bitten ; dramione

eleven - the falling action

 Things did not magically return to normal once they had defeated Katie. In fact, Katie Bell's family was furious about her death, and said that the Ministry blamed it on her to find a way out. They were sued and taken to court. Unfortunately, Draco was the only one who had heard her admit that it was her, so he was put under the truth serum in order to be completely believed. It was draining, as he admitted some private stuff he would have rather not shared, but it was necessary.

Katie Bell was found guilty, and her parents did not win the lawsuit. However, Harry and Draco paid the family themselves, and Draco wrote an apology. The family did not immediately accept either, but they eventually did. Katie's parents and Draco were the only people to attend her funeral. Draco knew how it was. Being viewed as a monster.

In fact, he knew it all too well in two different ways.

However, he blamed himself for Katie's downfall. Afterall, she had touched the necklace that he had left, so how could he not? He struggled with that feeling every single day. Of course, not all of the recovery in the life following was horrible. Draco was still a lycanthrope, but he wasn't as aggressive as he used to be. He didn't turn all of the way on full moons anymore, and he wasn't... well, dangerous.

Hermione dove into books (like normal) to find out why this was so. Why had Draco lost some of the effects of being a werewolf? Since he was not bitten on a full moon, he did not have to submit himself to Greyback's rule. However, he was bitten on a half moon, which meant part of him was still tethered to his turner. So now that Greyback was dead, and Katie (with her being the ringleader), his properties of being a werewolf went down significantly.

"Well, I'm glad," Ginny admitted when Hermione told them all. Draco looked up, stopping mid-chew to look at the redhead. Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably, nudging his wife who had no idea of the tension on the table now. "What? - Oh! I just meant that I am glad you don't have to deal with it anymore." Ginny shrugged. "Well, it doesn't go away completely. He still has some of the symptoms and effects." Hermione chirped from next to the blonde.

"Yeah," Blaise chuckled. "Like the amazing 5ex." He finished, shrugging as he swallowed. Hermione turned bright red and looked down at her plate. Draco kicked Blaise in the shin under the table, making Theo choke on his food from laughter. "No, it does not change the fact he has a mate." Hermione corrected, supporting a small smile herself.

Draco and Hermione. Although they loved each other, and they were destined to be together, it was not a cakewalk. They argued quite a bit and had differing views on many things. They knew this was going to happen, as they were still raised differently, and hadn't gotten along most of their life. It was just recently they spoke to each other with respect. A relationship being sprung on them was not the simplest transition.

They didn't date right away either. They hung out more and more on a weekly basis. Tea on Monday mornings, lunch at the hospital on Wednesday afternoons, and dinner out on the town on Friday nights. They had done this routine for about a month and a half until the wolf inside of Draco was getting restless. So finally, he asked her to be his girlfriend, and she said yes.

Draco still had nightmares about what had gone on in the past few months and had gone to many funerals. Even if his presence wasn't exactly known, he knew he should be there. It calmed him on the inside, and that was all that was important to him. Harry and Draco continued to lead the Auror department, and had thankfully had the lycanthropy cases go down significantly.

They didn't go away completely, though, and they began to worry about that. Lycanthropy began spreading through Ireland, and they were called to come help out. Of course, nobody liked the idea. Hermione and Ginny didn't even take turns, they just yelled together at their men. Ron grumbled about how he didn't want to go either. "I mean, Ireland?! How long would you be gone?! You don't even know how bad it is!" Blaise argued. "You want to miss out on your son's most important months?!" Ginny yelled. "You twat!" Hermione screamed.

So, they decided it would be best to stay behind unless Ireland got really ugly.

As the months went by, things got better. Draco had less nightmares and less funerals. Hermione had moved in with him, and they had been arguing less. They had different viewpoints on topics, but that didn't have to get in the way of their happiness. They agreed on the most important stuff anyways. Harry and Ginny had been raising James happily and hosted many dinners for their friends to attend. Ron and Theo stayed single and happy, while Blaise went back to Italy to spend time there for a bit. It was a nice return to normalcy. The closest they could get to normalcy anyways.

Draco's transformations and how he reacted to each full moon varied, and it became a little dangerous for them. Some full moons, he wouldn't feel sick at all, but others? He would be sweating and stumbling around, growling and throwing things. On those nights, Hermione would have Harry come over. Just in case things got a little out of hand. Hermione knew that Draco, even as the werewolf, would never intentionally hurt her. But sometimes, it is an animal instinct. And she couldn't control if that ever kicked in.

Draco also rebuilt the Malfoy Manor. It sat on the same hill that it used too and was made the exact same way. Same wood paneling and dark hallways, but less of the malicious things. He kept the dungeons out of this remake and didn't put a chandelier in the drawing room. Just like before, that room stayed empty. As much as he tried to restore the parts he wished to keep, it didn't feel the same. He didn't know whether to be happy or angry over that.

He regrew the garden and had peacocks out there. He hired real people as the groundskeeper and housemaid. Hermione almost punched him when he spoke about hunting for some house elves to put in there. The subject did not come up again. They didn't spend a lot of time in the Manor, but they did for important events like birthdays and holiday parties. Draco didn't think Hermione wanted much to do with the place until she spoke of children.

Draco choked on his spaghetti and his girlfriend didn't even flinch. She continued looking down at her fork while she twirled the pasta around it. Draco stared at her silently for a moment, watching her take the bite and swallow like she didn't just say what she did.

"Hermione, children?!" He whispered in disbelief after a moment.

Hermione finally looked up at him and shrugged. "Well, at the rate we are going, we are going to be together for a while, right?" She asked. The blonde swallowed thickly and nodded, rolling up his jumper's sleeves. "Right. So, when we get to that point, we're going to be having children. And we can't raise them here in this flat, can we?" Hermione smiled, taking another bite of pasta while looking at him. "I just... I don't know. I didn't think you wanted children with me. I don't even know if I would be a good father. I- look at the examples of parenting I had!" Draco reasoned, sinking back in his seat and pushing his hair back.

"Draco, your parents aren't you. In the nicest way possible, the way you were raised leads me to think you won't be like them. You wouldn't ever want to treat your child the way you were. You are so full of youth and love that you never even got to explore because you were filled with unwanted hatred since the day you were born. Maybe kids would ultimately be good for you. Besides, I've always wanted to be a mother." She explained.

Draco and Hermione had gotten intimate, but they didn't have sex like every single day like some hormonal teenagers. They did it when they pleased and didn't when they didn't. So, to hear about children so early on was a bit of a surprise for Draco. Although raised in a terrible manner, Draco did like the traditional way of doing things. He grinned and nodded, taking a bite of his pasta.

"Fine," he settled, picking up his wine glass. "Children it is." He smiled, feeling warmth in his chest because of the smile the brunette returned. "But marriage first. The whole big thing. The bachelorette party that Ginny would be hosting, the dress shopping with Mrs. Weasley, dealing with Ron and his attitude. Marriage." Draco grinned, taking a big swig of wine. Hermione was silent for a moment and Draco watched her bite her lip in thought.

"I'm ready whenever you are." She piped.

Draco choked on his spaghetti again, and this time, Hermione roared with laughter. 

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so, i know this wasn't as exciting, but i had to put a small filler to tie up some parts for the conclusion. i have a beautifully long conclusion planned and it may end up being two parts because i am a sucker for some happy endings (or ones close enough ;)) so be looking out for that!

much love, silvereyes-