Six hours had passed and not a word had been exchanged between them. The silence throughout the house was a bit disturbing for her as even her own place had things that made noises. The drip of the sink in her place could have been easily fixed, but there was something about the steady drip that relaxed her. The tree outside of her bedroom window would scratch against the window when the wind blew, it was another little noise that let her know that the world was not silent, but this place, Merlin, this place could drive you crazy.
Sighing for the thousandth time, Hermione looked over to the desk where Malfoy had perched himself all those hours ago, reading every word the file had to offer. She could see his eyes scan the pages, back and forth, back and forth, not skipping a single line, page, or foot note… he was determined to get Abby back before Psycho bitch got to her and went through with her plans.
Deciding Draco wasn't going to pay her any mind, Hermione rose up from the ground and made her way across the room to the small bathroom. She hadn't peed in hours and stunk to high heavens, so both things were in order before she curled herself onto the couch and fell asleep for the night.
The bathroom was small, way smaller then she expected decorated with cobwebs, spiders and mold. It didn't give you that feeling of clean you expect when you use an unfamiliar bathroom, instead, it made you wonder what was going to crawl up your leg and bite you or what rare skin disease you were going to contract.
She shuddered and with a wave of her wand, sterilized and cleaned the bathroom. She repaired the broken light and conjured up some soap and a towel.
The small tub filled quickly and even though she knew she had cleaned the tub, she had to force herself to get inside. Once she had slid in, the warm water erased some of her thoughts of flesh eating viruses and allowed her muscles to relax.
Twenty minutes or so later, the bathroom door opened and a tired looking Draco stepped through. He expected her to scream, tell him to get out but instead she just continued to look at the wall, ignoring him completely.
"Uh, man in the bathroom, aren't you going to hex me or something?" Draco asked
Hermione just turned her head towards him and shrugged, "Doesn't bother me, hasn't in along time."
Draco then sighed, just as she had been doing for hours as he plopped down and sat on the toilet so he could talk to her.
"Do you want to hear a story?" He asked.
Hermione didn't answer, she knew he would tell it anyway whether she wanted him to or not.
"When I was at school, there was this girl. She was in an opposite house, Gryffindor, I believe, and I hated her. The girl was smart, annoying so, and was always trying to help some creature or person, even tried to save the house elves at one time."
"This girl seemed to have absolutely no flaws and the Professors loved her even when she had stolen from them. Lied to them… anything and she always came out smelling like a rose." Draco stopped to let out a breath, "I picked on her for years because of her blood status, frizzy hair and bucked teeth, but no matter what I said or did, she always sucked it up and let it pass. I never managed to get under her skin as deeply as I hoped to."
Draco then stood and glanced down to the girl who appeared to be listening but bored out of her mind.
"Then, some years later, I run into this girl again. She hadn't changed too much in her appearance but I noticed one thing that I never imagined I would ever see from this particular woman. You see, she and I got into an … altercation of sorts and while I admit to being a bit rough, it gave me a chance to look into her eyes, the same eyes I use to watch flare with anger when she or someone else was wronged or needed protecting. The eyes that I noticed during the altercation were completely different. I didn't see the fight they once held, I didn't see the emotions I used to watch with fascination, but instead, I saw nothing but dull, lifeless, brown eyes that held absolutely nothing."
Hermione was in fact listening. She was listening closer then she would ever let on, but it changed nothing. She knew what he was trying to do, knew what he was aiming for, but nothing he said or did would change anything.
"Later" he continued, "I couldn't help but be curious as to what could have brought such changes to this girl and due to a little advice she had given me, I decided to do a bit of research. It took me a few days, but I found what I was looking for and after a few hours. I came to understand why this girl would be so distant, so dead inside but at the same time, I knew this particular girl was strong enough to get past it and always had been."
Hermione had taken to fiddling with the bar of soap. It was easier to concentrate on an abject that didn't make you think, than a person who was actually showing in some way that they remembered something about her that didn't directly relate to Harry or anything of that sort.
She really wished he would stop. She didn't need this, not now, not ever, it would only make things more difficult and she really didn't have the strength to deal with silly things like emotions or feelings or memories.
"I have to say that I was actually quite stunned when this girl, this girl who would fight anyone, including Deatheather's, just sat there and waited for someone to come and kill her. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that she sat there, calm and ready to die when there was absolutely no reason for it."
The soap Hermione had been fiddling with was now mush. She was growing irritated with Draco and very quickly at that. He just didn't get it, she had told him but apparently the sun was able to seep through his blond hair and kill the brain cells that allowed a person to understand what another had said to them.
She couldn't listen any longer. He was stirring things inside her that didn't need to be stirred, he was making things way, way harder then she wanted them to be and all she knew is she needed him to shut up and shut up fast.
"Didn't you hear me?" She asked in a pitch of voice a bit higher then normal.
Draco smirked inside, he had started the slow burn and had added just enough kindling to make for a nice, strong fire.
"You have no fucking idea who these people are and what they are capable of!"
She stood mid rant, completely naked and uncaring.
"Do you think these people will just give up? Do you think they will just forget that I'm out here and let me live my life in solitary peace? Let me tell you, they will not give up. You may have saved my life tonight but what about tomorrow, or the day after?"
"Then fight, damn it, fight like the girl I grew up with, fight like the girl who had the balls to hit me in third year!" Draco yelled back.
"For what?" she screamed back, "Why should I fight? Why should I even try when I have nothing worth fighting for?"
"Fight for yourself!" he retorted, "If you wont, then no one else will either."
Hermione stepped out of the water and grabbed the towel. She wrapped it around herself before turning to face Draco again. She couldn't hide them this time, her tears were falling and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop them.
"I'm tired of fighting, Malfoy, I'm just so sick of fighting." And with that, she walked out of the bathroom forgetting her clothes and leaving a sighing Draco behind.
Oooooooo
Draco had waited for a few minutes before following. He had expected her to scream like she had, he had expected her to put him in his place, but he did not expect her to cry and storm off.
He had never been good with crying women. He knew the basics of how to comfort one, but Granger was different, she wasn't the normal girl where soothing words and caring strokes would make everything better. No, Granger was the kind that probably wouldn't smile unless she had the offender's balls dangling from the ceiling.
He walked into the small living room where Hermione was curled up in her towel on the couch. He could see her face from where he was standing and she appeared to be staring into the fire, unblinking and unmoving.
He didn't ask for permission, he didn't even move slowly to see if she was going to hex him. He walked right over to where she was curled up and sat down.
"Look. I get what you're saying, I really do." He said as he looked into the fire as well, "And I am willing to make a deal with you if you are willing to listen to what I have to say."
Hermione nodded but otherwise didn't say anything.
"It would appear, that between the two of us, we have a few problems that need attention, the first being that my baby daughter is in the hands of a mad woman. The second being that there are people who are out to kill you and the third is that the same people are out to kill me as well."
Hermione turned slightly in order to look at him.
"I have a proposition." He stated, "You know more about Alexia then I do and I believe I will need your help in order to get Abby back safely. In exchange, I will protect you with everything I have and once Abby is safe, I will set you up in a house that is unplottable. I will also give you enough money to survive for the rest of your life without having to be bothered by anyone and I will never tell anyone of where you are."
"What about you? Did you forget that they are going to try and kill you as well?" She asked in a soft, almost normal voice.
"No, But once I get Abby back, I plan to make such a stink about everything that if anything happens to me, everyone will know the Ministry has something to do with it."
Hermione thought about Draco's deal for almost ten minutes before she sat up on her elbows, completely forgetting that she had only a towel covering herself. She didn't notice that her left breast had slipped out and she didn't notice Draco's eyes momentarily drop to said breast before quickly moving back to her face.
He had seen it and its friend a short while ago, but his mind was on other things at the time and he didn't pay that close of attention, but now, it was just there, less then a foot away and he couldn't help but have a look.
"I will help you get Abby back, but so help me Merlin, if you betray me in the end, I will pull off one more Assassination."
Draco nodded in response. He had no doubts in his mind that she would not make good on her threat.