25. The Witch at the Gate

                                    

                                          
The next morning came and Hermione had slept barely two hours at a time. Draco had been true to his word and tried to be there for her. He had been making sure that there were glasses of water and cups of tea for her as well as water biscuits. They seemed to be helping more than anything else he tried. It had been shortly after dawn that she had finally fallen asleep in his arms, him watching her as she slept.

In his thoughts he tried to remember the plan he had made to introduce her to her parents without causing too much of a shock for her. He wasn't quite sure as to how to make contact without rousing suspicion. He could pretend to be at the Forest Commission on business. No, wouldn't work. Casually meeting her father over lunch? What, if he ate at his desk? Another one with too many possible pitfalls. Where were they staying again? He tried to remember, but the night had been too long for him and he fell asleep before his brains realised it.

Hermione woke with a strange feeling in her gut. She tried to wake up fully, but something seemed to be hell bent on keeping her in a dreamlike state. She saw herself in a town she didn't know, She stood on the right hand side pavement next to a busy road. The street followed a steep hill down. She walked down until she reached a street leading off the main road on the right. There was a large sign across the pavement in about ten feet height. She looked at it. It was a traffic sign. It mentioned Town centre, Bo'ness and Lanark. And there on the hillside in the garden at the corner was another sign with a coat of arms and the words "Royal Borough of Linlithgow". She had never been in this place. She didn't even know, if it was real or not. Then she was suddenly in a small restaurant. Draco was sitting across from her. She looked around and froze. Her parents were sitting at the table next to them. Her mother smiled at her.

Draco woke suddenly. Something had kicked him, hard. Had he heard somebody calling his name? He wasn't sure. As he tried to open his eyes he found them rather reluctant to obey him, when they finally did he could see the mother to his child sitting next to him. She was looking wide eyed at him. There was fear and excitement in her gaze. She had her hands firmly over her mouth as if trying to prevent herself from screaming.

"Hermione? What's happened?"

He sat up gently placing a hand on her back.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly. Then she looked directly into his eyes.

"I know, where they are."

"What? Who?"

He was still far too asleep to understand what she was on about.

"My parents. I put a spell on them so that it would be really difficult to track them using magic."

For a moment he thought himself lucky that he had used the Muggle channels to find them. Or Potter had in any case.

"So how did you find them just now?"

"I dreamt about them."

He groaned and sunk back onto his pillow. How had she been able to keep awake long enough to have even one coherent thought with this kind of sleep deprivation? He was feeling like he hadn't slept for a week and she was all bright, awake and... His mind slipped away from reality.

Hermione looked at him. He had fallen asleep. He had actually fallen asleep before she had the chance to tell him about her dream.

"Draco?"

He shot up.

"What?"

She looked at him. His eyes were half closed and it seemed a strain for him to try and keep them open. He looked absolutely adorable. She slowly reached for his face.

"I know, where my parents are."

"So do I."

He hadn't intended to say that. He hadn't indented to say anything. It had just slipped out.

"You do?"

He sighed. Time to wake up and get that fuzzy brain of his into gear.

"Yes. I had Potter track them in Australia, but that is not where they are."

Her eyes widened in shock. Why were they not in Australia any more? She had sent them there in order to make sure, that they were as far away from Voldemort and his Death Eaters as possible. What had happened to them? Where were they? She had assumed, that the town she had seen had been somewhere Down Under. Then again... This when did they have Royal Boroughs in Australia?

"Where are they?" she whispered.

"In Scotland."

There was an unbelieving stare trained on him. He sighed and shuffled closer to her so that he could hold he in his arms. She willingly snuggled against him. His eyes were closed as he looked for words to tell her what he had discovered and what he had originally planned. It took quite a while, but Hermione seemed to be contend to just hold onto him.

"Can I tell you something about myself?"

She drew back to look at him. Confession time, was it?

"Sure. You can tell me anything."

His eyes told her she better meant that as what might be coming might not be would she wanted to hear. She waited. He sighed.

"I grew up with a lot of family traditions, like arranged marriages, separate bedrooms, the honour and pride to be a member of the Malfoy family, no inheriting children born out off wedlock..."

His eyes were surveying her face. No shock, no contempt, no misgiving was visible. She smiled at him. Did she realise what he wanted to tell her?

"Hermione, I have been doing a lot of thinking and even more dreaming about you during the last year. There have been thoughts about you wanting to be here with me. There have also been dreams about having a family with you. Though I wanted for you to get to know me first, before we started thinking about a family. I wanted to date you. Take you for long walks, surprise you with romantic diners and maybe be allowed to share your love for books. I wanted to do everything right with you, but school never allowed me to do any of these things. I was constantly watched by everybody. Suspicion was following me everywhere. If I had so much as tried to talk to you, Potter and Weasley would have been at my throat with their wands."

He sighed again.

"I had only that one evening with you, but it was the best evening of my life. I know you are suffering for it now not me. When you slept... I was making plans. I was so happy I forgot everything else around me. You were with me. A dream came true. Somewhere in my heart I was hoping that, if you were happy to make love to me, you might also be happy to... to..."

He couldn't say it. His courage left him. How could she not know, that he wanted her to be his wife?

Soft fingers were gently touching his face.

"Draco? I am more than happy to be with you. I was surprised when you found me. I was even more surprised when you kissed me. I have been doing a lot of thinking while I was at Harry's. I found myself wondering where it had all gone wrong with Ron. I kept seeing you with tussled hair and love filled eyes. You made me feel like I had never felt before."

Her thumb stroked over his cheek.

"There are still moments when I think, that this is all one big charade..."

Her fingers silenced him, before he could protest.

"I know it is not, but my heart is so wary. I care for you more than I ever cared for Ron. I want to really date you. It might just be a bit... I don't know. We are living together..."

"You want to move back to Harry?" His voice a strangled whisper.

"No. I want to be here with you. It's what feels right. You feel right. Can you understand, that I am a bit afraid of waking up and it was all just a dream?"

He nodded. It was a constant fear in his life.

"I have never really thought about what would happen to me and Ron after we graduated. It seemed all so predictable. We would share rooms at the Burrow, try to get close, make..."

She looked at him. The words were wrong. She would have never really made love to Ron. It would have been... She frowned. Sex? Probably. Intimate physical interaction, but never really making love. She made love to Draco. And Draco alone.

"Draco... I don't think, I'll ever be able to make love to any other man every again, even if I wanted to. You are my love. I can do it only with you."

She looked at him a bit shocked by her admission. He had a big grin on his face.

"It's the same for me, you know. Though there is..."