CHAPTER 3: MALFOY'S ALWAYS GET WHAT THEY WANT, MUCH TO HERMIONE'S IRRITATION

Hermione glanced at herself in the mirror.

Two years had changed her. Her hair was longer and less wild, still a weird shade of brown that she couldn't name. Her eyes were brown, and her skin badly pale. She looked like a corpse, and she felt like one too.

She still looked like herself, but there was an air of maturity and hardship in her face that even she could see. It was hard being alone for so long, and it had certainly taken a toll on her. It had actually taken her a few seconds to remember how to respond when Malfoy had decided to kidnap her two days ago, her mind going blank for the words after so long of not talking with anyone.

She looked around herself and sighed heavily, missing her old apartment. The muggle lodge she'd moved into yesterday was a scruffy place, the roof leaked, the walls were dark and gloomy, and the bathroom was the size of a broom closet. It was expensive too, for such a crappy place, but Hermione was just glad she had a roof over her head.

At least within the muggle world, she had some freedom. Of all the victims thus far, there hadn't been any muggles. But neither had there been any specific types either. Muggleborns, half-bloods and even purebloods had been killed, there was no rhyme or reason to these killing and until she could find a true connection between them all, she couldn't even begin to track down the person responsible.

Rolling her shoulders in preparation, she steadied herself and cast various spells on herself, watching in the mirror as her brown hair turned dark red from the roots downwards. She tanned her skin slightly so that she wasn't as pale, and added freckles to her nose and cheeks, turning her eyes green in the process before glaring at herself.

She looked like a Weasley, and looking like a Weasley was the last thing on her mind. She hadn't meant to do it, but they were all on her mind at all times. She missed Ginny the most really.

She ran a hand through her hair and tied it up, out of her face. Now was not the time to think about all the things she was missing out on. She had things to do, and crying over the pain she felt would not help. Tears were not helpful. She'd already cried aplenty with no effect, what was the point of doing it again?

She needed supplies. The kind of supplies she needed could only be found at one place. Diagon Alley. And that was why she'd disguised herself too. She couldn't exactly waltz there anymore.

Once upon a time she would have used the floo network, but in the last two years, flooing had gotten harder and harder, the Ministry had made sure to place traces on anyone flooing from muggle places, so now everywhere she went, it had to be either apparation or muggle transport.

She sighed at her reflection again, not bothering to change it, and not really wanting to, and apparated from her apartment to behind Flourish & Blotts.

When no shouts of alarm or people with their wands drawn to attack her appeared, she let out a breath of relief and walked out from behind the shop and into public view.

Once again, she hesitated, waiting for someone to notice, but no one looked at her twice. She was just another witch, not the wanted criminal Hermione Granger.

She made her way to Honeydukes, craving the sugar quills she'd been addicted to since her school days, and some other chocolate goodies that made her gloomier days better. Weaving through the few people present, she found herself stopping at a wall covered in posters, her eyes catching hold of the Wanted posters with her face on them.

They'd used a flattering picture at least, something from after the war had ended and Harry, Ron and she had attended a gala for the fallen soldiers. The photo of her smiling face didn't fit the caption of a murderer and she turned away, her stomach churning, only to bump into someone and almost fall backwards.

She let out a yelp of surprise as the man grabbed her hand to stop her from falling and once she'd regained her balance, he let go hastily. "I'm so sorry. Thank you for..." her voice trailed off when she realised who it was that she'd bumped into and her mouth clamped shut.

Of all the people in the world.

Draco Malfoy.

Again.

Dammit Merlin!

His mouth was already pulled down in a scowl that deepened when he saw that she'd been staring at the posters on the wall behind her. "Watch where you're going! Stupid red-headed freaks!" he pushed her roughly aside and continued walking.

She gaped after him, fighting the urge to throw her shoe at him. "Stupid blonde-haired-ferrets! Why don't you watch where you're going?" She made a face at him and turned to Honeydukes, intent on forgetting that she'd seen him at all.

Why the hell was he so good at finding her? Twice in a week, whereas the Aurors were barely keeping up with her after two years!? What sort of star was that idiot born under?

Reaching for the door of the store, Hermione felt a presence behind her and tensed, readying herself for a fight, her wand already in her hand, when she felt an arm take hold of her waist and a familiar scent filled her nose.

And then Hermione Granger found herself apparating against her will, yet again.

The moment they landed at their destination, he let her go, and she fell to her knees, taking in deep breathes, only to feel her head fill in with despair at the stench of an old building that she knew too well for her liking. She stood up and glared daggers at Draco Malfoy, who stood in front of her with a proud smirk on his face.

They were right outside the front doors now of the Manor now, Hermione realised with a groan, it would take her longer to walk down to outside the gates to run off, since the charms were active within the gates and applied to anyone who wasn't a Malfoy.

She turned on her heel and put a hand to her hip, flicking her long red hair away from her face and frowning at the now slightly less arrogant and sure looking Malfoy.

"What the hell? Who are you and, like, what the hell am I, like, doing here? Are you, like, trying to kidnap me or, like, something?" She asked in an American accent, a trait she'd perfected over the course of a week in California during a case in her first year. And never had she been so pleased with it than when she saw the faltering smile on Draco's face.

Her accent was very good. Even Ron and Harry had been impressed.

"What?" he asked, unsurely, looking her up and down, worried that maybe he'd gotten the wrong person.

Good, she thought to her herself, crossing her arms as angrily as she could, he needed to be taken down a notch or two once in a while. He was still far too cocky for his own good, he really hadn't changed since school at all.

"Are you, like, trying to kidnap me? Because you're doing like an awful job! OMG! Like, wait! I know you! You're like that totally hot guy who like owns like that company! OMG! A hot guy tried to kidnap me! Wat till I tell all my BFFS! Like they are tots going to be jelly!" she clapped her hands together in glee and smiled at him brightly, enjoying this more than she should have.

"No...wait! No. I can't be wrong. You're Granger! But Granger isn't ditzy! What the hell is BFF? Jelly? What the hell are you?"

She couldn't help it, she laughed and then stopped short, trying to remember the last time she'd laughed aloud before. Before two years ago, that had been it, at Albus' christening party, when Ron had choked on a chicken leg again. That had been the last time she'd laughed.

Draco let out a sigh of relief. Okay, so he hadn't kidnapped the wrong person then. But, damn, she was an actress alright. No wonder the teachers always believed her lies.

Oh, no professor, I didn't set fire to the curtains! It must have been Peeves!

"Drop the act Granger, I know it's you. I've known it was you since you called me a stupid blonde-ferret. Only you and those two idiots you call friends ever called me that to my face." He looked so smug, Hermione almost wanted to remind him of what a good punch she could throw, but decided against it at the last moment; though his flawless face was just asking for it.

"I think you have a thing for kidnapping people, Malfoy. You should go see someone about that, maybe a psychologist, before it's too late and you start kidnapping homeless people and start calling them Weasel or Scar-head! Plus, I had you fooled until I laughed. Don't even deny it." She ignored the satisfied look on his face she released the appearance charm and her red hair and green eyes changed and became brown once again.

Draco smirked again as she changed before his eyes, and became the well- known Hermione Granger once again, mentally letting out a sigh of relief that she didn't look like a copy of Weasel anymore. He'd seen enough of that rat faced moron in school without having to face it again.

"I didn't know you wanted to be a Weasel that bad. I understand going in disguise, weren't you worried one of their many relatives would recognise you as their own and take you away?"

Hermione blinked at him, wondering if he was trying to be stupid on purpose or just piss her off. She didn't want to hear anything about the Weasely family right now, she missed them, she missed them terribly and his insults only made her right hand itch.

"You don't know a lot of things Malfoy, what I want to do is my business. Now explain to me why you are bothering me again?" her eyes blazed in anger but Draco found his mind wondering from her question to the fact that he could now smell that same smell again.

Oranges and cinnamon, faint, but still there. Fresh oranges and bitter cinnamon, it wafered off her hair, her skin, all of a sudden that's all he could smell. His brain lost all train of a comeback and instead tied to figure out the impossible.

How could someone, who'd been on the run from the world, smell like oranges and cinnamon? How was that even possible? It didn't smell like a perfume, he could recognize perfume scent a mile off, but this smell was not perfume, it just seemed to seep through her skin, and overtake all his senses.

He almost wanted to lean in just to get a stronger whiff, but seemingly, that wouldn't be appropriate, though he took an unconscious step towards her, his nose in the air like a wolf. Hermione frowned and took a step away from him and his strange actions.

Draco's brain began to overdrive with questions. How could she be a criminal? How was that possible? What exactly where her motives? How could the Golden Trio's brains, and later known beauty be a killer? It just didn't make sense.

Getting frustrated with his silence and the fact that he looked like he was trying to sniff her, Hermione whipped her wand from her sleeve and pointed it straight at his throat, the questions in his head stopped immediately.

"I told you not to bring me here again Malfoy, and I told you the consequences if you did." Her voice was steel edged, sharp and dangerous, one wrong move, and the last thing you remembered was that you'd made a terrible mistake, and that you'd died because you'd offended a lady.

A very pretty yet a very mad lady.

Draco stopped.

Since when had he thought of Hermione Granger as anything remotely pretty? Never. Never. Was he barking mad? Hermione Granger wasn't pretty! That was ridiculous, that would be like calling him attractive. That wasn't true, he was more than that. He was insanely attractive at the very least.

He mockingly glared at her, not really believing that she would attack him with magic. The most he expected was a broken nose.

"Well, Granger, you didn't answer my question the other time, of course I had to...borrow you and bring you back!" Draco said through narrowed eyes, watching for any change of facial expression that might give away any emotion.

Nothing. Her face stayed stony and cold, unimpressed with his explanation.

She regarded him warily; she looked at him like he was a mystery, something that she'd only figure out by ripping open and burning up the insides, organ by organ, like a sacrificial lamb or something. And personally, Draco really didn't like that look.

"Borrow? You mean kidnap, right? You kidnapped me." she said slowly, watching his face pull into an irritated scowl.

"Don't be ridiculous! I didn't kidnap you. I borrowed you. Now, answer my question. As much as I know you can't take your eyes off my insanely attractive face, I have important things to do." That was a little white-lie.

He had absolutely nothing to do anymore. All his companies where in perfect order, Blaise was in charge of everything other than signing off on the deals, so Draco was stuck at home, staring off into space.

The most exciting thing that had happened in his life since he'd graduated from Hogwarts had been the death threats he'd been receiving from Granger, and that said a lot.

Hermione looked at him, and then at his house-and shivered involuntarily, memories of her scarred right arm slipping into her mind. She pursued her lips and frowned at him and then said quite simply, "I didn't." She turned around again and began walking off towards the distant gates, her arms crossed close to her body like she was cold.

Draco frowned, what the hell was she on about. That made no sense whatsoever. "You didn't what, Granger?"

She didn't bother turning around, not wanting him to see how much just being so near this place was affecting her. "I didn't kill your precious Pansy. I haven't killed anyone. Leave me alone, please."

She ran to the gates and then disapparated, gone as quickly as she'd been bought.

Draco Malfoy stared at the space where a very distraught lady had stood moments before, her words echoing around in his head. She'd said please, she'd never said that to him before, not like that. Not like she was really pleading him to stay out of it.

There really was more to her story than anyone knew. She wanted him to play no part in the drama was that only beginning to unfold around her, perhaps she didn't want more people to get hurt or she believed that he would be useless and only get in her way?

Either way, the more someone said no, the more Draco Malfoy found himself interested. There was no way he would be able to stay away now.

Draco made a mental note to make sure to push her inside the Manor next time he kidnapped...borrowed her, at least then, she wouldn't be able to just apparate away without his consent since the wards wouldn't let her.

And there would be a next time, he promised himself, because Draco Malfoy wanted some answers and something to beat the boredom with, and what was better than a mystery running around named Hermione Granger?

And quite frankly, Malfoy's always got what they wanted.