Divorced Hermione

Hermione and Ginny rehashed the entire lunch again and again for the next two hours.

“That thing about the glass. That is almost so lame that its sweet” Ginny said.

“I just didn’t know what to make of the whole thing. I had a really good time Ginny. Its freaking me out just a bit” Hermione said.

“Well, obviously you had a good time because now you’re going on a real date” Ginny said.

“It’s the movies. We don’t have to talk” Hermione said.

“People only go on dates to the movies to sit up the back and snog. Isn’t that what you asked him there for?” Ginny asked.

“Godric no. That’s not why people go to the movies, is it? Merlin Ginny. Now he’s going to think I want to snog him all throughout the movie. I actually just want to go on a date and hang around someone who doesn’t talk about video games and ‘What is Hogwarts like? Who are the teachers going to be? What things am I going to learn?’. Its driving me bonkers” Hermione said.

“James was the same. I almost wanted him to go just so he would shut up about it” Ginny said.

“How is James settling back in to home life?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah, fine. He’s up in his room mostly, writing to his friends. Reminds me so much of Ron after his first year. Always writing to Harry” Ginny said.

“And Harry never wrote back” Hermione laughed.

“What’s this about Harry?” came the voice of Harry from the hallway.

Ginny got up and flung herself at her husband. They were almost too much sometimes, but Hermione adored the way they loved each other. Still just like teenagers.

“We were talking about the end of first year” Hermione said.

Harry tore his face away from his wife’s kisses long enough to laugh.

“When Dobby kept all of my letters?” Harry said.

“That’s right, it was Dobby who did that” Hermione said, “I thought it was your uncle” she added.

“And how about when Ron and George and... And Fred came in the car and got you? That was insane” Ginny said, the sadness at the mention of Fred still cut like a knife and everyone felt it.

The three of them reminisced about old times for the next hour or so, until Hermione looked at the clock.

“Merlin, I have to go home and get ready for my date” she said.

“Date?” Harry asked.

“Yep. Hermione’s going on a date with Malfoy” Ginny said.

“Don’t say it like that” Hermione said.

“Like what?”

“Like its something dirty” Hermione said.

“Well, we can only hope, can’t we?” Ginny said, giggling.

Hermione just shook her head, standing up from the lounge and called out to her children.

They were happy to stay the night with their cousins and hear all about Hogwarts from James. Hermione hadn’t told them she would be teaching there yet. In fact, she hadn’t told anybody.

She left the house and disapparated directly into her own living room. The house was quiet, and she regretted it immediately. She needed noise to keep her mind from going into overdrive

Malfoy would knock on her door in an hour and a half. He had her address; he knew where she lived. There was no backing out now.  

She dressed in one of her more sensible dresses that came to halfway between her knees and her ankles, not too over the top but not too casual. She accompanied this with a light cardigan and some boots that met the bottom of the dress.  She straightened her hair and pulled half of it out of her face, holding it in place with a clip.

As 7pm approached, she looked in the mirror, perfecting the last of her make up and went into the living room. This would be the night that decided what this thing between herself and Malfoy was, or would be. They were now dating which in most circumstances, meant they would kiss at the end of the night. Hermione had watched movies about people dating in their 20s and 30s and wondered if she was one of the ones who held back for three or four dates or if she was one to jump into bed on the first date. Technically this was going to be their second date though, so if she were so inclined, it wouldn’t make her easy if she slept with him tonight. Would it? She had no idea. She didn’t see herself even kissing Malfoy tonight let alone dragging him home and into her bed. That was logical Hermione thinking. The primal part of Hermione, the part that Ginny would get along with really well was desperate to take him home and do all kinds of things to her body that just longed for a touch of some kind.

She had to make a decision though, before the night began. She would stick to her morals, no matter what happened, and not allow herself to go there. She could kiss him, if he made a move to, but she needed to give it some time.

As she was making these decisions about her night, the doorbell rang.

Her heart beat thundered in her chest as she put her hand on the doorknob to open it. She knew he was out there and that this would be the beginning of the first date she had ever been on. A date with Draco Malfoy, of all people.

She pulled the door open and was surprised to see him standing there with an amazing bunch of flowers in his hand.

“I didn’t have much time to prepare, but these are for you” he said, handing over the flowers. Was she swooning? She was definitely swooning. Ron never bought her flowers.

“Oh my. These are beautiful. I don’t even have a vase” she said, stepping back so he could enter. “Come in, I’ll find something” she said, leading him through the house into the kitchen.

“Your house is amazing” he said, looking around.

“It isn’t much, but it works for us” she said.

“No, it’s incredible” he said.

Hermione pulled out a glass dish and with her wand, transfigured it into a beautiful vase. She was surprised it worked, given how anxious and blown away she was.

“I’ll just take these out of the plastic. Make yourself comfortable” she said, cutting the plastic from around the stems.

Malfoy sat on the stood at the breakfast bar, taking in the kitchen. There were awards and pictures on the fridge and photos in frames on the walls.

“These are your twins?” he asked, having stood up as quickly as he sat down to look at the photos on the walls

“Oh yes, that’s Rose and Hugo” she said, putting water into the vase.

“They look a lot like you. Well, Rose does. Hugo looks like his father, poor fellow” Malfoy said with a chuckle.

“He has the attitude to match” Hermione said.

“Are they starting Hogwarts next semester?” he asked.

“They are actually” she said. She considered telling him that she’d also be starting there, but held back.

“Well, if they’re anything like either of their parents, they’ll have enormous amounts of fun and get into a tremendous amount of mischief” he said.

“You’re not wrong” she replied, placing the now full vase on the kitchen bench, adjusting the flowers slightly. “They’re beautiful, thank you” she said.

“It was nothing” he said.

“Well, shall we go?” she asked. “I can lower the wards so we can disapparate from inside” she said.

“That won’t be necessary, I have a car” he said.

“You drove?” she asked, heading for the front door.

“I am full of surprises” he said.

She collected her jacket, just in case, and grabbed her purse,  and once they were both outside, she locked the door behind them. The car that was parked in the driveway was something like she had never seen before. Ron had always been into cars and had posters of them in their garage when they lived together, but she hadn’t seen anything that looked like this before.

“Its beautiful” she said.

“One of a kind. I picked it up in Italy. Cost me a fortune but I love it” he said.

“Showing off, are we?” she asked.

“Maybe a little” he said, opening the passenger door for her.

The interior of the car was as sleek as the outside. All black leather with smooth black acrylic on the dash. It almost made Hermione want to buy herself a car. She had one previously, but didn’t use it, so she sold it.  

The drive to the movie theatre took about 30 minutes. Hermione had no idea where they were going. It wasn’t the one closest to where she lived, but she didn’t mind. He obviously had plans, so she allowed him to take the lead. The conversation between them in the car ride was smooth and flowed easily. Hermione felt like she had known Malfoy forever, even though she had technically known him since she was 11, in a way, she felt like they had been friends forever. She really felt like he was someone she could trust. Someone she could talk to about anything.

They arrived at the movies early and Malfoy paid for their tickets, ever the gentleman.

“I’ll pay next time” she said. He just rolled his eyes as she nudged his arm with her shoulder.

With arms full of popcorn, chocolates and drinks, they entered the movie theatre and took their seats. The banter between them had been so easy that Hermione was regretting the choice of the movies. She wanted to know so much more about him, about his life and everything that happened after the war.

They continued chatting throughout the previews, earning ‘shushes’ from those around them. They were quiet once the movie started and Hermione felt herself completely distracted by his presence next to her. At about the halfway mark, without having taken in much of the movie at all, Hermione had to excuse herself.

She went out into the hall and inhaled the cool air out there. She was breathless from sitting beside him and breathing in his scent. He smelled so good. She had never sat so close to a man who was so intoxicating. Ron certainly never made her feel that way.

After a few minutes, before she was ready to go back in, Malfoy came out in the hall, looking for her.

“I thought you’d run out on me” he said.

“The thought crossed my mind” she said.

He looked stunned for a moment.

“I thought… I thought we were having a good time?” he asked, looking concerned.

“We were. We are. Maybe too good a time?” she said.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Go for a walk along the river?” he asked.

“That sounds really good. Fresh air” she said, heading towards the cinema to collect her things.

“Wait here, I’ll get our things” he said.

She waited a minute or so for him to return before they both left the building.

“The movie was good, don’t you think?” he asked her, as they strolled towards the river. It was only a few minutes’ walk away, so there was no need to take the car.

“I didn’t really take much notice” she said.

“It was halfway through. How can you not have been paying attention?” he asked.

“You’re very distracting” she said.

“Me?” he said.

“Yes you. With your cologne and your laughing. Its very distracting” she said as they arrived at the railing, overlooking the river.

Before she knew it, Malfoy had stepped closer to her, his height a little unnerving. She took a breath in but didn’t feel herself release it. His presence was intoxicating.

He felt his hand move to her face, brushing a stray hair off her cheek in the wind. She closed her eyes, knowing what was coming next. She was right. She felt his lips brush against hers, so gently. He pulled away before she could react, causing her to open her eyes. She saw him in front of her face, looking into her eyes, questioning whether it was ok. She reached her hand up to his neck, standing on her toes to make it easier, and brought their lips together. This time, the kiss was more than a gentle pressing together of their lips. Hermione made it clear that this was more. While they were locked in this embrace, Hermione felt everything that she didn’t know she needed, released into this moment. It was a combination of frustration, desire, longing, curiosity and so many things she couldn’t place, but in that moment, she was certain that this is what she needed, what she wanted.

As they parted, Hermione breathed heavily, feeling Malfoy do the same.

“Well, that was better than the movie” she said.

“You don’t know, you didn’t watch it” he said, with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, did you want to go back in there and finish watching?” she asked, sarcastically.

“Merlin no” he said, kissing her once again, pressing her against the raining.

As they parted, Malfoy took her hand and held it in his. Such a simple gesture but it felt quite romantic to Hermione.

The couple walked along the path that followed the course of the river. They talked the whole way, about movies they had seen, places in London they had been. When Hermione saw a bench, she pulled him towards it and sat down.

“I want to know… What happened to you after the war. You said you changed and moved around, but what happened. What did you do?” she asked.

“Well, my family were in Azkaban for a couple of weeks before the trial. It was pretty bad. I won’t go into detail, but that time really made me think about the things we had done. My father, of course, he was adamant that he had done nothing wrong, that he was a victim. As you know, he was given a 20 year sentence and died a short time into it” he said

“I am really sorry about that” she said.

“Please, don’t be. After he refused to own up to what we had done, I wiped my hands of him. I wanted nothing to do with him. My mother and I were cleared, as you know, thanks to Potter’s testimony. We did 6 months of home detention and the day it was up, we went abroad, first to France, then Italy, Germany, wherever we could go, without people recognising us. I studied Alchemy while in Europe…”

“Yes, quite skilled, I’ve heard” she said, receiving an embarrassed smile from him.

“Yes, well, that remains to be seen. Anyway, we changed our names as soon as we could and moved as soon as someone recognised us. We had my father’s family money, but we still wanted to work. My mother met a man in Venice, and wanted to settle down, so I left for America. I travelled a bit before settling in New York. I met up with people from the MACUSA and got myself a job in the law enforcement sector” he said.

“And that’s how you got into muggle research?” she asked.

“At first, I was just filling in for someone who was away, but then I was learning so much, realising so much about myself and making actual breakthroughs, I realised that I wanted to stay. And they kept me. Made the guy I was covering for, my assistant and promoted me to the head. Eventually, they realised there was no one in the entire northern hemisphere doing the depth of work I was doing, so they made me the lead researcher into Muggle rights in the northern hemisphere. I was in my element Granger; I was doing really good things. I met my wife over there, and we got married within 6 months. We were doing really well; we had a good life. She became pregnant really quickly and even though it was a shock at first, we were really happy to be having a child. We lived in a beautiful apartment that she decorated, we had a nursery that had every space available coloured I pink” he continued.

“You knew you were having a girl?” she asked.

“I had no idea. Astoria knew though. She just had a feeling” he said.

“Astoria?” Hermione asked, knowing the name from somewhere.

“Greengrass” he said.

“Daphne’s sister?” she asked.

“That’s the one” he said.

“Wow, how incredible that you met all the way over there” she said.

“That’s what we thought. I was worried at first, because she had recognised me. But by that point, loads of people had, and I was using my old name again. She wanted to have dinner, she was new to the US and didn’t know anyone. Anyway, from that night onwards, we were inseparable” he said.

“That’s the sweetest thing ever” Hermione said, feeling like her love story with Ron was just nothing in comparison.

“I thought so. When Astoria went into labour, everything was going great, the labour was fine, she was told to start to push but pretty soon, she just said she felt funny and collapsed. Cassiopeia was halfway out and the cord was stuck. They told me that they could try and revive Astoria and let Cass die or get Cass out and Astoria would die. I couldn’t choose, so they tried to save both. It didn’t work and they both died that night” he said.

Hermione placed her hand on Malfoys leg, looking into his eyes.

“I am so sorry that happened” she said. “Cassiopeia is a beautiful name” she added.

“Its constellation is in the shape of a W, but if you turn it upside down…” he began.

“M for Malfoy” she said. “Clever” she added.

They sat looking out to the river for some time, digesting the information that they had just shared. Hermione felt like she knew Malfoy now, more than anybody else, and felt like he knew her too. But there was one burning unanswered question she had left.

“Why did you dance with me that night?” she asked.

“At first I didn’t know who you were. I saw everyone else dancing with you and I was drunk. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. It was a while before I noticed who you were with and saw your face. You don’t look like you though. Not really. You’re very different and it shocked me. I hadn’t ever seen the Hermione Granger having so much fun. I was going to leave but in my drunken haze, I stayed, and we danced. You’re quite the dancer too when you don’t realise who you’re dancing with” he said with a smile.

“Well, that night is all a blur to me” she said.

“If you were anybody else, I might have tried to take you home that night” he admitted.

“Why anybody else?”

“Because I know you. Well, sort of. I knew that once you realised who I was, you would be horrified” he said.

“I was. I still am” she said.

“Ouch” he said.

“Its true. Even now, I sit here, and my 16-year-old self is bashing on the windows of my mind, screaming at me to run away” she said.

“But you’re not” he said.

“No, I’m not” she responded.

There was a long pause before he spoke again.

“So, what now then?” he asked.

Hermione hesitated. What did he mean by that? What now as in, this minute or what now as in this week, next week, the future. Hermione hadn’t considered that. She hadn’t thought they would have a great night. She hadn’t considered that they would kiss, and it would feel so good. She hadn’t considered that she would feel a tingling sensation all through her body whenever he was close to her.

“I, uh…” she began.

“How about we go and get some ice cream” he said.

“That sounds like a plan” she said.

They walked, hand in hand, back the way they came, towards the movie theatre where there was an ice-cream store a few doors down. They entered the store and Hermione paid for ice cream.

“It’s the least I can do, you paid for the movie we didn’t watch” she said.

“It was worth it” he said, making her blush.

They sat back down on the riverbank, this time closer to the shops that lined the street, running parallel to that part of the river. They talked some more while they ate their ice cream and it was really nice. Hermione hadn’t had a date like this, ever. She had never had a date, so she had nothing to compare them to, but she guessed this was up there with the best.

Eventually it was time to leave and Hermione reluctantly got into the car as Malfoy held the door open for her.

The drive back to Hermione’s house seemed to take forever. The whole way Hermione contemplated whether she was going to invite him in and what that might actually mean. If she did, would he automatically assume she was doing it for sex? Is that what she wanted? The way her body reacted every time he touched her certainly indicated that she wanted to, but logically, was it too soon? By the time they pulled into her driveway, she had decided that it was too soon, but she wasn’t ready for the night to be over.

Malfoy climbed out of his side of the car and opened the door for her to exit. She walked to the front door while he accompanied her.

She unlocked the front door and pushed it wide open, then turned to face him.

“I had a really good time. I must say, I didn’t expect to” she said.

“So did I” he said, before leaning in to kiss her.

As before, it was incredible. She felt warm and tingly from head to toe and a churning build up in her lower abdomen.

“I would really love to invite you in” she said, as soon as their lips parted.

“But” he continued for her.

“But… I know that it’s probably not a good idea” she said, “just yet” she finished.

“You’re probably right” he said, kissing her again, pressing her into the door frame.

“You keep doing that and my logical brain will disappear” she said when he stopped.

“Hermione Granger, free from logic? Never” he said, taking a step back. “Good night, Granger” he said, stepping off the front porch and walking back to his car.

“Night” was all she could say back as she watched his car drive out of the small street.