Hermione's Desires

We Hurt Those We Love

#15,372+words Edited 17/02/2024

Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger

Side Pairing: Gregory/Hannah - Harry/Daphne - Theo/Pansy - Ron/Lavender

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Hermione POV

I sighed heavily as I waited for the sickly feeling in my stomach from the port-key to settle, when the war was over I went back to Hogwarts to finish my education and then I left Britain, at first I wasn't going to leave for my apprenticeship but after my friendship with ron and harry fizzled out, I decided to accept the offer I was given, I found out one day that harry and ron had been lying to me for years, harry and ginny decided to keep pretending to be dating in front of me whilst harry was actually dating daphne greengrass, even to this day I'm not sure why they lied to me about it, and what made it worse was that we were at the burrow when I found out....by draco Malfoy of all people, who from what I was told has been friends with harry and ron since harry had started dating daphne and I never knew, I was heart broken to know that I was kept in the dark about the whole thing

My friends stabbed me in the back when Malfoy started saying harsh thing to me and they never spoke up for me, I just stood there and took it because I could see the way everyone was watching but not interfering, that told me everything I needed to know so I left and never returned, kingsley and Minerva have both sent letters to me letting me know that harry, more than ron had asked about me but I explained what happened and said I didn't want to hear about them again and they have kept to my wishes, it was like those years of friendship didn't happen, then I was offered my apprenticeship, except for a little money I had saved from doing odd jobs around the house when I was younger I had nothing but more on that later

The reason I was back in Britain today is that my old friend Hannah Abbott was getting married to Gregory Doyle in a couple of months, they've been dating for so long that I decided if they weren't going to be married by the time 10 years has passed, then I was going to bloody lock them in a room until they did, of course they knew about this plan and at first was going to wait to see if I would actually do that, they quickly changed their minds when I told them my exact plan, and they want me in the wedding party, I was so happy that they were getting married that I forgot that I was going to have to return home for the service but I love them both so I don't mind it, I silently left the International Portkey Office (IPO) and walked towards kingsley office, his secretary was sitting at her desk and once she saw me smiled at me then motioned for me to go in, I tilted my head a little in acknowledgment before walking in

I coughed to get his attention and when he looked up he smiled widely "hermione, your finally home" he said happily, I laughed softly at his words since he has been trying to get me to return for a number of years now "well my best friends are getting married, of course I'll be coming back for that" I replied teasingly, he sighed loudly before he hugged me tightly "well it's good to see you and when you've settled in, you will have to join me for dinner" he teased me in return, I chuckled at him "first I have dinner with the happy engaged couple at Beauty tonight, then afterwards who knows" I shrugged my shoulders slightly, we spoke for an hour before I finally went to my apartment, I may have been away for so many years earning my masters but that didn't stop me from making money, it was the need to make sure I was never short that had me working so much, so hard and in some cases making myself ill just to continue working on a project, remembering how low and vulnerable I was and felt when after discovering everything I knew of my friends were a lie, it was hard and I promised myself I wouldn't allow myself to feel that way again

Beauty, the restaurant I mentioned to kings is one I own, my apartment is in a building that I also own and it sits right next to the river Thames in muggle London, which makes it widely popular, it gives me the chance to be close to the world I was born in and still have the luxury of magic, of course when I do come back to Britain I often spend time in muggle London, going to little cafes, clubs and restaurants, I even took Hannah to a spa weekend, something she has never done before and greatly enjoyed, my apartment became my sanctuary, someplace I didn't have to hide who I was or the need to pretend to be someone I wasn't, my apartment is situated on the entire top floor, when you walk in there is entry way which leads to an open plan living/dining/kitchen area in neutral colours, a corridor leading from the kitchen leads to three bedrooms and a bathroom, one is the master suit with it's own bathroom, I have a spare bedroom and the other is an office/library room and a small laundry room