Adverse Reactions

A/N: Hello Everyone. I would like to give credit to all the wonderful people who are helping to Review this story. I appreciate your support and every review I read makes me more and more anxious to finally finish this story. I would like to especially thank all of those who read the story, but don’t comment. I wish you guys would write more comments. Tell me what you like, what can be improved, if there are any contradictions in my work or even if there are questions that you have. You can even guess what is going to happen next if you would like. In general though, I thank you all for your support. Please, Please, Please!!! Read and Review.

So you know. This story is Draco/Hermione…duh…but the plot is not just centralized around them. In fact the way have this story planned is that it will eventually lead them into a series of conflicts that I think you as readers will really enjoy. I have received several notes that my writing is a little on the blunt and violent side. I’m not changing that. I wanted to go ahead and warn you, as I am now getting into developing the overall plotline, that there will be violence, rape, murder, suicide and possibly several very gruesome and explicit scenes. I will try and separate these sections for those who are weak of heart, but forgive me if I don’t do that. For those of you who like the sex scenes…don’t worry…there will be several of those as well. In general, I hope you guys stick with the story…it will be rather long. Starting now, every chapter will probably range anywhere from 3500 words all the way to possible 10,000 words.

I hope everyone likes this story and even if you don’t care for it, please enjoy. I am very open to criticism and if you ask a question, I am more than willing to answer it (that is unless it will be explained in subsequent chapters) Thank you all so very very much. I will try to make the updates as frequent as I can, but they will most likely be on Friday evenings once a week.

Thank you for all your continued support!

Kefira Hajari



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West Vegan World Café was bustling about with witches and wizards out and about searching for healthy foods to satisfy their appetites and their families. Draco realized how quaint the little restaurant was situated between Quality Quidditch Supplies and the Apothecary on a small hill right near the entrance at the Leaky Cauldron. He had passed by this place many times during his life and always found that the tiny little witches that worked the dinning areas were kind and always offered a little sample of their foods for tasting to the passersby. Emilia gazed around, losing her bearings and staring awestruck at the different colors of the buildings that were all around. Draco noticed this and snickered silently to himself.

The small hostess witch greeted them kindly and handed Emilia a little taste of the fresh flowered shape candy that was sitting on the counter. She led them to a table inside the room and right near the outside patio where Draco could watch the snow fall on the delicate landscaped grounds of the restaurant. Hermione was nowhere to be found. He let a sigh escape his mouth and slinked back in his chair calmly, eyeing the happy house-elf sitting to his right as she chomped carefully on some choice bits of lettuce with a honey colored sauce that looked as appetizing as it must have tasted. It wasn’t very noisy in the building. Six very 1960s looking witches sat together in the corner eating a bowl of green and purple ice cream and chatting away lively. One of them had a big thing of butterbeer colored drink in a gray glass and was comfortable sharing it with her friends at the table. Across the way sat a calm looking couple holding hands across the table with the same butterbeer colored beverage, both of whom looked to be enjoying each other’s company and blissfully unaware of the hubbub going on in the little open kitchen where two cooking witches were arguing in a clear Romanian accent and threatening to bash each other upside the head with large frying pans.

“Can I get you anything to drink while you wait on the others?” A waitress had appeared from the corner behind Draco and he was mildly startled by her appearance. Upon closer inspection he realized that she was a girl from his year, a Miss Padma Patil to be exact.

“Padma?” Draco’s voice was calm and although his question was clearly understood, it took a moment for Padma to realize just who he was. And when she did she was completely taken aback.

“Draco Malfoy! ?Oh my…you’ve changed a lot!” The strange mix of surprise and interest lingered in her voice as she looked up and down his frame. Yes he had changed. Today he had chosen a rather tight fitted sweater to go over his exercise shirt and beneath his cloak. It was green with gold and silver stripes across the front and accented his very well defined chest. He had stripped of his fine green cloak and was simply in a pair of black slacks which brought out the thickness of his toned legs and arse and also made it clear that he was well endowed with out directly stating that fact. Padma was still speechless.

“Yes, I traveled with my mother to Muggle America after the fall and picked up some of the dress styles there. I have found they suit me well. Oh, I almost forgot.” Draco turned to the small house-elf that had realized the company and stood up.

“This is my personal house-assistant, Emilia Malfoy. Emmy, this is Ms. Padma Patil.” Emilia gave a slight curtsey as she had been instructed not to bow anymore, and reseated herself at the table.

“Draco, I would never see you as the house-elf sympathizer. I remember the stories of your family and Dobby, but I never realized…” Draco ushered a hand for her to stop rambling.

“It was really my mother who helped me make the switch from the egotistical prick I was to the man you see before you. After the fall, she made it clear that she had promised Harry Potter that she would teach better of me and teach me she did. It took many vacations, but she finally helped me and herself realize the benefits of both Muggles and especially the house-elves. Although she had a liking to house-elves as a child, after we figured out that we were going to run our household differently, she turned the Malfoy Manor over to my name and we enlisted the help of Fifteen forsaken house-elves, giving them proper clothing, the option of pay and vacations and most of all, real names.”

Padma was stunned at the change she saw in him, but realized his gaze had switched to her.

“So how much longer do you have?” Draco was eyeing her swollen stomach suspiciously. Padma blushed and put her hands over her stomach.

“I have a good six or so months left. My first since I never took the time to get married. Parvati married Dean Thomas and they have a girl, so I’m suspecting mine will be a girl as well, but I’m not sure.” Draco smiled and was about to ask another question when a squeaky voice interrupted him.

“Emilia is expecting a little one as well!” Emilia pointed to her stomach and smirked. Obviously the candies had lowered her inhibitions a little which made Draco much more comfortable.

“Yes indeed. We have another set of little feet to patter about the halls of the Manor!”

“That’s great Draco. Can I get you guys anything to drink?”

“Yes, what is the beverage in the gray glass everyone else seems to be enjoying so much?”

Padma glanced over to the groups of people around the room.

“That’s our organic butterbeer. It is healthier for you and it has no animal byproducts whatsoever.” Her smile made Draco feel slightly more comfortable.

“Then I would like one of those, and something not too sweet as to not get Emmy here drunk please.”

“Coming right up Draco!” And with that Padma flipped her long black hair over her shoulders and floated away. Draco watched her momentarily and then resumed to observing the snow outside.

It was thick and cloudy today. Not really so much that it looked gloomy, just overcast and very cold. The warmth of the inside of the building was a great relief and Draco watched as several young boys with flaming red hair ran from the quality quidditch supplies store toward Florean Fortescues Ice Cream Parlor which was down the street. Draco thought they looked oddly like the Weasley boys did back in Hogwarts, but since he did not recognize their distressed parents, he shook it off and tried to think of something else, starting with what on Earth Hermione wanted to talk to him about.

‘Hermione. I haven’t thought about her a day in my life before Astoria killed Ron.’ Draco started to think to himself, but was suddenly interrupted by his conscious.

‘Yes I have. I think about her every time I look at Scorpius. My son. He reminds me of her. He is kind and thoughtful and completely determined to take care of his friends. He is smarter than everyone else in his class except for maybe Hermione’s girl.’

Draco had never actually met Hermione’s children or any of the Weasley/Potter brood come to think of it. Although Ron, Harry and he were cordial at work, civilized to one another, and had finally stopped calling each other by their last names, it wasn’t like Draco had suddenly been invited to the Weasley family picnic. Of course, Draco hadn’t extended his hand in a friendship either. The funny thing was that Scorpius had. He and Rose had become very good friends this year at school and from the letters he received from Neville Longbottom, who he had found a very odd sort of friendship with, Rose, Scorpius and Albus Potter had become the new golden trio. The three spent almost all of their time together, despite the fact that they were in separate houses and they all seemed to be doing well in school. Draco was amazed at what a new generation could accomplish. He wondered if Hermione wanted to talk about this friendship. However, a nagging sensation brought him out of his pondering when Emilia rapt him sharply on the knee.

“OW! Emmy?” Draco was mildly annoyed and curious at the spontaneous gesture, but Emilia looked in his eyes and in a little voice that was shaking with fear asked, “Master Malfoy? Is everything alright? You were unresponsive for a moment.”

Draco looked up and noticed that Padma was standing there holding their drinks. She must have been talking to him because she quickly regained her composure and lay the drinks down in front of the two.

“You gave me a start for a moment there. Wanted to make sure you weren’t sick.” Padma’s smooth voice echoed a little bit more than worry for his well being.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment.” Draco turned to his drink and took a sip. It was absolutely delicious. It had the same taste and density as butterbeer however it had a spark of flavor that seemed to stream down his throat with ease. When he put the glass down, he smiled up at Padma.

“Fabulous. I think I need to come here more often.”

“Well then, you should.” Padma’s seemingly innocent statement failed to conceal the desire she was hiding.
He could sense it from the moment she took one look at his figure. This was not unusual. He was attractive. And he was also not interested. Thankfully, the awkward moment was interrupted by the front bell and the sound of a voice he would know from anywhere. He leaned to the left to look around Padma, who turned as well. Standing in the doorway, looking around, was a witch in her late thirties standing beside a beautiful young girl of about eleven with flaming red hair, freckles and brown eyes. Rose shivered underneath her cloak and her mother gazed down at her and scolded her slightly on the benefit of wearing the right amount of clothes if you are going to side-along apparate in the cold winter months. Rose just rolled her eyes. That’s when she noticed Draco sitting by the window.

“Mum.!” Rose got her mother’s attention and pointed toward Draco and Padma.

Hermione stood erect and waved as the two approached the table. Being the gentleman he was, Draco stood to acknowledge her presence.

“Sorry we’re late. I hope you haven’t eaten yet.” Hermione’s voice was unsteady and she was flushed almost as red of a colour as her daughter’s hair. “I would like you to meet my daughter. Rosalind, this is Mr. Draco Malfoy, he is Scorpius’s father.”

Rose nodded at the introduction and quickly shifted her gaze to look at Draco. He smiled gently and extended his hand. She took it and he kissed it respectfully.

“Very nice to finally meet you Rose. My son has told me so many wonderful things about you.” Rose blushed a vibrant shade of eggplant and smiled like a silly schoolgirl at the elegant gesture.

Hermione sat down at the table and ushered Rose to sit in the remaining empty seat at the table between her and the house-elf. Rose plopped herself down and smiled. This was the first time she had ever seen Scorpius’s father close up. She gazed at him with her brown eyes and observed everything from his perfectly tame platinum blonde hair, gray eyes, white skin and erect posture, all the way down to the fact that he was wearing Muggle clothes. She even noticed the attire on the house-elf sitting beside him. She was dressed in very clean dark green winter robes with an elegant set of matching shoes. She even had a petticoat on. The house-elf, noticed Rose’s staring at her and stood up immediately.

“Oh, I almost forgot! Hermione, Rose, this is my personal house-assistant, Emilia Malfoy. Emmy, this is Mrs. Hermione Weasley and her daughter, Rose.” Emilia curtseyed to the couple and then seated herself once more at the table, continuing to drink her clear blue liquid that Padma had suggested for her. Padma stood beside the table, taken aback by the meeting and quickly asked if she could talk the orders. Hermione smiled.

“Yes Padma, I would like the butterbeer with an appetizer of the creamy spinach and artichoke platter. And for my order, I would like the chicken tofu salad with a side of Italian dressing.” Hermione smiled and looked toward Rose.

“I want an orange and banana smoothie with the fruit salad and a side of potatoes and blueberry yogurt.” She smiled at the waitress who she recognized.

“I’ll have whatever Hermione is having.” Draco left the statement at that, which left the little house-elf to answer. Hermione watched with intrigue to see what was going to happen. After all, the lest house-elf she had known Draco to have was Dobby and he was horribly mistreated. Emilia looked up at Padma, and then at Draco who was smiling at her.

“It’s OK Emmy, order whatever you would like. It’s my treat.” Emilia relaxed at his calm words and Hermione was quite taken aback. Never had she ever seen someone treat a house-elf like they were a human being, much less treat them to a lunch.

“I would like the creamy lettuce, broccoli and tomato salad and two helpings of the black beans and rice please.” Emilia smiled, just as they had done before and Padma walked away, clearly as stunned as Hermione was.

“Alright then, What on Earth did I just order to eat?” Draco’s humorous comment put Hermione’s mind at ease for a moment, but she wasn’t going to answer his question until he answered hers.

“When did you start treating house-elves like they were people?” Hermione’s blunt question obviously offended Emilia who scooted her chair closer to Draco who laughed and touched Emilia on the shoulder affectionately.

“Don’t worry Emmy. I brought you because Hermione has always supported house-elves and thinks they should be paid and everything. She didn’t mean that in a mean way.” Emilia seemed satisfied by that and resumed drinking her drink.

““It was really my mother who helped me make the switch from the egotistical prick I was to the man you see before you. After the fall, she promised Potter that she would help me be a better person, which she did. She finally helped the both of us realize the benefits of both Muggles house-elves. After we figured out that we were going to run our household differently, she turned the Manor over to my name and we enlisted the help of fifteen forsaken house-elves from the Office of House-Elf Relocation, giving them proper clothing, the option of pay and vacations and most of all, real names.”

Draco’s speech awed Hermione who stared back into the eyes of the man she had always known as a brat in Hogwarts. He was not the man who sat in front of her today. Draco watched as Hermione repeated the same actions Padma had done earlier. She looked at his face. He still had the same platinum blonde hair, grey eyes, white sin and posture. However his eyes were puffy, like he had been crying sometime in the past couple of days. He had dark circles from lack of sleep that he had hastily tried to cover up with a vanishing charm, but Hermione could tell. He had grown several more inches since she last saw him up close. He was now well over six feet tall with broad shoulders and a magnificently toned figure. Instead of his old shit-smelling look, he possessed a softer eye and more wrinkles than she thought a Malfoy man would have. After all, the number one cause for wrinkles is laughter. Hermione watched him carefully. He was obviously still quite wealthy and well off and now he possessed a maturity, fashion, appearance and confidence that she had never seen in another man.

“Emilia here is my newest addition to the family. And hopefully, if everything goes well, she should be bringing another addition with her.”

This comment brought Hermione out of her apparent drooling state and she looked at Emilia. The young elf was leaning back in her chair rubbing her stomach gently and smiling. She looked very happy. Rose’s eyes lit up and she moved really close to Emilia who became rather worried.

“There’s a baby in there?” Rose’s sudden outburst made everyone at the table laugh and Emilia smiled at her, liking the child already.

“Yes, in eight weeks time, Emilia will have a little one!” And Emilia could not have been more pleased.

“Now that everything is settled, let’s get down to business shall we?” Draco’s call to attention caught Hermione’s attention. She turned to Rose and smiled.

“Rosalind, why don’t you ask Emilia if she would like to take you into the apothecary for a little while. If you find something in there you would like, I will buy it for you.”

Rose and Emilia knew this was a way for the two to talk by themselves and after Draco nodded to Emilia that it was ok, the two bundled up and headed outside to face the cold. Hermione watched them leave for a moment before turning back to Draco. He however, did not take his eyes off of Hermione. She was a sight to behold this afternoon. Her long brown mane had been tamed back into soft waves and was pulled back with a red hairpin. Her brown eyes were accentuated with a dark eyeliner and soft make-up that helped to hide her aging. She was wearing dark jeans and a red sweater and had a dark red and gold overcoat that brought out her Gryffindor spirit. She looked much better than she had at Astoria’s trial. Draco had forgotten just how beautiful this lioness was. After all these years, she still made his heart skip a beat when he looked at her and he resisted the urge to just pull her close to him and touch those soft lips with his own. Her voice broke his staring.

“Why did you write me that letter?” Her voice echoed, like it was far away. He blinked back into focus at her.

“Sorry, what?” He was slightly taken aback. She reached down into her purse and drew out a wrinkled, tear-stained and slightly frazzled piece of paper with red ink on it. Draco noticed immediately that it was the letter he had hastily written to her after he carried her to St. Mungo’s that evening.

“This letter. Draco. I know you wrote it.” She had not called him by his first name in a long time.

“I don’t know what you are talking about Hermione.”

“There you go! I know there is something going on with me. You haven’t called me Granger, Weasley, Weasel or any derogatory names since we got here. Something is up. Besides. I know you wrote this letter.”

“Really. And how, may I asked, would you suppose that?” Draco’s voice was not smug or stuck up. He raised one blond eyebrow and gazed at her questioningly. She blushed when she caught his eye.

“Because you said some very specific things. Like when you said ‘Hopefully one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me and my family for all the heartache they have caused you’ and when you said ‘Take care Granger.’ I knew it was you right away!”

“You did fight in the war. Lots of people and their families caused you heartache. And I am not the only one who ever called you Granger. There is nothing in that letter that proves it was me.” Draco sipped his drink lightly, and bit down on his glass trying to restrain himself from coming out and telling her that he…that he loved her.

Hermione however, pulled another sheet of parchment out of her bag. It was another letter. He looked down at the parchment. It was the letter that he had sent to her calling her a filthy mud blood and blaming her for being friends with Potty and Weasel. Draco blushed slightly, offended at his own words.

“Look at the handwriting on the word Granger…this first letter addressed me as Granger. The handwriting is identical. And I looked at the comparison between the letters in your two letters. Your handwriting gave it away. That’s how I can prove it was you. But I knew it was you when I read it the first time.”

Draco looked at the two letters, knowing he had once again been defeated by Hermione Granger’s intelligence, but her words confused him. How had she known right away it was he. Might as well ask.

“Really. And how did you know that?”

“Because…you wrote ‘to comfort you like I wish I could have done.’ You are still in love with me after all these years. But what I want to know is why. I want to know what you were doing in the Graveyard that day! I want to know why you killed that death eater, why you brought me to the hospital! Why did you hide your face?! Why did you marry that woman instead of asking me!? Why did you let her kill Ron?! Why did you write this letter after trying to hide the fact that you loved me for all of these years!? WHY DRACO!”