The War is Over
Chapter 9 - Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold
The morning sun streaming through the window woke Draco up early on Thursday morning. He groaned in pain slightly as he stretched, his entire body felt stiff from the angle he had fallen asleep at. Draco smiled as he looked down at his right hand, Rose was clasping it tightly in her sleep. He didn't want to wake her up so he kept his hand where it was.
Draco yawned, still tired from the chaotic night before. He wanted to visit Hermione, he wanted to see for himself that she was okay, but he couldn't leave Rose yet, she needed him more than Hermione did, and judging from the kind of surgery she had gone through last night she wouldn't be awake for a good few hours yet anyway.
Draco was lost in his thoughts as he stared out of the window. The hospital windows were magical like most wizarding buildings. They looked out over green hills and pure blue lakes when in reality all that was on the other side of the building was the hustle and bustle of London. He and his Mother didn't have a bad relationship, but they didn't talk much either. Narcissa had her own life in Monaco and Draco had his back here in England, usually she didn't interfere but Draco knew later today he would have to face her and all of her prejudices. He had known since he and Hermione began dating that his Mother wouldn't approve, he had just hoped to have longer before he had to discuss it with her.
'Draco,' Rose's sleepy voice said as she opened her eyes and yawned.
'Good morning,' Draco said, dragging himself away from thoughts of his Mother, 'did you sleep okay last night?'
Rose nodded and sat up in the hospital bed, 'thank you for the story Draco.'
'I'll always read you a story when you're scared Rose,' Draco said genuinely as Rose finally let go of his hand and he got to his feet to stretch.
'Draco, my hair is messy,' Rose said sadly, 'my Mummy brushes it for me every morning.'
'Well I don't have a brush,' Draco said, 'but I can fix it.'
He sat down on the edge of the bed and fixed Rose's hair the easy way, with a de-tangling charm and a straightening charm.
'Thank you Draco,' Rose said politely.
'Are you hungry?' Draco asked Rose as he heard the breakfast cart trundling down the corridor.
Rose nodded, 'do they have pancakes here Draco? Mummy gives me pancakes when I've been good.'
'Well since you were very good last night I'll make sure you get pancakes,' Draco said with a smile as he began to scoop Roses hair up to put it into a ponytail so it didn't get messy again.
Rose's face lit up and a moment later there was a knock at the door.
'Come in,' Draco called, he was still sitting on Rose's bed fixing her hair for her.
A Medi-Witch with a cart walked in and smiled at the sight, Draco recognised her, 'Oh good morning Rebecca,' he said.
'Good morning Healer Draco,' the young witch said with a smile, 'I didn't realise you had a daughter as well as Scorpius.'
'Draco isn't my Daddy,' Rose said matter of factly, 'he's just my Mummy's boyfriend.'
'What she said,' Draco said with a chuckle as he finished Rose's hair.
'Oh,' Rebecca said with a smile, 'well can I get you two anything for breakfast?'
Draco replied before Rose could, 'that would be lovely. I think Rose will have two pancakes with banana, yoghurt and honey?'
Rose shook her head with a big smile, 'No Draco, its chocolate not honey.'
'Chocolate at this time in the morning,' Draco said, shaking his head, 'we'll have to keep this a secret from your Mum.'
Rose chuckled and pressed her finger to her lips.
The Medi-Witch, Rebecca, chuckled and asked, 'What about you Draco?'
'I'll just have some porridge please Rebecca,' Draco said politely.
Rose then watched in amazement as Rebecca sent the order downstairs with her wand and moments later their breakfast appeared on the tray.
'Wow,' Rose said as Rebecca placed Rose's pancakes on a tray in front of her and put Draco's breakfast on the bedside table.
'Have you never seen that before?' Draco asked Rose as Rebecca left the room. He knew from past experience that if Rose was anything like Scorpius that she loved pancakes but couldn't cup them up so he absentmindedly cut her pancakes into manageable sized chunks for her.
Rose shook her head, 'Mummy doesn't do that. Where did it come from?'
'It came from the kitchen,' Draco informed Rose, 'there are lots of house elves working down there. They made your breakfast and sent it up here to you.'
'Mummy says it's bad to make house elves do that,' Rose said, but this didn't stop her from eating her pancakes.
Draco smiled fondly at this remembering Hermione and her S.P.E.W while they were at school together, 'Well some people like your Mum don't think it's very nice to get house elves to do our work for us. Some people want them to be free and get paid for the work they do.'
'Why don't they get paid?' Rose asked curiously as she munched her pancakes.
'House elves belong to families,' Draco said to Rose, 'they are like pets. Some wizards aren't very nice to their house elves but most love them like they are part of the family. House elves like cleaning and cooking, they don't want to get paid or be free.'
'Oh,' Rose said thoughtfully, 'okay.'
'Eat up your breakfast,' Draco said, treating Rose as he would Scorpius, 'a Healer is going to come in and talk to you later then we'll go visit your Mum.'
Rose ate quietly and Draco enjoyed the comfortable silence as he ate what he could of his porridge. His stomach was still churning from the night before, he didn't quite have his appetite back yet.
'Finished Draco!' Rose said as she handed the plate to Draco who put it with his on the bedside table, 'you ate that whole plate? You must have been hungry,' Draco said as he glanced at the time. The Healer in charge of this ward would be doing their rounds about now, it wouldn't be long until Rose got her psyche evaluation, he just hoped that he would have the authority to sign off on the forms, he knew Hermione was in no state to do so.
Draco leant back in his chair and yawned as he wondered who would do Rose's psyche evaluation. Usually it was the leading Paediatrics Healer but that was supposed to be him today. He was fairly certain he wouldn't get fired for missing his shift all things considered, especially since Robertson had seen him the night before and he was the one who made up the shift timetable. He hated missing shifts because it meant that somebody else would have had to be called in on their day off, but there were times when it couldn't be helped.
A knock on the door distracted Draco and he was even more surprised when the door was pushed open and a woman walked in. She was wearing a skirt, a purple blouse and a white lab coat with the symbol of St. Mungo's on it. The woman had blonde hair which was pulled back into a bun, blue eyes and a pretty face.
'Daphne!'
The woman, Daphne, smiled as she walked into the room, 'I'm covering your shift this morning Draco since you decided to bunk off.'
'I didn't decide to bunk off,' Draco said quietly, 'my girlfriend nearly died and I spent the whole night with her daughter.'
'I know,' Daphne said as she grabbed the piece of parchment at the bottom of the bed and read through it as she said, 'and I don't mind,' she added.
'Aren't you on maternity leave?' Draco asked, aware Rose was probably listening in to every word they were saying.
'I am, but they needed someone to cover your shift at the last minute and I was the only one available,' Daphne said as she ticked off some boxes on the piece of parchment, 'I don't even do Paediatrics normally.'
'Well you've just had a baby, that qualifies you,' Draco teased with a smile. He turned to Rose who was looking at them inquisitively, 'Rose, this is Healer Davies, but I think she will let you call her Daphne.'
'I will,' Daphne said as she sat down next to Rose's bed with a box.
'Daphne is Scorpius's Aunt,' Draco told Rose from where he stood a little further back to let Daphne do her work. He felt guilty that she had been called in today in the first place, she had a 1 month old baby and she normally worked in the emergency room so he appreciated the fact she was covering his Paediatrics round.
'Okay Rose I know you've done this before but we're going to do some little tests,' Daphne said as she handed Rose a small box with little figures in it, 'I want you to start with showing me your family.'
Rose nodded eagerly, seeing it as a game. She pulled a little girl from the box with brown hair and said, 'that's me.'
'Okay,' Daphne said with a small smile, everyone found Rose cute.
'And this is my Mummy,' Rose said as she pulled out a female figure with brown hair.
Rose dug around the box a little more and pulled out a figure of a light-haired man, 'this is Draco.'
Daphne raised an eyebrow at Draco who seemed surprised by the fact Rose considered him family.
'And this one is Scorpius!' Rose said finally as she pulled the figure of a little boy from the box.
'Okay very good Rose,' Daphne said as she noted something down on her bit of parchment, 'now I want you to finish off some sentences for me about everyone in your family okay?'
Rose nodded eagerly once more.
'We'll start with your Mum,' Daphne said kindly, 'I like it when my Mum…'
'Makes pancakes!'
Daphne chuckled, 'Okay. I don't like it when my Mum…'
Rose thought about this for a moment and finally said, 'fights with Uncle Harry about Draco.'
Draco bit his lip at this, so Hermione and Harry argued about him? Well it didn't entirely surprise him considering the fact that Harry had broken his nose the night before.
'Alright, I like it when Draco…'
Rose answered quickly, 'fixes my hair! He does it better than Mummy!'
Draco shook his head slightly, he was going to get teased so much by Daphne about this, she shot him an amused smile and said to Rose, 'I don't like it when Draco…'
Again Rose had to think harder about this one but then said, 'makes me eat my vegetables,' she wrinkled her nose.
Draco shook his head in amusement, he and Hermione had fun at dinner time trying to get Rose to eat anything green whereas Scorpius loved vegetables.
'Okay, we're nearly done,' Daphne said as she noted something down, 'I like it when Scorpius…'
'Plays Quidditch with me!'
'I don't like it when Scorpius…'
'Doesn't let me play with his potions kit,' Rose said with a pout.
'That was your own fault little Miss Granger,' Draco said as he walked closer to the girl, 'you melted his cauldron.'
'It was an accident,' Rose said innocently, Draco chuckled, 'I know it was.'
Daphne smiled and said, 'Now Rose, can you tell me everything you remember about last night?'
Rose looked at Draco with fear in her eyes so he sat down on the edge of her bed and let her cuddle up to him as she told Daphne what happened, 'I was in my bed but then a big bang woke me up and my bedroom got dark and it was scary and I was shouting really loudly,' Rose was crying already from recounting the memory, 'and then Draco came in and he helped me and my Mummy was on the floor and her eyes were shut and I was scared.'
'Okay,' Daphne said gently, 'that's all I needed to know.'
'It's okay Rose,' Draco said as he stroked Rose's hair and soothed her, 'you're okay now.'
Daphne watched this interaction and Rose calmed down very quickly.
'Can I have a word outside Draco?' Daphne asked.
Draco nodded, 'I'll be back very soon Rose,' he said as he left the room with Daphne who pulled the door closed and asked, 'what happened to her?'
'It looks like it was a gas explosion,' Draco said, he didn't like to recount the story either, 'but I'm pretty sure it was orchestrated. Either way the wall exploded and pushed Hermione back into something sharp, she has a head injury. I tried to hide her view but Rose saw her Mother bleeding out before I could get her to hospital.'
'Is Hermione okay?' Daphne asked, placing her hand gently on Draco's arm.
'She's in recovery I think, I've not had a chance to see her yet,' Draco admitted.
'I'm sorry Draco, I know this is the last thing you need,' Daphne said sadly. She knew as well as Draco how hard this must be for him, she had lost her sister when he had lost his Wife.
'I'll be fine,' Draco lied with a smile, 'it was nice to see you again Daphne.' They both worked in the hospital so they saw each other occasionally but they worked in completely different wards so their paths didn't cross very often. They had never been particularly close during their school years but had grown closer when Draco had married Daphne's sister. Astoria's death had devastated them both and their friendship had pretty much died with her.
'You too Draco,' Daphne said as she smiled once more and turned to walk away. She stopped after a few steps and turned around, 'and what the hell happened to your nose?'
Draco rolled his eyes, 'It's a long story, but it involves Potter.'
'Harry Potter?' Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.
Draco nodded and said, 'He got protective over Hermione and we ended up fighting.'
Daphne chuckled, 'Some things never change,' she said as she walked away down the corridor, shaking her head in amusement as she went.
Draco returned to Rose's room and a few minutes later a Medi-Witch came in to discharge her from the hospital.
When Hermione woke up the first thing she noticed was that her head hurt a lot. She tried to open her eyes but they felt heavy, her entire world felt foggy and it took her a while to try and come to terms with where she was and what had happened. The last thing she remembered was getting ready to go to bed, but then the memory of the explosion came back to her and her eyes flew open.
'Hermione!'
As the world around her came into focus Hermione saw Harry sitting in a chair by her bed.
'Harry,' she said, her voice hoarse.
'Have some water,' Harry said, helping her sit up in bed and handing her a glass of water.
Hermione sipped it gratefully.
'How do you feel?' Harry asked, he looked more anxious than Hermione had seen him in a long time.
'Like I've been hit over the head a thousand times,' Hermione said, sounding much more like herself.
Harry chuckled and said, 'well you haven't been, but you did have brain surgery last night,' Hermione's eyes widened, 'don't worry, it was keyhole surgery, you'll have a tiny scar but its hidden underneath your hair.'
'Explains why my head hurts so much,' Hermione said with a groan.
'I think the Medi-Witch will gave you more pain potion for it when she comes in later,' Harry said, glad that Hermione seemed well and herself.
'Is Rose okay?' Hermione asked, panic flashing through her eyes as she remembered the explosion and the fire that may have followed it.
'She's fine,' Harry assured his best friend, 'she suffered minor smoke inhalation and the healers kept her in overnight just in case. Draco stayed with her in Paediatrics all night.'
'He did?' Hermione asked with a smile.
Harry nodded, 'Look Hermione I'm glad you're okay but I'm sort of here on business.'
'What do you mean?' Hermione asked with a frown.
'The explosion last night looked at first to be a gas explosion,' Harry explained, 'but with a little more digging it seems that it was more than that. There was a hole in the gas pipe, but it had been created by magic, not wear and tear.'
'Someone did it on purpose?' Hermione asked in disbelief.
'It looks like it,' Harry said, not revealing what Draco had said the night before about how it was someone he knew, 'we have a list of suspects but you know the rules, I can't tell you anything more until I've arrested someone.'
'I understand,' Hermione said, she grabbed Harry's hand, 'what's the flat like?'
'Salvageable mostly,' Harry replied honestly, 'the hallway was destroyed as was the main bathroom, and the front half of the living room but the rest of the place is okay.'
'The front of the living room?' Hermione asked, her face falling slightly, 'that means all of my books will be gone.'
'You're alive Hermione,' Harry said as he squeezed her hand, 'you can replace your books.'
'That's true,' Hermione said with a smile.
'Hermione, as a friend I feel like I need to tell you this,' Harry said with a heavy sigh, 'first the photographs and now this…it seems connected to Malfoy in some way.'
'Harry don't,' Hermione said quietly.
'I'm just saying Hermione, maybe it isn't his fault but it is connected to him,' Harry said quietly, 'is he worth all of this danger?'
'Harry I really like him,' Hermione said, her voice slightly weak still, 'and that doesn't happen very often. Just catch whoever did this, and stop blaming Draco please. If it's true that someone he knows is behind this then I'm sure he feels incredibly guilty right now.'
'Well so he should,' Harry muttered.
'Why should he?' Hermione asked as hotly as she could, 'if someone he knew did this and he had nothing to do with it, which I find highly likely then what could he do to stop it?'
Harry sighed, 'Fine Hermione, you've proven your point,' he said as he got to his feet, 'I'm just asking you to be careful. I was worried sick last night.'
'I'm sorry Harry,' Hermione said as Harry kissed her on the cheek, 'I'll try and be more careful.'
'Thank you,' Harry said as he made his way to the door, 'you'll need somewhere to stay now, won't you?'
Hermione nodded thoughtfully, 'if the house is as destroyed as you say then yes, I will.'
'Well you know there is always room for you and Rose at Grimmauld Place,' Harry said with a smile as he reached out for the door handle, 'I'll keep you updated on the investigation.'
'Thank you Harry,' Hermione said as Harry was about to leave the room, 'wait Harry,' she said causing him to turn around, 'yeah?'
'Were you hurt last night getting us out?' Hermione asked with a slight frown.
'No,' Harry replied simply, 'why?'
'Well, your nose…' Hermione trailed off.
Harry realised what she meant and snorted, 'That was the work of your boyfriend.'
'Draco did that?' Hermione asked in shock.
'Yes, that's the second time Malfoy's broken my nose, but I think I deserved it this time,' Harry said, vaguely amused.
'What did you say to him?' Hermione asked, she knew Draco wouldn't punch Harry for no good reason.
'I sort of blamed him for the explosion…to his face,' Harry admitted sheepishly.
Hermione rolled her eyes, 'Oh Harry…'
After half an hour of signing forms Draco had permission to take Rose out of the hospital and she was finally discharged.
Rose was excited about getting to see Hermione and Draco felt rather strange about it. He was carrying Rose down the stairs and his stomach was churning with nerves and excitement, a combination he didn't feel very often.
'Draco,' Rose said thoughtfully as they reached the Recovery Ward and Draco placed Rose down on the floor.
Rose grabbed Draco's hand, 'should I have made Mummy a present?'
'I think seeing you will be her present,' Draco said to the girl as they walked hand in hand along the corridor until they reached a room with Hermione's name on the door.
Draco opened the door and Rose ran in as fast as she could, 'Mummy!'
'Hello Rosie,' Hermione said happily as Rose clambered up onto her Mothers bed and hugged her tightly.
'I missed you Mummy,' Rose said as she cuddled up closer to Hermione.
'I missed you too sweetheart,' Hermione said honestly as she kissed her daughter on the forehead and stroked her hair, 'did the nurses fix your hair this morning?' she asked as she stroked it, 'it's lovely.'
Rose shook her head and said, 'Draco did it for me!'
It was only then that Hermione looked to the doorway where Draco was leaning with a smile on his face.
'Hey,' Hermione said softly when she saw him
'Hi,' Draco said as he crossed the room swiftly and kissed her lightly on the lips, Rose giggled and Hermione blushed slightly.
'Don't ever do that to me again,' Draco whispered in her ear as he sat down by her bed.
Hermione was shocked at Draco's comment, this was a softer side of him that she had never seen before.
'Did Harry tell you about the investigation?' Hermione asked as she stroked Rose's hair absentmindedly.
Draco shook his head, 'the last I saw him was late last night, he was still pretty shaken up.'
'Was this before or after he broke your nose?' Hermione asked with raised eyebrows.
'Technically, I broke his nose first,' Draco remarked.
'And you're a little proud of it, aren't you?' Hermione asked, reading the slight smirk on Draco's face.
'Just a little,' Draco admitted.
Hermione sighed, 'I spoke to him this morning. He said he thinks someone was behind the explosion. The hole in the gas pipe was man made, it wasn't created from wear and tear.'
Draco nodded, he suspected this of course. He knew that he needed to talk to Hermione about the investigation but he couldn't when Rose was around.
'Harry asked me if I wanted to stay at Grimmauld Place,' Hermione informed Draco which pulled him out of his daze.
'You can't go back to your flat?' Draco asked, although the last he remembered the entire front of the house was blown off.
Hermione shook her head, 'Harry seems to think it's damaged too badly,' she said, 'I'll have to find somewhere else to stay.'
Draco was still struggling to adjust slightly since his realisation the night before about his feelings for Hermione, he knew he would scare her off if he mentioned anything now. The thought crossed his mind about telling Hermione that she and Rose could stay in the Manor, but he didn't want her to freak out and think he was asking her to move in with him.
'Well,' Draco said after what seemed like an incredibly long pause, 'you and Rose are always welcome to stay at the Manor.'
Hermione would have been lying if she had said the thought hadn't crossed her mind. She had been wondering about it all morning despite Harry's warning that Draco could be bringing more trouble to her life. She maintained that it wasn't his fault however.
'I'll think about it,' Hermione said with a smile which seemed to take Draco by surprise. He had probably expected her to turn the offer down right away.
'I wish I could stay all day,' Draco said with a sigh, 'but unfortunately I need to get back to the Manor to check on Scorpius and have a discussion with my Mother about you.'
Hermione chuckled at the look on Draco's face, 'I take it that she doesn't approve then?'
'She didn't give much away when I talked to her via floo last night,' Draco admitted, 'but I gather she isn't exactly excited about our relationship.'
'That hardly comes as a surprise,' Hermione said as she shook her head, 'is it because of my blood status?'
'Likely,' Draco replied, 'combined with the fact you're a Gryffindor.'
Hermione laughed and said, 'a Muggle-born Gryffindor, how dare you stoop so low Draco?'
'That was a scarily good impression of my Mother,' Draco said through his laughter, he got up from his seat and kissed Hermione on the cheek, 'I'll visit you later today.'
'Okay,' Hermione said, 'Bye Draco.'
'Bye Rose,' Draco added as he kissed Rose on the cheek.
Rose waved happily, she seemed better now that she was with Hermione, 'bye Draco!'
When Draco returned to Malfoy Manor via the fireplace in the sitting room he was cornered by his Mother.
'Ah Draco, finally,' Narcissa said, fixing him with a slightly cold look.
Draco rolled his eyes and walked away from his Mother towards the entrance hallway, 'Scorp!' he called.
'Don't ignore me Draco,' Narcissa said briskly.
'I'm not ignoring you Mother,' Draco said as he made his way up the stairs, 'Scorp!'
This time he heard footsteps running along the corridor above him and a moment later Scorpius rushed down the stairs, 'Dad! You're back!'
'Hey little man,' Draco said as he picked his son up and hugged him, 'I'm sorry for leaving you last night. I had to go and help Hermione and Rose.'
'Grandma says they are in the hospital!' Scorpius said with a frown.
'They are, but they are going to be okay,' Draco said as he put his son back down on his feet, 'we can go and visit them later if you'd like.'
Scorpius nodded, 'Can I take Rose a present?'
'Course you can,' Draco said, ruffling Scorpius's hair.
'I'm going to go and make a present for her!' Scorpius said and with that he rushed back up the stairs as noisily as he had come down.
'Draco,' Narcissa said sharply, 'we are having that discussion now.'
'Yes Mother,' Draco said in a monotone as he walked back down the stairs and followed his Mother to the sitting room. He sat down on the sofa and Narcissa sat down next to him.
'So Mother, what is it that you are so desperate to talk about?' Draco asked sarcastically.
'Don't take that tone with me Draco. You know I wish to discuss your relationship with Hermione Granger,' Narcissa said with narrowed eyes.
'What about it?' Draco asked nonchalantly.
'What exactly is the nature of this relationship?' Narcissa asked.
'Uh, she's my girlfriend,' Draco replied as if this were obvious.
'Don't be smart with me Draco,' Narcissa snapped, 'is this actually a serious relationship or is it a fling?'
'It's not a fling Mother,' Draco droned.
'Then you need to end it,' Narcissa said curtly.
'I had a feeling that would be your opinion,' Draco said.
'This isn't a joke Draco,' Narcissa said angrily.
'I'm not ending my relationship with Hermione just because you don't approve of her blood-status Mother,' Draco drawled as he got to his feet, 'I don't have to live by your rules anymore.'
'Draco the fact you are dating a mudblood is bad enough,' Narcissa hissed, 'but you just had to pick this one, didn't you? Do you know what your Father would say about this?'
'I don't care what Father would say and I don't care what you think Mother,' Draco said bitterly, 'I didn't pick her, I fell in love with her.'
'She's a war hero Draco, and up until recently she was the Deputy Minister for Magic,' Narcissa said in an angry undertone, 'has it crossed your mind that she is using you? You know how close she is with Harry Potter.'
'Mother she isn't using me,' Draco snapped, 'the war ended 7 years ago and while you may choose to live a paranoid life like we are still in the middle of the war, I don't and neither does Hermione.'
'Despite what you may think Draco,' Narcissa said quietly, 'I don't care about the social standing of the women you date, but you seem to forget that I was the person who aided you throughout Astoria's death. I don't want to see you get hurt like that again.'
'While I appreciate the concern Mother, I won't spend my life alone because I'm afraid. I would rather take risks, something you don't seem to understand,' Draco said, in the same quiet tone as his Mother.
'In that case I believe we have nothing more to say to each other,' Narcissa said as she got to her feet, 'I think I'll go back to my paranoid life in Monaco, which seems much more private than your life here by the way.'
'Ah you always have to leave with an insult don't you Mother?' Draco called after his Mother as she disappeared into the fireplace.
After his Mother left Draco dropped Scorpius off at Theo's house and apparated to the gates outside Zabini House. If it hadn't been for the fact that Pansy had attacked Hermione Draco would have filed this information away and kept it for blackmail purposes. However because Pansy had targeted Hermione he wasn't letting her get away with it, he didn't want her to have the thrill of knowing she had gotten away with any of this.
Draco hated confrontations, he had ended up in so many with Harry Potter during his school days but with people he knew, and had at one time liked, he hated it. He didn't feel it was fair, but sometimes there were no other options. As Draco walked up the path to the house, which was nowhere near as grand as Malfoy Manor, he found himself feeling full of anger and frustration. He hadn't felt this way since the war.
When he knocked on the front door he expected Pansy to answer it since she didn't work. He was surprised when Blaise pulled open the door.
'Blaise, hey,' Draco said, rethinking his plan, 'I thought you would be at work.'
'It's my day off,' Blaise said with a frown, 'I guess you were looking for Pansy then?'
'Yeah,' Draco said because he couldn't think of anything else to say.
'She's at Diagon Alley,' Blaise said, still frowning, 'why do you want with my wife?'
'Can I come in?' Draco asked, 'I need to talk to you Blaise, it's serious.'
'Sure,' Blaise said as he stepped back from the door and let Draco walk into the entrance hall.
'Come into the kitchen,' Blaise said, leading Draco into a large kitchen diner.
'So what's up?' Blaise asked, he was an Auror, he studied human behaviour so he must have known something was seriously wrong with Draco.
'Has Pansy been acting differently lately?' Draco asked carefully.
'Not really, she's been as high-maintenance as ever,' Blaise joked with a smile.
Draco sighed, he didn't know how to tell his friend what he needed too, so he decided to just come out with it, 'Blaise, she tried to kill my girlfriend.'
Blaise froze, 'You don't even have a girlfriend.'
'Yes I do,' Draco said, 'what the press printed about Hermione and I was true,' he added.
'So you and the Gryffindor girl are dating, why the hell do you think my wife attacked her?' Blaise asked defensively.
'I got my Head of Security to follow the reporter who took the pictures Blaise, he followed him here, he saw Pansy pay him off,' Draco said guiltily. He was breaking apart a marriage here and he hated that.
'So you're accusing her of attacking your Potter girl just because she got that reporter to take those photos?' Blaise asked angrily, 'you don't have any proof she caused that explosion.'
'How do you know about the explosion?' Draco asked quickly.
'I was working last night when Potter and Wood were called out to it,' Blaise replied, glaring at Draco, 'don't tell me you think I had a hand in it too?'
'I don't think that,' Draco said quickly, he pulled the brown envelope that Seamus had given him out of his pocket and handed it to Blaise, 'look, there's proof she set the reporter on me. Blaise she had an obsession with me, after the war and at Astoria's wake she tried to ask me out,' Draco hated doing this but he had too, 'I think she attacked Hermione because she was jealous.'
Blaise examined the photos and sat down heavily in a chair by the dining room table, 'I can't believe she would be that immature Draco, or that stupid.'
'Think about it Blaise, you're an Auror, she probably thought that would help her get away with it,' Draco said, he was praying Blaise would believe him.
'I spoke to Roger this morning, he told me that the hole in the gas pipe at your girlfriends place was created with magic,' Blaise said with a sigh, 'somebody also set off the gas leak with the use of 'Bombarda' outside of the flat.'
'So you know it was no accident,' Draco said quietly.
'But that doesn't mean my wife was behind it Draco,' Blaise said, refusing to believe that Pansy was responsible for the attack.
'What does Draco think I did this time?' a familiar female voice asked as Pansy walked into the room holding bags of groceries which she dropped on the table.
'Let him tell you himself,' Blaise said, looking back to Draco who now seemed angry, his calm façade gone.
'I don't think Pansy, I know,' Draco hissed as he got to his feet, 'I know you set that reporter on me, I've got pictures of you paying him off. I also know you made a hole in that gas pipe and set fire to Hermione's flat. Well, I foiled your plan, I got to her and saved her before the fire killed her.'
'Draco,' Pansy said with a smile, 'I have no idea what you're talking about, but you sound a little insane.'
'Well I've got the pictures to prove you paid off the reporter,' Draco said as he thrust the photos into her hands.
Pansy turned her nose up at this, 'So what? I paid that reporter to publish that you were dating the Gryffindor scum. Since when was that a crime?'
'It isn't, but arson is,' Blaise said as he narrowed his eyes at his wife.
'So you're taking his side?' Pansy spat, 'typical, you always did at school!'
'And where were you last night Pansy?' Blaise asked.
'How dare you?' Pansy hissed, 'I was in bed here like I always am, alone because you're always at work!'
'Really? So you won't mind if we ask the house elves?' Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at Pansy.
'Ask them if you want, go on, I don't care,' Pansy spat.
Blaise then said, 'Okay we'll do that then. Twinky,' he called and a house elf appeared in front of him, 'Twinky, was my wife in the house for the duration of last night?'
'No Master Zabini,' the house elf replied.
'Well it's obviously lying!' Pansy shrieked.
'Twinky can't lie to me, I'm her Master,' Blaise said as he glared at his wife, 'what did you do last night Pansy?'
'Okay so I haven't been entirely truthful with you,' Pansy said with a sigh, 'I wasn't in last night, but it wasn't because I was attacking Draco's girlfriend.'
'What were you doing then?' Blaise asked dangerously.
'I was sleeping with someone else!' Pansy blurted out.
'Who?' Blaise asked in that same low, dangerous tone.
'Theo,' Pansy said quietly.
'Shut up Pansy,' Draco hissed, 'Theo has higher standards than that.'
'Well obviously his standards aren't as high as you think Draco,' Pansy said.
'You're lying,' Blaise said, narrowing his eyes at her, 'I spoke to Theo last night.'
Pansy floundered for a moment as she tried to think of something to say.
'I can't believe you would make up an affair to get out of the truth,' Blaise hissed angrily, 'does our relationship mean nothing to you?'
'Oh shut up Blaise, you're pathetic! I don't know why I married you in the first place!' Pansy said as she glared at her husband.
'We both know you only married me because you couldn't get your claws into Draco like you spent years trying too,' Blaise said in a pained tone.
Draco felt very awkward, and incredibly guilty as he watched from the side-lines. He was about to move in to try and stop them from fighting when the back door that led into the kitchen burst open and 4 Aurors ran in, Harry, Oliver and Blaise's partner Roger Davies among them.
Harry grabbed Pansy as she attempted to run away, 'Pansy Zabini, I'm arresting you on the charges of arson and attempted murder.'
'What? You have no proof!' Pansy shouted.
'We found your wand signature and essence of your magical trace in the Granger residence,' Oliver said.
'And for someone whose married to an Auror you aren't very good at committing crime,' Harry said as he bound her hands together, 'we found one of your hairs in the utility cupboard in Miss. Grangers home.'
'You couldn't have! The fire should have-' Pansy stopped, realising her slip up.
'The fire didn't do as much damage as you hoped. Draco got there in time to stop it and save the people inside,' Harry said, and Draco was pretty sure that was the first time Harry had called him by his first name, ever.
'Ugh!' Pansy practically screamed as Harry and Oliver dragged her out of the house, 'fuck you Draco! Trying to be the hero, just like you did in the war! I hate you!'
There was a loud crack and the Aurors and Pansy were gone.
Draco turned to Blaise, 'I'm so sorry about all of this.'
Blaise stared off into the distance, 'I should have expected it. I knew she was only settling for me because she couldn't have you.'
'I never thought she was this unhinged,' Draco said with a deep sigh.
'Not everyone came away from the war as untouched as you did Draco,' Blaise sighed.
'Untouched?' Draco snorted, 'I was hardly untouched, perhaps I just coped with the aftermath better.'
Blaise merely nodded and Draco turned to walk away.
'Draco?'
'Yeah?' Draco asked as he turned around. Before he had time to block it Blaise had swung and punched him in the face.
'Ah!' Draco shouted in pain, 'what was that for?'
'Ruining my marriage,' Blaise said simply as he handed Draco a towel to wipe the blood away with.
'That's the second time in 24 hours I've had my nose broken,' Draco said as he dabbed his nose with the towel, it hurt like hell.
'That's got to be a record.'
TBC :)
A/N: Hope you are all enjoying this story :D I'm trying to update fairly regularly! :)
