26. Chapter 26

Hey guys! I hit 300 reviews last chapter! That is insane. I never imagined that. I also hit 350 followers and 175 favourites. You guys are so awesome I can't even put it into words.

I'm sure many of you will enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: no

Draco and Hermione only had a quick conversation with Flitwick, which mainly consisted of him welcoming them back. They bade the Charms master farewell and left to tour the castle once more. Flitwick had informed them that they still had time: classes didn't end for another half hour. They ended at two.

Draco recognized how lucky they were that it was class time. It made travelling through the halls much simpler. Draco knew that the entire school was aware of their presence by now, but right now, all the curious eyes were stuck in class.

Draco started heading up to the seventh floor, Hermione trailing behind him. He wanted to show Hermione the Gryffindor common room. Draco knew where the Gryffindor common room was, unlike many Slytherins. Near the end of his fifth year, he had met up with a Gryffindor there for a late night…..rendezvous.

He thought maybe Hermione might've protected some of her memories from there. He would've. Some of the most simple and amazing memories of his life had happened in his common room.

However, as Draco led Hermione through the corridors and up the stairs to the seventh floor, he thought of something.

They didn't have the password for the Fat Lady. Damn it. She would never let them in without it. Draco remembered that in their third year, Sirius Black had threatened her at knife point, and she still wouldn't let him in without a password.

As the two of them walked through the halls, Draco tried to think of a solution to this problem. However, nothing came to him.

They arrived at the final staircase. They climbed it quickly, and arrived at the landing which held the fat lady. She wasn't doing anything and quickly noticed their presence.

Her mouth fell open with a pop. Her skin grew porceline white as she gaped. Draco nearly rolled his eyes; he was getting really tired of dropped jaws.

"Hermione Granger?" she asked with a gasp.

Hermione, in the meantime was looking at the fat lady with a look of complete disbelief. Besides the fact that she had no idea who this person was, she probably was wondering why a painting was talking to her in the first place.

Draco just interrupted there and then. He should've just started to talk immediately.

"Hey!" said Draco awkwardly. Then he remembered that he had no idea how to get into the Gryffindor common room.

Draco had just restarted pondering over the various ways he could get into the common room, when a voice sounded out from behind them.

"Hermione? Draco? Is it really you two?"

Draco turned, and for the first time in his life, wasn't annoyed that Neville Longbottom had arrived.

Draco had a vague remembrance of hearing that Longbottom had taken up the position of Herbology professor when Sprout had retired. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten. Longbottom and Hermione had been close during their Hogwarts years. Hermione had been fiercely protective of him, and every time that Draco had mocked the boy, Hermione had come close to cursing his head off.

Thank Merlin she never actually had.

Longbottom sure looked different than he had back in the Hogwarts days. Puberty had been kind to him, so to speak. Back then he had been slightly chubby, with crooked teeth and a derpy smile. Now, he was tall and muscular, with windswept brown hair and a smile that made women everywhere faint. There was a reason he was Witch Weekly's most eligible bachelor, (though rumours about him and Hannah Abbott were rampant). Another big factor in Longbottom's transformation was his killer confidence that he had acquired in their last few years of Hogwarts. Women found confidence incredibly attractive.

At the moment, Longbottom was standing on the landing below them. He was smiling and blinking quickly. Then, so quickly Draco nearly missed it, Longbottom bounded up the stairs and pulled Hermione into a giant bear hug. He proceeded to cling to her, while chocking on sobs.

Longbottom was clinging to Hermione as if his life depended on it. Hermione was just hugging him, telling him it was alright as he cried out in joy. Draco felt his insides contract in jealousy like they had earlier that day with Seamus. But this time, he ignored it. He needed to ignore it. So instead of beating him up and getting mad, Draco smiled softly and leaned backwards into a banister. He just watched.

Draco knew how incredible Hermione was. Yet, time after time, he found himself amazed that she was able to draw this reaction from people. The tears, the dropped jaws, the exultant expressions, that was all Hermione.

Draco used to tease Hermione back at Hogwarts. He'd say no one would ever like her, no one would ever want her. He could not have been more wrong.

Everyone loved Hermione. The entire wizarding world loved this girl. And why wouldn't they? She was perfect.

After the war, it had seemed to Draco that the entire wizarding world had paled in colour. There wasn't as much joy in the air as there had been pre-war. Draco had thought it was just the aftermath of the battles, the loses, and the destruction that was causing the depression. That was very logical. Wars tend to do that. Now, he was thinking maybe it was something different.

Maybe Hermione was the reason a slight depression had fallen over the wizarding world for the last seven years. It definitely was for all those who were close to her: Potter, Weasel, Weaslette among others. But for the rest of the world, they had lost one of the major war heroines. It had happened after the war was finished, when they thought they were safe again. Maybe it reignited the fear?

Or maybe it was because the wizarding world looked to Potter for guidance. After Hermione had disappeared, Potter had nearly lost it. In his eyes there was only loss, no more courage, no more strength. The wizarding world watched Potter like a hawk, they must've noticed. Seeing their hero broken must've broken some of the spirit of the world as well.

Hermione, even back then, didn't know how much of an effect she had on this world. Even the people who didn't know her personally were affected by her disappearance, because of Potter's love for her. It was incredible how many people could be affected by some person.

But then again, Hermione wasn't just some person.

Longbottom finally pulled back. His face was tear streaked. Hermione reached up and wiped one of the tears away. Longbottom grabbed her hand and held it against his cheek, smiling. Hermione smiled in return.

Here comes the jealousy.

Neville let go of Hermione's hand and took a step back. He then held out his hand. Hermione took it.

"Hello Hermione, my name is Neville Longbottom," he said whilst shaking her hand.

"Wait a second," Draco but in. He was confused. "Why did you introduce yourself?"

Longbottom turned to him, rather reluctantly, but answered none the less. "Doesn't she have absolutely no idea who I am?"

Draco nodded, still confused. "Yep, but how do you know that? I thought that wasn't public information."

Longbottom laughed. "I'm not the mere public, Malfoy. Harry told me this morning. He told Luna as well. Hermione and I were really close, and if you've forgotten, I played a moderate part in the final battle."

Draco sighed. Who care if Longbottom knew? Draco was probably going to explain it to him anyway. As long as the general public didn't find out, they were fine.

"So Malfoy, Hermione," Longbottom continued. "How's your tour of Hogwarts going? Harry told me, but I'm pretty sure he said you were coming tomorrow. If I knew it was today, I would've brought a cake or something."

"It was going to be tomorrow, but I decided today was better," Draco shrugged. He didn't want to explain about how the manor was suffocating him.

"Fair enough," Longbottom said. He quickly snuck a look at his watch. "You guys have five minutes until class finishes. I don't know if you heard but Peeves….."

"Yeah, we heard Peeves," Draco interrupted. China probably heard Peeves.

"Well, yeah. But the whole school knows you're here. You might be mobbed."

Draco nodded absentmindedly. That was all nice, but they still needed to figure out how to get into the Gryffindor common room…

"Hey!" Draco exclaimed. Why hadn't he thought of this sooner? "Longbottom, could you get us into the common room?" All the teachers had the passwords, he'd forgotten.

"Yeah sure." Longbottom walked up to the fat lady and said, "Heroine Hermione." The portrait swung open.

Longbottom turned to them while Draco gaped. "It's the new password for today," the professor explained. Cool.

Longbottom checked his watch once more and swore. "I have to go to a meeting, so I'll leave you two here." Turning to Hermione, he finished. "I've missed you Hermione. I hope you remember why." With that, Neville Longbottom walked down a flight of stairs, and left Hermione and Draco on the landing.

Draco took Hermione's hand and led her through the portrait hole. And for the first time in seven years, Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room.

There were a couple of Gryffindors inside who were just hanging out. But as soon as they saw him and Hermione enter, they scrammed up to the door rooms. Draco breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to deal with teenagers at the moment.

The Gryffindor room looked…scarlett. Everything was scarlett. The chairs, the walls, the carpet. Everything. Draco didn't really care about the common room though. He was looking at Hermione.

The Gryffindor princess spun in a circle, taking everything in. When she finally looked back at Draco, standing by the entrance, she said, "It looks really cosy. But I don't remember anything."

Draco huffed. He was fed up. This selective memory thing was a pain in his ass. And to save his life, he couldn't figure out what Hermione had protected with the memory block. None of the memories had one single thing in common.

Suddenly, a shrill ring filled the air. Fuck. Classes were over. This means the students were walking around. In other news, they were going to be mobbed. Double fuck. But, suddenly, Draco got a genius and stupid plan. He smiled and turned to Hermione.

"Alright, Hermione," he explained quickly. "We are going to be mobbed. There is no chance of being inconspicuous. So, we are going to do the opposite. We are going to be conspicuous. Take my hand, and follow my lead."

This had to be the stupidest idea he had ever had. But, he had no other option. So, he took Hermione's hand, exited the common room, and ran through the halls screaming at the top of his lungs.

Now, this idea was not only stupid, but genius as well. They were running so fast that no one, even though there were a lot of people, could really see them well. They were screaming so loudly that everyone was too confused to chase after them. Genius.

So they ran and screamed until they made it to the grounds. Nobody followed them, and no one had the time to mob them. They ran across the suspension bridge (which had been rebuilt after Seamus had blown it up) and they ran down the sloped hill until they stopped near Hagrid's hut.

Which is when Draco realised he was an idiot.

It was still during a school day, and as much as it disturbed Draco, Hagrid was a professor. Which meant that Hagrid's hut was basically a classroom. Which meant that there were thirty students standing in front of his hut, gaping madly at Hermione and Draco as they fought to catch their breath.

However, before any of the students had a second to react, a voice boomed out from behind them. "You kids best be gettin' to the paddock. Best be leaving business here."

Hagrid looked exactly as he had seven years prior; the last time Draco had seen him. Ginormous, hairy, with beetle eyes and a gigantic smile on his face.

As his students moped away, looking back regretfully at the scene they were missing, Hagrid turned and blocked Hermione and Draco from their view.

"Hermione an' Draco, welcome back. Hermione, name's Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts. Also, professor for care o' magical creatures."

Draco started. "Potter fill you in?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Mcgonagall. She trusts me with stuff, like Dumbledore did," Draco shifted guiltily. "She sent me a letter earlier, fillin' me in. Hermione's memory's wiped. Death eaters involved. Only has a couple memories, Draco you found her in Canada. At Hogwarts tryna' stimulate some memories. How's that going by the way?"

"Not well," Draco replied morosely, as he watched a beetle crawl away on the ground.

Hagrid reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. "You'll get there. I'd love to stay an' chat, but them kids need me for class. Good luck." He pulled Hermione into a back breaking hug, set her down, and lumbered away to his class.

Draco turned to look at Hermione. She was standing there shell shocked. It probably had to do with the giant man who had just picked her up and hugged her. Draco chuckled. Hermione was just looking confused.

"Come on, Hermione," Draco laughed. "Let's go walking."

Draco clasped Hermione's hand and began to lead her around the Hogwarts grounds. He didn't have much hope in the memory stimulation left, so he was simply going to enjoy his day with Hermione.

The Hogwarts grounds, in the early afternoon sun, were beautiful. The black lake was twinkling, and the giant squid occasionally bounced up to the surface to splash about. The trees of the Forbidden forest were swaying back and forth in the breeze. Draco could see thestrals flying low over the trees, their hooves skimming the tops. Owls were swooping in and out of the owlery. There were a few students lounging under a willow by the lake, but other than that, the grounds were empty. Draco was fine with that. He wanted some time alone with her.

They walked around the grounds, chatting away simply. Draco kept on pointing out different sites, telling her the stories that went along with them. She listened with interest, and then gave her own take on what had happened. Their interaction reminded Draco of his time with Hermione back in Canada: simply, sincere, and happy.

Even with her lack of memory looming over them, Draco couldn't help enjoying the day. It was Hermione, after all. Enjoyment was easy when it came to her.

After about an hour and a half of wandering, (they had taken a break by the lake), they found themselves at the entrance to the Quidditch pitch. It was late-afternoon, so no one was using the pitch. The pitch was usually used during the evening or early morning.

Draco and Hermione found themselves in a room below the stands. They were looking around when Draco got an idea.

"Wait here a second," he said to Hermione, as he rushed to a nearby cupboard. Draco opened the cupboard door and pulled out a nimbus 2001. After the battle of Hogwarts, the nimbus corporation had donated thirty nimbuses to the school to help with reconstruction. All the old cleansweeps had been torched by death eaters. Bastards.

He grasped the broom and walked back over to Hermione. She was eyeing the nimbus with apprehension. Draco smirked. He knew Hermione wasn't a big flyer, but oh well. Sometimes, you just needed a good teacher.

"Why do you have a broom?" she asked nervously. Draco smirked and ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you trust me?" he asked softly. Hermione eyed him for a moment before answering.

"Always," she said softly, her voice sure and sincere. Draco's heart smiled, and he reached out to take her hand. She took it without thought, even though she did look a little nervous.

Draco led her out onto the pitch. A gust of wind blew through both their hair. It gave Draco a shock of excitement. He was on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. He was really home now.

Draco set the broom in the air. There it floated, bouncing up and down slowly. He took Hermione's hand and led her over. He swung a leg over the broom and motioned at her to do the same. She looked scared, but she copied him. She wrapped her arms around his waist while he grasped the handle.

"You ready for this?" he asked her. He turned his head around to face her. Her chin was resting on his shoulder. Their faces were inches apart when she responded.

"With you, I'm ready for anything," she whispered. Draco's heart skipped a beat.

Turning forward, he kicked off from the ground.

They say you've never known true happiness until you've flied a broom. Draco can testify to that. He laughed wildly as they zipped around the pitch. Hermione had tightened her grip on his waist, but she was laughing as well. Whether it was in joy or terror, he didn't know. The wind rushed through their hair as he flew them higher and higher.

"This is incredible!" Hermione shouted. Draco laughed.

"Glad you're enjoying it," he responded, as he dived down. They were gaining speed. Hermione screamed as Draco pulled up and headed back up towards the sky. He flew over the Quidditch stands and towards the lake. He dropped down low enough that Hermione could skim her hand across the surface. Draco could see her reflection in the lake: she was elated.

Draco laughed. He felt completely and utterly free. With Hermione's arms wrapped around his waist and the wind in his hair as he flew through Hogwarts, he was liberated. He was estatic. This was paradise.

He flew up above the lake and sped towards the Hogwarts castle. He felt Hermione's grip tighten.

He sped around all the turrets, under the bridges, and above the towers. He flew through the courtyards, where several students looked up in terror. He flew by the headmistress's office, where he saw Mcgonagall look up in amusement at them. He flew around Gryffindor tower, up to the astronomy tower and down over the viaduct. He flew by the windows of the library. He flew over the Transfiguration courtyard. He flew by the Herbology greenhouses, where Longbottom was teaching a lesson. He flew around the castle once more, Hermione laughing behind him. Then, he flew back towards the Quidditch pitch, finally landing them in the middle of the field.

Hermione stepped shakily off the broom, and burst out laughing. She staggered around for a moment before standing up straight. "That was amazing!" she exclaimed.

Draco laughed as well. Flying was exhilarating, that's for sure. "That's your opinion?" he asked

Hermione smiled for a moment, completely happy, but suddenly her expression changed to a different emotion . Her smile dropped, and her eyes widened.

"Hermione?" Draco asked worriedly. But his voice didn't seem to reach her. It was as if she was seeing something that wasn't there at all. Draco's heart stopped and he realized. She was seeing something that wasn't there at the moment, but had been once.

A memory.

Draco stood back in agony and he watched Hermione watch whatever memory had chosen to return. It seemed to go on forever. But suddenly, Hermione returned, and she met Draco's eyes.

"What's a mudblood?" she asked confusedly.

Draco froze on the spot. He couldn't move a muscle. The word began to bounce around his head. Mudblood. Mudblood. Mudblood. He knew immediately what day she had remembered.

It was Draco's first practice as the Slytherin Seeker. Snape had given them the pitch to practice, but Gryffindor had booked it. This resulted in an argument between to two rival teams. To show them who was superior, Draco had bragged that his father had bought them all nimbus 2001s. Hermione, who and shown up with the Weasel, had said something like, "at least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent." And Draco, for the first time, but certainly not the last, had called her a mudblood.

Thinking about that day now, Draco would give anything to take it back. That term was demeaning, disgusting, and he had actually thought it was acceptable to use. He thought that muggleborns deserved to be called that terrible word. He thought that their blood was really disgusting like mud. But, he had seen enough blood spilled in the years afterwards to know that all blood was the same. That term was meaningless, but so terrible. And he had actually called a twelve year old year that. He shuddered in guilt every time he thought about it.

And now Hermione remembered.

Fuck his life.

He swallowed hard and answered. "It's a degrading term for someone with non-magic parents."

Hermione looked at him straight. "You called me that."

Draco sighed. "I know."

Hermione just looked confused. "Why?"

Draco opened his mouth but no sound escaped it. Hermione eyed him, but took a step forward.

"Why did you call me that, Draco? It obviously was a terrible thing to say. I understand that we didn't get along. I understand that you sat by and watched me get tortured. But that was to save yourself. You had nothing to gain from calling me that word. Nothing at all. So why did you say it?"

"Because I wanted power," Draco interrupted. Hermione's eyes widened. Draco sighed. She deserved the truth. "At home, I felt powerless. My father was a bastard, there's no other way to explain it. When I got to Hogwarts, I became a bully to feel powerful. Then I met you. You were a muggleborn, in my mind you were supposed to be weak. But you weren't. You were strong. And it angered me. How could you be so strong, when I was the pureblood? It was wrong. So I used that word. I used it to weaken you, and strengthen me. And it worked. I felt powerful. Until I thought about it. I wasn't powerful at all. I was weak, who used a mean word to feel superior. Mudblood. What does that even mean? Nothing. It means nothing. Nothing at all. And, like everything in my life, I realize that way too late. I'm so sorry. So very sorry. I'm just a coward, Hermione."

Hermione, throughout his monologue, listened intensely. By the end, her eyes were widened in shock. He didn't know why, but he always spilled his soul out to Hermione. He felt naked. Scratch that. He would be more comfortable if he was naked. He was more comfortable with his body than his emotions. And yet, where Hermione was concerned, he laid them all out for her to see.

Hermione took a couple of steps forward, so that she was standing directly in front of him. She then took his face in her hands, slowly yet surely. Her hands were soft and warm. Draco was sure his face was in flames. Hermione looked him directly in the eye when she spoke. Her voice was steady.

"You are NOT a coward," she whispered. "You are the bravest man I've ever known." Then, without a second of hesitation, she brought his lips down onto hers.

Draco stood there in shock. Hermione Granger was kissing him. Again. Old Draco would've pushed her off in disgust. But, then again, he wasn't the old Draco.

Without resistance, he wrapped his arms around her while she wrapped hers around his neck. Her lips were warm and sure. Draco kissed her back with enthusiasm, pulling her as close as they could be without being naked, which Draco wouldn't particularily mind. The passion was building between them.

Who was he kidding? The passion had been building between them since Canada. Maybe even before then. Draco had just been ignoring it. Looking at Hermione had made his mouth dry since the Yule Ball. Stopping himself from acting on it was like pulling an elastic to its breaking point. The more you pull it, the more it snaps back. And when it finally breaks, everything happened so fast and so fully.

This was the elastic snapping back.

Draco and Hermione were devouring each other, making each other really feel the passion, as if they couldn't feel it before. Draco was surprised they hadn't burst into flame yet.

Hermione suddenly jumped up and wrapped her legs around Draco's waist, holding herself there. She was so light that Draco barely had to hold her up. Instead, Draco's hand moved to her back.

Draco's hands ripped through the fabric of her robes, trying to get as close as possible. They were now on the bare skin of her back. He was pushing her into him and they devoured each other. It was as though magic was forcing them together: a magnetic pull. Hermione reached her hands and ripped open his robes. Her hands felt every inch of his chest. Draco had no problem with this.

Draco had lost track of time. With Hermione wrapped around him like this, he didn't really care. They could've been out there for decades and Draco wouldn't have minded or noticed.

However, they were almost past pg-13 level. Draco suddenly remembered they were at Hogwarts and they couldn't actually do it on the Quidditch pitch, no matter how hot that would be. It was one of his teenage fantasies. So, it was with regret that he pulled back.

Hermione unwrapped her legs from around his waist and set them back on the ground. Then she looked up at him and smiled. Draco took his hand and put a piece of her hair behind her ear. Merlin, she was beautiful.

Hermione put her head on his chest, and whispered something that Draco couldn't hear. No bother, Draco wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, planting a kiss on the top of her head.

He had been wrong. Flying around Hogwarts wasn't paradise. This was.

However, Draco was so involved in his paradise that he didn't see a beetle crawling away.

You know what to do...