Draco woke up in the guest room, momentarily wondering why his room looked so differently. Then everything came back to him from yesterday. That's right. He was at Anteros' house and was staying with his family. And his twin sister was Hermione Granger. He groaned and rolled out of bed. Well, he could deal with her for the summer. Anything was better than going home to his family and spending the summer listening to his father's lectures of pure blood and the Dark Lord. One could only take so much.
Draco quickly took a shower and dressed in a pair of jeans and a light sweater of green and silver. He looked at the clock. It was almost 11. He had expected to wake up later, after how long he and Anteros had stayed up last night. The Anteros he'd talk to, though, was nothing like the one at Hogwarts. There, he'd been the Slytherin smooth talker. Here, he was just a guy who teased his sister, smiled to their neighbor, and joked around as if he were a normal guy. If Draco hadn't known him so well, he might have been shocked.
He felt his stomach grumble and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. He smelt something sweet and walked into the kitchen, shocked at what he saw. Granger was wearing the same white apron she'd worn yesterday, and was making cookies. The device on the counter was playing some song. The person singing kept saying 'naturally'. It didn't make sense to him, but Granger was signing and swaying as she moved about in the kitchen. She looked at home there.
Draco saw a plate of cookies on the counter and took one. As he bit into it, he couldn't stop the groan that slid past his lips. The flavor was go good and the warmth was just what he needed. The sound, though, had Granger turning around. Her eyes widened at him being there, but she calmed herself and said, "Good morning, Malfoy." It was forced and sounded like she was trying to be nice. Anteros had mentioned a promise to be nice. So he might as well be nice, too.
"These are good, Granger," he said. She'd used his last name, and he would use hers. He took another bite. "They're familiar. Like the ones Anteros gets once a month."
Granger laughed. "They should. I'm the one who made them." Draco looked at the cookies, debating whether to spit them out. This mudblood had made them? How is that possible? Yes, her dinner had been good, but he absolutely loved the cookies Anteros got each month. That decided it for him. He finished his cookie and reached for another.
Granger turned back to her cooking and walked over to a small box. She pushed a button and the front opened. She took out a plate of pancakes and set it in front of him. "Made them this morning for Sophia, but her parents called her away. Might as well eat them, Malfoy," she said, handing him a fork.
He took it and started to eat, his stomach deciding what to eat. The pancakes had a flavor of vanilla and he quickly finished them. The entire time he'd eaten, he'd watched Granger flit around. She looked at home in the kitchen. "You know," he said, drawing her attention. "You're like a good little wife, cooking and moving like that."
He expected her to get angry, that was what he was trying to do, but she only smiled. "Anteros has mentioned that multiple times. But I like it. Makes it feel more homey, doesn't it?" she said. Draco nodded. Yeah, that it did. Especially last night during dinner. Except for the awkward silence, it had felt like a normal family. "But I know you're just dying to ask some questions. It's practically bubbling over in you."
Draco stared for a moment, Granger's voice momentarily breaking him out of his thoughts. What question should he ask first? He had so many. He finally decided on one. "Anteros said you were adopted. If your parents aren't muggles, then what does that make you? And why take different names?"
Granger turned to him and said, "If you'd believe it, we're purebloods."
"So you know who your family is?" he asked. Maybe he knew them.
She nodded. "I do, yes. Anteros, though, doesn't. I haven't told him."
"Who are they?"
Granger laughed. "You think I'd tell you? You'd hate Anteros if you knew."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Not worried about yourself?" he asked.
"You already hate me. I don't care if you hate me more, but Anteros considers you his best friend. So I'll keep my info to myself." She paused and leaned forward. "Do me a favor and don't tell anyone who Anteros' sister is, okay? Anteros has fiends and I'd hate to have him loose them because of me." the word 'again' hung in the air, unspoken. "That's the reason we have different last names."
"You look after each other, huh?" Draco said.
Granger nodded. 'He's the only true family I have. I hate him sometimes, but I love him more."
Draco almost smiled at her loyalty. It rivaled any Slytherins', he'd met. "What about Potter?" he asked curiously.
She shrugged. "He's a friend." She was about to turn around, but stopped and tilted her head to the side. "Tell you what. I'll tell you something interesting about Harry that even he doesn't know. In return, you have to take out the trash for the entire time you're here."
Draco was thrown for a moment. He had not expected this. She was giving him something about Potter for something as simple as putting the trash out? It seemed too good to be true, but he couldn't pass up the chance learn something useful about his enemy. "Alright," he said.
Granger leaned forward and said, "Harry Potter and a prominent Slytherin share the same blood. They share a maternal great grandmother."
Draco's eyes widened. "Who?" he asked. This was indeed something interesting. He felt bad for whoever was related to that twit.
Granger placed her finger in the flour on the counter between them and moved it. Draco thought she was writing a name, but it turned into an arrow. Pointed straight at him. He looked at it as if it were lying to him, then up at her. "That isn't funny, Granger," he growled.
She smiled. "As much as I would love it to be a joke, I would not wish that on Harry. I found it in the Black Family History. Also, you're related to the Weasleys. Their paternal grandmother was Cendrella Black, making them your 3rd cousins, I believe. Oh, and you're related to the Longbottoms."
Draco sneered. "That's-"
"I'm not done," Granger said, raising a hand to stop his talking.
"More bad news?" he said, growling and grabbing a cookie.
Granger didn't smile, like she'd done with the Weasleys' information. She frowned. "Not from my point of view, but for you, I'm sure you'll be ecstatic. Tom Marvolo Riddle is related to you. Alas, it's only by marriage, so you won't be able to claim that blood."
Draco blinked. This was a lot to take in. Then something stuck with him. "You must have been really bored to find all this out about a house that doesn't concern you." Granger shrugged and turned to pull a plate of cookies out of the oven. "Unless," he said, thinking. "You were researching it because they hold importance for you." Draco watched her scoop the cookies onto another plate. His eyes widened. "You're parents were part of the Black Family."
Granger smiled at him. It was one of approval, though her tone didn't show it. "Give the boy a cookie. He has a brain after all."
"But you said it would make me hate Anteros," Draco said. "Does that mean-"
"Yes, Draco," Granger said. "I use enough brown sugar to make them sweet, but it's mostly due to the sugar." He looked at her as in confusion. What was she spouting? But he got his answer when she smiled brightly over his shoulder and said, "Hi, Anteros. Fresh cookies."
Draco looked around and saw Anteros walk into the kitchen in a pair of jeans, a white tee shirt, and terrible bed hair. "Thanks, Mione. Surprised to see you so civil to Draco. But why are you talking about cookies?"
Granger smiled and said, "I'm explaining how non magical households make cookies." Draco blinked at how fast she'd come up with the lie. "Listen," she said. "I'm going out with a couple of friends to catch a movie. They called last night and invited me. Can you try and not destroy the house while I'm gone?"
Anteros rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He frowned for a moment. "You doing with that Thomas kid?"
Draco watched Granger's face turn red. "No," she said. "Just a few friends."
Anteros leaned against the counter. "I don't like him."
Granger frowned. "You don't like any of my guy friends."
"Get better guy friends that aren't sleazy, and then I'll like them."
Granger rolled her eyes. "I might as well date Draco. Then you wouldn't have to worry about not liking him."
Draco stared at her. Did she just say that?
"Do that," Anteros said. "He's better than those losers. Besides, you two would make a nice couple."
Draco stared at him, then. Did he just say that?
Granger picked up a cookie and threw it at her brother. Anteros caught it and ate it without a care. She sighed in frustration. "You know, sometimes I wished you'd just stay as the dog you change into," she said.
Draco was confused for a moment, then remembered. Anteros was an illegal Animagus and his form was a large black wolf with white fur around his right eye. Draco had seen him in this form a couple of times when they had snuck out of the castle to have some fun in the Forbidden Forest.
Anteros didn't mind his sister's words, though. He only smiled and said, "Woof."
