Hello readers! I'm sorry it's taking me so long to post these chapters! I've had a super hectic schedule, but I'm trying my best!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter! If not, then I hope I can improve with future chapters. :) Have a lovely day and thank you all for reading.

"Damn it, Granger. Where the hell are you?" Draco said out loud to the empty room. He had just finished closing up the shop and was sitting in a booth, staring at the clock on the wall. Draco was beginning to feel like he was being used. Betrayal started sinking into his thoughts and he reflected back to five years prior when Voldemort was still a major influence over the purebloods of the wizarding world. So much had happened and he usually tried his best to avoid thinking about his past.

Draco was startled by a knocking sound. He looked up to see Hermione at the window of the shop looking like a complete mess. Quickly, Draco opened the door to let her in and asked, "What the bloody hell happened to you? You look awful!"

"Well now, that's not very nice to say to someone trying to help you, is it? I just lost track of time. Forgive me for looking like this… I tried to get here as quickly as possible. I sort of…"

"Sort of what?"

"…sort of forgot about apparating. I just walked halfway here," Hermione said embarrassed.

Draco burst out laughing, "Seriously? The brightest witch of her age forgot to use magic? That's pathetic."

"Shut up! Do you want help or not?"

"Of course I do, Granger."

"Alright then, shall we go?"

Hermione and Draco were about to walk out the door when Draco noticed a bruise on the side of Hermione's face. Before Hermione could get completely out of the shop, Draco grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward him.

Hermione asked Draco with a hint of annoyance, "What do you think you're doing?"

"What the hell is that? That definitely wasn't there earlier and I know you couldn't have gotten it from walking," Draco said as he pulled Hermione's hair away from her face, revealing the bruise.

"Oh… It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Is that weasel hitting you? If he is, I'll beat his ass for you. I'm serious; I have no respect for pompous gits who beat women." Draco seemed as if he was acting out of character, but the look on his face showed he wasn't lying.

"I said not to worry about it. Let's go."

Draco knew there was no hope in pressing the issue, so he surrendered and followed Hermione out the door.

Since the apartment was in Diagon Alley, Hermione and Draco decided to walk. The walk would only take five minutes, but to them it would feel like a lifetime. After Draco brought attention to the bruise on Hermione's face, things got awkward so they simply walked in silence.

As they reached Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Hermione led Draco to a doorway next to the far left window. The door was locked. Draco looked at Hermione while she fumbled through her pockets looking for the keys. He couldn't help but laugh to himself about how flustered she was getting. Finally, Hermione found the keys and unlocked the door to let them both in.

The apartment wasn't much, but it would give Draco exactly what he needed- a roof over his head. Draco illuminated the room and saw a bunch of dusty old furniture. It was easy to tell the place had not been entered since Fred's death.

Hermione finally broke the silence as she turned to Draco and said, "Look, I know it's not much and it needs a lot of cleaning but it's really quite cozy. You should get settled in tonight and I'll come back tomorrow evening to help you with the dusting."

"Granger, you don't have to. I'm a big boy. I can handle cleaning on my own… that's what magic is for after all."

Hermione chuckled and said, "Oh, stop it. I'm not going to make you clean all this up by yourself. I'll be back tomorrow. Oh, and before I forget and leave you on your own… there are two bedrooms and one bathroom. If you'd like, you can use the spare bedroom as an office of some kind. Have fun."

Draco nodded and walked farther into the apartment as Hermione sat the keys on the counter and left. The place had clearly been touched by a Weasley, but Draco had faith that he could soon make it his own with a bit of a make-over. For the first time in five years, Draco finally felt like he had a home.

Hot water splashed across Draco's lean, scar covered body as he washed himself. It had been awhile since he had a real shower in a real bathtub. He found it oddly relaxing, though the feeling of the scars beneath his hands as he touched them brought back feelings of depression. Quickly, Draco brought his mind back to the present time and turned the water off as he stepped out of the shower.

Draco dried himself off gently and headed toward the main bedroom without putting clothes back on. It had been awhile since he was able to walk freely in the nude so he wanted to take the opportunity to do so. It appeared as if the bed had already been taken care of by Hermione because there were fresh sheets and blankets in Draco's favorite colors. Draco thought to himself, how did she know black, green, and silver were my favorite colors? He didn't think it was that obvious, but apparently it was to Hermione. Draco pulled the covers back and slid into the soft sheets. No sooner did he lay his head down on the pillow, he fell asleep and had the best night of dreaming he had in a long time.

Light filled the room as the sun rose higher into the sky. Draco was just beginning to wake up and rolled over on his side to see what time it was. 12:00PM. Realizing he was late to work, Draco quickly jumped out of bed, threw some clothes on, and ran out the door saying, "Shit, shit, shit! How did I manage to screw up this badly? Audrey is going to kill me!"

As he entered the Ice Cream Parlour, Draco noticed Audrey standing at the counter in place of him. He wasn't sure if she was mad or concerned because her facial expressions showed a bit of both.

Audrey shouted out to Draco, "Where the hell've you been? You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

"Er, sorry, just moved into my new apartment and overslept apparently. I swear it won't happen again. Please, just don't fire me!"

"Fire you? I wouldn't fire you! You're my best worker. So, you got a new place, aye? That's great to hear! Now start working, love."

Draco sighed with relief and cracked a smile as he said, "Thanks Aud. Now move over so I can actually do my job!"

Life was starting to turn around for Draco and he felt a sense of pride and accomplishment coming back. Before too long, he would be back at the top and everyone would be forced to respect him again, or so he'd like to think. He was still going to owe money to the Weasley family and he would probably be indebted to Hermione for many years to come. Strangely, he didn't seem to mind Hermione being in his life more frequently and this began to worry him.