Chapter Nine

Hermione wanted so desperately to continue what she and Malfoy had started but not too long after she had kissed him back, Harry's patronus entered the room. Ginny was going into labor. Yes, Hermione was beyond furious with Harry but she had made a promise. When it all came down to it, Harry was one of her best friends. She knew she would forgive him the moment she saw him even if he didn't apologize.

"Don't go yet. Potter will be fine on his own." said Draco as he tried to pull her closer. She couldn't help but let out a small smile.

"As much as I would love to stay, I made a promise. Ginny is about to go into labor and there's no way that I'm going to miss the birth of my godson."

"If you're the godmother, who's the godfather?"

Hermione didn't know why but she felt very uncomfortable telling Malfoy this. She felt even more uncomfortable when she thought about seeing the godfather at the hospital.

"Uhm, it's Ron."

She noticed that Malfoy was glaring at her. "Weasel? So what, the little Potter family expects the two of you to get together and live happily ever after?"

"Oh please, you're being ridiculous. They only chose us because we're the closest to them." She had just finished putting her coat on and was now wrapping her scarf around her neck. "Call me crazy but do I sense a little jealousy in your tone?"

"Me? Jealous of Weasel? Please. You act like he's a threat or something."

"So you're telling me that Ron has the potential to be a threat?"

Malfoy was wiggling around in his chair and having a rather hard time keeping eye contact with her. "Listen, what happened a few minutes ago was just pint up anger. You can't honestly think that us being a thing would be accepted."

"It wasn't pint up anger to me...I surely hope it wasn't to you. And honestly, I don't care what other people think. I'm going to do whatever I want to be happy and my true friends will either accept it or leave."

"So what, you're saying that I make you happy?"

Hermione walked over to him and sat down on his lap. "I know it sounds crazy. Hell, I can't even believe it but yes. You do make me happy, Draco. I know this is all new but who knows where it could go. Right now, I just want to enjoy it. But listen, I've got to go. Take over for the day and meet me at my house tonight. We'll talk some more."

She quickly pecked him on the lips and ran out of the door. It seemed like the elevator ride was lasting forever. When it finally came to a stop, she busted through the elevator doors and saw Harry pacing around and waving his hands around by his side. She was right, the minute she saw him, she forgave him. She ran to him and hugged him like it was the last time they would ever see each other.

"Oh Hermione, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way towards you." he cried. "I've just been so stressed with Ginny and the baby and-"

"Harry, stop. It's okay. I forgive you. You're my best friend. Always. But come on, we've got to go get Ginny!"

"Actually, Molly already picked her up and they should be at the hospital by now."

Hermione nodded and stuck out her arm. There was no way that she was going to let Harry be in charge on apparating them in his current condition. If he did, they'd most likely end up on another continent. She braced herself as Harry took her arm and then the two of them were flying. She always had hated the feeling of apparating. It made you feel nauseous but now wasn't the time to focus on that. They found themselves standing in the middle of a busy waiting room and then Harry ran towards the front desk. Hermione quickly followed and asked what room Ginny was in and then they were running through the hospital. Once they reached Ginny's door, Hermione grabbed Harry's shoulder to brace him and motioned for him to breathe. Once he was calm, he opened the door and the two of them stepped inside.

"Thank Merlin you're here!" cried Molly as she hugged Harry. "And good to see you, Hermione dear. Ginny is just about ready to push so if you'd like to, you can sit with Ron in the waiting room."

Hermione nodded her head and gave Harry once last hug and kissed Ginny on the cheek before walking out of the room. She really didn't want to go to the waiting room and face Ron but there was nowhere else for her to go. She slowly peaked around the corner and saw that all too familiar mess of red hair sitting on a chair. His elbows were rested on his knees and he was shaking his right leg so hard that it looked like it might fall off.

"Ron..." she whispered.

His eyes quickly shot up at her and before she knew it, he was hugging her so tight that she couldn't breathe. "Thank Merlin you're here! Mom put me out here in the waiting room because she said I was making Ginny to nervous but can you blame me?! That's my sister in there! She's about to push a baby out of her and it freaks me out!"

Hermione let out a laugh and motioned for him to sit. "It's all part of life. You should be happy! You're about to be and uncle and a godfather!"

"Yeah, I am excited. I really am. But I'm just worried about her, you know? I know that stuff hurts and I don't want to think about her hurting. And what if something is wrong with James?! Then what will we do?!"

"Ron, look at me." she held his face in between her hands. "You have got to calm down. I promise you, Ginny and James are in excellent hands. You're in worse shape than Ginny! You've got to breathe."

She watched as Ron took in a deep breathe and then shakily pushed it out. "Thanks, Mione...I'm glad you're here."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."


Malfoy was annoyed as he tried to distract himself with paperwork. It was already seven. When the hell was Hermione going to show up? Did it honestly take that long to deliver a baby? He couldn't focus anymore so he stacked his papers nicely and then pulled on his coat. He would just wait at Hermione's until she was back from the hospital. He walked out of the ministry and shivered from the cold. The temperature had dropped at least ten degrees since this afternoon and the snow was falling much harder. It was likely that a blizzard was going to arrive soon.

He wasn't really sure if it was illegal going into Hermione's house without her permission but he really didn't care. All he wanted was to get out of the cold. If it was already seven and she wasn't back by now, it would most likely be awhile so he made up his mind that he would take a shower. Wait, was it weird that he was going to shower in her house that she didn't know he was at? But then again, she did tell him to come over.

"Alohomora." he whispered and with a flick of his wand, her door swung open.

He hadn't really taken the time to look around at her place the last time he was here. She had a standard two bedroom apartment with a rather large kitchen and living room area. It wasn't anything compared to Malfoy Manor but he was sure it suited her just fine. He walked into the kitchen and he felt something rub up against his leg. He frowned at the sight of orange cat hair that was now all across the bottom of his black pants.

"Stupid cat..." he muttered. "Would you get off of me? What, are you hungry or something?"

He looked around in her cabinets and then found a can of wet food. He opened it and tossed it on the ground. He hated cats. He actually didn't really care for animals at all. The closest thing he had ever had to a pet was a rock and that was too much. Ha, imagine him with children if he couldn't even handle a pet.

He laughed to himself and then remembered that he wanted a shower. He walked into Hermione's room and looked around. His eyes immediately flickered over to her top dresser drawer as he remembered the other night when he went to get her clothes. Suddenly, he was imaging those lace items on her and he felt a small pulse in his pants. He quickly cleared his throat and then ran for the bathroom before locking the door behind him. What was he thinking allowing himself to think thoughts like that about Hermione? She wasn't his to think about like that. Or was she?

He turned the water on and then waited for it to be scalding hot before he stepped in. There was nothing that he loved more than a hot shower after a long and annoying day at work. He couldn't count how many times he craved a shower after all the fights he had with Hermione when he first started at work. He let out a loud sigh and then looked around the shower before frowning. His options for soap and shampoo smelt like flowers. He didn't want to smell like flowers. Damn it, he was a man! But then again, he did need to clean himself.

As soon as began to massage the shampoo through his hair, he immediately thought of Hermione and how good she always smelt. The smell of her shampoo was like having her right next to him. He breathed in deep and his body relaxed. Why was it that everything he did always made him think of her?


Hermione froze as she looked at the front door of her apartment. It was slightly cracked open. She quickly pulled out her wand and walked inside. Her senses were on high alert. The house was quiet but she could make out the sound of the shower running back in her bedroom. Oh great, so someone was going to break into her house and then use her damn shower like they owned the place? She wanted to barge in there but she had to be smart. What if the person was dangerous?

She wiggled her doorknob and saw that it was unlocked. She was ready to go inside when she heard the shower cut off. Her body became so stiff with fear but she forced herself to calm down. Once the bathroom door opened, she would burst inside and confront the person. He or she wouldn't be expecting it so she could corner them. She listened for the bathroom door to open and once it did, she took a deep breathe and kicked her door open.

"Who the hell do you think you ar-" her mouth literally hit the floor at the sight in front of her.

"Fuck! Shit! I uh, where are your towels?!" yelled Draco and he tried his best to cover his body.

Hermione couldn't speak so she just stared and then pointed to her closet. Draco Malfoy was in her room completely naked. He had no clothes on. He was in her room. She was his private area. "Oh my God! Why did you look, Hermione?!" she cursed herself. Before she knew it, her hand flew up to her eyes and she ran out of her room, slamming the door behind her.

She sat on her couch literally freaking out when she heard the door open. She let out a loud groan at the sight in front of her. He only had on his black slacks. His hair was wet and wild and his upper body was covered in tiny droplets of water. He was breathtaking.

"I didn't think you would be home for awhile." he said as he walked over to her.

"So you just thought that you would break into my house and use my shower like you owned the place?! You scared me to death!"

"I'm sorry alright? I just got annoyed waiting around to hear from you so I came here to wait and then got bored and decided that I wanted to take a shower."

She was looking away from him. She tried to make it seem like she was looking away because she was angry but in reality, it was because she was afraid that if she looked at him, she would pounce on him.

"Did Potter's baby inherit the awful Weasel hair color?"

"No. James has black hair like Harry's. He was so handsome, Draco. I wish you could have seen him."

"Babies aren't my cup of tea." he got up and walked to the kitchen and began to go through her fridge looking for something to drink.

"But he was so perfect!" said Hermione as she finally worked up the courage to turn around and look at him. "He was so tiny. I was so excited that they asked me to be his godmother. Seeing him and holding him made me overjoyed but actually really sad at the same time."

Malfoy had a bottle of water in his hand as he walked back over to her. He sat across from her and looked at her confused. "Why were you sad?"

"I guess because it's hard for me to see Harry so happy and with a family. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for him and Ginny but at the same time, I'm jealous. I'm twenty eight years old and I'm not married. I don't even have a boyfriend for crying out loud! I want a family so bad and I'm scared that if I don't start getting ready to settle down, I'll miss out on my chance."

"I know what you mean. The pressure to keep the Malfoy family line alive is pretty big in my house. I need to create a new heir or it ends with me."

"Do you actually want to get married and have a family?"

She watched as Malfoy wrinkled his forehead. He was obviously thinking about how to answer this.

"Well...growing up, having a wife and children was just something that I always knew I would do. It wasn't necessarily something I was dying to have. It was more of what was just the norm for me. It was basically what was expected. Like I said, continuing the family line is a big deal."

"I see..." Hermione suddenly felt uncomfortable talking about this with him and changed the subject. "How was work?"

"Fine." said Malfoy. "Would have been better if I got to finish what I started."

Hermione could feel herself blushing. "You should probably put a shirt on. You could catch a cold with this weather."

"I could...or you could just take yours off and join me."

Malfoy was now scooting closer to her. She closed her eyes as his hand began to gently rub down her neck. His hand was then replaced by his lips. She had always been a sucker for those neck kisses.

"Draco..." she whispered. "We shouldn't..."

He let out a low growl against her throat and she could feel the vibrations. His hands were now against her back. She could feel him reaching for her bra to unhook it but she quickly jumped away.

"Did I do something?" he asked. She could tell he was confused.

"No. I just think that maybe this is all going a little to quickly..."

"I'm a man. What do you expect?"

Hermione looked at him and cocked her head to the side. "So you just think that because you're a guy you have the right to just have sex with me right away?"

"That wasn't what I said!"

"Well that's what it sounded like!"

"Well excuse me for wanting to kiss you and for actually being attracted to you! God forbid that a man would actually want to have sex with Hermione Granger!"

"So this is all about sex to you then? I don't want just sex!"

"Are you being serious right now?! I came to your house to see you, I've taken you out, I tried to get you to stay today because I didn't want to watch you leave! If this was just sex about sex to me, trust me, I would have already made it happen the day I started working for you. Yeah, I've always been attracted to you. Shocker huh? I knew wanting to actually try something with you would be a mistake."

"So you think that I'm a mistake...?"

She watched as Malfoy let out a sigh. "Hermione, that's not what I meant. When I get angry I say shit I don't mean. The truth is that for some reason, I actually feel something for you too. It has been a long time since I've been with a woman and sometimes my urges get the best of me. I didn't mean to upset you. Just let me know if I'm going to fast. Most girls I've been with aren't like you."

"They were all just sluts." she mumbled.

"Actually, they pretty much were." he said with a laugh.

"Yeah well sluts are good at sex. There's no way I could even compare! I've only been with one person!"

"I'll teach you." he winked.

Hermione punched his arm as hard as she could. "You're such an asshole."

"Yeah, I know."

Hermione wanted him so bad. She really did. But she was terrified of letting herself become that intimate with someone again. The only person she had sex with was Ron and then he left her without a word for over a year. And on top of that, Draco was experienced. He would laugh at how awful she was. Her mind was racing with thoughts, emotions, urges, all of it. She needed to think of something else before she snapped. Her stomach let out a loud growl and she sighed with relief. Her mind was instantly now focused on food.

"I'm going to order some Chinese. You're welcome to stay for dinner if you'd like."

She saw Malfoy's face show a hint of disappointment but he let out a sigh. "Dinner would be nice."