Hermione paced in her office, unable to sit still. Draco's eyes watched her, tracking her agitated
movements
Harry had shown up with two other Aurors to sweep the flat, informing her that she should wait at the Ministry for them to finish.
It was getting late now. She should probably tell Draco to go home, but she couldn't quite bring herself to say it. She'd missed him since the wedding. And now, after discovering that someone had possibly broken into her flat, she felt a horrible sense of dread. Her personal space had been invaded. Who knew what else the intruder had done in there?
As she passed by Draco for the umpteenth time, he caught her wrist. She stopped to look at him, surprised by the calm look on his face.
"Breathe, Hermione," he said quietly. "You're safe right now. We're alright. We're going to sort this all out."
She felt herself take a deep breath. Her eyes didn't move from his. His hand engulfed hers, his thumb marking slow circles on her skin. Almost imperceptibly, he nodded as she exhaled deeply.
"I should take some of my calming potion," she muttered.
"Where is it?" he asked.
"Desk drawer."
He stood, letting her hand go as he retrieved the potion from her desk. He popped the cork of it and watched her take a large gulp. A loose, languid feeling began to uncurl in her gut. She took several more deep breaths while the magic circulated, finally reaching her fingertips with a buzzing sense
of peace.
Hesitantly, he reached up and pushed her hair back behind her ear. Hermione looked up at him.
They hadn't been this close in so long. His sharp, pale features were strangely comforting to her.
Suddenly, she found herself wondering how long Harry would take to search her flat, not because she wanted him to finish soon, but because she wanted to prolong this moment alone with Draco.
But then he stepped back, his face slipping into a mask of casual blankness as her office door
opened.
"Hermione! Are you alright?"
Ginny barreled into her, bringing her into a tight hug. Behind her, Ron walked into her office, his eyes narrowing when he saw that Draco was still with her
"Yes, I'm alright," Hermione said.
Hermione hugged her friend back, her ire with her melting away. She'd forgiven Draco, after all.
"Harry told me what happened," Ginny said. "We were too worried to stay at home."
"You didn't have to come, Ginny," Hermione said. "Harry's taking care of it."
Ginny caught sight of Draco then. Her eyes brightened.
"I see," she said, and Hermione wasn't sure she was responding to her statement about Harry. She turned back to Hermione and demanded to hear the details of what had happened.
Hermione filled her in on their trip to follow Ignoma's trail, then to her flat to research elfish magic, where they'd discovered the missing notes and the overturned flowerpots. Ginny looked thoughtful.
"That is suspicious. But it might be nothing. Couldn't you have misplaced the notes?" Ginny said hopefully.
Hermione shook her head.
"I'm absolutely certain they were there when I left this morning."
Voices met their ears then, coming from down the hall. Harry was giving instructions to the other Aurors, presumably to follow up on what they'd found at her flat. By the time he entered Hermione's office and saw everyone grouped together and waiting for him, the other two Aurors had gone elsewhere. To Hermione's surprise, Harry was holding Crookshanks in his carrying basket. He set the annoyed cat down inside her office.
"Alright," Harry said with a large breath. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but you can't go back there tonight. We found something concerning."
Hermione's chest felt tight at his words. Harry licked his lips nervously, facing Hermione.
"The teabags in your kitchen were all dusted with a powdered substance. We sent it out to be analyzed, but it was likely some sort of poison, judging by the dark magic we detected," Harry said. "If you'd made yourself a cup of tea tonight, there's no telling what might have happened to you.
The floor fell out from underneath her. Ginny's arm wrapped around her waist for support.
"Did you find anything else?" Draco asked. "Surveillance devices? Anything stolen?"
Hermione felt dizzy as Harry answered, "No surveillance devices, thank god. But in order to determine if anything else was stolen, Hermione will have to go back and take a look around. I can go with her tomorrow
Hermione nodded absently.
Poison. Someone had tried to kill her.
Harry was still talking.
"Unfortunately, we attracted a bit of attention while we were there. Some reporters saw us," he said with a grimace. "I think they were hoping to catch you, Hermione, and ask whether you'd listened to Johanna's show."
She'd completely forgotten that the radio show would be on tonight.
"Do they know what you were there for?" Ginny asked.
"I don't think so, but things like this have leaked before," Harry said, an annoyed grimace on his face. "But whatever they print, we'll deal with it tomorrow. For tonight, we'll need to decide where you'll be staying."
Crookshanks meowed from his basket. The weight of Harry's statement slammed into her like a Bludger.
Of course. She wasn't going home tonight. Possibly not for a long time.
"We can set up a safe house for you," Harry suggested tentatively.
"No," Hermione heard herself saying. "No, I can't just hide away in a safe house. I won't be able to work I...I.
It was becoming difficult for her to breathe again. A safe house would mean that she would be locked away, not allowed to leave without Aurors dogging her every step. She would suffocate, and the missing house elves would never be found.
"You can stay with us, Hermione," Ginny said promptly. "Come live at Grimmauld Place for a while."
"She should come back to our flat, in case any reporters find her," Ron countered. Hermione didn't miss his use of the word "our." She pursed her lips. That flat hadn't belonged to her for some time now. He cleared his throat and finished, "Y'know, to keep up appearances."
"But whoever's after her will certainly go there first," Ginny said. "It's not safe."
"They'd probably try to find Grimmauld Place too," Ron said. "That house isn't exactly a secret
anymore."
The arguing voices began to overlap around her. Hermione felt dizzy and clammy, overwhelmed by the choices in front of her. Ron raised his voice over Ginny's, and Hermione had to grip the desk for support.
A deep voice broke through the others, leaving an astonished hush in its place.
"She'll be staying with me," Draco drawled lazily, sounding as though it were a given.
The room was silent at the cold pronouncement. Hermione turned to him in shock.
Draco looked perfectly relaxed bored, even. He was looking directly at Harry.
"I've got a comfortable guest room for her, and my building is a veritable fortress. Plus, whoever's after her won't know to look for her there," he said simply.
Harry obviously disliked the idea, but he kept his opinions to himself. He looked to Hermione, waiting for her to decide.
"The choice is yours, Hermione," Harry said. "Just tell me what you want to do."
Hermione forgot how to draw breath.
Live with Draco? In... in his flat? Alone? Together? Indefinitely?
The prospect scared her almost more than going to a safe house.
"How do we know you're not the one who's after her?" Ron said.
Everyone turned to look at him then. Ron was seething, staring at Draco.
"Didn't you say he was the one who noticed the flowerpots? And he would have had access to the missing page. Maybe he also poisoned her tea!"
His accusation snapped her out of her temporary paralysis
"Oh, honestly, Ron!" Hermione snapped. "It's obviously not Draco! Whoever poisoned my tea also stole my notes about one of the missing elves. Clearly, the person responsible for the disappearances is the one who's after me. It couldn't be Draco."
"What if the intruder only stole the notes to throw you off?" Ron shot back. "Or maybe he's making up that story about his missing house-elf to get to you!'
Hermione scoffed, but Draco surprised them all again by agreeing with Ron.
"No, no, Hermione. Weasley's got a point. You shouldn't rule me out without proof," he said, to the palpable surprise of everyone. But then he turned away from her.
A venomous smile spread across Draco's face as he looked directly at Ron and said, "Would you like me to take some Veritaserum, Weasley? If you happen to have some, that is."
Ron's eyes bugged out slightly as he realized what Draco was referring to. Hermione's mouth went dry. Glancing at Harry and Ginny, she saw they both looked perplexed. Ron still hadn't told them.
Apparently satisfied with Ron's furtive silence, Draco turned to Harry with a light smile, throwing
up his hands.
"You can search me if you like, Potter," he said.
Harry hesitated, glancing at Hermione. She didn't know what to say.
"Go on then, clear my good name," Draco goaded. "Best to get it over with."
Harry considered it for another second, then shrugged and pulled a Sneakoscope out of his bag.
Ron watched with murder in his eyes as Harry scanned the instrument over the front of Draco's robes. He passed it over Draco's tall frame several times, ignoring Draco's smirk as the Sneakoscope stayed quiet. Harry also used a summoning charm to look for more poison and the
missing notes
Ron's deep scowl seemed permanently etched into the lines of his face by the time Harry had finished.
"Satisfied?" Draco sneered at Ron.
Ron only looked away sourly. He still looked unconvinced.
Draco lowered his arms as Harry stepped away. He summoned a spare bit of parchment from Hermione's desk, wrote something down, and handed it to Harry.
*My address and telephone number, in case you need to reach her," he said simply.
Then he strode to the door and looked back at Hermione.
"Coming?" he asked.
Hermione blushed at his expectant tone. He had enjoyed putting on his little show, she knew. And now, he was casually making decisions for her and summoning her like a little pet in front of her friends. She should hate him for it. She should tell him to fuck off. She should openly defy him and go home with Ginny and Harry.
Instead, she felt strangely warm and fluttery inside, and hated herself instead.
She kept her eyes averted from Ron as she hugged Harry and Ginny goodbye, scooping up Crookshanks' carrier and wordlessly following Draco out of the office.
"That was a bit much, don't you think?" she hissed at him when they entered the lift together. She set Crookshanks down for a moment. He hated to be off the ground.
His smile edged up one side of his face. He winked and said, "Don't act surprised now, Granger.
You have met me before
She rolled her eyes at him, obstinately crossing her arms and leaning away from him. Riding in this lift with him was still a pressure point for her.
In silence, she followed him home.
So much had happened in the last few hours. Ignoma, missing. Draco, talking to her again. Poison in her tea. And now, all of a sudden, she going to live at Draco's flat with him. It was almost too much for her to process.
By the time they got back to Draco's home, Hermione felt bone-weary and shaky. Though she was wrapped in her thick wool coat, an unshakable chill had settled underneath her skin.
Draco had paused when he entered his flat, scanning the dark, immaculate space for something unsaid. Perhaps it was just the light, but he seemed paler than usual.
"What is it?" Hermione asked him quietly.
Draco swallowed, still looking around the room.
"I miss her, is all," he murmured. "It's been strange. Ignoma not being here."
Hermione's heart thumped painfully.
Once Crookshanks was settled and curiously sniffing around the flat, Draco showed her to the guest room before excusing himself to another room down the hall. Hermione wondered if he would go straight to bed. She watched him go, unable to tear her eyes away from the swish of his dark robes as he walked away. The farther he walked, the colder she felt.
Suddenly, her breathing became labored. Perhaps the Calming Draught was wearing off already.
Draco hadn't been lying. The guest room was comfortable. With a squashy-looking bed across from a large fireplace, she should have collapsed right into a deep sleep.
Instead, she only stood in the doorway, unable to make herself enter.
Poison. Someone wanted her dead. Someone had broken into her home, invaded her personal space, and contaminated her tea. The tea she drank nearly every day.
The thought of it, of some stranger in her home, rummaging through her things and tampering with her tea stores...it made her skin crawl.
In the corner beyond the bed, she thought she saw a shadow move.
Her breathing picked up more, fighting the growing tightness in her chest, crawling up her throat.
She was being ridiculous. She was perfectly safe here. Nothing was going to jump out of the shadows at her.
Something shifted in the corner of her vision and she shrieked, jumping back.
Draco was standing there in the hall, staring at her while she tried to calm her hammering heart.
With a start, she realized he had changed. He was now wearing soft black trousers and...nothing else. Just the trousers, hanging low on his hips. She blinked, forcing her eyes away from his bare torso. Awkwardly, she looked at the floor instead.
Ginny had been right. He was fit.
"Do you need anything?" Draco said from behind her. "Clothes?"
"Erm, no," Hermione said, shaking herself slightly. "I-I can conjure something suitable.
She felt his forceful stare on her face. She tried to even out her breathing, but the task was growing more difficult by the second.
"Is the room not to your liking?" he asked.
"Oh, n-no, it's perfectly lovely," she stammered.
"Then," he asked, stepping closer, "why aren't you going inside?"
From her view of the floor, she could see that he was now standing right next to her, close enough to touch. She gulped, forcing herself to meet his eyes.
Instantly, she regretted it.
He was looking down at her with such intense, tender concern. She was captivated by his eyes, almost black in the dim light of the hallway.
His fingers reached for her hand. She felt the warmth of them seep into her skin as he said, "You're freezing, darling.
Her breath hitched at the word.
His eyes roamed over her face, taking in her features with precision. Hermione felt as though a fire
burning right under her feet would not have been able to make her move.
Draco's free hand took hold of the front of her coat. She almost protested when he let go of her hand, but then his fingers began to free the buttons of her coat, undressing her with deft movements. She barely breathed when he pushed the coat off of her shoulders, tossing it to the floor of the guest room without taking his eyes from her face.
"You've been through a lot tonight, Hermione," he whispered. "It's okay if you're not alright."
The cold in her bones was making her shake in earnest now.
"I d-don't know what's wrong with me," she breathed.
His long fingers reached around the side of her neck, gently grounding her as his thumb traced along her jaw. He leaned down, and her heart skipped a beat when she thought he might kiss her.
When his lips pressed to her forehead, her eyes closed. She soaked in the brief, sweet contact before he moved away again.
His dark eyes were burning with some emotion she didn't recognize
"Come with me," he whispered.
His hand found hers again, this time wrapping her into a firm hold. He pulled her forward, leading her into the room he had disappeared in not too long ago. Hermione didn't protest, didn't even think about where he was taking her. She only knew that she didn't want to be alone.
No, it was more than that. It was him, specifically. She didn't want him to leave her. Not again.
His bedroom was decorated with dark colors and clean lines, modern but comfortable. It smelled like him, like that scent he sometimes used. The only light came from a fire crackling in a hearth opposite the window.
Draco led her to the bed, pressing her down by the shoulders to make her sit. She was trembling worse than ever now, completely unable to control it. Draco kneeled down at her feet, gently removing her shoes. From his place below her, he looked up, capturing her with his intense stare
agalli.
"You're safe here, Hermione," he said softly. "You're safe."
Her throat tightened painfully. She closed her eyes, trying desperately to calm her body.
"Is it alright if I transfigure your clothes? Those don't look comfortable," he said, his soft voice sounding uncharacteristically unsure.
Hermione swallowed, trying to breathe deep enough to answer him.
"Yes," she gasped. "That's alright."
Her eyes were still closed when she felt her stiff blouse and trousers become soft and loose, almost billowy. Self-consciously, Hermione realized her bra had disappeared. However, the extra room for her straining lungs was relief enough to offset the embarrassment of it.
Behind her, the bed shifted. Draco's arms came around her, pulling her to the middle of his bed. He shifted her to bring the covers over them both, then wrapped her in his arms. Hermione found
herself pulled into a firm embrace against his hard body.
He was so warm, she realized. Powerless to stop herself, she burrowed into his bare chest, seeking his warmth and solidity.
"Shhh," Draco said soothingly, running a hand over her hair. "You're alright. You're safe."
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"You're safe with me," he whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Hermione rested her head on his chest, counting the beats of his heart. The only sounds in the
world were his heartbeat, their combined breath, and the low pops and cracks of the fire.
Seventy-eight. Seventy-nine. Eighty.
The shaking had subsided now.
One-hundred-twenty-two. One-hundred-twenty-three.
Warmth was creeping into her toes. Her whole body felt limp.
At two-hundred-thirty-six heartbeats, she lost count.