Something Scary

Draco was inside his house when Hermione arrived, so he didn't see her walk up. He was in his office when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Who is that?" He wondered while he got up from the chair at his desk.

He was studying up on Muggles and their social habits, meaning to have read the book a while ago when Morris handed them out to all of the Aurors. Draco found it quite boring, although one part intrigued him. It was about these odd devices Muggles used called cell phones. Muggles used them to communicate with each other over long distances. He learned that they had been around for years, but the fact that you spoke into a hunk of plastic or metal and expected an answer was still ridiculous to him, though he had one on hand, himself.

At the door, he looked through the peephole to see who was on the other side.

"Hermione?" He thought.

He opened the door. Hermione smiled at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. "Hi, Granger. What are you doing here? How did you get my address?" He asked, sticking his head out the door to see if anyone was with her. Nobody was there.

"Oh, it's not important," she shrugged.

He raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright, fine. I got it from your father."

He wasn't sure what he had expected but that was certainly not it. "You got my address from my father?" He asked, incredulously. "You actually went to the Manor?"

She laughed. His reaction was entertaining; his eyes were like saucers.

"Well, no, I didn't go there," she told him, suddenly feeling like a stalker, "I asked Westerson for your address and he gave me your old one. When I got there your father answered, along with Astoria."

"Wow," Draco brushed his blond hair back with his hand, exhaling sharply. "My father was there." He turned around and walked to the couch, almost in a trance. Hermione followed and took a seat next to him.

"So," he glanced at her and laughed nervously, "you met Astoria, huh."

Hermione leaned back on the couch. "Yeah, I mean, I've seen her before, but this was definitely something else. Lovely woman," she said with heavy sarcasm.

"Yeah, that's Astoria for you," he sighed. Both of them sat in silence.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, dragging Draco out of his thoughts.

"What?" He asked distractedly. "Yeah. Well, it's just that so much has happened lately, and I don't know what to make of it." He wasn't sure whether he should tell her about Esther and her visit from that afternoon.

Hermione nodded. "It's true. It hasn't been this wild in a while. I mean, the Animagus broke out and we as good as know it's Esther. Poor Westerson was a mess." She paused for a few seconds. "I wonder if Esther will come to find you? After all, you are connected through this whole thing and-" Hermione stopped when she saw Draco grimacing, a guilty look playing on his face. It was bizarre for her to see that on him. Since when did he ever feel guilt?

"She came here already, didn't she." It was more of a statement than a question.

He nodded, expecting to be reprimanded for not arresting Esther. "This afternoon, shortly before you arrived. It was actually rather unpleasant. I told her if she came back then I would arrest her." He stared ahead at the door, though, he appeared to be lost in his thoughts again, or memories. "I know, I should have taken her in, but- that woman is psycho. And I know psycho. Bellatrix was my aunt!"

Hermione chuckled. "Bellatrix was definitely psycho, to say the least. It's okay, Draco, I don't blame you for letting Esther leave."

He stared at the ground, absentmindedly playing with his arm. His white long sleeve was pushed up just enough that she could see the mouth of the snake that was part of the Dark Mark. It was forever a part of him, never to be removed.

"So, why did you come here?" He asked curiously, after a few minutes of quiet. It just occurred to him that they never got around to that. He was not angry that she was there, just wondering what she needed.

When Hermione gazed into his grey eyes she felt a flutter in her stomach that she never felt before, and the feeling made her uneasy. Why did she come?

"Oh, um, I just wanted to make sure you were alright," she told him, playing with a strand of her hair. "As you said, things haven't exactly been, you know, tame, lately."

"Why did I come here?" She thought. "This is Draco Malfoy's house!"

She headed to the door, not liking this change of emotion. "I'm going to head out." She reached out for the doorknob. "I'll see you at work?"

Draco pulled her arm back before she could leave. "Wait, what's wrong? Did I do something?" He asked, completely perplexed. She seemed fine moments before.

Looking at his face made her heart jump and that scared her. "No, I just realised I have to go do something," she lied.

They looked into each other's eyes and found their faces leaning toward each other, but before they touched, she pulled back, her heart pounding. The feelings now showing themselves weren't ones she had welcomed. It was supposed to be a friendship.

"I have to go." She opened the door and then went speeding down the walkway. She turned into the same bushes that Esther came out of earlier and was gone, leaving him standing in the doorway alone.