Happily Ever After?

4

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

An extremely awake Harry Potter scurried through Hermione's apartment, freshly showered and dressed only with a towel around his waist. She herself was already standing in the kitchen making coffee, but she was far from awake. It was not that she had a problem getting up early. But before her first cup of coffee in the morning she was a rather dangerous woman. Without even looking at Harry, she put two slices in the toaster and then returned to staring impatiently at the slowly dripping coffee.

"How did it go at Malfoy's yesterday?" Harry inquired, apparently unaware of the difficult mood his best friend was in. Totally unimpressed, he stood next to her in the kitchen with dripping hair and still more naked than dressed, leaning casually against the worktop, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Hermione noticed him from the corners of her eyes - and was suddenly wide awake. Damn, why did Harry have to show off his well-toned chest so early in the morning and look so confident at the same time? It was obvious that he was still playing Quidditch in his spare time.

She swallowed, kept her eyes fixed on the coffee and commented dryly, "Exactly as I expected. He was more than unkind. But when I mentioned the Ministry, he caved in rather quickly and showed me the whole house."

"Well? Did you find the vase?" he asked.

Still Hermione couldn't look at him. "No. But I'm pretty sure I didn't see everything. Remember that dungeon we were trapped in? We didn't go there, but I didn't see an entrance to it anywhere either. We went through every door that I saw. So, Malfoy's hiding something."

In a gesture that was presumably meant to be encouraging and friendly, but which triggered distinctly different feelings in Hermione, Harry pulled her to his chest and stroked her head. "It'll be all right. You are not the smartest witch of the century for nothing. You'll find some way to penetrate the dark recesses of the Malfoys."

Meanwhile, Hermione stared up at her best friend with her mouth open. She had seen Harry so rarely since Hogwarts that she had never noticed how grown up he had become. How manly. She swallowed hard. "You should put on some clothes."

For a moment, Harry just looked at her questioningly, but then, for a split second, his eyes fell on her lips and suddenly he turned as red as she did. Hastily he let go of her and stepped away from her. "Yes ... sorry. I'll be right back."

With a racing heart, Hermione was left alone in the kitchenette. This was not good. This was not good at all. If it was only her who reacted like that, everything would have been all right. The closeness of a half-naked man who didn't look bad and had a sense of humour, could throw a woman off balance. A completely normal reaction. But the fact that Harry so obviously thought anything but chaste thoughts, at least for a short moment, opened the door to disaster.

A loud clack made Hermione flinch - the toast was ready. Cursing about her own frightfulness, about her inappropriate feelings and about the whole situation, Hermione fished the two slices out, put them in the bread basket and put in two new ones.

Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to let Harry stay at her place after all. Perhaps the fact that things were not going so well with Ron was a clear warning that she should not let any other man into her life until she had got her relationship back on track. She should definitely go on a real date with Ron again. Spend time with him, just him. Listening to him, talking about herself, just letting everything that brought them together in the first place flare up again.

***

The disapproval on his mother's face was only too obvious. Draco sighed heavily. He had expected that she would not approve of what he had done but he just couldn't help himself. Hermione Granger was just Hermione Granger.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded in an icy voice to know. "Our family is lucky to have received anything like mercy. We are dependent on not upsetting the Ministry. We're on probation, otherwise we'd be in Azkaban, do you understand that? The slightest suspicion, and they have every right to lock us up as well!"

Annoyed, he ran his fingers through his hair. "I know, mother. But Granger is just so ... ugh. She walked in here as if she owned the world. I know I should have been polite. I know I should have welcomed her with a smile. If it hadn't been for Granger..."

Unimpressed, Narcissa put her teacup back on the breakfast table. "Hermione Granger was one of those who defended us most clearly, Draco. Why don't you put your ridiculous animosity towards her behind you and face reality?"

Furiously, Draco struck the tabletop with his flat hand. "What do you think I did? I talked to her, I showed her the whole house and I didn't insult her! What more do you want?"

It was obvious that his mother was still dissatisfied with him. "Look at the situation from her eyes: first you refuse to receive her - an official ministry employee. Then, after she has exerted pressure, you suddenly give in and voluntarily show her the whole house. Don't you think she'll find that strange?"

"So what?" he demanded to know. "She has seen everything and had nothing to complain about. It's all over."

A pitying smile appeared on her lips. "No. No, it certainly is not. Hermione Granger wasn't here on a whim, she was looking for something. And I have a hunch what she was looking for. You didn't show her the whole house, did you? You didn't take the spell from the stairs that hides the door to our vaults, did you?"

"So what?"

His mother sighed heavily and Draco suddenly got the feeling that he was not privy to all the family secrets. Furiously, he clenched his fists. "Mother?"

Her gaze was icy again when she looked directly at him. "Next time Miss Granger graces us, you will show your most charming side. I know you're good with women. Be nice to her. Distract her from what she's supposed to be doing. I'm thinking of how we... It doesn't matter. Just make her trust you."

Draco had lost his appetite. What his mother was asking was impossible. And he didn't want to do it at all.