Edited by: Frogster
Secrets, Lies And Raids
Hermione was in a pleasant mood, this eve. She had finished her nap after her rather heavy breakfast and was too comfortable to get up from the bed. A soft sigh of contentment escaped her lips as she stretched herself and leaned further on her pillow. She knew it was irrational to stay in Malfoy's home, but she didn't want to worry about that now. She was simply glad that she was able to complete her pending sleep.
With another lusty yawn, she closed her eyes again. She felt sated at the moment.
She giggled after a while when she remembered the little elf running around her with false errands before she decided to retire in her temporary quarters.
Hermione knew Malfoy must have instructed Ellie to keep an eye on her and he couldn't be more wrong. Who better than her to know the potentialities of an elf? She wasn't foolish to try for her wand again after her failed venture last night. She could bet that Malfoy must have added additional enchantments to his chamber to prevent her from gaining entry.
She wanted her wand, alright; but she wasn't going to give him an opportunity to disparage her with yet another unsuccessful attempt.
She knew he was surprised when she informed him this morning of her decision to report sick for work. His eyes said that much before he had masked his expression. He must have thought she was planning another escape mission for she had heard him summon the elf when he thought she had left.
But the final mark had been hers, she decided; as she had made Draco Malfoy, a herald. It had been too good an opportunity to miss to make him a messenger to dispatch a word for her at the office. She had asked him oh-so-sweetly to inform her department before he headed back to work.
She smiled at her cleverness.
She had already decided to take the day off before he had headed downstairs for breakfast. Last night, had turned out eventful for both of them and she wanted to sort it out in her mind before using it to her advantage. She highly doubted his answer would change unless she succumbed to his orders which she had no plans of following, of course.
She had chosen to wait to have a firm talk with him for she knew how stubborn he could get. She didn't want him questioning around to make matters worse.
Hermione knew he wouldn't drop it unless it appeased his sudden, unnecessary curiosity in her affairs. She needed time to get back in the game for there were pressing matters and the more quickly and efficiently she dealt with him first, the more quickly she could get back to it.
She pushed aside her quilt and sat up. She placed her palms on her face and sighed.
Why hadn't she realized that she was being followed the other night? How long had Malfoy followed her? Was he lying when he said that he had been behind her the whole time? He couldn't have. For, she had apparated. He wouldn't have known where she would apparate, would he? She rejected that thought. He must have already been there on the terrain, but why…
She thought she had seen someone else there too, behind the bushes. But she wasn't certain of it. It had been dark. The fog hadn't been cooperative to dissipate either.
It could have been a trick of her mind because, within a blink of her eyes the peepers had disappeared.
She remembered she had been lying on the ground, trying to calm her racing heart, when she opened her eyes to find something lurking from the shadows. She would have missed it had she been standing, for the eyes were at her eye level, although at some distance.
She had tried to peer again, but Malfoy had demanded her attention next. She had been so surprised to find him there that she had completely forgotten about it, until now.
Tying her hair in a loose bun, Hermione went to the adjoining washroom to freshen up. Wiping her hands with a borrowed towel, she entered her room and sat at the writing desk.
She wasn't sure why Draco was behaving like this. Her mind suggested that he was only trying to bully her with his authority as an Auror. But when she had told him to not mention a word to Harry, he had obliged. For Harry had not dropped by to bombard her with questions, yet. Somehow, she knew he would keep his word. She didn't know what made her formulate this conclusion, but she just knew. He had even saved her life, she grudgingly admitted.
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, got up from her seat and headed downstairs. She was eager to see the disappointment on Malfoy's face when he realized she hadn't done anything stupid as he had expected. And that was the reason, she convinced herself, was why she kept on checking the time.
Draco entered the house a little before time. He was looking forward to know where he would find Granger. Perhaps tied with a rope in his room, maybe with blackened soot on her fuming face or with some other unsavory sight. He grinned at that image as he got out of the fire.
He was about to call Ellie to demand to know where Hermione was, when he saw her in the salon.
She was stretched flat on the futon mattress on her stomach and propped up elbows with some book under her nose. Her tiny linked ankles dangled in the air. Her boring robe hid her body well, but her lazy position gave him a clear view of her round derrière. The hem of her robe was bunched up around her knees, exposing her slender calves.
She seemed to be highly engrossed in her book for she didn't even turn when he cleared his throat to gain her attention. He took his moment studying her and with a wicked glint in his eyes, shouted the elf's name, all the while gazing at the figure in front of him.
That had the desirous effect. She gasped and her hand instantly went towards her absent wand while she sprang to her feet with an almost 'O' of her mouth. She blushed slightly for having being caught unaware.
She was thinking of hiding the book away, lest he thought she was snooping around his study this time. She decided against it as he had already seen it lying on the mattress. She picked up the book and kept it on the centre table.
Draco saw some hesitation in her eyes before she bent down and gave him an inadvertent view of her breasts. Her full, firm breasts, Draco added. Granger was a blessed woman, he thought. Rather, some lucky sod was a blessed man. He had to shake his head at the direction of his thoughts then.
He was about to ask her what she had been up to today when he was interrupted by the apparition of Ellie.
"Evening, Master. I hope your day was good?" the elf politely asked him, as she took his travelling cloak.
"It was," he replied, still looking at Hermione.
"I take your day was well? Nothing out of ordinary happened?" Draco enquired, as he headed towards the lounge chair.
"Yes, Master," Ellie responded, while hanging his cloak on the coat stand.
He accepted her answer with a slight nod of his head, leaned on the chair and closed his eyes. He asked for some refreshments and the elf happily apparated to do his bidding.
Draco slowly opened his eyes and saw Hermione surveying him.
"And how was your day, Granger?" he asked her, indicating with his hand for her to sit as well. "I hope you're well rested."
Hermione was stunned. How did he know what she had done after he was gone? She had assumed that he might have thought she would try to run. But apparently he had guessed it correctly.
"Yes, I am," Hermione answered, taking the seat opposite him.
Draco would die before admitting to her that he almost fell into her trap. The little vixen had deliberately made him believe that she was plotting something. He should have known better. He was mildly annoyed with himself for not surmising that before. His gaze fell on the book in front of him and he rolled his eyes. Old habits die hard. "Still into books, are we?" he bickered.
She leaned forward to take the book in her hand and bragged, rather bossily, "One can never have enough books to read."
He shook his head in exasperation.
"So, have you decided what you are going to do?" he queried, taking a cauldron cake from the tray the elf had placed in front of them.
"I have. I'm going to my home, tonight," Hermione replied, adjusting her robe. "From here onwards, I'm going to mind my business and you're going to mind yours. It's simple, really," she added, brushing off some invisible lint from her sleeve.
Hermione tossed her head upwards to gauge his reaction when he didn't answer immediately and saw a vein popping at the centre of his forehead. She couldn't care less.
"I don't think so," Draco replied in a calm, controlled voice after a while.
She wasn't fooled for a minute. Someone might say that he was bored, but she knew better. He was furious. She shrugged at his reply making him itch for his wand.
"I gave you two options. Inform Potter or Weasley. I don't have any preference over the other," he reminded her. "Or, go live with someone. It's simple, really," he announced, sounding too pleasant for her liking, using her own chosen words.
"Why are you doing this, Malfoy?" Hermione accused, forgetting her plan to negotiate calmly. She leaned forward in her seat, folded her arms and glared at him.
"After your little stunt the other day, how can you even ask?"
"What's in it for you? Why are you suddenly so concerned for me? You know, I can't do any of that," she admitted, all trace of friendliness gone.
"I don't care what you think, Granger," he replied, leaning back on the pillow to sit in a more comfortable position.
"What do you care about then? Keeping me here until I break and take you up on one of the options you laid for me?" she raged.
Draco opened his mouth to counter that, but she continued, "Have you noticed any suicidal tendencies while I've been trapped here? Then why these conditions, Malfoy?"
"Believe me, keeping you around is the least of my reasons, Granger. I'll personally be giving a drumroll on your departure," he spat.
Hermione turned red with anger on the insult. She had decided to have a polite conversation with him, but this was turning bad.
"There certainly is something bothering you which you do not wish to share. I'm fine with that, but not at the expense of your death."
He picked up his cup of coffee from the tray and saw her shooting daggers at him. He ignored her and propped his leg on the table. "And might I suggest?" Draco began, sipping his coffee in between. "You better make a decision real quick and spare me the trouble of an unwanted guest."
"Unwanted guest?" Hermione all but shrieked the words. Draco took another sip, paused to smack his lips and said, "Your office, Goldstein, Weasley are missing you. So you better decide today."
"Weasley? You mean, Ron? How did you... did you meet him today?" she questioned him, her sudden outburst changing into suspicion.
"As a matter of fact, I did. I had gone to inform your secretary; a complete opposite of you, by the way; pretty and dumb, and that was when I had the misfortune of meeting him."
Hermione was stunned. Only Draco Malfoy could insult and compliment her at the same time. She shook her head trying to clear her mind.
He smiled smugly. "As much as I was looking forward to interact with him, he did seem worried about you not keeping your appointment with his wife. And might I add, perhaps he will drop by your house, tonight," he concluded.
Hermione sprang to her feet. His book fell from her lap with a clatter.
"WHAT? He is coming to my house tonight? And you are telling me this now?" Hermione screamed at him.
She started walking around the room, muttering to herself. Barely paying him any attention. "He could be home at this moment," she spoke. "I should be there. Bloody hell, if he doesn't find me home, he'll go to Harry's." She pulled out her hair in agitation as she kept on babbling.
Draco was observing her with curiosity. He had expected her to worry. That's why he had let it slip about Weasley. But she seemed scared… anguished even. This wasn't the reaction he had hoped for. Something was amiss.
He had decided to try to extract as much as he could from her. He knew when Weasley would be arriving for he had heard him mention that he would drop by her house at the day-end closing of his joke shop which meant that he had some time to gather information.
His thoughts were interrupted twice in the evening, when he heard Hermione.
"What in the name of Merlin are you looking at?" she bellowed, turning towards him. She didn't wait for his reply and took a bend towards the fire place. "I am leaving."
"You can't use that," Draco countered. "Ellie closed it on my arrival."
"Aaargh!" Hermione drawled out in frustration. She turned towards him, her fists opening and closing at her sides. "You don't understand," she started again. "I need to be there. I told you I had my reasons for not confiding with them," she worried. "Imagine, when they find out I'm not where I'm supposed to be. They'll start looking around." They'll start asking questions.
"I doubt that, Granger. They won't worry if they found out their friend had gone off for a few days. They might assume you're schtupping someone."
Hermione's fingers twitched. She wanted to snatch his coffee mug and pour its content on his head. She closed her eyes instead and took a deep breath. She had to reason with him.
"I need my wand, Malfoy. I need to go there before it's too late," she spoke to him as she slowly opened her eyes.
"How do I know where you might go after this? You might-"
"I won't go commit suicide, Malfoy! I'm not weak!" she literally screamed her head off in frustration.
"If you want, you can tag along. But just get that arse off the chair!"
"With that tone, you can hardly make me move, Granger," Draco warned her. He put aside his beverage and turned in his seat.
"What makes you think, I'm interested to take you to your house? To make you meet your ex?" he asked her. He snorted at her foolishness. "You amaze me, Granger. Such high hopes you have from people," he chuckled, shaking his head in dismay.
"Malfoy," she started. She walked forwards to sit on a chair next to him and locked her eyes with his, "It will be too late if Ron arrives before I do," she broke in, "And that will complicate things."
Draco didn't know how to react to her words. His body had noticed something new and wanted him to react on it. They were sitting extremely close to each other and her knee was very lightly touching his. He looked at their touching limbs when he heard her sigh. He lifted his eyes to peer over her as he analyzed her words. She had sounded so dejected and scared. It was just a different feeling for Draco to see her like this. She continued regarding him and he felt something tug at his heart.
The warm glow of the burning logs in the fireplace behind her bathed her face in a soft light and for the first time in his life he realized how beautiful she was.
But she looked wounded and vulnerable. She sat there looking at him with such hope in her big brown eyes that he nearly groaned out loud.
He suddenly felt angry at her two best friends. They should have known what was going on in her life. Even if she wanted to hide it from them, they should have realized she was facing some difficulty.
He got up from his seat and walked away from her. He clasped his hand behind his back and didn't speak a word as he tried to think about the situation.
"You are a witch," he stated, after several minutes. "Don't you have any wards up for strangers entering your house?"
Hermione lifted her gaze to answer him. He still had his back towards her.
"Ron isn't a stranger. Neither is any Weasley or Potter. They don't need permission to apparate or floo in," she returned.
"Do you mean it, Granger? Is it important?" He still hadn't turned when he questioned her.
"Yes," she replied to his back.
He rounded to look at her. He seemed to be deciding something.
"Fine. We'll go. But I can't give you your wand yet."
"I guessed as much," Hermione grumbled.
Draco studied her for another minute. He didn't know why he was doing it. But this seemed important to her. She was literally on the verge of pleading. He didn't like seeing her at his mercy.
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
Pointing his hand towards the door, he asked her to lead. Grabbing his cloak from the stand, he followed her.
Hermione gave him her address and a minute later they apparated just inside her door.
He was careful to not touch her bare skin this time when he held her wrist to apparate them. He let go of her hand when they reached and he started looking around him.
The lights had been turned off and the drapes had been shut, giving the entrance a gloomy appearance.
Hermione turned towards her side to switch on the lights before he could lumous it. He made his way behind her when the flash from the artificial lights fell on his surroundings. He turned to walk in her salon when he stopped midway as he felt his heart sink.
He gripped his wand more firmly and grabbed her wrist to push her behind him. The sight before him made the hair at the back of his head stand.
