A/N — Sorry this is a week late! Nerves about posting it kicked in due to some previous negative comments. Off the back of that, TriDogMom and I worked really hard on adding the Daphne & Hermione scene, to hopefully give a bit more context to the relationships.
The idea of emotional cheating was always going to be the key theme here, thanks to TectonicTigress, I initially wrote this as a cheating story but the idea of emotionally cheating, before anything physical happened interested me far more. I may or may not have done it justice but hey ho, I'm enjoying writing this and I think we're about half way now!
Daphne apparated from her apartment and landed with a well practised ease in the woods near to Hermione's home, now familiar with the surroundings she picked a careful path through the trees towards the concealed entrance of the cave.
Since Draco's birthday dinner just over a week ago, Daphne had managed to convince the boys that they needed a weekend together thus leaving her and Hermione free to get to know each other over dinner. Daphne couldn't help her natural curiosity about the woman who had captured Draco's heart and was seemingly oblivious to it, it was her duty as Draco's friend to make sure he wouldn't get hurt. The situation he found himself in with Hermione was obviously a difficult one, Daphne herself wasn't too sure how she would handle it if she were in Hermione's shoes but, Daphne did know one thing, she wouldn't have let it drag on for this long.
By her estimations, if Hermione was pregnant with Draco's child, she would be around twelve weeks along. Twelve weeks since the night Draco's life had changed. It wasn't a fact she shared with many people, but Draco had come to Daphne that night, after Hermione had asked him to leave and bared his soul to her. It had been heartbreaking, having seen Draco at his worst during sixth year and after he left Azkaban, it physically pained Daphne to see him struggling again.
Draco hadn't come back to her since, but she knew enough from Blaise and Theo to understand that he was trying to look out for Hermione without pressuring her into being with him. If it wasn't so damn difficult to see him pine so much over Hermione, Daphne would have teased him that hanging around with Gryffindors had ruined his inner Slytherin, pointing out that his determination and self preservation had taken a back seat recently.
Shaking her head, Daphne reminded herself that the point of this evening was to get to know Hermione; not drill the woman with questions, using every underhanded tactic she had at her disposal to weddle out the truth and get to the heart of the matter with Draco. Exhaling a deep breath, Daphne raised her wand and tapped at the invisible warding preventing her from entering the cave without Hermione first allowing it.
After waiting patiently for a few moments Daphne was greeted by Hermione with a warm hug, which surprised her but she went with it anyway. Together, they strolled through the long entrance hall exchanging pleasantries before emerging in Hermione's living room, only to head straight back into the kitchen where the smell of dinner assaulted Daphne's senses.
"That smells amazing," Daphne said, her mouth salivating as Hermione laughed and continued to prepare their meal, "what are we having?"
"I thought I'd keep it simple," Hermione answered easily, pulling what looked like potato wedges from the oven before she rotated something skewered on the grill. "I've got mushroom and quinoa burgers under a stasis charm just there, to go with the wedges and grilled vegetables, I hope that's ok?"
"Sounds fantastic," Daphne replied, leaning herself back against the kitchen counter and rummaging in her bag for the bottle she bought earlier in the day, "care for a drink?" she asked, brandishing the bottle in Hermione's direction, "it's non-alcoholic, obviously."
Hermione agreed with a nod and pointed at the cupboard just behind Daphne, "the glasses are just in there if you don't mind opening it up and pouring?"
"Not at all," Daphne agreed, turning to pull two glasses down before filling them to the brim, "anything else I can do?"
"Nope," Hermione answered, turning to face Daphne with two plates of steaming food, "we're all set! I thought we'd eat in the living room tonight, it's more comfortable. Unless you'd prefer to be in the dining room?"
"I'm happy in the living room," Daphne smiled, following Hermione out of the kitchen as her stomach rumbled. After years of family meals at the dining table and shared meals at Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, Daphne could appreciate the occasional casual dinner.
Settling on opposite ends of the sofa, Daphne placed the drinks on the coasters so Hermione could pass her the steaming plate of food, giving it a sniff Daphne moaned in appreciation, "I've been looking forward to this all week!"
Laughing at Daphne's enthusiasm, Hermione settled back against the sofa cushions and cradled the burger in her hands, "I can teach you one day if you like?"
Daphne pondered Hermione's offer for a moment, she wasn't a bad cook but it had also never been something she considered improving, she only had the need to cook on a night she didn't want to go out, which wasn't often. "That could be fun," Daphne nodded, taking a bite of the burger.
As they both devoured their meals they discussed normal things, how they had spent their day, how their work was going and their plans for the following day. With their light chit chat running out, Daphne wondered how to bring up the issue of Draco, thinking of no easy way, Daphne dove straight in.
"So," she began, placing her plate on the table before bringing her knees up to her chin, "what's the deal with you and Draco?"
"Draco and I?" Hermione queried, banishing her and Daphne's plates to the kitchen, "we're friends."
Daphne scoffed, earning herself a glare from Hermione. "I apologise, I just find that hard to believe. You and Draco have undeniable chemistry; after the night you spent together there's no way you're going back to friends. I know friends with benefits, that isn't you and Draco."
"Of course we're not friends with benefits," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, what a preposterous idea! They were adults, not horny teenagers scared of commitment. But, even as Hermione thought that she second guessed herself… the night they spent together was lust fuelled and Hermione had managed to dodge almost every question regarding her feelings for Draco since.
"So, you guys didn't kiss after we all left the night of his birthday?" Daphne asked, her perfectly shaped eyebrow arching as Hermione gasped. With a smirk Daphne continued, "Draco has not shut up about it."
"Yes, well," Hermione blushed, her fingers picking at the hem of her top as she tried to come up with a way to explain the kiss. They hadn't spoken of it since and Hermione wasn't brave enough to bring it up, knowing it would lead to a conversation of them.
"Look, I'm not saying your friends with benefits, that would suggest you two are still sleeping together," Daphne pushed, wondering just how much she could say as Hermione flushed a deeper shade of red. "But, you do have other benefits that are outside of a normal friendship."
Hermione considered Daphne's statement in silence as the other woman watched her carefully, as much as she wanted to be offended by Daphne's direct questions she realised if she were in Daphne's position and Harry was Draco, she wouldn't be going lightly on this newcomer either.
However, it did raise the rather uncomfortable question of what she and Draco were to one another, in her mind the box labelled Draco was still firmly closed, with a few extra bits of tape to keep the pesky lid on. But, was she giving out other signs that she wasn't acknowledging? Draco attended every Healer appointment he could and tended to her every need without ever being asked; they basically lived together for the last few weeks and they shared his bed. It had never crossed Hermione's mind to sleep somewhere else, magic infused every fibre of her being and yet she never once thought to transfigure the sofa on a nightly basis or to Apparate herself home and sleep in her own bed.
Daphne watched with great interest as each thought made itself visible in Hermione's features; a tilt of the head, a small smile, scrunched eyes and finally a bitten lip, the woman was confused by her feelings for Draco and therefore, trying to ignore them. In that moment, Daphne decided that maybe the best way to help Hermione address her feelings for Draco was to try it from a different perspective.
"Take Theo and I, for example," Daphne continued, hoping her plan would work, "we got together not long after the war, tried to have a relationship but it crumbled under societal pressure. As a direct result of that, I can't commit to him one hundred percent because I don't want to be pushed into a marriage by my parents. But, I care for him deeply."
"Aren't you with him now?" Hermione queried, recalling a passing comment that Draco had made about Daphne promising Theo a saucy welcome home after this weekend.
"We are," Daphne promptly responded, "but we're not flaunting it. Theo and I are magnetic. We can't stay away from each other but even after I've called things off, or asked for a cool down period, Theo is still there. He gives me the space I need but we still go out to dinners and such, like friends would but I know if I made a move Theo would take me back to his."
Pausing for a moment and grabbing her glass, Daphne allowed her admission to sink in, hoping that Hermione would realise Draco does the exact same thing for her. The Slytherin men were both chameleons, adapting to their environments.
"All I'm saying is," Daphne continued after a few minutes of contemplation on Hermione's part, "that someone always has to make the first move. Theo understands my issues and doesn't push me to take that leap of faith and Draco does the same, although part of his hesitancy is also self preservation, he's scared of getting hurt."
"I could never hurt him!" Hermione exclaimed, surprising Daphne enough to make the poor woman jump and spill a bit of her drink. "Sorry," Hermione muttered, quickly vanishing the spill from Daphne's blouse, "I just, I would never hurt Draco."
"I know," Daphne assured Hermione, carefully placing her drink back on the table, "you wouldn't intentionally do it but sometimes doing nothing can be just as painful. Personally, I think you and Draco could be indestructible, but those are just my two knuts."
The silence that followed Daphne's statement wasn't awkward but it was filled with a kind of tension she hadn't expected, looking to lighten the mood Daphne offered, "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable but I get the sense you two will just keep dancing around each other until it's too late. I almost lost Theo once and I'd hate for Draco to lose you."
Hermione felt herself soften at Daphne's admission, the woman was after all trying to make sure her friend didn't get hurt, after years of looking after Harry and Ron, Hermione couldn't fault Daphne for her words. "It's ok," Hermione assured Daphne with a smile, "I can appreciate where you're coming from, it's just really difficult right now with everything that's happening with Ron."
"What is happening with Ron? If you don't mind me asking?" Daphne questioned, knowing the other woman couldn't have spoken much about it, what with her best friends also being her soon to be ex-husbands family and friends. Daphne knew she didn't share much about Ron with Draco since they'd slept together, much to Draco's annoyance.
Settling back into her cushions, Hermione pondered Daphne's query before quickly deciding that perhaps, it would be good to talk about Ron with someone who was somewhat removed from the situation with no personal attachment. "Yeah, ok. What do you want to know?"
Mimicking Hermione's posture, Daphne allowed herself to relax back into the sofa, stifling a smirk as she thought of all her etiquette lessons which had been long forgotten along with all of the Pureblood bullshit. "Why did the two of you separate? Draco never mentioned you were having issues and then he said you two had separated."
Touched by the fact that Draco never passed on the struggles she'd shared with him and slightly amused by Daphne's first question cutting straight to the difficult bit, Hermione laughed before sobering and remembering the night of the separation.
"There were many reasons really," Hermione began, deciding not to bore Daphne with a repeat of the exact events as she had Harry. "After Ron qualified as an Auror his missions were still to hunt and capture elusive Death Eaters, I was alone a lot, worrying about him and my PTSD started to creep back. Combine that with the pressure of him wanting a family; me wanting to push forward in my career; his jealousy over my friendship with Draco and my jealousy over his friendship with his work partner Olivia. You've got a vault load of stress and two very stubborn people."
"Olivia?" Daphne asked, leaning forward intently hoping it wasn't the Olivia she knew, "Olivia Dubois?"
"Do you know her?" Hermione asked suspiciously, suddenly unsure how much more she wanted to reveal to Daphne.
Shit. Daphne thought internally as the pieces of the puzzle all fell together, Astoria had been regaling her only a few weeks ago with the continued story between Olivia and her mystery married man, claiming that she would never been so naive to fall for a married man, it was such a mess poor Olivia found herself in now.
"Astoria and I met Olivia when we were at Beauxbatons," Daphne began, noticing the look of confusion on Hermione's face she clarified before continuing. "Our parents arranged a transfer for my seventh year, which isn't traditional there, and Astoria's sixth year, to keep us out of the war. I never particularly got on with the girl but she and Astoria have been friends ever since."
"Has Astoria ever told you anything about Ron and Olivia?" Hermione asked, hating how her voice wavered at the end.
"Yes," Daphne confessed quietly, watching as shock struck Hermione's features, "but never by name, I didn't even know where in the Ministry Olivia worked until just now."
"Will you tell me?" Hermione asked, her voice equally as quiet. She wasn't sure she really wanted to know the truth, her imagination had been hard enough to battle against but, knowing that Daphne knew which meant others might also know, settled her doubts.
"Do you really want me to?" Daphne queried, noticing as she did so that Hermione's eyes had a glint of determination in them.
"Yes," Hermione answered, hearing her voice come out strong even though her spine had stiffened as she straightened, bracing for the worst.
"Ok," Daphne agreed with a sigh, she hadn't wanted to know this information in the first place and having to share it with Hermione was not a pleasant prospect. "Just know that I've only heard pieces and knowing Olivia, they've properly been overstated."
"It's fine," Hermione replied, watching as Daphne shifted in discomfort, "I won't hold it against you."
Nodding, Daphne cast her mind back and replayed the handful of conversations where Olivia and her mystery man were mentioned. Putting it together with her new knowledge of the man's identity, Daphne decided a summary of what she had been told would be best. "Olivia made her first move back in January I believe, she kissed him after he'd gone to her because of some fight?"
Hermione scoffed, "I got my promotion to investigate this cave in January, we had a big fight because Ron didn't want me to take it. I knew he'd been with her that night."
"If it's any consolation," Daphne added, "Ron rejected her advance that night." Hermione waved the comment away and Daphne took that as her cue to continue, "from what I've heard, maybe a month after that they slept together for the first time and they carried on right until Ron decided he wanted to give your marriage another chance. Which infuriated Olivia as she thought he'd leave you, for her. She took great pleasure in rejecting him when he came back a couple of months ago."
"That all certainly fits," Hermione said when she couldn't take the silence any longer, it did raise one question though. "Are they together now?"
"Not that I know of," Daphne answered carefully, "I saw Astoria last week and she didn't tell me anything new since her last update."
"Interesting," Hermione murmured, placing Ron's request for a divorce into the scattered timeline Daphne offered, unsure if she should take solace in the possibility that Ron truly was divorcing her due to the situation they found themselves in, instead of being in a relationship with someone else. Unless, of course, he was and that someone else wasn't Olivia.
"Is it?" Daphne queried, slightly surprised by Hermione's calm acceptance of her husband's transgressions. Yet, Hermione had slept with Draco during their separation so she couldn't really be angered to hear of Ron doing the same thing.
"In some ways yes," Hermione answered, her eyes unfocused as she spoke, "and in some ways no. I think I'm just realising now that Ron and I haven't truly been in love with each other for quite some time, more in love with the idea of one another, especially if he was sleeping with someone else for most of our separation."
"I'm sorry," Daphne offered sincerely, her hand reaching out to take Hermione's to give it a momentary squeeze. It wasn't an action she was totally comfortable with, not being one of those hands on kind of people, but given the situation, she felt it was justified.
"It's not your fault," Hermione giggled, touched by the sentiment yet feeling slightly adrift, "I think we're both to blame. Instead of addressing the issues which were pushing us apart, we confided in others. I suppose in some respects, we'd both been emotionally cheating long before anything physical happened."
Both women allowed silence to settle around them, Hermione lost in her own thoughts about Ron whilst Daphne considered Theo. In her mission to get Hermione thinking about Draco, she had inadvertently made herself question her own lack of commitment with Theo. At what point would she stop being scared? Would she ever stop and allow herself to fully fall for him or did she need to take a leap of faith, like she was encouraging Hermione to do, and trust that Theo would catch her?
Knowing that the boys would be back soon, if they weren't already, Daphne picked up her glass and finished it before turning to Hermione. "I'm going to head home, unless you'd like to talk some more? I feel like I've sprung quite a lot on you this evening."
"Nothing more than I can handle," Hermione assured Daphne with a smile, "I asked for it anyway, so don't feel bad. It's actually helped me, so thank you."
Daphne laughed and stood to leave, "I'm glad to be of service," she joked, placing her bag over her shoulder, "maybe next time you can come to mine and we'll stick to lighter subjects?"
Laughing, Hermione stood to join Daphne and walked with her towards the foyer area, "that would be really great, thank you for this evening Daphne."
"Anytime Hermione!" Daphne smiled, stepping out into the cool summer evening, "bye!" Daphne called, focusing on her living room where she hoped Theo would be arriving soon as Hermione waved and called out her farewell before turning away to return to her home.
Arriving back from Blaise's, Draco felt refreshed. They had spent the whole weekend lounging by the pool enjoying the fine food and drink France had to offer. When they weren't relaxing, they were flying around Blaise's mini Quidditch pitch, making the most of the warm weather, or cruising through the winding roads in Blaise's sports cars.
Walking through the cottage, Draco shouted out to Hermione, just in case she was already there. Hearing no response, Draco hung up his light jacket and made his way back to his bedroom to quickly unpack. Spelling his clothes back in their designated spaces Draco decided on a quick shower to freshen up before Hermione's arrival. Draco stripped off before sauntering into his en-suite, noticing his slightly tanned skin as he walked past the mirror.
Draco stood beneath the hot steaming water and thought of Hermione for what seemed like the millionth time. Being away from her, even for a short space of time, felt like an eternity. He had discussed with Blaise and Theo at length the complexities of their relationship before deciding once and for all he would tell Hermione how he felt. Whilst he was fairly sure she returned his feelings, Draco wasn't sure how she would react. With everything else going on he didn't want to give her anything else to think about, but the thought of losing her because he kept his feelings secret didn't sit well with him.
Realising he was wasting precious time, Draco quickly finished his shower, charming himself dry before chucking on some clothes. Draco bounced down the stairs and looked around for Hermione again. Seeing the cottage still empty, Draco decided to pop to hers. Daphne had already been at Theo's when they had returned so Draco knew he wouldn't be interrupting girl talk.
Arriving at the cave a few minutes later Draco strolled in with a newly found spring in his step, happily calling out, "Hermione!" as he headed back to the kitchen. Noticing the dishes were drying next to the sink, Draco moved on to check the bedroom and then to the bathroom. Finding the house empty, Draco returned to the living room, looking around carefully to see if she had left a note. Turning full circle and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Draco felt panic begin to claw at him— something wasn't right. It can't have been thirty minutes since his return and Daphne had told him she'd only been waiting at Theo's for five minutes or so. Scanning the room again, Draco's eyes were drawn to a strange light as it filtered through the open patio door. Pulling his wand from his sleeve Draco stepped closer to the glass.
Looking out over the cavernous room Draco quickly identified the source of the strange light, his eyes glued to the orange light as he assessed it, whilst his feet found their way out onto the ledge and down the first few stairs before he paused. The orange light was coming from some kind of magical cage, crisscrossing around something on the shoreline. Not something. Someone.
"Hermione!" Draco shouted, heart pounding as his feet stumbled down the stairs. "Hermione!" he called again, his voice pitching weirdly as panic choked him. This couldn't be happening. It had to be some trick of the cave's magic— damn it! Why wasn't she answering him? Why wasn't she moving?
Slipping on the smooth rock beneath his feet, Draco tumbled down the remaining steps, his head cracking as he fell, landing in a jumbled heap face down in the sand. Draco looked up, Hermione now only a few feet from him, and his body scrambled into action, spraying sand behind him as he moved anxiously towards her.
Throwing himself through the orange barrier Draco dropped to his knees beside her. "Hermione?" he said softly, trying to calm himself and ignore the way his pulse thudded in his ears. "Hermione, can you hear me?"
Dread pooled in Draco's stomach as Hermione remained unresponsive. What the hell had happened? Had someone visited Hermione after Daphne's departure? Had this been some freak accident? What if the twins were…? No. He wasn't going to think like that— they had to be ok. Draco knew he wouldn't survive if they weren't. With shaking hands, Draco cast a basic diagnostic spell, releasing a shaky sigh of relief as a heartbeat echoed around them. "Hermione, I know you can hear me, tell me where it hurts," Draco pleaded as he examined her.
Moving her matted hair from her face, Draco took in the bloody gash to her forehead and her ice cold blue lips. "Shit, shit, shit," he muttered under his breath. Running his hands carefully over the rest of her body, Draco checked for any other obvious injuries. Finding none, Draco pondered what to do next. If they had been anywhere else, Draco could have called for help, but without a fireplace and the wards being so strong, it was impossible. Not to mention the fact he had never been able to produce a Patronus, Draco knew he was going to have to move her.
"Hermione," Draco whispered as he wiped the tears from his face. "Hermione, sweetheart, I've got to move you." With that, Draco carefully maneuvered his arms beneath Hermione's body, making every effort not to jostle her too harshly. As he did so, Draco noticed she had one hand placed protectively against her small bump. "Gods, Hermione," Draco mumbled, trying to fight back the dark thoughts circling his mind as he lifted her carefully from the ground.
Hermione whimpered in pain as Draco stood, cradling her body to his, making Draco apologise profusely under his breath, "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," as he carefully climbed the steep steps back to her home. Moving through the living room, Draco paused as Hermione suddenly went quiet, anxiety forcing him to pause and search her body for signs of life. "Hermione?" he questioned, waiting for something— anything— to reassure him.
Almost sagging with relief when Hermione whimpered again, Draco continued moving through the cave. "It's ok, you're ok, we're going to the hospital," Draco repeated, trying to console Hermione as much as himself. Outside in the fresh air, he apparated them to St Mungo's.
Appearing in the reception area, Draco felt mildly relieved to see it was empty for once. He walked quickly over to the reception desk and blurted out, "I need help— please— it's an emergency! I don't know what happened— I got home and found her like this!"
Looking up from her magazine, the receptionist stared at Hermione dangling limply in Draco's arms. "What did you do to her?" she questioned, suspicion evident in her tone as Hermione mumbled a faint, "no."
"I didn't do anything!" Draco retorted hotly, his arms starting to sag under the strain of keeping Hermione close to him. Did this witch not understand what was happening? "I came home and she was just… laid there… not moving. Please! Tell me where to take her!"
"Over there," she replied in a bored manner pointing to her left where there was a door clearly marked 'Emergency.'
Huffing, Draco turned, ignoring the burn of his muscles and strode towards the door, pushing it open only to be met with stunned silence before people seemed to realise he needed help.
A tall gentleman forced his way through the crowd and addressed Draco, "Bring her this way, Mr Malfoy." Draco nodded and followed the Healer down the corridor, trying desperately to ignore the whispers of, "Is that Draco Malfoy? With Hermione Granger-Weasley?" and listen to what the Healer was asking him. "What happened? Mr Malfoy?"
"I… I don't know," Draco stuttered as he broke out in a cold sweat, his arms now shaking. He hated hospitals— everything seemed worse here in the harsh clinical light. "She was late coming over so I went to get her and she was just… lying there next to the water, unconscious. Will she be ok?"
"We'll need to examine her," the Healer spoke calmly, gesturing for Draco to lie Hermione down on the empty bed.
Moving carefully, Draco lowered Hermione down onto the bed, grimacing as she let out another cry of pain. "I'm sorry," Draco whispered as he moved back, shaking his hands out to get the blood circulating before wrapping his arms around his body.
"Do you have any idea what happened to her, Mr Malfoy?" the Healer questioned as he withdrew his wand, starting to run his diagnostic spells.
"No," Draco replied through gritted teeth as his nails dug into his skin. "Like I said, she was just there, cold and on her own."
"Does she have any existing conditions? Allergies? Anything I should be aware of?" the Healer asked, pausing to wait for Draco's answer.
"She's pregnant— about twelve weeks— with twins," Draco answered slowly, rocking back and forth on the soles of his feet, a feeling of guilt settling around him as he realised he didn't know much about her general health. "I don't know of anything else."
"Ok," the Healer nodded briskly, rolling up his sleeves before turning back to Hermione. "You can wait outside now."
"Outside?" Draco questioned. If this Healer thought he was leaving, he was sorely mistaken. "No. I'm staying here until you tell me they'll be ok."
"Mr Malfoy," the Healer spoke sternly this time, not moving his gaze away from Hermione. "You leave now or I'll have you escorted from this hospital."
"What?" Draco replied, his jaw going slack as his eyes widened, "I can't leave her— I have to know they're ok— you have to tell me!"
"You have five seconds before I call security, Mr Malfoy," the Healer commanded as he began summoning various bits of medical equipment over. "You are distracting me from my work."
Gawping at the Healer, Draco turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. There was no way he was going to let that Healer kick him out of the hospital. "Bloody tosser," Draco fumed under his breath, pacing the corridor outside the room Hermione now occupied.
Being in the corridor was no good; he couldn't see or hear what was going on inside. As the minutes ticked by, Draco could feel himself being weighed down by the foreboding atmosphere. The whole place was too damn quiet, allowing his mind to fret. What the hell had happened? How had she been hurt? Hermione was so careful— especially now with the twins— she would have never put them in danger. So how had she ended up like this?
As his breathing accelerated Draco focused on one spot on the wall, trying to calm himself but it was no good, the walls were starting to creep in, trapping him right there in limbo, Draco was sure of it. The corridor was getting smaller and Hermione was getting further away. He had to see her, needed to know she was ok. Looking up from the floor Draco realised he had been joined by two security guards. "I left the room," Draco spoke mutinously. "He told me to leave so I did."
"That's not why we're here, Mr Malfoy," the first security guard spoke as they both advanced on Draco.
"Then why are you here?" Draco asked, ceasing his pacing to look at the men before him. They were both dressed in matching Ministry uniforms, their wands holstered conveniently at their forearms. Their hard gaze was pinning Draco to the spot, his muscles freezing in place as they assessed him.
"Hospital policy," the second guard grunted, cracking his knuckles as he advanced toward Draco. "You, Mr Malfoy, have a record. We are obliged to investigate, for everyone's safety."
This could not be happening. "Are you joking? I would never hurt her," Draco said incredulously, his body vibrating with stress. Did they seriously think he could hurt her? How could they make that snap judgment based on two very stressed conversations?
"Funny how often we hear that," the first guard said to the second. "If you'd please come with us, we have some questions."
"No way," Draco replied, determined to stand his ground. First he got kicked out of the room, and now they were trying to take him away. This had to be some kind of cosmic joke.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a fighter," the second guard joked to the first, pulling his wand from its holster. "Do you want to do it or shall I?"
"Do what?" Draco asked nervously, his heart now slamming against his ribs as the first guard drew his wand when it suddenly clicked. They still saw him as a Death Eater. "No— hey now— wait! Please! Call Potter! He'll tell you, call Pott..." Draco's frightened plea was cut off abruptly as the first guard sent a swift body bind spell straight at his chest. Feeling himself go rigid and crash to the floor, Draco prayed to Merlin that they'd call Potter.