New Beginnings

Author's Note: I've been working on this off and on while writing 'Behind Closed Doors'. This is going to be a Two-Part Story, so so you are warned. There will be issues that are mentioned in this story that won't be resolved until Part 2.

I'm not abandoning 'Behind Closed Doors', no need to worry. It's just getting to the angsty part and I need to write something not so 'emotionally draining'. Note: This is predominately fluff, you have been warned.

Enjoy.
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Prologue:

The war was over, Voldemort was defeated. Harry, Ron and Hermione were celebrated in the wizarding world. While the boys reveled in their celebrity, Hermione was completely burnt out. She longed for a 'normal' life. She was tired of being in the Daily Prophet, tired of people asking for her autograph, tired of thinking about the tragedies and loses that accompanied the defeat of Voldemort. Cedric, Colin, George, Mad Eye, Tonks and Remus. All of the accolades in the world wouldn't bring them back and it hurt too much to think about it, to be surrounded by it. So Hermione did the one thing that no one expected. Hermione left the wizarding world in order to keep her sanity.
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It was a crisp autumn morning as Professor Hermione Granger stepped off the double decker bus near Wellington Square. Her years at Hogwarts had more than prepared her for university work. She completed a multiple undergraduate degree in psychology, sociology, religion and the occult, in 2 years. She then completed her PhD work in the 'paranormal, and the occult' in 1 year as well as her law degree in 2 year. The university was so impressed with her accomplishments that the University offered her tenured position upon graduation, which was unheard of for any university and unfathomable for Oxford University. Once again, Hermione Granger was a stand out; she was the youngest tenured professor at Oxford University, ever, at the age of 26. Very few people knew that Oxford University offered graduate studies for witches and wizards, which allowed Hermione to continue her magical studies as well as pursue other studies. The administration of the school was very proud of the fact that they had such a famous witch as a tenured member of their faculty, even if no one else knew.

Hermione had changed a great deal since she left Hogwarts. Thanks to Kyan, a wonderful stylist at Elizabeth Arden, her unruly brown hair was now a wavy, auburn and brown with blonde highlights that reached just past her shoulders, with a wonderful cut angling towards her face. Her Pilates classes had sculpted her body into long, lean, functional muscles. She was finally happy with her appearance for the first time in her life, she even owned some fashionable clothes now. Wouldn't Ginny be surprised at the change in her fashion sense. She was quite pleased with her newest acquisition, taupe wool dress pants, a matching deep V-neck taupe, and red jumper that came just to her waist that accentuated her figure and brown ankle boots. Coupled with simple jewelry and a red seude jacket, she was quite pleased with her appearance. She worked very hard not to look like a frumpy professor, considering she was significantly younger than all of the members of her department.

She looked at her watch, 7am, she had 4 1/2 hours before her office hours started. It was the beginning of the term so most students didn't come to see her yet. She had plenty of time to stop for her favorite indulgence, hot cocoa from Sid and Nancie's, a coffee shop near campus. When she walked in, there was a very short cue, so the wait wouldn't be long at all. Then she heard a slight commotion.

"That will be 5pounds, sir."
"Oh..Oh… I thought I had enough… Oh Dear… I'm sorry…" A very frail man, dressed very shabbily, was standing at the counter. He, obviously, didn't have enough money for his order. Hermione began to reach into her bag for her wallet to pay for the man's order when she heard a voice that sounded familiar, almost too familiar.

"I've got it, Lisa." He said to the girl behind the counter. He picked up the man's drink and breakfast sandwich and handed it to him. "Here, Stanley, it's on me. Did you forget? We have breakfast together every morning." The older man looked up at the tall, younger man and smiled.

"You're a good boy, Drake. Thank you…"
"You're very welcome, Stanley. Have a good day. I will see you tomorrow morning." The young man paid for the orders, smiling at the Lisa. "If he ever comes in when I'm not here, just put his order on the bill for my office, ok?"

"Yes, Mr. Rosier. Have a good day."
"Thank you; you too. Have a good day, Mitzy." The other girl behind the counter waved as she made another cappuccino; the tall man smiled, and turned to leave. Hermione glanced up to see if she was right. 'MERLIN BEARD! Did he just say, Draco? No… He said Drake. But it sounded exactly like Draco, didn't it? And she said Mr. Rosier, not Malfoy.'
Hermione looked up as the tall, young man walked past her but she couldn't see his face, the collar of his tailored leather jacket was pulled up near his ears. 'It couldn't be Malfoy. The hair was too dark, sandy blond not that signature platinum blond. Hermione's brain churning as she reached the front of the cue.

"Good Morning Professor Granger."
"Good Morning Mitzy. How are you?"
"Fine, thank you. I'm looking forward to our next discussion on divination. I'm actually ahead on my reading for the first time ever. That proves how much I like." Hermione smiled. It was nice to see that one of her students was enjoying the class.

"Good, I'm glad you're enjoying the reading so much. It should be an interesting discussion." Hermione paused… "Umm, Mitzy, the gentlemen that was in here a little while ago, tall, sandy blond hair; the one that paid for the older gentleman's meal. Do you know anything about him?" Mitzy smiled and gestured to Lisa to come over.

"Lisa, how long has Mr. Rosier been coming in here?" Lisa started to swoon.
"A couple months now, ever since he moved into his new office down the street. Before that, would only come in every once in a while for a snack or hot cocoa. I think he went to school near here or something."
"Not coffee?"
"No, he rarely gets coffee. He prefers MY super chocolaty hot cocoa." Mitzy smiled.
"That's because you spoil him and always make it special for him, just so he'll smile at you."
"Can you blame me? That smile, those gorgeous gray eyes… He is beautiful." Hermione tried not to cough into her hot cocoa.
"Did you say gray eyes? That's unusual."
"They're stunning…I can't believe he doesn't have a girlfriend."
"How do you know, Lisa?"
"We see him every morning, Mitzy. Seven days a week. We deliver food to his office, lunches and often dinners. Have you ever seen him with a girlfriend or pictures of a girlfriend?"
"Well, no but there is a picture of him with a beautiful woman on his desk."
"Duh, you never really looked at the picture closely, have you?"
"No, not really, why?"
"He looks like her, she's his mum."
"OH!!!!"

Hermione interrupts rather rudely, "Where is Mr. Rosier's office? Near here, right?" The girls looked at her, in shock, at her sudden abruptness. "I'm still kind of new here, I wanted to welcome to him to the area.
"Yes, it's just around the corner. 475 Chatham. Do you want one of us to come with you?
"No, thank you. I only have a few minutes to stop and say hello, then I have to get back to campus for office hours. Would you toss a couple more scones in the sack for me so I will have something to snack on later. Thank you, ladies. See you tomorrow."

Hermione did her best not to rush out of the coffee shop but when she was out of the Lisa and Mitzy's view, she sprinted to 475 Chatham. She stopped in front of the building, admiring the sign near the door. 'The Rose Foundation'. She took a deep breath and walked in. It was a very modest looking office, very tastefully decorated, lots of plants, lots of windows. There was a receptionist/secretary's desk near a heavy looking oak door but no one was sitting there. Hermione heard music coming from behind the heavy door. 'You're being completely mad, Hermione. You're walking into some strange man's office because he may have sounded like Malfoy. To what end? If it really is Malfoy, what are you going to do? People don't change. He'll be just as ill mannered as he always was and you'll end up ruining your lovely morning.' She paused. 'But if it was him that she just saw, he was so sweet to that little old muggle man, Stanley, and to Mitzy and Lisa. Maybe it is possible. Maybe.' Unfortunately, Hermione's curiosity got the best of her and she knocked on the door before she could stop herself.

"Come in", yelled a male voice from inside the office. Hermione's heart started to race as she turned the door handle. This was a stupid lose-lose situation. If it wasn't Malfoy, some stranger was going to think she was nutty as fruitcake and if it was Malfoy… Ugh! She didn't even want to think about the levels of humiliation that would soon follow. If it Malfoy, what possessed her to even come her? It's not like they we acquaintances…definitely not friends so why did she seek him? 'Am I a complete masochist?' As she was running these undesirable thought through her head, she felt the door pull out of her hand. A tall, sandy blond haired man was standing before her. He was wearing hiking boots, blue jeans, and a black jumper that clung to his muscular shoulders and arms. Her eyes traveled up to his eyes, those signature gray eyes and her heart began to pound in fear and…could it be arousal?

"Granger? Is that you?"
"Malfoy?" She said slowly.
"What are you doing here?"
"I…I thought I saw you this morning…at Sid and Nancie's…"
"Yeah, I was there" He was staring down at her with those piercing eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? Please, come in, sit down." Hermione walked into his office, her legs moving under their own volition. She stood in the middle of the room, looking around. Draco closed to door and walked towards her. "It's really wonderful to see you, Hermione." He kissed her on the cheek; Hermione thought someone pulled the floor out from under her. 'Did he just do what I think he did? Has he been body-snatched?' Draco took her hand and led her to the leather sofa. "May I take your coat?" She stood still as he eased it off of her shoulders, still in shock that he had kissed her, simply stared at him.
"What?" Draco looked at Hermione, wondering why she was staring at him.

"I don't mean to sound rude but, what happened to you? You were nice to muggles this morning. You're being downright cordial to me. Did you have a lobotomy or something?" Draco walked over to the sofa and gestured for her to sit closer to her so him, she did so willing likely, not understanding why.

He half smirked, "I deserved that. No, I didn't have a lobotomy and it's not an Imperius curse, either. A lot of things happened after the war that made me re-evaluate my life and how I lived it." Hermione listened intently as Draco explained. "Due to Father's actions, he will be in Azkaban for the next 20 years or more. He regrets his actions and he's fully aware that he must pay his debt to society. He realizes, now, what the Dark Lord was and how foolish it was to follow him. I wish he would have figured that out years ago but he didn't and our family suffered for it." He got really quiet for a few minutes. "I know my father did horrible things to many people and I should hate him but he's still my father… and the only family I left." Hermione's heart jumped into her mouth. 'Oh no… not that…' Without even thinking about it, she took his hand into hers.

"Mother past away 5 years ago from ovarian cancer. Ironic, all of the magic in the world and magic can't cure something like cancer, it's not fair."
His voice sounded so lost and far away for a moment. "Mum and I were always close but when she became ill, we became even closer. She told me that she didn't want my future to be tarnished by the stigma of the Malfoy or the Black family name. She wanted me to start with a clean slate."
Hermione squeezed and kissed his hand, she had no idea what possessed her to do that, "Draco, I'm so sorry. I know how much your mum meant to you." He put his hand on top of hers.

"Thank you, Hermione. It's been hard but I'm managing. It gets lonely sometimes. I don't have any other family. It was just me, mum and father."
She nodded. It was the same with her family. They still held hands as they continued to talk.

"Rosier?" Hermione asked.

"It was my maternal grandmother's maiden name. I left the wizarding world after mum passed. There was nothing left for me there, nothing except for bad memories and whispers behind my back. I still own the manor but I don't live there. I try to go as often as possible to check on the house elves. I don't want them to be lonely. I had asked them if they wanted to be freed and they started to cry. They lost mother, she was always so kind to them and the idea of leaving the manor permanently would be devastating to them."

"You left the wizarding world? What have you been doing?"

"I went to university and law school. I started a charity foundation for muggle families that were hurt by Voldemort and the Death Eaters. They don't know why this charity is helping them but I do, that's all that matters. I'm the sole heir of the Malfoy and the Black Families. I thought it was only right for me to do something good with that money. The Ministry striped my father of all claims to the Malfoy assets because of his connections with 'him'. I understand why they did it but it still makes me sad for my father. It's like stripping him of his heritage, in a way. I've set aside many of my father's favorite family heirlooms for him in the Malfoy family vault at Gringrott's so I can give them to him when he eventually gets out of Azkaban." Hermione sat in silence, just staring at Draco. So many questions were rushing through her head but she wasn't sure which to ask first.

"Where did you go to university?"
"Oxford."
"You're kidding?"
"No. Actually, we were in some of the same classes in Law school."
"How did I not notice? Why didn't you say anything to me?" Draco smiled sadly.
"Well, the hair helped." He rubs his sandy blond hair. It took some getting used to but I like it, for now." He smirked. "Hermione, I've never been your favorite person. Not that I didn't deserve your animosity. I didn't want to ruin your school experience, again, by letting you know I was there."

"Draco, that's wasn't fair to you. You didn't have to hide from me. And for the record, you didn't ruin my school experience, you just made it…challenging." Draco smiled at her attempt to make him feel better.

"I didn't hide, per say, I just kept my distance, out of respect for you."

"Draco, I hat to think that I was reason why you didn't enjoy Oxford." He could see the genuine concern written all over her face.
"No, Hermione, you didn't. I enjoyed school. I was on crew, and the debate team, I was even in a play. Really, I had a good time." Hermione sat silently for a moment. When she was about to speak, Draco stopped her.

"I need to say this to you and if I don’t say it now, I know I never will lose my nerve. Hermione, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for treating so badly when we were at Hogwarts. I was an obnoxious, elitist prat. I'm truly sorry. I hope someday you will find it in your heart to forgive me for being a stupid arse."

"Draco, it was a long time again and we were children. I'm going to say this because I know you need to hear it, not because this is something recent. I forgive you, Draco. I wouldn't be here if I hadn't." She paused and smiled. "Well, maybe I would be but I don't know if I would have stayed this long." Draco smiled, truly smiled at her and kissed the back of her hand.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me. Hang on just one minute." He walked over to his desk to get his hot cocoa then came back and sat down. "They make the best hot cocoa in the city." Hermione smile.

"Those girls spoil you."
"What?" Taking a sip of his cocoa.

"You have some fans, Draco. You can change your last name but that Malfoy charm hasn't disappeared."

"So you think I'm charming?", fishing for a compliment and smiling smugly.
"And modest, too." She pokes him in the stomach.

"So what else have you been doing besides going to Oxford, Hermione?"
"Well, I was recently awarded a tenured professorship at the University."
"Hermione, I know about all of that, I meant your personal life."
"You know about my job?" She looked him confused and shocked.

"Of course, I may have kept a respectful distance from you but that doesn't mean I didn't keep tabs on you. I'm really proud of you, by the way. Did you get the gift I sent you?"
"What? Wait? You're proud of me?"

"You're a very determined, intelligent woman, in the muggle world and the wizarding world. I really admire you for that."
"What?" She just looked at him in shock. Draco looked down, fidgeting a bit.

"I know, this doesn't sound like the Draco that you're use to know. I promise, I'm the same person, I've just grown up a lot since then." He looked deep into Hermione's eyes; she felt her heart skip a beat. 'Gods, have his eyes always been that hypnotic. I could spend the rest of my life looking into those eyes. Stop it, Hermione!! That's just madness.'

"Did you say you sent me a gift?"

"Yes, when your tenure was announced in the alumni paper, I sent you a small gift. Did you get it?" Hermione's face went blank for a moment as she stared at him, in shock.
"Draco…" She slowly reached into her purse, taking out a ornate leather box. She opened it carefully and with the utmost reverence.

Inside was an ornate golden quill that never needed to be inked. She ran her fingers over the quill, smiling, then looked at him. "This was from you?" He smiled and nodded.
"The note said…"

"Congratulations Hermione on an honor well deserved. I hope you will cherish this always."

"You didn't sign the note."

"I know. I didn’t think that you would accept it if you knew it was from." He paused. "Do you like it?"

"Are you serious? I absolutely adore it. It's the only quill I use. Thank you so much." Before she even thought about it, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. They both felt lightning going through them as the kiss deepened slightly. They separated slowly, neither of them said a word. They both looked away, drinking their cocoa. Draco cleared his throat and got up, pacing a bit.

"Look, Hermione, this is going to sound really strange and I know that you're going to think I'm mad for even suggesting it but I don't have anything to lose. I would like to get to know you. We never had that chance before and I would really like to show you how much I've changed, matured. I have some friends from school but you're the only person here that really knows everything about me, well, the bad stuff. I would like it if you would get to know the good stuff. It would mean a lot to me to have a true friend here. It would mean a lot to me to have you in my life.

Hermione just stared at Draco, in complete shock, again. This had been some morning. Who knew that going for hot cocoa would turn into this. Bells and whispers should be going off in her head but they weren't. For some reason, she believed that he was sincere. She was completely intrigued. For the first time, since she had met Draco Malfoy, she actually saw what other women saw in him. He was very handsome and those eyes were mesmerizing.

"I'd like that, Draco. I would like that very much." He smiled, letting out the breath he had been holding.
"Do you have any plans for lunch?", he asked, hoping he was on a roll.
"I'm sorry, I'm teaching most of the afternoon. I don't think I'll have time to leave for lunch." He looked crestfallen. "How about dinner?" His face lit up.
"Really?" She nodded. "That would be great. I usually just get something from…"
"Sid and Nancie's, I know." He looks at her, confused."
"I told you, the girls are quite smitten with you. They told me." Draco smiled.
"They're nice girls. They don't usually deliver, especially not dinner but when they saw that I was working late so much, they started bring my dinner so I wouldn't be hungry."
"See, smitten."
"It's just nice for people to do something nice for me every now and again. He paused. "What time do you have to be on campus?"
"I need to work on my lectures for the next couple of weeks, this morning. My office hours are from 1130 to 115pm then I have classes from 130pm to 245pm and 300pm to 500pm. I'm pretty lucky though. Most of my students are self sufficient. They rarely need me during office hours; they can email or IM me if they have any questions so I can usually get some papers grades during that time. I never knew grading papers took so long. I have a whole new respect for what the Hogwarts Professors had to go through. Our work was much longer and much more detailed." Draco laughed.
"Your work was always longer than everyone else's, too. Bloody overachiever." Hermione smiled smugly.

"Professor Granger, may I escort you to campus?" Draco stood in front of her, extending his hand, in a formal type manner. Hermione giggled.
"That would be lovely, Mr. Rosier." Taking his hand, he helped her up, and helps her with her coat before putting on his coat and picking up her bag.
"Merlin's Beard, Woman!! Do you ever not carry a ton of stuff in your bag?" Hermione smiles sheepishly.
"Sorry, I can carry it." He rolls his eyes as he opens the door for her. Draco scribbles a note for his secretary, Alice, to let her know that he would be back shortly. He locked the office down and they were off. They walked past Sid and Nancie's, arm in arm, chatting about school and projects that they worked on in law school.

"Lisa, come quick!! You've gotta see this!" Mitzy yelled from the empty dining area of coffee shop. Lisa came running into the room, with a frantic look on her face.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Come see this.. It's Mr. Rosier with Professor Granger, arm in arm."
"What? You're mad, woman.."
"I'm not… Come look, quick.."
The girls peek out the door just after Draco and Hermione walk past. They were laughing, Hermione leaned her hand on Draco's arm.
"He's carrying her bag…"
"She just put her head on his arm…"
"What the bloody hell?"
"She didn't know him, did she?"
"The professor and the hottie?"
"I don’t get it.."
"She does have that sweet geek girl appeal."
"I guess." Lisa pouts.
"What? I thought she was your favorite professor?"
"She is, but Mr. Rosier is a hottie. I wanted him."
"Yeah, like he would be interested in you. He's totally hot for me."
"whatever!"
The girls walk in different direction in a mock huff.


Hermione and Draco reach Hermione's office and she got settled in. She felt kind of strange, she didn't want him to leave, he was really lovely company. Something she hadn't had in a really long time but she didn't want to push her luck. This was all really new. "Umm, would you like a cup of tea?" she asked nervously.

"Umm, I probably shouldn't, I don't want to keep you from your work. I should probably get back to the office, I have a few things that I need to do this morning." She tried to conceal her disappointment.
"I will see you later, right?" Hermione, nodded.
"Right, I will see you later. Thank you for walking me to work. It was nice to have…company."
"Yeah, it was. Thank you." Draco leaned in, kissing her on the cheek. "See you later." Draco left and Hermione flopped into her chair. Her head was spinning. Her 'tormenter' had turned over a new leaf and she actually wanted to get to know him better. Him, Draco Malfoy… now Rosier. She shook her head, trying to clear her head so she could focus on her work.