Last chapter on Circa Mundi :

"You have some nerve, Malfoy, to accost me in this hallway like this and threaten me!"

And then it happened as quickly as Malfoy had kissed her.

WHACK!

Chapter 6

Malfoy stumbled back as the blow of Hermione's hand hit him square in the cheek. Seconds passed as both of them stood in silence, each one staring at the other in disbelief, before Malfoy finally shook his head, apparently coming out of his daze.

He slowly took a step back, and another, as his eyes blinked rapidly.

"Oh bloody hell… I… Oh, fuck!" he almost shouted, shaking his head as he abruptly left the dark alcove. Hermione stood still in her spot, willing herself to move.

What … The … Hell ? she thought as she leaned against the wall in the darkened hallway. She shook her head and smoothed out her dress, the feeling of Malfoy's lips still lingering on her own. As she made way back to the hall were the Gala was still going strong, she remembered the feel of Malfoy's body against hers. His body had felt so strong and solid against her own tiny frame, and even as he man-handled her in the alcove, she had noticed a change in his demeanor as he talked to her.

Cold, steel-like silver eyes had transformed to pools of a lusty dark grey.

His usual frigid stance had melted away to a more lustful posture.

Hermione, stop ! a little voice inside her head screamed. Even if he's stunningly handsome, he's still slimy ferret-faced Malfoy!

Rolling her eyes to herself, she turned another corner to the final corridor that would lead her back to the Gala when a silvery cloud ran straight to her.

She recognized Harry's patronus at once and panic shot to her heart.

Was everyone all right? Had anyone been attacked? Did she miss out on something while she was snogging Malfoy? No, technically, he had been snogging her, not the other way around…

Hermione, it's happening. Come to St-Mungo's, NOW!

The silver stag slowly dissolved itself in front of her as she struggled to make out the message he had given her.

What was happening? Why had anyone been sent to St-Mungo's?

And as quickly as her last thought escaped her, realization hit her at once.

Ginny! Oh Merlin, the baby!

Quickly, Hermione lifted each side of her dress with her hands and started sprinting as quickly as she could back to the entrance hall where she could safely disapparate. She was reminded of the safety measures the Ministry had put up on all their events, such as being only able to apparate and disapparate from one room such as the Entrance Hall, and she couldn't help but think that they were going barmy trying to mother everyone so much. Right now, they were putting an extra obstacle in between her exiting and getting to her best friend as quickly as possible and it frustrated her to no point.

Finally reaching the hall, she squeezed her wand in her hand and disappeared with a pop while picturing her destination.

Few seconds later, she was once again sprinting down corridors, many medi-witches and wizards sending glares and disapproving looks her way, but she couldn't care less. Finally reaching the pregnancy and labor ward, she slowed her run to be able to make out the names on each room. Just as she was starting to lose her patience, a familiar red-head turned a corner just up ahead of her and called out her name.

"Herms! Up here!" called George as he fumbled with the many cups of coffee he was dangling in his arms. Hermione quickly made her way to him and took two of the cups in her own hands so he wouldn't spill anything.

"Oh lord! George, please tell me I didn't miss anything? Is he out yet? Is Ginny alright? Is the baby healthy?" Hermione assaulted George with her many questions.

He only laughed in response, seeming way too calm for his sister's current situation.

"Calm down Herms. I swear, you should be an auror with that interrogation skill you have."

Hermione glared at him in response. "George! Ginny… Is she…?"

This wasn't the first time Hermione had visited St-Mungo's because of a newborn little Weasley, but it just so happened that it was now two of her best friends that were soon to be parents and all her reason and usual calmness had now left her body.

"Come on, let's get you to the waiting room," George said as he walked down the corridor with Hermione in tow. "Everyone is just fine. Apparently, her water broke at the Gala and we should be seeing the little Mister Potter in the next few hours."

"But, isn't it a bit early for her to be in labor? I thought she was only due at the end of the month?"

George nodded, "Indeed, but do remember this is Harry's son. We couldn't expect the little one to already be following rules now, could we? What with Harry's background, and Ginny's stubbornness…"

Hermione laughed and elbowed him, almost causing him to drop the coffees on the floor.

"Only you George, could be joking at a time like this!"

He chuckled also as they finally entered the waiting room. Many people called out Hermione's name at once and she smiled at the whole Weasley family sitting in front of her. She made her way around the room, hugs and kisses being distributed to pretty much everyone, and two hot cups of coffee handed over to Arthur and Molly.

She finally sat down next to Ron as she noticed another familiar face, dark-haired instead bright-orange.

"Is that Zabini?" she asked to her friend. Ron only nodded and kept wringing his hands together. Hermione lifted an eyebrow at Ron's unusual calm demeanor. "Are you ok?" she asked him again.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, I'm going to be an uncle in a few hours."

"Ron, seriously. You're already an uncle!"

He laughed and finally turned to look at Hermione. His shoulders were stiff and his whole body seemed tense with anticipation.

"I know Hermione, but this is Harry's firstborn. It just makes it seem all the more real. And Ginny's, she's my baby sister."

Hermione nodded, Ron's thoughts much similar to the ones she was having earlier. None of the people in the room had thought any of this could be actually happening only a few years back when they had been fighting against Voldemort. They hadn't even been sure to live through it all and now everyone was starting their own family and going on with their lives as happy as could be. The thought brought tears to her eyes. As she sniffled, Ron put an arm around her shoulders in a friendly, brotherly way. The two hadn't worked out as a couple but their friendship was now stronger than ever.

"Anyways, I don't know how Zabini got the memo, but he was here only a few minutes after we all arrived. You know that he's Ginny's replacement at Hogwarts, right?"

Hermione nodded, recognizing Ron's change of subject as his usual way to stop her tears from flowing.

"Yes, Ginny told me this week. Still, I didn't know they were that close that he'd come to the hospital."

"Yeah well, they've been spending a lot of time together during the last year. Between Blaise's visits at first to Ginny's classes, to her finally recommending him to be her replacement and then planning his courses. They've become good friends."

Hermione let Ron's words sink in, reminding her once more that she had missed a few things while she was gone on her various trips. Guilt finally settled in and the tears came back to her eyes.

"I'm sorry Ron," she muttered as she dropped her head on his shoulder.

"For what, exactly?"

"For not being here. For missing out on everything. Not being able to criticize your girlfriends," he laughed, "but mostly, for being a bad friend these last years. I can't promise anything, but I will try and be home more often now."

Ron reached down and squeezed her hand.

"Don't worry 'Mione, we know work is important for you. And anyways, you being here to judge my girlfriends would only drive them away quicker."

The pair laughed and Hermione finally relaxed into Ron's embrace as she wiped her tears away.

Four hours later, in the wee hours of the night, the Weasley family, Hermione and Blaise were still in the waiting room. Only George had left not that long ago to check up on Angelina and his sons and had told everyone he would be back soon. Ron had fallen asleep, his body spread out clumsily on three chairs and Charlie and Bill had left a few minutes ago for another coffee run.

After deciding to chase away the giant pink elephant in the room, Hermione mustered some of her Gryffindor courage and had taken up a seat close to Blaise to strike him up a conversation. It had been awkward at first, Hermione's reserve almost getting in the way of their exchange, but Blaise's relaxed attitude had calmed her nerves and the two had been chatting away for a while. For a Slytherin, Hermione was surprised at his level of comfort from being in a room full of Weasleys.

"I think I would have to say my favorite is Cinderella," said Hermione quietly to Blaise.

He chuckled in response. "Of course Cinderella would be your favorite!"

The pair were currently discussing their favorite tales from the Brothers Grimm to pass the time, awaiting more news from the expecting couple.

"Oh! And why would that be, O wise one ?"

"Granger, you're the epitome of innocence. Gryffindor's Princess, all that is good and plenty of hope.I'm pretty sure it's written in the sky that you'd go for a fairy tale such as Cincerella ! Though, I wouldn't have pegged you for the one to wish for one of those sappy princess-y fairy tale endings ?"

Hermione huffed and swatted Blaise's arm.

"It would be wise not to presume you know me, Mr. Zabini."

"Oh?" Was all that he said back with a smirk and a lifted eyebrow in her direction. At this, Hermione couldn't help but smile back.

"Indeed… You know nothing, Jon Snow!"

Blaise let out a hallow laugh, causing Ron to stir in his sleep at the far end of the room.

"I can see you also know your R.R. Martin," he said.

Hermione couldn't hide her surprise.

"You know R.R. Martin?" She asked incredulously.

"Eh, I've read his 'Song of Ice and Fire' series and a few other of his works. Great author that man!"

Hermione was still staring, unable to form words after Blaise's apparent praise to a very well-known muggle author. As he noticed her expression, he answered the unspoken question that was on the tip of her tongue.

"Malfoy Manor has one of the biggest collections of literature I've ever seen, muggle works included. You should ask Draco to visit one day, I'm sure he'd be glad to exchange some of his favorites with you. I'm pretty sure you guys must've read at least half of the world's books between you two."

Just as the words came out, Blaise laughed at his own words, picturing Hermione and Draco calmly discussing books over coffee and tea. Hermione blushed, her own line of thoughts similar to Blaise's and she averted her eyes to look back at the closed door of the waiting room.

"That... That would be-" she started, but was cut-off when Ron took a loud intake of air, apparently waking from his sleep on the other side of the room.

Suddenly, the door opened and Bill and Charlie came back in, each carrying a tray of coffee in their hands. George was following closely behind, back from his short trip to verify that Angelina had everything under control at home. He was talking with two very familiar people that Hermione couldn't understand for the life of her, were doing at the hospital.

"Parkinson? Malfoy?" Hermione let out louder than she had intended.

Pansy looked around the room at the sound of Hermione's voice. She moved closer to her and Blaise and kissed him on the cheek, then nodded back at her.

"Granger, hey," greeted the female Slytherin.

"Hi," she responded, unsure of how to proceed further than their usual greeting.

Hermione and Pansy had had encounters before, during Hermione's short visits back home. The two witches had always acknowledged each other when crossing paths in the past years but to say they were on friendly terms was quite a bit generous. A customary 'hey' was often exchanged but never more, though as Hermione looked at the witch to her side, she couldn't help but think back to Ginny's words earlier that week and wonder if there was more to Pansy than she knew.

On the other side of the room, Malfoy stood in the doorframe, still frozen and most probably wondering if he had made a mistake or no in coming to visit the Potters.

Hermione looked over Pansy's shoulder to glare at the other newcomer, opening her mouth to let out a string of colorful words that never had a chance to be heard.

"You little slimy-"

As soon as she had let the words out, Malfoy was roughly pushed to the side and Harry burst through the open door, his cheeks bright red and his hair as unruly as ever. Molly and Arthur shot up from their seats and instantly, everyone took a step closer to the Boy-Who-Lived.

"I'm a father! As of five minutes ago, I'm a father!" He let out excidetely, rushing to throw his arms around Hermione, who had been the closest to him.

Ron finally woke up at all the sound and took a few long strides to join the group hug, Molly let out a motherly cry of joy, George and Arthur simultaneously let out sighs of relief, Bill and Charlie clapped their hands together in a 'hi-5' gesture, Pansy nudged Blaise with a grin and Draco smiled at the hugging trio.

Hermione laughed at Harry's reaction and hugged him even harder. As the three untangled themselves from the hug, Hermione raised a hand to wipe the tears of joy that had fallen from her eyes and looked back at her best friend of over fifteen years.

All of a sudden, Harry froze and his expression became serious all of a sudden.

"I'm a father," he repeated numbly. "Oh lord."

Hermione laughed again at his expression and took hold of his shoulders.

"You'll be great Harry, don't you worry. I've got you. We've got you," she said with a smile as she gestured around the room.

He looked around slowly, noticing the entire room's attention was fixed on him. Molly finally took a few steps forward to engulf Harry in an embrace, Arthur following closely behind. The next minutes were filled with congratulations and hugs and claps on the back as Harry made his way around the room. Even Blaise and Draco seemed genuinely happy for Harry as they exchanged firm handshakes.

"If you all don't mind, I think Molly and Arthur should be the first ones to see baby James," said Harry after all the chaos calmed down. The room nodded and the Weasley parents followed him out the door.

The rest of the room calmly began chattering away about the newborn and Hermione had every intention of letting Malfoy know once again how preposterous his actions at the Gala had been when here muggle cellphone rang loudly.

Everyone turned at once in her direction, not everyone understanding where the beeping sound was coming from.

"You'll have to excuse me all," Hermione said with her shoulders dropped. She only needed two minutes with Malfoy so she could give him a piece of her mind.

She exited the waiting room as she picked up the call. "Jackson? Why are you calling me at three in the morning? – Oh? – Ok, yes, I understand. – But why India? Hmm, I see."

Hermione was pacing back and forth in front of the waiting room, now fully concentrated on the phone call from one of her colleagues and missing out on the blond-haired git that was now staring at her, resting his body on the wall in the corridor.

Jackson had always been Hermione's favorite colleague of hers. They had met during one of her first trips during her internship with Avery Bode and the pair had hit it off instantly. Jackson was a year older than her and had been a student at the Durmstrang academy, being of Finnish origins, and had been travelling around Europe since the end of his studies. His wit and quick-response had much impressed Hermione and two years after their initial encounter, she had tracked him down to offer him a partnership of sorts. Since then, they had been on numerous escapades and he was now Hermione's second in dealing with the discovery of the mysterious runes in Egypt.

"- Lupici? No, I've never heard of them – Ok, yes, but you'll have to let me call you back in a few hours, I'm at the hospital – Yes! He just came out a few minutes ago! – Of course, I'll let them know – Alright, talk to you soon Jake."

Hermione was still pacing intensely as she hung up on Jackson and failed to notice Draco tense up a few feet from her.

"You're dealing with very dangerous people Granger, if I heard that name correctly," he said as he finally made his presence known.

Instantly, Hermione froze on the spot and turned around slowly to look towards the source of her distress.

"Malfoy, what in the name-"

"The Lupici gang are a very dangerous, dark association from Eastern Europe. Their name loosely translates to burglars in the Czech language and they are notoriously known for the thefts of dark and highly coveted artefacts. Whatever your business with them, I suggest you be careful."

Hermione stared coldly at Draco, trying to make sense of his words and at the same time, wondering if she should thank him for that tidbit of information or slap him again for his earlier performance at the gala.

"Oh and I wanted to tell you, that kiss wasn't intentional," he continued. He took a slow step forward, deciphering Hermione's level of anger and wondering if she would curse him or not. "I had one drink too many and my hormones got the best of me. Won't happen again."

Once again, it seemed that was the closest Hermione was getting to an apology coming from Malfoy.

She shook herself out of her frozen state and calmly marched towards him, pointing a finger at his chest when she was in front of him.

"You're just lucky I can't curse you right now and also, since this is supposed to be a happy moment, I'll forget about what happened. But one more misstep like that Malfoy and you'll be screaming for your mommy in the psychiatric ward after I'm done with you."

Hermione jabbed her finger one last time on his chest to put emphasis on her words and stormed back into the waiting room, leaving Malfoy to gape at her threat.

After meeting little James a few minutes later, Hermione had bid her goodbyes to everyone present and apparated back to her flat. Ginny and Harry would need their rest anyways after that eventful night and she had sworn to her best friends that she would visit them this week when they were back in the comfort of their home.

Upon arriving, she glanced at the clock that hung high on the wall of her study and wondered what would be the best course of action.

Nap for a few hours than research that Lupici gang.

Or, make herself a pot of coffee and research right away.

She had told Jackson she would call him back in a few hours time, and sleep could always wait till later.

Jackson had told her he had found a lead in their discovery anyways and Hermione knew she wouldn't get a minute of shut-eye if his lead meant a breakthrough in their research.

Finally making her way to the kitchen, she resigned herself to the fact that she would be spending another sleepless night researching. If Hagpipe wouldn't let them go back to the site in Egypt, she would at least make the best of her time home and research all the possibilities of what their discovery meant and they would return to the field with a few more tricks up their sleeves.

Pulling up her laptop on her dining room table, Hermione took a sip of her coffee as she waited for her internet to load. Three years earlier, during one of their field expeditions in Russia, she had made a breakthrough concerning the connection between muggle and magical appliances and had been successfully able to make a few of her muggle electronics work, even in the middle of a full magical community. Since then, she had procured a few computers and cell phones to her team, which made their work quite a bit easier when it came to researching.

As she searched the web for traces of the Lupici, she thought back to Malfoy's words. He had seemed to know quite a bit about them and curiosity almost caught the better of her as she wondered what exactly was Malfoy's field of work and why he had known that information.

Three mugs of coffee later, Hermione's hand watch beeped, signaling it was now 6am. She sighed in defeat, coming to the conclusion that she wouldn't find anything concerning the Lupici and what Jackson had mentioned over the phone. Once more, thoughts of a certain blond-haired wizard surfaced in her mind.

She could owl him and ask him for information.

That would mean stepping on her pride and admitting that he had known something she didn't.

She could also floo-call Hagpipe and ask if he had any knowledge about the group.

That would mean risking another stall on their leads and Hagpipe might get the wrong idea and prolong their stay in London.

Bugger it all! Hermione thought angrily as she stood up to pace the confines of her dining room.

As she debated all her options, she finally admitted defeat and made way to her study to pen a quick letter to Malfoy. Stepping on her pride just this once couldn't be so bad. And if it meant he knew something that would help with their project, Hermione was willing to put aside differences and find common neutral ground with her once upon a time enemy.

DM,

Would you happen to have any detailed information containing the activities of the Lupici group and their recent activities?

HG

The letter was simple and as professional as could be for their semblance of a 'relationship', or lack thereof. Hermione looked at her owl flying away in the distance and decided to award herself with a quick nap while waiting for his reply.

She didn't have to wait long as half an hour later, her owl hooted softly as he flew into the window and landed softly on the foot of the sofa she had been resting on. Blinking quickly and shaking the sleep from her eyes, Hermione stretched and patted her owl on the back as she untangled Malfoy's response from his paws.

HG,

My information always comes at a price.

Floo to this address in an hour and we can discuss the exchange of our knowledge over coffee.

DM

Hermione rolled her eyes at the letter and stood up to make her way to the bathroom. Even if this was Draco Malfoy, king of the ferrets, she would at least make herself presentable in the case that anyone other than him would be present. As she put her hair in a tight bun, looking herself in the mirror, she reasoned that this could be deemed a professional work meeting and that was why she made the slightest bit of effort in her appearance.

Dusting off her navy skirt as she made her way out of the fireplace she had flooed in, Hermione looked around the small room and took in her surroundings. She hadn't known what to expect from her meeting place with Malfoy but she had reasoned herself in saying that he wouldn't dare hurt her after her earlier threat, and he had another thing coming if he even dared insult her.

The room she stood in was quite small but luxurious as dark-paneled wood adorned the floor and walls, a few paintings scattered around the room. The lighting was relatively soft and nothing stood out of the ordinary in what seemed to be a study that had been chosen as a floo-room.

Soft laughter could be heard down the hall from where Hermione now stood and the smell of freshly baked bread traced itself to her nose. Taking a deep intake, she shuttered as the heavenly aroma hit her instantly.

She finally willed her feet to move towards the direction of the sound she had heard and took a few steps to start down a dimly lit corridor. Hermione rounded a corner and the sound of laughter hit her again as she finally came face to face with the source of the noise.

Malfoy and an older lady sat around a small table in what looked to be a living room of sorts. The two were both laughing furiously and the older lady was wiping tears at her eyes, chuckling lightly. Hermione stood frozen, staring curiously at Malfoy, having never seen this side of him before. It was quite a difference with his usual façade and Hermione caught herself thinking he looked quite handsome when he laughed as he was doing now. As she shuffled on her feet, Malfoy finally became aware of her presence and immediately stopped laughing as he looked towards her. The woman sitting opposite him turned to look at the newcomer, raising an eyebrow in Hermione's direction.

"Oh, I guess I'll be leaving you two young ones now," she said as she made to get up from her chair.

Malfoy stood at the same time and extended his arm so that she would move in a more stable fashion.

"I'll escort you to the front, Rose," he said in a chivalrous way that made Hermione's eyes widen surprisingly at once. She couldn't quite believe this was the same man that had once bullied her throughout her school years.

"Nonsense, my darling boy. I wouldn't want to keep you a minute longer from the company of a beautiful witch such as Miss Granger." The woman smiled politely at Hermione as she tried to shake herself free from Draco's grip.

Hermione still stood dumbfounded at the whole scene, trying to remember if she had already seen this woman before and still not understanding where Malfoy's politeness was coming from.

"Rose, I insist. It's the least I can do to thank you for the bread," he said calmly as he walked his guest in the direction opposite Hermione, where another door stood. "Granger, make yourself comfortable. I'll be back in a few."

Malfoy and the older woman known as Rose made their way out of the room and left Hermione in her daze. Blinking a few times, Hermione shook herself from her state of non-belief and made her way to sit in the same chair the other woman had occupied a few minutes earlier.

Staring at the bread and coffee in front of her, Hermione took a deep breath as she tried to calm her nerves in preparation of the meeting that was to come with Malfoy. She didn't know what she should be expecting and she thought back to his earlier letter, wondering what he would ask of her in exchange for his knowledge on the Lupici.

Author's note : This chapter was a bit longer than what I had originally planned. I know this isn't the ideal place to stop it but much is to come in the next and I wanted to give you a bit of suspense in guessing what Malfoy would ask of her.

ALSO! I was thinking in the last few days if you guys would enjoy having a bit more of Draco's POV? Up until now, the story's been mostly centered around our favorite witch, but I can always try and please a few readers !;) Let me know what you all think!

Reviews ? :)