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Nature's Cruelty: Sequel to Earth Shattering	By : Luckycharms Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 4870 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That right goes to the AMAZING JK Rowling. No profit is made off this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Prologue
- 2-Flight
- 3-News
- 4-Secrets
- 5-Fireworks
- 6-Broken
- 7-Zoo
- 8-Tremble
- 9-Danger
- 10-Loss
- 11-Cruelty
- 12-Hope
- 13-Epilogue
- 3
- 4
- 5
AN: Sorry for the delay everyone! My computer went berserk and I had to spend a few days trying to fix it. I do apologize also that this chapter is a little shorter than the rest but I promise next chapter will be a little longer. I can't say for certain when Chapter 5 will be posted, but I do hope to finish it sooner than I did this Chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 4- Secrets
Tuesday, July 4th, 2006 01:42pm
As Draco sat on the bright colored pillow, he rested his arms on his bent knees and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. He had no idea what he was supposed to do and he had little time to decide.
"You are torn. The news is bad." Regina commented, interrupting the fight going on in his head.
Looking up at the ceiling he let out a breath before lowering his eyes to the raven haired seer.
"Did you have a vision or something?" he stated rather harshly.
"No. Your face and body language tells it all."
"Figures." He let out a deep sigh. "What am I supposed to do? If I tell her, then the Potters will be angry with me and it will cut this honeymoon short with the possibility of Hermione being mad at Potter for ruining this for her and saying anything before we get back. It will also put her in danger…but if I don't tell her…" he let his sentence trail off as he looked back at the letter.
"If you don't tell her, then there is the possibility of her hating you?" Regina finished for him.
"And Potter as well for telling me to hold the information back. Also, it would put her in danger."
"What does your heart say?"
Draco looked up at the seer as he slumped his shoulders.
"To not be so selfish and just tell her."
"Then tell her." Regina backed off the shelf and took a seat on a pillow in front of him.
"But I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because, if I tell her, then a whole wind of problems will develop. Ginny is pregnant again and the added stress could cause difficulties in her pregnancy. She is already dealing with a lot and if she loses the baby because I gave in and told Hermione…." He let off another deep sigh "Potter and Ginny would never forgive me for telling her on her honeymoon, when they specifically asked me not to say anything. They are the only friends I have right now. But I am her husband; I should be the one to tell her everything. I mean who knows. Maybe if I tell her then she won't react the way we all expect her to…" Draco looked at the letter again before crumpling it up and throwing it across the room. "Who the hell am I kidding? Of course she will react the way we all think!"
"You seem very torn about this. Why not give yourself a few days to make a choice? I mean, is having your wife hate you more important that losing your friends?" Regina asked in a calm mother-like tone.
"I would rather her hate me than hate her friends."
"But it was her friends that put this burden on you."
"You don't know how deep their friendship goes. I can't be the one to ruin that for her. Either way, she is going to hate someone. I would rather her not hate Potter. If I have to then I will tell her that it was my decision to not say anything. Potter thinks it's best that she not know right now…then I will have to respect that. He knows her better than I do, unfortunately."
"I don't think hiding it from her is a good idea. But if your heart is telling you to hold back…then you must do that."
"Honestly, if it wasn't for Ginny being pregnant with the possibilities of major complications right now, then I would tell her right now, no questions asked. A honeymoon can be post-pone. Her baby can't…I don't know, this is all too much! I have never had to deal with something like this before. "
Regina softened her face to one of pity as she looked down at her hands.
"Can you tell me what it is? Maybe I can better help you if I knew what the news was."
"I can't. I am sorry but if I tell you before I even tell my wife, then she will definitely hate me for sure."
"I understand. It is not my place. Although, it seems to me, like you are already leading in the direction of not telling Hermione."
"Telling me what?"
Draco quickly snapped his head around and saw Hermione standing the doorway looking confused, yet curious. It was too soon and he still had not made up his mind. However, seeing his beautiful wife standing before him, made his racing mind halt to a stop. There was no way he would want to put her in any danger, let alone worry about something that is being dealt with.
"Tell me what Draco?" Hermione demanded to know as she walked into the room. "Are you getting a reading? Is that what you won't tell me? You know how I feel about that kind of thing Draco!"
"It was my fault!" Regina stated as she rushed to stand up from the pillow she was resting on.
Draco looked back to the woman with a confused expression and wonder just what she was doing before it hit him. She was covering for him; giving him time to decide if he should tell his wife the news or if he should keep it a secret; at least for now.
"I talked him into it. I do apologize. Your husband looked to be in need of a reading." She continued while Draco began to stand up.
Turning back to face Hermione, Draco saw the frustration creep across her perfect freckled face as she began to cross her arms in anger.
"And what gives you the right to try to con my husband out of his good hard-earned money?" Hermione spat.
Regina's face contorted to one of anger and perplexity while her hands balled into fists at her side.
"Con? I run a legitimate business Mrs. Malfoy, one that holds accurate results I might add! You might not believe in the work I do or the gift I hold, but if I didn't possess the magic to see what other cannot, then I guarantee you, I would gladly find a summer job elsewhere that makes more money instead of slumming it in this no-maj tourist filled town! Do not disrespect me in my place of business! I am no con!"
Hermione lowered her hands from their crossed position and opened her mouth to retort when Draco decided that enough was enough.
"STOP! We get it, alright? Hermione you hate seers and Regina you hate being insulted! There is no need for the bickering back and forth that will get us nowhere but a shouting match!" Draco took a step back, making it easier to see both women without having to fully turn each time, and looked at his wife in disappointment. "No Hermione, I was not going to get a reading," Hermione once again opened her mouth to speak but Draco quickly cut her off with a raised hand "Although, I know it may look like I was. She did ask if I wanted a reading and I said no, that is when she told me about herself and that Potter sent us all letters from home; instructing the owl to fly to her. And before you ask, yes she knows Potter, no she didn't explain in details how, she works for the Ilvermorny School, and she is a seer, whether you like it or not. We were just talking about what Potter told me in my letter before you came in." He raised his hand holding Hermione's envelope and waved it in the air to show her he was telling the truth.
Taking a few steps closer to her, he handed her the letter and stepped back. Hermione looked regretful for a moment before she lowered her head to look at the envelope in her hand.
"Why didn't Harry just write us both on one? Why did he send two separate ones? And why not send it directly to us?" She asked raising her eyes to him.
"Because he wanted to ask us both something and it was more meaningful to do it separately. Regina got one as well. I don't want to stand here and deduce Potters logic about how he decides to deliver mail, nor am I going to. Can you just open your letter so we can get going; or don't so we can leave? I really don't care which one; I would just like to go. "
Hermione let off a slight pout at Draco's response but she looked to have believed what he said. Lowering her head once more, she began to open the envelope and pull out the paper inside. He crossed his arms and waited; giving her a minute to read it over. As he watched her, he saw a faint smile begin to appear across her lips; knowing she reached the part of Harry asking her to be Godmother.
As she continued reading, Draco looked over to Regina who had moved back to the shelf she was at earlier. She turned to look at him, almost as if knowing he wanted her attention. He quickly mouthed the words 'thank you' hoping the she knew just how much he meant it. Regina nodded her head before turning back to the self and began pulling out a book.
Turning back to his wife, he took notice that the smile on Hermione's face turned to a frown and he wondered why. There was no reason for her to be upset, unless Harry had also told her something she was to keep from him.
"What is it Hermione? What's wrong?" he asked taking a step forward to see what was written, while resting a hand gently on her left shoulder.
"Nothing," She began "Just Harry letting me know that Ginny is pregnant again and asking me to be the baby's Godmother. He also mentioned that you mother is up for parole, due to overly good behavior; but he doesn't think she will get it since she is serving a life sentence."
"Is that why you are frowning?" He asked, a little too quickly while removing his hand.
"No." She let off a sigh and folded the paper back up. "He didn't mention anything about Ron. I would have thought he would have told me at least something about him; how he's doing, or if he is up for parole too."
Draco whole body suddenly stiffened at the mention of Ron's name and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the anxiety building up inside him. Part of what he knew, he could handle, but the part about Ron…that was something he knew he couldn't hold back for long.
"Well I wouldn't worry about it." He finally stated, not even realizing he broke free from his frozen state. "He is no longer in our lives and is safely tucked far away at Azkaban… where he can never get to you again."
"But that is the thing, Draco…He was my best friend for years. I might hate him for everything he did, but I still care about how he is doing. I can't just completely erase him…he will always be part of my life."
Before Draco could respond, Regina walked over to the couple and handed Draco the book she had pulled from the self.
"I am sorry to interrupt, but I got a very strong feeling that you should have this."
Draco looked down at the book and read the title aloud.
"Space and the Dangers it Holds...Why on Earth, would I need this?" he asked turning the book in his hand.
"I don't quite know." Regina claimed with a tilt of her head.
"Ugh, of course you don't." Hermione spat with an eye roll. "I think it's time we go, before I say something that will get us both in trouble."
With that, Hermione turned and began walking out of the door, but Draco just stood there looking down at the book; wondering why he would ever need a book on space.
"Are you coming Draco?" Hermione asked from the doorway after taking in deep breath.
"Yeah." He replied not looking away from the book.
Finally he realized they were leaving and quickly looked up at Regina.
"Thank you…You know, for everything."
Regina nodded her head with a faint smile resting on her lips.
"Be careful out there."
Before Draco even had a chance to reply, Regina turned on her heels and walked away from him. Leaving him wondering, just what she meant by her statement.
Never did she tell him, she already read his future when he was sitting in front of her crystal ball; and what she saw, didn't look good.
XXXX
Tuesday, July 4th, 2006 03:15pm
He was hiding something and she knew it. Hermione was not one to not notice small details and changes in people's demeanors, especially when it came to Draco Malfoy. Of all people to read, she would have thought her husband would be the hardest. Turns out, he was actually the easiest. She thought maybe it was due to living with him every day, but then she remembered she used to live with Harry and Ron every day too, but they took a lot longer to figure out than Draco. There was always something about him, even in school he was so easy to read; which is probably why she always felt pity on him.
Hermione knew though, the moment Draco tensed up at the sound of Ron's name, that he had information. She just wondered if he was going to tell her or not. He wasn't like her friends though; getting him to spill was going to be a lot harder than trying to get Harry to tell her about, well anything.
As she watched her husband sitting next to her on the beach chair, engrossed in the book Regina gave him, Hermione wondered how she was going to proceed to get the information he was hiding out of him. He wouldn't hide something from her unless it was extremely important and it didn't help that she was the type of person who hated people keeping secrets from her.
"Why are you reading that book? If you really wanted to know anything about space I can just tell you." She began, setting her own book down on her lap.
Draco continued to read as he replied to her; never once looking up from the book.
"Because, sometimes I like to learn information on my own, through a good book, rather than hearing it from someone else."
To be fair, she was also the same way. But he had not said more than a few words to her since they left the scam of a fortune tellers shop and she really wanted to get him talking.
"What is so interesting in that book that you don't already know from school?"
"Lots of things. Astronomy was mainly about constellations; nothing about black holes and the fact that Jupiter eats its own moons." He claimed as he turned the page, still not looking at her.
"Jupiter doesn't eat its moons. Its gravitational pull is just so strong that the moons get sucked into the pull."
Glancing up from the book, Draco looked at her with a raised brow.
"That would be considered eating its own moons."
"Eating would imply that it is alive and it's not. It is just a large gas planet."
Draco rolled his eyes and went back to reading.
"A large gas planet, which I might add, has saved Earth from asteroids capable of destroying us many times, without us even knowing. It eats shit. It is a living planet bodyguard to me."
Hermione let out a huff and looked towards the ocean. She was happy that the beach in front of their Villa was private. She couldn't imagine how much of a hassle it would have been to find a spot and relax by the boardwalk. Letting out a sigh she looked up to the sky and noticed a small bright shape shoot across the blue cloudless atmosphere. She had to squint through her sunglasses but she was sure she saw a light that wasn't supposed to be there.
Turning her head back to Draco, she was about to ask him if he too saw what she just did, but he was too busy looking down to even notice. Lifting her sunglasses to the top of her head, she looked back up at the area she saw the light to make sure she wasn't going crazy, but there was nothing there. Just a seagull flapping its wings as it soars through the air looking for fish in the ocean.
Shaking off the weird feeling she was getting, Hermione lifted her book back up and tried to continue reading. However, something was not sitting right with her and she could no longer concentrate.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked her, still not lifting his head.
"What makes you think something is wrong?"
"Because you are getting antsy and you're no longer reading."
She didn't know how he could tell when he never seemed to even look at her, but she assumed he knew her better than she thought.
"Something isn't right. I don't know what it is but something is…off. And I saw this bright flash of light shoot across the sky."
"Maybe it's that fact that you're not out saving the wizarding world or fighting bad guys. Learn to just relax and stop trying to find something in nothing. It was probably just a shooting star."
"During the day? That is extremely rare unless under the right conditions."
Letting out a deep sigh, Draco closed his book and set it down in the sand.
"I don't know what to tell you Hermione. Maybe you are just seeing things."
"Oh like I see that you barely look at me or the fact that you have barley even spoken to me sine we left that shop."
"What?"
"You heard me." She claimed as she fully sat up from her lounged position.
"Where is this coming from? I haven't been ignoring you. My mind is just-"
"Somewhere else? What are you hiding from me!' She demanded in frustration. "You never ignore me unless you are hiding something and I know Harry told you something and told you not to tell me. So what is it?" she asked angrily as she turned her body towards him and rested her feet in the sand.
Draco's face fell as his skin turned a ghostly white. She was absolutely sure now that he was keeping a secret; though she only guessed that Harry had told him not to tell. His reaction just now, confirmed her suspicions.
"So Harry did tell you to keep something from me?"
"Hermione I-"
"Draco Lucius Malfoy! You tell me this instant or I swear to Merlin!"
"Okay! Okay…" Draco stated in panic as held up his hands in defeat. Please don't be mad at Potter. He is handling the situation."
"What situation?" she questioned; a little more rough than she intended.
"My…mother is out on parole."
"WHAT?" Hermione stood up from chair so quickly that the book laying in her lap shot off and almost hit Draco in the face. That was not what she thought he was going to say and the shock began to overwhelm her. "How in Godric's name did that bloody happen! When did that happen?"
"A few days ago and they don't know." He began calmly while turning to face her.
"They don't know! How do they not know!"
"Would you stop and let me explain…Potter suspects that more than one person on the Parole Board was paid off and granted it to her. There is no other way that they would grant her freedom just on good behavior. Not with everything she has done. Not even my father is allowed to get it. But she was never sentence to life without parole…just life. Although, she never should have been granted anything with life sentence."
"Where is she now? She can't leave the country right?" Hermione began to panic and started pacing back and forth in front the beach chair.
"She can't leave the country and her wand was snapped in half upon sentencing. She can't hurt you Hermione."
Draco stood up from his chair and walked over to her. But the last thing Hermione wanted in that moment was comfort. Brushing his hands away, she stormed off back to the Villa in anger and fear. It took her a long time to feel normal again after what Narcissa Malfoy put her through and she would be damned if she let the witch affect her again.
Throwing open the sliding glass door, Hermione pulled out her wand and flicked her wrist; packing everything up as quickly as possible.
"What are you doing?" Draco asked as he dodged a plate flying through the air. "Hermione! What the bloody hell are you doing?"
"Packing!" She claimed in frustration while marching up the stairs to the bedroom.
"Why?" he questioned as a pair of pants smacked him face.
"Because I need to know where she is and what her plan is. We are going home!"
Pulling out his own wand, Draco held it in the air in irritation.
"Finite!" he shouted, and all the items moving across the bedroom instantly fell to the ground.
"This is exactly why Potter told me not to tell you! He knew you would react like this and cut our honeymoon short! He didn't want to ruin that for you, which is why he told me. You are acting irrational!"
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and gave Draco the death glare she knew he was terrified of.
"Irrational? IRRATIONAL! How dare you! Your mother is out of Azkaban and most likely concocting a plan to kill me again and all you want to do is stay here and ignore that! How selfish can you get?" she shouted.
"Selfish? I am not acting selfish for protecting you! We go home right now and you are putting yourself right into my mother's hands! She can't get to you here and Potter is taking care of it! He and the whole Auror office are keeping close tabs on her while trying to figure out how she got out in the first place!"
"I need to be there! I can't run from her my whole life and we have to go home eventually! It is better to go now and find out what she is up to than to wait and give her time to maneuver her pieces around."
"This isn't a game of chess for Salazar sake, Hermione! You are not a pawn and she is not a queen anymore! We are not going anywhere!" he yelled in aggravation.
"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?" She yelled back, fully riled up.
"YOU'RE FUCKING HUSBAND!" he screamed, making her step back while finally quieting the hostility she was feeling towards him, rendering her speechless. "I am your bloody husband but for some reason, that fact seems to keep slipping your fucking mind! Regardless of whether or not you remember you married me, I will be damned if I put you in harm's way again! I will do whatever it takes to protect you, Hermione, even if it is against your own fucking decisions! And being my wife, I would hope you would do the same for me when I am not thinking clearly! Don't be so fucking daft and understand that I know what I am doing! Going home right now, WILL put you in danger!"
Hermione was thrown back at Draco's outburst. Never in her life, other than the night his mother and Ron cornered them in the parking garage, did she ever see him so angry. And this, was the first time his anger had been directed towards her. The will to not scream back at him, fought heavily in her mind, but she knew he had a point. No matter what she said in retaliation, she knew it would never outmatch that fact, that he was right.
Instantly, all anger she held against him and Harry vanished and all she that was left, was fear. Her eyes began to water without her even realizing they were doing so as terror washed over her. She was a strong and brave witch, but the things she had been through over her life was enough to break anyone for two lifetimes.
A single tear drop, fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek; resting upon her lips while filling her mouth with the salty taste of dread.
"I…I'm scared." Was all she was able to muster.
And as she spoke those words, the tears she was holding back released upon the world and began to pour down her face. But also as soon as she spoke those words, she felt the strong protective hands of Draco wrap around her; holding her tightly and refusing to let go.
Sinking her face into his chest, she cried harder that she had ever cried before; letting everything she ever held back, out.
"I know you're scared Love," Draco whispered softly "I am scared too. But I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Please always remember that. I am always going to be there for you. You are my whole world Hermione. I will never let anything bad happen to you."
As Draco continued to whisper to her in soothing tones, Hermione continued to cry. But she was so caught up in her own thoughts and his protective hold, that she didn't hear his voice falter slightly as he tried to calm her. She never once question what he was still holding back from her; essentially tearing him apart inside. And all the while he refused to tell her, that he knew, a whole lot more than he led on.
@Goddess-of_Dragons- Thank you so much! I am so happy to know that you are enjoying my story! I hope to hear more about what you think as the story progresses! I won't give any spoilers though :)
@Saxman66- There is still a culture clash, but that is too be expected with a pureblood and muggle-born. Also Steven is Jason's brother, not his son but I do have my reasons for putting them back in the story. I wasn't originally planing to but then an idea hit me and it became necessary to add them. As for the letters, I did plan to actually have Harry tell Hermione to hold a secret from Draco but it became too complicated in my opinion. Fourth of July was also just due to the fact that I needed a summer holiday to get a ton of people in the area. It is America after all and the 4th is the best holiday to represent that :). As for the tongue emote I would just do :p. And yes! spending any sort of time around this couple is sure to make things rough for anyone haha!
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Nature's Cruelty: Sequel to Earth Shattering