The Confession

He never really thought he'd be back in the Ministry of Magic so soon. But here he was, with a goal in mind. Potter and Hermione's recommendation's weighed heavily inside his pockets as he rushed towards the elevator with the other ministry officials.

Some paper airplanes zoomed in and fluttered quietly above as the elevator dinged for Level 2 – the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Draco swallowed down his trepidation and slowly walked out of the lift. His eyes scanned the department once more, and unlike last time, the whole department was in a whirlwind of business and work. Nobody even gave him a spare glance, prompting him to slowly release his breath and continue his journey towards the Waiting Area.

He let his eyes scan the people present in the department, looking for the familiar bushy hair of Hermione and even the bespectacled The-Boy-Who-Lived. Both of them were nowhere to be found, and Draco figured they might have been assigned on the field today.

Sighing, most likely of relief, Draco focused his wandering gaze on the Waiting Area sign up ahead and picked up his pace.

When he walked in, several heads landed on his form and he withered. Their gazes turned suspicious, some even nasty, but thankfully, nobody made any comment about the arrival of an ex-Death Eater amongst them.

He chose to sit closest to the door, in case he changed his mind again and he needed to bolt right out of here immediately. The Waiting Area was awfully cramped with people, and he found himself jammed in between the wall and a huge, broad-shoulder man, with a smashed nose – awfully reminiscent of the wild pigs he had seen back in Hogwarts. Draco thought Porky seemed a fitting nickname for the wizard beside him.

"What are you applying for?"

Draco almost jumped from his seat, before warily gazing at Porky.

"Curse Breaker," he clipped.

Porky's eyebrows disappeared behind his fringes in surprise. "Good choice," he replied. "I plan to apply to the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol."

Draco made a noncommittal sound, looking at the man beside him appraisingly. His big built would be an asset for this department, and he highly doubted Porky wouldn't be accepted immediately.

That was the end of their small talk and Draco was forced to confront his thoughts.

With Hermione away for work and Rose somewhere in the daycare here in the Ministry, Draco found himself getting insanely bored in Granger's flat. He occasionally dropped by to monitor Zabini's performance over handling the Malfoy business – which, to his amazement, was still insanely flourishing under his management. He would also apparate back to his flat, much to Tippy's relief and delight, and would even occasionally engage his personal house-elf in some mundane conversations. He would visit his mother in the Manor, too, but she was also so preoccupied with talking to his father's portrait, and he didn't want to disturb them at all.

Potter and Granger's words still niggled at the back of his mind, cajoling him to join them in the DMLE and become a Curse Breaker. And then one day, while all of them were away, he penned a letter to DMLE regarding his application as a Curse Breaker. Everything thereafter that was a blur and now, here he was, waiting for his turn to be interviewed by the Department Head.

Draco still hadn't told Hermione about his plans, in fear that she'd get too excited and worsen his nerves all the more. He was, after all, applying for his dream job, and he didn't want her to see him crushed when he wouldn't get accepted for the job.

The door burst open and Draco straightened himself. The young witch called for a few more names, before closing the door behind her once more. He eyed those who were called in envy, knowing that their agony wouldn't be prolonged anymore, before slumping down on his seat with a frown.

Soon, Porky and more wizards and witches were called, and Draco was slowly growing panicky at the fact that he was the last person inside the Waiting Area. He pondered if he wasn't able to schedule his appointment, then mentally cursing himself for not making sure about it in the first place.

The humiliation in him was eating him inside and Draco was half-tempted to wrench the door open and bolt away from the ministry, never to repeat this ever again.

But just when he was about to stand up and leave this room, the door burst open for the very last time. The young witch strode inside and eyed him in interest.

"Mister Draco Malfoy?" she called, briefly glancing down on her parchment of notes. "Mister Davies is expecting you now."

His humiliation shrivelled into dread, whilst stiffly nodding his head in reply. Draco mechanically followed the witch into the department head's office, painfully aware of the loud pounding of his heart. He wondered if the witch, most likely Davies' secretary, could loudly hear his heart from where she walked.

She finally led him inside Davies' office before leaving. Draco took that moment to scan the office, mildly surprised that it wasn't that different from McLaggen's. It was, however, homier and more inviting, with scattered pictures of his young family and occasional images of his coworkers. Draco spotted a picture of him, Hermione, and Harry, all waving enthusiastically at the camera with mugs of butterbeers in their hands.

It was definitely obvious that Davies' was beloved by this department. He wondered if working under him would be a pleasant change compared to working under McLaggen.

"What are you doing there? Come sit down, lad!"

Thomas' voice boomed, prompting him to flinch in surprise. Draco's sheepish eyes met Davies' amused ones, before slowly strolling forward and lowering himself down on the chair opposite him. Eyes widening, he darted a glance at the awfully comfortable chairs – DIMC's were always the bane of existence. No wonder McLaggen was insanely jealous of this department.

"I see you finally took Granger and Potter's advice and applied," the older wizard said, directing Draco's attention to him.

The golden recommendation letters burned against his robe pockets once more. "I've given it some thought, yes," he slowly said. "So, here I am."

Thomas' made an odd sound at the back of his throat, now gazing through some parchments on his desk. Draco realized it was his resume, and some other documents he didn't recognize.

"Impressive NEWTs," he pointed out. "The only person who can rival your scores is Hermione."

Draco smirked despite his nerves. "Of course," he replied. "Brightest witch of her age."

Thomas smiled and sifted through the documents again. Draco waited with bated breath, wondering once more how this interview would end. He frowned as he remembered his disastrous interview with McLaggen in the DIMC, but shook his head, freeing himself from those thoughts. From what he deduced, Davies was way different than McLaggen; perhaps, it was a blessing in disguise when he sat beside him in the St. Mungo's teashop.

Something in Davies' eyes shifted and he sighed, letting go of all of Draco's papers and setting them aside. A wave of panic welled up in his stomach, wondering if his Death Eater reports were wedged somewhere between the parchment.

"Tell me, Draco," Thomas slowly started. "Why do you want to become a Curse Breaker?"

The question had caught him off guard, but he answered him nonetheless. "Well... I wanted to make a change," he lamely replied.

The older wizard's eyes lit up in amusement and he smiled. "Everybody wants to achieve that, one way or another yes?" he asked in jest and leaned forward. "Even my five-year-old niece aspires to make a change in the world someday."

But Draco was already shaking his head, a small smile on his face. "No, no, I wanted to make a change in myself," he protested. Davies' lifted an eyebrow, but didn't say anything in return, so Draco continued. "I've... well, I do admit I made some bad decisions when I was younger, but after the War..." He took a deep, staggering breath and met Davies' attentive gaze. "I wanted to make amends."

"And you think being a Curse Breaker will achieve that?" he asked, slight surprise in his tone of voice.

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "I have extensive knowledge about the Dark Arts," he continued. "I know how to deactivate dark artifacts. Working with those bastards for years made me somehow familiar with their thoughts, their character... the booby traps they make..." His mind brought him back to the day of Rose's rescue.

Hardening his gaze and squaring his shoulders, he looked at Davies' in the eye. "If I have to remove curses until the day I die to pay for all my misgivings, I gladly will," he declared with all the seriousness he could muster.

His little declaration was met with surprising silence. Draco's eyes widened at little, thinking he might have gone a little overboard. But then, a slow, wide grin bloomed on Davies' face and Draco was gobsmacked.

"Well, in that case," Thomas said, offering his right hand, "Welcome to the DMLE, Malfoy."

Draco blinked at the offered hand, jaw slackened in disbelief. Davies' lifted an eyebrow and shook his hand a little, before Draco hurriedly took it.

"That's it?" he asked, still in disbelief. "But..." He rummaged inside his pocket and pulled out the recommendation letters he needed for application. "You still haven't read these."

Thomas barked a laugh and grasped the letters. "Lad," he started, "I've heard plenty of recommendations from Hermione and Harry. I don't think I need to read these to know that you are good. Besides, I read Potter's report regarding Lestrange's capture. I'm sure he relayed to you how I desperately wanted you on my team, right?"

He was rendered speechless by the sudden turn of events, so he merely nodded his head in return.

"Report back here next Monday," the burly wizard continued. "Of course Curse Breakers have a different division from Aurors, but it is still best if everybody in the department knows about the newest addition in our team."

"Right, of course," he replied, clearing his throat. 

Thomas gave him another wide smile and said, "You'll be a great Curse Breaker, Malfoy. I can just feel it." Then, he made shooing motions with his hand. "Now, go. I actually didn't plan for this meeting to take more than a minute" – Draco's eyes widened more, if that were possible – "but it turned out to be more interesting that what I had originally thought."

Draco quickly scrambled onto his feet, his face flushed with excitement, gratitude, happiness, and all the positive emotions he could feel. "I..." His breath caught, still in disbelief.

Davies chuckled. "You're welcome, Malfoy," he then replied and made more shooing gestures for him.

Draco didn't need to be told again as he darted out of the office, breathless beyond belief.

He didn't realize that Potter and Granger were already back from their mission until Hermione had assaulted him with excited eyes.

"So? What happened?" she asked, already buzzing with unsuppressed mirth. Draco blinked, and then looked behind her to see Potter with a proud smirk on his face.

"I'm... starting on Monday," he said. A slow, wide grin appeared on his face as it finally sank in him. "So, I guess I'll be seeing you more often?"

Her smile was scintillating. "You're coming over later, right?" she asked. "We have to have a celebratory dinner tonight."

Draco bit back a comment that of course, he was coming over – he practically lived in her flat already. There was already a dent shaped like him on the couch. Instead, he answered with a simple, "Okay."

__________

He was surprised to discover that night that the celebratory dinner for his acceptance in the DMLE was only between them. Hermione had forgotten amidst her excitement that she promised Rose she could sleepover with Ginny tonight. It made him slightly nervous, eating dinner with her in her home, alone, but Hermione was vibrating with happiness at his expense. He pushed that ridiculous nervousness aside and enjoyed their dinner.

The dinner was delicious and their conversations mostly revolved around safe, light topics. Hermione recounted her field mission today, and Draco found himself nodding his head, replying at the right time, and matching her expressions.

It was, simply put, a normal dinner.

They were now lounging on the couch – his couch – and watching random cooking shows on the television. Draco was actually mesmerized with all the dishes the chef made, especially since he was using Muggle means to whip up those delectable dishes. Dinner had already ended an hour ago, but Draco could feel his mouth watering at all the colorful meals.

"Draco?"

He blinked and shifted his gaze away from the television. Hermione was already looking at him, a small smile on her face. "Yeah?"

A small blush grazed her cheeks as she looked at her hands. "I just... well..." She paused and chuckled, absentmindedly tucking a curl behind her ear. "After all these months ever since that one, fateful Sunday night... I just..." She slowly lifted her head to look at him once more. Draco took a sharp intake of breath, her eyes bright like starlight. "I've seen you work so hard and I think you have the right to know that I'm... I'm really proud of you. Truly, desperately proud of you."

Something warm grew in his stomach and crawled up to his heart, wrapping and wrapping around. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling. It actually felt nice, and Draco didn't realize he was holding his breath.

"You're going to be a wonderful Curse Breaker," she said with utmost conviction. "I just know it. And if somebody speaks the otherwise, well, they'll have to get through me first."

His heart hummed as he grinned widely. "You can't win my battles for me, Granger," he reminded her, but Hermione merely shook her head.

"But you can't win them alone, too. I won't allow it."

The resolve in her eyes was enough to warm his heart. "I wish Rose was here to know that I got accepted in the ministry," he continued, chuckling at the thought of the sweet child. "She'd be thrilled that she'll see me more often." He made a face and shook his head. "She was constantly complaining about her daycare, pointing out that I'm right here and I can babysit her."

"Rose loves you very much," Hermione supplemented softly.

Draco lifted an eyebrow. "What's that I detect?" he teased, a playful smirk on his face. "Are you jealous that your daughter loves me more than you, Hermione?"

She playfully smacked his arm. "You wish," she said. "I was the one who brought her into this world. It's only natural that we have a stronger bond."

"Don't worry," he said, his smirk morphing into a grin. "I can learn to share. I can also teach Rose to pretend that she loves you more when you're in the vicinity."

"You will do no such thing, Draco Malfoy!" she scolded with a gasp.

A loud laugh escaped from him, eyes shining as he looked at Hermione. Her affront melted into mild amusement, before she joined him in laughter.

"Blimey," the blond said, "if you told me I'd be babysitting your daughter while you travel around and save the world, I'd say you were barmy and send you straight to St. Mungo's."

"Oh, admit it was the best thing that had ever happened to you," she retorted. "If I haven't entrusted you with my daughter, your life would still be the same, boring one."

Draco smiled widely, catching her off guard. He knew she expected him to retort something witty, to dispute her claim, but he was far too happy today. "You're right," he said with a sigh. "Rose might probably be the best thing that had ever happened to me."

He shifted on his seat and leant his head against the couch, eyes shining as he continued to look at the strangely quiet witch. "I... really haven't thanked you for barging into my flat a few months ago, have I?" Draco murmured. "You're always the one thanking me, for everything, but... but you have no absolute idea how grateful I am that you chose me to take care of Rose."

Draco sighed, his eyes dropping close, and continued, "Thank you, Hermione. For everything. You always yammered that you can see me exerting enough effort to change for the better. But, you don't know that without Rose... without you... I don't think–"

His words died down as she pressed her lips against his. Draco's eyes flew open in shock, very much awake now.

"W-wh -"

His mouth ran dry when Hermione shakily placed a hand against his cheek. Draco's breathing turned erratic when Hermione prettily smiled at him, her cheeks splattered with red and her eyes alit with emotions that had made his heart beat faster.

"I must confess," she started, "I have really been meaning to do that for quite some time now." She blinked, and as an afterthought, she added, "Oh, Rose will be thrilled about this. I'm sure of it."

He took a sharp intake of breath. "If..." Draco rasped out. "If you're doing this just so Rose may have a father, I-"

Hermione silenced him once more with a brief peck on his lips.

There was something in her eyes, an emotion he often saw when Hermione gazed at Rose, Potter, and Ginny. Heck, he also saw that emotion in her eyes on the day they visited her ex-husband's grave. And to see it while she was looking at him... There was something else, too – something more – and Draco couldn't breathe anymore.

"I'm doing this for me."

Something in him snapped as he reached out her for and pulled her with a gentle force. Hermione yelped in surprise, but Draco easily caught her with a dazzling grin. Before Hermione could recover, his lips were upon hers, hungrily relaying all the repressed feelings he had for her ever since forever. She matched his kisses with equal fervor until their kisses turned into slow, sweet pecks before Hermione completely pulled away.

They stared at each other for minutes or perhaps for an eternity. Her eyes were shining bright with happiness and affection and Draco couldn't believe he was lucky enough to receive that loving gaze.

Reaching out, he tucked another stubborn curl behind her ear and grinned. "This is starting to be the best day of my life," he confessed. Loud, infectious laughter burst out from Hermione's lips, prompting his grin to widen. He placed a hand at the back of her neck and pulled her down, bringing his lips against hers once more.

__________

Hermione twitched awake and sleepily batted a hand away. Somebody was trying to rouse her from her sleep and she moaned in protest. Her bed was so warm and soft, and the constant, low beating of something lulled and comforted her.

Shifting slightly, she sighed when warm arms tightened around her and pulled her closer.

'Wait... arms?' she groggily thought with a frown. 'Since when did my bed have arms?'

Somebody was shaking her awake once more. Grumpily, her eyes flew open to glare at the person who disturbed her wonderful sleep, only to see her grinning daughter. Ginny stood behind her, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement and that was when Hermione realized she didn't sleep on her bed.

The arms around her stirred and she stiffened, slowly craning her head to see Draco's sleeping face. Hermione sat up with a gasp, successfully jerking Draco awake. A deep, slow blush crept on her face as she sheepishly turned to Ginny and Rose.

"Good morning, Mama, Draco!" Rose greeted with an enthusiastic wave of her hand. "Did you miss me?"

The memory of last night came crashing back to her, of locked lips and wandering hands, and Hermione had fervently thanked Merlin they were only snogging last night. If things had escalated quickly... well, she would have no face to show her sweet, innocent daughter.

Cheeks still warm, she darted a look at Draco, who was wearing a proud, wide smirk on his face, like he had won the Quidditch World Cup. Hermione scowled when Ginny mirrored his expression.

"Had a good night?" Ginny drawled, raising a suggestive eyebrow at their mused up appearance. Hermione bet her lips looked as swollen as it felt and tried desperately to pat her wild mane to some semblance of normalcy.

She jerked, felt Draco's comforting squeeze on her hip, before he stood up from the couch. Hermione willed her arms to stay in place so as not to grab him back on the couch with her. Admittedly, he looked smashing with his bedroom hair and sleepy eyes; the handsome smirk on his face wasn't helping at all.

"A wonderful night actually," Draco replied, running a hand through his hair. Hermione's hand twitched, remembering the feel of his hair in her hands last night, and sighed petulantly.

Draco then lifted Rose into his arms, producing surprised giggles from the child. "I have excellent news for you, Rosie!" he exclaimed. "I'm going to work in the ministry again."

Rose's eyes rounded in shock, before she threw her arms around his neck. "Really?" she cried with joy.

"I heard Davies accepted you in a heartbeat," Ginny said, her smirk melting into a small smile at Rose's antics. "Congratulations, Malfoy."

Draco grinned in reply. "Thanks, Weasley," he said.

Ginny nodded her head, and then looked between her and Draco. Her eyes glinted in mischief, prompting Hermione to scowl. "Come, Rosie," her aunt said, a slow, wicked grin forming on her face. "Do you want to prepare breakfast for your mother and Draco?"

Rose squirmed in his arms, so Draco had no choice but to lower her on the floor. "Okay!" she cried, running towards Ginny. They both disappeared into the kitchens, but not before she heard her daughter ask, "Will Draco be my Daddy soon?"

Hermione's eyes had widened in horror and embarrassment. She couldn't turn her gaze to Draco, knowing that he had also perfectly heard her daughter's question.

"She asked me about that one time too, you know."

Her gaze finally snapped back at him, and she could see that he was looking at her carefully, as if trying to gauge her reaction. Hermione opened and closed her mouth, at a loss of what to say, but Draco merely chuckled and shook his head.

"Merlin, Hermione, we'll take this one step at a time," he promised, reaching out his hand.

Her heart jumped to her throat as she gazed at his hopeful eyes, and slowly, she placed her hand on his. His grip was warm and tight and Hermione almost blurted that she was most likely bloody well in love with him and making him Rose's new father wasn't a bad idea at all.

Draco pulled her closer and grinned, now holding both of her cheeks lovingly.

"One step at a time," she repeated, eyes already fluttering close.

"One step at a time," he reaffirmed, finally closing the distance between them.

It would be one hell of a journey. She was quite sure of that.

__________

Rose was humming a happy tune as they meandered through the ministry to bring her to the daycare. Draco smiled, recognizing the tune from one of her favorite cartoons on the television, and held onto her hand tighter. Her other hand was held by her mother, who was lovingly smiling down at her daughter.

"What's got you awfully cheery today?" he asked, amused that Rose started to swing both of her arms.

"Nothing," she happily replied.

Draco darted an amused glance at Hermione. She merely shrugged her shoulders, grinned wider, and fondly ran her free hand through her daughter's curls.

Throughout their journey, Draco recognized some familiar faces of his colleagues and inclined his head in greeting. A week had already passed ever since he started in the DMLE. Although most of his days were spent on training and seminars, he had never been happier in his new job.

He was able to come across McLaggen one time, who merely sneered at him and walked away. Draco had a sick sense of smugness, knowing that despite his resignation from the DIMC, his proposal was still on the way. From what he had heard from Reggie the Secretary, McLaggen had begrudgingly accepted that they really need to cut back on their travel budget for other important matters – such as the swivelling chairs – and Draco had never been happier.

"Harry told me you'll have your first field mission today," Hermione said.

He smiled at the worry lines on her forehead. "Yes," he replied. "Relax, Hermione. We're just going to raid some hideouts. Besides, Potter will be there."

Hermione frowned a little. "Still, be careful," she warned.

"Yes, Mother."

She gave him a withering glare, but thankfully didn't retort anything in return.

They finally arrived in the ministry daycare. Rose pulled her hands away from their grips and turned around. "Can we go to Florean's today?" she hopefully asked. "He promised he'll give me free tastes."

"Not today, menace," Draco said, placing a hand on top of her head. Rose made a face and shook his heavy hand away. "I've got some work today." A small frown bloomed on Rose's face, and Draco immediately added, "But we can go this Saturday. If, well, your mother agrees."

Both of them questioningly looked at Hermione, who had no choice, but to sigh in resignation and sullenly nod her head. Draco knew that as a daughter of dentists, she was still having a hard time indulging her daughter with sweets.

"Anyway, I've got to scat," he said, briefly looking at his wristwatch. "I'll be back to fetch you at 5:00 pm, Rosie. No extensions."

"Aww, you're no fun." She stuck out her tongue at him, which he replied by pinching her cheek. Then, to her mother, she opened her arms wide and waited for Hermione to envelope her into a big hug. "Goodbye, Mama. I love you!"

"I love you, too, sweetheart," Hermione said, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"Goodbye, menace, and be good."

Hermione laughed and straightened up, before grabbing onto his hand to leave the daycare.

"Draco!"

Both of the adults turned their heads at the little redhead. Hermione looked at him questioningly, but Draco merely shrugged in reply.

He untangled his hand from hers and strode closer to Rose. She beckoned him to get closer, a conspiratorial smile on her face, and he had no choice but to kneel down to match her height. She giggled and cupped her hand against her mouth and whispered against his ear, "I love you the most, Draco, but shh don't tell Mama!"

Rose giggled once more and ran away from him towards her playmates.

A stupid grin appeared on his face as he stood up. Hermione was looking at him strangely and questioningly, but he merely shook his head and laced his fingers with hers once more.

"What did she say?"

"Nothing," he hastily replied, his grin widening. Hermione would be crushed if she discovered he successfully snagged her daughter away from her. Despite her glower, he didn't budge. Instead, he looked around the corridor, smirking when he realized that they were the only ones present.

Without warning, he tugged her closer and placed a quick kiss on her lips. Pink flooded her cheeks and she shyly smiled at him.

Wordlessly, he held onto her hands once more as they walked back to the DMLE.

As her hand tightened around him, he sighed and thought, 'I could do this every day.' Bringing her daughter to the daycare, walking hand-in-hand with Hermione, stealing kisses when people weren't looking... it was everything he had ever wanted and Draco was still in disbelief.

"I don't deserve you," he whispered to her, before they mingled with the swarming crowd near the lift.

Hermione frowned at him. "Don't say that," she scolded, her hold on him tightening. "You deserve all the happiness and... and l-love like any other person."

His heart thudded at her stutter and couldn't help but widely grin. Reaching out, he lightly brushed his fingers against her cheeks. "Thank you, Hermione. For everything," he whispered, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead.

With her eyes shining brightly and her lips stretched into a lovely smile, he once again thought, 'Yes, I could do this every day.'