Disclaimer: Not mine.
"I refuse. I will not be treated like a little kid. You are not the boss of me Malfoy."
Draco sighed, frustrated, as Granger turned away from him, crossing her arms. He looked over at Potter, pleading but Potter shrugged, mouthing, "This was your idea."
Draco frowned, looking at Granger. She was acting like a little kid. And here he was trying to help her out. How stubborn could one girl get?
"Look, Granger," Draco said, leaning on her desk. "This guy has contacted you twice already and said that he sees you. He obviously knows where you live and you're probably his 'Snow White'. So unless you want to end up dead you're going to go stay at Potter's house."
"I will not," Granger said, again. "I am a grown woman and capable of protecting myself."
"You're a grown woman? Huh, could have fooled me with the way you're acting."
"Look, Hermione," Potter said, cutting in before Granger could retort. "We're just trying to make sure you're safe. You're very important to all of us and we would be devastated if something happened to you. So please, Hermione, just consider coming to stay with me and Ginny for a while, you know, at least until this all calms down. Please?"
Draco's frowned deepened as Granger looked to Potter and actually seemed to consider what he was saying. How come she didn't listen to him like that, huh? What did Potter have that he didn't have?
He took a deep breath, telling himself rationally that Potter was Granger's best friend and had been for almost thirteen years while she had only been Draco's friend (or whatever you want to call it) for five. Of course she listened to Potter and agreed with him because it was what she was used to doing.
So . . . why did he feel so . . . angry?
Just then the door to Hermione's office flew open and Colin Creevey came running in, a letter above his head. "Harry, Harry! It's here!"
Potter snatched the letter from Creevey's hands, tearing it open. They watched as his eyes flew over the parchment and his face paled. "Harry, what is it?" Granger asked.
"It's – Merlin, Ginny's gone into labor." Potter looked up at them, his eyes wide. "She's at St. Mungo's with Mrs. Weasley. I've got to – I've got to get home and grab Ginny's things and the baby's things. Bloody hell, she wasn't supposed to have this baby until next week! You think we're ready? I hope we've got everything the baby's going to need. Shite, I forgot to buy diapers! I've got to run to the store and –"
"Harry, just get to the hospital!" Granger said, jumping up and pushing him towards the door. "I'm sure Mrs. Weasley has all of Ginny's things, the baby's coming now so it's too late to worry about being ready, and you can worry about diapers later! Just go!"
Potter nodded, sprinting out the door to the Apparation points. Draco shook his head, an amused smile on his face. "Told him he was getting himself into trouble."
"Well, I suppose that solves things, doesn't it?" Granger was saying, sitting back down into her chair. "Harry and Ginny will be far to busy with the baby to put up with me right now so I suppose I'll just stay at home like I was planning to do in the first place."
"Nice try, Granger," Draco said, turning back towards her. "You're coming to stay with me."
"What?" Granger said, outraged. "I will do no such thing!"
"It's either that or I come kip it out on your couch, which I'm sure neither of us want."
"Why can't I just go stay at Richard's house?"
"Because you're 'Stalker' knows all about you, Hermione and he's probably expecting you to go to your boyfriend's house. And then both of you will end up getting killed."
He could see that this had shaken her, had loosened her resolve to not stay with him. But she tried to find a way out and for that, Draco had to give her some credit. "Well, if he knows so much about me, won't he realize that if I haven't gone to Richard's house I'll go to yours?"
"Probably."
"Than what makes your place so much better than Richard's?"
Draco sighed, moving towards the door. "He's a Muggle, remember? He won't be able to find my house. When you get home, lock all your doors and put your wards up. I'll be there at five. Have your stuff packed."
A smirk came to his face as he closed the door, hearing Granger give off a frustrated scream.
"I'm being forced against my will. There's really nothing I can do."
"I'm sorry to hear that darling. How long will you be away?"
Hermione twirled the phone cord around her finger, sadly, wishing that this could be the moment she could tell Richard she was a witch. But what would she say? 'Richard, I'm actually a Muggleborn witch you see and I don't work for a travel agency, I work our Ministry of Magic as an Auror and I catch the bad witches and wizards and because it is a possibility that a recent murderer is after me, I have to go stay at this guy, Draco Malfoy's house, for a while so that I'll be safe from the sadist who keeps calling my house'? For some reason, she didn't feel that would go down so well.
"I'm not sure yet," she told him. "It'll be for a couple of weeks but I'll definitely be home for our engagement party which Ginny is still planning by the way. She said that she had agreed to plan this for us and that being a mom was not going to stop her. But of course, I told her to push the party back at least a month so she could spend time with her child. Oh, he's such a beautiful thing, Richard. They've decided to name him James, after Harry's father. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Just think, Hermione dear, in a couple of years that could be us."
"Yeah." Hermione suddenly felt as she needed to get off the phone. This happened often when Richard would bring up the idea of having children. Of course she wanted children, but . . . it was complicated.
The wards around her tingled, announcing Malfoy's presence. "I've got to go, darling," she said, sadly.
"Call me often," Richard said.
"As much as possible."
Hermione hung up the phone just as Malfoy's Apparated into the house. Hermione often marveled at how he looked so laid-back from time to time. Even now he stood in the middle of her living room with his hands in his pockets as cool as anything. "Ready?" he asked.
"No," Hermione said. "But since I really don't have a choice."
She picked up her duffel bag from beside the kitchen table. Surprisingly, though, Malfoy took it from her. When she looked up at him, questioningly, he replied, "Wouldn't want you living your hand behind during Apparation, would we?"
She rolled her eyes. Leave it to Malfoy to turn a surprisingly gentleman move into a sarcastic comment.
Sighing, she took his arm and let herself be taken away from her flat.
A/N: Oh, so I wonder what's going to happen next . . . seriously, I really wonder what's going to happen next. Lol, just kidding, I'll be sure to get an update to you soon. Um . . . no teaser this time but keep a look out for the next chapter. Bye!!
