Chimera

Chapter 18

Present Day...

Hermione rubbed her eyes, trying to hide her yawn. She hadn't slept well that night, spending hours staring at the ceiling. Althea smiled brightly at her from her seat at the table. Hermione smiled back, setting the bowl of cereal in front of her. Althea's gaze slid from her mother, staring instead outside the kitchen window.

"Look, mam, there's a birdy outside!"

Hermione turned around, and saw a barn owl perched on the windowsill. Their dog stood alert at her side, a low growl forming in her throat. Crookshanks looked up, and Hermione was sure he rolled his eyes.

"Of course there is," she sighed. "Down, Storm. It's ok."

Hermione opened the window, glaring at the sleepy-looking bird.

"Shoo," she said, blocking Althea's view as she slipped the letter out of the owl's claws and into her pocket. "Go away!"

The owl hooted reproachfully, and launched off the windowsill in a burst of feathers. Across the street, Hermione could see Draco watching.

"Er, Allie, keep eating your breakfast. I'm just going to go...empty the bin..."

"Ok, mam!"

Hermione locked eyes with Draco as she slammed the almost-empty bag into the bin outside. She marched across the road.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She hissed, jabbing her finger into his chest. "And sending an owl? Are you completely mad?! I live among muggles! What if they'd seen it?!"

Draco shrugged. His eyes were fixed on the small house across the road, disinterested in her rage.

"What's with the dog?"

Storm was stood at the patio window, watching them. Her hackles were raised and she bared her teeth at Draco.

"Crookshanks brought her home one day. She didn't have a collar or chip, no-one reported her missing, so I kept her."

"Crookshanks is the ugly, orange cat right?" Draco clarified.

Hermione folded her arms and glared at him.

"Right. So who is she?" He asked, looking at her at last. "The child."

"Leave us alone, Malfoy," Hermione snapped.

"I have the right to know."

Hermione refused to answer, instead she turned to walk away.

"I'll just keep sending owls until you answer," he said, calmly.

"Are you trying to breach the Secrecy Act?!"

"No. I just want answers." Draco tucked his thumbs into the pocket of his jeans, rocking back on his heels. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, makes no difference to me."

"Are you threatening me?!"

"Hermione..." Draco ran his hand through his blonde hair, looking pained.

"Malfoy, we have a life here. A good one. Please, just let us live it in peace."

Hermione walked away, feeling Draco's eyes on her as she disappeared into the house.

"What took you so long?" Althea asked, lying on the sofa flicking through a picture book.

"I got distracted. Go get your shoes on, it's almost time for school."

With a long-suffering sigh, Althea put the book away and went to find her shoes. She carefully lay down the velcro, lining it up perfectly. As Althea wriggled her arms into her coat, Hermione slipped her feet into her shoes. Storm sat at the door, waiting patiently for her leash. Hermione glanced outside. Draco was nowhere to be seen.

"Ok girls," Hermione said, clipping the leash onto Storm's collar. She handed Althea her school bag. "Let's go!"

Althea skipped down the street ahead of Hermione. Her afro bounced as she moved. They walked for a few minutes, Storm trotting at Hermione's side, until they reached the school. The other children were already shouting and running around the playground. Althea shoved her bag into Hermione's hands and ran to join her friends.

"Hey Allie!" Her friends shouted, gesturing for her to join in their game.

"Hi Hannah, you ok?"

Hermione looked over at one of the other mothers. Her red hair was tied up in a pony-tail. The colour of it always reminded Hermione of Ginny. With a familiar pang, she wondered how Ginny and the others were doing.

"Yeah, I'm good, Sally. How's it going?"

"Can't complain! You coming to the parent's evening this afternoon?"

"Nah, I've got work. My slot isn't for another couple of days."

"Fair enough," Sally said, smiling.

The bell rang, and all the children swarmed their parents, running over for hugs, kisses, and bags.

"Bye mam!" Althea said, barely pausing for a swift hug before running to join the line of her classmates.

"Bye, have a good day!" Hermione shouted. "Love you!"

"Love you too!" Althea bellowed, waving as the class walked into the school.

"Bye Hannah," Sally called, climbing into her car.

Hermione waved and started walking back to the house with Storm bounding beside her. She mused over the sudden appearance of Draco, throwing her whole life off-kilter. Part of her told herself that he deserved to hear the truth, but most of her was afraid of what would come of it. She had created this cosy life, and she didn't know what would happen if she reopened herself to her old world. She owed a lot of people explanations, and she didn't know if she could bear to face their hurt and betrayal.

The image of Harry, Ron and Ginny's disappointed faces filled her mind, as it had over and over again so many years before. Hermione shivered and let herself into the house. She quickly walked to the medicine cabinet and tipped her anti-depressants into her hand. Not bothering to get a drink, she swallowed the pill and then went to change for work.

Hermione kept looking over her shoulder as she walked to the supermarket. She cursed herself for being so jumpy and jittery.

"Come on," she muttered, shaking her head. "You've faced worse than bloody Draco Malfoy. Pull yourself together, you idiotic woman!"