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How To Train Your Auror	By : Alcoholic_Rootbeer Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 7512 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I will not make a profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
"Early evening settle down
Father, father, father
Who am I to blame?
Early evening hush me over
Father, father, father
Are we just the same?
Hey, that sounds like my luck
I get the short end of it
Oh I love to be
I love to be the underdog, Hey!"
"Underdog" by Imagine Dragons
Hermione snuggled Scorpius close to her chest as she watched Draco prepare a bottle for him. It was surreal as she watched the platinum blonde caper around the kitchen so naturally, gathering formula, then bottle, then taking the time to pull burping rags and bibs from the drawers. She remembered the former Draco, so arrogant as to make his friends carry his books for him from class to class; to see him cater to something so precious and innocent was warming to the soul.
Scorpius made an agitated cry, to which Draco replied, "S'alright, Scorp. Dinner will be ready in a moment. Merlin knows it won't be as good as your mom's tits, but then again most things aren't." He waved his wand and heated the bottle, then handed it to Hermione. "I take it you know how to feed an infant, Granger?"
"Yes." Hermione nodded, positioning little Scorpius before tilting the bottle into his mouth. He latched on immediately, staring up at her with those icy-clear eyes that nearly matched his father's in every way. It must be a Malfoy trait, she thought idly, having such stunning colored eyes. In the muggle world, these were very rare indeed. But to a Malfoy, it must be just another family heirloom wrapped in genetics. How peculiar. "He really is a precious thing."
"You're not telling me something I don't already know." Malfoy leaned across the kitchen island and accio'd a stool to sit on. He stared at his son with such adoration… Hermione shivered. She had to remind herself that even he himself admitted that there was so much darkness in him. In this moment, it was hard to find any. He was just a concerned father, worried for the future of his relationship with his wife and trying to be the best father he could under the circumstances. But he wasn't innocent. And Hermione was determined to find out why.
"You said that you did things after the War…" she started, cautiously holding the tone in her voice to casual conversation as to not instigate a threat and make him bolt like a timid deer. "Am I to assume that you've severed all ties with that sort of life?"
"Assume away." He smirked up at her. "We both know where that gets you."
"So if I want to know something?"
"Ask." He gestured to her, palms out. "If I don't feel like sharing, I'll tell you to shove it. If I do, then you'll get your answer."
"Alright." She chewed on her lip in thought, tilting the bottle. "Another time, then." She pulled the bottle away from Scorpius, who started to whine until she placed him gently on her shoulder and began to pat his back. He gave a strong burp and she went back to feeding him. "Have you ever tried performing a Patronus Charm?"
"Never had the need to," he answered, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand, "But I'm willing to give it a go if you are."
Hermione smiled down at Scorpius, whose eyes were drifting slowly shut as he debated a nap. She looked back up to Malfoy. "Well, the first thing you'll need to do is find a memory. The happiest one you have, and focus on it. Do you have one in mind?" He stared down complacently at the countertop, rolling his knuckles over the stone. She could tell that even this simple application was difficult for him -she wondered how many happy memories he had left that weren't warped by his new perceptions of the world. "Anything from your childhood, perhaps? Or something recent? Scorpius-"
"-I've thought of that," he retorted, cutting her off. "But even something so wonderful as my son's birth is tainted by the reminder that I don't live up to the expectations he'll one day have. I'm not good enough for him. Or for Tori." He sunk his head low, avoiding her eyes.
"You can't think that way." Hermione shook her head. "The Malfoy I knew would never think so low of himself."
"The Malfoy you knew died nine years ago, along with Vincent Crabbe." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring at nothing in particular. It was then that his eyes flicked up to her, a new emotion set in them, though she couldn't quite place it.
"The Room of Requirement," she whispered. "Yes, I remember that."
"He tried to kill you." Malfoy sat extremely still, barely even to take a breath.
"Yes. He did."
"What we did that day… It was wrong." He swallowed hard. "It haunts me, you know. Crabbe brought his death upon himself, but that doesn't mean I wanted him to…" It was difficult for him, she noted thoughtfully, but he forced himself to continue. "I was a very stupid child, with very selfish tendencies. But I was a coward then, and I'm a coward now. Even my wife has said as much." His laugh that followed was empty. "I don't have any happy memories anymore."
Hermione blinked at him, confounded by his confession. He was right about one thing -the old Malfoy was dead and gone. He might put on a good show for the outside world, but inside he was just as twisted and warped by war as her or Harry. It might even be harder for him, because he held so much guilt in his soul that neither Harry nor Hermione carried. Her conscience was clear- but Draco's was most certainly not. Everyone always wants to get into the head of the heroes in History's playbook, but hardly anyone, including herself, ever stopped to consider the aftermath of those who sided on for the opposition. "Have you ever discussed this with your wife?" she asked.
Draco tilted his head to the side. "Never."
"Don't you think you should? Perhaps if she understood-"
"But that's just it, Granger. She'll never understand, will she? She's a few years younger than us. She was there, at Hogwarts, but she didn't get in the thick of it like you or I. Astoria is a strong woman, she really is, but she's never been scarred by War. And I'd like to keep it that way."
"So when you talk to me, it's because I'm already damaged goods?"
"If it makes you feel any better, so am I."
She stole a glance down at Scorpius, who lay silently asleep in her arms. She slipped the empty bottle from his lips and sat it on the counter, then shook her head. "I think being damaged might be a good thing. Look at what you created out of all of that pain. You brought a life into this world, Draco. That's not something to be taken lightly. And we've all done things we regret. Some more than others, I'll grant, but it doesn't mean that you should regret them the way that you do. Because, if you didn't make all of the mistakes, you wouldn't have come away with the lesson, would you? Some people go through their lives never learning the lessons that we do. It makes us stronger, not weaker. -You used to make fun of me for loving to learn, but if there's one thing I've discovered it's that knowledge is the best tool to forge a weapon."
He gazed into her eyes, unabashed. "Granger?"
"Yes?"
"I'm glad you didn't die that night."
"Yes… so am I." She had to pry her eyes away as to conceal her self-conscious flare of blood to her face. Here she was supposed to be attempting a way to discredit him to the Ministry, and here he was paying her a compliment and confiding in her like someone who he trusted in. She coughed, blinking back a small tear. "Where is the nursery? He's fast asleep."
"Give him to me. I'll tuck him in and be back in a blink." He stood and walked around the counter to her. Carefully, she handed the tiny infant over to him, the loss of body heat hitting her like a baseball bat to the gut. She hoped this wouldn't be the last time she'd hold him as she watched him leave the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later with his hands tucked into his pockets. "He's out light a light. Don't think he'll wake up anytime soon."
"Should… should we be doing this here?" It dawned on Hermione all of a sudden that she was standing in a room alone with him, with not a single soul around. There wasn't a class full of trainees or even a small infant to carry the tone of the room. And Malfoy was a married man. She didn't want to upset his wife any more, and perhaps being alone in a room with him was a bit more intimate than she would have preferred.
He read the expression on her face because he drew up a precocious eyebrow and chuckled. "It's not like we're going to start passionately fornicating on the counter. Astoria wouldn't have left me alone with you if she saw you as any sort of threat."
Hermione wasn't sure if she should feel insulted or pleased. "Yes, well…"
"We're just studying." He purposefully stretched, his lean muscles tugging against each other as the bottom of his shirt raised just above his trousers, revealing muscles wrapped in pale, sculpted skin pulled tautly around his pelvis. He grinned maniacally. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Hermione."
She rolled her eyes and said, "Are you quite done?"
"Indeed."
"Then allow me to show you how it's done." She untucked her wand from her sock and concentrated on her happiest memory. "You have to concentrate, you see, or it won't work. You have to believe in yourself."
"So what's your memory?" he asked as she began to flick her wand. She stopped mid move and raised her eyebrows.
"I don't believe anyone's ever asked me that before." She smiled, swirled her wand in a spiral, and said, "Expecto Patronum!" Out of her wand shot a wisp of white light that settled into the form of her otter friend. It swam around the room gleefully. "My memory used to be my acceptance letter into Hogwarts. But it changed a few years ago, when Ronald proposed." She giggled into her hand as her memories rose to the surface. "It was in the parking lot of an old drive in theatre. It was his first time attending one, and he got down on one knee just as a werewolf jumped onto the screen. He dropped the ring between the console of the car and…" She stifled a laugh. "I'm sorry. I know you don't understand a lot of what I just said, but it was just such a Ronald way of doing things…"
"Was it a real werewolf?" asked Draco, concerned.
"No. No! It was… like a play."
"So he dropped the ring?" He attempted to carry the conversation.
"Yes. And it took him ten minutes to fish it out from between our seats. He was so worried that he had ruined everything, but I loved it." She put a hand to her cheek and apologized. "Sorry to ramble… it's been so long since I've thought about it."
"And that's your happiest memory?"
"One of them."
Draco nodded thoughtfully and picked his wand up off the table. "I proposed to Astoria in her favorite bakery shop. Had the ring put in her morning muffin, peeking out the top. She cried. -Did you cry?"
"I was too busy laughing," she answered honestly. "So now, how did that memory make you feel?"
"Inflated my ego a bit, if we're being frank with each other," he mused, imitating her movement with the wand in practice. "But I don't think it's powerful enough."
"What about your childhood? Are there any memories that spark something within you?"
He shrugged. "I was the only child of two wealthy parents. I received whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. You'd think that would make one happy, but after so long it becomes expected. Soon, the joy gets taken out of everything…" He grinned, suddenly remembering something. "But, there was this one time… I told my Mum I wanted this potions set for Christmas. It was one of those beginner packages, with herbs and whatnot. But Mum told me no because she said I wasn't old enough to be meddling with potions yet. It drove me bonkers, it did. I told Father, but he just sided with Mum. But when Christmas time rolled around, wouldn't you know-"
"-It was underneath the tree," Hermione finished, settling her chin in her hand and smiling.
"Damn straight it was. And I was the happiest ten year old on the face of the Earth, as far as I was concerned. The next year I went into Professor Snape's potions class and aced it with flying colors."
Hermione reached over the counter and patted his arm. "Give it a go."
Draco looked worried, but jutted out his chin and stepped around the counter to her. He pointed his wand towards the pots and pans hanging against the wall and closed his eyes, concentrating. "I am quite sure this won't work."
"I'm quite sure you'll never know until you try."
He sighed, opened his eyes, and steadied his arm. "Expecto Patronum!" His wand fizzled, but nothing beyond that happened. Hermione watched as Draco's face deflated and he cursed under his breath. "Should have bloody known."
"You honestly think you have the capability of performing a spell of that magnitude with one go?" Hermione jumped up from her seat and set her hands on her hips, much the way she did when she would scold Harry. This didn't feel much different, if she were being honest about it. Just a paler form in front of her. With harsher glares. "You're supposed to be intelligent, Malfoy."
"I can't do it," he sneered, throwing his hands up. "I'm never going to pass this course, and I'm never going to become and Auror."
Hermione huffed and tapped her foot impatiently. "We're all insecure, Draco. It's how you deal with it." She walked up to stand next to him, straightened his wand arm, and held on tight around his wrist. As she imitated the motions with his arm, she said, "You'll have to come up with a better memory."
"I don't have one," he gruffed.
Realizing her tactics weren't working, she tried a new approach. "Well, I suppose if you're willing to give up and admit that I'm better at magic than you are…" She dropped his arm and sauntered over to the counter, where she pulled herself up on and smirked. "By all means."
"I never said you were better than me," he scoffed, nostrils flaring.
"Whatever you say, Draco. I suppose I'd give up too -oh, no. Wait. I never give up." She stretched her arms up in the air and gave an arrogant yawn. "I am the brightest witch of our generation. -Do you have a nickname like that? No? Poor thing."
"Watch your tongue, Granger."
"Will you hex it off if I don't?" She gave a small laugh. "If you can't perform under pressure, perhaps an Auror position really isn't for you."
"You want a happy memory?" He scratched under his chin and smirked. "I'll give you one. Remember when I enlarged your teeth? That was quite fun."
Hermione's jeering faltered momentarily as real emotions rose to the surface. "Yes, I quite remember that. Do you remember when Moody turned you into a ferret?"
Both of Malfoy's eyebrows flew up his forehead and he nodded, no doubt trying to think of a comeback to best her. When he couldn't, he simply replied, "Shut up and watch a real wizard work." Draco moved to the center of the room and closed his eyes for a few moments. Then he flourished his wand forward, flicked it in a spiral, and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
Silver light stemmed out of the end of his wand, lighting up the room in one definitive glare before snuffing back out. Both of them stared at the end of his wand in bewilderment.
"Did I… I just…?"
"Yes!" Hermione clapped her hands wildly. "Oh, yes you did!"
He looked impressed for a moment before his face turned to confusion. "But it wasn't any sort of animal."
"That's because it wasn't a corporal Patronus. But that's alright. -That comes with practice."
He nodded slowly, no doubt taking in the information and storing it away.
"See, Malfoy? There must be some good in you. -What were you thinking about?"
He lowered his arm. "I thought about laying Scorpius in his crib."
Staring at the wondrous man in front of her, Hermione couldn't help but be in awe. He had managed, somehow, to perform one of the most difficult of charms in no more than two consecutive tries. No one, not even Harry, had been able to do such a thing. She stepped off of the counter and threw her arms around him.
"What… are you doing?"
"I'm hugging you."
"Oh, I'm aware of what a hug is. Why are you hugging me?"
"Because I'm proud of you, Draco."
"Bloody well stop, would you? I've never felt less inclined towards a hug than in this moment." But despite his claims, he continued to let her hug him for a moment longer before releasing him. When she was through, he brushed off his arms, annoyed, and grimaced. "How is it that one individual can manage to smell like an entire library? Is that a perfume? Ode de books?"
"I know you're lashing out because you feel guarded, but I think we're past all that, aren't we? -Shall we try again?"
"Yes." He nodded. "I think I'd like that." He extended his wand arm, adding, "You said you knew a Death Eater who could perform a patronus?"
"Yes."
"Who was he?"
Hermione smiled warmly. "A brave man, much like yourself, by the name of Severus Snape."
Draco paused, mid motion, and glanced back to her. His entire demeanor shifted as he settled his wand back down at his side and realized that his favorite potions teacher, the one who had sacrificed his own soul so that he himself wouldn't be the one to kill Dumbledore; the only teacher who believed in him as much as his father should have; the only backboned man in Draco's young life, was still capable of teaching him to believe in himself, even after death .
"Professor Snape, hmm?" His silver flecked eyes met hers with appreciation. "Well then -what are we waiting for? Let's try again."
"Draco Malfoy," Auror Diggle called, reading from his roster. Hermione exchanged nervous glances with Draco and whispered, "You can do this. Just think happy thoughts. Like Peter Pan."
"Who?" he asked curiously, rising from his chair with his wand at the ready. He marched up to the front of the classroom with his signature smirk plastered across his pointed face. He wielded his wand, determination etched in those icy eyes, and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
From his wand shot forth a glowing stallion, its mane and tail licking the air like tufts of fire. It held its head high with pride as it pranced around the room, weaving between tables. As it passed by Hermione it nudged her shoulder. When it made its way back to Draco it stomped one hoof on the floor before disappearing into a wisp of light.
Everyone in the room sat silently except for Hermione, who found herself clapping wildly. Malfoy gave her a look to stop, and her claps slowly died away, as did her smile.
Auror Diggle looked absolutely baffled as he said, "Well… well done, Malfoy. You may take your seat."
Draco strutted across the room and slid into the chair next to Hermione. "How was that for a corporal Patronus?"
"Not too shabby," she answered, exchanging glances with Greg. She could tell that there would be a very firm talk about this later, but she ignored it and said, "And a stallion. I suppose that makes sense, doesn't it?"
"Because I'm a stud?" he jostled.
"Have you ever heard of the expression 'stubborn as a horse?' 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink.' 'Get off your high horse.' I could go on."
"You're saying I'm obstinate."
"Precisely."
He shrugged. "And what does an otter say about you? That you like to build dams?"
"Otters don't build dams. That's a common misconception."
"Know it all."
"Arrogant prat."
"Hey, Hermione?"
"Yes, Draco?"
"Thank you."
"You're quite welcome."
Alright, it's going to get a bit darker from the next chapter out, so be prepared for the feel-goody to take a back burner for a while. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I had a little more, but I felt it was better left in the next chapter. Please leave your thoughts.
A.
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How To Train Your Auror