The Brightest Black - A Dramione Fanfic

Dawn Breaks

Sunlight danced over Hermione's skin, warming it in ways she had never truly experienced before last summer. Smiling, she stretched, enjoying the feel of grass against her bare limbs.

"You look relaxed."

She turned her head, opening her eyes to see Draco walking up, his broom in his hand and his hair tousled by the wind. He'd been over at the Burrow with Harry, playing with the other quidditch fanatics.

"I am relaxed. I finally made up my mind what job to accept."

He settled down next to her, stretching out on the crisp grass and taking one of her hands in his own. She didn't even flinch when his fingers ran over one of her scars. She still wasn't comfortable wearing anything that showed her scars in public, but at home or at one of her friends' houses she felt perfectly comfortable. They knew her. They knew her scars. And, like Draco, they didn't care.

That helped her find the strength not to care as well.

"Oh? Are you going to take Snape's offer to teach Transfiguration for a year? I know he'd be happy to replace Tonks. She's such a natural that she's a terrible teacher in the subject."

She wrinkled her nose. "No. Besides, Pansy has offered to take that job for a year. She isn't sure what she wants to do with her life. And with Neville taking over Herbology from Diggory..."

"Ah, yes. Diggory is taking up a position at the Ministry. In Magical Games and Sports, right?"

"Yes. That department was hit terribly by the graveyard and the battle. I'm sure you and the other quidditch fanatics will be glad to have the British Isles Quidditch League running again this year."

He snickered, "Quidditch fanatics? You will remember that it was us quidditch fanatics and our skill with broomsticks that turned the tide of the Battle of Hogwarts?"

She turned her head and made a face at him, but he just took the opportunity to kiss her. It was several minutes before they pulled apart. He quirked an eyebrow at her, making her jealous. She still hadn't managed to raise just one eyebrow.

"Well? Are you going to tell me what job you plan to take?"

"I'm going to take up your mother's offer to work in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. She's right, because of my articles during and after the war I'm well-respected all over the world. And we need all the international support we can get. We lost so much last year that we may never recover without assistance. Even if that assistance only comes in the form of visa exchange agreements with foreign countries. We need skilled people and we can't wait for the current students to grow up. Not to mention last year and this year were smaller classes after the battle..."

She grimaced as she remembered the hours after she and Draco had returned from the Astronomy Tower.

They'd lined up the dead, from both sides, and it had been horrific. She'd been wracked with guilt for weeks over the fact that she had led so many students to their death. She'd eventually found comfort with Blaise of all people. He'd understood in a way that none of their friends could, for it had been the two of them that led the students out of the safety of the common rooms.

Draco drew her back out of her thoughts. "You're right. We do need help rebuilding. And filling teaching slots."

She smiled sadly, "Yes. Like Professor Roux. He's as good at teaching as his sister and husband were, though he certainly doesn't have their flair."

"I think it would be very hard for anyone to have the same flair as Alianore. That woman was rather unforgettable. Same with Tachiki. I'm still surprised Zackarie Roux chose to come teach Charms where they had died. If you had died," his face grew very grim and he finished quietly, "I don't think I could have ever returned to Hogwarts. Or England."