A/N: Alright. Here it is. It's shorter than most of the chapters but I'm already working on the next. Hope you enjoy it and remember to REVIEW! Thanks so much to those of you who do and have stuck with this story. Looking forward to your opinions.

A Mudblood's Slave?

On the way home after seeing his father, Draco was extremely troubled. He watched Hermione who seemed to have forgotten the little meeting that had happened just a couple of hours ago. And Hermione said she'd go out with him again… Well she didn't say it outright but… Well the look on her face said she was thinking about it.

"Granger?" Draco asked slowly. Hermione looked up at him with a silly little grin on her lips. That wasn't a good sign. He rolled his eyes and shifted on the cushiony black seat a little. "Are you going to owl Mr. Llewellyn?"

"He was handsome wasn't he?" she sighed happily. "And he wants to go out again."

"I know Granger, I was there," Draco snapped. Her little grin went away.

"What's the matter Draco?" she asked.

Should he tell her it was his father in Diagon Alley today? Should he say that Lucius was pulling the cloak over Hermione's eyes? It was his father! And although he did feel he owed this to Hermione, his loyalties still lied with his people. He would give anything to be free, but not in a world like this. Perhaps he could make it so she didn't see Lucius Malfoy… no excuse me, Matthias Llewellyn again.

"I didn't trust him," Draco said simply. And that was no lie. "He just seemed…strange to me."

"Really? I thought he was very nice," Hermione replied, looking out the window again.

"Of course you did. HE probably wanted you to," Draco snapped. "Did he show you a license saying he was a journalist?"

Hermione looked at Draco her brow furrowed. "No," she said thoughtfully.

Draco knew he had to play his cards right. If Hermione were anything like what she used to be in school, she'd go out to lunch with his father again out of pure curiosity. And the compulsive need to bring in the bad guy even though that was her job.

"Well, why don't we have a picnic or something instead?" he asked. Even though he'd always disliked Hermione through out most of his life, he had come to find she was actually a very nice silly person. And she was good to him, when anybody else would've thrown him into a dungeon and left him to rot.

"Why are you so keen on stopping me from contacting him again, Malfoy?" she asked suspiciously.

"I told you, Hermione," Draco said. "I didn't like the feeling I got from him."

Perhaps he could do this and have it both ways… Although if his father didn't get a date with Hermione, he was bound to try something else. But at least Draco could hold him off until then. And why was he doing this? Because he needed to give Hermione something. But even if Lucius Malfoy was a heartless bastard, he was still Draco's father and though he'd put Draco through a lot in his life, Draco loved him very much. The idea of him being captured and sold off to someone who was going to mistreat him, made Draco's stomach churn.

"Well perhaps we should look into it then," she said leaning forward. "I thought it was strange that I've never heard his name before."

"He's an American journalist," Draco said.

"Well I guess you're right," she muttered. "He never said he was a big name journalist."

Draco rolled his eyes once more feeling like he should bang his head into the carriage window.

"So what do you say?" he asked. He felt that this would be too easy if Hermione didn't make it a bigger deal.

"I don't know," Hermione sighed, chewing her bottom lip. "I don't get asked on many dates Malfoy. If I knew any better, I'd think you were jealous."

At this Draco's mouth dropped slightly.

"I… What?" he asked.

"You're jealous that another man showed interest in me," Hermione said, her lips pursed.

"Well you are more conceited then I ever thought you'd be," Draco said taken aback. "Look Granger, part of my job as being your slave is to make sure you don't get hurt."

He saw Hermione's eyes soften when that last sentence escaped his lips. He fumbled to find a better way to say it. She was taking this all wrong… But why? She should know the way he worked by now.

"If it's a house elf's rule then you'd think it would be a human slave's rule as well," he added quickly. "House elves are supposed to protect their masters as long as they have a wizard to protect. Even if it means giving up its life to ensure its master lives."

She looked at him expectantly.

"Meaning, it's my job to make sure you aren't a complete air head and go and get yourself killed."

Hermione glared at him.

"Yeah like you're one to talk," Hermione snapped. "If I remember correctly, you chose to become a Death Eater, which in turn got you into this mess in the first place."

"Well then learn from me, Granger!" Draco snarled. "Use your brain and have some common sense. Besides, as I recall, you were quite good at using your brain when we were in school… Except I never thought you did have much common sense, seeing as you nearly got yourself killed on more than one occasion, gallivanting around with Pothead and Weasel. You handed yourself to the Dark Lord several times."

"Yet he could never succeed in killing any of us while we were right in the palm of his hand," Hermione snapped.

"I never said he was good at his job," Draco replied nonchalantly. "That's why he's dead. Because he failed in killing the Boy Who Lived when he was a mere infant, just so Potty could turn around and bite him in the arse several years later."

Hermione huffed.

"Whatever," Draco said finally. "Do what you like. But I think you're being stupid."

"As if I wanted to know what you think, Malfoy," Granger spat.

After that the two fell silent.

Draco ran a pale hand down his face and did smack his head against the window. An urgent sensation had appeared in his gut and he didn't know what he should do… Granger was a big girl; she could take care of herself… But if she thought all this was going to be was a date, she was in for a world of hurt.

He found he was battling himself.

Why did he even care? She was just the stupid little muggle from school. She hadn't changed a bit…

But she had taken him in and been extremely kind to him.

…But Lucius Malfoy was his father. He loved his father very much and didn't want to do anything that could potentially hurt him. After all, his mother was gone, and his father was really all he had left.

Yet, Hermione Granger was a good woman, and even though she was an insufferable agitation he didn't really think she deserved to be hurt either.

"Why do you even care?" she asked suddenly breaking him out of his thoughts.

He shrugged.

"I don't," he replied. But inside he wondered if that was the truth…

A/N: Alright. So sorry it took so long but I've been slightly down lately and haven't really been in the mood to write. But I will not let you down. Anyways. Hope you like it. Will be updating soon. Please be patient with me.