A/N: Once again, just a quick thank you to all of you reading and reviewing! It always makes my day!
Chapter 9: The Apothecary
The rest of the week breezed past. They quickly fell into a comfortable routine. Every night after work Hermione would apparate over to the country house. They would spend hours doing research and making lists and debating theories. She realized, however, that they spent just as much time in lighthearted bickering, laughing, and talking. It was careful conversation at first, but comfortable. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement not to discuss anything about their past, especially relating to their families or the war, as it was painful for both of them. But she enjoyed spending time with him more than she ever would have expected to, considering their school history.
It was Friday night when Hermione broke the unspoken rule. The two of them sat in what had become their usual places in the library, Hermione at one side of the small table with books laid out in front of her, and Draco directly across from her with his own spread. She was flipping through a book on healing plants when she spotted a section on the essence of daisy root. The picture displayed on the page was a perfect white daisy. Sadly she caressed the picture, her mind wandering to another time.
"Granger," Draco said, leaning forward. "You've been staring at that page for five minutes."
Hermione looked up quickly, her chocolate eyes shining with unshed tears. "Oh," she murmured, trying to collect herself. "Sorry."
"Granger, what is it?" He asked with concern.
Hermione looked back to the page, slowly tracing the flower with her finger. A sad smile came to her lips. "My mother loves daisies. My father was always bringing them for her. I used to think of them as such a happy flower. But now..." She trailed off, chancing a look at Draco. Ordinarily she never spoke of her parents, preferring to leave them to private moments of pain. But in those stormy grey eyes she saw a look of understanding. "It's funny isn't it? How something once so happy can become so painful?"
There was a long moment of silence. "My mother liked roses," Draco said softly. "She had dozens of rose bushes in the garden. She used to say tending them helped clear her mind."
Hermione smiled sadly and reached forward, placing her hand on tops of his and giving it a gentle squeeze. Slowly he turned his hand over, cupping their palms together, and answered with a gentle pressure of his own. It was a simple gesture, innocent even. But it carried with it a warmth that seemed to radiate up her arm and into her heart. She gazed at their hands before speaking again.
"What are we, Malfoy?" She whispered, causing Draco's mind to nearly explode in panic. "Are we orphans? I know your mother is-" she swallowed painfully, "is gone. But your father and my parents, they're still here. But they aren't at the same time. Not really dead, but not here. Not accessible, not a part of our lives. And I don't—I don't know what that makes us."
Hermione watched as Draco's face transformed into a look that was gentle and kind. And more than that, it was full of understanding. She had never seen a look like that on Malfoy's face before. She found it oddly soothing. It occurred to her in that moment that the two of them had more in common than she did with her friends.
"I don't know," he said truthfully. Gently squeezing her hand one last time, he pulled his away and ran both hands through his platinum blonde hair and clasped them behind his neck. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I wish I was sometimes."
Hermione's heart ached. What must it be like to have Lucius as a father. "I know you must hate him," she started gently. "But you know, it's ok for you to also still love him. Despite everything, he's still you're father."
Draco's eyes snapped to hers, searching as if trying to determine the depths of her sincerity. Finally he looked away, his eyes shining slightly. "Yeah," he said, his voice hoarse with emotion.
As if on cue, they both let out a long drawn out sigh. They caught each other's eye and both burst out laughing.
"Well aren't we a happy pair." Hermione gave another watery laugh. "Why don't we call it a night? It's already midnight. But I was thinking, maybe we should go to the apothecary tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I am itching to try a few things out."
Draco's eyes widened. "Together?"
"Sure, why not? We might see something there we haven't thought of yet, and two brains are better than one." She answered.
"Granger, I am not very well received. I'm not sure you really want to be seen with me," he said, genuinely concerned.
Hermione stood up and walked around the table. "Aww, don't worry Malfoy. I'll protect you," she joked, ruffling his silky blonde hair.
Draco scowled half heartedly and stood up to face her. "I'm serious, Granger. That git at the bookstore is chummy compared to some."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I have heard plenty of people spitting venom at you before. I was in Gryffindor, remember?" She said with an amused smile.
"I was talking about what they could say about you," he said quickly, looking away.
"Oh." Hermione blinked. She stupidly hadn't even considered that aspect, being more concerned with the hatred towards him. "But-"
"If it's me that's one thing, Granger. But I won't have—just—not you. Not to you." Draco looked down, once again wondering why he was acting so dastardly Hufflepuffish.
"Malfoy," she said gently. "I don't care. If they insist on keeping their heads up their arses, well then I'll-I'll hand them a flashlight," she said resolutely.
Draco started. "A what?"
"It's a small Muggle light," she giggled. "Ok, so that was a rather lame attempt at humor, but more to the point, I don't care what they say."
"Why?" He asked incredulously.
"Why should it matter what someone else says? Especially when they don't know what they are talking about?"
"But why put yourself in that position?" He prodded.
"Because it isn't fair!" She cried. "Why should you have to hide when you clearly are working hard to do something good? Why should you get stuck with the stigma of something you didn't do? It isn't fair for you to be stuck here because of a blasted legacy that you don't want! If they don't want to see that bloodline doesn't make a person who they are, then what the hell was the point of this war?"
It was as if Draco couldn't move. He had a million thoughts swirling through his head, most prominently that he did not deserve those words from her, but he couldn't speak. All he could do was stare into her gold flecked eyes.
"So that's settled," Hermione said with a curt nod. "So, bright and early then? Say 9:00?" She waited for him to nod. "Good. See you then." She turned and marched defiantly out the door, not noticing the worry in Draco's eye as he watched her leave.
Draco was pacing the living area, trying to calm himself. How had he gotten himself into this? He knew in his gut something very unpleasant was going to come of this little field trip. It always did. How could it possibly go right? Arguably the most famous and beloved witch in the wizarding world was just about to be seen in public with a hated Death Eater. Someone was going to get hexed, of that he was sure.
Dropping into the nearest chair, he let out a growl. How did she talk him into this? Did he have no self control anymore? This was not a good idea. He was never overly excited to go out in public to begin, with since it usually did not go well, but now he felt like he was dragging Hermione down with him.
Springing back to his feet, he resumed his pacing. It didn't help that his sleep was getting more and more disrupted. The nightmares were getting almost exponentially worse. The more time he spent with Hermione, the worse they got. Still, he craved that time with her, and lack of sleep was not going to make him give that up. It certainly wasn't doing his already frayed nerves any good, however.
Draco was uneasy. Not just about the upcoming excursion, but with himself. He shouldn't be feeling this way about Granger. And not because of the stupid Pureblood views shoved down his throat that caused him to push his boyish crush away in first year. Because he was unworthy. He could no longer deny that he had feelings for her, but he could never act on them. A friendship was already more than he could ask for. Even if by some miracle she were to feel the same, he could never let her be damned to the same outcast life he was living. Even being seen in public with him could send her down that road. Which is why he been pacing frantically around his house for the past hour. He had to talk her out of it.
A familiar pop stopped him in his tracks. Draco took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was sure to be a fight. With another breath, he slowly opened the door.
Hermione stood at his doorstep with a look of scary determination. "Save your breath Malfoy, we're going."
The wizard stood frozen, taking in the scene. She was always beautiful, but the raw valor displayed before him was stunning. She stood straight, her head held high with her brown curls cascading down, gently moving in the breeze. Her chocolate brown eyes were locked on his, flashing dangerously. All the plans of convincing her flew out of his head.
"Well come on," Hermione said and marched down the steps to the apparation point. "Let's go," She held her hand out for him to grasp.
Draco snapped out of his trance and began to follow. "Granger, this really isn't a good idea."
Hermione smirked. "Since when did I ever listen to you."
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Against his better judgment he grabbed her hand.
Moments later they found themselves in Diagon Alley. It wasn't as busy as it would be in a months time, but there were still a plenty of people milling about.
"Let's get this over with," Draco mumbled and began the walk to the apothecary.
The bell rang as they opened the door. The shopkeeper, a small balding man with a pleasant face and greying hair, looked up with a smile. "Good morning, my lady! And to you as well sir," he said, turning to Draco. The man's face fell.
"Good morning," Hermione smiled cheerily, breezing past him into the depths of the store. "Relax, Malfoy," she breathed. "Let's just get what we came here for."
Draco could feel the man's eyes on him as he began to look around. Hoping for the best, he began to fill jars with the items on their list. Soon he could hear footsteps shuffling their way.
"Miss," he said in a low voice, "is everything alright?"
"Of course," Hermione said with all the sunshine she could muster.
"Do you want me to—er—call for someone?" The man whispered.
"Whatever for?" She asked with feigned surprise. "My friend and I are just out doing a little shopping."
The stubby shopkeep shuffled his feet nervously. "Yes, I see that." Then dropping his voice once again he said "Are you in any danger?"
"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Hermione said exasperatedly. "He has been cleared of all charges! Do you honestly think he would kidnap me, then bring me out in public to get some dandelion root? That's ludicrous. Mr. Malfoy and I will be spending a lot of time and money in your shop in the future, so I suggest you get over your ignorant prejudice and show some manners to your customers."
The balding man sputtered and looked at Draco, who merely raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Yes, of course."
They finished their shopping, paid the now overly polite shopkeep, and walked out the door. "See, that wasn't so hard!" She beamed.
"Oy!" Came an angry yell from behind them.
"You just had to say it," Draco muttered, turning around.
A tall, brown haired wizard marched towards the pair, glaring at Draco. "Is there a problem here?
"I beg your pardon?" Draco answered, throwing on his most convincing look of confusion.
"I wasn't talking to you," the man sneered.
"I see. As you were looking directly at me, I think you can understand my confusion. But to answer your question, no there is no problem here."
"I'd like to hear it from the lady," the man snarled, casting his blue eyes to Hermione.
"No problem at all," she smiled sweetly. "Just doing a little shopping."
"Shopping?" The man scoffed. "With that snake?" His head turned to the storefront, then a look of disdain colored his face. "Running low on the ingredients for your love potion, are you?" He spat at Draco.
The Slytherin's eyebrows shot up. "My what?"
"You heard me." The man took a step closer.
"He most certainly is not!" Hermione cried indignantly.
"You would say that though, wouldn't you?" He looked her up and down as if expecting to see tiny hearts floating around her body. Hermione brought her bag up to her chest protectively.
"Excuse me sir," Draco sneered. "But I will ask you to not make the lady uncomfortable with your leering. Now if you will excuse us," He moved past the man, Hermione following.
A hand shot out, snatching Hermione by the wrist. "Perhaps it would be safest if you'd stay with me"
Draco reacted without thinking. Whipping his wand out and pointing it straight at the man's chest, he growled, "Don't touch her."
Hermione stepped between the two men, placing her hands on Draco's chest. "Malfoy, don't," she said quietly. Then, giving a scathing look to the man she added, "He's not worth your time."
"Fine," the man retorted. "You want to go crawling into bed with a snake, suit yourself."
Hermione whipped around, ignoring the guttural growl emanating from her companion. "There is no love potion, and no bed. But," she looked the man up and down, "better a snake than an inchworm. Come on Malfoy," she grabbed his arm and stalked away, oblivious to the shocked faces of both wizards.
"Granger, I told you-"Draco began when they reached the country house.
"Malfoy, it's fine. Really. Nothing I can't handle," Hermione waved dismissively.
"But you shouldn't have to handle it at all," Draco insisted. "You know that moron is going to go talk to his idiot friends."
"It's not the first time there have been rumors about me. It's just one of the perks of being part of the 'Golden Trio'" she air quoted the name, rolling her eyes.
Malfoy looked at her intently for a moment, then a slow smirk spread across his face. "Inchworm?"
Hermione giggled. "Well if he was going to sink down to the gutter, I figured I may as well join him."
"So was that supposed to be a compliment to my prowess?" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
"Oh come on Malfoy, surely you realize that you're a far cry from ugly?" She said slyly.
Draco's jaw dropped. "I—uh-" he sputtered.
"Oh get over yourself," she laughed, smacking him on the arm. "Let's go check our notes."
Malfoy watched her leave the room. He smiled to himself. Today is a good day, he thought.
