WARNING: ONLY FANS OF DRACO x HERMIONE SHOULD ATTEMPT READING THIS STORY :D Hope you will enjoy it!

Looks Who's Next Door?

Door One: Her Almost Perfect Life

Saturday 27th January

Time seems to fly really fast! I'm twenty eight years old, we have a big enough house that looks exactly like the one in fairy tales and in my dreams. I am married to a really loving and undeniably good-looking husband, who was the only one meant for me, blessed with two children. We are living happily ever after.

What else could be better than this?

"'mione! Stop writing and come here!" He called while reading the newspaper on the chic Italian couch that he insisted on buying. It had only been a few hours since they have woken up, but he already longed for his wife in his arms again.

"I'll be done in a minute!" Hermione hurriedly typed a few more lines on her online secret diary only to be accessed by her close girl friends and herself and shut down her pink laptop – he has a blue one while she has a pink one. (How sweet!) The couple preferred to buy their own laptops in case they messed each others reports and get into one of those terrible squabbles. This also gave them some alone time with their work.

She ran down the stairs and jumped playfully into the couch where her husband was and he yelped.

"Is it me or are you getting heavy, darling?" He raised his eyebrows, realizing that the couch almost fell apart when she dived in and he planted a kiss on her forehead.

Hermione's eyebrows knitted and gave her 'killer' look to her "love" and gave a soft punch in his stomach. "Say that again… if you dare!" She growled menacingly at him. He repeated and tried suppressing his laughter.

"Chris! Aubrey! Help me beat Daddy up!" Hermione called for help to deal with this infamous annoying git who praised her womanly figure not long ago where he described her as his goddess of natural beauty. Two adorable children laughed and ran into the living room, abandoning their task to build a perfect sandcastle set by their Mum in the sandpit conjured in the garden.

Their father acted as if he was scared and thought that it was "unfair" of Hermione to receive aid from their children. Hermione gave him the "I don't care" smile and welcomed her children. They punched him on the chest and arms lightly; apparently they were not causing any pain at all. He grinned, winking at the children. She rolled her eyes.

Hermione knew she had lost the battle and sighed seems like they had an alliance with their dearest Dad. She crossed her arms. He came over and put her arms around her waist from her back, putting on an angelic, yet apologetic smile. That irresistible face of his only made Hermione loved him even more. She turned back and hugged him in return. Chris and Kathy giggled.

"Oh yeah! I saw Aubrey at school yesterday making googley eyes at Leo! I think she's in love with him!" Chris guffawed, teasing her little sister. Leo was the most popular boy in their kindergarten.

Aubrey shouted, "did not!" and blushed, turning her back against them shyly.

Hermione and he exchanged knowing glances and their eyes seem to drift momentarily into the past.

Their love story started way back, 6 years ago and surprisingly, they still could remember everything crystal clear in their minds...

Flashback

It was a wonderful spring Saturday morning, exactly how she wanted the weather to be. The yellow sun slowly rose up the light blue sky, with multiple rays of light shining upon the vast area of houses in the estate. 'Definitely the suitable time and day to move!' She thought. She stepped on the brake of the car. Her eyes were fixed onto the house that she found with the address scribbled on a small piece of paper. She gasped and immediately got out of her yellow Volkswagen she saved up to buy.

The two-storey house stood before her. It was brick red, and white-framed glass windows and bushes outside of it made it look like a cosy little cottage, which included a small pathway leading to the wooden front doors. The garden had a few oak trees and a small pond with water lilies and tiny fishes inside swimming around. The landscape was breathtaking. Plants included daisies, periwinkles and carnation that were blooming. Hermione walked down the path and excitedly open the doors with her keys given by her parents. She stepped into the black-tiled floors and checked out all the rooms. It was flawless. Basically, the house has a large living room, a dining room, a medium-sized kitchen, two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a storeroom, a study and a beautiful garden that contained her favourite flowers. To her, this was the best birthday gift ever!

The present had her misery too: it was an opportunity to start in the muggle world with minimal usage of magic. It was the time to mend her broken heart and concentrate on more important issues, such as her job. She unpacked all her things and her hand phone vibrated.

"Honey?" An old man's voice called out.

"Dad! Mum! This is just marvellous! I love it!" Hermione squealed with joy, gratitude overwhelmed her.

"I knew you would love it! Enjoy!" He laughed, content with her daughter's reaction.

"Remember that this afternoon, Mr. Giovanni would be coming. So be punctual for your first meeting! You know how important this is." Her mother reminded her once again.

"Yes, yes Mum. Don't you worry, " Hermione smiled, getting rather impatient. She entered her bedroom and her eyes widened with shock. Her bedroom was more beautiful than the living room! Her queen-sized bed was facing the garden and it felt as though she was sleeping in a forest.

"Gosh, who designed this house?! It's amazing!" She asked and plopped onto the soft bed.

"It is a secret!" Her mother chuckled, and said, "have fun exploring, but don't get carried away!" and put down the phone.

She changed into some comfortable home clothes and took out a book from one of the bookshelves in the huge study that made Dumbledore's office look tiny. Hermione recognised a few books from her Aunt's collection and realised she had passed quite a number of them to her. Books made her even happier! She lay on her velvet reading chair and began reading "Why Men Are Such Jerks" until she was engrossed in it.

Her phone vibrated again, but this time was her alarm to go to work. Hermione went to her wardrobe to pick out some clothes. Since an important guest would be present on that day, she selected her newly-bought high, black pencil skirt and white blouse that made her look like a professional lawyer. In addition, Hermione wore the favourite glossy black pumps Ginny gave. She had to dress "elaborately", as stated by her Aunt just to have a serious aura amongst workers, but due to her personality, Hermione liked her style to be simple, yet classic.

She took her handbag, locked the house doors and drove off to her workplace.

**********

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger!" Hermione arrived at the lobby. Receptionists and her fellow workers greeted her. She just smiled politely at them. While waiting for the lift, a few male workers walked past her and one of them was staring hardly at her, as if he had never seen her before. Hermione noticed him and remembered his name vaguely – Michael. That was it. Previously, rumours were flying containing information of him having a crush on her (well, almost everyone did). However, she promised her Aunt never to date workers of lower ranks as things could get utterly complicated and it was bad for her image. Another reason deep down inside, was because she wanted to start afresh with her new life: she did not want her heart to be broken once again.

After Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort, Hermione worked as an auror, alongside Harry and accepted Viktor Krum to be her boyfriend because she felt they were truly made for each other when Krum moved to Britain for work. He retired as an international Quidditch player and was coaching a few teams there. Life carried on smoothly for two years until she found out he was two-timing her. Hermione had a big argument after confronting him, accusing him of cheating on her. He finally told the truth that he was dating another woman who was a celebrated supermodel. Needless to say, Hermione could not match up to her good looks. Feeling devastated than ever, she concentrated on her job to numb her pain from her broken heart. Her superior even wanted her to take a vacation, but Hermione was not convinced. She became a workaholic, handling many cases that were difficult to manage.

One month after the darkest days of her life, she received a letter from her parents. They wrote to her that her Aunt Louise needed a successor for her company as she is childless. She thought Hermione had the potential since she had always been a bright and intelligent child. Hence, Louise invited her to work in her company as her assistant for a period of time, until she knew all the operations of the company. Hermione's parents thought it was a great idea for their daughter to loosen up herself. Fortunately, Hermione did not mind this as she was a tad sick and tired of the wizarding world and had a chance to prove herself capable, without relying on men. Thus, she quit being an auror and bade her friends farewell. She told them she was taking a long break from everything, but she would write to them every week. Ron and Ginny Weasley was rather reluctant but knew the real Hermione return if she went. It was good for her to learn more new skills too as the job her Aunt introduced was more challenging than she initially thought.

Hermione got into her lift and entered her personal office on the 18th floor. Her secretary, Scarlett greeted her and gave her the 'someone is inside' look. Knowing this glance for months, she grinned as she opened the door.

"Hermione! Mr. Giovanni has just arrived!" Aunt Louise noticed her entrance and introduced this tall old man promptly, whose hair was almost white in a smart business suit. He seemed to be good looking when he was young. Mr. Charles Giovanni was the chairman of an advertising company and this meeting was extremely important to Louise. She trusted Hermione that she would perform well.

"Hello Miss Granger! I have been looking forward meeting you!" He shook hands with Hermione. She courteously invited him into the meeting room for discussion.

"Your proposal was simply marvellous!" He praised.

After approximately two hours...

"I knew you could do it! Nothing fails you, my dear," Louise hugged Hermione.

"You have accomplished more than I have expected," she added with a sense of satisfaction.

Apparently, Hermione was also feeling very proud of herself. This was the first time she had clinched a big deal that would definitely benefit both companies in these three months.

**********

"Hey! Careful there! This thing is very expensive!" A man's voiced exclaimed.

"Slowly.... Slowly..!" He shouted again.

Suddenly, something made of glass shattered and it sounded really expensive. Hermione tossed and turned, using her blanket and pillow to muffle the voices and the clanging of noises. Gosh.

"NO!!!! ... You will have to be responsible for it, chap!" the man said sharply, in a worried tone.

The truck outside seemed to have left its engine on. Hermione groaned and went up to the window to see what was happening that woke her up from her sleep.

She peeked out and saw a few men from the moving company carrying large tables and mattresses into the house.

Hmmm... I didn't realise the house next door was vacant when I came. This new neighbour must be very eager to move in. Shall I go greet him/her or something?

She took a look at the clock and was stunned.

9 o' clock?! The service starts at 9.30!!!

Hermione rushed like a mad woman. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and dressed casually for Sunday. She knew some old friends from kindergarten who she recently contacted and they urged her to follow them. It was weird as Hermione had never cared about having a religion, but she was curious and wanted to have a better knowledge of Christians. From then onwards, she was interested in being a part of the church and it really changed her life positively in a lot of ways.

Hermione grabbed a bagel from the jar in the kitchen and ran to the car.

She completely forgot about greeting her new neighbour.



My oh my... My friends are going to be so shocked.
He sniggered.

The man in his early twenties walked around the house, inspecting every corner and room. He used his wand to fix the imperfections, but so far, he only spotted a few. He was reported that his favourite vase was broken by the moving man and he would compensate for it. The culprit was so scared that he begged him on the phone not to complain to his boss as he was on the verge of losing his job. Based on the economic crisis that he would never understand being a wizard, he let him off. He thought it was cool to do a good deed... once in a while.

He carried on taking a tour of the house. The appearance of the house outside was the exact opposite of its interior. Outside was warm and cosy, but inside, as what he would prefer was smartly designed using magic, stylish and cool. The muggles even installed lights that would automatically light up if a person walked by.

Actually, this is not bad! I can hold my weekly events here.

The doorbell rang abruptly.

His heart pounded.

I haven't told anyone about this house. Unless...

"Draaaaaakkkeeeeyyyyy!!!!" A woman's voice whined outside his dark, ebony wooden door.

He quickly opened it to reveal a tad sophisticated, but average-looking woman with long black hair whom he detested and dreaded for all his life. Pansy Parkinson.

"I'm back," she grinned.

"Shut up and come in..." He murmured coldly and slammed the door.

Author's note:

Some of you may be confused but the beginning starts off with the present Draco and Hermione while the rest are flashbacks of their lives. I put italics on the present part as the majority of the story are flashbacks, thus I want to use the normal font to be more convenient for the writing :P I hope this will help you understand :) Continue reading to gain a better understanding of dear Draco!

PLEASE REVIEW! xD