His Girl by greenflowerpot

Chapter 1

- NOT MY STORY!! ALL CREDITS TO @greenflowerpot ON A03!!

"There she is, darling. Go say hello."

Narcissa gave Draco a gentle nudge. He tried to duck behind her skirts but she tutted and swept him forward to greet the little girl standing across the room.

Draco's first thought was that the girl was very pretty. He didn't want to stare or be weird, so he chanced glances at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked to be about his age or maybe a little younger, with dark, loosely curly hair and big serious eyes rimmed with wet-looking lashes. Her cheeks were pink like someone had just scrubbed her clean, and she was wearing a little blue dress with neat white lace on the sleeves and collar.

"This is Hermione," his mother said. "We got her just for you. She's going to be your new friend."

At the sound of her name, the little girl – Hermione – curtsied quickly, her shiny black shoes squeaking against the floor.

"Hello Draco," she said. She sounded nervous.

Draco turned to his mother, eyes big and shining. She smiled indulgently and planted a kiss to the top of his head before pushing him forward again. Draco wasn't sure how close he should get to Hermione, or if he should shake her hand, but decided to give her a little bow from a few feet away.

"Hello Hermione," he said. "I'm going to take very good care of you."

She nodded quickly, eager to agree.

"Can I take her to the playroom, mama?"

"Of course, dear. Off you go."

Draco took Hermione's hand in his and led her to the room that contained all his toys. He spent the afternoon showing her each one. Here was the train set, here were the stuffed animals, here were the wooden soldiers. She could play with them all anytime she wanted, he would share everything with her. 

"Where are your toys?" he asked.

Hermione bit her lip. She took her hand back from his and stuck the thumb in her mouth. Draco frowned.

"You don't have any?"

"We all shared toys back at the big house," she said. "I didn't bring any, they told me—they told me I wouldn't need old toys now that I'm yours."

Draco puffed his chest out.

"They're right," he said. "You can have as many new toys as you want here. Mother and Father will buy them for you if I ask them to."

Hermione smiled weakly.

"Thank you, Draco."

They sat in companionable silence for a bit. Draco watched as Hermione rolled a toy train back and forth. He noticed for the first time that she had dark circles under her eyes and that her skin had a pale, tired tint.

"Was the big house a bad place?" he asked.

"Sometimes. I—I'm not supposed to bother you with stories about it, though."

"Who said you couldn't bother me with stories about it?" Draco asked with a frown.

"The matrons said I was lucky someone wanted me as a pet. They said I mustn't ruin it by being glum or difficult."

"Well the matrons aren't here, and they're daft for saying that. You won't ruin anything. You're mine now and I'm going to take care of you forever."

Hermione smiled again - a wider, hopeful thing this time. Something in Draco's chest thrummed. Hermione didn't seem to like talking about the big house so Draco changed the subject.