Chapter One:
Hermione just finished her shower when she heard her mother calling. "Hermione, dear, you have a visitor. Where would you like for him to wait?" She asked. Hermione thought for a moment before replying.
"Have him wait on the patio outside. I'll be down as soon as I can. I need to get dressed first." With that done, Hermione headed to her room and picked out her clothes. Hmm. What should I wear? Hermione thought. Mum said him, so it may be someone cute. I guess I need to put on my favorite jean shorts, the ones that hug my butt and my tight black tank top. Hermione finished getting dressed and brushed her hair before drying it quickly. Soon she was down the stairs. "Is he on the patio?" Hermione asked her mother.
"Yes, but who is he? Were you expecting anyone?" She asked. Hermione shook her head.
"If it's someone I know, I'll introduce you guys later." Hermione replied. She knows what Harry and Ron look like, so I wonder who it is. Hermione sighed and headed outside. His back was turned to her so he didn't see the look of shock on her face. She didn't need to see his face to know who he was. She knew only one person with hair that color. That shade of blonde was unique. She gathered her thoughts before she spoke. "Um, Malfoy, what are you doing here?" She asked. He turned around slowly and gave her a half smile before answering.
"Hello, Granger. I know this is a shock, but I need a place to stay. Before you say anything, let me explain." He cut off her reply. She gave a curt nod before letting him continue. "My father and his master wanted me to join them. I didn't want to. If I stay there, they will kill me for not serving so, I left. I know you probably don't believe any of this, but if I could prove it to you somehow, I will." He finished. Hermione's mouth was hanging wide open.
"Alright, Malfoy. I'll be right back." Hermione smirked as she walked away. Draco looked confused, but shrugged his shoulders and sat down at the table.
"Hermione, who is it?" Her mother asked.
"It's someone from school. His name is Draco Malfoy. We're not friends, but he needs a place to stay. Before I even ask for permission, I'm going to question him under a truth potion that I brewed at school last year. If he passes my questioning, then I will ask you for permission." Hermione said. Without waiting for a reply, she dashed to her room and grabbed the potion. "Alright, Malfoy, take a couple drops of this." She handed him the vial. Noting his questioning look she replied, "It's veritaserum. I made it last year at the end of the school year. I only made it to see if I could. Now, If you would kindly take the potion." Draco tipped the vial back and let a couple drips run down his throat. Hermione waited a minute before beginning. "What is your real name?"
"Draco Malfoy."
"Why are you here?"
"To find a safe place to stay."
"What is a safe place to you?"
"A place where my father and his friends can't find me"
"Do you have the Dark Mark?"
"No."
"Did they try to give you the Dark Mark?"
"Yes."
"If you have the chance, will you turn back to your father and betray my friends, my family, and myself to them?"
"No."
"No, what?"
"No, I will not betray you. I care about you. I couldn't see you at the hands of…them." Draco finished lamely. He seemed to realize what he said a second before she did and he tried to hide the blush that painted his cheeks. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You asked." He said. Hermione then burst out laughing.
"Wow, I didn't expect that. Okay, now, my mother and father probably won't let you stay here, but I will help you the best I can. I wouldn't want anyone to be forced to join either side of the war. Hang out here for a moment more." Hermione walked in the house and stood in front of her mother. "Mum, He passed my questioning. He really needs somewhere to stay. Do you remember when I told you about the war that's coming in the Wizarding World? Well, his father is trying to force him to join the Dark side, but he doesn't want to be on that side. He ran away from home to keep from being forced. The thing is, his father and Voldemort will try to find him and if they do, they'll kill him. He really has nowhere else he can go. Can he please stay here for the remainder of the summer holidays?" Hermione asked. Mrs. Granger looked at her daughter with compassion.
"What about when you go visit your friends? Will he go with you?" She asked.
"If he can stay here, I probably won't go. The Weasleys don't care for him and Ron is so stubborn he won't believe anything I say about Draco. Harry might, but there is so much bad blood between them, I doubt it. Please don't' make me cast him on the street." Hermione pleaded.
"Fine, he can stay here, but he stays out of your room and you stay out of his, understand?" She said with a stern look on her face. Hermione had to stifle a grin at the thought and ran back outside.
"Okay, you can stay here. You need to come and meet my mother officially. And, she said we had to stay out of each other's rooms. Come on." Hermione led him back inside where her mother was waiting. "Mum, this is Draco Malfoy. Draco, this is my mother." Hermione said.
"Draco gave a curt nod and said, "How do you do, Mrs. Granger?" Mrs. Granger nodded and smiled at the young man.
"It's nice to meet you. Hermione, will you show Draco his room, please?" Mrs. Granger asked. She then went back to her paper and ignored the two teens.
Hermione led Draco up the stairs and down the hall. "This is the bathroom. We will have to share, so please don't hog it. This is my room. This is my parents' room. Off limits. I'm not allowed in there, so you're not either. This is the guest room. That means it's your room. Do you not have any luggage or anything?" Hermione asked him.
"No. I cleaned out my vault at Gringotts before I came here, but I couldn't pack my trunk. If I took my trunk, they would suspect that I was leaving and not coming back. Do you think we could go to Diagon Alley today to get me some things?" Draco asked. Hermione frowned. She wasn't sure. Her mother was off work today, but she had plenty of plans that did not include a trip to London.
"I'll ask. My mother doesn't like me driving all the way to London. If not, I'm sure you can borrow something of my dad's for the time being. You get settled in, I mean, get acquainted with your room, and I'll find out if we can go to London today." Draco nodded and entered his room while Hermione turned and walked back down the stairs.
"Mum, Draco doesn't have anything. I mean, not even clothes except those on his back. He had to leave it all behind in order to escape. Do you think you could take us to London today, or allow me to drive to London?" Hermione asked. Her mother looked up exasperatedly.
"This is becoming more of a hassle." She sighed. "Well, he can't run around in that same suit all summer, and I don't think anything of your father's will fit. You may not drive to London, but I was thinking about going today anyways. I need to run some errands. Okay, you get Draco and meet me at the car. We'll make a day of it. Do you have your phone?" Hermione nodded. "Good, when you two get done doing whatever it is you need to do, call me and I'll come pick you up. I need to call your father and let him know we probably won't be home when he gets off work." Hermione nodded again and went back up the stairs.
"Draco, we're going to Diagon Alley now. My mother has some errands she needs to do anyways, so it's not a bother. But she's ready to go, so come on." Draco nodded his head and walked toward Hermione.
"Hermione, don't you think it'll be odd to be seen with me at Diagon Alley? Should we try to disguise me in some way?"
"How? The only way I know to do it is through glamor charms and we can't do magic here. I think it'll be alright. Most of the students at Hogwarts won't be there until later in the summer anyways. I imagine nobody will pay us any attention." Draco nodded and followed her down the stairs.
"Okay, you two have fun and call me when you're done. Hermione, do you have enough money to get what you need?" Mrs. Granger asked.
"Draco has his own money, but we haven't gotten our school lists yet. I don't really need anything. I might get a new quill or two and stock up on parchment, but I can't get my school things yet."
"If you have any left after that, why don't you spend the rest on clothes, or other things you want? That money is yours to spend how you like, please do so wisely." Mrs. Granger said, then drove off. Draco and Hermione looked at each other a moment before heading toward the dingy pub.
"I've never entered the Leaky Cauldron from the Muggle World. Is it anything special to it?" Draco asked.
"No, a charm on the building keeps muggles from seeing it. They can still enter; my parents did back before our second year. They probably wouldn't be able to do it without me, because they wouldn't be able to find it. Here we are." Draco looked up at the desolate building. He couldn't believe this place was so famous, yet so ill-kept. Draco sighed as he followed Hermione in.
The duo walked through the Leaky Cauldron to the alley behind it. Hermione pulled out her wand and tapped the bricks necessary to create the archway to Diagon Alley. Once this was done, they walked on. Hermione led them to Gringotts first thing. She had to get her muggle money changed to Wizard money so she could spend it on the things she wanted to. Draco waited patiently as this was done then they left. Hermione motioned for Draco to lead on to where he wanted to go. Their first stop was Madam Malkin's. As they walked in, Madam Malkin smiled as a greeting. She would have said something, but her mouth had pins all in it. She motioned for them to wait a moment before she could help them. One minute later, she walked in from the back, and said, "Hello dears, what can I do for you?"
Hermione smiled while Draco said, "I need a set of dress robes, Five set of Slytherin robes, and two sets of general work robes."
"Oh, dear, it sounds like you're getting a whole new wardrobe. Right this way. I'll get your measurements then it'll only take a moment. Draco followed her to the back. Meanwhile, Hermione turned to look out the window. Her eyes widened as she spotted a familiar family walking by the window. She ducked just in time for a red-headed gangly boy to look in the window. I can't believe they're here. They shouldn't, unless Molly got a job or Arthur got a raise. The only time they come to Diagon Alley is to get school supplies, but the summer just started. School supply lists won't be mailed until next month. Hermione was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Draco approaching.
"My measurements are done. It'll take a minute for her to get all my things made. Why are you hiding?" Draco said. He then looked out the window and smiled. "I thought they were your friends. Why are you hiding from them? Surely you could have come up with some reason to be here and to be here with me, so why hide?"
"I'm not sure if they really are my friends. They haven't written to me at all this summer yet, and that's odd. I've written to them. Before you showed up this morning I had written to ask if I could stay with them, I've sent them three letters, but none seem to get through. I know Ron doesn't want me to stay, our break-up was pretty bad last year, but I do want to stay. Harry's with them, and Ginny. I thought they were my friends too. I've sent them both several letters, and have gotten none in return. It's like they're shunning me." Hermione lowered her head to hide the tears streaming down her cheeks. Draco put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Hermione, rumors about your break-up flooded the halls. In Slytherin, we heard that you refused to shag Weasley and he hit you. We heard you hexed him and he ended things. I don't know how much of that is true, but if it is, then, he's probably ashamed and is afraid you will tell people what happened. He probably made up some lie and told Potter and his sister so they wouldn't believe anything you told them. If that's true, then they aren't your friends. True friends would have asked you your version of things before believing one and shunning the other. I guess I wouldn't be…" Draco trailed off as an idea hit him. He smiled mischievously before answering Hermione's questioning look. "Let them see you. Let them see you with me. We'll hold hands and act like we're dating. Then when they come up to ask you what's going on, you ignore them. You act like you don't even hear them." Hermione normally would never consider doing anything this mean, but she was hurt. Saying all of that aloud brought up feelings she had suppressed. Hermoine gave a small smile, and nodded.
Madam Malkin chose that moment to bring Draco his order. He paid for his things, and took Hermione's hand. "You have to look like you're happy to be with me or this'll never work." Draco whispered. Out loud he said, "What's wrong, love? Aren't you having fun?"
"I'm just anxious to get a new quill. Can we go there next?" She said, with excitement in her voice. Draco smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
"Yes, love, I'll buy you whatever quill you want." Hermione giggled as he kissed her again.
"You don't have to buy me anything, you know, I have money."
"Save your money, I want to buy you a quill, I'll tell you what. I'll buy you a quill and some parchment, and you buy me lunch, we'll call that even."
"It's a date." Hermione said. She wouldn't have, except they were near the Weasleys. She turned her back on them, and stopped Draco in his tracks. "Have I told you how lucky I am to have you?" She said. Draco suppressed a smile as he saw the shocked faces behind his 'girlfriend'.
"You're wrong, love, I'm the lucky one. I love you." He said. She muttered it back before he kissed her on the lips. She melted in his arms. Unfortunately, Draco knew it looked like what it was, their first kiss, but he tried to save face. "Love, you have to quit doing that everytime I kiss you. You make it a dangerous thing to do."
"I can't help it. You make my heart melt." Hermoine said, and then started laughing; Draco managed to look at her questioningly before she answered. "I just realized how cheesy that sounded." Draco let out a chuckle as he wrapped his arm around her waist and they kept walking. Hermione led him to the shop she wanted and quickly found the quill. Draco found a stack of parchment for sale, and added it to Hermione's purchase. As she went to pay, Draco stopped her.
"I meant it. I want to do this for you." He muttered. She blushed and stepped back. He turned to the sales witch. "Add this to my purchases." Draco was being a gentleman. She never expected that. Either he really means everything he's saying, or he's a great actor. I actually believe him, and we're supposed to be acting to piss off Ron and Harry. Draco took Hermione's hand again and led her out of the store. Draco wanted to stop again and do another scene, but he knew it was better if he didn't. "What do you want for lunch?" Draco asked. Hermione smiled at him.
"Nope, I'm paying, you decide." Hermione said with a smile on her lips. "Don't argue with me. That was our compromise wasn't it?" Hermione said.
"Fine, let's go to the Leaky Cauldron and eat. Then, we'll come back here and finish up our shopping. I'd like to take you on a walk this evening, if it's okay with your parents." Draco said, idly, as they were walking by. He turned to look at Hermione when he bumped into someone. "Oh, excuse…" The apology trailed off the end of his tongue when he saw the bright red hair.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing with Hermione. Release her. Now." Ron said. Harry was right behind him and Ginny behind him.
"I think I'm taking my girlfriend to lunch, so excuse us." Draco tried to walk past and was forced back.
"Hermione, what does he mean, girlfriend?" Ron asked. His eyes narrowed as she exchanged a look with Draco. "Oh, it's like that. You've decided you want to be on the Dark Side? You know You-Know-Who will never accept you in his ranks because you are a mudblood." Ron said. Harry's eyes narrowed at what Ron just said. He would have said something, but Draco beat him to it.
"You better take that back right now, or I will hex you from now until September." Draco said calmly, however he was speaking through clenched teeth. His wand was held so tight in his hand his knuckles were white.
"You never had a problem calling her that before, why now? Gotta act good so you can get to Harry?" Ron said.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, I am with Draco of my own choosing. I do not owe you any explanation. You ruined our relationship and our friendship. You are nothing more than an arrogant toe rag to me. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, I thought you were my friends, but you couldn't even write me one letter. I wrote to each of you several times. If it wasn't okay for me to stay, you could have said so, I wouldn't have been mad. But you avoided me and let me think the worst. Friends don't do that. We are not friends. Good day." Hermione said. She turned to leave when a hand on her arm stopped her. She looked down at the hand then followed it to its owner. She glared at Ron before saying, "Get your nasty paw off me." Ron ignored her and tried to speak.
"Hermione, we forgive you for what you said. We know you are under the influence of some sort of potion or spell. We will help you figure it out then you can remember why you love us so much and hate Malfoy. He's a ferret. We want…"
"Get your nasty paw off me. Get your nasty paw off me. Get your nasty paw off me." Hermione was chanting. She was getting angrier by the minute, but her wand was nowhere in sight.
"Ow." Ron yelped. Harry asked him what was wrong. "I don't know, but it hurts. She's hurting me. Hermione stop, you're hurting me." Ron pleaded.
"Get your nasty paw off me…" Hermione continued. Draco decided it was time for him to step in.
"Weasley…" Ron cut him off.
"Stay out of this, Ferret."
"If you don't get your paws off my girlfriend, like she said, I will make sure you never forget how stupid you were when you decided to touch her in the first place." Ron glared at him, and then went back to pleading with Hermione. "Fine, have it your way." Draco waved his wand and Ron's hand was on fire. "Her skin will set your hand on fire every time you touch it. If you let go now, you might be able to save your hand from permanent damage." Ron finally jerked his hand off Hermione and Harry put the fire out. "You had your chance with her, then you hit her. You fucked up. She moved on. I will not lift the charm off her arm. It will only affect you. Every time you touch her, you will catch fire. I'd really recommend not touching her again. I think repeated burning of a body part can cause damage. Now, we are going to enjoy the rest of our day, and you will leave us alone. Good day." Draco finished. He gently led Hermione toward the Leaky Cauldron. When they were out of earshot, Draco stopped. "Are you okay?" He asked. Hermione didn't answer. She was trying to hold back tears. "Ah, love, come here." Draco sat down on a nearby bench and held her while she cried.
"Can we skip lunch and hurry and finish? I'm ready to get out of here." Hermione said.
"No, Hermione we can't. If we do, Weasley won. He set out to ruin your day as soon as he saw us together. You can't give him that power over you. You have to enjoy the rest of your day to rub it in his face. He thinks you'll come crawling back to him, but you have to show him that you've moved on. That you are not the type of girl to get battered and abused and take it. You showed him that when you hexed him after he hit you. You have to show him that again. You have to show him that Hermione Granger is tough and nobody will get the best of her, especially not an arrogant toe rag." Draco softened his voice. "Hermione, you are the best person I've ever met. I have no idea what you were doing to him, but you performed wandless magic. I touched you too and didn't feel a thing. You were concentrating on him. That's more than just losing your temper. That's controlling it. No human is supposed to have that kind of skill. That's why we have wands. You are one of the most powerful witches I've ever met, and I'm proud to call you my girlfriend." Draco finished. Hermione was staring at him with her mouth opened wide. She never expected that. She'd been reading up on wandless magic, but she never thought it was anything special.
"He's right, you know." A witch said. "I saw the whole thing. I was very proud of both of you for standing up to that awful boy. Did you call him Weasley? I know Molly and Arthur. I wonder how they'll take the news that he used that dreadful word. I shall be delighted to find out. You need to enjoy your lunch. Don't give him power over you. Show him how powerful you are." She said. She smiled and walked off. Hermione saw the elder Weasleys exit a shop and the kind witch headed straight for them. Even from this distance, they could see how angry they were at their son. Molly marched over to him, grabbed him by the ear, and dissappareted. Arthur led Harry and Ginny to the Leaky Cauldron.
"I kinda like that witch." Draco said. Hermione laughed and stood up. She felt better.
"Let's go enjoy our lunch. I'm starving, then we have to get you clothes, and we need to visit the book shop, if we have time. Of course you may need more than just clothes, won't you?" Hermione said. Draco smiled and led the way to lunch.
hgdmhgdmhgdmhgdmhgdmhgdmhgdm hgdmhgdmhgdmhgdmhgdmhgdmhgdm hgdmhgdmhgdmhgdm
The rest of the afternoon passed without incident. The couple got everything the needed and wanted, in Hermione's case, and were waiting on Hermione's mother to pick them up. "Did you…" Mrs. Granger started, but stopped when she saw her daughter's red eyes. "Hermione what happened?" Mrs. Granger asked. She listened silently as the two explained what went wrong with their day. "I'm glad you listened to Draco and that lady. You are very powerful. I'm not talking about magically, though I'm sure you are that too, but you are a strong, independent young woman. You have the right to choose who is right for you. If your supposed friends can't handle your choice, then they aren't really your friends. I guess it's better to find this out now, rather than later. Out of curiosity, when did you two start dating?" Hermione smiled and squeezed Draco's hand.
"It started out as a joke. We started it to show Weasley that I wasn't hurt by how he treated me. Then, throughout the course of the day, it sort of stayed with us. We didn't discuss it, but we kind of made it official. At least, I hope we did." Hermione said. She cast a nervous glance in Draco's direction.
"I think we did. Ah, why not just do it? Hermione, will you be my girlfriend?" Draco asked. Mrs. Granger rolled her eyes at the two with a smile on her face.
"Yes, I'd be delighted to. By the way, Mum, where are we going? This isn't the way home." Hermione said.
"I had a feeling there was more going on between you two than you were telling me. I wasn't sure if you knew it or not, but I know you now you do. I discussed it with your father, and we have decided to send you two away for the rest of the summer. We have everything for you, Hermione, and Draco, I trust you have about what you need to make it through the summer. We are not telling you where you're going, but believe, you will enjoy yourselves. You will arrive back one week before September, and that will give you enough time to get your school supplies. If your letters come here while you're gone, we will keep them safe for you. As we're muggles, we couldn't arrange for magical transportation, but we did get you plane tickets, and we are going to the airport. Hermione, you better call me at least once a day to let me know you're alright. I know you can take care of yourselves, but I still worry about you. Your tickets are non-refundable, so you need to keep up with your return tickets. If you lose them, then you will have to find another way home, but we still expect you at the same time." Hermione's jaw was still dropped when they pulled up to the airport. Hermione quietly got out of the car and stared at Draco. He was just as shocked when Hermione's father walked up.
"You were cutting it close, glad you got here okay. Let me help you with your bags. I'm Mr. Granger, Hermione's father. You must be Draco, Hermione's boyfriend. It's nice to meet you." Draco took the proffered hand and shook it. Mr. Granger helped carry Hermione's three bags to the luggage check in and handed Hermione the tickets. "Please, Peanut, don't lose these. We love you so very much. Be careful and safe." He warned. Hermione felt that was a double warning.
"We will. I love you both, thank you so much. I'll miss you both." Hermione said as she was whisked through security with Draco at her side. "What in the world just happened?" Hermione asked.
"Did you look at the tickets yet? They should say where we're going." Draco suggested. Hermione brought the tickets out and looked at it.
"Oh my gosh! We're going to Hawaii!" Hermione exclaimed. Draco's mouth dropped. "We'll have to get you some swimming trunks though; we didn't think you'd need them when we got your clothes. We probably need to find you some shorts too. I wonder where we go after that." Hermione said. Draco shrugged his shoulders.
"They probably planned it all out and we'll know when the plane lands." Draco said. Hermione nodded as they were shown their seats. "I've never flown on something that I wasn't controlling. Is it scary?" Draco asked.
"You shouldn't be scared. You're not afraid of heights, and planes are very safe. Some crash, but then again some brooms crash too." Hermione said. Draco nodded and silently closed his eyes. Hermione took the cue to let him take it in on his own. Just then the announcement to buckle their seatbelts blasted over the intercom. Draco looked scared, but Hermione issued him a reassuring glance.
Soon the plane was in the air and Draco visibly relaxed. He smiled at Hermione. "This isn't so bad." He said. She smiled back and squeezed his hand.
"Taking off can be bad sometimes, and sometimes there's a lot of turbulence in the air, but other than that, it can be rather pleasant."
"What's turbulence?" Draco asked, confused. Hermione giggled.
"It's when a lot of wind is tossing the plane about. It's safe to fly through, but can be rather scary." Hermione said. Draco nodded and closed his eyes. Within minutes, they were both asleep.
A/N: please review! I would love to hear your constructive criticism!
