Draco woke up slowly in his basement, cringing as his muscles rebelled against him when he tried to move. He decided that a few more moments of lying on the ground wouldn't be a problem, but soon the coldness of the stone made him start to shiver and he decided enough was enough.
He slowly pushed himself up off the floor, grimacing at the remains of the clothes he was wearing the night before as he stepped over them, not wanting to mess with them at that moment. After unbolting the door and summoning a robe for him to quickly put on, he slowly made his way up the stairs to the main floor of his manor, leaning against the wall for support.
There was already a letter waiting on his table next to a very bored-looking owl that he assumed was from the Ministry, and he immediately plopped down onto the couch and after giving the owl a few treats he grabbed the letter and quickly opened it.
Draco,
I hope you are feeling alright, though considering your condition I doubt you're feeling that well right now. This is just a follow-up to make sure everything went as smoothly as it could and to advise you to seek medical attention if it is needed. I do have the information of a Healer who has helped previous clients of mine so you don't need to worry about any sort of bias from them.
Also as it is Saturday, I am not in the office today so your response will need to be coded so that on the off-chance someone finds it, they won't know.
I appreciate the apology, and I do understand your hesitation in trusting me regarding all of this; you are not the first of my clients to do so, and considering our past, I wouldn't have expected anything else. And yes, I am eating.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger
He smiled slightly at the last part before shaking his head. He wasn't even sure why he had become concerned regarding her health lately, but he was content that she was eating. He just hoped that he wouldn't see her looking that pale ever again. It reminded him too much of the way she looked at Malfoy Manor all those years ago...
Forcing that thought out of his head, he summoned a blank piece of parchment and quill, nodding towards the owl.
"Give me just a few moments before running off, yeah?" He asked, knowing full well the owl wasn't going to respond.
"'Mione, love," Ron started with a groan. "I know you've technically got to work for a bit today, but can the owls not fly directly into the kitchen?"
Hermione rolled her eyes as she grabbed the letter from the newest owl and said, "Ron, I can't really tell them where in the house to go. They're owls."
Ron grumbled under his breath before leaving the kitchen, and she made sure he was out of view before opening the familiar black envelope.
Hermione,
My employee is doing about as well as he can; he's currently very sore and most likely going to be asleep for the rest of the day. If you happen to recommend anything for pain and soreness, that would be a big help.
Also, I'm glad to hear you are eating. Would be a shame if I have to get onto your husband again for not taking proper care of you.
Draco
She tried not to smile as she quickly grabbed a nearby pen and turned the paper over to write a quick note back to him, shoving the parchment back into the envelope and sending the owl on its way.
"What time are we going to the Burrow for lunch?" Hermione called out as she grabbed her mug of coffee.
"Um, mum said any time after noon would be alright," Ron called back from the living room.
Hermione looked down at her watch and downed the rest of the now cool coffee and went upstairs to go take a quick shower.
About half an hour later, she stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her and found Ron leaning against the doorway, glaring at her.
"Ron, what-"
"Sending friendly letters back and forth now, eh?" He interrupted angrily, holding up an open letter.
She narrowed her eyes after seeing the black envelope behind it and went to grab it. "How dare you read letters regarding my clients!"
"'It'd be a shame if I have to get onto your husband again for not taking care of you'?!" He snarled, holding the letter out of her reach. "This wasn't about your bloody client! Why is he even commenting on our marriage?!"
"He was checking on me because he's worried that if I'm not in the office, no one will be able to properly take care of his employee," She exclaimed, forcefully summoning the letter from his hands. "He was worried because I wasn't eating!"
Ron simply glared at her. "Why are you so insistent that I don't read that letter?"
"Because regardless of the contents, it still contains information about one of my clients and you have absolutely no right to read it!" She said angrily. "It's none of your business what goes on in my letters!"
"What else are you trying to hide?" He demanded, taking a few steps towards her.
She backed away from him as she said, "I am not trying to hide anything. I don't read any of your work, and you shouldn't be reading mine!"
"How long have you two been talking?!" Ron yelled.
"We don't talk!" She yelled in return as her back hit the wall. "This was the first time he's asked if I was alright!"
"I'm just supposed to believe that?" He snarled. "You two seemed very friendly in that letter!"
"Ron, I'm telling the truth!" She exclaimed as tears started to form in her eyes. "Why would I lie to you? I haven't done anything to make you think I was lying!"
He continued to glare at her for a few moments before turning away and taking a few deep breaths.
"I need to cool off," He said in a low voice, running his hand through his hair. "Tell mum I'm not going to lunch."
He then left the room without giving her another look, and she heard a small pop not too long after. She didn't want to move still, staying against the wall as tears rolled down her cheeks.
After a few minutes she finally pushed herself off the wall and quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater, grabbing her beaded bag in the process and shoving a night's worth of clothes into it. She didn't want to stay in that house alone if she could help it, and she knew he wouldn't be back for a while.
Ginny knew something was wrong as two o'clock came and went, and neither Ron nor Hermione had shown up to the Burrow. No one else had heard anything from them, and she was starting to get worried. The rest of her family simply thought that they were running late, and told her not to worry.
"It's not like them to be late though," Ginny said quietly to Harry.
"I know," Harry nodded. "I mean, I doubt anything serious happened but they normally let us know if they're running late. Hermione is pretty consistent with that."
"I'm going to go check on them," She announced, standing up from the couch. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
She disapparated and landed in Hermione and Ron's living room moments later, looking around. "Ron? Hermione?"
She was met with silence, and a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach started as she slowly made her way around the house with her wand out. After searching the entire house though, she relaxed slightly but the worried feeling didn't go away.
Ginny wasn't quite sure where to look next; they wouldn't have just skipped lunch out of the blue. But when she got to their bedroom, she noticed that the drawers of the dresser were opened slightly, and the nightstand had been knocked over.
Quickly disapparating from the house, she landed in front of Hermione's cabin by the lake and immediately rushed inside, finding Hermione curled up on the couch with a bottle of wine and tear stains on her cheeks.
The brunette looked up as soon as she saw Ginny and opened her mouth, but no words came out. Ginny immediately rushed over and sat down on the couch as she quickly asked, "What's going on? Are you alright?"
Hermione could only shake her head, shutting her eyes as she took in a few deep breaths. "Ron...got very angry..."
Ginny's mood darkened immediately. "Did he hit you?"
Hermione shook her head again and said, "He just...left."
"Okay," She started calmly, trying to control her own anger. "I'm going to be right back, I have to let them know that I'm going to be with you for the rest of the day. I won't tell them anything is wrong but I'm not leaving you alone like this. Do you need me to get you anything?"
"No," Hermione answered quietly. "Just please don't tell them anything's wrong."
"I won't, I promise," Ginny answered gently. "I'll be back very soon, okay?"
Hermione nodded and watched as Ginny disapparated, pouring herself another glass of wine. She didn't care at that point that she was already feeling it; she at least wanted to feel something other than the pain she was feeling before. He never walked out on her like that...
Ginny returned a few minutes later with a bag of her own and dropped it down on the floor, kicking her shoes off and summoning a wine glass. "Okay, do you want to tell me what happened?"
Taking a long drink, Hermione closed her eyes before leaning her head back against the couch and staring up at the ceiling. "Ron has been unhappy that I've had to work with Draco."
"You're looking after one of his employees, right?" Ginny asked, slightly confused.
Hermione hesitated and then nodded after a few moments. "Yeah. Draco's wanting to protect his employee's identity so he's only having me talk to him directly instead of the employee."
"That makes sense," Ginny said.
"I know, it makes perfect sense!" Hermione exclaimed. "Ron can't seem to understand that though! He thinks that something is happening because I'm talking to Draco instead of the employee!"
Ginny groaned at that. "Okay, I sense there's a bit more to the story than just what happened today."
"There is, but it's not anything serious," Hermione said. "A little less than a month ago when my potion brewer was murdered, Draco came to me for help because previously he was going through the original one without being registered. He was concerned about the new potion brewer and since I was the one handling it, he wanted to make sure I made the right decision. He's also helping fund the wolfsbane source since it's a little expensive for the Ministry's liking but he knows it's a good plan and is helping."
Ginny's brow furrowed slightly but Hermione didn't notice as she went on: "So when I had a meeting with Kingsley about the new potion brewer, Draco insisted on being in the meeting. I have no idea why. And then I nearly fainted because I was too stressed out that week and kept forgetting to eat so Draco helped me back to my office and stayed with me until someone else showed up to make sure I wasn't alone. I haven't spoken to him since until yesterday when I had to check in on him and then today when I had to check in on him again. He responded back and in turn checked in on me and asked if I was eating and then made the comment that he wouldn't want to have to tell Ron to watch out for me again."
"Wait, he told Ron to watch you?" Ginny interrupted as Hermione took a breath.
"Kind of," Hermione said. "I forgot to mention that when someone else showed up to my office, that someone was Ron. He was furious when he saw Draco was in there with me and Draco in turn told him to keep an eye on me and to make sure that I was eating. Ron became a prat and pretty much tried to say that I wasn't allowed to talk to Draco, and Draco got very angry at this. He pretty much threatened Ron and said that if Ron ever talked to me like that again, Draco would make him regret it."
Ginny's eyes widened in shock. "Are you serious?"
Hermione nodded. "I was surprised too. I mean, I know lycanthropy can cause people to become protective of those they care about but Draco doesn't care that much about me."
She froze when she realized what she had said and stared at Ginny. "I mean..."
"Hermione..." Ginny tilted her head slightly and asked, "Is Draco a werewolf?"
"You can't tell anyone, Gin..."
"No, no, no, of course not!" Ginny said quickly before looking away. "I can't believe this..."
"I know, I was shocked too," Hermione said. "I have no idea when it happened but I found out that first day nearly a month ago."
Ginny was quiet for a few moments as she processed everything Hermione had said, and then she asked, "Okay, so Draco threatened Ron essentially; but that was nearly a month ago. What happened today?"
Hermione frowned and sighed. "Well, I checked in with Draco to make sure the potion worked and his transformation was alright. He responded that everything went fine, and then asked if I had been eating."
Ginny let out a small 'awe' which made Hermione smile slightly. "I know, I thought it was nice too. Actually here."
Hermione reached over to the table and grabbed the letter that Ginny hadn't noticed previously and she took it when Hermione offered it, scanning over it quickly as Hermione continued.
"I told him I was fine and was eating, and after sending off my reply I took a shower. Draco responded while I was in the shower and Ron decided to read it because he recognized the black envelope as Draco's." Her voice started to waver slightly but she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "When I got out of the shower, Ron was leaning against the bedroom door with the letter in his hand. He was absolutely furious."
Her voice broke and she quickly wiped away the tears that were starting to fall. Ginny looked up and felt her own anger return as she saw Hermione curl into herself and say, "He asked how long we had been talking and then wouldn't believe anything I said. He was so angry, Ginny...I've never seen him that angry..."
Hermione didn't say anything for a few moments after that, looking down at her feet. After a minute or so, she finally said quietly, "I don't even know what set him off. I didn't read Draco's reply."
Ginny silently handed the letter back over to Hermione for her to read, somewhat surprised that her friend hadn't yet.
Hermione,
Thank you for the suggestions, I will be sure to pass them along. I hope this isn't too bold, but I would like to take you out to lunch sometime this week as a thank you for taking care of my employee. Let me know!
Draco
Hermione groaned and leaned her head back again. "No wonder Ron got so angry."
"No, that is no excuse," Ginny fumed. "First of all, he shouldn't have even read that letter regardless of who it is from! And secondly, the man was just offering to take you out to lunch!"
"It's because it's Draco," Hermione said quietly.
"You know damn well Ron would've reacted the same way if another man had offered to take you out to lunch," Ginny said.
She couldn't really argue with that, and Hermione sighed, nodding slightly. "You're right..."
"So, he just up and left after that?" Ginny asked, trying to calm down a bit.
Hermione nodded. "He just said that he needed to go cool off, left the room, and I heard him disapparate not too long after."
"Well, he didn't go to the Burrow," Ginny said.
"No, he said to tell everyone that he wasn't making it to lunch," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I have no idea where he could've gone."
"He can't have gone too far," Ginny said hopefully. "He'll turn up sooner or later, I'm sure."
"I really hope so..."