Disclaimer: noo i dont own harry potter and co.

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Chapter 16

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Feeling bored, Theo threw the book on the desk beside him. He glanced to his right to see Draco staring out of the window with a blank expression on his face.

"So, I don't know about you," Theo sighed as he got up from his chair, "but as much as I love sitting here doing nothing but reading a lovely book... I thought you asked me to come here because you wanted to, oh, I don't know…go flying or something. Was I wrong?"

Draco remained silent, leaning against the windowsill.

One minute passed.

Quiet.

So...

Theo, feeling awkward by the silence, noisily walked up to him. He peeked through the window Draco kept looking out of and only saw the mass of green from his garden.

"Yeah, your garden is quite fetching," Theo smirked, patting his friend on the back. "But I think flying is better, so let's go, yeah?"

"Have you heard from Granger, lately?" Draco asked suddenly, a frown on his face.

Theo frowned too. "Yesterday, I believe. Why?"

Draco sighed, finally turning away from the window to face his friend. "She told me that she'd owl me."

"Woah, since when have Hermione and you become owl-mates?" Theo asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning against the wall.

Draco scowled at his friend's foolishness. "You're an idiot. Didn't she tell you? For Aidan's sake, we decided to start over. As in, we have to be civil to one another and hold off this 'negativity' thing, as she calls it."

"Huh." Interesting. Theo smirked, shaking his head. "I give it three days."

"What?"

"Three days before you and Hermione are back to square one. You'll be calling her that stupid name and she'll be slapping you." Theo began to grin widely, clearly amused. "Want to wager?"

Draco shoved Theo with his shoulder as he walked towards the nearby table. "Prick. What if I owl her?"

Theo, rubbing the sting in his arm, rolled his eyes. "Why would you owl her?"

"I don't know... I mean, she said she'd owl me –"

"Then wait for her," Theo interrupted with an annoyed sigh, throwing himself down a sofa. Clearly they were not going to leave anytime soon.

"But I haven't heard from her in two bloody days!" Draco complained, feeling agitated. "She said she'd let me know when I could see Aidan."

He tore a piece of parchment from his desk and grabbed a quill. He dipped the tip inside the ink bottle but then stopped abruptly. "Wait... but then I'll look desperate," Draco groaned, feeling confused with this foreign inner battle. "But, if I don't, I'll look uninterested, right? Damn it, maybe I'll just write. But what if-"

"For Merlin's sake!" Theo snapped, getting up to grab the parchment from Draco's reach. He grabbed the quill and jotted down a few words. When he finished, without waiting for Draco to read it, he charmed the ink to dry and gave it to Draco's owl. "Here you go, give this to Hermione Granger. Oh, and wait until she replies."

The loyal owl hooted in response and grabbed the letter with its beak. The owl gave another hoot and flew out the window until they could no longer see him.

"What did you write?" Draco asked, glaring at his friend. "Theo, what did you write?"

"Relax," Theo scoffed, waving his hand dismissively and walking back to the sofa. "I simply said that you were annoying me about seeing Aidan and to please let me know when you can see him. I mean, for Merlin's sake, you were bloody nervous just to owl her! You! Nervous!" Theo began to laugh.

"Fuck you, Theo. I'm never nervous," Draco snapped, clearly annoyed.

Theo rolled his eyes."Yeah, okay. So are we going to fly or what?"

"What if Granger's response comes back and we're not here?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Theo growled. He got up and walked over to his broomstick. "Your owl will leave it here, then. Now, shut up, get your bloody broom, and let's go."

Hesitating for only a beat, Draco let out a heavy sigh and nodded. Maybe a bit of fresh air would do him good, anyway.

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"Give me five Galleons," Theo smirked, stretching his handout towards Draco. They had betted on whose broom was the fastest as they raced. Draco was so intent on winning that Theo decided to add another galleon as a friendly bet.

"Fine!Five Galleons then!" Draco had said at the time, enjoying himself. "Whoever wins gets five galleons. You better start paying now, Theo, because we both know the broom doesn't matter! I'm a far better flyer than you are. Therefore, I'm the fastest. Pay up!"

Obviously, Draco ate his own words.

"It's only because I gave you a head-start," Draco snapped, tossing Theo his winnings. He opened the Manor's back door and they proceeded to go inside, tossing their broomsticks on the ground.

"Of course," Theo said sarcastically. He counted the galleons and grinned. "Maybe I'll buy Granger that new robe she was looking at with this money."

Unknowingly, Draco's face darkened. He was about to voice his thoughts about how ridiculous she would look when he was stopped by the sound of a feminine giggle.

Even Theo heard it, for he stopped too.

"Expecting company?" Theo asked. "I didn't know Astoria and your mother were close."

"Shut up," Draco hissed, taking his wand out as they both ventured toward the sound.

As they got closer, so did the voice. However, another voice - this time, obviously male - blended in with the girl's.

"Mate, that sounds like-"

"Ssshh!" Draco hushed him, throwing him a warning look. He pointed his wand at the closed guest room door. "Alohamora."

Theo's eyes widened once Draco flew the door open. "Merlin!"

"What the fuck?" Draco shouted, a mixture of shock and anger shooting through him.

Astoria let out a surprised squeak and hitched the blanket upwards to cover her decency. Blaise let out a string of curses and immediately covered himself with a shirt that was laid on the floor. Both had the grace to look ashamed.

"Draco..."

"Shut up," Draco said quietly, glaring at Astoria with a look that made her stiffen. "Just shut up."

Blaise tried to speak. "Listen, mate-"

"Fuck you," Draco snapped, not wanting to hear anything they had to say.

He knew there had been something going on between the two. The way Astoria always talked about him and the hours they had spent together. He just never wanted to believe it because he thought she had more respect for herself, and he thought Blaise had the decency to tell him the truth like the good friend he claimed to be.

After a long awkward silence passed, Theo cleared his throat. "Astoria, cover yourself. Blaise, you too." He gently grabbed Draco by the arm and pulled him from the room. "Come on, Draco. Let's wait outside, yeah? You don't want to do anything you'll regret."

Draco remained quiet but followed his friend. He was right, he had other things to worry about.

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A week later

"Why haven't you owled me back?"

Hermione gasped with surprise, snapping her attention away from her paperwork to glare at the intruder. "Malfoy? What are you- don't you ever knock?"

"Why didn't you reply back?" Draco repeated, glaring at her against the door. "I owled you a week ago; why didn't you reply?"

Hermione sighed. "First of all, I'm busy at the moment-"

"Answer me," Draco snapped. At the displeased look she was giving him, his glare softened."Please."

She continued to stare at him. "I've been very busy with work, obviously." She nodded towards the mountain of paper work she had to go through. "You should know, since we work in the same building."

"But I don't work with you," Draco pointed out, feeling more annoyed than angry. "Still, you could have owled me."

Hermione frowned, staring at her work. She would be lying if she said she wasn'tshocked, as Draco would usually throw some kind of male bitch fit if she didn't do what he said... but, he wasn't.

Interesting, yet very strange.

She looked up and studied him. His arms were crossed and he wore a scowl on his face as if he was still a spoilt boy who didn't get what he wanted. He had also been staring at her, but when their eyes locked for a second, his gaze immediately shifted to the ground.

Strange indeed.

"How about this," Hermione reluctantly proposed, "I get off in about an hour, so, do you want to wait for me? We can Apparate back to my house and-"

"Wait, who's taking care of Aidan?" Draco interrupted, frowning.

"Ginny," Hermione told him. "I know you said your mother and Astoria would be happy to babysit him, but Ginny wanted-"

"Not with Astoria, but with your friends... that's fine," he said, shrugging. As long as it isn't Theo again...

"Why not Astoria?" Hermione asked, gathering her paperwork into a pile.

"That's none of your business, Granger," Draco snapped. "Just don't ever allow her to take care of Aidan. Same goes for Blaise."

Hermione looked at Draco, very curious. When he made no attempt to elaborate, she sighed. "So, yeah, do you want to just meet up later then?"

Draco nodded with no hesitation. "I'm actually done with my shift."

"Oh." She shrugged. "Well then, I guess you can just wait for me in the cafeteria? Like I said, I get off in an hour."

Draco sighed and turned around to leave. However, the huge pack of paperwork caught his eye, causing him to pause. He eyed the work she was assigned to do and nodded towards it. "Do you... erm, do you need to do all of those today?"

Hermione followed his gaze and grimaced. "Well, Kingsley said to do as much as I can today and the rest tomorrow. But I have other things to sort tomorrow, so I'd rather I do them all today."

Draco scoffed. There was no way she could finish that load of paperwork in just an hour.

"Do you need any help?" he asked quietly, already grabbing a stack.

Hermione's eyes widened in alarm. "No! No, it's perfectly fine, I can do them all."

But Draco waved her rejections away with a dismissive hand. "Really, Granger. With my help, you'll finish faster. Stop complaining."

She glared at him."I am not complaining. This is my job, Malfoy. Not yours."

''So, I'm volunteering to help you out, what's the problem?"

Hermione stopped what she was doing and stared at him. Seriously? She didn'tknow if he was being serious about helping her or if he was just being a git again. Merlin, she knew that he agreed to a truce, but really? Shouldn't he still be a little bit mad? Normally he would take her work and mock it, or something. But he was offering to help. Why?

Draco could feel her questioning gaze burning into his back, so he refused to turn around. He knew what she was thinking. Even he wondered what he was thinking sometimes, coming over here personally to ask about her not replying to his owl. Wasn't it her idea for them to come together as civil adults, for the sake of Aidan? But she had been avoiding him about it and it was actually really upsetting him. They had a truce, for Merlin's sake.

Originally, he had planned on harassing her about it, but upon seeing her immediately something felt... normal?. After all the infidelity going on at the Manor, seeing the annoying know-it-all Muggle-born was more - dare he think it? - well, he didn't know. It just sort of eased the stress away even for a little while. And now suddenly he was asking if she needed help. Draco knew she was confused, because he was even more confused.

But if this was what it took for him to spend some time with his own son, then whatever. He knew he didn'tdeserve togetto know Aidan, but he was a selfish man. That was a part of him that would never change.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Draco blinked. His mind was so clouded with thoughts that he didn't realise she was talking to him. "What?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him but explained again. "These are cases. Kingsley wants me to sort them by category. For example: curses, kidnaps, Muggle involvement and so on and so forth." She nodded towards her finished pile. "You can start with what I have there, if you like. If you have any questions, let me know."

Without waiting for his reply, she walked back to her desk and sat down with a heavy sigh. Instead of continuing her work, she watched him.

This is just too weird. Hermione frowned to herself, placing the parchment in front of her. Shaking her head and getting back to work, she mentally told herself to get to the bottom of it soon. Because, clearly, he must be up to something if he was being that decent.

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Four days later

Draco had once again invited her for a late lunch once both of their shifts were over. He was clearly excited - which she hadn'tseen him be, ever - about something, so Hermione couldn't help herself but be hesitant.

"Read it," Draco commanded once they found a decent seat. He grabbed a newspaper from his suitcase and shoved it in front of her.

Hermione stared at the paper with distrust. "And what is this?"

Draco rolled his eyes and pushed it towards her. "How will you know if you don't read it, Granger?"

She snorted,grabbed the Daily Prophet, and unfolded the papers loudly. The headline caused her eyes to widen as it caught her attention.

Most Anticipated Malfoy/Greengrass Wedding: "It's Over!"

The truth is out! Who and what caused this unexpected break up?

Written by Rita Skeeter

Hermione didn't bother reading the article. Why, when she could ask the most reliable source in front of her? She looked up and shook her head in confusion. "What the hell happened?"

"Caught Astoria shagging Blaise," he said bluntly and dismissively, as if it wasn't surprising.

Well, it really wasn't... even Hermione knew something was going on between those two ever since she saw Astoria visiting Blaise's shop. But still, shouldn't he be extremely pissed off, or something?

"How's Astoria?" Hermione asked worriedly."And Blaise? Merlin, how are you doing?"

He may be a git, but that didn'tmean she didn'tcare...

Draco merely shrugged. "She's a slut."

"I can see how very upset you are about this," Hermione said sarcastically, noticing how relaxed Draco looked.

Draco shrugged, taking a sip of his wine. "Very. Now the Malfoy fortune will belong to me and only me again. Very heart-breaking, it hurts."

She scowled. "So, you're okay with this because you still get to keep all of your money?"

"Don't be stupid, Granger," Draco sighed, clearly annoyed. He set his glass down and leaned towards her. "Am I upset that this news is printed and written by the most idiotic journalist? Yes. Am I upset that the engagement is over? No, because it means I have more time with Aidan and you."

Hermione, who was in the middle of drinking her water, spluttered after hearing the last word. She cleared her throat to ease the discomfort. "Excuse me?"

"Are you deaf?" Draco smirked, crossing his arms as he looked at her. "I said, without this shit happening, I can now focus my time with you and Aidan."

Hermione grimaced.

"Now, doesn't that sound lovely?" Draco continued on, sarcastically. "Just imagine... you, Aidan and I. Just the three of us getting to know each other-"

"I already know what kind of arsehole you are, prick." Hermione half-joked, taking a large gulp of her wine. She relished the bitter taste as the news sunk in.

"Now, now," Draco chuckled, leaning against his chair to stare at her in amusement. "We're supposed to be civilized, remember? We're supposed to start all over. Or did you forget too-"

"Shut up," Hermione groaned, grabbing the paper again and scanning the column. "Merlin, Malfoy, now that this is out… everyone is going to wonder. The public will want to know why the wedding is off, or if you have another girl, or if-"

"Let them think whatever they want to think." Draco shrugged, looking completely at ease.

Hermione blinked. Maybe hedidn't really understand the situation because it could lead to so much drama she wasn'tmentally prepared for. "Malfoy, I mean the public would know about Aidan-"

"Everyone we know already knows about Aidan, thanks to your Weasel lady friend-"

"The public, Malfoy! These days, everyone is nosy about other people's lives! When they find out about Aidan, what's next? They would all be curious about the first ever half-blood Malfoy," Hermione rambled on, ignoring him. Her voice was becoming higher and she was talking faster. "What are we going to do? I don't want people to know about Aidan yet! He's still so young and-"

"Can you calm the fuck down, Granger?" Draco snapped, annoyance flickering over his face. "Merlin, it's like you've never dealt with the media before."

"I have!" Hermione slapped her hand on the table, glaring at him and ignoring the whispers from the nosy people around them. "I've dealt with it since I was a first year at Hogwarts, Malfoy. Imagine what the media will think when they find out you've gotten a Mudblood pregnant!"

"Shut up, Granger," Draco growled, uncharacteristically flinching at that word.

But Hermione didn't notice it so she continued on. "They would find out that you tricked me and-"

"No they won't, because I've got a plan," Draco interrupted her with a smirk, looking so full of himself that Hermione's temper was about to explode.

She let out a heavy sigh. "Pray tell, what genius plan have you got, Malfoy?"

"We'll talk to the people closest to us about this plan so the story is the same," Draco added, as if the thought had just occurred to him. He had a large grin on his face as he stared at her.

Hermione began to feel that uncomfortable feeling again. "What?"

"Isn't it obvious we have to do? We will be getting married."

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Dunn, dunnn, DUNNNN. LOL haha hiii everyone! Welcome back ;) thank you to the lovely Siriusly Holly for fixing this chapter up =)

I am so sorry for the extremely late update. I have had some personal family issues going on to the point where I felt like I had no feelings to write at all. But now I'm moving on =)

I've also been busying myself with another Dramione story I was doing called Dragon of the Bad Faith so if you'd like, check that out? =)

Also, if you're a The Vampire Diaries fan, I wrote a Klaroline one shot!

ANYYWAAAYYYY... REVIEW REVIEW!

Even if you alert or favorite this, thank you so much but let me know what you're thinking still! haha they help me =)

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