt by what she said.

Draco let out a deep sigh and shook his head. “How do you still believe in the old ways after everything you have been shown, Pansy? Basically the entire wizarding community rose up against Voldemort, who was a half-blood by the way, to make sure we all have a place in the community. Not only that but half-bloods and muggleborns make up 90% of the entire wizarding world. This old-fashioned thinking will make you no friends, and quite honestly, I don’t know if I want to continue being friends with you. Not if this is how you’re going to treat Theo and my girlfriend,” he said before standing up and making his way to his dorm. Before descending the stairs, he turned around for one final word, “That goes for anyone who has a problem with Theo or Hermione.”

Draco struggled to understand how Pansy still thought that way. For someone who had such a terrible relationship with her parents, he didn’t imagine she would continue the old ways out of familial duty. Draco shed those beliefs long ago, recognizing Sanctimonia Vincet Semper as an archaic ideal. When his parents were imprisoned, he was finally able to move out and become his own person; to be his real self and drop the facade of the Malfoy heir. The person who only Theo and Blaise really knew existed. They were the only two people he ever confided in about his feelings, about his anger at his parents obsession with blood purity and preserving the old ways.

As he flopped down on his bed he threw his arm over his eyes and focussed on slowing his breathing. No matter how hard he tried he wasn’t going to get any sleep, he already knew that. Draco hadn’t had a good night's sleep since the beginning of sixth year. As soon as he was inducted into the Death Eaters, he barely slept more than two hours a night. Which is why he tries to rest his eyes whenever possible.

Draco sighed as he flipped onto his side and pulled out the little drawer of his bedside table to retrieve the rolled up parchment from it. Reviewing the letter has become a habit, the practice brings a weird form of peace to him. Every once in a while when he’s in a rage, reading her words helps calm him down.

“Sorry mate, I didn’t think she would say something like that,” Blaise was confiding to Theo as they entered the dorm. Draco placed the letter back in his drawer and sat up on his bed. “No worries. At least now I know where she stands,” Theo replied as he sat down on his bed to the left of Draco.

“Hey, mate. Just so you know, I’m supportive of you and Granger. If that makes you happy, I’m happy for you,” Theo said, laying back on his bed with a small smile. Draco nodded. “Thanks mate. Sorry about Pansy,” he replied and Theo waved him off . Draco honestly hated the feeling of lying to his best mate about his relationship with Granger, but he couldn’t do anything about it now.

“It was kind of a big shock to hear about you kissing Granger in front of the other Slytherins though,” Blaise said, “I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see you and her this morning.”

Theo nodded. “I believe it, but that’s because I live with the bloke. I also have an eye for these things. It’s obvious that Draco and Granger have feelings for each other.” Draco scoffed and threw a pillow at his head. “Shut it, it’s not obvious.”

“Yeah it is mate, you totally have the googly eyes for our illustrious Head Girl.” All Draco could do was roll his eyes and put his arm back over his eyes as he laid down again. He couldn’t help letting his mind wander to a certain bushy-haired know-it-all.

Chapter Text

Draco Malfoy was the perfect fake boyfriend. The weeks passed quickly in a comfortable new routine, Draco walking her back to the dorms at night, and picking her up in the morning. He would give her little notes at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and she would just put them in her trunk and forget about them. She figured they were little tokens meant for show, to give credence to their new relationship to anyone watching. They spent a few classes together sitting by each other, garnering stares from their peers. Hermione still needed to get used to that, the feeling of being in the spotlight.

The funniest moment was when Harry and Hermione were sitting in their first Transfiguration class after her relationship with Draco became official; Draco walked in and plopped down in the empty seat next to Hermione without saying anything. Harry’s jaw dropped and he gave Hermione a very curious look. It was clear Harry didn’t imagine that Malfoy would actually sit with them. Hermione had to remind him later that they were in fact dating, and that would probably happen more often.

Harry was still having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Hermione and Draco were dating. It didn’t help that Hermione avoided him every time he brought up the letter. She would tell him she wasn’t ready to talk about it and go up to her dorm or go find Luna. Luna was starting to fill the void Hermione felt for not having Ginny around.

Speaking of Ginny, she had sent an owl about a week after Hermione went public with Draco and all Hermione could think was she was happy it wasn’t a howler. She could only imagine the embarrassment she would have gotten if Ginny had gone along with her original idea.

Hermione,

I KNOW I TOLD YOU TO HAVE SOME FUN THIS YEAR, BUT I DIDN’T IMAGINE YOU WOULD GO AFTER DRACO FREAKING MALFOY! Why did I have to find out from Harry and Luna? WHY didn’t you TELL ME!? You’re lucky I didn’t decide to send you a Howler like I wanted to. Give me all the details!

Yours, Ginny

Hermione had yet to respond to that letter and it had been about a week since she received it. She had never been able to lie to Ginny and she didn’t want to start now. Curiously, it seemed that Ginny had not found out about the letter she had written to Harry, and how could Hermione tell about that in a letter? Hermione hoped she could keep things this way until the holidays, where she could tell Ginny about it all. She made a mental note to talk to Harry and ask him not to say anything.

That weekend there was another party at the Slytherin common room, Hermione was doing anything she could to avoid it, even if it was in the rules she was supposed to go. “You’re not skipping out on me, Granger,” were the final words from Draco as he left her at the portrait hole that Friday night.

Saturday morning, she found herself sitting in the library with Luna who was talking about a boy and the many things that she wanted to do with him that Hermione would rather not remember hearing. “Luna, honestly, sometimes you’re worse than Ginny, and that’s hard to do!” Luna only laughed and shrugged. “Live your life Hermione,” she replied with a dreamy smile. “Are you going to the party tonight?” she added, a little quieter as it was against the rules to have parties in Hogwarts, even if the people attending were all of age. “Unfortunately,” Hermione replied.

Luna chuckled and looked down at her watch. “I suppose we ought to go get ready then!” Hermione turned to her with a raised eyebrow and reminded her, “Luna, it’s hours away.”

Luna shook her head. “I was told to help you get ready, and I’ve got a lot of work to do.” Hermione narrowed her eyes. “Rude,” she said to a serenely smiling Luna.

Hours later, Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. Luna really had worked some magic. She was in a simple black dress, with an off the shoulder detail. The skirt went down to just above her knees and had a tiny flair out. The dress was also on loan from Luna, Hermione was shocked Luna owned something so simple in her closet. Her hair was down, but was not the wild curls that people knew her for. They were still wild, but much more tame. Luna had applied a light dusting of makeup and gave her some heels to wear.

“Hermione, you’re a stunner. You’re going to knock Draco’s socks off. Maybe even more,” Luna said, giving her friend a wolf whistle. Hermione blushed. “Oh please,” she muttered as she heard Harry call her from downstairs. Luna walked with her down to see Harry smiling at the bottom of the stairs. “Hermione, Malfoy is here. I just came in to get ready, and he’s waiting out of the portrait hole,” he said flippantly as he turned to speak to Luna. “I’ll be ready in just a second then we can walk down together.”

Hermione waved to Luna and Harry as she went out of the portrait hole. There was Draco, arms crossed leaning up against the wall with his eyes closed again. She was met with the same vision every time she emerged from her Common Room. She hadn’t asked him, but she wondered if he didn’t get enough sleep.

“Ah, there you are Granger,” he said, opening his eyes. Hermione also wondered how he always knew she was there before she said anything. “You look nice,” he added before she said anything else. For some reason Hermione was waiting to hear another remark, something like ‘it’s nice to see you can at least tame that hair,’ or ‘never knew you had it in you to wear something so nice.’ But, no comment came.

“Thank you, so do you,” she replied, taking the moment to look at him. He was dressed in clothes that were surprisingly muggle. He had on a grey tailored dress shirt and navy slacks. His hair was stylistically messy. He honestly looked really good. Hermione couldn’t help but feel a little heat in her cheeks at that thought. Had she really just thought Draco Malfoy was attractive? “Shall we?” he asked, offering his arm to her and Hermione took it nodding.

They hadn’t done many Public Displays of Affection since they started ‘dating’, mostly just his arm around her waist, once in a while she would put her hand in the crook of his arm as he escorted her to class. However, every time Hermione felt a little flutter in the pit of her stomach. She was inexperienced with ‘dating’, so she chalked her nerves up to that.

When they arrived just outside the Slytherin Common Room, Draco stopped and turned to her. “I should warn you, Astoria will be there, and so will Pansy. I don’t think you have to worry too much about Astoria. She won’t really make a scene….but you know Pansy.” Hermione tried not to let it show on her face, but she knew that if anyone was going to make any nasty comments it would be Pansy Parkinson. “Thanks for the warnings Malfoy, but I can handle it.” Draco nodded and said the password to let them into the Common Room.

Hermione had been inside once before, in 6th year when Theodore Nott had invited Harry to a Slytherin party and Hermione and Ron had tagged along. Despite her protests about attending the party at the time, it had been a memorable evening and she smiled at the memory now.

“Draco!” Both Draco and Hermione turned to who called out to them. Sitting right in front of the makeshift bar, Theodore Nott had called out to the two. Draco pulled Hermione over and Theo smiled. “Welcome Granger! Draco said you would be here today. Which is perfect, I can get to know my best mate’s girl a little better,” he said with a wink and Hermione smiled a little. She had little interaction with the infamous Nott heir before this, but it was nice to be welcomed. “Thank you,” she replied. “Call me Theo by the way. Everyone does, and I don’t like being called by my bigoted father’s name,” he added as he could clearly see her hesitation. “Thank you, Theo,” she added with a smile. “What are you waiting for? Draco get your girl a drink!”

Hermione enjoyed speaking with Theo. He was welcoming, witty and very naughty. “Granger, do you see that boy over there?” Hermione turned toward the younger Slytherin whose name she wasn’t sure of, and she nodded. “He’s a fantastic shag,” he said with a wink. Hermione’s eyes widened when she realized what he meant. Theo must have noticed her reaction, because he barked out a laugh. “I would have thought Draco would have told you of my preference.” Hermione nodded, “Oh, he did, but he also didn’t have to. Harry actually mentioned it a few years ago,” she said quietly.

“Hmm, Potter talks about me?”

Hermione rubbed the back of her neck. “Well he said something about it after the party in 6th year that you invited him to.”

“Ah, yes. That party. Good one, I was really drunk that night. I really don’t remember much from it. Did Potter say anything else?” Hermione narrowed her eyes, curious about his line of questioning. “No, not that I can remember. Just that you liked blokes and that he thought you were a funny guy for a Slytherin,” she said as she watched for any reaction. She might have missed it if she wasn’t paying so close attention, but there was a slight perk up to Theo’s expression.

“Of course I’m funny, regardless of whether I’m a Slytherin,” he replied with a wink. “Will Potter be here by chance?” Hermione nodded, “Yes, he should be here anytime, he and Luna were coming together,” she said, seeing the slight dip in the Slytherin's shoulders.

“Now, let’s play my favorite game. How many blokes has Theodore kissed in this room?” Hermione chuckled and shook her head. She genuinely was having a good time with him. She had not noticed that Draco had slipped away from them after giving her a drink.

“Anything he said about me is a lie,” Draco whispered conspiratorially to her as he returned at that moment with two cups in his hand. Theo grinned, “I’m pretty sure if I chose to say anything about you, it would be the truth,” he said as he threw his arm around Draco’s shoulders. Hermione watched the two with amusement. She had not seen Draco act this way with anyone before, so it was a little funny to her.

“We were just about to play Theo’s favorite game,” she said and Draco unlatched himself from Theo’s arm. “Oh, yeah. It’s more than you think. I’ll give you a hint, he’s even kissed me.” Hermione’s eyebrows went up with surprise, coughing slightly on her drink she asked, “What?” Draco chuckled and nodded, “Yep, he planted one on me when he got sloshed at a party during summer. I was taking him home, and he thought I was the guy he was talking to all night.”

“Oh, just be thankful you got a kiss from me. I’m a very good kisser,” Theo added with a wink to Draco. Draco shrugged, “It was adequate. I’ve had better kisses,” he said in a teasing manner. “Okay, that hurts a bit.” Hermione couldn’t help but laugh at them and both boys turned to her. “Sorry, you must really be good friends,” she said, turning away with a blush to her cheeks. Thankfully Theo saved her. “Of course we are, this guy is my best mate, although he still won’t admit it.”

Theo, Draco, and Hermione continued to talk for quite a while until she saw Harry and Luna finally walk in. “Oh look, Harry’s here,” she said, turning to see Theo perk up in such a subtle way. Draco’s face soured for a fraction and nodded. “So, he is,” he said and Hermione sighed. “If you’ll excuse me, I just saw someone I should say hi to.” Theo said as hurriedly made an exit and Hermione shook her head. “He’s not very subtle, is he?” Draco scoffed and shook his head, “Not at all.”

After a little bit of small talk while others flitted around them, Draco said he would be back and went to the bathroom. That’s when Hermione’s night really took a turn. Hermione was happily sitting and people watching, mainly watching Theo, Luna, and Harry interact when two people sat down on the couch next to her own. “Hello Granger.” Hermione turned to the sickeningly sweet smile of Pansy Parkinson and Astoria Greengrass. “Hello,” she replied in a neutral voice.

“You know Astoria right? She’s a year younger than us,” Pansy taunted and Hermione nodded. “Yes, hello Astoria, it’s nice to meet you officially,” Hermione said, meaning it. Astoria looked her up and down before giving her a nod in acknowledgement.

“Tori here was just telling me how she couldn’t believe you’re dating Draco.” Hermione nodded. “You know you stole him from her, right?” Pansy continued.

“From what Draco told me, you broke up with him and are dating someone else now.” Astoria nodded, “Yes, but Draco and I are never really over. Don’t be surprised when he comes crawling back to me,” she said with a self-assured grin that Hermione never wanted to see again.

Hermione stood and replied, as calmly as she could manage,“Okay. Well, this was fun. If you’ll excuse me.” Hermione never liked dealing with mean girls, and Draco had warned her. However, she wasn’t going to cause drama by rising to their taunts. She preferred to walk away from the situation before it got worse.

“Hermione!” She turned to see Cormac calling her over. She smiled and walked over to him. “I’m shocked to see you at one of these parties.” Hermione shrugged, “I was dragged here by Draco.”

“Ah, right the boyfriend. How did that happen by the way?”

“He got one of my letters and felt the same way about me as I did for him.”

“Wait…one of?” Hermione sighed and nodded. “Yeah, one of the five letters I sent out.” Cormac laughed quietly, “Wow, you really know how to make a guy feel special,” he teased. “So, who are the other three?”

Hermione didn’t know why, but she found herself telling Cormac about the whole ordeal. Later, she would blame it on the alcohol she had consumed, but it was nice to come clean and tell someone she trusted about her and Draco. He asked questions at the right time, but overall he just let her talk. “I’m sorry, I’m not supposed to have told anyone that,” she said, feeling her cheeks turn red.

Cormac shook his head. “Sounds like you had a lot going on in that brain of yours. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, and I’m here to listen if you ever need it,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “We all need someone to listen to once in a while.”

“I’ll always listen to you as well Cormac, it goes both ways.”

“Oh yeah, well then why don’t you introduce me to your new friend Theo?” He said with a wink and Hermione smiled. The pair made their way over to Theo, Harry and Luna. The latter was talking Theo and Harry’s ear off about Wrackspurts. Theo looked at Hermione like he was begging her to save him. She waited until a dull moment in Luna’s story before she introduced Cormac to Theo. She stood by as Cormac, Harry, and Theo all seemed to be hitting it off. She couldn’t tell if it was her drink or the good company, but she felt happy standing in the little group.

At one point Luna had meandered off to Merlin knows where and Hermione was left alone with the three boys who were talking about Quidditch. She was really thankful when she felt a hand at her waist and she knew instinctively it was Draco who came up beside her.

“Want to get out of here?” he whispered in her ear and she nodded, smiling.

Chapter Text

After leaving the party, Hermione and Draco found themselves at the kitchens looking for a snack. Draco was surprised that Hermione had known where the kitchens were, and how to get into them. “I told you that you would be surprised to find things out about me.” Draco laughed and nodded, “Fair enough.”

Once inside, Hermione was greeted by many of the kitchen elves who pulled her aside to give an update on Winky. Winky was a house-elf that she knew because of Dobby. Dobby had brought her to work in the kitchens after she lost her job as the Crouch family house-elf. She had since gone into a deep depression and drank tons of Butterbeer. To say that she’s probably the hardest elf that Hermione dealt with was an understatement. “Well if she comes out while I’m here, I’ll talk to her,” she told them with a smile. Thankfully while they sat in the kitchens, Winky didn’t make an appearance.

Draco and Hermione had found a small table to sit down, out of the way of the workers, and began to eat. “So, you’re friends with the kitchen elves?” he asked, mostly out of curiosity and Hermione could tell. “Well, do you remember in our fourth year when I started the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, or S.P.E.W. for short?”

“I remember those ghastly buttons you tried to get people to wear, but otherwise no.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and continued. “It was because I didn’t like the treatment of house-elves that I saw at the World Cup, specifically Winky. When I discovered that they were the reason that we had all our meals, it ticked me off more. Well, when I found out that Dumbledore had paid the house-elves, it made it better for me. Around that time we had found the kitchens and one of the house-elves here had brought Winky to work. She’s gone into a major depression and now basically just drinks herself into a stupor. She did participate in the Battle of Hogwarts though, thanks to Kreacher.”

“Kreacher, is he the house-elf who brought her here?” Hermione looked down at her food and shook her head. “No, he’s the House of Black’s house-elf that now belongs to Harry. The one who brought her here was actually Dobby.” Hermione didn’t look up to see any reaction Draco had, in fact she just kept staring at her plate.

“Oh…” he said quietly. “I wondered what happened to him,” he added after a few beats of silence. Hermione didn’t have the heart to say anything else, especially because that particular elf did so much for them. “He passed away last year, after our time at the Manor,” she muttered and she could feel her face grow hot. She had not mentioned the events of the Manor to anyone since it happened. Harry knew more than anyone, but that wasn’t much. The three of them mostly avoided speaking about that terrible night.

“Listen, I’ve been meaning to apologize for…”

“Don’t!” She all but yelled as she looked up. “Please, don’t. It’s over and done with and it’s not your fault. If anything, you helped us out. You stalled them by not revealing Harry. If anything, I should thank you.” Draco shook his head. “No, don’t thank me. If I can’t apologize, you can’t thank me. Deal?” Hermione nodded.

They were quiet for a little while longer until Draco spoke up again. “You know that Theo and I moved in together over the summer?”

“I heard something about that.”

“Yeah, neither of us could live in our childhood homes. Theo would be alone, and with my father in Azkaban and mother on house arrest, and everything else that happened in the last few years at my house…I just couldn’t live there anymore. I never want to live in that Manor again if I can help it,” he finished.

“The war took a lot from all of us. I also lost my parents in the war.” When Draco looked up at her in alarm she gently shook her head. “Not in the way you’re thinking. They didn’t die. I obliviated them, to remove all of their memories of me and the magical world. I sent them to live in Australia. Last I heard, they were living as Wendall and Monica Wilkins in Sydney.”

“Can you not reverse it?” He asked with wide eyes. Hermione stared at her hands as she replied, “I tried, but apparently I did too well. The Healers at St. Mungos said the longer a memory charm is in place, the harder it is to reverse. They’ve been under this charm for over a year now.”

“I’m sorry,” Draco said looking down at his now empty plate. Hermione nodded and shrugged. “I’ve come to peace with it. I was distraught at first, but I plan to research more after graduating. I want to become a Healer who specializes in neurology.”

“I think you’ll be fantastic at whatever you choose, but I do think you’ll be a wonderful Healer,” Draco said with a small smile.

“Thank you, what about you? What do you plan on doing after graduating?” Draco shrugged. “I actually want to become an Auror. I know it’s a long shot considering my past, but I want to correct my mistakes.” Hermione studied him for a little while until she reached out and grabbed his hand on the table. Surprisingly enough, he didn’t pull away. “I think you would be a great Auror.” Draco turned his hand over in hers and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you.” They continued to hold each other's hand, lost in a quiet moment of reflection, before Hermione cleared her throat and pulled back.

“Or, you know I could go on and play Quidditch. I’m sure some team would take me,” he said jokingly. Hermione rolled her eyes. “Of course, things always come back to Quidditch with you boys.” Draco couldn’t help but chuckle, “I love the feeling of being on a broom, the wind in my hair. The exhilaration when I go into a big dive. It’s the best.” Hermione wrinkled her nose at the idea. “I hate flying, and heights.”

They continued to talk as the night wore on, until one of the house-elves told them that it was past midnight and the kitchens were closing. Hermione couldn’t believe she had an actual conversation, let alone many of them, with Draco without wanting to kill him. It wasn’t a part of their fake dating, it was just two people sitting and talking, enjoying each other’s company. Hermione was struck by this thought as they made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. It really showed how much Draco Malfoy had grown over the last few years, and how much they now had in common. She already thought he had grown up, especially due to how he had treated her the past four weeks while fake dating, but this evening showed her just how much he had changed since the war. She had seen a glimpse of this kindness, of their similarities, in their sixth year at the Slytherin party.

They walked side by side in silence the whole way to Gryffindor Tower, careful to not be caught. She supposed they had done enough talking for the night, to not have to talk on their walk. When they arrived Draco nodded and said goodnight. “Malfoy, I was wondering. Are you going to keep that letter?”

“I was planning on it. After all, it is a letter you wrote to me,” he replied with a shrug. Hermione nodded. “Why? Do you want it back?” Hermione rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged. “This may sound stupid, but I would like to read it again. I can’t even remember what I wrote.”

“Well, maybe I’ll let you read it one time,” he said with a wink and a wave. Hermione watched him walk off and crossed her arms. She scoffed at him and turned on her feet to enter the Common Room.

Inside, the stragglers from the party sat talking and laughing about their time with the Slytherins. “Blaise was telling me about his wand collection. I want to see it so badly.”

“Luna, I doubt he was actually talking about wands,” Harry said with a shake of his head. “Oh, Hermione! Come and sit. Where did you get off to?”

“I was in the kitchens having a late night snack with Draco,” she replied as she sat down. Luna giggled beside her. “Hermione, I spent my evening talking to Blaise. He’s such a gentleman, he was telling me all about his wand collection.”

“So, I heard, but as Harry said, I don’t think he was talking about wands either.” Which incited another giggle from Luna. “Oh, you think he was using an innuendo for his…”

“Yes, we do Luna. Please don’t say it,” Harry said, cutting her off. “She was a little too drunk to go back to her Common Room, so I brought her here. Figured she could sleep in your dorm. Parvati was staying with some Hufflepuff tonight, so she can use her bed.” Hermione hummed in agreement. “Sounds good. So, how did you get along with Theo? You seemed to be talking with him a lot.”

“I actually really enjoyed talking to him. We talked a little bit back in sixth year, at that party he invited me to, but this was a whole different kind of talking. He’s a riot. Couldn’t stop laughing all night,” Harry grinned as he recalled the evening. “Good, you need to laugh more. I suppose I should get this girl up to bed,” she said as she felt the girl fall on her shoulder half-asleep already. “Goodnight, Harry.”

“Night, Hermione,” he replied as watched Hermione half drag the blonde up the stairs to her dorm.

Once inside, Hermione laid Luna on Parvati’s bed and pulled the curtains around her. After her conversation with Draco, she suddenly had the thought to reach into her trunk and her beaded bag to pull out the letter she had carefully stored in there.

She changed into her pyjamas and did her nightly routine, then pulled the curtains around her own bed and settled down. She picked up the letter and pulled the ribbon off of it.

Dear Viktor,

I know this letter may come as a shock to you, as we haven’t spoken in quite a few months. But, I felt like I needed to write this out. I wanted to thank you for our time together. You were always so sweet and gentle with me, and that was what really attracted me to you. Our date to the Yule Ball will be a memory I will always cherish. Dancing to the Weird Sisters with you and your friends was so fun. And though I was super nervous, you were the best person to have my first kiss with. Under the winter stars, wrapped up in your big thick cloak, it was a magical moment. There was nothing else I could have asked for in my first kiss.

Although you could never pronounce my name correctly, it was always a laugh teaching you how to say it. Those times you were in the library with me while I studied made me feel safe and happy. Every moment I spent with you was a wonderful time.

Do you remember the time that you skipped your Quidditch practice just to walk around the grounds with me? I thought that was so irresponsible at the time as you are a professional Quidditch player, but at the same time it meant so much to me.

Although it wasn’t long, and I didn’t see us working out for many reasons, I do cherish all that time. You were the first boy I liked, and I will always remember you with fond memories. Thank you for liking me first, and thank you for asking me to the Yule Ball.

As I’m writing this letter, we have not spoken in over a year, and I can finally say that I have gotten over my feelings for you. I wrote to you knowing you’ll never see this letter, but I had to write it down regardless. Thank you Viktor Krum, for being the best first boyfriend a girl could ever have.

Yours, Hermione

Hermione sighed as she pulled the letter to her chest. It was the first letter of the five she had written. Thankfully, he really would never read it. It was embarrassing reading it back to herself now, but she could only imagine how embarrassed she would feel if he had read it. What would have been his response? It was a question she wondered about all of the letters now they were out. Would he also be fond of their memories together?

Her thoughts roamed to the other four boys she had sent the letters to. She had Cormac’s letter returned and it was currently safe in her trunk. Ron had not even mentioned it or sent a letter to her at all in the past few weeks, now that she thought about it, Harry…well she was avoiding him about the matter. And Draco…he kind of teased her about it, but was nice enough to talk privately about it with her.

She was not looking forward to the Holidays when she would see Ron again. Maybe he hadn’t even read it? Could she be that lucky? He was busy with Auror training. It could happen. But this was reality. Of course he read it. Which meant another long conversation she would have about it.

She sighed and rolled the parchment back up, tied the ribbon around it and threw it back in her trunk, in its rightful place in her bag before laying back on her bed. She stared at the ceiling of her four poster bed for what seemed like an eternity before sleep finally consumed her.

Chapter Text

~Sixth Year~

“I can’t believe you talked me into this, Harry. This is breaking like twenty school rules.”

“Oh come off it Hermione, you’ve broken so many school rules the Headmaster would have never made you a prefect if he knew,” Ron replied giving her a nudge.

“That’s different. Those were in pursuit of the truth and helping Harry with fighting bad wizards. This is a party. In the Slytherin Common Room. How did you even know about this?”

“Theodore Nott invited us,” Harry replied with a shrug.

They continued to bicker until the door to the Common Room was opened by a Slytherin who was playing lookout. Once inside, Hermione noted the massive amounts of green throughout the room. The windows showed the green hue of the Black Lake, as the Common Room was in the dungeons and under the water of the lake. Every once in a while a creature would pass by the windows, Hermione thought that interesting. However, it was so cold and damp in the room that Hermione shivered, imagining what it would be like to live here as a Slytherin.

Hermione, Harry and Ron spent a good portion of the party standing awkwardly off to the side All three had been sipping on their drinks, and Hermione was wondering why she was already feeling drunk. She knew Harry and Ron were feeling the effects of drinks as well. “Does this feel stronger than Butterbeer, or is it just me?” Hermione asked aloud, thinking the boys were there, not realizing they had wandered off to talk to some younger Slytherin girls a few minutes earlier.

“You’re drinking Blaise’s special Firewhiskey.”

Hermione whipped around to see Draco Malfoy, he stood lurking in the corner where no one could see him. He looked thinner, stressed and paler than Hermione had ever seen him before. The only amount of color on his face was the tinge of red on his cheeks and the dark purple circles under his eyes. He looked like a shell of himself. Considering Harry’s theory of him being a Death Eater, Hermione was just now coming to think maybe he was. It didn’t help that only the right sleeve of his shirt was rolled up. The left stayed latched around his wrist.

“‘Special Firewhiskey?’” She asked with raised eyebrows, and looked down at the pink juice in her cup.

“You’ll never find anything non alcoholic at these parties. Blaise makes the punch and calls it Special Firewhiskey as it quadruples the amount of alcohol as a normal Firewhiskey.”

“Well…that would explain why I feel a little sloshed.”

“Oh I would imagine you’re more than a little, Granger,” he reasoned with a tip of his head.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and turned back around. “I’m shocked you’re talking to me, Malfoy,” she said, watching the people dancing and enjoying the music around them.

He shrugged, still standing in his corner. “I’m bored, you looked bored.”

“But you don’t like me.”

“And you don’t like me.”

“But I have many reasons to not like you Malfoy, I’ve never done anything to deserve your dislike,” she replied, turning back to him with a challenging tone and look on her face.

“How about we forget about not liking each other for a few minutes. You know, enjoy the party? Not sour the mood with serious talks,” he said shrugging and leaned further into the corner before taking a drink. Hermione rolled her eyes but nodded all the same.

“Well then, what do two enemies who usually insult each other talk about at a party?”

Malfoy had the decency to shrug. “Who knows? I know you don’t like Quidditch, so that’s off the table. How’d the essay come on the three potions Slughorn set for us last week?” Hermione wanted to roll her eyes, of course they would talk about school. It’s the only thing they had in common.

So, they did, they talked about school and, as their comfort grew, they slowly shifted into asking each other more personal questions. It didn’t help that as the night and the drinks rolled on the more sloshed and less inhibited they became.

“First kiss?” Hermione asked, now sitting criss-cross on the floor across from Draco, who was doing the same but leaning against the wall.

“Pansy. Third year, we were playing Truth or Dare, Bulstrode dared Pansy to kiss someone in the room. I was the lucky person she wanted to snog. You?”

“Viktor Krum, fourth year after the Yule Ball.”

“Ah, yes. Krum. I should have guessed that one.” Malfoy took another drink.

“Well, you were the one who Rita Skeeter counted on for all that juicy gossip,” she saw him wince a little. “I thought we had agreed to leave the past behind for one night?” He muttered. Hermione put her hands up in a surrender position,“Old habits.” Malfoy shrugged.

“What was your life like before finding out you were a witch?” He asked after some silence, and the question actually threw Hermione for a loop. She didn’t imagine that Draco Malfoy would ever ask a question like that. She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t sure why he wanted to know, he always insulted her for being a muggleborn, so why did he want to know about her life. Something about the look he was giving her told her that he was at least somewhat interested. She took a deep breath and asked him, “I wouldn’t think you want to know about my life.”

Malfoy shrugged. “Just making conversation.” Came his reply and for some reason, probably her inhibited state, she told him about her life.

“Well, it was like most kids that I knew of. I went to primary school with other kids my age, and played all the time. I spent time at my parents dentistry office after school and I would help with chores around the house. My parents would take me out on adventures , and we were always together. We would go to try new restaurants around London when they would pop up, we would go to the park every Saturday. When I got my letter from Hogwarts, it was quite the shock. My parents were confused, but very happy and proud.”

Malfoy nodded and finished the rest of the drink he had in his cup. “Sounds nice,” he said looking down at the empty cup. “What was yours like?” Hermione asked before he stood up and looked down at her. “That is a question you’ll find an unhappy answer in. I don’t want to ruin your night. Want a refill?” She nodded and was suddenly left alone while he went and refilled their drinks.

There were only two Pureblood families that Hermione had any experience with, the Weasleys who were considered blood traitors, and the Blacks. Her knowledge of the Blacks was limited to the small conversations with Sirius before he passed away last year. The Black and the Weasley children were raised in completely opposite ways. Sirius ran away and was disowned, and the same happened for Tonks’ mother Andromeda as well. Although, it was slightly different for Andromeda as she fell in love with a muggleborn and married him. Both were hexed off the family tree. Sirius never liked to talk about his family. Harry was the only person he would even say anything about, and even that was brief. She knew that he had run off to the Potters, another Pureblood family, that Hermione only knew little about because James and Sirius were best friends. The Weasleys were very open about their lineage and family history. The two families were completely opposite of each other.

Hermione followed the blonde as he made his way back across the room to her. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Draco Malfoy looked more lively in that moment than he had all year. Maybe it was her rose colored glasses. There was some life in his face: he wore his usual smirk, his hair looked disheveled still but in a more fashionable way, and his eyes seemed to have a mischievous spark to them again.

“Here you go Granger.” Hermione looked up to the blonde who had made it back to her in her moment of reverie. She nodded her thanks and he sat down opposite of her again, however this time much closer. Their feet were slightly touching, and she admitted to herself that she felt a little spark of electricity from the contact. She must really be sloshed.

They renewed their game of questions and answers, mostly sticking to frivolous things like when their birthdays were. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him but knew asking him anything serious could cause him to end the conversation altogether. Both their futures were so up in the air that even asking what he wanted to do after Hogwarts was dumb.

Suddenly Draco let out a sardonic laugh and Hermione looked up in surprise. “This is quite depressing isn’t it?”

“What do you mean?” Draco shrugged, “I mean us, we’re talking for the first time at a party that I’m sure you weren’t invited to-”

“Nott invited us,” she interrupted and he rolled his eyes. “Semantics, Granger. Regardless, you and I have never said anything more than insults to each other before. Now we’re here talking and all we can talk about is meaningless bullshite stuff that neither will remember tomorrow. Tomorrow will just go back to the way it was before. Like I said, depressing isn’t it?”

“Well, it doesn’t have to go back to being the way it was,” she said quietly and Draco shook his head. “Oh, don’t give me that ‘everything will be alright with the right thinking’ Gryffindor bullshit. You and I both know that it will. There’s too much between us for things to change.”

“If you want to change it, you can,” she replied and Draco shook his head. “There’s nothing you nor I can do to change anything, Granger. We’re just pawns in someone else’s game.”

For the first time Hermione could relate to Malfoy. In that moment she realized many things about him. Not only was Hermione playing her part in the game by helping Harry, but Malfoy must also have some bigger force pushing him. It would explain a lot of his actions in this last year. “Pawns on different sides?” she ventured and knew instantly that was a mistake when she saw the flash in his eyes.

“Just because I’m sloshed Granger, doesn’t mean I’ve lost my mind. Is this why you’ve been talking to me? Thinking you could get some information for Potter and his Order? You’re barking up the wrong tree,” he growled as he stood up and walked briskly away before Hermione had a chance to react. “Shit,” she muttered and stood up to go after him.

Hermione followed Malfoy as best she could. He walked so fast, and ignored her every time she tried to call his name. Even in her drunken stupor she could tell where he was headed, the Room of Requirement. She knew that in order to get in the room, she would have to take a short cut to beat him there. Thankfully due to all her exploring with Harry, she knew a good way and she easily beat the blonde there. She watched as he walked past the stone work three times and a door appeared. Before it could close, she followed him inside.

This was a version of the room she had never been in before. The walls and walkways were full of things piled up as far as Hermione could see. It was an amazing sight to see all of the different items in there. She didn’t know what to think of it, but before she could get lost in the items, she knew she had to find Malfoy.

She wandered further and further into the room and was starting to get lost in her thoughts when she literally ran into him. The impact made her take a few steps back.

“Why did you follow me? I thought I had made myself clear,” he growled as he reached out and steadied her. Hermione couldn’t help but inhale at the heat radiating from the hands on her shoulders. However, just as fast as he could, his hands were gone again.

“I was not trying to pump information, Malfoy, I promise. I just wasn’t in my right mind when I asked it. I’m shocked I was even able to follow you with how drunk I feel. Zabini’s firewhiskey is really effective,” she said, suddenly feeling very unsteady on her feet. The room was even starting to spin a little. “Oh, got to sit down,” she added, unceremoniously plopping to the ground and leaning against one of the piles. Malfoy couldn’t help but chuckle. “Graceful, Granger,” he commented as he sat down next to her. Hermione once again registered just how close he was by the heat radiating on her left side. “What is this place?” She asked just trying to make conversation.

“You know, the Room of Requirement. Pretty sure you know all about it, as your little army used it last year for your illegal Defense classes,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “I know what it is, but I didn’t know there was some hoarder's paradise in the Room,” she replied. “What’s a hoarder?” Hermione looked at him and suddenly remembered who she was talking to. “Oh, right. It’s a muggle term for someone who keeps a lot of stuff in their house.” Draco nodded, but she could tell he really didn’t understand. She wasn’t exactly voracious at the moment.

“Why did you follow me?” He asked again after a few beats of silence. Hermione shrugged. “I felt like I needed to explain I wasn’t talking to you because of what’s going on outside of the school.”

“It’s pretty obvious where your allegiance lies, Granger, we should really just avoid talking about anything outside,” he replied. Hermione nodded, and turned to him. She noticed the gloomy look on his face and she could feel her heart ache. She had seen that face reflected in Harry more times than she could count. It hurt every time she saw it in Harry’s eyes but she didn’t think she would ever feel sympathy for Draco Malfoy.

“Yeah, we should probably avoid any talk of that,” she agreed, and pulled her knees up to her chest. “I should probably get going. Feeling very tired all of a sudden.”

Draco nodded and stood up, a little wobbly if Hermione saw right. He extended his hand and helped her up, almost falling over in the process. Hermione stood, back pressed into a pile with Draco’s arm on her right side, keeping them both from falling down. Something about the situation made Hermione a little nervous. He was very close and she could feel the rising of his chest against her own. She wasn’t sure how long they had stayed in that position, but she noticed his eyes flitted toward her mouth a few times.

Draco cleared his throat and moved to steady himself again when something held him back. He looked down at the hand on his tie and back up to the witch in front of him. “What are you doing?”

Hermione shrugged, “I have no idea. I just did it out of impulse,” she said looking down at her hand still on his tie. Draco looked down at her hand and then back up at her with raised eyebrows. “Are you going to let me…”

Before she really knew what she was doing, she leaned up on her toes and captured his mouth with her own. It was sloppy at first, mostly just her lips on his while he regained his composure. But then, something magical happened. His free arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her closer to him. The kiss was restrained but set her heart racing

It didn’t last long before Malfoy pulled back, resting his forehead on hers. Both were a little breathless. “I didn’t realize you could be that impulsive,” he said, chuckling a little. “You’ll find there is a lot about me you don’t know,” she replied. “Fair enough,” he said, nodding his head against hers. “You know this, whatever this is. It can’t go past tonight,” he said after a few moments of silence.

Hermione nodded, “I know. Let’s stay a bit longer?” Malfoy chuckled. “I thought you were tired,” he replied and she shrugged in reply. “I’m more awake now,” she added before he lowered his mouth down onto hers again.

~*~*~*

Hermione opened her eyes and sat up. She hadn’t dreamed of that kiss or Draco in two years. Why was that memory showing up in her dreams again? In her sixth year, she spent so many nights looking back on that memory. Until she discovered that Malfoy let the Death Eaters into the castle and decided that her feelings for him could not continue. That’s when she decided to write him the letter and let go of the memory for good. Although, now two years later, she couldn’t fully remember the contents of the letter she had furiously written.

Maybe she was thinking of that night from Sixth Year again because she asked for the letter back from Draco? Hermione stood up, brushed off the lingering thoughts, and set off to the showers.

Chapter Text

Hermione found that as the weeks passed her popularity seemed to soar. Never, in all her time at Hogwarts, had she spoken to so many people on a day-to-day basis. Generally she stuck to her fellow Gryffindors, and a few people in the other houses. However, this was the first time that she added Slytherins to the mix. Since the party a few weeks back, Theo had become a constant staple in her life. If Draco wasn’t around, it was Theo talking to her and making her laugh. Of course, Hermione guessed he was around so much due to Harry always being around her.

“Listen, I was thinking of a nickname for you Granger.” Hermione raised her eyebrows as Theo approached her that morning at breakfast. “Oh really? And why would I need a nickname?” She asked. Theo smirked as he plopped down at the Gryffindor table across from her. The people around her turned to him as he did so, but went back to their eggs soon enough.

“Everyone I know calls you Granger, and I want to have my own thing. I do it with every one of my friends,” he said as he pulled a piece of bacon off her plate, but Hermione smacked it out of his hands. “Get your own bacon,” she growled jokingly. “No wonder Draco likes you,” he replied with a wink and Hermione shook her head. “My nickname?”

“Right, so I was thinking I would call you Hermy.” Hermione grimaced. “Hermy? Why in Merlin’s name would you want to call me that? No, I completely veto that.” Theo chuckled at her reaction. “I think it’s cute, Hermy,” he replied and Hermione crossed her arms in front of her in an X. “No, it sounds like some muppet, and I hate the Muppets.” Theo raised his eyebrows this time. “A what? What is a Muppet?” Hermione waved him off, “Muggle thing.”

“Okay…well then second, how about Mio?” He replied once again attempting to take a piece of food off of her plate. Once again she smacked it out of his hands. “If you’re hungry then fill your plate with the unclaimed food around you. As for Mio, at least it’s better than Hermy,” she replied, motioning to all the food set out for the students. “Mio it is then!” He exclaimed as he piled up his plate. Hermione was a little shocked that he actually took her seriously and that he was going to eat with her.

“Theo, I didn’t realize you became a Gryffindor overnight.” Hermione looked up, as did Theo, to see the man who has been faking being her boyfriend for the better part of a few months now. They had successfully been playing the parts pretty well. They were getting closer as the time went on and since the part, Hermione had grown more and more nervous every time she saw him. She chalked it up to not wanting people to find out this was all fake.

“I’m shocked you didn’t escort your girlfriend down to breakfast this morning,” Theo replied as Draco turned to her with a grin. “Yeah, I had an early strategy meeting for the match later today. Sorry again, Granger.” Hermione shook her head,“It’s okay. I’m perfectly fine walking down to breakfast on my own,” she said to both the boys. However, Hermione had gotten into the routine of walking with him, and felt a little bit of disappointment when he hadn’t shown up this morning.

“Are you going to sit, or what?” Theo asked all of sudden and Hermione’s eyes widened for only a fraction of a second. Since they had been ‘dating’ neither of them had made the move to sit at either of their tables. It seemed too big of a deal for Gryffindor, and Slytherin to sit with each other, even if they were dating. It also seemed like a big step in their own relationship to do something of that nature.

Draco sighed and nodded as he sat down next to Theo across from Hermione. She hadn’t realized people were watching until an utter silence took over the Great Hall. “Pass the bacon Theo,” he said, motioning for the massive pile of bacon. Theo gave Hermione a cheeky grin. “You should just take it off of Mio’s plate. I’m sure she’ll share,” he said mischievously, and Hermione shook her head. “Nah, she doesn’t share food,” Draco replied and Hermione grinned. She was shocked that Draco had noticed that, especially considering they hadn’t eaten together, more than that one time a few weeks prior.

“So, you said you had a strategy meeting for the match later today?,” she said to get the attention off of her. Draco looked up from his plate and eyed her curiously. “I thought you hated Quidditch?” Hermione nodded. “Oh, I do, but you are playing today, so I have to come support you in the first match of the season. Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff today, right? Do you like your chances?” Draco continued to eye her with a suspicion in his eyes and shrugged. “I think Slytherin should win,” he said after a little bit.

“Oh, Slytherin will win. That Seeker, Summerby, has nothing on Draco,” Theo said, breaking the stare down between Hermione and Draco. Hermione turned to him and grinned. “Oh good,” she said, just as Harry joined them for breakfast.

The three watched Harry as he piled up his plate and seemingly didn’t notice the two Slytherins eating with them. “What are we talking about?” He finally asked after his mission to fill his plate was accomplished. Hermione tried her best not to laugh as she said, “That Slytherin will win today because Summerby has nothing on Draco.”

Harry looked at Hermione curiously and then turned to Draco and Theo after Hermione nodded toward them. “When did you two get here?” Harry asked. Draco looked at him sardonically and replied, “We’ve been here since before you graced us with your presence, Potter.” Hermione watched as Harry narrowed his eyes and she mentally prepared for what was coming up next. “Actually, Harry, Draco just sat down before you did. I was talking to Mio about her new nickname,” Theo responded before any fight could break out between the other two males.

Although they had fairly been civil to one another, Draco and Harry did slip up in the last week. In one of the only lessons that the boys had together, Theo sat down next to Harry and Draco followed. While they were learning a spell, Draco and Theo had teamed up while Harry and another student were partnered. When Draco was playing around, he threw a Anteocultia spell at Theo, which Theo ducked. Instead the spell hit Harry and he grew antlers on his head. By the end of the class Draco and Harry ended up in detention and they had a rather nasty arguing match, from what Theo said. Hermione had to calm down a very heated Harry after the detention. Needless to say, the two had been on icy terms, despite Theo and Hermione’s best efforts to get them talking in the week since.

“Well, I don’t think Slytherin will lose against Huffelpuff, you have a pretty good team this year. But you won’t beat us,” Harry replied confidently. Everyone knew of Harry and Draco’s rivalry in quidditch. They had been playing the sport against each other as Seekers since their second year. Every time Harry had gone against Draco, Harry was victorious.

“Harry,” she admonished quietly. “We’ll see about that, Potter. I’m the captain this year,” Draco said and stood up from the table. “I’ll see you later Hermione, got to go get ready,” he added before walking out of the Great Hall. Harry had the nerve to laugh a little and Hermione smacked him on the shoulder. “What? It was just a little bit of friendly taunting,” Harry said and Hermione smacked him again.

“You know that is not what it was. I know I’ve said this before, I don’t care if you ever become friends, but I would appreciate it if you could be civil. He is my boyfriend, and I like him very much. Just be nice,” she said, not caring that Theo could hear all of this. “Hermione, he gave me antlers!” Harry protested. Hermione gave him a look of sympathy, “Harry, you’ve done much worse to him. Or do I have to remind you of what you accidentally hit him with in our Sixth year?” Harry narrowed his eyes at her and stood. “That was a low blow Hermione, but I get your point. If you’ll excuse me,” he said before also walking out of the Great Hall. Hermione sighed and put her head in her hands, she would have to apologize later for bringing that up.

“Well, you Gryffindors really know how to clear a room,” Theo said and Hermione threw a bagel at him. “Ooh perfect, just what I wanted,” he replied with a laugh. “Don’t worry, Draco and Harry will find a way,” he added, patting her hand. Hermione shook her head. “I know they will,” she said in a sigh. “Meanwhile, why don’t you tell me what Harry did to Draco in sixth year?” Theo asked with raised eyebrows. Hermione tilted her head to the side. “Draco never told you what happened?”

Theo shrugged. “Believe it or not, Draco doesn’t talk about that particular time in his life. He and I didn’t really become friends until after either.” Hermione sighed. She wasn’t sure she should tell Theo about Harry and Draco, but Theo did seem to have quite the interest in the raven-haired boy. “If I tell you this, please don’t hold it against Harry. It’s a moment he’s really not proud of and it still haunts him to this day. Harry doesn’t even talk about it, but it’s not exactly a secret as the school knew Draco ended up in the hospital…” Hermione told Theo everything about the incident and about Harry’s obsession with Draco being a Death Eater that year. “Honestly, the biggest reason Harry wanted to go to your sixth year party was because he wanted to get more information on Draco. Though, I didn’t know that until after the fact.”

Theo let out a deep breath and nodded. “I knew Draco ended up in the hospital wing, I just didn’t know what happened or who put him there. Wow, they have a really bad history.”
“Yeah, honestly the fact that they’re even talking without arguing is a huge accomplishment. I kind of threw Harry for a loop when I suddenly announced I was dating Draco as well. I’ll need to make it up to both of them. I have a plan for Draco, but I need your help.”

Theo looked up with amused interest. “What can I do for you, milady?”

~*~*~

Draco stood at the front of his group of teammates waiting to go out on the field. After the disaster this morning, he was looking forward to this game. He was more fired up than ever to win this match to be in good standing for the House cup. He had to beat Potter this year. It was his final year, it was his last chance to do it.

Madam Hooch called the two teams in and Draco kicked off the ground to circle and take his position with the Hufflepuff Seeker across from him. He looked down over the field and sat patiently waiting for Hooch to start the game. He waited while she released the moving balls, and threw up the Quaffle to begin the game.

Right away Slytherin took the Quaffle and started their pursuit toward the Hufflepuff’s goal post. Draco’s job was to look for the Snitch and that’s what he was currently doing. He saw a glint of it when it first was released from its box but had lost sight of it soon after. Draco already had a few bludgers sent at him and as the minutes ticked by he became more and more anxious.

About ten minutes into the match the score was now Slytherin 60- Hufflepuff 30. One Slytherin Chaser had been knocked out by a Bludger five minutes in, so they had been playing a man down. Out of the corner of his eye near the professors’ stands, he saw a quick glint of gold, and he sped toward it. It seemed that Summerby saw it as well, and Draco had to put more speed as the other Seeker was closer to the Snitch to start. However, just before they got there, the Snitch veered off and Malfoy pulled his broom to stop and turn before he went head first into the crowd of spectators. Summerby didn’t have time to stop and went right into the first row, knocking over a few professors as well, but he got up quickly and was back on his broom.

They both lost sight of the Snitch and Draco resumed his position higher in the air. While looking around, he caught sight of a green shirt amongst a sea of red and gold. He narrowed his eyes to focus, and lo and behold, there was Hermione Granger in one of HIS Slytherin Quidditch training jerseys. His focus was momentarily stuck on her. He couldn’t believe she did that, where in Merlin’s balls did she get his training jersey? He was so shocked by the sight that he almost missed Summerby going into a dive right in front of him. Almost.

Thanks to his fast reflexes, Draco quickly dove after him and was able to see what the other Seeker had. Down, near the grass of the field, was the tiny golden Snitch flitting around dangerously low. Draco knew he didn’t have much of a chance to get it, Summerby had quite the lead on him, but he also knew his skills. He had never seen Summerby get a Snitch this close to the ground before. Draco, by contrast, had practiced this maneuver a lot since his game against Harry in his second year.

Draco had made up the distance between them in a matter of seconds, but now they were bumping each other and checking how close they were to the ground. Draco just had to reach out and the Snitch would be his. Just as he was about to grab it he saw the black streak coming right toward both him and Summerby. Draco pulled out but Summerby got hit in the stomach by the Bludger and fell down off his broom. Thankfully with how close they were to the ground the fall off his broom wasn’t too bad, but that Bludger to the stomach had already knocked the poor bloke out.

Draco refocused and looked around for the Snitch again, it didn’t seem like it had gone very far, and he sped off toward it again. Now that he was closer to the ground, he didn’t have to worry about the dive, but he did have to swerve out of line a few times when Bludgers, or even other players were thrown into him. He watched as the Snitch flew up into the sky once again, and he soared up with it. He was inches away when another Bludger threatened to break his arm, but he managed to pull away just in the nick of time. He extended his arm and finally clasped his hand around the little golden Snitch.

The game lasted forty-five minutes and ended with Slytherin on top with 260 points to Hufflepuff’s 130 points. Draco was smiling while chants of Slytherin were heard through the crowd. However, his entire focus was on the curly-haired brunette with his jersey on in the sea of red. He watched as she cheered and everyone around her grumbled. He would never forget that scene for the rest of his life.

Without a care for this team celebration, he flew over to her and hopped off his broom in the stands. “Draco, congrats! That was amazing!” She said as she threw her arms around him. He grinned as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “Where did you get my jersey?” he whispered in her ear and she could feel her chuckle more than he could hear it. “Theo,” she quietly replied and he shook his head before pulling back.

“For once I am happy for your Gryffindor bravery,” he said before swooping down and catching her lips in a kiss. He knew it was against the rules, he knew she would kill him, but he couldn’t help it. At that moment it would make sense for a boyfriend and girlfriend to kiss. At that moment he didn’t care about how much she was going to kill him later. All he cared about was the feeling of her against him, and how her lips felt.

Yes, they had kissed before. Yes, he caught her by surprise, but she was kissing him back. It wasn’t like their first kiss this year when he didn’t have a chance to kiss back. It wasn’t like when he kissed her in front of his Quidditch team and she pulled back quickly. This was a different kiss. This kiss reminded him of their passion in the Room of Requirement. This kiss felt like something that Draco wasn’t ready for.

With that thought he released her and gave her a cheeky grin. She could see the murder in his eyes, and it just made his grin widen. He was so dead, but it was worth it.

Chapter Text

Hermione was going to kill him. Draco could see it in her eyes. “No more kissing! I thought I was pretty clear about this matter, Malfoy,” she shrieked. They were standing in the empty classroom that she had pulled him into and casted a muffliato upon arriving. Draco shrugged, “I told you that people would think it weird for a couple not to kiss. It felt like the right time! I had just won, you showed up wearing that, of course a boyfriend would kiss his girlfriend in those situations. It’s natural!”

“That is beside the point, Malfoy!” Hermione paced back and forth and Draco couldn’t help but grin. “Oh, so it’s back to Malfoy is it, Granger?” Hermione glared at him in response and continued her pacing. “You’ve just changed all that we’ve established and you want to talk about how I refer to you in private now?” Draco chuckled and shook his head, “No, of course not. Please continue yelling at me now, Granger.”

Hermione paused, threw her hands on her hips and Draco knew he was in for it. “Now, people are going to expect us to kiss periodically! I wanted the rule so that I didn’t have to kiss or touch you too often. That was the whole point of doing this! We weren’t going into this as a real couple. We don’t even like each other,” she said as she continued her pacing.

“Now hold on a minute, you can’t say that we don’t like each other. You’ve had feelings before for me.”

“NOT THE POINT!”

“Okay, clearly you’re a little defensive about this, but it is the point Hermione. I’m helping you out. You have to go with the flow sometimes, that’s what couples would do. They act on their feelings,” he said, trying hard not to laugh at this conversation. He knew she was angry, but it was silly to him that they were even arguing about this.

“Well excuse me for not knowing what couples do!”

Hemione stopped pacing and Draco noted the tension in her shoulders.“Hermione, this is an important question. Have you never had a relationship? Ever? No boyfriend? Even with all those love letters, not one worked out?”

“I’ve already told you, Viktor left, Ron and I fizzled out in less than two months There’s been no real long-term relationship. I’ve been… busy. Every year of my life since coming to Hogwarts has been about helping Harry and his endeavors with saving the Wizarding World. I’ve basically fought Voldemort every year since I was eleven. When I wasn’t fighting against him, I was going back in time to fight Dementors, and helping Harry get through the Triwizard Tournament with his life. Our Fifth Year was when the war really started and I was heavily involved with that. Not to mention keeping my grades up. Ron and I really only started because we thought our lives were in danger. When that threat to our lives was gone, we had nothing in common anymore. How could I have time to have a boyfriend?”

“Wow, so you really are a virgin,” he muttered. Instantly recognizing that was the wrong thing to say, as the look he got was purely murderous. For a second he thought she might hit him again.

“I didn’t say I haven’t had sex Malfoy, I said there was no time for long term-relationships.”

“So, you have had sex?” Hermione took a few menacing steps toward him and Draco put his hands up in defense. “I know, not the point. Just curious, can’t blame a bloke,” he argued and she stopped. “Can you please focus?” she said and Draco nodded. “Yes, all I’m trying to say, Hermione is that couples snog. It’s inevitable that there would be times we kiss, people would find it odd that we didn’t at least peck.”

“Yes, I understand, but snogging in front of an entire crowd is not something that I would ever do,” she replied, shaking her head. “Yes, but you’re with Draco Malfoy, and that is something I would do, and I did.”

Hermione groaned and threw her hands up in defeat. “Okay, clearly we can’t agree on this. I don’t know why you’re wanting to kiss, but I can amend the rule a little. How about…pecks when it’s necessary, and a fake snog every once in a while?”

Draco raised his eyebrow, “A fake snog? What do you mean by that?” Hermione sighed and shrugged. “I mean, like we pull each other in a dark corner, ruffle each other up, make it look like we had a good snog, and then exit.” Draco couldn’t help but imagine Hermione and him in a dark corner just for a snog. He wouldn’t admit it, but it definitely did something to him. “Wow, Granger…Didn’t know you had that in you.”

Hermione looked up at him, “I’ve told you, you’ll find there’s…”

“A lot about you that I don’t know. I know, you’ve definitely surprised me in the last few months,” he said, sounding generally impressed. “I’m not totally innocent. Just because everyone labeled me as the swotty, goody-two-shoes, Gryffindor Princess, that doesn’t mean it’s who I really am. Labels mean nothing,” she replied and looked down at the floor. “I might have started Hogwarts that way, but after all Harry, Ron, and I have gone through, I’m not that person anymore.”

Draco nodded. He knew what it was like to be labeled something you’re not anymore. Sure, his Dark Mark may still be there, but he wasn’t a Death Eater. Inside Hogwarts, people seem to have forgiven him. But outside the castle walls he know people didn’t see him as anything other than a Death Eater. He was fifteen when he took the Mark. It wasn’t a choice, his father had displeased Voldemort and Draco was forced to take the Mark and the mission because of it. Of course, no one took the time to learn that and just labeled him for what he apparently was. “So the Gryffindor Princess is not so good after all,” he teased, and she swatted him on the shoulder. “Okay, okay, no need to hit me Granger,” he added with a wink.

“So, fake snogs and pecks. Nothing more than that, Draco.”

“Alright, I get it. Don’t get your knickers in a twist,” he said as he moved quickly to avoid getting swatted again. He loved seeing Hermione riled up, it had been years since he had seen that fire in her eyes. Before this afternoon, the last time he had seen her like this was when she punched him in Third Year. Before they started ‘dating’ all she gave him were looks of pity, which had started after their kiss in Sixth Year. Every time she would see him she would look at him with pity, it irked him to no end back then. It still irked him knowing what she and Potter had done for him at his trial. Draco would never let Potter know how much his testimony helped him though.

When they exited from the empty classroom sometime later, Hermione promised to return his jersey, but somehow he knew he wasn’t going to get it back. He wasn’t sure he wanted it back either. Seeing her in something that belonged to him, it did something to him that he wasn’t proud to admit. Something definitely changed in him when he saw her in it, whatever it was led him to kiss her after he won. He had felt the same something before with her; once in Fourth Year when he saw her in that Yule Ball dress, and when they talked late into the night during the party in Sixth Year. Obviously that night he had acted on impulse when she kissed him, but he did return it. He wouldn’t admit it, but he had a small amount of feelings for her after that night, but never had a chance to do anything about it. The war really messed up so much in life for him.

As he was headed back to his Common Room, he quite literally walked into a wall that wasn’t supposed to be there. Behind him he heard a loud cackle and he rounded on Peeves. “Peeves, you bloody poltergeist! You better run before I set the Bloody Baron on you!” Draco snarled as he rubbed his sore nose. Knowing how hard he hit that wall, he probably had a bloody nose. “Oooh, you Peevsie is so scared of little Slythie. You always warn but you have yet to send the Baron after me,” Peeves replied as he stuck his tongue out at Draco and flew off laughing.

“Malfoy? Is that you?”

Draco turned around to the voice on the other side of the wall. “Potter?” he asked, not sure who was behind there, but the voice resembled Potter. What would he be doing down in the Dungeons? “Yeah, uh…I was looking for you, when I ran into the wall. Peeves decided to lock me in when he found me.”

Draco glared at the spot where Peeves had just been. “You were looking for me?” he asked after he realized what Potter had actually said. “Yeah, I just thought it was about time for a talk and when I couldn’t find you, I was headed back up to Gryffindor Tower, when I got trapped. Peeves is so annoying. Do you know any way to get this wall down?” Draco did in fact know how. “Yeah, give me a few minutes. I have to find the Bloody Baron. I don’t know what Peeves did to put a wall here.”

It only took Draco a few minutes to find the Slytherin House Ghost and tell him what Peeves had done. The Baron’s face instantly darkened and he went off in search of the Poltergeist. Draco made his way back to the wall, which now had a few Slytherins standing outside of it looking very annoyed and lost. It did not take long for the Bloody Baron to find the jokester and for the wall to come down. The Slytherins all gave Potter a weird look as they passed by him, and Potter brushed off his pants from sitting on the floor for so long. “Thank Merlin,” the raven-haired boy said as he turned to Draco and nodded. “Thanks,” he added and Draco nodded in return.

“You wanted to talk?” Draco asked after a few moments of awkwardness. “Oh, right. Yeah. I just…” Harry began and Draco raised an eyebrow. “Just spit it out, Potter.”

Harry took a breath and nodded. “I wanted to say that I didn’t think whatever was going on between you and Hermione was actually real…until today. I’m…I’m trying to…Merlin, I didn’t realize it would be this hard…” Harry rubbed his face a few times and shrugged. “I’m trying to say I’m sorry. For many things, but mostly for what happened in Sixth Year, and for how I’ve acted since you started dating Hermione,” Potter rushed out and Draco blinked a few times to let his brain register what the Gryffindor had said. “So, yeah. I’m sorry.”

Draco couldn’t help but hesitate before he was able to speak. He had just had the Chosen One apologize to him. He never thought he would see the day that that would happen. He didn’t know how to respond, he was so shocked. “Okay. Thanks,” he replied after a few moments of utter shock. “I’m also sorry. For many things,” he added after thinking about it.

He watched as Potter nodded and put his hand out. “Truce then?” he said and then apparently thought about it before adding, “it’s a muggle thing, shaking hands that is.”Draco nodded with a small chuckle and put his hand out to take the raven-haired boy's hand. “Yeah, Granger taught me.” They both shook and then awkwardly let go of each other’s hands. It would be a bit before either of them would really feel comfortable around each other considering all the bad blood between them but Draco could tell that Harry was genuine in his apology.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck again and added, “Hermione is like a sister to me. So, I feel like I have to say this; If you ever hurt her. I won’t hesitate to hex you. I know she doesn’t need me to protect her but she means more to me than anything. She is literally my family. I would do anything for her. The only reason I’m trusting you is because she seems to. Like I said, I would do anything for her, including getting along with you and trusting you.”

Draco nodded in agreement. “I understand. I won’t hurt her. I promise. If I do, you can get in line right behind her to hex me, because you and I both know she will be the first to do so.” Harry couldn’t help but laugh at that. “True, I know you’re not a bad guy. I can see your changes in the last year. I know you helped me out back at the Manor, so I’m willing to trust you.” Harry added before starting to walk off. “Oh, and don’t tell her I talked with you okay? She would hex me knowing what I said. I would prefer to keep my appendages in place,” he added and Draco laughed. “You got it, Potter,” he said and Potter waved in response.

Draco entered the Common Room shortly after and flopped down on the couch next to Blaise. Blaise looked up, but didn’t say anything as Draco rested his head on the back of the couch. Draco was just about asleep when Theo came into the room in a rush. “I just heard from a sixth year in our house, I think her name was Terri or something, that you and Harry were talking just outside the Common Room.”

Draco nodded, but didn’t say anything. He felt the other boy sit down and he could feel his eyes on him. Finally Draco sat up and opened his eyes. “Yes, Theo?”

“Why was he down here? What did you talk about? Come on, it’s not everyday that Harry comes down to the dungeons to talk to you. Give me the details!” Theo exclaimed and Draco thought he looked like an excited puppy at that moment. “He came down to look for me, Peeves got in the way, I had to find the Bloody Baron to free Potter and get the way to our Common Room back open. Then he apologized and told me to not hurt Hermione. That was pretty much the gist of it.” Blaise nodded at the retelling and went back to his homework. Theo, however, was clearly not satisfied with that answer. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

“I don’t know what else you want, that’s what happened. He did say not to tell Hermione though as he wanted to keep his appendages.” Draco said with a chuckle. He couldn’t help but think of Hermione hexing Potter so bad he lost an appendage. Perhaps that was a dark thought, and he would never want it to actually happen, but it was funny imagining her anger directed elsewhere once in a while.

“I heard Potter was down here talking to you.”

Draco turned to see Pansy and Astoria, both standing in the entry to the dungeon.. “I always forget how fast gossip is spread in this castle,” he said before standing up. “Well what was it about?” Pansy asked sharply with her hands on her hips. “That is none of your business Pansy, nor yours Tori. Now if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to bed,” he growled out as he stalked off to his dormitory. He cleaned up for the night and laid down on his bed, pulling the curtains around him. The day had been exhausting yet he knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep.

Draco sighed as he turned over and opened his bedside table drawer, he pulled out the letter from Hermione and began to read it. It had become a part of his nightly routine since it was delivered by owl, something about her words were calming to him. He soon fell asleep with the letter on his chest.

Chapter Text

Hermione started to notice the difference in how Harry and Draco treated each other immediately. When she first confronted Harry about it, he told her not to worry and that they were being civil with each other. Hermione didn’t believe that at all considering how many times he told her that he would act civil toward Draco and never did. However, there was now a niceness to how they treated each other. It honestly kind of freaked her out a little. Draco, Harry, Theo, and her had now become a little pack of four. They even had plans to go to Hogsmeade together that weekend. It really was sort of weird. It was also nice, not having to walk on eggshells whenever Harry and Draco were in the same space at the same time.

“I’m sorry, you did what to who in a jar?” Theo exclaimed, bringing Hermione out of her reverie. Hermione chuckled and turned into the conversation. Harry and Theo had been talking about a Daily Prophet article written by Rita Skeeter when Harry shared the story of what Hermione had done to her in their Fourth Year. “I caught the little beetle in a jar and kept her there until she promised to not write any more lies about Harry, Ron, and I. She was an unregistered animagus and, although it took me a bit to figure it out, I used that against her to not write more shit in that gossip rag of hers,” Hermione explained.

Both Theo and Draco looked at her with their mouths open. “Mio, are you sure you were sorted in the right house?” Theo asked after a few moments of silence and Hermione just smiled.

“That’s only just a fraction of the stuff she’s done,” Harry replied for her, Hermione shook her head a little to try and stop Harry from sharing more details. Everything she did was to help Harry, so she didn’t really want to explain all the details. “Oooh, please, do tell,” Theo replied with a glint of mischief in his eyes. Harry jumped into a story about her plan with Umbridge in their Fifth Year.

As the weeks continued, Harry and Theo started to hang out a lot without Hermione and Draco. Draco noticed the change as well and had made a comment that Theo had replaced him with a new best mate. Hermione hadn’t said anything in reply, but she had a suspicion that Theo wasn’t just after friendship with Harry. She made a note to herself to have a talk with Harry soon about Theo.

Hermione mostly tuned out what they were saying, she wasn’t one to flaunt all of her more mischievous, rule-breaking, moments but the Slytherins were rapt with entertainment listening to everything. They particularly had a good laugh when she had shared about opening the third-floor corridor to a sleeping three headed dog in their First Year.

Harry continued to talk as Hermione stood up to head to her next lesson. Draco followed soon after and started to ask her all sorts of questions about her time here at Hogwarts that he didn’t know. Specifically to do with her rule-breaking. At one point, he let out a low whistle and said, “Merlin, if McGonagall knew all the rules you broke, she wouldn’t have made you Head Girl.”

Hermione shrugged and gave him a little small smirk. “I think she still would’ve considered it as the end results to all of my rule-breaking were to aid in protecting Harry and Hogwarts,” she replied smugly and he shook his head. “I’m beginning to think I am rubbing off on you.”

“Is that really a bad thing?” she replied and Draco shrugged. “Maybe, there are parts of me that shouldn’t rub off on you,” he replied darkly. Hermione shook her head, “I think you don’t give yourself enough credit. Any guy who would willingly help out someone they have regarded as an enemy by fake dating them can’t be as bad as people say.”

“Well I am doing that for my own benefit, I do get to snog you,” he added with a mischievous grin. “Fake snog,” she clarified and he rolled his eyes. “Semantics, Granger. We’ve kissed multiple times, and may I remind you that I’ve only initiated the kiss once. So, technically I think you owe me three kisses,” he said as he rounded on her. She found herself backing up into a wall in the dungeons.

She could feel her breath quicken and her face flush as he came even closer to her. He put his arm on the wall enclosing her on one side and bent down so they were face to face. “I don’t think you can deny that kissing me is pleasurable,” he said, Hermione avoided his eyes. She couldn’t help but agree but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “Rules, Malfoy,” she managed to whisper. He chuckled, “Funny, hearing you say that Granger. You’re more of a rule-breaker than I am.”

Hermione dared to look back into those silver orbs of his and her knees almost buckled. He was so close and there was a little spark in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. She couldn’t be having feelings for him again could she? It was due to that fake dating, that was all it was. She was just getting caught up in the moment. That’s it. Nothing else was going on. However, that didn’t stop her from leaning in slightly, their mouths were so close now, all it would take was for one of them to just move a centimeter, and the line would be crossed. No longer would it be fake, no longer would she just be doing this to avoid Harry.

“Oh, get a room!” Hermione pushed Draco away in a panic and turned to see Harry and Theo laughing at the sight of their friends in that predicament. “Or at least a broom closet or something,” Theo added with laughter in his voice.

Hermione blushed even more red and continued down to the Potions classroom in a rush. Sure, people had witnessed them kiss before, but that wasn’t real. It was all for show. Something about that moment didn’t feel the same. Something about that moment felt different, and while Hermione wouldn’t admit it, she really enjoyed it.

“Thanks for that Potter,” Draco said watching Hermione run off and Potter chuckled. “I may have said I’m fine with you dating her, but I don’t want to see that. It’s like walking in on your sibling having sex. Not a good image to have stuck in your head.”

Draco shook his head. “Better get used to it.” Potter stopped in his tracks and turned around. “The sex? Or watching you making googly eyes at my best friend?” Draco shrugged. “I don’t make googly-eyes,” he replied and started making his way to Potions as well. “Yeah, you do mate,” Theo joined in. “Shut up Nott,” Draco replied and made both the other wizards laugh.

Hermione sat in the Common Room that night studying by the fire when Harry came in and plopped down next to her. “What are you studying for?” he asked as she looked up. “I’m getting a start on the Defense essay,” she replied with a smile that only grew when Harry rolled his eyes. “That’s not due until next month.”

“Harry, if you know anything by now, you would know that I always get a head start on everything. I never know what will pop up when I have you as a best friend,” she said in a teasing manner. Harry chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Isn’t that what we are already doing?” she asked, looking up from her paper once again. “Well yeah, but I meant with your full attention.” She set the quill down and closed her book. “Sounds serious, you have my full attention Harry.”

He sighed and took a parchment out of his robe pocket. “I thought it was about time you had this back. I realize you don’t want to talk about it, but it’s the right thing to do to return it to you.” Hermione looked down at the parchment with realization as to what it was. “Harry…” she started but he shook his head. “Let me say what I want to say, okay? You know I’m not good at this.” She nodded. “Alright, go ahead.”

“When I first received that, it gave me a little bit of hope. Not for us to be together, as I really don’t feel that way for you, and I know you don’t for me anymore as well. But it gave me hope that I could have feelings again. You know I received this right after Ginny broke up with me, and I was pretty devastated, but your letter helped me through that. It helped me realize that I could find someone again. Then you started dating Malfoy and I got a tiny bit crazy there for a bit. Sorry, again. However, that also led me to meeting new people. I’ve gotten to know Blaise and Theo really well thanks to you. They’re great. So, I guess what I am trying to get across is, thank you Hermione. For being you, for being my best friend, and for really just being my family.”

By the end of his speech, Hermione was crying. She couldn’t help it, Harry was not really one for emotional talks or speeches, but hearing him say what he did made her feel emotional. She pulled him into a hug and told him that she loved him. “I’m sorry I have been avoiding you about the letter,” she replied and he shook his head. “At first, it hurt, but I think I understand why you did,” he said through a chuckle as Hermione’s hair was getting up his nose. She pulled back and wiped her tears. “I was just afraid that you wouldn’t look at me the same after the letter was sent to you,” she said quietly. “What do you mean sent to me? You didn’t send it?” She shook her head. “No, I didn’t send them. They weren’t supposed to ever go out. They were a way for me to get over my feelings.”

“Oh, so you wrote them to get your feelings out, but never meant to send them.” When she nodded, he spoke again. “Then why did you address them for an owl to take?” Hermione turned to him with narrowed eyes. “I don’t know why, but they were meant for me and only me.” Harry chuckled and put his hands up in a surrender position. “Alright, I won’t push on the matter, but if you didn’t send them, then who did?”

Hermione shook her head. “I have no idea. No one knew about them but me.” Harry nodded as he considered the possibilities. “Not even Ginny?”

“Especially not Ginny. Considering one of them was written for her boyfriend at the time, I would have never told her about them.”

“Hmm, that’s odd. Someone must have known about them and you just don’t remember.”

“I think I would remember that, Harry.”

“Fair enough. But we’re all good now? Maybe we can figure that out together.” Hermione nodded and agreed, “Just like old times.”

Harry smiled. “Yeah, just like old times. Maybe we should get our new Slytherin friends to help. Have you asked Malfoy about how he received the letter? Maybe he recognized the owl?”

Hermione shook her head. “We really haven’t talked about the letter much. But, yes, let’s talk about our new Slytherin friends. Particularly Theo,” Hermione added with a grin.

Harry looked at her curiously. “Why Theo?”

“You know he’s attracted to you, right?”

“Oh, um, yeah, he told me the other night that he thinks I have nice eyes,” Harry said sheepishly with a little cough at the end. Hermione couldn’t help but smile as she saw his blush. “How do you feel about his interest?” she asked, fishing for details of how he was feeling toward the other wizard.

Harry blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t mind it. Listen…I wouldn’t say I’m exactly straight. Sure, I’ve only gone out with women before, but look how that all turned out? One date with Cho Chang and she ends up in tears. Ginny and I were so on-again and off-again that it was kind of toxic. I can’t deny that I also sort of…find Theo maybe…a slight bit attractive…” he said hesitantly and Hermione’s smile grew.

“So, when you said my letter helped you through your break-up and led you to have hope that you’ll find ‘someone’ again, that might mean…maybe witches or wizards?” She asked carefully as she didn’t want to push him, but she wanted to know where he stood if she was going to help her friend out.

Harry’s face was now the hue of a tomato. “I mean, I don’t really know, but I guess I’m open to Theo?” Hermione couldn’t help the squeal that came out of her and he quickly shushed her looking around the Common Room. Thankfully as it was pretty late, there weren't many in earshot. “Sorry,” she said, lowering her voice. “I just got so excited for you, and Theo too, honestly. You both are important to me and one can’t deny that you have been spending a lot of time with him recently.” Harry nodded and smiled again. Hermione had only seen that particular smile one time before, and it was when he would talk about Ginny with her. She knew then that the wizard next to her was much more taken with Theo than he would like to admit.

“Yeah, we do spend a lot of time together. He’s great, Mione. He is always able to make me laugh, which is something I never did much before. At first I would hang with him because his jokes made me think of Ron, and I miss Ron. Sometimes, I wonder if I made the right choice to finish my education rather than go into the Auror program, but the more time I spent with Theo, the less I think that. I also miss Ron less, which is kind of sad, but Ron hasn’t spoken to me once since we left. Knowing him, he probably is busy and forgets,” Harry admitted.

Hermione knew what Harry meant, Ron also hadn’t said anything to her since leaving either. “Yeah, I get that. You’re probably right though, Ron probably just forgets. He hasn’t said anything to me either.”

“Yeah, anyway, Theo slowly filled that void and then some. I kind of want to ask him to Hogsmeade this weekend, but we’re already all going together,” Harry said with a shrug. “So, why don’t you?” She replied.“I kind of did, but he looked at me like I was stupid and said we were already going together.” Hermione couldn’t help but laugh. “Harry, either he’s as oblivious to things as you can be sometimes, or you didn’t ask him directly enough.”

“I just asked him if he wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend.” Hermione nodded, doing her best not to laugh at her best friend's horrible way of asking. “You didn’t say you were interested in going on a date?”

Harry shook his head. “Well, no. I guess that would’ve helped.” Hermione chuckled, “Yeah that would have helped. How about this? I’ll come up with something for Draco and I to do, where we go off alone, and you can take Theo on a ‘date,’” she said with a smile. “That way, you don’t have to awkwardly ask him again.”

Harry smiled and nodded. “Thanks Hermione.”

“Of course Harry, anything for you.”

That night she went to bed with a weight lifted off her shoulders. Her talk with Harry really meant everything to her, and she was so excited for her friend going into the weekend. She pulled the letter out of her robe pocket and opened it up.

Dear Harry,

Finally the war is over and we have a semblance of peace. However, as I sit here watching you play quidditch with the Weasleys, I couldn’t help thinking about our time together on the run last year. You were my rock when I needed it the most. You helped me through so much in this last year and I hope that I could repay you even a little bit. Ever since our First Year at Hogwarts, I have always thought of you as my rock.

I know I shouldn’t be writing this considering you’re now with Ginny but I need to get this out for my own sake. I like you Harry Potter, I think at some point those feelings of friendship grew into something much stronger through our year on the run. When Ron was gone and we danced in the tent, it was a bright spot in those bleak times. I never thought being held by you would make me feel so alive and safe.

I put my feelings aside for many reasons, mostly as we were in a war and focused on staying alive. Then you got back together with Ginny, I realized I had to let go of my feelings. Writing this letter is the only way I know how to. I know I have to as I’ll be returning with you to Hogwarts, and I don’t want to let anything keep us from staying friends.

You’re my best friend. I would never do anything to lose this friendship. You’re more than my best friend, you’re my family. Even more so now. You mean more to me than anyone else in this world. You always will.

Yours, Hermione

Chapter Text

“So, Madam Puddifoots?”

Hermione turned to Draco with narrowed eyes. “You know my answer for that,” she replied quietly, her cheeks pink from the autumn air.

“Yeah, it’s where all the lovebirds go. So, get on in there!” Theo said through his laughter and Hermione turned to him with her eyes still narrowed. “That will never happen. You will never see me inside that gaudy tea shop.” Draco nodded his agreement. He had successfully avoided the shop so far and was glad Hermione felt the same disdain.

It was the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, and the autumn was starting to meld into early winter. The cold gusts of wind made Hermione shiver; she couldn’t believe that it was already November. Hermione pulled her scarf up around her mouth and nose more and pointed toward the quill shop. “Let’s go there!” she exclaimed and all three boys groaned.

“Oh the greatest perk of being a friend, and not the boyfriend, is that I don’t have to follow along with you Hermione,” Harry replied with a small smile. He knew what she was doing and he was so thankful for it. “Theo, want to check out the Quidditch shop or something? Leave the lovebirds to go into the quill shop.” Theo nodded enthusiastically and waved to the other two. “See ya, Draco have fun!” he said with a wink as he practically shoved Harry away before Hermione could protest.

Hermione of course wasn’t going to protest those two going off alone, but Theo didn’t know that. It was all part of her plan to let Harry and Theo have some time alone. She had known that they wouldn’t want to go into the quill shop. “Do we really have to go into the quill shop?” Draco asked, as if he was reading her thoughts. Hermione laughed softly and shook her head. “Nope, I just said it so that Harry would take the bait. Although, I really could use a new quill,” she replied as an afterthought. “What bait?” Draco asked, and she turned to him with a smile. “Don’t tell Theo, but Harry might have feelings for him and wanted some alone time. When Harry tried to ask Theo out, well you know Harry…his communication skills are like a dog….He has none,” she replied and laughed at her own joke.

“So, you said to go to the quill shop knowing none of us would want to go?And Harry took the bait to spend time with Theo alone?” Draco replied, finishing up her story and she nodded. “How long has Potter had feelings for Theo?”

Hermione shrugged. “I'm honestly not sure, I think Harry is just starting to realize it himself.”

“Theo has had an attraction to Potter for quite a long time now. Years, if I’m remembering correctly. If Potter messes with Theo’s feelings, I’ll hex him,” Draco’s concern for his friend was touching, Hermione felt similarly for Harry.

“Harry would never do something like that intentionally. I think he genuinely likes Theo, so don’t worry about hexing him just yet. Besides, I thought you two were getting along more now?” she asked. “We have set aside our differences, however, Theo is my best mate. If anyone hurts him. I’ll hurt them.”

Hermione couldn’t help but smile a little at this. It was cute sometimes when Draco showed his loyal and protective side. She had seen it a few times, mostly toward Theo. She knew they had a special relationship, neither had talked much about it, but she could see it with how they acted. Draco was the more silent support, and Theo was boisterous in his support. They very much reminded her of her friendship with Harry. Although, neither Harry nor Hermione needed to remind the other that they would have each other’s back.

“Wait…did you say you set aside your differences? When did you two talk about this?” Hermione asked as she just realized what Draco had said. Draco’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. If she hadn’t been looking at him, she wouldn’t have noticed. “Hey, Granger. Aren’t you cold? Let’s go to the Three Broomsticks, and get you a warm Butterbeer, yeah?” he said as he started walking toward the pub.

“Oh no, don’t think you’re going to get away with changing the subject that easily!” She yelled as she ran after him. He had started to run too, breath puffing in the cold air as he laughed. He couldn’t help it, she was so cute when all riled up.

~*~*~*~

Harry and Theo had gone to Spintwitches Quidditch Supplies like they said, but soon turned around as the sheer amount of people in there made it uncomfortable for Harry. At Hogwarts, Harry would be stopped every once in a while by a First or Second Year thanking him for saving them. That didn’t bother him too much, he was used to being gawked at for one reason or another his entire life. However, now after the war, it was a new kind of fame that he still wasn’t used to. He wasn’t ready for it in Hogsmeade. Many in the small town hadn’t seen him since his Sixth Year and now they were taking notice, trying to get a glimpse.

He didn’t notice it until after they had broken apart from Draco and Hermione but now there were crowds starting to form. Theo recognized the attention first, but didn’t say anything. However, when they were in Spintwitches, Harry started to really sense the spectators. He was pushed into Theo and crowded constantly, his eyes kept darting towards the exits.

“Hey, Harry. Come with me,” Theo had whispered and led the way out of the shop and away from Hogsmeade. That’s how the duo found themselves in the clearing overlooking the Shrieking Shack.

“You know this is said to be the most haunted place in Britain?” Harry knew. He also knew that it wasn’t true, so he couldn’t help but smile, albeit sadly, at the origin of the rumours. “Yeah, I’ve heard the stories. Never believed them though.” Theo nodded his agreement. “Exactly, and no one has heard screams from this house since our Third Year,” Theo added. “Well that’s because Remus no longer worked as our Defense Professor,” Harry said, smirking. “Wait, what?”

“The Shrieking Shack was built before Remus Lupin came to Hogwarts. It was built for him as a place to go when he had to transform,” Harry said with a quiet nostalgia that he was sure Theo wouldn’t understand until they got closer and knew more about Harry. “So, was the rumor about Professor Lupin true? He was really a Werewolf?” Harry nodded his confirmation and the other boy gave a low whistle. “That makes so much more sense now,” Theo added quietly.

“Remus went to school with my parents. My father and Remus were part of a pack of really good friends that called themselves the Marauders,” Harry explained and he could see the sad look in Theo’s eyes. Harry knew what that meant, Theo was probably going to say something about his parents. Harry smiled. “It’s okay. I can talk about them now. It’s hard not knowing who they really were, but I don’t want to avoid talking about my parents.” He didn’t know why he was saying all of this to Theo, especially on what Harry was considering a date. Harry’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he realized he was being a downer.

“Well, it could be worse. You could know your parents and completely despise everything about them, and know they felt the same about you,” Theo replied, looking down at his feet. Harry furrowed his eyebrows as he saw the faraway look on the other boy's face. Theo’s normally bright and attractive face was now marred with a sad look and his eyes looked so far away from where he was. Harry knew nothing about Theo’s parents. In the time that they had spent together, which was becoming a surprising amount, Theo had not once spoken of his parents. Harry knew it was a sore subject. The only thing he knew about Theo’s parents was his mother had died early and his father was a Death Eater who now resided in Azkaban.

“That is true. There is that alternative. Which sounds like it sucks just as bad, if not worse. I’m sorry, Theo,” he said, reaching out for the other boy’s hand. He felt Theo jump at the touch, when Theo looked up, questions swirling in his eyes, Harry smiled softly.

If anyone had told Harry that he would feel sympathy, or any other kind emotion toward a Slytherin, a few years ago, he would have laughed in their face. But somehow, Theo had always been different. Something about Theodore Nott’s optimism and joking nature had really drawn Harry toward him. Especially these last two months. Getting to know the Slytherin, laughing with him, and talking about their lives had been some of the happiest moments Harry had in a long time. It sort of reminded him of how he felt as a First Year experiencing magic for the first time. However, this was a different kind of magic. Everything about this was new to the Gryffindor but he was enjoying every moment. He really did have feelings for Theodore Nott.

“You know, when I asked you to Hogsmeade this weekend…I meant it as a date,” he said.

Theo’s eyes widened. “What?” Harry nodded. “I think you’ve noticed…but I’m not always the best at communicating things. One of them being how I feel, but Hermione gave us the chance to be alone, so I figured this would be the best chance to say it.”

Theo, who was usually quick to respond to everything, was now taking his time and it worried Harry. He couldn’t help but feel anxious as he watched the many emotions on the Slytherin's face. One thing Harry had learned was that Theo wore his emotions on his sleeves. He watched as Theo went from shock, to confusion, to maybe happy?

“Does this mean…that you have feelings for me?” Theo asked and Harry smiled nodding. “Since when? I thought you looked at me as a friend…I didn’t even know if you were gay?” Harry shrugged. “I’m not really sure when. And I’m not gay, I am attracted to both men and women. So, I’m bi, but I hadn’t realized that until we started to hang out more. The more time we spent together, the more I was attracted to you.”

Harry watched as Theo’s face morphed into a bright smile. “This is not how this was supposed to go,” he said and Harry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I was supposed to tell you how cute you are, and how I love your eyes, and how hot you are when you’re playing Quidditch or fighting evil wizards or doing anything with your wand. I was supposed to tell you that I like how red you get with embarrassment whenever you are complimented, as you are now. I was supposed to confess to you first! Merlin, you took it all from me!” Theo exclaimed. Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at his outburst. “Sorry, it’s not funny, I was just thinking you’re adorable right now. It’s fun to rile you up.”

Theo narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Harry Potter, you’re missing the point. I was supposed to confess first! How could you beat me to it!”

Harry shrugged. “Gryffindor courage?” he said in a nonchalant way. Theo shook his head. “Oh don’t give me that House crap.” Harry couldn’t help but laugh again and then had to take off as Theo ran after him. The older boy chased him until Harry tripped on a stick on the ground and fell down into a pile of cold leaves. Theo, who had been on his heels, tripped and fell on top of him. “Oof.” Harry exclaimed and Theo laughed. “Sorry,” he said through a small fit of laughter.

Harry froze when their eyes connected. They stayed there for a few moments, neither breaking their eye contact. That was until Theo cleared his throat and decided to move off of Harry. Theo stood and put his hand out for Harry to take as he helped the younger boy to his feet. Their hands stayed entwined as they sat down on a nearby rock together. Neither spoke for a little while.

Harry couldn’t remember the last time he had so much fun with another person. Yes, he had many good times with Ginny and his friends, but this felt different. Everything about being near Theo felt different than his times with Ginny. Although he had been courageous earlier, he was very nervous now. Harry’s experience with dating was limited to one date that ended in disaster with Cho Chang, and then a on and off relationship with Ginny Weasley.

Theo turned to Harry after a bit and sighed. “I hate to say this Harry, but we probably better make our way to the carriages. It’s about that time,” he said. Harry turned to him coming out of his reverie. He didn’t want the day to end, but he knew it had to. “I suppose we should go then,” he replied quietly and he stood up. Theo did the same and took a step toward the trail, but the hand in his did not budge. Theo turned back toward Harry with a questioning look. “Sorry, I just don’t want this moment to end,” Harry said in a quiet voice and Theo smiled. “Neither do I, I suppose we can stay a little longer,” he said and Harry nodded.

Harry wasn’t sure who made the true first move, it felt like they were pulled together by magic itself. Their kiss was tender and hesitant at first. Both exploring their boundaries. Harry had never kissed another guy before, but Theo knew this, it was sweet and exhilarating. As they broke apart, Harry realized that it was one of the best kisses he ever had. And he desperately wanted Theo to kiss him again.

~*~*~

“You’ve got to be joking.”

Hermione giggled. “That was Potter and Weasley in Second Year Polyjuiced as Crabbe and Goyle? There’s no way. I would’ve noticed,” Draco replied, shaking his head. “Well apparently you didn’t think so highly of them because you didn’t. Harry and Ron came back with the information we needed and you never suspected us, considering how surprised you are now,” she replied with a slight laugh to her voice.

“I’m more shocked that you managed to make Polyjuice potion in a girls bathroom in our Second Year. Crabbe and Goyle were idiots, so any weird actions weren’t so surprising to me to be honest,” Draco replied, taking a sip of his Butterbeer.

“It took me a month, and I brewed it in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. No one goes in there ever. The last time I witnessed a girl getting the courage to go in there, she was out in less than five seconds because Myrtle chased her off,” Hermione replied nonchalantly. The two had been in the Three Broomsticks for some time just talking and making it look like they were on a date. Some people who recognized Hermione came up to her to talk to her but once they saw who she was with they walked away with a glare at Draco. Although neither talked about it, she could see the tension in his shoulders every time it happened. Eventually, people left them alone which led to a better atmosphere, but Hermione did feel bad for Draco in those moments.

“So, what other adventures have you not told me about?” They continued to talk for a little while longer, Hermione telling him little details about the things the Golden Trio accomplished over her time at Hogwarts. Eventually they got up and ventured back out into the crisp autumn air. They mostly stayed quiet as they walked around the small village, the only connection being Draco’s arm on her shoulders holding her close to keep her warm.

Hermione had become much more comfortable in her role as ‘girlfriend’ to Draco Malfoy, but sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder what it was really like to be his girlfriend. Was he like this with all his girlfriends? She’d been wondering that since the beginning. She had to push those thoughts out many times over the last few months. There was no way she could let whatever hopeful thoughts would run through her head get away from her. She knew this would end soon. He was just playing a role anyway. Just as she was. But sometimes, in these moments where it was just them and she could tune out everything…she couldn’t help but wonder what it would really be like to date Draco Malfoy.

They had walked into a few different shops, including the quill shop that Hermione teased the boys with earlier. It was in the book shop that Hermione found herself really having a great time. She no longer thought about what it would be like to be with Draco and she was enjoying the time again. They had split up to browse the store for the books they wanted, and Hermione meandered through the shelves until she found a more private seating area. She sat down and began to read through her stack to figure out what books she wanted.

“Let me guess, Three Broomsticks, walk around Hogsmeade and finally the shops you wanted to go into.”

Hermione looked up to the brunette who stood at the end of one of the stacks with a book in her hand. “Excuse me?” she replied with a raised eyebrow. Whatever Astoria Greengrass was asking, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “Your date. That’s what you did right?” Hermione shrugged and replied coolly, “Maybe.” Astoria nodded. “Yeah, that’s what we did on our dates to Hogsmeade as well.” Hermione eyed her skeptically . “Okay, is there a reason you’re telling me this?” Astoria chuckled. “Just thought you would want to know that Draco doesn’t have much imagination. He always does the same thing on dates. Anyway, have fun,” she said as she turned on the spot with a smirk.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the retreating form of the younger Greengrass sister. Hermione shook her head thinking about what Astoria said. She couldn’t help it, Astoria called exactly how their ‘date’ had gone. Astoria and Draco dated on and off again for over two years, he had said before that it was complicated.

~*~*~

In another part of the bookshop, Draco was perusing books when Pansy stopped him in his tracks. “Hello, Pansy. Is there something I can help you with?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. They had not talked much since their last argument. And although Draco missed their friendship, he wasn’t going to jeopardize whatever it was he had with Hermione.

“Are you seriously serious about Granger?” she asked with her arms crossed. “Do you think I would cut you off if I wasn’t serious about her? I’ve already told you Pansy, I’m not going to stay friends with you if you continue the old ways. Not only for Hermione’s sake but also for Theo’s. What you said to him was not right. The world is changing. You can either ride with it, or be against it. It has to be up to you though.”

Pansy stared at Draco for a few seconds. In those seconds, he could see the different emotions on her face. She never was good at hiding herself from him. “I could never fully cut you off, Pans, so if you need me, I’m here. However, it won’t be the same way. I just can’t go back to that way of thinking. I’m much happier now that I’ve adapted. I became friends with people I never thought would look at me. My best mate makes me laugh daily and I have a girlfriend that makes me smile. I hope that you find this happiness one day, but I can’t push you, you have to want to change for you.”

He started to walk away when she grabbed the back of his jacket, and held him there. “Astoria went to talk to Hermione…I was supposed to distract you. I’m sorry.” Draco narrowed his eyes but walked off after with a nod.

~*~*~*

“Hey, have you read this book?”

Hermione looked up to the book that Draco was now holding in front of her face. It was Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Of course Hermione had read it. It was one of her favorite of the author’s books. “Where did you get a muggle book in the shop?” she asked, clearly confused. Draco chuckled, “You mean I know something that the famous bookworm doesn’t? There’s a small muggle section a few stacks down.”

Hermione looked over to where he was pointing and went that way. Sure enough there was one part of the shelf filled with muggle books. Mostly the classics; Austen, Shakespeare, two of the Bronte sisters, Mary Shelley, and a few more. Hermione felt like she was in heaven. She was trying to reach for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein on the top shelf, standing up on her tiptoes. She felt him before he said anything. His front was pressed against her back as he reached up to get the book she wanted. “Here,” he said, pulling it down, but he didn’t move. She turned around in the small space he had permitted her and looked up to his face.

With her back pressed to the bookshelf, and one of his arms resting on the bookshelf next to her head, she couldn’t help but think of their kiss in Sixth Year. They had been in this position multiple times now, but something felt more real this time. He was so close now that she could feel his chest rising and retracting against hers. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words caught in her throat. “Hermione, I…” Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by Theo. “See, I told you they would be back here snogging up a storm.” Hermione turned to see Theo and Harry looking both very happy with their hands entwined. She knew her face was red but she smiled despite it all. “Shut up mate. Go have a snog session of your own,” Draco replied and Hermione could feel her face burning.

Theo smirked. “It’s time to meet the carriage mate, no more alone time unfortunately.” Harry’s face reddened and Hermione made a mental note to ask him about their date later. Draco nodded and stepped back from Hermione finally. Suddenly she missed the warmth of him. She really needed to get her head on straight if she was going to survive playing his girlfriend for another month.

Chapter Text

War Heroine Spotted Fraternizing with Known Death Eater
By: Rita Skeeter

Sources in Hogsmeade have confirmed that our Golden Girl and known Death Eater Draco Malfoy were spotted on a date while in the village. Those same sources have confirmed that the two have been dating since the beginning of the school term in September. Could the known Death Eater perhaps have put the Golden Girl under a love potion? Only time will tell, but don’t fret my lovely readers, I am on the case and will keep you all informed!

“I’m going to kill her!” Hermione exclaimed as she pushed down the front page of the Prophet. Draco raised an eyebrow from across the table in the library. They were working on homework together with Harry and Theo when Hermione pulled out her copy of the Prophet to read. “What, a jar won’t do this time?” he teased and Hermione narrowed her eyes. “You would think that would teach her a lesson in publishing shit about me!”

“I would think you’d be used to being in the papers considering your status as a war heroine, Kitty.” Theo commented and Hermione shook her head. “I don’t care what they said about me Theo, it’s how they represented Draco,” she said angrily. “Hermione, it’s fine….” Draco started to say but he was cut off by Hermione. “No, it’s not fine! You only did what you had to in order to save your family. You didn’t volunteer to get the Dark Mark. If you didn’t take it, Voldemort would have killed your family. Everything you did was out of you being under duress. You’re innocent!” Draco stared at her as she ranted, but she didn’t notice the look in his eyes until hers connected with him. “How did you know that?” he asked.

Hermione took a deep breath before answering, “I was at your trial.” Something passed between them as he continued to watch her. “I know you testified, along with Potter…but you stayed?” Hermione nodded. “Yeah, I watched the three day trial.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. Hermione took her bottom lip between her teeth before replying. Hermione avoided the question and instead replied, “That’s why I told you that you didn’t need to apologize.” Draco watched her for a few seconds before nodding. Hermione wasn’t sure what that meant, she felt it was a very noncommittal response to something that felt like a secret she had kept from him. She couldn’t tell if he was angry about it or not.

“Anyway…Kitty, help me out with this section,” Theo said after a beat where Draco and Hermione continued to stare at each other. Hermione turned to Theo with her eyebrows furrowed. “Why do you keep calling me Kitty?”

Theo chuckled and shrugged. “I like it better than Mio. Plus, I think it fits you better,” he replied with a knowing look and it took Hermione a total of .2 seconds to understand and turn to Harry. “Harry Potter, please tell me that you didn’t share a certain secret about our Second Year?”

The only response he gave was a sheepish look and rubbing the back of his neck, Hermione took that as a confirmation. “What secret?” Draco asked with confusion. “Nothing,” she replied before anyone else could say anything. Theo however didn’t seem to take the hint and began to explain. “You see, in Second Year when Hermione was brewing the Polyjuice Potion, instead of…” Hermione stood up. “I swear to Merlin Theo, if you say anymore I’ll…” Theo chuckled and put his hands up. “Alright, I won’t say anything, Harry warned me you would hex me or something.” She nodded. “Yeah I just might,” she said, picking up her books and walking briskly out without saying anything else.

“Hermione!”

Hermione sighed as she slowed down after hearing his voice. She stopped as he ran up to her. “Sorry,” she said as he caught up. He shrugged and tucked his hands into his pockets. “No worries, I don’t know what you three were talking about, although some day I hope I’ll learn,” he added as they started walking again. Hermione was going to miss this. Seeing Malfoy run after her made her feel happy for a second before realizing that all this was going to end in less than a few days. The Yule Ball was this weekend and then she would be going home for the Holidays. Hermione would be returning to the Burrow and then they would ‘break up’, per their agreement. Neither had talked about it, but it was weighing on her mind lately.

“What are you thinking about?” Draco had been asking questions like this recently, and every time Hermione would answer with something that was not on her mind. “About the party tonight,” she replied, not looking at him. “Yeah, it should be fun.”

Hermione wasn’t sure fun was the word that came to mind when she was thinking about the party. They walked in silence back to the Gryffindor Common Room and Draco grabbed her wrist before she could go in. He gave her a small smirk as he pulled her into an alcove, making sure that the other Gryffindors saw them. She couldn’t help but release a giggle as she followed him in.

Draco had a habit of doing this quite a bit recently. Ever since she had agreed to ‘fake’ a snog, he would often pull her into a broom closet, an alcove, an empty classroom, and many other tight spaces, just to make it seem like they were kissing. He did it with every opportunity he could. She once told him he did it way too often, and he replied, “There is no such thing as too much snogging Granger. One day, you’ll understand.” To which she smacked his shoulder.

However, today seemed different. Everything about their relationship seemed different today, maybe it was all in Hermione’s head, but they both seemed more desperate to have time together today. She wondered if it was like this today, what would she be like at the Yule Ball this weekend?

She took a deep breath as he reached up and pulled the clip out of her hair. She grabbed his hand before he got it all the way out and he raised his eyebrow. “What are you doing?” she asked, he smiled softly. “Letting your wild curls go free. You look too much like a Professor with your hair up that way.” He winked and she could feel the heat rising on the back of her neck. He had been winking and toying with her so much lately, it was going to be the death of her. His casual intimacy was frustrating her in a way she refused to acknowledge.

“Fine, then give me my clip back, it’s my favorite one.” He chuckled as she glared at him and he clipped it to the strap of his book bag. “I’m going to hold on to it for a little while,” he replied as he leaned down closely and ran his hand through her locks. Despite how wild they looked, he was shocked how easy it was to run his fingers through. “For my reputation. Got to make it look the part,” he said and she rolled her eyes as he walked out before her. Hermione took a few deep breaths to calm herself and walked out after him.

A few hours later, Hermione walked down the Gryffindor Common Room stairs with Luna, laughing about something the blonde girl told her about Blaise. “You’re really starting to like Blaise aren’t you?” Luna nodded and blushed a little. “He’s fun, and knows a lot of places to look for new creatures. I could see taking a few trips with him after we graduate.”

“Are you still coming back to the Burrow for Christmas with us?” Hermione asked as they reached the bottom step and Luna nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it. Even for Blaise Zabini.”

“You wouldn’t miss what?” Both girls turned to Harry who was leaning against one of the couches adjusting the buttons on his sleeves. “Christmas. Wow, Harry. Theo is going to want to devour you,” Luna replied and Harry turned red instantly. “Remind me why I had to escort you again Luna when Blaise should be the one taking you down there?” Hermione couldn’t help but laugh at the pair and she patted Harry’s shoulder. “You really do look good,” she whispered with a wink and headed out the Portrait hole.

Luna and Harry always had an odd friendship, but this year they seemed to bicker like siblings even more. Hermione chalked it up to them spending more time together and them being so different. They were a hilarious pair to watch, although sometimes Harry got too annoyed by her and needed his space. Adding to the sibling relationship they shared.

“If this is what you’ll look like for a party, I can’t wait to see what you’re wearing on Saturday.” Hermione smiled softly as she walked up to Draco. “I think you’ll really like what I’m going to wear,” she replied as he offered up his arm. He looked good as always, she still was shocked at the more Muggle style of dress he had chosen to take on. Today he was in a black button up with black slacks, very simple but very attractive on him.

Hermione was in a deep maroon form fitting dress. Luna had picked it out for her once again and Hermione said it looked like a slip. Luna rolled her eyes and told her that it was indeed a dress and she looked beautiful in it. Luna left Hermione’s long curls alone but somehow made them look less wild. Hermione noted that both Draco and herself were dressed in their house colors. She grinned at the thought of it.

They walked down together talking about nothing in particular, just enjoying their time. Hermione was really going to miss this when it ended. A part of her wanted to know if Draco felt the same way, but she didn’t want to spoil the party atmosphere by asking.

Once inside, they were bombarded by Theo and Blaise with questions about when their respective partners would be down. Hermione informed them that they would be there shortly and Theo smiled. She was so happy for Theo and Harry, they really did make an adorable couple, and she had never seen Harry so happy in a relationship before.

Hermione and Draco gravitated toward the couches and, because there wasn’t much room, she was pushed so close to his side. He had his arm around her and it was giving her goosebumps. Everything about this felt intimate, she felt like they were the only people in the room, despite both talking to different people. Hermione did not want this to end, even though she knew it would have to. She reminded herself of the task at hand and to keep her mind from wandering off too far so she didn’t hurt.

Harry and Luna arrived not long after and came to join their dates on the couch. They made a nice little ensemble. She really enjoyed talking and laughing with the other five. She never thought that she would be laughing and enjoying these people’s company at the beginning of the year. Sure, she knew that some of their minds had changed, but Draco Malfoy was a fleeting moment in her Sixth Year, she never thought that would grow to this.

“I’m not joking. She just ran up to me, grabbed my face and planted a big one on me. The rest is history.” Blaise was telling the group about how Luna and him finally got together. They had been playing this push and pull, will they won’t they, game for the entire term, and everyone was getting fed up with it.

“It’s not my fault you wouldn’t make the first move,” she muttered as everyone laughed. “Hey, I asked if you wanted to see my wand collection,” he said hastily. “Then you did nothing after that, I was totally up for it. I wanted to see your wand,” she whispered with a wink and everyone groaned.

“And with that, I think it’s time to relocate. Knowing these two, they’ll shag right here. I, for one, don’t want to see that,” Theo said and everyone nodded in agreement. Draco, Harry, and Hermione all stood up after him, walking to another place in the Slytherin Common Room. Draco went to get them drinks and Hermione stayed, striking up a conversation with Harry and Theo. She didn’t feel comfortable enough with other Slytherins to mingle with them yet.

She rubbed her neck as she swore she felt eyes on her. When she looked around, everyone was looking at who they were talking to, no one was watching her. But still, Hermione couldn’t get the feeling out of her system. She had noticed that Draco was taking quite a bit of time, he had not yet returned with their drinks, but she turned back to the conversation with Theo and Harry and thought nothing more of it.

~*~*~*

“Long time no see.”

Draco turned around to see Astoria walking up to him as he was grabbing the drinks. “Tori,” he drawled. She stopped right in front of him and put her finger on his chest. “You have been avoiding me. Why?” she asked. He took a breath and lightly moved her finger from him. “I haven’t been avoiding you, I have a girlfriend, and you aren’t respecting that,” he said as he stood back from her, very clearly drawing a line between them.

“Draco, you know we’re never really done. We’ve gone through so much in the last two years. You could never really be done with me. I’ll be waiting until you’re ready again.” Draco eyed her with caution. “Don’t you have that Ministry bloke? Why come crawling back to me?” Astoria shook her head. “We were over ages ago. You’re still the only one for me.”

Draco narrowed his eyes and smirked. “No, Tori. I won’t be that person anymore. I’m happy with Hermione. I won’t slide back to you anymore. I will never fully cut you out, as you’ve been there for me through so much. However, if you do something that makes me, that’s on you,” he said as he turned around. “Wait, Draco, I need you.” Draco turned with a raised brow. “You’re above begging, Tori.”

Draco left without hearing what she had to say. He was annoyed that she kept pushing the boundaries that he set up. She had been pushing them more and more recently and he didn’t understand why. Of course, he would never truly just cut her off. She had stuck by him in more ways than one while he was going through some of the darkest days of his life. Astoria meant a lot to him, but he never wanted to be with her in any way other than friendship. The relationship with Astoria had sailed long ago.

His relationship with Hermione was leaps and bounds better than he ever had with Astoria. When he was with Astoria, he was not in the place he is now. His mind was warped into dark thoughts and Astoria was the perfect outlet for distraction. She always knew how to take his mind off of what he was supposed to be doing, a helpful skill considering they dated while he was on assignment to kill Dumbledore in Sixth Year. But their relationship was as tumultuous as his mind that year, they would break up and then get back together a couple of days later.
With Hermione, she was a constant force in his life for the last few months. Even if it was fake, she was always smiling, joking, and generally there for him through it all. She always defended him, like she had earlier this morning, and he still didn’t think he was worth it. He knew it was all an act, but it was feeling more and more real every day. Not just for himself, he could tell that Hermione had become more comfortable with him as the months went on.

Draco couldn’t help but smile as she came into his line of sight and he walked towards her. It seemed so recent in his memory of how, when he would first put his arm around her, she would flinch. Now, as he slid his arm around her waist, she seemed to mold into his side so easily. She didn’t even turn to look, she just knew it was him.

The group of six sat around the fire and talked for hours. It was one of the most relaxing parties Hermione had ever been to. She somehow had found herself lying down with her head in Draco’s lap. He had been twirling her hair around his finger like it was the most natural thing to do. She didn’t even mind it, it felt nice. Normally when others touched her hair, she smacked their hand away, or backed away herself.

As the night wore on, fewer and fewer people stayed in the Common Room, but their group of six continued to chat. No one seemed to notice when the brunette snuck into the boys dormitory with her hair down, or when she came back up with her hair in a clip.

Chapter Text

Hermione was nervous. Her and Luna had been preparing the entire day for the Yule Ball, despite Hermione’s protests. Whatever Luna would do to Hermione’s hair, makeup or outfit, she would try to covertly undo and Luna would just smack her hands away. Pretty quickly Hermione just gave up and let the blonde do whatever she wanted. That is until she pulled out the dress that Luna wanted her to wear. Hermione would never wear something like this. It was beautiful, but it was too sexy for her normal taste. “No, absolutely not.” Luna rolled her eyes. “Oh please, Hermione, you are a gorgeous woman with some amazing curves. Live a little, show them off to that handsome man of yours.”

Hermione shook her head in protest and started to back away, pulling the strings of her robe tighter. “Why do you sound like Ginny?” she muttered and Luna laughed. “Because before you and I really got as close as we have, Ginny was the closest to me, I picked up on a few things,” she said nonchalantly and pulled Hermione to her. “Look, at least try it on. If you really don’t like it, I have one other dress.”

Hermione still couldn’t believe she had left the dress selection to Luna but between classes, Head Girl duties, Draco, and homework, she had no choice. Hermione was booked solid and had no time to look for a dress, which meant asking Luna for help. Luna and Hermione really had become good friends over this first term and she did trust the younger witch with many things, but this dress was not going to look good on her. She knew that. “Fine, I’ll try it on,” she said finally and Luna gave her a big smile as she helped Hermione fit the dress over her head.

Hermione walked out of the portrait hole with Luna and Harry beside her sometime later. They had decided to meet Draco, Theo, and Blaise down at the Entrance Hall so that they didn’t make the other three wait too long. Harry had known Luna and Hermione would take time getting dressed, and he wasn’t too keen on the Yule Ball to begin, with so he talked Theo into letting them be a little late as well.

Theo was the first to spot them as they came down the stairs and Hermione watched as his smile grew seeing Harry. Harry was dressed in simple black dress robes with gold accents. They were much more sophisticated and Harry looked more dashing in these than he did in his Fourth Year. However, Hermione could feel the nervous energy radiating from the raven-haired wizard. Which was not helping her at all, but she found it cute as he walked quickly all once he spotted Theo.

Luna had run off the minute she saw Blaise and ran into his awaiting arms. Hermione smiled at the scene as she took her time walking down the stairs. She was not the most elegant when it came to heels, so it always took her some time to walk down. Her dress was also hindering the elegance as it was just a touch constricting in the legs.

Draco turned around after seeing Potter and Luna, just in time to see his date coming down the stairs. His eyes widened at the sight of her. She was in his colors, again. Her dress was a deep green and fit her a little too well. Her curves, which were usually hidden under her oversized robes, were now in plain sight. Her dress was low cut in the front and lower in the back,there was a slit that came to the perfect place on her left leg. She had a silver necklace and silver bangles on each wrist. Her hair was down and the usual wildness of it had been tamed, but he was dying to run his hands through it. She looked immaculate, and he wanted to mess it all up. He wanted to undo everything that was done to her. He couldn’t help the heat that rose up his neck as he continued to watch her descend the stairs and walk in front of him.

“Draco, you look good,” she said with a smile that Draco swore was reserved only for him. At least that’s what he would like to think as she was always smiling like this at him. Her words didn’t register to him until he was nudged in the back. “You look…” he started but had to clear his throat. “You look beautiful, Hermione.” The statement didn’t even compare to how breathtaking she was. She gave him a smile and he offered his arm as they walked in together.

For some stupid reason, Headmistress McGonagall wanted the Head Girl and Head Boy to start off the dance. Hermione supposed it was because during the original Yule Ball it was tradition for the contestants of the Triwizard Tournament to begin the dance. As this Yule Ball wasn’t connected to the Tournament, the Headmistress thought it would be nice for the people who helped put the Ball together to start the dance off. Hermione, being Head Girl, had put a lot of effort into it since the start of term. If she wasn’t hanging with her friends, Draco, or doing homework, she was working on this with the Head Boy, Colin Creevey. It had their idea to put the Ball together as a way to show House Unity. So, Colin and Hermione, with their respective partners, were the first to dance.

Hermione’s only experience with dancing was in her Fourth Year with Viktor Krum. It was a stumbling mess and Hermione did the best she could, but she could only do so much with a partner who didn’t know how to dance either. His Quidditch skills were the only reason they hadn’t fallen on the floor, he was as graceful on the pitch as he was on the dance floor. However, he had nothing on Draco Malfoy. Whereas Hermione felt insecure and unsafe on the dance floor last time, in Draco’s arms, Hermione felt like she was the best dancer in the castle. He led her so easily and never stopped watching her. She couldn’t help the smile that spread as she continued to look into his eyes.

Hermione wasn’t sure how long they stayed on the dance floor, but she knew she was having a lot of fun. Draco was an amazing person to have a dance partner. He was so smooth and confident. “So, you obviously know how to dance,” she said once they were far enough away from music and people to not have to yell. He grinned. “Years and years of dance lessons. Part of Pureblood society training.” Hermione felt she should have guessed that. “Oh right, yeah that makes sense.”

There were still a lot of things that Hermione did not know about the blonde in front of her. It seemed like every day she was finding out something new about this man. It struck her sometimes that she shouldn’t have gotten this close to him, because it was going to hurt that much more when this all came crashing to an end.

“Hey, you’re done dancing already?” Hermione looked up to see Harry, and Theo walking over. Theo looked completely fine, but Harry looked red and embarrassed. Hermione knew that Harry was a clumsy dancer and he did not like the activity at all, so it amused her to see him do his best with Theo. She could see in her friend just how much the other man meant to Harry. “Just taking a break,” Draco replied as his arm found her waist.

They soon returned back to the floor and Hermione took turns partnering with Harry, Theo, Blaise and Draco. She usually only danced with Harry during fast songs where she didn’t have to deal with his clumsy slow dance. She had done that back in the year on the run and that was a special memory that she wanted to leave then. Blaise and Theo were also trained as good dancers, but when she was dancing with Draco everything fit into place.

One of the dances she felt so comfortable that she laid her head on Draco’s chest and just took it all in. They had been ‘fake’ dating for the last four months and she couldn’t believe how fast it all went. At the start of term, she thought that Christmas Eve would take forever to come, that she would have more than enough time to deal with any emotions that arise for him. However, she did not expect to feel this way about him. She never expected to fall for him, again. She never expected to not want this relationship to end. As they turned, she couldn’t help the single tear that dropped as she thought about it all.

A while later, the group of friends was finally ready to take a break and they made their way outside to cool off. It was a cold Christmas Eve, but after getting so warm with the crowd and dancing it was nice to be able to feel the coldness on their skin. Hermione and Luna decided to use the loo and were in line when things started taking a turn for the night.

“Blaise wants to take me to Paris and spend the summer there after we graduate. Isn’t that romantic?” Luna was gushing and Hermione was so happy for her.

“Yeah, so romantic… Blaise takes all of his conquests there.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes as she looked over Luna to the brunette behind them. “Astoria. Lovely to see you,” she said with every ounce of sarcasm she could muster. Honestly Hermione was hoping to get through the night without dealing with this particular Slytherin. Luna turned around and crossed her arms. “Astoria, it’s odd to see you without your lackey. Where’s Pansy?”

Lately Astoria and Pansy seemed to be on bad terms as Hermione had not seen them together for quite awhile. The first part of the term they were never seen without the other. “Oh, I have no clue,” Astoria responded with a flippant hand. Hermione furrowed her brow at that, she didn’t know what to think of the statement, it was obvious that something really had happened between the Slytherins. “Anyway, Paris huh? That sounds so exciting for you, Lovegood. Blaise will take you to all the places that he does with every other person he’s taken. You should ask Pansy, they went together before this year. They had a grand time until he left her naked in their room after they had sex for the first time.”

Hermione sighed and crossed her arms. “Leave Luna alone. You don’t know what you’re talking about with them.” Astoria raised her eyebrow. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Just trying to lend you some tips,” she said as she pulled her hair and wrapped it in a clip at the top of her head.

Hermione’s eyes narrowed to slits the minute she saw the clip in the brunette’s hair. “Where did you get that clip?” Astoria gave her a smirk “From Draco, when I was in his room that night after the last party in our Common Room. Isn’t it just so cute? It goes with everything.”

Hermione continued to glare at the girl in front of her. “Yeah, it’s cute. It’s also mine,” she said, holding out her hand. “Would you mind returning it to me?” Astoria scoffed and rolled her eyes as she pulled the clip out and put it in Hermione’s outstretched hand. “You should know. That night, I didn’t return to my room.”

Hermione took a shaky breath to calm her anger. “Thank you,” she said as she took the clip and walked away. Luna yelled after her and rushed to follow. Hermione didn’t stop for the blonde hot catch up as she practically ran from the situation. It wasn’t until a pair of strong arms pulling her into him that she stopped.

“Hermione, what’s wrong?” She hadn’t even noticed the tears streaming down her face until she looked up into the concerned face of Draco Malfoy. Exactly the person she did not want to see right now. In response to his question, she held the clip up to his face. His eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Where did you get that? It was in my drawer in my room.”

“Astoria,” she was the only answer she was able to choke out. His eyes widened. “Why did she have your clip?” he asked and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Because you gave it to her!” She yelled and he shook his head vehemently. “No, I didn’t. I had it in my drawer and then it was gone, I would’ve never given away something that belongs to you. Especially as it’s your favorite clip.”

Hermione pushed his hands off her arms and stepped back a little. She just couldn’t be this close to him right now. She wiped her eyes and crossed her arms. “You’re telling me that you didn’t have her in your room that night after the party a couple days ago?” she asked and she saw all the color drain out of his face. That was all the answer she needed and she turned and ran as fast as she could in heels.

He caught up to her and pulled her into an empty classroom not long after. “Okay, yes, she came into my room that night, but please believe me, nothing happened. I also did not give her your clip. She came in to talk with me about something, and I knew she was drunk. She stayed in my bed and I slept on a couch in the Common Room. Absolutely nothing happened,” he said, shaking his head.

“Then how did she get my clip?”

“I don’t know Hermione, she’s a fucking witch. She could’ve accioed it without my knowledge. I mean there are ways she could’ve done it. I just know I did not give it to her.” She could tell he was losing his temper with her. He wanted to believe her, but something was telling her to just end it regardless.

“It doesn’t matter anyway right? It’s obvious we achieved our goal of our little arrangement anyway.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “You got what you wanted. I got what I wanted. I was able to avoid talking to Harry because of you, and Astoria is jealous. You can get back with her. That’s what you wanted to achieve. It’s the end of our contract. We’re supposed to break up over the holidays, we might as well finish it now, and avoid hurting each other.”

Draco scoffed and shook his head. “You think that’s why I did this? You think I really went along with your plan because I wanted to fucking get back with Astoria Greengrass?”

“Well yeah, that’s what you said!”

“Hermione, I never said that! You just assumed. If I had wanted to get back into that relationship I would have! I could’ve easily stolen her from that Ministry bloke. I chose not to. I was done with her that way.”

“Then why did you go along with it?” she yelled and she couldn’t hold back anymore. She wanted to run and cry. “You really have no idea, do you, Hermione?”

“Obviously I don’t, I don’t know why you would have entered into this fake relationship when you hate me.” Draco scoffed and shook his head. “I don’t hate you Hermione. But I guess whatever I say right now you’re not going to listen to me. How long have you been planning to break this up?”

“It’s been this whole time that we’ve been heading this way! We were always going to break up. This wasn’t meant to last. You know it too. You must have been thinking the same way. You signed the contract as well!”

Draco ran his hands through his hair and messed it up in frustration. It was the only time Hermione had ever seen one hair out of line, sure he hadn’t slicked it back the whole year, but his hair was always perfectly in style. Until right at this moment. “Hermione, I…I didn’t. I didn’t sign the contract with the intention to get back with Astoria. I told her that the night she came to stay and at the party the same day. Now that I’ve been with you, I don’t want to be in a relationship with anyone else.”

“But it was all fake, Malfoy. The way you acted. The way I acted. It was all fake,” she said, knowing that he would be hurt, but she wanted to get out of this situation. She knew this contract would end, and that was how she would end it.

“You can’t tell me it was all fake Hermione, you’re not that good of a liar,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her. She knew that if she stayed there any longer that she would be at risk of caving in and crying through the night in his arms. As that is exactly what she wanted to do right now. She wanted to curl up in his arms and cry until she could apologize and tell him that she didn’t mean any of it. That she believed him about Astoria, and how he really didn’t want to be with her. She wanted to believe everything, she really did, but she couldn’t talk anymore about it. She had too many thoughts in her head. She knew she was over thinking, but she just wanted to get away from it all. “I just need some space.”

“Goodbye Malfoy,” she added walking out of the classroom, the tears once again streaming down her face. She didn’t stop this time, not when Harry tried to grab her outside the Common Room, not when Luna found her in her Dormitory after. Not even when Luna did everything she could to get Hermione to calm down and tell her what happened, she couldn’t. Hermione fell asleep that night with tears still falling as Luna stayed rubbing her back.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Hermione woke to the bright morning sun streaming in her windows. Today did not feel like Christmas Day, especially after the events of last night's Ball. Luna, Hermione, and Harry all met in the Headmistress’ office in order to use the Floo network for their visit to the Burrow. It was an arrangement for anyone who was staying for the Yule Ball and wanted to still go home for the rest of the Holidays. There were only a handful of students, most of them being Seventh and Eighth Years, who were doing so. Draco was also in the office waiting to go home along with Theo and Blaise. So, Hermione was awkwardly standing apart from them all and was the first to go through the Floo.

As soon as she stepped out of the fireplace into the cramped living room of the Burrow, she was enveloped in a hug by Ginny. “You have a lot of explaining to do,” she said, pulling back with a raised eyebrow and Hermione tensed. The last thing she wanted to do was have to go through the whole experience again. She was already anxious about returning because of this, she was hoping it would not be a big deal but, knowing Ginerva Weasley, this was going to be a big deal.

She next then hugged Ron, he held her a little longer than she thought he would and when he pulled back he gave her a sheepish lopsided smile. “We have a lot to catch up on. Maybe we can talk privately later?” he asked and she nodded. She knew it had to be about the letter. Hermione had been anticipating this talk since the letter had gone out at the start of term but that didn’t mean she wanted to talk about it with him anymore than she wanted to talk with Ginny.

Now that the group was all gathered, the Christmas festivities began, and Hermione was able to relax a little now that their attention was spread among the Weasleys. Presents were exchanged, Hermione was mostly given books. It made her smile and she was thankful for each one. Harry’s gift was a book about the effects of long-term memory charms and Hermione was so touched by it, that she began to cry. He had gone out of his way to help her in any way he could to get their memories back. So it meant even more to her that he had found a book they hadn’t looked through yet about memory charms. She in return gave everyone books as well, each book was in everyone's interest.

The festivities continued with the usual scrumptious feast prepared by Mrs. Weasley. Hermione helped with the last few preparations, she mostly did it out of avoidance of the two Weasley’s who wanted to have conversations with her. Regardless, Mrs. Weasley was thankful for any help, even though she tried to get Hermione to leave her to it. Hermione politely told her that she was going to help no matter what and the elder woman had finally agreed.

There were so many conversations going on during dinner that Hermione was able to take some time and breathe. She was not looking forward to when she would have to summon her courage to talk to the two youngest Weasley. She decided to start with Ron, as she felt like she didn’t have as much to explain, and with his temper, he might need some time to cool down over the news about her and Draco.

Hermione wasn’t surprised when Ron took the opportunity while everyone was hanging out in the living room, sleeping off the feast, to ask to talk with her privately. The two walked outside and sat in the lawn, both taking a moment to enjoy the wintry landscape before they started talking. Hermione was about to say something when it was Ron who spoke first. “Sorry for not contacting you these last few months. Work was crazy and every time I sat down to write, I couldn’t get the words to come. I’m much better at speaking than writing letters. You know I don’t write,” he said with a chuckle and Hermione couldn’t help but laugh a little as well.

“I think you should have this back.” Hermione looked over to the parchment he presented with the red ribbon around it. “It’s a nice letter, but I didn’t think you wanted a response. We put it all behind us this past summer. I also got the feeling you didn’t mean to send it out.” She took the letter and nodded. “I did not. Somehow these letters were sent out at the beginning of term. They were always meant as a way to put my feelings in the past.”

“Letters? You said letters?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. “There were five in total. One to you, one to Viktor Krum, one to Cormac McLaggen, one to Harry, and one to Draco Malfoy,” she coughed out the last name as Ron turned to stare at her. “Five!? Wait, Harry! You had feelings for Harry? And what was that last name?”

Hermione took a breath and let it out before she spoke again, choosing her words carefully. “I did have very fleeting feelings for Harry, but that’s way in the past. He’s a brother to me. The last name was Draco Malfoy,” she repeated, this time with more confidence. “How did you have feelings for Malfoy? He’s a Death Eater, and was terrible to you all those years,” he replied with an incredulous look. She could tell he thought she was crazy.

She took a breath, summoned her Gryffindor courage, and recounted the events of the past few months. Every once in a while he would try to interrupt, but she would continue on. She told him about the Sixth Year party, about all the events leading up to the letters going out, and everything that had happened afterward. “So, we finished out our contract last night, and it’s over,” she finished looking across the fields around them as the sun was now setting. Thank Merlin for warming charms and blankets, Hermione knew she would have been freezing by now without them.

Ron let out a small whistle and crossed his arms. “Merlin, you love him don’t you Hermione?” Hermione turned to him with a confused look on her face. “What? Where did that come from?”

Ron chuckled and shrugged. “How could I not guess? Your attitude since you returned this morning was weird anyway, now that I know of everything, it makes total sense. You’re in love with sodding Draco Malfoy. You had a real relationship, whether you know it or not, and now you’re sad because you broke up,” he said as if he was explaining the simplest thing in the world.

“I’m not in love with Malfoy. It was all fake. None of it was real, Ron. We were just acting, didn’t you listen at all to what I said?” Ron nodded. “I heard it, but did you listen to yourself?” Hermione narrowed her eyes and scoffed as she turned away from him. Ron put his hands up in surrender and stood up. “Okay, so you’re not in love with him. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about my other reason for not getting back to you. I didn’t know how you would take it, but now I know it’ll be fine. I met someone while doing my training. We started dating and it’s pretty serious Hermione. I’m very happy.”

Hermione turned back to him with a smile and stood up as well. She enveloped him in a hug and when she pulled back she said, “Why would you think I wouldn’t take it well? I’m happy for you Ronald.”

“I just wasn’t sure if you were over everything, but now I know you are. So, I wanted to share the news. I love her.” Hermione smiled and nodded. “Good for you, tell me all about her! When can we meet her? Harry and I both want to meet her. Make sure you really apologize to Harry as well, he really missed you.” Ron’s neck and ears turned red and he nodded.

Ron told her about the new girl in his life and Hermione smiled listening to everything. She was genuinely excited for him, it was nice to see him so happy. It made her feel better about everything knowing that her two best friends were in such great relationships. She wondered if Harry had told Ron about Theo yet. If he had, then maybe Ron took it better than she thought he would. He seemed to take the news about Malfoy better than she had thought he would, so Ron might surprise Harry.

“Hermione! An owl came for you! Sorry Ron, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Hermione turned to see Luna holding up a letter with a large Eagle Owl sitting on the window sill behind her. She knew the owl and her eyes narrowed. “Go ahead, I have to go talk to Harry,” he said with a small lopsided smile before heading back into the Burrow. Hermione took a breath and then followed, taking the letter from Luna and they both went back inside.

Ginny must have noticed the two other girls coming back inside because she was right by Hermione’s side in an instant as they walked up to Ginny’s childhood room. “Is it from Malfoy? What’s going on? I think I deserve to know something as you haven’t talked to me all term.” Ginny said, her eyes alight with mischief. Hermione nodded as she closed the door behind the redhead and slumped down against the door with the letter in her hands.

“I know. Just give me a second, and I’ll explain everything,” Hermione replied as she turned the letter over and over while thinking of how to begin. She wasn’t going to open the letter that was for sure. “Ginny, I have to start at the beginning…” She began explaining everything. She didn’t get very far before Ginny stood up, her face flushed red. “Wait, you wrote a love letter to my boyfriend?”

Hermione winced a little and nodded. “Well, first off when I did, you weren’t dating and you’re not dating now, so not your boyfriend technically. You broke up with him, Gin. And, as I said, I wrote these letters to get over my feelings for the boys. Please don’t interrupt, I really need to get through this.” Ginny nodded but this time she crossed her arms as she listened to the tale.

When she was finished recounting the story, Ginny was enthralled and leaning on her elbows getting as close to Hermione as she could. “So, you started fake dating Draco Malfoy, and now you’re in love with him.”

Hermione threw her hands up in exasperation, and the letter went flying. “Why does everyone keep saying that? Whatever feelings I have toward him, he doesn’t have the same feelings towards me!” No one noticed that while Hermione was talking Luna picked up the letter and went through Hermione’s bag.

“Hermione, I think I need to confess something,” Luna said as she put a wooden box on the studying desk. “I’m the one who sent out your letters.”

Hermione blinked a few times as she let the words sink in. She stood slowly and calmly and pulled her wand out. “I’m going to hex you.”

Luna’s eyes widened and she ran behind Ginny. “Wait! Let me explain! Ginny is the one who told me where you keep the letters. She saw you writing one this summer and saw you put the beaded bag in your trunk for school. She kept telling me how she wanted you to ‘find someone and have fun’ this term. You never got a chance, so I thought it would be a good way to get yourself out there. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize what was in the letters or think about why you hid them.”

Ginny put her hands in the air and made sure Hermione stayed far enough away. “Way to throw me under the bus. It was your own idea, Luna, I just told you about the letters. I had no clue what was in them!” Hermione glared at the pair but Ginny continued, undeterred. “Besides, Hermione, if I can forgive you for writing a letter to Harry, don’t you think you can forgive Luna for sending the letters?”

Hermione dropped her wand and stopped in her tracks as Ginny’s words came over her. She sighed and nodded. “I’m still mad at both of you, although I see your point. I’ve told you to stop meddling, Ginny. Luna…Stay out of my trunk please,” she said as she leaned against the door again. She suddenly had no more energy. She felt betrayed and sad for so many reasons, but she knew there was absolutely nothing she could do about it now.

Everything she had gone through this term had drained her physically and emotionally. She was looking forward to having a few days rest before returning back to Hogwarts for her final term. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Everything has been resolved. Let’s just move on.”

“It doesn’t matter? Are you serious?” Luna asked, sitting down at the desk once again. “Hermione, your feelings matter. You can’t keep denying what you feel. I know you have feelings for Draco, I’ve seen it.”

Hermione placed her head in her hands and took a few breaths. “Yes, I have feelings for him, how could I not after spending so much time getting to know him? But it doesn’t matter now, he entered this whole fake relationship to get back with Astoria. It worked, so once again, I have to get over him,” she said as she looked up to the other two girls in the room. “You know what’s funny? I wrote all those letters, and went through all this, and I never even got one back.”

Luna smiled slyly, picked up both the letter and wooden box from the desk, and set them in front of Hermione. “I think you need to look at what’s in the box.” Hermione narrowed her eyes and Luna nodded toward the box again. Hermione opened it, inside she saw the pieces of parchment that Draco had been writing her notes on all term. “How did you get these?”

Luna smiled and pulled one open for the brunette. “You were always throwing them away, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt saving them. I used to sneak them into your bag in your trunk when I was in your Dorm.” Hermione scoffed and took the box. “You really need to stop getting into my trunk.” Luna shrugged. “Maybe you should start locking me out.”

“I really enjoyed your Charm work today. It’s nice to have a partner as smart as I am with spells.”

“You looked really pretty today.”

“I love seeing Potter get so angry every time I put my arm around you.”

“What’s up with the Kitty nickname that Theo has started to call you?”

“Are you reading these? Probably not as I never get a response back.”

“I want to run my fingers through your curls. Maybe on our next fake snog?”

“Thank you for making this term the best I’ve ever had Hermione.”

Hermione read the notes one by one, each contained some nice little thing about her the day that he wrote it. Every single one became more personal as their fake relationship went on. “Still think you never got a love letter?” Ginny asked, reading over her shoulder.

Hermione let a small smile emerge as she read through everything. As she reached the end of the notes she turned and answered, “These were still only written because of our contract.” Luna rolled her eyes and picked up the letter Hermione had still not opened, “Maybe read this then.” Hermione took the letter from her and paused for a breath before opening it.

Hermione,

I don’t even know why I’m writing this, because I’m sure you won’t read it, but I have to try. First off, Happy Christmas. I included your Christmas present in the envelope as I don’t think I will get to give it to you as I had planned. Second, I need to let you know how I truly feel.

Last night, you were not listening to me, so I feel like I should reiterate what I’ve already told you. I am in no way looking to get back together with Astoria Greengrass, nor was I planning to from the beginning of the relationship we started. My only intention the entire time was to have a chance to get closer to you.

After reading your letter at the beginning of the term, I wanted nothing more than for the chance to get closer to you. That chance came when you kissed me after seeing Potter and then I knew I couldn’t let you go. I royally screwed up by not making my feelings clear after our kiss in Sixth Year, but our lives were in danger and I did not want to make it worse for you then. However, you need to know that when we kissed at that party, I desperately wanted to get to know you more.

Everything that happened with Astoria was arranged. She and I have been very off and on since we were told by our fathers we were supposed to get married. When my father was sent to Azkaban, I was finally able to make my own decisions. I was the one to break up with Astoria for good when I found out that she was seeing that Ministry bloke on the side. I was also the one to set boundaries with her, again, during the last party in the Slytherin dorm. She was so drunk that we couldn’t get her back to her bed, as you know men are not allowed in the women's dorm.The four of us from my dorm spent the night out on the couches of our Common Room due to her, and in return she stole your clip out of my nightstand.

If you’ve read my notes to you over the term, you should at least have an inkling of what I feel for you, but I’m going to make it very clear right here and now. I sure hope that, if nothing else, you at least read this. I love you Hermione Granger. I have loved you for longer than I can even understand; I realized my feelings in Sixth Year when we talked at that party and kissed.

This term I was able to get the chance to know you in the way I’ve so desperately wanted, and I was able to pretend that you wanted the same. This past term has been the best I have ever had at Hogwarts, and I hope to Merlin that you feel the same. Please, just take the time over the break to think about what I have shared. Hermione, I know you’re going to overanalyze everything, but please remember, I am in love with you.

Yours,
Draco

By the time she finished reading, Hermione was crying again. She couldn’t believe that he really felt the same way, and had for longer than she could imagine. Hermione opened the envelope again to see a silver chain in the bottom. She pulled the chain out and at the end was a constellation pendant, in the shape of the constellation Draco. The stars were silver and inside were rubies. It was an obvious nod to his name and Hermione couldn’t help but laugh a little. This was such a Draco present but she loved it.

“So, are you going to put it on?” Luna asked with her head cocked to the side. Hermione nodded and pulled the chain over her head, and fit it around her neck perfectly. She felt a warmth surrounding her and she knew that he had an enchantment on it. She didn’t know what it was, but she could feel the familiar warmth of his magic around her.

“I think you should talk with Malfoy.” Ginny said as she was still reading over Hermione’s shoulder. “This is a beautiful letter ....WAIT YOU KISSED IN SIXTH YEAR!?”

Chapter Text

Hermione, Luna and Harry returned to Hogwarts just after the New Year for the new term. It had been a relaxing time at the Burrow, and she had really needed it. It was nice to catch up with Ron and Ginny, and Harry and Hermione were able to meet Ron’s new girlfriend, Anna, as well. Hermione was happy for the new couple and they seemed well suited for each other.

It had been a week since they had returned and Hermione had not run into Draco once. It was actually quite frustrating, she wanted to talk to him but it was like he was avoiding her. Even when she would prod and ask Theo about it, the Slytherin would be vague about Draco’s whereabouts. She had even resorted to asking Harry about seeing if he could get Theo to spill. That didn’t work either. She had tried searching every place she could think of, the Quidditch Pitch, the Library, standing outside the Slytherin Common Room. She had even tried to get his attention at classes, and run after him following those said classes. The blonde was definitely avoiding her.

“Listen, Kitty, I don’t know what Dra is up to. He’s been sleeping out of the dorms, he doesn’t talk to me right now. Whatever happened between the two of you, he is taking it hard,” Theo told her one day after he was clearly getting annoyed with her asking. Harry sat back in his comfy chair in the Gryffindor Common Room. Ever since returning from the Burrow, Harry and Theo were never out of each other’s sight for very long. Only at night, and even then Hermione wasn’t sure that was true.

“I just don’t understand why he’s avoiding me,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair. “It’s not just you, Kitty. It’s everyone. Plus Blaise. He’s been avoiding us since the holidays also. What happened with Luna and Blaise by the way?”

“Astoria made a comment about Blaise to Luna while at the Yule Ball, and for some reason Luna believed her, and now she and Blaise are taking a break until Luna can figure out what really happened. I don’t think Luna really believed Astoria, but Blaise wasn’t very helpful in the situation by not confirming whether it was true,” she replied before thinking about it and asking. “Hey, did Blaise ever get with Pansy in Paris after the war?”

Theo barked out a laugh and shook his head. “Merlin no, those two would claw each other’s eyes out before getting within arms length of each other. Blaise can only tolerate Pansy in a friend setting and the same goes for Pansy. Why? Did Astoria say that?” Hermione nodded. “Yeah, at the Yule Ball. Luna was telling me about her summer plans with Blaise and Astoria stepped in to tell us about how Blaise always takes his flings to Paris and then leaves them after doing the deed.”

Theo snorted, “Doing the deed, what are you twelve, Kitty? Just call it what it is. Sex. But no, Blaise doesn’t take anyone to Paris unless he’s serious about them, and he would never be serious about Pansy Parkinson.” Hermione rolled her eyes at his mockery of her word choice. “Well now I can inform Luna and they can continue on being the adorable couple they are. Also, just because I’m not as crass as you doesn’t mean I’m twelve. Thank you very much.” Theo chuckled and held up his hands in surrender. “Fair enough. Tell me Kitty, what are you going to do about Dra?”

Hermione shrugged. “Well, if I could find him, I would talk with him about everything, but I can’t find him. It’s like he has been under an invis- …Harry Potter, please tell me you didn’t.” Harry’s eyes widened and shook his head. “No! I mean I know that Malfoy and I are friendlier, but I would never let him borrow it. Especially right now as I know you’re looking for him. I want you to find him and settle this, you know? I just want you and him to be happy.”

“Borrow what? What are you talking about?” Theo asked, clearly confused as he looked between the two friends. Harry turned to Theo and smiled sheepishly. “I have an invisibility cloak, and I think Hermione thought I would give it to Malfoy so he could avoid her,” he said nonchalantly and Theo raised an eyebrow. “Oh, no, Dra has one as well. No big deal.”

Hermione looked out the window. It wasn’t late, but darkness had fallen on the snowy grounds. She could just make out some lights on at the Quidditch Pitch, and she could see green streaks in the dark. “Theo, are the Slytherins practicing tonight?” she asked as she turned back to him and he nodded. “Why didn’t you say so before!?” she practically yelled as she grabbed her cloak and ran out the portrait hole.

She practically ran the entire way down to the Pitch. He had to be there, his team was practicing and they wouldn’t be without their captain. He wouldn’t miss a practice just to avoid her. Her face was attacked by the cold the minute she stepped out into the snowy grounds of Hogwarts in January. Honestly, how Draco could put himself and his team through flying in this weather was beyond her. She pulled her cloak and scarf around her closer and tried to avoid the shivering from the cold as she ran faster than she ever had in her life to him.

She was arriving just as the team was heading back into the locker rooms. AFourth Year she didn’t know nodded toward the Pitch when she asked them if Draco was there. She hurried out on the field and kept running until she was about twenty feet from him. “Draco,” she yelled. He picked his broom off the snow covered field and turned around.

“Granger, what are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you, I have something for you.” He raised his eyebrow as he walked up to her outstretched hand and took the parchment from her. She had written him another letter with all of her feelings in it a few days ago, after it seemed she wouldn’t be able to talk to him face to face. She had planned to owl it in the morning if she didn’t find him today.

He unrolled it and started reading. His eyes skimmed the page briefly before glancing at her as he rolled it back up. “No, I’m not going to read another one of your letters,” he said and pushed it back into her hands before walking passed her. She let him get a little too far, before the shock wore off. “I love you!” she screamed at his retreating back and he stopped. That was all she needed as she rushed toward him and put her arms around him from behind. Her cheek placed against the warmth of his back. The heat radiating from him was amazing.

“What did you say?”

“I love you, Draco Malfoy. I’m in love with you. I think I have been for quite some time now, I just wouldn’t allow myself to feel it because I thought you were only fake dating me. I didn’t want to open myself up to the heartache I knew I would feel if we actually did break up. The more time I spent getting to know you, the deeper I fell. I just didn’t think you felt the same way, so I pulled away. When Astoria told me that shite about you and the hair clip, I latched on because I knew it was our way out. I’m sorry.”

He stood stock still as she told him everything she had held back. He had not moved an inch, even with Hermione clinging to his back as she continued, “I should’ve trusted my feelings when you told me it was all a lie. I should’ve trusted you. I know I was wrong for running away. I believed you when you told me that you and Astoria were over, I believed you about the hair clip, but I ran away because I thought we were ending anyway. The contract was ending, and I didn’t know how you felt about me.” She paused for a breath. “Then the letter you wrote me on Christmas was beautiful. I’ve had the necklace on since you sent it to me. Please forgive me. I just want us to be us again. I want to be with you Draco, I’ve never felt this way about anyone else before.”

Draco reached up and unlatched her fingers around his abdomen. He could see the shock in her eyes when he turned around to her and dropped her arms. “I do forgive you,” he said with a small nod, but did not say anything else. Both stood there, the snow falling around them. Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was something that Hermione knew he only did when he was frustrated with something. “Merlin, I want to be with you, but I feel like you don’t trust me.”

“I do! I was just stubborn, you know how I am. I needed time to process it all. I’m sorry.” Draco narrowed his eyes as he processed what she was saying, Hermione could have sworn she saw the smirk he was so famous for showing on his face before it was wiped away instantly. “You have the necklace on?”

She grinned a bit and pulled her necklace out from under her shirt and held it up under her scarf. “I have since the minute you sent it in the letter.” All Draco did was nod. He reached up and touched the pendant. His finger swiped over the rubies and silver, a small smile was displayed on his face. “It looks better than I imagined.”

“Draco,” she said and he looked up when she called his name. “I love you.” He smiled and nodded. His hand came to rest on her cheek and then he frowned. “Don’t tell me you came out here without a warming charm.” She couldn’t help but laugh a little. “I was in a rush.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the field and into the locker room.
The only other player in the room, a Second Year Slytherin, fled out of there very quickly with a look of terror on her face. Hermione couldn’t help the admonishing look that she gave Draco. “She could have stayed, you didn’t have to tell her to leave so aggressively.”

“For what I have planned, she needed to get out. I didn’t really feel the need to be nice considering the urgency,” he replied, not bothering to look at the brunette’s face as he made his way around the room cleaning up after his team. “For what you have planned? What exactly is that?” she said as she eyed him with curiosity.

“First, this,” he said, flicking his wand at her. Hermione felt the heat of a warming charm on her. “Second, I plan to let you know just how much you mean to me.” Hermione raised her eyebrow at the second statement. “Oh? And how exactly do you plan on doing that?” She couldn’t help it, her interest was piqued.

He threw the last towel in the bin before turning around. He smirked and took the steps needed to cross the room until he was right in front of her. The speed at which he crossed the room impressed her and she didn’t realize how close he was until she looked up and his face was inches from her. “I’m no longer going to fake anything with you,” he said as he took another step forward and another until Hermione felt her back against the tile of the shower room. He took the scarf she was wearing and undid it without breaking eye contact.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat at the intensity in his eyes. She had seen it a few times: before their kiss in Sixth Year, after he won his first Quidditch match as Captain, when she defended him when the article came out, and during their fight on Christmas Eve. Now, again here. However, there was something different in this stare. She finally was able to breathe a little more when he unclasped the cloak from her shoulders. She suddenly felt like she no longer needed the warming charm. Her body felt on fire, and it was just from his gaze.

“Neither am I,” she said, finally. Draco closed the distance, capturing her in a searing kiss. They had kissed before, multiple times, but never had it felt quite so intense. Draco brought one of his hands to her waist and the other to the nape of her neck. In doing so, the tap was hit and the water turned on spraying both of them in the face. Hermione giggled at the glare Draco gave the shower head, and he turned his eyes on her before claiming her lips once again. Hermione wasn’t sure how long they stayed under the warm spray of the shower, but she knew it was quite a while. Both were soaked to the bone, but neither seemed to care.

~*~*~

“You really didn’t have to walk me back,” Hermione said, despite knowing he would. “It’s almost curfew,” she added and he chuckled. “I will always walk you back. The Head Girl is with me, so I know the point reduction won’t come from you,” he said with a wink and she rolled her eyes. She would take points if she had to, but she could let a few things slip by. Something that she found herself doing a lot these days. There were a lot of her duties that she had shirked or let go over the last four months that would normally bother her. However, after the war her viewpoint on a lot has changed.

“Hermione,” Draco said as they reached the Gryffindor Tower, and he stopped her before she went into the Portrait Hole. “I love you.” Hermione smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I love you too. Now be careful on your way back. Don’t get caught by Parkinson who is on rounds tonight,” she said with a wink and he smirked. “She would never deduct points. Goodnight, love,” he said watching her walk into the portrait hole with a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

~Five Years Later~

Hermione sprinted down the corridor to the emergency wing of St. Mungos. “Are they here yet?” she asked one of the receptionists and the other Witch shook her head. “They’re about two minutes out,” was the reply and Hermione took a deep breath. She turned toward her staff and began prepping them for the onslaught of Aurors and wanted dark Wizards, both injured and not. It was a pretty common occurrence for the ward to be bombarded after raids. Hermione had healed her best friends and her boyfriend more times than once when this occurred.

Draco and Hermione, against all odds, were still going strong. Once they left Hogwarts, they took a year off to track down her parents in Australia and do whatever they could to reverse the memory charm. This experience led Hermione to become a Healer; her additional specialized training would soon be over, and she would be moving on to her dream department. She had been a Lead Healer in the Emergency Ward while doing her specialty training in Neuromagics. Her work with her parents' memory reversal led to a pretty big discovery about memory charms and her training was accelerated, something that very few Healers do as it’s a lot of work. Hermione enjoyed the challenge and staying busy kept her head clear, otherwise she would be worried about Draco all the time. He did go on to become an Auror, a pretty important one due to his intelligence of wanted Death Eaters. Both were very busy but always made sure to make time for each other.

Harry, Ron, and Draco were all on the same rotation for Aurors and worked pretty consistently together. Harry had become a team lead and chose both Draco and Ron for a lot of the priority missions. Which meant more worrying for Hermione, wondering whether each raid gone wrong would mean having one of the men in her life be hurt beyond repair.

“Did they arrive yet?” Hermione whipped around and crossed her arms. “Theo, you know you’re not supposed to know or be here,” she whispered looking back at the tall, worried-faced Wizard standing behind her. “Oh, come off it Kitty, Harry told me about it this morning, and the Auror office knows to call when something happens to him.” Hermione shook her head. She knew that the Auror office would be in a world of hurt if they didn’t alert Theo to his husband’s injuries. Theo always was the first to know about the raid’s success or failure, and always the first to know if Harry was going to end up in St. Mungos.

Theo and Harry had been married for close to two years ago now. They had a lovely wedding and all of their friends were in attendance, including Pansy Parkinson. After whatever argument went down between Astoria and Pansy in their last year at Hogwarts, Pansy really had turned around. She apologized to both Hermione and Theo, Theo was quick to forgive of course as they had been friends for a long time. For Hermione, it took a little longer to forgive and warm up to the Slytherin. Pansy was…a lot to take in at times and, although the two Witches were friendly, they still had a long way to go before they were truly friends. Mostly due to Hermione’s distaste of Pansy’s boisterous opinions on things outside of the Wizarding world. Pansy was getting better with muggles, but every once in a while the way she voices her confusion about them is in a judgy way, and Hermione can only take so much. However, Hermione told Draco she would always do her best in being friendly for his sake considering Pansy was one of his oldest and best friends. Especially after how close Draco and Harry now were, she would do her best for his friend as well.

Astoria, as far as Hermione knew, never returned to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays in that last year. She had asked Draco about it once, but he was pretty vague about the whole thing. He just said her parents had sent her to Beauxbatons to finish out, and that was the last she heard about the younger Greengrass sister until her engagement announcement to Marcus Flint. They were married around three years ago, and no one spoke of her anymore.

“No, they haven’t arrived yet, but you can’t be in the way if they bring Harry in. You know my rules. Stay back,” she reminded, giving him a light squeeze on the shoulder. They always comforted the other through these situations. In the five years since leaving Hogwarts, Theo and Hermione’s friendship only grew more and more. Before their wedding, Theo and Harry fought over Hermione standing up for their side the most. Harry wanted her to stand on his side as his best person, and Theo wanted her to stand on his side as one of his groomsperson. Hermione chose to stand on Harry’s side, and Theo understood, but it did feel nice to be wanted by both.

“Healer Granger!” Hermione turned back around to see the first people brought in. Three Wizards were being levitated to the beds provided, two had masks, one was in Auror robes. They had minor injuries, so she set the first year Healers take them. Then the chaos happened when the next wave came in. The minute she saw the silvery blonde of Draco’s hair, she rushed toward him to see the injuries. She wouldn’t usually work on him as it’s a conflict of emotions for her, but there was no one else qualified on the Emergency staff at the moment. “What happened?” She asked no one in particular, but it was Harry who answered. “He was splinched while trying to get away from the ward trap. Crazy wanker had traps set all over the place to go up in Fiendfyre. Ron tried to get him out before the place blew, but in the process was splinched. Ron's getting checked now, but he’s alright.”

Hermione blinked back tears as she started to get right to work. Draco’s arms and legs were badly sliced, but thankfully it wasn’t beyond repair. He would have some scars, but Aurors were used to that. Hermione was thankful for Ron pulling him out. She ordered the younger Healers to grab what she needed and she levitated him to an operating room. She really hated working on Draco’s wounds especially because if she screwed up anything, it was on her. Most of the time he came out of raids pretty unscathed, but there was a close call two years back that Hermione was doing her best not to remember at that moment.

It took a while to close all his wounds and get him a blood replenishing potion. Thankfully the other Healers were able to finish without much help from her, but there was one of the Dark Wizards who did not make it. He was badly burned by the Fyre, and they had to call him DOA. After Hermione knew that everything was dealt with and Draco was in the clear, she sat down on the side of his bed. She took his hand in hers and bent down until her forehead rested on their entwined hands. She knew as a Healer he was in the clear and he would wake up soon, but as a girlfriend she was finally able to deal with the emotions. She let a few tears escape as she took the time to process what had happened.

“Hermione, sorry to bother you, I just thought you might want his wand and robes.” Harry entered the room after a little while and Hermione had sat back up. Hermione smiled and nodded as Harry laid them across her lap and put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. “Theo and I are just outside if you need anything,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head and leaving the room.

Hermione sighed and went to put his wand on the bedside table and hang his robes up when she found a small box in the pocket where his wand was. She narrowed her eyes at the feel of the box, it was velvety and in the suspicious shape of a ring box. She knew she shouldn’t pull it out, but curiosity got the better of her. The box was a small black velvet ring box with a silver clasp. She undid it and inside was a silver ring with a small sapphire surrounded by smaller diamonds. Something told her that it was for her, as sapphires were her favorite stones and it was much too dainty for the typical Malfoy taste.

“Haven’t you heard the muggle phrase curiosity killed the cat?” Hermione looked up to see Draco sitting up and his eyes on her and the ring. She smiled and captured his lips in a kiss. She was happy to see him awake. “You scared me. I had to work on you today,” she said as she pulled back and he winced as he pulled her back to him and put their foreheads together. “I’m sorry, love,” he said and she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to take you out to dinner tonight,” he added and her eyes shot open.

Tonight was their five year anniversary and Draco had planned a big dinner for her with friends and family. Of course, that was not going to happen now. “With everything, I forgot to be honest,” she said sheepishly. Draco chuckled, “Yeah, that’s not surprising.” They parted and Hermione sat back down in the chair. “Well, I suppose the surprise is ruined,” he said and sighed a little. “It was hell trying to keep this from you, and it got ruined the night I was going to propose,” he chuckled and opened the ring box.

“I had a big plan set up, and a nice romantic dinner setting. Your parents were going to surprise you, so I’m sorry I’m doing it now, but you saw it,” he said as he took her left hand. “Hermione Jean Granger, this all started with a kiss in our Sixth Year and us faking a relationship. Which quickly turned into love after I discovered what a truly amazing woman you are. You’re caring, wickedly smart, scarily fierce to your enemies, stubborn, and witty. You make me laugh, smile, and genuinely be a better person. I have grown so much since I’ve been with you and it’s all due to you. I never want a day, or night, to go by where I am not by your side. You have and always will be the only woman I am in love with. So, Hermione, will you marry me?”

Hermione couldn’t help the tears as they fell, it was a beautiful moment even if he was hurt and lying in a hospital bed, she wouldn’t have it any other way. His speech was so sweet and she smiled as she nodded. She couldn’t quite make out the words yet, so she kissed him as an answer. He seemed to understand because the ring was on her finger when they parted. She didn’t even feel him put it on her finger.

Draco raised an eyebrow and she nodded. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you Draco. But I’m keeping my last name,” she said and he chuckled. “I wouldn’t expect anything else,” he replied and pulled her back to him to kiss her once again.

And all of this started with a letter:

Dear Malfoy,

It might seem strange to get a letter from me, but I need to tell you something. I have written this letter so many times now, I have a pile of seventeen different versions on the floor around me, as nothing seems to work. This doesn’t make sense, even to me…but I’m going to be blunt, as that seems to work best for us.

I may have feelings for you, Draco Malfoy. I know how ridiculous this sounds, believe me. So, if you ever read this, please continue to read because I’m going to try and explain it. Over the years, you and I have a mutual dislike for each other, so how could I suddenly have feelings for you? Well…it all goes back to that kiss in the Room of Requirement in our Sixth Year, our talk during the party, when we had our first actual conversation, and I was able to see you as a person for the first time.

Before, you were always this ferret to me. Always calling me by that foul name, tormenting me and my friends constantly, and just being a prat to everyone who you deemed not suitable for you. However, talking to you really allowed my eyes to open to you for probably the first time. Sure, I was more than a little tipsy by the time we made it to the Room, but that did not have any impact on why I kissed you. As I sit here and analyze it now, it’s because I wanted to kiss you. Why? I’m intrigued by you. There are so many things I don’t know about you, and I find I want to know them. However, I know that will most likely never happen.

As I’m writing this, I’m about to leave for an important trip, and I will not be returning to Hogwarts, and I might not return at all. These are dangerous times, but I can’t stop thinking about you. So, as of right now I’m writing this to leave my feelings in the past. I’m going to forget about the kiss, and I’m going to move forward. I know what you did in that Room, but believe it or not, this letter has nothing to do with that. I know the next time I see you could be on the battlefield, but I have to say this before I don’t get a chance.

I like you, Draco Malfoy, and I hope one day we will see each other in a world of peace. If we do, that day maybe we’ll be able to talk to each other in a friendly manner.

Yours,
Hermione