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JK Rowling owns all HP characters and references
Moving Draco Malfoy into her apartment was a simple job. He did not have a bed, dresser or any other bulky item, so it was just a matter of carrying a few boxes of clothes, shoes and personal items. They bought take out that Thursday night- Hermione's shout to welcome her new housemate- and after sitting down with the plastic containers and chopsticks, she outlined the rules she expected him to follow.
She carefully explained her request that he did not bring casual women back to the apartment, but if he got into a serious relationship she asked if she could meet the girl first before meeting her half naked in the kitchen the next morning. Draco didn't seem fazed by this and told her that women weren't an issue. Hermione didn't bat an eyebrow at this revelation and instead insisted that any man he brought back wore clothes in the kitchen. She reassured him that she would show him the same respect. She didn't mention that her bringing men home was a rare occurrence.
She was surprised by Draco's sudden choking fit and she rushed to pat him on the back to dislodge whatever food he had swallowed wrong. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he tried to pull air in. When he was finally breathing normally he looked at her incredulously. "I'm not gay Hermione." Hermione shrugged. It wasn't any of her business; she just didn't want to see strange naked men in her kitchen. Well, unless they had just come from her own bed and he was making her breakfast. "No really, I'm not. I just know that women won't be an issue for me."
"Draco, it's okay really. It's none of my business what you do. Just get a hotel or something if you need to satisfy...urges. With a partner that is. If you feel the need to-" she waved her hand towards his groin awkwardly "do other stuff, then just... well, maybe keep it down yea?"
The blonde man in front of her was opening and closing his mouth in shock. She couldn't blame him though; how often would a twenty year old have this conversation?
Under his breath Hermione heard him mutter something but she wasn't interested in finding out what it was. With this awkward conversation now out of the way, they continued to eat and got to know each other better. She discovered that Draco's mother was no longer alive, and that his father had pretty much forced him to join the army. It was a family tradition apparently. Hermione got the sense that his father was strict and raised his son like a soldier.
Hermione in turn told him about what it was like when she grew up in a family with just her mum and then her step-dad and step-brother. She didn't talk about her birth father and Draco didn't press it. He asked her about her job and how she could stand working in an office all the time. Hermione had smiled at him and told him that when she was absorbed in her work she didn't notice anything around her. It wouldn't matter if she was inside or working in a field of grass in the middle of the country.
Crookshanks had popped up halfway through and had curled himself up next to Draco, much to Hermione's amusement. Her cat didn't like many people and she was glad that he liked her new house guest. The more they talked, the more she felt comfortable with him. She doubted she would have felt this comfortable with Blaise even though he was closer to her age than Draco. Draco was definitely the youngest of the people she had shown around, and she knew it must be costing him a pretty dime to be able to afford living here. She herself had a trust fund from her late grandmother which helped pay the cost of living in this upscale part of town. Her rent was not cheap but she loved her flat and it's positioning so she did not feel guilty about drawing money out. Her grandmother had told her to live like a Queen with the money, and that's exactly what she was doing. She was 28 and had a full time job that could afford her many things in life but she would never have been able to live like this without her Grandmother's money.
By the time they had finished eating, their conversation had fizzled slightly and she had turned the television on just to prevent any awkward silences. She was exhausted and in desperate need for an early night, yet boxes were piled haphazardly around Draco's room and she felt like a bad host going to bed when he was still awake.
When a yawn threatened to break her jaw she conceded defeat and admitted that he now lived with her and she had no need to stay awake just for him.
She picked up the empty Chinese containers and took them to the sink. Draco was channel surfing and Hermione watched him from the kitchen like he was an insect under a microscope. So this was the twenty year old man in his natural environment then? At twenty she had her head stuck in a book- whether she was studying or not- so it was interesting to see the differences. She had often rolled her eyes at her step-brother and his friends whenever they were around the house. They were boisterous and messy and spoke about girls too much and with not enough respect. It wasn't like she could do much except tell them to grow up and walk away.
"Draco?" she caught his attention, suddenly wanting to know exactly how old her housemate was. "How old are you?"
From his spot on the sofa he looked at her with a questioning look on his face. "I'm turning twenty two in a few weeks," he responded.
Hermione's surprise must have been evident as he stood up and approached her. "Why? Is that a problem? Am I too young?"
Quickly shaking her head, she rushed her reply. "No it's just that I thought you were younger. You do look very young you know."
A short bark of laughter suggested Draco's amusement. "How old did you think I was?"
Avoiding eye contact she shrugged. After a pause she embarrassingly responded with "I actually thought you were twenty."
A loud snort drew her attention and she looked back at Draco. He was now leaning on the kitchen counter directly opposite and pinning her with a gaze. She shifted slightly, uncomfortable with such an intense look. "Yes, I do look it don't I. Fortunately, it has its benefits."
Hermione drew her eye brows together in confusion. "How can looking so young be a benefit?" She had hated looking young when she was twenty-two. She had to show her ID everywhere and new lawyers to her department had often thought she was an intern instead of a qualified lawyer. The amount of requests for photocopying and coffee she got was ridiculous. Then again, in ten years time she would probably wish to look younger.
A strange look crossed his face and Hermione gave him a look that said 'go on, tell'. He hesitated and ran a hand through his hair as though to buy time. "Well, in my line of work it's a benefit to look young."
Hermione didn't see how that worked in the army, but she didn't press it further. Maybe it had something to do with fitness and stamina. Or maybe even a way to confuse the enemy? Maybe he liked to look young for the girls who must throw themselves at him. He seemed uncomfortable with talking about it, and she didn't want to start interrogating him in the kitchen on his first night. Instead, she gave him a beatific smile and announced her desire to get some sleep. She told Draco not to worry when he had offered to clean the sink full of dishes, and he acquiesced, trotting back to the television.
She shook her head as she walked past him and called for Crookshanks to follow her. Once she was in her room she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. So far things were working out well. He had accepted her request that he look after Crookshanks, and had agreed with writing up a schedule of any planned field trips so she knew when he was home. She had felt guilty at asking him to help her clean the house, but she knew it was only fair, even if it was Crookshanks who made most of the mess with his fur.
There was a full moon that night Hermione noticed as she went to close her curtains. The white light caressed the tree tops in the park and she sighed wistfully at the beauty. The park was one of the reasons she had chosen this apartment. It certainly beat looking out over a street and it provided her with easy access to a walking route.
She made a mental note to take Draco through the park over the weekend. She had picked up that he liked to run every day, and she thought the park was a nicer place to run than the bustling streets.
As she pulled the sheets back on her bed, she eyed her briefcase sitting leaning against the wall next to her door. She had not done any work on the Carrow girl today because of Draco moving in, but she knew she would have to work extra hard tomorrow night. The case on Bellatrix was coming along slowly at work due to issues with other defendants but she was confident that she would be prepared in time for the trial even if she wasn't able to use the research she had been doing. It wasn't a difficult case really but there was more to it she knew and she wanted to present the truth to the Court. If Alecto really knew Bellatrix well, then her witness statement to the police could be a lie. Bellatrix could be more involved in the Death Eater Club than she was being charged with.
It was important to Hermione that she get to the bottom of this as her birth father had been killed in a bikie brawl twenty years ago and she did not want Bellatrix to get off with a light penalty because of the fabrication of witness statements. Her father's killer had served only part of his sentence before 'new evidence' came to light and he was released.
She was too exhausted to read that night so she turned the light off, snuggling into her blankets with Crookshanks curled up at her feet. She had a positive feeling about Draco being her housemate and she let out a quiet laugh as she thought back to her previous fears of her housemate being a murderer. He was a trained killer, but he didn't look like he had it in him to be a cold-blooded murderer. The kid seemed absolutely harmless. Well, harmless to her. To other younger women he would be a serial heartbreaker, this much she could tell. There was no way she would ever fall for a guy in the army again. Especially not one so many years younger than her.
Unbeknownst to Hermione, her cat woke from his doze two hours later and lifted his head to stare at the door. He cocked his head to the left and flicked his tail. Someone was moving around the apartment. Crookshanks knew that his mistress had a friend over and this pleased him. His mistress would no longer be lonely and he could get more sleep into his day without feeling obligated to look after her. She sometimes looked sad and he didn't like it.
While Crookshanks approved of his mistresses new friend, he didn't approve of the way the man was moving around in the dark. His mistress wouldn't mind the light- she normally kept one on anyway. It was silly to walk around in the dark- how did the man-human know where he was going? He could see perfectly fine of course, but he had seen his mistress walk into too many things because she had bad eyesight in the dark.
His sensitive ears perked when he heard a high pitched whine and the man's voice speaking. Crookshanks could not understand what was being said, but the man didn't sound very friendly in his opinion. Eventually Crookshanks heard the man shuffle across the carpet and then the sound of plastic breaking had him standing up alert. These were strange sounds and he didn't like them. It went quiet after this and he heard a door being shut down the hall- probably the new man going to bed. He stayed alert for a few more moments but he lost interest when he heard running water. He didn't like water much so he snuggled in between his mistress' feet and curled his tail up under his chin.
Purring contentedly, he briefly wondered what the man had said. He hadn't heard anyone else in the apartment but his mistress sometimes talked to that hard metal thing she carried around. Maybe this man was doing the same?
As Hermione dreamt of a flying car and Crookshanks twitched his nose in his sleep, Draco Malfoy was stealthily moving around his newly obtained room. He looked under the bed and in the wardrobe. He removed the single picture on the wall and looked behind it before replacing it. He even felt around the edges of the carpet. Finally he found what he was looking for hidden on top of the door jamb. A surge of anger overwhelmed him and he spoke in a low voice so as to not wake the sleeping woman down the hall.
"I know you're there. She's mine now. This is your warning: stay away or I will kill you."