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Say Please	By : ColdWaterFairy Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 28209 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
A/N: Thanks to mamacita for beta'ing this.
Harry lifted Hermione into his arms. "Ron, I'm going to St. Mungo's to drop Hermione off. I'll be right back." With that he Apparated, leaving Ron alone with Draco, who none of them had noticed in the chaos.

Ron heard a shuffling noise behind him and whipped around, wand raised. He lowered it slightly when he saw Draco struggling to stand up. Even though he knew Draco hadn't been responsible for Hermione's disappearance, Ron wanted to blame him on principle. He went over to Draco and repaired a chair for him to sit on, then went back to the door and erected shields and a screen so the curious onlookers wouldn't be able to see in.

"Why didn't you contact us sooner?" he asked belligerently.

"She did, you half-wit! Obviously Potter doesn't read his mail."

Ron shifted uncomfortably. "You can go to St. Mungo's if you need to. We'll be by to question you later, though."

Draco just raised his eyebrow. "I would, but seeing as Potter just left with my wand, I'm in a bit of a quandary."

It was then Ron noticed the odd angle at which Draco was holding his right arm. He could have fixed it for him—all Aurors knew rudimentary healing spells—but he felt Draco could just suffer until Harry returned. They sat in silence.

Draco looked at Blaise's impaled body and shuddered. His one-time best friend was dead, killed by his one-time childhood nemesis. The thought struck him as funny and he gave a half hysterical laugh. Ron looked at him oddly, clearly thinking Draco had lost it, and for a moment he might have. As quickly as his laughter had begun it ceased. Laughing jolted his dislocated shoulder, causing him to hiss in a pained breath. Where the hell is Potter?. He wanted a pain potion.

Harry's reappearance with three more Aurors didn't surprise Draco. All of them stared at Blaise's body with horrified fascination. "The Minister is not going to be happy," one the Aurors stated.

"I'll take care of him," Harry said.

"Can I have my wand back, Potter? I'd like to go to St. Mungo's and get my shoulder taken care of."

Harry looked startled that Draco was talking to him. "Oh. Er, sorry, I can't. We have to run scans on it and such. But one the Aurors can escort you. Ron and I will be by later to question you."

"Fine, whatever," Draco said stiffly. He wanted to inquire about Hermione but didn't want them making too much of it. They were bound have some uncomfortable questions already.

"Rebecca, could you please take Malfoy to St. Mungo's and then come back here?"
Hermione held still as the Healer applied salve, and obediently drank the potion handed to her. She didn't want to think about what she'd done or why she'd done it. She just wanted to be numb. While she floated on a cushion of potion-induced comfort she thought she heard Malfoy's imperious tone as the medi-witch closed the door. What must he think of me? Suddenly it didn't seem to matter, and she shut her eyes.
Draco let out a relieved breath once the female Auror was gone. His shoulder burned and breathing was becoming damn near unbearable as bruises developed. He was just about to go in search of a Healer when one walked in. Draco gritted his teeth when the Healer stated the obvious.

"I know my ribs are bruised and my shoulder is dislocated. I came here so you could fix it! Just put the bone back in the socket, give me a pain potion, and I'll be on my way." He glared at the Healer, daring him to argue.

The Healer didn't look pleased but pointed his wand and reset Draco's shoulder. He pulled a vial out of a pocket in his robes. "Do you have someone waiting for you? You have a concussion; it would be best if you had someone to look after you."

Draco tried staring the man into submission. He didn't need anyone to look after him. "Well," the Healer said, "we can keep you here overnight."

That was the last thing Draco wanted to do. He wanted to leave before Potter and Weasley showed up to question him. He gave an aggrieved sigh. "Greg Goyle or Pansy Parkinson."

The healer handed him the vial of pain potion and left the room. Draco could only hope that Greg would keep Pansy from hovering over him. It would be nice to see Greg again, he thought as he downed the potion. His aching body relaxed and he closed his eyes. When he next opened them it was to see Pansy standing over him. Her eyes were puffy and her nose red.

"Oh, Draco, I'm so sorry. I didn't know! I'm so stupid. I never should have mentioned the painting to Blaise. I just wanted all of us to be friends again. I never thought this would happen." Greg walked in just as Pansy broke down and sobbed hysterically. He patted her awkwardly and told her not to worry about it.

"Pans, why don't you go and set up the guest room? We'll be along shortly." Pansy sniffled and left the room. Draco pushed up and swung his legs over the edge of the table. Greg steadied him when he drifted to one side; he kept his hand on Draco's arm as they walked, and Draco didn't jerk away. When they Flooed to Greg and Pansy's place, Draco didn't protest their insistence that he stay. He really hated being alone.
Hermione fought her wakefulness, preferring instead to skirt around the edges of it. She groaned and turned over, hoping sleep would reclaim her, only to see Harry sitting in a chair next to her bed. He was drinking coffee and staring at her. He gestured to the mug on the nightstand, letting her know it was hers. She didn't want to see him or Ron. She knew full well she wasn't being logical. He knew things that she'd really rather she could forget and Harry never know. His opinion meant everything to her. She could feel her fear of his disappointment squeezing her chest.

When Hermione just stared at him with a look that was half-sick, half-pained, Harry set his mug down. Slipping into the bed with her, he gathered her up in his arms and held her. "You didn't mean to hurt Blaise. I know that, as does everyone else. You're not capable of such hatred."

Hermione turned over, not wanting to look into his earnest eyes. It was more than just killing Blaise; in doing so she had blown any chance those missing witches might have had of being recovered. She had failed as an Auror by allowing personal feelings to cloud her judgment. She picked up Harry's hand and traced the scars remaining from Umbridge's punishment with her fingertip. I Shall Not Tell Lies. I am not a liar. His hand twitched at the reminder.

"What happened, Hermione?"

His voice compelled her to speak, so she told him everything. When she got to the part where Blaise had Draco pinned, she hesitated. Harry didn't push, just waited for her to continue. Hermione was conflicted. She'd always been truthful with Harry, even when she knew he would be mad or she was embarrassed. This was different, though; it felt different.

"I don't know to describe it to you, Harry. When I saw that Blaise had Draco pinned I just become so angry and scared. I was positive that the next words out of his mouth were going to be 'Avada Kedavra'. I just had to do something. The thing is, I don't even remember saying anything. He just went flying through the air, and—" She exhaled forcefully.

Harry just held her tighter. She knew he wanted to ask her a millions questions. "So you're saying it was your feelings for—Malfoy—that made you lose control?"

Hermione moved restlessly, accidently causing their embrace to become a more intimate one. Blushing hard, she stilled. She gripped his hand more tightly, her finger stilling in the middle of tracing the N in "Not", her eyes continuing to trace to the end. "No—yes—I don't know. He's changed. I know that sounds trite, but he has. I treated him so unfairly in the beginning. I, who pride myself on being unbiased and forgiving, couldn't look past my own petty judgments."

She stopped, trying to find the words. "Harry I don't even know how to explain it to you. He makes me feel something I've never felt before. I'm not saying I've fallen love with him or I want to be with him in any significant way, only that when I'm around him I don't see things the same way. Like his presence makes all the difference."

Harry was silent for so long that Hermione became anxious. She burrowed her face into his shoulder and waited for him to tell her how naïve she was being and lecture her on being so trusting. Instead all she got was a sigh of acceptance. "I suppose it's passion. It's always been there between the two of you. You're passionate about proving him wrong and he's been passionate about tearing you down." He leaned up and over to look at her face before continuing. "Passion is important, but it isn't everything. It can burn out quickly and leave one feeling the worse for wear."

Hermione looked away. What would Harry say if she told him she didn't care? That one kiss from Draco was enough to make her forget logic and prudence. She felt lost and achy, and it scared her even more because when had she stopped being in control? Tears stung the corners of her eyes.

Harry made an affectionate sound and thumbed the moisture away. "Come on. No more wallowing." He hopped out of the bed and grabbed her arms and tugged her up, too. He dragged her into the bathroom and turned on the shower. "You clean up and I'll make you something to eat."

Hermione gave him a horrified look. "Uh, that's okay. We can just go to that deli around the block." Harry had a tendency to burn everything but eggs.

"Nonsense, Herms, I can cook."

She grimaced at his subtle dig. "Fine—just remember the food is done before it burns," she said, shoving him out and shutting the door.
Draco woke with a start. "My, grandmother, what masculine features you have."

Greg stared back at him like he'd grown feathers. "Er, do you know who I am?"

Draco gave a weak laugh and sat up. His shoulder was still sore and he noticed that the Healer hadn't given him anything to prevent bruising. "Of course I do, Pansy." He looked at Greg appraisingly. "You've really filled out, haven't you?"

Greg sat on the edge of the bed. "It's the robes isn't it? They make me look fat," he deadpanned.

Pansy stood in the doorway and mentally patted herself on the back. It was good to see them getting along so well. She had a moment of somber contemplation before she pushed thoughts of Blaise away. "Breakfast is ready."

Draco watched the way Pansy and Greg interacted and tried to picture himself being that intimate with someone. He could see the awareness they had of each other. Greg fixed Pansy's tea before handing it to her; she, in turn, saved him the last rasher of bacon. Their shared look of happiness at causal touches bestowed was enough to make him mutter into his cup.

"What was that, Draco?" Pansy asked.

"Nothing. I was just curious whether or not you've received any communiqués from the Ministry."

Greg handed him a letter from Ron requesting Draco's presence immediately. He smiled. So much for immediately—it was going on half past ten now. A thrill of excitement went through him as he wondered if Hermione would be there. Probably not, he thought. She's most likely at home relaxing and being fussed over by her family and friends.

He switched his focus back to Greg when he heard his name. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Pansy and I will swear that you didn't know the painting was really Granger and that you were out of the country when she went missing."

Draco made no response, just looked out the window. The concussion he'd sustained was obviously more severe than he'd thought. He had never been this emotional before. "Thank you both—that is, really—thank you."

Pansy smiled sheepishly. "Oh, by the way, I might have overreacted a little when I got the Floo-call from St. Mungo's."

Draco narrowed his eyes. He was afraid he already knew what she was going to say. "What did you do?"

Wringing her napkin in her hands, she directed a winning smile at him. "Nothing bad. I just sent a letter to your mother."

Draco drew in a deep breath through his nose and twitched. He didn't bother yelling at Pansy. She meant well—and they probably hadn't told Narcissa what was wrong with him, only that he was hurt and she needed to come straightaway.

"Don't worry about it, Pans. I'm just going to clean up and then we can go."
Draco reined in his temper. "For the fifth time, Weasley—I'll speak more slowly so you'll understand—I don't know anything about the hag who sold me the painting. I already gave you her address; why don't you go search her house yourself?"

"Your story is quite fantastical, Malfoy. You happen to stumble upon Hermione's painting. The witch who sold it to you just happens to have mysteriously died. You and Blaise could have been in it together, for all we know."

"Obviously what you know is very little, because I wasn't even inthe country when the witches started disappearing."

"Fine, then answer this. Why didn't you bring the painting to us? Why did you keep it, knowing we were looking for her?" Ron asked, leaning further into Draco's face.

Draco sighed in annoyance. "Did you ask Her—Granger why?"

Ron's eyes narrowed at the near-slip. "No, I haven't. She's resting, and Harry will get a full debrief from her. The quicker you answer my questions, the sooner you can leave."

Draco folded his arms across his chest. "No, I think I'll leave that question for Granger to answer. By the way, when am I going to get my wand back? I don't relish living like a Squib."

Giving him a false smile, Ron said, "I'll look into it, Malfoy."

"Are you done questioning me?"

With a curt nod Ron gathered his parchments and left. Draco left too, going to meet Greg, who had waited for him since he still didn't have a wand. Greg didn't say anything until they were in the lobby.

"Pansy took care of your flat, but you're more than welcome to stay with us for a few more days if you like."

"Maybe one more night."
A/N: I have no clue how many more chapter are left but I'm guessing about four. I'm writing by the seat of my pants if you haven't noticed.

Is anyone else going through withdraw due to ColouredGrey being down? I'm not lying when I say that I read some part of The Fallout every couple of days so this down time is making me sad. The upside is that Sage's last update was so brilliant that is been seeing me through the rough patches.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and rated the last chapter.
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