“I was going to tell you, I swear I was, but –”
“They finally let you repaint it in here!”
She whirled around, not sure that she had heard him right. “I’m sorry?”
“Remember when you first started living here, and the paint had been chipping? You said it looked ‘too tacky’ and almost didn’t move in.”
“I…” Thoroughly at a loss for words, Hermione stood next to Harry and poked her head through the door curiously. Her eyes darted over every detail of the tiny room, and considering it was just a small room to hold a downstairs toilet, there wasn’t much to look at. She knew that if he really was still in there they’d see him right away, but it was almost too amazing for her to believe – he wasn’t anywhere in sight.
“Why were you trying to hide a paint job?” Harry asked, now resting on the doorframe and watching her.
“Oh, well… it’s only recently been done and… I was afraid the paint was still wet.”
His mouth twitched. “If no one’s in there, where was the thudding coming from?”
“Oh, uh…” She looked back into the room, her gaze resting on the… open… window… above the toilet. Open? It wasn’t like that when she left Malfoy in here, was it? “I, uh, guess the neighbours must be having a party or moving some furniture about…”
What was going on? Had he jumped out of the window and onto the balcony? He wasn’t that athletic, was he? And even if he had, he wouldn’t be this nice. Hadn’t Malfoy wanted Harry to catch him? Or did he realise that not only would Hermione get in trouble, but he would as well? Was he saving his own neck?
“Something’s happened, hasn’t it?” said Harry, breaking her away from muddled thoughts. “You’re troubled.”
She pulled her wondering gaze from the window and met his bright green one. “Yes, but…” She hesitated. “I’ll talk about it with you another time, okay?”
He didn’t look pleased. “I can’t know now?”
“It’s late, I’m tired, and as much as I enjoy having you here Harry, I’ve got a lot on my mind. What do you say we meet up for coffee sometime during the week and I’ll – I’ll explain then?”
It took a moment, but eventually he nodded. Hermione felt relief flood through her. It had been a close call, and she knew that the next time Harry or someone else were to stop by unexpectedly, she wouldn’t get off as easily again. She had to tell him before it was too late.
The moment Harry was out of her flat; Hermione darted through the apartment and to the back door – the only place Malfoy could possibly be. The balcony outside had a spectacular view at night, the city lights in particular, but she wasn’t paying attention to that tonight. Determined to know where he had gone, she eagerly went around the corner, and for a second was momentarily dumbfounded.
Malfoy was perched onto the edge of the railing, sitting as though there weren’t twelve more floors below them and there was absolutely no chance of falling backwards to his death.
He regarded her with amusement. “Hey Granger, how’s Potter?"
“Get away from there!” She went over and grabbed his arm to pull him back onto solid ground, pretending not to notice when he cringed from her touch. “Have you no sense?”
He smirked, standing fully in front of her now, his eyes glimmering with the multicoloured lights around them, hair tousled from the summer’s breeze. “Worried about me?”
“No,” she said at once, “but you’re not sober, are you? You have no balance at the moment.”
He scoffed. “I’m a god, therefore, immortal. Therefore, making me untouchable and therefore, cannot possibly be killed.”
Hermione closed her eyes tiredly and rubbed them. Merlin, she was exhausted. “You have work tomorrow, you know. Do you really think drinking was such a wise thing to do?”
“I can do whatever the hell I want.”
“Will you drop the I-don’t-care attitude?” she snapped.
“Make me.”
“Why did you hide?” Hermione demanded suddenly. “Why did you actually do something decent for me?”
He laughed coldly and stepped around her back to the living room. She followed. “I didn’t do it for you.”
“Why then?”
Malfoy didn’t answer but gingerly climbed the stairs to his bedroom.
She was certain he was smirking to himself.
***
Draco’s head was going to explode. He didn’t know how much more he could take. The moment he had stepped foot in the bloody building not one person had offered him a friendly smile; they either completely ignored him, or glared as he followed Granger. Bun Woman especially was not amused to see Draco again.
“Hello!” Granger said cheerfully to her as she handed over her notes. “How are you this morning?”
“Good, thank you.” Her eyes drifted over to Draco curiously. “Yourself?”
“Oh, I’m…" She had been flicking through her paperwork, but as she thought over the question, she paused. “Fine.”
At this, Draco thought he saw Bun Woman shoot him an accusing look, as if she somehow knew it had to be his fault for Granger’s unusually dull response. “Fine?”
Granger nodded, dragging her eyes up from the parchment. “One of those days. Anyway, I’d best get to my office. Have a lovely day.”
Draco quickly followed her up the stairs.
“Fine?” he repeated.
“What?” She glanced at him wearily.
“Why are you only fine?”
“Do you care?”
“No,” he said firmly, this conversation oddly reminding him of the night before…
“Worried about me?”
“No,” she said at once.
“Then why the need to know? Besides,” she yawned, “I should think it fairly obvious.”
“Fine’s not really an emotion.”
“Really? How fascinating.” From the tone of her voice, it was plain that she did not think it very fascinating at all.
They got in the elevator and stood further in the corner to allow room for others. Some blinked in surprise to see him trailing after Granger, while others regarded him with disgust, turning up their noses.
Didn’t they know he’d got the hint? Draco Malfoy equals evil slimy git. Keep all infants away. Teach children to hate. Do not make eye contact. Show no mercy.
He understood.
“What are you all staring at?” Granger said rather coolly from beside him. He looked at her in surprise, but she did not meet his eyes.
“Why’s he here?” a broad man who was on Granger’s other side, not much older than them, demanded. His hair was dark and almost like Draco’s, though it was combed back in a way Draco hadn’t done since his Hogwarts years. The man’s face was also very hard and defined, as though made from marble. His eyes were cold and near black.
“He now works here,” Granger replied boldly, seeming oblivious to the threatening looks he was sending Draco’s way.
The man regarded him with evident dislike, a scowl on his strong face. A face that looked very familiar to Draco. “Who would hire him?”
“I did,” she said instantly as the elevator came to a halt and more people evacuated out. Some throwing glances behind them as they did so and others looking disappointed they would miss whatever sure argument was about to happen.
He looked at her as though her hair had suddenly turned green. “What? Hire? Him?”
“Have you lost the capacity to understand English or do you have a hearing impairment of some kind?” Draco asked snidely.
“I beg your pardon?” His eyes flared warningly.
The elevator stopped again and this time people practically lunged out, highly relieved to be free, until it was only the three of them left.
Draco crossed his arms, triumphantly smirking. “I asked whether or not you had hearing difficulties. You then questioned, ‘I beg your pardon?’ confirming my assumption.”
Beside him, Granger shifted a bit. She didn’t like being at the centre of conflict. He remembered well the arguments he’d have with her beloved Potter and Weasley and how many times she had so often tried to stop it turning turbulent to avoid trouble with the professors.
But this was different; there were no teachers here. Draco was vaguely used to confrontations with wizards. While most people kept their distance and settled with nasty looks, sometimes they would approach, and naturally Draco’s inability to close his mouth when he should only caused more trouble.
This was one of those times.
The man stammered with rage. “H-how – dare you? You of all people insult me? You shouldn’t even be here, let alone deserve to be among decent people!” he spat. “I’ve heard stories about you Draco Malfoy and honestly, what you did in the war disgusts me. Too gutless to even pick a side, scurried away when things got tough. You’re pathetic and they should’ve locked you and your good for nothing parents in Azkaban to rot.”
Draco went towards him, almost blind with fury, ignoring Granger’s poor attempts to keep the two apart, when the elevator gave a startlingly sudden jolt, and the doors flew open to their floor.
Both men did nothing but glare hatefully at each other, neither one having any intention to leave or showing any sign that they had even noticed the lift stopping.
Draco wasn’t even aware that Granger had been pulling on his sleeve until she said desperately, “Malfoy, come on, we’ve got to go. This is silly.” And then whispered, “People are staring.”
She was right. Waiting at the door of the lift was a crowd of employees, all looking at Draco as though he were some sort of dangerous animal, about to pull his wand out and Avada Kedavra everyone in the building. Sneering, he let her pull him away, the workers all scattering away like a deer in headlights.
Then, before the doors to the lift closed, they heard the man call after them, “This isn’t over!”
“I can’t believe you haven’t even started yet and already you’ve made trouble for yourself,” Granger said a moment later as they both reached the second landing of the stairs.
Draco gritted his teeth. “He was the one who started it.”
“You didn’t have to retaliate! Getting on Armstrong’s bad side your first day is –”
“Armstrong?” he asked, the wheels in his head turning faster. “Is that his name?”
“Derek Armstrong. But let it go, would you? You can’t –”
“Armstrong… he went to Hogwarts, didn’t he? Stupid git, I’ll get him –”
“Stop it!” And Granger was abruptly standing in front of him, her arms on her hips in a way that reminded him of Narcissa. “You’re not on good terms with the public as it is, do you really think starting fights is going to improve that? Why don’t you try to make friends? Prove people wrong?”
“I don’t need friends and I certainly don’t have anything to prove,” he said shortly, walking around her and going up the hallway where he remembered Granger’s office was.
He felt her eyes on his back the whole way.
***
The rest of the day didn’t improve at all. Granger spent most of the time going to and fro the fireplaces downstairs and each time bringing in new people in her office, or at times not returning for hours. During this time, Draco was left to the simple yet complicated tasks she would set him from sorting out her files in alphabetical order, sorting out papers neatly on her desk, to taking notes from her co-workers, which would require him to run around the massive building in search for certain employees’ offices. And when they weren’t in their offices (which happened most of the time) he was forced to ask about where they were, and if someone knew (though a lot of the time they wouldn’t answer him straight away and just glare), they would ultimately send him down to floors he’d never even heard of only to be told the worker he was looking for had left moments before and Draco would quickly have to go off in search again. Then when Granger was in her office, she would send him down to get her coffee (more running around), and when lunch came around, Draco was so exhausted and humiliated from following a Mudblood’s orders and having been thrown so many hated looks throughout the day, that he seriously thought about poisoning her food. In the end he decided against it; he wasn’t stupid and nor was Granger. He was sure she would test any food he provided her with before eating; and that was exactly what she did when he handed over the food.
It was when, much later on in the day, she told him to go and fetch two more people he’d never even heard of and give them a message that made no sense to him, did he wonder if the bint was actually setting him any real jobs now and if she was only doing it for her own amusement. Then, after about the sixth cup of coffee he was told to get her, he also wondered if she had some kind of super bladder.
“Granger, how does any of this relate to elves?” he demanded as he breathlessly stumped into her office again, not long after being sent to hand Ms. Jones a list of wizarding names from Switzerland.
“The Promotion of Elfish Welfare in Britain is not the only one in the world. We’re connected to other countries and keep tabs on each other regularly,” she answered distractedly, scribbling something down on paper. “I need you to owl this to Mr. Heartfield, by the way.”
“What!” he exclaimed. “I’ve been going back and forth non-stop all day! I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. Aren’t I supposed to get a break some time?”
Granger didn’t answer, but she didn’t even have to, for she had paused writing and peeped up at him through her lashes. She dropped her gaze quickly when she saw that he was staring right back at her, a flush creeping up her face as a cheeky smile she was unable to contain formed over her lips.
Draco was torn between surprise and anger; she had sent him running around after her all day without one break to eat. He was sure now that many of those trips were unnecessary and really had been only to satisfy her desire to get back at him. It was such a dirty move, wasn’t she supposed to be nice and fair to all, especially after what had happened with that whelp Armstrong? Not only was he completely worn out, starving, and embarrassed from running around after her like some servant, but he was impressed also. She had pulled one over him.
Blankly, he turned around to leave, throwing looks of disbelief over his shoulder at the ‘teachers pet’ as he did so, mumbling and shouting parts of his annoyance, his tone switching from amazement, to fury.
“Bloody women! Who says Gryffindors are noble? She’s trying to kill me… sneaky little… wrench… trying to get back at me… hoping I wouldn’t notice…” Draco’s useless rambling and yelling could be heard until he was two floors below the office.
________________________________________
Next chapter; Draco gets a letter he's been dreading, and Hermione tells Harry about whom she's living with, but it doesn't work out how she expected it to, not if Draco can help it.