Boy, were some people mad at Hermione in the last chapter. I promise, everything will work out sooner or later!

Chapter 11
She returned to the flat just as Draco stepped out of shower. With one towel around his waist and another in hand to dry his hair, he stopped short when he saw her.

"Walking around in the buff now?" she inquired. Frowning, he shook his head and went back to his room. Hermione followed him, perplexed by his unusual greeting. Or lack thereof. She sat on the edge of his bed as he dressed. "What's wrong?"

"Why are you watching me?" he asked instead of answering her.

She glanced down at the floor as if suddenly embarrassed by her brazen behavior. "I didn't think it would bother you," she muttered, getting to her feet. "I'll leave you alone."

He had just finished pulling on a pair of boxers when he reached out to stop her from leaving. "Wait," he said softly. "What's on your mind?"

Sighing, she shook her head and attempted to pull her arm from his grasp. "It's nothing," she replied. "Forget it."

But he held firm. "No, I won't forget it," he stated as calmly as he could. "Something's bothering you, and I think it's something you want to talk about. Otherwise, why would you come back?"

"Because I live here?" she retorted. She had come home with every intention of following Pansy's advice. Cowardice had led to the anger she felt at his insistence that they talk. And so she changed tactics. "I wanted you to know that Pansy offered to set me up with someone, and I want to go."

Letting go of her arm, he returned to his dresser to pull out clothing for the day. His back remained to her, and he hoped she didn't see the disappointment in his eyes. "Good, have fun," he replied, pulling a t-shirt over his head.

"That's it?" she asked. "Have fun?"

"What do you want me to say?" he asked flatly. "I think you should have fun. I know that once the baby comes, that'll become your entire world. So, have fun now while you think you still can."

Scoffing, she turned on her heel and angrily marched out of his room. "I'm going back to the Zabinis," she called out, entering her room to gather clean clothes. "And I told Pansy you were there last night, so she'll probably shut off the floo before she goes to bed."

Rolling his eyes, he finished dressing and exited his room. "That's fine," he told her. No more was said as he stepped into the fireplace and called out for Blaise's office. Stepping out, he ignored his friend's greeting. "She's impossible! And your wife isn't making her any saner."

"Hermione?" Blaise guessed.

"No, the Queen of England," he replied sarcastically. "Of course I'm talking about Hermione. One minute she's telling me she's not mad at me, the next she's yelling and threatening to have me banned from your house."

Blaise shrugged. "Pansy kicked me out, changed the locks, the wards, and closed the floo on a weekly basis when she was pregnant," he shared as if recalling a fond memory. "It would take a day, but she'd eventually cool off. For her, I think it was more that she was scared that I'd have to marry someone else, so she would try to push me away. We were both a little afraid that she might have to do this all on her own."

Draco flopped down on the leather sofa and put a pillow over his face. "We're not like that though," he said, his voice muffled. Tossing the pillow to the floor, he sat up. "Wait, you don't think she wants to do this alone, do you?"

Propping his feet up on his desk, Blaise leaned back in his chair. "I seem to recall you saying that you weren't sure you wanted to be a father," he reminded his friend. "Has that changed at all?"

"I'm still terrified," Draco admitted. "It was one thing when we were just talking about it, but now it's real. She's actually going to have a baby. My baby. I never wanted kids. I never saw myself being a parent. Hermione knew that. I don't know. Maybe this whole dating thing is her way of finding the baby a father."

Blaise lowered his feet back to the floor and sat forward, arms resting on top of his desk. "This is your kid, Draco," he said, annoyance rich in his voice. "You can't run away from this. You can't give up because Hermione might decide to date someone else. From what Pansy tells me, you're the one who told her to find someone else. You don't get to be upset that she listened to you. If you don't want to actively be this child's father, then I think Hermione has a right to know that now."

"Do you know who Pansy plans to set her up with?" Draco asked.

Blaise shook his head. "All I know is that Hermione wants you involved," he said. "Think about it, man. Her parents are dead. The Weasleys and Potter aren't speaking to her. Aside from my family, all she has is you. Don't let your fear and her pride keep the two of you apart."

Getting to his feet, Draco moved back to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder. "It's not like that, Blaise," he said sadly before disappearing in the green flames.

Shutting his eyes, Blaise let out a long, slow breath. He hadn't wanted to get involved in the goings on of Draco and Hermione's relationship. It wasn't his place. If Pansy wanted to insert herself, that was fine by him. But now Hermione was living in his house and Draco was stopping by his office unannounced to complain about her. It was more than he wanted to handle. What he wanted more than anything was to put an end to their madness once and for all. And only one person could help him accomplish that.

When Pansy stopped by an hour later for lunch, he grinned mischievously. "I think we should set Draco and Hermione up," he stated.

With raised eyebrows, his wife took a seat across from him. "Excuse me?"

Blaise nodded as the gears in his head began to turn. "You're planning to set her up with someone anyway. Adrian, if I remember correctly," he replied. "What if you told her it's Adrian, but it's really Draco?"

"And how do you propose we get Draco there?" Pansy inquired.

"Simple, I'll tell him he's meeting me," Blaise offered. "They'll have to talk. They wouldn't be in the same restaurant and ignore one another. They'll talk, they'll have dinner, they'll see that they should be together, and this whole mess will be done and over with. It's genius."

Pansy shook her head. "It's stupid," she replied. "I can pinpoint about ten flaws in your plan already. What if they aren't seated near one another? How will them being a restaurant together equate to this being a date? They go out to dinner all the time. Look, I want them to be together just as much as you do, but I don't know that we can force it."

Rising from his seat, he rounded the desk, and kissed his wife. "Just leave Draco to me," he said.