After the 'incident' (as Hermione had christened it), the week had passed by uneventfully, with both adults keeping civility between them.
Although the 'incident' was never brought up between them, Hermione often replayed the scenario on loop in her mind.
"I hate the person that made you cry Granger."
As soon as the words left Draco's lips he regretted it. If only it were possible to snatch them up and shove them back down his throat, never to be heard again.
In fact, as soon as he left her bedroom, he had retreated to his office, where he proceeded to bang his head against his bookshelf as he chastised himself.
"Tch... Really Draco, what the fuck were you thinking?" And he kept his forehead pressed that bookshelf for a while, pondering on what Hermione thought of his comment.
And what exactly did she think of it?
Well, she thought it to be really strange, especially considering that Draco used to religiously make her cry, back in their Hogwarts days. Despite that, she felt some kind of fuzzy feeling in her chest whenever she thought about it. What could that possibly mean?
Were they in a good place now? Throughout the entire week they had kept the peace in the manor, but knowing Draco that could easily go up in flames and they could go back to biting at each other's throats.
"Kind of you to assist me with the dishes Malfoy." Hermione said one Saturday evening after dinner. Due to Atty's unavailability, Draco and Hermione were left to tidy up after their meal.
Well I never thought I'd co-operate with Malfoy so well! Hermione mused, as both individuals worked in sync, with Draco rinsing while Hermione dried the dishes.
"What? You thought I'd make you do them yourself? How inhumane do you think I am Granger?" Draco said, snorting in amusement.
"I'd like to think that you'd rather be attacked by a Hippogriff then be caught doing menial tasks, Draco." Hermione joked, by which Malfoy replied with a pointed look. "Don't joke about that Granger. That Hippogriff attack really hurt."
Hermione scoffed. "It wouldn't have hurt if you didn't insult the thing. I mean really Malfoy, sometimes you have yourself to blame for the situations you end up in."
But it looked as though Draco hadn't ingested any of the things Hermione said, as he stared at her with a lazy smirk. Setting the plate in her hand down, she stared at him inquisitively. "Umm Draco? Is there something on my face."
"You did it again." He chuckled.
"Did what? Come on, spit it out." She urged.
"You called me 'Draco'."
"And isn't that your name? Or did you get your name changed without my knowledge?" Hermione joked.
"No it is still my name. It's just that I'd prefer it if you called me Draco. I like it." He said, as he rinsed a bowl in the sink filled with lukewarm water.
"You're funny Draco. You've gone bonkers is you think that I'll stop referring to you by your last name because you want me to." Hermione laughed. She watched as his expression grew frigid, before he replied with a simple. "Oh. Right."
That frigidness carried on through the dishwashing session, freezing the conversation and turning it into an icicle that had no hope of ever being thawed out.
"So you're serious about working for Malfoy?" For her Sunday afternoon she visited Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour where she met up with George, and Ron and Luna, who were now publicly flaunting their relationship (It was almost like when Ron was with Lavender, except with less snogging).
Hermione sighed, frustrated with George for bringing up that same question that sparked controversy within her friendship circle.
"Yes." She answered bluntly. She put a spoonful of her double chocolate sundae into her mouth.
'And how exactly is Malfoy treating you Hermione? Is he still bullying you? If he does something out of line , tell me and I'll deal with him." Ron pressed. Hermione sighed. "Guys it's fine, he's been behaving. And don't worry if he's out of line I'll deal with him myself."
"I'm sorry if we seem pushy it's just that we're genuinely concerned. I mean you left a top tier job at the ministry to work for Draco, I mean--" One icy glare was enough to silence Ron, who shovelled spoonfuls of his sundae into his mouth, his face slightly crimson.
"Firstly, that job I had at the ministry wasn't top tier and it definitely wasn't what I was looking for. If you remember SPEW (another icy glare was thrown Ron's way) then you know how passionate about Elfish rights I am. Secondly, what Malfoy is paying me is much more than my former ministry salary, and the funds could help me with reviving SPEW. And thirdly, you needn't be concerned. I'm a grown woman. I'll be fine. Now if you would please, I would like to enjoy this sunny Sunday afternoon because I'm pretty sure this is the last one we have." She ranted.
Ron and George threw each other looks before scraping the discussing entirely. Silence befell the group, only lasting momentarily as Luna's wistful voice rang out.
"Autumn would be a wonderful name for a baby." It had been apparent from the get go that she paid not a knut of attention to the discussion the trio just had. Strangely enough that was the icebreaker for the group.
"Now what makes you say that?" Ron asked.
"Oh I don't know... I just incorporate Autum with warmth and pumpkins and..." She trailed off. Accompanied by that comment was a rather familiar glow that emanated from Luna...
Monday began on a bleak note, as Hermione woke up to a downpour of rain.
"Looks like we'll have to cancel Scorpius' outing for today." Draco said at the dining room table as he sipped on his coffee, his eyes glued to a copy of the prophet. From his peripheral view he noticed Scorpius shooting him a scandalized look. "You can play with your toys or something." Draco said.
Scorpius huffed, before turning towards Hermione who had just began to fold her copy of the Prophet as she finished reading it. His face went to its default setting: beaming and angelic. "You'll play with me during that time, won't you Miss Granger?" He asked innocently.
Hermione smiled at the child. "Of course I will."
With a face as adorable as his, who could say no?
At that moment Atty appeared to clear out the dining room table, her presence like a brick to the head as Hermione remembered her promise to the elf. "Uhm... Draco?"
He lifted his head from the newspaper. "Yes?"
Hermione cleared her throat. "I have to speak to you about something, regarding your elf, Atty." Atty stared up at Hermione with wide, glistening eyes.
Draco clenched his jaw. "Did she do something wrong?" He asked.
"No! No... Actually she's a great help. It's just that we were having a discussion the other day, and she disclosed to me that her family's lifestyle is not as good as hers. So I was wondering-"
"No."
Hermione blinked, as she tried to digest the word that had just left his lips, tried to break the single syllable word into more parts in the hopes that she would be able to grasp what he had just said. "Wha-"
"I said no Granger. Now if you'll excuse me, I have lots of work to attend to." With that, he stood up and left the dining room. Scorpius followed his father's retreating form, his eyes wide and curious. Atty's lips began to tremble, her eyes glistening with tears. Hermione shot the elf an apologetic look before standing up and running after Draco, who had made it as far as the third door on the left of the dining room.
Just as his hand touched the cold brass of the doorknob, Hermione's voice rang out the sound reverberating through the empty corridor. "Malfoy! MALFOY!" The clicking of her heels echoed in his ears as her petite form approached, anger, annoyance and a hint of disappointment evident on her face. He was so invested in watching her approach that he actually didn't notice that she was now standing beside him.
She pried his hand off the doorknob belligerently, her glare boring holes into Draco's face.
The glare coupled with the burning rage that radiated off of her didn't seem to faze him, however. The fire failed to thaw out his icy demeanour and in a brusque tone he said, "I stand by what I said Granger. No."
Just as he was about to turn the doorknob, Hermione grabbed his wrist, halting his movement. "Are you serious? Are you really refusing to help your house elf, the same house elf who has probably been by your side since you were a child-"
"Bold of you to assume that she's work here since my childhood." Draco snapped suddenly.
"But Draco, her family need this." She said, her tone becoming pleading. "Come on, please help her."
Wordlessly, Draco ripped his wrist from her grasp. Silence reigned, the only sound coherent was the gentle beating of the beads of rain against the windows. Then the silence was broken by a scoff from Hermione. "You know what, I should've known you'd say no. And I thought you changed." He once again heard the clicking of her heels, the sound growing fainter and fainter the further she went until it couldn't be heard again.
Draco huffed, as he opened the door and entered the room.
Sorry Granger, but I don't want you to think that I'm soft.
Author's Note
I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry for the late update I swear I'm not usually this tardy.
Today's Hermione's Birthday! Wippee!! (I may or may not have only updated today because of that)
Anyway, toodles! Love ya!
