Rude Awakening

Draco Malfoy

Stella must've spiked the coke. That's the only logical conclusion.

I'm sure you're dying to know why in God's name I kissed her. Yeah, God, I'd like to know, too!

She was right there. She looked stunning in that outfit, and her hair looked wonderful. I stared at her the whole meal, thinking about how wrong it was to find her attractive. Yet, on the inside, all of me wanted to fall in love with her. After all, she was perfect… she was the kind of person I needed to marry.

I've known it since school. I knew she was the perfect person for anyone. Who wouldn't want to marry her—she was smart, kind, loving, and gorgeous to boot. But I couldn't have her… no, I didn't deserve her. I treated her horribly… so she wasn't supposed to come back into my life.

Well, when I needed a nanny, she came back. Everything I thought about her came back to me. And I didn't like it one bit…

I was sitting in potions. Snape was droning on and on about something, but as usual, I wasn't listening. I was looking at her. Hermione Granger. She was the one girl I liked more than anyone in school. But it was like Romeo and Juliet—we could never be together.

"Malfoy, you'll work with Granger." Snape announced, interrupting my daydream. It took a second to register… I was working with her!

Hermione sighed and glared at me. She sat down next to me and started to work. I looked at her working and was amazed by her skill at working quickly. "Are you going to make yourself useful, or are you going to stare at me all day?" She snapped angrily.

"I'd rather stare at you all day, Granger." I announced.

"I'm not your bloody slave, Malfoy." She retorted, mixing some herbs in a bowl.

"But you are a mudblood, so that reason alone should make you do all the work. And you're also a girl, so that's another perfect qualification." I said with a smirk.

She slapped me hard in the face. My pale cheeks revealed a red handprint. It stung and I hated myself for saying cruel things to her. But my classmates and family expected me to act like this. It was the only option.

My flashback ended when Granger walked away from me and sat down on a bench. She looked upset and confused.

I decided it would be best to leave her alone… so I went back downstairs and sat at the table. I picked up a croissant, but I had no interest in eating it.

I don't know how much time passed, but before I knew it, we were back at the boat docks. I went up to the top deck and saw that Granger was asleep on the bench. She looked so peaceful, and I didn't want to wake her. I gently picked her up and carried her off the boat.

Walking into the manor, I noticed how quiet it was. I looked at the clock… it was 2:00 am! I put Granger in her bed and then went off to my room. I passed the girls' rooms on my way, but their doors were closed and their lights were off. I was a little surprised that Stella didn't stay up and wait for us, but I didn't think much of it. I was tired and I climbed into bed next to Elizabeth. She didn't acknowledge the fact that I was even there.

----

"MALFOY!" I woke with a start Granger screamed from down the hall. "MALFOY, DAMN IT! WAKE UP!" I looked at the clock. It was 7:00 AM… the time Granger usually woke the girls.

Something was wrong. Elizabeth was asleep—I couldn't understand how with that noise Granger was making—but I ran out of the hall and looked for Granger.

She was sobbing heavily. "What happened?" I asked, looking at a very distraught Granger. This was ten times worse than when Weasley cheated on her. She was acting like someone died.

"Stella… Luna…" Was all she managed to get out before she slid down the wall and sat on the ground in tears.

I looked in their rooms and noticed that they were gone. "Granger." I said impatiently. "What happened?"

She handed me a crumpled piece of parchment. It read:

Bring 207,403 galleons to Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest in four days. If no one brings the money, the girls will be killed.

I dropped the note and sat down next to Granger. I almost started crying, too. My daughters were stolen by some thieves! I couldn't believe it… and I wasn't sure what to do.

"This is all my…" Granger said with difficulty. "Fault…"

"What?" I asked incredulously. "Granger! Look at me!" I turned her shoulders so she was facing me. "This is NOT your fault!" I stressed firmly.

"Yes..." She nodded in between sobs. "I shouldn't have agreed to go sailing! Then their plan would be ruined…"

"…And they wouldn't be left alone for hours?" I finished doubtfully. She nodded. "Granger, that's absurd! This isn't your fault at all! It's not even my fault for once! It's the fault of the people who stole Stella and Luna. Are you getting this, Granger?"

"I still feel terrible." She admitted.

"What's going on out here?" Elizabeth finally woke up. Her hair was pulled back, and her sleep mask was pushed up onto her head. "Why are you yelling?"

"The girls were kidnapped." I said bitterly.

She blinked.

"Hey," Granger began. "You were here all day, right?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"Did you see anything weird?" She asked. I noted her brilliance. It never occurred to me that there were people home at the time!

"Nope." Elizabeth said without thinking. "The girls never came back, but I didn't think anything of it. I mean, you were going sailing together." She continued. "Hey, wait," she said with realization. "Did they even get on the boat?"

I gulped. "They ran off right before it set sail."

"And you and our nanny were alone on it all night?" She asked with disgust.

Hermione shot a glare at her. "We forgot our wands."

"I see." Elizabeth chortled.

I noticed something at the moment. Granger acted way more like she actually cared my daughters were gone. Elizabeth looked like she just wanted her sleep.

"It doesn't matter." I reminded them. "What does matter is that my daughters are missing."

"What are we going to do?" Granger asked, her concerned expression returning.

"Well, I'm going to pay the ransom, obviously." I muttered. "I don't want Stella and Luna to be killed."

She nodded. "I feel awful." She said as more tears flowed down her face.

By this point, Elizabeth had grown tired of the whole ordeal and went back into the bedroom.

"It'll be okay." I reassured Granger. Mostly, though, I was reassuring myself.

----

Four days dragged on slower than ever. For the most part, Granger stayed in her room. She was really distraught over the whole thing. She really thought she could've stopped something from happening… but I told her several times that she couldn't have stopped anything.

When the day came for the ransom money to be dropped off, I sat at a table, putting the gold pieces into the bag.

"I'm coming with you." Granger said from the doorway.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." I advised as I dropped more handfuls of gold into the bag.

"Please, Malfoy." She glanced at me with her big brown eyes and I muttered a weak response.

"Fine."

And so, when the sun set the two of us used a port key to get to Hogwarts. It was an ominous, intimidating building from the forest. It was winter, so classes were in session. We snuck around quietly, trying not to be seen.

"Where do you think they'll be?" She whispered.

"I don't know." I responded quietly. "I think we should wait here."

Sure enough, in a few minutes, a voice—I couldn't tell whether it was male or female—called from the forest, "I knew you'd show up. Put the money on the ground at walk away."

I almost dropped the bag. "No, I want my daughters first." I insisted.

"I'll turn them loose when that bag hits the ground." The voice insisted. "Cooperate or I'll kill one of them."

Granger looked at me with fear. "Just do it!" She whispered.

I sighed and dropped the bag. The two of us turned and walked towards the open field. I counted my steps. One, two, three, four, five, six…

"Daddy!" I turned around to see my daughters running towards me. I hugged them and we grabbed the port key, brining us home.

"Stella, tell me who did this." I demanded as soon as we arrived in our living room.

"I… I don't remember!" She stammered. "I remember everything except the kidnapping ordeal!"

"What's the last thing you did?" Granger spoke up from her seat.

"Luna and I were in the manor and then we weren't."

Luna nodded in agreement.

"By the way… how did your boat trip go?" Stella smiled evilly.

Granger blushed redder than I ever saw her.

"I guess I got my answer." Stella smirked.

"Nothing happened." I spoke up a little too quickly.

Stella narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Sure." She said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

I vaguely remembered Granger making another smart remark. I don't know what she said, though, because something in my head clicked. Something wasn't right. We were in the manor and then we weren't. That's what Stella said. This morning, though, Elizabeth told a different tale. The girls never came back, but I didn't think anything of it. I mean, you were going sailing together.

I rose from my chair with determination. "What's wrong?" Granger asked slowly.

I didn't answer. I ran down the halls to Elizabeth's quarters.

Author's Note: Thanks again for all the reviews! Many people thought that the romance wasn't at all rushed, but there were one or two reviews that wanted things to slow down. Well, obviously, their emotions are pretty much out of control, as you saw (and will see more of). They don't suddenly love each other and fall into each other's arms now... that'll come later.

NEXT CHAPTER SPOLIER: This is my new thing... I'll tell you a little bit about the next chapters without completely ruining it for you. I'll try to remember to do this all the time. Anyway, chapter 23 (wow!) will be in that evil witch (aka Elizabeth Tanner)'s point of view! You'll get to see what drives her and why she's a con artist. There'll be some interesting connections that will become more important later. And yes, that question you've allbeen asking me about will be answered (The whole Ginny/Jenny thing). I'll post it Wednesday or Thursday, probably.

Keep Reviewing!