It was their 23rd day of working together, and Hermione had already left after another day of excellent work.
Draco himself was putting on his cloak, and was about to step into the fireplace, when he suddenly turned to the window and stopped. He didn’t know what it was about the snow falling gently from the sky that attracted him, but he found it amazingly beautiful. Stepping out of the fireplace, he reached into the closet adjacent to his office door and pulled out his winter coat to do something he hadn’t done in a long while.
Draco was walking home.
He stepped out of his office and into the elevator a minute later. Another wizard was beside him, but Draco didn’t even notice him until he spoke up.
“How is she doing so far?”
Draco turned to find the Minister himself smiling at him, waiting for a response.
“Ms. Granger, sir?” Draco asked, continuing only after getting a nod from Scrimgeour. “She has been a wonderful assistant so far. With me prepping her, she should be able to stand her own at the Ministry.”
“I presume what you are telling me, Malfoy,” Scrimgeour began, “is that this Ms. Granger has exceptional talent, and that she has done everything you have asked her to do “ and done it correctly - so far?”
Draco nodded. “Indeed, sir. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Scrimgeour nodded. They were silent for a minute as the elevator continued jerking quickly from left to right and up to down, picking up different wizards and witches who entered and left silently, after greeting the Minister.
“You have been training her, then, Malfoy?” Scrimgeour asked, continuing after Draco nodded yes. “Then I assume she is now clear on all the rules here at the Ministry?”
Draco nodded again. “Quite so, Minister. I have found Ms. Granger to be quite a fast learner. She knows all the rules and regulations by heart, and has followed all of them ever since I’ve introduced them to her.”
Scrimgeour laughed. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, Malfoy. I see you have been an outstanding boss. If the girl is as brilliant as you are having me think, then I think a promotion for both of you may be in order.”
“Thank you, sir.” Draco replied, smiling. “I’m sure Ms. Granger will be very thankful as well, once I tell her.”
Draco was already imagining the way Hermione’s face would light up when he told her he had saved her from her old news-clipping-and-stapling days. Nothing could stop the fantasies that immediately followed that thought, and Draco struggled to continue listening to Scrimgeour, who had started talking once more.
“Oh, you don’t have to tell her, Malfoy.” Scrimgeour assured him, with a small smile as he adjusted his coat to get ready to step out on his floor. “I’ll let her new boss take care of that.”
Draco’s eyes opened wide; he followed Scrimgeour as the Minister stepped out of the elevator.
“New boss, sir?” Draco asked, his cool façade fading away slowly. “But I thought that, when Ms. Granger was promoted, she would still be under my department?”
Scrimgeour nodded. “That was indeed how it was supposed to be, Malfoy. But things have changed. After this month, Ms. Granger will be promoted to the Office of Wizarding Affairs. She will be working under Mr. Lucas. You know him, don’t you?”
Indeed Draco did know him. How could he forget the man who had killed ten wizards in one night due to a faulty tip he had received? Only his money and name had saved him from being sent to Azkaban, and now the snake was working for the Ministry. Draco knew he was far off from being a saint himself, but never in his life had he killed a person. What more, one of Draco’s close friends had been killed during the incident, and Draco had never forgiven Lucas for that.
“I do, sir,” Draco replied, realizing that he had lost the Minister in the crowd that had gathered on the floor he was currently on.
Black cloaks and messenger bubbles were pouring from every direction, and Draco just managed to pull away as he stepped back into the elevator. Thoughts of Lucas and Hermione working together swarmed into his mind, and Draco had no idea how he made it to the ground floor of the Ministry.
Having forgotten all about the beautiful snow he had been so mesmerized by just minutes ago, Draco found himself walking through the slowly falling snowflakes, not paying any attention to where he was going.
Lucas and Hermione. Hermione and Lucas. The words sounded so wrong together. There was no way that Draco would allow his Hermione to work for that pervert. He would rather die than-
“Wait a minute.” Draco said to himself, stopping in the middle of the snow-covered road. Had he just referred to Granger as his Hermione?
This is too bloody messed up, Draco thought as he rubbed his eyes. I need a drink.
His cloak swished around him, and Draco’s feet touched the snow-covered doorstep of the Three Broomsticks a few seconds later. Draco winced, quickly stepping inside. He had forgotten how much he disliked Apparating.
The atmosphere was warm and homey. Draco felt instantly relaxed and even managed to smile as the waitress took his order. Several pretty girls were watching Draco from their places at the bar, but Draco merely smiled at them in a way that told them he simply was not in the mood.
His Hermione.
Draco couldn’t help repeating the words in his mind. It was astounding how right they sounded.
Draco sipped on the Butterbeer that had just arrived and allowed his mind to wonder of ways to get Hermione back under him.
In more ways than one, Draco thought, chucking into his drink.
The last drop of his second Butterbeer had just vanished when Draco spotted a familiar shape at the bar. There was no mistaking the still-untidy jet-black hair - when the figure turned around, the glasses and scar assured Draco that it was indeed Potter he was seeing.
The girls in the bar noticed as well; with one nod from their “leader,” they were all over him in a minute. Draco snickered as he watched Harry politely swerve away from their young, half-clothed bodies in order to check the wall clock floating magically above the golden Butterbeer bottles on the shelves. Draco noticed the time, too, and frowned when he saw it was almost 8 o’clock. Hermione had probably been waiting for Harry at home for hours already.
Out of pure instinct, Draco stood up to approach Harry, when Harry suddenly picked up his coat and left.
Where do you think you’re going, Potter? Draco thought as he followed him outside the Three Broomsticks. The several wizards and witches hustling about in the road hid Draco from Harry’s view, and he was able to follow him for several turns. As the number of people lessened, Draco was forced to use a Disillusionment charm to keep his cover.
After the feeling of having an egg cracked on his head faded and once he was completely camouflaged, Draco followed at a faster pace. The snow crunched beneath his feet as he fought to catch up with Harry. As though sensing Draco there, Harry turned around. Draco quickly looked behind him to see if his footsteps were visible in the snow, but, thankfully, a thin sheet of snow has already made them nearly impossible to distinguish.
Shrugging his shoulders, Harry continued walking. Shivering as the cold breeze embraced his body, Draco grimaced as Harry took a left, stepping into another village. Though Draco had only been following Harry for a few minutes, the cold made it seem much longer. He breathed a sigh of relief as Harry finally stepped onto the doorstep of a simple-looking apartment building. The relief lasted for only a second, though; if Harry entered the building, Draco realized his snooping would be useless if he wasn’t able to catch a glimpse of who Harry had gone to visit.
But how… Draco’s glove-covered hand scratched his chin as his eyes wandered around the building’s façade. The best bet he had at seeing the person Harry had come for was to wait outside until Harry left. He couldn’t very well barge into whichever room they were in, after all. Moreover, the building was protected with various charms that made it impossible for a person on the outside to see into the windows or climb on the walls; even being camouflaged didn’t help Draco now. Apartments in the wizarding world nowadays were charmed in such a way that only the residents of the room could open the door to let someone in, and no way was Draco going to try that.
Sighing, Draco sat down under a nearby bench and removed the Disillusionment charm with a flick of his wand. This better be worth the wait.
Draco didn’t have to wait long. About 30 minutes after entering the building, Harry reappeared on the doorstep, leading a female figure by the hand. Draco was both annoyed and thankful for the swirling snow that separated them; he was thankful for it because it kept him hidden well enough for the pair not to recognize or even notice him, but the snow was also annoying, for it prevented Draco from making out the face of the woman Harry was with.
Laughing, the two walked off together, hand in hand, and Draco stood up to follow them once more. Shivering, Draco prayed for their walk to be short; his prayer was soon answered. The couple entered a small coffee shop quite near the apartment building. Hesitating for only a moment, Draco followed them inside and sat at a table in the corner of the coffee shop, where he could stay hidden but still have a clear view of them.
The waitress at Harry’s table was temporarily blocking Draco’s view of the couple, and Draco waited impatiently for her to leave. The timing was absolutely perfect. As soon as the waitress left their table, the woman removed her black snow cap, and a cascade of red locks fell over her shoulder. The color of her hair was no ordinary red, it was fiery red, and there were only a handful of witches Draco knew who possessed that kind of hair.
As if on cue, Ginny Weasley turned around to look across her shoulder, and Draco immediately pretended to concentrate on his menu.
Perhaps this is only a meeting of two friends, Draco thought, peeking over his menu just in time to see Harry reach across the table to give Ginny a quick kiss.
Friendly peck? Draco asked himself. I think not.
As if to prove his point, Ginny returned the kiss in a way that erased all the innocence from their actions.
Draco shook his head in disgust. How in the world could Potter even imagine kissing Weasley when someone as beautiful as Granger was waiting for him on hands and knees at home?
Draco watched as the pair exchanged saliva for a few more minutes before the disgust finally took over. He left the coffee shop inconspicuously and went to lean against the light post outside. Watching his breath turn white from the cold, Draco felt hatred and pity rush through his veins. How in the world was he going to tell this to Hermione?
No, Draco thought, with a chuckle.
How in the world was he going to tell this to his Hermione?
Despite the small bead of hope that had formed in Draco’s stomach, when the next day arrived, Draco was nervous. He had no idea how Hermione would react or even how he would tell her, and it became even more difficult to do so when Hermione arrived; the smile she gave Draco made his heartstrings moan.
I’ll do it later, Draco decided. She looks too beautiful to be sad now.
Draco returned her smile and motioned to her usual seat across from his desk. Before he could start, however, Hermione opened her mouth.
“Malfoy,” she said, with a gentle glare. “I just met the Minister outside your office.”
Her tone was leading, and Draco suddenly remembered what made him go to Hogsmeade last night in the first place. Lucas and Hermione.
“Ah…” Draco murmured. “The Minister has informed you, then?”
Hermione gave a small nod.
“But… why, Malfoy?” she asked in a tiny voice. “I thought I was doing fine. Why did you switch me to a different department?”
Draco looked at her in surprise. “I wasn’t the one to make the decision, Granger. For some reason, the Minister wanted you under Lucas. I was going to see him today to ask him why.”
“Really? You didn’t want me out of your office, then?” Hermione asked, a smile forming at the corner of her lips.
Draco smirked. “Why would I want to do that, now? I couldn’t torment you as easily if you weren’t here to endure it…”
Hermione laughed, and Draco watched as she sunk back into her usual casual stance. Draco groaned silently. The fact that Hermione had been worried that he didn’t want anything to do with her anymore was so…endearing.
I have to do this now.
“Granger,” Draco called; Hermione had been about to stand up to go on with her usual tasks. “I need to talk to you.”
He waited for her to sit back down before continuing.
“I saw Potter last night.”
Even from across the desk, Draco felt Hermione’s spine stiffen.
“And?”
“Where did he tell you he was going?”
Hermione’s voice was clipped as she replied. “He was at work, as usual.”
Draco shook his head. “He was at Hogsmeade, Granger.”
“Well,” Hermione said, with a shrug, “maybe he wanted to take a quick break.”
“He wasn’t alone, Granger,” Draco replied, adding stress to his words to make her see his point, but Hermione simply waved it off.
“Maybe it was a business companion of his, Malfoy. And since when do you have the right to follow my boyfriend around, anyway?”
“I wasn’t following him, Granger,” Draco lied. “I just happened to be there when he arrived - with his companion.”
At that, Hermione stood up. “I will not sit here while you lie about Harry like that, Malfoy. What are you getting out of this, anyway? A laugh?”
Draco stood up as well. “Do you really think I would make this up, Granger? How cold do you think I am?”
“Well, then why are you lying to me?” Hermione asked hotly.
“I’m not, Granger,” Draco replied, taking a slow step towards her. “I was there. I saw him. He wasn’t alone.”
“How did you get to Hogsmeade, anyway, Malfoy?” Hermione asked, refusing to see the point Draco was painfully trying to make.
“I was walking around, Granger,” Draco replied, which was somewhat true. “I got cold, so I Apparated. It’s not against the law, you know.”
“Aha!” Hermione shrieked, pointing her finger at Draco. “You hate Apparating! You are lying to me!”
Draco shook his head. “I’m not lying to you, Granger. Why are you having such a hard time believing me?”
“Harry would never do anything of that sort,” Hermione whispered, more to herself than to Draco. “Harry is good. Utterly good.”
Draco neared Hermione and placed one hand on her shoulder. “Unless snogging Ginny Weasley in full view of a coffee shop full of witnesses is your definition of good, Granger, I beg to differ with you.”
Hermione gasped and slapped Draco.
“Take that back!” she yelled. “Admit that you’re lying!”
Draco’s left cheek was stinging from the slap, but he continued to shake his head. “I’m telling you the truth, Granger. I’m the only one whose been telling you the truth.”
“I don’t believe you,” Hermione whispered, tears glistening in her eyes; they were on the verge of falling.
“Ask him for yourself, then, Granger,” Draco retorted, as his hand massaged his cheek. “Ask him why he has been coming home late, night after night, for three years. Ask him why, in those three years, he has never even laid a finger on you and your body. Ask him, Granger. I dare you to.”
Hermione shrieked once more and grabbed the wand from her back pocket.
“Stop it, Malfoy!” she shouted, pointing her wand at him shakily. Tears were blurring her vision, but she could still faintly see the outline of his form. “Take it back!”
By this time, Draco had his wand out, too, and he held it steadily at Hermione. “Don’t make me hurt you, Granger. I am not lying. It is you who simply refuses to believe me.”
A jet of red light erupted from the tip of Hermione’s wand, but Draco dodged it easily. There was now a small hole on the painting behind Draco’s desk, but Draco didn’t even glance at it.
“Go home, Granger. Ask him yourself.”
Hermione shrieked and set another jet of light at him. Draco dodged it as well, and watched as Hermione ran out of his office, her tears falling onto his green carpet.
He’s lying, Hermione screamed in her mind as she stumbled into her apartment.
Harry was still there, for she had only been gone two hours. Upon seeing the redness of her face, Harry gasped and leapt out of his chair.
“What did he do to you, Hermione?” he asked, embracing her, but Hermione fought him off.
“Why are you never home?” she yelled, watching Harry as his face turned from surprise to guilt.
“I’m really busy at work… I’ve explained this to you already, Hermione,” he replied. “What’s the matter?”
“Why are you never home?” Hermione repeated. “Why didn’t you even come home that night I asked you specially? I prepared for that, Harry! And you never came! You never even apologized for not coming.”
“Hermione, God… I forgot. I’m so-“
“Do you love me, Harry?” Hermione asked, cutting him off in mid-apology. “Answer me honestly.”
“I do, Hermione.” Harry replied, trying to hug her again, but Hermione pushed him away.
“No, Harry. I mean, do you love me as more than a sister? Do you love me the way you love Ginny?”
Harry’s mouth opened and closed; that was all Hermione needed to know.
“How-“
“I’ve always suspected, Harry,” Hermione replied, her heart collapsing into a puddle of tears.
Harry remained speechless for a minute, then finally sighed. “I’m so, so, sorry Hermione. It’s just that, when you and I met that night - the night you caught Ron cheating on you - we were both so vulnerable. I wanted to protect you… I thought maybe I could learn to love you over time.”
Each word was like a blade directed straight into Hermione’s heart, and she tried to control the flow of tears that were streaming down her face.
“I tried, Hermione, I really did… but then Ginny called me…”
Stop, just stop talking, Hermione begged silently, closing her eyes. This is not going to happen to me again.
“She said what she did was a mistake, Hermione. And I realized then why I just couldn’t fall in love with you… I was still madly in love with Ginny, but I had just been trying to hide it. When I met up with her again, it just felt so right… but I knew I couldn’t leave you, Hermione. You were still a wreck after what Ron had done to you, so I stuck around, waiting for the perfect time to tell you.”
This is a dream. I’m going to wake up and realize I’ve been dreaming.
“And I guess I waited too long…”
Hermione opened her eyes and found that Harry was crying as well. “Oh, Harry…”
She hugged him out of pure instinct.
“I’m so sorry, Hermione,” Harry repeated, over and over. “I just couldn’t hurt you. But I guess, in waiting to tell you, I hurt you even more. I do love you…so much. But…”
“…not the way you love Ginny, right?”
Harry nodded, and Hermione tried to wipe the tears off her face with no success.
“That’s also why I’ve never been able to… you know…”
Hermione understood; Harry couldn’t touch her the way she had wanted to be touched, for he looked at her as a sister, and brothers didn’t do that to sisters.
“I understand, Harry.”
Harry sighed and tried to hug Hermione again, but she edged away. “I never meant to cheat on you, Hermione… I would never in a million years dream of hurting you.”
Hermione simply nodded, saying nothing as the tears continued falling from her eyes.
“Do you want me to leave?”
Hermione nodded slowly. “I think that would be best, Harry.”
She saw Harry nod out of the corner of her eyes and realized she couldn’t bear watching him pack up his things. “I’m going for a walk.”
She walked towards the door and turned back at Harry, who was watching her as he wiped the tears off of his face.
“I hope you two will be happy, Harry.”
There was genuine sincerity in her voice, and Harry gave her a sad smile. “Thank you, Hermione. I really am sorry. For everything. I know what I did was really bloody stupid… but I just couldn’t seem to find a way out. I can’t believe I ended up doing what Ron did to you already...”
Hermione simply nodded once more. “Don’t worry about it. Bye, Harry.”
“Bye, Hermione. I love you.”
The words tore at Hermione’s chest, and she gave him another nod before closing the door behind her.
She walked into the cold street. It was snowing once more, and Hermione didn’t even have a coat on to protect her, but she didn’t care. The biting cold distracted her from the pain of being rejected once more. More tears were falling now, and more rapidly. Finally, when she couldn’t take it anymore, Hermione collapsed in tears on a nearby bench.
She must have been crying for only a minute when somebody picked her up.
“Are you bloody mad, Granger?” Draco yelled, covering her with his coat. “What in the world were you thinking, coming out in the cold wearing only that? You could catch pneumonia! Why, you could die!”
Draco’s short outburst prevented him from seeing Hermione’s broken-hearted face. When he finally looked at her properly, his shoulders sank, and he hugged her to him.
“He told you, didn’t he?”
Hermione didn’t reply, but Draco felt her nod into his shoulder. He hugged her closer.
“It’s going to be okay…Hermione,” Draco whispered to her.
Hermione looked at him through her teary eyes. “And what makes you say that…Draco?”
“You were never right for each other, anyway,” Draco continued whispering. “He was way too boring for you. You deserve so much better.”
Hermione gave a watery chuckle. “What if this is it, Draco? What if this is all I get? What if I’m one of those unlucky women who never find love, and I end up old and wrinkled with only Crookshanks to keep me company?”
It was Draco’s turn to chuckle. “Trust me on this, Hermione. That will never happen.”
“And what makes you say that, Draco? You’re not a Seer, are you?”
Draco smiled into Hermione’s hair. “No, I’m not.”
“Then how can you be sure then, Draco?”
“Because I’m here, Hermione, and I’m ready to take care of you.”
Draco wiped a tear from her cheek, his gaze never shifting from her brown eyes as she looked up at him.
“I will always be here.”
Hermione moved back into his shoulder and continued crying; her body was shaking less rapidly now, though, and her breathing was near to normal.
“Can I count on you to keep that promise?” Hermione whispered silently.
Draco held her more closely. “You have my word, Hermione. You already have my heart.”
The wind blew just then, and the last sentence never reached Hermione’s ears, but Draco continued holding her, not minding that she still didn’t know.
“I’ll always be here.”
A Popped Bubble by youngrowling
Chapter Notes: thank you once more to my beta reader. without you, none of this would have been possible.