CHAPTER 5

May 20th 2001

Draco Malfoy slept restlessly the second night of his stay in Romania, dreaming of his past catching up to the young wizard.

"Draco, darling! How wonderful of you to join us for dinner, I assumed you were spending time with friends again this evening." His mother chirped as he kissed her on the cheek in greeting.

"You think so little of me, mother. Can a son not want to dine with his parents without reason?" He asked sarcastically, taking a seat across from her.

His father sat at the head of the long black dining table, sipping his elf made wine with hooded eyes and greyed hair.

"Father," Draco nodded in his direction, "I do apologise for my lack of presence in recent times."

"Yes, ministry work must be so very time consuming even for a paper boy." Lucius hissed.

"Lucius..." Narcissa growled, "Your son is doing a fine job rebuilding our name within the ministry."

Draco did not want to add fuel to the flame. He picked up his spoon and began to sip at the soup that appeared below. Truth was, the younger Malfoy was not working very hard at rebuilding the state of his surname, in fact he was fundamentally running from it. Working as a mid-level translator consultant allowed him to keep his head down, and far away from any politics that the family was previously associated with.

"I have heard that Potter's mudblood has been quite the companion of yours recently. Tell us, Draco, do you take pleasure in staining the purified hands of your ancestors?" Lucius questioned.

"Whatever stories your spies in the ministry are telling you, father, are farfetched and improbable. I have merely been in touch with Granger in favour of seeking her assistance with a word of recommendation." Draco replied in between spoonfuls of soup.

Lifting his sight from the bowl, Draco noticed his mother scowling at him. It wasn't entirely clear whether it was disapproval over stooping as low as Granger for help, or warning him that the person sitting at the head of the table was looking for an argument.

"I think it is time that you quit this pitiful job in international travel and invest your time back within the family business." His father suggested.

"And what exactly is our family business, father? Money laundering? Murder? Whatever it is, I don't want any part in your dirty galleons."

"It wasn't a suggestion, Draco."

"I didn't ask for one."

Both men had stopped eating in the heat of the conversation.

"Boys, please. Let us have a nice dinner without any bickering," Narcissa pleaded,

"It's okay, mother. Father clearly has something he wants to say. So, he should say it."

Lucius stood from his chair and stalked over to where Draco was sitting. He placed one hand on the frame of the chair before quickly latching a grip of his son's throat, pushing his head against the back of his seat. Draco began to choke on the pressure.

"Do you take me for a fool? I know your fondness towards the mudblood is more than you play it out to be." The elder Malfoy asked, not needing an answer.

"Lucius, please stop it!" Narcissa begged from her chair,

"No. He needs to be disciplined." The grip on Draco's throat tightened as blood began rushing to his head, "You are going to leave your pathetic excuse of a job, and never speak to that mudblood ever again, do you hear me? Or you are cut off."

Draco refused to give in to the punishment. The sound in his ears started to fade and his eyes felt drier than a bone, but just as his vision was going dark, his father released the hand from his neck. Inhaling as much air as he could to refill his lungs, he gripped the arms of the chair so tight he began to feel splinters digging into his skin.

Lucius sat back down and continued eating his soup. Narcissa held her head in her hands, distressed at the sight of her two men fighting. Pity for his mother filled Draco's heart, but if this was what his future days looked like because of independence, he did not want to stay within the manor any longer.

Standing from his chair, throwing the napkin onto the table, Draco casually strode towards his father.

"Cut me off, you sad prick." He croaked.

"Leave this room and you are done." Lucius replied, not even looking away from his food.

Draco did not hang back. He knew the repercussions of his actions and proudly made his way to the exit doors. Walking away he overheard the sorrowful sounds of his mother sobbing.

"If I hear even a whisper of you getting too close with that filthy muggle, I will not hesitate in killing her." His father called out.

A sharp pain ached in Draco's left arm. He thought maybe a heart string had been pulled. Oh Merlin, he hoped it wasn't his heart getting involved.

The only Malfoy heir left his family dining hall without a pause in his steps. A new life outside the wing of his mother and father had just begun, and it tasted delectable.

The sounds of a woman singing woke Draco from his deep alcohol infused slumber. The high hum echoed against the walls of his hotel suite. Throwing the duvet over his head, he tried to drown the sound out in hope he could fall asleep again, but it was useless.

Angrily storming over to the wall dividing his and Grangers, he banged his fist against the door between the two rooms.

"Would you shut it!" He yelled through his morning husk,

The singing continued. She was in the shower by the sound of water flowing. While it was relatively pleasing to his ear, it had pissed him off.

"Granger!" He tried again, "Shut the fuck up!"

Nothing. Her melody continued to flow.

"Fucking hell." Draco mumbled, marching over to his own bathroom and turning the taps to his shower.

Stripping the only piece of clothing he was wearing, a pair of black briefs, Draco stepped under the stream. Steam filled the room from the scorching temperature he preferred. Washing himself clean, he thought back to the events of the night before.

He had enjoyed a casual dinner with his co-worker before discovering that she was being used as a puppet within his father's attempts to track him. One particular incident stuck out to him. The moment he stuck her finger in his mouth in order to slip the charmed ring off of her. While the intentions were not paved to come across as sexual, it felt like he had left that impression.

Draco finished with his morning routine of a shower and a shave before dressing for the day. The bruises on his hands from fighting the hitmen when he arrived had faded, and he decided there was no need to wear gloves today.

A knock reaped on his entrance door. Expecting it to be an elf with his breakfast trolley, he was startled by the sight of Granger dressed in her work attire.

"Hi," She greeted.

"Hello," He returned.

"I am headed to the ministry earlier than we had planned, but I will meet you at the water fountain at 5pm to return back here."

Draco stared at her with wide eyes, perplexed as to why she wanted to start work earlier than scheduled. Then again, it was Granger, he should have expected this.

"Right," he started, "Enjoy your day."

She looked at him slightly confused, probably bemused by his easy-going attitude. That was what she wanted though, right? For him not to be so hard towards her all the time.

"You too…" She drawed out in response, slowly turning before walking down the marbled hallway to the stairs.

Draco closed his door, 'Enjoy your day? Really?' he asked himself. What an idiotic response. Granger was making him look like a fool without even trying.

He took his time eating his breakfast that arrived momentarily after his co-worker left, and made tracks to head to the ministry. His timetable was filled to endure boring meetings, mind melting translation sessions and endless contracts to sign.

Throughout the day, Draco thought of what Granger was doing. Who was she meeting with? What solutions were the werewolves giving her to bring home? Did she make time to have lunch? By mid-afternoon the blond was repulsed by himself at why he was thinking about her so much. Granger was welcome to do whatever the fuck she wanted, he needn't know, nor care.

He needed something to occupy his mind.

As the thought crossed his mind, the red-head that was unashamedly flirting with him walked past his shared workspace. Dropping his quill, Draco ran after her.

Before he knew it, the two were snogging fiercely against a stall in the women's bathroom. The witch's hands reaching for his belt buckle, pulling it undone in record speed. She pecked his earlobe as she made her way down his neck before dropping to her knees.

This was a perfect distraction.

Draco tried to remember the woman's name as she pulled his pants down to his thighs. Lilla? Liza? Lola? Whoever she was, she moaned at the size of him. He smirked down at her. Draco knew he was impressive to women, he wouldn't be so cocky all the time if he wasn't. No pun intended.

Lowering her mouth onto him, Draco hissed at the sensation of her tongue against his tip. She had a weak grip on his length though, which was disappointing. He concentrated on the motion of her lips wrapped around him. It wasn't the best blow job he had received, but it wasn't the worst either.

Minutes passed and Draco concluded that her name was definitely, maybe, possibly, Liza.

"Squeeze tighter." He instructed her.

She obliged and tightened her palm moving it up and down. Draco put his hand on the back of her head and pushed himself further down her throat. Liza made a gagging noise at the pressure. After a few more bobs and strokes, he finished in her gaping mouth, throwing his head back at the release.

"Fuck.." He moaned.

The red head withdrew her head from his hands, lifted the lid of the toilet and spat into the bowl. She wiped her chin with the back of her hand as she flushed his cum. Draco stuffed himself back into his pants, redoing his belt buckle as Liza stood from her knees. She muttered 'until we see each other again' in her native tongue against his ear before kissing his cheek and leaving the stall.

Draco returned to his desk and continued his work. It wasn't long before he was checking the clock repeatedly to see when he would be meeting up with Granger. Fuck.

Five minutes before 5:00pm, Draco packed his things and made his way to the water fountain. He spotted her sitting at the same bench she was yesterday, twisting her engagement finger around. The gesture was starting to become a habit for her, he noted. Seeing him walk towards her, she gave a slight smile and wave before standing.

"Hi," She greeted.

"Hello," He returned.

"No red-head escort today?"

"I finished with her a few hours ago." He joked, unsure if she would pick up on his quip.

"Good for her." She laughed, definitely picking up the quip.

The pair made their way through the floo network and back to the hotel with no issues. As they walked up the white stairs, Granger's shoes clipped with every step in her higher heels than usual. It echoed throughout the building.

"If you would like, you are welcome to join me in my suite for dinner." Draco suggested.

"That would be lovely." She replied sweetly.

Oddly, Granger didn't head into her room to shower before they dined. She stood behind him patiently as he used his bronzed key to open the room. They walked in, over to the couches and coffee table. Draco was grateful the elves had tidied up whilst he was away.

"Well, well, well… What do we have here?" a voice boomed from behind them.

Turning around, Draco recognised the person standing by his bed as one of the men his father would use to roughen up any business partners that were not meeting standards. He was bald with a scar that was slashed across his mouth.

"Who are you?" He heard Granger ask, but the man did not have any intentions of replying.

Lifting his wand, the largely built killer threw a 'Crucio' at the pair. On instinct Draco pushed Granger out of the way with all his might, she hit the floor with a thud as he ducked from the curse. Drawing his wand from his robe, he cast a 'Stupefy' which was scarcely missed by the assassin. Draco stepped away from the woman beneath him, ensuring no spells directed would hit her by accident.

"Come on, Malfoy. You can do better than that!" The bald man yelled.

"Any better and you'd wish you were dead, you prick."

Draco blocked several curses sent his way, grateful for his Seeker reflexes. He had learnt to fight smart, not hard over the years. Throwing an 'Expelliarmus' did just the trick, leaving the sloppy hitman without a wand. In reaction he charged forward, choosing to fight hand to hand as a last resort.

Taking the wizard's force at full charge, Draco was thrown onto the ground, wand rolling out of his reach. He was winded by the impact, but lifted his leg anyway and kneed the prat in the chin. It didn't do a lot but the bigger man grunted at the pain of his jaw being crushed. Mouth full of blood, he spat on the floor before lifting his opponent up by his robes and carried him over to the balcony. Pushing him against the railing, he tipped Draco's upper body over the ledge.

"A little birdy told me that you said you would rather die than return home. Is that true, pretty boy?" Grunted the unnamed man.

"Unlike Lucius, I'm not a liar." Draco hissed, heart beating rapidly at the position he was in.

"Seems like you just sealed your fate."

As Draco was edged further over the ledge, he used the momentum to kick his legs against the hitman's stomach causing him to step back. By fluke alone, he was not dropped off the balcony, but was brought back to stand on the ground.

He made a run for it, diving into the suite for his wand on the floor, rolling over and casting a 'Stupefy' at the man coming back inside. The spell hit him directly in the chest, making him flop over and crumble to the ground at Draco's feet.

Not taking a moment to catch his breath, he ran over to Granger, unconscious across the room. There was blood pouring out the side of her head, she must have hit the corner of the table on her way down. Taking her head into his lap, he noticed the red all over his hands. Draco didn't know why, but he had always imagined her blood to look dirtier than what it was. It wasn't mud-like at all, in fact, it looked identical to his own.

Putting mudblood stereotypes to the side, he took his wand and cast a healing spell to stop the wound from bleeding. The sparkle of magic caused Granger's eyes to flutter open. Relief washed over Draco like a flood. Both witch and wizard stared into each other.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked quietly.

"I think so." She replied, even quieter.

Granger lifted her head out of his grasp and sat up straight. She looked around the room and saw the unconscious hitman on the floor a few feet away.

"Is he dead?"

"No. Just out."

"What happened, Malfoy?" She asked with furrowed brows.

"He was sent by my father." He replied, limiting his answer.

Granger looked at him with disappointed eyes. He had promised her only last night that she wouldn't be harmed in the midst of all this mess. If Draco was supposed to feel like a hero right now for protecting her, he sure as hell didn't feel it.

"I'm sorry, Granger. I never wanted you to be part of this." He apologised.

"Why am I a part of this, Malfoy?" She asked in a whisper.

Draco looked at the dry blood on her forehead and in her hair. He wasn't quite sure why he felt such a need to keep her in his life despite the death threats, if he had walked away when it was appropriate they wouldn't be sitting here right now. It was dawning on him that if he continued to pursue a friendship with Granger, she very well may end up dead. He wished he hadn't brought her on this trip, she would have been safer with the ginger troll.

"Some time ago, I don't know when, but I decided I liked living in a world where I didn't have to look down on those not born of pureblood families. After hearing about his son requesting the need of a muggle-born for a word of recommendation, my father was not very pleased. He told me that I needed to leave you alone, or suffer the consequences." Draco confessed with a few hidden lies.

"So all of this is because of some silly job reference?"

"It goes much deeper than that, Granger. Nearly 22 years deeper. You just happened to be the tip of the iceberg."

They both sat on the ground surrounded by the darkness of the room. The air had turned cold from the balcony doors being left open. Draco watched the Granger's features fade as her silhouette appeared with the sun setting. He could still see her lips, they had a magnetic draw, a tether tying themselves to his. This feeling in his stomach was vorboten. Swiping his tongue against the framing of his mouth, he tasted the saltiness of the dried sweat on his skin. Just as he was about to inch forward, a groan filled the room.

Panicked, Draco stood from his seated position and walked over to the body on the ground. He threw another 'Stupefy' at the hitman's torso, ensuring he wouldn't wake again for the time being. As the high of the moment came down, he looked back over at Granger. He had expected her to look broken or at least frightened, but this was probably one of the fewer treacherous trials she had been a part of.

Hermione Granger was definitely not like other witches, she had seen and conquered monsters worse than that of Lucius Malfoy.

"You should clean up. I will take care of this." He instructed.

"Okay." She replied, no fear or sadness showing on her face.

As she returned to her own suite, Draco slumped against the foot of his bed, putting his head into his hands. He felt like an imbecile. Why had he been so naive in thinking that this wouldn't happen? Whether he was referring to putting Granger at risk, or wanting to kiss her in the spur of the moment, Draco wasn't sure. Maybe it was both?