Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Songs of Regret	By : RavieSnake Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 76454 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 17
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from it. I also hold no rights to any of the songs mentioned. I make no money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 31
- 32
- 33
A/N: I apologize so hard for the wait! Real life can be most troublesome at times. Thank you for being patient with me.
Thank you all for the glorious reviews. They keep the nargles away.
@Trelweny: I personally feel like Snape is so devoted to Lily’s memory, that he is unable to love any other woman. It is so ingrained into his very identity that it’s impossible for him to even think of loving another romantically. But that doesn’t mean he can’t have love and happiness again…I want him to have that too. Enter little baby Snape.
@ Sherlocked17: I did listen to Ich Will. Loved it. Your suggestion to use it is being highly considered. ;)
~~~~~~~~
“I think I may be coming down with something,” Harry said with a hand at his stomach while he read Slughorn’s dinner invitation, “I probably shouldn’t go. Wouldn’t want to infect anyone else.”
“I don’t care if you’ve got Spattergroit,” Ginny said as she fussed with the sash on her dress, “you’re going. I am not sitting there with Slughorn and those other arseholes by myself all night.”
“You’ll have Hermione,” he reminded with a nod in Hermione’s direction.
“He’s going to serve us roast beef,” Hermione chimed in from the chair she was occupying in front of the common room fire. “Ice cream and treacle tart too. The good kind…not the usual crap from the kitchens.”
“How do you know that?” Harry asked, eyeing his invitation again.
“Just a guess,” she hummed, watching the tiny ‘fire’flies she’d created flying about the flames in the fireplace. “I’m also guessing he’ll let us have a bit of wine.”
Harry twisted his mouth as he continued to reread the parchment in his hand. “Do you think Malfoy got an invite?”
“Probably,” Hermione answered, still gazing at the fire. “Slughorn seems taken with him and his Potions skills.”
“Then maybe I should go,” Harry said seriously. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll slip-up and say some…”
“Harry,” Hermione said warningly, “if you make one more comment about how you think Malfoy is a Death Eater I may hex you myself.”
“But it was so weird, Hermione. Snape suddenly gets all angry and chucks me out and then Malfoy’s running into his office like his arse is on fire? I’m telling you he didn’t even look at me twice after he ran into me. He was scared…or upset, or…”
“Harry, mate. You gotta stop with this Malfoy shite,” Ron finally spoke, looking up from the Transfiguration essay he was still attempting to finish. “He’s just a strange bloke. Leave it alone already.”
Harry frowned and looked to Ginny for support. She gave him an apologetic shake of her head.
“He’s up to something,” Harry insisted, angry that he was not being taken seriously. “He’s hiding something…I know it.”
“Well if he is, I wouldn’t count on him divulging it in the middle of Sunday dinner with Slughorn,” Hermione sighed tiredly, standing from her chair. She caught Ginny’s eye as she smoothed her hands over her dress and the redhead gave her an encouraging little smile.
“Let’s go already. I’m starving and I want wine,” Hermione added, making her way to the portrait hole. Harry crumpled his invitation and chucked it into the fire.
“Fine,” he huffed, allowing Ginny to hook her arm into his to be led from the room. “You gonna be okay here by yourself?” he asked stopping at the exit with a last look at Ron over his shoulder. Ron scribbled at his parchment with a determined scowl.
“Yes,” he grumbled. “I’m meeting Suz in a bit. Just sneak me back some dessert.” Harry nodded and Ginny tugged him through the portrait hole.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Harry m’boy!” Slughorn called out genially with a slap to Harry’s back the moment he and Ginny stepped through the door to the random classroom that’d been repurposed as a dining room.
“And Miss Weasley,” Slughorn added with a slight bow at Ginny still smiling on Harry’s arm. “Lovely to see you, lovely, lovely.”
“Professor,” Harry and Ginny both replied politely. Slughorn motioned towards a beautifully set table with several students already sitting around it.
“Help yourselves to a seat. We’re just waiting on a few more and then we can get started.” Slughorn leaned in toward Harry and Harry wrinkled his nose at the heavy smell of elfmade wine already on the professor’s breath. “I pulled a few strings and had a wonderful roast beef dinner prepared for this evening. Only the best for my best, you know,” he said with a goofy grin and another slap to Harry’s back. Harry’s eyes widened slightly and he looked over his shoulder at Hermione right behind him. She shrugged at him with a coy smile.
“Ah, Miss Granger!” Slughorn called out when he saw her. “Glad you could make it. Oh and here’s your friendly competition!”
Hermione felt someone pinch her arse and she snapped her head around to see Draco and Blaise Zabini come up beside them to face Slughorn.
“Welcome boys!” Slughorn greeted, shaking their hands rapidly. “I daresay we needed a tad more green in here,” he joked, earning him restrained smiles from the two Slytherins.
“Thank you for inviting us,” Draco replied with a slight bow of his head. Slughorn grinned and threw an arm around Draco’s shoulders and shook him slightly as he talked.
“How could I forget one of my best Potions students? Eh, Granger!?” Slughorn threw his other arm around Hermione’s shoulders and he squeezed her and Draco against his sides as he chuckled. Ginny covered her mouth as she stifled a giggle at Hermione’s and Draco’s matching looks of mortification as they were hugged to the professor’s side and then escorted that way to the table. Draco’s eye darted to hers and the redhead winked at him. He rolled his eyes as Slughorn pushed him and Hermione down into chairs next to each other.
“Yes, that Pepperup Potion the two of you made was so good in fact, that it’s already been added to Madam Pomfrey’s stores,” Slughorn boasted of them with a hard pat to Draco’s shoulder. “Can’t teach talent…Ah, welcome!”
The rotund professor’s attention quickly shifted to the next set of arriving students and when he turned his back, Draco made a show of scootching his chair a little away from Hermione and Zabini laughed under his breath.
“Shut up,” Draco muttered as the other Slytherin took his place in the chair on Draco’s other side. Zabini simply shook his head with a smug grin. Draco looked out the corner of his eye at Hermione who was frowning at the table. He pulled at his collar. She touched her eyebrow and then turned away from him to look up at Harry and Ginny who were still standing.
“Sit here,” Hermione said, patting a hand to the empty chair beside her. She leaned over a little to a Ravenclaw girl sitting in the next chair after the empty one. “Would you mind moving over one so that…”
“No,” Harry interrupted, “That’s okay. We’ll sit over there.”
Ginny gave Hermione a shrug as Harry pulled her to the other side of the table. He pulled out the chair exactly opposite of Hermione for Ginny and then sat himself in the empty one next to her that faced Draco. Hermione felt a sting of irritation as Harry cast a not so subtle glare at the blond sitting across from him. The irritation was exacerbated by the realization that being so close to Draco, the use of their signals would be severely limited.
Sensing her frustration, Draco pressed his leg to hers under the table. Hermione sighed and rubbed a finger down her nose. Draco tugged at his ear just as Slughorn came back to the table with the last of his invites.
“Well, that’s all of us I believe,” Slughorn smiled around the table at the expectant, if not entirely enthusiastic, faces of his ‘best’ as the last boy sat down next to Hermione. “Let’s get started then shall we?” the professor chuckled, rubbing his belly. He took a seat and snapped his fingers for the food to be brought in.
Draco flinched at the snapping sound and Hermione pressed her foot into his. He took a deep breath and nudged her foot back.
An awkward silence settled over the table as plates were set before each person and Slughorn let out a jovial laugh.
“It is far too serious in here. I don’t think any of you would object if we liven the mood a bit?” he said, raising an eyebrow in an attempt at appearing mischievous. He took out his wand and waved it about the table. At once the empty glasses before each student filled with wine.
“Now don’t get too excited, you only get the one,” Slughorn said, raising his glass and beaming as the students around the table eyed each other in disbelief. Hermione caught Harry’s gobsmacked expression across the table and she coughed to hide her chuckle. He shook his head at her and then picked up his fork to poke at his dinner. Hermione reached forward and grabbed her glass. She brought it to her face and inhaled with a delighted sigh. How she missed wine.
It was one of her few pleasures in the future-past… curling up in her comfy chair with a good book and a glass of wine every Friday evening.
Hermione swirled the glass once and then took a healthy sip.
“Lush,” Draco whispered at her out the side of his mouth. Hermione kicked him under the table and he grinned as he stabbed at a piece of beef with his fork.
“So,” Slughorn said, looking to the boy to his right as the group all began to eat, “Tell me, Harris…does your mother enjoy working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement? She’s been quite an influence within the Ministry these past few years. ”
Hermione’s fork stilled halfway to her mouth as she watched the young Harris squirm under the gazes that had turned to him.
“Ye…yes, sir. She…she seems to,” the boy stammered timidly.
“Bitch’ll hate it in twenty years,” Hermione mumbled as she took the bite from her fork. Draco choked on his sip of wine, and Slughorn’s slight look of disappointment towards Harris’s answer morphed into one of amusement.
“Easy! Can’t have my best students drowning over dinner,” Slughorn laughed with a look to Draco.
“Sorry, sir,” Draco wheezed as he attempted to clear his throat. Slughorn waved his fork at him.
“Nothing to be sorry about, m’boy. Probably not the quality you’re used to, hmm?” he grinned with a teasing lilt. “I seem to recall your grandfather was something of a wine connoisseur.”
“He was,” Draco agreed with a nod. Slughorn leaned back in his chair with a nostalgic look on his face.
“Ah, Abraxas. He was rather a good friend of mine. Hard working fellow - smart, but he did enjoy his leisure activities,” Slughorn shook his head fondly. “Good wine and sporting archery… Don’t suppose he ever took you out to the range?”
“As a matter of fact he did,” Draco answered quietly, “Often.”
“Noble sport, archery. Are your shooting skills as good as your Potions skills?” Slughorn asked eagerly. Draco couldn’t help his cocky grin.
“I can hit a Knut at ninety meters.”
“Oh ho!” Slughorn boomed proudly. “I shall have to include you in my next hunting party!”
Draco shook his head. “Sorry, sir, but I’m range only. I won’t kill for sport.”
Slughorn looked at Draco thoughtfully for a moment before smiling at him approvingly. “That’s good to hear, m’boy. Good to hear.”
Draco shifted a bit in his chair and after a polite nod, stuffed a bite of food into his mouth hoping Slughorn’s interrogation would move on to someone else. He sagged a little in relief when Slughorn looked around the table for the next victim. His relief didn’t last long.
“Harry? Are you quite alright? My word, you look as if you’ve been passed through by a ghost!” Slughorn exclaimed as his eyes fell on Harry. All eyes turned to Harry at Slughorn’s words and Draco felt his stomach plummet as he looked up to see a pale Harry staring at him with a look of complete shock. Draco felt Hermione’s foot press firmly into his under the table and he held his breath as he watched Harry simply say, “He likes archery.”
“Do we have another archer amongst us?” Slughorn smiled at Harry expectantly. The question snapped Harry from his stupor.
“No…ah, sorry. No, sir. I never had the opportunity to learn archery,” Harry answered hurriedly, glancing at Slughorn only to dart his eyes back to Draco and then Hermione who were both staring at him blankly. Harry furrowed his brow a bit and then looked back at Slughorn with a forced smile.
“I’ve focused most of my athletic abilities on Quidditch,” he added, before grabbing for his wine glass and taking an enormous gulp. Slughorn laughed.
“I’ll say you have! Youngest Seeker at Hogwarts in a century! Don’t happen to have a professional Quidditch career in mind after graduation?” he asked with a wink. Harry shook his head.
“I’m studying to become an Auror.”
“And a fine one you’ll make!” Slughorn said, raising his wine glass in Harry’s direction. Harry raised his own glass back awkwardly and Slughorn smiled at him for another moment before turning his attention to the Ravenclaw girl near Hermione.
As Slughorn bantered back and forth with the quirky girl, Harry looked back at Hermione and Draco. His eyes moved back and forth between them before finally settling on Draco’s.
Draco took a giant breath. “Hey, Potter,” he projected into Harry’s head. Harry’s eyes widened. Draco casually forked a bit of beef into his mouth. He eyed Harry as he chewed. “Put your walls up and we’ll talk.”
Harry looked confused for a moment before Draco added, “Just keep eye contact and think back to me. I’ll be able to hear you.”
Harry swallowed uncomfortably. “Malfoy…”
Draco nodded slightly and Harry picked up his glass again and took a shaky sip.
“That’s good, Potter. Keep it cool,” Draco thought seriously. “Walls up?”
Harry nodded behind his glass. “You’re Mr. Perfect.”
Draco couldn’t help but smirk. “Never thought I’d hear you admit it.”
“Are you Hermione’s Mr. Perfect?” Harry demanded, ignoring Draco’s cheek with a glare. Draco set down his fork and looked sideways at Hermione who was staring at Harry like she was about to cry. He nudged her foot and she turned to him.
“He’s guessed. Do I confirm it for him?” he thought to her quickly. She turned away from him just as quickly, but gave a trembling nod. Draco sought Harry’s face once more.
“Yes, Potter…I’m Hermione’s Mr. Perfect.”
Harry closed his eyes and bowed his head. He clenched his fists on the table and took several deep breaths. Ginny put a hand to his back and leaned in close to him.
“Are you okay,” she whispered. He shook his still lowered head. Ginny looked up at Hermione with an anxious expression. Hermione returned a pleading look and Ginny leaned back into Harry’s side.
“What’s wrong? Do we need to leave?” she hushed into his ear. He shook his head again and raised his face back to Draco.
“Why are you with her, Malfoy?”
Draco gave an affronted scowl. “Why are you with Red?” he answered with a slight jab of his fork in Ginny’s direction. Harry narrowed his eyes.
“I wanna hear you say it,” he challenged. Draco sat back in his chair and glanced around the table at the other students eating and watching Slughorn interview a Hufflepuff boy next to Zabini. He took a small sip of his wine before finally meeting Harry’s waiting gaze again.
“She knows why,” Draco thought back quietly. Harry frowned at the evasive answer and looked at Hermione who was nervously shredding a roll into tiny bits with her hands. He shook his head sadly as he let his eyes drift back to the blond across from him.
“You’d never admit to loving a Muggle-born, would you?”
Anger flashed like lightning in Draco’s quicksilver eyes as they bore into Harry’s defiant bright green ones. “You know nothing about what I would or wouldn’t do, you self-righteous little shite.”
Harry leaned back in his chair. "Would you be a Death Eater, you pretentious prick?" he thought forcefully. “Are you?”
"I'm not going to answer that," Draco replied with a dangerous glare. The words echoed angrily inside Harry's mind and he rubbed at his temples.
"Why not?" Harry glared back after lowering his hands.
"Because it won't matter how I answer," Draco thought back. "If I say 'no' you won't believe me. If I say 'yes' there's nothing you could do about it anyway."
"I could try and stop you."
"Stop me from what, Potter? Being a Death Eater? The Dark Mark isn't exactly a temporary tattoo. And if you meant to stop me from seeing Hermione...I'd invite you to try it and see what happens. In fact...go for it. Tell Hermione she can't see me anymore. I'll enjoy watching her hex you to London and back."
Harry pursed his lips and searched Draco's face with narrowed eyes. He looked at Hermione by his side and gave a defeated sigh. There was no telling Hermione what to do. And he trusted her. He trusted her with his life.
"Do you love her?" Harry asked seriously when he turned his attention back to Draco.
There was a long pause until Draco gave the slightest of nods when he answered. "Yes, Potter. I love her."
Harry nodded slightly back with a reluctant half shrug. "Then welcome to the group, I guess."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Snape gave the parchment in his hand a final once over before carefully folding it atop the desk in his personal quarters. He took a small black stick of wax from one of the desk’s drawers and held it up to the candle burning just before him to light it. He dribbled several drops of the wax onto the seam of the parchment and then picked-up and pressed a metal embosser into it. He held it in place for several moments and then gently removed it to reveal a scrolled ‘S’ molded into the now hardened seal.
Reaching back into the drawer, Snape pulled out a small leather portfolio. He slid the sealed parchment into it and then bound it closed with a cord and repeated the process with the wax to create a thick seal over the cord ends. When the wax was set, he flourished his wand over the portfolio causing words to magically etch into its surface. Snape inhaled a shaky breath as he read the words.
The Last Will and Testament of Severus Tobias Snape
To be opened only upon death.
Snape placed the finished portfolio into the top-most drawer of his desk next to the letter he’d received from Narcissa that afternoon and blew out the candle. He stood and cracked his neck before making his way to his nearby bathroom. A torch flared to life, illuminating the small area as Snape entered it and closed the door behind him.
He went to his sink and looked up at his reflection in the large mirror over it. He mechanically tugged at the buttons of his shirt as he stared himself in the eyes. He shrugged off the shirt and reached behind his neck to unclasp his necklace. He set it lovingly on the counter and then eyed his bare chest in the reflection. With a heavy sigh, he placed his hands to the counter and bowed his head.
“A father,” he whispered to himself with a shake of his head. It was an impossible idea. His hopes of having a child had died with Lily. He’d thought that his hopes for happiness had died with her too. But when he’d seen that pink glow at Narcissa’s middle…
Snape snapped his face back up at the mirror and released a tentative laugh. The foreign sound echoed around the room and he shook his head at himself again. He gripped the edges of the counter and after a long silent moment, whispered the name Narcissa had agreed to for their daughter. He repeated it and marveled at the warmth that spread across his chest at the thought of the little girl it would belong to.
His daughter. His heir. The one he’d never thought he’d have. The one he’d just made sure would be provided for should he die…again.
Snape’s expression sobered and he pushed off from the counter. He gave his torso another glance and pulled his wand from his pocket and waved it. At once a colorful collage of artwork appeared as the glamours he always placed over himself melted away.
His onyx eyes roamed over his body in the mirror cataloguing the tattoos covering his skin. He set down his wand and let his hands move up his abdomen toward his chest, fingers touching at several of the pictures along the way.
The crown for his mother…the phoenix for Albus…the doe of his Patronus…the Slytherin crest…the vine of belladonna with its small black berries – one for each life he’d taken.
When his hands came to the white lily covering his heart he closed his eyes and took several giant breaths.
Snape opened his eyes a moment later and then bent down and opened the cabinet beneath his sink. He pulled out a lidded box and set it atop the sink counter. He opened the box and reached inside to remove from it a razor, several containers of ink, a case of needles and a black and silver handheld machine.
Wasting no time, Snape set about preparing the machine and ink. When everything was set, he grabbed the razor and expertly shaved away the hair on the left side of his chest. He then took his wand back in hand and with a careful flick of it, outlined his daughter’s name in beautiful script over the lily on his chest. He narrowed his eyes at the design in the reflection and after an approving nod, picked-up the machine and tapped his wand to it. It buzzed to life.
Snape set down his wand and then leaned carefully against the sink toward the mirror. He dipped the needled tip of the machine into a bit of ink and then brought it up to the skin over his heart and began to trace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco surreptitiously watched Hermione leave dinner with Harry and Ginny as he dabbed his napkin to his mouth.
"Are you ready to head back?" Zabini asked with an air of impatience. Draco set down his napkin and nodded.
"Yeah...you go on. I have something I have to check in on," he answered with a pat to his left forearm. Zabini shrugged and stood before making his way to the classroom door to shake Slughorn's hand goodnight. When he left, Draco got up and went to the door. Slughorn smiled brightly at him and took his hand in a hardy shake.
"Thank you for the wonderful meal and company, professor" Draco thanked politely.
"It was my pleasure! Glad you were here!" Slughorn nearly shouted, another glass of wine clutched in his free hand. He continued to shake Draco's hand as he began to look nostalgic again. "You are so like your grandfather, you know, it's uncanny."
Draco looked at his hand trapped in Slughorn's grip and winced a smile. "We were very close. It's a welcome change to be compared to him rather than my father."
Slughorn stopped shaking his hand.
The professor looked pained for a brief moment and then forced a small smile again. "I knew your father of course," he said quietly, "and I can say with certainty that you, m'boy, will be a greater man by far."
Draco blinked at his Potions professor as he slid his hand free to his side. Finding himself unable to form words around the sudden lump in his throat, he simply nodded and then stepped out into the hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~
A pensive scowl was fixed to Harry’s face as he walked ahead of Ginny and Hermione down the hall after leaving the dinner party. An awkward tension hung around the three Gryffindors as they made their way through the castle. As they began up a flight of stairs, Ginny nudged Hermione with her shoulder.
"What happened back there…during dinner?" she whispered as softly as she could. Hermione looked sideways at her friend.
"Draco told Harry," she sighed back. Ginny stopped on her step in shock and then hurried back up to Hermione's side.
"I saw them looking at each other a lot," she said looking towards Harry, "but they never said anything."
"Draco can communicate telepathically," Hermione answered quietly.
"Shite," Ginny said breathlessly. “That’s rather impressive.” She paused as they made the landing and started down another corridor. “But why did he tell him?” she asked after a few moments.
“Harry guessed it,” Hermione said unenthusiastically.
"I can hear everything you’re saying," Harry grouched ahead of them. He stopped and turned around to face them. Hermione and Ginny both slowed to a stop before him.
“Am I the only one that didn’t know?” Harry asked, brow furrowed, his voice tight and demanding. Hermione gave him an apologetic grimace.
“Susan still doesn’t know,” she offered.
“Ron knows?” Ginny asked with a surprised look.
Hermione nodded. “He guessed it too.”
“So you’ve all just been lying to me,” Harry said angrily. “Why?”
“We had to, Harry,” Hermione said quietly. Harry looked like he’d been punched in the gut, but he shook his head at her.
“Why?” he asked again, almost pleading.
Hermione looked at him sadly. “You know why. Your connection…”
Harry scowled a little. “Yeah, I know,” he said bitterly. He looked thoughtful for a moment. “You two go onto the Room of Requirement without me. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he said, stalking off.
“Where are you going?” Ginny called after him.
“To get Ron,” he called back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Oi!” Harry snapped with a smack to the back of Ron’s head. “Get up. Both of you.”
Ron removed his face from Susan’s and leaned back on the couch in the Gryffindor common room. He rubbed the back of his head. “What the hell, mate?”
“I said get the fuck up,” Harry repeated as he jogged to the stairs to his dorm room. Ron scowled at his back as it disappeared up the stairs.
“What’s gotten into him?” Susan asked as she stood and adjusted her shirt. Ron shrugged as he got up. Harry came back down the stairs a moment later.
"Where's my Invisibility Cloak," he demanded as he reappeared from the stairwell. Ron turned from Susan and picked-up a shimmering cloth from the couch.
"It's right here. I was gonna use it to bring Suz back to her common room after curfew. You need it?" he asked, holding the cloak up in Harry's direction.
"We need it." Harry answered brusquely. "We're all about to be out after curfew."
“Slughorn’s party that bad?” Ron asked with a grin. “You wanna sneak us in?”
Harry’s eye twitched. “No. We’re going to the Room of Requirement.”
Ron and Susan both looked startled. “What for?” they asked together.
“Group meeting,” Harry replied, snatching the cloak from Ron’s hand.
“We could have a group meeting here,” Ron said with a sniff.
“Not with ALL of us,” Harry said as he shook out the cloak. Ron narrowed his eyes at his friend and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed a little too hard. Harry noticed.
“Yeah,” he said with an accusing tone at Ron’s guilty look, “now get the hell under the damn cloak.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco stood in the seventh floor corridor and stared at the door that had appeared. He ran his hands over his scalp and exhaled a shaky breath. This was such a bad idea. The likelihood of this meeting going pleasantly was probably on par with the probability of Voldemort wearing a pink dress to a revel. Of course, Potter hadn’t reacted nearly as badly as he’d expected, so maybe there was a chance…
With a resigned shake of his head, Draco opened the door and stepped into the Room of Requirement. He saw Hermione and Ginny sitting in two gray armchairs that were among several others arranged in something of a circle in front of a fireplace. The place looked like a rather generic sitting room with stone walls that were plain but for two banners displaying the Gryffindor and Slytherin crests.
"Draco," Hermione said, bolting from her chair to his side. She embraced him in a quick hug and he kissed the top of her head.
"Where is he?" Draco asked, looking over Hermione's head at the nearly empty room.
Hermione exhaled nervously. "He went to get Ron."
Draco frowned. "Wonderful. Two parties in one night," he quipped sarcastically. "Anyone else we should invite?"
"It's just Ron. He already knows," Hermione replied, letting her arms fall away from him. Draco sighed.
"I'm sorry. I just don't like this."
"Then why did you tell him? If he's not ready..." Hermione started.
Draco shook his head. "He's not even close to being ready for the plans yet, but he's strong enough to keep us a secret now I think. Besides, I doubt You-Know-Who is going to risk opening a connection with him just because he can sense his nemesis’s friend has a boyfriend he doesn’t like.”
Hermione bit her lip a little worriedly. Draco smoothed a thumb over her cheek. “And it would’ve been rather pointless to lie to him. He’d already guessed. The archery clue was the last piece that put it all in place for him.”
“Sorry about that,” Ginny finally spoke quietly from her chair. “I told him about Mr. Perfect liking archery before I knew your…situation.”
“No, Gin,” Hermione replied with a sad smile, “it’s my fault for saying anything in the first place. I should have known better.”
“Well, what’s done is done,” Draco said calmly. “And as it happens, it was actually rather lucky that Potter was distracting me tonight. If he hadn’t I might’ve blown our cover to everyone.”
“Why’s that?” Hermione asked with a half grin. Draco furrowed his brow a little.
“Because I might’ve followed through with the desire to beat the fuck out of McLaggen for constantly leering at you like an animal.”
Hermione scrunched her nose. “He’s vile. Always has been.”
“Worse than me?” Draco asked, waggling his eyebrows. Hermione shoved him playfully.
“You’re not vile…just evil.”
Draco grabbed her by the waist and yanked her close. “Yes…I seem to recall you insisting that I was the devil,” he nearly growled as he pushed his face into her neck and she smiled.
“Gods, that is so bizarre,” Ginny breathed with a slight shake of her head. Draco and Hermione both turned their faces to look at her.
“Problem, Red?” Draco asked with a smirk, his hands still firmly on Hermione’s hips. Ginny gave a nervous laugh.
“A problem? No. No problem. Just sitting here watching my friend get manhandled by her long-time tormentor and enjoying it. And damn it all if you two don’t look bloody perfect together. Jesus…I feel like I’ve had a stroke. You two literally broke my brain with this bizarro version of reality you’ve created.”
Draco laughed and jabbed a thumb in Ginny’s direction. “Her, I like.”
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but snapped it shut when the door to the room suddenly clicked open. Leaving his left hand on Hermione’s waist, Draco stepped back to stand beside her to face the door as it seemingly shut by itself. A second later, Harry, Ron and Susan appeared as Harry pulled his cloak from over their heads.
All three pairs of eyes zeroed in on Draco’s hand on Hermione’s hip before looking up at him.
“Wow…it is him,” Susan said in awe as she smoothed her ruffled hair. She took a step in Draco’s direction but was stopped midstride by Ron grabbing her wrist and tugging her back. Susan looked down at her arm in Ron’s grasp and frowned.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Ron scowled. Susan yanked her arm free.
“I was going to greet him properly. Isn’t that what one does when welcoming new friends into their circle?” she questioned, putting her hands on her hips. Ron groaned at Susan’s reproachful glare.
“You just had to be a Hufflepuff,” he sulked, crossing his arms. Susan pursed her lips at him, but turned back toward Draco. She smiled and stepped toward him with her hand offered expecting a handshake.
Draco simply raised an eyebrow at her. Susan stood unwavering, hand outstretched awkwardly as he looked down at her.
“It’s okay,” Hermione whispered next to him. Draco gave her a brief sideways glance and then held out his hand to take Susan’s in a light shake.
“I don’t believe we’ve ever been properly introduced,” Susan said pleasantly, “I’m Susan…Susan Bones. But my friends call me Suz.”
Draco gave her a tight, thin smile. “Pleasure to officially meet you, Susan. You may call me Malfoy,” he said stiffly, lowering his hand and wiping his palm on his robes. Susan raised her own brow at the subtle slight, but continued to smile and looked over her shoulder at Ron and Harry.
“Ahem,” she coughed at them with a beckoning wave of her hand. Ron and Harry exchanged a dark look, before Ron rolled his eyes with a huff. He went to Susan’s side and narrowed his eyes at Draco.
“Malfoy,” he said with a curt nod.
“Weasley,” Draco replied, looking Ron up and down contemptuously. Ron glared back at him.
“Huh. One would think that after months of spending time with Hermione you’d be less of a wanker.”
Draco grinned. “One would think that after years of eating next to her you’d have better table manners, but we simply are who we are, I suppose,” he shrugged. “I’m a prick…you’re an uncultured swine. No sense dwelling.”
Ron gaped at Draco’s response and looked to Hermione. “Is he always like this?”
Hermione gazed up at Draco fondly before looking back at Ron. “If by ‘this’ you mean ‘clever and quick-witted’ then yes, he usually is,” she smiled.
“So am I being clever and quick-witted when I say that he’s a worthless git?” Ron said with a sour face at Draco’s still smirking one. Susan smacked him in the arm.
“That won’t help, Ronny.”
Draco held-up a placating hand. “No, that’s alright Susan. I can answer that question.” He gave Ron a thoughtful smile. “As far as the clever…not so much. You have to get the facts right. I’m actually worth nearly 200 million Galleons. As for the quick-witted…you’re the epitome, Weasley. No one’s ever thought to call me a git before.”
Ron’s face reddened. Draco feigned a concerned expression.
“You look a bit flushed, Weasley. Are you quite alright? Do you need a lie down?” he asked lightly.
“You’re worth 200 million Galleons?” Hermione said with a shocked expression, cutting-off Ron’s incensed spluttering. Draco turned to her.
“Well…that’s only my private holdings. That doesn’t include my parents’ share, our property or the company assets. But yeah, last I checked it was roughly 192 million. Remind me later to get you my account information so you can look over it.”
“You expect us to believe that you’d actually give Hermione access to your fortune?” Ron scoffed.
Draco looked at him and blinked. “Yes,” he replied with a hint of condescension, “She’s going to bear my children; I think I can trust her with my money.”
Ron choked on his own saliva. Susan patted him on the back.
“I think that was a bit much,” Hermione scolded Draco lightly as she frowned at Ron’s reaction.
“It’s true,” he shrugged.
“I need to sit,” Ron moaned with a hand to his forehead. Susan escorted him to the nearest chair and sat him down. Ginny frowned at her brother and then looked back up at Hermione.
“Please tell me you are not pregnant, Hermione,” she pleaded nervously.
“She’s not,” Draco answered for her, “I was referring to our future plans.”
A derisive snort came from near the door.
“About time you included yourself in this little kumbaya bullshite you insisted upon, Potter,” Draco remarked, turning to address Harry who was still standing by the entrance holding his cloak. “You care to expound on that little noise you just made?”
Harry coolly walked to one of the chairs and draped the cloak over the back of it. He took a deep breath and then faced Draco.
“For five years, I have seen you, heard you attempt to make her life hell,” Harry started calmly with a motion toward Hermione. “If I had a Galleon for every time I’ve known that you’d made her cringe or cry, I might be as rich as you. I’ve never seen you do anything other than be a complete fucking arsehole. So, you’ll have to forgive me if I have a difficult time believing that you want to have a happy little half-blood family with her.”
Hermione held her breath as she watched the pain flicker through Draco’s face at Harry’s words. She moved her hand to try and take hold of the one he had on her hip, but Draco pulled his hand away and let it fall to hang down at his side. He pursed his lips tightly and looked down at the floor.
“I…” he cleared his throat awkwardly, “I won’t deny what I was.” He shook his head and lifted it to look Harry in the eyes. “I am not proud of my past…any of it. But it is what it is. I know what I am now. She knows what I am now. You either accept that I’m here for her now too, or you don’t. I really don’t give a damn whether you approve or not - I’m going to love her regardless -but it’d mean something to her if you did.”
Hermione slipped her arms around Draco and pressed herself into him. Draco closed his eyes and rested his head on top of hers as he wrapped his arms around her back. After a silent moment he opened his eyes to see Harry staring at them uneasily.
“I don’t like you. I know you don’t like me…I don’t expect you to,” Draco thought to him, “but you can believe me when I say I will do anything for Hermione. I will play nice for her. I will forsake centuries of pureblood lineage for her. And I will destroy anyone that ever tries to hurt her again.”
Harry’s eyes roamed over Draco appraisingly before meeting his gaze again. “Swear to it, Malfoy?” Harry mentally replied, holding out his hand. Draco placed his hands on Hermione’s upper arms and gently pried her off of him. She took a small step aside as Draco reached forward and clasped Harry’s hand in his.
“I swear it, Potter,” he said out loud. A ribbon of amber light suddenly appeared and entwined itself around their joined hands. It lingered for only a second before seeping into their skin and fading away.
They broke their connection and then stood awkwardly in front of each other for a moment. Harry rubbed the back of his head and attempted a friendly smile.
“So, Malfoy,” he ventured, “Uh…what’s your favorite Quidditch team?”
Draco returned the small smile. “Falmouth Falcons for life.”
Ron groaned loudly from his chair. “Merlin, Hermione. I might’ve forgiven you for bringing a snake into our group, but a Falcons fan…?”
Draco smiled wider. “Could be worse, Weasley. I could’ve been a Cannons fan.”
Susan patted Ron on the back as he coughed on his own spit again and Draco laughed out loud as he made his way to one of the chairs to sit.
Hermione slipped into the chair next to Ginny as the boys all began to talk heatedly about their teams.
“You’re right,” Ginny whispered to Hermione as she watched the unlikely trio of men talk, “he does have a wonderful laugh.”
Hermione simply nodded and settled back into her seat.
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Songs of Regret