Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Captive Audience	By : magentasouth Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 44847 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from any part of the Harry Potter universe.

Chapter List
- 1-Ch 1
- 2-Ch 2
- 3-Ch 3
- 4-Ch 4
- 5-Ch 5
- 6-Ch 6
- 7-Ch 7
- 8-Ch 8
- 9-Ch 9
- 10-Ch 10
- 11-Ch 11
- 12-Ch 12
- 13-Ch 13
- 14-Ch 14
- 15-Ch 15 (just edited - no addition)
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 15
- 16
- 17
Oh
god..� Her head!�

Hermione rolled groggily and buried her head under the pillow, clamping it down
tight around her ears.� Damnit.. what the
hell..� Her head hurt..�

She wanted to go back to sleep so that she didn�t have to be aware of the
throbbing stabbing ache behind her eyes but a sudden roil in her stomach
propelled her out of bed on autopilot.�
She looked around with squinting gritty eyes for her clothes but
couldn�t find them anywhere.�

In dire threat of throwing up, she grabbed the duvet from the bed and, wrapping
it around herself like a cocoon, pelted from the room in the direction of the
bathroom.
It
was a close thing.� She barely made it to
the bathroom in time, tossing the door closed behind her, before she was on her
knees emptying the acid contents of her digestive tract into the porcelain
bowl.� Several minutes passed before she
felt stable enough to climb naked to her feet and go back and lock the
door.�
Ugh.� She felt like something had died in her mouth.�
The
ancient faucets creaked when she turned them and stepped inside the shower,
sighing grumpily.� At least there wasn�t
the five minutes of cold water that was standard in her Muggle parents
house.� Say what you like but the
plumbing in the wizarding world was wonderful.
The
shower was good.� Even so, as she stood
under it, letting the water run down her neck, she realised that she still felt ill and heavy and
groggy.� What in Godric�s name had she
and Harry gotten up to last night?!�
Well,
drinking, obviously.� Drinking was
probably heavily involved.

She couldn�t even remember what they�d had for dinner, letalone whether she�d
consumed any alcohol.� Had Draco perhaps
poisoned them or something?
Another
horrible paranoid fear ignited within her.�
Swallowing, she slipped her hand hesitantly down between her legs.� A telltale ache, that she had not noticed in
the face of the nausea, vertigo and throbbing head, was making itself known now
that she stood under the shower.�

Her fingertips grazed over tender bruised flesh.
Fuck.
She
used the word rarely but felt that the situation right now warranted it.
Fuck.

fuck fuck fuck.
She
had had sex last night it seemed.
She
couldn�t remember whether there had been anyone else present apart from Draco
and Harry.� The evening was pretty blank
in her mind.� Isolated flashes of Draco..
and Harry..� Harry was drinking..blood?!.. and Draco.. was kissing him?!� Or something?!� He was leaning down over him.� She couldn�t remember.
If
no one else had been there then she had to have slept with one (or oh god �
what if it was both?!) of them last
night.� Seeing as she was suffering from
missing memories and Draco had been
the one to provide whatever they had consumed, he would be the likely culprit. �But with his views about blood purity, she
didn�t think he�d be particularly eager to be close to her.

Which left Harry.
Which
was almost worse, really.
And..
oh god.. what if she and whichever one it was hadn�t used any protection?!� What if they hadn�t cast any contraceptive
charm?!�
She
needed to get a potion.. or the muggle morning after pill even.�

Money!� She needed money!�

AAAUGH!� There was no way she could just
go and ask Harry for this.� Draco even
less � although, if it was him, surely he�d be as averse to a pregnancy as she
was.� But if it wasn�t him, she�d be
essentially informing him that she�d somehow ended up in bed with Harry.

No way.

This couldn�t become common knowledge!�
No one could know!
She�d
have to go to her parents!
NO!!!� The same reasons for not going there still
applied.� And if she went there now and had to tell them what she needed
the money for...

Just the thought of having that
discussion with them made her feel sick.

�Oh.. I don�t remember what happened.� I
was at the house of a friend.� Well.� No.�
not exactly a friend.� He was kind
of my worst enemy for my entire time at Hogwarts.� Why was I there?� Oh.. I had to give him a stone block.
Something
flashed in her mind.� An image of the
stone block on the floor.� A bloodstained
hole in the top.� Someone was reaching
into it.
What
had happened?!� Was there something
inside that was responsible for her state this morning.� It was from professor Snape.� Perhaps it was a potion?

Well.. of course it was a
potion.� But that didn�t mean that any of
them had had any of it.
Wracking
her brain she still couldn�t come up with any more about the evening than
isolated confusing images.� Blue
lights.� Casting a dark spell.� Eating at a long table.� Draco and Harry laughing happily.� Peacocks in a cage.� Books and golden light.

She needed to find out.
Washing
her hair carefully, due to the painful sloshing feeling in her head whenever
she tilted it, she finished up in the shower and wrapped a towel around
herself.�� It was awkward to carry the
large folded duvet and open the door, while making sure that her towel did not
slip - and when she opened the door she wished she hadn�t
Ron
stood outside with his arms folded angrily.��

He took one look at her, however, and his eyes widened, jaw dropping.� The one look turned into a long grope of a
stare that trailed all the way down her towel-clad body and then back up.� He swallowed thickly.

�Mi- ione� he started, his voice cracking slightly and then he caught her
pointedly irritated defensive posture. �I..didn�t mean to.. I mean.. I
wasn�t..�� He blushed dark red and then
his eyebrows lowered in anger as his mind caught up with itself.

�You need to get dressed and come down to the kitchen.�� He seemed about to say more � and it was clear
that, whatever it was, she wouldn�t like it � but, surprisingly, he bit it off
and turned on his heel, stomping away back downstairs.
More
than a little worried, she made her way back upstairs.�

What if.. what if it was Harry and he�d told Ginny about what had
happened!?� Did Ron know?!�

No.. she was getting ahead of herself � she didn�t know what had happened or
whether it was Harry.
It was Harry her mind whispered with
dreadful, hollow certainty.

Well.. maybe he didn�t know..� Maybe it was something else!�
Not
bloody likely.�

It would be Harry, Ginny and Ron building a united front down in the kitchen
against the despicable temptress who�d ruined everything by not dying.�

That would be what it would amount to in the end.
She
still needed to know what had happened.�
Maybe
she should go back home to her parents, whatever it turned out to be.�

Whether or not it was Harry she�d slept with, staying in this house was not a
good plan.�

And.. in a few months she�d be extremely wealthy.�� Perhaps she could even convince her parents
to let her get her NEWTs.�

Surely if she explained to her father patiently for a few weeks exactly how few
options were open to her in the Muggle world now, he�d eventually see
reason.� Better a real future in the
wizarding world � where there was no
longer a dangerous dark wizard waging a war against all the �right-thinking-masses�,
than a McJob in the muggle world.
Yes.�
Perhaps
that would be best.
She
surveyed the clothing in the wardrobe and decided upon the dark blue high necked
robe.� It was warmer and today was a day
that she really wished to be buttoned up to the hilt.

Professor Snape flitted through her mind incongruently.�

Did he perhaps feel insecure and defensive?�
Was that the reason for his black fortress of robes?!
Shaking
her head she looked around for her wand to cast a drying charm on her hair.
After
ten minutes she was certain that it was nowhere to be found.� It was not in under or on the bed, it wasn�t
in on, under or behind the bedside tables or the desk. �Nor was it in the wardrobe.
It
was at Malfoy Manor.� She just knew it.
When
she slunk into the kitchen, it was to find a tense oppressive silence.� She had heard angry lowered voice arguing as
she was descending the stairs but it had stopped as she�d reached the
landing.�

She walked in to find Harry, Ginny, Ron and
Draco seated around the kitchen table, drinking tea.� Harry did not look up when she came in.
It
was Harry.
Draco
did look up and met her eyes with a
wry smirk.
Great.� He knew too.
�Good
Morning, Granger� he offered, sounding like someone having a great day. �I brought your wand
back.� It seems you left it behind last
night.��

Harry looked up, startled, and gave Draco a searching look, which the blonde
did not appear to notice.
She
took the proffered wand from Draco�s hand, noting the way that three pairs of
eyes followed its progress across the table.
�Is
that the new wand you got yesterday?� Ginny asked with barely contained
aggressiveness.� Clearly she�d been
arguing with Harry only seconds prior to Hermione�s entrance.�

�What kind did you end up with?�
�Er..
that�s a bit rude, don�t you think, Gin?!� Harry said quietly, trying to be
diplomatic.� Draco was looking at the
redheaded girl, appalled.� It was not done to ask another witch or wizard
about their wand � it was fine if they brought it up, and it didn�t matter much
when you were very young, but asking an adult wizard about their wand or
wandcore was like asking them what kind of underwear they wore.� It was simply socially unacceptable.
Ginny
was not interested in social niceties this morning.
�No,
Harry, I don�t think it�s a bit
rude.� We�re all friends.� Hermione knows that I had an eight and a half
inch Holly wand with a core of unicorn hair.�
�Had..
Ginny.� Harry pointed out, causing the girl to scowl.� �You�ve had a new wand for over a month
now!� You didn�t even tell me about what its made of, so why should
Hermione tell us all about her wand!?��
he glanced at her fleetingly before lowering his eyes again. �Don�t
worry about it, Mione.� Just sit down and
have some breakfast.�
�Alright
� I�ll tell you about my wand if she tells us all about hers!� Ginny continued peevishly.� Ron nodded, also curious to learn what her
new wand was made of.� The suspicion on
his face made it clear that he probably already expected her to have something
dark.�

There was no need to go ahead and confirm that for him.
�No
thank you� she replied lightly and poured herself a cup of tea.� �So.. What�s up?�
Glances
were shared around the table.�
Before
anyone else could say something, Draco spoke up again, obviously deriving
enormous pleasure from the drama playing out around him.

�You were in the prophet, Granger.� You
made the front page.�

Well... I say you.. but really it was
you and Harry.�
He
reached around for the paper that Harry had apparently hidden behind his chair
and tossed it across the table to her.�

It landed open in front of her.� The
title jumped out at her in accusingly large letters
�HERMIONE
GRANGER � SCARLET WOMAN AND PROBABLE DEATH EATER � RETURNS TO TEAR ASUNDER
GOLDEN SOUL MATES?�
The
picture below it set her to fuming immediately.�

Someone had been in Gringotts.� The
picture showed Harry crying on her shoulder.��
However from the angle that the picture had been snapped it looked as if
Harry were ravishing her up against a random wall while she looked over his
shoulder guiltily biting her lip.
She
snorted in disgust and looked around the table.
�That
horrible woman!� I should have squashed
her when I had the chance!� Is this what everyone is upset about?!� Harry � you told them that you were only
upset about Hagrid, right?�

Harry was nodding, but looked tired and rolled his eyes.
�I
said that.� It�s obvious that the whole
article is rubbish.� Skeeter has hated
you from day one.�� I�m going to have her
job for this.�
�That�s
not the point, Harry� Ginny hissed
furiously.� �the point is that no one else except us knows that it�s all not true.� Everyone in the wizarding world will be
thinking that you�ve been having an affair with her behind my back!�

Harry!� You have to make it clear to
everyone that you aren�t� If they don�t
know she�s living here, they will soon.� Ginny looked up at Hermione. �You have
to go back to your parents!� Or stay with
Draco or something!� He�s offered.� You�d be fine there.� But.. you can�t stay here!� Hermione � look at this.� It�s been one day!� If you have any concern for anyone but yourself you won�t put us through this!�
Harry
looked like he was going to be sick.� She
felt pretty ill herself.� How could Ginny
do that?!� Just unilaterally kick her out!�
�Ginny..�
Harry started but Ginny held up a hand imperiously �NO, Harry.� This is our life!� This is our child�s life.� Do you want to have to explain one day why
their father betrayed their mother?� This
is in the papers.� Everyone will talk about it � someone is
going to mention it eventually.� It has
to go away now.� Make Skeeter write a
retraction and apology and make damn
sure that you aren�t photographed with Hermione again.� She has to go! �I mean it!�
Or I�ll leave!�
Harry�s
expression went blank for a moment before it crumpled into agonised
disorder.� He pushed his chair back from
the table with a screech and got up. �I have to think.� Give me a minute..� he muttered, moving
toward the door.
�HARRY!!� Ginny screamed, furious.� She�d clearly expected him to cave
immediately.�
�No.
Ginny.� Give me a minute.� He tossed back
tightly and was gone.
The
glare that Ginny gave her made her squirm.��
She lowered her head to avoid it and went back to the article.

The contents were actually worse than the seemingly incriminating picture, if
that was even possible.� Rita had played
on the fact that she�d been quite well when she�d been seen on the street �
unharmed by her time spent with you-know-who.�
She�d been protected from speaking with aurors although they�d been
strenuously pursuing her for questioning, she�d purchased a new wand � was her
old one incriminating evidence of her murderous debauchery?!� The entire article went on like that.. She�d
attached herself to Harry from the moment of her return and hadn�t let go of
his arm the entire time that she was in public.�
She�d flirted and batted her eyelids at him, uncaring that he had a
young pregnant fianc� that he loved � a young witch who was actually a true
hero of the wizarding world � who had fought to destroy He who must not be
named.

Hermione sniffed at that.� Since she had technically been the one to
single-handedly kill Voldemort � it was a bit bold to say that Ginny had done
more than her.
�Granger..��
Draco
caught her eye.� His own silvery gaze did
not waver.�
�Might
we speak in private?�
Ron
bristled and sat up a bit, looking between them both suspiciously.� Hermione realised she�d actually almost
forgotten that he was there.� He�d been
uncharacteristically silent and non-demonstrative.

�What do you want, Malfoy?!� he growled now.�
Draco
smiled thinly.� �Have you changed your
name, Weasley?!.. I was talking to Granger.� What we have to discuss doesn�t concern
you.� I�m sure if you summon the elf, he
can bring you another trough of bacon and eggs to keep you busy.�� Granger?�
Shall we?�

He stood and moved out from the table elegantly, sliding the chair back into
place silently.� Both Ginny and Ron were
sputtering in affronted rage.�� Hermione
hid her smirk.�
�If
you like� she said with a shrug, following him out of the room without looking
back.�

She felt no guilt for it.� Ginny had
essentially just booted her out without a second thought and Ron.. well.. Ok..
she knew she probably should feel a
little guilty for treating Ron badly � but he did eat like a pig, he shouldn�t
have interrupted a question meant for someone else and he was being utterly
gittish in general since she�d turned him down. (Which she could understand to
a certain extent, but didn�t enjoy experiencing)
Draco
led her down the hall into the small Black-family library.
He
strode in and held the door, closing it quietly after her, and paused for a
moment before turning and offering her a small friendly smile.�

It contained almost no sneer percentage at all!�

She was shocked and he must have seen it since he smirked then and shook his
head slightly.�

�Oh come on.. meet me halfway, Granger!�
I�m not perfect but I�m not as bad as you seem to think.�
He
glided smoothly closer and gestured toward the chairs by the fire.� �Shall we sit?� he enquired politely.�

Hermione was still on the defensive and so gave him a noncommittal little shrug
again, not moving an inch.
�Did
you sleep well?� Draco asked then, ignoring her rudeness.�

She narrowed her eyes.�

It could have been nothing more than
a polite question.�
�Not
particularly� she answered. �Whatever you poisoned me with yesterday didn�t
agree with my system.�
Draco
looked genuinely surprised.� Hurt,
even!�

�What are you talking about?!�
Poisoned!?� I didn�t poison
you!� You were fine when you left with Harry.�
He
seemed to pause for a moment and lowered his brows in slight pensive
indecision.

�Well.. Perhaps not fine. You were well
into your cups.� And you were all over Harry...
but you weren�t ill.� And you certainly were not poisoned.� Each alcoholic drink you consumed �� you accepted willingly.� Some you even asked for. �Admittedly, in the beginning you informed us
that you were unaccustomed to alcohol and therefore did not wish to drink,
however neither Harry nor myself forced you to drink either.� You changed your mind of your own
accord.� Harry was prepared to leave
early since you didn�t seem to want to remain � but you changed your mind, and
so you both stayed and chatted and drank far too much too quickly.� Even had you not left your wand on the floor
of my Library, I might have come by this morning to make certain you were
well.�
The
look of honest concern was too much.� She
narrowed her eyes sceptically

�I don�t believe you� she gritted out softly.�
�And your concern for my
welfare must be some kind of recent anomaly.�
Since I�ve known you, you�ve been solely concerned with hurting me.� Whatever you did to us last night fits that
pattern perfectly!�
�Granger..
I did nothing to you last night.� ...Ok.. I probably shouldn�t have allowed you
to leave with Harry in the state he was in.. but I couldn�t very well prevent
you both from departing, could I?!� I�m
sure that would have gone down wonderfully when you woke up and thought that
I�d imprisoned you.�
�What
happened last night then?� she asked, not entirely certain now whether Draco
might not be telling the truth.� Perhaps
it was just alcohol.� She really didn�t
drink much and people were known to black out while drinking to excess.��
The
tiny flicker of wariness in his eye was troubling. �What do you remember?� he
asked carefully.�

At her glare he swallowed and chuckled weakly �That much then?!..� Well.. Harry brought you to the Manor upon
barely a half hour�s notice.� We all
dined together � it was a venison dish with a side salad that included pomegranate
seeds as a component � which you had not before experienced and seemed to
enjoy.�
Hermione
couldn�t remember anything about pomegranate seeds at all.. Was it normal to have a black out from drinking
alcohol that also obliterated several hours prior to drinking!?� That seemed more than a little odd to
her.� She�d have to look into it.� At present however she was at least 80%
confident that it was more likely the work of a potion.
�We
spoke together about the ministry..� Draco continued. �-about Hogwarts reconstruction
efforts and about.. well.. we gossiped somewhat. �After dinner we retired to the library for a
quiet drink.� You were very taken with my
library.� The elves were able to clean
the drool from the floor though, you�ll be happy to know.�� He sneered slightly and she could just see the horrid little slicked-hair
ferret in him again.�

�The quiet drink became several quiet
drinks.� It seemed to me that you were
bothered by Harry�s preferred drink of choice, which happens to be red rum.�
Something
flickered up in her mind.� Yes.� Red rum was a drink made with dragons blood.� Harry was drinking blood.� Warm
blood.� It was repulsive.
�You
were drinking vodka, mainly.� At some
point I recalled the inheritance you had brought for me from my Godfather and
managed to open it.� It contained a
bottle of ocra.�
This
too sounded faintly familiar.� She
furrowed her brow trying to catch the thought but it had fluttered away the
moment the familiarity had flared.�
�Being
the spirit of generosity that I am � I offered Potter and yourself a very small
taste of Ocra.� He accepted.� You declined.�
He spent the next hour talking rubbish about fairies and the moon in the
fire � �
She
caught that faint tail of familiarity again for a moment and shook her head
slightly.
�-While
you and I spoke about our families.� I
shared with you an embarrassing anecdote from my childhood � Perhaps you might
recall something of it?� I broke a vase while in the house of the
Minister of Magic?�
She
tried to think.� It was so hard to
remember.

�I...� I don�t know. Maybe?!� Something..
something about dust or dirt or..�
�Ash�
Draco nodded.� �it was an urn.� Yes.�
And then sometime after that Harry started to become more lucid and..�
he paused, seemingly uncertainly, and bit the corner of his lip in a way that
she found almost endearing.

�I don�t know whether I should tell you, if you don�t know.� But.. I�ve a feeling that things may become
unpleasant here shortly and if you don�t
know you�ll be entirely unarmed.�

He fixed her with an earnest �listen carefully� expression.

�Last night.. after Harry started to make more sense again.. he.. well he was
rather negative about Ginevra and his current life.�

...He expressed to you that he wished that you were in her place.�

I was retrieving another round of drinks for us all and only caught the tail
end.� I did try to remind him of his obligations.. and of how unwise such a
statement was.

And then you kissed him, Granger.� From that point I may as well have been a
ghost.�

When I tried to intervene - I placed my hand on your shoulder as you were
attempting to climb onto his lap � he leapt up and struck me.�
Draco
drew his wand and waved it lightly, dispelling a glamour and exposing a dark
purplish bruise extending from his eye down onto his cheekbone.� His face looked slightly puffy.� Hermione gasped and swallowed, her heart
beating faster.� This was serious.� �

�Oh my god.� Draco!� That�s terrible!� Why haven�t you-�
He
re-glamoured the bruise at once.

�I didn�t heal it because I thought it might be necessary to show one or both
of you, but then Harry dragged me aside when I arrived here this morning and threatened me.� He told me to stay away from you.�

The way in which he said it...I have the feeling that there will shortly be
problems between he and Ginevra � and the blame is likely to be cast upon you.� Granger..

I know that you were beyond
drunk.� It�s clear from the fact that you
don�t even remember what occurred yesterday night � but.. I don�t think he was that far gone.�

From the way he acted this morning I�m almost certain that he remembered at
least some of what happened.� The important parts at least.�

I don�t know what happened after you both left but..well.. from his behaviour..I
gather..� Draco swallowed nervously and avoided her eyes. ��He recovered again a moment later and explained
in a quiet serious voice. �The point is � the reason I brought you in here to
talk to you - Granger.. You can�t stay here!��
She
stepped back and turned away, wrapping her arms around herself.�� Think � she chided herself.� Think!�
If that�s all true and Harry has just been given an ultimatum by Ginny �
either she goes or I go - this really could get messy.�

How did it even happen, she wondered unhappily.�
She didn�t even want Harry.� This was awful.� Truly awful.�
�Come
with me, Granger� Draco�s voice was almost unrecognisable.� A Malfoy would never emit such a plaintive
tone.� She glanced back at him and found
that his expression matched his tone perfectly.�
He was holding one hand out to her as if she might take it and run away
with him.

�.. You can stay at the manor.� I�ll
leave you completely in peace if you want.�
You�ll be safe!�

If you stay here.. I don�t know what will happen.�

You have to think rationally.� You are in
a very precarious position with the ministry right now.� The aurors are desperate to question you and
the only thing holding them off is Harry�s whim. �If he is tarred publically and portrayed as
what amounts to an adulterer and betrayer of a pregnant witch, his image as the
saviour of the wizarding world will be tarnished.� They�ll take you!� �If
this all goes to hell � you and I know that
you could end up in Azkaban!�� Come away now, before it�s too late.� Give all this time to heal over.� You can- �
�Why
do you care?!� she spat suddenly, honestly wondering.� There had to be an angle in it for him
somewhere.� Draco Malfoy was not an
altruist.� Not ever.�
He
gritted his teeth and turned away. �It doesn�t matter.� I�m offering you what you need.� You have to say yes!�
�But
why?!� WHY are you offering to help
me?!� You weren�t exactly merciful the last time we met before
everything ended!�
He
growled and threw his head back in frustration.�
�Do you have to keep
mentioning that?!� Fuck!� What other option did I have?!� He made it very clear that that was what he
wanted me to do!� Did you disobey him much!?� I�m sure you saw what he did to people who
displeased him. �That�s really why i�m
helping you, you know..�

He seemed to cringe slightly and turned away.

�Granger.. I�m helping you because.. because I need you.�� It was said between his teeth and sounded
like it had cost a lot to verbalise.
�You�re
the only one I might be able to ..talk to..about everything.� The only one who might understand..some of it.�
I can�t let anyone else know.�
Least of all Potter.� We�re all friends now, you understand?�
That means that I was officially a good
guy all along in his eyes.� He doesn�t
know about.. about..�

Draco stilled and folded his arms tightly.
�I�m
not asking for much, Granger.� I�ll keep
you safe.. and.. and you can keep me ...sane.�

I.. I have dreams.. about them..

Do you understand?� I can�t forget their
faces.. their..s-screams..��
She
did understand.. even if she didn�t
suffer from the same problem.

For a moment she considered whether everything he had said might have been the
truth.�
At
that point, the door opened quietly.� She
didn�t even need to glance over at it to know that it was Harry.� it was obvious a moment later when his angry
voice rang out as he stormed in and pushed Draco.
�Malfoy!..
I warned you this morning to stay the fuck away from her!� She�s not interested!� Mione � are you alright?� Did he do anything?�
And
that convinced her.�
�I�m
fine Harry� she said lightly as she turned.�
His eyes skidded away before they could meet her own.� �Draco was just apologising for last
night.� It seems we all had a bit much to
drink.� She caught the slight guilty flush on his cheeks and took a deep
breath.

�Look.. I�ve been thinking � maybe Ginny�s right.� It�s probably better if I don�t stay with you
for the moment.� It doesn�t look good and
it�s not good for her to be under so much stress in her condition.�� I�m ..i�m just going to go and stay with my
parents for a while, ok?� I�ll write to
you both and-�
�What?!!�

�NO!!�
Their
voices rang out together and they each launched into reasoning why she shouldn�t
go back to her parents in the muggle world.�
She couldn�t actually make out any of the arguments and neither of them,
she was certain, was at all interested in the thoughts of the other.� Eventually she held up a hand and they
stilled, although they both looked upset.
�I
can�t stay here.� And..though Draco has
invited me to stay at Malfoy manor � I�m guessing you�d be bothered by that, Harry.
�You
can�t trust him, Mione � he.. he was trying it on last night.� I had to actually hit him to get him to leave you alone.�� He sounded so sure.� She raised an eyebrow at Draco who shook his
head subtly.
�Well
then.� It�s probably better that I go
back to my parents for a while.� I�m sure
it won�t be too long.� You�ll see!�
�No�

Draco sounded petulant �I don�t want you to go back there.� I�ve had eyes on your parent�s almost since
you disappeared and my most recent information suggests they�re going to have
you subjected to muggle psychological assessment.� They�ll lock you up, Granger.� I don�t know what that would be like � I guess
it wouldn�t be as bad as Azkaban if you stay here � but why go through that
when you can stay in the wizarding world and study toward your NEWTs.�

I�ll.. I�ll give you an apartment.. or a house.. if you like.� You don�t have to live in the Manor.� You can stay in London and study!�
�You�ve
had eyes on my parents?!� What does that even mean?!� she spat, appalled.
�Why
would she go to Azkaban?!� Harry demanded, equally appalled.
Draco
seemed to see the error of his ways and backed it into reverse.� �Yes.�
Eyes.� I�ve had people watching
them.� Making sure they were safe � don�t
overreact. I assure you, they weren�t the only ones.� Having money can be useful.� I used my small funds to watch the families
of most of the witches and wizards I
know.� It�s always good to know what is
happening before others do.�

And Harry � or should I call you Potter again
now, since you seem to be back to calling me Malfoy � The ministry has sent a lot of people to Azkaban on very little
evidence.� Take your Godfather for
instance.� If your image is ruined
through this scandal � they�ll interrogate her and probably ship her off to
Azkaban purely for surviving unscathed.�
He
turned silver eyes on Hermione again �So.. let me help you.� It�s nothing to me to keep you.� You can�t begin to imagine how much I am
worth right now.� Let me do this.� I.. I owe you.��

Forestalling the next question he looked at Harry and spat �I cursed her,
alright?!� You want to know why I�m so
interested in her?� I hurt her.�

He gave me the option.. I knew he wanted me to and so I did.� I used the cruciatus on her.� I could have refused.. and he�d have cursed me instead, but he�d already held me
under the crucio for minutes and I
just..I just couldn�t face it.� I�m
sorry.� I cursed her!� I regret it but there you go.� Satisfied?!�

He dropped his head and massaged his forehead with one hand, seeming quite
troubled.
Hermione
wasn�t sure what to think.� He�d just
told Harry about it, which meant she could never hold it over him again.� And the way he�d explained it � Harry would
probably defend him for it to others too now.�

Well drat.
Harry
seemed nonplussed and short for words.� He
just looked between them both with deep uncertainty written all over his
face.�

�Hermione.. I..I need to speak to you alone� he said softly.
Draco
was alert and angry again at once. �No.�
I know what you�re about, Potter and I won�t let you do it.� You can�t talk everyone into letting you
string her along.� Whatever happened last
night � it was a mistake and no one but we three know about it.� So you�re going to let her go!� You�re going to marry your Weasley and raise
your little weasel brat and let her
live her own life because if you drag her down this road, she�s going to end up
in Azkaban.� The Weasleys may not be the
quickest but they�re definitely nasty enough to lash out publically and I don�t
have the power in the ministry right now to stop it from happening once it
starts.�
If
Draco had walked up to him and slapped him, Harry couldn�t have looked more
horror-struck.
�I
wasn�t going to..�� I wouldn�t..� he
fumbled.� �Mione.. You know I�d never..�
His face cracked then.� �I�m so sorry!�
he blurted.� �I didn�t mean to!� I thought.. I thought..that you..�

Seeing no understanding in her expression his eyes drifted down again.

�He�s ..probably right� he conceded.� �I�ll
do you more harm than good if you stay here.��
But.. but I don�t want you liv.. I..�
fuck..� he said with
feeling.� �I can�t give her a house or an apartment, can I?!�
Draco
snorted. �Not unless you want Skeeter announcing to the world that you�re
putting your mistress up before the vows are even spoken.� There�s a certain.. order to things in the wizarding world.� Its not exactly frowned upon to have a
mistress.. but not within the first
two years of marriage � and thats even assuming
Granger wants that.� I don�t think she
does.
Feeling
cruel, she shook her head at them both.� �I�m
sorry Harry.� I don�t even remember what happened last night.� I�m... i�m not looking for this.� Yes.. A long time ago I was in love with
you.. but so much has happened since.� I�m
not that person anymore.� I.. I
just..� No.�
She
ignored the slightly smug air about Draco and the way Harry seemed to wilt
slightly.
�I�ll
accept your help, Draco if we can consider it a loan.� I will owe you the cost of the apartment and
I�ll buy it off you as soon as I have enough galleons.� Is that ok?�
Draco
snorted. �No.� It�s ludicrous.� You�re penniless, Granger and you want to
have a debt hanging over your head.� I
don�t see why you can�t stay at the Manor.�
It�s safer.�
�No!� You can�t stay there with him.� Look.. Ok.�
I can�t be there for you.. and Draco says he wants to help you.. but..
but.. you can�t stay there with him.�
She
rolled her eyes at Harry�s outburst again.��
�I know Harry.� And If they�re already talking about me
staying here, it will probably get worse if I stay with Draco.� It wouldn�t be fair.� Draco�s trying to clear his name.� He doesn�t need the attention either.�� She observed the dubious expression the
blonde was wearing and entreated him again. � Look.. if you loan me the money
for an apartment � I promise i�ll pay
it back.�
�No..
No you don�t have to. �As I said � I don�t
need it.� �We�ll go today and pick a place out for you.�
�HARRY!!�
Both
boys groaned under their breaths at the sound of Ginny approaching.
�Make
that now.�
We�ll go right now and
pick out a place, alright, Granger?� Draco hissed
The
severely pissed off redhead stomped into the room and pulled a face. �Should�ve
known I�d find you with Hermione.� Listen Harry � if you want to throw
everything away, I can�t stop you.� I
just came to tell you that Ron and I are going home to the Burrow.� Bill is coming by in an hour to help me
move.� When you�re ready to talk, you
know where to find me.�

with a snitty little sniff she about turned and thumped out of the room again.
A
thunderstruck Harry offered Hermione and Draco a hurried apologetic
glance.� He didn�t need to say anything. �It was clear that he was on the brink of
running out of the room to catch Ginny.

�I�ll talk to you another time Harry� Hermione said quietly, wondering whether
she would. �You�d better go and fix everything again.� Tell her she doesn�t have to worry.� We won�t be seen in public together.� It�s probably better if we don�t talk for a
while.� It�s just going to make it harder
for everyone.
�no,
Mione!.. That�s not how it is at all.�
Don�t!� You don�t understand what
it�s been like � I can�t lose you again.�
We�ll manage somehow.� I�ll talk to Ginny.� She�ll just have to cope.� I don�t think she�s upset enough to really
risk the bloody fame of being Mrs Ginevra Potter..� it sounded bitter.� �I�m not throwing away our friendship.. after
everything.. over Ginny�s temper and ..and one mistake.�
She
could see the familiar determination on his face and knew there would be little
point in arguing.�
�Sure.� Ok.�
Well.. We�ll see.� She said noncommittally.� With a pointed glance at Draco she continued �We�d
better go now.� No time like the present
and all.�

It was
easier to talk to Draco than she�d imagined it would be.� Obviously he was making a real effort not to
be a prat, and his success was considerable enough that she actually felt
relatively comfortable by the time they were viewing the fourth apartment.�
Turned
out, it was very easy to get an apartment when you had money.� One simply called the family procurement
specialist and informed them as to exactly what was required.� Results were forthcoming within the
hour.�

They had sat in a muggle caf� while the wizard in question had compiled a list
of appropriate domiciles and arranged to acquire the keys in preparation for
viewing.� The Malfoy name still seemed to
move all areas of the wizarding world to snap to attention.��
After a
discussion about exactly what she needed and what she might like.. Draco was looking for a
re-scalable two bedroom apartment with a kitchen, lounge, bathroom and ensuite
and a balcony view over something green.�
Hermione hadn�t the faintest idea what something like that would cost in
London, but from the wry smirk Draco had given her, she thought it might be
quite expensive.�
The first
three places had been lovely too.� She
had had nothing whatsoever against any of them so far.� It was Draco who seemed to be picky.� The first place had too many nosy neighbours
apparently and the security in the building was lax.� The second apartment was in a magically
secured building however the balcony was very small and the view was over
someone else�s back garden.� The third
place had had a long dark entryway which Draco didn�t like the look of and then
there was a strange stain on the bedroom floor.��
The
fourth place, which they were now entering, was doing well so far.� The building was a grey stone five story
across from a small park in a quiet street.�
The wards extended several metres out past the building and they passed
three before they entered the foyer, in which an elderly elf popped up the
moment they entered.� It took their information
and, with what was, according to Draco, a sufficiently suspicious glare,
allowed them passage into the entrance box.�
Hermione
had never been in magical apartment buildings before today and she was still
marvelling at the concept of the entrance box.��
Of the three apartments they�d already viewed, only the second had had
one and it had been smaller and less ornate than this one.�� This was virtually an entrance room.�
The
concept was simple.� Someone in the
wizarding world had obviously thought at some point �I don�t like the idea of
strangers wandering around my door and inspecting my wards� .. or perhaps they�d
just thought � �my, my, what a waste of space all of these corridors and stairs
are� � either way, what they�d come up with was the entrance box.�

Although most witches and wizards would apparate or floo directly into their
apartments, there were occasionally times in which one needed to receive guests
at a door.�

In a magically secured building that possessed such an artifice, the apartments
were essentially stacked areas without any intervening corridor space.� They could only be accessed from the street through the single monitored
entrance box under elf control.� Those who
were allowed entrance could step inside the box, say the name of the apartment
they wished to contact and the door in the back wall of the box would then
connect to that apartment in a manner not dissimilar to the floo network,
allowing the entrance into any apartment directly from the foyer.� �Provided one possessed the key, which could really be any object at
all and was in this case a small silver ring, one could open the door.�
Draco
pressed the ring to the door of apartment fourteen, which was located on the
second floor streetside. �The door
emitted a click and he opened it, stepping in before her with drawn wand and
looking around cautiously.�� When she
followed him in, it was with a gasp of delight.�

The apartment had obviously been magically enlarged.� It was palacial in dimensions.� Draco seemed pleased too.�
�This is
more like it� he muttered.� �I was
beginning to doubt Jankers abilities.��
Hermione
scuffed in over the polished wooden floor and was reprimanded absently.�
The
windows.. They were huge.� And they didn�t show the park at all.� It had been quite a nice little park � but the
windows were looking out over vast rolling hills.�� It couldn�t have been too far away from where
they were since the light seemed to be roughly equivalent to that they�d
experienced outside before stepping into the building.�

It was beautiful though..
�I can�t
possibly live here� she murmured.� To an
empty room it turned out since Draco had stalked off in the direction of the
bedrooms.�
�Granger..
come and look at this.�

She was instantly suspicious. �He sounded
smug again.�� Nevertheless, her trainers
scuffing only slightly on the shiny boards, she headed in the direction of Draco�s
voice.�
The
bedroom was far too large to be a bedroom.�
It was larger than her parents� living room at home.�� High ceilinged and white, it looked like a
blank canvas.�� But that was not what Draco
was calling her to look at.� She stopped
dead when she saw it.

He was standing on the balcony.� A slight
wind was ruffling his hair.�

She could smell the salt.�
Like a
puppet, she walked toward the large open doors onto the balcony and then, when
she�d stepped outside, she could hear
it too.� The soft hush of waves.� The deep blue of the Mediterranean.

�Oh my god� she whispered �How?!� Its..
it�s not possible.�
Draco
smirked.� �It�s not legal at least.� I know
that.� He rummaged around in his pocket
and pulled out a scrap of paper.�
Transfiguring it into a stone, he tossed it out over the edge of the
balcony.
There was
a faint splish.
�We�re..
we�re really here. �Wherever this is.� We�re actually here!� It�s not just an
illusion!�� She felt somehow panicked by
this.� Had she left the country?!� Would the ministry have registered it?� Was this going to get her in trouble?!

�No!� No I can�t live here.� Draco.. come on.. we have to go.� This is almost certainly breaking half a
dozen laws.� We don�t want to-�
�Granger!�
he huffed exasperatedly. �Calm down.� It�s
fine.� We�re just viewing an apartment.� We didn�t put this here.� For all I know it�s installed with
permit.� I can find out�
�No!� No.. its too much anyway.� This.. this place isn�t me.� I can�t live somewhere
like this.� Come on.� Please Draco.�
Let�s go!�
He looked
at her sadly, the seabreeze catching his pale blonde hair and making it shimmer.�

�If you�ll stay at the Manor with me.. I�ll..give you a cage...if you want.�
She
stopped still and felt the sudden urge to be sick.�

He knew.� He knew how she felt.� How did he know?!� No one could know about that.�

�What are you talking about� she said lightly.�
�Don�t be cruel.� Come on.� Let�s
go to the next one��

She avoided his gaze and walked back into the bedroom, hurrying back toward the
lounge and from there out of this palace of an apartment.� It was too bright.� Too large.. Too open.�
Draco
caught her arm in the door way and spun her around, pressing her against the
beam of the doorframe.
�I..� he
started and then rethought whatever he was going to say.� He amended it to a question.� �Was it cruel because after being in that
damned box for so long you�d rather die than be there again.. or because you
know you can never go back?� Do you regret it, Granger?� Do you feel at odds with everything out here?!..� You act like you do.� You act like someone who can�t stand to see the
world anymore.� It�s in the way you carry
yourself.. the way you avoid..touching..things.�
She
wrenched at her arm, trying to free it but he was holding it tightly.�

Harry was right!� Harry was right!� Her mind screamed the warning that Draco was
standing far too close and that Slytherins
never help others without wanting something in return.
�You need
to tell me.. Is that really what you want?� he ground out. �Because if it is �
I�m wasting my time since none of these apartments will have it.� We�re not looking for a cage in the dark
here.� They�ll all be bright and large
with attractive outlook.�
She shook
her head frantically. �No.� its.. it�s
fine.� That�s what I want.� Not.. not a..�
a..�
�Cage� he
supplied quietly and the word was so dark in the bright room.� She nodded, swallowing the thick lump that
had suddenly appeared in her throat.� It
was on the tip of her tongue to say �please don�t touch me.�

It wasn�t necessary, he let go of her a moment later and stepped back.
�If you
don�t like the portal spell � I can see that it�s removed.�� This is a pretty nice place though.� Give it a chance.. Look around the rest of it
at least.� I saw how you looked at that
dark and dingy hallway in the last place.�
If that�s what you�re hoping for, you can think again.� I�m not going to let you take an apartment
that I wouldn�t be willing to at least spend the night in.�
Seeing
her horrified O � he added quickly �On the couch,
Granger.� Or at least.. in the spare
bedroom.� Calm down.��
She shook
her head slightly and continued to look over his shoulder, while fumbling for
her wand.
�If you
continue to reach for that wand, Mudblood, your life is going to be a few
minutes shorter than it otherwise might be� The soft dangerous voice warned
from across the room behind Draco.�

�Malfoy � you traitorous little bastard!�
Did you think you could get away with betraying our Lord.. betraying
your brothers.. and walking away?!��

The venom in the voice was unmistakeable.�
This was a man with murder on his mind.

�Turn around. �Look at me.� I want to see your eyes!�
Draco stiffened
and Hermione could see a tiny bead of sweat form at his hairline.� Although his face was set and his eyes didn�t
waver, she could almost feel the
adrenalin suddenly pouring off him.� He
held his hands out from his body slightly and splayed his fingers, indicating
that he was unarmed.

�Chaldean..� You don�t know the whole
picture� he growled. �You�re out of line.�
Lower your wand!�
�Shut the
fuck up, Malfoy, you foppish little worm.�
And turn around!�
Draco
seemed to wince slightly and slowly began to turn. �How did you find us here?!�
�Isn�t
that obvious?!� Good help is so hard to
find these days.� Turns out that Renquis
Jankers preferred not to lose all three of his darling little brats rather than
give up your itinerary today. It was clear that sooner or later you had to
leave your bloody palace. I�ve been...babysitting... for him for bloody weeks just waiting for you to grow a
pair and show your face.�
Hermione tried to feel horror.� She really did.� It was terrible.� Children had probably been killed.�

But really.. there was just the numbness.�

Her hand holding her wand slid an inch higher in her pocket.
Draco had
moved subtly in front of her.� She
appreciated the sentiment on several levels.�
It was.. touching that he�d try to protect her but primarily it was
useful because it shadowed her from view of the man she knew as �Bromley�. ��That
was what Voldemort had called him.� �He was a mid level death eater, as far as she
was concerned.� He�d often been sent to
retrieve things � usually people.� He was
quite good at what he did, in that he�d hardly ever been punished.�
She didn�t
feel much for him at all really.�

Definitely not as much as she�d felt for Mrs Weasley or Luna.�
When she�d
withdrawn her wand from her pocket subtly and angled the tip of it past Draco�s
waist, she didn�t even need to whisper
the �Praevextra�.�� Bromley simply
dropped like a stone and shook for a minute while Draco, somewhat confused by
this unexpected development, cast a diagnostic spell upon him.
Voldemort
was right, she mused to herself as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the amazing
rush flooding her body.� It was so much
better with will and desire.
�He�s
dead� Draco confirmed unnecessarily.� Hermione
already knew that.� The spell was pretty
much guaranteed to kill him.� She opened
her eyes and looked into Draco�s silvery ones.�
His expression was unreadable.�
She really couldn�t tell what he thought about it.�

�There�s no way we are dealing with the Ministry over this� he suddenly snorted
aggressively.� �Tell me you�re not
planning on calling anyone to confess.�
In answer
she pointed her wand at the still form of Bromley.. or Chaldean or whoever he
was and incanted softly �ustilo�.�

The corpse burst into incandescent light and incinerated itself in a few
seconds.� She used a common cleaning
charm to collect up every particle of ash and transported it neatly to the
balcony, where it was tipped into the ocean unceremoniously.
When she
turned back, she found Draco casting other charms.. charms she didn�t
know.�
�What are
you doing?�
He gave
her the unreadable look again and then smiled wanly.� �Covering your tracks.� In case you hadn�t realised, Granger � when you
kill magically, there are more than physical
traces.�

Any auror, if they were to know the right place to look and the right spell to
use, could have replayed your actions here.. could have even learned which wand
cast the spells.�

Now.. they can�t.�

Nothing happened here.� Nothing at
all.�

Come on.� I�ve had enough of apartment hunting.� We�re returning home for the day.� I need to see about hiring a new procurement
wizard.� The other places on the list aren�t
safe to visit right now.�
�Home?�
she enquired disingenuously.
�Home.� Draco
growled snappishly. �As in that conveniently luxurious unplottable manor I
happen to have with the nine hundred year old wards and selectively accessible
floo.� Also featuring hot baths and
expansive library.�

Give me a break, Granger.� You just killed
someone.� Fuck.. Someone was just about
to kill me. �Don�t tell me you�re so worried about what Potter thinks I might do to you � the same
Potter, I might add, who apparently dragged a blind drunk witch into bed last
night � that you refuse to sleep in a warded room half a mile away from me!�
When he
put it that way...
She
sighed and nodded. �let�s go then.

But this is temporary� she added firmly.�
The reasons why it was a bad idea to stay in Malfoy Manor with Draco still
applied.� Admittedly she didn�t want to
go back to her parents if it meant possibly being locked in a psychiatric
ward.. and she really couldn�t go to Harry at the moment.. so technically, she
conceded that she was entirely reliant upon Draco�s good will now..
But he�d
already said that he�d find her an apartment.�
He knew she couldn�t stay in the Manor. �It wouldn�t look good for either of them...
and he had said he was working to clear his reputation.
Somehow
the contented little smirk he wore as he led her to the apparition point in the
foyer was not at all encouraging. �

She had the strong impression that he was quietly revelling in a victory.

Author note.
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