Last Lesson in Love - (Sequel to Tutoring A Malfoy)

Chapter Twelve - 'One way or another.'

‘Mm... hello? Eva?’

Draco had his eyes closed as soon as he picked up the ringing phone and put it to his ear. He yawned behind his hand, wondering if it was Eva calling up to check on him to see if he had ate or not. Since she was moving out soon, she had taken residence in her boyfriends house but still cared for Draco. He then wondered what the time but didn’t open his eyes to check. His eyes flew open a second after he heard her voice.

‘Draco...’ the sobs were obviously from Hermione.

Draco sat up, eyes wide open and feeling more awake than he was two seconds ago. He twisted so that his feet hit the carpet and stood up, looking around the room for his clothes.

‘Granger? What’s wrong?’ Draco asked, his voice stronger than hers.

He frowned as she continued to cry and he heard a very faint voice telling her to stop. Rose... it was Rose and she was crying too. That was what made Draco frown harder and realise he couldn’t apparate there in just his boxers. He practically jogged to his closet with the phone on one ear and yanked it open. He trapped the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he yanked on his trousers.

‘I’ll be right there,’ Draco muttered, before clicking the phone off and throwing it on his bed. He grabbed a top and apparated straight into her apartment.

Draco landed in her living room, the sounds of sobbing hitting his ears straight away. He opened his eyes as he pulled his top over his head and then looked at the two girls: one he was frustratingly in love with; and the other he would give his own life for. Hermione was sobbing on the sofa with Rose in her lap, trying to pry her mothers hand from her face, looking scared and vulnerable.

‘Dway-co!’ Rose cried when she saw him and climbed off Hermione’s lap, running into Draco’s legs. Draco scooped her up and started to wipe away her tears as she squirmed in his arms and buried her wet face into the crook of his neck.

‘Granger...’ Draco muttered as he rubbed his hand soothingly on Rose’s back. He moved over to Hermione and frowned.

Hermione stood up, wiping the tears away from under her eyes and then rested her head on his chest for a minute, trying to calm down. She was a Gryffindor after all, she was supposed to be brave... especially for Rose. Draco, whose hands were busy, didn’t do anything but he sighed.

‘I’ll put her to bed for you,’ Draco said quietly to Hermione who took a step away from him and nodded, wiping away at the wetness under her eyes.

‘Yes, please do,’ Hermione said, looking at him with wide and wet eyes.

Draco nodded at her before walking past, towards Rose’s room. Rose snuggled her face into his neck as he carried her into the pink room and looked at the unmade bed, wondering what had happened to make Rose wake up and go over to Hermione. He managed to get Rose into bed and then reassured her constantly, even reading her a story. She fell asleep half way through and Draco kissed her forehead before tucking her in so she would be nice and warm.

Draco wiped at the wetness on his neck because of Rose’s tears and he grimaced. He wished he never saw Hermione or Rose cry ever again. He hated it and he definitely hated the fact that Hermione wasn’t just upset. She was worried and stressed out over something, something he wanted to fix for her.

He got to the living room and saw Hermione sitting on the sofa with her face buried in her hands. Her shoulders shook slightly and it looked like she was shaking. Before he went over to her, Draco went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, bringing it out for her. He sat on the sofa next to her, making Hermione pause for a minute, sniffing. She slowly removed her hands from her face and grabbed a tissue, wiping her face and then her nose.