Recap:
"What the hell are you going to do about it? She's with us, so stay away from her."
"Or what?" Collin snarled. Hermoine lept to her feet.
"Stop it, all of you!" she cried. She turned apologetically to the three men. "I'm sorry, but I am with them." Draco raised an eyebrow, but she ignored him. The men grumbled something and stalked off down the street and out of sight. Hermione sat back down, glancing at Draco. He sat down, motioning for Blaise, who had been about to come over, to stay with the girls.
"What was that, mudblood?" he hissed. Hermione looked out on the street.
"Nothing." He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"It had better be the last nothing," he whispered dangerously, eyes cold as ice.
Draco rolled over in bed, face burried in honey brown frizz.
"You need to learn to tame this damn hair of yours, muggle," he grumbled into it. The woman in the bed with him groaned and scooted closer to him.
"It's not my fault it's so humid in here." Draco laughed softly, kissing her neck.
"It's always your fault, muggle." They were silent and Hermione shifted around. There was a purring sound and Draco moaned.
"Damn it, Hermione!" He opened his eyes, sitting up in the bed. It was still pretty dark in the room but he could still see his stupid wife laying there next to him with her stupid kitten with her. "Can't you leave that thing in your room?" he snapped. She still had her eyes closed as she stroked Jesiphire.
"You got rid of Crookshanks, remember?" He snarled at her and turned over onto his back. Her arm draped over his waist and he felt skin and fur on his back.
"You need to leave that thing in your room," he grumbled. She mumbled something but it was muffled. They fell back asleep, the kitten sleeping at the foot of their bed.
"Get up, young Master Malfoy!! You must be going to Hogwarts now!!"
"Go away, you blasted house elf. Leave me alone."
"But you must get up!!"
"FINE!! GET OUT!" He threw a pillow at the creature but it had already popped out. Hermione rolled out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. Draco got up and followed her in. She tried to push him out, but he growled at her. He turned on the Wizarding radio and, shrugging off his clothes, got into the shower and turned on the water. Hermione got in with him only after steam had swamped the entire bathroom. He rested his head against the wall and let her rub shampoo into his hair.
They had developed a schedule after a few weeks of marriage that Hermione had gotten used to. She was still hating the fact that she was actually married to her enemy, but it didn't bother her as much as it used to. The whole shower thing, however, hadn't gone over very well the first time Draco had proposed it. She was still slightly hesitant about it, but it wasn't entirely unwanted.
After thirty minutes, they got out and dressed. Draco wore a pair of knee length camouflage shorts with a black shirt with a lunging cobra on it. Hermione dressed in a white knee-length skirt, red tanktop and red flip-flops. She stood in front of the bedroom mirror, fixing her hair when Draco came up behind her. He rested his chin on her shoulder, arms around her waist. She continued brushing her hair, watching him in the bed.
"You look fine, Granger," he grumbled, planting kisses on her neck. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Malfoy, you mean," she corrected spitefully, shrugging him off and throwing her brush into her trunk. He closed the trunk with his wand and shrunk both his and hers, putting them in his pocket. She sat on the edge of the bed, brushing away several tears. He kneeled down in front of her, staring up at her face.
"Not. Now." She slapped him and he took it.
"I'm sixteen. I didn't want to get married, least of all to you!" He nodded as if he understood. Then she was on the floor, hand over her cheek in shock and pain. He stood, staring at her emotionlessly.
"If you ever touch me like that again, I'll kill you, ok?"
"Here they are," Blaise said, turning to see Draco and Hermione come through the barrier. The platform was basically empty, as it was early. The couple approached them and Pansy put her hands on her hips.
"So this is the new Mrs. Malfoy?" Hermione flushed and turned away.
"Can we just get on the train?" she whispered to Draco, staring down the platform. He smirked.
"Where's the compartment?" he asked the others, eyes on his wife. Blaise motioned for them to go inside and they entered the train. The compartment selected was at the middle of the train and had been magically enlarged. Hermione sat next to the window and Draco next to her. Blaise sat down across from him and Pansy, Crabbe, Collin, Goyle and two other girls were also in the compartment. Opening a cage, Hermione let Jesiphire out and placed the kitten on her lap, petting it pensively. Draco glared at the thing.
"Why must you carry that thing around?" he snapped. She glanced at him.
"You got rid of Crookshanks," she told him softly. Blaise laughed and then stopped, staring out the window.
"Malfoy...Weasley and Potter..." Hermione's head snapped around and she gazed out the window. Draco stood and also looked, an unreadable look on his face. Hermione turned to him, pale, heart racing.
"Draco..." He turned to her. She was doing it again. A silent bargaining. She would do anything. He glanced out the window again.
"If I see anything funny..." A ghost of a smile flickered across her face as she rushed out, clutching Jesiphire closely. She stepped off the train, watching as a the large group of Weasleys, plus Harry, Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"I hope you two have a magnificent last year at Hogwarts," Mrs. Weasley was saying as she hugged her youngest son. "Keep out of trouble and do look for Hermione, poor girl. I do wonder where she happened off to. Her parents wouldn't say when they came to stay with us." Her breath caught in her throat. Her parents had been with the Weasleys?
"We'll look for her, Mum," Ron said. "Don't worry." Hermione smiled, stepping forward.
"It's alright, Ron. You don't really have to look for me." Everyone turned around, shock on their faces. Then Ron leapt forward, sweeping her up in a huge hug. She hugged him back tightly, making sure Jesiphire didn't get squeezed, and at the same time trying not to cry.
"Where the hell have you been, Hermoine!!" he yelled, holding her back at arms length. Ginny grabbed her and hugged her tightly.
"Merlin, Hermione!! You had us soooooooo worried!" Hermione bit her lip.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I...something came up." The others crowded around. Remus looked her over.
"You look different," he commented and Ginny nodded.
"Yeah, something has definitely changed about you." Hermione blushed and shrugged.
"I think I look the same." Ron shook his head.
"No, you've changed a lot, Hermione! But in a good way!" She smiled.
"Thank you, Ron!" The whistle for the train blew and, after last goodbyes, the trio plus Ginny boarded the train and found a compartment. Sitting down and stroking Jesiphire, Hermione smiled. "Man, it's been a long time!" Harry nodded.
"Where have you been, Hermione?" he asked. "You were supposed to come to the Burrow. Ron owled me saying you never came and that his mum even went to your house to see what was wrong. What happened?" The smile dropped off and she turned to look out the window.
"I...I can't tell you right now," she said. "I'm kind of mixed up right now. This summer was...well, it wasn't normal. Can we talk about it later?" Ginny nodded, though she looked concerned. She nodded to Jesiphire.
"What happened to Crookshanks?" she asked and Hermione sighed.
"He ran away," she lied. "I couldn't find him around the house or anywhere. This is Jesiphire." Harry studied Hermione for a minute.
"You look different, Hermione," he said after a while. "Not just looks, but something else. Something's different."
"Really? I really can't tell the difference." Hermione turned to see Draco standing in the compartment doorway. He smirked at her. "Hello, Granger." She flushed. Ron stood, wand out. Harry was behind him.
"What the hell do you want, bothering us Malfoy?" Ron snarled. Draco eyed him critically.
"I saw your mother on the platform before the train moved off, Weasley. Is she expecting again? I don't believe your family has enough money to support another mouth, what with your father's job. Disgrace to purebloods, you lot. You breed like rabbits, there are so many of you around. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that you impregnate by touch." Ron lunged at him, but Hermione was between them in a flash.
"NO RON!" she cried, pushing him back. "That's exactly what he wants you to do. He's trying to get a rise out of you!" Draco smirked at Ron, who snarled at him but backed off.
"That's right, Granger. Keep your animal on a leash. All you can do is come to the end of your chain and bark." Ron was about to lunge once more but found Draco's wand digging into his neck. "Try it, Weasley," he hissed. "I'd really love to see you try it." Hermione pushed the wand down, glaring at him.
"Go away, Dr-Malfoy," she snapped, ignoring her stumble. His smirk only grew, but he left. Ron turned on Hermione, eyes wide.
"Why didn't you let me beat his ass up?!?!" he shouted. Hermione kissed Jesiphire's nose, not looking at Ron.
"Just drop it ok. You're not going to do yourself any good by getting detention for fighting with Malfoy." But on the inside, Hermione was asking herself the exact same question.