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Blessings in the Rain	By : AlphaTSigma7 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 2727 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
Alpha: (long long long sigh�) I feel so unappreciated�what
the hell does a sista gotta do to get some feedback here huh? Do I have to beg
for a review I mean what the hell? But I�m not going to do it�I will not beg�if
I have only one review so be it�I WILL NOT BEG! (After all I may have more by
the time I check my Story Stats�) But I do ask you to enjoy this crap for what
it is�at least If you read it and I guarantee it�s not clich� AU as hell but
not clich�. �I just can�t bring myself to try and write another
�Draco/Hermione are head Boy and Girl��etc. etc. etc. though there are some
that are quite good; but I digress! So without further delay here�s your
precious chapter 3.

Disclaimer: I�m not even going to go into this�you should
know by now duh!

Blessings in the Rain

Chapter III-
Acquaintances made by Consequence

Acquaintance-

Knowledge of a person acquired by a relationship less
intimate than friendship. A person whom one knows. Knowledge or information
about something or someone.

Consequence-

Something that logically or naturally follows from an action
or condition. The relation of a result to its cause; a logical conclusion or
inference.

��
��.��
��.�� ..

Death, the stench of
it, the sounds of it, it was everywhere you could almost taste it; a foul
bitter taste that turned the living soul cold.�
Hermione was in the mist of fighting off Death Eaters, throwing deadly
hexes left and right, her attacks putting out more damage than being hit with
the crucio had done to her body.

The battle seem to
rage for hours, at some point in time she lost sight of Harry and Ronald, she
was separated from her two friends who were equally giving as they were
receiving.� At some point during the
fight she was facing off with a very powerful Death Eater that was intent on
killing her with the killing curse; he had threw painful curses her way. She
was knocked to the ground by a stunning spell, she watched in pain as he moved
towards here, towering over her weak body to finish her off with Avada Kedavra.
However a spell shot out of nowhere, who it came from Hermione would never know
to this day; but it gave her enough time to shake herself quickly of the spell
and attack the Death Eater who stunned her while his attention was on another.

That person
surprisingly being Pansy Parkinson; she wasn�t the one who thrown the curse but
she was defending whoever it was by placing herself in the Death Eater�s
sight.� She looked defiantly at the black
robed figure; the intensity in the Slytherin�s eyes showed she was defying every
thing she was ever told to believe her House for; as she stood with bravery
that would make Gryffindor proud.� She shot
a leg locker curse which missed, than following after a light stunning spell
that gave Hermione enough time to attack him from behind. The spell hit his
shoulder and his focus was back on her; he dealt the most painful crucio
Hermione ever felt; but she was stubborn, forcing herself to at least fall to
the ground on her knees.

Her eyes widen in
horror as she saw he was about to hex Parkinson with the killing curse; it was
in that moment in time that all analytical reasoning didn�t register in her
mind.� The full rush of adrenaline mixed
with magic, made Hermione get up and run to Pansy�s side to knock her out of
the way, despite her feeling pain throughout her body that otherwise should
have her silently laying on the ground.

A searing pain so
extreme tore through the lower part of the Gryffindor�s� abdomen.�
A slicing hex, it was a slicing hex not the avada kedavra that was
headed towards Pansy. Hermione didn�t remember herself screaming through the
top of her lungs to the point she would later lose her voice, nor the shock on
Pansy Parkinson�s face, nor did she see the dark red robed figure that muttered
the killing curse on the death eater that attacked her into a coma�

��You used me,� her
voice was soft, but the sadness in it was noticeable and spoke volumes.

�Listen kiddo, it was
fun while it lasted.� You made me feel
like a young man again,� a man who looked to be quite some years older than
Hermione walked over to her to rub her head in a fatherly gesture.

Hermione jerked her
head from his touch and her face from his eyes, �You used me to- to prove a
point to your wife!� she yelled.

�It�s not like that
baby-,�

�Don�t, don�t call me
that again! You used me! I was a pet to you, and I realized you didn�t see me
as a woman at all, a woman not you�re equal but I was- in a sick twisted way a
�daughter� to you a child you could easily authorize respect from. You toyed
with me all this time why?� the tears were streaming down her flushed cheeks.

The older man in front
of her didn�t have any answers to give her.

�Don�t worry, I know
why- You thought it was something to brag about that a young woman just barely
21 took some bit of interest in you and you thought it a grand scheme to use
her to convey a message to your wife,� she didn�t bother to look up at him at
all.

He continued to stare
at her in awe she was a very insightful young woman; didn�t miss anything, he
stood there silent without having anything to say.

Hermione stood to give
him the small trinket of gifts he gave to her for that Valentine�s day, �Get
out�get out of my home, go find some other young woman you can manipulate,��

��I�m truly sorry it
has to end this way�but there is nothing you can do for me,� the voice of a
sullen young man echoed in the small house he lived in.� He was trying his hardest to put her down
lightly without hurting her feelings more than he already had.

�So�you�re dumping me
just like all the others? How typical,� she spat, she was hurt. After three
months of what she thought was finally a good relationship; he goes and does
this to her.

�You have to
understand Hermione! You could never give me what I want, you said it yourself,
please don�t make me look like the bad guy here!� he pleaded.

�Bullocks! If that
wasn�t a reason to break up with me would you still?! What else makes you
uncomfortable around me?�

�You are being
unreasonable-,�

�Unreasonable!! Me?
Unreasonable?! You�re a bastard! The whole lot of you! Egotistical Bastards, I
never want to be around you again! Screw your bloody friendship!��

� �Let go of me! You�re
hurting my arm!� she wailed, her boyfriend was currently manhandling her by her
delicate wrist unrelenting.� She told him
time and time again if he continued on with his problems she was going to leave
him for good.

�Shut up! Just shut
it! You complain too damn much,� he pushed her roughly against a brick wall,
letting go of her arm.

�That has got to stop!
You�ve become a violent person and I have to getaway from you,� she said trying
to get by him; but he just grabbed her and made her back smack against the
wall; a painful moan escaped her mouth. �

�That�s all fine with
me,� he whispered in her ear, licking the side of her face with his
tongue.� Hermione just cringed from the
feel of his tongue coated with saliva and the foul smell of cigarettes, fire
whiskey and a Muggle alcoholic beverage on his mouth and on his person, �After
all I only dated your ugly arse to see if the plain bookworm was rumored to
really be a bore or were really a vixen in the sack!� he laughed cruelly at her
shock.

Shock turned to anger
and she started pushing away from him; he was unrelenting.� He was already quite stronger than she and
with the added effect of alcohol he induced that night seem to tenfold his
strengths.

He grinned
sadistically at her, �Only one way to find out if Miss know-it-all really knows
the cons and pros of fucking.�

He began tearing at
her clothes, ignoring her screams to cease his ministrations; fear and panic
consumed her thought and tears were spilling down her face. Hermione closed her
eyes wanting to be anywhere but here at this moment in time. She heard a grunt
and a painful moan a second after. Her mental boyfriend�s actions halted and
she slowly opened her tear stained eyes to look at the person she would have
least likely known to have helped her in this situation; she looked below, her
crazed boyfriend laid limp on the dirty concrete ground of Knockturn Alley�

��..xx��mione��xx��draco��xx��..

Long lashes fluttered open slowly, preventing the white
blinding light of the room to blind her wakening sight.� It hurt to open her eyes suddenly into
intense lighting only to have to shut them again before they adjust.

Hermione recalled all the memories she dreamt of again; none
of them happy.� She turned her face
towards the window it was opened halfway to let in the cool breeze in the warm
room.� She saw that it was suddenly evening
time, meaning she must have slept throughout the entire day.� She was aware that she missed a day of work,
but rationalized she was injured and she really needed the rest.� She didn�t hardly sleep at all the previous
night, hospital waiting room chairs weren�t the most intelligent choice of
furniture one should choose to find good sleep.�

Her honeyed brown eyes surveyed the room, it was small and
she was the only occupant.� It was white
and a pastel yellow and beige here and there to throw in some color other than
the immense white color that looked to consume everything in it if the added
bland colors were not introduced to add color to the room.

There was a brown desk near her bed on it was her wand and
there were a few drawers and three blue chairs by the bed; two doors one that
led to the bathroom and the other that led to the outside.

She sighed and closed her eyes, before turning on her side
to look out the window.

�Accio Wand,� she muttered, as commanded it floated to her
outstretched hand; she waved it in order to dim the bright lighting in her
room.� That way it was easier to look out
at the night sky and see the stars more clearly.

She had three failed relationships, three!� None of them she could say were better than
the other, once her third boyfriend dumped her because of her predicament and
probably because she outshined him as far as profession and intellect went, she
swore off ever dealing with trying relationships again.� After the 11^th Blind date that was
predicted to fail miserably and Hermione knew it would; she swore off having
anything ever to do with men again.� The
blind dating business had to have been the worse idea her friends ever
suggested. She declined those dates every single time someone wanted to set her
up with so and so in the hopes she�ll get laid.�
And every time, Hermione just sighed and gave in. Get laid, fat chance
in hell that was going to happen! She would rather die than give it up to some
sleazy loser on the first date, regardless if he were handsome.� Not like she did give it up at all; she might
as well join a religious cult and swear celibacy for the rest of her
non-existent life.� The joys of purity,
at least unicorns still appreciated her company.

She did think it pathetic to not only go to these idiotic
endeavors; but to go on them with guys she later figured out were being paid to
just tolerate her presence. �She
overheard a conversation one had with Harry and Ron; and the guy didn�t find
her attractive at all or interesting.�
Many a time she heard how boring, plain, unappealing and one-dimensional
her personality was.� Three years, three
years had past since then and the brunette still refuse to give the whole
dating thing another go.

For one thing, she never had the confidence to approach guys
in general; she didn�t see herself as pretty, she never was the one most would
associate as being the popular pretty one that was admired and the envy of all
her peers.� If she thought and saw
herself as not pretty or beautiful or other adjectives that described something
adorable, she figured others didn�t either; so what was the point in trying to
look somewhat pretty. Since Hogwarts that title had rightfully belonged to
girls like Lavender, the Patil twins even Ginny and Pansy Parkinson.� She was the genderless humanoid with bushy
curly hair, plain clothes and spat out information as if she were the Hogwarts
Library. She never gave any thought to her looks and only dressed nicely for
occasions but nothing over the top; whatever she deemed appropriate. Even then
her mind was more focused on anything academic; not building a social life.

Hermione and guys just didn�t mix the only guy aside from
Ron that had an interest in her was Victor Krum.� If it weren�t for him, she would not have
gone to the Yule Ball back in fourth year.�
There were other factors that played into why she was inept when it came
to men; for one thing Ron being her first and only crush hadn�t gone so well
and Ron moved on eventually let�s not forget the fact that he totally started
getting a little more friendly with Lavender than she during 5^th and
6^th year and how could she forget Malfoy and Zabini.� They were the only two Slytherins in the
whole of Hogwarts to tease and call her names more times than she could think
of.� Malfoy really went far at times with
the teasing, Zabini made comments here and there but nothing as harsh as Draco
and this was through all her seven years at school.� It never did help her confidence to speak
with boys on a more personal level that went above friendship and the ones that
weren�t friends she rarely spoke to, mainly if she thought they were appealing.� The girls weren�t any better, constantly
wanting her to change her looks, her hair, this and that; making remarks about
her and such that she tried to ignore, sort of hard to do when you hear snide
remarks made like that behind your back.�
Unlike Malfoy they actually thought they were helping; just like all of
them thought they were helping her by forcing her to go on four blind dates in
between the times she was dumped or did the dumping of an ex-boyfriend.

Hermione seriously didn�t think she would ever get married;
she decided that if nothing happened in the next three years she was just going
to give up.� She could live alone, she�s
been doing it for most of her life; she didn�t need anyone and if she needed
company at her house, she could always buy a kitten here and there.

Depressing, it was really depressing to think about men,
failed dates, failed relationships; the reason why one of her relationships ended
aside from other bullshit was because of her inability to conceive.� So not only did men not want her because of
her personality or looks or intellect, they surely wouldn�t want a woman who
couldn�t conceive children.

Hermione sighed, she had to get her mind off her situation;
but with nothing else to do but stare out into space she could not help but
think about how it came that she would go through life knowing she wouldn�t be
able to become someone�s mother.

��.��
��.

(Flashback)

Voices floated inside
the void in her mind; but none the less she heard them there.� It took a moment for the young woman lying
down on a warm and soft bed covered in linen and a light black blanket to
realize that she was hearing actual individuals speaking.� By the sounds of it, it was four of them, two
sounded familiar while the other two were unrecognizable. Hermione opened her
eyes slowly, fully awake to overhear the conversation the Medi-witch and Wizard
were having with her parents.

�Mr. and Mrs. Granger
I have officially gotten the results back from your daughter�s tests,� said the
male doctor, he gestured with his hand to his assistant for the papers that
held Hermione�s results.

�Well is it good? Will
our Hermione be alright sir?� Hermione heard from her mother, Mrs. Granger was
quite concerned and worry for her only daughter.

Mr. Granger did his
best to comfort his wife and himself by squeezing her into his chest to reassure
them both.��

He began telling them
everything about her condition, �As you know your daughter had been in a
critical state when she first came here; and for nearly a month she has been in
a coma.� We have some good news for you,�
he said smiling slightly at the older married couple.

The Grangers had been
holding their breaths without noticing they had; Mrs. Granger�s anxious
demeanor calmed and she sighed a breath of relief; �Good news you say?�

Hermione had held her
breath also, still taking in the fact she finally woke from a coma after a
whole month.

The Medi-Witch seemed to get a bit uncomfortable; but hid it
subtlety as to not alert the couple before her, she was a bit nervous knowing
what she knew and glanced at the male doctor beside her. �Yes, you see, your
daughter has been fairly well and in stable condition, all her vitals are
completely healthy and any hour she will come out of her comatose state,�s he finished.

�That
great!� See honey, our Hermione is a trooper,� said
Mr. Granger.

�Thank goodness,� she
said.

�There�s more to the
situation Mr. and Mrs. Granger,� the Medi-Wizard
said; �he hated this moment, the moment
when the happy looks of relief are swept away; being modified to looks of
confusion or expressionless, even anger, disbelief, grief, you name it. This
was one of those moments, the minute he said the words the Grangers looked at
him, wanting to know what he was upholding from them about their daughter.

�What more could you
possibly tell us? What exactly is going on with her daughter?� Mrs. Granger
demanded; the worry was evident in her voice and it grew a bit louder with
every word she spoke.

Hermione silently laid
there, worrying and curious to find out herself what was wrong with her.� She knew there was something wrong from the
way the doctor had spoken.

He couldn�t blame a
mother or anyone for that matter to be frighten for a family member that had
fallen fatally ill or injured when they were being treated in a hospital.� He took a deep breath before beginning, �I�m going to be straightforward with you
ma�am.� As I explained before to you what
the Slicing Hex is; the curse that struck your daughter in her lower abdomen-,�
he paused to see them give a nod of affirmation that they understood mostly
what he talked about, despite being Muggles he
continued, �It did more damage to her than we thought it could.�

A gasp of shock was
heard from Mrs. Granger; but the Medi-Witch assistant
continued on with the explanation before either one had the chance to cut her
off.� �Your daughter was hit with a curse
that works like the slicing hex; but with more intensity.� When she was first hit, it simply sliced
through her body; but it didn�t injure any organs like a normal hex would.� The attacker had every intention of making
the curse damage only particular organs inside the body without proof that the
victim had internal damages done.� While
we were able to treat the damage that was done to Miss Granger; we were not
able to cure her of the curse put on her,� she said.

�So what are you
saying?! My baby girl is going to die?! She�ll never walk again? What is wrong
with my child?� Mrs. Granger bellowed, tears of frustration leaking from her
eyes.

The male doctor
continued, �What we are saying is that your daughter is infertile; she�ll never
be able to conceive, to become pregnant.�
The curse that came from the attacker had a purpose to only injure a
specific organ in the victim�s body that would bring them only pain or
suffering for the rest of their life.� We
still aren�t sure exactly what type of spell this is�the damage was done to
Miss Granger�s ovaries and egg cells.�
During ovulation, the egg cells released will die out at a rapid pace no
longer becoming suitable to be fertilized if necessary and her ovaries will
produce less and less egg cells after the completion of each monthly cycle.� He
went silent he looked from Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

The wife was in tears
now; it was obvious she no longer really cared to pay attention to what he was
saying; Hermione�s father was silent with a rage growing inside him. He just
held his wife closer to him, having a strong hold on her shoulders while she
cried in his chest.

Hermione was shocked;
in fact she was feeling all sorts of emotions at that moment, none she could
describe.� She? Infertile? Never able to have children of
her own? Honestly she didn�t know what to feel; at her current age
having children was the last thing on her mind; but she felt sad.� Her mother was taking the blow harder than
she was, and hearing her mother�s wails made Hermione feel sad herself.

�There�s more,� he
said, wishing not to continue.

�More?� Mr. Granger
asked him.

He just nodded and
went on, �Now your daughter is very healthy and everything that was damaged was
treated accordingly and has healed to the way it was; the only thing not cured
is the curse on her.� Now if it is
possible, IF possible and it�s only a 1.5 percent chance that she could get
pregnant; while the egg cells would rapidly die off during ovulation once
released, it is possible that at random she will be able to successfully
release an egg cell that would not die off; it would be plausible for her not
to get pregnant at all.� There would be a
lot of complications that would occur for both she and an unborn child during
all stages of pregnancy and even birth.�
It would be risky to her health if she became pregnant; there would be
times where your daughter will become seriously ill; and that may be harmful
for a developing fetus.� The only thing
that would prevent any of this even the infertility placed on your daughter is
by us looking more into the curse she was hit with and to find a cure, I am
truly sorry,� he finished.� �

�Will you excuse us?�
asked Mr. Granger.

The Wizard only nodded
at the Muggle before making his exit with the nurse; giving the parents some
time to cope with their daughter�s predicament.�
It was going to be a completely different story when he had to explain
this all over again to the daughter.

However he did not
know that she heard everything that was said that day.� Hermione couldn�t grasp the situation; and
still she felt unaffected by the news.�
Only time would catch up to the young teenager laying in the hospital
bed without making a sound; that later on in life, the news of her infertility
will be taken much harder by her than her own mother and father�

(End Flashback)

��.��
��

The door to Hermione�s room opened causing the young woman lying
in bed to quickly twist around without fully turning to see who graciously
disrupted her strain of thoughts. It certainly was not someone she thought
she�ll see after this morning.

She didn�t say anything to him, just stared at him. There
was nothing she could think of to say to him; she had many questions to ask
him.� The top one being why did he help
her?

Draco came into the room, it was the evening time and he
left his job early today.� He really
didn�t know why he chose to come back here; he conceded to his mother�s wishes
and helped the muggle-born witch to get her ankle healed.� If anything, she should have gone home by
now; he was sure her ankle had healed fully but of course hospital personnel
wanted to keep her there until morning. Of course he never got a chance to
explain to his mother who she really was, if only she knew; he would bet a
galleon Narcissa would have out of habit upturned her nose at Hermione because
of her �status�.�
His mother didn�t necessarily hate Muggle-borns;
born in the house of Black she only tolerated them if needed and nothing more,
but being married to Lucius for so many years kind of influenced her cold
demeanor; if it weren�t for her husband�s influence, Draco was quite certain
she would have dishonored the Black family as Sirius did; even side along her
late cousin as Narcissa was a fighter for justice at heart. �

After all, the last generation of Blacks didn�t hold much to
their parent�s beliefs, excluding Bellatrix; Merlin,
rest her evil little soul.� That was one
aunt Draco really didn�t want to associate with; she was completely nutters, always had a crazy look in her eyes; nothing like
his refined mother and Aunt Andromeda.

Plus, he didn�t want to seem rude; not that he was
attempting to impress Granger, he just didn�t want to hear his mom complain
that he wasn�t being a gentleman and this and that.� So he buckled down, tightened his jaw and
straighten his back; praying that he or she wouldn�t throw insults at one
another.� It was six years since then,
she was over Hogwarts wasn�t she? Hermione was a forgiving soul right? She was
not one to hold grudges right? Right?� He only hoped
his mind was right; she did look surprised to run into him as was he.

Six years, he admired this woman for six years; maybe this
was why he hoped there wouldn�t be any insults thrown at the other; because he
admired her.� Her spirit, courage, and intellect;
he hadn�t seen in six years.� Quite
amazing how time flies, the concept that six years had pass wasn�t registering
in Malfoy�s mind; Granger still looked like bloody
Granger from Hogwarts; she nor anyone else knew �save for Dumbledore,
McGonagall, Pansy, and Snape� that he not only fought and passed information on
to the Order; but it was he that helped her in some of the fights she had with
some of the Death Eaters.� And�there was
no need for her to know any of that, if she wanted to maintain the image of him
being a spoiled bastard who picked on her in school, it was her problem not
his.

Grey eyes stared back into honey brown eyes; neither said
anything to each other.� Questions
swirling in their minds; Hermione just turned back over and laid her head down
on the pillow.

�I just came by to see- well you should- damn it!� he swore;
his face in an angered scowl.

�Thank you for what you did for me.� You truly didn�t have too, but thank you
anyway,� she whispered.� He barely heard
any of it; she fully turned her whole body around in order to face him.

He huffed, determined to get what it was he wanted to say
out of his mouth, �Listen Granger! I just came here so I wouldn�t put up with
mother�s nagging.� I brought you some
flowers to liven up your�room,� he finished; setting a small handful of yellow
and purple flowers onto the small desk near the bed.

Hermione�s eyebrows rose into her
hairline; she? Receiving flowers- from Draco Malfoy? She had died; died
and gone straight to hell.� Her own
special tormentor for seven long years, happy to have him out of her sorry
excuse of a life for six years and what does she get in return from this
bastard after six years of meeting him again?

Flowers�yellow roses and purple-pinkish lavenders.

�Well you certainly know how to make a situation more awkward
than it needs to be Malfoy,� she finally said.

Draco just shrugged his shoulders, �Yeah what ever Granger;
look I wanted to know if your ankle was better? That�s all, think nothing of my
generous visit,� he finished lamely.

�Really Malfoy I wasn�t expecting to even see you come back;
my ankle doesn�t hurt as bad as it were earlier; but in the morning it should
be fine,� she said.

It was silent between the two for a long time.� Draco tried to think of something to say to
her; but was uncomfortable about it; this was the first time the two had ever
in their lives spoken to each other without any hostility.� Almost a full thirty minutes passed and not
an insult to be heard anywhere.� Draco
was impressed, both with himself and Hermione; he was sure they would have been
shouting at the other and Hermione resulting in calling security to come get
him.

Hermione was just as perplexed as Malfoy was; they hadn�t
argued at all; a complete first.� Draco
was being bearable and hadn�t thrown an insult in her direction; as all of
their past fighting was started by him and finished by her.

�Well, I should be off, have things to finish up this
evening Granger, I suppose I should say it was nice meeting your�acquaintance
again,� he smirked.

A little smile formed on Hermione�s lips; before she quickly
got rid of it; �Really, stop with the sarcasm, you�re overdoing it,� she
said.� She looked at him, before her eyes
lit up with a look of curiosity and that only meant one thing for Hermione
Granger, she had a question for the young Malfoy. �Listen Malfoy�I want to know
one thing.�

�Can�t leave well enough alone huh Granger?� he smirked,
�What is it?� he asked.

�Why did you help me? I know your mother was there and you
wanted to put up a front,� at that statement, Draco only snorted, thinking that
was completely untrue; although it was quite right. �But you could have yelled
to the world that you would rather save a starving hippogriff than be in my
presence; I�m pretty sure she would have had a 2^nd opinion about
helping me this morning; even if she�s the Minister of Magic now,� she said.

Hermione didn�t get her answer; and Draco was once in his
life thankful for Potter and the Weasel�s intrusion into the young woman�s room
with the rest of the cabaret.� He was now
glad that he had run into them to tell them about Hermione before he came back
to frequent a visit with her.�

Now he had an answer to that question; he had a few
really.� The obvious one would be the
answer he would have gave Granger and left the entire thing at that.� As for the others...well one of them really
tied with the main answer, the one he wouldn�t right out announce to the world
because of complete humiliation.� It was
very embarrassing to admit to a type of emotion or feeling you have for someone
that�s positive undeniably; when you have otherwise harbored a feeling of deep
loathing for said person for years. There are also other factors that tied in
to his true answer that he couldn�t figure out; and Draco silently admitted he
didn�t want to figure the entire answer out.�
It less complicated things; and the saying is true �that some things are
better left unsaid�.

At the moment, he just wanted to get out of the room that
had filled to the brim with mild looks of worry, concern, scorn, shock, and loathing;
all of which alternated between he and Granger.�
Guess which one got the looks of worry for their wellbeing?

�I�m leaving now, I see when I�m not wanted, good evening
Granger,� he gave her a smirk and sent a curt nod of his head in Potter and Weasley�s direction; before heading out of the door and
closing it behind him.

Draco let out a long deep and frustrated sigh; relaxing his
back muscles against the side of Hermione�s hospital room.� Nothing was brought up about the war, his
conniving father, her life the past six years; his life the past six years and
most importantly no insults, no injuries due to thrown hexes.� Maybe they had finally grew up; maybe so many
years after being away from her when she wasn�t around the other two that made
up the Golden Trio; Hermione turned out to be a very civil woman to talk to.

Yeah, so screw the idea that they really didn�t talk about
anything intellectually like politics or potions and ancient runes.� But he got through a boring and awkward
conversation with her without a single bad thing happening.

Draco had to smirk at that thought, there was hope after
all; a small piece of it burning it�s light somewhere; in due time Draco was
willing to find that candle of hope as well.

��..��
��..�� .

It was quite a few minutes that passed before Ron finally
broke the deafening silence.

�What the bloody hell was that all about Mione?� he asked
bewildered.

Hermione only shrugged her shoulders. �I still have no clue
myself Ron, he just came here! It was the oddest thing, after my outburst this
morning I sort of rammed into Malfoy and Madame Malfoy; sort of twisted my left
ankle and Malfoy�s mother made Malfoy bring me back
in, to see about my ankle.� However! I
don�t think she would have insisted, if she knew who I was,� she finished.

�Well, we�re glad you�re alright, aren�t we Harry?� asked
Ron; patting Harry on the back.

�Yeah, we were really worried for you Mione; we looked all
over for you, you nearly gave us a fright,� Harry said; he rubbed his friend�s
shoulder in a comforting manner; smiling genuinely down at her.

�I�m am sorry for running out like that; but-,�

�No Hermione it was my fault,� said a quiet voice from
behind Seamus and Ginny.� It was Padma,
pushing her way to the front in order to face Hermione.�

�I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I
didn�t know- I- I am truly sorry Hermione!� the dark haired-beauty pleaded;
looking to be on the edge of tears, she bent over the bed to hug Hermione to
her; hoping to feel the gesture returned. �I deserved what I got for saying
such a horrid thing to you.�

Hermione�s smile became a little wistful; and her eyes
glazed over a bit. �Oh Padma I couldn�t stay mad at you forever,� she hugged
her friend to her with just as much endearment. �Of course I forgive you!� she
said.

The group in the small room sighed relief; after all neither
the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw bookworms were that much keen on holding grudges
with others; and starting arguments unless you were their worst enemy or they
diligently was trying to get their point or opinions across to those who truly
didn�t understand what they were talking about.

�So Hermione how is your ankle?� asked Ginny; once Hermione
and Padma ended their hug.

�It�s still sore; but I�ll be fine by tomorrow morning,� she
said.

�It is getting late, we should all be going home; there is
still a lot we have to finish up! I will soon be getting married and my wedding
has to be that of perfection people!� Ginerva bellowed; she was presently
shooing everybody out of Hermione�s room so the brunette could get some rest.

�Come on, off with you all! We have to let Mione get her
rest now,� she huffed, failing miserably to make Fred or George which one,
Ginny didn�t care at the moment to get a move on it by constantly shoving them
towards the door leading to the hallway.

�Fred! George! Move ya arses lads! There�s plenty of time to embarrass Mione later
with your latest dirty jokes!� Ron said jokingly.� He laughed, daring to glance at Hermione�s
shock face which slowly turned into a glare in his direction.

Harry was trying his hardest to hide his mirth behind his
hand; and he laughed harder when Hermione looked his way. �You take things way
too serious Mione, loosen up a bit eh?� he said, kissing her cheek before
heading out behind his fianc�e.

�Yeah Mione, was only joking with ya,�
said Ron who only hugged her before following Harry and Ginny out the
door.� Being the last one to leave, he
quietly shut her room door.

�The silence reigned
supreme in the small room once more; all Hermione could do was lay back down
under the covers and sigh.� Harry and Ron
could still turn 108 years old this very minute and still behave the way they
are now.� That thought made Hermione
giggled; picturing Harry and Ron as two old Wizard�s who ran Hogwarts or some
other profession in the same way Dumbledore still does.

She stared up at the ceiling a bit more before sleep finally
overtook her, she did have work the following day and needed all the rest she
could muster. She slept and instead of a funny image of two friends goofing off
in their golden years; there was instead a dream of an old aged couple that
looked on in complete bliss at their many children that flourished their home
and their children�s children and even a few of their children as well.�

��..xx��.mione��xx��Draco��..xx��..

Draco returned home later that evening; he had a long, long
tiring day.� His mother and father were
not home yet; he was sure after constantly dealing with arrogant men; his
father being one of them and inept employees that worked in other departments,
like Percy Weasley who always was kissing her ass; his mother wanted nothing
more than to go to all the popular and expensive places in town to shop; a
thing she did to relax and drag his father to her favorite restaurant to eat.

Right now, he wanted peace and quiet; have dinner with Savannah,
bath and find a decent book to read and some quality time with his betroth; she
was a devil in the sheets; he gave her that.

Just as he was making his way through the main hallway where
three grand stair cases led right up to the second story; as he passed them to
get to the family living room he heard voices.�
Both familiar, one a deep masculine English accent that he knew well and
the other a light feminine voice that held a touch of Italian; in fact it was
speaking in perfect Italian, Italian made to efficiently flirt with men other
than whom it should be made for flirting with; namely himself. Which was
something she never done with him, since he was thinking about it.

What he expected to see; he got right in front of his eyes;
Theodore Nott and Savannah Terminelli, speaking with each other and looking
quite happy to boot.� It was subtle, the
way the two of them were endlessly flirting.�
He walked in on Theo hugging his fianc�e, it looked innocent enough; but
boy did it tell a whole lot!� As if that
weren�t enough, Savannah would
lightly touch Nott here or there as if she were trying to straighten his blouse
and tie for him.� Like bloody hell she
was; try as he might he didn�t want to feel jealous at all and why the hell
should he?!

The both of them were marrying just to get marry and settle
a business deal made by both Lucius and Camillo.� He didn�t give a damn that she was shamelessly
flirting and doing it in front of him; but it was the principle of the
matter.� Her arse shouldn�t be flirting
with other men; but he wasn�t going to confront her about it; yes he was
irritated about it; but he wasn�t going to get bent out of shape; once again he
needed to remind himself she nor he loved each other.

This was going to be a fantastic marriage life; very.� He couldn�t wait until they started actually
preparing all the shite for the wedding next
year.� He did the only thing he could think
of at the moment.� He quickly and quietly
turned back the way he came from; walked out of the grand white doors of the
Malfoy estate; while slamming them harshly, hoping to bring the shameless
flirts out of their small paradise; he quickly apparrated
out of there.

Four hours he spent, thinking about his wonderfully messed
up life the minute he uttered the words �I do�.�
Man! Did he not need this shit right now; Draco was completely stressed
out it wasn�t remotely funny.� Nott and
Terminelli�Terminelli and Nott; and any other damn bloke that she was shagging
behind his back; in his bed; that
knew she was already spoken the hell
for! If he thought it before, he�ll say it again!

�Sure, I don�t love the woman; but damn it the hell! It�s
the fucking principle of the matter!� he bellowed for all to hear.� He was currently sitting with Gregory Goyle,
Blaise Zabini, and Marcus Flint. He took a quick swig of his liquor before
slamming the shot glass on the wooden table.

It was sort of a small tradition for what had been five of
them, now only four of the young men to get together every now and then and
have drinks at whatever pub they deem necessary for the night.� If they all felt in a good mood to mingle,
they would go straight to the hottest joints around town; the places where only
those on the �A-list� got in. Of course if just one had a day where his life
just felt shitty, well they just met at places such as the one they were at
right now.� A small bar with the smell of
all sorts of alcoholic brandies and every brand of cigarettes you�ll ever smell
for the rest of your life.

Currently among the young men; most of them were living
their lives without feeling quite so burdened by it; and really enjoying their
freedoms from fulfilling ancient and long term obligations to their families;
which Draco currently found himself doing at the
moment.� Blaise, Gregory, and Marcus
knowing Draco and being around him for all of his life knew what it was like to
feel pressured by upholding with family traditions.� They also went through similar trials and
tribulations of which Draco was going through right now. All three of them
turned their backs on such responsibilities at different intervals of their
lives; all of the friends except Draco.

Who was too damn stubborn to back out; though they knew he
wanted out; he was desperate to find any means out; but even if he did find his
way out of this engagement, he was going to go through with it anyhow; because
he couldn�t bare letting his parents down.

Blaise Zabini currently found himself happily dating Pansy
Parkinson a fellow Slytherin, who after the war,
broke out of her snobby personality and became a respected pretty young lady
holding a job as a Medi-Witch at St. Mungo�s.� Blaise for his part,
didn�t feel the pressure of family tradition as hard as Draco.� He lived his life with his mother, a woman
with a rich milk chocolate complexion; she was quite famous and known for her
beautiful appearance, her striking features being her light blue hazel
eyes.� She rarely encouraged him into an
arranged marriage; though she politely agreed with anything her �current�
husband had to say.�

At times that woman was a bit conceited; but regardless of
her demeanor he does love his mother and at first out of respect for a man that
wasn�t his real father at all he gritted his teeth and bared it; though he
reminded himself it really wasn�t respect to him it was for his mother.� But once he found his real father the one he
gotten his namesake from; a handsome man of ivory skin and a thick Italian
accent�he would have given the man his respect if he wasn�t a supporter of the
late lunatic known as Voldemort.� That was when he cursed everything straight
to hell and became his own man. A very well to do young man at that; he shared
and owned some of his own companies; his favorite hobby was not to collect
money for wealth but really, the excitement he gotten from knowing how much he
was a genius at being a savvy investor.

Then there were Marcus and Gregory, sons of loyal Death
Eaters to the cause.� Expected to become
loyal Death Eaters as well and pretty much that was all expected from
them.� Neither one�s own parents saw them
as �good quality� for procreating an heir to continue the Flint
and Goyle lines.� For Goyle, that
tradition was gracefully given over to his older sister; who to this day still
looks at her life with a dull and bitterness approach that matches her
semi-pretty features.� Gregory didn�t
wish that on her at all or being a Death Eater or becoming some lunatic�s dumb
goon wasn�t very appealing.� Unlike
Marcus, Gregory alongside his and Draco�s friend Vincent Crabbe
who moved a few years ago to the States; was always seen as the �all muscle but
no brains� goon of Draco Malfoy�s.� A constant shadow that did
nothing but bully weaker peers just by the order of Malfoy�s
command.

Quite frankly, Gregory was tired of the image that people
most knew him by; so during the times leading up and after the war; he had
decided to change some things about himself. For one thing, he certainly concentrated
hard enough that he was able to Graduate from Hogwarts with his year.� He knew that he was endanger of repeating
seventh year; and made a decision to better himself, to prove to everybody and
himself that he wasn�t anybody�s fool.

So here he was, graduate of Hogwarts with quite some
impressive O�s and P�s for grades. A very tall young man whose fat had slim
some and toned into some well define muscles from a lot of working out.� Sandy brown hair groomed nicely and richly
soft and curly; overall a complete turnaround from his school days; that he was
very noticed by a lot of females; especially if its to give them a helping
hand.� He had a thing for building things
and owned a small business as a self-employed Wizard who built anything
associated with housing.

They sat all four mates, all Slytherins four friends that
got together on a particular night to get piss drunk while they all listen to
one buddy drown his sorrows in alcohol for just a moment. Like with the current
situation.

Blaise only nodded his head; agreeing with Draco who was
starting to make himself piss drunk.

�I mean, I don�t want to marry her either; but not once had
I gone behind her bloody back and shagged some chit on the street; and I�ve
seen better looking women with bigger assets than the ones she�s packing!� he
said; slightly sloshing the liquid in his bottle forgoing the shot glass all
together. �I can even name quite a few of them me self!� he proclaimed.

Gregory seeing his friend bordering on being drunk; took a
hold of the bottle of fire whiskey from Draco�s hand.� �Once you calm down, I�ll give it back,� the
young man said calmly.� Seeing Draco�s
sneer turn on him; the blond out of nerves and frustration glided his hand
through his fair hair; pushing it back out of the way only to have his partial
spiked bangs fall back into his left eye.

Greg just shook his head slightly, almost amused at Draco�s
antics. �If you drink anymore you�ll start too actually sound like Weasley,� he
added.

�You�re right Greg, absolutely right!� he banged his hands
hard on the wooden table; the after effect of pain emitting for his sore hands
didn�t faze Draco in the least. �I need to calm down.� Before I make myself look like a complete
jackass in this shabby hellhole!� he commented; of course being told you sound
like Ronald Weasley while getting pissed does give the desired reaction.

��Are you sure Savannah
has been sleeping around your back? She�s just not the type to do that type of
thing; she�s a sweet woman,� said Blaise.

If looks could kill, Blaise would have died where he sat;
�Sweet woman you say? Bullocks! Pure and utter shit! You know better than
anyone else; when you can tell when a woman�your woman has her own personal
fuck buddy!� he spat the words like venom from his mouth.�

The angrier he got, the more his face scrunched up into a
hard scowl, �HA! That�s add more drama to the play that is my life by making
said fuck buddy what used to be one of my best mates!� But wait! Wait a bloody fucking minute here!
Why am I so strung up on this shite?� Draco had somehow managed to swipe the
fire whiskey from Goyle�s hands and took a long swig; most of it drenching his
white and gray robes with the stench of liquor.

�It�s the principle of the matter, right Draco?� asked
Marcus finding the entire scene amusing; not what his buddy was going through,
but just the fact that Draco could make quite a scene when looking to be off
his rocker when he was drunk.� As long as
no one tried to fight the blond Wizard, all was well. Marcus remembered a time
when Draco and Goyle were completely drunk they got into an altercation with
two other equally drunk Wizards who randomly sought others in the pub to fight;
just for the hell of it; it was quite barbaric and funny.

As long as you watched the idiots fight from afar and out of
harms way.� To say the least, Draco and
Goyle amazingly were still standing and turned out victorious that night;
waking up the next morning without remembering what they even did the night prior.
This time to avoid another incident; Gregory and Marcus took their friend
outside in the dark lighted alleyway; Blaise following behind.

�YES! Yes! Your�ab-ab-fucking rr-rr-�f�ing right! Marcus
you�re a smart arse lad!� Draco let out a loud laugh; snorting and smack the
palm of his hand on a thigh; as if he found something very amusing. �It�s the
principle! The fucking principle bitch! Terminelli�you can kiss my sodding
prick ass!� Draco shouted to the skies; he took one last gulp of the burning
liquid and held the large empty glass bottle as in a toast to his father. �And
that one was for you father! You outrages�conniving fucker! And toooo every
asshole that has every ruined my and my best mates childhood I salute you by
saying kiss my shiny ivory colored ass!��

Draco fell to his knees before flatly sitting on his rear; a
good thing too as the drunk aristocrat was trying unsuccessfully to bend over
and pull his slacks down.� He threw the
empty bottle hard at the brick wall before him; looking at it shatter into a
million pieces.� And for a long while, it
was quiet.� None of the four said
anything to anyone; the atmosphere was tense and the vibe was coming off in
waves from Malfoy.

He just sat there without saying a word; looking intense and
every passing second his frown turned to a scowl than to a sneer than to anger.� �When something is too good to be true it
probably is,� he quietly mumbled; his fist pounding into the dirt road.� �An interesting rule to learn from�makes me
wonder�just what else that woman hides about herself from me?� he wondered out
loud.

�Find someone to shag, if both of you are not truly
committed as you say; and she found her a buddy to sleep around with; than do
the same,� suggested Blaise.

�I wouldn�t dare bothered; as nice as that sounds, I rather
not.� I�ll be the bigger person in this
marriage.� Hell I already devoted 2 years
of my damn life to please and catered to her every need; shit! I spent my whole
damn life to please and catered to my own father!� I�m so deep into this nonsense, there�s no
way for me to try and stop it now,� he finished.

�Sounds like you need to find a miracle,� said Blaise.

�You know Zabini, not all of us are quite lucky to receive
one,� said Draco.

�Than stop waiting on it to come to you, and go out there
and search for it yourself,� the brown skinned young man said insightfully.

�Merlin, you sound like Loony Lovegood,� Draco said
disbelievingly.

�Earlier you mentioned about certain females packing better
assets than your own�vigorous wife-to-be.�
May I ask who you speak of?� asked Blaise, smirking feeling quite
curious.� He figured that Draco was
drunk, just not very drunk to the point he couldn�t move.� This meant that he was speaking of his
troubles with the inducement of consumed alcohol in the system.

�Lots of women,� he began getting up staggering a little,
heading back inside the pub for one or two last drinks.

�Name one than,� Blaise suggested.

�Hmm�seen and slept with many lovely ladies I can�t remember
their names,� he said, dumping himself into an empty barstool.� This time he got himself an order of Lemon
Vodka.

�Oh come on, inquiring minds want to know; there had to be
one woman from the bunch you dated or shagged that could become your new sex
toy?� Blaise smirked.

�I told you, I won�t stoop that far, I�ll continue to stick
it hard to Savannah;
regardless�but�if I did choose I�ll say it would have to be Ginny Weasley,� he
said, smirking at the shocked looks on his mates faces.

Marcus even had the courtesy to spit his drink out; from
shock. �No fucking way!� he yelled, �Are you serious?! Potter�s woman?�

�Quite serious, the Weaselette has a great ass; nice tits
too; however we had a fling besides she�s Potter�s woman now.� Guess I�ll have to cross her out,� he said.

�Other than Ginny, there was Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw but
that�s it.� Who could you blokes suggest
than?� he asked, curious to know what would be their answers.

�Bulstrode?� said Marcus. �From what I hear, she�s changed
quite a bit since our Hogwarts years.

Draco cringed at the thought of Millicent from Hogwarts,
�Never suggest her! Ever! That woman gives me the creeps, no matter how much
she changed,� he said.

�Abbott, cute and a hell cat in bed,� said Blaise.

�She was a bit dull for me at the time and she hated my guts
that fling didn�t go anywhere,� said Draco.

�Granger,� said Goyle; who was busy turning the small shot
glass around between his hands.

Draco�s eyebrow arched high into his hair line; his facial
appearance perfectly read �you have got to be kidding me?� He wasn�t alone either;
Blaise and Marcus both were sending Gregory the same exact looks.

Blaise outright laughed at this suggestion, �I�m sure you
don�t mean �holier than thou
Miss-I-Can�t-Put-My-Arm-Down-Until-I-Answered-The-Question Know-It-All
Genderless Bookworm Unattractive Hermione Granger?� he kept laughing at Gregory
whose face seemed to turn a slight shade of red.

�It�s not that funny Zabini,� he retorted.�

�But Granger?� said Malfoy, who still couldn�t comprehend
what made Goyle even suggest her in the first place.

�Yes Granger!� he said, feeling annoyed at Draco who was unable
to comprehend and Zabini and Flint�s
need to giggle like annoying school girls.

�I just met with Granger today! Granger looks like bloody
Granger since we left Hogwarts only now she�s 25�I think.� She was wild looking this morning, something
upset her so she barged right into mother and I; even sprained her ankle. Plain
as day, mother was looking at her wild mane of busy hair; probably to calculate
what type of shampoo brand would work on Granger,� said Draco.

�What a way to meet someone you hadn�t seen in six years,�
said Blaise, �What was wrong with her?�

�How the bloody hell should I know! Mother insisted I be a
gentleman and help the poor thing up! As if it were my bloody fault she rammed
into us; than she has the audacity to assume I was gawking at Granger! She
isn�t even cute.� On top of that she kept
asking me questions which I didn�t answer and than tells me to check on her at the hospital to see how�s sees
doing. All in all I�ll say my day was a tiring and fucked up one,� said Draco.

�Well I see something different about her that�s changed; I
have met up with her on occasions.�
Usually we�re always bumping into each other going and coming from our
jobs,� said Gregory, �Plus I�ve talked to her before than, I had met up with
her through my business partner who said there was a woman who was interested
in our services.� It appears Granger
needed me to build some buildings for her.�

�Seriously? Well how the hell have I�ve not remotely ran into
Granger until today then?� Draco asked the question more to himself than Goyle.

�Maybe its because the two of you have purposely ignored
ever trying to meet each other after graduation; plus the line of work and
companies you two own are far apart; you live faraway from each other; not to
mention the places you go differ from the places she goes,� said Blaise who
just chuckled at Draco and Gregory�s astonished looks.

�My mother uses one of Granger�s services,� said Blaise as
if that answered everything.

�But why Granger, she�s not gorgeous?� asked Draco taking
another gulp of his vodka, returning the subject back to what they were
previously talking about.

�Beauty is only skin deep,� said Goyle, who knew what it was
like to be unattractive to the opposite sex. �I didn�t mean to say her as far
as a shag partner; but someone who could be like a companion.� Granger�s too innocent to be someone�s shag
buddy,� said Goyle.

�From what I hear, she�s just frigid is all, won�t put out
for anything even when she had a few boyfriends,� said Marcus.

�That�s not true really, Granger told me a bit about her
past relationships the last time I spoke with her.� She didn�t give much detail but from what I
figure two of them just wanted to use her and the other dumped her because of
something she is unable to do.� Plus her
friends had somehow made her go on these ridiculous blind dates,� he said.

�No way! Granger and blind dates! The two don�t mix,� said
Blaise quite interested in what Gregory had to say about the Plain Bookworm.

�How do you know about all this anyway?� asked Draco, who
was immensely enjoying hearing that Granger�s love life; was just as shitty as
his.

�I was suppose to be her 12th Blind date about three years
ago; and I had to cancel the date short, there was a small matter that needed
taken care of.� It wasn�t surprising to
know I was the only one who didn�t need persuading with galleons to go on one
measly date with Granger,� he shrugged.

�So her own friends paid guys they knew to just date her?� asked
Flint.

�I felt sort of bad for her and she seemed miserable, they
acted as if she wanted to go on these things or as if she couldn�t take care of
her own love life.� But the woman is very
sweet and pleasant to talk too; and an attentive listener�� Goyle trailed off.

It was quiet among the four of them until Draco stated the
obvious, �You sound like you�re in love with Miss Plain Jane Greg.�

�Shut your mouth Draco! The Kitten is just a
respectable�friend to have is all,� he said, all the while maintaining to keep
the blush he knew would form on his cheeks down.

�Kitten now is she? Did you really shag Granger Goyle? Is
that why she has the pet name?� asked Malfoy who was now teasing his friend.

Gregory knew his face got red; so he was a slight sensitive
than the other four go figure. Not that he was shy or anything, far from it;
but their teasing and his feelings of embarrassment spoke volumes.� He did have a tiny, tiny crush on the
bookworm so what? It wasn�t his mates� business. �No, and Granger won�t let
anyone ever try after the relationships she�s gone through; I swear that woman
will end up dying a virgin; not because she�s uptight; just�doesn�t trust
herself to get close to any man now; but its really her business to share not
mines,� he said.

�Sooo�.why the hell did you bring her up in the first
place?� Draco wanted to know.

Goyle just sighed with frustration, �Because�maybe you could
try to forget your differences and just talk with her sometimes, civilly,� you know for once try finding a woman you
don�t need to shag just someone to talk to. You said yourself, you wouldn�t
stoop to your fianc�e�s level so why not still get even with her by being in
another woman�s company; one you have never gotten along with before,� he said.

Gregory had a crush on Granger for her being herself;
however he knew Draco admired the woman for some of her qualities; and that
Malfoy and Granger actually shared a lot in common. He didn�t think Draco�s
admiration surpassed that of her wit and bravery; but he knew it was there.

�Sounds interesting, but Granger is too�honest for that sort
of thing; so why granger again? Are you sure you hadn�t tried anything with
her? I mean you even mentioned her still being a frigging virgin for Merlin�s
sake,� said Draco.

Goyle just frowned, �Say or assume whatever you like, if
this is about her looks, she�s not bad looking.�
The woman isn�t ugly or plain; quite the opposite.� Granger will probably never make herself look
�beautiful� but her beauty is there��

�You do like the bookworm, my god! You sound all mushy it�s
funny,� Draco laughed. �Do yourself a favor and pursue her; I�ll survive
without needing companionship if it comes from Granger!� they laughed.

Gregory having enough of the conversation; silently got up
from his seat, paid his tab muttering under his breath; but loud enough for
them to hear as he left out, �Than if you don�t, I gladly will.� In the end you�ll just end up lonely,� he
said.

Draco only scowled at Goyle�s retreating back; what did he
know?! Nothing! Nothing at all, he didn�t like Granger, he did! He didn�t have
to take it so serious. They were teasing him was all.

It didn�t really matter; Draco wasn�t going to be alone�just
in a loveless but tolerable marriage. It was his last thought that night as he
drown one last shot of vodka before heading out the bar with Zabini and Flint.

��.......xx��..mione��.xx��..Draco��..xx��..

Early the next morning, Hermione awaken opening her eyes,
yawning, and stretching her limbs. She was very rested and ready for the day
ahead; she had to be at work in a few hours.�

In no time, with her ankle feeling much better and as long
as she didn�t injury her ankle again she would be fine the Medi-Witch informed
her before she left the hospital building; showered, and dressed properly in
uniform.� Her wild mane of curly yet
bushy hair was hurriedly done in a bun that still managed not to capture all
the hair.

Hermione was dressed in a pair of black slacks with a long
sleeved white blouse underneath a matching black jacket.� She had apparated home from the hospital once
it was certain she could walk on her ankle freely without needing the aid of
something to uphold her.� Before leaving
out the house, she made sure to grab her briefcase; and she stuck her piece of
toast with a spread of jam and butter in her mouth.

When she arrived at one of the three orphanages� she owned;
all of her employees busily attending to the children who called the orphanage
their home were startled by Hermione�s rushed manner.� They knew Hermione didn�t rush into the
building to make her employees feel unease when she was around.� She just had a habit of rushing in order to
never be late for anything she needed to be accounted for, forgetting that
being a Witch entitled you to be able to apparate to the place she wanted to
go; old habits die hard; especially when you�re muggle-born; besides none of
the staff bothered to mention to their boss there wasn�t a need to be or feel
rushed all the time as she always was an hour or two early.�� Some had tried getting this clear through
Hermione�s head; but the advice clearly flew over her head; so it was left at
that.

She mainly worked part-time among the staff at the
Orphanages; making frequent visits to check and make sure everything was
running well.� Most of her time at work
was hoping from office to office; managing all the things needed taken care
of.� Making sure her employees were taken
care for; paychecks were fine, other finances were okay; etc.� At times it could get a bit boring and time
consuming, if she had a meeting schedule with her executive board and the
like.� On any regular day when she had
time and she had plenty she�ll go mostly to the orphanages and daycares or
sometimes to the primary schools.� But
her favorite among them all was the orphanage.

This particular orphanage called �Little Home for Wizarding
Children� was a very large building that towered about 10 Floors.� Resembling a nice large Manor, its location was
centered in the newly restructured town of Hogsmeade
that was destroyed in the war.� The town
had grown bigger since then; and there were many houses built on the outskirts
of the town; Herminone�s Orphanage was one of those buildings.�

Hermione had dedicated her time once she graduated from
Hogwarts to spend some time at a Muggle
University; since there wasn�t any
additional Schooling once you left a Wizarding school.� During her duration at Cambridge
University where she took up
studies in child care, she lived with her parents in the home she grew up in
prior to leaving it for Hogwarts and the Wizarding world.� Hermione also took classes on management and
business. The four years she stayed at home, were years she spent fully with
her parents and other family members that were scattered across the
country.� Her parents welcome her back
home with open arms; very glad to have her back with them in the muggle world.

It certainly was a complete turnaround; as Hermione had to
remind herself regularly to be careful of her magic and any mentions of the
Wizarding world while out in public.� It
was some getting used too; she was used to it, but getting used to the fact
that she had to adjust herself from one World to the next was a bit mind
numbing. At home was a different story; though she did mind to use a speck of
magic so she wouldn�t cause a problem with the electricity in the house.

Once graduating from the University
of Cambridge; Hermione immediately
began planning to build her businesses in child care, a couple in the muggle
world; and a handful in the Wizarding world.�
She knew it was needed the most there, the war had taken a great toll on
everybody and the ones that suffered the most loss in her opinion had been the
children who witnessed it.

Always one wanting to contribute something for the good of
the world; and seeing that S.P.E.W. hadn�t gone anywhere when she was in sixth
year being its only member; she ended it.�
Both House-elves and the Students and Staff excluding Dumbledore weren�t
very keen to the idea.� So the Gryffindor
didn�t have any true ambitions to start something else until she thought of
another; and during the start of the first wave of the war, it was then
Hermione came up with the idea to help the children younger than she caught up
in the war.

Once again, Hermione had something to give back to a world
that even after the causalities and reasons behind the war still looked down on
her as a third class citizen.� At least
this time around instead of caring for House-elves, she tended to children; an
idea everyone agreed with. She was very successful; she owned orphanages for
magical born children who no longer had any family members or that weren�t
properly cared for by parents or family members.� Daycares and primary schooling as well as
clinical places for both children and adults who otherwise needed minor tending
too. Also for those who needed regular check-ups without needing to go to St.
Mungo�s Hospital. Her clinics even gave dental; an idea her parents praised her
for; that they joined their practice with their daughter�s clinic.

She did very well for herself; and currently she was walking
into one of the large rooms on the 3^rd level of the manor.� A playroom for all the younger children
around the ages of six and under; this manor was one of her largest buildings;
as she owned all the property that came with the estate on the ends of
Hogsmeade. Little Home for Wizarding Children had everything; surrounded by
other small buildings also owned by Hermione. Mainly they were a clinic and
other offices and temporary living space surrounding the estate.

It was a huge ten story mansion that covered roughly nine
acres of land. All the land she owned on the estate was nearly 20 acres. The
ground level held a playground, a small lake, a swimming pool something new to
the magical children that stayed there. �There was also a Quidditch pitch made in the
backyard; plenty of room for many activities outside. Inside, the first level
was made up as an office space for the staff and when the place was visited by
clients interesting in adopting or fostering a child.

The second level still was made as office space; and used
for meetings between the children and the new parents that wanted to adopt them
into the family all the while being supervised by a staff member. The third
floor was inside activity for the younger children; as the fourth was for the
older ones. The floors between the fourth and eighth levels were classrooms for
learning. There were older children that lived there old enough for Hogwarts or
other magical schools, but didn�t have the finances to go or had other reasons
for not going to school; so they were taught along with the younger children
yet not old enough to attend Hogwarts. The eighth, ninth, and tenth floors were
for sleeping quarters the staff on the tenth floor, girls on the ninth floor,
and boys on the eighth.

One thing she never had a trouble with, was the behavior
among her children; as she referred to them; sometimes she thought of herself
as a mother hen who had hundreds of baby chicks to watch over. At times the
smaller ones who lived there since their birth saw her as a mother figure, many
calling her �Ma Nee� or �Min-min� even �Mimi�.�
The older children stuck to calling her �Professor� or Miss. Hermione as
she didn�t mind them using her first name.

All the children were very respectful and got along just
fine.� She never had to deal with any
hostility from them no issues had arisen from one child teasing or harassing
another especially when it came to a child�s family background. There was an
equal balance of pure-blood and muggle-born; half-blood children out numbering
the other two. There was the occasional child who did start trouble; or had
deep family issues these usually were issues the older ones faced.� Regardless of the situation if someone
purposely tried to harm another there were dire consequences to those sorts of
actions; but thankfully there never were any.�
When the older ones learned to adjust to their new predicaments; they
were able to relax a little and get used to the changes. The older children
even played roles as a big sister or brother to the younger ones and always
wanted to do things to help them.��

She had very sweet children in her care; and there was one
child that really captured her heart.�
This one of age four had light reddish and blonde hair, wavy pigtails
all over her head and pretty dark grayish-blue eyes. She was busily playing
with her best friend and one of the teachers who were feeding her younger
brother.� She hadn�t seen Hermione walk
into the room yet; the third floor was always the most loudest and chaotic
level in the whole Mansion. There was children everywhere, running around,
yelling, screaming, making a mess by painting or drawing on the walls.� Building blocks and legos strewn over
carpets; books�the poor books had pages torn out which was fine; Hermione or
one of the workers would always �reparo� everything in this room.

Hundreds of children to mother; she had a lot on her hands
without needing to become one herself.�
She walked over to the young little girl; and the small child wearing a
navy blue sundress with floral light blue prints and light blue sandals turned
around.� Her cherub face lightened up
bringing a cute sparkle to her gray-blue eyes the minute she saw Hermione; her
favorite teacher.

�How are you today Celeste?� asked Hermione her smile
widening as the girl ran over to her side to be picked up by Hermione.�

Unlike all the other children, this one boldly called her,
�Mummy! Mummy Mimi you�re here!� she cried out; opening her arms up to Hermione
in anticipation of being held by her. Hermione lovingly embraced the young girl
in her arms. �I missed you mummy! There�s so much I have to tell you!� she said
to Hermione.

�I missed you too Celeste and are waiting to hear everything
you have to say to me. Guess what sweetie?� said Hermione excitedly.

�What?� asked Celeste.

�I found your favorite teddy �Charlie� today in my office!�
she pulled out a small yellow teddy bear she cleaned off for the child.� The young child was always losing the only
and last toy she received from her deceased father; affectionately named
�Charlie� after her father.

�Charlie!� she squealed, taking the offered toy and hugging
it fiercely. Hermione gave her one last squeeze before settling her back down
onto the floor.

�Be more careful with him okay?� said Hermione; she received
a short nod from the child who was leading her to a section of the room where
reading time was held.

Celeste B. M. Harrison was the child�s name; and she also
had a little one year old brother named Anthony R. M. Harrison.� They were orphaned pure-blood children,
Celeste never knowing her mother even though she and her sibling stemmed from
the same parents.� Apparently, her mother
didn�t want anything to do with her and refused to think of her children as
hers so she left out on the children�s father, meeting him on occasions when he
was alone.� She died from sickness a few
months after having Anthony.� The
children�s father raised them until he passed away from fatal injuries in an
accident that happened while on the job.�
There was no known relatives of the children; and the one that was known
didn�t want anything to do with them; however she did manage to get her greedy
hands on the small amount of savings in her brother�s will that was saved for
his two children; leaving them with nothing.

When they first arrived here, Anthony was still only a few
months old and Celeste was nearing her fourth birthday. Hermione had spent most
of her time; caring for both children and welcoming them to the home with open
arms.� It took awhile for both to get
familiar with Hermione and the place itself.�
Since Hermione took the duty of being Celeste�s primary guardian, as the
child didn�t approach anyone else aside from she. Never knowing her mother and
recently losing her caring father; she clung to Hermione, had asked her could
she call her �mom� and so Celeste boldly became the only child to really call
her mummy or �mummy Mimi�.

Hermione treated all her children with much equality;
however Celeste and her brother were the only two that wanted to get close to
her since being there for eight months. None of the other�s tried to get too
attached to her or the staff.

Hermione had cleaned and repaired the damaged children books
in order.� There were times like these
when the noise level got out of hand in this room that she simply cast a
silencing charm on all the children. She ordered her employees to help clean
and bring some order into the room.

Hermione muttered the sonorous charm to her neck to amplify
her voice. �I think we will continue this early morning today with a bit of
story telling! It is a bit too loud in here this morning so we will be a bit
quieter until lunch time.� Afterwards,
you can make all the chaos you want during free time okay?� she asked.

She released the silence charm on the children and gotten
several answers at the same time all sounding like, �Yes Ma-Nee!� and of course
�Mimi!� and her favorite by far, �Min-min!�

All the children sat down on plush seating pillows made of
all colors and decorations, some holding a toy; they were all settled down and
waiting for Hermione busy using a charm to hand out a variety of health snacks
to all the children before sitting in the front of them with a new story book
she never read to them yet; of course Celeste and a few other children sat next
to her laying their heads on her lap.

Hermione read from the small book and did a charm to show
visual images of what happened in the story above her head for the children to
watch.

��..��
��.��

Later into the afternoon after she left work, the brown
haired Witch met up with two other females that came with flaming red and sheer
blonde hair.� Hermione only smiled as she
spotted Ginny and Luna waving at her while standing at the corner of Knockturn
and Middleton Alleys waiting for her to join them.

Middleton Alley was one of the many new street alleys that
were made after the war.� Middleton Alley
was a street section that was one step up from that of Diagon Alley; it sported
all the new shops and hotels that were more in style and fancier, but still in
the range where those that weren�t well off could still afford to buy from
these shops on this strip corner.� Streets
that were made a block after Middleton were far fancier and expensive.�

However, new street corners that were made going along the
same side of Knockturn Alley were a little different. The shops on these
streets were shadier the nearer you got to Knockturn Alley as well as the cost
was expensive the farther away from the Alley you were.

At the moment, the three women were heading onto Middleton Alley
walking in the direction that would take them further away from Knockturn
Alley.� As they crossed the street for
the fifth time, they halted at a pretty recently built building.� It was made of pink and peach bricks and a
dark brown rooftop.

The lettering on the glass window read �House of Formal Wear
for the Witch and Wizard�.� This was the
place Ginerva had decided to spend thousands of Galleons on her dream bridal
gown and gowns for the bridesmaids of course for her perfect dream wedding with
Harry Potter as the perfect dream husband.

It was currently a very popular store and the prices were
very accommodating; the store nearly brought in more customers than old Madame Malkin�s shop on Diagon Alley; the woman still got plenty
of customers; those who couldn�t afford the up to date fashionable evening
wears of the new store; but it surely was the place all Witches wanted to go to
have their wedding gowns made, no matter if they couldn�t afford it or not.

The three of them had come here today, so Ginny could finish
up by getting the last minute details done on Hermione and Luna�s gowns not to
mention her own.� She had gotten Parvati, Lavender, and even Daphne�s gowns done already.

Hermione was quiet, standing as
still as a statue while the two women who worked there was fitting her dress on
her; sticking pins here and sticking them there.� One of the women almost pinched her real good
in her breast a few times.� She thought
the gowns were flawless and amazing in the store; very lovely and more spacious
than the small room to move around in Madame Malkin�s.
She wasn�t putting her down as she was a constant shopper to Madame Malkin�s; never giving in to shop here at �House of Formal
Wear for the Witch and Wizard� or daring herself to go into �Clandestine
Beauty� a shop which sold sleepwear of all forms for women.� She had the money for these shops and even
for all the other�s after Middleton Alley; she surely went into the bookstores
on those strips and she even had a couple of her childcare buildings on a few
of the streets.

The brunette was busy listening to her friend gush about how
pretty everything was in the store.

�This material would be wonderful on my dress; it would make
the lovely finishing touch!� said Ginny excitedly; holding a white square piece
of material with an imprinted floral pattern that had three small yellow rose
buds that repetitively blossomed.

�It is lovely Gin; you�re going to be the bell of your own
wedding; none of us will overshadow you at all,� said Hermione; smiling at her
semi-blushing friend.

�Yes, it�s why she purposely made her bridesmaids wear this
ridiculous shade of magenta and pink,� said Luna, she obviously didn�t like the
color pink.

Ginny mockingly scoffed at Luna�s suggestion. �Not true! My
bridesmaids are beautiful in these dresses. But that�s the point, at my wedding
all eyes will be on me not my maids,� said Ginny.

Hermione only chuckled; though she would be very glad when
all of this fitting and tucking in was finally done with.� She swore if that woman actually stuck that
god forsaken clothes pin in her; she was going to hex the woman�s hands to do
nothing but try to attempt to sew with a clothes pin as the needle.

�I can�t wait until next month, soon I will be Mrs. Harry
Potter!� said Ginny twirling around in her still unfinished gown; the woman
working on it looked a bit annoyed.� She worked
with Ginny on this bridal gown since the beginning and the girl still couldn�t
keep still.� �Sorry ma�am,� said Ginny,
trying to placate the middle aged woman.

�Yes we can�t wait either,� said Luna in her misty voice,
�You are becoming quite a nuance for the workers in this place,� she smiled
amused by the look on Ginny�s face, even though she seem not to really care or
ignored it all together.

�I can�t help it! This is something I�ve been dreaming about
for all my life and it�s finally happening!� she sighed contently, looking at
the dazzling ruby and diamond engagement ring with the 24 carat gold band.

�Still a very impressive ring Ginny,� said Hermione, �Harry
mentioned it was specially made only for you and that it even has a few
protection spells infused in it.� I say a
truly lovely gift to receive from a lover who goes out of their way to ensure your
safety by charming the gift to protect the person they care about,� she said.

Ginny just nodded her head, deciding she had to stay still;
while the finishing touches were being made to her gown.

��.......xx��..mione��.xx��..draco��..xx��..

The young women finally left �House of Formal Wear for the
Witch and Wizard� about an hour and a half later.� The final touches on all the gowns for the
women participating in the wedding had been complete and according to Ginny; so
were the guys.

Luna and Ginny had suggested Hermione to join them for
dinner as they were meeting up with the other girls for a bit of a girl�s night
out.� She politely declined the offer;
she needed to get home today so she could continue dealing with all the paper
work on the orphanage, daycares, and primary schools for those with children
who didn�t want to spend money on a personal tutor a few years before the
children are sent off to Hogwarts for the next seven years.

As Hermione was walking down some streets; she continued to
walk until she got to an almost desolated looking park.� The sun was looking to get ready to set on
the horizon as the sky had turned into an array of dark oranges, reds, and
yellows.� The fairly large park area was
built between the two largest streets made that happened to intersect one
another. One was the famous �Avenue of Magic� and the other was called
�Wizard�s Memorial Avenue�.� The only two streets that intersected each
other that didn�t hold a mix of pleasant and shady businesses.� All businesses on these two intersecting
streets were pleasant and the most expensive; these were the streets that
attracted the people�s attention.

Hermione decided to take a short rest in the park; finding
the nearest bench occupied by another.�
She couldn�t see whom; only seeing their back she concluded it was a man
minding his own business and had the same thought as she.�

She was currently rummaging through a purse for a few pieces
of chocolate covered nuts and caramel candy balls she saved for herself earlier
that day as she sat down on the bench next to the stranger.

The scent of fleshly cleaned babies and children mixed with
a sweet smell of rose and lavender wafted over to the young gentleman sitting
next to her.� She was still oblivious to
him; not bothering to turn around to face him; and his head was currently to
the side overlooking a tall building going down the Avenue of Magic.

Milk chocolate also came along with the mix scents he
smelled; it was quite pleasant; but the floral scent of the woman that sat next
to him was oddly familiar.

�Such a lovely setting, and the heat has cool down some
making this summer air enjoyable,� smiled Hermione.

Grey eyes belonging to a pale face turned slightly to look
in front of him, �Yea, lovely�� he trailed off, knowing that voice anywhere, he
turned around until he confirmed that it was Granger sitting next to him.
�Granger?� he asked.

Hermione turned around at the mention of her last name and
came face to face with Draco Malfoy. �Yes, it�s me in the flesh Malfoy, um�
listen I�m sorry if I bothered your thinking space but I�ll leave you be and find another place to sit,� she said; quickly getting
up and grabbing her light black jacket she took off.

Before Hermione was able to fully turn around to leave; she
felt a warm firm grip tugging her arm, almost as if Malfoy wanted her to sit
down.

�Will you kindly let go?� she asked politely, not wanting to
sound rude to him. Curious to know why he would do such a
thing.

�Oh for pete�s
sake Granger! I don�t bite sit down as you were,� Draco said feeling a bit
annoyed at Hermione and at himself for making her sit down next to him.

Hermione raised an eyebrow in his direction but did as told
and slowly sat back down next to the blond male.� Unconscious to the fact
that she made to sit herself at the very far edge of the bench to keep some
space between them.

It was quiet between them again; Hermione popping another
chocolate covered nut in her mouth; shifting her legs; she was busy looking
anywhere other than trying to face Draco Malfoy.� She didn�t know why, but she was feeling a
little unnerved and it perhaps had something to do with the intense look she
knew Malfoy was giving her. Though it could be her imagination and he wasn�t
looking at her at all; she did generally get nervous around men other than her
friends.

Hermione turned around to bravely face her old school
nemesis; only to look into grey eyes intensely looking down on her.� Her bravery was squashed in that instant; and
she quickly turned her head to the side to stare out in front of her; brown
eyes setting on the sky.

Draco was studying the Gryffindor lioness next to him; for
the life of him he didn�t see even know what Goyle had been going on about
talking about Granger as if she were some angelic goddess.� He did found out she got extremely nervous
whenever she was stared at and avoided looking at him at all cost.� He stared down into her eyes that widen and
noticed her cheeks tinge pink; from embarrassment? He didn�t know what from, oh
wait he was making her nervous; something that was amusing, he bet that Granger
was even feeling a little hot too.� He
knew he shouldn�t tease the bookworm that way but Granger sharply turning her
head away from his stare was funny.

Granger wore her emotions on her sleeve and she was very
readable too; still the same typical Granger. He heard her clear her throat and
decided to leave her alone for the moment; looking straight ahead.

�Err�hmm�I meant what I said yesterday, I�m really grateful
to you and your mother for assisting to help me any though you didn�t want
too,� she said.

Draco shrugged his shoulders, �Wasn�t nothing Granger, and
you�re right as always,� he added.

�You didn�t have to bring me any flowers or check on me
either�� she trailed off.

�I know,� he said.

�Soo�why are you out here?� she
asked, trying to make conversation with the unreadable blond sitting next to
her.

�Enjoying a wonderful sunset, what does it look like?� he
spat sarcastically.

She huffed, frowning, �Don�t be so rude! It was just a
simple question Malfoy!� she cried.

�Well alrighty than Granger, I was
minding my own damn business thinking about my day until you showed up!� he
scowled.

�It doesn�t pay to talk to you at all,� she said, crossing
her arms over her chest.

�Well that�s interesting, because I feel the same way about
you!� he yelled.

The both of them decided to not talk to each other; just
sitting there silently fuming at one another. Neither one trying to make the
first move to put more distance between the both of them by getting off the
park bench.� The sky started getting
darker by gray nimbus clouds and at any moment it was going to begin raining.

The anger passing over and the thickness of animosity in the
air died out; it was calm and quiet again for a few minutes until it was Malfoy
this time, striking up a conversation with Hermione.

�You reek of baby smells,� he spat, it being the first thing
his mind could think of, to comment on the brunette�s smell.� Of course he already concluded the different
smells on her person were very pleasant; he couldn�t help but get Granger all
riled up. �

Hermione�s face slowly turned a shade of red from
embarrassment and anger. �I do not smell of baby stench Malfoy!� she yelled at
the blond, hitting him with her briefcase. �If you must know, I work with
children! God Malfoy!� she shouted frustrated.��

Draco simply snatched her briefcase out of her hands,
keeping out of her reach, �Don�t go hitting me with your shit Granger!� he spat
at her.

Hermione instantly jumped up nearly knocking blond out of
his seat for her briefcase that held all her important documents.� �Don�t! Give it back Malfoy, I need my
briefcase it�s very important!� she cried.

�Well don�t get mad at me for stating the obvious!� he said
mockingly.

�And what is that? That you�re a complete asshole?!� she
yelled, banging her petite fists onto his chest, slapping his face, and failing
miserably to climb up his body for her briefcase.

�Ohh ho ho! The Mudblood
finally using some crude language there eh? And no I already knew I was
one thanks; just stating that you shouldn�t get mad at someone for telling you,
you smell like shit mudblood!� he sneered;
effortlessly flipping her briefcase over his head.

Hermione�s eyes looked on in shock as she seen her briefcase
with all her important files, she hadn�t had a chance to file and store on her
computer at home; fall to the concrete ground.�
Only to hear a very loud resounding crack and the popping of an unlocked
briefcase flying open.� The shuffling of
hundreds of parchment papers with tons of written information she spent hours
on went everywhere.

The Brunette Witch was livid and most importantly for very
obvious reasons. First the strong gust of wind blew, all her papers literally
scattering the entire park; secondly the rain came and it was just a drizzle
either it started raining cats and dogs quickly wetting her and Malfoy. Yes,
she was pissed off, and no it wasn�t because Malfoy after six
years still calls her mudblood; that she was used too.
It had nothing to do with him proving her point that even after his help the
other day he still had this twisted need to humiliate her; that she was also
used to.

She was used to his name calling, his teasing, his picking,
his overall torment; but for him to just outright destroy all the hours of work
she put in to writing all that information.�
Information she didn�t get the chance to file and store in her computer
or in a file cabinet somewhere in her main office building. Her wrist hurt like
hell from the constant writing she did with parchment and five broken quill
feathers at the end of a tiring night she just forewent magic not bothering to
repair her quills. Hermione swore if she didn�t know any healing spells for
relaxing her muscles, she would have acquired carpal tunnel syndrome by now.

�You! You�you�ohhh!!
You make me completely angry Malfoy!!� she practically screamed at his face.

�I knew�oh! I knew if I continued to sit down next to you,
something awful would happen to me! Are you satisfied?� she yelled.

Draco thought it was funny that way she carried on and at
first while he was teasing her and meant to throw her briefcase, he didn�t have
any idea the plain thing was so thin and weak it would easily break.� Watching her papers go about was hilarious;
seeing the rain drown out the ink on the parchment was bliss to him.

However, having a witch that truly didn�t do anything to him
pissed off at him, wasn�t.� He just looked on at Granger with
indifference and boredom; making her actually believed he meant for everything
leading down to throwing her pathetic excuse of a briefcase on the ground all
his idea.

�Answer me damn it!� she bellowed.

�Excuse me?� he pompously asked her, looking at her rant and
rave as if he didn�t care at all.

�Are you satisfied Malfoy? Are you! Now I have to sit for
ten hours rewriting whatever the bloody hell hasn�t been blotted out on that
parchment! Information I needed for my job!!� she yelled.

He only shrugged his shoulders in a noncommittal way, �Not
my fault you hit me Granger, and I don�t see how this has anything to do with
me,�

�Don�t you take your job seriously?� she asked him.� The rain fall making her clothes and thick
hair feel heavy on her head and body. At this point, Hermione could just
release all her stress and cry, letting her salty tears blend in with the rain
shower.� It wouldn�t make a difference as
Malfoy wouldn�t be able to tell if she did cry or not; he wouldn�t care, he
never cared for anyone but himself.

�Of course I do,� he simply said; sighing dramatically
wanting this conversation to end so he could get out of the sodding
rain.

�Than you should know how I feel! I take my job serious!
Very seriously! Even if it was one that entitles me to smell like cat shit!�
she said, hoping her point was getting across to him.

Draco just shrugged his shoulders, �There are far more
important things for me to deal with than putting up with your theatrics
Granger,� he said.

�Oh that�s rich coming from you!� she cried.

�What are you talking about Granger?� he yelled; now wishing
he would have let the girl go away and leave him in peace in the first place.
�I have no desire to yell back and forth with you over some silly documents you
slaved over for whatever boss�s ass you�re sucking up too,� he sneered.

Hermione didn�t bother to even explain to him that he was
absolutely wrong in that assumption, she was her own boss damn it. �Six years�my life for peaceful for six glorious years! And
who the hell should I run into? YOU!!� she spat.

�I did help you out did I not?� he said, beginning to turn
away from her. He didn�t want to acknowledge the hurt he caused in Granger for
his recklessness.� He certainly didn�t
want his face changing into that of pity or looking apologetic.

�Yesterday your mother basically forced you to take me to
get a sprained ankle healed; if under other circumstances I�m absolutely sure
you would have just left me there.�
Besides, you always look for an opportunity to distress me in some way
and I�m tired of it! I�m tired of dealing with you all the time Malfoy!�

�Well than don�t, yes it was peaceful without hearing your
know-it-all voice,� he said, casually walking away from her.

�

�Yeah! Go ahead and walk away like
the coward you are! I�ll feel much better without ever having to see you again!
You always make my life a living hell! Someday I hope there�s someone that
comes along and repays you in full!� she shouted behind his back; falling
exhausted to the wet concrete; the sobs finally released; Hermione sat there in
the summer shower crying out more of her repressed grief; she didn�t care if
Malfoy made another taunt at her or even heard her cry.

Draco grimaced, not liking the sounds he made come from
Granger; he paused.� Hearing the
brunette�s crying amongst the sounds of water hitting the surface and the winds
blowing through the trees.� He frowned
because her hope that someone would make him just as miserable was already
happening. �

He didn�t care if she noticed or not, whether she would
thank him or not and he knew she never would; but he did a quick wand movement
of his wrist to charm all her parchments to dry without further damage to be
done to them; the spell he used would slowly but gradual repair the blotted ink
on her wet papers.� It may not fix the
all 100 percent but it was the least he could do.

He smirked just before he apparated home, �Seems like your
wish has been granted Granger,� he whispered to himself, �Maybe I shouldn�t
have caused so much trouble for you all these years after all?� and with that
he left for home with the sound of apparition.

��.......xx��..mione��.xx��..draco��..xx��..

Alpha here! Hope this was another decent chapter.� If you are all wondering about the reasons
behind Hermione�s infertility; I actually looked online at various homepages
that give information on complications that can occur during pregnancy; and
what are the things that can cause infertility in a woman; of course I added my
own little twist to it. The egg cells dying out, is base on something called
�Egg Quality�- the quality of an egg
released from the ovaries can be fertilized by a sperm cell.� The cycle of her ovulation- is based off a
condition where a woman doesn�t have a normal monthly cycle. It was on some
site I forget the address. Well that�s it for my ramblings,
I�m already working on chapter 4. Even I hope that doesn�t turn out to be
longer than this phew! This thing runs 30 something pages long! I wasn�t
expecting for it to be this longg or else it would been posted already and I didn�t want to break up this
chapter into two. SO ENJOY IT!
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Blessings in the Rain