A/N- Thank you to all of those who reviewed/faved/followed. Drop me a line, tell me what you think.
Sorry for all the change in POV from this chapter... it's like one in the morning, so please excuse any mistakes as well. I went over the chapter a couple times, so sorry if I missed anything.
Chapter Thirteen
"Malfoy!" A familiar voice cried, distracting Draco from his morning edition of the New York Times. He glanced up, staring at the witch in his doorframe.
"What is it this time, Granger? We've been here for a week and I think we've sight-seen quite enough," Draco responded crisply, folding his paper and setting it on the desk. He then proceeded to check his appearance in the mirror, making sure that his hair was combed into place and his shirt was free of wrinkles.
"I've gotten a letter from Zabini," She said excitedly, waving a piece of parchment about, "It arrived just a moment ago, via owl,"
Draco flew to her side, snatching the letter from her grasp before she was done speaking and opening it. On the page, in elegant script, was written;
McDermitt and Smith,
The threat has been obliterated. They are in our care. Go home.
~B.Z.
"We can go back to Kansas," Was all the blonde said as he handed the letter back to Granger. She frowned at it, tucking it into her jeans pocket.
"Why did he write the letter so… coded? I read somewhere that there are charms around all major American cities to prevent dark objects from going in but other than that the mail security is rather low. Who might intercept our letter?" She asked in that infuriating know-it-all way of hers. Granger's brow was furrowed and her bottom lip clenched between her top teeth.
"Perhaps it was just a precaution," Draco offered, sitting back down in the chair. He ran a hand over his face, "Does it matter?"
"Blaise is loyal to the Order, correct?"
"I don't know, Granger,"
"Are there a lot of Death Eaters in America?"
Draco sighed, rubbing circles on his temples, "Not really, no. Voldemort was only powerful in Europe… the war didn't reach here,"
The brunette sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, "Is he just being cautious?"
"I don't know," Draco sneered, "Now please make yourself useful and go get us plane tickets home,"
Granger huffed and stomped out of the room, slamming the door after her.
X
He was sitting at a table. His kitchen table at his home in Kansas, with white-washed chairs and a vase with a bundle of wildflowers arranged in a bouquet inside. In front of him was an empty placemat with a fork and knife to either side, as though he was about to eat.
Suddenly, a large plate was placed in front of him, and it was covered in bacon, strawberries and pancakes drowning in syrup.
"I hope you're happy," An all too familiar voice stated, and Draco looked up.
Standing next to him, a red apron around her frame and flour in her hair, was Granger. She smiled, and placed a flour-covered hand on her stomach. Draco noticed that she had gotten rather fat, and he was about to make a snide remark about it when his body acted of its own accord.
"Of course I am. I've got a lovely wife and a warm breakfast. What more do I need?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them, or process them at all. Draco felt himself leaning forward, and Granger bent to meet him, though inside the blonde was screaming 'NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOO'…. But someone had burst into the kitchen, and Draco was saved.
It was a small boy of about two, his blonde hair disheveled and his chubby cheeks rosy with delight.
"Da-da!" He cried, stumbling through the kitchen and towards Draco. He noticed how the child looked exactly like him… but with brown eyes that were too dark to be considered Hermione's shade. They were framed by pale eyelashes that fluttered when the small boy blinked.
"Hullo Leo," Draco's mouth was moving again, "Up you go?"
"Yeah!" So the wizard lifted the child, placing him on his lap. Leo giggled and reached for some of the bacon on Draco's plate.
"Sweetheart, that's for your father," Granger swept back in like a vulture, holding a spatula, "I'll make you some, ok?"
"Okkkkaaaay," Leo responded ruefully, but smiled when footsteps were heard in the hall, "Ronnie!"
And in stepped Orion, who looked several years older than he had the last time Draco had seen him. He wore a light blue shirt and jeans, square glasses perching on the bridge of his nose. Under his arm was a text book.
At last, Draco thought, someone I can stand.
"Hey mom, dad," Orion stated, before pulling out one of the chairs and sitting in it. Draco watched as the young boy then opened his book and began to read.
"Whatcha lookin' at there, Ronnie?" Granger asked gently as she approached the table with another plate in her hand. Orion glanced up and frowned, before reaching for the food.
"Chemistry,"
"Why in the world would you read about that? You told me you wanted to be an Auror, not a chemist," Draco teased lightly, before taking a bite of his bacon. In the dream, it tasted like nothing.
"I do…. I just wanted to read about it, ok?" Orion shot back, before picking up his place again. Granger rolled her eyes and began to remove her apron.
"It's all right, Ronnie, nobody was judging you… Draco will you help me with this?" The witch asked, turning her back to him. Not knowing what she meant, Draco froze. However, his fingers obviously understood, and they began to undo the knot that held it together.
Granger slipped out of the garment, and moved to hang it up on a small peg next to the refrigerator. Draco, however, was transfixed by the small bump under her black shirt. The rest of her looked evenly proportioned but her stomach was… her stomach was swollen. Almost as if she were…
Of course. Draco looked down at his left hand. On his ring finger was a simple gold band, contrasting severely with his pale skin. He couldn't breathe. Granger and he had gotten married…. And hand another child! And, by the looks of things, they were going to have a third.
Draco awoke in a cold sweat, his eyes looking about the dark hotel room frantically. Relax, he told himself, it was just a dream…
Something about it, however, felt all too real for Draco's liking.
X
"Hey Granger,"
Hermione groaned and shifted to another row of books, searching for one that looked interesting.
"Pssst Granger,"
The brunette wandered to the horror section, where books with disturbing images on the covers sent chills down her spine.
"Graaanger…."
Hermione picked one up, a novel she had not read in a long time; Pet Sematery. She opened it up, and began reading.
"Oi, Granger—"
Spinning around, Hermione was met with the source of the nuisance—Draco Malfoy.
"What do you want," She responded, walking calmly over to the bored-looking cashier behind the counter in the airport's bookstore. She handed him the book and opened up her purse, searching for her wallet.
"Does anyone in your family have dark brown eyes? Not like your shade, but a couple darker?"
Book in bag, Hermione turned to glare at Malfoy.
"What kind of question is that?" She snapped, thanking the cashier and collecting Orion from where he was sitting in the children's section.
"Are you going to answer or not?"
"Yes," Hermione said curtly, "My father did. Why?"
"No reason," Malfoy stared into the distance and whistled uncharacteristically, which nearly made Hermione rip her hair out.
X
Draco sat back in the airplane seat, struggling to get comfortable. He was confused and somewhat tired, and was not in the mood for another couple hours of endless kicking from another brat behind him.
"Good morning, sir, what can I get for you?" A red haired flight attendant asked as she rolled her cart up, displaying the food that was available. She leant forward a bit too far, exposing her chest.
"Just some…" Draco was about to ask for water, when the woman leant closer and, much to the blonde's disgust, reached across his body to set down his tray.
"There you go, sir," She fluttered her mascara-coated eyelashes at him, before removing herself from him, "Now what would you like? I can give you several options,"
Draco, sneering, looked about the airplane, before turning to face the desperate girl once more, "You know… I do want something from you," The girl pursed her lips and lidded her eyes, probably thinking that it made her look sexy, "I want you… to go over to that man," He commanded in a falsely seductive tone, pointing to a slightly overweight man in kakis sitting a few rows up, "And do what you've just done to me. I think he's more… in your league, don't you think? Even I have standards," Draco smirked at the expression that came over the red-head's face; it was a mixture of anger and despair.
"Alright. Good to know that you don't want anything sir," She stated, before pushing the cart down the aisle more.
When Granger and Orion got back from the restroom, Granger asked why the red-haired flight attendant was shooting him dirty looks. Draco merely shrugged.
X
"The name of your book is spelled wrong," Malfoy pointed out about ten minutes into their flight. Hermione rolled her eyes and marked her page, before closing it and looking at the blonde prick next to her.
"It's supposed to be that way," She said, opening her book to continue reading.
Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as planned.
"But why?" Malfoy asked, scowling, "What kind of stupid author would purposefully misspell things?"
Hermione sighed. This was going to be more difficult than she'd thought, "Well, in the story there's a place called the 'Pet Sematery' and… you know what," She grinned viciously, thinking of how Malfoy probably wasn't acquainted with muggle literature, especially of the Stephen King variety, "Why don't you read it yourself?"
"Ok," Malfoy took the book from her, and, disregarding her bookmark, began to read.
X
"So you're telling me that Louis was crazy? But he saw all those things in the woods, Granger!" Draco argued as they drove through town, the topic of their discussions being the book he'd just finished.
"Yeah, but that's the thing," Granger countered, smiling, "We don't know if it was just in his mind or if it actually happened,"
Draco grumbled and continued down the road, taking a left turn that would get him to Madam Quincie's.
"I just don't understand why the book is called 'Pet Sematery'. They don't even talk about it! It should've been called 'Creepy Burial Ground Place That Brings People Back to Life',"
Granger laughed as Draco continued to rant.
"I mean, seriously. And what the hell was with the wife's sister. With her creepy claw-hands and 'Oz the Great and Tewwible'… what does that even mean? Where is 'Oz'?"
Granger gasped.
"You've never seen the Wizard of Oz?"
The name sounded vaguely familiar, but Draco couldn't think of where he'd heard it before.
"Erm… no. Why?"
"You're a sad, sad person Draco Malfoy. Never even seen the Wizard of Oz, my God… You know what," Granger announced as they approached the boarding house, "I am going to make you watch it. One of the greatest musicals of all time and you haven't even seen it, my Lord…"
"Alright, alright, I'll watch it with you Granger!" He relented, rolling his eyes.
"Good, Draco," She retorted, "Because you've been missing out—"
"Did you just call me Draco?" The blonde inquired incredulously, staring down at the witch. She nodded and Draco asked, "Why?"
"Because it's your name," She said simply with a shrug of the shoulders.
"Anyways, Hermione, here we are,"
Hermione looked up at him with a smile that could've lit the whole town.
That was the first time that Draco Malfoy realized that Hermione Granger was his friend.