Chapter 11

Sparks

The meal was finished and Draco set Max and Aria the task of clearing the table while Luca made Hermione and his father a hot drink.

"How did the sittings go?" Draco asked as they settled themselves on the sofa.

"They were great, I'm really pleased with them."

"I'd like to see them."

"Well, I'm going to leave for a few days after breakfast tomorrow and go back to the studio where I can produce the final drawings. They will be very comprehensive – full colour pastel. They will give you a very good idea of how the finished work will look."

"It's a lot of work, isn't it? A commission like this?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, it is but it has to be right."

"I've never had the dragons painted before so I'm looking forward to seeing them."

"How long do you keep the dragons here?" Hermione asked, just as Luca came over with the hot drinks.

"We always try and send them to the wild if we can," Draco replied. "But to be honest, it's very hard. Most of the dragons here wouldn't survive in the wild."

"I want to work in Romania helping dragons who were born in captivity back into the wild," Luca said.

"Sounds like a great thing to do," Hermione answered him.

"I have to apply for a place soon," Luca looked excited at this prospect. "I have to have my application signed off by a professional dragon keeper to say I've done the required hours taking care of them."

Hermione looked at Draco. "I wonder who can do that for you?" she joked.

"I wonder!" Draco said. "You need to clock up a few more hours or you won't have done enough."

"I know – I was going to speak to you about coming for more weekends soon."

"Why don't you come for the whole week next school break?"

"Can I?"

Draco looked up at his eldest son. "Of course you can! If your mother agrees, obviously."

Luca looked very happy at the prospect of this. "She will." He looked over at his siblings who had just about finished clearing up. "Pippa's offered to take them to see Hetty being washed."

"Washed?" Hermione asked.

"We have to wash her with an oil mixture – she has a lot of problems with her scales. It's a common problem, something to do with how reflective they are," Draco explained.

"It has to be done at night as the sun can affect the wash," Luca added. "So, if I go with them as well, is that okay?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, but don't let them be a nuisance."

Aria and Max both came and said goodbye to Hermione and the three of them went off to meet Pippa.

"Your children are lovely," Hermione said. She didn't want to do that typical thing when you compliment a parent on their children, especially as it would probably sound false, given she was working for Draco but she felt it needed to be said.

"Thank you," Draco joked. "It's a bit more difficult now Eva and I aren't together. There's a lot of politics if you know what I mean."

"Yes, must be difficult," Hermione nodded.

"The kids know they can play us off against each other too," Draco admitted. "Especially Aria – don't let her angelic looks fool you – she's a demon."

Hermione laughed at his description. "It sounds like Luca is going to follow in your footsteps with the dragons," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Draco sounded surprisingly hesitant.

"Are you not keen on that?"

"I am now – I was worried it was a fad but he still seems keen and he's old enough to know his own mind now."

"Thanks for allowing me to meet them."

"Why wouldn't I?"

Hermione shrugged. "Because it's me, isn't it?"

"You keep forgetting we've drawn a line," Draco responded, repeating her own words back at her again. "I'm glad Luca is interested - he'll be good at it. Plus, it's a family tradition."

"The Malfoys kept dragons before?" Hermione asked surprised.

"Not the Malfoys – his mother's family. They've done it for generations."

"Is that how you became interested in it?" Hermione broached the question that he had failed to answer the other evening.

"Sort of," Draco was vague again. Hermione raised her eyebrows at his vague answer and he shook his head. "Sorry, it's just not a very pretty story."

"Let's change the subject then," Hermione offered, although she was dying to know and even more intrigued now.

Draco ignored her offer and started his story. "I'm sure you've done the maths and worked out that I pretty much left Hogwarts, got married and had Luca straight away."

Hermione nodded but didn't interrupt.

"Eva wasn't interested in dragons so initially neither was I. I was floundering around trying to find something I wanted to do with my life and we were very young so it was all a bit messy. Eva's older brother was running their business – they were more into policing dragon breeding than conservation, although I suppose the two things are closely connected. To cut a long story short, he asked me if I wanted to help him out and everything went from there." Draco hesitated, took a sip of wine and looked over at Hermione. "I became really interested in the dragons – I suppose you understand that a bit now you've spent time with them here. I did some work with a few different people as well as Eva's family and I was in France with this guy clearing down a site where they had been breeding illegally."

"Is it illegal to breed them?"

"Yes – it's governed by the ministry here and other bodies abroad. I'm not allowed to breed Mavis with Humphrey for example," Draco explained.

"Oh, well they're not a good match. He's far too grumpy for her," Hermione joked and Draco rolled his eyes.

"It's not a dragon dating agency," he said, smiling. His smile faded. "Whilst we were clearing the site they found a nest, really young dragons…the parents had obviously been destroyed or taken away…we had to clear the whole site, it's really strict but obviously baby dragons are meant to be rescued. The people I was working for weren't interested in rescuing the dragons, babies or not, they just wanted to clear the site and get paid. A nest full of babies means a lot of paperwork and delay. So, they chose to 'ignore' the nest," Draco paused and took a large swig of wine and Hermione felt a horrible, nervous feeling in her stomach. This didn't sound like it was going to end well!

"They carried on clearing the site, including the nest," Draco said, his eyes sorrowful. "I didn't do it, I didn't know until the last minute what they were going to do but nevertheless, I didn't do anything to stop it. I just let it happen."

"But could you have stopped it?"

"I don't know – but I do know I could have tried and I didn't," Draco shrugged. "Afterwards, I thought I'd just be able to forget about it, it wasn't really anything to do with me and as you have just asked, I didn't even know if I could have done anything to stop it. But I couldn't forget about it, it haunted me. I just felt so terrible about it, especially as I dealt with dragons more and more. It just wouldn't leave me.

Anyway, I got up one day and thought that's it! I can't change what happened but I can improve and help from now on. So, I did – I started off with just Mavis and another dragon and gradually we expanded. I feel that I've at least done a little bit to make up for what happened."

"I'm glad you felt you could tell me."

"Did you mean it when you said that Mavis and I will make the best painting?" Draco asked.

"Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous but you and Mavis have a bond, it comes across in the drawings."

"Nothing to do with my stunning good looks then?" Draco joked and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Is this weird for you?" Draco threw the question at her suddenly, leaning forward, looking at her from under his fringe.

"This?"

Draco waved his hand between them. "Us."

Hermione took a moment to answer, a little surprised by his question. "A little."

"I was worried about it," Draco admitted and Hermione wondered if the wine had anything to do with him being so open and chatty.

"Me too."

"And now? Draco asked. He seemed nervous.

"The first couple of days were difficult, no-one seemed friendly. You all seemed uptight." Hermione decided to be honest.

"That was probably my fault."

"Undoubtedly," Hermione agreed with him in a very keen fashion and then she grinned at him. She saw that he wasn't expecting this reply and he did a bit of a double take before realising she was teasing him.

"It's not too late for me to ask for another artist," Draco threatened but he was smiling.

"You can't – the dragons and I are best friends now," Hermione said.

"They're fickle, anyone who looks tasty will do," Draco gave a little chuckle and Hermione laughed at his expression. "How long will you be leaving us for?"

"Well, I usually plan on at least a three to four weeks at the studio, but it may be a little longer than that, given the intricacies on the paintings," Hermione answered.

"That long?"

"I can try to do it quicker if that is a problem?" Hermione offered but she knew realistically it would take the time she had said. "I wouldn't want to compromise the quality though."

Draco nodded in agreement. "No, definitely not. It takes as long as it takes." He now hesitated, leaving something unsaid hanging in the air and his eyes held hers. She was suddenly and acutely aware of him, of the way he was sitting, of how he was dressed, his perfect skin, those ridiculously long lashes….

She jumped up out of her seat. "I should go, I need an early start tomorrow," she said, flustered. "Thank you for inviting me." She looked up to see that Draco had also stood up but he was still staring at her.

"It will be strange not being sketched going about my business," he said. "I've got used to you being around…recording my every move." He was trying to sound casual, making a joke, but she could tell that he wasn't saying what he actually wanted to.

Hermione rubbed her forehead nervously. What the heck was going on here? Where had this suddenly come from? Was she misreading him? She remembered how she'd felt the day she had done his portrait, when she had been so close to him and here was that feeling again. She wasn't immune to his looks – he was a very handsome man. He had an ease about him, the way he dressed, his perfect features. He carried himself confidently. However, it was one thing to appreciate his assets and quite another to have this nervous feeling in her stomach.

Only a few short days ago, he could hardly bring himself to talk to her, he was cold and remote. Now, he was telling her personal stuff, chatting to her and right now looking at her in a way that made her feel hot and bothered. She tried to gather herself together, making sure she didn't meet his eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll be back to stalk you again soon," she joked but she was already half way to the door, her need to escape propelling her there. "Thank you again for the invite tonight, I'll be in touch when the next set of drawings are done."