the key to happiness - dramione

(7)

Hermione Granger, age 24, temporarily unemployed. Engaged to Ronald Weasley, lives in a small cottage by the sea.

Draco Malfoy, age 23, working at the ministry. Dating Astoria Greengrass. Lives alone in Malfoy Manor.

- - - - -
Astoria pushes Hermione onto a chair.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Hermione shouts. "Are you totally nuts?" She tries to get up but Astoria holds her still.

Astoria pushes the chair against the wall and places her wand against the scar on Hermione's arm where it says mudblood. Hermione loses her breath for some seconds.
"Stop." she then coughs.

Astoria presses the wand even harder against the scar. Tears of pain starts filling up in Hermione's eyes.
"HEEEEEELLLPP!" she whines. "HEEEELP!" But nobody seems to be hearing her.

And that's not weird considering nobody were in the corridor when Hermione walked towards the corridor. If anyone could save her right now. Just anyone.

Ron. Harry. Ginny. Draco. Just anyone. Anyone, someone she hadn't met even before would be enough. It would be way better than enough, amazing perhaps. But nobody comes and Astoria keeps torturing Hermione for what feels like forever.

And each time Hermione screams Astoria punishes her more. But then all of a sudden something wonderful happen after what feels like hours. Hermione has just screamed for help one again and out of nowhere the door opens.

It's Pansy Parkinson and right behind her Daphne Greengrass is standing.
"ASTORIA!" Pansy shouts and rushes to them.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Daphne screams mad.

They pull away Astoria from Hermione. Daphne almost throws out Astoria through the door and shuts it after them so that Hermione is left all alone with Pansy.

For a few seconds Hermione thinks that Pansy is about to attack her and keep torturing Hermione. But it doesn't happen.
"How did it go?" Pansy instead asks.

"Ohumm... bad perhaps?" Hermione replies coughing. Hermione has already placed her hand on the scar, the scar that is now also an open wound. Daphne opens up the door and throughs in Hermione's wand that Astoria earlier stole.

Then she closes the door again and the next thing you hear is Daphne screaming Astoria's name. Pansy grabs the wand and gives it to Hermione who uses it to heal the wound. But the old mudblood-scar stays the way it was.

Pansy looks terrified at it.
"Did that happen now?" she wonders. Hermione shakes her head.
"Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Oh, right. Sorry."

"It's alright, not your fault really. Thank you though." Hermione says. The door opens and Draco comes in, Pansy leaves the room.
"What happened?" he asks.
"I'll take the job." Hermione answers.

"But..."
"Oh, just Astoria... she unm got a bit mad.... She's your girlfriend, right?"
"Well... Uheum yeah... Girlfriend might not be the right word. Or?"

Hermione nods and Draco sits down and takes out a paper from a drawer.
"Sign here are here." he explains and gives Hermione the paper and some ink.

"When can you start? Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? Tomorrow. Okay."
"Okay." Hermione reads through the paper and then she signs it. At the same time Draco takes some notes for something on another permanent.

And that's how Hermione Jean Granger got hired at the ministry as Draco Malfoy's assistant. That was the beginning of their friendship. And incredibly long and special friendship.

Hermione goes back to Ronald's office. She waits for Ron and they eat lunch together. Then she reads a book while Ron finish working and they go home together again.

The next day starts her new job and everything seems to be going perfectly. After just a few months Hermione Jean Granger and Draco Lucius Malfoy are almost best friends.

Hermione continues showing up At Draco's place every Sunday tougher with the others. One day in the snowy January Pansy suggests that they should do a sleepover the coming weekend.

Hermione agrees and they all think it's a pretty good idea. So the week after they plan a sleepover at Malfoy Manor from the Saturday to the Sunday.

"We can do something very extra or more special, meaning no quidditch or work." Pansy promises and Hermione responds with a smile.

Then finally the weekend arrives the coming week. Hermione packed all the stuff she will be needing an is tending outside the massive doors at Malfoy Manor. She is about there hours early.

Draco Malfoy heard a knock on the doors and hurried to open them. He isn't expecting any of his friends to arrive now already so he thinks it might be Astoria coming to visit.

Therefore when he opens the door he turns slightly disappointed or the fact that it's not Astoria, but he isn't complaining either of the fact that Hermione Granger is the one who have just arrived.

"Granger." he says. "You're very early." She nods.
"I haven't even cleaned yet." he mumbles.
"I'll help." she smiles.
"But..."
"Allow me."

And so Hermione invited herself into the house. With the help of her wand she cleans up and puts all the things in the house in their right places.
"So I was thinking, since I'm this early, we could have lunch together." Hermione suggests.

"I haven't even had breakfast."
"Shut up and c'mon. Let's eat now." Hermione sighs.
"Also uhmm, to be honest I don't think Pansy's plans for the night are... totally funny? Or so to say." Draco mumbles quietly, mostly to himself. But Hermione heard the words and gets a slight feeling of worry in her stomach.