Hermione gazed at the parcels strewn about every surface. Piles of colorfully wrapped boxes littered her sitting room. She nestled between two piles on the couch and got out a roll of parchment and a quill. This was a research project after all, along with a personal project.
It had all started when she'd been perusing restricted books at the Wizarding Library of London, a secret library hiding beneath the London Library. Thanks to Hermione's editor in chief status at Wizarding Scholarly Weekly, a magazine she had helped create after she left Hogwarts, she was allowed into restricted sections in almost every Wizarding library in the world.
She had been reading an old tome about lost magic. There had been a chapter about a spell that could reveal one's true love. One only needed to say the incantation and then have suitors send a specially selected necklace to them and the users true love will be revealed. The book didn't say what would happen to reveal the one true love but it had intrigued Hermione. Being single for 5 years would do that to you.
So Hermione had come up with a plan, write an article on the spell, see if it had any credibility and if it did, maybe she'd find her true love. Or be able to discredit an old spell. So she wrote a short piece for the next magazine, explaining that anyone interested in her need only send in a necklace, which would be returned if she wasn't interested in turn. Then the packages had begun flowing in, so many she'd lost count.
So she found herself unwrapping necklaces on a rainy Saturday.
Hours passed, necklace after necklace, without any changes. No indication that any of them were more special that the last. Just miles of metal and gemstones. She opened one from Cormac McLaggen. She groaned as she examined the gaudy necklace. It was gold, heavy and inset with a bunch of rubies and diamonds. She hated it. She sighed as she placed it back in the box and put it in a separate pile for her borrowed owls to take back.
Hermione had to take a break, she didn't want to admit it but disappointment had settled over her like a heavy fog and she wanted to get away from it. As she returned from the kitchen with a cup of tea, her eyes fell on a new package, laying in the spot she had abandoned minutes earlier. She set her cup down and picked up the box, a small one wrapped in plain brown paper, nothing flashy like the other ones had been.
She opened it slowly, ignoring the pounding in her ears. Nestled inside a white box was a beautiful necklace. A delicate rose gold chain led to a dusty blue teardrop pendant, encircled in diamonds. Her breath caught in her throat. Unlike the big, flashy necklaces everyone else had been sending, this one was small and delicate. She fingered the chain, noting that it felt surprisingly warm but that there wasn't any outward show of magic. Because the spell she used had no recorded information on what happens when the user found the 'right' necklace, she wasn't sure what would happen, or if anything would happen. But now she wondered if the pull she felt toward this necklace was magic or just an appreciation for the jewelry itself. She set it aside and went back to opening other packages.
She couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes at the next one. It was a silver heart shaped locket, inside was a picture of Ron. There was a note too.
"Hermione, I know we haven't really talked much lately. I know I was a prat when you broke up with me, and let's be honest you overreacted a bit too. Anyway you can't be serious about this article and finding your "true love", right? I figured I'd send one just in case you didn't get many. You can't really expect anyone else to take this seriously too. So keep the locket, and maybe we can have a chat soon. Love, Ron"
Hermione felt hot, she was shaking from anger. Ronald really thought that he'd be the only one to answer her article. He probably hadn't even read it, Ginny probably told him about it. She threw the necklace into the corner of the room and angrily tore open another package.
Justin Finch-Fletchley sent her a gold necklace with a huge cluster of pearls, another gaudy thing she disliked. Out of frustration she slipped it on, hoping to feel something but there was nothing. Back into the box it went.
Hermione's tea was replaced with fire whiskey as she powered on. Again necklace after necklace, out of the box and onto the neck; no special feelings, off the neck and back into the box.
Hours pass and Hermione started to feel depressed. Maybe the spell was nothing more than a tall tale passed from generation to generation, with no real magic behind it. In her tipsy state she stood up, swaying slightly as the whiskey rushed to her head. She planned on going to bed, it was late and she was drunker than she thought. But instead she picked up the dusty blue necklace and admired it again before putting it on.
With a sudden jolt and a wave of nausea, Hermione found herself in a dark room. She put her head in her hands trying to make the room stop spinning.
"Granger?" a sleepy voice broke the silence. "What are you doing here?"
Hermione peaked between her fingers and locked eyes with Draco Malfoy. He was sitting up in his bed, the moonlight making his pale skin glow. She barely got a groan out before the nausea returned.
"Have you been drinking?" Draco asked.
Hermione could only manage a small nod.
Draco got out of bed and approached her slowly, almost like he was afraid of her. He took her hand and led her to the bed, helping her lay down, and covering her up. She was asleep before he'd pulled the blankets all the way up. She didn't see it when he fingered the necklace.
The next morning she woke up with a killer hangover. She rolled over slowly trying to let her eyes focus. She jumped back and had to hold back the vomit that had risen in her throat when she realized Draco Malfoy was in front of her.
"Here take this." He held a glass of clear liquid. "It's just a hangover potion, there's nothing dangerous about it." He rolled his eyes.
She took the potion and sipped on it; she could feel the effects kicking in immediately. The nausea and headache faded and she finally felt okay enough to sit up.
Then she realized where she was. The blankets were lush emerald green, softer than anything she'd felt before. The bed around her was black and ornate, with four posters and a canopy. The room was just as fancy, decorated in silver, black and green. "Typical Slytherin." She muttered. "What am I doing here?"
Draco's scoffed, "How the hell am I supposed to know Granger? You showed up here drunk last night."
She stared at him with her mouth agape. His blonde hair was disheveled, and he only wore a pair of pajama pants that hung loosely on his hips. She couldn't ignore how fit he was, or the way he nervously ran his fingers through his hair.
"What.. um- happened last night?" She asked, trying to sound calm.
His cheeks flushed pink, "Nothing happened! Like I said you just showed up here and you were in a pretty bad state, so I put you to bed. I slept over there." He pointed to a couch behind him, Hermione could see a blanket hanging off the front.
She suddenly regretted her accusing tone. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate anything. I'm just really confused. I honestly haven't got a clue as to how I got here last night." She bit her bottom lip and looked down at her hands folded in her lap.
Draco ran his fingers through his hair and sat down at the foot of the bed. "I think- maybe it's the necklace?"
Hermione looked up at him with her head cocked slightly to the side, he was glad she couldn't feel his heart race when she did. 'She looks so bloody cute when she does that.' He thought to himself before he could help it. What was wrong with him? He'd been asking that question since yesterday when he'd picked out the necklace and sent it to her.
Her breath caught in her throat as she touched the necklace. "The necklace? Why would it send me here?" She looked at him again.
His eyes were panicked as he tried to casually shrug, there was a general uneasiness settling upon them.
"You? You sent the necklace?" She shook her head out of confusion. "Why? You hate me." Her voice was getting higher and she was afraid she'd stop breathing altogether.
Draco had buried his head in his hands moments ago but now jerked it back up. "I don't hate you!" He said defensively. "I've got no reason to hate you."
"One: I'm a Mudblood; Two: you haven't exactly got a reason to like me either. So why would you send the necklace?"
"I don't know okay?!" His hair was getting more and more disheveled as he ran his fingers through it.
Hermione threw back the blankets and climbed out of bed, anger coursing through her. "What do you mean you don't know? Was it some kind of cruel joke?! The necklace is a port key isn't it. You wanted me to end up here so you could make fun of me. That's it isn't it?" She was angered more when she realized her wand was still at home.
"No! I- I wouldn't do that to you!"
"Oh like you wouldn't? You always went out of your way to torment me. Why should now be different?"
Draco finally stood up and closed the space between them, he was taller than she was. He kept a small gap between them but looked her square in the eyes. "I didn't do this to hurt you Hermione. It was impulsive to send the necklace, I didn't think it would do anything though. I didn't tamper with it. Think about it; It didn't bring you here when you touched it, did it? Not like a portkey. It brought you here when you put it on. Am I right?"
Hermione nodded slowly, realization dawning on her.
Draco continued, "Did you try any other necklaces on?"
Hermione thought back. "Yes. I tried on a handful of others. Nothing happened though."
"You don't think-"
Hermione cut him off, "No! It can't be the spell! You- you can't be it!" She turned to leave. Then she turned back. She tried to leave again but a pull in her heart kept her standing there. She whispered now, "Draco Malfoy cannot be my true love."
Draco just stared at her. He didn't want to say anything, couldn't give away the fact that his heart was breaking. He couldn't blame her. Hell he'd have sided with her any other day. But right now, his heart broke and he didn't know why.
He turned away from her and sighed. "You're right. I'll get my wand and I'll take you home."
Hermione didn't understand his tone of voice. It was flat, giving away no emotion. Shouldn't he be laughing at her right now, making fun of her?
He grabbed his wand from beside the bed, and pulled a jumper and shoes on before turning back to her. "Let's go."
Hermione closed the gap and took Draco's arm. After giving Draco her address they apparated, straight into her living room. There was silence for a moment too long, Hermione thought she'd feel more confident in her own flat but that wasn't the case.
"I'll just go now." Draco said in the same flat tone.
"Ok. Thank you. For bringing me back I mean."
There was only a nod from Draco before he left again, leaving Hermione feeling strangely let down.
Days passed as Hermione tried to come to terms with what had happened. She made notes about what had happened, keeping Draco's name out of it. She didn't want to relive what had happened but she was writing a research article and nothing could be ignored.
There was an ache in her heart that she tried to ignore. She'd long taken the necklace off, meaning to send it back to Draco. But it sat on her dresser; conveniently where she could see it from anywhere in her small flat.
She continued opening necklaces and trying them on, almost wishing something would happen, if only to prove that what happened with Draco wasn't something special. She'd sought to discredit the spell in the beginning, now she was trying to discredit her own feelings.
She ignored it when her mind tried to focus on Draco, she dampered it down when images of him conjured themselves in her mind.
Unbeknownst to her, Draco was in the same boat. He waited for days to get the necklace back but it never came. This only confused him more. Why would she keep it? He wanted to move on, pretend his heart didn't skip a beat when he thought about her. He didn't want to think about how she looked laying in his bed, her wild curls framing her face. He didn't want to acknowledge the emptiness in his heart.
A week passed before Hermione decided she couldn't take it anymore. She walked confidently into her bedroom, grabbed up the necklace, then froze. What was her plan? She didn't have one, and for once she decided to proceed without one. She put the necklace on.
Draco looked up from his book, Hermione was standing in front of him now. The book fell to the floor as he jumped up.
Silence.
They mutually closed the gap. Draco's shaking hand tangled itself in her hair. "I'm going to kiss you now." He said softly.
Her voice shook. "Okay."
Their lips met, sliding into place as if they had been made to fit together. Draco's lips were warm and soft, Hermione's wet from the nervous way her tongue had darted out of mouth before they kissed. Draco's other hand snakes around her waist and pulled her close. Her hands were on his chest, mapping the muscles beneath his shirt.
They broke apart. "You're not a mudblood." He whispered to her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for every single time I hurt you." His hands slid down her arms, down to her hands where he intertwined his fingers with hers.
Hermione lifted herself on tiptoe and kissed him lightly. "I accept your apology. I- I don't know what I'm doing right now but I couldn't stop thinking about you and I wanted to give you a chance."
Draco couldn't speak passed the lump in his throat. Neither one of them knew what they were doing, but they were equally ready to give it a go.
*"I know my recent article has drummed up a lot of interest in this magazine and many of you have been waiting for the results of my research. After sifting through every necklace I got, I had only a few notes.
One necklace felt almost warm, as opposed to the chill that accompanies an unworn necklace. When I put the necklace on it took me to the person who sent it. I'm withholding their name for privacy sake but it took me to them.
I can't say the spell truly found my "true love" but I'm cautiously stating that maybe it found something my heart desired. It didn't make me fall in love with them, it simply took me to someone that I could possibly share a future with. Only time will tell, not magic necklaces."*
Hermione sighed as she submitted the story. She didn't like that everyone was invested in her love story, after all she had only sought to test old magic, and now she knew her every move would be analyzed by Witch Weekly and that her scholarly journal had become almost like a tabloid. It would take extra work getting it back to the reliable source it had been before but she would do it. In between working on her new relationship of course.
She smiled at Draco, who was sitting opposite her on the couch in her living room, flipping through an old copy of her magazine.
~Epilogue~
Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. The blue tulle dress she wore matched the necklace around her neck, along with the earrings Draco had given her that morning. The fabric of the dress clung to her curves, highlighting her growing bump. Her curly hair was gathered in a messy bun, adorned with small silver flowers.
Draco slipped through the door. His grey suit complimented her dress perfectly. "You look beautiful 'Mione." His arms snaked around her waist and rested on her belly. He laid his forehead on her bare shoulder and kissed it lightly.
Hermione giggled, "Stop that. We're going to be late."
She took his arm and he led the way downstairs. They stepped out the back door and into the garden of their little cottage. Hermione grabbed her bouquet of blue and white wildflowers before they made the trip down the short path. There under two willow trees they exchanged their vows, in front of less than 20 people.
Two months later they welcomed their twins, Evangeline And Sebastian Granger-Malfoy.
When they had grown old they looked back on their lives together and smiled fondly. And when Draco passed before her, Hermione made sure she kept her necklace on, because she knew it would bring her back to him when it was time.