DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I am still having a hard time posting a new Doc Manager entry.

CHAPTER 14

Hermione was led by Elnath to the sitting room. There, she found Draco's mother. She already saw her during the Quidditch World Cup but she was a snobbish and bored woman back then. She still had the same features: long platinum blonde hair, like Draco's; blue eyes, patrician nose, heart-shaped face and a prominent window's peak. She was dressed in an elegant set of witch's robes.

She somehow looks like Mrs. Black, she thought, remembering the portrait of Sirius's mother at Grimmauld Place and the nickname Fred and George gave the old woman. But I hope she's not crazy like Wally. She laughed inwardly.

"Hello, Miss Granger," the older witch said kindly. She's not as welcoming as Mrs. Weasley simply because she's poised and moved with grace. "It's nice to finally meet you." She offered her hand and Hermione took it.

She smiled timidly. "Hello, Mrs. Malfoy. It's a pleasure to meet you, as well. Please call me Hermione."

Mrs. Malfoy's smile widened. "In that case, Hermione, please call me 'Cissy'."

Hermione was shocked, but she didn't show it. She caught Draco and Elnath beamed at each other. She nodded politely to her boyfriend's mother. "Thank you, Cissy."

"You're welcome, dear. I'm happy because Draco finally brought home a girlfriend."

Hermione gave them a confused look. How many girlfriends did he have before me?

It seemed that Cissy knew what she was thinking, so she laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry if I confused you, dear. What I meant was, I'm happy that Draco finally has a girlfriend and he was such a dear to bring her to our house. You are his first girlfriend, dear," she explained.

"Oh." Hermione felt her cheeks blush and she smiled timidly.

"I was hoping we would get to know each other well by going to some places like Paris and Milan; talking about books and of course, shopping. But Draco informed me that you needed to learn Occlumency as soon as possible because of your current situation," said Cissy.

"Thank you, Cissy. Your ideas were wonderful," she said politely and carefully. "Occlumency is more important and when I'm already adept to it, we can push through your plans."

Cissy beamed and hugged her. "Clever." She pulled away and eyed her the way her mother would look at her. "Come on. I'll show you your room and you can relax today. We'll begin our lessons tomorrow." She turned to the boys. "Go to your room, boys. You'll see Hermione after an hour for dinner."

With Cissy's hand still on her shoulder, she walked padt the boys and gave them a nervous smile. They winked at her and went upstairs.

.

"Hey, where's Mum?" Elnath whispered after looking around the dining hall.

"Outside. Training," replied Draco after sipping his tea.

"Very early," he commented. "I hope she will be able to help Potter with his Occlumency one day."

Draco frowned. "Is that one of the reasons why Potter wasn't able to defeat the Dark Lord? Because his thoughts weren't safe?"

He shrugged. "Kind of. And then they did not have Mum around, so nobody helped Potter and Weasley destroy the Horcruxes. They only managed to destroy one: the locket. But the others, I think they could've found and destroy them if Mum was around."

"Nobody taught Potter the art of Occlumency?" asked Draco with a tone of disbelief.

"Someone did, but wasn't encouraging and Potter hated him," he said with a shrug.

"Your father," muttered Draco.

He grimaced. "Snape. He's not my father!" he exclaimed. He really felt insulted and angry whenever Draco, his Dad, would say that his father was Snape. He was just an unwilling sperm donor, he thought.

"I'm sorry!" replied a shocked Draco. "I didn't mean to..."

He scowled. "My Dad never saw me as another wizard's son," he said in a low voice.

"No need to get your knickers in a twist," said Draco calmly. "I'm sorry, all right?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Draco shook his head and smirked. "You remind me so much of my younger self."

"Well, I was raised by a Malfoy."

"And you're a Malfoy," said Draco. "Anyway, so, you were telling me about Snape. He taught Potter Occlumency. What happened?"

He sneered, remembering his mother's story. "Potter was such a nosy, annoying and idiot boy. He was very curious of what Snape was hiding in the Penseive during their private lessons. He saw Snape's worst memory; he caught him and threw him out. Since then, Snape stopped teaching Potter. And I hate him for not learning a single thing about Occlumency. He didn't listen to Mum, and it almost cost her her life," he said in his serious tone.

Draco's eyes widened like saucers and worry was evident on his face. "What happened- or will happen- to Hermione?"

"I won't let that happen," he swore. "If I had to punch Potter, or bind him, just to stop him from going to the Ministry, I will," he replied instead.

"Tell me what happened," insisted Draco.

He sighed. If Dad wants to help and if it involves Mum, of course he needs to know, he decided. "Sometime in June, during your fifth year, the Dark Lord planted a fake memory in Potter's mind and it involved Sirius Black, his godfather. In his dream, or memory, Sirius was being punished by the Dark Lord in the Department of Mysteries. Potter thought it was real, just like when he saw Mr. Weasley being beaten by Nagini few days ago. So, he decided to go to the Ministry and rescue Sirius-"

"What an idiot!" interrupted Draco.

"-But as usual, Mum stopped him. She said that it might be a trap; that he should think about it logically, but Potter was no logical person. He's an idiot, so he insisted on going to the Ministry. Mum, again, stopped him. She said that they should check on the Grimmauld Place first for Sirius before going to the Ministry. The idiot used the Pink Toad's Floo with the help of his friends. But his biggest mistake was his first question to Kreacher: 'Where is Sirius? Is he at the Ministry?' Kreacher, who hated Sirius so much, said 'yes'. And Potter and five D.A. members went to the Ministry and fought the Death Eaters, including your father. Mum was severely injured. Had Dolohov cast the curse verbally, she would've died. But Mum was able to silence him before the incident. Neville Longbottom carried Mum, who was already unconscious. She was the last to recover among them. Potter had scratches. He wasn't badly injured, but he lost his godfather. In the end, he told Mum that he should've listened to her."

Draco looked downhearted. It was like the things he said really happened. His Dad raked his hair with his fingers and sighed heavily. "If that happens again, I'm gonna murder Potter," he muttered.

"You don't have to. I will do everything I can to stop him. He will listen to Mum this time and I will prove her right," he swore.

"I'll help you. I can't let anything bad happen to Hermione."

He nodded. "Of course. Now you know why I hate Potter so much."

Draco nodded. "After her Occlumency lessons, what do we tell her first? Your Mum."

"Professor Dumbledore said that we should keep my identity a secret first, until she's totally safe from the incident. It means after July the Sixteenth. For now, tell her about which side you are. You can tell her everything, except for my identity and for the things I told you about the future," he replied.

Draco shook his head. "I hate keeping her in the dark, you know. She will surely understand you, but what about me? She might get mad."

"I hate keeping secrets, too, you know! As much as I want to hug my mother, I can't," he croaked. "And don't worry about your relationship. You're sincere. It was Professor Dumbledore who advised us to keep things from her, until it's time."

Draco snorted. "So, we're going to point our fingers to the headmaster."

"These were all his ideas," he reminded his dad. "After all," he added.

Draco sighed. "Yeah. All his."

.

Hermione fell on her bed and stared closed her eyes. Finally. Rest, she thought. She felt so exhausted because of the Occlumency lessons. Learning Occlumency was so draining and could give her a severe headache. She had to eat a lot and get eight hours of sleep to be able to function well. It was more draining than running or playing any kind of sports. Sometimes, during the lessons, when Cissy invaded her mind, she felt like her brain was being twisted. Cissy said that it wasn't usually like that, but they had to hurry up. She had to learn fast, hence the pain.

She heard a knock on the door, but didn't have the energy to get up. "Come in," she called out loud.

The door creaked open and close. "Honey?" she heard Draco's voice.

She opened her eyes and tilted to look at the side where the door was. "Hey."

"Are you in pain?" he asked worriedly and quickly came to her side.

"No. Just tired. Really tired," she replied in a very low voice.

Draco sat on the bed and cradled her head. "I'm sorry that you have to learn this fast and quick," he said sincerely and started massaging her temples with his talented fingers.

She smiled while eyes were closed. "Not your fault. In fact, I'm glad that I have the chance to learn this. My thoughts will be safe. I just hope that Harry would also learn Occlumency."

"Maybe you can teach him," he suggested.

She smiled again. "Draco Malfoy, suggesting to his secret girlfriend about teaching his school nemesis the art of Occlumency."

"Newsflash," he chuckled.

She laughed and grabbed his arms. She held them and opened her eyes to stare at his beautiful grey ones. "I love you," she said our of nowhere. She was also surprised by her own words. When she stared at his warm grey eyes, she was lost in love and felt the urge to say the words.

Draco looked at her in disbelief.

She slowly sat up and faced him. "I'm sorry if I realized just now. But yes, I love you and I'm falling in love more and more each day."

Draco smiled, but didn't say anything. He cupped her cheeks and leaned forward to kiss her. Their lips met and he traced the corners of her mouth with expert strokes of his tongue. Hermione moaned and opened her mouth for him. His tongue explored further inside as Hermione's arms wrapped around his back. As their kiss became more and more heated, he laid her on the bed and pressed his body over her. Hermione felt something poked her belly, but instead of pushing him away, she parted her legs slightly and it poked her even more. Realizing what just happened, they both broke the kiss and stared to each other's eyes. "I'm sorry," whispered Draco.

She smiled and shook her head. "Don't be."

"We should probably stop right now, before something happens," he suggested carefully.

She nodded. "Yeah." She released Draco and he sat up. She sat up as well on the bed and leaned on the headboard. Draco imitated her and they sat side by side, holding hands, not saying anything. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. They stroked each other's hands and shared a chaste kiss. Soon, Draco spotted a book on her bedside table. He picked it up and started to read to her, just like when they were at Hogwarts, until Hermione drifted to sleep.