"Is it done?" Ginny asked that evening. They had both managed to convince their families to allow them to stay in their flat for another week before they shifted in with them as per tradition, and the week was coming to an end the next day. The two of them planned on using their limited time together as effectively as possible. Ginny always said that she didn't sleep too well without him next to her.

"Yeah, Jim found her a place to stay. Now, do you mind explaining the whole situation, please? I know that she was pregnant a while back, but when did she leave the country?" he asked, looking up from his current night-time read.

"Oh, she lost the baby in her fourth month, and Mum basically accused her of deliberately miscarrying. The rumor got out into the public, and then she just left. I tried to keep in touch with her, but Ron found on of my letters and got Mum to stop me from writing to her. I did sneak in a message with Harry occasionally," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, sliding down to lie down and get ready to sleep.

"Hmm, so you didn't believe it was her fault?"

"I don't really know, Draco. All I know was Mum was really devastated. She even had to go back to her blood pressure control potion for months after that. I kept in touch with Hermione because she was a good friend to me, that is all."

"Still, it seems sort of…sad, don't you think?"

"Yeah, sure. Listen, I am really tired and I need to be up early for a conference with the media about the England Cup tomorrow. Good night," she said, leaning up to quickly peck him, before turning to her side and switching off her bedside lamp.

He heard her light snores not ten minutes after, but he found sleep to be elusive. Something about her story, and her eyes kept him thinking the whole night. She wasn't the girl he had known at school. No, she was broken, and was far too subdued in her actions, that had always been driven with passion and confidence and even slightly over-the-top. Sure, she was still a spitfire, but there was just something he couldn't put his finger on that had changed drastically. She seemed withdrawn, and it was obvious that the events of the past still haunted her. He knew this because she had been in a car with him and not passed a single comment about him or his impending wedding. The moment he had seen her, and then been left alone with her, he had been certain he would receive some taunt or degrading comment about his massive shift in character, maybe even something alluding to playing Ginny. But she didn't comment. She didn't say anything.

"Granger?" he called out from outside the door the burly man at the reception desk had directed him to. As soon as Jim told him he had left her at a hotel in Craydon, Draco knew he had to step in to the situation on his own.

"Who is it?" came an obviously scared voice.

"It's me, Granger. Draco. Open the door," he said.

"How do I know it's you really?" she asked, making him chuckle at her ever-present tenacity.

"Granger, seriously, just open the door. I'm here to take you to a proper place to stay at."

She opened the door slowly then, popping her head out first to ensure her safety. Only once she had confirmed that it was actually Draco did she open the door fully.

He took a look around at the pathetic state of her room. "Grab your things. We are leaving."

After a long call to Jim about his poor judgement, to put it lightly, he had driven Hermione to various hotels that didn't work in the insect-breeding business and were close to the wedding location to make travel easier for her. When they had moved into their flat, Ginny had insisted that they get a car, and he learn how to drive it. The insistence came from her experiences in her father's car as a little girl. Draco had been doubtful at first, and had looked at their vehicle with a little bit of fear even. But once he started going for his lessons, he found that he actually liked the experience. It was like flying, in an altogether different way. It was much more comfortable, too. And it had music, and even though it was muggle artists, he found himself humming the tunes some mornings while preparing breakfast. Yes, yet another thing that Ginny had put him up to. They cooked, and cleaned mostly on their own, with the exception of a cleaning lady who came in once a month for a more deep cleaning of the flat.

Unfortunately for Draco, all the hotels were full. Spring weddings were great, but they did entail full capacity hotels. He called up a number of good hotels all over London afterwards, but they were either full or too far from the country side location of the wedding, making it difficult, if not impossible, for Hermione to attend each event planned for before and after the wedding.

"Umm, it's okay, I'll just stay at my parent's place," she said after what seemed like the thousandth unsuccessful attempt.

"Where do they live?"

"Manchester."

"It falls under another network district than the wedding location. You would have to apply for licensed portkey's or have their place connected to the floo, which could easily take weeks. And we have anti-apparition wards in place for security, so you can't apparate either."

"Listen, it's fine. No offense, but I really only wanted to come to meet Harry and the Weasley's once. I'm pretty sure the Weasley's would rather not have me there, and I'll just try and meet Harry at his house sometime. I'll just not come to the wedding, then," she said, but he had heard her voice break slightly when she spoke.

"Or I could have you stay at someone's house, rather than a hotel. I can call up Blaise or Pansy," he suggested.

"I don't think that Ginny would appreciate your telling anyone about me," she said, trying to cover up the slight quiver in her voice.

He contemplated for a minute before the answer finally struck him. "Oh! You could stay at the Manor. I'm moving there tomorrow morning, and you could be in my wing, so nobody will really notice you. It's perfect."

"Oh, no, no. I couldn't stay at the Manor," she spoke, her eyes widened in shock.

"Of course you can. See, if this is about the past, I can assure you, neither me, nor my family nor the Manor is the same anymore. Mother had it entirely refurbished after…you know. And it solves the problem of your accommodation, and I can get you food and whatever else you may need. What do you think?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked, slowly.

"One, you're Ginny's friend. Two, I'm not the same boy as I was at Hogwarts. Three, I have no real reason to dislike you anymore."

"Oh, you had one before?" she challenged his statement.

"Yeah, you weren't familiar with this world or it's ways and you still did better than me. And about the names, I'm sorry. Really, I am."

She looked at him intently, as if waiting for the old Draco Malfoy to jump out any second and mock her for believing in his words, or teasing her for her atrocious hair. But nothing happened. So she nodded slowly. Not like she had anything to lose anymore anyway.

"Okay, this is your room. You have an en-suite, so you can be comfortable around here. My room is just three doors to your right, and there is my personal library that you can use just the room across from you. I've left Dinky know about you, and she will make sure you have everything you need to be comfortable. Just please try to stay in my wing, and don't stray out, okay?"

She could only dumbly nod. She was overwhelmed with her surroundings. Her room was gorgeous, done up in black and white, with accents of a rich maroon. She hadn't had such a great place to live in for forever, and the effort Draco was putting for her warmed her heart. Without thinking, she pulled him into a tight hug, only letting go when he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I'm..I, uh, sorry," she muttered.

"No problem," he said.

They stood there in silence until he finally decided to break the awkwardness and made his excuses to leave the room.

Hermione didn't have time to mull over the situation. She fell into a deep slumber the moment her body touched the comfortable bed.

Preview of Chapter 4: The next morning

Making sure no one was in the hallway, she tiptoed to the door he had said was his, and knocked on the door. She heard no sounds of anyone scrambling to hurry and open the door. So she tried again.

Four unsuccessful attempts later, she tried the handle. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked.

Hermione stepped inside and shut the door behind her, marveling at the beautiful room. The room was enormous, carpeted in a plush cream expanse, complemented by the pale blue walls that shimmered with a soft and understated paisley print. The wall at the far end had ceiling to floor windows that were covered by sheer curtains, and amidst the filtered rays, she could see that the room overlooked the gardens. Of course, there was the bed. Where Draco Malfoy lay tangled amongst the bedding.

(A/N: Do tell me if you like it yet, and thanks for reading :D)

To the Guest reviewer who said they didn't like the Weasley's here, can you please tell me if you meant the way I wrote them, or their characteristics in the fic? So I can make any required changes? :D

To all the other reviewers, likers, followers, THANK YOU, I love you all :)