Second Chances

Disclaimer: Not mine.


Hermione was finding it difficult to concentrate. Her coworkers had been looking at her strangely all day, probably as a result of the vacant expression on her face and unresponsiveness to any attempts at gaining her attention. She had been lost in thought all day long. She’d been seeing Draco for a few months now and found the depth of her feeling for the platinum-haired man astonishing. He had promised not to rush her into anything and had been true to his word, acting as a perfect gentleman at all times. She had never expected a whirlwind romance of this nature, least of all with Draco Malfoy. It was so out of the blue that it seemed too good to be true. It was precisely this nagging feeling that prevented her from taking the final step they had yet to take, both physically and emotionally.

She was nearly certain that she had fallen in love with the infuriating man. However, it was difficult to shake the memories of the cruel boy that had taunted her, spouting his hateful beliefs and sneering at her. He had shown no signs of this cruelty in the months since they had begun anew, yet she knew that to take the next steps in their relationship would be to leave herself totally vulnerable and she didn’t know if she could ever take the risk. As she found herself falling for him deeper, she became aware of just how badly he could break her heart should that streak of cruelty resurface at some point. Lately it was harder and harder to resist giving in to impulse and losing herself in her feelings for him.

The conflicting emotions were warring more violently by day and she knew something needed to be done. Deciding that no one would fault her for skipping out a few hours early, she claimed to be feeling ill and headed for Harry and Ginny’s house, hoping that he would have something helpful to say. Harry had been a wonderful friend over the years, always willing to listen without dispensing advice unless it was requested. He had grown into a very mature and sensitive young man over the last few years, probably in large part due to necessity as he married with a passionate and vibrant young woman who would not tolerate anything less.

“Harry,” she called as she stepped out of the fireplace. “Are you here?”

He emerged from the kitchen, a guilty expression upon his handsome face, replaced by a look of relief when he identified the person in the living room. “Hermione,” he greeted her, “is everything okay?”

Avoiding the question for the moment, she regarded him suspiciously. “What were you doing in there?”

“Cooking,” he replied, the picture of innocence.

She pushed past him and entered the kitchen, gasping at the scene that greeted her. Ingredients were scattered about the counters, some in their containers, others lying ab

out unwrapped or spilled over the surfaces. The oven door was open and an unidentifiable charred mass sat on a middle rack, smoking slightly as a pot boiled over on the stove. Harry followed her in and cursed, running over to stove to turn off the burner.

“Erm, I was going to surprise Ginny tonight,” he said, a little weakly, by way of explanation.

“Well,” she began dryly, “I think you’ll succeed.”

She helped him to clean up the mess as they talked, promising to help him make something edible when they started fresh.

She filled him in on the internal conflict she had been dealing with. “I just don’t know whether I’m ready to give him that much power over me without being sure that he won’t … change back somehow. Is it just naïve of me to forgive a man that I’ve hated for so much longer than I’ve loved?”

Harry had been listening silently for some time. As it seemed like she had reached the end of what she had to say, he sat thoughtfully for a moment before responding. “Hermione, Draco Malfoy is not the only man ever to grow out of undesirable personality traits. There is a difference between a spoiled and brainwashed little boy who finally grows up and an adult who truly possesses that kind of cruelty. I don’t think Draco can just change back, because it was never that simple. He didn’t just decide to be a nice person, he was forced to look at some very harsh realities and deal with the repercussions as he grew up.”

Harry looked deeply saddened by his own words. “The war changed a lot for everyone, Hermione. Draco’s changes, just like your own, are not something that can be taken back.”

“Unfortunately, none of this means that he can’t still hurt you or break your heart. Anyone that you fall in love with has this power. And Draco Malfoy will always be Draco Malfoy, despite being an adult. Honestly, I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t hurt you at some point. He’ll always be a bit intense, not to mention obnoxious.” Harry muttered the last part under his breath.

“But I believe that he loves you. And more importantly, I believe that you love him. And if you’ve already fallen in love, I don’t see that avoiding him will save you any heartache. If there is one thing I’ve learned from my relationship with Ginny, it’s that you can’t turn love on and off at will, and you can’t pigeonhole it into a convenient time or place.”

Harry’s tone was gentle as he finished, watching her for a reaction. Her eyes were looking suspiciously glassy and her lower lip was trembling. She opened her mouth to speak and her breath escaped as a sob. Harry walked over to her and enveloped her in a familiar hug.

“I’m just so scared,” she confessed, a few tears spilling over.

Harry watched her fondly. “I know,” he said, affectionately ruffling her hair, “but that’s never stopped you before.”

* * * * *


Hermione arrived home several hours later to find Draco waiting at her door, a guarded expression on his face. She had cancelled their plans for the last few evenings, too confused by her own feelings to face him, and he had obviously caught on that she was avoiding him.

Draco was having an internal battle of his own. He’d known he was in love with the tiny brunette witch for some time, but hadn’t wanted to scare her off by moving too quickly. When she stopped accepting his invitations and cancelled their plans, claiming to be busy at work, he’d believed her, seeing no reason why she would lie. Then today he had come by Gringotts to surprise her and take her out on her afternoon break, and had been informed that she’d gone home early, not feeling well. He’d gone over to her flat to check on her, only to find her gone. So he’d waited there for the past four hours, alternating between concern and anger.

As she approached he reminded himself to keep his temper in check, that no good would come of jumping to conclusions and shouting. He noted that she looked exhausted and wondered could possibly account for her erratic behavior during the last few days.

“Draco,” she greeted him, “have you been waiting long?”

“A few hours,” he replied slowly, “since I went to Gringotts and they told me you were sick.” He strove to keep his voice neutral.

She winced at his words, hearing the steely tone of his voice, knowing it wouldn’t make things any easier if he was angry with her. She quickly unlocked the flat and let them in, setting her coat and bag on a chair. She was unsure of how to explain to him why she felt the need to leave work early when she was quite obviously not home sick.

“I went to Harry’s,” she explained, deciding the truth was best, “because I was upset.”

His face was still carefully blank as she continued, his features hardened with indifference.

“I just needed someone to listen, because I was so confused,” she went on, her face crumpling and tears threatening to spill over once again as she realized how pathetic she must sound. His face softened considerably at her obvious distress and he gave in to the urge to pull her close to him, wrapping strong arms around her and stroking her back as he always did when he held her.

“What is it, Hermione?” he spoke into her hair, unwilling to loosen his embrace.

She burrowed into his chest for a few moments, drinking in his familiar scent and letting it was over her senses, comforting her, before reluctantly pulling from his embrace to look him in the eye.

“It’s nothing like that,” she replied softly. She smiled ruefully at him. “I realized something today. I realized that I have fallen in love with you, and that won’t change no matter how scared I am. So I hope that it’s alright with you…” She trailed off, looking miserable now and unsure of how to proceed.

A smile broke out across Draco’s elegant features. “Now who\'d have guessed that would be the bad news. This may surprise you, but many women consider me quite the catch.\" He paused, noting her lack of response to his attempt at humor. \"I’ve been in love with you for ages, you silly girl,” he informed her, pulling her to him once more. “I thought that you were breaking it off with me.”

She could hear the sincerity in his voice and could feel the relief in his posture and the manner in which he clung to her, holding her as if he was scared to let her go.

It dawned on her in that moment that he felt just as vulnerable as she did. Comforted by the thought, and loving him even more for it, she snuggled deeper in his arms, a blissful smile lighting up her features.

* * * * * * * *


Hermione was painfully aware that she had fully transformed into a starry-eyed romantic as of late. She frequently caught herself staring off into space and daydreaming about Draco’s handsome features, and she knew that she looked ridiculously happy whenever she received an owl from him. Or his name came up in conversation. Or she brought him up. Or something made her think of him. So, pretty much every waking moment.

It wasn’t that she didn’t remember how annoyed she was with others exhibiting this sort of behavior, or that she didn’t realize how irritating she had become to other practical souls such as herself. She simply had no control of it. She had never expected Draco to turn out to be so passionate about anything other than his possessions or pureblood supremacy, so she continually felt amazed at the intensity with which he had devoted himself to her. The mere memory of those liquid silver eyes burning with passion as he looked at her was enough to put the dreamy expression on her face for a good hour.

The realization of how happy he had made her had brought her to an important decision. She wanted to make him feel as intoxicated by her presence as she felt by his. She wanted to give him some of the wildly happy emotion he had given her. And she was ready to move forward in their relationship. She was going to seduce Draco Malfoy.

* * * * *


Little did she know, she had already given him all of that. Though he may not have been walking around in a cheerfully dreamy stupor, his days were filled the contentment of a man deeply in love. He found it difficult to work or to focus his concentration on anything other than the memory of his Hermione’s warm smile as it was directed at him, or her warm, silky and sweet smelling skin and soft, curvy form. His favorite of the constant images drifing through his mind were her warm brown eyes, gazing at him affectionately. He doubted he would ever tire of seeing the fondness with which she looked at him.

He may not be quite as dreamy as Hermione, but the glow of love was transforming him as well, in slightly more subtle ways perhaps. His attention span was much shorter these days, and he had stopped intentionally terrifying those he crossed in public. He hadn’t hexed anyone in days, he thought proudly. He had been downright polite to her friends, and genial to the house elves. Well, perhaps not genial, but civil, and even that was more than enough to make them look at him suspiciously. There was no reason to go overboard.

And the sex was amazing. Well, the activities of a sexual nature. They still hadn’t taken that final step and he had no plans to rush her, though he was definitely looking forward to it. If their foreplay was the hottest he’d ever experienced, he knew that the main event was going to be unforgettable. Not to mention the primal satisfaction he felt at the idea of being her first, and possibly, or even hopefully, her only. The day that she was ready would be a day that she would never forget.