Thank you for your patience, this update had to be delayed because Miles Away is a priority. Anyway, I have a question-based on Draconian alone (and not the original series), I think it's pretty obvious who I prefer, but what about you?

x Noelle

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Repels muggles.

, Hermione began to feel cold sitting on the floor. She was shivering and Draco got up, hauling her to her feet. They headed back into the bedroom and he drew the covers over her, ignoring her wide-eyed gaze and fell asleep in the armchair, careful to maintain his distance again.

Then morning came and he jolted awake. He casted muffling charms on her to keep her from awaking as he began to get ready for work. His eyes were tired and he was fucking exhausted, but he couldn't care less. When he was finally done, he lifted the charms and, on impulse, reached down to press his lips briefly against her forehead.

His stomach tightened when he caught a whiff of her scent and he briefly thought about what would happen if he let his sanity slip, if he let his lips gloss hers for a fleeting moment or two. But he shoved those thoughts aside firmly. "Thank you," he whispered against her skin, and pulled back.

He headed out of the room, shutting the door gently behind him and doing up the locking charms. He didn't notice the brown eyes slowly opening behind him, or the curious, satisfied smile, or the fingers that traced the forehead as she memorised the feel of his lips against her skin.

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Hermione couldn't help but feel rather anxious when Blaise knocked on the door at eight that morning. She was only just getting used to Pansy, but Blaise was a different matter altogether. She couldn't remember Blaise much, only knowing that he was one of Draco's friends who sneered at her a lot. But he hadn't actually gone out of his way to interact with her.

Blaise seemed to sense her discomfort when he entered and he quickly offered her a charming smile. "Hey, Hermione. Draco said you hadn't had breakfast so I saved some for you."

Hermione smiled faintly at the mention of Draco's name and thanked Blaise for the plate of chocolate-chip pancakes. "I-is Draco still outside?"

"No, he, Theo and Pansy had to go patrolling."

"Patrolling - ?"

"You know, for security purposes. The Dark Lord rules with a firm iron-clad fist, and he makes us Death-Eaters patrol different places everyday in search for any sort of rebellion or muggle-born wizards and witches," Blaise halted briefly as he caught Hermione's frightened expression. "Not you," he hastily assured her. "You're safe here, I promise."

Hermione bit her lip.

"I promise. Look, you're in the house of three of the most terrifying Death-Eaters and staying in the room of the head Death-Eater. In times like these, I don't think there's anywhere else safer than here."

Her lips curled in a semi-relieved smile and Blaise immediately felt at ease. He felt awkward having to tiptoe around Hermione, who was always known for her quick wits and fired remarks, but Pansy was right. This Hermione had been through a lot.

He watched as Hermione ate silently, self-consciously catching his gaze every now and then. He tried to maintain a pleasant look on his face. Merlin, he couldn't imagine how Draco must be acting around her.

Blaise looked round the room absentmindedly, catching sight of a red book that he used to study back in his first year back at Hogwarts. "What spells have you been studying?" He couldn't help but ask.

Hermione swallowed her mouthful of pancakes and set the fork down. "Alohomora. I used that last night...and - Brackium Emendo. Wingardium Leviosa...but I couldn't do that for long. I-I don't really know much anymore."

Blaise felt something strange pull in him, like the earth's axis had momentarily shifted and wouldn't ever be placed back. He hated when constants were no longer constants. Hermione and her knowledge had always been a constant during his Hogwarts days - as aggravating as it was - but now that knowledge was just all gone.

He glanced back at her and forced a smile onto his face. "It's alright. You'll learn again, and we'll help you. Which area of magic are you most interested in studying?"

Hermione paused and frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not too sure," she said at last, "I think...I'm more confident when - well, when Draco was hurt the other day, it was easier for me to heal him because...I don't exactly know why. It was just easier."

Blaise began to open the doors of Draco's bookshelves, staring intently at the book titles. "Well, Hermione, you're in luck."

She looked at him. He grinned widely.

"Healing magic just happens to be one of my many areas of expertise."

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"Do you know what my ultimate goal in this war is?"

Draco barely spared Pansy a glance as they trudged back home with food from the nearby diner. Apparating was, of course, the easiest choice, but Pansy had insisted on walking. Something about fresh air and exercise - as if they didn't already get all the bloody fresh air and exercise they needed during their daily patrols and missions.

"To kill Fenrir Greyback," Pansy declared, when Draco didn't reply. She eyed him in her peripheral vision but he was calm as ever. "I really do want to kill him - and not with an Avada. I want to plunge a knife into his thick, hairy back and slice his skin off layer by layer, until he is nothing but a quivering mess of blood and guts."

Draco didn't blink.

"Do my violent tendencies scare you?"

"Not at all," he replied calmly. "Although I think Blaise should keep his eyes wide open at all times."

"Please. I'm not going to hurt my boyfriend."

"I beg to differ. I saw ropes and belts the last time I had the misfortune of entering your room; I think there's a fucking lot of hurt in the sex."

"A good kind of hurt," Pansy insisted. "Don't tell me you've never tried that before, Draco. Back when the four of us first bought the apartment, and you were still into slags, remember? The walls were thin then and you didn't bother putting muffling charms on your room. You and your slags were pretty damn loud. Well, mostly them. You were surprisingly silent through it all. Didn't ever get your release, huh?"

Draco threw her a frosty look, but her smirk simply widened.

"I know, I know, your slag-hunting days are long over. What triggered it, by the way? The cute brunette in your room?" When Draco didn't answer, a teasing laugh slipped from her lips. This was too fucking entertaining. "Don't tell me you've never thought of stripping her bare and wrapping her legs tightly around your waist and pounding into her until she's screaming your name and you're biting on your lip so hard it's almost bleeding and the both of you are nothing but a sweaty tangle of naked limbs and - "

He hit her with a Silencio and quickly strode off.

Rolling her eyes, Pansy easily reversed the spell and trailed after him, a wicked smile playing on her lips. Seemed like the mention of Hermione Granger could get the best reactions out of Draco Malfoy. Who knew?

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Draco paused by the main doorway when he heard voices coming from his room. A calm voice that could only be Blaise's, and a hesitant, feminine one.

Hermione.

Draco felt an odd emotion surge through him - not quite jealousy, not quite aggravation - he couldn't determine it. It just felt like Hermione was slowly getting to know everyone in this house and they didn't seem to share the same fear he had in getting to know her, because they didn't need to.

It was unfair that way. None of them - not even Theo - were danger hazards like he was. None of them were as high-ranking or as close to the Dark Lord as he was. None of them killed as many people as he did, or did as many bad things as he did.

Pansy came up behind him and prodded his back with her bony finger. "What're you standing there for?"

Draco quickly headed in, setting the food down on the kitchen counter. Pansy followed suit, before turning her head towards Draco's room and grinning.

"Is that Blaise and Hermione talking?"

Draco ignored her, instead heading straight for his room. The door was ajar and he frowned, this time feeling absolutely annoyed. Merlin, was his room not a safe sanctuary anymore? Was everyone just going to barge in and see Hermione as and when they liked?

But he stopped when he saw Blaise sitting on the desk, explaining the concept of Polyjuice potions to Hermione. She was staring up at him with eyes alight with curiosity and intrigue, listening intently to every single word he said.

Pansy came up beside Draco, beaming when she saw Blaise teaching Hermione. Then she sneaked a glance at Draco, noticed his rigid expression and smirked. "Now, now," she whispered, and he felt a fresh wave of irritation surge through him. "There's no need to get all jealous about Hermione spending time with another guy - "

He hit her with another silencing spell again.

And he was just about to turn on his heels to leave when Hermione spotted the movement by the doorway and scrambled up immediately.

"Draco!"

Draco stilled, reluctantly stepping into the room. Hermione noticed the stormy expression on his face and her smile wavered, but she swallowed and continued, "Blaise w-was just teaching me about Healing Magic."

Draco didn't answer, but his gaze slowly met Blaise's. Blaise quickly jumped off the desk, heading straight for the doorway. "Talk to you later, Hermione."

Hermione smiled faintly as Pansy and Blaise disappeared, shutting the door behind them. But she was more worried for the silent blond in the room, whose body language was entirely closed off. He was inches from the bed but she sometimes felt like he was miles away.

"Is everything alright - "

"Why was the bloody door open?"

Hermione faltered. "What?"

Draco cast silencing charms and locks on the room before stepping towards her. "Why was the door bloody opened instead of closed? And why weren't the muffling charms set? For Salazar's sake, Granger, it could've been Theo walking in instead of Pansy or me and your cover would've been blown!"

"I - I didn't think it would matter."

He froze. "What?"

"Well - since Blaise and Pansy already know...I - I thought that it'd only be a matter of time before Theo knows too."

"So you want Theo to know?"

"No - but if he happens - "

"Because, fuck, Granger, if you want everyone to know about your existence I can easily arrange that for you. Do you want to go back to the Order too and fight alongside Potter and Weasel? Because that can be arranged, you can fucking leave! It's just a bloody phone-call away - " he stopped when her face crumpled, tears beginning to well up in her sad brown eyes.

If there was one thing he hated more than himself, it was seeing Hermione Granger cry. It always felt like he'd purposely plunged a knife into her heart and twisted.

"You w-want me to leave?" She was crying in earnest now and she brushed the back of her hands fiercely against her wet cheeks.

He went pale, suddenly realising the implications of his earlier statement and how she'd completely misinterpreted him. Shit. "No, of course not - "

"You just said - "

"I didn't mean it that way," he insisted firmly, closing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around her easily. She slotted perfectly into his embrace, her body soft against the firm planes of his chest. He reached one hand up to tangle his fingers through her wild brown locks and brushed her tears away with his thumb. "That wasn't what I meant, Granger."

She choked back a sob. "It's...it's not?"

Draco exhaled heavily. Decisions, decisions. He didn't want Hermione to go back to the Order, hell, he never wanted her to go; but it had always been the easiest option.

"You can stay for as long as you like," he said instead, leaving the decision in her hands completely and wondering if she would have the sense to leave when the time came for her to do so.

Hermione nodded against his chest, her bushy hair brushing briefly against his chin. "I want to stay," she whispered almost inaudibly, but he heard it loud and clear anyway.

And couldn't decide whether he felt more relieved or terrified.

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"So what's your game plan for the attack on headquarters?" Blaise asked Draco some nights later. He didn't mean to pry, but Draco had not given any of them a status update.

Blaise couldn't help but notice that Draco seemed rather distracted lately, spending far less time in the room with Hermione and far more time outside going on patrols. He didn't even go out with Theo, who was always a good drinking partner to turn to. Blaise figured that the problem had to do with the brunette witch in Draco's room. He and Pansy had spent far more time with Hermione than Draco had these few days. It almost seemed like Draco was avoiding the girl.

Still, that was something Blaise didn't intend to find out. He was actually more concerned about the ambush attack that was supposed to happen exactly three days from now. He still hadn't a clue what he was supposed to do, but he knew that Draco probably had it all figured out and was just procrastinating until the last minute to brief them.

Blaise cast another glance at Draco, who was sitting on the counter as he ate the Chinese takeaway Pansy had brought back earlier. There was a blank, indifferent expression on his face and Blaise knew that he obviously hadn't heard the question.

"Draco!"

The blond finally dragged his eyes up to meet Blaise's and frowned. "What?"

Blaise rolled his eyes. "I said, what's your game plan for Friday? Do you actually have a plan, or are you intending to wing it?" The latter question was completely rhetorical. Draco always had a plan.

"I'll tell you now if you're up for it."

"Oh, you know I'm always up for death-trap missions. Gets my adrenaline pumping all the time." The sarcasm wasn't lost on Draco, whose lips twisted in a brief smirk. Blaise set his food carton down and headed out of the kitchen. "Let me get the other two."

"Alright," Draco watched in amusement as Blaise left, but the gleam in his eye faded when Blaise turned towards the left first, heading straight for Draco's room. Pansy was in there with Hermione, presumably to have dinner together with her. And Draco felt like a prick for eating outside these days, but keeping his distance from Hermione Granger was fucking important.

A minute later, Blaise came out with Pansy in tow and they carefully shut the door behind them, replacing the locking charms. Then Blaise strode towards Theo's door, completely ignorant to what was going inside that room.

"Two galleons says Theo's gonna scream first," said Pansy, as she leaned on the counter. There was a wicked grin on her face as she watched Blaise undo the locks on Theo's door.

Draco scoffed. "You give your boyfriend too much credit. I say Blaise. Make it five and you're on."

"Deal."

They didn't have to wait long. A moment later, an ear-piercing shriek sounded from Theo's room.

"...what the hell - THEO!"

It was Blaise.

Draco smirked at Pansy. She might be dating Blaise, but he knew these two lads since they were kids. Theo was hardly fazed by anything, but Blaise was a different matter altogether.

Scowling, Pansy grabbed her purse from the counter and handed over the money to Draco. "My boyfriend's a fucking wimp sometimes, I swear."

"Fucking pansy's more like it."

She jabbed Draco with her elbow at his stupid pun. "Shut it - only I'm allowed to badmouth him."

Blaise came running back to them; his cheeks flushed a dozen shades of red and a laughably horrified look on his face. "You would not believe what I caught Theo doing!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "See, Zabini, that's why we put locks on our doors."

"It wasn't the usual, it was - "

And then Blaise trailed off as Theo sauntered out of the room, followed by two skimpily dressed girls, with newly acquired sex hair and both looking rather frazzled. Pansy's mouth fell open and Blaise flushed even harder.

Theo, on the other hand, was calm and simply hopped up on the counter next to Draco. "Exit's that way, ladies," Theo said, pointing to the main door and waving them out dismissively.

The girls both frowned. "Aren't you going to at least show us home?" The one in the black dress asked, folding her arms obstinately across her chest.

Theo appeared to think really hard. "Uh...no," he admitted, before turning to Draco. "Did you save me some dinner?" Wordlessly, Draco handed him the last unopened carton of food and Theo happily grabbed it. "Sweet."

"Not even a beverage?" The other girl looked utterly appalled. "What the fuck kinda arsehole pulls this shit on girls?"

"The kind who honestly doesn't give a shit," returned Theo pleasantly and Draco snorted a laugh. "This isn't a hospitality bureau, ladies. We had our fun - although it was rudely interrupted by my dear friend over there," Theo winked at Blaise, who flushed red all over again, "but we knew what we signed up for. So let's leave it at that and be cordial about it."

"Yeah, well, go fuck yourself next time," the girl spat, while the other one in a black dress reached for the bottle of Firewhisky on the table and flung it at Theo. Only her aim was completely off and the bottle veered slightly to the left instead, smashing right into the door of Draco's room.

Draco thought of the other girl inside the room and saw instantly saw red.

"Nice throw - " Theo began mockingly, but Draco hit him with a Silencio.

He was seething, completely aggravated that they'd probably frightened the hell out of Hermione. He got down from the counter; his actions unhurried and painstakingly slow. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Pansy and Blaise exchanging amused glances. The two girls in front of him looked a little nervous, but otherwise defiant and not at all sorry.

Draco exhaled heavily, before pushing both the sleeves of his jumper up to his elbows, deliberately exposing the Dark Mark on his forearm. The girls paled rapidly, eyes widening in horror. One of them even looked a little faint.

"Are you two going to get out of here," Draco asked them, in his calmest voice, "or am I going to have to throw you out myself?"

The girls immediately ran out of the house, shutting the front door behind them. Draco turned to head to his room, ignoring the smirks on his friends' faces - Pansy, especially, had a sly, knowing glint in her eye and he didn't want to acknowledge that at all.

"Draco - the plan?" Blaise stopped him before he could disappear into the room.

Draco paused by the doorway. "One minute. And you," he pointed at Theo, whose smile abruptly faded. "Clean up this mess."

Theo groaned. "Why me?"