Last Lesson in Love - (Sequel to Tutoring A Malfoy)

Chapter Nineteen - 'Saying goodbye.'

You know that feeling when your heart really, really wants something but you can’t have it no matter what? You would literally give an arm for to have that one thing? Well, Hermione was feeling that exact feeling.

She wanted Draco. She needed him, in a literal sense this time.

Hermione had moved back to Australia after countless  shakes of her head when Mrs Weasley had asked her to stay at the Burrow. But how could she? Her whole life belonged in Australia; Rose’s school, her work, her home, her belongings. Her life had been built in Australia brick by brick and she wasn’t about to throw that away, for Rose’s sake. So, she finally said her goodbyes to the Weasley’s – minus Ron, who just so happened to not be there when she was about to leave.

Her heart had stopped when she walked into the little apartment in Australia that she had managed to make a home. Everything was wrecked. Everything. Rose’s face fell and her constant chattering ceased when she spotted her cuddly toys had been ripped open and scattered along the wine coloured carpet.

Hermione’s hands flew to her mouth, suffocating the scream she felt deep in her lungs. The television she had bought from a store just twenty minutes from where she lived had been smashed to pieces, the paintings she had decorated the walls with had been broken in half, the wooden table lay on its side as the sofas were decorated with fluff from the ripped pillows, and it looked like someone had spilled wine on her white rug and had left the bottle open on the floor.

She couldn’t bear to check the rest of the house but she had to. Hermione walked past Rose who went to her dismembered toys and went to her room, glancing briefly at the kitchen where the dishes had been shattered. Her room was a mess as well, just as Rose’s was. Their beds, clothes, curtains, and everything else had been ripped and strewn about like confetti.

Anger bubbled inside Hermione. She knew who it was, she knew he had done it out of spite.

Michael.

‘Oh, please,’ Hermione said in a voice that came out half whisper and half moan. She had hid away some money in the laundry room...

Hermione ran there, tripping over something on the floor. She picked herself up, wiping away her tears furiously as she got to the laundry room. It looked as though it hadn’t been touched other than the laundry detergent being spilt on the floor. Moving to the washing machine, she got on top of it, openly sobbing now.  She reached up to open the cupboard and her heart gave a giant lurch when she saw the familiar black bag in tact, right there, with her money.

‘Oh, thank God,’ Hermione let out a breath she had been holding.

She rested for a mere second before grabbing the bag and hugging it to her. It was heavy; that was good. She needed all the money she could get right now. Hermione got off the washing machine and opened it, thankful to see some of her and Rose’s clothes in there.

‘Rose!’ Hermione called, a little louder than normal, ‘ROSE!’

Rose appeared at the doorway after a minute, looking scared and worried, ‘Mummy...’

‘Don’t you worry,’ Hermione told her sternly, ‘we need to go, okay? Stay here.’

Without another glance at her daughter, Hermione headed into her room. She tried to keep strong, not looking at the mess but rather, heading for her cupboard. At the top, there was a large bag and she took it out. She glanced around and picked up some of the clothes that hadn’t been slashed and some of her underwear. She did the same for Rose’s clothes and added a few toys that hadn’t undergone the same fate as the others.

‘Mummy...’ Rose repeated in such a small voice that Hermione could hardly hear her.

She didn’t reply.