Against the odds Dramione

Draco sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes fixed on the strange blue creature on the screen, surrounded by vibrant tropical scenery. The creature—oddly dog-like, with oversized ears—was rambling on about something called Ohana. Draco didn't fully understand what was happening in the movie, but the creature reminded him of a French bulldog, and he found Frenchies amusing. Something about their squashed faces and short legs always managed to make him crack a smile, and this little blue alien had the same effect.

He glanced over at Hermione, who had burrowed herself into a thick blanket cocoon, her face barely visible under the layers of fabric. Her soft snores filled the room, and for the first time that day, Draco felt a sense of peace settle over him. She had fallen asleep, finally comfortable after hours of dealing with her painful cramps, and the potion he had insisted she take seemed to have worked wonders.

He allowed himself a rare moment of satisfaction. His little wife—wife, the word still sounded strange in his mind—was no longer hurting, and for once, he wasn't being yelled at or scolded. He leaned back against the headboard, arms crossed over his chest, eyes flicking back and forth between the movie and Hermione's sleeping form.

He couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips as he watched her, his gaze lingering on the peaceful expression on her face. Her cheeks were flushed from the warmth of the blankets, her wild curls spilling out in every direction like a halo around her head. Heknew he probably looked like a creep, staring at her like this, but he didn't care. Something about seeing her so at ease, without the sharp tongue or the fire in her eyes that she wielded during their many arguments, made him feel strangely protective.

It was funny, really. Years ago, if someone had told him that he would be lying in bed next to Hermione, his wife, watching a Muggle movie about a blue alien, he would have laughed in their face. But here he was, and it felt oddly right.

His thoughts wandered as he continued to watch her. He found himself questioning why he had ever thought of her as ugly when they were younger. Ugly? What was he thinking? She had always been beautiful, hadn't she? Even back at Hogwarts, when they were too busy hurling insults at each other to notice much else, she had been striking in her own way.

He remembered the day she punched him in third year, her fist connecting with his face in a way that shocked the entire courtyard. At the time, he had been furious, embarrassed that a Mudblood—no, Hermione, she was just Hermione now—had dared to lay a hand on him. But looking back on it now, he couldn't help but smirk. That punch had been the moment everything shifted. Maybe not consciously, but deep down, Draco knew it had left a mark on him—not just physically, but emotionally.

Was that a kink? He wondered idly, as the blue creature on the screen continued to wreak havoc in Hawaii. Perhaps. There was something undeniably attractive about a woman who could stand up for herself, who could match his wit and fire with her own. Hermione had always been like that—brilliant, fierce, and utterly unafraid to put him in his place. And Merlin, she was intelligent. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that her intelligence had been what drew him in from the start, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it back then.

She wasn't just book-smart either, though that was part of it. No, Hermione was clever in ways that constantly caught him off guard. She could argue circles around him in almost any debate, and while that had been infuriating at first, Draco had come to admire it. Hell, he even liked it now. He liked the challenge she presented, liked that she kept him on his toes. She was never predictable, never easy, and that was part of what made her so damned irresistible.

He glanced back at her again, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept. Her breathing was slow and even, the lines of tension that had been etched into her face earlier completely gone. She looked younger like this—softer, more vulnerable—and Draco felt his heart clench in a way that was becoming all too familiar. He had spent so many years pretending that he didn't care about her, that she was just an annoyance, but now, sitting here in the quiet of their shared bedroom, he knew better.

She had always been gorgeous, he realized, even when they were younger, and he had been too blind to see it. Gorgeous, intelligent, passionate... She was everything he had never known he wanted. He had spent years convincing himself that blood purity was the most important thing, that people like Hermione were beneath him. But now? Now, he couldn't even imagine his life without her.

He chuckled softly to himself, shaking his head at the irony. The universe certainly had a twisted sense of humor, pairing him with the one person who had always challenged everything he believed in. But maybe that was the point. Maybe Hermione had been sent into his life to make him a better person—to push him out of the darkness he had been raised in, to show him that there was more to life than what he had been taught.

He didn't deserve her, not really. But that didn't stop him from wanting her with every fiber of his being.

The movie continued to play in the background, but he wasn't paying attention to it anymore. His gaze remained locked on Hermione, his mind drifting from one thought to another. How had they gotten here? How had they gone from enemies to... whatever this was?

It wasn't love, not yet. At least, he wasn't sure if it was. He had never been in love before, so how could he know for certain? But there was something undeniable between them, something that went beyond the simple fact that they were married now.

She made him feel things—things he had never allowed himself to feel before. Vulnerable. Happy. Terrified. But most of all, she made him want to be better. For her. For their future.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft sound, a slight stirring from her as she shifted in her sleep. She let out a small sigh, her brow furrowing for a moment before she settled back into her blankets. Draco watched her for a long moment, feeling an unfamiliar warmth spread through his chest.

He leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head, careful not to wake her. "Sleep well, love," he whispered softly, his voice barely audible over the quiet hum of the movie.

He pulled the blankets up a little higher around her, making sure she was warm and comfortable before settling back onto his side of the bed. He wasn't sure when it had happened—when he had started caring about her this deeply—but there was no going back now.

And as the little blue creature on the screen continued to talk about Ohana, he couldn't help but smile to himself. Maybe, just maybe, this strange new life with Hermione wasn't so bad after all.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Theo tumbled through the fireplace in a flurry of soot, arms flailing, his dramatic entrance earning an immediate groan from her as she sat curled up with a book.

"Granger!" he bellowed, collapsing onto the nearest chair like a condemned man. "My life is ending! Ending at this very second! I can't breathe! I am doomed! DOOMED, I tell you!"

Hermione glanced up from her novel, raising a brow as she sipped her tea, clearly unimpressed. She set the book aside, giving him her full attention with a sigh. "Oh, Merlin, what now? Did you just discover that Destiny's Child broke up?"

Theo froze in the middle of his wild gesturing, eyes wide in horror as if she'd just told him the world was literally ending. "MY GIRLS BROKE UP?!" He clutched his chest in mock agony, stumbling back dramatically like he was about to faint. "No! Granger, tell me it's not true!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, exasperation laced with amusement. She should have known better than to bring it up. "Many years ago, Theo. But Beyoncé's been killing it solo since then. You should know that."

He stopped, the sheer relief washing over his face as if she'd told him all was right in the world again. Theo dramatically wiped his brow, flopping down on her couch like a swooning starlet. "Oh, thank you Salazar,she was always my favorite. The others? Replaceable. Beyoncé? Iconic."

"Obviously." She raised an eyebrow, trying to hide her smirk. "So now that you've recovered from that devastating bit of news... Why are you here this time? What's the real emergency?"

Theo let out a heavy, tortured sigh, pulling a cushion into his lap as though it might give him some sort of comfort. His expression was one of sheer, exaggerated tragedy, like someone announcing the end of days. "Granger… I am—cursed."

"Cursed? Really?" Hermione deadpanned, already suspecting where this was going but knowing better than to interrupt his theatrics. He lived for this.

"Yes! Cursed!" Theo threw his hands in the air dramatically. "Cursed with… feelings!" He practically wailed the last word, as if it were the most awful thing in the world. Hermione fought back a chuckle but motioned for him to continue.

"I am in love! And not just any love. The tragic, star-crossed kind of love. The kind of love that tears you apart and consumes you whole! The kind that—"

"Who is it, Theo?" she interrupted gently, her voice kind but tinged with mild exasperation. She'd seen this level of dramatics from Theo before, but she couldn't help but be intrigued by who had inspired it this time.

Theo paused, dropping the cushion in a rare moment of quiet. His eyes locked with Hermione's as he whispered, "Luna Lovegood."

Hermione blinked, processing this for a moment before smiling. "And that's… a bad thing, how exactly?" she asked, leaning forward. "You've been assigned to marry her. If anything, I'd say that's great timing."

Theo jumped up from the couch, pacing frantically like a trapped animal. "Great timing? Granger, this is a disaster! A catastrophe! The worst thing that could possibly happen!"

"Falling in love is the worst thing? Theo, you're literally being forced to marry her. Wouldn't it be worse if you didn't love her?"

"No!" Theo exclaimed, waving his hands. "You don't understand! I'm in love with her, but what if she doesn't love me back? What if she thinks I'm just… a nuisance? What if she wakes up one day and realizes she's married to a complete fool?"

Hermione couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled up at that. Theo Nott, self-proclaimed dramatic mastermind and one of the smartest wizards she knew, was terrified of rejection? Of being thought a fool? That was rich.

"Theo, Luna doesn't think you're a fool. She wouldn't even marry someone she didn't like. You're overthinking this."

"But what if she—what if she hates me?" He threw his arms out again, nearly knocking over a lamp with his exaggerated gesture. "I'm a complete wreck in front of her! She's too perfect, too ethereal—like she's been dipped in stardust, while I… I'm a blithering idiot! A common mortal! I—I can't compete with that, Granger!"

Hermione pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh again. His theatrics were impressive, but underneath all the dramatics was a man genuinely afraid of his own feelings, terrified that the love he had wasn't enough.

"Theo," she said softly, "Luna will like you for you. Trust me, she doesn't need perfection. She needs someone who sees her as she is, and I know you do. You don't need to be anything but yourself."

He stopped pacing for a moment, running a hand through his hair, his brow furrowed in thought. "But what if I'm not good enough for her?"

Hermione stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are good enough, Theo. And if you don't believe me, just ask her. Luna's not the type to hide her feelings. If she loves you, you'll know."

Theo bit his lip, uncertainty still clouding his expression, but the frantic energy had drained from him. He sank back onto the couch, looking lost.

"But what if she doesn't love me back, Granger? What if I've ruined everything before it's even started?"

"Theo, that's the risk of love. But it's a risk worth taking. And honestly, you'll regret it more if you don't take the chance." She gave him a small smile. "If Luna is worth this much drama, then she's definitely worth a little vulnerability, don't you think?"

Theo let out a heavy sigh, looking up at the ceiling as if searching for answers.

"You're right. You're always right, damn you," he muttered. "But what if I confess, and she just laughs at me?"

"Luna isn't going to laugh at you. She's probably been waiting for you to say something."

Theo groaned, covering his face with his hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~