New Beginnings

Author’s Note: This is the final chapter, my lovelies. ‘Going Home Again’ (New Beginnings, Part 2) won’t be started until Fall 2009.

Hermione woke slowly, rubbing her eyes; they were puffy and sore from crying. She sat up and looked around the dimly lit room. The only light that was streaming in was from the skylight, which they usually covered at night. Her eyes settled on Tylinn’s cradle and she felt her heart hurt. Hermione knew that it was best for Tylinn to stay with Blythe and Blaise for a few days but it still hurt to be away from her little girl. She turned her head quickly to the right when she thought she saw something move. Their eyes met for an instant; Hermione scrambled to the far side of the bed as she held the robe closed.

“Please Hera…don’t run from me.”

“I…I have nothing to say…to…you…” Hermione’s voice was shaky; he could hear the fear and hurt in her voice. He winced; her anger was easier to handle.

“Please listen, my love…I beg you…please hear me out. When I’m finished, I will leave, I promise.” She simply stared at him. “Hera?” She only nodded and pulled a pillow in front of her body…his pillow. He saw her close her eyes as she pulled it closer to her. She probably didn’t even realize she had that reaction to the scent of him on the pillow.

Draco’s voice was hoarse as he began to speak, “Near the end, the healers advised me to get all of Mother’s affairs in order so it would be ‘easier’ on me…like that was possible. I asked if there was anything I could do to make things ‘easier’ for her but they said probably not. They had her heavily potioned to keep her comfortable but there was nothing else they could do. I felt so helpless; I sat with her all day, every day, reading to her, singing to her, doing anything I could to comfort her. One afternoon, I’m not sure if she was asleep or awake, she looked at me and touched my cheek and said, ‘Oh Lucius, I’m not ready yet. I’m not ready to leave you and Draco. I love you both so much.’

Hermione heard Draco sniffle, she knew he was crying. “I was desperate…I was willing to do anything to ease her suffering in any way, shape or form. She missed him so much; her heart was breaking without him. The disease was difficult for her but being without him was far worse. I finally went to the Minister of Magic; I didn’t know what I was going to say or what I was going to do when I saw him but I had to try something. I was led into a large, dark office; I began to speak before I realized what I was saying or doing.

‘Minister, I am here to surrender my wand and my freedom to you.’

I knelt down in the middle of the office and began to weep.

‘Sir, my mother is dying. I am surrendering my freedom to you and the ministry. All I ask is that my father be allowed to see my mother one last time before she dies.’

“Someone spoke to me, I couldn’t see them, ‘You would give up your freedom to give your parents one final visit?’ I nodded as my tears fell.”

‘Yes, Minister, I would do anything to give this to them, including my freedom.’

“I felt a warm hand on my shoulder as the room grew brighter."

‘You’ve grown into a good man, Mr. Malfoy; I didn’t know if it would ever happen.’

"I looked up and saw Arthur Weasley looking at me. He was the Acting Minister of Magic and he said that he would grant my petition and allow my father to see mother immediately. He also said that he didn’t want my freedom; my mother needed me and so would my father when the time came. He sent orders to the Warden of Azkaban and the Head of the Aurors so that my father would be escorted to the manor by the end of the day. My father was to be on a furlough with rotating Auror supervision indefinitely, until after my mother was laid to rest. I thanked him profusely and left.”

“But I thought you said Lucius didn’t come to your mother’s service?” Draco simply held his hand up; Hermione stopped speaking.

“I went home and told Mother that Father would be with her by the end of the day. She cried in my arms and thanked me; she knew that I did something to make it possible. Evening came, and no Father. It broke my heart to hear her cry for him. I had told her he was coming, she had her hopes up, it was her final request and I couldn’t give it to her. She died the next day; I honestly believe that she finally gave up. She missed Father and she just didn’t want to fight anymore.” Draco sighed heavily, trying to collect himself before he continued.

“I don’t understand; why are you telling me all of this now? This doesn’t excuse your behavior, Draco. Tomorrow…Tylinn and I will be…”

“Hermione, please, let me finish. I need to finish this, I don’t know if I will have the strength to say any of this again. Please…”

“Fine…” She crossed her arms, protectively across her chest after pulling the robe over her legs.

“On the day of Mother’s service, I prayed he would be there. I needed him there, for her, for me, hell, even for him. The minister delayed the service for over an hour for me; I guess I didn’t want to give up hope. After the service, I sat next to her grave; I couldn’t hold back my tears. My heart was breaking; I was all alone in the world now. My mother was gone, my father had been given a chance to come back to us, to her and he chose not to but I didn’t know why.”

“I heard footsteps behind me; I assumed it was Blaise or maybe Pansy. They were the only real friends I ever had. Then I heard it; a cold, detached laugh. I jumped up, wand drawn, that’s when I saw him. Potter was leaning against one of my ancestors’ headstones.”

‘Bad day, Malfoy? Where’s Mummy? Oh yeah, that’s right, she’s dead. Pity… Where’s your Dad? Oh yes… That’s right, I’ve had him in solitary confinement since I got that lovely owl from Arthur and that git Konigswell.’
“I nearly killed him right then and there, Hera. He taunted me, saying thinks like I would learn how it felt to suffer like the rest of the world. He said he would make sure that I would never forget what it felt like to hurt, to long for a loving family. He said in my case, I may never had the loving part but at least they were alive and accessible. Hermione, I had never been afraid of Potter before that day. There was such malice in his eyes.”

Draco shuddered as he continued, ‘You will learn, Malfoy, learn how it feels to lose those that you love and you’ll be powerless to stop it, to stop me. Just think Malfoy, every time you have one moment of happiness, know that I can take it away from you in the blink of an eye.”

“He couldn’t…He wouldn’t…” Tears were streaking down her face as she listened to him and moved closer to him, nearly hanging of the edge of the bed. Draco only nodded.

“This morning, at brunch, you said that you speak to my father, my brain started to churn…Then you said that you went to see him, with Tylinn, and my heart stopped. All I could think was ‘What if he saw you and Tylinn?’ ‘What if he saw you with Father?’ ‘What if he figured out that we’re together?’ ‘What would he do?’ All of that kept running through my brain on a vicious loop. Then images of Potter killing you and Tylinn then framing Father so he would be put to death came crashing in on me. Hera, I panicked. I know that I’m sorry will never be enough for what I said. I am so sorry, my love. The thought of losing you and Tylinn; I went berserk and I took my fears out on you. It was selfish, vicious and unfair of me. I won’t stop you from leaving, Hermione, I understand; I fucked up, you don’t trust me anymore. I know there is no fixing this. The only thing that I ask, no, I beg of you, please…don’t take our little girl from me. I deserve to lose you, it’s my fault, I accept that, but please don’t punishment me by taking Tylinn away…Please…” Draco hung his head and began to sob openly.
Hermione wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Very quietly, she slide off the bed and moved to sit in front of Draco. He didn’t move he didn’t seem to notice her until she touched his cheek. He looked up at her; she could see such pain in his eyes.

“Do you really believe he would hurt us?”

“I know he would.”

“Do you think YOU can protect Tylinn better than WE can?”

He shook his head, no. “I think together, we can do anything.”

“Are you going to take Tylinn away….?” Her tears began to fall again.

“Never…I would never separate the two of you. Hera, I am so sorry. Please…I don’t want to lose our family. I’ll do anything, please, Hera, please don’t leave me. I don’t want to live without you and Tylinn…You are my life, Hermione.”
She pulled his head to hers, resting their foreheads together.

“You should’ve told me all of this a long time ago, Draco.” Her voice was gentle, calm.

“I know, I’m so sorry, Hera.” She put her finger to his lips.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know…It hurt so much, I really didn’t want to think about it. I guess I wanted to pretend it never happened. We weren’t in that world anymore so I thought we were safe. He couldn’t hurt us, he couldn’t hurt you.”

“But by not telling me, look what happened. I took a risk that I didn’t know existed and you…You almost lost us complete because you kept something so important from me.”

“Almost?” He lifted his head and looked into her eyes, hopefully.

“Almost.” Draco tried to hide his smile. “You’re a stupid git, you know that?”

He nodded and looked down again. “And you’re damn lucky that I’ve learned to control my temper…”

“Yeah, or you would’ve hexed my ass into next year by now.”

“Only next year? You underestimate me, dear.” She said with a small smile. “Draco, this doesn’t mean everything is fixed, you know that don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know. What do I…what do you…what do…” Hermione put her finger to his lips to stop him from fumbling over his words.

“You need to be honest with me about EVERYTHING, Draco. No creative editing, no omissions, no matter how difficult, uncomfortable or upsetting, I want to know EVERYTHING or we won’t make it. Are we in agreement?” He didn’t respond right away…”Draco?”

He sighed, conceding defeat, “Ok.”

“Ok, what?”

“I’ll tell you everything but I have one request, Hera.”

“What’s that?”

“Can you give me a little time before I continue; the last part is really difficult for me…” She nodded and took his hands in her; that’s when she noticed that bandage.

“Draco? What happened?”

“It’s nothing, Love, don’t worry about it.” He said softly as he reached to touch her cheek with his unbandaged hand; she swatted it away and gave him a dirty look. “Ok, ok… I lost my temper when you left with Tylinn, I kind of punched the French Door; I thought the glass was magically enhanced, it wasn’t.” Hermione gasped as she took his hand and began to unwrap the bandages. “It’s not that bad, Tinky and Blaise cleaned it up pretty good.”
“Draco! Your hand is a mess!” He shrugged. “Stay right there, I’ll be right back.” She went to the washroom and came back with a very large first aid kit, a combination of magical and non-magical items inside and a basin of warm water. She cleaned his hand and removed the glass that Blaise had missed then used liquid stitches on the larger gashes and a healing potion on the less severe cuts. When she was finished, she re-bandaged his hand and handed him two painkillers.

“No, Love, I’m fine.”

“Humor me.” He smiled at her then accioed a bottle of water from the mini frig from study and took the pills.

“Hera...”

“Yeah…”

“Can I…? Never mind…” He looked down, as if ashamed for almost making the request.

She looked into his eyes and every ounce of anger and resentment melted away. She saw his fear, his insecurity, his regret, the shame he felt because of his actions but most of all she saw his undying love for her and the life they had together. He had hurt her very deeply, but he was a part of her. She couldn’t walk away from a part of herself. Hermione slide away from Draco, leaning her back against the slide of the bed. She could see the disappointment on his face; he thought she was pulling away from him. She held her arms open to him.

“Come here, Love.” She barely saw him move, he was in her arms so fast. She could feel his body shaking.
Hermione rubbed Draco’s back as he held her tightly and cried. She could hear him murmuring, “I’m sorry” and “I love you” over and over again. Hermione accioed one of the pillows off of the bed and lay down, Draco’s head was on her chest. She wasn’t sure how long they lay there but she knew, when his breathing changed, that Draco had fallen asleep in her arms. Hermione ran her fingers through his hair as she listened to her husband’s calm breathing. He adjusted his arms so he could hold Hermione closer to him as he slept. As the familiar warmth of his body enveloped her like a blanket, her muscles began to relax. Within a few moments, she too, had fallen asleep.

Hermione wasn’t sure how long she had been sleeping. She could still see the moon so it must be pretty late. She looked down at her husband’s profile in the moonlight. He always looked like a little boy when he slept. Sometimes, he was the strongest man she had ever met. Other times, he was still that scared boy that so desperately wanted what everyone else had; people he could trust, people that loved him unconditionally, friends that cared about him, someone to love. He had been through so much; she wondered if he even realized how it had affected him. She felt his body shift; the light stubble on his cheek rubbed against her bare breast. She smiled. Even in sleep, he found comfort in her. Hermione’s mind began to wander as she looked at the moon and listened to her husband’s breathing.

‘What if people had seen ‘my Draco’ at Hogwarts? Would things have turned out differently for him? Would we have fallen in love at Hogwarts? Wed after graduation? Had a house full of children? No…most likely not but maybe…maybe at Oxford… We could’ve spent all of those years at Oxford together…Then after Law School…we could’ve…’ Hermione sighed. ‘What good is it to live in the ‘what ifs’; we have each other now, that’s what’s important.’ She gently stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers; Draco’s eyes fluttered open; he sat up slowly.

“Hermione?” She smiled, took his face in her hands and pulled him into a soul-melting kiss. Draco moaned as his hands snaked beneath her robe, caressing her soft, smooth skin. Her kisses peppered his face, along his jawline then below his ear.

“Draco...” Her voice was as quiet as a prayer. He pulled back and looked into Hermione’s eyes. The sight took his breath away; a mixture of love, devotion, and forgiveness. He couldn’t look away from her. Draco unfastened the robe and let it fall from her shoulders; his hands explored her upper body, memorizing every single curve with his fingertips. Hermione could hardly breathe; his touch was so slow and sensual. Draco kissed each of her fingers then brought them to his shirt, together; they removed his T-shirt and discarded it. They did the same with his workout pants. Hermione ran her fingers crossed his toned, smooth chest. Draco could feel himself trembling but he couldn’t stop it. He placed his hands on top of Hermione’s and looked into her eyes.

“Can you give me just a second or two?” She looked at him, confused, but she didn’t move her hands. Draco began to speak; his cheeks were flush, not just from arousal.

“Hera, forgive me, I’m just a bit overwhelmed. I was so afraid that I had already lost you…To feel your touch, to still see love in your eyes…It takes my breath away.”

Hermione gave him a warm smile but said nothing. She moved his legs so she could straddle him. She kissed him slowly as she ran her fingers through his soft hair. Draco gasped and deepened their kiss, rubbed his cock again her warm center when he felt Hermione’s nails scrap down his back. Draco groaned when he felt his cock nestled against her warm, wet pussy. He clenched his teeth; he didn’t want to rush things that would ruin everything.
Hermione could feel his inner turmoil. They had always found comfort in each other and he didn’t want her think he was taking advantage of the situation. Hermione smiled to herself, ‘…yet another reason why I adore this man.’ Hermione could hear his breathing, it was ragged. He was using every ounce of restraint he had to maintain control. His muscles were twitching from the exertion. Hermione rested her forehead against his and began to breathe slowly, evenly, as she ran her fingers through Draco’s hair. It only took a few moments for their breathing to fall into a soothing, trance-like rhythm; breathing each other in, letting their shared energy flow through them, connecting them. He didn’t feel her shift her body until…

“Oh!! Shit!! Shit!! Hera!!” His body was trembling; He could feel Hera’s warm, wet pussy was milking his cock but she wasn’t moving. He wanted to thrust into her as hard as he could but when he looked into her eyes, she shook her head, no. Draco whimpered as he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against her.

“Shhh…Just breathe with me, Love… “
He could feel his cock throbbing inside of his love but he didn’t move, his muscles were twitching. Soon, their breathing was in sync again; he could feel a kind of warmth welling up deep inside of him. Hermione could feel it, too. They began to kiss, the warmth spreading through their bodies. Without warning, wave after orgasmic wave washed over them. When the orgasmic battering had subsided, they kissed and touched tenderly. Draco pulled away and gasped; his head falling back against the bed.

“Hera…What are you doing to me?” He moaned. His body shook as he felt himself come over and over again. He could feel Hermione’s teeth sank into his neck as her body began to spasm. Draco roared, her pussy nearly strangling his cock. He loved ever second of it. Finally, their bodies were spent. With his last ounces of strength, Draco eased Hermione onto the pillow then pulled the green blanket off the bed and draped it over both of them. She snuggled close to him; her head was resting on his chest. Draco could feel his heart racing; every time Hermione brushed her fingers against his stomach, he could feel another orgasmic aftershock wash over him.

“Is this what it feels like for you…after…?”

“Uh-huh…” Hermione smiled up at him as she ran her fingertips along his hip bone, making him bow off the floor.

“Oh…Oh Gods, I’m sorry…for…teasing you…”

“No, you’re not.” She said, playfully. “You never thought you would be on the receiving end of that feeling, did you?”

“Uh-Uh. How? How did…this…happen?” He was struggling to breathe and talk as she caressed him, lovingly.

“Tantra…”

“Huh?”

“I’ll explain it another time.” She slithered up his body to give him a gentle kiss goodnight. Draco had to clench his teeth. ‘Gods, she feels so good.’

“Goodnight, Draco.” Hermione whispered into his ear; just the feel of her breath against his ear sent shivers down his spine.

“I love you, Hera.”

He wrapped his arms around her small body, pulling her close. Within minutes, they were both sleeping peacefully in each other’s arms.
************************************

Zabini Manor


“Blythe?” Blaise leaned against the door jam of Chloe’s room. “Love, what are you doing?” His wife turned and looked at him, her eyes were blood shot, she’d been crying. Tylinn was asleep in her arms. He knelt down next to her chair and touched her cheek.

“Love…what is it?”

“Look at this beautiful, innocent little girl, she doesn’t know that her life may have changed forever and we couldn’t prevent it. She had two parents for such a short time; she won’t even remember them as a couple.”

Blythe sniffled.

Blaise began to run his fingers through her hair. “Love, you don’t know that as fact. They may have worked things out last night.” Blythe shook her head, sadly.

“If we had a really bad row…and your mum took Chloe for us. How long would it take for either one of us to come get her? She hasn’t even called, Blaise… That can’t be a good sign…”

He knew she was right, but he was hoping she wasn’t. “How about this, Luv, I’ll go over to the loft, take them hot chocolate, maybe some muffins from Sid and Nancy’s? That way, I’ll be able to check on them. Would that make you feel better?”

Blythe nodded. “Thank you, Blaise.” He kissed her head and headed to their bedroom to throw on some clothes and head out.

“Um, Blaise…” Her voice was soft, but she knew her husband could hear her.

“Yeah…” He was standing in the doorway with his T-shirt in his hand. He was wearing black workout pants.

“When you leave, please turn on the security system.” When the young couple had moved into the manor, Blaise had installed a state of the art security system; it was both magical and muggle technology combined. He looked at her, confused. They rarely used the system unless they were going on vacation or traveling for business and they never used it if one of them was home.

“Okay?” He paused, “Blythe, what are you not telling me…”

“I just…I just don’t want anyone dropping by when it’s just me here with Chloe and…”

“Tylinn? Why would that matter? Who are you so worried about?” He stopped and thought for moment. “Did something happen with Harry yesterday?” The change in his wife’s body posture gave him his answer.

“What happened? Tell me…I’ll kill him…”

“Blaise, it’s not like that… It was just the way he was…pushing… He showed up unannounced and uninvited, he was OVERLY INTERESTED in Tylinn… It just made me really nervous.”

“Nervous? Why? I don’t understand it.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything but now that they may be coming home…I guess you need to know. I feel like I’m betraying Mia’s trust.” She sighed. Blaise took Tylinn from his wife’s arms and placed her back in the pack and play. He took her hand and led her back into their bedroom. They sat on the loveseat; Blythe curled up against her husband and sighed.

“You and Draco weren’t friends with Mia back at Hogwarts so you didn’t know much about her.”
“Besides all of the hype, no, not really, you do remember my reaction when I saw them ‘together’ don’t you?”
“Umm yeah… Well…the abridged story…Hermione had an affair with Harry.”

“What?! When?! Recently?! How is that possible? She’s been preg… Oh God!! Are you saying Tylinn really isn’t Draco’s daughter?”

Gods No!! Of course Draco is Tylinn’s father! Mia was just really pissed; that’s why she said that… I’m messing this up. Let me try to explain, I guess Hermione and Harry had an affair all while they were at Hogwarts but he didn’t want anyone to know it. He was very cruel to her and it took a really long time for her to recover from the damage that he did to her, psychologically.”

“What did he do?” Blaise was trying to process this information; not wanting to believe it but knowing it was more than possible.

“Well, all I know for sure is what he did to her at graduation; weren’t you there?” He shook his head, no.
“I didn’t go to graduation. After everything that had happened during the war, I just didn’t want to go back to that place. I finished my classes over the summer and got my diploma via owl.”
“According to Mia, she and Harry had been together the night before graduation; she thought they were planning their future together. The next day, at graduation, he proposed to Ginny Weasley in front of everyone, the whole school. Mia was crushed. For some reason, she went to Ginny’s bridal shower, I have no idea why. Anyway, when she left, Harry followed her and told her that he wanted her to be his mistress and that no one else would want her so that was the best offer she was going to get.”

Blaise sat with his mouth hanging open. He knew Potter was wanker but this was unbelievable. “So what happened yesterday?”

“He was asking a lot of questions about Tylinn and he was staring at her a lot. It was creepy. It was like he was trying to figure something out. And who does Tylinn look like?”

“Yeah, she does have her Mum’s mouth and that furrowed brow that Mia always gets when she’s concentrating.” He smiled. “Well, he doesn’t know that you and Mia know each other. Despite his ‘eagerness’, I haven’t given him any access to any pertinent foundation information. And as you well know, there is nothing linking the two foundations and there is nothing here that ‘implicates’ Draco or Mia.”

“I know but he’s too close; I don’t trust him, Blaise. Ginny’s ok and I know Chloe and Albus are friends because they’re in the same play group. But honestly, I don’t want him here when you’re not here…ever. If he’s capable of being that hurtful to Mia…umm, yeah… It would be bad…really bad.” Blaise nodded in agreement.

“Blythe, thanks for telling me, although I wish you would’ve told me sooner. I never would’ve let him anywhere near us, ‘our family’. I’m gonna go check on ‘them’, I’ll be back in a little while, ok?” She nodded. Blaise kissed her forehead; then headed towards the shower.

When Blaise stepped out of the hearth at the loft, he noticed the place was eerily quiet. It was 10am and there were no dishes in the drainer, he didn’t smell the familiar breakfasty scent that he always associated with mornings at Draco and Mia’s. He climbed the stairs slowly, and moved toward the bedroom. His heart began to pound when he saw that they weren’t in bed and the bed hadn’t been slept in. He waked over to the coffee table and put down his offering. Chocolate chip muffins and Hot Chocolate. When Blaise turned to leave, he nearly jumped out if his skin. He saw a foot…Draco’s foot, was poking out from under the bed.

“Shit!” He mumbled. He knew this was going to be bad but he never thought Hermione would be angry enough to take down Draco. He walked toward the side of the bed, slowly. He didn’t know what sight was going to greet him. When Blaise peeked around the edge of the bed, he exhaled audibly. Draco was sound asleep on the floor. More accurately, Draco was draped over Hermione’s sleeping form with a peaceful look on his face.
Blaise poked Draco’s foot with his shoe, to wake him. After a few less than gentle kicks, Draco opened his eyes and yawned. “B, what are you doing here?”

“Blythe has been a nervous wreck; she’s worried about the two of you. Well?”

Draco looked at Hermione, her eyes were still puffy. He pulled the blanket up, to protect her modesty and got up without disturbing her. He grabbed his bathrobe and ushered Blaise towards the study.
“Well? ‘That’ can’t be a bad thing. So? What happened?”

Draco exhaled as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I told her…why I reacted the way I did and ‘groveled’. I don’t know if she’s forgiven me but ‘that’…she initiated it, not me. That’s gotta be a good sign…right?”

“One would think so…Wait…why did you react like that? It didn’t make sense…it still doesn’t.”

“Not now, B. I promise, I will tell you and Blythe everything but not right now. Ok?”

Blaise nodded, he knew not to push the issue. “I brought you guys breakfast, it’s on the coffee table.”
Draco nodded; “How’s Tylinn? Is she ok?”

“She’s fine. Blythe loves taking care of her. Hell, if she had her way, Tylinn would have another cousin to play with as soon as possible.”

“I thought you guys were trying again?”

“We are but until we ‘succeed’, Blythe is getting her ‘baby fix’ via Tylinn.” Draco smiled. “Now, go back to your wife; she needs you as much as you need her.” Blaise gave his ‘brother’ a hug the departed. Draco headed back to the bedroom to be with Hermione.
Hermione had pushed off the blanket; one arm was over her head, the other was resting below her breasts. Draco removed his robe and curled up next to his wife. He stroked her forehead, gently, hoping to wake her. Hermione frowned but didn’t wake. Draco began to place baby kisses on the sensitive spot on her neck. She sighed softly and turned her head to give him greater access. Draco smiled and kissed up to her ear. “I love you…” He whispered in her ear. Hermione smiled and turned her face toward him.

“Hi…” she said quietly.

“Hi…” Draco kissed her forehead. “Are you hungry?” Hermione shrugged. He wordlessly accio’ed a hot chocolate and the bag of croissants. Draco tore off a piece of croissant and offered it to her. Hermione took it from his fingers and smiled sheepishly. Neither knew what to say.

“Tylinn?” Hermione started to get up, a look of panic on her face.

“Calm down, Love…She’s fine. She’s with Blythe and Blaise, remember? Blaise dropped this stuff off, he said she’s just fine and not to worry.” Hermione’s body relaxed; Draco hand was under her head before it hit the pillow, easing her down gently. He pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing her tenderly and sending warm shivers down her spine. She didn’t know why his kissed made her feel like that but she loved every second of it.
They lie together, sharing the hot chocolate and croissants in a comfort silence that surprise and pleased them both. When they were finished, Hermione rested her head on Draco’s chest and began to draw circles on his stomach with her finger.

“Draco?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you ready to tell me the rest…?”

He let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I guess.” He tapped her arm to get her to sit up. He stood then helped Hermione to her feet and led her to the loveseat in front of the fireplace. She sat but Draco couldn’t. He was pacing; trying to figure out what he was going to say and how he was going to say it.

“He was holding me at wand point… I tried to back away from him, I fell. Those bloody seeker skills of his; he was always faster than me. I always hated him for that. He was on the before I knew what happened. He smashed my head on one of the tombstones and pushed his wand against my forehead.

‘Just a little something to remember me by, Malfoy.’

“I felt a burning pain as blood ran down my face. I heard him laughing. I was starting to black out from the pain when I heard someone yell, “Stupify” and Potter when flying backwards and hit something. I heard it.”
“Who? Who was it? Blaise?”

He shook his head, no. “Pansy. She had come out to find me and saw what he was doing. She didn’t think, she just reacted. She’s a very powerful witch when she’s not being a flake.” He smiled. “When I came to, my head was in her lap, she was trying to stop the bleeding. The pain was excruciating. I must have blacked out again because when I opened my eyes again, I was in the manor, in the study. Pansy was there, so was Tinky. I don’t know what they did but the bleeding had stopped. I guess they gave me something to make me sleep because I woke two days later. Pansy never left my side.”

“But, what happen…” Draco pressed his finger against her lips.

“Tinky used her magic to remove him from the property. I never asked where, I didn’t want to know.”

“What about…” Draco took her hand in his and placed it on his forehead below his bangs. Hermione felt a deep scar that extended from his hairline to the middle of his forehead. She lifted his hair but saw nothing.
“I don’t understand. I can feel it, why can’t I see it?”

“Pansy created a potion that helped me heal and made the scar nearly invisible. She said it was like cloaking it. It wouldn’t be visible unless the individual looking knew it existed and I wanted it to be seen.”

Hermione ran her fingers over the faint line on her husband’s forehead. “She’s good… A lot better than I ever imagined she was.” Draco nodded.

“A lot of people underestimated Pansy because of how her family treated her. They never expected her to do anything but find a pure blood husband and have pure blood children. It really hurt her that they never acknowledged her intelligence. She used to refer to herself as the family mare, waiting to pop out a colt or two in order to make the stable master happy and proud.” Hermione winced.

“I had no idea.”

“No one did; that’s the way she wanted it.” Draco took Hermione’s hand in his and kissed it gently.

"Now do you understand why I reacted the way I did. I know it’s no excuse but I hope you understand.”

Hermione nodded and looked down. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Draco. I had no idea…”

“But you should have known…That’s my fault; I never should’ve kept it from you. I’m so sorry, Luv. ”
Hermione swallowed hard, “Draco, maybe we shouldn’t move back. Maybe it’s not safe for us…for Tylinn.” His heart sank, he wanted his family home, he didn’t want them scared away because of ‘him’.

“Hera, I won’t make that decision for us… If you’ve changed your mind and you don’t want to move back, we don’t have to. If you still wish to move into the Manor, I promise, you and Tylinn will be protected. It’s completely up to you.”

Hermione moved closer to Draco and draped her arms around his middle. He pulled her to him and kissed her head softly. He could hear her sniffle then she let out a soft sigh.

“Draco, can we go pick up Tylinn and go home?”

He felt all of the tension seep out of his neck and shoulders as a lump formed in his throat. He kissed the top of her head and gave her a tight hug.
‘Maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be ok.’
************************

Zabini Manor – Chloe’s room

“I don’t mean to pry….well, yeah, I do… are you guys ok?” Blythe asked, nervously. She was sitting in the rocking chair; Blaise was sitting between her feet, Chloe was asleep on her bed. Draco and Hermione looked at each other, almost shyly.

“We’re doing…better…much better than yesterday,” she said with small smile. “We still have lots to talk about but we’re working on it.” Hermione was propped up against the headboard, Tylinn was lying on the ‘boppy’ nursing and Draco was lying next to them with his head on Hermione’s legs. Blythe squeezed Blaise’s hand; the sight warmed her heart. It was how they were supposed to be.

“HEY ZABINIS!! WHERE ARE YOU??” BLAISE? BLYTHE?” They looked at each other with a mixture of shock, angry and panic on their faces. Blaise was out of the bedroom, closing as quick as lightning, he closed and locked the door behind him.

“Who’s that?” Draco asked, looking slightly concerned due to Blaise’s reaction.
“Just an unwelcome guest; I’m sure Blaise didn’t want us to be disturbed so he’s taking care of it instead of letting the elves deal with it.” Draco and Hermione simply nodded, accepting Blythe’s answer at face value.
“Why are you here?” Blaise was doing his very best to keep his voice calm. Harry headed toward the stairs but was blocked by Blaise. “I asked you a question, Potter.”

“Jeez, Blaise, can’t I come see my friends? Where’s Blythe? She’s upstairs, right?” Blaise pushed him in the chest, hard enough to get him to take a step back.

“What is your problem, Zabini? I was just going up to see your wife and daughter.”
“Yeah, I have a problem with that, Potter. I have a problem with you showing up in my home, unannounced and uninvited and it WILL stop. Do you understand me?” Blaise looked down at Harry, making their size difference even more evident.

“Zabini, why are you acting like this? I’m your co-director, why are you treating me like this?”

At that bold statement, Blaise saw red. “Presumptuously bastard, aren’t you, Potter? MY co-director’s name is Blythe Zabini. WE were being polite and open-minded by letting you be little more than a glorified envelope-stuffer but in true Potter-form, you want to TRY to take the spotlight for doing nothing more than being in the proper place at the proper time. Get out, Potter, you’re not welcome here anymore. If Albus wants to play with Chloe, have Ginny bring him over.”

Harry stood with his mouth hanging open for a moment in utter shock for a moment; then quickly recovered.

“Blaise, I don’t know how I offended you and Blythe but I am heartily sorry for having offended the two of you. I didn’t mean to impose on your lives the way I have. I just believe in the foundation and I wanted to help all of those poor families.” Harry hung his head and walked toward the hearth. “I’m really sorry, Blaise. Please let me know if I can help in any way. And tell Blythe I’m sorry for imposing. I’ll have Ginny owl her so they can set up a play date for the children.” Blaise stood at the doorway of the study and watched Harry take a handful of floo powder. His arms were crossed tightly across his chest. Harry gave him a sad smile and called out Grimwald Place and was gone. Blaise sealed the floo to prevent all uninvited guests and headed back upstairs.

*****************

“THE BLOODY FUCKING NERVE OF HIM!! HE CAN’T DO THAT TO ME!! I’M HARRY FUCKING POTTER!! HARRY FUCKING POTTER!! I’M THE CHOSEN ONE!! I SAVED THE WIZARDING WORLD FROM VOLDEMORT!! HE SHOULD BE BEGGING ME…BEGGING ME TO ENDORSE THAT PISS ANT FOUNDATION OF HIS… PEOPLE DO WHAT I SAY, THEY LISTEN TO ME!! I’M GONNA RUIN HIM AND THAT USELESS FOUNDATION!! ” Harry began to smash random items in the room.

“HARRY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Ginny held a crying Albus in her arms. “You’re scaring our son. What is wrong with you?”

His face immediately became a mask of apologetic calmness. “Ginny Love, I’m so sorry I scared the two of you. I guess I was having one of those awful flashbacks again.” He walked over and kissed her on the temple then kissed Albus on the head. “You’re a saint for putting up with me and all of my baggage. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, Harry.”

“Give me a few minutes to clean up this mess and we can go out for some ice cream. Would you like that, Al?” The little boy looked at him with watery eyes and nodded with a half smile.
“What do you say, little wizard?”
“I love my ‘chosen daddy’.”
“That’s my good boy.”
*******************

Blaise came back into the room, his face was calm but Draco knew better. He could see that his brother was far beyond tense. It had something to do with the ‘unwelcome guest’ and it wasn’t good.
“Ok, B, what’s going on?” Draco said, sitting up and sit on the floor so he was eye to eye with Blaise who was once again sitting between Blythe’s feet.

“Huh? Spill what?”

“Cut the bullshit. Who was the ‘unwelcome guest’ and why did run out of here and lock the door?” Blaise looked at Blythe; they both knew they couldn’t keep this from them any longer.

“Where do you want me to start?” Blaise sighed. “Please don’t be angry with me, I was trying to be open minded and it ALMOST bit us in the arse. But don’t worry, I took care of it.”

“What are you talking about?” Draco looked at him, confused.

“Someone was trying to use me...us to push their way into the foundation?” Blaise’s voice was tight; he was barely keeping his anger contained.

“What? That makes no sense, why?”

“Prestige. Social Status. They saw what the foundation was doing and the affect it was having on the Wizarding world. They wanted to be a part of it.”

“He wanted to take over. He wanted it for himself.” Hermione’s voice was hollow and angry. All heads turned toward her.

“What?” Draco looked at her, still confused.”

“It was Harry, wasn’t it, Blaise? He tried to push his way into foundation so he could take over and capture the limelight for himself, as always.”

Blaise nodded.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Draco nearly shrieked. “Potter has been working for the foundation. Have you lost your mind? Does he know about us? Gods, Blaise!!!”

“D, calm down… First of all, no, he doesn’t know about the two of you. He never did anything for the foundation except for stuff envelopes. He tried to push and do more; he would show up all the time and offer to help with all sorts of things but I never took him up on it. His son and Chloe are friends; he started showing up with Albus so the kids could play even when they didn’t have play dates so he could offer his help with the foundation. I didn’t even notice until…”

Blythe interrupted, “Until yesterday…”

“What happened yesterday?” Draco was trying to keep his tone even but it wasn’t easy.

“I came home with Tylinn; Chloe was supposed to be with Ginny for the afternoon. He was there with both kids.”
Blaise interrupted, “He showed up with them about 10 minutes after I got home.”

“Anyway, he volunteered to carry Tylinn’s stuff upstairs to Chloe’s room. That’s when he started getting creepy. He kept staring at her. I didn’t like it and made him leave the room. I’m really sorry, you guys, I didn’t know he was going to be here. If I did, I would’ve come in the other way so he couldn’t see her.”

“It’s not your fault, Blythe.” Hermione’s voice was calm. “Blaise, what happened downstairs?”

“Let’s just say, he’s not welcome here anymore. Our family comes first, and I will do anything I have to in order to protect each of you. I’m sorry for not seeing him for the opportunist that he is.”

Draco moved back onto the bed, ready to comfort his upset wife. Instead, Hermione’s eyes were focused and angry.
“Hera?”

“No…He’s not gonna do this. I won’t let him. He’s not gonna FUCK with our lives again. I won’t let it happen. Absolutely not… I’ll deal with the two-faced narcissistic bastard…” Tylinn started to fuss; she was able to feel her mother’s agitation. Blythe came over to take the infant before she started to cry as Draco tried to defuse Hermione.

“Hera, listen to me. Blaise took care of Potter. He’s out of our lives; he has nothing to do with our family or the foundation. There’s no reason to start anything with him; it will only bring unwanted attention to us. We want the focus to be on the foundation and all of the good it does for the Wizarding World. Luv, can we just try to live our lives as low key as possible and just be ‘normal’? Come on, Hera, for Tylinn’s sake, please…”

Tears began to trickle down her cheeks. “It’s not fair, Draco. I just want to come home, why does he have to ruin everything?”
“He hasn’t ruined anything, Hera. We won’t let him, right?” He looked at his ‘sister’ and ‘brother’ for backup. They smiled.
“Mia, you know we’ve got your back. He’s not going to interfere with your lives in any way, shape or form.” Hermione exhaled slowly as she started to relax a little.
“Thank you, guys. I don’t know what we would do without you.”
***************
Hermione, Draco and Tylinn had lunch with the Zabinis then returned to the manor to plan for the big move. They decided to keep the loft fully furnished so they could still use it for lunches and Tylinn’s afternoon naps when Hermione returned to work. The loft had held so many wonderful memories, neither of them had the heart to simply rent it out to some random tenant. Since neither of them liked the idea of daycare, muggle or wizard, they decided to compromise. When Hermione had class or meetings, Tylinn would stay with Draco. Otherwise, she could stay with Hermione on campus.
“Draco, are you sure this is going to work? He’s…”
“We’ve already discussed this, Hera. We’re not doing to let Potter dictate our lives anymore, remember?” Hermione nodded.
“I guess… It’s just… He has so much influence here… It makes me really nervous.”
“I know. Sometimes, it makes me nervous, too. Giving an idiot like that power over others is not a wise thing to do.”
“Agreed.” Draco pulled Hermione into his arms and gave her a deep, tender kiss. “So, we’re really gonna do this, Mrs. Malfoy?”
“Yep, we are, Mr. Malfoy. Are you ready for it?”
“With you and Tylinn by my side, I’m ready for anything.”
“Watch out, Wizards and Witches, The Malfoys are back.” Hermione jumped up, struck her best bodybuilder pose and growled
Draco just shook his head and laughed. “I love you, My crazy little witch.”

Author’s Note: Well, that’s it folks. I hope you liked it. Thanks for sticking with me, despite the extended hiatus. I will be finishing ‘Behind Closed Doors’ before I start ‘Going Home’ – New Beginnings –Part Two.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, everyone.
Hugs, Asha.