Hermione's Evening

Hermione's Evening

CHAPTER 03

She was so tired and numb. It was quite late, and she really didn't want to call a taxicab so she gave in with no further protest, and suddenly with a "pop!" they were in the small living room of her flat. She fumbled for the light, but he said, "Lumos" and the magical light came on before she got to the wall switch. She turned it on, anyway.

He looked about the sparsely furnished flat. There wasn't much furniture, nor were there any paintings. However there were several bookcases that were all overflowing with books, and lots of photos, some of them moving. He recognised one of the trio at Hogwarts, in which they were all grinning and waving at the magical camera. There was even one from his and Ginny's wedding, in which he and Ginny were snogging for the photographer.

"No place like home, eh?"

She defensively muttered, "I've not had the time or inclination to decorate the place. My mum's been after me for years to spruce it up, but it hardly seems worthwhile..."

Draco smirked. "Looks like you, if I may say so, Granger. Nothing but books. And photos of you, Potter, and Weasley. Where am I?"

"There's one of you and Ginny, d'you see it?"

"Oh, yes, I see it now. Is that the only one you've got of me? I'll have to do something about that."

She was a bit defensive. "Well, I spend most of my time out and so I use the flat mostly for sleeping and changing my clothes. Why am I telling you this, anyway? It's none of your bloody business."

"I just want to know a bit more about how you're living now, Granger. Is that wrong?"

"Yes...no...Oh, I don't know!"

"Look, I'll leave now and let you go get some sleep, all right? Now, be sure and let me know your decision." He kissed her, a brief, hard kiss and then suddenly Apparated, leaving her alone and confused.

She was so fatigued, she didn't even wash her face, but simply pulled off her clothes and pulled on the old t-shirt she'd slept in since Hogwarts days. She had expected to take a long time to fall asleep but she nodded off straightaway and began to dream.

She was by the lake at Hogwarts, its waters rippling up to the shore. It seemed to be dusk, as the setting sun reflected on the clouds in the sky in pink and orange colours. A lone figure sat by the shore, a few feet from her. She looked more closely; it was Harry. He turned his head to see her. He was not the Harry who died in battle; he was the Harry she remembered so well from her school days, still young and happy.

"Hullo. 'Mione."

"Harry..." her voice was choked. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you, 'Mione. I've come to give you a message. You need to go on with your life."

"You know about Malfoy?"

"Oh, yes, I do. He talks to me, you know."

"He does?" She was incredulous. "Why?"

"Who else would understand him? Not many of us went through what we all did. But now he has you and he'll not be lonely any more. Neither will you."

"But why should I believe him? I'm not even sure he really loves me."

"Oh he does, believe me, he does."

"Hang on...if he talks to you, that means..."

"Yes, he's a Seer, 'Mione. That means he knows..."

"You mean, he knew we'd be together, even though I've not said 'yes?'"

"Right. And he knew from The Sight, that you'd not be together until the time was right, meaning now. He also knows that it would have been wrong to approach you about all this before you were ready. The Sight told him you'd be ready now."

"But - he never was a Seer when we knew him. I mean..."

"It's a gift he got from the Aborigines, 'Mione. It came to him when he released the powers he learned from them. It didn't just happen yesterday, you know. It took several years for him to learn how to use them and how to harness them."

"But why so long to tell me? I mean, it's been ten years, Harry. Ten years."

"Well, for one thing, he's a Slytherin. I mean, no matter how much he's changed, he'll always be a Slytherin. That means he'll do what it takes to get what he wants, no matter how long it takes, and if it means waiting ten years, well... He wanted to give you a choice. He knew if he told you it's a done deal for him, you'd choose the opposite just to spite him or just to have a choice. It's all part of his Slytherin background. "

"Very sneaky, Harry. But I guess that's what makes him the way he is. Do I dare trust him? It's so hard to make up my mind about him."

"He's a changed man, Hermione, believe me. 'Mione, you need to be happy. Go on and live your life with him. Be happy. I am. Ginny's with me, as are my parents. I've got my family. You need to go and get yours. All I ask in return is that you name one of your kids after me."

She squeaked. "We'll have kids? Er, how many?"

Harry laughed. "Now I'm not telling you that, just that you'll have at least one boy that you can name after me. You need to hear this from Draco, if he chooses to tell you. He may not, you know."

"Thanks, Harry. I've really missed you. You were my best friend, you know. Draco will never replace you."

"No, he won't but he'll be your new best friend as well as your husband. Don't worry, 'Mione. We'll be together again some day, just not as we'd expected all those years ago."

Hermione could feel the tears coursing down her face.

"Goodbye, 'Mione. I'll talk to you again. Don't worry. Be happy for the both of us." Harry faded out and the Hogwarts Lake faded into nothingness as she went deeper into a dreamless sleep.

"Brrrrinnnggggg!" The Muggle alarm clock rang in her ear. And she awoke the next morning, with the tears still on her face. She turned to look at the large dial face. It was 7:00 am. Time to get up to go to work. Then she remembered the night before, and sighed. What was she going to do? She sighed again.

She got up and went into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. She looked bloody awful, with red-shot eyes and circles. But there was something different about those eyes...it took a second for her to see it, but it was there. They looked alive, for the first time in years.

That did it. She'd made her decision. She had to go into the office, holiday or not.

When she got to the offices of the Ministry of Magic, she immeditally checked to see if the Minister of Magic was in his office. According to his secratery, Minister Black was in. She immediately went into his office. Sirius was at his desk dealing with some paperwork; he looked up as she came in.

"Hermione." He looked at his desk calendar, then back up at her. "I thought you were on holiday. Anything wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong, at least I don't think so. Sirius, can I talk to you for a few minutes? It's quite important." She needed to ask some questions and she was running out of time.

Draco paced nervously in front of the hotel. He kept looking at his watch and then looking at the street. His all-black essemble of a turtleneck jumper, woolen slacks, boots and leather jacket sufficed to provide warmth against the cold wind. His short whitish-blond hair waved about in the breeze, but he didn't care if it looked mussed, In fact, he mussed it up even more by running his fingers through it in his impatience.

I

Damn, it was getting late. Almost 1:00 PM. If she didn't get here soon, she'd miss the plane. If she didn't get here, his life was going to be hell. Not to mention he would have to get refunded for the unused airline ticket.

"Sir?" It was the bellhop. "You asked me to remind you when it's time to leave for Heathrow."

"Yes, yes, thank you." Draco muttered impatiently and waved the bellhop away.

"Would you like us to hail a taxicab for you, sir?"

"In a moment, please. I'm waiting for someone." Draco pressed a pound note into the man's hand.

"Of course, sir. Whatever you want, sir."

Draco grinned derisively to himself. Whatever he wanted, eh? He might not get what he wanted, this time. It was a good thing he'd learned patience the hard way these past ten years. The Aborigines didn't know the meaning of time, and so they had more patience than anyone he'd ever encountered. In learning their ancient magic, he'd learned their patience. It was considerably more than he'd had at Hogwarts. But then, he'd been a real prat at Hogwarts, as Hermione no doubt would spare no pain in telling him.

He hoped she would choose to be with him. The Sight was very vivid in showing him their life, but he had a small amount of doubt. He wanted her to have a choice and not think she was being forced into anything. Draco wanted the start of a new life to be free of any resentment or doubts on either of their parts. He didn't have any, and he didn't want her to have any, either. If that was what it took to get what he wanted, then it was the right way to go. A very Slytherin concept. Not the way he'd operated whilst in school, but he'd learned that being Slytherin didn't mean one had to be evil in one's ambitions or how one got what he wanted. What mattered in a Slytherin was that one was ambitious. It didn't mean he had to be like his father or be a Death Eater.

He'd been dreaming of Hermione ever since he left school, even while Ginny was alive, even though he'd never told her of the dreams. But it wasn't until he had told the Aboriginal headman about them that he'd learned of The Sight, and had been able to put them in perspective. The headman had helped him to see they were prophecies of what could happen because of one's destiny, not just hormones or wishful thinking. However, the headman had also told him the future could be affected by one's choices in life, and The Sight was not an absolute future. So thus Hermione could choose and The Sight would be wrong.

Well, no point worrying about it now. If it all went wrong, he'd wait until he got home to think about what he was going to do next. After some whinging and getting pissed, that is.

Draco glanced at his watch. Another ten minutes gone. He had best get on to the airport so he could get through security and customs before boarding the plane. He glanced down the street once more; no sign of Hermione by foot or taxicab. He didn't think she would Apparate, as there were too many Muggles about, and it was discouraged in Muggle London.

Sighing, he gestured to the bellhop, who jumped up and blew a whistle to summon a taxicab. The large black sedan purred up to the kerb, and the bellhop lifted Draco's small dufflebag into the boot. Draco pressed a five-pound note into the boy's hand. He had always tipped well for good service.

After over an hour in the gruelling traffic through London, the cab pulled up in front of the Quantas terminal. He stepped out from the cab after paying the driver his fare and a tip. The driver unloaded the boot and drove off to a waiting area. Draco checked in his bag and shouldered his rucksack and prepared to get his e-ticket from the kiosk.

There was a squeal of tyres and a taxicab pulled up to the terminal.

"Draco! Wait! Hold up!"

He closed his eyes in relief. It was Hermione. She jumped out the cab, gripping a haversack and ran up to him.

The dark-haired witch was standing next to him. She looked scared to death. However she spoke bravely, "I'll go with you, Draco." What a true Gryffindor, he thought, just before bending his head and capturing her lips with his.

After they broke off the kiss, she apologised, "I'm sorry, I was so late in getting to you. But I had to talk to Sirius and get squared away, you see...Gave him my notice. He wasn't too happy about it being so short, but I didn't give him any choice. But I think I made him happy, in the end."

"How?"

"Well, I asked him if he knew of any job opportunities down there, and he remembered he'd got an Owl a few months ago, and dug it up. It turned out that the Australian Ministry of Magic was looking for an Auror to train theirs in the Outback. It seems since we've had more experience fighting Death Eaters up here, and so they were looking for help. So...you're looking at the newest field director for Queensland as well as the new part time Defence Against Dark Arts teacher at the local Wizarding Academy."

"Wow, Granger. That's, that's fantastic."

"And in a year or two, we can start our family..." He had to kiss her again after that statement.

After the kiss she said seriously, "I'm taking a big step here, Malfoy. If you ever, ever lay a hand on me or one of our children in anger..."

"Point taken and memorised." He said hurriedly. "Don't worry, I don't lose my temper, unlike my esteemed father."

"Oh I know, but I thought I'd better let you know where I stand, on this."

He sighed and kissed her again.

"So what made you make up your mind?" Draco queried a few minutes later.

"It was Harry, actually," and she told him of her dream.

"Hmm, interesting," was all he had to say.

She queried, "Did Ginny know you were a Seer?"

He hesitated, and then answered, "No, she didn't. I didn't tell her because well, because I didn't want to tell anyone then. I'd been having these strange dreams for years, you see, and I never told anyone. When I got to Hogwarts, I realised dimly what was happening, but I didn't realise just what it all really was. I think Dumbledore knew, though." He paused again. "Also, I realised if I told anyone, my father would know and so Voldemort would find out and I'd be forced to use it for his evil purposes." His face darkened. "I was doing everything I could to keep from getting the Dark Mark. I knew that once I'd got it, it would have been almost impossible to get out alive or with my sanity intact. I was playing a double game all those years, and so was Professor Snape. We both knew how dangerous it was."

"Yes, I know" Hermione responded sadly. Their old Potions professor, Snape, had been in St. Mungo's for many years, suffering the effects of too many Cruciatus curses being thrown at him by Voldemort and his Death Eaters when they had found out he was a double agent.

"So many lives lost or ruined." Draco murmured. "Well, Hermione, at least we can start with a clean slate." He smirked suddenly. "I'm looking forward to it, you know. Life with you will definitely not be boring."

"Oh, really?"

"Oh yes," he heaved a dramatic sigh. "You'll rag at me endlessly and I'll just answer back with my smart remarks."

"Oh, really?" she said back at him again. There was a gleam in her eye. "Then we'll have some interesting conversations, then."

"Just don't stop, will you? It's what drew me to you long ago at Hogwarts. You first attracted my attention with that brain of yours. You'll never know how hard it was to tell my father I was always second to you. Then I just noticed I really didn't want to fight it any more."

She smiled gently. "Never fear, I won't. It'd be like not breathing, if I stopped. I expect I'll already be learning something."

He groaned. "Don't tell me - "A History of Hogwarts." Gods, Granger, won't you ever stop reading that bloody tome?"

She laughed. "Not very likely. As long as Hogwarts stands, the history will be magically updated, and there'll be something new."

"At least tell me you won't need to read it on the plane."

She grinned. "No, it's been reduced and is in my pocket. Actually, I transfigured it to look like a matchbook to a Muggle."

He raised an eyebrow. "Ah, clever of you. So it won't be confiscated by a security guard or in Customs. At any rate, I'll be keeping you too busy to think about that bloody book during the flight anyway."

"Oh yes?" She grinned provocatively. "Do tell...!"

"Later, Granger, after we've gotten our e-tickets and got to our lounge area. Since we're flying first class, we'll be comfortable."

"So, something hasn't changed, has it, Malfoy? You still insist on getting the best, don't you?"

He smirked. "Well, of course, Granger! I can still afford it."

She heaved a dramatic sigh. "Well, something I'll have to get used to, I suppose..." and then she laughed.

She then nestled into his arms, Draco resting his chin on top of her dark chestnut head. He shut his eyes and whispered, "Thank you, Potter, for giving me back my life."