Disclaimer: I own nothing but the people in my head. They are my bitches. J.K Rowling owns all characters and everything.
A/N: Woohoo!!!! 5 chapters! How cool is this? Ok, not very, but I'm happy. As I'm writing this it's Monday morning Arg! Thank you to my one review of the last chapter, Lisi. You rock! Please everyone read and review her fic Eyes of Stormy Green. Finally, on to the chappie!
Stormy gray eyes blinked open tiredly before he lazily closed them again. A second later, they opened wide as he shot straight up in the bed. Where was he? He took a deep breath to calm his heart and let it out slowly. He reached up and gingerly touched his temple. Merlin that hurts. His head was pounding.
"Uggh! I knew I shouldn't have done that." He looked around the room over the back of the couch he had been sleeping on. Hermione was sitting primly at the table in the kitchen sipping a cup of hot coffee (ruining a perfectly good stereotype even though tea is for old stuffy brits, not young ones) and reading the newspaper. He brow was furrowed in concentration. She didn't look up when she heard him, merely smirked, knowing the torture he was going through. She too had woken up many a morning with an award winning hangover.
"You owe me a bottle of whiskey, you know."
He winced. "Sorry about that. Could you maybe not speck so loud?" He looked almost angelic when he was being nice. Her angelic devil. Wait. What? Her? EWWW!!! Actually, he was very attractive; he was the Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts Sex God!
"Of course." She walked into the kitchen and got out the makings for a fruit smoothie. She pulled out the blender and smirked. She looked over at him. He was kneeling towards her on the couch with his eyes squeezed shut rocking back and forth.
Quietly as she possibly could, she poured everything into the blender. She put the top on and looked up at him as she put her finger on the start button and pushed.
He gave a girlish yelp as he opened his eyes wide and jumped over the back of the couch and into the wall. He ran past her but stopped long enough to glare at her and grab the almost empty bottle of whiskey before running into Hermione's bathroom. She pushed the off button and poured the smoothie into her favorite glass before turning her eyes towards the door. She began to walk towards it and heard Draco grumble and then heard the click of a lock.
She rolled her eyes. I guess that was a little mean. But then again, he is, or at least I think he still is, the bastard who tortured me for years. Maybe he's changed. She stopped her inner monologue to hear the muffled voice coming from the bathroom.
"Stupid head. I'm gonna curse you to next Tuesday, Granger." She snarled. Then again, maybe not.
"Oi! Malfoy! I thought we could go get your stuff today. Are you going to be coming out any time soon?"
She glanced down at her long T-shirt and boy short underwear. Not daywear. She went into her room and opened the closet door. It was a fairly oversize closet. She ran her fingers down the row of clothes and stopped on a black pin-stripe mini skirt. She slipped it on and zipped it up. Next she pulled out several hangers and threw them on her duvet and finally chose a mesh hooded long-sleeve shirt and a black silk spaghetti strap shirt. She put on her widest fishnets and dug her knee-high boots out of the back of her closet. She zipped them up and went out to the kitchen. She grabbed her smoothie and took a sip. She shivered as the cool liquid slid down her throat. She knocked on the bathroom door as quietly as possible.
"Aaggh!!!" followed by a quick grunt was the only reply.
"Draco, I need to put on my makeup. You need to let me in. Please?" she waited for any response. Silence.
"Malfoy. Get your ass out of there right now!" She bellowed. Still no answer. Maybe he had passed out. She heard a clink of the metal on metal. No such luck.
"I have a sobering potion." She said in a sickly sweet voice. After that there was a click as he threw open the door. She yanked him out of the bathroom and yelled directions as where to find the potion as she closed the door behind her.
Draco followed her directions and looked inside the big black book that sat on the top shelf of the mahogany bookcase. (Arg! I'm in Biology and faced with a difficult decision. Study for my French quiz or keep writing. Difficult Decisions!)She had cut bottle size hole in a piece of Styrofoam and placed it inside the book. Of course, being Hermione, all the potions were in alphabetical order. He noticed there were several empty slots labeled with Sobering Potion. He arched a meticulously groomed eyebrow. He pulled one potion out and shut the book with a snap. He winced and downed the potion is one quick gulp. It burned as it went down his throat. He stood on tiptoes and slid the book into the hole that it belonged in. He wondered how Hermione could possibly reach it.
"Probably has a stool or something. "He muttered. He went back to his normal height and swayed as the potion started working. He felt his head clearing. He sighed as the potion worked it magic. Literally. (Ha ha! I'm just so funny!) He HEARD a door open and he swung his head around to look. Hermione was coming out of the bathroom fully dressed and made up. She had pulled her hair up into a half bun with the rest of her hair in ringlets. Her eyeshadow silver with turquoise liner and pitch-black mascara lengthened her lashes. She had flashy turquoise plastic bracelets adorning her arms. Her lips were painted devil red and a clear gloss made them shine. To anyone with eyes, she was stunning.
She flashed him a grin. "Are you going like that?" Draco was still in his clothe from the club last night.
"Erm... it's kind of all I have." He replied uncertainly. His black t-shirt was wrinkled and his jeans were dirty and stained from the whiskey.
"Lucky for you I'm not the kind of girl who burns her exes clothes." She walked to her room and came back with her hands behind her back.
"But unfortunately, I'm not the kind of gal who forgets years of torture easily." She smirked and held up a pair of khaki shorts and a read Hawaiian shorts. His eyes were about to pop out of his head. He opened his mouth to object.
"Oh shuttup! It's punishment for me to! I have to be seen in public with you!"
"Then why bother?"
"Because I feel like it. Honestly don't you listen? You had better go get dressed." She flashed him yet another smirk. His eyes got even wider when he realized her smirk rivaled his.
Minutes later, Draco emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and groaned. He stared at his reflection in the full-length mirror. He looked like a tourist. A pale blond tourist to some tropical place. All he needed was a camera slung around his neck. Hermione stared for a second before bursting into giggles. He glared daggers at her so she reluctantly stopped.
"We should probably get going." Draco had told her the night before about how he had his belongings shipped to a storage unit. They had made plans to go that morning. Now that they were both ready, they could finally leave. Directions from the Internet told her that they had to take the metro. She told Draco that and he narrowed his eyes.
"Why can't we take a taxi?"
"We can... if you pay." His head shot up.
"But why should I ha-." Hermione cut him off in the middle of his sentence in a loud voice.
"Because... I am rooming you until school starts. I was having a hard time with money before you came along. You tortured me for the last 5 years of my life. Is that reason enough!" He stared at the woman before him in all her red-faced hatred and felt a pang of emotion. He nodded.
"I'll pay."
They emerged from the bright yellow car at an unnatural orange storage center. They asked the driver to wait and headed to Draco's bin.
Draco stopped in front of bin 12GP. He pulled out a key with a matching label and inserted it into the lock. He lifted the heavy door while Hermione watched him. She gasped at the amount of belongings inside. She had expected it to be full, but instead, there were only three large duffel bags. She took a step forward but Draco stopped her.
"I'm a well-known, now well-wanted prestigious pureblood wizard. Do you really think that I would leave my belongings unprotected?" He said this as though explaining to a three year old.
"Erm.. Right. Sorry." She took a step back. He pulled out his wand. She noticed he kept his the same place she did, the small of her back. He lowered the wards that surrounded his bags and walked over to them. He put one on each shoulder and threw the last one at Hermione. She deftly caught it and heard the jungle of coins. She staggered under the weight of the bag. She regained her balance and asked about the jingle.
"That's money of course. Most likely by now Lucius and Narcissa have cut off my Gringotts account, so I got some before the trail. I haven't gotten it exchanged yet, so you'll have to do it for me."
For once, Hermione didn't ague.
They piled backed into that cab and Hermione turned top Draco.
"Why did you do it?"
"Do what?" She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something. "Okay Okay, I know. As you know, my parents are erm... fry cooks." She gave him a look and he jerked his head towards the driver.
"Yes, well. We were only guessing that they were..." she gave him a pained look. "Fry cooks"
"The rumors were true. Most of them anyways. They were big supporters of...the fry cook association. They hadn't always been, though. Did you know that I haven't had a Christmas in the past 10 years? All because 10 years ago my mother decided to become a D-"Hermione widened her eyes and shook her head. Draco stopped his rant and sighed.
"Became a fry cook. My father joined her soon after. You would have thought my father had been first, wouldn't you. Well, he wasn't. The week before the trail they told me I was to follow them in the line of fry cooks."
"Oh Draco..."
"I couldn't tell them that I hated erm... cooking, so I did what I did. My mother is probably heartbroken at the loss of her precious po-... I mean precious spatulas." Hermione stifled a giggle. She sobered quickly, though.
"Look, we're here. Lets get inside and I'll tell you about me."
The taxi pulled up to the curb and they stepped out. Draco pulled out some bills and paid the driver, who had been watching them in the rearview mirror. He obviously thought they were crazy. Once they got to her apartment, they piled Draco's bags next to the couch. Hermione went to the kitchen to make some tea. Minutes later the water boiled and Hermione sat on the sofa next to Draco and crossed he legs so she was sitting Indian style.
"During the winter break of 5th year, my parents and I were supposed to go skiing. I had never been before, so I was excited. I got home and they were different somehow. Not evil, yet. Just meaner. They sent me to G-erm. Never mind. They sent me to stay with Ron and Harry. I was a little concerned but nothing too bad had happened. That summer when I went home, I got an owl on the train. Actually I got two. The first was from Sirius. It was the most difficult letter I had ever had to read in my life. It told me not to go home. He told me that there were some muggles who knew about the wizarding world, and that they usually chose to be good or evil. When I was born, Voldemort sensed my power and wanted it for the dark side. He reached my parents before Dumbledore did. Voldemort tantalized my parents with promises of information. They agreed to give me to him if they got to be wizarding muggles. They believed everything Voldemort told them. They were supposed to teach me the ways of the Dark Lord so that when the time came I could be used against the powers of good. Dumbledore knew that this could not be allowed to happen, so he went to the Ministry of Magic. They refused to help him. While Dumbledore was gone, Sirius did the unthinkable. James had told him once before he died that Power that rules over blood will need to be salvaged. Siruis went to the Granger's house that night and put my parents under the Imperious. He controlled them and made them love me and act like good parents. Once Sirius died, the curse was lifted. Right after reading his letter, another letter came. It was from my parents.
Dearest Hermione,
Daring, you know how much we love you. There is something extremely important we must tell you. Come home as soon as possible. We love you!
Your loving parents,
Mum and Dad
Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"That was the last time I ever heard from them. Sirius must have known something was happening. He must have felt his power over them weakening because he made arrangements for me. He had a taxi come pick me up and he had this flat paid for. Harry doesn't know about this. No one does. I ran into him last night. Harry I mean. He didn't recognize me. Have I changed that much?" She looked at him, ready for his response, whatever it might be.
"Yes you have changed. Look at yourself. You don't need your bodyguard taking care of you anymore. You are strong and beautiful." He cut off and looked down.
"You. You think I'm beautiful?" She looked at him curiously.
"I do."
She looked down and her brow creased.
"But that doesn't change that fact that I'm a stupid mudblood, right?"
His eyes fell. He stood up and grabbed his bags.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Hermione sounded shocked.
"You obviously don't want me here, so I'll find someplace else." He turned an opened the door. The only person who had cared since her parents... he was walking out of her life until they went back to the place where everything would be normal. Her eyes started to tear.
"Good-bye Draco." Her voice was no more than a whisper, but it got his attention. He turned to face her and his heart broke. He took a deep breath and his heart went back to stone. He walked out of her life that day as Draco. Not as dirty little ferret or as Malfoy. Ha leaned against the door and whispered so only he could hear.
"Good-bye Hermione."
A/N: So... whatda think! REVIEW PLEASE! For lil old me? Thank u! erm.. I just had a thought though. Urg... if Draco is wanted by all Death Eaters, or fry cooks, then how will he get to school. If he's wanted by all of Slytherin House. It would never happen! NO!!!!!!!!!! It ruined my plot! Arg! Ok, if u have any ideas, please help me! O wait. I have a thought. Yup. It's an idea. I guess you'll have to wait and see what it is though. If u have a plot that I could use please let me know! O wait! Nother comment! Harry was in for no apparent reason. Let's just say it's because he was buying something for someone. It meant nothing to the plot WHY he was there. I'll make Hermione think about it later. Luv to all my reviwers!