Fic: "Babysitting" for itsbeenvery
Gift for: itsbeenvery
Author: gm_weasley
Title: Babysitting
Pairing: Draco/Hermione. Almost.
Rating: PG for language
Summary: Snape gets rid of a problem and Hermione gets the boy.
"Kindly stop whinging, Mr Malfoy. Beggars can't be choosers, can they?"
Draco shuddered.
"Now be quiet, and leave the talking to me. And, whatever you do, make no comments at all about Potter, Gryffindors, Dumbledore, the war, Weasleys, Mudbloods, or anything else that might upset her. Just don't say anything."
Draco opened his mouth to object. He was, after all, a Malfoy, and he wasn't going to stand for being addressed like that.
"Now."
Wondering how it could have come to this, Snape knocked on Hermione Granger's door.
It opened slowly, but stopped almost at once. Draco noted that the Grangers had a Muggle door-chain. How sweet. Somebody with very bushy (and apparently unwashed) hair peered around the frame and then sighed, pushed the door almost closed, and reached for her wand.
"Either the kids next door still haven't learned not to knock on my door and run away, or there's a witch or wizard in an Invisibility Cloak out there," she said. "If it's the latter, kindly reveal yourself."
"Really, Miss Granger," said Snape, "that's hardly the right attitude, is it? It's a wonder nobody's assassinated you yet, when your security is so lax."
There was no reply, on account of Granger having gasped and slammed the door in his face.
Snape sighed and knocked again. When there was no answer, he tried talking to her through the letterbox; when she ignored him, he pressed the doorbell and refused to let go of it.
Four minutes of ringing later, Granger opened the door as far as the chain would allow, and said, "Fine. But first you both hand over your wands."
Snape stared at her. "If you think I am going to stand with my back turned to the street without my wand, Miss Granger, you are very much mistaken. You are also even stupider than I thought."
Granger looked offended, but she nodded. "Give me your wands and you can come in. Only as far as the hall, and you can keep your hands where I can see them."
Snape rolled his eyes. "You've been watching too many Muggle police dramas, Miss Granger," he told her as she let them in.
Draco wondered what the hell he was talking about.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I think you have some explaining to do," said Granger, once Draco and Snape were standing, hands in the air, in her hallway.
Draco could kind of see where she was coming from. "We…."
"Be quiet, Draco." Snape turned to Granger, and said, "We probably do owe you an explanation."
"I'll say."
"We felt you were the best person to approach, being reasonably intelligent, level-headed, and fairly sensible."
She nodded. "Get on with it."
Draco wondered how she dared to talk to Snape like that, although admittedly, he did look rather less scary with his hands in the air like that.
"It may have come to your attention, Miss Granger, that Mr Malfoy and myself were, um, personally involved in the murder of Professor Dumbledore."
She gasped, but didn't seem to be able to find the right response. "I-"
"And knowing your nature, you have probably analysed the situation in great detail?"
She nodded. "Of course. Professor Dumbledore said you were to be trusted, so I tried to prove it."
"And…."
"There are a few question marks, but you probably aren’t to be trusted. Then again, I have your wand."
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Did you learn nothing of wandless magic in my classes last year, Granger?" he enquired.
Granger glared at him. "I learned a lot. Like that fact that, while you can do a lot without a wand, sometimes you need one to channel your magic. For really powerful spells. Ones like Avada Kedavra." She looked at him. "Harry said you didn't use a wand."
Snape stared at her. "Very good, Miss Granger. Possibly your OWL grades were deserved."
Her face hovered between pleasure, shock and determination. "So what did you do to him?"
"I Stunned him, Miss Granger, and, um, disposed of his body.
Granger looked slightly fearful.
"Relax, Granger. He's currently lying somewhere on a beach in Fiji while the rest of us finish up this little war he seems to have started."
Granger blinked at him wordlessly. Draco could see her point.
"I'm sure you'll be able to talk to him soon. In the meantime, if you've finished treating us like common criminals, there was a reason we decided to pay you a visit."
"I thought you were common criminals!" she objected.
"Criminals, perhaps," Draco drawled. "But never common."
"Perhaps we could have a seat?" said Snape.
She looked them up and down; they didn't seem to have bathed in weeks. (They hadn't.) She winced, waved them through into another room, said, "I just hope my Mum doesn't see you sitting on her new sofa looking like that," and offered to make them tea.
Snape refused, but Draco nodded. He hadn't drunk anything but Transfigured water for ages. Snape complained about the delay as she made it, but satisfied himself by leaning back and putting his feet up.
"Feel free to make yourselves at home," Hermione said sarcastically when she came back in.
Snape ignored her. "To business, Granger. The heart of the matter is that I can't keep lugging Mr Malfoy around with me. He's a pain in the neck, quite frankly. Keeps whinging about having to eat dry bread for every meal, and complaining that his feet hurt. And the little bastard snores. I have work to do, and I don't need him. So I wondered if you’d be willing to baby-sit."
Draco sat in horrified silence, unable to make up his mind whether to be offended, slap Snape as hard as he could, or deny the claim that he snored.
Granger looked alarmed too. "What do you propose I do?" she demanded. "Do you not think my parents might notice?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something."
"B-but…. Harry, Ron and I are leaving any day now! Horcrux hunting! We can't take him! How do you know we can trust him?"
"Mr Malfoy's trustworthy enough, if a little stupid, Miss Granger. He shouldn't be a problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I should probably go."
"What?
"I said I needed to go. Be good, Draco. Thank you very much, Miss Granger." He moved to shake her hand, saw her face, and backed away. "I'll let myself out." He Disapparated before she could hit him.
"Bugger."
Draco couldn't have agreed more.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well." She looked at him. "I'm stuck with you then."
He nodded. "Apparently."
"My parents will be so pleased." Her tone implied that she wasn't completely serious. Draco couldn't imagine why.
"You'll have to have a shower before my Mum sees you."
He nodded thankfully.
"I suppose I'll have to say you're a friend from school. I just hope she never mentions you to Ron and Harry."
Draco hoped so too. At least they had something in common.
She glanced at a clock on the wall. "They'll be home soon. I suppose I'll have to sort you out."
She led him upstairs, into a bathroom that was much smaller than any of the ones they had at home but was very welcome anyway, after the last few weeks.
"Soap; towel; shampoo; shower," she said, pointing at each. "Don't take too long, or the water'll run cold."
She walked away, and left him in peace to fume over Snape's cheek, her offhand attitude, and the fact the world was out to get him. Then he decided that he would rather be clean and furious than dirty and furious, so he had a shower and washed his hair. When he emerged from the bathroom, smelling much better and wearing clothes that had been freshly rinsed and spelled dry, Granger met him, looking grim.
"I've just been talking to Professor McGonagall. Apparently Professor Dumbledore contacted her last night. She's going to make arrangements to send you off to sunbathe as well, but in the meantime I'm stuck with you."
Draco glared at her.
"Only for a couple of days, though. I'll live."
They both heard a key turn in the lock downstairs, and Granger closed her eyes for a moment. Draco watched the door open, and Granger's parents entered the house.
"Hi Mum! Hi Dad!" Granger yelled, and pulled Draco down the stairs after her. "Mum, could one of my school friends stay for a few days? It's short notice, but he doesn't have much choice." She looked at her mother meaningfully, and Mrs Granger nodded. "I suppose so," she said, and then turned to look at Draco.
"I'm Draco Malfoy," he said.
Mrs Granger blinked. Clearly she knew the name. "Ah, yes. Hermione's mentioned you." She gave her daughter a questioning look; Granger mouthed I'll tell you later.
"Come on, Malf… um, Draco. You can help me lay the table." She gave him a very false smile. "Try and look sad," she hissed when she had closed the dining room door behind her. "She's only letting you stay because she thinks You-Know-Who's attacked your family or something. She thinks I hate you, remember?"
"You do hate me," Draco pointed out.
"True."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, Draco," said Mrs Granger at dinnertime, "how long have you and Hermione been friends?"
Draco gaped at her.
"A year, maybe?" Granger lied. "Something like that, right, Draco?"
He nodded.
"How nice."
Granger smiled at her mother. "Draco and I were in a lot of classes together last year, weren't we, Draco? We, um, worked together." It wasn't quite a lie - Professor Vector had made them work together. Once.
"And we do our homework together sometimes," Draco said helpfully.
Granger nodded enthusiastically, although she couldn't help adding, "But only occasionally, when Draco needs a hand."
Draco was about to object, but he noticed Mrs Granger looking proud and, more to the point, as if she believed them, so he didn't. "Yes," he said instead. "She helps me. Very occasionally. Very."
"Isn’t that good, John?" Mrs Granger said to her husband. Then she smiled at Draco. "I'm so pleased that Hermione's found a nice hard-working friend. Ron and Harry have always seemed a little, well, frivolous. I mean, it was all right while they were younger, but now that they're sixth formers, they really should be thinking about their futures, shouldn't they? School is so important."
Draco spent the rest of the meal discussing the value of hard work and reading with Mrs Granger, and by the end of the meal, she seemed to adore him. She gave him an extra helping of pudding, let him choose what they watched on the 'television' (he let Granger choose, since the Muggles didn't seem to be showing Quidditch), and then she and her daughter helped him make up a bed on their sofa. When the Grangers left, Draco distinctly heard Mrs Granger hiss, "What a nice boy! Why haven't you brought him home to meet me before now, dear?"
He didn't hear the response, which was maybe just as well.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Draco awoke the next morning, it was very late, and Granger was sitting in the armchair opposite him reading.
"What time do you call this?"
He yawned and glanced at the clock. "Eleven-thirty?"
"Exactly."
"Leave me alone, Granger. It was the first decent night's sleep I've had in weeks."
She looked almost guilty. "If we're going to pretend we like each other, you should probably call me Hermione," she said, changing the subject.
Draco nodded. "Good point. Hermione." It was a mouthful, but it was only a couple of days, and then he'd never have to say her name again.
"Mum said I should entertain you."
"How?"
Granger - Hermione - shrugged. "She mentioned showing you the town, but in the circumstances, I think not. I think she was also hoping I might snog you, but we could just play Monopoly if you prefer."
He shuddered at the thought of kissing Gra- Hermione, and said, "Monopoly's good."
She got up, and retrieved a box from a cupboard. Draco helped her set it up.
"It looks wrong."
"But it looks like every other Monopoly board."
"No it doesn't. The names are all wrong. Look! You've got "Oxford Street" where Diagon Alley should be, and a man in a suit instead of the Dementor. The only thing that's right is King's Cross."
Hermione smirked. "It's a Muggle board."
"Oh." He put the Chance cards in the middle of the board and read some more of the names. "I didn't know Muggles played it."
"Muggles invented it."
"Oh."
He beat her by being better at cheating than she was. She claimed it was just luck, and Draco was happy to let her think so. He challenged her to another game, but she refused.
"I'm bored. We should do something else."
Draco nodded. "Okay then. What?"
If Mrs Granger was surprised to find them doing homework together that evening, she didn't show it. She simply smiled, offered them drinks, and told them to yell if they needed anything.
They didn't.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione was much more cheerful the next day. Draco wondered why for a moment, and then remembered that he was supposed to be leaving at some point. Just in case he'd forgotten, she grinned at him and said, "You're going!"
"There's no need to sound so pleased about it."
"Of course there is! My Mum told me last night that I should be thinking of settling down when this war's over, and then just happened to mention what a lovely, handsome young man that nice Draco is. I glared at her and said, Um, Mum? Ron!? and she ignored me. You have to go before she starts planning the wedding."
Draco smirked. The Malfoy charm always had that effect. Pansy's mother adored him and Crabbe's mum never failed to offer him freshly-baked brownies. (Goyle's mum seemed to like him a little more than was strictly healthy, so he didn't visit much.)
"It isn't funny! I'll help you pack. I sent an owl to Professor McGonagall earlier. We'll have you out of here before we know it." She stood up, ready to start kicking him out of her house as soon as she could.
"I don't have much to pack," he pointed out.
"Good point." She flopped back down in her armchair and looked at her watch. "Just a few more hours." She reached for her book.
Draco picked up an Arithmancy textbook that had been left on the floor the previous night, and followed her example.
Professor McGonagall's head appeared in the fire at three minutes past twelve. "Good afternoon, Miss Granger. Mr Malfoy."
Hermione sprang up, delighted.
"Miss Tonks is coming to pick up Mr Malfoy in approximately, hmm…" (she looked at the Grangers' clock) "…ten minutes. I'll see you later, Mr Malfoy. Oh, and Miss Granger, Miss Weasley wants to know why you never wrote back to her." She smiled and disappeared.
"Ten minutes," said Hermione. She was smiling, but there was a tinge of sadness in her voice.
"So it seems."
She nearly said something, but changed her mind at the last minute, and bolted out of the door. She returned a second later holding a yellow bottle. "You can't lie on tropical beaches without sun cream," she told him.
Draco inspected the bottle and read the label. "You know there are charms for that, right?"
She coloured. "I suppose there must be."
He pocketed the bottle. "I'll try your way. Thanks."
There was a knock on the door. Hermione glanced at her watch; Draco looked at the clock. "She's two minutes early."
"Drat."
"Draco?"
He looked at her.
"Don't get hexed or catch any tropical diseases or anything."
"Er… I'll do my best."
Tonks knocked on the door again, louder this time.
"We'd better let her in," said Hermione.
"I suppose so."
"Draco…?"
"Mmm?"
"Good luck."
Author: gm_weasley
Title: Babysitting
Pairing: Draco/Hermione. Almost.
Rating: PG for language
Summary: Snape gets rid of a problem and Hermione gets the boy.
"Kindly stop whinging, Mr Malfoy. Beggars can't be choosers, can they?"
Draco shuddered.
"Now be quiet, and leave the talking to me. And, whatever you do, make no comments at all about Potter, Gryffindors, Dumbledore, the war, Weasleys, Mudbloods, or anything else that might upset her. Just don't say anything."
Draco opened his mouth to object. He was, after all, a Malfoy, and he wasn't going to stand for being addressed like that.
"Now."
Wondering how it could have come to this, Snape knocked on Hermione Granger's door.
It opened slowly, but stopped almost at once. Draco noted that the Grangers had a Muggle door-chain. How sweet. Somebody with very bushy (and apparently unwashed) hair peered around the frame and then sighed, pushed the door almost closed, and reached for her wand.
"Either the kids next door still haven't learned not to knock on my door and run away, or there's a witch or wizard in an Invisibility Cloak out there," she said. "If it's the latter, kindly reveal yourself."
"Really, Miss Granger," said Snape, "that's hardly the right attitude, is it? It's a wonder nobody's assassinated you yet, when your security is so lax."
There was no reply, on account of Granger having gasped and slammed the door in his face.
Snape sighed and knocked again. When there was no answer, he tried talking to her through the letterbox; when she ignored him, he pressed the doorbell and refused to let go of it.
Four minutes of ringing later, Granger opened the door as far as the chain would allow, and said, "Fine. But first you both hand over your wands."
Snape stared at her. "If you think I am going to stand with my back turned to the street without my wand, Miss Granger, you are very much mistaken. You are also even stupider than I thought."
Granger looked offended, but she nodded. "Give me your wands and you can come in. Only as far as the hall, and you can keep your hands where I can see them."
Snape rolled his eyes. "You've been watching too many Muggle police dramas, Miss Granger," he told her as she let them in.
Draco wondered what the hell he was talking about.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I think you have some explaining to do," said Granger, once Draco and Snape were standing, hands in the air, in her hallway.
Draco could kind of see where she was coming from. "We…."
"Be quiet, Draco." Snape turned to Granger, and said, "We probably do owe you an explanation."
"I'll say."
"We felt you were the best person to approach, being reasonably intelligent, level-headed, and fairly sensible."
She nodded. "Get on with it."
Draco wondered how she dared to talk to Snape like that, although admittedly, he did look rather less scary with his hands in the air like that.
"It may have come to your attention, Miss Granger, that Mr Malfoy and myself were, um, personally involved in the murder of Professor Dumbledore."
She gasped, but didn't seem to be able to find the right response. "I-"
"And knowing your nature, you have probably analysed the situation in great detail?"
She nodded. "Of course. Professor Dumbledore said you were to be trusted, so I tried to prove it."
"And…."
"There are a few question marks, but you probably aren’t to be trusted. Then again, I have your wand."
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Did you learn nothing of wandless magic in my classes last year, Granger?" he enquired.
Granger glared at him. "I learned a lot. Like that fact that, while you can do a lot without a wand, sometimes you need one to channel your magic. For really powerful spells. Ones like Avada Kedavra." She looked at him. "Harry said you didn't use a wand."
Snape stared at her. "Very good, Miss Granger. Possibly your OWL grades were deserved."
Her face hovered between pleasure, shock and determination. "So what did you do to him?"
"I Stunned him, Miss Granger, and, um, disposed of his body.
Granger looked slightly fearful.
"Relax, Granger. He's currently lying somewhere on a beach in Fiji while the rest of us finish up this little war he seems to have started."
Granger blinked at him wordlessly. Draco could see her point.
"I'm sure you'll be able to talk to him soon. In the meantime, if you've finished treating us like common criminals, there was a reason we decided to pay you a visit."
"I thought you were common criminals!" she objected.
"Criminals, perhaps," Draco drawled. "But never common."
"Perhaps we could have a seat?" said Snape.
She looked them up and down; they didn't seem to have bathed in weeks. (They hadn't.) She winced, waved them through into another room, said, "I just hope my Mum doesn't see you sitting on her new sofa looking like that," and offered to make them tea.
Snape refused, but Draco nodded. He hadn't drunk anything but Transfigured water for ages. Snape complained about the delay as she made it, but satisfied himself by leaning back and putting his feet up.
"Feel free to make yourselves at home," Hermione said sarcastically when she came back in.
Snape ignored her. "To business, Granger. The heart of the matter is that I can't keep lugging Mr Malfoy around with me. He's a pain in the neck, quite frankly. Keeps whinging about having to eat dry bread for every meal, and complaining that his feet hurt. And the little bastard snores. I have work to do, and I don't need him. So I wondered if you’d be willing to baby-sit."
Draco sat in horrified silence, unable to make up his mind whether to be offended, slap Snape as hard as he could, or deny the claim that he snored.
Granger looked alarmed too. "What do you propose I do?" she demanded. "Do you not think my parents might notice?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something."
"B-but…. Harry, Ron and I are leaving any day now! Horcrux hunting! We can't take him! How do you know we can trust him?"
"Mr Malfoy's trustworthy enough, if a little stupid, Miss Granger. He shouldn't be a problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I should probably go."
"What?
"I said I needed to go. Be good, Draco. Thank you very much, Miss Granger." He moved to shake her hand, saw her face, and backed away. "I'll let myself out." He Disapparated before she could hit him.
"Bugger."
Draco couldn't have agreed more.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well." She looked at him. "I'm stuck with you then."
He nodded. "Apparently."
"My parents will be so pleased." Her tone implied that she wasn't completely serious. Draco couldn't imagine why.
"You'll have to have a shower before my Mum sees you."
He nodded thankfully.
"I suppose I'll have to say you're a friend from school. I just hope she never mentions you to Ron and Harry."
Draco hoped so too. At least they had something in common.
She glanced at a clock on the wall. "They'll be home soon. I suppose I'll have to sort you out."
She led him upstairs, into a bathroom that was much smaller than any of the ones they had at home but was very welcome anyway, after the last few weeks.
"Soap; towel; shampoo; shower," she said, pointing at each. "Don't take too long, or the water'll run cold."
She walked away, and left him in peace to fume over Snape's cheek, her offhand attitude, and the fact the world was out to get him. Then he decided that he would rather be clean and furious than dirty and furious, so he had a shower and washed his hair. When he emerged from the bathroom, smelling much better and wearing clothes that had been freshly rinsed and spelled dry, Granger met him, looking grim.
"I've just been talking to Professor McGonagall. Apparently Professor Dumbledore contacted her last night. She's going to make arrangements to send you off to sunbathe as well, but in the meantime I'm stuck with you."
Draco glared at her.
"Only for a couple of days, though. I'll live."
They both heard a key turn in the lock downstairs, and Granger closed her eyes for a moment. Draco watched the door open, and Granger's parents entered the house.
"Hi Mum! Hi Dad!" Granger yelled, and pulled Draco down the stairs after her. "Mum, could one of my school friends stay for a few days? It's short notice, but he doesn't have much choice." She looked at her mother meaningfully, and Mrs Granger nodded. "I suppose so," she said, and then turned to look at Draco.
"I'm Draco Malfoy," he said.
Mrs Granger blinked. Clearly she knew the name. "Ah, yes. Hermione's mentioned you." She gave her daughter a questioning look; Granger mouthed I'll tell you later.
"Come on, Malf… um, Draco. You can help me lay the table." She gave him a very false smile. "Try and look sad," she hissed when she had closed the dining room door behind her. "She's only letting you stay because she thinks You-Know-Who's attacked your family or something. She thinks I hate you, remember?"
"You do hate me," Draco pointed out.
"True."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, Draco," said Mrs Granger at dinnertime, "how long have you and Hermione been friends?"
Draco gaped at her.
"A year, maybe?" Granger lied. "Something like that, right, Draco?"
He nodded.
"How nice."
Granger smiled at her mother. "Draco and I were in a lot of classes together last year, weren't we, Draco? We, um, worked together." It wasn't quite a lie - Professor Vector had made them work together. Once.
"And we do our homework together sometimes," Draco said helpfully.
Granger nodded enthusiastically, although she couldn't help adding, "But only occasionally, when Draco needs a hand."
Draco was about to object, but he noticed Mrs Granger looking proud and, more to the point, as if she believed them, so he didn't. "Yes," he said instead. "She helps me. Very occasionally. Very."
"Isn’t that good, John?" Mrs Granger said to her husband. Then she smiled at Draco. "I'm so pleased that Hermione's found a nice hard-working friend. Ron and Harry have always seemed a little, well, frivolous. I mean, it was all right while they were younger, but now that they're sixth formers, they really should be thinking about their futures, shouldn't they? School is so important."
Draco spent the rest of the meal discussing the value of hard work and reading with Mrs Granger, and by the end of the meal, she seemed to adore him. She gave him an extra helping of pudding, let him choose what they watched on the 'television' (he let Granger choose, since the Muggles didn't seem to be showing Quidditch), and then she and her daughter helped him make up a bed on their sofa. When the Grangers left, Draco distinctly heard Mrs Granger hiss, "What a nice boy! Why haven't you brought him home to meet me before now, dear?"
He didn't hear the response, which was maybe just as well.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Draco awoke the next morning, it was very late, and Granger was sitting in the armchair opposite him reading.
"What time do you call this?"
He yawned and glanced at the clock. "Eleven-thirty?"
"Exactly."
"Leave me alone, Granger. It was the first decent night's sleep I've had in weeks."
She looked almost guilty. "If we're going to pretend we like each other, you should probably call me Hermione," she said, changing the subject.
Draco nodded. "Good point. Hermione." It was a mouthful, but it was only a couple of days, and then he'd never have to say her name again.
"Mum said I should entertain you."
"How?"
Granger - Hermione - shrugged. "She mentioned showing you the town, but in the circumstances, I think not. I think she was also hoping I might snog you, but we could just play Monopoly if you prefer."
He shuddered at the thought of kissing Gra- Hermione, and said, "Monopoly's good."
She got up, and retrieved a box from a cupboard. Draco helped her set it up.
"It looks wrong."
"But it looks like every other Monopoly board."
"No it doesn't. The names are all wrong. Look! You've got "Oxford Street" where Diagon Alley should be, and a man in a suit instead of the Dementor. The only thing that's right is King's Cross."
Hermione smirked. "It's a Muggle board."
"Oh." He put the Chance cards in the middle of the board and read some more of the names. "I didn't know Muggles played it."
"Muggles invented it."
"Oh."
He beat her by being better at cheating than she was. She claimed it was just luck, and Draco was happy to let her think so. He challenged her to another game, but she refused.
"I'm bored. We should do something else."
Draco nodded. "Okay then. What?"
If Mrs Granger was surprised to find them doing homework together that evening, she didn't show it. She simply smiled, offered them drinks, and told them to yell if they needed anything.
They didn't.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione was much more cheerful the next day. Draco wondered why for a moment, and then remembered that he was supposed to be leaving at some point. Just in case he'd forgotten, she grinned at him and said, "You're going!"
"There's no need to sound so pleased about it."
"Of course there is! My Mum told me last night that I should be thinking of settling down when this war's over, and then just happened to mention what a lovely, handsome young man that nice Draco is. I glared at her and said, Um, Mum? Ron!? and she ignored me. You have to go before she starts planning the wedding."
Draco smirked. The Malfoy charm always had that effect. Pansy's mother adored him and Crabbe's mum never failed to offer him freshly-baked brownies. (Goyle's mum seemed to like him a little more than was strictly healthy, so he didn't visit much.)
"It isn't funny! I'll help you pack. I sent an owl to Professor McGonagall earlier. We'll have you out of here before we know it." She stood up, ready to start kicking him out of her house as soon as she could.
"I don't have much to pack," he pointed out.
"Good point." She flopped back down in her armchair and looked at her watch. "Just a few more hours." She reached for her book.
Draco picked up an Arithmancy textbook that had been left on the floor the previous night, and followed her example.
Professor McGonagall's head appeared in the fire at three minutes past twelve. "Good afternoon, Miss Granger. Mr Malfoy."
Hermione sprang up, delighted.
"Miss Tonks is coming to pick up Mr Malfoy in approximately, hmm…" (she looked at the Grangers' clock) "…ten minutes. I'll see you later, Mr Malfoy. Oh, and Miss Granger, Miss Weasley wants to know why you never wrote back to her." She smiled and disappeared.
"Ten minutes," said Hermione. She was smiling, but there was a tinge of sadness in her voice.
"So it seems."
She nearly said something, but changed her mind at the last minute, and bolted out of the door. She returned a second later holding a yellow bottle. "You can't lie on tropical beaches without sun cream," she told him.
Draco inspected the bottle and read the label. "You know there are charms for that, right?"
She coloured. "I suppose there must be."
He pocketed the bottle. "I'll try your way. Thanks."
There was a knock on the door. Hermione glanced at her watch; Draco looked at the clock. "She's two minutes early."
"Drat."
"Draco?"
He looked at her.
"Don't get hexed or catch any tropical diseases or anything."
"Er… I'll do my best."
Tonks knocked on the door again, louder this time.
"We'd better let her in," said Hermione.
"I suppose so."
"Draco…?"
"Mmm?"
"Good luck."