Chapter 4:: Somebody To Lean On

Draco smiled. He had received a rather large sum of information from Zander about the Sky child. He now knew that she was Austin's twin. He also knew that their last name, from what he gathered from the little girl, was Granger.

Now tell me, how many little girls are running around with the Malfoy eyes, and the Malfoy hair? At that, how many of those little girls were born to a Granger girl. How many Grangers could possibly be in the Wizarding world? How many that could have a child that looks just like me? Draco only had one answer, and it was the only one he needed.

The next morning he dropped Zander off and proceeded to the receptionist's desk.

"Can I help you, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Uh, yes. I would like to speak with Ms. Myrick."

"Do you have some time? She's with another visitor right now." Just as Draco was reply, the office door opened and a man slightly older than Draco exited the office.

The man's sparkling green eyes met Draco's for a split second before the man's mind registered who Draco was. He was surprised, and a small smile came over his face. "Good Morning, Mr. Malfoy. How have you been? Good from what the media says." His eyes twinkled with a bit of knowing mischief, but he stayed cordial and polite; he didn't want to seem too friendly with the blonde, after all they were rivals.

"Valentine." Draco ground his teeth together as the name left his mouth. He let his eyes half-shut into a death glare as his former professor greeted him. "What business do you have here?"

"I am merely finding out the answers to some unknown questions that have been eating away at the back of my mind. I'm sure you're here for the same cause?"

"Actually, I'm here to drop off my Godson and speak with Ms. Myrick about an incident that occurred yesterday. Not that that is any of your concern."

"Oh? Forgive my assumptions. It would seem I struck a nerve." His tone wasn't very apologetic and Draco didn't appreciate this bastard's attitude.

"You know what? You can take your sick games and shove them up your ass. Your pretend sincerity won't work anymore." Draco looked ready to pounce at any second and the receptionist looked on between the two, debating whether she should call Alyssa out or not.

"I really don't understand what you're talking about Mr. Malfoy; but I can assure you, once more, there is no need to cop an attitude with me. I have done nothing to you personally."

"Sure, fucking my girlfriend 5 years ago was no big thing! Almost knocking her up was no big deal. You just fucked up my relationship because you're a sick fuck that has to get his jollies off with his teenage students! But you're right! It's nothing to get upset over or anything." Draco was practically yelling; the hate, the venom, the sarcasm, it all melted together in a malicious hiss.

"Mister Malfoy!" Alyssa stood tapping her foot in the doorway, clearly fed up with the argument. "We do NOT tolerate that sort of language in the preschool. Please get into my office immediately. Mr. Valentine." Alyssa gave a respectful nod to the older man before pulling Draco into her office and slamming the door shut.

Draco knew it was wrong to find this side of her attractive. It was so very wrong indeed. Hermione shoved him into a chair roughly and Draco had to fight his urge to grab her roughly and slam her over her desk. He did, much to his pleasure, fail to abstain his eyes from inspecting her body. He absolutely loved her short office skirts she wore, and her long legs. But he loved the way her top fit her perfectly today, and he loved how the rough movements of slamming doors and shoving him down made her perfect breasts jiggle just right; yeah, he really loved that.

When she sat, he was able to bring his mind back to her face. Her mascara was running slightly and her eyes were a bit puffy. It was no doubt that in the brief argument he'd had with the former professor, Alyssa had been upset about something he'd said or done and was crying after he walked out. Draco was sure because from what he'd seen from her, she was the type who would not let personal emotions interfere in her work. She was the type that would hold it together and break down later when they could be alone. This was his impression of her.

"I'm really sorry, Ms. Myrick. I didn't know it would upset you so much it'd make you cry." Sure, why not use her tears to guilt her into not being mad at him. After all, how can someone be mad at you when you're apologizing for causing something; especially when that something was actually caused by someone else.

"Oh, you didn't— it's just— well… some of the things you mentioned… I've been in a similar situation. I didn't know it would hurt my boyfriend so much at the time. But… seeing you react so… angry and hurt… it just makes me think of how he must have felt."

Draco was quiet for a moment, debating whether to ask what had plagued his mind for years. "Could you tell me…" he trailed off slightly, unsure of how to progress. He never wanted to ask Hermione why she did what she did. He only ever wanted to show her it didn't matter; that all he wanted was her. Perhaps this daycare owner… perhaps she could tell him what would lead a girl to that. "I mean… what made you do it to your boyfriend?"

Alyssa looked up a little shocked but more questioningly; but Draco didn't want to meet her eyes. He decided that he would busy his eyes with observing the floor. "Why would you ask?"

"Well… that time. My girlfriend slept with that man, he was our Potions professor. We only had an argument. It was a misunderstanding and she wouldn't listen to me. I guess this sounds really stupid to you. But it's something that always plagued me. I could never understand why. Why would she sleep with him just because we had an argument? I thought we were a working couple. We had our flaws… but who doesn't. I guess I just thought she wanted more out of her life than what I could offer…" He trailed off once more, still not meeting her eyes. She was grateful for that though. She didn't want him to see the fresh tears that were silently rolling down her cheeks.

Suddenly Hermione wanted nothing more than to run. She wanted to run as fast and as far as her legs could take her. But she didn't run. She had been running this whole time. She wasn't sure how much more running her body would take. She wiped the stray tears before speaking.

"You know, looking back on it, I don't really know why. I was scared, I was selfish, and I just wanted out. Most likely your ex was the same way. We females tend to be a bit unstable when we get emotional. I don't think you really have anything to blame yourself."

"Do you blame your ex?" He met her eyes with his own now; his eyes stormy, reflecting the surge of memories flowing behind them. She shook her head, only slightly though.

"I couldn't. He had done nothing wrong. The only thing he was guilty of at the time was caring. I'm sure you're innocent too, Mr. Malfoy." The way she addressed him brought him crashing back to now. He shook his head in order to regain his control.

"I did what you asked." Alyssa cocked her head slightly to the side, trying to remember any requests she'd made to him. Draco continued on anyway, "Zander told me all about why they were fighting. He said Morgan pushed Austin down and called her all sorts of names. Zander was really upset. He was completely crying saying that Morgan was good friends with Austin and that he only hurt her because the other boys were telling him that if he defended her, then he was just as bad as her."

"So… sort of like a pureblood that would associate with a muggleborn? That pureblood was considered a bloodtraitor and just as low?" Alyssa had to put it in a way that made more sense to her. Draco nodded.

"Granted… your reference is a little outdated."

"Huh?"

"I mean, yeah, there are still a few pureblood families that are a bit… prejudiced still. But since the fall of You-Know-Who, no one has really bothered with continuing the prejudices."

"Voldemort's dead?" Alyssa clamped her hand over her mouth with wide eyes. There were only three wizards that could speak the name without fear: Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger. Even Ron and Ginny Weasley were afraid to say the name.

Draco didn't seem to catch her grave mistake, much to her relief. "You don't have to be afraid of saying the name anymore." Draco chuckled slightly. His laugh was warming to Alyssa. She hadn't heard him truly laugh in so long; she really did miss that laugh. He got serious for a moment though. "You didn't know he was dead? He was defeated about four and a half years ago."

"Harry Potter beat him?"

"Almost. You really don't know?" He leaned forward curiously. There weren't many witches or wizards alive that hadn't heard about the final battle.

"I've been home with my parents for several years. They're muggles in Wales." Draco gave a simple "oh," then he sat back again.

"Harry Potter died at the hands of Voldemort. He let Voldemort do it to protect that sack of shit Weasley boy. He should have just let the death eaters kill the weasel and taken the guy down. But Potter always did have to rescue everyone."

"Did Ron kill him?" Alyssa's eyes were wide, she was in shock. Harry was dead.

Draco seemed to get a good laugh out of that question before raising an eyebrow and leaning on her desk. "You think that coward would have beaten Voldemort? Hell no. That sorry excuse for a wizard ran. He ran as fast as he could. He abandoned his family, his friends, his whole team, and even his dead best friend. He just ran away from the battle the second Potter hit the ground. It was that man earlier, Sidney Valentine, who finally defeated Voldemort."

Alyssa couldn't hold her tears back anymore. She cried. There were no more silent tears. She had broken down. She had toughed it out through a lot of hard times in her life; and she just couldn't do it anymore. What else could she do? Her best friend, the boy who stood up for her and defended her, the boy who befriended her when no one else would; he was dead.

A strangled sob came from the girl as a fresh wave of tears came over her. Before common sense could stop him, Draco listened to his instincts and took the girl into his arms. He thought she would resist him, that she would turn him away. She thought she would to… but she didn't. She stayed there in his arms. She let him hold her while her world crashed down on her.

For the first time in almost five years, the two in that office felt right.

Draco didn't understand it. He sat in his office that night, after Zander had been safely tucked into his crib. He had gone to speak to Alyssa about Sky's mom. But in all that happened, Sky was the last thing on his mind.

That scared him more than anything.

Here he was, searching for Hermione Granger; the love of his life and mother to his child. But when Valentine walked out of Alyssa's office, he felt possessive of her. He had multiple encounters that he found sexual feelings towards her, especially today. Even still, more than all of that, he suddenly felt like he had to protect her.

He was confused. He loved Hermione, he wanted Hermione, and he needed Hermione. But this Alyssa was exceptional. She was beautiful, sexy, entrancing, exciting, passionate, sensitive, and smart. Being near her had his mind racing and his stomach in knots. But more than that, holding her felt right. Every time he shook hands with her, and today when he was holding her, it just felt right.

"Man…" Draco spoke out loud to no one, alone in his empty manor. "What should I do?" He put his face into his hands, rubbing his face in concentration. Continue the search for my elusive ex? Or go for what is right in front of me?

AN::

Awwww… I just want to huggle sensitive Draco D: it's so sad to me.

Guys! Oh my goodness! You have been AWESOME so far! Your reviews make me so happy! I just had to write another chapter today! I hope you guys enjoy this one! I promise the next one will revolve a little bit more around Hermione/Alyssa and the two girls. =) This one was a little bit more Draco-POV biased, ne?

Oh! For the people who were curious! I have been using Hermione and Alyssa interchangeably and some people messaged me asking why I flipflopped. This is because when she is interacting with Draco or work I want to refer to her as Alyssa Myrick. When she is in her mind, I want to refer to her as Hermione. Does that make sense? Kind of like. On the outside she's Alyssa so everything that deals with her outside alterself is Alyssa. Her emotions are still Hermione's, so any thoughts or emotions will be Hermione.

I know there are a few inconsistencies… that's where that fine-line crosses where it's a mental action and a physical action occurring and I can't decide so I go with which one is more prominent to me.