Chocolate
“What a disaster.” Hermione murmured softly, her eyes blearily opening and staring down Draco who was sitting at the foot of her bed.
Draco slid off the bed, his facial features pulled tight, and handed her a calming draught. “Potter’s gone slightly loony downstairs, if you must know.”
“Why?” Hermione asked, her head clearing as she downed the potion, its lavender taste engulfing her tongue. “What happened?”
Draco studied her. “Someone told half of the Aurors to show up on the other side of the barn for a fight to capture wizards. One of the Aurors casted an Expulso and it appears that a majority of us had minor concussions because of it.”
“Had?”
“The medics came and went. Your head should only hurt a little now.”
Hermione slowly slid out of bed. She gestured for Draco, who practically lunged at her before she toppled out of bed, her head still spinning. “Let’s go downstairs.”
***
To say that the main floor was a disaster was an understatement.
Harry was yelling at Ron, who was yelling back, and the rest of the Aurors were sitting along the wall while being interrogated by Kingsley.
Ron turned at their approaching steps. “If you want to interrogate anyone, Harry, it’s that—” His arms flapped at Draco.
“Don’t you fucking start Ronald.” Hermione hissed.
“Okay.” Kingsley started, rubbing his face. “We need to get back to the DMLE. You’ll all go under further questioning in the morning. May I speak to you three.” He gestured to Harry and Hermione and Draco. “For a minute.”
“This way, Kingsley.” Draco gestured to the parlor room, sending a snarled glance at Ron before turning.
Hermione walked into a warm room and slid into an old yellow cushioned chair while Harry plopped down beside her. “How’s the head, ‘Mione.”
“It’s mainly fine now, Harry.” She quipped back. “Have you gotten a clue as to what’s happened?”
Harry shook his head. “It’s just running in a circle. Someone must’ve intercepted the owl you sent me before I received it, and then sent out a letter signed by me to the rest of the team telling them what to do.”
“We’ll use floo then, from now on.”
“There’s protocol that should’ve prevented this from happening. Someone should’ve realized an entire squadron left their homes to travel to Beccles.”
“We’ll figure it out when we get back. At this current moment, we have a few other things to clear.” Kingsley said, glancing between Draco who was leaning against the wall, and Hermione who had her face pressed into the arm of her chair. “There—”
“What in Merlin’s name is going on?” Theo’s voice rang clear throughout the foyer and Draco closed his eyes.
“Is someone here?” Kingsley asked turning to the door.
“It’s just Theo.” Hermione said gently. “We adore Theo; he wouldn’t harm a fly.”
“Are… you with Theo?” Kingsley asked cocking his head, his eyes flitting to Draco who had an unreadable expression on his face.
“With Theo?” Hermione asked, eyeing the doorway. There was a small patter of footsteps approaching.
“With Theo, Hermione.” Kingsley reiterated.
“Merlin no, Kingsley.” She said with a small grin. Kingsley merely grunted.
“Oh Miss Granger!” Pax wobbled in, a stray carrot held in his hand.
“I thought I heard you coming.” Hermione said looking down at Pax rapidly approaching Harry. “Was Theo baby sitting you?”
Pax giggled and pulled on Harry’s pant leg. Harry peered down at the elf baby with wide eyes, then looked at Hermione. “He wants you to pick him up.” She said, sending an encouraging look Harry’s way.
“Hm.” Harry swiftly picked up the baby elf and deposited him into his lap.
“Yes, well.” Kingsley’s eyes left Pax’s as he began chewing the hem of Harry’s shirt sleeve and flitted to Hermione. “The Prophet hasn’t been able to get any more pictures of the two of you and Draco, and Britain is wondering where you both have disappeared to. I think it would be wise that we should leak a picture or two of the both of you together, on a date or such. A few words as well from Potter congratulating the both of you as you live together will help to keep up our vacation charade.”
Harry blanched as he looked down and saw Pax half drooling half chewing his shirt.
Draco simply attempted to neutralize his face at Kingsley’s words, and Hermione simply narrowed her eyes. “So that Britain knows we aren’t working on an entire espionage-arrest operation?”
“Mainly to combat what uh, Mr. Malfoy, your ex-fiancé has put into the post.”
Kingsley conjured up the most recent edition of the Daily Prophet.
Hermione Granger – Husband Grabber
It appears that The Brightest Witch of Her Age simply cannot get her hands off of the highly skilled men around her. First, while she was still in her school years, Hermione snagged Victor Krum in time for the Yule Ball. After that, she simply used and discarded Ron Weasley—Mr. Weasley who in fact did not comment when asked about his ex-beau’s new relationship but instead made a quite disgruntled face. Now she moves onto the single Malfoy heir, stealing him from the esteemed Astoria Greengrass, who was in tears as we interviewed her about her broken engagement and how was she was almost certain that her fiancé was under some type of trance while explaining his departure from her life. We know that Miss Granger is quite close to holding a Mastery in Potions—would it be possible that she has slipped the Malfoy patriarch, young Draco, a potion not legalized by the Ministry?
Hermione’s lips had thinned into a line as she passed the paper to Draco.
Draco’s features hardened as he looked up to Kingsley. “We’d need more than just Potter’s quote on us to legitimize Hermione and I. Someone from the Sacred Twenty-Eight.”
Pax giggling as he grappled with the end of Harry’s wand caused Draco and Hermione to regard each other sharply. “Theo.”
***
Kingsley and Harry bid them goodnight an hour later after intensive planning, and Pax wailed for the last ten minutes as Harry attempted to pry the baby elf off of his legs. Hermione leaned against a wall and closed her eyes as quiet once again nestled into the Malfoy Beccles manor.
“Showtime tomorrow boys and girls.” Theo said slowly with a pat on Hermione’s back. He brought her in for a squeeze. “There is no rest for the wicked.”
Draco let out a small laugh. “The wicked witch of the west Granger that is.”
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. “Wasn’t it the east?”
“I’m not sure what that is, but I doubt they’d stop it from rhyming.” Theo pondered.
“Hm.” Hermione said. “Well, we have a long day of dating tomorrow.”
“And a long night of magic practice.” Draco added solemnly.
Hermione turned serious. “You’re sure you don’t mind—”
“Granger, it is something we need to do, and nothing I mind doing. Balancing your magic out is possible.” Draco said firmly, and held out his arm. “Upstairs we go.”
Hermione felt her cheeks heat as she looped her arm around his. “Upstairs we go.”
“Goodnight you two.” Theo called out singing softly. “Up to the lady’s chambers you go.”
***
Hermione sat cross-legged on the floor across from Draco shivering.
“You have to be able to call upon that magic without feeling guilt. They call it Dark because Voldemort used it to do awful things, but the truth is that it is just so much more powerful than what they teach you at Hogwarts or the Ministry. It’s not the Dark Arts if you aren’t using it for bad. Then it’s just… art.”
Hermione pursed her lips. “I see.”
“Try again. Pick up…” He turned and looked around her room, almost as if he was seeing it for the first time. “That book there.”
Hermione turned to look at a book that was resting on her nightstand. She rolled her neck and stretched out her arm, feeling the buzz of magic start deep within her chest, rumbling out faster than she had expected, and the book whizzed across the room, stopping just in front of her face.
Draco plucked the book from the air. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Hermione felt sick. The same rumble, the same pull of magic that Hermione had used to pull to torture Muggles, and suddenly she could hear their screaming in her ears.
She effectively vomited over the carpet.
“Oh.” Draco said with his eyes wide, and vanished the mess with a wave of his hand.
Hermione groaned and laid on her back.
“What happened?”
Hermione wiped a hand across her mouth. “The feeling, I think it’s the feeling that upsets me. A reminder of what I did.”
“Maybe we should work on that first. Unpacking… what happened.”
Hermione closed her eyes and nodded. Her eyes snapped open as she felt something get placed onto her forehead. “Chocolate.” Draco said. “It’ll make you feel better.”
Hermione plucked the chocolate off her forehead and nibbled on it. “How did you get over everything?”
Draco wrapped up a chocolate bar in his hand and placed it onto her bed. “A long time alone in the Manor. Burning mail as it was sent to the house. Getting used to walking down Diagon Alley again. Rebuilding the family name.”
“That took quite some time, I'm sure.”
“It was worth it in the end. Better than a lifetime of just staying in the manor.”
Hermione sat up and gave him a grim smile. “Bit by bit then. Till I become Minister.”
Draco smiled and Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat. He had dimples. “Till you become Minister.” He stood up and pulled Hermione up with him. “We’ll continue this tomorrow. Get some rest—we have a long day of strolling through town and bumping into Theo and the Boy Who Lived.”
"Who will graciously love us."
"Indeed."
“Goodnight Draco. Thank you again.”
He gave her a small bow. “Anything for the Brightest Witch of her Age.”