A/N: I'm back : ) ….ugh for those of you that deal with the Microsoft software company, I hope you sympathize with me in their 'autocorrect' features. It means that whenever I go to make a smiling face, it makes a real one. Which doesn't transfer over into Fanfiction. So that's why my smiley faces have that demented gap in them.

Sorry- I get bugged about the little things. OCD? Just a little.

Anyway- I hope you all like this chapter. It's short, I know, but I want to space it out. The next chapters will be much longer, guaranteed. I have a lot of chapters planned out, but they need a lot of baby chapters to get to the right spot in the plot. I hope you writers understand what I mean.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the Arkkien.

Warnings: Eh, nothing worth mentioning in this one, so you all can be surprised : )

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Hermione sat back in the large brown leather loveseat and sighed, content. She sipped on her coffee and marveled at how one could become addicted to the bitter liquid. Since moving in with Zoe, she'd felt compelled to drink it every morning.

Zoe. Who'd have thought she'd have been so like herself? It was scary. Hermione had met her only three days ago at the bookstore, and already they'd discovered that there was little they disagreed about. They loved the same books (Jane Austen, but Jennifer Crusie for days that weren't so deep), the same movies (Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were gods), and the same foods (mint chocolate chip ice cream). They were practically twins.

The apartment that Zoe rented out was nice, with dark furnishings and mocha walls. Books were strewn everywhere, and Zoe's cat, Sebastian, prowled around. Hermione felt a pang whenever she looked at him, because he looked just like her old cat, Crookshanks. Poor old Crookshanks. He had died four years ago, and Hermione still missed him.

"So," Zoe said, plopping down on the matching brown leather couch next to Hermione. "How are you finding America?"

Hermione smiled. "It's not as odd as I thought it'd be, to be honest. Same world, really. Once you get past the differences in habit and so on, people are people, no matter where they are."

"How wise." Zoe said, laughter in her voice.

"Hermione gave her a mock glare. "Don't laugh! I wasn't trying to come off as overly sage-like. It just….came out that way."

"Mmhmm." Zoe said, sipping on her coffee. Her tone was teasing.

The two women sat in companionable silence, broken only by the sound of Sebastian purring on the rug by Zoe's feet. He was stretched out, belly to the air, soaking up the sun rays from the balcony window.

"Hermione?" Zoe asked tentatively.

"Yes?" Hermione said, her mind still on Crookshanks.

"Would you mind if I asked you a more personal question?"

Hermione's sharp gaze met Zoe's brown eyes. "Sure." She said cautiously.

"Don't worry, it's not anything bad, per se. I just was wondering….. Why are you here?"

Hermione sighed and turned towards the window. She knew that Zoe was going to ask her that question. In fact, she applauded the woman for waiting as long as she had before asking. The problem was, Hermione had no idea how to tell her. 'Well, it goes like this: I've got a guy back in England who is this ancient magical being who controls the storms and has these gorgeous blue wings, and he thinks I'm his mate, so he wants me to live with him and play housewife for his sexy ass'.

Yes, that'd go over so well.

"Well," Hermione began hesitantly. "I left someone behind in England."

Zoe's eyes widened. "Please don't tell me you left some poor man at the altar or something." Hermione almost laughed at the horror in her voice.

"No no no! Of course not. I wouldn't do that to a guy. If I didn't like him, I wouldn't have said yes. And if I did like him, I certainly wouldn't have gotten cold feet." Hermione's smile died on her face as she realized something.

She had left a guy at the altar. Not the marriage altar, to be sure, but wasn't a mating the same thing to the Arkkien?

Oh, shit.

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Draco Malfoy got off the plane and sighed. Even though he could have flown, he would have been completely wiped out for at least a day, and he wanted to find Hermione as quick as possible.

It had taken him three days to discover where she had gone. Not being one of her closest friends, he hadn't been able to ask any of her aquaintances directly. And her work colleagues had had no idea.

So he had had to resort to trickery. Using his Arkkien sexual tendrils, he had lured Ginny Weasley into the bookshop in Diagon Alley. Knowing Harry would've killed him, he didnit take advantage of her. He just got her complacent enough to tell him where Hermione had gone. After gleaning the words 'Grand Rapids' out of her lips, he'd obliviated the memory.

Then he'd had to go home and find out where the hell Grand Rapids was.

But now he was here, and he could sense her. Stepping off the plane, his Arkkien side immediately relaxed. He could sense her, and she was doing well. She was content, she was happy, and—more to his Arkkien side's liking—within reach.

He knew it wasn't rational, he knew it probably was the wrong thing to do, but he couldn't help it.

He started off towards the source of Hermione's feelings.

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"So basically, you left a completely hot, sexy piece of man flesh behind in England because you had commitment issues." Zoe said, her tone displaying that she was trying very hard to see the good side.

Hermione sighed. When taking out the magical being part of the equation, she'd hit the nail on the head. "Yeah."

"I just have one question." Zoe said, her voice devoid of all emotion. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, WOMAN?"

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A/N: Well, I hoped you all liked that one : )

Draco and Hermione are now placed in the right position to meet for the second time…let's see if their second meeting is any more—productive—than their first xD.

Please review with your comments/concerns/questions!

Your feedback is what assures me that you're really reading my work : )

Thanks,

TLA