A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you guys liked the last chapter. Thank you so much for 4k+ views. It means a lot. So they finally kissed. I have been waiting to write that chapter for so long, because of the mystery and the ending. Also, I know Draco blaming Hermione in the last chapter was not fair, but you need to keep in mind that in that scene, Draco was already struggling with the talk with his mind, and also the possibility of Hermione leaving England. Besides, Hermione mentioned in the letter that she had to keep this hidden from him, but he doesn't know that Astoria had forbidden her from telling him. Read the A/N at the end to find out when the next chapter will be out. On with the chapter! 

Hermione didn't know who moved first.

Draco didn't know why he didn't pull away.

But a second later, Hermione leaned up and Draco leaned up, and their lips touched.

The two felt at home as they kissed each other. Something they haven't felt in a long time. 

That kiss, it felt really familiar, yet foreign to Draco. Perhaps it was because she had been his first ever kiss during eighth year which had made him feel loved. 

His first kiss had been because of a dare. During his second year, he had been dared to kiss Pansy, and so he had kissed her for two reasons. 

First, he had never been the one to back out from a challenge, no matter what the challenge or the dare was. So he did not think twice before kissing Pansy. 

And secondly, Draco knew that if he backed out, then the other Slytherins would make fun of him and call him a coward, and no doubt, that news of him being called a coward would reach his parents, and his father would not be happy with him.

Malfoys do not get scared, Lucius had once told him when a five year old Draco had refused to climb the tree because he was scared. 

And when the five year old Draco had fallen down on the ground while coming down the tree, his father had scolded him when he had cried. 

Since then, Draco had learnt to control his emotions whenever he was in front of Lucius, so you can say that he had learned Occlumency from a very young age, in his own way, of course.

And as he had already learned Occlumency before even coming to Hogwarts, he had no problem in learning Legilimency as well.

The second last time he had cried in front of his father was the summer before sixth year. When he had been given the mark under duress.

But at that time, his mother was crying and not even looking at him as she was begging both Voldemort and Bellatrix to stop, and his father was too busy supporting and holding his mother because she looked as if she could collapse any moment then.

His father didn't get to confront him after Draco had fainted from the pain, because by the time he had woken up, Voldemort had sent Lucius back to Azkaban, and removed the imposter, who had been placed there for a few hours because the Dark Lord had wanted Lucius to see his son suffering.

A punishment he deserved, were the Dark Lord's exact words. And that is why, he won't be rescued from Azkaban just yet. I want to see him break down.

And well Lucius had been released, his and Draco's relationship had become estranged. Draco hadn't talked more than a few words with him for years, that is, before Lucius had explained everything to him a few months ago. 

And for as the last time he had cried in front of his father, was when Draco had been tortured by both Voldemort and Bellatrix for a month after he had failed to kill Dumbledore. 

For a minute, the Dark Lord had even thought about having Greyback turn Draco into a werewolf, to punish him even further, and also because then the Malfoys won't ever be able to show their pride anymore, because then their blood line won't ever be pure. 

It was only because his Godfather, Snape, had stepped in and had instead told Voldemort a plan about attacking a Order safe house that Draco had not been turned into a werewolf. 

But that didn't stop Greyback from threatening Draco every day until the Battle of Hogwarts, and the werewolf still haunted the ex Slytherin Prince in his nightmares. 

After that, Draco had started respecting Remus Lupin, and had even apologised to his aunt Andromeda Tonks. 

Draco was brought back from his memories when he felt Hermione sliding her other hand up his chest, and resting it on his shoulder, little away from where his scar started.

His Sectumsempra scar.

Thanks Potter, the blond would think whenever he saw his scar, for this gift. You were lucky that I didn't kill you that time.

That thought continued, Or stopped my mother from coming to Hogwarts that is, you do know how scary she can be.

And nobody, not even Granger or Voldemort would have been able to save you from Narcissa Malfoy's wrath, Draco had once told the Boy Who Lived.

You will forever be in my debt, Potter. And you still haven't apologised properly to me for almost killing me, Draco never failed to remind Harry of that fact whenever they talked about their time at Hogwarts.

Hermione's hand gently played with the hair on the nape of his neck, just as a bunch of memories, mostly painful, came swirling back in his mind. 

And in no particular order.

I am so sorry for doing this, love.

I will never stop loving you, Draco. Never ever. No matter what happens. No matter who is against us.

She will be killed, Draco! Your muggle born girlfriend will be killed by them.

I can't do this to her. To us.

I hope you forgive me someday, and just know that I will never stop loving you.

I haven't even told my favourite best friend how much I love you, Draco.

I love her, Astoria!

Father, please.

Happy six month anniversary, love.

So just stop thinking that you don't deserve me, and let me love you. Please, Draco?

You are too pure for me, Granger.

I-I can't live without her, Tori.

We will have to fake date, okay? Just act like we are a real couple and all, you know? Specially whenever Granger is around us.

I will never forget our love, okay? I will never forget 'us', even if you have to.

Please forgive me, Mia, for this. But it is for your own good.

This is our first OFFICIAL date, Mia. You have been my girlfriend for three days now.

Where are we going, Draco?

I will plan nothing, but the best for my girlfriend.

I wish we didn't have to hide this, love. I wish we could be like any other normal couple out there.

I will let her be in love with me for one more night.

I love you, Draco, so much.

I wish you didn't.

I wish we could be here, like this. Forever.

Sometimes you have to do the things you don't want to. The things you have never dreamt of doing. And that's when you will realise how it feels like to have no choice. That's when you will realise why I had to become a Death Eater and could not  even think about joining the order.

You're the only one I will ever love, Granger. If it's not you, it's not anyone.

Looking back on my life, you are the only good I have ever done, love. I can't ever imagine living without you.

I have lived forever with you in the span of a few months.

As long as you love me, we could be starving, we could be homeless, we could be broke. As long as you love me, I will be your platinum, I will be your silver, I will be your gold. 

My love for you is habitual. Not for a moment, but forever. 

You still intimidate me, Granger. 

Could you be here with me, forever ever ever?  Would you be here with me, forever ever ever? 

I have never been a patient person before. I still am not. But for you, Granger, I will do anything. And if waiting means being able to be with you, then I will wait for the rest of my life for you, Granger. 

If it is ten thousand hours or the rest of my life, I am gonna love you.

I have to push her away from me, Blaise. You don't understand, as much as she will be close to me, that much danger she will be in.

Even if you don't remember us, love, I will. Even if you won't ever look at me in that same way again, I will cherish the look which was once there.

I hope you will forgive me someday, Mia. That you will find it in yourself to cherish our time together, which was albeit short, but enough to last several lifetimes.

You will forget us, Mia. You have to. And the sad thing is, you will never realise how beautiful our relationship was, in your sappy words, of course. You will never realise what you were missing. 

Secondly, we also need to look into Black family history, They were known to be great potioneers, and there should be something useful.

Look, I need to go now. Draco is heading towards me, and I need to hide this from him.

You two are just hurting each other's feelings by pretending to not have feelings for each other. I know why you are hesitating to confess your feelings, Draco-

Then I will make her hate me. I will act like the same prat I was in Hogwarts towards her, and then I don't see how she will still love me. 

Being in love once, with you, was, and will always be, more than enough for me. Our memories are enough to last forever, Tori. 

I have betrayed you. 

I will never forgive you for this, Granger. 

If this is what forever feels like, then I can't wait to spend it with you, Draco. 

Are you sure you want to spend forever with me, Granger? It won't be easy. 

We might still be in Hogwarts, but I have never been more sure in my life about something before, Draco. And I don't care what the people would say. You are with me, and that's all what matters. So yes, I want to be with you. I want to spend forever with you, and not just in this lifetime. 

You are my forever, Granger. You always have been, and you will always be. 

I have never known what it's like to be in love before, Mia. I thought it wasn't possible for me to love someone, because I was tainted and broken. But of course, then you decided to be with me, Granger. And I fell for you despite you being an annoying know it all. 

I love you, Tori, so much. 

I love you, Granger, forever and ever. 

"Granger!" Draco nearly yelled as he pulled away from her. From their kiss. He looked at his daughter when he heard her turning in her bed, and sighed. 

Not giving Hermione a chance to say anything, he grabbed her hand and led her towards his room, ignoring his best friend when she tried to ask him what he was trying to do.

As soon as he reached his room, he led Hermione inside, shut the door behind her and cast a one way Muffliato around them, so that Athy, or even anyone else won't be able to hear them, but they would be able to hear his daughter, or someone else if he or she comes to his house. 

"I will ask you one thing, Granger, and I want you to answer it honestly." Draco said in a low voice as he turned towards her. "Don't even think about lying to me." 

He continued, "Do you have feelings for me, Granger?" 

Hermione was shocked. She was not expecting him to ask her that question. 

"W-what? What do you mean by that question?"

"Granger, you are the Brightest Witch of Your Age. Surely you know what I meant by that question. So tell me, do you have feelings for me? Because I certainly think that you do."

Her jaw dropped. How in the world did he figure that out?

If it were any other situation than this, she would have probably laughed at him for making such a weird assumption, or would have congratulated him on understanding her so perfectly. But this moment was not a funny one in any sense.

When she still didn't answer, Draco said, "Let me tell you how I found that out. Remember the day we went to Potter's office to discuss a report and I had forgotten my wand there?"

She nodded. She wouldn't have remembered that day, if Draco's actions after that wouldn't have made her feel weird or if he had not ignored her. 

Hermione's eyes widened as she realised what he was going to say.

"I assume by your reaction that you realised my point." He crossed his arms in front of him. "I had gone back there to get my wand. Imagine my surprise when I heard that my best friend had a crush on me." 

Hermione avoided his eyes when took a step towards her. He placed a finger under her chin to make her look at him. "Do you still have feelings for me, Granger?"

No answer.

"Do you have feelings for me?"

Still, no answer. 

"Answer me, Hermione!" Draco exclaimed. "Do you-"

"I do." She finally said. "I do have feelings for you, Draco." When he didn't say anything, Hermione decided to tell him the exact truth. "I-I have loved you since our eighth year, Draco, but I swear, I moved on from you when I came back here and whatever I said in Harry's office was just a joke, nothing more. B-but after that, during these past few months, I-I fell for you again."

There were only two outcomes now. Either he was going to say that he loved her as well, which didn't seem likely because of his expression. 

Or he was going to tell her to pack her bags and leave because he couldn't stand to look at her anymore, and he sure as well didn't want to be with her.

 Before he could reply, Hermione added, "But Draco, I didn't think you as anything else other than my best friend from the moment I learnt that you were married-"

"I don't believe you." He scoffed and turned away from her.

"Draco, I am telling you the truth! I don't know how else should I prove it except using veritaserum which we don't have right now, so we will have to go the Ministry-"

"You are a liar." Draco cut her off. "Even with veritaserum you will be able to lie, because you are an expert, aren't you? You are lying when you say that you moved on from me just like you lied to me about Astoria's blood curse."

Her eyes widened. Blood curse? He knew about that? But how-

"Yes, Granger, I know about the blood curse." Draco said, cutting her train of thoughts. "And it's all thanks to you that I found the letters you and Tori had sent to each other, otherwise I wouldn't have ever known that she had the curse, because I don't think that you would have ever told me, am I right, Granger?"

Hermione gulped. "Draco, I am really sorry I didn't tell you, but it wasn't my place to say-"

"And not just that." He let out a humourless laugh. "You saw me torturing myself, hurting myself because I thought that it was my fault that Astoria left us. I thought it was because I failed her when it was actually you. It was because of you that she left me- she left all of us, because you didn't tell me."

"Draco, please-"

"And you didn't even tell me after she left this world, did you? We were even researching a case about Blood Malediction a few months ago and then too, you didn't tell me that my wife had that too, and I had no idea about that. How could you do this to me, Granger? How could you do this to the man you claim to love? How dare you take her away from me?"

"Draco, I swear I never wanted to do that. I-I was happy for you! I was happy for the both of you. I knew how much you two love each other-"

"Yet you killed her." He whispered. "You killed her, Granger! You are the reason she is not here today." 

Hermione shook her head, and he could see tears glistening in her eyes.

He was breaking her.

Draco was hurting her, and he couldn't be more ashamed or disgusted of himself.

Be cruel to her, he reminded himself. You have to be cruel to her otherwise she would never hate you.

Hurt her so she could move on from you and live a happy life which wouldn't include you in any sense because you will only hurt her if you be with her, a voice inside him said. 

"You are a killer, Granger." He hissed. "And I wish I had never met you."

"Y-you don't mean that-"

"Don't I?" He smirked at her. "I do, Granger. You have done nothing but hurt me, and you are still doing that." Draco turned his back on her. "Leave."

"Draco-"

"I said leave!"

Hermione closed her eyes and nodded, even though he couldn't see her. HE heard her crying softly as she unlocked the door and left his room.

"DAMN IT!" Draco screamed and punched the wall in anger. Not bothering to react to the pain, he continued punching the wall until his hand became numb. "I am sorry." He whispered and slid down the wall. "I-I am so sorry, Hermione. I wish I didn't have to do this."

He silently summoned a photo frame he had hidden in his trunk. It was a photo of their kiss during their accidental date, which he had taken while viewing that memory in the pensieve in his house when Hermione had gone to Australia.

"But love," His voice cracked as he rested his fingers on top of her photo, "I am not worthy of your love. I never was. And I know that you would never understand this, but I have to do this. I can't taint your life anymore, Hermione, and me being in your lie would only cause you pain."

He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. "I hope you will forgive me someday. And that you will understand why I had to do this."

That night, Hermione had surely been hurt. He had certainly caused her pain. But she would never know that he had to ruin his own happiness to let her have a life without him. Hermione would never know that after she left, Draco was crying because he would never get to be with her, to love her forever.

But of course, you should never underestimate the power of love.

(A/N: Please please don't hate me or Draco much. I swear, it will be revealed very soon why Draco did this, properly in the next chapter. That said, Forever will have a Dramione ending. So please tolerate this angst for a few chapters, for me.)

---------

Next day......

Hermione grimaced as her back hurt when she woke up that morning. And then her eyes widened when she realised she wasn't in her room.

She looked down to see a photo of her and Draco in her hands, when they had kissed during their accidental date, and she had taken that picture while viewing that memory in the pensieve the day after that itself, and had kept it in her trunk in the attic. 

Unknown to her, a certain blond wizard who was also her best friend, had slept in the same way, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall while clutching that very same photo close to his chest.

And Draco also had tear stains on his cheeks when he woke up, just like Hermione, for both of them had cried themselves to sleep.

"W-what am I doing here?" She asked herself. Then she thought about last night. "I had just left my room when I heard a sound and saw Draco there and then-"

She stopped when she remembered what had happened.

Draco coming home late.

Them talking in Athy's room.

Draco and her kissing each other.

And then the fight.

"Oh Godric." Hermione groaned and stood up from the floor. "What was I even thinking? Kissing him like that?"

While she knew that it had happened in the spur of the moment, she couldn't help but feel guilty. Of course, whatever Draco had accused of afterwards just added on to that.

If it were someone else, they would have likely punched Draco for the way he spoke. But Hermione knew that he wasn't like that. He would never falsely accuse anyone, because he very well knew how it felt like to be the accused, having years of experience, of course.

Why had he acted like that? She wondered. What went wrong, Draco? What happened to you?

Even if she was really hurt by what he had said last night, she would try to talk with him. She would ask him why he had done that. 

But even if she was confused by all of this, one thing was clear to her.

She couldn't stay here any longer. Every day, when she would pass by the portrait room, she would feel guilty when Astoria would smile at her, and all the ex Gryffindor could think about was how she was in love with Draco, who had once been Astoria's.

She had to move on from him.

Draco definitely didn't think of her in that way, he had made it pretty clear last night. And the fact that he knew now that she loved him, would perhaps be the cause of them staying away from each other.

Why can't I move on from him? It's been years. It is pathetic that I am still in love with him, she thought.

It is not pathetic, her mind answered. Love is the most beautiful and also the purest thing in this world. There is nothing wrong with being in love with someone.

And then there is the fact that I know I would never love someone else in the way I love Draco, she thought.

As she looked at the photo in her hands, she knew she had to stop thinking like this. She couldn't afford to think like this if she wanted to get rid of her feelings she had for Draco.

And she knew what the first step for that process would be.

Hermione Granger had to go back to Australia. 

---------

"Draco?" Hermione called him as soon she saw him coming down the stairs. Athy had already eaten her breakfast and so was playing with her Dragons in the living room.

He didn't listen to her.

Hermione sighed and grabbed his arm, turning him towards her. "Draco, listen to me. We have to talk-"

"No, we don't." He hissed, keeping his voice low to prevent his daughter from listening to their conversation.

Not that she would be able to understand it anyways. 

But she had heard their conversation before, and aside from repeating a few words all day, she had also told James about what her father and his best friend were talking about and the little wizard had in turn told his father.

Harry had smirked at Draco when the latter's eyes had widened after the ex Gryffindor had told him what he had heard from James that day.

From then on, Draco had either learnt to put Muffliato around him and Hermione whenever they talked, or kept his voice low.

"What is done, is done. And I would appreciate it if you would stop bringing it up again and again." Draco told her. "And now, I am getting late for work-"

"You aren't getting late for work." Hermione snapped. She had had enough of this excuse. "It is not even eight o'clock yet and we don't have to go to the Ministry until ten o'clock. So, you will sit right here and listen to me, or so help me, Draco Malfoy, nobody would be able to stop me from hexing you."

Draco scoffed, but did as she said. After all, even if he wouldn't admit it aloud, a part of him. a very small part according to him, was still scared of her.

"Right." Hermione crossed her arms in front of him but remained standing. She knew they had to talk about what had happened, specially the kiss. "Look, whatever happened last night in Athy's room, was just a mistake. We both were pretty tired because of our work, specially you, and we were discussing a topic which was painful for the both of us. And then the kiss..... it just happened. It was nobody's fault. The kiss was just a spur of the moment-"

"Oh please, Granger." He snorted. "We both know that you just needed a reason to kiss me."

"What?" She asked him. Was he freaking serious right now?

"Tut tut, Granger. How long will it take for you to understand a simple message? I know you have feelings for me, you literally told me last night that you loved me, so don't try to excuse that kiss as just a spur of the moment."

"Oh Godric, Draco." She groaned. "Not everything revolves around you. If I had wanted to kiss you, or to be with you, I would have told you about my feelings a long time back. In fact, if that was the case, then I wouldn't have ever left England in the first place-"

"Oh please, don't even start on that." He shook his head. "You have no idea how I was feeling at that time. You have no idea how hurt I was. So don't try to say as if you did me a favor by leaving."

This was a dangerous topic, he knew that. A little slip of the tongue on his part, and Hermione would know that he had loved her then, and he loved her now.

"Draco, I had to leave! I was not happy about that decision either. But at that moment, it was the only choice that seemed sensible to me. I have told you what had happened and how it affected me yet you are still saying-"

"Because unlike you, I didn't break my promise." 

"I had to! I had to do that because if I hadn't, you would have suffered." 

"Tsk, tsk. Joke's on you, idiot. In case you hadn't noticed, I am still suffering, even if it's been years." Draco let out a humourless laugh. 

(A/N: Do these lines seem familiar? They are the ones which have been mentioned in the description of this story, and no, at that time, I had no idea that those lines will be used in these scene.)

He continued, "And pray tell me, how did you going away after what you did, and breaking the promise of never leaving me, stopped me from suffering?" 

"Because if anybody had gotten to know about that, then they would have never believed that it was all my fault, and mine alone. Not anyone else's. And you know how Rita wrote that article that you probably had me under the Imperius Curse because I would never be with you with under my free will. They would have made you a villain, Draco, when you didn't even do anything. And you know what the Wizengamot will think. They would never believe that I had done that. That I, Hermione Granger, would have committed a crime because apparently I was flawless. It was only when I ran away that they suspected me." 

Draco shook his head. "Granger..... you going away hurted me much more than them suspecting me would have ever had. I was used to that. I am used to being called a suspect, it's happening even now with this case, isn't it? So no, you leaving did not make me suffer less, if anything, it only made me even more upset."

Before she could say anything else, he got up from the chair. "Don't presume to know everything about me, because you clearly don't, even after years of being my best friend. If you knew me even a little bit, you know that you were more important to me than anything else. You were far more precious to me than me proving my innocence everytime, because some people would never believe that." 

"And you know what?" Draco continued. "I don't give a damn what they think about me. So the next time, Granger, think twice before making a decision that you apparently have to take because of me."

Without another word, he picked up his bag, kissed his daughter's forehead and flooed to the Ministry of Magic. 

Hermione kept staring at the fireplace even when it had been minutes since he left, and was only pulled out of her trance when Athy walked towards her, and grabbed her hand to ask her something.

Probably to accio her favorite toy, the ferret plushie, which was, much to Draco's chagrin, still loved by his daughter.

He had hoped that she would have grown tired of it by now so he would be able to throw it out of his house. On second thought, Draco would have liked to throw it on Harry's face, in front of everyone, and have someone record that moment.

Hermione silently wondered about what Draco had said as she cleaned the dishes. Had she really made a mistake in running away?

At that time, she had thought that she was only doing it for herself, and for Draco as well. But she had not taken the hurt he would feel in consideration.

She wondered what her life had been like if she hadn't run away.

Draco would have gone with her to Australia after they graduated to find her parents, like he had promised her.

She would have been present at his wedding and would have likely gotten to know about Astoria's blood curse early, and would have confided in Draco. 

Maybe her brunette friend would still be here.

And maybe, Hermione would have been with someone too. Someone who loved her, and also accepted and understood what she did, like Draco had done.

There it was again. Her thinking about him every time.

Not allowing herself to think about him anymore, she started getting ready for work.

There was no point in thinking about what ifs anyways, especially not when Hermione didn't have the time turner with her anymore.

----------

"HERMIONE GRANGER! OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT NOW!" Harry yelled as he knocked for the fifth time on Hermione's office door, and she still didn't open.

And then he smiled sheepishly at the people who walked past him, few of whom were glaring at him for disturbing them.

"So that you can come inside and disturb me again by talking about useless topics while I am working?" Came back Hermione's reply. "Like bloody hell not."

"Draco Malfoy is a useless topic? I didn't know that." Harry smirked to himself. "But yes, he is useless. Where is ferret when you need him?"

As he saw Carissa, Hermione and Draco's secretary, coming towards her desk and sitting down, he decided to try his luck and persuade her to give him the key to open the door..

Or more like, he would use his Chosen One Card. Been a long time since he did that anyways.

"Hey Carissa." Harry plastered a smile on his face as he walked towards her. "How are you this morning?"

"Uh- Mr Potter!" She exclaimed, she still wasn't used to him talking casually with her, even if he had done that a few times. It wasn't that she fancied him or something, she just hated the attention she got from other workers when they spotted her talking with him. "I-I am fine, thank you. How are you?"

"Oh no need for those formalities, Carissa. I have told you so many times to call me Harry. Just Harry."

"Okay just Harry." She smirked.

And once she started talking, she wouldn't shy away from speaking like this. One of the many reasons Hermione and Draco liked her as their secretary, she was like their friend at times.

He shook his head and laughed. "Well to answer your question, I am great. But in need of help right now, think you can help me?"

"Sure. So what do you need help with?"

"Do you know where Draco is? I have searched the whole level of DMLE, but nobody knows where he is."

"Yeah I do. Caleb called me-"

"Caleb who?"

"My boyfriend-"

"Oh right, I remember the confusion that had happened. Draco told me how he thought that Caleb was dating Hermione and you were living in his house and all that-"

"Yes, that incident." Carissa crossed her arms in front of her. She didn't like being interrupted, even if the person in front of her was Harry Potter. "So as I was saying, Caleb called me and said that he was going to Blaise's house, where Mr Malfoy was coming as well."

"Are you kidding me? Bloody git." Harry said through gritted teeth. "Here we are working hard and there he is, leaving his job to have a chat with his friends-"

"Oh no, I can assure you that he hasn't gone there to do that. Mr Malfoy told me yesterday that he would probably meet his friends today to ask them if they could call the French and Italian Ministers of Magic here, as they both have connections there. Minister Shacklebolt wanted to talk with them, right?"

"Right." He nodded and facepalmed himself.

"Anyways, don't tell Draco what I said about him. He will have my head."

"Of course." Carissa smiled, and Harry wasn't sure what to interpret of that. "So was that all you needed to ask me? I have to work right now, you know?"

"Oh no, see I forgot all about the real matter because of that blonde ferret-"

"Ferret?"

"Nevermind. A story for another time." Harry grinned, thinking how Draco will react to his secretary knowing that he was once turned into a ferret. "Right. Now for the matter I actually came here. Can you lend me the magical key which will open Hermione and Draco's office? I know Draco has one, but since he isn't here, I would have to use the one you have, to open the door. And Hermione is being a stubborn and idiotic witch and is refusing to open the door."

"Then she clearly doesn't want to speak with you." Carissa said bluntly. When she looked horrified at her tone, and started to apologise, he stopped her.

"No need. According to me, people who aren't afraid to speak their mind are actually the people who succeed." Harry smiled at her. "Anyways, she isn't opening the door because she thinks I am just going to waste her time, but I want to talk to her about something really important."

"Well Mr Potter..... if she isn't opening the door, then I don't think I should be giving you the key-"

"You have to, Carissa, please understand. It's an urgent matter. You have to give me the key."

"And why is that?" 

"Because I am the Chosen One." He smiled lopsidedly at her. When she narrowed her eyes at him, he added, "Look, you give me the key and come with me. If she still doesn't want to speak with me, then we will just leave."

She thought for a moment and then nodded. Doing as he said, Carissa opened the door. "I am so sorry, Miss Granger, but you know how Mr Potter is."

Harry smiled sheepishly at the two of them. "Look, before you throw me out, Hermione. I need your help with a case. I need Draco's help too-"

Hermione's head snapped up to look at him. Harry didn't know about the argument that she and Draco had had. And she wasn't going to tell him.

He will just go and tell everyone else.

Freaking nosey people, who only had one intention.

To bring her and Draco together. 

How did they all even know that she had feelings for him? 

And what about Draco? He didn't have feelings for her. 

"-but since he is somewhere else right now, working on something, you will have to come with me. It's urgent."

Hermione sighed and nodded. He led her to the Ministry cell which had been built a few months back, and opened the door. She gasped as soon as she saw who were standing behind the one way mirror inside the room.

"Death Eaters?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Caught them an hour back. They were planning an attack, and one of them accidentally stepped inside the wards which detect any Dark Magic being used outside the Hogwarts castle. Thankfully, we haven't told the Prophet about the wards that Draco had just erected so nobody had any idea about that."

"Do you know if they are the real Death Eaters and not just imposters?"

"What?" Harry asked. In his hurry of solving the case, he hadn't thought about that, as this case was taking a toll on everyone.

"Draco told me in our eighth year that every Death Eaters' mask is different. There is a very small design on the side, and it is only visible with a spell. Also, if you have served Voldemort for more than two and a half years, you will get a small dark mark tattoo on your neck, that is, if you still believe in the cause after serving that many years. But it can only be visible if you use a spell."

"That's why Lucius doesn't have any mark except his Azkaban number tattooed on his neck. And Draco had only been a Death Eater for a little less than two years. And these captured Death Eaters said that they have been serving Voldemort since 1995."

Hermione nodded. "Unfortunately, only former Death Eaters, who truly believed in the cause can use that spell."

"Only Lucius will be able to help us, because I don't know any other Death Eater who once believed in the cause and will be willing to help us. But he is under probation, and it will take more than 2 weeks to remove the spell on his wand which will allow him to use the spell Draco mentioned." Harry sighed.

"So we will have to wait 2 weeks?"

Harry nodded. "We can't do anything before then, well except trying to interrogate these idiots but I don't think they will say anything except glorifying Voldemort. And we can't use Veritaserum until the Wizengamot gives us permission."

With a resigned sigh, the two left the room, not noticing a certain person who was smirking at them while deciding to go and tell their leader about the plan.

--------

Two weeks later.....

It had been two weeks.

Two weeks since they had kissed.

Two weeks since they had fought.

Two weeks of ignoring each other.

Two weeks of their friends constantly asking them what had happened because the two refused to talk to each other.

Two weeks since Hermione had sent a letter to the Australian Ministry of Magic, and would receive their letter soon.

The day after their kiss, Draco had returned home, and went upstairs, without so much as a glance in her direction. He didn't even come out of his room to eat dinner.

The next morning too, he left for the Ministry before she woke up. And it was only when she noticed that the washed dishes kept near the sink, and a small note from him kept next to it, that she realised they were supposed to wake up early today.

Because little Athy had wanted to go to the Potters' house for her play date with James.

Ginny had informed her that they would go to the Burrow in the evening, and so they had planned to let the children start their play date from early morning.

Turns out, as per Draco's note, Athy had been the one to wake him up, and not the other way around, because apparently the little witch was too excited to play with James to care about sleeping, or letting the others sleep.

That was it. His note.

No teasing. No calling her beaver or praising himself. No complaining about being woken up early.

That little note made her realise how different he had become in a span of a day.

And now, two weeks later, she felt like the two didn't recognise each other anymore.

In a span of two weeks, Hermione and Draco had become strangers from best friends.

And she didn't know whether to be relieved or hurt about that.

Relieved because she would be going to Australia in a few days, and she knew that if he asked her to stay, she would.

But he wasn't going to, because he didn't know about the job offer.

And hurt because, well, it was obvious. Even if he had yelled at her that day, and proceeded to act cold towards her the next day as well, at the end of the day, he was her best friend.

The man whom she had been in love with since she was nineteen years old.

When she had first left, she somehow knew that she would always come back to England. Because she had a reason.

Her reason being Draco.

But now?

Hermione wasn't that sure. Did she still have Draco?

Was he still her best friend? An inevitable part of her life? Or had that kiss changed everything?

She would think about it later, she thought. She had more important matters to deal with right now.

Like wondering how Narcissa and Lucius would react when they would see her and Draco ignoring each other.

For Narcissa had sent her a letter, informing her that she and Lucius had come back from their trip to France, and would be coming to Draco's house for lunch. 

Two hours later, Hermione and Draco were preparing lunch in the kitchen, trying their best to work together despite not talking to each other.

As a result, they messed up the lasagna four times before Draco finally decided that it was getting ridiculous. "We are acting like freaking kids, damn it. There is no point in ignoring each other because of a simple kiss."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Says the person who started this 'ignoring each other' game. You were the one who-" 

"And there she is, arguing with me like always." He cut her off. "Honestly Granger, learn to do team work sometimes. My mother and father will obviously scold me if they see us ignoring each other because apparently you cannot do anything wrong."

"That's not correct. Narcissa and Lucius are really good and they wouldn't scold anyone without reason-"

"Yeah well their reason for scolding me is because I am a stubborn prat who annoys everyone." He interrupted her once again. "Here is what I am proposing. We try our best to act normally in front of them, so that they won't become more nosy than they already are, and start interrogating us about what had happened-"

"And then the kiss would come up." The two said together.

"Exactly. And you know my mother will get excited and all and would tell the whole Wizarding World and the rumours would start. Which I don't want, by the way." Before she could say anything, he covered her mouth with his hand. "Work Granger."

This time, the two immediately pulled away when they realised how close they were, and went back to doing their tasks.

The first kiss had led to a fight.

They couldn't afford to make that mistake again. 

A few minutes before his parents would arrive, Draco found himself making his way upstairs.

To the portrait room.

"So will I get avoided today as well?" Astoria asked as soon as he entered.

"What? No hello Draco, how are you? I see how it is then."

"Oh shut up. You and your whines." She rolled her eyes at him. "And answer my question. Will I get avoided today as well?"

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked and stood in front of the portrait. "I haven't been avoiding you. I have been literally coming here everyday and using the freshening spell on the rose."

She crossed her arms in front of her and looked down at the red rose which was kept in a vase on the table next to her portrait.

When they had started dating, Draco used to bring a bouquet of red roses for her every time they went out. Sometimes, he would even bring the bouquet of other flowers.

Astoria didn't like that. Not because she thought it was cringey, she actually thought it was sweet. And she also called him adorable because of that, to which he had replied, "Malfoys aren't adorable. We are handsome." 

When she asked him to stop bringing the bouquets, he had looked at her strangely. She told him that she didn't like that because the flowers won't last and they instead looked better on the bushes.

Then he started bringing her a rose from his mother's garden everyday, telling her that once that magical rose would get wilted, it would become a seed from which a new plant could be grown.

Narcissa smacked his head when she found out that he was taking the roses from her bushes.

She didn't allow anyone to go near them, not even Lucius. She hated when someone took the roses from her garden.

So instead, Draco found a spell which would freshen the roses. He brought Astoria a rose, and when it was about to wilt, he cast the spell on it, and it became as new as it was before.

The rose which was there in the vase now, was the same one which he had given her years ago. Draco just came and cast the spell on it everyday, and it remained freshed.

"Just like our love." He had once told Astoria.

"Oh please, Draco." He was brought back from his memories when she spoke. "You haven't been talking to me properly ever since you had that fight with Hermione."

"You know about that?" His eyes widened. "Then you must know about-"

"The kiss?" Astoria finished. "Yes, I do know about. And before you ask, no I am not upset. In fact, I was happy when Hermione told me about it. I thought that you would finally get your happiness but imagine my shock when she said that you accused her of being a killer."

"Granger needs to mind her own business-"

"You need to apologise to her, Draco!" She exclaimed. "How dare you do that? She hasn't done anything wrong. In fact, she was the one who was helping me. It was my decision to hide the blood curse from you. So don't you dare blame her-"

"I know, okay?" Draco yelled. "I know that you had forbidden Granger from telling me. I had known that fact before we kissed and then I yelled at her."

He took a deep breath and continued, "I know that you wanted to hide that curse from me, Astoria. But Granger doesn't know that I know. And don't you dare tell her."

A/N: That's it for this chapter. It was 7900+ words. Hope you guys liked it. So longest chapter till date that too after I removed two scenes from it. I hope it didn't bore you all. The first and last scenes were so long, and it wasn't intentional, I promise. So a lot of things happened in this chapter. The memories, their fight, Hermione making a decision about the job offer, the death eaters being captured and finally, Draco telling Astoria that he knows everything. What do you think of that? I could have made Draco confess his feelings to Hermione here, and they would have gotten together, but I feel that they need to work on themselves, specially Draco, he needs to get healed before they get together. Also, don't forget that we still don't know what Draco did all those years ago. That being said, the angst will end soon. Forever will have a Dramione ending, and the mysteries will also be revealed. Random question: Do you like Viktor Krum? Answer in the comments below. Vote, comment and please share my story. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you! 

Next chapter on 14/2/21(Sunday). 

Until next time.