Chapter Fifteen

Draco was staring up at another ginger, only this one didn't look very happy to see him. He was yelling about and waving his wand around in the air. Draco backed away and bared his teeth; he started growling at the Weasley, he was about to lunge at him when Hermione touched his head.

He froze, what the in the bloody hell is wrong with these people; the ginger is crazy and the mudblood has a death wish. Draco shook his head and backed out of the house; he could hear Granger yelling at the angry man and some banging in the kitchen. So Draco went for a walk.

Hermione was furious, "How dare you!" she screamed, "Dragon never did anything to you!" Ron froze, his mouth was hanging open and his wand aimed at the ceiling. Hermione was on the verge of tears, as she ran out of the house she heard Ginny smack him and say, "Her parents were just murdered you prat."

Hermione was wandering through the garden when she saw Dragon trotting through some nearby trees. Ducking behind a bush, she changed into her wolf and bounded over to him. He looked up surprised when she reached the trees, but then he started wagging his tail when he saw her. Hermione didn't know if he could tell it was her, but she thought less as a wolf so she didn't really care.

They went racing through the trees and jumping over rocks; Hermione hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time. Dragon paused at a moss covered rock; this forest was different than the other one, the trees were thicker, and there was more debris on the floor. It felt like no one ever came here.

Hermione was racing up a hill when she saw a flock of birds take of nearby. She froze, Hermione wanted to chase them; so springing into action, she lunged off the ground towards some of the stragglers. Catching one, Hermione looked back at Dragon with a face full of feathers; it looked like he was laughing.

Hermione woke up the next morning with a twig jabbing into her back; digging it out from under her, she looked around. Hermione was still in the forest but she didn't know where or how she got there, Dragon was curled up in a ball next to her, and there were feathers everywhere. Hermione groaned, she couldn't remember what happened again. She just remembered storming out of the Burrow.

She seemed to of woken the wolf up, because after she'd groaned he rolled over and made a grunting noise. If Hermione hadn't known better, she would have thought he didn't want to get up yet. Hermione laughed, "Come on Dragon." She called, standing up. He moved slightly to touch her leg before she apparated with a *POP*.

Hermione wandered into her kitchen, when she got there, and glanced at the clock. Her eyes widened, it was already 1:30, "Well Dragon, it's a little late for lunch." She sighed, looking over at the wolf. He huffed, "How about this, "She started, moving towards her room, "I'll go get food, and you know how to get back here now right? Well, I'll just let you out."

Once Hermione was showered and dressed, she went over to her bedside table and grabbed some muggle money. Calling for Dragon, she left the apartment. When she got to the front doors, the wolf took off into the park. Hermione laughed as she saw the flocks of birds fly away; walking down the road, she went to a nearby grocery store. It was just a small place, but it had all the essentials; it was tucked away in a corner, just across from the canal. Hermione could hear the water flowing by as she wandered down the cobblestone path.

It was cooler out than it should be for June, but it wasn't cold enough for a jacket. The bell dinged on the door as Hermione entered the store; she headed for the meat counter, hoping to find some food for Dragon. She also needed some juice and eggs, an some sandwich fixings; Hermione was starting her training tomorrow, and she didn't know how long she'd get for lunch.

She strolled down the pet aisle, and looked at the dog food; she had no idea what wolves ate, but it couldn't hurt if she had some of everything. Hermione also went down the grains aisle and grabbed some cereal, bread and pasta.

Hermione sighed, she hated cooking, but somehow she could never bring herself to order out. She grabbed the rest of her groceries and went to pay. She was handing the muggle lady some money, when it started to rain. Hermione grumbled, it had been raining a lot lately, and it was messing with her hair. She needed a vacation; it was almost summer, and almost everyone she knew was taking off. Luna was going to New York, Ginny and Harry were going to France, Fleur was going with them to teach her kids some culture, and Hermione hardly thought it was a good idea to do anything with Ron; not to mention she had her animagus courses.

Draco had raced into the trees before shifting back to human form; he was all stiff and he was hungry. He disapparated with a *POP* and was back at his Manor. Draco wandered up the stairs to his room and sank down on his bed. Running a hand through his hair, he called for Hermi. She appered a few seconds later, "Yes master Draco, yous be needing something, sir?"

Draco sighed, "Yes, Hermi. I'd like some food and an update on security please."

She nodded furiously, "Yes sir, Hermi will see to it, sir." She cried, before vanishing.

Slumping back on his bed, Draco rubbed his eyes. Being a wolf is hard work, he thought, staring at his ceiling. His room was dimly lit and a little cool; standing up, he walked over his window. They were south of England, but they didn't have the heat of the city; even though it was June, it still wasn't warm enough to go outside without a coat.

Draco sighed, he was about to take a shower when Hermi *POPPED* back into his room with his food, "He'es yous food, sir!" Hermi squealed, "And Squeaky has says theys have seen no more people on the property, sir." She said, setting the food on the bed.

Draco ate his food in silence; he was trying to decide what he was going to do about the mudblood. The more time he spent around her the comfortable he became; Draco was sure that if she were sitting next to him right now they could have a completely civil conversation, or at least his side would be civil. He'd yet to find out how she felt about him; other than the Weasley's, Harry and Luna, Draco didn't think she talked about or saw anyone else from Hogwarts.

After Draco ate and showered, he went outside and strolled around. It'd been a while since he'd gone outside just to be there. Sitting down on a nearby rock, Draco watched the clouds drift over the bay; the sun was being surrounded by clouds, but it would be out in the sky for a while still. The grass was starting to grow again, and the trees' leaves had budded and were growing.

Draco sighed, he was finally relaxed. It must have been the slight breeze coming in off the water, that made him stir, but suddenly he realized that he wasn't alone. Freezing, Draco was just about to turn around when he felt something sharp dig into his leg.

Hermione was sitting in her living room drinking tea; when she'd gotten home she saw that there was a barn owl tapping on her window. Letting it in, Hermione realized that it was a letter form Mafalda Hopkirk, with information on where her training would be taking place. Reading over the letter once more, Hermione felt her stomach doing summersaults. She was going back to Hogwarts!