Disclaimer: Not mine, enough said.
Perfect Mistake
Nine
Running Away
"Mommy," Bee spoke as Hermione carefully trimmed her daughter's nails.
"Yes, love?" Hermione smiled.
"Do you like Mr. Draco?" Bee asked.
Hermione glanced up, a small smile curving her lips. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Of course I like, why else would I bother visiting him?"
"I mean do you like him like you like Daddy?" Bee asked.
Hermione understood what Bee meant. She was asking if Hermione loved Draco the way she was supposed to love Ron, in Bee's eyes.
"No," Hermione said, "I don't like Draco like I like your Daddy." It was the truth after all. She didn't love Draco like she loved Ron; it was two different kind of love completely. She couldn't explain that to Bee though, so she was just going to let this lie.
Bee sighed. "That's just too bad."
"Why is that too bad?" Hermione asked, making a face.
"Because he likes you," Bee said, looking at Hermione with an expression that clearly said you should know.
"Well, I like him too," Hermione said quickly.
Bee huffed. "You do that on purpose, Mommy."
Hermione started to laugh. "What?" she exclaimed. "Bee, you go to bed right now!"
Bee climbed into her bed, grinning naughtily.
"Look, Daddy will be home really soon and I'm going out, so for five minutes you stay here and take care of yourself alright? You can take care of yourself right?" Hermione kissed the side of her daughter's face.
"Yes, Mommy," Bee said. "Where are you going?"
Hermione caught sight of Bee's knowing smile. "None of your business, young lady," she said haughtily, walking out. "Bye, sweetie," she called out as she grabbed her wand and apparated away.
When she pushed the door open to his ward, he was waiting for her, with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
She shut the door softly and smiled at him. "How are you?"
He snorted. "Absolutely amazing," he muttered.
She laughed, planting a kiss on his cheek. He turned his head so that he captured her lips roughly with his, dragging her down onto the bed.
"Draco," she protested, the word lost in the kiss.
Draco found his wand and quickly cast a silencing and locking spell on the door. The wand rolled out of his hand and clattered onto the floor unnoticed as he began to undress her, all the while making love to her with his mouth.
Her breath came in short pants as his fingers grazed her bare skin and his lips moved down to suckle at her neck.
He winced in pain as he tried to move into his usual position above her but was quickly stopped.
"No, you're hurt," she said firmly.
"What?" he groaned. "So we're going to stop here?"
"Nope," she grinned.
"Good," he sighed.
"I'm just going to be on top this time," she whispered, straddling him gracefully, making sure she didn't hurt him.
His eyes were locked onto her face as she bent down to kiss him full on the mouth.
--
"I love you," Hermione said clearly. "See, it's easy."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, easy for you, but not for me…"
"Oh come on!" she laughed, "Three words-" she held up three fingers. "How hard is that?"
"Please? Isn't there another way?" He groaned. "I'll take you shopping? How about that? Let me off."
"Nope," Hermione said smugly. "Say it."
He growled, glaring at her. "You know I don't say that!"
"Now you do," Hermione grinned. "Draco! Repeat after me, I," she said slowly, giggling.
"I," he sighed, rolling his eyes.
She pressed a kiss to his jaw and his eyes fluttered close.
"Love," she rolled the word around her tongue. His lips sealed closed stubbornly.
Grinning, she moved her mouth to cover his and his lips parted instantly. "Love," she repeated, pulling away.
He shook his head and made a move to kiss her again.
"Uh-uh," she shook her head. "Say it."
"Hermione," he snarled. "You are mean and evil."
"Fine," she got to her feet, dusting off her clothes. "In that case, I shall go home."
"Oh come on," he leapt to his feet. "I haven't seen you in three weeks and you're going home? Do you know how long I have been waiting for this?"
"As long as I have," she said loftily, putting on her heels.
"Hermione!" he yelped. "I haven't even had a good snog yet, much less a good-"
She threw him a dirty look. "Language, Draco."
"I know you don't mind," he grinned. "A little dirty talk doesn't hurt."
"Goodbye," she said pointedly, wrenching the door open and walking out.
He stood there, watching as the door swung shut and the click of her heels fading away as she walked away.
"Merlin, I didn't know you were serious!" he growled, pulling his shoes on quickly and racing after her.
"Dammit, where are you?" he said under his breath, looking around, wondering which way she had gone.
"Looking for something?" a smug voice said.
Hermione was standing on the steps, grinning at him.
He rolled his eyes. "Damn you."
"Draco," she said, raising her eyebrows.
Draco scowled at her. "Sometimes I can't stand you."
"Same here," she snorted, crossing her arms.
"You know I didn't mean that," he said quickly, wincing.
She looked away. "How would I know? It's not like you love me right?"
He groaned. "You just have to hear that, don't you? Does it even matter if I say it?"
She grabbed his by the elbow and led him back into his apartment. She pressed him against the wall and kissed him.
"I'll help you along then," she said breathlessly. "A kiss for every time you say it. Does that make it easier?"
He crushed his mouth to hers. "I love you," he said into her mouth and she started to kick off her heels.
He grabbed her by the hips, lifting her up easily to sit on the table.
"I love you too," she said hoarsely.
--
Harry and Ginny exchanged pained looks.
Ron was sitting alone on the sofa, sulking like he had been doing for the entire day.
Harry and Ginny had invited Ron, Hermione and Bee of course, then all the Weasleys (not Percy of course, because they didn't care and he felt the same way) for lunch at their house, hoping to make things better, but so far, Hermione and Bee still hadn't arrived.
Fred and George were tucking into the food while discussing their newest inventions with Bill. Charlie was snogging his newest muse, a girl called Carla, in one corner of the room.
Harry spooned salad onto Ginny's plate. "Stop staring at the door and eat. Hermione will turn up; she promised she would come, remember?"
Ginny sighed and speared a potato. "Harry, I really don't know. It's Ron and then it's Hermione."
"I'm in the same boat here all right? They are both my best friends," he muttered.
Ginny glanced nervously at the door. "I hope she's on her way. I told her twelve, and it's nearly one. Do you think something happened to her?"
"She'll be here soon, maybe something cropped up with Bee last minute. If Hermione's late, she'll have a good reason," Harry said.
There was a knock on the door and Bee's familiar laughter floated through the door.
Ginny leapt out of her chair and threw the door open. "Why are you late?" Ginny demanded, grinning in relief.
"We were at the hospital," Bee said brightly.
Ginny glanced quickly at Hermione's face then at Ron who had stood up to pick Bee up. "I see," Ginny said and then changed the subject. "Guess what?" she said brightly. "I made salad today!"
"Let me try some," Hermione said eagerly. "You've been talking about getting down and really doing some cooking but this is the first time you really kept that promise," she laughed.
"Are you going to take some back to-" Bee started saying loudly then broke off when she remembered that Draco was a secret between her mother and her.
"What did you say, Bee?" Ron asked with his eyes fixed on Hermione, who had frozen mid-bite.
"I meant whether we're going to take some back home," Bee said, trying to correct her slip.
Ron surveyed his daughter carefully, and then stared coldly at his wife.
"Come on, Bee," Hermione said, waving her daughter over. "Try some."
Bee ran over to her mother, missing the cold exchange between her parents.
Hermione clutched Bee to her side protectively, spooning some salad into her daughter's open mouth. Don't you try anything silly, Ron, Bee's my baby. She shivered at the thought of the father Bee had always known running away with her in tow, poisoning Bee's mind with words about Hermione and Draco until Bee learnt to hate them.
She shuddered and breathed deeply to clear her fears. "It'll be okay," she whispered, only to reassure herself.
--
She tried to convince herself that she knew this was coming when she felt a hand grab her elbow.
Her heart pumped with fear. Right now, she didn't know what to expect, from anyone.
Ron stepped in front of her.
Hermione mentally calculated her chances of winning a fight with Ron and winced inwardly when she came up with barely more than zero. Would he hit her? She studied his face- an empty canvas, void of any expression.
"Don't you dare that Bee to that man," he said, his voice low and dangerous. He had never spoken in this way to her before, she thought, trembling. Her wand was lying on the dining table.
She could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Ron, have you been drinking too much?" her voice wavered, trying to move away from him, in the direction of her wand.
"I am not drunk," he hissed. "If I ever see you take Bee to see that man, I will take her away."
"No, you can't," Hermione spat.
"Try me," Ron snarled. "She's our daughter, my daughter," he grounded each word out, hard and brittle.
"Ron," Hermione protested, her mind in a whirl- three more steps and she'd make it to her wand, and then she would be safe. She could beat Ron in a duel anytime, but in a fist fight, she didn't even have a chance.
She took one step, pretending she was backing away in fright. "No, please don't hurt me, Ron," she whimpered.
He looked triumphant at her sign of fear and leaned closer. "Listen to me, I won't hurt you so long as you don't try anything funny. We'll be the same as we always did, is that alright, Hermione?" he asked, his voice lathered with hostility.
"Yes, Ron, Yes, just don't hurt me or Bee, please," she started to cry, squeezing tears out of her eyes. Another step, disguised as a flinch.
All she needed was one more step, she prayed with all her heart he wouldn't see what she was trying to do.
"Ron, we'll be the same," she said shakily. "Okay? I won't take Bee away, we'll be a family."
"Yes," he looked satisfied. "Now go and pour me a cup of water."
She couldn't believe her luck as he went to sit in the living room. How could she have gotten off so easily? She grabbed her wand, went into the kitchen and poured him a glass of water. She whispered a small spell, and a tasteless liquid fell into the glass.
She hoped this would work, or he would be on the receiving on one of her curses or hexes.
"Here," she said meekly, handing him the glass.
He was half-drunk and gulped down the water. "Good girl," he slurred. "Now go to bed," he said. After a second, his faced screwed up and he fell unconscious.
It worked. Hermione took her spell and casted a Petrificus Totalus on him, binding him and snapped his wand in half. Hermione waved her wand, muttering a packing spell, and some of Bee and her essentials packed themselves neatly in a suitcase. She scooped a sleeping Bee into her arms, grabbed her suitcase and apparated away, her pulse racing and her mind blank execpt for one though-
she had to run away.
A/N:
sorry for the late update, but things have been pretty hectic lately and i have been insanely busy. but anyway, i hope this chapter is up to your expectations and if it isn't, please forgive me, because this was written bit by bit amidst my messed up life. (:
please review!
-lissie
