A Recap:
‘Hermione, please stop crying...please. I love you so much I can’t see you like this...’
‘You don’t love me!’ She shouted pushing herself away from him. ‘If you did I wouldn’t have seen you...you...’ She couldn’t finish. She became sick again and ran back into the bathroom, throwing up.
Draco squeezed his eyes closed. He couldn’t take this, Hermione was sick and crying because of what he did. He didn’t mean to, but the fact that she thought he did sickened him. He didn’t know what to do, she wouldn’t listen. He left their room sadly.
--
A few minutes later Draco Malfoy found himself in the Head Mistresses office.
‘Olympe, I have to leave. I quit.’
Chap. 26 Giving Up?
‘Excusez-moi?’ Madame Maxine asked, ‘I’m not sure if I heard you vight, Mister Malfoy. Did you say you vanted to quit?’
‘Yes. I did say that. I cannot work here any longer.’
‘Vell, it is against policy to ask your reasons, so I von’t, but is there anything I can do to change your mind? Ve veally appreciate your work here.’ She said kindly.
‘There are personal problems. There’s nothing you can do, but thank you for this opportunity.’ He said, extending his hand.
She shook it sadly and handed him some paperwork. Draco left solemnly to go some place secluded to fill out the “Taking Leave” papers.
--
Hermione was sitting on the couch thinking. She loved Draco more than anything, how could he do this to her? He got so upset with her when Jacques, the Ombreux boy, made a move on her, and here he is kissing Papillon. Draco even criticized and talked down about the little whore when she made the complaint against them.
‘How could he do this?’ She asked herself aloud.
Someone then knocked on her door. Hermione jumped.
‘Oh no...it’s Draco.’ She thought.
She didn’t get up to answer the door. Finally someone spoke.
‘Mrs. Malfoy?’ A female voice called. ‘Are you there? It’s me, Olympe.’
‘Oh...hold on, I’ll be just a second.’ Hermione said softly.
She ran to the bathroom and fixed her face a bit, then opened the door.
‘Good evening, Olympe.’ Hermione stated.
‘Is it?’ Olympe asked.
‘Excuse me?’ Hermione asked.
‘I vas just vondering about your husband. I vas making sure that I have it clear that he is the only Malfoy leaving Beauxbatons.’
‘I’m not sure I understand.’ Hermione said confused.
‘Professeur Malfoy, your husband, leaving Beauxbatons because of “personal” reasons he said.’
‘What? Draco told you he’s leaving?’ Hermione asked incredulously.
Olympe looked at her questionably.
‘Your husband, Hermione, came into my office nary an hour ago to tell me he quit.’ Olympe stated. ‘You did not know?’
Hermione’s eyes began to swell with tears.
‘Draco...quit?’
Madame Maxine’s eyes widened.
‘Oh no!’ She cried. ‘I’m afraid I might have done something I vasn’t supposed to!’
Hermione quickly wiped her eyes before tears fell.
‘Is there anything I can do?’ Olympe asked.
‘No...no...thank you for telling me though.’ Hermione said nervously.
Olympe nodded and left quickly.
Hermione began to cry as soon as she locked the door.
‘Draco is quitting the job he loves because he can’t work with me anymore?’ Hermione asked herself.
She loved her husband, and now he’s leaving her. She had to sort this out, hear from him that he was leaving.
Hermione left the room quickly.
As she walked down corridor after corridor, she could not find him. She finally ran into a house-elf.
‘Excuse me, Babble, have you seen Professeur Malfoy?’ Hermione asked.
‘Ahh, yes! Babble’s seen Mister Malfoy go into room not too long ago!’
‘Which room, Babble?’
‘Oh. He said to Babble that he vanted to be alone.’
‘You can tell me, I’m his wife.’
‘Oh! Vells then, he’s in the empty balai cabinet.’
‘The empty broom closet?’ Hermione asked doubtfully.
‘Yes’m. Along the Courageux corridor.’
‘Alright, thank you, Babble.’
The little house elf nodded and ran off speedily.
Hermione walked back to the Courageux corridor, and saw the room Babble was speaking of. Hermione walked up cautiously and opened it. She caught Draco jumped when she opened it and peered in.
The broom closet was magically enlarged and a chair and desk was inside now.
‘Hermione.’ Draco said in a breath.
‘Draco, Olympe said...Olympe said...’ Hermione began to cry.
Draco immediately stood up from the desk and walked over to his wife. He tried to comfort her, but she pushed him away.
‘No, Draco, no. You messed around with a student...I just came here to confirm what Olympe said.’ She said wiping away her tears forcefully.
‘I didn’t mean to, Hermione. Ghislaine put a potion in my drink so I would...somehow...I don’t really know what the potion was. Probably the desiderate potion, it’s the only thing I could think of. You know I love you, I would never purposely hurt you like that.’
‘Then why did you tell Olympe your quitting? To get away from me, to get away from guilt, to--’ Draco cut her off.
‘No, Hermione, no. You wouldn’t let me explain myself! I figured if I quit, you’d see that I was getting away from Papillon, not you! I was quitting to make you happy, so you wouldn’t have to see me anymore.’
‘You gave up. You were just going to leave me?’
‘I gave up? You gave up! You wouldn’t speak to me!’
‘Draco! I had just witnessed you kissing and feeling up your 17-year-old student!’ She cried. ‘What would you have done!’
‘Listen to you!’
‘Don’t lie to me, Draco. You are so stubborn and hot-tempered, you know you wouldn’t stick around and listen if that was me.’ Hermione said angrily.
‘Would you want me to?’ Draco asked.
‘Of course.’
‘Then why won’t you let me?’ He asked.
Hermione was about to come back with something, but she stopped. He was right. If she had been caught doing something inappropriate looking, and she was “innocent” she would want him to listen to her.
‘Please listen to me.’ Draco pleaded.
‘I saw you...’ She said sadly.
‘You did. It wasn’t by choice, I told you she put a spell on me, through potion.’
‘Why would you drink a potion she would give you!’ Hermione asked accusingly.
‘The butterbeer! She put it in there, and sent it to me saying it was a gift from Olympe.’
Hermione looked at him skeptically.
‘Hermione,’ He continued, ‘you are my wife, I love you so much. You know... you must know I do. I would never do that, cheat on you, ever. I told your parents that while we were engaged and now I’m reminding you, after marriage, I love you and always will.’
Draco took her hand,
‘Nothing, no student can change that fact. I wish you had more faith in me, love.’ He ended.
‘Draco...you quit...you were just going to leave. Guilt of something drove you to that.’
‘Hermione, you aren’t listening to me!’ He cried with passion. ‘I told you I was leaving so you wouldn’t feel pain anymore! Yes, I was giving up...I conceded...I no longer could bear to make you sick any longer. You wouldn’t listen to me, and I wasn’t going to force you.’
‘It doesn’t make sense.’
‘You don’t want it to. I don’t know what’s wrong. Why can’t you just believe your own husband?’ He asked angrily, dropping her hands.
‘D-Draco—’ She stammered as tears fell.
‘What?’
‘I love you...that’s why it hurt so much...I didn’t think you would ever do something like that to me, but I saw it. And then when Olympe told me you quit...I thought that was your resignation to us, too.’ She said as she sobbed, ‘If you quit...we won’t last.’
‘We won’t last...if we don’t trust each other.’ He corrected.
Hermione nodded, burying her face in her hand, crying into them.
Draco stepped closer to her, and brought her hands down.
‘Do you still love me?’ He asked hopefully.
She nodded.
‘Do you believe me?’
She hesitated, but the nodded.
‘Do you know I love you?’
She nodded as tears ceased, but continued to fall down her cheeks.
‘I won’t leave, Hermione...if we can survive here together.’
‘We can.’ She stated.
‘I didn’t do anything willingly with Papillon. I would never. I don’t want to ever. I love you, and only you. There is, and will never be, anyone else.’
‘I only need you, too. I love only you.’ Hermione replied.
‘Nothing can ever come between us like this again.’ Draco said.
‘Until death do us part.’ Hermione finished.
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