A/N: Ack, many apologies for the long delay between chapters. I had this chapter just about done ages ago, but a lot of family and personal issues came up, and the story fell by the wayside. Now I'm back though, and I hope you enjoy! As always, thanks to all my lovely reviewers; I truly appreciate you taking the extra minute or two to leave me some feedback.
Disclaimer: All I own is the plot.
Pitter pat, the angel on my shoulder
Is haunting me tonight
Tick tock, the clock is getting louder
Ready for me to decide
I've lost my sense of right and wrong
Well-justified my soul to carry on
It feels so damn good to write off the rules
But when a new day breaks
I'm left a fool
I'm such a fool
Pain takes my heart's place
But your sweet sweet love,
Oh, I can taste it
But still can't face it
Erin McCarley – Pitter Pat
Draco was quiet for much of the morning at the restaurant, silently observing the interaction between Hermione and his old friends.
He had returned to Blaise's townhome precisely at quarter to 10, several minutes before either Pansy or Theo. When he arrived, he went into the kitchen to find Hermione and Blaise engaged in a quiet conversation. He overheard the tail end, but they had fallen silent as soon as they caught sight of him walking into the room.
"You know there's a very good chance that he'll be there. They're back in town, and you know that Isabelle will want to try the new restaurant," came Blaise's murmur.
"I know," replied Hermione. "But I can't avoid them forever, and I refuse to change my plans on the off chance that I might see them."
"True. But, Mia, if you aren't ready, we can stay home. No one would blame you."
He had entered at that point to see a wistful expression cross Hermione's face as she shook her head, moving not quite fast enough to withdraw her hand from Blaise's grasp before Draco could notice. The pair had greeted him, though without any particular warmth on Hermione's part, and shifted the conversation to talk about the restaurant where they would be dining. Draco went along with the change of subject, and they were quickly joined by Pansy and Theo.
He had been curious as to how well Theo and Hermione would get on. Nott's father had been a Death Eater, not as high up in the ranks as Draco's father, but still firmly ensconced on Voldemort's side of the war. Theo himself never took the mark, but he was known to look down on muggleborns and had only associated with purebloods while at Hogwarts. Much to Draco's surprise, Theo had drawn the petite witch into a friendly embrace after kissing her on the cheek. Draco had watched in shock as yet another of his friends greeted Hermione with affection, tilting his world even further off its axis.
Now they were all seated at a booth in the corner of the restaurant, chatting about their lives and exchanging stories as they waited for their food to arrive. Draco was deep in thought, still processing everything that had happened since he arrived at Blaise's home, when he heard his name.
"Draco?" asked Theo.
"Hm? Sorry, what did you say?"
"I was just asking whether your mother was going to come back as well."
"No. She plans to stay in France for the time being. She's well settled there, and I'm not sure she's prepared to return to the manor without father there." He glanced at Hermione out of the corner of his eye, suddenly recalling the torture she had endured in his family home, only to find that she was eyeing him with a strange look on her face. "What, Granger?"
She started, before her expression softened and she spoke quietly. "Nothing, it's nothing. It's just. . . I can understand not wanting to return to a place that has too many memories. It must be difficult for her."
Draco nodded in astonished acknowledgement. After everything she had experienced at the hands of his family, the last thing he expected was for Hermione to sympathize with his mother.
"Well, in any case, I hope she's well."
"Yes, how is your mum?" asked Pansy.
"She's fine. She has always loved the property in Bordeaux, and we have relatives nearby that she enjoys visiting from time to time. She is doing much better than she was when we left."
Pansy smiled, glad to hear that the woman who had always treated her as a daughter was content. "Good. Send her my love, won't you?"
"I will, but feel free to contact her yourself. She would be happy to hear from you."
"Perhaps I will, then."
"So Draco, what are your plans now that you're back home?" Blaise spoke up from his seat next to Hermione.
"No concrete plans as of yet. I will be working at Malfoy Holdings, of course, but we don't have a board meeting scheduled for another two weeks. In the meantime, I'll probably get started on plans to redo the Manor."
"You're going to renovate Malfoy Manor?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"Nothing too drastic, but there are a lot of areas that will need to be completely changed before I'm ready to live there again long term." He fought back his shudders at remembering his family living under Voldemort's thumb in their own home.
"That's right, you mentioned something about staying at the manor for now," said Blaise. "Are you not planning to live there for long?"
The blond shook his head. "I'm only staying there as long as it takes to find a flat to stay in for the duration of the remodel. I'll move back to the manor after the work is done, though."
"Oh! Well, no need to find a realtor or anything. You can stay with me if you'd like."
"I hadn't considered that possibility." Draco paused, glancing at the brunette at his friend's side. "Are you sure?"
"Of course! You know there's plenty of space, it's not like you'll be underfoot." Blaise waved his hand expansively.
"Perhaps I'll take you up on that then, at least in the short term. I've been thinking about expanding our property holdings anyway, but it would be convenient to stay with you while I look."
"No worries. Bring your things over when you're ready, you know where everything is."
"So why are you finally back in England?" asked Hermione, unable to restrain her natural curiosity any longer.
"As I told Blaise earlier, I decided I had been away for long enough. My ancestors may be from France, but it will never be home for me. I was ready to come back."
"That's all?"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "It's certainly all I'm going to tell you right now."
She started at hearing her own words thrown back at her, but nodded her understanding. "I suppose that's fair."
"Look at the two of you, being all civil!" Pansy exclaimed, smirking. "It's like we're all adults or something."
"Shut it, you," said Hermione, the smile on her face giving away that she was far from truly upset. "Oh, our food is here!"
The group looked up as their waitress appeared with a heavily laden tray, carefully placing each dish on the table. "Can I get anything else for you?"
They all shook their heads politely, then picked up their silverware as the server left. "This looks really good," pronounced Blaise. "May I propose a toast?"
"What are we toasting to?" asked Theo as they all put their silverware down and raised their mimosa glasses.
"To good friends, new and old." They all clinked their glasses together gently, echoing his words. Just as they set their drinks back down, a loud feminine voice floated over to their table.
"Oh, what a surprise! Adrian, look who's here!"
Draco watched as Hermione started in apparent shock, the blood draining from her face, while Blaise stiffened beside her. He looked up in confusion to see a willowy blonde woman he had never seen, pulling Adrian Pucey along towards them.
"Pansy, Theo, Blaise, wonderful to see you!" she smiled brightly. Her eyes narrowed a fraction but her smile stayed in place as she spotted the second woman at the table. "And Hermione, lovely to see you as well."
"Hello everyone," greeted Adrian. Draco observed in silence as his former housemate looked over the group, his gaze lingering on Hermione.
"Good morning you two," said Pansy. Blaise and Theo simply nodded at the newcomers, while Hermione smiled weakly.
"Oh, how rude of me," Adrian murmured when his companion pointedly looked between him and Draco. "Isabelle, this is Draco Malfoy. We both went to Hogwarts. Malfoy, Isabelle."
"Oh, introduce me properly darling!" she said, pouting prettily. "Adrian is my husband." In his peripheral vision, Draco caught Hermione closing her eyes briefly at her words.
Although he was burning to know why there was so much tension between the group at the table and the couple standing before them, there was no way he was going to ignore the social niceties. Mother would have my head, he thought wryly as he rose smoothly from his seat at the edge of the booth to kiss the back of her hand. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Well aren't you charming," chirped Isabelle as he returned to his seat. She turned to survey the group. "Adrian and I got back to England a few days ago."
"Oh, you've been away?" asked Draco politely.
"Yes, we've been on an extended holiday. We portkeyed in from Australia on Wednesday."
"Australia?" Hermione's voice was whisper soft, but Draco heard the sadness in her tone.
"Yes, we spent nearly a month there. It's a lovely country," replied Isabelle, eyes glinting as she looked at the brunette. "Now, I was saying to Adrian just last night that we should have a get-together soon, now that we're back. Dinner perhaps? We have news to share."
The movement was quick, but Draco noticed her hand graze her stomach as she reached for Pucey's hand. Apparently, so did everyone else, because Pansy hissed quietly while Blaise and Theo frowned. The smile on Isabelle's face was triumphant as Hermione prodded Pansy and Theo to get out of the booth, jolting to her feet.
"Excuse me—I have to—excuse me," mumbled the Gryffindor, heading in the direction of the restrooms.
The atmosphere at the table was strained at best, and Draco was once again at a loss. "Oh, is she not well?" said Isabelle innocently.
"You know very well why she's upset," seethed Pansy.
The blonde rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. She cannot possibly still be upset over that, it was ages ago. And all I did was tell her the truth."
"In the most hurtful way possible!" growled Blaise.
"She was going to find out eventually, you know."
"That is not the point!" cried Pansy, shaking Theo's hand off her shoulder, where he had placed it in an attempt to calm her.
For his part, Draco remained silent, leaning back in the booth and observing everything, letting nothing escape him. He was fascinated by the dynamic before him, even without knowing exactly why his friends were so upset. As they continued their back and forth, he noted
that Pucey kept quiet, a pained expression on his face, until he finally withdrew his hand from his wife's and retreated, unnoticed, in the direction Hermione had fled.
Without stopping to wonder why, Draco stood and followed his former housemate, leaving his friends to their argument. He stopped in the corridor at the back of the restaurant, watching as Pucey approached an obviously distraught Hermione in the alcove outside the restrooms.
"Hermione. . ." Adrian spoke hesitantly.
"Don't, Ade, just. . . don't."
"But I'm sorry! I didn't know you would be here."
"What does it matter? What were you going to do, warn me?"
"I don't know, maybe?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Look, we can't avoid each other forever, so can we just agree to be civil to each other?"
"I don't want to be civil you daft witch! Why can't we be friends?"
"Friends? Friends!" she scoffed, wiping furiously at the tears building in her eyes. "I can't do that right now, and I don't think your wife would like that, ever."
"But I do, and that has to count for something! I never wanted to lose you."
"Well, it's a bit late for that." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before gathering herself to her full height. "I need to get back to my friends."
"Wait—" Adrian grabbed her upper arm as she tried to move past him. "We have to be able to work this out."
She shook her head, refusing to look him in the eye. "Please let me go."
"No, let's talk about this."
"I can't."
"Hermione," he pleaded, tightening his hold on her.
"Adrian, you're hurting me!"
It was at this point that Draco stepped forward from his vantage point, although he saw the older man release her immediately, stuttering an apology. Draco's sins were many, but he never had and never would abide a man physically harming a woman, no matter who she was. "Pucey," he drawled coolly.
"Malfoy." Adrian exhaled loudly as he raked a hand back through his hair. "Hermione, I am so sorry. You know I would never. . ."
"I know," she said tearfully. "But please, Ade, just go."
He furrowed his brow in frustration, but then nodded his acceptance. "Fine. But we do need to talk at some point, even if it's not now." With that, he turned, walking back toward the main room of the restaurant. As soon as he was out of sight, Hermione wilted visibly, moving to lean against the wall as the tears she had fought so hard to hold back began to fall.
"Uh. . . Alright there Granger?" asked Draco uncomfortably. He stepped forward hesitantly when she said nothing, crying silently. He raised his hand towards her, pausing for only a split second before placing it on her shoulder. "Granger?"
She sobbed at his touch, instinctively raising her head to look at him. "Sorry," she managed. "You don't need to stay, I'll be fine in a moment."
He sighed, going against instinct and suppressing his urge to demand she tell him what the hell was happening. "We may not be the best of friends, but I'm not completely heartless. We get along well enough, sort of. I won't leave you here in this state."
"Right," she hiccupped, offering a weak smile. "Well, thank you Malfoy."
Much to his own surprise, he moved to stand at her side in a show of support as she began taking deep breaths. True to her word, Hermione calmed herself quickly, and he nudged her with his shoulder when she had settled. "Okay?"
"I think so." She wiped the last of the tears from her face and pushed away from the wall to stand straight. "Let's go."
"Alright. After you, Granger." He followed her down the hall, only to nearly walk into her when she stopped dead in her tracks once they reached the dining room. "What the hell?"
He peered into the room. The group they had left behind was still on the other side of the restaurant, arguing. Pansy was giving Isabelle a withering glare, Blaise and Theo sitting silently on either side of her. Adrian had returned to the table and was standing behind his wife, one hand resting on the small of her back as she spoke.
"Malfoy, I—I can't—" Hermione's breath was coming in short bursts, panic rising up in her chest.
One look at her face told him she was on the edge of falling apart again. "Okay, okay, calm down."
"I need to get out of here!" she gasped, voice and body shaking.
His lips flattened to a thin line as he acted on impulse, reaching to grasp her hand firmly in his own. She turned to him in surprise, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, he apparated them away. A moment later, they were standing in Blaise's townhouse. Releasing her hand, Draco turned to look her in the eye, but Hermione only collapsed onto the couch in relief, panting for air.
She rested her head in her hands as she made a concerted effort to steady her breathing. Draco perched on the other side of the couch, angling his body towards her as he waited patiently for her to regain her composure. When she finally looked back up at him it felt like years later and her eyes were red but her voice was steady. "Thank you," she muttered.
After a few moments of silence, he finally asked the question that had been on his mind since he went after Pucey at the restaurant. "What the hell was that all about?" Sensing she was about to put him off again, he frowned and shook his head. "Oh no, Granger, I saw the whole conversation between you and Pucey in the hall, and I'm the one who brought you here when you were about to have a panic attack. The least you can do is tell me why."
"Can't you just accept my thanks and leave it at that?" she glared.
"No, that really doesn't sound like something I would do," he smirked, inexplicably pleased to see the fire return to her eyes.
"Fine," she huffed. "I suppose there's really no help for it, after everything you saw this morning."
He nodded. "I know you said that you and Pucey used to be close, but what I saw? That looked like more than an argument between friends."
"That's because it was," she whispered. "Ade and I—we used to be together. Almost a year."
"So—what? He ended things with you, dated her instead, got married?"
"Not quite. I was the woman he was seeing while they were already engaged."
