The Apple of My Eye
Summary: Diego is Hermione's son. He doesn't have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son's new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.
Disclaimer: It's surprising I know, but I don't own anything.
Chapter 6: Lost and Confused
Draco sat back in his chair and sighed contentedly. Last night had been great. He chuckled to himself as he remembered how things had unfolded.
At six-thirty, Draco arrived at Summer's house. "Draco!" she wailed. "You were supposed to be here at six!"
"Yeah, well I'm here now," he said, already taking out his wand to apparate away. "You coming or not?"
Summer pouted at him. "But I'm not ready yet." And she went back into her bedroom to put the finishing touches on her makeup.
Draco rolled his eyes. If she wasn't ready yet, then why the hell was she complaining that he was late?
Half an hour later, Summer deemed herself ready and they apparated to her parent's house together. As soon as their feet touched the ground Draco had walked briskly away from Summer, leaving her confused as she wondered whether to follow him, or start gossiping with her friends. Upon seeing that Draco was already talking to some elderly men she decided it was in her best interest to socialize with her friends, who were currently smiling expectantly at her.
After chit chatting about business and the like, Draco wandered over to his childhood friend Blaise Zabini.
"Draco! How's it going, man?" Blaise rose out of his chair upon seeing Draco's arrival.
"Yeah, not bad. Gotta get rid of that bimbo tonight. How's Clara?"
"She's fucking awesome. Planning on popping the big question next weekend."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're ready for that step mate? You've got quite the reputation, you know."
"Draco, I developed that reputation in our Hogwarts days. I'm quite proud of it. The only person with a more infamous reputation was you. But, I've been with Clara for almost two years now and I've been faithful the whole time."
Draco coughed.
"Shut up!" Blaise hissed. "That red head forced herself onto me and I was drunk! But I stopped things before they got too far!"
"No you didn't. I had to break the bloody door down and pull the two of you apart."
Blaise blushed. "Well, in my drunken state she looked an awful lot like Clara."
"Uh-huh."
"Okay, whatever. But that was a one off, and quite early in our relationship and that. I really do love her, Draco. I want this to work out and having you spreading rumours about me just won't do."
"Don't worry mate," Draco grinned. "You're secret's safe with me."
Sighing in relief, Blaise scanned the room. "So, I take it that there's trouble in paradise with you and your little sex toy?"
"We were never in paradise."
"Oh."
A silence ensued. Suddenly, a loud shriek came from the other side of the room. Glancing up, the two men saw that the commotion was coming from Summer and her little group of plastic dolls. It appeared that Summer had poured her drink over the head of another girl, ruining her 120 galleon hair-do.
"You bitch!" the girl shrieked.
"Well, you deserved it," Summer huffed.
Howling in outrage, the girl hurled herself at Summer and attempted to muss up her hair.
"Get off! Ouch! Argh!"
The sight was hilarious and soon the whole room was chuckling at the two girls as they attempted to have a catfight.
Feeling highly embarrassed, as it was his girlfriend people were laughing at, Draco went to break them apart.
"Summer!" he barked. "I command you to stop this immediately! You're embarrassing yourself!"
Upon hearing Draco's voice, both girls stopped at once.
"But, Draco," Summer simpered, "she was telling everyone that you were going to dump me at any time!"
Turning to the girl, he asked if this was true. She merely turned beet red and shied away. Sighing, Draco pulled Summer to her feet, conscious that all eyes in the room were on him.
"Tell her it's not true," Summer begged.
"It's time to set the record straight." Dragging Summer along behind him, he moved to the front of the room.
"Can I have your attention please?" he asked unnecessarily. The whole room was already ogling at the pair. "We have all just witnessed one of the most ridiculous arguments of all time. Just to make it clear to everyone, Summer and I are no longer a couple."
The crowd let out a collective gasp. Summer's parents looked outraged. Summer herself dissolved into tears. The girl she had been fighting with look shocked yet pleased with herself.
Walking back to Blaise, Draco grinned. "How was I?" he asked.
"Ahh, mate, you're a classic!" Blaise said, struggling to control his laughter.
"Feel like joining me for a drink somewhere else?"
"Sure."
And together, they had apparated away.
Now, Draco chuckled as he remembered the looks on everyone's face when he had so publicly dumped Summer. It had been hilarious. And the funniest thing was, even though he had humiliated Summer and her family in their very own home in front of so many people, no one would treat him any differently. Sure, Summer would avoid him at every social gathering for the next couple of weeks to nurse her wounds, but soon she would once again be one of the many hundreds of rich girls who wanted him. Even her parents would not stop inviting him to parties and the like. He was too distinguished a figure to ignore.
After leaving the party, he and Blaise had gone to a small but stylish bar and caught up on each other's lives. After a couple of drinks, he had loosened up enough to tell Blaise about Diego. While at first puzzled and confused, Blaise had accepted his story without mockery and while he had no advice, he made it clear that Draco could confide in him at any time.
Now, Draco had nothing to do till 11 o'clock. It was rare for him to have free time during the daytime, so he was satisfied to just idle away his time.
Hermione sat at her desk with her head in her hands. Dan sat opposite her, gazing worriedly at the top of her head. They'd been sitting like that for the past forty-five minutes. Finally, Hermione looked up.
"Dan," she began, "I am so sorry about this."
It was the first thing she'd said to him all morning and Dan felt it was imperative that he not say the wrong thing. But what could he say? "It's okay."
"No it's not!" Hermione protested. "I just wanted you to meet my son and maybe stay for dinner and we were just supposed to have a good time!" On the verge of tears, she buried her face in her hands once again.
Dan wanted nothing more than to go to the other side of the desk and envelope the distraught woman in his arms and tell her that all would be okay. But he didn't know if that would be the right thing to do. He still didn't know how to react to the situation. From Hermione's perspective he supposed that her reaction made sense. But Draco was a good friend of his. He couldn't believe that Draco was misusing a child in the way Hermione accused him.
"Maybe I could talk to Draco?" he asked tentatively.
Hermione's head jerked up. "No! Not a word! I'll find a way to deal with it."
"What do u mean 'deal' with it?" Dan asked suspiciously.
"I don't know."
"Oh…are you okay?"
"That fucking bastard!" Hermione screeched before throwing a paperweight across the room.
Dan stared wide-eyed at the dent in the wall. I guess not then…
Bess stared at the book in front of her. None of the words were going into her head. Her worried thoughts were on Hermione and more importantly, Diego. The poor child had not spoken to his mother at all. What troubled her most was that Hermione was dealing with the situation completely the wrong way. Instead of confronting Draco, Hermione seemed to be channeling her anger towards Diego. And the poor child was sensitive to the fact, but too naïve to recognize that it was misplaced.
She had stayed overnight, scared that something might happen if she were to go home. But nothing had happened. Dan had left shortly afterwards and Hermione went straight to her room without even bothering to talk to her son. Little Diego had stayed in his room, until Bess had made hot chocolate with marshmallows and knocked on his door. Suspecting his mother, he hadn't answered. So terrified was the child of his mother at the time that when Bess had proceeded to open the door, Diego was nowhere to be seen. Only a slight shuffling noise alerted her to the fact that he had hid himself in his chest of toys.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Bess had lifted him out and cuddled him as he sobbed into her blouse. That was how Hermione had seen them half an hour later on her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She paused outside the door and Bess glanced up and saw her. The two of them stared at each other, not knowing what to do. Finally, Hermione had gone back to her room, her thirst forgotten.
Now, Diego was sleeping in his room again. Even though he was only four, he no longer took afternoon naps. However today, all his energy seemed to have drained out of him.
Sighing worriedly, Bess set her book aside. Clasping her hands together, she looked out the window and prayed.
James Whiting beamed at his employees. "As you all know, we have cracked the Warren Darkins case. It was extremely tough and Darkins was extremely elusive. But we have prevailed!"
A cheer rose from the small crowd.
"We all worked together as a fantastic team," he continued. "But, one of our team members deserves special recognition. Please put your hands together for Hermione Granger!"
There was a smattering of applause as Hermione awkwardly walked to the front of the room.
"Using great initiative, Hermione got us the err…object that unlocked the codes to Darkin's documents and allowed many unsolved crimes to be solved. She has already been rewarded with a promotion, but those upstairs feel that this lovely young lady deserves more. It is my pleasure to announce that Ms Granger is being gifted with a holiday for three to a destination of her choice, all expenses paid!"
There was more applause, but Hermione barely noticed. She was lost in her own turbulent thoughts. Feeling slightly irritated at all her colleagues wishing to congratulate her, she quickly excused herself under the guise of having to use the bathroom.
Standing at the sink, she splashed some water onto her face. Get a grip, she told herself. She was feeling restless. She wanted to do something about the situation at hand…but what she didn't know. Should she confront Malfoy? Or shouldn't she?
And what should she do about Diego? She knew that he was a young child and didn't understand what was going on, but she couldn't bring herself to try and comfort him. For some reason, every time she walked to his door, thinking that she would go in and talk to him, an overwhelming sense of hurt, anger, frustration and worst of all, regret washed over her. Regret for what? Regret for many things. Hermione couldn't help but feel that she had let her son down. As a mother, she had failed to protect him from one of the worst leeches of mankind.
Hermione studied her reflection in the mirror. She looked completely normal. But that was only because of the makeup she wore. It wasn't much, but it was surprising how well expensive foundation covered up the dark circles under her eyes. And she supposed that she was naturally lucky in the sense that even after late nights out or studying, her eyes would be looking fresh the next day, unlike most other people who would look ragged and bloodshot. The only telltale sign of Hermione's current plight was her facial expression. Normally an upbeat person, today she had barely smiled at anything. Many people had just passed it off as her being tired, or even overwhelmed at her promotion and prize. Close friends of hers like James Whiting and Harry Potter however, knew something was up. But they were also sensible enough to know that it was futile to question her about it. Hermione would come to them when she was good and ready.
Making up her mind, Hermione decided that she would confront Malfoy. Today. She knew that he was a busy person and there was only a slight chance he would even be in the office, but she had to try. Otherwise she couldn't be at ease. As she stepped out of the women's bathroom, she was surprised to see Dan waiting for her.
"Hey, you were in there for a while."
She flashed him a small smile. "Yeah, had to fix my makeup."
"I see…would you like to go grab some lunch?"
"Um…no, thank you."
Dan looked a little crestfallen. "Look, I don't want things to change between us. Please don't feel awkward about all this…"
Hermione cut him off. "Dan, it's okay. I think I'll just take the rest of the day off and go home to my son."
"Okay. That's fair enough. I hope it's all turns out well. And listen, if I can help in any way…"
"Yes, I know. You'll be the first one I call if there's anything to be done."
It all happened in a blur. In one fluid motion, Hermione gave him a hug. Just as Dan's senses reacted and he was about to put his arms around her, he felt her mouth on his. But just as he was about to respond to that as well, she was gone.
Blinking twice, Dan ran a hand through his hair. Oh boy…
Taking a deep breath, Hermione pushed through the doors of Malfoy Inc. Striding straight up to the receptionist, she demanded to see Malfoy at once.
"I'm sorry," she young girl replied, "I'm afraid that Mr Malfoy is not on the premises at this current time."
"Well when will he be back?"
Quickly looking it up on her enchanted computer, she replied, "He's scheduled to be back in the office in about fifteen minutes."
"Right, I'll just wait for him then."
"I'm afraid that would be a waste of time."
"Oh, and why's that?" Hermione glared at the receptionist.
"Mr Malfoy has an appointment as soon as he gets back, and he will be busy for the rest of the afternoon."
"Now, listen here you little tart," Hermione growled, "I need to see Malfoy! I don't care what the hell it is that he's got himself busy with, but I will talk to him. That bastard that signs your measly little paycheck is ruining my life, so I'm going to go sit over there and wait for him."
The shocked receptionist gaped at Hermione's retreating back. It wasn't the first time a woman had come barging into the building demanding to see the boss. It was no secret that Mr Malfoy was a heartbreaker. But the receptionist knew who this woman was. Almost everyone did. Hermione Granger was the last person likely to succumb to the famous Malfoy charms.
Unsure about what to do, she sat down and continued with her work, watching the troubled woman out of the corner of her eye. Obviously, something was up. But what, she had no idea. She knew that she should call security to take Ms Granger off the premises as she was so unwilling to leave, but she was curious to see what was going to unfold.
After a few minutes, the receptionist was aware of some people walking up the steps to the door from outside. Tensing, she realized it was Mr Malfoy with a reporter. Glancing quickly at Ms Granger, she saw that she had not yet seen him. Suddenly feeling anxious, she subconsciously sunk into her chair, trying to maintain minimal visibility.
"Oh come on now, Mr Malfoy! The public would love to read about your love life," the reporter was saying.
Draco flashed her a charming smile. "I'm sure they would."
"So…you'll tell me then?"
"No."
"Please?"
"You'd probably get more details if you ask my ex."
"Which one?"
"Any of them."
"What about your girlfriend?"
"I don't have one."
There was a gasp. "You're not with Summer Bettany anymore?"
Draco shook his head.
"Since when?"
"Since last night."
"Mr Malfoy, you simply must give me the details!"
"Dorris, I refuse to say anything more about the matter. However, it looks like you are adamant. And since I am so wonderfully brilliant, I have a suggestion."
A smile brightened the reporters face. "Well, let's hear it then."
Seeing that they were almost at his office, Draco said, "Let's go up to my office for some drinks first."
Stepping out of the limousine, they walked up the steps in silence. As soon as they stepped into the building, however, Draco sensed that something was wrong.
Absorbed in her own thoughts, Hermione's head jerked up as she heard the door push open. She stared dazedly as Malfoy and a middle-aged woman walked in. They walked across the floor and they were almost at the elevator when he saw her. It gave her an odd sense of satisfaction as surprise, confusion and irritation rippled across his face for a brief second.
"Granger," he forced a smile, regaining his composure. "What can I do for you today?"
She stood. "Malfoy, I need to talk to you."
"I'm sure my lovely employees would have told you, but I'm booked out today."
"I don't care. I need to talk to you about something very important."
"There's a very long list of people who say the same thing."
"I assure you, I should be at the top of the list."
"Granger, you of all people would know that your assurances do nothing for me."
Hermione became impatient. "Malfoy, just spare me a minute."
"No, I'm busy." And with that, he guided the reporter to the elevator.
"You bastard!" Hermione shrilled, losing all sense of rationality. "Don't turn your back on me again!"
The reporter raised an eyebrow.
"Again?" Draco asked. "When have I turned my back on you before?"
Hermione just glared in response.
Draco sighed. "Look, if it's so important that you tell me something, just say it now."
"It's a private matter, just between the two of us," Hermione said quietly.
"Granger, we have no private matters 'just between the two of us' as you say. We never have and we never will. You know that." Pushing the button for the elevator, Draco sent the reporter an apologetic look.
Taking a few steps forwards, Hermione pleaded with him, "Malfoy, please."
A little startled at her sudden change in tone, Draco looked at her sharply. At the same time, a 'ping' announced the arrival of the elevator. Stepping into it, he said, "Granger, we've barely spoken in the last couple of years and I have no idea why you need to talk to me so urgently. And quite frankly, I don't care. Since you can't even tell me what it's about, all I can is: make an appointment and I'll see if I can get back to you." Pressing the button for the top floor, the door began to close.
"Stay away from Diego!" she shouted in a desperate attempt for him to take her seriously.
Draco's arm shot out to stop the door from closing fully. "You know Diego?" he asked, completely and utterly shocked.
Hermione gave him an odd look. "He's my son."
Stunned beyond belief, Draco stared at her, mouth gaping. The elevator door closed between them slowly.
Once she could no longer see him, Hermione collapsed to her knees. She seemed completely unaware of her surroundings. Suddenly feeling weary and lost, she burst into tears.
The receptionist who had watched the entire exchange with a mixture of interest and fascination, swept Hermione into the ground level staff kitchen, gave her a box of tissues and proceeded to make some tea.
Draco and the confused receptionist rode in the elevator in silence. Once they reached the top level, they stepped out.
This was Draco's second home. In the foyer, he had his own receptionist. Beyond that was the space for his personal assistant. After that was Draco's own office space. It was large, spacious and comfortable with an arrangement of couches and complete with a kitchenette. Today, both his receptionist and PA had the day off. Draco was about to lead the reporter to this area, when he suddenly remembered that he still had the pictures Diego has drawn his on his walls. Quickly, he guided her to the main reception. After what had just occurred, he didn't need even more awkward questions being asked.
It took Draco several moments to realize that the reporter had been trying to talk to him.
"Sorry, could you please repeat that?"
The reporter gave him a look. "I was asking you why Ms Granger was here, and what she was talking about."
This sent Draco back into his own thoughts. He couldn't believe what Granger had said to him. Diego was her son? He didn't know what to think of this. It's impossible, he thought to himself. But then again, it's not, he reasoned. He supposed that it was just as likely that Diego was her son as much as anyone else's. But why her son? Why of all the little children that he could have met, did it have to be her son?
Then another thought struck him. How did she know? He supposed that Diego had told her. But wouldn't she have confronted him a long time ago? After all the two had met a couple of weeks ago. Of course, it was possible that Diego had only mentioned him recently, or something like that.
And what about Bess? How did she play a part in all this?
"Mr Malfoy? Mr Malfoy?"
Shaking his head, he eyed at the reporter wearily. "What was that, Dorris?"
She frowned at him. "I understand that you and Ms Granger aren't the best of friends, but why was she shouting at you and making such a big fuss about you staying away from her son?"
Draco turned to look out his window. Yes Granger, why did you tell me to stay away from Diego? What are you hiding from me?
ZOMGOSH! Finally got this chapter finished!
Guys, am I soooooooooo sorry about the EXTREMELY slow update. I think I've mentioned it in my last couple of reviews, but so many things have been happening and I just had no motivation to write.
I guess I can't really promise anything, but I WILL keep updating. I'm definitely not abandoning either or my fics.
A huge thank you to all you wonder people who reviewed! And an even bigger thanks to all those who took the time to send me emails, or messages enquiring about my fics. I know I didn't respond to all of you, and I'm sorry.
But I finally finished it!
And just reiterating: this IS a Hermione/Draco fic. It'll just take a while.
Love you ALL
A vision of violets
xoxoxo 3
