A/N : Mucho thanks to all my reviewers, what better way to come back from holiday to find those waiting on my laptop for me ! Yay! I got wonderfully inspired in Paris and this chapter was written sat on the balcony of my hotel room looking out at the Eiffel Tower – what better place to write! The end section, in the Potions classroom, was written at Charles de Gaulle Airport very early yesterday morning. I would have had this chapter up a lot earlier but isn't letting me edit in the simple mode so I decided to come down here to my Mum's boyfriends where there is wireless and its still not working! Anyway, enjoy the chapter and review like mad, s'il vous plait!
---
"Eh, bien. A quelle date?" Draco walked into Hermione's office to see her facing the fire talking to someone via the Floo Network, in French. Leaning against the doorframe he watched with a slight smile on his face as she conversed fluently in the foreign language.
"Ouais. A le premiere novembre. Au revoir Claude."
"Au revoir Madame Malfoy."
The face in the fire disappeared and Hermione turned back to her desk, flicking through files and making some notes. Draco was about to cough to announce his presence when Hermione spoke to him without looking up from her paperwork. "Afternoon, Draco. We're going to Paris."
"Eh?"
"That's horribly uncouth Draco, I thought your parents brought you up better."
He winced. "Pardon."
"Paris, love. To sign a deal with Hopital Magique. I thought we could make a small holiday of it. What do you think?"
Draco grinned, clearly thinking of Paris' romantic connotations. Hermione caught his eye and she too broke into a sly grin, within seconds Draco had her pinned against the desk, crushing countless pieces of parchment as his lips devoured hers. "Draco…office…not…good…idea." Hermione mumbled against him as he began a path down her neck and collarbone.
Pulling away he sank into Hermione's chair, breathing slightly heavily. He pulled her towards him, hands holding the backs of her bare knees. "How much work do you have left for today?" Draco raised an eyebrow and stroked Hermione's leg with one finger sending shivers up her spine.
"Well…nothing important…I suppose it could wait…" She trailed off as Draco jumped to his feet and, putting an arm around her waist, began to walk towards the door.
"It can wait, we're going home." He kicked her office door shut and locked it with his want. Hermione had an amused smiled on her face throughout this. Clearly Draco needed to get laid, and fast. Hermione loved his blatant honesty about this, it was unashamed and downright sexy; a complete turn on. She smothered a giggle as the receptionist winked knowingly at them and then they were in the hall of their house, Draco tugging his shirt off furiously and pinning her against the wall. Hermione rolled her head back in please; this was better than paperwork any day.
"It was the French." Draco said clearly as he stroked Hermione's wild hair, they were drenched in sweat and had the subtle after glow of a particularly wonderful love making session as they lay entwined in their bed.
---
"Excuse me?"
"The French. I was horny anyway, but then you were speaking French to that guy and it pushed me over the edge. Its so goddamn sexy."
"Ah Draco, chere, tu aime ca?" Hermione's eyes glittered dangerously.
"Oh yeah." He mumbled into her chest.
"Bon. Parce que c'est tout pour la journee." She giggled and jumped out of bed, grabbing her kimono and running away down the stairs meaning the exact opposite of what she had just said, knowing that Draco loved the thrill of the chase.
---
"Have you heard from Mum and Dad lately?" Alex questioned as he and Lissy sat by the lake enjoying the Autumn sunshine. Lissy shivered slightly and pulled her Gryffindor scary tighter round her neck.
"No, but then I haven't written. Have you?"
Alex laughed. "Take a guess. Do you think we should…" He trailed off as they saw a familiar figure walking briskly towards the main entrance of Hogwarts, a long black cloak billowing behind a tall blonde haired man.
"Dad!" They cried out together and jumped up, running towards him, both wondering what their father was doing at their school. "Dad, wait, wait!" Alex bellowed as they got closer, the man turned around and his face broke into a huge grin and they reached him, engulfing him in excited hugs.
"What are you doing here Dad?" Alex questioned as they began walking towards the school once more.
"Well, in her letter Lissy mentioned a Professor Zabini…"
"I thought you said you hadn't been in contact with them?" Alex interrupted, turning to Lissy.
"It was like three weeks ago that I wrote." Lissy waved her brother off. "Go on, Dad."
"Yes well, Lissy wrote and mentioned Zabini."
"I can stand him, he hates us doesn't he Liss?" Alex cut in again and Draco frowned.
"Alex, if you keep interrupting it will be Christmas before I finish what I'm saying."
Alex blushed and hung his head. "Yeah, sorry." He muttered.
"Right. Well, I was good friends with a guy called Zabini when I was younger and I did some research and it turns out the same guy is teaching you Potions. I thought I'd pop in and surprise…"
"Fucking hell, Draco Malfoy is that you?" Blaise's voice rung out across the Entrance Hall which was luckily devoid of any students – the twins aside.
"Blaise!" Draco grinned and hugged his friend. "How's it going?"
"I thought you were dead mate!"
"Yeah well, a lot of people did…" Draco muttered as Alex and Lissy shuffled awkwardly. "Al, Liss, meet me down here at six. I've got permission from McGonagall to take you guys into Hogsmeade for dinner." The twins grinned and ran off, Lissy up the stairs twaords Gryffindor tower, Alex down to the dungeons.
"My office?" Blaise questioned and Draco nodded, following Blaise down the familiar path to the dungeons. "So what happened Draco, where'd you go? Some of us were kind of worried."
Draco raised a questioning eyebrow, doubting that any of his "friends" would have been concerned with anything but their own safety after Voldemort's downfall.
"Okay, fair enough. But certainly it became a concern after you failed to reappear." Blaise responded to Draco's facial expression.
"I disappeared. I had to. I was the fucking son of Voldemort's right hand man; I was the fucking Death Eater who'd brought about Dumbledore's demise. I was a wanted man, Blaise; if I'd stayed I'd be dead or at the very least rotting in Azkaban."
"You've got a point…so why are you back now, walking around like a free man?"
"Well after ten years the fuss had died down a bit hadn't it? We were able to begin negotiations to clear my name, behind closed doors of course."
"We?"
"Oh, Hermione and I."
"Granger?"
"Yeah, but that's another story entirely."
"Okay."
"Anyway, they gathered testimony from various people and came to the conclusion that it was due to my father's influence and later incarceration after Voldemort's initial return that I became a Death Eater. After his death, I was no longer a risk."
"Why wasn't this public?"
"I think the Ministry didn't want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere that had settled after all the trials had finished. And I shoved a bit of gold their way."
"In true Malfoy style." Blaise smirked.
"Indeed. Basically everything's fine and dandy now, except I hear a certain professor's been giving my children a bit of a hard time." Draco winked and cracked his knuckles menacingly.
Blaise chuckled. "You've got to treat Malfoy's carefully."
"Yeah but Alex is convinced you hate them and Lissy's really suspicious of you."
"Maybe I'll ease up on them a bit then but they're so clever and too goddamn cheeky for their own good, I've got to keep an eye on them. Lovely pair though, they've certainly got your talent when it comes to Potions."
Draco smiled. "Fair enough mate, I trust you to make sure they keep out of any real trouble." A look passed between the two men that suggested complete trust and Draco was glad that there was someone to watch over the twins lest any forgotten danger from the past should creep up on them.
---
Blaise watched the twins carefully as they worked in silence on separate potions. Lissy biting her lip as she stirred her perfect concoction, Alex's brow was furrowed in concentration as he studied his textbook. Blaise considered the previous day's discussion with Draco, he got the distinct impression that Draco wasn't telling him everything but then Draco had always kept the truth well hidden beneath the polished Malfoy façade. He couldn't believe that the situation with the Ministry of Magic was as simple as he made it out to be. Blaise remembered the way the Death Eater's were tried after Voldemort's defeat; often the trials were mere formalities as the evidence was overwhelmingly conclusive, each execution or imprisonment had been made public, the Ministry keen to gain support after the dark days. He found it difficult to believe that the Ministry would have given up the chance to make it clear they had won – and Draco's activities had won him notoriety, even if it was for all the wrong reasons.
"Sir, Professor…it's the end of class…" Lissy Malfoy – Granger had one eyebrow raised and was looking at him as if he had grown three heads. Glancing around Blaise saw that the first years had packed up and were hovering hesitantly near the door.
"Yes, alright. Class dismissed." Blaise frowned and watched the twins walk out, they already carried themselves with the imposing Malfoy air. He rubbed his temples and chuckled out how many forgotten memories of the past that Draco's reappearance had thrown up, but most of all Blaise wondered why Draco was free, at what price had he escaped the Dementors?