I Think He Knows
Hermione-I Think He Knows
He got that boyish look that I like in a man
I am an architect, I'm drawing up the plans
It's like I'm seventeen, nobody understands
No one understands
He got my heartbeat
Skipping down 16th Avenue
Got that, oh! I mean
Wanna see what's under that attitude
Like, I want you, bless my soul
And I ain't gotta tell him
I think he knows
To say that Hermione had been pouring over Draco’s words for days would be an understatement. The interaction had been playing in her head repeatedly for hours on end. It’s good to see you outside of my dreams, he had said before turning into the floo like he hadn’t dropped a verbal bomb. Did he mean in his nightmares? Or was he talking about some other dreams she had been in? It was a statement that made her come to terms that she too, had had dreams about him, ones she had shoved down so far that it couldn’t be good for her psyche.
Hermione was also forced to replay her own part in the conversation too. Merlin, she had said that he smelled the same! Dumb, dumb, and even dumber. Hermione had tried so hard to ignore 8th year, pretend that it hadn’t happened, because truly, nothing happened! But somehow she knew everything had happened, all unsaid, all never becoming anything.
It was stupid of her then to even consider something happening with Draco Malfoy, and yet she had let him sleep in her bed multiple times, sometimes even sneaking into his. But they had barely ever said a word to each other besides calming the other down from night terrors, and those soothing words he’d spoken then had meant the world to her.
With a sigh, she reached over to her nightstand where her beaded bag sat, careful not to jostle Crooks too much, and accio’ed a very well read letter. Even in the darkness of night, Hermione knew what the letters spelled out, the words embedded into her brain. It was the only thing she’d had from Draco to prove that she hadn’t made up the entire affair.
Over the years she had read it less and less often, proving to herself she could get over her very confusing feelings for the man. But now she wondered if he had ever gotten over the entire thing himself, if there had actually been a thing on his side of events. She ran her fingers over the parchment, knowing exactly where the words “I’m sorry. For everything.” where scrawled.
It wasn’t a long letter by any means, but she knew Malfoys did NOT apologize, and yet he had. And it was not when he was having a mental breakdown either, it was on a piece of parchment that could be preserved for all the world to see. The letter also did more than apologize too. He had thanked her for her kindness, her forgiveness. It truly was a lovely gesture, it had meant more to her than she was proud to admit, to read him acknowledging that she had been an innocent child and while he had been too, she never deserved his hatred. Hermione Granger had never done anything to not belong in the wizarding world.
She had wept for hours at the letter, at the words on paper proving that she had been on the receiving end of prejudice and that it had not been okay. Her bully had admitted it clear as day that she couldn’t have done anything differently to change other’s behavior towards her parentage, and gods had it been a relief.
Except when she had gone to find him before their departure from Hogwarts in hopes to strike up a true friendship, he had been gone. Hermione had then tried to send a letter instead, only for the owl to return, mail still gripped in its claw. And so her undelivered letter had sat, and Draco Malfoy had disappeared from her life just as quickly as he had entered it.
But he was back now, with twin boys and an almost constant smile in tow. Draco was back in her life and Hermione was being forced to re-evaluate her feelings once again. She’d never let herself get to the point of if she had wanted to pursue a relationship with him, would never let herself even utter the word crush. But when her stomach started to flip when he’d nod her way in the Hogwarts castle hallways and his arm wrapped around her stomach in his sleep, she knew.
As Hermione held the letter to her chest and closed her eyes, she pondered on how it was like an eternity had passed since she’d last seen him but with one look from him, it was like time had passed at all.
xXx
Hermione had been in the kitchen when the floo went off. Sighing into her cup, Hermione hoped this wasn’t another person she hadn’t been aware was in Harry’s life, she really didn’t have time for introductions. Luckily for her, she didn’t have to wait long for the intruder to make themselves known as a shock of blonde hair she could point out anywhere appeared in the kitchen doorway.
“Hermione, d’you know where Theo went off to?” Draco asked, as if this wasn’t the first time they were seeing each other since game night. He had picked the twins up suspiciously early, she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of his very toned behind before he was up and gone. Now almost a week later he was casually strolling into her- well Theo’s and Harry’s- kitchen like they had just been chatting yesterday!
Quickly putting her smoothie down, she put a hand to her hip. “Yes, hello to you too Draco, I’m doing great thank you for asking” she said sarcastically, some might even call her words petty, but she couldn’t stop them. How dare he act like he hadn’t said what he said without giving any follow up. It’s good to see you outside of my dreams, well it wasn’t good to see him, she lied to herself.
Looking a bit sheepish, Draco ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, it’s just a bit important that I see him. I do hope you’re doing good… in whatever you’re doing” he motioned to Hermione’s attire and she blushed as she looked down at her leotard, wrap sleeves, flannel pants and booties. It was basic pre-class dance wear to her, but to anyone else she probably looked crazy.
“Dance class” Hermione supplemented for him, “I took up a temp position as an instructor for a studio on the outskirts of Lieu Mythique De Paris” she continued feeling like she needed to explain further for no other reason than wanting him to actually talk to her.
“I know it” Draco nodded quickly.
“You know about the studio?” She asked stupidly, somehow surprised that he’d know about a dance studio of all things.
“Yes, mother has a love for ballet, I however did not share that sentiment as a child” his eyes flickered at her body again, making her stomach flip in a way that was entirely too school girl like, “Although I think I’d be much more open to it now” the words if it were you dancing seemed to linger in the air. Gods she was being delusional, making up imaginary words that she wanted to hear.
Taking a sharp turn in conversation so her thoughts didn’t continue to assault her, Hermione returned to the reason Draco was here in the first place. “Theo is upstairs in that blasted lab of his” she wrinkled her nose thinking of the literal blasts that came from the warded room. Theo and Seamus shared a lot in common when it came to blowing up cauldrons and setting things on fire.
Draco went to turn away and while she too should be going she couldn’t contain the question, “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” popping out of her poorly concealed lips.
“Uhh yeah, but Potter’s covering for me so I could come help Theo” He shifted his stance, almost seeming nervous but she couldn’t tell if it was because of her question or his antsy-ness to get to whatever impending project Theo had waiting for him.
Hermione looked down at the watch on her wrist and internally huffed, she needed to be heading out too. “As you were then, I need to get going” she picked up her bag from the counter before downing the dregs of her smoothie.
Draco stepped out of the doorway for her and she caught the ever enticing scent of mint and sandalwood. She hid a smile when he started walking through the house beside her, “I’d like to say that you started that conversation Mrs.Granger” he drawled, her last name sounding very different than it did as children.
“Me? You’re the one that came busting up into my house while I was minding my own business!” Hermione retorted back quickly. She would not admit that his presence was one she was not upset about, to herself or him.
“I wasn’t aware this was now the Potter-Nott-Granger residence. I will be sure to add the change to my address book” Draco jested, eliciting a snort from her. They were approaching the stairs, now turning to each other.
“Well if you ask Theo, he’d insist that I be added to the deed” she wasn’t exaggerating that just the other day he had brought the idea up at dinner, causing both her and Harry to choke. “However, if you ask Harry, I’m sure he’d tell you he was ready to have his privacy again. He and Theo are not used to being quiet” Hermione said, grimacing at the amount of times that her friends had forgotten a silencing charm.
Draco’s laughter washed over her like warm sun beams and she found herself grinning too. “Well you’re welcome to hop over to the Malfoy residence any time your ears are getting assaulted. I know three Malfoy boys who would be happy to see you” he winked before turning up the stairs, ending the conversation with another bomb.
xXx
It had now been two days since she had last seen Draco Malfoy, not that she was counting the days, she just missed the twins. Her ire with their father however was growing. Hermione had been absolutely sure that she would’ve gotten her not-crush on Draco to go away if given enough time, but that was not seeming to be the case.
First he’d said, ‘It’s good to see you outside of my dreams’ and now it was ‘I know three Malfoy boys who would be happy to see you’. And unless she was counting wrong, she knew of four male Malfoys. Though one would be very happy to see her dead, leaving only three to look forward to her company, one of them being Draco.
As she walked down the steps, she added a little extra force with each strike of her foot against the planks. However, seeing Harry and Theo at the bottom of the steps eased her beating against the defenseless stairs.
“Hermione! Just where is your costume, hmm?” Theo tapped his foot against his floor, his arms crossed over his chest in mock annoyance. Although, she couldn’t take him seriously with him dressed up as a golden snitch, the giant foam ball he was wearing getting in the way of him crossing his arms properly.
Hermione looked over to Harry where he was wearing his seeker gear, a broom slung over his shoulder. “I wasn’t aware we were dressing up” she said, a little bit of surprise in her tone but also a bit of a question too. Once Harry had found out about his parents death date being Halloween, he had never been in the mood to celebrate (not that she blamed him).
“I only relented after Theo and Tori had bullied me and Draco into it” , a weight settling in Hermione’s stomach at the first time hearing Harry mention the woman in passing. Had they been friends? She knew Theo and the late Greengrass woman had been good friends, but nobody had mentioned how her and Harry’s interactions had gone.
Before Hermione could continue to be chastised for her lack of costume, the floo went off, little footsteps giving away who their guests were. A chorus of small voices sang, “Uncle Teo, Uncle Harryyy” and then they called “Mini” and any weight in her stomach lightened. Two blonde heads popped around the corner, both boys wearing mischievous smiles that she knew came straight from Draco.
“Are those my two favorite spider men?” Theo struggled to bend over in his costume and she now couldn’t hold back her laugh at the ridiculousness of it. However, her giggle continued as she looked at Scorpius and Sterling, both dressed in Spiderman costumes.
“How do you even know what Spiderman is?” Hermione questioned, staring at Scorpius in his red and blue onesie and Sterling in a black and silver one.
“Draco gave me a heads up, though I was expecting some acromantula-man hybrid. This isn’t a spider at all” Theo whispered, attempting to tickle Sterling in the belly.
“Theodore, how many times do I have to tell you to watch the movie!” came the aristocratic voice of Draco Malfoy, however when she looked up, he was not in his usual button up attire. Her eyes caught on his hair being fluffier than normal and back to being straight rather than the small wave it held nowadays. Then his blue tunic, tights, and boots. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint who he was, although based on Harry and Theo’s faces they had no clue.
“Draco Malfoy you did not!” she gasped out, holding her ribs. Harry and Theo’s scrunched brows just made her laugh even harder. Unlike the child from their school days, Draco didn’t mind being laughed at because he striked a pose before drawling, “It’s cherry flavored, want a taste?”
The cackle that left Hermione’s throat certainly was not hers, but the tears gathering in her eyes were. “Okay what in Salazar is going on? Draco who are you and what is cherry flavored?” Theodore asked, his arms hanging limply around his costume.
“Don’t answer the cherry question!” Harry yelled, covering Scorpius’ ears.
“I’m Prince Charming” Draco held his arms out, “From Shrek?” he looked incredulous at his friends not knowing who he was, muttering about uncultured twits. Hermione had shown the Weasley children movies however, and Shrek along with Shrek 2 had become an automatic play when she had babysat.
“Now you can say your mother will hear about this!” she laughed, referencing the Fairy Godmother from the films. The insult didn’t catch him off guard though, in fact it just encouraged him further. In his best nasally tone, Draco shamelessly said, “My mother will hear about this” echoing Hermione.
“Oh my god, I think I might pass out” Hermione giggled, she didn’t remember the last time she had laughed this hard. Making a bold decision, Hermione waved her wand, transfiguring her shirt and skirt into a green dress. With a tap to her head, her hair braided itself while turning into a deep red, a small crown adorning the top of her head.
“There, now we match” she said, turning to look at the small boys looking up at her.
“Mini is Shrek!” Sterling squealed. Ehh close enough she figured, though the chuckle coming from Draco caused her to glare in his direction.
“Daddy, it time for tricktreats?” Scorpius asked, looking up at Draco. His father carded a hand through his hair and nodded.
“Yeah, we can get going” Draco confirmed, turning to the other three adults. “We’re gonna head out. We just wanted to stop by and say hi”
“We’re gonna head out to a bar” Theo said, but at Hermione’s look at his costume he clarified, “A wizarding bar, with not a lot of alcohol present” Hermione then looked to Harry and he gave her a thumbs up indicating he was okay with the arrangement.
“Mini comes with us?” Sterling asked, grabbing her hand.
“Well you did dress up…” Draco said, extending his arm towards her, making her heartbeat in her throat. With a steadying breath, Hermione smiled and took his offering of being her escort. “We usually go to the muggle neighborhoods, gives them a chance to be around other children more. Plus muggle candy doesn’t try to hop away” Draco said quietly as they stepped into the night.
Since Theo and Harry lived in a muggle neighborhood they were immediately surrounded by parents and their children, laughter and ringing doorbells filling the air. “Alright, grab a hand boys. If you’re not going up to a door, you have to be holding either mine or Mini’s hand” Draco instructed, firm but still kind. Hermione found the voice suited him.
As they strolled the streets, she took in the colors of costumes surrounding her, a childish smile pulling at her lips. Hermione looked up at Draco to find him already looking at her, almost a knowing look in his eye. “So, Weasley, huh?” She was surprised it took him this long to bring it up if she was honest.
Hermione grunted, letting Scorpius’ hand go as he and his brother went to knock on a door. “We’re doing this now?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the boys.
“I see no reason not to” Draco said and she felt him shrugging. Well if he was going to ask questions she was too.
“You were married, huh?” She asked, now looking up at him. A smirk pulled at his lips, “An eye for eye. I can respect it, but you first” Draco said, taking Sterlings hand again as they continued walking.
“I guess I thought it felt like it was expected of me. Ron wouldn’t stop asking and I was…well you know how I was the year before. I wasn’t much better after school. I should’ve left a lot sooner, before the cheating” Hermione explained, her anger flaring up at her ex-partner and friend.
It was quiet as the boys left to knock on another door. “Well, Weasley has always been shit for brains. I didn’t know he was blind though, not seeing what was right in front of him” the comment caused her breathing to quicken.
“Yes, well I won’t disagree on his intelligence. I believe you owe me an explanation of what you’ve been up to Mr.Malfoy” Hermione said, her voice sounding a bit breathy at the end of her sentence.
She felt his arm tense underneath her hand and she wondered if she’d pushed too far, but once the boys were off again Draco started. “I had been in Paris for a while, found Potter as you know. It was a couple months after we’d been partners when Theo and Tori showed up on my front door. Tori had been told by her father that we had a betrothal contract we were supposed to uphold”
At that moment the twins came running back, both of them grinning at the two adults, babbling about what types of candy they’d gotten. Hermione made a note to snatch an Almond Joy from one of the twins baskets when no one was looking. As soon as the twins were off to the races again, Draco picked the story back up.
“I didn’t believe her at first. Tori wasn’t ever deceptive, but I wouldn’t put it past her father. My mother hadn’t even heard of the betrothal contract, but about a week after she’d shown up, I had received an owl from Azkaban. Apparently Lucius had set the contract when we were infants. To say my therapist was pissed is an understatement” Draco chuckled at his own joke while Hermione wondered how long he’d been to a therapist.
She tried to reign in her curiosity as they walked another few houses down to the next one with their lights on, signaling they were open to trick or treaters. “You couldn’t get out of it at all?” Hermione questioned, finding herself upset for both he and Astoria.
Draco’s lips were in a flat line as he glanced back at her, “No, if either of us broke it the repercussions would’ve stripped us of our magic” Hermione gasped at the statement. She might’ve been muggleborn, but she couldn’t imagine being stripped of her magic, it was such a deep part of her. “I would’ve-” Draco sighed, “I would’ve broken it if I’d had someone. I’ve thought about it often and if it would’ve saved Astoria from her fate I would’ve given my magic up in a heartbeat”
Hermione gripped his forearm, “Oh Draco…” the twins ran up again and she tracked Draco looking at the boys forlornly and she wondered if he’d prefer Astoria being in her place instead.
“I wasn’t in love with her”, Draco said as soon as they were alone. It was a horrid feeling, to be jealous of a dead woman and then be told her husband didn’t love her. Hermione hated herself for it. “She became a friend I really needed and I was never worried about her being a good mum, but I was never in love with her. I loved her, but neither of us were in love”
“It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? Loving and being in love are two different things that get confused so often” Hermione mused.
Draco looked at her with those grey eyes he passed on to his sons. Eyes she was quickly learning to love. “Scorpius and Sterling were part of the contract, but I could never hate them. They’re my life, Hermione. I- being a parent changed so much for me”
“I know” she whispered. Taking a chance, she finally asked the question that had been running through her head for a week straight. “Did you mean it?” it was a vague question, one that she wasn’t even sure she knew what she was asking.
With a face that could not be interpreted as anything other than serious, Draco said, “Every word of it” and as Sterling came and grabbed her hand, Hermione made a decision. Draco knew, he had to know and she had a plan to draw up.