Love and Other Misfortunes

Chapter 9

Hermione's cheeks were burning as she composed memos to send down to the Potions Department and prepped a meeting request for Parvati to send off to the head of the Healers' Union.

She'd been so presumptuous, and now she'd made a fool out of herself in front of Draco and Lucius Malfoy. She couldn't believe how embarrassed she currently felt. It was just—ugh. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to look Malfoy in the eye again.

The night before, after she had floo'd home from Diagon Alley, she'd found herself unable to think about anything but Draco. With the combination of learning he was leaving and then being saved by him, he'd overshadowed her mind like a persistent ghost.

She still hadn't come to terms with how devastated she felt by the thought of his impending departure. The shock of it had made her realise how much she depended on him. She'd always considered him something of a useful nuisance, but imagining him gone was like having the breath knocked out of her.

A lump welled up in her throat.

He was important to he, and she'd never bothered to realise it until he was leaving. She was a terrible person.

It had just snuck up on her; forgiving him and moving on from their past. She wasn't sure when it had stopped mattering, but now, as she thought about it, she realised at some point she'd left it behind. Their relationship had stopped being defined by school and the war. It had become about the present; the good they were doing and the difference they were making.

Even if his motivation was to redeem his family's reputation, he was choosing to stay and make up for it. Many other pureblood families on the wrong side of the war had simply left rather than endure the vitriol of the mourning wizarding world. But the infamous, distinctive Malfoys had stayed and worked to make amends.

She'd just assumed that he wouldn't want to leave. That he was going to Asia upon Lucius' insistence, and if she could find a way for him to stay at Ministry he'd take it. That he'd want to stay at the Ministry and continue working with her. She'd thought Asia was a punishment for the Prima Verde contract being unprofitable and the Malfoys had been too proud to ask to have it renegotiated.

She'd been mistaken.

He was eager to leave everyone behind.

The more she thought about it more she understood.

It would be a new start for him. Away from the mistakes of his past. Away from the angry hissed insults in the hallways. Away from the constant suspicion of his motives. Even hers.

She'd always doubted him, even after he'd spent years giving her no reason to. She was always watching him, expecting him to suddenly slip and revert back to the old Malfoy.

Of course he'd want to leave. What would he possibly stay for?

She bit her lip and went back to work.

She was going to fix the Prima Verde contract either way. It was unfair and risky to allow it to remain as it was. She'd reviewed everything carefully the night before and she was sure that the revision should have no effect on getting the legislation passed. Until it was voted upon, the contract remained negotiable.

A purple aeroplane floated into her office from the Potions Department. The legal assistant she'd sent the Prima Verde earnings report agreeing that a revision was necessary.

Parvati's voice came in through the bauble,

"I have a reply from the Healer's Union. They said a two o'clock meeting for the WRA revision will work."

Hermione sighed and folded up the last memo she had written. With a flick of her wand, it sailed to the door and shot through the little memo slot at the top.