Happily Ever After?

A/N: I want to thank you all for your reviews and kind words. It has definitely kept my spirits up and I thank you so much for that. Your reviews kept me from taking my story down. As always, enjoy and please review! =)

A/N 2: I have a beta reader now and she is working on this story and another one at the time but she hasn't seen this chapter yet, but when she has fixed it I will update both chapters that are on here. But for right now I thought I would give y'all a little something from me. =)

When we walked off the Knight Bus I was in total awe seeing the Malfoy Manor for the first time. The outside of the Manor was huge, like a castle only stories smaller, but it didn’t make it that less grand. There was a beautiful garden to the left and right front side of the Manor that seemed to be well cared for. I couldn’t even begin to name all of the flowers that were there.

As we started walking up to Draco’s home, I found myself clutching his arm in fear again. Fear of what, I’m not sure. I just knew at some point that Ron would find me. How did I know, I’m not sure of that either, but I could feel it in my bones.

Finally we were inside and my mind and body seemed to relax a little. Draco led me to what looked like a sitting room, over by the fireplace that had a nice fire going. My body seemed to relax completely when I sat in a love seat by the fire. Finally letting go of his arm I put my hands in my face. My face was wet and so was my hair and nightgown. It must have been raining and I was too scared to realize it.

Thankfully Draco was back with a towel and a blanket. I didn’t even notice him leave. He must have called up a house elf to bring them to him. I knew at some point I was going to have to answer his questions that he had asked on the bus, but right now all I wanted to do was cry out in relief. So I did.

I cried for what seemed like hours. I was finally warm and felt safe for the first time in several months. Draco came to sit beside me at some point. Pulling my head towards his chest, he talked quietly, telling me that everything was going to be alright. Somehow I believed him. I felt safe in his arms, more safe then I ever did with Ron.

Thinking of Ron brought on a whole other set of tears. What was I going to do? I knew that I wouldn’t have an abortion, but I also knew that I wanted to give the baby up. I didn’t want a reminder of what that monster did to me.

I must have been thinking out loud because Draco was asking questions now. Questions I didn’t know if I could or would answer.

One of the first questions that he asked was, “What happened with Ron?” Another was, “Why are you scared of him?” Of course the last was, “What did he do to you?” Draco asked these questions more to himself than me but I knew I owed him an answer.

“That monster raped me.” I answered quietly. “He turned into a drunk after Harry died, and that’s when he started to beat me. The first time he hit me I was in complete shock, so much that I didn’t even cry, and that made him even angrier. Every morning afterwards he would come to me and tell me that he loved me and that he didn’t mean the things he had said and done. That was until he raped me. Ron seemed to get off at me crying and pleading for him to stop.” Crying silently I admitted my worst nightmare. “I am now pregnant with his child. The child of a rapist.”

I cried even harder after that. Draco held me close and told me that he would never let that happen to me again. That he wouldn’t let Ron near me. That seemed to settle me down some but still I cried. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders now that I had admitted what Ron had done to me. I’m not even sure why I was crying anymore. So I stopped. Whipping my tears away, I looked deep into the eyes of Draco Malfoy.

“Thank you.” I whispered.

“For what?” He asked back in a whisper.

“For letting me come here with you. For saving my life. I haven’t felt this safe, here with you, than I have in months in my own house. You have changed Draco Malfoy. I can feel it. You aren’t the same person that you used to be. But I also know that war will do that to a person.”

Draco looked thoughtful for a few minutes looking back at me with same intensity. For a while I thought that he wasn’t going to say anything back and for some reason it hurt my feelings. But then I heard him say, “Your welcome.” he smiled a gentle smile. It was the first real smile that I had seen in all the time that I had known him.
“Do you want to hear a confession of my own?” He asked me.

I looked up at him with curious eyes and nodded, not trusting my own voice at the moment.

“When I was younger I had always looked up to my father. I wanted to be powerful, to be just like him, and respected him. Later on he became such a cruel man and abused my mother and I. One summer I had even spent my time in the dungeons because my father didn’t like who I fell in love with. Do you want to know who it was?”

I nodded again still not trusting my own voice.

“It was you. I don’t remember when I had fallen in love with you, but Blaise thought it would be funny to tell my father. I was trying to get my feelings out on paper to tell you but Blaise found me writing it. He took it from me and immediately sent it to my father and that is how I mostly spent my summers there on.”

I gasped. How could any father do that to his child? “Oh god, Draco, why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me that you were in love with me? I am so sorry. I wish things had turned out differently. And a parent should never do that to their child. No matter how angry they are with them.” Grasping his hand, I squeezed it gently and tried to encourage him to continue.

“I was scared. I was scared of being rejected and I didn’t think that my heart could take that rejection.”

Running my other hand though his soft silky blond hair, I pulled him to my chest and kissed the top of his head.

“It was almost the beginning of sixth year when Voldemort came to see me. He didn’t really care that I had fallen in love with you, and instead had a task for me to do. But first I was to take the Dark Mark. He threatened to kill my mother if I didn’t take it but that didn’t mean that I did it willingly. I did it to save my mother, just as she saved Potter to know that I was safe. In the Astronomy Tower I begged Dumbledore to understand that if I didn’t kill him that they were going to kill my mother. He had offered my mother and I help and protection. But in the end Snape killed Dumbledore. My mother was safe from Voldemort and so was I.” Draco’s shoulders started to shake and I knew that he was crying.

I was shocked to say the least by his confession. I began wishing that I had seen Draco’s love for me sooner. As my thoughts began to head that direction of what could have been, I held Draco tightly in my arms as my own tears started to fall. I would have never believed that my life would have ended up as it has. Harry and Ginny were killed by some unknown Death Eater that could still be on the loose, Ron who had become a monster, and now Draco Malfoy was telling me his darkest secrets.

“Oh Draco, what ever are we going to do? What am I going to do? Ron will come looking for me and I can’t let him find me with you. He already thinks I am cheating on him and if he finds me with you he will certainly kill you.” I was running my hands through his silky hair and mumbling into his shoulder.

He looked up at me with such love and compassion my heart could hardly take it. Then turned his head and growled. “He actually thinks that you are cheating on him?” Looking back at me, Draco had such anger in his eyes that I have never seen, and it wasn’t directed at me either. It was meant for Ron.

“Yes. He found out that I was pregnant tonight and he can’t even remember raping his own wife! He thought for sure that I was cheating on him.”

Draco shook his head with a deep frown on his face. Looking back up at me with such love but he also had a questioning look about him. Like he wanted to say something but not sure if he wanted to say it or not.

“What’s wrong Draco?” I asked.

“I don’t want to upset you anymore, but I was wondering if you were going to turn him in?” He asked with the same frown on his face that he had before. “I could help you with an attorney and I know that he will never see daylight again.”

“That’s really sweet Draco, I just haven’t given it much thought, and I don’t think there is much to think about. Do you think that the Ministry will still be open at this hour?”

“No, but I could pull a couple of strings. I think you should tell the Minister. Since Ron works for them, and so do you, I think the Minister should hear about this. I also have a friend in the Special Victims Unit that could be here to take your statement. There isn’t a jury that wouldn’t convict him Hermione.”

“You would really do all of that for me?”

“Yes,” He answered without hesitation, “and believe me there isn’t a person who isn’t in their right mind who wouldn’t.”

I began to sob again in pure happiness and relief. I had found someone that took me in and believed me. Draco put his arms around me and started to rock us back and forth. Someone must have come into the room because he started to talk to someone. Telling them to get Kingsley and Ramona. Looking up I saw Narsissa Malfoy, Draco’s mother.

Narsissa nodded slightly and gently rubbed her hand on my back. “You’re doing the right thing dear. You have great courage. More courage than I ever had to stand up for myself, and for my son.”

I didn’t really know what to say to that so I nodded to her. She left without another word and was off to see about getting the Minister and a woman named Ramona.