A/N: My name, unfortunately, is not J.K. Rowling nor is it Charlotte Brontë. All characters belong to their rightful authors.

Hiya,

Thank you all so much for the favourites, the follows and of course the reviews! I really love hearing your thoughts on this one, especially since I was so unsure about this short story going in!

Without further ado, here's the second chapter. I hope you'll enjoy reading and if you do, please let me know what you think!

Love,

Kelly

Chapter Two: Gratitude

As soon as Hermione arrived back at the mansion, she was ushered into a room she had never been allowed in before. Ms. Black had prohibited anyone from entering Mr. Malfoy's rooms and that included his study. It was rather unfortunate, Hermione thought as she gazed around the room that had floor to ceiling bookcases, because she could have spend many an hour here trying to pick even one of them to read.

The room was sober and painted in colors of white and green that she had to say she liked. She had never really been fond of green because it was the colour Lord Voldemort most praised, but in this study and in this environment she almost found it charming.

She shook her head and tried to keep the disgust for herself from rising. Green was a hateful colour, she told herself. Purebloods at the Ministry wore it. Well, in all honesty, Purebloods everywhere wore it.

"Welcome, Miss Granger," Mr. Malfoy said to Ms. Black's surprise.

"You've already met?" the latter said as she looked from Hermione to Mr. Malfoy and back again.

He smirked arrogantly, and Hermione balled her fists in response. "Oh, we had a most stimulating conversation, did we not, Miss Granger?"

"Quite," Hermione replied in such a tone that implied exactly the opposite.

Ms. Black gave her a look that told her she wasn't at all pleased with that kind of tone but left it at that. "Well then, would you like a cup of tea, dear?"

Hermione's tone warmed considerably. "Yes, please."

"Take a seat," Mr. Malfoy said as he grabbed hold of a pile of papers and shuffled through them.

Hermione cleared her throat and did as she was told. She licked her lips uncomfortably and gave Ms. Black a kind smile when she gave Hermione her tea.

"I have been given a short demonstration of Scorpius's magical abilities and he is much improved. You have done well with him."

"Thank you," Hermione smiled, happy with the words of praise.

Mr. Malfoy nodded and finally looked up from his papers.

His eyes felt like a trap, Hermione thought. She had never felt as isolated as she did under his stern gaze right then. Hermione was ready to make a move for her wand, sure that Mr. Malfoy had some issue with her or her heritage. She was going to die if she didn't move, she realized.

And then, all of a sudden, the tension in the room lifted and Mr. Malfoy gave her a brilliant smile that dazzled her senses. How was he able to play her emotions like that, she wondered as she shook her head to clear it. She had to keep her wits about her, damn it. This was her first real conversation with her employer and she needed to show him that she was more than capable for this job. She needed this job since the Headmistress had made it more than clear that she was no longer welcome at her old school.

"I am pleased that you feel that way, sir. Scorpius is a very bright boy indeed, although we will have to work on his Charms some more."

Mr. Malfoy nodded as if he had noticed all of that himself as well, but how could that be? He was here for no longer than a few hours?

"I'm more than capable of teaching him those skills, Mr. Malfoy, if that's what you're worried about," Hermione soldiered on. "I graduated top of my year and-"

"Enough, Miss Granger," Mr. Malfoy said with a raised eyebrow. "Did I ever give you any indication that I doubted your capability to tutor my son? I assure you, Miss Granger, if I had any doubts about your intellect or skill you would not be sitting here right now."

Hermione nodded slowly. "What about my blood status?"

"What about it?" Mr. Malfoy said promptly with a scowl. "Do you find issue with working for a Pureblood family?"

Hermione blinked at his vehemence. She hadn't expected that, nor had she meant to offend. "Not in the slightest, sir, I was wondering if you find issue with a Muggleborn for an employee?"

"As long as you don't rub off any cooties," he quipped.

Ms. Black gasped, and Hermione stared at him, feeling quite offended indeed until Mr. Malfoy cracked a smile that didn't feel true.

"Once upon a time, perhaps," he finally offered, and his eyes fell back down on his sheet of parchment in front of him.

Hermione frowned and exchanged a look with the housekeeper. "Once upon a time, sir?"

"People change, Miss Granger. Youngsters are often easily misguided by their parents, and that's all I will have to say on the matter. Now, are there any questions you have for me?"

She wanted to ask what had happened to his wife since everyone in the house was quite vague on the matter. She went away and wasn't here, but if Hermione asked them if she was dead, Ms. Black had shrugged with a sad look in her eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that Mrs. Malfoy had died a gruesome dead, but Hermione wouldn't be Hermione if she didn't want to know how and why.

But, then again, in this world Muggles died by the dozens every month, and people with impure blood still died daily. She had heard rumours of an underground army battling the system, and although she found that idea quite romantic, she doubted it was real. A children's tale people told one another to give hope to the naive and old people who still talked about the good old days.

Hermione had been told that it used to be much worse and that things had calmed down considerably in the last ten years. She shuddered to imagine what things must have been like before if this was considered a calm period.

"Fair enough," she finally spoke. Just as she opened her mouth to embarrass herself and ask about Mrs. Malfoy, a loud knock sounded.

Mr. Malfoy gave a deep sigh. "Come in, Scorpius."

Hermione didn't ask how he knew because the look of admiration on Scorpius's face told her enough. She could imagine Scorpius spending every free moment he could with his father just to be near him.

"Evening, Father," Scorpius said with a small skip in his step that disappeared when a stern look from Mr. Malfoy was cast his way.

"Good evening," Mr. Malfoy replied briskly.

Scorpius promptly turned to her and then turned Hermione's cup into a brown mouse, making Ms. Black screech. With a swift swish of his wand, the mouse turned into the cup again, and Hermione nodded her approval.

"Very well, Scorpius," she praised him, "although I had wished you had waited to perform your spell until I had at least finished my tea."

Under her reprimanding look, Scorpius gave her one of his "puppy dog smiles" as Hermione had dubbed them in her mind. He only turned the charm up a notch if he had done something wrong.

She narrowed her eyes at him until he stopped with the cheeky smile and then gave a sober nod.

"I apologize, miss. It wasn't thoughtful of me."

"No, it wasn't," Hermione agreed sternly. "Apology accepted."

Scorpius perked up immediately. "Does that mean you'll lend me your copy of the Muggle fairy tales?"

Hermione glanced briefly at Mr. Malfoy, who seemed quite surprised by the news, to Ms. Black, who looked rather nonplussed. She turned back to Scorpius and nodded. "Very well. You've earned it."

"You've been reading my son Muggle fairy tales?" Mr. Malfoy asked, an incredulous tone to his voice.

"Actually, Father, I've been able to read on my own for a few years now," Scorpius pointed out and Hermione tried to smother the laugh that threatened to escape her.

Mr. Malfoy's eyes turned ice cold, and even Hermione felt quite chastised for wanting to laugh. "Tone it down, Scorpius."

"Sorry, Father," Scorpius said, taking a step back.

Mr. Malfoy gave a deep sigh and closed his eyes. Hermione thought he looked pained, as if he had a headache or something of the like.

"So you've been reading Muggle stories?" Mr. Malfoy finally asked again.

Scorpius nodded, not that eager this time. "It's not Miss Granger's fault," he started, but Hermione cut him off.

She couldn't bear seeing this clever boy grovel at his father's feet like that. It was horrifying and she wasn't going to stand for it.

"Actually it is. I allowed him to read them because he showed an interest in Muggle culture. So far he has read Alice In Wonderland and Peter Pan."

"You thought it appropriate for him to read these," Mr. Malfoy hesitated, "stories?"

"Indeed I did," Hermione said defiantly, meeting his stare levelly this time. She refused to be intimidated anymore. He was just one wizard after all, and Hermione figured that she'd be able to take him if it ever came to that. She still hoped not, because she had grown rather fond of the boy and the job in general.

Finally, he broke the eye contact and gave his son a firm nod. "Very well then. Don't let it interfere with your regular schoolwork though."

Scorpius glowed. "I won't. I promise."

His father nodded. "Off to bed with you then. We'll talk further in the morning."

Ms. Black stood up and guided Scorpius to the door.

Hermione followed her example and gave her tea doubtful look.

"I wouldn't drink it either," Mr. Malfoy offered unexpectedly, surprising Hermione once more.

This man was so confusing, she thought. He was cocky one moment and a stern father the next. Was he bipolar? Hermione wondered. She didn't touch her tea though and gave Mr. Malfoy a nod. "Goodnight then, sir."

Mr. Malfoy stood up and followed her to the door. He only spoke up when she was about to leave the room. "Miss Granger." She turned around and gasped at how close he suddenly was. They were mere inches apart. She swallowed and looked up as Mr. Malfoy looked down. She saw his eyes rest on her lips and she could almost feel his lips on her own. The thought of kissing, made her flush a bright red. She thought that his kiss would be raw and demanding. That he would be the one taking initiative and that he'd pull her against his body.

"Thank you," Mr. Malfoy breathed, forcing her eyes back up to his. He abruptly turned around and walked back to his desk as Hermione left the study room. She couldn't believe what had almost happened just now and how unprofessional she had behaved. It was absolutely unacceptable.

Her fingers gingerly touched her lips as if the kiss she had fantasized about had actually happened. His moods were so fickle that Hermione couldn't help but firmly believe that he must be bipolar. But it would be a bipolarity she could get used to, she thought with a faint smile.

Hermione woke to a chilling laugh that nearly stopped her heart. She waited for a breathless second as she heard a strange knocking sound. She jumped out of bed, grabbing at her wand as she did so. Wand at the ready, she whispered a soft "lumos". As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she noticed the open window that kept banging shut with a loud thud. She hurried over and closed it.

She leaned against her bed frame for a second as she tried to calm her erratically beating heart. That was when she heard that horrifying laugh again. She rubbed her arms and tried to will the goosebumps away. She tiptoed to her door and unlocked it. Hermione was notorious at her old school for her curiosity. She always got in all kinds of trouble and it looked like she couldn't stop herself even now, years later. All seemed quiet in the empty corridor though and Hermione started wondering if she hadn't dreamt the bone chilling laugh.

She decided to check on Scorpius, who she found fast asleep in his own bed. She was just about to head back to her own room, muttering about her and her wild fantasy, when she noticed smoke coming through one of the doors further down the hall. Her feet carried her to the door and down the hall it led her to in a record time. She coughed several times as the smoke pushed its way inside her lungs. She blindly ran to the door at the end of the corridor and threw it open.

These were Mr. Malfoy's rooms, she knew. Her head turned to the bed and a loud gasp escaped her, which made her cough even more. The bed frame was on fire! She ran to his bed and pointed her wand at the flames, licking the bed frame and curtains.

"Mr. Malfoy," she screamed as she tried to shake him awake. "Mr. Malfoy, please!"

She stopped her futile attempts when she saw the empty bottle of firewhiskey next to his bed. She looked around desperately until she found a bucket next to his bed that was probably there for the morning hangover.

"Aguamenti," she yelled and the bucket filled itself with water. With a loud cough, she emptied the bucket on Mr. Malfoy's head with a little satisfaction.

Mr. Malfoy woke up with a gasp. "Miss Granger," he sputtered.

"Get up, Draco," Hermione shouted, forgetting all rules of propriety in the heat of the moment. She waited until he had jumped out of bed and told him to close his eyes. Hermione pointed her wand to the bed and used one of her own spells. Water flooded the room for a second before it disappeared as fast as it had come. The room looked like it had drowned, but the flames that had even started on the window curtains were extinguished completely.

A soaked Hermione looked at a shocked Draco Malfoy. She hadn't been able to use the spell before in fear of drowning him, and she regretted the damage that surrounded them because of it. She shivered as their eyes met. She couldn't tell if the shiver was the result of the excitement and the ice cold water that had enveloped her only seconds before or his piercing grey eyes.

"You must be freezing," he finally said after a little while. He hurried to his closet and used a drying charm to dry the bigger part of the room. Hermione followed his example, and before long they had a dry room once more.

Draco, Hermione couldn't think of him as Mr. Malfoy anymore for some reason, guided her to one of his fauteuils and laid one of his jumpers over her shoulders. Hermione grabbed it, only now remembering that she was in his rooms in nothing more than her night clothes and pulled it on.

"Don't go anywhere," he breathed as he knelt before her. "I'll be right back."

Hermione managed a single nod before he stood up and stalked out of his room. After a few seconds, she could hear him shout for Andromeda. So her suspicions were correct. Ms. Black was indeed Andromeda Tonks. Curious that she had found her refuge with Draco Malfoy, Hermione thought.

Hermione waited and waited until the minutes became hours and the night became day. When Draco finally did stumble back into his room, he seemed almost surprised to see her still there.

"You're here," he said as he walked over to her and fell down in the fauteuil next to hers. "Miss Granger, it's imperative that you do not tell anyone of what happened here today. Especially not the servants."

She frowned at that. "What about Ms. Black? Will she be punished?"

"Andromeda?" Draco seemed honestly surprised. So it hadn't been her, Hermione mused. Then who? "No, why would I? She has been warned and she will relay my warning to the appropriate people," he assured me. "Something like this will never happen again."

Hermione nodded unsurely. She didn't believe a word of it. Who had started the fire? Who laughed like that in the middle of the night? And why hadn't she heard that sound before tonight? Did it have something to do with Draco himself? After all, he only returned today, and tonight an unknown person had tried to kill him in his sleep. There must be something to connect the dots, right?

Draco got up again and held out his hand for Hermione, which she took. He helped her up and stared at her rather intently. He didn't let go of her hand as he kissed her forehead. "Go back to bed, Hermione Granger. There's still several hours of sleep waiting for you."

He then let her go and turned his back to her, an obvious dismissal.

Hermione left his jumper behind as she went back to her own room, her mind spinning with the kiss he had just given her. Did that mean he felt the same way she did? Was he as taken by surprise by these sudden intense feelings like she was? What had happened tonight? Who was behind the mad laugh? And why had Draco kissed her just now?