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It's Not Over	By : cpetnm Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 70824 -:- Recommendations : 7 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Hermione spent the next week thinking about her encounter with Draco. She knew he felt ownership over her, but definitely not love. He was her intellectual equal, able to keep up with the way she connected arguments and theories. And the sex, well, it was unparalleled.

But he had broken her heart by refusing to acknowledge their relationship to their peers. She had wanted to vomit when she walked into the ball and saw Draco, looking handsome in his dress robes with Astoria Greengrass. Astoria looked at Draco with such admiration and Draco seemed to reciprocate her interest. How had she so misjudged his intentions for her?

Hermione was embarrassed to admit that their time together had consisted of academic conversation and sexual encounters. She really knew very little of Draco and he of her.

There was a sense of relief that Draco had been thinking about her and sought her out. She knew his friendships were superficial at best and she had offered him something he lacked with those people. But she didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

Since Draco’s visit, Hermione had been evading Grayson. She gave a bitter laugh when he sent her a break-up email. It didn’t matter. Apparently her stupid heart said Draco or no one.

When Hermione got home from her morning classes, she had a message from her mum. Her mum sounded worried. She told Hermione to call her whenever she could.

It had been two weeks since Draco had spoken to Hermione. He had given her time.

As he observed her in the library, she was unusually reserved with patrons and her coworkers. Draco followed her out when her shift ended, worried by the slump in her shoulders.

“Hermione,” he said, catching up with her. Her eyes were wet, her nose red.

“Hey Draco,” she said quietly, “It’s not a great time to talk. I’ve had a shit day.”

“What happened?”

“My old cat, Crookshanks, died last night. He was my familiar.” Wiping at her cheeks, she continued. “I’m going to my parents’ house tomorrow morning to bury him.”

“You could use some company tonight. Would you come somewhere with me?”

Hermione looked at him expectantly.

“My greenhouse. You can collect flowers for your cat.” Draco had never had a pet, but flowers were appropriate when one died, he reasoned.

She gave a watery laugh, “Alright.” They found a quiet alley and Draco Apparated them into the Malfoy Manor foyer.

Hermione took in the massive home. It was silent.

“Are your parents here?”

“No, they’ve lived in Sweden for the past two and a half years.” Draco called for his house elf, Beenie.

“Yes, Master Draco?” Hermione was pleased to see that Beenie was wearing a tiny orange dress. Her big eyes looked at Draco with adoration.

“Beenie, will you set up a table in the greenhouse with hot chocolate and biscuits? Whatever biscuits you have will be fine.” He patted Beenie’s head affectionately. Beenie snapped her fingers and disappeared.

As they moved through the mansion towards the greenhouse, Hermione absorbed that Draco lived in this huge house by himself.

They exited the back of the mansion and went outside to get to the greenhouse. Hermione was charmed by the gravel walkway, flanked by huge trees on either side of the path. Fairy lights were strung on the trees, giving the leafless trees a sense of warmth. They reminded her of Christmas lights.

The greenhouse was a massive glass structure. Through the glass, Hermione spied orange and lemon trees in large terracotta pots. Draco opened the door to the greenhouse for Hermione. She stepped into the warm, slightly humid air. It smelled of rich dirt, lavender, roses and citrus.

Draco picked up a pair of shears from the gardening bench and led Hermione around the greenhouse, cutting flowers. He handed them to Hermione as she watched him clip the fragrant blooms.

Draco stopped in front of a large bush of baby’s breath. “Baby’s breath represents purity of heart.”

Hermione remembered the first time she had seen Crookshanks. His big eyes had looked into hers with understanding. She had touched him and felt her magic soothed by his presence, which was a good indication of a compatible animal familiar.

Draco conjured a lovely crystal vase for the flowers they had collected. He took them from Hermione and added them to the vase, then levitated the vase to the center of the table with their hot chocolate and biscuits.

Draco gently rested his hand against the small of Hermione’s back, leading her to a pot of yellow daffodils.

“These are for you. They’ll brighten your sad, little flat.”

She rolled her eyes, but accepted the flowers. Before she could ask the daffodil’s meaning, he was walking towards the table that held Crook’s flowers and their food.

He held a chair out for her, helping her to settle into her seat. He then sat across from her, taking a sip of the rich chocolate.

“What have you been doing since we left Hogwarts?” Hermione asked.

“I manage about a third of the Malfoy holdings. I spend a lot of my time checking the accounting books. I’m also responsible for the manor’s upkeep.” Draco took a bite of a shortbread cookie.

Hermione had so many questions for Draco, but her unsure heart kept her from asking him more.

“How do you like university?” he asked. Draco was curious about Hermione’s studies.

She told him about her classes and professors. She had perked up when talking about her schooling, giving him a detailed account of her favorite class, Medieval Literature.

“What are your plans for the Christmas holiday?” she said, taking the last sip of her drink.

“I don’t have any. I had planned on giving the house elves the day off to celebrate with their clan.” He gave her a small smile.

“You don’t celebrate with your parents?”

“Usually Mother wants to spend the month of December and January somewhere tropical. Her last letter said they would be in the Caribbean this year. My father can work anywhere, so he allows her to choose their holiday destinations.”

“When was the last time you celebrated Christmas with them?” she wondered. She had a sinking feeling the answer would shock her.

“Um… third year. They threw a ball at the manor for one of the Malfoy companies on Christmas Eve.” Draco saw Hermione was horrified by his answer, but he wasn’t sure what he could say.

“I know you don’t care for Muggles, but you could join my family for Christmas. My parents would enjoy having someone else to dote on,” she said with a grin.

“You don’t think your parents would mind?”

“No, there are a few weeks before the holiday, so they’ll have plenty of time to prepare.”

“Alright. I’ll raid the wine cellar for Christmas dinner.” Draco gave her a smirk, which made her heart contract for a second. It was the smirk that made her lose all inhibition with him.

She stood up, gathering her belongings. Draco held the flowers for her.

“Thanks for tonight. Can one of your elves retrieve the vase in a few days?” Hermione thought the faceted crystal vase looked like a family heirloom.

“No, the vase is for you. I’ll need to Apparate you out of the manor.”

“I can walk back from the university if you want to Apparate there.”

“I’ll Apparate you to the school, but it’s too late for you to walk home alone,” he said, noticing her getting ready to disagree. “I insist, Hermione.” Draco’s serious tone quashed any argument from her.

“Okay, Malfoy. You win this time. But I’ll have you know I walk home alone every night after my library shift ends.”

Like hell you do, he thought to himself. But he refrained from giving himself away to her.

He took the opportunity to touch her by placing his arm around her waist before Apparating them to a secluded area of the university.

They walked towards her flat, Draco asking her about Muggle Christmas traditions.

“Santa Claus sounds like a wizard,” Draco laughed.

“That’s what I thought once I knew of the wizarding world! First year, I tried to do some research on Santa Claus at the Hogwarts library, but Madame Pince got annoyed at me when I tried to explain my theory.” Hermione walked up the steps to her building and entered her code into the electronic pad.

Draco followed her up the stairs to her flat. At her door, she fished out her keys and unlocked the door.

“Thanks, Malfoy.” She leaned into him and kissed his cheek before slipping into her flat.

He stood for a minute looking at her closed door, with a very rare genuine smile on his face.

The next morning, Hermione buried Crookshanks in her parents’ garden. She placed the flowers from Draco on top of the grave. Crooks was her companion for many years and she mourned his passing.

She went from the garden into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Her parents were at their dental practice, so the large home was quiet. She wandered into the living room, then remembered that she wanted to look something up in one of her mother’s books.

She found The Victorian Flower Dictionary and looked up daffodils. She found the specific flower Draco had cut for her, the Narcissus jonquilla.

After her emotional morning, her eyes began to water again as she looked at what the flower represented:

Return my affections.
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It's Not Over