Bones pushed her hands into the pockets of her robes. She had given Draco the lists of files she needed and resources that might help in a bigger scale operation and they were standing in the front foyer sorting out the best time to reconvene. She wondered whether his hair was as soft as it looked, and thought that it probably wasn't. She wondered why she was wondering such things.

She had never wanted to know what someone's hair would feel like under her fingertips. Oh, perhaps when she had been at Hogwarts. She'd had the craziest crush on Terry Boot once; so, so long ago. She had wondered a lot about him. What the back of his hand would feel like if he brushed it against her cheek, what his breath would feel like if he leant in to whisper in her ear.

There was no reason to wonder such things about Draco Malfoy so Bones kept her hands clenched firmly in her pockets and nodded when he suggested a day, but didn't bother to listen to the day he'd suggested.

"Draco Malfoy?"

Bones recognised her sister's shocked voice before she turned to find her walking into the foyer. She was about to assure Helen that everything was alright and that fiery torches and pitchforks would be unnecessary when Helen stepped past her and threw her arms around Malfoy.

"Uh…" said Draco, looking as though he desperately wanted to wriggle free but was not sure that such a move would be sound.

Bones was equally astonished.

"You're back?" The question was strangely fierce; almost a threat.

Frowning down at her, Draco plucked himself free finally. "Ah," he said slowly, gaze going from Bones and then back to the girl in front of him. "You would be Helen then?" he asked, though Helen and Bones looked nothing alike. Helen was much prettier than Bones; her features finer and eyes larger.

Helen nodded emphatically before shooting a stunning grin across at Bones. "You were right, Zee," she said. "He is gorgeous."

If Helen were one of the twins, Bones would have laughed. Her little sister was not given to practical jokes though, so Bones choked on the question she had been about to ask. "What are you…I…What..?" she spluttered. Then it occurred to her that Draco Malfoy knew her little sister by name; though evidently not by sight. She frowned at him. He had flushed a light pink when Helen had grabbed him, but his skin was blanching now, leaving him pale and worried looking.

"Are you..?" Helen looked to Bones, frowning suddenly. Bones waited for the rest of the question. Exasperated, Helen sighed. "And him," she said. "Are you and him? Are you?"

"Are we human?" asked Bones dryly. "Are we against You-Know-Who? Are we confused?"

"Are you together?" Helen cried, stamping her foot as though she thought that Bones was being utterly impossible.

"Are you mental?" asked Bones flatly. Even as she asked, she was aware that Draco understood what was going on better than she did. If his pallor was anything to go by, he didn't like this turn of events at all.

Brow furrowing, Helen's expression changed to one of puzzlement. "What then?" she asked.

"We're consulting," said Draco rather firmly. Bones had seen him in negotiations before and knew how easily he could shift conversations to suit him. He was shifting this one even as Bones tried to decide what question to ask to find out what was happening. "Do you come here often?" he asked too smoothly.

Mouth twisting wryly, Helen nodded. "Zee never comes home anymore," she said.

Bones decided on a question. "Why did you hug Draco Malfoy?"

Helen glared at her with all of the wounded pride that a fourteen year old could muster. "Not the time to be changing the subject," she said flatly. "It was your birthday over a week ago and you didn't come home. You still haven't been home. We made cake!"

Bones sighed. They'd had this fight too many times for her to want to rehash it now. "Time and place, Helen. This is not it."

"Well, you're taking me to lunch," said Helen. "It won't be as good as the birthday dinner we slaved over, but it will be something." She glanced sideways at Draco. "Bring Draco too," she offered carefully.

The day was getting stranger and stranger. "In what world could I possibly want to have a belated birthday lunch with Draco Malfoy?" asked Bones.

Helen stared at her before her eyebrows drew together and she took a breath.

"You did spend your birthday with me," Draco reminded Bones casually; and she had the horrible feeling that he was leading the conversation away from something that he didn't want exposed yet again.

"I was drunk," she said tightly. "It doesn't count."

He merely shot her a good-humoured smile before glancing down at his watch. "I have things to be doing anyway," he said as Helen stared at Bones, mouthing the words 'drunk, birthday, Malfoy?'

Bones wished that she wasn't quite so good at reading lips. It came in handy for missions, but she would really rather not have this silent conversation with her impressionable baby sister. There were going to be questions later. A lot of them, unless there was a way to circumvent it. Eyes brightening, Bones cleared her throat. "Well," she said to Draco, far too enthusiastically. "You can't have anything on that's more important than my belated birthday lunch?"