Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Ghzawy, Hahfe, dreams of starlight, writrfreak15, E. G. Potter, Goddess of light, Lyndsey hattaway, Callista Miralni.
You guys rock and I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story….
Chapter 14- I want what I wantDraco stormed out of Harry's office without another word. Hell if Harry wanted to be stupid then let him. As far as he was concerned Hermione was fair game. Harry left her wide open and he intended to catch her.
She won't love you. Didn't you see her? She loves the prat. He growled at the irritating voice in his head.
Coming around the corner he paused as Ron and Luna stood a few feet away talking.
"I can't believe Harry filed a divorce," Luna said placing her hand over her mouth in surprise. "Believe it" Ron growled. "I went to talk to him this morning and he refuses to listen to reason"
"Ashlynn is going to be devastated. I still can't believe Draco is her father. Poor girl." Luna sobbed. Draco stiffened trying to keep from turning the corner and ripping her head off.
How dare she insult him? He might have not been there from the beginning but he intended to be a good father to his daughter. She was a Malfoy; there was nothing poor about her.
"Harry is her father. I don't give a damn what any bloodline says" Ron spat "Harry is going to wise up and when he does, he and Hermione will get back together and we will do everything possible to keep Ashlynn away from Ferret boy"
Luna wiped her eyes "I need to see her. She must feel so alone"
Ron softly hugged his wife "I know you do. I hate seeing her like this too. And I really hate her staying in Hogsmeade"
Draco's eyes narrowed. The prat had her living in Hogsmeade! That was not about to continue. Over his dead body would his daughter or his love spend another night in that disgusting excuse of a shelter.
Turning around he went back the way he came from. Not trusting himself enough to cross path with Ron and Luna. He was going to get them the hell out of Hogsmeade. Hermione would most likely fight him but if she were smart enough she would know he didn't give up very easily.
When Hermione saw the inn she frowned. She wanted so badly to be back at her flat with Harry. She forced herself not to cry. Looking down at Ashlynn she tried to smile. She didn't want the girl to see her like this.
Emotional and heartbroken, barely holding her self together. She was going to have to make a practice of life without Harry and getting up each day. It was a job she didn't enjoy, a job she didn't look forward to.
Her spine stiffened when she opened the door and saw Draco standing in the middle of the front room. Seeing how his shoulders were squared, his arms folded across his chest, Hermione could tell he was ready for a confrontation.
Her stomach tightened with dark anxiety. She didn't need another argument with him, not now.
Steeling herself against his anger, she pushed her way inside. "I don't want to fight, Draco." Was her greeting "Not in front of Ashlynn"
His gaze was cold as obsidian.
"Mr. Malfoy!" Ashlynn's high-pitched voice called from next to her mother.
Draco felt his heart sore, so quickly did he turn his head and look at his daughter. How happy he was to see her. To hear her voice. He hadn't seen her since the toy store. He was missing her something fierce.
"Hi Ashlynn" Draco said.
"Did you bring my daddy with you?" the smile on her face as she looked around the room was bright as sunshine.
Hermione had to make a conscious effort to keep her jaw from actually dropping open. Her brow creased with worry as she focused her querying eyes on Draco. What was he going to tell her? Her gaze silently asked.
But all she got from him was that dark stony stare.
"Ashlynn, you were saying you were thirsty. Why don't you go see Tom and get some chocolate milk?" She said without taking her eyes from Draco's face.
"Okay mummy. I'll get you a chocolate milk too Mr.Malfoy. You like it now" she said putting a doll on the table before crossing the room to Tom.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed once Ashlynn was out of earshot. "I was wondering the same thing. Can we sit and talk calmly please?" he said.
Without another word, Hermione walked to the nearest table and knew, from the sound of his footfalls, that Draco followed her. Pulling out a stool she sat down and placed her purse on the table.
He began talking at her before she even had a chance to face him.
"I'm not certain that having Ashlynn stay here is the right thing," he began. "And I will admit that I'm scared out of my wits that it's absolutely wrong for her. And you!"
"It's not Draco, believe me.. Harry and I will see she is safe, besides you hardly know what is best for her". She didn't dare worry. She knew Ashlynn would be okay as long as she was.
His cold glare cut her off. And if it hadn't, the anger she read in his tense jaw would have.
That's your fault you know. The thought smacked her so unexpectedly that she was overtaken by a strong sense of guilt before she could even think.
It was the very reason Draco felt forced into doing what he did. She was why he had Ginny help him to spend time with Ashlynn when she seriously felt it was wrong for her daughter.
She should have never tried to talk to him that day alone. Should she have just told Harry that night like she first thought? If she had, her life would be so much simpler now.
If she had, she wouldn't have built this wall between herself and her wonderful husband whom she had come to love so much.
"I'm sorry for that" she sighed softly "But Harry" he cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"I don't care to talk about Potter," he stated. "All I do want to do is tell you what I expect from you." She inhaled sharply at the harsh tone of his voice.
"Expect from me," she gasped. When he didn't answer she silently searched his gaze. And the severe glint in his cold gray eyes left her feeling empty and deprived.
"You will not live here alone with my daughter" The statement was flat, nearly toneless. "I want you to find someplace else to stay. Preferably the manor"
"The manor" she shook her head slowly "That's not about to happen. I will not move into the manor. I will find a home for us as soon as possible. Ashlynn doesn't understand what is going on and I don't think staying at the manor is a good idea," she told him flatly. "You know Draco" she began carefully "I appreciate all you're doing here. But I'll decide where I'm going to live."
He stared back at her, reining in his impulse to snarl with displeasure. Didn't she understand that everything he was doing was for her? For her own good? For the good of their daughter? Well yelling at her wasn't going to change anything. In fact, it would probably make matters worse.
But she was alone and vulnerable and that was a good enough reason for him to be forceful. No way would he allow these two precious girls come to any harm. They would be safe at the manor and safe with him.
"Then you'd better change your mind and fast" his tone brooked no arguments. "My daughter will not be staying here. Or you. Hermione I won't take no as your answer"
Inhaling slowly, Hermione fought back the irritation sparked by his words. This was his daughter he was talking about, she reminded herself. In reality he had every right to make any kind of decision he wanted.
But what about Harry? What happens when he realizes his mistake? She said to herself Face the truth, Harry doesn't love you. He filed for divorce.
She was right. In a perfect world Harry would come for her. He would wrap her in his arms and declare his undying love for her. But this wasn't a perfect world and Harry wasn't coming.
Truth be told she was deathly afraid of staying here and while she didn't warm kindly to Malfoy Manor. It was a place to stay for now. But only till she found a place of her own.
"Okay" The word came out in a near whisper "But only till I find a place of my own. And no funny business"
Draco nodded "Fair enough" he said just as Ashlynn walked over carrying two glasses of chocolate milk. Her tongue clench between her teeth in concentration as she tried not to spill them.
"Here Mr.Malfoy. I had to drink some so it wouldn't spill" she said innocently and he chuckled "What a clever witch" he said and winked at her.
Ashlynn smiled and drank her milk, watching Draco as he sipped his.
"Hey sweet pea. How would you like to go to Mr. Malfoy's house?" Hermione asked trying her best to sound happy.
Staring at Draco with wide eyes she gasped, "You told the secret?" she said scared.
Draco looked over at Hermione before answering "Everything is fine. Your mummy and I decided it would be better for you at my house"
"Is my daddy coming too?" she asked hopeful. Seeing Draco's fight to say something nasty Hermione grabbed her daughter's hand.
"Ashlynn, daddy has some things to sort through okay. So it will just be us for now, okay"
"Okay" she said before grabbing her chocolate milk again.
Draco stood up and Hermione followed "I must say something first" she said looking at him. "I know you have been seeing Ginny and I just want to say under no circumstances are you two allowed to take my daughter outside of that house"
Draco nodded "For now I will agree to that but as for Ginny I really think I should…"
"You and Ginny are none of my business," she told him quickly. Again, Draco nodded.
"I'll give you a few hours to get your stuff together and then I'll come collect you two," he said. "I'll see you shortly"
They stood within a couple of feet from each other, but they might as well have been miles apart, so cold and empty was the space between them, Draco experiencing a mind numbing void and Hermione obviously feeling forced to do this thing against her will.
Silently, he turned to leave. He opened the door and fixed his eyes on her. She knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth.
Unable to look at him, she focused her gaze at the spot where his hand clenched the doorknob. "And one more thing," he said to her.
Hermione's gut wrenched tight with a dark, nervous apprehension.
"If Potter should show up, making problems…" his voice evinced every ounce of the pent up emotion churning inside him "I'll kill him personally"
He walked out then, leaving her all alone behind the closed door wondering what she just agreed to.
Harry sat down sipping his firewhisky glancing around at the mess his house was in. He had only been home for five minutes before he managed to destroy his whole house in a fit of rage.
He wanted her home. His heart ached for her and his daughter. Angrily he chugged the bottle. Feeling the hot liquor burn his throat and travel down to numb the pain in his gut.
This was why he was so against love. It could kill a man and he was proof of that. He made the catastrophic mistake of falling in love with her and just as she allowed him to taste her. Allowed him to hope for a real marriage. She was ripped away from him.
It wasn't fair. Wasn't he the one who stood by her all those years at Hogwarts? Didn't he help her in her time of need, when it mattered the most?
Didn't she know he loved her?
No she didn't he thought to himself. You were too afraid to tell her.
"And a lot of good it would have done anyway" he said aloud. Harry continued to drink his bottle smirking at the disarray of his flat. The hell with love he wanted to say.
Sighing he threw the bottle against the wall. Leaning his head back he closed his eyes hoping he would fall asleep and never wake up.
"Draco why are you doing this?" she asked
"We're here," Draco said instead of answering her question. He pulled the car up a driveway to stop in front of a house that had obviously belonged to someone quite wealthy.
"Malfoy Manor" he said, squinting as he looked through the windshield at it. She leaned forward to look at it too. The place looked huge, three stories tall, with gables and a round tower, To Hermione it looked like a fairytale house, with windows for princess to lean out of and dark corners for villains to hide in.
During their relationship she had never been to his house. Being during the war, many had secret places in hiding. Her and Draco had lived in a house left by his great uncle.
She looked at the house in alarm and swallowed hard. Was this really a good idea?
She was stalling for time and he made an impatient gesture.
"Come on, Hermione" he said, sliding out of the driver's seat and coming around to help her out. "Keep it kind of quiet, though. Ashlynn's asleep."
Leading her across the lawn as he held a sleeping Ashlynn he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Looking down at his sleeping daughter he realized he was.
Hermione came to a dead stop, horrified, as the magnitude of it all rose up in front of her. "I can't go in there" He frowned at her "Why not?"
"Because… What will everyone think?"
Draco groaned, "To hell with what they think," She still didn't move and he added, "Look, where else are you going to go?"
Well, that was it, wasn't it? She had no choice. How the heck had she let this happen? He was right. She looked at him, feeling frustrated and a bit angry.
She hated being in this position. But she knew she was going to have to give in to the inevitable. Unless she wanted to go back to Hogsmeade.
"Listen, don't worry about it," he said, still trying to convince her "I've got plenty of rooms"
Hermione blinked. "There will be a room just for me?" she asked incredulously.
"Sure" he said rolling his eyes
Touching his arm, she looked up at him searchingly. "So let me get this straight. You're not trying to smuggle me into your bedroom?
He opened his mouth to say something, closed it again, and then groaned. "Hermione, I'm interested in one thing. Making sure my daughter is safe. Got that?"
"My daughter is fine." She said knowing the words sounded defensive. "Good" he said, "Let's keep it that way"
She stood there frowning at him. The harsh light from the porch contorted his handsome face, but his determination was clear. This was more than just Ashlynn.
She didn't get it and because she didn't get it, she was suspicious. What was his angle anyway?
"You understand that I love Harry and I plan on fixing this," she reminded him.
A flash of something that looked close to pain came and went across his face so quickly, she wasn't sure if she'd imagined it.
"So you say," he said. Hermione shook her head, trying to puzzle him out and failing at it. "Why does that bother you so much?"
"Who said it bothered me? He started to turn away, then slowly turned back as though he'd thought better of it. "It's just that…well, I want to make sure you think this through I guess."
She fought back a wave of weariness. Did he really think she didn't think this through? Losing Harry had been the hardest, most heart-breaking dilemma she'd ever faced. How could it be anything else?
"Believe me, I've done a lot of thinking about it and it's what I'm going to do" she explained.
"A lot of people don't. A lot of people just let things happen without looking ahead to the consequences." He stared at her as though he expected her to take his words to heart and maybe do something else as a result. "And later they regret it"
She was tempted to resent his words but she had a sudden insight that changed her attitude. He was regretting something himself, she could tell. It was written all over him.
She couldn't ask him what it was. They just didn't know each other that way anymore. But she could ask him to explain something else she'd been wondering about.
"Draco" she said, studying his face. "What made you come over and insist I stay at your place the way you did? Were you planning to get me to leave with you even if I said no?"
"Sure," he said candidly, his eyes dark as night in the midnight shadows. "I couldn't sleep thinking about you and my daughter staying in that hellhole"
She drew herself up the steps "So you came over to manage my life for me?" she growled
Exasperation filled his face.
"Hermione, you can go ahead and be outraged if you want to. I don't care. I only did what I had to do. Curse me."
"I just might," she muttered, coming behind him, clutching her robe in close. It was a weak threat at best. And she really wasn't outraged, or even angry. She didn't have the heart.
In fact deep inside, she felt a warm sense of relief in having someone to lean on, even if for a very short period of time. Being without Harry was the pits. And now, for better or for worse, she had a friend. Even if it was Draco.
They moved queerly through the darkened house and up the wide stairway careful not to wake Ashlynn. Draco led her down a long hallway, then stopped and pushed open a door.
"Here we go" he held the door open and she looked inside. The room was small but nicely furnished with a dresser sporting a huge mirror, an elegant desk with a chair and a storybook bed with a fluffy canopy.
"Oh," she said wowed. This was too nice. "Are you sure this isn't somebody's room?"
"It's yours for the time being" he said. "But you're going to have to share the bathroom." He gestured toward it.
She wasn't even listening. She was still turning slowly, enchanted by the room. The curtains and the bedspread matched the canopy.
He frowned, watching her pleasure in the room and not sure why it disturbed him. But it did.
But then, a lot about her disturbed him. Like the way her body had felt against him when they walked to the house. The feel of her haunted him. Something about it didn't fit right.
"I surely don't deserve this," she said as he laid Ashlynn down on the bed.
"What does deserving have to do with anything?" he said gruffly. "This is what's available. That's all"
"That's all" she repeated turning and ending up right in front of him. "This is so great. Thank you, Draco!" And seized with impulsive gratitude, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
Startled, he turned toward her. They jostled. Her body was there again, this time she felt soft and firm. Sending his senses out the window.
Then his mouth found her lips and he realized it was pointless to fight the inevitable. He was going to kiss her.
There was no doubt he'd been thinking about her for a while. He couldn't get her off his mind. She'd filled every thought he'd had since the day she walked out.
She'd been the reason he'd sprawled on his bed and stared at the ceiling for two hours before he finally decided to get up and get her. But he thought he was thinking clearly when he was with her. But a vision of a certain red head came to mind.
Or maybe not. It seemed there was something else going on, some dark, urgent undercurrent he'd been trying to ignore. But it was there. And now he knew.
The taste of her soft mouth as it yielded to his, the feel of her high, firm breasts against his chest, the fresh scent of her skin, was all so good, so intoxicating and arousing.
Oh, hell. God he missed her. The last two years felt like they never happened. What was he, crazy?
He pulled back at the same time she did, but if his reaction was regret, hers was outrage.
"Omigod, I should have known better!" Hands balled into fists and her eyebrows knit together in anger, she looked ready to hit him.
"I'm getting out of here," she hissed. "No,no" he said grabbing her by the shoulder and forcing her to look at his face. "Look Hermione, I don't know how that happened. That just got away from me. Really it's late and I'm tired and…"
He shrugged, knowing his excuses were lame ones. "That's the sort of thing I didn't want to happen," he said.
Liar his mind screamed.
After she calmed down a bit, he felt secure in releasing her shoulders. And when he did, she stood still instead of bolting.
"You'll be safe. You can stay here. Look there's a lock on the inside of the door. You can charm yourself in and never come out. I won't be able to get to you," he told her trying to reassure.
"You swear?" She searched his eyes uncertainly. "Because I didn't come here with you for this"
Draco groaned, "I know that. I didn't mean to do it. You're just too damn appealing. It was a natural reaction" Well here he was in a hole and he just couldn't stop digging, could he?
"Look, I didn't grab you. You grabbed me. And I couldn't resist quickly enough. Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh, so now you're saying I threw myself at you?"
He hesitated, trying to evaluate just how much she was angry "Yeah. More or less" he said teasing her.
"Out!" she pointed the way to the door, only now her fury was pretty obvious. He looked down at her and shook his head, half laughing.
"Okay Hermione I think you've got everything you're going to need. I'll see you in the morning"
"If I'm still here" she spat
"Right" he sighed. At the door he stopped and turned back. She stood looking at him. He wanted to go back and gather her up in his arms and cradle her through the night.
Wincing he pushed back the impulse, but he couldn't stop staring at her, wondering where this need to nurture had come from. Had it been a mistake to bring her here? No doubt.
Too late for second thoughts. She was here and he was afraid he'd changed his destiny because of it.
"Sleep tight" he said "You too," she said so softly it was almost a whisper.
But it was the look in her eyes that he carried away with him.
Draco had to smile as he went on toward his own bedroom down the hall. It was funny but he almost resented that he had wanted Hermione. He wasn't quite ready for that.
She was a treasure, something he'd found that he wanted all to himself for now. Or maybe it was just that he didn't want to have to explain to everyone just exactly what it was that he was doing with her. Why he wanted her in his house, why he couldn't stand to have her in that awful place she was living.
Because he wasn't too sure of that himself.
Well chapter 14 is here and I hoped you liked it. Do your thing and review responsibly….