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The only thing she had come to realize was that he was extremely good at being prepared for all sorts of things. Even back in Japan when he ended up having to get in the water to look for her. He wore two layers. Who does that out in the heat? She stared at the dark ceiling after turning over. She must be very desperate if she would stoop so low as to try and catch a glimpse of him without a shirt.

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Luckily she was already so worn out that she didn’t have to suffer long before sleep took her. A restless sleep. One that took her back over a decade.

Her cheek pressed against the beautiful cold marble floor. She stared off motionless. The tears streaming down her face puddled on the floor. Bellatrix sat on top of her wand pressed against her head, “you filthy little thief. How did you get into my vault!”

Bellatrix didn’t wait for her response. She sat up away from Hermione's face and pushed her wand roughly into her neck, “crucio!”

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The pain was instant. It felt like her body was consumed with fire as it rapidly moved from the place where the spell hit to the outer parts of her body. The scream that erupted from her didn’t sound human. A wounded beast. At some point her senses shut down and she stopped hearing and seeing things. Her body thrashed and contorted under the weight of the Death Eater but she no longer felt. No. She forced her eyes open to glare defiantly. Again and again she would take the pain. She would lose her mind before she gave them anything.

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Bellatrix didn’t disappoint. The curse left her mouth more than a dozen more times in her attempt to break her.

When the fire resided in her bones the only thing she could recognize was the taste of metal in her mouth. She wasn’t sure how much time passed but the next thing she remembered she was again staring at the flawless white marble floor. This time no tears fell.

“Granger?” The sound was soft. She was confused none of the death eaters knew her name. Enough time passed that she thought maybe she imagined it.

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“Hermione.” It felt like someone pulled her off the floor and when she opened her eyes she stared into the very worried face of Draco Malfoy.

“Malfoy?” her voice was hoarse.

He didn’t say anything. Just watched as silent tears fell from her face.

“It was Bellatrix. I haven’t had a nightmare in so long,” she attempted to explain afraid he could be mad for waking him.

Draco remembered that time well. It also haunted his dreams from time to time. He attempted to get up from the edge of bed. After having to relive that he figured he was the last person she wanted to see.

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The timid shaky hand that reached out and grabbed his shirt surprised him.

“Can you stay with me for a bit? Until I fall asleep,” she asked.

This was uncharted territory. He knew she relied on him for a lot of things and visa versa. It’s what made them work so well together but this was intimate. He nodded slowly and climbed into the bed with her. Hesitantly he wrapped his arm around her. A line was definitely crossed.

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The next morning she woke up alone in bed. She remembered what she asked Malfoy the previous night and covered her face in anguish glad he wasn’t still lying with her. She must have been really exhausted to have a nightmare. It had been a long time since the war had haunted her dreams.

Malfoy walked in with his arms crossed, “about time you’ve woken? Did you forget that you have a job to do?”

Hermione groaned and sat up further, “sorry about last night.”

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He shrugged as a reply. He wasn’t interested in bringing the previous night back up. It had been awkward for him waking up entangled with Granger.

“Don’t just shrug. I know that you didn’t want to so thanks for not being awful.”

“We all get plagued every once in a while just don’t make a habit of it okay?”
       
“I’ll do my best Malfoy.” She stood and picked up her bag. “I’ll be back in an hour for our meeting with our client.” She stuck her wand out and apparated away.

[CookingwiththeCobra]

Keeping to her word she arrived back at the shop under the hour feeling awake and refreshed. She brought two cups of steaming hot tea.
       
“Here you go,” she handed his tea to him. “Has Mr. Silverthorn shown up yet?”
       
Sipping his tea he didn’t look up from the book he was reading, “nope.”
       
Settling down next to him in her own chair she decided that reading wasn’t a bad way to pass the time until their client showed up.

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Vestor Silverthorn walked in and observed the two, “my my quite the studious pair.”
       
Hermione set her book down, “Mr. Silverthorn welcome! Malfoy get him a chair and I’ll grab what we gathered.”
       
Not pleased with being ordered around he made sure to find the most uncomfortable chair and switched it with Hermiones, “here sir you can hers. It’s much more comfortable.”
       
Hermione walked back in and noticed the chair switch. Glaring at him so he knew that he would hear about it later she set the file and sample of water down for Vestor. “I hope this is to your liking. It was oddly more difficult to get a hold of than we first anticipated.”

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“Well that is why I hired you guys. You came highly recommended and you didn’t disappoint. It has been a pleasure, thank you.” Gathering his stuff up he passed over the galleons that he owed.
       
Saying goodbye she waved him out of the shop. Once he was out of eyesight she rounded on Malfoy, “really? Was it necessary to be this petty?” She gestured towards the chair.
       
“It is when I am ordered around like a common elf.”
       
“Just be prepared for when I decide that I wanna be that petty.” She counted up the galleons, “look at that we can pay rent and only a week late at that!”
       
“I’m sure our landlord will be pleased,” Draco gathered the money up so he could send it off.