Chapter Four

The One with French desk

A week later Hermione stood over her little bureau, the desk was an antique in the French baroque style and had belonged to her Grandmother it was small and looked horridly overcrowded with papers, memos and notes. It was gone 11p.m. as the background noise the television played attested to. She searched through the notes trying to find the one note she needed to complete the report on her desk.

"Miss me?" A voice came from behind Hermione somewhere near her left shoulder she dropped the pile of letters rather loudly onto the wooden floor.

"Is that what you do?" she asked annoyed "have sex with women disappear and come back in time for another go when you are bored?" she asked loudly.

"I thought you recognized me."

"When?" she asked "and why are you so keen to be unseen?"

"I saw you and you saw me,"

"Do I know you in real life?"

"This is real life,"

"This is not real life," she shouted "this is a stupid game that we play to take away hurt and who knows what else. This is very definitely not real life."

"Then Miss. Granger," and he kissed her neck.

"No," she protested "I have work,"

"Really?" he asked her between kisses.

"Yes...work," she said feebly but soon surrendered.

An hour later they sat curled together on her bed.

"Why is that you won't tell me who you are?"

"I just can't Hermione please trust me,"

"I must know you or know of you."

"Please," he said, "please leave it," and kissed the top of her head "I love you," he whispered.

"How?" she laughed back "you don't know me."

"Yes I do. I have seen you laugh, frown, smile and love. I can't explain love if I could I would be a genius."

She rolled her eyes "we have just had sex it's hormones and your brain playing tricks."

"No," he pleaded, "no it isn't Hermione I love you."

"Then show me who you are,"

"I can't,"

"So you love your privacy more than me?"

"No it's just you wouldn't understand."

"You don't trust me how flattering," she said mockingly.

"Hermione is something wrong?" he asked.

"No," she snapped "I'm fine," she got up walking to the bedside table poring herself a whiskey from a small bottle on the bedside table.

"Hermione?" He said softly.

"A man died today," she said quietly.

"At St. Mungo's?"

"Yes," she said as she slammed the glass down "on my watch I killed a man."

"Hermione you are a healer you cure people."

"And I didn't," she shouted "I let him die I just watched it," and he she began crying "I..let.."

But Draco had seen her face before she began crying and was so stood beside her and held her as she cried into his chest. He held her as she cried herself to sleep before placing softly on the bed.

Draco thoroughly intended to creep away early in the morning as he had done before. But this night sleep claimed him and the pair slept soundly.

Draco was awoken before Hermione, his own flat was quiet and dark in a morning but Hermione's instead was flooded with light through the cream curtains and the open window could hear the soft sound of birds. Hermione turned over looking to the clock on her mantelpiece 9.30 am she smiled she wasn't in St. Mungo's today so she did something she rarely did pulled the cover over her head, turned over and fell back to sleep.