---
The flat was spotless and clean, very pragmatically furnitured with only a few necessities. This looked like a house a rich, young bachelor living his life. Hermione scanned the rooms with dismay. It was cleaner than her house. "Well, this is quite something." She couldn't help but notice how everything about this house was just grey - as if someone had stripped away all the color in the world, leaving Draco with a monochrome house. But, that wasn't the case.
"Jealous, are you?" Draco asked, sitting down on the couch with an apple in his hand. He didn't even offer her an apple ... or a place to sit. But what more did she expect from him?
Hermione cleared her throat and sat down on the couch next to him. "Why did you bring me here?"
Draco took a bite of his apple and smirked, sitting up as he placed the apple down on the coffee table. "Well, I just thought ... while we're here, we could get to know each other." He said, winking as he placed a hand on her knee.
Hermione frowned deeply as she slapped his hand away. "You're disgusting."
"And you're not my type. Don't worry, it was just a joke. Don't get your panties in a knot," He shrugged it off, chuckling as he held the apple again. "No, I brought you here because someone is going to come visit us today."
"What? Who?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and gripping onto the edge of her purse with apprehension. "Your mother?"
"Precisely,"
"What? How do you know that? Bloody hell, why would you bring me here?" Hermione shot up from her seat as she paced around the room frantically. "No, I have to leave."
Draco sighed, placing the apple back down again. "She's so dramatic. And she can't take a joke." He muttered under his breath as he got up from his seat with a groan. "Granger, calm down." Draco walked up to her, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders as he shook her. "I was just joking."
Hermione lowered her gaze on him, stomping on his foot. "That's. Not. Funny." She smacked him with each word. "I'm leaving,"
"No, come back. There's a reason I brought you here and it isn't because I want to shag you or that my mother's coming here to rip out our hairs out of our heads." He explained, rolling his eyes as he coiling his fingers around her wrist.
Hermione's ear perked up and subconsciously, she reached for her hair protectively. Shuddering at the thought, she looked up at him. "This better not be some kind of joke."
"No, I promise it isn't." He sighed and walked over to a plant on the kitchen counter. "Just in case of emergencies." He lifted the flower pot up and grabbed the spare key to his flat. He placed the flower pot back in its place and walked back to Hermione, handing her the small silver key. "Here,"
"What is it?"
"The key to my flat."
"Why would I take this?" She asked, leaning away from him.
"Because my mother is a scary woman and she will do anything in her power to break us apart. So, if you want to live, take this key." He stated, grabbing her hand gently and placing the key in the palm of her hand. "You only use this for emergencies only."
"Why can't I just apparate in here." She asked, shrugging as she held onto the key.
"I put the Anti-intruder jinx, intruder charm, and security spell over this flat to make sure people like my mother can't just barge in here. Besides, it's dangerous letting wizards apparate into my house. I prefer to the key - it's more safe and only a few people have access to it."
"But she can still just unlock your door with a spell."
"No, she can't. Put a spell on that, too. The only way she can get in is with a key, which she doesn't have."
"Okay, fine, I get it. But honestly, when will I ever need to use this?" She asked, holding up the key in her hand. "Do you really think your mother will come attack us or something?" Hermione inquired but by the look on Draco's face, she put her hand up. "No, nevermind, don't answer that."
"She'll most likely find a way to rip us apart, if you really want to know." He teased, smirking.
Hermione scowled, shooting daggers his way. "I get it. Your mother's a scary woman and she's going to do anything in her power to keep her one and only son from marrying me, an apparent harlot because that's basically what you've managed to make me sound like. She's probably going to just come barging in here right no--" Before Hermione could finish, there was a series of loud and quick knocks on the door.
Draco and Hermione exchanged glances and their eyes widened with fear. Hermione's face paled as her jaw dropped. "Is that --"
"Draco! I know you're in there, open this door right this instant! Or, or I will break this door down." Narcissa's voice boomed angrily from the other side of the door.
Hermione wanted to scream. "Remove the spells so I can apparate out of here." She whispered angrily as they began to pace around the house. The knocks continued and Narcissa's screams grew louder. "Hurry up! Do something," She whispered, pushing Draco.
He quickly snapped out of his daze and looked at her. "You might not like what I'm going to do next, but just ... don't fight it."
"What?" Hermione's eyes grew wide as she stepped away from him. "No, what are you going to do?"
"Ju, just stay still. Do you want my mother to see you--"
"Oh, Draco Lucius Malfoy! I demand you open this door or I will get the key from the doorman!" Narcissa threatened, which only made Draco jump with panic and Hermione grow cold with fear.
"Just come here!" Draco whispered apprehensively, grabbing Hermione's wrists.
"No, what are you doing? Tell me first so I know what I'm getting myself into." Hermione refused, trying her best to free herself from his strong iron-like grip. "Malfoy, I swear--"
They heard keys jangling from the other side of the door. Draco groaned as he dragged Hermione inside of his bedroom with lightning speed. He closed the door behind him and started untying his tie. "Stop moving!" He commanded, taking off her jacket and and throwing her shoes carelessly away. He pushed her down on the bed as he took off his shirt and pants.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hermione asked as she tried to get off the bed.
"Stop resisting." He hurriedly tried to push her back down on the bed but this time, Hermione fought back. Hermione grabbed his hair with both her hands as she wrestled him down onto the bed with her. "Ow, no, no stop! Granger, I am not the enemy. The enemy is outside my flat. Let go!"
Hermione continued to yank on his hair, releasing all her anger out on him. Finally, Draco overcame and wrenched himself out of her grip, groaning angrily. "Bloody --!" He sighed as he rubbed his head. "You're going to pay for that, Granger. But first, we need to put you down." He pushed Hermione back down on the bed and grabbed the bed covers, throwing it over Hermione, making sure to leave her feet exposed. While Hermione resisted and tried to break free, Draco slapped her legs to keep her calm and kept the covers over her.
Just then, the door opened and they heard Narcissa's heels click on the hard, cold marble floor. Hermione immediately stopped moving and just buried herself deeper into the covers. Draco grabbed his bathrobe and quickly put it on himself. He reached up to rub his head, trying to ease the pain.
"Draco?" Narcissa called out and Draco quickly opened the door to his bedroom. Narcissa stood right in front of him and gasped. "Draco, what are you ..." Her voice trailed off when she spotted the clothes on the floor and the pair of legs in the bed.
Draco smirked once he saw the look of shock run across his mother's face. He leaned against the doorway with a smug grin on his face as he sighed. "Mother, now's not a good time."
"Is that Miss Granger in your bed?" Narcissa asked, clearing her throat as she clenched her jaw, trying desperately to keep her composure.
"Yes,"
"Draco, are you going to keep doing this to me? Are you going to keep disappointing me and making me act like the bad guy?" She asked, taking a step forward to her son. "Don't make me be the bad guy."
"Is that a warning, mother?" Draco asked.
"I will never approve of this marriage." She stood her ground as she sternly looked into her son's eyes.
"I'm not going to break up with Hermione."
"We'll see about that." Narcissa hissed and turned to look in the bedroom again. "Goodbye Miss Granger." She smirked and walked out of the flat.
Hermione heard the door close and immediately sat up, throwing the covers off herself. "Draco Malfoy!" She shouted, getting up and grabbing a fistful of his hair.
"Ow! No, let go." Draco ordered as he tried to push Hermione off. "L, let's just talk about this. With words. Violence is never the answer."
"Well, it is now! Why do you keep doing this to me? Why do you keep putting me in these awful situations--"
Draco grabbed her wrist and pushed her hand out of his hair. "Okay, first of all," He said, turning around to face Hermione as he held her wrists in his hands. "You need to stop grabbing my hair."
Hermione's face twisted with anger as she fought back, attempting to yank her wrists away from his grip. "Let go of me."
"No, not until you promise me that you'll stop being so violent."
"Let me go, now. Or you'll regret."
"Grang--"
Hermione rolled her eyes as she kneed him in his groin. "Oops, time's up." She said casually as he fell to the ground, groaning in pain. "You should've let me go the first time I asked."
"Granger." Draco managed to squeak out as he buried his face into the floor.
"I'm sorry, what's that? I can't hear you over all your stupidity." She smirked as she found her shoes, putting them back on. "Here, why don't you try apologizing to me next time. You should put some ice on that." Hermione grabbed her jacket and walked out the flat. "What an arse." She spat with disgust, apparating home.
---
Hermione walked out of the bathroom wearing shorts and a baggy shirt. She put her hair in a loose side braid as she walked into the kitchen for a glass of water. She heard a knock at her door and sighed, walking over and opening it. "Who is ... oh."
"Nice outfit," Draco eyed her up and down with a smirk.
"What do you want?"
"Well, apparently I'm here to apologize?" Draco asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"How did you find my house?"
"Wasn't that hard, really. Now, are you going to let me inside or not?"
"Why should I?" Hermione asked, blocking the entrance.
"Okay, that's fine." He said, shrugging casually. "Who lives in this building?"
"Other people," She replied, groaning.
"Oh, that's great." Draco's face lit up as he scoffed. Without hesitation, he began shouting at the top of his lungs, "HERMIONE GRANGER, YOU'RE PREGNANT WITH DRACO MAL--"
Hermione's eyes widened as she smacked her hands over his mouth, dragging him inside her flat. She slammed the door and groaned, putting a hand over her forehead. "What do you want? Could you please, just for one minute, stop trying to ruin my life and my reputation."
"Easier said than done - just stop doing things that make me result in trying to ruin your life and reputation."
"I swear, I will kick you again ..." She said, her eyes drifting down to his private area. "And this time, I'll make sure you can't have any babies." Hermione threatened, locking eyes with him.
Draco looked down and cleared his throat. "Right, I'll keep that in mind." He said, walking over and making himself comfortable as he sat down on the couch. And to make things worse, he propped his feet right on top of the coffee table as he leaned back.
Hermione scowled and walked over, crossing her arms across her chest. "Oh, would you like some tea as well?" She asked with sarcasm dripping from her voice like venom.
"Oh, that sounds lovely." A small smirk slid onto Draco's lips as he stared at her. "My mother's dangerous. And frankly, I'm terrified of what she's going to do next."
"How about we just stop this and tell her the truth?"
"No, that's stupid. We need rules."
"What?"
"Rules. My mother isn't going to give up and since I'm her son, I'm quite stubborn as well and I hate losing. We're going to have to keep this act up a little longer than originally planned, so we need rules."
"Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
Hermione stared at him long and hard and sighed. She sat down on the couch, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, what are the ... rules."
"Rule number one: We do not touch each other unless we have to. Rule number 2: We do not tell anyone about this - about us." Before he could go on, he saw the look of guilt written all over Hermione's face and sighed. "Really?"
"Ginny's my best friend, I tell her everything." Hermione defended herself, furrowing her eyebrows as she bit her bottom lip. "We didn't establish these rules earlier so you can't really say anything to me."
"Fine, besides, I've already told Zabini." Draco shrugged and took in a deep breath, "Rule number 2 revised: We do not tell any other people about us. Rule number three: We only use the keys for emergencies only. Rule number four--"
"Wait, what? Keys? Why is it plural?"
"Oh, that's right. Give me a spare key to your flat."
"What? No, I refuse."
"Look, this is essential, Granger. There isn't any time for you to whine and complain, okay? We need to do what's best for all of us." Draco retorted back, sighing. "You're being difficult."
"How am I being difficult? I think I deserve some privacy." Hermione countered back as she got up from her seat. "I don't want you near me whenever we don't have to act in front of your mother."
"Well, there are going to be emergencies where we need to see each other quickly." He defended his side, getting up and taking a step closer so that they were only inches away. Brown met grey.. "We can fight all day, but what I'm saying is for the best - for the both of us."
Hermione squinted, groaning inwardly as she stomped on his foot angrily. "Fine." She gave in, walking over and grabbing her spare key from underneath the flower pot on her kitchen counter. She ambled over to him, slapping her flat key on his hand. "We only use this for emergencies."
"Of course," Draco said with a smug smile, tossing the key into his pocket.
"If you come into my flat when there is no emergency ..." She stopped, getting angered just by the thought of it. "I'll kill you."
"Sounds tempting," He said, rolling his eyes.
"Is this it? You only came here for the key and the rules, right?" Hermione asked, getting frustrated just at the sight of him.
"Yeah."
"Okay, leave. The door's right there." She pointed to the front door. "Go,"
"No, I think I'll just stay here for a little bit."
"Why?"
"My mother's at my house."
"Wait, are you saying you came here because your mother is at your flat? So the key and the rules were just ostensible reasons for you to escape from your mother's wrath?"
Draco gave her a curt nod, frowning. "Yeah,"
"You're ridiculous."
"You've seen my mother. And the things she can do."
"You're a wimp."
"Now, Granger, it's not very--"
"You can't stay here forever."
"Debatable, but I'll just stay here for a couple of hours." He said casually.
"Says who? This is my flat, I never agreed--"
"You won't know I'm even here. Look, I'll stay out here and you can just stay in your bedroom."
Hermione sighed. She was too tired to fight with him. "Fine, but I do not want to hear a word from you."
"You got it."
"Goodnight, Malfoy."
"Goodnight, Granger."
Hermione walked back inside her bedroom and closed the door, leaning against it. "What did I get myself into?"
---
Hello lovely people! I hope you enjoyed? This chapter was a bit hard to write - writer's block. It's hitting me hard. I'm sorry >_< I hope the future chapters will get better, fingers are crossed. Please drop a comment below and vote :) Thank you so much for all the wonderful support, I really appreciate it! <3
xoxo Annie