Draco watched the smoke drift up into the air as he blew it out from his mouth. It disappeared and he took another drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke into the air again and watching it.

‘You’ve been at that for exactly three minutes now,’ Hermione said, angrily, ‘we need to leave soon so will you please go and pack some clothes?’

‘Please, calm down,’ Draco rolled his eyes, turning onto his side to put the cigarette out on the ash tray that Hermione had bought especially for him. He butted it out and then took a deep breath, coughing slightly, before turning to look at Hermione.

Draco eyed her up and down, wondering how she could look this beautiful in the mornings. She wore pink shorts and a white tank top that was a little loose on her. The first thing she did as soon as she woke up was bunch her hair up into a ponytail but a few strands came loose and she blew them away from the side of her mouth. Hermione turned to look at Draco, hands on hips.

‘Get up,’ Hermione frowned, shaking her head, ‘I still have to give Rose breakfast, finish packing, take Rose to my mothers and clean up this apartment. I really don’t have time to pack your clothes for you, Draco Malfoy. Now get out of my bed!’

‘Your anger turns me on,’ Draco admitted and smirked slightly at the look on her face. He groaned and pushed the sheets onto the ground, swinging his legs out of bed and pushing himself up. Draco stretched his back, making loud noises as he did so, when the door opened and Rose ran in. She ignored her mother and went straight to Draco who picked her up, ‘look who woke up! Sleeping beauty.’

Rose giggled and hugged Draco around his neck before looking at Hermione, ‘mummy, I’m sleeping beauty!’

‘Yes, I heard,’ Hermione sighed, going to pick up the sheets that Draco had thrown majestically to the ground and made the bed, ‘Rose, please get changed. I need to take you to Grandma’s soon.’

‘But I want to stay with Dway-co,’ Rose said, looking at Draco’s eyes and fake pouting.

‘Dway-co needs to go home,’ Hermione sighed once more, ‘and you, little missy, need to get changed and have breakfast before I send you to Grandma’s.’

Draco smiled at Rose who was about to throw a tantrum, ‘mummy’s right. Besides, I’ll see you later and I will bring you a present, I promise.’

‘Sweeties?’ Rose asked, hopefully, her eyes lighting up.

‘Sweeties,’ Draco nodded, grinning.

‘No sweeties,’ Hermione shook her head, reaching for Rose, ‘come on, get down and go wear whatever you like. A nice dress, perhaps.’

Hermione got Rose to the ground and watched her run out of the room before she looked at Draco. Hermione smiled softly, running a hand through his bed hair and reaching up to kiss him briefly, ‘you look nice in the mornings.’

‘I look hot all the time,’ Draco boasted, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her, ‘mm... I’ll see you in a little while?’

‘Yes, you might want to say your goodbye to Rose since I’m going to take her to my mother’s pretty soon,’ Hermione said, pulling back to look into his eyes, ‘also... I love you.’

‘I love you too,’ Draco grinned and kissed her lips before heading out of the room, calling, ‘princess, where are you?’

Draco walked over to Rose’s room and knocked before walking in. He saw her near her drawers, clothes spilling out as though the drawer was puking. He chuckled slightly and went over, kneeling down to kiss her cheek.

‘I’ll see you later, Rosie,’ Draco said, smiling as Rose hugged him.

‘Okay, Dway-co. Mummy says you’re going somewhere fun,’ Rose hugged him tighter, ‘promise to bring me sweeties?’

‘Of course,’ Draco chuckled and hugged her back before pulling away and standing up, ‘be good for Grandma.’

‘I’m a good girl,’ Rose said innocently, showing off her few teeth by smiling. Draco rolled his eyes, she really was the cutest little kid he had ever seen.

‘I know,’ Draco chuckled slightly, seeing a bit of Hermione in her. He blew her a kiss before walking out of the room and heading down to the front door, ‘Granger, I’m leaving!’

‘Already?’ Hermione called from the kitchen, sarcastically, and then chuckled at herself, ‘okay, see you in a bit, love.’

Draco smiled when she chuckled at her own joke and he shook his head slightly, wondering why everything she did just seemed so cute to him. Love, the obvious answer was love, of course. He just wished he had told her how much he liked her back when he had the chance and everything could have been avoided... they could have run away together. But then again... Rose wouldn’t have been born and where would they be without that little girl?

Draco unlocked the door and opened it, stepping out of the apartment. He closed the door behind him and started to walk, thinking about what sort of clothes he should pack. He walked to the stairs, about to descend them but stopped when he heard the voice behind him.

‘Stop right there,’ the voice ordered.

A female voice... Draco frowned, stopping where he was and putting his hands up to show he didn’t want any trouble. He heard the heels click on the ground as the woman got closer to him. Draco stared ahead, frowning when a hand started to search his body, getting his wand that was stowed in the back of his trousers.

‘Mm, Draco Malfoy,’ the woman murmured near his lips, sniffing slightly and then kissing his neck, ‘I’ve been looking for you for four years.’

‘Lucky me,’ Draco murmured, his mind already planning on attacking her and getting his wand back but he just had to find the right time. He closed his eyes when the woman’s hand pressed against his chest, feeling his heart beat.

‘Scared?’ the woman asked, her breath hot on his neck, ‘you should be.’

She kicked his legs so that Draco fell to his knees, groaning. The woman grabbed his hands and tied them up using a spell before walking around him to see his face. She used his wand to tilt his face up and smiled sweetly.

‘You,’ Draco frowned, recognising her immediately.

The woman that he had been checking out in Hermione’s restaurant was the woman standing in front of him. She wore a skirt but with a blue shirt this time and a blazer on. Her nail polish was the same. Draco frowned up at her, wondering why she had been spying on them in the restaurant and now....

‘Me,’ the woman smiled, moving a piece of Draco’s hair away from his eyes with his wand, ‘I must say, I’m very flattered that you were checking me out in the restaurant yesterday.’

Draco glared at her, ‘you’re with the ministry?’

‘Yes, we’ve been looking for runaway death eaters and you were the top on my list. Very smart, I must say,’ the woman nodded and then smirked, ‘but not smart enough.’

‘Let her go!’

Draco heard the cries from behind him and tried to turn to look but the woman had paralyzed him... with his own wand! Fury settled into his chest and Draco glared at the woman, hearing Hermione scream briefly behind him before she was cut off and placed onto her knees beside Draco. Draco recognised the agonizing screams... and he realised he had heard them before. In the Malfoy Manor when he had spent his time drawing Hermione...

‘It was you,’ Draco muttered, realizing his paralysis had been lifted. He turned to look at Hermione who was crying and Rose looking scared and sobbing beside her.

Hermione barely heard him as she sobbed. A hand grabbed Draco’s shoulder and then Hermione and Rose’s. They were dragged into a darkness that seemed ever lasting.

---

Hermione felt the softness underneath her. The very last thing she expected was comfort after being dragged from her home and then apparated to a strange place just as she got knocked out, hearing her daughter sob loudly beside her...

Hermione shot up like an arrow and realised she was in bed with bright white sheets. She looked around in a daze, her head feeling fuzzy and her mouth dry. A window was cracked open, making the white curtains float into the room and flutter lightly. The bed was a king sized bed with white hangings and the bedside tables held a bowl of fruit and some water. She reached for the water, guzzling it down like an animal who had been starved.

Hermione put the glass down shakily and paused when she heard voices. They seemed to be coming from outside of her room. She gently got out of bed, wondering who had changed her into a nightie... and what time was it? Hermione walked over to the door and closed her eyes as she ever so slowly got it open, leaving the room. She looked in front of her, surprised to see it was an apartment.

‘Hermione,’ a gentle voice said but it made her jump.

She looked towards the kitchen as a man stood there, looking at her with a concerned expression. Hermione was ashamed to admit that it took her a good few seconds to recognise the man as Harry Potter. Harry’s hair stood up on end and he wore some loose joggers with a checked top on, holding a cup of tea which he walked over and handed to her.

‘Here, your throat must be so dry,’ Harry muttered gently, handing her the cup which Hermione took, looking confused, ‘I’m sorry, Hermione.’

‘Rose... where’s Rose?’ Hermione asked, moving to walk into the kitchen. She set the tea down and walked back out, realising her daughter wasn’t in there, ‘Rose! Rose, where are you?’

Hermione walked out of the kitchen and started for the other rooms, not listening to Harry as he followed her and tried to explain to her. She didn’t care what Harry had to say and her heart was hammering in her chest. Hermione opened a random door and walked in, her heart stopping when she saw Rose sitting on the ground, playing with a few teddies. Hermione went over to her and gave her a tight hug, ignoring Ginny Weasley who had been sitting with Rose.

‘Mummy!’ Rose exclaimed, hugging her mother back tight.

‘Are you okay?’ Hermione asked, pulling back to kiss her daughter’s face wherever she could reach. Rose giggled when Hermione kissed her nose.

‘Yes, Mummy, I’m okay. Aunty Ginny took care of me,’ Rose gestured to Ginny who stood up and smiled slightly at Hermione.

Hermione stood up and looked at Harry and Ginny who were staring at her. She had no idea what was going on. Why was she here? Where was Draco? Why were they looking at her with such sympathy? Hermione glanced at Rose who went back to her teddies.

‘Hermione, we need to have a chat,’ Harry said softly, leaving the room.

Ginny smiled at Hermione and gestured for her to follow as she walked out too. Hermione stood there for a brief second before walking out after them, knowing Rose would be fine playing on her own since she did that at home too. Hermione walked over to the sitting area and sighed slightly, taking a seat in the armchair as Harry and Ginny sat on the sofa. Ginny handed her the tea and she took it, sipping it gratefully.

‘Why am I here? What’s going on?’ Hermione asked, leaning forwards slightly, ‘Harry...’

Harry rubbed at his eyes and Hermione wondered what had happened to cause him to be so stressed out. He looked like he was ill...

‘Hermione... I need to explain everything to you,’ Harry started and Ginny smiled encouragingly, ‘and please, hear me out.’

Hermione looked at him, ‘I’m listening.’

And Hermione listened through everything that Harry said. She didn’t interrupt but she did frown at a few parts and raise her eyebrows. When Harry was finished, she replayed the whole thing in her head. The war had finished and Harry had become an Auror. His first task was obviously to capture the death eaters and imprison them after a hearing. Harry had managed to catch most of them but Draco and a few others were particularly harder to catch. Draco had been on the run for four years and Harry hadn’t managed to come close to catching him... until a week ago. He had sent a spy out to monitor Draco and had captured him... but this made Hermione a culprit too.

‘I... I’m in trouble because I didn’t turn Draco in?’ Hermione asked, outrageously, ‘but he’s done nothing wrong, Harry!’

‘He’s a felon on the run, Hermione,’ Harry frowned, ‘and he’s killed a bunch of people.’

‘So have you,’ Hermione muttered, ‘the whole war was because of you and we all hurt people. He’s innocent.’

Harry looked at Hermione as she shot to her feet, looking agitated and annoyed. She slammed the cup down onto the table and crossed her arms over her chest.

‘I want to see him. Where is he?’ Hermione asked.

Harry stood up too and sighed, wondering how Hermione had fallen into his trap.

‘Hermione... he’s locked up,’ Harry muttered.

---

A/N - Wow, a whole month. God, guys, I'm sorry. Just exams and driving tests and stuff! Hope you enjoyed!