Happy start of the 4th of July long weekend! I'm off until Tuesday, so there's a chance I might not post any new chapters until then. There's just something about being home that makes me computer lazy.

Chapter 7

"It's not something I'm keen on talking about," Draco said.

Hermione nodded. "I understand," she replied. "You know I don't expect you to tell me things, right?"

"I know," he murmured, staring down at his sock-clad feet. "I just...there are a lot of things I've done that I'm not proud of. You and I are just starting to get off on the right foot. I don't want to ruin it by telling you every horrible thing I've done."

She shifted to the edge of her seat, ready to leave. "You know I'll listen anytime you want to talk," she promised. "Thanks for letting me vent. I really am sorry that I just barged in like that."

Smiling, he shook his head. "Hey, if there's one thing I enjoy, it's disparaging a Weasley," he replied. Hermione laughed and got to her feet. "So, out of curiosity, when you pop over like this, am I supposed to pay you?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That depends. Do you usually have to pay your friends to spend time with you?" she inquired. "I mean, I'll take it. I'm not opposed to a little extra pocket money. Just curious."

"Go home, Granger," Draco said, picking up the paper once more.

She crossed the living room to the fireplace and stopped. "Just so we're clear, I'm not getting paid?" she asked.

The paper blocked his face and thus the smile he wore. "I've been thinking about that," he said. "It's not like you need the money. Might not pay you at all. Let's consider it helping a friend."

Grabbing a handful of floo powder, she considered this idea. "It works better for me if you consider us employer/employee then," she decided. Tossing the powder into the fireplace, she said goodbye, and returned to her flat.

He laughed, the printed words before him completely forgotten. She considered him a friend. Not long ago, he would have thought it crazy to befriend someone like Hermione Granger, but now she seemed to be the only person willing to give herself such a title. Perhaps it was good that she didn't know the details of his past. Astoria had "won" most of their friends in the divorce, and those he had considered friends afterwards seemed to want little to do with a single father, most of them not having children of their own.

Tossing the paper aside, he began to clean up Lilah's toys that still littered the floor despite Hermione's diligence towards tidiness. After stowing the toys away in the hall closet, he decided to tackle the mess in the kitchen. Despite Hermione's insistence that she clean up, he wouldn't allow her to do it. He had only just entered the kitchen when he heard a voice call out his name.

Doubling back, he returned to the living room to find Pansy Parkinson waiting for him. "Hi," she greeted him sheepishly.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

Pansy nodded, nervously tucking her chin length, dark locks behind her ear. "Yeah, no, fine," she replied quickly. "Um, Hermione doesn't know I'm here though. I was hoping you and I could talk."

"Are we talking about Hermione?" he wondered.

Once again, she replied with a nod. "I don't have long before my break is over, so I'll make this quick," she said. "Look, Draco, you and I have been friends for a long time. There was a time I trusted you implicitly, but I can't seem to trust you when it comes to her. She's my best friend. My only friend really. I don't want anything to happen to her."

"I'm not going to hurt her," he promised.

Pansy sighed as she fiddled with her shirtsleeve. "You might think you won't, but there are things you don't know," she said. "Things...I can't tell you."

"Guess I'm not the only one with secrets, eh?" he asked with a smirk.

Taking a step toward the fireplace, she grabbed a handful of floo powder. "We all have our secrets, Draco," she said. "Some are just better at keeping them than others."

Just as she was about to drop the powder, Draco said, "I've never told your secrets, Pans. You know I never will either."

She smiled. "Thanks Draco," she replied. "And just so you know, you can trust her with yours."

He nodded as she disappeared in the green flames. Curiosity overcame him. What secrets did Hermione Granger keep? Her life for so long had been an open book, her every move reported by the papers. He couldn't recall a time in the last seven years when the Golden Trio wasn't front page news.

Knowing it was within his rights as an employer, Draco decided a background check might be in order. After checking on his sleeping daughter, he moved into his study to call an old friend. Adrian Pucey had been Draco's go-to man for personal information. He didn't know how his friend and former housemate did it, nor did he really want to. Adrian could sleuth out the deepest of secrets, and that's what Draco needed.

"Can't you just talk to her?" Adrian asked minutes later when he was seated across from the younger man.

Draco shook his head. "No, if I start asking personal questions, then she might start asking them too," he replied.

Adrian smirked as he ran a hand through his perfectly coiffed dark blond locks. "You have a thing for her," he said knowingly. With a scowl, Draco denied the claim. That only egged Adrian on more. "Yes, you do. If you didn't, you wouldn't care what her secrets are. Sure, you'd still keep yours, but you wouldn't care about hers."

"She's my daughter's nanny. I'd like to know that all of her screws are tight," Draco stated. "It has nothing to do with personal feelings. Besides, this is Hermione Granger we're talking about. Why would I ever have feelings for her?"

"Admit that you like her or I'm not helping you," Adrian declared. "You said she's friends with Pansy. Get your information from her. Also, get me Pansy's contact information. It's been far too long since I've seen her. I want to make sure she's okay."

Adrian and Pansy had always had a special friendship. He and Marcus Flint had been like an older brothers to her, protecting her from her father's temper. She would often floo to Adrian's home in the middle of the night to sleep on his floor when times at home were too difficult. He and Marcus doted on her as children, but adulthood had caused a rift when Pansy left their world.

"She's fine," Draco assured him. "She's living with Granger in the muggle world, which means Granger is taking good care of her."

Adrian nodded, relieved to hear that Pansy was alright. "If you can get it from Granger, I'd like her address anyway," he said.

Draco promised he would. "So long as you look into Granger for me."