Disclaimer: See chapter 01 for full disclaimer.

Millions of thanks to my betas Jade, Alice and Joel! And to everybody patiently waiting for this instalment. I hope you enjoy it. And to Celly M.: Happy Birthday!

Chap. 39 – THE HOURS

The relentless 'tick tick tick' of the clock on his office wall was driving Draco crazy. He tapped his foot impatiently on the floor and pretended to be reviewing some paperwork that had been on his desk for weeks now. His Head-Chief, Jonah, was keeping a strict watch on him, and kept showing his face every five minutes to check on Draco's supposed progress. But since Draco wasn't really doing anything, and hardly pretending to be otherwise, Hermione took pity on him and grabbed a few of his reports. She then wrote them up herself, handing them to the Chief as if they were proof of Draco's hard work.

Draco felt a little ashamed of himself for allowing her to do this for him, but deep down he thought it was well deserved for all the unnecessary grief she had put him through until then.

Even so, he did feel bad about it. He should be doing his work properly instead of relying on Hermione's friendship and good will.

The biggest problem was that he just couldn't concentrate on anything. He had been like that all week. He just missed Harry's company too much.

Only one week had passed since their separation, but for Draco it felt like it had been months. When he was finally able to have Harry all to himself and even make Harry confess his feelings for him, destiny tore them apart. Draco couldn't believe his bad luck. But he understood that Harry had to go on his self-discovery journey without him. It was hard for Draco to accept the fact that he had had to be left behind, but there was nothing he could do.

He couldn't wait to leave work and go home. Although his apartment now seemed lonely and barren, it was a place where he could wait for news from Harry.

So far, though, not one letter had arrived. The only one writing him was Severus, but all his godfather knew was that Sirius and Harry had arrived safely in Tibet. Severus didn't seem very pleased himself with the lack of news from Sirius. And neither did Draco. To think that Harry hadn't bothered to contact him and tell him that he was ok hurt Draco deeply.

His insecurities were back in full force again. He feared that Harry would return completely healed and determined to end their relationship; after all he wouldn't need Draco anymore. Or worse. Harry might not come back at all. Both alternatives were making Draco quite anxious. So far he had been able to hold himself in check and not panic. But it was hard on him. It was painful to show up to work every day and pretend he was fine when he wasn't.

Draco was shaken up by a lot of things. Harry was at the top of his list, but he wasn't the only one bothering Draco. There was also Lucius and Narcissa to increase his stress to dangerous levels. His mother had been sending him letters again. His father's hearing was getting nearer and Narcissa seemed to think that Draco had to perform the family duty and turn up to help Lucius get his freedom back.

A few threats had started to arrive by owl post as well. Some of them were from Harry's enraged fans, disappointed with their hero for dating a Malfoy. They all accused Draco of putting a spell on Harry.

Other letters were more worrisome. Some came embedded with dangerous curses. Others brought random words of hate against homosexuals in general.

But there was one in particular that disturbed him the most. A person claiming to be 'The Avenger' had only written two lines so far: 'I know you saved him. You'll pay.' Those words had been enough to make Draco feel chills down his spine. Attached to the threatening letter was the picture of Draco kissing Harry in the Hospital Wing.

"Draco?" Hermione called.

"Yes?" answered Draco distractedly.

Hermione sighed. "Why don't you just go home? I'll cover for you. I'll tell them you weren't feeling very well."

Draco sneered. "Wouldn't our dear Head-Chief love to hear that? He's just waiting for an opportunity to get me sacked, Hermione. I won't give him the satisfaction."

"Oh, you won't be sacked. Boss loves you. Boss is our chief, not Jonah. Jonah is just an idiot who thinks that he's better than all of us."

Draco was surprised to hear that. It was the first time he had heard Hermione criticize Jonah so openly.

"And Jonah is Boss' chief. So we are all doomed…" Draco muttered dejectedly. "I can't leave now… but I'm optimistic. The hours seem to be passing by quickly, right?" Draco looked at his watch and cursed under his breath. "Only 2 p.m.? What the hell is wrong with this damn thing?"

Hermione smiled sympathetically. "Are you sure you don't want to play sick? You should make good use of my help while you can. I might not always be around to help out… You can trust me, you know? I won't let you down," she finished with a sneer.

Draco sneered right back at her. He had caught the sarcasm in her voice. He knew she was still angry with him for not letting her know his and Harry's whereabouts during the previous week. But shock had overcome her anger after finding out about Sirius, Harry and the trip to Tibet.

They were on good terms now, especially after Draco told her everything that had happened. She had been thrilled to know that she had been right all along about their love for each other, and kept repeating 'I told you so' non-stop. But she was still feeling hurt for being left out, so she took every opportunity she could to voice her anger about the matter.

"Hermione, will you ever let it go?"

"Of course not! You and Harry left without telling us anything! We were worried sick about you two! I actually set up a team of Aurors to go looking for you. Jonah wasn't exactly thrilled with me when he saw you coming through the door on Monday as if nothing had happened to you! I managed to convince him that something horrible had happened."

"I'm sorry for being unharmed," said Draco with a sneer. Hermione stuck out her tongue at him. "It was a sudden decision. We received news from Severus, then took the train and left… Besides, we didn't want to let anybody know where we were going. Not with the wizarding newspapers and magazines all over us."

"But I'm your friend! Your partner! And Harry's best friend!" she stated. "And there's also the fact that Harry didn't tell me anything about having nightmares about Voldemort!" she exclaimed, upset.

"Shush! Would you keep your voice down?" Draco complained. "We don't need people knowing this! It's enough that they are already suspicious of Harry for dating me. Can you imagine what the Daily Prophet would do with the information that Harry thinks he's being possessed by Voldemort?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry… But I just can't understand why he didn't tell me anything. Or Ron for that matter. We could have helped him! And you!"

"And because he told me you are feeling jealous," Draco stated with a smile.

She made a face. "I suppose I am… I just don't get it. Why did he tell you? I know your love for each other is growing and everything… but this isn't like Harry. I can't help feeling that you are still hiding something from me."

Although Draco felt offended by her statement, he couldn't help but admire her sharp intuition. She was right. Harry wouldn't have told him anything if Draco hadn't confessed to be the one responsible for Harry's awakening from his catatonic state. Draco was indeed hiding things from her, but that was for her own safety. Draco still didn't know whom he was dealing with. He needed to know his enemy first.

"Of course I'm not hiding things from you! Don't be silly," he lied. "Look… I think I'll be off now. Could you tell Boss I wasn't feeling ok and…" He stood up and began to put some papers into his briefcase, but he stopped when Hermione's dry voice cut across him.

"SIT!" she ordered.

Draco obeyed her immediately. Hermione got really scary when she was bossing him around with that commanding tone of hers.

"What are you not telling me?" she asked.

"Hermione…"

"Draco…" she said firmly.

"I can't… It's just..."

She crossed her arms. "Is this about that kiss in St. Mungo's?"

He sighed. "What if it is?"

Her sharp eyes pierced through him as if they were making a hole in his head.

"On the outset I thought it was just a romantic image. Then I started to think… You panicked when you saw that photo. Why? Of course it was a shock to see that printed. But you wouldn't mind that much unless you were hiding something. And then I realised how naïve I've been at the time, thinking that your presence on the same day that Harry woke up was just a coincidence. There was no coincidence, was there?" she asked bluntly.

Draco got up from his desk and came to stand next to her. He then bent down and whispered in her ear, "There was no coincidence. Harry woke up because of me."

She almost jumped from her seat. "I knew it! Tell me everything. Leave nothing out!"

He sighed, defeated. "Ok… But not here. Let's go somewhere else."

--------------------------------------------------

They sat in a muggle café a few blocks away from the Ministry. The place was chosen since it was quite deserted. Draco took a sip from his coffee and after that he rested the cup on the table. He played with the sugar bowl for a while before Hermione called his attention.

"Spill it," she ordered.

And Draco did. He began his story with the rumours that Harry had been trapped in an endless nightmare thanks to Voldemort's curse; how Dumbledore and Snape had come up with a counter-curse in the form of a potion and how Draco had been chosen to make sure that Harry drank it.

Throughout the whole explanation, Hermione felt a variety of emotions. She felt horrified and shocked. She felt betrayed once again for being left out of something so important concerning her best friend. But in the end, even though she was hurt, she understood why they had had to be so secretive about it all.

Instead of sulking about the matter, her mind began to work on the immediate problems. Since Harry was already trying to find out if he was really cured or cursed, she focused on Draco. Someone had seen him in St. Mungo's and even had a photograph to prove it. The next step was to find out who this person was and if they knew about Draco's mission that day. Draco didn't tell her that the threatening note he received pretty much confirmed that someone knew he had saved Harry.

"You can't stay in your apartment anymore," she said after a few seconds.

Draco made a face. "Of course I can."

"No, you can't. You have no protection whatsoever around you apartment. No wards to shield you in case of an attack. Your apartment is too exposed, not to mention that you live in a Muggle building. I know you can take care of yourself pretty well, but think about the people around you."

She was absolutely right. Draco hadn't thought about the Muggles. It was too risky to remain in his apartment, especially since he was already receiving threats. He didn't want to move out, though. His apartment was his home. He loved the place.

He was confident enough that he could do a good job casting protection spells all around the building so no one would be harmed in case of an attack.

There was also the fact that the remaining Death Eaters didn't have a leader anymore. They wouldn't dare to break into a Muggle building and hurt the people who lived there. They wouldn't have the nerve to mess with an Auror like Draco, who was very well known throughout the wizarding world and was very good at his job – hence why Jonah had a problem firing him. Most importantly, they knew better than to raise the Aurors' anger just for a personal vendetta.

The only one capable of doing something evil was Lucius. And while his father remained in prison, Draco didn't have anything to worry about.

"Draco?" Hermione called softly.

"I know what you're saying. I just… I don't think I need to worry about this now."

"Are you sure?" she insisted. "This is serious, Draco. If you think someone might be after you… If you think that picture was a warning of some kind…"

"I don't know what that picture means," he said. He was lying, and Hermione probably knew that. He avoided looking at her while he went on, "I think I won't be in trouble as long as my father doesn't get out of prison."

She opened her eyes widely. "Your father? Do you think your father has something to do with that picture?"

Draco looked down and she got angry with him. "Draco! You're still hiding things from me! What is it? Who do you think that photographed you that day?"

"I have no bloody idea!" he snapped. "And I don't care either."

Hermione hardly flinched at his rudeness. Instead, she kept her head high and her tone of voice strong. "I know you're afraid of Lucius. And I know he is responsible for almost destroying you in the past. So Draco... you don't have to hide things from me. I can help you. You don't need to go through this alone."

"What makes you so sure I'm in danger?" he asked. He was touched by her words, but at the same time he couldn't help but to feel irritated. It was probably the guilt talking, because there was a threat and he was pretending otherwise.

"Because I know you. You're afraid of something, and I think this something is related to that picture."

Draco sighed. "I appreciate your concern and friendship. But I'll be all right."

"You sound just like Harry… You both think you can solve things on your own," she declared sadly. "I really hope you know what you're doing… But you need to learn how to trust me…"

"I do trust you!" he exclaimed.

"Not really, Draco. You still keep a lot of things to yourself. You're a very reserved person. I respect that. But just remember that you do have friends now. Real ones, not Crabbe and Goyle. And if you need me, I'm here for you," she said in her mother-hen way.

Draco smiled. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Hermione sighed deeply. "You should go back to Harry's house at least."

"Harry's place is as safe as my apartment… Besides, that place is too big for one person. And I would keep seeing Harry at every corner and every room…"

"Still…"

Draco took her hand in his and squeezed it. "I'm a big boy. I'll be fine."

"I can't help but worry. Because if whoever took that picture knew your true intentions back then and never did anything to you... It's a hell of a long time to think up a proper revenge, Draco. Only now the picture is published, and almost as a warning for you. Why now? I have a bad feeling about this... So just promise me you'll take care of yourself, ok?"

"Ok. I promise."

Hermione didn't seem very convinced, but she didn't say anything more. Draco watched her as she made her way back to the Ministry and wondered what she was thinking. He knew Hermione well by now, enough to be sure that her brain was definitely being put to good use.

He didn't know why he found it so hard to confide in her. He couldn't help himself, though. She was right yet again. It was in his nature to solve his own problems.

He paid the bill and left the café. Then he headed for his apartment. His mind was so busy with other things that he didn't even notice a shadow following him.

TBC…

A/N: Please, review!