A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you guys liked the first chapter. As I said in the starting, everything will be cleared. You may have already guessed who is Draco's partner but if not, then it will be revealed in this chapter. Read the A/N at the end to find out when the next chapter will be out. On with the chapter! 

Draco just stood there in shock for a few minutes. 

He slowly raised his hand and used it to pinch his other hand. He winced at the pain but it was enough to make him believe that he wasn't dreaming. 

She was really there, in front of him. That is, unless she was an imposter or this was just a silly prank to irritate him. 

"Alright there, Malfoy?" His partner, or he hoped that she would be his partner, stood up from his chair. 

Draco crossed the room in three strides and stood in front of her. "Granger? Is it really you?" He raised his hand and touched her shoulder, as if to check that she was really here.

Before she could say anything, he pulled her in for a hug. She too wrapped her arms around him when he squeezed her gently. "You have no idea how much I missed you, Hermione." 

"I thought you would have forgotten about me, Draco. It's been so long." Hermione whispered, her voice cracking. 

"How can I forgot about you, idiot? You were my best friend." Draco pulled away and looked at her. "You are my best friend." 

"Wasn't Harry enough then?" She smirked at him. 

"Oh please. We all know that I only tolerated him because of you." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, that git has a huge ego." 

"That's not what you said when we all were drunk that day. As I clearly recall, Harry offered you a handshake and you accepted." Draco scowled at her. 

Hermione smiled. "I thought you would be confused at first to see me in your office. And then you would be angry, and would have told Kingsley to change your partner." 

"Oh, I am angry." He narrowed his eyes at her. "How did you think I felt when I saw that letter? Potter had to control and stop me from barging into McGonagall's office. But, that doesn't mean that I am not happy to see you here." 

"Right. So, I assume you don't want to change your partner?" He shook his head. "In that case, I already told Kingsley that we would start working on our cases from tomorrow." 

Draco nodded. "Take a seat, Granger. We have a lot to talk about." 

------- 

"How do you think Ferret will react when he sees Hermione in his office?" Harry looked up from his hands to see Ron standing in front of him. 

"I don't know, but I hope they won't kill each other." Harry said. "As much as I hate to admit it, Draco's one of our best Aurors, and if somebody deserves to be Hermione's partner, then it's him." 

Ron sat down in front of him. "But still, do you think it was the best decision? After all, he still hasn't forgiven her, even if you all tried to convince him."

Harry sighed. "I don't blame Draco, you know? That is, for not forgiving her."

"What-"

"Let me speak, Ron. I do not blame him for that." Before his best friend could say anything, he continued, "She was his best friend for Merlin's sake! How do you will react if you wake up to find a letter from me saying that I need to go and you can't search for me?"

He didn't say anything for a few moments. Just as Harry thought he would have to say something else, Ron nodded. "Well,if you say it like that then... It would have been hard for him."

"Of course, it was hard for him. It was his birthday! And, he received that letter as a gift from his best friend. You know, I don't think he is angry because she forgot his birthday or gave him that letter."

"What do you think the reason is then?" Ron asked him.

"That she didn't trust him enough to tell her reasons behind doing all of that. He thought it was his fault, they literally had a small argument the day before she left. And the fact that he couldn't even search for her, just made it worse." Harry looked at the photo on his desk. He still remembered that day clearly. "He wouldn't come out of his room for days. I had to request McGonagall to call Narcissa there, and she finally managed to convince him to leave his room."

"You mean she had to drag him by his ear and threaten to show his childhood photos to everyone? That day, I learned to never mess with Narcissa." Ron shook his head. "She can be quite scary."

Harry grinned at him. "Well, she lied to Voldemort, what did you expect? Anyways, I think he has a right to be angry at her. I just hope she will tell him everything."

"Or you can just answer his answers. But before you do that, you will have to tell me everything, Harry."

"Ron..." Harry sighed. "It's not- I can't tell you right now, but I promise I will tell you everything, someday."

He narrowed his eyes at him and stood up. "It's been five years, Harry, when will you tell me? Just tell me this, how do you think Malfoy will react when he gets to know that you have the answers he is searching for since the past five years?"

Not giving him a chance to answer, Ron walked towards the door. Before he could leave Harry's office, he looked at him over his shoulder. "How do you think Malfoy will feel when he gets to know that you knew she was in Australia all this time, and you never told him anything?"

Harry groaned when he left his office. He could only hope Hermione won't tell Draco that he knew everything. He knew better than to trust his former enemy to control his temper.

------------

"What do you want to know then?"

"How about you start by telling me the reasons behind you leaving England and giving me that letter on my birthday?" Draco asked her.

"Draco..." Hermione shook her head. "I told you that I will tell you everything, and I promise I will, just not right now. And, as for giving you that letter on your birthday, I am sorry. I completely forgot that it was your birthday. I just..."

Draco nodded. How could he expect her to tell him everything when he hasn't been completely honest with her either?

"So, tell me what you have been up to? In Australia?" He asked her.

She smiled at him. "I stayed with my parents, and as you know, worked as an Auror for the Australian Ministry. Nothing really exciting. What about you? Still the most eligible bachelor or is there a lucky girl?"

"I am married." He grinned at her. "The wedding was six months back."

To say Hermione was shocked would be an understatement. 

"W-what? Really?" When he nodded, she continued, "Congratulations, then. Who's the lucky girl?"

"Astoria Greengrass. Well, now she is Astoria Malfoy."

"She was your girlfriend during our eighth year, right?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Okay, so now that we are on this topic, why didn't you come to the wedding? I was waiting for you. You were the first person to whom I sent the invitation." Draco stared at her. 

Hermione looked at him in confusion."I didn't receive any invitation." She muttered, but Draco didn't hear her.

"It was in the Daily Prophet as well, no matter how much we tried to keep the reporters away. Thank Salazar, Rita Skeeter wasn't there." He shook his head. "Didn't you read the article?"

"I haven't read the Daily Prophet since that day."She told him.

He, of course, knew what day she was talking about.

Flashback

"This is not good, Ginny..." Hermione shook her head. "They all are already treating him like everything was his fault and now..." 

"Do you think this is right?" She asked him. 

Hermione looked at the Daily Prophet and shook her head again. "He already had his trial in June, and he was cleared of all charges. I don't understand why the Ministry and the Wizengamot want to have a re trial." 

"Maybe they want to put more restrictions on him?" When Hermione raised her eyebrows at her, Ginny continued, "He cannot go to Hogsmeade unless accompanied by someone the Wizengamot 'trusts'. What if they want to prohibit him from going there or somewhere else? Or maybe sentence him to spend six months in Azkaban like they initially wanted to, or what if..." 

Hermione sighed. She knew that the Wizengamot would love to put him in Azkaban, even if he was found not guilty. "I think you should go and find the Head Boy." Ginny told her. 

"Draco could be anywhere, Ginny... But, I think I should go and check out the Quidditch Pitch." She picked up her bag, and walked out of the Great Hall. 

Three hours later...

"So, Miss Granger, do you know who did this to him, or were you the one to do this?" Auror Stewart looked at her. 

"Stewart! She already told me everything that happened, and you were there that time." McGonagall told him. "You can't accuse her of doing this to Mr Malfoy." 

"I am just doing my job, Headmistress McGonagall. And, she's clearly a suspect here. We can't use Veritaserum or check her memorial because they can be tempered with. So there's no reason to not consider her doing this to Mr Malfoy." 

"Then you can wait for Me Malfoy to wake up. Maybe he will be able to tell you everything." McGonagall narrowed her eyes at him. "You will not treat Miss Granger like a suspect when she's the one who saved his life." 

"But, Headmistress, I am just doing my job, and we don't know when he will wake up. I have to solve other cases as well and-" 

She cut him off. "Well then you can go and solve those cases. I will let you know when he wakes up. Should I ask someone to walk you out?" 

Auror Stewart knew there was no point in arguing with her further. He shook his head and exited the Hospital Wing. 

"Miss Granger..." McGonagall looked at her student. 

Hermione sighed. "It's okay, Headmistress. They can accuse me, I don't care. I just wish he will wake up. If only I had found him sooner." She took Draco's hand in hers, and squeezed it. 

McGonagall smiled and put her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "If it weren't for you, then who knows what would have happened to Mr Malfoy. You saved his life, Miss Granger. Do not blame yourself." 

"But..." 

"No, Miss Granger." She shook her head. "You weren't the one who repeatedly whipped or beat him. You did not break his ribs nor used spells like Diffindo on Mr Malfoy. He's lucky that you found him, and brought him here." 

"His pulse was so low when I found him... And t-there was a b-boot print on his cheek... There was a huge gash on his f-forehead..." Hermione broke off as one by one, tears escaped her eyes. 

"Oh, Hermione..." McGonagall whispered as she wrapped her arms around the younger witch. Hermione cried on her Headmistress' shoulder, remembering how Draco looked like when she found him. 

"This is the fault of the Wizengamot, and Rita Skeeter for publishing that article. There are so many students here who want revenge, and believe that Mr Malfoy belongs in Azkaban just like the others. They believe it's his fault that those people died." McGonagall shook her head and looked at the blonde wizard lying on the Hospital bed. 

Flashback over

"Do you remember I told you that I won't read the Daily Prophet ever again after you woke up?" Hermione asked him. 

He nodded. "I don't understand why you said that. It wasn't the Prophet's fault that all that happened to me. You know that I was pushed down the stairs and threatened even before Skeeter wrote the article."

"Sure it wasn't the main reason behind that, but it certainly encouraged those students to do that to you. And, the Prophet still published bad things about you when you were cleared off all charges. I thought I had lost you, Draco..." Hermione faltered. 

"Come here, Granger." Draco stood up and Hermione followed. He hugged her tightly and she tried her best to not cry. "I will always be here, you understand? And, I am not letting you go again. I need and want my best friend here." 

A few minutes later, Draco got the brilliant idea to ask Hermione to come with him to his house to meet Astoria. 

They didn't really have any work to do today, and before she could think of an excuse, he grabbed her hand, and dissapparated them. 

--------

"It's really nice to meet you again, Hermione. You were my really close friend, probably my only friend. And when you left..." Astoria shook her head. "But you are here now, and that's what matters."

Hermione smiled at her. "I missed you too, Astoria. You have no idea how much I wanted to meet you all, but I couldn't. I am sorry I missed your wedding. Draco told me you wanted me to be your maid of honor."

Astoria smiled back at her, and hugged her tightly. "You don't have to apologise, Hermione. I don't know why you left, and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just know that I will never judge you. We are friends, after all."

At that moment, Draco brought the photo album and sat on the armchair next to the couch on which his wife and best friend were sitting. "Here. Now you two can enjoy seeing the photos and talk while I read my book."

"Oh, I want to thank you for introducing Muggle literature and music to him, Hermione. His taste in books and music is absolutely rubbish." Astoria said. 

"Great, I am getting insulted by my wife. Just great." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, love. But you know it' true." She grinned at him, and Hermione chuckled. 

After all, it wasn't the first time that either Hermione or Astoria had teased him. They both loved to do that, and would often make fun of him together.

When they had finished looking at the photos, Astoria asked her, "Why didn't you come to the wedding, Hermione? And, it's okay if you don't want to tell me."

She shook her head. "I didn't receive any invitation, Astoria. I don't read the Daily Prophet, so I didn't get to know about it. If I had known, then I would have obviously come here."

"Strange." Draco muttered. 

"Well, the owl must not have been able to give you the letter for whatever reason." Astoria looked at the clock, and added, "Oh, look at the time. I'll just serve the dinner now. Thank Merlin you taught me how to cook. I liked doing it, and I hate ordering house elves to cook for us as Isupport S.P.E.W as well."

---------

It was midnight by the time Hermione smiled at them, bid them goodnight and disapparated. As soon as she reached her house, she took her phone out and dialed Harry's number. 

"Harry James Potter, you will be lucky if I don't punch you." She muttered while she waited for him to pick up the call. 

She knew that it was a mistake to come here, yet a small part of her wanted to come back, to meet him, apologise for going away without any explanation and...

No, she shook her head as soon as that thought came in her mind. She couldn't tell him that now, more probably, ever. 

"I wish I can just go back now." She sighed.

---------

"So, how was the meeting?"

Draco looked at his wife. "I think it went as well as it could. But, I am afraid that I didn't get to know why she left."

Astoria placed a hand on his shoulder. "Give her time, Draco. There must be a major reason behind her leaving England. Do you think she really didn't receive the invitation?"

"I think it is possible." He said. "Maybe someone didn't want her to come here that time. I know she won't lie to me, Tori."

"Do you think he-" She started, but Draco cut her off. 

"No, I am sure he didn't do it. He apologised to her after the war, remember? And even if he did do that, I don't think he could have gained anything by doing it."

Astoria nodded. "Maybe something happened at the Australian Ministry of Magic, then."

"I just wish she would tell me everything. I have waited five years." Draco sighed. "It's like she doesn't trust me enough."

"Do you trust her, Draco?" He nodded, and she continued, "Then why haven't you told her what you did all those years ago?"

"Not this again, Astoria." He shook her head. "I can't tell her that. She won't understand why I did that."

"Then how can you expect her to tell you everything? Maybe just like you, she thinks that you won't understand why she left." She told him. "I know you won't agree with me on this, Draco, but you better tell her what you did and why before someone else does."

It was one of the things Draco loved about Astoria. She wouldn't hesitate to tell her opinion to him, and would put him in his place as well. 

"She probably won't talk to me ever again if she gets to know about that." He said. 

"If you are so scared that she won't talk to you, then why did you do it, Draco?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Because if I hadn't done that, then we wouldn't be here, Tori. Whatever I did, was for the best." Draco told her. 

"Do you regret doing that, Draco?" She whispered, looking away from her 

Draco stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Placing his fingers under her chin to make her look up at him, he said, "No. I never regretted doing that, Tori. I may have been sad that time, but now? I don't even think about it. You and our baby are my world, Tori. I love you both so much."

Astoria smiled and kissed him. "If you say so. I love you, Draco. And, even if I don't like what you did, I am here for you, and will support you. Forever."

A/N: That's it for this chapter. It was 3000+ words. Hope you guys liked it. And yes, I know that there were a lot of dialogues and less description, and I am sorry if that bored you. But I just wanted to explain a few things. Also, I am sorry if this chapter was short. Random question: Do you think Lucius Malfoy is really a bad character? Answer in the comments below. Vote, comment and please share my story. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you! 

Next chapter on 9/8/20 (Sunday). 

Until next time.