Perfect Storm

Chapter 24

 "Stop staring at me like I'm about to break, Granger."

"Sorry," Hermione mumbled and quickly ducked her head to focus on folding her shirts.

She had stayed in London an extra week to help as Draco recovered from the incident. He had been under strict instructions to take it easy and was all but forced to take a full week off work. By the time Monday rolled around, he was more than slightly stir-crazy and ready to resume his normal schedule.

"Hey."

Hermione looked up. Draco reached over and cradled her cheek in his palm, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb.

"I'm okay. The healers wouldn't have signed off on my return request if I wasn't healthy enough for it." He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss.

"It's just hard to leave and not be in a state of worry," Hermione said sadly.

"You can always stay," Draco said with a smile. "I'm not kicking you out."

"I know."

Draco kissed her once more before disappearing into his closet to pick out a tie. Hermione started placing her clothes into her suitcase. She couldn't stop a few more tears from leaking out the corners of her eyes. Hastily, she wiped them away and gave a quick sniffle.

What was wrong with her? She was never this emotional when she had to return to New York. Yes, it had been a super emotional week, riddled with a lot of anxiety, but her trip was ending on a high note. Despite his complaining, Draco had followed all the healers' instructions and had regained pretty much all of his memory. She knew he was ready to return to his regular life.

But she wasn't sure she was ready to return to hers...

"Oh!"

Hermione dropped the shirt she had been holding. She was not prepared for that realization to hit her like the Knight Bus.

"Are you okay?"

Hermione looked back to see Draco standing in the closet doorway. He had a silver tie in his right hand, a black tie in his left, and a concerned look on his face. She smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah, fine. You should go with the silver," Hermione said, gesturing to his right.

Draco gave her one more appraising look before saying, "Thanks," and ducking back into the closet.

Hermione checked the time. She had two hours before her portkey was set to leave. She really wanted to talk about her sudden epiphany but not with Draco. She wasn't sure if anyone in England would be completely biased on the subject but her boyfriend would certainly be the least.

She quickly packed the rest of her things and had just clicked it shut as Draco exited his closet, straightening his tie. As soon as he let go, Hermione grabbed the tie and pulled him close for a kiss.

Draco hummed and grabbed her hips. "Want to run some more tests on my stamina?"

"You passed all those tests last night," Hermione laughed, running her fingertips along the shell of his ear. "Besides, you don't have enough time."

He glanced at his watch and looked back at her. "I've got a good five minutes."

"I give full exams, Mr. Malfoy, not pop-quizzes."

He kissed her again and smiled against her lips. "I'll just have to go admire those claw marks on my desk."

"Maybe we can add some more sometime," Hermione said with a wink. She pulled her suitcase off the bed and let it drop in front of her feet. "I'm going to go visit Ginny and James before my portkey leaves. Are you in the office or the lab today?"