a/n: here's what we've all been waiting for. The fight scene. Hope you like it. r&r
As we were walking down the hallway to the guestroom I had to groan as I thought about where to put Draco. I called out, "Mum, all the guest rooms are taken." I couldn't think of one room in the house that was empty. Luckily all the rooms had their own bathrooms or mornings would be worse than they were already.
"I'll be right up to figure something out. Maybe he can stay with Bryce?"
"No way. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Not even him." Bryce is insane. I feel sorry for the 12 year old, not knowing what his problem is. Maybe its puberty.
"What's wrong with Bryce?" Draco just had to ask.
"We don't know. I'm putting my money on him being insane, his sister says that he was dropped to many times as a baby, & all of the adults say that he's just a growing boy. It's sad really but there's nothing you can do except stay out of his way." If you don't you know that you soon go crazy yourself. I'm half convinced that's what happened to Aunt Lindy, rest her blessed heart.
"Hermione," mother scolded from the doorway, "Your cousin is not insane. Now we need to figure out what we're going to do with this young man if we're not going to put him with Bryce."
"We could put him in the attic. I don't think anyone's up there yet." Hopefully. That way I would get rid of this headache & start screaming at him before I was too tired to hold it in anymore.
"Your Aunt Temina is up there. She needed to get away from her husband. The garage?"
"No, Uncle Zander is there. Had to get away from Joelle." That girl is almost as bad as her brother. "I need to get out of here too." I could feel the need to scream building, like it did since we first had to figure out what to do with all the guests that were summoned to the house. It was a juggling act worse than the burrow had to go thru.
"What about the tree house?" I thought about it. It wouldn't be fair to put a guest into the tree house, & Malfoy would be bad enough without having to go thru that. I wish I could move out there, mum would let me use her bathroom far more readily than anyone else would let Malfoy use theirs & we could take turns preparing breakfast & getting ready for the day.
"How about I move out there, while Joelle moves into my room? If she does that Uncle Zander will go back to his room freeing the garage for Draco to use."
She thought it over for a moment before saying, "Ok. Tell everyone at dinner, for now just get your stuff out of your room & put Draco's stuff in the garage." Then she hurried off to where she had left Joelle watching the noodles, sure that she would burn the house down without supervision for much longer.
"Come along Malfoy, unless you want to be late for dinner & growled at your first day here." He looked so overwhelmed that for a second I wanted to laugh before I decided I was too mad to be amused. I huffed & went to my room to pack everything I could to take to the tree house. Stripping my bed by pulling the corners of the bottom sheet off & rolling everything up in it I started packing. Three drawers and 2 suitcases of clothes later & I was ready to go to the tree house. All the while I was building more anger at him for showing up & making me move again. I had promised my mother no more screaming at whoever came to see Aunt Lindy, but Malfoy wasn't here for that so I could yell at him with a mostly clear conscience. I shoved the blankets at him & said, "Follow me."
I went thru the house as fast as I could. I wanted to scream already and knew that if I did in the house that mum would add another rule to the growing list. I climbed up the ladder & dumped my load before looking back to see Malfoy still following me with my blankets trying to climb the ladder. "Pass them up quick before my mum sees you doing that & comes out here." He handed them up, still looking confused.
"Tell me, Malfoy, just what you think you're doing here. I'm busy enough with having to watch Bryce & Joelle without having to make sure you follow the rules or edit what you say to my family so they don't find out. Only my cousins know that I'm a witch & they hate that they aren't ones either. You can't go around screwing up everything that I've been doing for years. I just know that you'll mess something up, even if it's just when I go to visit Aunt Lindy. Did you honestly think that being here, going to muggle school, which you will have to do if you're going to stay here, and just doing whatever was going to be easy? I had almost talked my mum into letting me ask Aunt Lindy if I could go to Hogwarts, but you had to show up & give her a good reason for me to stay here. You've already messed up sleeping arrangements, though Joelle will probably love you forever for getting her away from her mum, & I'm not as mad as I would be if I would have to stay in that house one more day. Now mum's going to have to find time in her busy schedule to bring you down the the school & enroll you, god knows how she sleeps already, and then when school starts next week I'm going to be the one that will have to show you around instead of working so mum will be more likely to consider letting me talk Aunt Lindy into letting me go back again. & I think that your presence shows that we'll have Hogwarts homework too. The day is full enough & just by being here your messing it up. What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Malfoy?"
I was panting with all the words that had gotten out of me. I was glad that I had gotten everything off my chest finally, without my mum telling me to be polite, but now that I had calmed down enough to look at Draco again I couldn't help but wish I had gone easier on him. He was looking shocked & a bit scared & some third emotion I couldn't read. I felt bad, like I always did when I talked to Malfoy. He was so adorable though, looking at me with an emotion never really seen on his face before. He was quiet for a bit & when he opened his mouth to answer my question my mum called out, "Hermione! Draco! Supper's ready!"
He looked at me for a second more before saying, "We mustn't keep your mother waiting, Granger." Then it hit me that I would have to introduce Draco to my family. Gods help me keep my sanity tonight.