Disclaimer; I own nothing! Thank you, now on with the story.

A/N Thanks to all of my reviewers, I hope you are enjoying this story. It was a little hard to write, domestic violence is a serious subject but I hope I did the story justice. Happy Reading!

Potter and the favor

Draco stood up and marched right over to the snogging couple.

"Potter." he said through a tight-lipped smile

"Malfoy, what do you want." Ginny glared at him.

"I have to ask you something." Draco started "And I don't know how to do it." he sat down in a chair across from Harry.

"As you can see Malfoy, I am not gay. I am dating Ginny here, so asking me out would be completely pointless." he laughed and Ginny hid her mouth in a snigger.

"Potter that is not what I was going to say." he blushed a deep red. "Have you talked to Granger recently?"

"Hermione? Are you kidding? I haven't talked to her in almost 3 years. Since she got married. She sent Ron and me a letter telling us to stay out of her life. That was the last we heard from her. Why are you asking?" he said with some anger in his voice.

"I ran into her at the outdoor market in London. She looked, well…let me be honest. She looked ok in school, but now, she looks…uh…frail." he was embarrassed. He didn't know how to tell them the way she looked.

"What do you mean frail?" Harry asked somewhat alarmed.

"I don't know how to explain it." Draco admitted. He was figuring out how to tell someone who he had been enemies with for 7 years that he, Draco Malfoy, was concerned about someone else.

"All I know is that I have seen her twice, and both times she looked as if a good strong wind would blow her away. And she had some bruises on her arm."

"Are you sure? Why are you telling me this? Since when are you concerned for Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I don't know Potter. It's not like I planned this all out, if I hadn't seen you here I probably would have just let it go. But here you are, underfoot, just as always."

"Did she say anything to you?" Harry asked, eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"I asked her how she was doing. She said fine. Told me she was married. I asked about the bruises, and she stormed off. That was last week. Today when I saw her, she looked thinner than ever. When I asked her to join me for a cup of coffee, she refused and said she had to have lunch on the table by noon. I told her it was only 9am and she had plenty of time. She turned and left. Something isn't right." he said with some genuine concern.

Ginny piped up just then.

"What do you mean she had to have lunch on the table by noon? Who the hell did she marry Osama Bin Laden?"

'Oooh, the mini-redhead swore.' he thought. He smiled.

"That's what she said. Now normally I couldn't give two shits less about others problems, but I have experience with these things. And I think only a coward would hit a woman."

"Agreed" Harry said. His green eyes gleamed with anger.

"Anyway, I just thought you should know." he stood up to walk away.

"Wait, Malfoy…I don't know my way around muggle London that well. Do you think maybe you could meet me here and we could go looking for her? I would like to see for myself. I know this is a lot to ask since we were never really friends, but I have been worried about her forever."

"Uh, sure Potter. I will pick you up here, next week. 8am sharp. Got it? If you aren't here on time, I'm not waiting." and with that he slunk off.

He thought about his odd conversation with Potter a moment ago. Why had he even mentioned it? Now he had to spend a morning next week with Potty. But, maybe if he could get him to talk to Granger, he could get that load off of his mind. He got into his car and drove home. He went into his room when he got there and fell promptly asleep soon after.

One week later Draco dressed early and sped off towards the Leaky Cauldron. Blasted Potter. The sun was just beginning to peak over the clear sky. He arrived in the dingy alley and saw Potter standing there waiting for him. He honked his horn once and Potter ran over to the car and got in the front seat.

"Do you think you could duck down Potter? I don't want anyone to see you in my car." he smirked at him. Harry looked confused.

"Serious Malfoy?" his eyes widened under those glasses.

"Not really." Draco said.

"Listen Malfoy, I really appreciate you doing this. You don't know how we have worried about her since we got that letter all those years ago." he looked out the side window as the alleyways passed by them in a blur.

"Don't mention it. Really. Don't." Draco said as he shifted into third gear. They arrived in the market about 8:30.

"I usually sit on this bench over here. I'm going to get a coffee want one?" Harry nodded. A minute later Draco returned carrying two cups. He handed one to Harry and they sat there in an awkward silence for the next half an hour. At about 9:15 Draco nudged Harry who was beginning to doze off.

"There" he pointed to the skinny girl in baggy clothes over at the bread stand.

"No," Harry said, "That is not Hermione." Draco nodded.

"It is."

Harry stood up to go talk to her, but Draco pulled him down.

"Not just yet." he said to a flustered Harry. "You will scare her off."

"Are you kidding? This is Hermione, she is one of my closest friends." he broke into a quick jog to her and Draco followed close behind.

"Hermione, Hermione…" Harry yelled, running at break neck speed to catch up with her.

She looked up from the bread in complete horror. She looked around in a panic and saw Harry running at her, arms open. She did not want him to see her like this. She tried to walk away, but he caught up with her in a flash.

"Hermione, didn't you hear me calling you?" he said out of breath.

"No, sorry. Hi." she said meekly.

Harry looked her over. Malfoy had been right. She was extremely thin, and he also noticed she had a bloody lip that was in the process of healing. Her forearms were also bruised slightly. He pulled her into a tight hug that made her wince.

"What happened to you?" he asked her. "We got that letter from you and have not heard from you since." his eyes narrowed on her many bruises. Some yellow and near healing, some deep black and purple, fresh and new. He had a sickening feeling in his stomach.

"I just have moved on Harry. My husband and I like our privacy." she had a sick feeling as well, she hated lying to Harry.

"We miss you 'Mione." he said burrowing his gaze into her caramel eyes.

"Don't you worry about me. I am fine." just then she spied Malfoy lurking about the market. "Is that Malfoy again? I swear he's stalking me."

"He brought me to see you. He was worried about you. Said you looked very thin." Harry told her. Apparently this was the wrong thing to say.

"Worried? About me? Right. He was always cruel to me. What would he have to worry about?"

"I don't know 'Mione. I ran into him at the Leaky Cauldron. He told me about running into you here."

"Oh for the love of Merlin. I have to get home." she picked up her bags and started running towards her car. Harry grabbed her by the arm and turned her around.

"Why so you can get him his lunch by noon?" he asked sarcastically.

"What…how do you…you don't know…" she was flustered.

"Yes I do." Harry said looking her in the eyes.

"I have to go Harry. Nice to see you again." she darted off into the crowd.

Harry walked back over to Draco shaking his head.

"That was not the Hermione I knew. What happened?"

"I think I know Potter, but you are not going to like it." Draco motioned for him to sit down on the bench again.

"I don't know if I even want to hear it." Harry said.

"I think Granger landed herself with a real loser. Do you know her husbands name?"

"Yeah, it's Steven Shanly. We met him at her wedding. Seemed like a nice guy."

"What does he do for a living?" Draco asked.

"He owns a shop in Diagon Alley. I think it is an apothecary." Harry said quickly.

"I think we should go there and have a look at him. What do you say? A temporary truce?" Draco stuck out his hand. Harry took it.

"Sure, lets go." they walked to Draco's car and sped back towards the Leaky Cauldron. Harry sat in numbed silence most of the way there. He finally broke the silence halfway there.

"Why are you doing this Malfoy?"

"If you don't want my help, just say so." he said bitterly. "And my name is Draco. I hate being called Malfoy. Reminds me of my father." he said turning the corner.

"Sorry Draco."

"If you must know, I have had a lot of experience with cowards beating women and kids. Let's just leave it at that." he pulled into a parking space and they entered the dingy pub. Tom smiled at them as they walked through to the back and tapped the appropriate bricks. The doorway opened and they stepped into the bright street full of witches and wizards. They made their way down the street and came to 'The Lone Wizard's apothecary.' and stepped inside. A pungent aroma hit both of their noses as they entered farther inside. A tall wizard stood behind the counter and Harry nudged Draco in the side. When Draco looked at him, he motioned towards the counter. Draco's eyes widened. The man that stood behind it was tall and muscular. He outweighed Harry and Draco by at least 50 lbs. He had a charming smile reminiscent of Gilderoy Lockhart's. His dark eyes sparkled as he chatted happily with a customer. Harry pulled him aside and said;

"That's him." Draco made kind of a gagging noise. Harry's eyes narrowed onto the tall man who was advancing on them. He hoped he didn't recognize him from the wedding.

"Good Morning gentleman, what can I help you with today?" he was overly cheerful.

"Uh, just looking" Draco said in a hurry. The man's happy face left him and he walked away to talk with some other customers.

"What are we going to do?" Harry asked. "He didn't recognize me, should I ask about Hermione?"

"Hell no!" Draco whispered. "Who knows what he would do to her if he realized who you were."

Harry's eyes flickered with anger once again.

"Let's buy something and leave, we can talk somewhere else." Draco said. He picked up a bag of beetle wings and headed for the counter. Draco paid for them and he and Harry walked out the door into the crowded street.

"That guy is huge!" Draco said. Not that he was afraid, more worried for Granger.

"I know. I had forgotten how big he was." Harry swallowed quickly. "What now?"

"I have no idea. We could go to the market again next week. I would say she would change her day that she goes, but my guess is he wouldn't allow that." Draco said as they neared the Leaky Cauldron again.

"Yeah" Harry said. "How about same time next week?"

"Sure." Draco said. He thought about what he was getting himself into. Harry waived him a quick goodbye as Draco got into his car and made the long drive home.

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