Chapter 9

Hermione's P.O.V.

13th June 1998

After we finished at the restaurant we went shopping for a whole new wardrobe, though I would only be able to receive some of it to my apartment at the moment the rest would be kept until it could be moved to my new house. Next we went shopping for furniture and looked at a few other things for my house like some books and such the more trivial things, but not too many as Draco reminded me that when I move in to my new house I would have a party to celebrate the occasion and that at said party people would gift me with these said trivial items. I didn't really mind as I did not have that much money at the moment I would only receive my full inheritance after Monday.

That's something me and Draco spoke about over lunch was that I would go first thing on Monday morning and sort out my papers regarding my parents after which I would then o over to Gringotts and prove my true birth through their system and that's when it would become official and Draco was going to meet me at Gringotts after I am done there, from there we would head over to the real-estate agents offices and sign the papers for my house and then we would go and met up with a contractor and architect to work on fixing the place up.

I am pulled from my thoughts by Draco whispering in my ear that it's show time, I look up at him wondering what he is getting at when I flow his gaze and up ahead I see none other than Ron and no surprises lavender brown is hanging off of his arm. We both stop walking and watch them walking down the streets towards us, they have not noticed us yet and that's fine with me as I am enjoying watching them, like one would observe an experiment. It makes me wonder what I saw in him in the first place, he has put on some weight now and is dressed ridiculously, he is trying to look smart but between his weight problem and ill fitting clothes it just makes him look like a slob and that's another difference I see between him and Draco where Ron will accept mediocre done clothes Draco will only accept perfection and he at least has a decent sense of style but he really needs to get his hair sorted and that gives me an idea.

It appears that they are headed to a very well know salon just across the street from us, so I grab drakes arm and drag him in there all the while he is looking at me like I have gone mad, when we get inside the establishment I turn to and give him one of my most devilish smirks that would send most people running for the hills.

"Draco my luv how do you feel about changing that hair cut of yours for me?"

"Umm, why, what is wrong with the one I have now? Is it the beard do you want me to shave it off?"

"No, don't you dare I love that beard on you but I feel as though your hair is just a little too long and scruffy and that it does not quite accentuate your face or this lovely beard you have."

He still looks a bit puzzled but he just shrugs as if say ok well I will trust your opinion.

"Very well then, at least you picked this place as this is where I usually come and well the owner is a very good friend of ours"

From the way he said ours, I was assuming that this was one of the few people he had spoken to about me but how much I did not know. With that he turned around and started speaking to the receptionist about getting his hair cut by the owner, I soon lost interest in their conversation and turned to the windows to see where my targets where and they seemed to have stopped for a few minutes talking to some people, obviously about the war based on Ron's smug look and how all the people where hanging off his every word. I just scoffed remembering how he was the one who actually left me and harry for months, whilst he was at home all warm and being feed every meal me and harry were struggling to just survive a single day, not that he would tell anyone that and well Harry just refused to talk about it at all and well I had apparently moved back to the muggle world and abandoned the wizarding world. Huh if only they knew how wrong that was but then of course why would they have any reason to doubt Ron, he was the golden boys best friend and the only one of the golden trio who was willing to talk about the war.

I was once again drawn from my thoughts by Draco sliding his arms around my waist and looking out the window following my line of sight, which led him to Ron and his crowd, the only indication I got that he had seen them was the scoff that left Draco's mouth and a whispered blood traitor following it. I just chuckled at him and turned around in his arms. He could obviously tell what I was going to ask as he told me before I could even open my mouth that the owner was just getting ready and would be with us in a few minutes. I just carried on starring at him picturing him with the hair cut I wanted and how it would not only make him look slightly younger but how it would give him a certain ruggedness that was just so sexy. I slid my hands up from their place on his shoulders, over his collar bones and onto his neck, ending with half of my hand on his jaw line and the rest in his hair, this allowed me to pull his face down to met mine in a soft kiss. Which was prevented from going any further by the receptionist clearing her throat and telling us that the owner was ready for Draco when he was ready, I looked over his shoulder to find that she had her head slightly bowed as if she was apologizing for interrupting us. I moved away from Draco who it looked as though for a split second disappointed at the interruption, but I just brushed it off and moved to follow the young women to the back where Draco would get his hair cut. It was just our luck that as we rounded the corner I heard a tinkering of a bell that usually signals someone entering or exiting the store and in this case it was just the people I wanted to see entering the store like they owned it, of course they did not see me cause well Ron was too busy being an ass to the poor lady at the front desk and demanding that he would only accept the owner cutting his hair, even though I could hear the poor women trying to tell him that the owner had another client, he could not seem to fathom the idea that someone else might just be more important than him.

Draco had just been sat down in the stylist chair after getting his hair washed, during which I had spoken to the owner about what I wanted for him, which was a high fade on the sides and back, with his fringe and the top of his head pretty much the same length it is now so it can be tied back pretty easily if need be. During that time I had also learnt that the owners name was Antonio and that he had been cutting Draco's hair just after we had finished our second year at Hogwarts, to which I congratulated him on getting rid of that awful slicked back hair style, but had to inform him that he had failed with his current one to which I learnt was forced on him by his father which gave me even more reason for getting him to cut his hair now.

Just as Antonio was about to start cutting Draco's hair, someone came storming around the corner demanding to know who it was that was more important than him the boy-who-saved-the-worlds best friend. The look on his face when he saw that it was none other than Draco Malfoy who was sitting in his spot, according to Ron, but the best was when he decided to look at the women who was holding Draco's hand and when he realised it was me his face turned a shade of red that I did not know was even possible. But sadly his stunned silence did not last long and soon enough he started shouting accusations at everyone and how he was going to have this place shut down and other such nonsense but what was the cherry on top was when he turned to address me,

'I honestly don't know if I should be all that surprised to see you here with that death-eater snake scum, but what surprises me is that he is here with you, you mudblood, but then again I am not shocked that he would have to stoop so low now is it, considering your both just real pieces of shit and that you don't deserve to be in the wizarding world or any world for that matter!'

After he finished that ridiculous speech he then had the nerve to draw his wand, but before he could even think about what to do with it I had disarmed him with a non-verbal expelliarmus. I caught his wand as it came flying to me and that's when I lost my cool, I can tolerate his words but for him to try and think that he is more powerful than me now that is a true insult to me. But before I could do anything further more Antonio stepped and started to shout at Ron in such beautiful and fluent Italian it was mesmerising, luckily before I could get to caught up in it I noticed that he was kicking Ron out of his store and remembering I still had that assholes wand I tossed it at his feet.

With that I turned away from them and was instantly met by Draco's curious stare as if he was trying to figure out what I exactly had happened between me and Ron for him to say such things to me, I just shook my head at him silently saying that now was not the time and that when I was ready I would tell him. With that Antonio came rushing back in mutter about over pompous prats and how some people just need a good kick up the ass it was enough to make me giggle quietly. He turned to me and Draco muttering

"I am so sorry your grace but some people seem to think the world must stop and do as he says when he says."

I was so shocked by him referring to me as your grace and wondering if he knew or it was just a slip of a tongue that I just stood there starring at him and he must have noticed my dumb struck look as he very quickly replied'

"I am sorry your grace if I have offended you in anyway?"

"No, no it's quite all right I was just not aware that you knew me so intimately."

I replied him before he could get himself in a huff, all the while starring at Draco trying to wordlessly say that I really needed that list of names and soon. He seemed to get what I was saying and soon started chatting to Antonio about how business was doing as Antonio began cutting his hair, but before he could get very far with the cutting I remembered to cover up the mirror so that Draco would not see till the end. In return Draco gave me a puzzled look to which I just shot him an innocent smile and Antonio just chuckled at our antics. As Antonio carried on cutting and with the more hair Draco saw on the floor, the more scared he looked, I just chuckled and sat down in a chair nearby and started reading a magazine that was on the stand and of course there on the front cover is a picture of Ron standing with Harry and Ginny, it was about something to do with Harry and Ginny's recent reconciliation and how Ron was very supportive of the whole relationship. I just rolled my eyes at that remembering how it was me who was the one who got him to even begin accepting them as a couple in the first place, I just put the magazine down and picked up some other fashion one from France or something. Soon enough Antonio announced he was finished with an exaggerated flourish and some Italian word, I got up from my perch and went to stand next to Draco who was looking very worried about what sort of state his hair will be in, though I was enjoying seeing him like this I just wanted to get home and have a lovely glass of wine and just sit and plot my world take over. So I put him out of his misery and removed the covering over the mirror, he just sat there for a few seconds with his mouth slightly open before he even moved and that was to go and feel his hair, well more precisely where he had lost most of his hair, but I was rather pleased with the look and it appeared everyone around us was too and of course in the most unSlytherin like manner the first words out of his mouth were,

"Holy shit I look hotter!"

I couldn't help but pack out laughing at the situation Draco Malfoy the man who would one day become these peoples King was standing in front of the mirror with a look of absolute astonishment and approval at the same and acting like a thirteen year old. It appeared both the chuckling of me and Antonio would bring him out of this state of mind and he very quickly tried to play it off but his darkening blush ruined the effect. With that we very quickly paid and left the salon but not before Antonio muttered a quite 'your grace' as I passed him and bowed his head slightly and I have a small nod back in thanks. The whole way to the disapperation he kept lifting up his free hand and feeling his hair as if he could not believe it, after the eighth time I slapped his hand before he could lift it high enough and gave him a pointed look. We soon reached our destination and we disaperated away and to Malfoy manor at first I was confused then I remembered we had dinner and we were going to be going over that blasted list finally.

Dinner was beautifully made and we were now sitting in the lounge area in his study drinking, I had my glass of wine and Draco his Firewhiskey, we had been sitting here for a few minutes when I turned to Draco and began speaking,

"Come kneel before me I need to see something, I know you have given me your word that you will help me in my task but well what self respecting queen doesn't prove this and so you will kneel before me as I perform Legilimency on you and understand that if you resist it will be very painful and if I find anything that should cause me any doubt, understand I will take action immediately afterwards am I understood."

His only reply was to put his drink down and moved to kneel down in front of me and just give me a simple nod; I sat there for a few seconds and looked into his eyes when I found the consent I was looking for I delved in. I only felt a small amount of resistance before I felt him let me past his barriers, I didn't waste any time playing around I went looking for any signs of betrayal and when I found no signs of any I left his mind just as quickly. When I focused back on his face I saw a look of relief on his face telling me I had made the right choice not to sit around and look for stuff that was not necessary to my cause though what did interest me was that he had started to find me attractive around our sixth year which just made me chuckle quietly to myself, cause little did he know that it was around third year that I started to even look at him in that way remotely and it amused me that he never knew who I truly was and that he always denied himself to look at me like that because he thought I was not worthy when little did he know. In the time that I had been thinking Draco had sat back in his chair and was once again drinking from his tumbler still wearing that look of relief on his face, I decided to give him a few more minutes of peace before we would have to begin discussing the list and the plans for Monday as tomorrow I would be holed up in my flat preparing myself to have to prove my true parentage to everyone. I had a feeling that I would need to have to move from this beautiful wine to something a little harder, especially when we will be discussing who I can trust and not at this point and who we need to convince and how and that thought made me sigh, this was going to be a long night with that in mind we needed to begin.

A/N: Hi guys sorry been busy trying to sort out my life hope you like this chapter and once again guys please don't be afraid to leave a review and if you have any ideas please I am eager to hear them.